It’s time for us to worship in our giving. Today I wanted to share a devotional titled “God Is a Giver.” Last week we talked about God being the God of increase — how He brings increase in our lives, and that He loves to see fruitfulness and multiplication. That comes from planting seeds, giving, sowing. Well, if that’s true, then God is that way also. God is also a sower. God is a giver. John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave.” There it is, right there. His giving flows out of His love. From the Amplified Classic: “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He even gave up His only begotten, unique Son, so that whoever believes in, trusts in, clings to, and relies on Him shall not perish, but have eternal, everlasting life.” What a promise. Look what God has given us. Look what Jesus Christ bought and paid for us: eternal, everlasting life. He gives so we can have. Really, go out and look at this world He gave us. Even in the state we live in, it’s still an amazing world. Conia and I — as I mentioned last week, my mom’s ninetieth birthday is today. Happy birthday, Mom. We were over with her and family yesterday celebrating, and as we were driving back home through the mountains, I was just grateful for all God’s beauty there in nature. God loves us so much that He gives in every way.
Romans 8:32 in the Amplified: “He who did not withhold or even spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all other things?” Yes, He will. With Jesus, He freely, graciously gives us all things. That’s your Father God. That’s His heart. Philippians 4:19 in the Amplified Classic: “And my God will liberally supply, fill to the full, our every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” God isn’t holding anything back from us. He isn’t just enough. As Pastor Conia likes to say, He’s more than some — always more and better. He’s more than enough. When you sow, He’s ready to bless you with more. His giving heart wants to give to you in return. When we sow seed, He’s already going, come on, sow that seed. I’ve got a harvest for you. Let Me give you something back for that. But wait, there’s more. Second Corinthians 9:8 in the Amplified Classic: “And God is able to make all grace, every favor and earthly blessing, come to you in abundance, so you may always and under all circumstances, whatever the need, be self-sufficient, possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation.” When we have the heart to give as our Father gives, He works on our behalf to see that we have an abundant harvest and more than enough to sow back into every good work. Pastor Conia and I love sowing — giving to others, sowing into other ministries and great charitable works. What a privilege and honor. God loves to give you more than you need so you have more than enough to sow into every good work.
Malachi 3:10 in the Amplified Classic: “Bring all the tithes, the whole tenth of your income, into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts. If I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” A more-than-enough, overflowing blessing — that’s what that is. When we sow our tithes and offerings, God opens the windows of heaven over us. “Not room enough” means an overflowing, more than enough, outpouring beyond measure. God wants to give you so much that He stops counting it. When you study Joseph and his life, when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, God blessed him, and they were bringing in all the crops to store them so they could feed everyone during the famine. It got to the point they had so much that Joseph said, just quit counting it. Let’s just get it in here. More than enough, beyond measure. God wants to bless us beyond measure. As we give today, remember this is an opportunity to partner with our Father God, whose giving heart guarantees that through His love for us, He will bless us in return. He’s going to take that seed we sow and multiply it throughout the kingdom of God, and lives are going to be touched and changed. If you’re here with us live, there’s a QR code at the bottom of the bulletin, you can write a check, you can give cash — we still do that. Or go online to EmergeInternationalChurch.org, and there’s a Give button at the top right. Let’s pray. Father, we thank You today for this privilege and honor we have to worship You in our giving. We bring all the seed we have — our tithes, our offerings, everything You bless us with today — and we sow into Your kingdom, Lord Jesus. Take this seed and multiply it. Let Your will and purpose be accomplished here on the earth, and lives be touched, changed, transformed. We give You praise for today, Father. Amen.
Father, for this opportunity to get into the Word, we come before You right now and yield our hearts to You again, Lord. Thank You for giving us eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand as we come to learn of You today, to glorify Your name. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been talking about the power of God’s presence, looking at Deuteronomy 31:8. Moses is talking to Joshua and to the children of Israel here, but he’s also speaking to all of God’s people, and we’ll get more into that today. Today the title is “The Power of His Presence: Nor Forsake You.” Let’s read Deuteronomy 31:8: “And the Lord, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Do not fear nor be dismayed.” We see four key things. He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you — as we saw last week, that word “not” could be translated, He will never leave you. Never, never, never. Throughout all time and eternity, God is here with us. Nor will He forsake us. That’s what we’re going to focus on today.
The phrase “He will never leave you” emphasizes God’s refusal to depart from us. Then Moses goes on: “nor forsake you.” What’s the difference? The Hebrew word translated “forsake” means to leave — okay, we got that. But it also means to depart from, to leave someone behind, to let them go it alone. And the more powerful essence of this word: it means to abandon, to neglect, to leave behind, to give up on. Think about that. God is saying, I will not leave you behind. I will not abandon you. I will not neglect you. I’m not going to give up on you. It also means to quit, to leave entirely, to renounce, to reject — this is it, I’m never having anything to do with you again. It means to desert, with no intention of returning or helping or supporting. To relinquish, to withdraw anything I may have given you, any help I promised. God is saying He will never give up on us. He will never abandon us. It’s not that God won’t walk away — He says He will never leave us — but God will not abandon us. He will not abandon His responsibility toward you. God, through His promise and His word, has taken responsibility for each of us, and He’s saying He’s never going to abandon us. He will always be here with us and be responsible for us.
