“So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ” Romans 10:17 NLT
Throughout the Word of God, men and women of faith responded to God’s voice with not just hearing, but also by being doers of His Word.
Their faith was first ignited by what they heard.
Noah built an ark for 100 years without ever seeing rain until he completed it.
How? The Bible says in Hebrews 11:7…
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear…”
Noah heard first and then he acted.
Abraham heard the call first to go to a foreign land before he took his first step of FAITH to leave the comfort of everything he knew.
Joseph heard God through a dream so he could have the FAITH while being rejected by his brothers, thrown into a pit, sold off as a slave, falsely accused, and thrown into a jail.
Moses heard the voice of God through a burning bush so he could have the FAITH to deal with Pharoah and the murmuring and complaining of God’s people so that one day they could get to the promise land.
Your FAITH just doesn’t happen. There is something that sparks it.
It is something you cannot visibly see with your eyes.
It is something that you cannot tangibly touch with your body.
Romans 10:17 NLT, “So faith comes from hearing…”
When Mary found out that she was pregnant, it was the voice of God through an angel that gave her FAITH and peace of mind.
“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.” Luke 1:30
Joseph needed assurance also to carry out God’s plan and to build his FAITH.
So, what happened? He heard God’s voice through an angel.
“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 1:20
Hearing compels us to act.
This is our FAITH.
We listen and then we act.
The evidence is nothing we see, but it is everything we have heard.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.
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.” Hebrews 11:1-2;6
Today you have the opportunity to act on what you hear from the Word of God.
“So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ” Romans 10:17 NLT
What is the Good News of Christ?
It is the Gospel – the death, the burial, and the resurrection.
In Romans 10, Paul was trying to get the Jews (still in the dispensation of the law) to understand who Jesus is and the salvation that comes through Him.
He was trying to get them to hear and then to act.
Like I mentioned a few weeks ago in Acts 2:37…
“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
The people that day responded with actions to the words that were being preached by Peter. Repentance, Baptism, and the Holy Ghost.
This Gospel sparked an incredible movement of people’s lives being changed.
In Acts 3, Peter and John healed a lame man that was crippled since birth. They get arrested, they get criticized. I love their response in later…
“For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20
They continued to move in FAITH from previous miracles they have already seen, but also what they heard.
Hearing compels us to act. This is our FAITH.
