Hear To Believe by Pastor Wayne Fox (10/18/26)

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10 presses the hard question: who has really believed what they heard? Hearing is not just sound hitting the ears. Hearing means receiving the truth with a heart ready to do something with it. Plenty of people sit near the Word, claim a church name, or carry religious language, yet never truly obey the gospel.

Isaiah 48 calls out both Jacob and Israel, the carnal man and the man who has encountered God. God’s people can be religious without being yielded. God’s people can know what is right, attend church because it is right, and still fail to listen. The warning is plain: other voices get in the ears, and those voices can take precedence over what God has said.

Jesus stands in Isaiah as the First and the Last, the One whose hand laid the foundation of the earth and spread out the heavens. Christ did not work by magic. Christ spoke to waves, disease, demons, and broken bodies with the authority of the Creator. The heavens and earth stand at attention when He calls. Nothing in creation is outside His authority, and no need is too hard for Him to change in a heartbeat.

The healed leper shows the difference between being cleansed and being made whole. Nine received cleansing but went their own way. One returned, honored Christ, and followed through. Christ made that man whole. Obedience does not buy God’s power, but hearing Christ rightly carries a person beyond merely wanting relief into honoring the One who restores.

Isaiah 48 keeps saying, “Listen,” because peace like a river belongs to those who pay attention to God’s commands. Babylon pictures the carnal world with its greed, perversion, made-up gods, and brilliant voices that demand to be followed. The Chaldean spirit still tells people that intelligence, influence, and success must equal truth. God’s Word stands right in front of that noise and sets people free.

The Great Commission rises straight out of this call: Christ has all authority, and His people are sent to declare redemption to the ends of the earth. Hebrews warns against neglecting such a great salvation. Neglect means taking it lightly. God calls believers to hold Him in the mind “super abundantly,” trusting that He will perform what His Word says and boldly praying, witnessing, and laying hands on the sick.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Hear with intent to obey Faith is not passive agreement with religious facts. Hearing the gospel rightly means receiving Christ’s words with a heart prepared to act on them. A person may hear truth for years, yet a single moment of real hearing can open the door to salvation and change. [20:55]
• 2. Christ holds all creation’s authority Jesus calmed storms and healed disease because He is not merely a helper inside creation. He is the First and the Last, the Creator whose command brings heaven and earth to attention. Faith grows strong when Christ is seen as Lord over every force that looks impossible. [41:12]
• 3. Cleansing is not the end The one leper who returned received more than relief from a disease. Christ’s wholeness reaches beyond stopping the damage and restores what sin, sickness, and death have stolen. Gratitude and obedience keep the heart turned toward the One who makes people whole. [38:24]
• 4. Hold God super abundantly Neglect begins when salvation becomes familiar, casual, and lightly held. A mind filled with God’s promises produces courage to pray again after disappointment and to speak again after rejection. God’s Word calls believers to expect Him to perform what He has said. [1:04:24]
• 5. Leave Babylon’s counterfeit voices Babylon represents a world that invents gods, praises influence, and calls human wisdom final truth. The Chaldean spirit still pressures people to follow whatever sounds intelligent or powerful. God’s Word remains the truth that exposes false authority and leads people into freedom. [1:07:27]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [19:03] - God Is Awesome
• [19:59] - Hearing and Obeying the Gospel
• [24:03] - Voices Competing for the Heart
• [29:27] - Isaiah 48: Jacob and Israel
• [34:27] - Jesus, the First and the Last
• [36:12] - Cleansed and Made Whole
• [45:40] - What Fills the Ears
• [49:23] - Listen, Hear, and Receive the Spirit
• [56:19] - God Leads in the Way to Go
• [1:00:18] - Isaiah 48 and the Great Commission
• [1:01:44] - Holding God Super Abundantly
• [1:05:23] - Signs, Wonders, and Great Salvation
• [1:07:27] - Fleeing Babylon
• [1:09:54] - Jesus Is the Only Way
• [1:13:04] - Believing Leads to Action
• [1:15:54] - Prayer for Bold Witnesses

Bible Reading

Isaiah 48
“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together. “Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; he shall perform his purpose on Babylon, and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken and called him; I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way. Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there.” And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit. Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me.” Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it out to the ends of the earth; say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!” [29:27]

Romans 10:16-17
“But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” [20:18]

Hebrews 2:1-4
“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” [01:01:44]

Observation questions

1. In Romans 10:16–17, what connection is made between obeying the gospel, believing the report, and hearing the word of Christ? [20:42]
2. In Isaiah 48, what descriptions are given of the One who calls Himself “the First and the Last,” and what do those descriptions show about His authority? [34:27]
3. What repeated calls to listen or pay attention appear throughout Isaiah 48, and what result is connected with paying attention to God’s commands? [49:35]
4. According to Hebrews 2:1–4, what does it look like to neglect such a great salvation, and how did God bear witness to the message of salvation? [01:05:23]

Interpretation questions

1. Romans 10 speaks of people who hear the gospel but do not obey it. What is the difference between hearing words about Jesus and hearing with a heart ready to respond to Jesus? [01:13:13]
2. Isaiah 48 addresses both Jacob and Israel. How does this warning expose the difference between carrying a religious identity and living yielded to God?
3. If Christ is the Creator whose command brings creation to attention, how should that shape a believer’s view of problems that seem unchangeable, including sickness, fear, or broken relationships? [41:17]
4. Hebrews warns that people drift when they do not pay close attention. What kinds of ordinary habits or distractions can slowly cause a believer to treat salvation as familiar or casual? [01:02:20]

Application questions

1. What voices have been filling your ears lately—media, coworkers, fears, opinions, habits, or even religious voices? Which of those voices may be competing with the clear word of Christ? [45:48]
2. Is there an area where you know what God has said but have delayed acting on it? What would hearing with the intent to obey look like in one specific next step this week? [20:42]
3. The one leper returned to honor Jesus rather than simply enjoying the relief he received. Where have you seen God’s grace in your life, and how can you intentionally return to Him with gratitude and obedience? [38:24]
4. Hebrews calls believers to hold God in their minds “super abundantly.” What could help you keep God’s promises before you during a normal day—especially when disappointment, anxiety, or doubt shows up? [01:02:50]
5. Babylon pictures a world that treats intelligence, influence, success, or popular opinion as final truth. Where do you feel pressure to accept something simply because respected or powerful people say it? How can you test that message by God’s Word? [01:08:24]
6. Who is one person in your life who needs to hear about Jesus? What is one simple, honest way you could begin a conversation, share your testimony, or offer prayer this week? [01:16:43]
7. Is there a need in your life or someone else’s life that you have stopped bringing before Christ because you are discouraged? How can the group pray with faith and leave room for Christ to work in His power and timing? [01:04:24]