We are going to study several Scripture passages that I believe will be of a great help to you as you learn some faith basics.
Begin by reading Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Those first words tell you what faith is. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for...." Have you ever hoped for something? Hope is important. If you lose hope you have lost a lot.
Hope is a vital link to workable faith. I mix faith with hope. If you have no hope, faith alone will not produce results. Faith gives substance to hope. Faith is the evidence of things not seen.
Hope is the climate in which faith works. If you SEE something, you do not need faith. It is there already. Faith is the evidence of things not seen...."
Hebrews 11:2 says, "For by it (faith) the elders obtained a good report." Faith always has a good report. If you have a bad report, then faith is not speaking.
Hebrews 11:3 says, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God...." You do not understand God's principles with your intellect. You understand by faith.
One day my daughter, Tamara, asked me, "Daddy, where did God come from?" I said, "Darling, just don't trouble your mind about that. You may learn that in eternity."
You are not going to understand a lot of things in the natural—with your carnal mind. It is through faith that you understand. You may say, "I just don't know how I can ever get well, be successful, or obtain financial prosperity...I don't know how."
Through faith you can understand. The Word says:
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying by his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.Hebrews 11:6 is a very important Scripture. "But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." You cannot please God without faith.
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he had pleased God.
(Heb. 11:3-5)
A lot of people want to try faith. Faith is not a formula to try in emergencies. Faith is a way of life. And as we read, "without faith it is impossible to please Him (God)." This is not a chance statement.
It is a fact of God's Word that it is not possible to please God without faith. It makes no difference what you do, what you say, or how good you live, you cannot please God unless you are functioning in faith.
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