THE GOD WHO CANNOT FAIL YOU (2)

The God of Faithfulness2. THE COVENANT: FAITHFULNESS THAT SURVIVES YOUR FAILUREGod Himself speaks:“Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, Nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips” (Psalm 89:33–34 NKJV).This is God speaking about His covenant with David – the covenant that Jesus would come from David's line and sit on David's throne forever. And notice what is not in those verses. God does not say, “I will keep my covenant provided you keep your end perfectly.” He says: I will not take my love away. I will not betray my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant. I will not alter my word. Four promises. Four walls around your security.And then, just a few verses earlier, the psalmist lets us hear the other side of the story – the human side:“But if his descendants forsake my instructions and fail to obey my regulations, if they do not obey my decrees and fail to keep my commands” (Psalm 89:30–31 NLT).In other words: God's people will fail. They will break His decrees. They will not keep His commandments. God's answer is still: “My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him... My covenant I will not break.”The Oath Beneath the CovenantDo you see what this means? God's faithfulness does not rest on your faithfulness. It rests on His sworn oath. Listen to how the New Testament seals this:“If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is” (2 Timothy 2:13 NLT).This is glorious beyond words, because God's commitment to me is anchored in Himself – in His own unchangeable nature – and not in the shifting sand of my performance.When Jesus hung on the cross, what was the cry of His enemies? “He saved others; he cannot save himself” (Mark 15:31). And they were right – He could not save Himself, because He had bound Himself by oath to save us. The cross is God's covenant faithfulness stretched across history: “My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips.” He would rather bleed than break His word.If you feel your failure has exhausted God's patience, hear the word of the Lord: “I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.” Your repentance matters. Your obedience matters. But the floor beneath you is not your goodness — it is His oath.Rev. Cheong Yew KwongFaith Church SingaporePlease visit our website at faithchurch.sg#goodtoread ... See MoreSee Less

神绝不让你失望（二)

信实的神2. 圣约：即使你失败，祂的信实不改变神自己说过：“只是我必不将我的慈爱全然收回，也必不叫我的信实废弃。我必不背弃我的约，也不改变我口中所出的。”（诗篇 89:33-34）这是神讲到祂与大卫所立的约：耶稣要从大卫的后裔而出，永远坐在大卫的宝座上。留意这些经文中没有说的话。神并没有说：“只要你能完全守住你的本分，我就坚守我的约。”祂说：我必不将我的慈爱收回；我必不背弃我的信实；我必不毁坏我的约；我必不更改我口中所出的话。这四项应许如同四面墙，围住你的安稳。就在前面几节，诗人让我们看见事情的另一面 —— 人的那一面： “倘若他的子孙离弃我的律法，不照我的典章行，背弃我的律例，不遵守我的诫命，”（诗篇 89:30–31）换句话说：神的子民会跌倒，会违背祂的典章，不遵守祂的诫命。而神的回应依旧是：“我的慈爱必不向他全然收回…… 我必不毁坏我的约。”支撑圣约的誓言你明白这是什么意思吗？神的信实并不取决于你是否信实，而是立足于祂所起的誓。新约里这样印证了这一点：“我们纵然失信，祂仍是可信的，因为祂不能背乎自己。”（提摩太后书 2:13）这实在是妙不可言，因为神对我的承诺是锚定在祂自己身上 —— 在祂永不改变的本性，而不是我那如流沙般起伏不定的表现。耶稣钉在十字架上的时候，仇敌怎么讥诮祂？“他救了别人，不能救自己”（马可福音 15:31）。他们这话讲得没错：祂不能救自己，因为祂已经起誓要拯救我们。十字架，就是神那立约的信实，贯穿整段历史：“我必不毁坏我的约，也不更改我口中所出的话。”祂宁可流血，也不背弃祂的话语。如果你觉得自己一次次的失败，已经耗尽了神的忍耐，请听主的话：“我必不毁坏我的约，也不更改我口中所出的话。”你的悔改很重要，你的顺服也很重要。但是你立足的根基并非你的良善，而是祂自己的誓言。张耀光牧师 新加坡信心教会请访问我们的中文播客,faithchurch.sg/牧师手札/#牧师手札 ... See MoreSee Less