Our response to the word of God is so vital in our walk with God that it cannot be under emphasized or overemphasized. In the words of Jesus in Matthew 4:4, “Jesus answered and said, “it is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Also, in John 6:63, the same Jesus also said: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are life.” If you fuse these two Scriptures together (Matthew 4:4 and John 6:63), it shows us how important the word of God is to us as believers. It goes like this: “man shall not live by bread alone but by the Spirit and Life that proceeds from the mouth of God.” So, this tells us that man that is situated and found in God cannot survive outside the word of God.

 

What is the Word of God?

 

The word of God is not some set of suggestions to us. The word of God is not some random opinions of men to us. The word of God actually is the entire or the whole counsel of God for man (whether in written form or spoken). Paul said to us in the book of Acts 20:26-27: “therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men [why did Paul make such an exonerating statement?] verse 27 shows us. It says: “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.” Now, whether the people responded to the whole counsel of God properly or not, Paul said he will not be responsible for their lack of not responding properly or adequately because it is possible for people to respond incorrectly to the word of God.

 

Sometimes you are preaching or teaching the word of God and you think that people are adequately listening or following and whereas, they aren’t following. They are physically present in the meeting and their minds are completely Somewhere else. What you make out of the word of God most times is not the responsibility of the preacher, but your responsibility and how you respond to the word of God. When a lecturer comes to class for example to lecture students, it is your responsibility as the student to make sense of all that the lecturer says and then be able to sit for the exam and pass. The preacher’s assignment is to bring the word of God or the counsel of God to you through the help of the Holy Spirit, you are to respond to it in such a way and manner that you can possess the spirit and the life that is in the word of God. So, it is your responsibility to respond to the word of God correctly so that you can lay hold of everything that the word of God has in stock for you.

 

The word of God is the creative power of God. Last week during our Disciplers Convocation meeting, we were extensively taught on the subject: Why God Speaks and one of the striking things I took away from that meeting was the fact that the word of God has creative power and ability to make things happen in the class and order of God. In Hebrews 11:3 (AMPC), the Bible says that: “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed [fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose] by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible.” So, when we are searching and looking for what makes God, God, it is simply His word. No wonder He said in Isaiah 55:11: “So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

 

God has never spoken or said anything that did not come into manifestation. Beginning from Genesis to Revelation, we can see how the word God has consistently bring to pass the counsel of God for the earth, for man and everything that is in it. So, the word of God is the creative power of God.

 

The word of God is spirit and life that proceeds from the mouth of God. Hebrews 4:12 shows us: “For the word of God is living [meaning the word of God is alive and not dead] and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

 

Things that Make the Word of God of No Effect

 

#1. Traditions of Men [Mark 7:9-13]

One of the greatest hindrances to making the word of God efficacious in our lives is tradition. Tradition has to do with a number of things: our cultural inclinations, myths and legends, and so on. This was true in the time of Jesus as the Pharisees were known for this, and it is also true in our days. There are many things that we have inculcated into Christianity that their basis could not be found or traced to the Scripture. These are simply traditions of men. In Mark 7:9-13, the Bible says:

 

“He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), ¹² then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, ¹³ making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

 

#2. Corruption or Insincerity with The Word of God [2 Corinthians 2:17]

The word of God must be preached from a sincere heart. There are many today who preach the word of God from an insincere heart and that is why the word of God is not working in their hands. There is a story making the rounds about some pastors who were sacked simply because they were not performing as expected in their stations, and one of them went ahead to make a video in order to tell the world what had transpired. That is not sincerity on the part of the pastor who did that because his intent at that point in time is to bring shame to the name of God and disrepute to the church he claimed to represent. 2 Corinthians 2:17 says: “For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.”

 

#3. Deception [2 Corinthians 4:2]

The word of God cannot cohabit with deception in a man’s heart. If this is the case, the word of God cannot be effective in such man’s mouth. Paul said: “But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” So, the starting point to making the word of God produce spirit and life in the lives of the hearers is that it must not be handled deceitfully. It must be handled faithfully and truthfully.

 

#4. Not Discerning the Word of God Correctly [1 Thessalonians 2:13]

“For this reason, we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.” In this place, Paul gave thanks to God because when the people of Thessalonica received the word of God, they discerned it correctly. You must discern the word of God correctly and there is a way to discern the word of God. First, don’t discern it as the word of men. Even though human vessels may have been responsible to bringing it or delivering it to you, don’t discern it as their words, but as the word of God. Secondly, discern the word of God as truth and nothing else. John 17:17 says: “sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth.”

 

How Do You Make the Word of God Work for You?

 

#1. Accept The Word of God as Your Final Authority

The word of God is the final authority over everything and over any matter. The reason is because there is nothing that is above the word of God because the word of God made all things and uphold all things as well. Hebrews 11:1-3 says: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ² has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; ³ who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power…”

 

Also, the reason the word of God must be accepted as the final authority is because nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be removed to it. Revelation 22:18-19 says: “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

 

#2. Meditate on the word of God

There are five layers to any effective meditation exercise. The first layer is the layer of READING and STUDYING the word of God. Your meditative life wouldn’t be complete if there is nothing that you are meditating on. Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:13. It says: “till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine…” Meditation is simply giving attention to the word of God, pondering upon it until that word become your reality.

 

The second layer of effective meditation exercise is THINKING on the word. For the word of God to work for you, you have to make that word the object of your thinking. If you think about the word of God enough, that word would surely become your experience. In Psalms 1:1-3, the Bible says: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, not sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law, he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

 

The third layer of every effective meditation exercise is SAYING. This is the aspect where you put the word of God in your mouth and say it the way God had said it. What are you saying – the word of God to yourself. If you are a child of God, you don’t say to yourself anything that is not founded in the word of God. You simply say the word to yourself. When situation and circumstances are not cooperating with you, simply say the word of God to yourself. If there is any area of your life where you are still afraid, it simply means you have never taken time to meditate and speak the word of God to yourself in that area.

 

The fourth layer of every effective meditation exercise is ACTING ON THE WORD OF GOD. This is the aspect where your actions are in tandem with the word of God. You cannot be confessing the word of God and be doing things that are contrary to what you are saying. For example, if you confess that you are the healed of the LORD, then you simply jump out of your sickness bed and be up and doing. If the word of God says you are blessed, you don’t begin to act like generational curses are responsible for your poverty. You must always act in line with the word of God. Joshua 1:8 says: “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to [not contrary to it] all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

 

The fifth and last layer of every effective meditation exercise is USING THE WORD OF GOD TO MEET YOUR NEEDS. There is no need in our lives that the word of God does not have provision for – be it emotional needs, financial needs, marital needs, health needs, spiritual needs, and even physical needs. Simply go to the word and find out that word that addresses your need per time and engage it.

 

To be Continued!

 

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Obayomi Abiola Benjamin!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!