faithfulness

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I Pinky Promise

PinkyPromise3When you and I were children, there was a saying we’d often hear. I’m going to say the first half of the saying and let’s see if you know the 2nd half:

“Cross my heart and (hope to die)”
What was that child saying?
They were saying they’d made a promise, and if they were to break that promise they would expect something bad to happen.

Actually, the original phrase is a little longer:
“Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye.”

The only thing kids could think of that was worse than dying was sticking needles in their eyes – and I would tend to agree. Kids understand the importance of promises. In fact parents have learned that they need to be very careful what promises they make to their kids.

When I really want someone to promise me something I put up my pinky and say, “I Pinky Promise?” If the other person wants to make the promise, they will put up one of their pinky fingers and connect it with my pinky finger and shake on it and say, “I pinky promise.” If they “pinky promised,” in my mind, they would keep their promise. But often they didn’t.

As my girls were growing up I learned that if I told them that…
• I was going to do something for them
• I was going to take them someplace
• I was going to get something for them.
and then (for whatever reason) I didn’t do that, you know what they’d say to me?
BUT YOU PROMISED!

As children we learned that promises are important and need to be kept. God understands that and so He has repeatedly told us throughout the Bible that if He makes a promise He’ll keep it. And in the Bible one of the most significant kind of promises God made were called “Covenants”.

God has made many promises or covenants with us. But, unlike people in our life, he keeps his promises. God has “Pinky Promised” all of us many promises and He is true to His promises!

1 Corinthians 1:20 NIV
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

A promise is a declaration of some benefit to be granted.

The Webster’s Dictionary gives us this: One’s pledge to another to do or not to do something specified, narrowly, a declaration which gives to the person to whom it is made a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of a specified act.
Ground for hope, expectation or the assurance, often specified of eventual success.
That which is promised—To engage to do, give, make, obtain: to make to another a promise of; also, to give one’s promise to assure as “He will go, I promise you.” To show or suggest beforehand.

The word “promise” is used more than 100 times in the Bible, there are other terms implying the same thought. The Old Testament is a record of God’s promises to patriarchs, kings, prophets, Israel, lowly saints, and to the world at large. The Hebrew noun, []dither, is generally rendered “word,” but “promise is found in…

1 Kings 8:56
According to all that He promised: there hath not failed one word of all His good promise.

Nehemiah 5:12 – 13
That they should do according to the promise.

Another Hebrew word for “promise” is omer, meaning “saying.” This is the term used in “Doth his promise fail for evermore?” (Psalms 77:8) Also, Psalm 68:11 “The Lord gave the word.”

Psalm 105:42 RV
He remembered his holy word. (Holy saying)

This reminds us that God’s Holy Word is always a Holy promise (a pinky promise). From cover to cover of the Bible it is filled with God’s promises for us. One could say it is God’s promise book for all people.

2 Timothy 3:16a NKJV
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…

It’s divine promises must be God-breathed, and therefore impossible of not being fulfilled. Knowing this information makes me say farewell to any doubt and trust my God fully and completely.

Furthermore, His promises are backed by His faithfulness which runs like a golden thread through His Word. All writers of the Bible magnify God for His unfailing faithfulness to all generations. That’s a pinky promise if I ever saw one!

Deut. 7:9
Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which kept covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandment to a thousand generations.

Hebrews 10:23
He is faithful that promised.

1 Thess. 5:24 “Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it.

God’s faithfulness, then, is our special ground of encouragement as we apply His promises.

Lamentations 3:23
Great is Thy faithfulness.

Looking just at the names of God, each one designates a promise:

-El Shaddai – Lord God Almighty
-El Elyon – The Most High God
-Adonai – Lord, Master
-Yahweh – Lord, Jehovah
-Jehovah Nissi – The Lord My Banner
-Jehovah-Raah – The Lord is my Shepherd
-Jehovah Rapha – The Lord that heals
-Jehovah Shammah – The Lord is there
-Jehovah Tsidkenu – The Lord our righteousness
-Jehovah Mekoddishkem – The Lord who sanctifies you
-El Olam – The everlasting God
-Elohim – God
-Qanna – Jealous
-Jehovah Jireh – The Lord will provide
-Jehovah Shalom – The Lord is peace
-Jehovah Sabaoth – The Lord of Hosts

Let me pick one of those names, Jehovah Jireh, and share a promise:

Philippiains 4:19
My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Let’s look at one of God’s promises and dissect it today:

Psalm 34:17 NKJV
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears…

One of the biggest advantages of being righteous is the privilege of crying out to God or calling out His name with the assurance that He will deliver us. It is a privilege to call upon God; a privilege of prayer. There is no blessing superior.

Can you imagine what a world this would be if we couldn’t cry out to God for help? How sad, how helpless, how wretched if there were no God for the guilty, the helpless, the broken, the suffering, or the sinner to call to.

More scripture on calling out to God.

Isaiah 65:24
It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

Psalm 91:15
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.

Psalm 145:18 – 19
The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.

Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.

…And delivers them out of all their troubles.

He often delivers them from trouble in this life.
He will deliver them literally from all trouble in the life to come.

The promise is not that they shall be delivered from all trouble on earth, but the idea is that God is able to rescue them from trouble here; that he often does it through prayer; and that there will be, in the case of every righteous person, a sure and complete deliverance from all trouble here after.

There are a few verses that go along with Psalm 34:17.

Psalm 34:6
This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.

The word “poor” here does not mean “poor” in the sense of a want of wealth, but “poor” in the sense of being afflicted, crushed, forsaken, desolate. The word “miserable” would better express the idea than the word “poor.”

…And the Lord heard him – That is, heard in the sense of “answered.” He regarded his cry, and saved him.

Psalm 34:19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

This is not to say the righteous have more afflictions then the unrighteous. But the righteous do have suffering and trials. The good news is that God sustains us in our trials. He supports us and makes beauty from ashes. He turns trials into triumphs!

As a Christian, we are never alone in the middle of any trial. God is always with us. Even when we go through deep waters, we are not alone.

Isaiah 43:2 NLT
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

Isn’t it amazing to realize all these verses are actually promises from God to help us in our everyday life? I love it! God tenderly holds us with these verses to reassure us that we have help in all situations. They are “Pinky Promises” from God that He never ever stops fulfilling!

I am excited for this new series we are embarking on. I need to get the promises of God in my heart and I believe you do too. We will grow and learn as we look as some powerful promises together.

Let me leave you with a quote from Dwight L. Moody:

“Take the promises of God. Let a man feed for a month on the promises of God, and he will not talk about how poor he is. You hear people say, ‘Oh, my leanness! how lean I am!” It is not their leanness, it is their laziness. If you would only read from Genesis to Revelation and see all the promises made by God to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to the Jews and to the Gentiles, and to all His people everywhere — If you would spend a month feeding on the precious promises of God — you wouldn’t be going about complaining how poor you are. You would lift up your head and proclaim the riches of His Grace, because you couldn’t help doing it!”
Dwight L. Moody

Your sister,

Pastor Kris Belfils
www.KrisBelfils.com
www.HopeFellowshipSpokane.com
www.KrisBelfils.WordPress.com

Parables of Lost Things – The Father and the Lost Son
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Parables of Lost Things – The Father and the Lost Son

Parables - Lost and Found Mini SeriesWords are powerful. With our words we can speak life or death. With our speech we can put people in bondage or set them free. With the words we think or say we can bring healing or torment. James talks about the tongue being a rudder that steers the whole ship, or a bit in the horse’s mouth.

