Today’s scripture, Hebrews 4:12, brings back to mind an experience from my time in ministry in China. I had studied Chinese for two years, and my teacher was so dedicated that I was able to pick it up quickly. Thanks to those passionate lessons, after just one semester, I began preaching in Chinese. She poured herself into teaching me, and I also studied with great diligence.

My teacher at the time was a woman in her mid-forties. It was a Saturday, I believe. My wife and I were studying together in our room when there was a knock at the door. When I opened it, there stood my teacher. She had always been an attractive woman, but the sight that greeted me was startling—half of her entire body had twisted out of place. Her eyes, nose, and mouth, and even her arm and leg were distorted. “Teacher, what happened to you?” I asked in shock. She told me that a few days ago, she simply woke up to find herself in this condition. She had been to the hospital, but the doctors said there was nothing they could do for now—that they would just have to wait and see. As she shared her story, she seemed unable to believe it herself; she was laughing one moment and crying the next. She would laugh because the situation was so absurd, then cry out of fear that she might stay this way forever.

But after hearing all of this—perhaps because of a sudden surge of faith—I clapped my hands and, without even realizing, the words came out: in Chinese: “太好了(Tài hǎo le!)” In English, it means, “This is wonderful!” It just burst out of me. The thought had come to me an instant because I felt deep in my heart that this was a perfect opportunity to experience the living God.

I asked them to have a seat. A companion had followed her in—a friend of hers who had recently returned from the United States. This friend had come to know Jesus while abroad and had even attended seminary before coming back. With both of them seated, I shared the Word with my teacher. The passage I gave her that day was this very verse—Hebrews 4:12.

I shared with her: “The Word of God is living and powerful. It says that His Word pierces even to the division of the joints and marrow—not to mention the soul and spirit. To say it pierces the joints and marrow simply means that God’s Word performs surgery. And because it is sharper than any two-edged sword, it operates without leaving even a single scar. Think about what it would be like if a surgeon had to operate with a dull blade. A surgeon needs to make a clean incision, but if his instrument won’t cut properly, he’d have to saw back and forth. Just imagine how much scarring that would leave behind. But the Word of God is so incredibly sharp that it works in an instant and leaves no mark at all. That is what the power of God’s Word.

At that point, the friend sitting next to her said to the teacher, “That’s right. Exactly! If you believe in God, you will get better little by little.” When I heard that, I said, “否(Fǒu!)” — “No! That’s not right.” Why did I say no? What was it that didn’t sit right with me? It was the phrase “little by little.” Looking at the Bible, while there are certainly cases where people improved gradually after Jesus laid hands on them or prayed for them, in most instances, they were healed instantly on the spot. For example, when a blind man would open his eyes on the spot—well enough to answer, “How many fingers am I holding up?”

So, I spoke to her straight from the Word: “Teacher, that is not quite right. If you believe you will get better little by little, then it might happen that way. However, the Word of God can work right here, right now. If you accept the Word of God this very moment, because it is living and powerful, it will move and act immediately. It can heal your body right now. If your nerves have gone wrong somewhere, the Word of God can perform surgery on that nerve right now.”

Before she could even rise to her feet, she said something. And in the very moment this word left her lips, her eyes went wide and everything that had been twisted snapped back into place. It was like a rubber band wound tight and suddenly released, springing back all at once. Starting from her eyes, everything that had been pulled and distorted unwound itself in an instant. The moment I said, “God’s Word can heal you right now. It can perform its surgery completely and cleanly, right now”—at those very words, everything returned to where it belonged with that one word.

What was the word? If she had been a believer, she might have said, “Amen!” But she was not a believer. So what did she say? She asked, “真的吗? (Zhēnde ma?) — Is it really true?” That one word was all it took, and her entire body returned to its right place. I had not even prayed for her. She was completely healed on the spot, and in that same moment, all four of us—the friend, my wife, the teacher, and I—sprang up together and praised God.

Once she had calmed down, the very first thing she did was turn to her friend. “Hey, you said you believed in Jesus—so why did you never tell me about this?” Her friend didn’t know what to say. It was simply because she had not fully leaned on God herself. It had never occurred to her that He could help right then and there, so all she could say was “if you believe, you’ll eventually get better.”

In that moment, I experienced once again what the Word of God truly is. The Word of God is living and powerful. This is not an abstract concept. Human words are just that—abstract. With words, we can describe a shape, persuade someone, and if we speak well enough, we can even move a person’s heart. But human words cannot perform surgery on the human body. They cannot reconnect a severed nerve.

But when the Word of God enters, it is not merely received as an abstract idea, saying “Ah! I see!” Though the Word of God is invisible, yet it truly exists. When it comes into us, it moves and works. It reconnects severed nerves, causes tumors to fall away, restores the body completely, right then and there.

This is why Jesus said, “The words that I spoke to you are spirit.” It is the same “Spirit” we refer to when we talk about our soul and spirit. And just as His words are spirit, we too are spiritual beings.

Last week, I shared with you that there is a deep sense of longing within every human heart. When we are hungry, we want to eat; when we are cold, we want to put on warm clothes. Interestingly, these desires are quite easy to satisfy. I sometimes tell my wife, “Don’t go to the department store when you’re hungry!” When we’re hungry, everything looks appealing and we want to buy it all. But once we’ve had a meal, we’re satisfied, and nothing catches our eye anymore. Most of what our mind desires is what the body desires, and those desires are easy to meet.

