Living and Powerful

DW Feaster

Hopewell First Baptist Church

The Word of God • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Hebrews 4:12–13

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Transcript

Ice sculpting is fascinating. The person starts out with a chunk of Ice and continues to pick away at it until it turns into the image that he wants it to be. A block of ice can become a swan, a fountain, or just about anything the sculptor can imagine.

The block of ice become a work of art as what is not needed is cut away to form something beautiful.

This is what the word of God does to you and me. As we read it, hear it, and study it, the word transforms our lives cutting away the rough edges and making us into the men and women that God has called us to be.

When a sermon steps on our toes or we read a passage and it hits us hard, it is the word of God penetrating us showing us where some edges need cut off.

Today we begin a new series looking at the word of God and the power that it has to transform us into who God would have us to be.

The Word of God (12)

Hebrews 4:12 NKJV

For the word of God is living 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.

the Word of God is not some out of date book that no longer has meaning.

There are many who do not believe in the Bible at all. To them it is just a book.

To others, it is a book made up of good stores but that is all there is to it.

Then to others, the Bible is everything.

As we look at the text today we see that the Word of God is alive and powerful. It has the power to transform our lives.

The author of Hebrews uses four words here to describe the Word of God

The Word is living

The Word of God is alive. It is not dead and out of date or out of print.

living means - to have physical life, to denote eternal existence

When we look at our Bibles, it is not the binding and paper that make it the word of God, it is the words that are written on the pages.

A digital bible is just as much the word of God as a print bible

As we look at history, we see that throughout time, God chose to speak His word in different ways

He spoke to the prophets and through the prophets

He spoke through His Son Jesus who is the living Word of God

John 1:1 NASB95

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 NASB95

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

God now speaks to us through His written word which is the bible.

The way that you and I learn about God is from His written word.

It is here that we learn who He is and how much He loves us.

It is through His written word that we learn what Jesus did on the cross for our sins.

It is through His written word that we learn about the Spirit of God and how He lives in us.

It is through the word that we learn Jesus is coming back for us to take us home to be with Him for all time.

The Word of God is alive

The Word is powerful

Powerful means - able to bring about

That is, the word of God is able to bring about God’s will

Today we need to be reminded of the power of the word of God.

So many people do not see the value or power that comes from the bible

Sadly, even in the homes of many Christians you will find the bible collecting dust not being opened, read, and studied.

If we want to see real life change, then we need to open the word and let it cut and carve us into what God would have us to be

If we want to see changes in our homes, our churches, and our country, then we need to get back to the basics of what the word of God says and live that out.

Have you ever read a passage and that passage change your life for the better?

The bible has the power to help us to grow. As we read it, God speaks to us though the power of the Holy Spirit and we are changed.

The Word is piercing

Piercing means - to go through

It is easy to look at a person and think the look like a good person. We cannot know if that is the case until we get to know the person on the inside

As the saying goes, “beauty is more than skin deep.”

The word gets past what is on the outside to show you and I what is on the inside.

The Word of God helps us to see our sin.

As we read and study it convicts us of what we are doing wrong and the changes that we need to make in our lives.

We can see the areas of our lives where we need to let go of our way and seek His way

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Three: Greater than Moses (Hebrews 3:1–4:13)

In the Word we see God, and we also see how God sees us. We see ourselves as we really are. This experience enables us to be honest with God, to trust His will, and to obey Him

We see God for who He is, how He sees us, and how we really are.

The word convicts our hearts of our need for Salvation and shows us that Salvation comes from what Jesus did on the cross

Peach the Gospel

The word of God pierces into our hearts and cuts away what is not need like the sculptor with the block of ice

How has the word cut you and changed you?

The Word is discerning

discerner means - able to judge

intents means - intention/purpose

This text was a reminder to the readers that the word of God shows the truth.

The people in the OT had not obeyed God as they should have (chapter 3) so they were not able to enter the rest that they could have had (chapter 4).

When we obey the word of God we find ourselves at rest.

When we disobey the word of God we find ourselves in trouble and the word knows if we are genuine or not for it is discerning

Here a few other translations of this passage

The NET says, “it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart”

The NLT says, “it exposes our innermost thoughts and desires”

The NIV says, “it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”

The word knows our thoughts and intentions of our heart.

This means It knows why we do what we do.

Our motives behind our actions are important.

Because the word of God is living, powerful, piercing, and discerning there is no where we can go and nothing we can do to hide from the word of God.

We can't hide from the Word (13)

Hebrews 4:13 NKJV

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.

Nothing is hidden from Him

At times the word of God will convict us of our sins and we will simply say well I am not hurting anyone or no one will ever know.

Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 NKJV

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.

This was written by Solomon, the wisest person to every live. As you read through Ecclesiastes you will see that Solomon tried about everything and found that nothing really mattered apart from God.

These are the words that he used to end this book of the bible. In other words, what Solomon says is you cannot hide from God.

We may be able to hide things from people.

Some are good at hiding things from the spouse, kids, or parents.

Some are good from hiding things from the friends.

Some are even good at hiding the truth from the church they are a part of. They look good on the outside but are rotten on the inside.

We can fool a lot of people and may think that no one will know or find out.

God sees all. No matter how hard we try we cannot hide from God and His word

We may be able to fool everyone around us and even ourselves at times, but we will never be able to fool God.

God knows what we have done and why we have done it and His word will bring that out in to the open someday

The text says that all things are naked. That is all things are laid bare, all things are uncovered.

Hebrews Warning: Consider the Power of God’s Word (4:12–13)

The word translated “uncovered” (gymnos), which normally communicates nakedness or having a lack of adequate clothing, was also used figuratively of being helpless or unprotected. In the context of God’s penetrating word, the concept calls to mind a complete inability to hide anything from God’s gaze

Nothing, not you, not me, not our thoughts or intentions of our hearts can escape the gaze of God.

We cannot lie to God about what we did or did not do or why we did or did not do it.

God knows the truth.

Since God Knows the truth, We must all give an account to Him.

All must give an account

When the people did not obey the word of God it led to problems (looking at the OT)

A day is coming when all people will stand before God and give an account.

The Lost

Revelation 20:11–12 NASB95

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

The Saved

2 Corinthians 5:10 NASB95

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

There is no escape from God or His word. We may think that we can skate through life unnoticed doing whatever we want to do but that is not the case.

Every one of us will stand before God and we will give an account. All the good we have done will be brought out as well as all the bad.

We have the word of God so when we stand before God we have no excuse

We are the let the word shape us not shape the word to our ideas

Conclusion

the word comes into our hearts and lives and changes us.

It helps us to become the men and women that God has called us to be.

As we hear the word of God we need to allow it to transform us so that we can be all that God has called us to be.

As pastor Robby Gallaty says, "Get into the word until the word gets into you"

What is God saying to you today?

Maybe we are here today and we need to fall in love with the word of God. It is living, powerful, piercing, and discerning. If you will let it, it will change your life in ways you could never imagine. Will you commit to spending time in the word of God each day and praying to the Spirit to help you understand and apply what you read?

Maybe we are here today and we need to be reminded that when it comes to God there are no secrets in our lives. Nothing that we do is hidden from Him. Maybe you are here today and you need to come and confess some sin in your life that you think no one knows about. Will you come and lay it bare before God?

The Word of God is such a wonderful gift that God has given to you and I. It has the awesome power to transform us and change our lives.

Will you let the word of God get rid of the ice parts that are not needed in order to make you into a beautiful masterpiece that God has called you to be.

Ephesians 2:10 NASB95

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.