Great is Thy Faithfulness Pastor John Kane

Well, I want to say good morning to each of you that are here And I also want to say good morning to each of you who are watching on the video

We pray that you would worship together with us as we honor the Lord We want to say a

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year I've heard a lot of people say they're glad to see 2020 go out and 21 to come in But the

Lord's the same right whether it's in 20 or 21 So we thank the Lord for that and we would like the

Cain family to come up here and stand with me Yeah, I told

I warned her ahead of time We just want to say a word of thanks to the

Cain family in all that they have done for us in this interim time providing the music and Pastor John providing a message and the church as we do and many times before have

Contributed to a gift for you. So it's it's really a blade between Christmas and New Year's gift

But we just want to say a word of thanks for The great job that you're doing for Faith Bible Church, and we want to thank you for it.

I Just tell you how much we're falling in love with you folks and how really grateful we are that we can serve here and be encouragement to y 'all

Family you say thumbs up We're glad to have you with us, thank you for that and even as we prepare our hearts

For worshiping today read a portion of Psalm 51 God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble

Therefore we will not fear even though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea

Though its waters roar and be troubled Though the mountains shake with its swelling and I like to jump to verse 10

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations

I will be exalted in the earth and I have a little note that I've written myself that I'd like to look at and it

Says stop fighting God Be still and know that the

Lord is God even in this time of trouble. We would just remind ourselves It's a time where the

Lord Still is in the throne, right and he's still in control

So let's have a word of prayer before we start Our Heavenly Father and our

God we come before you today We thank you for the many blessings that you have given each of us even during this past year and as we look forward to another year and We would pray

Heavenly Father that you would guide and direct each one of us and all that we would do is we prepare ourselves

Even for this service today and we prepare ourselves for the year to come We pray Heavenly Father that we might keep you in the center of our thinking and May we look up to you and all that we say and all that we do and may we as we worship you today

We would pray that you would be with us receive our worship and we would thank you and pray in Jesus name.

Amen We're gonna let you sit because we have a group of songs and then we'll tell you when to stand

During some of the other songs, okay Joy to the world

The Lord is come Let earth receive her king

Let every heart Prepare in nature sing and heaven and nature sing and nature sing

Joy to the earth The Savior reigns

Let men their songs employ While fields and floods rocks hills and Repeat the sounding joy

Repeat the sounding joy repeat repeat the sounding joy

He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations

Peace of righteousness

And wonders of his love and wonders of his love and wonders

Wonders of his love Angels we have heard on high

Angels we have heard on high Sweetly singing o 'er the plains and the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains Oh Whenever I sing this song,

I always say do I know Latin? What is excelsis deo?

Excelsis means in excellent in Excellence is talking about glory to God and the deo is

God So God is an excellent God. We are praised to him should be excellent.

So glory in excelsis deo Glory Lord, you know, you're excellent glory

And that's what I was talking about and I like to as a kid I I learned these songs, but then

I started saying what do they mean? so verse 2, okay Why your joyous strains prolong say what mean the tidings be

Which inspire your heavenly song? Excelsis deo

In excelsis deo Come to Bethlehem And see him whose birth the angel sing

Come on, don't Christ the

Lord the new born King in excelsis deo excelsis deo

See within a manger lay Jesus Lord of Heaven Joseph lend your aid

With us in our Savior's birth Excelsis deo excelsis deo

Wonderful Savior we have sin

Atonement me. What a wonderful Savior We are

Redeemed the price is paid. What a wonderful Savior full

Savior is Jesus my Jesus what a wonderful Savior is

Jesus my Praise him for the cleansing blood.

What a wonderful Savior Reconciled my soul to God what a wonderful Savior Full Savior is

Jesus Jesus what a wonderful Savior is

Jesus my lord He gives me

Overcoming power, what a wonderful Savior and Triumph in each trying one more say

What a wonderful Savior is

Jesus my Jesus Wonderful Savior is

Jesus my We'll ask you to stand with me as we sing immortal invisible

Immortal Invisible God only wise in light

Accessible from our eyes most blessed most glorious the ancient of days

Almighty Victorious thy great name we pray

Unresting Unhastening and silent as lie nor Wanting nor wasting thou rulest in mine

Thy justice like mountains my soaring above thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love

