"Faithfullness"
Dean AngellApril 12/13, 2008
Let me start with a couple definitions of two words we’re gonna talk about today:
Faithful – someone or something a person can safely lean upon or rely on. With the Department of Highways, I learned that my shovel was faithful; that I could safely lean on it.
Forever – a limitless time, endless, everlasting and always. Put those in your mind. I’m gonna come back to these words.
Now let me ask you a question. How do you know who God is and what He is like? It’s kinda hard to describe for most of us. If you really wanted to know who I was or what I was like or how I thought about things you might ask somebody who knows me to describe me to you.
So you could ask Don Pogoda who I was from his perspective and he might say, “well Dean is a farm kid from Archerwill, Saskatchewan. He’s Norwegian with blond hair and blue eyes and a redneck. He likes hunting and church and hockey and 4 x 4 trucks and Jesus and the Green Bay Packers and he likes people to be honest and real and authentic. What you see is what you get with Dean.”
Don would describe me like that. That’s just who I am. It’s kinda my make-up, my DNA. If you cut me I’ll bleed all of those things. After that list there are very few surprises when it comes to me.
So I got thinking this week of how to describe God to you in basic terms and lots of words came to mind. God is love and He is loving. He is kind and full of kindness. He is strong and mighty. He is forgiving and gracious. He is patient and caring and just and powerful and a 1000 more words that would only speak of his greatness. But if I was gonna be the one to describe God to you from my perspective I would use just one word - FAITHFUL and then I would use another word to emphasize it - FOREVER. Forever Faithful. If you were gonna ask me in two words who God is or what His DNA is or if you cut Him what would He bleed I would say He’s faithful forever.
This week it was a wee bit difficult trying to figure out what to say to you for my last time here, like really hard, so I thought I would just talk about my favorite part of God’s DNA: His faithfulness. I want you to picture something that reminds me of His faithfulness every day - the sunrise and sunset - because the sun’s rising and the sun setting is faithful and forever. You can count on it!
Two days this week I had the privilege of watching the sun rise and every time without fail when I see that I remember the faithfulness of God. He is faithful forever.
One of the verses I read to you last week said this:
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
And listen to this verse:
Psalm 113:2
“From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same the name of the Lord is to be praised.”
Everyday all day. 24/7/365. He is faithful. That is just who God is like the sun coming up every morning – faithful forever. It’s in his DNA. It’s like He can’t help it.
So I did a bit of study and then I had a few thoughts on how God’s faithfulness plays out in real time in our lives and I came up with 3 key areas where His faithfulness really becomes practical in our everyday lives.
The first area where I have clearly seen Him be faithful is this: faithful to lead us during the darkest times of our lives. Part of doing this job for over 20 years in a city like Saskatoon brings you into a lot of dark places in people’s lives. Like hospital rooms and cancer wards and into a lot of tough family challenges and divorces and also a lot of death and funerals.
Now I also have seen 100’s of weddings and 100’s of baby dedications and lots of 50th wedding anniversaries as well and at those events everyone finds it easy to talk about the blessings and kindness and the faithfulness of God. But, in these past 20 years with you, where I have most tangibly seen the power and presence of a faithful God is not during those moments of blessing but in the moments of greatest despair.
When you people have been in anguish over the loss of a loved one or when you have struggled with cancer or Chemo and radiation therapy treatments and were wrestling with that or when you were running the gauntlet of emotions that divorce brought to you - those are the moments when I saw you reach out to a God who you desperately needed to be faithful. Aren’t they? That’s when the reality of His faithfulness in our lives becomes very practical. It has to. In the tough times not just the good times.
So let me read to you some ancient words from Scripture and one of the greatest promises ever for people who follow God.
Isaiah 43:1-3 says this:
“But now, this is what the LORD says. Fear not, I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”
This is just one promise that God makes to those who follow Him and there are a 1000 more just like it in Scripture. I just wanted to remind you again one last time that if you find yourself facing huge challenges in your life during this season whether they be physical or emotional or relational or financial, God will walk with you into that deep water and He’ll hold your hand as the current wants to sweep you away. He’ll walk with you through the fires of life that seem like they’re gonna burn you up. You can count on that as surely as I’m standing here today, as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow morning. He will be faithful when we most need Him to be. I’ve watched it in 100’s of your lives over many years in this community like when Laura Beach battled cancer and won and God was faithful. Joann Ditmar battled cancer and lost and God was faithful. The Ashmeade family lost a son and husband and father far to soon and they battled and wrestled with death and God was faithful. Lori Goring, God bless her, lost her husband Algy Goring in a flash – in a moment – and yet God was faithful. I’ve seen dozens of you walk through brutal divorces and God was faithful as you walked. And I’ve seen people with very sick children and people with huge financial losses and people with devastating periods of depression sweeping over their lives but God has been faithful.
