Understanding Faith, Righteousness, Increase & Desire, Part 1
Faith vs. Hope
Many people have their own definitions of faith, but the best way to define a biblical concept is to use the Bible. People use goofy descriptive language and imagery in an attempt to define faith, ‘Faith is stepping out into nothing and finding something there.’ That's not a scripture. This is what the Bible says about faith.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith is the reality of what we hope for. It is the evidence of things we cannot see. What does that mean?
Hope is the blueprint and faith builds the house. You can hope you're going to win the lottery, but if it remains a hope, it doesn’t make you any wealthier. You can hope for something good to happen to you, but everything you're going to attain through God is achieved by faith. That makes it imperative for you to know what faith is as well as the laws that govern how faith works.
You must understand the difference between hope and faith. The primary difference between the two is that hope is for the future, faith is now. That’s why the Bible’s definition of faith begins with the word now. “Now, faith is…” Faith is not hoping that one day things will get better. Faith isn’t believing that one day you’ll be healed.
That’s why I dislike the phrase keep me in prayer. "Keep me in prayer" is the exact opposite of “Now, faith is…” Just by using the phrase, you’re making it known that you expect a struggle. Whenever someone asks me to keep them in prayer, I stop what I’m doing and pray for them on the spot. Then you can believe that you have received the things you’ve hoped for. That’s how you couple hope with faith.
Hope, in and of itself, is simply keeping a positive attitude for a better tomorrow. Faith begins by finding something in the Bible pertaining to what you’re believing for. If you don't have any scripture that pertains to your situation, then all you can do is hope. You’re left with no other option but to hope things will get better or that one day you won’t be sick anymore. You’ll be left hoping your children will turn out right. Hope by itself can’t ensure anything, but faith gives substance to your hope.
I can hope Camila turns out well and grows up to follow the Lord as I raised her, but I have zero guarantee that it will actually happen. However, when I find a scripture that says, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord” (Josh 24:15) or “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9), it gives me the ability to move out of the realm of hope and into faith. When I find a scripture that says, “Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they grow old, they will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6), my hope transforms into faith and gives me every reason to expect that God’s Word will give me what it says I can have.
There are Christians who don’t understand faith who will say things like, “I know the Bible says that but…” Tune those people out and focus on what God’s Word says. When you have the revelation of God’s Word in any area, you no longer need to hope. You have God’s unfailing, unchanging Word to stand on. God’s Word on any matter provides substance to your hope through faith.
The Amplified Classic translation says it like this,
“Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].”
Faith has a conviction. Trying to believe is not conviction. You have to allow the Holy Spirit to do something in your spirit. Don’t read the Bible like it's a collection of nice fortune cookie sayings, or things you put in a Hallmark card to get you through a hard time.
“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
If God said it, He'll carry it through.
Faith begins where the will of God is known. Until you know what’s in the Bible, all you can do is hope. When you find what you need in God’s Word, you can proceed like a lawyer in court. You can pinpoint something that God said, stand on His Word, and expect it to come to pass. The Bible says that when you do this, you mirror your father-in-the-faith, Abraham. When Abraham took God at His Word it was credited to him as righteousness
“And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God”
Say this out loud: Faith is not hope.
Hope isn’t useless, it’s simply the beginning. You can’t have faith without hope. You have to reach for something you don't currently have in the physical in order for faith to work.
When I say I grew up in church, I don’t mean it in the cliche way many people would refer to casually attending Sunday services. I was in church two weeks out of the hospital, and I'm still in church to this day. My dad traveled as an itinerant minister. We had no apartment. I lived in church. I've been around church people my whole life. I’m very aware of how the spirit of religion operates. It’s my desire to attack the spirit that causes people to feel bad about having a desire to rise above their present situation.
Entities such as The World Economic Forum, The International Monetary Fund, as well as socialist ideology, manipulate unknowing preachers into making people feel comfortable in their state of poverty and sickness. These people and organizations benefit when you stay that way because they can make more money off sick and oppressed people than they can healthy, liberated citizens. There’s no money to be made off people who are capable of making their own money. Poor and sick people are necessary to usher in a predatory economic system.
That’s why these entities, both foreign and domestic, hate the state of Texas. Out of all the states in the US, no state has more of an individual mindset. You won’t see Texans constantly talking about community. It’s ‘my ranch’, ‘my property’ and ‘fend for yourself.’ Texans are more interested in policing their own land and being responsible for their own families. They have very little need for the police and they don’t want anything from the government, except to be left alone. That’s Texas in a nutshell.
