God Has the Final Say

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon's captions — published in summary form; watch the full sermon at the source.

The word that cannot return void

Williams reads his two texts. Isaiah's rain and snow come down from heaven and cannot return upward; they water the earth and make it bring forth and bud — and so is God's word that goes forth out of his mouth: "It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please." Job gives the second picture: there is hope of a tree that, if it be cut down, will sprout again; though the root wax old in the earth and the stock die in the ground, yet through the scent of water it will bud. The charge of the message follows from the texts: no matter how dark or rough the situation, God is still in control, and God has the final say.

Scriptures: Isaiah 55:10-11; Job 14:7-9

The boy they wrote off

He tells the story that made him think of Job in a different light. A 13-year-old boy, [name redacted — minor], riding on a trailer hitched to an ATV, was thrown when the trailer detached on a sharp turn, tumbled down a ravine, and was crushed under the trailer as it followed him down — skull fractured in several places, spinal cord affected, lungs punctured. At the hospital the doctors judged he would not make it; he flatlined and died, and was revived — not once but four times. As his condition weakened, the doctors called in his mother and told her the hope left was not for her boy: five children his age needed organ transplants, and his organs were salvageable if she would sign consent to take him off life support. With tears streaming down her face she signed. The next day, as the doctors made one final evaluation and prepared the machines, the boy moved — a scowl of pain crossed his face, his eyelashes flickered, his fingers and toes moved, and his eyes opened. God had the final say.

Water the stump

Williams presses the promise home. Prayers hang in the time between the praying and the answer, and the devil's voice must not be allowed to drown out the only voice that has ever mattered; when Jesus called Lazarus by name, the dead man came forth — put a name on the promise and claim it as your own. Job, who lost everything, remembered that the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, and that God has the final say. And like Job's tree, a dead situation is not finished when water gets involved: water the stump — water it with your voice, your tears, your dance, your praise, your faith — and what looked over will bud and bring forth life again. The devil says it is hopeless and over with; God has the final say.

Scriptures: Job 14:7-9