The Faithfulness of God

I would like to read with you just in two places in the first epistle to the Corinthians. First Corinthians and chapter one in which these two occasions are going to be identical expressions that we are going to find and it's related to sort of the outflow I guess of what we've just been listening to. Once there's gospel work happens and if God blesses then a work can be established.

Sometimes that's a rare occurrence. It's certainly something to celebrate whenever it happens and thank God it can still happen today. So first Corinthians chapter one is what we're going to read first and notice what it says here in verse number four.

Starting at verse four but we're aiming for verse nine. I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ that in everything you are enriched by him in all utterance and in all knowledge even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you so that you come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ who shall also confirm you on to the end that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful by whom you were called onto the fellowship of his son Jesus Christ our Lord.

So that's the expression the first time verse number nine God is faithful by whom you were called onto the fellowship of his son Jesus Christ our Lord. Turn now with me to chapter 10 the same epistle first Corinthians and chapter 10 and the intro to the chapter is very instructive and we'll just maybe start at verse number five it says but with many of them first Corinthians 10 and verse number five but with many of them it says God was not well pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness now these things were our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted neither be idolaters as were some of them as it is written the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play neither let us commit fornication as some of them committed and fell in one day three and twenty thousand neither let us tempt Christ as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of serpents neither murmur ye as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer now all these things happen unto them for in samples and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come tremendous statement the most privileged in all of God's dispensations upon whom the ends of the ages upon whom the purposes God's strategic direction of the ages was aimed towards this target this target audience upon whom the ends of the world are come wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man and here is our expression but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it so in summary I think the subject of the faithfulness of God maybe this message would have fit in better yesterday I don't know but it's here for your consideration just for a few minutes and I trust and ask of your patience as we try to look at this the faithfulness of God I think I found around 10 times you may find more there might be other examples of God's faithfulness in the New Testament whenever you think of the faithfulness of God I suppose you go back to that statement that verse in the book of Lamentations where where you'll often hear it quoted it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not they are new every morning great is thy faithfulness and of course from that sprung the wonderful hymn I love it it's a great one it exists in Spanish as well no doubt in other languages around the world great is thy faithfulness oh God my father there is no shadow of turning with thee thou changes not thy compassions they fail not as thou has been thou forever will be so we have that tremendous statement that that is easy for us to say that kind of a statement is easy for us to say when all is going well when it was first said all was not going well you may know that the book of Lamentations is like a PS to the prophecy of Jeremiah and Jeremiah was witness to the terrible tragic atrocities that were committed against the people of Israel when they were taken taken captive by the Babylonian nation so he writes this perhaps they tell us as late perhaps in the late that in late 586 or in early 585 BC as he witnessed Jerusalem fall to its Babylonian captors it is a use of five dirges in that book of funeral laments and he grieves over the fate of Jerusalem and double double whammy if you like to the grief is the fact that it was caused by their own sin and yet the the book it opens with contains more than just the backward glances of a vindicated prophet it's a reminder that sin in spite of all of its allurement and excitement carries with it heavy weights of sorrow grief misery barrenness and pain it's the other side of the eat drink and be merry coin so lamentations that's where that is found so what have we got here in a passages that we have just read together the faithfulness of God very simply I would say that it is the faithfulness of God that we have read about and the call in chapter 1 of 1st Corinthians I would say that in 1st Corinthians chapter 10 it is the faithfulness of God and the crisis and to my interest I felt that the majority of the references to the faithfulness of God can be categorized under one or the other of these two categories that we find them here and it is it is a testament to his character that in both of these circumstances we can depend upon his character notice as what it says if you look with me for if you're not too tired we'll look at the text there just at the little context if you like in 1st Corinthians chapter 1 beginning at verse number 4 he I want you to notice is noticing the grace of God and he is marked by gratitude himself I think he says my God always on your behalf for the grace of God he says which is given you by Jesus Christ he's taken them back in his own memory and mind and obviously he's hoping in their mind as well to when he brought the gospel to this city this city so dominated by sin