...and hearing by the Word of God - Part One

Note: This is the 7th post in a series on Grace that should be read in the following order:

1 Purpose of this Blog
2 Grace Defined - Part One
3 Grace Defined - Part Two
4 Grace operates through Faith - Faith Defined
5 Faith comes by hearing
6 Faith comes by hearing - Time alone with God
7 ...and hearing by the Word of God - Part One
8 ...and hearing by the Word of God - Part Two

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. "
(Romans 10:17)

"...by the word of God."

There may be no larger subject or theme or thought in the Word of God, The Bible, than the Word of God. Jesus said the out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Thus it is in the Word of God that we find the abundance of God's heart.

I will write this again.

It is in the Word of God that we find the abundance of God's heart.

What is on His mind.

What are in His thoughts.

So, what is this Word?

In Psalms 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, the theme is the Word of God. In it we find the following discriptives of the Word of God:

The Law of the Lord

His Testimonies

His Ways

Thy Precepts

Thy Statutes

Thy Commandments

Thy Righteous Judgments

Thy Word

And that is just to verse 9 out of 176. Take the time to read and meditate on Psalms 119.

In Danial Chapter 10 the angel calls the Word the "Scripture of Truth."

The word Scripture is used 32 times in th Old and New Testaments to refer to the Word of God.

Paul wrote:

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. "
(2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The word translated "inspiration of God" literally means "God-Breathed". Thus, All Scripture is God-Breathed.

And Peter concluded:

"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
(2 Peter 1:20-21)

So, out of the abundance of His heart, God speaks to and with men through His Word. Indeed, He seeks to speak to you and to me.

But the writer to the Hebrews said,

"God, who at many times and in many ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son..."
(Hebrews 1:1-2a MKJV)

Ahh...He has "spoken to us by His Son."

Verse 3 states:

"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person..."
(Hebrews 1:3a)

Would you know God?

Would you know God's heart? God's will for you? God's thoughts?

Jesus is "the express image of his person."

What was Paul's great desire?

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings..."
(Philippians 3:10a)

And Jesus told the religous rulers of His day;

"Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. "
(John 5:39-40)

And the Father spoke out of the cloud to Peter, James and John:

"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. "
(Matthew 17:5)

Let us pause here for a moment.

Please understand and let it sink into your heart, that the Word of God, the Law and the Prophets, the Holy Scriptures entire purpose, from beginning to end, was that we might KNOW Jesus.

When we read, study and meditate upon the Word of God, we should be doing so that we might know Jesus.

That we might know Jesus.

That we might know Him more fully, more personally, more intimately.

And that knowing Him, we might make Him known.

In Paul's prayers for the believers in Epheseus he asks:

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,"
(Ephesians 1:17-18)

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
(Ephesians 3:17-19)

It's all about Jesus.

Doctrine is good.

Biblical history is good.

But, it is all about Jesus.

When you read the Word, whether it be Genisis or Revelations or anyplace in between, always remember, it is all about Jesus and your one on one, personal relationship with Him.

Prophesying of Jesus, David wrote:

"Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. 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."
(Psalms 40:7-10)

In the Book of John we are told:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
(John 1:1-4, 14)

And in the Book of Revelations we are told:

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
(Revelation 19:11-13)

So in Jesus we see something very different than the Law and the Prophets. We even see somthing different than the Acts and the Epistles.

Jesus Christ IS the Word of God.

He made the heavens and the earth, for "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God." (Heb 11:3)

He is the "Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending" (Rev 1:8)

Jesus told us that:

"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. "
(Matthew 24:35)

For, " Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." (Heb 13:8)

And Isaiah prophesied:

"The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever."
(Isaiah 40:6-8)

Thus John wrote:

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."
(1 John 1:1-3)

Jesus did not come only to die and rise again, but to show us the Father. To be the express image of His glory and person. The Word of life came to fellowship with His creation.

John the Baptist preached thus:

"He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God:"
(John 3:31-34a)

Understand this:

In the Old Testament, God spoke through His prophets.

In the New Testament, God spoke through His apostles and prophets.

In Jesus, we have God, the Very Word of God speaking to us the Word of God.

The entire Old Testament points forward to Jesus.

The entire New Testament poinst backwards and fowards to Jesus.

We need to determine two things.

