Today, I want to read from the book of John, chapter 1, beginning in verse 1 as we get into the subject, "It's All About The Word". Say that to yourself out loud where you are, "It's ALL About The Word!" Say it again. The question the world would have for a statement like that would be, "WHY is it all about The Word?" Because it's the Word that has made everything possible for us to be here today to experience the divine sovereignty of God.
When you really think about it, take the time to step back and look at the picture of the world today and our own lives, you will see that everything that has come to pass, big or small, has been a direct result of the Word of God. And if you don't realize that, I suggest you seek the Lord in prayer and ask Him to open your eyes because the enemy has surely placed blinders in your life that make you unable to see the hand of God moving everywhere you look.
So, let's look now at the book of John chapter 1, beginning in verse 1.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Will you pray with me? "Heavenly Father, we come to You today in the Name You have set above all other names, the Name of Jesus Christ, to pay homage to You and give You praise, honor and glory for Who You are, what You are and how mighty You are in all the world. We pay homage to You, Father God, for all You have done in our lives and continue to do even to this day. Father, we ask You together in one accord to open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts today. To see, to hear, and to receive the perfect Will of God into our lives today. It is in Jesus Holy Name that we come to You, thankful, grateful, and humbled to You for all the goodness and mercies You have shown us even now in this dark time in the world. But, David said in the book of Psalms 23 that though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death itself, we will not be afraid. Because You are with us, Lord Jesus! You have watched over us and interceded to the Father for us. And continue to do so today. Even though we do not deserve it, You do it anyway. Because that's how much You love us, Lord. And we are so thankful that You do. We are so thankful, Father God, that You have sent Your Son, Jesus, into this world to take our punishment for us so we might live and not die. That we might come home to You in Heaven when the day comes and live in joy, peace and happiness forever. Anoint us today, Lord Jesus, to hear the Word of the Living God today, let it ring in our hearts and minds for all time, let it take root in our hearts and yield a harvest of peace and happiness today. In Jesus Name we pray and ask it in faith, believing and expecting for it to come to pass. Amen and amen!!! (Give God praise where you are today before reading on. Amen?)
In the beginning was the Word. The bible says that the Word was with God and the Word was God Himself. And that Word that was in the beginning of all creation, not just man and all living things, but ALL of creation. And that the Word BECAME flesh and lived among you and I. There is no question to any of us that John is referring to Jesus in this passage. Jesus is the Word that became flesh and lived among mankind. Jesus is the Word that came to this Earth and lived as one of us. And it's this same Word that laid His life down on the cross to die in our place for the sins we committed in the past and still commit to this day.
"What do you mean by that, Preacher?" I mean, that despite everything God has done for us and still does for us today, we still fall into sin and commit sin on a daily basis. Some of us don't even realize we are sinning, others do realize that they are sinning and do it anyway. That's iniquity! "Why is THAT iniquity? Isn't all sin iniquity?" No.
Iniquity is when we sin, we know we are sinning, and we do it anyway. See, when we slip and let our emotions get the better of us and commit a sin, for example, that's not iniquity because the sin was not committed intentionally. When we know that what we are about to do IS sin in the eyes of God and we do it anyway, showing no regard or remorse for what we are about to do, that's iniquity. And Jesus said that in that Day, many will come to Him saying, "Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your Name? Didn't we do all these miraculous things in Your Name?" And the Lord said He would answer, "Depart from Me you WORKERS OF INIQUITY! I NEVER knew you!"
The reason He will say that to these people on that day, is even though they did all they said they did, they still went out committing sin in their lives, they knew they were sinning, they knew God hates sin, and yet they committed the sin none the less. Which means they never sought repentance or forgiveness for their iniquity and they never stopped living their sinful lives. It sounds to me like these people think it's okay to go out and do things the bible clearly forbids, like getting drunk, getting high, gambling, lying to people, cussing like a sailor, living the homosexual lifestyle, or it could be simply teaching others the bible says something it clearly doesn't.
I knew someone recently who went on Facebook and started telling people that Sunday was the devil's day and that anyone who worships God on Sunday is going to hell because Sunday is the Mark of the Beast. That is foolish, foolish doctrine. And if anyone goes to hell over Sunday worship, it'll be the ones who believe this messed up doctrine, go out and judge and condemn people who go to church on Sunday morning.
Colossians chapter 2, verse 16 says, "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:"
No one has any business telling you what day to worship God and to make the Sabbath Day. We are commanded in Scripture to remember the Day and keep it Holy. The bible says, "Six days you shall work, and the 7th day, you will rest from your work." That seventh day could be any day. It has been left up to you by our Heavenly Father. Man has no right, no business, and no authority to tell you when the Sabbath Day is! Period!
