December 10, 2015
As we rap up our look at faithfulness, we have seen and will see today that there are many ways, times, and behaviors that show faithfulness. That is why God made it a Spiritual fruit. There is no way we could be faithful and stay faithful without the Holy Spirit !!! As an example... it takes a different set of thoughts and behaviors to be faithful to your spouse than it does to be faithful to your local church. So today as we look at 5 verses from the bible try to see how the different types of faithfulness looks and how we should react !
" He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much ; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches ? " Luke chapter 16 : 10 - 11.
The first part of this simply says that a person will be the same weather there is a little or a lot at stake. This assumes that the faithful one is filled with the spirit ! The one who is not will always be unfaithful !! Think of people you know and see if this is not true. The second part of this verse draws the parallel between earthly wealth and heavenly wealth. From God's view, if we can not be trusted with pieces of paper (money), then how in the world can He trust us with true wealth (Spiritual Gifts).
" And the things you have heard from Me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. " 2 Timothy 2 : 2
Here Paul is telling Timothy the secret to keeping Christianity alive !!! If the word of God is not taught for one generation....Christianity dies. Therefore what Paul is saying is you must give the word of God to the faithful ( followers of Jesus ) so that more people can hear, accept, and follow Jesus. An unfaithful person ( Non-believer ) has no reason to be faithful in the Spiritual journey of building the kingdom of God. Based on the last verse, he is most interested in building his kingdom of mammon (money).
" For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue. " Psalm 5 : 9
This verse tells us one clue to watch for when deciding if a person is faithful or not. Again a person who is not saved is filled with death ! So.... all words spoken are spoken out of THEIR heart and makes their throat an open tomb for their words. They flatter all the time ! We have all met this person. They flatter you with their words only to keep your eye off of what they are doing !!
" May the Lord repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; For the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord's anointed. " 1 Samuel 26 : 23
There is an old joke: What does every Christian have to eat after service on Sunday ? Roast preacher! We should be very careful how we treat God's anointed. That does not mean only the preacher! ALL of God's children have been anointed. When we are mistreated, God will take care of His children, just as you would take care of your own children. BUT if you jump in to pay back, God's hands are tied !!! LET GO AND LET GOD !!!!
" So the Governors and Satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. " Daniel 6 : 4
This show the benefit of faithfulness at work. If as a follower of Jesus you are faithful, there will be people who will look for fault with you. This is normal behavior for non-believers. Our job is to be as faithful as we can and let Jesus deal with the non-believers. That does not mean we should be door mats, but it does mean that any type of payback on our part will tie God's hands and we will pay the price for NOT being faithful !!!
This wraps up our study on Faithfulness. As you can see there are many ways to be faithful and the best we can do is to get out of the way and let the Holy Spirit control our lives and the fruit of the Spirit will be plentiful in your life !!! Join us next week as we take on another Fruit Of The Spirit. Have a blessed week !
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Fruit Of The Spirit ... Faithfulness
December 3, 2015
When we talk about Faithfulness, we should be talking about many types of faithfulness not just to Jesus. The purpose of the Spirit is not just to make us more like Jesus, but to also be a good witness for Him !! Therefore we should be displaying the fruit to all we come in contact with. That is why the Holy Spirit is in charge and not us .... or should be ! What did Jesus say ? With Me ALL things are possible and without Me you can do nothing !!! In todays study we will take a look at a few versus from the bible and see some of the many ways we can and should be faithful.
" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such there is no law. " Galatians 5 : 22
We started with this verse just to establish the fact that this is in deed a fruit of the Spirit. It is also interesting to note that the last sentence says that against such there is no law. This is to show that there can be no law against Godly attitudes and behaviors.
" The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. " Jeremiah 23 : 28
This verse is showing that to be faithful to God (that is who is speaking here through Jeremiah) he should share what ever God has given them. This is huge... it tells us that fruits and gifts that come from God are to be shared with all. The key here is not share with all ( still very important ) but ones that come from God !! If it is not from God you do not need to share with all. Examples of things that are not from God would be selfishness, slander, gossip, greed ... etc.
