What a Word Is This!

INTRODUCTION

1. We want to consider the authoritative and compassionate voice of the Lord Jesus Christ for our comfort, consolation, contentment, courage, confidence … and conviction!
2. The Lord Jesus Christ is our King, for He reigns over the universe at the right of God for our eternal benefit.
3. “Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?” (Eccl 8:4).
4. Angels of both kinds do His commandments (Psalm 91:11; 103:20-21; Matt 6:10; I Peter 3:22; Heb 1:14).
5. Though King, He is our brother, and not ashamed to say so (Rom 8:29; Heb 2:11), which should comfort us!
6. He is able to speak the word and protect us, provide for us, prosper us, prepare us, and yes, punish us.
7. David made repeated reference to the glorious and powerful voice of the LORD in great storms, with each reference to His voice referring to thunder and those works and effects related to thunder (Psalm 29).
8. Other psalms also refer to the great power of God’s glorious voice in thunder (Ps 46:6; 68:33; 77:18; 104:7).
9. God is not like a man when He speaks (Numbers 23:19; Job 40:9-14; Romans 4:17; Ecclesiastes 8:4).
   1. When God speaks, He does not see obstacles and then repent, for He is not like a man (Numbers 23:19).
   2. He can call things that are future, as though they were past, by His certain word to perform (Rom 4:17).
10. There is no power in heaven or in hell to stop God’s word (Psalm 33:9; Isaiah 46:11; 48:15; Jeremiah 4:28).
11. The judgment of God is sure when He has spoken it against any (Ezekiel 5:13-15; 12:26-28; 18 more times).
12. The providential control of nature is also by the sovereign word of God (Job 26:11-14; Jeremiah 51:15-16).
13. Jesus Christ is the express image of God and upholds all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3).
14. Do not think a minute He has a voice compatible with Catholic art or Christmas (Rev 1:10,15; 4:1; 14:2)!
15. This study is for those that take delight and pleasure in God’s great works (Psalm 37:4; 77:11-12; 111:2).
16. In the temple of God, everyone speaks of His glory, which gives peace and strength to saints (Ps 29:9,11).
17. God can roar when He chooses to do so against His enemies (Isaiah 42:13; Hos 11:10; Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2).
18. His still small voice is just as powerful and true as a tearing tempest, earthquake, or fire (I Kings 19:9-18).
19. When the great God comes to the rescue of His people, the earth shakes with the event (Psalm 18:6-10).
20. How did martyrs die so cheerfully? They knew Jesus Christ was standing there (Acts 7:56; II Tim 4:16-18).
21. Do you love the gospels in your Bible, as you should? They contain these and many other wonderful stories.
22. The example above is just one of many, in all of which you can rejoice in the powerful voice of your king!

EXAMPLE #1: The voice of God initiated the creation of the world in six twenty-four days (Ge 1:3).

1. God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. God commanded light to shine out of darkness.
2. We believe the big bang theory! God spoke, and bang, it happened! He created it all (Heb 11:3).
3. The sources of light – the sun, moon, and stars – were created three days later (Genesis 1:14-19).
4. How long did it take for the light of stars to get to earth? Did Adam get to see the stars in his life?
5. Creation occurred on the other days by God’s voice as well (Genesis 1:6,9,11,14-15,20,24,26).
6. And God said … and it was so … is the basis for faith in a Creator God against evolutionist idiots.
7. God the Word, Jesus Christ by incarnation, created all things by command (Ps 33:6,9; John 1:1-3).
8. It is this glorious creation of light in darkness that is like producing faith in the gospel (II Cor 4:6).

EXAMPLE #2: The voice of God completely healed an incurable leper (Matt 8:1-4; Luke 5:12-15).

1. Jesus said, “I will: be thou clean.” The leper knew the power of God’s word (Matthew 8:16).
2. Full of leprosy, the healing power of Christ immediately made him fit for the strict Law of Moses.
3. It is the same will of God and Christ that brings about our salvation through their will (Rom 9:15).

