Loyalty: If you have it for God, you have it for others!

Loyalty: If you have it for God, you have it for others!                   Kelly Durant

Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

2. When my mother worked as an information operator for Southwestern Bell (AT&T) she shared the switchboard for 411 calls with about 80 other women looking up addresses and phone numbers for information. Yes, you actually got to talk to a real person back then!  I recall one time she mentioned to me that she thought it was outrageous how some girls took advantage of the men. She would tell me don’t let someone take advantage of you, and don’t you take advantage of others either.

She would explain that a few of them would always tell stories and laugh about some guy that took them out on the weekend and bought them flowers and an expensive dinner while all the time they thought he was ugly and stupid.  And they got the men to spend a few $100s! How funny!?

This lesson stuck with me even though I was about age 12 when I heard it. There will always be people in life who will appreciate you, who are loyal and sincere, and then there will be those who are just playing you and the challenge is to determine who is who. Every person we meet has a motive for being your friend, do you know what the motives of those near you are? How faithful are you as a mate? As a father or parent? As a church member or soldier?

3. What is good about being older is you get to stay in contact with precious friends who have continued to be faithful to Jesus over the years. The lifestyle of my wife and I, and it is the same for those who travel from place to place to serve God, is sort of like being a pop star. You meet many people, sometimes dozens in one day that come into your life for friendship or a need and they are there a few weeks, a few months, or several years but then you or they move on and you always wonder, how are they doing now? Never be afraid to ask how a person is doing!

Have you ever thought about it, but it is actually only ‘a faithful loyalty to Jesus’ that can keep us together as friends? Even after we move on doing God’s work, we are still your friends forever because we have Jesus and His work in common! I love it when you can look up a friend from 20 years ago and find they are still the same, they still love Jesus, and they still remain active for God. How many of you have friends like that? There are several dozen in our lives!  

Well, I am not saying we will wait 20 years to talk with you again on the phone or come visit you, because you or I may not even be around that long! The point is there is no satisfaction better than to know that someone you love and cared for is still on the path of loving Jesus and serving Him as best they can until they graduate to receive the crown of life.

4. What is wonderful about the Salvation Army is you can make friends over time with hundreds of people from all races, economic levels, and age groups and see them year after year in camps or big meetings and you know inside that they are your brother or sister serving God as you do. Our church is all about service to God and others, and those that remain as Soldiers and volunteers prove what their motive is for being here. Friends in this church are not here for the wealth, size, or power of our church because, thank God, we don’t have or promote that! Our mission is to go for souls, and for the lowest of the low that no one in society wants to deal with!

But on a personal level, in order to have a friend, or to have a person in your life that you truly can call them a brother, a friend, or spouse, I think you or I must have a certain level of respect for that person, a respect that involves how dedicated they are to a Godly work without them gaining personally from it. Real parents sacrificially give to their kids! And in our Corps we can greatly respect our altruistic volunteers and Soldiers who teach Bible, cook, clean, drive, or visit homes and pray doing what they can for Jesus. 

There is also a respect that comes when you see Holy Spirit inspired gifts and talents in a person and you know that such amazing ability comes only from being dedicated to God having a clean heart to receive it. In other words, our connectedness, through dedication and faithfulness are in a certain way is tied together with holiness. It is obvious that it is a continued love for Jesus and others that keeps us on the right path uniting us with a supernatural bond. A father, relative, or friend only is close if they have bonded with you, right?

5. After spending all our time daily in loving you, and everyone out there in town who will let us, cultivating friendships, it should be a given that you know that there is nothing we want more than to know you have learned to obey Jesus so that His words we review today are a reality for you:  Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. The stewardship here refers to obedience, and a winning of others to the Lord! 

Friendships based on what you can give me, or what can I give you, are shallow and fade away, and my wife and I have lost thousands of so called friends who were not close to us for Jesus but for who knows what other reason. Our whole life is a mission and your mission as a Christian should be the same, to be as faithful to Jesus as you can, knowing that this life is only a preparation for eternity. How faithful are you with people to win them to Jesus?

When I love a person as a friend, I don’t want them as a friend for as long as I live in a certain city or country, I want them as a friend forever! A real love for another involves getting them on the path of salvation, faithfulness, and holiness so that when we all can pass on to go to share heaven together; we will be proud of each other for doing all of what Jesus commanded.  

6. Where I am going with this message is to make the point that loyalty, which is a form of faithfulness, is connected to friendships, and friendships only last if they are connected to the source of love, the life giving vine, Jesus! John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Jesus also here reminds us to stay connected to Him, the true vine or we die.

