The Power of the Word of God

Introduction

The Apostle Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Word of God is powerful. The Word of God is life changing! The Word of God has the power to shape, teach, equip, correct, and instruct each and every one of us. There is a reason I have a love for the Word of God and why I encourage each one of you and myself to get into the Word of God every day.

We are Blessed

Do you realize how incredibly blessed you are to have the Word of God, in English? That you have at least one printed copy of it (and if you do not let me know and we will get you one). Most likely you have more than one copy. A quick glance around my apartment I counted 12 physical copies of the English Bible. On top of them I have many digital ones with my Bible software. We are truly blessed that we have the Bible. If we want another copy we can just go to a Christian bookstore, or Wal-Mart, order it on Amazon, or even pick up a copy for one dollar at a dollar store (though the font might be pretty small). Do you understand how amazing that is? Sadly, because we have in our minds “always had them” that has lead to complacency. Dr. Woodrow Kroll who was president of Davis College when Pastor Ron was a student went on to do radio teaching on Back to the Bible. In a book he published in 2000 entitled Back to the Bible he writes these words:

Through the Bible, God revealed Himself to us through forty different people over a period of fifteen hundred years. If He did not intend for us to read what He said, why did He bother to do that? If He did not intend for us to know what was on His mind, why did He take so much care over the years to ensure that His Word was accurately translated and skillfully copied? If He only wanted us to make it the centerpiece of our coffee table, why did martyrs burn at the stake and Bible translators risk capture in the jungle to give people a copy of it?

For as long as the Bible has been around, there have been those who have tried to keep people from reading it. Dictators throughout the centuries have banned people from reading it and executed those who read it anyway. It has been more vociferously attacked than any other book in history. Generations of intellectuals have attempted to discredit it. The Chinese Communists have torn the Bible to shreds, and Chinese Christians have hidden the shreds away in secret nooks and crannies. Historically people have either loved the Bible, or hated it. It has either changed their lives, or made them so angry that they threw it across the room.

But what emperors and atheists have tried to do and failed, our own complacency may have succeeded in doing—stopped us from knowing what’s on God’s mind. Obviously, the Bible has had a deep impact on people. As the all-time bestselling book, more than any other, to be read and read regularly. But, as a growing body of evidence attests, the Bible is the best-loved, never-read book of all time. It has become the world’s most popular coffee-table book. Even if carried consistently to church, it is picked up from the coffee table only to be returned there by Sunday’s lunch.

As Dr. Kroll wrote “What emperors and atheists have tried to do and failed, our own complacency may have succeeded in doing—stopped us from knowing what’s on God’s mind.” Let me ask you this morning: Will you let complacency keep you from the Word of God in your lives in 2021? It is not a decision I can make for you, you have to make it yourself.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “God Breathed Words”

God Breathed Words. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The word for inspiration is a compound Greek word for God and Breath/Wind. God’s Word has power. He spoke the world into existence in Genesis 1:3 “Then God said...” Psalm 33:6-7, “For the word of the Lord is right, And all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” The Word of God has the power to create worlds and life! Think about the very words that God spoke created the sun, moon, and stars. The very words of God created the oceans, trees, and animals. Yet, what His God Breathed Words do to us are even more amazing.

David writes in Psalm 19: 7-11, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.”

Psalm 119 is all about the Word of God. Verses 9-16 read

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

Memorizing the Word of “Hiding it in your heart” Why do we do that, to keep us from sin!

Verses 105-106 read

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments.

The very first Psalm emphasizes the Word of God and meditating on it:

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

How can you meditate on the Word of God if you do not know the Word of God? Memorize the God breathed Scripture so that it is hidden in your heart.

Hebrews 4:12-13 “Living and Powerful”

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Does the Word of God impact your life? Have you ever read a verse or a passage of Scripture or been listening a sermon by me, Pastor Ron, or someone else and the Word of God just hits you? I assure it is not because of me or any other preacher…it is the Word itself and the Holy Spirit using it in your heart and life.

Living: The Word is alive! There is life!

Powerful: Effective, Active—It is able to affect change!

Sharper: It cuts. It can cut through nonsense!

Piercing: It penetrates. It goes right to the heart. It reaches right in

Discerner: It is able to judge correctly (because the Word is John)

The Word of God convicts humans of sin and know the motives and reasons why people do what they do.

Martin Luther “The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold on me.”

The writer of Hebrews refers to the Word of God a something that is sharper than a two-edge sword. The Apostle John describes Jesus’ voice like it in Revelation as well.

Revelation 19:11-16 “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

His Word also does not return empty.

Isaiah 55:6-11 “Does Not Return Empty”

Isaiah 55:6-11

Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Romans 10:14-15 “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’” (Isaiah 52:7; Nahum 1:15).

“Understanding Scripture in a language other than the heart language in which we think and experience emotion is "like trying to eat soup with a fork. You can get a little taste, but you cannot get nourished.” (Cameron Townsend)

“The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue. It needs no furlough and is never considered a foreigner.” (Cameron Townsend)

If the Word of God is not in the heart language, it is meaningless. It will not return empty or void as long as the people can understand.

Tell Story of Folopa with the book of Acts. Pastor Paul preaching in Acts 16. They were attentive until he switched to English/Tok Pisin.

The Word of God leads us to the God of the Word who IS THE WORD

The Apostle John begins his Gospel very much the same way Genesis begins (In the beginning…) John 1:1-5; 10-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word of God, Jesus Christ was the Word in human skin! The Logos (WORD) became flesh! The same One who had spoke the universe into existence, the same One who spoke to Moses from the burning bush, the same One who had given the Ten Commandments was here in human flesh.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:15-16).

The Word of God is a Tool in Spiritual Warfare

There is power in the spoken Word of God in our walk as a believer.

