In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the faithfulness of God in the battle against sin. He shares a story of a girl who was possessed by a demon and how Jesus fought and delivered her. The preacher highlights the verse in Revelation 21:5 where God promises to make all things new, showing His faithfulness in bringing about the end of the sinful world. He also discusses how faithfulness is a communicable attribute imparted to believers by the Holy Spirit, citing 1 Corinthians 4:1-2. The sermon concludes with the reminder that God is faithful and can be trusted in all circumstances.

A theme here that will take us to several Scriptures, not too much comment on any one of them. You don't mind turning your Bible some, do you? It helps us just to see it before our eyes, doesn't it? Psalm 40, verse 10, I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart. I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed your lovingkindness and your truth from the great congregation. Before this congregation today, I would like to speak of God's faithfulness. I have spoken of your faithfulness. I would like to speak of mainly it's a topical study of the word faithfulness. The faithfulness of God, the faithfulness of Christ, and then faithfulness as it is a virtue imparted to the saints of God, to the Spirit of God. One of the fruits of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, and so on. Goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and so on. So, I know Ray spoke on this just a little, some years back, but it's just been impressed on me, made weighty to me recently, this matter of faithfulness. I think maybe one reason is because I was asked to speak on it up in Hannibal. The faithfulness of Christ is seen in the Lord's high priesthood. And so this is not exactly that. But another reason is because just recently we have seen again how valuable, how precious it is to find faithfulness in this present evil world. We had a workman, a plumber, who finished his work a week ago Friday. And the next day, we found seven leaks. And the toilets rocked and didn't flush right. And the drainpipe was at ground level in the middle of the run with a backward slope. And where can you find faithful workmen? Faithful men. And it's really a cherished virtue. And like the psalmist says, the faithful disappear among the sons of men. Psalm 12. So this matter of faithfulness, another synonymous word might be reliability, might be trustworthiness, loyalty, adherence to the standard, adherence to duty. Faithfulness. You know, we have these machines. We call them high-fi. It means highly faithful, high fidelity. It's an abbreviation for high fidelity. It means highly faithful to the original sound. And another epithet for a dog's name is Fido, you know, meaning faithful. They named Fidel Castro, well, he was highly faithful to the communist philosophy. And so, this word faithful, trustworthy, you know, there used to be that saying, is Texaco still around? You know, they had that theme song, you can trust your car to the man who wears a star. And yeah, you feel it, you know. Who can I trust my car to? He might make it worse than better. And so you're looking for faithfulness amongst the sons of men. But here, first of all, talk about the faithfulness of God. It is a great attribute of God, isn't it? Have you ever noticed? Have you ever run that theme down in the Bible? The faithfulness of God. There's so much in the Bible about it. In Romans 3, it says, let God be true and every man a liar. But God is great in faithfulness. It says, I, the Lord, changed not therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. He doesn't change. He's faithful, reliable, trustworthy day in and day out. We can count on Him. There is a rock-bottom standard. That is the character of the living God Himself. He is reliable. He is faithful. And He is great in it. It says in Lamentations 3, verse 23, great is thy faithfulness. You know, we sing that. No doubt that's where the song came from, one of the all-time favorites. Great is thy faithfulness, O Lord, O God my Father. And so, great is thy faithfulness. It says in Psalm 36, just a few psalms before this one, that His faithfulness reaches to the clouds. I like that. It doesn't say to the ceiling. It doesn't say to the treetops. His faithfulness reaches to the clouds. That's how great is His faithfulness. No little thing. Psalm 92, it says it's good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to Thy Name, O Most High, to show forth Your steadfast love in the morning and Your faithfulness every night. To show forth Your steadfast love every morning and Your faithfulness every night. You come to the end of the day and you reflect upon the faithfulness of God. God has been faithful to me in this way and in that way. And we ought to talk about it. We ought to sing about it. