Note: Most of my notes came from Preachers Sermon and Outline Bible for Hebrews 4:12 - 13. The opening part is what I shared with church about the election and voting. Part of this is from a devotion on the internet for men
Title: The Living Word
Theme: Show the importance of the Word of God and how it works.
Text: Hebrews 4:12-13
Voting
Matthew 22:20-22 – Rendering to Caesar
Mat 22:15-22 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. (16) And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. (17) "Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" (18) But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? (19) "Show Me the tax money." So they brought Him a denarius. (20) And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" (21) They said to Him, "Caesar's." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (22) When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.
The Pharisees were plotting against Jesus, attempting to “entangle him in his talk” (Matthew 22:15). The Pharisees, being cowards like many overly religious people, sent their disciples to Jesus with a controversial question, hoping to provoke a condemnable response. The Pharisees’ lackeys approached Jesus and prefaced their question with flattery to deceive him, and then asked, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” Matthew records here that, “Jesus, aware of their malice” (Matthew 22:18) asked the hypocrites why they put him to the test, and proceeded to give a gospel answer that encompasses all of life. He held up a coin and it was plain that Caesar’s image was upon it, stamped as a sign of ownership, validating Jesus’ response to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”. That answered the deceitful question, but Jesus went one phrase further saying, “and to God the things that are God’s.” These men each would have been well acquainted with the Old Testament, and given the context, would have understood the implication of Jesus’ statement. It was an unstated question, “Whose likeness and inscription is on you?” It was a gospel answer to a sinful question, encompassing the whole of life. We bear the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), and we are to render unto God, that which is God’s; our life. Marvel at the brilliance of Jesus today, knowing that we bear his image and likeness, and are made alive through the Holy Spirit who lives within us (I Peter 3:18)
1Ti 2:1-2 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (2) for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
Rom 13:1-7 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. (2) Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. (3) For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. (4) For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. (5) Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake. (6) For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. (7) Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
1Pe 2:13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme,
Heb 4:12-13 For the word of God is living (quick) 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. 13 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.
Introduction - Living Power of the Word
When you look into the Bible it is interesting what it says about itself. In each illustration it gives us an understanding about the purposes and plans of the scriptures. The question we must often ask ourselves is where does this Word fit.
We live in a time where people questions this word. Only 63% of Americans say that this word is true.
1. The Word of God is the piercing sword of the Spirit (Ephes. 6:17). It strikes and arouses an awareness of one's immortal spirit and discerns one's thoughts and motives (Hebrews 4:12).
2. The Word of God is the reflecting mirror of life (James 1:22-25). It reflects and exposes the kind of person one is (Romans 3:9-27).
3. The Word of God is the burning fire of conviction (Jeremiah 23:29). It burns and consumes the heart, the conscience of men (Jeremiah 5:14; Luke 24:32).
4. The Word of God is the pounding hammer which crushes the hardness of man's heart (Jeremiah 23:29).
5. The Word of God is the reproducing seed of the new birth (1 Peter 2:23). Man is spiritually born again by hearing and believing the Word (Romans 10:17).
6. The Word of God is the nourishing food of the believer (1 Peter 2:2-3). The believer grows and lives and is built up through the study of the Word (Matthew 4:4; Acts 20:32; Hebrews 5:12-14).
7. The Word of God is the guiding light of the believer (Psalm 119:105).
8. The Word of God is the cleansing water of sanctification (John 15:3; John 17:17). God washes and cleanses His own, the church, through the use of the Word (Ephes. 5:25b-26).
9. The Word of God is the measuring instrument by which one receives the approval of God (2 Tim. 2:15).
Word of God
Logos Word – The written word - John 1
Rhema Word – The spoken Word
This morning I would like to focus on such passage that reveals to us a lot about what the word says.
Characteristics of the Word
Living - Active
The word “living” (zon) is placed in the empathic position in the original language. The word of God is no dead letter, but as the word of the living God it cannot itself fail to be living. As the living word it continues through each age with compelling relevance. “Gipsy Smith told of a man who said he had received no inspiration from the Bible although he had “gone through it several times.” “Let it go through you once,” replied Smith, “then you will tell a different story!”
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration (God breathed, out of the very mouth of God) of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Isaiah 55:10-11 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, (11) So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Powerful “For the word of God is living and powerful.”
The word translated “powerful” (energes) is the word from which we get energy and energetic. The word literally means “at work.”