There’s a psalm in the Bible - Psalm 136 - and every second line in that Psalm says this, “His love endures forever”. Some of the verses are God you’ve been with us, God you’ve protected us, God you’ve forgiven us.
And when you read it you kinda think, well that’s a bit over done. I get it already. His love endures forever. But folks next time you or your family or your friends or neighbors come into contact with a raging river like cancer or depression or if you have to walk through the fires of relational breakdown or financial pressure or even death, just remember His love endures forever. He is faithful forever. When you walk through the deep waters, He is with you. His love endures forever when the waves of despair wash over you. He is faithful. He’s holding you steady. He’s got your back. His love endures forever. He will never leave you alone. You will not be abandoned. His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Your love endures forever like the sun rising tomorrow morning. You can count on it – it’s a promise. He is faithful during our darkest seasons. O.K? Please remember that.
Here’s the second area of life where God has shown His faithfulness: faithful to lead us past temptation and sin.
Have you ever been about to do something kinda maybe wrong and that little voice inside your head or that little voice inside your heart says – just hold on a minute. If you do that thing there could be some pretty crazy consequences to that action. If you do that thing your wife could get hurt. If you choose that path your reputation could get damaged. If you push that envelope the police could get involved. If you indulge too much in that pleasure your health could be at stake. Have you ever heard that voice? Well some people call that a conscience and that’s true. Some of those choices we make for right and wrong are conditioned by our surroundings and that becomes a part of our conscience. But some of that little voice we hear can’t be explained by just having a conscience but it can be explained by God’s faithfulness.
Listen to I Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
“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.”
Did you catch that? It says if you are following God He is faithful. You can count on it. He’ll be that little voice every time if you’ve got a will to listen. He will tell you every time when you’re getting close to the line. Not only that. Not only will He be the voice of your conscience but then He is faithful enough to provide a way out of that situation so that we don’t have to keep stumbling on the bad choices of life. He’ll help us get out and He’ll help us stand up under every tempting situation to do the wrong thing every time. So let me get practical with this.
If you’re thinking about taking some money that isn’t rightfully yours or if you’re thinking about drinking way more than you know you should on that weekend with the boys or if you are struggling with pornography online all the time or if you’re in a friendship that is leading to an affair and you know it or if you find yourself in a coffee shop and you’re tempted to gossip about somebody in your neighbourhood or in this church, all I’m saying is this: listen for that little voice and when you hear it look for a way out. God is faithful and he will provide that way out every time. It’s a promise. Every time. You can count on it as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow morning God is faithful to help us live in such a way that we don’t have to hurt ourselves or the people around us with our bad choices.
You know this stuff right? When you and I choose sin instead of listening to that voice - every time we do that - we hurt somebody. Either ourself or the people we love the most. Every time we hear that little voice and then we see that way out that God is so faithful to provide and we choose to not take it - somebody gets hurt by that choice. Every time – without fail. That’s why God provides a way out every time because He just doesn’t want to see us or the people around us get hurt. He’s faithful to us in that even when we don’t choose Him. Amazing really.
So there’s a little defense for you and it’s there every time all day - 24 – 7- 365. You can count on it like a sunrise. His love endures forever and especially when we are being tempted to go off track and into a ditch.
Now, let me shift this idea into another gear. Say you’re in a moment of choice and God provides a way out, but you don’t take it even though you saw that it was there and so you sin. Maybe your sin hurt you and maybe it has the potential to hurt a bunch of people. Well listen to who God is. He is faithful even when we make completely wrong choices:
I John 1:9 (NIV)
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
In the church I grew up in (a Lutheran one) we read and said the same verses and prayers every week together as a church – every week – and one of the verses we memorized and repeated every week was 1 John 1:9. If we confess, He is faithful and just and will forgive us and cleanse us. It’s a promise.
Have you ever watched the show “Biggest Loser”? It’s yet another reality show on television. It’s about these 10 or 12 super big over-weight people who over 4 months get on a program of working out and a better diet to see who loses the most weight every week for 16 weeks. Remarkable results. The last 4 people had all lost right around 100 lbs each. Crazy.
So you watch these people tell their stories and its way more intriguing than I thought it would be. Nearly every testimony on that show said: “I just never want to carry all that weight ever again.”
They talk physically how much better they feel with the weight off and mentally and emotionally how they feel better by shedding that extra weight that had dragged them down for years.
Let me ask you, do you ever feel the weight of your sin? Maybe you’ve hurt other people, damaged your reputation, felt guilty, or maybe you hold anger inside and just don’t care anymore about the people around you. Like you are hard inside. Ever felt like that? Ever feel that weight that just affects everything?
