Fruit Of The Spirit: Faithfulness

Think of five people that you can call at any moment in time. Five people that you know will be there the moment you need them people. Five people that you can count on to show up not a minute late and not at the wrong place. Maybe you could think of one or two, could you think of five?

Faithfulness = consistency, reliability, devotion.

Lasting relationships depend these. And that’s what we’re called to give to God, to give ourselves in full loyalty and devotion to him Gal.5:25. Walk implies relationship and consistency. Without faithfulness, relationships remain shallow and unstable.

(PPT) You can’t create a good relationship with somebody today that you can’t depend on tomorrow… you can’t build a life alongside someone that insist on leaving their options open….so I must first ask Can I depend on God? Gods Faithfulness -

God is the source of faithfulness. God has been faithful to you before you were even born!

(PPT) No flood, Rainbow - Gen.9:11-13, “with you and all flesh...never again be a flood to destroy the earth...i put my bow in the cloud and it shall be a sign of covenant between me and all the earth.”

That was for YOU!

(PPT) Abraham’s Promise - Gen.12:3, Genesis 22:18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have listened to My voice.”

That was for YOU!

That promise worked and fulfilled, all planned in eternity and accomplished in Jesus!

(PPT) God planned before time began that He would save you and He planned how!

Eph.1:9-11

God “purposed” to redeem us before time began . V.9, “purpose” is in the VERB form. God planned; He schemed a scheme to redeem man IN Christ. V.11, “purpose” is in the NOUN form.

The purpose is that which God worked for man, He worked it out.

V.10, God’s “grand plan to save man” is summed up in Christ .

V.11, God worked that plan all throughout human history to bring Christ

Acts 2:22-24

He said He’d rise up and bring victory - and He did, and the tomb is still empty!

The promise about the flood, about the blessing of the world through Abraham, the Messiah coming and being victorious over death - That was for YOU!

I can know then that when he promised he’d be back and bring his faithful with him, I can know for sure based on that word that He will be back and the faithful will live with him in eternity!

MY GOD IS FAITHFUL!

I can trust God today and every tomorrow because I see how He’s been perfectly faithful in the past.

(PPT) God has proven He is faithful, that he can be counted on!………………Can I?

My Faithfulness?…

There’s not a one of us that can do it perfectly. But am I at least showing I’m trying to be consistent? God isn’t demanding perfection, but He does require pursuit!

Think about the culture we live in. It doesn’t value faithfulness instead it undermines it. It teaches us to avoid commitment because you don’t want the added burden of responsibility.

Commitment is a dying virtue in our nation. Our society is all about no strings attached in an effort to make our lives less complicated, but it ends up being more messy and dysfunctional when there is no tied down reliability.

If our nation and culture we live in had a slogan about responsibility, it would be something like “If I can make it I’ll be there, but don’t wait on me.” OR “If it works out where i can be there (which usually means if i feel like it in the moment) then I’ll be there but don’t count to heavily on me.”

A life of faithfulness that has it’s roots in a reliable God is counter to the exact moment in time we live in.

So what does my faithfulness look like?

Is my loyalty to God situational—only showing up when it’s easy?

Am I faithful only when it's convenient or when people are watching?

Do I treat my spiritual life as one of many compartments (my work part, my home part, my hobby part, my relationship part) Is God compartmentalized OR as the core of who I am?

Have I proven that I have more follow through with faith to God and commitment to His church more than not? Am I one of the few people in the world on the narrow path that God could look at and say yes have you considered ____ and their faithfulness?

Jesus came and proved His faithfulness to ME, and now He ask me to be faithful back.

Luke 9:23 “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

Wholehearted Obedience

Obedience is central to following Jesus, who was obedient even to death on a cross

To love God is to obey Him. Obedience reflects our love, connection, and relationship with God—it’s not partial, but complete.

Wholehearted Dedication

Carrying the cross is a total commitment—no half-hearted Christians.

It’s not just about receiving the benefits of salvation, but surrendering our entire lives to God

We die to self so that Christ can live through us.

