Let's turn to Galatians chapter 5. We continue our summer series on the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians chapter 5. If you have a Bible or your Bible app, if you don't have a Bible there might be one in the back or in the row in front of you. Unless you're a front row Baptist like these folks here. First time with us and they're front row Baptists, I tell you. Alright? Grateful to Howard and his kids and Wyatt and is it Emily? Did I get it right? Wyatt and Emily, I know I'm going to put you on the spot, guys, but I know this because of Wyatt. You guys are triplets. I don't know about you, but I've never met triplets. I know there's only two, so the triplet is still not here. But boy, that was pretty cool. When Wyatt told me, oh, I'm a triplet, I'm like, nah, man. I had to turn to dad and go, really? Yeah, pretty cool. And front row. They're in the splash zone, just like you guys over here too. Galatians chapter 5. I read, you follow along. I'm reading from the English Standard Version. Galatians chapter 5, 16. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you're led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh, this is the catalog of evil, are evident. Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Here's the catalog of grace, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with his passions and desires. Stop there. We begin with just some questions, a list of questions. They're on the screen. Let me see if I can read them from where I'm at. Nope, I can't. You hopefully can. There, I have them in my notes. Here it is. Has anyone important in your life ever let you down? Yes or yes? Okay, right, right. Now, do you have someone that comes to mind? Just talk, I don't need to know who it is. I don't need you to hit, you know, elbow somebody right next to you. I don't want to know this kind of stuff, but do you have someone in mind? Have you ever had someone important ever let you down? Number two, did someone tell you they would do something and then they either forgot or just changed their mind? Yes or yes, right? Okay, do you have someone in mind? Does that, hopefully it's not the same person. Okay, but do you have someone in mind? Okay, last, last. Has anyone ever made a promise to you and then broke that promise? Yes or yes? Okay, do you have someone in mind? Hopefully it's not the same person. Okay, now here's the question you need to really ask on the screen. Have you ever done any of these things to someone else? Yeah, were you that person in someone else's mind? See, we love to take a look and see sin in everybody else's life. We seldom take a moment to look at sin in the mirror. We look at it every morning. We look at it. We may not like what we see, but we become sniff inspectors as long as it's someone else. And those other three questions, we're like, yeah, I got them. I got them. This one here? Yeah. So today we get to the point where we're studying the fruit of faithfulness. Faithfulness. This is the first of the last three. So, so far we've done love, joy, peace, and then comes what? Patience, kindness, and goodness. This is the last triad, which is faithfulness, gentleness, and last but not least, something that everyone falls short in South Florida, self-control. All right? So we have faithfulness, and the word faithfulness is related to the word faith. And what we mean by that is that when a person is faithful, you can trust them. They're reliable. They're dependable. You can put your faith in them and they won't let you down. And we get that from our Heavenly Father, who is faithful, who is ultimately dependable, who is the source of trustworthiness, who is reliable, all caps. God is that to all of His own. Faithfulness is an important quality for us to develop as believers. Why? Because all relationships that are worth anything in our lives are built on trust. Just think about it. Any relationship in your life and in my life that's worth anything is built on trust. The better and the greater the trust, the healthier and deeper the relationship. The problem we have between the citizenry and the federal government is there's a certain level of distrust. And that's why you have opposing viewpoints and they're so polarizing. Why? Because once you lose trust, And the reality is that you and I need to build relationships on trust. And for that we need to be faithful. And we have different areas in our lives that we need to be faithful in. We need to be faithful at home, at work, in marriage, in our commitments, in our word, when we give our word, with our money, to family and friends, faithful to our church family. So ultimately we're faithful to the Lord. Faithfulness. Let me give you a definition for you to take with you. Faithfulness is that Spirit-produced quality in the life of a child of God that demonstrates trustworthiness, reliability, or dependability toward God and others that springs from ongoing faith in God and His Word. That's faithfulness. That's something that the Spirit produces. This is not you just being a little more faithful, I promise this, and greater self-effort. We're not after you and greater self-effort. We're not here offering you the 1, 2, 3's and that's it. We're here hoping that the searchlight