World-Changing Words -- FPC sermon excerpt
“That’s just words.”
I know you’ve heard people say this, usually with a sneer and a wave of the hand. Maybe you’ve said it yourself. We’ve all been told at one time or another that what’s important is deeds … not words.
But watch out. When we give priority to deeds, we miss the importance of words. The fact is, words have real power.
I really do believe this. From beginning to end, the Bible speaks of the power of what God accomplishes through a word. “In the beginning was the Word,” says the Gospel of John — in the beginning was the Word, not the Deed. And “the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1).
Genesis reports that “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (1:3). God did not build a light-generating machine, but instead God spoke light into being. Then God did the same for the sky, the land, the seas, the plants, the animals, and even humankind itself. On each of the days of creation, God spoke a truly creative word.
According to the prophet Isaiah, God insists that “my word … shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose” (55:11). For God, there is no distinction between deeds and words. For God, words are deeds — God’s words actually accomplish God’s goals.
Words are not empty, according to God. They have real power. And we know this; we feel it. Just think of the power of the words, “I forgive you.” “I love you.” “I welcome you.”
Words can heal and embrace and include.
The significance of God’s word reaches its peak in the New Testament, where we learn that God’s “Word became flesh and lived among us” as Jesus (John 1:14). No longer limited to speech, God’s Word actually takes human form, becomes incarnate, and begins to walk among us as a living and breathing expression of God’s grace and truth. Word and deed and flesh and spirit all come together in Jesus, to show us what God desires for us. “No one has ever seen God,” claims John in his gospel. “It is God the only Son … who has made him known” (1:18).
Word. It shall not return to God empty, but shall accomplish God’s goals. Word. It became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth. Word. It walks the earth as Jesus, reaching out with forgiveness and love and hospitality.
Words have power to bring light into darkness, accomplish God’s purposes, and deliver a much-needed message of grace and truth. They can be seriously powerful, right, and good. They can even change the world.
I know you’ve heard people say this, usually with a sneer and a wave of the hand. Maybe you’ve said it yourself. We’ve all been told at one time or another that what’s important is deeds … not words.
But watch out. When we give priority to deeds, we miss the importance of words. The fact is, words have real power.
I really do believe this. From beginning to end, the Bible speaks of the power of what God accomplishes through a word. “In the beginning was the Word,” says the Gospel of John — in the beginning was the Word, not the Deed. And “the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1).
Genesis reports that “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (1:3). God did not build a light-generating machine, but instead God spoke light into being. Then God did the same for the sky, the land, the seas, the plants, the animals, and even humankind itself. On each of the days of creation, God spoke a truly creative word.
According to the prophet Isaiah, God insists that “my word … shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose” (55:11). For God, there is no distinction between deeds and words. For God, words are deeds — God’s words actually accomplish God’s goals.
Words are not empty, according to God. They have real power. And we know this; we feel it. Just think of the power of the words, “I forgive you.” “I love you.” “I welcome you.”
Words can heal and embrace and include.
The significance of God’s word reaches its peak in the New Testament, where we learn that God’s “Word became flesh and lived among us” as Jesus (John 1:14). No longer limited to speech, God’s Word actually takes human form, becomes incarnate, and begins to walk among us as a living and breathing expression of God’s grace and truth. Word and deed and flesh and spirit all come together in Jesus, to show us what God desires for us. “No one has ever seen God,” claims John in his gospel. “It is God the only Son … who has made him known” (1:18).
Word. It shall not return to God empty, but shall accomplish God’s goals. Word. It became flesh and lived among us, full of grace and truth. Word. It walks the earth as Jesus, reaching out with forgiveness and love and hospitality.
Words have power to bring light into darkness, accomplish God’s purposes, and deliver a much-needed message of grace and truth. They can be seriously powerful, right, and good. They can even change the world.
posted by Henry Brinton | 6:10 PM
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