Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 12; Romans 10; Jeremiah 49; Psalms 26 & 27
Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Where does faith come from? Is it produced by you? Some people see faith as a force that you use to manipulate God into doing your desires. They reason like this: if you have enough faith, God will see your faith and he will do what you want him to do. This is not faith – it is some kind of magic. Biblical faith is to believe what God has said. The first time the Bible speaks of faith is when Abraham believed the word of the Lord. God made Abraham a promise that he would bless him and multiply his descendants and give him the land of Canaan. The Bible says that when Abraham heard what God said he believed God.
Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
The New Testament goes on to explain what happened in Abraham’s life:
Romans 4:20-21 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
Abraham was fully persuaded that what God had promised he was able also to do. Abraham’s faith came from hearing the Word of God. Those ideas were God’s word to Abraham. Abraham did not come up with what he wanted and believe so that God would give them to him.
Now the Bible says:
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
You cannot please God without faith. If you want to be pleasing to God you must have faith. So where do you get faith? You get it from hearing the Word of God. So the most important thing that every person on earth needs to do is hear the Word of God.
God’s Word -> Hearing -> Faith -> Pleasing God
If you want to live a life pleasing to God, you MUST be hearing his Word. You need to be in the Bible! You need to read it, study it, memorize it, and hear it preached. God has given us great and precious promises in his word. We can know God’s will and the future through the Word of God. It is a treasure! If you need faith, you need to be in the Word more because that is where faith comes from!
In Christ,
Rody
