We had a nice warm summer but now it looks like we are also getting a cold winter

Looks like some folks are enjoying summer - not many folks here tonight

We will give a bit more time before we start

yes Ricks but now we started winter with a cold front

Why do we call the heat waves and the cold a front?😄

Well I used to be able to change the weather by commanding using spiritual authority

But it is becoming more difficult now

Yes, it is a sign or the times and the rapture could take place tomorrow. Are you ready?

If you know me you will know that I am being sarcastic here

ooh Ernst now I am tempted to go chase a rabbit

but i will not take the bait

Tonight I want to show you how to study the Scriptures more doctrinally than for practical devotion

Previously we looked at passages that included an historical incident

You take an event recorded in the Bible and try to paint pictures from it

And this helps to bring out practical truth

This is a common method of preaching and teaching

We should all study the Bible this way to help us in our walk

But sometimes we need to find out exactly what the Bible teaches about a specific topic

Or we want to analyze a verse or short passage

And see if we can understand what it is teaching

Or you could pick a specific topic or subject and find passages of Scripture that give teaching on that topic

Even this way of studying however should lead to us having a better understanding of the spiritual life

So tonight I want to take a look at one of the most commonly preached and taught topic

In fact there is an entire movement named after this

I want us to do a short study on faith

I also would like to show you how to study the Bible by digging into the original texts to find hidden meaning

I have included some tools in the GBM Online Bible that will enable you to do this

But I will not be showing you how to do that tonight, although I will personally use it

But on Saturday when working with our students, I would like to show you have to use the GBM Bible to study the Word so that you can flow better in a teaching ministry

So if you want to study a topic like faith, where do you begin?

You could start by looking up all Scriptures that include word ‘faith’

You can do this in the GBM Bible but there may be many

and this could be a bit overwhelming

So instead we will start with one chapter in the bible that is already dedicated to the subject of faith

Which chapter is this?

Yeah Ricks I knew you would jump in first

But I wanted to see how many others knew

Hebrews 11 is known as the faith chapter in the Bible

So if we want to study faith we should start there

Here is the chapter in the GBM Bible

https://gbmbible.gbmi.co.za/gbm-bible/?book=58&chapter=11&verse=1&version=GBMV

Lets go there and read the first verse, which actually gives us a definition of faith

You will notice that the GBM Version reads differently to what you are used to

The King James version goes like this:

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. [KJV]

But does that make any sense to you?

I retranslated this looking at the original Greek text of that verses

I will not take you there now, but you could look at in the GBM Bible by clicking the link at the top of the page that says Strongs

There you will see the original King James text with numbers in it like this

Now <1161> faith <4102> is <2076> (5748) the substance <5287> of things hoped for <1679> (5746) , the evidence <1650> of things <4229> not <3756> seen <991> (5746).

And if you have studied Greek you will also see the original Greek text below

The numbers in the Strongs are known as Strongs numbers and they provide a list of possible meanings for the word that is preceded by the number in angle brackets < >

Sometimes there are two words, one in angle brackets followed by one in normal brackets like this

of things hoped for <1679> (5746)

when this occurs then you are looking at a verb - an action word

and the second bracket tells you about the verb tense, voice etc

But lets find out what is meant by ‘substance’

If you click on the number next to it - 5287 it reloads the passage and when you scroll down to the bottom of the page you will find the Strongs definition

And there is a list of possible meanings for this original word

1) a setting or placing under

I like the last option - confidence, firm trust, assurance

And that is what I put in the GBM Version

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of what you are hoping for, the proof of the existence of what is not seen. [GBMV]

What does the word ‘evidence’ mean?

Here is what Strongs says

1) a proof, that by which a thing is proved or tested

So you can see why I translated it as faith is the assurance of what you are hoping for

Why translate it that way?

