NOTE: New Light Faith Ministries and Barry Johnson Ministries, founded by Rodney V. Johnson and Barry O. Johnson, respectively, are partnering to offer Bible studies for Christians who are seeking to grow in their relationship with Jesus. This is a Bible study lesson, not a sermon. The Bible studies teach foundational truth that are designed to challenge, encourage and, most importantly, flame the fire of hunger in the Christian who wants to learn more about who they have become in Christ Jesus. The Bible studies you find on this site contains the written version of the lesson. However, these lessons also include a video and an audio file of the study, a PDF version of the lesson and a sheet for note taking. If you would like any of the additional resources for these studies, please email us at newlightfaithministries@gmail.com or bjteachingltr@gmail.com for more information or contact us at the email provided on both of our Sermon Central pages. Please visit our YouTube Channel (Barry Johnson Ministries; New Light Faith Ministries, Inc.) to watch or listen to these lessons as well as other available sermons. Be blessed.
Taking God at His Word
(Rev. Rodney Johnson and Rev. Barry Johnson)
Hello everyone and thank you for joining us for our March Bible study. There’s a difference between hearing a promise and believing a promise. We’ve all been let down before. People said they would show up and didn’t. They said they would help and couldn’t. They said they would stay and left. So, we learn to be cautious. But here’s the problem: sometimes we treat God like we treat people. We hear His Word, but we hesitate to trust it. God says, “I will provide,” and we still worry. God says, “I am with you,” and we still feel alone. God says, “I will make a way,” and we still panic. And the question becomes: “Will you take God at His Word – even when you don’t see it yet? The title of this month’s lesson is “Taking God at His Word” and in some ways, this is a personal study for us. Taking God at His Word means believing what God says is true; trusting His promises even without visible proof; and acting on His Word in faith. It is not just hearing Scripture – it’s relying on it.
In John 17:14-16, Jesus says of His disciples “(14) I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. (15) I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. (16) They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (John 17:14-16) This passage reminds me of a song we sang years ago in church. “This world is not my home. I'm just a passing through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, and I can't be at home in this world anymore. Oh Lord, you know, I have no friend like you. If heaven’s not my home, oh Lord what should I do? The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, and I can't be at home in this world anymore.”
The words to this song took on a little more meaning for us when we laid the body of our brother Delrick to rest three years ago. He received a cancer diagnosis in July of that year, and his decline was very rapid. But after his diagnosis, he made it clear that he did not want anyone moping around or being depressed and his reason was simple. He said if God healed him, it meant that he had more work to do. But, if God did not heal him, then he would die and be forever in His presence. Either way he was good because both were a win/win situation for him. Delrick did not want a funeral. All he wanted was a visitation for family and friends and then a burial. He also wrote something that he wanted those in attendance to here at his burial. We want to share it with you:
“If you died today, do you know where you’ll spend eternity? I did. Prior to 2016, my eternity would have been in hell. The Bible says that all liars, fornicators, adulterers, etc. will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. If I had died back in 2016, because I was doing those things and some, I would have died in my sins. True, like some of you here today, I was raised in church with the belief ‘once saved, always saved.’ However, that isn’t the case. Would you like to know where I am? I’m at home in my Father’s house. I’m in the mansion prepared for me. I’m where I want to be, safe in God’s quiet, peaceful house. I no longer suffer the pains of my earthly body. I’m in the presence of my creator. I see face to face – God. “Would you like to know what I’m doing? I’m engaged in the sweet enjoyment of my redeemer. I’m singing hallelujahs to Him Who sits on the throne. “Would you like to know the company I keep? It’s better than the best of earth. Here are the holy angels and the spirits of just men made perfect. I’m with my family and friends who came before me. “Lastly would you like to know how long this will last? Forever and ever! You have a choice to make while you’re still breathing. Heaven or Hell.” (Delrick J. Johnson)
Our brother was a very private person, but since 2016 he would tell anyone who would listen that he loved God and that they needed to be saved. Now the reason we wanted to share what he wrote is because of what he said about “once saved always saved.” You see, Delrick, like most of us who grew up in the Baptist tradition, was taught the doctrine “once saved always saved.” He had watched how so many Christians lived their lives with one foot in the church and with one foot in the world because they believed that once they had been baptized nothing they did after that affected their salvation. But in 2016 Delrick began to read the Bible on his own. He set aside the things he had been taught and simply looked to God to reveal Himself through His Word. And God did. Our brother came to understand that “once saved always saved” was not true simply by reading the Bible and keeping the verses used to teach it in context. He chose to believe what God had said about the teaching and not what man had said about it. When he made that choice, Delrick understood the truth, accepted the truth, and then wanted anyone willing to hear him to know this truth. So the last years of his life he spent witnessing to his friends and family who were not saved.
