What God's Word Can Do For You

What God's Word Can Do for You

Hebrews 4:12-16

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - February 7, 2016

*Is there anybody here who wants to be weak in their Christian life? -- No! We want to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might! But in order to get there, we must spend time in the Word of God. And today's Scripture can help us see what God's Word can do for you.

1. First: God's Word can give us a heavenly view of our hearts.

*We've heard of getting a bird's-eye view of things, but we really need is a God's-eye view of things, and the Bible can give me a God's-eye view of my heart. It really can help us see things from God's point of view.

[1] God's Word can point out our problems.

*We see this truth in vs. 12: "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

*Here God is telling us that His Word can penetrate deep inside our hearts.

*We use CAT Scans, MRIs and ultrasound machines to look inside our bodies, but nothing can penetrate us like the Word of God can. It can cut through the spiritual calluses that build up around our heart and convict us of sin. That's one of the most crucial things the Bible can do in our lives: It can convict us of our sins. And all of us need this conviction, because all of us have sinned.

*But without God's Word, we cannot even tell right from wrong. You may say that everyone is born with a conscience, and I agree with that up to a point. But in Jeremiah 17:9 God tells us that "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. . ."

*That's why on New Year's Eve hundreds of women in Cologne, Germany were sexually assaulted by Muslim refugee immigrants. And that's why a couple of weeks ago, ISIS Muslims thought it was good to behead a 14-year-old boy who missed Friday prayers. They've been taught that it was okay to do those horrendous things. (1)

*Without God's Word, human beings are simply not wise enough or good enough to even tell right from wrong. That's why some other atrociously bad things like abortion are perfectly legal in our country today.

*And that's why ungodly people have worked so hard to ridicule the Bible and remove it from public life. The greatest tragedy of the last 50 years is that they have been so successful. And that is the main reason why our country is in such trouble today.

*But in Isaiah 5, God says:

20. Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

*All of us need the Bible in our hearts and minds, because it really can help us see things from God's point of view. You see, the problem is that we have a tendency to grow calloused to our sinfulness. We tend to deceive ourselves and justify ourselves, but the Word of God can break through those walls of self-deception!

[2] God's Word can point out our problems. -- And it can point out our possibilities!

*On the surface, I may not look like much, but God takes a deeper look! And in 2 Corinthians 5:17, God says this to all Christians: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

*In 2 Peter 2:9, God tells Christians that we are part of "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

*Then in Philippians 4:13, He tells me: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." God's Word shows me that I have amazing possibilities for my life.

2. That's what God's Word can do for you: It can give you a heavenly view of your heart. -- But it can also give spiritual birth to your soul.

*Verse 12 helps us see this truth, because it tells us that the Word of God is "quick" or "living". The Bible is not like any other book. -- It's alive! It's spiritually alive. The Word of God is a living thing and it has the power to give us spiritual life.

*The Holy Spirit of God uses the written Word of God to give us eternal life with the nature of God. That's why John 20:30-31 says: