July 10, 2005 Isaiah 55:10-11
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Genesis 2:4-6 says, “When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens— no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.” Do you see the difference in God’s watering system? How times have changed! Instead of looking to the ground for our water, we look to the heavens. When we go several weeks without rain and the grass starts getting brown tips on top, we start tuning in to the weather forecasts a little bit more, and we actually look forward to seeing dark clouds coming in from the west - knowing that the heavens are going to come flying in to give our grass and plants a much needed drink.
God uses this common experience of rain and snow to illustrate the source of spiritual growth. “As the rain and snow come down from heaven”, Isaiah says, “so is my word that goes out from my mouth.” This is a rather basic and easy concept that any child in kindergarten and older can comprehend. The Word comes from heaven. It produces results on earth - whatever results God wants. It seems rather basic to anyone reading it. The basic encouragement from Isaiah is to reassure us that -
The Word Works Like Rain and Snow
I. Satan wants you to shelter yourself from it
Imagine if you were Satan and you read this verse. He would have to throw his hands up in the air and say, “if the Word is like the rain, how can I possibly stop it? I can’t blow it away. I can’t keep it from coming. Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll provide another well for them to drink from - I’ll call it ‘more pure’ water. Whenever I see a storm coming, I’ll convince the people to move to some shelter - that it is dangerous - that it will ruin their fun - so their hair doesn’t get wet. I’ll convince the people that they really aren’t that thirsty and they don’t need this water from heaven. I’ll move them to a more dry part of the country. I’ll make up anything I can to keep the people away from the rain!”
You can see Satan’s ploy come to play throughout the Scriptures. When the LORD had decided to destroy Ahab, he allowed a lying spirit to convince the prophets to have him go and attack Ramoth Gilead. (1 Kings 22) So while Ahab thought the LORD was blessing his war, Satan was actually giving a poisoned rain from heaven - and deceiving Ahab through it. Do you think it is just coincidence that Paul warned in Galatians 1:8, “even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!”? Is it just coincidence that both the Mormon and the Muslim faith started with men claiming to receive revelations from God through an angel? Could it be that Satan actually appeared to these men and poisoned the water of revelation for them? I wouldn’t doubt it one bit.
It doesn’t have to be as blunt as Joseph Smith’s or Mohammed’s claims, however. It also comes within more seemingly Christian circles - of those who claim to have a direct revelation from God by speaking in the spirit. On October 19th of 1999 Benny Hinn said on the TBN station -
I’m telling you, I see this in the Spirit. It’s going to be so awesome. Jesus I give you praise for this -- that people around the world -- maybe not so much in America -- people around the world who will lose loved ones, will say to undertakers, "Not yet. I want to take my dead loved one and place him in front of that TV set for 24 hours. I’m telling you, I feel the anointing talking here. People are going to be canceling funeral services and bringing their dead in their caskets, placing them -- my God! I feel the anointing here -- placing them before a television set, waiting for God’s power to come through and touch them. And it’s going to happen time and time -- so much it’s going to spread. You’re going to hear it from Kenya to Mexico to Europe to South America, where people will be raised from the -- so much so that the Word will spread that if some dead person be put in front of this TV screen, they will be raised from the dead and they will be by the thousands. You wait.
If Benny Hinn were really being anointed by the true Spirit, then there should have been people raising from the dead during that 24 hours. It didn’t happen. He lied. Remember what the Bible says about Satan? “He is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) If he did feel a spirit, and this spirit lied, it wasn’t from God. It was a demon - providing a different well for him and his followers to drink from.
What if Satan can’t get you to drink from his well? He tries a different attack. He whispers in your ear, “that rain looks nice - but once you get in it your hair will get wet, your feet will get wet, and you’ll probably catch a cold and die. You’d better stay inside and enjoy this artificial light and this fireplace. You’ve got other things to do. You can still watch the rain out of your window. But don’t get in it right now. Wait for the strong stuff to blow over, then get in it later.” I see this approach come to play in the story of Paul with Felix. Acts 24:24-25 says, “He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, ‘That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.’” When Felix began to be exposed to the Word - like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz, he was afraid he would melt under this rain. So he decided to keep a fair distance from the rain - look at it without experiencing it or believing it or feeling it. Isn’t that also what Satan does with those liberal theologians who have a good knowledge of their Scriptures - they see it - but they then explain how misinterpreted it is - how theologically flawed it is - how dangerous it can be? It is like someone trying to enjoy the rain and snow without getting wet. It doesn’t do anything for you if you don’t get in it.
These are a few different approaches that Satan uses to keep us out of the rain of God’s Word. He convinces us we don’t have enough time for it. We can’t understand it. Or he says that we don’t need it because we can have our own revelations from within. We can produce our own types of rain showers that are more suitable for us - that help us to grow according to our own interpretation.
