Download MP3
Scripture:
For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, But water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, “So shall my words 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.” (Isaiah 55:10-11 NKJV)Reflections:
In this passage, God spoke of His word as a rain that waters the earth that it may bring forth and bud, and produce food for its consumers. It is very obvious that God’s main purpose for rain is to water the earth so it could produce crops for consumption through its vegetation. And we all know that when any of God’s creation fulfills its purpose, it glorifies Him.We are in this series called Fulfillment in Christ.
fulfillment – the act or process of fulfilling; the act or process of delivering a product to a customer. A feeling of satisfaction of having achieved your desires; the act of consummating something (a desire or promise, etc.)
So God wants to share to you tonight how in His good pleasure He is bringing everything into fulfillment through Jesus Christ, not just in every promise and prophesies we can find in the Scriptures, but also in His promises that we personally hold on to.
Biblical Truths About God's Fulfillment of His Promises
1. We live a broken life in a broken world, and as our Creator, it is not what God intended for us to live in.
In order to fully grasp the truth of God’s promises, we have to realize why He made the His promises in the first place.“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23 NKJV)
We live in a broken world because of sin. In this world we find conflicts and wars, murders, lust, abuse of nature for greed of money and many others… the world is broken due to our sins. And so there are many sufferings like sickness, pandemics, calamities due to global warming, and the likes. If you will come to think of it, you will know that all of these ugliness are a result of man’s sin.
Imagine using an axe to cut paper, or a pair of scissors to cut a tree. You will end up destroying your tool; or if not, you will end up getting a product you did not intend to have. The same applies in this current life we have, or even the life our descendants had. When we don’t live the life God intended us to live, it will always lead to destruction, just as a tool gets destroyed when it is used for things it is not designed for. And it will always give an ugly fruits, just as when a wrong tool is used to cut paper.
This life we have right now on earth is not what God intended us to have in the first place, so He made a lot of promise of getting rid of evil and sin. Let me give you two very good examples of these promises:
The very first promise we can find the Bible:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15 NKJV) So God actually said this when He was giving the curse to the serpent which cause Adam and Eve to sin. But for us this is actually a promise that one day, the serpent will be trampled by a Son coming from the woman, which is Eve.
And a very good promise found in the last book of the Bible:
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelations 21:4 NKJV) This is the Hope we believers are holding on to. That one day we will finally live in a perfect world in which there is no sin and evil, end we are in a perfect fellowship with God, our creator.
2. When God speaks, it takes place.
“So shall my words 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.” (Isaiah 55:11 NKJV)a. The creation story: “Let there be…”
“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3 NKJV)
b. Story of Jonah about God’s warning towards Nineveh
We all know the story of Jonah when God sent him to Nineveh to warn against it because of their wickedness. At first Jonah refused to obey God’s command. But the story still ended up with the people of Nineveh being saved from God’s wrath because of Jonah’s warning against them. So this is a clear point that when God says, it will happen no matter what resistance there is. Yes... no matter what resistance there is.
3. God is faithful, He cannot deny Himself
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” (II Timothy 2:13 NKJV)This is a very reassuring promise of God to us. God knows when we will fail Him, but He does not focus on that, but instead, He focuses on His love for us.
God is also righteous. Once He promises, He will always put it into completion, or else He will deny himself of His righteousness. This does not show that it is God’s weakness; that we can stay unfaithful since He will always remain faithful. It is actually a strength, for He glorifies Himself whenever He fulfills His promises.
God’s promise to Abraham about him being the father of many nations through a son coming from himself.
“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.’” (Genesis 15:4 NKJV)
Abram knew he was old and God hasn’t given him an offspring yet. So he said that his heir will come from HIS house, but not from him himself. So God reassured him that his heir will come from his own body. Then there we see one of the greatest faiths mentioned in the Bible.
“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.” (Genesis 16:2 NKJV)
Abraham had shown a sign of unfaithfulness when he agreed to Sarah’s suggestion to have a son with her maid, Hagar. But God is still faithful and gave Abraham and Sarah a son and named him Isaac, from whom sprang the nation which God promised to Abraham.
“Although Abraham was very old, Sarah had a son exactly at the time God had said. Abraham named his son Isaac.” (Genesis 21:2-3 NKJV)
And we should know that this promise that God gave to Abraham is part of the greater promise God gave to mankind; the promise about the enmity between the serpent and the woman’s offspring. So through Jesus Christ, who 100% came from Abraham, God blessed the many nations we are right now, just as God promised Abraham.
4. Fulfillment of God’s promises does not happen in the way we expect them to happen.
So this is kind of an important point that we have to learn.“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV)
This time we will focus on the greatest promise that God gave us. The promise named Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ, God has shown us how worked in ways no one could ever imagine.
Jesus Christ’s coming as the (unconventional) King of the Jews
1. Although Jesus came from a royal linage, He was born in a manger
2. Jesus came in a time no one expected as they anticipated
3. Jesus started His ministry at the age of 30. Before He reached the age of 30, He’s devoted His time into the study of the Scriptures. He obeyed everything written in the Law, even better than the Pharisees did. But in this thirty years, none of them knew Jesus was the Messiah until He started proclaiming, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4.17) and started performing miracles and wonders.
The Pharisees and Scribes even though that John the Baptist was the Christ in the first chapter of the Gospel of John.
Jesus Christ’s (unconventional) way of governing His Kingdom
1. Jesus came to serve and not to be served
2. Jesus fought the battle not with sword and spears, but with love and forgiveness
The way we should Love as God shown through Jesus Christ
1. As shared by Kuya Bien in Monday online devotion
So these are just some good examples of how God works in manners we can never perceive.
2. Jesus is the ultimate end for everything: everything in creation is made by Him, through Him and for Him
“He is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation. For BY HIM all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created THROUGH HIM and FOR HIM. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:15-18 NKJV)
All of mankind had been in the great quest of finding the real purpose of life and being. Many claim that everything that we are right now is just a product of random chances and evolution which sprang into what the universe is right now. But they end up and will always end up feeling empty and useless. We know many great scientists and philosophers who did.
We have to realize that we are designed to live for Jesus Christ. Because living the life centered to ourselves and our sinful flesh will always end up to sin and destruction; the life that God never intended us to have.
He intended us to live a life in partnership with Him. A life that is fulfilled in Him, because He is our Creator. And we all know that the creation always finds its purpose from its creator.
That is the end of our 5th Biblical truth and as we continue to read God’s Word in our journey with Him, I am sure that God will show you much more truths about His faithfulness in fulfilling His promises.
So going back to our main verse:
For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, But water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, “So shall my words 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.” (Isaiah 55:10-11 NKJV)
Let me bring you to our last verse for this night.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1 & 14 NKJV)
Brothers and sisters, Jesus is the ultimate summation of the Word which God said will not come back to Him void. If you will just try to see the Bible in its whole big picture, you will see that it every single part of it actually revolves around Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the fulfillment of everything that God had ever created. He is the fulfillment of our life; everything we’ve ever asked and wondered about life; He is the purpose for living. Jesus is the rain that comes down to the dry earth. And those who receive Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior are the earth which brings forth and buds, and produces goods for God’s glory.
May we all see that and start living that life God intended for us to live. Let us live a fulfilled life in Jesus Christ.
Photo by: Pixabay
Connect With Us