When we read the Bible...the Word of God...it should always be bringing us closer to Jesus and the Father.

It is NOT an intelectual pursuit. It is an everlasting, eternal pursuit of fellowship with God.

And...

We should always make a point of including in our daily Scripture reading and meditation, something from the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).

"This is my beloved Son," the voice from heaven said, "Hear ye Him!"

So, hearing comes by the Word of God.

As we hear or read the Word, asking God to speak to us, the Spirit starts giving us hearing and we see Jesus and the Father revealed to us.

As the takes place, Faith is born in our hearts and grows allowing Grace to work in us and through us.

I leave you with these:

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul:

the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart:

the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever:

the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Moreover by them is thy servant warned:

and

in keeping of them there is great reward."
(Psalms 19:7-11)

"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes."
(Psalms 119:9-12)

"O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.

Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.

I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.

I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.

I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.

I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.

How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. "
(Psalms 119:97-105)

"My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God."
(Proverbs 2:1-5)

"My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."
(Proverbs 4:20-22)

"In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word. "
(Psalms 56:10)

Faith Comes by Hearing - Time alone with God

Note: This is the 6th post in a series on Grace that should be read in the following order:

1 Purpose of this Blog
2 Grace Defined - Part One
3 Grace Defined - Part Two
4 Grace operates through Faith - Faith Defined
5 Faith comes by hearing
6 Faith comes by hearing - Time alone with God
7 ...and hearing by the Word of God - Part One
8 ...and hearing by the Word of God - Part Two



It had been my intention to spend the next few posts elaborating on the Word of God. However, the Spirit has strongly impressed me to first discuss regular time alone with God as a pre-requisite to hearing Him.

Please take a moment right now and ask the Lord to speak to you through this post. I believe that this subject is nearer and dearer to God's heart than any other as regarding our Christian walk.

"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he (Jesus) went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. "
(Mark 1:35)

"And when he had sent them away, he (Jesus) departed into a mountain to pray. "
(Mark 6:46)

"And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he (Jesus) was there alone."
(Matthew 14:23)

"And it came to pass in those days, that he (Jesus) went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. "
(Luke 6:12)

Our Lord Jesus Christ held quiet communion alone with the Father at a premium. For although He was God the Son, come in the flesh, full of Grace and Truth, yet He needed and desired time alone with God the Father. Even though His communication with the Father was continual (Jn. 14:10-11), yet it was time alone with God that Jesus cherished and made a point of having whether it was all night long or early in the morning before the sun came up, getting alone with God came first.

What did Jesus tell us about prayer?

"But you, when you pray, enter into your room. And shutting your door, pray to your Father in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly. "
(Mat 6:6 MKJV)

How often do we speak of doing our "devotions" where we might spend 10-15 minutes reading a daily devotional and then off we go to work or to start on our todo list? How often do we leave Jesus sitting there on the sofa saying, "Don't you want to spend a little time talking with me before you go?"

Jesus said,

"Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. "
(Matthew 11:28-29 MKJV)

"And as they went, it happened that He entered into a certain village. And a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house.

And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she came to Him and said, Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.

And Jesus answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things.

But one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. "
(Luke 10:38-42 MKJV)

Martha was busy with ministry, but Mary had chosen the one needful thing:

To sit at Jesus' feet and hear His Word!

Dear brother or sister in Christ. There is NOTHING that God desires more than for you to SIT AT HIS FEET and HEAR HIS WORD. He has so much He wants to share with you. So very much. AND, He wants to listen to you pour out your heart to Him! He is your Abba (daddy) Father. Run up to Him, jump on His lap, rest your head on His chest and find rest for you soul!

"And he (Jesus) called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
(Matthew 18:2-4 ASV)

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: "
(Romans 8:14-16)

It does not matter if you preach in His name, or prophesy in His name, or cast out demons in His name, or do many mighty works in His name, if He never knew you. And how can He know you if you never give Him the time of day?

"Not everyone who says to Me, Lord! Lord! shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord! Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name, and through Your name throw out demons, and through Your name do many wonderful works? And then I will say to them I never knew you! Depart from Me..."
(Matthew 7:21-23a MKJV)

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. "
(John 17:3)

Faith comes by hearing.

How can you hear if you are not taking the time to listen?