And yet, strangely, there is also within us a longing for what is eternal. “Give me eternal love. Give me eternal happiness. I will love you forever, so love me forever in return.” And yet our flesh does not desire something eternal.

Then, why is it that we long for and desire what is eternal? It is because within us lives an eternal being. And that eternal being is what we call the spirit.

One of the defining characteristics of this eternal being is that it is invisible. Because of this, many people assume that it doesn’t exist. What are some other eternal beings? God is one. But because He cannot be seen, people say He does not exist. Angels, too. These also cannot be seen, and so people say they do not exist. Yet they exist eternally.

What we must clearly understand is that the Word of God, unlike the words of man, exists eternally. It is an eternal being. And so when we receive the Word of God, it does not fade away—it remains forever. If the Word of God were not spirit, if it were not an eternal being, then hearing it might change our thinking, but it could never cause the body to be suddenly healed. Therefore, this, then, is precisely what we must come to church to receive—the eternal, spiritual things that God gives. And it is for this very purpose that God made us the spirit, spiritual beings: so that we might be able to receive them.

For so long, people have lived without knowing that they are spiritual being, assuming that “My body must be all there is.” But we are spiritual beings. And it is to give us eternal things that God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ. Through Him, God has allowed us to know Him and has poured out His grace upon us so that we might open our hearts wide toward Him.

Not every word spoken by a pastor is the Word of God. However, there are words spoken by a pastor in the name of God, inspired by Him, and relying on His Spirit. When we receive such words with faith, they are “spirit” and “eternal being.”

Let me share one more testimony. When I was preaching in China, I used to preach for twelve hours a day. I was not even a pastor at the time; I was a layperson who had only been a believer for five years. Yet, during those gatherings, people would sit all day long and listen to the Word without moving, except for meal times. After several days of preaching like that, a thought crossed my mind: “Wait, am I simply a gifted speaker?” And that thought troubled me deeply. I did not want to be merely someone who spoke well. I wanted the words coming out of my mouth to be the Word of God—“spirit.” So, I prayed and asked God to give me evidence.

And this is what happened. Over the course of two or three days of meetings, there was a woman who stood at the very back to listen. I assumed she was standing because she was drowsy. But on the last day—the morning I was scheduled to preach one last time before leaving—I found her sitting right at the front.

Before I began, I asked her, “What brings you to the front today?” She gestured to a man sitting beside her whom I had never seen before. “This is my husband,” she said. I haven’t met your husband before; has he been coming to church?” He said it was his first time. “What brought you out today?” And this is what he told me: “Yesterday, when I came home and opened the door, I got the shock of my life. My wife was sitting down, working.” “Well, what is so surprising about that?” “My wife has not been able to sit down for years. Her back condition was so severe —the pain was so unbearable—that crouching or sitting was simply unthinkable for her. She could only stand or lie down. One or the other.” That was why she had been standing at the back all along.

The husband continued, “But when I got home, there she was, crouching down and trimming bean sprouts. I asked her what had happened, and she told me she had been healed while listening to the Word of God at church.” I had had no idea. “Were you healed yesterday?” I asked her. She said she had been. “When did it happen?” She told me that as she stood in the back listening, the Word had filled her with such joy. She had been listening with laughter, just laughing away, when she felt something come upon her — and the illness was gone. “But why didn’t you say anything?” “I’m sorry—I just couldn’t wait to get home and tell my husband!”

I asked her, “what exactly was I preaching at that moment?” She told me it was when I was proclaiming: “Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, and He made a promise: ‘I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.’ We will not live on this earth forever—we will live eternally in heaven, and Jesus will come to take us there. He is risen!” At those words, the people had burst out laughing—not in mockery, but out of sheer joy. The hearts of those listening were so pure and open. They heard those words and laughed, and it was in that very moment of laughter that she felt something come upon her and the illness left her. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I had not even prayed for her. What had brought about the healing? The Word. The Word had entered, and the Word had performed its surgery and healed her back completely.

This Word is not merely words. It is an eternal being. And it is living—for it is powerful and active. It heals sicknesses. It performs surgery on the body. But more than that, it heals the mind. And most importantly, it pierces and divides the spirit, laying everything bare before God, leading us to repentance, and allowing us to embrace His grace. The Word you receive here at church, the Word that will transform you, is not the word of man. It is an eternal being given by God. And when you hear it—whether you respond with “Amen!” or simply “Is that really true?”—the moment you receive it, it will enter and begin to work within you.

I have heard the testimony of someone who had wanted to quit smoking but simply could not. Then one day the realization came: “God does not want this for me.” And so he prayed, “I want to quit, but I have no strength to do it. God, please help me.” From that point on, whenever he smoked, the smell struck him as strange. The Word of God had worked within him.

I bless you in the name of Jesus that the Word of God would work in each one of you.

God our Father, we pray that all who are gathered here today would not merely hear the words of man or the sound of passing wind, but that we would receive the Word You have given—that eternal being, living and powerful—and through it enjoy without measure every good thing You have prepared for us. And if there is anyone here today who is suffering in body, we pray that as they hear the Word, it would move and work within them, so that they may know for themselves that You are truly alive. We thank You and pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.