and into it came this man on inauspicious that came along with this tremendous gospel message the most unlikely spot for the gospel and yet the most needed and the most the most the kind of a situation where most it would be apparent in its power and so he speaks of the grace of God that saved them it was given to them by Jesus Christ and it was not only the grace of salvation when it came to their future but it was also the grace of service when it came to fitting them for usefulness in the here and now and so he says that in everything you are enriched by him in and then he explains himself and says in all utterance and in all knowledge in all utterance what is going to be taught and spoken and publicly declared and proclaimed in the gathering of your assembly in Corinth and God that provides that facility for its expression and for the education and instruction of you the believers also can back it up by giving the knowledge and the requisite wisdom so that it is going to happen and it is going to be your benefit and all of this is going to happen as the testimony of Christ he interjects it here going back again to the reality of you might say it's not only grace and it's not only gifted gift has gifted them but they're also grounded in it they're grounded as they experience this reality and they see it in real life in their gatherings as the people of God they are understanding the reality of this gospel message it was confirmed when they got saved and it is now confirmed in them and to them and among them the testimony of Christ as it resonates with the reality of a message that had won them and now is is expressing itself among them in their in their company as an assembly and not not missing a heartbeat he then takes them to the glory he says so that you become you come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and I understand that this word coming here is the word that usually refers to his manifestation in glory so the word I put over that one is glory so we've got grace we've got gift we've got them grounded and we've got the glory that is before them and then we've got the goal that God has in mind in the process to make sure that this all happens what is going to govern this so that it actually becomes a reality not just some kind of a pleasant sounding theory and he says who shall also in verse number eight who shall also confirm you on to the end that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ these believers saved and rescued out of the cesspool of iniquity of Corinth are going to someday be stellar shining like stars in the firmament they are going to be attendants with the return of our Lord Jesus Christ in his manifestation in glory after the tribunal after the after the the Bhima the real the the the rewards that will be given to them and to the lamb's wife has been given to array herself in in the fine linen to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen clean and white for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the Saints and decked in a and attired in a resplendent glorious fashion they are there to enhance the supreme glory and the surpassing glory that of course is is unique on its own and will not be eclipsed it doesn't need any any assistance but notwithstanding such as the grace of God and this grand goal and scheme that God has is that these believers in their present activity for God bearing testimony for him in this city of Corinth it's all just a preparation it's all preparatory for this grand moment when Christ steps forth from the skies and the church his bride at his side so what a sweeping powerful statement right here at the outset of this book unless there should be any doubt in anyone's mind he says God is faithful by whom going back again to the gospel going back to their salvation by whom he says ye were called on to the fellowship of his son Jesus Christ our Lord now I don't really know for sure but some would suggest that this communion is the fellowship of the local assembly and some would say that it is actually a fellowship that is available and accessible to every Christian and so I'm not sure exactly where you are in the middle of that kind of a discussion and I'm not sure that it I'm not sure that at the end of the day that we need to worry about it I think that the point is this that and I just so you understand I'm thinking that it's available to every believer but I think that what's interesting is that the wider interpretation of this fellowship to which sinners have been called in the gospel and I don't believe in anything like what is sometimes called irresistible grace this is not an irresistible call okay this is a call that has met with a human response of repentance and receiving of the message of the gospel and salvation and eternal life has been imparted to the sinner and now he says here is God's great goal in mind God's got multiple goals in mind and he's multitasking but here is one thing that God is craving from you and that is this he wants to bring you into the inner circle of a fellowship that is called the fellowship of his son and that gives us a hint that that fellowship is something they have already been enjoying all along and it is something that is so precious and wonderful that they do not want to keep it to themselves and while none of us will ever be able to experience or enjoy it in the fullness that they do yet it would seem to me that this is what God is wanting to happen this is what is the secret this is what drives and makes this a pulsating reality in the experience of believers this is what delivers us from dry stale rusty mechanical robotic Christianity is when you and I have caught something of this experience of being called into the communion of his son Jesus Christ our Lord so yeah he wanted to save us from the enemy's clutches and he wanted to save us and deliver us from this present evil world and he wanted to save us from hell and he