Charles Stanley - Resting in the Faithfulness of God (04/11/2017)
Dr. Charles Stanley reminds us in this message that when life’s trials make God seem distant or unfaithful, we can rest in the unchanging truth of His faithfulness. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 1:9 and many other Scriptures, he explains that God’s faithfulness rests on His omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, truthfulness, and immutability—attributes that guarantee He always keeps His promises, even when our circumstances feel overwhelming.
When you find that you’re faced 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 would almost be willing to say, «God really and truly is not genuinely faithful». Now 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 and this circumstance, whatever it might be. So I want you to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and I just want us to read these first 9 verses together. And it’s the 9th 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 Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, 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, their 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 are 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 were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord».
Resting in the Faithfulness of God
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 will cause us to at least doubt for a moment, «God, where are you»? And as we said, there’ll be like some dark cloud hanging between you and him. So, Paul is encouraging his listeners, 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 seven, 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 lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love him and keep his commandments». Then if you’ll flip over to the 119 Psalm, just want a few of these, 119 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 established the earth, and it stands». Then move all the way over to 1 Thessalonians and the 5th chapter. And all through the scriptures, 1 Thessalonians the 5th chapter and 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 to 2 Timothy the 2nd chapter and look, if you will, in this 2nd 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 1 Peter, for example, and 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 1 John chapter 1 and verse 9, „If we confess our sins,“ he’s what? „Faithful and just righteous in forgiving us of our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness“.
What Does God’s Faithfulness Really Mean?
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.
The Five Essential Attributes Behind God’s Faithfulness
Now it’s one thing to say that. And if somebody said, „Well why do you believe that God is faithful and will 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 and enable us to face it. So what’s what is our proof? It’s one thing to say that he 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 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 our 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, or 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 such, 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 omnipresent, which means that he, listen, he is always within reach, and we’re 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 alone, 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 or move. And, he is always present.
Truthfulness and Immutability – God Cannot Lie or Change
Now those three we can possibly accept and say, „Well I can, I can understand that“. But there 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 1st chapter and 2nd 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 back over to 2 Timothy look, if you will, in chapter 2, and if you look in verse 13, he says, „If we’re faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself“. He’s always truthful. That is, 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.
Why God’s Unchanging Nature Gives Us Confidence
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, is, 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 1 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. And 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’ll always be there, is his very nature that cannot change. That’s who he is. But there’s one other thing, another one of his attributes, and that attribute is simply this: his immutability, which means he cannot change, that God does not change.
Scriptural Proof – God Declares “I Do Not Change”
Now I know what some of you may be thinking about some passage of 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 will 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 truthfulness, but he is also a God who does not change. For example, in Malachi the 3rd chapter and the 6th verse he says for example, „I do not change“. He’s always been the same, he is the same now, 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.
Conditional vs. Unconditional Promises – Jonah’s Example
Many things around us change but he doesn’t. He treats us just as he’s treated people all throughout eternity past and eternity future. He’ll never change. It is his nature. It cannot change. If he change, everything would be uncertain. If God changed anything about his promises, then we would have uncertainty. If he changed anything about the way he operates, 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?
Practical Promises We Can Rest In
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 gonna say, „Well exceptions, if, ands, 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.
God’s Limit on Temptation and Trials – 1 Corinthians 10:13
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 according to 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 desired of him. If I ask something that’s not his will, then he is under no obligation to answer.
Affliction as an Act of Faithfulness – Psalm 119:75
So if somebody says, „Well, God isn’t truthful because here’s what he said. I made this request. God says he answers prayer. 'ask and it shall be given you: seek and ye shall find: knock and it shall be opened unto you.'“ but 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 shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, you will be saved“. Confessing him as Lord and you mean that, you’ll be saved.
All Things Work Together for Good – Romans 8:28
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 and 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 is somebody, that he’s a Savior, but not believing unto the point of accepting him as atoning for their sin and acknowledging him as the Lord of their life. It’s a whole different story.
God’s Faithfulness to Believers and Unbelievers Alike
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 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 Lord and 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.
The Great White Throne Judgment – Faithful to His Warnings
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 trusted Jesus as my Savior and I’m going to heaven when I die. Well, but suppose God’s changed the whole plan. He hasn’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. 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 preach the message that judgment is coming. Judgment is coming. So he goes and he preaches judgment is coming, and the scripture says they turned to the Lord and the king calls for a fast and 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 enough of them repented of their sins, turned to the Lord and then God wipe them out.
Well what was his purpose? His purpose wasn’t to destroy them. His purpose was to bring about 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. Listen, why would God change his mind, first of all, when he knows past, present, and future? Some of you already know, say he doesn’t change his mind. He makes some promises conditioned upon certain things. He makes some that are unconditional. And then you think, for example, what did he say to Abraham? I’m gonna 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 on the earth will be blessed, period: unconditional. When he said to Jonah to preach there in Nineveh, what happened? On what God’s goal was, not to destroy them but to bring them to repentance, and the reason Jonah didn’t wanna go to begin with is because he didn’t like them, he didn’t want them to be saved.
Eternal Choice – Accept or Reject God’s Faithful Promises
And do you remember, he ends up sitting under a tree, and moaning and groaning and complaining to God at 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. And the reason I emphasize this is because I think we believe a lot of things but we don’t have any basis for them. But I want you to see again the character of God cannot change. If he’s perfect, how would it change? He is the the ultimate in knowledge and wisdom and power. What, how could you change 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 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.