Wasn't quite ready. A little bit. Good. Good morning, everybody. Good morning. Y'all doing well? Everybody got their sweaters on? Yeah. We're from 75 degrees this week to 30 this morning. But hey, it's all good. Springtime is coming.
Hey, welcome to Harvest. Thank you so much for being here this morning. It's a privilege to have you with us as we give the first day of a new week to bless the Lord. Guys, if you're part of the Harvest family, we welcome you. If you're a guest with us, thank you so much for being here this morning. We don't take that for granted for a second. We believe that nobody ever comes through these doors by accident. We believe the Holy Spirit draws each and every one, and we believe that he has something specifically for you today.
So we encourage you to relax, to make yourself at home here at Harvest, and just allow God to minister to you, to refresh you, to strengthen you, to challenge you today. And we believe that he's going to bless you. Amen?
Every week we ask everybody, our family and our guests alike, to fill out our connection form. If you would take just a moment and do that, if you'd pull out your mobile device and do that right quick for us, we would so appreciate it. You can see the QR code on the screen. There's also probably one on one of the chairs in front of you. You can scan that. And if you would fill that out, if you're part of the family, it just allows us to know that you were here and keep your information up to date in our system.
If you're a guest with us, it allows us to get information to reach out to you and let you know how much we appreciate your visit and answer any questions you have. And just thank you for being with us this morning. There's also a place at the bottom to fill out your prayer needs. Any prayer requests you may have, we want to be praying and believing for those things too. And so we've got a prayer team that's committed to every day this week to be praying over your prayer needs that you submit on this connection form.
So please take just a minute and fill that out and let us be praying and agreeing with you. And also if you haven't, if you are a guest and you haven't yet done so, please stop by the connection desk on your way out. There's somebody there that would love to greet you, and they have a gift for you just to let you know how much we appreciate your visit this morning.
Got a couple quick announcements and then we're going to jump in. All right?
All right. Y'all give Shawna a hand. That is our oldest. We have just landed. Madison and Lauren have just landed in Italy. So with Andrew and Haley Levin. So sending them a little picture on stage. Actually, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to send them a picture of what it looks like the other direction. There we go. Send a couple that way. There we go.
Yeah. So anyway, well guys, welcome to Church of the Harvest again. We're here at Harvest. We're just a small expression of the body of Christ. We love God. We love people. We serve the world as the hands and feet of Jesus. If you're part of the Harvest family, what is our vision? It's to make, grow, and equip followers of Jesus to fulfill their God-given purpose in life. And we do that through community, discipleship, and outreach.
So guys, we are on the final week of a series. What's it been called? Pulse Check. And week one, we talked about the importance of self-examination of the heart. Week two, we talked about how true contentment is found in a relationship with Christ. Week three, we talked about the importance of slowing down, quieting our racing minds, intentionally seeking God's presence to find peace and contentment in our busy lives. And then week four, last week, we talked about the critical importance of maintaining a repentant heart as a key aspect of spiritual health, highlighting that true repentance leads to transformation and deeper fellowship with God.
How many of you have been at least challenged and convicted a little bit over the last few weeks as we've talked about some of these things?
Well, we're going to conclude this week talking about one more topic that I think we need to talk about more, and that is the topic of faithfulness. Everybody say faithfulness.
Faithfulness.
So we think about the word faithfulness, and we may think of many different things. I looked up different definitions, and I finally went to my new friend, ChatGPT, and I asked, what is faithfulness? And because my ChatGPT has gotten to know me, it gave me like this, you know, biblical response, and I was like, no, no. Outside of religious context, what is faithfulness?
And here's what it came back and said. It said, faithfulness refers to a consistent commitment to someone or something over time. Everybody hear that? Faithfulness refers to a consistent commitment to someone or something over time. It embodies reliability, trustworthiness, and perseverance, whether in relationships, in work, or in personal goals. A faithful employee consistently meets deadlines and upholds responsibilities. A faithful friend remains supportive through challenges. A faithful athlete seeks to train even when results are not immediate.
Faithfulness means staying dedicated even when circumstances become difficult, proving that true loyalty and reliability are demonstrated through sustained actions rather than fleeting emotions. Faithfulness refers to a consistent commitment.
Now, how many of you would agree that faithfulness is something that's kind of hard to find today? Faithfulness is a difficult trait to find in folks today because we live in a society that has become a society that doesn't want to commit to anything. Have you seen that?
Some of us here struggle. Have you seen that? Have you seen that before? Some of you faith, say, in success. What you ranked is? Some of you have seen in a story. Say, that's like, take away from Jesus to me. Some of you have time. You can't get anybody to RSVP to your party or your get-together. You're going, what in the world? I sent out 80-some invitations. I know a bunch of people are going to show up, and I've gotten three responses.
