Light for the Simple, Strength for the Pure

Mental illumination. I want to turn to Psalm 119, a familiar verse to many, I’m sure. Psalm 119:130. The psalmist is speaking to God and he says:

“The entrance of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.”

So, the entrance of God’s Word into our minds and into our hearts gives light. It’s different from education. Education is not light. You can be educated and totally in the dark. How do I know? Because I was. Highly educated and totally in the dark until the light of the Word of God shone into my life. So, remember, education is not light.

Years ago I was dealing with African students in East Africa whose one ambition was to get education. I wrote a little tract for them once called “You are seeking education but are you also finding wisdom?” I pointed out wisdom and education are not the same. In this tract I pointed out something which has shocked some people, most of the trouble in the world is caused by educated fools. Theodore Roosevelt, former president of the United States, once said this: He said, “If a man is a thief he’ll steal a railroad car [or a carriage or a compartment], but if you educate the same man he’ll steal the whole railroad.” So, please bear in mind education is a useful thing but it is not light. In fact, as I say, some of the most educated minds are in the deepest darkness. It’s only the entrance of God’s Word that gives light.

And then God’s Word provides physical healing. And I say this out of my own personal experience. Let’s turn to Psalm 107 for a moment. Reading from verse 17 through verse 20:

“Fools... [That’s the people in the other church, that’s never you and me!] Fools, because of their transgression and because of their iniquities were afflicted.”

Did it ever occur to you that some of us are afflicted because we’ve been leading a wrong life? I’ve heard so many people come for healing to me. Very rarely do they ever suggest that the source of their problem is their wrong living. But it says fools because of their iniquities are afflicted.]

“Their soul abhorred all manner of food and they drew near to the gates of death. [They were at the point of death. The doctor could do no more for them. Then it says:] Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. [My comment on that is people often leave it very late to pray. They were at death’s door and it suddenly occurred to them it might help to pray. And what did God do? Listen:] He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

Notice three things that God does when He sends His Word: He saves, He heals and He delivers. The three great acts of God’s mercy—saving from sin, healing from sickness and delivering from demon power—He accomplishes primarily through His Word.

Some of you, I know this from experience, you’re looking to find some preacher who will lay hands on you and pray for you and you’ll be healed. Well, may it happen. But I know, because many people come to me, they think if I pray for them they’ll be healed. But they aren’t. And in fact, I’ve come to the place where I’m a little bit concerned because I see they’re really looking to Brother Prince, not to the Lord. And let me tell you, without any preacher you can be healed if you’ll receive God’s Word, for He sent His Word, healed them, delivered them from their distresses.

And then there comes my favorite verse which is what got me out of hospital when no medication would do it, Proverbs 4:20, 21 and 22. I quote it in the Old King James Version because that’s how it came to me.

“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 to those who find them and health to all their flesh.”

God’s words, he says, will be health to all our flesh.

Now there I was, I’d been about seven months in hospital. The doctors were not healing me and I was saying, “If only I had faith I knew God would heal me.” Then I got that Scripture, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” I began to hope and then I began to look through the Scripture again with a new hope. But you see, I had a problem. I’d been a professional philosopher and the job of philosophers is to make simple things complicated. That’s when they get elected. So, I couldn’t take the Word of God in its simplicity. I read promise after promise about God healing but I thought that only means He heals my soul.  He’s not really interested in my body, that’s just corrupt, it’s going to die anyhow. Bless the Lord, O my soul, forgiveth all mine iniquities, healeth all thy diseases, I said that’s only my soul’s diseases. But when I got to Proverbs 4:20–22, I couldn’t get around it. God says His words are life to those that find them and health to all their flesh. And I said not even a philosopher can make flesh mean anything but flesh. Health to my whole physical body. And then I looked in the margin and the alternative reading for health was medicine. I happened to be what the army called a medical orderly. I said how do people take their medicine? The answer is three times daily after meals. I said that’s what I’ll do. I can’t go into the details but over a period of three or four months I took God’s Word as my medicine three times daily after every meal and it gave me complete and permanent healing and health in one of the most unhealthy climates in the world, the Sudan.

So, I’ll tell you, brothers and sisters, it works.

Now, let’s come to just three more results of the Word of God, very quickly. The next one is victory over sin and Satan. Psalm 119:9 and 11:

“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to your Word.”

And then again in verse 11:

“Your Word have I hidden [or stored up] in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Many, many of our young people today really question whether it’s possible to lead a pure life. Most of their educators will tell them it isn’t. They’ll recommend what they call safe sex, which is never safe. But the Bible says a young man who gives attention to his way, according to the Word of God, can lead a pure life.

And I thank God when I worked amongst African young people I saw those words fulfilled time and time again. They were made pure and they led clean lives because they gave heed to the Word of God.

And you’ll remember that we looked in Matthew 4 when Jesus encountered Satan, He only met him with one weapon: “It is written.”

And then again, and we’re going very quickly now, in Ephesians 5:25–27:

“Husbands, love your wives...”

Just let me tell you husbands, that’s not a suggestion, it’s a command.

“Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

How will Jesus provide Himself with a bride who is holy and without blemish? Through the washing of water by the Word of God. The Word of God sanctifies us, it cleanses us.

John said of Jesus, this is He who came by water and by blood. Not by water only but by blood. By the blood of His sacrifice He redeems us but by the water of His Word He cleanses and sanctifies us. We need both. We’re redeemed by the blood that we might be cleansed by the Word.

And finally, James says, and we won’t turn there, but in his epistle, chapter 1, verses 23–25, the Bible is a spiritual mirror. When you look into it, it doesn’t show you your physical appearance, it shows you what you’re really like inside. James points out when you look in a mirror and see there’s something wrong, the sensible thing to do is tend to it. If your hair is out of order, you brush it. If your face is dirty, you wash it. You act on what you see in the mirror. And James says you need to do that when you look in the mirror of the Word of God. You need to see your spiritual self in it and act on whatever it shows you that you need to do.