"The Living Word Of God”

“THE LIVING WORD OF GOD”

Hebrews 4:11-16

July 27, 2008

Pastor John L. Harper

Warden Assembly of God

Introduction:

• It is hard work to enter the rest of God

• God’s Word reveals what keeps us from rest

• Once the hindrance is revealed we can go to Jesus who will help us enter His rest

I. THE SEARCHING WORD OF GOD(vs. 11-13)

A. God’s Word is powerful (and it gives life to its hearers)

1. It is alive

(Backpack with all of his notes stolen, window cracked one inch; 5 minutes at Post Office)

“My friend the Holy Spirit also reminded me about something else that had just happened a few weeks before: the release of the Fire Bible in Malagasy. The Fire Bible is the first ever, complete study Bible for the Malagasy people. It is a lasting and eternal gift that cannot be lost or stolen. As much as I think the plans and dreams that I lost in that backpack are important, God’s Word has much more power to change Madagascar. God’s Word is living and active, it will cut to the heart of the issues in this nation. My plans are pretty insignificant in the light of all that.” (Nate Lashway Missionary to Madagascar July 21, 2008)

2. It is active

a. It won’t fade (I Peter 1:24-25)

b. It will not pass away (Matthew 24:35)

3. It is sharper than a two edged sword

a. A broad short sword

b. The Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17)

B. God’s Word is penetrating

(Mutiny on the Bounty Pitcairn) To Captain Folger’s surprise, he found natives who spoke a garbled English. It turned out that the mutineers of the Bounty had settled on uninhabited Pitcairn, where they had fought with each other and the native men (and women) until all the men were dead except two: Edward Young and John Adams (also known as Alexander Smith).

Ashamed of the violence and horrors they had witnessed and partaken of, the two remaining mutineers began to read the Bible (which became their textbook) and to teach it to the children who had been born to the settlement. By the time Folger arrived, Young, too had been dead several years, of an asthma attack. Adams was patriarch of the clan. Thanks to his continued efforts, the older children were able to read and write a little (Adams was poorly educated) and the whole community was devout.

Indeed, what impressed early visitors most was the obvious piety of the islanders, who prayed morning and evening and both before and after their meals, did not engage in the sexual promiscuity common to other islands, were able to recite the creed and parts of the Bible and observed the "Sabbath" (as they called Sunday). One observer wrote, "In conducting the most trivial affairs they are guided by the Scriptures, which they have read diligently, and from which they quote with a freedom and frequency that rather impairs the effect."

1. It penetrates our spirits and souls (Psalm 139)

2. It penetrates our joints and marrow

“The surgeon carries a bright and powerful light for every dark crevice and a sharp knife for the removal of all the pus revealed by the light. (A.T. Robertson)

3. It is a discerner of our thoughts (I Cor. 14:24-25)

4. It is a discerner of our intents

Accident Reports

The following are actual quotes from accident reports submitted to various insurance companies by hapless policyholders:

• Coming home, I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don’t have.

• The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intentions.

• I thought my window was down, but found it was up when I put my hand through it.

• I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way.

• The guy was all over the road; I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.

• I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.

AIDE Magazine

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Auto Accident Explanations

According to a UPI news item, the Metropolitan Insurance Company received some unusual explanations for accidents from its automobile policyholders. The following are just few:

• “An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car, and vanished.”

• “The other car collided with mine without warning me of its intention.”

• “I had been driving my car for 40 years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had the accident.”

• “As I reached an intersection, a hedge sprang up, obscuring my vision.”

• “I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.”

• “The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I ran over him.”