Dr Greg Bahnsen - Higher Thoughts: The Power of God's Word (Part 7)

To me, the constant discipline of reading it over and over again. Of course, I have a little bit.

Of an advantage I've prepared before I come, and so I'm reading it and reading it and so forth. But I hope that you've been reading it as well. But even if you haven't done it on your own, just hearing it week by week, what a fantastic chapter out of God's Word. This is so much there.

I have only been looking at verses.

8 and 9 in a sense, and trying to give a theological reading out of the implications of what Isaiah teaches there. And what is this, our eighth get together?

And so that tells you something about.

The depth and the riches of God's Word, because we could talk more about.

Even those two verses, but that's just.

Two verses out of one chapter, out.

Of so many chapters of only one book, out of so many books of the Bible. So I hope, if nothing else, that this summer will have stimulated your appetite for deeper and more constant Bible study on your own as well. Let's turn to Isaiah 55 and read again then, this chapter, and we'll take verses 8 and 9 as our theme.

Verses as we have in the past.

Ho. Every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come ye buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money? For that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfies not. Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good. And let your soul delight itself in Fatima. Incline your ear, and come unto me. Hear, and your soul shall live. And I will make an everlasting covenant with you. Even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander to the peoples. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and a nation that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of Jehovah, thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. And let him return unto Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth in bud, and giveth seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth, forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands, Instead of the thorns shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to Jehovah for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off and thus far the Reading of God's.

Word.

In our exposition of Isaiah 55:8,9, we have seen something of the transcendence of God, and particularly the transcendence of God's thoughts, how he goes beyond our temporal experience, how he exceeds anything that is in the human capacity. His Word does not originate with human expectations and reasoning. His Word goes beyond our understanding, is awesome, is mysterious, is wondrous, and yet is perfectly rational. His thoughts are beyond human understanding. But remember, they are not mystical. They are not contrary to understanding. They are simply the unexpected, that which is deeper and more wondrous and mysterious than we could ever imagine. After all, God Himself transcends our temporal experience. God is greater than the created order. His transcendence is precisely his being the Creator and the sovereign director and the Lord over all things in this world. And because he's transcendent in that way, he controls our minds, he controls our environment, and he can come right into our experience and identify Himself and speak clearly and be known. The transcendence of God doesn't make him unknowable. The transcendence of God guarantees that he is knowable, that he can be eminent as well as transcendent, knowing that God's thoughts are transcendent thoughts even as he is transcendent. Then we learn that man's reasoning ability is granted by the Creator to be used as a tool under God, a tool for subduing this world and understanding God better and making application of his revelation. Man's reason is not the ultimate standard for truth and knowledge. Man's reasoning ability is instead the tool of obedience under God for interpreting God's Word. And that's why we learn of God in terms of the Trinity but we don't with our human reason say, oh well, that can't be true because I don't understand it. We learn of God's predestination and yet our own freedom and responsibility. And we don't say, well, because my reason finds it hard to understand the connection. It can't be true. We don't use man's reason as the ultimate standard in apologetics. Even in apologetics we want to show the unbeliever that we are living in submission to God's word. And if we do not submit in faith to God, human reasoning fails in principle. It ruins the ability to use man's mind. We saw as well that God's thinking is qualitatively different from man's and not simply quantity quantitatively different from man. There is quality to God's thinking which will always exceed what is true of us. He will always be the self attesting standard of truth. We will never be that. His thinking is creative, ours is derivative. And when it comes to his thinking, it constantly increases in the awe that we have before it, whereas our thinking diminishes in its awesome, if you will, as people get to know us better. Moreover, the revelation of God is filled with mysteries. Not the kind of things that the mystics are looking for, but mysteries understood as those things that are held in secret by God and are ineffably great when he reveals them and unveils them to us. We saw in another lesson that the holiness of God, God and the wisdom of God cannot be judged by man's puny understanding or by man's proclivities or expectations. We've seen that God's grace last week is so amazing that it's higher than the earth and passes all human understanding. When you stop and think about the wonder of God justifying the ungodly, and you can understand why Paul says that the love of Christ, Christ passes understanding. We would never have been able to dream up this kind of thing. This is the context of Isaiah saying that God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He has just said that Jehovah bids man to come to him and to repent of his sin, and God will show mercy. Our inclination would be, how can God be merciful? How could God possibly do it? And the answer is, because my thoughts are higher than your thoughts and my ways than your ways, higher than the earth. I don't operate as a man does. You can't go by natural expectation and inclination. And the grace of God will always exceed. Then our human expectation will always leave us humbled and bowed down in wonder and gratitude. Tonight we turn to a consideration, finally of the fantastic power of God's Word. We've looked in at God's own thinking. We've looked at revelation as being mysterious. We've looked at God's holiness, wisdom, grace, and now power. And what Isaiah wants to tell us is that God's power is fantastic. It goes beyond our human inclination and expectation. There as well, in fact, the power of God. God makes us stand in awe. How powerful is God? More particularly, how powerful is the word of God? Isaiah says, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah. Whereas the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. And then we find this word. For here's Isaiah's explanation of how God's thinking exceeds man's thinking is higher than the earth. For as the rain comes down and snow from heaven and doesn't return, but waters the earth and makes it bring forth in bud, and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please. It shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. You want an illustration of how God's thoughts are higher than the earth. His ways are higher than our ways. Then think about his Word. It's likened to the snow and the rain that goes to accomplish its purpose. It doesn't fall and then return to heaven without accomplishing something. Likewise, the word of God is never sent out from the mouth of God. And then it's just inert, powerless, ineffectual. It always accomplishes exactly what God wants. Here is the power of God's word. Now contrast that with the power of human words.

