[Ryan Hall] A few weeks ago, a very inspiring message was given here concerning the green pastures of Psalm 23. In that message, Mr. Phelps described the relationship between a shepherd and his herds. He connected their similarities, how they needed to depend on their daily food supply, their care, and protection to the similarities that we have in our relationship with our Father. That message led me to a study concerning that faithfulness that we have in our Father and the faithfulness He has towards us to supply our needs. It soon though came to my mind that I had to go past the study on the green pastures because when I was in the middle of that study, I had a conversation with a gentleman who was talking about he was facing the shadow of death. He shared with me the thoughts, the feelings that he was experiencing from his recent diagnosis with cancer. It placed him right in the middle of that valley.

So, today I'd like to address that. And also every week we hear announcements of those who are facing trials, who have lost loved ones, we've heard it today, or they're having health issues. It raises our mind to see this broad spectrum of emotions, situations that our body, our brethren are facing each and every day. All these situations require us to have a faith, a trust beyond that of sheep. Brethren, we've each entered into this covenant relationship with our God, in which our lives will depend on His love, His guidance to survive in this world that we face each day. This would require a faith, it'll require an assurance in His faithfulness towards us. It makes no difference if we're facing green pastures or if we're facing the valley of death, we must know. We must trust that that faithfulness of our God will always be there.

If you would please take your Bibles and let's start out by turning to 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1:9. "God is faithful, by whom you were called in the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord." Simple statement. But brethren, we must believe this. We're here this very moment because of this statement in its truth and its faithfulness. The title of today's message will be "From Green Pastures to the Valley of Death: The Power of Faithfulness." So, I ask you, when you think of the word faithfulness, how do you interpret it in your mind? What do you think? How would you describe someone who's faithful? What are some of those characteristics? We could describe them as a loyal person, devoted, dependable, reliable, or trustworthy. Perhaps it's someone that we could trust our own lives with, without having any fear or reservation. You probably have someone in mind because there are people, they may be few, but there are people that can have that type of characteristic because God is working with His people.

So, if a man and a woman had the potential to develop these qualities and we can trust in them, what about God's faithfulness? How do we describe that? The words we just used to describe those that we see as faithful, brethren, barely can scratch the surface when it comes to describing the faithfulness of our great God. It's more than words. It's actions. It's irrefutable evidence. It's truth. It's His unchangeable character because it's who He is. So, trying to define God's faithfulness in words will leave so much unsaid, would not give it justice. However, in your lap, what I have right here is a whole book, an entire collection of words dedicated to this description.

Let's start out by reading that Psalm that I mentioned earlier. Very familiar, but I want to read that to start out. And let's begin to talk about this faithfulness of our great God, and we'll read here this great spectrum of life that we all will face. In these passages, we will read what David describes as a consistent, caring, faithful supplier of all his needs and all our needs. Psalm 23. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; and my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Powerful words. If that doesn't hit you right here, what will? Later on in chapter 103 verse 14, David adds, "He knows our frame; He remembers we're nothing but dust." Without God and His enduring faithfulness, we would have nothing. We would be nothing. We would have no hope of ever achieving anything in this life because, again, we're nothing but dust. But fortunately, because of this great character of our God, His love, His faithfulness, we have a potential. We are something. We have so much to live for. So much to look forward to, not only in this life but in eternity. Not many people have that thought going on in their mind in this evil world.

Brethren, it's imperative that we too have this faith, this faithfulness in our great God, so that we can understand what David is talking about in Psalm 23. We have to believe that our God will never leave us, never forsake us despite the situations we find ourselves in because we are going to find ourselves facing that same broad spectrum sometime in our lives. We all have green pastures. We all have those moments, that shadow of death, but we have the strength. We have a comfort, a promise that leads us, and we must sense its presence always with us. God remains that Shepherd. He remains that Comforter as we face health issues, as we face death, as the trials come and trials go. Not just when God has given us what we asked for. Our faith, even though it can be weak at times, has to be just as clear in those sorrowful moments as it is in those wonderful times of joy. We know we can't compare or come close to comparing our faithfulness to God's. However, it's because of His faithfulness, His love, we have the potential to learn it and develop it. We have the perfect role model to follow. We don't ever have to worry about that faithfulness wavering, fading because it's sturdy, it's proven, it's our hope.

If you would please turn back to Numbers 23. Numbers 23:19. "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent or change. Has He said, and it will not be done? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good?” God's word is His bond. You don't have to turn there. You can just put this in your notes, but in Hebrews 6:13 we find the author writes, "When God made His promise to Abraham, He made a vow to do what He had promised, and since there was no greater than Himself, He used His own name to make that vow.” How much more certainty, how much more trust can we have in the name of our great God? It all begins with the one who was first faithful. God's faithfulness is not based upon something in this world. It's based upon something that is greater than if we can find in this world. Something greater than we can find in this entire universe. His name. Who He is. We can trust. Always trust that God can do and come through for us. It may not be the answer we're looking for, but we can rest assured He will answer. Starting each day, each thought, knowing that our Heavenly Father will shepherd us every step of the way to strengthen our confidence in His love and increase our trust in Him, in His faithfulness. Even when we feel all hope is lost, brethren, we can have hope. We're only one bent knee away from connecting to that hope.

Let's turn over to Lamentations. It doesn't like me. It's probably the whitest page in your Bible because I rarely turn there, but when I turned there, I kind of shock myself. I had this highlighted some time since 1989 when I received my Bible. Sometime, I came across this, and here the author mentions that he had seen the rod of affliction. He describes what he and the nation had suffered, but he says something very remarkable starting in verse 21. Lamentations 3:21. "This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.” Verse 23. “They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!’" Great is our God's faithfulness, no matter what we face, what we have to endure in the good times, in the bad times, we have an assurance in this belief that He is there. It's our guarantee, and we can with the most utmost confidence, believe in the promise because He that has promised will fulfill it. Over the last few years, especially here lately, Philippians 1:6 has come up in almost every message. That's a staple scripture in all our study. It should be. "He who has begun a good work in us will complete it." We have to believe this. It's not a feel-good scripture. It's a scripture of truth. And we're all guilty. We're all guilty of boring. We're all guilty of losing confidence. It happens from time to time. And that's probably why we, as God's people, keep coming back to this statement of truth because it gives us strength. It gives us the hope we need.

So, why? If God is so faithful, why is it so easy for us to lose faith or become weak in faith? It seems to be written in our DNA, doesn't it? It's part of our human nature. It's not uncommon for us to lose our sight, our vision, especially when we face a trial because our trial was not planned. It's that left hook that caught you. It's a character flaw that we have, but we're fighting it each and every day in our conversion process. It's easy to think of God as faithful when everything's fine. All is good in our lives. But, again, when that left hook comes, trials change the way we process information. What about when those green pastures aren't so joyous? Perhaps we're facing quiet waters. The quiet time. One would think that's great, right? Nothing is wrong, but we don't see any movement. We become antsy, paranoid. There no reason to doubt, but we take our eyes off the obvious, what God has given us, and we create a problem. It's odd. Even when we don't have a trial to face, we create a reason to worry.

We think, "Nothing is happening. God must not be listening to me." I've been there. I've been in that hurry-up-and-wait mode, feel like God is pushing me in a direction and then it goes silent. No trials. It's peaceful. But as humans, we like to see movement. We want to see progress. We judge our lives by our progress. I've cried out, "Okay, God, where are you? If you're speaking, make sure you're using English because I can't hear you." In reality, God is sitting there and saying, "I'm right here. Where are you?" Brethren, we're called to walk by faith, fully focused on Jesus Christ, just as Peter was instructed when he was asked to come out of that boat and walk on the water. If you and I, we lose our focus as Peter did by seeking our own will, allowing something to take that focus off Jesus Christ, we will sink. Our faith will become weak. We lose our faithfulness in the great God. We're causing a problem when there was no reason to have a problem in the first place. But, thankfully, as Christ did with Peter, that hand reaches out, that shepherd reaches forward, pulls us up, gets us back on track, even when we're the problem.

