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Main
Article
"Hope?"
"Now faith is
the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen. " (Hebrews 11:1) This has
been called, correctly, the Bible definition of
faith. But what does this really mean? One
translation says that faith is the "giving of
substance to things hoped for." Faith is the
spiritual power that is applied to natural
things to cause a change. Notice that this power
of faith gives substance to what is hoped
for, this would indicate the importance of hope.
We, as "Word People," have spoken disparagingly
of hope in the past. We've said, "If you're just
'hopein' and prayin" about it, then you're just
wasting your time." To some extent this is true,
that is, if all you are doing is "hopein'
and prayin,"' it won't work. Faith must be part
of your prayer if it is going to work, notice,
faith is the force that gives substance to the
hope. But, we can't eliminate hope from our life
and teaching on the victorious Christian life.
We need to define the word "hope." The English
Dictionary says, "desire with expectation of
obtaining what is desired, or belief that it is
obtainable." The Greek word used is "elpis", which means
"favorable expectation or anticipation". You can easily see that
real, Bible hope is very different from the way most people use the
word. To say, " I sure hope that God will heal me someday" is not
what true, Bible hope is about. It is rather a confidence...
something that is firm. |
If you are a man of your word, and you told
me, "I'll be at your house at 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon, and
we'll have coffee and doughnuts," then I will expectantly
prepare for your arrival by having the coffee and doughnuts ready at
3:00 o'clock. In other words, I'll make every preparation, and I
won't be surprised when at 2:59, you knock on my door.
Unfortunately, we don't always act this way about spiritual things.
Yet, spiritual things are more real than physical things around us.
It was the spiritual force of God's faith that He used to create all
these physical things. (Hebrews 11:3) Hope should be a goal setter for the believer. Use your hope to form
an image on the inside of you! You can receive whatever you can
vividly see on the inside of you by applying your faith to it. The
only limiting factor is your lack of vision. Without a vision the
people perish (or fail). (Proverbs 29:18) However, with
vision, we will succeed! You need to develop a divinely inspired
goal. All that a vision is is a divinely inspired goal! The Hebrew
word for vision is, "chazown," which means, "sight or
revelation." You must have an inner sight of whatever your need is -
fulfilled! And realize this - hope is a mental power, while faith is a
spiritual power. If you can keep the two separate, and in their
place - then Hebrews 11:1 will be real to you! Your faith will begin
to give substance and reality to that which you have envisioned!
Items of Interest in This Issue
Report on "Healing Springs Faith Center"...
Tape offer on "Catching the Vision" of the local church and the
upcoming satellite ministry... Radio Topic List... Spirit of Faith
Broadcast invitation... Itinerary... Satellite Poster for Charles
Capps Satellite Seminar next month
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