The Effectiveness Of The Word Of The Supreme Prophet - Epistle To The Hebrews Series | Rev Poon

0:00Saya berjaya声 està kurang dalam name Aval Law and Savior, Jesus Christ. Lada dengar Penteb jetzt lihat div different David Hansen. Wh là kena ini daripada twee perkara nochib yang kamu buat malam.. Jangan sentiasa mereka mempukulkan suara multiply. Ha, kamu minta Anh diterapikan può jadi sekarang hahaha že. も Boleh. Hebrews, chapter 4, Hebrews, chapter 4, We will focus our reading on verses 12 and 13. Right, Hebrews, chapter 4. Hebrews, chapter 4, verses 12 and 13, reading together. For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.

1:01Piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joins and marrows, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and opened onto the eyes of Him, with whom we have to do. May God bless us with the understanding of His Word tonight. Before we go further, let us plead for God to be in our midst, to teach us His Word. Shall we pray? Almighty eternal God, our most gracious, most loving Heavenly Father. We come into Thy presence, Lord, rejoicing that we have this freedom of worship, rejoicing that we have yet another opportunity to study our Word in Thy house.

2:01The world is in great turmoil, many have lost their freedom, lost everything in life, but here we are, spared from all this. So, Father, we pray that we would not take these privileges, these protections that You have afforded us for granted, but always to be to treasure every time, every moment, Lord, that we are able to sit, to hear Thy Word. And Father, now, we pray that you will be gracious and merciful to first and foremost cleanses us and washes very thoroughly in the blood of our Savior. We plead, O God, that You will remove our sins far from us, and let none of it hinder the working of Your Spirit tonight. And Father, we also pray that Your Holy Spirit will be given to teach us, to use Your Holy Word to open our eyes of understanding,

3:01and above all, O Lord, to transform the way we think, about our most prominent and preeminent and supreme prophet and priest, and King. And tonight, as we study about Him being the supreme prophet, and His Word, O Lord, may You cause each one of us to change the way we think about Your Word. Use Your Word to night in Thy house, so God will feed Your sheep, both upstairs and downstairs here, remove all the tightness and destruction of the body we pray, that we may be able to know that unusual concentration and delight to receive Your Word, we ask and we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, so now, look at verse 12 last week. We consider the first part for the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper. I hope you remember what those things would mean.

4:05The Word of God is quick, it is living, it is not passive, it is not just words. It is the living, it has living effect, then powerful. This has to do with the abilities, abilities to do something, so it is not just, well, living, but it has effects on people's lives. One of which is, it draws us into close fellowship with God, and then sharper than any two ages, or sharper than any two ages, has to do with, again, its effectiveness. It is double effectiveness, one is to convict men of sin, and the other, it is very effective also, to comfort, to strengthen. So some of the ideas must be clear in our minds. So we studied last week the three characteristics.

5:09This week we want to study and learn from the three effects, whether the three effects, look at verse 12. Piercing even to the defining asunder of the soul, and spirit, and the joints, and marrows, that is the first effect. Second effect is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Third effect, in verse 13, neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and opened onto the eyes of him with whom we have to do three effects, from the three characteristics. Now then, let's look at our question sheet. What are the lessons we must learn from the effects of the Word of God, these three effects? Not the first one, dividing of, look at your Bibles. Piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul, and spirit, and joints, and marrows. Two parts, soul, and spirit, and joints, and marrows.

6:14And what is this about? What is this about? Now when we talk about the soul and the spirit, we know that they are one and the same, they are not separate. But if it is the same, then why is there this piercing in dividing? Now the soul often refers to the living part of man, right? Your being, your being, B-E-I-N-G, your being, spirit, often refers to your heart, right? What you are, your heart, what's in your heart. So soul and spirit, so God is saying that His Word is so effective, so sharp, He can actually pierce through you, to reveal who you are, your being, and what is that heart in that being?

7:17So it's not just, well, I know you, well, you are so and so, that's your being. Well, your being, who you are, your heart, is also who you are, but few can see that. So here, when we talk about this, then you have the emphasis of the discerning nature of God's Word. God's Word is piercing, meaning to say He has a discerning ability. It reaches to the deepest part of a person's being revealing his true nature, right? Not just, well, people know you on your surface, but this is about knowing you, revealing who you are, your nature. Now, in other words, this is your character.

8:17God's Word will pierce through all that smoke that you put in front of people, all those masks you put in front of people. It pierces through that and shows your character. The word of God is not passive, last word we studied that. It's quick. It doesn't just, well, tell you information. No, it does something. The word of God is quick, it's powerful, what it does is, it actually is capable of exposing your true nature. Now, people, the word of God, the truth of God, as a double-edged sword, what does it mean? It divides up, right? Both, well, your good character, as well as exposes your hypocrisies, insincerities,

9:27your fake front to others. Now, the word of God, when we say it's powerful and sharper, then any two-edged sword means it's very comprehensive, the double-edgedness, comprehensive. In what sense? Well, it detects comprehensively. Your deceptions, that you may not even know yourself, but it will show you, right? It's deep, reaching nature. In other words, the word of God means, in other words, you cannot conceal your feelings, your emotions, your true feelings and emotions, who you are.

