Revive Our Hearts

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The Wonder of the Word

Direction from the Word

Leslie Basham: When you’re sharing the gospel with someone, the words of the Bible itself can be much morepersuasive than man-made arguments. Here’s Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: The Word of God is powerful enough on its own to break down all human resistance andopposition.

Leslie: This is Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss for Thursday, February 16.

Earlier this year Nancy began challenging listeners to read the Bible every day in 2012. If you do, it will have a bigeffect on your year and your life. It's not too late to begin. Visit ReviveOurHearts.com to sign up for reminders andto get some helpful resources on Bible study.

As part of our current series, The Wonder of the Word , we'll get fresh perspective on the ability of the Bible tochange lives.

Nancy: Martin Luther had this to say about the Word of God. He said, “The Bible is alive; it speaks to me; it hashands—it lays hold of me; it has feet—it runs after me.”

I love that description. What a great picture of the Word of God. “[It’s] alive; it speaks to me; it has hands—it layshold of me; it has feet—it runs after me.” We’ve been talking about the wonder of the Word of God, and we’ve seenthat it’s peerless, that it’s pure, that it’s precious and priceless.

Today, I want us to see that the Word of God is powerful . It’s alive—it changes lives! It converts hearts. The Spiritof God can use the Word of God to do what no other book can do in changing lives . As you read back overthe history of the Christian church, you’ll find person after person whose life was converted—transformed—indramatic ways by just the reading of the Word of God.

I think of Augustine, one of the greatest theologians in the history of the church. He had spent his young years as awild, immoral man. He broke the heart of his godly, praying mother, named Monica.

But when he was twenty-two years old, running from God, having already wasted his life in so many ways, he hearda voice telling him, “Take up and read!” He opened the Bible that he had with him, and his eyes fell onto a passage inRomans 13 that confronted his wicked lifestyle. He believed; he was converted; he repented, and he became one ofthe greatest church fathers and theologians in the history of Christianity.

Martin Luther (who we just quoted) as a twenty-year-old college student was first exposed to the Bible, which was aBook, at that time, practically unknown. But he read it, and he kept reading it, and he kept reading it. While his guiltyconscience was plagued with the fact that he couldn’t get right with God, he kept searching the Scripture. As amonk, he was trying to get right with God, trying to earn God’s favor, but at one point, the words of the prophetHabakkuk began to ring in his ears: “The just shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith” (Hab. 2:4 KJV).

Then when he came to the book of Romans, he realized it was faith in Jesus, faith in Christ, that was what alonecould save him from his sins. He believed; he was converted, and out of that truth—justification by faith in Christalone—came the Reformation. All of our lives have been impacted as a result.

I think of John Wesley, one of the men greatly used of God in the First Great Awakening, a British evangelist.Though he was a religious man in his upbringing, he didn’t know God—he didn’t have a personal relationship withGod.

The day came, May 24, 1738, when as a seeking man, seeking for the Lord, he went to a meeting, and he heard

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help at all . I can’t stand the guilt of al l this. I don’t know what to do about it. Can you help me?”

Dr. MacArthur says,

I said to him, “No. I can’t help you.” He looked at me startled. Sheer desperation was evident in his face. I let it sink in.Then I said, “But I know Someone who can help you: Jesus Christ.”

He said sadly, “But I don’t know who He is.”

I said, “Would you like to know who Jesus Christ is?”

He said, “I would if He can help me.”

I reached over and took a Bible off my desk and opened it to the Gospel of John. I said, “I want you to take this book home and read this part called the Gospel of John. I want you to keep reading until you know who Jesus Christ is. Then call me again.”

Later that week I was recounting the incident for the pastor of another church. He said, “Is that all you gave him? Just the Gospel of John? Why didn’t you give him some help, some tapes, some questions to answer—something? Just the Bible?"

I said, “Don’t worry. The Bible is like a lion. You don’t need to defend it. Just open the door and let it out. It’ll take care of itself. If his heart is open at all, the Bible can do more to reach him than I could do with reams of other study material. What could I possibly give him that’s more powerful than the Scripture itself?”

The next Friday I received a telephone call. The doctor wanted to see me again. We made an appointment. He showed up precisely on time, came into the office, walked past me as if I weren’t there, sat on the couch, dropped the Bible beside him, and said, “I know who He is.”

I said, "You do?"

He said, “Yes, I do.”

“Who is he?” I asked.

“I’ll tell you one thing—He’s not just a man.”

I said, “Really? Who is He?”

“He’s God!” he said with finality.

“You, a Jew, are telling me that Jesus Christ is God?” I asked. “How do you know that?”

He said, “It’s clear. It’s right there in the Gospel of John.”

“What convinced you?” I asked.

“Look at the words He said, and look at the things He did! No one could say and do those things unless He was God.” He was echoing the apostle John’s thesis perfectly.

I nodded enthusiastically.

He was on a roll. “Do you know what else he did? He rose from the dead! They buried Him, and three days later, He came back from the dead! That proves He is God, doesn’t it? God Himself came into this world!”

