Work the Word Part 3:

Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

August 16th, 2026

Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV)

12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

1. INTRODUCTION

Watch the full Sunday service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wx7vHZWEEg

Today, many of us will testify that what we need in this season is not necessarily more information. What we’re after is alignment. Alignment is important, because we live in a time where people want affirmation, but not adjustment. People literally want comfort but do not want correction. It’s important to notice this: while you are praying for transformation in your life, you have to also be open to truth in your life, because we’re going to discover that God’s word for us today is never meant to simply inspire us. It is meant to come into our lives and intervene in the deepest places of our lives, to bring about change. The word does not come to coddle our confusion; the word comes to straighten us out.

We shout on scripture on Sunday, but do not have the ability to live it out on Monday. We want God to change our circumstances, but we don’t want God to touch our character. That’s why we can say, “God, change all that, but just leave me alone” — but God is not just in the business of changing our circumstances; it is God’s desire to change us from the inside out, because once you change internally, things turn around — you begin to change externally. The word has a way of getting past our appearance and dealing with our intentions, going deeper than many of us even realize today.

I want you to understand that the word of God does not need permission to do what it does. It comes in because it is authorized by truth, and when the word of God comes into your life, please understand — God’s word is accurate, and God’s word comes in at the right time, at the right season. God speaks into my situation exactly where I am, but He’s not going to leave me the way He found me today.

We’re going to understand that there are some errors in all of our lives. We need God’s word to straighten us out. Let’s be honest — we all showed up with some stuff that needs to be straightened out. We can act like it ain’t us, but let’s be very clear: all of us have some stuff — attitudes, ways in which we’ve been dealing with some stuff we haven’t talked about. We all have some gossip areas we need God to straighten us out in, and if you’re open to it, I guarantee your God’s going to straighten some stuff out today.

A lot of the people in this book were Hebrews — believers who were Jews who had converted to Christianity — and they were under great distress. Many of them were frustrated because they were dealing with social isolation and spiritual persecution, and they were really wondering if it was worth it to continue on in their faith. It’s interesting because this book is written in a way the hearer could understand contextually what the writer is saying, because even though they were contemplating abandoning their faith, Hebrews encourages them to understand the power and efficacy of the word of God, because the word of God is what sustains us — it keeps us. When you begin to look at chapters 3 and 4, you begin to understand that the writer reflects back over Israel, and what they were carrying through the wilderness. He makes references to that — they were delivered from Egypt, but in the wilderness their problem was not so much the wilderness. Their problem was not obeying the word of God, not doing what God’s word said they should do.

It’s interesting because when you begin to look at that, we arrive at verse 12. This verse isn’t a random drop into this space — this word really is an explanation as to why unbelief is so dangerous, because God’s word is alive. It keeps speaking whether you hear it or not. God’s going to keep on speaking and keep on speaking and keep on speaking. God’s word is alive; He’ll keep on talking to you until you finally open up your ears and hear it.

So let me move real quickly — it’s important, because the Bible says His word — watch this — it is active. It is sharper than a two-edged sword. This is a reference this audience would understand, because Roman soldiers understood what a two-edged sword was. Please understand — a Roman soldier operated with long swords and short swords, but the short sword was the gladius. It was the two-edged sword, whereas the long sword was for slicing — it was for literally coming through, randomly just cutting. But the gladius, the two-edged sword, was more precision — it pierced the armor. It was something a soldier would really have to practice for years to perfect, because battles were not won by how long the sword was — the battle was won by how precise the sword was.

So the writer of Hebrews intentionally borrows this imagery, because God’s word never swings carelessly — it never wounds unnecessarily, it never misses its target. It reaches exactly where God intends, with divine precision. It’s a sword — the sword of God cuts with precision. It cuts both ways every time. God’s word confronts us — it’s cutting away something that doesn’t belong. God will remove unbelief, but He’ll build your faith. God will expose pride, but He’ll build humility. God will move deception away, but He will allow truth to take root.

