Our Rock Of Faithfulness Lamentations 3:21-26 Deuteronomy 32:4 2 Samuel 22:2-3 Psalms 18:25-26 Psalms 18:30-31 Galatians 5:22-23 1 Corinthians 10:13 2 Thessalonians 3:3 Hebrews 10:23-24 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 10.31.18

OUR ROCK OF FAITHFULNESS

BREAD

²¹ Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: ²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. ²³ They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” ²⁵ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; ²⁶ it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.  Lamentations 3:21-26 (NIV)

⁴ He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.   Deuteronomy 32:4 (NIV)

² He said: “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; ³ my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior.”  2 Samuel 22:2-3 (NIV)

²⁵ To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
²⁶ to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. Psalm 18:25-26 (NIV)

³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. ³¹ For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?   Psalm 18:30-31 (NIV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

¹³ No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)  

³ But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NIV)

²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Hebrews 10:23-24 (NIV)

²³ May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.  1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NIV)

⁸ He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.  1 Corinthians 1:8-9 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Though men are false, God is faithful.”   Matthew Henry

“God tries our faith so that we may try His faithfulness.”   Anonymous

“God is good at being faithful!”   James Bruce Evans

“We have every reason to hold on firmly to the faith we profess, for He who has called us is faithful!  It is Jesus who saves us, lives to intercede for us, allows us to approach the throne of grace with confidence, and grants us His abundant grace, mercy, and peace.”   BHY

“We should follow Christ in simplicity and faith, because the paths in which He leads us all end in glory and immortality.  It is true they may not be smooth paths – they may be covered with sharp flinty trials, but they lead to the ‘city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.’  ‘All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of His covenant.’  Let’s put full trust in our Leader, since we know that, come prosperity or adversity, sickness or health, popularity or contempt, His purpose shall be worked out, and that purpose shall be pure, unmingled good to every heir of mercy…..His dear love will make us far more blessed than those who sit at home and warm their hands at the world’s fire.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“So deeply rooted in our hearts is unbelief, so prone are we to it that while all confess with the lips that God is faithful, no man ever believes it without an arduous struggle. ... Certainly, whenever God thus recommends his word, he indirectly rebukes our unbelief, the purport of all that is said being to eradicate perverse doubt from our hearts.  For unbelief is so deeply rooted in our hearts, and we are so inclined to it, that not without hard struggle is each one able to persuade himself of what all confess with the mouth: namely, that God is faithful. ... Surely, as often as God commends his Word to us, he indirectly rebukes us for our unbelief, for he has no other intention than to uproot perverse doubts from our hearts.”     John Calvin

“Random acts of greatness pale in comparison to habitual acts of faithfulness.  It’s not what you do every now and then, but what you do every day, that changes everything.”   Ann Voskamp 

“Faithfulness rarely feels heroic; it feels much more like showing up and hanging in. It is a matter of going to our cell, whatever form that might take, and letting it teach us what it will. Availing himself (Brother Lawrence) to consistent faithfulness yielded the blessing of both proficiency and presence—the presence of God—right there in midst of the monotony of dirty pots and pans.”   Margaret Guenther

“‘On whom dost thou trust?’ We can answer boldly, ‘We trust in him whose power will never be exhausted, whose love will never cease, whose kindness will never change, whose faithfulness will never be sullied, whose wisdom will never be nonplussed, and whose perfect goodness never can know a diminution.’”  Charles H. Spurgeon

“Forgetfulness is the fuel for idolatry (Deuteronomy 4:23). Spiritual amnesia often leads to faithlessness. This is the most important lesson for us in Deuteronomy 4. God's concern is that his people might ‘forget the things’ that they had seen and that the memory of their gracious deliverance might ‘depart’ from their hearts (Deuteronomy 4:9). Thus we read here of the critical importance of remembrance, of calling to mind again and again the history of God's dealing with us and His faithfulness at every turn.”   Sam Storms

