Unveiling the Living Word: Beyond Written Texts

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Greetings, friends and new listeners. I’m Sharon Knotts, welcoming you to The Sound of Faith, because we know faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Today’s message is part of an in-depth study entitled The Spoken Word Series, which includes teaching on the creative Word of God, because everything that’s created visible and invisible, God spoke into being. also the living word, the revelation of the two-mouthed sword of the Spirit, which is the spoken word of God when we speak what God has quickened to our spirits. This teaching is the culmination of my own personal journey from a place of deep despair to an authorized and dynamized deputy of the spoken word of God. Last week we began our message on the spoken word of God. We had part one, the creative word, which was the foundation. Today in part two, we will begin the living word, which is the revelation. And next session we will… Have part three, which is application. But today I’m going to give you four hallmark verses of scripture. And these are each powerful on their own. And when we put them together, they create the whole of the heart of this message, the living word. And our first hallmark verse is John 6, 63. And this is Jesus speaking. And we went to great length last session to talk about the fact that he is the word of God who existed. In ages past, from everlasting to everlasting, we know Him as Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh. Amen? That was the beginning of creation, but not the beginning of the Word of God. Because we learned that in fact, everything that’s created, seen and unseen, visible and invisible… was created by the spoken word of God. So we already have Jesus having become flesh. We learned that last time. So today we’re going to read John 6, 63. The whole chapter of John 6 is powerful. It’s a discourse between Jesus and the Pharisees. And you understand, I’m sure by history, that the Pharisees and the scribes knew the old covenant. They knew the word of God really inside and out. And they were always trying to catch Jesus in his words. And they were always going back to the old covenant. But here we have a revelation that Jesus says in John 6, 63. It is the spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit. And they are life. Now last week I had you do a little exercise when we took the pronouns him and he. Anytime they referred to the word of God, we replaced them with the word of God to make it more emphatic in our spirit. I’m going to do that with this verse. I’m going to take the pronouns they and I’m going to put what the word is that stands for it is the words. Jesus said the words, so let’s read it again. It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak unto you, the words are spirit and the words are life. The word quickeneth there, you may know this, but I’ll just tell you in case you don’t, is an old English word that means make alive. It means to be alive, to be animated, to be breathing, your heart is pumping. So the spirit… makes alive. The flesh profits or benefits nothing. Spiritually speaking, the flesh profits nothing. But Jesus said, the words that I speak, my words are spirit and my words are life. That means literally then from Genesis 1-1 to Revelation 22-1, the words of this Bible, especially the red letter words, that we find in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the first few chapters of Revelation. They are the actual words of Jesus Christ. They are living because the author is living. The author is eternally alive and his life is in the words that he spoke. Now, if you’re like me, you may have read many books. I love to read. I’m a voracious reader. And I have read many books and I have been moved by books and I have been impacted by books. And books have influenced me to change things in my life. And I’ve had books that I still remember from when I read them in grade school. But no book that I have ever read, no book has ever given me life. No matter how interesting that book may have been, there is no book that has life in it but the words of Jesus Christ, the words of God in this Bible. Amen? Let’s slip over to John the 12th chapter real quick and read two verses there. John 12, verse 49 and verse 50. For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father which sent me. He gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting. Whatsoever I speak, therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. We can also add, we can just tag right on to the end of this. Whatsoever I speak, therefore, it is life. Because we just read it that he said, it’s life everlasting. So again, bringing home the point that the word of God, the words especially that Jesus spoke, they are life. So every time that you read in the scriptures and you see the word speak or say or any one of its synonyms, then you really need to pay attention because Because something is going to be released. Something’s going to be activated