5 Things God Can’t Do – 1) God Can’t Lie.
Gladstone Baptist Church – 9/1/05 pm
(Adapted from “Things that are impossible for God, Part 1 – It’s impossible for God to Lie” by Mike Howerton)
What do you think God looks like? What do you think He acts like? Like some grandfather in the sky just smiling down on us – but powerless to stop things like tsumanis and earthquakes? Maybe you think He is like a security guard watching the surveillance tapes of all our lives? Or maybe He is more like a cop waiting to bust us? What do you think God is like?
That’s a good question. No matter where you are on the spiritual journey – whether you’re just checking this God thing out for the first time or you’ve grown up in a church and you’re sold out to Jesus, the reality is, it’s worth us taking the time to explore what God’s characteristics are like.
Over the next 5 weeks, I want to talk about 5 things that God can’t do. When I’ve told people what I plan to preach on, I’ve got some interesting looks. I think that on some occasions, I even heard the cries of “heretic” coming from under their breath.
Maybe some of you are thinking that way right now. You are wondering where you can find enough wood around the property here to make a bon fire to burn me on. You are thinking about verses like. Luke 1:37 says, “For nothing is impossible with God.” If you thought about that verse – great, you know your Bible. Jesus reiterates this a little later in Luke 18:27 when He says “What’s impossible with men is possible with God.”
1. So you say … Isn’t God ALL POWERFUL?
Yes He is! He is an OMNIPOTENT God - All powerful. He has no limit to his strength, no end to the things He can do – his might. The Bible says that God not only created all things but He holds all things together all the time. He holds the sub atomic particles together. He binds the molecules together and strings them together into something orderly that goes to make up you stomach or your lungs or your fingernail. God holds it all together. He’s intimately involved in all areas of creation all the time. There are no limits to the things that God can do.
God is the CREATOR. God created everything from scratch, the universe, the billions of stars. Out of his thought, He created them. Then He placed humanity at the very centre of his love. He is powerful and uses this power to care for us, provide for us and love us. He DIED on the cross to take the sin of humanity on himself then three days later He shows His power when He ROSE AGAIN. I can see the power of God in CHANGED lives the last 2000 years. I know it’s real in my own life. I can see the change He’s made in me. It’s not like I was a Satanist or a gang member or terrorist. But God wasn’t number one in my life. But God has changed me in a huge way over the last 12 years or so.
God is all powerful – powerful enough to create and sustain this world and powerful enough to change me and you. And if that’s true. If there’s nothing that’s impossible with God, what about with this whole series?
2. God can’t go against his OWN NATURE.
While there is nothing that is impossible for God, God cannot be INCONSISTENT. Another way to say this is God can’t not be God. God has to be himself – if He is not himself, He is not God.. The decisions God makes, the way that God acts spring from his own character, from who He is. He doesn’t just do things because He wants to, He does things because that is who He is. For example there are loving acts that God does. Why? Because God is love. That’s his character. That’s who He is. God can’t change that and if He were to change it, He wouldn’t be God any more.
This is true in your own life. You’re wired with certain DNA that make you a human and make you the individual that you are. Your DNA gives you certain characteristics and traits. You can’t change that you cannot change your DNA. You could pretend. You could put little contacts in your eyes, change the color of your eyes. You could dye your hair, your eyebrows... You could pretend that you have blond hair or purple hair. You could even have a sex change operation. But you can never change your DNA. You can’t change who you really are – everything you do would only be pretending. God’s the same way. He cannot change the nature of who He is. He cannot change his basic characteristics. And because of this, there are some things that God is not able to do.
Over the next 5 weeks, I want to look at 5 things that God can’t do. I want to challenge you to bring your friends along to church over the next 5 weeks. We are going to have some fun looking at these things and hopefully get the chance to meet God face to face.
1) The first thing God can’t do is – God can’t lie.
2) God can’t want your worst – He wants your best, the very best for your life.
3) God can’t abandon you and not care – He’s going to be there for you, He’ll never leave you or forsake you. He will be there to meet your needs.
4) God can’t fail – his plans will succeed.
5) God can’t be selfish – He will out-give you time and time again.
Start praying about who you can bring next week. Don’t be scared to invite people, they need to hear these messages.
