Fruit of the Spirit-Faithfulness

• - It is unfortunate that authorized versions of the Bible somewhat confuse the meaning of the seventh fruit of the Spirit by translating it as “faith.”
• - “Faith” by itself is not a fruit of the Spirit, but is one of God’s gifts
• - 1 Corinthians 12:7-10, “7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by [a ]the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”
• - Even the faith that saves is described as the “gift” of God.
• - Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
• - The actual construction of the Word in Galatians 5:22 is “faithfulness,” which is translated in some theological circles as “fidelity.”
• - Another scripture where the meaning is “faithfulness”, but uses the word “faith” is Romans 3:3, KJV, “For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?”
• - The NKJV says, Romans 3:3, “For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?”
• - 
• As mentioned in Galatians 5:22, faithfulness, as a characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit, is also trustworthiness, loyalty, reliability, constancy, and/or steadfastness. 
  - That as we are the body of Christ, faithfulness from God is manifested, and our faithfulness to Him must be grounded in belief in Jesus Christ
  - Even in the world, faithfulness is the foundation on which our community rests
  - We see faithfulness being translated into faithlessness on the world stage, involving international treaties and agreements

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 2:11

I would not know what they did. They couldn't get me to go down that road of you. I tried alcohol. I hated it. And uh they tried to get me to do something that I didn't understand at the time. But they were going against the nature of God. And so when I was coming up, uh they learned to begin to leave me alone because they knew I wasn't going to smoke, I wasn't going to drink, I wasn't going to hang out in places that they were hanging out. And so uh they referred to me as a goodie to shoe. Amen. Which meant that uh they believed that I was overly self-righteous. And uh Lord have mercy. I didn't understand then, but I understand now why God protected me and didn't allow me to go down that road. Amen. There are certain things that God would not allow you to do because he is a good God, amen. And so as he looks out for you, he's going to absolutely, if you're not gonna shut it down, he's gonna shut down the people around you to not allow them, amen, to try to influence you in a negative way. Hallelujah. But nowadays, brothers and sisters, uh men and women, we use the word good synonymously with the words sound and decent and respectable. We describe items we purchase as good, meaning that it was worth the money spent on it, uh, and we use good to describe if someone is solid in their character or how we currently describe our state of being. When someone asks us if we are good, uh, it is not in reference to spiritual fruit, rather, it is a question of how we are coping in and among the world. We do not use the word good or goodness too often to describe character, much less uh the fruit of the spirit. But in those instances, um, when we try to determine, thank you, Jesus, uh, to determine whether their personality is solid and dependable, whether they are honest and whether they are balanced in their lives, um, we often use the word good to describe that person. The last definition is what the fruit of the spirit is, goodness. Uh, but there are a couple of levels to this understanding. Um, first, there is passive goodness. The other one is active goodness. But let's talk about uh passive goodness. As we discuss passive, let's remember that passive goodness uh is relative, meaning it is actively influential. The Lord describes passive goodness when he likened his disciples to the salt of the earth. Matthew and Matthew 5 and 13. You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. The thought is really of the unseen, the silent preservative effect that salt has on everything it encounters. Now we all know that salt seasons a food, but salt also stops bacteria and mold growth. Salt strengthens gluten in bread. Salt, water, baths like Epsom salt, exfoliate the skin, uncloth pores, reduce inflammation and psoriasis, and uh eczema, uh eczema, Lord have mercy, and relieve muscle aches. Salt is naturally an anti-microbial useful for cleaning wounds, curing canker sores, and clearing congestion. Salt can be used for scrubbing pans, removing stains, and cleaning surfaces. Salt acts as a de-icer on roads and sidewalks. Salt aids in digestion by stimulating saliva. It helps maintain blood pressure and helps transport nutrients into cells. Salt helps maintain electrolyte balance in your body. Muscle function would be impossible without salt in your body. Salt is important for nervous system function. Sodium ions play an important role in transmitting electrical signals between nerve cells. These signals are essential for various functions like muscle movement, sensory perception, and cognitive processes. Without an adequate supply, nerve signals can become disrupted, leading to impaired muscle coordination, numbness and tingling, or even more severe neurological uh problems. Salt help maintains the violence of fluids in your body, uh, which is critical uh for your immune system. Uh think about how hard it is uh to fight a cold or flu when your body is dehydrated. Now, brothers and sisters, uh, let's translate that. My God, today, hallelujah! That understanding to when the body of Christ is sick spiritually, uh, we need our spiritual immune system addressed and we need our spiritual digestion addressed. We need salty people in our congregation that don't have to be seen, but their presence is felt. If you're salty up in here, just look at your neighbor and say, neighbor, you may not know me, but I'm salty up in here. When I come in, things change. When I come into the building, something's got to get right. When I come up in here, you're gonna know that the presence of the Lord is in this place. Tap yourself. I'm salty, yes, I'm salty, I'm salty, and I don't have to be seen. Hallelujah. I need you folks right here in the middle. You just get kind of quiet. You bother me, you aggravate me. Hallelujah. I need to realize that you're salty. I just need you to put your hand up in the air, and I need you to say I'm salty. Do we have any salty folks in the house? I'm salty, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I agitate the situation when I come in the room. I don't have to be seen. I don't even have to talk, but when I step in, I'm salty because the presence of the Lord is on me.