II. God wants us to just drink it
As we listen to these two simple verses - the concept is so simple it is almost embarrassing to feel the need to repeat it. The Word of God is like rain. It comes from heaven. It makes you grow. What are the implications of this? 1st of all, we don’t have to build an airplane, fly up to heaven with a big bucket, and come back down. We don’t have to produce any springs of water within ourselves - or worry about digging wells here on earth. God has already taken care of this through the Bible. Just like rain comes from heaven without our asking, God provides the Word with His own power and by His own grace. 2 Peter 1:21 says, “prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” We didn’t ask for this Bible. We didn’t produce it. God brought it from heaven - through men - over a thousand years of time. He gave us this revelation without our asking.
But is it enough? Satan’s temptation is - “that water is nice - but it’s kind of antiquated. Here’s some NEW and PRACTICAL things - some more pure water!” Way back two thousand years ago Paul told Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” He said that with the Scriptures that Timothy had way back then, the man of God would be THOROUGHLY equipped for every good work. There wasn’t a need for all kinds of revelation to come. That’s what God says in Isaiah. This Word produces what I want it to. We don’t need special and personal revelations from Mohammed, Joseph Smith, Benny Hinn, the Pope or anyone else. This is all we need. God designed the Bible not just to be a sprinkle - but a flood at your finger tips.
Floods are destructive. But that’s how the Word works. Consider the story in Acts 2. When Peter confronted his fellow Jews with the Word - it hurt. He said, “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. . . . When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2) The flood of guilt rushed over them. They couldn’t escape it. No excuse in the world could save them from the deluge of guilt Peter was hitting them with. They knew that they were guilty for crucifying Christ. That’s when Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) When they were drowned with guilt - then Peter provided them with a flood of mercy through the promise of forgiveness through baptism and faith.
That’s why God gives us the Word. Isaiah writes that God has it fall from heaven so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. The Word of God is given so that we can be nourished and nourish others. It reminds me of my old history lessons on what the American settlers did for the Indians. They showed them how to plant crops and get more use out of the land. Instead of having to travel all across the lands for buffalo and what not, they could irrigate and rotate crops in a way that would be much more productive - using the seed from the harvest while also enjoying the produce from their crops. They could find plenty of produce just by staying put. That is somewhat of the picture that God gives us of the Word. In it, we have plenty to eat, and we have plenty to spread so we can feed other people. God’s purpose in providing us with this Word was to give us a powerful and never ending source of life and strength.
Any of you who have had children know the following scenario. Your kids open up the refrigerator, look through the cupboards, then yell out, “I’m starving! We don’t have anything to eat!” You just got back from the store. You say, “what about this bread? What about these eggs? What about these crackers?” The child responds, “I don’t want those.” So what you do you say? “You must not be starving. There’s plenty there - just eat what we’ve got.”
Here’s where the hammer hits the heart. Do we have any right or business to find ourselves starving before God? It is a sad occasion to see young women starving for love and attention so much that they are willing to take off their clothes for the first guy who is willing to give them a ride in his Chevy. It is unbelievable that there are so many regular attenders at churches who don’t feel acceptable to God - have a tremendous sense of guilt and unworthiness - because they aren’t living the way they want to live. They’re still starving! Another sad thing is that a majority of our adults no longer remember their Ten Commandments and are terrified of saying a prayer other than “come, Lord Jesus” or “our Father.” It isn’t because we don’t have the water of the Word. It’s because we aren’t drinking it! How can it be that so many of us find ourselves starving for acceptance, happiness, money, knowledge and everything else in this world - when we’ve got a flood at our fingertips? My friends - this should not be.
Yet God’s invitation still stands to you yet today. In Isaiah 55:1-2 God gives the rich invitation, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” God doesn’t care whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile, rich or poor, tall or short, old or young. It doesn’t matter if you’ve ignored God’s flood up to this point. All the LORD says to you today is, “are you thirsty right now? Then drink. This water is free. I don’t want you thirsting for acceptance. I have accepted you in Christ. I don’t want you trying to punish yourself, I already punished Jesus for your sins. Stop carrying that bag of guilt on your shoulders - and put it on Jesus. Stop starving for someone to love you. Open up your Bible know that I love you in Christ.” Jesus said of Himself in John 4:13-14, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Open up these floodgates every day and take a bath in the blood of Christ. Drink all you want. When you’re thirsty, you’ll never be full, and it will never run out. There is enough of God’s blood to go around the world a million times over. It’s that simple - just like standing in the middle of a thunderstorm with your mouth open.
Rain and snow are some of the most destructive forces in nature. Yet they are also some of the most necessary forces in nature. When we had the last few rainstorms it was awesome to look out the window and see those sheets of rain just come pouring down. it was also wonderful to see the results of that rain - watching the grass and plants perk up. As destructive as it can be, and as much as it may hamper our plans at time, snow and rain is necessary. The most beautiful plants and trees in the world would be ugly without this water. We all need it to survive.
God has provided the earth with a much richer and life giving water of Life in Christ. John 20:31 says, “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” If you want to spiritually survive - don’t just drink the Bible. Drink the Word. Drink Christ. Only Christ crucified and risen can quench your thirst. Like the rain and the snow give physical life, the Word will give you spiritual life - even eternal life - in Christ. Amen.
