Let us open our Bibles to the Old Testament, to the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 55, and read the entire chapter. Oh, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear and come unto me. Here and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God and for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth, it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." The text for this New Year's Eve sermon is taken from this chapter, Isaiah 55, The verses 10 and 11, for as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven and returneth not thither but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing where to I sent it. At the end of the year, dear congregation, we take stock. We look at our accounts. We reflect. And yes, if we have to give an account for our life and for our soul, how can we? Especially with the question of what have we done with God's Word this past year? Have you read it? Have you prized it? Have you meditated on it? So that the Word of God not only informed your mind, but transformed your being. And we can ask that tonight, can't we? What have we done with God's Word in this past year? Or we can frame the question slightly differently. What has the Word done with us this past year? You know, people in business are constantly trying to assess the effectiveness of their business and of their business activities, of their training, for instance, or of their product or of their advertisements. And they ask, now what's the value of doing this or that? Now, we could ask that too about the means of grace. What's the value of being under the Word of God? Is that not a waste of time? I mean, if you have to cut something out of your busy life, can't you just cut the Word of God out of your life? No. Not at all. For God's Word affects things. God's Word does something. God's Word accomplishes something. Yes, bringing about judgment, but also bringing about salvation. But it affects things. Prosperous it's successful and that's why we want to listen tonight on this New Year's Eve to the success of God's Word and we'll see two points first of all explained and secondly illustrated The success of God's Word first of all explained and secondly illustrated in this precious chapter The prophet Isaiah lets us hear the call to come to the Lord Jesus to find life and salvation in him Oh, everyone that thirsteth, yes, come to the Lord Jesus for life and salvation. And the prophet says that our coming to Him should be in faith and it should be in repentance and we should come because the Lord is calling us by His Word and we need that Word of God. It's His revelation for men and women, for boys and girls. It tells us of grace. It tells us of forgiveness. It tells it for sinners like you and like me. And there is this success to the Word of God. There is this power to the Word of God. It will not return to him void. That truth is illustrated for us in verse 10. And that truth is explained for us in verse 11. And I want to look tonight, first of all, at verse 11. I want to listen to the explanation. for the success of the Word of God and then turn to the illustration of that success. Yes, the Word of God is powerful. The Word of God is sure. Why? Well, let me give four reasons on the basis of what Isaiah says here. For one thing, it's so powerful and it's so sure because it's God's Word. It's God's Word, verse 11, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth." So it's God's Word. He is the author of this Word. He is the giver of this Word. Psalm 68 verse 11 says that. The Lord gave the Word. So it's His Word. And that's what we need. The Word of God. You know, people, in our world are fascinated with outer space. And people have this fascination with the question whether there are any aliens out in space. And if they could communicate, what would they say to us? And sometimes sounds, strange sounds are heard coming from space. And researchers compile these sounds. Apparently, in 2016, a new signal was heard from space. And people think that it could come from alien life. But no matter what they do, researchers can't make sense of these sounds. Friends, we have the word that comes from the God who made space and matter and time. Here's a word from heaven. Here's the word from God's throne. I actually didn't say that right. Here's the word from God's mouth. That's what verse 11 says. It comes forth out of my mouth. It comes from God's mouth. And God's word is a word of power. Psalm 33 verse 6 says, By the word of the Lord were the heavens made. So God's Word brought into being the creation, the sun, the moon, and the stars. Romans 4 verse 17, He calleth those things which be not as though they were. That's the first reason for its success. It's God's Word. Secondly, a second reason for its success is because it's an active Word. It's an active Word. Verse 11 says, that goeth forth. It goes forth. It goes out. God sees to that. He does not keep his mouth closed. He doesn't keep his mouth shut. He doesn't keep his words to himself. You know, sometimes people give each other the silent treatment. Maybe you've done that this past year. It's a way of punishing your spouse, maybe. or punishing a co-worker maybe because of something they did that you didn't like or they said and you didn't like it. Now would it not be fair if God gave us the silent treatment? If God wouldn't speak to us, if He would be silent to us, and if He would speak that He would only speak of sin and wrath and judgment and hell and not of grace. But God doesn't give us the silent treatment, dear congregation. Even after this year that's behind us, He comes to speak to us. And when He speaks, He doesn't just give us the message of sin and wrath and judgment and curse and hell, but He speaks of grace and