God Is Unchanging

 

30 years ago, when I started as a pastor at 2nd Ave. Church in Altoona, I upgraded the old computer in the church office.  I worked with the administrative assistant and taught her how to use a mouse and work in windows and I set up all the programs we used in the church.  Today, I need someone to tell me what kind of computer to buy and how to use it.  Computer technology has changed so much that I am lucky if I can turn one on and use it. 

15 years ago, I could run a wedding or a funeral here at the church on my own.  I couldn’t play the organ or provide music, but I could turn on the lights and run the sound by myself.  Today, I only know how to turn on the lights because Justin programmed it so I only have to hit one button to turn the lights on and one button to turn them off.  Don’t ask me to make any changes to the lights because the light board is beyond my comprehension.  And I have no idea how to turn on the sound board and get one of the mics to work, I only know how to turn my mic on and off, most of the time.  

Technology is increasing at a rate we have never seen before and the speed of change is only going to get faster.  As Artificial Intelligence is integrated into more things, there will be even more change.  I don’t know about you, but all this change makes me unsettled, anxious and at times really frustrated.  My Dad used to get so mad when his iphone would update and then he didn’t know where all his contacts were or how to check the weather.  Now I am the one who gets mad when my phone updates and I can’t figure out how to use it.  

But it’s not just the changes in technology that can be unsettling, it’s change in general.  I was frustrated 30 years ago when my hair started to turn gray.  At the time I said, well at least I still have it.  Now, if I’m out in the sun too long, there is a little spot on the top of my head that gets sunburned because I don’t have much hair there anymore.  I can’t see it most of the time, but when I see a video of me from behind and I see that spot - I get frustrated and a little sad.  Justin - no more video from behind.  

Our bodies change and while those changes are great when we are young, once we hit a certain age, those changes are frustrating.  When you can’t drink coffee after 12 Noon because it will keep you up at night, or eat spicy food after 6 pm because of acid reflux, it’s not fun.  And men, let’s face it, we know we are getting old when we are up not once or twice during the night to go to the bathroom, but three and four times.  Change is not easy.  

Right now political change is unsettling as we face an election.  Social change keeps us from knowing what to say so that we don’t offend anyone, and financial changes can happen so fast that one day we feel rich and the next day we are anxious about our financial future.  Everything changes and change is happening faster than ever before.  Since we have been here this morning, my guess is that fashion has already changed and bellbottoms and leisure suits are making a comeback.    

While we can laugh at some of these things - the truth is that change can be really difficult.  Sometimes change makes us feel unwanted or left behind, it leaves us worried about the future for ourselves and our children, and it leaves us feeling out of control.  Change is distressing and it could be this kind of distress the author of Psalm 102 was feeling.

We don’t know who wrote Psalm 102.  Some think it was King David, but others think it may have been one of the prophets who experienced the fall of Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem.  What we know is that they were in some real distress because of how things were changing.   Psalm 102:1-4

Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you.

Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress.

Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.

For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.  My heart is blighted and withered like grass; and I forget to eat my food. 

The psalmist is crying out to God and part of his distress is over how things have changed.  He says, my days vanish like smoke, his body weakens quickly, it’s all like grass that is green one day and brown the next.  Things are changing and he is unsettled and feeling out of control.  

In a world where everything changes so fast that we find ourselves anxious and unsettled, the attribute of God that can give us hope and peace and strength is that God is unchanging.  When everything around us changes leaving us in a whirlwind, we can place our feet on solid ground because God never changes.  That’s where the psalmist found his hope and strength.  Psalm 102:25-27

In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, 

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will perish, but you remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.

But you remain the same, and your years will never end.

God is unchanging.  The Bible makes this clear.  

I, the Lord, do not change.  Malachai 3:6

Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever.  Hebrews 13:8

When nothing around us is safe and secure, when nothing gives us a firm foundation on which to stand, we can find comfort and strength in the truth that God is unchanging.  The economy and our finances change constantly, but God is the one who will supply all our needs and He never changes.  Our health can change at any moment but the one who created us and knows how our bodies work and can bring healing, does not change.  The stability of our nation and world can change overnight, but the God who created the world and is ruler of it all does not change.  The unchanging nature of God can give us strength and stability and hope in an ever changing world.  

There are three things about God that we know will never change and these three things can help us in life.  

  1. God’s word never changes.   The Bible itself tells us this.  

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.  Isaiah 40:8

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.  Matthew 24:35.  

What is so great about God’s word is that while it never changes, it is also living and active so it can speak to us in different ways at different times.  There were two very specific times in my life when God’s word spoke to me.  One was when I needed to know that God had forgiven me and redeemed me.  At that moment I read  Psalm 18;1-19.

Another time was when I needed guidance and direction and I read 

2 Timothy 2:2

God’s word doesn’t change.  Its truth doesn’t change.  Its wisdom and guidance doesn’t change.  It might speak to us in different ways at different times, but the truth and power of God’s word doesn’t change.  It is not the book of the month or the book of the year, it’s the book of the ages and what doesn’t change is its ability to speak to us today.  Many times we don’t read the Bible as much as the Bible reads us.  What I mean is that as we read it, it speaks to us.  That never changes.  The Bible is living and active and it will be living and active forever.  God’s word never changes.  

2. God’s character never changes.  Because God never changes, God’s character never changes.  The attributes we have talked about this month aren’t going to change next month.  God is merciful and God will always be merciful.  God’s mercy is new every morning.  God is loving and God will always be loving.  God is with us and God will always be with us.  God is good…. And all the time….

Because these attributes of God never change, we can depend on them, we can count on them, and we can trust them.  God is trustworthy and always will be.  For example, this is what the Bible says about the unchanging attribute of God’s love:    

What can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  …No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:35, 37-39

Neither the present nor the future can change God’s love for us.  God’s love doesn’t change.  Because God is love, God can’t not love us.  Because God is merciful, God can’t not extend mercy to us.  God’s character doesn’t change and God’s love and mercy and grace isn’t for some and not for others, it’s for all people at all times.  God’s holiness is always there to initiate forgiveness for all.  

While our feelings about God might change  and our feelings about ourselves might change, God never changes and His feelings toward us never change.  God is not swayed by what we do or what we don’t do.  God’s character of love and grace and mercy is unchanging and the unchanging nature of God gives us strength and peace.  Our lives change and our world changes but God’s word does not change and God’s character does not change.  

