Charles Capps - Hope, a partner to faith

HOPE A Partner To Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Faith is the substance of things, but hope is a necessity. Sometimes people say, "You don't get anything by hoping." And that's true to a certain extent, for there is no substance to hope.

But hope is a very important partner to faith. Hope is the goal-setter. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. The substance of "things"what things? The things you hoped for. What do we hope for? We hope for the things that God has given us.

That's why the Bible says in Hebrews 11:6, But without faith it is impossible to please him. God is not pleased when we don't enter into the provisions that He made for us. Some things we will never enter into except through faith. God's willingness is multiplied to us through the knowledge of God. We must know what God has given, or we can't have faith in that promise.

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.

2 Peter 1:2 ,3 Hope Is Necessary

Hope is a partner to faith. You are reading this book because you hope to receive some insight into hope and faith. But hope alone will not give you that insight. Yet, if it wasn't for hope, you wouldn't have opened this book.

When the sick come into a prayer line, they hope to be healed. If they didn't have hope, they wouldn't come for prayer. Since faith is the substance of things hoped for, then there must be some hope, or there wouldn't be anything for faith to give substance to.

This will explain to you why some have died, even though they were saying all the right things. Others say, "I just don't understand why they died." It could be that they gave up hope.

God's Word Gave Hope to Abraham

Look at what Abraham did when there was no hope.

(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken,

So shall thy seed be.

Romans 4:17 ,18

When there was no hope, Abraham believed in hope. There are people today who have no hope medically. Doctors have done all they can do. When the doctor says there is no hope, do what Abraham did: go to the Word of Cod and get supernatural hope. He decided to agree with God. That's what we are doing when we make a decision to confess the Word of God. We are coming over to

God's point of view by saying what God declared about us.

Some might say, 'There is no hope, so you might as well give up." You can always go to the Word of God and get some hope. I don't care if it's physical, financial, or spiritual. When your situation seems to be hopeless, go to the Word of God. God's Word is hope for you.

Hope is a goal-setter. You must have a goal. If you don't set any goals, or if you don't know where you are going, then how will you know when you get there? How long will it take you to get there? You don't know where you are going, and you don't know how to get there, but a goal gives direction.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for. There must be some direction of faith. Some have said, "Well, I'm just waiting on God. I'm believing God."

Some of those people have been waiting for years, and they haven't done anything. They are not waiting on GodGod has been waiting on them. They have made a decision by doing nothing.

When there was no hope, Abraham decided to believe in hope. He made a decision to believe God's Word. That is where his hope came from the Word of God. Don't try to use faith where hope should be, and don't try to use hope where faith should be. Hope has no substance. Faith is the substance of the thing hoped for.

So there must be faith and hope. They are partners. They go together. Faith is the divine energy of God. It comes by hearing God's Word. It is the substance of things desired.

We must learn to sow the seed of God's Word. Words are seeds. We speak the Word of Godthe promise of Godinto our hearts, and it springs forth and grows up: ... first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. In Mark 4:28, it was established by Jesus that the heart was the production center. Jesus called it the soil.

Revelation Comes by the Spirit

We talk about the heart being the production center, and Paul adds some light to this subject in his first letter to the Corinthian church.

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

1 Corinthians 2:9 ,10

Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard. How many times have you heard people quote this scripture and say, "You never know what God is going to do. " But you will know, if you read verse 10, But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.

He is telling us that these things won't enter into the heart of man through the natural five-senses realm. You cannot get revelation knowledge into your spirit through the five physical senses. But God reveals things to us by His Spirit.

God's Spirit bears witness with our spirit and reveals by revelation knowledge that we can't get any other way. God will do everything He said He would do. God will do everything He promised. He will do everything you believe Him to do, if your faith is based on His Word. But these things have not entered into the heart of man through the natural eye or the natural ear. They entered into the heart of man by revelation. God has revealed them to us by His Spirit. God did reveal them, but not through the five physical senses.

God has an avenue through which He reveals things and sometimes it bypasses the carnal mind. God reveals things to our spirit by the Holy Spirit. He is our teacher and guide.

The Human Spirit Searches

In 1 Corinthians 2:10, both uses of the word "Spirit" are capitalized. The first part of the verse says, But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. This is referring to the Holy Spirit. But where it says, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God, that is not referring to the Holy Spirit. That refers to the human spirit your spirit. Proverbs says it this way:

The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

Proverbs 20:27

The human spirit is the light bulb that God uses to enlighten you. God's Spirit beareth witness with your spirit. God's Spirit bears witness with our spirits and enlightens our spirits.

For the spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. I believe the Apostle Paul is referring here to the human spirit, for the Holy Spirit does not need to search the things of God. The Holy Spirit already knows the things of God. It's the human spirit that searches the things of God.

When you are asleep, the seeds you have planted in the heart are producing. And you don't really know how. All you did was sow them, and go to bed and get up.

Your Spirit Knows God's Spirit Knows

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 2:11

God's Spirit knows all about God, and your spirit knows all about you. If you get your spirit in contact with God's Spirit, you have tapped the source of all knowledge.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.