Because nobody wants to commit to anything. That's why we struggle sometimes to get people to serve within the church. Because people don't want to commit. People want to keep their options open in case something better comes up. Right? And I think there's all kinds of reasons why we don't want to commit today in many ways.
But here's the thing. The definition, it started with, faithfulness refers to a consistent commitment. Guys, this is a real challenge for Christ followers. Because our life now, once we surrender to Christ, is all about a commitment. It's all about commitment. But yet, we're committing less and less.
We have young people graduating after two to four years of ministry school who feel like they have paid their dues. They've been faithful to school, so they feel like because they graduated and they got that diploma, they now deserve title and position and salary and a platform. It's like, all you've got is a piece of paper. However, there's no faithfulness to back that thing up. Does this make sense?
That's why Dr. Leon, one of our overseers, he always talks about whenever somebody comes to them and wants to intern and says, I want to preach, I want to teach. The first thing he does is he makes them responsible for cleaning the bathrooms and every other menial task he can find. And sometimes I'll have them do that for years to see what they'll do.
How will they handle that task before they're given a task of more responsibility? Folks want ministry positions, but they don't understand how the kingdom works. So obviously I'm just talking about ministry, but we'll talk about even business and stuff here in a minute.
But what does this look like? Like I was thinking about for Sean and I, we graduated from school and we worked on staff at Youth for the Nation summer camp, paid very little, worked our tails off, served as youth pastors in Illinois for three and a half years for little pay, moved back home and served in almost every area of the church for 20 years.
And so for 25 years, listen, understand for, I went to ministry school and for 25 years, I watched my ministry school friends getting promoted, moving up in ministry positions, many of them becoming lead pastors and all these different things while time was ticking by.
And I'd be lying if I said that there weren't times where I didn't stop and say, am I in the right place? Is there a future for me here? Do I need to move on to something else? But the Lord teaches us faithfulness.
What I found in regards to ministry is that if you do the right thing, what ends up happening is if you play this thing right, what happens is you end up serving the vision that God has given someone else for years and years and years. And if you're faithful, one day you'll look back and you'll realize that there are people following you that are serving the vision that God has given you.
Even in the business world, faithfulness is so important. You want a promotion? Well, work your tail off. Be the first one to arrive and the last one to leave. Be the hardest worker. Prove loyalty to your boss. Prove loyalty to your company. Do things without being asked. Don't do the bare minimum. Go the extra mile. Always go above and beyond. Don't do anything that could ever cause your integrity or your character to be questioned.
Look for opportunities to grow. Look for ways to make yourself more valuable. Work well as a team. Be a team player. Don't be full of drama. Don't whine and complain when things don't go your way, when things don't seem fair. Suck it up, buttercup. Be faithful. Be faithful.
And respect the leadership and all these things. Do it with consistency for years and years and years if necessary. And recognize, I promise you, if you prove yourself faithful, you will be honored and you will be rewarded.
But instead, what do we do? Yeah. I've been proving myself. I've been doing this for six months and nobody's noticed. Nobody's thanked me. Nobody's recognized it. And so we go looking for something else. And we walk away. And we start over brand new. And we wonder why we never get promoted.
Listen. Listen to this point. It's important for us to learn about faithfulness because faithfulness is a reflection of God's very own character. It's important for us to learn about faithfulness because faithfulness is a reflection of God's character.
By the way, if you follow along on the screen, you can also follow along on the YouVersion Bible app. You can get the notes. You can scan the QR code in front of you. It will take you to it. But Deuteronomy 7:9 says, "Know therefore that the Lord your God, he is God. Who is he? The faithful God who keeps his covenant and his loving kindness to a thousandth generation with those who do what? Who love him and keep his commandments."
Guys, the Bible tells us that God is faithful in all his ways. And as his children, we are called to walk in that same consistency and that same reliability in our everyday lives. Faithfulness, it strengthens our relationship with God. It builds our trust with others.
How do you know, who do you, the people in your life you put your trust in? People who've proven themselves trustworthy. People have proven themselves faithful, right? It builds our trust with others. It allows us to be dependable stewards of the responsibilities that God has entrusted to us when we are faithful.
It's through faithfulness in the small things that God trusts us with greater things. Furthermore, faithfulness ensures that we endure trials with perseverance, demonstrating our unwavering trust in God and in his promises. A Christian who grows in faithfulness will find long-lasting spiritual growth, stronger relationships, and leave a legacy that glorifies God.
So I'm going to give you five things today, five points regarding faithfulness. You may want to write these down. Faithfulness, all right?
Number one, faithfulness in the small things leads to big things. Faithfulness in the small things leads to big things. Now, guys, this is Jesus talking here in Luke 16:10. Jesus is the one who says this. He says, "If you are faithful in the little things, you will be faithful in the what? In the large ones. If you're dishonest in the little things, you will be dishonest in the greater ones."
