Impossible God Vs. Impossible Odds (4)
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
It’s important that we don’t lack faith like Thomas or allow fear to rule us like Gideon, but it serves as a reminder that our mistakes don’t take us out of the running of God’s plan for our lives.
I need to finish off last weeks sermon for a minute because there is the tail end verse that I didn’t get a chance to cover.
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Now I don’t know what the lack of faith cost Thomas. I know God provided Thomas’ answer, But I don’t know what Thomas’ lack of faith cost Him. However, scripture is clear. I believe the promise is there more for us and it shadows the later promise of Jesus’ resurrection.
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
It’s important that we don’t lack faith like THomas or allow fear to rule us like Gideon, but it serves as a reminder that our mistakes don’t take us out of the running of God’s plan for our lives.
Today I want to talk about Saul. Now the bible tells us that Saul was renamed Paul on the road of Damascus, but prior to that.
1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Saul was murdering Christians and this is why it’s important to pray or your persecutors. It does’t explicitly tell us in the bible, but I guarantee that people were praying for Saul. They may have been praying for his quick death, but God had another more fleshly death he
wanted to put upon Saul. one of the points I want to make this morning is
Pray for those who persecute you
10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,
12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”
13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.
14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Impossible odds. We don’t hear much about Ananias, but this is what we hear. Ananias had to overcome fear.
As you walk with God through impossible things people will contradict you. There will be those who want to see you lose, but don’t curse them-Pray for them. You don’t know their calling and you don’t know the blessings they are bestowing upon you.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Kingdom of heaven=power
20 For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.
God’s kingdom is now. I don’t want to to get to theological in this right now, but his power and authority is now.
You have so much potential that God wants to fill inside of your today ,but we must overcome fear. Why was Saul persuing to kill Christians? Fear—loss of control.
I love this quote from John Henry Cardinal Newman
Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning.
Saul was terrified that everything he spent his life working for was going to fall apart. What he didn’t realize is that God had a purpose and plan far greater than anything Saul could believe for. He was going to be Paul. He is the author of the majority of the New Testament. He was a believer that didn’t see Christ, but believed anyway. Paul is the embodiment of what you can be.
God didn’t change the situation he changed the entire person who was persecuting His people.
Fear is the killer of your dreams. Faith is in it’s advancement.
The parable of the talents is real. I believe breaking even isn’t in God’s though patterns. Breaking even was failure. It’s a loss- a complete and total loss. If we aren’t advancing in our faith we are dying. Staying the same is never an option in GOd’s kingdom. He loves you too much to allow you to stay the same.
But this will cost you something-advancing always has a price.
For Saul to accept his new calling he had to leave behind his family, his position, his title, and his seat at the table. For Ananias he had to jump in a pit with a lion on a snowy day. He had to take all the chances that the Lord was going to supply for him.
There is always a price to stewarding God’s gifts, but what you spend will return dividends you could never earn.
God’a math doesn’t math here on earth 5+5 doesn’t equal 10 in God’s world it equals 100 million. Saul lost a lot in his transition to becoming Paul, but his name rings through the pages of the best selling book for over 1600 years. He seen things on Earth most of us beg for and is seeing things in Heaven we can’t even fathom.
We learn this from the parable of the talents. Breaking even isn’t an option. Breaking Even is losing. God desires those who desire advancement. We must be moving the gospel forward.
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
Circle the term rubbish The greek word is skoo ba lon
Skubalon- dung
His goal at this point was a new life a God focused life. He wanted everything God had for him and more. He wanted that crazy life we talked about.
Greater things will you do!
If it weren’t for Ananias there wouldn’t have been a Paul,
It isn’t the scale of the call your are called to but the obedience you walk through when you are called to a task.
17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized;
As stated before Paul wrote a fair share of the bible and he is credited for a lot, but truly that credit goes back to Ananias. The man that obediently helped bring Paul to Christ.
The encouragement is this: You don’t know the vastness of your obedience.