Sermon
Manuscript
Sermon
Title: “His Powerful Word”
Text:
II Peter 1:3-4
Dear
friends, I make no apology for believing in the Word of God as both
authoritative and sufficient for all of life and godliness. I am a Bible believing preacher because I am
convinced that it changes lives. I have
seen it happen in my own life and I have also seen it happen in the lives of
others. It is a great joy to see people
saved. It is even a greater joy to see
them grow in their spiritual walk with the Lord.
His Powerful Word is all we need for
Life and Godliness (v3)
The
church lives in the age of information and worldly wisdom. She has drifted away from preaching God’s
Word alone. It is no longer seen as
sufficient to meet the needs of modern man.
God’s divine power is all we need for life and godliness. This is the same power that created the
universe and everything in it. It is the
same power that raised Jesus Christ from the grave. It is the same power that brings life to those
who are dead in their trespasses and sins.
But how do we get this power?
It
comes through our knowledge of Him – our knowledge of Jesus Christ our
Lord. And how do we get this knowledge
of Him? We get it through the written
Word – the Bible. We got it first in the
Old Testament that prophesized His coming to redeem God’s people. Then we have it in the New Testament that was
written by the Apostles moved by the Holy Spirit.
The
Apostle John said that if all was written concerning our Lord Jesus Christ all
the books in the world could not contain that information. But what was necessary for our salvation and
living out a godly life during our pilgrimage upon earth was written down. This was also recognized by all the early
Christian Fathers who at that time were very careful not to add anything to or
take anything away from God’s Holy Word.
Quote from Early Christian Doctrines, J.N.D.
Kelley, “The holy and inspired Scriptures, wrote Athanasius a century later,
are fully sufficient for the proclamation of the truth; while his contemporary,
Cyril of Jerusalem, laid it down that with regard to the divine and saving
mysteries of faith no doctrine, however trivial, may be taught without the
backing of the divine Scriptures…For our saving faith derives its force, not
from capricious reasoning’s, but from what may be proved out of the Bible. Later in the same century John Chrysostom
bade his congregation seek no other teacher than the oracles of God; everything
was straightforward and clear in the Bible, and the sum of necessary knowledge
could be extracted from it. In the West
Augustine declared that in the plain teaching of Scripture we find all that
concerns our belief and moral conduct; while a little later Vincent of Lerins
(c.450) took it as an axiom the Scriptural canon was “sufficient, and more than
sufficient for all purposes.”
But
then the tragedies of all tragedies happened – the Bible was not given to the
common people and it was only interpreted by the Catholic Church. At which time many unbiblical doctrines were
added and many of the clear doctrines were removed so that God’s people were
plunged into the darkest era of the church.
It was not until centuries later that God’s Word was rediscovered and
given back to the common people as a rule for all of life and piety.
Once
again the power of God’s Holy Word transformed His people bringing them out of
darkness and back into the wonderful light of His Gospel. The entire western world took a giant step
forward out of the dark ages and into God’s marvelous light. Once again the Bible became the only
authoritative guide for God’s people and revivals swept across
But
what’s happened in our day? Again the
church has drifted away from its biblical roots and entered a new era of being lukewarm. Faith and the Bible are no longer the norm,
but the reason of man through the philosophies and psychologies of the world
has entered in and has choked the Word of God and the results in the church are
devastating.
We
see this so clearly in the seventh church of the book of Revelation, which many
believe that is a clear representation of the last church before Christ’s
glorious return from Heaven. Here was a
church who thought she was rich and in need of nothing. She had her expensive places of worship, the
best of music, and the most beautiful sermons that modern rhetoric could
deliver. Yet she is a church with the
form of godliness but has no power to really change lives. And here is the reason why. She took the hot teachings of God’s Holy Word
and mixed them with the cold and frigid teachings of the world and ended up
with a lukewarm church making little or no impact upon the lives of God’s
people or the world. And what does
Christ say at this point to the church living in the last days? Repent or I will spit you out of my
mouth. He tells them to be one or the
other – hot or cold but stop combining your worldly wisdom with my Holy Word
that can change lives.
And
friends, that is exactly the power of God’s holy Word – it is meant to change
lives – to grow people from one degree of glory to another. No preaching should take place in the pulpits
of our churches unless it is God’s Holy Word.
It is time for the churches of
If
a church is not growing spiritually there is a good chance that it’s dead. Now I am not talking about numbers, but I am
talking about spiritual growth. We hear
so much about numerical growth in our churches today and somehow relate that to
a healthy church. I would rather have a
small church that is spiritually alive than a huge church that’s spiritually
dead. You simply cannot equate the two
as the same. However, I will say that a
spiritually alive church will attract more because God will add to their
numbers day by day. If God is going to
call out the sinners in this area and send them to a church – which one do you
think that he will add them to? He will
add them to a church that is alive and growing in Christ by the power and
authority of His Word – the Bible.
