Be There

well it's good to be here what a blessing it is to be in the house of god on a wednesday night to feel his presence to be with the body of christ to receive his word why don't we just thank him for his goodness to us tonight lord we thank you for your goodness and thank you for this opportunity to be in your presence thank you god thank you god for the strong tower in your name that we have to run to and we bless your name we bless your name amen amen

you may be seated with our church theme is be the church and tonight um the topic that i'm going to speak on is be there be there and i'm going to talk about faithfulness and commitment faithfulness and commitment god has given us such a great example of faithfulness there is no question when it comes to god's faithfulness or his love for his people so when the word faithful is mentioned what comes to your mind what words come to your mind words that i wrote down are dependable and trustworthy dedication steadfast when i think of faithful or faithfulness i think of reliable and consistent those are words that come to my mind the word faithful is derived from a hebrew root word having the basic meaning to trust or to believe so to trust a person or to believe a statement this is the same root word that gives us the word amen so the derived meaning is that the one is described the one that is described as trustworthy the one described as dependable trusting or loyal the word of god describes god as being all of those things

deuteronomy 7 and 9 says know therefore that the lord thy god he is god the faithful god which keepeth his covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations faithful is used to describe the relationship between god and israel and this portion of scripture the faithful god keeps his covenant and the faithful people keep his commandments both are being faithful to one another faithfulness is happening on both sides numbers 23 and 19 says god is not a man so he does not lie he is not human so he does not change his mind he has he ever spoken and failed to act has he ever promised and not carried it through wow when i read that that was something powerful no he has never spoken and not come to pass and he has never promised and it not have if god has spoken a word into your life this isn't even in my notes but i feel the holy ghost right now if he's given you a promise you hold on to that because he is faithful and true and he is god he is faithful to his word god is faithful to every word he speaks and every promise he makes numbers 23 19 that we just read says that god is perfectly faithful he is steadfast and he is true philippians 1 and 6 says and i am sure of this that the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of jesus christ romans 8 and 28 promises and we know that all things work together for good to them that love god to them who are the called according to his purpose our god is faithful and these verses god promises to be true to you he promises to see you through any situation that you find yourself in isaiah chapter 54 and verse 10 it says for the mountains may depart and the hills be removed but god said my steadfast love shall not depart from you my covenant of peace shall not be removed says the lord who has compassion on you faithfulness is foundational to the very character of god god's steadfast love for you is more is more sure than the very ground that you walk on no matter where you find yourself whether it's on the top of the mountain or maybe it's in the valley one thing is for sure god will be there god will be there because he is a faithful god

because god is a faithful god god expects faithfulness also from his people tonight we'll look at three main areas where we should be exhibiting faithfulness in our lives number one i want to talk to you about being there and your faithfulness to god being faithful to god requires us to be diligent in our daily spiritual disciplines

daniel chapter 1 tells the story when daniel was taken to babylon and when he arrived there he was chosen from among the people to learn the language of the chaldeans and daniel learned both how to read and write this language during this time the king provided meat and he provided wine to these young men however daniel did not want to defy himself with the king's meat and wine because it was inconsistent with his principles so he asked the prince of the eunuchs uh if he could have poles or plants and water instead what i notice here is daniel was committed and faithful to his god and to the principles by which he lived and i imagine that it probably was a little bit uncomfortable for daniel to ask the overseer for this exception nevertheless he was committed to pleasing his god daniel was committed to his god and his principles even when he had to take a public stand you know sometimes we may have to take a public stand and as long as we are in the book we are living out the principles of god everything is going to be all right

