Excepts of my sermon yesterday Sunday, 8/29/2021.
Please read Psalm 145, 107
I must confess that I had to hurriedly put these words together as prompted by the Holy Spirit to speak about God’s goodness since most of the songs He inspired me to lead us in praise and worship attests to God’s goodness.
Coincidentally, today is our testimony Sunday and all the testimonies we have heard equally attests to God’s goodness. So, I believe that God by His Spirit has confirmed to me that I heard Him right. That is the safest place and position I’d rather be.
Good Morning Church!
God is good regardless of what you are going through in life. He is good despite what is going on in our world today.
I know this is hard for some to believe but the truth is that these evil happenings do not define who God is nor come close to what He is made up of.
God is by nature good. Good is who He is. He does whatever He does with good intentions. He is often misjudged and misrepresented but He is a good God regardless.
One of God’s constant attributes is His goodness to His creation. Jesus said “No one is good but One – God”. (Mark 10:18). Again, God is naturally good, and His goodness cannot be likened to that of humans, animals or things.
How do we know that God is good regardless of the negatives in our lives?
God reveals His goodness to us so that we are able to see and understand His goodly self. 😊
A. He loves us and daily blesses us
• God’s goodness is expressed in His love for us, and not for anything that we did (John 3:16). He is just good!
• He’s good and wants us to be like Him. Thus, we ought to love and be good to one another – Matthew 5:45,46.
• We can see and experience His loving goodness towards us. David experienced His love and was moved to write Ps. 145 – a hymn of praise that celebrates God’s goodness expressed in created order.
• So I ask, what do you do to respond to God’s goodness towards you?
• Like David, I sing His praises and tell of His goodness.
B. His kindness and compassion
Psalm 107 is totally devoted to this theme, and opens us with a joyous invitation: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim that He has redeemed them from the hand of the foe . . . ”
Here, we see the psalmist describe four different circumstances where God graciously reveals His goodness.
- God is kind and compassionate to rescue the wanderers, exiled, and rejected persons. He rescues and satisfies those in search of someone to satisfy the hunger and thirstiness of their souls. These are delivered and satisfied when they cry out to the Lord. (v4-9)
- God is kind and compassionate to save and deliver the lives of those who rebel against His Word and suffer for it. They fell into thick darkness as a result of their rebellion but God’s goodness would not abandon them there. When they repent and call out to Him, He delivers them from their distresses; breaks the chains of sin that binds them; and turns their darkness to light. (v10-16)
- We all have acted foolish at a point in time, and God intervened out of His goodness to save us from our foolishness. If you don’t know, it is an act of foolishness to sin against God for the wages of sin is death. When sinners cry to the Lord. He heals them, reverses the killing effects of sin in their lives, and they live forever with Him – v 17-22; John 3:16.
- God, in His goodness rescues those overwhelmed by troubles. I remember many in New Orleans, Haiti, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and many places who have been bombarded by all kinds of troubles. My thoughts and prayers are with you. When the storms of life threaten to sink us and we find ourselves sinking with no help insight, then we can call to Him and watch Him command the storms to be still for our sakes because He is good. v23-32
God has been there for us whether we noticed Him or not. He has always been there. He is for us, and not against us. So, no matter what the challenges are this day, God is the best Listener to take your petitions to. He alone is the Source of every resources. He alone is the Deliverer and the Source of all good and perfect blessings. That is why saints all over the world sing in chorus the chants, “God is good all the time; and all the time – God is good.”
You are a testimony that God is good. You may not believe it but He made you for good out of a good intentions. Today, His creation praises Him for you being a blessing to them. I invite and encourage you to celebrate God’s goodness in you as it is in others around you. Let’s share the goodness in our relationships. Let’s work together to make this world a better place for one another by recognizing that we are all created by Him for good works.
In closing, please note that being good is a good thing but it is not the ultimate plan of God for us. God’s plan is for us to believe in Him so we be saved from our sins, and gain eternal life through Jesus Christ. That was why Jesus corrected the rich young ruler when asked how he could inherit eternal life. Jesus responded that “No one is good but One, that is God” (read Mark 10: 17-22). This young ruler was disappointed by what Jesus asked him to do because he taught his good acts would be enough. How disappointed would you be to discover that of the much you have done, you yet have not done the needful? The needful for us is to love God and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ; and to love one another as we love ourselves.
I pray this day that the Lord grant you and I the grace, strength, wisdom and understanding to correctly prioritize to do the needful things of life.
Thank you and God bless you.
Shalom
Pastor James Adeyeye