SPEAKER_00 10:49

Hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

SPEAKER_01 11:00

In other words, you salty and don't have to say nothing to nobody. You salty when you walk in the room, people change their conversation when you salty, hallelujah, things take place, hallelujah. The presence of the Lord is in the room with you, hallelujah. You give God glory. People walk away from you when you're salty, they can't do what they used to do when they around you because the saltiness. They step into. Yes, Lord. The one thing, brothers and sisters, that changes the demoralization of the world is that the unrecognized church of God in Jesus Christ is praying and working without being seen. Stay with me, huh? In other words, look at your neighbor and say, neighbor, you don't even realize it. But I've been praying for you. You don't even realize it. But I've been thinking about you. You don't even realize it. But I've been calling out your name before the Lord. You don't even realize it.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

I've been pouring oil on you. Why are you winning your bed? You don't even realize it. But I've been in contact with God for you.

SPEAKER_01 13:37

That's why Big Mama was so important. Hallelujah. That's why Big Mama was so important. Because Big Mama was salty, and while Big Mama was living, nobody dared act up. Hallelujah. Big mama didn't have to see you, but her saltiness centered on circling around the house so that even if you thought about doing something, no, Big Mama don't play that. Hallelujah. Spirit-led folks, do we have any spirit-led people in a house? Spirit-led folks can tell when something is off. When they enter a house, they can detect the presence of evil when they enter a house. Salty folk understand that when they enter a room, they can either tell if it's evil or if the presence of God resides there. Listen, don't listen, don't neglect your saltiness. Uh-huh. Don't neglect your discernment. Hallelujah. Don't ignore when God tells you something is off about the situation that you are involved in. Don't ignore what's going on. Hallelujah. God has given you some saltiness to be able to detect when something is amiss in the house. Hallelujah. He's also giving you the right to correct it when you enter into that house. Hallelujah. You gotta be able to tell him something's off up in here. Something is wrong up in here. Y'all full of hell up in here. Somebody better start praying up in here. Y'all need to get right up in here. Y'all better live right up in here. Yeah. You cannot simply have this goodness on the outside, and it's not on the inside. In other words, goodness is something that is felt. Just like you feel somebody that's full of hypocrisy, you can tell when they are hypocrites. Uh-huh. You look like you're trying to be holy. But you really ain't holy. You look like you're trying to praise God, but it's a struggle for you because you really playing around with God. You only praise God on Sunday morning, but you don't think about God any other time during the week. Satan the Lord rebuke you for playing around with a mighty God, for playing around with a God that says uh uh don't have no other gods before me. He is a jealous God. In other words, you got to praise him. Not only on Sunday, but you gotta praise him on Monday. You gotta praise him on Tuesday, you gotta give God praise on Wednesday, you gotta magnify his name on Thursday, you gotta lift him up on Friday, on Saturday morning, on the Sabbath, you gotta say thank you, Lord, for giving me rest. And when you get here on Sunday, you gotta be ready to praise God like you going out of your mind in the name of Jesus. See, some of y'all next to the fire, some of y'all ain't paying attention. But when the word of the Lord is right, it breaks off physical shackles and allows people to stand up. Where the doctor says you can't stand up no more. But she stood up under her own power. Hallelujah in the name of Jesus. We ought to give God some glory when the presence of the Lord enters the room. Hallelujah. Sick folk remain well. Ah, my God, today you ought to give God some glory. Look at her lifting up both legs. They probably told her you ain't gonna lift up nothing else, but where the presence of the Lord is, there is liberty. You better praise God. Your blessing is on the other side of your praise. Your blessing, you coming out is on the other side of your praise. You better give God glory in the name of Jesus. You better praise him from the rising of the sun to the going out of the same. You better lift up the name of the Most High.

