Much Needed Grace, Part 4

If you have your Bibles, turn with me please to Hebrews chapter 4 Hebrews chapter 4 If you look at a powerful passage of scripture when it comes to the ministry of God's message and the ministry of God's Messiah These two things come together in this passage that we were looking at in verses 11 and 16, right in the middle of a warning passage that the Lord gives Through the writer of Hebrews to these Jewish people, that they might understand their need, their compelling need, to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ our Lord That first warning passage was in Hebrews 2, verses 1 to 3

This is the second one It's quite lengthy Hebrews:, all the way through verses Chapter 16 of chapter 4, verse 16 of chapter 4 So we're able to understand that the writer of Hebrews wants these Jewish people to understand the necessity of coming to saving faith And so the emphasis is on the grace of God and the much-needed grace of God that's based on, number one, the promise of eternal life, the persuasion of God's word in the presence of God's great high priest And so that's where we are in our study of Hebrews 4:1 to 16

And so he says in verse 1 of chapter 4: Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering his rest, any one of you may seem to come short of it He's concerned that they have not come all the way to saving faith He's concerned that they have heard about the Messiah, they have heard about saving grace, but they have not appropriated what they have heard into believing Trusting and obeying what God says That's why he goes on to say in verse number two: for indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also, but the word they heard did not profit them

It was not united by faith in those who heard it In other words, they did not act upon that which they knew to be true In other words, they had heard the good news, but they truly did not believe in the good news That is, they did not trust and obey what God said Faith is believing in what God says enough to trust Him and obey Him And they were unwilling to do that And the writer of Hebrews uses the illustration of king and rest To help them to understand eternal rest and coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ, their Messiah

And so he says in verse 11, Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall through following the same example of dis In other words, they did not appropriate What they he with faith in Jesus Christ And so, this writer of Hebrews wants them to understand That they cannot follow the same example of disobedience In other words, they were not persuaded And so he moves from the promise of eternal rest to the persuasion of God's eternal word Because Israel would not be persuaded He knows the only way they're ever going to be persuaded

Is through the power of the Word of God And so you come to that very familiar verse in verse number 12: For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword And piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and morrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart And this is where we are Looking at this verse. A verse that probably the majority of you know by heart because you have learned it, maybe in Sunday school or some memory program that you've had Very familiar verse

You know, my concern is that we get so familiar with a verse or a passage that we just run right through it without understanding the implications of it You see, my concern is not so much the information that you accumulate As much as it is the con that is accomplished In other words, you can accumulate a lot of information in the Bible But that doesn't mean that you're being conformed to the image of the living God You need to be conformed to his image You need to know what God says You need to be able to appropriate what God says

And so many times we rush through portions of scripture. I've never understood preachers who take big chunks of scripture at a time and cover it in one sermon. I just never understood that Because there's so much there to cover And so we need to understand this ministry of God's Word and the power of God's Word Because this verse shows us exactly what God's Word does And the writer of Hebrews knows Knows that it's the power of God's word that's going to persuade these Jewish people that Jesus is the Messiah, that Jesus is all-sufficient, that Jesus is all-supreme

He's already quoted from the Old Testament a number of times in chapter 1 and in chapter 2 and in chapter 3 And so he says that word is living It's alive It's not a dead word, it's a living word We've talked to you at length about that And the last week we began to talk to you about how this word is active, how it's powerful, how it's filled with energy, and it is It's not a passive word, it's a powerful word And we told you last week that I'm not so sure that we understand the power of the Word of God That in today's evangelical churches, we have diminished God's power

Not diminishes God's power, but diminishes in our own mind the power of God's word as it relates to how it changes people's lives So we told you last week, this word is so powerful that it crushes the soul Jeremiah 23, 29, right? Is not my word like a hammer that shatters a rock? People have said to me over the years, you know, my son, my daughter, my husband, my wife, my aunt, my uncle, my friend, their hearts are so hard Does it do them any good to come to church? And I say, yes, it does Why? Because as God's Word hammers on that hard heart, it begins to break it up

And they need to be under the constant hammering of God's word Because only God's word can shatter the hardness of a soul That's why God says, Is not my word like a rock or a hammer that shatters the rock? Jeremiah: But God's Word is the only way to soften the heart of the hard heart And so you preach the Word, you teach the Word And so it crushes the soul Once it crushes the soul, it convicts the soul We talked to you about that also last week Psalm chapter 19, verse number 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, but it also convicts the soul

