Measure of Faith(1) – Fleshly Faith and Spiritual Faith
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**[Hebrews 11:1-3]**
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.”
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
We who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior have been forgiven of our sins and received salvation. By faith, we are able to understand that God, who is spirit, is living, and that there is both heaven and hell in the life to come.
It is through faith that we receive salvation, enter the kingdom of heaven, and find answers to our prayers. Faith is an essential element of our Christian walk. However, while many profess faith in God, the experience of God’s works varies greatly depending on each individual’s faith.
Some individuals possess great faith and receive answers to everything they ask. They witness God’s works in their prayers for others. Conversely, some profess belief in God but struggle to receive answers when faced with problems. There are also those who do not consider relying on God at all.
Some believe they are saved but lack a deep assurance of their salvation, leading to fear about the afterlife. They might think they truly believe but are plagued by doubts because they do not receive answers as promised in the Bible.
Therefore, to live a fulfilling Christian life, one must first understand the nature of faith. Each person has a different measure of faith and experiences varying magnitudes of God’s works, even if everyone claims to have faith. Hence, starting today, I will begin a series on the measure of faith in our Sunday morning services.
Through the series on the “Measure of Faith,” I will explain Spiritual Faith—the type of faith through which we can receive salvation and answers to our problems—and how we can cultivate greater faith. I hope you will reflect on your own faith through these upcoming messages and strive to develop both spiritual and great faith.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will experience the living God’s works every day.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This is the first session on the measure of faith. I will begin by discussing ‘fleshly faith’ and ‘spiritual faith.’ Faith is the most precious treasure and the key to resolving all life’s challenges.
Almighty God, the Creator, can perform feats beyond human power or ability. The Bible recounts miracles such as stopping the sun and moon, parting the Red Sea, achieving victories in battles, and raising the dead.
God is omnipotent and omniscient; therefore, if we have faith, receiving healing from diseases and answers to various problems should not be difficult. The crucial point is that we must have true faith. Regardless of how much we call God our Father and pray, “Lord, I believe!”, without true faith, we cannot experience the works of God.
Today, many churchgoers do not fully understand the meaning of faith. They may say they ‘believe’ but lack assurance of their salvation, suffering from diseases and trials like worldly people, and fail to receive answers to their prayers.
Jesus said in Mark 9:23, “And Jesus said to him, ‘If You can! All things are possible to him who believes.’” Also, Matthew 8:13 states, “…let it be done to you as you have believed.”
The Bible’s words are 100% true. If God says nothing is impossible for one who believes, it indeed means nothing is impossible. Moreover, if we pray with faith, there must be an answer to our prayer.
If we do not receive an answer despite praying with faith, we should examine whether our faith is genuine. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Hebrews 11:6 states that we cannot please God without faith. To please God with faith, our faith must be true faith, acknowledged by Him.
The reason many people do not see God’s work, despite professing belief, is that their faith is not acknowledged by God.
There is true, spiritual faith that God acknowledges, and there is fleshly faith that God does not acknowledge.
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
What is fleshly faith, and what is spiritual faith? Let us first examine fleshly faith.
Fleshly faith is the type of faith where you believe only what you can see with your eyes and what aligns with your thoughts and knowledge. Even worldly people can possess this kind of faith, which has no connection to salvation.
For example, if I say, ‘This towel is white,’ those who see it as white will believe me. If I say, ‘We can make chairs from wood,’ you can believe that too because it aligns with your knowledge learned since birth.
However, if someone has been taught that the towel is black, they cannot believe it is white when I say so. This is because it conflicts with their knowledge.
Similarly, based on the knowledge you have accepted, you might perceive something true as false or vice versa. But not everything you have learned is true. Some beliefs change over time, and standards vary by country, race, and individuals.
Only the word of God is the absolute and unchanging truth.
For instance, long ago, people believed the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around the earth. No one believes this today. Similarly, much of the knowledge you have may not be true.
Yet people tend to believe whatever they have been taught as truth. Even if someone presents the truth, they may consider it false if it contradicts their knowledge.
Many people do not believe in the Creator God after hearing the gospel because they are taught that Darwinism is true and do not accept creationism, which is the actual truth.
Darwinism is a false theory created by human thought. Despite the passage of millions of years, fish cannot evolve into land animals or apes. Yet those who firmly believe in Darwinism consider evolutionism true.
Thus, when someone says that God created heaven and earth with His word, they think it is untrue. Some people claim to believe in the Almighty God but do not accept the Bible fully, only parts that align with their theories and knowledge.
If you rely solely on worldly theories and knowledge to explain the world, many biblical accounts seem unbelievable. For example, the Bible states that heaven and earth were created from nothingness by God’s word, which contradicts the idea that material must exist to create something.
Similarly, they may doubt miracles and signs as mere parables or symbols. For instance, if Peter is said to have walked on water, they might interpret it as walking in a shallow part.
People might believe in healing through medicine and surgery but doubt healing through prayer, attributing it to other causes or considering such miracles outdated.