“God has as a strong reserve with which to discharge this engagement; for He is able to do all things.  Believer, until you can drain the ocean dry of omnipotence and break the towering mountains of almighty strength into pieces, you never need to be afraid.  Don’t think that the strength of a human being shall ever be able to overcome the power of God.  As long as the earth’s huge pillars stand, you have enough reason to remain firm in your faith.  The same God who directs the earth in its orbit, feeds the burning furnace of the sun, and trims the lamps of heaven, has promised to supply you with daily strength.  While He is able to uphold the universe, don’t even dream that He will prove unable to fulfill His own promises.  Remember what He did in ages past, in the former generations.  Remember how He spoke, and it was done; how He commanded, and it stood fast.  Shall He that created the world grow weary?  He hangs the world upon nothing; shall He who does this be unable to support His children?  Shall He be unfaithful to His word for want of power?  Who is it that restrains the tempest?   Doesn’t He ride upon the wings of the wind, and make the clouds His chariots, and hold the ocean in the hollow of His hand?  How can He fail you?  When He has put such a faithful promise as this on record, will you for a moment indulge the thought that He has out promised Himself, and gone beyond his power to fulfill?  Ah, no!  You cannot doubt any longer.”    Charles H. Spurgeon ispower to fulfill?  Ah, no!  ou cannot doubt any longer.”   Charlesd H. Spurgeon

“Christian, do you believe that He has your best interest at heart?  Do you believe that He has rescued you from the dominion of darkness?  Do you believe He loves you with an everlasting love?  Do you believe that He will never forsake you?  Do you believe that His faithfulness is new every morning?  Do you believe that He died for you and if He already did the greater will He not do the lesser?  Do you believe that He rejoices over you with singing?  Do you believe that He would leave the ninety-nine to come and find you?  Do you believe that in Him there is comfort, peace and joy?  Then look to Him and have hope.”  BHY

HEART SAVOR

·         God is ever faithful.

·         The all-powerful, ever faithful God loves His children with an everlasting love and always has their best interest at heart even when we may not understand His ways or present our circumstances.  Our lack of understanding never negates His ability or His love.  Never.

·         God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Anchor Of Hope - Firm And Secure Hebrews 6:16-20 Romans 15:4 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 Psalms 25:1-3 Psalms 33:16-18 Ephesians 2:11-13 Colossians 1:24-27 Psalms 62:5-8 Romans 12:12 Romans 15:13 10.29.18

ANCHOR OF HOPE – FIRM AND SECURE

BREAD

¹⁶ Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. ¹⁷ Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. ¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. ¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, ²⁰ where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.   Hebrews 6:16-20 (NIV)

⁴ For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.   Romans 15:4 (NIV)

² We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. ³ We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (NIV)

¹ To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; ² in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. ³ No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.  Psalm 25:1-3 (NIV)

¹⁶ No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. ¹⁷ A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. ¹⁸ But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love. Psalm 33:16-18 (NIV)

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)-- ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:11-13 (NIV)

²⁴ Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. ²⁵ I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- ²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:24-27 (NIV)

⁵ Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. ⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. ⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. ⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah  Psalm 62:5-8 (NIV)

¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Romans 12:12 (NIV)

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.   Romans 15:13 (NIV)

BUTTER

“I was the enemy of God.  I was stamping through God’s universe, shaking my fist in His face.  And in the very moment when I was shaking my fist in God’s face and tramping through the Creator’s universe, muddying all His streams, that’s when Jesus died for me.  And if this is when Jesus died for me, what hope it gives me now!  Now, even when I fall, the blood of Jesus is enough.  He didn’t save me because I was strong; He saved me when I was weak. He didn’t save me when I was a pretty thing; He saved me when I was a mess. On the basis of this reality, I can have comfort.”  Francis Schaeffer

“Hope is the struggle of the soul, breaking loose from what is perishable, and attesting her eternity.”   Herman Melville

“Other men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an endless hope.”   Gilbert Brenken