James 3:2 – 12 (Amplified Bible)
“For we all often stumble and fall and offend in many things. And if anyone does not offend in speech [never says the wrong things], he is a fully developed character and a perfect man, able to control his whole body and to curb his entire nature. If we set bits in the horses’ mouths to make them obey us, we can turn their whole bodies about. Likewise, look at the ships: though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the helmsman determines. Even so the tongue is a little member, and it can boast of great things. See how much wood or how great a forest a tiny spark can set ablaze! And the tongue is a fire. [The tongue is a] world of wickedness set among our members, contaminating and depraving the whole body and setting on fire the wheel of birth (the cycle of man’s nature), being itself ignited by hell (Gehenna). For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea animal, can be tamed and has been tamed by human genius (nature). But the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is a restless (undisciplined, irreconcilable) evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God’s likeness! Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so. Does a fountain send forth [simultaneously] from the same opening fresh water and bitter? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can a salt spring furnish fresh water.”

We can take a look at one of the parable’s of Jesus to see how much power words really have. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, there are three characters. Each one speaks words and acts upon them.

Luke 15:11 – 32 (Amplified Bible)
“And He said, There was a certain man who had two sons; And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the part of the property that falls [to me]. And he divided the estate between them. And not many days after that, the younger son gathered up all that he had and journeyed into a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and loose [from restraint] living. And when he had spent all he had, a mighty famine came upon that country, and he began to fall behind and be in want. So he went and forced (glued) himself upon one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed hogs. And he would gladly have fed on and filled his belly with the carob pods that the hogs were eating, but [they could not satisfy his hunger and] nobody gave him anything [better]. Then when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father have enough food, and [even food] to spare, but I am perishing (dying) here of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] make me like one of your hired servants. So he got up and came to his [own] father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity and tenderness [for him]; and he ran and embraced him and kissed him [fervently]. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son [I no longer deserve to be recognized as a son of yours]! But the father said to his bond servants, Bring quickly the best robe (the festive robe of honor) and put it on him; and give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet. And bring out that [wheat-]fattened calf and kill it; and let us revel and feast and be happy and make merry, Because this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! And they began to revel and feast and make merry. But his older son was in the field; and as he returned and came near the house, he heard music and dancing. And having called one of the servant [boys] to him, he began to ask what this meant. And he said to him, Your brother has come, and your father has killed that [wheat-]fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and well. But [the elder brother] was angry [with deep-seated wrath] and resolved not to go in. Then his father came out and began to plead with him, But he answered his father, Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me [so much as] a [little] kid, that I might revel and feast and be happy and make merry with my friends; But when this son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you have killed for him that [wheat-] fattened calf! And the father said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But it was fitting to make merry, to revel and feast and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!”

This is the story of The Prodigal Son.

Prodigal in the dictionary means, “Wastefully, or recklessly extravagant, giving or yielding profusely; lavish, lavishly abundant, profuse, a person who spends, or has spent his or her money or substance with wasteful extravagance.”

We act upon what we say:

1. Younger son spoke – Younger son dwelt on what was going to be his “someday.” He asked his father: “… give me the part of the property that falls [to me].”( Luke 15:12)

The younger son had been thinking about this for some time and planned on asking his father for what was rightfully his… but this only comes when the father has passed away.

Action of his words:

“And not many days after that, the younger son gathered up all that he had and journeyed into a distant country, and there he wasted his fortune in reckless and loose [from restraint] living.” (Luke 15:13)

He wanted to go out and live his own life the way he wanted to live it. His actions reflected what he was thinking and again he acted upon it. He spent his money recklessly extravagantly. This is being a prodigal.

2. He came to himself

He spoke words to himself again:

“How many hired servants of my father have enough food, and [even food] to spare, but I am perishing (dying) here of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] make me like one of your hired servants.” (Luke 15:17-19 Amp)

Action of his words:

“So he got up and came to his own father.” (Luke 15:20 Amp)

He acted on his words and left for home. But this time he had “come to himself.”

We Come To Ourself

We come to our self when we realize we can’t make it on our own. We come to our self when we see that all our choices have made big mistakes in our life. We come to our self when we give up control and give it back to our Heavenly Father. We come to our self when we go to the Father and ask Him to forgive us of our wrong we have done.

We all need to “come to ourselves” from time to time. If we don’t we will lead ourselves astray. We will “self-destruct” without God! We, as sinners, are slow to come to our self and go back to God, but God is quick to run to us as He sees our brokenness and repentive heart.

3. The Father saw his son from a far off and ran to him.

The Father always was waiting and looking for the son to come home. He longed for him to be home. For the father to see him from a far off, you know he was constantly thinking about the way-word son and looking for his return.

God always has His eye on us, waiting for us to move towards Him!
You might feel far away from God.
You may have distance yourself from Him for some reason. Know this; God has his eye on you, waiting for you to draw near.

“I do not know that the prodigal saw his father, but his father saw him. The eyes of mercy are quicker than the eyes of repentance. Even the eyes of our faithWhy are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God— soon I’ll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He’s my God. (Psalm 42:5 MSG) are dim compared with the eye of God’s love. He sees a sinner long before a sinner sees Him…. He was resolve to come, yet he was half afraid. But we read that his father ran. Slow are the steps of repentance, but swift are the feet of forgiveness. God can run where we scarcely limp, and if we are limping towards Him, He will run towards us. The father “saw” his son. There is a great deal in that word, “saw.” He saw who it was; saw where he had come from; saw the swineherd’s dress; saw the filth upon his hands and feet; saw his rags; saw his penitent look; saw what he had been; saw what he was; and saw what he would soon be. His father saw him.” God has a way of seeing men and women in a way you and I cannot understand. He sees right through us at a glance, as if we were made of glass; He sees all our past, present and future.”
C.H. Spurgeon (wrote in a sermon on the Prodigal Son)

The Father had prodigal love towards his son as he was moved with pity and tenderness [for him]; and he ran and embraced him and kissed him [fervently]. (Luke 15:20)

Other translations read:

“… fell upon his neck and affectionately kissed him.” (New Testament In Modern English)

His father extravagantly kissed him and loved on him. He was waiting and anticipating his son to come home. I am sure the father always had his son on his mind. Any loving father would.

His father showed more extravagant love for his son as he said to bring the best robe (festive robe of honor) and put it on him; and give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet. This signifies kingship, authority, rule and reign. I am sure the son didn’t feel like he deserved it. He knew what he did and where he came from. His father gave him all that, and a fatten cow to eat, and celebrate the homecoming with his friends. We act upon what we say!

The father spoke: 

“Bring quickly the best robe (the festive robe of honor and put it on him; and give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet. And bring out that [wheat-] fattened calf and kill it; and let us revel and feast and be happy and make merry, Because this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” (Luke 15:22 – 24 Amplified Bible)

When we stray it hurts the Father. The Father will mourn like someone is dead. He will ache in His heart until we come back like someone who has lost a precious jewel and longs to find it.

Action He took:

He lavished His love on the prodigal son and gave him even more than before! The Father sees you! He knows where you have been. He knows what you have done. He knows what you have spoken, and He knows your name!

We don’t have to worry about the past. God has wiped it all away the moment we repent. We don’t have to worry about our future because God has prepared ahead of time what we will need. All we have to do is trust God with our lives and allow Him to be the Father.

