The Investments of Faith
Greetings, 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 ponder our lives as seek to understand the investments of faith.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Investments of Faith
“ And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger: And he that believeth in me shall never thirst." John, Chapter 6, Verse 35.
Brothers and sisters, in today’s broadcast, we seek to understand the investments of faith. Jesus has said that he is the bread of life and the waters thereof. The unspiritualized Pharisees ask that he give them this bread and water to eat and drink. They maintained that Moses had given them bread from heaven. Jesus corrected them by saying, “ Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who cometh down from heaven , giveth life unto the world.” But the Pharisees could not comprehend this saying because their faith had no risen to true spiritual levels. They insisted upon putting a material interpretation upon what he was saying.
Let us consider the Parable of the Talents to give us further insight into the investments of faith. Once there was a very wise king who went on a very long journey, but before going he called three trusted servants before him. To the first servant, he gave one talent. To the second servant he gave five talents. And finally to the third servant he gave ten talents. And then he departed to see what use his servants would make of these resources during his absence. The first buried his talent; the second servant invested his five talents, and increased them tenfold. The third servant invested his talents, and increased them by one hundredfold.
Belief, faith, and knowledge are similar to the parable of the talents. The Father gives all of his free will creatures the power of belief. Whether they invest this belief or bury it like the first foolish servant is strictly up to them. If they decide to invest this belief like the second servant, it will most certainly increase to the threshold of faith, and if like the third servant, they choose to invest this faith, it will most certainly yield knowledge of the Truth.
Belief is a set of untried assumptions about reality which may or may not be true. The entertainment of belief is a temporary measure for reducing the intolerable anxiety associated with ignorance, and as such is the first step in the acquirement of knowledge of the Truth. A belief system requires nothing from the person holding the belief. It is entirely passive. It costs nothing, and by itself it yields nothing. Belief doe not ascend to the lofty heights of faith until it has passed the acid test of experience. The belief must be subjected to the rigorous skepticism of the material mind, and emerge intact. When the impossible is eliminated, that which remains must be true, no matter how improbable. Only after this test does belief emerge to the level of faith.
Whereas belief is characterized as the will to believe, faith is characterized by the will that believes, and there is a distinct difference. Faith is surcharged with energy and conviction, and unfailingly has the support of the entire being. Faith having passed the scrutiny of the doubting mind, mobilizes all the energy of the self to actualize a goal that it believes is real. Such a person will lay down his life as the price of pursuing the goal.
Faith is the sight of the believer. It is to the soul as the eyes are to the body. The exercise of faith gradually leads to a knowledge of the Truth, because it is associated with the supreme effort of the self, and the supreme effort of the soul eventuates to the level of Truth. A knowledge of Truth is liberating, and always does this Truth declare that God the Father loves his children, even his mortal children, just as moral parents love their children.
The Father loves his mortal children so much that He sends His only begotten Son to show them the way of salvation, to reveal His love, and His mercy. But the mind's comprehension of the Father's love, and the Son's mercy is dependent upon the spiritual status of such minds. A mind that is unable to conceive of unselfish love will manufacture a belief to explain why God should love His children unselfishly. It requires a spiritualized mind to comprehend the meaning and value of unselfish love. Unselfish love is both the motive and the reward for its bestowal. So we must allow our beliefs to rise to true spiritual levels where they become transmuted into faith, that quality given to us by the heavenly Father that allows us to transcend the limitations of the material mind.
This concludes today’s message on the investments of faith. We hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about while you go about your day.
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
Your Kingdom Come; Your Will Be Done!
Inspirational Messages of Light
By Dr. James Perry
The Investments of Faith
