Biblical ABC’s: H is for – Have & Have Not
by Mrs. Clydie Jackson
There is a lovely old hymn in our songbook that goes like this:
Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?
We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.
I believe the songwriter had Hebrews 6:19 in mind, which says, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” Too often in life we get caught up in the storms that surround us and we take our eyes off of what we KNOW we have. When I was recently studying the book of James, I was intrigued by one verse in particular. James 4:2 says, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” I began to wonder, what does the Bible say we “have not” and then, by contrast, what can we “have” if we only ask. So, tonight, I thought we’d just take a few moments to reflect, in this month of Thanksgiving, on what we Have and Have not, as we are told in God’s Word!
The Have Nots
- Those that HAVE NOT known God.
Romans 11:30-“For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:”
1 Corinthians 15:34-“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.”
2 Thessalonians 3:2-“And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.”
There are still so many, many people who have not yet trusted Christ – this is the saddest HAVE NOT. Remember the admonitions of Jeremiah we saw a couple of months ago? There is great judgment awaiting those who choose not to believe: Jeremiah 6:19, “Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.” Therefore, it behooves us to be alert and share our faith with others! David wrote in Psalm 40:9&10 – “I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.”
- Those that HAVE NOT charity (love).
Jesus told the Pharisees in John 5:42, “But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.” We are all very familiar with the LOVE chapter of the Bible. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 says, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” So it is if we have not love, Jesus gave the remedy when He said in Matthew 5:43&44-“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”
- Those that HAVE NOT sinned.
This is what the Bible says in 1 John 1:10, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Again, a verse we all know by heart, Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” There is no one who has not sinned. The remedy for sin? You know the answer, right? Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
However, all the HAVE NOTS are not negative, because Isaiah 64:4 declares, “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.”
The Haves
Now that we’ve seen the HAVE NOTS according to the Word of God, let’s take a few minutes to reflect on the wonderful things that we HAVE, according to the Word of God. Mind you, this is not an exhaustive list, but those things which I picked up in my study as I reflected on what we “HAVE NOT because we ask not!” Paul says in Philippians 4:18, “But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.”
- We have access.
Romans 5:2 “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
- We have blessings.
Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”
- We have boldness.
1 John 4:17 “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.”
- We have compassion.
- We have eternal life.
John 3:15&16 “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 5:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
John 6:40 “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
1 John 5:11-13 “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
- We have faith.
Matthew 17:20 “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
Mark 11:22-24 “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
2 Peter 1:1 “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:”
- We have forgiveness.
Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”
- We have glory.
John 17:22 “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:”
- We have God’s Word.
- We have good things.
Proverbs 28:10 “Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.”
- We have grace.
Romans 1:5 “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:”
- We have hope.
Acts 24:15 “And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.”
2 Thessalonians 2:16 “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.”
- We have joy.
John 17:13 “And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”
- We have life.
John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
- We have light.
John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
- We have love.
Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”
2 Thessalonians 2:16 “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.”
1 John 3:1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
1 John 4:16 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
- We have mercy.
Proverbs 28:13 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
- We have peace.
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
- We have praise of God.
1 Corinthians 4:5 “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.”
- We have redemption.
Ephesians 1:7 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
Galatians 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”
These are only the beginning. Let’s take this month of thanksgiving and look into God’s Word for more of the blessings that we HAVE in the Lord! The Psalmist says in the great Psalm 119, verse 30, “I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.” And in the very last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22:14 it says, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” And our final thought for the night is in Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
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