when Jesus says, I say unto you, or when he just speaks. Amen. He wants us to know how vital his words are because everything he spoke, everything he said, he said, I was given that of my father. I was given that commandment by my father. Now we understand that Jesus knew the old law inside and out just by virtue of the fact that as a human being, he was a Jew. Amen. And all Jewish boys, they have to learn the Pentateuch. They have to learn the first five books of Moses. And by the time they have their bar mitzvah at age 13, they have to be able to recite from the book of Moses. Amen? And so he would have known the scriptures just because he came as a Jewish boy. But we have to understand that in addition to that, he said, now everything I’m telling you now in this new covenant, I received from my father. This is direct from heaven. This is from my father. And we know that scripture tells us that Jesus rose up early in the morning long before day, long before he showed up in the temple to teach and to minister. He had spent hours with his father. Amen. And his father gave him what to say and what to do. I personally believe that by the time that Jesus reached Jerusalem and the temple, he already knew what was going to transpire that day. I believe he had already seen it before he left. where he was and wherever he was in his devotional time with the Lord. Amen. I believe just like when he came to Lazarus’ tomb and he said, I’m going to pray this prayer, but I’m not praying it for me. I already know what you’re going to do. I’m praying it for the sake of those standing by. I believe he already knew that he saw already that he was to go to there and he was to say, take me to the tomb. Take me to the place where he’s buried. He was going to say, Lazarus, come forth. So he said, everything that I speak, I have received of my father. Amen. So the first hallmark verse was John 6, 63. The words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are a life. Now let’s turn to 2 Timothy, the third chapter, verses 16 and 17. And we’re going to see the next, the second hallmark verse, this four verses I’m going to give you today. So we will read in 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17. “…all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect…” And by the way, that’s women too. “…may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” And the word perfect there is explained, the definition is given right there in the scripture. So don’t be thinking perfect that you’re flawless and impeccable. It gives you what the meaning is. You’re thoroughly furnished unto all good works. In other words, you’re ready for anything that comes. You’re ready. No matter what comes at you or comes to you, you are ready because you have the scripture that you need, whether it’s for doctrine, whether it’s for proof, correction, instruction, righteousness, you have it all in the word of God. So the word of God, the scripture is given by inspiration. The word inspiration is important. In the Greek, it is theonoustos, theonoustos. Theonoustos. And it breaks down to God-breathed. That’s the best way to define it. God-breathed, God’s breath is what it means. Amen? God did not just breathe into his word. But he breathed, when he uses people like me and preachers and teachers and uses you even when you testify, and all of a sudden this anointing comes on you and the scriptures start coming out of you and sometimes you surprise yourself because here comes these scriptures that you really didn’t know you knew that well and they’re the, oh wow, they’re the perfect one for this occasion. Did that come out of your brain? It came out of your spirit. God breathed his word in you. But here’s the thing about it. When God breathed his word, he actually literally breathed a part of himself in it. Amen? Just like we know that when God created man, he formed him in the earth and he was beautiful, he was perfect, he was just, oh, look at this beautiful sculpture. But until God breathed into it, it was just a beautiful, inanimate sculpture. But when he breathed into it the breath of life, and I’ve told you this before, I’m quoting from Genesis 2-7, your Bible says life as in singular, but the Hebrew says lives as in plural. because he breathed in man a double life, a natural physical life and a spiritual life. The problem was that when Adam sinned, the spiritual life became dead. And that’s why after that, we’re all born dead. We’re born dead spiritually, dead in trespasses and sin. But when we become born again… Then by the Spirit of God, he breathes what was lost. Through Adam’s sin, we regain, amen, when we become born again. So God breathed a part of himself. And I say this because even talking about Adam, the Scripture says in Job, Job 33, 4, the Almighty has created me, the Spirit of God has given me life. Amen. So he breathed into us. So when God breathed his word, this is what he did. He took his word. Got it upside down here. Now my breath is in this balloon. How many know that? Amen. And you know that