Accomplishing the Impossible
Selected Passages
July 23, 2006
Morning Service
Introduction
Several years ago Master Card had a series of commercials that would show people buying different things, traveling to exotic locations and doing just about anything that they wanted to do. Then at the end of the commercial the slogan would be given Master Card – Master the possibilities
When I was in fourth grade we were given an assignment for social studies. We had to learn all of the various symbols of the state of Ohio. We had to learn the state bird, gemstone, song, flower and tree. One of the things that I some trouble with was memorizing the state motto. I can remember my mother’s means of helping me memorize that one little line. Over and over again reciting the state motto “with God all things are possible” Today that profound state motto stays with me
With God all things are possible. There is nothing that lies beyond the ability of God to accomplish. There is not one single thing that He cannot do in your life, in the life of your family, in the life of this church.
God has a way of doing what we believe is impossible. The simple truth is that nothing is beyond the ability of God to do
Here are just a few Biblical examples:
Sarah getting pregnant in her eighties
An entire sea parts to make dry land
Walls fall down when the people of Israel shouted
The sun stood still while Joshua battled Israel’s enemy
Mary giving birth to Jesus while she was a virgin
Jesus did the same kinds of impossible things throughout His ministry
Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish
Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead
Jesus was raised from the dead
The eleven fearful disciples became the change agents of the world
Faith makes things possible but doesn’t make them easy – Annon
1. Things seem impossible when we lose hope in the future 1 Peter 1:3-4
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you,
With God there is no such thing as a hopeless case. Through the power of Jesus there is no such thing as a lost cause. Our God is the God of hope and strength. Our Lord is the lord of everything and there is absolutely nothing beyond His ability to do.
What areas of your life seem impossible today?
Family - Never be able to get your children back in church. Never see the loved one who is lost saved.
Sin - Never feel that you will be able to defeat this one sin that keeps coming back to haunt you
Habits - Never be able to beat that bad habit that you have - smoking, gossip,
There is no such thing as a hopeless situation, only people who have grown hopeless about them - Clare Booth Luce
Hope is the greatest weapon for adversity. It keeps us going when other things might fail us. Hope shines when the hour is darkest and helps us to move forward against the odds of life.
Where there is no hope in the future there is no power in the present – John Maxwell
Why do most people lose hope?
1.) Some give up – Quitters never win and winners never quit
2.) Some give out
2. Things appear to be impossible when we forget God’s ability Jeremiah 32:17
"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
I don’t know about anyone else but there are times when I get busy and I forget things. One of the things that I often forget to check is the date on the calendar. This may sound like something minor but it has gotten me into trouble more times than I wish to count.
When I was in seminary, I was taking two different intensive classes during the month of August. I was extremely busy. One morning I got up and was getting things ready for class. I was finishing an assignment that was due that morning. Elizabeth was still in bed and I went to the kitchen to get something to eat and saw the calendar on the fridge with a date circled. In fact, I started looking at the calendar and a cold chill ran down my back. The date circled was that very morning and as soon as I saw the date I knew that I was in trouble. The day was our anniversary
I did what any man would likely do in that moment, I started to panic. Luckily I lived close to a 24 hour Kroger. I got her some flowers, made her breakfast and I was off the hook. My problem wasn’t that I didn’t love my wife. My problem wasn’t that I didn’t know the date of our anniversary. My problem was that I had forgotten. We have the same kind of problem when we forget the power of God. We do it all of the time, not on purpose but more by just being too busy.
Think about this for just a moment, everything that you see (trees, grass, sky) is the work of the hand of God. Everything that we know exists that we do not see (oxygen, molecular structure) is the work of the hand of God. He is a master craftsman and creator. God has the ability to do anything and everything. Never forget that fact. God made the heavens and the earth by the power of His outstretched arm.
If God has the power and the ability to make everything, than why does He not have the ability to reach into your life? If God can do anything, is your situation too big for Him to handle? Of course not!
3. Things look impossible when we live below our identity Matthew 17:20
He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. " Matthew 17:20
The background for this verse deals with the disciples attempting to drive out a demon from a possessed man. The disciples had seen Jesus do the same thing and they were told that they could do the same through his power. The issue becomes that they didn’t have enough faith or trust in Jesus to work through them that they were unsuccessful.
Faith is the key to unlocking the power of god in your life. When Jesus tells the disciples that their faith is so little, it is not an issue of unbelief but rather an issue of weak faith. There is a difference. It is possible to believe but to have a faith that needs exercised.
Our bodies are created to need exercise. When muscles do not get used they start to become weak and the issue is the same for our faith. Weak faith comes when we trust more in ourselves than trusting in God.
The disciples were unsuccessful that day not because they did not believe but because their faith was too small. In other words, their faith was too weak. The disciples had been promised by Jesus that they had His power at their disposal. They had seen His power displayed and believed but when it came to their own exercising of that power they seemed to fail.
Look at what Jesus tells the disciples that day: if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there’ and it will move.
The mustard seed was the smallest of all growing seeds and that fact would have been well known. The mustard seed that Jesus speaks of also grew into one of the largest bushes. There was so much power and potential in that seed that something so small could become something large.
The Jewish understanding of removing mountains comes from part of a Jewish proverb that meant to remove difficulties. Faith in Jesus has the ability to remove any problem, any issue and any difficulty from our lives. All you need to do is trust Him.
Conclusion
Many people have heard of the outstanding exploits of Blondin, the tightrope walker. Blondin amused and amazed thousands of people as he made his way over Niagara Falls on a slender rope stretched from shore to shore. He never faltered or failed. But Blondin had a secret. As he made his way over the rope, he would keep his eyes fixed on a large silver star which he had erected at the far end. The star was the center of his attention and guided him to the other side.
In running the heavenly race the believer must look to his Star -- the bright and morning Star, the Lord Jesus. He has run the race and now bids his followers to run the race, keeping their eyes fixed on himself as the goal.
Today, the impossible is well within the reach and ability of God. All you need to do is set your eyes on the Jesus and He will guide you. Place your trust in Him and let Him move in your life