Let’s pray before we consider our first topic tonight. Pray
God Can’t Lie - Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man that He should lie or the son of man that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and then not fulfill?”
God can’t lie because God is consistent. He doesn’t say one thing and do another. He’s not wishy-washy at all about what He wants to do. He is open and honest. What he promises he will do and what he says he means.
There is a player on the spiritual battle field that’s totally opposite of this, who is totally deceptive, totally inconsistent, who’ll say one thing and do another at the drop of a hat. The Bible calls him the father of lies. The deceiver. It’s the devil. If the devil were a person, nobody would hang out with him. He’s unstable, illogical and crazy. He’ll keep at you to do something – “You know you want to do this.” Then when you do it he’ll say, “I can’t believe you did that. Who could love you now? You’re pathetic.” He’ll put you down and when you’re down he’ll kick you. If the devil were a person, you would not be his friend, you’d tell him where to go. But because the devil’s able to whisper into our thoughts, we constantly have to face up to his lies and deceit.
But God is not like that at all. God is completely the opposite of that. He’ll never say one thing and do another. He’s consistent. And He’s consistent because that is what his character is. God can’t lie, because to do so would mean that God is going against his very character. And God can’t not be God.
Listen to Hebrews 6:13-20…
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
16 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things (The unchanging nature of his purpose and His Oath) in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
The writer to the Hebrews says. God wanted to make his plans very clear to Abraham. These plans were the plans God had from the creation of the world. They were plans to bless Abraham and his descendants. These plans are described as the “unchanging purposes” of God in vs 17. God’s plans for us are unchanging.
So what did God do to reassure Abraham that his plans would come to pass? He made an oath or a promise. The writer to the Hebrews says in vs 18 that it is impossible for God to lie. What God says he means. What God promises will surely come about. His promises are reliable. You see when God makes a promise, he makes it in his own name. He doesn’t swear on the Bible or on his Mother’s grave. He swears on himself - his own nature which doesn’t change.
God made a promise to Abraham and Abraham could be sure that that promise was trustworthy because it was based
1) on God’s unchanging NATURE and
2) on God’s unchanging WORD.
There is nothing more sure or more stable than that. But so what you say …
It’s impossible for God to lie. Why? Because God is the truth – that’s his nature. Because God is the truth, then it’s impossible for God to lie. If He lies it would go against his character and He would cease to be God. He is also not wishy-washy. His Word is reliable. What He says He will do. How do we know that? Because that is His nature and God can’t not be God. God Can’t lie.
Why is this important? Why would we spend all day talking about how it’s impossible for God to lie? Because God has made all sorts of promises to us and I want to know whether they can be trusted! Don’t you want to know too?
I don’t know about you, but I find it very difficult to imagine someone who can not lie. I’ve been lied to so many times. We ourselves have lied so many times. Lies pervade our culture, our society and it is part of our life. But what would happen if there was someone who could not tell a lie?
I want to show you a clip from Liar Liar. Fletcher Reede (Jim Carrey) is a lawyer whose whole life is built around lying or bending the truth. One year, his son makes a birthday wish that his dad would not be able to lie any more. As you watch this clip, think about how dramatically different your life would be if you could not lie?
Clip from Liar Liar
We don’t know what to do when we come into the presence of a God who will never ever lie to us. Our society says that lying is necessary to survive. It is part of every day life. Parents say, “I’ll be there for you... I’ll be at your game... I’ll be at this school function… Whatever” And they’re not and that hurts. Somebody else says your value is based on your performance. If you do well then I’ll love you – but they don’t. That hurts. Boyfriends/girlfriends say, “I’ll always love you. I’ll never leave you.” and then they do. That’s a lie and it hurts. The media says if you just had enough money to buy this outfit or this car or this stereo then you’ll be happy. It says to you girls, that if you are thin, you are beautiful and can be truly happy. Guys, if you look like Andrew G then you can be happy. Yes guys, Andrew G was Cleo’s most eligible bachelor for 2004.
We are surrounded by lies, but that is not what God is like. It is impossible for God to lie and that has some important implications for us …
1. We can Hold on to God’s PROMISES.
Because God can’t lie, we can hold on to the promises that God makes. 2 Corinthians 1:18-21 says “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas a and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but in Him it has always been “Yes.” For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It is not a maybe they’ll come off or hopefully God will remember them. No God’s Promises are a sure thing – They are a confident YES. That’s a great thing.
