What Does The Bible Do? What CAN it Do?
Hebrews 4:12
February 14, 2021
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I. Introduction (Hebrews 4:12)
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
A. The greatest power on earth is the Person of the Holy spirit of God
B. The greatest power-tool that He uses is the Bible – the sword of the Spirit!
C. Compared to: (PICTURES)
1. A very sharp two-edged sword, that can both cut and health deep in the human mind and heart!
2. A Hammer that can break things and set things in place
a. Jeremiah 23:29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
3. A Fire that burns out rubbish and dross and leaves things clean
4. A Torch Light that guides and shows the way through dark times
5. A Laser light that focuses on precise problems
6. A quiet voice that speaks to the quiet
7. And a thundering roar of the most fiercest storm that rattles us to the core
D. That’s THIS Book!
E. I want to show you Three of the Six things you need to do with your Bible:
1. READ it
2. STUDY the Bible…
3. BELIEVE the Bible…
4. OBEY the Bible…
5. USE the Bible
6. WAIT While It Works…
F. And as you do each thing you will discover something new that this Book can do for you and in you after each one!
1. Each one goes a little deeper than the previous, and takes more commitment
2. But experiences the greater power that is IN every word of God, on each page of the Book you hold in your hand!
II. Message - What Does The Bible Do? What CAN it Do?
A. As I READ the Bible… (Isaiah 34:16)
1. Isaiah 34:16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
2. It can do nothing for you until YOU read it for yourself!!!
a. Nothing
b. It just sits there, on a shelf, maybe in your lap right now, as an App on your phone, up in the loft in a box
c. It will do you no good at all UNTIL you start reading it
d. You will wander, and struggle, alone, ignorant, and wrong, all your life unless you open it and start reading it, and letting it read you!
e. Matthew 12:3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
f. Matthew 12:5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
g. Matthew 19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
3. But once you start reading it, Four Things start happening on the inside
a. It Opens Up to Me
1) Psalm 119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
2) God Talks to Me - Speaks to Me through WORDS on a page
a) Not in dreams and visions anymore
b) Not through prophets and televangelists
c) But through letters on a page that you read with your eyes, or at least HEAR with your ears!
3) Don’t ask for God to speak to you and then not open up your Bible!
b. It Washes on the Inside
1) John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
2) Oh thank God this is so true
3) Does anyone not yearn to be washed from all the filth of our culture today?
a) I know “I” do
b) Social media is sinful media
c) Entertainment is basically the sexual abuse of your soul
d) After a day in the world, our spirit is soiled, and stained, filthy and dirty
4) So God gave you something that is like clean water for your soul
5) This Book is NOT filthy, and wicked, and defiling
6) It is pure and clean
7) Listen to Genesis 4:1
a) Gen 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
b) Every adult knows exactly what happened between Adam and Eve, and it was beautiful
c) And God wrote it so that little eyes could read it and not be soiled
8) What an awesome Book!
9) If for no other reason, read your Bible at the end of every day just to wash away all the muck and filth and poo and dung of life!
c. It Feeds My Spirit (Matthew 4:4) – it feeds the most important parts of me, my soul and spirit
1) Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
2) Acts 20:27,28 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
a) Not entertain
b) Not debate
c) Not even just teach
d) But FEED THE FLOCK with the words of the whole Bible!
e) Like a Mamma bird feeds her chicks!
3) The Bible is compared to several foods
a) It is like bread – basic food all over the world
b) Like water
c) Like milk
d) Like meat
e) Like sweet honey (Ps 119:103)
f) And also like salt, and bitter herbs
g) It is a Christian’s balanced diet for their soul!
d. It Hurts Me
1) It upsets people (Acts 7:51-54)
a) Act 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
b) Act 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
c) Act 7:53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
d) Act 7:54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
e) Ended up picking stones and murdering Stephen
2) And when YOU read it, it will upset YOU too!
