<TITLE>07. Par 25-28</TITLE>L-25 I'd just like to speak a moment on "Faith Cometh By Hearing." And so... I love this Word, and the Word of faith. Now, we think of faith, what it is. Paul first speaking to the Romans, which was--had been heathens--idolaters, and had just come over into Christianity... And Paul here is the greatest missionary the world has ever had since Christ.
I just think of that. That little Jewish brother. He just couldn't set still; yet there was thousands in Jerusalem hadn't been converted, but he had to go somewhere else and somewhere else. The whole world must hear about the Gospel, as far as Paul could take it. And how he did his best to bring it. And his messages and his writing still lives on immortal today, because he spoke of Christ Jesus.

L-26 And he's sending the letter now to the Romans, getting the Church in order. And he's speaking to them about faith. On the 1st--the 4th chapter of Romans he speaks of Abraham being justified by faith. Then on the 9th chapter of Romans, he's speaking on the election of God, how God called Isaac, or I beg your pardon, called Esau, Jacob, and ordained them; or He said, "By election He chose (by His own choosing) chose Jacob instead of Esau." Though Esau being rightly to the birthright, then He chose Jacob instead of Esau.
And then in the--the 10th chapter here, we find him now dividing what faith is. Now, faith is burly. My, how I like to think of faith: hope, faith, and charity, those three things. And hope, what a beautiful thing hope is. Little, timid hope, lovely and sweet as she is, yet, she's the greatest enemy faith has. That's right. The greatest enemy faith's got is hope. 'Cause a person becomes so hopeful till they leave away from faith.

L-27 Now, hope will agree with the Bible. Hope will say, "It's True." Hope will say, "I believe every bit of It. I believe that that's the Word of God. And I--I--I believe that God will keep His promise." Hope believes all of that. But hope then says, "Now, I believe that God will heal, but look at my condition."
Now, faith don't look at that. Faith comes around, "I don't care nothing about conditions. God said so, and it's mine." You see? Faith's burly. As I once said, "Faith has hair on the chest. When it stands up and pulls its big muscles out, everything else vanishes away." Just takes--flies away. When faith really takes a hold, nothing else stands.

L-28 I'm telling you, faith... But you've got to have hope and charity. If you've got real burly faith and no love with it, you've ruin your influence before the people (if you haven't got love mixed with it). See? You seen people, a real burly, what we would say (excuse the expression) a bulldog faith, to grab a hold, but is so rough with it. Then you see when you do that, it doesn't--it hasn't got the kindness here to move with it. So what we need is hope, faith, and charity. Isn't that right? Hope, faith, and charity, together. God help our church to have it like that, the people, to have that combination.


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