As we’ve done each week, we’ll begin with a quick review of several important characteristics of the…
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
1) Is demonstrated by being not doing
2) Is developed as Christ followers cooperate with the Holy Spirit
3) Is to be delightful to an unbelieving world
The way we do that as a body is reflected in two aspects of our life together in the body:
• The way we treat each other
• Our corporate worship
Today we’ll be focusing on kindness as one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. This morning’s story from Home Town Tales is called “Dreamers All”.
[Read story]
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS…FAITHFULNESS
Once again, we’ll begin this morning by defining the term “faithfulness”. The word that Paul uses to describe this aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is “pistis”. It literally means:
“firm persuasion, a conviction based upon hearing”
The word “pistis” is used over 240 times in the New Testament and in most places it is translated “faith” rather than “faithfulness”. In fact, the KJV uses the word “faith” rather than faithfulness’ in Galatians 5 where Paul lists the nine aspects of the fruit of the Sprit. So which is correct? Is it faith or faithfulness that Paul has in mind here? Let’s look at some other passages that use the same Greek word and see if we can’t get a better handle on that.
The first passage we’ll look at is the definition of faith by the writer of Hebrews:
Now faith [pistis] is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
In that same chapter, the writer of Hebrews gives us several examples of faith that provide some further insight into its meaning. Let’s look at just one of those:
By faith [pistis] Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith [pistis] he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
Hebrew 11:8-10 (ESV)
This passage very clearly shows that there are two aspects of faith that cannot be separated. First there is the idea of belief, trust and loyalty – which in English we would describe as faith. But there is also the idea of being reliable and trustworthy toward God which is evidenced by Abraham’s obedience – which we would describe as faithfulness. So what we find there is that these two aspects of pistis are really inseparable.
Let’s look at one more passage that will help us confirm that connection:
What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness [pistis] of God? By no means!
Romans 3:3, 4 (ESV)
Here the word pistis is translated faithfulness when it is applied to God. Obviously that is the most accurate translation since God is certainly faithful, but He would obviously not have the need to exercise faith since He would never need to have belief and trust in anyone or anything else.
When we put all this together, we see that it just isn’t possible to separate our faith from our faithfulness. So this morning, as we examine this aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, it will be important for us to keep both our faith and faithfulness in view.
With that background, we are now ready to develop some practical principles regarding how to develop faith/faithfulness in our body.
• Developing faithfulness in the way we treat each other
1) Develop our trust in God through His Word
We’ve all heard the term “blind faith”, but when it comes to our relationship with God through His Son, Jesus, our faith is far from blind. Although, as we saw in Hebrews 11, faith requires us to have conviction about things that are unseen, we have much evidence to show us that those unseen things are indeed real and true.
It is much like the wind. Although we can’t see the wind, we can observe evidence around us that gives testimony to the reality of the wind. We can feel it on our skin. We can see the movement of the trees or the unfurled flag on the flagpole or the spinning blades on the windmill.
The same is true with our faith. We can’t see God. But we can observe the evidence that He is real all around us. In Romans 1, Paul describes how His creation reveals God to us, for instance. But the primary means by which God reveals Himself to us is through His Word.
From Genesis to Revelation the Bible is the account of God’s faithfulness toward us. And the more that we get to know God through His Word, the better we are equipped to have the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. God’s faithfulness in the past gives us confidence that He will keep His promises to us regarding the future even though we have nothing tangible on which to base that faith.
Obviously all of us need to spend time in God’s Word on our own. But I am convinced that our faith is developed to an even greater degree when we spend time in the Bible with our brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, in the early church, where nobody had their own personal copy of the Scriptures, the only way that someone could study the Bible was in community with other believers. The value of being in God’s Word in the presence of other believers is demonstrated by these words of Paul to the Colossian church:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16 (ESV)
A couple of things stand out in this verse. First, the word “you” is plural, so Paul’s command is directed at the entire body and not just to individuals. The second thing we see is the phrase “one another.” All the activities that Paul describes here as the means to letting the Word of Christ dwell in their hearts were to be carried out with one another, not in isolation.
Although the invention of the printing press, which made it possible for all of us to have our own copy of the Bible is certainly profitable for us, I sometimes wonder if it is also not a curse at the same time because it also takes away the necessity for us to be in God’s Word in community with other believers.
We get to see this principle lived out each week here at TFC. I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that those who take the opportunity to spend time in God’s Word with others in the body each week are the ones whose faith is most fully developed. Those men who come on Monday morning or Monday evening, or the women who are here on Monday nights or at Billie’s house each Wednesday or those who come out on Thursday nights for the purpose of spending time together in God’s Word have their faith in God deepened every time they do that.
2) Value the immaterial over the material
Since faith requires the conviction of things not seen, then it follows that in order to develop faith in this body, we must value those unseen, immaterial things, over that which we can see, the material. That was certainly Paul’s message to the Corinthian church:
…for we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (ESV)
But let’s be real honest – this is a lot easier said than done. Those material things that we can see, touch, hear, smell and taste are right there in front of us and they often demand our attention. That’s why we need to help each other out here. We need to encourage each other to focus on those unseen things that have eternal value. It is also this principle that helps us to persevere and endure in spite of difficult circumstances.
