For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to intouch.org/tv. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to www.intouch.org/watch

god

is a faithful god if he makes a promise

he’s going to keep it

if he gives us a warning he’s going to

fulfill it

and so when you think about your faith

we’re talking about the basis of your

faith when you think about the basis of

your faith

your whole faith is based on your

understanding of who god is

today on in touch resting in the

faithfulness of god

and jesus came up and spoke to them

saying

me

baptizing them in the name of the fall

of the son of the holy spirit

when you find that your faith’s being

tested

and you don’t know what god’s doing in

your life and your prayers seem to go

unanswered for some reason

and the devil just harasses you

and your plans are frustrated and your

friends have all deserted you

and somehow between you and god there

seems to be this cloud

what do you do where do you turn

how do you respond well some people

respond by

simply saying god doesn’t answer my

prayer

god isn’t who he says he is if he were

this wouldn’t be happening to me and so

you get into that victim

mode or you just trust the lord

when you don’t see your way clear and

you keep moving forward

probably in all of our lives at some

point or the other

there are those seasons when we go

through situations and circumstances

that we will almost be willing to say

god really and truly is not genuinely

faithful now we he we we believe that he

is but

look what’s happening in my life and so

we are prone to judge god by

our environment by the circumstances

that we’re facing

and so in the process of doing so we

think about all the things that we’ve

learned

and then when it comes to the reality of

the time of testing

that’s when we decide whether we really

and truly

believe it or not what i want to talk

about in this message

i want to talk about an attribute of the

lord god

i want to talk about something that

affects every single one of us

every day every time you pray every time

you find yourself in a spiritual battle

or whatever it might be

you’re affected by what we want to talk

about because

all of us face those times when we

genuinely not that we want to but we

genuinely question

that god is faithful to me in this

incident in this situation in this

circumstance whatever it might be

so i want you to turn to first

corinthians chapter one and they just

want us to read these uh

first nine verses together and it’s the

ninth verse i want us to note primarily

so he begins by saying paul as an

apostle of jesus christ by the will of

god and sophomores

our brother to the church of god which

is at christ to those who have been

sanctified in christ

jesus saints by calling with all who in

every place

call on the name of the lord jesus

christ our lord and ours

grace to you and peace from god our

father and the lord jesus christ

then he says i thank my god always

concerning you for the grace of god

which was given you in christ jesus

that in everything you were enriched in

him

in all speech and all knowledge even as

the testimony concerning christ was

confirmed in you

so that you’re not lacking in any gift

awaiting eagerly the revelation of our

lord jesus christ who

will also confirm you to the end

blameless in the day of our lord jesus

christ

god is faithful through whom you are

called into fellowship with his son

jesus christ our lord so what i want to

talk about

is simply this resting

in the faithfulness of god

now i can repeat this all of us will

meet those situations and circumstances

at times

that’ll cause us to at least doubt for a

moment

god where are you as we said that be

like some dark cloud

hanging between you and him so

paul is encouraging his listeners and

readers at this point

and i want us to think about for a few

moments all through the scriptures how

god

is reminding us of his faithfulness and

so

i want us to begin in deuteronomy

chapter 7.