And so today I come to tell somebody — God’s going to do what God’s going to do, if you open up your spirit and you are ready for God to do what God’s going to do. Somebody say, “Lord, do it. I need You to straighten me out in areas so that I don’t self-destruct.” So today we’re going to have a conversation. It’s going to get real up in here.

1. THE WORD IS ALIVE, NOT ARCHIVED

1. God’s Word Is Present Tense Power, Not Past Information.
2. Abraham spent time in Egypt during a famine.
3. Joseph governed Egypt.
4. Moses was raised in Pharaoh’s household.
5. The prophet Jeremiah found refuge in Egypt.
6. Jesus, Joseph, and Mary.

Now I want you to understand something: God’s word is present tense. Watch this — God’s word is alive and not archived. Somebody say, “God’s word is alive and not an archive.” That’s important because it means something — God’s word is living, not legendary. God’s word is not some relic. I want you to understand what God’s word is. God’s word cannot be looked at as something from history — it is functioning, it is real, it has authority. God’s word is right now. Your technology must be upgraded, updated, all that stuff — but God’s word does not need to be updated, because every day God’s word is fresh. It is relevant. It is right now. When I look at God’s word, I have to recognize something — I will not look at it like a social media archive. Social media archives will tell me where I was at that particular date; God’s word will give me a revelation of where I am right now. God’s word always speaks into my right-now situation.

When I understand that, when I open up the word of God, I am not looking at just an archived history of what occurred — I am trying to find out, “God, what are You saying to me in this very moment right now?” That means when you’re trying to figure out what you’re going to do with your family, God’s word is alive. When you’re trying to figure out what direction you’re going to take your career, God’s word is alive. When you’re trying to figure out how you’re going to navigate the storm you’re dealing with, God’s word is alive. He speaks to you right now in the midst of your situation — you don’t need another opinion, you just need to go to the Word and find out what God is saying right now, because there is a difference between knowing the story and getting the word.

You can know the story — thank God for the story. I know the story of how David defeated Goliath, but what I needed was the revelation for how I can handle my giants in my life. Thank God for the story of how Peter stepped out of the boat and started walking on the water, but I need the word to tell me how to get out of a situation that has me stuck in a boat mentality — how I can step out and do what people say I cannot do. So when the word now becomes real in my life, it becomes practical in my situation. The Bible is not just telling you what happened then — the Bible is showing you what God can do right now, because if He did it before, He can do it again.

That’s why you should not let your Bible sit on your shelf while your problems stay on your mind. You can’t have a closed Bible but an open anxiety. We’re living in a time now, biblically, where people just don’t read the Bible anymore. People just want one little devotional message on Instagram — one little click here, one little click there — and people don’t know the difference between the Psalms and the book of Job. Let me talk to you and help you understand — you’ve got to learn how to study God’s word. You’d better get to a place in your life where you’re built up and rooted in God’s word, “study to show yourself approved,” so you’re not out here gullible just because somebody’s quoting scripture out of context and it sounds good. It’s not always sound — you’ve got to know the word of God for yourself.

The word is alive, and it knows what to meet you where you are. It will meet you and will not leave you where it found you. You can read the same scripture in one season, and then God will use that same scripture in another season and speak to you wherever you are in either season. Somebody knows what I’m talking about. Let me help you understand this — that’s why there’s a difference between knowing the scripture and needing the scripture. Sometimes I know the word — I ain’t gonna lie, I know the word — but there are times I need a word. There’s a time I preach the word, but there’s a time I need a word. Who am I talking to? That’s why I come to this house of God — that’s why I stay in it, so that somebody gets justified. I’m not here trying to look famous. I’m not here trying to get somebody to like me. I’m not here trying to show up for something — I’m trying to get a word from God. Somebody came through the crowd today because you needed a word from God. Anybody know it only takes one word from God that can change your situation — one word from God can keep you from losing your mind, one word from God can help you get where God’s trying to help you get.

