The Word is Nigh Thee

The Word is Nigh Thee
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The Jews of the Old Testament were much like religious people today. The Hebrews of the Old Covenant thought they had an "in" with God because they were born Jews and had the Law given to them. They could hold God's Law in their hand. They could see with their eyes the sacrifices of animals, grain, and meat. They had their feast days, celebrations, and days of fasts. They put the scriptures in little pouches on their foreheads. The Word of God actually touched their skin.

Religious people haven't changed. Their salvation is always in THINGS. Their name is engraved on a church pew. They were baptized in water. The water actually touched their skin. Their name is on a church roll. They can hold the church's roll book in their hand.

Paul wrote of such people in Romans 10. In verses 2 and 3 he says. "For I bear them (Jews) record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God."

Ignorance is always the enemy of men. Unbelievers today are held in prison by their own ignorance of the love and compassion of the Lord. God's righteousness will never lead you to look OUTSIDE yourself for help.

God's help is CLOSER than a roll sheet. His love is CLOSER than water which could touch your body. It is nigh (near) you, even in YOUR MOUTH and in YOUR HEART. Religion puts emphasis on the EXTERNAL ritual.

Romans 10:5-7:

For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, (Leviticus 18:5) that the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, (Deuteronomy 30:12-14) Say not in thine heart. Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above: again from the dead.)

Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (Greek-abyss) (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

Notice, RIGHTEOUSNESS SPEAKS and what God's righteousness has to say is important. You will never hear God condone righteousness by self-effort. God does not condone righteousness by water baptism, signing roll sheets, giving offerings, or joining any church. If these things would produce righteousness then WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE? If the law could justify, then we might as well pull Jesus back down from heaven, and undo all His work in the heart of the earth. His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension are all in vain. Since this is blasphemy, the righteousness which is of faith will NEVER say this. But what DOES righteousness say?

“But what saith it?” (righteousness of faith) The word is nigh (near) thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach." (Romans 10:8)

Quit looking for your help in THINGS. Your answer is already IN you.

Romans 10:9 says, "That is thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus (Jesus as Lord) and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

The word of faith always exalts the person and work of the Lord Jesus. He did the work and we simply receive the benefits. Righteousness always speaks of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus to the right hand of God. The devil is destroyed because of Jesus, not our works.

Romans 10:10:

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The word "salvation" is interesting. It is the Greek word "sozo." Scofield calls this word "...the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes: It implies the ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness." (page 1192, footnote for Romans 1:16)

This should tell us something. The same way we receive salvation, is the same way we receive healing. If we believe God's Word in our heart and confess it with our mouth "...thou shalt be Healed."

"Oh, if I could just get Brother So and So to lay his hands on my head, I know I would be healed." IT'S CLOSER THAN THAT. "Oh, if I could just get one of Sister So and So's prayer cloths, I could hold it next to my body. It would actually touch me." IT'S CLOSER THAN THAT.

"If I could just be in the same room with that famous preacher, it would be alright." IT'S CLOSER THAN THAT.

The word of faith is IN YOUR HEART AND IN YOUR MOUTH. If you will release your faith through your mouth, you will receive healing, soundness, preservation, or any other redemptive act or process. The ministries of these other men and women are valid, but what about YOUR MINISTRY.

Son or daughter, your faith will make you "sozo."

Romans 10:13 tells us, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (sozo)." That "whosoever" means you.

Romans 10:14, 15, 17:

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, (Isaiah 52:7) How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word (rhema-spoken, communicated word) of God.

If my faith makes me whole, how am I to get faith? The Word of God in your heart produces faith. As the Word is communicated to you through reading, listening to tapes, or sitting under the pastor, evangelist, etc., faith begins to mount up on the inside of you, and you can be "sozo." You can be set free in every area of your life. The work of Jesus on the cross was for every part of you, spirit, soul and body.

KNOWLEDGE is the key to receiving from the Lord. Since faith comes by hearing the Word of God, this means faith is directly proportionate to your knowledge. "For they being ignorant..." (Romans 10:3)

But not only are sinners ignorant of God's mercy, Christians seem to be the same. Hosea 4:6 says, "MY people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." If you are not saved or healed my friend, it's because of your IGNORANCE.

God wants your needs met even more than you do. He sent Jesus to the cross to prove it. Jesus did not go to the cross just because you would accept Him. He would still have gone even if NO ONE would have accepted Him. He was more willing to meet your need than you were to have them met.

The work of Jesus on the cross was a manifestation of the grace of God. What God offers in grace we must receive with our faith.

Romans 4:16 tells us, "Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed..." Grace is for everyone. But grace is not automatically dumped on you. You must receive it by faith.

Peter saw this and wrote in 2 Peter 1:2, "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord."

Notice, grace is multiplied to us through KNOWLEDGE. If you have not received God's grace don't blame Him, blame yourself. You are destroyed (sick, in sin, etc.) for a lack of knowledge. Our IGNORANCE is blocking the blessing of His grace.