3. God’s promises never change.  Again, God’s unchanging word says, no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ.  2 Corinthians 1:20

Every promise God has made to us, He will keep.  It’s hard for us to understand this because our lives are filled with broken promises.  Right now there are politicians making all kinds of promises to us to get us to vote for them, but the reality is that we don’t really believe them because we have seen politicians not keep their promises for generations.   We don’t always trust the advertisements we see and hear because we know that businesses don’t keep their promises. Everywhere we turn we find people who don’t keep their promises and unfortunately even those we love and trust the most don’t always keep their promises.  

Because all those around us don’t keep their promises, we have become cynical and jaded when we hear about a God who says He keeps His promises, but God does.  God’s promises are YES and AMEN.  God will not go back on what He has promised.  God can’t go back on His promise because He is the promise keeper and His character doesn’t change.  God’s promises are ours now and forever but too often we don’t lean on them or claim them for ourselves.  

How sad it is that God has made us so many promises that we either forget about or don’t accept.  It’s like a gift we aren’t using and enjoying.  How many of you have a gift card at home that you haven’t used?  I’ll be honest, I have several that I have had for a while and some that I have completely forgotten about.  I read this week that the value of unused gift cards is estimated to be between 20 and 25 Billion Dollars.  Billion!  Each of us probably have some.  We think about using them, but don’t or we have forgotten about them all together.  

All of those unused gift cards are like all the unused promises of God.  We know God has made these promises but we forget what they are and never accept and lean on them in our life.  When we don’t remember, claim and stand on God’s promises, we are losing out on so much.  Claim God’s promises!  They have not changed, they are still Yes and Amen.  They are still there for you today.  Whatever promise you need, it is there for you.  Listen to just some of the promises God has made to us.  

God gives strength for the weary - Isaiah 40:31

God forgives all our sin - 1 John 1:9

God will fight for us - Exodus 14:13-14

God gives us wisdom- James 1:5

God will make us new - Romans 1:8

God will never leave us nor forsake us - Deuteronomy 3:6

God gives us eternal life - John 3:16

God gives us freedom - John 8:36

God will meet all our NEEDS - Philippians 4:19

God has written our name in the book of life - Revelation 3:5

God prepares for us a home in heaven - John 14:3

God gives us peace - Isaiah 26:3

God gives us courage - John 16:33

Good has a good plan for our future - Jeremiah 29:11

God gives us a way out when we are tempted - 1 Corinthians 10:13

God will walk with us always - Psalm 23:1-4

God will guide us through life - Proverbs 3:5-6

These are just some of the promises God has made to us that He will keep.  We need to stand on them.  We need to trust them and know that God will never go back on them.  He will not change, He cannot change and He cannot NOT keep these promises.  

God’s word never changes.

God’s character never changes.

God’s promises never change.  They are Yes and Amen.  

As we say… God is good… And all the time….

 

Next Steps

God Is Unchanging

Read Psalm 102:1-11. 

● How might change be causing some of the author’s distress and depression?  

● Where do you find the pace of change in our world today unsettling?  

● What changes cause you the most frustration and anxiety?  

● What are some things that help you adjust to unexpected changes?

God is Unchanging

Read Psalm 102:25-2, Malachi 3:6, and Hebrews 13:8

● How does the unchanging nature of God give you hope, strength, and peace?

3 Things of God that never change:

1. God’s word never changes

Read Isaiah 40:8 and Matthew 24:35.

● How does the unchanging nature of God’s word give you hope?  

● When has God’s word spoken directly to you?  

2. God’s character never changes.

Looking back over this series, which attribute of God do you need to remember will never change and always be there:

● God’s Mercy

● God’s Love

● God’s Trustworthiness

● God’s Holiness

Why is this attribute so important to you?

3. God’s promises never change.

● Where have you seen God keep His promises in your life?  

● What promise of God do you need to lean on and trust today?

Consider how some of these promises can give you strength, help and peace: 

God gives strength for the weary - Isaiah 40:31

God forgives all our sin - 1 John 1:9

God will fight for us - Exodus 14:13-14

God gives us wisdom- James 1:5

God will make us new - Romans 1:8

God will never leave us nor forsake us - Deuteronomy 3:6

God gives us eternal life - John 3:16

God gives us freedom - John 8:36

God will meet all our NEEDS - Philippians 4:19

God has written our name in the book of life - Revelation 3:5

God prepares for us a home in heaven - John 14:3

God gives us peace - Isaiah 26:3

God gives us courage - John 16:33

Good has a good plan for our future - Jeremiah 29:11

God gives us a way out when we are tempted - 1 Cor. 10:13

God will walk with us always - Psalm 23:1-4

God will guide us through life - Proverbs 3:5-6

God Is Holy

 

We are in a series looking at different attributes of God and answering the question, God is __________.  Last week we looked at the attribute that is most widely believed but also most doubted and that is love.  We believe God is love and loves others, but we have a hard time believing that God loves us.  Today we are going to consider an attribute that might be the most important one of all, but the least popular.  The reason we don’t like this attribute is because of what it means for us.  The attribute is the holiness of God.  God is Holy.  Actually, according to the Bible God is Holy, Holy, Holy.  Isaiah 6:1-4

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”  At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.  

King Uzziah ruled in Judah, which was the southern kingdom of Israel, for 52 years.  For the most part, Uzziah was a strong and faithful ruler and during his reign the people knew prosperity and stability.  When Uzziah died, it created a time of uncertainty and anxiety.  It was the end of a long and good period, and most of the people only knew Uzziah as their king.  It was the end of an era and the people were anxious and scared about the future.

A few years ago I felt some of that same anxiety and fear.  It was the end of an amazing era, the most successful our nation had ever seen and I was worried about what was going to happen at Duke when Coach K retired.  He had been at Duke for 41 years.  He won 5 national championships and went to the final four 13 times.  He won 1,129 games in his career, more than any other men’s college basketball coach.  Every year I knew Duke would do well with Coach K leading them, but what was going to happen now.  

It’s the way many of you felt when Coach Paterno was no longer leading Penn State Football.  It was the end of an era and a time of great uncertainty.  Maybe you feel this way as you prepare for your first child and you know your life will never be the same again.  Or maybe you are facing an empty nest with all your kids away, or retirement is staring you in the face.  As a nation we kind of feel this way right now because each side of the political aisle is telling us that this is the most important election in our nation's history.  Whether it is or not, we don’t know, but the messaging creates uncertainty and anxiety.  