There's nothing that convicts the soul more than the truth of God's holy word. 1 Corinthians 14, 24 and 25, that says, when a man of God comes into your assembly and he hears the word of the Lord prophesied, he hears the word of the Lord Given, he falls on his knees and he repents because it's brought conviction to his soul If it brings conviction, it brings conversion to his soul Because this is the living word James 1:18, you've been brought forth by the word of truth The Lord's word is that which converts the soul

If it crushes the soul and it convicts the soul, it converts the soul, it cleanses the soul You've been made clean to the word that I've spoken to you, John 15 That's how powerful God's word is How can a young man keep his way pure by taking heed to the word of God? How is it God cleanses our lives? By His Word That's how And so, when you read His Word, when you study His Word, when you're under the teaching of His Word, God does a work through His Spirit To cleanse your heart, to cleanse your bitter spirit, to cleanse your unforgiving spirit

To cleanse your jealous spirit, to cleanse that anger that you have, to be able to cause you to turn And ask for forgiveness and have a soft heart, a kind and gentle heart That's what God's Word does That's where we left off last week But note this: God's word is powerful enough To correct the soul If it crushes the soul and convicts the soul and converts the soul and cleanses the soul God's word is that which corrects the soul Turn with me in your Bible to 2 Timothy 3 for a moment Second Timothy 3, again, a very familiar verse to most of us

But the familiarity of it, sometimes Hinders us from understand the beauty of it Second Timothy 3:1, all scripture is inspired by God In other words, all scripture is God breathed In other words, In other words, God has spoken these words through holy men of God And so we know that all scripture is inspired by God and profitable For teaching, not that it's profitable to help you in the process of teaching, but it's profitable in the fact that it gives you the body of truth you need to know to belie In other words, it's profitable for teaching It's profitable for you to know right

Okay? And then it's profitable not just to know right, but to be right, and that is it's profitable for reproof In other words, it call people back from error It reproves you When you're in error and God's word is given, It calls you back from error It reproves you And then it says for correction There's our word God's word is powerful enough to correct. the soul This is great It's a word used one time in the New Testament It's where we get our English word orthopaedic It's a word designed to redirect and make straight

And so, therefore, what God's word does is once you know what is right, And once you know how to be right, this tells you how to get right In other words, it takes that which is going one direction and redirects it another way That's what God's Word does And only God's Word can do that It's profitable to inst you, to correct you, to teach you It's profitable for training in righteousness That's what God's word does It actually corrects the soul of an individual Turning it from doing the wrong thing to doing the right thing So important

How do we help our children to know right from wrong? How do we correct our children? We correct them through the truth of God's Word By teaching them and training them to understand what God says So God's word will do that because it's powerful enough to correct the soul If it corrects the soul, it's powerful enough to conquer the enemy of your soul It's powerful enough to conquer the enemy of your soul For instance, the Bible says in 1 Peter 2:11 that there are fleshly lusts which wage war Against our soul Against our soul We need to know how to conquer the enemy of our soul It comes through

The breath of life and the bread of life All scripture is inspired by God It is the breath of God It is the breath of life And the breath of life gives you the bread of life That's why, in Matthew 4, in the temptation of Christ He referred to Scripture when tempted by Satan And in a few weeks, when we move on to verses. 14, 15, and 16 to understand how we had this great high priest who was tempted at all points, like we are yet without sin We're going to help you understand how it is the bread of life was that which sustained him during his temptation in the wilderness Very important

And so, how is it we conquer the enemy of our soul? We can be corrected in our soul, we can be crushed in our soul, we can be convicted in our soul, we can be cleansed in Soul, but we have to be able to conquer the enemy Our soul How do we do that? Because Satan is waging war against us And the Bible says In the book of James, that we are to resist him and he will flee Resist Satan and he will flee But how do you resist him? Well, the Bible says in 1 Peter chapter 5, these words, verse 6 Or, yeah, verse 9, I'm sorry

