sword. Take the sword. That's the commandment of God,
the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 6 verse 17. Take the sword. This book is referred to as by
numerous pictures and emblems throughout the pages of the book
because of its many, many usages and benefits. It is a lamp to
light our pathway, to guide us in our steps. It is a fire to
inflame and warm our souls. It falls as the dew of heaven
to comfort our hearts. It is a hammer to smash and destroy
our pride and the idolatry that's in us and in the world. And in
Ephesians 6, verse 17, it's called a sword. A sword we must take
because we're in war. It is not enough simply to stand
our ground and not be conquered. It is our responsibility to conquer. We're not merely to defend our
place, our position, our doctrine, our ground. We're to assail the
enemy. We are not only to take the helmet
to protect our heads, but God the Holy Ghost tells us to take
the sword. The sword is for assaulting the
enemy. Ours is a stern conflict. We must stand and withstand and
we must assail and conquer. Therefore we must make the sword
our weapon and have it in our hands all the time. The defense
of Zion's walls and the defense of our souls and our assault
of the gates of hell and our conquest over the world, the
flesh and the devil. is to be obtained by stern, relentless
fighting. Many try to compromise. Compromise
is the way of the day. But for faithful souls, for faithful
souls, compromise is out of the question. With regard to all
things spiritual, with regard to the word of God, The truth
of God, the glory of God, the doctrine of God for faithful
souls. Compromise is out of the question. You see, believers seek more
than the approval of men and the applause of men, and God's
servants seek something indescribably more than the approval of men
and the applause of men. We seek the will of God and the
glory of God. We're not interested at all and
what the world thinks of what we're doing or what the world
thinks of us in what we're doing. Our concern is for God's glory. And you and I must be, but especially
God's preachers, every preacher of the gospel must be like Moses
in Pharaoh's court. Pharaoh tried again and again
and again. Moses just, you compromise a
little here and we get along. You just take off a little here
and we get along. Just shave off a little bit here
and we get along. And Moses said, no sir, we're
leaving here on God's terms, exactly as God said, and you're
gonna find out who God is. That's the attitude with which
God's people and especially God's servants must deal with all things
in this world. The language of deceit simply
isn't suitable for a blood-bought tongue. Our adversary the devil
is the father of lies and those who are with him understand the
craftiness of deceit and deception. But God's saints abhor it. If
we discuss terms of peace and attempt to gain something by
compromise and compliance, we've entered into a course of shame
and disgrace. Let it not happen with me. Let
it not happen with you. Let it not happen with this congregation. I had an early appointment this
morning with one of my doctors over in Lexington, and we didn't
have to wait very long to get in. waiting in the lobby of the
doctor's office over at UK. Ran into a man and his wife,
and we got to chatting a little bit. They live far from here,
one of the local churches, and he began to talk about the church. And history said, you know, the
folks come in, and then they leave, have pretty good crowd
on Sunday, but it's different people every Sunday. It's folks
come and go, folks come and go. And he began to talk about, Like
some statements that used to be the church influenced the
world, but now seems like the world influences the church.
And so I decided to put my two cents worth in and got called
back to the office where I can get more than a half a cent out.
But I said, the problem's twofold. The problem's twofold. Churches
want men in the pulpit who produce results. And preachers have no
backbone. That's the sum total of it. That's
the sum total of it. They asked me where I preached. I said, Grace Baptist Church.
They called my name. I said, I'll tell you what you
can be sure of. As long as I'm alive and in that pulpit, you
come to Grace Church, you're going to have nothing but preaching,
sing God's praise, pray, and go home. That's all. But that
doesn't attract crowds. That doesn't impress anybody.
That's not what we're here for. That's not what we're here for.