let’s begin in the old testament just

for a few passages

in deuteronomy chapter 7 and i want you

to look at

if you will verse 9

and i just want to take you through a

few of these throughout the scripture

just to remind you

of how often he tells us this

he says in verse 9 know therefore that

the lord your god

he is god the faithful god who keeps his

covenant and his loving kindness

to a thousandth generation with those

who love him and keep his commandments

then if you flip over to the 119th psalm

just want a few of these

119th psalm and the 89th

verse look what he says he says

forever o lord your word is settled in

heaven

your faithfulness continues throughout

all generations

you establish the earth and it stands

then move all the way over to first

thessalonians

and the fifth chapter and

all through the scriptures first

thessalonians the fifth chapter the 24th

verse

of this chapter and notice here again

the emphasis on trusting him his

faithfulness he says

faithful is he who calls you and he also

will bring it to pass

then if you move over the second timothy

the second chapter

and look if you will in this um

second chapter and the

13th verse notice what he says

he says if we are faithless that is we

don’t believe

he remains faithful for he cannot

deny himself and then the first peter

for example in

chapter 4 and look if you will in this

19th verse and again

here’s what he says he says therefore

those

also who suffer according to the will of

god shall entrust their souls

to a faithful creator in doing what is

right

and everybody knows the first john

chapter 1 and verse 9. if we confess our

sins he’s what

faithful and just righteous and

forgiving us of our sins

and cleansing us from all

unrighteousness now what does it mean

when we talk about

the faithfulness of god it means that he

always does what is right

he always does the right thing about

everything

in every single situation not only does

he do what he says he’ll do

he fulfills every single promise that he

makes

all of us have those promises in the

word of god that we

treasure those promises especially

meaningful to us because of what’s going

on in our life

and god brings us to a passage of

scripture in that passage

god somehow comforts us with it so when

he says that he is faithful

it means that in all times in all things

in all circumstances

god is always the same

he never changes he doesn’t falter he

doesn’t forget

he always is there to fulfill his

promise

and if you think about what your

favorite promise in the word of god

would be

he’s there every single time and

probably all of us

have seen those situations and

circumstances we when we come to that

verse and say lord

here’s what you promised why isn’t it

happening

well is it happening or is it not is god

doing it a different way than what we

expect

does he always keep his promise he says

for example he cannot lie he cannot fail

because he is god and he is a god who is

faithful in every single circumstance of

life

now it’s one thing to say that

and if somebody said well why do you

believe that god is

faithful and we’ll be faithful every

single time for example

we go through situations and

circumstances and we cry out to him

for god to help us and strengthen us

enable us to face it

so what’s what is our proof it’s one

thing to say that is

but when you look at the whole idea of

god’s faithfulness

there are five attributes of god that

are absolutely

necessary in order for god to say that

he’s faithful

the many attributes of god he’s holy for

example and all powerful and

many of the attributes you know but

there are five of them that are

absolutely essential

if god is going to be faithful to me and

to you in every circumstance of our life

and the first one is simply this he must

be

omniscient in order for him to be

faithful to me

that is he must know everything there is

to know about me

he must know things ahead of time he

knows present past and future

he knows about every single need that we

have

our wants our desires our weaknesses our

frailties

he knows everything if he did not know

every single thing about us

he could not be faithful to meet all of

their needs whatever they might be

so his omniscience he knows everything

one of his attributes is that he’s

omniscient the second

attribute is that he is omnipotent

he cannot promise me to be i’ll promise

you to be

faithful in every circumstance of life

if he’s not all-powerful

because there could be some situation

some circumstance well what would god do

if he’s not all-powerful

then that means he cannot under any

situation or circumstance

fulfill every single need or protect us

in every situation

so he not only knows everything and he

is all-powerful but likewise he must be

on the present

which means that he listen he is always

within reach

and we are always within his reach that

is we’ll never

see a situation whereby he’s not present

ready and able to do whatever is needed

in your life

so when you take those three attributes

along somebody says is god faithful yes

he is

well how can he be faithful in every

circumstance because he knows everything

he has all power to change anything he

desires to change a move

and he is always present

now those three we can possibly accept

and say well i i i cannot

i can understand that but that demands

something else

he must always be truthful

in every circumstance for god to be

faithful he must be truthful

