THE POWER IN THE LIVING WORD
From The HeartPublish date: 05/23/2005
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 NIV
So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 AMP
God’s Word is alive and active and it is always productive and prosperous. When God wants to do something, He speaks it and it happens. There is power in His Word! God’s Word always produces and what it produces is always positive and always good. It is never useless, ineffective, or unproductive when it comes out of God’s mouth. God’s Word accomplishes what He pleases and purposes and it prospers in the thing for which He sends it. If you believe God’s Word and speak it in faith, it will produce for you too.
The devil knows the awesome power of the Word of God and he knows that he is powerless before, and defeated by, the Word. He does not want you to know the power of God’s Word, because you will use it against him to thwart his evil plans and to defeat him, and so he works to a) keep you ignorant of God’s Word, b) to get you to mix it in and dilute it with religion and tradition, and c) for you not to believe in it.
IGNORANCE
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6a AMP
God’s Word is the evidence that God is in control and that the devil is defeated. The Word gives you the key to being free of the devil’s influence and control and the key to living a victorious life. If you don’t know what God’s Word says, you don’t know what your rights and privileges are and you have no knowledge and no ability to defend yourself against the devil, giving him an opportunity to destroy your life.
RELIGION AND TRADITION
But He said to them, Excellently and truly [so that there will be no room for blame] did Isaiah prophesy of you, the pretenders and hypocrites, as it stands written: These people [constantly] honor Me with their lips, but their hearts hold off and are far distant from Me. 7 In vain (fruitlessly and without profit) do they worship Me, ordering and teaching [to be obeyed] as doctrines the commandments and precepts of men. 8 You disregard and give up and ask to depart from you the commandment of God and cling to the tradition of men [keeping it carefully and faithfully]. 9 And He said to them, You have a fine way of rejecting [thus thwarting and nullifying and doing away with] the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition (your own human regulations)! 10 For Moses said, Honor (revere with tenderness of feeling and deference) your father and your mother, and, He who curses or reviles or speaks evil of or abuses or treats improperly his father or mother, let him surely die. 11 But [as for you] you say, A man is exempt if he tells [his] father or [his] mother, What you would otherwise have gained from me [everything I have that would have been of use to you] is Corban, that is, is a gift [already given as an offering to God], 12 Then you no longer are permitting him to do anything for [his] father or mother [but are letting him off from helping them]. 13 Thus you are nullifying and making void and of no effect [the authority of] the Word of God through your tradition, which you [in turn] hand on. And many things of this kind you are doing. Mark 7:6-13 AMP
Religious tradition is the invention of man, not God. The devil uses tradition to dilute the Word of God and also to distract people from what is truly important. People worship God, but the Word says that they do it in vain when they reject the commandment of God and cling to religious tradition. Religious tradition nullifies the Word of God and makes it ineffective in your life, opening a door for the devil to keep you defeated and in bondage.
UNBELIEF
For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. Hebrews 4:2 KJV
The Word of God can be preached to you, but unless you believe it and have faith in it then it is dead to you - it will not profit you or benefit you and it will have no value to you. You have to mix faith with the Word of God.
What do you need to do to prosper and be blessed as God has planned for you? A) Study God’s Word and His commandments - believe them, receive them, obey them, and do them. B) Focus on God’s Word and keep your attention on it. Do not allow religious tradition to distract you or disarm you. Keep God’s Word in your mind and heart and mouth. C) Speak it in faith and see it go forth and produce good fruit as you promote God’s will and His kingdom on the earth.