We're here to worship God. And if you have to throw the
Word of God away to attract folks to come to services, then shut
the doors, turn it into a bar or a barn or something, but don't
call it a church house. We're here to proclaim the Word
of God, we have no other business in this world but the preaching
of the Word of God. Our Savior, the King of kings,
the Lord of lords, the Prince of peace, our mighty commander,
the man of war under whom we march, the mighty God says, take
the sword. Let's read Ephesians 6, beginning
of verse 11 again. I can't say this firmly enough. Would to God I could make it
heard in the ear of every preacher in this world who names the name
of Christ. In the kingdom of God, compromise
is treason. In the kingdom of God, compromise
is treason. I don't care what excuse you
give for it. Ephesians 6 verse 11. Put on the whole armor of
God. that you may be able to stand
against the wiles, the underhanded subtle trickery of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places. See, when I was talking about
that coming home this morning, back to the office here, these
high places. Everywhere else in Ephesians
is translated heavenly places. How is there spiritual wickedness
in heavenly places? Spiritual wickedness pushing
against. Spiritual wickedness against. Spiritual wickedness toward heavenly
things, spiritual things. It's not talking about the politics
of the society and the education of society and all, though they're
certainly included. is talking about the onslaught
of hell in the name of God against the things of God. Spiritual
wickedness in high places. Wherefore, since this is the
case, taken to you the whole armor of God, that you may be
able to withstand in the evil day and have him done all to
stand. Stand therefore. Three times
he says it, stand, stand, stand. having your loins girt about
with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness,
and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above
all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet
of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God." We are not obedient to our text. We are not obedient
to our God. We are not obedient to our Savior. Unless with clear, sharp, decisive
firmness, courage, and resolve, we take the sword of the Spirit,
which is the Word of God, and march against the gates of hell,
and ride up to the city beautiful with the sword in our hands.
May God, the Holy Ghost, who here teaches us that this book
is his sword, the inspired word of God, the sword of the spirit.
May he give us grace to take it hourly, daily, as we walk
through this world and seek the honor of our God. This is the
last piece of armor in the category that Paul gives here in this
chapter. But of all the pieces of armor
that are described here, none is more important than this.
This is the only weapon of offense. Everything else here is described
as a weapon of defense, something to guard your head, to guard
your breastplate, to hold your feet. This is a weapon of offense. This is a weapon which means
you're going to war. Moses, you'll remember when he
was about to slay the ungodly in Exodus 32, after he came down
from the mountain, saw that golden calf and the children of Israel
dancing naked around the calf, he said, take you every man his
sword and slay every man his brother. And that's our business. Our business is to slay every
man, either by the law side or the gospel side. But all must
be brought to utter ruin down at the feet of the Son of God.
Let me show you three or four things in this text that I'm
certain are important and I hope God will make them important
to you. What is this sword of the Spirit
that Paul is talking about? He tells us plainly in our text,
it is the Word of God. The essential living Word is
Jesus Christ, our Lord, the God-man, our incarnate Redeemer, He who
is called the Word of God. Many, many places in scripture.
Turn over to Hebrews chapter 4, and I'll show you that, and
then I'll call your attention to several others. In Hebrews
chapter 4, our Savior is called the Word of God. In John 1, in
the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the
Word was God. We're told in Revelation 19 that
our Savior was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood and his name
is called the Word of God. In Hebrews 4 verse 12, the Word
of God is quick and powerful. and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart." Now that's not talking here about
the written word, though certainly the two can't be separated. And
you know this is talking about Christ, the living word, he who
is God, the eternal word. For verse 13 reads, neither is
there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all
things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we
have to do. The Lord Jesus Christ, he is
the living word. And the scriptures make a pretty
good distinction between when it's talking about the living
word, the person of our savior, and the written word that you
have in your hands this evening. But sometimes the words seem
to be interchangeable. They are almost as if they are
one. There's a reason for that. Because
he whose name is the Word of God is that one out of whose
mouth proceeds this Word of God, the written Word of God. Those
passages I read to you all speak of our Savior, our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, who is the Word of God. Now this is
what that means. If you want to know what's going on in here,
in my head, if you want to know what's going on in here, there's
only one way you can know it. I've got to tell you. I know
palm readers and psychics and gypsies and other fools can talk
you into believing that they can tell you what's in your head.
The only way you're going to know what's going on in here
is if I tell you. Now Shelby knows me pretty well,
and she thinks sometimes she knows what's going on in my head,
but not unless I tell her. The only way you're going to
know what's going on here is if I tell you. That's what Christ
is. The only way you can know God
is if God tells you. That's the only way you can know
Him. Is if God steps out and shows Himself plainly. That's
what Christ is. He is the Word in and by whom
the triune Jehovah reveals himself, makes himself known, so that
you know God only as you know Christ. You see God only as you
see Christ. You trust God only as you trust
Christ. You follow God only as you follow
Christ. He who is God is known only by
His Son, Jesus Christ the Lord. You can't know Him any other
way. You can know about Him by creation. All you've got to do is look
up yonder, or look out yonder, or hang around, stand outside
when some tornado comes by, and you'll find out something about
Him. You can know a lot about him. You can know a lot about
him by his creation, by his providence, but you can't know it except
he speak to you by his son. That means that what's commonly
called Christianity, what this book speaks of as worshiping
God and knowing God is totally alone in this world. When I was
just a little boy, I remember in school, they used to teach
us about the world's great religions. They ain't none of them great.
