“Faithfulness” || What Makes a Believer? || Week 2

Introduction to Today’s Message

Welcome to Week 2 of “What Makes a Believer?”. This series is about the different characteristics of what a believer is. There are a ton of characteristics to talk about according to my Study Bible. We’re taking the time to talk about seven different characteristics that I feel can be expounded upon. I want to reiterate something:

I DO NOT HAVE A DEGREE IN ANY FORM OF THEOLOGY. I AM NOT A PASTOR. I DO NOT HAVE ANY PREACHING OR THEOLOGICAL LICENSES. I AM JUST A YOUTH AND CHILDREN’S MINISTRY LEADER THAT ENJOYS DIVING DEEPER INTO THE BIBLE. THESE ARE MY OPINIONS BASED OFF MY STUDIES, SCRIPTURES, AND PERSONAL TESTIMONY. 

I say all that even though no one has come to me and questions what I’ve said, how I’ve said it, or that I’ve taken scripture out of context. I always want to call that out to make people aware of it before we jump into it. It’s a failsafe for me honestly.

Last week, we talked about boldness. This week, we talk about faithfulness. Faithful or faithfulness also seems like a key characteristic when talking about being a believer. We are taught early on that we need to give to God what we are dealing with that and then have faith in Him that the things we are dealing with will be resolved. Having faith in God is hard to always accomplish because we’re human, at least in my opinion. We always want immediate gratification in what we ask for or what we want., but that’s not how God operates. God doesn’t work on our schedule, but on His, and therefore we need to stay patient and have faith that God will give us what we need to need to make through life day in and day out. There’s one scripture that my study bible lists regarding faithfulness and it’s found in the Book of Revelation.

Focus Scripture: Revelation 17:14 

Our sole scripture for today is found in the Book of Revelation, chapter 17, verse 14. It says: “They will make war on the Lamb, but the Lamb will emerge victorious, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings. Those with him are called, chosen, and faithful. ” There’s a decent bit to unpack here regarding the context of this verse. If you’ve been reading my series for a while, you know how much I value sharing the context of what the Bible is saying, so let’s break it down.

Point #1: What is Armageddon? (Revelation 16:14-16)

The war is referred to here is the battle of Armageddon. The description of Armageddon is found a chapter before, in Revelation 16:14-16. This battle has demonic spirits that do signs, which are supernatural wonders designed to deceive the kings into invading Palestine. These signs are so powerful that the demonic spirits can induce the kings to go to Palestine despite their sores, crazy heat, drought, and darkness. The spirits gather the “kings of the whole world” for battle. This is no longer an east vs. west type of showdown, but it’s all the world gathering in Palestine for the final battle; the battle on the great day of God the Almighty aka Armageddon. The great with God and Christ that ends when Christ returns. The Lord stresses a constant readiness state that we need to be in when Christ returns. He describes it as a soldier ready for battle or a homeowner watching out for a thief.

Now, we have a set-up for what the battle of Armageddon will look like, but what does Armageddon mean. Armageddon is actually the Hebrew name for Mount Megiddo, which is located 60 miles north of Jerusalem. That battle will commence on the nearby plains of this mountain. If you’re REALLY knowledgeable about Old Testament battles, this is the site of Barak’s victory over the Canaanites and Gideon’s victory over the Midianites in the Book of Judges. It’s been known that Napoleon has called this site the greatest battlefield that he’s ever seen. Armageddon won’t be limited to just those plains but will stretch the entire length of Palestine. Let’s take a breath for a minute. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Let’s continue on.

Point #2: Armageddon commences (Revelation 19:17-21)

This battle is where the Lamb (Jesus) will utterly destroy the kings. How do we know this? Let’s check out Revelation 19:17-21. To preface this: this section of verses depict the frightening holocaust unparalleled in human history. This isn’t as much a battle, but it’s more like an execution, as the remaining rebels are killed by Jesus. I’m not quite sure where this section of writing will go, but if you’re hesitant to read battle literature, please stop now and I will let you know when you can come back.

This section of scripture starts off with an angel standing in the sun. He called out to all the birds flying above him: “Come and gather for God’s great supper.” (19:17). This supper doesn’t sound appetizing to me. This supper for the birds is feasting on the corpses of those who will be slain. God will declare his victory before the battle even starts. The OT frequently talks about birds eating on corpses. My study Bible lists 7 different instances of this happening.

Next, we see the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together ready for war against the rider on his horse and his army. We’ve already talked about the kings of the earth and their armies a little bit in the previous section. “His army” refers to God’s army, which Zechariah refers to as “all the holy ones” (Zech 14:5). Here we go, the battle is starting.

