SERIES TITLE: The Book of Jonah
Sermon Title: THE WORD OF THE LORD
Sermon Text: "The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying" (Jonah 1:1).
The phrase "the word of the Lord" gives what was received and revealed divine status. A word from heaven increased the value of any verbal communication exponentially.
It was prophets like Jonah who heralded the word of the Lord. It was what gave them great importance. Their word wasn’t valuable because they were smarter or more intelligent than other people. Their word was important because it was a word from God. They were men in touch with God.
When David was fleeing from Saul, he was joined by Abiathar, a priest and a son of Ahimelech (1Sam. 21:1). The thing that was unique about Abiathar was that he came to David wearing a "linen ephod" (1Sam. 22:18; 23:6). When David needed direction for his life he would have Abiathar bring the linen ephod and then he would inquire of the Lord.(See 1Sam. 23:9-13.) It was this access to the word of the Lord that became a turning point in David’s life.
A word from God was an authoritative word that was invested with divine power, power to bring it to pass.
Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Mary’s statement, "be it unto me according to Thy word" indicates that she knew that every word spoken by God comes to pass.
Take the word of the Lord out of the mouth of the prophet and what he has to say is without PROFIT.
The Bible isn’t valuable because it’s about God, but because it is a word from God. Remove the word of the Lord from Bible and it is no different than any other book. The heart and value of the Bible is the word of the Lord.
The Church is valuable to the community and world only as long as it is the place of His presence and the proclaimer of His word. The world could care less about our fund raisers, our music, and our conventions.
R. T. Kendall, in preaching to the congregants of Westminster Chapel in the late ’70’s had this to say: "What is missing in the church today is the note of authority. The word of authority is not here; the church has lost it and the world outside has rejected the church. The church has ceased to command the respect of the world; the church has lost its authority because it is not preaching the message that God gave her to deliver to that world."
Where do we go for...
* a word of authority
* a word from beyond
* a word that transcends man’s intellect
* a word that causes men’s hearts to burn within them like those who encountered Jesus on the
Emmaus Road
* a word not from man, but from God.
* The word of the Lord.
Shouldn’t we be able to hear the word of the Lord in the Church?
The Laodicean Church boasted, "We are rich, wealthy, and have need of nothing," but Jesus’ word to that Church was, "you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich..." (Rev. 3:17, 18).
Material wealth is no replacement for true riches-spiritual wealth-a word from the Lord.
The Psalmist said, "The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tried in a furnace of earth, which has gone through the purifying process seven times" (Psalm 12:6).
The pure word of the Lord is of inestimable worth to the people of God and to the world. It is more valuable than silver and gold. The Psalmist declared:
Psalm 119:72 - "The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and
silver."
Psalm 19:9-11 - "The judgments of the Lord [or His words] are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than hone and the honey in the combs. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward."
Apart from "the word of the Lord," we are left to depend upon the foolishness of our own understanding. Again, it is the Psalmist who speaks to this issue when he said:
Psalm 119:130 - "The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple."
Psalm 19:7 - "The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple."
Apart from "the word of the Lord," we are left with the limitations of our inferior understanding. We run to...
* cunningly devised fables (2Pe. 1:16),
* traditions,
* pseudo-philosophy,
* false teachers,
* false prophets,
* snake oil salesmen and
* religious hucksters.
We’re like wealthy men who want to make an investment, but who without a word from E. F. Hutton or A. G. Edwards invest good money into junk bonds and bankrupt companies.
It’s not like we haven’t been warned. Paul penned it from a Roman prison around 67 A.D., when he wrote:
"For the time will come when they will not endure healthy teaching, but according to their own desires...they will gather up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth [the word of the Lord], and be turned aside to fables." (2Tim. 4:3, 4)
It is a characteristic of the "last days," those days that precede the coming of the Lord.
2Tim. 3:1 - But be informed of this, that in the last days perilous times will come
2Tim. 3:13 - Evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
And what is Paul’s remedy for this malady?