wants to save us for heaven but in the meantime and something that he's going to continue eternally is he wants to call you and me into this fellowship this communion that is so near and dear to his heart it seems to me that this is what the Lord Jesus referred to even in John chapter 14 and so he's saying that he's going away and in his father's heart so many mansions in the very same word for mansion is used in a statement that the Lord Jesus makes and I put it in my notes here I'm not sure that I can find it I did it says in in verse 23 of that same chapter if a man loved me he will keep my words and my father will love him and we will come on to him and make our abode mansion with him and we will dwell with him we will love him we will come on to him and make our abode with him a mansion in heaven and a mansion in your heart the mansion that's in heaven is for you arriving there the mansion in your heart is for the father and the son and they arrive so I want to ask you is there a is there any mansion because there's many mansions in heaven he's got lots of room he's got no reservations ample ample room lots of four floor space lots of square footage how much room would you say could be measured in the mansion in your heart for these persons divine dignitaries that are wanting to abide not just visit you they're wanting to arrive take up residence move in yes and take over so that's why he's called Jesus Christ our Lord and this is the epistle that is eminently the epistle of the Lordship of our Lord Jesus Christ I think it's like a hundred and four times we'll have a reference to God I think it's like 24 times we'll have a reference to the Holy Spirit and it's going to be somewhere around 70 times no less can you imagine that this is in more than any other writing in the entire New Testament is emphasized it's Jesus Christ our Lord you see he's not just wanting to be your friend he's already your Savior but he wants to be Lord and that's what this is all about and God's call in the gospel had that intention that there might be that ambience that experience that communion that's what God being faithful and this call and this cause and this communion is dependent upon the faithful character of God the original intention and it's all with this grand scheme in mind it says who shall also confirm you on to the end that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ so this is a delightful expression that we have here and a delightful encouragement that however small these people had all the gifts but it seems to me like you read first Corinthians you think boy they got like nearly all the problems as possible to have except that that's not true so we've got a sample and if you if you if you know what goes on you'll know that there's a whole lot more to the list that could be added bottom line is this the God who gifted them by grace is the God also that can guard them by grace and can work in the midst of impossible circumstances because the God that called them into the communion of his son Jesus Christ our Lord ironically in this case and what seems to be the track record and tendency in New Testament gospel work is that when God called them into the fellowship of his son Jesus Christ our Lord he also called them into the fellowship of the assembly so the two work hand and glove would you not confess that as we would sit and listen to brethren consider Psalm 22 that we are in the experience of the fellowship of Jesus Christ our Lord that's what's going on now that's happening in an assembly you say I thought this was a conference no this is a ministry meeting that is being hosted by the a couple of assemblies in the area so we're in an assembly meeting and that assembly meeting contributes to my fellowship with Jesus Christ our Lord and my fellowship with Jesus Christ our Lord contributes to my and our experience as believers in the assembly they're not mutually exclusive they're mutually related and the one should be the outflow of the other and once now there's lots of Christians don't have the privilege of being in an assembly there's no assembly within within reach of where they are there's there's believers I know us some believers and they they make it once in a while to meeting but they're driving five hours to get there and notwithstanding they still wanted to be part of that assembly that's the closest assembly to them not everybody has the privilege that sometimes we take for granted so here is the faithfulness of God and his call the faithfulness of God and then I'm thinking also in first Corinthians 10 and verse number 13 we have the faithfulness of God and the crisis and so in this particular case it seems to me that he's fortifying us to resist now the word temptation can just sound like and be what we are thinking temptation to sin it can also mean temptation in the sense of a trial it can mean that a trial the same word but listen to what he says so if you think of it and especially if you think of the background here's the children of Israel in their pilgrimage and they're going through and you know what times are tough and times are hard and there's a lot of difficulties and it's a dry and it's a dusty road and it's a long road and you know something at that point it becomes very easy to say that sin is an easier path than following on in faithfulness to God so here's what he's gonna say that temptation that's coming to you that's that's creeps up and comes up in the heart it's common demand because we're all sinners even though we're pilgrims and even though we're Saints and it's a very rare time where the New Testament calls believers sinners but it's true it's the reality and so if we can apply it in relation to sin we were hearing yesterday about God who is faithful when it comes to forgiveness and confession and restoration it seems to me that if we allow sin to be the idea here and sin is certainly in the context beforehand and the judgment