Notice:
This sermon was compiled, in part, from a 5 part series of sermons by Rev. Dennis Marquardt. All 5 of his sermons may be read on this site. May God richly bless you as you read these sermons. All scriptures quoted in this sermon are copied and/or quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
GOD WILL
Have you ever experienced a broken promise? I remember a few years ago that I made a promise to my dear wife that I would never give up trying until I had reached a certain level of success in business that would guarantee her financial future. Needless to say I have not kept that promise as yet.
We are so quick to make promises. We are so quick to say “I will” do something and then realize that our mouth has far outspoken our ability to perform what is necessary to accomplish the promises we make.
Broken promises, shattered dreams, dying hopes, and unfinished work are hallmarks of mankind for we are frail and weak flesh who have not the power to do what we say.
But there is One who never fails to fulfill his promises. There is One who always does exactly what he says he will do. He is not limited by lack of power or ability to perform what he says he will do. Our God is a great big God with all power!
God has promised us so many great things. Tonight I want to look at 5 things that God said that He would do. If God says that he will do something, we can rest assured that it will come to pass.
I Will Build My Church!
Matthew 16:16-18, "And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
In the end if Hitler’s National Reich Church had been established, the swastika would have replaced the cross. Point 30 of the proposed National Reich Church’s 30-point program, drawn up during the war, read: "On the day of its foundation, the Christian cross must be removed from all churches, cathedrals, and chapels.... It must be superseded by the only unconquerable symbol, the swastika."
History records the folly of Hitler’s dreams and on the futility of all who would seek to destroy the Church of Christ.
Many men have attempted to destroy the church and yet the church is still triumphant. There is no power of Hell that can destroy it.
Satan has tried to destroy the church by:
Stopping the spread of the gospel – God says it will cover the earth and everyday there are more countries, more dialects and languages who are hearing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ for the very first time. God has taken those tools meant to stop his gospel and is using those same tools to spread the gospel. Satan has to be in a state of fitful anger because every attempt to kill the church only causes it to grow faster and more powerful because the true church trusts in Jesus and there is no limit to his power.
Killing those who preach the gospel – God raises up more to take the place of everyone who he allows Satan to silence – only because God’s Love calls them home to be with him.
Trying to destroy the Bible through dilution of its truths, removing it from the hearts and minds of our children, and filling our homes and minds with nothing but thoughts of sin and iniquity – But God raises up his blood stained banner and washes away sin and his Truth lives on and will never fail. The Word of God never changes and it is quick, powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.
The church is still triumphant. It is a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, washed in the blood of the Lamb. iIt is built upon the rock, Jesus Christ, anchored upon that cornerstone of Salvation that the builders rejected and the winds and storms of hell and of this life will never shake it because God holds us in the palm of his hand.
We are the “apple of his eye”, his all seeing eye is watching over us and we shall not be moved. Like a tree whose roots go deep into the ground and that is well watered, we shall not be moved.
Let Satan try his worst – The Church will remain triumphant for we are commanded by the King of King and the Lord of Lords and nothing can separate us from him who sits upon the Throne of Heaven.
I Will Be With You!
Joshua 1:1-5, "Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."
Joshua succeeded Moses in leading the Children of Israel into the Promised Land. After God took them over Jordan through his miracle working power they entered that land of Promise only to be confronted by Jericho. A city whose walls were impregnable being 50 ft high and 50 ft thick, so strong that no known siege engine could break them down.
Satan loves for you to believe that you can’t win. He dances and shouts with glee every time a Christian gives up on God and walks back into a life of sin.
But Satan’s lies do not destroy the promises of God!
We are commanded to walk on in faith, trusting in the Word of God to accomplish what God says it will do. The problem is that too many people don’t even know God’s Word so how can they trust his Word?
A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to a person who isn’t.
Listen and Hear God’s Promise to Israel! His promise to us is the same! …I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."
God fights my battles! In God do I trust! Thank God that we still have those words on our money! As long as America and as long as people trust in God, we cannot fail. What else is there to trust in?
Money – inflation and economic woes can destroy the value of your money instantly!
Military power – all it would take is for one electronic impulse bomb, captured by enemy forces, to explode within 5 miles of our great armored and infantry divisions and they would become almost completely incapacitated. Just one of those bombs would cast our vaunted military power into the dark ages where any two-bit dictator with World War II technology would have us begging for mercy!
Government and politicians – All I can say is that if you trust in these to be your answer - God help you!
Education – education is great if used for good but education to a criminal only makes them know how to be better criminals without getting caught. And besides that, all the education you could ever received from Harvard, Yale and Princeton combined is nothing when compared to the knowledge of the devil!
But when God says that He will never leave you, nor forsake you, then you can take his promise to the bank and depend upon it. He sticks closer than a brother. He watches over you with tender loving mercy. He desires only the best for you. He will never let you fall unless you chose to fall.
I Will Strengthen You!
Isaiah 40:10-11, "Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."
My God is all powerful. My God is all wise. My God is all knowing. And my God can take something that is nothing and create great and wonderful things with it.
