Fruit of Faithfulness_ 9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit (8)
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June 23, 2019 |
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 Senior Pastor Rev. Jaerock Lee
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Gal. 5:22-23
The kind of faithfulness that is recognized by God is not just doing your job faithfully. It is not complete faithfulness if you are faithful in just a certain area.
If you are faithful as a wife, a mother, or a husband, it means you just did what you're supposed to do.
The faithful in true sense are treasure for the kingdom of God and they will give out lovely aroma. They are unchanging, trustworthy and obedient. Now, let us take a closer look at the fruit of faithfulness that is acknowledged by God.
1. Do More than What Is Entrusted to You
If a paid worker does his job well, we don't say he is faithful. He did his duty, but he was paid for the work he was supposed to do, so we can't say he is faithful. The faithful will do more than what they're supposed to do.
The apostle Paul didn't take anything casually when he was taking care of the souls. He was so happy to fulfill his duties that he was willing to spend all his wealth and even himself (2 Cor. 12:15). He kept on giving and sacrificing himself for the souls.
True faithfulness is to fulfill all our duties and do more with joy and love. When taking responsibilities, those who have borne the fruit of faithfulness will do much more than what they're given.
In the case of Moses, he prayed risking his own life to save the sons of Israel who had sinned (Exo. 32:31-32). He led the people with all his love and care and with the heart of God. So, when they committed sin, he was so sorry as if he himself had sinned, and he wanted to take the responsibility.
Those who are faithful will never say "I am not responsible." Even if they did all their best, they will think about their attitude in fulfilling their God-given duty once again.
If God is enraged with the people and says He will destroy them, if faithful, you'd think of God's love and mercy for the souls like Moses did. In so doing, you'd be able to pray saying, "It is all my fault. I didn't guide them well enough. Please give them another chance considering my prayers."
2. Spiritual Faithfulness to Cultivate Holiness
As we diligently lead our Christian lives, we'll be given various duties in the church. And sometimes, we do our best initially, but midway we just give up. It's because we neglect spiritual faithfulness.
Spiritual faithfulness is to keep on circumcising our heart continually. It is to cast away all untruths, evil, unrighteousness, and lawlessness that are against God's Word. We have to struggle against sins to the point of shedding blood and keep God's commandments.
The apostle Paul said, "I die daily" in 1 Cor. 15:31. Like him, we have to put to death that part of our self that belongs to the untruth and cultivate holiness. This is spiritual faithfulness. If we keep on circumcising our heart, our faithfulness won't change. Even if we might face hardships or trials of our heart, we won't quit because of such things. It's because doing our duties is a promise between God and us.
However, if we neglect circumcision of heart, we won't be able to keep our heart when temptations arise or hardships come upon us. We may abandon our promise with God and give up our duties. But when we recover God's grace, we try our best again.
If we have ups and downs in faith in this way, we won't be considered faithful, even if we diligently do our duties. Therefore, the fruit of faithfulness must accompany spiritual faithfulness, which is to cast away sins and evil from our heart.
3. Faithfulness According to God's Will
Prov. 25:13 says, "Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him, for he refreshes the soul of his masters."
Even if you work very hard, if you just do what you want and not what the master wants, you can't please him. Main reasons why one doesn't obey the master is because they have different ideas or ulterior motives. Such people follow their desires and they can go against the will of the master any time, even if they seem to be serving their master.
Joab was the commander of the army of David and he was with him even in hardships. He was wise and brave and took care of many things for David. When he was taking the city of Ammonites, he practically conquered it but let David come and take it the last moment in order to give him the credit.
However, Joab sometimes went against David's wishes when he had different ideas. When Abner came to surrender, David welcomed him to gain the heart of the people. But Joab followed Abner and killed him, because Abner killed his brother in the past. When David's son Absalom rebelled, Joab killed Absalom mercilessly despite David's request to be merciful.
He disobeyed David at critical moments, and thus Joab was a very uneasy person to deal with for David. Eventually Joab was killed when he rebelled against Solomon. He served David all his life but he was killed a traitor.
Therefore, when we do God's work, following God's will is more important than how hard we try to do the work. When we are faithful according to God's will, the devil can't accuse us, and we'll be able to produce the results with which we can give glory to God.
4. Faithfulness in All God's Household
Being faithful in all God's household is to be faithful in all the positions we have. Namely, we should fulfill our duties as God's children, members or leaders of the church, and members of the family, workplace, or school.
You might wonder how you could be faithful in all the duties having only one body. However, it is not difficult to be faithful in all God's household if you change yourself with the truth. Even if you invest only a little time, you can still get abundant fruit if you do it wholeheartedly.
Also, those who have goodness in heart wouldn't incline towards only one thing. They'd not neglect any of the many duties they have. They try their best in all respects. Then, others around them wouldn't feel discouraged but rather thankful because they feel their truthful heart.
You can be faithful in all God's household and be at peace with everyone to the extent that you have goodness in heart.
Dear brothers and sisters, Psalm 101:6 says, "My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me." He who casts away sins, cultivates holiness, and is faithful in all God's household will enter the city of New Jerusalem.
May you bear the fruit of faithfulness and walk in the blameless way so that you will be like pillars in the kingdom of God and dwell near the throne of God, I pray this in the name of the Lord!
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