of God and the wrath of God and the waywardness of the people and the wrongs that they had committed and how that it's a warning for us and the things that were written beforehand were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages are come are fallen and so if we allow it then it's an interesting thing he's saying to you this so when temptation knocks at your door just in the middle of the strongest temptation remember this God is faithful that's a great anchor and God is faithful and he will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able you don't have to cave to sin you don't have to say yes to temptation you actually have the tools to turn away from what is wrong now it might be easier in the moment to do what is wrong but sometimes the pain and the difficulty of pleasing God and staying true to him is more significant than taking the easy route sin is a cop-out sin is taking the easy path and he's telling us here just hang on hold on put on the brakes God will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able but will with the temptation make a way to escape escape what escape sinning escape falling into the temptation so that you will be able to bear and if I'm understanding it right it's the idea of resisting it so he can strengthen you he can fortify you and if you fail the same God that is faithful in advance to prevent you from falling is there afterward 1st John chapter 1 and 9 if we confess our sins so the aftermath is there he wants to have a prompt stop to sin in the hour of temptation and he wants to have a prompt recovery when sin has overtaken you and so there can be a transparency there can be an honesty there can be an openness there can be a humility and there can be a responsiveness there can be a conscientiousness a person that saved is conscientious we hope and so he bows in the present in the moment of his sin with no delay he can say the same thing that God will say about sin and he knows what God will say about sin because he's been reading his Bible beforehand so he's figured out what God's opinion is and the same God who is faithful that's reliable and just that's righteous to lead him to hundreds to understand properly what his sin actually is that he or she has committed is the same God that is ready is reliable and he's also righteous because the same sacrifice that saves is the sacrifice that sanctifies and on the basis of that tremendous work God is able not only to fortify you before the temptation but if you don't want to avail yourself of that and you do fall he's there to forgive you and he's there to recover you notice what it says he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins I would have thought that's all he needs to say but he's talking not only about guilt he's talking about defilement and he says to cleanse us from all unrighteousness now those that know the Bible better than me will help me on this but it seems to me that cleanse us from all unrighteousness I thought righteousness has to do with what we do has to do with our practice is that telling me that God is forward thinking and he's saying the sin that that took you down today I don't want it to take you down tomorrow I want to cleanse you from all oncoming upcoming unrighteousness I want to give you a pattern and a practice and a habit of holy living I want that to become the norm in your life and so this is what we are learning in this passage God is faithful God is faithful in the crisis but if we take it in relation to a trial God is faithful in the trial and how comforting are these words to people in the midst of their trial and so this verse has great significance on that front because those that resist the sin are now going to be continuing on and they've got the trial they've got the difficulty they've got the challenge is it insurmountable no it's not because God is faithful and he can give you provision in the trial and so here is the great faithfulness of God in the midst of the trial it's based upon his character he's merciful he's mindful of our weakness he measures it he understands us he ministers to us in the trial and instead of us collapsing under the burden of defeat and despair and doubt and destruction or even disobedience he can hold us up and so we have the faithfulness of God just quickly as I close I'll just run you through a few examples of this faithfulness of God in the trial well you think of them in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 23 let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering for he is faithful that promised that's faithfulness with our confession not confession of sin but confession of the scriptures confession of our stance in relation to the Apostles doctrine what is confessedly the mystery of godliness of every assembly planted by God the faithfulness of God in our confession the faithfulness of God in Sarah's condition in Hebrews chapter 11 she received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged him faithful who had promised first Peter 4 19 speaks about believers and the fiery trial that is to try them and he says at the end of that passage let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him and well-doing as unto a faithful creator there's one or two exam other examples but my time is gone I just trust that God will somehow register this on all of our minds to some benefit or blessing or help that God is faithful God is faithful when it comes to his call God is faithful when it comes to the crisis and as a result you and I can face tomorrow with boldness and courage and trust and confidence we need not lose heart no matter how dark the day or difficult the circumstances no matter how disturbing is the situation that might be developing in any aspect of your life personal family or assembly wise thank God there is a competent God and he is still on the throne and he is worthy of our entire trust and allegiance may God bless his word