“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8 KJV
Jesus said, “I and the Father are one – if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” If Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever, then the Father and the Holy Spirit are the same yesterday, and today, and forever. They never change – you can depend upon them to always be constant and consistent. You can depend upon God and you can depend upon His Word.
Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. Isaiah 48:6 KJV
God never changes, but He has hidden things that we don’t know about. He has many new things to tell us and to show us – when we are ready to receive them.
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Malachi 3:6 KJV
God’s character and nature remain the same – above all else He is a merciful God. Because He does not change, He is always looking for an opportunity to pour out His mercy rather than His wrath. When God pours out His wrath, it is because His mercy was not received. We can see from the Bible that God had to withdraw His hand of protection and blessing from Israel many times because of their sin, disobedience and rebellion, and yet, He never did utterly destroy them. Religion and the devil have portrayed God as a killer and a destroyer, but that is a lie!! He is first of all, loving, caring, compassionate and merciful. It is only when He withdraws His hand from the life of a rebellious child that they experience the pain of being in the devil’s territory. For all the awful things that men have done to God and against Him – if God was as bad as they say, then we should all have been wiped out a long time ago. No – He is a good and a merciful God and He does not change and that is why we have a hope and a future!
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 KJV
God’s new thing is always a way of mercy, love, provision and blessing. Father God will reach out to us to bless us with whatever we will humbly receive from Him. It is not that He doesn’t have it; it is not that He won’t give it to us; it is that we don’t know how to reach out and receive it because many times our heart attitude and our motivation are wrong.
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:31-34 KJV
God loves doing new things in our lives. He loves to show us His heart and His character and His mercy. It gave Him great pleasure and satisfaction to offer us this New Covenant, even though it was established at the great price of the precious blood of His only begotten Son. God delighted in outwitting the devil and bringing men into a relationship and a covenant with Himself that could not be annulled or broken. You have to understand that the devil (when it suits him) is a legalist and if he caught God in a lie, then He, and we, would be in big trouble. God cannot and will not violate His own Word. The devil will never catch God out in a lie, but he is always trying. God follows the rules and we must follow the rules – if we want to receive the blessing!
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:21-26 KJV
The good news for this New Year is that God’s mercies and compassions are new every morning. It does not matter what mistakes you have made, what sins you have committed – if you will humble your heart before the Lord, God’s grace is enough to wash away your sin and to restore you into fellowship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit once again.