A Journey of Faithfulness
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Greg Waybright
- Mark 14:32
- Synced - A Spirit-Synced Way of Life
- 34 mins 6 secs
- Views: 2141
Family Devotional
Family Devotional Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 2015
Read Luke 24:36-47 as a family.
Have you ever done a “pinky swear?” When I was little I would often seal my promises to my brother with a pinky swear, latching our pinkies together in a handshake or “pinky shake” that confirmed that what I was saying was absolutely true. My brother and I knew that if you pinky swore something, you really meant it. We would keep that promise, whatever it was, if it was made with our pinkies. Do you ever have a hard time keeping promises? Sometimes it is really difficult to do the things we say we are going to do. We tell our mom we’ll clean our room, but then we get distracted by our favorite TV show. We promise not to tell our friend’s secret, but then we whisper it to someone else the next day. Maybe we make promises to God that seem just too hard to keep. Being faithful, dependable, and reliable are difficult things to do.
In our story today, Jesus shows us that while we have a hard time keeping our word, He is always faithful to keep His promises. Earlier in the book of Luke, Jesus had told his disciples that He would be crucified and would die on a cross, but that the story wouldn’t end there. Jesus had told them three different times that after He died, He would actually rise from the dead! Now that doesn’t normally happen, does it? People don’t normally come back from the dead after they have taken their last breath. But that is exactly what happened with Jesus—and they had seen it with their very own eyes! They witnessed his painful and humiliating death on the cross, and then they got to touch him once he had come back from the dead. They got to see how real his resurrection was, even to the point of eating a meal together. This was no ghost; Jesus had really come back to life, just like He said He would. Jesus was faithful to keep his promise, and He is faithful to us today as well.
Activity:
Designate some space outside or in your home as the “field.” Invite one person to put on a blindfold. Then place the “obstacles” (paper cups, plates, empty plastic bottles, etc…) in the field, scattering them throughout. Tell the blindfolded person that they can trust you, and that you promise to lead them through the obstacles without hurting them. Then, give the blindfolded person directions on how to navigate through the obstacles without touching them. (Note—parents, you can either ask one of your kids to do the directing or you can do it yourself, depending on their age and maturity.) Let each kid walk through the obstacle course and experience what it feels like to trust.
Questions:
• What was hard about this activity? What was easy?
• Talk about what it felt like to be blindfolded. What sorts of feelings did you experience?
• What is faithfulness?
• How had God been faithful to you?
• How can you be faithful to other people this week? What does faithfulness look like at school with your teachers, at home with your siblings, at work, with your parents…?
Daily Devotional
Synced Daily Devotionals Week 7
Faithfulness - Week 7
Print Faithfulness Daily Devotionals
Monday
Mark 10.23-31
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
What do you think of when you read the words in this passage, “…all things are possible with God?” I immediately think of the “rich man” in my life, one of my best friends, who calls himself a “devout agnostic”! He has everything he needs and has been successful in many areas of his life. He is married. He has children and grandchildren. He has health and riches to enjoy life.
But…he doesn’t believe in God, or more accurately, he doesn’t believe we can know if there is a God to believe in. Is it “possible” for him to ever “enter into the Kingdom of God”?
One of the encouraging words in this passage for me is “difficult/hard” as it relates to a “rich man” entering into the Kingdom. Jesus doesn’t say it is “impossible”! There are many things in a “rich man’s” life to hinder him from putting his faith in God and trusting him with his life. All of it could be summed up in the word: “self-reliance.”
In my witnessing to my “rich man” friend, I have learned to share with him unapologetically how rewarding and enriching it has been for me to rely on God and his faithfulness to meet every need in my life. I tell him about specific answers to prayer and God’s provision and protection in very challenging circumstances. In other words, I share with him what it is like to live in “the kingdom of God.” Because these stories are real in my life, they can’t be denied or argued against. It opens up to my friend the “possibility” that God does exist and plays a personal role in this world. It helps move God out of the realm of the “impossible” for him.
