Mensa Otabil - Faith By Hearing (10/27/2025)
Welcome to day number 24 of our 40 days of power. We are trusting God that as we wait on Him, He will come through for each one of us. This week, we’ve been talking about growing our faith. Faith needs to grow; it may start small, but it needs to grow through the Word of God and by acting on the Word of God. So we go to Acts chapter 14, verses 8 to 10.
And in Lystra, a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a man from his mother’s womb who had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, «Stand up straight on your feet!» And he leaped and walked.
Paul is preaching in a place called Lystra, and as he preached the Word of God, he observed a man in the audience. The Bible describes this man as someone who had been crippled or lame from his mother’s womb, meaning he was born that way, probably due to some childhood disease that crippled him. This man was in the audience. That’s the first thing the Bible says about him: he had been crippled from his mother’s womb and had never walked. He has no experience of walking, which puts him in a very bad situation. Fortunately, he is in a service, and Paul is preaching, paying attention to the Word of God.
Now I want you to look at three things this man did. The first is that he heard the preaching of the Word of God. Faith is not just man-made; faith is God-made. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith is not just being brave or courageous. Faith is not just rushing or acting impulsively; faith is receiving the Word of God as God’s Word. This man was taking in the Word of God, which is the primary way we receive faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God.
The second thing is that as he heard the Word of God, faith was generated in his heart. How do we know this? Paul saw it. Paul, who was preaching the Word of God, saw that this man was full of faith. And sometimes, faith, although it’s not physical, can be observed in our physical attention — the kind of attention people pay to the Word of God, the level of commitment they make to the Word of God. All of it shows this person is really soaking in the Word and has faith. Paul saw that this man had faith to be healed.
Now, anytime you share the Word of God on any subject, that Word of God is generating faith in you in that area of your life. So if you hear a Word of God on healing, you’re going to have faith to be healed. If you hear the Word of God on prosperity, you’re going to have faith to prosper. If you hear the Word of God on salvation, you have faith for salvation. The Word of God gives you faith to do what it says. So if God says, «I’m going to deliver you,» then you’re going to have faith for deliverance. The Word of God is the provider of faith.
Then Paul says to the man, «Rise up on your feet and stand.» Now, this is a man who has been crippled from his mother’s womb; he has never walked before. He hears this instruction. The Bible says he stood up. He acted on the Word of God, and that’s how faith is. It bypassed the man’s experience; it bypassed his history; it bypassed everything he had gone through. Instantly, in that one moment, something that had been considered impossible from the time he was born-something that had been impossible since his mother’s womb-was made possible.
I don’t know about you, but I believe God can do the same thing for you: that something long-standing in your life can change. And it doesn’t change because you were prayed for; it changes because you believe the Word of God and act on the Word of God.
Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, I give my full attention to Your Word. By faith, I act on Your Word, believing You for a miracle. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.
Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.