Watch this — you can’t just count the word, you’ve got to activate it. Don’t just highlight it, live by it. Don’t just quote it, but trust it. Here’s the deal — God’s word is present tense, not past information. It’s not some museum piece — the Bible is a mirror. You’ve got to look at the word of God and ask, “What is this showing me about me?” Let me help you understand something — watch this carefully, — God speaks now as good as He spoke then, and I must understand the word confronts me in my current situation.

• When The Word Feels Dull, Resistance Has Replaced Receptivity.

Some people ask, “How can this book, Pastor, written thousands of years ago, still speak to me today?” Can I tell you how — because the author is not bound by time. God stands outside of history while seeing all of history at once. He knew about social media before social media was a thing. He knew about AI before you even discovered computers. As a matter of fact, God knew all about you before you were even a thought between your mom and your dad — before He formed you in the belly, He knew you. God stands outside of history, and God already provides an answer before you even have a problem. God already provides a solution before you have the question.

So what’s important to understand — technology changes, the world changes, but God’s word remains the same. And as a consequence, I recognize that God’s word remains the same, but I’ve got to stop questioning that word, because God’s word speaks to us in our human condition.

There’s somebody who has a cousin who literally asked a question: “How can I trust this Bible? Isn’t this the white man’s religion?” Let me answer for you — history doesn’t support that claim. Christianity did not begin in Europe; it began in the Middle East, the land of Israel, before the gospel ever spread throughout Europe. Scripture was deeply connected to Africa. As a matter of fact, Abraham spent time in Egypt during the famine — you already know Egypt is in Africa. Joseph governed in Egypt. Moses was raised in Pharaoh’s household. The prophet Jeremiah found refuge in Egypt. After Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph fled with Him to Egypt — making Africa the first place to shelter the Messiah. In the book of Acts, one of the earliest recorded Gentile converts was an Ethiopian official who carried the gospel back to Africa, and by the second and third centuries, North African cities such as Alexandria and Carthage had become major centers of Christian theology, producing influential leaders like Tertullian, Athanasius, and Augustine. Long before Christianity was ever displayed by Europe, the truth was already flourishing in Africa.

So don’t reject the Bible because somebody misused the Bible. The problem has never been the word — the problem is people who ignored the word while trying to promote their own agenda. Even enslavers tried to isolate certain passages to justify slavery, but they ignored the larger story of scripture — the story of a God who delivered His people from oppression, declares that every human being bears His image, and tears down the walls of oppression. The abuse of scripture by sinful people doesn’t invalidate scripture any more than counterfeit money proves real currency isn’t worth anything. So the word worked then, and the word works now — the word worked for your grandmother and the word works for you, it worked for your granddaddy and it works for you. The same word that brought one generation through is the same word that can bring you through right now.

1. THE WORD CUTS TO CURE

1. Exposure Is Not Punishment, It Is Preparation For Healing.

Who am I talking to — anybody know that’s how much power is in God’s word? Listen, listen, listen, listen — let me help you understand something. The word cuts to cure. What do you mean, Pastor? The word cuts me to cure me — God uses the word to expose you. He’s doing it to heal you. Surgery requires cutting — cutting brings about healing. If I can’t open you up, how can I solve the problem? So the surgery hurts, but the surgery also heals. My God is not addressing the superficial issues of your life — God is going after the deeper issues of your life. God is going for the root, because if we don’t get to the root, you’re going to keep producing crazy fruit, and people see the fruit and wonder why it’s so weird, when really it needs to be addressed because you’ve got some deep roots going on.

