Steadfast Love – Page 3

32. “Our sufficiency is from God”

1 Chronicles 29:14 But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You.

Psalms 115:1  Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

1 Chronicles 29:9  Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD.

Romans 11:36  For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

2 Corinthians 3:5  Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God

When great resources were needed to build the temple, King David set the example by giving of his personal wealth, followed by all the leaders of Israel. David explained why: “The work is great because the temple is not for man but for the Lord God”. He then said to God that they could only give because He had first given to them. That is the premise that underlies all giving and service in God’s Kingdom. We give and serve because He has first given to us and served us. As the apostle, John later wrote, “We love Him because He first loved us”. Whatever God has given us in terms of time, talent, or treasure, we owe it all to Him. From the breath of our life to the work of our hands, we give it to glorify the One who first gave to us.

Sometimes I think we give thinking what we have is totally ours, our own, our stuff, mine, mine alone, and I can do with it what I please, when I please, wherever I please. When this happens is there any glory and honor for Jesus Christ? When we think like this our ears become deaf to the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit. We become a person who gives out of our wealth and not out of reverence to Jesus Christ. We must recognize that all we have and all the talents we have, have been given to us. It is in this recognition that we understand that we are no more than entrusted individuals with what God has graciously given to us. Learn this well. Understand it well. Only then will “giving” be a joy and not the burden.

31.q. “For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek Him”

Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Psalms 10:17   O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

Jeremiah 33:3  Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Psalms 50:15    and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Jeremiah 29:12-13    Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.

  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Psalms 86:5   For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Isaiah 55:6-7   “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;  let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Psalms 69:32  When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.

Amos 5:4   For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live;

Proverbs 8:17     I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

Hebrews 11:6   And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Revelation 3:17-18   For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Yet the image of knocking also implies that there is a door that can be opened. “His doors are meant to open: they were made on purpose for entrance, and so the blessed gospel of God is made on purpose for you to enter into life and peace. It would be of no use to knock at a wall, but you may wisely knock at a door, for it is arranged for opening.” (Spurgeon)

One would think knocking on the door implies that there is someone on the other side of it. Why would a person knock on the door if no one was expected to be there to answer it? How many, though, come and knock with no expectation, but rather to see if anyone is home. Their knock is empty, soundless, and void of belief, trust, faith, and reliance on Jesus Christ. Their knock is not with any expectation, by faith, that Jesus Christ is, out of grace, mercy, and love, waiting for their knock. No, the knock by this person is not in humble surrender to Jesus Christ with a humble believing heart that believes God’s Word; “Knock and it will be opened to you”.

We are invited to a door that leads to the Creator of all there is, All-Powerful, All-knowing Almighty God. Coming to and knocking on this door should be reverent of who is on the other side. How many times do we knock on this door with a heart that is nothing more than an expectant demand? Shouldn’t our knock be humble? Shouldn’t our knock be reverent? Shouldn’t we know we are on holy ground while standing before this door? Are we to stand there with puffed-out chests demanding to be let in and our requests heard? Let it never be so. Let us come before this door with awe, humbleness, belief, trust, and reliance in He who is more than able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine. Let us examine our hearts before knocking. Let our knock be pure of heart, mind, and soul, and then there will be honor and glory to whom all honor and glory belong.

31.p. “O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you”

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Deuteronomy 10:12-13   “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?

Hosea 6:6   For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Hosea 12:6   “So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”

Zephaniah 2:3    Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.

Proverbs 21:3   To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Isaiah 1:16-19    Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,  learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.  “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.  If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

2 Peter 1:5-8   For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,  and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalms 73:28    But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

The want to do good needs a foundation. It needs to be based on something firm, lasting, and true. “Doing Good” needs definition. Where are we to find this foundation and definition? What are we to base “good” and “doing good” on? This all depends on where you look and where you are seeking answers from. Worldly good has some benefit but this secular good has little to no eternal foundation. If doing good is for the benefit of another this is good but what is the reason behind the act of goodness? Was it because you feel good after doing it? Was it done because of empathy? Was it a combination of both? Was it done so it could be seen by others and thereby you receive some sort of recognition? The foundation upon which good acts are done is more important. If I do good acts of kindness what is the reason and purpose behind the intentional choice to do them?

The foundation of all good acts should be grounded in the desire to obey and honor and glorify Jesus Christ. It is when this foundation is present in the heart, soul, and mind that the good we do will be for something heavenly and lasting. There is so much to say about being able to discern the leading and being willing led by the Holy Spirit in acts of goodness, but the foundation of all our thoughts, speech, and acts needs to be from a humble and pure heart that believes, trusts, relies, obeys, and follows God’s Word for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.