10:27From the word of God, when the word of God comes, when the truth comes, this piercing is like light piercing through the darkness, piercing through all the camouflage you put up, your soul is exposed, your spirit is made known. This light, like a flood-like, coming through, the dark, where we have put up, managed to put up flood-like, flood-lights behind, thank God for that, exposing anything in darkness about your character. So, the word of God, when it talks about soul dividing, sorry, piercing even to the dividing, the sound of soul and spirit, is really about exposing our character to us. Christian, you want to really know who you are, who you really are. Only the word of God can do that.

11:33And no matter how you try to hide, the word of God will still expose you to others, to others as well. So, you have soul and spirit, character. Now, then we have what about joints and mirrors, joints and mirrors. Now, this reveals motives, joints and mirrors, a discernment of thoughts and intents of the heart. Motives, the word of God searches, exposes your character. Now, it says about any talk about your thoughts, discernment of thoughts and intents, thoughts and intents. Thoughts are simply what you are thinking about, so you can keep thinking about things.

12:39But intents are what drives those thoughts, what drives those thoughts, what are your intents, what are your motives behind thinking those thoughts, leading you to those thoughts, wanting to think those thoughts. How many of us really sit down and think, well, what's my intent? Now, we just sit there and we let thoughts go on in our minds. But it is the word of God that will show to us, right? Lay open to us, secret feelings of the soul. But why do you have those thoughts? What are the secret feelings around those thoughts? Desire, secret desires are known to men. But the word of God will show you, have you not experienced that? You've been thinking about something, then as you do your quiet time, then you read a verse.

13:44Then it jumps out at you. Actually, there are certain emotions behind these thoughts that I've been holding, right? It shows you. Now, here is one reason on the side, I want to say, we are learning about the word of the Supreme Prophet, right? The word of God. And the Supreme Prophet says that he has preserved this word perfectly, correct? Now, one of the big problems with modern English versions is this. There are translations. No, there are actually most of them paraphrases. They paraphrase. That is why they change the meanings. This is too difficult for people to understand. They say, this is what it means. Then they paraphrase it for you. Whereas the King James version, they simply translate word forward. Where the English possibly allows. They keep to it.

14:45They do not try to tell you what's the meaning. They simply tell you what's the word. That's all. Now, why do I talk about this? Because the word of God is a double-edged sword. It cuts. And when you read something, it may be different from someone else reading the same verse. Because it discerns your thoughts and your intents. The words exposes that. But the moment someone paraphrases it, then the entire verse is now narrowed down to just one meaning. I'm not saying the word of God has many meanings. The word of God has only one meaning, but I would say it has different applications. It will apply to different people differently. The same meaning applies to different people differently. The word of God has that power. So it exposes hidden motives. It has the power to discern truth from falsehood within you.

15:54It's a power to differentiate between righteousness and sin. So you may think of something. You may even tell people the reason for those thoughts. But they are actually sinful intents. Though it's seemingly righteous thought to others. Or I did this because I was thinking along this line. I did that because this would be better and so on. For you, but the word of God says that when you read the Bible, when the word is preached, you will know in your heart. You will know in your heart that, well, your motives were not genuine. They were filled with... So that's the second one. It's about the sense of thoughts and intents of the heart. Now, this is about motives, motives.

16:55Now, for the same line, the word of God forces us to look upon our thoughts and our intents. As we would normally, not, as we normally would not. When the word of God says, my word is a sword. It preaches you. It causes you to view these things. To see in your heart even feelings or emotions or intents that you did not suspect in the first place. Have you experienced that? I'm sure you must have since the day you got saved. Suddenly, either God uses someone to use the word to show you your sin, whether pride, loss of the flesh, loss of the eye, or whether it's true. Message or whether you're just reading the word of God.

17:56And then all of a sudden you realized, I did not even suspect that I had this kind of character. I was of such a character. I did not know. Now I know. I did not realize that when I did something, when I said something, I was doing it. With a certain intent, I didn't even know, right? Now, so the word of God shows that. Christian, I hope that you begin to see how valuable the word of God is to our lives, which we'll talk about more after us. You do not suspect, you do not know? Now, it is like, if you look at verse 12, right, joins and marrows, joins and marrows, they make up something, right? The joins and the marrows, it is the make up of a man, M-A-K-E-U-P, make up of man.

18:56It makes up a person, right? Now again, the reminder is, what do you feel? What you desire, right? What your character are, it all comes together. Thoughts, intents, joins and marrows, this is what make up a person. Your character and your nature, and your personality, and your motives in anything that you think or do. So now, we begin to see a picture, a picture of God reminding us how He reveals who we are, and why we do anything. Now, then we come to the third one, right? We come to the third one, look at verse 13.

