Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] So my name is Case Owenby and you are in our eighth class. In our class called the Fruit of the Spirit in the Life of the Savior.
[00:00:10] And in this class we are looking at the fruit of the spirit from Galatians 5:22 through 23, which says, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
[00:00:29] And as we read these, rather than just gritting our teeth and trying to muster these things up within us, we know that these are things that the Spirit produces. And so we are beholding the glory of Christ, looking at the fruit of the Spirit in our Savior. As we behold him, we are transformed more and more into the same image from one degree of Christ likeness to another.
[00:00:53] So today specifically, we are beholding the fruit of faithfulness in the life of Christ.
[00:00:59] As I was starting to prepare this sermon, I realized that there is a lot to talk about in Scripture when we're talking about the faithfulness of Christ.
[00:01:07] And so my word count just kept growing and I still didn't include all of the verses that I could have.
[00:01:13] So with that being said, I'm eager to get started. Let's start by praying that God would help us to behold Christ's faithfulness in His Word.
[00:01:20] So pray with me, God. Thank you for who you are.
[00:01:26] Thank you that you are faithful.
[00:01:28] Thank you for your Word, for revealing your character to us that we might know and love you more.
[00:01:34] I pray that this morning you would help us, that you would open the eyes of our hearts to behold the faithfulness of Christ, and in doing so, that that would stir us to greater faithfulness in our own lives, that it would move us to more heartfelt worship and obedience.
[00:01:49] God, we love you and we desperately need you. Amen.
[00:01:55] So let's start by defining the fruit of faithfulness, because this is actually not the fruit of belief.
[00:02:02] Although it is true that greater faith and trust in God is something that the Spirit produces throughout the Christian's life. And Jesus did have great faith.
[00:02:12] You might think that that's what Paul is talking about here if you use the KJV translation, because it just translates the word as faith.
[00:02:19] But this word faithful doesn't actually mean full of faith. In some ways it's actually the reverse because it's being someone who is worthy of someone else putting their faith in them.
[00:02:32] So in this class we can define faithfulness like faithfulness is the constancy of word and deed, which mirrors God's own reliability and dependability.
[00:02:44] And that should be in your handout as you Want to look back to it.
[00:02:48] So something is faithful if it can be fully relied upon.
[00:02:52] It's steady, consistent, unchanging.
[00:02:56] And I'm sure most of you have heard of Old Faithful, the most famous geyser in Yellowstone national park, because most of the geysers at the park go off at random times. It could be another 10 minutes, or it could be another 10 years.
[00:03:11] So if you're like me, you stand around and watch for a few minutes, thinking, maybe I'll just be extremely lucky and actually see it go off. And then you get bored and you walk away.
[00:03:21] But this one is called Old Faithful because it's remarkably steady and consistent in how often it erupts. So they actually have a schedule for when you can expect it to erupt next.
[00:03:32] So about every hour and a half, tons of people gather around Old Faithful because they can expect it to go off in a few minutes and they won't be disappointed.
[00:03:41] So now, from now on, when you think about Old Faithful, you can think about Christ and how he is the more old and the more faithful.
[00:03:50] Or faithfulness in a person may be talked about in terms of someone keeping their commitments or finishing their task or completing their mission, no matter how difficult it is, it's someone who's unwavering in their determination, and so you can have faith that they will accomplish all that they set out to do.
[00:04:10] So if you were allowed to watch spongebob growing up, or if you let your kids watch spongebob, you may know the famous pizza delivery episode in which spongebob and Squidward are trying to deliver a pizza, but they run out of gas, they get lost, they get stuck in a tornado, but spongebob keeps saying it's for the customer, and so he carries on and he completes his mission no matter what.
[00:04:32] Or for a biblical example, we could look at the Proverbs 31, woman who says she looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
[00:04:43] So how many of you guessed that? I would Compare the Proverbs 31 woman to SpongeBob this morning.
[00:04:49] Or faithfulness could be spoken of in terms of personal relationships, like the loyalty of a friend or a spouse. You can have faith that that person will not abandon you or betray you. Their character won't change or falter.
