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Emerge International Church

6/9 The Word is Life

09/06/2024

  1. David emphasizes the effectiveness of God’s word using Isaiah 55:10-11. How does this scripture illustrate the enduring power and purpose of God’s word in your life?
  2. How do you personally experience the concept that God’s word works in and through believers, as mentioned by David? Can you provide specific examples?
  3. David encourages daily engagement with the word of God. What practical steps do you take to ensure you are reading, studying, and declaring the Scriptures each day?
  4. In what ways do you feel that God’s word sustains your spiritual being, as likened to a consuming fire and a hammer that breaks rock in pieces?
  5. The host speaks about the word of God as being active, operative, energizing, and effective. How have you seen this active power at work in your own life or the lives of others around you?
  6. David mentions meditating on a list by Pastor Keith Moore about 101 things God said about health. Have you ever tried such focused meditation on parts of Scripture? How did it impact your understanding and application of God’s word?
  7. Reflect on the host’s statement that the Scriptures are alive and powerful. How does recognizing the living nature of the word change the way you interact with the Bible?
  8. What does it mean to you that Jesus Christ, referred to as the Word of God, is associated with life? How does this association influence your faith and daily walk with Christ?
  9. David mentions that Jesus’ words are described as spirit and life. Can you share an instance when Jesus’ words brought new and greater powers of life to your situation?
  10. The host emphasizes having life through Christ Jesus and experiencing the abundance of life He came to give. How has your understanding of this abundant life evolved, and how do you see it manifesting in your daily experiences?

David [00:00:01]:
Welcome, everyone, again. And I’m so excited to be here today. You know, recently I was declaring and meditating on the word and I was using a list that Reverend Keith Moore put together. Pastor Moore, pastors Faith life Church in Branson, Missouri, and in Sarasota, Florida.

David [00:00:40]:
They’ve got two churches. And anyway, Keith is. Pastor Keith has put together 101 things God said about our health. And so as I was working through that list and meditating on it and declaring it, the Holy Spirit began to emphasize me, emphasized to me some scriptures that the word is life. Now the emphasis is this. I’ll just go ahead and give you the bottom line here. These scriptures were not just words printed in a book. They weren’t just part of a story that was written.

David [00:01:24]:
These scriptures that we read and quote and pray every day, they are alive, they’re full of God’s life. They’re powerful. They’re energizing. Now, I touched on this during my Easter Sunday message. And as I meditated on this truth, the Holy Spirit said to me, go deeper. Teach on this again. Our father God wants us to know the word Jesus Christ is full of life, and that’s what he came to give us. And if you remember in John the first chapter, and I’m going to read the first four verses there from chapter one.

David [00:02:12]:
And this is from the Niv. And it says this, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God. And the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him, all things were made. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. This verse tells us, explains to us, the apostle John shows us and tells us that Jesus Christ, our Lord and savior, is the word, and the word is life, and life is in the word, and that word life, there.

David [00:03:03]:
And those verses, chapter one there, of John. It means this from the Greek, the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is intimate. Jesus is alive. He’s full of life. He’s full of vitality. He’s very animated. He’s expressive. Hallelujah.

David [00:03:28]:
It means of the absolute fullness of life. He is full of life. All life proceeds from him, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God and through him both to the hypostatic logos. That’s what we call the Bible, the logos, the written word, and to Christ, in whom the logos put on human nature, real life and genuine life, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed in the portion, even in this world, of those who put their trust in Christ, who is the word. But after the resurrection, to be consummated by the new accessions, those new things that come to us by trusting in Christ among them, a more perfect body and to last forever. Guys, we haven’t even attained to the fullness of all that. Christ, the word of God, came to give us. He came to give us a body, a new glorified body.

David [00:04:46]:
He came to give us life forever, eternal life. And we’re going to see that as we drilled down into some of this today. But I’m so excited with this, to be reminded that the word is alive. These aren’t just words printed on a piece of paper. They are life. They are life. They are life. They are life to all of us.

David [00:05:15]:
And it says there they are light. They are life and they are light. God is light, because light has the extremely delicate, subtle, pure, beautiful quality of truth and its knowledge, together with the spiritual purity associated with it, that which is exposed to the view of all openly, publicly, reason and reason in mind, the power of understanding, especially moral and spiritual truths. So the word is life, and it brings to light, it brings moral and spiritual truth and understanding to all of us. John goes on in chapter six. And this is John 663, verse 63. Here in John chapter six, it is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

David [00:06:21]:
And so Jesus is telling his listeners here, the words I speak are spirit and they are life. And it is the spirit of life. The spirit of the word that quickens you. Oh, wow. That word quickens there means by spiritual power to arouse and invigorate. It’s what brings us to life, invigorates us. It means to restore to life, we’ve been restored to the life of God, to eternal life. It means to give increase of life.