Great father and angels adore thee availing their side

All praise we would render Oh help us to see

Tis only the splendor of light Hideth thee

Praising our Lord a mighty fortress is our God a

Mighty fortress is our God Ballwork never

Failing He amid the flood of mortal ills

Prevail or still our ancient foe

Does seek to work us His craft and power our gray is not his

Did we in our own strength Our striving would be

Losing We're not the right man on our side the man of God's own choosing

Thus ask who that may be Christ Jesus it is

Lord His name From age to age the same

And he must win the battle This world with devils

Should threaten to undo We will not fear for God His truth to triumph through Us the prince of darkness

Graham We tremble not for him

His rage we can endure For lo his doom is sure our little word shall

Him earthly powers

No, thanks to them abide the spirit and the

Let goods and kindred go this mortal life also the body

They may kill God's truth abide us

His Kingdom is for Thank you, and you may be seated as pastor comes

Riches and Houses are an inheritance from the fathers but a good wife is from the

Lord and I just think about the wife that God has given me and what an amazing help me.

She is Can you imagine me trying to be here without Janet Wouldn't happen so thank you so much for all you do to sweetheart and What a blessing we're missing some folks this morning and I'm sure as the flu season continues

We might miss one or two more right colds going around and it's winter, right?

so it's great to be here if you have a Bible I invite you to open it with me to lamentations

Lamentations chapter 4 and I think we would all agree that We've seen some pretty bad news this past year of various types and sizes on TV on our phones on computer, however, you get your news and I've actually talked to more than a few people the past few weeks that have sworn off news of any kind They refuse

I'm not sure I could do that What happens if the world ends and I don't know about it, right?

on on many fronts And in many ways our country and the world are facing some of the most

Perhaps the most upsetting and foreboding times in recent history

Whether we talk about the economy whether we talk about government Morality politics disease the state of the church the average

Christian going to church doesn't really Get a sense of what's really going on in churches today in terms of the watering down of the gospel in terms of doctrine in terms of practice with You know scantily clad women dancing around on the platform in some kind of worship and You know,

I'm not so sure that January 1st on January 1st 2021 that everything is going to change and be all right

You know as much or as we want as much as we need to be and as much as we're praying that it would change

So what about some good news to end the year on would you like that? And good news always looks better when you know, there's bad news

I think right You know as we think about 2021

It will be most helpful most encouraging for us to really focus on being

Biblically grounded and have a biblical Perspective on what's going on in the world right now.

Not what we hear on the news not what we catch on Twitter not what we get from emails that how many of get emails from friends and Neighbors and relatives.

Oh watch this watch this watch this right? How many of those do you get every day, right? so a biblical perspective

Not what a friend says not what a news anchor says not what we read

But a biblical perspective, please listen to me can only be found in God's holy and true word

There's the world's way of looking at all of this and there's God's way of looking at all of this and the message title today

If you have your notes is great is thy faithfulness? Because God's people need to know and remember that God is

Faithful no matter what is going on around us My I'm so embarrassed because this gentleman that's visiting

I always forget your name Because I don't see you for three weeks It goes out but he was just involved in a car accident, right a lady ran a red light totaled his truck

He's not hurt God is faithful God is faithful the story your friend just told me about being shot

God is faithful God is faithful. He can be trusted God's mercies are new every morning

There are all kinds of shadows and subterfuge in the world But with God there is no shadow or turning

God is the same Yesterday today and forever God does not change presidents change politicians change the weather changes

God never ever changes Good news

Jesus saves good news a loving God cares now a

Biblical perspective on what's going on in the world In order to have a biblical perspective about what's going on in the world.

I've got to give you this morning Bad news and good news. Okay Please I said good news, but there's got to be some bad news

In fact over the years. I have done so many evangelism training courses.

I I Think I've lost count but one of them was called the good news bad news

Some one is called Romans Road Some of you have heard of that you can take people through the book of Romans Give them the plan of salvation through the book of Romans This one

I did was called good news bad news, and that's really the title that I was thinking about Giving the sermon this morning, but instead

Great is thy faithfulness and you'll see why in a moment Here in Lamentations, which we will get to should the

Lord Terry maybe We'll see what happens because we got to do second Kings, right and then we got to do the

Chronicles we got it we did Samuel was so we got to do the Chronicles and we got to go through Job and the We might make it to Lamentations if Jesus Terry's So Lamentations God has lost his patience with his people the

Israelites over many years God had raised up prophets to call them to repentance to tell them, you know, your heart is turning away from me

You're in sin. Please turn back to me everything will pick if you don't do this. This is what's going to happen

You're going to reap what you sow right and Israel consistently over the years just refused to Listen to the prophets sometimes they would a little upbeat then they would go right back to where they were.

