Most of you brethren are no doubt aware that I have recently emphasized the importance of faith and the need for God’s Church to have the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit to a much greater degree. As we reach out to the world more than ever, these spiritual gifts will be vital in helping people fully realize that God is real, and that He has true servants on this earth. So I hope that all of us will fervently seek for more faith—and learn to exercise that faith in God’s service. As we read the book of Acts, we should understand how God’s spiritual “gifts” were used— over and over—to help untold thousands recognize the reality of God and of His Truth. And we must remember, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
For we want to complete Christ’s work in this age with power and with effectiveness, and we deeply understand that it must be by God’s power, and not our own human efforts. So, we all need to think and pray about faith—and about how to grow in faith!
On this topic, the Apostle Paul was inspired to tell us about the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit. He wrote: “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:7–11). It is obvious from Paul’s description that each of us has different types—or sometimes we have different degrees—of the spiritual “gifts” of God. But they are all to be used to serve the entire body of Christ—the true Church of God. Nevertheless, faith is a “gift” of the Holy Spirit.
We must always keep in mind Jesus Christ’s very encouraging statement in Luke 11:13: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” God is more than willing to give us faith if we ask Him and, of course, if we sincerely try to obey Him and honor Him in our lives. We must never forget one of the basic conditions of answered prayer: “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1 John 3:22). For, contrary to sentimental Protestant “reasoning,” the entire Bible—over and over and in example after example—makes it abundantly clear that God is far more likely to hear our prayers if we obey Him, honor Him and walk with Him with “all our hearts.” This deep, personal, passionate relationship between us and our God is the ultimate “key” to answered prayer!
This close, loving relationship with God obviously produces tremendous faith. As the end of this age approaches, each of us truly needs to build this kind of faithful relationship with our God and Father. “‘For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:37–39). A little later, the Apostle tells us: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). As we increase in Christian maturity, there are various “stages of faith” most of us go through. We should meditate on them, understand them and be sure we genuinely grow in faith, if we want to have a good reward in the Kingdom of God.
The first stage involves the first “reality” surrounding each little child. That is his or her family. For a child normally looks up to his father, mother or other caregiver as the ultimate authority, and the one in whom to place his trust.
As a person grows older, the authority figures in his life also normally include his church, and his pastor or other religious teachers. Most young people will look up to and accept these religious “authorities,” and—to varying degrees—put trust in them. This is the second stage.
The third stage normally involves— for most people—a larger group of “believers.” People in this confused world often speak about the “community of believers.” They will learn a bit here and a bit there from different religious books, articles, pastors and religious teachers. They will “pick up” various ideas and concepts from the wider world of religion. Gradually, they will begin to synthesize and put together their own idea of “true religion.”
Finally, the fourth stage is when one deeply evaluates, meditates upon and internalizes his concept of God— and of the right relationship he ought to have with his God. At this point, one should genuinely prove to himself the existence of the real, personal God, and prove that the Bible is the ultimate authority—the inspired revelation of that God to humans as the “Instruction Book” telling mankind how we ought to live. For a true Christian, this is absolutely vital! Then, as a genuine babe in Christ begins to drink in of the “milk” of the word, he will come to see—more and more—the mind of God and how it affects every phase and facet of his life. He will sincerely attempt to surrender his thoughts and actions to “live by every word of God” (Luke 4:4).
In 1 Corinthians 3, the Apostle Paul revealed that the Church of God at Corinth had many of the same problems that we sometimes have today in the Church of God! He said he could not speak to the Corinthians “as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ” (v. 1). He demonstrated their carnality by describing the “envy, strife and division” among them and how they tended to use carnal reasoning in preferring one minister over the other, rather than looking to God who was to guide the Church overall. Paul explains how each of us will have our life’s work evaluated by God, “for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is” (v. 13).
As with the Corinthians, it seems difficult for many of God’s people today to trust fully that Christ is, indeed, the living Head of the Church of God, and that He is guiding, leading and orchestrating His Church and His Work today.
