America´s Faithful God

 

Series: America in Crisis
America's Faithful God
Joshua 21:43-45
 
I want you to turn this morning to the book of Joshua chapter 21. We want to continue on our theme "America In Crisis." We are going to take a little different turn this morning and talk about "America's Faithful God." 
 
Now the setting for this passage of Scripture is after the years of conquest of the land of Canaan which God swore that He would give to the Israelites. God has done all that He said. God has been faithful. So when they come to the end of the conquest the statement is being made by Joshua the leader of the faithfulness of God to a nation. 
 
And when you think about America and all that America has been through with all the wars, the Revolutionary War in which we won our freedom. A rag-tag group of farmers and merchants fought the mightiest army in the world at that time, the army of Great Britain. And won our freedom. It was a miraculous victory. And could not be explained in terms of any other source except the intervention of God. And our forefathers founded this country on the principles of freedoms found in God's Holy Word. And all of our founding documents are filled with praise to God and with dependence upon Him. 
 
And all of the other wars that we have fought especially in this century, the great wars, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the minor conflicts in which we have been involved. 
And now we are in Iraq and we wonder how it will turn out. But we know this: God will be faithful. God has had His hand upon this nation. He has declared that “Righteousness exalts a nation”, and “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” So as long as we are faithful to God, God will be faithful to us. We can look back on our history and we can say God has been faithful to America.
 
Joshua 21:43-45
 
Notice in particular that 45th verse. Not one of God's promises failed. Every promise God made came to pass. Every promise He made to Israel came to pass just as God said it would.
 
Lamentations 3:22-23 is a prophecy of God about Israel's future. When things looked bleak God spoke through Jeremiah.
 
Lamentations 3:22-23 "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."
 
Deuteronomy 7:9 "Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;"
 
God is a faithful God. Sometimes we say there is nothing God cannot do. And that is absolutely true in one sense. But in another sense there a lot of things God can’t do: 
 
 
God cannot sin. 
God cannot go against His own nature.
God cannot do anything that is unjust.
God cannot tell a lie
God is cannot be unfair.
God cannot see your sin through the blood of Jesus
 
Here we find another of those things: 
 
God cannot break a promise. There are many, many promises in the Bible to the children of God and God will never break a promise, He has never broken a promise and He never will break a promise because to break a promise would mean that God would be a liar and God will never be a liar. Let every man be a liar but God is true. 
       
Politicians will break their promises. We are in a time now when all the politicians are making promises, most of them they cannot keep. They know when they make them they cannot keep them and they will make them anyway. Most of them they make every political season. They never keep hardly any of them.  They cannot do it because no president can keep many of these promises by himself. And yet they make those promises knowing that they may try to keep them but they cannot keep them, and they will make them anyway.
 
But God never makes a promise that He cannot keep because He is an almighty and an all-powerful God and every promise God makes He can keep.
 
So in Joshua it says there did not fail one single promise that God made to Israel. 
 
 
He said He would bring them in the land, He said He would defeat their enemies, He said He would keep them safe, He said He would give them the land, and He gave them the land that He swore that He would give them. And now they have reached a time of peace and safety in the land and God kept every promise. And not a promise that He made would fail. 
 
And today there is a nation of Israel. God had said to Israel you will be a nation and I give you this land forever. Ladies and gentlemen, for many years and centuries there was no nation of Israel. There was no organized Israel. And the skeptics said, see, God's promises have failed. Israel is scattered to the winds. Israel is scattered to the nations of the earth. There is no Israel. God's promises have failed. 
 
And then May 15, 1948, Israel was reborn in a day. And all the skeptics became liars and God was true. And Israel was reborn. And there is a nation Israel. Israel is a tiny nation surrounded by forty million enemies and yet she cannot be defeated because God has given her a land and swore that that land would be hers forever. And Israel is a sign that God is faithful. 
 
Every Jew that you see is a sign that God does not lie, that God is faithful. Every time you hear on the news about events in the nation of Israel you know that God is faithful. Every time you hear about Israel prevailing you know that God is faithful. Israel is not always right but Israel is in the promise of God. And Israel is in the providence of God. The Bible says those who bless Israel will be blessed. And those who curse Israel will be cursed. 
 
One of the reasons God has blessed America is that America has blessed Israel. And as long as America blesses Israel, God will bless America. But if America ever ceases to be the friend of Israel's then America will suffer the consequences. 
 