"According as his divine power hath (past tense) given unto us ALL THINGS that pertain unto life and godliness..."

Notice, all things have ALREADY been given to us. ALL things for life (natural) and godliness (spiritual). But how do we receive these things?

"...through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:" 2 Peter 1:3

KNOWLEDGE IS THE KEY. There is nothing you need to ask God to get for you. ALL things have already been given. You must receive them with your faith, which comes through knowledge of His Word.

If your faith is weak, then your knowledge is weak also. But where do I get this knowledge?

2 Peter 1:4:

Whereby are given unto us EXCEEDING GREAT AND PRECIOUS PROMISES: that by these (exceeding great and precious promises) ye might (it's up to you) be partakers of the divine nature...

Do you have the divine nature? "Well yes, I am born again." But are you partaking of it? It's one thing to have the nature of God in you, and it's another to draw from it for every need of life. IT'S NIGH YOU. Put these exceeding great and precious promises in your heart and then speak them with your mouth and you will receive "sozo."

God is so good to us in His Word. He has given us ALL things that pertain to our natural life and spiritual godliness. Then He has also given us the instructions on how to receive those blessings.

He not only provides the car, but also the instruction manual to drive it. He provides "all things," and the "exceeding great and precious promises" to acquire them.

Proverbs 4:20-22 gives us a detailed explanation on how to put God's Word to work for us to receive spiritual and physical blessings.

"My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."

He says "They are life to those that find them ..." We must first find the promises that apply to our situation. We could not become born again from the Word until we learned about Acts 16:31 and Romans 10:9 and 10.

We found the Words of salvation and they become life to us. We are told by Paul in 2 Timothy 2:15 to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth."

We are to "hide His word in our heart" and "esteem His Word more than our necessary food."

This verse is simply telling us we need to take the time to find the scriptures. Otherwise, they will not be life to us. Again, we will be destroyed because of our ignorance.

In Proverbs 4:20 we know God is talking to believers because He says, "My son, attend to my words."
Believers are to attend to the words of our father. What words do we attend to? These exceeding great and precious promises!

They cause us to be partakers of His divine nature. His divine nature is righteousness, health, and prosperity.

God is not worried, oppressed or fearful. The promises attended to will also make us more like our heavenly father. "As He is, so are we in this world."

How do we "attend" to His words. We are given two ways. First, "...incline thine ear unto my sayings." Do not listen to all those well-meaning friends who tell you this "faith stuff" won't work. Keep your ears set on God's sayings.

If you do not have a CD player or mp3 player, SPEAK THE WORD YOURSELF. Listen to your own voice.

Faith cometh by hearing. If faith can come from hearing the Word of God, then doubt and unbelief can come from hearing the voice of Satan.

Satan can come through the voice of those around you. Sometimes from your own family and friends who mean well but do not understand. Lovingly tune them out and keep your ears filled with the sayings of God.

The second way we "attend" to His words is "Let them not depart from thine eyes." Do not look at the symptoms. Look at the Word.

Your natural thoughts will say, "Look at that lump on your body. It's growing." Speak to your natural mind and tell it to attend to God's Word!

God also instructs us in Proverbs 4:21, "...keep them in the midst of thine heart." Keep "them" what? Keep "them" words, "them" sayings, "them" exceeding great and precious promises in the midst of thine heart.

This is meditation on the Word of God. Joshua said in Johsua 1:8 if we would "...meditate therein (in the book of the law) day and night, then thou shall make thy way prosperous, and then shalt thou have good success."

When we are in a place where we cannot read our Bible (keep it before the eyes), or don't have access to a CD or mp3 player to hear it (incline thine ear), we can specifice verses.

We can do this day or night. How could the devil ever enter in and steal the Word if every minute of the day or night we are reading the Word, listening to the Word, or meditating on the Word?

You might ask "Is it worth all that effort?" The answer is a definite YES. "For they (sayings, words, promises) are life to those that find them (sayings, words, promises) and health to all their flesh."

The Word of God in you will produce life (spiritual) and health (physical).

The two-fold work of Jesus on the cross was to provide the new birth and physical healing. "Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases." (Psalm 103:3)

Notice, the Word is health to ALL our flesh. Notice, this verse did not say "healing" to all their flesh, but "health."

Health is not just a one time happening, but a way of life. God intends for us to walk in righteousness and health as a way of life.

This verse is not to be used to eliminate sin and sickness and then abandoned until the next sickness shows up. It should be applied in our everyday life.

Proverbs 4:20-22 should become natural to you as eating every day. As regular as brushing your teeth and showering. This passage says, "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."

We should keep the Word before our eyes, ears, and in the midst of our heart. The church world as a whole does not understand this concept from the Word. They have hardened their heart to the Lord and are full of sickness and sin today.

This was also the case during the life of Jesus and Matthew 13:15 says, "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted (life), and I should heal (health) them."

My confession for you is found in Matthew 13:16: "But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear."

Bob Yandian

If you like this article, check out Healing and his book, How Deep are the Stripes?, at the BYM Store.