A few weeks ago, when we looked at patience, we determined that aspect of the fruit of the Spirit dealt more with how we respond to other people who may have wronged or offended us than it did with bearing up under difficult circumstances. But this aspect of faithfulness does deal with how we respond to difficult circumstances.
Since the circumstances themselves are usually material in nature, we have a natural tendency to focus on those and be drawn away from our faith and trust in God. So the primary way that we move beyond those circumstances is to direct our focus away from the material – the circumstances – and towards the unseen – that future glory that God has promised to His children. Here is how Paul described how he applied that principle in his life:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:18 (ESV)
One of the ways that we can foster this principle is in the way that we pray for each other. If you were with us a couple of weeks ago on Thursday night, you know that we examined the prayers of Jesus and determined that He focused on spiritual matters – the unseen – to a far greater degree than He did physical matters – the seen. I’m certainly not saying we shouldn’t pray about physical matters at all, just encouraging us to go beyond that and pray for the unseen spiritual implications as we pray for each other.
3) Demonstrate our faith by our deeds
Both Paul and the writer of Hebrews quote from the prophet Habakkuk in order to show the importance of living our lives in a manner that is consistent with our faith. Here is how Paul described that principle in Romans:
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:17 (ESV)
Notice the point that Paul makes here. Those who are righteous because of their faith in Jesus are to live their day to day lives in a manner that is consistent with that faith.
James provides us with a more in depth commentary on this principle:
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
James 2:14-17 (ESV)
You’ll notice here that James is addressing the way that Christ followers treat each other – thus the reference to brothers and sisters. And he clearly points out that the kind of faith that is nothing more than mere words is a dead faith.
James is clearly addressing the faithfulness aspect of pistis here. And doing what is within our power to address the legitimate needs of others in the body is an expression of our faithfulness to God. This would be akin to Abraham’s faithfulness which was demonstrated by his obedience to God.
From our perspective, these kinds of deeds seem to be more an act of kindness to others than they are an act of faithfulness to God. But as we’ve seen throughout our study of the fruit of the Spirit, the nine aspects of that fruit are interconnected and can’t be completely separated from each other. But if you doubt that the kinds of acts towards those in the body that James describes have to do with our faithfulness to God, then listen to these words of Jesus:
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Matthew 25:37-40 (ESV)
• Developing faithfulness in our worship
1) Remember God’s faithfulness to us
As we read through the Bible, we find that it is full of songs. From the song of Moses to the song before the throne in Revelation, God’s people sing. And the purpose of almost every one of those songs is to remember God’s faithfulness to His people in some way. We can clearly see this in the beginning words of the song of Moses in Exodus 15. Let’s read these words out loud together:
I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.
Exodus 15:1, 2 (ESV)
We already did this earlier this morning, didn’t we? Think about the songs that we sang:
You’re More – this is a song that celebrates the work of the triune God in our lives and pays tribute to His faithfulness to us.
Forever – the chorus begins with the words “Forever God is faithful”
Your Grace is Enough – the beginning words are “Great is your faithfulness O God.
Great is Thy Faithfulness – even the title of the song is a testament to God’s faithfulness.
Almost every week at least some of the songs that we sing bear testimony of the faithfulness of God and I hope that as we sing them you really think about the words that we are singing and focus on the faithfulness of God.
But there is one more important way that we can remember and focus on God’s faithfulness when we gather together for corporate worship:
2) Testify to God’s work in our lives
At the beginning of Acts 4, we read that Peter and John were brought before the Jewish religious leaders and questioned about the lame man they had healed. As a result they had the opportunity to testify about Jesus. After being warned by the council not to preach about Jesus any more, they returned to report what had happened to their fellow believers. Let’s pick up the account in verse 23:
23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,
“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
Acts 4:23-31 (ESV)
Because Peter and John shared what God had done in their lives with the other believers, everyone’s faith was strengthened. And as a result the word of God was proclaimed with even more boldness.
Every time we gather together, we should be excited about sharing what God is doing in our lives with our fellow Christ followers. But instead, we often settle for talking about the weather or the U of A athletic teams or politics.
In his book, The Air I Breathe, Louie Giglio describes the importance of this element of our worship:
Trust me, church is a lot better when our gathering are filled with people who have been pursuing God for six days before they get there…Church is supposed to be a celebration of our personal journeys with God since we were last together. Imagine what would happen if each person in the congregation was seeking the face of God throughout the week. Some would encounter sorrow, others major happiness, But all would have a story to tell of God’s faithfulness in good times and bad.
I’m not sure why we struggle so much with this principle. Even on Thursday nights in a smaller group, when we give people a chance to share what God is doing in their lives, people seem reluctant to speak. But this should be an integral part of our worship every time we get together, and I’ve come to realize this week that I’m certainly guilty of not really encouraging us in this area and providing better opportunities for us to share what God is doing in our lives.
So I’m going to work to make this an integral part of our corporate worship each week. We’re going to provide more opportunities for all of us to share what God is doing in our lives. But we can all play a part in this process. When we see each other on Sunday mornings, instead of engaging in small talk, we need to say something like “Tell me about what God has been doing in your life this week.”
In fact, let’s put this principle to work right now. We’re going to take 5 minutes right now for all of us to share with each other something that God has been doing in our lives recently. So find someone around you and ask them to tell you about how God is working in their life. And then share with that person, what He has been doing in your life.
[Give people time to share]
[Close service by singing “Everlasting God"]
