Consistency: a study of God's faithfulness and a call to constancy

On September 6, 1995, Cal Ripken broke what many baseball fans and commentators regarded the unbreakable streak of games played, which was set by Lou Gehrig. Gehrig’s record was 2,131 consecutive games. George Will wrote of this streak: “It was the sheer everyday-ness of it. What was being celebrated was a guy who got up and went to work every day. People can identify with that.”

HIs personal friend noted of Ripken, "He had to overcome game injuries that he managed to work through," Idelson said. "He managed the pain," including slipped disks, hyperextended elbows, dislocated fingers, head-jarring shots from errant throws.

It really is the “everyday-ness” of it, isn’t it, that we admire?

Have you ever heard of Herbert and Zalmyra Fisher? They are listed in the Guinness Book of records as having the longest marriage in US history: The couple had been married for 86 years 290 days as of 27 February 2011, when Mr Fisher passed away. They said in an interview on Valentine’s Day in 2010: "A friend is for life; our marriage has lasted a lifetime,"

What about Walter Orthmann. He, too, is noted as having been the longest-tenured employee in history. His 84-year employment began when he was 16 years old. He said, "I don't do much planning, nor care much about tomorrow. All I care about is that tomorrow will be another day in which I will wake up, get up, exercise and go to work; you need to get busy with the present, not the past or the future. Here and now is what counts. So, let's go to work!"

Then, I read of a man by the name of Mark Mueller. You probably don’t know him, either, but he’s worked out 10,000 straight days. During bouts with walking pneumonia, he had to find creative ways to stay consistent, but he noted, “I am afraid not to work out anymore.”

Consistency makes the difference!

When I talk about consistency, I’m not offering you a self-help which might provide 10 ways to your better self. I’m not talking like a fitness guru or a motivational speaker. I’m talking to you as a preacher of the gospel of Christ— and one who seeks to make known the nature of God to this world.

Nature Declares the Glory of God’s Consistency

Psalm 19:1-6: “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, And night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, Where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, And his circuit unto the ends of it: And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.”

Nature Proclaims:

God is- EXISTENT

Romans 1:19-20: “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”

The Universe gives testimony to God! It declares: “God is!”

Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

A trinity:

space- depth, length, and breadth

matter- energy, motion, phenomena

time- past, present, future

God is, specifically, consistent

day unto day and night unto night- all of the time

no language barrier to this knowledge

vs 4- all hear it and all see it; it is worldwide

5-6- the sun gives constant testimony to the care of God

Lamentations 3:22-24: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”

Psalm 113:3: “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same The Lord’s name is to be praised.”

Nature continually says, “There is a God and that God is loving, personal and consistent.”

Francis Schaeffer: “The strength of the Christian system — the acid test of it — is that everything fits under the apex of the existent, infinite-personal God, and it is the only system in the world where this is true. No other system has an apex under which everything fits.That is why I am a Christian and no longer an agnostic. In all the other systems, something 'sticks out,' something cannot be included; and it has to be mutilated or ignored. But without losing his own integrity, the Christian can see everything fitting into place beneath the Christian apex of the existence of the infinite-personal God who is there (p. 81).” He is There and He is Not Silent

Psalm 102:27: “But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end.”

James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

Malachi 3:6: “For I am the Lord, I change not; Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”

Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

Nature Demonstrates the Glory of God’s Consistency

I want you to think for just a moment of how God designed the world— and then consider that those things which are part of God’s design are static, never changing. This means that life is not only suitable for human life— but it is predictable for human life and sustains human life.

Scientists tell us that

the earth is the perfect size

if the crust where 10 feet thicker: the metallic elements in the crust would have combined with all the free oxygen in the atmosphere, ruling out the possibility of all animal life

if the oceans were a few feet thicker, dangerous carbon dioxide gasses from the air would destroy all plants

the moon is approx. 239,000 miles from earth. If it were only 50,000 miles away, the entire earth would flood 2x a day

Jeremiah 5:22: “Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?”

Job 38:10-11: “And brake up for it my decreed place, And set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?”

Proverbs 8:29: “When he gave to the sea his decree, That the waters should not pass his commandment: When he appointed the foundations of the earth:”

then, there is the composition of the atmosphere

78 parts nitrogen

21 parts oxygen

too much nitrogen and all bodily functions would slow to lethal speeds

too much oxygen, the body would overexert and explode

may I also note that the atmosphere serves as a protective blanket, making life sustainable?

earth was made for man, the image bearer of God!

Acts 17:26: “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;”

Isaiah 45:18-19: “For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, He created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.”

What we are saying is that God created a world and that world is predictable.

Imagine!

Is. 11:6, 65:25, 11:8- the wolf lies down with the lamb

the lion will eat straw and become a herbivore

the calf and lion will feed together and a child will lead them

a nursing baby will play on the hole of an asp

You say, there is something unnatural about all of these. In essence, we trust in the predictable nature of nature itself. Furthermore, God would have to intervene to change nature in order for these to be so— the natural order prevails to this day. We might say it this way:

IT IS CONSISTENT WITH DESIGN THAT THE BIBLE REPORTS OF

bear attacks

lion aggression

ants and preparation for winter- Pro 6:6-8...

the nature of ravens- Luke 12:24...

dogs- Luke 16:21...

Job goes so far as to say this: Job 35:11: “Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, And maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?”

Maybe we ought to more sing of this idea:

When thru the woods and forest glades I wander And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees, When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze,

Chorus Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee; How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

or

Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature, O thou of God and man the Son, Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor, thou, my soul's glory, joy, and crown.

or

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest Sun, moon and stars in their courses above Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love

Dr. Jason Lisle said: “The expression ‘contrary to nature’ or ‘unnatural’ can be used to describe not only fallen man’s worship but also his behavior.”

Romans 1:18-27...

“The practice of homosexuality among men is inconsistent with the practice of nature. Man’s ‘natural function’ is to worship God. Instead, man’s sin manifests itself in self-worship.”

Mankind Denies the Glory of God’s Consistency

An atheist is unable to answer for this logical, reasonable, and consistency in the natural world.

But for a moment, I want to turn the figure and talk about us. We are the most inconsistent parts of creation!

The Bible NEVER intended for us to wander and go about constantly transplanting ourselves. Rather, the Bible uses words like these:

he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water

abide in men- John 15...

remain- I John 2:24...

cleave unto the LORD- Acts 11:23…Joshua 23:8...

continue- Acts 14:22...

grounded- Col 1:23...

Building up yourselves…Jude 20-21...

Deuteronomy 30:20: “That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

LOVE

OBY

CLEAVE

DWELL

What a progression!

Can you imagine Patton assembling the 3rd army at the Ardennes Forest and wondering what soldiers were active day-to-day?

It is most-interesting that the creatures who have been redeemed and blood-bought struggle MOST with this imperative.