What does the Word of God do in our lives? (Part One)

Introduction

We are talking about habits of grace and we have divided the spiritual disciplines into three categories. My wife was trying to write all these down a few weeks ago but I said them too fast; so here is my list of the spiritual gifts:

Hearing from God

Reading

Meditation

Memorization

Application

Speaking to God

Prayer

Solitude, rest, retreat

Fasting

Worship

Confession

Celebration

Singing

Thanksgiving

Meeting with God’s people

Serving

Edification

Corporate Worship

Preaching

Ordinances

We are starting with the category: Hearing from God which we do primarily through his word. The habits of grace are intended to place us in a position where God in his favor can reach into our lives and supply the needs we have. In a way, grace is God working in our lives, but he does this work through different means. As an introduction to our discussion on hearing from God in His word, I want to ask what does God’s word do for us. How does God work through His word in our lives? I have fourteen points but I will not spend a whole lot of time on each one. I believe if we are going to value the word of God in our lives, we need to know what God will use it in our lives to accomplish. Why is it necessary?

The Word of God produces faith in our hearts.

Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

According to Romans 3:10-11 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Lost mankind does not seek after God. Before our salvation, we are all so corrupted by sin that we do not truly want God on our own. That means that prior to salvation God must work a work of grace in our lives to draw us to Him. Jesus said John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” and Romans 2:3-4 “And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”

So while we are talking about the habits of grace it is important to know that before a person gets saved, God works a work of grace in their hearts to draw them to him. And it is God who produces faith in our hearts according to our verse by the word of God. So the tool God uses to work a work of grace in our lives is His word.

The Word of God regenerates us.

1 Peter 1:23 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”

What is the word that gives us rebirth? The text says it lives and abides forever. Could it be Jesus Christ? This word is said to endure forever. Peter follows up by quoting a passage which gives us a clearer picture about the nature of this word. Peter quotes from Isa 40:5-8 which introduces the topic with the phrase The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it… then continues with a command to Cry? What shall I cry? Afterward follows the message which Peter is referencing. It seems here that contextually, Isaiah and Peter are both referencing the message or words of God as found in scripture. To reinforce this Peter in vs 25 tells us “this is that word” and uses the word ρημα rhema instead of logos; thus moving the direction of the meaning away from the person of Christ. As well, Peter defines this word as the message of the gospel in vs 25. The use of the word living refers to the fact that this word gives life. This is a strong reason why the scriptures should be used in every gospel presentation. It is by the word of God that we are born again. The purpose of this quote is to reinforce the idea that the word of God endures forever.

James 1:18 “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Salvation is also a work of God by which he regenerates us or gives us new life. The concept of regeneration is seen in any of the passages in the bible that speak of being born again such as John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Why is this the case?

The word of God brings conviction of sin into a person’s heart.

The truths of the gospel are only known because of some level of knowledge of the word of God. You may not have heard a bible verse when you got saved, but you heard bible truths when you got saved. And the only reason anyone today knew to tell you those bible truths is because at some point they had read the word of God. The Gospel message itself is a word of God.

God works through the preaching of the word to bring us to faith in Him.

Salvation is itself a work of grace in our lives that is accomplished through the word of God.

Now if you are already saved which most of you are then you need these other works of grace in your life that come through the word of God.

The Word of God gives us assurance of salvation

1 John 5:13 “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

A knowledge of the word of God can bring us assurance of salvation even when we do not feel like we are saved. Even good men go through periods of doubt in their lives. Honestly John Wesley doubted his salvation until the day he died. But we do not have to live in doubt. In the same book just a couple chapters back John says 1 John 3:19-20 “And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.”

I know I am saved not because I feel like it, I know I’m saved not because I am perfect and never sin; I know I am saved because I believe what Jesus said in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

1. If you struggle today with doubting your salvation, the first answer I can give you is make sure you really are saved by going back to the scriptures and looking at how a person gets saved.

2. The second answer I can give you is to read the promises of God about your salvation and set your heart on those.

3. Read those gospel verses and preach the gospel to yourself. If God said it, He will do it.

The Word of God sanctifies or transforms us.

John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

After one is saved, we need to grow in Christ to become more like Jesus. It is not normal for a person to be born and then stay a baby all there life. Are you growing in your faith? The bible word used to describe this process by which we are separated from sin and to God. The process for becoming more like Christ in our lives is sanctification.

Jesus in His high priestly prayer prayed that we would be sanctified through thy truth. And notice it wasn’t just any truth: thy word is truth. God uses his word to transform us into the image of Christ. We have looked at the process of change in other messages:

Put off- the scriptures tell us what behaviors, thoughts and emotions are wrong before God. They tell us what to put off.

Put on- they also tell us what behaviors, thoughts and affections are right before God that we are to put on.

