Participants: John Lomacang (Host), Abraham Jules PhD
Series Code: FDOF
Program Code: FDOF000014A
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00:19 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Worship Center
00:22 for the second in a series of meetings 00:24 brought to you here at Foundation of Our Faith. 00:28 If you've tuned in for 00:29 Dr. Abraham Jules' first message, 00:31 How God Makes It Possible, you know that you are blessed. 00:36 It's always good to know that we serve a God 00:38 who never has to worry about what to do next. 00:40 God is always a step ahead of our problems. 00:43 He's always ready to move our mountains. 00:45 And that's the God that we need to know 00:47 is always available for us today. 00:48 And I know that this message is going to build on that 00:52 because the message is entitled The Faithfulness of God. 00:56 If you missed our first message, 00:57 let me introduce you to our speaker, Abraham Julius Jules. 01:02 Dr. Abraham Julius Jules is a native of 01:06 the Caribbean island of Trinidad. 01:08 I've been to Trinidad before. 01:09 A matter of fact, the lady that raised me 01:11 is from Port of Spain in Trinidad. 01:14 And we've gone to a number of places there, 01:15 if you're tuning in from Trinidad, 01:17 so good to have you, invite your family and friends 01:20 for that reason to sit down and enjoy this message. 01:24 He is also, as you've discovered, 01:25 a fourth a generation Seventh-day Adventist. 01:29 Dr. Jules shared how God brought him into the conversion 01:31 as a young man from the streets of Trinidad 01:35 to the streets of New York. 01:36 And then began a path to ministry that has now 01:39 extended all around the world. 01:42 He received most of his early formal education 01:45 in the country of Trinidad. 01:46 But when he came to the United States, 01:48 he received a bachelor's degree 01:50 from Oakwood College in 1983. 01:52 A master's degree from Andrews University in 1987. 01:56 And his doctorate degree in 1995, 01:58 from the United Theological Seminary. 02:02 More than just the qualification on script 02:05 and by a certificate is the heart of this preacher. 02:10 He has preached in a number of venues. 02:11 Let me share some of those with you. 02:13 He has held the evangelistic series in Little Rock, 02:16 a Trinidadian preaching in Little Rock, 02:18 that's an amazing thing. 02:19 In Harlem, New York. Los Angeles, California. 02:22 Tacoma, Washington. Anchorage, Alaska. 02:25 Kingston, Jamaica. Sydney, Australia. 02:27 Hamilton, Bermuda. Toronto, Canada. 02:31 The West Indies, where he baptized 02:32 more than 450 souls in the year 2000. 02:36 He was in London, Johannesburg, 02:37 South Africa, New Zealand, a number of other places. 02:41 As you can see, he has quite an international itinerary. 02:45 To add to that, he was one of the featured speakers 02:47 in the year 2010 at the General Conference Session, 02:50 where he preached to a stadium of more than 70,000 people. 02:54 That's just the local audience, 02:55 not including the international audience. 02:58 But Dr. Jules has been a husband for 12 years 03:00 of a doctor of dentistry, Dr. Dominique Jules. 03:05 He's the father of two children, lovely children. 03:08 As a matter of fact, his young son 03:10 has quite a smile that's infectious. 03:12 He's a young man that has quite a bright future 03:14 along with his daughter. 03:16 He's been in ministry for 32 years. 03:18 And he's presently in the Northeastern conference, 03:21 where he's pastoring the Community Worship Center 03:24 in Queens, New York. 03:27 Now before I introduce Dr. Abraham Jules, 03:29 we're gonna be blessed by a song 03:31 by our featured speaker Mark Udo Williams, 03:34 who is a resident of Houston, Texas. 03:37 He's going to bless us with one of my favorite songs 03:39 "Wonderful Merciful Savior." 03:41 But before he comes out, 03:43 let's invite the Lord's presence to be with us. 03:46 Heavenly Father, we thank You, 03:48 that once again as we sit at this table of grace. 03:52 Lord, You have prepared for us a meal, 03:55 to remind us of Your faithfulness, 03:58 Your goodness, Your mercy. 04:00 Lord, we can say that You truly 04:02 are a wonderful merciful Savior. 04:05 And so Lord, we invite You now to come 04:07 and fill Your manservant Dr. Abraham Jules, 04:10 make him a conduit of the power 04:12 that is available through Your Holy Spirit. 04:16 And to those who are tuning into this program, 04:17 may their hearts be filled and challenged 04:20 to take that step of faith, 04:22 to trust their lives to the God, 04:23 who is always faithful. 04:25 So come now, Holy Spirit, 04:26 speak to us and minister to our needs, 04:29 we pray in Jesus name. 04:32 Now, Mark, come and bless us. 04:33 And the next voice that you'll hear after 04:35 Mark Udo Williams will be that of Dr Abraham Jules. 04:58 Wonderful, merciful Savior 05:05 Precious Redeemer and Friend 05:11 Who could have thought that a Lamb 05:16 Could rescue the souls of men 05:22 Oh, You rescue the souls of men 05:33 Counselor, Comforter, Keeper 05:39 Spirit we long to embrace 05:46 You offer hope when our hearts have 05:52 Hopelessly lost the way 05:57 Oh, we've hopelessly lost the way 06:05 You are the One that we praise 06:11 You are the One we adore 06:17 You give the healing and grace 06:22 Our hearts always hunger for 06:29 Oh, our hearts always hunger for 07:11 Almighty, infinite Father 07:17 Faithfully loving your own 07:24 Here in our weakness You find us 07:30 Falling before Your throne 07:35 Oh, we're falling before Your throne 07:43 You are the One that we praise 07:49 You are the One we adore 07:55 You give the healing and grace 08:00 Our hearts always hunger for 08:06 Oh, our hearts always hunger for 08:14 You are the One that we praise 08:21 You are the One we adore 08:27 You give the healing and grace 08:32 Our hearts always hunger for 08:38 Oh, our hearts always hunger for 09:03 Thank you so very much, Mark, for blessing our hearts 09:07 with that song reminding us of the faithfulness of God, 09:11 and of His might and power in this world. 09:14 John, thank you for your 09:16 gracious and kind words of introduction. 