Summer Fruit, Week 7: Faithfulness

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… Galatians 5:19-25 (NLT) Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Galatians 5:19-25 (NLT) Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:19-25 (NLT) Faithful = the ability to be steadfast, constant, worthy of trust and confidence. Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV) My ability to stay FAITHFUL is directly linked to my ability to see GOD'S FAITHFULNESS. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.  Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-9 (NIV) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:7-9 (NIV) Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers… and he brought their father a bad report about them. Genesis 37:2-11 (NIV)  Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.  When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Genesis 37:2-11 (NIV)  Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.  He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had:  We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." Genesis 37:2-11 (NIV) His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us?  Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. Genesis 37:2-11 (NIV) Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." Genesis 37:2-11 (NIV) When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?"  His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. Genesis 37:2-11 (NIV) Faithful with the DREAM Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV) I would rather speak a Godly dream prematurely out of faith, than to never speak it out of fear.  "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other.  "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams." Genesis 37:19-20 (NIV) Faithful in FRUSTRATION Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 (NIV) God will always be more concerned about what is happening IN you, than what is happening TO you. …Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he refused. Genesis 39:6-7 (NIV)  And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. Genesis 39:10-12 (NIV)  One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants were inside.  She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" Genesis 39:10-12 (NIV)  But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. Genesis 39:10-12 (NIV) When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger.  Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. Genesis 39:19-20 (NIV) We have to get comfortable with the frustration of life… because the pain of frustration is PRESSING that reveals the CONDITION of our hearts. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 2 Corinthians 4:8 (NLT) Faithful with RESPONSIBILITY …But while Joseph was there in the prison, the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.  So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. Genesis 39:20-22(NIV) God is a good Father and is always giving you learning opportunities in one season that will enable you to step into more of the dream in the next.  …When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required. Luke 12:48 (NLT)  If you are longing for the dream to become a REALITY, examine your attitude of faithfulness toward your CURRENT RESPONSIBILITY. Faithful in the WAITING Waiting will always take longer, when we are FOCUSED on the NEXT instead of being FAITHFULL with NOW Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 (NLT) When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream… Genesis 41:1(NIV)  In your waiting, don't miss the opportunities to step into a smaller version of the very thing you are waiting for. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. Genesis 41:39-40 (NIV) You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you." Genesis 41:39-40 (NIV)  Faithful with FORGIVENESS  But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.  So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50:19-21 (NIV)  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 (NLT)  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 (NIV) If you are in it, it's because God knows you can handle it.