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How can unwavering faith transform your life, even when facing seemingly insurmountable challenges? Join us on the Jamie Luce Podcast as we explore the remarkable story of Abraham and the concept of “hoping against hope.” We’ll uncover how Abraham’s steadfast belief in God’s promises was credited to him as righteousness and how this principle extends to each of us today. Reflect on the powerful impact faith can have on various aspects of life, from family and career to personal struggles, and discover how magnifying and praising God can strengthen your resolve.
We’ll dive into the key markers of unwavering faith, illustrated through Abraham and Sarah’s miraculous journey to parenthood against all odds. By examining the scriptures from Romans and Luke, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how faith, rooted in the righteousness of God, transcends the law and brings life to impossible situations. Learn about the transformative power of God’s grace and how anchoring your hope in His omnipotence and faithfulness can lead to life-changing miracles.
Connecting with our community is vital, and we encourage listeners to share their prayer requests and praise reports for continued support and growth in faith. This episode challenges you to trust in God’s promises and witness the impossible become possible in your life. Don’t miss out on these inspiring teachings and personal stories that highlight the value of hope and the power of unwavering faith. Tune in, share your thoughts, and join us on this faith-filled journey.
Where to dive in:
(0:00:00) – Faith in God’s Promises (5 Minutes)
This chapter stirs your faith by exploring the story of Abraham and the significance of his unwavering belief in God’s promises. We examine how Abraham’s faith was counted as righteousness, not only for his sake but for ours as well, and how this same faith is accessible to us. Reflecting on the power of faith in our lives, we discuss how it applies to various personal challenges, whether they be related to family, career, or other circumstances. Emphasizing that God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly beyond what we can imagine, we highlight the importance of having real, unwavering faith in His promises. We also touch on the concept of being justified by faith, as taught through Abraham’s example, and how this principle transcends actions or deeds, making the transformative power of faith available to everyone.
(0:04:42) – Hope Against Hope (5 Minutes)
This chapter explores the concept of “hoping against hope” through the lens of biblical teachings, particularly focusing on Romans and the story of Abraham. We reference Luke 1:37 and 45 to enhance our understanding of faith and its transformative power. Emphasizing that the promise to Abraham and his offspring came through the righteousness of faith, not adherence to the law, we unpack the profound truth that God’s promises rest on grace and are guaranteed to all believers. We reflect on Abraham’s journey, highlighting how his faith allowed him to believe in God’s promise despite seemingly impossible circumstances. This faith, which brings life to the dead and calls into existence things that do not exist, is a testament to the power of God’s grace in our lives.
(0:09:55) – Stirring Up Faith and Hope (12 Minutes)
This chapter focuses on the incredible power of faith and the unwavering promises of God. We explore the miraculous story of Abraham and Sarah, who were able to conceive a child despite their advanced age, emphasizing that God can bring life to what seems dead and create something out of nothing. Reflecting on the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice and the historical impact of His life, we challenge listeners to rekindle their faith and believe in God’s promises. Through biblical examples like Noah, who showed steadfast faith over a century, we encourage you to trust in God’s word, act on your beliefs, and expect miracles in your life.
(0:21:44) – Hope Against Hope Explained (19 Minutes)
This chapter unpacks the profound concept of hoping against hope by exploring the nature of faith and confidence in God. We begin by understanding the importance of magnifying and praising God to strengthen faith, particularly when facing seemingly insurmountable challenges. I share my personal journey of grappling with the phrase “hope against hope” and clarify its meaning by breaking down the biblical definitions of hope and against. By examining Abraham’s unwavering faith in God’s promises despite natural impossibilities, we highlight the necessity of placing our confidence not in our abilities or circumstances, but in the omnipotence and faithfulness of God. This chapter encourages a shift in perspective, urging us to anchor our hope in God’s promises and His ability to fulfill them, reinforcing that our faith should be an extension of our belief in who God is.
