THE RESULTS OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS, Part 2

God’s faithfulness is for His glory, but also for our good. Yesterday, we learned that His faithfulness results in God saving and sanctifying us (1 Cor.1:9; 10:13; 1 Thess.5:23-24)

Today, we will note three additional results.  Because He is faithful:

• GOD SHAPES US.

“I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.” (Ps.119:75)

The troubles that come our way are not meant to harm us, but to help us. These problems are the pressures of life that the Potter uses to shape our human clay into the image of Christ.

• GOD SECURES US.

“Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” (Lam.3:22-23)

We can be secure in knowing that God is faithful to extend to us mercies every morning. We are not consumed with the condemnation we deserve, because God is consumed with the compassion He desires. We may fail, but He will be faithful.

• GOD STABILIZES US.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Heb.10:23). This does not mean that our faithfulness is insignificant, but that it grows out of God’s faithfulness to us. We can hold fast to our confession because God holds fast to His children. We may be unwavering in our stand for God is unmoving in His stability—and our feet rest on that Rock!  God’s faithfulness is the root of which our faithfulness is the fruit.

How wonderful is our Mighty God!  Great is His faithfulness. Again this morning I find mercies for the multitude of my sins. Compassions are abundant for my need is great. As the sun rises, God’s faithfulness dawns anew for me!

THE ROOT OF THE RIGHTEOUS

“A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved.
The wicked covet the catch of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12:3, 12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Twice in this chapter, Solomon uses the expression, “the root of the righteous.”  How are we to understand that?

THE DEFINITION OF THIS—Our righteousness is rooted in faith.

The righteous are those who are not merely self-righteous—proclaiming their own goodness in prideful religiosity that is not matched by reality. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were condemned for that.  Our Lord branded them hypocrites, and their hate for Him led them to reject the Lord of glory and demand His death.

The truly righteous are those so declared by God.  They possess the righteousness which is by faith.  That position of declared righteousness is the very righteousness of Jesus as He has paid for our sin by bearing it on the cross and provided us His righteousness as we have received Him. “For [God] made [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor.5:21).

It is more than a profession of righteousness, for when it is real, there is the practice of righteousness.  We are not saved because we do works of righteousness, but we do works of righteousness because we are saved.

Then there is THE DESIRABILITY OF THIS—Our root provides stability and productivity.

Stability comes when we our roots reach into the righteous standing of faith.   “A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved.” (v.3). The wicked will be uprooted in the day of judgment, but the righteous will be rooted in the Garden of God. In this life we have the stability to stand when “the howling‬ storms of doubt and fear assail,” as the old hymn states.  We stand firmly on the promises of God.

Productivity arises from roots that draw from vital connection to Christ through faith.  “The wicked covet the catch of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.” (v.12). The wicked are always lusting for more, while the righteous generate much fruit for the glory of God (John 15:8) and this fruit is the life of Christ reproduced by His Spirit.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Gal.5:22-23a).  We serve fruitfully in the power of God.

Are you a tree rooted in righteousness or a tumbleweed driven by the prevailing winds of the age?

LIFE LESSONS

And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:  (Genesis 49:1)

If you are taking a trip somewhere that I have been, you are wise to listen to me before you travel.  I can tell you the best road to take, good places to eat, where to stay, and what to see.  If there are places to avoid, I can warn you.  We have the experiences of spiritual pilgrims recorded in Scripture.  “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”  (1 Cor.10:11)  There are life lessons from Jacob’s prophetic blessing in Genesis 49.

Reuben was commended for his strength (v.3), but condemned for his lack of stability (v.4), which led to immoral sensuality.  We are warned of being, “a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:8)  Such are bound to trip and fall.

If Reuben’s problem was instability then Simeon and Levi’s was cruelty (v.5-7).  Rather than controlling their anger, it dominated them.  “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”  (James 1:19-20)

Judah would rise to sovereignty (v.8-12).  His would be the line from which the kings would come—and ultimately the King of kings, the Lion of Judah, Jesus Christ.  Since we are heirs with Christ, then we shall reign with Him also (read Rom.8:17; Rev.22:5).

Zebulun and Issachar teach us about opportunity (v.13-15).  Zebulun would seize it, and Issachar would shun it.  Dwelling by the sea, Zebulun’s heirs would master commerce.  Issachar’s strength gave great potential, but indifference led to enslavement.  God gives us such wisdom in His Word about financial matters, but too often, “the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.” (Luke 16:8b)

Dan warns us of duplicity (v.16-18).  He is pictured as a serpent lying in wait, striking the unsuspecting.  In this he is like his spiritual father—the Devil.  Our only hope to escape the same sin and sentence is to cry out to God for salvation (v.18).

