This morning about the Word of God.
That'll be a help to us this morning if we let it.
I want to preach to you about the power of God's Word, the
power of God's Word. Let's pray and we'll get into a
little bit more of the message. Father, again, we thank you so
much for your goodness. May this message be a help to
us. God, may you help us to
understand the value of Your Word.
God, may you help us to allow it to change our lives.
Thank you again for all you do for us in Jesus name, Amen.
Turn over to Hebrews chapter 4. The first thing that I want you
to see about God's word, and we're going to come back to
Psalm 1:30. If you haven't already turned
away from there, keep a finger in it because we're coming back
quite a few times. But the first thing I want you
to understand about God's Word is that God's Word convicts in
Psalm 130. This is a Psalm of degrees, a
Psalm that was written for the ascent to the temple as they
made their way to the temple. Psalm 120 all the way through
Psalm 134 were psalms that they sang on their way up to the
temple. In Psalm 130 was one of those.
But the psalmist reveals in this Psalm where his hope was found.
His hope was not found in changing circumstances.
His hope was not found in in anything other than the word of
God. He says, I wait for the Lord, my
soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope?
He has nowhere to stand except on the word of God.
God's word is not a suggestion. A lot of people can, a lot of
people take God's word as a suggestion, or they want to pick
and choose the things that they want to believe out of God's
word. It's a force that works in the
soul. It's powerful.
God's word is not passive or neutral.
It's active and it's powerful. And before God's word can help
us, it must reveal to us exactly who we really are.
Hebrews chapter 4 and verse #12 The Bible says for the word of
God. It's quick and powerful and
sharper than any 2 edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and Morrow and
get. This is a discerner of the
thoughts and the intents of the heart.
The Word of God doesn't just expose who you are the the the
the you that everybody sees. The Word of God exposes even the
deepest, darkest thoughts of your heart.
Thank God for the convicting power of His Word.
Conviction is God lovingly showing us what we need to
change so that we can be blessed by Him.
What a wonderful thing conviction is.
God says, I want to bless you, but you have to do it my way.
Well, God, how do I know your way?
Well, read my word. And as you read my word, I'm
going to show you the things that you need to change so that
you can be blessed by me. What a wonderful thing that is.
And, and, and we've been trained in a lot of places to not like
conviction. I don't want the hard preaching.
Help me. Don't, don't, don't hurt me.
I'm not here to be hurt by God's word.
I'm here to be helped by it. You can't be helped by it if
you're not hurt, right? What if, what if every time you
cut yourself, you didn't feel any pain?
Do you think you'd fix it? No.
Most people are like, yeah, it'll be fine in a couple weeks
as they bleed out, right? It hurts.
And because it hurts, you go do something about it, right?
You can fix it if you know that there's a problem.
And that's what God's Word does. God's word brings that
conviction so that you know there's a problem, so you can go
fix it. And then when you do fix it, God
blesses you for it. What a wonderful thing
conviction is. We ought to long for the
conviction from the word of God and, and from the preaching of
God's Word. There've been times, especially
early on in our marriage, when my wife and I've been to an
event or something afterwards I go and I look in the mirror and
I said, why didn't you tell me I had something in my nose?
I've been walking around like this all night.
Well, I just, I didn't want to hurt your feelings.
Now she's not, she don't care about it.
Now she'll hurt my feelings because she knows that I want
her to, right? Because I would rather be
embarrassed for just a minute or two by saying, oh man, I didn't
realize I had that in my nose. Then walking around and let
everybody seeing it and me walking around thinking I'm
perfectly fine, right? Or whatever it happens to be,
embarrass me. I was embarrassed all night
anyway, and I didn't even know I was embarrassing myself.
I'd rather you embarrass me so I can fix it.
But if I don't have a little conviction, if I don't have a
little criticism, how can I fix the things that need to be
fixed? That's what the conviction does,
right? A mirror doesn't wash your face
for you. It shows you that your face is
dirty. And God's Word does the exact
same thing for us when we open the Bible.
It reveals our attitudes, it reveals our sins.
It even reveals our motives to show us, hey, this is something
that you need to change. It's dirty, fix it.
Now you have a choice after that's revealed to you, whether
you're going to do something about it or not, right?
I can look at my face in the mirror and see a big dirt smudge
on the side of my face. I don't have to do anything
about it. I can decide, you know what?
I'm just going to leave the dirt smudge there, right?
I could. I'd be foolish to leave it there
because the mirror just revealed exactly what was wrong.
But the mirror can't fix it. I have to make the decision to
fix that. I have to make the decision to
wash it clean. Conviction is not condemnation,
it's illumination. And when God's Word convicts, it
shines lights into the dark places so that we can correct or
walk before God. By the way, conviction demands
action. If it's going to do anything for
us, it's going to do any good. Conviction alone is not enough.
