March 2001

[Part 107]

“Issues of the heart”

[Part Twenty-five]

Hope For the Fearful Heart! [I]

               In our previous episode (Part H) we cited Heb 11:1 which says, “Faith is the *substance of things hoped for; and the evidence of things not yet seen!” Then we saw that Gk 5287 defines substance as “TO STAND UNDER FOR SUPPORT); ASSURANCE, CONFIDENCE, ESSENCE, and a PERSON!” Here we beheld the revelation that HOPE IS A P-E-R-S-O-N! Then the Spirit identified this Person [using this same Greek ref. in Heb 1:1-3 KJV] as God’s SON, Jesus Christ, “THE EXPRESS IMAGE OF HIS P-E-R-S-O-N”! So the Good News to all men of faith is that: JESUS CHRIST IS THE SUBSTANCE (or PERSON) OF OUR HOPE! Thus, to withhold our confession of HOPE, is to deny the very PERSON OF CHRIST JESUS WITHIN US!!
                The word, “confidence” (one synonym for “substance”) appears in Heb 3:14 which says, “We are made partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence unto the end!!”
                Herein is great Spiritual Truth. First, men cannot simply “choose” to have a holy relationship with the Savior of all; but they must be “made” partakers of His Divine Nature! And this experience is not just a one-time event, but an ongoing process of purgings and pleasures, paradise and pain!
                Second, there is a condition to this “partaking”- to “Hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.” We saw above that the word, confidence, is interchangeable with “hope”, which is the “Person” of Jesus Christ! But in addition to this, Jesus Christ is revealed (in Rev 1:8) as being “The Beginning and The End!” This means man’s Living Hope is both Authored and Finished by the Eternal Present , Jesus Christ, in Whom the past and future of all living souls is converged and consummated. The transition from Faith to Reality is illustrated in the names of the books of the Bible. First: GENESIS- representing “The Beginning” of man’s life experience here on earth; this is followed by a long trek through 66 Books [60 = pride; 6 = sin-weakness of man]; till it culminates in the “The End”, the last Book, called THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST!!
                We all are born (have our genesis) in this natural world of sin and death, where we have no choice but to live fleshly lives ruled by fleshly minds! Then (in God’s time) Christ within arises to countermand the “antichrist” nature and war ensues between Righteousness and unrighteousness!
                Humility and Virtue challenge our pride and sin-weakness; as Truth and Justice oppose the lie and injustice of our humanity! Faith and Hope defy our fear and doubt; as Love and Joy dispute our self-love and worldly contentment! Then when this spiritual strife ends and Life prevails over death, the Revelation of Christ in every man shall become a glorious reality; whereby we are assured that, “When we SEE HIM, we will be LIKE HIM!” (1 Jn 3:2) Hallelujah!
                What greater HOPE could anyone desire or pursue? Why would we fight and resist such a glorious destiny? Does it not occur to us that to celebrate the Reality of Hope means to deny the lie of vanity, futility, desperation, and unbelief! And if “Faith is the Substance of things hoped for” as seen above, then we need only to be exercised in Faith for our Hope to be crystallized into Truth!
                God provides this “exercise” by sending the fiery trials into our lives to unsettle our placid routine. Of course, these sore disruptions are not welcomed by our carnal minds which are self-convinced of their autonomy and sovereignty! Those human hopes we cast into stony self-promises each day are the very things Christ takes delight in frustrating and foiling by the Sovereign Will of God! Our problem comes when we forget to “utterly surrender” our self-will to that Sovereign Will of God every new day [and even throughout each day till its end]; and we are therefore “caught off guard” [resting on our laurels] and become fearful (and/or angry) by God’s ‘changes’ in our plans, which are actually what He had planned “From the foundation of the world”!!
                The Dict. defines hope: “Desire with the EXPECTATION OF FULFILLMENT!” And what does God tell us to “expect” in this world? “Tribulation” (Ac 14:22); “Afflictions, distresses, necessities, stripes, imprisonments, tumult (upheaval, disturbance, confusion, unrest) and labors” (2 Co 6:4-5; 1 Th 3:3-4); “Perilous times” (2 Tim 3:1-7) But Jesus Christ promises every believer who overcomes that they will “Eat from the Tree of Life” and “Inherit all things!” (Rev 2:7; 21:7)

[TO BE CONTINUED]