Faithfulness: Mary Magdalene

Sermon Summary:

This powerful message invites us into a transformative understanding of faithfulness through the remarkable example of Mary Magdalene. We discover that faithfulness isn’t something we manufacture through willpower alone—it’s a fruit that grows from the Holy Spirit’s work within us. Mary Magdalene demonstrates what radical faithfulness looks like: she financially supported Jesus’ ministry, stood at the foot of the cross when others fled, witnessed His burial, and became the first messenger of the resurrection. Her story challenges us to examine how our faithfulness manifests through action, not just intention. The sermon confronts us with an uncomfortable truth: sin isn’t a minor inconvenience we can manage—it’s a destructive force that requires divine intervention. Using vivid imagery of a bear claiming territory under a house and wolves consuming themselves, we’re reminded that without God’s transforming presence, we’re capable of the devastating list Paul describes in Galatians 5. But the good news is breathtaking: God’s Spirit dwells within us, creating desires and compulsions we couldn’t produce ourselves. The question that lingers is deeply personal—how is our faithfulness to God on display through our everyday actions? Are we merely inspired by stories of faithful disciples, or are we becoming difference-makers in our own spheres of influence?

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Sermon Points:

Key Takeaways:

• No one drifts toward godliness; intentional discipleship is required
• The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) represents God’s transformative work within believers
• Sin is destructive and must be taken seriously, not minimized
• Mary Magdalene demonstrated faithfulness through financial support, presence at the crucifixion, witnessing the burial, and being first at the tomb
• Mary Magdalene was the first witness of the resurrection and the first preacher of the good news
• Historical confusion about Mary Magdalene (conflating her with other women) was corrected by the Vatican in 1969
• Jesus is the ultimate example of faithfulness, willingly laying down His life as the Good Shepherd
• Faithfulness begins as internal work of the Holy Spirit but must manifest through external actions
• Faithfulness is demonstrated through obedience to what God calls us to do
• The church collectively demonstrates faithfulness through missions, ministry, and support of others

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Scripture References:

Sermon Transcript:

How about the worship ministry at First Baptist Arlington? Come on, y’. All. So good and so grateful for them. Wow.

And plus, I would just say I’m grateful for this staff that has been working so hard this summer. I’m so proud of them. And I’m grateful for all the programming, ministry lives that have been touched. And I’ve heard from so many people about different things they’ve been involved in during the summer while we’ve been away. And it’s been.

It’s been incredible. And also, I would just say a word of thanks to the preachers who took my place while y’ all allowed me to be away from the pulpit and spend some time resting, studying. Even though it was a bit. Was a busy study leave this time, but still, I’m grateful for it. So I would say thank you to Katie and Connor and Luke and Brad.

Each one of them did an outstanding job. Aren’t we grateful that we have these preachers with us who can preach God’s word faithfully? Now, since I have been away from y’, all, one or two things have happened in our life. Just number of things. First thing I want to tell y’ all about is we have a brand new grandson.

We have Jeremiah Morgan. And y’, all, he was in the gifted and talented section at the hospital, the nursery. So we have no idea what’s going to come from this young man, but he is as sweet as he can be. And. And he and his poppy have spent a lot of time together already and he’s already learning so many things about Jesus, about Auburn, all the important things that you’re supposed to teach a child.

We’re already engaging in that, so. But he’s doing well. And then I think we have another photo of something else happened while I’ve been away from y’. All. I. Wow.

Oh, okay, sorry. I forgot about that one. I made a hole in one while I was gone. And. Awesome.

What’s crazy is not that good of a golfer. There are some of you who play golf may know that, but a few years ago, I was playing in a golf tournament with PSK Vern Hargrave. Y’ all know we did Vern’s funeral a couple of weeks ago. Love Vern and Karen and their family, but I made a hole in one at the PSK Golf tournament out in Grand Prairie playing right handed. And Gary Smith was with me, another pastor.

So some of y’ all may not have believed the two preacher stories, but there was a guy down on the green that actually saw the ball go in the hole. So I did that. And then this one I made left handed. So I’ve made a hole in one right handed and left handed. But I’m equally bad on either side of the ball, so I can promise you that.

