FAITH vs. HOPE !

FAITH vs. HOPE : It Takes The God kind of faith-- a now faith-- to get positive results ! When the apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians said, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity" (1 Corinthians 13:13), he was not inferring that hope and faith are not important. Each has its place, and one cannot be substituted for another. We cannot substitute love for hope. Neither can we substitute hope for faith. Yet so many people try to receive things from God on the basis of hope or head faith rather than the God kind of faith. FAITH IS NOW ! Hope looks to the future. It is always future tense. The God kind of faith is now. Now faith is. Faith says, "I'll receive the answer right now. I have it now." It is not hoping that gets the job done; it is believing. Someone said, "Well, I believe I will receive my healing--- sometimes." That's not the God kind of faith, that's hoping, because it is looking to some indefinite, future time. Faith says, "I receive my healing--- now ! Or I receive the finances I need-- now !" In one modern translation of the New Testament, the familiar verse in (Hebrew 11:1) reads, "Faith is giving substance. . . To things hoped for." If you need healing, you don't want it in the future; you want it right now, especially if your're in pain. If you are seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you want to receive now, not at some indefinite future time. If you need salvation, you cannot put it off to the future, for that may be too late. I have talked to people who told me they hold to be saved. Some of them are now dead. They left the world unsaved, because salvation that is based on hope never comes to fruition. (Ephesians 2:8-9) "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." (Romans 10:9--10--13) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness: and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. . . For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." The above versus point man to the plan of salvation. We see that it is by the God kind of faith-- not hope-- that we are saved. Jesus promised He will not cast any out who comes to Him, but will save all who "called upon the name of the Lord." (Revelation 19:13-14) "And he (Jesus) was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies that were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean." Therefore, we don't need to hope that He will save us. He said He would. Therefore people need to get their mouth in motion in order to call upon the Word of God ! (John 1:1--4).