THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET
DO YOU HEAR HIM CALLING?
Hebrews 4:12-13 & Psalm 19:7 – 11
Gods Living and Powerful Word for today’s Believers
By Pastor Thomas Boris
Kingdom Life Chapel
Praise the Lord Jesus for He is worthy of all praise and honor and glory. Amen! Please turn to Hebrews 4:12 – 13 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His site, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. I think we can all agree that Gods word is living and powerful; Right. My question then is this. Why does it seem not to always work for us? Is the word of God found in Hebrews 4:12 that we just read a true statement? Again we all agree that Gods word is living and powerful! The question still remains, why does it seem not to work for us? Let’s see how the word explains this! However, even though the word of God is living and powerful, Hebrews 4:2 tells us this; For indeed the gospel (the living and powerful word of God) was preached to us as well as to them; (Gods word does not change, it is the same yesterday, today and forever) but the word which they heard did not profit them, (why) not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. First of all, we find that unless we add faith to the word, it is not living or powerful in our life. Secondly, who were they that heard it? Let’s turn to Hebrews 3:16-19 for who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? We find that these were believers in God! Just like you and me today, right? Verse 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? It is clear that it was those who whom He brought out of captivity. Again, just like you and me. Here we also see Gods great love and mercy that He that He had for His people for forty years before He became angry. Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? Why did God become angry? Because they refused to turn away from their sins even though He delivered them out of the hand of Pharaoh just like He delivered us out of the hand of Satan. So what was their reward? They died in the wilderness because they did not mix faith with the word they heard. In other words they did not act on the word of God, and that is what will happen to everyone who claims to be a believer even today, but remains in disobedience because they did not mix faith with God’s word. Verse 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Where was the place that they could not enter? The Promised Land. So we find according to the word of God, that there is no evidence of once saved always saved because God is no respecter of persons.
Psalm 19 and read verses 7-11. The law (or the word) of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony (the results of the word mixed with faith) of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.
We want to ask ourselves this question! Matthew 24:35 tells us this about God’s word and how important it is in our life. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. There are many other verses of Scripture that describe the role that God’s word plays in our daily life and whether we will be successful in our endeavors or whether we will be defeated by the things that we face in our everyday life. In other words, we must be doers of the word and not just hearers of the word. James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Remember Saints the word of God is living and powerful there are no words that man can speak on his own initiative that will produce what God’s word produces when men and women of God speak His word with integrity and truth. His word when spoken with faith brings spiritual life to those who would receive it by faith and it is also powerful enough to raise the dead even as Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave. We also see that His word is sharper than any two edged sword that can pierce the heart and the spirit of man just as when Peter spoke the word in Acts chapter 2:36-39 it pierced the hearts of those who heard and brought conviction upon their soul and they repented and were baptized in the name of Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. We must understand that when all else fails, God’s word will prevail. Even though heaven and earth shall pass away, His words will still be powerful and life-sustaining in the life of the believer when mixed with faith.
Okay let’s start at Psalm 19 verse seven and I’m going to read through verse 11. Here we’re going to find a six-fold description of God’s word and what His word is able to accomplish in the life of the believer. Psalm 19:7-11 the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.
(1)Verse 7a the law of the Lord (or the word) is perfect– I believe that in all of man’s wisdom and knowledge he has not created anything perfect. He may have come close. We can attest that God’s words or laws are perfect, infallible meaning they are 100% pure. What does this pure perfect word of God produce? The answer is this; it converts the soul when accompanied with faith. We find that man is able to accomplish many great things. However he is not able to convert man’s soul. It is only possible through the word of God that we can pass from death unto life and gain eternal salvation.
(2)Verse 7b the testimony of the Lord is sure– since we have concluded that the word of God is perfect and living and powerful we must also come to the conclusion that the testimonies of Noah, Abraham, Daniel, the Hebrew children, Joseph, Peter, Paul, and all of those that we read and study about in God’s word are sure. What about those of us who are here today? Do we have a testimony? Is our testimony sure? What makes our testimony sure? It can only be the law or the word of the Lord which was able to convert our souls. Amen! What are the results of these testimonies? I cannot speak for everybody here this morning; we can only speak for ourselves. As I read God’s word concerning the testimony of those written about in God’s word I can only say that my faith is increased because of their testimonies. I can also say with great confidence that through God’s word and the working of the Holy Spirit, we are also able to be great witnesses for our Lord Jesus Christ. The results of the testimonies of the Lord are making wise the simple. What is meant by this statement? The Bible says that God uses the simple things to confound the wise of this world. The great scientists of this world tried to prove how the universe came into existence. They say it was the Big Bang theory and it happened millions and millions of years ago. As wise as these men are, as well educated as they are, they cannot comprehend that God spoke the word and all things both visible and invisible came into existence. This is because the testimony of the Lord is sure. Every person both saved in unsaved will leave a Mark when we depart from this earth. May those of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and the only way that we might approach the throne of God leave a Mark that is sure to pierce the hearts of those who will have seen or heard our testimony. I believe what is meant here is that when one reads the words of God or studies the word of God with an honest and sincere heart they (the words of God) will lead to an understanding and make one wise unto salvation.
