Introduction

            If you have driven through the subdivision south of the highway, you will have noticed that there are a lot of houses going up over there. Since I live and work in that end of town, I go past these construction sites every day. I watched as they dug the basements, poured the footings, put up the walls, poured piles for the garage and set forms for the driveway. It always seems so interesting that it takes so long for the foundation of the building to be placed and then suddenly within a few days the house is up. This is because if the foundation is not well placed and solidly set, the rest of the buildling will not stay standing for very long. The foundation of a building is basic to the building and a good foundation allows for a solid building that will last for many years.

            The same thing is true in our lives. We don’t always think about the foundation of our life, but we ought to because if we have a solid foundation, we have a much better chance of having a solid life.

            I am very thankful to be able to speak to you this morning. As most of you know, we are completing our ministry in Manitou and will be going on to serve God elsewhere. We have come to love this community. Several weeks ago when we met for the family fun day organiized by the Anglican Church, I realized once again the privilege of living in this community. We are very thankful for the good things we have experienced here. Because of what we have received, I am thankful to have this opportunity to speak to you once more and to encourage you by pointing to the one who can be the foundation of our life. This morning, we will look at the Word of God and I would like to reflect on my experience to say that God is faithful and we can and should trust Him as the foundation of our life.

I.                  God Is Faithful!

A.                God’s Promises Made In Love

            Basic to the idea that God is faithful is the assumption that God has made promises. If I never attended an ambulance call, you would not accuse me of being unfaithful because I am not an ambulance attendant and do not have the training to go on call. If I would not show up at church on Sunday mornings, then you could accuse me of being unfaithful  because I have made a promise to be there.  Faithfulness is relevant in the context of a commitment made.

            We can speak about the faithfulness of God because He has made promises. This morning, I don’t want to list God’s promises, rather, I want to take note of the way in which God has made promises. 

            In  Deuteronomy 7:9, as Israel was about to enter the promised land, Moses challenged them to be faithful to God. In that context, he said to them, “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” (NIV) I like the phrase “covenant of love” because it expresses two important ideas. It tells us that God has made promises and that those promises were made in love. This is the nature of God, to make promises out of a heart of love for the people He has created.

            The greatest covenant of love God made was that made through Jesus who died on the cross for our sins. Romans 5:6-8 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” If you ever doubt the promises of God or the motive behind those promises, please remember the promise God made by sending Jesus and the loving motive behind that promise.

            God’s promises are made for our benefit. They are made to meet our deepest needs and to give us life. They are made in love.

B.                God Is Faithful

            But does God keep them? Have you ever been hurt by someone who made a promise and then broke it? What does it do to us when we experience broken promises? I have to confess that because I have experienced broken promises, I can be quite suspicious. Until I see it happen, I sometimes doubt that a promise will be kept. Unfortunately, we also act that way towards God. We see things happen that make us question and we wonder if God is keeping His promises, but we do not have to do so. God is God, not man and so we can count on what He has promised. The Bible teaches us that God is faithful!

            In Deuteronomy 32, Moses taught Israel a song to help them remain faithful to God. In verses 3,4 of that song we read these words, “I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”(NIV)

            What does it say here about God? It says, “He is the Rock...A faithful God...” Whether the imagery is that of building a foundation on a rock or anchoring a boat on rock, the idea is the same. A rock does not move, it is the image of what is solid and can be counted on. That is what God is like. He does not change and forms a firm defence and a secure refuge to us. The promises God has made are sure and we can count on them because He is faithful.

            There is another wonderful passage that points to the faithfulness of God in the New Testament. It is found in II Corinthians 1:18-22, “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” 20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” (NIV) Sometimes we are so wishy washy. Once we say one thing and then another and people don’t always know exactly what we mean, but that is not the case with God. He is not “yes and no,” but a solid “yes.” God has made loving promises and keeps them. God is faithful!

C.                 I Have Experienced It

            What these verses teach, I have found to be true in my own experience and in observing the experience of others.

            Many years ago, I learned that my sins could be forgiven because Jesus died on the cross for me. I have believed that promise and God has been faithful and I have peace in my heart. I do not have any sense of guilt for past sins. God has been faithful in assuring me of sins forgiven.

            My final mark in grade 12 English was 52% because I hated writing essays. For the past 22 years, almost every week, I have written the equivalent of an essay. God has called me to preach His Word and week after week, has been faithful in giving me the passion and the words to speak. In that experience, I see His faithfulness.

