Title: FAITHFULNESS

Text: Gal 5:22-23

Date: 11-26-06.am

The word faithfulness means to remain loyal and steadfast to be trustworthy. Another name for faithfulness is fidelity or dependability.

One of my favorite movies is Heaven Knows Mr. Allison with Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr. Mitchum plays Marine Cpl Allison who washes up on a pacific island in a raft after the destroyer he was on is sunk. Kerr plays sister Angela a nun who hasn’t yet taken her final vows. I can’t remember if it ever says how she came to be there by herself, but the main plot is about their surviving together on this island. But, one of the major subplots of the movie is their faithfulness, even when times get bad and even though they are alone with nobody to see what’s going on or what they are doing both of them remain faithful to the vows they took in their separate organizations him to the Marine Corp, whose moto is Semper Fidelis or Semper Fi” which means “always faithful,” (it’s also the moto of the US Army 11^th infantry) and her to the Catholic Church and Jesus Christ.

Faithfulness involves three things

1. CONVICTION a firmly held belief or opinion and the quality of showing that one is convinced of what one believes or says.

Our convictions form the basis for our actions. If we don’t believe it, we sure aren’t going to live it.

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of {things} hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (NAS) The word faith and faithfulness come from the same word.

If we are to be faithful There are things concerning our faith we need to have nailed down. Among them We need to have a conviction about God. That God exists, that He is creator and sustainer of all that exists, that He desires to know you in a personal way. We need a conviction about Jesus Christ, that He is God in the flesh come into the world for the purpose of bringing redemption and salvation to humanity. We need to have a conviction about the nature of salvation. That all have sinned and fall short or God’s glory, that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. We need to have a conviction about God’s Word the Bible that it is all God breathed and that it is the Word of Life.

Have you nailed down your convictions? What you believe, what you stand for? Is the kingdom first in your life or are you messing with Jesus? Do the people at school, at work, in the neighborhood know what you stand for or are you sitting on the fence?

Faithfulness begins with conviction.

The second requirement for faithfulness is . . .

2. CONFIDENCE the belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something most often it’s self.

I love the story I read about the late baseball legend Ty Cobb. On his 70th birthday Ty Cobb was interviewed by Larry King on the “Larry King Live” show. King asked him: “What do you think you’d hit if you were playing baseball these days?”

Cobb, who was a lifetime .367 hitter, said: “About .290, maybe .300.”

King asked: “Is that because of the travel, the night games, the artificial turf, and all the new pitches like the slider?”

“No,” Cobb replied, “it’s because I’m seventy years old now.”

Cobb was confident in his own ability even in his old age.

Our confidence isn’t in our own strength or ability, our confidence must be in the Lord. Paul didn’t say I can do anything I set my mind to. Paul said I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength. Only when we have a conviction that God has redeemed us for a purpose, that His will is perfect, that He is on the throne in all situations that He cares more about us than we could ever care about ourselves and that He cares for his church, His bride, can we have a confidence that comes from the Lord.

That is the kind of confidence David had when he went into battle against the Philistine giant Goliath. Caleb and Joshua had that kind of confidence when they came back from spying out the promised land. When the other spies were concerned and worried about the people in the land being giants these two men were confident not in their ability to wage war but that God was faithful and would be with them because He had promised.

God has given us these same promises. He has promised that he will not leave us not forsake us

JACOB - Gen 28:15     "And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (NAS)

MOSES - Deut 31:6 "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." (NAS)

JOSHUA - Josh 1:5 "No man will {be able to} stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. (NAS)

CHRISTIANS – John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

(NAS)

Heb 13:5-6

5       Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,"

6       so that we confidently say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?" (NAS)

Only when we have a conviction about the things of God and confidence in the power, presence, and will of God in our lives can we begin the journey to faithfulness and that requires one more thing.

3. COMMITMENT The act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action and following through

Commitment is a line you have to cross to accomplish anything for the Lord. . . it is the difference between dreaming and doing.

Phil 4:9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you. (NAS) This KJV says “do.”

Matt 7:24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. (NAS)

Luke 8:21 But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it." (NAS)

John 13:17 "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. (NAS)

John 15:14 "You are My friends, if you do what I command you. (NAS)

James 1:22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. (NAS)

A dream, a vision a goal will never become a reality until there is a commitment to follow through. Our dreams of being all God desires for us as individuals and as a church will never become reality until we are committed and faithful in following through on that dream by doing what we’ve been commanded to do.

Several years ago a young African Pastor who was enduring heavy persecution was kidnapped and never heard from again. While a missionary was cleaning out his humble dwelling he found this manifesto of faithfulness pinned to the wall of his tiny apartment.

I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.