Let's turn over to 1 Kings. And we're going to read an example of how we can go from a hero of faith to a zero in faith. From hero to zero like that. It happens. However, we'll also read how, even in our weakness, God knows our heart. He can correct us and help us and renew that faith. 1 Kings 19. You're very familiar with Elijah. He had just performed this mighty miracle. Pretty much you'll think he had seen God face to face with what he witnessed, what he did on Mount Carmel. But then something, in relation to what he just did been so mighty, something so minor knocked him off his pedestal. 1 Kings 19:1. "And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, 'So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as a life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.' And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, he ran for his life all the way to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and he left his servants there.” And he didn't stop. “He ran and went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and he said, 'Thank you, God, for everything you've done for me.’” No, “It's not enough now, Lord? Take my life for I am no better than my fathers." A man of faith. And we continue to read on down.

Let's pick it up in verse 9 when God had called him. "And there he went into a cave, he spent the night in the place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him and He said to him, 'What are you doing, Elijah?' So he said, 'I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone,” boohoo, “and now they seek to take my life.'"

Where's his focus? Where's his faithfulness in the faithfulness of God, whom we just witnessed something that I don't think Disney could capture. "Then He said," God, "'Go out, stand on the mountain before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.” So when he finally starts to listen, he hears that still small voice and “Elijah heard it," in verse 13, “wrapped his face in his mantle, went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And suddenly a voice came and said, 'What are you doing here?’" And he goes through the same, “Oh, woe is me. Everybody wants to kill me. I'm the only one who's doing what you want." But then God gives him instructions and what he's going to do. “You have a job. You know your job. You know who's behind you on this job. Get to work. Go.” And he just let him know. And verse 18, “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knee has not bowed down to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed me [him].” God knows best. The faithful God had everything prepared from the beginning. When we lose faith, when we lose sight and vision, we can easily begin to think that God is abandoning us. We run, we hide, we doubt, we become overwhelmed when we forget about His faithfulness in the first place. Although it's there the entire time, we are the guilty ones who remove ourselves from its benefit, from its support. We become our worst enemy. Then proceed to put our faith in how we want to be helped, how we expect God to help us. If only we would remember how God's faithfulness far exceeds our ability to see, our ability to understand, we could save ourselves so much grief in this life.

1 Peter 5. 1 Peter 5:6-7, and I'll be reading this selection of scripture from the Amplified Bible. 1 Peter 5:6. "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time, casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]." Thankfully, our loving God is always there to help us. When we lose sight of the big picture, it's through His faithfulness that our vision can be restored. He desires to lead us. He desires to teach us to show us a way of life everlasting. He restores our souls. He restores our hope. He gives us that vision of the end result, the resurrection of the dead and becoming members in His eternal family. That's the vision we have to keep. That's His end-game. That's our end-game.

We see the evidence right here in this book. His enduring faithfulness and our hope is written from cover to cover. It's the common thread of this Bible. It's express to His unconditional love for not only His chosen people, but for all humanity, and we know that. But what we learn in His plan of salvation through the Holy Days. God wants a covenant relationship with all men, every single human being. Sadly, their willingness to respond may not be now, but that's the hope God has for everyone. He's faithful. He's beyond faithful. But we have to make sure, as God's chosen, that we see this precious faithfulness each and every day of our lives. And brethren, we have to be diligent to reciprocate it. He wants to hear from your faithfulness. He wants to see you act in faithfulness. I'm sure He enjoys a good casual conversation from time to time. He wants to hear us say, "I love You. I want to get to know You more and more." We don't have to have a problem. We don't have to have a request to speak to our great God. God wants us to turn to Him daily, but when we do have to go before Him when the trial is upon us, we know, we have the utmost confidence that He will answer us. We don't have to know how He's going to answer that prayer, how He's going to provide those needs, how or when He will heal us, our faith and our belief must be in that He will. He will do it how He chooses to do it. We must be active in expressing Him. “Father, I know You will, and I put my sincere trust in You, Your decisions.” How He does it, it doesn't matter. We have to have the faith that He will. It's His decision, it's His perfect timing.