            When we finished at our last church, we were without a job for a little while. When we visited with the people here in Manitou, God gave us a clear sense of guidance to this place. He was faithful in guiding us here and has been faithful in providing for our needs. As we are now again looking for a church, we count on His faithfulness to guide us to a new place of ministry.

            Although we have sometimes gone through difficult experiences, we have repeatedly found God to be faithful in providing just what was needed or providing the strength to face what needed to be faced. We have found God to be faithful. I have visited with people who were dying and listened as they told me that they had peace as they faced the end of life. In their experience, I have seen the faithfulness of God.

            In other words, in my experience, I have found that what the Bible says about God’s faithfulness is true. It is not true because I have found it so. It is true and I have experienced it. I live my life by the hope expressed in Psalm 145:13b which says, “The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made.” (NIV)

II.               Trust Him!

            So what are the implications of this truth?

A.                Appeal

            Psalm 146:3 counsels us, “Do not put your trust in...mortal men, who cannot save.” So often, however, we want to trust people or other things on earth. But notice that the text says “mortal men.” People die, this is the ultimate sign that they and anything else on earth cannot always help. Although we have many good friends and a great community and have much support and help, ultimately, no one can guarantee that they will always be able to help us. The only one who is not mortal and so will always help is God.

            We struggle with this. We are often tempted to put our trust in people, in things. God is not visible to us and we want to put our trust in what we can see. A person who is blind has to learn to trust something other than what she can see. She must trust a seeing eye dog, a person guiding her or her cane. She cannot trust her sight because it is not there. We want to trust what we can see, we haven’t learned to trust what we cannot see. As a result, we miss out on putting our trust in the one who although unseen is eternally faithful.

            In contrast to putting trust in people, the Psalmist goes on to say in Psalm 146:5,6, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— the LORD, who remains faithful forever.”

B.                Trust God

            And so I want to encourage all of us to trust God.

1.For Salvation

            When we do wrong things, our heart is weighed down with guilt. Neither our works, our religion or our ability to do good will save us from our sins or the consequences of our sins. God is the only one who can forgive our sins and save us from the consequences of our sins by giving us eternal life. Ephesians 2:4,5 says, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” So let us trust God for salvation!

2.In Trial

            God is the only one we can trust completely in the midst of trial. When things are hard and we do not know which way to turn, God is true to His promise to guide and to comfort and to sustain us. In a context of discussing the suffering which people experience, I Peter 4:19 says, “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.” (NIV) Although friends are a great help in trial, there is only so much they can do. We need God, so let us trust God in trial.

3.For Moral Guidance

            God is also the one who can be trusted for moral guidance. In our society about 20 or 25 years ago, the sexual revolution proposed a new style of moral guidance for society. Free and open sex was promoted as an acceptable lifestyle. Today, we have reaped the fruits of that moral guidance - divorce, sexually tranmitted diseases and broken relationships. God’s idea of chastity until marriage and faithfulness within marriage have been demonstrated once again to be the best idea.

            Psalm 1:6 expresses the value of trusting God for moral guidance when it says, “For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” (NIV) Let us trust God for moral guidance.

4.For Direction In Life

            God is also the one we can trust for guidance in all of life. Right now, this is a word I need in my own life and I am trying to live by it. Proverbs 3:5 says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Let us trust God for direction.

5.For Eternity.

            Sometimes I feel so strong, but soon, I become weak and forget about God’s promises. Our ability to remain true and our faithfulness to God are so feeble. We are never quite sure if we will remain faithful to Him. But God is the one we can trust for all of life and into eternity. 1 Corinthians 1:8,9 assures us, “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” (NIV) What a blessing to be able to trust God for today and for all eternity!

Conclusion

            What are the life implications of these words? There is something here to know, something to do and something to choose.

            The thing to know is that God is faithful. We can count on Him. It is important that this knowledge be foundational in our life.

            The thing to do is to study the Bible to be reminded that God is faithful and to learn the  promises of God. It is our nature to forget and so our foundation of the knowledge of God’s faithfulness must be maintained by reminding ourselves of it in His word.

            The choice to make is to trust God. You see, it is up to us whether we will act on what we know. It will be easier to trust God if we know that He is faithful and that His promises are made in love, but we still need to make this choice. So I invite you to make this choice.

            My prayer for you, my wish for all of us is that we will trust God for He is faithful.