TO LISTEN, TO HEAR AND TO ACT

Romans 10:17, "So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself)".

     The woman was designed by God to receive, incubate and give back. Whatever you give to a woman, she will receive, multiply it and gives it back to you. She will never give you back what you gave her. If you give her a sperm, she will incubate/multiply it and give you a baby. If you give her a house, she will multiply it and give you a home; if you give her groceries, she multiplies and gives you a meal. If you give her frastrations, she multiplies them and gives you hell. This is the way she was designed. This is why Jesus calls the Church His womb-man [woman]. He gave her His Word/Sperm/Seed to incubate, multiply to obey it, and produce results. But, many believers are wearing spiritual contraceptives. Nothing comes out of the saints nowadays. Their aim is just to make it to heaven but not to produce fruit for the Kingdom.

     Therefore, unless you have faith, you can never be able to act upon the Word of the Lord Jesus. Until you trust Jesus, you can never be able to put your whole life into His Hands. Look, its stupid not to put your life into the Hands of the One who created you in the first place. The One who has your beginning and your end. Why do you read the Scriptures without the intentions of obeying what it says? 

     I was born and bread Catholic and for one, I never believed in being born again. The Lord Jesus had appeared to me at age 13. I was reciting the rosary one dark night. As I meditated on the suffering of Jesus and in a vision, I saw the Lord Jesus wearing the crown of thorns and He was bleeding profusely. I got so scared such that I could not go on with my prayers. I hid under the coverings of my bed and never revisited the vision throughout my growing life. Even with this vision, I never believed that we can be saved in this life. This is the danger of religion, you get to do so much; thats all you do but believe.

     Later in life and by assosiation, I began to attend Tuesday evening services at Christ is the Answer Ministries [CITAM], Valley Road. I began to read the Bible for my self. I could not get it. One specific year, I read the whole Bible but I was still defiant concerning being born again. I read Scripture with no intentions of obeying it. Until one day, Jesus had enough of me. He allowed me to get between a hard place and a stone, and I surrendered.

     Just like me, many follow Jesus with no intentions of obeying Him. Jesus asked the throng that followed Him, "Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not [practice] what I tell you? Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words [in order to heed their teaching] and does them, I will show you what he is like"... Luke 6:46-49. And He began to give them a parable, "For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words [in order to heed their teaching] and does them, I will show you what he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or founded on a rock. But he who merely hears and does not practice doing My words is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, against which the torrent burst, and immediately it collapsed and fell, and the breaking and ruin of that house was great".

     The foundation is Jesus Christ - the Word of God. There is no other foundation apart from Him. Not only to hear Him but also to obey Him to the letter. Apostle Paul said that we must be careful how we build... 1 Corinthians 3:10ff. Jesus told those who followed Him many things in parables - stories by way of illustration and comparison. But to His disciples, it was given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven... Matthew 13:1ff. Only to His disciples did He speak to plainly about His Kingdom. 

     So, what made Jesus' disciples different from the people? God does not volunteer information. God will only give you what you want to know. He will only show you what you desire to see. This is why many do not see the Kingdom of God because they do not want to. This is the purpose of the Parable, to hide it. God only responds to hunger. If you are really hungry, God will run to you. God is everywhere but He only reveals Himself to those who want to see Him.

     The desciples left their business, their fishing companies, wives, children and had attached themselves to the Lord. This made the Lord tell them everything plainly. The others followed the Lord for miracles, not the message. The foundation is Jesus Christ - the Word of God. There is no other foundation apart from Him. This is why the Church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself the chief Cornerstone... Ephesians 2:20, 21. The Church is not built on modern ideas but rather on the spiritual heritage given by the early apostles and prophets called the Scriptures. This Jesus is the Stone which was despised and rejected by the builders, but which has become the Head of the corner [the Cornerstone]... Acts 4:11. 

     Apostles lay foundations and each is given different blueprint, "Thus my ambition has been to preach the Gospel, not where Christ's name has already been known, lest I build on another man's foundation"... Romans 15:20. Isaiah said, "Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tested Stone, a precious Cornerstone of sure foundation; he who believes (trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone) will not be ashamed or give way or hasten away [in sudden panic]... Isaiah 28:16. Also Psalm 118:22; Matthew 21:42; Romans 9:33; I Peter 2:4-6.

     Be not only a listener of the Word of God but also a doer. Obedience is like a brick wall. Each obedience is stuck on top of each other. With time, a great wall is created to protect you from temptations and viles from the enemy.

     Maranatha!