Proclaim

       

“The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:8-9). 

Preacher John Hagee recently said that there is a miracle in your mouth. The Word of God is mighty and living and dynamic. “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.” (1 John 1:1). This word is Jesus Christ, the living word who was, and is and is to come. John 1:14 says, “The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

In proclamation there is authority. The word of God is powerful and flawless (Psalm 12:6).  The wonderful Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible speaks just of God’s word describing it metaphorically. “How sweet are your words to my taste…The unfolding of your words gives light…All your words are true.” (Psalm 119:103,130,160).

The prophet Isaiah describes God’s word in poetry saying, “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose from which I sent it. Your will go out with joy and be led forth in peace.” (Isaiah 55:11-12). Earlier in chapter 40 Isaiah says, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word, but the word of our Lord stands forever.” Hallelujah, Amen. 

Believers are sheep of His pasture. We need a guide. The Shepherd is the leader and guide. If we are His we will hear His voice and follow Him. “The watchmen open His gate for Him and His sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3).  This passage of Scripture talks about real and false Shepherds as well as sheep and goats. Sheep can and do hear God’s voice, goats do not. They go their own way. None of the Shepherd’s sheep will be lost because they know Him and hear His voice.

The Psalmist tells us, “today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Psalm 95:8).  A Psalm for Sabbath day tells us, “It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the mourning and your faithfulness at night” (Psalm 92:1-2). This is a Psalm of celebration for the righteous rule of our God. He is faithful to bring His love to you always. So let’s proclaim His goodness all the time. Yet, in Revelation 3:20 God tells us, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him; and he with me.”  You may not hear God’s voice audibly as I once did to begin my journey of faith, but do not harden your heart. Do not believe that because there is suffering or pain that God is not present or loving. We live in a world that we humans have messed up and made different than God designed it. Therefore, we need to not lean on our own understanding, but in all ways acknowledge, lean and listen to His voice, through Scripture, circumstances and other godly people. We need to proclaim the word of God, because through it others come to faith and the devil can’t harm us. The Word of God is our best defense against spiritual powers that are not from God. In Ephesians 6 Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God to defend against the devil. He says take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.