27.k. “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.”

Ephesians 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Job 11:7-9   “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?  It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?  Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.

Psalms 103:11-12  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;  as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Isaiah 55:9   For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Psalms 139:6    Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

How wide is the love of God in Christ? Wide enough to include every person.

How long will the love of God in Christ last? Through all of eternity.

How deep is the love of God in Christ? Deep enough to reach the worst of sinners.

How high is the love of God in Christ? High enough to take us to heaven.

We don’t ask these questions very much do we? We do ask for blessings, healings, restoration, refuge, help, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, there is something a bit off when we don’t seek to know and understand more about our heavenly Father. Maybe we would rejoice more in who God is rather than what He gives. Maybe we would be more thankful, generous, kind, peaceful, joyful, loving, hopeful, obedient……………… I think we would grow exponentially if we would seek to understand and comprehend how deep, wide, long, and high the love of God is toward His children.Think of the smartest person you know or have heard of and know that before this person has a thought in their head God knows it completely. Think of the most complex science in physics, chemistry, astrophysics, quantum physics, human anatomy……God created it by speaking it into being. What we think is complex to comprehend and understand is less than elementary to God. Much about God will become clear in Heaven but for now, this side of eternity, we do well to honor and glorify Him.

27.d. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.”

Ephesians 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Nehemiah 9:17  They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.

Psalms 51:1   Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Isaiah 55:6-8    “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;  let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.

Psalms 103:8-11   The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.  He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

Romans 5:8    but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 3:24    and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

“As they were corrupt in their nature, and sinful in their practice, they could possess no merit, nor have any claim upon God; and it required much mercy to remove so much misery, and to pardon such transgressions.” (Clarke) Every reason for God’s mercy and love is found in Him. We give Him no reason to love us, yet in the greatness of His love, He loves us with that great love anyway. Therefore, we must stop trying to make ourselves lovable to God, and simply receive His great love while recognizing that we are unworthy of it. This is the grace secret of the Christian life. (Guzik) He did not wait until we were lovable. He loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, providing nothing lovable to Him. The work of God’s grace, in no way involving man’s merit. Our salvation – our rescue – from spiritual death is God’s work done for the undeserving.

Stop trying to earn God’s love and grace. You never can and never will. Stop keeping a ledger book of all your good and bad deeds in your head hoping the good will outweigh the bad, but rather confess them, repent from them, and lean on Jesus Christ alone. When we willfully choose to disobey God, (knowingly sin), there is no other way to erase it but through trusting in Him alone and resting on His forgiveness, grace, and love. One way to see the greatness of the grace of God is to see how He begs man to receive it. When we offer a gift to someone and they refuse it, we are likely to allow them to refuse and leave them alone. God does not do this with us; even when we refuse His mercy He reaches into His storehouse of grace and persists with us, begging us to receive the free gift. He pursues us. He stands at the door of our hearts and knocks asking to be let in. It is in the rejection of God’s grace and mercy whereby people will spend eternity in Hell.

26.c. “It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power”

Jeremiah 32:17 ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts, great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day. You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror. And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them.

How do we understand and look at God? Do we see Him, as Jeremiah did, “nothing is too hard for You”, or as something less? The One who created all there is is not limited. Our understanding and belief are limited but not God. Since God created everything there is, is there anything more powerful than the Creator? Jeremiah is saying, confessing belief in, and acknowledging the unlimited power and control of God. Jeremiah knows, beyond just believing, that God sees all of what mankind does, thinks, and will do. He knows God is a just rewarder of those who walk in His ways and a righteous judge of those who does not.

Living to honor and glorify God is as much a choice as not doing so. Living for self and self-honor and glory will not and does not honor and glorify the Creator of all there is. It always comes down to an intentional choice. Honor and glory for God through believing in, trusting in, relying on, clinging to, obeying, following, and living for Jesus Christ. Anything short of striving for this will not honor or glorify the One and only worthy of it. The One who holds the keys to eternity in heaven and hell. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”

22.g. “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory”

1 Corinthians 3:5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field

John 4:36-38    Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.  For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’  I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Psalms 115:1   Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

Daniel 4:35    all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

There was conflict in the Corinthian church. Jealousy and strife and division were causing this conflict. Thinking they were spiritual is often applied to whatever is causing the conflict. They were applying human thinking and fleshly ways to things of God. You can hear them saying “I was saved under Paul” and another saying, “yes, but I was taught and instructed by Apollo” and so the conflict began with the thought of who was greater? and who was better? Paul said, “if you are having envy, strife, and division then you are of a carnal mind, thinking like the world around you and not like that which honors and glorifies Jesus Christ. There is a place for envy, envy a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. There is a place for strife, stand firm against that which dishonors God and so easily temps you. There is a place for division, set yourself apart from worldly pleasures and desires and cling to, rely on, and trust in Jesus Christ alone.