Paul in Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

The Koine Greek has two words for WORD (Logos—used in John 1), but the word for WORD here in Ephesians is the word ῥῆμα rhema, the spoken Word of God!

Chip Ingram in his book The Invisible War writes:

The Invisible War: What Every Believer Needs to Know about Satan, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare “Take the Sword of the Spirit”

Paul defines the Christian’s sword for us in Ephesians 6:17: it is the Word of God. Most times in New Testament Greek, word is a translation of logos. Not here. In this case, it’s a translation of rhema—the specific, spoken word (or words) given to us by the Spirit of God to do close, hand-to-hand combat with the lies and deceptions of the enemy. God applies his Word (rhema) by making the Word (logos) alive and active in our specific situations. It comes to us so we can take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. The difference between the logos and the rhema is the difference between a stockpile of weapons and a sword in a highly skilled hand. One is the invaluable arsenal; the other is a specific, well-timed deployment. The rhema is the sword of the Spirit.

The fact that the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit teaches us two important truths. The first is that we must be in a vital relationship with the Spirit of God in order for this weapon to be operative. The Spirit is “command central.” One rogue soldier wielding a sword independently of the rest of the battalion is not going to be very effective. Just the opposite, in fact; he will be, for all practical purposes, asking for immediate defeat. Though the armor and the weapons of God are very useful in your personal life, there is a bigger picture. Paul is writing to a church, not an individual. The agenda is God’s, and the strategy is to fit an overall mission. Your personal issues are important to God and likely fit with the larger mission, but he expects the sword to be more than personal. It is a tool of the kingdom. The degree to which your life is filled with the Spirit of God and fits with the kingdom of God is the degree to which your swordplay will be effective.

The second truth, which flows out of the first, is that this is not a weapon we may use any way we want to. It is made alive only by a power beyond ourselves. We are the ones who fight with it, but a stronger hand enables it. If we begin to depend on our own authority in using the Word and not the Authority behind the Word, we become like a power-abusing cop—in love with the immediate result rather than the higher agenda (see Luke 10:17–20 for a warning from Jesus about this tendency). All authority we have is imparted to us—given by grace. We are not the masters of demons; we are fully endowed ambassadors of the Master of all. With this in view, let’s look at how we are to practically use the sword of the Spirit in our battles with the enemy.

Jesus in Matthew 4 shows us the power of the spoken Word of God!

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’

and,

‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”

Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Jesus was showing us how to do spiritual warfare. The spoken WORD of God!

Chip in his same book writes, “He was quoting the logos of God, but he was battling with the rhema of God—the logos applied to his specific situation. When he was done, Satan departed.”

Do you know the Word of God? Are you getting into it, memorizing it, meditating on it, applying it to your life? How (with God’s help) can you battle spiritual warfare if you are not even equipping yourself? At some point we might do a more in-depth look at Ephesians 6, but start preparing now. You never know when the enemy attacks. He doesn’t give warning. Get into the Word and let the Word get into You.

Complacency

Sadly as began the message we see so much complacency with the Word of God in our nation and in our churches. We think we know enough. The Bible has become ho-hum. The Bible is boring. If that is your attitude it is time to wake-up. Look at the Bible with new eyes. Ask God to shake you from your complacency and apathy. Charles Spurgeon said “Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.” Does the Bible excite you anymore?

God's Smuggler 20. The Awakening Dragon

The secretary had told me that there was a Bible shop open in Shanghai. I found it: a small store on an out-of-the-way street, but open for business and well stocked with all sizes of Bibles. Anyone in Shanghai could buy Bibles—books that had to be smuggled into so much of Eastern Europe!

The manager spoke English and showed me around the store with pride.

I picked up a Bible from a table. To my surprise, I read in English that the book had been printed in Shanghai.

“Printed here?” I said.

“In China,” the manager said proudly, “we make everything ourselves.”

I had been in the store an hour, and not a single other person had come in. I asked about that.

“Not many customer,” he said sadly.

How many Bibles did he sell in a month?

“Not many.”

The government allowed this shop to sell its antiques because it represented no danger.

I considered my experiences trying to hand out Bibles in China. I had offered the first one to my interpreter in Canton. She handed it back; she had no time for reading. Thinking perhaps it was dangerous to be seen accepting a Bible, I tried leaving them behind “accidentally” in hotel rooms as I checked out. Before I got off the floor, the chambermaid would run after me, Bible in hand. “Please, belong you?”

I tried giving Bibles away on the street. My guides made no objection. Person after person stopped to see what I was offering, then handed the book back to me.

Now this store. “Not many customer.”

I left that open, well-stocked Bible shop more discouraged than at any time since I had been in China. Persecution is an enemy the Church has met and mastered many times. Indifference could be far more dangerous.

Conclusion

The Word of God is powerful! It is God breathed! It is sharp and pierces you! It does not return void/empty, but it also needs to be in the language of the hearers. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, Jesus Christ! It is our weapon in spiritual warfare. Yet, do the physical or digital versions we have just collect dust or sit on your coffee table as Dr. Kroll wrote? Dust them off, open the apps on your phone. Start reading, start memorizing, start studying, start meditating, start applying, start sharing, start living the WORD of God in this year and every year following. You might say: Pastor Corey, I don’t have time! If you don’t have time to spend 5-10 minutes with your Heavenly Father a day, you are too busy take something off your list. If you are only opening your Bible on Sunday mornings, you my friend are starving yourself. If you have a hard time reading, listen to the Scripture being read. Biblegateway.com has many audio Bibles. If the translation of the English Bible is hard to understand get something like an NIV or NLT. As I said at the beginning we are so blessed in the English language to have so many good translations of the Word of God. Get into the Word and let the Word get into you!