David [00:07:02]:
That spirit quickens us. The Holy Spirit quickens us every day. Day. He quickens us and makes us alive and thus a physical life also. This all is of the spirit quickening as respects the spirit endued with new and greater powers of life. That’s what quickening means. The Holy Spirit by the word of God, works in us to quicken us and make us alive with new and greater powers of life. And that word Spirit means the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit.

David [00:07:45]:
He is co equal with the Father and with the Son. He was co eternal with the Father and the Son, the spiritual nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels and equal to goddess, the divine nature of Christ, that is the Holy Spirit. And that spirit, what Christ said, he told his disciples, when I go, this holy spirit is coming. He’s going to live in you and dwell in you. He’s going to work in you, comfort you. He’s going to show you things to come, speak to you, teach you, give you insight, understanding and revelation. And he does this through the word of God. The word there in this verse in John 663 means this, that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, a thing spoken, a word.

David [00:08:47]:
And so when Christ Jesus, the word of life, speaks with his living voice. And when Christ speaks, when Jesus speaks, he is speaking with his living voice because he’s alive and well today. And so he is speaking to us, life, through his words. Hallelujah. Think about this, guys. The word of God here that we have our Bible, are full of life and they’re living. We’re going to see this morning when I share something with you. More about that in a moment.

David [00:09:27]:
But it’s alive. They aren’t just words on a page. They’re life to you, and they can speak life into you. John 1010. Jesus said this, and this is from the amplified translation. The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance to the full till it overflows. Jesus came and gave us life, and he wants us to enjoy this life he’s given us.

David [00:10:08]:
He wants us to have it in abundance and to the full till it overflows. The word translated life, here is the same word as we just talked about in John, the first chapter, that powerful, that state of one who’s possessed of vitality, who’s intimate, animated the fullness of life. The word of God brings us the fullness of life. The more we’re in the word, the more life is flowing to us and rejuvenating us and refreshing us, restoring us. Hallelujah. Thank you for the life of God. Thank you for the life of God. Hallelujah.

David [00:11:02]:
Hallelujah. So how do we have life? How do we receive life? And I just mentioned it, but I want to say this again. We have life through Christ Jesus, the word of God. And in the word is life. First, John one, one. The apostle John. Again, this is one John, chapter one, verse one says this. This is from the amplified translation.

David [00:11:34]:
We are writing about the word of life in him who existed from the beginning whom we have heard, whom we have seen with our own eyes, whom we have gazed upon for ourselves and have touched with our own hands. John is saying, I’m just not talking about some idea, some principle I’ve read about or I’ve been taught about. I’ve experienced this personally. I’ve been with him. The word of life. That’s who I’m writing about. And what he found was this. Jesus speaks life.

David [00:12:22]:
The word speaks life. Jesus is life, and all life came out of him. If we go back to John one, one, nothing that was made was made without him, without his life coming forth. He doesn’t speak death. He speaks life. Every word he speaks is a life filled word that we can live on and stand on, believe in, have faith in. The word is life, and life is in the word. Life flows from the word of the Lord to us.

David [00:13:08]:
When I was meditating on those scriptures and quoting and declaring those scriptures, I could sense the life of God being stirred up in me. My faith was rising. I felt alive and vibrant and energized, and the Holy Spirit was reassuring me, that’s the word of life working in you. That’s why you need the word every day, daily, you need to be in the word, declaring the word over yourself, praying the word over yourself. Hallelujah. Listening to, teaching, sharing the word, because the word builds us up. The word is life to us. Proverbs three one, four says this.

David [00:13:52]:
The writer says, my son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Now, my son, don’t forget my law. Let your heart keep my commands. That word command there means the code of wisdom. I’ve given you a code of wisdom. Keep it close to you.

David [00:14:38]:
I’ve given you my ordinances, my precepts, his words, his code of wisdom, his ordinances, his precepts. It says there in proverbs three will add length of days, long life and peace to you. Life flows from the word of God. We see it again here in proverbs four, verses 20 through 23. Proverbs 420 23. The writer again says, the Lord is speaking to the writer and saying, my son, give attention to my words. Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes.

