“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
The greatest faith chapter in the Bible is Hebrews 11! It is an expose of how people, who were moved to believe God acted on their faith and received blessing and provision from God. And the very first word of this greatest of all faith chapters is the word, “NOW!”
When Isaac believed God and planted seeds in the Land of Famine (Gen. 26), God blessed him and in that same year, he received a harvest of 100 fold! Throughout the Bible, when people moved, things happened! Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, “Stretch forth your hand.” When he did what Jesus saidhis hand was restored! Jesus said to the 10 lepers, “Go show yourself to the priest.” And, as they went, they were healed. When Jesus passed by blind Bartimaeus, realizing it was Jesus, he cast aside his coat and cried out to Jesus! When Jesus asked him what he wanted, he said, “Lord, that I may have my sight. (The coat, by the way, that blind Bartimaeus through aside was the coat that was issued to beggars giving them license to beg.) Casting that coat (his license) aside was an act of faith. Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your faith has made you whole.” And he received his sight.
When people moved toward Jesus, He moved toward them. When they believed in His anointing their faith tapped into its power. It was always by faith that all of them received. And their faith was always honored by God!
Faith is a NOW thing. What we do now will show up later. Faith is an action. Faith doesn’t wait to see the result. Faith acts on what the Word of God says regardless of what is seen or felt. When we act on the Word of God our faith becomes the substance to our hope, and we receive what we are believing for. Faith is always in the present tense. If we ask God for something in faith, and believe we receive it WHEN we pray, we WILL (future) have what we pray for. (Mk.11:24) If we don’t believe we receive when we pray, The God of the NOW – I AM – has nothing to answer, because His only requirement is faith in His Word! NOW is a powerful word! What we do, ask for and plant NOW will manifest in the future. Faith always produces what our Word-based actions dictate. I have seen this happen in my life many times, and I know that if I never acted, nothing would have ever happened. Faith is a Spirit, and it is of the Spirit of God who never changes, and neither does Faith! And Faith is always a present tense, ever abiding Spirit that produces what we believe God for.
If we can get the concept of NOW, and tap into the power of NOW, we will speak the words of faith and take the actions of faith; and we will receive what our faith produces in the NOW! If I plant a seed today, I will receive a harvest tomorrow. If I plant my faith today, I will receive the harvest of my faith tomorrow… FAITH IS NOW! And NOW Faith Is!
With Love,
Pastor Tom