Rewriting The Code: Spirit-Shaped Faithfulness

A Sermon On:

Galatians 5: 23

Psalm 33

PREPARED BY

KEN GEHRELS

PASTOR

CALVIN CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH

NEPEAN, ONTARIO

INTRODUCTION - ST.JOHN'S HARBOUR

When you enter St.John's, Newfoundland, and drive through the winding streets to the harbour, you are immediately confronted with a most impressive sight - a gigantic cliff that shelters the city from the cold Atlantic ocean. Only a narrow opening allows passage of ships to and from the harbour. It is a sight of power, of strength, and of durability.
Much history has occurred on those cliffs over the centuries. The first European settlers to North America took refuge from winter storms behind those cliffs. Early fishermen and traders weighed anchor in the shadow of the cliff. Terrific battles between armies raged on its slopes for control of the island and the rich fishing trade. The first transcontinental radio and telegraph contacts originated there.
Pictures show an incredible change over the last 400 years in the surroundings. From a few tiny wooden huts to a sprawling city with huge oil storage tanks now perched on these cliffs; from flimsy wooden dories and sailing schooners to huge Arctic-going ice breakers; from men trudging on foot to car, trucks and planes -- what a change.
But throughout all that change, one can look at the sketches and photographs and always gain a bearing by the location of things relative to the cliff. That cliff of St.John's Harbour - a stable rock, a faithful marker.

GOD'S FAITHFULNESS

Scenes like this, scenes of longevity and stability and security and unchangeability, are repeated all over the world. And it is they which lead people to reflect on the longevity and stability and security and unchangeability of the One who put them into place.

"The Lord is a Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is he" (Deut 32.4).

You can get some sense of what I mean by driving up into Gatineau Park and stand on one of the lookouts. Gaze down into the valley below -- all the urban sprawl that now clutters the landscape; the changes happening there. Then consider the rock beneath your feet -- doesn't move.
Hasn't moved.
Won't change.
And yet - this seemingly eternal rock is but an instant in the existence of the God who created it.

A God of faithfulness, that is Jahweh God! - God of the mountains, and God of the seasons:
The spring comes and the ground warms up - every year.
The summer brings growth - every year.
The fall brings cooler weather and harvest - every year.
The winter giving nature a time for rest - every year.
The faithful, God-directed cycle of the seasons.

Scientists in the laboratory conduct experiments, make notes and search out patterns which can be mathematically described. They depend on the reliability of nature behaving as it has in the past, and on no major surprises occurring in the future to develop statements and formulae which they call "laws of nature."
What they are describing, in fact, are the habits of God. They are witnessing and documenting his customary procedures, his timeless and enduring manner of caring for the creation he made. These laws are a grand exhibit of the faithfulness of God to all creation.

The scientists can rely on their mathematical equations and statistical calculations; the farmer can rely on the seasons; and the fisherman can rely on the familiarity of the landmark of the St.John cliff, all because we as a human race can rely on Almighty God. [adapted from Winward, Fruit Of The Spirit p.161].

The Almighty Faithful God of Psalm 33, gathering the waters of the sea, making the stars with the breath of his mouth -
The Almighty Faithful One whose plans, says v.11, stand firm forever... through all generations.

FAITHFULNESS ENJOINED IN BELIEVERS
With that as background we hear the Word of God say,
"The fruit of the Spirit is.... faithfulness."

The Rock of Ages, the God of All Faithfulness, who can be relied upon,
calls his people to be faithful, too." [Bruce "Galatians" in NIGTC 254].
And then he gives us the means to live by that command.
He sends His Holy Spirit to work within the hearts and minds of believers, making them like the Lord in whom they trust.
He seeks to produce fruit from their genuine faith, the fruit of fidelity, of faithfulness.
He seeks to turn the man of faith into a faithful man.
[Winward, Fruit Of The Spirit p.160].

SPHERES OF FAITHFULNESS

And what does such faithfulness entail? What does it mean to be a "faithful man", a faithful woman?

Consider first the Christ after whom we are named - our Saviour and Lord.
He is the essence of faithfulness.
The Bible describes the faithfulness of Christ:

Doing the will of the One who sent Him (Jn 4.34, 6.38)
pleasing Him who sent Him (Jn 5.30, 8.29)
Faithful in His life on earth, serving His Father all the way to death on a cross as He carried the sins of the entire human race (Phil 2)
faithful to those who believe in Him, serving as their High Priest with His constant prayers before the throne of God (Hebrews 2.17-18); understanding their human predicament, richly supplying them with grace and mercy (Heb 4.14-16)

A faithful Heavenly Father.
A faithful Saviour.
A faithful Spirit who is constantly with us -
And now to us comes the call to be faithful.
to be faithful in many ways.

Like a faithful spouse, the Church and believers within her, what the bible calls "the bride of Christ," are called to remain true in their love for Him. He is to remain the #1 object of their love, the receiver of their primary affection. The service of him is to be the first goal of their lives. To do less, to turn our heads and give first place to another, is in marriage, is adultery.

