“God Can”
Matthew 19:23-26
David P. Nolte
It’s amazing what people can do if they are determined. One man lost both arms and his sight in an explosion. But he wanted to read his Bible so he learned how to read it in braille with the tip of his tongue. He managed to read the entire Bible within a year in this manner.
There’s also a woman who is paralyzed, except for her legs, and she has managed, by holding a paint brush between her toes, to turn out some really amazing paintings.
There is a man, who is paralyzed from the neck down, who learned with new eye-tracking technology, to manipulate his computer by the movement of his eyes.
Many, including me, would stagger in the face of those challenges. “It’s too hard! It’s too difficult! I can’t do that!”
It’s amazing what we can do if we set our mind to it. Yet it is also amazing what man thinks he can do but doesn’t have a Scintilla of hope to do. We can’t create a universe, raise the dead or save a soul. There are some things which are impossible for us to accomplish but which are perfectly possible with God.
In the book of Genesis God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a child in their old age. Sarah laughed at the very thought. Then He asked a powerful question: “Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” Genesis 18:14 (NASB).
Jeremiah the prophet was amazed at God’s capability and he said, “Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.” Jeremiah 32:17 (NASB).
Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:23-26 (NASB).
The song we just heard asks, and answers, a crucial question: “Who can do anything?” The answer, “Nobody but my Lord.”
I. HE CAN BEAR EVERY BURDEN:
A. The psalm says, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation.” Psalm 68:19 (NASB).
1. We have old burdens from our yesterdays and new burdens for each today and daily He bears them!
2. He is our salvation: our rescuer, our yoke-fellow.
3. “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NASB).
B. What were some of David’s burdens?
1. His enemies, one of whom was his own son Absalom, sought to kill him. Can you imagine the burden of knowing that someone, especially a loved one, wants you dead?
a. Marlene has a relative who caused a man with whom he sold stocks to go to prison for fraud so the guy took out a contract with a hit man. To frighten him the guy told him he was a target so he moved from place to place frequently as he felt the Lord warning him to move.
b. Though he trusted God, there was a burden and God not only carried it but saved him from being killed. The guy died in prison and apparently the contract died with him.
2. David was also burdened with his guilt because of his adultery with Bathsheba and the conspiratorial murder of her husband Uriah in an unsuccessful attempt to cover his sin.
3. He was bowed down under the burden of grief at the death of the child born of his dalliance with Bathsheba.
C. Any one of those could crush us if the Lord didn’t step in and carry them with and for us. On our own:
1. Our strength fails us.
2. Our wisdom is folly.
3. Our courage flees.
4. But Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB).
D. What is your burden? What darkens your day and saddens your heart? The song reminds us that, even in the unhappy, burdened times, we have a helper:
“Who makes us happy though we’ve been sad?
Loves us even though we’re bad?
Who answers prayers and makes us glad?
Nobody but my Lord.”
E. A preacher was busy writing his sermon when his little boy came into his study. He asked, “Are you workin’ on a sermon?” Dad said, “Yep.” The boy said, “Can I help you?” Dad said, “Sure – see that big red book on the shelf? Can you bring it to me?” The boy strode over to the shelf, tugged out the book, which was a very thick one, and dropped it. He struggled to pick it up and failed. He said,, “Daddy, it’s too heavy for me,” whereupon, Dad smiled, and said, “You just need a little help,” and he picked up the little boy and placed the book in his little arms and carried not only the boy’s burden, but the boy!
Who can carry every burden? Who can carry us as well? Nobody but my Lord. And there’s more
II. HE CAN SAVE FROM EVERY SIN:
A. David Lamented, “For my iniquities are gone over my head; As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.” Psalm 38:4 (NASB). That is true, but, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (NASB).
B. What sins of David are recorded in the Bible?
1. We’ve already noted two sins:
a. His affair with Bathsheba.
b. The subsequent murder of her husband Uriah.
2. A third recorded sin was displeasing God by taking a census to discover the size of his nation and especially the strength of his military force. We read, “Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.” 1 Chronicles 21:1 (NASB). What was wrong with that?
a. Matthew Henry said,”The pride of David’s heart, was his sin in numbering of the people. He thought thereby to appear the more formidable, trusting in an arm of flesh more than he should have done, and though he had written so much of trusting in God only.” Matthew Henry Concise Bible Commentary.
b. David admitted to having independent pride when he said, “When I felt secure, I said, ‘I will never be shaken.’ O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.” Psalm 30:6-7 (NIV).
c. He factored God out of the occasion and trusted in his army for security.
d. When we do leave God out, we sin.
C. But there is hope! There is forgiveness! That is because, as says the song,
“Who was it hung up on a tree,
Suffered shame for you and me?