today with the wonders of science, that they have found out that they can get some of your DNA from your breath. And I got to tell you something, I practiced on this balloon because it was hard to blow it up at first. So I blew it up a few times because I didn’t want to get in here and not blow up. So I had to practice a few times, and I guarantee you folks, there’s some spit in this balloon. You can’t blow up a balloon really that’s hard to blow up without some of your spit getting released. And I know for certain that they can get your DNA from your spit. How many know that’s a scientific fact? So how many know where we’re going now? See, when God breathed his word out, some of his spit got in that word. Amen. Amen. His DNA is in his word. And that’s why his word is alive and active. Amen. That’s why it’s alive. That’s why Jesus said the words I speak unto you. They are spirit and they are life. It’s in the Word. His breath is in the Word. His DNA is in the Word. Amen. So when God breathes it into us and we speak it out, it is a living thing. It’s not inanimate words on a paper. It is the breath of God. And saints, I’ll tell you, that is why the Bible is not boring. It’s not a dead letter. Amen? It’s the devil who put out the idea that the Bible is boring. It’s so tedious to read. It’s so hard to read. And you just can’t. You fall asleep when you read it. And you’ve already got that thought in your mind, so you fall asleep when you read it. Amen. You think to yourself, I just can’t read this, especially the King James Version. Those these and thous and yees and yees, they get me all mixed up. Well, I will say this to you. If that is true, that you really have a hard time with the King James, I love the King James. I think it’s poetic. And there are some things in the King James you will not see in other places. Those yees and those these and thous, they’re important. Amen. Because other versions are going to say you. You can mean just you, or you can mean everybody sitting here. You don’t know. You don’t know if I mean just her, you, or all of you. You have to try to figure that out. But when you say thou, that’s singular. Yeah. Amen? When you say thou, I say, and that’s why the Ten Commandments are so powerful. He didn’t say, you shall not. Let’s go to King James. Ye shall not. He said, thou shall not. He brought it down to individual responsibility. So that’s why I love the King James. However, having said that, if you truly say, well, my brain just cannot get those straight, well, I would say try it now. Think about that. Think about the fact that thee and thou, whether it’s singular or plural, you might actually start enjoying it. But if you really do stumble over it, don’t make that cause you to quit reading your Bible. Then go get the new King James Version. And they take these and the vows out and put the you in, and it’s closer than some of the other ones. It’s closer to the King James. They just modernized it. So far from being a chore to read or boring, I’m telling you that the Bible is the most fascinating. The most interesting book I have ever read. And it is so truthful. And the thing about the Bible is it doesn’t cover up all the mistakes that people made. If I was writing the Bible, I would have everybody perfect. And I wouldn’t tell you about the stuff they did. I wouldn’t tell you how David messed up so bad. I would leave that out of my book. But you see, because God has it all in there, he’s trying to tell you I’m not covering up anything. I got in there the good, the bad, and the ugly. Because I’m telling you the truth. And it also points all the more greater to, I said more greater, that’s wrong. It points even greater to the fact of redemption. Amen? And let me tell you, there’s nothing outdated in this Bible. That’s the next big lie. I wish you Christians would get your Bible and drag it into the 21st century. The Bible is not outdated. You know why? It’s a living document. It’s living. So it’s not outdated because it is. It was when it was written and it is. It was written over a period of about, I don’t know if it’s 1,500 years or 2,500 years. I didn’t know I was going to say this, but it’s one of those. By 40 different people. Some were shepherds and some were kings. Amen? And so this word is living. It’s just as appropriate now than ever. Now, there may not be a specific word about a specific sin that exists today because those particular circumstances did not exist back then. But there is a principle. There is a principle that will cover it. Amen? Amen? There is a principle that will cover it, that will answer that question, because God’s word is a living document. Said all scripture, somebody say all. All. How many know all leaves nothing out? It doesn’t mean you get to skip over the parts you don’t want to read. All scripture is profitable. All scripture is beneficial for you and for me. Now, I had an argument with the Lord about this one time because there was a period when I was just going right through the Bible. Genesis to Revelation, go back and start