“With God All Things Are POSSIBLE



“With God All Things Are POSSIBLE!”

April 6, 2014 Ainsworth Assembly of God Church

AM Ainsworth, Ne

BIBLE TEXT: Mark 10:27

27But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” NKJV

The Message says:

27Jesus was blunt: “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you let God do it.”

Phillips translation says:

“Humanly speaking it is impossible, but not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

The Living Bible states:

“Jesus looked at them intently, then said, “Without God, it is utterly impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

What an incredible statement! I feel like we need to pause on our journey through the book of Mark and consider this incredible faith building statement.

Notice that Jesus sets up two opposites here. On the one hand, He says, “With men it is impossible…” but on the other hand, “…with God all things are possible.”

Some situations will never get better. They will never change. The obstacles are too huge! The barriers are too strong. And as long as man is running the show, don’t expect things to improve.

But if we involve God, the impossible becomes possible.

This morning our brother Ron has truly had a special touch from God. I don’t know what you know about diabetic sores but they are not good. Last Wednesday night, Ron came to Bible Study with a big sore area on a toe of his right foot. He was limping noticeably. He had been to the doctor and they wanted to hospitalize him. That’s how serious it was. But Ron chose to come to Bible Study and get prayer. We sought to include God in the situation. And God honored that faith. God honored the faith of those who prayed that night. The NEXT DAY Ron’s toe was looking normal. It was healed by God’s grace and power. What was impossible with man is possible with God. Sometimes those sores take months to heal. Sometimes they don’t heal. What a blessing. When God gets involved, the impossible becomes possible.

For a few moments lets consider a couple of Bible passages that demonstrate this very clearly. We don’t have to go far and we have a good example.

Mark 5:24-30 tells the story of little woman who found this to be true. This woman had an issue of blood. She bled for 12 long years. For 12 years she went to doctors. Man tried his best to see this woman well. Mark 5:26 describes what man could do. “She…had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.” Multitudes of people today could echo this same story!

Now some situations call for a doctor. Doctors have helped many. But they are not God. This situation was one of those IMPOSSIBLE situations. Nothing they tried helped. And they kept it up for a long time. The more they “practiced” the worse she got. They could not come up with a cure. They were throwing darts at the board but nothing was sticking. Her testimony at this point was: “WITH MAN THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!”

Do you have a situation you have tried and tried to see changed but nothing is working? Think how can you involve God in that situation?

But, friend, notice what happened when God got involved. Notice what happened when Jesus, the God-man was sought. Notice how the impossible became possible.

The Bible says that upon touching Jesus, “Immediately the fountain of her blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.” (The old KJV says, “plague.”) I kind of like that because we even talk that way today about some situations. We say, “he was plagued with a bad back.” We say, “she was plagued with fear.” “She was plagued with sickness.”

What we mean is that the person had an ongoing situation that they couldn’t find help for. It seemed impossible! How did it happen? Only God knows. What we do know is that when Jesus Christ was sought out and involved in the need, a miracle happened.

No wonder Jesus told His disciples, “With men this is impossible, but not with God. For with God all things are possible.”

When God is involved, the impossible becomes possible.

I thought about another example. This one is from the Old Testament. The book of Joshua records the conquest of the Promised Land. God gave Israel the Promised Land but they had to go in and take what God had given them.

The very first city to be taken was Jericho. Joshua and the people carefully followed God’s instructions. They merely marched around the walls one each day for six days. The priests carried the trumpets and they blew them. Then on the seventh day they marched around the walls 7 times and the Bible tells us,

20So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

This was an utter impossibility! Walls don’t fall down flat because a big crowd shouts. Those walls took years to build. They were heavy stone blocks. If they would have had Randy’s bulldozer, they would have had trouble tearing down that wall. But they were walking in obedience to God and God was with them. They followed His directions and He worked for them.

But you know the story. One Israelite man, Achen, disobeyed God’s command and stole some of the plunder. He took it and hid it in his tent. No one knew but God!

A few days later a small fighting force heads out to take the second city. The recon team reported that it was a very small city and no need for all the fighting men to go. “So about 3,000 men went up…but they fled from the men of Ai. (Joshua 7:3-4) They were soundly defeated in what should have been an easy battle.

When Joshua prayed about it here is what God said. “Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed thing from among you.” (Joshua 7:12)

Now think about this. With God, the impregnable walls fall flat when the army shouts. But without God they are defeated by the smallest of foes. Nothing went right.

