#1a Faith - The Foundation: Faith vrs. Hope
Apr 8th, 2008 by Brian
In God’s plan with man, the foundation to everything is Faith. But know the question is: What is Faith?
I was a youth minister at a church in Longview Texas. I had a young 16 year old student that was on fire for God. He felt that God was leading him to throw a huge concert in Longview (Tyler was the place to have concerts). So he and a few of his other 16 year old friends put together a huge concert including Sonic Flood (who was the top band for that year) amongst several local bands. Sonic Flood was only $7K (not bad, that’s barely gas money for these guys). To keep the story short, he sold only $200 worth of tickets. Here was a kid that had a lot of “faith” but no mountain moved. Unfortunately, his definition of faith is what I call “stupid faith”.
The Bible does not tell anyone to lay aside your brain. Of course I have done stupid things in the name of faith believing that God would take care of me. Unfortunately, it was me who wasn’t being obedient to Him.
God gave us a brain to use. This brain tells us not to golf in the middle of a lightening storm, not to jump from tall buildings, and not to drink stinky milk. And saying that God will protect us while we do these things would be “stupid faith”.
David was going to battle Goliath, but apparently he didn’t have enough faith to just carry one stone. Or maybe he wasn’t stupid enough to carry just one stone. He knew that God would win, but he knew that if he was acting for God, then he better be smart about it.
Joshua was promised to take captive the land of Israel (Josh.1) but he sent in spies to survey the land (Josh.2). Why? Because if he was going to act for God he better be smart about it.
Faith is not “asking God to move a mountain and not turning around to see if it is gone.” That is what we call hope. Faith is what occurs now. Hope is something that we have confidence to come. Our Faith in God is us believing who He is and we have hope that He will do what He said He will.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. 2 For by it our ancestors were approved.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By this he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through this.
This,to me, is what is sooo hard to explain to a lost person,they don’t understand how we can believe,have faith and hope in something we can not see. I don’t remember what it was like not to believe because I was saved at 11. To me I have always believed In Jesus. The Bible is His word, it is true,all of it, and that’s that. The hard part comes in obeying and denying self. Hard to explain Faith to the lost. Good topic!!
Amen Brian. Also, can’t wait to start the Way of Master Series. I’ve watched their show many times. Hope everyone is having a Blessed
Day.
In Christ’s Love
Cindy, great point. I remember debating something like this at age 6. Good thing we have some help. John 16:8 “And when he (Holy Spirit) comes, he will convince the world of it’s sin, of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is unbelief in me (Jesus).”
Every time I get a chance to lead someone to Christ, it always amazes me how people could believe the things that I say. But it only goes to show the amazing power of the Holy Spirit to take what we say and to turn it into something they need to hear. He’s the one that convicts. Thank goodness.
Like Cindy, I was saved at a young age, and I don’t remember anything other than believing. I am always so thankful for the hope that we have in Christ. As humans, we all go through tough times and deal with the effects of sin. But I can’t imagine having to face the trials of life without the hope that we have in Christ.
About Faith and Hope I always thought of the word hope as to having a meaning of some doubt. Like someone saying well I hope they went to Heaven. That to me is doubting. Not sure of. But then the word hope in the Bible is meant differently. Hope and Faith seem the same. They go together. Like you said above that faith is the reality of what is hoped for the proof of what is not seen.