[00:05:04] And when we talk about a faithful friend, we have to talk about Samwise Gange from the Lord of the Rings because he refuses to abandon Frodo, even if he has to carry him himself.
[00:05:15] Or a biblical example would be the friendship between Jonathan and David first, Samuel says as soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
[00:05:29] It's a picture of faithful friendship.
[00:05:34] And as I was trying to think of ways that the world might incorrectly define faithfulness, I couldn't really think of any big ways that it's twisted because I think for the most part, people understand the idea of reliability and commitment. But I think the world just doesn't value it nearly as much.
[00:05:51] It doesn't distort faithfulness so much as cheapen it.
[00:05:55] In fact, my generation is known for something called fobo f o b o the fear of better options.
[00:06:02] And it used to be the problem that people had fomo, which is the fear of missing out. And so people would commit to everything and say yes just so that they wouldn't be left out.
[00:06:12] But now, for young people, it's often hard to get them to commit to anything, even like getting dinner, going to a movie, simple plans, because they're afraid that a better option will come along and they'll want to change their commitment and change their plans.
[00:06:25] And I'm guilty of this, too.
[00:06:27] When I was in high school, my group of friends had a game night that I said yes to. But then a group of people that I thought was cooler invited me to hang out with them. And so I lied to my friends and told them I couldn't make it so that I could go hang out with the cool kids.
[00:06:42] And then my friends found out and it was a bunch of drama. And I still think about that and cannot believe that I did that.
[00:06:49] But it feels like often our whole culture neglects faithfulness.
[00:06:54] High school students joke about procrastinating their homework.
[00:06:58] College students skip class and cheat on assignments.
[00:07:01] Adults brag about how much they're able to get away with slacking when they're at work.
[00:07:06] A 2025 YouGov survey found that of Americans who made New year's resolutions, only 19% said that they had kept them entirely by March.
[00:07:17] The Pew Research center recently found that among Americans who married in the 1980s, 46% had divorced by 2023.
[00:07:27] So after about 40 years, half of those vows that people made to love each other for richer or poorer, and sickness and health till death do them part, those vows have been broken.
[00:07:39] And we don't know the reason for all of those. But a 2023 Survey center on American Life report found that 40% of Americans said that a romantic partner or spouse had been unfaithful to them at some point.
[00:07:54] Proverbs 26 says, Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find.
[00:08:04] And so in a world that is littered with unfaithfulness and broken promises and disappointments, we weep and we cry out with John in Revelation 5, Is anyone worthy?
[00:08:17] Is anyone found faithful?
[00:08:21] Well, this morning I have good news for you that the answer is yes. There is.
[00:08:26] There is one who is worthy.
[00:08:28] And praise God that He sent His Son to be our perfect fruit bearer of faithfulness.
[00:08:34] So weep no more.
[00:08:36] Instead, let's behold the faithful one, Jesus Christ.
[00:08:42] We can start by seeing Christ's fruit by seeing him as our faithful High priest.
[00:08:48] So you can turn to Hebrews 2:17, 18 and then 3:1, 2.
[00:08:56] You'll be flipping through your Bibles a lot this morning.
[00:09:03] So it starts.
[00:09:04] Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful High priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
[00:09:22] Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus the Apostle and High priest of our confession, who is faithful to him who appointed him.
[00:09:35] So Hebrews instructs us to consider or meditate on Christ as our faithful High priest.
[00:09:43] Because a priest in the Old Testament acted as a mediator between God and man. They represented man to God and God to man.
[00:09:51] But those were sinful men themselves, so they weren't perfectly faithful representatives.
[00:09:58] But they were just temporary stand ins until the true eternal High Priest would come.
[00:10:05] And first Timothy 2, 5 tells us there is one God and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ.
[00:10:14] So now we can rejoice that our mediator and intercessor Jesus Christ was found faithful to him who appointed him.
[00:10:22] And to better understand Jesus as our faithful High Priest, we can look at what is often referred to as the High priestly prayer in John 17.
[00:10:32] So this scene in John 17 takes place hours before Jesus will be betrayed.
[00:10:38] His disciple and friend Junas will be unfaithful to Jesus and and betray him over to the hands of evil men, and he will be crucified and killed.
