And maybe you're going through the mill, you're going through some things, some things you may have been going through for quite a while, and you're wondering, where is this faithful God? Where is this reliable God in the midst of my trial? Well, in 1 Peter 4, and in verse number 19, it says, "...Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their soul to Him in well-doing as unto a faithful Creator." Our God is faithful. Our God is reliable. He is reasonable, He is a rewarder, and He is righteous. What a Heavenly Father we have. The Bible says that the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. Welcome to Pulpit Power featuring Pastor Tony Skeving, Senior Pastor of Fargo Baptist Church in Fargo, North Dakota. Today's message was previously preached before a church audience. And now, here's Pastor Skeving. Let's take our Bibles, please, and turn to Zephaniah, Chapter 3. That's right, Zephaniah, Chapter 3. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Zephaniah, right? It's, I'll give you a hint, after Habakkuk, okay? That narrows it down. Oh, if you need more of a hint, Habakkuk is after Nahum. So you're practically there right now, right? But anyway, Zephaniah chapter 3. I remember when, I guess my daughter was a few months along and her and her husband had an ultrasound, and I saw for the first time the ultrasound of my grandson. And that was followed, I think, by an audio a short time afterwards of the heartbeat, and then there were, of course, pictures when the baby was born, and then there were more pictures the next day, and more pictures the next week, and more pictures the next month. And I, honestly, there has probably been somewhere around a zillion pictures, I think, taken of him. But what that says to me is, obviously, the parents are proud of their child. And the point with that is this, we have a Heavenly Father. And I want you to see from this passage and others today that He loves His kids and He is proud of His kids. In fact, here's an amazing verse in Zephaniah chapter 3, verse number 17. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing." Wow. We have been in a little series entitled, What a Heavenly Father We Have. What a Heavenly Father We Have. We're going to talk more about that, but let's pray first. Father, we come before Thee at this time overwhelmed by the fact You would condescend to even acknowledge us. much more love us and feel this way about us as we read in this verse. Help us, dear Lord, to get a scriptural aspect of what we mean to Thee, and Lord, may it change perhaps an erroneous impression that we have of Thee. We ask this now in Jesus' precious name. Amen. You know, the average person, if you ask them what they think of God, they would say, well, we know He's holy, and He's high, and He's just, and He punishes sin, they would paint that picture of God. And there's not anything on Scripture with that, but it's only one side of God. And if you find somebody like that, it's normally the same person who thinks that God is unapproachable, and He's distant, and He's aloof, and He stiff-arms us, and He really is too high and holy to mess with us, and He's untouchable. And as a result, the average person has a robotic relationship with God. They don't know Him intimately and closely, But God made us originally in His image. In fact, we find in Genesis 1 that the Trinity gets together and says, let us make man in our image after our likeness. And so in some way we're like God, and in some way God is like us. May I say there is this human side, and please know I have tongue-in-cheek when I say it, but there's this human side of God because He made us like He is, and it's not that God is like us, but we're like God, so we can look at some of the qualities we have and find them in God, because God made us in His image. There are similarities, and it's more than just the Trinity. I mean, we are a Trinity, body, soul, and spirit, and God is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but there's so much more to it. There's so much more about us that parallels God. And it would really help us to understand God if we look at some of those things. God loves His kids. God thinks about His kids. Speaking of the ultrasound, I remember, and of our five children, we only had an ultrasound on the last one, and I remember seeing that ultrasound, and I remember seeing that silhouette, and thinking when she was born how much she looks just like the ultrasound. She looks like me, by the way, but that's another sermon. But anyway, she's coming up tomorrow on her 16th birthday, my youngest. It's been a rough week with a lot going on, and earlier on today the Skevings were trying to figure out how to squeeze in some little kind of a celebration someplace, and there was just nowhere. We finally found it tomorrow night at about nine o'clock. We'll try and get together and do something. But we were working on getting all the arrangements worked out, and my daughter overheard us, And I said, I turned to her and I said, you don't have to wonder if you're loved, do you? And she said, no. She doesn't have to wonder if she's loved. Kids shouldn't have to wonder if they're loved. We feel that way about our kids, but imagine God feeling that way about his kids. God feeling that way about you. You