Use the Word!

^"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God..."

Ephesians 6:17

As I read this scripture yesterday, a powerful realization come to mind.  If the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, than it is the implement He uses to do His searching work.  When we remove the Word of God from preaching or evangelism, it renders Him without His weapon!  Think of this in terms of warfare:  take away the pilot's jet and he is grounded; remove the gun from the sniper's hands and he is neutralized.  If we desire the power of the Holy Spirit to impact the hearts, minds, and lives of others, we are fools to substitute clever sayings or logical postulates for the Word of God.  We unknowingly play the hypocrite when we ask God's Spirit to move and neglect the use of His Word.

Hebrews 4:12 reads, "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."  Another potential is that we would blunt the Word of God by softening the message.  To intentionally change a single word because we think it would be cause for offense is grave sin.  If God calls something sin, we too must call it sin.  If God says something is "abominable," then we cannot substitute the phrases "less than what God would have" or "not ideal" or "a bad idea" to describe that thing:  it is an abomination because God has said so.  The world may not agree, and even we might struggle to accept the truth because of personal inconvenience!  When we refuse to allow God's Word to retain the sharp, piercing power in the Holy Spirit's hands, we hinder God's work.

What a powerful testimony when a believer actually carries the Word of God with him for the purpose of illuminating God's truth to others.  God will bless this richly.  When I worked in construction, it was easy for me to carry a copy of God's word in my lunchbox.  I remember a conversation I had in the galley of a ship with a co-worker who had questions about God.  Even the way I looked up passages impressed him.  "You really do know that book, don't you?"  But it was nothing that I said, no carefully crafted argument, not a single word of mine that impacted that man who later made a confession of faith in Christ.  I was not around him when it happened!  He came up to me later and said that there was a verse he could not escape:  "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mark 8:36)  The Holy Spirit used that single verse to break down his defenses, silence every argument, recognize his need for salvation, and change his eternal destiny.

God has graciously given us His Word:  it is up to us to use it faithfully!  To do so we must immerse ourselves in the Bible, allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us.  Would an infantryman be ashamed of his machine gun?  Or would a samurai feel awkward to carry his katana into battle?  God's Word is not to be like one of those swords made for "display only" that are shiny, blunt, and hang on hooks fastened to the wall.  Those who beat people with the Word are not using it led by the Holy Spirit!  The Holy Spirit will never use it to beat people, but to surgically slice right through every defense and expose every sinful thought and intention for the ultimate purpose of redemption, reconciliation, and God-glorification.  God's Word is living, sharp, and powerful, and when quickened by the Holy Spirit it is devastating to the forces of wickedness in this world.  It is the primary thing God uses against the sin-hardened hearts and consciences of men.  The is nothing as confrontational to the flesh as God's truth.  Let us seek mastery of it as we are taught, led, and empowered by the Holy Spirit!

God's Word in Prayer

In preparing for preaching this Sunday, I have been struck by the critical importance to use of God's Word in sharing the Gospel and prayer.  Before he was filled with the Holy Spirit, I cannot immediately recall a single time when Peter quoted from scripture.  Yet during Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost, when he preached to the people after the lame beggar was healed at the temple, when he addressed the religious leaders while on trial, and in prayer afterward he quoted scripture!  The Holy Spirit not only brought passages to remembrance, but caused the disciples to rightly divide the Word of truth.  They were able to bring the truth of God's Word upon any situation with the accuracy of a skilled sniper.  It was the Spirit who caused their words to engage and persuade hearts with power.  When they prayed God answered, and the earth quaked as God moved in power among them to boldly proclaim His Word.

Consider this quote from R.A. Torrey's book How to Obtain Fullness of Power (pages 11-12) concerning the power of God's Word and its relation to faith and prayer:

Faith must have a foundation; it cannot float in thin air.  It is disheartening to see men told to believe when they are not given anything to believe in.

Not only saving faith comes through the Word of God, prevailing faith in prayer does, as well.  Suppose I read Mark 11:24:  "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."  I used to say, "The way to get anything I want is to believe I am going to get it."  I would kneel down and pray, trying to believe, but I did not get the things that I asked for.  I had no real faith.

Real faith must have a guarantee.  Before I can truly believe I am to receive what I ask for, I must have a definite promise from God's Word, or a definite leading of the Holy Spirit, to rest my faith on.  What, then, should we do?

We go into God's presence with the thing we desire.  Next, we ask ourselves this question:  is there any promise in God's Word regarding what we desire?  We look into the Word of God and find the promise.  Then all we have to do is to present that promise to God.  For example, we say, "Heavenly Father, we desire the Holy Spirit.  You say in Your Word, 'If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?'  And again in Acts 2:39, that 'the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.'  I have been called; I am saved; and here in your Word is your promise.  So please fill me now with the Holy Spirit."

