I would like to speak to you today about a topic that is very much needed in our churches today: 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. Daniel 6:1-4 

Daniel’s enemies looked for fault in Daniel but found none, because he was faithful in everything that he did. He was the third ruler in the kingdom of Babylon. He was faithful in his position in serving the king. He was president over the Median-Persian Empire, next to the king. He was faithful to prayer.

Remember how Daniel prayed three times every day. He was faithful in that he did not defile himself with the king’s meat or drink. He remained faithful in the den of lions. Because Daniel was faithful to God, God was faithful to him and delivered him. You may feel like sometimes you’ve been put into the den of lions but don’t give up, don’t quit praying. Continue to fast. Be faithful to God & He will be faithful to you. If you will remain faithful to God, even your enemies will not be able to find fault with you.  

Jesus was faithful all the way to the cross. His name is faithful. 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. We should be faithful because it is a trait of Christ. If we are not faithful, we are not Christ like.  

We should be faithful to God keeping His commandments, reading His Word and seeking His face.

We should be faithful to our Church. Do you support your local Church as much as possible? If one expects to answer "when the roll is called up yonder," he had better be present when the roll is called down here. Attendance is not for the building of records but for the building of Christians.  

We need to be faithful in our giving. Many of us are tipping God rather than tithing. If you pay your “tithes” only when you feel like it, you’re not paying tithes, you’re giving an offering.  

Be faithful to your spouse, remembering your vows and take care not to forget them. Be careful of harsh words & deeds that so easily can hurt.  

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." 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.  

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. Be faithful in bringing your kids to church. 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?  

Be faithful to your job. Get a job and stick with it. Proverbs 28:20-A faithful man shall abound with blessings… Be on time, go to work, don’t rob your boss man of time that he paid you for. Be dependable, fulfilling what you agreed to do when you were hired.  

Be faithful in Ministry. 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; Paul was faithful before he was put into the ministry. 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. In other words, “Timothy, don’t waste your time trying making 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.” Don’t expect God to increase your ministry until you prove faithful at where you’re at. 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.

You may only have one talent, but be faithful in that one. God does not ask how many talents we have; he asks for faithfulness.  

The Dying Breed - 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. Grandma brought her kids to church. Grandpa tells stories of how men used to wade water holding there guitars over there heads to get to church. 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. Faithfulness is hard to find these days. We must not let the laziness of the Christians around us be the standard of our faithfulness to Christ. The ruler by which we measure faithfulness is found only by looking at the faithfulness of Christ. 

Copyright 2004 by Rev. Betty J. Lester