Renewing your mind- but we don’t have the ability to put on right behaviors, thinking and affections on our own. God has to do a work of grace by renewing our mind. Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

If you long to break loose from conformity to the world,If you long to be transformed and new from the inside out,If you long to be free from mere duty-driven Christianity and do what you love to do because what you love to do is what you ought to do,If you long to offer up your body as a living sacrifice so that your whole life becomes a spiritual act of worship and displays the worth of Christ above the worth of the world (Piper)

The Spirit does his work of grace in transforming us by the renewing of our minds through the washing of the word of God. Eph 5:26 “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,” This principle plays out in so many ways that it would be impossible for me to give you practical examples of how this works without neglecting some. If you have a struggle, let me show you some time how this principle is powerful to transform our lives.

The Word of God keeps us from error.

Matt 22:29 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”

These Pharisees responded wrongly to Jesus Christ because they did not know the scriptures. We easily slip into error when we haven’t immersed ourselves in the word of God. There is a lot we didn’t know or think about. But how is it that we can know truth from error?

God’s word declares it for us. Psalm 119:9 “BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.”

The Word of God enables us to grow spiritually

1 Peter 2:2 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”

Related to the idea that the word of God transform us is the idea that it causes us to grow. According to 1 Peter 2 it is the very food that we sustain our spiritual walk with God. We draw closer to Him through his word. And in 1 Peter 2:3 “If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” we desire His word when we have experienced that He is good. Do you desire more of God? Why is it that we struggle to do our devotions? Is it not because we did not desire God enough to make it a priority in our lives?

Do we skip meals consistently and expect to grow? There is no such thing as a godly, growing Christian who does not do their devotions ever; just like a child who does not eat will not, even can not continue to grow.

The Word of God gives us victory over temptation

Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee.”

Do you feel like you do not have the strength to overcome temptation? Spending time with Christ in His word can give you that strength. Remember the temptations of Jesus Christ in the wilderness. When Satan tempted Jesus, he quoted the bible to Satan. Why? Jesus did not need to be reminded of the scriptures nor was he really tempted to give in to the sin. Jesus set an example that the word of God can give us strength in the moment of temptation.

How does this work though? You say Jason, I read the bible all the time and I still fail when I’m tempted. I believe the verses in the moment are a reminder about how God views the situation. They also provide a motivation for rejecting the temptation; but I think the real strength of the word of God in temptation comes from having spent time delighting in God through His word. When you have been walking with God, you don’t want that temptation any more. It is as we have been walking with God in the mornings that we walk in His Spirit throughout the day that we will see victory over sin. I have found that God often gives us strength by changing our desires. Phil 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Psalm 37:4 “Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

The Word of God can bring joy.

Luke 11:28 “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

Delighting in God through his word and obedience bring joy in our lives. There are times in my life when my spiritual depression is the result of sin in my life. It could be as simple of a sin as selfishness or anger, or worry. But when these things crowd out my heart, I can’t seem to find the joy of the Lord.

Jer 15:16 “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.” God does not want us living a life of sadness and depression. That is not the image of a spiritual person though many a spiritual person has struggled in this area. As a believer, we can experience joy.

Isn’t there a joy in seeing the beauty of God.

Isn’t there a joy in seeing your life transformed through his word.

Isn’t there a joy in knowing that God is going to work all things together for good.

The Word of God can bring comfort.

Romans 15:4 “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

Related to joy is comfort. Comfort for those who sorrow or are in pain or who have grief can be found in God’s word.

How does God work a work of grace in your life through His word by bringing you comfort?

God’s Word reminds us of our future hope Eph 1:18 “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”

It is through His word that we fellowship with the God of hope Romans 15:13 “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

It is in the scriptures that we find purpose for our sufferings

It is in the scriptures that we find a pattern for dealing with our sufferings: Lament

Conclusion

This message is a two part message because I originally had 14 points and it was starting to get long. But my main premise has been this: The word of God is instrumental in causing us to experience God’s grace in our lives. The grace of saving faith, the grace of sanctification, the grace of assurance, the grace of protection, the grace of joy, the grace of comfort, the grace of victory are all experience through the word of God.

The real reason people do not have a consistent time with God in His word is that they do not truly see the value of it in their lives. If a relationship with Jesus through his word could do all these things for us, wouldn’t we value the scriptures?

Have you drifted off from the word? View this message as a wake up call to remind you why you need it.

Are you needing joy in your life? God can give you that joy by a relationship with Him through His word. Are you willing to fight for joy in your life?

Are you seeking comfort from other things? Do you not believe that God is able to truly satisfy the grief and pain that you are going though?

How about an important decision in your life? Have you gone to God in His word to find an answer?

Maybe you feel stuck in a habitual pattern of sin? God can deliver you and a part of that transformation is through His word.

Maybe you haven’t completely decided to place your faith in Jesus Christ today? If you honestly are seeking, look in his word. I have known people who doubted Christianity, they were not saved, but they determined to read through the books of John and Romans and they did get saved. God can work in your heart to save you.