Anger and jealously will make us act first…

4. The older son’s actions:

“But [the elder brother] was angry [with deep-seated wrath] and resolved not to go in.” (Luke 15:28 Amp)

In this case, he took action before he spoke to his father. But his “actions spoke louder than words,” as the father pleaded with him to join in the celebration.

The older son spoke:

“Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me [so much as] a [little] kid, that I might revel and feast and be happy and make merry with my friends; But when this son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you have killed for him that [wheat-] fattened calf!” (Luke 15:29-30 Amp)

The older son spoke with jealously and anger. He didn’t understand why his father would lavish so much love on his younger brother after all the WRONG that he did. It didn’t make sense to him.

Mercy and grace never makes sense to someone who is not the receiver, only the one who receives.

When jealously and anger grips our hearts it paralyzes us. It makes us do things that are selfish. The older son was offended because all he could see is the “good” he had done and the “bad” his brother did.

Being critical or judgmental towards others is a sin. The older brother was just as guilty of wrong as the younger brother.

5. The father spoke:

“And the father said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But it was fitting to make merry, to revel and feast and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!” (Luke 15:31-32 Amp)

This parable was spoken to the tax collectors and Scribes and Pharisees.

Luke 15:1-2
“Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:1-2 Amp.)

The church is likened to that of the older son. Maybe you have been a child of God most of your life. Do you get critical towards sinners? Do you cast a judgmental eye towards those that have fallen or that keep falling? We can get judgmental towards the lost ones that come in as they may not talk like us or walk like us. We can think of them as “less then” because of their past. This is sin! God wants us to let go of the judgment and celebrate the change in people’s lives. We need to rejoice over one lost sinner that comes to Jesus and treat them with respect and love. Love will always receive; jealously and judgment always pushes away.

What have you been speaking to yourself lately? Are they words of hope or discouragement? What have you been speaking about people lately? Are they words of hope or judgment?

Maybe you can relate more with the Prodigal son. Do you feel like you can’t come back to God because of your past? Do you feel lost and all alone? Do you identify with the prodigal son? Do you identify with the older brother?

God sees everything. He knows your name! We can come to God and ask for forgiveness no matter what we have thought, spoke, or have done. No matter what actions you have taken with your words, God is there waiting for you to embrace Him.

There is power in our words. Let’s do the right thing with our actions and run to God and experience His extravagant love He has waiting for you!

Prayer:
Lord, I need You. I am sorry for leaving You and doing my own thing, going my own way. Please run to me. I come back to you. I don’t deserve your acceptance, but I am so thankful you always give it to me. Today I turn from going my own way, and choose Your way. Thank you for Your forgiveness. Thank You for a new start. Amen!

Your sister in Christ,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.KrisBelfils.com
www.HopeFellowshipSpokane.com
www.KrisBelfils.WordPress.com

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Keys to Open Doors

Keys to Open DoorsDoors are all around us. You have a door to get into your house, to go from one room to another, to get into your car, to get into the store, and even the bathroom. I am sure if we took a pole of how many doors we walk in and out of each day we would be surprised at the number.

2014 is the Year of the Open Door. This is the fifth sermon in my Doors Series God placed on my heart back in August of 2013. There will be many doors that will be placed before you this year and beyond. What will you do with that open door? Many will get discouraged because they either don’t see the door or they will walk away from it because it seems too hard to open. Don’t let this be you!

God is growing us numerically, spiritually, prophetically, and in all directions by His Holy Spirit.

God has been speaking to my heart about His anointing of His Holy Spirit that will draw people to Him. Often churches don’t talk much about the Holy Spirit. They are either afraid, uneducated, or have decided it was for the Book of Acts but not for today. I am here today to tell you that the Holy Spirit longs for a living breathing relationship with everyone of us. He has gifts to give that will fall right in line with our natural gifts and talents to unlock doors for you this year.

Listen, if you had the key to open a vast treasury wouldn’t you use it? That is the same with learning the keys to open the right doors in our life. To me, using the key, is the same as God opening the door. He has given us keys to unlock and open doors, our job is to learn what those keys are and to us them for God’s glory.

Keys To Open Doors

1. Manifestation (Gifts) of the Holy Spirit.

God has blessed us already with some natural gifts and talents. Maybe you like to serve, or work with people or children. Maybe you like to teach or be a leader. Maybe you like to help others or like to have people over to your house and love on them. There are so many natural strengths we have. Most of the time we are told to focus on our weaknesses and work on them. But to me that is wasted energy. The Holy Spirit is helping us with our weaknesses and brings change as we yield to Him. Truly God cannot be strong in our life if we don’t have weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9 – 11). Let’s develop and focus on our strengths and allow God to launch us through any door He has set up for us.

Take a look at your strengths and see what you are good at in the natural, then you can look at the Spiritual gifts and even the Fruit and combine them to be a useful and effective person for God.

Let’s look at the Manifestation of the Spirit, or Spiritual Gifts, and the fruit of the Spirit.

1 Cor. 12:7 – 10 NKJV

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 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.”

Gal. 5:22 – 23 NLT

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

I wrote down some of the natural abilities I and others see in me and then combined them with the manifestation of the Spirit I see God using me in. (I share these things not to boast, but to give an example to look at. All of this is for the glory of God and to edify the body of Christ.) Then, I added all the fruit of the Spirit, and you can see how they work together to edify the body of Christ, grow the Kingdom of God, and to open doors. We may not have all the gifts of the Spirit, but we do have all the fruit in us, they just need to grow.

Natural Gifts Gifts of the Spirit Fruit of the Spirit
Teacher Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Discerning of Spirits, Interpretation of tongues Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Caring, Compassionate, Encourager Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Healings Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Creative/Dreamer of Dreams(Music, Writing, Graphic Design) Faith, working of miracles, Interpretation of tongues, wisdom, knowledge Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Leadership Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Visionary Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits, Interpretation of tongues Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Tenacious, endurance, perseverance, Determined, Committed Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Faithfulness, loyal, trustworthy, honest, integrity Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Prophecy, Discerning of Spirits Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Patient, Merciful Healings (Spiritually, Emotionally), Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Self-Starter and Finisher Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Faith, Prophecy Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Out Spoken, Bold, Not afraid of Confrontation Prophecy, Faith, Discerning of Spirits Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

You see it is when we walk in obedience, and practice His gifts, we will edify the body of Christ and do mighty things for God. What natural gifts and talents has God given you? What gifts of His Spirit has God given you? It is time we use them in the body and to help each other grow in Christ.

It is amazing how God uses our natural God-given abilities, with His gifts of His Spirit, to create the very key to open doors.

The apostle Paul assures us that each of us within the Body of Christ have different gifts that are a response to God’s grace.

Romans 12:6

“Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly…”

And Peter reminded his readers that they were on earth to glorify God through the use of their gifts.

1 Peter 4:10 – 11

“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Proverbs 18:16 promises us, “A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.”

The manifestations of the Holy Spirit + our natural gifts + Fruit of the Spirit = Keys to open doors.

2. Commitment

“Too many Christians have a commitment of convenience. They’ll stay faithful as long as it’s safe and doesn’t involve risk, rejection, or criticism. Instead of standing alone in the face of challenge or temptation, they check to see which way their friends are going.”

Charles Stanley

There is a lack of commitment in the world, and in the church. Are you a great starter but not so good at finishing things? It is probably because you are not committed. Commitment will keep you when you want to give up.

The word Commit means: “to give trust or charge, to pledge or engage oneself, to bind or obligate, to entrust.” So commitment means: “the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself, a pledge or promise” (dictionary.com).