This type of faith has no connection to God. It is not spiritual faith that brings salvation. True faith believes that all words of the Bible are God’s word and absolute truth, regardless of worldly knowledge.
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Next, faith that changes is also fleshly faith. With changing faith, we cannot receive answers from God.
Some people pray earnestly, worship diligently, and lead enthusiastic Christian lives to receive answers to their desires. However, if they do not receive answers quickly enough, they begin to doubt.
“Is God really living? Does He truly listen to my prayers?” Doubt leads to losing grace, making them think that previous answers or testimonies of others were coincidences.
James 1:6-7 says, “But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord.”
Such changing faith cannot be considered true faith.
Mark 11:24 states, “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted to you.”
It says to believe that you have already received them, not that you will receive them.
The same applies to issues of health. The latter part of 1 Peter 2:24 says, “…for by His wounds you were healed.”
About 2,000 years ago, Jesus redeemed us from sins and curses, and we who believe are healed. Thus, if you pray with faith, you will not experience pain but will be filled with joy and hope.
Only when your faith remains unshaken despite a lack of visible evidence can it be recognized as true faith.
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Lastly, dead faith is knowing what faith is but lacking accompanying actions. Knowing God’s word and believing it are different.
We should believe God’s word not just in our minds but deeply in our hearts, and our actions should follow accordingly.
If you only know it as knowledge, your actions will not align. This kind of faith, merely as knowledge, cannot be recognized by God as spiritual faith. With this faith, you cannot bear the fruit of faith.
For example, God says that He will let you reap what you sow. This principle applies to everything, including health and wealth.
The widow of Zarephath obeyed God’s command with faith by giving her last food to Elijah during a long famine. Although the food was vital to her, she obeyed because she believed.
As a result, her bin of flour did not run out, nor did the jar of oil become empty. She experienced God’s blessing manifold.
Conversely, those with fleshly faith know this fact but, when in difficulties, cannot act. They may be unwilling to give tithes or offerings if short on living expenses.
If they truly believed that God would
bless them for what they sow, they would not be stingy. But because they only have this knowledge, their actions do not follow.
Even if they pray, “I believe you will bless me,” they cannot reap the fruit of their prayers. Similarly, if you have cancer and trust in your father, a renowned cancer specialist, you will go to him rather than other doctors.
If you truly believe God is omnipotent and omniscient, you will seek Him for healing rather than relying on worldly methods. The disparity between professed belief and actual practice saddens God.
2 Kings 16:12-13 recounts King Asa’s disease and death: “And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but the physicians. So Asa slept with his fathers, having died in the forty-first year of his reign.”
This passage illustrates how disappointing it is to God when we rely on the world while claiming belief in Him. The same principle applies to other areas of life. The Bible instructs us to rejoice always, give thanks in all circumstances, pray without ceasing, love our enemies, and maintain peace with everyone. Memorizing these verses without acting upon them reflects fleshly faith, which cannot experience God’s works.
James 2:26 states, “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”
With dead faith, we cannot receive answers or blessings and may even fall away from salvation. Please remember this fact and ensure your faith is accompanied by deeds.
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
What is spiritual faith? Spiritual faith is the opposite of the fleshly faith I just described.
Even if the word of God does not align with your personal thoughts and knowledge, if you can still believe every word of God, that is spiritual faith. Once you have this faith, it remains unchanging, and you act according to God’s word.
With spiritual faith, you can create something from nothing. As stated in Matthew 17:20, you will command a mountain to move from here to there, and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you. You can receive answers to any problem in your family, workplace, business, or health, and accomplish the kingdom of God with His power.
However, the measure of each person’s spiritual faith varies. Those with great spiritual faith, having a full measure, receive answers simply by desiring them, while those with a smaller measure may need to pray for many days for the same desire.
If everyone could possess all the spiritual faith they wanted, everyone would desire greater faith. But spiritual faith is not something we can possess just by wanting it; it is given by God.
So, how can we receive spiritual faith? Knowing how to obtain spiritual faith will open the door to answers and blessings for the desires of your heart. I will explain how to receive spiritual faith.
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Have you assessed whether your faith is fleshly or spiritual through today’s message?
While none of you might claim to have 100% spiritual faith, your faith is not entirely fleshly.
Many of you possess spiritual faith, though in varying degrees. You are on the path to perfecting your spiritual faith. The upcoming Sunday morning services will cover different measures of spiritual faith, how to grow from small to great faith, and how to transform your faith into spiritual faith.
Through these messages, you should be able to evaluate your faith and act in accordance with it. You will believe even when it does not align with your thoughts, knowledge, and theories, and your faith will remain steadfast in all circumstances.
Then, as the saying goes, “nothing is impossible for him who believes,” God’s promises will be realized in your life, and you will witness amazing works as recorded in the Bible. You will overcome hardships, receive answers to your prayers, and demonstrate the evidence of the living God to those who do not believe.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will quickly attain spiritual faith, please God, and experience His works every day.
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