Preparation For Promotion Part 3: Test of Faithfulness
Scriptures: Ephesians 4:13-15; Philippians 4:11;
Introduction:
So far in this series, we have talked about the test of trusts and security. In the tests of trust and security, we learned the importance of trusting in God and being secure in who we are through Christ – regardless of what the world may tell us. We do not have to prove our worth to anyone for our worth comes through Christ. We are who God says we are, not who man says we are. In this message we will look at the third test, the test of faithfulness. When we look at our foundational Scripture found in Ephesians 4:13-15, it says: “….until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” (NIV) I want to stress to you now that we are to be growing in Christ. Our growth enables us to mature so that we can stand in the face of adversity. But in order to experience this growth and mature, we must pass the test of faithfulness.
I. The Test of Faithfulness
I want to give us a framework to set the stage for the point in this message. How many times have we set a goal only to get tired before reaching it and quit? This could have been a financial goal, weight loss goal, a change of attitude, etc. How many times have we made promises to ourselves or to someone else that we would do something and then we fail to do it? How many times have we started out with great intentions only to grow tired and not complete the task? How many times have we said “God told me to do so and so” only to quit when the times got hard? How many times have stood up in support of starting something new but when it grew routine and did not hold our attention, we gave it up? How many times has our physicians told us to stop eating certain foods or get more exercise and we start out great only to stop and go back to our old routine? How many times, how many times, how many times? If you are like me, you have a long list of things that you started out doing only to stop before you finished the task. The worst case is not when we tell ourselves we are going to do something and not do it, but when we make promises to others and then do not fulfill them. Every time we do this, we fail the test of faithfulness. You see, our faithfulness to God comes out not only in what we do or don’t do in our individual ministries of service to Him, but also in our daily interactions with others. If we cannot be faithful to those whom we interact with everyday, we will not be faithful to God either.
How many times have we given up on God just when we were about to receive our blessing? Paul made a statement in Philippians 4:11 that I think is something we need to consider when we think of our faithfulness. Here is what he said; “Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am.” (Amp) A few verses later he says that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” When you consider your faithfulness, one of the first signs that will always be present is how content you are. How at peace are you with yourself, with your surroundings and with your circumstances. When you are not at peace, it is hard to be faithful. Being faithful means that you will be loyal and reliable regardless of the circumstances and situations you face. So if we find ourselves shifting with the waves, we find ourselves failing the test of faithfulness. Paul understood that within Christ he could do all things, not some things, but all things. With this understanding, Paul was able to be content in every situation he found himself in. When he was with the brethren praising God, he was content. When he was preaching, he was content. When he was being beaten and put in jail, he found contentment because of his faith in God. Will our faithfulness get us through the rough days as Paul’s faith did for him?
In this third test, we must learn to be faithful even if the right thing is not happening to us. Can you tithe for years if you do not see a financial miracle? Can you work in a new start ministry for years building it from the ground up without getting tired? Faithfulness (from Vine’s dictionary) means “to be trusted, to be reliable, to be sure and to be worthy of confidence.” Faithful people are in it for the long haul. They are loyal and trustworthy. They can be expected to be there and fulfill their mission even if everyone else around them scatters. If you don’t pass the test today, God will bring it up tomorrow because He wants you to learn to be faithful. Being faithful is not for God’s good, it is for ours. Now for some of us, this is good news, but for others it is not. Some of us have been taking the faithfulness test for years and we still have not passed. It is the same with other tests we face in life. I will share something with you from a personal viewpoint to help you understand how test failure operates. I have learned that until I passed certain tests, I was locked into a cycle of what seemed to be “repeats”. For example, I had certain behaviors that I would go through in certain situations that were not good for me. Over and over again in these situations I would respond the same way getting the same outcome. During those years it never crossed my mind that my responses needed to be changed, I just assumed that things would work out because I was right. One day God finally got it through to me, if I want to quit repeating the same lessons, I needed to change my answers, how I responded. This was not an easy thing to do and it is something I continue to work on in some areas. You see, I am taking and failing tests too, but the time between failures are getting farther and farther apart. If you find that you continue to walk in some things over and over again, maybe it is time for you to change your responses, pass the test and move on. Just like in school, if you fail too many tests, you do not get promoted to the next grade. If you do not learn to pass the test of faithfulness in the small things, you will not ever pass the test of faithfulness in the bigger things. Consider these three points:
1. Faithfulness is simple trust. Can you trust God to know more than you and have your best interest at heart? Learn faithfulness in the little things and as you experience success there, it will grow into the bigger things. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.” (Amp) God constantly thinks of our welfare, all we need to do is trust Him and be faithful in our walk. Are you not comforted knowing that God spends time thinking about you, your day, your troubles, how He can help you through your trials and your tribulations. Yes, God knows you intimately and thinks of you and what is good for you. Isaiah said “So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock (the Rock of Ages). Isaiah 24:4 (Amp) Finally the wisest man ever to walk the earth said, “Lean on, trust in and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your path.” Proverbs 3:3-7 (Amp) As we fully come into the knowledge of God, we begin to understand what we mean to Him. With this knowledge, God ceases to be the one we turn to just when we are in trouble, but becomes a constant companion and friend. He becomes the One we depend on to direct our paths and show us the way. As God fulfills His role, we begin to fulfill ours by faithfully walking the path that He has laid out before us.