There's probably been many times when you sat in a message and
you've been convicted about something and you went home and
you didn't change it. You thought, man, I need to
change that, man, I need to do something about that.
But conviction doesn't do you any good if you don't make the
changes. That conviction shows you the
same way, that there's no point in having a mirror if all you're
going to do is look at it and see how bad you are and walk
away, right? You look into the mirror so you
can say, wow, I didn't realize how bad I look.
Let me fix that, right? Don't expect your kids to
respond to any of your teaching or to any of the preaching if
you don't do it yourself. When you hear the plain
preaching and the teaching of God's Word and you choose to
ignore it, not only are you hindering your own life, but
you're hindering your kids life. You know they hear the same
preaching you do, believe it or not, when they're sitting in the
sermon and they hear the same sermon you're hearing and God
convicts them because get this, if your children are saved, they
have the same Holy Spirit living inside them that you do.
Well, I'm an adult, they're a kid.
It's the same Holy Spirit and the same Holy Spirit that can
convict you can convict them. And they sit in a message and
God convicts them and they go home and they think I need to do
something about this. I need to change this.
And mom and dad say, not a big deal.
Guess what you just taught them to do.
You just taught them that the conviction of Holy Spirit is not
a big deal in their life either. And not only that, you thwarted
the work of the Holy Spirit in your own kids lives because you
didn't want to respond to the conviction.
Well, that's a serious thing. You ought to take conviction
seriously, and you ought to be thankful for conviction.
But you have to let the conviction translate into doing
something that needs to change in your life.
They go home and they see you ignore it.
You're teaching them exactly how to respond to the conviction of
God's Word. And don't be surprised when one
day they reject all of it, because that's exactly what you
did, and that's exactly what you're teaching them how to do.
They hear it. They know what you're supposed
to do. They know what they're supposed
to do. What you do has a lot to do with
what they do. And not only does it affect you,
it affects them at the same time.
The psalmist waited on the Lord because God's Word exposed what
needed to change. Thank God that his word
convicts, but turn back over to Psalm 130.
God's word convicts, but #2 God's word condemns verse #2
Lord, hear my voice. Let thine ears be attentive to
the voice of my supplications. Get this verse three.
If thou Lord, should his mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall
stand, but there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be
feared. See God's.
God's word brings conviction to our hearts, but it also declares
guilt where sin exists. The Bible is very clear that all
of humanity stands guilty and accountable before a holy God.
Turn over to Romans chapter 3, John chapter 3, which is the
verse that we get John 316, the passage that we get John 316 out
of verse 20. The Bible says this, For
everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the
light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
The light shines in those things, and it exposes who we
are. It condemns us, Romans chapter
3, from which we get verse 23. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. We're familiar with that verse,
but if you back up a couple and look at verse #19 it says this.
Now we know that what things so ever the law saith, it saith to
them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and
all the world may become guilty before God.
God's Word condemns sin, not to destroy us, but to strip away
every excuse that we have. Until we see ourselves as guilty
before God, we'll never see the need to seek God's grace.
That's why God's Word condemns us, because we need to
understand that we are condemned sinners before God.
Psalm 130 begins with a cry of desperation.
Out of the depths he says, I have cried unto thee, O Lord,
because the Word of God has had made it clear to him that he was
sinful and had made his sin undeniable.
Without the Word of God to condemn us, we would never see
the need for a Savior. And then we would die in our
sins, and we would spend an eternity paying for those sins.
No be thankful that God's Word condemns us because that
condemnation helps us understand that we are sinners and that we
need a Savior. And because we can come to that
conclusion, we can accept the gift of Jesus Christ as that
Savior. We can see our sins forgiven.
We can see our sins put under the blood of Jesus Christ, and
we can spend an eternity in heaven with him someday.
I'm thankful that God's Word condemns me.
It hurts, but I'm thankful that it does.
The old Puritan Thomas Watson said until sin be bitter, Christ
will not be sweet. Thank God for the condemnation
His Word brings, because it gives me a chance at redemption.
So we ought to thank God that His word convicts, that His Word
condemns. But #3 God's word converts.
Verse #5 of Psalm 130. I wait for the Lord, my soul
doth wait, and in His word do I hope.
See, condemnation is not the final word for those who know
and those who respond to that condemnation.
The final word is conversion. The same word of God that shows
us our sin also shows us our Savior.
Psalm 19 verse 7 says the law of the Lord is perfect, converting
the soul. The testimony of the Lord is
sure making wise the simple Romans 10/17 So then faith
cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.
God's word does not just inform, it transforms.
