God's Warranty Reads Cannot Fail: Waxing Great Like Isaac

Sermon outline

Believers attached to God's word and to a ministry of grace are ordained for increase, so they must pray from the mountaintop, drop a poverty mindset and keep growing on every side as Isaac did.

1. Pray from the mountaintop

   He explains what he has just done: yield to the Holy Spirit, pray in tongues as the Spirit leads, and let Him lift you up until you are seated above your situation. From there you look down on bills, sickness, opposition and wayward children and speak to them, because if you deal with things on the same level you won't win. God guards His anointed, has your name on His palms, and makes giants look like grasshoppers, so lay hands on your letters and emails and subdue them in the name of Jesus.

   Illustration: He stands on a plastic chair to show the difference between looking up at a problem and looking down on it. David did not only bring Goliath down; he cut off his head and carried it as a trophy, so make sickness, poverty and opposition 'headless'.

   “Never attempt to deal with things on the same level.”

   • Ephesians 2:6
   • 1 Samuel 10:6
   • Psalm 105:15
   • Isaiah 49:16
   • Numbers 13:33
   • Romans 12:3
   • Isaiah 54:17
   • Isaiah 10:27

2. The Lord appeared unto him: you already have God's attention

   In the famine God appeared to Isaac and told him where to stay. Believers are not trying to get the Lord's attention; the Holy Spirit leads them about jobs, contracts and even which road to take. God's other name is blessing: even when people feel condemned over what they have done, He still blesses them, because by nature He is a blesser.

   “I think God's other name is blessing.”

   • Genesis 26:1-3
   • Romans 8:14

3. I will make thy seed multiply: the church cannot remain small

   God's promise to multiply Isaac's seed means the church, its branches, the cell groups and their finances cannot stay small. Isaac sowed in the famine, reaped a hundredfold in the same year and waxed great. Stretch yourself beyond one house, because the gospel needs radio and television time measured in hundreds of thousands. Whenever the Bible says 'I will bless you' or 'I will make you rich', say 'Lord, that's me'.

   Illustration: He used to be shy because he had a poverty mentality; now whenever he reads a promise of blessing he says, 'oh, that's Roshan, Lord.'

   “You are not just waxing rich, you're waxing great.”

   • Genesis 26:4-13
   • Galatians 3:29
   • Genesis 13:2

4. Dance to heaven's tune

   For a long time people danced to the tune others played, staying where envious people wanted them. Now they are on heaven's dance floor, where God plays a tune that says you are blessed, healed and wealthy. Love and pray for those who hold you back, but don't let them reduce you: you are handpicked, a thoroughbred on a special diet, on the exclusive shelf. Your past no longer bothers you, God's warranty on you reads 'cannot fail', and you should never again say you are 'waiting on the Lord', because you have the mind of Christ.

   Illustration: A salesman boasting about a warranty you paid for; God's warranty is different. Ferraris and Porsches don't park just anywhere, and eagles don't fellowship with chickens that only peck on the ground.

   “God's warranty reads, cannot fail.”

   • Genesis 12:1
   • 2 Corinthians 5:17
   • 2 Corinthians 7:2
   • 1 Corinthians 2:16

5. Run after God and things will chase you

   He used to run after things and they eluded him; now he runs after God and things are added to him. Coming to a prayer meeting on a tired Friday night shows a heart that chases God. God is not against houses, lands and wealth, only against wrong motives and wrong priorities, and He promises a hundredfold to those who put Him first. He urges people to close their clothing accounts by faith, give away the old clothes they hoard, and make room for God to fill.

   Illustration: He used to buy clothes on credit; now he buys for cash. Dig a ditch and make room if you want God to fill something.

   “Now I'm running after God and they're chasing me.”

   • Matthew 6:33
   • Genesis 26:14
   • Psalm 67:6
   • Ephesians 1:3
   • Zechariah 8:12
   • Luke 1:28
   • Matthew 19:29
   • Matthew 6:31

6. Ordained to bear fruit: refuse to decrease

   Jesus chose and ordained you to bring forth fruit, so your life should be one of continuous development, spiritually, financially and academically. The path of the just shines brighter and brighter. Make adjustments upward: pray a little longer, give a little more, and spend more time sharing the gospel.

   “Refuse to decrease.”

   • John 15:16
   • Proverbs 4:18
   • 2 Peter 3:18

7. Partakers of the grace: a year of supernatural accomplishments

   He received Pastor Chris's word that 2007 would be a year of supernatural accomplishments and lists what God did for the ministry that year. As Paul told his church they were partakers of his grace, the people attached to this ministry share the grace on its leaders, so they cannot keep struggling. God has not just made a way; in Christ they are in the Way, and like Joseph they will see circumstances bow. Believers are not the sick trying to get healed but the healed keeping sickness away.

   Illustration: As a prophetic act he has everyone bend down and leave their struggles on the floor. He tells how, while he was 'fast asleep and snoring', news came that 30,000 square metres of land behind the building belonged to the church.

   “You are not the sick trying to be healed. You are the healed trying to keep sickness away.”

   • Philippians 1:7
   • Psalm 119:105
   • John 14:6
   • Genesis 41:43