The Weight of the Word

“Some sentences change everything.”

Pause—look around.

“You get a text that says, ‘We need to talk.’

A coach pulls you aside and says, ‘You’re starting Friday night.’

A friend says, ‘I don’t want to be friends anymore.’

A parent says, ‘I’m disappointed in you.’”

Let it sit.

“Those are just words—but you felt them, didn’t you?”

“Because words don’t just communicate information.

Words carry weight.”

Slow slightly.

“Some words hype you up.

Some words shut you down.

And some words stick with you way longer than they should.”

When I was a kid, I remember coming home from school, and being so upset that i had been picked on and laughed at. I remember feeling sooo defeated. I had Heard the saying, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” But this seemed so far from the truth, because those words hurt. Words were able to pierce into a part of my heart that no stick or rock would ever be able to reach. This didn’t just happen then, but continues today.

Some of you have experienced something similar in your life. A time when Words were like bombs that knocked you down, and you wondered if it was even worth getting up.

On those days, and there have definitely been more than one. The only thing that can lift me up, is the very same thing that knocked me down.

Words.

Words of Encouragement, Words of Affirmation, Words of Correction.

Make eye contact.

“Some of you walked in here tonight still carrying words that were said about you—or to you—years ago.”

“So here’s the question:

If our words can do that…

what happens when God speaks?”

“The Gospel of John goes all the way back to Creation:

Read slowly:

‘In the beginning was the Word…’

“John is saying: before there was TikTok… before there were schools… before there were parents, friends, or opinions…”

Pause.

“There was the Word.”

“So if words can shape our confidence, our fear, and our identity… then understanding who this Word is might be the most important thing we ever do.”

So that begs the question:

Who is the Word?

To answer this question, let’s go to someone who actually walked side-by-side with Jesus. One of Jesus’ closest friends, called the “one that Jesus Loved”, the Apostle John.

Look at John Chapter 1 starting in Vs. 1.

john 1:1-2

John 1:1–2 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.

So John Tells us a lot about the “Word” in just two verses.

We gather that The Word must be a person, because “He” was at the beginning.

So that must mean that this being. “The Word” that John says was there at the Beginning of everything, is extremely Powerful, because He was there with God at Creation!

That would be enough, but Not only is He Ultimately Powerful, but verse 3 shows us that “The Word” also has Ultimate “Authority”.

john 1:3

John 1:3 ESV

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

When you read this the first few times, it feels like we don’t need the second half, right?

He made everything, and nothing was made without him…

Seems a bit repetitive.

But this is important! In this statement, John wants us to see that “The Word” has authority over the Big and the Small things.

How?

When we read the first half of vs. 3, our brains go to Big things. Universal things!

Things like:

When the Heavens were made:

Psalm 33:6 “6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.”

Or when God created Light for us:

Genesis 1:3 “3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”

But these things can often feel distant, and even impersonal to us.

But don’t allow the Enemy to convince you that God doesn’t care about you or what you’re going through.

He made everything, and nothing was made without him

The “Word” is responsible for creating things bigger than we can possibly comprehend, and the things that seems small and Insignificant.

Well, if you’ve been paying attention, you’ve already figured out that i’m going to tell you that the “word” is Jesus. And you’re right, I am. But there’s so much more for us to see!

Where could i get that from these verses?

Well, we need to jump forward to Vs. 14.

john 1:14

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Vs. 14 is the movie trailer for the Gospel story. It’s the preview of how Jesus saves the world!

Vs. 14 shows us that the “Word” is in fact the Son of God Jesus Christ.

“Exalting Jesus in John” said it this way:

Exalting Jesus in John Who Is Jesus? (John 1:1–3)

God reveals his power and will through his word. There is no greater revelation of the character and nature of the Father than through the person of Jesus.

• Jesus reveals God’s mind.

• Jesus expresses God’s will.

• Jesus displays God’s perfections.

• Jesus exposes God’s heart. (Pink, John, 21)

Jesus is God

Then if Jesus is God, then:

Why did Jesus Come?

Different people have asked this question for different reasons, but mine is pretty simple.

Isn’t He to busy? Doesn’t He have more important things to do?

There had to be a more efficient way to handle this.

Think about your day to day life. With each year that passes, I find myself committed to more and more stuff. Being pulled in the directions of Pastoring, Parenting, being the Husband that I’m supposed to be, and so much more.