daniel chapter 3 tells us another story about three hebrew boys king nebuchadnezzar had an image of gold and required everyone to fall down and worship the idol that he made do you remember this story so these men saw these jewish boys and that they would not bow down so they brought them before the king and the bible tells us that the king was furious that these hebrew boys would not bow down he asked them are you not going to bow down to the god that i've made and they weren't going to do it and so i like what the king did there he he didn't just take them and throw them into the fiery furnace but he said i'm going to give you another chance he said when you start to hear the music playing when you start to hear the sound of the music playing if you will bow down everything's going to be okay he said but if you don't bow down you're going to be thrown into that fiery furnace within the hour so daniel as are these boys as they're talking to the king the king asked them here you know what are you not going to bow down to this image and and the three hebrew boys said we can't bow down to your gods we're only going to serve our god then they spoke some words of faith they said our god is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace and then they would have stepped further and they said and we believe that he will deliver us from the fiery furnace these young men were taking a stand for a principle because they were being faithful and committed to their god and so they said god is able to deliver us and and we believe that he's going to deliver us but then they said if he chooses not to deliver us we're still not going to bow but we're going to withhold and stand on the principles that we believe in i imagine it would have been easier for them just to bow down and take one for the team there were so many people there that day they could have easily blended into the crowd and nobody would have known any difference but they demonstrated commitment and faithfulness to their god not even death itself would convince them to bow they were thrown into the fiery furnace as you know and when they came out they did not even have the stench of smoke on their bodies god had delivered them and i believe that god had honored their faithfulness and their commitment to him

daniel chapter 6 and verse 1 says it pleased darius to set over the kingdom and 120 princes which should be over the whole kingdom and over these three over these three presidents of whom daniel was first that the princes might give accounts unto them and the king should have no damage then this daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him and the king thought to set him over the whole realm then the presidents and princes sought to find an occasion against daniel watch this concerning the kingdom but they could find no occasion or fault for as much as he was faithful neither was there any error or fault found in him they found no blemish in his administration when he was working and doing the work for that kingdom for he was faithful to his king and that was a great virtue but he was also faithful to his god these men convinced the king to sign a decree that no one could pray to god for 30 days and if they were caught doing so that they would be thrown into a den of lions these men knew they knew that daniel was committed to his god he would pray no matter what he would meet with his god three times a day no matter what they he had a testimony whether he realized it or not they when they were scheming and trying to figure out how can we get him they they couldn't find any fault in his leadership in the kingdom and they couldn't find any fault in his character so they said where else can we find a fault well we're going to have to make a decree and we know we know that this man of god is going to meet with his god three times a day no matter what so these men knew that daniel was committed to his god so daniel faithful to his god and committed to his spiritual disciplines knew of the cree decree but was not willing to compromise his spiritual walk with god and was not and was willing to be cast into a den of lions what faithfulness and commitment daniel has modeled for us

i was thinking about this a little bit and i think that when we have a hard day or something you know it it could maybe we could try to get out of our spiritual disciplines because of the day that we've had we'll make an excuse if we've had a very busy schedule you know maybe that's an opportunity for us to get out of our spiritual disciplines or maybe we're not feeling the best that day or somebody heard us or something happened to us and and we're just not feeling it and so that's an opportunity for us to get out of our spiritual disciplines but when we look at daniel there was nothing that was going to get him out of his spiritual discipline of praying and it wasn't going to be one time a day it was going to be three times a day and if he had to go into a den of lions so be it he was going to be there he was going to meet with his god and he was going to pray to his god daniel knowing that he would be thrown into the lions in purpose in his heart that he would be there he would be there to meet his god because he was committed to his god the decree did not stop him from being faithful in prayer and relationship with god the lions did did not stop him from being from fulfilling his commitment to god that he had made so in our walk with god we must be willing with these three stories we must be willing to take a stand for what is right to stand for our convictions even if we face criticism we must choose not to bow to things of this world and instead keep our eyes on things above finally we must be faithful in our relationship to god know what no matter what happens in our world and with the waves of culture that are blowing by and the things that are happening in our world all the time it would be easy for us to become sidetracked it would be easy for us to lay some things down but i pray god give us a spirit of boldness to hold on to the principles that you have given us and help us be faithful and committed to you we must be there we must be there we must be faithful and committed when it comes to our spiritual disciplines faithfulness and commitment to prayer to fasting and to reading the word not only affect us and our spiritual walk but the people around us notice the difference and it affects them when daniel was praying and those men knew he was praying they might not have realized it but what they found out is this man is dedicated and he is faithful and it affected them i think just the little things that you could think of when when we go into a a restaurant we pray for our food we don't have to back down from that because of culture what culture says we're not backing down from that and in fact as we sit down to eat with our family and we thank god for his blessings and we bless the food that he's given us not only does that affect us but i do believe that that affects everybody around us as well people notice that when i start my day in prayer compared to when i wake up rushed busy and don't start with prayer there is a noticeable difference anybody feel like that my feathers are ruffled a little easier on that day my patience seems a little thinner on that day really our entire day is affected by whether or not we start out the day with a god focus and you know what not only does that affect us but that affects others around us because when i don't have patience or when my feathers get ruffled or i get offended a little easier not only is that affecting me but that is affecting people around us there is something very powerful about walking with god daily and we must be faithful and committed to a daily walk and a daily discipline with him

