--PRE-SERVICE PRAYER--

Focus: Faith

Foundation Scripture: Matthew 7:7-12 MSG

Prayer Points:

1. Faith Believes! It Doesn’t Bargain!

2. Faith in God is Absolute Faith in His Power

3. Faith Fulfilled is Faith Rooted in Love!

4. Pray for Transformative Sunday Services!

--MESSAGE--

"Patient Faith"

Introduction:
Almost everywhere you find faith mentioned in the Bible, you’ll also find patience. Faith and patience go together, and they produce RESULTS every time.

Patience is a working power. When faith has a tendency to waver, it’s patience that comes to faith’s aid to make it stand. The power of patience is necessary to undergird faith.

1. The importance of patience with our faith.

Since faith is the substance of things we hope for, patience without faith has no substance.

2. We must be sound and developed in patience.

*Patience and faith work together the way faith and love work together.

*Each force plays a unique role in our Christian lives.

*It is dangerous to confuse the roles of these two forces, substituting one for the other.

3. Trials and tribulations don’t develop our faith.

a. Trials and tribulations develop patience.

*Jesus is the developer of our faith, not satan.

4. What’s the difference between developing faith and patience?

a. Faith should be developed on the Word of God before the trial or testing comes.

b. Patience is developed during the storm.

He knows his house will stand because it’s built on rock. He acts on the Word. His faith is developed before the trial comes. The force of patience is developed in the trial or tribulation and undergirds, or keeps the door open, for faith to work and to overcome whatever is put before it.

c. The definition of patience is “being constant.”
or “being the same way at all times.”

5. God is faithful during the trial.

These scriptures reveal five important things about trials:

a. Testings and temptations are common to man. No man is ever tested or tried with things uncommon to mankind.

b. God is faithful. You will never face anything that you cannot overcome.

c. God always provides the way of escape.

d. Also, be aware when you begin to indulge in lustful and fleshly desires, your patience is failing.

e. Don’t be deceived.

6. Finally, endurance rewards your faith.

Conclusion confession:

Father God, I repent for each time I have fallen short of Your promises simply because I gave up before my faith had time to work fully. I neglected to feed my faith from the Word of God. As a result, I began to give place to the fleshly tendency to become impatient when what I really needed to do was to persevere in faith and be strong. I receive Your forgiveness and cleansing, and I ask You to strengthen me with might in my inner man so I can let patience have its perfect work in me. I WILL develop faith and patience, I WILL inherit ALL the promises of God for my life, IN JESUS’ NAME!