Do you have a “rich man” in your sphere of relationships? I would encourage you to put your trust in the faithfulness of God to reveal to him/her the limits of “self-reliance” and the richness that comes with a relationship with the God who is there and loves us unconditionally and lavishly. I would also suggest you live out your relationship with God without apology and with boldness. God will do the rest.
~Roger Bosch
Tuesday
Luke 7.22-25
22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”24 After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces.
I remember the Sunday school lessons and songs growing up in church. I remember how the stories of Jonah and Noah captured my imagination. I was intrigued by God’s faithfulness and credibility in those stories. My imagination was challenged as a child but I accepted it as truth because of the faith I saw in my parents and the Sunday school teachers.
Over 40 years later, I continue to be amazed by God’s faithfulness and credibility. When I first came to the US from Ethiopia, nearly 30 years ago, my apartment was a few blocks away from LAC on Oakland Ave. I was only 19 years old and overwhelmed by the new city I found myself in. This was the first time I left the city where all my extended family lived. Suddenly, I found myself in a situation that was as difficult to comprehend as the stories I heard in the Bible.
During the next several years, I slowly started integrating into the community around me. I was overwhelmed by the drug epidemic that was present in the 1980’s. Since I had my High School education behind me, I was able to press forward in pursuing and obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree. It was around this time that I accepted Christ and surrendered my life to Him. I remember attending LAC on Saturdays and an Ethiopian church on Sundays.
I knew enough about God’s faithfulness that I started volunteering in Sunday school. I then realized that I needed to continue my studies if I wanted to better my life, so I applied to graduate school. I knew at the time that applying for graduate school because of my immigration status and my financial situation would be a challenge. However, I went and applied, relying on God’s help and faithfulness. I experienced God’s faithfulness by the way he provided for my daily need and opportunity to attend school. In spite of my weakness and shortcomings, I now find myself serving and doing “life” with my brothers and sisters at LAC.
In Luke 7.22-25 Jesus sends the messengers to report to John the Baptist about the miracles they saw and heard. He also reminds us that He works in ordinary people’s lives to display His credibility and trustworthiness.
In summary, how often do we stop and remember God’s faithfulness? When doubt and fear creep into our minds, we can stop and remember God’s faithfulness in our lives and the lives of the people in the Bible.
~Tsega Worku
Wednesday
Mark 1.40-42
40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
41 Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.
Jesus was (and still is!) the ultimate example of faithfulness. As he was connected to the divine life through the Spirit, he always demonstrated his deep commitment to his Father, to the mission for which he was sent, and most importantly to the people he came to save.
And because of Jesus’ abiding faithfulness, others could place their faith in him. In other words, Jesus’ commitment to his priorities led to him being trustworthy. Due to what they saw in his actions and heard in his words, people felt able to trust Jesus with anything and everything.
We see this truth in our text for today. Jesus had just begun his ministry and already his commitment to love and compassion was widely known. In fact, Jesus’ fame had grown to such a degree that even those who were literally excluded from society caught wind of it!
Those suffering with leprosy in the ancient world (whether the disease we call leprosy today or other various skin disorders) were consciously marginalized from their communities. And this was for a good reason: it was understood that they were (or could be) contagious, so exiling them made sense.
Thus, people suffering from leprosy tended to live in leper colonies outside of cities and villages. The only people they came into contact with were other lepers or people who dared to come near. But despite all this social isolation, the leper in our passage had heard enough about Jesus to trust him. He ran up to Jesus and begged him for healing, saying “If you are willing, make me clean.”
Here’s the big thought for today: We have complete access to Jesus through the Spirit…and yet so few of us are willing to come to him with the same kind of trust that we see here from the leper. What is preventing us from trusting Jesus? Why are we more inclinded to try to figure things out on our own?