Psalm 37:5 – 6 NLT

“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.”

We see in this verse when we commit everything, all our ways, to the Lord and trust Him, He will help us. He will make us shine radiantly. Constantly committed to God. This brings success.

As the Israelites committed to obey the commands the Lord gave them, they were prosperous and succeeded. But when they broke their commitment and disobeyed, they were in bondage.

Where is your commitment level? It takes commitment after you walk through the open door God gives you to fulfill what that open door contains. It is easy to give up. Most people take the easy road when things get tough. When things don’t turn out how you expected do you decide to quit or find something else to do?

Laziness is an enemy of commitment. Letting your flesh win is not walking in the Spirit. Our flesh always takes the easy, lazy, most comfortable road. But that road never produces good results. When our flesh wins, we lose!

I saw an advertisement on the television the other day that shocked me. I actually thought it was a joke and was waiting for the punch line but it never came. This commercial was advertising a website about buying divorce insurance. This website states and I quote: “Over 50% of marriages will end in divorce. Insure that you are protected and lawyer bills are paid.” It also has a picture of a red paper heart with a woman ripping it in two. I couldn’t believe it. You are buying insurance saying, “I will get a divorce some day.” Where is the commitment in your marriage with that mindset? What is that?

Commitment! There is lack of commitment in marriages, church, jobs, friendships, family, beliefs and so much more. What happen to the days when people, even Christians, were faithful to their word? Where they showed up when they said they would? When they are committed even when it costs them something? This is integrity and it gives God a good name instead of a bad one.

When it comes to the work of God, your commitment will determine your promotion! God can not give you more when your commitment level where you are at is low. Don’t be deceived. When you are faithful with the little God has given you, He will then give you more. We don’t get a promotion when we are slackers. We get promoted because we show we are committed, faithful, good work ethics, responsible, and trustworthy. Is that you? If not, be determined to change and learn how to commit.

There was a time when my commitment level was low in many areas of my life. I would bolt when I didn’t like my circumstances. I would leave places when I felt I was treated unfairly. If I got tired of working at one place, I would look for another. When my friends didn’t agree with me I would stop being their friend. God showed me this and it grieved my heart. I saw my lack of commitment and also saw the consequences of it. Instead of believing everyone else was wrong, I had to look at truth and that I was wrong. Now, my commitment level has skyrocketed. Very seldom will you see me out sick or leave some place due to being upset. God showed me how to have a “bull-dog” grip on the things He wanted me to stick with. I am determined to stay committed and receive the promotion God has for me. I am determined to stay in agreement and reap the fruit of my long-suffering and endurance.

What about you? Where is your commitment level? If you leave or don’t finish what you started it is time you restart. Don’t decide to stop your participation all because it isn’t convenient or not fun any more. Decide you will finish what you started. Decide you are not a quitter. See where God takes you.

3.  Be Trustworthy.

Trustworthy means: “able to be relied on as honest or truthful.” Some synonyms are: reliable, dependable, honest, honorable, upright, truthful, ethical, virtuous, and unimpeachable.” An antonym is: “unreliable.”

Being trustworthy is so important. This effects your family, job, church, finances, reputation, and so much more. If you have in the past been a person who is not trustworthy it takes a while to build that trust in others again, especially if it was your behavior for many years.

Being trustworthy will keep and maintain you after you have walked through the open door. Don’t be a person that decides they are good after walking through the open door and then think you have arrived. No, that is just the beginning.

Remember my message of “What’s behind door #1, #2, or #103?” Many are called and few are chosen. Many are called to do great things but few will do great things, Why? Because few will take responsibility for the call. It doesn’t end with a call, that’s where the work starts. First comes the call, then comes the work, then comes the sacrifice, then comes the never giving up, and then comes the “going all the way through.” This requires commitment and being trustworthy.

Proverbs 11:13 ESV

“Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.”

Colossians 3:9-10 ESV

“Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

Slandering someone is not being trustworthy. Lying about anything is not being trustworthy.

Did you know that saying you will be somewhere and then not show up is a lie? You may not even give it a second thought but it is sin. This is a hard one because we can justify our actions away thinking it is no big deal if we don’t do what we said we would do. But in really it is a lie and we are expecting others to be okay with it. It shows your lack of integrity and character.

Colossians tells us to not lie to one another. This is the old self before you knew Christ. We have put on the new because we are new creations after the image of our Creator. Is God trustworthy? Yes! Does He lie? No! Then that is what we should be doing as well. Be people of integrity and do what you say you will do and be where you say you will be.

Get ready for an exciting new year in 2014. There is no limit to what God will do in and through you. Be open! Be ready! Be trustworthy and committed!

4. Be Faithful.

Being faithful is being loyal, constant, and steadfast. Commitment, Trustworthy, and being faithful all go hand in hand. Do you see a theme here? This is what it takes to staying constant in your life and to keep on keeping on with what God has opened before you.

Faithfulness is doing the right thing when you are the only one doing the right thing! It doesn’t matter if someone else is unfaithful. Our job is to remain faithful in what God has given to us. Be faithful in your relationship with God. Don’t be an off and on again Christian. What a slap in the face of God to have a relationship with you when things are going well, but when things are tough, you close your heart and do your own thing.

If you see that you are an unfaithful person thank God for the people who have put up with you. It will take some time to build trust back in them once you decide you will stay faithful. It is okay. Be determined to remain faithful when you are trying to show others you are faithful.

During testing and trying times be determined to be faithful. Don’t give up on things. Don’t quit!

You may say, “Pastor Kris it is just too hard.” “I don’t understand why I have to go through this?” You need these hard years so you will grow. They are specifically designed for you because God is developing character. You only develop character when you refuse to run! We develop good character in the trials and uncomfortable places. Be determined to get your blessing out of what God is trying to teach you. You are in the Holy Ghost cooker! Get ready for the beautiful aroma of God’s character to shine in you as you yield to God’s Holy Spirit’s promptings to change.

You may say, “I just don’t have any joy so I think I will go somewhere else.” You cant run away from something and still not have any joy. You won’t have joy where you decide you want to bolt too. In other words, you are the common denominator in both places. Allow God to change you from the inside out. Give God your worries. Obey His word! A lot of our turmoil in our life is all because we don’t want to obey God’s word. Obedience brings blessing. There is joy in obedience. You will find peace when you obey God.

We all go through silent years of growth before God brings us to the open door of promotion. After Jesus’ birth, we don’t hear anything about Him until He was twelve years old. Then we don’t hear anything until he was thirty. Scriptures just tells us, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52) during those years.

Be faithful now and don’t give up!

Gal 6:9 NKJV

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Keep on keeping on! Tell yourself, “I will never give up!” Press through those testing and trying times! Everyone on the face of the earth has to learn this lesson.

Heb 6:11 NKJV

“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end.”

5. Be humble.

Being humble means to not be proud, not thinking of yourself as better than other people. Once we walk through our open door, and we start advancing, pride can come to our heart. We start thinking we have gotten to where we are by ourself. We start having a twisted view of ourself.

Pride goes before a fall, and usually some character building times too. There are reasons why God doesn’t share everything that will happen in our life. He wants us to rely on Him when we make mistakes, and see our humanity compared to His deity. We are nothing without Him.

Why do you do what you do? What are your motives? We need to get our motives right. Do you do what you do to be seen by people? We have to have the mindset that if God isn’t in it, then we shouldn’t do it.You will flow with ease and with a smile, and you will have success if you will change your mindset.