Why does God record things like this for us in the Bible? “With men this is impossible…but with God all things are possible.”

In the passage we have looked at in Mark 10, Jesus is talking about the rich being saved. I want you to think about some person today. Who can you think of that you would say, “That person will never become a Christian?” I want you to think of a neighbor you have witnessed to for years, but today they are as hard as ever. I want you to think about a family member. You know that in spite of all you have tried, they are no closer to salvation that when you started. They are resistant. They have no time for God. Friends, if we can involve God in the situation, If we can bring God into the picture, The impossible becomes possible. See God doing what you nor anyone else can do.

Perhaps we are faced with a medical situation or a financial situation that seems insurmountable. The harder we try the deeper we get in.

I don’t know what comes to your mind when you hear the word IMPOSSIBLE! But Jesus encourages us here. When God becomes involved things can change for the better. Your impossible situation is possible if you will make the effort to bring God into it.

Not that long ago a lady who attends our church occasionally talked to me about her granddaughter. This little one was having seizures. She was not growing like she should. The doctors were very concerned. The seizures were happening sometimes many times a day. They tried medication but it made her quit eating. Nothing was working.

Vicki and I stopped to visit this grandmother and to ask about this child. I came prepared. I had a new handkerchief and my anointing oil.

I felt like we were supposed to anoint and pray over that handkerchief and then have grandma take it to the baby. So we did. And she gave it to the mother and showed her the scripture passage.

Well, since then they felt led to take her to a chiropractor in Columbus. And now, whether it was this chiropractor or simple prayer and faith, there have been no more seizures for five weeks. This is a miracle.

God stepped in because we involved Him. We asked Him in faith. What was impossible for men was possible for God. He knew exactly what this little girl needed.

It’s kind of like when you are a kid and choosing up sides for a game. Usually there is someone who is really good at the game. If you can just get them on your team you will win. If you can get the tall guy you can always win the basketball game. If you are playing a game that you had to know a lot of facts you wanted Vicki’s brother, Arthur. He was a genius.

When I chose up sides I always wanted Don Marriott on my team. He was the fastest guy in the school. I knew if I had Don we could win whatever we were playing.

What does it take to get God on our team? What does it take to get God in the boat with us?

So for a few moments let me offer some help to get God on your team. I’m not talking about maybe. If God isn’t truly with us, there are a lot of things in this world that will defeat us. But remember WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

I don’t think a lot of Christians really consider how important this is.

1. FIRST, INVITE JESUS CHRIST TO BE YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR.

Do you remember one of the names given to Jesus? Matthew 1:23

“His name shall be called “Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.””

When Jesus walked this earth He did what no man could do. He healed the sick, He set the captives free, He raised the dead. He stilled the storms, He calmed the troubled sea. He knew where the fish was with the coin in its mouth to pay taxes. He rode unbroken donkeys and they did not buck a bit. He turned water into wine. He did things that only God could do. He multiplied loaves and fish to feed crowds. The list goes on.

To have God truly in our corner, we have to start with Jesus, the Son of God. We have to invite Him to be our Lord and Savior. We need His forgiveness and His healing. We need to ask Him to make us a child of God.

Jesus Christ is the Savior. He is God’s sacrifice for our sins. Peter says “…you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold, from you aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” I Peter 1:18-19.

Galatians 3:13-14

13Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”£), 14that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The scripture is clear. The blessing of God comes through His Son, Jesus Christ. That is where each of us must begin. When we honor the Son, He will honor us. When we trust in the Son of God to forgive and cleanse us from sin, the curse of sin is removed and we come under God’s favor. The blessing of Abraham becomes ours.

2. SECOND, DON’T GO UNLESS GOD GOES WITH YOU.

Moses understood how important it was to have God with him. If

You remember God called Moses at the age of 80 to lead His people out of their slavery in Egypt. The Bible tells us there were around 600,000 men of military age. Estimates are that there were well over a million Israelites to come out of Egypt.

In Exodus 33:15, Moses is talking with the LORD. And he makes a statement that really helps us see an important truth.

He says to God, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.”

Moses did not want to attempt leading Israel through the wilderness and into the Promised Land, if God was not with them. He knew it was an impossible task! It could never be done without God being on board.

But how many times as Christians do we attempt things without truly including God in our plans and our work?

When we have important decisions to make, do we take time and wait on God to hear clearly what God would say for us to do?

When we do ministry, teach a class, preach a sermon, lead a funeral or talk to youth, do we take time to make sure we are on what God wants to talk about?

