The title and text of this message was borrowed from a sermon preached by William Carey on May 30, 1792. A result of this message was that when preached it was preached to an association at Nottingham, England, the men later started the English Baptist Missionary Society on October 2, 1792. Later Carey became known as the father of modern missions. Below is an outline that was developed after contemplating the passage in question.
Title: “Expect Great Things From God; Attempt Great Things For God!”
Text: Isaiah 44:2-3
(Isaiah 44:2-3) “Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:” (KJV)
Introduction:
• In our text we find that God is reminding Israel through Isaiah that God is going to restore them as a nation!
• The Millennial Reign of Christ is in view here!
• Tucked away in this prophesy is a promise you and I can count on!
• Verse two teaches that we have help, and verse three teaches us that we will be able to serve the Lord through the ministry of the Holy Ghost!
• I want us to see from this message that we have a unique relationship with God, we that are saved, and that we should move forward for His glory!
Proposition: There are two simple axioms that I want us to start living by as a church found in our text.
I. We Should Expect Great Things From God!
(Isaiah 44:2) “Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.” (KJV)
A. Everything God gets involved in is great!
B. Nothing He does is mediocre!
C. What great things can we expect? Whatever we need!
a. Opportunity to serve Him
b. Ample supply for our needs
c. His presence
d. His bounty in our arena of service
e. Souls to be saved
f. Missions to be started
g. Communities to be reached with the Gosepl!
D. If He made us, formed us, helps us, chosen us, then why not expect great things from God
E. He knows all about everything, and we need to just find out which way He is going and follow Him!
F. Do you expect God to use the mission program here? Do you expect Him to exponentially multiply your mission dollars and support missions? Do you expect Him to use you?
II. We Should Attempt Great Things For God!
(Isaiah 44:3) “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:” (KJV)
A. We should attempt great things because we have a great God to serve, and anything we do for Him is great!
B. God proportions the work to the means! I.e. Water to thirsty, & water on Dry Ground
(Deuteronomy 33:25) “Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.” (KJV)
C. God has empowered us through His Spirit! – This should behoove us to move forward!
(Zechariah 4:6) “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” (KJV)
D. God has backed his will and commands up with His omnipotence!
E. Attempt what great things:
i. Building a church
ii. Building a family
iii. Winning souls to Christ
iv. Being a missionary
v. Being faithful in the so-called mundane tasks for God’s glory!
F. Is this church attempting great things for God in the arena of missions? Nothing will liven up and charge the church more than souls being saved and missions being carried out and supported!
Conclusion:
To The Sinner:
• Repent and believe the gospel
To The Christian:
• Expect Great things from God! – He will use you!!!!
• Attempt great things for God! – Will you make yourself available????