And then another thing that happened while I’ve not been here preaching, but I was here for all of this, was our hosting of the Jordanian delegation. And there you see this. Some of you were here that Thursday night. To my right is His Excellency, Imad Hijazim. He is the Minister of Tourism for the nation of Jordan.

And then Her Excellency, Dina Kavar. She is the ambassador to the US From Jordan. And that’s a presentation we made to them that night.

What an unbelievable story that was, y’. All. We were planning to have some kind of event Downtown Arlington on June 27th. Ashley, Luke, our team, we were working with Texas Baptists, and we weren’t even sure exactly what we were going to do, but some type of event that families could come to enjoy. A day celebrating the World cup being in Arlington.

Well, on that day, that Saturday, Jordan was playing Argentina. To be honest with y’, all, that was not on our radar. It really had nothing to do with who was playing. It just fit the calendar for our staff. Does that make sense?

We told the city about it. We’re going to use our property. What are y’ all going to do? We’re not really sure. Probably have some inflatables, cook some hot dogs.

Just have a fun time with families, give them something to do. They called me one day from the city and they said, hey, this afternoon, can you meet with the government of Jordan?

I said, you know, I’m really busy right now. I said, yes. Why would I need to meet with the government of Jordan? They said, well, the government of Jordan would like to have a party in downtown Arlington. And I said, that’s great.

They said, no, they’ve got to have your property, your parking volunteers. They need First Baptist to help. I said, when is the party? And they said, June 27th. And I said, mmm, we already had a party that day.

That’s my party day. So they came and met with us, and when I saw their party, we canceled our party. And we just had their party. And it ended up being this incredible relationship with these folks who are involved in government leadership in Jordan. Long conversations about future involvement there, visiting the Biblical sites.

The celebration of the 2000th anniversary of the baptism of Jesus in the year 2030, which Jesus. 1 of the representatives from the government said to me, you know, Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan River. And I said, yeah, I read about it.

I know that. But according to the latest archaeological research, Jesus was actually baptized on the Jordan side of the Jordan river, not the Israeli side of the Jordan River. And so Jordan is home to the baptismal site of Jesus. Also Mount Nebo, where God buried Moses is in Jordan. John the Baptist was beheaded in Machaerus, which is in Jordan.

The Dead Sea. There’s so much there. And so we have been in conversations about multiple ways that we can partner and connect with each other, all because of a soccer game and a party. Speaking of that, it’s taken me a couple of games, okay. But I have become an expert in the rules of soccer.

Like I said, it took me two or three games, but I got it now. And we’re going to start using these here at our church. I’ve decided the good news is there’s a yellow side to it, so you can get a warning first. Okay. Before you actually get this other.

Which is a bad, bad thing. So, yeah, I have started watching soccer. My kids came in one day, my grown kids, and I was sitting watching a soccer game, and they looked at me and they said to Cindy, what has happened to dad? He has never watched a soccer game in his life. And he’s in there acting like he knows what’s going on.

He’s barking instructions, yelling at the referee. And I just said, hey, I’m sitting there in my chair. I’m red carding everybody. I’m just telling you right now. But anyway, it’s been quite an interesting event season.

But with all that said, I’ve not forgotten where we are as a church. Okay? So I know that our theme this year is being transformed on the Jesus way this summer. We started this series for the summer that we’re calling Making a Difference. And I started the series earlier in the summer, and then our four staff members have followed up on it.

And so here’s kind of the rationale behind this series this summer. I believe that God wants to use every one of you to make a difference in his world. But in order to do that, you’ve got to be a difference maker. And every one of us are going to do that on different levels. But if God is going to use us, which I believe he wants to every one of us, then we’ve got to figure out how we’re going to be difference makers in our sphere of influence, because everybody has a different sphere of influence.