(0:40:40) – Markers of Unwavering Faith (7 Minutes)
This chapter explores the profound aspects of unwavering faith by examining key markers such as the marker of position, the marker of extension, and the marker of comparative advantage. We discuss how maintaining a steadfast position in faith, like Abraham and Sarah, despite seeming impossibilities, allows us to receive God’s promises even beyond the natural timelines. We also address how faith grants us an extension, enabling us to hope against hope, and highlight the comparative advantage of God’s promises, which surpass all expectations and replace barrenness with fruitfulness. Ultimately, this kind of faith justifies us and brings the righteousness of God into our lives. We conclude with a prayer for strength and encouragement, urging listeners to hold fast to their faith and witness the impossible become possible.
(0:48:00) – Sharing and Growing in Faith (1 Minutes)
This chapter focuses on engaging with listeners by encouraging them to share their prayer requests and praise reports. I highlight the importance of interaction and feedback, inviting everyone to visit my website, jamielucecom, and email me their thoughts. Emphasizing the value of community, I ask listeners to like, share, and rate the podcast if it has been a blessing to them. Additionally, I recap the themes discussed, including justification by faith and the DNA of faith, urging everyone to revisit last week’s episode for a more comprehensive understanding. Finally, I express gratitude for the audience’s support and look forward to connecting next week.
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Full Transcript
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0:00:00 – Jaime Luce
that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness. But the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him, who raised from the dead Jesus, our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Okay, that whole portion of scripture should stir your faith. Not only did his body and looking at the deadness of his and Sarah’s body and the deadness of the possibility of them having a child not only did it not weaken his faith, but his faith was strengthened as he gave glory to God.
Welcome to the Jamie Luce podcast. I’m happy to spend some time with you today. Let’s talk about faith. Today, I want you to think about something in your life that you right now. It takes faith, real faith, to believe for what it is that you’re believing God for. If it’s a promise he gave you, if it is the hope of a particular outcome, if it is boy, this could be anything. This could truly be anything. If this has to do with your life changing, it could be job, it could be family, it could be circumstance, it could be. You may be believing for God to provide something for you that you have need of, whatever it is that has been challenging your faith. I want you to be thinking about that today, because we’re going to talk about real faith real faith, and that you have it. We’re going to stoke the fires of your faith today.
I want you to come away knowing that God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly. Above all, we could ask or think, if you can think it, god’s bigger than that. Whatever it is that you are in need of, he’s bigger than that. He is the one who has created it all, and it is by his hand that everything that we see exists. It is by his word, it is by his doing. Our salvation was by his sending of his son and Jesus price that he paid for our lives voluntarily. Out of love. Has all of this been done for us? We are loved. We are secure in what he has done for us, and I just want you to get a grasp on what do you need today?
God is able. He is not only able, he is willing to do what is impossible in our lives. He is the one who is the creator of all that is possible Because of him. What is now possible was before then impossible. The world was created before there ever was a world. To think of our lives and to think of what there is, it’s impossible without him first creating it. And yet from nothing he created it.
He is the God of the impossible, and if you were with me last week, we were talking about what it is to be justified by faith. So how do I attain this righteousness before God and to understand that it only comes not by works, not by good deeds, it only comes by faith. And that faith, that justification by faith, was taught to us that we would understand it by our father Abraham, and that the promises that Abraham received from God and why he was told that he was justified by faith and why it happened before there was a law, was all so that we could understand that that same faith can be ours, regardless of deeds that have been done or not done. That same faith, that same changing power that saves and makes new, is ours and can be ours if we have that same faith, if we will lay hold of faith, and we’re going to be in Romans, chapter four. I want you to go.
I’ve got several notes you’re going to want to jot down. I will only reference one other portion of scripture in Luke, chapter 1. I’ll talk about verse 37 and 45, and that’s just to help us understand a particular scripture. We’re going to dive into a couple word meanings today what it really means to hope against hope, because so many times we feel that way, that our faith, we’re put in a position that we hope against hope. But you are not alone and that kind of hope produces. That kind of hope is actual faith. So we’re going to talk about that today. I want you to get, if you need to push pause, get yourself a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage Mine is iced tea and water at the moment and get yourself something to write with.
