Introduction

Today, I will speak on a topic called Active Faith. I have previously discussed Faith Like a Mustard Seed. This faith, like a mustard seed, is a living, active faith. I am describing the operation of this faith from another perspective. Why describe the operation of this faith? Because many people's prayers are not answered. Have you noticed that, especially in churches that do not promote active faith, their prayers are generally not answered? I have experimented myself, trying different ways of praying, saying, Lord, heal me! Lord, heal me… It didn't work! If someone has a leg ache or a stomachache and asks the Lord for healing, it doesn't work.

Later, I carefully studied the words in the 《Bible》, and I found that the words in the 《Bible》 have a characteristic: they all have a positive and active faith. During His days on earth, Jesus Christ criticized people, but never for How can you have delusional faith? How can you have nonsensical faith? No, He always criticized unbelief, or little faith, or very bad faith. So today, brothers and sisters, you must know that without active faith, your prayers will not be answered.

When I lead people in prayer, I often say, Come, stretch out your arms and start moving! As a result, Ah… and they are healed through prayer. Why do I need this action? Including when we hear testimonies, someone shared with us that they had a leg cramp, put their hand on it, prayed, and it was healed! Once they moved, the cramp returned, so they pressed again, prayed again, and then started walking around. So, brothers and sisters, you must know that this active faith is very important.

Over the past period, I have been studying a very, very important topic, and that is education. Why do some people study well while others do not? Taught by the same teacher, why do some study well while others do not? I have found that children who learn actively study well. Of course, everyone must not take this too simplistically, because there are many other factors. It's like cooking meat. Some people say, You must put in peppercorns! Then it won't taste good; it'll be peppercorn water. Some people say, You must put in star anise! Too much star anise won't work either. If you say, for braised meat, putting in nothing but meat won't work either. I am talking about one of the factors—active faith—but there are other reasons. Active learning is key, but are there other factors? Yes! Learning ability and cultivation in various aspects are also important.

When I was involved in education, I also found that the philosophy of education is very important! What kind of philosophy are we using to manage education? To train this child to become a talent? To motivate him to learn actively. For example, in the process of learning, you will find some people drooping their heads, empty, sitting in class, waiting for the teacher to pour knowledge in, but it doesn't go in. They understand the first ten minutes of the teacher's lecture, but if they get distracted in the middle, the whole day is ruined. These are the children who don't study well; they go to school every day and still don't study well. The children who study well go to school every day and study well. Today, brothers and sisters, you must start to grasp this. If you have children, I give you a suggestion: train them to learn actively. What does it mean to learn actively? Start learning on their own, and then listen to the teacher's lecture; that would be excellent!

Active Living and the Power of Faith

Just as it is with learning, so it is with work. Active work counts. If you are working very passively, no boss will like you. The boss says, Do this! and you do it. Whatever the boss doesn't instruct, you don't do; you do everything the boss instructs. So, brothers and sisters, you must begin to understand that active is a very crucial word. It is the same in our lives. If you have an active, proactive attitude in life, it is completely different.

Scripture

Then Jesus told them a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Listen carefully: In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Let us all read the last sentence together: “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (《Luke》 18:1-8)

Prayer

Lord, we thank you! During your days on earth, you often taught us active faith. Lord, we thank you for using such parables to encourage us! Lord, you are a God who loves us, a God who cares for us, a God who protects us. Lord, we know that what you want is the faith within us. Lord, the days of your return are near. Lord, you tell us with emotion, can you find people with faith? Lord, before you, we choose to be people of faith, we choose to be people with active faith. Lord, help us to understand your parables, to understand your words, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

The Laws of Faith

Today, brothers and sisters, you must know that faith is a principle, a very, very important principle! The lives of a person with faith and a person without faith are completely different. The same knowledge, the same IQ, the same EQ, the same conditions; a person with faith lives better than a person without faith. A person without faith has no future, but faith can create the future. This is what I often tell everyone.

Within faith, there is false faith and there is true faith. What is faith called? Some people think faith is morality, but it is not. It is faith that has become a virtue; faith that has become your habit; faith that has become a part of your character.

When I cast out demons, I often experience this: if I keep at it and it is a stalemate, I will tell you what happens. I will gather my inner faith, like gathering my breath when practicing martial arts. I make up my mind, pah! I won't get rid of it until I'm done, and then the speed of casting out demons is particularly fast. It's the same when I do things. Sometimes, as I'm doing something, I'm about to give up, I really can't persevere, it's very hard. I stop and gather my inner faith. I steel myself again, and I don't believe it, you little thing, I often like to say: Little thing, I don't believe I can't get rid of you!