09:19 It's great to be here for this series of sermons 09:23 on foundations of our faith. 09:26 And we direct your attention to the Book of 09:27 Lamentations 3:22-24. 09:35 And it reads, "It is of the Lord's mercies 09:41 that we are not consumed, 09:44 because his compassions fail not. 09:48 They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. 09:55 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, 09:59 therefore will I hope in him." 10:03 We'll talk to you today about the faithfulness of God. 10:07 Loving Father, we are mindful of Your presence in our lives, 10:13 and Your goodness to what is. 10:16 We ask as we look back on Your hands upon this world 10:22 and in our lives that we would be reminded that 10:26 You have been faithful to us, every step of the journey. 10:31 May we in turn, oh, God, be faithful to You, 10:34 until that day when we shall see You in peace 10:38 and hail You as our Lord and our King. 10:41 We pray this prayer in the name of the Father, 10:43 and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 10:49 "Great is thy faithfulness." 10:54 In the year 1888, a man named Thomas Obadiah Chisholm, 11:01 who lived in Franklin, Kentucky. 11:02 And was the assistant editor of his local newspaper, 11:07 known as the Franklin Favorite, became a Christian. 11:12 And after becoming a Christian, Chisholm decided to write poems 11:17 articulating and expressing the joy of his newfound faith. 11:24 Many poems Chisholm wrote were published 11:27 in the Franklin Favorite. 11:30 And on one occasion, a musician by the name of 11:33 William Runnion read one of those poems 11:37 and was so inspired by it that he decided to put 11:41 music to the words of that poem. 11:44 That song, after it was published and released, 11:48 swept the United States and the world, 11:50 the same way, some contemporary songs 11:53 like Marvin Sapp's anthem of praise 11:56 never could have made it, has swept our day. 12:00 That's song, several years after 12:02 was adopted as the theme song, 12:05 by the prestigious Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. 12:11 That song, several years later, 12:13 was made one of the features sung... 12:15 featured songs sung by George Beverly Shae 12:19 for Billy Graham, and the Billy Graham Crusade. 12:23 That's song, almost 130 years after 12:27 Thomas Obadiah Chisholm wrote the words, 12:31 is still sung with great force and fervor in our churches. 12:36 That song, " Great is thy faithfulness, 12:41 O God my Father, 12:43 there is no shadow of turning with thee, 12:47 thou changest not, thy compassions, 12:50 they fail not, as thou hast been thou forever will be. 12:57 Great is thy faithfulness! 13:00 Morning by morning new mercies I see, 13:05 all I have ever needed thy hands hath provided, 13:10 great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!" 13:15 I remember, in 1981, I drove from Oakwood College 13:19 now Oakwood University, in Huntsville, Alabama 13:23 to New Orleans, Louisiana, where my brother lived 13:26 at the time in my 1975 Chevy Caprice, 13:31 with this song playing on my ATRAC. 13:35 I played this song for eight continuous hours. 13:39 I just had it on replay. 13:41 That song was very meaningful to me on that day. 13:45 And as the days and the years have gone by, 13:48 that song with its divinely inspired words, 13:52 have been the theme of my life. 13:54 I know that God has been faithful. 13:58 And for those of you who are students of scripture, 14:02 you wouldn't know that Thomas Obadiah Chisholm's poem 14:05 is in fact a poetic rendering of a scripture, 14:09 written by the great prophet Jeremiah, 14:12 and found in the Book of Lamentations 3:22, 14:18 "It is of the Lord's mercies, that we are not consumed, 14:23 because his compassions fail not. 14:27 They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness. 14:31 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, 14:35 therefore I will hope in him." 14:37 Now this idea, my brothers and sisters, 14:40 that the God we serve is a faithful God, 14:43 is at the very foundation of the Christian faith. 14:46 All of our hope in this world, and all of our hope 14:49 for the world to come, is undergirded 14:52 by this idea that God is faithful. 14:56 And when we say that God is faithful, 14:58 basically what we are saying is that God does what God says. 15:03 In other words, whatever God says 15:05 He's going to do, He surely does it. 15:09 When we say God is faithful, we are saying in effect, 15:13 that God sustains whatever He creates. 15:17 When we say God is faithful, we are saying that God finishes 15:22 whatever He starts. 15:24 Look at me at the implicit contrast, 15:27 the text says "Great is his faithfulness." 15:31 Now we really can't say that about ourselves 15:34 because we do not always do what we say. 15:37 And we do not always sustain what we create. 15:41 That's why our courts are filled with women 15:43 trying to get child support for children that we created. 15:48 They are not sustained. 15:50 Oh, we can create, but we don't always sustain what we create. 15:56 And we do not finish what we start. 15:59 That's why there's so much divorce in this world today. 16:02 We don't finish what we start. 16:04 That's why we have so many high school, 16:07 college and university dropouts. 16:09 We don't finish what we start. 16:12 That's why we have so many backsliders. 16:15 We don't finish what we start. 16:17 That's why we have so many delinquent church offices. 16:19 We don't finish what we start. 16:22 And that's the truth about me and that's the truth about you. 16:26 We don't finish what we start. 16:29 But when it comes to God, Hallelujah, God is faithful. 16:34 God is dependable. God is reliable. 16:39 God does what He says. 16:43 And God sustains what He creates. 16:46 And God always finishes whatever He stars. 16:52 Thumb through the pages of scripture from the first Amen 16:54 in Genesis to the last Hallelujah in Revelation. 16:58 And you will find this theme woven 17:00 through the pages of Holy Writ that God is faithful. 17:04 It is the dominant note of the Psalms. 