Faith Expressed

Good Morning! We are continuing our sermon series 9 Fruit 1 Flavor on the Fruit of the Spirit listed in Gal 5:22-23. The the Fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, FAITHFULNESS.

What is faithfulness? Faithfulness speaks of dependability and reliability..

… We sometimes speak of our car being faithful…Pam’s family had an old Mercedes that they used to call the tank… because it was old kept on going.

We speak of friend being faithful… we talk about being faithful in marriage…Faithfulness can be applied to many things…

The word Faithful has some implications.

Faithful implies predicability… that you can count on someone or something… It’s predictable because faithfulness has patterns of behavior or modes of operation ... you can set you clock to faithfulness..

For example.. In the Yellowstone National Park has the geyser called “Old Faithful” The reason why it is called Old Faithful is because of its highly predictable geothermal feature… every 44-125 minutes it erupts and has been doing this since 2000...

If you go to Wyomi to visit Yellowstone there is high probability you are going to see an eruption. p

Faithfulness also implies having Substance Or being grounded..

Someone who is faithful …Knows what they believe really believe, whom they really love, and what they are ultimately committed to.

Faithfulness knows what you want to live for and what you’re willing to die for.

To be honest We all desire Faithfulness..We are attracted to Faithfulness…

We desire in our marriages, in our Friendships in our Relationships… When we Employ someone … we are looking for the quality Faithfulness… we wanting someone who is going to be commited--- that are going to show up on time… do there job with excellence… going to be loyal and reliable…We desire it in our coworkers… We desire faithfulness in our churches..

John Wesley said, “Give me a hundred men who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I will shake the world. I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; and such alone will overthrow the kingdom of Satan and build up the Kingdom of God on earth.”

Paul commended Faithfulness — He often mentioned.. loyal faithfulness when he greeted people… For example the book of Colossians begins with a greeting.. “Faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Paul spoke of his travel companions Timothy, Epaphras, Onesimus“faithful brothers”

Faithfulness is a big deal in scripture..

Jesus was concerned about Faith.. in the parable of the persistent widow.. who goes day by day to find justice from the judge.. initially he ignored her plea.… her persistence pays.. Jesus went it comes to those who seek his face day and night their faith is going to pay off… the issue is Faithfulness

Luke 18:8 ESV

I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Where does Faithfulness Come from?

Faithfulness is another Divine Attribute of God…Faithfulness is closely related to his goodness…last week told the parable of the talents from Matt 25:14-23 and when the master came home He said to the two servants who had doubled their investment… Jesus says Well done good and faithful servant…

Matthew 25:21 ESV

21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Both Faithfulness and Goodness Speaks to God’s Character and Actions…God is unchanging in his nature… He is always good, and he is always faithful… Faithful speaks to ethics the way that he respond to men and especially His people..

Do have one of those songs that you hear and you fight back tears? … there is a couple of them…

One of those songs for me is the Hymn “Great is thy Faithfulness.” This Hymn was written by Thomas Chisholm who went through many ups and downs including health challenges and unemployment… Thomas had been a Christian for nearly 30 years before he wrote the song… the Hymn was relatively unknown until George Beverly Shea started singing it at the Billy Graham Crusades… The Hymn was inspired by a chapter that was close to Thomas Chisholm… From the book of

Lamentations 3

Lamentations 3:22–23 ESV

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Gods steadfast love is constant… never seizing and his mercies never come to an end. How many times have people let you down? … and to be honest sooner or later we will disappoint someone else.. listen to what A.W. Tozer said in the knowledge of the Holy…

“Men become unfaithful out of desire, fear, weakness, loss of interest, or because of some strong influence from without. Obviously none of these forces can affect God in any way....”

But God will never disappoint, deceive, or disillusion us.. He is perfect and just in all his ways..The reason His Great in the Faithfulness department..

His Faithfulness is

1. Infinite -

2.Established

3.Incomparable

4.Unfailing

5.Everlasting

7.Unconditional

8.Worthy of our Trust

Paul said to Timothy — that even if we are Faithless… he remains faithful....

2 Timothy 2:13 ESV

13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.

Faithfulness is both a Fruit and Gift of the spirit… there Fruit of Faithfulness that comes from abiding in Christ… There are circumstances where we need help with our faith...