David [00:15:24]:
Keep them in the midst of your heart, for they are life to those who find them and help to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence. For out of its spring the issues of life. So what we see here in proverbs chapter three and in proverbs chapter four, we are being challenged by our father God, instructed by our father God, and encouraged by our father God to remember the word of life, to give attention to the word of life, to incline our ear to his words and sayings, to keep them before our eyes, to bind them around our neck in the midst of our heart, may they be written upon our heart. The Lord says, when you do this, when you’re persistent about knowing my word and remembering it and giving attention to it, what you’re doing is you’re knowing Christ more, you’re going deeper in relationship with him. And God says, this is a principle. Do it, do it. Do it, do it.

David [00:16:44]:
Because life not only will flow to you, it will flow out of you to others. When you do this, for out of it spring the issues of life. And that word issues means that coming doesn’t mean a problem. It’s not the problems of life that come out of this. It’s the issue of life. Life flows from you into others. The writer knows God, the father knows. This is a principle of life.

David [00:17:17]:
Life flows from the word of the Lord. So to have true life, we must have the word daily. Read it, study it, declare it, pray it, listen to it being taught. Share it with others. Talk about the word, get it in you. Keep it in you every day. Matthew four four, in the new King James version, says this, but he answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

David [00:18:11]:
Jesus is referencing a scripture that was first declared in deuteronomy, chapter eight here in this passage. And let’s read it. Deuteronomy eight three. And the Niv says this, he humbled you. He’s speaking to Israel here. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you. That man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord is filled with the life we need to feed our spirit man, to feed our spirit man, and to feed our mind, our soul, our thoughts, our thinking, our feeling, our choices, our will.

David [00:19:09]:
And when we feed upon the word of God every day, we’re strengthened and we’re lifted up and we live. We experience God’s life. I have a dear friend who is from Sweden, and he was here in the States years ago, and we were sitting, sharing a meal together. We’d been working on some projects together, and he was sharing with me one day as we, we ate together, he said one thing I noticed about you Americans. While you’re having one meal, you’re already planning and talking about what you’re going to do at the next one. He said, you guys tend to be very focused on food here in your country. And we do. I don’t know if you thought about it.

David [00:19:55]:
We get up, we want to eat breakfast, and we’re already thinking about what are we going to do for lunch or what are we going to do for dinner or what’s a snack going to be this afternoon. And while food is necessary and sustains our physical being, true life flows from every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. What are you doing to feed your spiritual being? What are you doing to feed your mindset? God’s word a consistent daily diet of God’s word will sustain you for eternity. Earthly food will sustain our physical bodies for a short time. Pretty soon we get hungry and want something else. But God’s word daily, consistently will sustain you forever, for eternity. The word is life. Now, the second thing I want to point out to you today is this.

David [00:21:02]:
The word not only is life, the word is full of power. Jeremiah 23 29 new King James version the Lord is declaring, this is not my word. Like a fire and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. Wow. The Lord himself is declaring, look at my word. It’s like a consuming fire. It’s like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. My word is powerful.

David [00:21:35]:
Hebrews four tells us why this is true for the word. This is Hebrews 412 from the amplified version. For the word that God speaks is alive and full of power, making it active, operative, energizing, and effective. It is sharper than any two edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life or the soul and the immortal spirit and of joints and morrow of the deepest parts of our nature, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. Wow. The word of God goes deeper than anything. The word is alive. The word is full of power.

David [00:22:32]:
Now let’s look at those four words they use. Their describe what the word is, the character of the word. First it says the word is active. And that word active there means the power or quality of acting. The word is not passive. You’re not just reading words printed on a piece of paper or a story, and it’s just sitting there doing nothing. The word is active. It’s always taking action.

David [00:23:06]:
It is the principle of acting independent of any visible force. A lot of times you can’t see the word acting, but it’s acting. It’s working. We say it. The word works, and the word is working in you. God’s word is active. It is alive. It’s taking action right now.

David [00:23:28]:
The second quality is, it is operative. The word of God is operative. It means having the power of acting. And there’s power associated with taking action. And so it operates through this power. It is the exerting force, physical or spiritual. The word of God exerts the force of life, physically and spiritually, in us, through us, for us and with us, it is operative. And as we meditate on the word, as we focus on the word, as we study the word, declare the word, pray, the word is operating innocent through us to bring about change, to renew us, to bring transformation in our lives.

David [00:24:18]:
The third thing the word is, the word is energizing. It’s full of energy. It means giving energy, force or vigor. It means acting with force. That’s what the word is doing in us. It’s energizing us. It’s giving us energy. It’s giving us power, giving us force.