There is the call to personal devotion.

We call ourselves Christians. We say we love Jesus:
How much time do we spend with this one we love?
Is prayer and personal bible reading a daily part of our routine?
Or has the business and relentless pace of 1990's living overtaken us and begun to control us?... faithfulness.

We say we love Jesus:
Is that evident in the language that comes out of our mouth,
in the business transactions we complete,
in the friendships we cultivate,
in the way we handle our resources (including time and money),
in the way we school our children?
in our devotion to our spouse,
in working for our employers,
..... faithfulness.

As we live the Rock of Ages watches with great interest and care.
There is the call to communal devotion:
Do we as a congregation seek to earnestly find God's will for the future of our assembly, or are we content to rest on the laurels of the past, quietly floating down the river of time in whatever direction we might go, merely maintaining the status quo?
....faithfulness.

Do we seek to imitate the early believers who, the bible tells us, "met constantly to hear the apostles teach, and to share the common life, to break bread, and to pray" (Acts 2.42)?
Do we follow the injunction of Hebrews 10.25, "let us not give up the habit of meeting together"?
Or do we prefer to succumb to the leisure of Sunday morning breakfast in bed or Sunday evening at the Beach while God scans the pews of his house, hoping to see us among the assembly that is giving their tithe of time to him in active worship.... and scans in vain?
..... faithfulness.

Are we as a community of believers ready to sound the clarion call of our Lord against the abuses and wastes and injustices of our world, to stand up for those who suffer and are trampled upon?
Are we ready to expend the effort and time and money to carry out such challenges?
Are we ready to be faithful?

GROWING FAITHFULNESS

"The fruit of the Spirit is.... faithfulness."
So how does that grow? How does the Holy Spirit build the reliability of faith within us that can stand up to the tremendous challenges and tests awaiting us?
Through a variety of different ways.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit gives us little, very manageable opportunities to practice faithfulness. And, as we slowly develop, he begins to move the circumstances of life around so that we become faced with larger and larger challenges as our spiritual stamina increases. Hence the parable in Lk 19 where the master says to the servant, "Well done! You have been faithful in small ways. I will now put you in charge of much more."
Learn to crawl before you walk before you run.
Print before you write.
Ride a bike before a car.
Little faithfulnesses before bigger ones.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit places us into a situation where we are forced to rely on, or brought face to face with, the trustworthiness and reliability of others in dramatic ways.
The wife is caught in an adulterous relationship but is overwhelmed by the great elasticity in the love of her husband who gives her another chance. And he says something she doesn't understand at first, "I've been given another chance, too..... by Jesus."

Or he gives us quiet moments of teaching, by allowing us to observe the faithfulness of God in the cliffs and the seasons and the laws of nature.

And one last way the Holy Spirit works to develop faithfulness, reliability in God's children - he works through the faithfulness of the Christian community. He uses their spiritual momentum to carry along those whose faithfulness lacks; and their example as a model for those immature in faithfulness; and as an inspiration to those feeling tired or discouraged.

It happens all the time:
- When we celebrate the faithfulness of 60 years of marriage in a world where so many so-called experts are saying, "Don't even entertain the notion of spending your whole life with one partner."
- When unexpected, incapacitating illness strikes, and the family goes to its knees in prayer and publicly declares its reliance on the Lord for his care and direction even in this time.
- When, at a grave side, even with tears in their eyes and a terrific lump in their throat, a grieving family can recite the Apostle's Creed: "I believe in... the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting..."
- When we celebrate baptism, or public profession of faith, and as a community we pledge to support those making new steps of faith in their life -
When they, perhaps, begin to wonder, "Does this Christianity stuff, this religious business mean anything? Is it relevant as we enter a new millenium?" And your words of faith and the example of your reliable, faith-filled actions will answer a resounding "YES!"
The Holy Spirit uses these things to make a lasting impression on young believers, and older believers for that matter. He uses them to grow the fruit of faithfulness.

CONCLUSION

The fruit of the Spirit in our lives is... faithfulness.
Being reliable - to our God and to fellow humanity; and helping others,
helping -- among others -- those who will make profession of their faith next Sunday morning, and little Alyssa, born this week into the Body of Christ.

What a challenge! What a tremendous responsibility! What a struggle.
And yet we can do it. I KNOW that we can do it. For as we leave here there is very near by the unchanging Gatineau Hills, placed there by the Rock of Ages. I KNOW it because again this morning He woke us with the faithful rising of the sun.
And more than anything else, filling our minds is the image of the spectacle of the greatest act of faithfulness of all. We see Jesus, God become man. Man being faithful to the bitter end. Jesus on a cross. We see him dying and looking us in the eye. And we see him rise, Christus Victor, Christ the Faithful.
And that Jesus whispers to us, "So send I you."