"The Faithfulness God Desires"

Sub-Introduction: Shalom(peace be still) to Everyone. I certainly hope everyone is enjoying the sermon series thus far on the Fruit of the Spirit as much as I have. Thank you, Father God, for your guidance and leadership through the Holy Spirit through this series.

Open Scripture: If you will please turn to Galatians 5:22-23.

While you are turning there, the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 4:2 “Now, it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”

“Does your reputation reflect dependability and steadfastness in the faith? Or do people expect you to be late, undependable, or drop off the map on a project? Your faithfulness represents God’s Spirit dwelling within you. Those who cultivate the fruit of faithfulness are compelled to complete every good work for His glory”(what Christians want to know.com).

If you are at Galatians 5:22-23, say amen. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things, there is no law.”

Opening Prayer: Father, God, only you can prepare the hearts of those present here this morning. Lord, it is through your Holy Spirit that He makes known to each heart; what you want to reveal to them all? I ask to You, Holy Spirit, to increase Yourself in me and that you would decrease me all the more. So, the words that come from my mouth, your vessel will be from God Almighty, Himself. In Jesus' great name, we pray, Amen.

Introduction: What is faithfulness: [ feyth-fuhl-nis ]

noun

1. lasting loyalty and trustworthiness in relationships, especially marriage and friendship: A wedding ring symbolizes eternal love and faithfulness to each other. 2. the fact or quality of being true to one’s word or commitments, as to what one has pledged to do, professes to believe, etc.: In the Bible, the psalmist David reports God's faithfulness in keeping promises. 3. the fact or quality of being dedicated and steadfast in performing one’s duty, working for a cause, etc.: Lawyers have an ethical obligation to represent their clients with diligence, faithfulness, and competence. 4. the quality of adhering to the fact, a standard, or an original; accuracy: Professional translators often focus on the faithfulness of a translation to the original, with too little attention to the naturalness or comprehensibility of the translated version.

What faithfulness does God desire from His children?

2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us, “for we walk by faith not by sight.” We are to seek after the Lord with our whole hearts, that is, with every inch of our existence: mind, body, and spirit.

For the faithfulness God desires is to “live all of one’s life based on confident trust in God’s promises for the future, even when one cannot yet see the fullness of the coming glory”(ESV, study notes, p.2229). 2 Corinthians 4:18 because “as we look not to the things that are seen but to things that are unseen. For the things that are seen transient”(temporary), “but the things that are unseen are eternal”(ESV).

If you are looking only at what is seen, then it is not faith at all. The faithfulness that the Spirit gives us causes us to be about God’s kingdom business—living from an expectancy in knowing that no matter where we, as Christians, go, God is with us. He is not just with us, and He is leading us, teaching, caring for us, walking with us; he is our next breath, the next one, and every breath after that we take until we go home to be within personally.

What does the Bible tell us about God’s faithfulness?

Deuteronomy 7:9 says, “Know therefore that the Lord your God, is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments to a thousand generations.”

To receive the faithfulness of God, we must remain in the love of God and stay obedient to His commands. For God, Himself remains faithful; it is who He is, faithful and true.

Again in Psalm 25:10 “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies”(ESV).

Which path are you walking along?

The fruit of faithfulness takes:

time

work

change

and yes, the Holy Spirit to grow and develop faith in us.

Illustration: (True story) “In Nashua, New Hampshire, a woman, and her dog were rescued from a sewer system they had fallen into while out on a walk. The woman started screaming for help through one of the pipes in the system. As one of the people involved told the reporters, “We could hear her, but she couldn’t hear us” (Christine McCarthy, “Nashua Woman and Dog Rescued After Being Trapped in Sewer,” Boston 25 News, June 4, 2020, https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/nashua-woman-dog-rescued-after-being-trapped-sewer/KGO2TZNM3BDHFGPTLDFY7NDJLU/). That description sums up how our relationship to God can sometimes feel. We’re crying out to him for help, and he can hear us, but we can’t hear him. We are reminded through the readings today that no matter how bleak the situation, God is faithful to his promises, and we can trust that he hears our cries for help”(www.boston25news.com).

God’s timing is always perfect; he is never late, but always on time, His timing.

Stay faithful because He is always faithful to His promises.

The Bible tells us even more about the faithfulness of God in Psalm 91: 4“With his feathers, he will cover you, and under his wings, you can take refuge. His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.”

God covers us under His wings, and His faithfulness becomes a shield for us. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”(Romans 8:31-32).

If you lack the faithfulness God desires, then it is long overdue, time to ask the Lord to equip you through His Holy Spirit by clothing you in His faith.

Wait a minute! That’s right; it even takes faith to believe that God exists before you can even go to Him in prayer. One has to have the indwelling of the Spirit in them to walk in faith. If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, perhaps today is the day to get that settled with God. It takes faith to surrender, repent, and ask the Lord to become your Savior.

Lamentations 3:22-23 declares, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new ‘every morning;’ great is your faithfulness”(ESV).

Illustration: There is a Special Power living inside every born-again believer in Christ. The Holy Spirit is the power that is alive in us. How do we see His power manifested in us? That’s right, walking in the faithfulness of the Lord.

“In the novel Inkheart, Mo discovers he has extraordinary power. When he reads a book aloud, he brings the characters to life in the real world (Cornelia Funke, Inkheart [New York: The Chicken House, 2003]). It’s a simple illustration of the power the Word of God has in our life. When we read these stories of the prophets or the words of Paul and see the faithful God behind all these events, guiding everything along following his plan, our faith grows more and more, which translates into actions in the real world”(sermonillustration.com).

The fruit of faithfulness takes:

time

work

change

and yes, the Holy Spirit to grow and develop faith in us.

Beloved, God desires every one of us to surrender to His plan for our lives. Do not be stubborn or ignorant in thinking your way, or your plans are better than God’s. That is nonsense!

For God speaks to us in Isaiah 55: 6-9 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts”(ESV).

Application:

Learn to walk by faith, not by sight. Study the Scriptures on faithfulness. Journal about your journey of faith God has you traveling with Him.

Live and abide in fellowship with the Holy Trinity. Seek to be in connection with other like-minded followers of Christ Jesus and grow in the Lord together. Join the Wednesday night Bible Study on Knowing God. Share in the Sunday night Bible Study with us and draw closer to God; so that He will draw nearer to you.

Matthew 22:37-39 “ 37 And he said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself”(ESV).

Keep in step with the Spirit by walking faithfully with Him wherever He leads you. Stay alert, and listen for His nudges and tugging on your heart which way to go. Do as Jeremiah 6:16 says to do, “16 Thus says Lord: “Stand at the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the way of the good is, and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.”

Do not do as the Israelites did before God, for they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Closing Prayer and Altar Call!