God's Faithfulness
Regardless of our failures, we can be
assured that God will not forget us.
Here's Gene to explain:
In Numbers 20 we have the death of Aaron,
where God is faithful to him.
He died first, of course, before Moses.
They went up on that mountain and
overlooked the promised land and God let him see it.
He was 120 years old and his eyes could
see just like they could as a young man.
And by the way, if you've ever stood in
that mountain as I've stood on that mountain.
I've looked down at the Dead Sea and
I've seen the little green trail of the Jordan River.
And on a clear day from that mountain,
across on the other side, you can see all
the way to Jerusalem. It's an incredible scene.
God let him see that but He didn't let him enter.
God was faithful to his servant and
He was faithful to Aaron. And so we read:
After they set out from Kadesh,
the entire Israelite community came to Mount Hor. ...
I've traveled that path--not in sandals,
but in a bus, an air-conditioned bus.
And I've just driven along there in that
air-conditioned bus, looking out at where
the children of Israel--two million plus--
traveled. On the other side of the Jordan.
Coming into this mountainous region
where Aaron was buried.
Where the Lord took him. It's an incredible sight.
...The LORD said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor
on the border of the land of Edom:
Aaron will be gathered to his people...
I haven't forgotten him.
He was a great servant.
Messed up along the way.
He was faithless at times. Built that
crazy golden calf.
And also at the time was jealous of Moses.
But I love him. And he repented. And I'm
going to take him home and reward him.
...he will not enter the land I've given
the Israelites, because you both rebelled
against My command at the water of Meribah.
Take Aaron and his son Eleazar,
[and] bring them up Mount Hor.
Remove Aaron's garments and put them
on his son Eleazar. [And] Aaron will be
gathered to his people and die there.
God was a part of that death, but also a part of
that celebration of taking Aaron home to glory.
God is faithful even though we may be
unfaithful at times in our lives.
Hebrews 6:10 underscores this in a beautiful way:
For God is not unjust;
He will not forget your work and the
love you showed for His name when you
served the saints and you continue to serve them.
Yes, you may have blown it along the way.
You may have made mistakes. But when
you did, you confessed it.
You took responsibility for your actions.
You drew close to Me. You went on.
You picked yourself up. I understand that, God says.
And I will not forget your work.
And that applies, of course, not just to
those in spiritual ministry in a special way,
but all of us.
Because we're all in spiritual ministry if
we're members of the body of Jesus Christ.
So the question is:
How can we encourage Christians who feel
they have failed God in ways where it is seemingly
impossible to undo the negative results?
Moses and Aaron could not undo this
because that was the kind of mistake it was.
And there are people who do make
serious mistakes that the results,
the consequences, seem to go on.
Some of those are big mistakes.
Some of them are little mistakes.
But what we need to say to people,
regardless of the consequences:
There's forgiveness in God's Word.
And in God's truth and in the blood of Jesus.
That's why the blood of Jesus--
that wonderful truth--continues to cleanse us from
all sin, regardless of what that sin is.
We need to repent.
We need to understand our security in Jesus.
God is faithful even though we may be unfaithful.
We may face consequences. But we need to focus--
not on these consequences--but to focus
on helping others avoid the same mistakes.
There are things we can make up for.
I tell fathers who are now grandfathers.
Who may have become
believers older in life and they blew it
with their own kids. And I've said:
You know, God's giving you, in some
respects, a second chance with your
grandchildren. And with other children's children.
You've got to put that behind you,
move forward ,and take advantage of
the opportunities that God has given you.
God is faithful.