number two be there in your faithfulness to your family now i'm going to talk about our natural family here in the beginning but i'm also going to talk about this church family we must be there when it comes to our families our families must be priority and we can be there and not really be there does that make sense we can be there and not really be there i have a six-year-old daughter she's a bundle of joy she talks a lot there's a lot of drama in that little package in that body and there are occasions when she's talking to me that she's talking and talking and talking and i've you know meandered this way or i'm looking on my phone or doing something and that will come out these words will come out dad are you even listening to me i was hearing her but i wasn't listening to her i was there but i was not really there it's important for us to make a conscious effort to be there to be present with our family being present with our family is something we should strive for i wrote down some practical ways that we can do this and this isn't all of the ways but these are just some things that i came up with some practical ways that we can be there and be faithful and be committed to our family and and one of those is having a family night during the week i love family night another way that we can do that is having a date night with our spouse and i'm trying to be more intentional about that scheduling one-on-one time with our kids i did this last night with my little princess and it we call it date night and usually we go to culver's that's where she usually wants to go and then i'm ready to go home we'll have dinner and then ice cream and but it always ends we always end up at target somehow or another i hate target i hate it she has to and she knows that so she has to know that i love her because i'm taking her to target we've got to be intentional about making that time and carving out that one-on-one time with our kids to be there we need to in order to be there and be committed to our family we should have devotion and prayer as a family we should be doing that on a regular basis we do that and my favorite part about devotion and prayer with a family is we will read a bible story or we have these these bibles that are for kids kids age and we'll read those or a devotion or something but my favorite part about this time together is when we pray because usually kelly or i will start out and pray and then the other one will pray and then we let austin and we let ashland pray and let me tell you what kids can pray kids can pray and some of these prayer we we've drove around pastor and we've we've done we've done this exact same thing not all prayed at one time but each of us took a turn and to hear those kids pray over people that they would receive the holy ghost and that they would repent and they would be baptized in jesus name that that blows my mind how these kids can pray it's important we've got to be there for our family and scheduling this time of devotion prayer is a must especially for young families being there being faithful and committed to our family and being committed to the spiritual well-being of our family does not just happen it usually does not just fall into place the reality is that life is very busy our schedules are usually full and if we are not intentional it probably will not happen i implore you and i encourage you today make time and carve out time to be intentional to be there for your family our natural family is important but we've also been born into a body of believers that is our spiritual family being there for one another is so vital mark driscoll said this many years ago there was a group of christians who had a saying about relationships they said some folks were swallow friends who left when winter comes swallow friends are the seasonal friends they stick around when life is going well but they fly away when st things start get going rough if we've even had one faithful friend we are blessed and if we can be a faithful friend to someone else we are a blessing mark had observed that some relationships are for a season and some might last for years regardless each friendship has played a role in your life whether it be for the good or not as brothers and sisters in christ we are called to live in unity with one another we are called to support one another we are called to lift up one another we are called to pray for one another and we are called to be there for one another to be faithful to each other and to be committed to each other this commitment to our friends and our family and i'm talking about the body of christ right now is important we can be there for our friends in all seasons of life we should rejoice when they rejoice and we should weep when they weep as you know the last several years have been difficult as my families had to walk through a tough season concerning my dad's health and i have had so many friends reach out to me at the right time i've had people give me a word at just the right time i've had people in this congregation come to me and ask me how i was doing and it was sincere they were there they weren't off and they weren't just doing it just for conversation but actually asked me how i was doing and what they could do to help they were sincere we had we've had so many people in this church encourage us and help us with our needs and as a recipient today i can say we need each other we need each other and it is important that we are faithful and committed to one another i'm i'm thankful for everyone that has been there for me and my family i know you are have you ever had that happen in your life where somebody was there and spoke the right word or prayed for you at the right time