His Powerful Word gives
us great and Precious Promises (v4a)
There
is no hope in the world today and this too has greatly influenced the modern
church. There is no wonder the church
has turned to the world searching for hope.
This is one of the greatest dangers facing the modern church – she has
lost her hope. We, like Eve in the
Garden, have questioned God if He can really deliver on His promises.
God
had promised Abraham that He would make him into a great nation. He has fulfilled His promise even unto this
day. This promise includes all of
Christianity throughout every age for we are His spiritual descendants. We have seen the fulfilling of the promise
made to
Briefly,
I want to look at just one great and precious promise this morning that we as
the people of God have misplaced and no longer believe –really believe. The first promise is found in II Corinthians
5:17, it says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the
old has gone, the new has come!” On the
surface everyone in this auditorium will say I believe that, but do you
really? Friends, this is an awesome
promise! This means that when you come
to Christ and make Him your Lord and begin to let His Word make changes in your
life, you will never be the same. It
means that the old hang-ups will soon pass away. It means that no matter what your past was,
no matter what your environment was, no matter what your daddy or grand daddy
did – you will be changed. Old things
will pass away.
Yet,
we hear just the opposite in the world today and unfortunately we hear it also
in the modern church. Friends, God
promises to change you so much that you will not even know yourself a few years
after following Him. In fact, the
Apostle John says, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will
be has not yet been made known. But we
know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (Now, watch this!) Everyone who has this hope
in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”
(I John 3:2-3) Friends, the world
has robbed the church of its hope for change.
This
is seen most clearly in the worldly system of psychology which has entered the
church. It has done so through its literature,
through its books, through its counseling and even through its preaching. This is a tragedy! For it has not helped people to change by
putting off the old life and putting on the new, but it has kept the church in
bondage to endless psychological counseling, drugs, and even
hospitalization. We have become a
nation that is being counseled. Over 21%
of the nation’s population which is about 44.7 million people is currently
being counseled by some form of psychology for some form of mental illness. This has also been translated into the modern
church.
Friends,
the world needs to return to its biblical hope by revisiting the promises in
Scripture and believing them - believing that God will fulfill His
promise. The Bible says, “Praise be to
the Lord…Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his
servant Moses.” (I King 8:56) God will fulfill His promise. He will deliver you from the bondage of your
past. He will cure you of all the
emotional and psychological problems that disturb you. He is the one who has the power to do that
and He chooses to do it through the proclamation of His Holy Word and your
application of it. Friends, do you
really want to change and be all that God wants you to be? If so, then you just need to begin by
believing it!
His Powerful Word
enables us to participate in the Divine Nature (v4b)
What
is it that keeps us growing in Christ?
What keeps us putting off the old nature and putting on the new? What allows us to escape the corruption in
the world that causes evil desires? It
is our participation in the divine nature – it is our communion with the risen
Lord – it is our fellowship with God the Father – it is our companionship with
the Holy Spirit.
It
is rather sad that many in the modern church never get to this point. They have joined a social club. They like the friendship of the people. They like doing things with their family. They like the good music and the
participation of their children in worship.
They may even like the sermons, but here is the problem: they don’t
really have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not hear his voice. They do not hear the conviction of the Holy
Spirit. They don’t feel the warming in
their heart when the Scriptures are read.
Moreover, when they read the Word of God there is a veil over their
eyes. They don’t understand what they
are reading or how to apply it to their life.
Their non-participation in the divine nature has left them in bondage to
the old nature following all of its evil desires.
While
preaching in a crusade in
Dear
friends, it’s time to let God’s Holy, authoritative, sufficient Word change
your life for ever- to grow you from one degree of glory to another – and to
allow you to participate in His divine nature.
Just imagine the possibilities!
Imagine with me for a moment what would happen if the church would
follow this principle of sanctification in the Holy Spirit. I will tell you that we would be an oddity in
today’s world for people would come from all over just to be a part of God
working in the lives of His people. This
building would never be big enough to contain its worshippers. It would be a glorious day indeed. This participation in the divine nature is a
calling to His glory – to His power and majesty – to His goodness – and to His
love.
I
am sure that is exactly what the Apostle felt when he was on the Mount of
Transfiguration. Listen to his own
words, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his
majesty. For he received honor and glory
from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying,
‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven
when we were with him on the sacred mountain.”
(II Peter 1:16-18)
Wow! Notice that Peter and the other Apostles with
them also received honor and
glory! It takes your breath away when
you participate in his majestic glory.
It fills you with awe when you participate in His glorious fellowship. It humbles you when you participate in His
divine nature. Friends, let’s let God be
God and respond to His calling today! He
wants this day to be different in your life.
You respond to His calling today to participate in His divine nature made
possible by the simple, yet powerful gospel of Jesus Christ.
Written by
Rev. Daniel W. Blair
Please visit
us at www.revelation-truth.org