God Give Us Faithful Men

Adrian Rogers was a motivator, an encourager, and a leader of the faith. He was also passionate about presenting scriptural application to everyday life circumstances, and you'll hear that in today's message.

Now, let's join Adrian Rogers. And I want you to take God's Word tonight, if you will, and be finding the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew chapter 25 and verse 21. We're talking about faithfulness. Title of the message, God give us faithful men. Now, what do we mean by faithfulness? Well, we mean integrity. We mean loyalty. We mean steadfastness.

We mean dependability, fidelity. All of these things, faithfulness. When our Lord comes, I want him to say in the words of Matthew chapter 25 verse 21, his Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things.

Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. I heard about a dog that had his tail cut off, and they buried the dog's tail and thought they were done with it, but the dog found it and dug it up, brought it back in his mouth. They were horrified, took it away from him and buried it deeper.

He dug it up again, did that three times in a row. He was faithful to the end. I want to ask you a question. Are you faithful? I mean, can you be counted on? Do you know what Proverbs says in Proverbs chapter 25 in verse 19? Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth and a foot out of joint. That's Proverbs 25 and verse 19. Today there is a serious lack of genuine integrity and faithfulness among men.

Men's words seem to mean little today, whether it's a marriage contract or a business contract or a treaty between nations. I was reading in a national news magazine about a Gallup report. They surveyed and found out something that was appalling. It was sickening 40 percent. That's almost 50 percent of Americans admit to calling in sick when they're not sick.

Shortchanging a customer, pilfering, stealing on the job, cheating in examinations in school. And then Mr. Gallup said, it is my view as a survey researcher that we are facing in this nation, a moral crisis of the first dimension. The great problems of our time, I believe, are moral and spiritual rather than political and economic. That's a mouthful. That is true.

We are facing a crisis. God give us faithful men. My wife and I, many years ago, visited Yellowstone National Park. We were fortunate enough to stay in the old lodge just outside the geyser known as Old Faithful. Every 65 minutes, you could set your watch by it. It would spew water 170 feet in the air. Now, there were other geysers there in the park that were more spectacular, but everybody loved this one.

You know why it could be counted on. It was given the name Old Faithful. God give us faithful men. I want to give you a verse. First Corinthians chapter four and verse two. Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. Now, friend, that's not just a desire.

That is a requirement. What God is saying is this, that faithfulness is the basic, rudimentary, fundamental ingredient of character. You will not know God's blessing apart from faithfulness. Psalm 31 verse 23. O love the Lord, all ye his saints, for the Lord preserveth the faithful.

You want God to watch out over you and take care of you. God preserveth the faithful. Friend, faithfulness is God's requirement for your stewardship. Faithfulness is God's measurement for your blessing. One day I say you're going to stand before God. I'm going to stand before God and the reward or the lack of it is going to be according to our faithfulness.

I want to hear Jesus say to me, Adrian, well done, thou good and faithful servant. I want to ask you this question. Are you a faithful man? Are you faithful to your wife? Are you faithful to your children? Are you faithful to your employer? Are you faithful to your government? Can you be counted on? Do you have integrity?

Well, let's check up. Let's talk about some areas of faithfulness. Let's go back to the family. Are you faithful to your family? The Marines have a motto, Semper Fidelis, always faithful. That ought to be the motto of every married man. Always faithful. Adultery is the ultimate act of unfaithfulness. When you marry a woman, you make a solemn vow to keep yourself to her and her alone.

But you don't have to commit the physical act of adultery to be unfaithful. Some have love affairs with their work, with sports and other things. Kids need a dad who will be faithful. You know one of the major problems that I found in talking with teenagers is they have bitterness. Teenagers have bitterness. They have resentment. Much of that resentment is directed not toward the mother but toward the father. And it is directed to the father over the matter of broken promises.

A dad that does not keep his word. Be careful what you tell your children. In a weak moment to get them out of the way, we'll promise them anything. They ask, can we do this? Can we do that, Daddy, next week?

Yes, you're fine. And then you forget. But they don't forget.

They don't forget when they grow up. As a matter of fact, be very careful because what you say we might do, they hear that as saying we will do. Can we go fishing next week? Well, we might do it.

They start packing the fishing gear right there. They are waiting, believing in Dad. And then one promise after another promise after another promise is broken. Maybe as dads, if you want to restore your relationship with your teenage son, maybe one of the best things you could do is to go back and search those times where you have broken your promises to that boy and go to him and say, I remember in thus and thus a time I promised you something and I didn't do it. I've asked God to forgive me and I want you to forgive me.