over again, reading straight through. The Lord had me do this because, you know, before that I would just read a little here, a little there, read here, there, and everywhere. But there were some parts of the Bible I may not read for a couple years because I kept reading the parts I liked. I kept reading the parts that I liked. So some of that stuff was getting foggy up here. And so I started disciplining myself to read all the way through. And I will say this. I’ll just throw it out to anybody here or not here who may hear this later. Until you’ve read the Bible all the way through, you do not have any right to argue any point. Amen. Do not come to me with some argument about any point until you’ve read it all the way through. Because you don’t know some things, and there’s some things you’ve got to know before you can know some things. Amen. I guarantee you, you read it all the way through and you’ll start getting a lot of questions answered. Even in those parts that you think, ah, these are really boring. And I, you know, you’ve heard me say this. I don’t, I didn’t like, oh, I’m going to change that. I didn’t used to like to read the book of Leviticus. Because I thought to myself, Lord, why do I have to know how many screws and curtain hooks and how many cubits this and that? That is so boring and I don’t see where that benefits me. So I’m going to skip over Leviticus next time around. I’m just going to go, I like Genesis. Oh, I love Genesis. My favorite Old Testament book is Genesis. And I love Exodus. I mean, it’s great. But I can do without Leviticus. Because it not only tells you how many screws and how many this and that, it tells you two times. And instead of saying what I just said, no, it tells you everything all over again. Word for word. So you not only read it, sometimes you read some of those things twice. And I said, Lord, I don’t see, I don’t see how that I need to be reading that. And he brought this verse to me. All scripture is profitable for you that you may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works. And instead of just receiving that and getting up and starting reading Leviticus, I said, but Lord, I don’t see how it profits me. I don’t see how it profits me to know about these silver hooks, etc. And he said to me, to my spirit, he said, I’m a God of precision. I’m a God of order. And I want you to see that just like I demanded precision and order down to the minute detail in that earthly tabernacle, and you are… the temple of God, how much more am I going to require that you be orderly and precise and beautified? He said to my spirit, I am a master craftsman. I do all things well and beautiful. I’m not a jack leg. And that meant something to me. I remember growing up as a kid hearing my mother and father say, oh, he’s just a jack leg. Don’t get him to do your work anymore. He just slops it together and makes it look good and it falls apart and this doesn’t work and that breaks down and he’s just a jack leg. God said, I’m not a jack leg, and I knew exactly what he meant then. Amen? I don’t do anything sloppy. I only use the best materials, and what I do, I do perfectly. So I got the message that God’s word, every part of it, even the book of Leviticus, is profitable for me. Because the Bible is not the book of the month. It’s not the book of the year. How many of you see that? They’ll be coming up with the book of the year pretty soon. It’s the book of the ages. Because it’s from everlasting to infinity is God’s word. Men did not write the word on their own. The scripture tells us in Peter that they were moved by the Holy Spirit. And that word actually means carried about. Now their physical body, I’m sure, was sitting down at a table with paper, parchment, and pen. But their spirit was in heavenly places. Though they were up there and God was just dictating to their spirit. Amen? And we know that even now that God sometimes gives words of wisdom and words of knowledge and prophecy and tongues and interpretation of tongues, etc. We have that now in the body of Christ. And that’s very similar to what went on when men wrote the holy word of God. But we know it’s done and it’s finished. He said nothing’s to be taken away and nothing’s to be added. Amen? So there will not be a book of Sharon coming out any time or a book of R.G. Hardy. And if somebody does come out with one, you need to be very suspicious. Amen. Now, I will tell you this. Sometimes when I’m preparing my messages or preparing things, even when I’m writing out cards to send to people, I sit down with no premeditated thought in my mind. I just sit down and start off with something. You know, please know the Lord put you on my heart today. And from there on, whatever comes, I write. Whatever thought comes, whatever scripture verse comes, I write. And that’s it. I didn’t think about what I was going to say. I put it in the mail. I send it. And I forgot about it. And many times people will come to me and say, Sister Sharon, that scripture was a confirmation to me. And I’ll be standing there