2Tim. 3:14, 15 - But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures [the word of the Lord], which are able to make you wise..."
The remedy is "the word of the Lord." Our security and safety depends upon...
* knowing it,
* hearing it and
* heeding it.
The word of the Lord is more valuable than silver and gold, but we lose its value when we hear it
without heeding it. Jonah was given a wonderful treasure, but instead of heeding it he disobeyed it.
In Psalm 119:9, the Psalmist asked, "How can a young man cleanse his way?"
* How can a young man walk above the filth and foolishness of the world in which he lives?
* How does one keep themselves "unspotted from the world" (James 1:27)?
* How do we keep from being "conformed to this world" (Ro. 12:2)?
Can Oprah help us? Can Dr. Phil give us what we need?
How can a young man cleanse his way? The Psalmist’s answer is simple, direct and clear: "By taking heed according to Your word" (Ps. 119:9).
* The Living Bible says, "By reading your word and following its rules."
* Simply put, "By taking sides with God’s Word against ourselves" or
* "By obeying the Word."
The song writer declared it this way...
We don’t need another political uprising...
But what we need is a special word
That will burn within our hearts
And give us direction from above
We need a Word from the Lord
Just one word from the Lord
Will remove all doubt and cause the sun to shine
And give us peace of mind
Speak Lord-Speak
Lord we lack your wisdom and understanding
And we lack the love you show in the Son
And Lord we’ve faltered in the way
And we stand so much to gain, so give us your Word Lord
Speak Lord
It’s amazing how a word, one little word from the Lord can change everything.
* David was given a word that changed his life...it came in the form of oil being poured upon his head.
* Later, he was given another word that lifted him from his snare...thou art the man.
* Mary was given a word that changed her life...you shall conceive...be it unto me according to.
* Paul was given a word that changed Macedonia...come over and help us.
* Jonah was given a word that changed his life and eventually the lives of those living in Nineveh.
Positive change is not in the hearing, but in the heeding.
Instead of saying we need a word from the Lord, perhaps we need to recognize and value the word
He has given us. Perhaps we need to repent and ask God to reveal the written word and help us heed that word, for there is power in His Word to bring forth...
* marvelous change,
* revival,
* healing, and
* transformation,
...but we must give that word place in our lives by faithing it and obeying it.
In the 1930s in Stavropol, Russia, Stalin ordered that all Bibles be confiscated and Christian believers be sent to prison camps. Ironically, most of the Bibles were not destroyed, yet many Christians died as "enemies of the state."
With the recent dissolution of the U.S.S.R., a CoMission team arrived in Stavropol in 1994 for ministry. Their request to have Bibles shipped to Moscow was being held up. But someone told them about a warehouse outside of town where confiscated Bibles were still stored. Remarkably, the team was granted permission to distribute them. Hiring several local Russian workers, they began to load their trucks.
One young man, a hostile agnostic, came only for the day’s wages. But not long after they had started, he disappeared. He was found in the corner of the warehouse, weeping, a Bible in his hands. Intending to steal it for himself, he had picked his own grandmother’s off the shelf! Her signature was on the front page. Today, that young Russian is in the process of being transformed by the very Bible that his grandmother was persecuted for, but still held dear.
It is the Word that will change us...positively if we heed it and negatively if we disregard it. In his attempt to run from God, Jonah ran into a storm and the mouth of a great fish.
What is God saying to you?
What do you need to do to release the power of God’s word in your life?
What life action on your part will turn hearing into heeding and reversal into revival?
--
1. R. T. Kendall, Jonah: An Expostion, p. 11.
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Series Title: The Book of Jonah
Sermon Title: The Word of The Lord
Sermon Text: Jonah 1:1
Sermon Date: Preached to PAG on May 29, 2004 at 11:00 A.M., by Louis Bartet (Assemblies of God)
Copyright 2004, by Louis Bartet
