Be Faithful As He Is Faithful

Be faithful as He is faithful

Patrick Oelund

1Cor 4:1-2

We have been entrusted (stewards) the mysteries of God

A gift, ministry, our calling etc.

Those who have been given a trust (become stewards) must prove themselves faithful

Faithfulness is one of the main characters of God (1Cor 1:9). The OT is a record of God’s faithfulness to His covenant, to His people and to His promises.

2Tim 2:13

If we are faithless – He remains faithful

He cannot deny Himself

He IS faithful, it is IN Him. He cannot be unfaithful. This shows us how important faithfulness is for Him, that we, who belongs to Him, are faithful, as He is faithful.

Definition of faithfulness

Matt 25:14-30

The parable of the faithful servants

Everyone received talents according to their ability (v. 15)

Vs. 16-17

The one with the five talents traded with them and gained five more

Likewise the one with two talents

What is the faithfulness, and where do we see it in this person’s life? It is not that they gained this profit because if someone had stolen it, the master would still have called them faithful. Faithfulness is not measured in the result but in their attitude to the work. They did the best they could with the money.

v. 18

The man with one talent buried his master’s money in the ground

What is the unfaithfulness? He did not do his best for his master; he did not do the work he could do, but instead he protected himself. He only thought about himself and his own safety and not of the profit of his master.

Faithfulness is to do the best you can with the things entrusted to you. No one can require more than that. But notice that God requires us to do the best we can

“…each according to their ability” (v. 15).

The money was given according to the ability they all had. One had ability for five talents and the other for two talents and the third for one talent. God will never ask you to do something that you are not able to do.

Together with the calling from God there is also an ability to do what we are called to do. God wants us to use these talents which have been entrusted to us.

Don’t compare with someone else’s talents – if you do, you will have problems because if you compare with someone that has received more than you, you will be disappointed if you can’t come up to his abilities. If you compare with someone that has received less than you – you can be proud. Be faithful with what God has given.

1Pet 4:10

Each one of us have received a gift, a talent

Use it to serve others (not to serve yourself, not that others shall serve you, or to build your kingdom)

By doing that, you minister the grace of God you have received to others

“Jesus gave gifts to men…” (Eph 4:7) and these gifts were given for the edification of the church. When we use what God has given to us, we will be a blessing and we will help to build the church according to the grace given to us. And we will be faithful servants as we read about in Matthew 25.

Faithful to the end

Ministry involves a lot of work. Some people believe that ministry is to preach a little now and then and even though that is an important part it is not everything. Ministry is about relations, preparations, problem solving etc.

1Cor 15:10

Paul worked harder than all of them

1Cor 9:27-28

I beat my body and make it a slave

This talks about a hard discipline

A minister can never allow himself to be lazy – Ministry is hard work

If we use a picture from the world of sports: An athlete who participates in a race knows that if he shall have a chance to win, he must lay down hours and days in training and preparation. Everyone can participate in a race but only those who have disciplined themselves in training will have a chance to win.

1Cor 9:24

We want to win the race

We want to have the prize, that is our attitude

When we start to do something, we do it to the full. 100%, that is a winner’s attitude. Of the things God has laid down in my life, I will not hold anything back. I am 100% devoted to the calling in my life.

1John 5:4

Everything that is born of God overcomes the world

My calling, vision, is it born of God, it will overcome

If we stop here, it will seem that everything is working automatically

But what is it that has overcome the world? Our faith