salvation also and heaven and salvation. It's an active Word. It's an active Word that went forth in the creation of the world. And it was an active Word. that spoke to Noah and to Abraham and to the prophets and that spoke in His Son. Finally, as Hebrews 1 says, the opening words of Hebrews 1, God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son. It's an active word. It's a word that's been spoken. Holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. And it's a Word that God has given to be recorded, to be written down. And it's a Word that still speaks. Do you think about that every time that you've come under the Word this past year? In your home, at church, God is speaking. God is talking. God's Word is going forth. And that's what gives it success, because it's an active word. I mean, if it wasn't active, then we couldn't expect any blessing. Then we couldn't expect any fruit upon that word. It would be a dead word, not a living word. A word that spoke in the past, but doesn't speak today. But it speaks today, friends. It goes forth today. It's a living word today. It's an active word today. Powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, active indeed. And that explains the success of the Word. First of all, because it's God's Word. Secondly, because it's an active Word. Thirdly, because it's an effective Word. An effective Word. It's not just active, it's effective. You know, there are people who speak all the time. People always busy talking. speaking many words, but they accomplish nothing with their words. Their words mean nothing. Their words do nothing. Those words that they speak are empty. But God's word is not like that. God's word is an effective word. And the prophet Isaiah sets that forth negatively and positively. Negatively, he says, it shall not return void. It shall not return void or empty. It's the same word that's used in Jeremiah 50 verse 9 to describe expert warriors, expert fighters who have a good eye, who have a good shot, and they never miss their mark. They hit the target. They won't return without plunder and without spoil. They won't return empty-handed. That's the picture here. So it is with God's Word. It won't return empty. It won't fail in its mission. I said it's stated negatively and positively. It shall accomplish and it shall prosper. Remember when The false prophets prophesied to Ahab that he should go up against Ramoth Gilead and they added that God has given it into Ahab's hand. Now, that was wishful thinking for Ahab and people are still like that. They try to get the message that will please them. Ahab liked what these prophets said, but even though there were 400 prophets that said the same thing, that he could go up against Ramoth Gilead and that God had given it into his hand, it didn't happen. That was simply the word of man, and the word of man shall fail, but the word of God cannot fail. In fact, what God said about Ahab and about his house came to pass. Second Kings 10 verse 10, also his judgments and all the threats that God had given. Second Kings 10 verse 10 tells us that not one thing failed of all that God had spoken by a servant. You see, God is not a man that he should lie. Hath he said and shall he not do it? Numbers 23 verse 19. That means God's Word, friends, whoever you are, God's Word is a Word that you can trust. It's a Word on which you can hope. There are promises to believe, prayers to pray, sins to forgive, lives to change, mercy to plead. But the Word does that. The Word has is an effective word. It has changed hearts. It has humbled the proud. It's comforted the afflicted. It's helped people to live and die happily. It's an effective word, and that means that we should take up that word and read it and cherish it in our minds and hide it in our hearts. It's an effective word. Fourthly, it's successful. not only because it's God's Word and it's an active Word and it's an effective Word. Fourthly, it's a sovereign Word. It's a sovereign Word. For God's Word does not do the same thing to everyone. God's Word does not always have the same effect for everyone. Matthew Henry says, if it doesn't convict the conscience and soften the heart, it will sear the conscience and harden the heart. Some are hardened by this Word of God, and others are softened by this Word of God. What has it done for you in this past year? Has that Word hardened you or softened you? King Ahab, whose name I mentioned already, came under the Word of God, but he was hardened by it. King David, who was in himself no better, came under the Word of God and was softened by it. And we shouldn't be surprised by this. Our text says it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." God's good pleasure is behind what happens with that Word. God's sovereign purpose is behind what happens with that Word. If that Word has humbled us this past year, it's because of His good pleasure. If that Word has brought us to our knees in confession and contrition of heart, that's because of God's sovereign good pleasure. as that word pierced us so that we begin to confess our sins. That's His doing. To some it's a savor of life unto life, and to others it's a savor of death unto death. 