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HOW TO INHERIT GOD’S PROMISES
November 23, 2022So that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:12
1. RESIST APATHY. Faith and patience are essential ingredients in advancement and achievement. They are the opposite of the word sluggish. The book of Proverbs warns about being a sluggard (Proverbs 6:6). The same root word is also where we get the word slug. Slugs are those interesting creatures in our yards that look like snails without shells. They just kind of mope. They are not very fast. Think of that imagery of the slow slug contrasted with what God is offering us – the momentum that comes from moving in faith and patience!
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
2. GET ALIVE IN GOD. I don’t want to hide my light. However, I also don’t want to brag and strut. We know that pride goes before a fall, and God hates a haughty spirit and a haughty look (Proverbs 16:18; Psalm 101:5). But did you know that being insecure and downplaying who you are is a close cousin of that? Both extremes – bragging and an inferiority complex – are forms of pride. They both do the same thing; they get you out of the flow, and neither of them looks like the Lord we are to imitate.
3. TAKE ACTION. Faith and patience are not formulaic systems but divinely inspired principles that work in our lives. With faith, we can step out in what God has said to do. Then we must be patient in the process: patient with ourselves, patient with our kids, patient with our employees and employers, and patient with our spouses. Hold steady, stand firm, believe God for your healing, for your relationships, that your money will be covered, and that wherever it is diminished, it will multiply back.
God bless you!
Pastor Jeff Perry
PRAY THIS OVER YOUR DAY:
God help me imitate those who inherit the promises through faith and patience. Help me to imitate You, God, and walk in love because faith works through love. I am a new creation in Christ! Help me to walk in a manner worthy of You, pleasing You in everything, bearing fruit in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of You, God, and strengthened with all power. I will be counted as blessed because I endured. I have seen the outcome of Your dealings, Lord – You are full of compassion and merciful. You turn things around in Jesus’ Name, amen (Hebrews 6:12; Ephesians 5:1; Galatians 5:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 1:10-11; James 5:11).
slug·gish, noun
Displaying little movement or activity; slow; inactive: a sluggish stream; sluggish growth. Lacking alertness, vigor, or energy; inert or indolent. Slow to perform or respond to stimulation.
Copyright © 2022 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 by The Lockman Foundation. “Sluggish.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, HarperCollins Publishers, https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=sluggish&submit.x=60&submit.y=11. Accessed 17 Nov. 2022.
