God’s Word Never Returns Void
Jerry Sivnksty
In Isaiah 55:11 the Lord promises, “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 whereto I sent it.” This is a wonderful truth! When we proclaim God’s Word, we can be assured that it will do its work and impact the lives of those who hear it. We read in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” What a profound truth to realize that the Word of God is quick, alive, and active! It is powerful, which means it is the “dynamite” of God to break the hardest sinner on earth. It is also sharper than any two-edged sword, which means it cuts right through the conscience of man to make him see his own wretchedness and his need of Christ as Savior.
Several years ago I was preaching a meeting in an eastern state. A man came one night who got so upset and angry with me that he told his wife he would never go back to hear me preach. Three years later I was in the same church for a return meeting. At the close of the Sunday morning service, a man walked up to me and said, “I’ve been waiting for three years to see you. I heard you preach when you were here last, and I was not a Christian. I was infuriated with your preaching and told my wife I would never go back to hear you preach. However, I could never get away from the message you preached. I want you to know I was under such deep conviction that I trusted the Lord as my Savior. I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival here to let you know I got saved because of your straightforward preaching of Christ as the only way to go to heaven.” Remember what the Lord said in our text? “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void.”
Many years ago I was holding meetings in Lakeland, Florida. One of the ladies invited an unsaved friend to the services. This lady came three nights in a row to hear me preach. On the last night she walked up to me, said that she had never heard the Bible preached before, shook my hand, and left. Twenty minutes later, someone tapped me on the shoulder; I turned around to see this unsaved lady. She said, “We were going home, and the message you preached tonight really spoke to me. I asked my friend to turn the car around and go back to the church because I want to know how to be saved.” My wife took the Bible and led this lady to Christ. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void.”
Recently a Muslim from West Africa who read one of my gospel tracts wrote me and gave the following testimony: “My father told me that when he sent me to school, he did not send me to embrace Christianity but to get an education. However, after reading the tract you wrote I realize that Jesus Christ is the one who died for our sins, and I have accepted Him as my personal Savior.” He has written to me twice and related that his Muslim friends are forsaking him and his uncle has told him he can no longer live with him since he has become a Christian. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void.”
Several years ago I had a meeting in Indiana. A lady flew her niece from a southern state to be with her for the week of meetings. The reason she did so was because this young lady’s mother was a prostitute and was trying to convince her daughter to follow in her footsteps. One night at the close of the service, the aunt brought her niece to meet me; she was seventeen years old. In the course of our conversation I asked her whether she knew Christ as her Savior. She told me she felt she hadn’t done anything bad enough to go to Hell. I told her I knew a lot of people who were good and were going to split Hell wide open! I then gave her the plan of salvation and had the privilege of leading her to Christ. That was in the month of June; in August she enrolled at Bob Jones University. She knew so little of the Bible that when her teacher asked the class to turn to the book of Matthew she raised her hand and said, “Sir, I didn’t know I had to buy that book for class.” She graduated from BJU and is now married. That’s the power of the Word of God!
Always remember what the Lord said in Isaiah 55:11: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void.” I challenge you today to share the Word of God and watch what the Lord will do with it in His time.
Evangelist Jerry Sivnksty may be contacted at P.O. Box 141, Starr, SC 29684 or via e-mail at