The Measure of Faith
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January 17, 2010 |
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 "I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one." (1 John 2:12-14)
This year 2010 is the time when we will reap what we have sown and planted. According to our abilities and our measures of faith, we will reap abundant fruits within God. Then, what are the things that we have to do to improve our level of faith?
First, We Have to Correctly Measure Our Measure of Faith.
In spirit, those who have just accepted the Lord are just like new-born babies. As their faith grows up, matures and reaches the full measure, they are like 'fathers' in spirit. So, what kind of person are you in the sight of God? When you measure your faith, you should not overestimate your measure. You may mistakenly think that you have a greater measure of faith because you are in a teaching position or a leader in the church, or you have been doing many works for the kingdom of God. You may think that you have a great measure of faith if you think about only what you have achieved. In this case, because of the desire to be at ease and arrogance, you may even backslide in faith. On the other hand, it is also a problem if you underestimate your faith. If you become passive in thinking that you have a small measure of faith, your spiritual growth will also be slow. Therefore, it is very important to correctly measure your measure of faith.
The first level of faith is the faith to receive salvation. At this level you realize that you are a sinner and have just accepted Jesus Christ. In case of a new-believer, we can discern whether he has faith to receive salvation or not by checking whether he has received the Holy Spirit. In the first level of faith, you do not have much knowledge of the Word, and you don't really know what sins are. Even though you commit sins, you do not feel the groaning of the Holy Spirit very well. Even those who have been believers for a long time may still be at the first level of faith. If they know the word but do not even try to practice it, or if they commit works of flesh, then they are at the first level of faith. Works of flesh refer to sins committed in action such as lying, stealing, or adultery. They may look back at the world and lose the fullness of the Spirit. Then, they may follow their old habits and commit sins again. If this continues, the Holy Spirit can even be extinguished, and it is not easy for them just to keep the first level of faith.
The second level of faith is the faith of trying to practice the word of God. As you continue your life in Christ, you learn the word of God and come to understand it. So you try to practice the word. But you do not practice it completely. In the second level, the desire of the Holy Spirit and the desire of flesh confront each other the most, so you feel the most difficult times in a Christian life at this level. But some people who are at the second level of faith think they are in the third level or higher. They think they attend all Sunday morning and evening services, pray, and fulfill their duties, but if you look into their lives more carefully, they sometimes get angry, create quarrels and tell lies. These people belong to the second level of faith. Of course, since they do not commit grave works of the flesh, they are close to the third level. But even though you cast away 99% of the works of the flesh, you are still at the second level of faith for they still have the 1% remaining.
The third level of faith is the faith to practice the word of God. If you are at the third level of faith, you understand the word of God from within the heart and obey it. So, at this level of faith, you do not commit the works of the flesh. But you have not cast away the things of the flesh, which are the sins that you commit in thoughts, such as hatred, adulterous mind, passing judgment and condemnation in thoughts. As you cast away the untruth diligently and reach the 60th percentile of the third level, we say you are 'standing at the rock of faith'. One of the evidences of standing on the rock of faith is to obey the word in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, which says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks."
The fourth level of faith is the faith to love the Lord to the utmost degree. This is the level where you have cast off the things of the flesh that are the sins which are committed in our thoughts. If you reach the fourth level of faith, you can be called a 'man of spirit.' A true child of God is God's child who resembles God because evil is not shown no matter how hard the enemy devil tries to tempt you. And at this level, you do not obey the word just because of some advice or instruction, or just to show to others, but you obey the word because you love God with the faith to love the Lord to the utmost degree.
Finally, the fifth level of faith is the faith to please God. At this level of faith, you understand the deep heart of God and please Him by moving His heart. It is the level of the faith of Jesus who deeply understood the heart of God and obeyed until death. Those who have the fifth level of faith do not have any 'self' or 'ego' in their heart. They only have God the Father, the Lord, and other souls. Thus, if they accumulate a lot of prayers, they can manifest signs and wonders. They can perform the power of God. Also, they are 'faithful in all God's household.'
Secondly, You Have to Diligently Pile up Good Heart and Deeds of Goodness without Being Discouraged.
God lets you check the measure of your faith to increase the faith of each and every individual. He never wants you to lose heart. Some people try to become sanctified, but if things don't go as they want, they give up trying, thinking they are just fleshly persons, they were born with evil attributes, or they were raised in unfavorable environments. Even though you are born with some evil attributes or raised in unfavorable environments, you can surely change by the love of God. The important thing is your faith and the profession that you can accomplish change. If you continue to pray fervently practicing goodness as best as you can, you will be able to cast away sins and evil that seemed to be impossible to cast away. You can change. Thus, I hope you will quickly achieve a grown up measure of faith and give glory to God greatly. In doing so, I pray in the name of the Lord that, you will participate in the greatest glory both on earth and in New Jerusalem.
To read this message in more detail, visit our website (www. manmin. org) and click on 'sermon'.
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