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord and of His faithfulness. Psalm 89, verse 1. It ought to be a great theme amongst the church. In our gatherings, right? Testifying about the faithfulness of God, it says in Psalm 89, verse 5, Heavens, show forth Your wonders and Your faithfulness also in the congregation. Your faithfulness, the heavens declare His wonders and in the congregation, His faithfulness is manifested, is talked about, is declared. It ought to be a great theme in our gatherings. Telling one another, reminding one another, testifying to one another how God has been faithful to me in this way and in that. Let's look at some different thoughts here on God's faithfulness first of all. And this theme of the faithfulness of God, it really ought to be, it is a great consolation to the saints. A great consolation in the midst of all of our difficulties, in the midst of all of our adversities and afflictions to think about the faithfulness of God. Let's just look in Romans 3. Romans 3. See, in chapter 3, verse 1, he's talking about the Jew. And he just said that here God selected the Jews and made them His own special people, yet they failed, they sinned, they apostatized. And so, Paul is saying there's no difference between the Jew and the Greek. They've all sinned. And so he asks the question, what advantage does the Jew have then? Well, he says in verse 2, they have this special revelation. And then in verse 3, but what if some did not believe? You know, Paul is very charitable. The truth of the matter is most of them didn't believe. What if most of them didn't believe? You know, they fell away. Would their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God? See, there's this word faithfulness. Will their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God? He says no, may it never be. Rather, let God be true and every man a liar. It didn't nullify God's faithfulness. And so here, the thought is this, that in the midst of what seems to be failure, it looks like God's promises and ways were frustrated. It looks like that sin had its way and so on. But above it all, deeper than it all, God had His way. God, it wouldn't nullify. Their unbelief did not. Their disobedience did not nullify the faithfulness of God. It didn't nullify the promises of God. It didn't short-circuit the prophecies of God. God had His way over and above it all. All that adversity, that disappointment, that affliction, God's faithfulness still was true. And God had His elect according to the remnant of grace. Calvary came about just as promised even though they crucified Him. That was the eternal, sovereign plan of God. And so here we are. Things can disappoint. Things can really look like they're going counter and cost-wise and all of that. But has God's faithfulness nullified? No, may it never be, he says. It says in Isaiah 25, verse 1, God's plans formed long ago are carried out with perfect faithfulness. I like that. You know, you go to build a house and it doesn't matter who the architect is. You can't come up with a perfect plan. And even if you had a perfect plan, where can you find a carpenter that would carry it out with perfect faithfulness? But it says God's plans formed long ago are carried out with perfect faithfulness. And so, let us rest, rejoice on the faithfulness of God. Along this same line, Psalm 119, verse 75. Psalm 119, verse 75. I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. In faithfulness, You have afflicted me. It looks like David was under the judgment of God. He was being chastened by God, disciplined by God. But he says I know Your judgments are righteous. And furthermore, he makes this boast, in faithfulness You have afflicted me. In faithfulness, You have afflicted me. Oh, we don't tend to look at afflictions as being something of a blessing. Right on the surface, we think of them as a real negative, a real disadvantage, a real blow, a real setback, a real discouragement. But yet, down beneath it all, in faithfulness, God afflicts us. The benefit of affliction. You know, the eagle can't rise as high without the winds of adversity. The sailboat can't go upstream without the winds of adversity. The plant can't bear the fruit that it could without the adversity of a pruning. And so, in faithfulness, You have afflicted me. It says in Romans 5 that tribulation works. Patience and patience, experience, and so on. It's all these benefits. The tribulation works for us. And you know, you could just shorten it right down to the two words. Tribulation works. It works, alright. It works. And how many sins have been cut short because of tribulation? You know, this affliction comes along and all of a sudden, this sin drive has been dethroned. It's been deflated. It's just all of a sudden that lust is gone and so on. Affliction has a tremendous benefit for us. We hate to admit it, but it's sure tribulation works. In faithfulness, You have afflicted me. And David was under affliction and he says, let him alone. God has commanded it. Eli was under affliction. The Word of the Lord is good. Job was under affliction. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And so, the benefits of affliction. Martin Luther says there are three things that make a man of God. You could say a woman of God too, I'm sure. Three things, says Martin Luther. One is meditation. Number two, supplication. That is prayer. And number three, tribulation. In faithfulness, You have afflicted me. Lord, don't let me go on. Don't let me wander. I mean, these afflictions, you know, they're a hindrance from our wandering. They're a stimulus to be conformed to Christ. They're a benefit in disguise. And so, in faithfulness, You have afflicted me. But still, can God handle it? Can God handle these afflictions that come to us? Is the devil on the loose and so on? Let's go to 1 Corinthians 10. 1 Corinthians 10. A lot of you, no doubt, have got it memorized. I'm just pointing out consolations regarding God's faithfulness. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13, No temptation, no affliction, no trial, no tribulation, no adversity has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. So there's the first comfort right there. Somebody else has got it. He's got it just in a different form. And the second thing is, God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able. God is faithful. God is faithful. You've heard about athletic coaches. You know, they drive their team so hard you hear somebody dies in the heat. God isn't like that. God is faithful. He won't let you die in the heat. God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able. I was reading in the news the other day of some big horse race, one of the big ones, you know, where the rider drove his horse so hard that it broke his legs, broke his ankles, and he had to euthanize him. God is faithful, not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able, but will make a way of escape. Maybe that way of escape is not around it, but maybe it's through it because the next race says that you may be able to endure it. God is faithful. Is He big enough to handle it? Let's look over here in 1 Peter 4. Verse 19, 1 Peter 4. 19, Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. I like that. A faithful Creator. You know, you tend to think, why doesn't it say faithful Redeemer? But here, God's first claim over us is His Creatorship. He created us first physically, and He created us again for Christians, secondly, spiritually, a new creation in Christ. And He creates the trials. Every joy and every trial follows from above. And so, He says entrust your soul to a faithful Creator. You think of the Creatorship of God. He made everything. He's that big. And so we can trust Him then that our environment is not our... we're not victims of circumstances, but our environment is the living God, the Creator Himself. And so He says just entrust your soul. Be faithful to the faithful Creator. Entrust your soul to Him. And that's what we must do. Look at the example of Sarah in Hebrews 11. Going back to the left a little bit. Hebrews 11. Easy to remember this one, Sarah. 11.11 By faith... things always heat up a little bit for me about five degrees when I stand up to speak. It ought to be more than that. By faith, even Sarah herself received ability to conceive even beyond the proper time of life since she considered Him or King James, I like it, judged Him faithful who had promised. Here are two evens. Even Sarah and even beyond in this phrase. And so Sarah had a double complication. She had a double impossibility. I mean, not only had she been barren, she'd never borne children, but even if she had borne children, she was beyond the proper time of childbearing. Beyond the proper time of conceiving. So she had two impossibilities going for her. And so in all of that, see, God gave her a promise. You're going to bear a child. And so, what did she do? She, by faith, believed Him who was faithful. It says by faith, Sarah. And so she, by faith, believed Him who was faithful. She judged Him faithful who had promised. That's really the bottom line, isn't it? Are we judging God to be faithful? Are we reckoning? Are we counting? Are we considering God to be faithful in this matter or not? And whatever our impossibility is, whatever the promise is, whatever the revealed will of God is for us that we're laying hold of right then and there, it may seem so impossible, but nevertheless, Lord, I am judging You to be faithful to Your Word. To be faithful to the revelation that You've given me in the Bible as to Your character and so on. She judged Him to be faithful. That's why she made connections with God. That's why she received strength to conceive seed. She made connections with God, you see, upon the exercise of her faith. Judging Him to be faithful. Dan Smith. I know you've heard this story before. I've told it some years back. Dan Smith, the missionary who has now passed on. He was in the days of J.O. Frazer. Frazer was old