A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Bob Gass Ministries)
Scripture for the Day (March 29, 2017)
For indeed we have had the good news [of salvation] preached to us, just as the Israelites also [when the good news of the promised land came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not united with faith [in God] by those who heard. (Hebrews 4:2, Amplified)
In order for cement to become concrete, it must be mixed with sand and water. If you don’t get the mix right, the cement will never become concrete. And just as your body needs good nutrition each day, your soul needs to be fed on God’s Word.
But you can’t stop there! You must act on what you hear and read. Faith is acting like God is telling the truth. If you don’t act on God’s Word, it won’t do you any good.
“The message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not mixed with faith (with the leaning of the entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) by those who heard it.”
To get the results God’s Word promises, note what you must “mix” in: “Confidence in his power, wisdom, and goodness.”
Why do you go to church and sit down on a pew? Because you are confident that the pew will hold your weight. The reverse is also true. You may say you believe the pew can hold your weight, but if you never sit down on it, you’re not exercising faith—because you’re not acting on what you say you believe.
What does it mean to “act” in faith? (1) To agree with God’s Word and refuse to say anything that contradicts it. (2) To wait patiently, allowing God to fulfill His Word in His own way and on His own schedule. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for” (Heb 11:1). Note the word “substance.” Your faith must be based on something substantial—and that “something” is the tried, proven, unfailing truth of God’s Word.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. (James 1:25)
