Faithfulness: The Key to Enduring Relationships with God
Summary
### Summary
Happy Father's Day to all the dads! Today, we reflect on the importance of faithfulness in our lives, a theme we've been exploring over the past few weeks. Faithfulness is a quality that God values immensely, more than worldly success or achievements. It's about living, working, and enduring faithfully, not just starting strong but finishing well. Jesus emphasized the importance of enduring to the end, and we see this echoed throughout the Bible, especially in the lives of faithful individuals like King Hezekiah.
Hezekiah is a prime example of someone who remained faithful to God in everything he did. He removed pagan shrines and idols, demonstrating his commitment to God alone. This kind of faithfulness requires a singular focus on God, getting rid of anything that competes for our devotion, and continually growing in our relationship with Him.
To remain faithful, we must give God our singular focus, which involves prioritizing our relationship with Him above all else. This can be practically achieved through regular Bible reading and prayer. It's not about perfection but about making consistent efforts to grow in our faith. Additionally, we must get rid of anything that competes with our devotion to God, whether it's toxic relationships, habits, or distractions.
Finally, faithfulness involves a commitment to growth. Remaining faithful doesn't mean staying the same; it means continually maturing in our faith. This growth is facilitated by engaging with Scripture, allowing it to transform us, and being open to the Holy Spirit's work in our lives.
### Key Takeaways
1. Faithfulness Over Success: God values faithfulness more than worldly success. No matter your past, God calls you to be faithful from this point forward. It's not about how you start but how you finish. Endure to the end, keeping your passion for God alive. [42:43]
2. Singular Focus on God: To remain faithful, give God your singular focus. This means prioritizing your relationship with Him above all else. Regular Bible reading and prayer are essential practices. It's not about perfection but consistent effort. [48:48]
3. Eliminate Competition: Get rid of anything that competes with your devotion to God. This could be toxic relationships, habits, or distractions. Like Hezekiah removed idols, we must remove anything that hinders our faithfulness to God. [58:55]
4. Commit to Growth: Remaining faithful means continually growing in your relationship with God. Engage with Scripture not just for information but for transformation. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life, making you more like Christ. [01:05:33]
5. Endure to the End: Faithfulness is about enduring to the end. Like the Apostle Paul, aim to finish the race and fight the good fight. At the end of your life, may it be said that you remained faithful, giving God your singular focus and growing in Him. [01:10:17]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[40:20] - Happy Father's Day
[40:50] - Faithfulness in the Bible
[41:20] - God's Call to Faithfulness
[42:43] - Living and Working Faithfully
[43:44] - Celebrity Pastors and Faithfulness
[44:11] - Enduring to the End
[45:07] - Jesus' Words on Faithfulness
[46:03] - Examples of Faithfulness in Scripture
[46:28] - King Hezekiah's Faithfulness
[47:21] - Hezekiah's Actions
[48:48] - Give God Your Singular Focus
[50:02] - Human Relationships and Focus
[52:21] - Practical Steps for Faithfulness
[58:55] - Get Rid of the Competition
[01:05:33] - Decide to Grow with God
[01:10:17] - Paul's Final Words on Faithfulness
[01:13:47] - What’s Your Next Step?
[01:16:45] - Prayer and Commitment
[01:17:48] - Closing Remarks
Study Guide
### Bible Study Discussion Guide
#### Bible Reading
1. 2 Kings 18:3-7 - Hezekiah's Faithfulness
2. Matthew 24:12-13 - Enduring to the End
3. 2 Timothy 4:6-7 - Paul's Final Words on Faithfulness
#### Observation Questions
1. What actions did King Hezekiah take to demonstrate his faithfulness to God? (2 Kings 18:3-7)
2. According to Matthew 24:12-13, what will happen to the love of many in the last days, and what is the promise for those who endure?