So you don’t come to church for a shallow message — you don’t come to church for something superficial. You need somebody to go down to the root. I need to go past the armor of my pride, go past the armor of my resistance, go past the armor of my rejection, and speak to the place nobody wants to speak to — go to the deeper place in my life. Can I help you understand — people of God, listen carefully — exposure is never punishment, it’s only preparation. Sometimes when God exposes us, He’s not trying to embarrass us, He’s just trying to reveal to us what’s wrong with us. When you go to the doctor and the doctor tries to expose you, that’s just being thorough. When the doctor gives you a diagnosis, they’re showing you your problem — the diagnosis is not judgment, it’s just the beginning of your treatment.

So when God gives you a diagnosis, God is saying, “Here is where we are, and here is where we need to go.” That’s what the word of God does — it shines a light on the places we would rather keep in the dark. It exposes the attitudes and insecurities and pride and fear and bitterness and secret habits and unhealthy relationships and unforgiveness, and it takes it to God, down to the deep places of our life. Some of us have gotten good at managing the symptoms instead of dealing with the source — we smile, we straighten up, but we come to church and say, “I’m blessed” — underneath the blessing we’ve got a bunch of unresolved issues.

Can I talk to somebody for a moment — God is trying to help you understand something: “I love you too much not to address it.” So when God sends His word, He’s not picking on you — He sends His word because He loves you enough to help you deal with the stuff you’ve been avoiding. Can I tell you something — when God does it, you’ve got to accept that, you’ve got to open up. Whenever you find yourself in a place where you know God is touching that place, you’ve got to say, “Lord, I thank You” — not, “God, why do you keep bringing this up,” but start asking God, “What are You trying to heal in my life? Why do we keep coming back to this?” — because God is trying to make sure. He’s not doing it to sabotage you — sometimes you are holding onto stuff that might prevent the thing God is trying to do in your life.

• Avoiding Conviction Keeps You Locked In Your Condition.

Here’s the deal, and here’s the problem — we are afraid of conviction, because avoiding conviction will keep you locked in your condition. Conviction is not God condemning you — conviction is this: I know there’s some things in me that ain’t right. OK, let me talk to this side — I acknowledge there’s some things in me that aren’t right, but the problem is some of the stuff I know ain’t right, I don’t want to change. Real people here — you keep telling me what I will not do, but you don’t tell me how not to do it. So if all I hear is “you’re not doing this, you’re not doing that,” and you haven’t given me a strategy on how not to, then I’ve got an excuse — I just don’t know how to not do it. I just can’t help myself, so I’m going to sit on the side of doing it because I like doing it. I’m like the apostle Paul, who wrestled — there was something in me that I wanted to do, I didn’t want to do; that I didn’t want to do, I kept doing. I keep going back and forth and I can’t figure out why I can’t stop.

I don’t know who I’m talking to, but let me help you for a moment, because you know what you do when you do it, and you know why you do it. Here’s the deal — the only way to not do it is to come to a place of conviction. Now I want you to see yourself like this — when you got saved, you got the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to wait for the Holy Spirit to come — people get saved and I hear them say, “I’m still waiting for the Holy Spirit to fall.” No, no, no, no, no — you have the Holy Spirit. The problem is you don’t recognize the Holy Spirit because you’ve got too much of yourself in the way. The reason I’ll be a fool for the gospel is because we believe less of me, more of Him — the less of me, the more He fills. So if you ain’t full of Him, you’re full of something.

Watch how it works — God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one. God is my divine surveillance — He is the God who watches out for me, He is the God who has His eye on my situation. God the Word is my direction — the word I hide in my heart so that I may not sin against Him — that word is a lamp unto my feet to light my pathway. God the Holy Spirit is my teacher, my guide to truth, and they all work together because they are one, not separate.

So watch how conviction works — you sit under ministry like this and you get the word, and you go through something and the Holy Spirit brings that word back to your remembrance, but He can never bring back what hadn’t been sown. Conviction works like this: you know yourself better than anybody else, and God made you, so He knows you. You are the sheep of His pasture — it is He that created you, not you yourself. So God knows what your tendencies are, He knows what you are capable of. So there was a time you could cuss somebody out, go put a cigarette in your mouth, and go have the best night’s sleep of your life and not even think about it. But now, if you cuss somebody out, your conviction — the Holy Spirit — begins to rise up inside of you and trouble your spirit, and you’re like, “I shouldn’t have said that, Lord.” I feel so bad, let me text, let me call and try to make it right — that’s what conviction is, and here’s how it works: the closer you get to God, the greater your conviction. The farther you are from God, the less your conviction.

