The world offers many goals, such as fame, wealth, or success. Yet, the ultimate commendation we should seek is to be called "faithful." This is not about achieving perfection, which is Christ's work in us, but about our daily choice to be trustworthy with what God has given. It is a goal that resonates from the Old Testament to the teachings of Jesus, defining a life well-lived in God's eyes. Our aim is to one day hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." [26:36]
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:21 NIV)
Reflection: As you consider the various goals and ambitions in your life, which one most often competes with God's desire for you to be known as faithful? What is one practical step you could take this week to intentionally prioritize faithfulness over that other goal?
Our natural tendency is to focus on ourselves first, even in simple encounters. A life of faithfulness calls us to flip this script and be intentional about blessing those around us. This means looking for ways to build others up through our words and actions, whether at home, work, or in our community. Our presence should make the climate in a room better for everyone else. This is how we live out the counter-cultural call of the gospel. [32:49]
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29 NIV)
Reflection: Where did you have an interaction recently where your primary focus was on your own needs or frustrations? How might God be inviting you to see that same situation as a future opportunity to add value and encouragement to the other person?
God entrusts each of us with different resources, not for our ownership, but for our stewardship. Faithfulness is not measured by how much we have, but by what we do with what we have been given. The call is to put our resources to work—whether time, talent, or treasure—for the benefit of the Master and the advancement of His kingdom. When we are faithful with a little, God promises to entrust us with more. [46:59]
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability.” (Matthew 25:14-15a NIV)
Reflection: What is one resource—perhaps something you see as small or insignificant—that God has placed in your care? How could you actively begin to use that specific resource this week to honor Him and multiply its impact for His purposes?
The Holy Spirit within us acts as an advocate, guiding and prompting us according to God's will. These promptings can be to simple acts of kindness or to difficult steps of faith, and we are called to obey regardless of the potential outcome. Our responsibility is simply to listen and act, trusting that God is responsible for the results. This obedience is a key component of a faithful life. [55:08]
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26 NIV)
Reflection: Can you recall a recent time you felt a gentle nudge to do something, like reach out to someone or attend an event, but you hesitated or ignored it? What is one thing you can do to become more attentive and responsive to the Holy Spirit's promptings in your daily life?
Not every inner urging is from God, so we must develop discernment. The ultimate test for any prompting is its alignment with Scripture. The Holy Spirit will never lead us to act in a way that contradicts God's Word. Therefore, we are called to be students of the Bible, allowing its truth to be the filter through which we evaluate our thoughts and feelings, ensuring we follow God's voice alone. [01:05:14]
“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17 NIV)
Reflection: When you feel a strong prompting to take a certain action, what is your process for ensuring it aligns with God's Word? Is there a specific area of Scripture you could study to better prepare yourself for discerning God's voice in that area?
Faithfulness is lifted above fame, wealth, or influence as the defining aim for Christian life. Grounded in Scripture—from Habakkuk’s declaration that the righteous live by faith to Jesus’ commendation “well done, good and faithful servant”—faithfulness is shown to be practical, daily, and measurable. It appears across three ordinary arenas of life: how people are treated, how resources are handled, and how promptings from the Holy Spirit are obeyed. Each arena invites intentional decisions that shape not only individual character but also the trajectory of others’ lives and the wider kingdom.
Interactions are reframed as spiritual opportunities: every encounter is a chance to add dignity, encouragement, and grace. Presence in community gatherings is reframed from a consumption mindset to a ministry posture—attendance matters because someone else may need the exact encouragement only another believer can offer. Stewardship receives a similarly Kingdom-centered redefinition: God does not demand equal allotments, but faithful multiplication of what has been entrusted. The parable of the talents illustrates that risk, effort, and growth for the owner’s sake are marks of faithful stewardship; hiding what is given is judged harshly.
The Holy Spirit’s promptings are presented as living guidance—sometimes toward convenience and blessing, other times toward difficulty and sacrifice. Believers are urged to cultivate sensitivity to those promptings, test them by Scripture, and obey without overanxious concern for outcomes. Obedience itself is the believer’s responsibility; consequences and results ultimately rest with God. Narrative illustrations—everyday encounters, workplace witness, and life-changing “divine appointments”—underscore how obedient small choices produce domino effects that shape generations. The call is concrete and immediate: pre-decide to be faithful in interactions, in stewardship, and in responsiveness to the Spirit so that when the time comes to give an account, the single word desired is "faithful."
If you could pick one word, I could tell you this. When you stand before the Lord in the end, the one word you're gonna wanna hear is faithful. Not perfect, but faithful. You see, Jesus makes us perfect, but we choose whether or not we're gonna be faithful with what God has given us. But what does it mean to be faithful? Right? What does that look like? How do we live that concept out in day to day real life?
[00:26:36]
(36 seconds)
#FaithfulOverPerfect
You need to understand that every prompting you feel may not be from god, so always test it by what? The word of god. The word of god is the sword of the spirit. It's the tool that the spirit uses. And it's sharp and it's active and it's alive and it's effective. But when you feel a prompting, you need to know god's spirit will never prompt you in anything contrary to god's word ever.
[01:05:07]
(26 seconds)
#TestPromptsWithScripture
Everything we have and don't have, everything in this world, above the world and below the world is owned by god the father. And he entrust us with portions of what he owns, and he expects us to be he's calling on us to be. He's wanting us to be good stewards with whatever part of that he's entrusted to us.
[00:46:28]
(26 seconds)
#StewardWhatGodGives
The holy spirit is god himself. Jesus said when he went back to the father, he was gonna send this helper to them, this advocate who's working on their behalf. And friends, you and I, if we are in Christ, have been given that gift from God. We have the Holy Spirit in us. He's alive and he's well and he's God helping us. That's what advocate means. He's working on our behalf.
[00:51:15]
(27 seconds)
#HolySpiritOurAdvocate
You see, you're more apt to listen to the promptings if it's not all about you anymore. It's all about him. That your life is really now all about completing the task god has for you, not about the goals you're trying to meet for yourself, the achievements that you're trying to get, the recognition that we want. No. This is all about completing the task that god wants us to complete while we're here. Of testifying to the good news of god's grace.
[00:54:12]
(39 seconds)
#LiveForGodsTask
You have no idea how god might use one single word of encouragement just to keep somebody going, just to help them take one more step, just to get through one more day, just to go back and keep working on that marriage that they're struggling in, just to to not give up on their kids when they're so far away from where god wants them to be, just just so they they know even though they don't like going into work tomorrow, there's a plan for that and a purpose for that, and people care about what's going on. They just need a single word of encouragement today, and god wants you. He can use you to be that person that brings that encouragement to them.
[00:36:28]
(37 seconds)
#OneWordCanHelp
You could be the exception. You could be the one that adds value to them that day. That says something like this to them. Wow. I know this has been hard for you. I I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this. Thank you for trying to help me here. I appreciate you so much and what you're doing. Wouldn't that make a difference?
[00:38:19]
(23 seconds)
#BeTheException
What do you wanna be known for? If you could pick one word and say that's the word I want to be known for, what would it be? What's the one word goal of what you want to achieve in your life? What would you choose? When surveys have been done about this, a lot of different answers have come up depending on the person and their background.
[00:24:50]
(23 seconds)
#KnownForOneWord
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