EXAMPLE #3: A centurion with a dying servant knew Jesus could heal by His word (Matt 8:5-13).

1. This centurion did not count himself worthy of the Lord’s presence, but trusted His spoken word!
2. He understood that his own ability to command soldiers and servants proved Christ’s greater word!
3. Jesus observed that He had not witnessed such great faith in all of Israel. Let us emulate this man!
4. The healing miracle was according to this man’s great faith that Jesus could just speak the word!

EXAMPLE #4: Many with devils came to Jesus, and He cast out the spirits by His word (Matt 8:16).

1. We have seen the possessed man in a synagogue, but this declares it happened often to many!
2. Compare this powerful exercise of authority by His voice to others (Matt 17:14-16; Acts 19:13-20).
3. There is no devil or devils you need to fear. It would benefit you much more to fear and trust Him.

EXAMPLE #5: Christ’s voice turned a great storm into a great calm (Matt 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-51).

1. Jesus Christ said, “Peace, be still.” And a great storm became a great calm by His mere word!
2. Even the disciples feared exceedingly the power of His word against the elements of wind and rain.
3. Do you have sufficient faith to put mind over matter in things like thunderstorms and tornadoes?

EXAMPLE #6: Devils must beg the word of Jesus to even alter the lives of swine (Matt 8:28-34).

1. Without approval and permission from the Lord Christ, devils can do nothing, not even to swine.
2. At the word of Jesus, men are delivered from hopeless destruction and oppression by the devil.
3. Compare Job for the first two chapters. Satan knows the power of Christ and His permission.

EXAMPLE #7: The voice of God initiated divine blessings and prosperity upon Israel (Ezek 16:1-8).

1. God said, to the helpless little infant dying in its own blood, “Live!” And the nation of Israel lived!
2. The power of God’s voice transformed the unwanted and hopeless infant into a mighty nation.
3. God surely said, “Prosper!” to this nation, for America became great in a few years from nothing.
4. He is able to say, “Live!” to the souls of your children, or “Prosper!” to your family tree. Believe!

EXAMPLE #8: God authoritatively orders protection for His faithful (I Chr 16:22; Ps 105:14-15).

1. God told Abimelech he was a dead man for innocently taking Abraham’s wife (Genesis 20:1-18).
2. Abimelech remembered the lesson when he caught Isaac sporting with Rebekah (Genesis 26:11).
3. God appeared to cruel and greedy Laban and told him not to harm His son Jacob (Gen 31:24,42).
4. You need not fear any boss, any ruler, or any other man … if you will trust and obey your God.

EXAMPLE #9: The voice of God authorized and prospered an evil spirit to deceive (I Kgs 22:22-23).

1. God said, “Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.” And the spirit did so.
2. God directs the elect angels by His word (Ps 103:20), and He also directs the evil angels (Job 1:12).
3. The blessed and holy God inspired Micaiah the prophet to antagonize King Ahab (I Kgs 22:14-18).
4. God confirmed His word by His prophet Micaiah with a providential arrow (I Kgs 22:28 cp 22:34).

EXAMPLE #10: The voice of God demoted the greatest monarch in history to a beast (Dan 4:28-33).

1. God said, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.”
2. The greatest impeachment in history occurred the very same hour upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.
3. If you want a lengthening of your peace and tranquility in life, then break off your sins (Dan 4:27).

EXAMPLE #11: The voice of Jesus made a lunch a feast for thousands (Matt 14:15-21; 15:32-38).

1. Jesus Christ simply blessed the bread and multiplied it mightily to the hungry crowds of hearers.
2. Consider! The lunch was a boy’s small lunch; the crowd was huge with many men; they were all hungry; they were all filled; and great quantities of leftovers were recovered afterwards.
3. He did this twice! One for 5000 men plus families; and once for 4000 men plus families. Glory!
4. The word of the Lord Jesus Christ can multiply your efforts that may appear totally inadequate!