Gad, Asher and Naphtali will experience victory and exhibit prosperity (v.19-21).  So should we: “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” (2 Cor.2:14). ‎

Joseph’s life lesson instructs us in purity (v.22-26).  His painful experiences were God’s pruning to prepare him for fruitfulness.  They had a refining quality that molded his character into a vessel God could us.  A sanctified life is one God delights to bless.

Benjamin teaches us about activity (v.27).  Morning and evening would find him on the move.  His productivity would lead to prosperity.  God never blesses laziness!  Do we, like Benjamin, have an appetite to achieve?

As you look into the mirror of God’s Word here, what do you see about your life?

THE SOURCE OF STRENGTH AND STABILITY

 

The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet,

And He will make me walk on my high hills.  (Habakkuk 3:19a)

God is in control, even in a world that sometimes seems out of control.  The events that swirl around us and the emotions that surge within us are in constant flux—yet, a Sovereign God reigns and His will shall be done.

What I am to do is submit to His sovereignty.  If I do not, then I have decided to supplant His authority.  That is folly to be sure—in two ways.  It prevents me from experiencing His strength and stability which alone can sustain me, but also sets me up for catastrophe as in my arrogance I have decided I am my own sovereign.  This is the natural tendency—our sinful idolatry.  This is the sin that brought down a beautiful angel and made him into a devil.  It is the evil that brought in the curse on Adam’s race and environment.  You can be as God.  That is the temptation which must be resisted!

Here is what Israel did,

For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.  (Jer.2:13)

I do this when I refuse to rely on the Sovereign God as my strength and stability.  I forsake the only source, and depend on a futile hope. 

The Stone falls from Heaven, and I will either fall upon the Rock of Ages in brokenness and reliance, or that Rock will fall on me in my rebellion and crush me.  The Rock, however, will roll on as He fulfills His inexorable purpose!  And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” (Matt.21:44)

If I want strength and stability, then I must draw it from this source—the Sovereign God.  I dare not trust the strength of my own hands to overcome my problems.  I must not trust the stability of my own feet to order my path.  God will do both for me, in me, and through me, in my utter dependence on Him marked by unconditional obedience to Him.

Faith is the intersection of my impotence with Omnipotence.  Faith drives me to Him for strength, and directs me to Him for stability.  May I resign from trying to play God today.  What madness!  Instead, may I rest in His strong provision and sure promises, for He is God and God alone—my supreme force and steadfast footing.

GROUNDED WITH STABILITY AS PARENTS

So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.  (Luke 2:39)

Joseph and Mary were committed to God and to each other.  This gave a stable foundation for a solid home life.

The foundation is crucial.  Recall what Jesus taught:

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.  And great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

Joseph and Mary’s stability is seen IN THEIR OWN DEDICATION.

And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.  ‎Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”), and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”  (Luke 2:21-24) 

The key phrases are: “according to the law” (v.22); “as it is written” (v.23); “according to what is said” (v.24).  A solid foundation is laid on bedrock Biblical truth.  Jesus said that those who built on the rock are, “whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them.” (emphasis added)

The adoptive father Joseph and the biological mother Mary demonstrated stability IN THE OFFSPRING’S DEDICATION.

Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”) (Luke 2:22-23). 

We give our children back to God who gave them to us.  They are on loan to us, but we must acknowledge that God’s purposes for them, rather than our plans, are paramount. 

No child is an “accident.”  We may not have planned the pregnancy—certainly Mary did not!  Yet, God from all eternity had this birth conceived in His mind before the Child was conceived in the womb.  So, it is for God’s surprises to us which are never a surprise for Him!

There are seasons of the year when God blesses our congregation with these tiny ones.  We will have a baby dedication for parents and infants.  In doing this, we are publicly following the Biblical example and exhorting fathers and mothers to privately model that dedication.  There is no saving efficacy to our action.  Each child has to make their own commitment to Christ when they come of age.  What we do is covenant to pray for their soul and partner with the parents as a church to create an environment conducive to lead them to repentance and regeneration.

We cannot guarantee a child will grow up to follow Christ because of parental commitment, and, thankfully, we do not assume a child must reject faith because parents fail to follow Christ.  Some grow up in a model home and spurn the faith of father and mother.  Some grow up in a hellhole and are rescued by a loving Heavenly Father.  What we can guarantee is that in providing a spiritual climate most fertile for sowing the seed of the Gospel and cultivating the soil of their soul, that the best opportunity is provided for young folks to come to Christ.

There is hope for the family that has parents who build a home on a stable foundation of knowing and modeling God’s Word in faithfulness.