Because Jesus Christ lived a perfect life on this earth, because He died, was buried and resurrected, God’s promises are fulfilled. What promises?
• That God will save you. This frees you from worry of the future. You don’t have to worry about what comes after death. God will save you because He has promised and He can’t lie.
• That God will forgive you. God has promised that he will wipe your slate clean of all your past mistakes. He’ll remember your sins no more. What does this do? It frees me from shame, from regret in my own life so I’m not crippled, I don’t have to drag this guilt behind me any longer because He can’t lie.
• He promises to give you direction right here and now. You don’t have to stumble around in your life wondering, “Which way do I go? How do I live?” God will give you guidance and direction in the now. God promises his Holy Spirit to guide you and we know He can’t lie.
These three promises are so big, you can chart the rest of your life on this course. You can use these promises as a spiritual compass to make sure you’re heading in the right direction. If you hold tight to these promises your life will be heading in the right direction. It will be heading towards truth.
2. We can TRUST God’s motives.
Since God cannot lie to us, we can trust his motives. His motives are good. I think you’ve seen enough and know enough about relationships to know this: there is no relationship if there’s no trust. It takes trust to have a relationship. It’s the same with God. I have to trust that God’s motives are pure in order to have this relationship, in order to hold on to his promises.
Psalm 118:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His faithful love endures forever.” God is good. You can trust his motives. He’s not going to lie to you. He has integrity. He’s trustworthy, straight-up.
Rom 8:28 “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This verse says that not only do we know that God is good but we know that no matter what happens in my life, God is working in my life to make good things come out of it. That’s his motive. Is that a good motive? Yes. It’s not a promise that only good things are going to happen to me but it is a promise that even in the bad stuff God’s going to be working and moving and making something beautiful out of that. It’s a good motive.
1 Timothy says, “This is good and pleases God our Savior who wants all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of truth.” This is not a hidden agenda. God wants everyone to be with him in a party that lasts for eternity. That’s his motive. Is that a good motive? Yes!
So because God doesn’t lie we can hold on to God’s promises. Because He cannot lie we can trust that his motives are good.
3. We can rest in the TRUTH OF GOD.
Since God will never lie to us we can rest in that truth. Jesus says in John 14, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.” He didn’t say, “I point to the truth….” He didn’t say, “I stand for the truth.” Or “I represent the truth.” He said, “I am truth.” He is the truth. We don’t have to strive and seek any longer to find the truth. Jesus Christ is God and He loves us and He will never lie to us. That’s the truth.
You know how much of a burden it is to think that you have to save yourself somehow. To do enough good things or earn enough brownie points. That’s a burden. That’s a struggle. The reality is when you decide, “Lord, I don’t want to do this any more. I want to trust in You” - that is when you experience God’s rest. Jesus says, “Cast your cares on me because I care for you.” You trust him to do just that, you give him your burdens, your struggles and He cares for you and there’s rest there.
I know somebody who will never lie to you. I know somebody who loves you unconditionally, who will always tell you the truth, who is trustworthy. If you offer him your life, He will offer it back to you – whole and healed and full.
I want to ask you to do this one thing. In your mind right now, consider the power of truth. Think about your own life and think about the destruction that a lie can create. Then think about the power of truth. Because there is power in truth. God is the truth. It’s impossible for him to lie to you. He’ll always tell you the truth. The question is will you accept it? Will you accept him? Will you find him trustworthy?
Very few people are completely trustworthy including ourselves. But God is. What’s keeping you from trusting him with your whole life tonight?
Prayer:
Jesus I thank you. I praise your name because you are trustworthy. It is true that you’ll never lie to us. It’s impossible for you to deceive us or steer us astray. I thank you for that. And God, I pray right now that maybe there’s somebody in this building who has never fully embraced your truth, who has never said, “God, I want to rest in the truth that is you.” Jesus, would just allow them to say yes to you in their hearts? Will you allow them to release the burden of trying to come up with all the answers themselves and let them trust you. And would you whisper in their hearts right now that you love them and that you’ll never leave them and you’ll never lie to them. I pray these things in your name. Amen.
