Evidence of the title 'Word' itself
[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, joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. We are revealed naked before the eyes of those who have dealings with us (Hebrews 4:12-13).
There are many strange things in the world.
We call it a miracle.
A miracle is something that happens that cannot be well understood by the ordinary human mind.
For example, when a disease that cannot be cured by medicine is cured, it is called a miracle. It never seemed so, but when it turns out to be true, people call it a miracle.
It is also said to be a miraculous reality when what you have almost resigned yourself to becomes a reality.
Miracles aren't the only ones.
You can say that even when you see a person change and become a different person.
Until yesterday, when I heard that someone who had never believed in Jesus would believe in Jesus and go to church, it is said to be a miracle.
It's not true. There are people who have changed so much that no matter how people change, they can change like that. The only power that can change people's hearts like this is the power of God's Word.
1. Because the Word of God is alive.
Today's text says, "The word of God lived...".
The word 'lived' here means that the Word itself has a mysterious vitality. The word of God is not a dead letter, it is a living, living word.
Guys, what's the proof that you're alive? Evidence that you are alive means that life is a movement of life that gives birth to another life.
All living things in nature bear fruit. Animals and plants remain as they are, but living things grow and bear seeds and bear fruit according to their kind.
So it is called life force.
Because the word of God is alive, it writhes and imparts life.
Because the Word of God is alive, nothing can kill it.
Just as God is eternal, so His Word is eternal.
The word of God will not disappear no matter how hard you try to get rid of it.
Psalm 119:89 says, "Your word, O LORD, is established forever in the heavens..." It is said that the word of God is firmly established in heaven.
The writings of the world rise and fall like waves, but the Word of God is eternal.
That's why the prophet Isaiah said, "The grass withers and the flower withers, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8).
Human philosophies and ideas wear out and disappear with time, but God's Word does not change no matter how many years pass. How many forces have tried to get rid of this word for 2000 years? But they all sank before the power of this word.
Because there is [life force] in the Word itself. The Lord also said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
The word of God does not wither, does not fade, and is eternal. No one is going to raise any objection here.
2. God's Word has momentum.
The word 'motor' is 'enegres' in the original text. In English, it is translated as energy.
What is energy? Energy is force. You need power to make it move.
The Word of God is such a power. So the Word of God is active and moving. It moves people's hearts. When the Word of God is proclaimed, it is united by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and exerts power. So, the stubborn heart melts, the proud heart is lowered, and you become humble.
It brings reassurance to a person who has lived in disbelief and skepticism. Anti-believers change and become believers.
A good example of this can be seen in the case of Wallace, an atheist who wrote a novel called <Ben-Hur>.
He said that people say that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior, but if Jesus were a human being, wouldn't he have loved a woman like us ordinary people? I've been trying to write a novel like that from the beginning.
So, after diligently reading the Bible, I met Jesus. The more he read the Bible, the more convinced he was that he was the Son of God, and his purpose changed, and he gave his famous testimony that he was indeed the Son of God.
A movie was also shown in Korea.
I've seen it once, and I'm still impressed.
[Ben-Hur], a young Jewish man who harbored a grudge against the Roman tyranny and lived his life with revenge, obtains water from Jesus and drinks it on the way to being held as a slave.
The scene where we communicated through each other's eyes at that time is still good.
Then, as he died on the cross, the last voice of Jesus, saying, "God, forgive their sin, they do not know what they are doing" resounded in Ben-Hur's ears. How can we offer such a prayer of forgiveness? Thinking that it would never happen in the human world, he believed that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.
Oh, I have to testify to him.
In this way, the word moves people's hearts. There is such momentum. So I make the person who lived in sorrow sing a song.
And the Word leads us to Jesus. This is amazing power.
Let the anti-Christian become an evangelist and live a life of service and sacrifice from the life of thugs and fists.
This force is not a physical force made by coercive means, but an explosive force that arises from the inner world.