The Power of Faith and the Wisdom of Perseverance

I often face difficulties. Sometimes I can solve them in a day; some difficulties take a month to solve; some I persevere for a year; some I persevere for five years; some I persevere for ten years. Do you have this kind of faith? Brothers and sisters, difficulties are like springs; if you are weak, they are strong. Isn't that what we were told when we were young? If you are strong inside, the difficulties outside immediately begin to weaken before you.

So, brothers and sisters, learn to have faith. Does faith cost money? No! Is faith God's responsibility? No, faith is your responsibility. So a father without faith often says: Lord! I have no faith, my faith is small, please add to it. But that is what a father without faith says. However, I later found that some churches often say: Please Lord, add to it. If I have no faith, it is because the Lord has not added to me. What an excuse! Is it God's responsibility that you have no faith? God cannot be responsible for your lack of faith.

Faith must be cultivated as a habit, as a quality; then we begin to grasp the laws of faith, which are the laws of virtue. Actually, the laws of faith are not the laws of faith, but the laws of virtue.

I often see many people living in hardship, persevering, having faith to persevere, but not having faith in the midst of difficulties to overcome those difficulties. That is a very sad thing! So, brothers and sisters, re-adjust yourselves. No matter what difficulties you encounter, even if you are the Job of our time, if you can persevere in believing that God will surely save you from all your troubles, I tell you, you will surely come out of the troubles.

I have written a book about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. The first book is about how the root of human problems is unbelief, so Jesus criticizes people for their unbelief. The root of human problems is unbelief. What is unbelief? It is the knowledge of good and evil; the knowledge of good and evil is unbelief, and unbelief is the knowledge of good and evil. Chapters one to eleven are about how the root of human problems is unbelief. The second book, chapters twelve to twenty-five, is about Abraham, how Abraham pioneered a path of faith. Jacob inherited this path of faith, and Joseph practiced this path of faith.

So faith is a main theme throughout the 《Genesis》 . If you observe this carefully, you will see that the people in it are extraordinary. Abraham persevered for 26 years to have a son, Jacob persevered for 75 years to obtain the birthright of the firstborn. At 75, the old man didn't even date, which is amazing, but when he did, he had four, resulting in four wives. Jacob is remarkable. People with faith have a future. It is not your degree that gives you a future, nor is it your IQ, family, background, or your parents' wealth!

I once saw a cartoon of a child pulling a cart, with his parents sitting in the cart, at the starting line. Then there was another child whose parents were driving a car, and who was on top of the car, also in running posture. At the starting line, that kind of competition is unfair. But, brothers and sisters, I tell you, if you have faith, you can pull a rickshaw and still beat that Ferrari. Why? Because you are on the right path.

Brothers and sisters, don't think that running fast is good; running fast doesn't necessarily mean running right. You drive around in circles, you drive fast, but you want to go east, and if you can't find north, running amok and going in the opposite direction, you're getting lost, the faster you drive, the faster you get lost. Brothers and sisters, you must know that the swift do not always win the race, nor do the strong always win the battle, because they have not used their strength in the right place.

So, brothers and sisters, live out your faith, live out your virtue. I tell you, if you have faith, the Holy Spirit will work in you; the Spirit of God will guide you all the way to your destination. You will find that you are not the fastest, but you still win. So, brothers and sisters, you must know that this is a matter of your future. Where is your future? Your future is not in others, it is within you. Do you have this faith within you? If you have this faith to support you until the thing is accomplished, you are a person with a future!

So do not be unbelieving. If you think carefully, are you a person of character? Why am I talking about whether you have character or not? And Jesus said, When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? On the wall of Carnegie Hall, there is a painting. I have repeated this story again and again, and I am always moved every time I tell it. Underneath that painting is a line that reads, The tide will surely rise. The ship is stranded on the beach, but the day the tide rises will surely come. If you are a person of faith, no matter what your circumstances today, tell yourself that the tide will surely rise, you will surely sail to the sea, you will surely become an extraordinary person. Whether or not you believe is up to you.

For example, a sick person, a person with a serious illness, I say: God will surely heal you! He says: Ah, that's impossible. Oh my gosh, that sentence nullified the blessing I declared. So today, brothers and sisters, you must learn to start believing. Does believing really cost money? Believing doesn't cost money. If you can't do something that doesn't cost money, how can you do something that costs money? You can have faith without spending money; can you make such a choice? This is the best decision you will ever make. The best decisions are all in your faith.