They ain't none of them. They're great deceptions. I don't
care what you talk about Islam, Buddhism, or Confucianism, or
Judaism. I don't care what you talk about.
Where Christ is denied, God can't be known. God can't be known. He's the Word of God. And the
only way you can know him who is the living word is by this
written word that goes out of his mouth. That's the reason
he gave us this book, that we may know him. Our Lord Jesus
Christ is that one who gives us this written word, this volume
of Holy Scripture. The Holy Scriptures are undoubtedly
the Word of God. Now, you've got two choices,
only two. You either believe this book
to be utterly, entirely, inherently, completely, verbally, the Word
of God, or it's just a fake. There's no in-between ground.
There is no in-between ground. Well, we believe it contains
the Word of God. That means you don't believe it. Well, we believe
the Word of God somewhere in there. That means whatever you
think the Word is the Word, whatever you think it's not, it's not.
Well, you can't be that dogmatic preacher. For your soul's sake,
I must be. For the glory of God, I must
be. This is the Word of the living God. The scriptures of the Old
and New Testaments Make it plain that what we had before us here
is God's Holy Word given by inspiration of God the Holy Ghost. God did
not give his prophets and his apostles a theme to write about
according to their own whims and thoughts and abilities, but
rather they were secretaries in an unusual way. I tell Shelby
to write something or put something down. Sometimes I tell her exactly
to say this. Usually I just say do this and
write it down and make a note. That's what a secretary does.
And if she's a really good secretary, she improves on the note and
brings it to the boss and let's see if this is all right. But
that's not what the Spirit of God did. God the Holy Ghost inspired
the prophets and apostles this way. They wrote the very words
of God upon the pages of Holy Scripture. Not in a mechanical
way, as you would take a machine and make it say this, right this
way. God the Holy Ghost used men in
their personalities, in their training, in their background,
so that as you read the words of Amos, you know you're not
reading the words of Paul. When you read the words of Peter,
you know you're not reading the words of James. They wrote distinctly,
but they wrote as they were moved, carried along by the Holy Ghost. How can that be? He's God. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God, breathed out of God. breathed out of God, holy men
of old, spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, as they were
carried along in their work by the Holy Ghost. There are many
historic facts made in the Scriptures, statements made in Scripture
about historic facts that could never have been known except
by divine revelation. Now I know we have brilliant
scientists. We got a lot of brilliant scientists. And they figured out how everything
got started. And if you want to waste your
time getting something funnier than a comic book, just read
what they suggest. Just read what they suggest and
then compare it with what they suggested last year. Or what
they suggested ten years ago. Let alone a hundred years ago.
Oh, but with this, it can't be any other way! Oh, yes. God revealed
creation. And you can't know it except
by divine revelation. In the beginning, God made the
heavens and the earth. Brother John, what do you believe
about the creation? In the beginning, God made the heavens and the
earth. That's exactly what I believe.
Nothing subsists and nothing exists except that God made it
and God sustains it. The world's repelled by the word
of God. That's all. That's all. We read
in the scriptures of God's everlasting decrees. That which took place
before anything was. I preach to you about it all
the time. In this place, that's not unusual. Most places, most of
us don't have any idea what you're talking about. Talking about
predestination or election and covenant love. They look at you
like somebody's just been distracted in Facebook. What are you talking
about? But God's decrees are known because God's revealed
them. You can't know those things that
took place before time was, except God show you. The everlasting
covenant of God's grace is a matter of pure revelation. The honest
integrity and simplicity of those men who recorded the words of
scripture upon paper for us, recorded for us the faults and
failures of not only themselves, but of their dearest friends
and companions." Isn't that amazing? I'll tell you what you do. You
find me any other book, any book written by any man or any group
of men that deals with the most prominent characters in the book. I'm talking about the ones that's
supposed to be really putting them up on the shelf. the most
prominent characters in the book, and tells you about their worst
crimes with no excuse. How do you explain Abraham's
lying about his wife, Sarah? Abraham was a sinful man, that's
how I explain it. How do you explain Noah's drunkenness,
that man of great faith? Noah was a sinner saved by grace.
That's how you explain it. A man whose only acceptance with
God is in the righteousness of another. Like Abraham, he believed
God, and believing God, God gave him a testimony of righteousness,
giving him the very righteousness of Christ. How do you explain
a man like Peter, three times denying the Lord
and cussing. I don't know that man. I don't
know that man. You're wrong, I don't know him.