Who was it died to make us free?
Nobody but my Lord.”
D. We all sin through lust, pride, rebellion, selfishness, greed, unforgiving hearts, and the list goes on. But God gives us help to overcome and forgiveness when we fail:
1. He assures us that “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NASB).
2. But the reality is we still sin. John wrote, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2 (NASB).
3. We have all the help we need to never sin again - but we make bad choices, we follow the world and our own desires and we sin. We disobey God; we go our own way as Isaiah wrote, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.” Isaiah 53:6 (NASB).
E. I am not trying to be negative or judgmental in stating the Bible truth that we are all guilty, unclean, corrupt and sinful and that only Jesus can rescue us. To understand what I am saying, picture this: your house is on fire but your smoke detectors have dead batteries and your sinuses are clogged and the tv volume covers the crackling of burning wood. So your neighbor beaks down the door, and comes bursting in hollering, “Your house is on fire; you have to get out now!” would you protest, “Oh, baloney. You are exaggerating! You are always so negative and judgmental. Why don’t you worry about your own house burning down?” As you speak, he flees and your house continues to burn. Now you will do one of two things: ignore the danger and die or get out call 911.
Jesus came to forgive us for all our sin and to deliver us from the fire of hell – He warns and calls us and we will ignore it and die or we will heed it and live. We will die in sin unforgiven or we will die to sin and be free.
Who can forgive all sin? Nobody but my Lord. And finally,
III. HE CAN OVERCOME EVERY OPPONENT:
A. “God is to us a God of deliverances; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death. Surely God will shatter the head of His enemies, The hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.” Psalm 68:21 (NASB).
B. I am not at all suggesting that you have a list of enemies, or that behind every bush is someone out to get you, or that every other person opposes you. But there are several opponents that attack us. Paul listed three of them in Ephesians 2: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), Ephesians 2:1-5 (NASB).
1. See the three opponents:
a. The world – the anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-Bible culture all around us.
b. The devil – don’t be put off guard by thinking of an impish dude with horns, dressed in red long johns, carrying a pitchfork and dragging a long, pointy tail. Rather remember he is a formidable and crafty foe.
(1) Paul warned, “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14 (NASB).
(2) Peter reminds us, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 (NASB).
c. The lusts of our flesh, the selfish desires of the flesh and of the mind.
2. Another opponent is worry, anxiety fear – which is putting faith in the enemy rather than the Lord.
3. The final opponent is death. “The last enemy that will be abolished is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:26 (NASB).
C. These opponents have an agenda:
1. The world seeks to destroy all vestiges of God, Jesus, Church, Bible, crosses and Christians.
2. Satan craftily introduces seemingly good things like total mindless tolerance, political correctness, and situational ethics.
3. The flesh is with us every hour of every day, urging mindless, undisciplined gratification.
4. Worry seeks to strip us of hope and confidence in God.
5. Death seeks to strike us with fear and apprehension .
D. We can defeat these enemies if we face them in the grace and power of Jesus because He has defeated them and He limits their power while increasing ours. We are assured of that in the Bible and by experience.
1. Paul wrote, “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:10-12 (NASB).
2. Whatever, whoever might try to defeat us, while we are in Christ,
a. Paul wrote, “If God is for us, who is against us?” Romans 8:31 (NASB).
b. And he concluded that, “we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37 (NASB).
E. A boy, standing outside market was confronted by three other boys who decided to steal the bike he was sitting on so they began to shove him around to prove their prowess. He didn’t act afraid or intimidated – in fact, he said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” They sneered at him but all that changed when they turned around and saw the boy’s high school age brother come out of the store. He saw what was happening and with one word, “Git!” they split. Why was the boy not intimidated when faced with 3 to 1 odds? He knew his big brother was coming right out and would settle the matter with no problem.
We can be sure that, standing right beside us, our elder Brother – our lord and Savior Jesus, will make our enemies flee.
Who can bear our burdens, forgive our sins and conquer our enemies? Nobody but my Lord.
When our lives are filled with sorrow
And we fear the unknown morrow
He will gladly take our heavy load today.
When our guilt fills us with grief
And we find no sweet relief
He will surely wash our every sin away
When our foes try hard to harm us
And we need His power to arm us
Then He will keep our enemies at bay.
Only God, the living Savior
Helps and saves those in His favor
And will take us home to live with Him someday.
–Dave Nolte 2019
IS HE
? Bearing you burdens?
? Cleansing you of, and forgiving you for, your sin?
? Putting your enemies to flight?
DO YOU
? Know Him?
? Have your heart open to what He, alone, can do?
If so, praise and glorify Him. If not, open your heart to Him in faith and He will do all that nobody can do – Nobody, that is, but the Lord!
