Hebrews 11:1 «Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.»
Moffat translates it this way: “Faith means that we have the confidence of what we hope for, convinced of what we do not see.
Meditate on this verse, we can conclude that faith regarding what is hoped for or not seen is:
- Firm Assurance
- Sure Hope
- Total Conviction
Faith is the substance.
Hope is the goal.
Faith is «the certainty of things hoped for.» Hope always leaves room for doubt. Hope says, «Perhaps.»
What is Faith
- If faith is not now, it is not faith.
- Faith gives substance to our hope.
- Faith is the guarantee that the things you believe are yours.
- Faith grows from the word of God (Romans 10:17).
- Faith says the same thing that the word of God says.
- Faith is not hope
- Faith is always now, it says, «I have it, it’s mine.»
- Faith is giving substance to the things hoped for
- Faith takes the place of promised things until they happen.
- Faith is the ability to conceive the word of God in our hearts
Someone who doesn’t act on what the Word says isn’t trusting it, even if they claim to know God’s Word is true. Mark 11:24 doesn’t say, «Hope that you will receive it,» it says, «Believe that you will receive it.»
How do we receive Faith?
Because faith is based solely on God’s promises, there is only one resource for our biblical faith: the Word of God. Romans 10:17 says, «So then, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So if faith comes through hearing the word, you have to speak it so you can hear it. It’s through what we hear that faith grows in us. Don’t try to hear something that isn’t spoken.
Jesus spoke the words of his Father, and when He did, it caused faith to come. The faith that is in the word of God enters your spirit when you speak it.
Faith doesn’t come when you pray for it, when you fast for it, or when someone lays hands on you to receive it. It only comes by hearing the Word of God, and once you have heard it, you must still decide to believe it.
Faith is the evidence of things not seen. You’ve heard it said that seeing is believing, but that’s not really true. The Bible says that believing is seeing. If you wait to see something, instead of believing that it is not faith. When we act on the Word of God, that is faith. If I pray and do not receive answers, it is not God who has to change; it is me.
Faith is seeing in the spirit what the word promises when it is not yet manifest in the natural.
Mark 11:24 “24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
This tells us that everything we pray for in faith, we will receive. The things you pray for are because you believe you will receive them
You won’t be able to receive healing in your body if you don’t first believe it. When sickness speaks to you and tells you you don’t have healing, you’re not healthy, remind your flesh. The Bible says in Romans 3:4, «Let God be true, but every man a liar.» And begin to act on what the Bible says, not on what you feel.
It doesn’t say «hope that you will receive it,» it says «believe that you will receive it.» That’s how you know if you’re believing God or hoping
The Law of Faith
Faith is a law, Romans 3:27: “Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By the law of works? No, but by the law of faith.”
In the Old Testament, the law was based on the law of works, but now in the New Testament, it is by the law of faith.
Under the law (which works), people were justified by works, but in the New Covenant, justification is by faith, not by works. Justification comes by faith. We know God’s word, we agree with it, and we know it’s true, but that’s not what will make something happen. It’s the faith of the heart that will do it.
