17) * THE PRAYERS & SERMONS OF OUR STANDING MINISTERS FOR PEOPLE TO READ - 6

San Davis
11 Oktober 2011


Todays Sermon "Our God is Faithful"

This sermon was inspired by words from this song "Lord You are so faithful, You've been so faithful to me, with each new morning, comes brand new mercies, Lord you've been so faithful to me".

Great is the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father...He has always been faithful in His promises and He exhibits & honors faithfulness. It is only a faithful person who truly believes that God controls his circumstances. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty to our faith and that loyalty is to our Lord Jesus Christ. God may cause our circumstances to suddenly fall apart, which may bring the realization of our unfaithfulness to Him for not recognizing that He had ordained the situation......We never see what He is trying to accomplish, and in most cases, the circumstance which stood as a test of our faithfulness, will never be repeated in our lives again.

This is where the test of our faithfulness comes. If we will just learn to worship God even during the difficult circumstances, He will change them for the better very quickly if He so chooses. Psalm 100:5 says, "The Lord is good & His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations". Meaning, no matter what we face, good or bad, ordained by God or brought on by ourselves, God is faithful to see us through it all..and regardless of the outcome, we should never allow the situation to affect our commitment to serving God....Faithfulness is one characteristic of what the Apostle Paul calls the "fruit" of holy spirit...in that we should remain faithful.

I am reminded of just how easy it is for us to become distracted by the things in the world, and the things and situations that face us in life. We become so distracted that we tend to forget the things God has told us and promised us. God will tell us something so great and really encourage us and promise us something, but then the next day something happens and we completely forget what God said and go right back to worrying and being upset!

A perfect example of this, is a friend of mine who became a Pastor of a small church in Florida, just got up one day and decided he no longer wanted to lead the church, and instead decided he wanted to drive trucks. I remember the moments leading up to this decision, he used to say "The Lord has made me so many promises and He is faithful to His word....God is in control....He'll take care of it". As time went by, he was no longer faithful to do what he had committed to the Lord as a Pastor. He eventually gave up the church and is now driving trucks. My first thought was, didn't God call him to be a Pastor over His precious flock, and these saints were faithful to the church and supported their Pastor.

It wasn't anything the church did to make him come to that decision, but the decision to leave the pulpit was due to setbacks, financial hardships and other challenges, he has had to face in his life. His young daughter was sexually molested at a very young age by her grandfather which has lead to her facing many psychological & social challenges and along that same line his son decided, he wanted to be open about his homosexuality. These along with a mountain of other personal and financial issues. He then decided since God was not faithful to him, then he wanted nothing more to do with God.

He is now driving trucks, and the mountains of problems still remains. Not as much as a prayer comes out of his mouth anymore. With that being said, I believe that many of us take our circumstances for granted, saying God is in control, but not really believing it. We act as if the things that happen in our lives are completely controlled by people, not always realizing that the enemy is busy, yet God is the one who is in control of it all...Don't we know that all things work together for good to those who love God .. Romans 8:28. If we allow Holy Spirit to work within us, then the fruit of faithfulness will be real & evident in our lives. The more we yield to His guidance, the less vulnerable to discouragement & temptation we’ll become.

And as we are filled with His Spirit, others will find in us a reliability, a trustworthiness, a staying power through both good & bad, a faithfulness that the world doesn’t understand. Those of us who know and put our trust in God, knows there are benefits to our obedience and faithfulness in serving God. In 2 Peter 3:9 it says "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

Faithfulness is one of those God like traits. God is faithful, and we appreciate the effect His faithfulness has on us: we know we can rely upon Him. Because we appreciate reliability in others and we begin trying to be more reliable ourselves. Reliability gradually becomes one of our characteristics. What was unrighteousness in us gradually becomes God's righteousness in us. By learning to be faithful to do His will and His way, eventually His ideas becomes ours.....By allowing His spirit to transform our character, we are conformed to the image or character of His Son.

I mentioned this scripture earlier concerning my Pastor friend "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren" Rom. 8:28-29.

God is ever faithful concerning His promises - He keeps His promises. The Lord is not slack concerning His promises. Saints, think about this, every time you pick up a Bible, remember that He said, "Heaven & earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away". Matthew 24:35.

Every time you gather to worship with brothers & sisters in Christ, or even as we fellowship right here in Lord Jesus Universal Salvation Church, remember that He said, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:2.

Every time you partake of communion, every time someone answers the invitation of salvation, remember that He said, "I will be with you always, even to the end of the world." Matthew 28:20.

And when you stand on the brink of death, remember His promise, "In My Father’s house are many mansions...I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go & prepare a place for you, I will come again & take you to be with Me. For where I am, there you will be also" Matthew 14:2-4.

In todays world the word or a promise of a man is not regarded or counted very highly. In today's world it is a dog eat dog world, it is all about deception. Getting further ahead than the other person. Men state today, I give you my word or I promise, when he has no real intentions on fulfilling his obligation or promise that he has made. If God said, He is going to do this or that, then that's all we need to know. We can rest assured it will happen....He is faithful concerning His word, so all we have to do is prepare and expect to see the manifestations of His promises.

A faithful person is trustworthy and reliable. Some people make faithfulness the highlight of their human relationships, but self praise is no recommendation; however the faithfulness that does matter most is the faithfulness we show towards God....God is faithful. He does what He promises to do. Moreover, because God is faithful, we know we have courage to trust Him and His promises.

In truth, all of God's creation depends on His faithfulness. Only human kind has a hard time knowing whether or not to exercise faith in God. I'm so glad that I can still proclaim that our God is a faithful God, that "His faithfulness continues through all generations, regardless of challenges, temptations or adversities, He's still faithful.

"He is faithful that promised" Hebrews 10:23. "Thy mercy O Lord, is in the heavens: and Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds" Psalms 36:5. "Thy faithfulness is unto all generations." Psalm 119:90. "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?" Proverb 20:6.

IN CONCLUSION

If we are full of faith we will believe God's word and expect Him to fulfill His promises. That means we will actually live according to what He has promised, not what we think.....We judge that God, who delivered His word, is faithful! Therefore, we commit ourselves to our heavenly Father in spite of unfair or evil circumstances. We do God's will the best we can because we trust our faithful Creator to set all things right in His time and way. "Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

1 Peter 4:19. We find strength to be faithful to God because God is faithful in dealing with us.

Oh Lord You are so faithful, You've been so faithful to me, with each new morning, comes brand new mercies, You've been so faithful to me....and I thank You!

Father God in the name of Your Precious Son Jesus, Let these words go forth and not return unto You void, but accomplish that which You please, and prosper in the thing whereto it is sent....Thank You Lord, I love You...I call it done and so be it...Amen, Amen & Amen!!!

Much Love to you my brothers and sisters in the Lord, not mine but may His will be done...and to Him alone I give all the glory, honor and praise....God bless!!!! 
Sis San :)