Faith Comes by Hearing

Friends, I’ve been hearing about all kinds of attacks going on against the Body of Christ. For instance, many believers are having trouble going to church; others are having trouble praying; still others are having trouble trusting people. And many are fighting "the attack of the fifty-foot emotion," where the devil stretches the emotions like a thin, tight elastic band, trying to make them snap under the pressures of life.

Now, the truth is, the devil doesn't have enough power to snap our emotions. The Bible says that "greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world" (First John 4:4). And Jesus said, "Behold, I give you power over ALL--not half, not three-quarters--over ALL the power of the enemy!" (Luke 10:19) Nevertheless, a lot of believers break down under the pressure, storms, strife, and offenses that are flying around the Body of Christ.

We need to stay out of all that mess. Attacks are designed to get us off track so we'll wander out of God's will and into the devil's territory. And the only reason the devil is ever successful is that he finds something in us to use as leverage, which he uses to try to defeat and throw us aside.

You may say, I'm tired of fighting this good fight of faith." Hang on, friend, hang on. There are things you can do to strengthen yourself.

First, DON'T STOP PRAYING IN TONGUES as you go about your daily business. As you do so, you are praying God's perfect will for your life and everything that Christ is in you and has for you. Second, SPEND MUCH TIME IN PRIVATE WORSHIP. God is calling you into His Presence; for that is the only place you will find fullness of joy--His joy--which will be your strength. And, finally, LEARN THE PROCESS OF ASSIMILATION that causes the meditation of His Word.

Entering into times of assimilating the Word of God fills and occupies your mind with what God is saying instead of what the devil is saying and doing. Give your mind over to the truth that helps you defeat the enemy; focus on bathing your mind in God's Word and let His Word fortify your emotions with His strength.

But remember this: Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God--NOT by your preconceived ideas of what the World says. Faith doesn't come through your victories, nor does it come through your defeats. It only comes one way: BY HEARING, AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD. Trust me when I say that I wouldn't hesitate to fill up my mind with the Bible. I wouldn't wait one second!

The truth is, one of the greatest things you can ever do is to assist the Holy Spirit, your Teacher, in assimilation--by offering your soul on the altar of God's Word. When you learn to offer your soul on the altar of God's Word for assimilation, your soul will work for you instead of against you, and a "day-and-night" kind of meditation will begin to take place that will astound you. People will begin to ask you, "How did you learn the things you know about the Word?"

To this end, I recommend that you start by reading the book of First John fifty times. If you will read this little book once a day, it will only take you fifty days to accomplish your goal. Then one day you'll glorify God that the truths of First John are the thoughts that are planted in your mind instead of the ones the devil is trying to put there!

I want to stress this point one more time: YOU CAN STRENGTHEN YOURSELF AND MAINTAIN YOUR VICTORY OVER A DEFEATED DEVIL BY PRAYING IN TONGUES, SPENDING TIME IN PRIVATE WORSHIP, AND FILLING YOUR MIND WITH GOD'S WORD. So don't wait on anyone else to begin his preparation, and don't wait to understand all the reasons why YOU should do it. Just begin by reading the book of First John fifty times. This is the way you prepare yourself for assimilation.