because if he’s not truthful then i have

a problem

and so when we think about his

truthfulness i want you to look at a

couple of passages of scripture one of

which is in titus

and look if you will in this first

chapter the second verse says

in the hope of eternal life which god

who cannot lie

promised long ages ago

would god ever lie no he cannot lie

because if he lied he would be violating

his own character

and the very character and nature of god

is such that he cannot

lie he is always going to show us and

tell us the truth

and if you move uh back over to ii

timothy

look if you will in chapter 2

and if you look in verse 13

he says if we’re faithless he remains

faithful he

for he cannot deny himself he’s always

truthful

that he god would never mislead us he

would never say anything

that would cause us to head in the wrong

direction in life

he is all-knowing all-powerful

always present and when you look in

these passages

he’s always truthful so whatever he

promises for example

he says i’ll never leave you nor forsake

you is that the truth or is it not

and so when we talk about the

faithfulness of god

every single promise that he makes he is

going to fulfill

if he’s not fulfilling some promise in

your life to suit you for example

you have to ask yourself the question is

this a promise of god

or is this something i conjured up if

it’s a promise of god

you have listen the very nature of god

is that he cannot prove to be

unfaithful untruthful inadequate

unknowing mistaken in error about

anything

so the very basis of my belief that he

is a faithful god is his very nature

and he says as he cannot lie and even

when you and i are

unfaithful to him he says for example

that he’s still going to be faithful no

matter what

and over and over and over again he says

for example

in in first peter chapter 4

therefore those also who suffer

according to the will of god shall

entrust their souls

to a faithful creator in doing what is

right

so ask yourself the question do i really

and truly believe

that god is absolutely unquestionably

always without exception

faithful to his word

and faithful to us as followers of jesus

christ

now we’ll come to this a few moments

later but he’s also faithful to the

unbeliever

i’ll show you why in a moment but what i

want you to see is

the very basis of your believing that he

is faithful to you

that he’s he’s all he’ll always be there

is his his very

nature that cannot change

that’s who he is but there’s one other

thing

another one of his attributes and um

that attribute is simply this his

immutability which

means he cannot change that god does not

change now i know what some of you may

be thinking about some passive scripture

we’ll come to that in a moment but he

cannot change

if god is a changing god then he may

change

something about himself or about some

situation

that it would prove to be unfaithful but

he’s a faithful god

and he is a god who only tells the truth

he’s a god of truth fitness but he’s

also a god he does not change for

example in malachi the third chapter

and the sixth verse he said he says for

example

i do not change he’s always been the

same

he is the same now he and he will always

be the same

it is his nature that he’s unchanging

and apart from those five attributes you

can’t have a god

who is faithful he must know all things

he must have all power

he must be available at all times he

must be a god

only of truthfulness and one who does

not change

many things in life around this change

but he doesn’t

he treats us just as he’s treated people

all throughout

eternity to pass and eternity future

he’ll never change

it is his nature it cannot change if he

changed

everything would be uncertain if god

changed anything about

his promises then we we would have

uncertainty

if he changed anything about the way he

operates

we we would feel uncertain so you and i

come to him in prayer we make our case

for him our needs whatever the needs may

be

and the issue is do i believe it or do i

not

and so we know that the scripture says

for example

he says this is the confidence that we

have in him that if we ask

anything according to his will he hears

us

and if we know that he hears us we know

that we have the petition that we

desired of him

if he is a faithful god he cannot change

that

if he’s a faithful god then he’s not

going to say well exception if sins and

buts

notice what he says he says

when we call upon him if we ask anything

according to his will

he hears us and if he hears us then we

know that we have the petition that we

desired of him

so can god change that no because if he

changed that he would change

his truthfulness and he cannot change

his truthfulness this is a promise he’s

made

and the promises of god are powerful

and if he did not have promises we would

be walking in uncertainty all the time

he promises for example to heal does he

promise to heal every person

no he does not and so he is truthful

notice what he says this is the

confidence this is the basis of my

confidence

that if i ask anything according to his

will

who knows all things has all power who

loves me unconditionally if i ask

anything about his will

he’s going to hear me and if i know that

he hears me i know that i have the

petition that i deserve of him if i ask

something that’s not his will then he is

under no obligation

answer so somebody says well god isn’t

truthful because

here’s what he said i made this request