So what we’ve been doing is we’ve been Taking an example of a Biblical character who illustrates for us one of the fruit of the Spirit. And then we’ve been using the example of Jesus to address that particular fruit. So we’re going to continue that conversation today. Today, our fruit is faithfulness. And y’ all remember, I think I shared with y’ all when we were preparing this series.

I brought our ministers together and we all participated in planning this series. We together planned the different Biblical characters we wanted to address and what stories we wanted to tell. And so that’s how we got to where we are. So today we’re going to look at the fruit of faithfulness and we’re going to use Mary Magdalene as our example and an example out of the life of Jesus. Okay, so if you got your copy of the New Testament, we’re going to look at two passages.

I’m going to ask you to stand as we hear the reading of the gospel today. The first one’s in Luke 8, so let’s look at that one first. And then we’ll look at a passage from the Gospel of John. So in Luke 8, hear these words, verse 1. After this.

This is after the story is told in Luke 7 of this sinful woman who has anointed Jesus. Then you come to chapter eight. It says, after this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had come out.

Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household, Susanna and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. Now that’s the example of Mary Magdalene. Let’s look at the example of Jesus in John chapter 10. In John 10, this passage where Jesus is sharing about his role as the good shepherd.

Let me find it myself. Alright, John 10, verse 11. Here are the words of Jesus. Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he’s a hired hand. He cares nothing for the sheep.

I’m the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as the Father knows me. And I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also.

They too will listen to my voice. And there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life not only to. Only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

I have the authority to lay it down and the authority to take it up again. This command I received from the Father. Thank you. You may be seated.

So this entire conversation, y’, all, is underneath the heading of what I would call intentional discipleship. And what we mean by that is, is that God’s spirit is at work in us. And God’s spirit is working through us, and it’s a partnership with us. And the goal is to accomplish his kingdom’s mission. You know, as Kurt Grice has said number of times, Kurt has been writing these incredible devotionals that are connected to our daily Bible readings.

I hope that you have signed up for them. I read them every morning. And one of the things that Kurt has said numerous times is that no one drifts toward godliness. You don’t just accidentally become godly. That’s just not how it works.

To become godly, to become a disciple, requires intentionality on our part. Now, you can’t do it on your own. You’ve got to have the work of God in your life. But God’s not going to force it on you now. He’s going to convict you and guide you and lead you, try to get your attention.

He’ll do all the things that only God can do. But at some point, in his divine sovereignty, he has chosen to lessen that grip on us, if you will, and allow us to respond to Him. Does that make sense? You’ve got to participate in it. He’s not going to hit you in the face every morning with your Bible.

I’ve been following Jesus for many, many years. I’ve never been awakened with a Bible slapping me in the face. So, in other words, I could go the whole day without looking at my Bible if I want to. I don’t have to do it. I don’t have to pray.

I don’t have to try to figure out what it is that God wants me to do in this moment. But if I choose to do that, that’s the intentional thing that’s required of us. And so the beautiful thing is that if you will do that, you and I together, we can become more like Jesus, which is the actual goal. Here’s how Paul puts it. Paul uses the imagery of a garden and fruit.

And so this is Our foundational text for the summer, Galatians 5, 22 and 23. But the fruit of the Spirit. In other words, the work of the Spirit of God in your life. Here’s how you see God’s spirit alive in you is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Our topic for today, gentleness and self control.

And Paul says, this is not governed by law. This is not prescribed, if you will. This isn’t a list of do’s and don’ts. This is a dynamic relationship with a living God through His Spirit who is present within you. That’s what this is.

And it’s you walking with him every day. It’s you intentionally deciding every day of your life. I’m going to walk with the Lord today. I’m going to position myself to be in his path and give him the chance to shape me and guide me today. Not tomorrow, not one day, not at some point in my life today.

Now, why is this so important, y’? All? Well, here’s the reason it’s so important. Because the opposite of this, so bad. And that’s what I think we don’t understand.

I think a lot of us think that, you know, sin just one of those things we just have to deal with. And to be honest with y’, all, it ain’t all that bad. I mean, a little bit of sin ain’t gonna hurt you. It just is what it is. That’s a prevailing view in my opinion of Western Christianity.

