BE FAITHFUL TO YOUR CALLING

Psalms101:6: “Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me”.

Faithfulness is an important character to be exhibited by a true Christian. Because of faithfulness God gave up His only son Jesus to die on the cross; Because of Jesus faithfulness, God raised Him above all name on earth and in heaven (col. 1:15-28); Because of this same faithfulness, the early apostles continued to spread the gospel and live righteous lives when Jesus left them. Without faithfulness, the Christian life cannot be complete because it is not a life of roses. Today faithfulness has become a scarce commodity amongst Christians. The churches are filling up but the world keeps sinking into corruption, evil and wickedness. Yet majority on earth claim to be Christian. Without faithfulness to God, we cannot live the righteous Christian life. What is faithfulness? How can we be faithful to our calling?

What is Faithfulness?

A FAITHFUL PERSON is trustworthy and reliable; true to one's word, promises, vows, etc. Some people make faithfulness a hallmark of their human relationships, but the faithfulness that matters most is the faithfulness we show towards God. God is faithful because He does what He promises to do. Moreover, because God is faithful, we dare have courage to trust Him and His promises. Martha’s faithfulness was cooking a delicious meal for Jesus but the true faithfulness (chosen by Mary) is listening to the father’s word i.e. the spiritual food rather than the physical. "He is faithful that promised" (Heb. 10:23). Our faithfulness is a commitment to adhere to the One God who is true and supreme and to keep His commandments.

Who is a faithful person? What is the character of a faithful person?

Let’s start here: What does it mean to be faithful to a friend, wife or husband?

1.   Will not lie. (Proverb:14:5; John 8:44)

2.   Living a life of integrity before an unbelieving world.(2Corin. 6:14-18, Jam. 1:27)

3.   You keep your promises. If you say it, you do it. (1Thess. 5:24; Heb. 10:23)

4.   You use your God-given gifts. God has invested in your life and expects a return on it. (1Peter 4:10).E.g. Parable of talents.

5.   You obey God’s commands. (1 Samuel 2:35). God defines faithfulness as obedience to the commands of Christ. We can be skilled leaders and communicators, but disobedience disqualifies us from being seen  faithful as God defines it.

6.   You pass on what you learn. You’re to give what you learn to faithful men. We’re here today because some faithful men and women took the time to write down the Scriptures; others preserved the Scriptures, and others translated the Scriptures.  If we’re here because of the testimony of faithful people it’s your duty to pass it on to others. (2Tim. 2:2)

Examples: Joseph was faithful that he was thrown into prison but was honoured as a ruler in a foreign country (Gen. 39); Moses was faithful. He was an imperfect man like us and made his notable mistakes. Yet, he consistently did God's will to the best he could. (Num. 12:7-8); David was faithful (obedient) to God that he became a yard stick for his generations (2Kings 22:2). Even in his sin, he did not take the lord’s mercy for granted (sin with Bathsheba); Noah and Lot were so faithful (obedient) to God that He revealed His plans to them and delivered them from the destruction in their time. Abrahams faithfulness made God reveal His plans on destroying Sodom &Gomorrah and even allowed Abraham to negotiate for God’s change of mind (Gen. 18)- these all echo Ps. 101:6….His eyes is on the faithful. Are you faithful?

Our calling…unless we are taking it for granted

We have been delivered to serve and without faithful (by obeying Him), our calling will be in vain. As Christians we must be faithful in our relationship with friends; we have to be faithful in our work (no cheating in trading); in our marriage; in our schooling; etc. We can only portray Christ as true witnesses of Him (his work, life and name: Christian -Acts 11:26), only when we are faithful. We need to be faithful.

Benefits of faithfulness

To some the ultimate benefit of faithfulness is that we won’t suffer God’s judgment. But until our judgment day, there are many other benefits while we are here on earth:

·   God will not abandon you. (Psalm 37:28; Psalm 20:6; Job 8:20-22)

·   You will abound in blessings (Proverb 28:20; Deut. 28:1-2)

·   Your enemies will live at peace with you (Proverbs 16:6-7)

·   You will receive the crown of life (Revelation 2:10)

Obstacles to being faithful

·  Lack of faith in God (Peter denying Jesus)

·  Lies (Ananias& Sapphira- Acts 5)

·  Fear (Matt. 6:31-34; Eph. 6:20). Compare courage of shadrach, meshach, Abednego.

·  Sin (Ps. 66:18)

·  Trusting the world rather than word of God. (Rom. 12:1-2; 1Jn2:16)

If we don’t target faithfulness as key to our Christian growth, we will not experience the glory of God in our lives. Others will share testimony and we cannot experience one.

How to be faithful

1.     Study and obey the word/ obey God: Rom. 15:4, Jam. 1:22; 2Tim. 3:16-17)

2.     What will Jesus has done?(Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28;Matt. 12:46-50)

3.     Endure difficult situations (2Tim2:10; 2Tim. 2:3)

4.     Be mindful of accountability (because 2corin. 5:10)

5.     Be on your guard at all times against Satan, who devours (1Pet. 5:8; Peter denying Jesus 3x)

Remember, if you are faithful, you will suffer (Matt.10:22) but the end will be joy so endure the suffering. The result of unfaithfulness is eternal damnation. (Lake of fire- Rev. 20:15)

Conclusion

The most significant element in our Christian life is faithfulness to God. In the days we now live in, we are unsure of what will happen next across the globe. Being faithful to God will give us great peace and assurance to endure the times and receive the reward of eternal life in Heaven when Jesus Christ appears.

Man will fail you but God will not fail you.

Let us be faithful to our calling and we will enjoy the promises and blessings of God. Amen!