Sermon Central
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Bearing The Fruit Of Faithfulness
Contributed by Charlie Roberts on Aug 18, 2019 (message contributor)
Summary: God calls us to bear the fruit of faithfulness, regardless of what the world around us may say or do, leaving Him in charge of the details and the outcome.
Bearing the fruit of faithfulness
Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
Illus. By David Jeremiah
Integrity is telling the truth to yourself. Honesty is telling the truth to others. Faithfulness is doing both, when the only person who knows is you!
In spiritual terms the word integrity, is directly linked to faithfulness.
Illus. By Todd Coget
Television interviewer and journalist Larry King describes three farmers who gather daily in a field during a horrible drought. The men are down on their knees, looking upward, and praying the skies will open and pour forth a much-needed rain.
Unfortunately, the heavens are silent, and the petitioners become discouraged, but they continue to meet every morning to lift up their request to God.
One morning an uninvited stranger approaches and asks the men what they are doing. They respond, "We’re praying for rain." The newcomer looks at each of them and shakes his head, "No, I don’t think so."
The first farmer says, "Of course we’re praying. We are down on our knees pleading for rain. Look around; see the drought. We haven’t had rain in more than a year!"
The outsider continues to nod his head and advises them their efforts will never work.
The second farmer jumps in and says, "We need the rain; we aren’t asking only for ourselves, but for our families and livestock." The man listens, nods, and says he still isn’t impressed. "You’re wasting your time," he says.
The third farmer can’t take any more, and in anger he says, "Okay, what would you do if you were in our shoes?" The visitor asks, "You really want to know?"
The three landowners answer, "We really want to know! The future of our farmlands is at stake.” The guest announces, "If I really wanted rain, I would have brought an umbrella!"
Sometimes faithfulness requires not telling someone what they want to hear, but what they need to hear! Sometimes faithfulness requires the same of the reflection we see in the mirror on a daily basis.
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to [d]bear it.
The accuser, has society convinced that the spirit of faithfulness comes with a high price. Doing the right thing all the time might just cost you more than it’s worth.
Illus. From Dr David Jeremiah’s a “ Life beyond amazing”
A 19-year-old named Joey was working at the local Dairy Queen in Hopkins Minnesota. When a blind man was placing his order and a $20 bill slipped out of his pocket and fell on the floor. The woman behind him quickly picked up the money and stuffed it into her pocket.
When she stepped to the counter, Joey asked her to give the money back to the blind man and she said no. She claimed it it fell out of her pocket and that it was her money. Joey refused to serve her and ask her to leave the store.
Joey remained calm as the woman begin to scream in an angry outburst and then stormed out the door. He then went over to the table where the blind man was sitting, explained what happened and gave him $20 out of his own billfold to replace the money that have been taken.
A customer who witnessed the scene emailed an account of what had taken place, to the owners of the Dairy Queen. The store posted the email, someone then photographed it and put it on Facebook, and the story went viral.
It was soon reported on cable news and in newspapers across the nation. Joey was inundated with calls and accolades. He even got a call from Warren Buffett, who’s company owns Dairy Queen inviting him to the next share holders meeting! Joey set the benchmark for everyone of us!
Instead of wondering of whether we’re going to be reprimanded for Faithfully doing the right thing as we’ve seen others over the years suffer from the worlds tainted view of political correctness. God calls us to bear the fruit of faithfulness, regardless of what the world around us may say or do, leaving Him in charge of the details and the outcome.
To bear the fruit of faithfulness, whatever the task required one must first be found faithful!
There are lotta things that we may not want to do, but the Bible says whatever we have been called to do, we need to do them as unto God.
