Acts 3:12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
Peter and John went to the temple at the hour of prayer. […]
Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
You have been taught that God can do the impossible. You have read all the stories in the Bible about the miracles God has preformed. You have talked with […]
Psalms 138:8 The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.
There will be times where you feel like God has forsaken you. The storms of life will be blowing. It will appear that the storm is about to engulf you and […]
Psalms 131:1 Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.
David understood that he was a great man who did great things for the Lord. However, David did not allow the fact that God was using him to cause […]
Psalms 113:9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.
What impossible situation do you face? Praise the Lord for putting you in a place where you must trust HIM and rely upon HIM to bring you out of your current distress. This entire […]
Psalms 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
God desires to hear your praises. However, you are not to simply praise HIM to yourself, but one of the reasons you praise God is so that others are encouraged by […]
Psalms 83:18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.
After Elijah prayed and God brought fire down from heaven, the people fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.” (1 Kings 18:39). God demonstrated […]
Psalms 79:10 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their God? Let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.
Multiple times throughout scripture you see someone challenge Israel about just how powerful their God really is. One example occurred during the reign […]
Psalms 77:11 I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.
There is nothing that requires you to remember all the good things God has done for you. God does not require that you spend four hours each day thinking about all the things HE has done for […]
Psalms 59:9 Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defense.
Patience probably is not easy for you. You understand that scripture tells you to wait on the Lord, but at times, waiting does not seem natural. It does not matter what it is, once you have learned […]
Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
God is able to do the impossible. If HE could make the entire world out of just the spoken word, then there is nothing that HE cannot do for you. God is […]
Psalms 43:2 For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Do you trust God and not yourself? Do you really recognize that it is God who is your strength? Do you believe that if it were not for God […]
Psalms 39:12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
What on earth are you doing for heaven’s sake? Are you living here on this earth for the things of this […]
Matthew 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
What is the impossible situation that you face? Whatever the impossible situation is, God can make the impossible possible. All you have to do is look through the Bible and you will see how God did the impossible. Joseph was in prison but God brought him out of prison and placed him in a position of leadership. Joseph tried to obtain his own release from prison but of his own accord, he was in an impossible situation.
The nation of Israel was following God�s direction in leaving Egypt. They were obeying God and they were faced with the choice of either drowning in the Red Sea or dying at the hands of the Egyptians. The nation of Israel thought they were in an impossible situation but with God, all things are possible and they walked across the Red Sea on dry ground. In order to obey God, they needed to allow God to do the impossible for them.
Matthew 15:27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters� table.
A woman from Canaan came to Jesus requesting that HE heal her daughter who was possessed with a devil. Jesus ignored her. She continued to be persistent until Jesus� disciples came to HIM and requested that HE send her away. Jesus told the woman that HE was sent to minister until Israelites. The woman did not leave but worshiped Jesus. Jesus then told the woman that �It is not meet to take the children�s bread, and cast it to dogs.� The woman replied that she was at least entitled to the crumbs. Jesus then acknowledged her great faith and healed her daughter.
Matthew 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
Jesus had just feed the 5,000 and HE sent HIS disciples away while he went up into the mountain to pray. Jesus disciples were facing a severe storm in the midst of the sea. Jesus did not leave HIS disciples alone but came out to meet them in their time of need walking on the water. While the disciples initially were troubled at the sight of seeing Jesus, Jesus reassured them as to who HE was.
Peter had just seen Jesus do a great miracle by turning a boy�s lunch into a meal for a multitude. Peter who was a seasoned sailor was in the midst of a storm that was too large for HIM to handle. Peter sees and hears Jesus and all HE can think about is coming to Jesus. Peter did not care that it was impossible to walk on water to meet Jesus. Peter was not concerned about his impossible circumstances. All Peter desired was to draw close to Jesus. Peter asked Jesus to call him and Peter instantly obeyed that calling.
Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Anyone can love their neighbor and hate their enemy, however, it takes adding virtue to your life in order to love your enemy. Jesus commanded you to love your enemy, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you. This is not a mere suggestion but this is a command. As a Christian, you are to live to a different standard that requires a whole new outlook on how you treat others.
II Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue;
Faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity are eight qualities that Peter calls the great and precious promises. These eight qualities are a gift from God to enable you to be partakers of the divine nature. However, these eight gifts are not passive in nature but require that you diligently apply them to your life.
For the last year, you have been studying the first of these eight precious promises, faith. It is your duty to God as HIS child to increase your faith to draw closer to HIM. However, faith is not the only precious promise that you are to obtain. All eight precious promises should be sought and obtained by you and applied to your life so that you might live a life pleasing unto God.
Daniel 2:16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation.
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. He called his magicians, astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans and requested that they tell him the meaning of his dream. Nebuchadnezzar refused to tell the dream because he had forgotten it. All the men who the king had asked to tell him the dream insisted that if the king told them his dream, then they would be able to interpret the dream. Because these men could not tell him his dream, he made a decree to kill all the wise men. Daniel and his three friends were included in this group.
Exodus 4:10 And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
God has just told Moses that he is to go and tell Pharaoh to let the nation of Israel go. Moses argues with God about how no one will believe him or hear his voice and God gave Moses two miracles Moses could do; turn the rod into a snake and cause his hand to be leprous. After God gave Moses these two signs, Moses next excuse was that he was not eloquent of speech and as such, he needed an assistant.
