GOD WILL MAKE A WAY
ISAIAH 43:10-19
Notice the phrase in verse 16 and verse 19, “make a way”
As you study he history of Israel, you will find out that God always mad a way for them. He made a way to get them out of Egypt, He made a way for them to cross the Red Sea, He made a way for them in the crossing of the wilderness, and He made a way for them to go into the promised land.
Just as He made a way for them, He will and can make a way for you and I. I am glad that the God we serve is a God of great power.
God is unchangeable, therefore, as He made a way for them, He can make a way no matter what the need is every generation that will look unto Him.
Today, Let us look at some of the ways He can make a way for us
I-GOD WILL MAKE A WAY IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE:
Psalm 50:15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
You might say preacher, I don’t have any trouble. Well put this message in your hip pocket because you will need it later.
The Bible give testimony to two great men in the Bible. One was Job in the Old Testament, and Paul in New Testament. But one thing these men both had in common was that faced many troubles but from time to time God made a way for them.
The story is told of an only survivor of a wreck who was thrown on an uninhabited island. After a while he managed to build himself a hut, in which he placed the little that he had saved from the wreck. He prayed to God for deliverance, and anxiously scanned the horizon each day to hail any passing ship. One day on returning from a hunt for food he was horrified to find his hut in flames—all he had had gone up in smoke. The worst had happened it seemed. But that which seemed to have happened for the worst was in reality for the best. The next day a ship arrived. “We saw your smoke signal,” the captain said. If our lives are in God’s hands “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28).
John Wesley had a terrible wife. She tormented him beyond measure. But he said that he attributed most of his success to his wife—that she kept him on his knees and because he was kept on his knees, he had the victory.
Psalm 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
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 the boss told me. ‘You’re fired!’ Depressed and discouraged, I felt like the world had caved in on me. It was during the depression, and my wife and I greatly needed the small wages I had been earning.” When I went home, I told my wife what had happened. She asked, ‘What are you going to do now?’“ I replied, ‘I’m going to mortgage our little home, and go into the building business.’ “My first venture was the construction of two small buildings. Within five years, I was a multi-millionaire! “Today, if I could locate the man who fired me, I would sincerely thank him for what he did. At the time it happened, I didn’t understand why I was fired. Later, I saw that it was God’s unerring and wondrous plan to get me into the way of His choosing!”
Psalm 91:15B I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
II-GOD WILL MAKE A WAY IN TIME OF TRIALS:
1 John 3:13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
This Scripture tell us that we will have trials and afflictions from this world that you and I live in
We need to remember that this world that we live in took the sinless Son of God and nailed Him to a cross. This world hated Jesus and they will hate you.
The reasons many are not having many afflictions is that they are giving into the world, they are going along with the world.
B. R. Larkin said years ago, “ stand for the things of the Lord and this world will hate you.”
John Huss, the courageous pastor of Prague, was arrested, condemned, and sentenced to be burned by a church council in 1415. When Huss heard his sentence pronounced, he fell to his knees and prayed, “Lord Jesus, forgive my enemies.” Then when he was chained to the stake, he prayed, “In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed.” Then flames snuffed out the life of “The Morning Star of the Reformation.”
GOD MADE A WAY FOR HIM TRUST THE LORD EVEN IN DEATH
III-GOD WILL MAKE A WAY IN TIME OF YOUR TEMPTATION:
1 Cor. 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Alexander a little boy was trying to save all the money he could in order to buy a baseball bat. But he had a hard struggle.One night when he was saying his prayers, his mother heard him say fervently: “O Lord, please help me save my money for a baseball bat. And, God, don’t let the ice cream man come down this street!”
Temptation often comes not at our strongest, but our weakest moments. When we are at the limit of our patience, love, etc., we are tempted to be un-Christian. Beware, Jesus’ temptation began after 40 days of fasting.
People usually are more impressed when they see us act under pressure. One weak act may spoil a whole lifetime of witness.
I once learned a lesson from a dog we had. My father used to put a bit of meat or biscuit on the floor near the dog and say, “No!” and the dog knew he must not touch it. But he never looked at the meat. He seemed to feel that if he did so, the temptation to disobey would be too great, so he looked steadily at my father’s face. There is a lesson for us all. Always look up to the Master’s face.
—Leslie E. Dunkin
Martin Luther was often very graphic in his description of the activities of the Devil. Asked one time how he overcame the Devil, he replied, “Well, when he comes knocking upon the door of my heart, and asks ‘Who lives here?’ the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, ‘Martin Luther used to live here but he has moved out. Now I live here.’ The Devil seeing the nail-prints in the hands, and the pierced sides, takes flight immediately.” It is surely good for every life and for every home to have Jesus as a permanent resident. This assured, heavenly blessings are sure to fall upon such bodies.