And let’s get to it. I’m going to pick up reading a portion of scripture we read last week, just so I can give us some context. We’re coming out of the teaching in Romans on what it is to be justified by faith, and our example and how we know that we receive this is by Abraham, the father of faith, and we are heirs of that promise. So I want us to look at verse. Oh, let’s start at verse 13. And please, if you need to for context, go back and watch last week’s episode or listen to that.
But verse 13 says for the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherence of the law, adherence of the law, who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. But the law brings wrath. I’m sorry, for the law brings wrath. But where there is no law, there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, on faith in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring. Boy even just right here. Guys, this is in order that the promise may rest on grace. The promise doesn’t even rest on my ability, even in my faith. It is by the grace of God he gives that grace to me. He gives me the grace to have faith and to be able to lay hold of this beautiful gift, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed. Guaranteed to all his offspring, not only to the adherent of the law, but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham. So all of his blessings are also to us.
Who is the father of us all? As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations in the presence of the God in whom he believed. Who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope, he believed, against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had told them I’m sorry. As he had been told, so shall your offspring be. Let’s read that again. I want to back it up. Let’s start in the middle of the last, in the middle of 17. Who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist? Do you have something right now that does not exist, that you are believing God? For? It does not exist. Maybe it exists and you don’t have any way of attaining it. Your ability does not exist, this faith.
I’m going to read the whole thing as it is written verse 17,. I have made you the father of many nations. Who God made? Abraham, who was old and had no children. Abraham, who was old and had no children, was given the promise that nations would come from him, from his loins nations, and that God would be the one who is God over all of those. This, this is so beautiful to see the picture clear back in Genesis and now in Old Testament, now in the New Testament, in Romans, and we’re seeing the beauty of the story of Abraham unfolded in its totality, that from the very beginning, god had a plan for us and that his plan was to make sure that you and I would know salvation and know the blessing of God on our lives.
Let’s read verse 17.
As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations in the presence of the God in whom he believed.
Who gives life to the dead?
Abraham and Sarah’s ability to give birth to a child was dead. Who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist? So they went from being in the impossible position of being 90 years old and 100 years old to having a child when their body was dead. We’re going to go back to that in a minute, in hope. In hope. Do you even have just a little bit of hope? Do you even have just a little bit of hope? Do you even have just a little bit of hope that God is real and that he is still alive and moving amongst his people and able to do the impossible. Do you believe that?
If you have enough faith to believe that he’s God, I am challenging you today to believe and have enough faith to believe that he is who he says he is, because if he’s who he says he is, then he can do what he says he can do and what he says about himself according to his word, is that he’s not a liar. He cannot lie. So if he’s made you a promise, it must. The word that he sends out must complete. It must do what it was sent out to do. It must happen. It cannot return to him void, like a boomerang. His word goes out and it is not allowed to return until it is done, until it is completed, until it is finished. It’s why, on the cross, jesus’s words were it is finished, I have paid the price. I have done it, it’s done. I am giving myself in death for you. This sin has got a timestamp that says finished. At this time, no more In history.
We changed our calendars and everything that we did according to how we record time based off of this time period when Jesus was died and rose again from the grave. Our whole world runs off of this knowledge. It’s amazing to me, even though they wanted to change, when I was growing up in school, we had AD and BC. It’s amazing to me, even though they wanted to change, when I was growing up in school, we had AD and BC. Bc meant before Christ, ad meant after death, and now we’ve changed it. Now we’ve got BCE and it means before the common era. They tried to take Jesus out of it. You can’t change the fact that. That’s exactly when we changed our calendars. There is no new time. We live in 2024 right now and that’s exactly when we changed our calendars. There is no new time. We’re still. We live in 2024 right now and that’s never going to change. This is recorded for all of history that this is 2024. That date is established by the life of Jesus Christ and the price that he paid. It is truly the old covenant and the new covenant. How the world handles its own timing and what the agenda is is based off of the life of Christ.