And when we place our hope in God's word, our hearts are
changed and we can be made new. That's why the psalmist says in
thy word do I hope. Thank God for the conversion his
word brings. But I want you to see this
number 4. Not only should we thank God
that his word convicts and condemns and converts, but God's
word also comforts. Verse 6 of Psalm 130 says, My
soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the
morning. I say more than they that watch
for the morning. I know you've heard this before.
You've made might have even been in that situation before where
you're sitting in a hospital room and the doctor says I think
he can make it. I think you'll be all right as
long as he can make it through the night.
If he makes it through the night, he's got a good chance of
pulling through. Can you imagine how somebody, a
loved one that is sitting by the bed of somebody who was trying
to make it through the night, is just waiting for the morning to
come? Oh, I'm just, I'm just watching
for the first rays of light. Is he still breathing?
Is his heart still pumping? Because the doctor said if he
could make it through the night, he's got a good chance of
survival in God's Word. Do I hope I, I, my soul waited
for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning.
See, after the conviction, the condemnation, the conversion,
God's Word becomes a source of deep comfort.
Turn over to Romans 15. See the same God who exposes sin
also promises mercy. Romans chapter 15.
What we have to understand is that our hope is not in how we
feel. It's found in what God has
promised. And I've said this many times in
conversations, but the same is true when it comes to our
salvation. We're not always going to feel
saved, but I have the promise that God's going to do what He
said He was going to do if I did what he told me to do, if I come
to him in repentance and faith, He will do what He said He was
going to do. There are going to be days when
I don't feel saved, but I don't have to feel anyway.
I just have to trust that God's going to do what He said He was
going to do. Romans chapter 15 and verse 4
says for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written
for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of
the Scriptures might have hope. What a wonderful thing that is.
God's Word gives us the assurance that not not only is
mercy available, but forgiveness is real.
God's word lifts us out of the depths and it anchors us in his
grace. If you think about a, a sailor
that's on a on the on the water and there's a big storm.
And so they dropped the huge anchor on that boat and it goes
down and it hits the bottom. It doesn't make the storm calmer
because he dropped the anchor. Storm doesn't lessen because the
anchor is there, but it gives that ship a firm hold in the
middle of the storm that that's the firm hold that the word of
God gives us the unchanging truth.
By the way, a lot of times God allows the waves to make us
uncomfortable, to point us to the fact that he's trying to
drive us to himself. In fact, Charles Spurgeon said,
I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock
of Ages. Or isn't that a great way to say
it? Thank God for the comfort that
His Word brings. But I want you to see this
lastly and turn over to Jeremiah chapter 20.
Not only does God work, can God's word convicted, His word
condemns, His word converts, His word comforts, but lastly, God's
word compels. The word of God does not leave
us unchanged. It drives us.
It moves us to action and those who have experienced and
encountered God through his word cannot remain silent or still.
And I'm not talking about some experience that that you saw the
bright light and now all of a sudden my, my existence is
totally different. Or I had some wild dream and God
told me in the dream that I was going to do this and whatever
else. I'm not talking about that kind
of experience. I'm saying when you have really
seen who God is through the pages of His Word, you
understand that you cannot just sit there and be silent.
Demands action of us. Jeremiah chapter 20 and verse 9.
Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak
anymore in His name, but His word was in mine heart as a
burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with
forbearing, and I could not stay.
The Word of God compels us to live differently.
Second Corinthians chapter 5 and verse #14 says For the love of
Christ constraineth us. He loves me and that makes me
want to serve Him. I have His Word and it's like a
fire in my bones, and I can't just sit there and let it burn.
Not only does it compel us to live differently, but God's Word
compels us to speak boldly and to wait faithfully on the Lord.
The psalmist learned to wait not passively, but expectantly
because our hope is not rooted in what the world or
circumstances tell us to do. It's in what God's Word has
said. If you think about a fire that's
trapped in a room, it's going to destroy the house.
God's Word burns within us until it's released through our
obedience, through our testimony, through our
faithfulness, and in a whole lot of other ways.
We are compelled to live for the Lord because of what God's Word
does for us. If you get anything from the
message this morning, I want you to get this.
We need to take God's Word seriously.
We need to read it. We need to study it.
We need to memorize it. We need to cherish it.
God's Word is our life. This is everything that God
wants us to do. If you were going to take a test
that was going to determine your career, do you think you'd study
the book? You think you'd want to know
what was in it? Do you think you'd want to try
to figure out what was going to be on the test so you could do
the best you could with it? Of course you would.
We're all going to stand before God someday, and we're going to
give an account for how we lived our lives.
Don't you think we should be in the manual that tells us exactly
how we should live it so that we can stand before God in the best
way possible? Not going to happen if you don't
read it. Not going to happen if you don't
study it. Not going to happen if you don't
memorize it. You need to get rid of the
excuses for a while. We can't read it.