I was thinking this afternoon of illustrations in my own life of how powerful, powerless my words are. And actually I got to the place where I said I'll spend the whole evening if I give all the illustrations.

I mean, over and over, it's just endemic to human life. Think about a teenager who goes to somebody that maybe has a crush on.

He wants to invite this young lady to the senior promotion. Is his inviting her to the senior prom guarantee that she will accept the invitation?

Oh, how many people wish that they could just speak it into being.

And it doesn't happen, does it?

I think about.

The number of things I'd like to accomplish. I wish I could just, you know, when you're short on money. Don't you wish you could just say.

Let there be $5,000 more in my.

Bank account this month and then it would be there.

But it doesn't happen. In fact, most adults know that that's.

The exhibition of a magical approach to life. To think that you could do that. There are still people who daydream that they could do that kind of thing.

But you know, in the concept of magic, you have this abracadabra or you know, whatever, so that you can bring things about and you stop and think about it. I mean no disrespect here. I think you will take this in the right way. The amazing thing, magic you see, is an idolizing of the very power of God. God can say abracadabra. He doesn't need to use the formula, obviously, but God can say things and they happen. Not me. I don't have that, quote, magical ability. And with the giving up of a magical approach to the cosmos, you know, we're enlightened, educated people, we know, you know very well you can't speak away diseases and speak money into your bank account and so forth. I'm afraid we may have lost something of the awe and wonder that the ancient world had about the power of words. You remember the story of Balaam who was hired to go and curse the children of Israel. And of course what happened is that Balaam's ass was given the ability to speak. And when the ass wouldn't move any further and Balaam gets off and he's rebuking this animal, then the animal speaks to him, you know, and he's really taken back by that. But Balaam cannot curse God's people because he knows it's contrary to what God himself has said. But he had been hired out with the idea that you just get this magic man, this prophet to go say it, saying it will do it. The book of Proverbs speaks about the curse that alighteth not. It's the curse that flies out but never hits its target, and so forth. So we, in terms of biblical thinking, see that people thought about the power of words, and we've lost that in our day and age because we know that our words don't have power. In fact, not only can we not guarantee that the person we invite to the dance will go, or that money will be in our bank account, or we can get rid of disease just.

By speaking it away. We can't say the abracadabras. We can't even get rational.

People to.

Respond to our words. And Accomplish what we want. Have any parents in the. In the house tonight? You ever noticed how your words, Jess, don't bring about what you want with your kids all the time? I mean, we like to see progress and growth there. I'm not going to tell stories on my children. That's not appropriate.

But you know, even when they get.

Older, as teenagers, you know, you wish.

You could just say it and say, okay, no one goes to the refrigerator after 11 o' clock at night and raids it. Okay, I said it. That'll do it, right? I'm not talking about my children, mind you, but my words do not accomplish what I want them to accomplish. But it's worse than that. I'm a preacher, I'm a teacher. And so by God's grace, hopefully there are some gifts for communication. I want to effectively communicate. And yet how often have I found that I say something in a way which I think is real clear, make it obvious, and then people ask questions, and I'm thinking, boy, was I that unclear? Yeah, I was. There's just this breakdown of communication I can't even get across, you know, with perfect accuracy and clarity and effectiveness. What I want to say, you know, you think about the young child who has the problem of coming in. Say there's a group of adults and he or she wants to maybe show off something that they've learned. That is, what they want to accomplish by their speaking is to make an impression on people. But because of the way they do it, or maybe just the disparity of a little tyke saying those kind of things, people laugh. They find it humorous. And so here the word doesn't accomplish what the child had hoped, but rather brings about a sense of humor in people. Our words don't do what we want them to do. That's what I'm getting at.