(3)Verse 8a the statutes (or the ways) of the Lord are right. What we are assured of here in this verse is that the directions that God gives us for our lives can be trusted because His ways are right. We know this is a fact because we learned that His testimonies were sure. Here are just a few of his examples. Please read the following testimonies. 1st Kings 17:2-6 the word of the Lord came to him saying, (what came to him?) (The living and powerful word) Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is East of Jordan. It shall be that you shall drink of the brook, (that is simple enough to believe) and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there. (Now this is another story) So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is East of Jordan. (What did Elijah do?) (He mixed the word with FAITH) (What was the result of him mixing Gods word with FAITH?) Vs. 6 gives us the answer the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. Somebody say Amen to That!!
Let’s take a look at the New Testament. Turn to Luke 5:1 – 6 now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. (They were calling it a day) And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch. Simon answered and said Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, (now that seems to me like a very logical reason that Jesus should understand. Don’t you?) Can you even begin to imagine the expression on Peter’s face and the other fishermen who were with him when Jesus told them to go back out and cast in their nets in the same place where they had fished all night? They were tired they were exhausted they were up all night fishing and caught absolutely nothing. Did you ever find yourself in the same situation tired and exhausted and tried everything in your power to accomplish a task and then failed? What was a look on your face or what was your response when Jesus asked you to do it all over again? A way that seemed very illogical to you. It was probably just like Peter and the other fishermen. However, here is what Simon replied but I will do as You say and let down the nets. (What did Simon do? He mixed Jesus’s instruction with FAITH!) I believe to make Peter’s decision harder, there were those that were mocking Peter and those who were with Him saying why are you so foolish? You were just there all night and caught nothing. Unbelievers are the same way today when Jesus asks you or I to do something that seems foolish in their eyes, they mock us also. However when we put our trust in Him we can be assured that He will never fail us nor forsake us in anything. And this being said, brings us to the following. (What was the result of mixing Gods word with FAITH?) Vs. 6 when they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break. When we are obedient to the word of God we see through these testimonies how He reacts to our obedience and His reactions to our obedience brings rejoicing to our hearts. However, we should not just rejoice over the blessings that God brings into our life but we should rejoice over His grace, His mercy, His love and His kindness in which He deals with us on a daily basis.
(4)Verse 8b the commandment (or precepts) of the Lord is pure–Colossians 3:16 let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. We need to begin to understand that the commandments or precepts of God bring liberty and not bondage into our lives. We need to allow the word of God to dwell in our very being enriching our soul’s so that we may be able to encourage one another to be strong and steadfast in our commitment to Jesus Christ as He is committed to us. As we allow this to be birthed in our spirit it becomes enlightening to our eyes- Psalm 119:105 your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. We see that the word of God enables us not to stumble and gives us a sure path to walk. Proverbs 6:23 for the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; and reproofs for discipline are the way of life. We must recognize that again the commandments or precepts of God are teachings and the disciplines that are necessary in order to sustain His new way of life. Remember the chorus that we sing sometimes in our services. I found a new way of living. I found a new life Devine. I have the fruit of the spirit, I’m abiding, abiding in the vine. Abiding in the vine, abiding in the vine. Love, joy, health, he has made them mine. I found prosperity, power and victory abiding, abiding in the vine. There are many other Scriptures that encourage us to see God’s love and grace in order that we might also share his love and grace towards others.
(5)Verse 9a the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; do you remember Sandy’s study on refusing to be a slave to fear? She described in her study two types of fear: the first being an unhealthy fear will which means we do not fear God and that we fear all the natural things that surround us. The results of this unhealthy fear, produces spiritual weakness, stress, disobedience and unbelief. On the other hand healthy fear or the fear of the Lord produces the following results. They are obedience, peace of mind, spiritual strength, and belief in the word of God.
(6)Verse 9b the judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. John 5:30 I can do nothing on my own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me. We need to understand that this is Jesus himself speaking. Everyone will be judged accordingly.
Read Psalm 19:10-14- they are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also then honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; then I shall be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgressions. But the words of my mind and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your site, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!!
Psalm 107-20– He sent His word and healed them and delivered them from their destructions.
Romans 10-17- So faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.
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