I think one of the best examples of this that Jesus gave was the parable of talents. You guys remember this? We're going to read it. If you want to turn to Matthew chapter 25, you can turn to it right quick. But it talks about how small acts of faithfulness lead to greater responsibility and greater reward.
And so here's what it says, as Jesus tells his parable in Matthew 25, verse 14. "For it was like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his ability. Aren't you glad God gives us according to our ability? What a blessing. Then he went away.
He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five more talents. So also he who had two talents made two more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, "Master, you delivered to me five talents. Here I have made five more." The master said, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master."
He also who had the two talents came forward. Said, "Master, you delivered to me two talents. Here I have made two talents more." The master said, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over little. I'll set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master."
He who had received the one talent came forward and said, "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you had not sown, gathering where you had not scattered seed. So I was afraid. So I went and hid your talent on the ground. Here, have what is yours."
But his master answered him, saying, "You wicked and slothful, some versions say lazy servant. You knew that I reap where I have not sown. I gather where I have scattered no seed. Then you ought to have at least invested my money with the bankers. And in my coming, that I should have received what was mine, at least with interest.
So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But for him who has not, even what he has will be taken. And cast the worthless servant into outer darkness, into that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Guys, the servants who were faithful, investing their master's money that they had been entrusted with, they were entrusted with more, right? Because of their faithfulness. While the one who hid their talent, he did so in fear, and he lost the little that he had.
This teaches us that God rewards those who are diligent with what God gives them. So you think about being faithful with the little and being given more. And it's about being faithful. What did we talk about? What is faithfulness? Consistent commitment, right?
So you think about some of you have made a commitment before to maybe to get your body in shape. How many of you know? Getting your body in shape, building some muscle takes consistent commitment. Daily consistent commitment. Going to the gym, doing the work, putting in the hard work. A life of faithfulness is built through, in the same way, through small daily acts of commitment.
I was thinking about a student who studies, that is committed consistently daily to studying, even if it's in small increments. That consistency, that faithfulness, they will, because of that, they will eventually gain understanding and excel in their education.
It's being faithful in the small things. You may feel like you have a menial job that's not making any difference. Guys, I don't care where you work. I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't care if you, you know, if you, if you, a trash man or you flipping burgers at Burger King. Guys, be faithful and be committed and be consistent. Be diligent in your work. Arrive on time. Work together as a team. Treat the customer well. Over time, you will be noticed. Your faithfulness and your consistent commitment will be recognized and you'll be promoted and you will be given more responsibility.
You know, our daughter Madison worked for five years for Chick-fil-A. We have quite a few here that have or do work for Chick-fil-A. And what's interesting to me is I've gotten to know more about them over the years is many, if not most of their franchise owners started in the kitchen at a regular Chick-fil-A store. They don't go out head hunting and trying to find somebody who's got a great degree or, you know, or all the qualifications or whatever else. They want somebody who's faithful, who stuck with them for years and has worked their way up because of their faithfulness and received promotion after promotion. That's who they can entrust with the next store. People who are faithful.
I got a guy, I know some of you may know, Jason Shifflett. He lives here locally. He owns most of the local Domino's pizza restaurants. I worked for him for years, gotten to know him, know his wife, know his kids, his family and different things. And he started off working for Domino's pizza as a broke college kid, like 19 years old. And here he is making pizzas for Domino's.
And he's told me his story, but I actually pulled up an article online about it. And here's what it said. Jason Shifflett's boss, Diane Barentine's back was up against the wall years ago. One of her Domino's pizza franchises was losing $30,000 annually and she couldn't stop the bleeding. As a multi-unit operator, Barentine needed someone else to run the store for her. So she called Jason Shifflett, who had recently become promoted as one of her managers.
The confident 20-year-old cut a shrewd deal with his boss. If he turned the store around, he'd get 100% of the profit that year. She agreed. 12 months later, the once staggering store made a six-figure profit. And Jason Shifflett at 21 years old was shopping for a new Corvette. He now lives here in Olive Branch and has been running his own Domino's pizza locations for 25 years.
Guys, I believe he's president of the Chamber of Commerce. He, even some of you who have been to the gathering, gone to Domino's pizza after the gathering. I called Jason Shifflett and I said, we have overflow sometimes. We're looking for a place for people to go. He goes, use Domino's. Just, just, just use it for the gathering however is needed.
Guys, somebody who proved himself faithful, making pizzas in college to pay the bills and now owns, I don't know, between a dozen and two dozen locations. I'm not sure what the number is.
Listen, what's that? Yeah. The small unseen acts of faithfulness today are the building blocks of the great things that God has for your future. Let's put that on the screen. The small unseen acts of faithfulness today are the building blocks of great things that God has for your future.
So faithfulness in the small things leads to big things.
