The Substance of Faith Bishop Joel Duncan-Williams 6th October 2024

This morning, I'm preaching on the substance of faith.

Tell with me in your bibles.

To Hebrews eleven one came James's version, where it says,

now faith the Bible says, now, faith is the substance

of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Father,

this morning, lets your word bring forth illumination. Let it

transform us, that it take us from where we are

to where we belong. And the church shouted and said.

Amen.

It's important you understand that the Biblical definition of substance,

the biblic out definition of the word substance. Now, the

word translated substance comes from the Greek hippostasis, which means

a placing or setting under or a substructure or foundation.

This word appears elsewhere in the New Testament as confident

or confidence that second Corinthians nine and four, eleven, seventeen

and Hebrews three fourteen. Now it's important you understand that Paul,

the author of this epistle or letter, was not writing.

First of all, he was writing to Christians. He wasn't

writing to just anybody. He was writing to Christians. And

he was not talking about the definition of the word faith.

He was talking about the application of the word faith.

In other words, what to do with the word faith.

He was talking about the application of it. A lot

of us believers we deal more with.

The definition of faith, like.

Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God,

and we leave faith as as something that is just there,

Like as long as you have faith, it will work.

As long as you have faith, it will happen. But

faith doesn't happen like that. Faith is something you have

to applicate, or faith is the applicator. So when it

comes to faith, you must do something, say do something,

or say like you mean to say do something. You

must do something, You must do something. You understand. So

look at your neighbor and tell them, say do something.

About your faith.

About your faith, say like you mean to say, do

something about your faith. So you must do something about

your faith. Look at neighbor and tell them. Faith is

something you do. So Paul is not defining what faith is,

but rather what he is showing what faith does. In

an operative sense, faith undergets what we hope. Substance means

that which stands under So faith is for the foundation.

For what we hope.

Now it's important you understand that if you don't have faith,

you cannot have hope. Faith is for your past and

your presence. Hope is for your future. If you want

to break it down, like in the prophetic, faith is

the word of knowledge, and hope is the word of wisdom.

Faith deals with your past and you're now, and the

word of wisdom, which is hope, deals with your future.

If you don't have faith.

In other words, if you haven't experienced God in a

certain dimension, you can't believe God for a greater level

of that dimension.

Do you understand.

You have to be able to have met God on

a certain plane to be able to trust God in

a deeper dimension. Are you listening to what I'm saying?

Are you sure or you've gone home? If you have

not gone home, can you give God a shower? Looks

like you are all here?

Thank God? Thank God.

So the Bible says, now faith, there is something that things.

Hope for the evidence of things not seen. By saying

that it is the evidence or assurance.

In other translations, you are.

Literally the word can literally be translated to title or deed.

Title or deed. So when you have faith, God gives

you a title or a deed, and when you act

out on your faith, the evidence of your faith comes

to pass. Do you understand It's like you say, this

land is for you. Where is your land title? Where

is your land title? You haven't showed us a land title.

Meanwhile you are claiming the land.

Have you heard some before.

Somebody will telling me that somebody came to one of

my lands and had brought a title and said that

they have the land title to this land. You, I

also have my land title. And my land title is

not from today, it's many many, many many years ago.

And they are bringing titles from just around the corner

that the land is for them. Faith is your land

title concerning what God is about to do for you.

It's your land title. But it doesn't end there. When

you buy a land, you don't just buy the land

and leave it. You buy the land and you the

you develop the land. Land is for development. It's not

for sitting. It's for development. Look at your neighbor and

tell them it's for development. Say it like you mean

to say, it's for development, developments, it's for development. If

this a cry you are in, if you are not careful,

when you haven't worlled your land, even warliness warlinness is

he used to work. It doesn't work anymore. He used

to work, It doesn't work anymore. I had a land

in his lagon, and a guy went to build apartments

on the land. Because I've not been going there. You

went to go and build apartments. And then when I

got involved. When I got involved, I said I would

tear down these apartments.