So if you can act a fool, if you can go do what you do with whoever you’re doing it with, and don’t feel nothing, you’ve got to check your distance from God. But if you find yourself falling short, and you feel horrible after, it’s not a time to condemn yourself — it’s a time to say, “Thank You, Holy Spirit, for convicting me, because I wouldn’t feel this way if I wasn’t getting closer to You.” Somebody give God glory — the enemy wants you to feel bad because you messed up, because you made a mistake, but conviction is different — for some of you, when you do stuff, you’re like, “I can’t even focus anymore, my whole day is messed up.” That’s how the Holy Spirit works — He purposely convicts you. Conviction is a gift — the absence of conviction means God has given up on me.

So today I just want to take a moment and pray: “Lord, if I’m wrong, correct me. If I’m drifting, redirect me. If I’m hiding, expose me. Lord, if I’m wounded, heal me. If I’m bound, deliver me. Lord, if I’m proud, humble me. If I’m comfortable, disturb me — because I don’t want to be comfortable and stuck in this place. Whatever You’ve got to do in this season, make sure I am aligned with what You have for my life.”

1. THE WORD DISCERNS WHAT WE DENY

1. Pornography & Sexual Immorality

Psalm 119:9 — “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.”

2. Unforgiveness

Colossians 3:13 — “Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

3. Fear

2 Timothy 1:7 — “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

4. Pride & Self Reliance

Proverbs 16:18 — “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

5. Gossip & a Critical Spirit

Proverbs 16:28 — “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”

6. Infidelity (Emotional & Physical)

Hebrews 13:4 — “Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.”

7. Identity & Shame

Romans 8:1 — “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

1. God’s Word Reveals Motives We Hide from Ourselves.

Let me tell you this — the word is a discerner of what we deny. The text says the word discerns the thoughts and the intents — and you and I cannot discern somebody’s intent. Do you think you can tell somebody what was in their mind? You don’t have the ability to do that — that’s low-key demonic. You’re not authorized to try to interpret somebody’s intent. Only the Holy Spirit and the word can interpret somebody’s intent. All you have the ability to do is interpret behavior based on historical realities in your own personal life.

So here you are, a young lady — you cross the street and some guy blows his horn. He’s not blowing the horn because he’s trying to holler at you — people blow the horn so you don’t get run over — but your history has taught you that when somebody blows a horn at you, they’re trying to holler at you. I’m trying to help you understand — you’re interpreting behavior based on your own personal history, and sometimes your trauma can cause you to miss a moment. You’ve got to get to a point where you recognize only the Holy Spirit can determine somebody’s intent. God’s word addresses my intent and my motive — the word gets beneath the surface. The word helps us deal with the stuff we don’t want to address, all that stuff you’ve been carrying and struggling with.

Let me go deeper — so many of us know how to behave well but believe wrong. We’ve got the behavior down — we know the theological phrases, we know how to behave, we know how not to look bad — but we don’t believe right. Jesus says, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” So here’s the deal — God’s word reveals the motives we hide from ourselves. God is going to do this with His word — that word is going to confront what you’ve been justifying, that word is going to come and show you what your real motive is. I know you want the position, but I’m going to show you why you want it — do you want the position because it’s going to feed your need to be needed? Are you trying to feed some narcissistic side of you? Do you want to be popular, do you want to be famous, or do you want to help people? What do you want here — the word will always expose you.

You want to ask somebody, “Do you want to be with me?” The word discerns why you want to be with me — do you want to be with me because I elevate you, or do you want to be with me because we elevate each other? What’s going on over here — the word of God exposes this.