“It’s a promise that whatever you might be experiencing today is just one chapter in a story that He is writing, and that story isn’t over yet....extract the precious from the worthless (Jeremiah 15)..Life has far more sticky situations than miraculous moments. As you encounter challenges, difficulties, and setbacks, train your eyes to ‘extract the precious.’ Train your ears to hear the promise. And train your heart to pursue relentless hope.”   Beth Guckenberger

“Seeking with faith, hope, and love pleases our Lord; and finding Him pleases the soul, filling it full of joy.”   Julian of Norwich

“To live without hope is to cease to live.”   Fyodor Dostoevsky

“Theirs is an endless road, a hopeless maze, who seek for goods before they seek for God.”   Bernard of Clairvaux

“Hope, it is exquisitely fragile and it is an exceptional force and it is essential to faith and you can’t afford to lose it.  Lose your fears but never your hope.”  Ann Voskamp

“Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and His will for us.”   Billy Graham

“Canst thou answer this, believer?  Canst thou find any reason why thou art so often mourning instead of rejoicing?  Why yield to gloomy anticipations?  Who told thee that the night would never end in day?  Who told thee that the winter of thy discontent would proceed from frost to frost, from snow and ice, and hail, to deeper snow, and yet more heavy tempest of despair?  Knowest thou not that day follows night, that flood comes after ebb, that spring and summer succeed winter?  Hope thou then!  Hope thou ever!  For God fails thee not!”    Charles H. Spurgeon  

“Discouragement wars against the very trait that faith and hope in God brings: courage. In order to stand up to the trials and tribulations of a fallen world, we must turn to God for courage and make a commitment to stand strong in our faith through Jesus Christ.  God’s best for your life does not include remaining in a place devoid of hope, faith, and courage. Therefore, when facing discouragement, turn to God. He will bring the hope and courage you need to live victoriously over life's hardships.”   Michael Youssef

“Christian, do you believe that He has your best interest at heart?  Do you believe that He has rescued you from the dominion of darkness?  Do you believe He loves you with an everlasting love?  Do you believe that He will never forsake you?  Do you believe that His faithfulness is new every morning?  Do you believe that He died for you and if He already did the greater will He not do the lesser?  Do you believe that He rejoices over you with singing?  Do you believe that He would leave the ninety-nine to come and find you?  Do you believe that in Him there is comfort, peace and joy?  Then look to Him and have hope.”  BHY 
     
“No matter what happens in life, remember this: You have a Savior. As a Christian, you have been saved from death. You have been saved from eternal punishment and hell. You have the hope that when you die, you will go straight to heaven. That is the most important thing about the Christian life. There is a Heaven waiting for you. You have a Savior.”   Greg Laurie   

“Life is hopeless without Christ. But He is alive, and He is willing to fill every void in your life. You can look to Him for all the right answers to your every question. Jesus will meet you right where you are. God knows you, and He loves you. He knows your deepest needs. Keep His Word close to your heart, and you will not be deceived.”   Michael Youssef

“And it is the believer, who is not content with this spontaneous expression of his hope, but who takes time in secret prayer to wait until he has received and laid hold of what he has seen, who will really grow strong in Christ.”    Andrew Murray

“But when the psalmist said, ‘All my springs are in you,’ he meant that all his innermost resources were found in His ever-flowing and overflowing Lord – all his courage, all his joy, all his resilience, all his optimism, all his hope, all his love, all his wisdom, all his patience.  The Lord Jesus is the source of that which refreshes our personalities and of all that makes our personalities refreshing.”   Robert J. Morgan 