of Scripture comes upon your life and you see where you are cooperating, where you're not cooperating with the sanctifying, with the work of God in your life. He wants to create the character of Jesus in you. And some days we cooperate and some days we don't. In some decisions we cooperate and there's other decisions we don't. In some areas of life, He has all of us. And in some areas of life, we're still resisting. Even as children of God, we're resisting the pressure and the work of the Spirit of God in our lives. Because we still think we can do it better. Those who are faithful and dependable, we can believe in them. We can trust them. So let's talk a little bit about faithfulness before we get out of here. Number one, faithfulness is grounded in God's character. We need to start with God. Anytime you start in your Christian walk with man, you're already off. Everything starts with God. It is God at work in you and me. It is God at work providing the salvation that you and I can't. Whenever you and I start in our walk, in our explanation of theology, in the study of God, and we start with us, we're off to a bad start. The Scripture is clear. Everything starts with God, so faithfulness starts with God. It's grounded in His character. Not only faithfulness, but all the aspects of the fruit of the Spirit are grounded in the character of God. Because if He's our daddy, then we're supposed to look like our daddy. And I can't look like someone else's daddy because I'm not no one else's kid. I'm not expecting Ethan to look like me. He should be a lot better looking. That's why we're hoping, we're counting on mom. All right? So he's not supposed, but if we're children of God and God is faithful, then God help us if we're not, because we're doing a disservice to our heavenly Father. So faithfulness is grounded in God's character. God is the root and we bear that fruit. Jesus is the vine and we're the fruit on the vine is what we're studying. We are the branches. We bear fruit as the life of Jesus flows through us outwardly. So let's talk about this grounded in God's character. Two things. Number one, God is faithful in all His ways. Psalm 25, excuse me, verse 10, all the ways of the Lord are loving. and faithful for those who keep the demands of His covenant. Psalm 100 verse 5. Excuse me, for the Lord is good and His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations. He is utterly trustworthy and dependable. He is trustworthy and dependable to His creation. He is faithful to His people. He was faithful in promising Jesus in Genesis 3 and delivering Jesus in the New Testament. That which He promises, He delivers. He's not like you and me and that garage that never gets done. He's not you and me that we just say what we need to, that we think we want the other person to hear so they can just get off our back. My wife asked me something last night, and she said, hey, did you take care of this? And I said, let me check. You know what she said back to me? That's what you told me last time. So I'm busted. So then I came clean. I go, yeah, I haven't done it. And usually I said it with an attitude that was less than loving. Because she busted me, and then I had to come back to her like, you know, puppy, honey, you know, thank you for asking, and thank you for this, and I did this wrong, and I should have said this, and da, da, da. And then I'm expecting her to go, man, Louis, you're the paragon of virtue, you're like this. You know, she just looked at me, she went, okay. See, the reality is God's not like that, all right? He is, you know, he is faithful to judge sin. He is faithful to save sinners who trust in His Son. He is faithful. He doesn't say, oh, here you go, ha, ha, ha, ha, and then He takes it and He does a bait and switch. No. No, you can depend on the Lord. In the book, The Practice of Godliness, Jerry Bridges writes the following. It will be on the screen there. Consider for a moment the absolute necessity of the faithfulness of God. We are dependent upon His faithfulness for our final salvation, 1 Corinthians 1. For deliverance from temptation, 1 Corinthians 10. For ultimate sanctification, 1 Thessalonians 5. For the forgiveness of our sins, 1 John 1. For deliverance through times of suffering, 1 Peter 4. And for the fulfillment of our ultimate hope of eternal life, Hebrews 10. We can easily see that every aspect of the Christian life rests upon the faithfulness of God. And we have the assurance the Lord is faithful to all His promises. Psalm 145. The entire Bible is a treatise. It's on the theme of God and His faithfulness. In fact, you and I will find it difficult to talk about Him and to praise Him without tying it in somewhere down the line to His faithfulness. That's how close it is. He is faithful. And one way or the other, we always mention that God is faithful. And God is faithful in all His ways. Number two, God is always... God's Word is trustworthy and true. God's Word is trustworthy and true. His ways and His Word. Numbers 23, verse 19, God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of a man that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? See, we have a saying, you're only as good as your Yeah, but do you understand we live in a society