why don't we lift our hands and thank god for this body of christ lord i thank you for the body of christ the strength that you've given to us through your body thank you god thank you god that we don't have to walk this life alone but that we have brothers and sisters that are faithful and committed to us thank you jesus

lastly tonight i want to talk about being there with your talents giftings and resources when we're a faithful steward we have to be faithful and all the things that god has blessed us with first corinthians chapter 4 and 1 says let a man so account of us as of the ministers of christ and stewards of the mysteries of god then he says moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful paul uses ministers of christ the greek word there is under rowers they were the guys down in the bottom of the ship handling the oars and then paul uses the second greek word as stewards which is we are the overseers of those things that belong to the master overseers of things that belong to the master the one requirement of stewardship is that of faithfulness to that which i've been called to do or to what has been entrusted to me your faithfulness to what god has called you to do is the thing for which one day you will receive your reward or lack thereof the scripture in first corinthians says it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful notice there it doesn't say that it's highly recommended but it says it is required faithfulness is a requirement when stewarding the things of god now a steward we we talk about a steward a lot of times when it comes to handling money and it is that and can be that but really being a steward is stewarding the things of god so as we're working in the kingdom of god we must be committed we must be faithful in other words be there we've got to be there be there if you're singing or playing or preaching or leading be there the phrase be there does not mean just to show up and be present be there means be dedicated be consistent be there means that you're doing your job or ministry when you're doing that do it with all of your heart do it to the best of your ability be prepared when you're doing your job and your ministry be prepared be in prayer give a hundred percent to the thing that god has given to you if you're greeting or connecting with people at church be there i'm not going to go down every ministry in the church we don't have time but whatever your job is in the kingdom of god it is important no matter what god has given you to be a steward over it is important now i know that when we fulfill a role in the church and we're not paid in a monetary way we're called a volunteer and that's fine that's great but this volunteer work is kingdom work and kingdom work is serious business we not we may not be paid in the natural but i can assure you we will be paid in the spiritual i think it's all i want to thank every volunteer in this church that works in this church thank you so much for what you do you know i know pastor will be okay with me saying this but this church couldn't operate with without you when you're a volunteer you're working in the kingdom of god you're working for god you're not just working for pastor for the church you're working to build the kingdom of god and that is so important and god will honor your commitments to his kingdom i said god honors commitment to his kingdom matthew 6 and 33 says but seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness all these things shall be added unto you

i was talking to a young man the last couple of weeks and he told me that he was switching jobs we just met in the hallway briefly he said i'm switching jobs the reason i'm switching this job is because i told them in the beginning that i go to church on wednesdays and sundays and he said and they seem to schedule me every wednesday and sunday he said and i can't do it anymore and i'm not going to do it anymore i already told them that i've got church on wednesday and sunday and without even thinking i told him god's going to honor that god's going to honor that commitment why because he is putting the kingdom of god first that's what this scripture says seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and then it said all these other things that you have need of he's talking about clothes and food and what all those other things god will be added unto you so as this young man is putting god first in his life i believe according to scripture that god is going to add all of his needs to him if we show ourselves faithful in our relationship with god we show ourselves faithful with our family and one another faithful with our talents and our giftings and our resources we will be fulfilling what god has intended us to be faithful servants

would you stand with me let me show you how important this is to god matthew 25 and 21 his lord said unto him well done thou good and faithful servant 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 and to the joy of the lord i don't know about you but i want to be a faithful servant and i want to hear well done thou good and faithful servant and closing tonight i want to take just a little time of prayer and i think it'd be all right if we thank god for his faithfulness to us and we're going to add on to that that he would help us to be faithful and committed to him and to these disciplines and to the kingdom would you pray with me now

lord i thank you for this pattern of faithfulness that you have given and shown to us in your word thank you god for your faithfulness that you've always been there for us no matter when we're on the mountain or in the valley you are always there and you are always faithful i pray god that you would help us to be faithful servants help us god to be committed to your kingdom work in our lives correct us discipline us encourage us i pray in the name of jesus and i thank you for this god thank you and help us god help us