3. How does Paul describe his life and faith in 2 Timothy 4:6-7?
4. In the sermon, what practical steps were suggested to give God our singular focus? ([52:38])
#### Interpretation Questions
1. Why do you think Hezekiah's removal of pagan shrines and idols was significant in demonstrating his faithfulness? (2 Kings 18:3-7)
2. How can the warning about the love of many growing cold in Matthew 24:12-13 be relevant to our current cultural context? ([44:43])
3. What does Paul mean when he says he has "fought the good fight" and "finished the race" in 2 Timothy 4:6-7? How does this relate to the concept of faithfulness? ([01:10:17])
4. The sermon emphasized the importance of eliminating competition for our devotion to God. What are some modern-day "idols" that might compete for our focus and faithfulness? ([58:55])
#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your own life: Are there any "pagan shrines" or distractions that you need to remove to give God your singular focus? What steps can you take this week to eliminate these distractions? ([58:55])
2. How can you practically prioritize regular Bible reading and prayer in your daily routine? Share one specific strategy you will implement this week. ([52:38])
3. Think about a time when your passion for God has waned. What contributed to this, and how can you reignite your passion and commitment to endure to the end? ([45:35])
4. Identify one area in your life where you need to grow in your relationship with God. What specific action will you take to facilitate this growth? ([01:05:33])
5. The sermon mentioned the importance of being open to the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. How can you be more receptive to the Holy Spirit's guidance and transformation? ([01:07:58])
6. Consider the relationships in your life. Are there any that are toxic or distracting you from your faithfulness to God? How will you address these relationships to ensure they do not hinder your devotion? ([01:02:01])
7. Reflect on Paul's words in 2 Timothy 4:6-7. At the end of your life, what do you hope people will say about your faithfulness? What changes do you need to make now to ensure that you finish well? ([01:10:17])
Devotional
### Day 1: Faithfulness Over Success
Faithfulness is more valuable to God than worldly success. No matter your past, God calls you to be faithful from this point forward. It's not about how you start but how you finish. Endure to the end, keeping your passion for God alive. Faithfulness is about living, working, and enduring faithfully, not just starting strong but finishing well. Jesus emphasized the importance of enduring to the end, and we see this echoed throughout the Bible, especially in the lives of faithful individuals like King Hezekiah. Hezekiah is a prime example of someone who remained faithful to God in everything he did. He removed pagan shrines and idols, demonstrating his commitment to God alone. This kind of faithfulness requires a singular focus on God, getting rid of anything that competes for our devotion, and continually growing in our relationship with Him. [42:43]
Bible Passage: "But the one who endures to the end will be saved." (Matthew 24:13, ESV)
Reflection: Think about an area in your life where you have been seeking worldly success. How can you shift your focus to being faithful to God in that area instead?
### Day 2: Singular Focus on God
To remain faithful, give God your singular focus. This means prioritizing your relationship with Him above all else. Regular Bible reading and prayer are essential practices. It's not about perfection but consistent effort. Faithfulness involves a commitment to growth. Remaining faithful doesn't mean staying the same; it means continually maturing in our faith. This growth is facilitated by engaging with Scripture, allowing it to transform us, and being open to the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. [48:48]
Bible Passage: "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33, ESV)
Reflection: What is one practical step you can take today to prioritize your relationship with God? How can you make Bible reading and prayer a consistent part of your daily routine?
### Day 3: Eliminate Competition
Get rid of anything that competes with your devotion to God. This could be toxic relationships, habits, or distractions. Like Hezekiah removed idols, we must remove anything that hinders our faithfulness to God. To remain faithful, we must give God our singular focus, which involves prioritizing our relationship with Him above all else. This can be practically achieved through regular Bible reading and prayer. It's not about perfection but about making consistent efforts to grow in our faith. [58:55]
Bible Passage: "Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." (1 Corinthians 10:14, ESV)
Reflection: Identify one thing in your life that competes with your devotion to God. What steps can you take to remove or minimize this distraction starting today?
### Day 4: Commit to Growth
Remaining faithful means continually growing in your relationship with God. Engage with Scripture not just for information but for transformation. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in your life, making you more like Christ. Faithfulness involves a commitment to growth. Remaining faithful doesn't mean staying the same; it means continually maturing in our faith. This growth is facilitated by engaging with Scripture, allowing it to transform us, and being open to the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. [01:05:33]
Bible Passage: "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." (2 Peter 3:18, ESV)
Reflection: How can you engage with Scripture in a way that leads to transformation rather than just information? What is one area of your life where you need to invite the Holy Spirit to bring growth?