So here are three little “will nots.” He will not decide that you are no longer worth pursuing. You are always worth pursuing. He will not withdraw His covenant commitment because the circumstances have become difficult. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are — God’s word is true, and He is faithful to His promise. He will not say, sorry, you’re on your own now. God has never said that to anyone. Remember: God is for us. He is with us. He will not abandon us.
The second point: “nor forsake you” speaks to God’s faithfulness. This is especially significant in Deuteronomy, because Israel is about to enter the promised land. They’re stepping into a totally new season. You ever stepped into a new season of your life and felt like, Lord, where are we going? What are You doing here? Think about this. Moses is leaving. Moses has let everybody know, my time has come to an end; Joshua is going to take leadership. And here they stand before another river. The Jordan lies ahead. The enemies are behind and ahead. Israel’s future is uncertain — but God’s faithfulness is not uncertain. And there’s the key. Your circumstances may be changing, but God is saying, My commitment to you is not. I am here with you, standing firm. I’m taking responsibility. Trust Me. Follow Me. God’s faithfulness does not depend upon the stability of the circumstances surrounding His people. It doesn’t matter about the economy, politics, weather, heat advisories, all the stuff we dealt with this summer and last winter. God is still faithful to His word. He is stable, founded on a strong foundation, no matter the current circumstances. You may be facing a lot of challenge right now. I’ve just had a friend call me Friday. He and his family are going through a really hard time because of the situation they’re dealing with. But he knows this: God is stable. God’s got a way through it, and God’s going to show him the way, and we’re agreeing in prayer with them.
God gave us His promise in Philippians 4:13, from the Amplified Classic: “I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me.” Stop right there. Where’s the power coming from? Christ. And where is Christ? In us. He’s within us. So we have strength for all things in Christ who empowers us. “We are ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into us. We are self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency.” Not in our own sufficiency — in Christ’s. If you’re in Christ, He’s in you, and you have the answer. You have the strength to overcome. You have the resources, because He is your source and supply. He liberally supplies. God is faithful.
Third point: there’s a beautiful difference between these two words, “leave” and “forsake.” “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The two phrases belong together, but they aren’t saying the same thing. Moses wasn’t saying the same thing twice. Think of it this way: “He will never leave you” — He will not depart from you. “Nor forsake you” — He will not abandon you. “He will never leave you” emphasizes His continuing presence. “Nor forsake you” emphasizes His continuing commitment. You know when you’re going through something, praying and surrendering to God, and the peace of God comes on you like you can’t explain it? I’ve had it happen many times in my life. There can be chaos going on all around me, and I’m at perfect peace. In fact, Pastor Conia says I’ve gotten so good at it that she wonders sometimes — are you okay? Do you see what’s happening? But God is with us, and He also is committed to us. This whole promise could be stated like this: I will remain with you, and I will never give up on you. I don’t care what you’re going through, what’s happening, what somebody else is doing or saying. I will never give up on you. God is with you. God is in you. God is for you. God works through you. And He has promised this for all eternity. You may not even be able to imagine all eternity, but for all eternity, He will never leave you nor forsake you.
I shared this with some of the people here in the room, but I want to share it with you online, because we just celebrated my mom’s ninetieth birthday. When she was about thirty-four, thirty-five years old, she had a near-death experience. Something was going on in her digestive tract — it was just knotted up — and they were trying to help her. She was laying on the table, and she said all of a sudden she was up above herself, watching the doctors. She was out of her body, and one of the doctors said, “Get her husband here now,” and the other one was trying to get her back. And she said it wasn’t weird or anything. She was at perfect peace. She looked at her body and went, ooh. There was this bright light behind her, and she turned around and it was Jesus, and she was so excited. She stepped toward Him, and He said, “Hey, Barbara.” She goes, “Hey, Lord. Oh wow, this is awesome.” And He goes, “Yeah. I need you to go back.” And she went, “Why? My husband and the boys will be fine. I know they’re going to be okay.” And He goes, “I know. But there are people I need you to touch, and nobody else can touch them but you. I really do need you to go back.” She said, “I looked at Him and said okay, and woke up in pain.” But she didn’t let that experience pass by her. She told me, “I saw the other side. I know where we’re going. Death is not a thing to be feared. It’s just a transition from here to there.” God is going to be with us throughout eternity. She said, I’ve already seen it. I know what’s coming. So as long as God wants me here, I’m here. In light of eternity, even ninety to a hundred years is just a short time — not even a full day in eternal perspective. My point in sharing that is this: there’s always hope. There’s always a future God has for us that is more and better. He will not leave you or forsake you for all eternity.