“Though we now see but a poor reflection as in a mirror, we hold the certainty of the hope of glory in our hearts.  And what does that entail?  As believers, we are presently objects of Divine approval and blessedness because of the blood of Jesus and His righteousness and we presently possess this glory in spirit by the Holy Spirit.  One day – either upon Jesus’ return or our death – we will be transformed outwardly as well into this glorified beautiful condition.  It is a state into which one is accorded the fullest enjoyment of the admiration of God as objects of His highest regard and praise and further the enjoyment of fullness, satisfaction, joy, righteousness and ceaseless delight.  It encompasses outward splendor, grandeur, pomp, elegance, magnificence, beauty, excellence of appearance, impressiveness, brilliance, illustriousness and eminence (Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible – New Testament Lexical Aids).  Therefore, encourage one another with these words!”  BHY

HEART SAVOR

• ·         Our hope is in Jesus – not in self, not in accomplishments, not in the created rather in the Creator.
• ·         Everything in Scripture is written to give us hope.
• ·         Our endurance is inspired by our hope in Jesus.

Comforter Psalms 23:1-4 Isaiah 40:1-2 Isaiah 51:12 Isaiah 61:1-3 Isaiah 66:12-14 Jeremiah 31:11-13 Matthew 5:4 2 Corinthians 7:5-7 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 10.26.18

COMFORTER

BREAD

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, ³ he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ⁴ Even 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. Psalm 23:1-4 (NIV)

¹ Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. ² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.  Isaiah 40:1-2 (NIV)

¹² “I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass.”  Isaiah 51:12 (NIV)

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.  Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)

¹² For this is what the LORD says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees. ¹³ As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” ¹⁴ When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the LORD will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes.  Isaiah 66:12-14 (NIV)

¹¹ For the LORD will ransom Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. ¹² They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD-- the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. ¹³ Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.  Jeremiah 31:11-13 (NIV)

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.   Matthew 5:4 (NIV)

⁵ For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn--conflicts on the outside, fears within.  ⁶ But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.  2 Corinthians 7:5-7 (NIV)

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ⁵ For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. ⁶ If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.   2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Though assaults be many, and my enemies mighty, if God strengthen me, I have enough to comfort me; for the greater my enemy, the more glorious my victory; and the more glorious my victory, the more triumphant my glory.”  K.H. Von Bogatzky

“If religion is worth anything, it is worth everything.  They who do not like Christ on these terms, may leave him at their peril.  Whatever we part with for this pearl of price, we may comfort ourselves with this belief, that it is well worth what we give for it.  The terms are, that we prefer Christ.”   Matthew Henry

“In Christ the heart of the Father is revealed, and higher comfort there cannot be than to rest in the Father’s heart.”   Andrew Murray

“As a general principle, if we would exercise our memories more wisely, we might, in our very darkest distress, strike a match that would instantaneously kindle the lamp of comfort.  There is no need for God to create a new thing upon the earth in order to restore believers’ joy; if they would prayerfully rake the ashes of the past, they would find light for the present; and if they would turn to the book of truth and the throne of grace, their candle would soon shine as before.  Let us then remember the loving-kindness of the Lord and rehearse His deeds of grace.  Let us open the volume of recollection, which so richly illuminated with memories of His mercy, and we will soon be happy.  When the Divine Comforter bends memory to His service, it is then the greatest earthly comfort we can know.”   C. H. Spurgeon    

“Strive believer not to seek refuge in anything or anyone besides the Lord our God.  All else will surely be found wanting.  It is He Who is the Rock that is greater than all. It is He Who is sufficient to meet our every need.  It is He Who gives our feet a firm place to stand when the winds of life blow hard.  Look to Jesus alone – all else is fleeting.  Why go to the paste gem when the diamond is so readily offered?”   BHY

“A fixed, constant attention to the promises, and a firm belief in them, would prevent solicitude and anxiety about the concerns of this life. It would keep the mind quiet and composed in every change, and support and keep up our sinking spirits under the several troubles of life….Christians deprive themselves of their most solid comforts by their unbelief and forgetfulness of God’s promises.  For there is no extremity so great but there are promises suitable to it, and abundantly sufficient for our relief in it.”   Samuel Clarke

