Sunday's Message: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit - A Look at Galatians 5:22-23 (Faithfulness)

On Friday, August 12, SPC had its annual Summer Day Camp entitled “Big Heart Farms: Where God’s Fruit Grows.” During the day, the children looked at Galatians 5:22-23 and talked about the Fruit of the Spirit. Building on this theme, during nine of our worship services, we’ll consider how we can integrate this fruit into our own lives. We’ll focus on the following qualities:

• August 14 - Love
• August 21 - Joy
• August 28 - Peace
• September 4 - Patience
• September 11 - Kindness
• September 18 - Goodness
• September 25 - Faithfulness
• October 2 - Gentleness
• October 9 - Self-control

And so, as we move into the Fall, let’s talk about how we might cultivate the most important crop of all, the Fruit of the Spirit.

In this seventh message, we considered faithfulness as a spiritual fruit. The sermon text and podcast is below:

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This morning, we’re going to continue the sermon series we started back in August entitled Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit: A Look at Galatians 5:22-23. And as most of y’all know, it’s based on the theme of our Vacation Bible School, and it’s focused on these two verses from Paul’s letter to the Galatians:

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. [Galatians 5:22-23, NRSVUE]

And during the last month and a half, we’ve looked at the first six spiritual fruits, starting with love, something we said is essential and active and Godly, and then joy, something that we said is given and empowering and contagious. And we’ve talked about peace and how it can change our perspective of God and others and ourselves and then we talked about patience, a quality that we all know is important and that we can develop when we decide to pause and to trust, to pray and to act. And then we discussed kindness, how it’s a quality of God and not in our nature either to do or to accept and yet it’s something that God still wants us to show, something that’s possible when we make the decision to stop being jerks and to start being as useful and helpful as possible and finally, we discussed goodness, a quality that God wants us to show and that may demand that we overcome some obstacles to get there and that is actually shown when we actively help one another. Now that’s what we’ve been talking about. And remember, if you missed one of the messages or would like to hear one again, you can find both the sermons and the services on our Facebook page, YouTube channel and church blog.

And so this morning, we’re moving to spiritual fruit number seven, and that’s faithfulness, or, as it actually says in the Greek, faith or trust. And you know, it’s interesting, just this last week, Debbie and I celebrated a relationship in which trust is absolutely essential. As a matter of fact, it may be more important than anything else. And of course, I’m talking about marriage. You see, during my 35 years as a minister, I’ve seen a lot of marriages where trust is definitely present and others where it’s not. And you know, where there’s no trust, there’s usually not much of a marriage. And I’ll tell you, it’s amazing, based on my experience working with couples before and especially after the wedding date, a husband and wife can confront and overcome all kinds of problems. In fact, they can even deal with situations where most of the Spiritual Fruits offered by Paul are lacking, you know, marriages where stuff like self-control and gentleness and goodness, like kindness and patience and peace, like joy and even love are in short-supply. Man, this they can survive. But I’ll tell you, if the husband and wife don’t trust one another, man, that’s an obstacle that’s mighty hard to overcome. As far as I’m concerned, faithfulness is absolutely essential in any marriage. 

And that’s what we’re going to talk about this morning. You see, we’re going to focus on how we might develop Paul’s seventh spiritual fruit. And as we go through this, we’re going to talk about four things that we can do, if we’re serious about becoming more faithful and trusting people. And even though we’ll be focused on showing more faithfulness in our relationship with God, I think we can also apply these four challenges in our relationships with one another. And so, I guess you could say this message will be both theological and practical. And for me, faithfulness comes down to four verbs: decide, focus, resist, and live. Let me explain.

You see, if we want to be more faithful, first, I think we need to decide. We need to decide that we’re going to do it, that we’re going to trust God and that we’re going to believe that his words and his promises are true. You see, before we do anything else, we’ve got to decide that we’re going to trust.

And I’ll tell you, making this decision, man, that’s a big deal in the Bible. And understand, in our English translations, the words “trust,” “believe” and “faith” all come from the exact same Greek word. I mean, just listen to what the Prophet Isaiah wrote:

My people, you are my witnesses

    and my chosen servant.

I want you to know me,

to trust me, and understand

    that I alone am God.

I have always been God;

    there can be no others. [Isaiah 43:10, CEV]

And in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul praised the Thessalonians for their ability to make this decision. He wrote, “We always thank God that you believed the message we preached. It came from him, and it isn't something made up by humans. You accepted it as God's message, and now he is working in you.” [1 Thessalonians 2:13, CEV] And when Jesus was going to toe to toe with some folks who were so ticked off that they’d picked up some rocks to stone him, he said this:

So why do you accuse me of a terrible sin for saying that I am the Son of God? After all, it is the Father who prepared me for this work. He is also the one who sent me into the world. If I don’t do as my Father does, you should not believe me. But if I do what my Father does, you should believe because of that, even if you don’t have faith in me. Then you will know for certain that the Father is one with me, and I am one with the Father. [John 10:36-38, CEV]

You see, whether we’re talking about the Prophet or the Apostle or our Savior, they all believed that faithfulness is something that we can decide to show. 

And I think it’s important for us to recognize it too. You see, just like we said when we were talking about love about six weeks ago, trust doesn’t just happen. It’s grounded in a decision that we have the power to make. Of course, I’m not saying it’s always easy, because it’s not. Still, as a very famous theologian once said, faith is like stepping in a room that’s pitch black, trusting that there’s a floor on the other side of the door. Having faith is choosing to take that step, and that’s why faithfulness demands a decision on our part. If we want to be more faithful, first, we need to decide. 