Can we turn over to Daniel 3? In Daniel 3, we'll find Hananiah, Mishael, and Meshach answering Nebuchadnezzar in this matter. Better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but I prefer to use their real names. Daniel 3:16, halfway through 16. "And they answered him and said, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from this burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods nor will we worship this golden image in which you have held up.'" They didn't know how God was going to save them. They didn't know at that moment what was going to happen, but they knew one thing was for sure, their faith was in God, and God's decision, and His faithfulness. How can you and I have faith like these young men? Is it possible?

For the remainder of this message, I have two short points that I want to share with you on how we can strengthen our faith, and how we can respond to the faithfulness of our great God. Point one, what does God do for us? What does God do for us? To recognize everything that our great God does for us, we have to look at it from a vantage point of the past, the present, and the future. You can't nail it down to just one time. So, let's start out talking about the past. The first scripture that usually comes to mind about the past is John 3:16, correct? "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." I'm not going to go there, although this statement is true, although it's powerful. I want to turn over to Romans 5 and let's read a section of scripture that emphasizes another aspect of this wonderful gift and action of our God and our Christ. Romans 5:6-7. Romans 5:6. "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Before we even knew we needed to be saved, before we even knew that there was a Savior, His love, His faithfulness was already in motion. He loves you that much. He loves me that much. God acted first. God set the example. And that's in our past. That's just one. I can't go into many because I'm running out of time here. That's the big one. What is He doing for us now in the present? He forgives us our sins, and He helps us in our conversion. We have access to God daily to ask for forgiveness so that we can draw closer to Him and build that personal relationship that He desires so much to have with His people.

1 John 1, you can be turning there, but it brought some thoughts in my mind. Over the past few months in this new position, I've had the honor of setting in certain counseling sessions, and about two comments or questions come up on every one of them. "How can God forgive my sins, past, and future? I'm not sure He can forgive my doubting.” Those are real questions I've had to hear. Brethren, we should never get to the point that we doubt His promise to forgive, His promise to cover, to justify you, that love He had that sparked those many years ago is still just as strong today. It hasn't faded. 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If we confess, we have insurance that He is faithful. He is just to forgive when we truly set our heart to seek Him out in repentance. This means we must be willing to hold ourselves at a higher accountability rate, have a high level of integrity to do the right thing and acknowledge our sins. When we are wrong, we have to see it. We have to repent. His sacrifice is enough. It's our lifeline. We have to believe in that free gift. You have to believe that this promise will be carried out. Yes, we accept the consequences, but the forgiveness has been applied. And it's because of that forgiveness we can look to the future. God's blessings, His faithfulness extends far beyond this life.

Romans 6:23. We probably can quote this one. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Because of that past sacrifice, the blood that has been spilled and covered our sins, we have hope that that penalty that we deserve, it's been paid in full. We now have been offered a future, a life beyond this life, eternal life in the family of God, and it's been offered to us by our faithful God. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that's not a fairy tale. It's real. Our Lord and Savior is working on fulfilling this promise right now.

John 14, we’re going to read the first four verses. John 14:1. "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house there are many mansions; if it were not so, I would not have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and I will receive you to Myself; that where I am, you may be also. And where I go you know,” and the way, you know because of His faithfulness and because of what we're supposed to be doing, our faithfulness to trust in those promises. He says, "I go to prepare a place for you." We're being prepared right now. The Church is being made ready. He's coming to receive His Bride, His prized possession to wed, to have, to hold, to cherish, where He is forever and ever. All that God has done, all that He is doing, all that He will do, is for a purpose, and we each have a responsibility in preparing for that purpose. You don't have to turn there, but in the ending of Psalm 149, it ends this way. "This honor have all His saints." That's you and me. God has done so much for this to happen. What are we going to do to show that appreciation? It's an honor. We have to stay active, though. We have to stay active in this honor by living by faith.