I thank God that this administration has been the greatest friend of Israel of any administration since the history of Israel's founding. It was because of President Truman and his bold leadership that Israel became a nation. It was because of America that Israel has prospered. And if we ever have an administration that forgets the importance of Israel in the Middle East and forgets that she is the only democracy in the Middle East and the only friend we have in the Middle East, then we will indeed suffer dire consequences. God is faithful.
 
I. GOD IS FAITHFUL TO FORGIVE YOUR SIN
 
But you know God is faithful to you and me. God is faithful to our nation, but God is faithful to you. God is faithful, first of all,
 
to forgive our sin.  
 
The devil would like for you to think today that you are worthless, that God can't use you that you have failed in life. That somehow that God cannot use you, that you are less worthy, that God can use somebody else, that God can use somebody more gifted, more talented, but God can't use you, that you have sinned against God.
 
 
 
 
But you see, the Bible says in I John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
 
 Now think about that verse, if we confess our sins. What does that mean? 
 
Confess means to say the same thing as; to say the same thing about our sin that God says. 
 
So the first step is, you must confess. That is you can't excuse your sin. You have to say the same thing about sin that God says. You have to call it sin.
 
One of the problems we have today in our nation is that our nation doesn't want to call sin sin. Our nation wants to call it a mistake. Our nation wants to call it a problem with our raising. Our nation wants to call it some kind of social aberration. Our nation wants to blame it on culture or education, but sin is sin.
 
But the Bible tells us we must confess our sin. 
 
And then it says, if we confess our sin, we call it what God does, if we turn from our sin, that is be willing to change, be willing for God to turn us and cleanse us and forgive us, He is faithful. 
 
That means that God will absolutely, no matter what we have done, no matter what the sin is, no matter what kind of sin, no matter how dark the sin, no matter how grievous the sin, God is faithful. 
 
 
That means every time, no matter how many times you have committed that sin, no matter how many times you have failed, no matter how many times you have stumbled, no matter how many times you have faltered, God is faithful, every time. It means a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousands times, God is faithful. 
 
And He is just. What does just mean? It means that on the basis of the blood of Jesus Christ, God can declare you just because Christ has died for you. Not because of your goodness, not because of your ability to keep the law, not because of your righteousness, but on the basis of God's love that Jesus died for you. He is faithful every time.
 
And He is just to forgive. What does forgive mean? 
 
Forgive means to loose. That means to take away the bondage, to loose you from sin, to free you from sin. That means to take away the hold that sin has on you, to free you from it, to take the burden off your back. Some of you came to church with a big burden on your back; God wants to take it off. Take the guilt away so that you can be free. 
 
He is faithful and just to forgive your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Cleanse means exactly what it says, it means that in God's sight you will be just as clean and innocent as a newborn babe, as clean and innocent as one who has never sinned a single time. And my friend, God is faithful to do that. And this morning that is what church is all about. It is a place for sinners, it is a place for people to come and find a faithful God who can give them a new beginning, who can give them a new start, who can cleanse us. 
You find a God who is faithful every time if you come to the cross and find in Him forgiveness. God is a faithful God. He will forgive the sins of the nation if America will turn to Him.
 
II. GOD IS FAITHFUL TO GUIDE YOUR STEPS
 
Then God is faithful to guide your steps. If you come today needing to make a decision, or if you are facing some choice in life that you need to make then listen to this verse, Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." 
 
First of all, trust in the Lord with all your heart. That means with your whole soul. And lean not on your own understanding. You see, your feelings can deceive you, circumstances can deceive you. Things are not always what they appear. Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him. Acknowledge God in every part of your life, in your business life, in your school life, in your home life. Let Jesus be Lord of every part of your life and He will direct your path. 
 
How does God guide you?
 
Number one, God guides you through the Scripture. That is why you need to be in Bible study, that is why you need to read the Word of God, that is why you need to be under Bible preaching. God speaks through His Word. The Bible says God in these last days has spoken unto us through His Son Jesus Christ. He speaks through the Word of God. As you read the Word of God and hear the Word of God, God gives you direction.
The psalmist said, "thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, it is a light unto my path." In Old Testament time they actually tied lamps on their feet. They didn't have flashlights, they didn't have streetlights, and so they tied lamps on their feet when they walked in the darkness so they could see where they were walking. And the Bible says God's Word is a lamp unto my feet. It shows me where to go. It warns me of danger. It keeps me from falling, it keeps me from stumbling.
 