And he said, what do I mean?

I should rather come and strike a deal with him

for him to find something small for it. And he

was standing with a group of soldiers and I said, hey,

I said, hand, okay, no problem, something small for me.

You want to collect my land is no problem. To

the glory of God, all those apartments came down, and

I developed my land with the surges. Now faith is

very important because certain things can try your faith. Like

what I just said, he can try your faith. How

do you believe God for money to buy a land?

Then you just didn't go there?

Small?

Then somebody goes to build on your land and tell

you that come out, find something.

Small for you.

And this one they're not. They don't have land, Italo,

they're not, they don't have deed. This one I'm stolen.

I'm built on it. What are you going to do? Yeah, exactly,

and they have suggest their party is in power. In

its simplest form, faith is merely belief. As our understanding

becomes more complex and operative, when we begin to put

faith to work, it becomes confidence, it becomes confidence. I

have this confidence in, I have this confidence in, I

have this confidence in. It's a confidence, say a confidence.

But when faith becomes fully operational, it is trust. Look

at you, neighbor, and say trust. Say it like you

mean to say trust. Now confession. Faith is a confession

or a creed. You must speak it, and you must

believe it. Faith is not a head thing. It's a

heart thing. Faith is not a head thing. It's a

heart thing. You don't think faith, you believe faith. If

you have to think about faith, then your faith is

not going to be applied because faith does not make

sense in the earth realm. Faith is a spiritual thing,

and it only makes sense to spiritual people. How many

of you are spiritual people in this room? Wave at me.

It only makes sense to spiritual people. That's why you

need two thousand ganacidis to do something, and you take

one thousand, and you come to the altar and you

pray at the altar, and you believe God at the

altar that you are going to get the two thousand

you need. Another person will tell you that you are

mad you have thousand. Why didn't you just go and

look for one thousand? Now you have zero? Lobjacr reasoning

does not make sense when it comes to faith.

It doesn't make sense when it comes to faith.

It's like preachers who don't preach Christ, preachers who don't

preach Christ. Any preacher who does not preach Christ is

a crisis. How can you be preaching about the word

of someone and don't mention the someone you are preaching about.

How does it happen? Now?

A creed is a system of religious belief a faith.

I like the part a faith, so a creed is

religious beliefs. But I like the part where it says

a faith because because when it comes to a faith,

that's why nobody can touch it. Nobody can touch it

a faith. When you believe God in your heart and

you practice what you are doing in faith, there is

no way that the evidence of what you are practicing

will not come. The Bible says eyes have not seen,

ears have not heard, neither has it entered into the

hands of men the things that God has prepared for

them that love Him. The reason why it may even

be taking some time is that it's being prepared. You

can't go and find tailor made suits in a boutique.

You can't go and find tailor made suits in a boutique.

If you go and find a tailor made suit in

a boutique, it means that I was not tailored for you.

It was not made for.

You, your your your your faith is not delayed and

the evidence of your faith will not be delayed. And

if I may need to remind anybody, delay is not denial.

Delay is not denial. Delay does not mean denial. That's

why I love that scripture. Hope defend, make it the

heart sick. But a sudden quick break, sudden quick break,

a sudden quick break. Let me go to the next scripture. Now,

same scripture, but turnd to ISV. The ISV translation. Now,

faith is the assurance that what we hope for will

come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exist.

So let me show you this. When you believe God

in faith and you apply your faith, it doesn't mean

that what you have asked God for doesn't exist.

It means you've not seen it yet.

It's like those of you that want to get married,

does it mean that your wife or your husband is

not walking around?

They are walking around.

They are walking around, you just haven't located them yet.

And when you find them, you ask them a question,

where have you been my whole life?

Where have you been my own?

And some of you may find out that there in

the same church, they're in the same class, behind the

same Listen. I'm speaking to marriage. I'm not speaking to

that's salting the color. Boyfriend and girlfriend.

I'm not. I'm not even speaking to beloved.