So around 700 BC 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ the

Assyrians Invaded the northern kingdom and had defeated the ten tribes.

So we're talking about well over a million people Literally disappearing from the face of the earth

You don't hear anything at all in history about the ten tribes after the Assyrians invade the northern kingdoms

Okay, so they're either killed or they're deported to serve as slaves a few of them

You know avoided the soldiers somehow we know for you know Through through historical sources that some of these

Israelites in the northern kingdom remain in their homes out in the maybe out in the wilderness or something or they had a farmhouse or something like that and Or they ran for their lives

So that's 700 BC's and The Assyrians were stopped at Jerusalem.

So they're advancing through the nation of Israel They're moving their way south and they come to Jerusalem. They cannot overthrow the southern two kingdoms

They can't overthrow the key city of Jerusalem. So we have the two southern tribes remaining

Benjamin and Judah so The prophets are still prophesying to the southern tribes

Isaiah's there, you know, hey ask the Lord a sign, right? That's part of the southern kingdom

Judah King Ahaz says I'm not gonna ask for a sign The Prophet says I'm gonna give you a sign.

Remember that Behold a virgin shall be with child that's part of this period of time where the ten northern tribes are gone and along comes the

Babylonians who defeat and overthrow the Assyrians and They say we're now going to go into Israel It's a key piece of geographical territory that links northern, you know, southern

Europe with Africa So Israel that particular piece if you know anything about the history of that area

It's always a key piece of real estate that countries want. Have you ever seen peace in Israel?

Nah, they signed peace treaties and then they shoot each other the next day, right? So the

Babylonians come after Jerusalem and the way they did it was to lay siege so they surrounded the city and they cut off all food and water and Eventually they scaled the walls

They blew up the walls they killed the soldiers They're killing the Jerusalem the people that live in Jerusalem and you want to talk about bad news and you want to talk about a bad year take a look at Lamentations chapter 4 and Look at some really bad news

Lamentations chapter 4 verse 1 How the gold has become dim how?

Changed the fine gold the stones of the sanctuary are scattered at the head of every street

The precious sons of Zion valuable as fine gold how they are regarded as clay pots the work of the hands of the

Potter Even the jackals present their breasts to nurse their young But the daughter of my people is cruel like ostriches in the wilderness

The tongue of the infant clings to the roof of its mouth for thirst the young children ask for bread

But no one breaks it for them because there's none verse 5 Those who ate delicacies are desolate in the streets those who were brought up in scarlet embrace ash heaps the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is

Greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom which was overthrown in a moment with no hand to help her

Her Nazarites were brighter than snow and whiter than milk They were more ruddy and body than rubies like sapphire in their appearance and now their appearance is blacker than soot

They go unrecognized in the streets their skin skin clings to their bones

It has become as dry as wood Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger for these pine away

Stricken for the lack of the fruits of the fields the hands of the compassionate woman

Have cooked their own children. They become food for them in the destruction of the daughter of my people

The Lord has fulfilled his fury He has poured out his fierce anger he kindled a fire in Zion and It has devoured its foundations

You want to talk about bad news? You want to talk about things becoming more horrible than anything we could ever imagine

The wealth of Israel's rich stripped from them people

Livestock not the jackals in the field, but the Israelites livestock even children starving to death children literally dying of thirst

You talk about the bomb in Nashville That's a cakewalk compared to this things so bad so horrible mothers so hungry

They turn to eating their own children in order to survive.

I Hope we can agree that that's about as bad as as bad can be Jeremiah had preached to them he had warned them and here he is walking the streets of the capital of the

Southern Kingdom the capital of Judah and Benjamin and he sees this and he is

Overcome. What does he turn to for hope? How could anyone be lifted from the depths of despair that would come from being an eyewitness?

To this kind of pain and suffering go to chapter 3 verse 1

Look at the prophets testimony during this time. I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of God's wrath

Verse 4 He God has aged my flesh and my skin and broken my bones

He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and woe verse 8 even when

I cry and shout He shuts out my prayer. He has blocked my ways with hewn stone.

