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God is Faithful

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People may let you down, but GOD is faithful!

Deuteronomy 7:9 NASB  “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;

  • People can love you one today and scorn you the next.
  • Businesses might follow pay raises with pink slips.
  • Society sees marriage as disposable. (Glue to sheets of paper together)
  • Lies and politics seemingly go hand in hand.
  • God’s character stands opposite the spirit of this age! God is faithful!

God is Faithful. He never changes. He is “I AM” Ever Faithful!!!

2 Timothy 1:12  . . . I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Luke 1:73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, (Jesus’ birth fulfilled this)

The Faithful God who keeps His Word

  • Trustworthy, true, sure,
  • Webster’s 1828
    “True; exact; constant; not fickle”
  • Dependable, loyal, steadfast, constant

Hebrews 10:22-23 KJV Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.  (23)  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised😉 [James 1:6 “nothing wavering”]

  • For God to be unfaithful would be to act contrary to His nature, which is impossible.
  • “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).
  • Every word He speaks is true. Every promise He makes will be kept.
  • God will do what He says He will do

Isaiah 55:11 KJV  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Numbers 23:19 KJV  God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Because God is faithful, we can trust Him and because we trust, we can obey Him.

We are confident in the times of trouble because we know that God is faithful.

Sara received strength to conceive

Hebrews 11:11 KJV  Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

You can hold on to the promise because God is faithful.

You are never too old and it’s never too late to trust God. He is faithful!

No matter how impossible it may seem – God is faithful. Every word must come to pass!

He is faithful to finish His work in you!

Philippians 1:6 KJV  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Colossians 1:6 NASB  The Gospel “. . . is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it . . .”

1 Thessalonians 5:24 KJV Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

  • Context is sanctify you completely and preserve you without blame!
  • NASB  Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

 

God’s faithfulness is manifested in His forgiving us when they confess we sins.

1 John 1:9 KJV  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God is faithful to protect His children

2 Thessalonians 3:3 NASB  But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

  • “God is faithful” means that everything He says and does is certain.
  • He is 100% reliable, 100% of the time….
  • He SAYS what He means and MEANS what He says—
  • And therefore DOES everything He says He will do.

 

 

God’s demonstrates his faithfulness by not letting Satan tempt His children beyond their ability to resist. God always provides an escape.

 

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Because God is faithful, faithfulness should also be a characteristic of the Body of Christ

 

Selective faithfulness is when someone is dependable in a certain environment, local, social setting, etc.

For example, a person might be known for being faithful at work, but not at home.

We need to strive to be 100% faithful.

Keeping your word is the first and probably greatest indication of your faithfulness.

  • A person who consistently keeps his or her words would become known as faithful.
  • If you say you are going to do something – do it!
  • If you say you’ll be somewhere – be there!
  • Don’t make promises you won’t keep, not even to yourself.

Colossians 3:9-10 KJV  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;  (10)  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Proverbs 28:20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings . . .

Luke 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

He delivers on His promises. God is faithful!

He does not disappoint. God is faithful!

We have come to expect TV ads to overpromise and under-deliver; but the greatest revelation that we have of Him is a gross understatement of His power and glory!

His promise to you is true.

He will bring His word to pass. God is faithful and true!

 

Change

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  • The future belongs to people who see possibilities before they become obvious.  – Ted Levitt
  • If something has been done a particular way for fifteen or twenty years, it’s a pretty good sign, in these changing times, that it is being done the wrong way. -Elliot M. Estes
  • Habits and attitudes become deep rooted in our lives and we want to change, but to change we must have the power of God.  Real change is supernatural. – Mark Hankins
  • You are not changed unless you are doing something different.
  • Changes will not take place unless you have an encounter with the presence of God.
  • It will take more than just good intentions; it will take you having a head on collision with the glory of God.  You know you hit something.  You can not have an encounter with the glory of God and remain the same.
  • Like the caterpillar to a butterfly.  Where once you were crawling, now you are flying.  It is not only a radical change, but it is a permanent change.  You are so changed that you don’t ever go back to what you used to do and what you used to be.  Change from glory to glory.
  • Andrew Carnegie, at one time one of the wealthiest men in America, he had 43 millionaires working for him.  None of them were millionaires when they started working for him.  But he was a master at training people how to prosper.  And so they asked him, how do you do this?  Here is what Andrew Carnegie told them.  He said, shaping a man and changing someone is like seeking for gold.  He said you have to move tons of dirt to find an ounce of gold.  But he said you are not looking for dirt, you are looking for gold.
  • People stop growing when the price gets too high. -John Maxwell

Youth and Jr. High Ministry

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Just thought you should know that Youth Ministry is alive and well at Calvary. There have been questions about who is leading, etc. The answer to that is twofold, Jr. High and High School Youth are under my ministry portfolio for oversight and the individual services are being conducted by a team of veteran volunteers. These teams are made  up of a great cross section of our congregation. I am periodically visiting these services and conducting ongoing training sessions with the workers. We are following the pattern that Children’s Ministry has practiced for years with the use of team teachers and helpers. Things are going well. We have had modest growth in attendance in the Youth service and Jr. High remains strong. Both groups are involved in a series on the Holy Spirit right now. There have been several young people who have received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I will post again with more information later. Check back to receive updates and testimonies about what is happening and who is preaching when. Blessings!