17:06 And the underlying assumption behind everything 17:09 Jesus taught is this, that God is faithful. 17:13 It is the conviction of all the prophets in the Bible, 17:16 God is faithful. 17:18 Whenever the prophets prophesied, 17:21 they were really saying, you can depend on my prophecy, 17:23 not because of me, but because God is faithful. 17:27 Consider with me just a few textual testimonies. 17:31 Exodus 34:6, the writer says, 17:33 "And the Lord passed by before him, 17:36 and proclaimed, The Lord God, 17:39 merciful and gracious, longsuffering, 17:42 and abundant in goodness and truth." 17:45 Deuteronomy 7:9, "Know therefore 17:49 that the Lord thy God, He is God, 17:51 and He is the faithful God, which keepeth covenant 17:55 and mercy with them that love Him 17:57 and keep His commandments to a thousand generations." 18:00 He is faithful. And He keeps His word. 18:03 Consider what the New Testament says in I Thessalonians 5:24 18:08 "Faithful is he that calleth you, 18:10 who also will do it." 18:12 Consider Hebrews 10:23, "Let us hold fast 18:16 the profession of our faith without wavering, 18:19 (for he is faithful that promised;)" 18:22 And ladies and gentlemen, as Joshua, 18:24 as he summarizes the whole Exodus event, 18:28 and the wanderings of the children of Israel 18:30 through the wilderness, and the crossing 18:32 of the Jordan in to the land of Canaan. 18:35 As he looked over at Israel, 18:37 as they are now settled in Canaan. 18:39 And remembered from whence they came. 18:42 And now they've got houses they didn't build. 18:45 And they've got vineyards they didn't plant. 18:47 And they have wells they didn't dig. 18:49 Joshua looked back over this divine landscape 18:53 and gave a summary of why they were so blessed. 18:56 And so he says in Joshua 21:43, "And the Lord gave unto Israel 19:02 all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers, 19:05 and they possessed it, and dwelt therein." 19:08 What he was saying was that God had promised 19:11 their father Abraham, a thousand years earlier, 19:15 that Israel was gonna live in the land, 19:17 and here they are. 19:19 God doing just what He said He was going to do. 19:23 Look at verse 44, "And the Lord gave them 19:26 rest about, according to all that 19:29 he sware unto their fathers, and there stood not a man 19:32 of all their enemies before them, 19:34 the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand." 19:39 Their enemies couldn't get to them. 19:41 He told their fathers, 19:43 I'm gonna keep the enemies away. 19:44 And Joshua looked up and said, look at this, 19:47 everything God said was going to happen, happened. 19:51 As a matter of fact, ladies and gentlemen, 19:52 we need to be very careful that we decide 19:55 to take our enemies into our own hands. 19:57 God said that He would make our enemies our footstool. 20:01 And do you know what a footstool is? 20:03 A footstool is used to take you higher. 20:07 We use footstools to take us higher. 20:10 And God says He will use our enemies to take us higher. 20:16 And verse 45 said, "There failed not ought 20:21 of any good thing which the Lord had spoken 20:24 unto the house of Israel, all came to pass." 20:28 Everything God said He was gonna do, 20:31 came to pass, because God is faithful. 20:36 And that's why Paul writes in II Corinthians 1:20, 20:40 "For all the promises of God in him are yea, 20:43 and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." 20:47 Now that might not make sense to you until you stop to think 20:50 about what Amen means. 20:52 We use the word Amen rather loosely in church. 20:56 We just, kind of, throw it around very liberally. 20:59 And it's a non thinking response. 21:01 But the world Amen has power in it. 21:04 It literally means, so let it be. 21:07 To be said about something that God said. 21:11 And that is why you shouldn't say Amen to everything. 21:13 Because some things you're not certain about. 21:16 But you can say Amen today, because God is faithful. 21:23 I want you to know, ladies and gentlemen, 21:25 if you are not sure whether or not to say Amen 21:27 because you think that some promises are not yet fulfilled. 21:30 I suggest on the authority of exegetical consistency, 21:33 that if God has come through in the past, 21:36 He will do it again. 21:38 Notice the text tells us, 21:40 "For all the promises of God are yea." 21:43 In other words, it's going to happen. 21:46 I am certain that everything God said is going to happen 21:51 because of the faithfulness of God. 21:55 Now this text shows us three specific things to look at. 21:59 Number one, creation. 22:01 Let's hear the text again, "It is of the Lord's mercies 22:05 that we are not consumed, 22:06 because His compassions fail not. 22:09 There are new every morning." 22:10 The text says that His mercies are new every morning. 22:15 The song says, morning by morning, 22:18 new mercies I see. 22:20 Morning by morning has to do with nights and days. 22:24 Nights and days are a part of the weekly cycle. 22:26 The weekly cycle is a part of God's creation. 22:29 Now if you just spun the creation, 22:31 you can see the faithfulness of God. 22:34 Have you ever thought about how dependable creation is? 22:38 What God creates, He sustains. 22:41 Just think about it. 22:43 On January the first, the earth will be 22:45 in a certain position in relationship to the sun. 22:48 Three hundred sixty five days later, 22:50 the earth will come back to the very place it was 22:52 three hundred sixty five days earlier. 22:55 And it is only because of the mathematical dependability 22:59 of this happening that you and I can have a calendar. 23:02 Because you break your calendar up into months, 23:05 365 days based on the earth, coming back to its 23:08 original point as it revolves around the sun. 23:12 Ladies and gentleman, you and I know, 23:14 and we're gonna testify about God's goodness. 23:17 See, I know and you know that January and December, 23:21 and the seasons are given to us and are reminded, 23:24 it's a reminder that God created. 23:27 I know how to dress in February. 23:29 And I know how to dress in July. 23:31 Because God governs the weather, it's dependable. 