He God has made my paths crooked and We can go on He has been to me a bear lying in wait like a lion in ambush

And it just keeps going and going this incredibly vivid Description of how bad things are how bad

God has allowed even in the prophets life things to get so bad look what he says in verse 18 and I said

Even my strength and my hope have perished from the

Lord Beloved Can you think about feeling that way

Can you think about Things being so bad that your testimony would be

My strength and my hope have perished from the

Lord and I want to say to you You know many of us here are sort of untouched by what's going on in the world right now but I guarantee you if we talk to people and related to them and Interacted with them.

There are people that would say to us. This is how I feel. I've lost my job

I've lost my home We're living in a car My strength and my hope have perished from the

Lord I talked with an unbeliever yesterday that said essentially the same thing about all of her friends and She was bawling because she was able to give her daughter a

Christmas and her friends were not So, what does

Jeremiah do when you go that low and Things are that bad and what do believers need to do as we look ahead to 2021

No matter how bad things might be Look at what

Jeremiah does in verse 20 He's beside himself in verse 18, do you see that His hope is gone

He feels like God has hemmed him in and and enclosed him and just Everything is is as bad as bad can be verse 20.

My soul still remembers and sinks within me That's humility.

That's a picture of humility This I recall to my mind Therefore I have hope what does he call to his mind?

Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed Because his compassions fail not

They are new every morning great is your

Faithfulness God the Lord is my portion says my soul Therefore I hope in Him Dear friends

Great is the faithfulness of God a mighty Fortress is our

God a bulwark never failing. That's the good news

Great as I faithfulness, let's pray Father thank you So much for this day that we can gather together and worship you as we look forward this last time together before 2021

Father may you help us to understand your word and and Lord just to encourage and strengthen us in our inner

Man that we might better be able to face what 2021 might have for us

God for our family and for our friends and for our neighbors we ask in Jesus name.

Amen So go to set now mark your place there, please In lamentations, we're going to come back there but open

Flip over to 2nd Timothy in the New Testament 2nd Timothy 3 1 Just want to get started on a couple of things and then we'll dig into a couple of pretty important points

What's the whole point of this message? It's to help us have a biblical perspective on 2021, right?

In other words, we're getting all this news We're getting all this information. We're getting Bombarded with all this we have a new year coming around Well, what is a biblical perspective on what's going on in the world?

How can we have a biblical perspective on 2021 and what's happening in our world today?

One of the first things we need to understand is where 2021 where we are right now and where 2021

Will fall on the timeline of god's history of the human race.

Did you hear what I said? Okay, secular scientists will tell us we've been here four and a half billion years

The earth is four and a half billion years old. That's not how old the earth is It's about seven thousand five hundred years eight thousand years old according to god's word

So what we're doing today is we're looking at the world and the condition of the world through the lens of scripture

Are you with me? That's what I want to do. And one of the first things we need to understand about 2021

First right out of the box is where does 2021? fit on god's timeline of human history, okay now understand something this past year

And every single year since the resurrection of jesus christ Falls on the timeline of god's history that he refers to as the last days

Look at second timothy chapter three verse one But know this that in the last days

Perilous times will come Now paul Was writing timothy around 65 to 67 ad

So jesus had been resurrected from the dead And would you agree that this verse?

Sort of describes our world today perilous times and guess what

From the day of the resurrection up to this very day god's word refers to this period in human history as the last days

The period in human history began in 33 ad when jesus christ rose from the dead

The early church was living in the last days The people living in 1000 ad were living in the last days now follow this, please

The people living in 1976 Were living in the last days

The people living in 2001 were living when? in the last days

The people living in 2020 were living when? in the last days Now follow this

This means that with each passing hour day month and year

We are closer and closer to what historic event the second coming of jesus christ

So we can start today with some good news And we can stand on an absolute bedrock of truth

And it's this God promised that jesus christ would come the first time didn't he?

And he came Today And god promised that he's coming again

And we can stand on that truth Every hour we get closer to the return of jesus christ

That is good news for 2021. Come on bringing it on because i'm that much closer to the return of jesus christ

So when it comes to dealing with whatever 2021 might bring our way Know that on the timeline of god's history of the human race

We're living in the last days and with each tick of the clock each second hand each minute hand each

Hour hand that goes around we're that much closer to the second coming of jesus christ.

