I haven't posted recently because I have had some other things I needed to focus on, and hopefully I am back on track with posting.
It has been such an enjoyable day today. It was a little cool, but I have enjoyed watching the Robins out in one of the trees in our backyard.
This morning, our pastor was at a missions conference, and so we had someone else preach. He is a Chaplain in the Army, and he attends our church. He always does such a good job when he preaches. This morning he preached on God's faithfulness from this text in Deuteronomy 7:6-9:
6 "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
7 "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
8 but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by 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, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
He preached on the fact that God was faithful:
1) Concerning his GRACE: GRACE means that God is giving to us what we don't earn or deserve. In our sanctification, God gives us His grace. And He sustains us through His grace in sanctification.
2) Concerning His MERCY (or LOVINGKINDNESS IN SOME VERSIONS): MERCY means withholding what we deserve and giving us GRACE instead.
3) Concerning His LOVE: In verse 7, He is saying that no matter how you treat me, I am still committed to you. It's living out that love, and that is how God loves us, and how we are to love others. God showed His love by sending Jesus to make atonement for our sins. If you are a Christian, you ARE loved, whether you feel like it or not, for your highest good, and for HIS glory.
As Christians, we should not live by our feelings, but rather by the truths of God's Word. I might not want to do the laundry one day, but I do it whether I feel like it or not. Many people wait until they FEEL like doing something, rather than doing that thing out of obedience to the Lord. When you DO whatever it is that you don't want to do, the feelings will follow. When you do what is right, the feelings will follow.
4) Concerning His COVENANT: In verse 9, He says that when He makes a covenant, He keeps His end of it up. He is faithful to the covenant, even when we are not. He is a covenant making, and a covenant keeping God. Even when we don't keep up with our end of the covenant, He is faithful to keep His end of it up. God says "I'm in it with you forever. I'm right there with you."
5) Concerning His BLESSINGS: In verse 13, God is the God of math, He blesses us, and our blessings multiply. Any blessing that we get from God is an undeserved blessing. We don't deserve anything, not even the smallest of blessings. Our Bibles, spouse, children, the people who love us, are all by His grace, and we are undeserving of them.
6) Concerning His WORD: He is faithful to His Word, the Scriptures, we can count on it. He is faithful 100%, what He says He will do, He will do.
7) Concerning His FORGIVENESS: In 1 John 1:9 He says:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and (B)to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Confessing our sins means to say the same thing about sin that God does. His faithfulness, and His justice causes Him to forgive all of our sins. No matter what you have done, how often, or to who, He is still faithful to forgive.
He preached on so much more, so that was just part of it.
We closed the service with the hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness, found here:
GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS
Great is thy faithfulness, O God my father,
There is no shadow of turning with thee:
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
As thou hast been thou for ever wilt be.
"Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!"
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
All I have needed thy hand hath provided—
"Great is thy faithfulness," Lord unto me!
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.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.
—Thomas O. Chisholm
Copyright 1923, renewal 1951, Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission. If you wish to print, copy, cut/paste or duplicate these lyrics you must obtain permission from Hope Publishing Company, 380 South Main Place, Carol Stream, IL 60188 (800/323-1049).
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