23:34 I already know that somewhere around March, 23:38 the twelfth... the second, 23:39 we're gonna experience what is called Spring Equinox, 23:42 which means you have an equal day and night, 23:44 on that one day. 23:46 And the folk who studied the seasons and weather 23:48 already told us that on September 22, 23:51 we're gonna have Fall Equinox, which means that on that day 23:55 there will be as much daylight as there is night time. 23:58 They already know it's gonna happen, 24:00 and that is because of the dependability of nature, 24:03 because God is faithful in nature. 24:07 And it's been happening every year, 24:09 there has not been one year that spring didn't show up. 24:13 Not one year that summer didn't come. 24:15 Now there have been years 24:17 when some of us hadn't shown up in church. 24:19 But there has not been one year that summer did not come. 24:23 God never forgets to send the springtime. 24:27 God never had to write an apology saying, 24:29 "My bad. I forgot to send spring." 24:32 Because everything God starts, God finishes. 24:36 And everything God creates, He sustains. 24:40 Every day of your life, 24:42 the sun has risen in the east and set in the West. 24:45 And do you know why? Because God is faithful. 24:50 The sun is in certain proximity to the earth. 24:54 If it moves just one inch away from the earth, we'll freeze. 24:58 If it moves one inch closer to the earth, we'll all burn up. 25:02 Guess what? 25:03 The sun has not moved one inch from the day that God said 25:06 "Let there be light." 25:08 Because God stuck it there. And God holds it there. 25:12 Because God is faithful. 25:14 And you may worry about some stuff. 25:16 But none of us have ever had a maalox moment 25:19 wondering if the sun is gonna rise in the east, 25:22 because of the faithfulness of God. 25:25 If the sun broke down and if gravity failed, 25:27 who's gonna fix it? 25:28 NASA? Or the government? 25:30 They can barely fix the economy. 25:32 They can barely handle crime. 25:34 How in the world they're gonna fix the sun and the moon? 25:36 But they don't have to fix it, 25:38 because of the faithfulness of God. 25:42 Consider God's faithfulness, 25:44 every time you heat up water to 212 degrees. 25:48 Every time you do it, it starts boiling. 25:52 God says, "I'm gonna be faithful to 212 degrees. 25:57 And when you heat it up to 212 degrees, 25:59 I will make it boil." 26:01 Every time you have a cup of decaf, 26:04 you can praise God, 26:06 because it's a sign of divine faithfulness. 26:10 Every time you cool down water to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. 26:14 God says, "I'm gonna make it turn it to ice." 26:17 And every time you drop some ice cubes in your ginger ale, 26:20 you should stop and say thank you, Lord. 26:23 Have you ever thought, my brothers and sisters, 26:25 that they are seven times more water than there is land? 26:29 Water should just envelop the land. 26:32 Water should just cover all the land mass, but it doesn't. 26:35 And the reason why it doesn't is because 26:38 when God created the earth and the moon, 26:40 He created spinning objects that create 26:43 such centrifugal force, so that it creates levees. 26:46 And these levees protect the earth. 26:50 Men have made levees. 26:52 But the levees that men have built in New Orleans, 26:54 they have failed. 26:56 But the levee that God made, God put a levee in the sky, 27:00 and said to the water, come only so far, 27:02 because of the faithfulness of God. 27:04 In fact, when you read the God story in the Bible, 27:08 have you noticed that the Bible never tries to prove 27:10 that there is a God? 27:12 It never gives you an argument for God's existence. 27:15 The Bible simply assumes that if you have any sense 27:20 that you would know that there is a God. 27:23 The Bible opens up, not in defense of God. 27:26 But it opens up this way, "In the beginning, God..." 27:31 it doesn't argue for God. 27:33 It just assumes there is a God. 27:35 Because Psalm 19 says 27:37 "The heavens declare the glory of God, 27:40 and the firmament showeth his handiwork." 27:43 All you have to do is look around you and say, 27:47 you know what? 27:48 Who made the rivers? Who made the trees? 27:51 Who made the rivers that flow to the seas? 27:54 And who hung the moon in the starry sky? 27:58 Somebody bigger than you and I. 28:02 That is why Paul says in Romans 1:20, 28:05 "For since the creation of the world, 28:07 my invisible attributes, my eternal power 28:10 and divine nature had been clearly seen, 28:13 because they are understood through what has been made." 28:19 I don't have to prove the faithfulness 28:20 of God just by creation. 28:22 I can prove this thing secondly, by contemplation. 28:26 Let's hear the text again, 28:28 "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, 28:32 because his compassions fail not. 28:34 They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness." 28:38 Notice the text says when my soul decides to tell the truth, 28:42 it will testify that it is of the Lord's mercies that 28:46 we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. 28:51 If you just stop and think about it. 28:54 You can see the faithfulness of God all around you. 28:58 If you just stop to contemplate from whence you have come, 29:03 where you started from and where you are right now. 29:07 Then if you have any sense, you should be saying 29:11 "Great is thy faithfulness." 29:14 Don't think you have made yourself 29:16 for because you're so proficient. 29:19 It had nothing to do with your ingenuity. 29:21 It had to do with the faithfulness of God. 29:24 God's been faithful to us. 29:27 God has brought every last one of us from a mighty long way. 29:32 Some of us just forgot how messed up we were 29:35 and God overrode our foolishness, 29:37 and blessed us anyhow. 29:39 He's been faithful. 29:41 That is why every time you think about 29:42 what has been affected in your life, 29:45 you ought to say, "Great is thy faithfulness." 29:49 If your child gets married, you should be saying, 29:52 "Great is thy faithfulness." 29:55 When your children graduate, you should be saying, 29:57 "Great is thy faithfulness." 