Hope Faith & Love

Hello beloved, I welcome you to the month of April. I hope you are increasing in grace of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. I will like to admonish you on what I titled Hope, Faith and Love. 

In the book of 1st Corinthians 13:13, the Bible says, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity(love), these three; but the greatest of these is charity(love).” These three, hope faith and love are the greatest forces on the earth without which nothing happens on earth. Without these three no change in created in the life of a believer or unbeliever. They work together to create everything we see on the earth, they are the most powerful forces on the earth that God has given to us. Every situation must bow to these forces because they were given to us by God. 

Everything you do on the earth must be connected to these three forces Hope, Faith and Love. Therefore, it is important to know their place and how they function. 

1. Hope: Is to trust in, wait for or desire or expected something beneficial in the future. You can’t venture into anything if there is no hope. 1st Corinthians 9:10, “that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.” Though hope as powerful as it is doesn’t have the power to create a change. It has no power to receive anything from God. Hope grants you the ability to be patient in your situation, expecting and waiting for things to get better. Hope is a good waiter but a poor receiver. Hope is your first step in changing a situation but you have to move on from the level of hope. Hope keeps you alive but cannot change anything. 

2. Faith: Is the substance or tangibility of hope, Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith gives power to hope but without hope faith cannot function. You can turn your hope to faith by using the word. There is no faith without the word. Isaiah 43:26 says, “Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.” No scripture works until yo u remind God of what He says in His word. You must turn your hope to faith by acting on the scriptures which is the word of God. 

3. Love: Love empowers faith, without it faith is unproductive. Galatians 5:6, “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” Without love faith cannot produce result. Love gives the productive ability to hope and faith. The more you love, the greater your faith and the greater the result you get. The more you love, the greater the attention you get from God. No matter your service unto go, if you are not working in love, it counts for nothing (1st Corinthians 13:1-3). 

You might want something, but that doesn't mean you’ll get one. You see, just wanting something won’t get the job done. It is not hoping or wanting, it’s faith that gets the job done. You will not receive from God because you hope. Nowhere does the Bible say that when we pray, we shall receive what we hope for. God’s Word does say, however, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24). Jesus also said, “And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:22). Not hoping, but believing. Notice in the definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” – that the verb used is present tense. Remember, if it’s not now, it’s not faith. Faith is present tense, hope is future tense. Even though you might say that you believe, if you are putting it into the future, then you are not believing, you’re hoping. In order for it to work, it must be in the right tense – the present tense. Some people always believe that God is going to do something for them, but faith believes that He has done, and is doing. But it is faith, not hope that can change the impossible to the possible. It is faith, not hope, that brings healing and victory. Hope is a good waiter, but a poor receiver. Too many times you will hear people say, “I’m hoping and praying …” or “All we can do now is hope and pray.” If that is all you are doing, you’re defeated. It takes a positive faith – a now faith – to get positive results. 

Love on the other hand is greater than faith and hope in that both faith and hope depend on love for their existence. Without love, there can be no true faith; a loveless faith is nothing but an empty religious exercise. As Paul says, “If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2). Without love, there can be no genuine hope, because we can’t truly hope for something that we do not love. Faith and hope are dead, sterile things if not accompanied by love. Love is core to God’s character and central to the Christian life. The law of Christ is to love God and love others. Love infuses all that God does and should infuse all that we do. “Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8), and it will never cease.
God bless you. See you next month.