Series: Fruit Producers [#7]
FRUIT OF FAITHFULNESS
Galatians 5:22
Introduction:
Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…”
1. The fruit of faithfulness is one that all married people pray that their spouse has, but this goes much farther.
2. As we are going to study, we are to have the faithfulness of God in all situations.
3. It means...that the person has a good heart and good behavior; that they are good and do good; that they are a quality person.
God’s Faithfulness
1. God has always been faithful to His people.
2. In the Book of Hosea, God has the prophet go marry a prostitute whose unfaithfulness to her husband serves as an example of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God.
3. Although God does punish evilness, He never stops loving His children. He is always faithful to us regardless of our faithfulness to Him.
God’s Faithfulness In Us
Faithfulness is being trust worthy to God and others, but there is so much more than just that. What is faith?
1. Faith Is... Believing When I Don’t See It.
Noah built the ark, put his family and all of the animals on the ark because God said to. No one had ever seen a rain storm like what God said He was going to do. True faith does not SEE and the BELIEVE... it BELIEVES and then it SEES.
2. Faith Is... Obeying When I Don’t Understand It.
God had finally gave Abraham his promised son with Sarah and all of a sudden Abraham is asked to sacrifice Isaac. I’m sure Abraham had no idea why God would ask him to do this, but he was willing to do it anyhow.
3. Faith Is... Giving When I Don’t Have It.
There was a famine and Elijah asked the widow of Zarephath to use up her very last supply of food. That was all she had, but she gave it anyway.
4. Faith Is... Persisting When I Don’t Feel Like It.
There were many times that Moses wanted to stop leading all of those “hard-hearted” people around, especially after he found out he wasn’t going into the promised land; but he kept leading.
5. Faith Is... Thanking Before I Receive It.
While King Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, the people asked for God’s help in dealing with the invading armies of the Moabites and the Ammonites. God instructed them to form a choir and put the choir in front of the army as it marched into battle. As they marched, the choir sang, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever." When they arrived at the battlefield all they saw was the dead soldiers of the enemy. They had embraced a genuine faith characterized by thanking God even before He answered their prayer.
6. Faith Is... Trusting If I Don’t Get It.
In the Book of Hebrews we are told about those Old Testament people who died having not yet seen God’s promise. God is not like a vending machine.
Conclusion:
1. Is the fruit of faithfulness evident in your life?
2. If we walk in the Spirit, we will be found faithful not just to God, but those around us.
3. Great is God’s faithfulness to us, let the fruit of faithfulness be evident in your life.