Friends, instead of going to Jesus as a last resort, let’s be more like the leper in this story – let’s run to Jesus, asking him to heal us, to make us clean, to make us whole. And as we do so, through the power of the Spirit, we will experience Jesus’ faithfulness. He will heal us, cleanse us, and make us whole (in his own way and in his own timing, of course).
But being touched by Jesus comes with a responsibility. Jesus doesn’t help us just for our own sakes. No. He’s faithful toward us so that we can learn how to be faithful toward him and others in return.
As you are connecting with the Spirit through prayer, community, and obedience, how are you being led to be more and more faithful?
~Matt Barnes
Thursday
John 19.28-30
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
The sometimes grueling cost of keeping our word…
It’s pitch black outside and it’s the one time LA freeways actually flow freely – 4am. I am on my way to fulfill a commitment I really don’t want to fulfill, but I will keep my word.
How often do we find ourselves in positions where we absolutely don’t want to do something that we have committed to? It could be going to the gym with little results, meeting with a friend who we know won’t listen, doing homework that seems unimportant or it could be as small as being home when we told family members we would. There are so many forces against us being faithful, so many things that distract us from fulfilling our commitments.
But, none of us have faced the grueling test of faithfulness that Christ faced.
It’s pitch black again, there’s no city lights and the three friends you brought to have your back are sleeping. You are filled with emotions you’ve never felt before and the task ahead weighs so heavily on your body that you begin to sweat blood. The 33 years of your life have come down to this. All the teaching and healing have come down to this unfathomable moment where you seal the deal.
Can you imagine the immense weight and emotions Christ must have felt in this moment where His commitment would cost him his life? John 19.28-30 tells us that as He is dying He is contemplating whether or not he has fulfilled His commitment.
How committed are we to being faithful? And what is the source of our faithfulness? Romans 8.11 declares that the same Spirit that rose Christ from the dead is alive in us! And, in John 14.12-14 Christ says that we will do even greater than Him because the Holy Spirit is alive in us. We sometimes think of this “even greater” in terms of big miracles or the ability to reach even more people. What if Christ meant that through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit we would have a greater ability to be faithful in times of challenge and temptation? What if he meant that in community we would be able to bear even more than He did? He had to bear His deepest burdens alone while He has graced us with Christian community to support us through the devastating disappointments that tempt us to be unfaithful.
Faithfulness is a few parts grit and our ferocious commitment to keep our word and a few parts the inspiration of the Holy Spirit giving us an ability to perceive and overcome the obstacles to our faithfulness.
Let’s be faithful.
What is one way you would like to be more faithful to important people in your life? Talk about that out loud with our family or a trusted loved one and let’s pray together that the inspiration and power of the Holy Spirit alive in us would make us more faithful.
~Mark Fields
Friday
John 19.25-27
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
In my role of pastoral ministry over numerous years, I’ve spent a fair amount of time visiting people in hospice. Hospice isn’t just for the elderly, it’s also a place where I’ve visited dear friends at the end of their life due to injury or disease. Surprisingly, it’s not just a sad place, but a place where you see people from all walks of life, where I’ve cared for or helped others make peace in the last days of their lives. It’s a place where you see tenderness expressed not only by those caring for the dying, but also those receiving tenderness from people who are at the end. What is most important changes when you enter the doors of hospice. Before my parents were in hospice, every time I came to their house the news was on the television. Once in hospice, the television played nothing but classic movies.
In John 19.26 the lesson is “take care of the people who depend on you.” We see Mary at the foot of the cross coping with her grief as a mother about to lose her son. I wonder as I read this if she is thinking about what the future holds for her now. I know I am. Knowing women were treated as second-class citizens after the male in the family died, I know her life is headed for chaos. Her pattern is about to change forever. But just as she is wondering this, Jesus saw her and he says to the disciple next to her “here is your mother.”