30:00 If you've got a little sanity in your mind right now 30:03 and you know your address 30:04 and your social security number, 30:06 you should be saying, "Great is thy faithfulness." 30:10 If you've got in a job in an economy like this 30:13 and a place to call your own, you should be shouting, 30:17 "Great is thy faithfulness." 30:20 If God blessed you, so you can employ someone else, 30:24 you should be saying, "Great is thy faithfulness." 30:28 If you've got a car, or a little hoop jeep 30:31 and it takes you from point A to Point B, 30:34 you should be saying, "Great is thy faithfulness." 30:37 If you woke up this morning and you're able to put 30:40 one foot in front of the other, you should be shouting, 30:43 "Great is thy faithfulness." 30:46 Every time you think about how your kids are doing 30:49 and what they could be doing, you should be shouting, 30:51 "Great is thy faithfulness." 30:54 Anytime you get a promotion, you should be declaring, 30:58 "Great is thy faithfulness." 31:00 Every time a bill comes to your house 31:03 and you're able to pay it, you should be shouting, 31:05 "Great is thy faithfulness." 31:08 Every time you go to the doctor and the doctor says 31:11 "You're doing all right," you ought to shout, 31:13 "Great is thy faithfulness." 31:18 Every time you make a sale, every time you seal a deal, 31:21 every time you get a loan, every time you meet payroll, 31:24 you ought to just be shouting, "Great is thy faithfulness." 31:27 Food on your table, clothes on your back, 31:30 God's been good, you ought to say, 31:34 "Great is thy faithfulness." 31:37 But you know many of us, my brothers and sisters, 31:40 we are not grateful, because we are delusional. 31:45 We think we did it. 31:47 Well, while we try to take credit for ourselves, 31:50 while we forget to sing "Great is thy faithfulness." 31:54 The angels are singing all around us, 31:56 "Great is thy foolishness." 32:00 Because if we contrast ourselves with God, 32:03 God is characterized by faithfulness. 32:07 And you and I have been 32:08 characterized by our foolishness. 32:11 Many people say, 32:13 "Well, God hasn't done anything for me, 32:14 look at my situation." 32:16 Oh, it's not that God hasn't been faithful to you. 32:19 Most of the problems we have in our lives, 32:22 we can trace right back to the lack of God's faithfulness, 32:27 not to the lack of God's faithfulness, 32:29 but to some of our foolishness. 32:33 Come on, talk to me. 32:34 Don't act like you haven't been foolish. 32:38 Amen, somebody. I have a book in my library. 32:42 And the title of the book is 32:43 "How come every time I get stabbed in the back, 32:46 my fingerprints are on the knife." 32:49 It's our choices. 32:51 You are the one who made the telephone call. 32:56 And now your life is a mess. 33:00 You are the one that invited him over, 33:01 now you have cursed the day you met him. 33:04 You are the one who allowed your emotions to become 33:06 entangled with someone you know 33:08 you should not have fallen in love with. 33:10 God's been faithful but we've been foolish. 33:15 Oh, it's not God. 33:17 He's been faithful while we've played the fool. 33:21 You are the one that abused your body 33:23 and now everything is out of whack. 33:25 And you're blaming God. 33:27 God's been faithful while you've been foolish. 33:33 We've been our own worst enemies. 33:36 But even though we have messed up, 33:37 God is so faithful. 33:39 He has not allowed us to be 33:41 completely destroyed by our stupidity. 33:43 God has intervened. And He has blessed us. 33:47 And saved us from our own self's. 33:49 In other words, God's been faithful 33:52 while we've been foolish. 33:55 And you contemplate it, God's been faithful. 33:58 There's a song that has blessed me over the years. 34:01 And here are the words of the song, 34:03 "How many times must I prove how much I love you. 34:07 How many ways my love for you, I show. 34:10 How many times must I rescue you from trouble, 34:13 for you to know just how much I love you?" 34:17 Then in the chorus, God says 34:18 "Woke you up this morning, clothed you in your right mind. 34:21 When you walked upon a problem, didn't I step right in on time? 34:24 Strength, along life's journey. My angels carried you. 34:28 So you would know just how much I love you." 34:32 Then God continues to talk to us in that song. 34:35 He says "Food on your table. 34:37 Showed up when the bills would do. 34:39 When the pain was wrecking your body, 34:41 send down healing to you. 34:43 Lost in sin and sorrow, I died to set you free. 34:48 So you would know just how much I love you." 34:53 Finally, we see a confrontation. 34:58 God is not only faithful in creation and in contemplation. 35:03 But He's also faithful when there's a confrontation. 35:06 The only reason why real Christians 35:08 don't lose their minds, when crises come, 35:12 is because of God. 35:14 You see when Jeremiah said "Great is thy faithfulness." 35:18 It was during a crisis. 35:20 This is the book of Lamentations. 35:22 And Lamentation means weep. 35:25 Jeremiah's world had fallen apart 35:28 and he had experienced a tsunami of grief. 35:32 The Babylonians had come and destroyed Jerusalem. 35:35 And destroyed Jerusalem 35:37 and brought Jerusalem to ashes and rubble. 35:40 And there was nothing left. 35:42 I don't know if you've ever been in a situation 35:44 where you had nothing left, everything was gone. 35:49 And in the midst of not having anything, 35:52 Jeremiah stood up and said, "It is by thy mercies, 35:57 we are not consumed. 36:00 Great is thy faithfulness." 36:03 Which is to say, my brothers and sisters, 36:06 anybody can sing it, when you've got a job. 36:11 But if you're like Jeremiah, you learn to sing 36:14 when you just lost your job. 36:17 And you learn to sing, when you don't know 36:19 how you're gonna pay your bills. 36:21 And you learn to sing, 36:22 when you cry yourself to sleep at nights. 36:25 And you'll learn to sing, when everything 36:27 and everyone seems against you. 36:29 You'll learn to sing while everything is against you. 36:35 Because anybody can shout, when you've got good health. 