This is the context for Isaiah’s vision.  In the midst of all the uncertainty, anxiety, and fear about the future, Isaiah looks up and sees the Lord high and lifted up and six winged seraphim above Him.  We don’t know what these seraphs looked like, but they had two wings to fly, two wings to cover their faces in the presence of God, and two wings to cover their feet because all of the ground and space around them was holy.  The seraph were calling out to one another, Holy, Holy, Holy. In Hebrew it was, Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh.

In Hebrew, a word being repeated like this was to emphasize its meaning.  We do this at times, like when I say I am never going on a tilt-a-whirl again. Never. Never. Never.  Or you see your dog going after some food and you say, No. No. No.  It’s the same thing here only with heavenly power.  Holy, Holy. Holy.  God isn’t just holy, God is holy, holy, holy.

So just what does the word holy mean?  In our culture it is used in all kinds of ways, some that I can’t say here because we are trying to be holy.  You might hear holy cow, or holy smoke when people are amazed at something, or we might hear holy communion or holy matrimony when we are in church.  And of course there is the holy grail, whether you like Indiana Jones or Monty Python.  It can also be used in a negative way to talk about some Christians.  They are holier than thou or holy rollers. 

The word holy jut means separate or set apart.  It means that what we are talking about is like no other.  For example, the Holy Bible is simply a book that is like no other.  It is set apart from every other book because we believe it was divinely inspired by God.  We usually reserve the word holy to talk about things that are different in good ways or things that are set apart because they are special.  

The author Tony Evans helps us understand the word by talking about our dishes.  We have ordinary dishes that we use every day, but then many of us have the special dishes we only get out a few times a year.  These are the family heirlooms that are not only a cut above the everyday dishes, but they are also stored high up on the shelves or in a completely separate cabinet to keep them safe.  These are the dishes we wash by hand because the gold leaf is real gold and we don’t want it to come off in the dishwasher and because the crystal is too thin to be hit by jets of water. These are holy.  

God is holy.  That means God is separate, unique and like not other.  In fact, God is set apart from everyone and everything else.  God is pure and perfect and righteous.  God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. God is without fault, without blemish, without sin.  God is good, all the time and all the time….  God is all love, all power and all strength.  God is all wisdom, and all wisdom comes from God.  God is holy.  God is so holy that he is Holy Holy Holy.  There is no one like our God.  The Bible says, 

Who among the gods is like you, Lord?  Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?  Exodus 15:11

So, during a time of uncertainty and anxiety about the future, when Isaiah and the people of Judah didn’t know what was going to happen to them or how God was going to lead them, Isaiah had a vision of the Almighty God and it reminded him and the people that God alone is Holy and because God holy, things were going to be ok.

While this vision had to be an encouragement to Isaiah about the future, look at what happens to him personally.

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”  Isaiah 6:5-7

Seeing the holiness of God ruined Isaiah because God’s holiness exposed Isaiah sinfulness.  Isaiah, a prophet, a man called to speak the word of God, cries out saying, I am a man of unclean lips.  He sees his own sin.  He knows how unworthy he is.  He confesses his sin and then the sin of his people.  And notice that Isaiah does all of this without God ever saying a word.  God’s presence alone was enough to drive Isaiah to his knees.  It was enough to cause Isaiah to repent. 

This is why this attribute of God is often the one we like the least because without a word, God’s holiness exposes our sinfulness.  God’s light exposes all that we want to hide in the darkness.  God’s goodness exposes all the ways we aren’t good and that is not something we enjoy.  We would rather talk about God’s mercy, love and grace than our own failure, sin and brokenness.  We like God’s forgiveness but we don’t want to have to come face to face with all those things which need to be forgiven.  Billy Graham said. 

It is only when we understand the holiness of God that we understand the depth of our sin.   

Isaiah just stands before God and confesses his sin.  He doesn’t ask or beg for forgiveness - he’s not worthy of it.  He doesn’t negotiate and say that he will do better - he knows that he never will do better.  The holiness of God has exposed him as a sinner.  The more of God’s holiness we see, the more our own sin is exposed.  

The more radiant God is, the more ruined we are.  It’s not a pleasant attribute to think about or focus on because of what it says about us, but if we go on, we will see why this just might be the attribute we need to focus on the most.  

As Isaiah stands before God, exposed as a sinner, God sends a seraph with a burning coal to touch Isaiah’s lips, The seraph said, your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.

Isaiah has done nothing to deserve this forgiveness and restoration.  Isaiah didn’t ask for it, he didn’t beg for it, he did nothing but stand in his guilt and shame before a holy God.  It was the holiness of God that forgave Isaiah and atoned for his sin.  It was the holiness of God that initiated forgiveness and chose to forgive.  It’s the holiness of God that moves God to love unconditionally.  God initiates it.  God desires it. God wants to forgive so that we can be in the holiness of His presence.  In the New Testament it says,   

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

While the holiness of God might expose the reality of our sin, it also reveals the perfect power of God’s unconditional love.  If God is truly like no other, then He is like no other in His ability to love.  If God is like no other in His love, then He will forgive us and restore us and we can trust Him to do it.  If God is holy, then He alone is trustworthy.  We can trust Him to forgive us and redeem us and help us and heal us.  God cannot go back on His love because it is the perfect love of a father who will never forsake us.  

Maybe this is the message you need to hear today, that the holiness of God is reaching out not to condemn you but to restore you.  We might need to come to terms with the reality of our sin and failures, we might need to fall to our knees and confess our sin and unworthiness, but we also might need to know that God is already on His way to touch us and forgive us.  God is already on His way to forgive us and call us to His side and His mission.  That might be the message you need to hear today.  

When Isaiah was confronted by the holiness of God, it drove him to his knees in confession, and then lifted him up in love to new life.  God’s holiness so completely changed Isaiah that he went from saying, I’m a sinner to saying, I am your servant.  

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”  And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8  

Isaiah was willing to go and do whatever God asked him to do and what God asked him to do was go and give a message to the people.  It wasn’t just any message, however, it was a message that would not only give hope to the people of God then, but give hope to God’s people for generations.  It is a message that still gives hope and assurance to God’s people, to us, today. Just one chapter after this vision and call of Isaiah, God gave him this message:   

The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.  Isaiah 7:14

For the people Isaiah was talking to then, this meant that God was going to send a leader who would deliver them in just a few short years.  Those who were seeking to destroy them were going to soon be destroyed.  For generations to come, this was a promise of the coming Messiah.  A virgin was going to give birth to a son, and he was going to be called Immanuel, which means God is with us.  That is what we hear in the gospel of Matthew when Joseph was told when Mary was pregnant.  Her child was going to be the Messiah.   This was one of the first messages given to God’s people about the coming of the Messiah and today it is a reminder to us that God has sent this Messiah and His name is Jesus.

