The Power of God's Word

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

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

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

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

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

Romans 3 · chapter mention John 3 · chapter mention

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

Romans 3 · chapter mention

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

Psalms 19:7

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.

Romans 15 · chapter mention

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

Romans 15 · chapter mention

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.

Jeremiah 20 · chapter mention

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.

Jeremiah 20 · chapter mention

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

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

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.