INTRODUCTION: Hebrews 4:12-13<\/p>\n
A. Hebrews 4:11<\/p>\n
1. Here is a succinct summary of all that has been said in Hebrews 3:7 – Hebrews 4:10<\/p>\n
2. We need to be diligent to enter our heavenly rest<\/p>\n
3. Or we may fall short of our rest, just as many Israelites fell short of their Canaan rest.<\/p>\n
B. To stress the need for diligence, we are reminded regarding the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12-13<\/p>\n
1. That Word provided the example of the Israelites’ disobedience<\/p>\n
2. That Word is now warning us not to emulate the Israelites’ example<\/p>\n
C. In this passage, the Word of God is described in amazing terms…<\/p>\n
1. It is “living”<\/p>\n
2. It is “powerful”<\/p>\n
3. It is “sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit”<\/p>\n
4. It is “a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”<\/p>\n
D. At a time in which God’s Word is so often neglected, even by some Christians, it never hurts to contemplate the wonder of God’s Word<\/p>\n
1. And so we take this opportunity to reflect upon what is said in this passage<\/p>\n
2. With a desire to renew and increase our appreciation of the power of God’s Word!<\/p>\n
DISCUSSION:<\/p>\n
A. THE WORD OF GOD IS “LIVING” AND “POWERFUL”<\/p>\n
1. God’s word is not some “dead letter”<\/p>\n
a. Not only in this passage, but elsewhere we read of the abiding nature of God’s Word<\/p>\n
1) Notice Peter’s description of it _ 1 Peter 1:23-25<\/p>\n
2) Isaiah 40:8<\/p>\n
3) Matthew 24:35<\/p>\n
b. The “life” of God’s Word is due to the nature of God Himself!<\/p>\n
1) God is eternal, He is “the living God”<\/p>\n
a) Hebrews 3:12<\/p>\n
b) Jeremiah 10:10<\/p>\n
2) He cannot lie, so what He says will come to pass<\/p>\n
a) Hebrews 6:18<\/p>\n
b) Thus His Word will never perish!<\/p>\n
c. As Jesus said _ John 6:63<\/p>\n
2. That God’s Word is alive is seen in its power<\/p>\n
a. It has the power to accomplish its intended purpose _ Isaiah 55:10-11<\/p>\n
b. The gospel in particular has the power to save<\/p>\n
1) Romans 1:16-17<\/p>\n
2) James 1:21<\/p>\n
c. Through God’s word we can be born again<\/p>\n
1) 1 Peter 1:22-23<\/p>\n
2) James 1:18<\/p>\n
d. It works effectively in those who believe<\/p>\n
1) 1 Thessalonians 2:13<\/p>\n
2) Notice the opposite effect _ Hebrews 4:2<\/p>\n
e. It can build us up, and give us the inheritance that is ours _ Acts 20:32<\/p>\n
f. It can make the man of God complete for all good works _ 2 Timothy 3:16-17<\/p>\n
3. How could anything with such power be a “dead letter”?<\/p>\n
4. With such a “living” and “powerful” word at our disposal, we would be foolish to neglect the blessings it offers, or the warnings it gives!<\/p>\n
B. THE WORD OF GOD IS “SHARP” AND “A DISCERNER”<\/p>\n
1. Sharper than any two-edged sword<\/p>\n
a. The Word of God is often likened to powerful objects<\/p>\n
1) Ephesians 6:17<\/p>\n
2) Jeremiah 23:29<\/p>\n
b. To illustrate its sharpness as a “sword”, the Word of God is said to pierce…<\/p>\n
1) “…even to the dividing of soul and spirit”<\/p>\n
2) “…and of both joints and marrow”<\/p>\n
3) That is, the divine word is able to cut through everything that is in man<\/p>\n
2. A discerner of the “thoughts and intents of the heart”<\/p>\n
a. With its sharpness, it is capable of sifting through and revealing the heart of man<\/p>\n
b. It’s effect on man reveals his true heart…<\/p>\n
1) In some cases, that one’s heart is sincere and open to change _ Acts 2:36-37<\/p>\n
2) Other times, that one’s heart has no desire to change<\/p>\n
a) Acts 5:33<\/p>\n
b) Acts 7:54<\/p>\n
3. One cannot hear or read the Word of God without being affected!<\/p>\n
4. As stated earlier, the “life” of God’s Word is due to the nature of God Himself. Thus ?<\/p>\n
C. THE POWER OF GOD’S WORD IS DUE TO HIS OMNISCIENCE<\/p>\n
1. God is Omniscient<\/p>\n
a. The word “omniscient” means “all-knowing”<\/p>\n
b. David extolled the omniscience of God in Psalm 139:1-12<\/p>\n
c. Solomon also wrote of God’s omniscience<\/p>\n
1) Proverbs 15:3<\/p>\n
2) That is why “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open” to His eyes<\/p>\n
2. Therefore no one can hide from the Judge<\/p>\n
a. As David counseled his son Solomon _ 1 Chronicles 28:9<\/p>\n
b. It is before this Omniscient Judge that we must one day give an account<\/p>\n
1) There is a judgment day coming, in which God will judge the world through His Son, Jesus Christ!<\/p>\n
a) Acts 17:30-31<\/p>\n
b) Romans 2:16<\/p>\n
c) 2 Corinthians 5:10<\/p>\n
2) We read of that Judgment Day in the last book of Bible _ Revelation 20:11-15<\/p>\n
c. The standard by which we will be judged are the words spoken through His Son<\/p>\n
1) As stated by Jesus _ John 12:48<\/p>\n
2) This should give special force to the warning found _Hebrews 2:1-3<\/p>\n
CONCLUSION:<\/p>\n
A. Yes, the power of God’s Word is derived from God Himself<\/p>\n
1. God is omniscient, able to see into the hearts of men; therefore His Word is able to cut to the hearts of men and reveal their true nature<\/p>\n
2. God is living, eternal, who will one day judge the world; therefore His Word that abides forever will be the standard by which we will be judged<\/p>\n
B. In view of the power of God Himself and His powerful Word…<\/p>\n
1. How dare we neglect the warnings given in it, such as those found in Hebrews 4:1, 11?<\/p>\n
2. How dare we neglect to even read about the warnings (as many do by not reading the Bible)?<\/p>\n
C. And remember, how we react to the Word of reveals our true character…<\/p>\n
1. Some are so “dull of heart”, that they react with indifference and say “so what?”<\/p>\n
2. Some are “cut to the heart”, angrily resist the Word, and blame the messenger (Acts 7:54)<\/p>\n
3. Some are “cut to the heart”, and cry out “what shall I do?” (Acts 2:37)<\/p>\n
D. What kind of heart do you have?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
INTRODUCTION: Hebrews 4:12-13 A. Hebrews 4:11 1. Here is a succinct summary of all that has been said in Hebrews 3:7 – Hebrews 4:10 2. We need to be diligent to enter our heavenly rest 3. Or we may fall short of our rest, just as many Israelites fell short of their Canaan rest. B. … Continue reading “God's Powerful Sword – Bible Outlines”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43822\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}