We know that Delrick read Revelations 3:5 which says, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” The only way a person's name can be blotted out of the Book of Life is if the person’s name is already in the Book of Life. Jesus tells us plainly that it is possible to have our names removed from the Book of Life, which means we no longer have salvation. To Delrick, that didn’t sound like “once saved, always saved.” In 2016, Delrick began his journey toward understanding the singular truth most in the Church miss – believing what God says in His Word is the only way home. It’s the only way to heaven. Delrick had chosen to live his life on an unchangeable foundation: the Bible, God’s Word. He took God at His Word. Over time, he began to see the Bible the way His Father saw it.
In Psalm 138:2 we read how God views His Word. “I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” (Psalm 128:2) We know that God’s Word contains His promises to us. In the Hebrew, the word “above” is a preposition that means “upon, over, against, by, to, or for.” Now we know that nothing and no one is above God. We also know that a person’s word is only as good as his or her willingness to keep it. With this in mind, a case can be made for rendering “above” as “upon.” We could read that last part of Psalm 138:2 this way: “…for Thou hast magnified Thy Word upon all Thy name.” God Himself is the foundation that upholds and supports His Word. When God gave us the Bible, He also gave us His personal word – His personal guarantee – to fulfill every promise that’s in it. In other words, when God, our Father, gave us the His written Word, He put His name and His reputation on the line that He would be faithful to bring to pass His Word in our lives when we believe it. Ladies and gentlemen, without God, there is no Word to magnify.
Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” People lie. People change. People break promises. God cannot lie. God does not change. When God says something, He means it. and He brings it to pass. He makes good on His promises. Why? Because God’s name and His Word are synonymous. They are one and the same! And this is important, God’s Word stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”(Isaiah 40:8) Circumstances change but God’s Word does not. Abraham believed God and we see this in his response when God tells him to leave his family. “Now the Lord had said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, from your family and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you.’” (Genesis 12:1)
When talking about Abraham, Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Abraham heard the Word of the Lord and believed the Word of the Lord, and because of that, he did what the Lord commanded him to do. He didn’t understand everything. He didn’t even know where he was going. But Abraham knew God and he trusted Him. Hebrews chapter eleven verse eight begins with two key words: “By faith.” Abraham’s story is not primarily about geography. It’s about trust. Faith was the reason he moved. Faith was the strength that sustained him. Faith was the evidence that he trusted God. Faith is not passive belief. Faith is active trust in God’s Word. Abraham didn’t just hear God – he responded with obedience. He left familiarity, security, and comfort. Faith demanded action. We haven’t fully trusted God’s Word until we’re willing to move on it.
“By faith” Abraham took God at His Word. We are here in Hebrews chapter 11. Let's read verses nine and ten. “(9) By faith he (Abraham) dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; (10) for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:9-10) The word dwelt means “to be a stranger, to dwell at a place only for a short time.” The person lives in a foreign country, lives “in a country of people who are not like him, who have different values, and who think differently. This is powerful because Abraham was in the promised land – but still living like a stranger. Spiritually, in most instances, the people in the foreign country are “hostile and enemies” to the person, to what the person believes, and to the person’s way of living.