It would have been perfectly acceptable for Jesus to leave his mother in the care of his brothers, but He used this moment to enlarge his family. At this moment John becomes as a son in Jesus’ place, which included significant responsibility. As Mary’s first born, Jesus was legally responsible for her welfare. This is at a time when all of the other disciples have run in fear. But John, the beloved, was with Jesus all the way to the cross. We know that John committed himself to this charge and was with Mary from that moment on, and accepted her as his own mother.
Jesus was perfect all the way to death. In the last words of Christ, it’s not just about His ministry. Instead, he is an example of love and showing responsibility to his family as well. He did not surrender his family for his ministry. He never let his own suffering make him blind to the needs of those around him. When we feel completely swallowed by problems that can be as large as death itself, we need to remember the pattern laid out for us by Jesus, that we never forget the needs of others around us. It would have been completely human for Jesus to enter into a selfish state, but we are not surprised that Jesus still uses this moment to show us that he honored others more than himself.
~Curt Gibson
Saturday
John 8.21-26
21 Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
22 This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?”
23 But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”
25 “Who are you?” they asked.
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. 26 “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
Where we are from matters.
My wife and I have lived in California for almost a decade now and I’ve not lived with my parents for around eighteen years. So it only makes sense that when we return to Texas to visit my family I meet some people who didn’t know me when I used to live there.
So when I meet someone back home it’s fun for me to tell them that I’m my parents son. Doing so has taught me so much about how my parents are perceived by the people who know them. Here’s what the conversation tends to look like:
“So you’re Mike and Karen’s son?”
“Yep. They’re the best,” I reply.
“You’re right about that! And that must mean to you’re a pretty good guy too!”
And while I’ll leave that last point up to you to decide, I will say that having parents like mine means always having high expectations to meet! And the reason is simple: my parents are great! They are loving, kind, generous, supportive, and caring. And they didn’t just limit their care and concern to each other and my sister and me. No. They offered it out into our extended family, our neighborhood, our church, etc.
Being from my family means something to the people who know my parents.
And I think that underlying our passage for today is something similar. Jesus says that he is from above, that he’s not from this world. He is from the Father and to the Father he is returning.
And here’s the main idea: his Father is trustworthy, so Jesus is telling his disciples that they can trust him.
Where we are from matters, and not just with regard to our families. Brothers and sisters, as followers of Jesus we are (in the realest sense) from the Father too. Thanks to the sacrifice of the cross, the power of the resurrection, and the indwelling of the Spirit, we are part of God’s eternal family.
As such, we should begin to demonstrate some of our family traits as we are synced with the Spirit. One such trait is faithfulness. As we experience God’s faithfulness, it’s our call to be faithful in our lives too.
~Matt Barnes
Study Notes
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{tab-ex=Chinese Translation}
Synced: A Faithful Journey-Chinese Tranlation
一個信實的人生之旅
馬可福音14:32-42
在我做牧師的生涯中，最困難的談話，應當是我與那些失去摯愛親人的信徒之間的談話，而他們的親人是不信主的。 我永遠也不會忘記我第一次這樣的經歷。那是一個新來教會的會友，她意外而永久地失去了她的丈夫。那時候我大概二十幾歲。那位年輕的太太流著淚對我說：“Greg牧師，我不認為他相信耶穌了。所以我不知道他是不是能與神同在。如果他永遠和神分開、和我分開，那麽對我來說，天堂還怎能成為天堂呢?”