I asked him, “Do you know why He came?"

“Yes. He came to die for my sin.”

“How do you know that?” I asked.

“Because I liked John so well, I read Romans. And as soon as I clean up my life, I’m going to become a Christian.”

I said, “That’s the wrong approach. Receive Him as your Lord and Savior now, and let Him clean up your life.” Then I asked the man, “What would such a decision mean in your career?”


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“Well,” he said, “I spent this afternoon writing my resignation letter to the abortion clinic. When I get out of here I’m going to call my second wife and bring her to church with me.” And he did.

“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” The Word of God isalive, Hebrews tells us. It’s powerful. It’s sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul andspirit, and of the joints and morrow; and it’s a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb. 4:12paraphrased ).

So often today in our efforts to reach people, we underestimate the power of the Word of God. And whenwe do, we’re forced to rely on our human efforts, our ability to talk, to impress, our strategies, ourresources, and our methods.

Those things can be helpful, but they’re no replacement for the power of that great Lion, the Word of God.

Leslie: Do you tend to lean on your own strength or on God’s Word? Nancy Leigh DeMoss is in a series called, The Wonder of the Word . She'll be right back.

Not only do we want to inspire you to get into God's Word more consistently. We also want to put you in touch withresources that will help you study.

Nancy explores some of the ways technology can aid Bible study in a bonus Revive Our Hearts series. We aren'tairing the series on the radio, but you can hear it this week on our podcast. [You can also listen to or read theprogram here .]

For more details on subscribing to the Revive Our Hearts podcast and hearing this bonus series, just visitReviveOurHearts.com .

Nancy's back, continuing in the series, The Wonder of the Word.

Nancy: Many of you will remember the name Cecil B. DeMille. You remember him as the man who made themovie, The Ten Commandments . Here’s what Cecil DeMille had to say about the Word of God. He said, “After morethan sixty years of almost daily reading of the Bible, I never fail to find it always new and marvelously in tune with thechanging needs of every day.”

We’ve been looking at the wonder of the Word of God, and we’ve seen that the Word of God is powerful; it cantransform lives. It’s just like a lion—you just need to let it out of its cage, and it will do its work. We’ve seen that it’speerless, that it’s unique, that there’s no other book like it. And we’ve seen that it’s priceless—it’s precious; it’s ourgreatest treasure, and it’s pure. Every Word of God is pure.

I want us to see today that the Word of God is intensely practical. As Cecil B. DeMille said, it’s “always newand marvelously in tune with the changing needs of every day.” And over the next moments, I just want tohighlight some of the things that the Word of God does for us in a practical way. Now, I say it does it for us, but ifyou’re not reading the Word of God, then it’s not going to be doing these things for you.

So what will the Word of God do in our lives if we’re reading it and letting it have its way in our lives? Well, the Wordof God communicates. It communicates who God is. It communicates His heart, His way, His will . If you wantto get to know God, you need to find His communication about Himself, and that’s the Scripture.

It gives us wisdom about every area of life. It communicates God’s heart about relationships, about

friendships, about marriage, about parenting, about finances, about morals, about eating. Every area of life,the practical areas of life, we find communication of God’s heart and His wisdom in the Word of God.

Then the Word of God corrects us . According to 2 Timothy 3, it reproves us (3:16). It shows us where we’re


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wrong.

Then the Word of God cleanses our lives . Psalm 119 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” Here’show: “By keeping it according to [Your] Word” (Ps. 119:9 NASB). The Word of God purifies us . Jesus said, “You areclean through the Words that I have spoken unto you,” in John 15:3 ( paraphrased ).

In John 17:17, Jesus prayed to His heavenly Father, “Oh God, would you sanctify (or cleanse) them by Your Truth.Your Word is Truth” ( paraphrased ). It’s the Word of God that purifies my heart, and when I read this book, many, manydays I pray, “Oh Lord, would You wash me in the water of Your Word. Purify my heart with Your Word.”

The Word of God comforts us. I can’t tell you how many times I have been at a point of grieving, a point ofenormous loss or sadness in my life, circumstances that could not be changed, the deaths (multiple deaths) ofpeople who have been close to me, family members. I’ve gone to the Word of God, and I have found encouragementand comfort and grace to help me at my time of need. God has used His Word to be like a spiritual ICU at thosetimes when I felt like I could hardly breath to comfort my distraught heart.

God’s Word gives counsel . It counsels our hearts; it gives us directions; it’s a road map for life. I can’t getanywhere without a map, and sometimes even with a map, I’m not really good, but I know I could not get through life

without the counsel I get from the Word of God.

And then t he Word of God changes me. I am so thankful for this because I need to be changed. Day after day Ineed the Word of God to rescue me from myself and to transform me into the image of Christ. That’s God’scommitment to you and to me: If we are children of God, He’s committed to making us like Jesus.

But I look at my life, and I think, “I am so far from being like Jesus.” That’s why Paul said to the Romans in chapter12, “Don’t let the world press you into its mold. Don’t be like this world. Be a new and different person in all you thinkand do” (Rom. 12:2 paraphrased ).

