My Words

Matthew 24 35. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away. Scripture, as you no doubt know, tells us nothing about the way our Lord looked.

Everybody wants to know what Jesus looked like. Did he look like that? You know, how did he look? Was he tall? Was he black or white? Did he have green eyes? There was nothing about our Lord, as far as his appearance was concerned, that would ever make him stand out in any crowd. It didn't matter, whatever crowd he was in, he melted in.

By looking at the crowd, you could never pick out Jesus. Oh yes, look at the long robes, there he is. Over and over again, Scripture tells us that the only thing that set Jesus apart from other men was his word.

And they wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. They were astonished at his word, at his teaching. His word was with authority, it says.

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we believe and know that you are the Christ. At the time the temple police were sent to arrest Jesus, they came back empty-handed, and the high priest said, chief priest said, you know, why didn't you bring him? And notice that they didn't say, well, he had a gun on him. There were 50 angels around him.

I saw a halo around his head. He knows Kung Fu. Notice that they said, no man ever spoke like that man.

They came into the room to arrest Jesus and listened, and in a matter of minutes, they just had to stop and listen to his word. Jesus understood very well that the words that flowed from his mouth, with such power, were not his. And he made that clear many times by saying, they're not my words, they come from the Father.

And yet, again and again, repeatedly, Jesus called them his words. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it will be given to you, be done for you. If you continue in my word, then you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes on him who sent me has everlasting life. It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh doesn't profit at all. The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life.

But what was it about those words that gave them such power, such power that Jesus could rebuke a fever and it would leave, or a fig tree and it would wither from the roots, or a demon and it would flee. He could give a man a new name, and the man would begin to grow into the likeness of that name. You're no longer Simon, you're Peter, the rock, and all Simon's friends left.

But very, very soon they began to see that the word of Jesus was now taking on substance in Peter's life. He was indeed becoming the rock. Sheer words could remove tons and tons of guilt from the human heart.

He would say to a man or a woman, your sins are forgiven. And that man or woman knew that it was done. Which is easier, to say your sins are forgiven or to say get up and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.

Rise, take up your bed and go home. And the paralyzed man got up, picked up his pallet and walked away. Now the reason why those words had such power was not obvious at that time.

But it's clear. First of all, those words of Jesus had such authority because every single word he spoke was spoken from the cross. When Jesus said, your sins are forgiven, he was not saying, that's all right, God understands, you're only human.

This garbage we hear all over the place now. He was not saying that. He was saying, your sins are forgiven because my blood covers them.

And when Jesus told a lame man to get up and walk, he was not performing magic. He was absorbing the lameness, the blindness, the disease, the death into his sacrificed body. He was proclaiming healing on the authority of those stripes, those lashes, which were soon to come on him.

And when Jesus took authority over demons, he drew that authority from the coming sacrifice. His visage was so marred, more than that of any man, and his form more than the sons of men. Nations shall be startled at him and kings shall shut their mouths at him.

And when Jesus spoke to a demon or to a spirit of hypocrisy, that thing of evil would look up and see the cross and that marred visage and would shudder and walk away. Jesus' words had power, moreover, because every single word he spoke came out of a light that was utterly and completely given over to the Father's will. I have not come here to do my own will.

I do nothing on my own authority. So when Jesus says, follow me, he is not saying, follow me while I do my religious thing and build up a name for myself. He is saying, follow me to the cross.

Follow me as I lay down my life, doing the Father's will. And if you follow me, you will end up with me at the throne of God. His words had authority because every word that Jesus spoke, every word that he spoke was for our salvation.

He didn't come here to condemn us or to demoralize us or to take all the fun out of our lives, but that he might save us from the wrath we deserve. And every word he spoke, even the hardest word, was for our good. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away.

And what we need to understand is that those words which are indeed still here, as he said they would be, are not just words. They are Jesus' words. This means that he is in them, making them live, making them do what they say.

That Jesus is in this place right now. The proof that he is here is not his appearance. Who of us can see him with these natural eyes right now? Nor is the proof that Jesus is here in signs and wonders.

Praise God, it may well be that somebody here right now is beginning to experience healing in his body or mind in the name of Jesus. Should this be happening, and I pray that it is happening right now, that person will be wonderfully encouraged when this service ends and you walk out of here whole. And so will the rest of us be encouraged.

But the proof that Jesus Christ is in our midst right now is the presence of his word. If Jesus is really here, then he is speaking to every single one of us who will come down off his high horse and listen. We begin to hear in our hearts words that are not of earth.

Words that cut right through these phony masks and start splitting apart flesh and spirit. Words that are spirit and life to us. To one comes a word of forgiveness.

Your cry has been heard, my child, your sins are forgiven. And to another comes a word of warning. You better wake up and repent.

If you don't wake up and repent, I'm going to come as a thief and you're not going to know when I'm coming. And to another comes a word of, you know, encouragement. Don't be afraid, I'm with you.

And to another comes a word of rebuke. You're living a lie, you know it. You're living a double life, you're playing games.

And you better confess and repent before it's too late. And by the way, he doesn't stop speaking when church is over. He goes right on talking to us, right on.