There are times when we are like those who said Lord I believe help me with my unbelief.. well that’s the gift of Faith…

Faithfulness…

T/s There are many examples of men and woman that lived by faith and were faithful… But one example towers above the rest and that is the Faithfulness of Moses…..

Moses was Israels greatest Prophet, the greatest lawgiver, greatest historian, the greatest saint..the greatest deliver.. WE are told that Moses was Faithful in all his house....

When you read the life of Moses you find that He had to deal with lots of Challenges as the leader of Israel.

He had catering problems in the wilderness… The people were not satisfied with eating manna in the wilderness. Numbers 13 People are crumbling… He had Criticism from his own family about his marriage. Death threats, Mutiny of key leaders.

Yet, in the midst of crisis after crisis, Moses stayed faithful to the job God had given him. God reckoned he could trust Moses, even under enormous pressure.

That’s why it is God himself who commends Moses for his faithfulness…at the end of Deuteronomy there there is the unparalled epitaph...

Deuteronomy 34:10–12 ESV

10 And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

The Bible tells us that there was no one like Moses who was Faithful in house of all Israel…

… What was Secret to the Life of Moses?

T/S There are several lessons we learn from the faithfulness of Moses.. the first is that.

1. Faithfulness Celebrates What is!

When was the last time you celebrated.... “what is?” A lot of times we look at life through this lense of regrets.. what if I had been given that promotion.. .. what could have been… or what if’s…if only I had the opportunity. What about the beauty of what is?

… … Just gave thanks for what is!

Faithfulness Celebrates what is!.

What I am talking about is celebrating the uniques of who you are and the unique of your life experiences. There are not two people on the planet that have had the same experiences… you might have grown up in the same house as a simbling.. and still there is uniqueness.

In psalms 139 --- David Celebrates whatis ..

David Marvell’s at how God formed and framed him in the womb of his mother...

Psalm 139:14 ESV

14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

David praises God… because he was known in the womb - his frame was not hidden — But he was intricately woven together in secret… yet God saw his unformed substance.. God NumberEd each of David’s day’s.

In the book of of Hebrews… we have this condensed version of his life..

The book of Hebrews is about endurance. It was written to a group of Christians who were really talking about giving up because they were being persecuted and because of their suffering..

In chapter 11 we are given examples of men and women who have been faithful — and one of those that stands out in the area of faithfulness is Moses… Moses was faithful over all the house of Israel..

Moses Faithfulness begins with the Faith of His parents…

Hebrews 11:23 ESV

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

Now, I prefer the way the NIV phrases this verse… because it clarifies that it wasn’t so much the faith of Moses but the faith of his parents that rescued Moses as an infant… the NIV says “By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born

The first thing we are presented with is the Faithfulness of Aniram and Jochebed.. who hid Moses for three months. This was a dark time for Israel.. The oppression of Israel was at its worst…and the Egyptians were threatened by the growing population of their Jewish slaves…

Pharoah had ordered the midwives to kill all Jewish newborn males immediately on Birth (Ex. 1:15–17). When the mid wives struggled with this edict …The text implies that they feared God more than pharaoh.. so The result was that more extreme and crude measure were taken. New born babies were tossed into the Nile for food for the crocodiles…

Things were bad…but in th midst of problems

Moses parents Amram and Jochebed were people of faith…They recognized that there was something special about Moses… he was no ordinary child… that there was something beautiful about Moses.. This is apparently a universal feeling… All my kids are the most “beautiful” kids.... ..we’ve all felt our kids are the most beautiful, talented and gifted.... so are yours.. right?

Obviously there was something a little more to Moses than external beauty…in Acts 7:20 .... Stephens sermon he tells us that Moses , “beautiful in the sight of God,” or “well-pleasing to God” (Acts 7:20).

John Calvin comments that “there was some sort of Mark of Excellence (engraved on the boy) of something (extraordinary) to come...

They were faithful because they did something about it.. they risked everything… they had two other children Miram and Aaron to think about but they realized there was something much bigger at stake,,.. Hebrews tells us that by faith His parents did not fear of the kings edict…

Rather that give up.. they hid Moses for three months until it became impossible to keep him hidden any longer....