god says he answers prayer asking it

shall be given you seek and you shall

find

knocking that shall be opened unto you

but what what’s the issue

if i ask according to his will he does

not change

he does not falter he does not hesitate

he does not fail to keep his word he’s a

god of truthfulness

and a god who does not change and the

fact that he is unchangeable

is a great source of comfort and

assurance for every single one of

us for example he says

if thou shall confess without mouth

jesus as lord

you will be saved confessing him is lord

and you mean that you’ll be saved now

is that sometimes or all the times all

the time

if i confess i agree with him

that he is the lord and master of my

life i will be saved

now is that all the time is that just

certain people

believe on the lord jesus christ thou

shalt be saved what does that mean

and when somebody says oh i believe in

jesus christ

but they believe that he was that he is

that he’s somebody that he’s a savior

but not believing unto the point of

accepting him

as atoning for their sin and

acknowledging him is the lord of their

life

it’s a whole different story so somebody

says well i believe in jesus you mean to

tell me i’m not going to heaven

if you do not believe in jesus christ

with the meaning of what that word means

to

it is a word of action something must

take place if you believe in jesus

christ

as your savior something has to take

place the forgiveness of your sins

repentance of your sins

and accepting the lord jesus christ as

the lord master of your life

he’s truthful in every single aspect and

so when somebody says yes but god this

no no no no

he can’t change his truthfulness because

it’s his nature

it’s his nature to be all-knowing his

nature to be all-powerful

his nature to be always present his

nature to be always truthful

and his nature continually

always there doing

exactly what he promised to do he’s

unchanging

let’s eliminate all five of those

attributes of god

and what kind of god do you have

if he doesn’t know everything if he

doesn’t have all power

and if he’s not always in reach and if

he’s not always truthful

and if he’s changing what confidence do

you have see what an awesome god we have

and if any of that’s missing you don’t

have any assurance about anything in

life you say well

i’ve trusted jesus as my savior i’m

going to heaven when i die

well but suppose god’s changed the whole

plan he hadn’t changed the plan

everything is the same god

doesn’t change and if he did we would be

hopelessly

and helplessly confounded in every

single area of our life

every promise would be up for grabs

every promise would be questionable

well here’s what he said but god does

change his mind no he doesn’t

somebody says yes he does and so i want

to bring up a passage of scripture

let’s go back let’s just take jonah for

example this is a good example

god said to jonah i want you to go to

nineveh and

and preach the message that judgment is

coming

judgment is coming so he goes and he

preaches judgment is coming

and the scripture says they turn to the

lord the king calls for fast they turn

to god

and so there is no judgment somebody

says see there

god changed his mind no he didn’t now

listen carefully

it’s one thing for god to make a

statement that is conditional

and though it is not spoken here this is

exactly

it was conditional because why would god

have them have him preach the truth of

the message of god’s

imminent judgment and they all

at least a big large part of the city

enough of them

repented of their sins turn to the lord

and then god wipe them out what was his

purpose his purpose wasn’t to destroy

him his purpose was to bring about

a a repentance and a revival throughout

nineveh

and that is exactly what happened so god

didn’t change his mind it was

conditioned upon that

and he says he doesn’t change his mind

what listen why would god

change his mind first of all when he

knows past present and future

so he already knows so he has to change

his mind he makes

some promises conditioned upon certain

things he makes some that are

unconditional

and many things for example what he said

to abraham i’m going to make you a great

nation

he didn’t say if you obey me or if you

do not he said i’m going to make you a

great nation and all the nations of the

earth will be blessed

period unconditional when he said to

jonah the preacher there in nineveh

what happened they repented was what

god’s goal was

not to destroy them but to bring them to

repentance and the reason

the ladies and gentlemen didn’t want to

go to begin with is because he didn’t

like him

he didn’t want him to be saved and you

remember he ends up sitting under a tree

and moaning and groaning and complaining

to god the very last part of the book

because god did what he said he would do

did god change his mind no god

accomplished his purpose

and jonah was the person through whom

god spoke

so he doesn’t change his mind so i ask

you again and the reason i emphasize

this is because i think we believe a lot

of things but

we don’t have any basis for it but i

want you to say again the character of

god

cannot change if he’s perfect

how would it change he is the ultimate

of every single thing the ultimate in

knowledge and wisdom and power

what what how could you change

perfection

the very ultimate and so therefore you

and i have a god

when he says that he is going to be

faithful

he is faithful and he cannot change