So viewing history And the events of our days through the lens of scripture

Is absolutely good news Today we're closer to the return of jesus christ than we were yesterday and this morning

When we walk out that door We're going to be that much closer to the second coming of christ.

Okay, so good news and bad news Now I got to go back to some bad news just to give you the good news.

All right What is some of the bad news that we need to know and understand and remember

When it comes to having a biblical perspective on the days in which we live a couple of points number one part of the bad news is

That the bible tells us the general condition of mankind will be worse in 2021 than it was in 2020

Now god could not be any clearer on this point The world has been and will continue to get worse and worse history proves this

Look at second timothy 3 13 but evil men

And imposters will grow worse and worse deceiving and being deceived

If we were to plot The morality of man beginning in the garden

With the fall of man if we were to take graph paper with an x -axis and a y -axis

And plot the morality of mankind beginning at the garden and coming up to this day

You know what? The line would look like It would be ever declining Now does sometimes it tick up?

Absolutely. We have the great awakening in the united states. We have revivals We have the the underground church in china.

We have the former soviet union We have all kinds of evidences of these upticks but the overall

The overall morality is a downward line and will get worse and worse and worse

Until jesus comes again. Okay, we need to understand that if we want to have a biblical view

Of what's going to be happening in 2021. We need to understand that there's a downward line

Men will continue to get worse and worse first timothy four Second the bad news is that in general

The bible tells us that the church Will also continue to decline in 2021

Verse chapter 4 verse 1 Now the spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith

Giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons Now, I don't have time but if you notice the word the term here is latter times right in second timothy.

It's last days In many passages in the new testament, you will see latter days last days

Similar words those are basically Signposts in the new testament

So they're signposts They're they're kind of signs of the times kind of wake up and look at this

I have something to tell you because there are clues About what the state of the church and the world will be as the clock of human history ticks onward now notice that That in these verses here in chapter 4 first timothy chapter 4 verse 1

Paul mentions one of the signposts of Getting getting closer and closer to the return of christ and it's the apostasy

That will occur in the church look carefully at verse 1 The spirit expressly says that in latter times

As the return of jesus christ draws ever closer some will depart from the faith Giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons speaking lies and hypocrisy having their own conscience seared with a hot iron

Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods Which god created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth now this word depart in verse 1

Basically means to leave It it's it's it's actually where we get the english word apostasy

So depart from the faith in other words in the last days Meaning in the last days months and years leading up to the return of jesus christ

People in the church will abandon and depart from the faith meaning. They will literally walk away from church

And if you look at church history since the church began There is an ever increasingly number of so -called christians people who would say they i'm a christian

I go to church. I believe in god I believe in jesus christ and they will move away and they will turn a cold

Shoulder to the faith and this is only one aspect of apostasy There is different shades and variations of apostasy ever since the resurrection of jesus christ from the grave

Mankind has been living in the last days And god god's word tells us that an apostate church will arise in which men and women will be religious

They will have a form of godliness, but they will deny the power thereof and one of the chief characteristics of the apostate church is

Denial is denial and that's my second point because as as 2021 and then god willing 2022 should the lord terry we have no idea when he's coming back

As the hands as the sands of time slowly sprinkle down 2021 In the last days, there's this ever increasing state of denial one of the chief characteristics

Of the church during the last days is an ever increasing state of denial look at first john first john 2 little children

It is the last hour. Okay, that's again last days right latter times It is the last hour

And as you have heard that the antichrist is coming Even now many antichrists have come and notice capitalization in lowercase.

There is a personal I don't have time to preach it this morning There is a personal antichrist that will come but there's many antichrists that have already come and in fact

If you know anything, I mean at all about india, uh in in the hindu religion There are men that raise up and call themselves.

