A Word to Speak

My wife and I are committed to reading to our children.  From the time that they were very little, she and I have enjoyed reading to our kids.  It’s a special time when we can gather around a good book and be transported into a story.  The words have a power to project a world around us to enjoy for a little while, to help us experience beauty and sadness, and to help us think about ideas in ways we hadn’t before. 

As I said on Sunday, words are powerful.  And it was this powerful tool that God chose to use to do some amazing things.  He created the world and everything in it with words.  He reveals Himself to people through words.  And the person of Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, is, himself, called the Word which was made flesh. 

Christians are people whose lives have been touched and transformed by God’s Word.  The Holy Spirit works powerfully through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word.  He is also active when we take up our Bibles to read the Word ourselves; strengthening our faith, delivering forgiveness, and shaping our hearts and minds to be reflective of Christ.  I would add that this true of listening to the Word too, if you have an audio-Bible on your iPod, mp3 player, a disc or an audio tape - or even records, like my grandma had!  (Kids, if you don’t know what records were, they were kind of like cds only they made their sound through a needle with wonderful hissing and scratching sounds.) 

I am often asked by people how they can grow in their faith, have more joy, or be more committed Christ-followers.  My answer is consistently – God’s Word.  Get into a Bible study that digs into the Scriptures.  Hear what God says.  Go to worship and hear the word read and preached.  Not only that, but in worship we sometimes see God’s Word in action in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as it creates faith, forgives sins, and binds us to the hope we have in Jesus.  There is nothing like the Word of God to transform our lives. 

In Isaiah 50:4 we find these beautiful words related to God’s Word.  “The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.  He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.”    There are a couple things I really love about this passage.  One is the hearing/speaking dynamic.  The other is the idea of being equipped morning by morning for the task ahead of us; speaking a word to sustain the weary. 

Before Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 1) He told his disciples that they would be his witnesses at home, nearby, among their enemies, and far away.  We talk about witnessing sometimes, and when we do we often do so in hushed tones of awe.  Really, being a witness just means that you saw or heard something, and now you tell others what you saw and heard.  This is echoed in Peter’s words before the Sanhedrin, “… we cannot help but speak of what we have seen and heard.”  (Acts 4) 

What had they seen and heard?  Jesus – crucified, buried, risen, and ascended.  What about us?  Have we not seen the same thing through the text of the Bible?  Have we not seen and heard of a God who loves us so much as to give His only begotten Son for us?  Have we not beheld with our eyes and perceived with our ears the Good News that there is salvation apart from our own works and efforts?  Have we not looked upon the Word that declares us to be holy, despite our sin, and had words spoken to us that stated, “Your sins are forgiven and washed away in the blood of Jesus!”? 

Hearing and speaking God’s Word go hand in hand.  Woe to the pastor who never reads his Bible.  And pity the Christian that never reads the Word, so she never sees or hears the message to proclaim.  And, friends, if that last sentence describes you, let me just say, “Repent!”  And then, knowing that all your sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake, take up your Bible and read some Psalms, part of Gospel, or even an epistle.  See and hear what the Lord has done for you, hear the powerful word God will speak to you, and then a day will come when you find yourself speaking of Jesus; speaking the words of eternal life. 

Questions to Ponder

-          Isaiah 50:4 talks about an instructed tongue and listening like one being taught.  How have you been instructed in the God’s Word? 

-          The passage speaks of a word to sustain the weary.  What wearies people in this World?  What is the root cause of our problems?  What is the solution?

-          How did you come to know Jesus?  Were words involved? 

-          Isaiah 50:4 speaks of being instructed by God Himself.  How does knowing/believing that God speaks through the Bible directly to us impact your opinion of reading the Word?

-          How do you stay connected to the Lord and hear His Word?  What might you do to deepen that connection with Him?