But there’s an ideology that’s been introduced that would have everyone hate traditional American values. They want people to believe that everyone has to pay their fair share. What’s a fair share of what someone else legally owns? There was no federal income tax until 1913, yet somehow this country had roads, hospitals, schools, and everything was just fine.
For a long time ministers have been used to keep people from having a desire for more. They’ll criticize people who work hard to make money, as if their hard work is taking the place of putting God first. Yet there are plenty of examples in the Bible of people who put God first and made more money than the people who didn’t put God first.
You need to know there is a blessing in God that you receive by faith that will elevate you to a new level. Every time another Christian understands this, it’s a slit to the devil’s throat.
You Can Please God
“Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen. It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith. It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God.”
I want you to understand you are capable of pleasing God. God said that Job was a man who was perfect in all his ways (Job 1:1-2). Enoch was taken to heaven without dying because he pleased God (Gen. 5:21-24). Both of these examples occurred long before our new and superior covenant with God became available to us. Even before God sent Jesus there were people who pleased God. If you want your faith to work correctly, you need to know that you can please God.
You wouldn’t expect a reward from your boss when he’s ticked off with you. You’d seek to avoid him and hope to not be punished. If you think God is upset with you, you won’t pray correctly and you won’t believe correctly. It will sabotage your faith.
Be mindful of who you listen to. There are many preachers who will uproot your faith by planting seeds of unbelief. They preach as if they’re speaking to a bunch of heathen degenerates. They’ll say things like,
“We don’t pray like we should.”
“We displease God every day.”
“We sin and don’t even know it.”
“People aren’t committed to God like they should be.”
Don’t accept that. Not only is that not true, it’s not what the Bible says about you. People don’t attend church to receive a kick in the head. Even a dog would quit going to his bowl if you kicked him in the head every time he went. God didn’t design church to deliver a blow to the head of His children. God made the church to give you a blessing through His Word. If you’re reading this right now, you’re not some backslidden degenerate. Even if that was you in the past, right now, you made a decision to click this link and learn what God’s Word says. God’s not looking to curse you, He’s looking to bless you and give you life, if you’re interested.
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”
Why do people feel the need to talk to church people like their wicked people? If my audience was the United Nations, my message would be different. I would entitle it, “Touch Israel and Die” by Jonathan Shuttlesworth. But you’re not a member of the United Nations.
I remember when they when they first passed the gay marriage bill. I was attending a conference in Washington DC and a guy started hammering the crowd. “People should be ashamed…” He was speaking to 2000 Christians, not the Supreme Court. They were people who braved through DC traffic to come hear him preach. Don't talk to sinners like they're Christians, and don't talk to Christians like they're sinners.
The Word was given to loose a blessing. Use the Word for its original purpose: a seed of faith. That incorruptible seed enters your spirit and begins to produce after its kind. As you read this, God is going to put something on the inside of you that won’t allow you to stay in your present condition. There's going to be a noticeable difference this week, compared to any other week of your life because you are someone who pleases God.
Let's just knock out whatever remaining religion that’s left in your body.
Say this out loud: Thank you, Father, that my life is pleasing to you.
If you can feel your religious upbringing flaring up like tendinitis, tempting you to think ‘I’m nothing, He's everything,’ say this right now:
I’m not a sinner. I was a sinner, and now I’m saved. The old sinner is dead.
“Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…”
Understanding that you are pleasing to God is a fundamental principle of faith. You can’t walk around thinking God is mad at you all the time. You’ll never expect Him to bless you.
When I used to broadcast ‘Check The News’ nightly, there was a journalist who would watch. She eventually worked up the courage to let me know that if I was in her state she’d like to come see me preach. A few weeks later, I had a meeting scheduled in her state and let her know when I would be there. As the date approached, she began to message me and say things like, “If I step foot on that church property, God will kill me.”
First of all, God isn’t going to kill you, but if He were, He could do it anywhere. He wouldn’t need to wait until you step foot on a certain property. He owns the whole world.
God isn’t interested in killing anyone. He’s interested in giving life. He’s not looking to curse you, He’s looking to bless you. If God wanted you dead and under a curse, he could have left Jesus in heaven and avoided the nail scarred hands. The message of the Bible is that God loved you so much while you were still in sin, that He sent His Son to die for you. He didn’t wait for you to become saved. While you were in sin, He sent His Son, not an angel or $10 million.
“He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
That means God isn’t looking to hurt you, He’s looking to help you.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Don’t let anyone convince you that living a Christian life is supposed to be hard. The way of transgressors is hard (Prov.13:15), but the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter until the perfect day (Prov.4:18).
