“Hearing”


BIBLE READING: Romans 10                              
               Have you ever heard a song on the radio that you just couldn’t stand?  Has it activated the very depths of your being that whenever that song comes on, you just can’t reach the dial to change the radio station fast enough?  Sure you have.  I bet we all have.  Have you ever had a song that you just couldn’t bear to hear and that you developed a hatred for, begin to change and to “grow on you”?  Before you know it, you’re listening to it more frequently, and even, dare I say, beginning to like it?  It may be “Happy” by Pharrell, or “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey, or (if you have a child from 7-14 years old right now) “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus.  Regardless, of what it may be, why does something like that seem to “grow on us” and change our opinion of it?  The answer is because we heard it more and more and more.  The more we heard it, the more the psychology of our brain changed, and began to enjoy it.
               When Paul states in Romans 10:17, that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, we know that the more we are introduced to God’s word, and hear the teachings that are found in it, the psychology of our brains change, and we become more “in tune” with God’s will and what He tells us.  We find a deeper faith by hearing more from His word every day.  How about those around us every day that don’t have a relationship with God?  They may refuse, or not want to hear about God at all.  But what if … just what if, it was presented more than just once.  What if they heard some of God’s message a little bit every day so that it “grows on them”?  In Romans 10:15, Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7 and Nahum 1:15 by saying, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!”  Sure, that person, or people, you are thinking about right now, that have rejected God in the past, may not have liked what they heard, but what if they heard it a little more from you?  “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  Let’s have the confidence to help them “hear” a little more of God’s word from us to help them develop faith.


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