3) Because it tells the unvarnished truth
4) Rubs ME the wrong way
5) Makes ME feel uncomfortable
6) Cuts ME deep as I read it
7) That is what it is supposed to do – designed that way
e. And by the way, if THAT is all you are willing to try (just read a little), then that is all God’s Word will do – cut you and make you feel uncomfortable!
f. You have got to go further!
g. But you have to start READING the Bible starting in Matthew chapter 1
B. As I STUDY the Bible… (2Timothy 2:15)
1. 2Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2. Think hard about what you are reading
a. Mark 12:30-33 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
b. Mark 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
c. Mark 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
d. Mark 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
e. Look up the meaning of words – don’t be embarrassed! Your soul depends on it
f. Pray and ask God to open your eyes to what He is saying and meaning
g. Be present in church, with pen and pad, listening, and learning every time this Book is opened and preached from!
h. Join our weekly Discipleship Class, 21 lessons on what the Bible teaches
i. Why? Because this Book is a self-teaching course on LIFE, both now and for ever! So STUDY it like your sanity depends upon it – because it does!
3. It Teaches, Instructs – teaches better than the greatest minds of all time
a. Psalm 119:98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.
b. Psalm 119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.
c. Psalm 119:100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
d. Answers my core life questions
1) Who am I?
2) Why was I born?
3) What is my purpose?
4) Why do I do so many wrong things?
5) What happens to me when I die?
6) Not with short, pat, comfortable answers
7) But with strong meat that stands up to scrutiny
e. Bible Study is the highest learning – better than all the degrees and PhD’s and courses anyone could ever complete
f. It is not all that a person can learn, but it is enough to make them right with God, and right with others, and how to live the best kind of life!
4. It UnCovers - Exposes what is usually hidden – like an X-Ray
a. Jeremiah 17:9,10 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
b. That is great power! To show what is really going on behind the curtains
c. It shows us OURSELVES – like an x-ray mirror!
d. What is going on in the human heart (soul) – and it is not good
e. It exposes what is going on in the world today – all the politics and shenanigans in every government, and in every big corporation!
f. Which leads to the next truth…
5. It Convicts (Hebrews 4:12)
a. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
b. When this Book exposes me for who I am…
c. It humbles me, and makes me guilty
d. Shows me that “I” am guilty of wrong-doing/sins
1) Exposes all the idols in our hearts like a searchlight!
2) Exposes all the wicked bitterness
3) Exposes all the lusts and lying and hatred
e. It cannot help you until it has hurt you with the truth (Galatians 4:16) Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
f. But when you study what the Bible says about…
1) Covetousness
2) Lust
3) Idolatry
4) Drunkenness
5) Addictions
6) Self-righteousness
g. It has a surprising effect…
6. It Deep Cleanses Me – keeps me clean (John 17:17)
a. Cleanses me after salvation – it is called “Sanctification”
1) Cleaning through and through – not just on the outside
2) John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
b. As you study and learn the words and sentences and promises and laws of this Book…
c. Something happens to all my sinful habits!
1) It powerfully replaces demonic strongholds in your life with the worship of Jesus Christ alone
2) Cleans up guilt and past memories as I study the sovereignty and will of God
3) Cleanses sinful desires and habits as I study the crucified life Christ calls me to live
4) Cleanses bad memories, and bad thoughts, and evil desires, and bad attitudes as I study about GOD
5) Like a power washer! AMEN!
d. I don’t care how long you may be saved… you and I both need constant deep cleaning by the study of the pages of this Book!
7. Frees me, liberates me (John 8:32)
a. John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
b. F.R.E.E.
1) From my stupid thoughts by replacing them with good thoughts
2) From my past, by giving me a better future
3) From my fears, by giving me the presence of the Son of God!
4) Free to serve the One who loved me and saved me and lives in me!
8. It Matures me
a. THIS is very important
b. There are so many baby Christians, who barely read their Bible
c. We are commanded to STUDY like workmen – it is hard work
1) 2Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
d. Only then do we grow up and become mature / perfect (2Timothy 3:16,17)
1) 2Timothy 3:16,17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
e. Stabilizes, Establishes Me – secures me to reality - makes me sane and balanced
1) Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began
2) Do you want to be more balanced – not easily swayed by all the propaganda of the news and social media and peer-pressure?
3) Read, and Study what GOD SAID
4) It will anchor your feet
5) It will settle your heart
6) Like no drug ever could!
9. Impresses me
a. The more I study, the deeper it goes
b. The more I discover, the more I sit back and shake my head in awe
c. Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
d. 1Corinthians 2:9,10 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
10. Fills me
a. It is supposed to go into your head and heart
b. Replacing all the stupid stuff of my past, with much better stuff
c. Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom...