Number two, we got to be resilient in the face of challenges. Guys, your faithfulness will be tested because things are going to get difficult. They're going to get tough. You're going to have doubts. Things are going to come against you. People are going to try to stand in your way.
We must be resilient in the face of challenges. Galatians 6:9 says, "And let us not grow weary while doing good for in due season, we shall reap if we do what? If we do not lose heart."
Have you been guilty before of losing heart and giving up early? Many times you find that your breakthrough was just around the corner, but you lost heart. We've all been there. We know the Nehemiah. Nehemiah faced great opposition when rebuilding the walls of, I almost said Jericho, Jerusalem, right? Y'all remember that?
He remained steadfast, trusting God and completing the task despite threats, despite persecution and distraction. His unwavering focus proves us that faithfulness requires endurance. Even when others are seeking to derail what God is doing in our lives, we've got to remain faithful. His story reminds us that trials refine us, and faithfulness in hardship results in divine restoration reward.
And then if you're in Nehemiah chapter 6, if you go to verse 15, they're finishing up, and here's what it says. "So on October 2nd, the wall was finished, just 52 days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized that this work had been done with the help of our God."
Small, consistent things that God has placed in our responsibility makes a huge difference, and enduring through trials. Now think about, we talked about kind of getting in shape, but guys, if you ever watch athletes, like, you know, we're, besides here, and we're generally not big on sports in our family, but we always watch the Olympics, and we'll have the Olympics on, you know, during, during the winter and summer, more so the summer Olympics. We'll have it on more often, the TV on more often than it's off, just watching, right?
And you watch these athletes, and these athletes have proven themselves faithful. That's why they're there. That's why they've been given this opportunity to represent their nation before the world. Athletes endure rigorous training, rigorous training, and setbacks, and injuries, and losses, but their persistence leads to victory.
How many, I don't know how many of you saw the documentary on Simone Biles. I think, I think maybe it's on Netflix. Incredible after, after, you know, what all happened with her, the setbacks in, in, in 2020 with her. And then here she comes back last year in 2024 with three golds and one silver. Most people would get, look for a gymnast, she's getting old.
She could have stopped at 2020 and said, you know what? I'm done. I'm out. I got plenty of golds already. Nope. She spent the next four years working her tail off. Right? And she represented our nation well. Amen.
Think about a musician who practices daily, even when they don't see immediate results, it takes time. It takes effort. Eventually they master their instrument and experience the reward of their perseverance. But somebody who really understands faithfulness, even after they think they've mastered their instrument, they still recognize the importance of faithfulness and practice.
And we had years and years ago, I remember we had somebody on the worship team that kept showing up that was never prepared, never ready. We, everybody was waiting because this person couldn't ever get it figured out. And he's trying to learn the stuff on the fly. And I remember saying something to this person one day. And the response I got was, man, I've been playing my whole life. I don't need to practice. And I was like, obviously you do.
Obviously you do need to practice. A single mother who works tirelessly for her children while pursuing a degree or a trade school diploma. She may face many hardships, but she never gives up. And after years of perseverance, she endures. She graduates, secures a stable job and changes the future of her family. Right? Enduring through trials, persevering.
Listen, faithfulness is not about avoiding hardship. Hardship's going to come. Let's put that on the screen. But it's not about avoiding hardship, but about enduring with hope, knowing that God rewards perseverance. Who rewards perseverance? God rewards perseverance.
And one of the most difficult challenges for us, I think, isn't necessarily persecution. It's just simply the challenge of patience. Remember I told you guys a few weeks ago, I think it was two weeks ago, that we see in the Bible that Jesus was never in a hurry. We never see Jesus rushed. We never see him anxious. We never see him pulling his hair out, rushing from one place. We never see him run. That doesn't mean don't ever run. You need to get some exercise.
We never see him moving at a fast pace. Even when one of his closest friends was dying, Jesus was not in a hurry, he was at perfect peace. Right? Guys, life is a marathon, not a sprint. Very rarely will God give you a desire or even a calling that is supposed to be fulfilled today. Generally, there's going to be many steps in the journey along that way.
And what's going to happen is God's going to use each one of those steps to prepare you for what he's called you to. All I know is God's called me to preach. Well, there are many steps to getting there and proving yourself faithful to get to the point where you see yourself fulfilling that calling.
David was anointed king of Israel, right? Remember when he was anointed king in front of his family? And then you know what happened? He was sent back out to the field to keep taking care of the dirty sheep. Now, I think if that had been one of us today, we'd have been out there in the field going, I was just anointed king. Well, I'm out here stepping in sheep poo, right? I'm supposed to be, you know, I'm supposed to be on the throne.
David would endure trials and hardships and rejection until approximately 15 years later when he would see that thing become, that word come to pass. That word, he would become king of Israel. Guys, we've got to learn to breathe, to be content, to be consistent, to be faithful. And when we do that, we will see God's plans come to pass in our life.