say, well, that's too human, pastor. But wait a minute. Again, we were made in his image. Genesis 1, we find out God says, let us make man in our image after our likeness. And so there are some things that we can connect here. And one is that God is a father. God is a Father. There's no mistake in that. As you study the Bible, you find verses like Deuteronomy 32.6. It says, "...is not He thy Father that hath bought thee? Hath He not made thee?" Notice it says, "...is not He thy Father?" Even in His role as Creator, we find Him identified in the Bible as a Father. Isaiah 64.8 says, "...but now, O Lord, Thou art our Father." We are the clay. and thou art our potter, and we are the work of thy hands." So he is a creator, he made us, but in that process we find he's also called a father. Now as a father he meets needs. Fathers meet needs. In Matthew 6.8 Jesus says, your father knoweth what things you have need of before you ask him. God knows what we need and God meets our needs. What a heavenly father we have. He loves us enough to do those things for us. By the way, He loves us enough to stop us when we're going in the wrong direction, and to straighten us out, to turn us around. In fact, we correct our kids, and in the same way God corrects His kids. I find God talking to David as he's getting old and soon to die, and saying, you're going to have a son, Solomon, who's going to sit on the throne, and if he commit iniquity, I will chasten him. And that sounds like, but no, that's a good thing. I think that kids whose parents care enough to correct them know they're loved because their folks make that investment in them. And I think in the same way we have a God who cares enough about us to make an investment in us and stop us in our tracks when we are messing up and correct us because a good father corrects. A good father also instructs. A good father also instructs. In Proverbs chapter 1, the Bible says in verse 8, My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother." Here we find the wise man saying, son, hear this instruction from your dad, because a good father instructs. That's his job to instruct. Do you instruct your kids? I think one of the greatest blessings of being a parent is being able to do that as you're driving in the car, as you're sitting at the table, or whatever it might be, to be able to explain life to them. I mean, you've been around the block, they haven't. You've had experiences they haven't had. And you have knowledge they don't. And you can really give them some expertise, a wealth of it, by teaching them, by instructing them. I love doing that with my two daughters now that are left at home. The job of a father is to instruct. And we find here that God, as a father, instructs. He says, hear the instruction of thy father. It's also a father's job to guide. to steer. Hosea 11.3, God says, I taught Israel also taking them by their arms. I just love it when I picture it. God says, I taught Israel by taking their arms. My grandson at this time is learning to walk. How does he do that? You take his arms. It's so precious. And guiding him in his steps by taking his arms. God says, give me your arms. Alright, I will guide you through this. I will show you the right path to take here. Jeremiah 3.4 says he is our guide from our youth. Now, a good dad also exhorts, and a good dad also encourages. God does that as a heavenly father. In 1 Thessalonians 2.11, the apostle said, He exhorts and comforts and charges every one of you as a father doth his children. It's the job of a dad to exhort and comfort and charge every one of his children. Well, God's a father, and God does that with us. Now it's the father's responsibility also to nourish. God says in Isaiah 1-2, I have nourished and brought up children. That's what God does. He nourishes us. In fact, Jesus says in Matthew 7, if a son asked Brad, Will God give him a stone? No. Now, back in our text here in Zephaniah 3 again, verse 17 is glorious. It says, That's where the relationship starts there, when we get saved, when we're born again. Now notice also, He will rejoice over thee with joy. Can you picture like a father over a crib with a newborn just rejoicing? God rejoicing over us with joy? And then it goes on and it says, He will rest in His love. That word rest in the Hebrew means be silent. Think of it. God silent in His love for you. Just musing and thinking of you and loving you in His heart as He does. Not saying a word, but just all that feeling is in there. And then it says, He will joy over thee with singing. Can you imagine God singing about you? Walking and talking and singing about you as His child? I mean, it's hard to picture. We don't picture God like that. But you know, the very thought of us bringing God this kind of joy ought to warm our hearts. Because according to the Bible, He does. You know, God was a Father before He was anything else. We spoke a moment ago about His creation and all that, but in eternity past, before God was anything else in relation to us, He was a Father. Before creating, and sustaining, and redeeming, and being your friend, and being your comforter, and a number of other things, He is a Father first and foremost. We find that in the Bible. So we've had this series here and it's really to repair any damaged impression