Kingdom's Keys Fellowship
Where God's Kingdom Meets Man's Heart.
Why Faith?
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb.11:1 KJV).”
While this is obviously a biblical quote I want to start this section from the world’s perspective. We need a talking ground to be able to communicate what and why we believe the way we do. That will be in the next session. My reason is that this age is one where secularism has gained a foothold in every area of human endeavor. It’s all about ‘me’, my moments and instant gratification. I want to give us a talking ground with people who don’t have their faith placed in God. All of us have been there. But our worldview is different.
The last writing established the four-fold nature of faith It is evidential, personal, spiritual and shaping. Faith is a fact in every human being. . Anyone should be able to accept that premise. Faith defines who we are as persons. Faith is spiritual. Faith shapes who and what we are. In each of these areas, fact, person, spirit and shape, the essence of our humanity is revealed in thought, emotion and action. The essence that is us is engaged by what we believe, trust and have faith in. Our mind, heart and spirit are motivated by this invisible quality within.
The very structure of our humanity, the person that resides in our physical body, the ‘I am’, is designed for and cannot operate without faith. If faith were not born in us we could not acquire it. It cannot be bought, sold or manufactured. It is that invisible spiritual engine that makes us human. It separates us from every other creature. Faith is the means of survival in every next moment, the impetus that carries us to action or non-action, the modus operandi of our daily experience and the means by which we endure the trial and error learning process. Faith is in every human being whether we believe it or not.
Faith is the engine that drives the mind, the heart and the spirit. Three things are necessary for faith to work as it was intended, focus, function and fuel.
First, focus.
Since we are “I am’s”, persons, individuals, the most obvious need for each of us is an example of a perfect person, a perfect ‘I am’ we can trust, look to for direction. We are born alone, separated from one another, never knowing what really lies out there or within and this is every human being’s condition. We need someone who has faced the inner depths of reason, choice, decision and action and done it right. We need the focus of personal perfection from a perfect person. We need to see like that person sees, feel like that person feels and act like that person acts. Every human being has flaws. Even our heroes in every area from athletics, business, religion, education and anyone we ‘look up to’ are flawed and when those flaws are exposed we recoil and turn away and within. We may try to extract the virtues that have become traditional and embrace them but realize quickly that we can’t live them perfectly.
Our imperfections are clear to us especially in our relationships. We are quite aware that the very fact of regret, remorse, guilt and denial are evidence of imperfections for which we need correction, change and the ability to avoid both habitual and inadvertent mistakes. We know that none of us have perfect relationships. We look for that and try to achieve that but face its impossibility. We also know that there is imperfection in our physical nature. We die. The inevitability of death makes present personal focus undeniably our basic need. The very fact we have needs at all indicates our imperfection and the security of a focus we can believe, trust and have faith in.
Second, function.
If we have focus for our faith, personal focus, a person whose focus is perfect the next consideration is getting that to work. The primary function of faith is relational. It means having a faith relationship with a person that not only is secure but one that takes us out of ourselves and towards one another with assurance that how we relate with one another is right. That ‘right’ is based on the person who is our focus. And even if don’t get it right there is a sense of being accepted anyway. We know within that this person is patient with us and wants us to work at it until we get it right. That in turn leads us to approach everyone the same way. We are created with this relational intention. We were born to be in relationship. It is built into us. We die without it, literally. But having someone who is perfect accepting us even when we are imperfect is what gives our faith the ability to function with all cylinders clicking as we deal with one another. That is when we function best. When our relationships function as they were intended that is when everything else falls into place regardless of success or failure.
The secondary function of faith is to discover and use the talents native to our bodies. Mind skills, interpersonal skills, professional careers will find their place in our lives as we follow the personal focus that secures us to evaluate ourselves and make the decisions necessary to bring what we have been endowed with to the surface. This secondary function of faith is always best developed when our relational base is realized.
Third, fuel.
What fuels our faith? What is it that motivates us to think and act? What we have been talking about up to now is the fact of faith, that is, the reality of every human being having the ability to believe, to trust and have faith from birth. Because faith is invisible it is spiritual. Without faith we cannot function. Faith is the engine that drives every human being to think, evaluate, choose, make a decision and then act. Again, what fuels that faith? What ignites it to act? What generates its movement, continuity and endurance? These questions determine not only the present but also the future outcome of that in which faith is placed. We cannot avoid the spirituality of faith and therefore what fuels it. Only a spiritual source can fuel it and only a perfect spiritual source can be trusted to ignite it and sustain it.
If the focus and function are based on things like pride, greed, competition, fear, acceptance, rejection, guilt and loneliness they will wear out. This is why what fuels faith is so important. The focus of faith determines not only its function but also its ability to achieve that for which it was intended and its direction. Does it produce not only something that lasts but does it last forever? Does it produce relationships that are growing in quality and lasting into that feeling of timelessness as we experience them? Let’s face it spirituality lasts forever.