36:40 Jeremiah is saying "Great is thy faithfulness," 36:45 with chemo and lymph nodes all over your body. 36:49 The reason you can hope, 36:51 is not because of the party in power. 36:54 The reason you can hope 36:56 is not because your friends are in power. 36:59 My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood, 37:04 and righteousness. 37:05 I dare not trust the sweetest frame, 37:07 but a Holier lean on Jesus' name. 37:11 On Christ, the solid rock, I stand. 37:14 All other ground is sinking sand. 37:17 All other ground is sinking sand. 37:20 My hope is not in humanity. 37:22 Faltering and the failing human beings. 37:26 My hope is built on nothing less than Christ our Lord. 37:31 On Christ, not you. 37:34 Human beings are too funny and fickle. 37:37 But on Christ, the solid rock, I stand. 37:40 Christ is faithful to take care of you. 37:44 And notice what he says, "Every morning, new mercies, 37:49 he's gonna bring into your life." 37:51 What he is talking about, 37:53 is when the children of Israel were in the wilderness. 37:56 And they didn't know what they were gonna eat 37:57 and they didn't know how they were gonna survive. 38:00 And we're told that they complained to God. 38:02 And God said to Moses, 38:04 "Moses, tell them in the morning. 38:07 Just go to bed tonight. And in the morning. 38:11 They're gonna see some mercy." 38:14 Problem with most of us is we take tomorrow 38:16 to bed with us tonight, 38:19 that's why we can't fall asleep. 38:21 By the way, Isaiah said, 38:23 "It's only wicked folk who can't sleep at night." 38:27 Isaiah said, "The wicked folk are tossed to and fro. 38:29 While they're trying to go to bed at night's 38:31 they are tossed hither and yon, can't sleep." 38:36 And so the Bible says that God told them, 38:38 "You all, just go to sleep, go to rest tonight. 38:41 Don't worry about the provisions, 38:43 tomorrow morning, when you wake up, 38:46 all over the ground, would be the provisions, 38:49 that I would provide for you." 38:51 And the Bible says that they were wafers 38:53 on the ground that tasted like honey. 38:55 They didn't know what it was so they called it "Manna." 38:59 Manna literally means, what is this? 39:03 Whenever I cook for my children, they tell my wife, 39:07 "Daddy gave us manna." 39:12 So God said, "Eat it. 39:14 But only get enough to get you through today. 39:19 Gather two pints per person. 39:21 And don't hold any." Don't ask for take home box. 39:23 Because you don't need a take home box. 39:25 Because when the next day comes, 39:27 there'll be some new mercies. 39:29 God says "I'm gonna have manna for you, 39:32 one day at a time." 39:34 And one way you stay sane in a crazy world, 39:37 is to trust God, one day at a time. 39:42 I'm not worried about Sunday. 39:45 I'm going to trust God that He's got enough mercy 39:48 to get me through Saturday. 39:50 And when Sunday comes, He'll give me new mercies 39:53 to get me through Sunday. 39:54 And when Monday comes, 39:56 He'll give me some Monday mercies. 39:58 And when Tuesday comes, 39:59 God will provide some Tuesday mercies. 40:01 And when Wednesday comes, 40:03 He's gonna give me some Wednesday mercies. 40:06 All my life, all 55 years, I've been getting new mercies, 40:12 55 years of 365 mercies a year. 40:16 God has given me over 20,000 mercies. 40:20 And I want you to know, ladies and gentleman, 40:22 He has said that when He gives the mercies, 40:24 they will be new every morning. 40:27 They will not feel the same. 40:30 And by His mercies, we are not consumed. 40:36 Some of us should have been wiped out a long time ago, 40:39 but it's God's mercies. 40:41 When I think about my own life, I think about God's goodness. 40:45 God has been faithful. 40:48 I don't have the time to tell you 40:49 what the Lord has brought me through. 40:51 How many prayers He has answered. 40:53 How many tight spots He's gotten me out of. 40:56 How many days He has lifted up my bowed down head. 40:59 How many times He has seen me through. 41:02 How many opportunities He has created. 41:05 How many times He has looked 41:06 beyond my faults and saw my needs. 41:09 How many doors He has opened. How many doors He has shut. 41:13 I don't deserve them all, but I am thankful. 41:16 Because God's been faithful. 41:19 His faithfulness is evident in creation, 41:22 it's very clear to me in contemplation. 41:25 And His faithfulness does not fail in confrontation. 41:28 Great is thy faithfulness. 41:31 And great faithfulness demands great faithfulness. 41:36 If God's been faithful, you ought to be faithful. 41:39 You know, my father and mother 41:41 were faithful to us as children. 41:44 And I made sure, when I got old, 41:46 and can provide whatever they needed for them, I did it, 41:50 because they were faithful to me. 41:52 God's been faithful to you, count your blessings 41:55 and name them one by one. 41:58 Faithful is our God. 42:00 I'm reaping the harvest God promised me. 42:02 Take back what the devil stole from me. 42:05 And I rejoice today because I'm gonna recover it all. 42:09 When I think about how far He has brought me. 42:12 What shall I render unto the Lord? 42:15 The Bible says, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." 42:20 Tell somebody, if He's been good to you, 42:24 if he woke you up this morning, say so. 42:28 If you were able to pay your bills 42:30 because God is faithful, say so. 42:33 If you used to be an emotional wreck in your relationships 42:37 but God gave you new confidence, then say so. 42:42 If your life was nothing short of hopeless 42:44 but when Jesus came in to your life, 42:46 He changed you, then say so. 42:50 So if he has changed you and remade you, 42:53 and cleaned you up, and given you a new name, 42:56 and a new hope, and a new life, say so. 43:00 If he has helped you, say so. 43:03 If you're gonna trust Him, say so. 43:06 If the devil is a liar, say so. 43:09 If you know He is with you, say so. 43:12 If you know no weapon formed 43:13 against you shall prosper, say so. 43:17 If you know that when one door shuts, 43:19 He'll open another, then say so. 43:21 If you know He'll prepare a table before you, 43:24 in the presence of your enemies, then say so. 43:27 So when I think of the goodness of Jesus 43:31 and all He has done for me, my soul cries out, 43:36 thank God, for saving me. 43:40 I want you know, my brothers and sisters, 43:44 that God is a faithful God. 43:47 He will never fail you. 43:49 The Bible says, "He will never leave you." 43:52 The Bible says, "He will never forsake you." 43:55 Trust in the Lord. 43:57 Delight thyself also in the Lord. 44:00 In all thy ways, acknowledge Him. 44:03 And He shall direct thy path. 44:05 You and I, can trust God 44:08 because He has never and never will fail us. 44:12 He's the God who keeps His word. 44:16 Whatever He starts, He finishes. 