2. Faithfulness is the ability to wait on God. Waiting on God to move or to answer our prayers is not an easy thing to do. If you are like me, when you are in the waiting phase for anything your mind goes through all of the scenarios focusing on the possibility of what you are hoping for will not come to pass. To pass the test of faithfulness, you must learn to wait patiently on God. A faithful person must also learn to stay under the authority God places them under until God moves them. So many times our faithfulness is tied to whether or not we are in charge or have a lot of responsibility. Our faithfulness should be constant if we are in the lead or if we are following. Can you assist someone else when you know you can do the same job by yourself? Can you submit yourself to a boss when you know better than he does? Genesis 8:22 says “While the earth remain, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” This is talking about that there is a timing issue in everything. Think about Kind David. Before he actually took the throne after Saul’s death, he had been named King of Israel several years before while he was yet a teenager. During those years, he remained faithful. Even when Saul was trying to kill him, he would not speak against Saul or lift his hands against him. For many of us, if someone just speaks against us without even trying to kill us, we are on them like white on rice. We must be faithful under authority in order to flow in authority.
3. Faithful is doing the right thing when no one is around because it is the right thing to do. When I was growing up, I had chores to do around the house. I remember one time my father told me to vacuum one of the bedroom. Based on my previous history, I knew that if I went too fast, I would have to redo it, but if the vacuum ran long enough he and my mother would assume that I was doing a great job. Well on this day, I started the vacuum, quickly ran it over the floor and then just let it stay on for a while. I guess I forgot about the time because my father walked in and I was standing there reading a comic book while the vacuum just sat there running. Needless to say, I had to redo the whole floor. A faithful person does the right thing all the time. They do not have to have someone looking over their shoulder or following up to make sure something was completed. Because it is the right thing to do, they just get it done. If you find yourself on your job and always having to be asked twice if you got something done, maybe you’re not faithful. If you have certain responsibilities and you are constantly not fulfilling them, maybe you’re not faithful. These are small things. If you cannot be faithful with the small things, you will not be faithful with the larger things.
The test of faithfulness is producing 3 things in you: character and stability; the fruit of the Spirit and wisdom, patience and humility. Being faithful ensures you will reap the harvest of your blessings in due time. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” You cannot give up and expect to receive the harvest that will come through your continued faithfulness. I am reminded of something my father would say this to me most of the times when I would get on his nerves “Boy, the older you get is just the older you get.” What my father was telling me was that I needed to grow up and mature – to learn the lessons from my youth and put away childish things and take on the responsibilities of an adult. You see, as we age there are things that we should be learning so that as we get older, we become mature and more wise, not just old. By the way, my father just told me this again a few months ago – I guess I still have work to do.
Paul said in Ephesians 4:13-15,“….until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” (NIV) If we do not remain faithful, our maturity will not come and we will not attain the fullness of Christ and remain infants spiritually although we may be 80 years old. We must be growing spiritually and our growth comes through our faithfulness.
Next week I will conclude this series with the last test, the test of Forgiveness.