So, brothers and sisters, if you listen carefully to my past sermons, you will find a main theme, repeatedly talking about one thing: faith. Jesus is also talking about faith. Don't get annoyed by it. If you are annoyed by it, you should be a person of faith. If you are still a person without faith, today I still need to tell you: Jesus is looking to see if you are a person of faith. If Jesus sees that you are not a person of faith, you have no future. Your environment cannot determine your destiny; your faith determines your future. Brothers and sisters, you must know for certain that the day the Son of Man will return is near.

The Son of Man is Coming Back. Are You a Person of Faith?

The Son of Man is coming back. Are you a person of faith? This is very interesting. Why is it that you must have faith when the Son of Man is coming back? Our generation is the generation when the Son of Man is coming back. Do you understand? If you must have faith when the Son of Man returns, do other generations not need to have faith? Other generations also need to have faith, but in the days when the Son of Man returns, faith becomes very, very important. Do you know why? Because, at the end of the world, the disaster is so great that you really cannot go on without faith. If you want to escape the days of the coming disaster, you must have faith, you must have sustained faith, sustained faith that perseveres until victory. So brothers and sisters, you must learn to start believing.

The Strength of Persistent Faith and the Answered Prayer

Today, if we look at the state of this era, we will know that all countries are engaged in an arms race. The strength of the world today and as written in the prophesies and book of “Revelations” will lead to the possibility and likelihood of a nuclear holocaust. Someone said that the First World War ended how? The Second World War ended how? He said that after the Third World War, all of humanity will return to the Stone Age. Returning to the Stone Age, almost back to making fire by drilling wood, it will be a very difficult war. If you open the 《Revelation》, you will see those seven trumpets sounding, one trumpet after another, that is the state of world war, nuclear war, quite difficult. If we fall into this state, if you have not left the world yet, in that state, if you have no faith, you are in big trouble.

We are living in an era that is both exciting and sad. What is exciting? The Lord Jesus is coming! What is sad? Because the days of the Lord Jesus will be filled with war and difficulty as written in the book of “Revelations”. Brothers and sisters, do not think that disasters are prepared for those who love God. The book of 《Revelations》 does not speak to the specific timing for God’s children except these facts. However, it is because God love and looks after his children, that the book of 《Revelations》 allows the children of God to be prepared. Instead, many love darkness and do not follow God with fear, reverence, obedience, love and actions. That is why I ask brothers and sisters to believe in the Lord, believing in such a real, or believing in such a stubborn, so strong way. Because these are the days when the Son of Man is coming. As for whether you want to be a person of faith or not, I do not know.

Today, I encourage you to be a person of faith, don't get caught up in trivialities, don't lose faith in this matter. Be a person of faith, not a false faith, but an active faith. Active faith is called virtue, a lasting active faith is called virtue, believing until that thing is accomplished is called virtue. If there is this virtue that you hold to with your life, then you can face the end times. If you read the 《New Testament》, God has never prepared disasters for His people, those who love Him will not encounter disasters, but where is the problem? The problem is that if you do not have faith, you will fall into disaster, because those days are quite difficult. As long as you read the 《New Testament》, you will know that faith is living faith, is true faith, is an active faith with action.

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## Faith is Action with Belief

What is this passage about? It tells of a widow who encountered a very bad official. You might think she had no chance. But she did not care; she kept saying, Grant me justice, grant me justice, grant me justice... Can you persevere until the day of vindication? Jesus called this parable faith. So this widow was a person of faith, to the extent that even when facing a corrupt official, she insisted on justice. The corrupt official said, I don’t fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so she won’t eventually come and attack me! **This faith is intertwined with one's tenacity and persistence.** It is about saying, Grant me justice, grant me justice... but not saying, You scoundrel of an official!—that is not faith. Even if the official is a scoundrel, I believe he will grant me justice, Grant me justice, grant me justice... Do you understand? This is faith.