“Be not dismayed, but go to Him who is the God of all comfort, who comforteth all those that are bowed down, and He will give you a word which shall heal your wounds, and breathe peace into your spirit.”  Charles H. Spurgeon

“In our walk with God we are told explicitly by Christ Himself that it would be His Spirit who would be sent to guide us and to lead us into all truth (John 16:13).  This same gracious Spirit takes the truth of God, the Word of God, and makes it plain to our hearts and minds and spiritual understanding.  It is He who gently, tenderly, but persistently says to us, ‘This is the way – walk in it.’  And as we comply and cooperate with His gentle promptings a sense of safety, comfort and well-being envelops us.”   Phillip Keller

“All disquiet of mind ariseth from our own lusts and unmortified tempers, which make the bosom like a troubled sea.  And no settled calm shall we find till we have a single eye to God’s glory, and can count ourselves worthy of no good.  Then we may draw comfort out of trouble, and learn to praise the Lord, both for what he giveth, and for what he taketh away;  being sure that all things are working for our good, and tending to God’s glory, which he knows best how to promote; and that nothing but sin can make us unhappy and miserable.”    K. H. Von Bogatzky

“Christianity simply does not make sense until you face the sort of facts I have been describing. Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness.  It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know that they have anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need any forgiveness. It is after you have realized that there is a real moral law and a power behind the law and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that power - It is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk...(Christianity) tells you how the demands of this law, which you and I cannot meet, have been met on our behalf. How God himself becomes a man to save man from the disapproval of God. It is an old story...All I am doing is to ask people to face the facts - to understand the questions which Christianity claims to answer. And they are very terrifying facts. I wish it was possible to say something more agreeable. But I must say what I think true. Of course, I quite agree that the Christian religion is, in the long run a thing of unspeakable comfort. But it does not begin in comfort; it begins in the dismay I am describing and it is no use at all to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay. In religion, as in war and everything else comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: If you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth. - only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end despair.” CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

“They do not go wrong who go in the company of God.  Like Enoch, walk with God, and you cannot mistake your road.  You have infallible wisdom to direct you, immutable love to comfort you, and eternal power to defend you.  ‘The LORD’ – note the word – ‘The LORD will guide you always.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

HEART SAVOR

• ·         God is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received.
• ·         His presence brings comfort to the believer in Jesus.
• ·         God is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.   

My Strength And My Song Exodus 15:2 Psalms 18:1-3 Psalms 27:1 Psalms 62:1-2 Psalms 59:16-17 Genesis 45:4-7 Isaiah 12:2-5 Hebrews 11:32-12:3 10.24.18

MY STRENGTH AND MY SONG

BREAD

² The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.   Exodus 15:2 (NIV)

¹ I love you, O LORD, my strength. ² The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. ³ I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:1-3 (NIV)

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?  Psalm 27:1 (NIV)

¹ My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. ² He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.  Psalm 62:1-2 (NIV)

¹⁶ But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. ¹⁷ O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.  Psalm 59:16-17 (NIV)

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. ⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.  Genesis 45:4-7 (NIV)

² Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.  ³ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. ⁴ In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. ⁵ Sing to the LORD, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.”   Isaiah 12:2-5 (NIV)

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. ³⁷ They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-- ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. ³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. ⁴⁰ God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. ¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  Hebrews 11:32 - 12:3 (NIV)

BUTTER

“When God is our strength, it is strength indeed; when our strength is our own, it is only weakness.”   St. Augustine

“A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for doing God’s work well and triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness.  When God’s warrior marches forth to battle, strong in his own might, when he boasts, ‘I know that I shall conquer, my own right arm and my conquering sword shall get unto me the victory’, defeat is not far distant.  God will not go forth with that man who marches in his own strength.  He who reckoneth on victory thus has reckoned wrongly, for ‘it is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts’.  They who go forth to fight, boasting of their prowess, shall return with their gay banners trailed in the dust, and their armour stained with disgrace.  Those who serve God must serve Him in His own way, and in His strength, or He will never accept their service.  That which man doth, unaided by divine strength, God can never own.  The mere fruits of the earth He casteth away; He will only reap that corn, the seed of which was sown from heaven, watered by grace, and ripened by the sun of divine love.  God will empty out all that thou hast before He will put His own into thee; He will first clean out the granaries before He will fill them with the finest of the wheat……Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled, and your casting down is but the making ready for your lifting up.”   C. H. Spurgeon

