Well, good morning everybody. Please greet the person in front
of you, next to you. Just say hello, smile and say
hello. And there are two things I want
to do this morning before we there are two things I want to
do this morning before we jump to to the word of the Lord this
morning. Yeah, Firstly, just to
acknowledge that I'll please stand.
He is he is a mentor of mine. He didn't tell me what's coming.
He just came. And I've known him for many
years and anti apartheid activist is social justice
warrior, good friend of mine, but also a mentor of mine for
many years. He officiated our wedding in
2008. That's an amazing man.
Well, thank you. And as you know, this week, it
was the IT was the global, the global conference where our
friends from America and Europe and many parts of Africa
gathered in Somerset, W at New Gen.
And so at this point, I'm going to invite Zob and Lynn to come
just to share their experience and what stood out for them.
I'm also going to ask Pet to also come because on Friday they
had a Next Gen. session for leaders as well.
So I'm going to ask Pat also to come to share as well.
Just with that, Mike. OK, let's do this one.
Let's take this one. Well, good morning.
Well, we've headed Lynn and, and Eric and Zuki, we, we had a
wonderful time at the advance conference.
And so again, this, as Eric was saying, it's, it's, it's a
advance is really a movement of, of bringing a number of churches
worldwide together, churches that have the same DNA but with
1 accord. And that is to, to, to raise up
leaders to, to raise up new believers to disciple and, and
just keep expanding the churches that we have.
And so it was awesome just to see how this was actually
happening with over different parts of the world.
And that advance itself has got so many resources.
And they did their greatest desire is just to build churches
up, establish churches, build people up and and make us more
and more mature, more and more like Christ becoming better
leaders and then in in turn leading others and and and and
expanding the church that way. So it's seeing this large number
of churches represented was awesome in itself.
And then the second thing, there was a number of things, but I
can only share too because of the time, but the just seeing we
had at the maximum, I think was about 850 delegates in this one
venue and just seeing everybody with the same accord of just to
want you to glorify God. That in fact, the whole
conference was glorifying God. It's good, you know, expanding
churches and numbers and things like it's got nothing to do with
people. It's all about God and, and, and
and how God has worked and so just seeing everyone just
raising their voices with 1 accord all together was
absolutely inspiring. Thanks God.
I think also what struck me, you know, we're still a very small
church and I think we don't tend to look at the bigger picture.
And so to be in a place with, I think there was something like,
I know there were 27 countries represented throughout the
world. And I think there were so many
churches that came from Africa because it was more affordable
to come to Cape Town rather than to go overseas.
And then you'd like Job said, you, everybody is there
glorifying God. And so you realize you're part
of this bigger picture. Each one of us has got our part
to play where sometimes we look at it and think, Oh gosh, we, we
really small, we can't do anything.
But through the, the various testimonies that people gave,
the one that struck me most was Eritrea, where they are
incredibly persecuted. The guy who stood up said he had
been arrested four times, twice was about to be executed.
But again, God saved him. And so we heard stories like
that and everybody just gave the glory to God the whole time.
And I think that's what we must remember.
We are here to spread the word of God.
And I think the the whole conference, it was called to
further together. I keep thinking future together,
further together. And and I think that's what we
must remember. It's together.
We've got help, We've got we're part of a big thing.
God would never place us on our own.
And the the one thing that I do remember, the one Speaker he
said, Jesus is king, not family, not church and not mission.
And I thought I'd leave you with that.
Is he your king? Because that's what he's got to
be. It's about our relationship,
one-on-one with with God, with Jesus.
Thank you. Yeah.
So we had our session on Friday afternoon, we had a 2 hour
session meeting as the youth leaders of here and then a few
we met one or two from outside of South Africa.
And I think one of the key things for me that really stood
out, and I think we shared the same thing, Manisha and Lindsay
as we're driving back, is that he spoke on strong leadership,
right? And he referenced that there's
three things around leadership that we need to focus on, which
is really your vision, repentance and your deeds.
Like vision was just this beautiful reminder to see God's
direction, you know, as leaders of young people, repentance then
spoken to this beautiful reminder that before God wants
to use us, right, he wants to work in US first.
So that's why it's important for us to continue to repent.
And then he and and then he made a reference to say in our deeds,
right, to remind us that our faith must be lived out through
our actions. And then he went a little bit
further because, you know, such a beautiful session that we had.
And he went a bit further and he reminded us that our Friday
nights is not just about us having this program.