Point two, what does God do in and through us? What does God do in and through us? When we yield to God's way, and we're actively seeking to change, we find it is God that inspires us to want to change in the first place. He's working in us for that great purpose. He's doing a mighty thing to change who we are, despite who we are. Let's turn over to Philippians 2. Boy, time flies up here. Philippians 2. We're going to read 12 to 13, and once again, I'm going to use the Amplified for this selection. Philippians 2:12. "So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] in awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.” God through His Holy Spirit is working in us, giving us the desire to want to move forward, to mature, to grow in that grace and knowledge. God, in effect, is energizing us to do His great pleasures. God created us with so much potential, but without Him, we will never ever see that potential developed. We have been blessed though to have that unleashed in our lives. As we mature, as our minds change, we begin to see, we begin to act, we begin to think as God thinks. To become faithful as He is, it requires steadfastness, diligently seeking Him.

Romans 12, Romans 12 just the first two verses. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." When we respond to that spiritual help, when we focus our minds on what is pure, it changes our outlook. It changes how we process information, what we see, what happens to us, how we respond to anything in our life that's expected or unexpected. When our faith is properly developed, we have way of changing our view. It turns optimistic. We see past what's in front of our eyes, which, brethren, it leads to a conclusion. And for the sake of time, I'll just quote in Galatians 2:20. "It is no longer me that lives, but Christ who lives in me; and that life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." That's Galatians 2:20. These temporary bodies, these temples are a dwelling of the Spirit of our great God. The oneness that Jesus desired to have with us mentioned in John 17 can be possible. We have to be faithful to our part of that covenant so that it can be made possible. He is faithful, let us be faithful.

Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4:1. "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, through you, and in you all." That oneness is not enough just to want it. We have to seek it. This transformation that we're expected to allow to happen, it's allowing Christ to give us a foretaste of what He wants for us in our eternity. Our faithful God doesn't make any promise and then snatch it away. He's given it to you now. Live it now.

We're already in Ephesians, drop back to chapter 2. Chapter 2 and starting in verse 4. "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” Verse 10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." God loves us so much that He gave everything to make a way for us to be part of His family forever. We have a hope placed right here in our hands. It's in our grasp. And this life, it can be hard to keep focus on that promise when everything around us is falling apart. But if we stop and we think about everything God and Christ have done for us, we will see a faithfulness far beyond what we could ever truly express. When the joys of life come, we must be thankful and give thanks. When trials are upon us, we must be faithful in seeking help and guidance. When we live by faith, we at that point can understand what it really means that we can never be separated from our God. His faithfulness helps us understand this.

Romans 8, one of my favorite selections. Romans 8:35 to the end of the chapter. Romans 8:35. I'm now going to be reading it from the Amplified. "Who shall ever separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, or danger, or sword? Just as it is written and forever remains written, 'For Your sake we are put to death all day long; we are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.' Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us]. For I am convinced [and I continue to be convinced— beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I have a poem I would like to read. It's about God's love, and I want to share it with you. It's been on the longer side, but as you know, God's love is not on the short side. It's a poem/essay, and I do have written permission to use this. The gentleman is going to remain anonymous. If you want to know, come to me later. But I read this often. It reminds me of what God does from cover to cover, and that's what this man did. He was going through a tough time in his life, thought he was in the end of his rope, and someone asked him, "Why don't you go back, sit quietly, write down everything that God does for you and it will change your outlook." And he did.