And then ask him this question. And I've asked my own sons this question and my daughters. Have I ever made a promise to you that I failed to keep?

If so, I want you to tell me because I want to repent. I want you to believe that your dad is a faithful man. We need to be faithful with our family.

We need to be faithful with our finances. Listen to this verse. And then listen to it. Luke 16 verses 10 through 13. Jesus said, he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. And he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. Now listen to what Jesus said as he follows that statement.

That statement is the premise. And now listen to the therefore. Ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon.

Now what is that? What is unrighteous mammon? Money.

Finances. If you've not been faithful in finances, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you've not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can love two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Mammon again means finances, money.

You just can't do it. One God is enough for everybody. What Jesus Christ is saying is how you handle your money is an indication of how you would handle spiritual treasure. Did you know that God may be withholding a blessing from you that he wants to give you because he's first tried you with money? God has given you money and you haven't been faithful with that money and therefore God cannot give you spiritual blessings?

Listen to it. The Bible says in this verse, listen to it. If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

What are the true riches? That's spiritual power. That's insight into the Word of God. That's answered prayer. That's fellowship with Jesus Christ.

That's joy unspeakable and full of glory. If you have those things, you are truly rich. But God gave you money and you weren't faithful with that. So why should God give you the true riches? Do you know what most of us think? Most of us have it 180 degrees wrong. Most of us think, you know, if I'll just get right with God, if I'll live like God wants me to live, if I get right spiritually, then God will bless me materially.

That's what most of us think. Most of us think that if we'll get right with God spiritually, that God will bless us materially. But the Bible says if you are not right with that which is material, I can't bless you spiritually.

We just get it backwards. God gives us a test. God gives us money. God gives us things. God may be withholding a blessing from you, sir, because you've not been faithful in the earning, the giving, the saving, and the spending of your money. Are you faithful? 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 2, upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him that there be no gatherings when I come. That was Paul's instruction to church at Corinth, telling them how to bring the money to God's house on God's day that God's work will be done in God's way upon the first day of the week. Lay by him in store. It's not emotional.

It is methodical. You're to give proportionately as God has prospered you. We need some men who will be faithful to the family. We need some men who will be faithful in finances. I'll tell you something else that's needed today, some men who are faithful to the friends. Did you know that if you have friends, you are exceedingly blessed? The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 17 and verse 17, a friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs chapter 18 and verse 24, a man that hath many friends must show himself friendly.

There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Do you have friends? Your friends will fail. Your friends will stumble. Your friends will forget. Your friends will sometimes do you wrong. But if you have a friend, thank God, and be a friend to your friend. Be a faithful friend.

One man got up late at night. He was thinking about his friend, and he wrote these words, and I want you to listen. He took the idea from 1 Corinthians chapter 13 that speaks of love. Here's what he wrote to his friend, and I quote, during the past few months, I have read and reread the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians.

I hope I've not violated these verses by writing them into friendship, but I think you will see the message that I see in them. As I read what he wrote to his friend, I want you to think about your friend and see if this is the kind of a friend you are, sir, to your friend. Friendship is slow to lose patience. It looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive. It is neither anxious to impress others nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance. Friendship has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage at the other's expense.

It is not touchy. It does not keep account of slights or gloat over the mistakes of the other. A friend does not make himself big by making the other small.

On the contrary, it is glad. Friendship is glad when truth prevails. It knows no limits to its endurance, no end to its trust, no failing of its hope, and in this it can outlast anything. True friendship stands when all else has fallen. Do you want to be that kind of a friend?

Are you a faithful person? Then that same man who wrote these words said, Here is a creed to my friend. Again, I quote, he said to his friend, I owe you loyalty even to my hurt, but I do not owe you my agreement. I owe you tolerance and encouragement and recognition of your gift. I owe you a part of me, my time, my thought, my possessions, and my vulnerability.

I owe you serious consideration of your admonishment of me. I owe you forgiveness. A friend who truly forgives doesn't need to forget. I want to be that kind of a friend. I want to have that kind of a friend.

I want to ask you a question. If I were to ask you tonight to sit down and write letters to five people, write five people that you know that you could count on, five people that you say this is a faithful man, write a letter to five people, would anybody write you a letter? Are you known as a faithful man?