How will you do that? “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” By the Word of God— it will change your

thinking. It will make you a new and different person. And then you can prove what that good and acceptableand perfect will of God really is.

Listen. The Word of God communicates; it corrects; it cleanses; it comforts; it counsels; it changes our lives. I’vewatched the Word of God changing my life just in recent days. I found myself recently in a conversation where I wassharing some information about other individuals.

I got home from that conversation, and God brought a passage to mind from Proverbs that says that one of thethings God hates , something that is an abomination to Him, is those that sow discord among brethren (Pro. 6:19).

I realized that what I had said about another believer was creat ing a wedge between the person I was talking to and

the person I was talking about. I had sown discord. Now I didn’t intend to be destructive with my tongue, and Iwasn’t trying to do anything ugly, but God’s Word showed me that this is something God hates .

I got on my knees before the Lord. God is using the Scripture to change me, day by day, into the likeness ofJesus.

The Word of God is practical . You can’t grow spiritually without it. You will live a spiritually defeated life without it.You can’t know God without it. You can’t know the gospel without the Word of God. Paul talks about in 2 Timothychapter three about the "Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is inJesus Christ" (2 Tim.3:15). That’s how we know the gospel.

You can’t know the will of God without the Word of God. Don’t come and tell me stories as I’ve heard people tellabout, “God told me to leave my husband.” “I know God’s leading me to borrow this money for something that is nota need.” Don’t tell me God told you that! You may have had a vision; you may have had a dream; you may havebeen up too late the night before and got confused; you may have had hallucinations; but if it’s not according to the


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Word of God, don’t tell me God told you that.

You can’t know the will of God if you don’t know the Word of God. You’ll starve spiritually without the Word of God.You can’t overcome the enemy, Satan, without the Word of God. It’s our only offensive weapon that we aregiven in Ephesians chapter 6, where we’re given the armor of God. The only offensive weapon we have to do battleagainst Satan is the Word of God.

That’s how Jesus did battle against Satan in the desert where He was tempted by Satan. Jesus kept coming backand saying, “It is written.” That’s your sword. That’s what allows you to be victorious over the enemy.

The Word of God will help you to walk in liberty and in freedom. It will strengthen you, encourage you, protect you,feed you, sustain you, train you, and bless you, day after day after day. The Word of God is powerful. It is practical.It is life-changing.

Leslie: That’s Nancy Leigh DeMoss in the series, The Wonder of the Word.

If you’ve missed any of the programs in this series, you can hear them or read the transcript atReviveOurHearts.com . This series is part of a year-long emphasis on Revive Our Hearts . Nancy’s here to explain.

Nancy: Some of you will remember that a few weeks ago, in the first part of January, I gave our listeners achallenge: To read some of the Bible each day in 2012. I'm delighted to say that many listeners signed up for thischallenge at ReviveOurHearts.com . I know that they’ve been experiencing the riches of God's Word as they’vebeen reading each day.

Let me just step in here now in the the middle of February, when most people have forgotten their New Year'sresolutions, they've forgot many of the commitments they may have made at the beginning of January, let me justsay that it’s not too late to make this commitment.

The commitment is simple. Take some time each day to read God's Word. I know that by getting into God's Wordeach day, and getting God's Word into you, you are going to get valuable insights that will affect you in significantways.

To help make your Bible reading an even richer experience, we’d like to send you a copy of My Personal Bible Reading Journal . This is a resource our team developed that is designed for daily Bible reading. It's got blankpages for you to record what you read that day and for how God is speaking to you through His Word.

We’d also like to send a book by my friend, Kay Arthur, called Discover the Bible for Yourself. I'm really excited tobe able to offer this resource because in these pages you'll get some tools for understanding the Bible. You’ll learnhow to follow a word or idea through Scripture to understand it better. I'm doing that right now in my personal Biblestudy.

Not only will you learn to accurately interpret what you’re reading, but you’ll also learn to apply it to your situation andlive it out in the course of your daily life.

When you give a donation of any amount to help support the ministry of Revive Our Hearts, we want to send youboth these resouces, My Personal Bible Reading Journal which is only available through Revive Our Hearts andDiscover the Bible for Yourself. Ask for them when you donate by phone. The number to call is 1-800-569-5959. Orif you'd prefer, you can make a donation online at ReviveOurHearts.com.

Again, remember when you give to Revive Our Hearts , you're becoming an instrument of blessing in the lives ofothers, encouraging them to get into God's Word and to get God's Word into their hearts. You can know that heartsand homes are being transformed by the Word of God as a result of your investment in this ministry.

Thank you so much.


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Leslie: As you make decisions, do you ever think about what the Bible says? Or are you more like this person?

Street Interviewee 2: If I was doing one thing and the Bible said to do something else, off-hand I would probablyfollow my own beliefs because, I mean, the Bible is an important work, but it’s not the answer for everything.

Leslie: Tomorrow, Nancy will challenge you: Do you really trust the Bible? Please be back, for Revive Our Hearts.

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss is an outreach of Life Action Ministry.


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