when he was young, a young missionary. And here was this single man, Dan Smith, out there in the regions beyond of China. And God whispered to him a promise He was going to give him a wife. And he goes to visit a fellow missionary some distance away. He hadn't seen him for a long time. And just as he approached the door, he overhears them in evening prayer after their meal praying for their various missionaries. And as he goes up to knock on the door, here he hears them praying for a woman named Catherine McGlasson. And God confirmed to him right there in his inner man, she is going to be your wife. Catherine McGlasson. And he just knew deeply that was so. And time went on. Two years went on. One year went by and he went to another missionary conference. And here was a fellow missionary, a single fellow like him. A bunch of them were staying in his room. And they got to talking. You know, how's it going, brother? What's been happening? And this other fellow says, I'm going to be married. I'm going to marry Catherine McGlasson. Or McGlasson. I forget how it's pronounced. I'll just call her Catherine. And here, Dan Smith, he didn't say a word. He just grinned on the inside. It didn't shake his faith at all because he had that deep of assurance that God was going to give him Catherine. And so another year went by and here he was thousands of miles away on a big missionary conference in another location. And there he arrives at this conference and meets Catherine. And three days later, they were engaged. He judged God faithful who had promised. When we come to prayer, you know, here's Psalm 143. It says, In your faithfulness, answer Me. Have you ever thought of that? When you come to God in prayer? Lord, in Your faithfulness, answer Me. I'm judging You to be faithful. Look at 1 John 1.9. 1 John 1.9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It's just such a heartwarming, such a bold statement of the character of God, the redemption of God, the salvation of God for those who are making their way out of sin. You know, for the believer. Here we are. For the sensitive believer, why, we're troubled. We're feeling guilty. I've sinned here. I've sinned there. My sins are more in number than hairs on my head. I did it again. Lord, can You ever forgive me? How can You forgive me? And the devil comes and accuses. You did it again, you know. And again and again. You'll never be any better than that. You'll never have anything. You can't even be forgiven. God's not going to forgive you this time. But it says, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and even righteous because of Calvary, because of Christ's death on Calvary, having paid for our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins. He is faithful. And for the unbeliever, you want to come and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins? Don't feel you're treading on forbidden ground. Don't feel that you're doing something against what God wants you to do. Don't feel that you're being presumptuous. You're just doing what God wants. You're doing what He commands. And it says He is faithful to forgive you of your sins. He'll come through. He's trustworthy there. In the struggle against sin, it says in 1 Thessalonians 5, along this line, and we won't turn to it just for the sake of time, but it says, Now may the Lord of peace, or may the God of peace, sanctify you entirely. Wow! Entire sanctification. And may your spirit, soul, and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Entire sanctification. No doubt it's talking about progressive sanctification and walking in a blameless way all the way to the end. But notice the next phrase. After that tall order, after that high command, after that great charge, notice the next phrase. Faithful is He who called you, who will also bring it to pass. It underlines it. Faithful is He who called you. He started the work. He won't drop it. Keep us from falling and present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Faithful is He who called you. It says in 1 Timothy, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. You know, a lot of people say things that are not faithful and are not reliable. The plumber says, I'll see you on Wednesday morning. He doesn't show. He doesn't even call. But here's a faithful saying worthy of all acceptance. Christ came into the world to save sinners. Lord, I come to You as a sinner and I'm counting on You on this faithful saying that You came into the world to save sinners. Here I am. Save me. Change my life. Change my life. Deliver me from this sin. Make me holy in this and that area. From the inside out. Do a miracle. I'm counting on You. I know I love my sin, but I hate it too. So I'm counting on You. Here's a faithful saying. His name will be called Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. In the battle against sin, I've just been reading this story entitled, Blumhart's Battle. It's the story of old Pastor Blumhart