The next verse says that “the beast was seized, along with the false prophets who had done signs in the beast’s presence.” (Rev 19:20a). Just that quickly, the world’s armies are now without their leaders. The beast refers to the Antichrist and the false prophet is his sidekick (for lack of a better word). We talked about the signs the false prophets would’ve done already. The beast and his sidekick…the Antichrist and the false prophet…were then “thrown alive into the fiery lake that burns with sulfur” (Rev. 19:20c). The bodies of the beast and the false prophet are now being transformed and are banished immediately to the lake of fire. They are the first of countless MILLIONS of unregenerate men and fallen angels to go there. The “fiery lake” is the final hell, the place of eternal punishment for all unrepentant rebels, angelic or human.

We’ve heard about the gruesome death of the two main heads on the enemy’s team, but what happened to the rest of the armies? They were “killed by the sword that comes from the mouth of the rider on the horse. (Rev. 19:21). Why is it depicted as a sword that comes from the mouth of the rider? This actually indicates that he wins the battle with the power…of his word. Though the saints return with Christ to reign and rule, they aren’t the executioners. That is his task, that of his angels. That to me…is REALLY FREAKING COOL! Now let’s take another breath. Breathe in. Breathe out. I promise that as of now, we are done talking about Armageddon. I promise.

Point #3: Title Definition

The title “King of kings” and “Lord of Lords” This is a title for God that emphasizes his power over all other rulers that he gave authority to. It’s a simple concept to understand, so I don’t want to dive into that more than this. You can check out some other scripture that talks about these titles more including Revelation 19:16, 1 Timothy 6:15, Deuteronomy 10:17, and Psalm 136:3.

Point #4: What Am I Know?

Now funny enough (if you could call any of this discussion so far funny), the part of our focus scripture does not go into detail in my Study Bible regarding faithfulness. This part of the scripture says: “…Those with him are called, chosen, and faithful.” This section doesn’t talk about what faithful is or how we should be faithful. These descriptors are about those in God’s army, which Zechariah called them “all the holy ones.” What does it then mean to be called, chosen, and faithful? Let’s break that down then.

Point #5: I am called. I am chosen. (Matthew 22:14)

It is really hard to define what being “called” and “being” chosen means. I’m going to use Matthew 22:14 as my definitive verse talking about this. There are others, but this is a verse I feel like I can talk about with some ease. This verse simply says: “Many people are invited, but few people are called”. This is in Jesus’ parable of the Wedding Feast, which I’m not going to talk about. I do want to talk about the “called” here. The call talked about here is sometimes known as the “general call” – a summons to repentance and faith that is inherent in the gospel message. It extends to everyone that hears the gospel. Many will hear it, but few will respond to it. Those that respond are known as “chosen”. This “call” in this verse refers to the great “whoever will” of the gospel. Here, then, is the proper balance between human responsibility and God’s power: the “called” who reject the invitation do so willingly, and therefore they exclude themselves from the kingdom. The “chosen”, those who respond to the call, enter the kingdom only because of God’s grace in choosing and drawing them. I’m praying that makes some semblance of sense because it’s a confusing topic, to me at least, to talk about. So now…let’s FINALLY talk about what it means to be called faithful.

Point #6: I am faithful. 

What does that mean? There are two definitions that Google provides about the adjective of faithful. That’s an important thing to remember. This is not a noun. This is an adjective, a descriptor. This is describing who you are. One definition says “remaining loyal and steadfast.” A synonym of faithful that I think would make more sense to some of us is devoted. This means that we give ourselves to God. We give our thoughts to God. We give our hearts to God. We give our actions to God. We give our earthly things to God. We give our money to God. We do our job for God. We give our lives to God. We are then devoted to his Word and his plan for us.

A second definition says: “true to the facts or the original”. A synonym of faithful here is precise. It’s staying true to the Word of God. It’s believing the teachings of Jesus, the disciples, Paul, and others. It’s not believing it on face value, but it’s believing it in your heart, which would then reflect your actions, decisions, language, conversations, and MANY other facets of our lives. Now, this can also mean accurate, but Jesus doesn’t call us to be accurate. Jesus doesn’t seek us to be perfect but to live precisely the life God’s calls us to live. It’s not about perfection, but progression. It’s about learning to live life precisely how Jesus told us to. It may be confusing. It may be conflicting. It may be concerning. Overall, it’s all about being faithful.

That’s the end of Week 2 of “What Makes a Believer?” So far it’s about being bold, and being faithful. It’s a good start. Week 3 will be about being humble. Uh-oh…I have a feeling this will convict both me and you. We’ll see you then!