THE GIFT OF HIS WORD. Hebrews 4:12-13 December 13, 2015

Transcription

1 THE GIFT OF HIS WORD Hebrews 4:12-13 INTRODUCTION: Dr. Griffith Thomas says that all of the Bible deserves our careful consideration, our constant meditation and a complete application to our lives. The writer of Hebrews was concerned that we see the importance of the Word of God. The first four chapters deal with the supreme Word of God. When God speaks, whether through the written Word in the Bible, or in Jesus, the living Word, it is different from the words of man. In Hebrews 4:12-13, the inspired writer describes graphically the difference between His Word and all other words. All through this book the believer is exhorted to give attention to the Word of God. Israel did not pay close attention to the Word of God. They failed to believe God s Word and the consequences were unforgiving. Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The point of this passage is that the Word of God has come to man and is such that it cannot be disregarded. Israel heard God say that the Word which went out of his mouth would never be 1

2 ineffective; it would always do that which he designed it to do. Again the Word of God is our Friend. It discerns, exposes, critiques, convicts, convinces, judges, enables, etc. I. THE BIBLE IS A POWERFUL BOOK 12 A. It Is Alive living, quick, alive zoon-word where we get zoology. It means animate life. The Bible is alive and life giving. It is always working and quickening its message to the human heart. The Bible is not a dead book with meaningless promises; it is living and full of life to the heart of the believer. The written word of God introduces us to the living word of God. 2

3 1 Thessalonians 2:13 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 will not let a soul who hears it ignore God s promises. The Word of God is instinct with life. The Word of God is something that every man must face, it offers something he must accept or reject. Listen to Jesus on the Word of God: John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. Because the Bible is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), it partakes of the character of God Himself. Because God lives, the Word He has breathed is a living Word. 3

4 B. It Is Active powerful effective; it is one of the facts of history that wherever man has taken God s Word seriously, things happen. When people take God seriously they immediately realize that His Word is not only something to be studied, not only something to be read, not only something to be written about; it is something to be done. Our word for energize; it will energized a life, a church, a nation. It brings life where there is death. It brings activity where there has been inactivity. Word means productive. Psalms 19:7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart, When I learn Your righteous judgments. It does something to those who hear and heed it. It not only enlightens the mind, it also alters conduct. It s active in that the Word possesses the power to effect its own speech. It possesses an energizing power that renders it always effective in accomplishing its purpose. It will not return void but will accomplish God s purpose. 4

5 Isaiah 55:10-11 "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. II. THE BIBLE IS A PIERCING BOOK 12 A. It Is A Sharp Word sharper than any two-edged sword it cuts the heart of sinners with conviction. When Stephen preached the gospel in Acts 7, note: Acts 7:54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 5

6 You normally get mad or glad. The Word of God tests a man s earthly life and his spiritual existence. B. It s a Separating Word piercing to go through; the Word of God scrutinizes a man s desires and intentions. Deals with the emotional part and intellectual part of man. Both must be submitted to the scrutiny of God. As it penetrates it exposes our hearts, if we trust God, the Word enables our hearts to obey God and claim His promises. It is able to penetrate to the depths of the soul and spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Surgeon and the Word of God is His scalpel. He sees the hidden sin, declension of heart, our unbelief, our secrets, our waywardness, and yet this Surgeon loves you! Some believe Luke wrote Hebrews, remember, he was a Doctor, a surgeon. 6

7 III. THE BIBLE IS A PROBING BOOK 12 discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart critic; to judge, to sift, and to analyze. The Word of God probes into the inner recesses of our being and explores all our motives. God s Word illuminated the dark corners of my life. All disguises will be ripped off and only the real person will be seen. God knows us inside and out. The Bible is filled with diagnostic perception. IV. THE BIBLE IS PERSONAL 13 Speaks directly to you; the Bible will show me, me. The overall context is a picture of total exposure and utter defenselessness. In this passage we see the Word of God bringing us to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. We move from the written Word to the living Word; the personification of the Word. naked: 1. It s a picture of a wrestler using a choke hold on his opponents neck. In this position the 2 men were unavoidably face to face. 2. The other use was in regard to a criminal trial. A sharpened dagger would be bound to 7

8 the neck of the accused with the point just below the chin, so that he could not bow his head, but had to face the court. Both uses had to do with grave face-to-face situations. When an unbeliever comes under the scrutiny of God s Word, he will be unavoidably face-to-face with the perfect truth about God and about himself. God is one issue that no man can finally evade. There comes a time to every man when he has to meet that God from whose eyes nothing ever can be concealed. A physical knife stabs living people and they die. A spiritual knife stabs dead people and makes them alive. 8