Jochebed then acted in by faith again when she made an ark our of bulrushes, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, and laid Moses in it by the river-bank.

What happened next was nothing short of miraculous…

Pharaoh’s daughter… discovered Moses in the bulrushes and of cause, her heart melted at the sight of Moses.. She ends up adopting Moses and paying Jochebed to be the surrogate mother to her own child.

God uses Jochebed to nurture Moses faith and give him a sense of his Jewish identity.

Moses was preserved by his parents’ faith. Their faith, their prayers, their bravery, and their creativity saved him. And more, he became a great man of faith through their faith.

Faithfulness Celebrates the Providence of God

Moses had no control about how he was born… or where he was born.. But these things were going to determine the trajectory of his life..

If Moses mother Jocabed had not nursed Moses he would have no idea about the God and the people of Israel… Moses had no power over his upbringing …Moses grew up learning all the wisdom of the Egyptians… and was most likely trained in latest military skills of Egypt…He grew up arostacrate in the courts of Pharoah.

All this was part of Moses calling and equipping to be the leader of Israel..

You know there is no experienced that is wasted with God…At the same time of getting nurtured by his mothers faith

David celebrate s what is.,.

Psalm 139:16 ESV

16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

…

You may remember when the Church went through the purpose Driven Church and life phase… Rick Warren brought up this ACRONM SHAPE… which helped people find out there unique gifts..

Spiritual Gifts

Heart/ or passion

Abilities

Personality

Experiences

The truth is all of us have a unique shape… God uses…these things for his glory.. God however still had to refine Moses...

Moses is like the clay in the hands of the potter, a vessel on the wheel of God’s unerring providence being prepared and made meet for the Master’s use

Moses was Beautiful in God’s eyes … chosen and elected by God for purpose… Calling… One of the marks of a Christian is this sense of mission in our world.. God has a purpose..

T/S We learn from Moses that..

1. Faithfulness Celebrates What is!

2. Faithfulness Discerns God’s will

The Webster Dictionary defines discernment as the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure...

In his book The Gospel According to Starbucks,

Leonard Sweet tells the story of Ed Faubert. Faubert is what you call a "cupper"—in layman's terms, he's a coffee-taster. And his perspicacious taste buds are actually certified by the state of New York!

So refined is Faubert's sense of taste for coffee that even while blindfolded, he can take one sip of coffee and tell you "not just that it is from Guatemala, but from what state it comes, at what altitude it was grown, and on what mountain."

There is often this Gap between our gifting and our Calling… It seems like some people… just find their niche… others struggle… because our calling is obscure… Faithfulness requires that we discern God’s will..

Remember that Hebrews is addressing those who are discouraged..

Moses himself is presented as an exemplar of faith for those apathetic and discouraged in their faith...

What we are told is that when Moses Grew up He the pieces of the puzzle came together… He was able to Discerned God’s will ...

Hebrews 11:24–27 ESV

24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

Verses.. 24-26 are all Discernment verses.. Moses sees God’s hand in His life… He begins to to take some decisive action… first by his renunciation of privilege and power and identifying with his people who were enslaved in Egypt.

In Exodus 2:11 we learn Moses was grown up - he would leave the palace and as he traveled he would see the suffering of his people....He saw people suffering under the burden of Egyptian captivity.. they were digging, molding, carrying, building— under huge burden..

When we talking about Faithfulness… it is closely tied to calling… Calling comes when we get outside of our comfort levels… We have to get outside of the four walls… We are not going to be much use to God if we refuse to go out and look upon the sin burdened in our world…

Remember in the book of Nehemiah the walls were torn down… before any work was done on the walls --- Nehemiah went and inspected the walls… gave him both a burden and commitment to rebuild the wall.. Ministry requires… faithfulness.. not for the sake of faithfulness but for the sake of the lost…

It was result of Compassion that Moses made some radical decisions..

To align himself with the suffering of God’s people rather than enjoy the privileges.. of pharaohs house...

life often confronts is with alternatives.. By faith Moses abandoned social honours, physical satisfaction and material gain.

