“¹⁰ Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of your life shall be many.

¹¹ I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths.” Proverbs 4:10-11

The ear is the organ of response, not our mind. Too often when we hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, we filter what we hear through our mind which is at enmity with God (Romans 8:7).  Instead of hearing and responding; we hear, we filter and then we do not understand.

“Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.” Matthew 13:13.

Sadly, it is many of the professed “Believers” who in fact do not believe.  The great miracles we hear about in the Word of God, the unbelieving Believers will too often attempt to prove to the world in the natural that the supernatural occurred; not the fact that the miracle happened but how the miracle happened.  They go about explaining in the flesh what natural causes resulted in the miracle to happen.  Never mind the fact that the Word of God says God performed the miracle.  If the Bible says the Red Sea parted, then the Red Sea parted. If the Bible says that 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes fed 5000 people, then that is exactly what happened.  Do not try to explain the miracles of God in the natural.  If such were able to be explained in the natural, they would not be miracles.

“¹⁶ But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Isaiah said, Lord, who has believed our report? ¹⁷ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:16-17

Many hear the Word of God, but do not believe…no matter their profession (sad but true). When they hear the Word of God, I’m speaking of Believers here; when they hear that Jesus Christ broke the power of sin in the Believers life (Romans 6:14) on Calvary’s Cross, they filter this through their carnal mind and do not understand.  Again, hearing they hear not and neither do they understand.  Instead of hearing and responding through faith in the power of God (which is the Cross of Christ [1 Cor. 1:18], Who He is and what He there did) that they are indeed dead to sin through the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, the professing Believer unknowingly resorts to the natural.  They turn to philosophies or methods of man that they understand with their carnal minds for the victory that only Jesus Christ can give for dominion over sin.

“Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:11

Simply stated, they do not believe themselves to be dead unto sin because the devil is in their ear telling them they will indeed die if they do not partake.  Instead of hearing and then responding to what the Bible says, they hear and respond to what the devil whispers.

The fact of the matter is, if satan has usurped the authority of Jesus Christ in the Believer’s life, it is not because the Lord has allowed such.  To be perfectly clear, the devil dethrones the authority of God in the Believer’s life only with the Believer’s consent.  The Holy Spirit will never force us to choose or respond to Him…it is our free will, our choice. Make no mistake, when we choose Him…when we choose to believe the atoning work of Jesus Christ broke the power of sin in our life, there is absolutely no demon in hell that can override, usurp or commandeer the authority of God in the believing Believer’s life.

“²⁰ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

²¹ I do not frustrate the Grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”  Galatians 2:20-21.

Hearing, have you heard? Believing, have you believed?  Do you understand? Righteousness does not come by the law…it comes by faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Prayerfully consider.

-Donna Clark Warren