The Stimulators 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 seek to understand the stimulators of faith.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Stimulators of Faith
"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth
he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."
Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 25.
Brothers and sisters, today we shall examine the stimulators of faith. We know that faith is of
supreme importance in our spiritual life. We also know that our faith must continually grow, and that
it only grows by the constant exercising of it, by having constant increasing resistance to it.
There are many stimulators of faith. And quite contrary to what would seem naturally and rewarding
to the material mind, it is not by being shown the object of your faith. While being shown the object
of our faith may be the reward of our faith, it hardly stimulates it. This is because it is the conscious
material mind that seeks to have its doubts validated, a worthy goal of the material mind when it
comes to material reality. But when dealing with spiritual reality, no amount of showing will
convince the material mind of the validity of spiritual values and meanings. Only when the
materialized mind becomes spiritual can it be satisfied with the proof of spiritual reality. This is
because the spiritualized mind has become a spiritual reality itself. In short we cannot prove spiritual
truth by material means. Only spiritual means can prove spiritual truths, and in the flesh the means
of proving spiritual truths is by our faith.
And now that we have laid the foundation for the stimulation of our spiritual faith, we shall now
examine some of the factors used as faith stimulators. First, let us examine uncertainty. Uncertainty
is our state while living in this world. We never know what to expect next. One moment we can be
enjoying a peaceful interlude where everything appears to be in order and moving as it should, while
the next moment we experience a complete disruption of the peaceful interlude and nothing appears
to be proceeding as it should. It is like a material storm in analogy. One moment the sun can be
shining and the next the storm clouds gather and release their contents: rain, snow, sleet and hail,
hurricanes and tornadoes.
This uncertainty has the sure effect of creating insecurity. The insecurity then creates the desire for
security. There being no security in our material world, we begin to look for an area where there is
security. This desire then gives rise to the exercise of faith, for we reason that in the face of
insecurity security exists in the spiritual reality of God the Father, whom we identify as all powerful,
all loving, all merciful. This desire has the sure effect of increasing our faith, for it requires faith to
believe that we have spiritual security in the midst of material insecurity.
Next we shall examine doubt itself. This doubting quality of the material mind has the effect of
increasing our faith. As our material minds continue to doubt the reality of the spiritual security since
it does not recognize it, a barrier is created for us to overcome. As we increase our desire for spiritual
security, our faith grows to the point where it overwhelms our doubts. The self moves into that role
of being "more than a conqueror." Doubt does have its purpose, it is absolutely essential in
separating fact from error in the material world, a necessary function that means our survival The
material self is very vulnerable to the material forces surrounding it and impinging upon it. Its sole
advantage is its material mind which has the ability to distinguish the factual from the non-factual.
Now we move on to examine the phenomenon of loss. We experience losses continually. Some of
these losses may be associated with growth; others appear to be associated with the handicaps of
space and the delays of time, while still others belong to the realm of the accidents of time. But
whatever the source, these losses cause emotional devastation. They leave voids in our psyche, a
sense of emptiness and disappointment. These losses cause real suffering, be it psychic or material.
This spectacle of loss creates the desire for a state where no loss occurs, and this state is recognized
by our faith as the spiritual state, for nothing of spiritual value is ever lost. This desire for
permanence in the face of change drives the self to embrace that faith state where there is
permanence in the face of change--the spiritual realm.
Then there is the internal stimulus itself for faith. It is the excruciating hunger and thirst stimulated
by the source of spiritual faith, the divine spirit. This is a hunger for truth and a thirst for
righteousness. This never-appeased hunger and never-satisfied thirst in the material mind can never
be satisfied by material means. And this desire for relief drives the self to pray and worship. After
countless attempts to satisfy itself, the self gives way to faith, which is then rewarded by complete
but temporary satisfaction of the hunger for truth and thirst for righteousness and finds the emptiness
filled by the divine spirit. And as the self grows, hunger and thirst also grow, requiring more and
more of the faith effort to satisfy it. On our world spiritual growth never ceases, therefore the need
for faith in acquiring the divine values and meanings of spiritual realities never ceases.
Finally, the last and greatest factor of stimulating the growth of faith is mortal death itself. Yes, death
of the mortal who is conscious of his mortality is the greatest stimulator of our faith in this life. The
consciousness of mortality alongside the desire to live, to survive, is the greatest crisis in our material
minds. This conflict marshals our supreme power of faith to embrace the way of salvation, simply
by believing in the promise of eternal life revealed by the divine Son, Jesus. This faith acceptance
immediately propels us to a new level of awareness, a level that is saturated with divine love and
mercy, so that we become absolutely faith sure that we will survive mortal death. This belief is so
powerful and controlling, undergirded with the positive assurance of being divinely love, that we
promptly eliminate all fear and doubt when it comes to our salvation.
This concludes today's message on understanding the stimulators of faith. 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!
The Stimulators of Faith