3. The word of God is sharp, and it is said to <pierce> and <split>.
Words are sharp. That's why it was called 'a two-edged sword'. It's a double-edged sword. In the book of Revelation, when drawing the image of the Lord, it is said, “From his mouth a two-edged sword came out…” (Revelation 1:16).
The Word of God has the power to pierce what is to be pierced, split what is to be split, and cut what is to be cut. First, the word of God pierces. It pierces the hardness of the heart and makes it repent. That's why he said, "It pierces even to the division of soul and joints and marrow..."
Usually knives are sharp enough to cut, but daggers have a sharp tip, which makes them good for stabbing.
The word of God pierces a paralyzed conscience. The word of God pierces soul and spirit. And the word of God is divided. To split means to reveal. exposed as if naked. Tear down what was hidden and reveal it.
This is the power of God's word.
Everyone!
The prophet Nathan said before King David, 'You are that man!' When I did, I fell from a dragon statue. I don't know how sharp your words are. It is the word of God that pierces the sinner's heart like a dagger.
When Elijah rebuked King Ahab for forcibly taking Naboth's vineyard, he said, 'Where the dogs licked Naboth's blood, they will lick your blood, your own blood.' What a dagger!
A person's hardened heart and paralyzed conscience cannot be pierced by anything else. Only pierce with the word of God.
and split it.
Split it up and expose it all.
The Pentecost of the Korean church is said to be 1907. At this time, our nation lived in a dark history. It was a time when the country's power was weakening and the political climate was tilted towards frustration and hopelessness as Japan gained power. At this time, the only spiritual comforter was the church.
So, the flames of the Sakyunghoe, which study the Word, spread throughout the country, and their sins began to be revealed before the Word, and they confessed that they were sinners. Until now, I did not even know that such a thing was a sin, and even the problems that had passed were pierced and I started to repent.
These were all events that took place in the sharp stinging and splitting of the Word.
Dear saints,
If the word of God is once pierced and split, any person will melt.
Grammy Award-winning singer Cortelia Clark was black and blind. A wandering singer who used to earn money by spinning hats while singing on the street received [Grammy] and rapidly grew into a top-notch singer, increasing his income.
Ordinary people would have become more arrogant or excited that they didn't know about the frog tadpole days when this happened, but Clark didn't. When he had time, he would go home (Nashville), put his hat on the street, and sang.
It wasn't because I didn't have money, it was because I wanted to continue working as a popular singer and live with the bottom of the world. Because his music was not a matter of singing technique, but the art of ordinary people expressing the sorrow and joy of the people through song.
This was because his music was not intended to receive applause, but to relieve the suffering of the people by descending to a low place. When he asked why he was doing this, do you know what he answered? She said: “I want to put the heart of Jesus into practice,” he said.
When people come from lack of money and gain fame, everyone becomes arrogant and spends a lot of money just for themselves.
The Word is still alive today.
The Word is still in motion.
The Word still pierces, cuts, and splits.
Jeremiah said, "The word of the Lord is like fire, like a rod that strikes rocks to pieces." (Jeremiah 23:29) So the movement of repentance continues.
Everyone who went to the market was so evil that he spit and threw stones at Seonangdang, asking him not to meet Kim Ik-doo just for today. There was no one or law to break his hardened and violent heart.
However, through the missionary, it was completely shattered with the hammer of the Word and became powder. He became a gentle man and became a pastor.
One day, I was beaten countless times by young thugs. If it was like before, hit me with one fist
They were squirrels who should have laid them down, but they did not use their fists until the end.
After being beaten hard, they say, "Did you guys hit me? Do you know who I am? I'm Ik-doo Kim, who made a name for himself in my old days!" There is an anecdote that, when young gangsters were stunned and knelt down, trembling and not knowing what to do, they said, "Don't worry, gang leader Kim Ik-doo is already dead." .
How amazing is this?
It is the power of the Word that changes people like this. Therefore, even today, this Word continues the movement for life. I hope that special graces of becoming new people will come to you in front of the power of the Word. ♣