Just Be Faithful

“Just be Faithful” was preached by Pastor Mike Ray at Hopewell Baptist Church on Sunday morning, 1/12/2022.

Let’s open our Bibles to 1 Corinthians 10, where our theme verse for the year is found.

1 Corinthians 10:13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man…”

And this temptation here — it’s not just talking about being tempted to sin. It’s talking about going through trials, tough times of tribulation if you will. Valleys. Dark days.

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man…” What he’s trying to say here is you’re not the only one going through tough times. He says, “but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

You ever maybe looked up and quoted that verse to God? Maybe you said, “Well I heard You would never give me more than I can handle, but this really seems like it’s more than I can handle.” You ever been there? I have too. God expects us, as our cup fills up with trouble — He expects us to pour it out to Him every day and tell Him everything on our heart so that the next day, as troubles come, the cup never overflows.

It’s never more than you can bear. It’s always one day’s worth. Never more. Because God is faithful. That’s His promise right there. And I want to speak on that subject this morning: “Just be Faithful.”

Father, bless this brief time we have this morning. Thank You for the health You’ve given us to be able to attend church. We’re thankful for listeners online today who are maybe quarantining or out of town or out of the country. We just pray that You would help. And help today be a great start in our hearts for the new year. And Lord, I do claim that promise — You said a faithful man of abounds with blessings. Would you bless every person who’s in a Bible-believing church here and around the world today for being faithful? Just bless them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Old Faithful

There’s a geyser that that shoots up. It doesn’t shoot the highest. It doesn’t shoot for the longest amount of time. And it’s not the largest geyser in the world. But it’s always on time.

How many of you have seen it before? You’ve seen it. And what’s its name? Old Faithful. And that’s what they nicknamed it that — because it is always on time. Millions of people gather to watch it. They know exactly what time the water is coming up.

I think of Brother Steve. I’ll confess his sins to you. Brother Guzman, years ago, actually worked there at the Old Faithful geyser. He was a park ranger or something like that. Anyway, as the people gathered around Old Faithful, Brother Steve went over — he and another guy got next to this nearby water main valve, and he would go, “All right, it’s almost time. You ready? All right, let’s start turning it on.” And they acted like they were turning on Old Faithful, and the whole crowd looked — like, “This thing must be fake. They turn it on, they turn it off.” Oh, Brother Steve got in all kinds of trouble. And so, when you think of Old Faithful, just think of trouble and Brother Steve.

But why do people gather to see it? Because it’s expected to come up. They just expect it to come up. They expect it to be faithful.

“Semper Fi”

We have marines that are in the service today. And you never say the word “ex-Marine.” It makes them angry. Once a marine, always a marine. Their motto for their branch of the military is “Semper Fidelis,” which means always faithful or faithful unto death. And that ought to be a great slogan for us this year. Always faithful, faithful unto death.

It’s Expected

We expect it of God, do we not? I didn’t look outside this morning and say, “Oh I wonder if He remembered to let the sun come out today. I wonder if He’s going to remember to rotate the world.” He is faithful. He always does His job.

It’s expected in Christians that we would be faithful. If you’re married today, it’s expected in a mate. Can you imagine… I’ll be doing a wedding in the future. I don’t think at the wedding I’m going to say, “Till you decide to date someone else.” Can you imagine if the bridegroom said, “I got a question: does this mean we can’t date anybody else?” No. “Forsaking all others,” to you I will cleave “until death do us part.” We expect faithfulness in our marriages.

We expect faithfulness in our employees. If you hire someone, you probably expect them (before the COVID at least) to actually show up. B.C. means “before COVID.”

We expect our military to be faithful. “All right, roll call. Get out of the bed.” “Uh sergeant, I just, I just kind of feel a little bit blue today. I just decided not to show up for roll call, and I decided not to make that 20-mile march. Is that okay?” “Yeah, it’s okay.” You know, they kind of expect when you join the military that you show up and do what you’re supposed to do.

If you’ve ever been called to court to be a juror, they kind of expect you to show up. If you ever look at the valid excuses, they say, “This is not an excuse, and work is not an excuse, and being tired is not an excuse. You better be there!” I got several of those: “You have missed two of these already. We’re tired of your excuses.” “But I’m a pastor.” “Drop dead. You better show.”

NFL teams that expect their players to be faithful. “Dombrowski, we’re paying you 20 million a year to play.” “Coach, I just, I don’t like the Packers. I don’t like playing against the Packers. It hurts when they hit me. I don’t like that team. And the Gatorade isn’t the flavor I like, and the bench is hard, and the and the fans boo me, and it hurts my feelings.” They expect you to be there.