We've got to learn to stop rushing the process and learn to be consistent and content and faithful. Amen?
So we've got to be resilient in the face of challenges.
Number three, integrity is the foundation of true success. Everybody say integrity. How many of you would agree that we're lacking integrity today? That our nation, our world is lacking integrity today? Proverbs 11:3 says, "The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them."
One of my favorite stories in the Bible, y'all remember the story of Joseph in Genesis? In this, Joseph, you know, we see in him a story of faithfulness and perseverance and definitely one of character, definitely one of integrity, right? And actually in Genesis chapter 39, we see this moment that you guys are familiar with where he's in Potiphar's house and he's ruling there. He's the head servant taking care of everything.
And I'm just going to read part of that to you real quick. Genesis 39, verse 6, I'm sure very familiar passage to you. It says, "Thus Potiphar left all that he had in Joseph's hand and he didn't know what he had except for the bread that he ate because Joseph took care of it all. Now, Joseph was a hand, was handsome in form and appearance. And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph and said, 'Lie with me.' But he refused and said to his master's wife, 'Look, my master doesn't know what's in the house with me. He's committed all that he has to my hand. There's no one greater in his house than I. And nor has he kept back anything from me but you because you're his wife. How then can I commit, how can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?'
So it was as she spoke to Joseph day by day, day after day, that he did not heed her to lie with her, be with her. But it happened about that time when Joseph went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house were inside that she caught him by his garment saying, 'Lie with me.' But he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside.
Guys, Joseph refused to compromise his integrity. He was already proving himself faithful. He was being promoted and promoted. And everything he put his hand to, he got promoted. But we see in this that he did not compromise his integrity. And did he suffer because of it? Yeah. He suffered by not compromising his integrity. But his faithfulness led to a place of incredible promotion.
Second highest in the kingdom of Egypt, in the Egyptian empire, which was the largest probably in the world at that time. His story teaches us when we do what is right, even when it costs us, it will eventually lead to God's favor and elevation and promotion in our life.
Back to the business world, you think about a business person who consistently upholds honesty and integrity, even when it costs them, that person builds a reputation that will lead to a lasting success. You think about an employee who maybe finds a significant error in the business's financial records for that year, knowing that somebody up the chain probably did this on purpose. Do they hide it or do they act with integrity and do they bring it to the light?
They go forth in integrity. They bring it out into the open, risking upsetting superiors. And how many of you know, he may catch flack in that moment, but his honesty and his character's integrity is going to be rewarded.
Listen, integrity is who you are when no one's watching. Let's put that on the screen. Integrity is who you are when no one's watching. Stay faithful and God will honor your character. Guys, we're good at putting on masks and faces in America today too. But the question is, who are you behind closed doors? Because God is the one watching. Other people are watching at times, but God sees even when no one else does.
Integrity is who you are when no one's watching. Stay faithful and God will honor your integrity. So integrity is a foundation of true success.
Number four, teachability is key to growth. Teachability is key to growth. How many of you recognize that sometimes being teachable can be a little bit difficult? Because we think we know it all. We think we know what's best. And so it's difficult for us sometimes when somebody comes to us and says, "Hey, can I bring something to your attention?" We're like, "About what?"
Proverbs 9:9 says, "Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning." How many wise people do we have in the room? I'm glad we got one. Three, two, three. How many of you want to be wiser still? Well, it tells us here that we need to receive instruction.
One of the examples I thought of in this was Moses. Moses was a leader. He was known, he's known as the most humble man who ever lived. He was chosen by God to lead Israel. And we also see that he remained teachable. Especially when his father-in-law Jethro came to him and said, "What you're doing is not good."
How many of us are going to receive well from our father-in-law? Hopefully, if you're teachable, you will. But some of us would just bristle automatically, right? Jethro noticed that Moses was exhausting himself by trying to alone judge all the issues of the people. I'm going to read an excerpt of this front for you in Genesis, I'm sorry, Exodus chapter 18.
Here's what it says in verse 13. It says, "The next day Moses took his seat to hear the people's disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening." That sounds exhausting. When Moses' father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, "What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?"
Moses replied, "Well, because the people come to me to get a ruling from God. When a dispute arises, they come to me. And I'm the one who settles the cases between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God's decrees and give them his instructions."
Well, that sounds good, right? But how many of you know that many times as human beings, we have this need to be needed? Y'all know what I'm talking about? Well, look, I'm the one that they come to, you know, when they have these issues or these disputes. I'm the one that hears from God. I'm the one that God put in this position. I'm, you know, many people would look at it as, you know, well, I'm kind of the big deal here. You know, I appreciate what you're about to say, but you know, I'm the one that God chose.
