Faithfulness

2 Timothy 1:1-14                                                                                       October 3, 2004

          Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

To Timothy, my dear son:

          Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

          I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

          So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you--guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

CCI: Faithfulness is about the little things rather than the big things.

Introduction: Throughout scripture, faithfulness is a characteristic that is used of both God and followers of God. Faithfulness is the last of the fruit of the Spirit. As early as Genesis 24 faithfulness identifies God as different than all the other gods. And in Revelation 19 the rider of the horse that will judge the world is called Faithful and True. Faithfulness characterizes the relationship between husband and wife. It describes the true prophets of God in the Old Testament, and is a primary characteristic of ministers Paul to whom wrote.

          “Faithfulness.” Earlier this morning we read, from Psalm 89:8 “O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD , and your faithfulness surrounds you.” And then in Matthew 23, Jesus said, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness.”

          God views faithfulness as very important. It is one way the Image of God shines through us. But what is it? And how does faithfulness become a quality of our lives?

I. What is Faithfulness

          I think Paul defines the heart of faithfulness when says, “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” Faithfulness for Paul was God’s reliability.

          We can see pictures of faithfulness all around us. David Jeremiah has said, “Faithfulness is keeping my commitment even if the circumstances when I made the commitment have changed.” Fred Smith writes: “One of my treasured memories comes from a doughnut shop in Grand Saline, Texas. There was a young farm couple sitting at the table next to mine. He was wearing overalls and she a gingham dress. After finishing their doughnuts, he got up to pay the bill, and I noticed 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 remarked, almost reverently, "He took his vows seriously."

          And all around us are pictures of faithfulness. At times we think of the faithful Christian as the one who is in church every week, gives 10% or more of their income to the Work of Christ, perhaps teaches a Sunday School class and reads their Bible every day at 6:00 am. These are all good things, I would encourage all of you to make these disciplines a part of your life, but these things do not make you a faithful follower of Jesus. William Law, in A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life wrote, “one who makes it a rule to be content in every part and accident of life because it comes from God praises God in a much higher manner than the one who has set time for the singing of Psalms. The person who dares not say an ill-natured word or do an unreasonable thing because she considers God as everywhere present performs a better devotion than the person who dares not miss the church.”

          In other words, faithfulness is found in the daily activities of each person. Faithfulness is seen in the husband who daily visits and feeds his wife in a nursing home. Faithfulness is found in the teacher who regularly prepares lessons for special needs children, even if she is only able to teach them once a month. Faithfulness is found in the Apostle Paul who continued to faithfully preach even after he had been arrested. Faithfulness is found in the young preacher Timothy who was not ashamed of his teacher Paul even though he was in chains in Rome.

          Faithfulness is being true to a commitment even when the circumstances change. Faithfulness is found in the women of the gospel they were the last at the cross, and earliest at the grave.

          God longs for faithful servants. So

II. How do we Learn to be Faithful?

          The easy answer is we learn it by doing it. Don Wildmon has said, “At the very heart of the Christian gospel is a cross--the symbol of suffering and sacrifice, of hurt and pain and humiliation and rejection. I want no part of the Christian message which does not call me to involvement, requires of me no sacrifice, takes from me no comfort, requires of me less than the best I have to give. The duty of a Christian is to be faithful, not popular or successful.”

          And so the beginning of faithfulness is looking at the cross. When we see the faithful obedience of Jesus, we can begin to understand what God is asking from each of us. Faithfulness grows as we pay attention to the little things in our lives. Jesus had eyes for the overlooked, that was a faithful response to the Father. Jesus took time to bless children, that was a faithful response to the Father. You see, faithfulness does not suddenly appear when your spouse is in the nursing home, it is the result of caring for him everyday before the need is present. Jesus’ faithfulness did not suddenly begin when he came to the cross, it was developed in quiet times of prayer and fellowship with the disciples and loving the women around him and taking time with the children. It is the work that occurs below the surface of our lives. It is living in the awareness of God’s presence around us. It is living in such a way that we are Christ’s presence in this world. It is daily taking risks for God and in that way creating of deposit of experiences that point to God’s faithfulness.

          Yes, faithfulness is the quality that will make it possible for us to withstand the storms of life. When a sailboat is built, the deck may be beautiful, the masts may look majestic, the rails may be polished brightly, but unless there is a keel under the surface that is weighted correctly, the boat will not sail.

          Faithful living, being true to your word, and developing disciplines that run deep, these are the things that will enable you to endure when storms come.

          When you come to Christ, he requires your whole heart, he asks for your life without reserve, then he calls you to live for him each day. Picture it this way, when you come to Jesus you give him your life as if it were $10,000. After you have given it to him, Jesus gives you back that $10,000 in quarters and then asks you to use them for him one by one. As you use them one by one, you learn to trust God’s faithfulness. You realize that if He cares for the sparrow, he will also care for you. You discover that God’s resources never fail.

          As a church, we have begun to step out in faithfulness and take risks for the Kingdom of God. The willingness of this congregation to welcome Adventure’s Bay Preschool is a step of faithfulness. And when we stepped out, we discovered that God is faithful. And we need to continue to step out. I believe we will discover that God is faithful as we continue to reach out in ministry and mission even in the face of financial shortfalls.

          This month we are receiving the World Mission Offering. Will you be faithful to the work that is being done by people like Rick Gutierrez? Will you consider a special gift for the global mission of our churches?

          Perhaps in your life there are issues of faithfulness that you need to address. They may be in your marriage, they may be in your relationship to Christ, they may issues in friendships, or issues of honesty. This morning is the chance to start again.