because it’s his nature

not to change and so when these things

happen in scripture that’s just one

answer we can give you some more

he said for example in first samuel

chapter 15

when samuel said to saul so

god is he is ripping the kingdom from

your hands

and you will no longer be king and the

passage simply says

god will not lie or change his mind

that’s what he told him and he didn’t of

course

so when you think about what’s the basis

of your faith

why do you believe him why do you trust

him what is it about god that you can

absolutely think about this you’re

trusting your whole

eternal life on the promise

and the reason you’re trusting your holy

eternal life on the promise is because

you believe that the god

who made that promise is not going to

change his mind

and when he says it’s through the shed

blood of his son

jesus you don’t believe he’s you don’t

think he’s going to change his mind

you accept his promises based on the

fact that he is god

and that he’s a god who doesn’t change

his mind who knows all things

and has all power everything is just

within his reach

and it would be absolutely totally

completely

unacceptable to try to describe

god as one who changes his mind and who

thinks this today and that tomorrow

so you have to look at all five of those

attributes

that’s the basis by which you and i can

say

god is a faithful god if he makes a

promise he’s going to keep it

if he gives us a warning he’s going to

fulfill it

and so when you think about your faith

we’re talking about the basis of your

faith when you think about the basis of

your faith

your whole faith is based on your

understanding of who god is what is he

like

and when people say to you well i don’t

believe all that stuff well what do you

believe

and you listen to somebody who doesn’t

believe in god and it sort of tickles me

at times i’m thinking

they’re just going round and round and

round and round

nothing is certain nothing is nothing is

really solid

it’s just it’s just gibberish

because when you eliminate the one true

god

and you eliminate the character of god

there is no assurance of anything

and no hope and so when it comes to life

and death

you either believe he’s faithful when he

says absent from the body

present with the lord is that once in a

while

is that an exception no it is the

promise to every single believer

and jesus said he would come for us

receive us unto himself that where he is

that’s where we’re going

we’re going to be how many of you are

expecting

one day to die and go to heaven

on the basis of what

one simple thing the promise of the son

of god

who never changes his mind and who

listen

who has all power to make it a reality

when i think of people who are not

believers

and they talk about what assurance they

have which is none

and think about if they would just stop

and think well now

now what what what

what is it out there how am i and they

just hem her around

they have no hope no that is they may

have a hope but it’s totally unfounded

our hope isn’t just a hope it is a hope

with the assurance given to us by god

whose very character is such that he

does not change and every single promise

he’s given us in the scripture

he’s going to keep now this is

demonstrated throughout the scripture

let’s just take for example run through

a few of them quickly

when he said to adam and eve in the

garden in the day that you eat of the

fruit of this tree

you’re going to die

did god want them to die no did he

change his mind though he did not

he made a provision for them

through the shedding of blood that’s why

they had skins

they have skins you got to have death

and you got to have blood

so he said you’re going to surely die

they didn’t die physically but they died

spiritually

for example when he said to noah noah

here’s what i’m going to do i’m going to

destroy every living thing on the face

of this earth

i want you to build this ark you take

you and your family and all these

animals

and i’m gonna put you in the ark and i’m

gonna destroy everything on the earth

that’s exactly what he did then he says

i’ll never do it again that way

and he hasn’t that’s why he gave us a

rainbow

you see god hasn’t missed anything god

is a god

of promise and assurance and confidence

he wants his people to be confident

that’s why our testimony ought to be

bold

listen the reason most people don’t have

a bold testimony is they can’t defend

their faith

and they say well here’s what i believe

but why do you believe it

why do you believe that god will answer

your prayer

why do you believe that he’s going to

take you home to heaven why do you

believe that he’ll empower you why do

you believe there was

because you believe the promises of god

well watch this you can believe those

things but then when you get in the

midst of a big trial and things are

tough and looks like you’re not going to

make it you’re going to lose everything

or

your family’s falling apart do you still

believe it

he hasn’t changed watch this our

emotions

oftentimes sort of run counter

to the promises of god and we have to

decide

am i going to believe what i feel am i

going to believe what god

said and that’s where faith and doubt

crash so i think also about what he said

to abraham the 12th chapter

of genesis he said abraham

i’m going to make you the father of a

nation that will be like the sands of

the sea

and he says all the earth is going to be

blessed