In the 12 century there was young man came from a wealthy family. His father was a well-respected figure in the community. Everyone expected the son to follow him in his profession and, like him, attain wealth and noble standing.

But the young man wasn’t having any of it. Gripped by a passion for God and a love for the poor—or, as some saw it, by a kind of religious mania—he threw it all off, literally in the case of his fine clothes, walking away naked from his father’s angry rebuke before putting on a simple robe and devoting himself to a life of prayer and preaching. His name was St Francis of Assisi whose order grew and impacted on the poor.

Now not everyone is called to take a vow of poverty.... but the Key to faithfulness is calling… and it is about discerning through chooseing and refusing...

… Moses refused comforts in order to be faithful to his calling… He could have just enjoyed all the privileges of Pharaohs house…

verse 26 is this paradox.. this parallel to the Christian life.. as the writer is encouraging these Christians to look to the sufferings of Christ....

Christianity is a religion of the cross.. it’s a religion of endurance.. Jesus told his disciples that is you want to follow him.. pick up your cross daily and follow me… Faithfulness means going forward with Jesus.. it’s like the chorus.. we sang as Children.. I have decided to follow Jesus… the cross before me the world behind me…no turning back.., though no none go with me still I will follow..

Hebrews writer points these Christians to the cross.. He frames this image of Moses himself.. following in the way of the cross!,

…This does not mean, of course, that Moses suffered for confessing Jesus Christ explicitly or verbally…Rather this is a word picture,, to help

these early Christians were feeling it.. Moses as it were was even though in the OT of what it means to identify with death, burial and resurrection of Christ ..

The writer of Hebrews., said that Moses , looked’ or considered Christ suffering (11:26), the word CONSIDERED means ‘his eyes were fixed’ (neb). The verb is used ‘of keeping one’s attention fixed on something, as an artist keeps his fixed on the object or model that he is reproducing in painting or sculpture’ (Bruce). But the word also indicates determined choice. Westcott says that it is used by classical writers in the sense of ‘looking away from one object to another’. We fix our eyes on the ultimate, not the immediate, on the eternal reward rather than our temporal gain

T/S We learn from Moses that..

1. Faithfulness Celebrates What is!

2. Faithfulness Discerns God’s will

3. Faithfulness moves Forward with Confidence.

It’s amazing the kinds of stunts that are being done today… you have people jumping from weather balloons from the edge of space.. you got to wonder what makes these people tick?

What makes someone jump out of "perfectly good airplanes" 25,000 feet without a parachute or wingsuit? Why would anyone do that?

Well..Not so long ago..Luke Aikins did this stunt where plummeted from an airplane at 25,000 feet without any kind of parachute, landing neatly in a square 100-foot by 100-foot net set up to catch him.

Fortunately for him and those of us that watched he made it! When he landed at a terminal velocity of 120 mph.

● Luke was asked --- How He had the confidence to jump out of a plane without a parachute? He told the interviewer that.,

◦ "He prepared for the stunt by doing dozens of jumps—each, wearing a parachute—aiming at a 100 square foot target, opening his chute at the last possible moment. He also began practicing much smaller target, giving him greater leeway with the full-sized net."

◦ He basically, gained confidence by practicing the jump 1000's of times until he build up enough confidence to make the jump…

Faith works in the same way… the more we exercise Faith the more confident we get… The writer tells us to hold onto our confidence…because it will be rewarded…

Hebrews 10:35–36 ESV

35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

Remember this is not saving Faith… this is trusting God… this being faithful....

.. Moses life is one of patient endurance.. His life can be equally divided three 40 year periods… Spent 40 years in Egypt… When Moses saw an Egyptian beating up a Hebrew… He took things into this own hands and he struck him down .. and hid him in the sand…

The next day he saw two Hebrews struggling together — and they said to Moses who made you judge over us? We saw what you did to the Egyptian task master… are you going to the same to us?

This scared Moses because he realized that if the Jewish people were talking abouth this incident… it would t be long before Pharoah got wind of this and he would be in big trouble!M

Hebrew tell us Moses Acted in Faith when he left Midian

Hebrews 11:27 ESV

By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

Now this seems like a stretch!! Moses after in faith when he ran away? When you think about it.. Moses could have used the taskmaster incident to stir up a revolt, and with their huge numbers and his patriotic leadership the Hebrew slaves would have had a good chance of success.

