Bringing God’s Word to Pass: Faith

Bringing God’s Word to Pass: Faith

As we continue our series, we’re going to take a look at the second thing that is required to bring God’s word to pass in our lives.  The first, of course, was to understand His word itself.  This morning, we’re going to take a look at the second, which is faith.
Hebrews 11
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
(Briefly go through the rest of the faith individuals)
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Without faith, it is impossible to receive the promises that God has given us in His word.  Let’s take a look at creation itself on the third day.

Genesis 1:9-13
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
    11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

From nothing, God spoke it, it came into existence, He named it, He saw it, and said that it was good.  But let’s take a look at what God saw when He spoke and separated the land from the sea and created all of the vegetation of the land.
Gen 2:5-6
5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground.
So what I imagine from this is that God spoke, created all of the vegetation and what He saw physically and called good was nothing much more than the oceans and a bunch of muddy ground.  Although He knew and could see with prophetic vision all of the beauty that we see in the vegetation across the Earth, it did not begin in this way.  What He had spoken came in a seed form.  No plant had yet sprung up because He had not yet sent rain or someone to work the ground.
We see this same thing occur with God’s word – it frequently comes to us in seed form.
1 Corinthians 3:6-9
6 I (Paul) planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
So we see that we are like a field into which God’s word is planted.  This is the reason for which faith is required to bring God’s word to pass.  When you look at a seed, you do not see the end result of what that seed has the potential of becoming.  However, you are sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see; knowing that when you plant that seed, it will produce a full grown, reproducing plant – you have FAITH!  You have to have faith that God’s word is true and will come to pass in your life despite what you currently are seeing in your life.  Let’s take Abraham and Sarah as an example:
Romans 4:16-21
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Despite their natural circumstances, they had faith that God had the power to do what He promised and they stood on His word.  Because of their faith and obedience in following God, they saw God’s word come to pass through their son born to them in their old age, Isaac.  Their faith also lasted for generations to follow as we are still here today having inherited God’s promise to Abraham and becoming his offspring by our adoption into God’s family.
Of course, in the same way that not every seed planted grows, there are some things that can prevent God’s word from coming to pass in our lives as well.
Matthew 13:3-8
3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Matthew 13:18-23
18 Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
Don’t allow pride or confusion to steal away God’s word from your life.  If you don’t understand or are confused, pray that God would help you to understand His word or ask a teacher or leader in the church.  One of the enemy’s greatest tools is deceit and if he can confuse us or cause us not to understand God’s word, he is able to snatch it away from us and steal what God wanted to bring to pass in our life.  Don’t let him steal what is rightfully yours!
Understand that there is a war raging in the spiritual realms and that we actively take part in it.  There is an enemy who desires to kill, steal, and destroy God’s plans for our lives.  We need to rise up in the full armor that He has given us and use the word of the Lord to destroy the enemy’s lies with God’s truth!
Matthew 13:18-23
20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
Just like a plant in the natural has a root system which reaches out for nutrients from soil and water for it to grow, having God’s word come to pass in our lives requires us to spiritually stay connected to Him.  He even refers to us in His word as being branches grafted into Him, the vine.  We need to stay rooted in Him and to grow in Him; especially during difficult seasons in life.  When trouble comes, we have the choice to either run to Him or from Him.  Why not turn to Him and allow Him to comfort and protect us during the difficult seasons in life?  He never promised us that it would be easy, in fact, He told us that in this world that we would have troubles and that since He was persecuted, that we should expect the same.  However, He did command that we stay strong and courageous knowing that He’ll never leave or forsake us and is always right there with us!  If we allow our roots to grow deep in Him, we’ll be able to weather any storm unmoved and unshaken and able to stand firm until the end!
Jeremiah 17:7-8
7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
   whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
   that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
   its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
   and never fails to bear fruit.
Matthew 13:18-23
22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.
When we worry, we are saying that whatever the thing is that we are worrying about is too big for God to handle.  Worrying is doubting God, the exact opposite of faith, and can easily stop or choke God’s word from coming to pass in our lives.  In order to see God’s word come to pass in our lives, we need to trust God and leave things in His hands with full faith and trust that He has matters under control.

When the worries of life come our way, we can look at those situations as opportunities and as a stage for God to come and perform a miracle.  This is when we can truly see in faith God’s word come to pass in our lives despite our circumstances!

Matthew 13:18-23
23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
When we allow ourselves to become this good soil, God’s word is able to root itself deep within us and able to not only come to pass and produce fruit in our lives, but it will also be able to reproduce itself in us.
So, this morning, I just want to encourage you all to know that no matter where you are at and what things look like, dig into His word and His truth about you.  Stand firm in faith knowing that even though you may not currently see things as God states that they are, that you will trust in Him and will stand on His word until things come into alignment with what His word states to be true!