And then God guides through the Spirit. The Bible says in Romans 8 that those who are the children of God are led by the Spirit of God. God's Spirit gives impressions to our heart. If we are sensitive to God's Spirit, if we listen to God's Spirit, He gives us impressions in our heart. He guides us, He speaks to us, maybe not with an audible voice but He speaks to us in our heart, in our inner being, in our inner self.
 
And we know when His Spirit says no when His Spirit says yes. He speaks to you this morning, He tells you if you need to make a decision for Him, He tells you if He wants you to go and be a missionary, He tells you if you need to come and recommit your life, He tells you if you need to join the church, He tells you if you need to get right with someone.
 
And then God speaks to us through the saints, that is through Christian friends. You have a decision you need to make; you need to seek out wise counsel. People who have been with the Lord for a long time, people who you know have been in the Word of God, people you need who have walked with God, people that you respect and counsel with them. 
 
Talk to them about your decision and see what they have to offer. God will be faithful to guide your steps but He uses various ways to do it. 
 
And sometimes, He speaks through other believers. The writer of Proverbs was the wisest man in the Old Testament. And he said in the multitude of counselors there is safety. God is faithful to guide your steps.
 
III. GOD IS FAITHFUL TO REWARD YOUR GENEROSITY
 
Then God is faithful to reward your generosity. Many of you are living proof of that. Many of you are the most generous people I have ever known. This church was built of the generosity of the people of God. And I depend upon the generosity of the people of God. 
       
Luke 6:38 "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."
 
Now that is a New Testament picture of the way they measured grain. When you went to the market to get grain, they wore these long, flowing robes. And you would hold up your robe and make sort of a basket with your robe as you held it up. And they would pour it in and when they poured it in, they would fill it up. And Jesus said, they would press it down. And then they would shake your robe so they could get some more in it. 
 
 
And then they would pour it in after it was pressed down and shaken together, and then pour some more in until it was running over. And Jesus said, with the same measure that you give, it will be given back to you. So if you give generously, it is going to be given back to you generously.
 
Now He is not only talking about generous financial giving, but the giving of your time, the giving of your service, the giving of your love, the giving of your counsel, the giving of your self. God is faithful to reward your generosity.
 
The devil wants people to think that their generosity will never be rewarded, that their generosity is going to be overlooked. But God, time and time again in His Word, says He will be faithful to reward your generosity. 
 
America has been blessed because America has been a giving nation. America has sent out missionaries more than any other nation in the world. Why do you think this nation is the wealthiest nation on the face of the planet? Why do you think this nation is the best place to live on the face of the planet? 
 
I don't see anybody trying to get out of this nation, I don't see people trying to escape from this nation and get into other nations, I see a lot of people getting on boats and trying to come here. They are trying to break in to America because everybody knows this is the place to live if you want to be prosperous, if you want to be free, if you want to find prosperity for your family come here. 
 
Why? because America is a generous nation. It is a prosperous nation, why? 
Because America, from the very beginning, has been a generous nation, a generous people. It was founded on the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and the church has taught America to give.
 
America has given and it has helped the poorer nations of the world, it has aided the countries of the world that are starving when there is disaster in a country. America is the first to ship food, aid, and clothing when there are earthquakes, when there is feminine. America comes to the fore. And God has blessed America because we have been a generous people.
 
My friend, God will bless you if you will be generous. You do not have to be wealthy to be generous. God does not measure generosity on the amount of your gift. God measures generosity on the amount you have left. And anyone can be a generous giver. 
 
You remember Jesus told about the widow who gave her two mites, that was less than a penny. And the men came by the treasury and they gave their offerings to the Lord. The wealthy put in their offerings and Jesus watched them all. And then the widow came by and she put in less than a penny and Jesus turned to the disciples and He said, I say to you, this widow has given more than all the rest because she has given all she had. 
 
So don't think you can't be generous. You don't have to give a huge offering to be generous if you give generously out of what you have. Proverbs 3:9-10, the Bible says, "Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." 
You just can't get around this teaching in the Word of God. 
 
Many have misused this teaching. Many have perverted this teaching, taught people if they give they will have a new Cadillac; if they give they will have a check next week in the mail. This is talking about a lifestyle. God never teaches that everybody will be wealthy; God never teaches that everybody is going to live on the high-class side of town. 
 
