Gods word Never returns void!
Illus. By Tim Harrison
The story is told of a group of women that met for Bible study. While studying in the book of Malachi, chapter three, they came across verse three which says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled the women and they wondered how this statement applied to the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out more about the process of refining silver, and to get back to the group at their next Bible study.
The following week, the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him while at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest, beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith work, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire, where the flames were the hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot, then she thought again about the verse, that "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the entire time the silver was being refined. The man answered yes, that not only did he have to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on it the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "But how do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that’s easy--when I see my image in it."
Philippians 1:6 NKJ
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
Regardless of how you may feel, no matter what your circumstances may be this morning! Your feelings aren't going to determine your destiny, your faith in the "God of all possibilities is!" TBS (the bible says) Im not moved by what I feel or see, I've got The Victor living in me!
No matter what the circumstances may appear to be. Your best days are not behind you, with God, (if and that is the question) you have surrendered your all to Him. The word declares and it is a word worthy of taking to the bank!
Your Greatest Days Are Not Behind You, Your Greatest Days Are Still Ahead of You!
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
Until we see Jesus coming back to take His bride home, until we hear the trumpet sound! He is not going to quit paying attention to you and your circumstances! That’s what makes serving God so exciting, because if you will let it, everyday will be more exciting than the one before!
It's nothing that your going to do, but everything that God will do for you!
We haven’t even begun to reach the potential God has for each and everyone of us!
We haven't even scratched the surface yet!
TBS in 1st Cor 2:9 NKJ
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
We often look with great anticipation, to the day that is coming and we will go to heaven to be with Jesus. But I believe to some degree, we don't look with enough anticipation or expectation, to the things that God has prepared for those who love him in the here and now! The bible refers to it as the "abundant life!"
The moment you became a child of God, you became a work in progress, Praise God!
Look at your neighbor and Say, I am a work in progress!
Well, you might say, you don’t know what’s going on with my situation!
The cake ain't baked yet, we're all still in the mixing stage!
I don’t have to know your situation, God knows!
But i do know this, He is bigger than your situation!
Maybe you are right in the middle, of one of the biggest fights of your life,
and the devil is throwing everything he can at you and you wish it was the kitchen sink, because that would be easier to deal with!
I want you to realize and take comfort in this! There is nothing he can throw at you, that Jesus hasn’t already been victorious over and defeated at the cross. Amen?
There’s not enough demons in hell, or roaming this earth, to keep God’s purpose and plan for your life from being fulfilled!
Romans 8:38 NKJ
37. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39. nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God hasn’t brought you this far to let the accuser throw you under the bus now, or ever! He has too much invested in you to give up on you now, He knows better than anyone,
“that in your life, the best is yet to come and that the greatest things in your life are still in the making
Somebody is here this morning and this word is for you, you won’t hear it on the street, you won’t hear it at work, you won't hear it at the coffee shop, but its all part of the magnificent plans that God has had for you, from the beginning! Praise God
Psalms 139:16 NKJ
16. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
The accuser doesn’t have the last word in your life, he never has!
God does, always has and always will have!….Gods words, speak life in every situation!
Gods words never come back empty to Him, they always accomplish what He wants!
No one else, has a track record like God! Never illustrates complete perfection, Right on time, every time!
Somebody Praise God for His faithful Word!
Ezekiel 37:5-10 MSG.
5-6. God, the Master, told the dry bones, "Watch this: I'm bringing the breath of life to you and you'll come to life. I'll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You'll come alive and you'll realize that I am God!"
7-8. I prophesied just as I'd been commanded. As I prophesied, there was a sound and, oh, rustling! The bones moved and came together, bone to bone. I kept watching. Sinews formed, then muscles on the bones, then skin stretched over them. But they had no breath in them.
9. He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, 'God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!'"
10. So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army.
When the believer gets a hold of what I'm talking about this morning, amazing things and results await their command! Your words spoken in faith, trusting God to deliver the results, will be and are AMAZING!!
But just like Ezekiel learned, you have to speak out and believe God for the things He has promised to you!
God has been speaking good things over you, your whole life long!
He wants nothing but the best for you!
And let me tell you this-His best, is better than our best, because we can only compare it to our standards, and we have no real way of knowing, Just how much God wants to bless His children!
But we should rejoice in the fact that God wants to share what He has with us, in the first place! Who else has a non stop, constant giving mentality but God? Always giving His Best continually, even if there's no expectation of getting anything in return!
TBS. Isaiah 55:8-11 MSG.
8-11. "I don't think the way you think.
The way you work isn't the way I work."
God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
and don't go back until they've watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
not come back empty-handed.