Well I just want to tell you the truth. If you want to shed some weight when it comes to sin and guilt and remorse in your spirit, God is more than faithful in that – more than faithful.
Just think about it. If you’re sitting on hidden sin and guilt and it’s weighing you down, go to God with it - confess. He is faithful and will forgive you. You can count on it just like the sunrise. It’s a promise. His love endures forever.
I just made it sound pretty easy to get rid of guilt didn’t I? But you know what? It is easy because God is faithful and will forgive you. Don’t hold onto it. Step up in your heart and just say, “God, take it away from me. Forgive me.” He’s faithful to forgive. It’s a promise.
The third and last: His faithfulness makes me want to be faithful.
I Samuel 26:23 (NIV) says this:
“The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness”.
So I read an article this week about Mother Teresa and about a politician from the US who visited her early on in her ministry to the poor in Calcutta, India. He visited the place called the “House of Dying” where she worked. His name was Mark Hatfield and he was touring Calcutta with Mother Teresa and he saw sick children that were being cared for and the dispensary where the poor line up by the hundreds to receive medical attention everyday. Just watching Mother Teresa minister to these people, feeding and nursing those left by others to die, Hatfield was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the suffering she and her co-workers faced daily and so he had to ask, “How can you bear this load without being crushed by it?” Mother Teresa replied, “My dear Sir, I am not called to be successful, I am called to be faithful.”
So here’s one of those final thoughts and words by Dean that I desperately want you to catch. Ready?
God is faithful to us at all times in all circumstances no matter what we do, no matter how unfaithful we are. He is completely faithful. That’s just true.
We can count on that just like the sunrise. It’s a promise. But, and this is a big but, He asks for our complete faithfulness in return. It’s a life for a life.
I have stood up in front of you literally 100’s of times in the past 20 years and told you that God has an amazing plan for your life and your future and I’ve told you that He wants every one of you to be difference makers in this world and that His ultimate plan to transform the world includes every last one of us doing our part. Its awesome.
But here’s the catch. Part of the amazing future God has planned for you is up to you – not just God. His design for our lives includes our faithfulness in following Him, His blessing as we walk forward has much to do with our willingness to be wholeheartedly committed to Him and to His ways not just our ways.
You know, at the top of the very first page of my life journal there is a line that is written in very big dark writing. So I read it every day and it says in large dark letters, “the path chooses the destination – and you can’t outwit the path.” And this is what it means - hear this:
It means that there are really only a few paths to choose in life and really only one of these paths leads to the destination that God has for me. Just one path leads to and through the places of God’s greatest blessing and satisfaction in life. Just one.
So, on which path I set my feet every morning is of the utmost importance because the path chooses the destination and you can’t outwit the path. It is not mine to manipulate nor does it belong to me. It’s God’s path. So let’s just say that if I choose to walk on a path that is all about me or all about just my human desires and motivations or all about just my very selfish human take on life - that’s where I have placed my feet - on that pathway. If I look down a ways and around the corner I can see where it leads and that path has a very different destination than God’s path. The end result is very different.
The path I would choose on my own would not end up where God wants me so I wake up every morning and I look at those words in my journal and I try my utmost to focus my time and energy and heart and life on placing my feet on God’s path because it’s the path that chooses the destination – not my feet. I desperately want my life to end up where God wants it to. I desperately want to feel and experience where that path leads but it takes a huge commitment to faithfulness on my part. What I am asking you is this: how faithful are you being in following God? How much want to do your feet have every morning to land on His path before you get out of bed? How much are you willing to let go of yourself and follow God? How faithful are you being in following God? Where are you at with that?
Because, here is what would be great. What would be great is if I came back here a couple of years from now or 5 or 10 or 20 and while I was gone I heard story after story after story of people in this church who were making a difference for God in this city. I would love to hear that there are 100’s and 100’s of you over these next years who just wake up every morning and say “God my feet are yours. I’m gonna be faithful to you this day. I’m gonna walk where you want me to. I’m gonna experience everything you have for me today. I’m gonna, with every ounce of my ability, I’m gonna be faithful. I’m gonna fight temptation, I’m gonna trust you when the pressure is on, and I’m gonna find your light when the path gets dim. God you can count on me to be faithful in following you because you have been faithful to me. It’s a life for a life and God I’m giving you my life. I will be faithful – forever. You can count on me every morning and every evening.”
There is a verse in the bible that sums up the Apostle Paul’s life and it really should be the goal of every one of us who follows Jesus. I’ve prayed many times that this verse could be read at my funeral. It simply expresses what it looks like to be at the end of the pathway.
Paul says this, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
My hope and my prayer is that every one of you would be able to say that every day to God and mean it. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
I have been faithful because God was faithful to me.
