Revisiting the Purpose of Faith

So do not lose the courage you had in the past, which has a great reward. You must hold on, so you can do what God wants and receive what he has promised. For in a very short time, "The One who is coming will come and will not be delayed. Those who are right with me will live by faith. But if they turn back with fear, I will not be pleased with them."  (references Habakkuk 2:3–4) 

But we are not those who turn back and are lost. We are people who have faith and are saved.

Hebrews 32:35-39 New Century Version

The purpose of our faith is to please God.

Hebrews 11:5-6 tells us, By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But 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 diligently seek Him.

I want God to be pleased with me. In plain English, I do not want the Creator of the Universe ticked off at me. Do you? How unintelligent would that be? Life can be difficult and very complex, but faith in God is simple. It is. Truly. The Word tells us that God gives to everyone a measure of faith. So He gives us what we need - we just need to hold on to it, and use it. If God gave you money, you'd use it, wouldn't you? I'd say that's pretty simple.

Jim Mackey preached a great message a while back. For those of you who didn't hear it, let me give you the gist of it in this little paragraph. Faith can change a situation. Faith can change lives. Will we let faith change us? It definitely should change us, but it should also do much more than that. Faith should define our lives.

Yes, our lives should be lived to please God - that is the defining purpose of faith. Going back to our text, So do not lose the courage you had in the past, which has a great reward. You must hold on, so you can do what God wants and receive what he has promised. For in a very short time, "The One who is coming will come and will not be delayed. Those who are right with me will live by faith. But if they turn back with fear, I will not be pleased with them." (references Habakkuk 2:3–4)  

But we are not those who turn back and are lost. We are people who have faith and are saved. Amen?

Prayer:

Father,

         Thank You for the measure of faith that You have given to each of us. Help us to use it wisely, Lord. We want to please You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen