Anchors of Faith
Gerald Brooks

Pastor Brooks is the pastor of Grace Outreach Center in Plano, Texas. He founded the church in 1982. Pastor Brooks teaches leadership seminars, and his monthly leadership lessons are distributed throughout the nation. Pastor Brooks ministers with the support of his wife, Geni, and their three children Wendi, Kayci, and Cody.

For more information, or to order Anchors of Faith or any of Pastor Brooks’ other published works, or for more information about Pastor Brooks and his ministry, please visit GeraldBrooksMinistries.com today. Everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior has been given a measure of faith. What we do next with that faith is entirely up to us. In Pastor Gerald Brooks’ most recent book, Anchors of Faith, we are taken through many examples from the Bible where someone’s faith, or lack of it, affected the situation for better or for worse.

Pastor Brooks gives us a starkly human look at how even heroes of faith have failed, and gives us lessons we can apply to grow and challenge our own faith. The first story shows us faith from the unlikeliest of people: A Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant in Matthew 8. This guy was important, but he recognized what we all need to recognize: Faith begins with a reality check. You can’t be in charge of every situation, no matter how important or high up in the ranks you are. Some things, only God can control.

The centurion also teaches us a principle that is found again and again throughout Anchors of Faith, throughout the Bible, and has been proven over and over again: Faith begins by asking. Almost all of the stories that demonstrate great faith in the Bible begin by someone being humble enough to realize they need God, and then being humble enough to ask Him to do something about their situation. Faith soars in an atmosphere of humility. The centurion was a man who was the last person anyone expected to submit to Jesus, yet he exemplified humility perfectly. This is why Jesus marveled at his faith, saying, “Assuredly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (Matthew 8:10 NKJV).

A first step of humility is repeated in the following chapters, by Jairus the high priest, who cast aside his dignity to humble himself before Jesus in Mark 5. We learn from Jairus that in a moment of great need, private faith just won’t cut it. Jairus begged Jesus for help in front of the multitude, and learned that his faith had to be very public in order to work. Faith has to come from a humble heart that doesn’t care what anyone else thinks.

Another theme in Anchors of Faith comes in the reassurance that God notices you. Jesus noticed the sick woman in the crowd in Mark 5, even when no one else noticed her. He noticed and stopped his plans to heal Blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10, even when everyone else tried to quiet him. Bartimaeus knew that his faith had to be louder than the negative messages being hurled at him. And Jesus took notice of Peter in Luke 5, after a bad night of fishing, in the midst of a crowd. God notices you in a crowd where no one notices, at work where you are busy, and even after a failure when you are left disappointed.

What comes next? Pastor Brooks gives us simple steps to apply faith to our lives. We have to be willing to hope and believe that God is willing to work wonders in our lives through faith. We have to listen to what God says, even when it doesn’t make sense. Listening isn’t enough; we have to obey and actually follow through on what God asks us to do, even if it’s inconvenient, and we have to understand the responsibility of faith. Selfish faith is destructive. Once our faith has worked and God does wonderful things for us and blesses us, it is then our responsibility to bless others. If Peter had tried to keep all the fish that were filling up his boat after Jesus blessed him, the boat would have capsized, and Peter would be out of a job forever (Luke 5). Instead, Peter shared the fish with other fishermen, and they all were abundantly blessed, without destruction of boats. We have a responsibility to be a blessing to others and to share with them the works of our faith.

Our faith has potential. That mustard seed sized faith we are all given when we accept Christ is our responsibility to grow and nurture. Don’t let your faith stay small. Challenge it and see it flourish and become strong, hearty, and useful. With faith, Peter went from being a fisherman to being the rock on which Jesus founded His church (Matthew 16:18 NKJV). Let your faith reach its potential, and anchor it in His Word.

For more information, or to order Anchors of Faith or any of Pastor Brooks’ other published works, or for more information about Pastor Brooks and his ministry, please visit GeraldBrooksMinistries.com today.