that doesn't care about that anymore? When was the last time you closed a deal on a handshake? I mean, you may have. There might be guys here and gals here that you did. I wouldn't, because I know humanity. When was the last time? We say we're only as good as our word. We don't even say it. We don't even mean that sometimes. I'll say something to my wife. I'll say, you don't even believe what you're saying. Like when I say I'm going to go vegan. Until the next time I'm hungry, I'm a vegan. Then I chow down like an omnivore. Forget carnivore. Omnivore. If you get your fingers close to me, it's done. Alright? So there's the reality that God's Word is trustworthy. He's not like us. God has given us His Word in the Bible and has revealed it. This is the beauty of God's Word. In your Bible, look up Psalm 19. You have to have this marked in your Bible. If you like writing in your Bible, do that. Highlight your Bible. If not, look to your neighbor and highlight their Bible. Psalm 19, verses 7 through 10. The beauty of God's Word. It's trustworthy and it's true. Psalm 19 verses 7 through 10. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Stop there. The beauty of God's Word. You may have said, if you hang around church, you know, if we speak enough Churchenese, okay, that lingo of the culture, okay, that we will say, you know, God said it, I believe it, that settles it. It's nice, but do you understand that in a worldview that's governed by the Bible, that middle part doesn't really mean much. God said it, that settles it. Whether you and I believe it doesn't really matter, quite honestly, from a biblical worldview. If you're not engaged in a biblical worldview, of course you're going to depend on yourself. But listen, God has established certain laws. There's the law of gravity. I can do this all day long. What's going to happen every time I drop it? It doesn't matter. Hey, hey, stay right there. Doesn't matter where I believe in the law of gravity or not, it drops. When God has revealed Himself, it doesn't matter. You know, our opinion on His Word means very little. Do you understand? We don't add value or detract value to the Word of God. God has spoken. He has gone out of His way to reveal Himself, not only in general revelation through creation and through conscience. This is something that everyone enjoys. That's common grace. You look at the earth and there's a Creator. If you don't want to waste your time on trying to find the evolution of it all, go ahead and waste your time. It takes greater faith to believe in that than in God said it. But go ahead. Spin your wheels. through creation and conscience. Then he goes out of his way to do special revelation by revealing himself in the scriptures. Scriptures that are inspired by him, scriptures that were preserved by him, so you and I can have them. And that special revelation of the written word is all there to point us to the living word, Jesus Christ. So He is there. God said it, that settles it. Now, you and I have to be engaged in, hey listen, if you don't want to believe it, that's on us. It's to our detriment, not His. Our Heavenly Father has gone out of His way to say, this is who I am, this is how I behave, this is how I act, this is the covenant, this is the agreement, this is what we're entering through Jesus Christ. And this is the ethic, this is the life that I'm expecting you to have because I am at the center of your life. He has gone out of His way to reveal Himself. Whether you like it or not, listen, that's the bottom line. We've said this before time and time again, when you and I encounter a truth in the Scriptures that the Spirit of God enlightens our minds and our understanding, we go, oh, that's what it means. Right there, you're at the crossroads. You're either going to continue to make, what, excuses to accommodate sin, rebellion, disobedience, or you're going to make adjustments toward holiness through obedience. It boils down to that in my life, it boils down to that in everybody's life here that's a child of God. When you're encountered by the truth of Scripture, you're going to make one of two things. You're either going to make excuses or you're going to make adjustments. That's the bottom line. And God is true. And faithfulness is grounded in the character of God, in His ways and in His Word. And if it's in the character of God, grounded in the character of God, number two, faithfulness is exemplified in the life of the Son of God. Excuse me. If Jesus, the Son of God, lived a life, and He did, we would see faithfulness through and through. And we have it there. At the end of His life, John 17 is the upper room discourse. Chapter 14 through 17. That's Jesus spending time with His own. Okay? It's the last hours before His death. In 17, verse 4, He says, I have brought you glory. He's talking to the Lord. That is really the high priestly prayer of Jesus. The Lord's Prayers, John 17. I have brought you glory on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do. I've been faithful. Revelation chapter 1 verse 5 describes Jesus as the faithful witness. And witness there means martyr. He's the one who is faithful and He's willing to die for the truth. And the truth of the matter is that sinners need a saving and God has set His love on people and He needed to secure that salvation since Jesus and it is secured. what God promises, He provides. That's why He's the faithful witness. But what about if you and I are not faithful? I know it doesn't happen in the Baptist church, but what happens if God's people are unfaithful to God? Does that negate God's fidelity toward His own? No? I agree. Let's put some Bible to it. In your Bible, 2nd Timothy, chapter 8. 