Living and Active

Introduction

Hebrews 4:11–13 ESV

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

I have seen on social media this morning, Facebook and Instagram and Twitter, a hashtag that has become popular in recent years - #newyearnewme.

We always seem to be hoping that the year before us is better than the year behind us.

Many of us want to be better than the person we were the year before. I want to weigh less or eat better or lift heavier or run farther or read more or sew a quilt or travel or whatever.

Those desires are good things.

I want to share some news with you that you might not like. It might be a new year, but it is the same you.

Now, you may have come to know Jesus in 2022, and say, “No, Connor, I am a new person!” I agree with you. Hallelujah.

And you might have made some changes from January of 2022 to January of 2023 that have caused a new you to enter a New Year as a different person.

You have the potential to be a new person. To make changes in your life. To follow the Lord to the fullest.

But, the tick of a clock from 11:59 to 12 didn’t make anyone different.

We live in a culture of instant everything. Microwave culture. Everything can be fixed or prepared in 2 minutes or less. Just pop it in the microwave.

I want to suggest something a little countercultural to you, BUT something that I think you already know. Real, lasting change is slow, and the way to growth is through the development of habits in your life.

Rick Warren // “You are the sum total of your habits.” Your habits will slowly and steadily build you into the person that God is calling you to be. Your lack of habits or continuing in bad habits will keep you as the same thing.

I believe the single greatest action that you can take to change your spiritual life is read the Bible every day.

CIT: Daily interaction with God’s Word is necessary for growth in our spiritual lives.

Explanation

Hebrews 4:11 “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

Why would I include V12 in this section. It doesn’t really have anything to do with V12-13. To understand what the writer of Hebrews is saying, we must look at the further context of this text?

Side Note: That is why we read the whole word. We want to see how the whole Bible connects.

You wouldn’t pick up a novel and turn to page 214 and read six sentences and say, “I get everything that paragraph was trying to say.”

Just as the Israelites found rest in obeying God, so original audience of the letter of Hebrews would find rest in hearing and obeying God’s words. Their wilfulness against the Lord caused them to wonder in the wilderness, while their obedience to God’s word allowed them to enter the promised land.

If we only read verses 12-13, we get a harsh view of the Word of God. Two-edged sword that pierces the soul and spirit. But when we read verse 11, we see that God’s word is a grace meant to give us rest.

The Word of God prompts us to know God and to want to know Him more. Thus, the word prompts us to obey God and look more like Him.

We read to obey, and we obey to flourish.

Spiritual flourishing happens when we take God’s word seriously.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Living and Active

Living

The Word of God - the Bible - is not just a book. It is God’s actual words to us.

I love to read, and there are many great books. But only the Bible is alive.

What does it mean that the Bible is alive?

Isaiah 55:11 “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

You don’t get to choose what God’s Word does to you. God’s Word ultimately accomplishes what it wants in you.

God’s Word isn’t ultimately about you, but rather, it’s about Him. He is the living God, and His living word accomplishes His will!

Active

The Bible is still at work today in our world!

People are saved as the word of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is proclaimed to the lost.

The Bible has grown unpopular in recent years as our culture has become more and more post Christian. People try to apologize for parts of the Bible.

The Bible and the prevailing culture of nations have clashed throughout the course of history an uncountable number of times. You know what is still standing? The word of God and the local church that proclaims it.

I have been to Rome. I have seen the rubble of the ancient empire. It died a slow and terrible death. But the Word of God is doing just fine.

The Word of God is active in your life.

When I was in the 9th grade, I brought home a C on my progress report in Biology.

That my mom was not happy is the understatement of the year.

My mom didn’t punish me outright. She didn’t take away my phone, Xbox, or friend hangout privileges. She let me have it verbally for the next six weeks.

“Get out your biology book.”

“Start studying.”

“Your grades better be better when your report card comes out.”

It was way worse than taking my XBox. I wish she had just punished me outright and gone on with it.

Needless to say, I didn’t have a C when my report card came home before Christmas. My mom was working on me. And you might say what she did was harsh, but I didn’t have a C, did I?

In the same way, the word of God works on us. When we read or hear God’s word, it changes us. The Holy Spirit begins to speak to us on account of God’s word.

Sharper than Any Two-Edged Sword, Piercing to the Division of Soul and of Spirit, of joints and of marrow,

You don’t physically encounter a two edged sword and stay the same.

If you arm or leg encounters a two edged sword, you just have to make do without an arm or a leg.

The Word of God is the same - we are changed by it as we encounter it. The writer of Hebrews is speaking of the pure, unyielding effectiveness of God’s Word.

What does it mean to divide the soul and spirit mean? The author of Hebrews gives us an illustration - the joints and the marrow discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

To divide joints and marrow, the cut must be precise and it must be deep.

The Word of God can read you better than you can read yourself.

The Word of God can reach places in your heart that nothing else can reach.

So let it! Read and let God’s word change in in ways that nothing else can.

Hebrews 4:13 “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

There is an eternal weight to how we respond to God’s word.

Everyone will give an account to the Lord, and ultimately their account with be based upon what they did with God’s word.

Invitation

Six days of reading. One day of rest and reflection. Posted online and in newsletter for you to read. Corporate reading together.

My invitation is very specific this morning. It is an invitation to grow in your spiritual life this year by committing to read the word in a year.

I don’t have the time. This reading plan shows on pages 17-18 the number of minutes it take to read the books of the Bible. I did the division - 19.6 minutes a day. That’s less time than a 30 minute show you stream on Netflix without the commercials.

I don’t think I am smart enough, and the Bible is confusing. How are you ever going to know it? The Holy Spirit makes clear the Bible for all who desire to read it.

To know Christ and to know him more through His word.