Because of I look at the section of things hoped for <1679> (5746)

The word hope means

1) to hope

But then the second number in normal brackets gives this

5746 Tense-Present See 5774

Now in case you are not sure what a participle is in English

it is kind of going word and usually ends with -ing

So that means we should translate it as hoping

that is why I am going to take the students through it

I am just showing you how I arrived at my translation

If you want to be bible teacher you need to be able to examine the original text

otherwise heretics will misinterpret the passage

so that is why I translated this as ‘what you are hoping for’

this means more than the things hoped for

When you decided to retranslate the Scriptures as I am doing you cannot just change it to sound the way you like it

You need to know what the original said

Then you add revelation to that

and you try to think what the writer was trying to say

Sometimes he used an expression which has changed today

and a more modern expression can be used

So the correct translation of this verse is

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of what you are hoping for, the proof of the existence of what is not seen. [GBMV]

Lets look at it now with that definition

When you are hoping for something you are not yet sure whether you will get it or not

You are hanging on in hope, waiting for it to manifest

Now faith can cause you to not wait in an uncertain way

But wait with assurance that it is on the way

So it is no longer an uncertain hope

But an assurance that it is yours

It means to know that you know that you know

you have no doubts

faith is the product of believing

believing is a verb, but faith is a noun

The act of believing produces faith, which becomes something you now have in your possession

To understand this better, let me give you the original meanings of the word ‘believe’

1) to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place

So believing means to be fully persuaded that something is true

when you have faith, you no longer have any doubts

so the second part of verse 1 clarifies this

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of what you are hoping for, the proof of the existence of what is not seen. [GBMV]

it is the proof that what you are hoping for and cannot yet see, does actually exist

If you want to understand the subject of faith I gave a whole teaching on it in the New Way of Blessing

But we are going to learn just the essentials tonight

Incidentally going back to studying the original text

Folks often ask, “Which is the best Bible translation to use?”

It is certainly not the King James Version as good as what it is

Some folks seem to think that Jesus and the Apostles used the King James Version

When folks ask me which Bible version I prefer I say that I rather look to the original if I am going to study the Bible

But my own personal preference for normal reading has been the New International Version - the original NIV

And the reason I say this is because often when I translate a verse and I check it out in the NIV it sound very similar

If you want to see more in the original text without studying and using STrong, then the Amplified Bible is pretty good

But none of these give you what the GBM Version gives you

Because I included extra things in my version that others do not

For example there are sometimes more than one word in the Greek that is translated by the same word in English

For example our English word ‘love’

the missing verses is another question but let me not be diverted

I took the original King James version to retranslate so we have no missing verses

the English word love can be translated from two different greek words

The one is agape which is a higher kind of love and the love that we are commanded to do

The other is phileo which speaks of normal emotional love we have as humans

But what if both words are using in a verse and both translated as love

Check this verse where Jesus speaks to Peter and asks if he loves Him

John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. [KJV]

Now in the GBM Version you will see this

John 21:15 So when they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonah, do you [agape] love me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I [phileo] love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs. [GBMV]

Why was Peter so upset when Jesus asked him the third time?

Here is the GBM Version of that verse

John 21:17 He said to him the third time, Simon, [son] of Jonah, do you [phileo] love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Do you [phileo] love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things; you know that I [phileo] love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. [GBMV]

What upset Peter was not that the Lord asked him the third time

I was because Jesus even questioned his normal human love

Now you will have to study the Greek to see this in other version

But in the GBM Version whenever this kind of thing occurs, I give you the original Greek word so you can see the difference

Another common word is the word test or temptation

There are more than one Greek word for this also

And this is important because there is a kind of test that God gives

and there is another kind of test that the enemy gives

and they are very diffent

The one means to test in order to expose weaknesses

The other means to test in order to qualify

When you write an exam you are not tested to find out how stupid you are

You are given a chance to qualify

The word tempation means test - the kind Satan gives

And I include these words in the text when they are needed to show what kind of test

here is an example

James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted [peirazo], I am [being] tested by God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither does He test any man: [GBMV]

Now I am not finished translating the GBM version yet so this is not in all verses, but it will be when I am done

