Receiving the Word of God

Hebrews 4:11–13 (NKJV)

11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

12 For the word of God is living (active) 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.

13 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.

The Word of God is living and is powerful, and

I will not go in too much detail of the power of the Word of God, as we God’s people know that even if it is in a limited sense.

Eph 6:17 “17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;”

More than us the enemy (the devil) know the true extent of the power of God’s Word.

The devil knows that when the Word of God is spoken over our lives, it has the power to tranform, it has the power to give life, and it has the power to completely decimate his work and his plans over our lives.

So what can the devil do to make God’s word inactive or powerless in our life.

There is nothing he can do on God’s side (Given side, where the word is coming from), but there is so much he can do on our side.

The Parable of the sower

Matthew 13:3-23,

out of the four grounds that the seed was sown only one ground(the good ground) the good ground is what really brought to lighet the frutfull potential of the seed.

The seed is the Word of God, the Ground is our heart.

The devil can do nothing about the seed but he can do something about our heart.

The key of understanding is, this ground is not permanently fixed, it can be changed. We can begin with a good ground and end up thorny ground depending on how much we allow the enemy to work on our field.

We are all here today because we were a good ground when we received the Word of the gospel, we received it in a worthy manner from those from whom we heard it.

It all depends on the reception, how it is received.

The key is keeping our grounds good, so that whatever God sows in our field will produce haverst to God to its fullest potential.

Psalms 119:98 “98 You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me.”

May God make us wiser today than our enemy, lest we fall to his schemes.

So we have to be taught how to receive the Word of God inorder for it to produce fruit in our life

How to receive the Word of God

Faith

1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NKJV)

13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

The Word of God was transmitted to them through the mouth of Paul and those ministering with him.

Inorder for that word to be effective in the hearts of those who heard it.

They have to recognised the words spoken by Paul and others withim him, as the words of God and not the Words of Paul.

God has chosen to send out his life saving, life transforming powerful words through man.

Those who believe the words are not mere words of the preacher but the words of God will

1 Corinthians 1:21 (KJV 1900)

21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

The Bible which we call the Word of God, was written and transmitted by men.

The devil to make people despise, reject the written words has convinced them to see the word of God as mere words of uneducated men.

The devil to cause to despise, disregard word preached in this pulpit, he will make you believe it as just mere words of the preacher.

Jeremiah Example

Jeremiah 43:1–5 (NKJV)

1 Now it happened, when Jeremiah had stopped speaking to all the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent him to them, all these words,

2 that Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men spoke, saying to Jeremiah, “You speak falsely! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to dwell there.’

3 But Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon.”

4 So Johanan the son of Kareah, all the captains of the forces, and all the people would not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah.

5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to dwell in the land of Judah, from all nations where they had been driven—

They disobeyed the words of God spoken through the mouths of the pophet Jeremiah

Their justification was that God was not speaking through him but it was someone else words, it was the words of Jeremiah and Baruch.

The devil to cause to disobey the words spoken by the preacher, he will cause to beleive it is just mere words of the preacher.

Israel unbelief as an example

Hebrews 4:2 NKJV

2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

Why is it that they did not beleive the words which was spoken to them

They did not beleive it was the words of God, they believe it was the words of Moses and Aaron.

Korah rose up against Moses and Aaron, because they beleived that they were taking to much upon themsleves and exalting themsleves which was rooted in their belief that everthying they were doing, the words they were speaking to the people was from themselves and not from God.

Numbers 16:19–42 (NKJV)

19 And Korah gathered all the congregation against them at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation.

20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”

22 Then they fell on their faces, and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and You be angry with all the congregation?”

23 So the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

24 “Speak to the congregation, saying, ‘Get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.’ ”

25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.

26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men! Touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins.”

27 So they got away from around the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, their sons, and their little children.

28 And Moses said: “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will.

29 If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me.

30 But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.”

31 Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them,

32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods.

33 So they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.

34 Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!”

35 And a fire came out from the Lord and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering incense.

36 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

37 “Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for they are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away.

38 The censers of these men who sinned against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.”

39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned up had presented, and they were hammered out as a covering on the altar,

40 to be a memorial to the children of Israel that no outsider, who is not a descendant of Aaron, should come near to offer incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his companions, just as the Lord had said to him through Moses.

41 On the next day all the congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.”

42 Now it happened, when the congregation had gathered against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tabernacle of meeting; and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared.

Purity

Titus 1:15 NKJV

15 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.

The enemy inorder for us not to see the Word of God in its purity and receive it in its purity he will defile our minds and corrupt or minds so we may not believe the word that is preached.

Luke 11:44–45 NKJV

44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them.” 45 Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.”

When did the OWrd of God, the Word of truth become an insults to them.

Because the devil had corrupted their minds, they could not receive the word in purity.

If their mind was pure, They would have said, your are right Lord, and you rebuke and correct us because you care for our souls. Fo whom the Lord love he corrects and chastises every son whom he recieves

They did not beleive to God correcting them but rather man insulting them.

The contary happen

Mark 7:26–30 NKJV

26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

The prophet Amos

Amos 7:10–13 (NKJV)

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.

11 For thus Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, And Israel shall surely be led away captive From their own land.’ ”

12 Then Amaziah said to Amos: “Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, And there prophesy.

13 But never again prophesy at Bethel, For it is the king’s sanctuary, And it is the royal residence.”

ToAmaziah its was “his (AMOS) words” and not God’s Word, it was Amos conspiring against God and not God correcting Jeroboam and the people of ISrael.

The devil convince people to beleive that someone the preacher has designed a whole sermon to speak against them,

The preacher is out to get them , when in reality it is God warning them and speaking corection to them

We have to be careful that the devil does not through his cunningnes, corrupt our mind like he did to Eve.

Let receive the Words of God spoken in this pulpit with purity.

Reverence

Psalm 2:11 NKJV

11 Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling.

Psalm 119:120 NKJV

120 My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.

Jeremiah 5:22 NKJV

22 Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence, Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea, By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it? And though its waves toss to and fro, Yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.

Key verse

Isaiah 66:1–2 (NKJV)

1 Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?

2 For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the Lord. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.

though I have made all things and all men, I will not equally regard all.

“But on this one will i look” means “i will look with favor or i will esteem” the person who is poor “humble” contrite (broken) and trembles at my Word.

When The word of God is spoken, we must receive it with receive with reverence.

Familiarity with the Word of God can cause you to loose that sense of awe and reverence of the Word of God, that causes you to quickly respond to him in obedience.

Meekness

James 1:21 “21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

We have to be able to receive the Word of God in humility

2 Kings 5:9–14 (NKJV)

9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house.

10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.”

11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’

12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Naaman was furious at the command of Elisha for him to wash in river Jordan, because he was a highly steemed man, dignified and well respect because of his position.

He was upset that the prophet himself did not come to speak to him. Sometimes we get upset that God would send a messenger to speak to us instead of he himself speak to us., This is Pride.

He was told to go wash, as if he needed a bath, and not in any ordinary place but the river Jordan where the poor was themsleves after they deficate.

Yet the servants who did not have his reputation, hence pride they spoke some sense to him.

He had to swallow his pride and humbly accept the words of salvation

The lack of humilty can keep from doing what we know to be truly right.