### Day 5: Endure to the End
Faithfulness is about enduring to the end. Like the Apostle Paul, aim to finish the race and fight the good fight. At the end of your life, may it be said that you remained faithful, giving God your singular focus and growing in Him. Faithfulness is a quality that God values immensely, more than worldly success or achievements. It's about living, working, and enduring faithfully, not just starting strong but finishing well. Jesus emphasized the importance of enduring to the end, and we see this echoed throughout the Bible, especially in the lives of faithful individuals like King Hezekiah. [01:10:17]
Bible Passage: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7, ESV)
Reflection: Reflect on your spiritual journey. What steps can you take to ensure that you remain faithful and endure to the end? How can you keep your passion for God alive throughout your life?
Quotes
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "God values faithfulness. He'll take faithfulness any day over worldly success. He values what he wants from you, what he wants from me. No matter who you are, no matter what kind of life you've lived, no matter your education, no matter your experiences, God wants for you to be faithful. And listen, maybe you weren't faithful in the past. That's the past. We don't drive looking through our rear view mirrors. We drive looking through the windshield. And God is calling you from this point forward. Would you be a man, would you be a woman of faithfulness?" (34 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "Jesus said these words about the last days, and you find this in Matthew 24. Jesus said, 'Sin will be rampant everywhere.' Well, thank God we don't see that, right? Man, guess we're not close to the last days at all. No, we see it, right? I mean, it's everywhere. Sin will be rampant everywhere. I mean, we're getting to the point where mass shootings, we don't even think twice, right? I think there was another one like yesterday. It's like, oh. Can you, I mean, what a crazy culture. I mean, we could talk about so many different issues, couldn't we? Sin will be rampant everywhere. And the love of many, what's it say? Will grow cold. And then he said this, verse 13, he says, 'But the one who endures to the end will be saved.'" (48 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "What God wants for you, what he wants for me more than anything, is that we would remain faithful. Remaining faithful means giving God our singular focus and getting rid of the things that we don't love, the competition, and growing with God. I think of the words that the Apostle Paul penned. He's literally, I mean, this is, maybe he knows it, maybe he doesn't know it. It seems like he knew it. But this is his last letter. He's not going to ever write another letter. He's in prison in weeks, maybe months. We don't know how long. He's going to finally be sentenced to die. And back in the Roman Empire, when they sentenced you to die, it was swift. For Paul, it would mean having his head cut off. That's how he would end up dying from church history. And so weeks, months before he dies, he writes his last letter to a disciple named Timothy, a guy that he had just been there for, mentored. He's in jail, he's writing this letter. And think about these words, just two sentences. He says, 'As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.' And look at these words, 'I have fought the good fight. I have fought the good fight, finished the race.' And this is a phrase, 'And I have remained faithful.'" (82 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "If I'm going to remain faithful to the Lord, I've got to give God my singular focus. Part of that, again, that just means that he's number one. Means he's first. Means his word is first. I want to grow in his word. I want to know what the word has to say. And I want to be changed by his word." (15 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "You know, when you make that decision, a smart move is to say, I'm getting rid of the competition. You say, well, what kind of competition would there be? Oh, the enemy knows you. He's shrewd. He studies you. He's been studying you your whole life. And sometimes you just have to say, no more. There might be relationships in your life that are toxic relationships. And by toxic, I mean every time you're around with them, you're reading in the Bible, okay, I'm going to start living a self-controlled life. I'm going to be sober-minded. And then your buddy calls you up, and yeah, I'm going to go out with Tom. And the next morning, you don't even remember what you did last night. I mean, it is a blur. You have no idea. You know what, at some point, if that happens every time you hang out with Tom, by the way, no offense, we got lots of Toms in this room. I love you guys. Should have picked a different name like Bernie. I don't think there's any Bernies in this room probably today. You know, if this happens every time you hang out with Bernie, maybe you need to get rid of Bernie. Maybe you need to say, nope, not hanging out with you." (71 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