-Longfellow could take a worthless piece of paper, write a poem on it, and instantly make it worth thousands of dollars -- and it’s called genius.
-Rockefeller could sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth millions of dollars -- and it’s called riches.
-A mechanic can take material worth only five dollars and make it worth five hundred -- and it’s called skill.
-An artist can take a fifty-cent piece of canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it worth thousands of dollars -- and it’s called art.
-But Jesus Christ do far more than that. He can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it in His blood, put His Spirit in it, and make it valuable to God -- and that’s called salvation and sanctification.
-The Lord Jesus Christ is in the business of taking rough, raw, rotten, sinful, useless material and using it -- transforming men by His power to be the extension of His work in the world.
How can our God accomplish this? It comes because of the power of the Holy Ghost – that Spirit that gives life to the heart of man and resurrects the soul to make us a new creature, born again by the Spirit of God.
That brings us to the next point for God says…
I Will Pour Out My Spirit!
Acts 2:17-21, "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Thank God for the promise of the outpouring of his spirit upon this old flesh! How the body of flesh, corrupted by the power of sin can contain the eternal Spirit of God without exploding is a mystery to me. To think that all the power and life of Heaven is contained within the heart of man through the power of the Holy Ghost poured out upon him is more than I can comprehend.
By the power of the Holy Ghost we have life eternal.
By the power of the Holy Ghost we shall rise again.
By the power of the Holy Ghost we can cast out devils.
By the power of the Holy Ghost we pray for the sick and they shall recover.
By the power of the Holy Ghost we can preach the gospel and see that same Holy Ghost draw souls to be saved.
By the power of the Holy Ghost we are called heirs and joint heirs with Christ to all of Heaven’s glory.
By the power of the Holy Ghost we shall stand, triumphant, without spot, wrinkle or blemish, as the spotless Bride of Christ, washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.
I Will Come Again!
John 14:1-3, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
Let us not lose sight of the fact that Jesus is coming again. Let’s live everyday as though this will be day that he comes to catch his Bride away.
Too many Christians live as though Jesus was not coming again. Where will they be when he comes? We don’t know the day nor the hour but we can see that by the signs of the times it won’t be very long.
Too many people have the same mindset concerning the Second Coming of the Lord, either in the Rapture or at the end of the Battle of Armageddon, as people of the Old World had before Christopher Columbus’ voyage to America shattered their little world of beliefs.
For centuries Portugal’s motto was "Nothing More Beyond." Their world was limited to the familiar dimensions of the area around the Mediterranean Sea. They believed that to sail beyond the horizon, their border would be to drop off the edge of the world. Eventually, voyagers discovered worlds beyond and brought back evidence to substantiate their claims. Decision makers were compelled to alter their motto to read, "More Beyond."
The resurrection of Christ assures us there is more beyond the grave. We do not have a chart to guide us, save Jesus Christ; details are sketchy, but our destination is certain.
One day soon, all those who aren’t looking, watching, waiting and ready for his coming, will be left behind. There will be no doubt of the truth of his promise then, but their new-found faith won’t help them then. It will be too late to make the Rapture. If they can’t serve God faithfully now, during the Church Age, the Age of Grace, how will they serve him in Tribulation when judgment is falling all around?
Everywhere you look there is a breakdown of the trust that people have in the promises of God. It’s as though they forget that God says “I Will”.
Several million members of the church are to be recalled because they are not performing properly. Symptoms include frequent missing, lack of power and poor adaptation to rough roads. Regular maintenance should have prevented most of the difficulties. Sadly, many only come for maintenance when a major breakdown has occurred and, therefore, it is difficult for service personnel to attempt to correct the basic problems at these times. So the recall is under way. Church leaders are being trained to deal with the problems and are available around the clock. Repair shops are open seven days a week. The problem is that very few are heeding the recall and ignoring the warning.
If only all men could have the same confidence that a few of our Christian leaders and ancestors have had. Here is an example of what I mean.
About 200 years ago, the tomb of the great conqueror, and Christian King, Charlemagne was opened. The sight the workmen saw was startling. There was his body in a sitting position, clothed in the most elaborate of kingly garments, with a scepter in his bony hand. On his knee lay the Holy Scriptures, with a cold, lifeless finger pointing to Mark 8:36: "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and loose his own soul?"
There was a man who trusted in God’s Word and lived and died according to what God said.
Here’s the story of another man who knew what it was to live, die and trust in God’s Words.
A few hours before Dwight L. Moody died, he caught a glimpse of the glory awaiting him. Awakening from a sleep, he said, "Earth recedes, and heaven opens before me. If this is death, it is sweet! There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go!" His son who was standing by his bedside said, "No, no father, you are dreaming."
"No," said Mr. Moody, "I am not dreaming; I have been within the gates; I have seen the children’s faces." A short time elapsed and then, following what seemed to the family to be the last death struggle, he spoke again: "This is my triumph; this my coronation day! It is glorious!"
What a testimony! What a great day that will be when our faithfulness is rewarded and we see Jesus face to face!
Let’s believe in the “I Will” of God and trust in Him! Then too, shall we see our coronation day!