The fourth thing: forsaking is the opposite of covenant faithfulness. God is faithful to His covenant, His promises, His word. Throughout the Old Testament, God repeatedly demonstrates He is faithful to His covenant. Even when His people aren’t faithful, He’s faithful. There were times Israel wandered off — God was still faithful. Times Israel failed — God was still faithful. Times Israel became afraid and wouldn’t make the move they needed — God was still faithful. Times Israel thought, this isn’t working, I’m going to go serve some other god, and they would make an image and sacrifice to it — God was still faithful. God did not abandon His covenant. That doesn’t mean He just ignored their actions. There were consequences they had to bear because of the choices they made. Scripture teaches that God disciplines us and corrects us. But here’s what that means: that’s not judgment. God disciplining you and correcting you is not judgment. It’s not abandonment. His correction and discipline is evidence that He still believes in you, that He has not abandoned you, and He wants you to know for sure: this is the right way. This is the best way. When God corrects us — you know, you didn’t quite get that right, you missed it this time, but that’s okay — He’s not demeaning us or putting us down. He’s saying, I want you to see what was wrong here so you can know that what I’m about to show you is the right way. Walk in this. God so loves you, He will not just let you wander off in ignorance. He will correct you and teach you. What did He say through James? If any of you lack wisdom, come and ask — and who gives? Liberally. God’s ready to teach us and show us the way.
The New Testament picks up this exact promise. Hebrews 13:5: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” The message is still: God will not abandon you. He believes in you. He does not change. He is faithful to His word throughout all eternity. And then Hebrews 13:6: “So we may say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’” You say, yeah, but what if they kill me? Great. You’re going to be in a much better place, living a much better life than you are right now. They don’t know what they’re doing. It’s like Scripture says: if Satan had known what was going to happen when he had Jesus crucified, he wouldn’t have done it. God fooled him, and they brought redemption for all mankind. People think they’re getting rid of you. No. They’re just elevating you to the next level. This confidence in Christ doesn’t come from knowing everything will work out exactly the way we think. It comes from knowing God will not forsake me. God believes in me. He cares for me.
And here’s a fifth thing: “forsake” becomes very powerful when we understand it from this perspective. Jesus experienced something unique on the cross, and you may not have thought about this before. Matthew 27:46: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” Why did You abandon me, God? Why did You walk away from me? That’s what Jesus is saying. That cry takes us into the deepest mystery of Christ’s suffering and redemption, the power of His redemption. He suffered abandonment for us so that we do not ever have to suffer it. We will never be forsaken. As we trust in Him and walk in Him, we won’t be forsaken, ever. And Jesus reinforces this promise after His resurrection. He tells His disciples, Matthew 28:20: “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” While we live on this earth, the whole time, He is with you always. It doesn’t matter what the enemy is trying to tell you, what the world system is telling you. God is here with us right now. And when we go from here into eternity, we step into the fullness of His presence in a way we can’t imagine.
So let’s summarize: God will never abandon His relationship with you, never withdraw His covenant faithfulness from you, never give up on you. Never. He will never leave you — He will remain with you. Nor will He forsake you — He will not give up on you. If you don’t walk away with anything else today, take that to heart: God will never give up on you. When the enemy is coming against you, when people are coming against you — okay, Lord, I trust You, because I know You won’t give up on me. You’re going to make a way. You’re going to show me the way. You’re going to help me get through this. You’re going to teach me how. God will not give up on you. He loves you. He will never fail you. And knowing that God will never give up on you means this: don’t give up on yourself. Don’t give up on you. You keep trusting and seeking the Lord. He’s not giving up on you, so you shouldn’t give up on you, because He, together with you, will bring you to that place He has for you. That is the heart of God’s covenant faithfulness in that phrase: nor forsake you. He will not give up on you.
Father, we thank You for this time today. We thank You for Your word, Your promise to us that You will never abandon us, never leave us behind. You will not forsake us, Lord. You will not give up on us. Thank You for helping us run the race, helping us push through to that place You have prepared for us. Thank You for making a way for us today. Father, I pray for everyone who’s listening today who’s going through something: that they would just turn their hearts to You and say, Lord, I trust You with this, and begin to worship You, declare Your word over that mountain in front of them. May they trust You with this, Lord, and see how You work on their behalf, because You are not giving up on them. We thank You for that, Father. In Jesus’ name. Pastor Conia is coming right now with some closing thoughts and a prayer. God bless you. Have a great week.
You know, this is a time of transition for many, many kids in school, and it reminded me of when I was in school and a kid would say they’re going to move away, and we would pull back from that kid, because we already started to feel the abandonment even before they actually moved. And then it kind of reminded me of some of our kids, or even us as children, where we push our parents away to see if they’ll still love us. Will you still love me if I misbehave, if I act out in ways that I should not? And God sees us when we do that, and He’s not human. So we can’t project our human experience onto God. We need to remember that God is spirit, and God is ultimate, and God will never do those things to us that humans might do in the shadow of our bad behavior. So no matter what you’ve done, no matter where you’ve been, no matter what you’ve experienced, you can’t push God far away. He will not abandon you, nor will He forsake you. No matter what human experience you’ve had, He’s right there with you every single time, in the spirit. Father, thank You that You don’t leave us. Thank You that there’s nothing we could do to push You far away from us. That no matter how we’ve misbehaved, Lord, You are right here when we decide to get our act together — and You love us whether we’ve got our act together or not. We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen. Y’all have a great week.
