“Faithful Christians: A Dying Breed”
Daniel 6:1-4 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; [2] And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. [3] Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. [4] Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
Introduction: I would like to speak to you this morning about a topic that is very much needed in our Pentecostal churches---faithfulness. English is a strange language. You would think that the words “full of faith” and “faithful” would be the same thing. They are not. They are related, but they are not the same thing. To be full of faith is to have an abundance of faith. To be faithful is to keep the faith. It is being true to the trust placed in us by others and by God. When we have not been faithful, it is because somewhere doubt has crept in. We cannot keep our faith in Christ and not be faithful.
I. Faithful Daniel.
A. Daniel’s enemies looked for fault in Daniel but found none, because he was faithful in everything that he did.
B. He was faithful to his occupation.
1. He was the third ruler in the kingdom of Babylon.
C. He was faithful in his position in serving the king.
1. He was president over the Median-Persian empire, next to the king.
D. He was faithful to prayer.
1. Daniel prayed three times every day.
E. He was faithful to God.
1. In chapter 1, he was faithful in that he did not defile himself with the king’s meat or drink.
2. He was faithful in the den of lions.
3. Because Daniel was faithful to God, God was faithful to him and delivered him.
4. Some of you may feel like you’ve been put into the den of lions…don’t give up…don’t quit…don’t stop praying…don’t stop fasting…be faithful to God and He will be faithful to you.
F. Because Daniel was faithful, his enemies could find no fault in him.
II. We should be faithful because Jesus if Faithful.
A. He was faithful in working His Father’s work on the cross.
B. His name is faithful.
1. Rev. 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
C. We should be faithful because it is a trait of Christ.
D. If we are not faithful, we are not Christ like.
E. Oswald Chambers---“Watch where Jesus went. The one dominant note in his life was to do his Father’s will. His is not the way of wisdom or of success, but the way of faithfulness.”
III. We should be faithful to…
A. God.
1. To keeping His commandments.
2. To reading His word.
3. To seeking His face.
B. Church
1. What percentage of Christians has a local church? All of them except those who are in nursing homes or bedfast.
2. What percentage of Christians support their local church as much as possible? All of them.
3. If one expects to answer "when the roll is called up yonder," he had better be present when the roll is called down here.
4. Attendance is not for the building of records but for the building of Christians.
C. Tithes
1. Many of us are tipping God rather than tithing.
2. If you pay your “tithes” only when you feel like it, your not paying tithes, your giving an offering.
D. Spouse
1. There was a young couple sitting at a doughnut shop. He was wearing overalls and she had on a dress. After finishing their doughnuts, he got up to pay the bill, and but she didn’t get up to follow him. But then he came back and stood in front of her. She put her arms around his neck, and he lifted her up, revealing that she was wearing a full-body brace. He lifted her out of her chair and backed out the front door to the pickup truck, with her hanging from his neck. As he gently put her into the truck, everyone in the shop watched. No one said anything until a waitress reverently said, "He took his vows seriously."
2. There are only two reasons for divorce. Jesus gave one in Mat. 5:32. Paul gave the other in 1 Cor. 7:15. Anything other than these is adultery.
E. Parenting
1. Both Eli and Samuel had very disappointing results with their children. Yet, God punished one for his ineffective parenting and blessed the other. It is the faithful process of parenting that God evaluates, not the end results.
2. Be faithful in bringing your kids to church.
a. Donnie Edge
b. 1 Tim 3:5 For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?
F. Job
1. I’d rather have somebody without any education but was faithful and dedicated working for me than an unfaithful college graduate.
2. Get a job and stick with it.
3. Proverbs 28:20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings…
4. Be on time.
5. Go to work.
6. Don’t rob your boss man of five minutes that he paid your for.
G. Our word
1. Dependability: fulfilling what I agreed to do even though it requires unexpected sacrifices.
H. Ministry
1. The church choir director was being driven out of his mind at the rehearsals for the Christmas choral concert. It seemed that at least one or more members of the choir was absent at every rehearsal. Finally they reached the last rehearsal and he announced: "I want to personally thank the pianist for being the only person in this entire church choir to attend each and every rehearsal during the past two months." At this, the pianist rose, bowed, and said, "It was the least I could do, considering I won’t be able to be at the concert tonight."
2. 1 Tim. 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
a. Paul was faithful before he was put into the ministry.
3. 2 Tim. 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
a. In other words, “Timothy, don’t waste your time trying make teachers out of those who aren’t even being faithful now. If they don’t want to be faithful in just being a Christian, they don’t need to be in ministry.”
4. Don’t expect God to increase your ministry until you prove faithful at where your at.
a. Don’t expect God to you use you as lighthouse tomorrow when He can’t even use you as a candle today. Be faithful in what you’ve got.
5. Your little ministry.
a. Five talents, two talents, one talent.
1) Well done thou good and FAITHFUL servant.
2) I was afraid that I might lose it, so I hid it.
3) You may only have one talent, but be faithful in that one.
b. God does not ask how many talents we have; he asks for faithfulness.
c. Luke 16:10-11 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. [11] If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
d. It does not matter whether you pastor the largest church in America, or if your the door opener in the smallest church, just as long as you are faithful. The faithfulness is all that matters.
6. John Oxenham wrote:
“Is your place a small place?
Tend it with care!-He set you there.
Is your place a large place?
Guard it with care!-He set you there.
Whate’er your place, it is
Not yours alone, but his
Who set you there.”
IV. The Dying Breed
A. Maybe old timers weren’t rich, or have the finest clothes. Maybe they did not understand all of the things in God’s word that is know available to all of us. One thing that old timers had was faithfulness.
1. Granny Hampton bringing her kids to church.
2. Grandpa’s stories of how men used to wade water holding there guitars over there heads to get to church.
3. They used to chop cotton 12 or 14 hours a day for 6 days a week, and every night they’d go to revival if they were having it.
B. Faithfulness is hard to find these days.
1. We must not let the laziness of the Christians around us be the standard of our faithfulness to Christ.
2. The ruler by which we measure faithfulness is found only by looking at the faithfulness of Christ.
