THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: Faithfulness

Memorial Drive 7/28/19 THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: Faithfulness Various Texts “… we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves SO THAT WE WOULD NOT TRUST IN OURSELVES, BUT IN GOD WHO RAISES THE DEAD …” (2 Cor. 1:8b-9) … GOD’S FAITHFULNESS • God Is Faithful By Nature Deuteronomy 7:9 Know that the Lord your God is God the faithful God For God to be less than FAITHFUL would be to be less than GOD! 2 Timothy 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself • His Faithfulness To His Own Provides Great Security and Hope “God is not man, that He should lie,  or a son of man, that He should change his mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?” (Nu 23:19) “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, ACCORDING TO ALL THAT HE PROMISED. NOT ONE WORD HAS FAILED OF ALL HIS GOOD PROMISE, which he spoke by Moses his servant.” (I Kings 8:56) “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is FAITHFUL; he will surely do it.” (I Thess. 5:23-24) • Some Matters In Which God Is Faithful ◦ God Is Faithful In PROVIDING WHAT WE NEED When We Are TEMPTED “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is FAITHFUL, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Cor. 10:13) ◦ God Is Faithful In GUARDING US and HELPING US TO STAND AND RESIST In Our Battle Against the Evil One “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to STAND firm against the schemes of the devil … take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to RESIST in the evil day, and having done everything, to STAND firm. STAND firm …” (Eph. 6:13-14a) “But the Lord is faithful. He will ESTABLISH you and GUARD you against the evil one.” (2 Thess. 3:2-3) ◦ God Is Faithful In FORGIVING and CLEANSING “If we confess our sins, he is FAITHFUL and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) “Therefore, since we have been JUSTIFIED BY FAITH, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into THIS GRACE IN WHICH WE STAND …” (Rom. 5:1-2a). ◦ God Is Faithful Even WHEN WE’RE NOT “… if we are faithless, HE REMAINS FAITHFUL—for He cannot deny himself.” (2 Tim. 2:13) That God is always faithful and remains faithful – even when we aren’t – becomes the foundation of God’s appeal to us to be faithful regardless of the circumstances we may find ourselves in. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, FOR HE WHO PROMISED IS FAITHFUL.” (Heb. 10:23) The BASIS, the FOUNDATION, for OUR faithfulness rests not upon OUR strength or OUR ability, but rather upon assurance that the ONE WHO PROMISED us ALL THAT HE PROMISED is FAITHFUL! … OUR FAITHFULNESS: A Work (Fruit) of God’s Spirit In Us • We Are to Be Faithful In Growing In Our Love for One Another 2 Thess. 1:3 Your FAITH is greatly enlarged, and your LOVE grows greater 1 Timothy 1:5 The goal of our instruction is LOVE … from heart, conscience, FAITH • We Are to Be Faithful In Persevering In the Midst of Great Difficulty 2 Thess. 1:4 We speak proudly of you for your perseverance and FAITH • We Are To Be Faithful In Furthering the Work of God In Our World I Timothy 1:4 Furthering the administration of God which is by FAITH • We Are To Be Faithful In Holding On to Truth In the Midst of Doctrinal Error 1 Tim. 4:1 Some will fall from THE FAITH paying attention to false doctrine ◦ FAITH Is Absolutely Foundational to FAITHFULNESS! Faith BELIEVES and DECLARES the truth that God is completely trustworthy! Faithfulness LIVES OUT the truth that God is completely trustworthy! FAITHFULESS is a consequence of being FULL OF FAITH! ◦ FAITH and Therefore FAITHFULNESS: How? “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Rom. 10:17) Only by GETTING IN and STAYING IN God’s trustworthy Word can I TRUST GOD FOR what I cannot yet see! “Now faith is the ASSURANCE of things hoped for, the CONVICTION of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1) “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22-23)