1 Corinthians 13:13 says “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” We have faith in God, for without faith it is impossible to please God. For he/she that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. This means we must first have a drawing faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the rhema word of God. That is the word that confirms with your faith to come to Christ. Then we must have a driving faith. A faith that moves you into the deeper realms of God. And lastly we must have developing faith, meaning faithfulness. Faith is the only thing that is a gift and a fruit of the Spirit. Before you have faith for miracles, you need faith to stand when there is no miracle in sight. Hope is different than faith. The Bible says Jesus is our Blessed Hope, meaning He is our expectation! We wait for Him with expectation. He is our confidence! We confidently wait for Christ coming! The expectation is this: 1 John 3:2-3 says “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” Peter calls it a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Romans 5:5 says “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” When you have the hope of God in you, you must have the love of God in you. You cannot have faith without love, and you cannot have love without hope. 1 Peter 1:7-9 says “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.“ it’s interesting that Paul uses the word charity. Charity is a giving love for those who cannot give back in return. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 1 John 3:16-17 says “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” John 13:34-35 says “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 15:12-14 says “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”
-Anthony Booker
The GATHERING Place 