MIXING THE
WORD WITH FAITH
from The
Prophet
"For
unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached
did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."
Of course,
we must link this passage to what has become the "Golden Text" for
this assembly. That passage is found in John 8:30 -31.
"As he spake these
words, many believed on him. Then Jesus
said to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are
ye my disciples, indeed."
I have been
saying for many years now that Jesus did not take a head count of those who
believed as many churches do today. We
are told that "many" believed.
How many constitute "many" I do not know but I imagine the
number was considerable. I just noticed
that Jesus didn't even ask if anyone did
believe. He simply knew they did.
According to
this example, believing is a start but Jesus placed a low premium on that
act. There are many who believe on Jesus
but not many who continue in his word.
In the great invitation given by Jesus recorded in Matthew 28:11we find
the phrase, "and learn of me."
Meeting Jesus is one thing, continuing in his word and knowing him is
another matter altogether.
I meet too
many so-called disciples of Jesus who check in only once in a while. Seeing as how the early church met on the
first day of the week, I would say that a professing Christian should attend
service once a week, minimum. If the
local assembly conducts a mid-week bible class, as most do, that time slot
should be reserved by those claiming membership in the body of Christ. True
salvation brings with it a desire to hear the word of God. God gives the believer "ears to
hear." he then states in his word
again and again, "let him hear."
With the
scripture in John 8 is one of the most underrated promises in the entire bible.
"And ye shall know
the truth and the truth shall make you free."
Free from what?
Free from
the spirit of error! A guarantee of
knowing the truth is given to those who continue in God's word. And that includes the truth about everything, not just what is in the word. What a blessed promise!
But just
what does it mean to continue in the word?
Well, first of all it means to make a lifetime habit of being in
attendance whenever the word is being dispensed by a true preacher called of
God. Your preacher should be so sure of the truth that he/she is preaching, that you should be able to question them and receive straight answers. But one can be in attendance and
still miss the objective of the message being preached. That is the warning issued in Hebrews;
"Let us therefore
fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should
seem to come short of it." (Heb 4:1)
God did the
unimaginable in Israel Canaan on the shelf for over 400 years, he
removed it. How did they "come
short" of the promise? Was it
because the promise was not preached unto them?
No! The text in Hebrews 4:2
confirms that the promise was preached to them.
As I have pointed out in previous messages, Israel Canaan in view. They failed to take personally the fact that
there really were houses that they would not have to build and vineyards that
they would not have to plant. Evidence
of the indictment is found in their continual murmuring and complaining. Had they taken a firm grip on the promises of
God there would have been no reason for griping and complaining.
Of course,
we cannot limit this scenario to Israel Israel
"Now all these
things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."
(I Corinthians 10:11)
Now allow me
to admonish you. Continuing in God's
word is much more than just showing up for church. It's more than taking notes and buying
CDs. It involves hearing what the Spirit
is saying, hiding that word in your heart and personally claiming the promise
as you're very own. If we take that
posture, this world should become dim to us.
The words of an old song go through my mind here:
Turn
your eyes upon Jesus; look full in his wonderful face;
And
the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In
the light of his glory and grace.
If heaven
and all of the wondrous things associated with it are really in your view, the
inconveniences of the wilderness will not matter. If the promises of God are the focal point,
you will come to every service and sing unto the Lord as if it is your last
opportunity. You will give to God with a
different attitude knowing that this world is nothing and that a piece of paper,
inflated, and almost worthless, cannot cannot compare with the riches of heaven. You will also be more responsive to your
brother in true Christian love, realizing you need one another to make it
through down here.
Before I
close I want to point out one more passage in the Old Testament that sort of
puts the icing on the cake and crystallizes what I have been trying to say in
this edition. Turn to Zechariah chapter
one.
"Be ye not as your
fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD
of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they
did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD."
God cites
them for evil ways and evil doings. What
were they? They did not hear the word of
the Lord and if and when they did
hear, they did not hearken by mixing the
word with faith.
To
read more current revelations from Pastor Steve, check out his book published
September of 2017 on Amazon.com. It
gives crucial revelations about the rapture, strong delusion and the Lie.
https://smile.amazon.com/Gods-Final-Secret-Stephen-Benton/dp/1976338476/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509271792&sr=1-1&keywords=god%27s+final+secret+by+stephen+benton
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