In the teeth of the Lord's warning, he was about to do it. How do
you explain that? Peter was a sinner saved by grace. How do you explain the unbelief
of those disciples when they were on the storm or when they
saw folks hungry or all the other, all the other, almost incidental
mentionings of their unbelief. How do you explain that? Bill
Rotter, there were men just like you and just like me. Frail,
fickle, sinful men saved by God's free grace. And not one time
in the mention of all the faults, failings, sins, and ungodliness
of all the men in this book who were held before us as examples
of faith. Not once is an excuse given.
Not once is some explanation given by which this will help
you to understand this. It's just stated, there it is,
live with it. Where we find any book like that?
Right here. Only one like that. The scriptures
speak to us very plainly about men because they speak to us
as men. The same spirit is demonstrated
throughout the Gospels as in the Old Testament. And you find
in the scriptures prophecies made. Prophecies made in the
Old Testament that give exact years. I'm talking about exact
times and places. I'm not talking about prophecies
like you see these fake Pentecostal apostles. There's somebody in
here who's got a sore knee. Yeah, I got a feeling there's
somebody here. Got a sore knee. And if you'll put a little money
in the offer, we can get that taken care of. And just gotta
believe God now. No, I'm not talking about that
stuff. I'm not talking about that stuff they have on Discovery
Channel about Nostradamus. Sometime in the next 2,000 years,
gonna be a big fire somewhere. I'm not talking about that stuff.
I'm talking about there's a fellow coming in 250 years, whose name's
gonna be Cyrus, and he's gonna bring the children of Israel
out of Babylon, and he's gonna pay for them to go back to Jerusalem
250 years from now. His name's Cyrus, and he's gonna
bring them out this way. And 250 years later, this fella
pops up on the scene named Cyrus, and he gives the Jews the money
they need to go back and reestablish the worship of God back in Jerusalem,
and he says, you go home this way. Where you gonna find a book
like that? The Old Testament prophecies
give specific places. Thou Bethlehem Judah. Why Bethlehem Judah? Because
there were two little old bitty villages called Bethlehem. And
our Lord is of the tribe of Judah. And the prophet would speak precisely
by the Spirit of God. The Messiah, the Christ, he shall
be born at Bethlehem, Judea. That's where he's coming. That's
where he's coming. He's going to be coming at the end of Daniel's
70th week, in the time of the abomination of desolation. The
Messiah could not possibly have appeared any time except the
time when Christ appeared and the prophets of the Old Testament
be fulfilled. And yet, those things that are spoken of prophetically
in the New Testament, none of them give a precise date or precise
times. precise features, because the
Lord's determined that with regard to the end, no man knows when
Christ's coming. That we may walk with God by
faith, looking for Him continually by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
our Redeemer. The Lord God spoke specifically
of when the children of Israel were coming out of bondage. He
said, you're going to go down to Egypt. I'm going to put you
down there for 400 years. And 400 years after that, I'm
going to send a man down there and he's going to bring you out.
And that came to pass exactly as God said, to tell us there's
a day coming for each one of God's elect. in the bondage of
death and sin in this world who shall be brought out of their
bondage at the appointed time of love and flee away in Christ
Jesus the Lord unto God Almighty. The doctrinal portions of scripture
have the positive stamp of inspiration as well. The nature and character
of God is known by this book. Do you remember studying the
ancient Greek mythology when you were in school? Do you remember
all the monsters they had and make gods out of them? All the
various competing gods they had? The American Indians, like Indians
all over the world, all their competing rival gods, go down
to Mexico, see those ruins down there. Or if you want to see
them all, go take a trip to Rome and see what the papists did
when they came in there. They just took those gods and
gave them Christian names. That's all they did. That's all they
did. All the various gods that men have, none of them at all,
like this God who is holy and righteous and just and true.
