Fruit Of The Spirit: Faithfulness
Gal 5:22-23
Walk by the Spirit & your life will produce fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:16)
You were called to be free, but don’t use your freedom to indulge sinful nature. (v.5:13)
Walk by Spirit (command) & you won’t carry out desires of the sinful nature (promise).
Sinful nature & Spirit are in conflict with one another. (v.5:17-18)
If you walk by the Spirit, the fruit (facets of agape) will be obvious. (v.22-23)
Fruit of Spirit describes the Christ-life… it is not natural to us & is not attainable by us by any self-effort. Life that is natural to us is listed in Gal 5:21.
Fruit of Spirit is only possible when H Spirit indwells & lives Christ’s life thru you.
Do you truly desire the Fruit of Spirit in your life? Then renounce self completely & all its strivings after holiness, & in faith let indwelling H Spirit take full control in your life.
Fruit of the Spirit is: faithfulness. (Gal 5:22)
Faithfulness (pistos): dependable, trustworthy, regular & consistent… faith in action.
Entrust the Gospel (things you have heard) to faithful men. (2Tim 2:2)
Many would like to do something with more dash & flair than just being faithful.
Loyal & faithful Christians desire to hear, “Well done, faithful servant…” (Mt 25:21)
Our Lord placed a premium on the faithfulness of those who love & serve Him.
Faith in Jesus Christ is central concept of Christianity. (Jn 3:15-16; 11:25; 30:31)
Faith is firm expectation (hope) that God will perform all that He has promised to us in Christ. Faith is being certain of what we do not see… faith demonstrates to eye of the mind the reality of those things that cannot be discerned by eye of the body. (Heb 11:1)
Faith is resting/trusting in God’s love & sovereignty… complete trust &confidence in Him
Faith is trusting in God against everything that contradicts His revealed character. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” (Job 13:15)
Faith involves humbly receiving God’s gift of righteousness by faith in Christ, rather than seeking to achieve righteousness on our own. (Jn 1:12; Eph 2:8)
Faith believes that God is & that without faith we cannot please God. (Heb 11:6)
Examine yourself to see if you’re in the Faith… if so, Jesus lives in you. (2Cor 13:5)
Examine your daily life to see if fruit of Spirit is increasingly evident in your life.
Are you willing to learn from H Spirit how to be faithful & loving… Christ-like?
God is sovereign & absolutely faithful.
Faith is not out of touch with reality, but it sees something else too… faithfulness of God.
Twelve men were sent into Canaan. Ten proved faithless. Joshua & Caleb also saw the giants & walled cities, but believed that “the Lord is with us” (v.14:9) & they knew God would be faithful to give them victory. (Num 13 & 14
God is faithful to the end & to present us blameless on that day. (1Cor 1:9)
God will sanctify you fully… He is faithful & He will do it. (1Thes 5:23-24)
God will never leave or forsake you… He is faithful we need not be afraid. (Heb 13:5)
No one can pluck you from Christ’s arms… He is faithful to protect you. (Jn 10:29)
God will supply all your needs. (Phil 4:19)
If you believe God is faithful, your life will be changed… full of faith.
Full of faith (faithfulness) is living out your belief… faith in action. (Ja 2: 14,17,20)
FofS faithfulness is trusting God & seeking His direction… it’s full of faith living.
Many Christians claim to believe above, but their lives are not full of faith… why?
Faith includes believing that certain things are true… but that faith can be limited to an intellectual exercise. (Ja 2:19)
Faith by its very nature must be tested & tried. Real test is that God’s character must be proven trustworthy in our own minds. “But if not… “ (Dan 3:18)
Many avoid being in a place where God’s faithfulness is needed… of being totally dependent on His faithfulness to provide.
Because they avoid proving God is faithful, they really don’t know if they trust Him.
Put on the shield of faith daily… to protect from “fiery darts” (lies) of Satan. (Eph 6:16)
Faith doesn’t grow automatically. You must talk to your faith & yourself, & learn to ask your soul why it is cast down… & with shield of faith wake it up. (Ps 42)
Those given a trust (God’s salvation, Spirit, & Word) must prove faithful. (1Cor 4:2)
Large part of faithfulness consists of just refusing anxious thoughts, refusing to think about worrying events, refusing to think of the future in a fretting way. (2Cor 10:5)
Turning intellectual faith into fruit of Spirit faithfulness (full of faith) is always a fight. God brings us into difficult circumstances to educate our faith, because faith requires that the object of our faith (God) is very real to us. Until we truly know God, He is merely a concept & we can’t have fruitful faith in Him. Do you know Him?
Examine yourself to see if you’re in the Faith… if so, Jesus lives in you. (2Cor 13:5)
Examine your daily life to see if fruit of Spirit is increasingly evident in your life.
08-01-10