Turn off the computer.

Turn off the phone.

Turn off the TV.

Turn off the Radio.

Shut the door.

Or, go for a walk.

Or, go for a drive...just you and Jesus.

NOTHING is more important to your walk with God than this.

NOTHING.

Not Church.

Not fellowship with other believers.

Not ministry.

Not working to support your family.

Take time for HIM.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Is Jesus your treasure?

Could a stranger tell this by how you spend your time?

"Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."
(Proverbs 3:9-10)

Normally this verse is quoted in regards to financial giving. I want you to look at it differently. Instead of giving of your first financial increase to the Lord, give of the first of your time.

Put time with God first. Now read verse ten as regards to the work of the Spirit of Grace in your life. Spend time with the Lord first, and your cup shall be running over with the new wine of the Spirit of God.

I love the words of a song by Third Day: "Who is this King of Glory, who pursues me with His love?" (Ps 24)

"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. "
(2 Chronicles 16:9a)

The Lord is searching for those whose hearts are perfect towards Him. The Jewish Publication Society Bible translates perfect as whole.

Is your heart wholly for God?

He is pursuing you with His love!

He wants to "show himself strong" on your behalf.

That is grace.

Is your heart perfect towards Him?

Please, please, please take time with God every day. (If you believe in tithing that would be 2.4 hours or 144 minutes every day. I only use this as an example, not to be legalistic.)

I will leave you with these verses.

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD."
(Lamentations 3:21-26)

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

And I will be found of you, saith the LORD:
(Jeremiah 29:11-14a)

"For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. "
(Isaiah 30:15-21 partial)

"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Incline your ear, and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. "
(Isaiah 55:1-3)

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah."
(Psalms 46:10-11)

Faith comes by hearing.

Note: This is the 5th post in a series on Grace that should be read in the following order:

1 Purpose of this Blog
2 Grace Defined - Part One
3 Grace Defined - Part Two
4 Grace operates through Faith - Faith Defined
5 Faith comes by hearing
6 Faith comes by hearing - Time alone with God
7 ...and hearing by the Word of God - Part One
8 ...and hearing by the Word of God - Part Two

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. "
(Romans 10:17)

Many like to quote this, "Faith comes by the word of God." However, that is not what it says. It says, "faith comes by hearing."

"You are splitting hairs", you say. If faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God, then faith comes by the word of God.

What you may fail to understand is that to many, the word of God, the Bible, is at best an historical document. They read it. They find knowledge. But they do not hear. Consider the following verses:

"And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them."
(Deuteronomy 5:1)


"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: "

(Deuteronomy 6:4)

"And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you."
(Deuteronomy 20:3-4)

"And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."
(Mark 12:29-30)

The first commandment is, "Hear, O Israel". Hear what? Matters of the Spirit. That which is on God's heart to share with you. Pay spiritual attention.

"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
(Matthew 11:15)

"Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
(Matthew 13:9)

"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
(Matthew 13:43)

"And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
(Mark 4:9)

"If any man have ears to hear, let him hear."
(Mark 4:23)

"If any man have ears to hear, let him hear."
(Mark 7:16)

"Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:"
(Matthew 13:13-14)

Why do they not hear? Because they hear the scripture spoken, or read the Bible (Torah at that time), but they DO NOT HEAR the Spirit of God.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
(Revelation 2:7)

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
(Revelation 2:11)

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
(Revelation 2:17)

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Revelation 2:29)

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Revelation 3:6)

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Revelation 3:13)

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
(Revelation 3:22)

God has something to say.....to you!

Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
(Isaiah 55:3)

Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spoke, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.
(Isaiah 65:12)

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
(Isaiah 30:21)

The night before His crucifiction, Jesus told His disciples:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. "
(John 14:26)

He shall teach you.

Who?

The Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Grace.

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; "
(Titus 2:11-12)

Faith comes by hearing.

Hearing what?

Wrong question.

Hearing whom?

The Holy Spirit of God Almighty, Creator of the Universe.

God wants to talk to.....me?

"For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: in sitting still and rest shall ye be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength; and ye would not. But ye said: 'No, for we will flee upon horses';"
(Isaiah 30:15-16a JPS)

Sorry Lord...too busy...gotta run...maybe I'll have time for you tommorrow.

