Transforming Ordinary Faith into Most Holy Faith

In our spiritual journey, we often face challenges that test our faith. One significant obstacle is the enemy’s attempt to distract us from our true purpose. Satan seeks to divert the anointing in our lives away from serving others and the kingdom of God and toward self-centered pursuits. He seeks to convince us to misuse, misapply, or not use the faith and anointing God has given us, but scripture calls for us to build ourselves up in our most holy faith.

Frustration and Fear: tools of the enemy

A common way that he undermines our faith is through frustration and fear. It’s easy to slip out of faith and into fear when frustrated. If you are fearful, you cannot be faithful, and God is looking for fearless people full of faith. For those who will stand firm in the face of adversity, so be unashamed for God in your words, worship, and prayer.

Matthew 8:23-27 shows us this tactic of frustration and fear being used. Jesus and His disciples were crossing a sea, and a great storm arose to stop their progress and hold them in place. Before this, we see that Jesus had declared what they would be doing and was not concerned about the storm, so much so that scripture tells us He was sleeping soundly. Jesus slept through the storm while His disciples were panicking.

Their frustration with the storm and the fear it provoked caused them to question Jesus, highlighting how easily frustration or fear can disrupt our faith. The disciples were frustrated with the storm and got out of faith, taking it out on Jesus. Their questioning is accusatory, and He questioned their lack of faith, implying they should have had the faith needed to address or endure the storm they faced.

Faith in Jesus and His word

Could it be that there is a storm in your life, and you are waiting for God to move, but He is waiting on you to exercise your faith and speak to the storm? You may not have mountain-moving faith right now, but you should have faith in Jesus, in the God who can move mountains.

Remember, the Lord meets you where your faith is. He desires for you to grow in faith, which involves believing and praying your way forward. He wants you to develop a most holy faith, a faith beyond the ordinary.

Understanding Most Holy Faith

Jude 1:20 (NKJV) poses an important question: Is your faith ordinary, or is it “Most Holy”? Most Holy faith is empowered by the Holy Spirit and requires ongoing development. Your most holy faith is a work in progress, it is something you must build up. It’s not a static state but a work in progress that demands continuous building.

What God is imparting to you isn’t just for today’s battles. Most Holy faith comes with perseverance and endurance. The enemy aims to wear you down and make you give up on prayer, but enduring faith is essential. The enemy wants you to get tired of praying for something or someone to get you to give up.

Lessons from Jesus and the Possessed Boy

In Mark 9:28-29, after Jesus’ profound encounter with Moses and Elijah on the mountain, He came down to face a boy possessed by a demon. The disciples’ failure to cast out the demon and their subsequent frustration is a testament to the challenges of spiritual warfare. They couldn’t cast it out and were frustrated and tired of praying. Some spiritual challenges require more than usual effort and faith. Ephesians 6:12 explains the nature of these spiritual battles and the divisions of power we contend with.

Building yourself up in most holy faith

We’ve been assigned a battle, a person or persons only we can fight for, so we must start building our most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit. When you pray in the Spirit, you strengthen your most holy faith. It is a conditioning that prepares us as believers for our spiritual warfare. It equips and empowers you for the challenges ahead and allows the Holy Spirit to pray through you, for you, and the kingdom.

Surrendering to the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is at work in us, helping us grow and develop our faith and the right character so that we can be effectively used by God. If we adopt Jesus’s name but not His character, we misrepresent Him to those around us, and that can have eternal consequences. Surrender to the Holy Spirit and give Him control.

Achieving God’s best requires a willingness to set aside your fleshly desires and surrender control to the Holy Spirit. If you want to be led by the Holy Spirit, you must first surrender control of your life to Him. This surrender allows you to gain control in a way that aligns with God’s will.

Be vigilant and watchful

1 Peter 5:8 warns us that the devil roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Being sober-minded and vigilant—watchful and alert—is crucial for maintaining spiritual resilience.

Satan wants to influence you. If he can attack your mind or perception, he can influence every area of your life. The word in your mind can take root and grow into a mindset, which grows into strongholds that feed themselves and impact every area of your life.

We must be diligent and put on the whole armor of God because the enemy is on the attack and wants to see us ineffective. Ephesians 6:10-11 emphasizes the importance of putting on the whole armor of God to withstand spiritual attacks. To effectively combat these spiritual assaults, the enemy will try to wear you down, but by praying in the Spirit and donning the full armor of God, you fortify yourself against his attacks.

As we navigate these challenges, we must strive to build our faith through continuous prayer and reliance on the Holy Spirit, transforming our ordinary faith into the Most Holy Faith. In doing so, whether facing personal struggles or broader spiritual challenges, we must surrender to the Holy Spirit and stay vigilant. Let us be unshakable in our commitment to God, embracing His power and the Spirit of Faith to conquer every storm we face.

 

The information expressed above is excerpted from the sermon “The Manifestations of the Holy Spirit: The Most Holy Faith” by Dr. Lee A. Simpson. You can listen to the complete sermon on our YouTube channel.