The contrast between God's Word and. And Man's Word.

God's Word always hits the mark. God's Word always is exactly clear and.

Accurate and accomplishes precisely its purpose.

In speaking of the power of God's Word, we refer to the way in which his speaking causes things to happen. His speaking controls things. When God speaks, things change. Things happen. When God speaks, his words bring about their intended result. And I'd like to give you a little theological background to that before we then look at Isaiah 55 and make some concluding remarks about the power of God's Word. I want you to stand in awe of the power of God's Word. So let me show you different ways in the Bible how God's Word. God speaking controls and changes things, causes things to happen. First of all, the word of God is seen in creation itself. How did God create the world? You want to stand in awe of the power of His Word? Look at Genesis 1, verse 3. Genesis 1:3. And God said, let there be light. And this is the amazing thing. And there was light. And God said, let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament and divided it from the waters. God speaks and things happen. God spoke this whole universe into existence. Talk about magic. This goes beyond any kind of abracadabra, you know, that you can imagine. God not only can cause little things to move here and there, he can create the vast expanse of the universe like that. He just says it and it happens. Turn in the book of Psalms to chapter 33, verses 6 and 9. Psalm 33. 6, 9. By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. For he spake, and it was day done. He commanded, and it stood fast. You know that the universe is so large, so big, so expansive, we can't see to the end of it, even with our most powerful telescopes. You know, galaxy after galaxy after galaxy out there. And the Bible says God spoke and the whole host were created like that, the whole universe. Moment, just in a moment of speaking. That's God's power. He says it and it happens. Psalm 148. 5. Just to emphasize again how creation comes about through speaking, Let me read 1 through 5. Praise you Jehovah, Praise you, Jehovah from the heavens. Praise him in the heights. Praise him, all his angels, Praise him, all his hosts. Praise him, sun and moon, Praise him all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens and ye waters that are above the heavens. Let them praise the name of Jehovah, for he commanded and they were created. God said, let it be, and they were there. One more verse in the New Testament, Hebrews, the 11th chapter, verse three. Here the author is telling us what faith entails. And the very first illustration he gives. Verse 3. By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the Word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which appear. One of the most devastating biblical refutations of evolution. That what things we see have not come about and been framed by other things that we see the things that appear, but rather by the Word of God. He spoke it into being. He spoke this whole universe into being. So we see the Word of God in creation. We need to move on. I mean, that's marvelous. And enough. The Bible tells us that the Word of God controls all things in creation as well. What we call the Word of God in providence. God's Word in providing and controlling all things in this universe. Psalm 148. 8. Fire and hail, snow and vapor. Stormy wind, fulfillment. Fulfilling his word. We were talking earlier about the sunset and how bright it is because of the ash that's in the sky tonight, and so forth. And we think about the coolness of this summer, or the rain that is constant, and so forth. When you see the weather, what it is, you remember God's commanding these things to happen. He commands the clouds. He controls the atmosphere. He's the one who gives the sunshine and the rain or the hoar frost or whatever it may be. All of these elements are fulfilling his word. Turn Back to Psalm 18:15. Psalm 18:15. Then the channels of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were laid bare. At thy rebuke, O Jehovah. At the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. He controls the channels and the waterways. Just by the blast of the breath of his nostrils. At the rebuke of God he speaks. And the waters go the way they will. He controls the streams and the rivers and the oceans. Psalm 29. 3:9. The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters. Isn't that a great image? The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters. The God of glory thundereth even Jehovah upon many waters. The voice of Jehovah is powerful. The voice of Jehovah is full of majesty. The voice of Jehovah breaks the cedars. Yes, Jehovah breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them also to skip like a calf. Lebanon and Sirion, like the young wild ox. The voice of Jehovah cleaveth the flames of fire. The voice of Jehovah shaketh the wilderness. Jehovah shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of Jehovah maketh the hind's calves and strippeth the forest bare. And in his temple everything saith glory, man.

If everything in his temple says glory, how much more you know, should we. We stand before one.