> And the Lord 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? (Luke 18:6-7)

Why are your prayers not answered, or why does it seem like they are answered so slowly? It is because there is no faith within you. Faith is a choice within you. The choice within you is to persevere, persevere, persevere—one minute longer than the devil. When I pray for those with troubling illnesses, I often use faith. If you ask me, Pastor, why are your prayers effective while mine sometimes are and sometimes are not? It is because I have already decided that they must get well! And I must persist one minute longer than the illness. **I do not need to persist for long, just until the illness recedes; one minute more is enough. This is faith.**

## Action with Belief and the Power of Persistence

Therefore, when the Son of Man comes, will He find people with this kind of faith, a faith that is accompanied by action? Brothers and sisters, do not adopt bad habits, such as waiting for God: I wait for God, I wait for God! Waiting and waiting, even until death, and then saying, Why was nothing accomplished after I died? That is dead faith. So, brothers and sisters, heed my advice: take action, bring forth action. I tell you, if the widow had simply said, Grant me justice, grant me justice! it would have been useless. But Grant me justice, grant me justice, grant me justice!—even an unjust official would grant her justice. How much more will our Father in heaven quickly grant you justice?

## The Unbelieving Cannot Persist to Obtain What They Desire

Brothers and sisters, you must act. Those who do not believe cannot persist. Those who do not believe wait silently. I dislike silent waiting; it is never an option. Begin to understand how the Bible teaches us. When the Son of Man comes, will He find such people who are proactive and have faith? God seeks such people. If you are one, you will be precious in God's eyes.

> And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 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!” (Luke 11:5-13)

**Brothers and sisters, we lack that fervor, that passion, that fire: Fill me with the Holy Spirit! Fill me with the Holy Spirit! Fill me with the Holy Spirit! Like asking for bread.** Our God is not an evil God. God delights in us having a proactive faith. How many people have been ruined by those who preach passive faith? They could have emerged from their difficulties, could have been healed, could have been liberated, but without this proactive faith, without persistent faith, they remain stuck.

I have observed many people from traditional Christian backgrounds. Do their actions truly align with the Bible? If measured by these two parables—the widow seeking justice from the unjust judge and the person asking for bread from a friend—they lack something. Something is missing in their faith. They seem to believe, but deep down, they do not. If it were me, I would surely get the bread: Give me bread! Give me bread! Give me bread! Get up! Get up! Get up! And I would receive it. **God loves such people. The Son of Man seeks such people to deliver them from all calamities.**

So today, I warn everyone, **be a Christian who is loud and clear, with proactive faith.** You do not need to be polite with God. The unbelieving cannot persist to obtain what they desire. Today, whether knocking on a door or seeking justice for oneself, one must persist to the end. I know some people feel embarrassed at the slightest thing: Oh, others are sleeping; I'll just be hungry. I don't need bread; I can eat some mud. And then they scoop up some mud and eat it.

## Faith with Passion and Action

If you think God appreciates this kind of politeness, Jesus would not have said, When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth? You must deal with the embarrassment within you, No bread? Never mind. Acting like a servant. You do not need to be polite with God. God has long said, **Will I not give the Holy Spirit to those who seek Him? God wants this kind of character and nature. God delights in such children, and we should be such children.**

Do not be overly polite. Have faith with passion and proactive action. When asking for bread, do not say, Could you possibly give me a piece of bread? Like begging. There are no such words. Use Give me a piece of bread! Give me a piece of bread! Every word filled with passion. I love passionate people. Use Grant me justice! Grant me justice! Fill me with the Holy Spirit! Fill me with the Holy Spirit! Holy Spirit, fill me! Seek with such passion.

Some scoundrels say, Are you not forcing God? Did Jesus not tell us to do this? Read the words carefully. Am I wrong, or are they wrong? Have this righteous character. When you come to God's house, believe that God will give to you. So, brothers and sisters, begin to recover. God wants us to have this kind of character.

When I was a boss, the thing I hated most was my employees being soft and weak, walking with measured steps, unable to kick out even a fart. Some people say, Teacher, why do you always use such vulgar language? I tell you, these soft, lifeless people, without any passion, I wish they had some passion. If saying a few curse words could release their passion, I would thank God. **Be a Christian with passion, and infuse your passion into your faith. This is faith; do not be soft and weak.**

I have seen a person mopping the floor slowly, dawdling. Can't you work more briskly? People would feel better. Working sluggishly makes others sigh. You know that in the workplace, even if you can't do the job well, you can at least have the right attitude. For example, when doing woodwork, we pick up the electric drill and go whirr, whirr, whirr... How great and energetic! But if you go buzz, buzz, buzz... like it has no power, how unpleasant is that?

Brothers and sisters, understand that passion is extraordinary. Bosses do not like people who are soft and sluggish. Even if you are washing a pile of dishes, you pour in the detergent, roll up your sleeves, and go swish, swish, swish... and finish washing them quickly. People see your energetic spirit and feel great. So, I am a person who pursues efficiency. Being sluggish and dawdling is very unpleasant.