雖然我可以談論為什麽神懲罰罪惡，為什麽會有天堂和地獄的神學理論，但是我想讓大家知道，對於這樣一個令人痛苦的私人問題，我很難給出一個恰當的回答。在教會中，我有很多次談到類似的問題，你們大概會對我在自己的生活中，和我的教牧咨詢中解決這類問題的方法有所了解。我常說，在跟隨耶穌55年之後，我越來越確信，神永遠都是信實的。神有兩個屬性：1）祂是公義的；2）祂是慈愛的。祂是公義的：祂不會使邪惡逍遙法外。如果邪惡不被懲罰，那麽這個世界將會是多麽不公平，甚至這個宇宙該會有多麽恐怖。神是公義的，祂會懲罰邪惡。
同時，神是慈愛的。神愛那些失去親人的人們，祂對他們的愛遠勝過任何人的愛。在永恒之中，我們可以確定，神在對待任何人的時候，都不會失去愛。因此，你可以依靠祂：神會對祂自己信守諾言，祂是公義的，也是慈愛的。我們所不知道的，是祂具體在對待某個人的時候，會如何稟行公義與慈愛。然而，凡信靠耶穌的人，面對這樣的問題時，心中都可以有平安。正如羅馬書3:3-4 所說的，“即便有不信的，這有何妨呢？難道他們的不信，就廢掉神的信嗎？斷乎不能。不如說，神是真實的、人都是虛謊的。”你看到了嗎？神的公義給了我們希望，即使我們無法全然理解如何對罪人既有公義又有慈愛，祂仍將平安賜給我們。
那位信實的神呼召祂的兒女，要做信實的人。假如你遇到一個信實的人，那麽那個人將是一個可以信賴的人，一個信守諾言的人。了解了這一點之後，神應許我們，祂將藉著聖靈在我們裏面做一件事，就是讓我們成為信實的人。信實是聖靈的果子。你渴慕得到它嗎？如果你願意，我們就一起來看看，關於信實，神在聖經中說了些什麽。
定義：信實是什麽
在聖經時代關於信實的觀念，和我們的時代基本相同。然而在聖經中關於信實的一個不同點是，它和希伯來文化中正直的觀念有緊密的聯系，它指的是一個人表裏如一。信實的意思是，我們過去的承諾與我們現今的行為相符合。一個信實的人所說的話，是值得信賴的。
因此，在我們的文化中，和在聖經中，信實都指的是一個人信守承諾的生活方式，兩者都與像神那樣始終如一和與神一樣行事有關。信實就是將正直應用於關系之中。
一個信實的人會忠誠於朋友，會信守諾言，也會履行責任。我想，大家一定都能想到某個你所認識的信實的人。那個人在私下裏和公眾之中、在家和在教會中、與牧師在一起時和與商業夥伴在一起時都是言行一致的。有人說，在我們的社會中很難找到信實的人，因為在媒體中，你會看到人們創造各種各樣虛假的自我形象，好讓人們誤以為我們是某種類型的人。但是我們都想要有信實的朋友，不是嗎？我們需要可以信賴的人對我們忠誠。我們需要成為那樣的人。
在聖經中，信實常常與信守承諾聯系起來。路易斯·史密茲在他的著作“只是道德”一書中寫到了這個特質如何將帶有神的形象的人類分別出來:
“當我做出一個承諾，我保證，我與你的未來，不會由那雙因家庭遺傳而掌控我的雙手所制約。當我做出一個承諾，我證明，我不會沿著某些因著我略顯古怪的父母而限定了我的心靈狀況的不可更改的旅途倔強而行。當我做出一個承諾，我宣告，我與那些依靠我的人們的未來，不會被我尚未成熟時期的文化所決定。在我沒有命中註定，沒有固定不變的決定……當我對任何人做出一個承諾，我有能力超越一切限制我的條件。沒有一個德國牧羊犬曾承諾和我同在，也沒有一臺電腦承諾過要忠誠地幫助我……只有人類才能許下諾言，並信守承諾。當一個人能夠如此行的時候，他就是最自由的。”
史密茲的意思是，許下諾言，然後再守住承諾，是非常人性化的。在順利或者方便的時候，酒肉朋友是可以依靠的，然而不是所有時候都是如此。然而一個信實的朋友，無論在喜樂還是悲傷、生病還是健康、今天還是明天，都可以依靠。這也就是我們所讀到的經文，宣告說，耶穌“昨日，今日，直到永遠都是一樣的。（來13：8）。”耶穌是信實的 – 祂的聖靈承諾我們，要在我們裏面結出信實的果子。
對比：信實所是與所非的對比（可14）
我想讓大家想像一下耶穌在客西瑪尼園被捕的那個晚上。耶穌知道祂將要面對的是什麽，因此，聖經說，祂“心裏甚是憂傷”（14：33）。 我想，在我們的人生中，我們所有人都會有這樣的時刻。你可能現在正有這樣的經歷。耶穌叫祂最親近的三個朋友----彼得、雅各和約翰和祂同去。祂像我們所有的人一樣，在經歷巨大的悲傷時，在一個沈重的任務必須要履行之前，祂不想獨自前往，祂需要信實的朋友支持祂。在祂走了幾步遠的地方向天父禱告的時候，祂僅僅要他們警醒，最終為祂禱告。很顯然，他們同意了。然後發生了什麽？
