“THE LIVING WORD OF GOD”
Hebrews 4:11-16
July 27, 2008
Pastor John L. Harper
Warden Assembly of God
Introduction:
• It is hard work to enter the rest of God
• God’s Word reveals what keeps us from rest
• Once the hindrance is revealed we can go to Jesus who will help us enter His rest
I. THE SEARCHING WORD OF GOD(vs. 11-13)
A. God’s Word is powerful (and it gives life to its hearers)
1. It is alive
(Backpack with all of his notes stolen, window cracked one inch; 5 minutes at Post Office)
“My friend the Holy Spirit also reminded me about something else that had just happened a few weeks before: the release of the Fire Bible in Malagasy. The Fire Bible is the first ever, complete study Bible for the Malagasy people. It is a lasting and eternal gift that cannot be lost or stolen. As much as I think the plans and dreams that I lost in that backpack are important, God’s Word has much more power to change Madagascar. God’s Word is living and active, it will cut to the heart of the issues in this nation. My plans are pretty insignificant in the light of all that.” (Nate Lashway Missionary to Madagascar July 21, 2008)
2. It is active
a. It won’t fade (I Peter 1:24-25)
b. It will not pass away (Matthew 24:35)
3. It is sharper than a two edged sword
a. A broad short sword
b. The Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17)
B. God’s Word is penetrating
(Mutiny on the Bounty Pitcairn) To Captain Folger’s surprise, he found natives who spoke a garbled English. It turned out that the mutineers of the Bounty had settled on uninhabited Pitcairn, where they had fought with each other and the native men (and women) until all the men were dead except two: Edward Young and John Adams (also known as Alexander Smith).
Ashamed of the violence and horrors they had witnessed and partaken of, the two remaining mutineers began to read the Bible (which became their textbook) and to teach it to the children who had been born to the settlement. By the time Folger arrived, Young, too had been dead several years, of an asthma attack. Adams was patriarch of the clan. Thanks to his continued efforts, the older children were able to read and write a little (Adams was poorly educated) and the whole community was devout.
Indeed, what impressed early visitors most was the obvious piety of the islanders, who prayed morning and evening and both before and after their meals, did not engage in the sexual promiscuity common to other islands, were able to recite the creed and parts of the Bible and observed the "Sabbath" (as they called Sunday). One observer wrote, "In conducting the most trivial affairs they are guided by the Scriptures, which they have read diligently, and from which they quote with a freedom and frequency that rather impairs the effect."
1. It penetrates our spirits and souls (Psalm 139)
2. It penetrates our joints and marrow
“The surgeon carries a bright and powerful light for every dark crevice and a sharp knife for the removal of all the pus revealed by the light. (A.T. Robertson)
3. It is a discerner of our thoughts (I Cor. 14:24-25)
4. It is a discerner of our intents
Accident Reports
The following are actual quotes from accident reports submitted to various insurance companies by hapless policyholders:
• Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don’t have.
• The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intentions.
• I thought my window was down, but found it was up when I put my hand through it.
• I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way.
• The guy was all over the road; I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.
• I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.
AIDE Magazine
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Auto Accident Explanations
According to a UPI news item, the Metropolitan Insurance Company received some unusual explanations for accidents from its automobile policyholders. The following are just few:
• “An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car, and vanished.”
• “The other car collided with mine without warning me of its intention.”
• “I had been driving my car for 40 years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had the accident.”
• “As I reached an intersection, a hedge sprang up, obscuring my vision.”
• “I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.”
• “The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I ran over him.”
• “The telephone pole was approaching fast. I attempted to swerve out of its path when it struck my front end.”
• “The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.”
• “The indirect cause of this accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.”
Deion Sanders
Deion “Prime Time” Sanders, outfielder for the Atlanta Braves and cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons, is the only athlete to have hit a Major League home run and scored an NFL touchdown in the same week.
Sanders grew up on the mean streets of Fort Myers, Fla., where exposure to some would-be athletes spurred him to make a success of himself. He explains: “I call them Idas. ‘If I’da done this, I’d be making three million today .If I’da practiced a little harder, I’d be a superstar.’ They were as fast as me when they were kids, but instead of working for their dreams they chose drugs and a life of street corners.
When I was young, I had practice; my friends who didn’t went straight to the streets and never left. That moment after school is the moment we need to grab. We don’t need any more Idas.
Mike Lupica in Esquire
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Excuses for School Absences
After discussing how students must at least be competent in reading, writing, listening, analyzing and computing before they will be graduated from high school in 1978, one administrator contacted provided the following list. The excuses it contains were actually turned in by parents to one school district (outside of Tillamook County).
1. Dear school: Please ackuse John for bring absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33.
2. Chis has an acre in his side.
3. Mary could not come to school because she is bothered by very close veins.
4. John has been absent because he had two teeth taken off his face.
5. I kept Billie Home because he had to go Christmas shopping because I didn’t know what size she wear.
6. Please excuse Gloria. She has been sick and under the doctor.
7. My son is under the doctors care and should not take P.E. Please execute him.
8. Lillie was absent from school yesterday as she had a groing over.
9. Please excuse Ray Friday. He has lose vowels.
10. Please excuse Joyce from P.E. for a few days. Yesterday she fell out of a tree and misplaced her hip.
11. Please excuse Blanche from jim today. She is administrating.
12. Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was hurt in his growing part.
13. My daughter was absent yesterday, because she was tired. She spent the weekend with the Marines.
14. Please excuse Dianne from Being absent yesterday. She was in bed with gramps.
15. Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was his father’s fault.
Source unknown
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C. God’s Word perceives
1. Nothing is hidden from Him (Laid naked before Him with our neck exposed ready for the slaughter)
2. He sees through everything
3. We will have to tell Him the truth
Application: Have you allowed God’s Word to probe the very deepest part of you?
II. THE SYMPATHETIC PRIEST (vs. 14-15)
A. Jesus is our Great High Priest
1. He is the Son of God
2. He has gone into Heaven
3. We must hold fast our confession
B. Jesus understands our weakness
1. He was tempted in every way that we are
“There was no latent sin in Jesus to be stirred by the enemy no habits to overcome. He had weaknesses (hunger, thirst, etc.) the human nature. (Robertson)
2. He did not sin
“Jesus remained undefiled in a world of sin (John 8:46). This is our ground of hope, the sinless nature of Jesus and His real sympathy.” (Robertson)
Application: Are you struggling with sin, Jesus knows what you are facing. Why not ask Him to help you?
III. THE SAFE PLACE (vs. 16)
A. When we are in need we should come before God
B. Come to obtain mercy
Fugitives seeking asylum might cling to the horns of the altar, as did Adonijah (1 Ki 1:50), which is one proof among many that worshippers had at all times access to the neighborhood of the altar. On certain occasions, as at the consecration of Aaron and his sons (Ex 29:12), and a sin offering for one of the people of the land (Lev 4:30), the horns were touched with sacrificial blood.
C. Come to find grace in the nick of time
These meanings stem from the sense of a nick as something very precisely defined; a nick is not a large hole, or a scrape, or anything else that is diffuse; it is a small, sharp, indentation whose exact location is clear.
Application: Isn’t it time to come into the presence of the Lord and ask for mercy?
CONCLUSION:
• (Illustration: Man given a Bible and rolls joints with its pages. Before he does he reads the page. He “smoked” Matthew, Mark and Luke and John “smoked” him
• Allow God to remove the hindrance to entering His rest
• Find peace surrender to Jesus
• Become a disciple, not just a convert (explain the difference)
