Welcome to Waymaker Church! We are so excited to have you join us today! We exist to Encounter, Live for, and Advance the Kingdom of God!

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.

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

Let’s 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, and today I want to look at an aspect of it found in Romans 4, but to set the proper context for the passage we need to look to the book of Genesis. To get to Romans 4:17-21 let me give you a bearing on what took place in Abraham’s life.

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. So, ten years has passed, let’s look at Genesis 15:1-6.

\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.

The problem with the renewed word of promise was Abram and Sarai decided to take over control of the process.

The Promise Fulfilled

At 99 years old God changes Abram’s 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.”

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!

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.”

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!