It’s just not that big a deal, y’. All. I just want y’ all to know it’s bad. Sin is bad. It will ruin your life.

And if you want to know what you and I are capable of as sinners, well, let me just read you what Paul says in Galatians 5. He says, you can choose to live your life being guided by the spirit, or you can best be guided by your own desires. It’s really up to you. But let me. Let me.

Reminds you of the tawdry list in Galatians 5. Paul says, here’s the acts of the flesh. They’re obvious. Sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. And I warn you, as I’ve done this before, you live that way, you will not inherit the kingdom of God.

So you don’t know what we’re capable of. That. And that’s not even the full list. Because it’s bad. You see, sin Sin has to be dealt with.

I don’t know. I was watching the news the other day and I came across this story of this guy out in California. His name was Ken Johnson. And he noticed he heard something in the crawl space of his house. I don’t know if any of y’ all saw this story or not.

First he thought it was a group of squirrels, wasn’t sure what it was. He put out some poison. Nothing happened. And then one day he noticed crawling out of his crawl space under his house was a 550 pound bear. Have y’ all seen this on the news?

And so he all of a sudden realized, got a bear living under my house. Well, come to find out there are rules about what you can do and not do to a bear. Interesting. So he had to call in the conservationist, tried to figure out what to do. They tried all kind of stuff.

They had air horns, whatever. And then finally they told him, they said, look, you got to take care of this, because if you don’t and this bear gets comfortable, he will start thinking it’s his den. And when he thinks it’s his den, he’ll become really protective and. And everything changes. That’s how sin is.

You let sin in. It’s already in, but you start letting it take advantage of you. And guess what? It’ll get to the point where it’s at home and it will become very protective over its domain and it will undo you. It just will.

You know, I’ve told y’ all this before, this story about the Inuits and how they, you know, they use the skin of wolves. They use. They use a whole lot of wolves in their lives, but wolves are very dangerous to them. But y’ all remember how they capture wolves, how they kill them? They don’t go out and hunt wolves.

That’s not how they do it. They take a knife, a really sharp, huge knife, and they coat the blade of it with the blood of an animal. And then they freeze ice over it. And they take the handle of the blade and bury it deeply in the snow. And they just wait.

And the wolf’s nose is so sensitive, it’ll smell the scent of that blood and it will come and it will find the blade of that knife and it’ll start to lick that. Are y’ all following me? It’ll start to lick that blade, get to the blood, and the next thing you know, it starts slicing its own mouth. And then the blood is fresh. And then it goes crazy because now it’s got fresh blood and it literally dies.

In a pool of its own blood. What a great image for y’ all at 8:30 on Sunday morning. That’s awesome. I can’t wait to share with the 11 o’ clock crowd because they’re going to lunch right after this, so. But with that said to me, that’s how I view sin.

That’s what it’ll do to you. It will consume you and ultimately destroy you. And so here’s what the Bible says. Don’t give in to that because you don’t realize how bad it is. But God does.

And so God is trying to rescue you from yourself. Come on, y’. All. God’s trying to rescue me and you from ourselves. And so he knows our propensity to live a selfish life.

We’re all geared that way. I’m gonna tell you right now, I love my new little grandson. He’s awesome. He is perfect for me right now. But I’m gonna tell you right now, when he’s hungry, guess what he’s already learned.

He cries. And this little guy, he doesn’t just cry. He’s a screamer. Okay? Because right now all he knows is what he needs.

Don’t you wish he would get over that one day and never worry again about what he needs? Any of y’ all ever brought a baby home from hospital? Any of you ever wondered that your baby was not selfish enough?

Any of you ever worried that your kid wasn’t self centered enough? No. It’s just how we’re wired. God knows that. And he knows we need to be rescued from an ego driven life.

A self centered kind of life. And so here’s what God says, don’t live that way. Let me invade your life and lead you in a different direction. That’s the fruit of the spirit. Okay?

So y’ all still with me? So let’s talk about faithfulness. So how is God transforming us? Well, he’s changing us from the inside out. That’s what he’s doing.

