THE TWO-EDGED SWORD

 THE TWO-EDGED SWORD

Hebrews 4:12 (KJV)

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged 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.

 

The other week, when Brother Nolan was here, he mentioned in his message, Hebrews 4:12 and the twoedged sword.

 

It happened that just the day or two before I had read another verse that speaks of a twoedged sword and it started me to meditating upon the subject.

 

I found just four verses in the Word of God that speak of a twoedged sword. I want to take you through those passages as I develop the message God gave me for this morning.

 

Notice with me first of all that,

I. JESUS HAS A SWORD

Revelation 1:16 (KJV)

And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

 

When we begin to look into it, this sword of Jesus, is a theme throughout the book of the Revelation.

 

Revelation 2:12 (KJV)

And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

 

The church in Pergamos, the Bible says, was where “Satan’s seat is.”

 

And the Bible says it was where Antipas was Jesus’ faithful martyr.

 

It was a dangerous place to be a Christian.

So Jesus assured them, he had a sword. He would protect His own.

 

Revelation 19:15 (KJV)

And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

 

When Jesus comes again the Bible says He will bring the armies of heaven with Him and that the Antichrist will see Him coming and mount up a resistance in the valley of Megiddo.

 

Imagine the armies of the earth, united together against Jesus Christ.

But with just one word, with the sword that goeth out of His mouth, they are:

·   defeated 

·   destroyed and all 

·   dead

 

When Jesus came the first time, He came as the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.

 

·   He offered no resistance when the guards took him at the Garden of Gethsemane

·   He assured Pilate that His followers would not fight and

·   He told the only one of his people who had a sword they should put it away

 

But Jesus has a sword of His own, and when He comes again, He will not hesitate to use it.

 

Then secondly,

II. THE BELIEVER HAS A SWORD

Psalms 149:6 (KJV)

Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;

 

Our sword, we are assured in the Bible, is the Word of God.

 

The Bible says, Ephesians 6:11-18 (KJV)

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles 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. 

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, 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:

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

 

I want to thank God that we have not been left defenseless.

 

We have been given armor to protect us from the attacks of our enemy, the devil.

 

And we have been given a weapon with which to return blows.

 

Notice that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal because we do not fight against flesh and blood.

 

But our weapons are nevertheless just as real and just as effective.

 

We have the Word of God!

 

I think one of our problems is, we are very good at handling it.

 

If you will allow me to use a bit of a worldly illustration, I think of the hero of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, Will Turner.

When at first he meets Jack Sparrow, he draws a sword and the duel between them commences. 

 

Sparrow expresses surprise that an apprentice blacksmith would be so handy with a sword whereon our hero says he practices three hours a day.

 

I just want to say that no Christian will find his sword of much value unless he practices with it every day – A LOT.

 

But if you are handy with the Word of God, and if you are surrendered to the Holy Spirit, the Bible will prove to be a powerful weapon, not only to protect you when you face your foe, but to make a difference for Jesus Christ in your present world.

 

I note thirdly

III. JESUS IS THE SWORD

Hebrews 4:12 (KJV)

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged 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.

 

When we read this verse, because we already know that the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, we assume that this twoedged sword is our Bible.

 

That’s only half true.

 

If you consider the context, you see that the passage before it refers to Jesus giving the people rest and the passage after it speaks of Jesus as our great High Priest.

 

Jesus is the twoedged sword and we find Jesus through the Word of God.

 

It is not up to me to fight my own battles.

Jude 1:9 (KJV)

Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

 

If Michael the archangel won’t fight the devil, but leave the battle up to Jesus, don’t you think that would be a good idea for you and me too?

 

I heard a preacher just the other day say with all earnestness, that all is lost unless we Christians get serious about following the Bible.

 

I want to remind you, we do not follow the Bible, we follow Jesus.

John 10:27 (KJV)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 

 

It might seem like a trivial difference, but I assure you it is not.

 

The Protestant Reformation made the Word of God their rallying cry, but they stopped short of Jesus and in doing so they stopped short of the truth.

 

When Anita and I were engaged, she would write letters to me.

Oh how I loved and treasured those letters.

They represented her thoughts, her love and even her presence.

 

But if I only loved those letters, 

If I had been satisfied to be without Anita as long as I had those letters, there would be something wrong, wouldn’t there?

 

I do love my Bible.

I cherish it, treasure it, value it above all else on this planet.

 

But I can’t let my spiritual relationship be only the Bible. 

I must use the Bible to draw me into the presence of Jesus.

 

I can’t simply follow the Bible.

I must use my Bible so that I may follow Jesus

 

I can’t just fight the devil with my Bible

I must use my Bible to rest in Jesus as He fights the devil.

 

Jesus has a sword

We have a sword and

Jesus is the sword

 

There is just one other passage the speaks of a twoedged sword and I will title it

IV. THE DEVIL HAS A SWORD

Proverbs 5:3-5 (KJV)

For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:

But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

 

See if you can follow me for a minute or two with this.

 

We have all heard, I am sure, that the devil is the imitator of Christ.

 

There are I the Bible:

·   False professors

·   False teachers

·   False prophets

·   False preachers

·   False spirits and

·   False Christs

 

We have witnessed over time how that the devil has created many

·   False churches and just as many

·   False Bibles

 

It makes perfect sense that, if Jesus has a twoedged sword, the devil would want one of his own.

 

We find it here in Proverbs 5.

You say, “The strange woman doesn’t sound to me like the devil.”

 

But see if this doesn’t track.

The book of Proverbs is all about wisdom.

 

Proverbs 5 begins

Proverbs 5:1-2 (KJV)

My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:

That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. 

 

He wants his son to have wisdom for a specific purpose

Proverbs 5:3 (KJV)

For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:

 

The contest is between wisdom and the strange woman.

 

Wisdom is described in such a way that it sounds like wisdom and the Lord Jesus Christ are one and the same.

Proverbs 3:19 (KJV)

The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

 

By contrast, the Word of God likens idolatry, the worship of idols, false gods, the devil if you will, as adultery and fornication.

 

Whereas wisdom can be tied to Jesus Christ

The strange woman could represent the lure to worship something other than Jesus Christ.

 

Having laid that groundwork, look what the Bible says of the strange woman

Proverbs 5:3-8 (KJV)

For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:

But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. 

Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.

Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

 

Once again, I am telling you that the strange woman represents any kind of worship other than worshiping the Lord in Spirit and in truth.

 

A. Her words are sweet and smooth

They are easy to accept. They tickle the ears.

 

They make sense. They are popular.

 

They don’t cause conviction. They do bring comfort and maybe entertainment.

 

B. Her ways are moveable thou canst not know them

They can change with the times.

They can adapt to the culture.

 

They are the opposite of Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

 

It might be that the majority of professing Christians follow her, but it’s because they have no anchor. They are drifting with whatever tide she is in at the time.

 

C. Her end is bitter, sharp as a twoedged sword

God’s sword, Jesus Christ, is a defender of life and leads us into eternal life.

 

The devil’s sword is more popular, but its steps take hold on hell.

 

D. The Bible is very clear

Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house

 

We ought to steer completely clear of any form of worship that is not absolutely true to the Word of God and that does not lead us directly to Jesus Christ.

 

If we have been a part of that kind of worship, we should remove from it

 

And we should never so much as enter into the doors of those kinds of religious activities.