Words Have Power

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  October 13, 2024

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Read Hebrews 4:12 – 16
Our New Testament lesson this morning comes from the book of Hebrews.  Although its authorship has been debated by scholars for centuries... one thing is certain... this book of the Bible contains sound guidance and instruction that is still relevant and useful, even today. 
 
Starting at verse 12 of the text, we read, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
 
Or as it reads in the Message Paraphrase, “God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey.”
 
When the writer of Hebrews talks about the Word of God, it is not merely a reference to Scripture, but IT REFERS to the actual voice of God.  And if there is one thing that I hope we can all agree on, it is this... WORDS HAVE POWER... especially when it is the Word of God.
 
Picture it if you will... back in the Garden of Eden... when Adam and Eve first took that bite of the forbidden fruit and realized they were naked.  They tried to shield themselves with fig leaves in an attempt to cover up their nakedness... to conceal their vulnerability.
 
Then all of a sudden, they “heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden…” so what did they do?  They tried to hide.  And that is when they heard the voice of God, calling out to Adam, “Where are you?”
 
I can only imagine the shivers that must have gone down their spines when they heard God’s voice calling out to them... as they thought they were going to be successful in their version of “Hide and Seek.”
 
But to their dismay, the questions didn’t stop there.  God literally gave them the third degree.  “Who told you, you were naked?”  “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”  “What is this that you have done?”  (See Genesis 3:7-13).
 
Now, to be certain... it’s not as if God didn’t already know the answers to all of these questions... but He wanted to make sure He had Adam and Eve’s full attention... to ensure they understood the enormity of what they had done. 
 
And once God had their undivided attention... He let them have it as He laid out the punishment that their sin had exacted... and it was a punishment that did not just affect them... it has had an impact on all the generations that followed, including ours.
 
And so, as we come to the next verse of the text, looking at the Message, we read, “Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.”
 
But here’s the thing, people will try to twist God’s Word to make it fit their own personal agenda or act as if it simply does not apply to their lives.  But as we heard in the previous verse, “God means what he says.” And “What he says goes.” 
 
God still expects His children to abide by His Word, to heed His voice.  And when we don’t... let’s just say, the repercussions can be devastating. 
 
And to be clear, Adam and Eve were not the only folks in the Bible who found that out the hard way. 
 
Just ask Samson.  He was set apart by God from birth and was never supposed to let a razor touch his head.  But if we fast forward to his encounter with a woman named Delilah... we see that she tricked him into revealing the source of his strength... which is when Samson found himself paying the ultimate price with his life for disregarding God’s Word. 
 
Then there was the prophet Jonah... someone who really did not want to heed God’s voice when he was told to go to Nineveh to give them a message of deliverance.  Try as he might to get out of following God’s Word, Jonah could not get away from it.  In fact, all he got for his efforts was a three-day stay in the belly of a fish... and when all was said and done... the Ninevites still got their deliverance.
 
And let us not forget Solomon... the beloved son of King David.  He was a man who at one time prayed for God to grant him wisdom to lead the people. Yet, he failed to keep God’s command not to marry foreign women... lest he be lured into worshiping their gods.  And as a result, God took the kingdom away from Solomon’s lineage... leaving only one tribe in line... out of respect for David and the city of Jerusalem.
 
But what does this mean for us, all these centuries later? 
 
It’s probably not a far stretch to imagine that each of us has reaped our own share of consequences for failing to follow God’s Word at least once in our lives.  And depending on the severity of the consequences... once may have been more than enough.
 
But the good news is that God already knew that we would have trouble staying out of trouble.  It’s why He gave us His Son and our Savior... because He knew that, left to our own devices, we wound find ourselves in one mess after another.
 
Somebody ought to thank God for Jesus!
 
Now, as we go back to our New Testament lesson, the next verse reads, “Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers.”
 
In other words, once we accept Jesus as Savior, we need to hold on tight and do our very best to never let go.  One thing we can take away from this verse is the understanding that this is not about religion... it is all about relationship... our relationship with Jesus. 
 
You see, Jesus supersedes the highest of the highest of the high priests of any religious tradition.  Now, if were to take a look back at the Jewish traditions when this text was originally written... the high priest was the highest religious authority in the land.  It was only the high priest who could enter the Holy of Holies in the temple to make atonement for the sins of the nation.  And that was only allowed one time a year. 
 