Whoopsie. I'm sure everybody can hear me,
right? Yeah, that is not just about us
running this program, right? But it's really about us making
disciples, sitting with these young people and trying to lead
them into this place of discipleship.
And then he made a reference to Scripture and he said, and he
made reference to 2nd kings Kings Oopsie, chapter 4 right,
which speaks about the widow and the oil.
And he said and he and, and he and made reference and reminded
us rather that scriptures speak that the only time that the oil
stopped flowing right, is when they were out of Charles.
And then and that made a reminder of that God wants to do
more through US, right? And, and, and in order for him
to do that, we need to be conscious of creating that space
where he can do that through us. So, yeah, I think unless Lindsay
and Monetia's got what to add, I think that's what we left with
from the session. Thank you for.
Thank you so much. Joy to belong to a family of
churches. Church, I want you to know that
the gospel is advancing. The gospel is transforming
lives. Many churches are being planted
even in hostile environment. We are seeing gospel fruit in
Africa, but also we are seeing gospel fruits in parts of
Europe. And God is at work.
God is at work. So let us come to the word of
the Lord, Galatians, chapter 5. This is our final message on the
on our series on the fruit of the Spirit.
Last week we had Greg Holloway speaking to us about
self-control. And this morning we will look at
faithfulness, the fruit of the Spirit.
So let us read our text. I'm sure you're probably
familiar with this text by now. Colossians chapter 5.
We'll begin reading from verse 22.
But the fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. Against such things there is no
law, and those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the
flesh with his passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the
Spirit. Let us not become conceited,
provoking one another or envying one another.
Our gracious Lord, we are so grateful about what you are
doing in many parts of the world.
Thank you O God, we are seeing many lives being transformed by
the power of the gospel, where we are seeing so many healthy
churches being planted, Christ exalting churches, Christ
honoring churches, Christ the centre churches being planted.
So grateful of God for just what you're doing in Africa, what
you're doing in Congo, what you're doing in Zambia, what
you're doing in Cameroon. Lord, God, in so many parts of
this world, we are so, so grateful.
And Lord, even as we come to submit ourselves to your word
this morning, we ask that you would please speak to us and
address our hearts. We ask in Jesus name, Amen.
So this morning again, I'm addressing the subject of
faithfulness and I'm going to address the subjects under 3
headings, the faithfulness of God, faithfulness to God and
faithfulness in community. As you would have heard many of
the other preachers as they were expounding and speaking on each
of these. And again, as a reminder, this
is not just a list. This is not fruits of the
Spirit, rather it is fruit of the Spirit.
And this is because we need all of these virtues and all of the
all of these fruits. And again, they come through the
Holy Spirit as we are joined to Christ.
And the whole purpose is for us really to have a fruitful life.
But I also want you to remind you this morning that as we are
about to talk about this particular fruit, that this is
not a justification issue. Rather it is a sanctification
issue. Yes, you are saved.
Perhaps this morning Christ has redeemed you.
The Spirit has joined you to Christ.
Your salvation is secure and you will never lose your salvation.
But this we're talking about here in relates to
sanctification. It relates to the work that the
Holy Spirit does in us in making us to be more and more like
Jesus Christ. Our justification is declared,
but our sanctification is made. The Holy Spirit is at work in
each of us, making us more and more like Jesus each day.
Church, we haven't arrived because we live in a fallen
world, but also where there is presence of sin and therefore we
haven't arrived. The Lord still needs to do a
work in US. And I'm sure that even as we
talk about faithfulness this morning, you're going to be
reminded of what it means to be faithful.
But also you may also start to think about areas perhaps where
you and I are not faithful and where we need the Spirit work to
help us to be faithful. And that can only happen when we
abide in Christ and as the Holy Spirit works in US.
Therefore, let us first start by defining this word,
faithfulness. In fact, when you look at the
root word as it relates to faithfulness in Galatians 5, in
fact, it translates faith. Interesting enough, it
translates faith in the original.
But when they use the same word in relation to a personal
characteristics, it is the same, a slightly different meaning.
And I think you're going to see it up up there.
Rather, it refers to a virtue, A tendency to respond or behave in
a reliable, trustworthy and dependable manner.