• Transformation Begins When Truth Interrupts Intention.

Let me help you understand — break this down with childlike understanding: transformation begins when truth interrupts intention. Let me make that make sense — change happens in your life the moment you allow the word to interrupt what you were trying to pull off. God knows what you’re doing when you’re doing it. You try to act naive like you don’t know, but He knows your intent — you know it ain’t right, what you’re trying to do. You know when you’re stealing what you’re doing when you steal — that’s why you go through all the trouble to try to get away with it. You know what you’re doing here, because you spend so much energy trying to get away with it.

Can I talk to somebody here today — God loves you so much that the moment you allow God’s word to interrupt your intention, that is the moment your change happens.

So you were about to send the text, and God sent a word that said, “No.” You were about to clap back at somebody — you had it all planned out — and then God said a word that said, “Vengeance is Mine.” You were about to walk away from where God placed you, and you were so frustrated, but then God said a word that said, “Be not weary in well doing, for in due season you shall reap if you faint not.” God sends a word just when you need it, at the right time, because He’s trying to make sure you don’t self-destruct — because He knows the plans He has for your life. He knows what your intent is, but thank God He will interrupt your intent to bring change. That’s why the interruption is a blessing — the word interrupts your intentions before your intentions become your mistake. The word interrupts your anger before your anger becomes your regret. The word interrupts your fear before your fear becomes your decision. The word interrupts your pride before your pride becomes your downfall.

So today we declare: “Lord, interrupt me. The way You want to interrupt my plans, interrupt my attitude, interrupt my appetite, interrupt my relationships, interrupt my habits, interrupt my thinking, Lord — whatever You’ve got to do.” Because God’s word does not come to make you feel better — God’s word comes to make you better. I did not come to comfort your dysfunction, God says — I came to direct you. I did not come to confirm everything you already believe — I came to transform who you are.

Somebody give God glory that God stepped in right on time and said a word to disrupt you. You get to the airport, everything looks fine — no clouds in the sky, we can take off, everyone’s settled in for takeoff — and you’re sitting there wondering why you aren’t taking off. Come to find out the pilot is not the only one making the decision — there’s someone in the tower that can see what the pilot cannot see. If you’re looking from air traffic control, you can see the whole picture — they can see another aircraft approaching, a storm developing, they can see something on the runway, they can see traffic that the pilot cannot see from the cockpit. Suddenly a voice comes over the headset of the pilot: “Hold your position.” I can imagine the pilot saying, “But everything looks fine right here.” The tower says, “I understand what you see, but hold your position.” The pilot doesn’t argue. The pilot doesn’t say, “I don’t feel like holding.” The pilot doesn’t say, “I’ve already planned my departure.” The person in the tower has information the pilot does not have.

That’s why God is telling you — I know you’re educated, I know you’ve got your plans all figured out, but sometimes God will tell you, “Hold your position,” because there are some people who ignored God’s voice and their lives are jacked up as a result. But when I give God glory, it’s because God held me up, and if you found out some stuff that could’ve taken you out, I give God glory that He interrupted me so that I did not wreck my life. Somebody ought to give God glory that He was able to keep you from departing when you wanted to depart, and now God kept danger away from you. Can you open up your mouth and give God glory — thank God for divine interruption. It was never designed to frustrate your flight — it was designed to protect your destination.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death — you’ve got to let God set the tone. I have seen God say one word to somebody who came into a service having already made up their mind that after this day, they were going to take their life, and I’ve seen the word come and interrupt their plans. I have seen someone come in ready to give up, ready to quit — I’ve seen the word interrupt their plans. I have been pastoring, and I have seen students come in here and say, “I’m going home, it’s too hard,” and I have seen God’s word interrupt their plans, and now they’re right here doing great things, because God is not going to let you walk away from what He has for your life.

Have a blessed new week with the Lord!