People often “reason around” the spiritual instruction they are given, and sometimes “minister-shop” to get the answers they prefer. Rather than looking to where Christ is obviously doing most of His Work, many will “church-shop” until they find a group where they can have their own way, or obtain some office. Some will strive to be a “big shot” by starting their own little group, even though this obviously diminishes and greatly weakens the opportunity to do a truly powerful Work of God through a unified Church, as during the days of the original Apostles!
All these attitudes describe a lack of faith, a lack of genuine humility and a lack of fear of the great God! It is obvious that God is not truly real to many of these people, and that they indeed have a very limited faith in Christ as the living Head of His Church.
Notice James 1:2–3: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” Certainly, each of us should be prepared for the “testing” of our faith. We should learn to see the “Big Picture” and know that God is ultimately in charge and that “in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
In Luke 17, the Apostles implored of Jesus: “Increase our faith” (v. 5). Jesus answered: “If you have faith as a mustard seed,” and went on to describe the attitude of service they would have if they had true faith in God as their Head and Rewarder. But notice the verses just before the Apostles’ request for faith. Jesus said: “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him” (vv. 3–4). It seems obvious that the Apostles realized the great need for faith that would be required if they kept forgiving their brother over and over. They would have to trust God to take care of it. They would have to trust God to help them have a truly forgiving spirit, and trust Him to deal with the other party (whom Jesus’ instruction forced them to forgive)—even though they still might have hurt feelings over the matter!
Think about it, brethren! It does take a great deal of humility and faith, if we are to forgive one another genuinely, again and again, in spite of real slights and hurts. We must truly believe that God is Judge, and that He will make all things right in the end! There are many, many areas like this in everyday Christian living, where absolute faith in the reality of God is required. So if God is “not real” to some of us, we will continually slip up and not be able to forgive one another as we should. We will not be able to trust Christ to guide His Church, as we should. We will not put our whole hearts in His Work, as we should. We will always be looking for a back-up system to “take care of number one”—just in case God is not really there, and is not on the job as our living God and the living Head of His Church! Brethren, please think on these things.
God inspired Paul to tell us: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). The more we truly “feed on Christ” (John 6:57), the more God becomes real to us, and the more we tend to reflect Christ’s attitudes of love, of obedience and of faith in every situation.
Although he was not called to understand all that we do about obedience to God and the full understanding of genuine Christian life, famous Protestant evangelist Dwight L. Moody did get it right in this colorful statement about building faith: “One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, ‘Now Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.’ I had closed my Bible, and prayed for Faith. I now opened my Bible, and began to study, and Faith has been growing ever since” (Halley’s Bible Handbook, p. 4).
In Luke 18, Jesus gave the parable of the “unjust judge.” He described the poor widow, who with her “continual coming” finally persuaded him to hear her case. Then Christ said: “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:6–8).
It is more important than many of us realize to focus on Jesus’ description of the “elect who cry out day and night to him.” Most of us in God’s Church today do not have a passionate desire to serve God, to worship God and to totally surrender our hearts and minds and wills to God in every possible way! We must come to the point of learning to obey fully the first and “great commandment.” As Jesus stated it: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). Then, we will build a genuinely heartfelt and even passionate relationship with God—as Abraham, Moses and King David certainly did. Then we will, indeed, “cry out” to Him day and night—truly “walking” with God, fellowshipping with Him and growing in powerful faith in His word and in His promises.
At this point, each of us will begin to be more and more empowered by the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. And as we grow in this as a Church, the power of God’s Spirit will be more fully manifest in every phase and facet of the Church, the Work, the ministry and in the manifestation of the “accompanying signs” of which Jesus spoke in Mark 16:20. May God help each of us to go all out to build this kind of living faith and an extremely close relationship with our Father and with our personal Savior and Head, Jesus Christ!