I am jesus christ They call themselves jesus christ There's actually a spanish preacher in florida that says he's the second coming of jesus christ incarnate in the flesh

As he's drinking his margaritas Yeah, he's on tv. He's got a church on tv He's jesus christ the second i'm the second coming of christ

Yeah, I mean you don't see that on nbc or cbn or cnn do you right you don't but he's there he's got a nationwide website and all that Don't google him

As you have heard that antichrist is coming and even now many antichrists have come by which we know it's the last hour

They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us for if they had belonged to us If they had been of us, they would have continued with us

But they went out that they might be made manifest that none of them were of us So there is this continuing and concerted effort by the devil

In the form of so -called science the news media false teachers to strip jesus christ of his true

Identity and present him merely as a good teacher Not the son of god not god incarnate in the flesh not born of a virgin

Not necessarily did he leave a sinless life? In fact, one of the men in our church a deacon in our church this morning told me he saw a television special Uh, uh on one well on some news news something this past week

That talked about that. Jesus christ was not born in bethlehem Where was jesus born bethlehem

Okay, that's what the bible says, but they're constantly attacking jesus christ

He didn't necessarily He died on a cross, but he didn't really die. He fainted

He didn't raise from the dead this is what they're teaching And more and more of this kind of denial is being taught in seminaries today and it's only getting worse

Just talk to victor sometime He's been around a while. He will tell you he never you talk to anybody that's been in church 40 50 60 years

They would tell you what they're seeing in church today. They never thought they would see Look at second peter 3 1

This is coming more and more Wait till you see this. You don't see it that much right now, but it comes in waves

But look at this one second peter 3 1 People in the church will deny the second coming of christ

Verse one beloved. I now write to you this second epistle In both of which

I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder By the way, we forget Okay, this is important.

Look at the word reminder That you may be mindful We forget

We forget our car keys We forget where we put our wallet We forget the truths of god.

Look at this I'm stirring you up by way of reminder that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before By the holy prophets and of the commandment of us the apostles of the lord and savior knowing this first That scoffers will come in the last days

Walking according to their own lusts and saying where is the promise of his coming?

For since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation

Bad news In 2021 there will be an ever -increasing denial

Of what the bible teaches about jesus christ and there will be a denial of god's promises about the return of jesus christ

As the clock marches through the last days and as the second coming of the lord Jesus christ draws ever nearer there will be a denial of the fundamental tenets of the faith go to jude right before the book of revelation

The book of jude warns about godless men who will sleep it slip in among christians in the churches

And they will change the grace of god into a license for immorality jude for For certain men have crept in unnoticed too long ago were marked out for this condemnation ungodly men who turn the grace of god our god into lewdness and deny the only lord god and our lord

Jesus christ look at the history of the mormon church Church And polygamy

It's right there Denying the deity and lordship of jesus christ is denying the fundamentals of the faith

As the return of christ draws ever nearer and as the clock of 2021 starts ticking this coming week

The bible tells us there will be an ever -increasing denial of christ

And there will be a denial of the return of christ There will be an increasing denial of biblical doctrine and the biblical gospel you can see that on tv every day of the week

A tv preacher will look in the camera and says you can be a christian right now. Just pray this prayer with me

Jesus i'm a sinner save me That's not the biblical gospel that is not the gospel that jesus christ preached and died for As the return of christ draws ever nearer

Luke warns as it was in the days of noah So it will be in the days of the son of man talking about when he comes again

Does anybody remember from genesis chapter 6 how god describes the world? When we did genesis,

I read it to you God looked around the world and all he saw was wickedness in the heart of every man

Paul warns timothy in the last days men will be lovers of self Lovers of money. Does this sound familiar?

boastful arrogant revilers Disobedient to parents ungrateful unholy unloving irreconcilable.

Does that sound familiar? Malicious gossips. Does that sound familiar without self -control? Does that sound familiar?

Fathers killing their children mothers killing their children. Does that sound familiar haters of gold treacherous?

I'm, sorry haters of good treacherous reckless conceited lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god holding to a form of godliness

Although they have denied its power avoid such men as these There will continue to be a form of godliness in people

But the reality is people will be less and less godly and this is more true

Today than it was last year and more true today than it was 10 years ago

Because that is a biblical perspective on the days in which we live In 2021 one more point the general moral condition of mankind

Will be worse not better Go to first timothy four again with me

The church will continue to decline In general people's consciences

Will be more and more dull This is an amazing verse

First timothy 4 verse 1 Now the spirit says expressly

That in the latter times some will depart from the faith Giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons

Speaking lies and hypocrisy and here it is having their own conscience seared with a hot iron

Here is something to understand It's a faithful saying The vast majority of people who believe in god

Don't one day wake up and want nothing to do with god church or the bible In most cases those who turn away

From from the faith at first feel pangs of conscience

I need to read my bible today I've just to I got to get going I should

Spend time with the lord this morning. I got to get out and do this and and the conscience

Warns them. I I should go to church today I got so much to do at the house I should call that person

I should Reach out I should ask for prayer, but but but but but they ignore it

They ignore this god -given warning system the inner voice of conscience and pretty soon their consciences become calloused and hardened and seared with a hot iron cauterized and desensitized

So having a biblical perspective on the days in which we live Involves understanding that there's going to be some bad news.