19:59Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight. But all things are naked and opened onto the eyes of Him, with whom we have to do. Now, this has to do with God, will expose. The word of God exposes, exposes. Not just our character, not just our nature, not just our motives, but everything. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things. Every single human being will be under the scrutiny of this word, one day. But for the Christian, we are under scrutiny every day, so are the unbelievers, but they don't care. Every creature, all right? There is neither any creature. And He says, well, remember, the Bible describes about judgment day.

20:59The people will cry for the mountains to fall upon them, to hide. Then from the piercing exposure of God, God's light, right? So this verse will make you think of that neither is any creature that is not manifest in His sight. Christian, as we live our lives, we can ignore the word of God. We can put it aside. We can not read it, not use it much, don't study it much, but it doesn't change one thing. The word of God, as long as you are a creature, right? You are living creature. The word of God has to do with you. There is something to do with you. You can ignore it, you can avoid it. Yet you cannot escape its judgment. That is the point about God's word. You cannot escape its judgment even if you choose to plead ignorance.

22:07They say, but all things are naked and open onto the eyes of Him. Now, this is to remind everyone of us that God's word will bring to recollection any sin that we've committed one day. There will be the judgment. So do not think that you do something in secret. Don't repent. Take it to your grave. No one will know. The word of God drives us to turn away and stop. Right? Not only that, the word of God has this double-aged sword that makes us remember, makes us recollect, long forgotten sins. Now, as we live on this earth, we have to read God's word with a desire

23:07and we study that more often. With the desire to Lord, please show me, show me a lot, things that I've forgotten, that I need to confess, that I need to, or that I did not notice, that is still part of my life. It's long forgotten and I've let it continue in my life. Lord, please use your word to show me. God will call it out. I remember very often, young Christians, after they become a Christian. As they study the word of God, God brings to remembrance many of the sins that they committed long time ago and then they go and make right with men. So God's word has the power. It's wonderful. God's word lays open. All things are naked and open onto the eyes of Him. God's word lays us open and covers us, exposes our secret, thoughts and sins.

24:12God's word does that and it brings it into the eyes of Him. God judges us by His word. Now God's word here, when we talk about all things are naked and open onto the eyes of Him. Now with whom we have to do. With whom we have to do. God's word doesn't just simply want us to know. God's word is not simply there to cut open and expose our weaknesses, our sins, our sins, our un-Christian character and so on. Now this word, with whom we have to do, reminds us that God's word intends to cause you to change. With whom we have to do. We will stand before Him one day, not only then, but now God says,

25:18I know all things by my word. With whom we have to do is to tell us that God's word is meant, not just to expose, but to cause us to repent. That is the effect, the closing effect of God's word. We have to do, we have to meet Him every day. When we wake up, we must know that we have to do with God. We cannot run away from God. And His word continues to be the measure He will measure us each day. Every day we have to do with God. We are accountable to God. So these are the meanings of these words. Here, of course, there are many things, many more things that we can study, but that's all we can cover tonight.

26:18Now, ultimately, when you read all this, the word of God is effects. Reminds us, you can fool everybody all the time, which is actually not possible, but even if you could, you could even fool yourself, right? You can give yourself excuses. You can make up excuses. Oh, I couldn't come for Bible study because of this and that. You tell people in church or you tell your spouse, I cannot this, I cannot that. But the reality is God's word, exposes, exposes. All your excuses, all your rationalizing. Now, once you realize that the word of God does that, and then look at verse 13, and all things are naked, and onto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do,

27:18all things are naked. Even now, at the moment when you're saying those things, why I cannot do this, why I cannot do that, or why I did this, why I did that, at that very moment, the word of God already judges you. Right? So when we begin to understand the word of God has that effect, whether we accept that effect, whether we want to embrace that effect or not, it is there. We have just been accountable to God. So what? So what if everyone gets fooled? So what if your outward character is so nice, right? So friendly, so caring. So what? Who are you really? Do you want to know who you really are? Read the word of God. You see how, afterwards, alright?

28:19We come to question number two then. How would you benefit most? Yeah, this is the part. Then knowing the characteristics and the effects of God's word, how would you benefit most from this double-edged sword of God? How? I give to you five seas, five seas from these characteristics and effects. Now the first sea, how to benefit most? Let it comfort you. Let it comfort you. Do not forget what we learned last week, the characteristic is that it is a double-edged sword. Double-edged, it is very effective both to convict, but also to comfort. Right, so we begin with the comfort part. But you must let it. Why do we have the series on Adelphos Adelphae and give you so many Bible verses?