Jesus, on the other hand, is always at God’s right hand... and He makes intercession for us continually.  And let me just say this... the Lord knows we just how much we need intercession on a regular basis.
 
In fact, if we keep reading the text, the next verse (still reading from the Message) says, “We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.”
 
The same way the serpent tried to convince Eve that what God told Adam wasn’t really what He meant... that is the same way that Satan tried to tempt Jesus in the wilderness.  The critical difference being, unlike Adam and Eve, Jesus did not fall for it.  He did not give into the temptation to sin.  Although, it was not for lack of trying on the enemy’s part. 
 
In fact, Matthew 4, Mark 1 and Luke 4, all recount Satan’s blatant attempts to lure Jesus into giving into a variety of temptations.  But Jesus is the only perfect and sinless human being who has ever lived... so, He was able to resist each of the temptations placed in front of Him. 
 
Jesus was well aware that WORDS HAVE POWER... and each time Satan tried to tempt Him... Jesus responded back with, “It is written...” before proclaiming what the Word of God had to say as He rebuffed Satan’s futile attempts to lure Him into temptation.
 
And in doing so, Jesus has set the example for us that we do not have to give into temptation either.  We can lean and depend on the Word of God to give us the strength to resist the enemy’s advances... because WORDS HAVE POWER... particularly, the Word of God.
 
However, on the off chance that we fall short and let our guard down and we do end up yielding to temptation... we have been given the gift of grace and mercy through Jesus’ sacrifice for us at Calvary.
 
Which is why our last verse of this Hebrews text says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
 
Or as it says in the Message, “So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.”
 
God knew that we would need help.  In fact, in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian Church, he wrote:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

And that way out is through Jesus. 
 
As we read in John 14:6, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
 
Jesus has provided us with the way out of temptation and the way into eternal life.  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
 
That is known as a declarative statement – “whoever believes in him shall not perish.”  It does not say, “might not,” or “perhaps will not,” or “possibly may not…”
 
God’s Word, God’s Living Word, says, “WHOEVER believes in him SHALL not perish.”  And we know that WORDS HAVE POWER... especially the Word of God.
 
And according to the Word of God, we simply have to believe in Him, and we will not perish... and more than that... we will have eternal life. 
 
Now, once we have confessed our faith in Christ, and received the gift of eternal life... there is a call for us to follow Him.  Just as sheep follow the shepherd... so Jesus calls us to follow Him because He truly is the Good Shepherd.
 
And while the original disciples started out by following Jesus for roughly three years during His earthly ministry... the call to us as His disciples now is to follow Him throughout our earthly lives and then for all of eternity.
 
And when you look around at everything that is going on in the world right now, I can think of no one that I would rather follow than Jesus... and there is no one whose word I trust more than Jesus.
 
Now, as we keep inching closer to November 5^th, we are reminded on a constant basis just how much WORDS HAVE POWER... as we see politicians and their respective supporters using their words in ways that have the potential to inflict hurt, harm, and danger.
 
Believe it or not, I can recall when I was just a few years younger... that there was actually a time when political campaigns took a backseat to everything else that was going on in the world... there was a political campaign hiatus of sorts in between elections.  There was even a name used for the period of time when there was not much political news happening that allowed other news stories to take center stage... it was known as “Silly Season.”
 
However, I am not so sure that phrase should not actually be used now to describe the time when there is political news happening.
 
But regardless of which side of the aisle any politician may be seated... and despite whatever party affiliation any one of us may claim... we need to be cognizant of the fact that WORDS HAVE POWER... and that God calls us to use our words to speak life.
 
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes, “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).
 
While in the Book of Proverbs (18:21), we read, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
 
I don’t know about you, but I would match rather speak the truth in love and eat the fruit that leads to life than face the consequences that come from using our words in such a way as to lead to death.
 
WORDS HAVE POWER...
 
That is why in his letter to the Thessalonians, after talking about how believers who have died will be raised again, the Apostle Paul writes, “Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).  In other words, “reassure one another with these words...”  Offer comfort to one another with these words... remind each other with these words that something greater is yet to come.
 
And if you are looking forward to that something greater that is yet to come... that gift of eternity that awaits those who believe in Jesus... then I want to invite you to stand and open your hymnals to page 323... remembering that WORDS HAVE POWER even as we lift our voices and sing our Hymn of Discipleship: Wonderful Words of Life #323.
 

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