Next time…The One who makes the difference………
While this is obviously a biblical quote I want to start this section from the world’s perspective. We need a talking ground to be able to communicate what and why we believe the way we do. That will be in the next session. My reason is that this age is one where secularism has gained a foothold in every area of human endeavor. It’s all about ‘me’, my moments and instant gratification. I want to give us a talking ground with people who don’t have their faith placed in God. All of us have been there. But our worldview is different.
The last writing established the four-fold nature of faith It is evidential, personal, spiritual and shaping. Faith is a fact in every human being. . Anyone should be able to accept that premise. Faith defines who we are as persons. Faith is spiritual. Faith shapes who and what we are. In each of these areas, fact, person, spirit and shape, the essence of our humanity is revealed in thought, emotion and action. The essence that is us is engaged by what we believe, trust and have faith in. Our mind, heart and spirit are motivated by this invisible quality within.
The very structure of our humanity, the person that resides in our physical body, the ‘I am’, is designed for and cannot operate without faith. If faith were not born in us we could not acquire it. It cannot be bought, sold or manufactured. It is that invisible spiritual engine that makes us human. It separates us from every other creature. Faith is the means of survival in every next moment, the impetus that carries us to action or non-action, the modus operandi of our daily experience and the means by which we endure the trial and error learning process. Faith is in every human being whether we believe it or not.
Faith is the engine that drives the mind, the heart and the spirit. Three things are necessary for faith to work as it was intended, focus, function and fuel.
First, focus.
Since we are “I am’s”, persons, individuals, the most obvious need for each of us is an example of a perfect person, a perfect ‘I am’ we can trust, look to for direction. We are born alone, separated from one another, never knowing what really lies out there or within and this is every human being’s condition. We need someone who has faced the inner depths of reason, choice, decision and action and done it right. We need the focus of personal perfection from a perfect person. We need to see like that person sees, feel like that person feels and act like that person acts. Every human being has flaws. Even our heroes in every area from athletics, business, religion, education and anyone we ‘look up to’ are flawed and when those flaws are exposed we recoil and turn away and within. We may try to extract the virtues that have become traditional and embrace them but realize quickly that we can’t live them perfectly.
Our imperfections are clear to us especially in our relationships. We are quite aware that the very fact of regret, remorse, guilt and denial are evidence of imperfections for which we need correction, change and the ability to avoid both habitual and inadvertent mistakes. We know that none of us have perfect relationships. We look for that and try to achieve that but face its impossibility. We also know that there is imperfection in our physical nature. We die. The inevitability of death makes present personal focus undeniably our basic need. The very fact we have needs at all indicates our imperfection and the security of a focus we can believe, trust and have faith in.
Second, function.
If we have focus for our faith, personal focus, a person whose focus is perfect the next consideration is getting that to work. The primary function of faith is relational. It means having a faith relationship with a person that not only is secure but one that takes us out of ourselves and towards one another with assurance that how we relate with one another is right. That ‘right’ is based on the person who is our focus. And even if don’t get it right there is a sense of being accepted anyway. We know within that this person is patient with us and wants us to work at it until we get it right. That in turn leads us to approach everyone the same way. We are created with this relational intention. We were born to be in relationship. It is built into us. We die without it, literally. But having someone who is perfect accepting us even when we are imperfect is what gives our faith the ability to function with all cylinders clicking as we deal with one another. That is when we function best. When our relationships function as they were intended that is when everything else falls into place regardless of success or failure.
The secondary function of faith is to discover and use the talents native to our bodies. Mind skills, interpersonal skills, professional careers will find their place in our lives as we follow the personal focus that secures us to evaluate ourselves and make the decisions necessary to bring what we have been endowed with to the surface. This secondary function of faith is always best developed when our relational base is realized.
Third, fuel.
What fuels our faith? What is it that motivates us to think and act? What we have been talking about up to now is the fact of faith, that is, the reality of every human being having the ability to believe, to trust and have faith from birth. Because faith is invisible it is spiritual. Without faith we cannot function. Faith is the engine that drives every human being to think, evaluate, choose, make a decision and then act. Again, what fuels that faith? What ignites it to act? What generates its movement, continuity and endurance? These questions determine not only the present but also the future outcome of that in which faith is placed. We cannot avoid the spirituality of faith and therefore what fuels it. Only a spiritual source can fuel it and only a perfect spiritual source can be trusted to ignite it and sustain it.
If the focus and function are based on things like pride, greed, competition, fear, acceptance, rejection, guilt and loneliness they will wear out. This is why what fuels faith is so important. The focus of faith determines not only its function but also its ability to achieve that for which it was intended and its direction. Does it produce not only something that lasts but does it last forever? Does it produce relationships that are growing in quality and lasting into that feeling of timelessness as we experience them? Let’s face it spirituality lasts forever.
Next time…The One who makes the difference………
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