God's Penetrating Plan Revealed

GOD’S PENETRATING PLAN REVEALED

(All my sermons use illustrations found on www.sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted.)

I once heard a story with a neat lesson. There was an old man that lived in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. The old man had a big family. One day one of the old man’s grandsons approached him with a problem. The Grandson said, "PAP, I read the Bible and I don’t understand it, and what I understand I forget as soon as I close the Bible covers. What’s the use of reading the Bible!"

The Grandfather ordered the grandson to get the basket they used to carry the heating coal into the house and run down to the river and bring back a basket of water to the house. To please his grandfather, the lad grabbed the basket, ran to the river and got a basket of water. The lad ran back to the house with the water.

By the time the lad reached the house the basket was empty. The grandfather chided the young boy, hurry and go bring me a basket of water. DO IT NOW!

The lad ran quickly from the river, the basket was full when he left the river, but by the time he arrived at the house the basket of water was dry. After his third trip, the boy told his granddad, it is no use, I can not retain the water in the basket until I get here. It is useless. The grandfather looked at the disgusted young boy, and said, "So you think it is useless?" "Yes! Pap it is useless to try!" the boy repliied.

The Grandfather said to the boy, "BUT LOOK AT THE BASKET, CAN’T YOU SEE SOMETHING?" THE SMALL BOY WAS AMAZED, AFTER THREE TRIPS TO THE RIVER, THE DIRTY COAL BASKET WAS CLEAN.

Pap said, " See, that is what the Word of God does to you. As you read, you say you don’t retain and understand it, but your basket is cleaned.

THE WORD OF GOD DOES THE WORK OF GOD!

This morning, we look at a small passage of scripture found in Hebrews 4:12-13, this is a scripture that all Christians should place in their minds and constantly remind themselves of, because it is the greatest tool a Christian has in the battle with our world, and the sin that surrounds us.

Heb 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

PRAYER

So many times, I have heard people tell me their reasoning for not reading and studying the word of God, much like the boy of the opening story. They feel as if it is of no use because they rarely remember any of what they have read. But, the scripture tells of a power that most of us forget. The writer of Hebrews explains that the Word of God, His Bible, is ALIVE & ACTIVE, the SHARPEST Sword that penetrates, judges & uncovers. A great tool that is unfortunately not used as much as it should, and many times is not allowed to do its’ work.

This morning I want to take time to look at this scripture, see what the Bible is supposed to do in the life of a Christian, and see what things we might do to enable this powerful living tool to change our lives.

I. ALIVE & ACTIVE

The words contained in the Bible are the inspired words of the Holy Spirit, Jesus told the disciples, John 16:12-14 "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

The Holy Spirit has given us much more, He has guided every verse and word spoken in the Bible and has told of what is to come and how to prepare for it. The Word of God is ALIVE, it is a powerful tool that allows us to be prepared for the second coming of Christ. It is ACTIVE because it works on our hearts every time we hear it, every time we study and read, every time we go to a class or hear a sermon, the WORD works on our hearts, and it changes the way we think and the way we act. Well I guess it won’t always change the way we act, sometimes things are to important to us to give up. You probably know what I mean, there is a sense of conviction that comes from hearing the Inspired Words of God, but we fight to hold on to that one or two things that we do not want to change about our lives.