Talking to us all through the afternoon and into the night. Tomorrow morning when we wake up, he's right there speaking again all through the day. One day after another, day after day.

But what are those words that he speaks to us? Accomplish that which he wants them to. Bring us life. Cleanse us.

Create in us a new being so that we become sons and daughters of God. Whether this happens depends upon what we do. With those words.

The vast majority of people to whom Jesus spoke during his days of flesh. Let the words roll right over their heads. Or right under their feet.

They admitted they were wonderful words, gracious words, but not for me. And that's exactly what many of us are doing. And this is why we hear and hear and nothing happens.

We go to Bible studies, prayer meetings, fellowship, you name it. Prayer and praise. Church.

But our lives aren't changing. We keep rebuking the mountain and rebuking the mountain. There it stands.

It doesn't move an inch. And the reason is. We're not listening to his word because we're too taken up with our own.

You want to become like Jesus? You want to see him as he is and become like him? Three questions. First. Will you recognize Jesus' word for what it is? His word is our salvation.

His words are spirit and life. We don't have to look any further. Our salvation is not in signs and wonders, not in profound religious thoughts, not in ecstasies up there in the spirit realm.

But in the words that Jesus speaks to us. And when you know that he is saying to you, your sins are forgiven and you hang on to that, your life suddenly changes just like that. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

And every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God comes to us through the crucified and risen son. Somebody says, but how do I know it's Jesus talking to me? How do I know it's really the Lord? You're going to know if you really want to do God's will. You will know.

If you're poor in spirit, and if you hunger and thirst after righteousness, you're not going to be misled. God won't let that happen. The only people who are taken down the primrose path by false Christs are those who, in fact, want to be misled.

They're not looking for the kingdom of God. They're not trying to do the Father's will. They want somebody to stimulate them, somebody to thrill them, somebody to flatter them, somebody to give them a shortcut to glory.

Will we recognize those words for what they are? And secondly, will we submit to them? A lot of people say, yeah, that's the word of God. Praise God, but they never submit. If the word of the Lord comes to your life right now, calling for something that you know very well you're not doing, or calls you to refrain from something you know very well is not God's will, and he's speaking to you right now, you're going to turn and you're going to obey.

And there are people in just that situation at this moment, and you know it. Nobody has to spell it out for you. You know what it is.

The Spirit is spelling it out for you. On the other hand, when God comes to you through his Son with a promise just too good to be true, will you believe it with all your heart? I'm going to take care of that thing he says to you. I'm going to do that.

If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? You've been asking. Believe. I receive.

Somebody here is looking for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. You don't have to go out of here without the Spirit today. Will you submit to that word? And finally, will you hang on to it? And let it start to rule your life day in and day out, all the time.

So that you soak up the word of the Lord. You saturate your mind and soul with it. Not just the red-letter words in your New Testament.

Jesus is speaking in the book of Genesis. He's speaking to you in the book of Job, the Psalms, Jeremiah, Isaiah, the writings of Paul, Revelation, you name it. He's there.

Start to soak this up. Get into it. Use your mind.

Wake up. If you let those words begin to speak and live inside your soul, they become a word of truth that directs your path. Shows you which way to go.

If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will. We complain our prayer life is so dry. I just can't get into prayer.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, the reason we can't get into prayer is because we've long since given up getting into it. Really into Jesus' word. My word lives in you.

You're not going to have any trouble praying. You're going to ask and you're going to receive. Oh, but my memory is so bad.

Some people can quote the Bible, but I can't. Nobody says you have to say what chapter and verse it came from. But I don't care how bad your memory is.

When you let the word of the Lord come into your heart, it lives. That's incorruptible seed. And it will pop open just at the time it's needed.

God will see to that. You'll be on your way to work and suddenly you get a message. It's straight from the Lord, exactly what you need.

You'll be going to bed at night and the last thought coming into your mind straight from heaven is, ask and you shall receive. Heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will not pass away.

Whose words are we listening to? Really? Whose words are we living by? If we are clinging to any other words than his, we're going to be swept away with him when the storm comes. And that's going to be soon. God help us to take those words into our hearts and live by them.

That we may still be living by them. When every mountain on this planet has turned to dust. When the earth itself is no more.

Let's wait upon him now. We're praying first of all for any man or woman or young person or whoever. Who still stands outside the kingdom of God and hears the Lord calling.

Answer that word today. Answer it. Because it will help you get up off your chair and get down here and kneel.

Oh God, don't let anything, anything in our stubborn hearts, our twisted minds, hinder us from responding to the word that you're speaking to us now Lord. And for those who know they've got to make changes. And for those who have wandered far, far from the path of righteousness.

And long to come back and they're getting all kinds of garbage that they can't do it. The Lord says you come now. Cover yourself with my blood.

It's the only thing that will ever cleanse you and come. And for those who know very well they've been idle, idle, lazy. Unbelieving, hard of heart.

Walking around with grudges. Stubborn, holding to their own ways. I'm not going to change.

I don't care what. This is the way I'm going to do it. Oh God, make us hear.

And don't give us any peace Father until we open. And finally, oh God, we ask that you will confirm the truth of every word that I spoke Father, right now, that's yours. And wipe out of the mind every word that was not.

We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.