The prophet with unclean lips was not only forgiven and redeemed by the holiness of God, he was given a message of hope for all generations.  The Holiness of God was coming to initiate forgiveness for all the world, and that’s what Jesus did.  

Jesus was the holiness of God who didn’t come because we begged and pleaded for mercy or because we were in any way worthy of grace and love, Jesus came because God’s holy love sent Him.  

There are a lot of people leaving the church today and leaving the Christian faith.  Maybe the church hasn’t been a good example of God’s goodness and love.  Maybe we haven’t shared passionately enough that God initiates forgiveness and salvation. Maybe people new and fresh expressions of what it means to experience God has holy and loving.  That’s one reason we are working to reach out in new ways through some fresh expressions.  As people leave the faith, it makes me want to ask, where are you going to go?  

There is no other god like our God.  There is no other god whose Holiness initiates forgiveness and salvation. There is no other god whose Holy love comes to us in our filth and shame and sin.  There is no other god who comes to save us.  There is no other god like our God.  The psalmist says: 

My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, Lord?  You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.  Psalm 35:10

There is no one else who can save you.  There is no one else who can heal you.  There is no one else who can forgive you.  There is no one else who can redeem you and restore you and comfort you.  There is no one else who will walk with you and talk with you and speak to you.  There is no one else who is trustworthy and whose mercy is new every morning.  There is no one like our God, a God who is Holy, Holy, Holy.  

 

Next Steps

God Is Holy

What do you think about when you hear the word holy?

How would you define the word holy?

Read Exodus 15:11 and Psalm 35:10

● How often do you think of God as holy? 

● How does God’s holiness impact your view of Him?

Read Isaiah 6:1-8

● How does God’s holiness help the people of Judah at this moment in their history?

● What does God’s holiness do to Isaiah?  Why?

● What is God’s response?

● What message did God give Isaiah to share with the people?  (See Isaiah 7:14)

God’s Holiness in your life:

● When has God’s holiness moved you to repentance?

● Where do you need God’s holiness to shine in your life today?

● Why does God’s holiness not only lead to repentance but to forgiveness and new life?  

● God’s holiness moved Isaiah to say, Here am I, send me.  Where can God send you with His message of unconditional love and grace?  

● Who do you know that needs to hear that God initiates forgiveness in our lives?  Share that message with them.

Prayer:  Father, You are holy, holy, holy.  You are perfect in your love and grace.  We want to worship You with all that we have and all that we are. Show us where we might be blind to sin in our lives, and stir and shake us up to repentance. We praise You. We love You. We worship You.  Send us forth in your name and with your message of salvation. Here I am, Lord.  Send me, in Jesus name.  Amen.

God Is Love

 

This month we are looking at different attributes of God, or answering the question, “God is _________.”  Today we are going to consider what is probably the most widely believed attribute of God but also the most doubted.  In other words, we all say this is true about God, but many of us don’t believe it's true, or that it’s not true for us.  The attribute is love.  God is love.  The Bible even tells us directly that God is Love. 1 John 4:8  We all might say that God is love but there are times we all doubt that God loves us.

Maybe we doubt that God loves us because we are disappointed in ourselves and filled with guilt and shame about what we have done or not done.  Too often we tell ourselves that God can’t love someone like me and we believe it.  We’ve made too many mistakes and failed too many times for God to love us.  Maybe we doubt that God loves us because we have never felt God’s love or seen it in our lives the way we see it in other people’s lives. No matter why we might feel that way, many of us doubt that God loves us even though we believe that God is love.

Today, however, let’s go a little deeper and not just talk about God’s love in some generic and universal way, but in a very personal way.  God is not just love, God is a loving father.  For many people, this might not be easy to say.  If your father was absent or abusive, if your father was critical and demanding and always finding fault with your life, thinking about God in terms of a loving father may not make sense, but we don’t define God’s love as our heavenly father in earthly terms, we don’t compare God to a good earthly father, we define God’s love as a heavenly father by what we see of God in the Bible.  Today we are going to look at a picture of what God as a loving father is all about.  It’s a long story found in Luke 8 and it starts with the actions of a good and loving earthly father.  

A man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.  Luke 8:41-42

Jairus was a good father who loved his daughter.  She was dying and he was desperate for help so he went to Jesus to ask Him to come and heal his daughter.  Jarius took a risk in coming to Jesus because many synagogue rulers did not like Jesus.  Jesus often went against the rules and traditions of the religious leaders so many of Jairus’ friends and peers may not have liked Jesus.  Jairus was risking his standing and position, and maybe his job, by asking Jesus for help.  That’s how much he loved his little girl.  He was going to stop at nothing to get her help.  

While this is a great example of an earthly father, what we see of our heavenly father is what we see from Jesus.  He went with him.  Without asking questions or demanding to see what kind of faith Jairus had, Jesus went with him.  God is not judgmental as many say He is, He is compassionate.  God doesn’t evaluate Jarius to see if he has been good and obedient before He offers to help him, He doesn’t review his life to see if he is worthy of His help, He didn’t ask Jairus what kind of synagogue leader he was and what he thought about Him,  Jesus just went with him. 

The first thing we see is that as a loving father, God walks with us.  What a gift that must have been for Jairus.  Without hesitation, Jesus went with him to help his daughter.  Whatever your situation is, Jesus is here to walk with you.  Whether we are walking through dark and difficult valleys or lush and green pastures - God walks with you.  We hear and see this in scripture over and over again.

Last week we talked about God leading His people out of slavery and through the wilderness and God led them with a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night.  For 40 years, God walked with His people.  When the people doubted and turned away, God walked with His people.  And after 40 years, when they finally got ready to enter into the promised land, Moses encouraged the people to keep going because God would keep walking with them.  

Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”  Deuteronomy 31:7-8

God walks ahead of us and paves the way and He walks with us to give us strength.  God is always walking with us.  Through the difficult times, God is walking with us.  God said, 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  Isaiah 43:1-2

God walks with us through life, through all of life.  Just because we can’t see or feel God with us doesn’t mean God has stopped walking with us.  Jesus promised to never leave us nor forsake us.  He will not abandon us.  The Bible says our lives are engraved on God’s hand so where we go, He goes, and where He goes, we go.  God walks with us.