The voice of God divides the flame. Think about that. Have you ever been, you know, at a campfire? You're just watching the fire. It's a strange natural phenomena, fire. You see the licks, you know, the tongues of fire. The voice of God controls even that. He makes the hinds, the calf he controls that natural birth control process. He cleaves the forest of Lebanon. The voice of Jehovah over and over again controls everything in the natural world. Psalm 119:89 96. Forever O Jehovah, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations. Thou hast established the earth, and it abideth the continuation of the earth. The abiding of the earth is due to the word of God being settled in the heavens. They abide this day according to thine ordinances, for all things are thy servants. Unless thy law had been my delight, I should have then perished in mine affliction. I will never forget thy precepts, for with them thou hast quickened me. I am thine, save me, for I have sought thy precepts. The wicked have waited for me to destroy me. But I will consider thy testimonies. I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy commandment is exceeding broad. Here David looks at the word of God in the heavens as controlling everything on the earth, and turns from it then to the commandments of God that direct his life. The stability of both and the authority of both, you see, are parallel. The Word of God in Providence Turn to Matthew 8:27. One of my favorite stories. I love this. Matthew 8. Hopefully you know the context. Jesus has entered into a boat with his disciples, and he's asleep down in the lower part of the boat, and a great storm comes up, and they're frightened and they come and they say, jesus, don't you care? We're about to perish? Verse 26 and he saith unto them, why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose and listened to the language and rebuked the winds and the.

Sea, and there was a great calm.

And the men marveled, saying, what manner of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him? He rebuked them, spoke personally to the water, you see, and to the wind, and said, stop. And men who are there, of course, immediately they stop. The Lord of Creation There are so many miracles in the New Testament that make me stand and wonder. But I'm how could anyone see that? Here's a man who stands there and says to the winds and the waves, seats, and immediately there's a call, what manner of man is this? They say that even the created elements obey him. The power of God's Word in Providence. Hebrews 1:3 we'll use the same. Summarize this part of the lecture. Hebrews 1:3. Speaking of the Son of God, who made the worlds we read who being the effulgence of his glory in the very image of his substance and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made pure purification of sin set down at the right hand of the majesty on high. What keeps the atom together? What keeps molecules together? What keeps the universe together? What brings order and stability? What is the glue of the cosmos? If I could speak crudely, the word of Christ's power. He upholds all things by the word of his power. That's what makes the universe continue the way that it does. That's what makes the world operate. He is actually the Greek word upholding has the sense of carrying it along. He carries along creation by his own word. God spoke the world into existence and he controls everything, the winds and the waves, even the the flames of fire by His Word. That's how powerful God's Word is. Thirdly, notice in the Bible that the Word of God is active in judgment. How important it is when the Bible speaks of judgment that it's the word of God that brings judgment about in Genesis 3:17 we read the first word of judgment in the Bible. The curse that is pronounced upon the disobedient creation. And unto Adam he said, because thou has hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and has eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, thou shalt not eat of it. Cursed is the ground for thy sake and toil thou shalt eat of it all the days of thy life, etc. The point here is that God changes things by speaking. He speaks the curse, and that changes the way man lives and the conditions under which he lives. God utters curses. Consider Genesis 6:7. And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground, both man and beast, and creeping thing, and birds of the air. For it repenteth me that I have made them. God speaks the curse and the world is flooded. The word of God in judgment. Consider how he curses the nations. Psalm 46. 6. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice, the earth melted. God just says the word of curse and the earth melts before him. That's awesome. Hosea 6, verse 5. There are so many like this. By the way, I should tell you, I'm only being representative. Prophecy of Hosea, the sixth chapter, verse five. Hosea says, therefore have this is God speaking. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets I have slain them by the words of my mouth. And thy judgments are as the light that goeth Forth God simply speaks, and it's like being hewed down. I judge them by simply saying it out of my mouth, and they are destroyed. Often in the Bible, God's word is seen as a weapon. As a matter of fact, consider Isaiah. Back to Isaiah, chapter 11, verse 4. But with righteousness shall he judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. He speaks, and it destroys all that which is displeasing in his sight. Or Isaiah 49, 2. Another example of the word of God in judgment. He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me. He makes my mouth like a sharp sword. Those who pronounce God's word have a weapon in their mouth. The rod of the lips, the sword of the mouth. And the Bible tells us that God's word brings judgment in the preaching of the gospel. This is an awesome work of God, a dreadful work of God. The Gospel is sent to change people, but not just to change them for the sake of salvation, but to destroy them. Isaiah 6:9. Hopefully you'll recognize this as being quoted in the New Testament. Isaiah 6:9. And he said, go and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but understand not. See ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again and be healed. God says, you go preach to these people so that you will cut them off from the possibility of salvation. So that they will not hear, they will not see, and their hearts will be so heavy they will not understand. So that they will not turn and be saved and healed. That's a dreadful word. God says, you proclaim my word so that it will close them unto salvation, close them off from it, and seal their damnation. Where is this quoted in the New Testament?