that you might have about God. Because, well, I've said it before, the most common impression we have of God is our earthly dad. And it's unavoidable. It's built in us. We're wired that way. And my dad was not perfect, but he was my hero. And I'm thankful that I had a great dad. But maybe you had a less than a perfect dad. I don't know. I've just heard a number of sad stories over the years. And there are a number of people, and they grew up in a home where that authority let them down. And so now they look at God like that. Well, He's going to let me down too. They have this skewed, erroneous picture of God in their mind. Or maybe the first impression they were ever given about God is still stuck with them, and they can't let go of that. I know that first impressions really make the biggest impression on us quite often. I remember my first impression of God as I was being taught in kind of a religious class was that God was stern, and God was rigid. And Jesus was a little bit better, but still kind of like, And the Holy Spirit is like, you know, spooky and mystical and you couldn't understand Him, that's what we were told. But Mary, Mary, she was approachable. Or the saints, you could pray to them and you could get to God through them. And these are people on our level, so let's work through them. Totally unscriptural, totally unscriptural. God's not like that, Christ isn't like that, Holy Spirit's not like that. In fact, that picture of God is the same impression that Muslim people have, and I'm not saying anything they wouldn't admit to you. To them, God is very stern and angry and aloof and unconcerned with His creation, and that's really the first impression I had of God. Now, salvation can correct that, and I'm thankful for that. The Bible can correct that. Jesus said, you shall know the truth, And the truth shall make you, what? Free. Free of erroneous thinking. So what is God really like? What a father we have. Let's talk about him. First of all, he's righteous. He is righteous. That is very important for us to know. Who wants a crooked dad? You know, I've thought before about kids who've been brought up in the mafia. And dad is slippery, and dad is shifty, and shady, and he's a cheat, and he's a liar, and he's crooked. How would you like to have a dad like that? and be ashamed of him. I'm thinking of a family I knew years ago and all the kids were crooked and thieves and liars and I thought, how'd they get this way? And then I got to finding out their dad is exactly like that. It's no small wonder they're that way. I'm thinking of a president in the past that was known for lie after lie after lie after lie and then later on adultery and womanizing and all these things and I thought, How would you like to be the daughter of somebody like that, and be ashamed of your dad? Be ashamed of him. You know, I think of a number of dads who are druggies, and they don't provide for their families, they're drunks, and they're deadbeats, and they're womanizers, and they have led their children down the wrong path. There are a lot of dads like that. There are a lot of dads out there that are poor impersonations, if you will, or impressions of God. But God is righteous. Our God is righteous. In fact, turn to Psalm 99 if you would. He is good. He is righteous. Our side, if you will, is the good side. Our leader, if you will, our head, is righteous. In Psalm 99 and in verse number 3. It says, Let them praise thy great and terrible name, that means awesome or reverent name, for it is holy. The name of God is holy. God is holy. Look at verse 5. Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool, for he is holy. We have a Heavenly Father who is holy. We have a Heavenly Father who is righteous. And we don't stop and think of this, but it could be the other way around. What if the devil was the good guy, and God was the ungodly, if you want to call Him that? Aren't you glad that the side you're on is the winning side? And it is. I've read the last chapter. We win. That's great news. But our side is also the righteous side. The devil is going to lose in the end. He is a loser. And He is wicked, He is evil, He is ungodly. I'm so glad our Heavenly Father is righteous." There are those who actually worship and follow the devil, if you can imagine that. What a dead end! God is righteous. Look at Psalm 99 again, verse 9. It says, "...exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill, for the Lord our God is holy. We have a holy God. We have a righteous God. We have a God that when Isaiah got just a glimpse of him in Isaiah chapter 6, he heard this holy, holy, holy, and he felt his sinfulness. God is righteous. Exodus 15 11 says, Who is like unto thee, O Lord, glorious in holiness, glorious in holiness. In fact, Habakkuk 1 3 I thought of having you turn there, too. But Habakkuk 1.13 actually says, "...of God thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity." God is of purer eyes than to behold evil. You know why the sun went down when Jesus Christ was hanging on the cross? Because Christ took our sin upon Himself. And God is of pure eyes and to behold sin. That's why Christ said, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? God had turned His back on His own Son because His Son became sin. He took our sin. The Bible says of