Biblical Family Structure

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The family unit as we know it today did not exist in ancient cultures.  The nuclear family didn’t exist in this nation until the 1900’s.  In this message we will build an image in our minds of what the biblical view of the family unit is.  We will define each parental role as it is described in the Word of God.

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Times and Seasons 1

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Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”

These words resonate with me every time I read them.  Everything has a season.  Everything!  We need to ponder that statement.  Every parent knows that with the passing of time, seasons pass never to be reclaimed.  Our children are only children for so long.  Our parents are only with us for a season.  Outside of God everything around us is in a constant state of flux.

Get a clue!  Things will never be exactly the same again.  We need to labor while it is day.  We need to respond when God calls.  We need to give attention to our relationships while we can.  We need to “redeem the time.”

Everything in this life is passing away; only the eternal will remain.  Stop placing importance on the temporal.  Some things are to be used, some things are to be enjoyed, and other things we are to pass on by.

Seasons = a set time, an appointed time.

  • Childhood is a season.
  • School is a season.
  • College is a season.

    • There is a reason for every season.

  • Seasons of training can last until we learn the lessons.
  • Other seasons will pass us by regardless.

    • Understand that things in life are here only for a season. While we are told to keep our eyes on the unseen realm, we live in the seen realm where time is passing. We walk out the temporal with eternal values, but time moves on. We need to enjoy the passing of time with an eye on eternity. The eternal things are the unseen. They are the only things that we will enjoy forever.

    Work is the First Principle of Prosperity

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    The first principle in prosperity is WORK. All giving  presupposes that you have something to give. Since God blesses the work of our hands it is safe to assume that He expects that what we give is ours to give. For most of us that means that we are taking a portion of our earnings to give.

    Work is the unstated first principle. I believe that it is unspoken because it is assumed. If giving was first, then I suppose the case could be made that it would be permissible to steal in order to give. The 10 Commandments take care of that. Paul said labor with your hands that you may have something to give.

    Eph 4:28 NASB  He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.

    Our work is honorable and is meant to supply for our needs and to help meet the needs of others. Note that it is not meant to meet the needs of people who choose not to work. No one has a right to be fed while they do nothing to provide for themselves. There are times when a person may not be able to work at all and this would be an exception.

    2Th 3:10-12 NASB  For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.  (11)  For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.  (12)  Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread.

    1Th 4:11-12 NASB  and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you,  (12)  so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.

    We should be aware of the needs of those around us both in the church and in our families. Part of what comes into our hands is for sowing. This lifts the motivation for working and earning to a higher level than just meeting our personal needs and desires. As the Lord leads, let’s be obedient to use our available resources for helping others in need.

    Put God First

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    Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and then everything we need will be ours.  Putting God first in every area of our life will produce multiplied blessings for us.  It is a bedrock principle that will build a foundation for a happy life.  Where is God on your list of priorities?  Maybe it is time to promote Him to the top of the list!

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    Year of Fulfillment!

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    The New Year arrived just over a week ago now, but it feels like we have stepped into a rushing river. We are being swept along at an incredible rate. It seems like we have been in 2011 much longer than we actually have!

    Something has changed, many things actually. It seems that when the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31 we stepped into a new era. Things that Lisa and I have been waiting for immediately came to pass. Boom! We stepped into a greater dimension of the plan of God for our lives; our family did too.

    Things have sped up. Dreams, visions, and desires of the heart are coming to pass this year at an unprecedented pace.

    Luke 16:16 says, “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presses into it.”

    Your destiny just picked up speed! Some of the things you have desired for a long time, God things, are moving to fulfillment. Just like the Magi’s caravan was moving to supply Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus, everything you need is moving at you in the unseen realm.

    We are in a period at Calvary that we need to rejoice! Good things are beginning to happen. We need to be happy people! Fulfillment is a great thing. Some of you have been holding on to promises for a long time – press on in!

    Romans 8:25 NASB  But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

    Hope is that positive anticipation that is produced by faith. Because faith believes that it receives without physical evidence we can rejoice even before we see what we are receiving. Get your hopes up!
    Since God wants to fulfill dreams and desires of the heart, it would be a good idea to start digging around in there to see what hopes have been abandoned. Dust off those desires and start to believe again. He only gave you them to you so that He could fulfill them.

    God is with Us

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    The Christmas story celebrates the fact that God came to earth to be with us.  The Christmas story is a love story and a rescue hero adventure all in one.  Wherever you are in life you need to call God “Emmanuel” – God with us.  That is what the gift of Jesus is all about, it marks the end of sin and death reigning in our lives.

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