Fruit of the Spirit - Faithfulness
Notes
Transcript
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
The fruit of the Spirit is....SLIDE faithfulness.
We’ve spent the last several weeks looking at the ways that the fruit of the Spirit manifests in the life of a believer. Today we look at faithfulness.
Faithfulness in the New Testament denotes the idea of obedient trustworthiness and loyalty to God and others. As we see in Hebrews chapter 11, there are many heroes of the faith that are unlike those considered heroes in our society today. They are people who did not receive fame and fortune, but remained true to God through difficult circumstances. Their faith was unshaken despite what life threw their way.
To be faithful means to be reliable, dependable, trustworthy, consistent, and especially faithful to God and the teaching that we find in Scripture.
Many claim to have unfailing love,
but a faithful person who can find?
This verse in Proverbs reminds us that it is not always easy to find someone who is faithful and can be relied upon. Many people talk about how loyal or committed they are, but actual faithfulness is far rarer.
Have you ever been around someone that you could not rely on? It is frustrating and discouraging. I remember a time back in college where we were doing a group project. This was one of those projects where the groups were assigned for us and we had a fairly large project to do. Well, let’s just say that I did not get the pick of the litter for my group. There were several times we were supposed to get together to work on the project and one of the members or another didn’t bother to show up. There were also plenty of times when the work that was to be done prior to our getting together was not done. Needless to say, this was quite frustrating, and I ended up piecing together a good chunk of the work in order to finish on time.
Unreliable people can be a pain, like a bad tooth or a sore foot. Unfaithfulness can be extremely frustrating and discouraging to others. Working with people who are inconsistent or “no shows” can take its toll. So none of us should ever want to be that person that others say, “I wonder if they will really show up”. You can never relax after you have entrusted something to an unreliable person.
How about this story for the complete opposite:
A missionary to Africa told the story of an elderly woman who was reached with the gospel. Though she was blind and could neither read nor write, she wanted to share her new found faith with others. She went to the missionary and asked for a copy of the Bible in French. When she got it, she asked the missionary to underline John 3:16 in red and mark the page it was on so she could find it. The missionary wanted to see what she would do, so one day he followed her.
In the afternoon, just before school let out, she made her way to the front door. As the boys came out when school was dismissed, she would stop one and ask if he knew how to read French. When he said “Yes” she would ask him to read the verse that was marked in red. Then she would ask, “Do you know what this means?” and tell him about Christ.
The missionary said that twenty-four of the school boys that lady led to the Lord became pastors.
Sometimes faithfulness means to continue to getting up and trying again no matter what knocks us down. And believe me there will be times when we are ministering to and building relationships with people that we will be knocked down and hurt.
Though he would later be acclaimed as one of the greatest inventors of history, Thomas Edison’s school career lasted three months. The teacher believed he was incapable of learning anything and sent him home. Edison’s mother taught him, and he was on his way to a lifetime of overcoming what seemed to be insurmountable obstacles. Among his most famous inventions were the commercial incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, and the fluoroscope. Most of his inventions required months if not years of dedication to overcoming obstacles before seeing any results.
In a 1921 interview, Edison described his persistence this way: “After we had conducted thousands of experiments on a certain project without solving the problem, one of my associates, after we had conducted the crowning experiment and it had proved a failure, expressed discouragement and disgust over our having failed to find out anything. I cheerily assured him that we had learned something. For we had learned for a certainty that the thing couldn’t be done that way, and that we would have to try some other way.”
Very few things of lasting significance and value are achieved without overcoming serious obstacles. The story of almost every “overnight success” is actually the story of someone continuing to persevere in the face of great difficulty and disappointment.
Before we go any further, we need to take a step back and realize that God is faithful. This is something that we see over and over again in Scripture, almost like the Biblical writers are trying to get their point across or something.
For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.
God is faithful even when others are not. He is faithful even if there are only a few of us who gather to praise, worship, thank, or serve Him. He is faithful even when He is not being appreciated or respected. God is faithful NO MATTER WHAT! We can count on that as believers, he will never forsake us and never leave us. He is closer than any friend or brother or sister on this earth, and we can count on him to deliver in his timing.
God is faithful because he keeps his promises. We see in Scripture the primary example of this by fulfilling the promise of the coming Messiah, who would be a sacrifice for your sins and mine. We see this as he allowed his son to be that sacrifice, even though at the time and even today it is not well appreciated.
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,
“All people are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word that was preached to you.
With that background, I want us to consider a few things that we need to keep in mind of faithful people:
SLIDE The Faithful Keep Their Promises
Frequently the Bible emphasizes the need to keep one’s promises and verbal commitments:
who despises a vile person
but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
and does not change their mind;
When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.
All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Our track record as humans speaks volumes about our inner character. If we are one who tends to over promise and under deliver, people will eventually pick up on that pattern and realize that you are unreliable. We live in a culture where promises are taken lightly and we often promise things without thinking them through with no intention to actually keep them. God expects us to keep our promises.
When one makes a marriage commitment keep it. If you promise to change, do it. If you promise something to your wife, children, or anyone else, keep it. Being undependable or unreliable and not keeping our promises is ultimately being unloving.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
2. SLIDE The Faithful are Faithful with Their Time
making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Rick Warren reminds us that there are three things we can do with our time. spend it, waste it, or invest it. The best use of your time is to invest it in something that is going to outlast you. Faithfulness involves time management. There are two primary time wasters: regret and worry.” How often do we look at the use of our time as being an investment? Studying the Bible so that I can teach others and stay strong. Praying so that I can be the husband or father that I need to be. Taking the time to talk to people and listen. Taking notice of someone who might be hurting. These are all great ways of investing my time. Investing our time in other people is a way that we can remain faithful to the calling that God has placed on our lives and the mission we have as followers of Christ to “Go and make disciples.”
3. SLIDE The Faithful Stand By and Can be Counted On
A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
I am a friend to all who fear you,
to all who follow your precepts.
We are to stand by others. This means that when a faithful Christian in being ridiculed that we stand up for them, even if that means we will become unpopular as well. A true friend is always loyal. The faithful can be counted on in a crisis. When times get tough, a genuine friend does not see through you, but sees you through. This means that we are faithful to care for those who might be considered “the least of these.” This means that we stand by those who have no voice. This means that we are to be that dependable voice speaking the love of Christ into whatever the situation may be.
As we close this morning, I want us to consider how we are a faithful member to the body of Christ. Here are some things that might help us to consider this:
Do you support the work of the Lord with our prosperity? with our time? A faithful person’s giving is regular and systematic, not spasmodic. Our giving needs to be planned.
Are you committed to a local congregation? I want to clarify this, as I don’t mean just attending with a congregation regularly. Are you truly committed to that congregation and the mission of that local congregation? Are you invested in what that congregation is doing to reach others for Christ?
Do you faithfully use the gifts, talents, and abilities that God has given you?
Are you faithful to the teachings of Christ? No matter what? That means that the teachings of Christ hold your complete loyalty. Above your personal opinions or others opinions. Above whatever your favorite political party says. Above anything else, your loyalty resides with Christ and Christ alone.
Friends, God is a faithful friend and Father to us. We can count on him no matter what may be going on. Our faithfulness as human beings who are followers of Christ should reflect that of our Heavenly Father toward us. I challenge you this week to spend some time in quiet with God and examining with him if you need to make adjustments to better reflect the manifestation of faithfulness in your own life.
CLOSING BENEDICTION
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.