God, He's of pure eyes than to behold sin, and He can't not look on iniquity. God is righteous. Remember when the rich young ruler came running to Christ, kind of slid in on his knees and said, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Remember when Christ said, Why callest thou me good? Was He inferring that He wasn't? No. There are some, the cultists, who say, Well, He says right there, He's not good. No, He didn't say that. Christ is sinless. He's flawless. He is faultless. He wasn't saying that at all. He was simply making a point. Why callest thou me good? There is none good but God. He was actually saying, I'm God. He was proclaiming his deity there. But he made a point in the process that God is good, God is righteous, God is holy. Look back in Psalm 89 if you would. Now maybe your dad wasn't so righteous, so holy if you will. Let me just say this. Parents, start a generation of righteousness to where at least your kids will be able to say, well, my dad was good, my dad was holy, my dad was righteous. There was a story I heard about a dad who had three sons, this claimed to be a Christian home, and those sons were out playing in the woods and they found this all-black dog, a Labrador, except for four white hairs on his back. And he was just wandering around, so the boys brought him home, and they said, Dad, can we keep him? His dad said, well, you know, I guess. You know, we don't know whose dog he is. A word got around the neighborhood whose dog it was, and it was a lady there, and she heard that the dog was at this home of this guy, and his three sons had taken him home, so she went there, knocked on the door, and she said, I hear you have my black dog. Actually, she was coming, and the dad, before she got there, removed the four white hairs. So that when she came in, the dog recognized her, but he didn't have the hairs on the back that we were supposed to. And the boys kept the dog because she couldn't find those hairs. But the dad lost the sons because of his slipperiness, because of his shiftiness. You know, in contrast to that, I heard a dad, he raised three sons, all turned out to be preachers. When the dad died, there was this preacher friend of the whole family who came to this reunion, and at the reunion he said, the boys, you had such a godly heritage, what was the secret of this home? And the boys all looked at each other and winked and said, we can show you. They took that man upstairs to the attic, And there in the attic, there was a chair in the corner, and next to the chair in the corner, there were two grooves worn into the floor, into the wood. The grooves were where the dad had knelt many, many times and prayed for those boys as well as other things. And in the process, it actually worn away at the wood there, and they said, that's the secret. That's the secret. A godly dad. You know, my pastor used to say his dad, many times, would be seen in the home reading the Bible with a tear in the corner of his eye. We need to leave a godly heritage for our children. I was thinking of Brother Clayton when he was here recently, and he's getting up there now, and you just don't know how many years he has left. But I think of what a godly heritage he's left behind. And his kids love him, and his kids respect him, because he's been a holy and a righteous man all these years. Our Heavenly Father is righteous. Let's represent God well. In Psalm 89 and in verse number 14, the psalmist says, Notice, God, you're just, you are right. Justice and judgment are the habitation of your throne. Look in Psalm 108, if you would. Our God is righteous. In fact, the Bible says He cannot lie in Titus 1-2. It's impossible for God to lie. Hebrews 6-18. That is how righteous our God is. In Psalm 108, and in verse number 4, The Bible says, "'For thy mercy is great above the heavens, and thy truth reaches unto the clouds.'" Our God is truth. Our God is honest. Our God cannot lie. They kiddingly say, how do you know when a politician's lying? Well, they say, look to see if his mouth is moving. It's not that bad, at least not with all of them. But when the devil's mouth is moving, you can count on it. He is a liar. He is a father of lies. And Jesus says, when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is the father of lies. But the true God is just, and he is holy, and he is pure, and he is undefiled, and he is chaste, and reverent, and unspotted, and a thousand other things. God is righteous. I'm thankful for that. But secondly, God is a rewarder. God is a rewarder. He loves to reward His children. Now, I love to reward my children. And we've done things over the years that if they do this and that, we go out and we have a little treat or whatever it might be, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's not a continual thing you want to do to have to bribe them to do everything. But when they're a blessing, you reward them. God delights in that. God is a rewarder. It starts with salvation. Hebrews 11.6 says, He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Have you had a time when you sought the Lord in salvation and you found the reward of being born again? He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Turn to Matthew chapter 6 if you would. God is righteous and God is also a rewarder. In the Sermon on