Dear Partner,

We have all heard good teaching that "faith without works is dead, being alone" (James 2:17), but I have also found it to be true that "faith without hope is dead, being alone." Hopelessness is something that we must guard against at all times. The entire world system is on a downhill slide which is designed by the "god of this world" to bring you into a state of despair. The scripture plainly declares,

Prov 29:18a Where there is no vision, the people perish...

Hope is the "vision", the inner image of the thing that we desire in our hearts. Without godly hope, there is simply nothing for faith to give substance to. Both hope and faith must work hand in hand in order for the promises of God to be manifested in any believer's life.

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

FAITH POSSESSES WHAT HOPE FIRST "SEES!"

When there arose a dispute between the herdsmen of Lot and Abraham over the land, Abraham allowed Lot to choose whatever portion of the land that he desired. Lot only had "natural" vision and therefore chose what "appeared" to be the best watered, most fertile portion of the land for his own use.

It would "appear" to the natural man that by Abraham's showing kindness and mercy to his nephew that Abraham's inheritance had been suddenly diminished. God had promised Abraham the entire land, yet by his showing mercy to Lot, it would "seem" that the size of his inheritance was now reduced. His "vision", his "hope" of possessing the entire land was now smaller than what God had originally promised.

It is never so with God! What God promises, He provides, and there is no diminishing of His promise if we will not lose our "vision," our "hope." Look at what God did to remedy the situation. God immediately gave Abraham instructions that would keep his "vision," his "hope" alive:

Gen 13:14-15 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.

"LIFT UP NOW THINE EYES" ... "WHAT YOU CAN SEE" ... "I WILL GIVE YOU."

As if that were not enough, God did not want Abraham's "vision," his "hope" to be limited by only what he could see from the geographical location where he was standing. Look at the next instructions God gave him,

Gen 13:17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

Why did God want Abraham to walk through the land, the length and breadth of it? God wanted Abraham to "SEE" it! God wanted Abraham to be full of HOPE! To keep the "VISION" alive within him. Without hope, there is nothing for faith to give substance to.

Jesus came that we might have ABUNDANT LIFE! He wants us to fully possess ALL of the promises of God. He wants us to possess and enjoy EVERYTHING that He paid the price for us to have when He suffered at the cross. He wants the lost to be saved, the sick to be healed, the tormented to be delivered, the poor to be prospered ... ABUNDANT LIFE!

The first step for us to possess all of these things is the same as Abraham's. We must first "lift up our eyes" and "see" ourselves as possessing the promise. We must first have HOPE! Godly hope, based on the solid rock of God's eternal Word.

The world system is constantly attacking our hope. It is good to take inventory from time to time and see if we have "lost hope" in any areas of our lives. Without realizing it, we sometimes simply get beaten down by the cares of this life until we have simply "lost hope" that we could ever actually have something that has been promised us in the Word of God. We must be people of VISION! We must be full of HOPE!

All things are possible with God (Luke 18:27). I encourage you to open up your bible again and "lift up your eyes" to "see" the promises of God. All you can "see", God will give you by faith.

Thank you for your gift to GCM. Sue and I love you and appreciate you. We thank God for your generous and giving heart. God bless you!

Your friend and co-laborer,

Gary Carpenter

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