### Quotes for Members
1. "We have these celebrity pastors, and we have these church leaders, ministry leaders who have platforms of tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of followers. And what we often see in the kingdom of God, and especially we see it in the western world, is these flash pans where we see these ministries that are, there's a leader, there's a man, there's a woman who starts out faithful. And then it's such a shame, and it hurts so deeply when they don't remain faithful. Maybe you've experienced that. Maybe you've experienced that even in your own church or in your own maybe ministries. And man, God forbid. But what God calls us to is not just to start faithful. He calls us to remain faithful." (47 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "Hezekiah did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight. Man, that right there, right? He did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight, just as his ancestor David had done. He removed the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah pole. We're going to talk more about that in a few minutes. Maybe that's confusing to you. Skip to verse 5. It says Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. And there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. Look at this, verse 6. He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, right? He remained faithful to the Lord in everything. And he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses. So the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. I don't know that there could be greater words spoken over a person than for the Lord to look down upon them and say he remained faithful. I pray that those words are spoken over me someday if Jesus doesn't come back, that Ken remained faithful." (71 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "Remaining faithful doesn't mean staying the same. Remaining faithful does not mean remaining the same. Hopefully, we're growing. Hopefully, we're maturing. I remember 100 years ago when I was in high school, senior year, you know, you get these yearbooks, and the big thing is everybody's got to sign your yearbook. Do they even do that anymore? That's probably all digital. And we had pens. We had actual books. And you know what? You open it up, and people would write the most ridiculous things, right? In your yearbook. One of my favorites, you open up the yearbook, and one of my favorites, you see this almost, some Yahoo in your class is going to write this, 'Don't ever change.' Don't ever change. That's the stupidest advice ever. You're 18 years old. Your brain isn't fully formed yet. Don't ever change. I hope you change. I hope you mature. I hope you grow. But here's the thing. We're talking about remaining faithful. We're talking about growing in the Lord, growing in Him. I'm embarrassed when I think about the immaturity and the shallowness of my faith even just a couple years ago because I'm growing in Him. I'm reading the word not again for information. I'm reading for transformation. I'm wanting God to change me. And so hopefully, I'm becoming more like Him. Hopefully, the Ken in 10 years is nothing like the Ken today. I hope not. I hope I'm growing. I hope the word of God is doing what Paul told Timothy that it should do, that it's teaching and rebuking and correcting and training. Hopefully, it's doing its work. Hopefully, it's messing with me. Hopefully, I'm becoming a better father through reading the word of God and becoming a better husband and becoming a better friend and just becoming a better human being from reading the word of God. Not so prone to anger, jealousy, and greed. Remaining faithful, it's not remaining the same. It's growing in the Lord. It's inviting the Holy Spirit to do a work of transformation in our lives." (134 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "If I'm going to remain faithful to the Lord, listen, it really is all about focus. At the end of the day, we move in the direction of our focus. Your focus determines so much in your life. Have a singular focus toward God. Give God your singular focus. Most translations put verse 6 this way: Hezekiah held fast to the Lord. Hezekiah did not depart from the Lord. This word faithful or hold fast, it's the Hebrew word for faithfulness, Yidbak. I love Hebrew words, man. You get to use your gutter. Like English just doesn't have the same stuff going on, right? Yidbak. The count of three, I want us all to say this, okay? There's going to be spit all over the room. It's going to be awesome, alright? Count of three. Is it up there? You can actually see Yidbak. Maybe not. Yidbak. Okay, there it is. Alright, the count of three. One, two, three. Yidbak. That's so much fun. You already see the definition up there. Yidbak means to cling, to stick, to cleave, to hold. Hezekiah, I mean, think about this. Hezekiah decided I am lashing myself to God. He's it. He's center. He's primary. He is deserving of my primary allegiance. I'm going to hold fast to him. He deserves my time and my attention. I am going to make God my singular focus." (82 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "Some of the heroes of the church, I believe some of the people that are going to be applauded in heaven are going to be people we have never even heard of who have just a long obedience in the same direction. Faithfulness. Maybe didn't even see a ton of fruit. Maybe didn't see a ton of results. But they were faithful. In heaven, I think there's going to be, I think there's just going to be a triumphal entry for these saints of the church. I want to be one of them. I want you to be one of them. That we would be people who remain faithful. That we would give God our singular focus. We would get rid of everything that's distracting, everything that's competing for God. Just set some boundaries. Be okay saying no to some things. Delete some things. Maybe get some help. Sometimes to get rid of some stuff, I've got to get some help. Don't be afraid to get help. Carrie and I both have benefited from counseling. We both have had to sit down with people and just say, hey, help us here because we're stuck. We don't want to live this way. Decide you're going to grow in the Lord. You're not going to grow apart from Him. You're going to grow with Him." (70 seconds)(Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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