the Mount, we find Jesus Christ making that point here actually a few times. In Matthew 6, notice verse number 4, He speaks of that, Notice the word in that verse, Father, and the word reward. God rewards us. Notice verse number 18, says that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy father which is in secret, and thy father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. He is a father who rewards. Look, if you would, in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 9. We've been studying this book here every week. We haven't quite gotten to this yet. But it's a tremendous promise, one of thousands in the Bible, from the Word of God, and it involves God rewarding us. In Mark 9 and in verse 41, Christ said, For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. there is going to be a reward for serving Him. Our Father is generous and gracious, and the reward is actually a hundredfold. That's the interest rate. A hundred-fold interest. I've heard somebody say, well that must mean 10,000%. Maybe it does. But I've heard others say, no, it's like taking something and folding it 100 times. You just keep compounding it and folding it over a hundred times. I don't know how many that is, but it is huge interest. Look in Luke, as long as we're in the Gospels, in the 6th chapter. Luke chapter 6. Our Father is a rewarder. In verse 22 of Luke 6, Christ says, Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil for the sin of man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. There's a great reward because we have a Father who loves to reward. 1 Corinthians 3.8 says, every man shall receive his reward. Hebrews 6 says, God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love. He's going to reward you for it. I used to love to give my kids a few bucks whenever we went into the dollar store and watch their little face light up. And I knew we'd be there a while because, boy, they're going to pick out something and it's going to take them a while. But they were so excited at something so small as a few bucks there. Well, we find out that God rewards us, and not just in salvation. Here's a verse that I love, and it talks about life after salvation. I'll just read it to you. Romans 8, 32, says, He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? God gives us things. God rewards us. God is a Father. Look in the Revelation, the book of the Revelation and the 22nd chapter. You know, the Bible speaks of God even rewarding His own with crowns. Crowns throughout eternity. There's the incorruptible crown. And that is a crown given for a dynamic Christian life lived or an effective Christian life lived. There's the crown of rejoicing. That's the soul winner's crown. Those of you who witness and you're faithful in that area, there's a crown of rejoicing awaiting you. Then there's the crown of righteousness. You know what that's all about? If you're anxious for the second coming of Christ and living as though the Lord could come at any moment, that's the crown of righteousness. Then there's the crown of life. That's a crown that goes to those who endured a lot of trials. You say, well, I hate those things. Well, there's a special crown for enduring those trials. And then there's the crown of glory, and that's for those in leadership and example and so on and so forth. But you know, people are funny, they'll work a job for 20, 30, 40 years, and retire and get a little party and a gold watch, and say, wow, what a reward! Well, imagine a hundred-fold reward in eternity, and crowns for those who serve the Lord faithfully down here. In Revelation 22, and in verse number 12, Christ says, Behold, I come quickly, And my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be." God is coming back and going to reward those. I mean, your tithe alone, think of that. Faith promise giving, think of that. Inviting people to church. I mean, if a cup of cold water gives you a hundredfold, imagine spiritually doing something for God, giving something to God. You know, the Bank of Jerusalem years ago figured out how much that two mites would be worth that the little widow woman gave away as she cast it into the treasury there. And think of it, it's been 2,000 years, and they said, well, even at like 4.5% compound interest, They said today it would be worth a figure, and it was a 5 with I think 21 zeros behind it. I don't even know if there's such a number like that. But that's how much wealth it would be today, because of 4.5% interest. But imagine a hundredfold reward. Our Father rewards us. You're giving, you're witnessing, you're spending your life for something that will outlast this life. Our Father is a righteous Father, He is a rewarding Father. Thirdly, He is a reasonable Father. He was a reasonable father. Now, us dads can be occasionally unreasonable. I know that to be true. In fact, we can box ourselves into a corner and just be plain wrong. We have a little expression in our family when somebody's wrong and it becomes real evident, we just kind of clear our throat and say, okay then, you know, let's just move on, you know. Fatherhood can lend itself to being unreasonable, but God says, come now, let us reason together. Isaiah 118, right? God is a reasonable God. In fact, back in Isaiah, turn there if you would, there's several