Monday, October 23, 2006
By Faith... Abraham - Part II, Part 40 of 79
TEXT: "By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude--innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore" (Hebrews 11:11-12).
IDEA: There is nothing too hard for God except when it comes to us.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that the God who can do anything can do anything He chooses for them.
In Genesis 18:14 a man shrouded in some mystery asks Abraham and Sarah, "Is there anything too hard for God?"
I. When we think of that question in an abstract indefinite sort of way, what is the answer?
We believe that God is the God of suns and stars and planets, and if He is the creator of the entire universe, is there anything too hard for Him?
Do you believe that God has performed miracles? What did they consist of?
If you ask, "Is there anything too hard for the God of miracles to do," what is the answer?
II. Why is it that when it comes to our particular situation we sometimes say, "Even God can't do anything about this"?
Where does this question come from in the Bible?
It is in Genesis 18:9-14: "Then the [three visitors] said to him, 'Where is Sarah your wife?' And he said, 'Here, in the tent.' And He said, 'I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.' (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, 'After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?' And the Lord said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh, saying, "Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?" Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.' "
Do you think that Sarah would have said out loud, "Even God can't give us a baby"?
Why is it that Abraham and Sarah might have said, "God is all-powerful, but this is impossible"?
III. Is there anything too hard for God? How we answer that question in our own personal experience forces us to look at life differently.
No situation we face is completely impossible. If God chooses to act, He can do anything.
In situations in which God does not act, it is not because He lacks the power but because according to His loving purposes He chooses to do otherwise.