[00:10:49] And so on the eve of Christ's crucifixion, our great High Priest intercedes for his people to the Father like this.
[00:10:59] When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life that they know. You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
[00:11:21] I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
[00:11:27] And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
[00:11:35] So here Jesus is right at the finish line of his earthly ministry, and he says he has accomplished all that the Father gave him to do.
[00:11:43] He was sent on a mission to seek and to save the lost, and he has done it in perfect faithfulness.
[00:11:50] And if we kept reading in John 17, we would see a few specific ways that Jesus has accomplished His Father's work, such as in verse 8. For I have given them the words that you gave me, verse 6, I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world in verse 12, while I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost, except the Son of destruction that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
[00:12:24] So he's given us God's word, He's manifested God's name, and he has kept his people.
[00:12:29] And you'll see that throughout the passages that we keep going through.
[00:12:33] And so we're going to double click on each of those and look at specific passages in which Jesus accomplishes this work.
[00:12:41] And I'm going to organize it a little differently. And you'll see, like in your handout, that Christ was faithful in His Word, in His deeds, in his death, and in his reign.
[00:12:55] So if you remember, our definition of faithfulness included the constancy of word.
[00:13:01] So we're going to start with Jesus faithfully giving the word that the Father gave him in Luke 4:16, 30.
[00:13:10] I'll have it on the screen, but I'll give you a second to turn.
[00:13:18] Luke 4:16, 30 and he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
[00:13:30] And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written.
[00:13:37] The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
[00:13:45] He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the Year of the Lord's favor.
[00:13:58] And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
[00:14:02] And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
[00:14:05] And he began to say to them, today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
[00:14:11] And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that that were coming from his mouth.
[00:14:18] So can you imagine being in the synagogue and hearing this in person?
[00:14:23] That after 600 years the Prophet Isaiah promised that a fruit bearing spirit filled Messiah would come.
[00:14:31] And Jesus says, today he's here and it's me.
[00:14:36] Because Jesus came to proclaim good news to the poor.
[00:14:41] He came with the best news in the history of the world, because it's good news of eternal salvation.
[00:14:48] And he came to announce freedom for the captive and the oppressed and sight for the blind.
[00:14:55] Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. And no one come to the Father except through him.
[00:15:01] And he came preaching that message. And that although we are sinners deserving of God's wrath, by repentance and belief in Christ, we can be reconciled to the God who is love, that is good news.
[00:15:17] Scott and the people marveled at the words of grace that came from his mouth. You can see the words of grace.
[00:15:24] Scott recently preached on Psalm 45, which says of Christ, grace is poured upon your lips.
[00:15:31] And Scott said, we have some words of grace, but Christ has all of them.
[00:15:36] We have a few drops, but Christ an ocean.
[00:15:41] And you might be thinking that even some of us might be faithful with our words if we knew that people would marvel and speak well of us.
[00:15:50] But Christ could have stopped there and just reveled in the admiration of the audience.
[00:15:55] But Jesus only sought to be faithful to an audience of one, faithful to the one who appointed him.
[00:16:02] And so the passage goes on, and they said, is not this Joseph's son? And he said to them, doubtless you will quote to me this proverb. Physician, heal yourself. What we have heard you did at Capernaum do here in your hometown as well.
[00:16:18] So the people who were just marveling quickly slip into criticism because the approval of man is fickle.
[00:16:26] And they say, hold on, isn't this just Joseph's son?
[00:16:30] Wasn't he just raised in Nazareth, same as you and me? And now he claims that he's the Messiah, the Savior of the world.
[00:16:38] But whenever they switch and they start to criticize Jesus, he doesn't just nervously shrink away backstage, he continues to preach the whole word of truth.
[00:16:49] And he said, truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
[00:16:56] But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel. And in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up, three years and six months and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
[00:17:15] And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.
[00:17:23] So he's saying to them, it's not just ethnic Jews that will be saved, but instead this good news is for the spiritually poor.
[00:17:31] It's for those that come to God with nothing but need.
[00:17:34] And he points back to two stories of non Israelites in the Old Testament receiving God's blessing.