EXAMPLE #12: Our Lord’s voice twice turned fishing trouble into success (Lu 5:1-11; Jn 21:1-14).

1. Jesus said, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.” They almost drowned!
2. Having taken nothing all night, they broke a net and nearly filled and sank two ships by His word!
3. Even when you have done something without obvious results, nevertheless you should do it again!
4. Peter, witnessing this wonderful act of divine power, came under great conviction for sinfulness.
5. Simon Peter closed out his earthly relationship with Jesus Christ in a similar situation (Jn 21:1-14).

EXAMPLE #13: Jesus invited Peter to walk on the water of a stormy sea to Him (Matt 14:28-29).

1. How often are you bold to attempt something for the Lord? What does He say to you? “Come.”
2. You may trust the Lord, but you must get your eyes off the boisterous waves and winds to do so.

EXAMPLE #14: Jesus stopped a funeral to help a widow recover her son before burial (Luk 7:11-18).

1. Does Jesus care? He saw this widow, had compassion on her, and told her not to cry any longer!
2. When Jesus attends funerals and gives His powerful command to arise, dead men get up and talk!

EXAMPLE #15: Jesus said three things to Jairus and his daughter for our joyful faith (Luke 8:41-56).

1. When He heard the child was dead, He said, “Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.”
2. When He saw mourners bewailing her death, He said, “Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.”
3. What words of comfort and power! He commanded with life-giving authority, “Maid, arise!”

EXAMPLE #16: The voice of God ended a rich man’s life when he least suspected it (Luk 12:16-21).

1. God said to a successful man one night, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.”
2. An illustrious career of business successes can end in one night with a few words from the Lord.
3. His plans for larger barns to store his great prosperity were not taken into account by the Lord.

EXAMPLE #17: The voice of God raised dead Lazarus from the grave after four days (Jn 11:37-45).

1. Jesus Christ said, “Lazarus, Come forth.” And he that had been dead four days came forth to them.
2. Jesus called him from the grave (John 12:17-18). This text well explains God’s call to salvation.
3. The servants standing by were similar to ministers – all they did were take his grave clothes off!

EXAMPLE #18: Jesus declared a glorious truth to Martha about life and resurrection (Jn 11:21-27).

1. Jesus Christ has the total power of life and death, and He can raise dead men either now or later.
2. His word of faith to us is that living and believing will guarantee that we shall never die. Believest?

EXAMPLE #19: Jesus has the immediate attention and reaction of God by His voice (John 12:28-30).

1. When Jesus sought God’s confirmation from heaven, He received it immediately from heaven.
2. If your fear of God discourages you, remember your Intercessor at His right hand (John 11:22,42).

EXAMPLE #20: The voice of Jesus in Gethsemane caused the mob to fall backward (John 18:1-9).

1. With the help of Judas, an angry mob of Jews came to arrest Jesus for His trial and crucifixion.
2. When Jesus told them who He was, they fell backward to the ground by three words, “I am he”!

EXAMPLE #21: The thief on the cross heard the most kind and powerful words (Luke 23:42-43).

1. This thief had cursed the Lord just like his companion before a change took place (Matt 27:38,44).
2. But then he rebuked the cursing reprobate and begged the Lord for mercy that day (Luke 23:42).

EXAMPLE #22: Jesus spoke to John from the cross to provide for his mother in life (John 19:26-27).

1. This is not a demonstration of power, but rather a demonstration of His compassion for His own.
2. With the great work of redemption and death at hand, He still thought upon the needs of a woman.

EXAMPLE #23: Jesus declared the work of redemption done by His authority as Saviour (Jn 19:30).

1. The words were, “It is finished,” which ended any sacrificial system for legal payment for sins.
2. Before Gethsemane, with the completed task in His eyes, He had prayed the same to God (17:4).

EXAMPLE #24: The voice of God initiated the outpouring of gifts for the apostles (Mark 16:15-20).