David [00:24:39]:
We declare the word, and the word works. We come with vigor, vitality, and strength, acting with force, because we’re standing on the word. Spiritual warfare is about prayer, intercession, and declaring the word of God in a situation. We are energized by the word. And the fourth quality here is, the word is effective. Having the power to cause or produce something. It’s causing something to be or someone to be. The word works in us so that we can be all that God created us to be.

David [00:25:26]:
It is effective. It makes us able. We see this declared in Isaiah 55. The Lord is declaring through the prophet Isaiah here in Isaiah 55 1011, and he says this as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater. So is my word that goes out of my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish that which I desire and believe and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Let me read that again, that last part of it. So is my word that goes out of my mouth.

David [00:26:20]:
That will not return to me empty. In one translation, it says, it won’t return to me void, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. When God speaks, he speaks with intention, he speaks with power, knowing that his word will produce what he sends it forth to produce. And that word is working in you right now, producing what God wants as we give ourselves to it, yield ourselves to it every day. God is working in us through his word. The third thing I want to talk to you about today is this. The word is life eternal. The word is life eternal.

David [00:27:11]:
One Peter 123 25 says this, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible through the word of God, which lives and abides forever. Because all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man is a flower. The grass withers and the flower falls away. But the word of the Lord endures forever. Now, this is a word which by the gospel was preached to you. The word lives and abides forever. God and I want to share something with you, an insight I got, I studied this, looked it up. That word forever, it means forever without end, time without end.

David [00:28:06]:
Throughout eternity, God’s word is true. And God’s word will be working in you, through you, for you, and with you, throughout eternity. It is alive, it is vital, it is energizing. First John, chapter one and verse two. First John one two, in the amplified, says this. And the life, an aspect of his being was revealed, made manifest and demonstrated. And we saw as eyewitnesses and are testifying to and declaring to you the life, the eternal life in him who already existed with the father and who actually was made visible, was revealed to us by his followers. Eternal life is in the word, and it flows from the word to you.

David [00:29:03]:
Eternal life is flowing to you today as you trust in him, follow him, stay in the word, pursue him, spend time with him. That life eternal is working in you, working in you, working in you. By the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah. You know, that verse could read this way. Let me read this again. And the life, an aspect of his being, was revealed, made manifest, demonstrated. And we saw as eyewitnesses, testifying to and declaring to you the life, the eternal life, in the word, who already existed with the Father and who actually was made visible and revealed to us, his followers.

David [00:29:52]:
The word of life. Yes. Amen. Isaiah 40, verse eight. New King James Version says this. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. There it is again. Prophet Isaiah declared it.

David [00:30:10]:
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. The promise of God’s word stands forever. And it stands for you. It is eternal. And I want to summarize all of this by saying this, reminding you the word is life. It is alive, it is active. It is energizing. It is working today.

David [00:30:46]:
Life flows from the word and it’s flowing to you right now. Look for it. Look for those energizing moments and phrases and words as you read and study the word. Pray the word. Declare the word. Look for the life that’s flowing from the word. The word is full of power. It’s working for you, in you, through you, with you.

David [00:31:12]:
And the word of life is eternal. It’s forever, guys. It’s forever. Every promise in this book is forever. It’s forever. It’s forever. I want to encourage you to do this. Get in the word every day this week.

David [00:31:32]:
Study it. Pray it over your life, your family. Declare it. Share it with somebody in your life. It’s amazing what the Holy Spirit does when you begin to share the word with others and let the word work in you and through you. This week, next week, we’re going to continue the study of life in the word and the power of it and see how it works in us and through us and for us and with us. And so I invite you to be back here with us next week. Let’s bow our heads in prayer today.

David [00:32:11]:
Father, we thank you for this gift of the word of life that you’ve given us in Christ Jesus, our Lord and savior, who is the word. We know that he is with you and he is there today. He’s been there from the beginning and he will always be there. And we thank you for it, Jesus, thank you for all that you’ve done in us. Thank you for redeeming us, saving us. Thank you for sending your holy spirit and filling us with your spirit. Thank you for the word of God that works in us and through us and for us and with us. And I praise you, Jesus, that today and throughout eternity you will be giving us revelation, insight and understanding in your word.

David [00:32:57]:
And we will continue to grow and know you better and better, more intimately than we ever have before. And we ask that you do that in us today. And we thank you for it. In Jesus name, amen. Pastor Connie is coming with a closing thought and a word of prayer. God bless you and we’ll see you again next week.

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