FAITHFULNESS

REVELATION 2:1

A. "BE THOU FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH, AND I WILL GIVE THEE A CROWN OF LIFE"
  1. The Bible gives repeated and strong emphasis to faithfulness:
    1. "Who then is that faithful and wise steward?" - Luke 12:42
    2. "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much" - Luke 16:10
    3. "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things" - Matt. 25:23
    4. "It is required of a steward, that a man be faithful" - I Cor. 4:2
  2. There're 2 voices in the Bible:
    1. The first voice bids us to have faith - Mark 11:22
    2. The second voice bids us to keep the faith
    3. To have faith is the seed and root of our Christian profession; to keep the faith is the flower and fruit of our profession B. OUR SUBJECT TITLE IS FAITHFULNESS
  3. What is faithfulness?
    1. To be faithful means to be trustworthy
    2. The faithful man is he who is reliable, who can be trusted; Examples: Joseph was such a man - Gen. 39; Daniel, too, was trustworthy - Dan. 6:4; Paul kept the faith - 2 Tim. 4:7
  4. Five implications of faithfulness to God and men:
    1. Faithfulness implies sterling sincerity
    2. Faithfulness means honor and requires that a solemn promise made to God or to man must be kept at whatever cost
    3. Faithfulness means that we realize our stewardship and give our strength and the highest functions of our life to carry out that trust
    4. Faithfulness means constancy; constancy to God and man
    5. Faithfulness means loving obedience to the heavenly vision regardless of what that vision may call for C. THE REWARD OF FAITHFULNESS
  5. Faithfulness always costs something:
    1. It put Joseph's feet into iron - Ps. 105:18
    2. It placed the three Hebrews into the fiery furnace - Dan. 3:6; 11,15
    3. It took the lives of the martyrs of Christ - Rev. 2:10
  6. But if the cost is high, the reward in every case far outweighs whatever cost there is:
    1. Faithfulness is crowned with the special favor of God - in this life and in the life to come; Examples: faithful Abraham - Gen. 12:1-9; Gal. 3:9
    2. Faithfulness influences others and that in itself is a rich reward; Examples: Naomi's faithfulness won her daughter-in-law for the faith of Israel - Ruth 1:16-17; Jochebeds faithfulness saved and prepared the life of Moses for leading Israel out of bondage - Ex. 2:1-10
    3. Faithfulness is a mark of our close relationship to God because that is His nature - Ps. 36:5; 89:1; I Thes. 5:24
  7. Faithfulness must be cultivated:
    1. The root of faithfulness is faith - the great secret of Abraham's faithfulness was his implicit faith
    2. Sound faith produces love that works faithfully; we faint not in our humble efforts for God because we believe that God is faithful and will not fail us in our efforts
    3. We must be prayerful. The life of faith is nourished by prayer; all who have been faithful were men of much prayer
    4. But we must watch in prayer; we must learn to practice wisely constant self- examination - reviewing our conduct specially must we watch what may seem little duties to God and men
    5. In it all, we must never forget that God will supply us with the needed grace to carry out our duties to Him and to our fellowmen
    6. "My God shall supply all your needs" - Phil. 4:19


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