Fidelity, dependability, integrity, it is missing. We need to be faithful to the family, faithful in our finances, faithful to our friends. I'll tell you something else that we need to be faithful to, to the fellowship, to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 12 verse 5, so we being many are one body in Christ and every one member is one of another. I belong to you and you belong to me and don't say it's none of your business, pastor.

What I do, it is plenty of my business and it is plenty of your business what I do. We are members one to another and we owe to one another a fearful loyalty. The Bible teaches that we're to be faithful to the fellowship and that means the attendance of the fellowship. Hebrews 10, 25 says we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is.

Do you know what is happening in America today? Something that I have not seen in years past when I used to be a pastor, there are people today who claim to be Christians who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ who do not belong to and are not faithful to a local fellowship. Such a thing was unheard of, unthought of in the Bible. To be a Christian meant that you were faithful to the fellowship, that you attended when the gathering gathered together that you were there. If you stopped attending, they assumed that you were lost, that you were an apostate, that you went back on God. Now, people say, well, I believe in Christianity but I am not necessarily a member of a local church but I'm a member of the universal church. That's like saying I believe in football. I say, what team do you play for? Well, I'm just a part of the NFL and you're not part of any team.

I mean, it's foolish. We need to be faithful to the church. We have joined the cult of the comfortable and we come when it pleases us.

If something interrupts us, we say, oh, well, it's all right. Friend, I believe we ought to be in the house of God on a regular basis bringing our prayers and our tithes and our Bible and our love and our influence to the house of God faithfully week after week after week. What do we have?

What do we do? That is more important than being a part of the blood-bought body of the Lord Jesus Christ, the local visible expression of the body of Christ. And the Bible says we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the matter of some is. Let me tell you what you say when you come to church. You say two things. You say, number one, God is important to me.

I'll tell you what else you say. You say to your brothers and sisters in Christ, you are important to me. That's very important. You don't just simply go to impress the Lord. You go to bless one another. The Bible says we're to exhort one another and so much the more as we see the day approaching. Again, here's something that our men need to be faithful to. You need to be faithful not only to the fellowship but faithful to the faith. I mean to the Word of God. There's a battle today for the Bible. 2 Timothy 1 verses 13 and 14, the Apostle Paul had to tell Timothy, hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Jesus Christ, that good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. I see a generation of young people today.

There's no conviction. They don't know the great truths of the Word of God. They don't stand for the faith or for all deliver it unto the saints. And whose responsibility is it? You say, well, pastor, it's yours to stand in the pulpit and teach us. No, it is yours, mister, as a dad to instill that faith into your children, to be faithful to the faith and to teach these young people what the Word of God says and to make certain you know it and you can pass it on to your son.

Let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 6 and see what God commands of the fathers. Now, you think about it. We're only one generation away from paganism. It's like running a race, a relay race.

If you drop the baton, then the race is over. Friend, we've got to pass it on to this next generation. Give us some men who are faithful to the faith. William Booth founded the Salvation Army.

Do you know what William Booth said the chief danger of the 20th century would be? He said it would be religion without the Holy Spirit, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, and heaven without hell. That's what's being preached today in pulpits across America. Now, why should we be faithful?

I mean, what is the motivation? Let me give you some reasons why you ought to be a faithful man. Faithful to your family, faithful with your finances, faithful to your friends, faithful to the fellowship, faithful to the faith.

Why? Well, number one, friend, Jesus Christ is faithful to us. I mean, He is faithful to us. For example, which of us has not sinned?

Who has not failed and stumbled? But thank God for 1 John 1, verse 9, if we confess our sins, He is what? Faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

How I need that verse. But oh, oh, just simply say, my God, I'm sorry, I failed. To have the precious blood of Jesus to cleanse. And He's never failed to do it. All my Christian life, He's been faithful to me. Faithful in failure. Why, He's been faithful in temptation. Are you tempted? I am every day. But thank God for 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 13, that says, there has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful. Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you're able? But will with the temptation make a way to skate that you may be able to bear it? Thank God for that. I wouldn't, I couldn't make it.

I couldn't stand. I would fall, I would fail were it not for the faithfulness of God to help me in time of temptation. Friend, He's faithful to keep us from falling. Listen to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verses 23 and 24.

And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calleth you, who also will do it. We don't keep saved by holding on to God. We're kept because He holds on to us. He preserves us faithful to the end.

I hear people sometimes say in the testimony meeting they get up and they say, talk about how they've been walking with the Lord and then they end their testimony something like this and brethren pray for us, we'll hold out faithful to the end. Well, I think I know what they mean but I always kind of smile a little bit when they say that I kind of picture Noah's ark and eight pegs out there sticking out of Noah's ark and Noah and his wife and his family holding on to those slimy pegs. Rather than being on the inside of the ark they're out there holding on to the ark and Noah says to Ms. Noah, honey, pray for me, I'll hold out faithful to the end.