2 Corinthians 2 verse 16. Right? The same sun that softens wax hardens clay. Spurgeon says it's the savor of life unto life to everyone that listens to its sound with the heart that is open to its reception. It's a savor of death unto death to the man who hates the truth, despises it, scoffs at it, and tries to oppose its progress. That word has effect. Yes, not always to humble, sometimes to harden. How frightening that should be to us if that word of God has hardened us. if it's been a saver of death unto death to us. If we've taken his good word, his good gifts, and shrugged our shoulders at it. Oh, how we should do what Jesus did. Take that word and make it ours. How we should prize it like Mary did, treasure it in her heart and pleading for mercy with David on that word to have that word transform us and save us and change us. How does that happen? Let's look at that secondly. The success of that word illustrated. The success of that word illustrated. Yes, the prophet illustrates the success of the word with what happens to the rain and the snow that comes down. And they don't return, the prophet says. God does not send the the rain down and He doesn't send the snow down to take it back up again. No, that rain, that snow, it seeps into the ground sooner or later. It waters the earth. It does something in the earth and it does something to the seed that is sown in the earth. Yes, the seed that is sown in springtime. and when the farmer sows the seed in the field, and with the moisture that falls on the ground, and after some time, when it seems that the soil has become dry again, and the water has evaporated, and it seems that nothing has happened, but that's not true. Something has happened. Something has happened with the seed in the soil. You can't see it with the human eye. the seed is germinated because of the rainwaters in the earth and the irrigation that's taken place. And after some time, shoots appear through the surface of the earth. And after some time, there's a crop growing. And then later, that crop is harvested and that is made into bread so that the eater can eat and be satisfied. That's the way my Word works, the Lord says. So there are four things. in that illustration. I don't know if you caught them, but let me spell them out for you. First of all, germinating, budding, seeding, feeding. Four things that God's Word brings about, and that only because the sower went out to sow. And he sows the seed into the earth, and blessed by the rain of grace, that seed is germinating and buds and seeds and feeds. That seed is the Word of God. Right? That's how the Word of God is compared to a seed. The Word of God is compared to other things too, but it's compared to a seed. Yeah, do we think about that when the Bible is opened? Do we think about it when we come to church? When there's catechism instruction given? And at Sunday school and at society meetings, the seed of the Word is being scattered on our hearts. And what happens when that seed is sown and blessed by the reign of the Spirit? Well, let's look at those four things. First of all, germinating. Germinating. That's the first thing that needs to happen with the seed. Before it can grow and before it can bud and before anything can be harvested, it first needs to germinate. And that's what needs to happen in our hearts with the Word of God. Peter says that. He writes about that in 1 Peter 1 verse 23, that we need to be born again. How? Not of the corruptible seed, but of the incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. That's a mysterious thing. When a seed germinates, that happens in the dark, in the darkness of the soil, It's not visible to human eyes. Others may not notice it, what happens deep inside your soul. But when the seed of the Word germinates, the soul is made alive. And the seed of God's Word has germinated, it has sprouted, it has split. There's pain in the soul now that wasn't there before. There's shame in the soul. There's signs of spiritual life that has germinated. There's the beginnings of life that pans for God. There's sorrow. There's grief. Oh, what a blessing that is. Oh, no, that may not seem so hopeful for the soul, but the seed has germinated. How often has the sower not scattered seed, and the birds of the air swoop down and devour the seed. Times like that. Have you not known that? And the Word never penetrated your heart. The heart was closed. It was hard. And the Word of God leaves you untouched and leaves you unmoved. But what a blessing when that Word, when the seed of that Word germinates in your soul. When the soul is made alive to God. First of all, germinating. Secondly, budding. Budding. and not only bringeth forth, but also buds. Can I put it this way? There's roots downward and a shoot upward. Well, it's not big. It's still small. It's undeveloped, but it's there. There are the shoots of new life. There's the shoots of repentance, the shoots of faith. the shoots of the fruit of the Spirit that Galatians 5 speaks about, of love and joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. No, it's not there in perfection. It's not there in fullness. It's just a small little shoot. And some of you don't even notice it in your own life. And some of you complain that it seems so small still. It's just a little prayer. You've begun to pray. It's just a little hungering and thirsting after righteousness. It's faint desires for Christ. There's little longings for holiness. Maybe it's not big, but be thankful for these buddings. And maybe that's what happened in this past year in your life, young people. Oh yes, then it seems that you haven't learned that much and that you don't understand that much. There's the young beginner in grace that's being described here. These feeble shoots of life in the soul. You become a people of prayer. Not because you have to, but because you want to. You go into your closets to meet with God. You long for communion. You cherish His promises. You long to be made after the image of Christ. Now, has that Word done that this past year, friends? Has there been the germinating and the budding little shoots of grace? These shoots these roots that go downward, these shoots that go upward. Don't be content there. Don't pat yourself on the back there and say, well, at least there's some promise of fruit. Don't stop with just little evidences of life. But where there