The Fruit of Holy Spirit – 7

The Fruit of Holy Spirit – 7

Subject: Walking in the Fruit of the Spirit - Faithfulness

By Rick Welborne

Galatians 5:22-26 (NKJV)
²²  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
²³  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
²⁴  And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
²⁵  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  

²⁶  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

The Fruit of the Spirit – Faithfulness.

Faithfulness - fidelity, allegiance, loyalty. constancy · devotion · trueness · true-heartedness · dedication · commitment · allegiance · dependability · reliability · trustworthiness · steadfastness · closeness · fairness · justness · truthfulness · authenticity · reliability · dependability.

--Wow! What an amazing word and what an amazing fruit of Holy Spirit. All on this list are to be desired but faithfulness is one that is most important to me personally. Think of family and friends. 

--As you read through the list of the Fruit of the Spirit…who do you see? You see Jesus! That is why it is so imperative for us to have this fruit in our lives…so others will see Jesus!

--I think all of us want to be surrounded by people who exhibit all of these qualities (fruit) but please keep this in mind…you must lead with the seed.

--We know the Word of God says we reap what we sow…if you want fruit, start planting the right seed…start giving away what you want to come back to you.

Adam Clarke's Commentary - Faithfulness - here used for fidelity—punctuality in performing promises, conscientious carefulness in preserving what is committed to our trust, in restoring it to its proper owner, in transacting the business confided to us, neither betraying the secret of our friend, nor disappointing the confidence of our employer. 

SpiritHome.com - Faithful - means loyal, full of faith or trust; firmly and resolutely staying with a person, group, cause, belief, or idea, without waver, despite the circumstances. 

--Faithfulness sets us apart from other people. Faithfulness separates: the successful from the failures, the finisher from the quitter, the responsible from the irresponsible, the mature from the immature.

--You have grown up and are living in a society that is unfaithful. It seems that it is just part of the system that our politicians all have shady pasts. Before we get to judgmental, the church has had its share also.

--We can even find the society’s acceptance of unfaithfulness at the card shop. Visit a Hallmark store, "I can’t promise you forever, but I can promise you today." Imagine that on an anniversary card! God’s promise:

Psalm 100:5 (NIV)
⁵  For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

--When it comes to faithfulness…GOD is faithful. God will never turn His back on you; God won’t abandon you. God will never take advantage of you or mistreat you. God will be faithful!

--So what is faithfulness? Let me ask you what does faithfulness mean? What word would you use to describe faithfulness? Authenticity. Truthful. Real. Accurate.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines faithfulness as “adhering firmly and devotedly, as to a person cause or idea.” 

--Faithfulness is the “superglue” of the heart that holds fast and won’t let go. Faithfulness means following through with your commitments regardless of what it costs.

--In this series on the fruit of the Spirit, I have described each as an expression of love. Without love it is impossible for the fruit to develop. The fruit of the Spirit begins and ends with love.

Joy is love rejoicing. Patience is love enduring. Peace is love trusting. Kindness is love serving. Goodness is love extending. Faithfulness is love proving. Gentleness is love touching. Self-control is love restraining.

--Faithfulness is love proving. Faithfulness is love that hangs on to the end; it’s love that won’t quit. 

1. Faithfulness is Jesus. 

--If you want to see faithfulness lived out in the day to day life of someone look at Jesus. If you are going to live a faithful life, then live your life just like Jesus.

Hebrews 2:17-18 (NLT2) ¹⁷  Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.
¹⁸  Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.

--Jesus lived His life with unwavering commitment and faithfulness. He didn’t quit or throw in the towel when things got tough; His love for us was steadfast and true.  regardless of the cost—Jesus loved us to death. 

--Not only did Jesus go to the cross to lay down His life for our sins, He was resurrected to life so that we might be able to live with Him. The faithfulness of Jesus continues. He will never be unfaithful to us.

2 Timothy 2:10-13 (NLT2)
¹⁰  So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.
¹¹  This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him.
¹²  If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us.
¹³  If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

--Jesus is faithful and true. Jesus shows us how to live faithfully – to adhere with firm devotion to God and to have an unbreakable commitment for one another.

2. Faithfulness in you and me.

--But what will faithfulness look like in you and me? Above all else be faithful, but what does that mean? 

Four characteristics of faithfulness:

A. The faithful hold onto Truth.

--You need to have an unshakeable tenacity that will not let go of truth. Opinions may change; values may differ, but truth remains the same. 

--Our society wants us to believe truth is relative, that there is no absolute truth. Do you notice the contradiction in such a belief? How can you claim absolutes don’t exist with an absolute statement?

Revelation 2:24-29 (NLT2)
²⁴  “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them—depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you
²⁵  except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.
²⁶  To all who are victorious, who obey me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations.
²⁷  They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.
²⁸  They will have the same authority I received from my Father, and I will also give them the morning star!
²⁹  “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. 

--Values are relative; values will differ from person to person or culture to culture. Truth is absolute; truth is the same for all of us, so hold on to truth.

--At one time Americans valued the wisdom of older people; we respected those who had gone before us. 

--However today we are more likely to look up to the young. At one time we valued discipline and respect; children were expected to act in a certain way. 

--In many oriental cultures children are still expected to behave in certain ways, and disobedience has definite consequences. Yet for us discipline and respect are no longer held as an important value. 

--Instead of teaching discipline and respect we diagnose children with ADD and medicate them with Ritalin.

Values change, not always for the better. Truth remains the same. 

--What are some basic truths we should all hold onto? Let me quickly share with you five basic truths I will never let go of. These are truths you should take with you throughout your life.

A. The Bible is the authoritative guide for how to live.

B. Jesus Christ is the only hope for salvation.

C. People are more important than things.

D. God owns everything and loans it to us for a short time.

E. What happens in me is more important than what happens to me. Holy Spirit!

B. The faithful persevere through difficulty.

--Essentially you can make four basic responses to difficulty in your life. Only two are the right kind of responses. 

--You can give up and be crushed. You can whine and complain. You can pray victoriously. You can endure and refuse to give up.

Luke 18:1 (NIV)
¹  Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 

C. The faithful keep their commitments. 

Matthew 25:21 (NKJV)
²¹  His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'

D. Faithfulness makes a fresh start.

Psalm 51:10-11 (NKJV)
¹⁰  Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹  Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.