“GOD CAN and Will!”
INTRODUCTION:
There’s a moment in the history of Israel where they felt they had no hope. They believed in God, but they didn’t believe God could fix their situation. Have you ever been there? Have you been in those moments? You believe in GOD, YOU BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE, YOU BELIEVE IN Jesus, but your life is a mess. You think, I’m a shipwreck. I’ve absolutely destroyed any potential of ever living the life of my dreams. At times like this, you might be best described as nothing but dead bones. You’re just waiting to be put six feet under. Your flesh and your muscle hasn’t decayed, but your soul decayed a long time ago. And it may be God is asking you a question like he asked the prophet Ezekiel generations ago.(from Erwin McManus- Wide Awake)
Ezekiel 37:1-10
1GOD grabbed me. GOD’s Spirit took me up and sat me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. 2He led me around and among them—a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain—dry bones, bleached by the sun.
3He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Master GOD, only you know that.”
4He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones: ‘Dry bones, listen to the Message of GOD!’”
5GOD, the Master, told the dry bones, “Watch this: I’m bringing the breath of life to you and you’ll come to life. 6I’ll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You’ll come alive and you’ll realize that I am GOD!”
7I prophesied just as I’d been commanded. As I prophesied, there was a sound and, oh, rustling! The bones moved and came together, bone to bone. 8I kept watching. Sinews formed, then muscles on the bones, then skin stretched over them. But they had no breath in them.
9He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, ‘GOD, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!’”
10So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army.
God Can!
1. We’ve become a society that is fascinated by the astonishing and the unbelievable
a. Amazing athletic feats and tremendous displays of strength
b. In movies and television, we expect to see dazzling special effects and breath-
taking stunts.
c. We turn to talk shows to see and hear about bizarre acts performed by demented people
2. We observe such things and exclaim: “Wow! Did you see that?” Man! How in
the world did they ever do that?” Oh! That’s just incredible!” “I can’t believe
anybody would try something like that!”
B. Yet, if we’d just take some time to look at the biblical records, we’ll find that there is
not one actual or simulate event in our technically advanced society that can even
begin to stand beside the might works of God:
1. Gen. 1 – speaks the world into existence
2. Ex. 14 – parts the Red Sea
3. Josh. 10 – Holds the sun and moon still in their orbits
C. There are other scriptures that remind us of the power and strength of God
--That show us the possibilities that exist when it comes to God and what He can do
1. Jer. 32:17 – “Oh, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
2. Lk. 18:27 – [Jesus says,] “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
3. Eph. 3:20 – Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work with us…
D. One of the most important scriptural teachings that we can depend on, that we can lean on, is that when things seem impossible and we can’t, God can!
I. GOD CAN PERFORM EXTRA-ORDINARY MIRACLES FOR THOSE WHO WILL TRUST HIM
--Acts 19:11-12 – God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
A. First thing to point out: it is God who performs the miracles
1. The miracles didn’t happen because of Paul but because of God
2. Lots of times I’ve heard radio or TV preachers say something like, “If you’ll just send in your money,
I’ll send you this pillowcase or prayer cloth or handkerchief and if you’ll just sleep on it or just carry it around with you, you’ll receive a miracle.”
a. That kind of thing makes me cringe when I hear it because God doesn’t sell His miracles
--He gives them out of His grace and mercy
b. Another thing that makes me cringe is that these so-called preachers act like miracles happen
because of their own abilities.
3. Supernatural events occur through the agency of two persons: God or Satan
a. Satan’s supernatural acts are faulty and weak – they don’t last
--They’ll fade. They’ll turn bad just like a rotting tomato.
b. God’s miracles are perfect
--They’re permanent and will not fade
c. 1 Jn. 4:1 – Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
B. Second point brought out in tonight’s text is that these miracles were unusual
--Understandably, miracles are unusual in themselves but these were extraordinary
1. God does perform miracles but these were different than ones He normally performs
2. This particular type of miracle is only described in a few isolated incidences in the New Testament
a. The woman with the hemorrhage that touched the hem of Jesus’ garment
b. In Acts 5, when people would try to get passed over by Peter’s shadow
c. Here in our passage this evening
C. Two reminders:
1. All of God’s miracles are extraordinary becuae they happen outside of the natural ways of operation
2. God also works through normal, ordinary processes
--God will honor the dedicated work of physicians and other medical personnel
D. As we look at miracles in the Bible, God primarily used people to be the agents of miracles
1. The church still ought to be a place of healing
--Where people who have dis-ease find comfort and help
2. There are two basic kinds of dis-ease: physical and spiritual
a. Natural processes many times determine physical disease
b. Spiritual disease is always caused by spiritual processes
c. Sometimes physical disease is determined by spiritual processes
d. God can heal every manner of dis-ease.
e. Sometimes, God uses that dis-ease to teach us about Himself and to draw us closer to Him
--In 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about carrying around a ‘thorn in the flesh”.
1). He had asked God several times to take it away
--to heal the dis-ease
2). Paul reported that God had told him that He would leave it there to remind Paul that God’s grace was sufficient for Paul’s need.
3. The most unused and unclaimed scripture passage in the New Testament is found in James 5:14-15 –
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
a. Who does this passage say to call?
1). Who do most people want to come see them when they’re sick?
2). I wonder how many people have missed out on a blessing because they’ve failed to heed this particular scripture?
b. Notice that this passage also covers both physical and spiritual healing
1). Physical: “the Lord will raise him up”
2). Spiritual: “If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.”
4. In our text tonight, people were not only healed of physical maladies but also cleansed of evil spirits
a. Evil spirits are not something we like to talk about because it’s scary and makes us think about all those horror movies we’ve watched
--Stop watching! Why do you want to watch something that glorifies evil and makes it look cool?
b. The Bible tells us that when Satan rebelled against God and tried to overthrow God that God cast him out of heaven and that he took one-third of all the angels with him.
c. Those spirits who serve Satan like to inhabit and torment human beings because we’re precious to God.
d. Many times they’re present in someone’s life because either consciously or unconsciously they have been invited in
1). Some people have consciously opened their lived to control by demonic spirits
--they have taken part in the rituals of witchcraft or Satan worship
2). Others have unwittingly opened their lives to demonic spirit activity because of involvement in things that are forbidden to God’s people: astrology, psychics and mediums, Ouija Boards, and Tarot cards
3). Many times these people are miserable and don’t know why
--They need to know that God can heal their lives and release them from spiritual bondage
IN CONCLUSION:
God can and WILL save you from any life you may be living or have lived!
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Acts 2:38-39 38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 4:12 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