門徒：何謂不信實
這三個與主親近的門徒同意了與主一起警醒禱告。然而，他們有三次都無法做到。他們對朋友沒有信實。在40節，當他們第二次失敗的時候，很明顯，他們為自己的不信實而羞愧。然而幾分鐘之內，他們又再次地表現出不信實！
在38節中，耶穌對門徒所講的話，對我了解信實有很大的幫助：“心靈固然願意，肉體卻軟弱了。”祂的意思是，在人性中，存在著一些分裂。在我們的生活中，我們都經歷過這種分裂。在某一刻，我們渴望做一些事情，然而下一刻，我們曾經有的渴望和承諾就與我們實際的行動分割開來了。
整個一個星期，我都掙紮於一個問題，那就是，是什麽讓我們想要做一件事，比如給人承諾，給我們自己、甚至給神承諾，我們想做那件事，然後我們卻無法履行諾言。是什麽導致了不信實？我從一些媒體上得到了幾個很好的回應：
• 自我中心 ---- “我們專註於自己，並且專註於在某個特定時刻中我們所想要的 （奧德莉·德登）”。我們一旦得到更好的條件，就離開了我們的承諾。
• 不切實際的期望。“人們感覺到，信任已經被背棄了，於是人們就不再彼此委身，甚至完全不再對神委身。”（卡絡·庫妮）。這些門徒將他們的希望和夢想寄托在耶穌身上，希望祂能使他們得到成功。然而，雖然祂已經多次告訴他們，那並不是祂來到世間的目的，然而他們還是對祂有這樣的期望。不能滿足的期望常常成為我們不履行諾言的借口。我們認為，“那個人對我不信守承諾，我為什麽不能對別人這樣做？”
• 不耐心 ---- “阻擋我們的信實（大衛·派克）。”這些門徒等待許久，也放棄了這麽多。三年之後，他們的領袖似乎失去了控制局勢的能力，包括他自己的命運。他們怎能再繼續跟隨這樣的人呢？
• 試煉 ---- “試煉以許多形式存在。食物，節食，與異性的關系（比爾·蔡格爾）”。當耶穌說，我們的肉體是軟弱的時候，祂一定充分理解了這一點。我們有多少次承諾要遠離許多種的罪惡？然而一旦試探來臨，我們便立刻無法保持信實。保羅在羅馬書7:15是怎樣說的？“我所做的，我自己不明白。我所願意的，我並不作。我所恨惡的，我倒去做。”
因此，當耶穌知道，那承擔不可想象的重擔和痛苦的時刻，也就是祂所稱為“那杯”即將來臨的時候，也就是為世人背負罪的懲罰的時刻，祂需要人們與祂同在，和祂一同禱告。那些與祂最親近的人說：“我們與你一同觀看”。然而他們無法警醒。他們嘴上同意，但是當耶穌沒有看到的時候，他們是不信實的。
這就是門徒，這就是我們，不是嗎？這就是我們！我們說: “我要這樣做”，然而說過之後我們並不去做。為什麽？壓力使我們不信實；試煉導致我們不信實；疲憊是我們無法信實的借口；更好的條件使我們不信實。一個信實的人，對於朋友與親人來說，應當像波浪中的磐石。耶穌希望門徒成為這樣的人。然而，當波濤來臨之時，他們卻睡著了。
耶穌：何謂信實
我希望你能看到，如果門徒因著感到各種壓力而離開了耶穌並且無法忠心，那麽耶穌會感到更大的、無限的壓力。14：33描述了對耶穌為著救贖世人罪孽的緣故，而承擔神的憤怒之時的感受，接著，他感到不堪重負，被即將臨到的事情所擊打。他從來沒有失去過“阿爸父”的同在，但他知道他很快就會如此。耶穌不久將會為世界上所有人的罪承擔懲罰。因著承受這些，他將會是絕對的孤獨。
但耶穌知道，祂給祂的父親做了一個承諾，就是為那些神所愛的罪人而死，盡管他們是罪人。耶穌也為我們做了承諾- 耶穌愛我們，雖然我們是罪人。當所有的壓力來到,使得人逃避這些承諾時，耶穌是怎樣回應的呢？他祈禱說: “我父啊，倘若可行，求你叫這杯離開我；然而，不要照我的意思，只要照你的意思。”耶穌沒有將他的承諾和他的行動分裂開來。祂依舊保持著行動的方向。
這就是我希望你能明白的重點：當耶穌轉回看這些祂即將為之受死的有罪性的門徒時，祂看到了什麽？他們再一次地失去了信實。祂將必須為他們喝下憤怒的苦杯，然而他們卻睡著了。耶穌是否會說， “我不要為這樣的人去受死” ？