Faith and Faithfulness

The word “faithful” means constant, loyal, without defect, strict performance of vows. Now before we can be “faithful,” (full of faith) we need to know what “faith” is. So here’s what it is. Faith is mentioned in many Scriptures. I’ll just quote some:

Luke 12:28: “Oh ye of little faith…”

Luke 7:9: “So great faith…”

Luke 5:20: “Seeing their faith…”

See, faith is not just positive thinking. Faith is not a feeling. Faith is not that a little saying like “keep the faith.” That is not what it is. Faith has substance. It is something that’s real.

Jesus was in the house preaching, and four men decided to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus. They couldn’t get in the door. There were so many people that they tore the roof off, lowered him down, and Jesus knew in His heart, “They really believe I can do this.” That’s what faith is.

Matthew 9:2: “Jesus seeing their faith…”

Matthew 15:28: “Great is your faith…”

Luke 17:6: “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed…”

Hebrews 11:6: It pleases God. “But without faith it is impossible to him…”

Saving Faith

Faith is what saves us. If you’re here today and you’re a Christian and you’ve received Christ, you probably know the verse that says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith…” (Ephesians 2:8a). Faith. God gives us the faith to believe. He’ll save us. And then He gives us the faith that comes by hearing the Word of God. And then we call upon Him from our hearts and trust that He will save us. We’re saved by grace through faith.

Reward of Faith

Years ago, I was at the house… And for years I’ve been out door to door, inviting people to church many hours every week. I’ve just done that for years. Well, for a good while I had shoes that didn’t work. I’ve got flat feet, and I think it’s before I found out I had plantar fasciitis or whatever you call it. And so, I would get home from soul winning and just sit in a recliner and just prop my feet up. They were just throbbing. And for years when the kids were young, I’d say, “Who would like to rub daddy’s feet?” You know? And I would quote these Bible verses out of context, “Beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel peace.” It has nothing to do with hurting feet. And I said, “Who wants to rub daddy’s feet?” And the going rate was about a quarter. A quarter was the cost to get one of the kids to rub my feet. And then inflation came, and it got up to a dollar. Then I had a hard time getting any of the kids to rub my feet for a dollar. And finally, I got my feet propped up and asked, “Who’s going to rub daddy’s feet for a dollar?” I’m not going to tell you who (Jonathan)… But he said, “Can I see the dollar first, Dad?” And I’m thinking, “Look, I am good for a dollar. You know, I’m giving you my word. I’m not going to cheapskate you.”

And sometimes that’s how it is with the Lord. “Lord, I’ll do what You tell me to do. But can I see how it’s going to turn out first? Can I see what you’re going to do for me? Can I see what the reward is first?” And that’s not how God operates because He always likes it when we take Him at His word. He gives us His Word.

Faith is obeying God’s commandment, realizing He will reward us. You may not see the reward immediately, but God always rewards faith.

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Jesus asked his question in Luke 8:25: “Where is your faith?”

2 Corinthians 5:7: “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Is that not true? We pray by faith. We come to church, not knowing what God’s going to give us, but we believe He will give us something. We tithe by faith. We live right by faith. God always rewards faith. He always does.

The Bible says in Galatians 5:6, “…faith which worketh by love.”

It says in Ephesians 6:16 “the shield of faith.”

2 Thessalonians 1:11: “the work of faith.”

So here it is. Faith is not just a belief. It’s an action word. In Hebrews 11, the “Hall of Faith” chapter, it says, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark…” (Hebrews 11:7). Abraham offered his son by faith.

Acts of Faith

Faith is an action word. Faith, real faith, puts us to action to do something. It moves us to action.

Hebrews 4:2: “mixed with faith.”

Hebrews 6:12: “by faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Faith is just obeying God’s Word, believing He will reward it. He wants us to have faith.

Faith by Hearing the Word of God

How do you get that faith, Pastor?

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

So, that’s why sometimes people get saved when we witness to them? Why? They’re hearing the Word of God, and all of a sudden in their heart, someone says, “That makes sense. God will save me. He will save me if I ask. I’m going to ask Him.” And so, faith comes while they’re hearing. That’s why we have people saved during church services or at the end of a church service because they’re hearing for the first time: 1. I’m a sinner, 2. I can’t save myself, 3. Jesus died for me, was buried, and rose again, 4. He’ll save me from my sins and take me to Heaven if I’ll ask him. So that’s where that faith comes from: by hearing the Word of God.

Faithfulness. That’s what God wants.

For the rest of the message, be sure to watch the video above or visit our church website. You can watch archived services on Vimeo, YouTube, or audio podcast. Stay up to date by following us on Facebook or Instagram.

Hopewell Baptist Church is an Independent Baptist Church in Napa, California pastored by Mike Ray. It is Bible-based with a warm, friendly atmosphere. Hopewell is dedicated to bringing the water of life to the Napa Valley and beyond.