He never would have made it. But friend, thank God that God said Noah come into the ark. When he came in, God shut the door and God that shut the water out shut Noah in.

He may have fallen down inside that ark but he never fell out of it, friend. Faithful, faithful is He who calls you. See, it's not that we hold on to Him all we ought to but something even better is that He holds on to us. One of these days our Lord is going to step out of the glory. One of these days Jesus is coming. We look for His coming and we long for His coming. Do you know what He said to the Philadelphia church? Revelation chapter 2 verse 10, fear none of these things which thou shall suffer. Behold the devil shall cast some of you into prison that ye may be tried and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life. You know, it doesn't matter how far ahead you may be in a race. If you quit running, you'll lose it.

No matter how far ahead you are. Here's the old grizzled old warrior, the apostle Paul. He's in prison. He's been preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

They can't make him let up, back up or shut up. So they put him in prison and he's writing to his son in the ministry, young Timothy and this is what he says to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4 beginning in verse 6. I am now ready to be offered. What he means here is I'm ready to be a sacrificial lamb.

I'm ready to be offered. The time of my departure is at hand. That is, I'm getting ready to leave this world and then he says, I have fought a good fight.

I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day and not to me only but unto all them also that love his appearing. I want you to see the old apostle Paul now.

His eyesight is gone. He's probably having to dictate this letter to a stenographer and amanuensis as they call them. Then they say, well, Paul, you want to sign it? Paul takes his palsied hand and he says, just see what big letters I'm writing with, but it's me, Paul.

Then there comes a knock at the door. Paul, the time has come. Hate to tell you this, Paul, but we're going to cut off your head. The executioner's got his act sharpened. Come with me, Paul.

We're going to take that last walk. And they unlock that cell door and out comes Paul, the greatest Christian to ever live. You know, I don't know how to picture Paul.

I picture him in my mind sort of a balding man, a little ball pate, a little horseshoe haircut, a little spindly legs, kind of hump back, squinty eyes, body's all scarred. He's been shipwrecked. He's fought with wild beasts. He's been stoned and left for dead. He's rotted in jail.

He's fasted. He's walking out there and they lead him out and there's that old block there. They're going to execute him. There's that lethal weapon. That ax is going to take off his head.

They lead him down to the Tiber River that will soon drink his blood. Paul is just kind of humming. The guard says, are you singing? Yeah, I didn't know you were listening. I was just humming a little song.

Well, what's the name of it? I've never heard that, Paul. Oh, it's just a little song. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.

And they say, well, all right, Paul, kneel down. Are you afraid? Oh, no, I'm not afraid. I die daily. What?

Yeah, I've been doing this for a long time. I die daily. Listen, man, I'm wanting to go and be with Jesus. Well, Paul, you're strange. Paul, do you have any last words? Oh, yes, brother, I've got some last words.

What are they? Jesus Christ is Lord. Down comes that ax and off goes that head. The next scene is in heaven. There's Paul and Jesus. Welcome home, son. Good to see you, Paul. Lord Jesus, before you say anything, I want to tell you, Lord, thank you for saving me. Thank you, Lord, every time I sinned, you forgave me. Thank you, Lord, that you kept me by your grace. Thank you, Lord, that you delivered me out of temptation. Thank you, Lord. And, Lord, I want to tell you something else. I've made mistakes.

I've failed. But, Lord, I was faithful to the fight. I was faithful to the faith, and I was faithful to the finish. And I can hear Jesus as he says to him, Paul, well done, good, and faithful servant. Don't you want him to say that to you?

I do. I want him to say, Hey, Adrian, you have been my man. You have been faithful. Why should we be faithful? Because he is faithful. He is faithful. Let me just talk to you for a little bit about how to be faithful. First of all, you need to be faithful in the small things. Here's what separates people. Listen to this verse in Luke chapter 16 and verse 10. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.

And he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. All big things are made of little things. Your body, for example, has various members.

And these members have various parts. And these parts have smaller components, cells. And these cells are made up of molecules. Everything that's big is made of something that's small. The ocean, fast as the ocean is, the ocean is made up of drops. And the drops are made up of molecules.

And the molecules are made up of atoms. You can't have anything big without having something small, time. All of the millions and billions of years that may have been or ever will be are made up of the ages and the ages are made up of the years and the years are made up of the days.