I'm speaking to marriage, marriage, husband and wife.

Marriage. Amen. Hey, my time is almost.

Definition of assurance, a positive declaration intended to give you confidence,

a promise. So look at you, neighbor and tell them.

Faith is speaking out on confidence. Faith is speaking out

on confidence. You've got to believe what you are saying

and speak it with confidence. You've got to believe what

you are saying and speak it with confidence.

I will get my degree.

Somebody said I'm married soon.

Next year.

He said it with confidence. He did say you're confidence.

You have to say it's well, say it well. Say

to call those things that be not as though they are.

You want a car next year, you've got to speak speaking.

You've got to start speaking it this year. The car

is not just going to show up next year. You've

got to speak it. You've got to speak it. Then

you start buying some things, buy spanner, buy this, spare time, Yes,

some things. That's Shore Cay is coming. Yeah, very important.

Start checking the price of well and know where you

are going to buy, whether I shell or is goyal

or its total. Yeah, me, I have I had a

certain kind a part of the world, and I can

only use ninety seven. I'm not going to Yeah, it's

basically viper. I can only use ninety seven and the

amount of ninety seven I have to buy. It's like

feeling too casts and the engine the car is too

It's vitual, vitual by table.

I tell you.

One day we were late to go somewhere and I

stepped on the accelerator and no joke, I saw the

gauge move. I saw the gauge move. I've never driven

a car before in my life except that car that

you can watch the gauge move after feeling it, you

can feel it and after ten minutes, you see that

the gauge has moved from full is slowly going, slowly

moving this way. M I gave the car to Reverend

Alert to drive a few days later and tell me please.

Take your cavera. I said, next time. Next time.

So you've got to you've got to speak it, believe it,

and act on it. You've got to act on it.

You've got to act on it. You've got to act

on it. You've got to act on it. You've got

to act on it. You've got to act on it.

You've got to act on it. You can't just even

when you have faith, there's a certain where you walk,

there's a certain where you walk, there's a certain way

you talk.

When you have faith.

Your walk changes, your talk changes when you have faith,

which is confidence or total trust. Like if I call

you Ryan at at timothiicma, go and eat at El Concge.

I'll pay for it. You go, he said, he will go,

He said he will be there by the way.

El Concierge. Food is very nice.

So if you want to go in, if you want

to go and eat after church, you can't feel free

and wad.

Amen.

Let me give you one more scripture, and I close

my times up. I'm glad you love it.

Now watch this.

Hebrews four and verse two King James version, and then

an ivy for unto us, the gospel was preached as

well as onto them, but the word preach did not profit.

Them, not being mixed with faith in them that had it.

An ivy.

For we also have had the good News proclaim to us,

just as they did, but the message they had was

of no value to them because they did not share

the faith of those who obeyed. I'm not saying that

leave here and go and buy a land cruiser. But

you can buy a land cruiser. You can't buy it.

Oh mind you.

He said we had the gospel by it, it didn't

profit us because you didn't step out on faith.

Listen.

Faith is not listening.

And listening and listening.

Faith is listening and doing, listening and doing, listening and doing.

You hear the word, you act on it. You hear

the word, you act on it. You hear the word,

you act on it. That's what happens. You hear the word, you.

Act on it. Preach. Am I approaching, Please rise up

on your feet. This morning.

We've reached the most crucial parts of today's message. If

you are here and you haven't given your life to

our Lord and save your Jesus Christ, now is the

opportune time to do so. If you are here and

you've not given him your life, please raise your hand.

Just wave it at me, Wave it at me so

I can see it.

Wave it at me so I can see it, Wave

it at me so I can see it.

All right, we.

Thank God everyone is safe, but we will still say together.

Stretch your right hand towards the altar. Say Father today,

I confess my sins.

I give you my life. Take my name out.

Of the book of Death and place it in the

Lund's Book of life. Say Father today, use me, guide me,

lead me. In Jesus' name, I pray a man