is a route downward, and a shoot upward. It will grow. God will see to it. The success is guaranteed through His Word and by His Spirit. In fact, the third step is the seeding. The seeding. For the Lord goes on to say, not only does it bring forth and not only does it bud, it also gives seed to the sower. The Lord wants to mature His people. The Lord wants to make them fruitful. The Lord wants to bring forth fruit in the lives of others. Didn't the Lord Jesus say that to his disciples in John 15? Herein is my Father glorified that you bring forth much fruit. So shall you be my disciples. He wants to make his people fruitful. The grace that he gives to you, he wants to deepen it in your life. the conviction of sin, the fear of God, the love of Christ, the life of grace. He wants to use that. He wants to grow that. He wants to bless it to the lives of others. How will this come? Jesus will say in John 15 that it comes through union and communion with Him. Yes, communion through His Word, communion through prayer, communion through His love. Yes, communion through His Word. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, there will be fruit growing. How we need that Word to dwell in us richly, how we need to be busy with that Word, active with it, because if the Lord blesses His people and grows His people and sanctifies His people, it's not apart from His Word. And it's through communion through prayer. For in prayer, yes, we speak to Him. He speaks to us, and we want to speak with Him, and we want to have fellowship with Him. We say, draw me, and we will run after Thee. We say, come over and help, Lord. We express our dependence upon Him in prayer. Has prayer been there? seeding that's taken place, and its communion through His love. Continue ye in my love and abide in my love. Is there that? Growing through, communing with Him in His love. And there are those who have been matured in this past year. Those who have weathered some hard seasons, Maybe many storms. There's fruit showing in their lives. No, they don't see it themselves often. But by the grace of God, there is. They can't explain it, but it's what the Lord has effected. Do we know of that in our lives? Has God given that to us The rain of His Word, this germinating and this budding and this seeding and forthly feeding for the Lord goes on to say that it gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Bread to the eater. And then we need to think of fathers and mothers who do now what they did in Isaiah's day. They hand out portions at a mealtime. They give bread to their children. People who feed others. They break the life. of the bread of life for others. They speak suitable words of life to others. They give everyone their portion, a little here maybe, a little there. What a blessing that is when our souls are famished, when someone thinks of us and gives us a crumb from the Master's table and we may receive the bread of life and we may receive the bread of His grace and taste of His goodness. Does your soul feed on that word? And does it want to feed others with it too? Is that how you as parents have sought to feed your children, not just with physical bread, but with spiritual bread, to speak a word to them? Others want that food too. Others who are eating the bread of life too. Others who are wanting to feed on the Lord Jesus too. And maybe, maybe this past year your soul has been famished Maybe you've struggled spiritually. Maybe you felt that there wasn't much food for your soul this past year. Why that is so, maybe you know why. Maybe you don't know why. But if our souls have been famished this past year, shall we not then return with the prodigal son who says, but there's bread enough. and despair with my Father. Why would I then stay here in my own world and in my own condition and perish with hunger? And I want to return with the prodigal son and I want to come to that feast where the provisions are so many and where He satisfies me and He does more abundantly than I ask or think. As the Word of God has this effect in your life, dear congregation. It's fitting to evaluate what the Word of God has done with us, isn't it? And what we've done with it. Has there been the beginning of this life and the growth of this life downward and upward? Has there been the seed that has sown, the truth that you heard, the sermon that was preached, the word that was read? Was it like a powerful seed that fell into your mind and remained in your memory and worked away at your conscience and penetrated into your heart and changed your will? Was there a springtime in the soul this past year? Or is it still winter? And there's only snow. And your heart is cold. And everything is withered and dead and affected by the frost of winter. And there's no seed germinating. And it's not budding. And there's no seeding and feeding. Shall you not then pray for the sunshine of grace, for the sun of righteousness to arise with healing in his wings, the Lord Jesus to come and speak to your heart, to warm your soul, and to work upon that heart of yours, and to impress your conscience, and to bless the seed that is sown, so that it would just fall into your mind, and remain in your memory, and work away at your conscience, penetrate into your heart and change your will by the reign of the Holy Spirit. Friends, in light of this, why would anyone go on despising the Word of God in your life? When the seed has fallen and the rain has come down, but you wouldn't take it in. You didn't want to drink it in. And you hardened your heart and you would not bow before him. You realize that it will be better for Sodom and Gomorrah than for you? Better for Tyre and Sidon than for you? They didn't have the word. But you do. But my unconverted friend, you haven't inclined your heart