out of your loins is that what he did

that’s exactly what he did

and so you have the nation of israel you

have the coming of the messiah

everything that god promised and notice

that he didn’t say if you do this and so

that was an unconditional promise of god

here’s what i’m going to do now watch

this when god makes a conditional

promise

it’s conditioned upon something we do or

do not do

when he makes an absolute unconditional

promise

nothing can change it because

it is unconditionally the word of the

living god

i think for example in his promise of

the virgin birth in isaiah

that’s what he said and that’s who jesus

was born of a virgin

i think about for example what what uh

jesus said in the 16th chapter of

matthew

when he was talking to his disciples and

he said to them he said

um i’m going to be i’m going to be

persecuted i’m going to be

crucified and i’m going to rise in the

dead well that didn’t make any sense at

all to them

but he was stated and he didn’t say he

was conditioned upon anything he’s this

is what’s going to happen

and that is exactly what happened no one

can point to anything

god’s ever said and said god lied

he’s the god of truth and power and

knowledge and understanding and

unconditional love

he wants us to believe him because

believing him

is our entrance into life eternal

and so god doesn’t just simply give us

some light-hearted

promise or lighthearted invitational if

you’ll just believe this that other

put your trust in me he says for the

gift of eternal life

and our eternal life is conditioned upon

our acceptance of jesus christ for the

forgiveness of our sins

past present and future

we have hope that’s not just hope but

it’s hope grounded

in the very nature of god himself so

let’s think about for example if god is

not a faithful god

with all these attributes when you get

down to pray what would you think

you think i hope so

i hope so if all these things are not

true you pray well lord i hope so

and the truth is our relationship would

be meaningless how can you have a

relationship with somebody

you don’t trust and if god’s changing

his mind

not exercising his power you don’t know

how he’s going to operate

then there is no assurance no confidence

in our life

and how would we respond to life

if we do not have unconditional promises

of god

and you face storms in life

when you and i go through storms in life

what gets us through them

the pr listen the promises of

god is what gets us through them lord

you said here’s what you would do

if i would pray and trust you if i

yielded my life to you

it is the unconditional promises of god

that gets us through the storms of life

and if he’s changing if he alters his

course somehow then what happens

we have no assurance none whatsoever

of what’s going to happen so it’s all

based on his faithfulness

that god is who he says is and that it

does not change

it would certainly be impossible to have

any kind

of real true genuine assurance and

confidence

if god was not absolutely faithful

so let’s think about

why we can rest in his faithfulness for

a few moments

we said we’re talking about resting in

the faithfulness of god

how can we rest in that no matter what

we are facing well first of all

turn to lamentation chapter 3 for a

moment just turn there for a moment

go past isaiah and jeremiah and

look at this third chapter he says

verse 22 the lord’s kindnesses

indeed never cease

his compassions never fail

they’re new every morning great

is your what faithfulness

great is your faithfulness so first of

all we can rest in

his faithfulness simply because

he’s not going to change and he’s a

faithful god

in first thessalonians 5 24 one of the

reasons we can rest in his faithfulness

is because

he here’s what he says he says whatever

he calls us to do

he will empower us to do it that is a

promise of god that’s an unfailing

promise

whatever he calls us to do he will

empower us to do it

so for example you say well maybe god is

calling me to be a sunday school teacher

what’s my promise my promise is this he

says

if i call you to do it i will empower

you i will enable you

watch this it wouldn’t even be honest

with god

if he called you to do something and

then did not enable you or to help you

bring it to pass

likewise he says if we confess our sins

he’s faithful and just the forgiveness

of our sins

if if you don’t believe that he’s

faithful

then how will you ever know and i’ve

heard people say this i said okay we

deal with something about sin in their

life

it’s okay let’s ask god right now to

forgive you of your sins are you willing

to ask him to forgive me yes i am

let’s let’s ask him so they pray and i

say well has he forgiven you

well i hope so wait a minute read that

verse and sometimes i’ve had people read

that verse

up to 10 times

because every time before that they

would say well i think so

well i hope so maybe so i’m not sure now

wait a minute

if god is who he says is and he says if

we confess our sins

that is we agree with him about it he

says

he’s faithful and just righteous that he

has the right

to forgive me for my sins because of

what christ did at the

cross he’s faithful and just to forgive

us of our sins and to cleanse us from

all unrighteousness

if god is not faithful i would never

know where i

am the only reason you and i know that

we are saved is because we believe

that he’s true to what he says likewise

i think about uh

first corinthians chapter 10 verse 13.