I love that definition. So in essence, trust that in
essence, faithfulness, therefore is loyalty, trustworthiness and
dependability. And I guess if you look at those
words this morning, you may be even wondering, am I loyal, am I
trustworthy, am I dependable? But I want to suggest to this
morning that before you think like that, we think about the
faithfulness of God. Our own faithfulness flows from
the faithfulness of God. So point #1 the faithfulness of
God. Suppose perhaps you were asking
an Israelites who are singing about the faithfulness of God,
and you say to them, Hey, how do you know that Yahweh, the God of
Israel, is faithful? I'm sure the Israelites would
sit you down and tell you many wonderful stories of God's
faithfulness because Israel knew something about the faithfulness
of God. They knew something about a God
who keeps His promises and never breaks His covenant with His own
people. Perhaps the people of Israel
will talk to you about how God kept his promise and brought
them out of Egypt. Perhaps the people of Israel
will tell you about how God brought his judgment against
Egypt as they were exploiting the people of God.
Maybe they would tell you something about how when they
were grumbling against God, rebelling against God in the
wilderness, and yet God gave them food and water to keep them
safe. The Israelites know something
about the faithfulness of God. That is why we see many songs in
the Old Testament that speak about the faithfulness of God.
Israelites know something of that faithfulness that God can
indeed be trusted and in oftentimes because of their sin
and rebellion. God would bring His judgment
against Israel in many instances, but also God would
bring His restoration, fulfilling His promise to His
dear people that He will one day restore them.
When the people of God, for example, worship the golden calf
and Moses is intervening, he's saying, God, Please remember the
promise that you've made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
He's not appealing based on the merits of the people.
Rather, he's appealing to God's reputation and God's
faithfulness. God, please don't let your
judgment fall on these people. Why?
Because God is faithful. When you read the book of
Lamentations, when Jerusalem has been destroyed and the temple is
burned and the people of God found themselves in exile, they
are suffering the consequences of their own sin and yet they
utter this wonderful word. In Lamentations chapter 3, verse
22, Jeremiah says this. I mean, I, I think it's Jeremiah
who wrote that book anyway. Other people think it's not, but
he says the following. The steadfast love of the Lord
never ceases. His mercies never come to an
end. They are new every morning.
Great is thy faithfulness. It is as though that worship
team knew I was going to preach on faithfulness this morning.
Great is your faithfulness because God is faithful, God is
trustworthy, God is truthful, God is reliable, and all of this
is grounded in His nature, is grounded in His identity.
The psalmist writes the following For the Lord is good,
he is steadfast, love and yours forever, and his faithfulness to
all generations. Saints, the Lord is
faithfulness. The Lord is faithful to Abraham
in moments of doubt and faithlessness.
And when Abraham tells lies, God remained faithful and keeps his
covenant with Abraham. Not only that, he blesses
Abraham as the father of many nations.
Isn't it quite interesting that God is faithful even when we are
faithless? God is faithful even in our
rebellion and sin and wonder, but God remains faithful.
When Sarah knew that she was promised a child, she knew that
God is faithful. For the writer of Hebrews says
the following. And by faith, even Sarah, who
was past a child bearing age, was unable to bear children
because she considered him faithful.
Who made the promise? God is faithful.
Perhaps this morning you have your own story where you've seen
the faithfulness of God in your own life thing for a moment
where God has been faithful in your life in many areas of your
life. Lest you forget that God is
faithful in moments when you know that perhaps this is not
the hand of man. Clearly this is God at work.
Think of moments in your family where you've seen God being
faithful, how God has been faithful to your children, how
God has been faithful to your workplace, how God has been
faithful in many areas of your life where you've seen the
finger of God that God is faithful.
And when you just see the faithfulness of God, you begin
to be reminded that Lord, I don't deserve this.
I didn't get this because I've done anything good, but because
you are faithful, God is faithful.
And the apostle Paul knows something about the faithfulness
of God. He writes in First Corinthians
one verse 9. God is faithful who has called
you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
He writes in First Corinthians 10/13.
God is faithful. He would not let you be tempted
beyond what you can bear, But when you are tempted, He will
also provide you a way out so that you can endure.
Second Timothy chapter 213 says even when we are faithless, he
remains faithful. Maybe this morning you may even
be doubting God's faithfulness, perhaps because of what you are
going through presently. Maybe the circumstances are
pressing and are very difficult at this moment, but may I say to
you this morning, be reminded of this biblical truth that when
man is faithless, God is faithful.
He is worth your trust, for he never breaks His promises.
He will always keep His promises.
His yes is yes, his no is no. Therefore, believe him, God is
faithful. He is faithful because he is
unchanging in nature. God does not change.