If people want the Lord to make a way for them in time of temptation, they need to be feasting on the Word of God and not the garbage of this world. For if thy do, they will easily give in to sin rather than trust God.
IV GOD WILL MAKE A WAY IN THE TIME OF TRUSTING:
Psalm 34:6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
When you put your trust in prayer to God, He will make a way for you in your time of need.
Prayer in 1620 safely guided the Mayflower with the Pilgrims to a new world.
Prayer in 1623 saved the Pilgrim fathers from starvation.
Prayer in 1777 at Valley Forge saved the Continental Army and won the war for American Independence.
Prayer at Philadelphia saved the Constitutional Convention and gave birth to the American Way of Life.
Prayer in 1857 saved America from economic destruction.
Prayer in 1918 ended World War I and lack of prayer started World War II.
Prayer saved England at Dunkirk. Myriads of fliers and servicemen of all nations lost at sea were saved through prayer.
It was almost time for the “Old-fashioned Revival Hour” to go on the air. The broadcast was originating in a tin-roofed tabernacle in Waterloo, Iowa. As Dr. Charles Fuller, the dean of gospel broadcasters, stood on the platform before the microphone, a heavy rain began to fall and pound upon the tin roof, making it impossible for the broadcast to go forth with its Bible-saturated message. Dr. Fuller prayed, “Lord, if You don’t stop the rain, the Old-fashioned Revival Hour will not be able to go out over the air. For Jesus’ sake, please stop the rain!”
How illustrative of Dr. Fuller’s simple faith in the power of God was that prayer! Within three minutes, the rain stopped suddenly, and the program went out without the slightest interference. But five minutes after the close of the service, a torrential downpour occurred.
God will make a way if we will trust Him and call upon His name, but if we fail to call upon Him and trust Him, we will be in trouble.
Isaiah 43:22 But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
The earliest African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in their private devotions and prayer. Each one reportedly had separate spots in the thicket where he poured out his heart to God. The several paths to these little Bethels became distinctly marked; and when any one began to decline in devotions, it was soon apparent to others. They would then kindly remind him, saying, “Brother, the grass grows on your path yonder.”
V-GOD WILL MAKE A WAY IN THE TIME OF YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS:
Psalm 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
A little boy came running into the house after playing outside. His mother stopped him and asked what was on his right hand. He replied, “Oh, just a little mud.” His mother then asked if he was planning on getting it off his hand.He thought for a moment and said, “Sure, Mom. I’ll just wipe it off with my other hand.” There was only one problem with the plan, one dirty hand plus one clean hand equals two dirty hands.
The trouble today with many people is they have dirty hands because they have a dirty, sinful heart. They need to let the Lord make a way and forgive them of their transgressions.
A tribal chief once came to David Livingstone with this request. He said: “Please give me some medicine to change my heart; it’s so proud, uneasy, and oftentimes angry.” He had seen what the missionary had done for those who were sick in body and had mistakenly concluded that medication would do the same thing for his soul. Livingstone then tried to explain that the Lord Jesus alone could bring about the needed transformation in his life. But the man refused to listen, saying, “No, no, I want medicine!”
Many want their own medicine, their own way to be free of their sins. And even some who want God to save them from their sins don’t want to surrender all to God.
In the early days of his struggle toward the truth, Augustine made a prayer, “Lord, save me from my sins, but not quite yet.” Then, sometime after that, he prayed, “Lord, save me from all my sins, except one.” And then came the final prayer, “Lord, save me from all my sins, and save me now!” It was when he made that final decision against evil that the victory was his.
CONCLUSION -I am thankful that God can make a way in the time of troubles, in the times of trials, in the time of temptations, and the time of trusting and in the time of transgression.
Shortly after the Dallas Theological Seminary was founded in 1924, it almost had to close. The creditors were about to foreclose at noon on a certain day. Pres. Lewis S. Chafer met with his faculty at the office, praying fervently that God would provide. Present was Dr. Harry Ironside who prayed in his characteristic style: “Lord, we know that the cattle on a thousand hills are Thine. Please sell some of them and send us the money.”Meanwhile, a tall Texas businessman stepped into the seminary business office, saying: “I just sold two carloads of cattle in Fort Worth, but could not make the deal go through. I feel compelled to give the money to the seminary. I don’t care if you need it or not, but here’s the check!” The surprised secretary took the check, and timidly knocked on the door of the prayer meeting. When Dr. Chafer took the check out of her hand, it was for the exact amount of the debt. Turning to Dr. Ironside, Chafer said: “Harry, God sold the cattle!”