29:19Because only the word of God can comfort you. Only the word of God can assure you and encourage you, cheer you, guide your thoughts. Because God says His word is sharper than any two-edged sword. Whatever you can find in this universe, that people say, this is very effective. God says, my word is more effective than that. It must encourage you. It must cause you to run to it when you are under trials, when you are at the loss, whatever it is. God says, it is sharper than any. It means you can find the wisest men of... Men can see history and put them all together and if they were alive now, and they give you the bestest advice to comfort you, to help you to think through that time of trial,

30:23is still cannot be compared with my word, because it is sharper than any two-edged sword. Christians, how comforting is that? Do you need comfort? Do you need guidance? Do you need reassurance? Are you afraid of falling into sin? Are you afraid that you would fail God at the end of your life? Are you afraid that you would become King Saul and end up like Him? Are you afraid it can be very frightening? But the Word of God has promises, as long as we live a life of obedience, He promises to keep us. And here the Word of God tells you, look at verse 12. Now, it is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing,

31:26and then piercing through people's thoughts, people's character. Now, another comfort you can get from this is, you can know how to discern. You can know how to discern people, because it exposes people's character as well. It exposes people's nature to you. How do you decide on friendships, when someone approaches you for courtship or you think of approaching someone? How? How? How do I know? God's Word refills nature, character. Compare it against God's Word, discernment. If you do not have discernment, how do I know if someone is sincere? How do I know someone is true in intent? How do I know if I can trust someone? It is very scary to go through life like that, but God says, my Word, if you use it, if you use it to make judgments, to measure,

32:26and you know how to use it, it cuts through joints and marrow. What can do that? Thoughts and intents. What can do that? You see how comforting it is? So, at the end of the day, at the end of the day, even if you fear, being this fear-falling, you do not know what is ahead. Take comfort in God's Word. If I were to tell you that there is something far supreme, far better than any man or artificial intelligence, the whole world now depends on artificial intelligence. Can you imagine AI? It takes in a short time, in seconds or less than a second.

33:26It can go around the whole world, read through all the databases of everything that men have made commenced about something, and summarize the advice to you. You must think, well, that is wonderful, right? All the past history of men's thoughts, mankind's thoughts, historically for decades, if not centuries, in a few seconds, I get the advice. But God says, no man can devise anything to help you better than His Word in any problem in life. How to handle it? How to overcome any sin that you have? How to prevent you from making foolish mistakes? How to prevent you from making wrong choices? How to prevent you? Or how to help you to discern situations,

34:27grant you wisdom? How to fight and win any battle using this word? Expose any deception? How? Now God says, there is nothing in this universe that can compare to my Word. When it comes to these things, based on the characteristics, based on the effects, that is what God's Word does. So, Christian, let it comfort you. Well, of course, it must be a great part of your life as we study afterwards. Let it comfort you. Now, the second, see, then you have the second edge of the sword. Let it cut you. You want to benefit from the Word of God? This way, even for it to comfort you, you must be ready to let it cut you. That's a double-edged sword. Allow the sword to perform surgery,

35:28spiritual surgery on your soul. Because God says, you know, even you do not know your own intents. Now, you need my Word to show you who you are. Just now we sang with Him. The Word is like a mirror for us to see ourselves. Let it cut you. Now, let it perform, or I would say, read the Word of God in a way to allow it to actively penetrate and convict you. Read the Word of God, not passively. The Word of God says, my Word is quick. It has life. Don't read it like a dead book. Christians, when we read Kusa really, in our quiet time, or we listen without paying attention. We just wait for it to finish. I just try to finish my reading for the day.

36:30Family worship. Let's just read. Now, when there's no meditation, you are not letting the Word of God cut you, pierce you, reveal things about you. You are not. Why do we prefer to read God's Word just finish reading or family worship, just read passages in the next day? Because we do not like to be cut. We know that the moment we stop and think, it will expose our sins, our character, our nature, our intents, our excuses. You do not like that. But if you want to benefit, if you want to benefit, don't read it merely as a passive text. Don't rush through it. Meditate and pray. You want to benefit in a maximum way from it before you start reading. Pray, God, can you please? Not only use your Word to comfort me.

37:31But Lord, I need Your Word to cut me, to convict me. Why are there so many? Not transformed. Or maybe at best, transform in certain areas of their lives. Despite studying the Word of God for decades, but their lives are the same. They still have the same nature, same characteristics, same character, same hypocrisies, same selfish, self-centeredness. Why? Why? Well, the Bible does say, there will be those that are ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. They would not let the truth pierce them. They shield their hearts. They built a barrier when they reach as passages that they know God is dealing with their sins. They bypass it. This is not about me when they hear a message. They try to mask all this.

38:32Don't cut me. In other words, to practice self-examination using God's Word, self-examination, search me, oh God, and know my heart today. How does God search as we search the Word? Now, in other words, use God's Word to evaluate your life. Use God's Word to evaluate your decisions. Don't just make decisions. And even give excuses that those are actually spiritual reasons for making those decisions. You've avoided something, you've made some changes in your life, and then now suddenly you want to go back to the old things. Whether it is out of fear of man, whether it is due to pride, fear of losses, or whatever it is, practice self-examination using God's Word

39:36instead of holding on, instead of holding on to your sins. You want to benefit from this double-edged sword that is nothing in this entire universe. You have to use it as a surgeon's scalpel on yourself. You have to use it to make incisions. Cut yourself. You read that policy, God, you know, it's something that I've been trying not to think about. I know that one day, someday, I have to deal with this. Then now you stop. Then now you ask God, use your Word, Lord. You start to think, this is me. Start to make those dissections. Why did I say that? Why have I been saying these things? Why have been acting this way?