SPEAKER_00 19:17

You better give him glory.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Thank you, Lord. Goodness. It will not and cannot last on reputation. Goodness is influence. Cannot stay on what has happened in the past. If you got the character of goodness, then you ought to be good right now. The Lord told us straight out, Jesus told us straight out in Luke 14, He says, Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dung heel. But men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Brothers and sisters, to remain good, to stay. Good in the real sense of the word means that we have to have a walk in the spirit consistently. In other words, you can't just walk on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You got to walk at all times. And where there is a consistent walk, we can rest assured that goodness is evidence of fruit of the spirit. That is why those of us who are good in the spirit will produce things, good things when we come together. Slap high five with somebody if they good. Don't mess with them if they ain't good. But if you know them to be good, slap high five and say we can produce good things together when we come together. Hallelujah. I only got a little I got a couple more lines, and then I'll be finished with it. The active side of goodness. Not only passive as a quality of a person's character, your goodness has an active manifestation in the form of good work. Don't tell me you're good and you ain't doing nothing. Hallelujah. See, y'all were just shouting a minute ago. But if you ain't doing nothing, your goodness is suspect. Hallelujah. I'm good in the Lord. What you doing for the Lord? I got proof for you. Matthew 12 and 35. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. And an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. So whatever's in you is gonna come out of you. And if you're good, hallelujah, then good things are gonna come out of you. And so Jesus, what he does here is he presents three stages of this truth. First, you got the good man, second, the treasure that is stored up in a good man's heart. Hallelujah. Even when people do you wrong, thank you, Holy Ghost. You still think good. Listen to me. I know that's hard, and sometimes I know you want to get at people when they treat you wrong. But if you got goodness down in your heart, you can still muster a Lord, save them, keep them, for they know not what they do. They don't know who they're messing with, they don't know who they're talking about, but I must still think good of them because my goodness is predicated on your presence in my life. So I got to stay, Lord have mercy. And the third thing, beloved, is the good thing that was brought out before everyone. Let us not be confused about good works. Faith and a professed experience with God that does not produce works and good deeds is nothing more than vain talking. Don't tell me you good and you ain't doing nothing for God. Don't, don't tell me, don't tell me, hallelujah, well, I'm being good, uh, I'm being good on the job. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Hallelujah. Unless you're going around and somebody comes and asks you for something and they open up the door to talk about the Lord, uh, that's good works. Hallelujah. When you come to church and do stuff right and you do what needs to be done, uh, that's good works, hallelujah. When you're willing to allow people to talk crazy to you, but you still maintain your right mind, that's good works, hallelujah, hallelujah. When you go out of your way when nobody is looking at you, uh, when you're in a grocery store, hallelujah, and somebody needs their groceries paid for, uh, and you just say, I just got paid and I barely got enough, but I'm gonna bless them anyhow. That's good works. What I'm trying to tell you is that there are some things that nobody else is going to see. Help me up in here, Holy Ghost. It's gonna be you and God. God is gonna see your goodness, He's gonna see how serious you you are about being good in Him. Amen. I want God to be pleased with me. Uh, I want God to say, Well done, thy good and faithful servant. I want God to say, Yeah, you did that, man. You did that. Hallelujah. I can I realize I can't take no credit uh for what God is doing me in me. But when I think about what God has done for me, I can't do nothing but pay it forward. Uh I got to help somebody out, uh, I got to encourage somebody else. Uh I got to say something, hallelujah. I got to pray when they least expect it, hallelujah. Even on a job, I don't care what it costs me. I know I'm on my way out in retirement, but it still don't matter. Uh I tell them right now, I'll pray for you, I'll lay hands on you. I told a young man yesterday, I see you hiding in plain sight. I see what God is doing for you. I speak the oracles of God and I give him glory. If you give God glory, uh say, yeah, that's me, Pastor. I praise him at all times. I magnify him. You gotta just say out loud, I gotta produce outwardly, hallelujah, hallelujah. You can't just be salt and not use salt, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. One of my favorite seasoning is his lawyers. Y'all ain't saying nothing back to me. You know when that lorry's come out, it's on and cracking. Hallelujah. And then you got accent, y'all ain't saying nothing back to me. Mrs. Dash, y'all ain't talking back to me. You know, when you bring them seasonings out, paprika, y'all ain't talking back to me. Hallelujah. When you bring them out, something's about to transform that chicken. Lord have mercy. Something's about to transform that fish, something's about to change up in here. You gotta you gotta pour it out. It's gotta be used. Matthew 5, 16 says, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Colossians 1 and 10 says that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. Titus 3 and 8. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. If you believe God, you gotta keep doing good works. Last year is gone. What you're doing today, you gotta keep going. These things are good and profitable to men. Amen. And so here is the fruit of the spirit which all men see and value. They value your good works, and here is convincing proof, even to the unbeliever, of the reality of Christ and what he has done for us. 1 Peter 2 and 12, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. In other words, no matter what they say, no matter what they do, you keep on producing uh good things. So when it's time and God shows up on the scene, they can never say, Yeah, they was cussing. No, no, no, I'm not cussing you out. Uh I'm still doing good works. Uh now let's run over to the throne of righteousness. Uh absolute goodness is nothing more nor less than moral perfection. That's what we're striving for. Uh, Naham 1 and 7 says, the Lord is good. Let me pause here for a minute. Hallelujah. Uh uh, you trying to be good, but we serve a good God. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. Lord have mercy. Just because he's good, I can go hide in him when I get in some trouble. And he knows those who trust in him. Raise your hand, Yaha. He already knows whether or not you trust him. He already knows whether or not you believe him. Hallelujah. I believe God, I trust God. My flight, my flesh, my fight with me, but I believe God with everything that's in me. Hallelujah. If you believe God, you ought to just yell out, yellow. I believe you, Lord, I trust you, God. So it is with that that it is a firm understanding that every storm we go through, God can get us through. Woo, Lord, have mercy, hallelujah. Is there do we have any witnesses in the house that you were in a storm and the Lord brought you through, and he brought you out, and he made ways out of no ways, uh, and he made sure you came up, hallelujah, and that you came out still standing, hallelujah. You didn't lose your mind, you didn't lose your body, uh, you didn't go crazy, hallelujah. You still got all your fingers, you still got all your toes, hallelujah, you still got activities of your limbs, and you came out all right. Is there anybody that knows how to give God because he is a stronghold, he's God all by himself, and that's why I praise him because when I was down, he was right there, hallelujah! When I was going through the valley, he was right there when I thought I was losing my mind, he was right there when I was ready to throw in the town, he was right there when I was ready to give up, he was right there when I was crying tears of sadness, he was right there. He has kept me through everything uh I've been through when I was about to uh thought I was gonna lose my wife, he was right there when he thought I was gonna lose my son, he was right there, and I give him glory because every time I turn around, he keeps on bringing me through every situation that goes on in my life, so I don't have no better sense but to give God glory and to praise the Lord for his goodness. Oh, give thanks for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks because he was right there with you when you was about to lose it all.