Here is where God is NOT like an earthly father.  An earthly father might abandon his children.  An earthly father might forsake or forget or not care about his children.  An earthly father might turn away when things get hard or when children become difficult, but God will not do that.  God is the perfect love of a heavenly father who walks with us at all times. If you aren’t sensing God’s presence, let me tell you, God is still walking with you.

Though a pretty dark time in my life, I felt like I was walking without God.  I had actually told God I didn’t want Him walking with me and I could do it on my own.  While I felt like God had walked away from me, the reality was God was still walking with me.  Looking back on that time it was clear that God was still there.  I was running all over the place and making horrible decisions, but God was still walking with me. You might doubt God is walking with you today, but He is, and He has been all along.  

Jesus walked with Jarius and started to go help his daughter but as they went a huge crowd pressed in around them.  

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”  Luke 8:42-48

The woman who reached out to touch Jesus had been bleeding for 12 years.  Because of the flow of blood, she was considered unclean, which meant she could not touch anyone and no one could touch her.  Imagine having no contact with another person for 12 years. She had been forced out of her family and community.  She had spent all of her money on doctors who hadn’t been able to change her situation.  She was broke and she was dying.  Spiritually, emotionally, and physically she was dying and Jesus was her last hope and so in desperation she reached out to Him. 

When Jesus felt her touch Him, He stopped, and that is what a heavenly father’s love does.  It stops.  God’s love stops for us.  God sees us in our desperation and need and stops for us.  While others might keep going or maybe even turn away from us, God stops and is for us. 

There was a woman in the Old Testament named Hagar who was treated poorly by Abraham and Sarah and so she ran away.  When she was at the end of her resources and had nothing left she stopped and was ready to die.  God called out to her and told her to return home and He would bless her.  Hagar said to God,   

“You are the God who sees me.  I have now seen the One who sees me.”  Genesis 16:13

Hagar is the only woman who gives God a name, El Roi, the God who sees me.  God not only sees us but when He sees us He stops for us.  He stops to help us.  Over and over again Jesus stopped to help people who were in need.  Prostitutes, lepers, children, women, fisherman, and tax collectors, Jesus saw them all and stopped for them all.  And He will stop for us as well.  

It’s hard to think about how the God of the universe is willing to stop what He is doing for us, but He does.  He stops to listen to us>  He stops to cry with us.  He stops to support us and heal us and help us.  He stops for us and He stops for us because He loves us.  

Jesus stopped for this woman and His love started to transform her.  She started out alone.  She had been unclean for 12 years with no hope of being part of a community or family ever again.  Then she became part of the crowd.  Then she was singled out by Jesus.  She had to step out and say that she was the one who touched Him.  She couldn’t hide any longer and it’s then Jesus said, daughter, your faith has made you well.  This woman went from being isolated and alone to being called a daughter.  She went from being an outcast to a member of a family and it’s all because Jesus stoped for her and talked to her.  

The love of a heavenly father talks to us.  God’s love talks to us.  God doesn’t just walk with us and stop for us, He talks to us and His words shape our lives.  This is the only time Jesus called someone a daughter and it was a label that changed her life.  She was no longer on the outside looking in.  She was no longer isolated and alone but part of a loving family.  She could be touched again.  She could be hugged again.  She could be part of a family again.  What God said about her changed her life and what God says about us can change our lives.

Too often, we are defined by the words and labels others place on us and many times those labels aren’t good.  We are told we aren’t smart enough or good enough and we believe it.  We are told we won’t ever measure up and so we stop even trying to move forward.  Too often the negative words and labels people give us define us - but the One who needs to define us is the one who ultimately created us - our Heavenly Father.  

God is the only one whose words should define us and what God says about us is that we are His sons and daughters.  We are heirs together with Christ.  We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good words which God has prepared for us in advance.  We are precious in God’s sight.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made.  We are knit together by God in the womb, we are a precious gift from God.  We are so loved by God that God was willing to give up everything He had for us, even His one and only son Jesus.  

No matter what the world might say about you, you are who God says you are.  You are God’s daughter.  You are God’s son. You are loved by God, cared for by God, created by God for a purpose, gifted by God for a mission and equipped by God for His work. God talks to us and his words aren’t filled with judgment and anger, but grace and mercy.  

In this story of Jesus, we see that God is a loving father who walks with us, stops for us, and talks to us.  But let’s be honest, we don’t always experience this.  Too often we might feel like the first father who went to Jesus for help and is probably now feeling forgotten. His little girl was dying and he had risked everything to go to Jesus and Jesus started walking with him but then He stopped.  Has Jesus forgotten him?  Has He stopped caring about him?  Has He stopped loving him and his daughter? I can hear Jairus  “sure, Jesus will stop and help others, but not me, not my little girl.”

Does that sound familiar?  Do you ever doubt God’s love for you?  Do you know God’s love is real and that it’s there for others but not you?  Jairus had to be feeling that way and his disappointment grows when he gets an update on his daughter's condition.  

While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”

They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Luke 8:49-55

For Jairus, all hope is lost.  His little girl is dead, but look what Jesus does.  He kept walking with Jarius, He stopped at his house and then spoke to his little girl.  My child, get up. The love of a heavenly father was there for Jarius and that love gave life to him and his daughter. Another girl is called a child of God.  When all hope seemed lost, when Jairus thought God’s love had failed him God proved him wrong.  It was there for him too.

God’s love is here for you too. God hasn’t forgotten you. He is walking with you and He stops for you and He speaks to you saying, I love you. I love you and my love can change you and heal you and restore you.  God is love and God is the love of a heavenly father, and as our heavenly father, we are called God’s children. 

 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!  1 John 3:8

Next Steps

God Is a Loving Father

What comes to your mind when you think of God as a loving father?  Is it a positive picture or a negative one?  

Read Luke 8:40-56

In what way is Jairus a good father?  

Jesus gives us a picture of our heavenly Father’s love;

God’s love walks with us.

● What Biblical examples can you think of where God walked with His people?  

● When did Jesus walk with others?

● When have you experienced God walking with you?

● Where do you need God walking with you today?

God’s love stops for us.

● How did God’s love stopping for the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years begin to change her life?  

● What other people did Jesus stop for during his life?

● When have you experienced Jesus stopping for you?

● Where do you need God to stop and be with you today?

God’s love speaks to us.

● How did God’s voice, through Jesus, change the bleeding woman’s life?  

● How did it change the young girl's life?

● What voices have shaped your life in positive or negative ways? 

● What do you need God to say to you today?  

● What label or name would change your life?  

How can you share this kind of love with others?  