Charles Swindoll comments, “News articles may inform us. Novels may inspire us. Poetry may enrapture us. But only the living, active Word of God can transform us.”
[Charles Swindoll, p. 73]
Well, it is...living and active...and so when we read its words they reach out and touch the needs of our lives in an almost tangible way. Isaiah 55:11 describes scripture as being a living agent or messenger that God sends to touch our lives. Listen to what God says in this passage... " ....My word will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." So, unlike any other book, the Bible is living and powerful and…
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16).
Sharper than any two-edged sword, - Penetrating - Separating
“two-edged” – two sides of the word – law and grace, justice and mercy, bitter and sweet,
piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow,
“… sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow…”
Like a sharp sword which can lay open the human body with one slashing blow, so the sword of the Scripture can open our inner life and expose it to ourselves and to others.
In the Roman world there were two distinctly different swords. There was the large sword, it was long, heavy and destructive. And there was a short sword (machaira), it was lightweight and double-edged and deadly because it cut both ways. This is what Peter used to cut off the ear of the servant of the High priest in the garden of Gethsemane on the night of Jesus’ arrest (Mark 14:47).
What the author is saying is that God’s Word can reach into the innermost recesses of our being! No heart is too tough and no soul is too dark. “When God wills it, his word can pierce anyone as a certain
Fourth, It is a Dividing Word
division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow…”
dividing soul from the flesh
Fifth, It is a Discerning Word (vv. 12d -13) The Word of God Is Not Only A Penetrating Word but… and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
“…and is a discerner of the thoughts (mind and feeling, desire) and intents (intellect, what we think on, conceptions ideas) of the heart. (NLT “it exposes us for what we really are”) (13) 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.”
From this passage I want us to glean three truths.
•God Sees Everything There Is No Escape.
We want God to see us when we are hurting and when we are going through difficult times. We want Him to see and come to our aid. But when it comes to our sin and wrongdoing we would rather that God looked the other way. But verse twelve concludes by saying that the Word of God “… is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The word “discerner” (kritikos) is the word from which we get critic. As the word of God penetrates into the innermost recesses of man’s being it does so as his critic or judge.
•God Sees Everything There Is No Hiding.
Only the Word of God is capable of exposing the thoughts and attitudes of a single human heart. There really is no use in hiding. Why is it when we fear that some-thing is not quite right physically we tend to put off going to the doctor because we fear we will hear bad news. The same is true spiritually.
Verse thirteen says that before God “all things are naked” or literally “laid bare.” The word (tetrachelismena) literally refers to bending someone’s neck backward so the face is looking upwards. It is a vivid term describing either the grip of a wrestler on the neck of his opponent or the grip on the neck of a sacrificial victim prepared for sacrifice. And sometimes it was used to describe how a man being led to execution had a knife placed beneath his chin so that he could not hang his head in shame and those avoid the gaze of the onlookers. Whatever the exact nature of the picture that is being drawn here it means that to be in the grip of an all powerful God is to be vulnerable, helpless and to have all our secrets known.
The Word of God possesses the diagnostic perception that picks up inconsistency even in motivation. With God we cannot smooth over with outward actions, the real intentions of our hearts. We may appear to be sincere to others but God knows if there is an ulterior motive.
•God Sees Everything There Is No Excuse.
The last part of verse thirteen says, all things are “… open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” This verse plainly tells us that there is a coming day of reckoning upon which we will each give an account for our lives. The day of excuses will be over, the book of Romans tells us there is coming a time “when every mouth will be stopped” (Rom 3:19), there will be no more excuses. The Apostle Paul warns in 2 Cor. 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
2Pe 1:19-21 NKJV And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; (20) knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, (21) for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
(13) 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.
Psalms 139:7-8 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? (8) If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
So what must we do.
2Ti 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, (how?) rightly dividing the word of truth.
Application
The challenge for us is always at least two-fold.
Eph 6:13-18 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; (18) praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints;
First, we must ask ourselves if we are being challenged by the word of God to take some action before we leave this place. Perhaps like me when I was thirteen, the Word of God has captured your attention and convicted you of your sin and convinced you that you need to do something about it, today. If that is the case, then I want to invite in just a few moments when we sing the closing hymn, to come and settle the matter of eternity today, before you leave this place.
Secondly, we should always think through the application of what I we hear preached or read. We should pay enough attention to what the Word of God may be saying to us to write it down and think it over. Asking the question, “What action does God want me to take concerning this truth in my life?”
