TOPIC: BE PERSUADED BY GOD’S WORD
Bible Reading: Isaiah 59-61; 1 Thessalonians 4
“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.” – Hebrews 4:2 (KJV)
If there are any struggle believers have in walking with a God they can’t see, it is the fact that their minds aren’t fully persuaded about the truths found in scriptures. It is possible to hear the Word of God and only mentally assent to it without being persuaded to act upon it.
This is exactly what happened to the children of Israel after they left Egypt. They rejoiced and danced. They sang (Exodus 15:1). They were happy and excited at God’s great deliverance from Egypt but when they found themselves in the wilderness and were hungry, they started complaining and murmuring (Exodus 16:2-3).
They knew the power of God and His ability to save but weren’t persuaded about it. Rather than judging God faithful through the situation they complained and murmured. Despite all the amazing things that God did for the children of Israel, the Bible says in Psalm 78:32-33 (KJV) that, “For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble.” Their sin was that they refused to be persuaded concerning the Word of God. This is why our text says that the message or the Word didn’t profit them because they didn’t mix it with faith. It literally means they weren’t persuaded about what they heard.
It is not enough to just hear the Word of God; it is important to be persuaded about that Word. By persuasion, I am talking about tenaciously holding on to the Word regardless of any contradictory circumstance or evidence.
The way to build this kind of unswerving confidence in the Word of God is through constant meditation (i.e., pondering and deep thinking) in the Word. It is through meditation that the Word of God takes root in the core of your consciousness. Jesus taught in the parable of the sower that the seeds that fell on rocky ground (Mark 4:6) are the ones, “… which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.” Mark 4:16-17 (KJV).
Tribulation and persecution will always arise for the sake of the Word that you hear and this is why it is very important to allow the Word of God take root through meditation so that when the hard times come, you’ll emerge with testimonies and victories born from the Word of God.
Declare: I am what the Word of God says I am. I have what it says I have and I can do what it says that I can do in Jesus name.
Pastor Alfred Samuel