Who can you walk with?  Who can you stop for?  Who can you speak to?  How can these actions share the transforming and live giving love of God?  

God Is Trustworthy

 What is it that keeps you up at night?  What is your biggest worry?  Maybe it is the political unrest and divide we see right now, and your biggest worry is what will happen to the world if Trump wins the election…. Or if Harris wins the election.  Maybe you are worried about your financial situation and how you are going to pay your bills this month, or if you can afford to stay in your home.  Maybe you are worried about the stability of your job, or the ability to find a new job.  Maybe what keeps you up at night is the doctor’s appointment you have coming up this month, or the appointment for your child or your parents.  Maybe this week what keeps you up at night is the safety of your children as you send them off to school, or the one you just sent off to college.  

There are so many things we worry about, from our health to our finances to the state of the world.  We worry about whether our lives have any real purpose, if we can get everything done, we need to get done, and what our future will look like when things seem to change so fast and so often.  If you didn’t have any worries when you came in, you probably have some now. You can thank me later.

Jesus was very clear when he told us that we shouldn’t worry.

Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? …Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  Matthew 6:25, 27

Worrying about things doesn’t help us at all, in fact, it ends up hurting us.  Corrie Ten Boom, who spent years in a concentration camp said, Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.  Worry doesn’t help us prepare for tomorrow, it only prevents us from enjoying today and finding the strength we need today to face the challenges of tomorrow.  We need to learn how to live without worry.  

The key to living without worry isn’t to tell ourselves to just stop worrying; that doesn’t work and is not helpful.  What helps us to stop worrying is when we start trusting, when we start trusting God.

Last week we started a series looking at different attributes of God and today we are going to learn how we can stop worrying by placing our trust in God and we can do that because God is trustworthy.  The Bible says, My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.  Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.  Psalm 62:7-8, 

We are told to trust in God at all times; not some of the time, not most of the time, but all the time, and we can learn to trust God more by focusing on these 3 things.   

1. God has been faithful before.  

When we remember that God was faithful yesterday, it helps us trust God today.  It might surprise you that one of the most common commands in the Bible isn’t to love or serve others but to remember.  The word remember is found 240 times in scripture and most of the time what God wants us to remember is how He has been faithful and provided for His people.  Here is an example:    Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery, because the Lord brought you out of it with a mighty hand.  Exodus 13:3

God wanted the people to remember how He saved them and led them out of slavery in Egypt.  Remember I was the one who sent plagues on the Egyptians so they would release you from slavery.  Remember I was the one who parted the waters and gave you a way out when you were being chased down by the Egyptian army.  Remember I was the one who led you across dry ground and then brought the waters of the Red Sea down on the horses and chariots of Pharaoh.  Remember I was the one who led you by a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night.  Remember I was the one who gave you bread every day and provided you with water when you were thirsty and remember that the water came from a rock.  Remember all the ways I rescued you from Egypt and led you into a new land.  God wanted the people to remember because if God had done it before, He could do it again.  They could trust Him.  

This is the same reason God told the people to set up stone memorials when He provided for them or helped them.  The idea was that in the future, as the people traveled through the region, they would see stone monuments and remember how God had cared for them.  They might not know what that pile of stones was for, but they knew it was a reminder that God had provided for them in the past so they could trust Him.   

What are those stone monuments in your life?  Can you point to a moment, or moments, when God provided for you in some very specific way.  33 years ago this month I started as a student at MSU. I didn’t know a single person in the state of MI let alone anyone at MSU.  My first week, I was completely overwhelmed and ready to go home.  I thought I had made a huge mistake and was miserable.  I called my parents in the middle of night to ask if I could come home and my mom said, no.  I had made the decision to go there and I had to stay through the semester and work things out.  

A few days later I got a letter from a friend telling me to check out IVCF.  I got her letter immediately after walking by a banner for IVCF but since it was outside the IM building, I thought it was a sports group so didn’t talk to the people at the table.  I went back and met some great people who invited me to a meeting that night and IVCF became my home for the next 4 years.  God provided for me at just the right moment.  That became a monument in my life.

A few years later I found myself in Yellowstone National Park and my first week there I was miserable.  Again, I thought I had made a huge mistake and wanted to come home, but I was reminded of how things got better at MSU, and they would get better there.  And they did.  The same thing happened when I arrived in Altoona at my first church, and I wondered what in the world I had gotten myself into as a pastor.  I was again reminded of how God had helped me through transitional times in the past and that He would help me again.  

All those times of my life are now monuments to God’s faithfulness.  I can look back and see how God provided for me in those difficult moments and if God did it then, He can and will do it again.  Those monuments tell me that God is trustworthy.  God has led me these past 43 years and He will do it again.  

God has been faithful in your past.  Identify a few of those situations so they can become markers and monuments to help you trust God for today and tomorrow.  The first thing that can help us trust God is to remember that God has been faithful in the past.  The second is to know…

2. God is faithful today.  

As the people of Israel made their way out of Egypt, God led them by a pillar of fire at night and a cloud by day.  The fire and cloud were there to remind the people that God was with them and that they could trust God to keep leading them.    

As the people prepared to enter the Promised Land, God told Moses to send out 12 spies to see just how good the land was. They all returned and told the people how great the land was, but 10 said they shouldn’t move into the land because the people who lived there were huge, and they didn’t stand a chance against them.  2 of the spies who went in, Caleb and Joshua, tried to remind the people that God had not only been faithful in the past but that He was right there with them.  The pillar of fire was there.  The cloud was there.  God was with them, and they could trust Him. They said, 

Do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.  Numbers 14:9

Joshua and Caleb remembered how God had been faithful in the past and they knew that God was with them and would fight for them.  They trusted God and weren’t afraid.  When we trust God, we don’t need to be afraid, and we can grow in our trust when we know that God is with us.  Through Jesus, God is with us.  

At the beginning of Matthew’s gospel, we are told that Jesus was not only going to be the long-awaited savior, but that He was going to be God in the flesh, God with the people.  Matthew said, The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”).  Matthew 1:23

At the beginning of the story of Jesus, we are told that Jesus is God with us, and at the end of the story of Jesus we are told that Jesus will be with us always.  Jesus said, "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:20

The story of Jesus is the story of God with us.  God loved us so much that He came to be with us and through Jesus, God opened the way for us to be with Him forever.  Now this doesn’t mean God pulls us out of every bad situation, but it does mean that God is with us in them.  