But, as A. S. Peake observed, he ‘had the insight to see that God’s hour had not yet struck, and therefore he resolutely turned his back on the course he had begun to tread … For it was harder to live for his people than it was to die for them’.

When his people were in such desperate trouble, it required endurance to stay in Midian. Moses stayed in Midian for 40 years while his people suffered.,

This is encouragement passive endurance… sometimes Slower is faster.., By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible” (v. 27)..

When the time was right Moses acted decisively… because deliverance of Egypt was not going to be a man thing.. God was going to deliver them form Egypt!.

Hebrews 11:28 ESV

By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

It took faith because this is the first past over celebration.. The first time you attempt something is the most difficult… the first time you step out and do something for God.. the next time it’s easier…

The first Passover came with strange and contly instructions.. Each family has to t a lamb without blemish and sacrifice it .., and puts its blood on the door posts of their

This ritual unprecedented, but they did precisely as they were told.

Exodus 12:28 ESV

Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

… Two million people listen to the words of Moses and Aaron.. amazing.

The Hebrews followed God’s instructions, given through Moses, to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons. The “blood” was from a lamb slain as part of the Passover meal. That night the firstborn son of every family who did not have blood on the doorposts was killed. The lamb had to be killed in order to get the blood that would protect them. (This foreshadowed the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, who gave his blood for the sins of all people.)

But what is even more remarkable is that the phrase “by faith he kept the Passover” actually means that he instituted the Passover (perfect tense).

Moses actually instituted the Passover as a “lasting ordinance” to be done year after year (Exodus 12:14)—which means that Moses never doubted in the least that the people would be delivered from Egypt! He had nothing to go on but God’s word, but he believed it implicitly. Moses’ massive faith saved Israel!l

We live in a Time where leadership is mistrusted…from the national level all the way down to the civic level..to spiritual leadership...

... It took great Faith for Israel to follow Moses… it took faith to kill lamb in your house… sprinkle it on the door post… took faith to follow Moses into the Red Sea.. When the people followed God’s spokesman there was great blessing… because they weren’t following the words of Moses… they were following… God‘s word through Moses.. the Bible tells us that Israel exercisers great faith.,

Hebrews 11:29 ESV

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.

Conclusion

4. Faithfulness keeps the right Perspective.

Take a minute to look at this picture… How many see an old lady… young women…

Stephen Covey.. author is 7 Highly effective habits says,..

Each of us has many, many maps in our head [and] we interpret everything we experience through these mental maps. We seldom question their accuracy; we’re usually even unaware that we have them. We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be. And our attitudes and behaviors grow out of these assumptions. The way we see things is the source of the way we think and the way we act.… Paradigms are powerful because they create the lens through which we see the world.

How much consideration have you given to the “road map” you follow in life?

Are you clear about the big questions of life: What is your purpose here? Why were you created? What are your beliefs about eternity and God’s plan for humankind? How you answer these questions directly relates to your decisions about work, time management, sharing your resources

It is so easy to loose perspective…follow the wrong map...

The Christians in Hebrews we’re going through simpar struggles to those in Slavery in Egypt.. both were servants to another nation.., to Egypt and to Rome.. But they need be encourages.. BECAUSE HISTORY IS OUR BEST TEACHER… AND HISTORY HAS A WAY OF REPEATING ITSELF..

Israel Had Moses to look to?.

… Moses who was center figure who is center figure in Judaism - He was the mediator of the Old Covenant and and Jesus is center figure in Christianity… While we have Moses as example… who is shadow and antitype of Christ…Christ is the reals deal..

Hebrews 3:1–3 ESV

Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.

Take time to consider JESUS.. who is the high Priest or the mediator between us and God… Moses might have built the nation of Israel… they were a people enslaved in Egypt… but they left as a nation.... Jesus is great than Moses… Because.. Jesus the son of God is the Architech… of the whole plan...

How was Jesus Faithful? Was Jesus faithful to His mission? was Jesus faithful to his disciples? Was Jesus faithful to his teaching ministry?

Maybe there have been disappointments..in life… Faithfulness says I trust the architect!