"And therefore will the LORD wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have compassion upon you; for the LORD is a God of justice, happy are all they that wait for Him. "
(Isaiah 30:18 JPS)

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying: 'This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.' "
(Isaiah 30:21 JPS)

Yes, He wants to talk with you. He longs to spend time with you. He paitently waits to be gracious unto you. Make time to sit at the Master's feet and hear ye Him. He has so much He wants to share with you.

Faith comes by hearing.

When you hear the Spirit of God speak to your spirit, faith will be born in your heart.

Faith comes by hearing.

Hearing comes by the Word of God.

Jesus said,

"Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes on Me has everlasting life.

I am the Bread of life.

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and died.

This is the Bread which comes down from Heaven, so that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he shall live forever.

And truly the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

Then the Jews argued with one another, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? "
(John 6:47-52 MKJV)

Further clarification was needed:

"It is the Spirit that makes alive, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and are life. "
(John 6:63 MKJV)

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. "
(Romans 10:17)

Now comes the time for practical application.

You have homework.

Read the Gospel of John five times in a row.

Take a week or a month, but read the Gospel of John five times in a row.

Have a highlighter and a pen and some paper.

Each time you sit down to read, be by yourself or at least someplace quiet.

Before you start ask God to teach you by His Holy Spirit. Ask in Jesus name.

If you have not read it for a long time or perhaps have never read it, you may find it nothing more than an interesting account of the life of Jesus the first time through. That is not unusual.

Read it again.

By the third or fourth time through the book you will start to notice passages jumping out at you that you never much noticed the first few times through. Highlight them. Write them down to think about and meditate on later.

You are in the Word. You are starting to hear the Spirit of God teach you spiritual truth.

You are beginning to hear.

When the Lord blesses you with a passage, thank Him. He is sitting right next to you (spiritually speaking). He has been waiting a long time to show you these things.

As you end each time of reading, thank God for His word and what He has shown you.

He has so much more to share with you.

If you finish John five times before our next lesson, read Matthew, Mark and Luke.

"For the word of God is living, and active..."
(Hebrews 4:12a RV)

Grace operates through Faith - Faith Defined

Note: This is the 4th post in a series on Grace that should be read in the following order:

1 Purpose of this Blog
2 Grace Defined - Part One
3 Grace Defined - Part Two
4 Grace operates through Faith - Faith Defined
5 Faith comes by hearing
6 Faith comes by hearing - Time alone with God
7 ...and hearing by the Word of God - Part One
8 ...and hearing by the Word of God - Part Two

"For by grace are ye saved through faith..."
Eph 2:8a

"For we walk by faith, not by sight:"
2 Cor 5:7

There is so much to say about grace operating through faith. Indeed, most of this study is aimed at giving you the basic scriptural understanding of how to walk by faith that grace might operate in your daily lives that you might be "more than conquerors through him that loved us." (Rom 8:37b)

When most believers think of Faith, they think of Hebrews Chapter 11. I will not quote the whole chapter here, but recommend that you read it when you have a few minutes. For now I will just quote verses 1 and 6.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen...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. "
Heb 11:1,6

Here we see that Godly faith not only believes that God exists, but that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. If I believe that God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him, then I WILL DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM!

Are you diligently seeking him today?

If the weather man tells me that a large hurricane is heading towards my home town and I truly believe he is correct, I will board up my windows, pack up my family and get out of town. That is faith. Believing the weather man enough to heed his warning. If I do not have faith, then I will not take action based upon that information.

Well, you say, the weather man told you it was coming, so of course you would leave. But it is still by faith. I have not seen the storm yet. I only know what he has told me. If I think he is a liar, or that he never gets the weather right, then I will not go to the trouble to uproot my whole family to heed his warning.

I can tell you, my neighbor in this example, that the weather man said a bad hurricane is coming. You might think, "well I have no TV nor radio, so if Marc packs up his family and leaves, then I will know he really believes this guy. But if he stays home and does nothing different, then I know he is just playing a bad joke on me."

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? ... For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James 2:17-20, 26)

A living faith in God allows grace to have its saving and sanctifying work in our lives. People we are close to will KNOW we are different by our changed lives, habits, manner of speach, patience etc. They will recoginze our faith by the works that they see God's grace doing in our lives.