2nd Timothy. I mean, we can all have opinions, and opinions are like noses. Everyone has one. 2nd Timothy. Here's Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, writing to his protege, Timothy, and he's telling him something. He's encouraging him. He's saying, hey, you're a soldier. You're a soldier of Christ Jesus. You need to behave a certain way. Be encouraged. He picks up the conversation, and we pick up the conversation, the letter in verse 8 of chapter 2. Remember, he says, Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel. for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound. Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for if we have died with Him, we also live with Him. If we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains what? Faithful, for he cannot deny himself. God has no other option but to remain faithful. Even in light of your faithlessness, even when you and I choose to drop the ball, even when you and I are running the race, and sin sort of like holds up something nice, and we go, no, yeah, let me grab this, and we fail to enjoy all that God has for us, because sin is just that wicked. Even when we're faithless, See, to be consistent with the biblical revelation, God must remain faithful to His own. Now, please don't misunderstand me. That doesn't mean that He gives you everything you want. He's just faithful to the promises He makes to His own. He is faithful to finish what He has begun. He will fulfill everything. We sang about it. On the screen, we sang these words. Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not. If there's thee and thou, change it to modern day. Great is your faithfulness, O God my Father. There's no shadow of turning with you. You change us not. Your compassions, they fail not. As you have been, you forever will. B. Great is your faithfulness, great is your faithfulness. Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed, your hand has provided. Great is your faithfulness, Lord, unto me. See, we sang that. We tend to forget the theology that we sing. That's why we don't want just 7-11 music, 7 words 11 times. That's why we don't want just something that's catchy. and the Starbucks experience. We want to sing about the character of God. We want to sing something that feeds our soul, not just entertains our senses. We want to sing and we want to sing it well. But this is what we're talking about. Faithfulness is grounded in the character of God. Faithfulness was exemplified by the Son of God. Number three, faithfulness. I should have written, needs to be displayed, but I wrote, faithfulness displayed in God's people. If faithfulness marks our Lord, then it should also mark His people, because we're being conformed to His image. That's why you're here on planet earth. Romans 8, 32, listen, He's up to something in that golden chain of who He predestines. He glorifies. Why? Because He wants to create the person of Christ in them. That's why God is busy at work in your life and mine. Not to give you what you want, not to make your life comfortable, but to make your life Christ-like. And that might look on certain weeks like this, and on certain days like that, and on certain seasons like this. But God is at work in the child that belongs to Him. And you and I therefore need to be marked by that. We need to display it. And how do we do it? Number one, faithfulness is a matter of integrity. It's integrity. Proverbs 11.3, the integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. A faithful person is the same person inside and out. Have you ever met someone that in public they're one thing, but they're at home they're another? That's not a faithful person. That's not what the Bible is teaching. Preachers are infamous for this. We have this persona on Sunday morning. And we put on our Sunday best. But then we go home and we're animals. And we're less than Christ-like with those that know us. And then what? That's not being faithful. That's not God. God can't be my daddy that way. Because He doesn't say on Sunday morning, bless you, my daughter. And the minute you walk out, ah! No. So it's the same person inside and out. It's a matter of integrity. Listen, you need a human example. Daniel, chapter 6, verse 4. It's on the screen. Then the high officials and satraps, the government officials, administration, and the satraps sought to find ground of complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom. But they could not find, they couldn't find no ground for complaint or any fault because he was faithful. I'm the one who writes in there trustworthy and no error. That's me writing there no corruption or fault, no negligence was found in him. Listen, can that be said of you and me? It should be said of you and me. that they can't find, that we are trustworthy, there's no corruption, there's no negligence. These Babylonian administrators go and they try to find a way. Imagine if a group of journalists were given one assignment, find dirt on you. How long would it take? How many clicks? How many social media posts? They checked in and out and Danny was just fine. You know why? Because truth is not afraid of scrutiny. Truth does not fear scrutiny. And when you and I are walking to the best of our ability, spirit-empowered, with grace-driven effort, we're walking the way of the integrity, we will not fear scrutiny. The one who fears scrutiny tries to hide. But when you're walking in truth, truth does not fear scrutiny. Number two, faithfulness is a matter of right priorities. Right priorities. Matthew 6. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Ephesians chapter 5. Be very careful then how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the Lord's will is and the faithful person wants the right priority. God help us to discern what the right priorities are. I think I said it in the men's group one time, and I believe Isaac was the one who gave me the source. You know, it was Francis Chan, I think. He says, you know the greatest fear I have? It's to be successful in things that don't matter. Just think about that. The greatest fear I have is to be successful in things that don't matter. And that applies to you and me differently. Because you're going to look at your life and you're going to say, this is what matters, really? Are you afraid of succeeding in things that really ultimately do not matter? Faithfulness is right. It's a matter of right priorities. Faithfulness, number three, is a matter of following through. Following through. Colossians 4.17, see to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord. Paul is commanding. He's exhorting a fellow worker. See to it. See to it. 2 Timothy 4.7, Paul says of himself, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Do you see the noun tenses? I have fought. not fighting, I have finished not running. A lot of us will run the race. The question is how many of us will finish it when the Lord calls us home, which He was about to in Paul's case. And he could say, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith, I have been faithful. Faithfulness has to do with your character, your character. right principles, follow through. How do we grow in this area? How do we grow in this area? What can you and I do to cooperate with the work of God in our lives? Let me just remind you of a couple. Number one, remember God's faithfulness to you. Remember. Last week we said, God is good. All the time. Okay, let's release those Baptist shackles a little bit. Let's go a little Baptocostal right now. Okay, God is good. And all the time? Okay, there we go. Now we can say, God is faithful. And all the time? Yeah, you see, you're still alive. The roof didn't come down. You're still going to have lunch. Okay? That's praising the Lord. He is faithful. How has He been faithful to us? Let me give you a few things you can see there on the screen. He's been faithful to keep His promises. He's been faithful to keep His promises. To Joshua, it's said of Joshua that not one of the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed. Everyone was fulfilled. And the promises He's made to you and me as His kids because of the covenant we enjoy with Him through Jesus Christ, none of those promises will ever fail. God is faithful in displaying His love and compassion toward His own. Lamentations chapter 3. Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are in you every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3. God is faithful in times of trial or temptation. 1 Corinthians 10. 13. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. God is faithful to protect you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 3. But the Lord is faithful and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. Lastly, God is faithful to forgive your sins. First John 1.9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. How do you want to grow in this area? Remember, it starts with God. This is not just self-effort. You need to remember the goodness and the kindness and the joy of the Lord and the faithfulness of the Lord and let that inspire you. He is for you, child of God, not against you. So remember God's faithfulness. Number two, be a good faithful or be a good faithful steward of God's gift to you. 1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 2. It is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. Everything that comes to you and me belongs to God. It comes from God and belongs to God. My life, my marriage, my family, my treasure, my time, my talents. It all comes from Him. It comes from Him and it belongs to Him. You've been given a trust from God and you and I must be good stewards of that. Number three, be faithful in the small things. See, we all want the big deal. Are you able What was the last time you thanked the Lord for those pastors that preach that we'll never hear of? Well, we know the ones are favorite. We got their names. We got their books. We even have their cell phone. But how about the... I'm not talking about me, Tonya, okay? Listen. That