Faith
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June 21, 2009 |
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 "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith" (Romans 12:3).
When one's brief and temporal life comes to an end, the eternal dwelling place is decided according his faith which is the standard of salvation. If a person is judged and falls into Hell, it is completely impossible for him to get another chance for salvation. Those who have been saved and enter the kingdom of Heaven will be different in their glories in Heaven according to how much they have lived by the word of God and accomplished a pure heart and how faithful they have been to the kingdom of God. (See 1 Corinthians 15:41). Once decided, the heavenly dwelling places and glories cannot be changed forever.
1. Measure of Faith
For each individual the measures of faith are categorized into several different levels. They are the faith 'barely to be saved,' the faith to 'try to live by the word,' the faith to 'be able to live by the word,' the faith to 'love God greatly' and the faith to 'please God.'
In Ephesians 4:13 our Lord urges us to grow our faith "until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." It means no one can have the complete measure of faith from the beginning. Everyone begins his believing life at the first level of faith at which he can be barely saved. Then to the extent that he discovers his evils and sins and he accomplishes the sanctification of the heart, he grows and matures in his faith up to the second, third, fourth and fifth levels of faith. The measure of faith that God wants you to reach is complete faith, the measure of the fullness of Christ.
Thus, according to the different measures of faith recognized by God, each individual will enter a different dwelling place and will enjoy different glories in the kingdom of heaven. At the first level of faith, an individual can enter Paradise, and according to the growth of his faith he can advance into the better kingdoms of heaven – the first, second and third kingdoms of heaven and even the best and most beautiful place in the kingdom, New Jerusalem that houses the throne of God. (Refer to the book The Measure of Faith).
2. Reaching the Full Measure of Perfect Faith
First of all, to reach the full measure of faith, you must not be impatient. Just passing the levels of faith, from 1st level to 2nd level and above, a person can reach the level of perfect faith. Some believers pass each level quickly depending on how much they love God from their hearts while some others are a little slower. But what is the most important thing is that you have to be sure that your faith will reach the complete level of faith. There is a difference between longing for greater faith and being impatient to gain it.
Some people are troubled saying, "A couple of years have already passed. I am a church worker, but I've accomplished so little. Why has my faith not grown consistently with my desire for better faith?" This is the impatient heart that is a hindrance to the growth of your faith. In order to discover yourself, first of all, you must realize your 'self' through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Then you are able to receive grace and strength to cast off your 'self.' If you are impatient, then fleshly thoughts become foremost. You may feel distressed by the pressure to change, but you won't be able to come to any personal self-realization. You will have no peace in your heart, and you will stumble, thinking, "I cannot get beyond this level."
Spiritual faith is given by God and in the same way that He gives His grace and strength for sanctification (Romans 12:3). You can't force your faith to grow with a fervent desire to reach a goal or with an impatient zeal to achieve. You have to commit everything unto God and establish the most fundamental things first. Some of these basic things are to worship God in spirit and in truth without idle thoughts or drowsiness; to pray without ceasing and praying fervently and earnestly; to sing praises to God with deep meditation on each verse through spiritual inspiration; and reading one chapter and memorizing one verse of the Bible every day. Each and every one of these are the most basic things, but they are very important. As these basic things are built upon, great faith will also be established.
But if you are impatient, you may not hold fast to practicing these basics. You must not become impatient expecting to have greater faith immediately. If you do, then you may start thinking, "Why can't I do this?" and no longer hold to these most basic requirements.
You have to ask for the grace and strength of God so that you can get rid of the things you shouldn't do and be able to do the things you couldn't do. This way you can make today better than yesterday, and tomorrow better than today. Then you will reach the full measure of faith.
Secondly, you must be faithful in both the word and prayers. In His love you can find who and what you are and you can gain the strength to walk in the truth one step at a time.
You have to realize, from the depths of God's love, why God sent His only begotten Son as the propitiation for our salvation; why He sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts for the human cultivation; why He had to prepare both a Heaven and a Hell; and why He has allowed to us His servants to lead us to the kingdom of heaven.
To realize this love of God, the Word of God and prayers must accompany each other.
Only through the hearing of the Word of God are you able to realize what complete faith is and discern between what is true and what is false. You will learn to distinguish truth from untruth, good and evil, and what is self-righteousness and God's righteousness.
But without prayers, no matter how many words of God you hear, you cannot realize the word and apply it into your life. You feel burdensome concerning the word because you have no strength to cast off your sins. When you pray and take in the word and digest it like bread, you can realize the Word of God is goodness.
The reason God teaches His children the truth is not to burden nor admonish them. Whenever His children commit sins the truth is to lead them into the light and to bless them with good things. In the end is it being able to take them into better places in Heaven.
Thirdly, you must not become disheartened by comparing yourselves with others. If your heart is filled with God's love, there is no reason for you to compare yourself with others. If you are earnestly running the race of faith with the faith, then God shows His love for you and you can show your love for Him. You have the generosity to be able to share love with everyone.
But if you don't feel this love, you will eventually turn your eyes upon other things. If in comparison with others you feel you are going ahead of them, you feel comforted, but if you feel the others are all pulling away and out in front of you, you feel discouraged. Those who do their best in their measure of faith think of everything in goodness and rejoice in everything. Lamenting to yourself thinking, "Why have I done this little?" is useless, self-defeating and from the mind of the flesh.
If you fill your heart with the love of God, you can treat the people around you with love. All you have to do and can do is to run the race of faith zealously with God's love and believe you will surely be able to reach complete faith. When others are ahead of you, you can give thanks, when you are ahead, you can pray for the others and encourage him. I urge you to fill your hearts with the Father's love and rejoice with the truth in everything.
Therefore, rely on God who called you and is perfecting you. Possess complete faith by walking in love so that you can reach the most beautiful kingdom of heaven – New Jerusalem, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ I pray!
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