Who We Welcome and Why – 6
Subject – We Welcome What Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Have to Say
By Rick Welborne
John 1:1-5, 10-14 (NKJV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV)
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.
2 Peter 1:20-21 (NCV)
20 Most of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures ever comes from the prophet’s own interpretation.
21 No prophecy ever came from what a person wanted to say, but people led by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God.
--Again today we see how intertwined Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are by the Scriptures we just read. Today we are speaking about welcoming the Word of God into our lives and into our church.
--Many of us (hopefully all of us) say we love the Word of God and I hope that is true. Sometimes we seem so dedicated to what God has to say and other times not so much. Example.
--I have seen so many people who say they love God so much and they love His Word so much until you hit a nerve with them. You tell them according to Jesus’ Word, you have to forgive everyone.
Matthew 6:14-15 (NLT2)
14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.
--Even though they have heard it preached, heard it taught, and undoubtedly have read it on their own, they still say, “I could never forgive that person, you just don’t know what they have done to me!”
--Is it in the Bible…Yes! Is it the Words of Jesus…Yes! Should Jesus’ Words be obeyed…Yes! It is almost like their countenance changes…I could never!
--Do we only welcome the Words of God, the Word of God, the Words of Jesus, the Words inspired by Holy Spirit (the entire Bible), when they promise us blessings and prosperity?
--What about when God’s Words are correcting us or instructing us or even rebuking us for something in our lives that we know should not be there (un-forgiveness), do we welcome God’s Word then?
2 Timothy 4:1-4 (NKJV)
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. (NCV) 2 Preach the Good News. Be ready at all times, and tell people what they need to do. Tell them when they are wrong. Encourage them with great patience and careful teaching, (NLT2) 2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
--Today I want us to look at welcoming our Father’s Word, our Son’s Word, and Holy Spirit’s Word. From Heb. 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…
1. We welcome the Word of God because it is living.
Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword...
--The Word of God is living…let me give you an example that may help you understand this principle better.
--Jesus said He would build His Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Was Jesus talking about buildings, bricks, wood, and other inanimate materials or something that is alive.
--Of course Jesus was talking about “The Church” as a living breathing entity made up of people who love God and who are filled with His Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:11, 16-17 (NKJV)
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
--In other words, the church of Jesus Christ is made up of children of God, joint heirs with Christ, Jesus as the foundation, and Holy Spirit as the supplier of power. The Church should be very much alive!
--The Word of God is living…just like the church is a living breathing entity, so is the Word of God. Pastor, the Word is a book with paper and ink. I beg to differ.
John 1:1-2 (NKJV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
--According to the Bible (the Word) has been around since the beginning of time. Mind blowing for sure. Listen to what John says about the Word proving that it (He) is filled with life.
--The Word has been here forever, The Word was with God, The Word was God! Watch this, He was in the beginning with God. Did it say “He”? Yes, it did. The Word is a person! Mind blowing again.
--All things were made through Him (the Word). Evidently the Word was the creator of everything.
Colossians 1:15-18 (NKJV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
--The verses in Colossians say He and Him over and over again. He or Him Who? The creator, the Word, the Creator God. Who is He?
Colossians 1:13-14 (NKJV)
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
--The Word that was in the beginning with God, the image of the invisible God, the Creator God, the Head of the Body, the Church, is the Son of His (the Father) love…Jesus Christ and He is living. The Word is living!
2. We welcome the Word of God because it is powerful.
Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.
Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV)
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (NCV) 11 The same thing is true of the words I speak. They will not return to me empty. They make the things happen that I want to happen, and they succeed in doing what I send them to do.
--We welcome God’s Word (the Words God speaks) because they are powerful, because they accomplish the will of God, and because His Word succeeds in accomplishing what God wants to happen.
--When you speak, speak the Word of God! When you pray, pray the Word of God! When you believe, believe the Word of God! When you preach, preach the Word of God because it is powerful!
3. We welcome the Word of God because it is sharper than any two edged sword.
Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.
—Remember the sword here was the “Machara” the sharp two edged sword...this sword is mentioned many times in the NT.
Renner - The Phrase "two edged" is taken from the Greek word distomos. It is a compound of the word ‘di’, meaning 2, and the word ‘stomos’, which is the Greek word for one’s mouth. The Word of God is a two mouthed sword?
—I understand the thinking of the two edges dividing good and evil in us, and also in the world, but I believe and Renner believes there is more!
Renner - One sharpened edge of this sword came into being when the Word of God initially proceeded out of the mouth of God. The second edge of this sword is added when the Word of God proceeds out of your mouth! This is the reason that the original text calls the Word of God a 'two mouthed sword".
--It was sharp and powerful coming out of Jesus' mouth, and as the Spirit comes on us (it is the sword of the Spirit), it will be powerful and effective coming out of our mouths.
—Too much is coming out of our mouths and most of it is anything but God's Word...negative, critical, breaking instead of building, we must stop it and speak God's Word over our church and each other!
--Come on, Life Church, La Vida Church, Village Campus, let’s welcome the Word of God because it is living, powerful, and sharper than any two mouthed sword.
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