They'll do the work I sent them to do,
they'll complete the assignment I gave them.
God's words was accomplish the task He has given them. It may not always be in the timeframe we would like them to happen. But that's where our trust comes into play,
By believing God knows the right time and the best time, for His words to complete the task they were sent to do!
The story of Joseph, had many ups and downs. Times of blessings and also times of crises, but Gods favor was always there and Joseph knew it!
In the end God brought Joseph up, out of the pit and took him straight from the prison to the palace, second in power only to the Pharaoh!
If Joseph had Peaked before the time God wanted him to, he would never have been in the position that God wanted him to be in!
By the way, was Joseph qualified for that position of power? Not really, but it didn’t matter, because God’s favor on his life, propelled him right by the qualifications,
The favor of God always does! Who wouldn’t want the favor of God on their life, if they only knew they could have it and what it could do for them in their life? I think we all know the answer to that don't we? Gods Favor is awesome, isn't it?
Its kind of like, the horse and water thing though, by that I mean,
You can tell someone about the favor and goodness of God….You can show them that they can experience it as well….But you can’t make them partake of it, if they don't want to!
The accuser would have us all believe that, this is way too good to be true. But I stand here this morning and God would have me remind you that with man nothing is possible, but with God all things are possible!
Gods Favor is guaranteed the same way all of His promises are, by His Word!!
And His word declares and let's read it again;
So will the words that come out of my mouth
not come back empty-handed.
They'll do the work I sent them to do,
they'll complete the assignment I gave them.
Some say, I don't understand...so don't! Gods word and Gods favor working in your life is not hindered by you understanding it, only by your acceptance and belief that He can do what He says He can do!
You have to be willing to lay the way things are….the way things have always been aside….and allow God an opportunity to do a work in your life, if you want to see His Favor
Psalms 34:19 NKJ.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth them out of them all.”
Circumstances happen to everyone, it's just a part of life and the plan of the accuser!
Joseph could have wallowed in his disappointments, everyone has that choice, but realize this….there is no disappointment God can not turn into an appointment.
Disappointments are temporary, Gods appointments are lasting and life long.
You shouldn’t be fighting the same battles, your whole life long, Jesus has already fought them and been Victorious!
TBS as far as Jesus is, so are we in this world! Which means, we have exactly what He has! So if Jesus is Victorious, then so are we right?
So if we have what Jesus has, and we are victorious like Jesus is, why don't we act more like we possess what we have been given?
It doesn’t matter what you may be going through, it doesn’t matter what you are facing today, Nothing is to hard for God! When you give Him a chance to work in your life!
For someone here this morning, it's time you made a declaration for a change!
Just because its always been, doesn’t mean that it’s the way its always gonna be!
Romans 8:28 NKJ
“all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Some people never come to God because they can’t figure any of it out,
Who cares, if someone already had the answer to the whole worlds problems, would you continue to try to figure it out, or give it a listen and give it a try?
There’s not a mountain high enough….a river wide enough, that can keep you from
The good things and the good life God has created for you!
Only you can do that! Excuses are a dime a dozen and can be twisted to fit any scenario of indecision! But the fact is, only you can keep Gods promises and goodness from being part of your life! Only you!
It's called a will, everyone has one, everyone has the decision whether or not to use it!
Will I or won't I, is the decision that effects not just the here and now, but for all of eternity!
Illus. By George Rhodes
An Arab chief tells a story of a spy who was captured and then sentenced to death by a general in the Persian army. This general had the strange custom of giving condemned criminals a choice between the firing squad and the big, black door. As the moment for execution drew near, the spy was brought to the Persian general, who asked the question, "What will it be: the firing squad or the big, black door?"
The spy hesitated for a long time. It was a difficult decision. He chose the firing squad.
Moments later shots rang out confirming his execution. The general turned to his aide and said, "They always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined. Yet, we gave him a choice."
The aide said, "What lies beyond the big door?"
"Freedom," replied the general. "I’ve known only a few brave enough to take it."
The decision to trust Jesus as your Savior with every facet of your life, is where freedom lives!
If you've already trusted Jesus and accepted Him as your Savior, then the work has already started in your life and is on the way to completion!
If you haven't completely given your heart and your all to Christ, then I encourage you to make the decision to take Jesus as your Savior and let Him start the work in your life that will never end until He has completed it!
"I know who holds the future,
And I know who holds my hand,
With God things don't just happen,
Everything by Him is planned;
So as I face tomorrow
With its problems large and small,
I'll trust the God of miracles-
Give to Him my all."
—A.B. Smith
Lets pray, Amen
