The Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness

I. Introduction

A. Clarence Jordan, Koinonia Farms in Americus Georgia

B. The Hall of fame of faith – Old Testament Characters who trusted God and who He worked through

C. In every case, it was not about what they did, but what God did through them as they trusted in Him

D. Righteousness was given to them by faith!

II. Run for distance (1)

A. Illustration – You can always tell the serious runner from the novice at the big races.  The pro knows how to dress, you can tell he has trained, he is focused, he paces himself.  All these things are done because he knows the difficulty of running the distance without stopping and he knows the pain if he does not do it right

B. Exegesis

1. The author has just finished talking about the great “Faith Hall of Fame” reminding us of great people of faith who have come before us: Able, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Israelites, Rahab, and others – They are the great cloud of witnesses

2. Witnesses in two ways:

a) They are watching us – Those greats who are watching us run the race – It should encourage us to do our best to carry on the Faith legacy they have begun

b) We are watching them - We should see them as Martyrs.  That is the word used here.  They are a great cloud of martyrs (witnesses) and we should want to emulate them

3. Look at the last part first – Run with perseverance the race set before us

a) The key word is perseverance – we are to continuously run - This is not a short race or a speed race, but a long continuous one

b) Three keys to success in a marathon run

(1) We must train ourselves

(2) We must run through the pain

(3) We must pace ourselves

c) The race marked out for us is the race to be faithful to Christ

d) This is our race that we are now running - We are to leave a legacy of faithfully living a Christian example and sharing our faith with others to continue this legacy

4. Throw off everything that hinders

a) When you run you want to take off as much weight as possible

(1) Light shoes and clothing

(2) Remove the warm-up suit

(3) In training, you try to drop weight

b) You leave on only what is essential to achieving your goal

5. Throwing off the sin that so easily entangles – We need to keep sin out of our lives as it restricts us and keeps us for the goal – Sometimes this is the difference between faithfulness and success

6. These things “Cling” to us – to ensnare, constrict, obstruct

C. At a long race the greatest draw away from the course is the porta-John – It separates the real runner from the hobbyist.  You never see the top 100 runners stopping, but you always have a line at them because it is a time killer.  Sin always draws us aside, but the devoted Christian is not drawn aside

D. Application

1. We need to get serious about the race of faith in our lives if we are running with endurance

2. We train through prayer, knowing the Word and evangelism

3. We need to keep the race in mind, not all the things surrounding it

III. Run for the prize (2)

A. Illustration – Every great runner has a prize that motivates them.  For some it is the cash reward at the end, others it is the pride of winning.  Whatever it is, it drives them to be the best that they can be

B. Exegesis

1. The author holds up the prize of running well in front of us – It is Jesus!

2. Let us fix our eyes on Him – You notice nothing else – He is the goal

3. He is the author and perfecter of our faith – The highest example of what we should be striving to be

a) Founder – αρχηγος – Often used for the hero and founder of a city - he is the beginning and the reason for our faith – He sets the standard

b) Perfecter – Τελειωτης - He is the one who made our faith possible through His death. 

(1) In that one act Jesus gave us a reason for faith and did everything necessary to bring our faith to salvation

(2) He is the one who strengthens us to keep running the race

4. His race – endured the cross, but obtained the throne

C. Application

1. Our prize should be Jesus – our savior

2. He is the reason for our striving

3. Philippians 3:12-14 – We strive for the goal

IV. Run without ceasing (3)

A. Illustration

B. Exegesis

1. We are to Consider Christ’s suffering so that we will not grow weary and lose heart

2. If Christ suffered so greatly for me at the hands of sinful men, it should be my desire to continue the race with Him as my prize

3. He took our punishment that we could have life – We are to live it faithfully

C. Application – Don’t stop

V. Conclusion –

A. Run to be faithful to Jesus to the end

B. Our lives are painfully short.  What we accomplish in the world will be forgotten and credit given to someone else 100 years from now.  What we do through our faithfulness to the Kingdom of Christ will be eternal.  Strive to be faithful, not successful!

Philippians 3:12-14 - 12) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13) Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14) I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Faithfulness, Not Success

In 1940, Clarence Jordan founded Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia, as a haven for racial unity and cooperation. In 1954, the Ku Klux Klan burned every building on the farm except Jordan's home.

During the raid, Jordan recognized the voice of a local newspaper reporter. The next day, the reporter showed up for a story about the arson while the rubble was still smoldering. He found Jordan in a field, planting seeds. He said to Jordan, "I heard the awful news of your tragedy last night, and I came out to do a story on the closing of your farm."

Jordan just kept planting and hoeing. The reporter continued his prodding, with no response from Jordan. Finally, the reporter said, "You've got two Ph.D.'s, you've put 14 years into this farm, and now there's nothing left. Just how successful do you think you've been?"

With that statement, Jordan stopped hoeing. He said to the reporter, "You just don't get it, do you? You don't understand us Christians. What we are about is not success, but faithfulness."

Source:

Kevin Conrad, "Wisdom for Faithful Living Today," SermonNotes.com