Mark 10:27 (NKJV) 27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”
We have been talking this week about expanding our hearts to accept the possibilities of God in the midst of natural impossibilities. We have taken the father of the demon possessed boy in Mark 9 as an example of what happens to us due to the pressure of life. We can also learn from the father that even when things seem impossible, there is no impossibility with God.
I want to look at a few more verses in Mark’s gospel and point out some other “possibilities and impossibilities” in the life and teachings of Jesus. In the verse quoted above, Jesus is talking about the rich young ruler. In the story a rich Jewish man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to be saved.
Jesus tells him to keep the commandments. The young man assures Jesus that he has always done so. Jesus tells him he lacks one more thing. He must sell what he has, give the proceeds to the poor and follow him. The young man goes away sad because he has a great deal of wealth. Jesus comments to the disciples that it is very hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
The disciples were surprised. To them wealth was a sign of the blessing of God. If a man was wealthy, he must be worthy of salvation. Jesus tells them that even though it might be impossible in the natural for this man to place God over his wealth, it was not impossible with God.
No one is beyond the scope of God’s possibilities. The devil may tell you that all kinds of things limit God’s possibilities for your life. Natural things such as education and family status might limit you but that is not a problem to God. More likely, a sense of unworthiness or the failures of the past may tell you that God can only do so much for you. None of those things change what is possible for God.
Nothing in your life disqualifies you from God’s possibilities. You may need to grow in some areas before you see those possibilities manifest, but God will help you with that. If there is sin, it must be repented of however, that is not too hard for you to do. You just need to acknowledge you are wrong and ask forgiveness. Whatever limitation you face in the natural or in your mind, you need to remind yourself and the devil that none of that changes what is possible for God.
Not only are you within the reach of the possibility of God, so is everyone around you. You may have a loved one or friend that seems unreachable with the Gospel. Hear the words of Jesus. What is impossible for man is possible with God. There may be a particularly offensive person around you. They are not unreachable for God. They may never choose to accept what God offers but from our perspective we need to realize that they are not outside of God’s ability. He can reach them even if it seems impossible.
Mark 13:22 (NKJV) 22 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
This verse does warn us that we are not immune to the attack of the devil the father in Mark 9 experienced. In this story Jesus is speaking of what many call the great tribulation. I believe it can apply to any time of trial. We certainly can say that we live in such a time.
When there is pressure the devil always uses the tactic of limiting our sense of the possible to keep us from overcoming. I want to focus on the use of the term “if possible.” We must recognize that it is possible for even those of us who are believers to be deceived. Many interpret this to mean that believers would be deceived into losing their salvation. Whatever you may believe about salvation, I want to submit to you that there is another deception at work here. If possible the devil will try to deceive you into believing that all things are not possible due to the times in which we live.
We do not have to give in to this deception. Particularly in the midst of trying times we must keep our sense of the possibilities of God. If we do not, we will fall into despair and be limited by the possibilities of the flesh. Jesus said “if possible.” That has to mean it does not have to be possible. I choose to tell the devil it is not.
If we are not going to be deceived into accepting the limitations of natural possibility, we must fight to maintain our sense of the possibilities of God. We are going to look at this next week, but let me just say that God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34.) What he has done for anybody he can do for you. Learn of the testimonies of others both in the bible and testimony books, messages or other media. God does not love you more than those people. He can do the same in your situation.
Mark 14:35-36 (NKJV) 35 He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. 36 And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
At first this may seem to be a verse that does not inspire us to believe in the possibilities of God. Nevertheless, just the opposite is true. We must realize that sometimes there are things we just have to go through. We may not always understand why but that does not change the reality of the situation. Jesus faced a time like this in Gethsemane. How he responded is what released the power of God’s possibility.
Jesus did not want to go through the death and burial that he faced. As the Son of man he was just as averse to pain and suffering as anyone else. He did not want to have to endure the beatings and cruelty that would end in an agonizing death. However, as the Son of God there was something that Jesus dreaded far more than the physical torture.
He did not want to endure the sin and separation that was man’s penalty for sin. He had never spent one moment separated from the Father. He had never committed one sin in his whole life. The thought of either of those things caused him to plead with the Father to allow him to escape such a fate.
We all face things we do not want to deal with. We all have to go through things that we would like to avoid. Sometimes it is the will of God that we go through them. Jesus’ response released the power of God. First, he declared that all things were possible for God. Even though there may be reasons that things do not change when and how we want them to, we must still believe that God can do anything. If we do not, we will limit what God really wants to do.
Second, Jesus makes a statement for which the devil can have no response. He says to God, “I subordinate my will, my life and my desires to your will for my life.” He is not accepting impossibility. He is choosing God’s possibility over the limits of the flesh. When we do that, we completely disable Satan’s ability to defeat us. We open up the infinite possibilities of God to do more than we could ever imagine. What was the result of Jesus’ action? He was raised from the dead. The most powerful impossibility of all was forever defeated in the life of Jesus!
Beyond this ultimate victory for himself, the church was born. God did not lose his “only begotten son.” Because Jesus entrusted his life and his destiny to God’s possibilities, the Lord gained many sons and daughters.
You may be facing a difficult time that you would rather escape. All things are possible. Close the door on the devil by placing your life fully in the hands of God’s possibilities. In the end you will see greater things.
Leave a Reply