Matthew, the 13th chapter. When Jesus, having given parables about the kingdom of God, is asked, why do you speak in parables? And then he quotes Isaiah 6.

So that in seeing they will not.

See, and in hearing they will not hear. I'm speaking in parables to damn my hearers. Those who do not have the work of the Spirit in their heart will then be hardened to damnation.

God's word hardens hearts. Consider Romans 11:7. What then? That which Israel seeketh for that he obtaineth not, but the election obtained it Those who were chosen by God obtained it, and the rest were hardened. And it's the very same thing that brings the elect in, that hardens the rest, and that's the Gospel. Consider what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:16, Having spoken of the Gospel and the word of Christ, and the savor of his knowledge in every place. He says in verse 16 to 1, a savor from death unto death, to the other, a savior from life unto to life. And who is sufficient for these things? The preaching of Christ, the preaching of the Gospel, the sending forth of God's word brings life to some and death to others. It's a savor of death, of death unto death. That's the very purpose of the Word. And then one more example of God's judgment by means of His Word. Look at consider the final judgment that lies ahead for the world, 2 Peter 3, 5, 7, 2 Peter 3, beginning at verse 5. For this they willfully forget that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water, and amidst water by the word of God by which means the world that then was being overflowed with water perished. But the heavens that now are, and the earth by the same word, have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. What will bring about the conclusion of earth's history and the fiery judgment? Judgment of God at the end? The same Word of God that brought the flood. The Word of God will bring the judgment. And what will judge men in that day when the world is finally destroyed by fire? John 12:48 Jesus says, the word which I spoke, that shall judge you in the final day. And so the Word of God brings judgment into this world. He utters curses by his Word. Nations are judged by His Word. God's Word is a weapon, according to the Bible. It hardens hearts with the preaching of the Gospel, and it will bring final judgment. But then the Word of God and its power is seen in a more blessed way too. I think first of all in the performing of miracles. The power of God's Word in performing miracles. We've already seen one instance in Matthew 8. We don't have to read it again. Even the winds and the waves obey his voice. But there's another great story in the Gospels that show the power of God's Word in performing miracles. Turn to Luke 7, the first 10 verses, and ask yourself if this is not indeed the very point. Luke 7:1 10. The very point is the power of God's Word. After he had ended all his sayings in the ears of the people. He entered into Capernaum, and a certain centurion servant who was dear unto him, was sick and at the point of death. And when he heard concerning Jesus, he sent unto him elders of the the Jews, asking him that he would come and save his servant. And they, when they came to Jesus, besought him earnestly, saying, he is worthy that thou shouldst do this for him. For he loves our nation, himself built our synagogue, and Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof. Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee. But say the Word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under myself soldiers. And I say to this one go, and he goeth, and to another come, and he cometh. And to my servant do this. And he doeth it. And when Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, turned and said unto the multitude that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith. No, not in Israel. And they that were sent returning to the house found the servant healed. Here's this man, who's not even a Jew, who understands the power of God's word. He says, I'm like that, in a sense. I say the Word and people have to obey me. How much more than you, Lord. All you have to do is say it, and it will happen. And they come back. And of course, that's all it took. Jesus just said it in the Word, accomplished it. Isn't that marvelous? God speaks and miracles happen. Blessings. Come. Then. One more illustration of the power of God's Word. We've seen God's Word in creation. We've seen it in providence. We've seen it in judgment. We've seen it in miracles. But finally, look at the Word of God in grace and salvation. How central his Word is to that. Genesis 3:15. God says, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. He shall bruise thy head, thou shalt bruise his heel. The promise of salvation. What's the point here? God promised salvation. Salvation comes through His Word, through his promise that it will happen. And when Jesus comes into this world and accomplishes that promise that all the Old Testament anticipated, you'll notice that the gospel is conspicuously called the powerful word of God, the Word of Life. Just a few examples. Romans 1:16. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. I'm afraid if Paul had been thinking in our minimalist 20th century terms, he would have said it is the truth of God unto salvation. But here he says it's the power of of God into salvation. In Philippians 2:16, notice what the gospel is called. Philippians 2:16. Holding forth the word of life, the name I have wherewith to glory in the day of Christ, the Word of life. It's the Gospel, you see, the Word that gives new life, that is the power that brings salvation. 2nd Timothy 1:10. But hath now been manifested by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, through the good news, through the Word. He abolished death and brought immortality to life. We have a very important doctrine in systematic theology when we study redemption. It's the doctrine of effectual calling. It is the doctrine that says God calls from heaven to the heart of his elect people. And they respond. It's effectual. When God calls, you return the call. When he bids you to come, you come. So effectual calling and all the verses that support it also show us the power of God's word in salvation. Second Thessalonians 2:14. Paul says, God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Whereunto he called you through our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. God calls his word, changes hearts and draws us in our second Timothy 1:9 another illustration who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal. He called us to be Christians and to belong to the Savior. I started this evening by suggesting to you Man's word is very ineffectual. We can't just say things abracadabra and they happen. We can't accomplish what we want. We invite people to do things, sometimes they say no. We order people to do things, sometimes they don't follow our Word. We can't even speak clearly and effectively and accomplish everything that we want when we're simply trying to communicate. Man's Word is ineffectual, but God's Word, it created the heavens and the earth. God's Word, it providentially controls everything that happens. God's Word is central to his works of judgment. God's Word is Central to the miracles that he does. God's Word is central to the salvation and grace that he brings. I'd like to extend this just a bit further. We've been talking about in a sense, the metaphysical word of God. That is the word of God that is spoken to control the universe. The reality as it were, is formed by and governed by God's doing something. God causes things to happen by speaking His Word. But we also know that God's word is found here in the Bible. It's not the Bible that created the world or controls creation. It's God in heaven speaking His Word. Okay, but what I want you to see is the power of the Bible too, as the inscripturated word of God. This is something we often miss. Hebrews 4:12. Hebrews 4:12 says for the Word of God, referring to the Scriptures. The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. What kind of word is this? I maintain that one of the reasons people have a hard time reading their Bibles every day and doing devotions is because they have not really come to grips with the power of the Scriptures. We open the Bible and we think we're discerning it. Bible says no. God's Word's discerning you and that's hard on you. God's applying a weapon as it were, a tool to you. A sword that divides right down to the joint, joints in the marrow as it were, quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword. That's how powerful this word is. That's why we really do need to get close to it and read it and be discerned by it and be changed by it. You all know that I'm not a mystic.