If you can believe, I want to challenge you. We’re going to stoke those fires of faith and I want you to believe for more. I want you to believe without question. I want you to believe without doubting. What does the scripture tell us that those of us who believe that we’re like tossed to and fro, we change what we think and what we believe back and forth. We aren’t, we can’t expect to receive. It says anything that we’re praying for, because we’re a double-minded man, we’re unstable in all our ways. We just believe this one day, but the next day we don’t. I want to strengthen you today. I want to strengthen your faith. I don’t want to, just I don’t want you to. I want you to see the word for what it is. If you can believe that Jesus is who he says he is, then certainly you can believe his word is what he has spoken and wants us to live by and that it holds power. Or why would we have it all these thousands of years later? This book has more proofs than any of the most revered books on the planet. This book, this Bible, it’s amazing. The power.
If you could understand, take your faith and decide, decide, do I believe this or don’t I. Because if you do, then it is natural to allow that course of belief to then affect everything else. That if I believe it’s hot outside, then that means I believe I’m going to wear something appropriate for the weather that’s outside. If I believe it’s going to rain, I’m going to wear warm clothes, I’m going to bring my umbrella because I believe it’s going to rain. I take actions based off of what I believe. So, if you really believe, I’m encouraging you.
Believe for that impossible thing. Believe to see the goodness of God in the land of the living while you’re on this earth, not just in heaven. Now, right now, that you’re believing God to do a breakthrough miracle in your life, to show you the path you need to take. Now, don’t get me wrong. There are in the promise of God, like if we look at the life of Noah. And Noah was told he built an ark for a hundred years. He was told that something’s coming that he’s never seen before. They’ve never seen this, they have no experience with it at all, they don’t even know what it really means, other than God said I’m sending a flood. I’m sending a flood. Never had rain, never had a flood, but I’m sending one, and in order for you to survive, you need to build a gigantic ark and you’re going to bring into the ark all provisions necessary and all the animals necessary to last you a very long time. Then, when the flood does come, because he looks like a fool for all of those, for a hundred years, ten decades. He looks obnoxious, he’s ridiculed, made fun of, completely ignored, when he would love to have extended that salvation to others but they wouldn’t believe.
Now I want you to think about this, because the faith of Noah was that during this time period, this faith, this waiting on God, he proved it out. He had faith that entire time that what God said was going to happen was going to happen. He really believed it and he took action and he built the boat and he got the provisions and God sent the animals and loaded that ark up, those provisions, and that preparation was totally by faith, because there wasn’t a drop of rain until that day. It didn’t start raining until it started raining. And, folks, we don’t have the luxury. Faith says if I hear God, I take action, I don’t wait until it comes and then think I’m going to have time. It’s the misconception to think that Jesus will return one day and that when he returns then I’ll believe in him. We don’t have that luxury. You either have faith which justifies you and saves you, or you don’t. You don’t get to have it. He says he’s coming in the twinkling of an eye. I don’t have time in the twinkling of an eye to make the thought process, pray and receive Jesus and turn my life over to him. I’m lucky enough If those who have deathbed conversions are lucky enough they made it by the skin of their teeth. Really that’s a blessing of the are lucky enough they made it by the skin of their teeth really that’s the blessing of the lord that they actually made it. Those are in those last few moments finding, finding christ and finding salvation.
I’ve read to you before on a previous episode it’s been probably seven or eight episodes ago, um, but we talked about very famous atheists whose last words were those words of terror that they had gotten this wrong and something is really wrong and that they now realize God was real. And these are in these moments, and some of them weren’t repenting. They just realized I’m going to hell and there’s nothing that can be done. Now it’s too late. And folks, I’m saying we have. You have right now, you have this moment. You can. You can have faith. That changes everything. Right now. It doesn’t matter if you had faith yesterday, it doesn’t matter what happened yesterday. You can have faith right now. Do you have a little bit of hope. Stir it up. I’m hoping I’m stirring it up in you. What is hope? I looked this up according to the Strong’s Concordance. Look this word up. I’ll read the scripture again In hope he believed against hope, that little phrase.