約拿單·愛德華茲，這位十八世紀的牧師和普林斯頓大學的校長，在他關於基督的痛苦的講道中，對以上這個重點做了如下的回應：“我，一個一直以來生活在天父的慈愛之中的人，為何要為了他們而將自己丟進如此痛苦的烈火中，卻得不到任何回報？為什麽我應該為那些不愛我的敵人而屈服和被壓碎於神的憤怒之中? 為什麽我要為那些不能為我等待一個小時的人，而承擔永恒和極重的刑罰？”
但是耶穌並沒有說過那樣的話。為什麽他仍然能夠保持祂對父神和我們的信實？為什麽？因為祂永遠是祂自己。耶穌是信實的。即使當我們不忠心的時候，耶穌仍然是信實的。信實的問題，就是誰是神，誰是神的兒子耶穌這個問題的核心。所以，盡管門徒不忠心，耶穌已經準備忠心地為他們的罪而受死。你讀過提後2:13嗎？“我們縱然失信，他仍是可信的，因為他不能背乎自己。”
讓我提醒大家，正如我經常說的那樣：你是按照神的形象所造的。你被創造成為一個有忠心的人，一個別人可以指望的人，一個可以做出忠誠承諾，並且持守諾言的人。然而罪已經深入到我們的行事為人，因此使得我們每個人都按著自己的道路而行，並且一次又一次地成為不忠。然而神願意並能夠改變這種狀況。今天我要向你宣告一個肯定的事實，神的靈要將信實註入到你的生命之中。聖靈所結的果子是信實。
一個本質的要素：忠誠從何處開始
想一想在你生活中那些忠心信實的人們。你能想到任何人嗎？我能想到：
•當我們的女兒快要去世時，那些為著她而丟下自己的業務，不顧在大學裏剛剛謀得的新職位的朋友們。
•當我在校園裏正面臨著種族危機需要處理， 而我又不知道該怎麽辦時，在基督裏的兄弟們打電話過來，與我一同祈禱，安慰我，他們不會丟下我不理。
•當我的父親在去年去世時，基督徒朋友們寫信給我們，發短信給我們，甚至擱下了一切事務來與我們同在，我需要這樣的支持。
•一個保持忠實的婚姻誓言超過38年的妻子，無論光景“是好還是壞”，即使我還是……我。
我希望繼續信實裏成長，你呢？這一切是不會自然地進到我們內心的。請記住使徒保羅在羅馬書7章18-19節所說的：“立誌為善由得我，只是行出來由不得我。故此，我所願意的善，我反不做；我所不願意的惡，我倒去做。”
然而這是我們最大的希望：耶穌將祂的靈賜給了我們，使我們可以開始做一些靠著我們自己的力量無法做到的事情。在馬可福音１４章３１節中，當他最親密的三個門徒不忠心於他時，耶穌說出了一句深刻含義的話語，使我們對聖靈的工作打開心靈:
“仰望十字架” ---- 在14：31，耶穌知道，他們若要有希望，祂就必須要為他們受死。祂想要讓他們知道，祂的死是有意為之的。祂的受死是祂忠心地愛他們的表現，也是為我們！耶穌為祂的教會設立聖餐，我們也要一直如此行，直到祂再來。如果不仰望十字架，我們就會繼續自我中心，無法依靠祂的恩典。
耶穌對你是信實的。基督徒信仰的一個要點是，我們並不是要賺取我們到達神的路徑，不是的，我們永遠只是回應神為我們所做的一切。在信守承諾的時候，如果你感到困惑，或者有壓力，有試煉，仰望十字架吧。在神對你的憐憫中，讓自己為祂而更新。
要想使那些自我中心、只懂享樂的人變為像神對我們一樣，對他人信實，就必須要有聖靈住在他們裏面。我們靠自己不能結出聖靈的果子。我們所無法做到的，神的靈能夠、也願意做到。祂將會幫助你在信實中成長，因為信實是聖靈的果子。
當你準備好領受聖餐時，我想讓大家看一看我們教會的Lisa Liou在校園基督徒團契的博客中所發表的見證：
我發現，雖然我想要在人生的每一個領域中都取得成功，然而如果一定要我選擇，我寧願選擇信實。我想要在人生即將結束的時候能夠說，我是一個忠心的配偶，一個信實的媽媽，我忠心於交到我手中的工作，和我生命中的關系，包括對我的鄰居，貧窮的人，最終，也包括我與耶穌的關系。
祂的荣耀，
格雷格Waybright博士
主任牧師
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2015, Lake Avenue Church
Small Group Resources
Fruit of the Spirit – Faithfulness
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Video Questions