You have no idea what God will do when your heart is purified of pride. Did you know that believing your success is all your doing is really “works of the flesh?” Thinking it was your bright idea instead of God’s. We can reason things out and think, “If I do this, this will happen.” Then we do exactly what we thought, succeed, and start to think we are better then someone who is struggling just to pay their bills each month.

I wonder how much we give up and miss all because we try to get some attention to ourselves? We miss out on what God would love to do for us if we would only trust Him and stay humble.

We have to remind ourselves daily that we are nothing without God! This helps us to not get full of ourselves. If we do, it is over. We will fall from that prideful throne.

Here are some scriptures on being humble:

2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV

“If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn form their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Did you notice the “If – Then” statement? If we humble ourselves, then God will move. God will not move on our behalf if we are full of pride, full our ourselves. But if we humble our selves, God will always move. A broken and contrite heart God will never despise. He will never turn away from brokenness. Thank God for that!

So what does humility have to do with opening and walking through an open door? Humility will help you maintain your place in that new open door. Humility will sustain you and help you to handle success in the right way. Amen!

6. Be Bold.

What? You just told us to be humble, now you are telling us to be bold? Yes I am. We can maintain humility and still be bold at the same time. The key is to be bold in Jesus and who you are in Christ! Realizing you are nothing without Him, but you are everything with Him.

We can have a zeal for God and meekness or humility for self. Jesus was humble but when it came to God and the things of God, He was bold like a lion.

Being bold in the face of fears is what we need. We need to be bold and strong knowing God is always with us. Don’t allow your fear of the open door prevent you from walking through it and keeping it. We are children of the King! We are King’s kids. We take the land that is before us for God’s glory and for His Kingdom!

Walk in the boldness of the Spirit. Walk in the gifts God has given you. As they unlock the door, you boldly do what God has called you to do. If we are timid instead of being bold at this point, we will give the land back to the enemy. We will not be victorious. We will give up.

Ask God to help see yourself through His eyes and not your own. He sees a mighty warrior! He sees the battle won. He sees a successful son or daughter following His Word and His example.

2 Corinthians 3:12 ESV

“Since we have such a hope, we are very bold,”

Having hope gives you boldness. We have the best hope ever as a Christian. Stand strong in your belief. Now is the time to tell others of Jesus’ saving power. Today is the day of salvation, Amen!

God’s Holy Spirit gives us boldness!

Acts 4:31 ESV

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

We are a Spirit-Filled church! Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you to overflowing to empower you to walk in boldness. The Holy Spirit takes our timidity away and infuses us with His presence and power. Let’s walk in this boldness everyday! Don’t be intimidated by the enemy. Sometimes we have to get out of our own way and allow God’s presence to abide in us. Once we do, we will see things from a different perspective. We will see things from God’s view. We will want to advance His Kingdom and speak forth His Word with boldness.

Allow His presence to infill you and walk in God’s boldness to open the doors and walk in the new God has for you. You were designed to communicate the Word of God to your world! Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Speak life with the boldness God wants you to walk in.

7. Be Tenacious

Tenacious: “tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely.” (Webster Dictionary) Another word to describe tenacious is relentless. 

We have to be tenacious with our faith and believing for good things. If God has told you of a promise and it hasn’t come to pass yet, be tenacious and keep believing. Don’t get robbed of a blessing by letting go of your dreams God gave you.

There are several examples in the Bible of tenacious people and the reward of their tenacity.

Elisha was determined to receive a double portion from Elijah. He was promised if he sees him being taken up he will be given a double portion of Elijah’s spirit to be upon him. Many times Elijah told Elisha to stay while he would go further, but Elisha would not. He was tenacious to receive the double portion anointing and he did (2 Kings 2:1 – 15).

In Matthew 15:21-28, we read of a mother who begged Jesus for help. Initially, He refuses her, yet she continues pleading for her daughter.

Matthew 15:21 – 28 NIV

“Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”

Her tenacious faith turned Christ’s heart toward her and her child, granting what the woman requested.

The parable of the persistent widow’s story as accounted in Luke 18:1-5 illustrates how we are to be tenacious.

Luke 18:1 – 5 NLT

“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

Even as the authority (the judge) stood against her, she never let go of her hope. Be tenacious.

Samuel’s mother Hannah probably couldn’t have guessed that she’d bear a child, let alone one of the more influential prophets of the day. The despair she felt because of her physical barrenness could have crippled her faith. But, she continued to weep and pray for her miracle.

I Samuel 1:11-17 NIV

“And she made a vow, saying, “O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.” “Not so, my lord,” Hannah replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” 

This is the year of the Open Door. Be determined to unlock and walk through any door God brings before you by using your natural gifts with the manifestations and the fruit of the Spirit. Be committed, trustworthy, and faithful all the days of your life. Stay humble as you experience success in this open door and be bold in your faith and tenacious to never give up. You will fulfill your destiny as you lean and trust in the Lord every step of the way.

Your sister in Christ,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.KrisBelfils.com

www.HopeFellowshipSpokane.com

www.KrisBelfils.wordpress.com

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Fruit of the Spirit – RECAP

Fruit of the Spirit RecapGal. 5:22 NKJV

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

What fruit are you producing? Fruit that looks good on the outside but is really bad on the inside? Fruit that is immature or not ripe? Fruit that is good? People will come and “pick” your fruit.

Immature (not ripe) fruit is thinking you are a wonderful person when in reality you walk immaturely in Christ and expect others to like your fruit. Immature fruit is walking around ignoring issues in your life and expecting good results. It is thinking everyone else is wrong and you are right.

We can really do a world of hurt for others if we don’t take care of any issues in our own life. Issues like; pride, complaining, gossip, un-forgiveness, and so much more, if not dealt with, will produce bitter, unripe, even toxic fruit.

If you want to live like Christ, and have given your heart to Him, there will be times of correction and rebuking. If you are like me, you know in your “knower” that you need to be corrected so that you produce the fruit of the spirit.

God chose us before we were even born. He had a purpose for our lives and that is to bear good fruit.

John 15:16 NASB

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain.”

Love

Love, as a fruit of the Spirit, is a verb. It’s not a feeling, and much like faith, if only expressed in words, it’s essentially meaningless. Though we like to hear the words “I love you” they mean nothing if not accompanied by loving action. Remember actions speak louder then words. Show your love to people with your actions.

1 Jn 4:7 – 8, 16

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. … So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

This simplifies the idea of abiding if we see it as abiding in love because God is love.

Love is from God, we don’t have this kind of love if we don’t know God. If we are abiding in love, keeping it always in the forefront of all our interactions and choices, we are abiding in God.

All that Jesus did was motivated by love. His love for the Father, and His love for others.

This selfless, humble love that washes feet, seeks to build others up, is foreign to the human nature and our culture, but by the example of Christ we can practice this kind of love, and through the power of the Holy Spirit we can achieve this kind of love.

1 Cor. 13: 4

“Love is patient and kind…”

This is the character of God. Patient and kind. Life is hard and we all need a place where we can lick our wounds, be ourselves, rest, and feel safe and cared for. That is what love is supposed to do.

Love makes us feel safe and soothed rather than pressured to perform, or live up to some standard. Love comforts us when we are struggling. Jesus said he will give us rest and peace. We all need to ask ourselves, do the people I love feel soothed by me? Can my loved ones completely let down their guard around me? Are they emotionally safe?