In hope he believed against hope that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told. So shall your offspring be. Now look at this, look at this kind of faith. He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body. He kept his faith. We hear the term I kept the faith. Paul said it. I kept the faith. What does keeping the faith mean? It means you keep it regardless of what you see. You stand in faith regardless of what your eyes see. He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead, since he was about a hundred years old, or he didn’t, when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness. But the words? It was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him, who raised from the dead Jesus, our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Okay, that whole portion of scripture should stir your faith. That whole portion of scripture should stir your faith. Not only did his body, and looking at the deadness of his and Sarah’s body and the deadness of the possibility of them having a child, not only did it not weaken his faith, but his faith was strengthened as he gave glory to God.
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Okay, well, there’s a key for life right there. Period, if your faith is weak, you start magnifying God and giving him praise. Praise him for everything he’s done. Think of everything he’s done for you, everything he’s provided for you. Every time when you thought it wasn’t going to work and it worked. Every time, by the skin of your teeth, you made it out alive. Whatever it was, you give him glory. And as you do, the longer you spend that time in his presence, you give him glory. And as you do, the longer you spend that time in his presence giving him glory, your faith strengthens for the thing that you are believing for right now, right now.
So I want you to understand what it means to hope against hope. I’ve always that just seemed weird to me. I remember hearing a message about this when I was oh gosh, probably 19, 20 years old, and I didn’t understand these words. The minister kept saying against hope, hoped against hope, and I’m like how do you hope against hope? Why is hope against hope? Like those, that phrase did not compute in in the way that I understood faith I. That was very confusing to me, so I want to dig into this today and I want to give this to you. I’m going to try to get through this quickly so that you can just get to prayer and get to praising God and get to raising your faith.
But that word I looked up these words so I could give to you the power of what this is saying that word hope means the looking forward to something with some reason for confidence. You have some reason for confidence Respecting I’m not respecting, expecting Couldn’t read my own writing Expecting. You have expectation and that you respect. You have respecting toward fulfillment. Okay, so let me try to um explain this a little bit. This kind of hope against hope.
This first word, hope, means that I am looking forward to something with some reason of confidence. So what are we looking for right now in our circumstance? My some reason of confidence is that I know the God, who, who created it all, who can recreate. Who created it all, who can recreate, who does the impossible daily. That’s just who he is. There is nothing that is impossible for him. And the way that I lay a hold of that impossible thing, that thing that we read that who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist, that God, I have enough belief in him, that he is who he says he is. That is my reason for confidence that even though this was Abraham he, he believed that God was who God says he is and that he can do what he says he can do. His confidence was in God, even though his other reasons were that his body was unable, even though his natural circumstance was that this is not possible. He didn’t hope in his ability to change. He didn’t hope in his physical body, he didn’t hope in himself. He hoped in the God he served, hope in the thing that had reason for confidence.
We all have reason for confidence in God, in Jesus Christ’s payment for us, that our sins are forgiven us, that our sins are forgiven. We have reason for confidence that God said that if you believe on him, that that is all that’s necessary to wash away any guilt, so anything that would prevent me from receiving blessing from God is removed. My confidence is not that I have been a good Christian, that I did all the things and chucked all the boxes, and that I am currently following all the laws. That’s not where my confidence is. To receive what I need to receive. Faith says my confidence is in the one who establishes all of it. It’s in him, not in my ability to do it. In him, not in my substance, not in my flesh, not in my strengths nor in my weaknesses. I am not to be moved by my confidence in God. That’s faith, confidence in him.
