GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
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Impossible things to do?
lick your elbow
tickle yourself
sneeze with your eyes open
STOP a blush
Mark 10:23–27 (ESV)
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
AMAZED AT HIS WORDS....AND THEY DIDN’T LEAVE
THEY DIDN’T HOP TO THE NEXT RABBI
DIDN’T SAY .....well if that’s God’s way I don’t want it, I don’t want HIM
Are we okay with God stepping on our toes?
Jesus wants to INSPIRE your life, but He also wants to INTERFERE with it!!!
you know why?? cause they were DISCIPLES, FOLLOWERS,
AS FOLLOWERS WE MUST HAVE THICK JESUS SKIN
(FOR the hard truths God shows us, and the tough lies the world taunts at us)
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WHY AMAZED? WEALTH---SIGN OF BLESSING
they assumed that wealth was always a sign of God’s blessing and favor. They thought that the rich were especially saved.
He has done well, so he is rich. It is very easy for him to think that salvation and his relationship with the Lord is also a matter of successful doing, when really it is about humble receiving.
READ TEXT AGAIN
WHY SO DIFFICULT
....cause that’s their security, that’s their treasure, that’s thier trust
SAFETY NET.....WHY PRAY......COAST THROUGH LIFE.
JESUS SOMETIMES HAS TO STOP US AND STIR US
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Do you look at money as a tool for the Kingdom or as a treasure for yourself?
IT’S OKAY TO HAVE THINGS, AS LONG AS THE THINGS DON’T HAVE YOU!!!!
(BLUEGREEN)
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24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
CONTRAST DEPENDENCE OF “CHILDREN” compared to the “independence of this “RICH MAN”
CAMEL EYE OF NEEDLE
not the gate “eye of the needle”,,,,makes for a good illustrations of HOW DIFFICULT, BUT NOT IMMPOSSIBLE
(persian saying....elephant)
Mark 10:26–27 (ESV)
26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
IN GREEK.....impossible
“Christ’s words make the point of His illustration abundantly clear. He can’t mean that the rich man can only attain salvation through humility—getting a camel to stoop and squeeze through a narrow gate might be challenging, but it doesn’t require divine intervention. In context, His point is unmistakable: Manufacturing your own salvation is just as impossible as threading a massive beast of burden through the eye of a sewing needle. Apart from the intervention of the Lord, it cannot be done.” -Cameron Buettel
Jesus’ message is clear—it is impossible for anyone to be saved on his own merits. Since wealth was seen as proof of God’s approval, it was commonly taught by the rabbis that rich people were blessed by God and were, therefore, the most likely candidates for heaven. Jesus destroyed that notion, and along with it, the idea that anyone can earn eternal life.
They were utterly amazed and asked, “Who then can be saved?” in the next verse. If the wealthy among them, which included the super-spiritual Pharisees and scribes, were unworthy of heaven, what hope was there for a poor man?
Jesus’ answer is the basis of the gospel: "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”. Men are saved through God’s gifts of grace, mercy, and faith
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
PETER IS REAL....we’re not like THIS GUY
Hundredfold is obviously not literal. Otherwise, Jesus promised a hundred mothers and a hundred houses. EXTENDED FAMILY!!!!
WE WILL BE REWARDED IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT.......FORGIVENESS OF SIN....EVERYTHINGS ICING ON CAKE
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
NOT A TIME OF PUNISHING, BUT REWARDING
As one theologian put it, “It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the judgment is unrelated to the problem of sin, that it is more for the bestowing of rewards than the rejection of failure”
So, believers are secure in Christ, but they still must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. It will be a time of examination and a time of reward. Jesus will inspect our works. What did we do with the resources God gave us? How faithful were we? Were we yielded to the Spirit, seeking to honor Christ and further His work in the world? If so, we will have reward (see Matthew 10:41–42). Did we neglect our opportunities to serve the Lord? If so, we will suffer loss of reward. Paul likens our Christian service to erecting a building:
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
TRUE COLORS WILL SHOW
1st will be last, and the last 1ST
What encouragement TO theses disciples
What are you sacrificing for the Kingdom?