was a good paid advertisement on that one. But how about the guy who's faithfully doing it in the middle of Iowa? rural country with a church of 20. Is he a failure? If you think he is, you're the one that's a failure. Because if he's faithfully serving the Lord like he should, his reward will be greater than mine. When was the last time you thanked the Lord and you prayed for that pastor that we will never hear about? Who serves in obscurity, known by few, unknown by most, but treasured by His Heavenly Father. Be faithful in the small things. In Matthew 25, we're given that parable of talents and one is given five and he puts his money to work and gains five more. And Jesus looks and says, and when the master returned, he told the servant, 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. Just be faithful in the small things, which leads to the last one. Keep your word even when it hurts. Boy, let me tell you, is that for 21st century Pembroke Pines and surrounding. Keep your word even when it hurts. Psalm 15 in the Old Testament answers the question, Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy? Who gets to fellowship with you intimately? And the psalmist describes a person of integrity who walks, whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from the heart. And in Psalm 15, verse 4 says, who keeps his oath even when it hurts. Do you understand when you give your word, it means something? It should because it meant something to your heavenly Father. When He said, child, I will be with you and for you, do you think He was just blowing smoke? And why is it so difficult for the children of God to say, when I'm doing, when I've committed to something, that's what I'm going to do. Come, part of my language, hell or high water? I've given my word. You've heard the phrase FOMO, right? What's FOMO? Fear of missing out. That's why we have all the text alerts on our phone. I mean, I have to silence mine because if not, FOMO, fear of missing out. Now, the one I read about not too long ago was FOBO, fear of best offer. Yeah, you know why? That's why people don't commit. Hey, Christina, you want to help this Saturday? Let me get back to you. Yeah, let me get back to you. I picked on Christina too. Might be anecdotal. I don't know. Let me get back to you. Hey, John, John, listen, can I count on you for this workday? Let me get back to you, bro. Let me get back to you. Because the thing is, I might fear out, once I give my word, hey, I'll be there. Then all of a sudden I can go boating over here with Zane. I got to go to the wretched Baptist and clean their flower beds. I could have gone to the Keys. Best offer. So we, no, no. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no. It's going to hurt. It's okay. You're not the first, buttercup. You won't be the last. So give. Give what's most valuable to you, which is your time and your word. And that's what the psalmist says. Keep your word, even when it hurts. He said so. Now, unless you're providentially hindered, then that's fine. We understand all that. But there's a pattern to some folk who are like, well, you know, it's just phobo, for your best offer. I like to keep my options. If you made a promise, you know, to the best of your ability, as the Lord provides, you keep it. You keep it. So what can we take with us this morning? We live in a culture that is comfortable with unkept promises. Do you understand that? We live in a culture that not only tolerates it, but almost promotes unkept promises. Our society is quite happy with broken vows. It's okay. It's okay to be faithful until it's not convenient. It's okay to be a hard worker until it's not convenient. It's okay to give your word and then take it back. It's okay. We live in a society that says it's okay. Unkept promises doesn't matter. How to get away with doing the least amount of work the most amount of time? That's okay. That's working for the city. or the IRS. We shouldn't be those people. See, on the screen, if faithfulness marks our Lord, then it should also mark His people, since we're being renewed in the image of Christ. And in a world marked by divisions, dissensions, jealousy, God's children should be marked by loyalty and dependability. All too often we are marked by faithlessness. Husbands and wives make vows until it's not convenient to keep them anymore. And husbands, they may not cheat on the wife with a prostitute, but their addiction to porn might as well be the same. And wives won't cheat on their husbands with porn, but their unhealthy relationship with their work husband, that tells a story. Yeah, you should have said either ouch or amen. See, that's where you're at. That's where we're at. That's why you and I as children of God, we're called to be faithful. in a world where it's easy to be faithless and excused. You and I are called to be different. We should be a people faithful to the Lord and faithful to our Word, faithful to the opportunities. See, much too often we think that following the Lord is getting at that $1,000 bill. If you have a $1,000 bill, it's fake, first of all. But let's say you do. And you think that coming to the Lord is coming to the altar and just putting that faithful, you know, that $1,000 and