So to um, hope speaks to matters that are spoken of in God’s promise. That’s part of what the word means. It is hope is that it speaks to matters spoken of in God’s promises. So all the promises that were spoken to Abraham, those promises that were reiterated, come under this blessing that we receive under Abraham. All of that, all of those promises we have access to, and this hope that the scripture is talking about, is that my faith is a hope of expectation, expecting fulfillment, because my confidence is in God. Okay, now we hope against hope. We hope against hope. What does that word against mean? Okay, I’m what? The? The way that this word is, the way that the definition of this word is spelled out is done.
So, in in the reference that I found, in saying that this word hope I mean this word against has what we would call markers. Okay, it has markers, things that you can identify it with. They have, if you were to get your DNA tested, they say that your DNA has markers. These markers tell them what they need to know about you and what things you have in you, what things you don’t have in you, what things are similar to other people in your family. They are markers, okay. So I want you to think of this word against, just like you would think of the word DNA. And it has markers. This word has all these markers and I’m going to tell you what all these markers are. This is amazing. This was so. Who knew so much was in this word? I’m so glad that I didn’t understand this word so that I would go diving into it and find out what it means. Okay.
So the word against has first this marker of what’s called extension from the side of extension from the side of. Okay, what that means is the marker of one who originates or directs from. So this word against is saying that my faith and my hope are an extension from a particular position, from a side. It originates and is directed from my belief in God, my belief in who he says he is Okay. Belief in God, my belief in who he says he is Okay. That’s one of the markers that I have hope that stems from, that is directed from, that originates from and comes from the side of understanding who God is. That is the first marker. Okay, what was said this?
Um, this is the one reference I told you I’d give you in Luke, luke 1, 37. This is when the angel speaks to Mary, and then we’re going to reference the difference between um, how this also is in respect to John the Baptist, but in a different way. Okay, so to give you two sides of the same coin. So, with this reference in Luke, verse 30, luke one, verse 37, it says what was said to her, meaning Mary, by the angel, by the angel. So this promise came to her and was originated from, and came in the direction from, an extension from. So the extension is it’s coming by the angel, but it was originally from God. This is an extension from and it originated here, okay, at the Lord’s command. What was said to her by the angel at the Lord’s command. Okay, so the promise that was given came to her by the angel, which was an extension of where it originated from, which was from God. It was the Lord’s command.
Then, in verse 45, he’s talking about John the Baptist, who was not like Jesus, meaning he was not sent out from the very presence of God. So Jesus was literally sent from heaven, from the presence of God. John the Baptist, however, was sent, it says, but his coming was brought about by God. So, as an extension of the plan of God, john the Baptist was sent. Okay, so he came from his parents, not directly from God. He came through the birth of Elizabeth and his father. So this was his channel of coming. He was promised to them, came by word, of the angel as well, that same picture of an extension, but originating from God. Okay, so that’s just one of the markers.
Okay, it also has the marker that is of the point from which an action originates. It has the marker that says it comes from a point of action where that action originated, from where that action originated from, this action is like taking, accepting and receiving. So if we think of the promise of God and Abraham had this hope against hope. His hope, where his hope was from who he believed it was, from where it originated from, caused action. That action was both him taking hold of the promise, accepting that the promise was for him, and receiving it into him so that his body responded. And both he and Sarah that said, they received faith. There’s another portion of scripture I’m not reading that today. But Sarah received faith to conceive. She had to receive strength enough to do it, and they did that. They laid hold of, they accepted, they received, they took the promise of God, based off of who God was. This is that word against hope. Against hope, one of its markers is that it takes action and that action is that we, by faith, are taking and laying hold of that promise. We are taking, accepting, receiving, okay.
Underneath that category of understanding how it is an action, it has a function, two functions A and B. The first one is a marker of nearness in space, which is by the side of beside, near, with what that means is they accepted this promise as near to them. It was not a far off, it was near to them. They laid hold of what did not exist. What was the scripture that said? Who calls into existence the things that do not exist. They brought it near, they called it in to existence. So that action word of taking, accepting, receiving, means I’m bringing it near, okay. It can also part B of that function says in someone’s house. You’re not just bringing it near, you’re bringing it home, you’re bringing it into your house. You’re bringing it into your company, you’re bringing it into um, what is that word that I wrote? Anyway, you’re bringing it close. I can’t even read my own writing. I apologize for that. Okay, we’re getting there, we’re almost there.