He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
And therefore he will keep his promises forever because his
word is true. God never come to us and say,
hey guys, in fact, I made a mistake.
What what, what I've said, actually, it's not what I meant.
He never said that. What he says stands because he
is faithful. God is faithful often to people
who are unfaithful. This is amazing mercy and grace
that God is faithful to people who are unfaithful.
Reminded in Isaiah 49 verse 15, God said can a woman forget her
nursing child that she had, that she should have no compassion on
the son of her womb. Even though even these may
forget, yet I will not forget you.
A mom can forget the child that she is nursing and God says even
though the mom may do that, listen to this I will not forget
you. Why?
Because I am faithful, I'll not forget you.
So faithfulness means we follow even in highs and lows in life.
So hear me now. Our faithfulness does not flow
from ourselves. Our faithfulness flows from who
God is the Lord who is faithful #2 faithfulness to God.
I think it is correct that is believers, we reason this way,
that because God has been faithful to me by the help of
the Holy Spirit, the ancient of the Holy Spirit, therefore I
ought to also be faithful to him.
I think the apostle Paul makes a similar point.
He writes the following in Colossians 123.
Continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from
the hope of the gospel and the Word.
Continuing here actually means constantly trusting in Jesus.
I do not know what today and tomorrow holds for many of us.
I don't know what next year pass may hold for many of us, but as
we are being reminded of the faithfulness of God, I want to
say to you that is you trust in God.
As you draw near to God, be reminded of the text that was
read this morning. That whatever you may face, they
can never separate you from the love of God.
In sickness, in loss, in lack, in tribulation, in distress, in
suffering, in danger, in persecution, in famine, in
brokenness. Be reminded that you can still
trust Jesus in all of these things.
They will or care. It's not a of matter if they
will care, but also it's a matter of when, because they are
on the way, they are coming. And perhaps some of us this
morning are already experiencing some of this, experiencing
suffering, loss, lack, hardship, brokenness.
But even in those moments we want to cry out.
Like the psalmist, I will trust the Lord faithfulness to God and
in in certain moments of our lives more especially when we
are pressed by suffering, pressed by difficulties, we may
even want to tend back, just like the the the audience of the
book of Hebrews, We may actually want to say, like the audience
of Hebrews, maybe we should go back to Judaism that's better
and leave Christ all together. And the author says no, no, no,
no, no. Guys, listen to me.
Jesus is better than the prophets.
He's better than Abraham. He's better than angels.
He's worth dying for. Judaism is not better.
And often suffering may make us feel that way, that we want to
turn back because the pain is too much.
But I have faith for the Saints here at Common Ground Weinberg
that it will be our resolve, it will be our determination that
Lord, we will not turn back on Christ nor will we desert him.
We will not jump with the ship and forsake him.
No, we will remain committed in following Him no matter the
cost. Elin was sharing about that one
guy who who shared at the conference and he stays in an
island. I think it's a communist island.
Interesting enough. He says, listen, you know they
jail one of us and another one continues to preach.
They kill one of us, another one steps up and preach and the guy
is smiling at this perfect mind. He said, didn't they jail me 4
times? They put me in the container and
he's speaking that with a smile. Oh God, he knows what it means
to be persecuted, to be jailed, and yet he is willing to pay the
cost for the sake of Christ, faithful to him.
Consider with me, for example, John Rogers.
You will see on your screen there a man who was proclaiming
the Gospel, fighting against the wrong doctrines that that the
other bishops we're bringing forth and, and, and, and they
take him and they say to him, John Rogers, can you please
recount what you say? Please say you're not following
Christ. And he said the famous words
there. That which I preach, I will
steal with my blood. They take John Rogers while his
wife and kids are looking and they burn him at the stake
because he said, I will not recount, I believe in Christ.
Therefore I cannot say I do not believe.
I'd rather die faithful to Christ.
What about John Haas, A reformer who fought against the
supremacy, the inherent word of God and before in his death he
said this, these words in the same truth of the Gospel.
I am ready to die today. He says kill me because I
believe in the sufficiency of Scripture, that this is the word
of God. Kill me and he died.
Kill them. What about Lady Christina who
was being accused of neglecting the addicts and those who were
her superiors? They threatened her with death.
That if you do not recount your faith, we will kill you, she
replied, I cared not for my life, and she was beheaded in
three. O 4.
