Ephesians 6:10-18        Discover the Power of God’s Word      July 8, 2007

      I recently read a book which asks the question why so many people stay away from church.  It said that many people feel that church and faith are for weaklings.  That the spiritual life is for sissies.  However, that is just the opposite view that we find in the Bible.  The scriptures are filled with men who are warriors, kings, leaders, world travelers, risk takers.  The women are liked Esther, ready to stand up to royalty to save her people, or like Rahab, a harlot and certainly not a goody too shoes, but ready to risk everything for the people of God.   So how have we in our society forgotten that following Jesus Christ is a grand adventure?  There may be several reasons but one primary reason is that we have forgotten the power of the Bible.  This is not a mere book to read to give us comfort and peace.  This book is a challenge to us.  This book is a sword.  In Ephesians 6, one of history’s most adventuresome characters, Paul, tells us that the Christian life is not a retreat into some comfortable, peaceful monastery.  No.  Paul tells us that life is a battle field.  And our battle is with unseen forces as well as the conflicts of this visible world.  And the only way to win this battle is to put on the full armor of God.  He talks about the belt of truth, the chest armor of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and finally, crucially, the sword of the spirit which he says is the Word of God.  This book is a sword.  It is the power of God’s spirit given to us.  By this sword, we can overcome the battles which we will face.

      We are in the midst of a summer series on the Bible and today I want to help you experience the power of God’s Word in your daily life.   So just what is this book that will give us power for living?  Hebrews 5 says it is the word of righteousness.  Philippians 2 says it is the Word of life.  And Ephesians 6 says it is the sword of the spirit.  What does this book do for us to give us power for living?  I John 2 says that it perfects us in the ways of God.  John 12 says this book will judge us and challenge us.  Romans 10 says it will give us faith and hope in hard times.  John 15 says that it cleans us when we have fallen.  I Peter 1 says it is indestructible seed that gives new life.  John 8 says it is truth that sets us free.  Hebrews 4 says this Word of God is alive, active, sharper than a two edged sword.   We so often have thought of Bible reading for those who are down or sad who need to be picked up.  That can be true.  But this book is also for those who seek to live in greatness.  This book will challenge and lift you to the heights, to do great things in your life. 

       Now many people today think they do not need God to live a great life.  All those rules in the Bible just hold me back from doing what I want to do.  I want to be free to pursue my own life.   But listen.  Our minds only become free when our thoughts are made captive to the Word of God.  Our lives are set on a course for greatness when we have been made servants of the Word of God.  Without this anchor, we are forever tossed about by every wind that comes along.  Maybe that makes no sense to you.  Let me help.  Listen.  How many of you have ever dreamed of being an airplane pilot?  How many of you ever dreamed or thought about getting a pilot’s license and taking up flying as a hobby or something?  When I was in High School, I was studying science and math for the purpose of becoming a pilot.  I started my college career with a scholarship to study aeronautical engineering in Colorado to become a pilot.  However, I was called to fly on a higher path.  Nevertheless, so many of us do dream of flying.  It seems so free.  To be able to soar through the sky.  Hollywood movies so often portray some flying ace as a man of freedom, macho, powerful, doing his own thing.  And flying does have that freedom.  But listen.  Flying is bound by certain unbreakable rules and codes.  These are not man-made rules by the government but they are the universal principles of aviation.  These paths must be followed or the plane will crash.  Is there a sense of powerful freedom in flying?  Yes.  Are there principles to be learned and followed by those who wish to fly high and far?  Absolutely yes.  The same is always true in every area of life.  Those who fly farther and do the greatest are those who have mastered the universal principles of life and who obey them.

     So how do we become masters of the sword of the spirit, the Word of God?  This Word must master us.  Look here on the screen.  I Corinthians 2:14 says that no one can understand the Word of God by natural ability.  The Bible just does not make sense to our natural minds.  The Word of God is too powerful, too over our heads.  The Sword of the Spirit is just too hot to handle.  It is only by the Spirit of God living in us, guiding us, that we finally come to understand the Bible and know how its power can guide our lives.  When we approach the Bible in a demanding haughty attitude, wanting it to meet our agenda, wanting to test the Bible about this and that, then we get no where.  When we approach the Word, ready to hear what God is saying to us, ready to look at how the Word applies to me in my life today, then I will see great things.  Can you imagine an engineer approaching a Nuclear Reactor with the attitude of “I want to run this thing the way I want?”  No.  There would be a meltdown and explosion.  But when the ways of nuclear physics are followed exactly, then this reactor can provide electricity to light up an entire city.   The Word of God does not open its powerful secrets to the merely curious or to those looking to pass judgment on the Bible.  The Bible is a sword and it judges me and my life.  It opens its powerful spirit to those ready to follow in its way.

       This week, think about how you have ever experienced the power of God’s Word in your life.  Maybe you never have known that power of the Word.  Then you still need to come to know the one who has spoken this Word.  You need to come to know Jesus Christ.  II Peter 2:20-21 says that we only grasp the power of the Word of God as we are carried along by the Holy Spirit.  Ask yourself this week—Is my life being carried along by the Holy Spirit?  Pilots only fly high and far when they are carried along by the air; when they know and use the principles of aviation.  Jesus said, “We do not live by bread alone—by the physical things that we see and touch—but we really live by the Word that comes from the mouth of God.”  Do you want to really live?  Not like a weakling.  Not down and out.  But live and reach high and far.  Then come to know this Jesus Christ.  Have His Spirit carry you along.  Have His Word guide you in your life.  Amen.