The next marker of this word against is the marker of one whose viewpoint is relevant in the sight or judgment of someone. Now, let me help you with this one. One whose viewpoint this word against has the marker of one whose viewpoint is relevant in the sight or judgment of someone, which means like for Abraham. He understood that his viewpoint is relevant because it is in sight of and under the judgment of God. It is in the sight of God, the one who originated it. So he’s looking over this and judging this. He’s creating it and doing it and he’s the judge over it. He’s not going to create something that he has no good judgment for. He’s not going to do something that he is incapable. He’s not going to promise something he’s incapable of doing. All of this is done and I have a relevant position and viewpoint of this promise because of the one who’s in judgment over it. Okay, I hope. I hope I made that clear. That one’s a little bit tricky.
Okay, the next marker is a personal reference. Okay, here, this is my person, I have. It has a marker that I have a PR, a personal reference to believe, based off of my knowledge of who you are. A personal reference and I know that by God, I was able to do this, that or the other. I know by God that he has called me to this place and he has blessed me. He made Abraham to be so blessed that by the time that his seed does come, he’s a blessed man with a huge inheritance. He knew this God who was faithful to bless him and take care of him and protect him all along the way. He has personal reference. It has another marker.
This next marker is of connection, of a quality in or with someone, with someone. Someone has something. So this marker is I have hope against hope, because I understand the connection of the quality that God has, the qualities in God to make this thing come to pass and to provide this promise. So it’s a marker of connection, of a quality I hope you’re writing these down of a quality in or with someone. Someone has something so I’m able to have it because he has it. I’m calling it into existence because I know he has it. The promise originated with him. He has it. I am receiving that, I am taking hold of it. I, by my action, receive that word into me, into my, because I have this viewpoint of who he is, who’s judging it, because of my connection to him, because of the quality that I know that he possesses.
Okay, here’s the next marker, the marker of a relationship with a narrow focus. So this is really interesting. This marker says that the relationship you and I have has a very particular purpose and I am expecting from you, because I know, that this very particular purpose is why we have this relationship, it’s why we have this relationship. It has I love that the word was narrow focus, because we know that, as a Christian, we walk the narrow road. Wide is the way that leads to death, but narrow is the road that leads to life. We go on, we walk on the narrow road. We know, according to Jeremiah, that God has a purpose for our life, good plans for our life. But in order for me to lay hold of those and receive those, I have to be walking the narrow road he’s designed for me that leads to those things. They don’t just come from every which way. So this marker of a relationship with a narrow focus is part of my hope, because I understand our relationship. I understand what’s expected of me and what I should expect of you in this relationship. I understand that the expectation is this is not just for me, but for generations and all the offspring after me. It’s to all of us, according to this same chapter in Romans. It is to all who call their faith that are called by Jesus, the name of Jesus Christ and faith in Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, all of us. Okay.
The next marker is a marker of position. So this is mirroring the first one that says it’s beside. This marker says that I take a position. I have taken this position and I am not moved from this position. I remain in this position. The marker of position, my marker, is faith. I believe you said it. It will come to pass. I’m not moving from here. This is my position. Okay, it has another marker. Okay, it has another marker, the marker of extension. Again, this is mirroring the first one extension, but this time the extension is in time.
Abraham was past time, sarah was past time, and this marker says that it is a marker of extension. I loved this, because you can think it’s too late, my time has passed. I had the opportunity. I blew the opportunity, but hoping against hope means that I still have time. That’s why we can say that he redeems the time.
