God Will Make A Way

GOD WILL MAKE A WAY

Isa. 43:11-19

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: The Preacher & the Ghost

1. A new preacher wanted to rent a house but the only one available was rumored to be haunted. That didn’t bother the preacher since he didn’t believe in such things. He went ahead and rented the place. Soon the ghost made its appearance.

2. The preacher told his friends about the ghost, but they didn’t believe him. They told him the only way they’d believe was if he took a picture of the ghost.

3. So the next time the ghost appeared, the preacher pointed his Nikon camera and flashed a picture. But when he re-examined the photo, the ghost wasn’t there.

4. So the next time he saw the ghost, he asked why it hadn’t appeared in his photo. The ghost replied, “Well, I guess the spirit was willing, but the flash was weak.”

B. TEXT

11 “I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no Savior. 12 I have revealed & saved & proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.” 16 This is what the Lord says—He who MADE A WAY through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, 17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again...18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am MAKING A WAY in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” Isa. 43:11-12, 16-19.

C. THESIS

1. As you study the history of Israel, you will find out that God always made a way for them – A way out of Egypt, A way across the Red Sea, A way in the wilderness, and a way into the promised land.

2. Just as He made a way for them, He’ll make a way for us. I’m glad I serve a God of infinite power!

3. Today, we’re looking at how “God Will Make a Way” for You. He will...

I. BECAUSE HE’S YOUR HELPER...

The Bible says, “...draw near to the throne of grace, that [you] may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” Hebrews 4:16.

A. IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE

He’s a PRESENT HELP IN EVERY TIME OF TROUBLE! God says, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” Ps. 50:15.

1. TROUBLES HAPPEN TO EVERYONE

a. You might say, “Preacher, I don’t have any troubles.” Well, then put this message in your pocket, because you’ll need it sooner or later.

b. Two great men, Job and Paul, both experience numerous troubles, but they found that God made a way for them.

2. ILLUS.: IT’S DARKEST JUST BEFORE DAWN

a. The story is told of an only survivor of a shipwreck who was thrown on an uninhabited island. After a while he managed to build himself a hut, in which he stored the little that he had saved.

b. He prayed to God for deliverance, and anxiously scanned the horizon each day for any passing ship. One day, returning from hunting for food, he was horrified to find his hut in flames—all he had had gone up in smoke. What else could happen to this poor man? But what seemed bad was really for good.

c. The next day a ship arrived. “We saw your smoke signal,” the captain said. The destruction of his temporary hopes was the means of his permanent salvation. God “works all things together for good” (Romans 8:28).

3. ILLUS.: HOW THINGS WORK FOR GOOD. David said in Psalm 138:7, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me.” NKJV

a. Wallace Johnson, builder of numerous Holiday Inn motels and convalescent hospitals, said, “When I was forty years old. I worked in a sawmill. One morning, in a fit of temper, my boss shouted, ‘You’re fired!’

b. Depressed and discouraged, I felt like the world had caved in on me. During that dark time, my wife & I greatly needed my small wages. I went home & told my wife what had happened.

c. She asked, ‘What are you going to do now?’” I replied, ‘I’m going to mortgage our little house, and start a construction business.’ My first venture was the construction of two small buildings. Within five years, I was a multi-millionaire!

d. “Today, if I could locate the man who fired me, I would thank him. At the time it happened, it seemed like the worst thing, but later, I saw that it was God’s favor on me to push me into the way of His choosing!”