in the early 1800's in Germany. He was a pastor, and one of his congregation who appeared to be a Christian became utterly demonized. Demonized in the worst sense you can even imagine. You've never read anything like that, I doubt it. And that man had this young woman laid on his job order, so to speak. He had a battle on his hands. And it went on day and night for two years. Two years. I mean, needles were coming out of her eyes and things like that. It was just incredible. And it was a battle. I mean, it wasn't any easy pushover. And he kept on pushing, fighting, struggling. And after two years, the demon came out with a shout so loud that the community heard it, Jesus is victor. And that girl was changed and remained steadfast. Think of that. God's faithfulness in the battle against sin. God was faithful. He labored. He battled on relying on the fact that God would be faithful. And then a last verse. Yet on the faithfulness of God. A little comment so we won't turn to it, but have you ever noticed at the end of Revelation 21, verse 5, it says that I will make all things new. And write these things down. I better turn to it. I can't quote it exactly. 21.5, And He who sits on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. And He said, write, for these words are faithful and true. God is going to faithfully bring about the end of this old sin-wracked order and make everything new. A new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. It doesn't look like a sign of it now. Not a sign of rain like in the Genesis flood. Not a sign. Oh, little signs, yes, for those who have eyes to see. But the world says, where's the promise of His coming? It all continues like it was from the beginning. God is going to do it one day faithfully. This is faithful and true. Secondly, then, second subheading, or main heading, the faithfulness of Christ. More briefly on that. In Hebrews 3. Hebrews 3. Verse 1, Therefore, holy brethren, what makes us holy? Next phrase, partakers of the heavenly calling. That's why we're holy. Because we've been called, been set apart, called out, out of earth, away from hell to heaven. Consider. Here's a command. Consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. What about that? It says, verse 2, He was faithful, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all his house. So here, we're called, we're exhorted to consider Jesus. And what about Him? These two offices. What about these two offices? His faithfulness. He was faithful to Him who appointed Him. It says in Isaiah 11, verse 5, that old prophecy of Christ, faithfulness will be a belt around His waist. You know, here's all of the Lord's other garments, virtues and attributes, and here's His faithfulness that goes around it all. His faithfulness to God. He was faithful to Him who appointed Him. Faithful to God. He became a man and had a job to do. Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. Hebrews 10, verse 7, quoted from the Psalms. I come to do Thy will, O God. And He did it. He did it. He carried it out. He did always those things that pleased the Father. He accomplished the work that the Father had given Him to do. And all the way to the end, carried it out. He could have broke faith like Moses did. Moses got angry with the disciples and broke faith with God. The Lord Jesus did not. You know, He felt it. How long will I be with you? How long will I put up with you? But He did not break faith with God. He could have broke faith with God like Abraham did when he was in the... and made the cowardly cover-up before King Abimelech regarding Sarah. The Lord could have broke faith with God standing before Pilate. You know, He was in a pinch there. His life was in Pilate's hands, so to speak. But He did not. He kept entrusting Himself to a faithful Creator. He could have broke faith like David did when he slobbered and scribbled before King Achish, King of Gath, because of fear. And here was the Lord Jesus before Herod. But He did not break faith with God. He could have broke faith with God in the wilderness and given in to His appetite and commanded the stones to be bred or acted presumptuously and cast Himself down or given up and changed His loyalty. Bow down and worship Me, said the devil. But the Lord Jesus did not. He stayed faithful to God all the way to Gethsemane. He could have walked away from Gethsemane and said, I'm sweating blood, it's not worth it. And walked away. Or called on legions of angels. But no, He went all the way through to the end and accomplished redemption. God had given Him a job to do and He did it. And put away sins by the sacrifice of Himself. Laid down His life faithfully and accomplished redemption and brought justice to victory. Hallelujah. The Lord Jesus was faithful to God. And now, when an example He's left us, it says in Hebrews 12, verse 2, that He is the author and finisher of faith. We often insert the word our faith. Well, that's true too. But it says author