Now we want you to hear this clearly: Abraham had a tent mentality. A tent mentality says: “I’m not tied to this world – I’m following God wherever He leads.” Remember the song Barry mentioned at the beginning? “This world is not my home…” Abraham was able to live in a country – in a society, in a culture – that was hostile to him and everything he believed because he knew God and he knew that He would keep His word, His promise, to him. Abraham lived by faith. He simply took God at His word. And, when you take God at His Word, you won’t get too comfortable in temporary places – because you know God is preparing for you something permanent. Imagine signing a contract with someone who has never broken a promise – not once, not ever. That’s God. Every promise in Scripture is backed by His perfect character. Joshua says, “Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” (Joshua 21:45) Not one. Not some. Not most. Not one single word failed. That means: if God promised deliverance – He delivers! If God promised provision – He provides. If God promised victory – He delivers the victory. God has a 100% success rate.
When our brother decided to believe God’s Word without man’s interpretation – without man’s “interference” – he concluded that if he did not make some changes in his life he would die in his sins and go to hell. He went from a person who was very private to one of the loudest and passionate heralds of the Gospel, especially to the members of our family who are not saved. So, our questions are simple: “Do we believe God’s Word the way He believes it?” “Do we take God at His Word?” God has never lost a case! God has never missed a deadline! God has never broken a promise! Let me give you a few examples:
? In John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Do we believe Him? My brother did. If this world is not our home, we must believe this too.
? In John 17:14, Jesus spoke prophetically about His disciples and us when He said, “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” And in John 17:16 He repeats, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” Do we believe Jesus is also talking about us? My brother did. If this world is not our home, we must believe this too.
? In First John 1:5, the Bible says, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” And in verse nine of this chapter it says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Do we believe we need to repent when we sin? My brother did. If this world is not our home, we must believe this too.
? In Isaiah 8:11-12, the Bible says, “(11) For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying: (12) ‘Do not say, 'A conspiracy,' Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” Do we believe what the world believes and fear what the world fears? My brother didn’t. If the world is not our home, neither should we.
? And finally, in the face of opposition from the religious leaders, the apostles said in Acts 5:29, “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’” Is this how we live? My brother lived this way. If the world is not our home, we should too.
When you sit in a chair, you don’t test it for 30 minutes. You trust it will hold you and you sit down. That’s what God is asking: Sit your life down on My Word. Ladies and gentlemen, our brother’s life was not perfect. Far from it. But when he came to know Jesus, it changed him and I mean, it really changed him. At the visitation for family and friends, my uncle told me several times that he had never seen such a change in a person’s life as he had seen in Delrick. The change was so dramatic that he believed that Jesus Himself had visited Delrick. Knowing how Delrick lived before 2016, I wouldn’t be surprised! Turn to Colossians 1:9-14.
“(9) For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (10) that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; (11) strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; (12) giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. (13) He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (14) in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:9-14)
Jesus delivered us from Satan’s authority. When we truly begin to grasp and understand the fullness of what that means, our lives will change dramatically too. We will no longer choose to side with the world instead of our Father. We will no longer see the Bible, God’s Word, as a book to consider as we go about our lives. Instead, our lives will be one that imitates the life of our Father – believing what He believes, saying what He says, and acting the way He acts.
There’s a scene in the movie “Big George Foremen” that describes what Delrick came to understand, what some of us now understand, but what most of the Church still doesn’t understand. When Foreman tells his manager that he will no longer be a boxer but a preacher of the gospel, his manager didn’t believe him. Foreman says, “Remember when you told me that you traded one uniform for another?” (His manager had been a boxer but had to give up his career when he was drafted into the army.) Foreman said, “That’s what I’m doing. You can understand that, can’t you?” His manager responded, “I had no say, George. My choice was made for me.” Foreman’s response was simple, but oh so powerful – “So was mine.”
Sometimes we struggle to take God at His Word because it hasn’t happened yet. But just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it’s not happening. God works behind the scenes, on His timing and according to His plan. Life will test what you believe. Storms will come. Doubt will come. Fear will come. But when everything else is uncertain – God’s Word is still sure. You don’t stand on feelings, on opinions or on circumstances. You stand on the Word of God. God is not asking you to figure it out. He’s asking you to trust Him. Not trust your understanding; not trust what you see; not trust how you feel. Trust His Word. Because when you take God at His Word: you can have peace in chaos; you can have hope in darkness; and you can have confidence in uncertainty. Barry, do you have any closing remarks before I close with prayer?