thinking, oh, Lord, what was the scripture? I have no idea. Because once I release it, it’s gone. And I’m thinking, I hope they don’t ask me to be specific here because I’ll have to ask them, well, what is it? Because I don’t remember. All right. Amen? But most of the time I’ll just say, well, I’m really glad that the Lord let me help you. And that’s that. Amen? Now, where did these things come from? Did they come out of my brain? No. They came from my spirit. Every word is out of the mouth of God. Remember what God told the children of Israel when they were coming to the end of their journey and Moses was getting ready to go to be with God. And Moses said… He spoke and he told them, I’ll just refer you to it. It’s Deuteronomy 8.3. He says, and he humbled you and suffered you to hunger. And he fed you with manna, which you did not know. Neither did your fathers know that he might make you to know that man does not live by bread alone. but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. God didn’t give them a seed to plant. He didn’t give them a seed to grow a crop or harvest the grain or grind it or bake it as bread. It came straight down from heaven already as bread. God probably said, let there be bread. No, let me fix that. He probably said, bread be. Amen? Amen? And by the same token, God gave his word to Moses… Moses wrote them down, but they weren’t his words. They were God’s words. And see, what was the whole point of the manna? What was the point of it? Just to feed them? No. The point was to show them just like this bread came straight from heaven. Man had nothing to do with it. Man didn’t plant a seed. Man didn’t grow a crop. Man didn’t harvest a grain. Man did not put it in the oven and bake it. Man did not touch it. Amen. Moses did not make this bread. It came straight out of the mouth of God. And God wanted that to show them the word that I give to Moses now to give to you. I want you to understand that this law that he’s about to deliver to you is not coming out of Moses. It’s coming right from my mouth. Just like the manna came from heaven, these words came from heaven. Jesus, and if you had read all of John 6, he had this big discourse with the Pharisees. And they kept, you know, trying to revert back to the old covenant. And they said, well, you need to show us a sign that you are who you say you are. Show us a sign because, you know, our fathers were in the wilderness. And he gave them bread to eat from heaven. And Jesus corrected them and said, Moses didn’t give you that bread. All right. My father in heaven gave you that bread. And I want to tell you, I am the bread. I am the bread. I am the bread come down from heaven that if a man will eat of this bread, he shall have everlasting life. Amen. And Jesus said in John the sixth chapter seven times, seven times, he said, I am the true bread from heaven that gives life. So this word of God is alive. Amen. I really hope you’re being blessed and spiritually enlightened by this teaching, the spoken word series. This revelation was forged in my spirit during a time of prolonged suffering in my body, which triggered emotional and mental anguish. I had always had a strong spirit of faith, but after being homebound and bedridden, I despaired. And in my distress, I begged God for a word to hold on to. And he gave me John 15, 7. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, You will ask what you will and it shall be done. Honestly, I was disappointed. I wanted something more dramatic. But then I began to get this revelation of God’s spoken word. And gradually as I put it into practice, I overcame the attacks of the adversary. The foundation is the creative word. The word of God literally spoke everything into existence. He framed the worlds and he upholds all things by the word of his power. The revelation is the authority that Jesus, the word of God, made flesh and dwelt amongst us, had himself and gave to us to speak the word as a sharp two-edged sword against the enemy. The literal Greek says two-mouthed sword. One mouth is God’s and the second is mine or yours. When we speak forth the word that God quickens to our spirits… This creates the one weapon against which Satan has no defense. Rhema is not a magical formula. It is the active living word of God, a word from the word that comes out of our mouth. The application is the illumination of Jesus’ own ministry by which he demonstrated faith in his own spoken word and its unlimited authority over time and distance when he sent his word and he healed them. Friends, I urge you to order the spoken word series. The complete set is a 3D set. Offer SK-136. That’s SK136. Please send a minimum love gift of $15 to The Sound of Faith. P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. Or order online at soundoffaith.org, where you may also order on MP3. But to order the Spoken Word Series by mail, send your minimum love gift of $15 to P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. Request offer SK136. Until next time, this is Sharon Knott saying, Maranatha.