and finisher of faith. That is, He is the leader and the example of how a person should live by faith. And He is the finisher of faith. That is, He completed it. He went all the way through to the end. He broke the ribbon and has made it through. The author and finisher of faith. And we follow His example. Not only is He faithful to God, but also faithful to us, you know. He ever lives to make intercession for us. All those priests in the Old Testament, they died. You couldn't say ultimately they were faithful, even the best of them. But it says He is able to save to the uttermost sins. He ever lives to make intercession for us. Yeah, He is faithfully interceding for us. I prayed for you that your faith fail not. Why do we have such provisions to walk the world in white? The Lord is praying for us faithfully as a high priest interceding for us. And it says that the Lord is faithful as a prophet. Revelation 1.5, He is the faithful witness. He is a faithful king. He rides on that white horse. Revelation 19.11, His name is faithful and true. But also, He is faithful as a priest. And so that is what we have right here. Duncan Campbell tells about in the war as a young man. I don't remember who they were fighting or whatever, but he told about one of his comrades was needed to be covered by the man who had the machine gun. And the man who had the machine gun, he blew it and didn't cover the other fellow and the guy was mowed down. The Lord is faithfully covering for us that we not be mowed down by the enemy. He ever lives above for me to intercede. Now last, third heading, faithfulness as it is a communicable attribute imparted to the saints by the Spirit of God. The fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness. Let's look at that in 1 Corinthians 4. 1 Corinthians 4, verses 1 and 2, Let a man regard us in this manner as servants of Christ, stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards or servants, you see, that one be found trustworthy. Trustworthy. They really should have translated this faithful. I mean, it's the word pistos, the Greek word there, which in all other places is translated faithful. As I was saying earlier, it is hard to find this quality of faithfulness. It's hard for us to even find a dog that's faithful. But he says here the one thing that is required of a servant is to be found faithful. I mean, right here, it's hard to find a faithful translation of the Bible. Why did they translate it trustworthy? You'd like to sit down and talk with them. What do you guys think? You think you're smarter than God? Why not just translate it the way it is? You know, you don't have to paraphrase it. We understand the word faithful. Be faithful and translate it faithfully. But they had to do otherwise. And you can have an employee, right, that is skilled, very skilled, but if he's not faithful, you can't use him. It is required of a servant that he be found faithful. Faithfulness is such a precious quality. I remember hearing some years ago about this newspaper salesman. He was about 80 years old, you know, and the TV interviewed him and honored him. They honored him with this interview. And you think, what's so great about selling newspapers? Well, the thing that was so great about it was that he'd done it faithfully every day on this same street corner for something like 60 years. So it was the faithfulness that got him the honor. Even the world recognizes this quality. I've told this before, but when I was growing up, I suppose I was about 10 years old, and we wanted to take a family vacation. Didn't take too many of them. So here, Dad had this hired man and he put him in charge. And while we were gone, the man went off on a drinking spree and he rolled the truck in the ditch. He locked himself out of the house. He never locked the house anyway, but here he locks the door and has to break the window to get in. And urinated all over the floor and smashed my model airplanes and let the fat cattle go without water. And so needless to say, when we got back, my father did not say to him, well done, now good and faithful servant. It's hard to find good help. Faithful help. And in marriage, you know, that is the foundational virtue that you've got to have in a marriage. One time, somebody came to me and a husband, he said that he was a failure in the area of pornography and he wanted out. But, he said, the worst thing of it is, I know, is not the pornography. And my bondage to pornography, the worst thing is that I've lied about it to my wife. And I said, you're right, that is worse. That is a breach of faithfulness. And now you've got a big job. You've got to reestablish your testimony and your character regarding this matter of faithfulness with your wife. The saints. One definition of a saint is what? The faithful ones. Ephesians, you know, it starts out, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ for the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Saints