And this is what he wrote, and he entitled it "Because I Love You." "I looked and beheld that the earth had become without any form. It was void of all life. My Spirit made it new, and I placed it upon its orbit and blessed it within its course because I love you. I called for the light to come forth and I separated it from the darkness. I saw the beauty in both light and darkness, and I named them day and night because I love you. I set the waters above the earth, divided the firmament into its proper order. I placed this protected cover so that life could be sustained upon the earth surface because I love you. I gathered all the waters to form the mighty seas, called the dry land to appear. I planted it with a variety of herbs, grasses, and trees to grow and yield its fruit for a covering because I love you. I set a great light to provide warmth during the day. I placed a lesser light and dressed it with many twinkling stars to shine for you by night. These lights will remind you of my holy appointments, my special times for you because I love you. I gave the vast seas it's bounty and many varieties of wonderful life. I set the birds upon the air with the wings of flight and fill the land with creatures of many kinds to prosper and multiply because I love you. I looked into the beauty that shimmered on the waters and across the vast new land. I saw My reflection in both. And out of the dust, I created the first man because I love you. From My own likeness, I fashion mankind, breathe life into him so that he became a living being. No other creature bears this honor because I love you. I saw that man needed a companion to share and enjoy the beauty of My creation with. From his own body, I created his helpmate called woman. Together their seed will begin to fill the earth with human life because I love you. On the seventh day, I rested from all my works of creating. I sanctified it as a Sabbath day so that all that I created could rest from their work, rejoice and reflect upon Me because I love you.”

“I set the man and woman in a beautiful garden, a paradise planet with My very own hands. I taught them the way of life, gave them My laws and statutes that would bring forth fruit of my very own nature because I love you. I gave you the honor to bear My glorious name and become a great nation. You were to be my witnesses upon this earth and live by every word that I would decree because I love you. I emptied Myself of immortality, left my place of honor before My Father to live as one of My creations. I came so that I could set the example of My Father's desire for all that I had made. Our Abba is a compassionate Father, and I proclaimed that compassion through the glorious gospel because I love you. I gave My body to be beaten, My living blood to be spilled to justify you. With my own life, I paid the penalty for your sins and to conquer that last enemy, death, once for all because I love you. Knowing that I must go, I did not want to leave you alone. I sent a Comforter to you by the gift of the Holy Spirit. He will teach and guide you throughout your life and keep your remembrance of Me because I love you. I stand daily before the throne of My Father as your High Priest. I was accepted as the wave-sheaf offering of the first harvest for My precious brethren because I love you. Be strong and have great courage in this. I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you. Even though you sin, you can seek repentance and draw close to Me. I will be with you always even to the end of this age. There's nothing that can ever separate you from My or our Abba's love because I love you. I promised you I would one day return and bring you also to the place I'm preparing for you. This hope is within all My servants who remain faithful. This promise I will fulfill because I love you. All of this I have done and so much more I have planned for each one of you by the authority given to Me by my Father. You belong to Me. I belong to the Father. Together we belong to one body, a royal priesthood and a family of God forever because I am faithful, and we have, and will always love you.”

Jesus Christ will never stop doing His part to reconcile us to the Father. It will be us to fail. We can't. He has promised. He is faithful. He and the Father love us so much and invested so much their time and energy with us to help us get to this point. What are we going to do? 2 Corinthians 1. How will we respond to what we have been given? 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Amplified, once again. "Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us and encourages us in every trouble so that we will be able to comfort and encourage those who are in any kind of trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves were comforted by God." We respond by developing our faithfulness in Him and each other. We're called to build, to uplift, to produce unity. We can build our faith when we are faithfully serving one another as God has served us. We're to use what we learn for the benefit of our brethren. When Christ returns, we want to be those who are found faithful in what we've been entrusted to do, and we want to hear that, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." That's our goal, and it's all possible because of the faithfulness of God.

For our final scripture, Hebrews 10. Hebrews 10, starting in verse 19. "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Verse 23, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Brethren, let's be a people who faithfully rely on our God to take care of all our needs in only a way that He can. From green pastures to the shadow of death, let's always remember what God does for us, past, present, and future. Let's remember what God does in us, what He does through us because of His faithfulness and love toward us.