But God teaches He will meet your need. God teaches that He will give you all you need and more. God teaches that this principle will work in your life. And I have seen it proven again and again and again in the lives of people, but it is a lifestyle. It is not a one-time shot. It is a principle of life and of living. And I dare you to try it; I dare you to make it a part of your life, to make generosity the style of your life.
 
Proverbs 22:9 "He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor." 
 
You need to know this is a generous church. Benevolence, missions, school supplies, thanksgiving dinner, angel tree gifts, disaster relief, FAITH Riders and veterans. . .
 
Now we could say well we don't have the money to do all that. That is when you need to be generous. You need to give out of your poverty like the Corinthians did. They gave when they couldn't afford it and Paul used them as an example. He applauded them, he said, they gave out of their poverty more than you did out of your abundance. And he said, my God shall supply all their needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. 
God is faithful to reward your generosity. Don't you let the devil make you think anything else. Because one day, God will remember every dollar you gave, God will remember why you gave, God will remember for what purpose you gave it and God will reward you one day in heaven. 
 
Jesus said, when you give you are laying up for yourselves treasures in heaven that nothing can touch and your investment is earning 100%. So think about that, the only thing going to heaven is the souls of men. And it is going to be there for you when you get there.
 
IV. GOD IS FAITHFUL TO SECURE YOUR SALVATION
 
Then God is faithful to secure your salvation. Look at I Corinthians 1:8, it says, "Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." He will confirm you to the end and you shall be blameless in the day of Jesus Christ. 
 
The Bible says God is faithful and He is going to preserve you. You will be blameless when the day when Jesus Christ comes. It is God who secures your salvation. Not because you earned it, not because you deserved it, not because you are worthy of it, but because you accepted it by grace. Because of that God will be faithful to secure it for you until the day of Jesus Christ.
 
Paul said in II Timothy 1:12, "…for I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."
Who is able to keep it? Paul didn't say I am able to keep it, he said, "HE" is able to keep it until that day. It is not I keeping my salvation, it is Christ keeping it. Jesus keeps that which I have committed unto Him. I have committed my soul to Him, my life to Him, my eternity to Him. And I am depending on Him. It says He is faithful to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. 
 
If you have committed your life to Him, your soul to Him, your eternity to Him, He is going to keep that for you until the day you stand before Him. And you will stand before Him blameless because of what Christ has done for you on the cross of Calvary in shedding His blood for you.
 
And if you have never given your life to Him what a morning to come and give your life to Him as our Lord and your Savior. You see the saving grace that saved you is the grace that will keep you. If God had enough grace to save you don't you think that the same grace that saved you is going to be the same grace that keeps you? 
 
It is not a matter of you holding on. You say, well what if I decide that I don't want to be saved. Well, look at II Timothy 2:13, "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself." If you decide you don't want to be God's child, it is too bad; you have already committed yourself to Him. God is not going to deny you. Once you become a child of God, you are always a child of God. 
 
When I became the son of my mom and my dad, I could never, ever change it. I am forever their child. 
 
 
My friend when I was born again by faith in Christ I became the child of God. Nothing will ever change that. My Father will never deny me. I might disappoint Him, I might disgrace Him, but He can never deny that I am His son. I am born of his seed. 
The Bible says we are born again, not by the will of the flesh nor by the will of man, but by the Word of God that lives and abides forever. And even if we deny it, God cannot deny Himself the Scripture says.
 
There may be times when you don't believe, there may be times when you doubt, there may be times when you say I don't remember, there may be times when you backslide, there may be times when you get away from God, but if you were truly born again, He is faithful to secure your salvation.
 
And I am thankful for that. Friend, I wouldn't trust the best five minutes I have ever lived for my salvation. The Bible says my righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God. It took the blood of a sinless lamb to save me. It took the Son of God coming from heaven and living a sinless life. 
 
He was spit upon, He was persecuted, His beard was plucked out, and He was beaten. They placed a crown of thorns upon His head. The angels wanted to rescue Him. The Father turned His back on Him. On the cross He cried why hast thou forsaken me? It took all of that to save my soul, do you think if I could have saved myself that God would have sent His Son to go through that? Not one of His promises has ever failed and it never will.
 
And that is why my friend, that God is faithful to secure our salvation. And all you need to do today is call upon Him and He will save you.