One Word That Will Change Your Life

Faithful — One Word That Will Change Your Life

Scripture References

Primary text

• Habakkuk 2:4
• Matthew 25

Other references

• Ephesians 4
• Acts 20:22

Overview

God will never greet His children with “well done, successful, influential, or happy servant,” but with “well done, good and faithful servant.” Because the trajectory of life drifts toward convenience, faithfulness must be chosen in advance. In this message within the “Pre-Decide” series, we learn to pre-decide that every interaction, every resource, and every prompting is an opportunity to honor God. Over time, a lifetime of small, consistent acts of faithfulness produces results we could never imagine in the short run.

Main Points

1. Faithfulness vs. Pride

• Habakkuk contrasts the proud, who “trust in themselves,” with the righteous, who “live by their faithfulness to God.”
• Pride says, “I can manage by my own wisdom, gifts, or bank account.”
• Choosing faithfulness is an intentional rejection of self-reliance.

2. Pre-Decide: Every Interaction Adds Value

• Jesus always linked faithfulness with relationships.
• Pre-decision: wherever I go, every person I meet is a chance to bless, encourage, or serve.
• Ephesians 4: speak only what “builds others up.”

• Illustration: We all check ourselves first in a group photo—proof of how self-focused we are. Faithfulness deliberately turns that focus outward.
• Story: Pastor Craig’s former pastor, Nick Harris, told him during a painful setback, “No man can stop what God calls you to do,” a single sentence that redirected his future.

3. Pre-Decide: Every Resource Is Meant to Multiply

• Matthew 25: the master calls the servants who doubled their gold “good and faithful.”
• Greek pistos: faithfulness is proven in business dealings and the discharge of duty.
• Stewardship means caring for yards, cars, bodies, money, and businesses so they grow and serve others.

• Being a God-honoring business leader, creating jobs and acting with integrity, is as spiritual as fasting or teaching Scripture.
• Life.Church budgets for margin so it can lead with “irrational generosity,” funding local missions and the YouVersion Bible App.

4. Pre-Decide: Every Prompting Is an Opportunity to Obey

• Acts 20:22—Paul moved by a Spirit-compulsion he couldn’t fully explain.
• Obedience often comes without immediate clarity.

• Story: While overseas, Craig felt a sudden urge to phone a friend at midnight; the call interrupted that friend’s suicide attempt and saved his life.
• Story: At home, he sensed God’s nudge to pray aloud over his son Stephen in front of friends—awkward yet obedient.

“Obedience is our responsibility; outcome is God’s.”

5. The Long View: A Lifetime of Small Faithful Steps

• Mentor Gary Walter: “You will overestimate what you can do in the short run but vastly underestimate what God can do through a lifetime of faithfulness.”
• Snapshot of small, consistent choices:
  • Dating purity and a 31-year marriage vow kept.
  • Buying and managing a first house at 19, then many more, enabling present-day generosity.
  • Launching Life.Church in a garage with 40 people and an overhead projector.
  • Seeing potential in a 19-year-old waiter—now a campus pastor.
  • Saying “yes” to the risky, first Bible app idea (now 515 million installs).
  • Breaking ground for a Colorado Springs campus in May 2020 while churches were still closed—now 2,000 attendees and 600 salvations.
• Theme: “Faithful with little, ruler over much.”

Key Truths

• Faithfulness must be intentional; it never happens by accident.
• God defines faithfulness in how we treat people, steward resources, and obey His voice.
• Adding value to others is a direct act of worship toward God.
• Multiplying what God entrusts is not optional—burying resources is called wicked, not merely lazy.
• Short-term results often disappoint; long-term faithfulness always astonishes.

Response

• Look people in the eye and speak words that build them up today.
• Treat every possession—home, car, income, talent—as seed to be multiplied for God’s purposes.
• Act immediately on the next Holy Spirit prompting, no matter how small or unclear.
• Review and reinforce your “I am” declarations: ready, consistent, devoted, generous, faithful, finisher.
• Commit to habits that cultivate lifetime faithfulness rather than short-term ease.

Closing

A faithful life is built choice by choice, day after day. When God nudges, say yes. When a person crosses your path, add value. When you receive any resource, make it grow. In time God’s verdict will not be about success or influence but faithfulness.

“Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Prayer

The pastor led listeners to ask God to stir a desire for faithfulness, to become a blessing, a steward, and an obedient child of God, and then invited those far from Christ to receive forgiveness through Jesus, confessing their sins and surrendering their lives to Him.

Resources

• YouVersion Bible App