Anyway let us move on with our study of faith

The verse in hebrews tell us what faith is

And then the rest of the chapter goes on to tell us how the heroes of faith in the Old Testament used faith

There are lots of examples like this

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not seen as yet, influenced by fear, made an ark for the purpose of saving his household; by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness that comes from faith. [GBMV]

All of those heroes had a similar experience that produced faith in them

But it was Paul who actually told us how faith comes

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes as a result of hearing, and hearing by means of the spoken [rhema] word of God. [GBMV]

again the original does not show us the full meaning

Romans 10:17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. [KJV]

It is commonly believed and preached especially by the Word of Faith movement that we get faith by using the Scriptures

The common expression used goes like this

God said, I believe it, and that settles it

So they try to convince themselves that what they read in the word is true

You are suffering in your body, but the word says, “By his stripes you are healed”

Now which is easier to believe, the pain in your body or the Word of God?

In any case that word was spoken to the people of that time\\

I know that I should take the Word for myself

But I did not actually hear the Lord telling me that I am healed

NOw the GBM Version again clarifies a word that is translated from two different Greek words

The word, “word” can be translated from the words Logos or Rhema

A logos is a written or recorded word

Something that came about after it was spoken

But the word rhema is an active word spoken in the now

Jesus spoke rhema words from his mouth

When they were recorded and written down they became logos

and here again is where the GBM Version clarifies it

Romans 10:17 So then faith comes as a result of hearing, and hearing by means of the spoken [rhema] word of God. [GBMV]

How do you get a rhema word?

Not by reading the bible

A rhema word is when God Himself speaks directly to you

Yes, in a sense He is speaking from the Bible

But it is not personally to you alone

But when He speaks to you personally it is rhema

It must become, Les, by my stripes you are healed

How does that come about?

You have to hear His voice coming up out of your spirit

How could Noah have the faith to build an ark when it had never rained?

He heard the voice of God speaking personally to him

And so every one of the heroes of faith in Heb 11

They heard the voice of God speaking to them

And this is what gave them faith

So faith is actually based on words

and it comes when you hear a rhema word from God

this is a good thing Nakia

It may even be coming to you as a rhema

You see a rhema can be created by what you feed into your inward person

And if you keep feeding it in, eventually you believe it

In other words you have faith in it

If your parent continually told you that you were stupid or ugly

Eventually you would have faith in their words and believe it

This is why we find it so hard to have faith

Because we are hearing the voice of the world and the enemy all the time\\

until those words convince us they are true

I love to learn more about medical things, so when I have a symptom in my body I like to google it

But most of the time I will learn that this could be a symptom of something really serious

We have been programamed to have faith in the medical system

So the first thing we do is run to the doctor who is considered the expert

The same thing when we have financial problems

We look to the world for solutions

And our faith in God is destroyed

one of the most difficult things in the world is to believe God for healing when you have symptoms of pain and disease

you may try to quote, “By His stripes I am healed over and over again

And then you learn that Satan is the originator of sickness and disease

So you go into spiritual warfare against him

But the symptoms persist

and fear continues to grow as your faith gets weaker

Until you get faith there is no hope

But when the Lord speaks a word to you from within

and faith arises in your heart

Then you know that healing is yours

You know that provision is yours

You may not see it

But faith is the proof that it exists

Faith is the assurance that it will comew

So I want to end on this to help you grasp it

When you have a need and you are crying out to the Lord to provide

How do you know what the Lord has answered?

Do you know you have the answer when it manifests?