A pastor came to me three years ago and said, Pastor, how should I create a website? Two years ago, he came again, Pastor, how should I create a website? A year ago, he came again with the same question, and after three years, he still hadn't done it. Brothers and sisters, today we must have a burning, fervent passion to live it out, and working will be enjoyable. When I work with them, they are surprised that the pastor is already over 50, because he works faster than young people.

We demand efficiency, but do not misuse it. Some people are very passionate about taking advantage of others, and some are very passionate about eating, lunging and scooping from the pot. But when it comes to working, they are useless, but they know how to eat. This is misusing passion. **Use your passion in the right place, use it to create value, not to be a consumer.** When eating, do not let people see you being crazy; take the dishes slowly and elegantly, but you can still eat quickly.

**## Proactive Faith Pleases God**

**Brothers and sisters, we must live out the passion within us to bless others. I will not rest until I bless this generation. If I cannot serve this generation through my faith and belief, I will not retreat! I will not close my eyes in peace even in death!** Do not be soft and weak when alive, and then be a struggle even in death, with electrotherapy and chemotherapy, taking half a day to pass away. I prefer to be passionate when alive and die quickly. We must know that faith must be this kind of faith! The thing in my bones can become a blessing to others. Passivity is not what God wants.

## Passivity is Not What God Wants

**In God's kingdom, there are no passive people. Passivity is for servants.** Do you want a foreman watching you with a whip while you work, whipping you if you do not work hard? Do you want to be that kind of person? God's kingdom does not like such people. Everything God does, from Genesis to Exodus to Deuteronomy, **God is looking for someone with passion, fervor, who diligently keeps and follows God's words.** Why will he diligently keep and follow? Because he has a proactive faith within: **If I just diligently keep and follow, I will surely receive God's blessings and what God has promised! Passivity is not what God wants! If God kicks you, do not blame God. God is trying to change you from passive to proactive. Because God wants you to be a child in God's house, holding God's proactive authority in your hand.**

**Do not be afraid when practicing faith. You may make mistakes, but God will not make mistakes. Even if you make mistakes, God will correct you and lead you on the right path.** A rolling stone is much easier to manage than a stationary stone. A person who is moving is much easier to manage than someone who has no energy within. Just push his strength onto the right path.

The day of God is coming. God is looking for a proactive person of faith, a person of belief. If you have a stubborn unbelief, use that stubborn unbelief for stubborn belief, because God is faithful. If God could save you from your original state of poverty, can God not bless your business today? If you experienced God when you did not have much faith, can you not experience God even more today when you have greater faith? Our God's house is very rich; our God is a rich God. The universe is His, so do not disbelieve. Disbelief is very terrible, and do not play at false belief. The faith of the Pharisees is false. When it comes to the real thing, they are finished. Brothers and sisters, can we restore the state of belief within us today?

## Conclusion

God is looking for people of faith. The Lord Jesus said, When I come again, will I find faith on earth? These words carry God's deep sentiments. God laments that there are few people of faith in this world. You must know for sure that **a person of faith is precious in God's eyes. God is willing to give His life and shed His precious blood to redeem those who believe in Jesus.** A person who believes in Jesus will completely offer his life as a living sacrifice, because that is the key to obtaining a wonderful life.

> I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)

## Use Faith to Fulfill God's Will

God has a perfect, good, and pleasing will for us. Can you use your proactive faith to fulfill it? I see that every brother and sister in our church is being raised up to become elite soldiers in God's kingdom, not because of your actions, but because of your faith. Your actions may still have some problems, some things that can be improved, but I will never judge your actions. What I want to talk about is your faith. A pastor can lead a large group of brothers and sisters in this generation to grow into blessings for this generation, and this is something I am very enthusiastic about doing. I also know that in God's presence, walking in God's word with this kind of faith can experience God's perfect, good, and pleasing will. It is not just about seeking justice, or going to a friend's house to ask for bread, or asking for anything, but about drawing from God's inheritance in God's kingdom. God adds all the good things of His kingdom to us, yet we do not have such faith. Is that not very sad?

Let us all pray together: In the name of Jesus, I declare that I will be a person of faith, I will be a person of proactive faith. In the name of Jesus Christ, I reject all passivity. I will rise up and fight, I will rise up and serve, I will rise up and bless this generation. I am a person of faith. Lord Jesus, may I receive Your reward on the day You return. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!