Hear, Believe, and Act

By Craig W. Hagin

The fourteenth chapter of the Book of Acts records the story of a crippled man whose destiny was changed after he came in contact with the Apostle Paul. This man had been lame from birth and had never walked a day in his life. But after hearing Paul preach the message of Christ, he was healed of a lifelong infirmity. By examining how this man was healed, we can learn simple steps we can take to receive healing for ourselves.

ACTS 14:7–10
7 And there they [Paul and Barnabas] preached the gospel.
8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet,
being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked:
9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and
perceiving that he had faith to be healed,
10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he
leaped and walked.

From these verses, we can see that both Paul and the crippled man did three things before this healing took place.

First
Paul preached the Gospel. He didn’t preach his opinion or his politics or give a motivational speech. His message was simple: Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:1–2).

Although Paul experienced a lot of persecution for the Gospel’s sake, he did not allow persecution to stop him from preaching that Gospel. In Acts chapter 13, we see that Paul and Barnabas were expelled from Antioch in Pisidia for preaching Christ. Instead of quitting, they just shook the dust off their feet and travelled to Iconium (Acts 13:51), and then to Lystra and Derbe (Acts 14:6), where Paul continued to preach the Word of God boldly.

Second
As Paul ministered the Word, he perceived that the crippled man had faith to be healed (Acts 14:9). This indicates that Paul was probably well into his message when he saw a change in the man’s face.

You may have had a similar experience. Have you ever tried to explain something to someone, and you could tell that the other person just wasn’t getting it? But you kept talking until it seemed as if a light bulb turned on inside him. You knew the moment he understood what you were saying.

It appears that this is what happened to Paul; he could tell when the lame man had faith to be healed.

Third
Paul commanded the man to get up and walk. He encouraged the man to act on his faith.

These three steps were Paul’s part to play in the man’s miracle. However, the crippled man was not healed on Paul’s faith alone. He also had a part in receiving his miracle. And if he hadn’t done his part, he would not have been healed.

What three things did the crippled man do?
First
He had to hear the Gospel message being preached. Romans 10:17 says that “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” If we don’t know what God’s Word says about healing, then we can’t have faith that God will heal us.
Second
After the crippled man heard the Word proclaimed, the Scriptures tell us that he had faith to be healed (Acts 14:9). We all have free wills, and we can accept or reject the things we hear. This man chose to believe the words of Paul and accept the message of the Cross. If he had rejected Paul’s words, he would have remained a cripple.
Third
The crippled man had to act on what Paul said. Hearing the Word preached was not enough to get the crippled man walking. Neither was having faith to be healed. Many people have faith, but they are not healed because they don’t act on their faith.

When Paul said to the crippled man, “Stand upright on thy feet,” the man could have said, “I can’t. I’ve been lame since birth.” But he didn’t do that. Although there was no way in the natural for him to stand on his feet, he immediately “leaped and walked” on Paul’s command. Only when he took the initiative and acted on Paul’s command did the healing power of God go into his limbs and strengthen his lifeless legs.

The healing of the crippled man at Lystra outlines three simple steps we can take to receive healing: hear, believe, and act. When we dare to act on the Word of God that we have heard and believed, the seemingly impossible will suddenly become possible! And like the crippled man at Lystra, we will rise and walk!

Faith Is Now

Receiving anything from God is about being in faith. And faith is “now.” In other words, it’s present tense. Long before anything has perceptibly changed, faith counts it done. Faith says, "I have it now."

Hope, on the other hand, is future tense. And unfortunately, many people think they’re in faith when they’re really in hope. They expect to see their prayers answered in the future. Hope says, "I will have it someday."

How do you move from hope to faith? It’s simple: “. . . faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17 NKJV). Take time to read and meditate on scriptures that pertain to your need. Listen to recordings of quality ministers preaching on that subject. Keep doing this until you can say, "I have it now."