" A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness will utter lies. " Proverbs 14 : 5
Here we see a outcome of displaying the fruit of faithfulness. Not only will he not lie, but one who is not of God, tells lies ( plural ). This talking not just about an instant or some times, but at all times and in all situations. The fact that none of us are perfect only shows that we are not yet like Jesus and have a lot of work for the Holy Spirit to do in us..... but only to the degree that we surrender to Him and turn our life over to Jesus !
" A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter. " Proverbs 11 : 13
This verse shows that some gifts from the Spirit are not to be shared with the world ! The only way we can know when to talk and when not to talk is to listen to the Spirit within us. A talebearer that is talked about here, is known as a liar to us. So, the best thing that we can do is to not share secrets and to speak and share only gifts given to us to share (see verse above ).
" Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 1 Timothy 3 : 11.
In this verse Paul is giving the rules and guidelines for Timothy to follow when selecting leaders in the church. When it comes to the wives they also had to meet standards. Notice that Paul says she must be faithful in ALL things ! WOW that's a very tall order. If we are not yet as Jesus and not yet fully sanctified , how can anyone be faithful in all things ??? Remember he is talking about the church, so what Paul is saying is that when it comes to their service in and for the church, they must be honest and trustworthy in all aspects of their lives and ministries. Still, a very tall order !!!
Next week we will continue and conclude our discussion of faithfulness. Please join us and till next week.... be blessed !
When we talk about Faithfulness, we should be talking about many types of faithfulness not just to Jesus. The purpose of the Spirit is not just to make us more like Jesus, but to also be a good witness for Him !! Therefore we should be displaying the fruit to all we come in contact with. That is why the Holy Spirit is in charge and not us .... or should be ! What did Jesus say ? With Me ALL things are possible and without Me you can do nothing !!! In todays study we will take a look at a few versus from the bible and see some of the many ways we can and should be faithful.
" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such there is no law. " Galatians 5 : 22
We started with this verse just to establish the fact that this is in deed a fruit of the Spirit. It is also interesting to note that the last sentence says that against such there is no law. This is to show that there can be no law against Godly attitudes and behaviors.
" The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. " Jeremiah 23 : 28
This verse is showing that to be faithful to God (that is who is speaking here through Jeremiah) he should share what ever God has given them. This is huge... it tells us that fruits and gifts that come from God are to be shared with all. The key here is not share with all ( still very important ) but ones that come from God !! If it is not from God you do not need to share with all. Examples of things that are not from God would be selfishness, slander, gossip, greed ... etc.
" A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness will utter lies. " Proverbs 14 : 5
Here we see a outcome of displaying the fruit of faithfulness. Not only will he not lie, but one who is not of God, tells lies ( plural ). This talking not just about an instant or some times, but at all times and in all situations. The fact that none of us are perfect only shows that we are not yet like Jesus and have a lot of work for the Holy Spirit to do in us..... but only to the degree that we surrender to Him and turn our life over to Jesus !
" A talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter. " Proverbs 11 : 13
This verse shows that some gifts from the Spirit are not to be shared with the world ! The only way we can know when to talk and when not to talk is to listen to the Spirit within us. A talebearer that is talked about here, is known as a liar to us. So, the best thing that we can do is to not share secrets and to speak and share only gifts given to us to share (see verse above ).
" Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 1 Timothy 3 : 11.
In this verse Paul is giving the rules and guidelines for Timothy to follow when selecting leaders in the church. When it comes to the wives they also had to meet standards. Notice that Paul says she must be faithful in ALL things ! WOW that's a very tall order. If we are not yet as Jesus and not yet fully sanctified , how can anyone be faithful in all things ??? Remember he is talking about the church, so what Paul is saying is that when it comes to their service in and for the church, they must be honest and trustworthy in all aspects of their lives and ministries. Still, a very tall order !!!
Next week we will continue and conclude our discussion of faithfulness. Please join us and till next week.... be blessed !
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