and will by no means clear the guilty, and yet forgives iniquity,
transgression, and sin. This God who cannot pardon sin,
but does. This God who cannot refuse to
punish sin, but does. This God who cannot clear the
guilty, but does through a substitute by whom he is made known as a
just God and the Savior. There's never been any hideous,
monstrous, mean, vicious, hard, strict God invented by men than
the Lord our God, who delighteth in mercy. He will not bend. Rather than
bend, He sends His Son and makes him sin, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him. Now we take this sword of the
Spirit, and the Lord God commands us to take it, and assault the
world with it, the gates of hell, every man his brother. When you read this book, I hope
you read it a lot. I hope you read it a lot. If
you have to throw everything else away, read this book, read
this book. It was written over a period of 4,000 men, or
4,000 years. Written by men scattered across
those years, and it was written by men who didn't know each other,
had no communication with each other, numerous men, and they
all wrote with perfect continuity about one thing, redemption and
grace through the Redeemer. And you think maybe, well, preacher, I'm just not
sure. Well, I'll tell you what, I know that. I know you're not. And you never will be until God
stamps the living word in you by the written word preached
to you. And when the Lord God takes this
sword and pierces your heart and reveals Christ in you, you
will find that this is indeed the word of God. And it will
be a lamp to your feet and a light to your pathway, and bread for
your soul, and a fire to warm you and inspire you, and a hammer
to smash you down, a sword to slash and slay, a two-edged sword. Why is it called a sword? Because
with it, God the Holy Ghost uses it as a sword in the hearts and
lives of his people. He comes with the law and slays,
exposes sin and corruption and guilt and depravity, shows something
of God's majesty, God's honor, and God's justice, and shatters
every hope you have. But it's a two-edged sword. This
sword is like no other sword. With this same sword, God the
Holy Spirit raises the dead he slaughtered to life. And that
sword that I come up here and try to preach to you week after
week, month after month, year after year, as God is pleased to make it effectual
to you, It cuts and hurts. It pierces to the heart. It wounds
the conscience. It severs joints and marrow. It's painful. But if God makes it painful to
you, He'll make it life to you. That same word. That same word. reveals Him whom you pierced,
and causes your heart to run after Him, and causes you to
seek Him, and causes you to follow Him. It's called the sword of
the Spirit. And we're commanded to take it.
Who is? Every child of God, you who are men, you who are
women, take the sword of the Spirit. And this charge is given
specifically throughout the book to every preacher of the gospel,
take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. We have no other creed. We have
no other confession of faith. We have no other rule of life.
We have no other weapon with which to assault the gates of
hell and defend the walls of Zion, except the sword of the
spirit. And I find that to be like David
said concerning Goliath's sword, there's none like that, give
me that. Give me that, that'll get the job done. So shall my
word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall accomplish
that which I please. It shall prosper in the thing
where to I send it. It will never, never, never return
to me void. We, must deliberately push aside
all those things that rival God's Word in His house. All those
things that would push the Word of God out. And I'm promising
you this. Oh, God help you to hear me,
you men and women of Grace Baptist Church. If God takes me before
I step out of this pulpit tonight to glory, hear this. Let nothing push from you the
Word of God. From this place of worship, the
Word of God are turned you in any other direction. Well, Brother
Don, we don't need to hear that. You don't have any idea how much
you need to hear that and hear it regular. You don't have any
idea how much you need to hear that and hear it regular because
We are all by nature inclined to other things. We like to be
entertained, we like to play, we like to have a good time,
like to make folks feel good. Folks want to joke and welcome
the visitors and greet everybody and stand up and jump up and
down and have a party and smile and laugh and carry on. What's
wrong with being serious about worshiping God? What's wrong
with seriously anxious to hear God speak? What's wrong with
seriously asking God to speak to your heart by his word? Take
the sword! And God give us grace to preach
the gospel, to reverence it, study it, pray over it, meditate
upon it, and preach it, preach it. Oh, God give me grace to
preach this word. For this is the word of God by
which sinners are born again." Isn't that amazing? We're born
again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word
of God. This word. which lives and abides
for, well that's just, it's just pieces of paper sewn together,
painted gold on the outside, got leather in it, kind of feels
nice, but it's just paper, paper with ink in it. It is except
for one thing. God the Holy Ghost says this
is his word. And he makes it alive to you. I try to read this book. and
preach this book, begging God to make it living to me, not just a letter, not just a
word, His word to my soul, and His word from my soul to your
soul. Live it, live it. Not just as they talk about the
Constitution, liberals do a living document. No, no, no, no, no,
no. I'm talking about read this book. Lindsay just read back in the
office back there the first, what was it, the first 10, 16
verses of Psalm 119. And I've read it hundreds of
times, Lindsay, hundreds of times. And God spoke to me about it
again. No other book like that. I'm
not talking about I just learned something new. I'm saying God
spoke to me by His Word just as He by His Spirit read it out
to me. Isn't that wonderful? It's the
living Word because God the Holy Ghost says, this is my Word. It's the sword of the Spirit.
By this Word, Christ convinces men of sin. of righteousness
and of judgment. By this word, this seed, this
seed planted in the heart, like the
seed of a man planted in a woman's womb, that's the very word used,
this word, burst forth with light. when planted in the heart by
God the Holy Ghost. And this is the word which by
the gospel is preached to you. Amen.