The days are made up of the hours and the hours of the minutes and the minutes of the seconds and the microseconds. If you'll be faithful in the small things, the big things will take care of themselves. Learn to be faithful in life. Do you know what the big things in life are made up out of? Little acts, little words, little thoughts.

You can't have them much without having the little. Be faithful in the small things. Use integrity in the small things. Wilbur Chapman, mightily used of God, said this, and I quote, The rule that governs my life is this. Anything that dims my vision of Christ or takes away my taste for Bible study or cramps my prayer life or makes Christian work difficult is wrong for me and I must, as a Christian, turn away from it. That's worth hearing again.

Listen to it. The rule that governs my life is this. Anything that dims my vision of Christ or takes away my taste for Bible study or cramps my prayer life or makes Christian work difficult is wrong for me and I must, as a Christian, turn away from it. Do you know what we need to do as dads, men? We need to train our children to be faithful in little things. And moms and dads, I want to say this, that when you bring them to church on Sunday morning, teach them to bring their pennies to give to Jesus.

I mean, it costs us more money to give them an envelope than it does if we get back in it. But you teach them, say, you want your money grubber? You want the money from those little kiddies? You bet I do. I want them to bring those pennies to Jesus.

And I'll tell you why. You teach that boy or girl to bring his pennies to Jesus Christ on Sunday morning, one day he may give a million, two million dollars to the cause of Christ because he's learned to be faithful in that which is least so he can learn to be faithful in that which is much. David, before he went out against Goliath, he slew a lion and he slew a bear and that's the way he knew he could take care of Goliath. He said to God that helped me with that lion and God that helped me with that bear, he said, God that's going to help me with you and I'm going to make you a foot shorter at the top. Listen, David was a man who knew how to be faithful, keeping his father's sheep, the small things, and therefore he could be king over Israel. Most of us are going to fail not in the big thing.

We're going to fail in the small thing. A man was an executive in a company. They were going to move him up and make him one of the chief executives. And the board had already talked about it.

It was a monumental advancement. The owner of the company just happened to be behind this man in the cafeteria line at the company cafeteria. And he saw that man take a pat of butter, a pat of butter, you know what that is? A little square butter.

I think probably about three cents on the register. Put it on his tray, took a slice of bread and put it on top of it so the cashier wouldn't see it. He didn't know that the CEO was right behind him, but he saw that. The CEO went back to the board and said, we've got the wrong man. He doesn't have integrity.

And for three cents, he lost multiplied thousands and thousands of dollars. Now, if humans would do that, how much more would the heavenly Father who wants to advance you and bless you say, I can't bless him? He doesn't have integrity in the small things. God give us faithful men. Be faithful in the small things and be faithful in the secret things. What you are in secret is what you are, nothing more or nothing less.

I'm talking to some men, you travel a lot. You go into these motels and now in almost every motel there's a television and that television are these R-rated and X-rated films. Nobody's in there but you. Oh, no, I'm wrong. Jesus is in that room. Jesus is in that room. And, friend, what you are in that room when your wife is not there and your children are not there and your boss is not there, that is what you are.

And you don't have to keep on making up your mind whether or not you're going to watch that filth. Say, my mind is settled. I made a covenant with mine eyes.

I will not do it. My heart is fixed. I'll live for God. Be faithful, friend, in the small things. Be faithful in the secret things and thy Father which seeth in secret will reward thee openly.

The Sistine Chapel has been cleaned and refurbished. Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel and I read somewhere on the account of Michelangelo was up there in a cornice painting over behind and they said, hey, forget that. Nobody else can see it. He said, I know it's there.

I know it's there. Do you paint the corners of your life that nobody else can see and be faithful, dear friend, in the sacred things, the small things, the secret things, the sacred things? Be faithful to meet with God. Do you know how you have faithfulness?

Not by resolution, not by gritting your teeth. The Bible says in Galatians 5 and verse 22, the fruit of the Spirit... Now, your Bible says is faith, but that is translated, the fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness. Faithfulness. Just abide in him. Come to him. Be committed to him. Surrender to him.

Yield to him. And God will make you faithful. God give us faithful men. Let's pray. Lord God, I pray that you'll give us today some dads, some husbands, some deacons, some teachers, some staff, and yes, a pastor who are faithful men. And may we lead our wives and our children because, Lord, you have been faithful to us. Hallelujah. Amen. If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org. For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683. Thank you.