For those of you who have had children, this might sound familiar.  You tuck your kids in at night and in about 30 seconds they are standing at the door saying, I need a drink of water.  You give them water and tuck them in again only to find them back in the doorway saying, I’m not tired.  You send them back and in another 30 seconds they are back saying, I heard a scary noise.  You know they are trying to wear you down so they can stay up later, but you don’t give in.  Instead, you go and lay down with them and they fall asleep.  

Now you didn’t do anything to change their situation, what changed was they could be at peace because there was someone trustworthy with them.  That’s God with us.  We may not get lifted out of a difficult or scary situation, we might still have to go through hard times, but we don’t go through it alone.  God is with us.  We can trust God to be with us and that trust can take away our fear and worry and anxiety.  

The last thing that can help us trust God is knowing…

3. God will be faithful tomorrow.  

Let’s go back to the example of Israel going into the promised land.  They are at the very edge of the Promised Land.  They know God has been faithful in the past and helped them all along the way, and they know God is still with them because they can see the pillar of fire and cloud.  This alone should have given them the ability to trust God for the future, but God gave them one more assurance that He would be faithful tomorrow, He told them the end of the story.  This is what God said when He told Moses to send out the spies.  

Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.  Num. 13:2

God was telling them what was going to happen.  He was going to give them the land.  This is the end of the story.  But after all the people had seen God do and knowing that God was still with them and that He had already written the end of their story, they still chose not to go into the promised land.  How could they not trust God?  After all they had seen and heard from God, how could they not trust Him.  

After all the ways God has been faithful in our past and all the ways God is showing us today that He is with us, how can we not trust him for our future.  God has already written the ending for us.  

Here is part of the ending of our story.  

God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.  Revelation 21:3-4

Through Jesus, we are God’s people and God Himself is with us.  Here and now God is with us.  Tomorrow, God will be with us and because God is trustworthy, we do not need to be afraid.  God said, 

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

We can trust God but letting go of our fear isn’t easy.  What I want to encourage you to do is not to try and just let go of fear but instead take hold of something stronger.  

Several years ago I agreed to go over the edge and rappel down one of the buildings in State College.  We were raising money for the Faith Centre and while it seemed like a good idea when I registered, when I was standing on the edge of the building, I wasn’t so sure.  I was one of the final people to go over and I stood there for a long time holding on to the frame that held all the ropes.  I really didn’t want to let go.  I was in a harness that was secure.  I had seen everyone else go over the edge with no problem, but to trust that I would not fall to my death in that moment wasn’t easy. 

Craig was helping me get ready to step off the edge and he was very patient, but the idea of leaning back and letting go wasn’t going to happen so Craig told me to let go of the safety bars and take hold of the rope.  That I could do.  With one hand I  let go of the frame and held onto the rope, then both hands.  Then slowly, very slowly, I made my way down the building.  

You see, the answer isn’t to just let go of fear and worry, it’s to let go of what we are holding on to so we can take hold of something better, something stronger, Someone we can trust.  Sometimes we have to let go of what we think we can trust in this world so we can take hold of the one who is always trustworthy, Jesus.  Jesus is trustworthy.  He has been faithful in the past, He is with us today, and He has already written the end of our story - He is with us.   

So, let me go back and ask, what keeps you up at night?  What are you afraid of?  Can you let go of that fear and take hold of the one who has proven Himself trustworthy.  

Next Steps

God is Trustworthy

What are the things that keep you up at night? 

If someone were to ask you if God was trustworthy, what would you say?  

Three things that can help us trust God more:

Remember God has been faithful before

● Read Exodus 13:3.  Identify all the ways God had been faithful to His people as He led them out of slavery and into the Promised Land.  

● Read Genesis 35:14-15.  What monuments and markers can you identify in your life that can help you remember God’s faithfulness in your past?  

● Make a list of all the situations when God showed you His faithfulness.  

Know God is faithful today.

● Read Exodus 13:2.  How did God show the people He was with them on their journey?

● Read Matthew 1:23 and Matthew 28:20.  What does this tell us about Jesus?

● Where do you see, hear or experience God in your life today?

God will be faithful tomorrow.

● Read Romans 8:31-39 and Revelation 21:1-7.  

● What does God tell us about the ultimate end of our story?  

How have you experienced God to be trustworthy and true?

What fears can you let go of as you take hold of Jesus?  

God Is Merciful

 How would you answer this question?  God is ______________.

Some might say God is love or that God is always with me.  Some people might see God differently and say God is judgmental or critical.  For the next few weeks we are going to fill in the blank with different attributes of God that we see in the Bible.  Today we are going to look at an attribute of God that is an encouragement for us all - but especially for those who might feel overwhelmed, burdened, and without hope.  If you are feeling worn out physically, emotionally and spiritually, you are not alone.  

In the Old Testament there is a book called Lamentations, which is a series of laments, or poems that express sorrow and grief.  It’s thought that these poems were written during the time that Israel was at war with the Babylonians leading to the fall of Jerusalem.  It could also be that these laments were written after the Temple was destroyed and the people were begin held in captivity and they thought all was lost.  The people believed that the Temple was where God lived on earth, it was where God visited His people, and with the Temple gone, and the city of Jerusalem in ruins, people struggled to see that God was still with them and that they could turn to God for strength and power.  

Part of one lament says:  I remember my affliction and my wandering,  the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them  and my soul is downcast within me. Lamentations 3:19-20

With the Temple destroyed and people taken from their homes and scattered all across Babylon, it was hard for anyone to have hope.  People were walking around with their heads and hearts downcast.  They were hopeless.  Things were bad and they didn’t see any way they would get better.  There are times we might feel the same way.  You might be feeling this way today.  God is just too far away for you to put your hope in Him.  You can’t turn to Him or trust Him again because things just can’t get better.  Your soul is downcast.  

The good news is that this is not where the lament ends, it goes on.  Lamentations 3:21-23

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: 

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness, his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Even in the midst of what appeared a hopeless situation, the author said, Yet I still have hope because God is merciful.  

God is MERCIFUL.  One attribute we can give to God is mercy.  But just what does mercy mean?  To help us understand what mercy is all about, let’s talk about three words we often hear in church: justice, grace and mercy.   Here is a great way to think about these 3 things.

Justice - getting what you deserve

Grace - getting what you don’t deserve

Mercy - not getting what you do deserve.  