When we make business decisions, do we take time to let the Lord lead us?

This is very important if we want to be effective for God.

I’ve done both. I’ve have gone in my own strength and wisdom and I have gone divinely directed by the Lord. I’m here to tell you that when God is on board things work a whole lot better.

I remember a few years ago when Tom Slattery died and we were preparing for his funeral service. I knew it would be a large funeral and there would be many unsaved people there. I wanted God to be speaking through me. So I set aside time and began to seek the Lord for His message for that service. I prayed and sought God most of the day. I was getting a little bit discouraged, but I kept at it. And finally late in the afternoon, the Lord took me back in my mind to the time we went to the Grand Canyon. And then I thought about those awesome cedar trees we saw the time we went to Glacier Park. And as I thought of those experiences as awesome as they were, I was reminded of God’s tremendous love for us. And I used John 3:16 for my text and talked to the people about the awesome love of Jesus Christ.

It was a great funeral message and many hearts were touched by it.

But why did that happen? Because I took time to get God on board. I said like Moses, “I’m not going out if you don’t go with me.” “God, I need Your message for this service.”

We need to understand that we can have Christ as our Savior, but we may not be including Him on the team. I’ve watched it happen on sports teams sometimes. The best player is setting on the bench. If we are not actively including Christ in every decision each part of our life, that is essentially what we are doing. We have to actively bring Him into the circumstances of our life by prayer and faith. When we fail to do that we go in our own strength and things do not work well.

And this isn’t just getting Him to help us do what we want to do. This is learning His will and following it. It is trusting Him to help us carry out what He gives us to do.

3. THIRD, SEEK TO PLEASE GOD IN ALL THINGS.

Jesus makes an incredible statement in John 8:29.

“And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”

Jesus attributes the Father’s presence in His life to the fact that He made a conscious and concerted effort to “ALWAYS PLEASE HIM.”

We need to learn from this. God is a holy God. He is pure. He is righteous. If we want this God who does the impossible to be with us and to work on our behalf, we must decide to be holy in our daily lives.

Paul notes this in II Corinthians 6:14-7:1

14Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you£ are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

    “I will dwell in them

    And walk among them.

    I will be their God,

    And they shall be My people.”£

17Therefore

    “Come out from among them

    And be separate, says the Lord.

    Do not touch what is unclean,

    And I will receive you.”£

18    “I will be a Father to you,

    And you shall be My sons and daughters,

    Says the Lord Almighty.”£

1Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

If we want the living God to dwell with us, we have to get holy. If we want Him to be a Father to us and receive us and walk with us, we have to do what the apostle says in the first verse of the 7th chapter.

Holiness is about pleasing God in every area of our lives. When we honor God, He will honor us. When we begin to care about holiness in thought, word and deed, God will show up.

I Peter 1:14

 14as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”£

I Peter 3:10-12

   “He who would love life

    And see good days,

    Let him refrain his tongue from evil,

    And his lips from speaking deceit.

11    Let him turn away from evil and do good;

    Let him seek peace and pursue it.

12    For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

    And His ears are open to their prayers;

    But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”£

“WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!”

As we conclude this message today I want to ask you two questions:

1. What impossibility are you facing that only God can do? Note it this morning. Think about it. Get it in your mind. Ask God to help you think of something only He could do that needs done in your life.

2. What do you need to do right now to get God on board your team? Do you need to make a first time commitment to Christ? Do you need to re-commit your life to Him?

Do you need to ask God to forgive you for trying to go in your own strength? How can you put things in God’s hands?

And are there areas of your life that need straightened up? Do you need to get holy? Are you living in a way that you know God is not pleased with?

Right now I invite you to pray and obey what God is speaking into your heart. Amen!

Sunday Morning Worship

April 6, 2014 Ainsworth Assembly of God Church

AM Ainsworth, NE

SERVICE ORDER

OPEN: Ah, Lord God

Scripture: Psalm 95

Prayer

WELCOME

HYMN #438 It’s Just Like His Great Love

TESTIMONY (Ron)

WORSHIP Jesus, Lover of My Soul

Lamb of God

Glory to the Lamb

PRAYER/GIFT MINISTRY

LORD’S PRAYER

ANNOUNCEMENTS

OFFERING

SPECIAL SONG (Charity)

PASTOR’S MESSAGE

COMMUNION (Communion around front)

White as Snow

Come to the Table

CLOSING PRAYER

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