40:37I just didn't want to think about this. Why is it, Lord? Fear of man, love of money, whatever it is. Why, God? Some thoughts in your heart that you try to avoid thinking about. Now it is time to stop and really take that scalpel and cut and cut and cut deeper and deeper and keep asking yourself questions, why? Is it true? I told my husband this. I told my wife that. I told my children that. I told my parents that. Cut and cut and cut. Then you will benefit from it. A person who refused to go under this sharp medical scalpel of the surgeon cannot benefit. Remember, it is a double-edged sword. Meaning to say, like a surgeon's scalpel, he uses it to cut, to remove the tumor.

41:38Before, he can do something other cuts to bring about transformative healing. He has to. So, you cannot just want the comfort. I do not want the cut. The surgeon must remove the tumor. You must let the word of God remove those sins. Why are many people not changing? Not growing as they would, like the Christians in Thessalonica. It all has to do with the reception of the word. Same for them, right? How they receive the word? We have learned a lot about it. Now, but I then come to the third scene. So please, just for this part, I just want to say a few things. Please don't gloss over your Bible readings. Please meditate.

42:39Please be honest as you read God's word. It's no use avoiding it. Because if you avoid dealing with what you need to deal with, the other part of the sword will come in. The other part of the sword will come in because God says, with whom we have to do for the day, it will come in. It's just a matter of time. Please meditate your heart. Now, then, well, there are many Psalms, actually. Psalm 51, for example. It's a good prayer. If you find that, well, I don't know how, to us God to search me. I don't know how to come to Him with this brokenness and this desire to see myself, truly. Go to Psalm 51, for example, right? Pray those prayers, kneel with the Bible in front of you.

43:42Now, then we come to the third scene, which is, let it conform you to Christ. Let it conform you to Christ. God says that His word is quick, powerful, and effective. What is something that is quick, powerful, and effective for to do something, to effect something, right? So when God says these words, this is what my word is. He's already telling us, it is meant to change you, it's meant to conform you, conform you to my character. Independence is the purpose of the effectiveness of God's word. It effectively shows you your sin, effectively shows you who you really are all this years as a Christian.

44:45All this is to drive us to repentance. Men can see us as this and that. Who are we really before God? When was the last time you knelt before God and really enumerated your sins that God has shown you in this word? From the time you got saved or before you got saved, God, I've done this, this is who I am. These are the kind of thoughts I've all the while. No one may know, this is my character in public, in private, but no one knows. Everyone thinks I am very virtuous, godly, but God, you know who I am. Your word has shown me who I am. God, you know, then what? Then God, I am so ashamed. As your child, yet I am such a person, it must be so embarrassing to kneel before you now

45:49with knowing that I am such a person. Now that is what the word of God is meant to do. To make us face who we are, that is why he says all these things, is the device, soul and spirit, your character, joints and marrow, the sense of thoughts and intents, your motives, it does all that. When was the last time that you really felt, like the few the most hypocritical, most fake person? When was the last time you actually said, what I really wonder, what God thinks of me, knowing who I am from God's word, people may not know. Now why does God want to do all this? Tell us, my word is meant to do all that. Then for us to say, Lord, I have to stop this. It is so shameful.

46:50I am so ashamed. I look so and sound so good before men, but Lord, I am so ashamed before you. Lord, help me to change. I have to do with you. Your word is effective. Effective means your word can help me to change. Your word can help me to be transformed. I cannot imagine that I will be a different person in a way I think. I have been thinking like that all my life. I am controlled by this kind of thoughts all my life. I am selfish, lustful. Whatever it is, if that has been me, but Lord, you told me that your word is quick and powerful. Lord, I repent, help me. This is what we are supposed to do in our closet prayer,

47:52with the word of God before us. Now then let's come to, so let it conform you. This part is about driving us to repentance, asking God for forgiveness, and asking God for strength. Now here, why use word, why use sword? God often uses his word, like his word with sword. And when you study the book of Ephesians, remember when we studied the sword of the Spirit, then you began to realize the sword is what a soldier must have. The Christian is a soldier. The moment you become a Christian, you are immediately enlisted into the army of God. You are immediately a soldier in the army of God. You immediately have enemies

48:53gunning for you immediately, instantly. Satan is instantly your enemy, and you have to fight him with the word, the sword. So the Bible tells us the sword of the Spirit. How do you reach spiritual battles? What is the best way to help these people understand? In those days, the sword, the sword. The sword, even when the disciples were going forth, they knew they needed to carry sword. They are not soldiers, but it is for protection. Remember that, protection, as well as for fighting the enemies. Not only for protection, but vanquishing the enemies. So when God uses his word, it is sharper than any two-edged sword. In those days, the double-edged sword, the two-edged sword is considered superior. Because when it pierces, it is sliced into the enemy's body,

49:54far easier than a single-edged sword. So it is seen as more effective. When you hit the enemy on either side of the sword, he gets cut. But if you use a single-sided, sometimes the enemy doesn't get cut. So when God says it is a double-edged sword, he is already telling them, you have a powerful weapon, as a Christian. But not only that, sharper than any, he is assuring them. Definitely, a weapon that works better than any. So now here is, then what is it about? Let it be constantly part of your daily life. Let it be constantly the fourth sea, part of your daily life. The soldier, these people, when they go out, they ask the Lord, we are going out now. How many sought you will bring along? The new in their daily lives. They had to carry them as they travel.

