HOW TO USE YOUR FAITH

October 6, 2023

“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith.”
1 Corinthians 16:13a

1. UNDERSTAND THE FAITH. Faith is our allegiance to who Jesus is and what His mission was. He’s the Son of God. He’s God the Son. He came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). He came to save lost souls, set captives free, and bring healing, deliverance, and abundance to people who will call upon Him (Luke 19:10; Luke 4:17-21).

2. STAND FIRM IN THE FAITH. Faith is the confidence that God is going to see you through. Being a Jesus follower and standing firm is the opposite of vacillating. Standing firm in the faith is important to God, and there are a lot of verses about it in the Bible. The prophet Elijah in the Old Testament said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). The book of James tells us that when we ask for wisdom and help, we are to ask in faith without any wavering or doubting (James 1:5-6). The book of Hebrews says that “without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Now faith is the turning of dreams into deeds; it is betting your life on the unseen realities (Hebrews 11:1 Cotton Patch Gospel).

3. THE PRIORITY IS JESUS. You may wonder how you can entrust your whole life to someone invisible. Well, I believe in electricity, and I’ve never seen it. I believe in the wind, and it’s invisible to my eyes. There are people in history who I believe in, even though I have never seen them. I’ve never seen Jesus. But man, I’m adamant about Him. There is a God, and He answers prayer. He’s watching over His Word to perform it. He sent His Word to heal us. He sent the Holy Spirit to help us. We have been given the same spirit of faith as Paul and Peter and David. Develop your faith by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17). Speak Scriptures out of your mouth. Read them on the written page and listen to them. Whatever you’re facing or dealing with, God’s ears are inclined to your prayers.

Press on,
Pastor Jeff Perry

PRAY THIS PRAYER:
God, today, I present myself to You. I remind myself it’s all about You. It’s not all about me. It’s not all about the stuff that’s coming at me. You are my protector, the glory, and the lifter of my head. You are faithful. Help me to stand firm in the faith and keep you as my priority, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

faith, noun
allegiance to duty or a person: loyalty
belief and trust in and loyalty to God
complete trust

^{Copyright © 2023 St. Louis Family Church, All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Scripture taken from Clarence Jordan’s Cotton Patch Gospel: The Complete Collection. Copyright © 2012 by Smyth & Helwys Publishing. Used by permission. All rights reserved. “Faith.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faith. Accessed 27 Sep. 2023.}