"THE FAITHFUL GOD"

(New Service times going great - Help in Kids & Hosting - especially in the 11.15am service).

Deuteronomy 7:6–9 ESV

6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

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PRAYER

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WHO GOD IS OR WHAT GOD DOES - What’s missing today? What i see is a LACK of Understanding of the VERY NATURE OF GOD: of WHO GOD IS HIS CHARACTER. …

But WHAT IS HAPPENING is there has become a focus on WHAT GOD DOES InSTEAD oF WHO GOD IS Which is The part you cant miss!

We as a society have become so blessed by God and His ways, we’ve lost our way because we’re LOST OUR FOCUS on WHO HE IS. And instead were gone and focused too much on WHAT HE DOES.

But that’s BACKWARDS.

We should never put what FLOWS from God to be bigger than God in our lives.

Did you catch that church? When we allow the things that GOD does for us to be BIGGER to us than God himself in our lives THAT IS WHEN WE HAVE MISSED IT

ONCE WE KNOW HIS NATURE - HIS CHARACTER - HIS ATTRIBUTES WE can then go on and then thinking about and be blessed by the “WHAT GOD DOES” part. if we dont know the word and allow the revelation to sing in we will miss something BIG. We need to KNOW WHO GOD IS… before we come around or think about “WHAT GOD DOES”.

SO WHO IS GOD: LETS REVISE HERE FOR A MOMENT TO SOME OF THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD.

1.GOD IS FAITHFUL.

God is FAITHFUL.

THIS IS HIS NATURE. His Personal Characteristics.

Like it IS WHO HE IS.

Its His nature. He is FAITHFUL.

Deut 7:9 “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,”

2 Thess 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”

GOD IS GOD

HES THE FAITHFUL GOD

Deut 7:9 “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,”

The Faithful GOD.

GOD IS FAITHFUL. Its WHO HE IS.

LETS LOOK AT THIS WORD: What is FAITHFULNESS & Gods character: When you study the WORD itself: The most relevant Hebrew verbal root (related to our word “amen”) carries such meanings as “strengthen,” “support,” or “hold up.” In a physical sense it is used of pillars that provide support for doors (2 Kgs 18:16). Moses used the word when he disclaimed any role as supporter of the Israelites (Nm 11:12). God, however, is an eternally firm support for his people

GOD IS FAITHFUL: HE IS MY PERSONAL ETERNAL PILLAR OF SUPPORT.

THESE ARE THE WORDS WE CAN LOOK TO TO DESCRIBE AND UNDERSTAND GODS FAITHFULNESS AS HIS CHARACTER.

Reliable, verified, trustworthy, confirming, supportive, enduring, steadfast.

This is the WHO when it comes to our God. Its WHO HE IS.

This is why you gotta leave the old things of your old life if you are a new Christian because God is now the ONLY thing that you need. He is your RELIABLE SUPPORT

Your FIRM CONTTINOUS FOUNDATION.

Write this down: I Serve a God who IS FAITHFUL.

Its WHO HE IS.

What does that look like? Sometimes we can be in church along time. and it becomes part of our vocabulary but we kind of can forget easily - check out this verse:

SO IF GOD IS FAITHFUL AND ITS JUST WHO HE IS, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN>?

HIS FAITHFULNESS EXTENDS OUT FROM HIM: One of the best examples we see in scripture is Psalm 91. Where the Psalmist gives language and a picture of the kind of faithfulness God provides to HIS PEOPLE:

Psalm 91:4 “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.”

Covering - Oh the covering of God. His mighty wings cover you - This word means to OVERSHADOW YOU, or to screen you and cover you up with a protective sheet over you.

Under Ness - He wants you to be UNDER Him.

Refuge - a place to run to. THE VERY BEST THING we can do when the THINGS OF LIFE GET HARD FOR US is to RUN TO GO & NOT FROM God. He is a refuge a place of recovery, a place of rest, a place of safety for you and for me. He is a refuge.

Sheilding - His faithfulness is also meant to SHIELD us from the HARSH WINTERS OF LIFE…. And be a SHADE FROM THE MID DAY HEAT FROM THE SUN. A "buckler" or "rampart" was a defensive wall built to ward off invading troops. The psalmist likens God to a protective wall that shields His people from their enemies. Thus, the phrase "His faithfulness is a shield and buckler" refers to God's dependability and faithfulness in protecting His own.

GOD IS FAITHFUL - ITS HIS NATURE. ITS WHO HE IS.

Psalm 89:13-14 “You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.”

2.GOD WILL ALWAYS BE FAITHFUL.

I want you to think about the nature of Gods character outworking in our lives…..

IF GOD IS FAITHFUL…. And he is ETERNAL… And he DOESNT Lie and HE DOESN’T CHANGE. This is His nature….

This is the outworking of HIS NATURE into the WORLD and the LIVES of His people.

HOW CAN YOU PROVE THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD?

JUST LOOK AT CREATION:

Gods Faithfulness is SEEN even in CREATION.

Psalm 19:1 ESV

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Psalm 104:24-25 “O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great.”

Have you ever thought about this, God is FAITHFUL to ENSURE that the SUN COMES UP EVERY DAY

That the SKY is there EVERYDAY.

That there is a consistency to HIS FAITHFULNESS and even in CREATION itself we see te faithfulness of God expressed through what he has created for us to enjoy.

There is ALWAY water in the OCEAN.

When I go to the beach I dont have to worry about a thing - when I get there, water is there!

When I go up to the mountains in North Carolina— They are always there!!! & theres a view up there

when I wake up early for a sunrise (which this week I was up early and TO MY AMAZEMENT - THE SUN, IT JUST COMES up!

When I wait to watch the sunset… SURE enough - IT SETS!

IM TRYING TO ILLUSTRATE SOMETHING SO SIMPLE BUT SOMETHING WE FORGET SO EASILY & QUICKLY: THAT GOD IS FAITHFUL… and HE WILL ALWAYS BE FAITHFUL.

three steps to Gods faithfulness in our lives (the outworking of it)

*Remember His Faithfulness - Think of a time He DIDNT LET YOU DOWN, it wont take long.

*Look for his Faithfulness - Keep a keen eye for the ways God is already being FAITHFUL to you. (Example: Every week,

*Walk in his faithfulness - With fresh memory that He is faithful - having looked around at how he’s working now. Walk out the season with faithfulness in MIND.

GOD WILL ALWAYS BE FAITHFUL BECAUSE HE IS ETERNAL.

THIS IS THE WEIGHT OF HIS FAITHFULNESS:

Weighed: His faithfulness is precise and it’s WEIGHED. And We see the FULFILLMENT OF HIS FAITHFULNESS in JEsus Christ Crucified.

GOD HAS SHOWN US THE DEPTH OF HIS FAITHFULNESS & THAT IS THE CROSS OF CHRIST.

Thats how faithful he is - He wont let you down.

He will always BE FAITHFUL Because Jesus has come, He’s died for you & for me, and He’s ressurected seated at the right Hand of the Father - Its completed.

GOD MADE COVEENANT WITH ABRAHAM

HES MADE COVENENT WITH YOU THROUGH JESUS

GOD HAS SWORN AN OATH TO AND TO ME: HE’s SAID: ILL ALWAYS BE YOUR GOD.

Hebrews 6:13-19 “For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,”

PRAYERS OF GRATITUDE: Thank you for your faithfulness to us God.