LET GOD'S WORD ACTIVATE YOUR FAITH

(By: Rick Warren)

'Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word about Christ.' (Romans 10:17 NIV)

Most of us aren't confident or courageous. Most of us are flat out scared to death. We're afraid to take risks, afraid of failure, and afraid of dying. We're not walking confidently because we're not people of faith.

Do you want to be a person of faith? Faith is God's Word activated. The Bible says in Romans 10:17, 'Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word about Christ' (NIV).

If you've ever read a verse in the Bible and all of a sudden thought, 'I can do this! I can do this!' you've just had your faith activated by the Word of God. 

It's the difference between the Bible and self-help books. Self-help books often give you helpful insight. They can tell you the right thing to do, but they just don't give you the power to do it. Self-help books tell you that you should stop worrying or you should give up all your bad habits. Helpful, yes, but you don't have the power to keep the advice. Those books aren't alive. 

But God's Word not only tells you what to do; it gives you the power to do it. And it increases your faith as you do it.

When I read the thousands of promises in the Bible where God says he'll act on our behalf if we obey him in some manner, it gives me confidence. I know that if I do what God asks of me, he has promised a certain result. 

I was depressed for most of 1981. I had just moved to Southern California to start Saddleback the year before. I was exhausted emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. I felt like I had a cloud over my head that I just couldn't escape from.

I'll never forget some of the verses that really activated my faith, Exodus 23:29-30: 'But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.'

God had promised the Israelites the Promised Land. They were going to go across the Jordan River into Israel and take on some tribes that were already living there. They didn't think they could do it. They thought the goal was too big.

In Exodus 23:29-30, God is saying to the Israelites, 'You know these enemies? They're bigger than you. But I'm not going to give you the whole land in the first year. You're going to take it over a little bit at a time, one battle at a time. You're growing stronger. When you're strong enough to handle it all, you'll get it all.'

When I read those verses, it was like a promise coming directly to me. I realized I didn't have to accomplish it all in the first year. I'm going to spend the rest of my life serving Jesus Christ, and I'll do it on his timetable and at his pace.

That understanding gave me confidence to take on enormous goals. The Word activated my faith. God's Word can activate your faith, too.

Talk About It

• What do you want God to accomplish in your life? Do you believe that He will do it?

• What do you think God wants to accomplish in your life? Are you confident that He will give you what you need to carry it out?

• Which of God's promises are you claiming today?

Dear Reader - are you at peace with God? If not, you can be. Do you know what awaits you when you die? You can have the assurance from God that heaven will be your home, if you would like to be certain. You can even have that assurance RIGHT NOW! Either Jesus Christ died for your sins, or He didn't (He did!). Are you prepared to stand before God on the Judgment Day and tell Him that you didn't need the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross to have your sins forgiven and get in right-standing with God? We plead with you...please don't make such a tragic mistake. 

To get to know God, to be at peace with God, to have your sins forgiven, to make certain heaven will be your home for eternity, to make certain that you are in right-standing with God right now ... please click here to help you understand the importance of being reconciled to God. What you do about being reconciled to God will determine where you will spend eternity, precious one. Your decision to be reconciled to God is the most important decision you'll ever make in this life, because in Christ, it is impossible to put a value on the worth of your soul in light of eternity.

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Remember:  All that we do in this life comes back to our God-given purpose which is to serve and glorify God. The money and assets we accumulate, the fame and power we've attained or seek to attain - all of the things of this nature will one day pass away, but those lives of others we impact for Jesus Christ will last for eternity, and we will be rewarded for the part we helped play by impacting those lives ... for eternity. (Matthew 6:19-20 is our assurance)