Unyime Akpan - October 6, 2019

Northbrook Bible Chapel

Great is thy Faithfulness God’s faithfulness & Jeremiah *The book of Lamentations expresses more sorrow than any other book in the Bible *Lamentation means to cry aloud in despair *Its author is Jeremiah, the weeping prophet *Its theme is the tragic destruction of Jerusalem *The leaders of the day turned against God *Jerusalem was a haven for false gods *Jeremiah watched the nation decay *He knew judgement was coming *Judgement came *The Babylonian army invaded Jerusalem and destroyed it *Jeremiah lived to see his beloved nation fall into the polluted hand of idol worshipping Gentiles *As he watched this, he cried and he looked up to heaven and declare great is God’s faithfulness Lamentations 3:21-23 (NLT) Isaiah 55:10-11 (NLT) Numbers 21, 22, 23 Genesis 22:4-6 Numbers 21, 22, 23 Numbers 22:12 (NLT) Numbers 23:18-19 (NLT) Faithfulness –God keeps His word God cannot lie God keeps His promises God is perfect, reliable, always steady and stable, never fickle or vacillating God’s word is Faithful and True (Rev 21:5, 22:6) Christ, the living word is Faithful and True (Rev 19:11) We sometimes go back on our promise because we are: Unable to execute it –God is omnipotent Influenced by others –God is self sufficient Lose interest -God is immutable (does not change his mind) Does not suit our purpose -God is love (acts for the good of others) God is the ultimate promise keeper God’s faithfulness is unlimited Many times in the Bible we are reminded of the faithfulness of God Every time we see the rainbow after the storm, it is a reminder of God’s faithfulness He promised that seasons will come with regularity and He has kept that promise King Solomon looked back and said 1 Kings 8:56 (NLT) 56 “Praise the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises he gave through his servant Moses. God makes a general promise to Abraham - Genesis 15:1-6 God makes a specific promise Abraham laughed at God’s promise Abraham tried to help God -Genesis 17:1-6; 15-19 (NLT) God gets more specific on His promise Sarah laughed at God’s promise - Genesis 18:1, 9-15; Abraham meditated on God’s promise and Abraham chose to believe God’s promise -Romans 4:18-22 Sarah meditated on God’s promise andSarah chose to believe that God is faithful (will keep his promise) -Hebrews 11:11 *God is faithful in keeping every promise He has made *This is our greatest encouragement *Bible has thousand of promises, and at least one will apply to every situation *Let’s spend time to read, memorise and meditate on God’s promises Promises to claim and meditate onJeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future John 10: 27-30 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” Hebrew 13:5-6 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Romans 8:31-39 More promises to claim and meditate on *Psalm 46 *Psalm 121 *Psalm 91 *Psalm 139 *Isaiah 40:27-31 *Philippians 4:13; 4:19