“The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.” Deuteronomy 32:4.
Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Psalm 37:3.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
I am faithful. You can rest secure in that. My lovingkindnesses never cease, for My compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is My faithfulness. I am your everlasting rock. Lamentations 3:23-24.
Man has not been faithful to Me, but I have never turned away from you. I am always seeking to bring you back to Me and to espouse you to Myself in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion, and in faithfulness forever. Hosea 2:19-20. And you see this in the Covenants I have made with man and now you can enter the everlasting Covenant in My Son, and it can never be broken for He is the faithful and true witness.
And I am asking you to be faithful to Me.
And that is today’s instruction on living a fruitful life, Life Lesson No. 9: Faithfulness. For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23.
Faithfulness has to do with responsibility and trust. If you enter into a partnership, contract, or agreement with someone and you do not perform your part, it is considered a breech of that agreement and there are damages that must be paid or specific performance enforced. A covenant is even a greater bond that cannot be broken and if one of the parties is unfaithful to it, it can end in a severance of the relationship with all it entails and a cancelation of the covenant. I made covenant with men since Adam to Abraham and the prophets, but now I have made it with My Son and you enter into it in Him. And in that new and eternal Covenant sealed by His blood. And in that Covenant I have taken all your sins away from you and put them in His account and then from His account I have given you His righteousness, which is also Mine. So now, for those who are in Him, If you confess your sins, I am faithful and righteous to forgive your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9. Faithfulness goes with justice. One who is not faithful has committed unrighteousness, for sin is unrighteousness, and has come under just sentence for the breech.
Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. Luke 10:42-48.
Faithfulness is the same as what I often call “fear of the LORD.” It is a desire to please Me in all things. It shows in love for Me by keeping My Word whether it is easy or hard in your present circumstances. Daniel had such a great desire to stay in a close loyal relationship with Me that he would rather face a den of hungry lions for an entire night than be unfaithful to Me. And his three Hebrew friends in exile in Babylon would rather get thrown in a fiery furnace than bow to the idol of the king. But I am faithful and no lion could devour Daniel the entire night and the flames could not touch My three faithful servants in the furnace. Know that I am faithful to you and then you can be faithful to Me without fear of men. And even should they put you to death, which both Peter and Paul faced when they had finished the work I gave them to do, they had no fear because they knew a merited crown awaited them. And they did hear, “Well done good and faithful servant!” And far more than a servant, a son and joint heir with Christ.
What does it mean to be faithful? It means to be trustworthy—to be worthy of trust. To be reliable, to be honest, to be firm, to be permanent. That is why I am called an everlasting rock. Jesus is not like a hired hand that runs when the wolf comes, He lays down His life for the sheep. That is faithfulness.
Faithfulness starts in little things and moves to bigger. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. My Son told a parable about this and I would like you to consider it now.
“For the Kingdom is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.” Matthew 25:14-15. I have given each one of you a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of My manifold grace. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking My utterances; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which I supply; so that in all things I may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. 1 Peter 4:10-11.
My Son continued the parable, “Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” Matthew 25:16-18. The master was counting on each one to use his talents faithfully. Not lazy, not a busy body, not unfruitful. You want to receive your full reward.
“Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’” Matthew 25:19-23. Here the master said the same to the two servants even though one made more than the other. But the question here was not quantity but faithfulness with what I have entrusted you with. Some more, and more is required, some less according to their ability, but they did the same quality though the quantity looks different. I know what you will do with what I give you. Do you remember when I gave the Manna in the desert? The one who gathered much had just the right amount and so did the one who gathered little. The question was did you go out and gather what I gave you in the way I told you to gather it. Faithfulness. Integrity. Fruitful.
And Jesus continued, “And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’” Matthew 25:23-25. He talked badly of the master and used that as an excuse for his lazy and unfruitful life. You see now why the master only gave him one talent. But you also see something else here. Fear will keep you from stepping out in faith and achieving your destiny. It will make you live a mediocre, unfruitful life. A fearful person is not a faithful person, the first persecution or problem incurred by following by My Word and they draw back.
And what did the master say about his excuse of putting the blame on the master for the servant’s lack of fruitfulness? According to your words you will be acquitted and by your own words you will be condemned. “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’” Matthew 25:6-28. For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. And where did he end up? “Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 25:29-30.
At the end of your earthly sojourn would you like to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master!”? Take a look at your life and see if you would be happy to come before Me and give an account of what you have done with the talents I gave you. I want you to have your full reward. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done My Will, you may receive what was promised. For soon Jesus will return and He will be looking for faith—faithfulness. For My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back in fear of what others will think or say or in having a lack of resources, My soul has no pleasure in him. Hebrews 10:35-38. I have prepared a life of good deeds for you in advance that you might walk in it and a cloud of witnesses is cheering you on to finish the race you are on, so keep moving forward by being faithful in all the little things each day. They add up. And when you are faithful with the talents I have given you I can give you more. Enlarge your heart to run in the way I have opened for you.
Be led by the Holy Spirit. Be filled with the Holy Spirit by keeping up a melody of thankful praise in your heart. Do not become weary of well-doing, it has a great reward. Do things with Me and the burden will become light. You cannot be fruitful without Me, so don’t try to do it on your own. I am with you and I want you to succeed more than you want it. A good father wants a good and fruitful life of integrity for his child, and often he wants it more than the child does. Faithfulness has to do with trusting in My faithfulness.
I love you. Great is My faithfulness. Trust in Me and do good; dwell in the land and feed on faithfulness. Delight yourself in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:3-4.