Posts Tagged ‘faithfulness’

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for the, the conviction of things not seen.” Heb 11:1

“He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” 1 Thess 5:24

As many are aware there was a chat session this morning with the Riviera Board regarding the addition of a fire hydrant for the new Church building. We are not able to add this required fire hydrant without Riviera approval. The chat session revealed some hesitancy and perhaps barriers of Riviera approval.

Please pray for God to work in the hearts of the Riviera Board members. God has called us to be holy and blameless to be sanctified completely; to be a light on Anderson Island. God has ordained that we worship Him in a building, and called us to construct a place of worship, a house of God. He is faithful and just, surely He will do it! Please pray to our Lord and God.

Pastor Ray

In the midst of an exhortation to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God, Paul reminds us that we can only do that in accordance with the measure of faith God has given us (Romans 12). Peter, in his second epistle, expounds on how we are to take that God-given faith as a base and add to it goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love; we are to “possess these qualities in increasing measure.”  If we are moving in that direction we will be kept “from being ineffective and unproductive” in our true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul, in his first letter to Timothy, tells the young pastor to train himself to be godly because “godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” He adds that “godliness with contentment is great gain,” and to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith …” And “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,” writes “to those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ;” and he urges us to “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” James has much to say regarding faith and deeds. While it is obvious that our salvation comes purely as a gift from God, it appears that our God-given faith becomes a foundational platform to be built upon.

Before we start thinking that we can bring this about in our own strength, we should turn to the Old Testament. Solomon, in Psalm 127, proclaims, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Proverbs 3 sort of ties this rambling meditation together. Verse 3 says to “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” Verse 4 speaks of the effectiveness and fruitfulness of the faith life; “Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” And the familiar verses (5-6) remind us where to go in order to build on the God-given faith. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Galatians 5:22-23 contains a list of attributes of the fruit of the Spirit, but what kind of plant can produce “Spirit Fruit”? God’s Word is full of information regarding fruit and plants and seed.

Beginning in the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1:11-12, “God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.”

You will continue to run across the theme of fruit and seed all the way though Scripture until you get to the last chapter in the Bible, Revelation 22:1-2, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life. It was as clear as crystal. It flowed from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing 12 crops of fruit. Its fruit was ripe every month. The leaves of the tree bring healing to the nations.”

In the midst of a teaching about trees and fruit in Matthew 7:18, we are told, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” The principle of each plant bearing seed or fruit after its own kind doesn’t change from Old Testament to New Testament. A plant can only bear the fruit that it is designed to bear.

So let’s go back to Galatians 5:22- 23 and look at what kind of plant can produce “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” That Spirit Fruit only comes by being in the Spirit. Galatians 5 informs us that a conflict is being waged between the flesh and its desires and the Spirit. Verse 24 tells us, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”

Let us walk in the Spirit and produce Spirit Fruit.

Quotes in this post from (NIV).