I don't believe in religious ritual and superstition.

But I'm not talking mysticism when I.

Say that one of the reasons you should read your Bibles every day is.

Not simply to get more information, but.

To be changed people.

Because the Bible doesn't simply guide us, it also goads us.

If you don't mind me putting it.

That way, the Bible is power. It pushes you into a more sanctified life. And I dare say it does that even when we don't completely understand the.

Passage that we've read.

But we get close to God when we read His Word and being close to God means you are empowered, you are pushed to be more holy, you are goaded to lead a better life. There is power in the written word that no other human word has. You can take the most stirring passages of Shakespeare, any other author you want, and they do not have the power of the Scriptures to goad us into godliness, to change us and sanctify us. And of course, this is an enduring word. Matthew 24:35 assures us of the power of God's word in the sense that it endures all changes and the vicissitudes of time. Matthew 24:35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. You're dealing with. I mean, think about that. Think about the mountains, the Saddleback Mountains out here. They're. They're pretty awesome. Think about the High Sierras or the Rocky Mountains. They will eventually, eventually pass away, but not these words. Jesus said my words won't pass away. The enduring power of God's word has to be reckoned with. So now with that background, you see the power of God speaking and creation and providence and judgment, in miracles and grace and mercy. When you see the power even of the written word that we've been talking about. Let's go Back to Isaiah 55 as we conclude our series tonight and see what Isaiah is saying to us about the power of God's Word. Whereas the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts than your thoughts. For just as rain and snow come down, and water the earth, earth, and make it bring forth in bud, and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Just as the rain accomplishes something when it falls on the earth, so shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth. My word is all the more effectual than rain and snow. It shall not return unto me void. You ever seen the rain come down on earth and just pop back into heaven and not do something, not accomplish something. Even if it's just making weeds to grow, the rain does something. And so God's word will do something. It shall accomplish that which I please. It shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. God assures us that his intended purposes will always be accomplished. If the providential word of God is so effective in the rain and the snow, how can the saving word of God be any less powerful, any less successful? It doesn't come back to him in vain. It succeeds in accomplishing whatever he intended. And what is it that God intends for His Word to do. Not only do you see the awesome power of God's Word when you study its general characteristics, creating the world and so forth, controlling all of history, but God says he's going to do something which is beyond human imagination. And I can assure you it's beyond human imagination, because I am constantly preaching this message to people who go away.

Saying, oh, it can't happen. It just can't happen.