But this can easily be the iniquity Jesus was talking about the people working in. It can easily be teaching a false doctrine. There are people in the church today teaching doctrines that have absolutely NOTHING to do with the Gospel! And they can't understand why so many people are leaving their church? Maybe if you preached the Gospel, instead of focusing on your own theology, you would be doing better in the ministry!
It's all about the Word! The Word of God is what matters in our lives. If it doesn't line up with the Word of God, RUN!!! Don't let the glitz and glamour of this world blind you to the perfect Will of God. Don't let the lure of the lottery jackpot or the lifestyles of the rich and famous blind you to what God has for you in this life. Paul wrote in Romans chapter 12 that we should not be conformed to this world, but we are to be TRANSFORMED by the renewing of our minds. How do we renew our minds? With the Word of God. How do we use the Word of God to renew our minds? Joshua 1:8 says, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."
It's simple really. Our minds need to be flooded with the Word of God on a daily basis. That doesn't mean that we are go through life with our nose in the bible 24/7, but we are to bury ourselves so deep in it, that we are constantly reminded, we are constantly thinking and remembering what the Word of God says about whatever we see in the world we are in. 3 simple steps really.
1) Pray the Word. When you pray, speak the Word of God out loud in your prayer time. Remind God of what His Word says about you and what His Word says He will do for you. When you declare with your mouth the promises and blessings over your life found in God's Word, you will see those promises and blessings come to pass in your life. You will begin to see the hand of God Himself moving in your life, in your children's lives and in your family's lives.
2) Read the Word. When you read the bible, read it out loud, or do what I like to do. Pull up an audio bible online and play it while you read along with your own bible. The bible says that faith comes by HEARING and hearing comes by the Word of God. So, take the time to read the bible everyday. "How much should I read?" Read what you can. If you're pressed for time, read a little bit here and a little bit there. Utilize your break times at work to read a few verses. Read a few more on your lunch break. Are you going to tell me you can't eat and read and the same time? I can. Why can't you? God doesn't care about how much of His Word you read day to day. His concern is what you are getting out of His Word. God wants His Word to feed you and edify you. He wants His Word to mean something to you. He wants His Word to be like a bright light in the darkness that shines before you and chases the darkness away. God wants His Word to mean something to you. Let His Word take root in your heart today and see what God does with that!
3) Hear the Word. I know this is practically covered in step number 2, but there's more to God's Word than just reading it and hearing it either by your own mouth or an audio bible. We need to hear His Word preached. The bible says the Gospel must be preached. We need to hear the Word of God preached everyday. Not just on Sunday or Wednesday. But EVERY DAY! We need to hear the Gospel preached! And don't be to judgmental about it. There are men and women of God we can hear on a daily basis preach the Gospel. Personally, I would recommend John and Matthew Hagee. Why? Because they will preach the Gospel the way it should be preached. They are not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you want to hear good, Holy Ghost fired Gospel preaching, listen to the Hagee's. John and Matthew. John especially. John Hagee will preach the Gospel with fire, conviction, and anointing like you wouldn't believe. But find someone who will preach the Gospel. If you want a good bible study teacher, I recommend Charles Stanley. But find someone you can pull up online or watch on TV everyday. Turn off the soap operas and the talk shows! Turn off the fake news! Turn off all the drama and all the gloom, despair and agony of the world! Turn on the good news of Jesus Christ! Turn on TBN! Turn on Daystar! Go on YouTube and find something to listen to as far as the preaching of God's Word! It's there! LOOK FOR IT!!! Can you give God praise where you are today?
In closing I want to give those of you who are reading this and have not made Jesus Lord of your life to do so right now. If you're reading this and you would like Jesus to be your Savior, you can do it right where you are today. Would you pray this prayer out loud today?
"Heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I confess that I have sinned. I confess that I have and have come short of the glory of God. I ask You to forgive me of all of my sin. Cleanse me, Jesus. Purify me by the atoning Blood of Jesus Christ. From this day forward, I will serve the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind and body. And from today forward, I will read God's Word. And now, by the grace of God, and the power of the Blood, I am saved. I am redeemed, I have decided to follow Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God! My Father Who is in Heaven. Today, I make You, Jesus, my Jesus. I make You my Lord, my Savior, my redeemer, and my everything. In Jesus Holy Name, I receive Your gift of salvation today, Lord. Hallelujah!!!
If you have prayed that prayer with all your heart and in all sincerity, God bless you!!! And welcome to the family of the Living God! Right now, angels in Heaven are praising God and celebrating your salvation today!