[00:17:41] Because these people in the synagogue, the Israelites, pride themselves in being God's chosen people that deserve God's blessing for their good works according to the law.
[00:17:52] So when they hear that the Messiah has come not for the self righteous, but for the spiritually poor, the Abraham's true children by faith, see how they react next.
[00:18:05] When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.
[00:18:10] And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built so that they can throw him down the cliff.
[00:18:19] But passing through their midst, he went away.
[00:18:24] So how many of you have ever been in a situation where you genuinely believed that if I speak God's word, people will try to throw me off a cliff to kill me?
[00:18:34] And yet Jesus did this.
[00:18:38] We're privileged in America with religious freedom. And yet often, sometimes all it takes is a mean look or the fear of someone's disapproval for us to be unfaithful in sharing God's word.
[00:18:50] But even when Jesus knew that a crowd would try to throw him off a cliff to kill him, he faithfully gave them God's word.
[00:18:58] And this time he gets away. But it's only a matter of time before these people will arrest Jesus and crucify him for his faithful words.
[00:19:07] In the high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus goes on to say, I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
[00:19:20] So we shouldn't be surprised when the world hates us for faithful words because it hated Jesus first.
[00:19:28] So now we've seen that Jesus is faithful in his word, but we've heard the saying, easier said than done.
[00:19:35] Jesus can talk the Talk, but does he walk the walk?
[00:19:39] Well, let's now see that Jesus fulfills that second part of our definition of faithfulness. And see that he was constant and dependable, not only in his word, but in his deed.
[00:19:51] And we'll spend time in John 4:31 38.
[00:19:57] We know from Matthew 5 that Jesus didn't come to abolish the law, but to fulfill.
[00:20:03] He didn't lower God's standard. He actually elevates or clarifies the standard of the law to the level of heart obedience.
[00:20:11] And he fulfills it perfectly by loving the Lord his God with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength.
[00:20:20] John 8:29 says, and he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.
[00:20:31] And we can see evidence of this in the narrative of John 4:31 38.
[00:20:37] So this scene is right after Jesus tells the woman at the well that he can give living water with which she will never thirst again.
[00:20:46] And she realizes that he's the Messiah, and she runs to town to tell everyone that they have to come see him.
[00:20:53] And it says, meanwhile the the disciples were urging him, saying, rabbi, eat.
[00:20:59] But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about.
[00:21:03] So the disciples said to one another, has anyone brought him something to eat?
[00:21:08] Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
[00:21:15] Do you not say, there are yet four months? Then comes the harvest.
[00:21:19] Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest.
[00:21:25] Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that Sower and Reaper may rejoice together.
[00:21:33] For here the saying holds true. One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.
[00:21:45] So the woman goes to town. And while the crowd is on their way to come see the promised Messiah that's actually here.
[00:21:53] The disciples urged Jesus to eat because there are times in the Gospels where it's indicated that they were so busy with their ministry that they didn't have time to eat. So we can assume that that's happening here.
[00:22:05] And these people are coming, and they say, no, Jesus, hold on. You need to eat first.
[00:22:10] We need to tell this crowd to wait a minute while you take care of you.
[00:22:14] And Jesus responds to them, I have food that you don't know about.
[00:22:19] And the disciples, whose minds are so easily fixed on earthly things, they immediately think of physical food. And so they're confused. They're looking around for who brought Jesus some food when we weren't looking.
[00:22:31] But Jesus answers, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
[00:22:39] He's saying that his strength and nourishment actually come from faithful obedience to the Father.
[00:22:46] His spiritual food. His food for the soul is not only hearing, but doing the Father's will and accomplishing his work.
[00:22:55] Obedience is his sustenance.
[00:22:58] It actually gave him life to do God's will.
[00:23:01] And if you know me personally, you know that there isn't much that can make me skip a meal.
[00:23:06] Jacob Killian once famously said of me from stage with a microphone, that boy loves to eat.
[00:23:14] And often, like the disciples, sinfully, sometimes my physical needs and my comfort are my number one priority.
[00:23:22] But Jesus knew the urgency of the Gospel, and the work of His Father to seek and save the lost was always his number one priority.
