Faith and Experience
Greetings and good morning brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series
where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years,
the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them
with you. This morning we seek to understand the meaning of the relationship between faith and
experience.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
Faith and Experience
"As it is written, the just shall live by faith." Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 17.
Brothers and sisters, as you might surmise, there is a relationship between faith and experience. But
before preceding further, let's define faith and experience and their union. Faith is defined as that
quality of reality that when fully embraced allows us to react to potential reality as if it were a present
reality. In other words, "faith is substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." This
faith creates a consciousness of spiritual reality.
Experience, on the other hand, is the accumulating series of events in which we have participated. It
is the record of our past life made available in the present. Experience is the source material from
which the Father makes wisdom available to us. It is the living link as we move through time and
space. The union of faith and experience constitutes that interface where the future is becoming the
present. Faith and experience function as a living spiritual microscope. The microscope magnifies our
primitive spiritual vision with ever increasing accuracy. The spiritual microscope of faith imparts
assurance of spiritual perception. It allows us to operate in the spiritual realm while still living in the
material realm.
No matter on what level of reality on which we exist, faith always bridges the gap between what is
and what is to be. As our experience continues to accumulate, so does the accuracy of the faith
forecasts. Experience with the realities of truth (Spiritual Reality) purifies the guidance of faith.
Experience is to faith what a tail is to a kite. It stabilizes faith. The higher faith climbs, the greater the
need for stabilization (Experience). The interface of faith and experience provides an effective armor
for spiritual safety. It even seals the garments of responsibility around our souls so that they are
encased within the safety of responsibility. As we take on more and more responsibility, the union
of faith and experience guarantees against default. Faith delivers the mercy of responsibility, that
divine quality which ensures that all those who walk within it will never lose their way, for this same
path of responsibility is undergirded and bound on all sides by truth.
Faith in material reality is natural, while faith in spiritual reality is supernatural. Faith and experience
with material reality is integrated, so tightly interwoven that its reality is taken for granted. So
reliable is material reality that faith for the most part remains potential. All things being equal, we
naturally expect the sun to rise each day. The fact that the actual self is material and deals with
material reality makes the conscious operation of faith unnecessary. But not so with spiritual reality.
Here, the potential faith of material reality must become actual in relating to spiritual reality. The
spiritual self, the soul, being mostly potential requires an actualized faith stimulus to maneuver
around the playing field of spiritual reality.
Just as material laws govern material reality, there are spiritual laws that govern spiritual reality, and
it requires faith to discover them. And just as it takes times to discover the laws governing material
reality, so does it take time to discover the laws governing spiritual reality. And just as faith in the
material reality is based upon our mounting experience with material reality, so is faith in spiritual
realities based upon ever increasing experience. The force of experience moves faith to higher and
higher levels of operation. As growth of the spiritual nature takes place, so does the growth of faith
take place. The growth of faith is not only related to the mass of experience but is also directly
proportionally to the exercise of it. Thus, the base of faith rests upon experience, while its height
increases with use. Equipped with the union of faith and experience, we are prepared to penetrate
supreme reality--even to recognize God the Father.
This concludes today's message on understanding the relationship between faith and experience. We
hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day. Until
next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
Faith and Experience
