This is the final part of this series in which we see that God's Word is powerful in our lives as we submit to it.
3 MORE EFFECTS OF GOD’S WORD IN OUR LIVES
GOD'S WORD GIVES US VICTORY OVER SIN AND SATAN
Given the state of the world today, can you live a pure life with all that is going on? Some would say it is impossible. Everything around us bombards our minds. Culture and society are deliberately pushing buttons and throwing temptation in our faces. This may be the case, but the Word is powerful. It is a supernatural strength/ability in our lives that keeps us from sin and will give us authority over the enemy.
The Bible in Psalm 119:9-11 takes us to the heart of the question of victory and purity.
Psalm 119:9-11 - How shall a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With my whole heart I seek You; do not allow me to wander from Your commandments. Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
The Bible is Spirit, Alive, and Powerful. It accomplishes what God has purposed, and it will work in us to bring about a pure and victorious life when we partake of it. We often struggle with sin, temptation, and the enemy's attacks because we don’t know what we have in scripture.
It says in Ephesians 5:25-27 - Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, and that He might present to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
There are two essential provisions Christ has made for us:
He purchased us by His blood.
He sanctifies (sets apart and makes holy) and cleanses us through the washing of the Word. The result is a church (us) being glorious, without spoke/wrinkle, holy, and without blemish.
The Bible is also a weapon that will deal with the devil. God's Word is powerful as the Sword of the Spirit.
Ephesians 6:17 - Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The Word used in faith gives us supernatural wisdom and authority to overcome all the enemy's works, including the temptations he brings against us.
GOD'S WORD IS A MIRROR
James 1:21-25 - Therefore lay aside all filthiness and remaining wickedness and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man viewing his natural face in a mirror. He views himself, and goes his way, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in his deeds.
God's Word acts as a mirror. It is different than when you look in a physical mirror; it doesn’t show your outward appearance but what you look like on the inside.
The principle of it works the same way as a physical mirror. When you look in a mirror and see something wrong, the reasonable thing to do is fix it. If your hair is messed up, you brush it. It is the same when we look into the mirror of Scripture
We need to see our spiritual self in it and act on whatever it shows us. This requires humility, faith, and taking responsibility. The Bible is to examine and bring change and correction. It is not good enough to blame others or even say the devil made me do it. Some Christians would even say that He will change me if God wants me to change. They neglect the truth that God has provided a change agent in our lives, His Word. If we don't read and act upon it, we are like what the following verses describe.
Verses 23 – 24 - For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man viewing his natural face in a mirror. He views himself, and goes his way, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
Verse 25 - whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, (Result) this man will be blessed in his deeds.
If, when God’s mirror reveals the truth of our sin, we should immediately act upon this revelation. It should lead us to repent, believe, and obey what His Word says. Then the next time we look into the mirror, we will see the change that comes.
When the Bible reveals something, don’t ignore it. The power of God's Word brings change to our lives.
THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD IN PHYSICAL HEALING
The Bible says in Psalm 107:17 - Some were fools because of their transgressions, and because of their iniquities they are afflicted.
Interestingly, sometimes we are the cause of our problems. It says in this verse that some have sickness, afflictions, health problems that come upon us due to our foolishness. This is very comforting because we all act foolishly; we bring upon ourselves things that we deserve and even hurt us. Even physical and mental issues come into our lives because we conduct ourselves unwisely. Yet, the Bible doesn't stop there.
Verses 18-20 say - They loathed all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distress. He sent His word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction.
First, God does not leave us in the state that our foolish nature brought upon us. He is not like us. Many of us would turn and think; you get what you deserve. Not God, as we cry out to Him, He hears and saves us. What a great God.
His Word is mighty to save. Notice the things God does in this process. First, He sends His Word. When He sends His Word, three activities occur through it. God saves, heals, and delivers. Three extraordinary acts of God’s mercy. The saving from sin, healing from sickness, and deliverance from demon power are accomplished through His Word.
Proverbs 4:20-22 - My son, attend to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their body.
The Word of God is sent to us, but also His Word is health to our whole physical body. Health in this passage references a medicine to our body.
Proverbs 4 outlines four actions we should take in applying the Bible as medicine to our body for health.
Give Attention - don’t be distracted; give His Word our undivided attention.
Incline Our Ear - or bow down our ear. This is an attitude of humility, being teachable, listening to what God's Word says.
Don't Let God's Word Depart From Our Eyes - focus on the Word of God. Don’t look partly at the Bible and partly at other things.
Keep It In Our Heart - Store God's Word inside. We need to get what God says into the midst of our being. Out of the heart flow the issues of life. Storing God's Word in our hearts will produce the life of God in our physical bodies.
CONCLUSION
This concludes this mini-series of articles on the power of God's Word. There are great benefits that come with consuming, acting out, memorizing, and giving our attention to His Word. I hope it encourages you to provide more time and energy to it in the coming days.
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