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Faithfulness
- The Key to Success "To whom much is given, much is expected," By Colin Smith As I studied the Word, I noticed there are many gifted people in the Bible, many famous, many rich, many strong, many knowledgeable, many zealous, and many with good intentions, but very few were honored with the quality of faithfulness. Faithfulness is the key to promotion with God, there is no short-cut. (Mat 25:21) "His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." If we study the life of Joseph, we will see a man who had all reasons to say, "I have been wronged." We see a man who had every reason to rebel or at best not have his heart in his work. If you were sold into slavery, would you give your best? Joseph did not let go of his vision. He held onto his promise and in the midst of everything, he remained faithful to God. The end result? - He was made the second most powerful man on the face of the earth in his time! Why was this? The principle of faithfulness. (Psa 101:6) "Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me." The Strongs definition of faithfulness is: 539. aman, aw-man'; a prim. root; prop. to build up or support; to foster as a parent or nurse; fig. to render (or be) firm or faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; mor. to be true or certain; once, be faithful (of long continuance, steadfast, sure, surely, trusty, verified), nurse, (-ing father), (put), trust, turn to the right. To literally foster as a parent or take what is someone else's and treat it like your own! A faithful person will not only do their best, but treat it like their own child! No wonder the Bible says: (Prov 20:6) "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?" God does not test people with putting sickness on them to see if they are humble as many would have you believe, (James 1:13) "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:" He will test everyone with good. He will give you a little and sit back and see what you do with it. Only when you pass that test will God give you much. That is why some have never fulfilled the vision God has given them, if everything in your life seems small, check and see if you have passed the test of faithfulness. For an example, say God has promised you wealth, so you can be a giver into the Kingdom of God. You may say, "If I only had a million dollars, I would give half to God." The question is, if you have one hundred dollars and you can't give fifty dollars, then you will never be able to give half a million, because the size of the gift does not determine the heart. The same heart that is faithful in small will remain faithful in much. So many people desire promotion with great intentions when they get there, but it doesn't work that way. First comes faithfulness, then comes promotion. I now want to share 10 benefits of faithfulness from the Bible, we briefly touched on promotion. Remain faithful to what God has given you no matter how small, then stand back and watch God move powerfully on your behalf! 10 Benefits of Faithfulness 1. Revelation: (Num 12:8) "With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" 2. Family and 3. Ministry: (1 Sam 2:35) "And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever." 4. Covenant: (Neh 9:8) "And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous:" 5. Preservation: (Psa 31:23) "O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer." 6. Dwell with God: (Psa 101:6) "Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me." 7. Prosperity: (Prov 28:28) "When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase." 8. Much given: (Mat 25:29) "For unto every one that hath [Faithfulness] shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not [Faithfulness] shall be taken away even that which he hath." 9. Promotion: (Luke 12:42) "And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?" 10. Authority: (Luke 19:17) "And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities." |
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