We are well over the half way mark in our series examining the visible character traits that will be produced in the lives of Disciples of Jesus Christ.
To date, we have examined the first 6 of these character traits. We have also broken them down into 3 groups of three.
The first batch of fruit, (love, joy and peace) deal primarily with our relationship before God.
The second batch of fruit, (patience, kindness and goodness) deal primarily with our relationship toward others; and the last batch of fruit (faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) deal with the relationship that we are to have with ourselves.
As you know, our text is taken from Galatians 5:22-23a: “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.” (NIV)
These 9 character traits will be grown in your life, but only by the power of the Holy Spirit. We may cultivate these fruit; but we don’t grow them.
The Bible reminds us that: “…the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives…” (Gal. 5:22a, NLT2)
It’s: “…Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.” (Zech. 4:6, NIV) All nine of these qualities will be grown in our life by the Holy Spirit of God.
He may use situations and people to grow these fruit in our lives, and we must be open to His work.
This morning, we are going to examine the 7th Fruit of the Spirit: “Faithfulness”, not “faith” as translated by the King James Version, but Faithfulness.
PRAY
There are two words that resonated with me as I was preparing my sermon this week. These two words describe someone who is filled with the Fruit of the Spirit of faithfulness. These two words describe what Faithfulness is all about.
The two words are “Trustworthiness” and “Reliability”.
If we understand that this 3rd grouping of fruit deals primarily with our relationship with self; then we can come to understand that the Apostle Paul was telling us: “if you are filled with the Holy Spirit of God, you will be trustworthy and reliable.”
You see Church, the people who claim to be Christ followers are to be among the most trustworthy and reliable people in our world today.
But unfortunately, this is often the exception, not the rule.
What often happens—not always, but often—is that people who claim to be followers of Jesus are among the shadiest people in the world, especially in their dealings with other people.
But Paul reminds us that those who claim to be followers of the God Most High are to be, first of all, Trustworthy.
ILLUSTRATION- My wife trusts me, but it wasn’t always that way. I had to earn her trust over a period of time. Once I had her trust, I lost it.
She trusted me to be faithful to her, but unfortunately, while we were dating, I was unfaithful to her. When she found out about my unfaithfulness, her trust in me hit an all-time low.
It took years to gain her trust back—even to this day, we still have trust issues. I have been trying to earn her trust back, one day at a time.
I do so by being open and honest in every area of my life; publically and privately. There is no area of my life that is ``off limits” to her.
She has access to all my passwords, and can check anything that she wants too at any time of the day, and often does.
I vowed to gain her trust back, and every action that I can take to earn that trust back, I am willing to do.
You might say: “Preach, that’s your spouse, you’re supposed to do that.”
Yes, that’s true, but it’s also a command from Jesus to be faithful in all areas of life.
In Luke 16, Jesus said: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?” (Luke 16:10-12, NIV)
The verse that really jumps off the page to me is verse 10: “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.” (Luke 16:10, NLT2)
Being faithful in the “little things” of life will mean that I will eventually be trusted with “bigger things” of life.
But, if I am dishonest with the “little things” of life, how can I (you) be trusted with the “bigger things” in life?
The obvious answer is: YOU CAN’T!!
You see, faithfulness begins by being trustworthy in the small things of life, and if we are trustworthy in the small things, this will lead to being trustworthy in the big things.
This life-principle of Jesus plays out in everyday life. If we can be trusted with the small things, we can be trusted with the big things.
Part of being faithful is being trustworthy; it’s asking ourselves: “am I going to do what I said I would do?”
It is considering the vows that we make to God and to other people, and asking if we are truly able to keep those vows.
The Bible says: “It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.” (Ecc. 5:5 NLT2)
So, a question for all of us to consider this morning is this: are we doing what we said we would do? Are we trustworthy?
Rick Warren reminds us that if we are trustworthy, “we won’t have to convince people that we are…” they will see it in our life.
“Over time, our track record will speak for itself. Others will feel confident that they can count on you…” (Warren, 2006, 162)
We won’t have to advertise that we are trustworthy, for our actions will speak louder than words. If we are faithful in the small things, we can be trusted
in the big things.
If we want Holy Spirit produced faithfulness to be grown in our lives, we must work on becoming trustworthy, one “little thing” at a time.
The second word that describes faithfulness is “Reliable.”
It’s interesting to me that the things, or qualities, that we look for the most in others; are often the very same qualities that we are lacking.
“We want the paper carrier to be reliable so that we can read the newspaper at our accustomed time with our usual cup of coffee.”