Resist him, that is Satan, because he goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour Resist him firm in faith Firm in faith, firm in the substance of truth, firm in the body of doctrine that you believe How do you resist Satan? You resist him by standing str in what it is You belie what the Bible says concerning the truth about the living God That's why it goes on to say, res him firm in faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world So, you're not alone in this, but you must resist him firm in the faith

That's why, over in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, Paul says these words: Be on the alert, be vigilant, stand firm in the f Faith Your vigilance is seen in your diligence to stand firm in the faith that you believe That is, the body of doctrine that you hold dear because of what is taught in the Word of God And then over in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, it says this: So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter From us

In other words, you are to stand firm, you are to stand strong in the traditions, in the truth that's been passed down by word of mouth or by letter The word of God that's been given to you already, you need to stand strong in that wor Because that's the only way to resist the wiles of the devil You see, Satan wants to cause doubt He can't take away saving faith He can't do that But he can cause you to doubt what it is you believe Satan can discourage the heart of the believer And so, how do you stand against that? By resisting him steadfast in the faith

That's why you've been given an armor of God Having done all to stand, Paul says in Ephesians 6: stand firm Stand firm, being girded with the belt of truth Why? Because it's the truth of God that holds the armor together You have a breastplate of righteousness to guard your heart From discouragement You had the helmet of salvation to guard your mind from doubt And so, to conquer the enemy of the soul You need the truth of God's holy word Only God's word can do that You have the sword of truth, which is your offensive weapon that you use in battle

But God has given us that that we might be able to be strong in the faith How about you? How are you doing at conquering the enemy of your soul? Are you losing the battle? You need to understand the truth that God has given to us The faith that he's given to us through his word, the body of doctrine that is so sound in his word Holding f to that word See, God's word can crush a soul Can convict a soul, can convert a soul, can cleanse a soul, can correct the soul, can conquer the enemy of your soul God's Word is powerful enough to comfort the soul To comfort the soul

And God's Word is so unique in doing that You know This past week, I went to go see Sus Phillipson in the hospital And unfortunately, the doctors have said that there's nothing else that they can do And so we know that sooner or later, probably sooner, more so than later, she's going to go home to be with the Lord

But you know, when you sit with her and you talk to her. I can't give her comfort. I just don't. I remember the story many years ago when The church began, and I told the people of the church, I said, Listen, you know, if you're in the hospital, I'm probably not going to visit you unless you're dying If you're dying, I'll be there But if you're not dying, I probably won't be there because we've got so many other people to visit you, right? So years ago, we had a lady at church, Ray Cis was her name, and Laurie and I went to go visit her in Cost Clina there in Pomona

And as we went in to visit her, I was caught in the hallway. I wasn't able to get in there right away because I was talking with somebody, but Lori went into the room first And she was so excited to see Lor She was all smiles and so excited to see her Just a few minutes, or a few seconds after that, I walked into the room And when I walked in the room, she began to cry She goes, Oh, Lynch, you're here That means I'm going to die. I said, No, no, I'm not the grim reaper. I'm not here to tell you you're going to die. I'm just here to visit you. I came with my wife

With me, it's okay if I'm by myself, then you better worry Okay, but you know, the bottom line is that you know, no matter what we say, it's hard to comfort people But God's word is powerful enough to comfort them Remember what the Bible says in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 1? It says this Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, the God of all comfort Isn't that great? The God of all comfort Who is the great comforter? God Himself, the sovereign of the universe All throughout the history of Israel, they look for a comforter

The Lord would say, comfort, oh comfort my people And throughout the book of Isaiah, there was a prophecy about the coming comforter, the cons of Israel And remember Simeon? Simeon in Luke chapter 2 when he was looking and longing for what? The consolation of Israel, the comforter of Israel His whole life was based on looking for that consolation that would come through the Messiah him And when he arrived, he said, Okay, I'm done, I can die Thank you, Lord But he longed for the consolation of Israel

Because all throughout the Old Testament, there was coming a consoler, a comforter who would be the Messiah Well, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1 that God is that great comforter, meaning the Messiah is God And so we know that comfort comes through the sovereign God of the universe But did you know that it not only comes to the sovereign God of the universe, it comes to the staff and rod Of the living God The Bible says in the book of Psalm, the 23rd chapter, you it well: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil

For thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff do what? They comfort me How does a staff of God and the rod of God comfort me? Well, if I'm a shepherd, I carry a rod. I carry a club Not because I'm going to beat the sheep with it, but because I'm going to protect the sheep From those who will come against them, I can throw the club. I can wield the club. I can beat off the enemy with the club And the club was des for defense So the shepherd would defend the sheep And then there was the staff The staff was designed for two things One, it was designed for deliverance

Because there would be sheep that were caught in the thicket, or sheep that would fall into a hole And by the end of staff, the shepherd could reach down and pick up that sheep and bring them out so it could deliver them See? That staff would also be used to prod the sheep along, to direct them in the proper way So God and his staff and his rod would defend, deliver, and direct the sheep So I know that through that process, God brings comfort

So I am comforted because of the sovereign God of the universe. I am comforted because of the staff and rod of that God of the universe. I'm also comforted by the Spirit of God Because the Spirit is called the Parak, the one called alongside of, when the Lord said, I will give you another Helper, another comforter Because he was the comforter, right? He was the consoler He was the Messiah of Israel But I'm going to give you another comforter, not another of a different Kind heteros, but another of the same kind, Al There 's another of the same kind just like me who will bring comfort to you

It 's called the Spirit of Truth He will come alongside As I have remained with you, he will remain in you John 14, John 16, speak about this other comforter that's going to come, another of the same kind, the Spirit of God So, what do we know? We know that the sovereign God of the universe is a comforter We know that the staff and rod of God bring comfort through deliverance, through direction, and through defense We also know that the Spirit of God brings comfort because the Spirit of God res in us And the Spirit of God is called the Spirit of Truth That leads us into all truth

What else do we know? We also know that the saints of God bring comfort. 2 Corinthians 7, 6, Paul says that they were comforted by the arrival of Titus Okay? We also know from 2 Corinthians chapter 1 that the Lord, the God of all mercies, the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions Affliction, so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God So, therefore, God comforts us in our affliction so that we in turn can comfort someone else Amidst their affliction

So the saints of God bring comfort, right? But the only way that the saints of God And the Spirit of God, and the staff of God, and the sovereign God give comfort is through the scriptures of God Very important See, I can go and visit Susie and talk to Susie and even make her laugh Because I can be a funny guy sometimes No, I don't tell very good jokes, but I can be a funny guy, maybe because I'm funny looking So I can walk into a room and cause people to laugh Doesn't bring Susie comfort

But when I talk to Susie and read to her from Psalm 94, 19, which says, when my anxious thoughts overwhelm me Th consolations delight my soul When I'm overwhelmed with anxiety, any here overwhelmed with anxiety? Anybody here overwhelmed with anxious thoughts that seem to consume them? The psalm says, one of my anxious thoughts Overwhelm me Thy consolations delight my soul The psalmist knew that there's only one thing that could bring delight to a soul, bring comfort to a soul And that was through the Word of God Now, listen to Psalm 119 This is inc rich So listen carefully

The psalmist says, This is my comfort in my affliction What was the psalmist's affliction? Was it a physical affliction? Was it a mental affliction? Was it an emotional affliction? A social affliction? A spiritual affliction? A financial affliction? We have no idea That doesn't tell us We don't know But what he did say was, This is my comfort in my affliction So, amidst whatever affliction I'm going through, whatever it may be, this is how I'm going to receive comfort He says that your word has revived me There it is

Whatever my affliction, there is only one thing that will revive me, and that's the word of my God That's it And then it says, The arrogant utterly deride me, for whatever reason we don't know Yet I do not turn aside from your law. I have remembered your ordinances. I have remembered your judgments of old, my Lord, and what? I comfort myself Wow Though others come against me, though others deride me, though others make fun of me, though others humiliate me You know what comforts me? The judgment of my God. I remember the judgment of God How God is the living judge, He is the righteous judge

And therefore, I comfort myself. I don't have to do anything against those people because God's going to judge them So I can sit back and comfort myself in God's judgments It says this: Psalm 119, verse 71: It is good for me that I was afflicted Really? He just said, This is my comfort in my affliction So, some way, somehow, he found comfort in his affliction The God's word revived him, and now he says, It is good That I have been afflicted Why? That I may learn your statutes You know something about affliction? That causes me to gain perspective

