With God all Things are Possible

Matthew 19:23–26 “23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Potential

Potential with God is infinite

Eternity with God will not get boring because he is an endless source of potential

Romans 11:33 “33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”

We all have a sense of potential

What does it mean to be possible?

It can be done

It’s not necessarily a foregone conclusion

God is the Source of Potential

Potential is not a guarantee of outcome

Not everything that’s possible will be done; God may have higher purposes

Mark 14:36 “36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”

Agony in the address, “Abba, Father” - hear the desperation

We know the cup didn’t pass from him

The will of God was greater than his human interest

Potential is a gift, and it comes from God

James 1:17 “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

We can’t take credit for our potential, and we can’t fulfil it on our own.

God is the source of potential, not our own declarations.

Jeremiah 32:1–3 “1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. 2 For then the king of Babylon’s army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah’s house. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;”

Repudiates the word of faith movement.

Possibility does not reside just in our desire or our words.

All Things

So we need not lose faith becuase ‘all things’ don’t come to pass.

Miraculous things are possible

Genesis 18:14 “14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

If God can make a woman past her years have a child, he can do anything.

Mark 9:23 “23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”

A situation without a solution meets salvation with God.

We can come confidently to God when we know that he does all things well, that if we don’t get our request he has something better, and that he does have ower to give it to us if it’s in our and his ultimate best interest.

Redemption is possible

Following on Je 32, God iddn’t suspend judgment, but he gave hope in judgment.

Je 32 tells a story of hope even at the onset of God’s judgment being incurred.

Judgment is pronounced

Jeremiah 32:4–5 “4 And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; 5 And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.”

But a future is tangiby promised.

Jeremiah 32:6–9 “6 And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 7 Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it. 8 So Hanameel mine uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. 9 And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle’s son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.”

Nothing (judgment or redemption) is too hard for the Lord

Jeremiah 32:16–19 “16 Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying, 17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: 18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, 19 Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:”

and God echoes back...

Jeremiah 32:26–28 “26 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? 28 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:”

Jeremiah 32:36–41 “36 And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; 37 Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: 39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. 41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.”

Hard (impossible) things are possible

Matthew 19:24–26 “24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Like the new birth, entrance into the kingdom of God is an impossibility on our own.

God is on the side of those who seek entrance to his kingdom.

With God

This brings us back to our text:

Matthew 19:24–26 “24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? 26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Disciples were struck by the impossibility of God’s standard

There was an expectation of men coming into the kingdom; the path was the only part of it that was too daunting

With God implies an invitation for us to join up with God’s purposes.

Just as we can’t take credit for our potential, we also can’t fulfil it on our own.

There is an invitation to partner with God.