Is there nothing God cannot do? (Luke 18:18-27)
Billy Milton - November 28, 2004
(Preached at Miriam Swaffield’s Baptism)
Welcome etc… Well, after Miriam’s testimony…. What can I say? What a star! Today I want to continue in our series on the Character of God by looking at the question, “Is there nothing God cannot do?” The short reply is, “Yes, there are things God cannot do.” Do you remember any of them from the studies we have done already? GET SOME RESPONSE. (He cannot do the absurd; he cannot lie; he cannot behave out of character, etc.)
However, there are also many things that we could not even contemplate doing that God can do easily. As this passage reminds us, and faith and experience tells us is true, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” I suppose I’ve lost count of the number of times where I’ve either said or thought that something was impossible and God has proven it to be otherwise.
But let’s take a look at the story of the Rich Young Ruler to see why Jesus made this statement. The story is about a young ruler, apparently called Richard, but whom we shall just refer to as ‘Rich’! There are many great lessons in this story for us but I want to focus on something which is one of the greatest mistakes a person can make. I wonder if you know what it is? I’ll tell you in a few minutes but first let’s look at 2 lessons we can learn:
I. IMPOSSIBILITIES FROM OUR SIDE
I have no doubt that young Rich was sincere when he came to Jesus with his question. In Mark’s account of this story we are told that he ran to Jesus and knelt before him. At least this tells us something about his respect for Jesus and the condition of his own heart. He was prepared to kneel in the dirt before Jesus – that’s pretty humbling. He wasn’t like the religious leaders who, in their jealousy, had attempted to trap Jesus with their scheming question.
I believe that he truly wanted to know what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. He’s actually a great example of a very modern phenomenon – the man who has everything but still feels empty inside! The person who has achieved success in their chosen career path and then discovered when they reached the top of the ladder that it was resting against the wrong wall! Pozzo in Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’ says, “They give birth astride of a grave’ to which Vladimir adds, “and it’s a difficult birth.” A bit bleak but many people feel that way about life. What’s the point? So Rich asks how he can get eternal life? But, when Jesus answered his question in the way that he did, the young man was crestfallen. He couldn’t handle the answer.
In effect Jesus said to this guy, ‘I can see that you’re a good man but your wealth is more important to you than having God in your life. Put God first and you’ll have eternal life.’ Can I ask you a question? If you asked Jesus the same question today (“What must I do to get eternal life?”) what do you think Jesus’ reply would be to you? What in your life is more important than Jesus?
Do you remember Rich’s reaction? Well, if we combine all three parallel passages from Matthew, Mark and Luke, we see that he became very sad, was overwhelmed with grief and went away with great sadness because he had great possessions and was very rich. In essence, his reply to the one thing he had to do to gain eternal life was, “I can’t do it.” I said at the beginning I’d tell you one of the greatest mistakes a person can make… and this is it! “I can’t” are 2 of the most destructive words in Christianity and possibly the greatest danger facing the church today. These words are the expression of hearts and minds that do not have faith. A heart and mind that does not trust completely in the power of God. How many times do you say, “I can’t” when faced with a decision where the ‘spiritual’ challenges the ‘physical’?
“I can’t surrender my life to Jesus because… I can’t make him Lord of my life because… I can’t put the Lord first in everything I do because he would interfere with my business practices. I can’t tell others about my Christian faith because I am afraid they’ll mock me.” And so on it goes. Individually those are the type of things we say. Collectively, as a Church we often fall into the same trap. The church has just as many “We can’ts” as the individual has “I can’ts.” We can’t pursue a certain vision because we don’t have the resources. We can’t evangelize our community because…. We can’t…whatever.
The Rich Young Ruler was caught in that dangerous place and he said, “I can’t.” He was right, he couldn’t because he was leaving God out of the equation! Moses did the same thing when God approached him to go and speak to Pharaoh. He gave every excuse he could think of, “I don’t know what to say; I’m not good with words; they won’t believe me.” “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!” He too was right. Which brings us to our second point.
II. IMPOSSIBLITIES FROM GOD’S SIDE
After seeing the response of the Rich Young Ruler, and watching him walk away, Jesus made the comment that it’s, “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” People take this to mean one of two things. Either Jesus was talking about a literal camel and a literal needle, in which case it would appear to be nigh well impossible for rich people to get to heaven at all. Or it might be referring to a little gate built into the massive city gates. This little gate was known as “the eye of the needle” and often the keeper of the gate would ask a rich merchant to unload his camel completely, lead it through “the eye of the needle”, which was impossible with a heavily laden camel, and then repack it on the other side. Merchants hated having to do this because it was such a major hassle… but not exactly impossible. You choose what you think Jesus meant.
This statement of Jesus’ seemed to shock his disciples and they sort of blurt out, “Who then can be saved?” They realize that what Jesus has said has made it very difficult for anyone to become a Christian – a follower of Jesus. And let’s be quite clear, Jesus wasn’t down on money or wealth or success. He was down on anything that comes between himself and those who are seeking him.
Here is where we find the meat of this passage. Jesus said in verse 27, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” What did He just say? God can do the impossible? Yes, that’s exactly what He said. Where we can’t, God can. With our own abilities we are unable, but with God we are able to do anything. And that should not come as a surprise to us.
We are talking about the same God who created life from a desolate planet, who at the wave of Moses’ hands parted the Red Sea and produced dry land, who raised an army from a valley of dry bones in Ezekiel, who used a boy to defeat a giant, and who destroyed Satan’s greatest weapon, death, with His resurrected Son. Jesus was well qualified to give eternal life. If He can do those things, and He did, imagine what He can do with a life that trusts Him completely.
Jesus said, “With faith the size of a mustard seed you can move mountains!” Matthew 17:20
Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me the strength.” Philippians 4:13 All things – anything – everything – with the power of God! Not big-headed but full of faith.
Our doing and working in His Kingdom is not about personal ability, it is about personal faith. It is not about talent, but about desire. With God all things are possible! He can change our “I can’t” into “I will”. He can transform our doubts into rock-solid confidence. Even the impossible, the unfathomable, becomes reality.
CONCLUSION:
TELL THE STORY OF EDDY AND HIS DESIRE TO DO CHILDREN’S WORK BUT WAS TOO OLD AND TOO FRIGHTENED. After hearing a message from 2 Tim 1:7 “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” Eddy volunteered to help in a children’s camp that summer …and loved it. Even spoke! His ‘I can’t” became “I will” and Eddy discovered the truth of that statement of Jesus, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
Young Rich was indeed very rich… for a short while. But for a long time now he has actually been ‘Dead Rich’. His success in his short time on this planet, as far as we know, did not buy him eternal life. Don’t allow the “I can’ts” in your life to be your epitaph. Give them to God and watch them become “I will”.