And how does God comfort us amidst the affliction through the word of his truth? How does God's word revive us in the midst of our affliction, whether it be emotional, spiritual, mental, financial, whatever the case may be? It's because it gives us perspective Doesn't God's Word give us perspective? On his providence, that he's in charge, that he's in control That he knows exactly what he is doing? It says in verse number 76, Oh, may your loving kind comfort me according to your word to your servant Wow Oh, he goes on to say this in verse number 92

If your law had not been my delight, then I would have perished in my affliction So, if God's word somehow had not been his delight amidst his affliction, he would have perished amidst his affliction How many people you know can't handle hardship? And they fall by the wayside God's word evidently is not their delight God's word evidently is not their comfort But see, God's word can do that Amen Like no one else can That's why when you talk to people, when I go to Susie and talk to her, unless I'm sharing the word of the Lord with her, unless I'm taking her to scripture

That's the only comfort she's going to have Because comfort will give her a perspective, like all of us, on the providence of God That God is sovereign That God makes no mistakes That all things are from Him, through Him, and to Him Romans 11:3 To Him be the glory forever and ever So, God's word of comfort me because it gives me perspective on his providence It gives me perspective on his promises, right? What are the promises of God? That he will never leave me, nor will he ever forsake me That there is a mansion that he's building for me

That's why the Lord can say, Let not your heart be troubled You believe in God, believe also in me, for in my heart are many mansions, many dwelling places If it was not so, I would have told you And I go and prepare a place for you For you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and I will receive you into myself and sit and talk to Susie and, Susie, God's preparing a mansion for you. A mansion, a mansion Not a hut, not a tent, a mansion And if God's creating it, if God's orchestrating it, It's got to be magnificent Right? So we gain perspective

How does God's word comfort me against my affliction? It gives me perspective on His providence It gives me perspective on His promises It gives me perspective On his presence, that yea, though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me God's presence is actually with me, and therefore I have that Perspective. I gain perspective on his purposes There's a greater purpose than just me God comforts us amidst our affliction so that we in turn can comfort other people amidst their affliction

You see that? There is a purpose behind whatever affliction I'm going through, and it goes way beyond my little world and my little corner In the little world that we live in, it's that God will somehow use me to comfort others through the comfort wherewith He comforted me Through the Spirit of God, through the staff of God, by the Scriptures that He gives See that? That's how it works And only God's Word can do that Only God's Word can do that Now, listen to this This is so good. I was reading this back. I couldn wait to get here today. I mean, this is so good Listen to this

Then he says, the law of your mouth What a way to describe the word of God The law of your mouth Your lips, the law of your lips, it comes right directly from your lips The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces Wow, you know what? What I, in the midst of my Affliction: I learned your statute

It was good for me to be afflicted because I learned something. I learned about your statutes. I gained perspective on the providence of God, the purpose of God, the presence of God. I gained perspective on the promises of God. I gained perspective on Peace of God. I gain perspective on the person of God Himself, the law of your mouth The law of your lips What a way to describe the word of God Listen, the same m The same lip that created the universe and created your ex Are the same li that sustain your ex? Same ones

That's why he says that the word or the law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces Isn't that great? You know, I would love just to read Hebrews: Glance over it and say, God's word's powerful, it's living, it's active, it's sharper, it's penetrating, it just opens up everything Isn't that great? And let's move on. I just can't do that. I can't There are times I wish I could. I just can't The Bible says in Proverbs 27:2 Be careful to know the condition of your flock and the state of your herd as a pastor

My job is to know the condition of the people of this assembly And all of us need to know the power of the Word of God. A lot of us have been in church for many years, many years, been saved for many years, but having experienced the conversion power of God's Word, we've yet to see How the cleansing agent of His Spirit and the Correcting Agency of His W and the Comforting Agency of that word Is available to me It's there That's why God gave us His word You hold in your hand the law of His mouth You hold in your hand the law that came from the lips of the living God Therefore, it's living

It's active, it's powerful, it's sharper than any two-ed sword And you know what? We're not done yet understand the power of God's Word Let 's pray Father, we thank you for today What a joy What a joy to be able to reflect and to realize what you've said, what you've done And how it applies to every person in this room Your word applies to every soul Our prayer, Lord, is that you would use your word in the life of everyone here To do exactly what you say it's meant to do, that we might rejoice In the effectual work of the living word In Jesus' name, amen.