GOD’S GRACE IN THE FIRE & FLOOD
Isaiah 43:1-3
Intro: ILL- A man was blessed with 2 healthy sons, one an eternal optimist, one a pessimist. The boys were so completely different that psychologists wanted to test them.
They placed the pessimist into a room full of toys; the optimist in a room full of horse manure.
They looked in on the pessimist & they found the toys untouched, not played w/at all... "I just know if I touch one I’ll break it," the pessimist said.
They looked in on the optimist & found him digging into the manure with his hands, a huge smile on his face.
"Why?" they asked. "With all this manure, I know there must be a pony in here somewhere," the optimist said.
Faith in God’s promises makes great optimists.
ILL- In Burma, the missionary Adoniram Judson, was lying in a foul jail with 32 lbs. of chains on his ankles, his feet bound to a bamboo pole. A fellow prisoner said, “Dr. Judson, what about the prospect of the conversion of the heathen?” with a sneer on his face.
His instant reply was, “The prospects are just as bright as the promises of God.”
William Carey once said, "The future is as bright as the promises of God."
ILL- During an especially trying time in the work of the China Inland Mission, Hudson Taylor wrote to his wife, “We have twenty-five cents—and all the promises of God!"
I. The Certainty of Problems. WHEN you go though the waters…
A. It’s a discouraging fact…if you’re a child of God…expect trials & troubles.
Gal. 4:29, But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.
2 Tim. 3:12, Yea, & all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
The enemy has attacked all of God’s followers. From the blood of Abel down to today-- the pathway of the Church has suffered much for the cause of Christ. Stephen died beneath a shower of stones; James was killed with a sword; the Roman lion devoured the followers of Christ; Herod smeared the Christians with pitch and set them in his gardens that they might be literally, as they were spiritually, the lights of the world. Some of them were tortured, others sawn asunder, some stoned, and others burnt to death; though of them the world was not worthy.
The pathway of the Church has been one of fire and flame. Jesus declared, In this world you shall have tribulation... If you are a soldier in the army of Christ, you cannot win the victory w/o a conflict; & if you are ordained to wear a crown above, you-are certainly equally ordained to bear a cross below.
Grace does not carry us to the skies- “On flowery beds of ease.” No; we must fight if we would reign; we must suffer for Christ if we would be glorified with Him.
B. Our trials will be of various kinds. Fire…water… You will go through the waters; you will endure trials which will chill you to the very bone…sweep you off your feet…take away your foot-hold, & carry you along, with its rapids & currents.
When one trouble has gone, another will come, & it will probably be different from the last one.
Instead of being in the water, you will be in the fire; not chilled, but heated, like molten metal in a furnace. It is a different trial altogether from any that you had experienced before. Ever been there before…? Going through trials that you never thought you would face…
Make up your mind that you have to go through those trials, and ask the Lord to give you grace & courage that you may be able to endure unto the end. He has had one Son w/o sin, but He has never had one child without suffering.
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. --C.S. Lewis
II. The Security of God’s Promise.
He gives ten essential truths to back up His promises:
1. Vs.1 - "I have redeemed thee!" Christ has redeemed you by the price of His blood & the power of His Grace.
2. Vs.1 -"I have called thee by thy name!" He has adopted you into His family & knows who you are! He takes a personal interest in our lives.
3. Vs.1 -"Thou art mine!" You belong to God as His personal possession, His new creation. That means you are under His protection & provision.
4. Vs 2- "I will be with thee!" Wherever God by His providence puts you, He will take care of you.
5. Vs.3- "I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel!" The Almighty God, the Holy One, who is always faithful and true, is as much your property as you are His property, because He has given Himself to you.
6. Vs.3- “I am thy Saviour!" When He says, "I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee," our Lord is saying, I have bought you at such a price that I cannot afford to lose you."
7. Vs.4- "Thou art precious in my sight!" You are God’s treasure, His jewel. Though despised by men, if you are a believer, you are precious to God!
8. Vs.4- "I have loved thee!" He loved us when we were unlovable…
9. Vs.7- "I have created (you) for my Glory!" The very Glory of God is wrapped up in the Salvation of His people. He will never forsake the work of His hands.
10. Vs.11- I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. He is the Lord; the savior & He will remember his own.
II Cor. 1:20, For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory.
III. The Safety of God’s Provision. Isa 43:16, Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, & a path in the mighty waters.
God will make a way for you!
ILL- On the evening of March 1, 1950, choir practice was scheduled in a local church in Beatrice, Nebraska at 7:30 PM.
When the pastor & his family were ready to leave, they discovered that their little girls dress was dirty & needed to be changed. So they had to come late. A high school sophomore had trouble with her math problems & stayed to finish her work, even though she usually got there early. Two sisters were delayed because their car wouldn’t start. Another lady normally arrived at 7:20, but that night her mother needed her, so she had to stop there first. One man took a nap and overslept. And so, one after another, the members were detained for various reasons.
At 7:25, due to a gas leak, the church blew up! When everyone arrived a short time later, they were amazed to see how their lives had been spared. The fact that all of them failed to come on time—something that had never happened before—had to be more than coincidence. As far as they were concerned, the Lord had been their shield and protector.
Whatever happens, we are safe in the arms of God’s provision!
IV. The Surety of God’s Presence. Vs. 2
A. His Presence in our Life.- I will be w/thee.
•Will never leave us. Gen. 28:15… I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest… for I will not leave thee…
•Gives Rest & Comfort. Ex. 33:14, …My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
Lev. 26:12, And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
•Gives Courage in Life’s Battles. De. 20:1, When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. ESV
•Causes Great Joy. Zec. 2:10, Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.
•Is Eternal. Mt. 28:20, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
B. His Preservation through our Calamities- Vs.2- shall not overflow thee...shall not be burned, neither...flame kindle upon thee.
ILL- Three Hebrew children…
CONCLUSION:
WHY do we have to go through trials?
4 PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS:
• The Fires & Floods of Life Help us to Realize our Limitations.
How often in real life do we see people reaching out for help when they are in over there heads. They are reaching because they realize they will perish without help. You can only do just so much.
•The Fires & Floods of Life Force us to Reach Out to God.
Have you ever been to the point were you realized that there was now other way out.
•The Fires & Floods of Life Reveal the Presence Of God.
•The Fires & Floods of Life Help us Recognize God’s Purpose in our Trials.
ILL- The survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed for God to rescue him, & every day he scanned the horizon for help, but no help was in sight. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke billowing to the sky. Everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried. Early the next day he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" the weary man asked his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.
It’s easy to get discouraged when things are going badly. But we shouldn’t lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering.
APPLICATION- Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground----it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.