is interchangeable with the faithful ones. You find somebody who is not faithful in prayer, he's not faithful in Bible reading, he's not faithful in attending the meetings of God, you know he's not a saint. You probably know that's my philosophy in ecclesiology. And that is to not church people out with all this machinery, but let's just have the essentials of what God requires. And then let's be faithful in that. The saints and the faithful brethren. What is a criterion for fellowship? He says in Psalm 101, you wonder where should you draw the line? Who should I have fellowship with? Who should I not have fellowship with? And there's different ways of defining it. Like Psalm 119, I'm a companion of all those who fear Thee and of those who keep Thy commandments. But here's Psalm 101, my eyes shall be upon the faithful in the land. My eyes are upon the faithful in the land. They are the ones who will dwell with me. They are the ones who will serve me. You find a faithful one, that's who you can have fellowship with. A criterion for fellowship. And Lydia, she must have realized that. She said to Paul and to his team, if you judge me to be faithful to the Lord, if you judge me to be faithful to the Lord, will you come and stay at my house? It's a criterion for Christian workers. I mean, it's a criterion for all Christians, but especially for Christian workers. Epaphras, how is he defined? There's this adjective in front. Faithful minister. And the same with Timothy. He is a faithful minister. And the same with Tychicus. He is a faithful minister. What is singled out about Moses? You know, we read that in Hebrews 3, verse 1, as Moses was faithful in all his house. Now here's Moses. It says nobody did works of power and miracles like Moses did. There was nobody like Moses. We saw such miraculous power in his ministry. But yet the thing that is mentioned over and over is that he was faithful to God in all his household. It says in Timothy, the things you've heard of me, and how does it go? Who's got it memorized? And seen among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. So here's Paul. Here's Timothy. Here's faithful men. And then there's others also. Four generations. Who should I minister to? Who should I take the time and the trouble with? Who should I try to disciple? The same commit to faithful men. Look for faithful men. Invest your time and your energy in them. Make disciples out of them. It says that a pastor, he must be faithful. He must have a faithful wife, 1 Timothy 3. And have children who are faithful. And he must hold fast to the faithful Word. So you see, this comes out over and over. In the days of Jehoash, it says that they entrusted money to those who were faithful men. It didn't require an accounting of them because they were faithful. And Nehemiah, he put in charge of Jerusalem, Hanani, his brother. Because why? He was a faithful man and feared God more than many. Faithful men. Daniel stayed out of trouble. Why? Because they were after him. They were trying to catch him on this and that. They couldn't do it because it says he was faithful in his duties. Last, let's look at this Luke 16 promise. Luke 16. You want to grow in grace? You want to be more used of God? Here's a promise you can lay hold of. Luke 16.10 He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much. You know, we might tend to think that it's just the opposite. You might think, well, why doesn't the Lord say the big challenge is to be faithful in the big thing? Here He says the big challenge is to be faithful in the little thing. Why? Probably because you think there, that's something nobody really notices. Nobody's really going to notice me if I do that little thing. Nobody's going to praise me if I do that little thing. You know, it's just something between me and God. Because I fear God that much, I'm going to do that little thing. And so, if you can be faithful in that little thing, the Lord's saying then I know you're going to be faithful in the big things too. And that's where the grace is found. That's where the grace is found. This morning, Ray came by for prayer. He's not here, so I'll tell it. And he was leaving to go to the station and he came back in and says, I'm just going to get a broom and sweep off these whirlygigs off the front steps. Man, what a little thing. He would have done it and I'd have never known it. I'm sure God gave him grace for that little thing. Here we are on Mother's Day. And you probably think, mothers, boy, all this little stuff. I mean, I'm not called to preach a sermon. It's little, seemingly insignificant, routine stuff that I have to do before God. And it's no little thing, is it? Hudson Taylor says, a little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in a little thing is no little thing. So, may God bless you and grant you to find some sweet consolations in the faithfulness of God, the faithfulness of Christ, and the high honors placed on this virtue.