God is Faithful

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1. God is doing something exciting at LSCC
   1. Breakthrough – I have experienced breakthrough numerous times in my ministry.
   2. In my early days when I tried to describe it to someone, I said it was like having a hot knife while cutting butter. – Echelons
   3. I have not experienced it since my kids were old enough to truly participate in it, and this is one of the burdens of my heart.
   4. I can see we are standing at the brink of it right now at LSCC.
2. God is faithful to remember His promises
   1. God makes many promises and keeps every one of them.
   2. His promises range toward the whole world, down to very personal promises to each of us.
   3. God is real, and if you seek Him, He will give you personal promises and they will change your life.
   4. History is the story of God’s faithfulness to keep His promises.
   5. His promises give us assurance as we wait for the birth of His Kingdom.
   6. God is birthing His kingdom in the world in our lives and in this community, it is personal, and we experience it personally and corporately.
   7. Let us look at some scriptures that will help us see God’s faithfulness:

Isaiah 60:19–22 (NKJV) — 19 “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory. 20 Your sun shall no longer go down, Nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the Lord will be your everlasting light, And the days of your mourning shall be ended. 21 Also your people shall all be righteous; They shall inherit the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified. 22 A little one shall become a thousand, And a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time.”

• The picture painted in this picture is beautiful.
• Where do you locate this scripture in history?
• Chapters were not originally in the scriptures, let’s read on:

Isaiah 61:1–4 (NKJV) — 1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” 4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. SHIFT TO AMBASSADORS

The Kingdom Promised – Isaiah – about 700bc

Luke 4:20–21 (NKJV) — 20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

3. Think about the fulfillment of the promise
   1. A time of faithful waiting.
   2. When it came, it was barely noticed in the world
4. Every promises of God needs to be birthed
   1. From Hope to Substance
   2. Imagine the world and our lives are a garden, and the seed of God’s word wants to grow something beautiful in it.
   3. There is a process to breakthrough and birth
   4. James 1:12 (NKJV) — 12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
5. These scriptures are fulfilled in your hearing!
   1. John 4:35 (NKJV) — 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!
      1. The woman at the well – discovering the Messiah & living water
      2. Two scriptures that highlight this theme
   2. John 7:37–39 (NKJV) — 37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
      1. Water from the pool of Siloam was carried to the temple and poured out while the shofar sounded
      2. Dr Carson, Pillar NT Commentary – Moreover, these ceremonies of the Feast of Tabernacles were related in Jewish thought both to the Lord’s provision of water in the desert and to the Lord’s pouring out of the Spirit in the last days. Pouring at the Feast of Tabernacles refers symbolically to the messianic age in which a stream from the sacred rock would flow over the whole earth (cf. J. Jeremias,^[1]
   3. John 8:12 (NKJV) — 12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
      1. ‘He who has not seen the joy of the place of water-drawing has never in his life seen joy’: this extravagant claim stands just before the description of the lighting of the four huge lamps in the temple’s court of women and of the exuberant celebration that took place under their light (Mishnah Sukkah 5:1–4). ‘Men of piety and good works’ danced through the night, holding burning torches in their hands and singing songs and praises. The Levitical orchestras cut loose, and some sources attest that this went on every night of the Feast of Tabernacles, with the light from the temple area shedding its glow all over Jerusalem. In this context Jesus declares to the people, I am the light of the world.^[2]
   4. The Jewish experience faded each year, Christ only fades when we turn away or fall asleep.
6. God is Faithful!
   1. He remembers His promises
   2. He remembers your prayers
   3. He remembers you
   4. Pass the test and become ambassadors
   5. Awakening the manifestation of Christ’s Kingdom
7. Let the Rivers Flow

^[1] D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 322.

^[2] D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), 337.

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