Fruits of the Spirit: LESSON 7 PART 3 – Faithfulness (Romans 10:17)
Lesson: FAITHFULNESS – Faith in the Word about Christ
Memory Verse: “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” – Romans 10:17
BIBLE LESSON: The book of Luke tells us how angel Gabriel was sent by God to Mary. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:30-33).
Mary asked how could this be possible since she had no husband yet, and the angel told her that the Holy Spirit will be the one to give her a son. The angel continued to say that even Mary’s cousin Elizabeth who was said to be unable to have a child will have a son in her old age, because, “no word from God will ever fail.” Mary responded with, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:37-38)
Can you imagine how this must have sounded to a young woman? The whole idea of having a child that will be called “Jesus” which means “savior” is not foreign to Mary. This was because their people, the Israelites, have been waiting for this coming “Messiah” for a very, very long time, and they had the Old Testament Scriptures which is God’s Word and promise to them to prove this.
And so Mary believed in faith on the Word of God spoken to her by the angel Gabriel – a Word which was actually a fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures. And because she believed and allowed the Holy Spirit to come upon her, she conceived and eventually gave birth to a son – Jesus Christ.
“Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” (Romans 10:17). This is how the bible tells us faith comes – by hearing God’s Word. That’s why it is important to go to church and to read the bible everyday – so that as we hear and read God’s Word, our faith is built up and grows. But for many people, the only Bible they will ever read is our lives – the lives of Christians who profess to believe in Jesus. That is why it is important that we understand that our lives are also a testimony of God’s Word at work.
Today, when we put our faith in Jesus Christ and believe the Word of God that we hear spoken to us or we read in the Bible, we become like Mary, who was blessed because of her faith in God. Mary heard, she believed, and she allowed the Holy Spirit to do its work and so she gave birth to Jesus. In the same way, we who have heard, when we believe the message of God and allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we will also “birth out” Christ, – or more clearly, we will let the light of Jesus Christ shine through us that people will see Jesus is alive in us.
Romans 8:29 tells us, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” This means God has planned that those whom He chose to hear His Word are also called to become like His Son, Jesus. This is our goal as we let the Holy Spirit work in our lives and seek to know God more and follow His voice – we are to become more and more like Jesus. By faith and as we yield to the Holy Spirit, we are changed day by day – from faith to faith and from glory to glory – until the time comes that when people look at us, they will see the image of Christ in us through the words that we say, the things that we do and the blessings that we share. These things allow people to see how Jesus is alive in us and how God restores hearts, renews minds and transforms the lives of those called to be “children of God.”
Challenge: When people look at you, do they see Jesus is alive in your life?
PRAYER:
Our Father in heaven, we praise you and glorify Your name! You are a great God and Your Word is true. You graciously shower us with your goodness, love and mercy. Thank You Lord for choosing us to hear your Word, and as we hear it, may our faith be built up — and may we all grow more in the grace and knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Help us to choose to listen to Your voice and to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, so that day by day, we are being transformed to become more and more like Your Son, Jesus. May the light of Jesus shine through us, that in all that we say, think or do, we would show the world that Jesus is alive indeed and He makes all things new and beautiful. Thank You, Father God, for allowing us to be Your children and covering us with Your love. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