“In God's hands intended evil becomes eventual good.  Joseph tied himself to the pillar of this promise and held on for dear life. Nothing in his story glosses over the presence of evil. Quite the contrary. Bloodstains, tearstains are everywhere. Joseph's heart was rubbed raw against the rocks of disloyalty and miscarried justice. Yet time and time again God redeemed the pain. The torn robe became a royal one. The pit became a palace. The broken family grew old together. The very acts intended to destroy God's servant turned out to strengthen him.”   Max Lucado

“There is in Him an all-sufficiency of grace and strength; all our springs are in Him, and all our streams are from Him.”   Matthew Henry

“Our strength is discovered in our dependency upon the One Who spoke the world into being and Who loves us with an everlasting love.  It is His all sufficient power and not our weak strength we are to lean upon.  The horse is made ready for battle but victory rests with the Lord.”  BHY

“I have not given you the spirit of fear but of a sound mind. Therefore today I call you Fearless, the way I called Gideon a valiant warrior when he was afraid to fight. I am the same God who gave Gideon the strength to win his battle with the enemy, and I am your God. The only time something will overtake your heart is if you take your eyes off Me. I don’t want you bound up in terror.  As long as you are walking in My power and Truth, you have nothing to be afraid of, and no matter what it looks like now, Victory will always be yours. So fear not, my beloved; I will never leave your side--day and night I am fighting for you.  Love,  Your King who removes all fear.”   Sheri Rose Shepherd

“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”  Hudson Taylor

“The strength of the vessel can be demonstrated only by the hurricane, and the power of the gospel can be fully shown only when the Christian is subjected to some fiery trial.   If God would make manifest the fact that ‘He giveth songs in the night,’ He must first make it night.”    William Taylor

“See God in everything, and God will calm and color all that thou doest see!  It may be that the circumstances of our sorrows will not be removed, their condition will remain unchanged; but if Christ, as Lord and Master of our life, is brought into our grief and gloom, ‘He will compass us about with songs of deliverance.’  To see HIM, and to be sure that His wisdom cannot err, His power cannot fail, His love can never change; to know that even His direst dealings with us are for our deepest spiritual gain, is to be able to say, in the midst of bereavement, sorrow, pain, and loss, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’  Nothing else but seeing God in everything will make us loving and patient with those who annoy and trouble us.  They will be to us then only instruments for accomplishing His tender and wise purposes toward us, and we shall even find ourselves at last inwardly thanking them for the blessing they bring us.  Nothing else will completely put an end to all murmuring or rebelling thoughts.”  Hannah W. Smith 

“The foundational principle of grace is that God’s kingdom priorities are completely inverted from those of the world. God’s plan is to magnify His saving mercy and grace not through human strength but rather through its weakness…The gospel of grace would remind us that we can’t be used until we operate not out of our own strength but in weakness, as we depend on Christ’s Spirit to show the reality of the cross.”  Paul Kooistra

“Despair whispers, ‘Lie down and die; give it all up.’... But, however much Satan may urge this course upon you, you cannot follow it if you are a child of God. His divine fiat has bid thee go from strength to strength, and so thou shalt, and neither death nor hell shall turn thee from thy course. What if for a while thou art called to stand still; yet this is but to renew thy strength for some greater advance in due time.”  Charles H. Spurgeon   

HEART SAVOR

·         God puts a new song in my mouth – a hymn of praise to our God.

·         I will sing of the Lord for He alone is worthy of praise.

·         All power and all might are His alone – when He acts who can reverse it?