[00:23:32] Jesus knows that it's often worth it to forsake food for the sake of faithfulness.
[00:23:38] And so he sees this harvest field approaching, walking towards him, and he thinks, this is what gives me life.
[00:23:45] This is my food.
[00:23:47] He doesn't delay His Father's work for even one moment.
[00:23:51] Delayed obedience is disobedience.
[00:23:54] Jesus knows that the time to labor for the harvest is right now.
[00:23:58] And so he says to his disciples, don't you see, don't you see that we ought to be about our Father's business?
[00:24:05] It's time to reap the harvest and bear fruit for eternal life and the promise of rejoicing together forever right now.
[00:24:13] Because Jesus always lived to be faithful to His Father in both word and deed.
[00:24:21] And you may ask, but to what degree?
[00:24:24] Is there any limit to how far Jesus would go in his faithfulness?
[00:24:30] Well, let's look closer at the deed that most greatly displays Christ's love and faithfulness, and see that he was faithful even in his death.
[00:24:39] So you can Turn to Matthew 26:36, 46, And there will be a lot of overlap with the class on self control next week, which makes sense because this is one spirit producing these fruit that have harmony.
[00:24:58] But I'm going to try to focus on the faithfulness displayed here.
[00:25:04] So Matthew 26, 36, 46.
[00:25:08] Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, sit here while I go over there and pray.
[00:25:17] And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled Then he said to them, my soul is very sorrowful, even to death.
[00:25:27] Remain here and watch with me.
[00:25:30] And going a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.
[00:25:43] And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping.
[00:25:47] And he said to Peter, so could you not watch with me one hour?
[00:25:51] Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.
[00:25:54] The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
[00:25:59] Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, my Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.
[00:26:08] And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
[00:26:12] So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.
[00:26:19] Then he came to the disciples and said to them, sleep and take your rest later on.
[00:26:24] See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
[00:26:30] Rise, let us be going.
[00:26:32] See, my betrayer is at hand.
[00:26:36] So Jesus is about to be crucified and have the full wrath of God for sinners poured out on him in our place.
[00:26:44] And he is very, very sorrowful.
[00:26:48] The thought of being treated as an enemy to God, whom he loved with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength is so distressing that the Gospel of Luke says that his sweat became like great drops of blood.
[00:27:02] And the cup he refers to here is the cup of God's wrath.
[00:27:06] And Jesus falls on his face and prays to the Father, if it's possible, then please let this cup pass from me.
[00:27:14] If you remember earlier, when talking about the high priestly prayer I mentioned, Jesus is right at the finish line of his mission.
[00:27:21] And some of you who run the Bentonville half every year know that it's a lot easier to start a marathon than to finish one.
[00:27:28] So the question is, will Jesus actually cross the finish line? Will he finish well?
[00:27:33] Will Jesus be faithful even to the point of death?
[00:27:38] Well, as Jesus comes face to face with the most intense affliction and sorrow that anyone will ever know, hear the eternity changing words that Jesus prays to the Father nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will, know that our eternal hope is secured in those words of faithfulness from Jesus to the Father.
[00:28:01] Not my will, but yours be done.
[00:28:05] And then he goes to his disciples, his friends whom he asked to pray with him. And in his hour of need, he finds them sleeping.
[00:28:14] Are these really the people that Jesus is going to die to save?
[00:28:18] These are supposed to be the best of the best, and they're not even faithful to fulfill the task that Jesus gave them. To just pray with him.
[00:28:26] And not only to pray with him, but to pray that they themselves wouldn't enter into temptation.
[00:28:32] Jesus is the one that's about to be crucified, and yet he's still concerned for them.
[00:28:37] And instead of faithfulness, they choose sleep.
[00:28:41] And yet Jesus doesn't go back to the garden and say, you know what? Forget it, I changed my mind. If these are the people that I'm going to die to save.
[00:28:51] Instead he prays again, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.
[00:28:58] And then the scene repeats itself again. The disciples are found sleeping, and Jesus goes back to his Father and prays the same words for the third time. Your will be done.
