Pastor Holden Hanley

Sunday Outline – February 12, 2023

Pastor Holden Hanley spoke this past Sunday on “The Eternal Nature of Faith.”

He began by praying for our Founders and our Pastors, and used both: Ephesians 3:16 & Romans 15:29. Pastor Holden reminded us that here at EMIC, as Brother Copeland says, “We are Faith Specialists!” We keep and continue in the Word of Faith as our goal to live by.

Hebrews 11:6

Pastor Holden shared briefly when he was the age of 19, he returned to what he was raised in – the faith teaching of Dr. Oral Roberts, Brother Kenneth Copeland, Dr. Jesse Duplantis, and Dr. John Hagee.

We don’t wait until we fully understand faith to make it our lifestyle.   We are told to operate in faith to bring pleasure to God.  This is why the teaching at EMIC, and the prayer teams at EMIC stay saturated with the Spirit of Faith, as this is a lifestyle; just as with our marriage, or how we care for our body – each of these must be done in faith if we are to be pleasing to God.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us the first step of faith is to understand that faith is NOW.

Second step is it allows us to believe that God exists and that we are not only seeing His workings.

Third step, it is impossible to receive anything from God without faith. You were given faith for salvation, you exercise your faith for healing, the prosperous life, and wisdom; so we can say, “It takes faith to receive.”

Remember, as long as we are here on this earth, we are to continue to grow in faith, and therefore will never have it all figured out.  If any of us ever reach a point where we think we have mastered faith and know it all, we now are operating in pride.

One of the true expressions of walking in faith is submission to authority.   We maintain an attitude that we are eager to learn and grow.

Philippians 3:1 

Paul said it does not grieve him to write the same things he had already written. Obviously, they heard this truth before, but the attitude is let me draw on the gift that is before me, let me hear this Word of revelation, allowing Holy Spirit to continue to speak truth and direction in my life.

Faith comes to us by hearing the Word of God, and not because we have heard.

Faith is not a movement, where I may move into something, or move out of something.   Faith is a lifestyle.

Habakkuk, Galatians, and Hebrews tell us the just shall live by faith.

This is a command – we are to live in faith, and do what we do in faith.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is…

Faith is always intended to be used in the now. The longer you wait to use your faith, the longer you wait to see the manifestation.

Faith is the substance, a very real substance.

V.2 The elders obtained a good report as they did it by faith.

V.3 Worlds were framed… the world was not made from nothing, it came from a very real substance.

Two Greek words used for world:

kosmos – the world, the universe, the tangible substance of the world

aeon – period of time, and ages

This shows us that faith is the string that ties generations together.

It would be pride to think I should learn faith from scratch, from the beginning stages when I can glean from what Brother Copeland has put more than fifty years in.

So, we need generations before us that we build from, and generations which follow that we pour into.

• Abraham’s faith called the righteous of God from a different dispensation.   One in which he wasn’t yet in.
• Jesus was obligated to be offered as a sacrifice because of Abraham did in using his faith for his son.
• David by faith allowed God to build an eternal kingdom.
• Daniel went backwards – 70 years before to see the deliverance of Israel as well as looked forward.
• Their faith all superseded their life.

The power of faith doesn’t stop when you go home to be with the Lord. The nature of faith is eternal. Your faith doesn’t turn off unless you turn it off.

V.4 He being dead yet speaks. Faith is released by speaking.

Isaiah 57:15 God inhabits eternity – very lofting thoughts to renew our mind to. God dwells in all places at all times – past, preset, and all future.

This means that God is already at the manifestation of your faith.

This is why we call those things that be not as though they WERE.

Hebrews 12:2 Jesus is the author AND finisher of our faith. 

The finisher — He is already there. God is at the fulfillment of what He told you to believe for.

Individuals who are waiting to rejoice until they see the manifestation is not an action of faith – rejoice now in faith!  Pastor Terri has said, “The journey is just as valuable as the destination.”

It is the journey where you learn how to live by faith, your love walk, forgiveness, prayer life, believe for wisdom, etc. Our journey is where we learn of patience.

A great book by Brother Copeland:

Faith and Patience – The Power Twins

Hebrews 10:35 – a release of patience with faith to see the job done

6:12 – Faith and patience inherit the promises.

V.13-14 and when we don’t inherit the promises, we are lazy.

Trials and testings do not develop faith.

Faith is developed only from the Word of God.

Patience is developed during the storm, during the trial or tribulation.

James 1:1-3 – trials worketh patience.

Hebrews 12:2 Joy always looks at the outcome and not just the now.  Joy doesn’t focus on the trial or tribulation.

Hypomone (Greek word of patience) meaning the characteristic of a man and his loyalty to faith, steadfastness, and constancy, his fidelity.

Real Bible patience is committed to faith.

This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Faith always wins.

The start of faith is the Word of God, 

and the end result of faith is the manifestation.

What is in between is the word, time.

Jesse Duplantis said most fail to receive because they fail the test of time, even though they have faith.

Mark 4:35

Jesus was teaching all day, the faith teacher, and then the disciples were given a faith command – go to the other side.

V.40 They were sitting under the Word all day, and now a little opposition comes, and they allowed the Word of God to be let go, and focused more on the circumstances.  This is why Jesus said they have no faith. They didn’t hold onto the promise they had heard and endure the test of time.

Mark 14:22-29

Peter is infused with faith to walk on water, as he heard a Word from God and acted on it.

Acts 6: 

The Apostles need to appoint deacons so they can better give themselves unto the ministry of the Word.  

V. 5-8 One of the seven they chose was Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.

7:59 Even though he was being stoned, Stephen continued to stand in faith, and released statements of faith: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

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