50:56As you journey, surgeon in this world, we have to have protection. The soldiers that go out to war, they will not find any soldier that say, I think I am not going to carry my sword. You will be insane. They will constantly have it with them. Even when they sleep, they hold it. For those of you who have gone through the military, you know, for us the equivalent is our rifle. You sleep on it, you sleep hugging it. You are constantly ensuring that it is with you. It is your protection. You get charged for losing it. Because it is your protection, as well as your weapon to vanquish the enemies, to bring victory to the country.

51:56How can you lose such a thing? You must protect it with your own life, because it protects your life and the life of others. It must always, constantly, be with you, the sword. So to them, when they think of sword, oh, okay, I get the idea, you must always be by my side. In your daily routines, your quiet time, is you must have your quiet time. That is when you use the sword to cut yourself, to protect yourself, at the same time as to fight the temptations that are coming. Lastly, we learn, even Christ used the word constantly. It is written, it is written, it is written, it is written. Christ knew the power of the word. Why do we keep emphasizing, please, do your quiet time every day? Why? For a very simple reason, it is your protection,

52:56as well as your battle, your victory for the day. That is what it is. Now, adults or young ones, please look at your quiet time, meditating on the web. Not just, or I finish reading one chapter, and then, you are not cutting yourself. You are not comforting yourself. You are not letting the word of God conform you to the image of Christ. But when you do it, you go forth into the world with protection. It already prepares you to face the temptation. God prepares you for that, with his sword. He reveals to you, you know, today, you are going to work, you are going to say these things, or when you are serving in church, you are going to do something in a certain way. I am showing you now, this hypocrisy. I am showing you now.

53:56You are not doing it for the right reason. I am going to say something to someone. I am showing you now, it is an excuse. You see, the word of God immediately works in our heart. When you don't have the sword constantly as part of your daily routine, number one, you will not even know. Your sins will not even be exposed to you. Or you may be going to face a trial which you never anticipated or imagined would ever occur to you. But because you don't have, you have not used the sword. By the time you face that, you will fall into temptation, without even realizing it. You fall when you are in trials, because you will do something, just to get out of the trial, or just to solve the problem. But when you use the word, the word of God, look at verse 12, it is quick and powerful, it does something to your heart.

54:57Now, then it pierces, it shows you your nature, your character, it shows you the intents about something in your heart, then you will avoid that. Or when it is a trial, you will know how to think. Do you understand why it is so important? That the word of God must constantly be part of your daily life. As I've said before, many Christians, when you trace, when you talk to them, they fell into grievous sin, when you talk to them, do you do a quiet time? Yes, your quiet time was it truly, genuinely, honest. When God shows you, when God will, unless you're not His child, show you His, your sin, the thing that you're doing now, that you're involved in now, that you're thinking now, God showed you that it was something that is sinful. Did you respond?

55:58It's always the same answer. I try not to think about this. Over time, I do my quiet time mainly because my parents are seeing, looking at me, mainly because my wife, my husband, is looking at me. So I put the Bible in front and I'm reading, but all the while in my heart, I was just avoiding the scalpel. I was avoiding it. But when you do your quiet time and you respond, it will conform you. Right? Now, so not only that, it's not enough, it's not enough to just do your own quiet time. The Word of God is very clear. Why do I give gifts to the church? These are pastors and teachers. Why? To feed my sheep. When you are in sin, when you refuse to face it, or when you are ignorant,

57:00you need someone to show you. So, just say, I do my quiet time. It's not good enough. If that's the case, then God did not need to set up a church. Did not need to give gifts or pastors and teachers. So do not fall into this foolishness that the Bible is like. Well, I can self-teach myself. Right? Like self-taught cooks, self-taught whatever. The Bible is not that. You do not tell your children. Just be a self-taught student. Do not need to go to a university. Do not need to go to school. Right? You can read it yourself and learn yourself. Yes, they can. But do you think to the point where they are able to face the challenges at the workplace? Of course not. So, when the Word of God, when God says, my word, are all these things. He is saying, put yourself under it.

58:01Personally, publicly, put yourself under it. You can say, I can cure my own illness. Well, to some extent, maybe with your own reading. But ultimately, you know you need a doctor. Right? We are not only studying regularly, but studying it broadly. Not just simply on your own. You will fall into trouble. It's just a matter of time. Tell the student, you just keep reading your textbooks at home. You do not need to go to school. When that time, my exams comes. He may be able to answer a few questions, and that's it. He will fail. Right? So, grow in learning. Do not think that the Word of God is something you can just wield yourself. Now, of course, this being constantly with you means you memorize the Word.

