Sermon Central
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Three Things God Cannot Do
Contributed by John Gaston on Mar 4, 2018 (message contributor)
Summary: The conventional wisdom says that since nothing is impossible with God, that there's nothing that He can't do. But that's not true. There are at least 3 things God CANNOT do!
THREE THINGS GOD CANNOT DO
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Surprising Phone Call
1. When Lynda Cypher was working as a telemarketer for MCI Communications, she made a call to a Minnesota home one evening. When a boy around eight answered the phone, she identified myself saying she was calling for MCI and wanted to speak to his father.
2. She heard the boy put down the phone down and heard him yell, "Dad! Dad! The FBI wants to talk to you!"
3. As soon as the father answered the phone in a quivering voice, Lynda said, "Sir, this is not the FBI; this is MCI Communications."
4. After a long pause, the man said, "This is the first time I am actually glad to hear from you guys."
B. GOD’S LIMITLESS ABILITY
1. The Bible is clear that God: a. Has All Power, b. Is Everywhere, c. Is Outside of Time, d. Is Unchanging.
2. Therefore there is nothing that God cannot do. Job 42:2 says, “I know that You can do ALL THINGS.”
3. Some have irreverently suggested that God has less than “all power” – “CAN GOD MAKE A ROCK SO BIG HE CAN’T PICK IT UP?”
a. Whether you answer “yes” or “no” the implication is still that there’s something God can’t do.
b. It’s similar to a question put to a man in court, “Has it been a long time since you beat your wife?”
1). If “no,” then you’ve beaten her recently.
2). If ‘yes,’ then you’ve beaten her, but not recently.
C. LIMITED TO WHAT IS RIGHT
1. There ARE some things that God cannot do, not because He doesn’t possess all power, but because they are not consistent with His own nature and character.
2. This morning, my subject is, “Three Things God Cannot Do” and I’m sure you’ll rejoice with me that He can’t do them.
I. GOD CANNOT LIE
“Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” Titus 1:1-2.
A. WHY CAN’T GOD LIE? WHY DO PEOPLE LIE?
Have you ever been lied to? You can no longer trust the person or what they say. You feel betrayed. What drives people to lie? God is not affected with this as humans are.
1. DEFECTIVE CHARACTER – some people enjoy lying!
a. Earl Long, former eccentric governor of Louisiana, once said of another politician, “You know how you can tell that fella’s lying? Watch his lips. If they’re moving, he’s lying.”
b. But God is Righteous, holy, morally perfect.
2. FEAR OF PEOPLE. God certainly doesn’t fear people. We’re temporary and powerless.
3. COVERING A MISTAKE or ERROR IN JUDGMENT
God is all-wise, knows the future, so He can’t make those kinds of errors.
4. TRYING TO AVOID A BAD SITUATION/REPERCUSSIONS. God owns everything, is in complete control, so He could alter any situation He chose. So He has no need to lie.
B. TESTIMONY OF SCRIPTURE
1. Num. 23:19; “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
Heb. 6:18; “by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we…lay hold upon the hope set before us.”
2. God is the GOD OF TRUTH – “Thy Word is Truth”
3. So, BECAUSE “GOD CANNOT LIE”
a. Everything in this Bible is accurate and we better be warned to obey God’s commands in His Word.
b. God says this world’s going to burn up; Judgment is Coming. And God can’t lie; it’s going to happen. Are you ready for it?
2nd thing God can’t do…..
II. GOD CANNOT FORGET Sounds logical, no-brainer, but
A. SOME PEOPLE THINK GOD HAS FORGOTTEN THEM
1. THE RIGHTEOUS
a. The Psalmist thought God had forgotten him.
b. God’s people sometimes feel God has forsaken them! Mary and Martha certainly had reason to feel that way. Their brother was at the point of death; they sent for Jesus but He didn’t come. Lazarus died, they buried him, and Jesus finally showed up four days later, but…Jesus hadn’t forgotten!
2. THE WICKED (Ps. 10:11). When they’re not punished for sins, they think that God has forgotten them and that they’re going to get off from their sins. But they’re mistaken. God hasn’t forgotten their sins.
B. BUT GOD CANNOT FORGET HIS PEOPLE!
1. Isaiah 49:14-16; But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.” Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me”