What Stops God!

WHAT STOPS GOD?

MATERIALS NEEDED - ENVELOPES, PENS/PENCIL, AND INDEX CARDS FOR ALL KIDS.

TO BEGIN - PASS OUT A BLANK ENVELOPE TO EACH TEEN AND TELL THEM TO WRITE THEIR NAME AND ADDRESS ON THE FRONT OF THE ENVELOPE ADDRESSING IT TO THEMSELVES. WHY ARE WE DOING IT? I’LL TELL YOU LATER.

How many of you seen Captain America? At the end of the movie, there

is a sneak peak at the upcoming Avengers. Who is in the Avengers?

Some of the heroes are Captain America, Thor, Hulk, and Iron Man.

While this movie sounds really cool I wonder, who can stop these guys?

There are many things we would like to know how to stop.

How do we STOP viruses from getting on our computer?

How do you STOP from getting sick?

How do you get your teacher to STOP giving you homework all the time?

How do we stop wars from waging on?

How do you stop you sister from bugging you? How do you get your brother to leave you alone?

We look for wisdom on how we can STOP certain things in life.

Have you ever wondered what can stop God? Maybe something more

powerful than Him? No. Could something short circuit His power?

Maybe Satan could stop God. No. What stops God in His tracks?

That is what we are going to find out today.

On His way to the cross; His most important mission, Jesus is passing through a town called Jericho. He is determined to go to Jerusalem where He is going to the cross. His sights are set on accomplishing this mission that He had come for. There are crowds following Him. They are all pressing on forward together.

We will discover what stops God, and what should stop us as well.

Let’s read Matthew 20:29-34 and see what stops Jesus.

“29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.” Matthew 20:29-34 NIV

While Jesus surely was a busy guy with lots of things to do and people to see, did you notice what stopped Him dead in his tracks? What stops Jesus is when His kids call out to Him.

IRRIGATION CHANNELS VERSUS PLAIN DITCHES

Irrigation channels flood and irrigate the fields. The irrigation channels are channels for the flood waters to flow through. The flood waters are stored somewhere far away from the field and when the channels are open, the flood waters just pour through them. Flood

waters are essential because they bring life and growth to the fields.

Plain ditches, on the other hand, have water in them from the rain. The plain ditches, however, can become stagnant pools of water filled with debris, and consequently, cannot be used for the life and growth of the fields.

In the plain ditches, there is only a short supply of water (because it comes from the rain), and it is most often not very useful because the waters become stagnant or polluted. Often the plain ditches get blocked with weeds, rocks, or other debris.

Today, a great tragedy, is that too many of us are like plain ditches instead of irrigation channels.

We want the blessings to rain down on us. “Fill me Lord. Fill me! Bless me! Give me…” But what happens if the water only flows inward and nothing goes out? The water begins to stagnate and become polluted. That is what we can become like, if we always have the fingers pointed inward.

What God wants is very different. He desires that we be like the irrigation channels. Not simply that He can bless to us, but through us. He does not just want to bless me, but He wants to bless others through me. And He designs me in that way too. If I only seek for

God to fill me, bless me, get stuff for me, do you know what happens to my faith? It becomes stagnant. Polluted. STINKY!!! HOW MANY OF YOU WANT TO HAVE A STINKY FAITH? NO. WE WANT TO HAVE A FAITH THAT PLEASES GOD. IN ORDER TO DO THAT WE MUST NEVER FORGET THE VALUE OF A SOUL!

While crowds are great, Jesus teaches us never to forget the value of