That wonderful woman of faith. Perhaps the last person to
consider John Stott, whom some of us know and are familiar with
the writings of John Stott in his old age when he was
bedridden. And someone comes, a dear friend
goes to Joe's Start and say John's Start, how can I pray for
you? Start replied, Pray that I will
be faithful to Jesus until my last breath.
I will not die faithful. The cost of faithfulness to God.
The psalmist puts it this way in Psalm 119, verse 30.
I have chosen the way of the faithfulness.
I set your rules before me. A faithful Christian obeys God
even when no one else around is obeying.
Another person uses a wonderful phrase.
He says that we should call that a holy stubbornness.
And when others don't want to obey, I will obey.
I, I I told you that in 2008. We stood before that.
The owl as he was officiating our wedding and he asked us to
take vows as we looked at each other and take vows and he asked
us a number of questions. He said to us from have to hold
from this day forward, for better and for worse, for
richer, for poor, in sickness and in hell, to love and to
transform this day forward until death do us apart.
He was saying to us guys, as you step into this, you are
committing yourself to one another, but also there is a
call for you to be faithful to one another.
Even when there's no money, be faithful.
Even when one of you falls sick, you don't say, hey, I didn't
sign up for this. Now I'm jumping ship.
For better, for worse. That's faithfulness that
marriage is that picture of a lasting your loyalty, fast
worthiness in a relationship of those who seek to keep the
promises they've made before God.
And therefore be reminded that my wife and I to remain
faithful. It's not because Eric is a very
good husband, not at all. In fact, it falls short a lot as
a husband and as a father, but I'm always reminded of the
commitment I made to my wife. But also, more importantly, I'm
remaining faithful because God is faithful to me and that the
Holy Spirit being at work in both of us help us to do that.
Well, it's nothing of me, everything of Him.
So let us consider together, perhaps are the areas in our
lives where perhaps we need to be faithful.
And sometimes it can be small things when you promise someone
that, hey, borrow me this thing and I'll bring it back to you.
And it's been over a year and you've not brought it back.
Maybe you're an artisan here. Maybe you are a builder,
whatever your trade is and you are, you are paid to do a
specific job that you ought to be doing.
And you submit the quote to your client and the and the quote
includes some of the most expensive material.
And when you go to Builders warehouse, you buy the cheapest
material. It's in a small things very
faithful. If you code for the expensive,
you buy the expensive. Why you're faithful to Christ
and you know if you're doing that, you are cheating and
defauding others. Therefore it's wrong to do it.
If you like me, if I could speak in tongues, which I don't speak
in tongues, I think every time I would go and see a mechanic I
would preach, I would speak in tongues.
I always get worried when I get to the mechanic, but I know
nothing about cars and sometimes they just look and look and say,
OK, it's 20 grand buddy, how how to get to 20,000.
And maybe that's your trade and you know that the issue is so
small and yet you're charging people more money.
Faithfulness in small things. Maybe as you are sitting here
today, you don't have a driver's license and you've already made
a deal with a traffic officer somewhere to pay something and
to get your driver's license. We don't do those things because
we are faithful to Christ. One pastor said if he were to
ask his own church members who bought licenses, he said he
would not have a church afterwards.
Colossians reminds us it says the following.
Whatever you do, do it with all your heart as though working for
the Lord and not for human masters.
Do everything as though you're working for God.
That brings God's blessing to what you're doing, whether it's
your job, do it faithfully. And therefore church.
I am suggesting that we need faithfulness in our marriages,
faithfulness with our children. We need faithfulness in our
friendships, and we need faithfulness in the church among
God's people because our faithfulness impacts those
around us, those we love, and those we serve, including our
members. This is what I'm saying, that
God's faithfulness motivates us to be faithful.
That's where it flows from. And there are many people in the
Bible who are called faithful. So it's not a strange thing that
believers are called faithful. For example, in Numbers 12,
Daniel 6, Moses and Daniel are called faithful.
The apostle Paul calls Timothy and Silas First Corinthians 4,
Ephesians 6, first Peter 5. He calls them faithful.
These are faithful believers #3 our last point, our faithfulness
in community. I think this points begs 2
questions from us. How can we exhibit faithfulness
towards one another, but also how are we called to be faithful
as brothers and sisters in Christ to each other?
I'm always drawn to the story in Philippians chapter 2, the
apostle Paul talking about Timothy, but also talking about
Epaphroditus as well. These wonderful two men who were
faithful. Not just what the apostle Paul
says in Philippians 220 says about Timothy.
I have no one like him. Wow.
I often read things like that and stop words like this.