going, here, once and for all, take my life and let it be. You know what the Lord does? He takes that $1,000 bill and exchanges it for dimes. And He says, spend a life giving the dimes away. See, what He's after is a long obedience in the right direction. Discipleship is following Christ, long obedience in the right direction. God sets you on the path and it's a long obedience in the right direction. It's not leaving the $1,000 bill on the altar. It's getting, receiving $1,000 worth of dimes and then giving it away in service to others in the name of Christ. That's what we're talking about. That's faithfulness. That's what He calls us to do. A flash in the pan, that can happen any time. We live in flash in the pan America. You just heat up the oil of commitment really fast, throw a little bit of water of, you know, half-baked decision. But it only lasts about two seconds. He's not after a flash in the pan. He's after a long and steady obedience in the right direction. The story goes, you're wondering what I was doing this with beside my... I had to tell Henry, Henry, I'm using this. Where's Henry? There he is, all right? This is a water pitcher, I understand that. But use your imagination, make believe it was a vase. Or if you're fancy, it's a vase. I do not know neither or neither. The story goes of an old timer, doctor. small-town USA, faithfully just served as the town's doctor. After 50 years, he was retiring. And the small-town USA said, man, we gotta honor this man. for his faithfulness. So they made this big thing, this big shindig and they all sat there like you are and they looked at the guy and they put a vase there and one by one the first person came up with a rose and said, I was the first baby you ever delivered 50 years ago. I want to thank you for doing that. Sat down. The other one stood up and And year two, Doc, it was a difficult delivery, but you saw my mama through it, and I'm here today. The third person in, Doc, on the third year, let me tell you, I should not be here, but you were faithful to my family. And like that, they filled up the vase with 50 roses. See, what the Lord is after is people that are 50 roses vase-filled. Not just one, but a lifetime. And what He asks, He provides. God doesn't set you up, child of God, to fail. God doesn't set me up to fail. If He calls us to a life of faithfulness, rest assured that He is faithful to carry that through. That's what He's after. That's what He's after. Take this last thing with you on the screen there. God rewards not success, but faithfulness. What we need to ask is not how successful we are, but how faithful we are. See, in Christianity according to the Americas, bigger is better. Not necessarily. There will be a group, a large group on that day that will come to the portal of heaven, and Jesus will look to them and say, I never knew you. Because what we're busy about is not gathering a crowd, but making disciples. And you and I need to make the decision that we should be known for our faithfulness, whether we're a hundred and something strong or ten thousand strong. but it's our individual faithfulness, our commitment to cooperating with the work of God in our lives. Amen? May the Lord help us to be faithful. Let's close our eyes and bow our heads for just a moment. We're going to sing a great song in just a minute, Living Hope. This is what the Lord does and what the Lord provides to all His own, a living hope. Do you have it this morning? Do you have it? If not, you can turn to Christ even now. You can take a look and just go before the Lord and just confess the delusion of self-worship. You've been on the throne. And your life may actually look good. It really is. The future's looking good. You got some money in the bank. Your health is alright. I'm living here in the good U.S. of A. In the great part of the US of A, in the state of Florida, in the best part of the state of Florida, SoFlo. But here's the thing, good doesn't get you into heaven. Perfect does. None of us here are perfect. The demand of God is perfection. And that which He demands, He provides through His Son, Jesus Christ. who lives the perfect life, who dies the perfect death, who's buried and then resurrected, who ascends and one day will return. And your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ is what grants you the perfection that God looks for to allow you in heaven. Have you surrendered your life to the Lord? Or are you still depending on your good deeds outweighing your bad ones? Remember, it's not good or bad. What God is after is perfect. And you, my brother and sister in the Lord, how goes it with your walk with the Lord? Can it be said of you that you're faithful? That the fruit of the Spirit in your life is evident, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Lord God, do the work as only you can. Help us as we sing to be reminded, to be inspired, to commit, to go beyond the mediocrity that perhaps is defining our walk with you, Eve, in this moment. It was so easy. to give you a half of a heart. So easy to go half-hearted after you instead of wholehearted. We're grateful to you that though we are faithless, you remain faithful. Speak to us even now as we sing. To you alone be the glory. In Jesus' name, amen.