This marker of hope against hope says I have a marker of extension. It’s like when you, if you come up in the United States on April 15th and you don’t file your taxes, you file an extension. You’re saying give me more time, I need more time. This is what we’re doing. We’re saying, lord, I need an extension, I’m past time, but I still believe I’m not moved. What was he not moved by? Let’s read the scripture again. He did not weaken in faith. This is verse 19. When he considered his own body, which was as good as dead, since he was about a hundred years old, and when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb, she was also 90 years old, past the time of birthing for women. So we see both of these. They were past their time, they needed an extension. But this kind of faith, this kind of hope against hope, means that I am hoping in the fact that there is an extension available to me. I am grant today, I’m telling you, we’re granting your extension, we are granting by faith, your extension. Praise God, okay.
The next one is the marker to um, the marker of comparative advantage in comparison to more than beyond. Okay, this marker says that I have a comparative advantage If I compare this to other promises, past promises, other things. What I’m believing God for, I’m believing for the advantage that it is even more now that when a comparison is made, that this one is more than and beyond. That’s why he is the God who can do above and beyond what we could ask or imagine. So this is a comparison that is made when one member of it may receive so little attention as to pass from consideration entirely, so that more than becomes instead of, rather than to the exclusion. Okay, I know that’s very wordy, but what that means is this faith means that what God’s going to do for me, everything else pales in comparison. It removes it from consideration entirely, so that more than becomes instead of so. Instead of that, I get this. Instead of barrenness, I receive fruitfulness. Instead of lack, I have abundance. This is what this kind of faith does. It replaces in this comparison. Okay, and the last one, we’ve made it.
The last marker of this word against is the marker of that which does not correspond to what is expected. It is against contrary. So this marker says I am not allowing it’s exactly what we read. I am not allowing my faith to waken. I’m sorry to weaken I’m talking too fast, for my brain is all over the place. I am not allowing my faith to weaken, regardless of what my circumstances are saying. I am not allowing that. I am standing against that.
My hope is contrary to that. My hope stands against that. My hope is against hope. My hope is against hope. It is not contrary to, but for hope. So, with all of my hope, I hope. With all of my hope, I expect. With all of my hope, I call him able, in relationship with me, near to me. The promise is in my house. I lay hold of it. This is the kind of faith that we attain by calling Abraham our father. This is the kind of faith that we receive, that justifies us. This kind of faith brings the cleansing justification of righteousness to our lives, and it’s this kind of faith I am encouraging you to have today.
No matter what you face, no matter how difficult it seems, no matter how much time has gone by, we believe that our God will do exactly what he promised he will do. Let me pray for you, father. I thank you for faith in a God who is not only able but willing, who has made promises to us and we can lay hold of them. We can receive them and take them into ourselves and produce only what God can produce. We thank you for the opportunity to be in relationship with you. We thank you that you have forgiven us and given us a hope and a future. Father, I pray for every person listening or watching this today that you would encourage and strengthen their faith. May they glorify your name and be strengthened by giving you the worship that is due you, and it is in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Oh, thank you so much for being with me. I pray this was an encouragement to you.
Share this with someone who is wavering in their faith, someone who needs encouragement today. I’m also encouraging you if you didn’t take notes, go back and write these down. Write down what the markers of faith are. What’s the DNA of faith? I really should have titled this message that the DNA of faith, and if you have that DNA, you will see the impossible be made possible. Thanks for joining me today.
I’d love to hear from you If you have any prayer requests or praise reports. If this has stirred you up, send me an email mail at jamielucecom. You can visit my website, jamielucecom. Also. Do me a favor, if this was a blessing to you, like this, and send it on to somebody else. Sharing is caring, as they say. You can give us a rating If you’re listening to this on podcast. That would help us a great deal as well. I’d love to hear your comments. I will respond and, um, anyway, I this is that’s what I had for you today I and again, I know I’m repeating myself a little bit here, but I, if you didn’t get last week, really go back and listen to last week’s episode as well, because they these really go hand in hand justification by faith and the DNA of faith. Okay, thanks so much for listening today. I’ll see you next week. Bye-bye.