he says

maybe you should turn to this one first

corinthians 10 13 it’s all about

temptation

and you’ll recall the promise the

awesome promise he makes

in this passage listen to what he says

he says

no temptation whatever the nature of it

is no temptation has taken you but such

is it’s common to man

that is all of us attempt to like in

many many ways

no temptation taken you but such is

common to man but god look at this

but god is faithful

who will not allow you to be tempted

beyond

what you’re able able to bear but will

with the temptation

he will provide the way of escape also

so that you’ll be able to endure it

here’s what he’s saying he has put a

limitation on your temptation now

if that passage of scripture were not in

the bible we’d say well god listen that

temptation is so strong

that you knew how god

you’re the one who tempted me no god

doesn’t tempt us he says he doesn’t

and here’s what else he says this is his

promise he says

i will not allow you to be tempted

more than you can bear if we’ll trust

him

he puts a limitation on temptation and

trials in life

not just temptation or temptation to do

wrong but trials in life

he he has a limit why because he loves

you and me

unconditionally and he would be he would

listen it wouldn’t it wouldn’t even be

righteous in the eyes of god to require

us to do something

that he knows that there’s no possible

way for us to do it and he doesn’t come

to our rescue and help us do it

he says he will make a way to escape

that whatever we are dealing with

he will help us to marry he says for

example

in psalm 119 look at this passage a

moment in psalm 119

in the 75th verse i want you to notice

of what the psalmist says he says i know

o

lord that your judgments are righteous

that is they’re always right

and then he says i also know that in

faithfulness

you have afflicted me that is sometimes

the affliction that comes upon us

is god doing what he’s being faithful to

his word

and so he loves us enough that he

doesn’t want us sinning against him and

living disobediently before him and so

what does he do

he sends enough affliction to get our

attention to change your attitude

change our mind to start living

obediently before him

and so what he’s saying he says i’m

grateful that you love me enough

that you’re faithful listen to that he

says you’re faithful

i’m glad you’re faithful in afflicting

me

and sometimes we we think afflictions

and difficulties and hardships are all

bad

none of it’s from god yes it is

discipline is from god

and it is an act of his faithfulness

to get us back in line doing what he

would have us to do and of course we’ve

talked about

his answer in prayer and

let’s think about what what jesus said

in the sermon of the mount

he said in the sixth chapter he says

our heavenly father knows our needs

before

we even have them and that he’ll meet

our needs is that a promise yes it is a

promise

and you say well is it conditioned i

think it is conditioned it’s conditioned

if a person is lazy

and slothful and doesn’t care there’s a

whole different issue

but god is willing to he’s willing to

meet our every single need

because he’s a god who loves us

unconditionally

and that’s that’s the kind of love he

has his love is unconditional for his

children

and therefore he’s going to meet every

single need that we have

and he says for example that uh

in romans 8 28 you know that by heart

god causes all things to work together

for good to those who love him to those

who call it on this purpose

is that a promise yes it is

and if we didn’t have that promise think

about the frustration we would have

in difficulty in hardship if god is

allowing us to go through difficulty

he’s a god of purpose he is a righteous

god in other words he isn’t just sitting

back

and watching things happen in your life

and mine he

is involved in our life he has we have

been indwelt

by the spirit of the living god and

indwelled by the spirit of the living

god we have been sealed forever as a

child of god

so when somebody says well i know i’ve

been saved and i know i’ve been sealed

but i think i think you can still be

lost

then what you’re saying is that god who

indwelt you

and said that he saved you for all

eternity

he lied now you tell somebody who

believes you can fall from grace then

they don’t like that at all

i can tell you they don’t but that’s

what they’re saying i know that’s i know

that’s what it says

but i believe that you sent against god

you’re going to be lost

then what you’re saying is that god did

not tell the truth

now i know that it’s a misconception

they have but that’s

ultimately that’s what it says

either he’s righteous in everything or

he’s an unrighteous god

this is an awesome god for example in

the first verse of the first

chapter of the bible when it says in the

beginning

god created the heavens and the earth

the god word there is elohim

infinite in power infinite in power

absolute in his faithfulness

has all power infinite in power absolute

in his faithfulness

that’s the god who is unchanging

who has all power all knowledge all

understanding

who loves us unconditionally who has the

best for us who comes there rescuing any

in every situation

who limits the trials and heartaches he

allows in our life

and he has promised us

a resurrection body well

so you say well i i don’t know about

that part

well let me ask you this if you’re

willing to watch this if you’re willing

to trust your salvation

on a single promise of god

based on the cross but it’s a single

promise of god

would you not trust what he said about

your resurrection body

and i think people sometimes they get

their emotions all mixed up in it all

and they stop they don’t stop to think

wait a minute i’m trusting my whole

when i come to death i’m either going to

be screaming

in fear i’m going to be rejoicing in the

lord that i’m about to meet him

now if you don’t have any certainty

about it you know it’s going to be a sad

time

you base your whole eternity on what you

believe

about god that he is faithful to keep

every single promise he’s made

without fail and here’s the issue you

can look at this book you can go from

genesis to revelation

and you’re not going to find any verses

in here or anything god does

that he makes a mistake or he is an

error or he forgot

god never says oh i thought he never

says oh i see

he doesn’t say any of that why because

he’s this infinite indescribable awesome

god who loves his children

and who is committed to us for all

eternity

now there’s one last thing i want to say

about that

he’s also faithful

to the unbeliever no wait a minute how

can that be true

we’ll turn to matthew chapter 7 for a

moment turn to matthew chapter 7

and let’s look at this 21st verse

now remember what he said what we said

he is a god of truth

he does not lie not everyone who

verse 21 chapter 7 not everyone who says

to me lord lord will enter the kingdom

of heaven

but he who does the will of my father

who is in heaven will enter

many will say to me in that day lord

lord did we not prophesy in your name

and in your name