What does his father-in-law say? Verse 17, "This is not good. You're going to wear yourself out and the people too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. Now listen to me and let me give you a word of advice that God may be with you. You should continue to be the people's representative before God, bring their disputes to him, teach them God's decrees and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. But, everybody say, but select from all the people, some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of a thousand, over a hundred, over 50, and over 10.
They should always be available to solve the people's common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures and all these people will go home in peace."
Moses listened to his father-in-law's advice, followed his suggestions. He chose capable men from all over Israel and appointed them as leaders over the people. He put them in charge of groups of 1,000, 150, and 10. These men were always available to solve the people's common disputes, and they brought major cases to Moses, but they took care of the smaller matters themselves.
How many of you say, that's wisdom? Moses was a wise man, but he became wiser still because he chose to be teachable. Jethro advised him to delegate the responsibility, some of the responsibility to capable leaders around him, allowing him to focus more on the more critical matters at hand. Moses listened. He applied the advice and improved his effectiveness as well as the leadership structure of Israel itself.
Guys, being teachable is huge when it comes to faithfulness. That's why, you know, I keep talking about like the business world. In your work, you should consistently be seeking advice from people who are more experienced than you, people who are more seasoned than you, people who have more knowledge than you, and then you apply those things that you learn from them. And over time, you'll develop into a highly skilled professional, and your leadership, you'll walk into leadership beyond your years. Your willingness to learn will make you invaluable to the team and to your company, your business.
It'll propel your career forward. Instead, many times, what do we do? Oh, I don't need nobody. I got this. I don't need help. I don't need advice. And so we choose instead to go it alone. And then if we grow or if we grow at all, we don't grow at nearly the pace of those around us because we've chosen to go it alone. And we wonder why we got passed over for promotion.
Another quick thing here. The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop growing. The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop growing. Guys, we should always be students our entire lives. Stay humble and recognize that God will elevate you. Teachability is a key to growth, and what we must be faithful to being teachable.
Last thing I want to talk about, number five. We got to learn to receive and extend grace. Everybody say grace. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I'd rather boast about my weakness so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."
Last week, we talked about, I mentioned just briefly, I talked about Peter. And I think I talked about that earlier. I don't know. It might've been last year. Talked about Peter and it might've been last Easter. And how we find this moment in, in John chapter 21, where since Jesus' resurrection, we don't see a moment where Peter or Jesus had spoken, which had to be awkward for Peter because that's the last time that he saw Jesus's face. It's when he denied him three times, right? And he went away and he wept bitterly.
And so you finally get this moment. Jesus is resurrected. He's on this beach. Peter is just, he says, "I'm going fishing." All the disciples go with him. They're out there fishing this boat. They look over on the shore and here's this guy who says, "You hadn't caught anything? Cast your nets on the other side." They pull in this massive catch and Peter just dives in the water. He says, "It's the Lord," and swims to the shore and there's Jesus.
And he's face to face with the one that we don't see any evidence that he's even spoken to since he denied him. It says in John 21, verse 15, "When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?' And he said, 'Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.' And he said, 'Tend my lambs.' He said a second time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' And he said, 'Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.' He said, 'Shepherd my sheep.' And he said a third time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' Peter was grieved because he had said to him a third time, 'Do you love me?' And he said to him, 'Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you.' And Jesus said to him, 'Tend my sheep.'"
How many of you know that God's grace is greater than our failures? He can use our weakness for his glory. How many of you know that Jesus had every right in this moment to be done with Peter, to write him off and pick somebody else to help establish the early church? Peter just denied him three times, yet Jesus restored him and used him powerfully.
God's grace is greater than our failures. And he can use even our weakness for his glory. I was thinking about in this, you know, I keep using, you know, the athletes and business, you know, as examples here, but how many of you, I thought about like a coach who sees an underperforming athlete and sees a potential in them and chooses to continue to invest in them. How many of you have had somebody like that in your life? Maybe a mentor who saw potential in you that it seemed like nobody else did. And so they chose to continue to give you guidance rather than be critical of you and your performance. And it changed the trajectory of your life.
Guys, we've got to learn to receive and extend grace. It's kind of like maybe you've got a father who's distant. Maybe you are a father who's distant from your family, maybe distant from your children due to past mistakes. And the reality is you can still make an effort. You can still seek forgiveness and make an effort to rebuild your relationship and your willingness to do that, to not to extend grace and to receive grace can restore that bond over time.
And so the statement I want to make with this is grace is not just something we receive. It's something we extend as well. When you embrace God's grace, you can offer it to others. How many of you would say, man, I need to extend more of God's grace to those around me in my everyday life?
So the five points about faithfulness: faithfulness in the small things leads to big things. We've got to be resilient in the face of challenges. Integrity is the foundation of true success. Teachability is a key to growth. And we've got to learn to receive and extend grace.
