I'm Possible!
Illus. Kurt Kaiser
It only takes a spark to get a fire going
And soon all those around can warm up to its glowing
That's how it is with God's love
Once you've experienced it
You spread your love to everyone
You want to pass it on
Maybe you've never heard that song, but anyone who grew up during the 70s certainly has heard that song. How about this one?
Illus. Larry Norman, "I wish we'd all been ready"
Life was filled with guns and war
And all of us got trembled on the floor
I Wish We'd All Been Ready
Children die, the days grow cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I Wish We'd All Been Ready
There's no time to change your mind
The sun has come and you've been left behind
As I thinking about those songs, they got me thinking. The first one suggests how good Gods love is to experience and to share. The second one makes you realize and wish, you would have done more of both with the time your life had afforded you!
What's the one thing that is more important to us than our money? It's the only thing in life we have absolutely no control over, Our time!
Did you ever think about how little time, we as Christians, Gods Sons and Daughters really give to God?
Is it just me, or have you noticed how little time there is now a days. That's what we all say isn't it? Especially the older we get!
I’m sure you’ve heard more than one person say, boy, where has this year gone?
And that’s the truth of it , isn’t it? Where has the time gone, so much to do, so little time to do it in.
Technology doesn't help matters any does it? Continually bringing new gadgets
on the market before we have even figured out all the stuff, the old ones can do.
Just speaking for myself, I don't think I even ever mastered the game "Pong" from the 1970s.
The phone companies let you do early upgrades on your 2 yr. agreements. And the Next thing you know, you’ve had a cell phone for 20 yrs. And never fully fulfilled one agreement.
Everything is affected by the amount of time we have and give, to our families and friends and especially to the Lord.
With God, we have unlimited anytime access, but choose to limit the time we give and spend with Him,
We come to church, or maybe give God 2-3 hrs. out of a 168 hr. week. Which is somewhere between one and 2% of our time, but yet expect 100% amazing results and blessings for the time we do spend.
We come in and we say that we have been praying about a need. Oh, we have been praying and thinking about our need being met! But in real time, what seems like days and weeks, has only been seconds and minutes at most!
If there ever was such a thing of minimum investment, with maximum results, that would be it! "Our prayer life" God gives so much to us, and in comparison we give so little in return!
Makes you think twice, about the saying, the more you give, the more you get!
As we think about what lies ahead for us, the trials, testing, and tasks we face, both in our church and personal lives,
often we become enamored with the daily things. Lets just call it stuff, because that's what it is and all that stuff does. Is clog up the pipeline we have to God!
Distractions, drama Call it what you want, But Gods people, really shouldn’t have so much of it...but you see,
The accuser will use whatever He can, to keep you occupied with life, so you will forget what matters the most, your relationship with God, through His Amazing Son Jesus!
Ambition and the accuser will have you continually thinking...
You need this!
You need that!
You gotta get one of those!
Do you notice the key word here, you you & YOU!
Enough already, with what were capable of, for most of us, what were capable of has got us where we are in life. And for almost all of us, that's not exactly where we thought we'd be by now is it?
And if that was where everyone wanted to be, more people would walk around saying, “it’s a Wonderful Life”
instead of saying, "good" in a so so tone, or a pretend happy momentary state of bliss, when someone ask you how's it going?
Thing of it is, did you ever notice how many unhappy people there are in the world.
They don’t like the way they look, or the clothes they have, or the car they drive, etc. etc. etc. Happiness, is not found in things.
We become disheartened, because sometimes feeling we have little to offer and what lies ahead is too great.
But God will use the little that we have in a great way if we will let Him. That's the key, we first have to be willing to give God all of the little we possess!
If we are willing to put our little into Gods hands, its not limited to our capabilities anymore, Its not limited at all, when we place what we have into the hands of the one who doesn’t even have the word impossible, in His vocabulary!
There's two ways to look at the word impossible. The first one is the way I just said the word impossible. The second way when you're willing to give god what you have and let him work with you, it suddenly changes the possibilities of the outcome of what your wanting and asking.
And God wants you to realize and to know, to have the confidence as a child of God to not look at your situation as impossible. But with Him leading and directing the way it is possible.
Not impossible, but I'm possible. Not I can do it myself, but what I'm going to ask Him
I know He can and wants to do for me and make possible! I'm possible!
2 Kings 4:1&2 Msg.
1. One day the wife of a man from the guild of prophets called out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead. You well know what a good man he was, devoted to God. And now the man to whom he was in debt is on his way to collect by taking my two children as slaves."
2. Elisha said, "I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?"
"Nothing," she said. "Well, I do have a little oil."
How is it, when she was asked, if she had anything, at first she said that, she had nothing, then she realized who she was talking to.
The self reliance mentality, hangs on even right down to the bitter end, like the little bit she did have left, would make a difference in the natural.
God doesn’t need what we have to produce more for us, but what He is looking for,
Is for us to trust Him, with what we do have all the time and the faith that He is able to do what He says He is able to do!!
Mark 4:30-32 NKJ
30.. Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?
31. It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth;
32. but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”
Its smaller than all the seeds on earth;
that’s the amount of faith we need to start God says, just a little bit,
He wants us to realize, when we put it into the mix with His capabilities, the end result becomes enormous. Praise God!
She knew what she didn’t have, but she also knew what she did have. And all of us know exactly what I'm talking about! Any body who has ever paid the bills, knows what you have and what you don't have!