Okay. And we’ve talked about numerous people already in this series. We’ve talked about Jonathan and Nehemiah and Abigail and Abraham, Philemon Barnabas. Today, Mary Magdalene, she’s mentioned 12 times in your New Testament and I don’t know how much research you’ve ever done on Mary Magdalene. What we know about Mary Magdalene is she provided financial support for the ministry of Jesus.

She also personally witnessed the death of Jesus. She witnessed the burial of Jesus. And she was the first witness of the resurrected Lord. And remarkably, and this drives some of my fellow brothers in my tribe crazy. She was the first preacher of the Good News.

I didn’t make that up. I’m just reading my Bible. Of all people, who does Jesus appear to first and give the specific instruction? Go and tell Nicodemus. No.

Simon Peter? No. The Apostle John? James? No.

Who? Mary Magdalene. I love that. She was healed of seven diseases. I mean, seven demons, rather, the Bible says about Mary Magdalene.

Here’s what’s interesting about Mary Magdalene. She’s been a little bit controversial through the years. And one of the reasons is because one of the most famous popes who’s ever lived is Pope Gregory the Great. He, to me, as I’ve studied church history, I think he was probably one of the most remarkably gifted popes who’s ever served the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, I would say he was the very first pope.

He was the first one to truly exert his authority, in my opinion, over Western Christianity. In a sermon in 591, he was preaching on this passage, and here’s what he did. He conflated Mary Magdalene with the woman in Luke 7, the sinful woman, and with Mary of Bethany. And in this very famous sermon, Pope Gregory said, all of those three people are actually the same person, Mary Magdalene. And so from that time, people begin to surmise, well, what was her sinful activity?

Probably a prostitute. So if any of y’ all ever heard that Mary Magdalene was a former prostitute, any of y’ all ever heard that theory, that story that comes from the sermon from Pope Gregory in AD591 where he said Mary Magdalene was the sinful woman of Luke 7 and also the sister of Martha. And so he took these three women and conflated them down to just one woman. Finally, in 1969, the Vatican corrected that and said, no, actually, these are three different women. They’re not the same woman.

There’s nothing in the scripture about Mary Magdalene being a sinful person. All it tells us is she was possessed by seven demons delivered by Jesus. And here’s what we know about her. She was from this town called Magdala. And we just read in Luke 8, she’s traveling with Jesus.

I’m so grateful for the chosen that Dallas Jenkins has chosen. Did you see how I did that? Has chosen to depict Mary Magdalene as a part of the traveling group with Jesus. Now, how controversial do y’ all think that was in the first century, that Jesus was traveling with women?

Not just any women, though. Women of means, women who had money, financial resource. Mary was one of them. And she used her resources to support the ministry of Jesus and the apostles. As a matter of fact, when you read Matthew’s gospel, Matthew 27, Matthew tells us Mary Magdalene was at the crucifixion and she had traveled from Galilee to Jerusalem to take care of the needs of Jesus.

That’s what Matthew says. Direct quote. So Mary Magdalene was a remarkable person. Not only that, the Bible tells us in Matthew 27 that when Jesus died on the cross and Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus requested his body, and they took the body of Jesus to a tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea. You know what the Bible says in Matthew 27, Mary Magdalene sat across from them in the garden and watched them place him in the tomb.

How faithful is that? At great personal risk. She has no idea what they might do to her. They’ve just killed Jesus. And she was there at the crucifixion, and she was there watching where they buried him.

And then all of a sudden, she got really scared and she tucked tail and ran. And we never hear from her again, right? No. What does she do? On Easter Sunday, early, before dawn, y’ all remember this story?

Mary Magdalene decides she doesn’t trust Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus to properly prepare Jesus body for burial. So she shows up with more spices and oils to anoint the body of Jesus and make sure that his body is properly cared for. Because she’s been supporting him in his ministry during the time he’s been preaching and teaching and performing miracles. And she stood by him when he died. She was there when he was buried.

And she went to appropriately take care of him because she wasn’t sure that had been done. Do y’ all love that or why? What? You know what? She was faithful.