verses that speak of our God being reasonable. Isaiah 41, turn there if you would. You know, to make God sound somewhat flexible is taboo. I understand that. God is righteous, and right is right, wrong is wrong, and this is cut, and that's dried, and so on. But God is also practical, and a God that we can appeal to. And even in the New Testament, it speaks of things that God has winked at, and there's quite a sermon there. God is reasonable. In Isaiah 41, and in verse number 21, God says, produce your cause, saith the Lord. Bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Here's God saying, let's reason with this matter here. Bring forth your reasoning. Bring it up to the table here. Let's talk this thing out. That's amazing to me. In fact, turn to chapter 43. In Isaiah 43, and in verse number 25, God says, I, even I, How reasonable is that? Our God here is talking to His kids, and He's willing to hear us out? And in verse 26 he goes on, he says, Put me in remembrance. Let us plead together. Declare thou that thou mayest be justified. Okay, remind me of what the issue is here. Put me in remembrance. Let us plead together. God wouldn't have to do that. I mean, God could just snuff us out, but he says, no, let's talk. Let's reason this thing out here. Come to the table. I find in the book of Hosea where Israel had gotten so bad, God said, Israel, turn to his idols, let them alone. But then you read on in Hosea, and it's like God's heart is kindled as he muses about the past history of his people. And he gets up to, I think it's chapter 11, and he says, how can I forget thee? He says, how can I give thee up? My repentings are kindled together. And then he says, I can't. I won't. It's like he has mixed emotions. God is reasonable. We see his very human side, if you will. And again, is it that he's like us? No. Or are we like him? Yes. God is willing to reason with us. Ezekiel 18, if you would turn there, we find once again that God can be appealed to He is reasonable, He is appealing or appealable in Ezekiel chapter 18 and in verses 31. Notice, cast away from you all your transgressions, God says, whereby you have transgressed, and make you a new heart and a new spirit. For why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord. Wherefore, turn yourselves and live ye. Here's God making an appeal. God being reasonable. Romans 10.21 says, all day long, God says, I have stretched forth my hand to a disobedient people. There you find God being reasonable and appealing. In Proverbs 1 and in verse number 23, God says, turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you. I will make known my words unto you. God says, turn you at my reproof, please. God is slow to anger. God is quick to forgive. God punishes us less than our iniquities deserve, and it's a last resort. He's not an ogre. He's not a dictator. He's not a tyrant. In fact, He is faithful to not allow us to be tempted above that which we're able. God is reasonable. And He even says, faithful is he that calleth you who will also do it. If you're overwhelmed, God will do it for you. We have a God that even wanted to relate so much to us, He sent His Son to die on the cross for us. And He was in all points tempted like as we are, of course, yet without sin. We have a very, very reasonable God. And then finally and quickly, He is reliable. He is reliable. I heard about a fella, his name was Lee Fortier, he lived in Quebec, and for 52 years, every church service, he rung the bell without missing one time. And we would say, well, that's reliable. Well, we have a God who is reliable. In fact, turn back to the Psalms quickly here, if you would. Psalm 36. I'll just give you a few verses, and then we'll close. You know, the Bible says, speaks of thy faithful God who is faithful unto a thousand generations, keeping commandments unto a thousand generations. God is faithful. God is reliable. In Psalm 36, look at verse 5. The psalmist says, Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. God's faithfulness reaches into the heavens. Notice in Psalm 89, if you will, this Bible has over 7,500 promises in it, and God has been faithful and reliable to keep all of them. In Psalm 89 and in verse 1, the psalmist said, God is faithful. God is reliable. And maybe as I close, you're going through the mill, you're going through some things, Some things you may have been going through for quite a while, and you're wondering, where is this faithful God? Where is this reliable God in the midst of my trial? Well, in 1 Peter 4, and in verse number 19, here's a promise I'll give to you. It says, Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their soul to Him in well-doing as unto a faithful. Creator. Our God is faithful. Our God is reliable. He is reasonable. He is a rewarder. And He is righteous. What a Heavenly Father we have. You've been listening to Pastor Tony Skeving of the Fargo Baptist Church in Fargo, North Dakota. If you would like a CD of today's message, you can obtain one by sending a gift of $2 to Fargo Baptist Church, 3303 23rd Avenue South, Fargo, North Dakota, 58103. That address again, Fargo Baptist Church, 3303 23rd Avenue South Fargo, North Dakota 58103. We hope you'll join Pastor Skeving next time right here on Pulpit Power. Pulpit Power is a production of Heaven 88.7.