11. Scares me
a. It constantly reinforces the reality that “I” need to fear God
b. David’s sin with Bathsheba terrifies me, that THAT could be ME next
c. Demas? Walking away from the ministry! Scares me
d. Peter? Denying Christ under pressure!
e. Moses? Losing his temper, and blowing the will of God for his life!
f. Be careful dear Christian – don’t think what happened to Moses won’t happen with YOU!
12. THE greatest science is THEOLOGY – the study of the Creator of all things!
a. Who wouldn’t want to know who made everything?
b. Who wouldn’t want to know WHY He made everything!
c. Study your Bible! It tells us all about HIM!
C. As I BELIEVE the Bible… (Acts 26:26-28)
1. Act 26:26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.
2. Act 26:27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.
3. Act 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
4. I am only going to start this point…
5. THIS is where the greatest work gets done – when we finally believe it!
a. You can read your Bible all day long
b. You can study out every word
c. And miss the whole point
d. And end up in hell
6. When you read this Bible, it will take you through the law, and convict you as a sinner, just as Adam and Eve were, as David was, as Pharaoh was
7. And then it will bring you face to face with the only Saviour, Jesus the Son of God
8. When you just simply believe what you read in this Book…
a. About your sin
b. About God’s righteousness
c. About Heaven and hell
d. About God loving a sinner like me, and dying in my place under the righteous wrath of almighty God
e. And about Him wanting to save a wretch like me, and asking me to just do ONE THING…
f. BELIEVE it all
9. THAT is when it Converts (Romans 10:9,10)
a. Romans 10:9,10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
b. If you EVER just get tucked into this Book, you WILL come out differently!
c. It does not make people RELIGIOUS…
d. This Book makes people brand new!
1) 1Peter 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
2) 2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
e. THIS BOOK has the power to save your soul
1) Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
f. How?
g. By actually giving you faith!
1) No one gets saving faith unless they read and believe the Bible as written!
2) Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
3) So, once you read and start pondering, and then start BELIEVING this Book, God will guide you to the cross, and there you will discover why God had to go to the extreme to save a wretch like you and me!
4) And that is when you will cry out in saving faith for God to save your soul!
5) You can do that right now!
III. Conclusion
A. I have shown you Three of the Six things you need to do with your Bible
1. READ it
2. STUDY the Bible…
3. BELIEVE the Bible…
B. At each step, there are powerful things that this Book can do for you and in you!
1. Will you commit to READ the Bible?
a. It can do nothing for you until YOU read it for yourself!!!
b. But once you start reading it, Wonderful Things start happening on the inside
1) It will Opens Up to You
2) It will Wash you on the Inside
3) It will Feeds your Spirit (Matthew 4:4) – it feeds the most important parts of me, my soul and spirit
4) And, It will Hurt you / upset you
5) But that is okay. That is what it is supposed to do – designed that way
2. Will YOU yourself start to STUDY the Bible for yourself?
a. Think about what you are reading!
b. Let it TEACH you
c. Let it ANSWER your core life questions
d. Let it EXPOSE whatever is hidden in your life
e. Let it CONVICT and make you guilty before God
f. Let it DEEP CLEAN You
g. Let it FREE you
1) From all your stupid thoughts by replacing them with good thoughts
2) From your past, by giving you a better future
3) From all your fears, by giving your the presence of the Son of God!
4) Let it make you Free to serve the One who loved you and saved you and now lives in you!
h. Let it MATURE You
i. It will IMPRESS you!
j. Let it FILL you
k. Let it SCARE you
3. Will You BELIEVE whatever the Bible says, with all your heart?
a. About your sin
b. About God’s righteousness
c. About Heaven and hell
d. About God loving a sinner like me, and dying in my place under the righteous wrath of almighty God
e. And about Him wanting to save a wretch like me, and asking me to just do ONE THING…
f. BELIEVE it all
4. THAT is when it Converts
a. THIS BOOK has the power to save your soul
b. If you believe it is true, then have you responded to God’s call to repent of all your failed attempts of being good, and instead accept what Jesus did as enough to save you?
c. You can be saved today, born again! Forgiven!