Am I Profiting?

Heb 4:2
For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the Word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

As I was reading the Word this morning this verse really stuck out to me for some reason. I began to think and meditate on it to see what the Lord would have me get out of this verse. From all my meditation I just feel like I got a really simple word of " Am I profiting?"

I believe this is a question that everyone must ask themselves from time to time. Am I profiting from the Word that I am hearing?

This passage is obviously showing two different possible outcomes of the same situation. One being a people who have profited from the Word and the other being a people who haven't. Both groups have received the same Word and had the same opportunity to accurately handle it and yet one handles it correctly and the other doesn't. Now before we examine these two groups of people we must first settle on what it actually means to "profit".

To profit means "an advantageous gain or return; benefit". From this definition we see that the Word of God can gain me an advantage and can benefit me. After seeing this I wanted to find out what the word benefit meant and learned that it means, "something that promotes or enhances well-being". So how does the Word benefit me; by promoting and enhancing my well being. To enhance means "to make greater, as in value, beauty or effectiveness." So this means that when the Word of God profits me, it

benefits me by promoting and making my well being greater, more valuable, more beautiful,and more effective!

Wow! I know I just gave you a lot but we needed to see How awesome God is. He has given us a Word that can literally increase or profit us in every way. Who doesn't want their well being (a state of health, happiness and prosperity) to be great, valuable, beautiful and effective? I wonder if this were the state of the majority of people, what would happen to depression? Where would the suicide rate be? How many marriages would still be together? You see God desires for our well being to be great, valuable, beautiful and effective! He desires us to profit from His Word, obtaining salvation and health for our well-being, but sadly this is not the case for some or maybe even most. Let's go back to the passage.

The passage says both groups of people heard the Word but it only profited one group. The group that mixed it with faith. So both people had the opportunity for the Word to make their well being greater through Christ , but only one group exercised that opportunity. They both had the opportunity to increase in value but only one group took it. How did the second group make the Word profit them? By mixing it with their faith. Meaning their faith and the Word of God assimilated into one. They unified, there was no doubt, no reasoning, they received the Word and they believed...period!

So when you hear the Word of God, what are you mixing it with? Are you mixing it with doubt? Are you mixing it with reasonings and justifications? Fear? Passiveness? Indifference? Think about it! None of these things will profit you! If you mix the Word with anything other than faith you will gain absolutely no value from it!

So the question remains; would you rather your welfare be effective or ineffective? Would you rather it be beautiful or ugly? Would you rather it be valuable of worthless? And would you rather it be great or insignificant?

We must be like the second group of people mentioned in this passage. We must refuse to hear the Word of God and not allow it to completely transform and better our inner person every time. We must unite God's Word with faith and rebuke doubt and reasoning! And most importantly we must grasp the effective power of the Word and begin to share it with others. You see we have the only thing in this world that can truly change the well being of another person. Through the Word of God we have the power to give value, beauty and greatness and effectiveness to the human soul. The Word of God is power and the world needs it!!!! AMEN.

My prayer:
Dear God, would you help me to grasp the power that lies in Your Word. God, first I pray for me. That I would would approach your Word with faith on a daily basis. I know doubt hinders everything, so my prayer is that I would cast it aside and trust and believe in Your word and it only. I thank you that you care for my well being. That you desire to enhance it and make it valuable, beautiful, great and effective. You see me and You care. Now God, help me to share your Word in faith , knowing and believing the power it has to heal the inner man. Give me boldness and confidence that it will do what you said it will do. I love You God...Thank You Jesus and AMEN.