59:01How do you carry the Word all the day long? In your phone, in the Bible, in your bag? Of course, it's much more than that. This being with you is the battle is engaged in the mind, in the heart. That is where the sword must be. You are depressed. You are sad. You are broken. You are fearful. It all happens in your heart and your mind. So, unless you memorize the Word of God, you will fall. You are tempted. And you just keep memorizing. How many of you have shared? Again and again. I can tell you how many times I quoted the verse in my mind today. Again and again and again. You are doing exactly what Christ did. It is written. It is written. And that is how you carry the Word of God constantly with you.

1:00:01In conversations with friends, then you are going crazy. Unless you have the Word of God in you deeply, there is nothing to convict you. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't do that. I should have gone that. I should have done this. Right? So, it's not just memorizing. It's using it. Now, lastly, let it control you. There is a last thing. Let it control you. Now, when you look at the descriptions here, the descriptions here, quick, powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, and then reveals things. Again, all this are given as assurance to us. Trust it. Trust it. Let it control your thought. Let it control your choices.

1:01:02Trust it. This is what my word can do. Use it to discern things. Let the Word of God control how you judge something. Judge someone. Judge yourself. Judge situation. Let the Word of God be the one that tells you what should I do. So many people are telling me different things. My heart is afraid. I've had some victories. But now I'm afraid. I think I will compromise. Go back to my old ways. Or let people control me. No, only let only the Word of God control you. All the times that God has shown you, and you come to know what you must do, how you must live at home, in school, at work,

1:02:03in your personal work. You've come to realise what the Christian life is about. Let the Word of God control you. God says the consecrated life, over time you find that it doesn't seem to work, doesn't matter what works or does not. Let it control you. Let it be the one that decides that the consecrated life is the best life. It doesn't seem so, but I just simply believe it. Right? So when we talk about the Word of God, how can we benefit most from it? The force is, let it comfort you. Otherwise, you will get depressed. You will do the wrong things. Let it cut you. Let it convict you, show you. And of course it is to let it conform you to Christ, then repent.

1:03:03And for you to be safe, it must constantly be in your heart and your mind, in every situation, constantly growing in it. Ultimately all this, we saw that, Lord, whatever is the situation, let your word control me, because it is the most effective thing in this universe. I must trust it. I must believe it. I must let it be my gauge for all things, faith and practices. Now we answer question number three, and then see where it takes us. Question number three. Now let us summarize, then. Let us summarize some key lessons. That we must not forget. Having known the characteristics and the effects, now I give you 12 hours. R, R. Right, 12 hours to help you remember.

1:04:05Some of the effects are what it does. The word of God helps us in the following ways. The word of God helps us in the following ways. The word of God revives us. It is quick. If you are backslided, and you know you are, if you know that you are well not growing, the word of God revives you. It is quick. The word of God restores you. It is powerful. It draws you. It moves you back to God. If you truly, sincerely, go through the foresees when you read the word of God, it will restore you. For sure. And because the word of God pierces, divides, exposes, the word of God brings repentance. Repentance is what?

1:05:07That is the word of God. A person who does not read the word of God or who reads the word of God, but not according to the foresees, can keep reading, can keep getting A's for F E B C exams, but will still not repent. Will still keep holding the sin in the heart? No body may know, but keep going on and on and on. And eventually, the other side of the sword will come in there. Now then, the fourth one. The word of God helps me to remain firm in faith and obedience. The word of God helps me to remain firm in faith and obedience. Now, when the word of God is sharp, sorry, is quick and powerful, what does it do? It establishes you firmly. It has the power. Nothing in this world.

1:06:07Parents, you worry about your children. Will they remain firm? Will they fall into sin? Very soon. Your only hope is not more easy as, it's not keeping them busier in ECAs or whatever it is. Making them more clever in their exams, hopefully they will do well in life at least. No, the Bible says, my only word is sharper than any two ages. So there's nothing in this universe that can make your child faith firm. And they will keep obedient or being God till they die. Only the word. So if your family worship is half past six, there's such a good thing in English. If your family worship is just, it's just shambles. We just read, we sing, all right, we've done family worship. You are building them up for failure.

1:07:09They do not know God's word. The word of God has not pierced them. Husbands, you remember, one of the sessions on family worship. The husband must know the spiritual temperature of every single member in his home. His family worship must be geared towards that. So he is wielding the sword at home to expose, to comfort, to bring repentance. But of course, if your life is full of sin, you want to avoid using the scalpel because your wife and your child will turn the scalpel back on you, right? You want to remain your self firm and faithful in your children. Make sure the five C's about how to use the word is true, honest, sincere. The fifth one reminds me when I go astray.