[00:29:10] And then this scene of Christ's perfect faithfulness ends with the pinnacle representation of humanity's unfaithfulness.
[00:29:19] Jesus says, see, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
[00:29:26] Rise, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.
[00:29:31] So Jesus is disappointed and betrayed by his friends, and yet he will not be unfaithful to them.
[00:29:39] He is faithful even to the point of death.
[00:29:43] But praise God, Jesus doesn't stay dead by the power of the same Spirit that now lives in us so that we can put unfaithfulness to death.
[00:29:52] He was risen from the grave and he ascended to the right hand of God the Father, where he reigns from an eternal throne.
[00:30:00] So if you'll turn to Romans 8:33 39 to see that Christ is faithful in his reign.
[00:30:21] So Romans 8:33 39, who shall bring any charge against God's elect?
[00:30:28] It is God who justifies who is to condemn Christ. Jesus is the one who died more than that who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
[00:30:41] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness or danger or sword, as it is written, for your sake, we are being killed. All the day long we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
[00:30:59] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
[00:31:04] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Our Lord.
[00:31:23] Jesus is our merciful and faithful High Priest, who is indeed still interceding for us.
[00:31:30] Satan is the great accuser But Christ is our great defender, and he has canceled the record of debt that stood against us by nailing it to the cross. And and he has clothed us in his righteousness, in his record of faithfulness.
[00:31:45] And although we may falter in our own prayer lives, or other people may fail to pray for us in our hour of need, Christ always lives to make intercession for us as our faithful High priest.
[00:32:00] A quote from Robert Marie Miche says, if I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.
[00:32:13] And what can separate us from his faithfulness to us?
[00:32:17] He will stay close in the good times, sure. But what about when the going gets rough, when it's not easy to be a friend, when it's time to mourn with those who mourn and bear our burdens?
[00:32:28] Is there any suffering that would tempt Christ to abandon us?
[00:32:33] Is there any better option, any prize that would lead him to betray us?
[00:32:38] Is anything powerful enough to hinder Christ's love for us?
[00:32:43] No.
[00:32:44] Paul is convinced that nothing in heaven or on earth, or in all of creation could possibly separate us from the love of God in Christ. Jesus our Lord.
[00:32:57] Christ is the cornerstone and the foundation of our faith.
[00:33:01] He's a shield and a refuge that will never break.
[00:33:04] He's the solid rock on which we stand when everything else is sinking sand, when everything in the world fades and vanishes like a vapor. Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
[00:33:19] And what a friend we have in Jesus.
[00:33:22] He is a perfect, loyal friend who will never leave us nor forsake us.
[00:33:28] Behold, he is with us always to the end of the age.
[00:33:32] Christ is also the Church's faithful bridegroom, and he is never even for a moment unfaithful to his bride.
[00:33:40] Although we were as unclean as Gomer in the Book of Hosea, Christ keeps His covenant and he purifies us by his blood.
[00:33:49] And even if we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered, Christ is the faithful shepherd who gives his sheep eternal life and no one will snatch them out of his hand.
[00:34:00] He has sealed us by His Spirit as a guarantee, and he is keeping us until that day when Christ will come back and fulfill all that he has promised.
[00:34:11] Revelation 19:11 says, Then I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse. The one sitting on it is called faithful and and true and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
[00:34:26] We are more than conquerors through him because he has conquered sin and Satan through His perfect spirit, filled fruit bearing faithfulness to the Father, and we can have faith that he will finish the job like he always does.
[00:34:43] So in light of Christ's perfect faithfulness, I have two applications.
[00:34:49] The first comes from John 6, 35, 40, if you want to turn there.
[00:34:56] And the first application is, come to the faithful one.
[00:35:10] I actually do have this one on the screen says, jesus said to them, I am the bread of life.
[00:35:18] Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.
[00:35:27] All that the Father gives me will come to me. And whoever comes to me, I will never cast out.
[00:35:34] For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
[00:35:40] And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me. But raise it up on the last day.
[00:35:47] For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life. And I will raise him up on the last day.
[00:36:00] So if you are spiritually hungry and thirsty, come to Jesus and eat and drink without price.