cast out demons and in your name perform

many miracles

and then i will declare to them i never

knew you

depart from me you who practice

lawlessness

what is he saying he says listen

he is a faithful god who keeps his word

people who pretend to be christians and

pretend good works and think that’s

sufficient

and boast that it is he says they’re

going to be separated from god for all

eternity

look if you will in john chapter 3

and look in this if you will we know

john chapter 3 16 and all that

but when it comes down to verse 36 he

said

he who believes in the son has eternal

life but he who does not obey the son

will not see life

but the wrath of god watch this not will

but is abiding in him or on him that is

people who are lost

are under the wrath of god and listen

this is what he says he’s a god of truth

and so

he’s going to be faithful to that look

in the 20th chapter of the revelation

for a moment and look at this terrible

passage of scripture

because it is terrible of what’s going

to happen to people

who die without christ and

the 20th chapter beginning in that 11th

verse

and notice notice what he says

he says then i saw a great white throne

and him who sat on it

from whose presence earth and heaven

fled away and no place was found for

them

and i saw the dead the great and small

standing before the throne and the books

were

opened another book was opened which is

the book of life

and the dead were judged from the things

which were written in the books

according to their deeds

and the sea gave up the dead which were

in it death and hades gave up the dead

which are in them

and they were judged every one of them

according to their deeds

then death and hades

were thrown into the lake of fire and if

anyone’s name was not found written in

the book of life

he was thrown into the lake of fire

you say do you believe all that let me

ask you a question does god lie

no he doesn’t what i want you to see

having never trusted jesus as your

savior do you understand

that it has nothing to do with the love

of god god loves you unconditionally

but he is a god of truthfulness he’s the

god who keeps his promise

listen he is a god who keeps his promise

and his warnings that if you disobey me

there will be consequences you obey me

there are great wonderful consequences

you must choose

what to believe or not to believe a god

who is a god of truth

who does not change his mind who has all

power

all knowledge always present

and a god who loves you unconditionally

would you reject him

you may still say i don’t believe all

that

but let me just remind you your unbelief

does not change the promise

of the living god that puts you in a

pretty bad spot

you can change that you say well how

by acknowledging that jesus christ is

the son of god who went to the cross

and when he went to the cross he laid

down this life on the cross shed his

blood

for you and me that is he paid our sin

that in full with his life

and the moment you and i ask him to

forgive us of our sins

and surrender our life to him it isn’t

just something you say

you yield your life to him and that

moment your sins are forgiven

the bible says you are sealed with a

seal the holy spirit of promise

your name is written in the lamb’s book

of life you are forever

a child of god now you have this awesome

faithful god indwelling you in the

presence of the holy spirit

to enable you to live a godly life to

enable you to achieve and accomplish

everything that god has in mind for you

it’s a choice you make

but let me just say this it is an

eternal choice

to say no to god is an eternal disaster

to say yes to god

is an eternal blessing

that is yours for the asking and the

receiving

and that’s our prayer for you and father

how grateful we are

that you’re who you are awesome

indescribable holy god

would you sink this message in every one

of our hearts

would you remind us daily who you are

and let us live on the basis that we

have you living within

us trustworthy

trustworthy god faithful god

dependable reliable in every way

what an awesome blessing i pray the

spirit of god

would enrich each one of us deepen

our understanding of you and take this

father and apply it to our hearts in

such a way

that our faith rises our sense of

confidence increases

everything about us begins to change

when we recognize

whose we are whom we serve

and who loves us unconditionally in

jesus name

amen god

is always faithful and by trusting in

his promises

believers can experience his perfect

peace in every situation

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dad

dad

have we tried the drill i’m with you

buddy

nearly 2 000 years ago the apostle john

recorded christ’s great unveiling

revelation god’s climactic story of hope

fulfilled warning

the day of wrath and judgment

blessed are those who will live forever

in the new heaven

and earth

share a personal message on a beautiful

note card from the lens of dr charles

stanley

enjoy six nautical designs featuring

boats from around the world in this 18

card set

many people see the bible as a

collection of rules or as a road map to

becoming a good person

but was the bible meant to be a morality

textbook

though it contains wisdom unmatched by

anything in the world

god’s word offers so much more today an

in touch viewer ask

about the standards god requires and

they’re right

what is meant by james 1 27

it talks about other religions being

acceptable to god

many religions have the traits mentioned

in this verse

does that mean god accepts them well let

me explain this verse to you

first of all it does not refer to other

religions at all

it does not give us a definition of

religion pure and undefiled means true

and genuine

life-changing it must be more than

external

and sprang from an inner spirit of

compassion and holiness before god

religion is more than superficial it’s a

genuine act of love

living a godly life true worship more

than buildings in ritual and formal

religious activity

the verse is not referring to other

religions so the answer to your question

is simply no

for example in the ten commandments if

you’ll notice uh

in this twentieth chapter of exodus if

you’ll notice for example what the lord

says

he said you shall not worship them

speaking of other gods

or serve them for i the lord your god

i’m a jealous god

visiting the iniquity of the fathers on

the children on the third and fourth

generations of those who hate me

so he says we’re to worship him and him

or does he recognize other gods

absolutely he does not and in james

he warns us about this thing but jesus

also for example

he says in the 14th chapter and the

sixth verse

i am the way the truth and the life no

one comes to the father but by me

james would be a contradiction to all of

this

well thank you for joining us for this

broadcast of in touch and remember

obey god leave all the consequences to

him

it’s the only way to enjoy life at its

very best

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god and compassion for people

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