GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS (Pt Two)
I. V.
22a GOD
IS FAITHFUL IN HIS GRACE
(Mercies - This word is translated “loving-kindness”
over 30 times in the Old Testament. It is a
very expressive word that conveys all the ideas of “love, grace, mercy,
faithfulness, goodness and devotion.” This word pictures God
as the Divine lover of men. It finds its New
Testament equivalent in the idea of God’s love and grace.
Notice a couple of quick thoughts about the amazing grace of God.
Jeremiah seems to be
remembering that it was the pure grace of God that brought Israel out
of their slavery in Egypt. It was also grace that had kept them
a redeemed people in spite of their failures and wanderings. There
is a word for us in this thought today.)
A. His
Grace Saves Us – Only grace could have reached us in our lost,
doomed condition, Ill. Eph. 2:1-4. We could not get
to God, so God came to us! He came in the Person of the Lord Jesus
Christ to die for our sins, Phil. 2:5-8. He came in the
Person of the Holy Spirit to draw us to God so that we might be saved, John
16:7-11; John 6:44.
B. His
Grace Secures Us – Grace not only sought us out when we were lost
in sin; grace keeps us in our saved condition. We are prone to
failure. We are prone to spiritual wandering. If our
salvation resented upon our ability to be faithful to the Lord, none of us
would ever be saved. Thankfully, salvation is the Lord’s arena and
not ours! We are saved by His grace and we are kept by that same
grace, 1 Pet. 1:5; Psa. 37:23-24, 28; John 4:13-14. Thank
God for His unfailing, unchanging, faithful grace!
II. V.
22b-23 GOD IS
FAITHFUL IN HIS GIFTS
(Compassion - This is a word that literally
means “womb”. It means “to be moved in the heart
out of love for another.” This word is a picture of the
grace of God actively moving in the life of the believer. You see,
as we pass through our storms and our valleys, we do no do so
alone! God observes our path and His grace gives us all we need for
our journey. Notice two thoughts here about the great gifts of God.)
A. V. 23b God’s Gifts Are
Faithful - (Ill. God did not promise an easier road, but He
promised that His grace would be sufficient for the need - 2 Cor. 12:9.
Think about Paul and his battle with that thorn in the flesh.)
Grace is usually defined as “The
unmerited love and favor of God toward sinners.” It carries
that idea, but this is a word that has come to mean so much more than
that. It has come to refer to “the strength of God to face
battles and to bear up under times of difficulty.”
With this in mind, we should
always remember that regardless of what life sends our way, we can be confident
of the fact that the Lord will give us the necessary strength to face the
trying times of life. You’ll never face a situation as a believer
that God will not give grace to help you make it through. Notice the promise
given in Isa. 43:1-2.
1. The
Gift Of His Presence - Heb. 13:5; Matt. 28:20. These
verses, along with others reveal the great truth that God is always present
with His children. Even when He cannot be seen, He is there. When
you cannot trace God in your life, I challenge you to come to the place where
you can trust Him fully.
2. The
Gift Of His Performance - Eph. 3:20 - Focus on
the word “able”! If this verse is to be taken at face
value, and I am certain that it is, then it becomes plain that our God is
greater, by far, than any problem we have, or will ever face. God is an awesome
God and His children need to be remembering that great truth. God will take
care of you!
3. The
Gift Of His Provision - Phil. 4:19; Matt. 6:25-33; Psalm
37:25 - These verses teach us the great truth that God is interested
in meeting our needs. Please hear what the Lord said: Needs not Greed’s! God
has promised to take care of His children, and He will! It may be that His idea
of taking care is different than yours, but that is where
faith in the trustworthiness of God comes in. We must come to the
place where we are willing to trust the Lord to take care of us in any way that
He sees fit. Notice the trust that Job had in the Lord - Job
13:15. I am sure that Job would have chosen another alternative
than losing his children, his health and his wealth, but he is willing to trust
the Lord through times that cannot be understood and that make no
sense. What about you and me? Do we really believe that
the Lord is absolutely faithful? Do we believe that He has our best
interests at heart? Are we confident of the fact that God will
indeed provide for our needs?
4. The
Gift Of His Person - Heb. 13:8; Mal. 3:6. These
verses reveal the truth about God nature that makes Him reliable at all times.
That is simply the fact that He does not change! God is
the same today as He has been forever, and the same as He will be
forever. He was faithful in the beginning and
He will be faithful in the end. He was steadfast in
the lives of the Bible characters that placed their faith in Him and He will be
steadfast in the life of ever believer who will trust Him in these days. God
is a steadfast and trustworthy God!
(Ill. These
great gifts of our faithful God are unchanging and unfailing.)
B. V. 23a God’s Gifts Are
Fresh - According to this verse, the grace of God is as fresh as
the new day. We do not have to worry about there not being enough
for us to make it through, for God’s grace in our lives is as fresh as the new
day.
Ill. Matt. 6:34, “Take
therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the
things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Just
as every new day brings with it its own set of burdens and problems, so each
day witnesses a new, unfailing, all-sufficient, supply of God’s marvelous,
matchless, wonderful, amazing grace.
(Ill. God’s faithfulness is seen in the fact that we woke up this
morning, in our right minds and in reasonable health. We woke
up with air to breath, food to eat, people we love around us,
etc. God is a faithful, wonderful Lord.)
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