Fruit of the Spirit – Faithfulness
Intro

Hi! We are here today to talk about Faithfulness. It is one of the Fruits of the Spirit that are promised to us in Galatians.
• Galatians 5:22-23 shows us the Fruits of the Spirit.
• 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Faithfulness is not only something promised in relationships with significant others. It is not only a commitment you make. Faithfulness in the dictionary is defined as
true to one’s word, promises, vows, etc.
reliable, trusted, or believed.

In other episodes we have discovered some new things about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness. We encourage you to visit our website at themessengersradio.com. You may also hear us on our church’s website: The Father’s House radio at tfhradio.com. We would love any feedback you have for us.
Today we are searching out faithfulness. I was expecting to find a lot of scriptures on this subject, since it has the word “Faith” in it, but I was pleasantly surprised with the scriptures I did find. There may not have been a great number, but the ones we are going to use are so powerful. In about ¾ of them we find the word love. Here are some good examples.
One of my favorites is:
• Psalm 85:10-11 (NIV)
• 10 Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.

I love that! So poetic! But in these next verses, we see even more.
• Psalm 25:10 NLT
• The LORD leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.

• Psalm 86:15 (NLT)
• But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.

Proverbs also shows us that we need to be aware of His faithfulness and use it for ourselves.
• Proverbs 3:3 (NIV)
• Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.

• Proverbs 14:22(NLT)
• If you plan to do evil, you will be lost; if you plan to do good, you will receive unfailing love and faithfulness.
Lamentations gives us insight into how the Israelites were feeling back then, but we need to be reminded of this even today. This is in the KJV, but it is easy to follow.

• Lamentations 3:22-24 (KJV)
• 22 It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
• 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
• 24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

In the last verse, it says, “I will HOPE in Him.” One definition of hope is; a confident, Joyful, expectation. So, even when we go through tough times, we can always have hope because we know that great is His faithfulness.
We have to do our part to remember His faithfulness and what He asks of us. We see in these next scriptures that we must acknowledge God and His faithfulness towards us.

• Psalm 51:6 (NIV)
• Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

• Psalm 40:10 (NIV)
• I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.

• Habakkuk 2:4 (NIV)
• “See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness—

We have mentioned before that Praise is a wonderful and beneficial way to glorify God, but it also lifts our Spirit and gives us great joy! Praise is mentioned in a few of the scriptures we find about faithfulness.

• Psalm 92:1-2 (NIV)
• 1 It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
• Psalm 117:2 (NLT)
• For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the LORD’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the LORD!

• Psalm 100 (NIV)
• 1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is He who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
• 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

This one is great because it comes with a promise. His faithfulness will continue for generations! God is a constant. He cannot change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That is a comforting and reassuring promise.
Isaiah shows us that God has already provided His faithfulness, whether or not we do anything to deserve it. That is how God works. We don’t deserve any good thing, but because He loves us, before time even began, he provided a way for Salvation and Forgivness, among many other things, proven by His faithfulness.

• Isaiah 25:1 (NIV)
• 25 LORD, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.
So, how does God show His great faithfulness? Jesus! That is how He not only shows His love for us, but how He proves His faithfulness through promises He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob long ago. Since we who accepted Christ have been grafted into these promises, we see how He is as faithful now as He ever was. Jesus was God’s greatest gift, and He proves it in these verses.
• Micah 7:20 (NLT)
• You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised to our ancestors Abraham and Jacob long ago.
• John 1:14 (NLT)
• So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

• John 1:17 (NLT)
• For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.

• Ephesians 6:23-24 (NLT)
• 23 Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters,[a] and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. 24 May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, we find that faithfulness is something God has given us, even though undeserved. We also know that we need to show our faithfulness to Him. The greatest act of love and faithfulness was God’s gift of Jesus, and we praise Him for that.

God bless you guys and we will talk to you next time. Ask God to give a fresh revelation about this and all the other Fruits of the Spirit. Have a great day! We love you!

Prayer for Salvation