Okay Like the horrors jeremiah Witnessed at the time of the babylonian invasion and fall of jerusalem

Throughout history there has been and there will continue to be bad news So it's time to turn to the good news.

Okay What is the good news for 2021? The amazing and remarkable good news about the coming new year is this

The world may change Leaders may change

The senate may get flipped the president May get inaugurated

But god Has never and will never change

Countries may be invaded and conquered Taiwan may fall to china

The world may change and people may change and political leaders may change But god has never and will never change god is the same yesterday today and forever and therefore

Come what may We can count on god's faithfulness

Because he doesn't change We can count on god's faithfulness to his people

In order to be equipped and better handle and respond to 2021 We need to do what jeremiah did and purpose to rest in and meditate in and remember and trust in the faithfulness of god

That's the answer You see what's interesting about jeremiah and read if you lamentations is a quick read

Right You can go right through it what's amazing is of all the things that brought jeremiah out of the pit of despair

What was it? Was it reflecting on god's love? Was it reflecting on god's power

Was it reflecting on god's omniscience? Was it reflecting on the trinity? Was it reflecting on god's forgiveness?

No What his mind went back to? is god's faithfulness

What an encouragement and strength that christians can find As they meditate on the faithfulness of god

As they as they pray trusting god deuteronomy 7 9 therefore

Know that the lord your god listen deuteronomy 7 9 therefore know

Know that the lord your god is faithful I mean how of course we vote but why get upset about an election when we know that god is what faithful Psalm 36 5 your mercy.

Oh lord is in the heavens your faithfulness reaches to the clouds Psalm 119 90 your faithfulness endures to all generations

First corinthians 10 13 no temptation. No trial Has seized you or overtaken you?

except what is god common to man, but god is Faithful who will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear

But with the temptation with the trial will provide a way of escape for you that you can bear up under it

That's his promise because he's faithful Second thessalonians 3 3 but the lord is faithful who establish you and guard you from the evil one second timothy 213 if we are faithless he remains faithful.

He cannot deny himself Go back to lamentations, did you mark it lamentations 3 14?

Lamentations 3 14 verse after verse paragraph after paragraph in god's word extol the faithfulness of god

When the babylonians began their attack and and then eventual destruction of jerusalem

I don't know about you, but I can't imagine anything being worse than that these mothers

I can't imagine jeremiah Had faithfully preached the word of the lord to israel

He had called them to repentance. They didn't listen They sat there and looked at him and he said

I say this to you church this morning I I do

I tell you we need to examine our hearts God said if you don't repent

I'm going to destroy your city And they just kept on doing what they're doing thinking everything's going to be fine jeremiah had

Faithfully preached the word of the lord to israel He had called them to repentance and they did not listen

And out of his love for the people Jeremiah known as the weeping prophet was was just laying there in absolute despair

But notice again, it was the character of god That pulled him out of his despair.

He says in verse 20. This is the humility verse my soul

Still remembers and sinks within me

And that word is literally bowed down This I recall in my mind therefore

I have hope Through the lord's mercies.

We are not consumed because his compassions Fail not

They are new every morning Great Is your faithfulness?

And that english translation does not do justice to the hebrew there

This is this is Great That's the word

Fantastic Is your faithfulness? The lord is my portion says my soul therefore

What's the conclusion of the matter? I hope in him

You know, there is so much That we can find in god's word about how to equip ourselves and be ready for 2021

However, when you think about it, please think about it with me When the news is as bad as it was in jeremiah's day

What did the prophet do? What truths about god did he turn?

to To god's great what faithfulness?