And then guys, I was going to say one last thing before I ended. And I said this just a minute ago, but guys, God is the one who's watching. And God is the one who gives promotion. That's why in your business, you don't have to be the one who brown-noses and sucks up to the boss. You're not doing it for him, right? You do your work as a worship and an honor as unto God, because God is the one who promotes you.
You may think it's your boss because he's the one who hands out the promotion, but God's the one who gives it. But what happens? People blame their boss or their whoever, their pastor. Well, they just hold me back. They're just keeping me from doing this and this and this and this and this. Here's reality. Let me go back to the suck it up buttercup statement, right? Here's the deal. It's a cop-out and it's an excuse because God is the one who sees our faithfulness. He's the one who sees our heart and he's the one who chooses when it's time for us to be promoted.
You're a victim only if you choose to be. If you're faithful and God is ready to promote you, nothing and nobody can stand in the way of you being promoted. Nobody can stand in the way of you being promoted. If you're faithful and God is ready to promote you in a moment. Keep being faithful. Do everything you put your hand to as a worship unto him and you will get the Lord's attention.
Faithfulness is not about a perfect track record. It's about a heart that refuses to quit. One that keeps going. And here's the deal too. I was going to say this. Faithfulness compounds over time.
And so we need to lead our lives in a way that honors God and impacts others because as we continue to be faithful, our impact will grow larger and larger and larger. We got to remain steadfast so that one day we too, just like the servants that we read about in the parable, we'll hear God say what? Well done. Good and what? Faithful servant. We must learn to be faithful. Amen?
All right, let's stand up. I want to invite the worship team to come up as we get ready to conclude here. As we've been doing a pulse check, checking out our hearts. Where are we? Where are we at in all these different areas of our hearts?
God's faithfulness. Faithfulness is of utmost importance. And we know that because as we said in the beginning, it's a reflection of God's very own heart, his very own character. He is faithful in all things and in all ways. And he's proven that to you and he's proven that to me. And we now are carrying that out. We're expected to carry that out, that consistency, that reliability in our everyday lives, in every area, in our family, in our workplace, in our church, in our community.
We're expected to extend that same, to remain faithful. No matter how difficult it may be, we persevere through challenges and through trials. We keep going, we persevere, we persevere, and we remain faithful. And we do it as a worship unto God, allowing him to do what he wants. Amen?
Let's just bow our heads for just a moment. I want us just to go into a moment of reflection here as we reflect on the word of the Lord this morning. That's faithfulness we see throughout the word of God from the beginning to end. It's an attribute of God, and it's an attribute that God himself rewards.
I want you just to examine your heart for a moment. Do a little bit of internal heart search here, a little bit of soul searching and say, where am I at right now when it comes to faithfulness? Am I one who gets easily frustrated and loses heart and gives up? Or am I one who perseveres and keeps going, doesn't make excuses, but works hard? First one to arrive, last one to leave. Looking to be teachable. Always seeking to be closer to the master.
What's the Holy Spirit speaking to you today when it comes to your faithfulness? Guys, I just look at our church family and I think about the impact that we're making as a church family together. And that is only because of each and every one of us and our small acts of consistent faithfulness.
That's why we're seeing so many people come, so many people give their life to Christ, so many people getting filled with the Holy Spirit, so many people finding freedom, we're finding marriages restored, we're finding people healed and saved and delivered, all these different things. Because of all of you, your small, consistent acts of faithfulness.
What's God asking of you? What's the Holy Spirit asking of you in every area of your life today? Maybe it is your church life. Maybe it's within your family. Maybe it's within your workplace. Maybe it's in your school, in your education. What steps do you need to take? Are you coming with a repentant heart? Are you ready to allow the Holy Spirit to pick out the areas? Those areas that we need to change? That we need to bring into the light? That we need to give a little more attention to?
Let's just close our eyes for just a moment.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are a faithful God. And Lord, we thank you that you have called us to a life of faithfulness, just like you. Lord, strengthen us that we would be steadfast in the small things so that we could be entrusted with the big things. God, may we be resilient in challenges and trials. May we be people of integrity. May we be teachable in all of our ways, oh God.
When we grow weary, remind us, Lord, that you are our strength. When we're tempted, Lord, help us to stand fast and stand strong in faithfulness. And even when we fail, Lord, may we be quick to repent, to rest in your grace, and quick to get back up again. God, we thank you for who you are. May we be faithful so that one day we can hear from you, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master."
Lord, we love you. Strengthen our hearts, guide our steps, may we live lives that glorify and bring honor to your name in Jesus' name. Amen.
Let's continue with your heads bowed for just a moment. If you're here and you have not surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus. Guys, it's the first step. And as I say every week, it's surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus is not about a prayer. It's a consistent commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's fixing your eyes upon him and following him all the days of your life.
