The Power of the Word of God (pt.1)

The following is an adaptation of the sermon I preached last week.

"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." Hebrews 4:12

Introduction

If you have a faith in God, I suspect that the reason your faith in God has been known is because you are a people of the book. What book is that? This book in my hand: the Bible. And this book is also known as the Word of God. This book is how God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. The book is also how God has chosen to reveal His redemptive plan for us, which is how He sent His own Son to the earth, to live as one of us, to experience life as we do, and to be killed on a cross, dying a sinner’s death, only to rise again so that we may have eternal life with God. But did you know that there are a lot of people who hate this book? There are many scholars and nay-sayers and just people in general that have spent their life trying to prove that the Bible is filled with mistakes and inaccuracies. They dedicate their life and their time trying to pick apart God’s Word so that they may justify their lifestyles.

Indeed, many people have spent their lifetime hammering on the Word of God. However, the Word of God is an anvil that has worn out many hammers. The Word of God still stands because God has ordained it so. The Word of God will not go away because God desires every tribe, tongue, and nation to know Him.

Not only is the Bible indeed God’s inerrant and infallible Holy Word, it also is His completely sufficient Holy World. When we have problems arise in our life, where do we turn? But I’m hear today to tell you that God desires us to turn to Him and we can find out about Him through reading the Holy Scriptures. God’s Word is completely sufficient to meet our needs because it is filled with power. In this passage of Scripture, the author of Hebrews describes the power of the Word of God. In what ways is the Word of God powerful? The Word of God is powerful in three different ways. It is powerful because it is real, because it penetrates our souls and because it judges our hearts.

The Word of God is powerful because it is real (v.12a)

Look at the beginning of verse 12. The author says, “For the Word of God is living and active.” The Bible is not dead. The Bible is not just a book. The Bible, what we call God’s Word, is alive and it is also active, despite people who try to claim that it just a book. This book is real in at least two ways.

a. It is really living

The Bible is really living. What does this mean? This means that when we read the Bible, we are reading the divinely-inspired words that God has given different men to write. And although different men wrote it, the Holy Spirit guided them to write it and they said exactly what the Spirit had in mind. The Bible was written in several genres partly because God knows that different people prefer different literary styles. Included in the Bible are works of history, prophecy, law, narrative, and even poetry. God has chosen to relate to us in a very broad spectrum so that we may marvel at his gloriousness.

Even though God chose to reveal Himself to us through a book that took that long to come into being, the Bible is seamless and timeless and fits together like a perfect puzzle. We believe that God’s Word is inerrant, meaning it is without error, which means that the intended meaning of what was written in the Bile is true and not false. Because the Bible is without error, it is sufficient to meet our every need. Every passage of Scripture is able to affect your life if you let it. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Word of God is suitable to meet our every need. The Word of God is real and it is living.

There is an animal out there in the wild world of animals called the opossum. They are very prevalent in this part of the country and you have probably seen one before. Most people also have heard of the expression, “playing possum.” Well this animal is where that expression comes from. When the animal smells fear it sinks to the ground while its eyes glaze over, bares its teeth, and lolls its tongue to the side, successfully simulating death. No amount of prodding, poking, or shaking will revive the animal from its catatonic state. Apparently the animal is incapable of any feeling, and does not flinch. Opossums create such a convincing portrayal of death, including a putrid odor, that dogs and other predators will abandon them for livelier prey, as most predators will not eat carrion. Some time later, the survivor regains consciousness and continues slowly on its way. Like the opossum, some people approach the Bible and see a dead old book.

However, also like the opossum, the Bible is not dead. It is really living. And unlike the opossum, the Bible is not playing dead. If you were to approach the Bible and prod it and pick it up and turn its pages you will see that it is more the alive. It has the power to change your life. The Bible can change our lives. There is power in this Bible because it is living. The words that are in this book are living and can help us if we apply them to our lives.

b. It is really active

Not only is the Word of God really living it is really active. Instead of using the word, “active”, another translation uses “powerful.” The Word of God is powerful. When we fill our mind with the Word of God we are coming into touch with God Himself. When we read Scripture, it has the power to convict us. This word used for active or powerful literally means “to work.” The Word of God is active and will work in your life if you let it do so.

I’ve spent the last three years of my life working with children at the YMCA. I liked working with children so much my wife and I decided to have one. Children are wonderful because they have attributes that a lot of grown-ups do not have. They are filled with youthful exuberance that is refreshing to be around. They also think that you are a pretty cool person because you are older then they are. I do realize that as they grow older that idea my fade. And they also are almost always laughing. However, one of the most interesting things about children is that they are very, very active. God has given them an incredible energy level. Oftentimes after I’ve spent a few hours playing with them, I come home and my legs ache, my back is sore, and I just have to rest for about an hour. Children are extremely active. Likewise, the Word of God is active. If we allow it to become a part of our lives, it will work in our lives. It will become active. In fact, the Bible is so active it can flat wear us out. Some people don’t believe in preaching through the Bible. I say to them, “why not?” In my lifetime I doubt I’ll ever preach through the entire Bible. We cannot exhaust the Bible. It is filled with gems to help us meet our needs but we have to mining for those gems. The Bible is powerful because it is active.

(The rest of the sermon will be posted tomorrow)