You need to get a Bible reading plan.
My family we're using, we're reading the Bible
chronologically through this year and we actually started all
the way back in August. We're about halfway through now,
but we use a thing called Bible reading plan generator, very
original Bible reading plan generator.
But you can generate a Bible reading plan that would give you
any way that you want to read the Bible.
We're reading it chronologically halfway through the book of
Genesis. We jumped out and read through
Job. That's, that was chronological
order, but you can read it through in a year.
You can read it through in 13 months, You can read it through
in 18 months, you can read it through in two years.
You can read a Old Testament in the morning, New Testament in
the evening. We're, we're doing, but the
Bible chronologically and a Psalm every day.
You can do the Bible however you want to with a Psalm or a
proverb or anything. There's no excuse.
We have so much technology available to us to help us do
it. In fact, if you I don't like
doing it this way, but if you have a hard time reading through
it, push play on the button and it'll read it to you.
We have no excuse not to be reading God's Word.
There's so many ways that we can set up a Bible reading plan, but
we just need to do it. By the way, I've said this
recently, but if you don't have time to read your Bible, you're
too busy and you have your priorities in the wrong place
because I can promise you that God did not ordain the things
that are keeping you so busy that you can't read His Word.
Something that you're doing in your life is not God's will for
you if you can't find time to read it.
We need to get rid of the excuses for why we can't study
it. We have so many resources in our
bookstore that will help you with that.
We need to get rid of the excuses for why we can't
memorize it. I'll be honest with you, it gets
a little discouraging sometimes to see everybody standing up,
walking around talking on Wednesday nights instead of
working on memorizing their Bible verses.
Put a lot of work and a lot of effort into making it possible
for us to memorize God's Word. Well, I'm, I'm getting older and
it's hard for me to memorize. Yeah, I get it.
I'm not smart. I never could memorize well in
school. I get it.
But God has commanded us to memorize His Word and to hide
His words in our heart. Don't you think that He'll help
you with something as important as memorizing His Word if He's
commanded you to do it? We don't have any good excuses.
We have excuses, but we don't have any good excuses for why we
don't memorize God's Word. We need to take it seriously.
How do you, how do you meditate on God's Word?
Unless you're walking around with a Bible in your hand all
day, every day reading it, you're not meditating on it.
Hey, you, you work on the verses you're memorizing.
You say those verses that you've memorized in your head.
God brings those things to your mind, right?
It's important. And we need to take God's Word
seriously. What a blessing it is that we
have God's Word. It convicts us, it condemns us,
it converts us, comforts our hearts, it compels us to live
for the Lord. Are you waiting on God and
hoping in His Word? That's the question for you this
morning. What are you doing to hold the
Word of God in high esteem in your life?
If somebody were to see you for 24 hours a day for one week,
what would they say your priority on God's word is?
Would they say that you hold God's word in high esteem, or
would they say he has a Bible? Because that's the way most
people treat it. Oh, they'll carry the church.
I saw you all holding the Bibles up this morning.
Everybody's got them. It's great.
Doesn't do any good if all it is is a prop.
Most people use God's Word as a prop.
Where is the priority on God's word in your life?
Or is it not a priority at all? Because if it's not, that needs
to change. This is everything.
This is how God speaks to you. This is everything.
Do you treat it that way or do you need to make some changes?
That's the question for us this morning.
The power of God's Word, if you let it, it will change your life
and you'll be able to stand before God and say, I searched
it. I did everything that I knew how
to do. Those who don't will have to
stand before God and say, I wish I'd given you more.
I wish I'd given you more. All the things that we think are
important right now, the time that we spend at work, the
things that we're doing to try to accomplish things in our
life, all of those are going to seem so petty and so silly and
so foolish when we stand before God and say, I did that instead
of reading your word. I did that instead of studying
your word. I did that instead of memorizing
your word. I thought those things were
important. You're going to realize they're
not, but this is. Where's your priority this
morning? Let's pray.
Father, again, we thank you so much for your goodness to us,
and we do thank you for the opportunity that we've had to be
here. Thank you again that we have
Your word. What a precious, precious thing
that is. May you help us to love it.
May You help us to love it to the point that we'll actually
let it change us. May you help us to love it to
the point that we've wanted more than anything in our lives.
I've esteemed the words of Thy mouth more than my necessary
food. Boy, if we could just say that.
If we could just say that the Bible would be important to us
and it would change us. And our relationship with you
would be right. And our relationship with others
would be right, and our desire to witness for You would be
right. Everything would be right if for
the relationship to your word is right.
Now You help us this morning. Thank you for all you do for us.
In Jesus name, Amen.