What does "the Notebook" have to do with God's Faithfulness?

Last week a friend of mine encouraged me to watch a particular movie. No, it wasn’t you encouraging me to watch “V for Vendetta”. It was my friend Will who encouraged me to watch “the Notebook”. I figure mostly girls would have seen it. After all, where there is no violence or sports involved in a movie, rarely will a man watch it…except, of course, if his girlfriend wants him too.

Anyways, he encouraged me to watch it so, on Wednesday, Anne and I rented it. Might I say, I was impressed. I liked it. I’m not ashamed to admit it.

For anyone who doesn’t know what it is, I’m going to show a clip, but I need to give some background info before I do.

Background:
- In the movie an older man is reading a love story to an older woman about Noah and Allie – no Brokeback Mountain here
- It is about a wealthy girl and a country boy who fight the odds and end up sharing a love unmatched anywhere else.
- As the man is reading this love story, it become clear that Allie, the older woman, has Alzheimer’s. However, the man is still unknown, but it is clear he is the husband.
- At one point in the movie, Allie and the man’s grown kids come and visit. Allie doesn’t recognize them. After Allie leaves, the grown children try to convince the man that he should come home – that mom doesn’t remember any of them anymore. The husband responds by saying, “That’s my sweetheart in there. I’m not leaving her. This is my home now. Your mother is my home.”
- He continues to stay by her and read this love story. It then becomes clear that the man is Noah when Allie all of a sudden remembers the story and recognizes the man as Noah. She only remembers him for a few minutes, but it is cherished by the both of them.
- Finally, we reach to the end of the movie where they reunite and eventually die together.

We are surrounded every day by faithfulness. However, most of the time it involves people being unfaithful – Look at Brad Pitt with Angelina Jolie or Jessica Simpson with the Maroon 5 singer.

However, this man was faithful everyday to come, visit his wife, in hopes that she would remember the love they shared. Again, my background doesn’t do justice to the love they shared or the heartbreak involved with having a loved one with Alzheimer’s. But he was faithful because of his love for her – her love for him.

This man represents the kind of faithfulness Christ demonstrates to us. He is there, sitting right next to us every day, sharing a love story in hopes that we will remember that kind of love we can have. Most of the time we don’t remember – we forget and go our own way – but He is still there sitting next to us.

What am I talking about when I say that God is faithful? What does that mean and is there any proof to His undying faithfulness to us?

Numbers 23:19 - "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?"
- God is not like us! He’s not going to turn His back on us for some better looking model.
- He is there for us and his promises always ring true. Every time he makes a promise, he backs it up. He comes through. He is the clutchest of clutch hitters.

For example:
- The promise to Abraham that he will have a son
- The promise to Noah that he will never again flood the earth

So, God is faithful, but how do we benefit from that?

Lamentations 3:22-23 - "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (ESV)
- Not only is He faithful – standing by us always, it says that his LOVE never ceases! His mercies never come to an end – that they are new every morning
- It’s like every morning we have a clean slate! No matter what happened the day before, God is there ready to share more love and more mercies on us the very next day!

In the Bible it points out many times – but I’m only going to pull out a few instances in which God tells us his promises.

Matthew 7:7-8 - “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
- Simple – if we ask, we will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. All this in reference to turning to God. He is there wanting to help. We have to take the initiative to ask, seek, and knock

Romans 8:39 - “Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- NOTHING will ever be able to separate us from the love of God! Who else can make a promise like that?

These are just a few of God’s promises that he is faithful to fulfill. There are many more in the Bible!

Challenge

So, the question now is – what will you do with God’s faithfulness?

Will you look at it and say, “those are nice promises – he seems like a pretty faithful guy.”, but not do anything with it. Or will you latch on to his faithfulness, latch on to those promises and say, “I need to stay close to this guy.”

Remember just what we talked about – how God’s promises are there for us and he provided. It says this in Psalm – Psalm 22:4-5 – “Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them. You heard their cries for help and saved them. They put their trust in you and were never disappointed.”

They were never disappointed! Hey, life happens - people consistently let you down, turn their backs on you – remember, unfaithfulness is more the norm these days. But, you have God, who is sitting there, right next to you, ready to continue a love story that doesn’t have to end.

It is up to you! You have got to make a decision to tap into it or not. What will you do? Think of 1 thing you can do to tap into God’s faithfulness.