God says that he will bring the blessing of restoration to his people, and he will establish a joyous kingdom that will be so great that even the mountains, as it were, will jump for joy. Look what he says. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void. It shall accomplish that which I please. It shall pursue, prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it for you shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing. All the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree. Where there was curse, there will be blessing. Instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree. And it shall be to Jehovah for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. God is going to bring about, through the restoration of his people, an everlasting sign of joy and salvation that will make even all the creation sing for joy. Is that possible? Can he do that? Isis? You better believe it.

You know he can do it.

Because God's word never comes back empty. And he commands that the Jews will go back to the the land. He commands that his covenant will be established and an eternal kingdom of joy put there. If he commands it, it shall be. There will be no doubt about it, as he says here, so my word shall be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return unto me void. It shall accomplish that which I please. And now listen to this. It shall prosper in the faith whereunto I sent it. God's word will prosper in bringing salvation in the kingdom of the Messiah. Isaiah 46, 10. Let me read verse nine to give the context God declares, remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is none else. I am God, there is none like unto me. Which is to say, there are no obstacles to me doing what I want to do. I have no competition. Nothing stands in my way declaring the end. From the beginning and from ancient times, things that are not yet done saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my. People sometimes Say, do you really think that the Gospel can conquer the world? God can do all his pleasure. If that is God's desire, it will be done. And there are so many verses that tell you that is his desire. There shouldn't be any doubt in anybody's mind. Isaiah 53:10 the prosperity of God's Word.

Word.

Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt bake his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand. I don't know what Christian churches that preach that history must always go downhill. It's got to be constantly a losing battle for God's people. It says right here that the pleasure of Jehovah will prosper in the hand of the Messiah. What's the next verse say? He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied by the knowledge of himself. Shall my righteous servant justify many. Jesus will not have suffered in vain. God's pleasure will prosper in his hand. He will see his suffering. He'll be satisfied that it accomplished what he wished for it to accomplish. Ultimately, the Word that will prosper and not come back to God void will accomplish a great subduing of the world. Isaiah 45:23. By myself have I sworn. The word has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return unto me, that every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Isn't that amazing? God says, look, this word is to gone forth from my mouth. It's not going to come back to me. It's going to go out there and do exactly what I have intended for it to do. And he swears that this will happen. Do you see the offense of people who do not believe that the Gospel will accomplish the subduing of the world? God says, I've sworn that I will do this. My word won't come back. Every shall bow, every tongue shall confess. And he will subdue the world by his power. Isaiah 11:9 tells us that the earth will be full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea. The day is coming when the knowledge of the Lord will be so widespread that it will equal that of Noah's flood. And where God once flooded the world in judgment, he shall now flood the world with the knowledge of himself and grace and salvation. Do you believe that's possible? You listen to the news tonight. Read about the sin and the crime and the rebellion and the hatred and the unbelief, the disobedience in this world. And you look around and say, it just can't happen until you learn to think like Isaiah taught the Jews to think. Don't you see? God's ways are above our ways and his thoughts are above our thoughts. And as a perfect illustration of that, God says, just consider my Word. It never comes back to me void. It will always accomplish that which I intend. It will prosper, prosper in the thing.

That I sent it to do.

And so when God says, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, and the day is coming when the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth, and you say, that's beyond human imagination, in a sense, the answer is amen.

It is. It's way beyond anything that we could expect, anything that we would naturally anticipate happening based on our own considerations, our own reasoning and our own power. But praise God, His Word is not like our word, ineffectual, often not hitting the mark, not accomplishing what we want it to. His Word never comes back to him. Void.

And that concludes then my theological exposition of what it means that God's thoughts are above our thoughts.

What a rich theological concept we many applications more that we can consider.

The next time somebody tells you that.

The Trinity and predestination just aren't possible because they can't understand it, remind them of Isaiah 55. My thoughts are above your thoughts. The next time somebody tells you that the way God is controlling this world and bringing about his purposes, the way he is controlling their own life and the suffering they're going through, just doesn't make any sense, remind them that the wisdom of God is above our own thinking.

The next time they say that the.

Laws of God don't fit into the way we do things, they kind of violate our natural human way of thinking and behaving. Say, that's exactly what you'd expect because his thoughts are above our thoughts. His holiness is beyond us as well. The next time somebody says, well, God couldn't possibly forgive. He couldn't be that gracious to an unrighteous person. Person such as me or somebody else is coming to the Lord, you remind them he does things in a way that we don't do. His thoughts are above our thoughts, and that's why his grace is amazing to us. The next time someone says, and I don't think that grace can conquer the world. I mean, there's just too much sin and rebellion. Just remind them of the power of God's Word. It never comes back to him void. For as the heavens are above the earth, so are my thoughts above your thoughts. Memorize that. Roll it around in your mouth. Meditate on it.