Knowing all of that, i can not even begin to imagine how many things the God of the Universe has on His plate.

I know that’s not how God’s “plate” is different than mine, but it’s the only way my mind can understand it.

It’s hard to understand.

Why would He come to this Dark, broken, hateful, divided place?

He’s too good for that. To clean for that. Too Holy to be in a dirty place like this.

The Answer is simple.

He did it For you. and He did it for me.

Verses 4-5 tell us that:

john 1:4-5

John 1:4–5 ESV

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Jesus provides us with Life, and He gives us Light to Live it.

Without Jesus, We are dead in our sin, and we aimlessly wander through this world in a state of hopelessness, anxiety, and depression.

Paul describes this Spiritual Death in Ephesians 2 when he talks about life before Jesus.

Ephesians 2:1-3

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

If this seems hard to understand; think about when you’ve attended a funeral.

We walk into the room, greet the family who are mourning over the separation that has taken place between them and the one they love, and then we walk to the front of the room and look into the coffin. In that coffin we see a shell. Though the body is still with us, the person—the part of that person that really makes her who she is, the part you can’t see—is no longer there. It’s gone. Her soul has been separated from her body, and all that remains is a decaying, worn-out husk with a bad makeup job.

In The Same way that Physical Death is the separation of the Soul from the Body.

Spiritual Death is the Separation of the Soul from God.

Jesus came to give us life!—to reconcile us with God, changing both our present condition and our future destination.

How do you receive spiritual life?

By placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ

When you do that; Jesus will reconcile you with his Father in Heaven, and you will no longer be separated from God. You will no longer be cut off as an enemy, but welcomed as a son or a daughter!

Your future is life forever in the Glorious Kingdom of God!

When you become a Christian, you become someone who:

Was dead in sin, but now has received life.

Was cut off from God but has now been reconciled.

Was a spiritual corpse, but now has the life of God flowing through Him or Her.

Was dead to God, but has now been made alive by and for Him.

Why did Jesus come?

He came to call people from Death to Life—to a living, vibrant relationship with God—through Faith in Him.

The gospel is the good news that you no longer have to wander about in the darkness and despair of sin, but you can enjoy the light of righteousness through Jesus Christ. John is not suggesting we need more religion. Jesus came into a very religious world—a world where the religious leaders had memorized lengthy portions of the Bible. Yet these men were in the darkness of sin. They stumbled about, attempting to please God through their own self-righteousness. Jesus offers light and life.

I love this last part:

“John ends this section with one of the most hope-filled statements in all of Scripture: ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’”

Pause.

“That word overcome doesn’t mean the darkness didn’t try. It means the darkness failed.”

Let that sit.

“Darkness threw everything it had at the Light.”

Slowly walk them through it:

“Darkness whispered lies in the wilderness.

Darkness stirred hatred in religious leaders.

Darkness twisted justice in a Roman courtroom.

Darkness raised a cross on a hill outside Jerusalem.”

Pause again.

“And for a moment, it looked like darkness had won.”

Lower voice.

“The Light was beaten.

The Light was mocked.

The Light was nailed to a cross.

And the Light went silent.”

Hold the silence for a beat.

“The sky went dark.

The earth shook.

A stone was rolled in place.

And hell thought, ‘That’s it.’”

Then shift.

“But here’s what John is telling us—

Darkness didn’t defeat the Light. Darkness ran out of ideas.”

Lift voice slightly.

“It had nothing left.”

No more lies.

No more accusations.

No more weapons.”

Then:

“Because on the third day… The Word spoke again.”

Let that line land.

“The same Word that said ‘Let there be light’ said, ‘Get up.’

The same Word that created life stepped out of the grave alive.”

Now bring it home personally.

“And that matters—because some of you walked in here today feeling surrounded by darkness.”

List it pastorally:

Shame

Sin

Anxiety

Depression

Hopelessness

Exhaustion

“You’ve been told you’re too far gone.

Too broken.

Too sinful.

Too late.”

Then the turn:

“But the Light is still shining.”

Firm, steady:

“And darkness still hasn’t figured out how to stop it.”

Final call:

“The Word became flesh.

The Light entered the darkness.

And the darkness did everything it could—

and then it ran out of ideas.”

Invitation:

So if you’re tired of wandering in the dark…

If you’re tired of being spiritually dead…

If you’re ready for life—real life—

The Light is here.

His name is Jesus

And the darkness has never beaten Him— not once.”