No Weapon Formed Against You Shall Prosper

NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU SHALL PROSPER

Isa. 54:17

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: THE MUMMY

1. Israel is a place where the ground is full of artifacts. Did you hear the other day about the archae-ologist who was digging in the Negev Desert in Israel and came upon a casket containing a mummy?

2. After examining it, he called the curator of the prestigious Israel Museum in Jerusalem. “I’ve just discovered a 3,000 year-old mummy of a man who died of heart failure!” the excited scientist exclaimed.

3. To which the curator replied, “Bring him in. We’ll check it out.” A week later, the amazed curator called the archaeologist. “You were right about the mummy’s age and cause of death. How in the world did you know?”

4. “Easy. There was a piece of paper in his hand that said, ‘10,000 Shekels on Goliath’.”

B. BERLIN WALL

1. How many times have our enemies boasted they would take us down, but didn’t?

2. Communists (Khrushchev/Stalin) said they would walk over our graves; that our children would speak Russian. There were moments it looked like they might succeed. They build up their military, launched their ships and submarines. Placed their nuclear missiles as close as Cuba.

3. But God had different plans. In 1988 we watched as the Berlin wall -- the symbol of Communist domination -- fell. It's fall represented the fall of communism. Never forget that someday we will see Satan's empire fall!

4. I believe we may have some spiritual Berlin walls that God wants to bring down this morning. Read this morning’s passage with me.

C. TEXT

11 "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. 12 I will make your battlements of rubies,

your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones. 13 All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children's peace. 14 In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. 15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you. 16 "See, it is I who created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its work. And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc; 17 no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me," declares the LORD.

D. TITLE

The title of this morning’s message is “No Weapon Formed Against You Shall Prosper!”

I. PROMISES TO GOD’S PEOPLE

A. THE AFFLICTED CHURCH – COMFORTED

1. God begins by telling the Israelites -- the Church of the Old Testament -- that He is distressed with them and in all their distresses.

2. Some of you are experiencing tough times and may be devastated this morning. God is hurting with you! He is "touched with the feelings of our infirmities."

3. But God doesn't stop there. He begins to prophesy how He will turn everything around for them/ you in verses 11-14.

4. In verses 15-16, He hints at your enemies and to His ability to control those enemies. The term "blacksmith" is the One who makes the weapons. The "destroyer” is the one who takes the weapons out to fight.

5. Point: Since God created the one who forges the weapons and the one who uses the weapons, He knows everything about the weapons and their uses against us.

Tell your neighbor: I’m getting through this!

B. THE FIGHT IS FIXED

1. God assures us of victory. With God's help we can't help but win. Right? “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

2. In the boxing world where there’s always a lot of gambling, there have been times when the obvious favorite somehow lost the fight. That’s when charges would surface that the fight had been fixed!

3. What that means is that someone had paid a large amount of money to the favored boxer to get him to lose the match. Those who bet on the weaker boxer, with long odds, were sure to make a fortune!

4. So when it’s said that a “fight is fixed,” it means that one combatant is guaranteed to win before the fight even starts!

5. The exciting thing is, our fight for Christ is fixed! With God on our side we can’t lose! This means you’re your adversary the devil is predetermined to be defeated by you! Your victory is guaranteed!

6. It may not be in the first round, or the second round or the third round, but my faith tells me the devil is going down!