True faith does not cause us to do good works. It allows the Spirit of God to do His good works in us and through us. Remember Jesus said, " for without me ye can do nothing" (Jn 15:5b) and Paul wrote, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Phil 4:13) In John 1:12 we saw that it was to those that believed and received that were given POWER to become the sons of God. So we see that Faith is belief resulting in action.

I want to look at an instance in the life of Jesus that brings clarity to the understanding of faith.

"And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.

And he saith unto him, I will come and heal him.

And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.

For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

And when Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. "
(Matthew 8:5-10 ASV - emphisis mine)

Jesus marvelled at this soldier's faith. Somehow, this commander of 100 men got it. He understood the essence of faith so much so that Jesus said, "I have not found so great faith." What was it that the centurion understood?

He said, "I also am a man under authority." Please note two things of interest. This centurion answered to his captian (commander of 1,000 men) who answered to a general who answered to Ceasar. Because he was obedient to the chain of command, he could command his soldiers and servants and they would obey him. If he disobeyed his captain, then he would be stripped of rank and thrown in jail and he would no longer have the authority to tell anybody to do anything.

He also recognized that Jesus was "under authority".

"Then Jesus answered and said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do. For whatever things He does, these also the Son does likewise. "
(John 5:19 MKJV)

"I can do nothing of My own self. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father who has sent Me. "
(John 5:30 MKJV)

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? The Words that I speak to you I do not speak of Myself, but the Father who dwells in Me, He does the works. "
(John 14:10 MKJV)

So we see that the centurion understood that Jesus was in perfect submission to the Father. That He did nothing except the Father directed him. Jesus operated in perfect grace because He had perfect faith.

Because Jesus was completly under the Father's authority, he could command the demons, the sickness, the wind and the waves and they would obey Him.

Again, Jesus said, "I have not found so great faith."

Paul tells us in Romans 7:18 that in our flesh there dwells no good thing. How then can we have faith if we can not obey the Father as Jesus did?

For a better understanding let's look at Romans 6. We will spend much time here in a later lesson dealing with Grace giving us victory over our sin nature, but for now I just want to look at a few versus to better understand Faith.

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. "
(Romans 6:16-17 emphasis mine)

"You have obeyed from the heart."

And right there is the key to understanding Grace and Faith. To serve God acceptably, we must have Grace (Heb 10:28), the power of God, given to us by the Spirit of God to do the will of God. For Grace to operate, we must have Faith. That is, we must obey from our hearts.

So then, we can define Faith as follows:

Faith is believing God enough to obey Him from our hearts.

To come back to the beginning, Grace works through Faith. That is, when I believe God enough to obey Him from my heart, then the power of God, given to me by the Spirit of God, supernaturally enables me to do the will of God.

We will be spending much time on the practical application of this very real principle in the future as it relates to:

• Our growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (relationship)
• Dwelling in unity with the brethren (love)
  
• Getting victory over sin in our lives (holiness)
• Being prepared for the call of God upon our lives (sanctification)
• Walking in the work God has prepared for us (ministry)
• and much more...
  

Next we shall see how to obtain and grow in Faith. Until then...

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
(Hebrews 4:16)

"And what shall I more say? for the time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah; of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight armies of aliens. "
(Hebrews 11:32-34 ASV)

"Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:"
(Hebrews 12:28)

Interlude...Eph. 3:20...

Ok...now let me understand that last verse that was quoted in Grace Defined Part 2....

God is able to do what we ask or think. Cool....I can ask and think a lot of stuff....

God is able to do ALL that we ask or think. Wow...imagine that....hold on....

God is able to do ABOVE all that we ask or think....I have to think about that for a minute...

God is able to do ABUNDANTLY above all that we ask or think....oh my....abundantly....

God is able to do EXCEEDING abundantly above all that we ask or think.......

I have to meditate on this for a while....

.....wow.......

praise God......

that's heavy man.................

Let's see...what can I ask for.....?

I want to be more like Jesus...yea...that's it...

I want my wife to be more like Jesus......

I want my kids to be more like Jesus.....wait they are teenagers....Exceeding abundantly above all that I ask OR think...........ok Lord, so the teenager thing is not really a problem for you.......

wow.....................................



This interlude brought to you by Psalms Chapter One