The apostle Paul says I have no one like Timothy, such a
faithful brother. But also let's be reminded that
he does not say that about everyone in the pastoral
epistles. For example, in Second Timothy
chapter 4, the apostle Paul says Dimas in love with the present
world has deserted me and gone to Sectesola Nica.
And then he says, but look alone is with me.
And so Paul says, I have guys that have been with me and some
of them have deserted me. They love the world and they
left. But I have friends who are with
me through thick and thin that even though I am in prison, I'm
not in Hawaii. I am jailed for the sake of the
gospel. I have these people that are
with me, supporting me, praying for me.
And then he says, I have no one like him.
And then it says to the church at Philippine, I commend these
dear brothers to you and Paul. You can see here this wonderful
partnership in the gospel and how the apostle Paul is being
sort of loved and cared for by these men.
And church cannot say that at times the faithfulness can be
rare. I think it's a virtue that we
need to work on and perhaps rediscover and redeem among us
wherever we may find ourselves. But not just as well that he not
only speaks this way about Timothy alone, but also as he
addresses the issue of Ephoditus.
He says the following in verse 25 of Philippines chapter 2.
Not just the words he used to describe this dear brother.
He says to you, my brother, a fellow worker, a fellow soldier,
amazing words that that's who he is to me.
He is my brother, he is my fellow worker because this man
is standing with me side by side in the work of the gospel, but
also in the defence of the gospel as well.
He says this man has cared for me personally, loved me
personally and therefore I commend them to you.
What a wonderful picture of faithfulness in the context of
community. Faithfulness meaning being with
one another in our relationships, in the bonds that
we have as common ground. Weinberg believing the best
about each other, genuinely caring for the welfare of others
in this community because that's who we are.
Fellow soldiers, brothers and sisters, fellow workers in the
gospel, we are not simply acquaintances.
Those people. No, no, no, no, no, no.
We are a family. We are a community of the
Spirit. That's who we are, joined by the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, you may be
wondering this morning then, what does this mean for me?
As we think about Timothy, Paul, and Aphroditus, what does this
mean to me? I think it means three things.
Number one, there must be genuine love for each other.
The apostle Paul reminds us that the only debt that ought to be
remaining among us is the debt of love, and we never fully pay
that debt. We continue to pay the debt of
love each day. #2A genuine concern for each other and where
possible, minister to the physical needs of others.
For the Bible says in Proverbs 1717, a friend loves at all
times. Perhaps in closing, let's be
reminded in closing that to be faithful to God, to be faithful
to others is not an easy thing. Why?
Because we are selfish by nature.
We are so selfish. In fact, we we are quite
prideful people. We are quite proud.
And often the the enemy will tempt us in many areas of our
lives to be unfaithful to Christ.
But thank God that this is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, that
the Holy Spirit produces this in us through the work of the
Spirit as the Lord is sanctifying us.
And if you've been unfaithful in many areas of your life, repent
and I'll repent with you. Because I've been unfaithful in
some areas of my life, I'll repent with you and so would
help us to be faithful. Lord, I want to grow in
faithfulness. I want to grow in faithfulness
in small things so that I can grow in faithfulness in big
things. Help me to be faithful.
The psalmist puts it this way in some 1912 who can discern his
errors? Declare me innocent from my
hidden fault. The psalmist says, listen, show
me my hidden faults. Perhaps they are not evident to
me. Perhaps I may be even unaware of
them. They are hidden from my eyes.
Lord, show me my hidden faults. I I want to see them.
Lay them bare before me. What are my hidden faults?
And please, as I see them produce in me this fruit of
faithfulness, because the one who calls us is faithful.
Our Lord. We are grateful this morning to
be reminded of how faithful you are, great and sovereign King,
you are faithful. Lord, we are so gracious of
your, We are so grateful of your faithfulness.
Even Lord God, as we read the Old Testament, we can just see
throughout as your people constantly went back to false
gods and false worship and how you constantly called them back
to you, restored them, forgive them and release them.
We're so grateful of God to learn of these wonderful
stories, but also God, more importantly, to learn about the
faithfulness of Jesus as the one who motivates our own
faithfulness, that he was faithful, faithful until the
point of death. And so Lord, we pray that help
us to grow in faithfulness. Please produce this in US.
And we're, oh God, we've been unfaithful.
We ask you to please help us. We repent of that.
But we ask you to please help us and cleanse our hearts.
Do a work in US and through us as a people, we pray.
Amen.