Some of you probably think that you have nothing at all but in actuality, everyone has something of value,
And its that something, when were willing to let God get a hold of it, has the potential for supernatural growth.
After she realized, she was willing to admit as to what she had and was willing to invest what she had and sow that seed into what she had need of,
the Lord began to reveal His plan to her, it was at that moment, that her situation started to go from hopeless, to hopeful! From impossible, to I'm possible!!
3-4. "Here's what you do," said Elisha. "Go up and down the street and borrow jugs and bowls from all your neighbors. And not just a few—all you can get. Then come home and lock the door behind you, you and your sons. Pour oil into each container; when each is full, set it aside."
Sometimes, the plan that God has to bless us, doesn’t always make perfect sense to us...Guess what? It doesn’t have to! Who cares if they make sense? The end result is what matters most doesn't it?
TBS.(the bible says)
He will use the foolish things to confound the wise.
*He made a fish into an ATM. Machine one time, to pay taxes with. (wouldn’t you like to find that fish and keep him in your aquarium.
*He ask Nahum to go and bath in a muddy river, not once, but seven times to receive his healing. He did it and guess what? He was healed of leprosy. Praise God!!
TBS. his flesh was restored to that, like a little child’s flesh
Gods ways, are not our ways and they don’t have to be! He’s God, He can do what ever He wants to do, anytime anywhere He chooses!
Just Rejoice and be Glad that He chooses, to doos it for youses!
He doesn’t need our help, figuring out the plan, only to be a part of it and believe the results will not only come, but will amaze us and all those who know us, when they do!
Things that are over our head, are under His feet, all we have to do, is trust in His capabilities!!!
He has the hard part, we have the easy part, but we always think it’s the other way around for some reason!
Now we get to the good part, to the most important part of story, the part to where it all becomes possible!
She trusted in Gods capabilities instead of her own, she made about Him and not about self reliance
She took a huge step, over to the wild side of possibilities of growing her faith in the God of endless abilities,
5-6. She did what he said. She locked the door behind her and her sons; as they brought the containers to her, (with Gods Help, she did what??) she filled them. When all the jugs and bowls were full, she said to one of her sons, "Another jug, please."
He said, "That's it. There are no more jugs."
Then the oil stopped.
The accuser would argue this next statement all day long, but he knows better than anyone,my hat the truth will set you free!
We determine, the amount of our blessing!! We just read it and she said, "give me another jug please, didn't she?"
Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. If she would have had a 100 more, or even a 1,000 more vessels that day, God could have and would have filled them!
He is a God of Abundance, Praise God!
The prophet told her, go and find some vessels and not a few.
Her faith was the thing that determined the outcome that day!
There was no time limit applied to the task, she and her sons, determined the amount of their blessing that day.
Did you know that we still do the same thing today?
Our faith determines the outcome of our measure of blessing we receive from God!
God hasn’t changed, the accuser has tried to change the way man thinks, but God is the same, TBS. He changes not!
When you invest in anything, the greater the investment, the greater the risk, but also the greater the reward!
7. She went and told the story to the man of God. He said, "Go sell the oil and make good on your debts. Live, both you and your sons, on what's left."
The Prophet said "Live" not just exist! God still says the same thing today, you can have the abundant life, because Jesus has already purchased it and paid the ransom for you to be able too!
She truly found out the meaning of "give and it shall be given," that day;
She went from rags to riches, not because of what she was capable of, but because of the God of endless capabilities!
God didn’t make her march around the mountain she was facing, He carved a Super Highway right through the mountain,
The bible said; She went and told the story to the man of God,
I imagine she went and told the story to everyone she knew, for the rest of her life!
Not what she would be able to do for them, but what God was capable of doing for them and in their own life.
The entitlement mentality today, seems to want what everyone else can give them.
Why in the world, would anyone want to limit themselves to what someone else could give them, Instead of what the Creator of the universe and all that’s in it, could give them.
We don’t have to settle for a sliver of pie, God wants you to know, you can have a whole pie.
What do you need from God today?
What ever it is, its not to much for Him to deliver to you!
*When you have faith in the world, you get what the world is capable of.
*When you have faith in Money, you get what money is capable of.
*When you have faith in self, you get what self is capable of.
*But when you have faith in God, you get what God is capable of,
And there is nothing, I repeat NOTHING, HE is not Capable Of, when you do!!!!
But you have to be willing to invest what you have and be willing to trust God for the results,
God can take anyone who is willing to step out in obedient faith, persevere in prayer looking in faith for the answer to that prayer,
giving Him whatever they have little or much and witness the amazing results that He is capable of.
The only thing that matters in this life that we have been given,
and I say that, because the life we have, is a gift!
The only thing that matters, is what we do for the Kingdom of God with our life.
Maybe, God has been speaking to you, wanting you to do more for His Kingdom,
And you keep telling yourself, you want to do more and that someday you will, but…
And maybe someone else, God has been speaking to you, to increase your giving and you say you will someday, but….
If that’s you today, today is that someday, someday is knocking on the door again, today it's time to answer the door!
God wants you to know, that there are great blessings that are awaiting you,
When you are willing to just step out from where your at.
And someone might say, but you don’t know where I’m at, that’s right, I don’t know,
But God does, and He wants you to know, when you step out in faith, He can take you from the ordinary, to the extraordinary!
Don’t let what you think you have, keep you from what God has for you, trust Him completely today and realize, it's time you finally said and realized the words
I'M POSSIBLE!!
Let's pray!
