{"id":3203,"date":"2014-08-18T16:26:07","date_gmt":"2014-08-18T20:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=3203"},"modified":"2014-08-30T17:04:01","modified_gmt":"2014-08-30T21:04:01","slug":"god-is-faithful-81714","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=3203","title":{"rendered":"God is Faithful (8\/17\/14)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Pastor Jim’s sermon on August 17 continued the series on the Attributes of God.\u00a0 In recent weeks we have looked at God’s Awesomeness and\u00a0 God’s Holiness.\u00a0 This week we look at God’s Faithfulness.<\/span><\/address>\n

\"Rev<\/a><\/p>\n

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Click on the “Play” button below to start listening to the sermon (from the 11:00 service).<\/p>\n

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Scroll down to follow along.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\nhttps:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Sermon-2014-08-17b-God-is-Faithful-by-Pastor-Jim-Bolton-6kbs-mono.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

The scripture was from Lamentations 3:21-25.\u00a0 Click the arrow to open up the passage:<\/p>\n

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Lamentations 3:16-27<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

16 He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust.\n17 I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.\n18 So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”<\/p>\n

19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.\n20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.\n21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:<\/span><\/p>\n

22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.<\/span>\n 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.<\/span>\n 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”<\/span><\/p>\n

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,to the one who seeks him;<\/span>\n26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.<\/span>\n27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.<\/p>\n

NIV<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

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Who can you completely trust? Is there anyone we can depend on?\u00a0 Is there anyone who will have your back no matter what?<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n

Lamentations…<\/span><\/h3>\n

Jerusalem had just been attacked, plundered, and destroyed (586 BC).\u00a0 Most of its citizens were marched off into exile.\u00a0 It was Jerusalem’s “9\/11″… only worse.\u00a0 The prophet Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations while watching the smoldering embers of\u00a0 what was left of the city.<\/p>\n

The “book” is actually a collection of five Eulogies.\u00a0 Each of these five is constructed as an acrostic poem, with each verse beginning with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.\u00a0 There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet and 66 verses in chapter 3, so the verses can be grouped into triplets which form a common theme.<\/p>\n

The word Lament comes from a Hebrew word meaning, “How?”, “Alas!”, or “O.”\u00a0 A Prayer of lament is not afraid to cry out to God expressing our fear and worry.<\/p>\n

But there IS Hope!<\/span><\/h4>\n

In verses 17-18 Jeremiah expresses his feelings that peace and hope have been stripped away.\u00a0 Through his human eyes, the is no hope, peace, or prosperity.\u00a0 No Wawas.\u00a0 No Taco Bell.\u00a0 No gas stations.\u00a0 Nothing.\u00a0 No future; everything is gone.\u00a0 Like the Israelites standing before Goliath in fear,\u00a0 there is no hope of defeating this huge enemy.<\/p>\n

Calamity will happen in life.\u00a0 But we have a choice on how to respond.<\/p>\n

In verse 21 he says that he dares to hope… when he shifts his perspective to God.\u00a0 Despite the turmoil, Jeremiah makes the conscious decision to ignore his eyes and feelings and instead trust in God.\u00a0 In God there IS hope.\u00a0 Young David put his hope in God.\u00a0 He refused to use Saul’s armor and in effect to depend on man’s strength in this battle.\u00a0 He broke away from the Israelite pity party and stepped into a different comfort zone.\u00a0 In God, there is always hope,\u00a0 but we must intentionally seek God and “dare to trust Him” in order to experience this hope.<\/p>\n

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\u00a01:\u00a0 We are an Adopted Child…
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God’s faithfulness to us is tied to the fact that He has “adopted” us has His children.\u00a0 Because of the sacrifice of Jesus we are “joint heirs of Christ” (Galatians 4:7<\/a><\/span>).\u00a0 Because we are members of God’s family, God will remain with us.\u00a0 Even if we keep wandering away,God will wait for us to return to Him (remember the father in the parable of the prodigal son, Luke 15:22<\/a><\/span>).<\/p>\n

God is always there; He can’t help but be faithful!\u00a0 When Moses was at the burning bush debating with God about the “impossible” job of getting Pharoah to free the Hebrew slaves, he asked God, “What if they ask me who sent me?\u00a0\u00a0 What name do I give them?”\u00a0 And God replied, “I AM that I AM.” (Exodus 3:13-14<\/a><\/span>).\u00a0 The literal translation of this word means “I will be there.”\u00a0 In other words, God is the “great I AM.” Wherever you are, He’s already there.\u00a0 God will always be with His children; no conditions.<\/p>\n

And God doesn’t change.\u00a0 The promises made to Moses go for us too.<\/p>\n