- How did faithfulness show up in the story from the video?
- How was this faithfulness the result of being connected to the Spirit?
Faithfulness is a way of life marked by utter trust in God which leads to someone being loyal, reliable, and dependable.
Scripture
Read John 19.25-27:
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
- How does Jesus demonstrate faithfulness to his mother and to John in this passage?
- What role does community play with regard to faithfulness?
General Questions
- God is trustworthy through and through. Share stories of how you all have seen this to be true in your lives.
- How can you begin to trust, to rely on, God more and more? What is holding you back?
- How can we as brothers and sisters in Christ help one another become more faithful toward God and others?
- How do we mend broken relationships within Christian community when faithfulness has been broken?
- If we are unreliable, flaky, and disloyal as followers of Jesus, how will our witness be affected?
- What does it look like, practically speaking, to live a faithful life within a neighborhood that has real, tangible needs?
Challenge
Keep your word this week. Make a concerted effort to be on time. If you say you’ll do something, then do it. Begin to make being faithful a habit!
Prayer
Father, when we didn’t deserve it at all, you were faithful to us by sending Jesus. Despite our continued rebellion and disloyalty, Jesus chose to die for us. And even though we continually ignore his presence and promptings, the Holy Spirit continues to dwell within us, teaching us how to be faithful. We are grateful. And it is our honest prayer that we would humble ourselves to you, following you wherever you may lead. In Jesus’ name, Amen.