44:20 Our God is a faithful God. 44:23 His mercies are new every morning. 44:27 You and I can anticipate God doing what God says. 44:32 I have learned to trust in Him. 44:34 I've learned to depend on His Holy Word. 44:37 I've learned to believe whatever God says. 44:41 My brothers and my sisters, you can trust Him tonight. 44:45 Whatever He started in you, 44:47 Bible says, He will complete it. 44:50 We can believe on His word. 44:52 We can trust every word, from Genesis to Revelation, 44:56 because our God is a faithful God. 45:00 Mark will now come and sing for us 45:02 and I'll come back and have an appeal for you. 45:32 Lord, let Your light 45:38 Light on Your face 45:42 Shine on us 45:47 Lord, let Your light 45:53 Light on Your face 45:56 Shine on us 46:01 That we may be saved 46:08 That we may have light 46:15 To find our way 46:19 Through the darkest night 46:24 Let your light shine on us 46:44 Lord, let your grace 46:49 Grace from Your hands 46:53 Come over us 46:58 Lord, let Your grace 47:04 Grace from Your hands 47:08 Come over us 47:12 That we may be saved 47:20 That we may have life 47:27 To find our way 47:30 Through the darkest night 47:35 Let Your grace come over us 47:44 Lord, let Your love 47:50 Love from Your heart 47:53 Come over us 47:58 Lord, let Your love 48:04 Love from Your heart 48:08 Come over us 48:12 That we may be saved 48:20 That we may have life 48:27 To find our way 48:30 Through the darkest night 48:37 Let Your love 48:39 Come over us 48:45 Let Your light 48:47 Shine on us 49:17 What a wonderful song, 49:19 "Lord, let Your grace shine on us." 49:25 Pastor, tonight you talked about the Faithfulness of God. 49:30 We highlighted your journey from Trinidad to, 49:33 to New York to Oakwood, Andrews, 49:36 to the United Theological Seminary, 49:38 to where you are today. 49:40 But as I looked at your itinerary, 49:42 you're not just a local preacher, 49:43 you're not just in New York City, 49:45 you're all over the world. 49:46 You're not just a Pastor but you're an evangelist. 49:48 And I know that in some of the stories that you've had, 49:50 in some of the evangelistic series, 49:52 I've seen the numbers of souls 49:54 baptized in different locations. 49:55 And I know some of them are challenging. 49:57 Can you share with us, maybe, 49:59 from some of those places you've been, 50:01 some of the stories that express 50:02 the faithfulness of God, 50:04 as you've seen God work in your meetings? 50:06 John, I remember that meeting in Harlem. 50:08 We had come to the end of the crusade. 50:11 And it was the closing night, we were thanking the workers. 50:15 And someone came to me and said, 50:17 "Pastor, do you still have water in the pool?" 50:19 I said, "Yeah." 50:21 He said, "Well, there's a drunk guy here, 50:24 who wants to be baptized." 50:26 I said, "Which one, the only drunk guy 50:28 who came to attend all summer?" 50:30 His name was Paul. 50:32 So he said, "Would you baptize him?" 50:34 I said, "Yeah, I'm gonna baptize him." 50:35 Well, my elders began to talk about me like a dog. 50:39 They said "Pastor Jules wants to baptize anybody." 50:42 Well, Paul got baptized that night. 50:46 And when we were coming up out of the pool, they said, 50:49 "Pastor, stay in the pool. 50:50 There's somebody else who wants to be baptized." 50:53 It was this woman who said we would never baptize her. 50:56 And she was in tears. No sermon had been preached. 50:59 No appeal was made. 51:01 But God's spirit was still working and I saw that woman 51:06 about five years ago on a cruise. 51:08 And that she was rejoicing about how God blessed her. 51:11 Back to the guy who was drunk, after he was baptized, 51:15 he invited me to his house to have dinner. 51:19 And I said to myself, "Lord, have mercy." 51:22 And I went one Wednesday evening to his house, 51:25 surprised by the cleanliness of the home. 51:29 And then, this woman walked out, 51:31 beautiful woman she is. 51:32 And he introduced her to me as his wife. 51:35 Had a sumptuous meal. 51:38 And while I'm sitting there eating, 51:40 he said to me, he says, 51:42 "Pastor, do you know during the crusade, 51:45 everything you said and you were saying, 51:47 I knew everything you were talking about." 51:49 I said, "Is that right?" 51:50 He said, "Well, my grandmother in South Carolina 51:53 in Columbia gave me a book many years ago. 51:56 It's called The Great Controversy. 51:58 And I read it from cover to cover. 52:00 And you were preaching everything 52:02 that I read from that book." 52:04 Amen. Amen. 52:05 And so I knew everything you were talking about. 52:08 Well, Paul was a faithful member. 52:12 When the elders were not in church, he was there. 52:14 He never missed prayer meeting. 52:15 He never missed Wednesday night prayer meeting 52:17 or Sabbath school. 52:18 Divine service. He was always there. 52:21 And one morning about 3 am in a morning, 52:23 I got a call from his wife. 52:25 She said to me, "Pastor Jules, Paul is dying 52:28 and he's asked me to ask you to come to the hospital." 52:31 Went to the hospital, I was there before he died. 52:34 He died that next day, prayed with him. 52:38 But Paul was faithful till the end. 52:40 And what I learned then, is that God is faithful. 