Hearing the word of God is very important because the Bible says that faith comes by hearing the word of God, but if we constantly read God’s word and don’t apply or practice what we read or hear, we would just be wasting our time; the word of God would never work for us. If you read the word of God, God expects you to put it into practice – that’s the only way you can grow as a believer and make progress. In every profession or calling in life, the only way your training would be profitable to anybody is when you practice what you’ve been taught.

One of the graces God has given this ministry is teaching the word of God. If every member of All Christians Fellowship Mission [ACFM] practices the kind of teaching that we’ve gone through over the years, we would be a special group of people. But the problem is that people choose what they want to obey and what they reject. People choose the extent to which they will yield to God and the parts of their lives they would want God to touch. The attraction for good things and the quest for money/riches also distract people. As long as we live such lives, we bring God’s condemnation upon ourselves and will have nothing to show for serving God. When we look at the parable in Mark 4: 1 – 9, 14 – 20, we see different kinds of grounds/soil representing the different conditions of people’s hearts who hear God’s word; you see the word of God working in the lives of some and not in others.

Meanwhile, the church is crowded – flooded with all kinds of people, including those who are not genuinely interested in God but want to use Him to get what they want: “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life” [John 5: 39 – 40]. The most important thing to us should be fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives, living to please God and bringing honour and glory to Him, as well as putting smiles on the faces of others. As Christians, we should live our lives with eternity in view!

Presently, we have an increased number of Christians in our nation with little to no impact in society. How can we have the number of Christians we have and Nigeria is classified as, if not the most corrupt nation in the world? Where is the impact of believers in our nation? If we live by what the Bible teaches, the impact would be there – significantly reducing the evil in our land.

Now let’s look at the benefits we derive from doing God’s word:

1. We will be greatly blessed, “But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” [1: 25].

2. We will be prosperous and enjoy good success, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” [Joshua 1: 8]. The reason why we are to meditate on God’s word day and night, is to enable us do what is written therein and by doing that we will enjoy good success. When God prospers you, no sorrow is added, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” [Psalm 1: 1 – 3].

3. We will enjoy stability in unstable times, “… Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it wouldn’t collapse because it is built on bedrock…” (Matthew 7: 21 – 27). Anything that is done according to the teaching of the scriptures will stand the test of time. We ought to live our lives in the light of the word of God! Anything that God cannot give you in righteousness, refuse it! It is better for you to have little in righteousness, than to have plenty with evil because you will pay for it and end up in hell. “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” [Deuteronomy 30: 19 – 20].

As a church, a specific area that we should look into is the attendance of church services: “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of return is drawing near” [Hebrews 10: 24 – 25]. The closer we draw to God, the more fellowship and communion we have with Him, the stronger we are to face the challenges of life. If you find it difficult or feel cold about going to the house of God, something is wrong somewhere. If you don’t fortify your faith through fellowship with brethren, fasting and coming into the presence of God to worship Him, how will you make it? It is God’s priority that you are saved to serve, as well as born again to reproduce. We ought to take prayer and fasting, and attending church services very seriously because God is our life and length of days. In Him, we live and move. May God help us in Jesus’ name. Amen.

QUOTE:

“If you don’t fortify your faith through fellowship with brethren, fasting and coming into the presence of God to worship Him, how will you make it?”