I was reading the verse from Hebrews 4:12 where it describes God’s Word as being ” quick (living) , and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”.
There is nothing so convicting and convincing as God’s Word if we allow it to sink into our minds. It IS possible to shut one’s mind to it, but if we do that, it won’t be long before its influence on our ways and thinking will disappear and we will become hard and unyielding.
This verse shows that it is like an extremely sharp two edged sword, cutting both ways, as it goes in and as it comes out…there is a story that illustrates this point perfectly….
There was a man once who said he didn’t believe in all this God rubbish (as he put it). One of the old time evangelists came to his district and was holding meetings several times a week. One of our man’s friends persuaded him to go to one of these meetings.
“You know I don’t believe in all that stuff”, he said complainingly to his friend, “I’ll go just the once, but no more, mind!”
He sat through the meeting, working out all his arguments against the preacher in his mind. His chance came when the preacher offered to take him home.
“Well, Sir,” our man said, “I don’t believe all that stuff you told us tonight. What about…..?” and he presented his first argument.
The preacher was silent a moment and then he said, “I don’t know about that, all I know is that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ cleans us from all sin.”
Our friend was a bit taken aback. He hadn’t expected a reply like that. But he rallied and then put out his next argument which was guaranteed (he thought) to get the preacher’s hackles up.
Again the preacher was silent a moment, and then he said, “Well, I haven’t heard that one before, but all I know is that the blood of Jesus Christ cleans us from all sin.”
Our friend wasn’t going to be deterred, and he thought of several more arguments that he felt sure the preacher had no answers for.
But each time the preacher just quietly said, “Well, I don’t know about that…..all I know is that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ cleans us from all sin!”
By this time they had reached our friend’s house and the preacher pulled up to let him out. Our friend gave one more parting shot as he left the car…”Well, I’m not coming back any more to hear that stuff!”
“That’s fine friend,” the preacher said, “But just remember,” as our friend went off into the darkness, “the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleans us from all sin!”
The preacher went home, prayed for our friend and didn’t expect to see him again. But God’s Word which had been used as a sword, and as a strong hammer which can break rocks began to work in his mind. A couple of nights later, the preacher heard a knock on his door just as he was going to bed. He opened the door, and there stood our friend looking rather distraught and haggard.
“I haven’t been able to sleep a wink since that meeting the other night,” he said, “All I can hear in my mind are those words, the blood of Jesus Christ cleans us from all sin….I can’t get rid of them. What do I have to do to put my mind at rest?”
“Come on in,” the preacher said, “It’s never too late to talk about the things of God”. He was able to explain to our friend that the way to have peace in his mind, was simply to tell the Lord that he realised he was a sinner and needed to be made clean from all the bad thoughts and habits he had formed over the years.
He gladly did this and became a different man as a result. He had different aims now, and went to different places. The old ways didn’t attract him any more. Now he could say, and mean it with all his heart….. “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleans me from ALL sin!”