1. The apostles could cast out devils, speak foreign languages, take up serpents, drink deadly poisons, heal the sick, and raise the dead, among other miraculous signs and wonders and revelatory gifts.
2. The record of the apostles in Acts is incredible (Acts 2:8; 3:1-11; 5:12-15; 19:11-12; 28:1-6).
3. And this great power was predicated on the power given to the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt 28:18-20).

EXAMPLE #25: The voice of Jesus Christ speaks peace both to the heathen Gentiles and to saints.

1. The mediatorial reign of Jesus Christ includes speaking peace to heathen (Zec 9:10; I Tim 3:16).
2. The priestly ministry of Jesus Christ includes speaking peace to His obedient saints (Psalm 85:8).

EXAMPLE #26: He gave Paul the city of Corinth against opposition and persecution (Acts 18:9-10).

1. The comforting and promising word of Christ came to Paul before a riot broke out (18:12-16).
2. The Great Shepherd knows His sheep and own, and He told Paul of them (Jn 10:14; II Tim 2:19).

EXAMPLE #27: The voice of God initiates our regeneration through the Spirit by Christ (John 5:25).

1. It is the voice of the Son of the God that resurrects men dead in trespasses and sins to eternal life.
2. We understand this to be regeneration by context and comparison (John 5:24; Revelation 20:6).
3. It is not the voices of mere preachers or soul winners about the Son of God, but His very voice.
4. Jesus had sheep not of the Jewish fold, and they also would hear His voice (John 10:16). Glory!

EXAMPLE #28: Jesus comforted John and glorified Himself with wonderful words (Rev 1:17-18).

1. John, though a close friend, was terrified by the threatening appearance of the glorified Lord Jesus.
2. Jesus comforted John and then declared His victory over death and His power over hell and death.

EXAMPLE #29: Jesus Christ told John to come up hither, which gave him a view of heaven (Re 4:1).

1. Without sight from God, we cannot behold spiritual things for our profit (Ps 119:18; Eph 1:17).
2. Therefore, we should rejoice and seek the word from His mouth for our enlightenment and help.

EXAMPLE #30: The voice of God shall resurrect all dead bodies in the last day (John 5:28-29).

1. Simply by His life-giving voice, the Son of God will raise all dead bodies from their graves.
2. Paul refers to this resurrecting voice as a shout of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (I Thess 4:16).
3. There is no power in heaven or in hell to resist Him, though the wicked will not want to rise!

EXAMPLE #31: Jesus will damn men with eternal judgment by His word in that day (Matt 7:21-23).

1. Jesus Christ will boldly say to them, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
2. Consider the alternate wording from the description of the final judgment elsewhere (Matt 25:41).

APPLICATION & CONCLUSION

1. Men have taken great comfort in a benevolent king with their interests and needs in his heart. What of you?
   1. Your king is the High King of heaven with unlimited power and wealth to bless or save in any situation.
   2. Your king is your brother, friend, Saviour, and joint-heir … and He is touched with all your infirmities.
   3. Because He has authority and rule over the whole universe, He can speak the word and deliver anytime!
2. Surely you can take some pleasure in the next thunderstorm you witness. Enjoy the voice of God! He wants you to appreciate it, for it is full of power and majesty (Psalm 29:1-11; Job 26:14; 37:1-5; 40:9; Jer 51:6)!
3. God’s great voice can give you strength when weak, and peace when facing enemies or trouble (Ps 29:11).
4. He can speak peace to your soul, but do not turn again to folly and lose the peace He can give (Ps 85:8).
5. You can count on His promises, if you understand the power in the word of a king; His promises are true!
   1. Did He say, “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1)? Then do not let your heart be troubled!
   2. Did He say, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5-6)? Learn contentment and courage!

For Further Study:

1. Sermon Outline: When Things Seem Hopeless 
2. Sermon Outline: Bad Things Happen to Christians
3. Sermon Outline: The Coronation of Jesus Christ