Please open your Bibles to Psalm 119. We’re going to read verses 127 and 128.
“Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. [And because I feel this way about your Word] Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.”
David said something that many in the Church will find challenging to accept and believe. He says that everything God says, and for us it’s everything He says in the Bible, no matter the subject, no matter the situation or circumstance, is ALWAYS right. For David, whatever God says about a matter ends all discussion. For David, God was the final authority in his life.
This is not true for many in the Church. Why is that? Many listen to and agree with “the world” more than they listen to and agree God.
We live in a world that constantly tells us we need more. More information. More opinions. More strategies. More voices. More surveys. More alternatives. More. More. More. Yet, in the middle of all that noise, God speaks a steady, unchanging and uncompromising truth:
“My Word is MORE than enough.”
My Word is MORE than enough to build your faith.
My Word is MORE than enough to get you through your struggles.
My Word is MORE than enough to guide you in your decisions.
My Word is MORE than enough in all situations you will ever face.
My Word is MORE than enough.
Period!
Jesus says in John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”
In these two verses we see a powerful truth: our words have power! They have power to produce life in our lives, or they have power to produce death in our lives.
When we speak in agreement with God and His Word, we are speaking His life into our lives so that His promises can manifest and be fulfilled in our lives. When we speak in opposition to God and His Word, we are speaking death into our lives. We are closing the door to His promises becoming a reality in our lives. It’s really that simple.
The Bible is the Word of God, and the Word of God is life.
Last month, I delivered a message titled "God’s Word is enough” that looked at the children of Israel’s response to the word the Lord had given to them through Moses about the promised land. The passage we looked at is found in Deuteronomy chapter one. We are going to read verses 20 and 21.
(20) And I (Moses) said unto you, Ye are come into the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us.
(21) Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not neither be discouraged.
But the word from the Lord wasn’t enough for the children of Israel, so Moses agreed to send 12 spies to verify that what the Lord had said about the land was true. If you’re taking notes, you can go back and read the record, which is found in Numbers 13 and 14. The spies returned and said the land was exactly how the Lord had described it. But 10 of the spies gave their reasons as to why Israel could not go up and possess their land.
Turn to Numbers 13. The Bible refers to what the 10 spies said as “an evil report.” We’re going to read verses 32 and 33.
(32) And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
(33) And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Because the people believed the 10 spies, Moses said in Deuteronomy 1:26, “Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God.”
The sad thing about what we are seeing here is that the Lord HAD ALREADY GIVEN THEM THE LAND. All the children of Israel needed to do what BELIEVE what the Lord had said and the Promised Land would be their new home.
As I thought about the message afterwards, other examples came to mind of people who believed God’s Word was enough. But, as I thought about them, I realized that God’s Word wasn’t just enough for them – it was MORE than enough. We are going to look at four examples of God’s Word being MORE than enough beginning with ABRAHAM in Genesis 12. Let’s begin with verse one.
(1) Now the LORD had said unto Abram (Abraham), Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
What was the word of the Lord to Abram? “Abram, I want you to take your family and pack up all that you own and leave your father, your mother, and your relatives and go to a land that I have hand picked for you and your family.”
(2) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
(3) And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
(4) So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
“So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken unto him.” It doesn’t say he asked the Lord when he should leave. It doesn’t say he asked the Lord where he was going or how long it was going to take to get there. And, it doesn’t say Abram asked why he needed to leave all of his relatives.
It simply says, “So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken unto him.” Ladies and gentlemen, for Abram (Abraham), God’s Word was MORE than enough for him to take the first step to the land of promise.
Now, let’s look at two records involving PETER AND JOHN.
In Acts 3, Peter and John heal a man born lame and it sends shockwaves throughout Jerusalem. Look at verse 11.
“And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.”
This opened the door for Peter and John to share the gospel in verses 12 through 26.
But the religious leaders were none too happy about it.
Turn to Acts 4, beginning with verse one.
(1) And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,
(2) Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
(3) And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.
The religious leaders send the temple guards to haul Peter and John to stand before them because they wanted to know who gave them the authority to do preach that Jesus had risen from the dead (verses 6-7). But Peter’s response wasn’t very satisfying.
Jump down to verse 8.
(8) Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
(9) If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
(10) Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
(11) This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
(12) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
The religious leaders were furious, but because the man who was healed was standing with Peter and John, they couldn’t deny what Peter had said so they called an impromptu meeting.
(16) Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.
(17) But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.