God wants you to exchange your burden for a blessing. That's done through Christ.
Say this out loud: God's not upset with me. God's not looking to hurt me. He's looking to help me.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
“No variation or shadow of turning” means He never changes. God's not the Vegas money line for a baseball game that was plus 350 this morning and now is at plus 200. He never changes. America can change. China can change. The world can change. Technology can change. God doesn’t change.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
“For I am the Lord, I do not change.”
He was a good God in the Old Testament, even when He was upset. At a time when there was no proper dealing for sin because Christ hadn't come yet, He still sent Jonah to a heathen city state, called Nineveh, to preach the Word so that people would be saved. All throughout the Old Testament He sent people to seek out and save those who were lost. He saved Rahab, a prostitute, when she called out to God and prayed that she wouldn’t suffer destruction.
Unlike the God of other religions, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a benevolent God. He loves people. The Epistle of John, says that God is love, not He can love. God is love.
The same lie from hell that caused a journalist to believe that God’s going to kill her if she steps foot on church property, is the lie the devil uses to get you to believe that God’s upset with you. No, He's not looking to kill you. The devil’s looking to kill you. God’s looking to give you life in abundance.
This concept that God is angry is not a new thing. Jesus dealt with it in His earthly ministry. He laid into the Pharisees and Sadducees, and people who sought to tear people down with religion, but He was very kind to sinners.
When the religious leaders found a woman in the act of adultery, they picked up stones to bounce them off her head until she died. Here’s how Jesus responded,
“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
There are two parts of the gospel and both must be in place. There is no condemnation for sin, but you need to walk away from sin. Don't get entangled in the place that almost killed you. God doesn’t condemn you, but you must stop sinning.
Far too many preachers teach against righteousness. “How many know we're all sinners?” No I'm not, so shut up. Don’t call me one. I'm redeemed by the blood of Jesus. My sins are washed away. I'm a new creature, and so are you! If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
I pray that God would light a holy fire under your spiritual behind, that will cause you to never return to unbelief. You’re going to stay on the path of faith and walk in victory all the days of your life. Never let the enemy convince you that you’re oppressed by sin or anything else.
You Are Victorious
Let me begin with a quick story.
There was a psychologist who held a theory at the beginning of the NFL season. He predicted that any team that took a knee during the national anthem would have a losing record by the end of the season. His theory had absolutely nothing to do with his thoughts on the national anthem or the black lives matter movement. Based on his understanding of psychology, he knew that the football players’ body posture would affect their mentality and performance. He knew that if a team took a subservient and weakened posture, one that implied an oppressed position, that team would not stand up to play as champions. That year, he was correct. Every team that decided to kneel as a team had a losing record. However, the team who won the super bowl that year, the Philadelphia Eagles (I don’t like them either), made a team-wide decision not to kneel.
Many preachers teach their congregations to kneel in the spirit. They emphasize the enemy. “We have many devils against us and many forces against our children.” It’s as if their purpose in ministry is to talk the devil up.
The same way a coach would never put emphasis on an opposing team and say things like, “Their wide receivers are much faster than our cornerbacks. There’s too many strong guys on this team and we don’t stand a chance against them,” your pastor shouldn’t focus on the schemes of the devil.
No coach is going to tell you what you can’t do, they’re going to fill your mind with what you’re capable of doing. You’re not on a weak or defeated team. Jesus Christ is your captain and you can do all things! These are facts. So, focus on the facts and take your focus off your enemy. Don’t talk about the enemy, talk about your covenant. Speak the Word of God over every situation. Refuse to be defeated.
How you view yourself matters more than how you view God. Let me say that again, because it sounds counterintuitive, but it’s the truth.
How you view yourself matters more than how you view God.
We've all met many Christians who are in a constant state of defeat. If you ask them about God, they don't have one bad thing to say. “God's great. God's mighty. He's a blind eye opener. He's a cancer healer. Oh, yeah, I believe all that…” If you were to ask what’s wrong with them, they’d mention all types of nonesene. “Well, I'm under a generational curse. We have curses in our bloodline.”
If you have a high view of God, but a low view of yourself, you’re finished. Religion doesn't mind if you know God's powerful, as long as you never get a revelation of the effect God’s power has on you. The devil doesn't mind if you believe God's holy, as long as you never get the revelation that the blood that He shed made you holy, even as He's holy.
I thank God that you understand you serve the Most High God, and that you’re seated with Christ in heavenly places, far above all principalities!