And second, I think, we also need to focus. In other words, we need to focus our attention on God. And we need to understand more about his character and his history and his promises. You see, if we’re serious about being more trusting, I think it’s important to ground our decision in something that’s real and solid. Frankly, we need to see that God is indeed worthy of our trust, and that’s going to demand focus on our part.

And again, just like it was with faith being a decision, we can also find this kind of focus in Scripture. For example, when he was telling the Romans about God’s continuing relationship with the Jews, Paul wrote, “No one can have faith without hearing the message about Christ.” [Romans 10:17, CEV] And as he was explaining why the Ephesians had moved from worshiping a whole bunch of idols to trusting just one God, he wrote this:

You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. [Ephesians 2:8-9, CEV]

And as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “When I talked with you or preached, I didn't try to prove anything by sounding wise. I simply let God's Spirit show his power. That way you would have faith because of God's power and not because of human wisdom.” [1 Corinthians 2:4-5, CEV] I’ll tell you, for the Apostle Paul, faith was strengthened when we focus on God.

And this is something we can also do. You see, we can take advantage of two of the most wonderful gifts God has given us: the Bible and our minds. In other words, we can take God’s word and we can read it. And we can think about it. And we can discuss it with one another. And we can do that by studying it either in groups, when possible, or just by ourselves. But if we’re doing this in a group, let’s make sure it’s one that focuses on what the Bible says and not what we want it to say. And if we’re doing it by ourselves, let’s read a Bible that’s easy to understand and apply. I mean, let’s get real, no matter how fancy it is or spiritual it sounds, a Bible really isn’t worth much if we don’t know what it says. You see, if we want to be more faithful, second, we need to focus. 

And then, right along with deciding and focusing, third, we also need to resist. And I’m talking about resisting that temptation to confuse faith with absolute and complete knowledge. And I’ll tell you why. The minute we say that faith means being certain and never having any doubts or questions, that’s the minute we’re grounding our entire relationship with God on sand. You see, as soon as we demand proof that will satisfy folks who haven’t decided and who won’t focus, I think we’re just chasing the wind.

And I’ll tell you, this is something that the people who wrote the Bible understood. For example, the writer of the Proverbs said, 

With all your heart

you must trust the Lord

    and not your own judgment.

Always let him lead you,

and he will clear the road

    for you to follow. [Proverbs 3:5-6, CEV]

And as the unnamed writer was explaining the role it had played in the past, just listen to how faith was described to the Hebrews: Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see. It was their faith that made our ancestors pleasing to God. [Hebrews 11:1-2, CEV] And when a father brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus for healing, I think he summed up the human condition really well when he said to Christ, “At once the boy’s father shouted, “I do have faith! Please help me to have even more.'” [Mark 9:24, CEV] You see, faith is more about trusting than knowing.

Therefore, we really need to steer clear of the temptation to confuse the two. You see, God should never be limited to what we know or think, much less to our opinions and assumptions. Instead, God is greater than anything we can ever imagine and so is the love and the mercy and the grace he freely shows to his children. I mean, this is what the good news is all about, isn’t it? You see, when we assume that we completely know, we limit our heavenly Father. And if we’re not careful, we may end up with a god who’s far too small to offer much help and comfort when we really need it. You see, if we want to be more faithful, third, we need to resist.

And then fourth, we also need to live. You see, in my opinion, faithful people do something about what they believe. In other words, they’re not satisfied with just trusting God; instead they’re constantly looking for ways and opportunities to put their trust into action. You see, for them, faithfulness isn’t intended to be watched from the stands; rather it’s supposed to be played on the field. 

And again, this is something we can see in Scripture. For example, when the disciples were frustrated because they weren’t able to cast out demons and went to Jesus for an explanation, “Jesus replied:

It is because you don’t have enough faith! But I can promise you this. If you had faith no larger than a mustard seed, you could tell this mountain to move from here to there. And it would. Everything would be possible for you.” [Matthew 17:20-21, CEV] 

You see, for Jesus, faith can and should empower action. But I’ll tell you, James even went farther. For him, acts of compassion, mercy and love actually give faith meaning. Just listen to what he wrote:

My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do anything to show you really do have faith? Can this kind of faith save you? If you know someone who doesn't have any clothes or food, you shouldn't just say, “I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.” 

What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead! [James 2:14-17, CEV] 

You see, when you get right down to it, faith and trust, man, they aren’t the end; rather, they’re the means to the end. They offer the peace and the confidence that we need to do the work God has called and equipped us to do. And they become that unifying force, drawing us together into this, the Body of Christ. And since it’s something that we have in common, I mean, since it’s a specific decision we’ve made and a single focus that we have and a definite resistance that we make, we can all roll up our shelves and begin using the unique gifts and abilities that together we have in order to make a difference right here and right now. You see, if we want to be more faithful, fourth, we need to live.

You know, the older I become, the more I’m convinced that trust is absolutely essential for any lasting relationship. And from where I stand, that’s certainly been true in my marriage to Debbie. And you know, I think it’s also true in our relationship with God. We need to trust; it’s as simple as that. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s possible when we accept four truths. You see, if we want to be more faithful to God, first, we need to decide. And second, we need to focus. Third, we need to resist. And finally, we need to live. And for me, that’s exactly how we might cultivate the seventh Fruit of the Spirit, namely faithfulness.