FEAR vs FAITH

FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real
vs
FAITH: Forgetting All I Trust Him

Jesus had been teaching by the seaside with His disciples. When He finished speaking to the masses, He expounded on the teachings for His disciples. Afterwards, they sent the people away and Jesus decided to go to the other side of the sea. It was evening and, as He journeyed with His disciples in a ship surrounded by small boats, a great storm arose on the sea.

The storm was fierce and the waves splashed into the ship until it was full. The disciples were terrified and thought they were going to die. Jesus was sleeping on a pillow in the rear of the ship and they woke Him up asking if He did not care that they were going to die. I can just imagine how many things they mumbled before waking Him up.

These men had the creator (John 1:1-3) in the ship with them and they thought they were going to die! Unbelievable! All day He had been teaching them and prior to that He had done all kinds of miracles. He had healed multitudes of sick people (Mark 3:10). Even the demons had recognized Him as the Son of God (Mark 3:11). Despite all that the disciples had seen Jesus do, they still feared that they were going to die in the storm. They were standing there rooted and grounded in fear.

Jesus rose up immediately, rebuked the wind, and told the sea to be still. I can just imagine the look on all their faces. They must have felt relieved at first, shocked after thinking about what had just happened, and guilty after the realization hit them. Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Creator, was in the ship!

Christ gave us an awesome revelation in this scripture:
Fear is diametrically opposed to faith.

Look at what Jesus said to them after he had calmed the storm:

"And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?" Mark 4:40 (KJV)

The Greek word for fearful is DEILOS, pronounced dā-lo's. It is found in only three (3) places in the Bible and also means timid. It is used in Matthew 8:26, as well as in the book of Revelation. In Revelation it refers to Christians who give in to persecutions and turn away from Christ because of cowardice (Revelation 21:8). The scripture is saying that anyone who has this type of fear is a coward. Wow!

The Greek word for faith is PISTIS, pronounced pē'-stēs. Faith is conviction of the truth of anything. You use faith when you are completely convinced about the truth of something. You used faith when you believed in Jesus. You were completely convinced that Jesus died for your sins, was resurrected, and is seated at God’s right hand talking to Him about you. This how you became born-again, through faith. This means every born-again believer has faith.

As born-again believers, Jesus is much more than ‘in the ship with us during the storm’. JESUS IS IN US! We do not have to fear anything because the creator is in us (John 14:20). He represents us at the same level that we represent Him. The more faith you have the more He manifests Himself in you.

Can you believe that the disciples were still in fear after all Jesus did (Mark 4:41)? It was a different type of fear (PHOBEO). This word refers to being startled by strange occurrences, to treat someone/something with reverential obedience, and to be struck with amazement. The scripture says they were wondering what type of man Jesus was. When anyone is in fear they Forget Everything And Run. When fear tries to get at you do not forget but remember who JESUS is to you. We are fearless in Christ when we stand in FAITH!

Be faithful, that is, be full of faith.

God Bless You!

FAITH (A study I shared at English fellowship, Nogata Christian Center) Sat. Apr. 9, 2011

Here is an exceprt from my recent study on faith. Thanks to Alexia for posting Hebrews 11:24-26 on her blog "Behind the Veil" (http://princessofgod777.blogspot.com/2011/04/whats-on-my-mind-faith.html).

SECULAR FAITH
All of us actively use faith every day. I had to find an analogy that adequately explained how we actively use faith in our everyday lives and my reflections took me to the dinner table. My wife lovingly says food is always on my mind but these reflections were on much more than mere physical food.
Let me explain. When I sit on a chair at the dinner table, I never, ever, question whether that chair will collapse under my weight. I simply sit and do what I intend to do. I don’t think twice about it. I place my unreserved trust in the chair.
Here is another analogy. I trust gravity without question even though scientists continue to revise their position on it and are unable to give us a complete explanation for what it is. I have never feared that gravity would cease to be and never feared floating off into the atmosphere or to outer space one day while jogging. I have never wavered in my faith in gravity.

BIBLICAL FAITH
Faith is not mysterious like gravity. The Holy Bible tells us what faith is in Hebrews 11:1. It is two things: the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. Let us examine these two things by doing a word study of this verse in the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

The word 'faith' comes from the Greek word PISTIS (pronounced pē'-stēs) which literally means a belief in or conviction of the truth of a thing.
The word 'substance' comes from the Greek word HYPOSTASIS (pronounced hü-po'-stä-sēs) which literally is the substructure, underlying quality, nature or foundation of a thing.
The word 'hope' comes from the Greek word ELPIZO (pronounced el-pē'-zō) and literally means to hope with confident expectation.
The word 'evidence' comes from the Greek word ELEGCHOS (pronounced e'-len-khos) which literally is two things: a proof in and of itself and the standard by which another thing is verified.
The word 'thing' comes from the Greek word PRAGMA (pronounced prä'g-mä) and in this scripture literally means a fact that is already accomplished or something that is currently being accomplished.
The word 'seen' comes from the Greek word BLEPO (ble'-pō) and literally translates to seeing with the physical eye or seeing by discerning with the mind.

Now that we have defined the words from the Greek perspective we can put their definitions together to gain a better understanding of the principle of faith.

FAITH: THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR
Our belief in the truth of something is faith. This belief is the substructure, the underlying quality, the nature, or the foundation (substance) that the already established fact (thing) stands on. This already established fact is what we are confidently expecting (hope).
We have traditionally learned by our experiences and from the unfulfilled expectations of our fellow man that when we hope for something it may or may not come. True Biblical hope is expecting a thing with complete, unreserved confidence. We know that our Father God is faithful, merciful and gracious to us and has promised to give us the things we believe. Our hope in God is the total opposite of our hope in man.

FAITH: THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN
This belief in the truth of a thing (faith) is, in and of itself, the proof or verification, as well as the benchmark (evidence) of the fact that is being established or has been established (thing). It is this even if one has not seen it manifested with the eyes or understood it with the mind.
We have traditionally learned that seeing is believing and have translated that erroneous belief into many aspects of our living. But being a believer is our evidence of our faith just as being someone who loves is the evidence of having love. It is the same principle.

The full study 'FAITH' can be viewed via the link listed under "MISCELLANEOUS STUDIES" above the facebook badge on the right.

You Believe in God, Then Believe God!

Below is an excerpt from the June 2010 issue of my monthly newsletter called: "to the Saving of the Soul".

The scripture says that faith, (Greek – PISTIS, pronounced pee stees), is the stuff, the material, the body and composition, the core and essence of the things that we hope for, which we have not yet perceived with our senses, and is the proof, confirmation, facts, substantiation, verification and support of these things, which we have not seen.
It was by this same faith that the elders listed in Hebrews 11 obtained a good report. It is also through this same faith believers understand that the Word of God framed the material worlds from the immaterial things. Faith is associated with us understanding the creative act of God because we need to understand what the Word of God did then and is able to do now. Faith comes to us when we hear the word of God.
We were justified by faith and we made peace with God through Jesus. Why aren’t we operating in faith with results? It was through faith that we accepted Christ and were reconnected to God.

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