That is easy

But faith allows you have the answer while you still cannot see it

It is the assurance of what you are hoping for

And the proof that it is already yours

I teach this clearly in the New Way of Blessing

And I also did a book that contains all the stages you should go through to apply the principles of Way of Blessing

It is called Making Your Dream come true

You can find out more about that book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYh6f2DSQu0

It includes what I call God’s Twelve Step Program

let me give you the important steps

When you come to the Lord in faith to ask Him for something

His first answer is not the tangible thing you want

It is a rhema word to you that says, “Yes I have answered your prayer\"

Once you get that, you stop praying for this because the Lord has answered

Faith now says, “I have received this thing and it is one the way”

Now you just keep praising the Lord for it and thanking Him for the answer

Until you get that rhema is remains just an uncertain hope

It takes faith to add the assurance to your hope

I explain all of this in some detail in the Way of Blessing

and I have proved it so often that I know it works

Usually when I get that rhema word of assurance, it does not take long before that thing manifests

Faith is really simple and it is based on the words you hear

but those words need to come up from deep inside your spirit first

And then you just know that you know that the answer is coming

and you stop worrying

and you begin to act like it is already here

When I hear people say something like, “Well I have been believing for years for this thing”

Then they never reached faith yet

So stop trying to work things out yourself

and solve your problems yourself

Hand them over to the Lord and wait for His words of assurance

You could get these by journaling

You can even get them by speaking in tongues and interpreting your tongues

Or it may just rise up inside of you suddenly

and you just see it and know it

Certainly, quoting some Scriptures can help

Stand on his promises and let them sink deep into you

And eventually they will begin to come back out

Solomon described how it works here

Proverbs 6:20 My son, keep your father\'s commandment, and forsake not the law of your mother:

So by all means take some good promises in the word and speak them over and over

Meditate them and fill your heart with them

And you will no longer walk in fear

You will sleep in peace

and when you wake up, it will rise up from inside as a rhema

Then faith will take you from there

I know I have taught this often in many places

But I hope you got something from it tonight

You have a good perception of the Word and probably have a teaching orientation. Have you ever done our ministry evaluation to identify your ministry capabilities? You can find on this website. https://evaluation.gbmi.co.za/ If you complete the evaluation and the final form that appears after you have done all the questions then I will get back to you personally and we can discuss your future ministry and any training you could do.

I discovered some devotional videos that I did some years ago in Mexico as part of a daily program. Many of them carried a powerful anointing that is locked up in the recording. So I felt I would like to share some of these with everyone instead of letting them lie dormant. Check out my blog page at The Apostles Desk for one entitled, “The Lord cares for you”.

In it I share that we all need a Savior to deliver us, and then I pray personally for you under the anointing of the Lord. I believe you will be blessed watching this message. But with all my blogs you can also just listen or read the transcript.

Go check it out here: https://adesk.gbmi.co.za/the-lord-cares-for-you/

You have based what you believe on your experiences in life and you are not alone in this. The key principle to understand which few people know and nobody teaches is that God has put man in charge of the earth. Whatever He does is done through human channels. You have learned to use your body and mind to generate income, but you do not know how to use the power in your spirit. It is a big subject and I have produced a lot of teaching on it. Crying out to tge is not enough. You need to identify the power that is in your spirit and then learn to use that power to create the things you desire in life. But we tend to hand it over to the Lord and wait for Him to do whar He has given us the power to do

I have covered this in a lot of detail in my New Way of blessing Series and also Tapping Your Inner Resources

I have posted another blog taken from another weekly publication called Four Weeks With God in Business. It is called Discover Your Hidden Gem and you can go view it here: https://adesk.gbmi.co.za/discover-your-hidden-gem/

I have replied by email

Read the Apostolic Entrepreneur

Thanks for your understanding and support. I was scammed by someone on my bank account and lost some money. This ministry has been under attack which means that the enemy knows much blessing is on the way. But though our God we will do valiantly.

Victory is coming. The bank picked up the scam and reversed most of it. Prayer works, thanks for standing with us.

We want to welcome Eunice Vihenda to Gbm Fellowship. Hope you are blessed fellowshipping with us

We would like to welcome Danny Robers to Gbm Fellowship

Don’t forget our weekly chat tonight at 7pm South African time. We want to look more at how to experience the presence and power of the LORD

You are already here, it starts in almost an hour

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