Keep exercising your faith (2)

It’s not enough to simply listen to a sermon, you must try to hear what God is saying to you. You can hear something totally different from what the person sitting beside you in church hears. Why? Because God is personalizing the message to you. The Bible is called “the living Word” (see Hebrews 4:12) because certain scriptures suddenly come to life and take root within you. Sometimes you will hear what nobody else hears. You may even miss several of the sermon points and still come home with the answer you need. Paul wrote, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). When you can say, “I get it, it’s mine,” the faith that comes by hearing is doing its special work within you. Before Israel went into battle, the prophets would consult God to be sure He was leading them. That’s because God honours faith only when it’s based on what He promised. So what you should fight for is what God has promised! Remember, you can’t say God failed you if He didn’t promise it to you in the first place. And you shouldn’t get upset when your own misguided desires make you reach for what He gave to somebody else. The old-timers used to sing, “Every promise in the book is mine, every chapter, every verse, every line,” and that’s true inasmuch as God loves us all equally. But there are specific promises He wants to fulfill in your life because your calling is different from others. That’s why you must always seek God for clarity and confirmation.