[00:36:09] If you've looked honestly at your own life and your heart and you've realized that you have been unfaithful, come to Jesus.
[00:36:18] Come to the faithful one. Not defending your sin, not making excuses or trying to cover it up with good works.
[00:36:25] Come to Jesus with nothing but need, with empty hands of faith, and cry out, jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner, and he will never cast you out.
[00:36:37] Weak faith in a strong Savior is saving faith.
[00:36:42] And you can have blessed assurance, not because of your own faithfulness, but in the One who always lives to do His Father's will.
[00:36:51] And we trust that he will accomplish His Father's will to raise up everyone who believes in him to eternal life.
[00:37:00] And if you have come to this Faithful One, we ought to serve him faithfully.
[00:37:06] We'll look at 1 Samuel 12:20, 24, and I'll have it on the screen again.
[00:37:14] And Samuel said to the people, do not be afraid.
[00:37:18] You have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.
[00:37:25] And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.
[00:37:31] For the Lord will not forsake his people for His Great Name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.
[00:37:41] Moreover, as for me, far be it for me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray. For you, and I will instruct you in the good and right way.
[00:37:51] Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart.
[00:37:56] For consider what great things he has done for you, Christian. Although you have done evil, Christ is faithful to you.
[00:38:06] But that should never make us comfortable with our sin or lull us into laziness and idleness.
[00:38:13] Since we have a Savior whose name is so great and who never forsakes his people, we should devote ourselves completely to him with all of our hearts.
[00:38:24] We must guard our hearts with all vigilance against being seduced away from Christ by worldly pleasures.
[00:38:32] We should be careful that we don't turn to empty, powerless idols that can never deliver.
[00:38:39] Instead, devote yourself more faithfully to Christ by spending time with him, spending time in His Word, in prayer, in worship, and serve him faithfully by not only hearing His Word, but doing it.
[00:38:56] Be a reliable friend that people can count on even when times are tough.
[00:39:01] Commit to greater devotion and faithfulness to your spouse.
[00:39:06] Labor in the Gospel, for the harvest is plentiful and the time to reap is now.
[00:39:12] And we're not meant to do this alone.
[00:39:14] We should be faithful with our church body marching alongside each other, arm in arm towards the finish line.
[00:39:23] Luke 16:10 says, One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
[00:39:35] So as you are spurred on to greater faithfulness, know that God takes the little things seriously.
[00:39:41] If you're dishonest and unfaithful with little things, then how can you expect to be trusted with heavenly things of eternal worth?
[00:39:49] You don't get the puppy until you can take care of the hamster, and you never know how God will use your faithfulness in even small, mundane tasks to advance his kingdom.
[00:40:01] So whatever you do, do it heartily. As for the Lord, if God has called you to parking duty after this class, God and Hayden Beckwith, then serve faithfully with all of your heart.
[00:40:13] Whenever I worked at Pine Cove, at a traveling day camp, there was one church that we went to every year that had a man named Doug who was always on parking duty. And they called him the mayor of the parking lot.
[00:40:26] And the very first time we went, Doug was wearing his bright yellow parking vest and he greeted us with a smile and he said, they were so happy to have us and they've been praying for us, and he wanted to know everyone's names.
[00:40:38] And so before we even got to the doors of the church, we felt so welcomed and so loved, we were amazed and we were so eager to hear whatever the preacher had to say at this church with such a great mayor of parking.
[00:40:51] And so now every time that I'm on parking duty, I don't even come close. But I think of Doug, and I try to be like him.
[00:41:00] And as great as Doug is, there is a more faithful one than him that we should behold and be transformed by his spirit into that same image.
[00:41:11] So if you're a student, then do your homework heartily. As for the Lord, if you're an employee, then finish your task reliably and with excellence.
[00:41:22] Do those chores that you told your roommates or your family that you would do.
[00:41:27] Serve with joy in the college ministry or the youth or Second mile or furniture friends or life group or whatever it is that God has appointed for you right now.
[00:41:40] And cross the finish line with eyes fixed on the founder and perfecter of our faith who so faithfully crossed it before us, our merciful and faithful high priest.
[00:41:55] Let's pray.