SPEAKER_00 34:34

Give God thanks. Hallelujah, Lord.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

I thank you when the Holy Ghost lives inside you, goodness follows you into every room, into every conversation, into every battle. Come on, Elder Wilma. Try to get on this runway. So don't just leave here inspired, you got to leave here filled, let the goodness of God flow through your hands, your words and your life. Allow his goodness to shape our thoughts, guide our steps, and overflow into every part of our lives. Because when we walk in his goodness, we walk in his presence. Church, oh church, goodness is not something we just talk about, it's something we carry. Can I get a witness up in here? When the Holy Ghost lives on the inside, goodness shows out on the outside. I said when he's in you, it's going to come out. Goodness in your walk, goodness in your talk, goodness when you're up, and goodness when you're down. You don't need a title to show it, uh, you don't need a platform to prove it. All you need is a spirit of the living God working on the inside. So when you leave this place, don't just leave shouting, uh, leave showing. Don't just leave blessed, leave being a blessing. Say yes to his goodness.

SPEAKER_00 36:40

Walk in his goodness, live in his goodness, and if you believe it, shout yes. If you receive it, shout yes. If you're gonna walk in it, say yes, Lord. In Jesus' name, I'ma walk in it. I'ma talk about it.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

Yes, you go. Remember. You might be listening, they're gonna talk about you. When you good in the Lord. Hallelujah. They're gonna talk about you, and they gonna scandalize your name, they gonna call you everything but a child of God. But I challenge you to still remain good in the presence of the Lord and allow God to orchestrate your goodness as you walk in this life. So you got to walk in it, you got to live in it, and you got to let it shine before men in Jesus' name. Come on, everybody standing, everybody standing.