It’s Possible!

We are going to look at a portion of scripture today in Romans 4:16–17. We have looked so far at how the promise of God is granted through faith, and how the just shall live by faith, and how those who reject the truth are storing up for themselves wrath in the day of judgement.

As we begin open your bibles to,

Romans 4:16-17, “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;”

This morning I want to talk with you about the power and potential of the word of God. As we begin, I would like to make this statement. We need the word of the Lord in and over our lives. His word shapes everything including our very existence. Turn to Psalm 29.

In Psalm 29 it says, “A Psalm of David. Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; The Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!” The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood, And the Lord sits as King forever. The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.”

In this Psalm we see the effect of God’s voice. Can I tell you this morning, It is powerful! It says, it is over the waters, it thunders, it is powerful, full of majesty, breaks the cedars, splinters the cedars of lebanon, it divides the flames of fire, shakes the wilderness, makes the deer give birth, and strips the forests bare.

Lets break this down:

Water: In the ancient world was a valuable resource, a source of power and fear, and a means of deliverance and punishment. His voice is over many waters.

Power: the potential to exert force in performing some function, the essence in crops to produce from the ground, status as ruler, supernatural acts in miracles and the capability to perform it. His voice has the power to change anything.

Majesty: The quality of a person or thing which inspires awe or reverence in the beholder, can be related to size, strength, power, or authority. The uttering of His voice reveals the awe and reverence of who He is!

Creation: Splits and breaks the cedars, makes them skip like a calf, divides the flames of fire, shakes the wilderness, makes the deer give birth, and strips the forrest bare. His voice continues to shape the world by the words He spoke at creation.

The power of His voice is supreme, because He sits enthroned as King forever, and when He speaks there is nothing that can change it. Isaiah 14:27. “For the Lord of hosts has purposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?”

There is supernatural power in the word of God! I want you to see something this morning that will change your life. We serve a God who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. The voice of God has the power to raise the dead, and to speak into physical existence things that previously didn’t exist. I want to look at this today, in the life of Abraham.

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Submit:

The Promise. Genesis 12:1-3.

In Genesis 12:1-3 it says, “Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.””

Abram was 75 years old when God made this promise. Now in between the promise and the promise fulfilled we will see two things.

1. The problem.

2. The process.

Abram leaves his country at God’s direction, passes through Egypt, inherits the land of Canaan, and deals with the captivity and rescue of his nephew Lot. At this point Abram has aged to about 85 years old. Ten years have passed.

So often, it is the same for us. God speaks a word of promise, and their seems to be a delay in its fulfillment. We have to learn to be obedient to the voice of the Lord, and follow His leading.

Let’s look at Genesis 15:1-6.

The Problem.

Genesis 15:1–6 “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”

What came to Abram in response to his questioning? The Word of the Lord. God did not change His promise to Abram, but spoke it again. He even gave him a picture to see the implication of His word in the stars of heaven.

When God releases His word, He does not change. Instead He gives increased understanding.

The problem with the renewed word of promise was Abram and Sarai decided to take over control of the process. Instead of waiting on God’s timing they would attempt to fulfill the promise in their own strength.

The Process.

Genesis 16:1–4 “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.”

Abram was around 86 when Ishmael was born. Patience is the key to receiving the promises of God. When we look to fulfill them on our own we create unnecessary heartache and problems.

Genesis 17:1–8 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.””

Notice again, did God change anything about what He has said to Abram? No, His word of promise remained the same. God does not change.

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The Promise Fulfilled

At 99 years old God changes Abrams name to Abraham which means Father of many nations. He establishes His covenant with Him. He also changes Abrahams wife’s name to Sarah which means mother of many nations. Abraham is now 99 years old.

The Lord appears to Abraham in Genesis 18 because the time for fulfillment had come. Genesis 18:1 “Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.”

After Abraham fed them, He said Genesis 18:10–15 “And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!””

Now do you know what happened? Genesis 21:1–2 “And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.”

The Word of the Lord is powerful, and it will accomplish what He sent it to accomplish. If we want to see the Word of the Lord fulfilled in our lives we have to get our eyes off of time. We have to get our minds off of control and solving the problem in our own strength, and we must fasten our gaze on what He has said!

Romans 4:17–21 tells us the rest of the story!

“(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.”

God will do what He said He will do! Isaiah 55:11 tells us, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

We have to learn to mix what we hear from God with Faith! Hebrews 4:2 “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”

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Closing:

We serve a God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. The power of His voice causes what wasn’t seen to become seen.

When God spoke to Abram He was childless. God changed His name to Abraham which meant father of many nations. Even after the name change he was childless for a season. His wife was old, and He was old, but He did not waiver at the promise of God.

Natural circumstances do not determine what God can do. Through faith, Abraham was fully convinced that what GOD SAID He would do through the promise He was able to perform.

Abraham concluded that the certainty of divine promise outweighed every natural improbability.

It is the same in our lives. The covenant promises of God are backed by the power of His voice. What He says He will do in our lives, He will do! We too, like Abraham must fix our eyes of faith on the promise of God until we see it come to pass!

God is faithful to perform His word. Today, let’s set our eyes on the promises of God!

Let’s Pray!

1. Father Open our eyes and ears to your promises. Reveal them to us in your word.