There will be times to love those who are hard to love. Loving people with the love God has given us makes it easy to love others.

1 Cor 13: 7

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

God bears with us, he believes in us, he hopes with us, and he endures our constant disobedience and wandering away from him.

Has God forgiven you of much? Then you should love Him much, and in turn, we should love others much. It is hard to produce any of the fruit of the spirit without love. Love binds all the fruit together.

Joy

Joy is deeper then happiness. Happiness deals with what is happening. Happiness depends on circumstance. Genuine joy, on the other hand does not depend on what’s happening. Joy is an inner sense of well-being that has nothing to do with circumstance. Joy is an inside Job.

God wants to produce the fruit of joy in all of us. Often it comes with trials and struggles. James says to “count it all joy” when we experience trials. Jesus went to the cross with joy. Joy is an inner strength. It is a knowing that God is with you and you can walk through anything that you face because you are not alone.

Too often people try to find false joy. They acquire things thinking that will give them joy (Ron’s uncle). Sometimes people think they have joy when their surroundings and needs are all met. Our surroundings change daily. Other times people place their joy in relationships. This is a big false joy.  People will come and go. They will let you down. They are unstable, but God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

There are so many lasting things that bring true joy; our salvation, having a grateful heart, and trusting in God are just a few things.

Church remember: Pain, sorrow, trials, and tribulations, are temporary, but Joy is ETERNAL. Happiness is Outside, But Joy is Inside

Allow the fruit of Joy to grow inside of you. Walk in this promise daily. The Joy of the Lord is your strength! (Nehemiah 8:10)

Peace

Isaiah 26:3 Amplified Bible

“You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.”

This is how to keep yourself in perfect peace:

  1. Keep your mind stayed on God
  2. Commit yourself to God
  3. Lean on God and hope confidently in Him

Proverbs 3:5 – 6 Amplified Bible

“Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.”

Trying to reason everything out will take your peace away. We will have unanswered questions. Ask God to help you stop reasoning and begin to live by faith, leaning on and trusting in Him and not on your own understanding.

Peace, when your in the Kingdom, is not the absence of conflict, rather its the assurance that in the midst of conflict, the Father has things under control. Learn to have peace with people and peace with yourself.

1 Peter 3:10 – 11 Amplified Bible

“For let him who wants to enjoy life and see good days [good – whether apparent or not] keep his tongue free from evil and his lips from guile (treachery, deceit). Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right. Let him search for peace (harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts) and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!]”

Patience

Patience is not an ability to wait. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit that manifests while we are waiting. If patience doesn’t manifest in times of waiting, then we see the fruit of impatience.

It doesn’t matter why you are impatient. What matters is how you deal with it. Impatience is a counterfeit fruit. It can look like it is productive, but in reality, it only produces stress and turmoil for you and others. Impatience is very selfish. It only cares about itself.

James 1:4 Amplified Bible

“But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.”

We should rejoice in difficult situations, knowing that through them God tests our faith to bring out patience. Trials do eventually produce patience, but first they bring all kinds of junk to the surface such as pride, anger, rebellion, self-pity, and complaining. We need to face and deal with these ungodly traits before patience can come forth.

Waiting destroys pride. If God gave us everything the minute we wanted it, we would be so proud and haughty, we’d think it was us. We would expect our way always. God makes us wait because He is testing us.

Colossians 3:12 NASB tells us to “put on patience.” That tells me that patience is something that I have to do on purpose. Just because I don’t feel patient doesn’t mean I have to be impatient. We must put on patience.

We can’t expect our clothes to come on our bodies all by themselves. We have to put them on. Likewise, it is the same with patience. We have to choose, to purpose to walk with patience everyday.

Kindness 

Kindness is the quality of being kind. Kindness is being friendly and warm-hearted. It is truly caring about others. It is treating fellow human beings with respect and being beneficial or an asset in someone’s life.

~Pastor Kris Belfils

Kindness goes a long way! People respond positively to kindness. You will win people over with kindness. Love and kindness always go together. Love and Kindness is the opposite of selfishness.

Jesus was motivated by love and kindness. He had compassion on people and moved to heal them. Jesus always receives us and he never rejects us. This character trait is something we need to have in our life. When we show kindness people see we are real and approachable. Kindness builds the Kingdom of God.

Proverbs 20:28 CEB

“Kindness and faithfulness protect the king; he supports his throne by kindness.” 

This shows that if we allow kindness and faithfulness into our lives we will be protected and supported. It is a good foundation to stand on instead of building on a weak foundation of sandy efforts, works, and manipulation.

We are fortified when we are friendly and generous. When we are approachable instead of being an island unto ourselves. People will be strengthened around you and feel secure.

Listen to people. Hear about their life. Don’t be so quick to interrupt and share your needs or something about yourself. People want to know you care about them. Listening is showing kindness.

Kindness costs us something. It costs us our flesh. We die to what we might want to say and change it to be what God wants us to say. We realize what we are thinking will possibly hurt or hinder someone and let it go, and in turn, we say things that build up. This is kindness.

1 Thess. 5:15 Amplified Bible

“See that none of you repays another with evil for evil, but always aim to show kindness and seek to do good to one another and to everybody.”

Goodness

The Greek meaning for goodness is: “Uprightness of heart and life, goodness, kindness” (Thayer Greek Definitions).

Goodness is the action that kindness brings. Goodness is what God is. God is Good. God can’t be anything else but good. Because He is good, he is waiting and looking for people to be good too.

Isaiah 30:18a Amplified Bible

“And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you.”

Being gracious is being good. This is what God is constantly doing everyday.

Psalm 23:6 NKJV

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

Only goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life. Only! Nothing bad, nothing negative.

Exodus 33:18 – 19 Amplified Bible

“And Moses said, I beseech You, show me Your glory. And God said, I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim My name, The Lord, before you; for I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy and loving-kindness on whom I will show mercy and loving-kindness.”

Moses asked to see God’s glory. God said he will make all His goodness pass before him. God’s glory is His goodness. That is such an awesome thought that Moses saw all of God’s goodness pass before him. God’s goodness, His glory, goes before us. When we show goodness we literally are showing God’s glory. We shine when we are good.

Each time you have an opportunity; be good to somebody. Don’t let one occasion pass you by to be good to somebody. If you want to be good to somebody, all you’ve got to do is listen to them.

Forgiving someone is being good to them, and yourself. Forgive people when they don’t deserve it. Before someone stops offending you, you can forgive them.

Remember whenever you are good to someone you shine God’s glory everywhere you go. This takes the pride out of us. We realize we are doing it for God and not our own glory. Shine for the King wherever you go by being good to others.

Faithfulness

A faithful person knows what God has put in their heart, and even though many times they feel like quitting, they don’t give up.

A faithful person is committed to doing whatever God tells them to do no matter what it costs them personally. If you start something, finish it!

A faithful person sees something all the way through to the end. There are so many divorces and so much job-hopping and church-hopping in society today because many people don’t understand what commitment means.

A faithful person understands that no matter where they may go to church they won’t like everything that happens. Stay where God has placed you. The way we grow is to stay planted in one place.

A faithful person arrives at their commitments early or at least on time. A foolish person is constantly late.

A faithful person is someone we can depend on – someone who shows up where they say they will be at the time they say they will be there, someone whom you can count on to do something they say they will do for you. Be a faithful person! Your reputation depends on it!

Too often we start out to do the right thing and then when we don’t get the right response we change and backtrack and do something else.