Chew on it. Meditate. And bring it, you know, to mind.

When your faith is challenged.

Bring it to mind when, as a Christian, you say, oh, I've really, you.

Know, I know all this stuff and it's really Old Hatton me.

Renew that sense of wonder and the.

Mystery and awe that we have when we stand before God, such a God as this, whose thoughts are higher than ours. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you tonight for the encouragement of your Word. We do pray that your word might powerfully change us, change our attitudes and our outlook and our perspective. We pray that we would be ever mindful in faith that your own word created the whole heavens and control everything, even to the flames of fire and the rain that we see. Help us to stand in awe as we see how your Word is used in judgment as a weapon against even the nations and will one day judge this whole world. Help us to stand before you and wonder as we think about way in which your own son could simply speak and the lame were able to walk and the blind could see and even the waves and the winds obeyed his voice. Help us to stand in awe and wonder and gratitude when we see that it's by your word that you call us to yourself through the gospel, which is the very power of God and to salvation. Help us then to be believing and submissive to you when we hear that your Word will always do what you want it to do. And what you have sent it to do is to change this world and to bring it back to you to subdue all opposition so that every knee would bow and every tongue would confess that truly Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. We pray that you would humble us before the power of your Word, that we would stand awe in awe of it and that we would remember all the lessons that we've had in this series, that we might thank you over and over and over again that you have given us this precious truth that we've been studying. We do ask that this truth would also change our lives and draw us close to you and help us to know the sweetness of salvation and the security of your Word. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Draw the distinction for me between God speaking something into existence.

Well, I don't know that I would draw a terribly big distinction between willing things into existence and speaking them. I would simply say that when the Bible says God wills for something to come about. He accomplishes that in some sense through speaking. God utters it and it becomes what.

It is.

In the sense that you will or thinks about something, then speaks. It is the method of making it happen. But he does without willingness, in and of itself, without speaking. It doesn't make it happen.

The biblical picture is that God accomplishes his will by speaking. And so again, I wouldn't want to say that he. Somebody says, oh, he can't just will it into existence. Well, it's not like there are rules, mechanical rules, that are upon God. It's that this is the kind of God we have when God wills he is speaking it into existence. And so it would be better for us thinking analogously of God to imagine ourselves saying things abracadabra and it happens, than for ourselves to imagine that we have reflected on something. We have a thought in our head and then it happens. The closer biblical analogy is to the speaking it. But of course, he certainly wills it into existence as well. It's just that his will is accomplished through speaking. You might think of God the Father as willing things, and then God the Son is the Word that is the pattern and meaning that sets that in motion, and it's the Holy Spirit that gives power and brings it about. In that sense, then you have God the Father as the speaker. Jesus the Son is the Word and the Spirit is the breath that drives that word home to its accomplished end. There wouldn't be in that sense a sharp distinction between God willing and speaking, because it's that kind of God who does his willing through speaking. Glenn.

God doesn't have a body or throat or voice. What do we mean by God speaking? The whole thing is kind of an analogy type of thing.

What do you think it means?

Well, it has to be a literal sound, you know, whenever God does. I don't think you mean that. I don't think the Bible means that.

No, neither do I. But what do you think the Bible means when it says God sees things, yet God doesn't have a physical eye? You say it's easier. I don't think it's any easier. The thing is that God speaks to us in metaphors and analogies from our own experience. We'll understand what he is like. But obviously what does. Isaiah says his thoughts are above our.

Thoughts and his ways are above our ways.

For all of our, as it were, childish analogies, we don't come anywhere close to comprehending the mystery of who God is and how he operates. But we have to think according to the metaphors he gives us and the ones he has given us include, he sees without a body, he hears without a body, he speaks without a body. Well, it would take us deep into the mind body problem and philosophy that go into it.

A lot of people have trouble, and.

I do as well, once you get down to it. Imagining people thinking without a body too. Not that it won't happen. I do believe in the intermediate state and that we're with God and absent from our body. But everything we know is tied to a body. And when people talk about thinking, if they want to gesture about thinking, they always go like this, right? You stop and think about it. They're pointing to a physical thing, brain tissue, as a matter of fact. Thinking, however, is not simply brain tissue. In fact, it's categorically different than brain tissue because it's immaterial. And so I'm not sure that it is, once you analyze it, even so much easier. But if you find it easier, that's okay with me. Just remember the biblical metaphor is that of God speaking things into existence, not thinking them into existence.