Here is how these 3 things work in our relationship with God.  Because of our sin, God’s justice says that we deserve to die - a spiritual death.  The Bible says the wages of sin is death.  Paul says,

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.  Ephesians 2:1-3

If God is only concerned about justice and nothing else - we are dead in our sin and deserving of God’s wrath, but God is more than justice.  Paul goes on and says, but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.  Ephesians 2:4-5

On our own we are dead in our sin.  Period.  There is no hope.  But God is more than justice.  God is also grace and mercy.  God is rich in mercy which means He doesn’t give us what we deserve.  What we deserve is death and separation from God, but God doesn’t give us what we deserve and that is the definition of mercy.   We don’t get what we deserve, instead we get what we don’t deserve and that is the definition of grace.  By grace you have been saved.  We don’t deserve salvation.  We haven’t done anything worthy of salvation, but God gives it to us anyway.  God makes us alive with Christ.  Good is mercy.

One of the challenges of our faith is holding these attributes of God together.   God is just and always will be just, but at the same time God is merciful and will always be rich in mercy.  God is Holy, which means He cannot tolerate sin or sinful people, but God is also love which means God loves us regardless of our sin and draws us to Him.  We have to hold these things in tension and we have always had to.  

In the Old Testament, God placed Adam and Eve in the garden and said it was all theirs to enjoy - just don’t eat of this one tree or you will die.  Of course, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from that tree.  God is just, therefore their disobedience and sin meant they should have died.  But God didn’t take their lives in that moment.  He made them clothes and sent them out to live in the world.  God didn’t simply destroy them, but gave them life.  

God’s justice and mercy were there at the beginning and they are still with us today.  Our sin deserves death and separation from God, but God makes a way for each of us to be with Him forever.  In God’s mercy, God doesn’t cut us off from Him forever.  God is just but God is merciful and that means we don’t get what we deserve.  Instead we get what we don’t deserve - we get salvation through Jesus and we are saved by grace.   

What is even more encouraging is that the word for mercy we find in Ephesians is eleos which is in the present tense, that means God’s mercy is continual and ongoing.  God was not only merciful before and is merciful today, but God will be merciful tomorrow and in all the days to come. This is what we heard in Lamentations.  Great is God’s faithfulness, his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Every morning God’s mercy is there for us.  Every morning we can have hope because we aren’t going to get what we deserve, we will get God’s grace.  Every morning we can experience hope and peace and joy because of God’s mercy.  Every morning there are gifts of God’s faithfulness and love that He offers to us.  Our situation might not change, things might not get better and we still might struggle with difficulties, hardship and pain, but we can have hope because God’s mercy begins afresh each morning.  

God is merciful, which means that as children created in the image of God, we need to be merciful as well.  Mercy was so important to God that He literally placed it at the center of His relationship with His people.  If we go back to how the people connected with God in the Old Testament, we see that God chose Jerusalem to be the holy city where He would live with His people.  In Jerusalem, God gave very detailed instructions about how to build a Temple where God would come to speak them.  In the center of the Temple was the Holy of Holies where they believed God actually came and was with them and in the center of the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark of the Covenant was a giant chest that held some of the most important artifacts from Israel’s history that were to remind the people that God was the one who saved them by His power and that He was the one who provided for them.  The lid of the ark had two giant cherubs at each end whose wings reached out to each other and the space in the middle, under those wings, was where God came to visit with His people.  This space was called the mercy seat.  It wasn’t a judgment seat where God came to judge and punish His people, it was a mercy seat, where God came to be with His people even though they were sinners.  God came to be with them which was something they did not deserve.  

At the very center of God’s relationship with His people was mercy.  In the incredibly detailed plans God gave for the building of Temple, God made room for mercy.  God makes it clear that mercy triumphs over judgment.  

This is how important mercy is to God and this is how important mercy needs to be for us. We need to always make room for mercy.  In all our relationships, mercy needs to triumph over judgment.  Not only do we celebrate that God is merciful and receive God’s mercy for ourselves but we need to show that mercy to others.    

Mercy needs to be at the center of our hearts as we relate to others.  Mercy needs to be at the center of our homes and in all our relationships with family, and mercy needs to be the center of the church as we interact with one another.  We always need to make room for mercy and not treat people as they deserve but give them what they don’t deserve which is forgiveness, acceptance and love.  It’s not always easy and we may not always get it right, but we need to strive for mercy.  

The first few years in my first church, there were people who didn’t like that I was holding up a vision of reaching out to new people in our community and a new generation.  One particular man made his feelings known by sending the church a check with a big fat 0 over it and included a note saying I was doing the work of the devil.  A year or so later when the same man was in hospice care, a friend of his asked if I would go visit him and take him communion.  What he deserved was for me to say - no way.  He thinks I’m doing the work of the devil - I’m not going.  

That’s what he deserved, but with the help of his friend and the Holy Spirit, I tried to make room for mercy.  I went to visit him with his friend and we all shared in communion.  It was a moment of reconciliation for all of us.  We each got a measure of God’s grace and understood more of God’s love.  

As we extend mercy to others, it changes us.  We not only see the power of mercy as it works in our world but we see the power of God’s mercy as it works in our own lives.  The more we experience God’s mercy, and the more we share God’s mercy with others, the more we find hope no matter what we are going through.   Knowing that God is merciful and that His mercy is new and fresh every day gives us hope.   

Whatever you need from God today, you can come with open arms because God is merciful.  When we feel beaten down by sin or the problems of life and feel like all hope is lost and nothing can or will get better, we can come to God and remember that He doesn’t give us what we deserve, He gives us life.  My soul may be downcast and things may not look for me, yet I will still have hope and can lift my head to the Lord because God is merciful and his mercy is new every morning.  

 

Next Steps

God Is Merciful

How would you respond to this:  God is _______________.

Which attributes of God bring you hope and which ones raise more questions?  What experiences and influences have shaped your view of God?

Define these three attributes of God (see Ephesians 2:1-10)

God is Justice:

God is Gracious:

God is Merciful:

God’s mercy is past, present and future.  

What examples of God’s mercy do we see in the Old Testament and New Testament?  

What examples of mercy have you experienced in your past?  Where is God’s mercy a blessing to you today?  

How can God’s mercy give you hope for tomorrow? 

If God is merciful to us, we should extend mercy to others.

Who in your life needs your mercy and grace?  

How can you extend mercy to them this week?

How could you regularly make room for mercy in your life?

Read Lamentations 3:22-23 every day this week:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.  Great is his faithfulness, his mercies begin afresh each morning.

For deeper study:

Explore the idea of the mercy seat from both the Old and New Testament.  See Exodus 25:17-22 and Hebrews 4:16.  (The term “mercy seat” is also the term “sacrifice of atonement” Paul uses in Romans 3:25.)