From the Desk of Apostle Dr. Thomas H. Lounsbury

"Faith"

Today this article will deal with the term "Faithful". We hear this word used a lot in connection with Jesus, and I would like to share with you what this has come to mean to me. The definition of the word Faithful is: steady in allegiance or affection, loyal, constant, reliable, trusted, dependable, a firm support and defense of a cause, full of faith. 

Let's look at I Corinthians 1:4-9; this will reveal in this article my point.

"I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

As I read these scriptures, they reveal the faithfulness not only of God our Father, but also the faithfulness of Jesus Christ our Lord to God and also to us who believe. Yet I see another side of being faithful which belongs to us the people of God. Let me explain what I mean. According to I Corinthians 1:9, we were called into fellowship with Jesus Christ and therefore into fellowship with Father God. This also implies that there needs to be a fellowship with other believers in faithful relationships because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. This is extremely important for us to understand as people of God. Your life becomes a very intricate part of a great plan from God. He selects you, protects you and puts you in a strategic place in His family. You see, the church is really all about Him. What does Jesus want? What does Jesus need? What is Jesus requesting from us, his leaders and people? He wants, simply, for us to reflect Him. That is sometimes more difficult than we can believe, but what the Lord is able to work through us in these tough times is what creates great faith. Great faith produces faithfulness, thus the cycle of love.

As you know, our ministry is in the process of buying a church, and office space, with that we needed to raise $100,000.00. This was above what we could borrow from the bank. And the people of Lighthouse Ministries Intl. have been nothing short of faithful according to the definition of the word. They have demonstrated over and above anything that could be expected from a group of people. The raising of the money was an exceptional feat in and of itself. Then to add to that, the fact we have had Home cell churches, children meeting in various facilities, Prayer meetings in our leader's homes. Meetings for the purpose of expansion. Our offices fully functional in our home. The list goes on and on. Yet the people remained Faithful.

Let me take one definition from the word faithful to explain what I am saying; firm support and defense of a cause. We had a cause and that cause was to leave a building, meet in cell churches for over a year without losing a beat and wait to move into a new building and at the same time raise $100,000.00. The people stayed loyal and dedicated to the cause, what can I say except I pray that all of you are blessed with the same faithful people that the Lord has blessed us with. To see the glory of God upon their faces is truly inspiring. To watch them as they have led others to the Lord has left me in tears. What a tremendous outpouring of faithfulness.

"Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of the Lord." These are the words that our people will hear from the Lord. My prayer is that we all hear these same words over our lives and experience the joy of watching God move you from faith to faith and glory to glory. May I add this great statement. When God is going to do something wonderful, He begins with a difficulty. If it is going to be something very wonderful, He begins with an impossibility. Perhaps you and your congregation are facing very grave challenges. Perhaps you feel the threat of the evil one smothering your hopes and dreams. Be full of hope, Pastor. If you have just two to come into faithful agreement with you, God will bring you to victory. He can only bring you to Himself and that will always produce Faithfulness.