Galatians 6:9 KJV

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Your faithfulness and stability benefits others. It helps build the Kingdom of God. It brings security in the hearts who are close to you. They know they can count on you.

God never gives up on us, and we should never give up. We especially shouldn’t be the kind of people that give up on something because it is hard.

Don’t expect to be promoted if you are unfaithful. Don’t expect to be promoted if you do what you want to do and not what you committed to do. Bosses, Pastors, Authority figures are looking for faithful people. Being faithful is doing the right thing over and over and over and over and over again.

Gentleness (Humility and meekness)

The word “Gentle” in the Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language: “Mild; meek; soft; bland; not rough, harsh or severe; as a gentle nature, temper or disposition; a tame; peaceable, not wild, turbulent or refractory, soothing, treating with mildness, not violent.”

Are you a gentle person? How do you respond when someone rubs you the wrong way? Are you rough, harsh, or wild in your response or are you meek, humble, and peaceable?

Phil. 4:5 NIV

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”

This fruit of gentleness should be seen by the world, Christian and non-Christians alike should see you as a gentle person. Gentleness preserves us and brings peace.

Meekness is not weakness. Meekness requires great strength. What about Jesus? Scripture tells us that he was “led as a lamb to the slaughter” yet cleansed the temple with a whip! Jesus didn’t have to go to the cross. He said, “Don’t you know I can call on a legion of angles and they would deliver me.” But He humbled Himself under the mighty hand of God because He knew that was what God wanted Him to do and what was going to be best for everybody else.

Jesus didn’t use His power to get out of something but humbled Himself to go through something that He thought God wanted Him to go through. It would be like if somebody really did me dirty and it made me mad and I knew I had the ability to get them back but I refused to do that because I knew it wasn’t what God wanted me to do. That’s meekness. When you have the ability to do something but you won’t do it because you don’t believe that is what God wants you to do. Amen!

If you have the authority or ability to get even or hurt the other person who spoke badly about you this is what you need to do: Forgive, pray, and bless (FPB) and allow God to take care of the situation.

Self-Control

1 Timothy 1:7 Amplified Bible

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”

The Holy Spirit is not going to ZAP you with self-control, no, it has to be worked out in us. We have to learn to take it as our own and walk in it. It is virtually impossible to show forth the other eight fruit of the Spirit unless we walk in self-control.

How can we remain peaceful in the middle of an upsetting situation unless we exercise self-control?

Self-control allows us to be patient when we feel impatient. You don’t wait to feel patience, but choose to be patient.

How about faithfulness? People commit to do something when they’re in the height of emotions, and then when all the emotional stuff is over, they don’t feel like doing what they said they would do.

How about humility? How can I exercise humility without self-control? You can’t. Remember the “50 Fruits of Pride” we looked at when we were looking at Gentleness?

It takes a willing heart and courage to look at ourselves and see the areas we need to change in, but it is so worth the change. God can trust us with more. Our lives are more organized and blessed. We are not being lead by our emotions.

As we abide in the Vine, we will produce much fruit.

I challenge you to decide right now that you will live the remainder of your life giving glory to God in everything you do. As you make that decision and carry it out in your life, you will find your life to be exceptional beyond anything you could ever have imagined.

Love, joy, peace, faithfulness, kindness, patience, goodness, gentleness, and self-control are the elements that make our lives exceptional; they are a reward in themselves. We were born to display them, and we will never be like Christ or be fulfilled without them.

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.krisbelfils.com

www.hopefellowshipspokane.com

www.krisbelfils.wordpress.com

by

Fruit of the Spirit – Faithfulness

FaithfulnessGalatians 5:22 – 23 Amplified Bible

“But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].”

The Holy Spirit’s presence within us is working to help bring out His fruit in us. It does’t matter if you are the meanest, cruelest, harshest person on earth, if you have Christ living within you (You have asked Him in your heart as your Lord and Savior), you have His Spirit in you prompting you to change and be more like Him. It is not a personality thing. You can’t use the excuse; “This is my personality so that is why I am the way I am.” That is a copout and compromise for NOT wanting to change.

We need to be tender and open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. He does this in love. He knows what you can be. We only see what we are or what we have been. That is why we struggle with change. We think we will be someone we are not. This is not the case. God wants us to have life and to have it more abundantly.

John 10:10 Amplified Bible

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).”

This verse lets us know that we are to enjoy life. It also lets us know that if our behavior, if our character tends to want to steal, kill, or destroy, then it is not godly. The opposite of any of the fruit of the Spirit reeks of the devil. Opposite of love is hate. Opposite of joy is depression or sadness. Opposite of peace is turmoil, and so on. It reeks also of our flesh and not the Spirit. You can see the fruit of the Spirit is for our good not for our bad.

In this message I want to talk about the fruit of faithfulness. Most of the time people think it is the fruit of faith, but that is not the case. Faithfulness is what we do. Faith is what we have.

God is faithful. You have a seed of everything of God in you. When you accept Christ in your heart, it is there. It needs to develop and mature.

As His children He wants us to emulate Him. We need to be faithful like God is. To be faithful is to do what is right all the time. Not just part of the time.

One of the most important lessons we can learn is to be faithful with something until God lets us know that we are finished with it. There are times when God will call us out of one place and put us into another one – no doubt about that. But I don’t believe that God changes the plan very frequently.

A faithful person

A faithful person knows what God has put in their heart, and even though many times they feel like quitting, they don’t give up. They don’t leave a place because they want to leave, or a job because they don’t want to be there anymore. They don’t get out of a relationship because they don’t want to bother with certain things in it anymore.

A faithful person is committed to doing whatever God tells them to do no matter what it costs them personally.

A faithful person sees something all the way through to the end. There are so many divorces and so much job-hopping and church-hopping in society today because many people don’t understand what commitment means.

A faithful person understands that no matter where they may go to church they won’t like everything that happens. Stay where God has placed you. The way we grow is to stay planted in one place. How many times people give up on a church and later regret it because they see how they would have grown and matured better at their previous church? This might not always be the case, but for the most part it is.

The world needs to see stability and faithfulness in us. When we talk negatively about our church to unsaved people, all they see is Christians are messed up. Don’t give God a bad name by your unfaithfulness and negative talk. You represent Him. We should take ever effort to get along with God’s children no matter what the circumstance is.

A faithful person arrives at their commitments early or at least on time. A foolish person is constantly late. It doesn’t matter what the other co-workers are doing. Their bad behavior should never dictate bad behavior in you.

A faithful person is someone we can depend on – someone who shows up where they say they will be at the time they say they will be there, someone whom you can count on to do something they say they will do for you. Be a faithful person!

Too often we start out to do the right thing and then when we don’t get the right response we change and backtrack and do something else.

Again, what the world needs to see from Christians is stability. Not an ever-changing temperament, but stability.

We don’t do what is right based on the reward we are getting, we do what’s right because it is right. The reward will eventually come but we don’t know when.

Galatians 6:9 KJV

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

It is not easy doing the right thing all the time, but God’s word tells us we shall reap a reward if we don’t give up. I like how the Amplified Bible states this verse:

Galatians 6:9 Amplified Bible

“And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.”

Each of us can put up with a lot of things, but there is a point in all of us that says enough is enough. I wonder if that is what God wants? God is not late, but he is never in a hurry either. We need to keep on keeping on. Even when you are not getting the result you would like to have yet, it’s very important to keep doing what you know to do.

