FAITHFULNESS - Champions by the Fruit of the SpiritÖrnek

Faithfulness vs Unreliability

Bible story: Noah and the Ark Genesis 5:32, 6:1-22, 7:1-12

Theme Verse: James 2:18

Being faithful includes doing what you say you will do. Politicians often have slogans for this while they are campaigning to be elected to a position of government. Some examples are “Deeds not words” or “Promises kept”. It may seem political to keep your promises, but actually, it is biblical!

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus preached to his disciples and the people gathered. He said that we do not need to swear or make special promises. Jesus said, “Let your yes be yes, and your no, no.” It is very simple, yet also very difficult! God will always be looking for men and women who will be faithful to Him to do what they said they would do. If we do not complete our promises, we are unreliable. Our fight this week is “faithfulness” against “unreliability”.

Noah was a faithful man. When he said YES to God, he completed his task. Many of us have heard the story of Noah and the ark. God asked Noah one day to build a huge boat out of wood. When Noah finished building the ark, God sent two of each animal, and Noah loaded them all inside. When they were safely inside, God shut the door, and sent a huge flood to the earth.

However, can you imagine how difficult it must have been for Noah? We do not know exactly how long Noah worked on building that huge boat, but based on the fact that his children were older and all married, it had to have been somewhere between 55 and 75 years!!!

Therefore, after God asked Noah to build the ark, Noah worked and worked and worked. The years went by, and he kept working! 10 years, then 20 years, then 30 years, and he kept working. Do you think it would have been difficult to continue working on an assignment for 55 years or 75 years? Yes! It would have been very difficult!

When God asked Noah to build the ark, Noah did it. He said yes to God, then his actions followed. He built the ark. It sounds simple, but finishing things we promise to do is not easy. Especially if others are laughing at us or mocking us as we work. Most likely Noah’s neighbors were laughing at him, and for 50+ years! To win this week, we must be reliable to God to finish the things He asks us to do, even if it takes us 75 years! Will you be faithful and reliable to God to complete what you promised to Him?

Questions:

Name a disagreement you had this week. When was it, and with whom?

Can you remember an instance where you let someone else have their way?

Is it ok to always be right, if you were trying to help?

Life Application:

Allow another person to win when you disagree over something. You can choose to disagree, but you must stop yourself from fighting with them over it. Allow them to have their opinion.