GOD'S WORD IS ALIVE! by Pastor Stephen Benton

GOD'S WORD IS ALIVE…HE IS SPEAKING!

from The Prophet

Hebrews 4:12 states, "For the word of God is quick and powerful…"

It says more than that as indicated by the three dots and if we were in church, some of you would be finishing the quotation because it is, after all, a familiar passage.  But in this message I want to stop with the first two adjectives.

On the first word, "quick" without going into the Greek definition, it means "alive."  You hear the word used in old English writings.  For example, they went down quick into the pit.  Quick today means fast. Then, it meant alive.  So, God's word is alive.

Now just exactly what does that mean?  It means that the word of God certainly must not be any less, or less timely than any of the hundreds of daily newspapers on this planet of Satan's.  Go buy the Times today and it will tell you at the top of every page that today is Wednesday, August 14th.  Now if you missed something that came out in Sunday's edition you would look for the paper dated August 11th and would be very happy if you found one.  If it's Wednesday, your most likely source will be a neighbor or someone who subscribes to the paper and hasn't gotten around to throwing it out yet.  For the individual who purchases a newspaper on the way to work, and happens to stop at a newspaper dispenser, that person would be very upset if he discovers he has purchased a Tuesday paper and today is Wednesday.  Even if he happens to notice that the paper is out of date before he deposits the coins, he will still be upset because he has been deprived of the most current news.

I find that God's people, however, have a sort of warped attitude about getting the current edition of the word of God.  In fact, I have learned that there are very few of God's people who actually are aware that God's word is current or "quick."  Not only that fact, but I have also concluded that many who call themselves followers of God either are not or they have a very limited concept of the importance of God.  Because if they really knew God and knew that his word is alive and powerful, they would never miss the opportunity to hear what he has to say today or as the epistle of  Hebrews says, "To Day."

The Book of Hebrews rendition is more emphatic.  You could say it means, to this very day.  It reads:

"To Day if you will hear my voice…"  (stop reading)

The "if" could indicate two things.  One, IF you have an ear to hear.  Two, IF God is still speaking to you.

Let it be made known that God is making limited speaking engagements to day.  God has brought out the passage again about the famine to come.  The famine would not be for bread and water but for the hearing of the word of the Lord.  The passage explains the hearing problem.  It is not the hearer but the speaker that is limiting his engagements.

For it says, "they shall run to and fro seeking the word of the Lord and shall not find it." 

Now although that scripture has its true fulfillment in the days ahead and is directed to Israel, the Church first fulfills that scripture in a limited fashion.  It has helped itself in doing so by no longer enduring sound doctrine and heaping upon itself teachers who have itching ears; teachers who minister for the applause of their audience and not for the approval of God.  The Church has assisted itself in this famine by turning its ears away from the truth and when it does so, God steps in and permanently turns its ears onto a fable network that sounds like the word of God but is not!   

Those people go merrily on their way to church each week unaware that Jesus has left the building and is standing at the door knocking, saying, "if any man will hear my voice…"  He promised to meet where two or three are gathered together in his name.  But in these last days, the church service and its reprobated version of the so-called current word of God has made him so sick, he no longer attends those meetings but is standing at the door calling the two or three out.

This is a great truth and very few saints are aware of it and even less are aware of the fact that they are wasting their time being in a church that is regurgitating the same old traditional scriptures while they think they are hearing word that is "quick and powerful."  Remember, Jesus said he would spew(vomit) this church out of his mouth.  Why?  It makes his stomach churn.  Why?  It does not recognize or hear HIS voice speaking out of His own Word.  It does not understand or appreciate either the 'quickness' or the power of His Word.

Most churches have "CD' ministries.  CDs can and do serve a useful purpose but for the most part they have done more damage to the "quick and powerful" aspect of God's word, second only to false prophets.  Too many saints miss the live service and simply say, "Oh, I'll just get a CD."  They fail to realize that the CD is the equivalent of yesterday's newspaper.  The CD is most useful if it is heard as an addition to the live hearing. 

God gave us a command not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together and particularly as we "see the day approaching."   Those who forsake this assembly and then ask for a CD are actually defying God.

Then there is the violation committed by possessing CDs and playing only the ones we like best.  At that point in the saint's life he has totally lost the purpose of God's word and has no appreciation for its quickness and power.  The CD becomes a source of entertainment.

And because one does not usually take the time to listen to the missed message as soon as possible after the CD is received, that message ages by the minute and the quickness it had at the time of the recording has been lost.  Someone once told me that the gospel never gets old. That is true but the same can't be said of a message.  Either God is a God of exact and demanding time or He isn't.  Either he is on top of the situation now and gives what is needed at that time or he isn't and he doesn't.

Now what I really wanted to say is this: The Bible tells us that the worlds were framed by the Word of God.   God spoke this creation into existence.  That's something!  THAT'S POWERFUL!  So, what does that mean to us?  It means that if we continue in his word, whatever God is doing with our lives, the timeliness and powerfulness of the message will accomplish what God is doing in spite of us.

I have said before and I now understand better that God is perfectly just in sending unbelievers to hell to burn forever.  Someone who will not trust God enough to listen faithfully to his word is not fit to live and hell is about the only place where the faithless, anti-God individuals belong.

God's power is His Word and the power of the Word is the "quickness" or the living quality of the message.  The power of both can only be harnessed by those who have an "ear to hear" what the Spirit is saying to the Church To Day!

To read more current revelations from Pastor Steve, check out his book published September of 2017 on Amazon.com.  It gives crucial revelations about the rapture, strong delusion and the Lie.

 https://smile.amazon.com/Gods-Final-Secret-Stephen-Benton/dp/1976338476/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509271792&sr=1-1&keywords=god%27s+final+secret+by+stephen+benton