And even when you mess up, quick to repent, rest in his grace, get back up and keep trucking toward him. We know it's our sin that separated us from a holy loving father. But God in his loving kindness sent his son Jesus to live the life we were supposed to live and die the death we deserved. And now if we put our faith and trust in him, our old self dies, is crucified with Christ and he makes us a brand new creation.
So that when God the father looks at us, he sees the righteousness of God in Christ. So if that's you and you haven't surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus with every head bowed, would you just lift your hand up real quick and just say, you know what? I need to surrender my life today. I need to make Jesus Lord of my life. I need to put him on the throne of my heart.
Anybody here that would say, I need Jesus today? Maybe you're somebody watching online today. Wherever you may be watching from, I'm going to pray a prayer. We're going to pray here together. You can pray with us online, wherever you may be watching from. Come and just invite you to make this decision, mean it with all your heart, the most important decision that you'll ever make.
Just say something like this. Just say, "Heavenly Father, I thank you for Jesus. I recognize I'm lost and dead in my sin. I recognize I'm desperate for a savior. Lord, today I repent. I'm sorry for the way I've lived my life. And I ask you to forgive me. I thank you for Jesus who came in my place, lived the life I was supposed to live and died the death that I deserved.
And so today I allow my old self and his selfish ways to be crucified with Christ. And I ask you to raise me to newness of life. Make me that new creation that you promised. I choose to walk with you. I choose to follow you. I choose to make you Lord of my life. Jesus, I confess that you are Lord and I believe that you were raised from the dead.
So take charge of my life. I let go of the reins and I let you lead me and guide me. Holy Spirit, fill me and empower me to be everything you called me to be. I'll follow you all the days of my life in Jesus' name."
Everybody said, amen.
I want to invite our prayer partners to come down, pastors, elders, senior leaders. We'll have some across the front. We'll have some across the back. We're going to sing one last worship song here together for just a moment. And guys, don't just make this a, I don't let this just be a worship song, but I want you to take just a moment here. And I want you to press in for just a moment and ask the Holy Spirit, say, "Holy Spirit, what are you speaking to me right now?"
And allow him to minister to you on this topic of faithfulness. Where is it that he is asking you? Where is it in your life that he is challenging you to come to a deeper place of faithfulness? Because he wants to reward you. He's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. You're his child. He wants to honor you. He wants to reward you.
So what is it that he's calling you to? Where in your life is he asking for a deeper level of consistent commitment? Listen for his voice. Listen for that prompting in your heart. And then say, yes, Lord. Repent for where you may have missed it. Make some decisions on what your future is going to look like as you move forward and know that God's going to honor it. Amen?
If you need prayer for anything, if you gave your life to Christ, if you dedicate your life, come see one of our prayer partners. If maybe you're just convicted on this topic and you want prayer, if people here love to pray for you, they would love to pray. If you just want to be touched by the Lord, maybe you need healing in your body. Maybe you're believing for a breakthrough in some area. We got folks here.
And guys, what a moment. The presence of God is here right now. And like I say, he's a good father who wants to meet you right where you're at. So take advantage of this moment as we worship for just another minute or two.
Take advantage of this moment. Take advantage of the prayer partners. And let's just seek the Lord for just a moment.
I want to be like you, guys, we're going to go ahead and dismiss, we still have prayer partners on these sides, in the front and back, man, take advantage of prayer partners, come and see them, whatever the prayer need may be, we serve a God who answers prayer, he loves you, he wants to meet you right where you're at, so come to somebody and seek prayer and agreement on that.
Guys, next week, we're going to start a brand new series, I think is going to be really awesome, I'm excited about, if you want to put up the slide, we're doing a series called, I can't remember what it's called, what's it called, the slide, put it on screen, oh, okay, we'll have it for next service, it's in Planning Center, under sermon, anyway, it's on, it's going to be, I can't even remember the title now, but it's on, it's on women in ministry, the role of women in ministry, what does the Bible really say, we've been taught all kinds of different things, but what does the Bible really say about that, because it's controversial in our society today, isn't it?
So anyway, be back next week as we start that, we're going to do four weeks as we talk about it, and I believe it's going to be eye-opening and enlightening, and I believe it's going to bring freedom. So anyway, guys, we love you, y'all get involved in community this week, be the hands and feet of Jesus, be salt and light in your community, we love you guys, you are dismissed, God bless you.
If you joined us via the live stream, thank you so much for being a part today, we certainly appreciate it. If you didn't fill out your connection before, if you would take a minute to do that, I would very much appreciate it, we'd love to know that you were a part, and be sure and fill out at the bottom of your prayer needs, let us be praying over those, and we're believing for breakthrough in your life today, in Jesus' name.
We'd love to meet you in person sometime here at Harvest, come and see us, but in the meantime, you have a blessed week, know that we love you, and God loves you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.
on Mar 02, 2025
