May 18, 2008
SoulTalk
It's Not Just Talk: It's About Faithfulness
SoulTalk16.mp3

Pastor Wade Burleson
Emmanuel Baptist Church
Enid OK


Luke 16:10 (ESV)
  1. One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.

It's Not Just Talk
It's About Faithfulness
Luke 16:10

We have been discussing the last few weeks the importance of knowing God more intimately and relating to others more deeply through SoulTalk. There is something else needed. Jesus was speaking to his disciples in Luke 16 and He gives to them a description of the character of His people: "He who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much . . ." (Luke 16:10). There are two words worth examining -- faithful and little (ESV says "very little"). God's people are faithful in the little things. This is important to understand.

  1. Little things are those things valued by God.
    The Pharisees overheard Jesus teaching his disciples, and "ridiculed him" (Luke 16:14). And Jesus said (v.15), "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in God's sight."
    1. Man values wealth, God values people.
      Most people miss the point of Luke 16. They believe that God is putting the emphasis on being faithful with just a little "money" and God will give more. The little thing here is NOT the money -- but the people that your money helps. "I tell you, make friends for yourselves with unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails (wealth) they may receive you into the eternal dwellings" (Luke 16:9).
    2. Man values appearances, God values the heart.
      Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You are those who justify yourselves before men" (v.15). But God knows the heart. To be faithful in the little things is to be one who does not hide.
    3. Man values the temporal, God values the eternal.
      "If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?" (Luke 16:11). The true riches are God and His people. It's a vicious cycle for those who aren't faithful in the little things that God values. You pursue wealth, appearances, temporal pleasures, and you find it all vanity. Because you pursue those things, you are never given the real, eternal riches.
  2. To be faithful is to be full of faith in the Faithful One.
    Faithful is defined as "steadfast allegiance." To be faithful in the "little things" is to have an allegiance to people over your job, integrity over appearances, the eternal over the temporal. How does that happen? How is a person faithful to those "little things" that the world abhors?
    1. Faithfulness is an essential attribute of God's character. "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself" (II Timothy 2:12). "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope . . . for He who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23).
    2. Our faith in Him is based on His faithfulness. "By faith Sarah herself received ability to conceive . . . since she considered Him faithful who had promised" (Hebrews 11:11). This is the cycle which faithfulness produces. God's faithfulness will produce faith in us, which will then produce faithfulness in our lives as well. Because God is faithful, we learn to be faithful. We are faithful when it comes to people. We are faithful when it comes to those times we are alone and in private. We are faithful to consider those things that are eternal and refuse to settle for the lesser.
    God's people are faithful in the little things.


    Questions? Comments?
    Pastor Wade