52:43 That young man knew God. He had learned about God. 52:48 And God was faithful to him. 52:50 He made it into the kingdom before it was too late. 52:54 The Lord sent us there on time for him. 52:56 Praise the Lord. 52:57 And the folk who talked about him, 52:59 he was more faithful than they were. 53:01 You think that's an amazing story because sometimes 53:03 we have those "thief on the cross" moments, 53:06 where we forget that the Lord calls us to be fishers of men, 53:10 not the cleaners of the fish. 53:12 And sometimes we want to do that too because 53:14 from all external appearances, it sometimes doesn't appear 53:17 that that person is ready 53:19 but the Lord is the one that is faithful. 53:20 That's right. 53:22 You've also been to Anchorage, Alaska. 53:24 I take it, you went there during the summer. 53:26 Yes, I was. 53:27 Tell us about Anchorage, Alaska. 53:28 I've never been there before but it's quite a different 53:30 venue from Harlem, New York. 53:32 Talk about God's faithfulness there. 53:34 Well, the Lord was faithful. 53:35 The night they picked me up at the airport 53:37 to take me to my residence, 53:38 I was gonna be there for four weeks. 53:41 The Pastor drove me to the conference offices, 53:43 where it's out in the boondocks. 53:45 I had just left Brooklyn, New York, with sirens, 53:47 and noises, and lights, and buildings, and people. 53:51 And they put me in the conference office. 53:53 There was an apartment to stay inside. 53:54 I looked at the Pastor, I said, 53:56 "Pastor, I'm not staying here." 53:59 I said, "Find me a hotel room. 54:01 Because I'm not gonna comfortable out here." 54:03 So that was my introduction to Anchorage. 54:07 Well, you should come to Thompsonville. 54:09 Yeah. 54:12 So he got me a hotel room. 54:14 And I was more comfortable, they were people around. 54:18 But my four weeks in Anchorage, was a blessing, in this regard. 54:22 I saw people, who-- it was a small church. 54:25 But I saw people who loved God. Amen. 54:28 And wanted to be used as conduits in God's hands 54:31 to bring others to know Him as Lord and Savior. 54:35 After that meeting, I don't remember exactly 54:37 how many we baptized, but the church rejoiced, 54:40 I rejoiced because every soul we got 54:42 became very, very, very precious. 54:46 Because they were few and far between out there. 54:48 Wow. Well... It was a wonderful experience. 54:50 And you're here now, 54:52 talking about the faithfulness of God. 54:54 You know, it's these stories, 54:56 it's these experiences that take us from 54:58 whether we know God can do it to God can do it. 55:01 But now I think one of the biggest stories 55:02 of God's faithfulness is to take you back you 55:04 to your humble beginnings. 55:06 Tell us about the church that you were raised in, 55:08 in Trinidad, when you went back for the dedication. 55:11 Last year, last January, 55:12 they invited me back to Trinidad, to our church, 55:14 the Carenage Seventh-day Adventist Church. 55:16 I think they were trying to build that church 55:18 for about 50 years. 55:20 And they completed the facility. 55:23 The edifice was beautiful, I went back. 55:26 It was just one of those most precious moments in my life, 55:30 in my professional life, to be there and personally 55:33 to be a part of something like that. 55:36 I didn't see a whole lot of people that I remember, 55:39 the older folk had died out. 55:41 Some of the young people I met by going back and forth. 55:44 But that was just a wonderful experience. 55:46 And they have now a facility that they can be 55:49 proud of and I certainly was proud of it. 55:52 And so, so you look at these stories and you say, 55:55 well, Lord, when we go back to our humble beginnings, 55:58 it often reminds us of who we were. 56:00 And then who we have become in Christ. 56:03 There's someone that is watching this program, 56:05 even right now, could be day or night 56:07 wherever they are, 56:08 what would you like to tell them about God's faith, 56:10 and I know you preached it but just give them a word from 56:13 the Lord about how faithful God is and the payment, 56:17 the eternal blessing of trusting their lives 56:19 to such a faithful Lord. 56:21 John, I would love to say, that when it comes to God, 56:27 whatever we give to Him, God takes good care of it. 56:31 If it's your life, if it's your resources, 56:34 if it's your time, whatever it is you give to Him, 56:38 God will bless it. 56:40 And I have found in my own life, 56:43 in little things and big things, 56:44 if I could trust Him with it, God does marvelous things. 56:49 So if you're listening to us now. 56:51 And you are desirous of giving God an opportunity in your life 56:55 to multiply some things to, to bring out of you your best, 57:00 you can trust Him because He's faithful. 57:03 He says he'll never leave you. He'll never forsake you. 57:07 You could never be disappointed in God. 57:09 In all my years, my 55 years on this earth, 57:13 God has proven time and time again, to be faithful. 57:18 And Pastor Jules, as you go from here 57:20 back to your field of ministry, 57:23 what can you say as you preview, 57:26 because we have another message coming up, 57:27 just give me a capsule of what we have to look forward to? 57:31 Well, one of the messages I'll bring, we have two more, 57:34 and one of the messages I'll bring to you, 57:36 will be a message on the family. 57:39 It's for both singles and married people. 57:42 Half of the message is for single people. 57:45 What to look for in a spouse? 57:47 Biblical principles you should be governed by. 57:50 And the second half is for all the married people. 57:53 So that message is for the single folk, 57:55 the married folk and all the folk 57:57 who are sorry to ever got married. 58:00 And we're looking forward to that message 58:02 because I'm not sorry I got married, 58:04 and neither are you. 58:05 And those of you that are tuning into 58:07 watching this program, I want to thank the Lord. 58:08 Thank you Pastor Jules, Evangelist Jules, 58:11 Dr. Jules, for allowing the Lord to use you. 58:14 For instance, the text in I Corinthians 10:13, 58:17 and in the midst of all the difficulty, 58:20 it says "But God is faithful." 58:23 Yes. 58:24 Here at 3ABN, we believe in the faithfulness of God. 58:26 Continue to stay tuned for the next message 58:29 as God speaks to your heart through Pastor Jules. |
Revised 2015-11-30