LEARNING DAILY

Romans 10:17, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

 Pastor Jonathon Moore of NorthRock Church preached a message this weekend that Believers either need to hear or be reminded of. He used the prophet Elijah as an example of hearing God. Israel was in the midst of a drought that caused famine in Israel. It had not rained for over three years; God used the prophet to “hear” the sound of rain. He proclaimed the drought was about to end – not because he saw the rain but because He heard “the sound of abundance of rain” (1 Kings 18:41). The message was about the ability to listen to God, hear what He is saying, and then to be obedient to it. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Audrey wrote in her notes, “If faith comes by hearing the Word of God, we are in control of how much faith we have by how much we read our Bible.” That is a great word for each of us!

God can speak to Believers anyway He wants to. God speaks to me through the reading of His word. I can say I have heard God twice that I really knew it was Him. Once, there is no audible voice but I knew He was telling me something very personal. The second time, I was asking whether He was going to do something or not and I heard “no”. That was it! But let me tell you when I read the Bible, His Word, it can become very clear that I need to apply something in it to my life. Recently I have been doing a detailed study of the Proverbs, and I have clearly been getting the message about changes in my life needed to be made. It has come to being a time of “pieces” for me, if you read yesterday’s blog. Yet, peace has come because God is bigger!

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Pastor Moore was clear, “Get into your Bible!” Do you want fruit in your life? “Get into your Bible!” Fruit comes from having the Word of God dwell in your life and that comes from spending time reading/studying/ meditating on God’s Word (Joshua 1:8); faith comes from doing so. “You just cannot feed on the Word of God one time per week (at church) and expect to have faith. You have to eat “the bread of life” every day.” (Pastor Moore). Just as one eats food every day to sustain the body, one needs to be in the word of God to sustain their spiritual life. In Audrey’s notes, she wrote, “We have to feed ourselves.” John 1 is clear, Jesus is the Word, who was with God, and was made flesh to live among His people. In John 6:35, Jesus was clear that He is the Bread of Life and said in Matthew 4:4 that Believers are to not only live on food but on every Word He has given us. Those words are found in His Bible.

Joshua 1:8 tells Believers to not only read the word; they are to meditate on it. Think on it and consider what it means and is saying to you. Do you have a plan? It is really great to spend time reading. The question is are you taking time to really think about what you are reading. Are you absorbing it? When you do, God reveals things to you, things about Himself and things about you. By meditating on the Word, you begin to allow changes to occur in how you speak, how you act (Audrey’s notes). “Revelation moves to transformation,” (Pastor Moore). Changing who you are to become what the Lord Jesus wants you to be is what walking the narrow way is about. No, one does not become perfect and will fall many times; get back up!

“When faith needs to be built, go to the Word to build your faith! In times of crisis and temptation, go to the Word. Nothing in the Word of God will ever fail. God wants every Believer to grow in their spiritual walk with Him by knowing what God says about him/her.” (Pastor Moore). May I encourage you, if you are not in God’s Word daily, to make a plan to do so and stick with it. His Word is new each and every day. Just because you have read something many times does not mean today the Holy Spirit will not open your eyes to see what you need for this specific day.

“Give us this day, our daily bread!” (Mathew 6:11).