“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Heb. 11:1 NIV)

Striving together as one for the faith

“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.” (Phil. 1:27 NIV)

Faith is a gift of God

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:8 NIV)

Faith is given by the Spirit

“…to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:9 NIV)

A precious faith is received through the righteousness of God

“Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.” (2 Peter 1:1 NIV)

 “The LORD rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness. The LORD delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed.” (1 Sam. 26:23 NIV)

The faithful in the land will minister to you

“My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; the one whose walk is blameless will minister to me.” (Psalm 101:6 NIV)

A few examples of those who were faithful and blessed

• Joseph –  “So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” (Gen. 39:22-23 NIV)
• Moses —  “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future.” (Heb. 3:5 NIV)
• David — “Ahimelek answered the king, “Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household?” (1 Sam. 22:14 NIV)
• Hanania — “I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do.” (Neh. 7:2 NIV)
• Abraham — “You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites.
• Daniel — “At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.” (Dan. 6:4 NIV)
• Timothy — “For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.” (1 Cor. 4:17 NIV)

“Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the LORD.” (Jer. 23:28 NIV)

Faithfully speak God’s Word with sincerity

“Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.” (2 Cor. 2:17 NIV)

Faithfully speak God’s Word without deception 

“Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Cor. 4:2 NIV)

Faithfully treasure God’s Word with your lips 

“I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.” (Job 23:12 NIV)

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.“The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.  “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ “The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’ “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’” “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate.  I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’  “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.” (Matt. 25:14-29 NLT)

You must prove yourself faithful  

”Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (1 Cor. 4:2 NIV)

A faithful servant will be put in charge of all his master’s possessions

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.” (Matt. 24:45-47 NIV)

 “A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.” (Prov. 28:20 NIV)

The Lord preserves those who are faithful

“Love the LORD, all his faithful people! The LORD preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full.” (Psalm 31:23 NIV)

Faithfulness is rare, so ask God for help with it

“Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.” (Psalm 12:1 NIV)

“Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?” (Prov. 20:6 NIV)

 “And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17 NIV)

Our God gives light to our eyes

“But now, for a brief moment, the LORD our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage.” (Ezra 9:8 NIV)

God made your eyes and ears

“Ears that hear and eyes that see— the LORD has made them both.” (Prov. 20:12 NIV)

“Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?” (Psalm 94:9 NIV)

The eye is the light of the body

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” (Matt. 6:22 NIV)

“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness.” (Luke 11:34 NIV)

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matt. 4:17 NIV)

He said to repent and believe the good news

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark. 1:15 NIV)

John the Baptist preached repentance

“… and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matt 3:2 NIV)

The Apostles preached repentance

“They went out and preached that people should repent.” (Mark 6:12 NIV)

Repentance preached in the Name of Christ

“… and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:47 NIV)

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19 NIV)

Repent and be baptized

“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38 NIV)

Repent of wickedness

“Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.” (Acts 8:22 NIV)

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper

“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” (Prov. 28:13 NIV)

 “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NIV)

God’s kindness leads to repentance

“Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” (Rom. 2:4 NIV)

Repentance — a change of heart

“...and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’” (1 Kings 8:47 NIV)

God disciplines those He loves, so earnestly repent

“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” (Rev. 3:19 NIV)

Godly sorrow brings repentance

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Cor. 7:10 NIV)