You see what happens to us when we get discouraged and downtrodden is we stop doing everything that is right and we lose a lot of ground. God doesn’t want us to do that. He wants us to hold steady in the storm, in those times of discouragement.

Faithfulness is a wonderful thing

God doesn’t require as much out of us as we think He does sometimes, but He does require us to be faithful. To be faithful means to do your very best to behave the way you think God wants you too. What you know is right you do it! The Bible says that if you know what is right and you do it not, it is sin.

It is better to do the right thing then to do the wrong thing. The Bible even says, “Where have faithful men gone?” We live in a society that faithfulness is not a great trait.

My husband is a faithful man. We have been married for over 28 years now and he has been stable and faithful as a husband, father, and employee. He has worked at the same job for over 20 years. I admire his stability and faithfulness. His stability helps me to do what I do as a Pastor.

Your faithfulness and stability benefits others. It helps build the Kingdom of God. It brings security in the hearts who are close to you. They know they can count on you to be where you say you will be, and do what you say you will do.

God never gives up on us, and we should never give up. We especially shouldn’t be the kind of people that gives up on something because it is hard. If God’s anointing and blessing lifts off something because He is finished with it, that is the time to stop doing it – but not before.

We don’t need to be wimpy, and weak, and pitiful, and pathetic. We are anointed with the Holy Ghost and power. We don’t have that power to be quitters. We don’t have that power to have a pity party every other day. Stop sitting around wasting your day feeling sorry for yourself because you didn’t get what you wanted. We are anointed for hard things. God has anointed us to go through difficult things with a degree of ease. It may not be easy to go through it but you still can glide through it because God is on your side.

You need to stop telling God you just can’t take what is going on in your life one more day because the truth is you can take it just as long as you need to take it. God has promised you won’t have it any longer then you can take it. Amen!

Be not weary in well doing for in due season you shall reap if you faint not.

God is the author and the finisher of our faith. He doesn’t start things and not finish them. He always finishes what He starts. He that has begone a good work in you will bring it to its finish. That is why we need to finish what we start. That’s part of faithfulness. Don’t just start things and not complete it.

It doesn’t take a great deal of character to start things. Anybody can start something because with something new you have a lot of emotion. You haven’t had any of the problems yet you will have when you finish it. A lot of times people are clapping and cheering for you, Yea! Yea! Yea! Go! Go! But when they all go away and there is nothing left but you and hard work, and sometimes judgement and criticism and people laughing at you and making fun of you and even telling you to give up. That’s when we really find out who has it and who doesn’t.

Faithful in the Dictionary means: “Firm in adherence to the truth and to the duties of religion. Firmly adhering to duty, loyal, constant in the performance of duties or services; exact in attending to commands; as a faithful servant.” 

The last part of the definition means to be exact in attending to what an authority gives us to do. In other words, when a boss, a pastor, parents, a husband or other authority gives us an instruction, as a faithful person we are to do exactly what we have been asked to do.

Some people do a little of what they are asked to do and a little bit of what they want to do thinking it is okay. It is not okay. Do exactly what you have been asked to do by the authority and God sees and will repay. You might say, Pastor Kris my boss is mean and no one likes them. Why should I do anything they ask? Because you are being paid to do what they ask you to do that’s why. Do it unto God if you can’t think of a better reason. Do it to please God. God keeps the books. He knows what is in your heart and the heart of the authority figure in your life. If there is injustice, God will vindicate you in due time. Just keep on keeping on.

It is important for the tendency among many Christians who haven’t developed the fruit of faithfulness to get back to being faithful in everything they do. For some people, simply doing what they tell people they are going to do, no matter how they feel, would be great progress.

If you want to be used by God, or if you are being used by God and want to be used by God in a greater way, then always remember this: God only promotes faithful men and women. God promotes those who have proven themselves to be faithful. Then, when you prove yourself to be faithful in one area or level, God will promote you to another level.

Don’t expect to be promoted if you are unfaithful. Don’t expect to be promoted if you do what you want to do and not what you committed to do. Bosses, Pastors, Authority figures are looking for faithful people. You might say I have been faithful for years and nothing has happened. Don’t give up doing what is right! Your reward is coming. Most importantly tell yourself, “If I am never promoted, if I have to do this for the rest of my life, I will God if you want me to do it.” I have said those words in my past and shortly after I found myself promoted to a higher level. At the time my heart was speaking truth. I really would stay and do what I was doing, even though it was hard on me. But when I changed my attitude, and did it unto God and not man, it helped me to endure and be faithful.

Faithfulness! You have to make some decisions. Something needs to happen in your heart. I want you to decide you will go deeper with God so you can go higher in God. I want you to decide this wishy washy, up and down, somedays you go to church and somedays you don’t. Sometimes you give, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you get up and pray and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you study and sometimes you don’t. Make your mind up that you know is right. What God has spoken to you. what you have read in the word of God. Things you have agreed to in your heart and started out and then it got a little uncomfortable or it wasn’t making you feel real good then you back up. Don’t spend all your life in this same little place. Some of you have been doing this for 25 years already. Let’s make a little progress. At least make it a little farther then before. Amen!

You know what faithfulness is? Faithfulness means that you know what God is telling you to do and you do it over and over and over again. When we do the right thing, we will get a reward. That’s not a good reason to do the right thing. The reason is to be obedient to God and the blessing is a by-product.

Our motives are very important. We should never give someone a gift to get a gift. We can’t do what’s right to get somebody else to do what’s right. We have to do what’s right because it is the right thing to do. And we are not going to do it once, or five times, or ten times, but we are going to do it until the day we die. Irregardless of what we get, we are determined to be what we are; obedient to Christ.

It’s not what we do once that brings victory in our lives. It’s what we do over and over and over again. You didn’t do one wrong thing and get in a mess. You practiced it over and over and over again. How many times have you said something negative and now has turned into a mess in your life? You said it over and over and over again, and now you want to make a couple of good confessions and get mad at God because its not all straightened out. It’s not what we do right one time. It’s what we get revelation on and we do what we know God wants us to do because we know He wants us to do it. It’s doing the right thing over and over and over again.

Being faithful is obeying the laws and rules of the land. It is obeying even when no one else is looking.

We have to stop doing things in a way of controlling God. Yes we reap what we sow. But the Bible doesn’t tell us when. In due time. At the appointed time. In God’s time. But none of that tells us anything. It is when God knows you are ready. Not when we think we are ready.

So what about you? May be today you don’t have any joy and it might be because you haven’t been faithful. Each person will give an account of themselves.

Think of a couple of areas in your life to come up higher. Today make a decision to be a faithful person. You know what it is like to have a faithful person in your life. You like it. Be that for yourself and others.

Be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Don’t be a quitter. Even if you don’t get one thing you want you will still be faithful to God.

The fruit of faithfulness is a beautiful fruit. Be a faithful friend. Be faithful to your job. If you leave your job in a bad way, you will enter a new place the same way. If you leave with compromise, you will enter as a compromiser.

Be a faithful person. Sheep Christians and Goat Christians. Sheep go Baaaaa (yes master, no master) and goats go But, But, But! Be a sheep Christian and say yes to faithfulness.

Let’s remember:

Galatians 6:9 Amplified Bible

“And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.”

From one faithful person to another,

Pastor Kris Belfils

www.krisbelfils.com

www.hopefellowshipspokane.com

www.krisbelfils.wordpress.com

(Some of the material used in this post was adapted from Joyce Meyer’s “Fruit of the Spirit – Faithfulness” audio CD.)