“We want the mail carrier to be faithful; when I mail a letter, I depend on the mail service to deliver it.”
“I want the food at my favourite restaurant to be consistent from week to week…” (Warren, 2006, 159)
We look for reliability in other people, but we need to start by looking for it in us. We must ask ourselves: are we reliable?
ILLUSTRATION- The most famous geyser in America is Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming. It is not the biggest geyser in America, nor is it the most powerful.
What makes the geyser famous is its faithfulness! It runs like clockwork…. People appreciate dependability, even in a geyser.” (ibid)
Are you reliable? Can you be counted on?
“You may be talented, educated, and creative, but if you are not dependable, your talents are not worth much. Someone has said: “the greatest ability is dependability” (IBID)
If you want to be trusted with the “bigger things” of life; you must be dependable in the “little things” of life.
The Bible says: “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” (Prov. 3:3-4, NIV)
If we want to be known as people who are faithful; we must cultivate an attitude of trustworthiness and dependability.
· We must do what we say; when we say that we will do it.
· We must be faithful in the big things of life, as well as in the small things of life;
· We must be faithful, because our Lord Jesus Christ is faithful.
ILLUSTRATION- Author and speaker Chuck Colson writes of being invited to preach at tough old San Quentin Prison, an opportunity he greatly anticipated and carefully planned for.
Three hundred of the 2,200 inmates had agreed to come to the chapel to hear him speak.
But just days before his arrival, officials uncovered a hidden cache of weapons, and the prison was immediately locked down with inmates confined to their cells.
When Colson arrived at the prison chapel, he was saddened to find that only a handful of men were able to be present, and they were mostly Christians.
His spirits wilted, for he had so hoped to preach the gospel to the unsaved.
Struggling with a lack of enthusiasm, he thought: “Maybe I’ll just give a short devotional, ten minutes or so. I can’t really preach my heart out to this crowd.”
But spotting a video camera in the far end of the room, he said to himself, “Maybe this is being recorded for the chapel library. Maybe I’d better give it my all.”
He felt convicted for basing his morale and mood on the outer circumstances rather than the inner impulse of the Spirit, and so he preached with great fervor, as though a thousand inmates were listening.
Later he mentioned to the prison chaplain how disappointed he had been
to have missed sharing the gospel with the three hundred men who had originally signed up to attend.
“Didn’t you know?” asked the chaplain. “Because of the lockdown, the administration agreed to videotape your sermon.
They’ll be showing it to all the inmates on closed-circuit television in the morning tomorrow and again in the afternoon.”
In fact, the sermon was aired not just twice, but nearly a dozen times over the following weeks. Because of the lockdown, not just three hundred but all 2,200 prisoners heard the gospel.
Colson said that he learned three lessons from the incident:
Number one: Mother Teresa was right. God calls us to faithfulness, not to success.
Number two: When our goal is to change society, we often fail. When it is simple obedience to God, He blesses our efforts more than we can envision.
And number 3: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9, NIV) (Charles Colson, “A Way of Escape at San Quentin,” Christianity Today, 72)
Friends, what God is looking to grow in His people is faithfulness; a faithfulness that demonstrates itself by being trustworthy and reliable.
Dr. W. E. Caldwell reminds us that: “Christians are not called to be famous or successful, but faithful” (Caldwell, 1976, 65)
So I would like for all of to look deep into our hearts and carefully consider the following:
1. Am I trustworthy?
2. Am I reliable?
3. Can I be counted on, to do the right thing, even when no one is looking?
You see friend, God wants to grow faithfulness in our lives.
The Good News is if we aren’t quite there yet; if we are not as trustworthy as we should be; if we are not as reliable as we could be; we can ask God to fill us with His Spirit and grow in us the fruit of the Spirit of faithfulness, and He will do so, one small decision at a time.
Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, 'Don't break your promises, but keep the promises you make to the Lord.'
34 But I tell you, never swear an oath. Don't swear an oath using the name of heaven, because heaven is God's throne.
35 Don't swear an oath using the name of the earth, because the earth belongs to God. Don't swear an oath using the name of Jerusalem, because that
is the city of the great King.
36 Don't even swear by your own head, because you cannot make one hair on your head become white or black.
37 Say only yes if you mean yes, and no if you mean no. If you say more than yes or no, it is from the Evil One.” (Matthew 5:33-37, NCV)
With God’s help; we can be a people who are trustworthy and reliable and we can do so with a simple “Yes”, or “No”.
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