The hymn great is thy faithfulness Is if you know anything about church music

Uh, it's one of the richest hymns to come out of the church in the last hundred years

Most of the true hymns that we sing come from the 1500s 1600s and 1700s amazing grace all those

You know those all come from those centuries isaac watts martin luther

John newton you just go on and on And it is a hymn that extols

The faithfulness of god from beginning to end great is thy faithfulness. Oh god my father

There is no shadow of turning with thee thou changes not thy compassions. They fail not as thou has been thou forever will be the author of this hymn thomas chisholm was born in a log cabin in kentucky in the late 1800s and he was brought

To christ and converted under the ministry of a traveling evangelist.

You don't see that much That much in the church anymore But in back in the day There were there were men that went out and preached in churches and they had camp meetings

They set up in a parking lot. They had revival meetings and people came I mean George Whitfield I could just go down down the line for you and tell you a little bit about the history of our country with evangelists

Chisholm's health was unstable and he alternated between bouts of illness and gateful employment in which he did everything

From writing for a newspaper to selling insurance to doing evangelistic work yet In spite of all the ups and downs.

He managed to discover new blessings from god every morning And lamentations chapter 3 that we just read became especially precious to him in 1954 event in a in a 1954 evangelistic meeting in england

This hymn was written in the united states In an evangelistic meeting in england a man named wilbur conkle

Heard great is thy faithfulness for the first time And as they sung that hymn in church a flood of memories

Overwhelmed him And he thought back. This is 1954. He thought back to living in london during world war ii

Wilbur conkle said about those days during world world war ii and I quote

Each night as the enemy planes came over we cast our care upon him

I quoted lamentations 323 look at it in your bible I quoted lamentations 323 to myself.

I used it in my prayers Those were dark days at times.

They seemed hopeless. I'm still quoting this man and yet it was in those darkest

Hours that god proved his faithfulness to me. We were so near death

Yet it is the lord's mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not they are new every morning

Dear friends, can I encourage you as 2020 winds down this week?

Choose to have a biblical perspective about the days in which we live As 2020 draws to a close remember that the bible gives us insight

Into understanding exactly how things will be in the last days

The truth is we do not know and cannot know what is coming in 2021 Or for that matter

We can't even know what will happen when we walk out of the door of this church this morning do we Did you know you were going to get in an accident and total your car

Because a lady runs a red light and that you would still be walking around and be able to know That could happen to any of us, right?

Do we understand that? But there's one thing we can always be absolutely certain of It's the lesson that wilbur conker learned when we can come to god we can rest assured

He doesn't have mood swings He doesn't go nuts on twitter

He doesn't vacillate He is always consistent he is always receptive he does not change and great

Is his faithfulness? God loves believers today with the same compassion.

He felt for israel 500 to 600 years before christ when jeremiah prophesied

We can be certain that he loves us just as much right now as he did on the day that jesus christ died

For to pay the penalty of our sins on the cross jesus is the same yesterday today and forever

I want to give you a moment to reflect on those verses verse 20, please reflect with me verse 21 22 23 24

And use this time to pray and then we will close our service singing Great is thy faithfulness.

Okay join with me in prayer and look at those verses meditate on those verses

Use this time to ask the lord to help you to understand them more fully Let's stand together as janet comes

And let's sing this beautiful beautiful hymn As our last hymn of the year together

Me Now, do you know what the word great means? Come on it's deep down in here, okay

Imagine getting a knock on the door And you won the publisher's clearinghouse

Imagine My kids they are into some of these videos where they do pranks

And I my understanding is this guy this dad gives the daughter a a christmas gift gives her a set of keys

Go in the garage, honey, and she's all excited And in the middle of the garage floor is a hot wheels car

And he says oh no, no i'm just kidding with you and Opens the garage gives her no.

No, here's the keys. Here's your christmas present opens the garage door right And there's a beater old car

She can't even open the door and get it started She's just so down And he goes oh no, no, i'm, sorry,

I made a mistake I mean it gives her another set of keys and here comes a brand new volkswagen beetle with a bow on top of it

Is that great? Okay That gives you a taste Imagine somebody knocks on the door hands you a check for a hundred thousand dollars.

Is that great? Come on. Come on. Give me a smile All right, that's nothing compared to this word great

That's right So as we sing this last verse you think about Great as great can be

Is god's faithfulness. Amen That is a biblical perspective to have

Lord And all of god's people said

Amen What's going to be on our lips as we walk out today? Great is thy faithfulness.