Sermon Proverbs 3:3-4 “Faithfulness”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sermon Proverbs 3:3-4 “Faithfulness”
April 14, 2019

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Today we will continue our look at Christian virtues. We develop virtues as we grow in our faith. Once we know what we believe and engage in spiritual practices we become more like Jesus. So we develop patience, goodness, and kindness. Now, we will look at the virtue of faithfulness. And as I have thought about faithfulness this week, I am convinced that you do not develop this virtue through an understanding of our faith and spiritual practices. Faithfulness comes to you in an entirely different way. We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Proverbs 3:3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Let’s take a closer look at faithfulness. You are faithful when people can rely on what you say and do. Consider the Delaware River. This river is faithful. You can rely on it. Water flows down to the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean continuously. Sometimes it is higher. Sometimes it is lower. Sometimes the current is fast. Sometimes the current is slow. Sometimes it floods over its banks. But it is always reliable. It always has water and that water is always flowing. You can count on it. The Delaware River is faithful, reliable.

Think of your favorite auto mechanic. You take your car in and he tells you that you need a muffler, it will cost $150. You decide to rely on the advice of the mechanic and leave your car. Later that day you pick it up. You have a new muffler and it cost you $150. The mechanic was faithful. So give him a good online recommendation.

The God we worship is faithful. When God revealed himself to Moses he identified himself this way: Exodus 34:6 And (God) passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”

This faithful God calls us to be faithful. Joshua said this when God’s people entered the promised land: Joshua 24:14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness.

My favorite story in the Bible is in Genesis 24. In this story, Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah was still single even though he was over 40 years old. As I went through my 40s I often read this passage and prayed for a wife. It is a story of God’s faithfulness.

Abraham sent his trusted servant to his home country to find a wife for Isaac from among his extended family. The servant did as he was told and found a young woman to marry Isaac. Her name was Rebekah. And Abraham’s servant rejoiced: Genesis 24:27 saying, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

And later, after receiving some gifts, Rebekah agreed to return with the servant and marry Isaac. And the servant again rejoiced: 48 and I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.” 50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51 Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”

God was faithful in providing a wife for Isaac. Abraham was faithful is caring for his son. The servant was faithful is obeying Abraham and finding a wife for Isaac from the extended family. And Rebekah became a faithful wife for Isaac.

Faithfulness is a Christian virtue. People can rely on what we say and do.

To be faithful means that we remain steady in whatever we are doing. When the Israelites were in battle with the Amalekites, Moses stood on a hill with his staff over his head. As long as he held up the staff the Israelites prevail. But when he got tired and dropped the staff the Amalekites took the advantage. Moses had to be steady, faithful. Here is what happened: Exodus 17:12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So, Moses, with some help, remained steady and faithful.

To be faithful also means that people believe what we say. After God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, he and his brother went to speak with the elders of Israel: Exodus 4:29 Moses and Aaron brought together all the elders of the Israelites, 30 and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed. And when they heard that the Lord was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. So, when we are proven to be faithful our words are believed and seen as reliable.

Our faithfulness pleases both God and the people who rely on us. Ruth was a Moabite widow of a Hebrew man. She immigrated to Bethlehem. There she met Boaz, a relative of her late husband. Boaz was faithful to the law requiring him to marry his relative’s widow. He married Ruth and their grandson was none other than the future King David.

Normally I pause here and ask the question, “How do we acquire the virtue of faithfulness? And I usually talk about being grounded in what you believe and doing spiritual practices. This works for the virtues of patience, goodness, and kindness. But for faithfulness, this does not work. We develop faithfulness in a different way. Let me give you an example.

Today is Palm Sunday. We remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the awful events of the week that followed which included his arrest, trial, death by crucifixion, and burial in a tomb. There were 12 disciples who accompanied Jesus into Jerusalem that day. They had been with Jesus for years, learning directly from him as their rabbi, and engaging in spiritual practices at Jesus’ direction. These disciples should have been Jesus’ most faithful followers. But were they?

One disciple was named Judas. He was in the leadership and served as treasurer. Judas was sitting at the head of the table next to Jesus. He must have been faithful to Jesus. Certainly, Jesus could rely on him. Well, no. Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. So Judas was not particularly faithful.

What about Peter? Peter was also in leadership. Peter also sat at the head of the table with Jesus. He vowed to follow Jesus wherever he went. He must have been faithful. Well, no. On the night Jesus was arrested Peter denied, three times, that he ever followed Jesus.

What about the other ten? They had followed Jesus for years. They had a strong foundation in the faith. They had engaged in spiritual practices. Surely they must have remained faithful to Jesus. Well, no. When Jesus was arrested they ran away and went back to the upper room to hide behind locked doors.

So the disciples of Jesus did not develop the Christian virtue of faithfulness. But later they did become faithful. They became the people who without regard for their own safety were witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus and started the church. So what happened? What made the disciples faithful?

When Jesus was with the disciples he made a promise: Matthew 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. So, Jesus told them that he would go to Jerusalem, suffer and die. And he promised them that on the third day he would be resurrected from the dead. Was Jesus faithful to his promises? Could the disciples rely on what Jesus said and did? Well, yes. As we will find out next Sunday, everything that Jesus said would happen did happen. Jesus was faithful. Jesus did exactly what he said he would do. The disciples could rely on what Jesus said and did.

Only after the disciples experienced the faithfulness of Jesus could they become faithful themselves. So faithfulness is a virtue we develop after we experience God’s faithfulness in our lives. And this is why we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His rising from the dead was proof of his faithfulness. He has faithfully promised us the resurrection of our own bodies. We can trust Jesus. We can rely on Jesus. Jesus is faithful, and we can be faithful too. Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, we thank you for your faithfulness. We can rely on you and believe what you tell us. You are steady and reliable. We believe what you say. And we pledge to always be faithful. Amen.