And then, lo and behold, she gets there that morning and he’s not there. And she runs and tells the disciples they took him. Now, who is they? We don’t know. Just they.

There were grave robbers in those days. In fact, there were strict warnings in those days. Emperor Claudius, he issued strict orders. If you desecrated the grave, you could be put to death. And so they go back, and sure enough, his body’s not there.

And then, you know, the guys went back, Mary stayed. And then the next thing you know, she sees a couple of angels and has this conversation with angels, and she asked them, what have y’ all done with him? And then all of a sudden, she sees Jesus, the resurrected Lord, and she thinks he’s the gardener. And she says to him, what have you done with his body? If you’ll just tell Here’s.

I love this. Have y’ all ever read this? She says, if you’ll just tell me, I’ll get his body and I’ll take care of it. And then Jesus says, miriam. That was her name, Miriam.

And all of a sudden, she just falls at his feet. Her Lord resurrected from the dead. She’s the first one. And then he looks at her and says, go tell the boys about this. You.

You go tell them. Boom. Mary Magdalene runs and tells the apostles, as one theologian says, she became the apostle to the apostles. Mary Magdalene, a woman.

Y’ all paying attention, right? Come on, y’. All. The gospel’s for everybody. It’s good news for everybody.

I don’t care if you’re viewed as someone who’s marginalized. A woman who might not have been allowed to testify in court, but she was allowed to testify in front of heaven about who Jesus was. What. What a faithful person. I. I can’t wait to see her when we get to heaven.

I just want to thank her. I want to believe. I would have done it. But I’ll be honest with y’. All.

Where were all the boys?

Where were they? They were hiding behind a locked door. They didn’t even open it for Jesus. He had to just appear. But Mary Magdalen was out on the loose because she was faithful.

Well, I love that story, y’. All. It’s very challenging to me. It’s inspiring to me. Well, when I think about faithfulness, when the Bible describes faithfulness, the first thing that comes to my mind typically is God.

We sang the song Great is Thy Faithfulness From Lamentations, Psalm 119 says, the faithfulness of God endures to all generations. Paul says in Second Timothy, even when we’re faithless, God’s faithful. But you want to know the example to me in human form of faithfulness? Well, of course, it’s Jesus. Jesus was completely faithful to his messianic role, wasn’t he?

He demonstrated his love for us through his death on the cross. You know. You know how we judge how bad a fire is? Y’ all know. You know how we judge how bad the fire is?

We describe it by how many alarms were set off. This was a two alarm fire. That means two fire departments were called, right? This was a five alarm fire. That tells you how bad the fire is.

Well, how do you measure sin? How bad was. Was so bad, it’s like a bear under our house. It’s like us destroying ourselves. It’s so bad.

God sent Jesus. That’s how bad it was. You know, how bad it was. He sent his own son to take care of it, to address it, to live the perfect life, to model it for us, to teach us, to show us, and then not only that, to die for us. And so what did Jesus say about himself?

I’m going to be faithful. Faithfulness lived in Jesus. Jesus said, I’m not going to be deterred. Satan’s going to offer him a different path. He’s going to say, no.

Jesus said, I’m a shepherd. I’m going to lay down my life for the sheep. I’m not a hired hand. That’s not who I am. These people right here, they’re my sheep.

I’ll die for them. And I’m going to lay my life down of my own accord because that’s my job, that’s my responsibility. I’m going to do what I’ve been called to do. It was on the inside first, and then he lived it out in his example for us. So here’s what I want us to learn, two things about faithfulness this morning.

Here’s the first thing I want us to learn. It’s the fruit of God’s spirit at work within the individual believer. You see, you don’t produce faithfulness on your own. You’re not going to muster it up because you got too much working against you. Remember, we’re sinners.

We’ve got a propensity that leans us in the wrong direction. We’re aimed at the wrong things, and we’ve got to have help. And so God has chosen to dwell within us through His Spirit. And one of the things that he’s going to do is create something inside of you that you don’t have without Him. And one of the things he’s going to create inside of you is a desire to know him and serve Him.