We then take 1 John 5:14-15 and say, "Father, this is the confidence I have in You, that, if I ask anything according to Your will - and I know that this is according to Your will - You hear me, and, if I know that You hear me, I know that I have the petition that I have asked of You."

Then we stand on God's promise and say, "It is mine," and it will be.  The only way to have a faith that prevails in prayer is to study your Bible, know the promises, and present them to God when you pray.  George Mueller, one of the Church's mightiest men of prayer, always prepared for prayer by studying the Word."

How the neglect of reading, studying, and praying God's Word saps us of spiritual strength!  There is a old saying I will adapt for our context:  "Seven days without the Word makes one weak."  Puns aside, it would be truer said that prayer or any action without God's Word or the leading of the Holy Spirit is wasted effort, and lack of results reveals we do not ask aright.  God, please forgive me for all presumptuous prayers which are not according to your Word!  Help me through the Holy Spirit's power to rightly divide the Word of truth and bring it to bear upon all circumstances of life.  Teach me how to pray!

A Conversation with God

A man stared into the clouds as they morphed into puffy shapes overhead.  The air was damp and heavy.  Thunder could be heard afar off as an occasional raindrop the size of a grape whizzed and smacked the ground.  The stored heat in the asphalt from the sun evaporated the spot in moments, though the aroma of summer rain continued to grow.  The man knew God was up above.  He stood transfixed in the middle of the street, trying to see a break in the clouds.

"There is a dark cloud over this country, Father," the man said slowly.  "There is also a cloud over your church.  We struggle to see.  I know you can part the seas...won't you part the clouds that hang over my soul as well?"

The clouds continued to billow and change.  Sometimes a spot of blue shone brightly through the where the clouds were wispy thin.  There was no thunder, no crack of lightning.  Only the sound of the wind in the trees and pattering of rain could be heard.  The man waited for a while, no need to rush.  God would speak when it was time.

"We need your wind to blow upon us so we might be moved, LORD.  We need your Spirit to fill us.  We need the refreshment you have promised, for you have said that times of refreshment would come," the man continued.  "How can we live for you unless you help us?"

The sky became more dark and ominous.  Yet scattered through the heavens vibrant blue peeked with sharp contrast against the charcoal puffs.  Then God's still small voice said to the man's heart, "You may have clouds overhead, but you still have Light.  I make the light shine.  Be still and know that I am God."  The man listened and stood there for a while, thinking about the truth of what God said.

The man was happy because God spoke to him.  He knew the clouds were only a small layer blocking his view of the clear sky.  There is a place above the clouds that is always clear and bright.  Because the man lived on the earth sometimes clouds made the sky dark during the day.  But every day God makes His light shine, even if all the man could see were clouds.  God is good to do that, the man thought.  He prayed.  God, make my life shine bright for your glory under these dark clouds so people will know how awesome you are.  He was thankful to have a conversation with God and told Him so.

No beam of light, no voices of angels, no quivery feelings inside.  Just a still small voice.  And you know what?  It was just what the man needed. 

It's Worth It!

After church yesterday, a family took me down to "Sculpture By the Sea" at Bondi.  We ate fish and chips on the wind-swept knoll overlooking the water.  The sun was shining and the exhibition was "chockers" (full, packed) as we slowly shuffled down the path from Bondi beach to Tamarama.  I learned that every cove is a specific beach and is a different suburb.

Like most art exhibits, some displays were more impressive than others.  I'm pretty sure most of the time I don't "get" art.  I appreciate the skill, craftsmanship, and creativity these artists pour into their craft.  Some of the displays were large, others intricate, some labor intensive, and then there were ones just to shake your head at:  what the heck is that supposed to be or represent?  That is the product of six-month's work and ten thousands of dollars?  Only humans can waste their time so well.

But there is at least one thing in common between the "struggling artist" and the Christian:  the passion to pursue a goal other people do not understand, comprehend, or support.  While an artist works for self-expression, a Christian lives for Christ to express Himself through him.  I'm sure many people look at the lifestyle of a Christian and say, "All that trouble for what?  What's the point of believing in God and pursuing a "relationship" with someone you can't even see?"  Only someone who does not know God can think and speak like that!  God exists as true as Christ lived on earth, and His creative power is the inspiration for countless artists.  God is the original Artist, the Divine Creator who simply spoke the universe into existence.  While we make things out of what have already have been made, God did not even have a canvas.  God made His own clay by words alone, and then formed man and breathed into him a living soul.  God is beautiful and His handiwork exalts His name.

The labor, struggles, and difficulties we face in life may not be regarded by some men as worthwhile, but through the eyes of faith we see differently than the world sees.  2 Corinthians 4:16-18 reads:  "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."  Let us work faithfully for the praise of One, our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ.  His approval and glory ought to be our chief aim in all we do.