Dave continued his series on the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) this morning, speaking on faithfulness. Faith is defined as ‘complete trust or confidence’, a ‘firm belief (often without logical proof.)’ Our faith rests, however, on the faithfulness of God’s character (see Deut 7:9, Ps 33:4). Everyone has faith in something (doctors, cars, the cleanliness of restaurants and their desire not to poison their clientele!) and we need to understand that the fruit of faithfulness is grown in us by God’s Spirit because God Himself is faithful. He has called us into fellowship with His Son (1 Cor 1:9) and therefore our duty is to grow in faithfulness. We want to be ‘good and faithful servants’ who will do what God asks us to do, growing into people who are reliable, trustworthy, honest and dependable.

Our faithfulness is manifested in different ways. We need to be faithful first and foremost to God, who must have our first love and commitment. Next, we need to be faithful to our families (to wives or husbands, children and parents), honouring God’s desire for love to be seen in the family. We need to be faithful to the church and to our friends, faithful to God’s word, to prayer and to fellowship, and faithful also in our work, showing God’s character to our employers through the way we work. We need also to be faithful to the people God has called us to be, understanding our identity in God.

1 Cor 4:1-2 reminds us that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. Faithfulness is not the same as intelligence or talents; it is a steady reliability which is committed to doing God’s will, regardless of feelings. We are encouraged to meet together and build each other up, reminding ourselves that we can only do this because God Himself is faithful. (Heb 10:23) John reminds us that we are required to be faithful ‘even to the point of death’, but that God promises ‘the crown of life’ to those who overcome. (Rev 2:10) May faithfulness abound as we rest in the faithfulness of God.

BMBC is currently preparing a new ‘Local Plan’ for the borough which establishes policies and proposals for the development and use of land upt to the year 2033. This plan is used when considering planning applications and coordinating investment decisions that affect the towns, villages and countryside of Barnsley.

The local community is invited to look at this plan and submit comments before the plan is examined by an independent inspector whose role is to assess the soundness and legality of the plan. There will be opportunity to do this at Goldthorpe Library on Monday 11th July between 10 a.m. and 12 noon and on Thursday 21st July between 5 and 7 p.m.

Please do go along and have a look at the plan and consider how this will affect our local community. Please do pray also for our local councillors and local leaders who are responsible for planning and developing our area. Goldthorpe desperately needs new businesses and economic regeneration, but this cannot simply be imposed from outside; we have to work together in our own community, shining the light of God’s love and reflecting His care and vision for our area.

There has been much talk in the UK recently about the need to make Britain ‘great’ again.

Every time I hear the word ‘great’, I am reminded of how radically different God’s definition of greatness is compared to ours.

• ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matthew 18:3-4)

• ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’ (Matt 20:25-28)

• ‘The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.‘ (Matt 23:11-12, see also Mark 10:43)

Isaiah’s vision of the suffering servant (Is 52:13-53:12) and Paul’s description of Jesus’ exaltation through humility (Phil 2:5-11) are further illustrations that greatness in God’s eyes comes through humility, service and selflessness. It does not come through pride, arrogance, boasting, money or influence.

Prov 14:34 reminds us that ‘righteousness exalts a nation.’ We need to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33) as we pray for our nation and the world and for those in authority and power, understanding that Christians belong to a topsy-turvy, upside-down kingdom first and foremost.

What we think is crucially important to how we live; the things we think will influence our actions and actually become the springboard for all we are and do. Whether our thoughts are accurate and true matters if we are to live according to God’s ways.

Jeroboam’s thoughts led directly to idolatry: ‘Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”‘ (1 Kings 12:26-27) His conclusion was to build golden calves. (1 Kings 12:28)

If we are to prevent such actions in our lives, we have to be careful what we think about in the first place and the erroneous conclusions we often draw from our thoughts. We have to be careful from whom we seek advice and how we act. Phil 4:8 needs to be burned into our hearts and every thought ruthlessly evaluated by this standard.

June was clearly a popular month for birthdays, as we had two more to celebrate tonight. Dave, recently back from holiday, remarked that his time away had truly aged him, since he had come home a year older than when he left!

In the days when sailing ships were the primary means of trading, ships would legally fight only while flying their national flag. Striking the colours (lowering the flags which signified the ship’s allegiance) was a recognised sign of surrender. However, if the flags were fixed to the masts with nails, they could not easily be removed and this became an expression of defiance and a willingness to fight to the bitter end.

There are times when we have to nail our colours to the mast: when we have to declare openly that we are followers of Christ, that we are not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of salvation to all who believe. (Rom 1:16) Jesus calls us to radical discipleship: to the surrender of our self to His ownership, recognising that He is Lord of all (see 1 Cor 6:19-20). There is no place for us to hesitate or be ashamed of our allegiance: ‘If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.’ (Mk 8:38) ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’ (Luke 9:62) We need to be unashamed and to publicly declare our discipleship.

For some, that may mean leaving the security of a job and setting forth to serve God in mission fields; for others, it may even lead to martyrdom. But for all of us, it means letting go of our self-reliance and walking every day by faith, trusting in God’s ways and leaning on His thoughts, rather than living with God as an added extra or an insurance policy. It means living with the cross before us and the world behind us, choosing to walk the narrow path of salvation secure in the knowledge that it leads to eternal life.

Will you nail your colours to the mast? Who do you say Jesus is?