And one of the ways that that’s lived out is his gift to you that he produces a compulsion inside of you, if you will, a desire to be like Jesus and to be faithful to the things that he’s called you to. And it requires the work of the Holy Spirit for that to truly take effect in my life and in your life. And so faithfulness starts on the inside through the ministry, the work, the testimony of the Holy Spirit in you. You won’t just muster it up on your own. You need divine intervention.

And the good news is that’s exactly what God has done. Praise his name. But it’s not enough to want it. It’s not enough to desire it. It’s not enough to be Compelled.

Faithfulness manifests itself in the life of an individual believer through action. How do we know you’re faithful? Because of what you do. In other words, what you know to do, and then you do it. That’s faithfulness.

Faithfulness will cause you to give up some of your resources and leave your home in Galilee and support the ministry of Jesus Christ and his disciples. That’s faithfulness. Faithfulness will cause you to go stand at the foot of the cross and watch your Lord die on that cross fearlessly. That’s faithfulness. Faithfulness will lead you to follow him and those who have his body all the way to his tomb.

That’s faithfulness. Faithfulness will lead you to go back and make sure that the body of your Lord is being taken care of. That’s faithfulness. Faithfulness will bow in reverence before the resurrected Lord in complete obedience and. And then when the Lord tells you to go and tell, you go and tell.

That’s faithfulness. That’s Mary Magdalene. Aren’t we proud of her? Aren’t we grateful for this woman who had everything to lose, and yet she gave it all. And she’s an example of faithfulness.

So here’s my question for me and you. Let’s let this hang with us this week. How is your faithfulness to God on display through your actions? How do we know that we’re being faithful? That’s a great question.

I would say this about your church. I love this church. This church is faithful. You just heard Emily give her brief testimony. Thank you, Emily, for sharing that testimony.

Grew up in this church, and now she’s one of ours we’ve sent to live in Spain. You know, Emily’s joined by 13 others. There are 14 of them in all. Husbands and wives and children that you’re supporting right now because you’re being faithful. We’ve sent them to live in challenging places in the world to share the love of Jesus.

Emily and Guillermo are one of those couples. And you’re being faithful to support them. You’re also supporting a friend of ours who’s a missionary for us. His name is Adamu. He lives in West Africa, and it’s his only job.

Ottomu. You’ve never met him, but when you ask Ottomu, what do you do for a living, he’ll tell you. I’m a missionary from First Baptist Church of Arlington, Texas, United States of America. He’s never been outside of his country, never been here, and yet he’s on our staff. He works for us and faithfully proclaiming Jesus, planting Churches preaching the gospel among one of the largest unreached people groups in West Africa.

Pastor Pablo in Costa Rica, you’re supporting him planting churches. You know why? Because the church is faithful. You’re ministering through all kinds of programming here in this place, touching the lives of real people. Providing a counseling center, a child development center.

You’re supporting things like the Christian Women’s Job Corps, Restore Hope. There are just so many things. The Ascent Movement, Baptist World Alliance, Texas Baptist. I mean, you’re faithful as a church, Praise God. But let me ask you, what about you, though?

You, you as an individual, how are you demonstrating your faithfulness through your actions on the everyday? See, that’s the real test. And I would submit to you that as you behave in a certain way, you become a certain kind of person. And if you’ll behave in the ways that the Spirit is guiding you, you’ll become that spirit guided person. And then guess what?

You’ll be a difference maker. And God will make a difference in this world. Praise his name. May it be so. Let’s pray together.

Well, Lord, we love you. We thank you so much for your love for us. Lord, you’ve done so much for us. And one of the things that you have done is you made it possible for us to be faithful, for us to become Christ. Like for this manifestation of your spirit’s presence to truly be on display in us, within us, and how, and through how we live.

So I pray, Lord, that we will hear the word of truth today and that we will be inspired by Mary Magdalene. My goodness, faithful to you. And I trust God that you’ll find us faithful. Thank you for your faithfulness. It indeed is great.

May you find us faithful as well. Pray this in Jesus name.