(18) And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
(19) But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
(20) For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
Here in Acts 4, we see that God's Word was MORE than enough for Peter and John to defy the religious rulers and proclaim that Jesus is the only who has been raised from the dead and, not only that, it is through Jesus that a person will be able to spend an eternity with God.
Now, let’s look at Acts 5.
The chapter opens with Peter confronting Anaias and Sapphira, who had lied about the value of the property they were giving to the Church. Look at verse three.
(3) But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
(4) Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
(5) And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
Three hours later his wife, Sapphira told Peter the same lie. Look at verse nine.
(9) Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
After this happened, verse 11 says “And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.” As a result, the first part of verse 12 says, “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people.”
Now look at verse 14. We are also going to read verses 15 and 16.
(14) And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.
(15) Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
(16) There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
Everything was fine until verse 17.
(17) Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection and that is why they were sad you see? I laugh every time I see their name.
(18) And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
Once again, Peter and John find themselves in the crosshairs of the religious leaders. We know this story. An angel of the Lord shows up and breaks them out of prison, and he tells them, in verse 20, to continue sharing the gospel: “Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.”
The next morning, the captain of the officers find Peter and John in the temple teaching. Jump down to verse 27.
(27) And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
(28) Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
(29) Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Again, here in Acts 5, we see that God's Word was MORE than enough for Peter and John to defy the religious rulers and proclaim that they will continue to obey God by preaching and teaching that Jesus has been raised from the dead and that it is through Him that a person will be able to spend an eternity with God.
In Acts 4:20, Peter and John said, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” And in Acts 5:29 they said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
Ladies and gentlemen, for Peter and John, God’s Word was MORE than enough for them to take a bold and uncompromising stand against the religious leaders, twice.
Now, turn to Luke 17. We are going to look at the record of the TEN LEPERS.
(11) And it came to pass, as He (Jesus) went to Jerusalem, that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
(12) And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
(13) And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
(14) And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
On His way to Jerusalem, 10 lepers were standing afar off and began yelling to get Jesus’ attention. Once they had it, they asked Him for one thing, mercy. “Jesus, please have mercy on us and deliver us from this living death.” And Jesus simply said, “Go show the priests that you no longer have leprosy and that you are now clean.”
What happens next shows us that Jesus’ word was MORE than enough for them. “And it came to pass, that, AS THEY WENT…” Ladies and gentlemen, for the lepers, Jesus’ Word was MORE than enough for them to take their first step to freedom from leprosy.
Our last example is found in Matthew eight. We are going to look at the record about THE CENTURION.
(5) And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him,
(6) And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
(7) And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.
(8) The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
(9) For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
(10) When Jesus heard it, He marvelled …. (Matthew 8:5-10a)
The word servant refers to “a boy or male child.” The word palsy means “paralyzed.” The centurion is pleading with Jesus to heal a paralyzed child who is his servant. Capture that. What does this say about this man? Well, that’s for another teaching. 😊
Jesus tells the centurion that He will go with him and heal the child, but the centurion says simply, “speak the word only.” The word “speak” means “to speak authoritatively, to direct, bid, command.” The centurion tells Jesus, “I am a man under authority, and I know what authority looks like and I know what authority sounds like. All you have to do is say my servant is healed and he will be healed.”
When Jesus heard that, verse 10 says “He marvelled” and says in verse 13, “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”
Ladies and gentlemen, Jesus’ Word was MORE than enough for the centurion to believe that his servant was healed.
Each day, whatever is going on in our lives, we must decide, beforehand, that God’s Word Is MORE Than Enough for that situation.
When Jesus responded to Satan’s temptations in Matthew 4:4, He said, “… It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Bread feeds the body while the Word feeds the soul. You can have success and still be empty on the inside. You can have comfort and still be out of sorts. But when you live on God’s Word, you discover strength that has been lying dormant inside of you waiting for you to access it. You can have peace that doesn’t depend on circumstances. You can have hope that you will survive the suffering. The Word doesn’t just inform – it sustains. God’s Word Is MORE Than Enough!
Ladies and gentlemen, Children of God, is God’s Word MORE than enough for you? We don’t need to improve God’s Word. We don’t need to replace God’s Word. We don’t need to dilute God’s Word. We need to trust it, feed on it, live it, and stand on it. When everything else shakes, God’s Word stands firm. When voices fail, God’s Word still speaks. When life feels uncertain, God’s Word is the stability that we need. So let us be a people who don’t just own Bibles – but are formed by them. Why? Because God’s Word has been MORE than enough, is MORE than enough, and will always be MORE than enough.
Please stand.