unto Him and lived. Oh, ask Him that your ears would be opened, that the heart would be plowed up for the sower to sow, and not for the birds to pluck away the seed that's sown, but for that seed to indeed go down and germinate and bring forth fruit. He can do that. He gives the success of His Word in the lives of sinners. And if you ask, but why is that? It's because of the Lord Jesus, who in John 12, verse 14, He calls Himself the corn of wheat that has to go down into the ground and die in order to bring forth fruit. Yes, for that the Lord Jesus had to come. One who loved the Word like no one else, that Word that was precious to him, oh, bore so much fruit in his life. But the seed of Christ had to go down into the ground of suffering and shame because of the sin of his people, also of this past year. also because of your fruitlessness, the unbelief in your heart, the darkness in your minds, the things that you've done, the things that you've said, the things that you've thought, and the things you've left undone. He would be the corn of wheat that went down into the ground with the intent, with the purpose of bringing forth fruit, much fruit. In the words of Hebrews 2 verse 10, to bring many sons unto glory. to bring forth seed, to give the bread of life to the eater, and crumb from the master's table so that you would have food enough and to spare, and to see to it that there would be fruit in the lives of his people. As he says in Hosea 14 verse 8, from me is thy fruit found. That's why the seed is sown in hope, dear congregation. The rain comes down in grace, and it waters and it germinates the seed and it brings about roots and it has shoots because he died and rose again to give the success to his word. And that's why the Christian parent and the Christian teacher and the Christian minister sows the seed. even though at times we get discouraged and we say with a downcast believer, I must be so useless, where is the fruit? And we're tempted to spend less time with the Bible. We're tempted to cut down on family devotions. We're tempted to cut back on personal devotions because we're so busy anyways and no one else will notice. And we're tempted to give up on speaking a word here and a word there to others who need the word of God. And the minister who's tempted to say, I'm never going into the pulpit again. Let me do anything else but preach. But the Lord says, I will ensure that my word has a glorious impact on the lives of sinners. And then I want to be under that word. And I want to tell that word. And I want to spend more time with that word. because here is something that will not return empty. It will never be void. We waste our time with so much else. Young people, we waste our time on so much else, but we never waste our time when we turn to the Bible and we read it prayerfully and we read it believingly. And we want it not just to inform our minds, but to inflame our hearts. We don't want it just to inform our minds, but to transform our lives. And we want to read it as we end this old year. And we want to read it as we begin a new year. And we look to God to bless His Word, because it is the power of God unto salvation. It's a book that changes lives. It cuts. It still binds up. It kills. And it still gives life. And it strengthens that life. And it guides me in temptation. And it grants illumination. And it shows me His salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's Him that I want at the end of this year. And it's His mercy that I need. And that He has come to bring life and grace. And it makes us pray. O God, let Thy anointed Son come with the seed and the copious rain in time of dearth, gentle showers to cheer the earth, so He shall bring prosperity. Amen. Let us give thanks and pray. O most good-doing and gracious Lord, what a gift Thy Word is, the written Word that has been spoken and still speaks. Oh, Lord, who can fathom the gift of that Word and the effectiveness of that Word and the success it has had in the face of all the opposition, of atheism and unbelief. It still goes about changing lives, converting souls, crumbs from the Master's table, giving growth in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. In searching questions thou hast asked of us this evening, for what has that Word done with us? What effect has it had with us? And maybe we have to hang our heads in shame and say, I've loved the world more I've loved the things of time and sense more. I'm afraid I've grown harder this past year, not softer, more indifferent, and things are not different in my life. Lord, help us to confess that to Thee. and when in the lives of thy people, when they don't even understand it and often may not see the fruit in their lives, yet thou hast been the one giving rain and giving the seed so that it is germinated, roots downward, budding shoots upward, growing seed and giving food, to needy souls. Lord, do that work in all of our lives. We cannot think of anyone here this evening or those who are listening or those who may listen at a later time for whom we say, Lord, don't do it for them. But for the sake of Jesus Christ, who is that seed that fell into the ground, Grant that success and prosperity in 2019 and in 2020, and that till the day of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Help us so to end this year also, yes, in turning once again as families and individuals to Thy Word, praying that Thou wouldst work mightily, irresistibly, and that we would express our dependence, our sin, and our need of Christ. Forgive graciously our sins in preaching and in listening, and bring us where we are expected, and return us again tomorrow morning. For be thy will, take none out of this life unprepared. Prepare us to meet thee for Christ's sake, and by that word, amen.