Personal Mission

“Take up” implies action and responsibility—your cross is your mission.

Spiritual growth is personal; it can’t be blamed on others.

True discipleship shows in both public and private life—your integrity matters.

Embracing the Misery

Taking up your cross includes the willingness to deny wants and pleasures, and be inconvenienced for the sake of God’s will.

The Real Meaning of “Taking Up Your Cross”

It’s not just bearing some personal burden—it’s the same for everyone - a lifestyle of surrender and full devotion to God!

Like Ezekiel, we may be called into roles we feel unqualified for—but obedience and dedication are what God requires.

Am I as Matthew 6:33 says “But seek FIRST His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” ? Or do I allow anything else at any moment in time in my day to take priority? You don’t need to be singing hymns 24/7, you don’t need to be reading the word 24/7, you don’t even need to be praying 24/7. But if you’re seeking God first it will show up in an FORCEFUL WAY in every decision, every thought, every purpose that you plan, and every action that you make!

God allows you to choose. He allows you to choose what to focus on in this life, he gives you every opportunity to make wiser better decision. And what we see from scripture is the fact that God says “you get to choose if you’re seeking me first, but if I’m not first then I’m not your God and you’re lost”.

God doesn’t need you to make him first. God doesn’t need your worship Him, He doesn’t need you for Him to be glorified, he doesn’t need you so that He’s known. God wants you to place Him as first and as the purpose of your entire existence FOR YOUR SAKE.

Can God count on you? Can God count on you to be truthful, to not spread frustrations, to not gossip, to be here and be plugged in, to serve when no one watches, to spread the gospel, to let your “yes be yes and your no be no”, to be true to your spouse, to be an employee who shows up and does their job to the fullest? Do you show God that you’re striving for a relationship with Him, to walk in step with the spirit?

“ I go to church on Sunday morning, and sometimes Wednesday night, so I’m .”……If your car only started three times a week, would you consider it to be reliable?… (OOF)

What I’ve learned for sure is you can’t expect faithfulness in the big things and moments if you can’t expect it in little things. God cares just as much about the small things and small moments of faithfulness. Luke 16:10 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much, and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” Growing in faithfulness takes it’s rise in the little things. The little things such as being on time, being a good steward of money and paying your bills, taking care of responsibilities at home…

If I’m too busy to worship, too distracted to pray, too inconsistent to lead my families spirituality, to entangled in sin to repent...then I need to evaluate if I’m truly persistent in my pursuit of faithfulness to a loving and faithful God.

I need to get a grip on faithfulness and Jesus, not in other things of this world! Hebrews 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” I once confessed Jesus is Lord, I once confessed my way doesn’t cut it, I once confessed that God is perfectly faithful — have I loosened my grip on that? I have let the world get ahold of me more than I have a hold of faith in my God?

BUSY WORK IS THE ENEMY. Kingdom work is the solution.

Whenever we look for good candidates for elders and deacons, we don’t look for people that we can assign to a task that requires faithfulness. We look for the already faithful. In fact, whenever we look for any job that needs doing, we’re at least looking for people who are striving towards faithfulness.

Reliability to Church life, to the people that make up the body of believers, has a huge impact.

If you view the Church as an organization, you’re not gonna get the full benefit or even add to it. It’s not an organization. It’s the living body of Christ. How committed are you to the living body of Christ?

Illustration/Story: Ellie, Taylor, and Bryson leading Jesus loves me in the pew. We used to call that playing Church. It was cute and heartwarming to watch. And at that stage it’s great. But there are too many grown men and women just playing church. And God is is trying with many of us to get our faith caught up with our years.

Luke 18:8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

When Jesus comes back as He promised He would, will he find a faithfulness in the life of Josh, in the life of you?

The time of playing Church has to be over. I have to get off the pew and be faithful everywhere else.

Could you be one of the five someone thinks of? If there were only one, are you willing to be the one God looks at in the world?

It’s time to get up and get walking to keep in step with the Spirit.