1:08:12Very often, we feel that life is fine. I think we are doing well, but when you truly read the word of God, when you truly expose yourself to the scalpel in preaching, when you do not come, when you choose pick and choose, I will come for certain Bible studies. I won't come for certain ones. You are basically not going through a proper operation by God. But when you are consistent, God will show you where you are going astray. God will convict you. God will prepare the scalpel through the message which you refuse to have in your home. Do not avoid the public study of the word, the private reading of the word. The next one, he helps you to resist temptation. Because God says,

1:09:13it is to the piercing and divining a sander of soul and spirit and joins and marrows and discernment of thoughts. By the way, I grouped it wrongly just now. Soul and spirit and joins and marrows should be one. It should be the second one. They make up a person. That's why it's about a character. They make up a person. So the third one is just simply a discernment of thoughts and intents of the heart. Now, coming back to this, because God will help you discern your real intentions, you can no longer pretend and say, give excuses, you can no longer pretend, you can no longer just continue in it. Now you know, I must face this. I have to resist this and Christ. When the devil tempted him with lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life, only the word of God was given.

1:10:14Resisting temptation, you have been falling, the hero again and again for years, failing and resisting the temptation strong, you have not dived into the word of God on that topic. Search out that topic. If it's pride, if it's lust, if it's whatever it is, self-centredness, whatever it is, search out those passages. That's the meaning of using the word. Just like when you're sick, you search out for the best doctor, and then you go look for different best doctors, search the word of God out, then use it as a scalpel. Now the next, next, the seventh one, it renews your mind. It renews your mind. Now because it's a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, now if you're a child of God, then honestly, once to change, now your mind will begin to change.

1:11:14The word only, the word of God can tell you, the difference. The difference between what is a right way of thinking and a wrong way of thinking. You want wisdom, you want discernment, how to react, how to make choices when you're faced with a situation, how to think. I used to think like the word. I used to make my decisions like the word. How to renew that, the word of God. After some time, but it must be growing. The word of God must be growing. Then precept upon precept. Your thinking will change. Then people say, oh, you used to think like that, you're different. How do you make this decision? How is it that I did not see it? The amount of the word of God is the difference. And of course, the willingness to submit. Then the eighth one. Now, it raises you to higher spiritual grounds. It raises you to higher spiritual grounds.

1:12:15Because the word of God is a sword. It's for you to fight your spiritual battles. The word of God is quick and powerful. It is not static. It is not passive. It pushes. It brings you to another level. When you truly make the word of God, very, very full in your life, all over, always studying, always meditating. That is the only way you grow. Grow. The ninth one. It reveals my heart and my character. As you study it, I believe this is the most important for everything else. Until we see our own heart and our own character, why would we change? Why would we change? All is fine, right? I'm fine.

1:13:16Yeah, I know people tell me I should change in this, but I believe I'm fine. Until you face the word of God and say, Lord, I accept this is who I am. Then you begin to change. Now, then the tenth one. It reveals others to me. It reveals others to me. We can be deceived by people. We can follow people wrongly. We can let people convince us of things. Then we say, oh, how foolish of me. What happened? Why did I realise all this, all this while? Why do I let this person, what that person deceives me, do this or that to me? Now, when you have much of the word of God in you and really understand the word of God, you will be able to now begin to discern their hearts. A very important skill in life, especially for church, for the church, for the session,

1:14:16we always need to discern the character of others. Because if we don't, the moment we put the wrong person to do something, the person will destroy the church and himself or herself. So, next are the eleven. Now, it is meant to be the rule, R-U-L-E, R-U-L-E, the rule for judging and choosing all things. All things are made manifest in his sight. All things are naked and open. Everything will be put to that test, the test of his word. And therefore, then let his word be the rule of all my judgments, all my choices, all my decisions. Because one day, when I face God, He will use his word to ask me, why do you choose that? Why do you say that? Why do you do that?

1:15:18Then the word of God be that rule in my life. Not what others do, not what my parents say, not my culture, if they are consistent with the word of God fine, but always put it against the word of God. And at the end of the day, everybody cannot understand you, they are angry at you, if all sorts of men are evil against you, you know that when you face God, you use his rule to make those choices, to lift this way or that way. Number 12, the last one, well, ultimately, an open onto the eyes of him, with whom we have to do. We will all meet God. Radiness to meet my God. The word of God is the only thing that can ensure absolute radiness to meet your Lord. It is the saddest thing. If we went by what people say, what people did, instead of by the word of God,

1:16:20now, you know, all this thing about the family, how to bring up children, the family model, all these things about consecration and all that, I have a different idea. I know what I am doing. You have assimilated all the thoughts, and you say, these things work. All this commitment is not necessary. Maybe later, only the word of God, and you rule your life by that, will make you ready to meet God. You will be very honest with yourself. All those things that you are not willing to do, you are not willing to obey in, just bring yourself to this verse. All things are naked and open onto Him, the eyes of Him, with whom we have to do. You just be very honest. If you are a child of God, and you say, on that day, I am going to tell Christ this. I think you will already know in your heart. The word of God has already exposed you.

1:17:22It is just excuses, because I did not want to live that life. So I must make these excuses for my family, right? For my, in front of others, as an adult. So the word of God is the only thing that will make you truly, ready to meet Him, whom we have to do. Now God willing, the next time we come back, we answer the last question as we continue to study these two verses. Let us turn to God in prayer.