It is sad but true that in most families, there is very little love and loyalty amongst those of the same blood because your non-Christian average person is selfishly and competitively pursuing their own possessions, pride, and glory. Here is a verse that is very relevant to all of us, Proverbs 18:24 ‘A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.’ I have, and have had, many friends who have been as brothers to me and I have been a brother to many! We can conclude that our Christian family is what matters the most as they are the ones just down the street who can be there for you, whereas family is usually far away and many do not share the same love and faith that you have. Many fathers and mothers do not even talk much because one is a Christian and the other is not.

I, like all of you, must depend on all kinds of friends in order to be able to get anything done in this life. I know many of you may think I have the strangest people as friends, but consider this verse and ask yourself if you are obeying it, or just comfortably avoiding it. Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, ‘Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations’. This verse basically implies that we as Christians are not going to be experts in all things and we need friends (even those of the world) so when we mess up something, they can help us fix it and save our situation. And, how are you and I going to win any souls to Jesus if we are not mixing with the people of the world?

7. I have never regretted being loyal to those who serve Jesus, here, and everywhere where we have lived. It is true that some Christian friends will confuse you and I as you may observe that not all of their decisions were taken by prayerful holiness, but I know God will sort it out, He is the judge and not you or me.

What we need most in life is discernment! ‘Who do you love?’ is the age old question! Who are you spending your time and resources on? Whoever that is reveals who you are loyal to. If your time, talent, and treasure is going to God’s work and His people, then you are being a faithful servant and God will make you ruler over much one day. If not, everything, even your whole life, will just be wasted and unappreciated by the fools around you. Today more than ever fathers and mothers, and friends, are not as appreciated as they deserve! 

What I hate to see is wasted resources. There are some people or friends, fathers or children, who no matter how much you do for them, no matter how much you give them, they will never appreciate it, understand it, or be loyal back to you! Many are not loyal to the church either! My daughter, Renee, has had to learn about bad friends, and even young people have to deal with others who are not real friends but users who use you and me for time, money, transportation, or selfish consolation dropping on you so much drama that would never have happened if they were more prayerful, forgiving, loving, and obedient to Jesus.  

8. And how can you or I ever develop a loyalty to a person who is always having a drama and wanting too much attention to their selves? Some people will have you doing their personal business all day if you will let them! There are people who can talk on and on, on the phone 45 minutes with you, talking about their pains, their problems, how someone was unfair to them, how no one will help them. It is okay to share with another but some of our friends need Jesus to talk to as a friend! You and I need discernment to know if what they say is real or what we might be attending to is a person who is poor spiritually with no friends because all they have tried to do in life is suck out energy from me, you, and others instead of praying, forgiving, and seeking God to mature and be consoled. We may feel pity or compassion for a person as some may deserve it with circumstances outside their control, but one seeking self-pity all the time will burn you and use you; how disappointing, right? Only God can fix their pain and confusion. We can help, but they must do their part for God to work. 

I remember a line I heard somewhere and it says, ‘Misery loves company, you’ve got friends, but you don’t have me’. My challenge to you today is to stop investing so much in people who are like dead plants that won’t come to life no matter how much water and plant food you add to them. As Christians, we want to see fruit for Jesus but some people are not in your life or in the church for Jesus, they are in your life and the church for material gain, selfish attention, or some ego need we are unaware of.

Start investing more in Jesus and His work here in this Corps! We are here to learn how to be loving, faithful, loyal, obedient, and joyful serving Jesus! To carry out Jesus mission there must exist a well-organized structure, the Salvation Army has a solid structure, and even though we may not like the transfers of the Officers, the overall mission has grown and worked extremely well all around the world no matter the race, culture, or country.

9. So I pray that our friendship with each of you has been one that has taught you by example to be faithful to Jesus! Loyalty I cannot teach you, only Jesus can! Never be disloyal and speak bad of a friend or you will reap the consequences of not having any friends. Never be like the shallow Godless telephone operators who only seek who to take advantage of another and then laugh about it. 

Only Jesus can convict your heart to be recognizing the seriousness of being dedicated to Him and His mission of winning lost souls, being loyal to each other as well so in unity great things are accomplished. In this world Jesus made it clear there are sheep and there are wolves, and then there is also sheep in wolves clothing! The sheep all live happy together following Jesus being protected by Him. The stray sheep get eaten by wolves. 

In life, sadly we will see some friends get lost from the shepherd and the consequences are tragic! We must maintain our salvation! Not all friends will remain as friends in our lives, but if a person continues to love Jesus, and you as well, there is a good chance you will always stay connected and they will be family to you. 

Decide today that you will be loyal and faithful to Jesus and to His followers so you will have friends forever, amen? You will inherit leadership in heaven! Stay loyal to the Salvation Army and see how God does great things for you and others! Get practice in loyalty now for heaven soon to come!