A man from the east coast had always dreamed of owning a cattle ranch and had finally saved enough money to buy his dream spread in Wyoming. His best friend flew out to visit and asked, “So, what’s the name of your ranch?” His buddy told him that he and his wife had had a really hard time coming up with a name that they liked. Since he and his wife couldn’t agree on what to call the ranch they compromised on this name, “The Double R Lazy L Triple Horseshoe Bar-7 Lucky Diamond Ranch.” His friend was really impressed and then asked, “So where are all the cows?” The new rancher replied, “We had quite a few…but none of them survived the branding!”
Sometimes when it comes to faithfully serving God, we make it far more complicated than it has to be. It helps us to simplify things.
6 "With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"
8He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6.6-8
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22.34-40
I. God Demonstrates His Faithfulness, Not Just His Forgiveness
Robert McCormack was a sergeant in WW I. He nearly lost his life while saving the life of Major Henry Parkin. Fortunately, both men survived the war. From that day on, until he died 25 years later, in April of every year Parkin wrote McCormack a letter of gratitude.
The last letter Parkin wrote contained this brief note: "Dear Bob, I again want to express to you my appreciation for another year of life which I would not have enjoyed had it not been for you & the price you were willing to pay to save my life. I want you to know, I am grateful."
A. In Words:
Deuteronomy 7:9, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.”
1 Corinthians 1:9, “God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”
1 Thessalonians 5:24, “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.”
B. In Actions
I read that years ago in England when they still used the balanced scales that a baker sued a farmer over the pound of butter that he was buying. And he said that when he first started buying butter from the farmer, it was a full pound. But gradually the farmer was selling him less and less, until now he was only giving him about three quarters of a pound of butter and still charging him for the full pound. And so he sued him in court.
The farmer in his own defense said to the judge, "Sir, I only have a balanced scale to measure the butter." And he said, "I always put the baker’s pound loaf of bread on the other side of the scale and that’s how I know when he has his pound of butter."
Giving Abraham his descendants – stars/sand
Psalm 89:5, “The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too…”
Giving them the Land
Bringing the Messiah through them
Psalm 36:5, “Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.”
II. God Desires Our Faithfulness, not Our Flash!
A. God is interested in the marathon, not the sprint
“Slow and steady wins the race”
During the Olympics in Sydney, Australia, an Ethiopian runner won the marathon race. He was something of a new-comer to the marathon running scene. How was he able to win that race against so many fast and talented runners?
It was said that he trained at high altitude and competed in low altitude. Training in high altitude enabled him to run faster in the low altitude atmosphere.
And that’s the key to winning in this life! That’s the key to overcoming life’s difficulties! We must train in high altitude while competing in low altitude!
We train in high altitude - meaning we spend time with the Lord, in His presence in order to live in low altitude! Jesus did that very same thing!
1. Abraham was a great example of faithfulness for the long-haul – Romans 4.3; Galatians 3.6; James 2.23 All three are Quoting Genesis 15.6 -- 6And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Covenant for Abraham’s descendants)
2. Moses is an example of faithfulness for the long-haul – Exodus 17.12-13
12But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady (faithful) until the going down of the sun. 13And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
a. “Faith” involves belief
b. Faith involves Steadiness – emunah is used in either place
c. Often we want to do some “big thing” for God and then rest on our laurels
I built an ark
I killed a giant
I gave money
I built a sanctuary for God
I taught classes
I preached sermons
I visited the sick
B. God is interested in Availability more than Ability – Parable of Talents (Matthew 25.14ff)
A talent was a large sum of money – comparable to about $500,000 today
The Master was more interested in the effort than the results – 5 and 2 talent men received the same commendation; the 1 talent man a rebuke
'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'
26But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant!
Also a reminder of the unexpected return of the Messiah
Stewardship and accountability
Invest in what we have been given by God – source of all good gifts
Conclusion
After breaking up with his fiancée, a young man realized the error of his ways when he wrote: “Dearest Marie, No words could ever express the great unhappiness I’ve felt since breaking our engagement. Please say you’ll take me back. No one could ever take your place in my heart, so please forgive me. I love you! Yours forever, Jimmy…P.S. And congratulations on winning the lottery.” This kind of makes you wonder about this guy’s underlying motives. The truth is that our underlying motives have much to do with the success and failures of our relationships.
In spite of our near-sightedness God still stands by us and works with us.
God is faithful/steady (emunah) in working with us – Deuteronomy 7.6-12
6"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful (emunah/steady) God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today. 12 "And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers.
God desires our faithful steadiness – believing and doing
