You Must Be Faithful

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God is Faithful

Scripture speaks often of God’s faithfulness. Over and over we learn that when God says He will do something, He does it (even when it seems impossible). When He says something will happen, it happens. This is true for the past, the present and the future. If this were not the case—if God were unfaithful even once—He would not be God, and we could not rely on any of His promises.
1 Kings 8:56 KJV 1900
56 Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
The Question today is are you Faithful?
Proverbs 28:20 KJV 1900
20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings: But he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

Faithful Stewards

1 Corinthians 4:1–2 KJV 1900
1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Paul answered the leaders of the various factions in the church when he called himself, Peter, and Apollos “ministers of Christ.”
The word translated ministers is literally “under-rowers.”
It described the slaves who rowed the huge Roman galleys.
“We are not the captains of the ship,” said Paul, “but only the galley slaves who are under orders.
Then Paul explained the image of the steward.
A steward is a servant who manages everything for his master, but who himself owns nothing.
Joseph was a chief steward in Potiphar’s household (Gen. 39).
The responsibility of the steward is to be faithful to his master. A steward may not please the members of the household; he may not even please some of the other servants; but if he pleases his own master, he is a good steward.
So, the main issue is not, “Is Paul popular?” or, “Is Apollos a better preacher than Paul?” The main issue is, “Have Paul, Apollos, and Peter been faithful to do the work God assigned to them?”
If a servant of God is faithful in his personal life, in his home, and in his ministry of the Word, then he is a good steward and will be adequately rewarded.

Faithfulness can be summed up in the following words: Waiting, Watching, Working and Waring.

Watching and Waiting

Luke 12:35–40 KJV 1900
35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Jewish weddings were held at night, and a bridegroom’s servants would have to wait for their master to come home with his bride. The new husband would certainly not want to be kept waiting at the door with his bride! To “watch” means to be alert, to be ready, not to be caught by surprise.
That is the attitude we must have toward the second coming of Jesus Christ.
His coming will be like that of a thief: unannounced and unexpected. We must be ready!

Working

Luke 12:41–48 KJV 1900
41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? 42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44 Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
Lest we get the idea that watching and waiting are all that He requires, Jesus added this parable to encourage us to be working when He comes.
The Apostles had a special responsibility to feed God’s household, His church; but each of us has some work to do in this world, assigned to us by the Lord.
Our responsibility is to be faithful when He comes.
We may not appear successful in our own eyes, or in the eyes of others; but that is not important.
The thing God wants is faithfulness
Once a believer starts to think his Master is not coming back, his life begins to deteriorate.
Our relationship with others depends on our relationship to the Lord; so if we stop looking for Him, we will stop Living for Him!
The motive for Christian life and service must be a desire to please the Lord and be found faithful at His return.

Waring:

Luke 12:49–53 KJV 1900
49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! 51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
As we wait, watch, and work, we will not have an easy time, because we are aliens in enemy territory.
The images Jesus used—fire, baptism, division—speak of opposition and conflict.
To the Jews, fire was a symbol of judgment; and our Lord’s coming into this world did bring judgment (John 9:39–41).
Our Lord’s “baptism” in Luke 12:50 refers to His suffering and death, which was pictured by His baptism in the Jordan. (See Ps. 42:7 and Jonah 2:3, and note His reference to Jonah in Luke 11:29–30.)
The Apostles certainly received a baptism of suffering as they witnessed for Christ after Pentecost.
Luke opened his book announcing “peace on earth” (Luke 2:14), but now he has the Lord seemingly contradicting this promise.
Jesus does give peace to those who trust Him (Rom. 5:1), but often their confession of faith becomes a declaration of war among their family and friends.
Jesus is a cause of division (see John 7:12, 43; 9:16; 10:19).
But even if there is not “peace on earth,” there is “peace in heaven” (Luke 19:38) because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

And When He comes?

Matthew 25:21 KJV 1900
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
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