19.h. “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”

Romans 4:1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

Ephesians 2:9  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Jeremiah 9:23-24   Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,  but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

2 Corinthians 11:30   If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Galatians 6:14    But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

This boasting is nothing because before God, every pretense is stripped away and it is evident that no one can really be justified by works. Boasting can take many forms. It can be voiced; I am a good or great person, I do good or great things, I speak good or great things, I understand and have great wisdom, I am strong, I am powerful, I am an example to be followed, I am a light to be followed, I am a great giver, I am a great speaker, etc…….. It can also be silent and these same boasts can be spoken. They are spoken within our minds directly to our hearts. These boasts are silent killers of our souls. When boasting is verbal at least it can be discussed in the context of God’s holiness and righteousness. It can be challenged by the hearer. It can be debated and rooted out for what it is. It can be rebuked by the hearer. However, silent boasting within our minds goes unchallenged and, if allowed to fester, will soon lead to self-reliance and self-worth. This silent killer has and continues to lead many people directly to hell without them even knowing their unholy sickness of certain condemnation to hell and eternal punishment. They have judged themselves worthy of salvation by the acts they proudly boast to themselves within their mind. They do not judge in light of God’s Word or His holiness, or his righteousness. They are convinced that the world’s view of their acts justifies their stance before God. This lie has blinded them to the need for Jesus Christ. This lie has deafened their ears to the Word of God. It is in this blindness and deafness they internally boast of their goodness and good works. God’s Word is clear; “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”

There is an urgent shout to the souls of man to reject self-reliance and to cling to, rely on, and trust in Jesus Christ alone.

18.i. “His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

John 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Revelation 21:22-23     And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Hebrews 12:12-13   Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,  and make straight paths for your feet,

Lamentations 3:17-23    my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is;  so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.”  Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!  My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.  But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:  The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;  they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

1 Thessalonians 5:9   For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled.” Believe in God; believe also in Me”. It is not as though He is telling them they won’t have trouble if they believe, but rather that when they are surrounded by troubles they are to cast these cares, worries, fears out of their hearts and place their faith in Him. This is not your home. “In My Father’s house are many rooms.” This is not your final resting place. Your home is with Me and My Father in heaven and I’m preparing a place for you. Do you ever wonder how much time we have lost during our lives with worries, fears, and various cares that are caused in this world? We have to admit that too often we keep our focus on troubles we face in this world rather than on our home eternally in heaven with Jesus Christ.

“Lift up your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees”, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Though the battle in this world seems to rage on, we are victorious in Jesus Christ. Our God is in control and knows that our time on this earth is but for a moment when compared to eternity. Whatever we are facing, God is in control. Whatever trouble comes at us, God is in control. Whatever heart stabbing, brain-numbing, and soul-wrenching thunderous blow come our way, God is in Control.

Don’t let your hearts be troubled!!!!!

16.k. “Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not”

Psalms 139:13  For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Job 10:9-12     Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust?  Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?  You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews.  You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.

Psalms 71:6    Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.

Job 31:15     Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

Isaiah 44:2    Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not,

Jeremiah 1:5     “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Isaiah 46:3    “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;

The intelligent design movement suggests that the existence of an orderly, purposeful creation implies the necessity of an organized, purposeful design, and, therefore, a Designer. Applying that idea to human beings, the presence of humans with the ability to find and fulfill a purpose in their life suggests a Creator who created them with a purpose to fulfill. There are certainly plenty of biblical examples: Abraham was called to create a chosen people; Moses was called to shape that people into a nation; Jeremiah was called to be a prophet to the nation; David was called to be their king; Jesus was called to redeem Jews and Gentiles alike from sin; Paul was called to deliver Jesus’ Good News to Gentiles and their kings…to cite a few examples. Psalm 139:13-16 pictures God forming humans and ordaining the days of their lives. If you are seeking God’s specific purpose for your life, ask Him to show it to you. And ask in faith, believing He will shine light on your path. True purpose in life can only be found in a life that is fully surrendered to Jesus Christ and the will of God.