God told Moses that HE made the mouth and that Moses was to go and God would teach him what to say. However, Moses was reluctant and he insisted that God give him an assistant. Moses simply did not have the faith to trust that God could use his weakness. God gave Moses Aaron as an assistant. It was Aaron who led the people into worshiping the golden calf. God�s perfect plan was to use Moses� weakness so that God would be glorified and receive all the glory. Moses had received a great calling and while he obeyed, he hampered his ministry because he did not have the faith to trust God to work through his weaknesses.
Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
In this verse, Paul reminds us that it is not the toiling of the law that makes one innocent before a Holy God, but it is the faith that sets one free. Remember the young ruler came to Jesus and asked HIM what he should do to obtain eternal life. Jesus told the young ruler that he needed to obey the law. The young ruler replied that he had obeyed the commandments from his youth. Jesus then replied that the young ruler needed to sell all that he had and to come follow Jesus. This young ruler may have followed the law, but he left that day a condemned man because he did not have the faith to follow Jesus.
Genesis 18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
This is the second time in a very short period of time that God specifically stated that Sarah was going to have a son. Based upon Abraham�s age, it is clear that no more then a couple of months had expired since God told Abraham of the covenant between them which required him to circumcise every male in his house. It was during this conversation that God rejected Ishmael as the promise child and stated that Sarah would bear a son.
Genesis 16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
Abraham may have been the father of faith, but he was still a man who fell short of the perfect will of God. Four times God came to Abraham and told Abraham that he was going to be a father of a great nation. Abraham had received the word of God and he believed. On the fourth occasion when God renewed HIS promise to Abraham, Abraham even asked God to prove the promise and God did. Nonetheless, Abraham was overwhelmed by the impossibility of God�s promise and as such, he found a way that he could make the promises of God happen in his own timing.
Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, and thy exceeding great reward.
God came to Abraham a fourth time to remind Abraham that he is going to be a father of a great nation and that his children were going to inherit the land. However, this time, Abraham did not simply hear the words of God, but he questioned God�s promises because he had no children. Abraham asked if his servant Eliezer was to be his heir since he was born of his house. However, God rejected Abraham�s solution to the impossible situation that Sarah could not conceive and said that Abraham would have numerous decedents and that they would inherit the promise land.
Genesis 12:1-2 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father�s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
These verses are the first recorded conversation between God and Abraham. What we know about Abraham at the time of this encounter was that he was 75 years old, he lived in Haran, that his father Terah had recently passed away as did his brother Haran. Scripture also makes clear that his wife Sarai was barren.
Look at the instructions that God gave Abram. These instructions are not exactly the most detailed instructions. Abram was not told where he was going; he was simply told he had to leave where he was at. Abram was told that God would bless him but he really did not explain how he was going to bless him. God said that he would be the father of a great nation, but Abram was already 75 years old and he had a barren wife. This first recorded conversation is not the clearest instruction that one could receive. Yet that did not stop Abram from hearing God�s voice and obeying the Lord.
Would you know who Abraham was today if Abraham had chosen to stay in Haran? Abraham would not be known as the father of faith if he did not obey the Lord and step out in faith. Abraham was commanded by God to leave his comfort zone in order to go into the world of the unknown in order to receive promises that seemed impossible.
There is no indication that Abraham questioned God�s direction, but that Abraham simply trusted the Lord and followed the Lord�s leading. Abraham did not require that God give him all the details but instead was willing to take the vague instructions and start obeying. We do not know if this is the start of Abraham�s relationship with God or if he had been maintaining a relationship with God for a period of time. However, while we do not know when the relationship began, we do know that because Abraham demonstrated obedience to follow God�s direction for his life, that Abraham had many significant conversations with God and we see several incredible instances where God really blessed Abraham.
Abraham did not become a great man of God overnight. Abraham�s faith in God grew as he drew closer to God. While Abraham was a man and did make many mistakes, the reason he is remembered today is because of the relationship that he maintained with the Lord. While Abraham had his days of unbelief and did things that were not the Lord�s perfect will, it was because of Abraham�s faith and his relationship with the Lord that caused God to use Abraham as such a powerful example of faith.
Abraham was not called to do some great act of serves for the Lord, Abraham was simply told to get away from his father�s house. Abraham left the known in order to live in a place where he had to rely upon God on a daily basis for provision, protection and direction. God desires that you come to the place where you are not relying upon yourself. God desires that you be like Abraham were the most important thing to you is your relationship with God and your desire to live your life so that God can use you. God wants to be all you need, the question for you to answer, are you willing to live by faith?
I Kings 18:38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
Elijah proposed a challenge with the prophets of Baal to see who could answer by fire, the Lord, or Baal. Elijah allowed the 450 prophets of Baal to go first and he allowed them to have all day to for their god to answer by fire. Elijah did not go at the same time because he did not want anyone to say that Baal would have answered if they had given Baal more time.
When it came time to show God�s power, Elijah did not simply just lay the calf upon the altar and pray. Elijah desired to demonstrate to those present that God was the only God and worthy of their service. Elijah built a trench around his altar and had 12 barrels of water poured upon the sacrifice. Remember that it had been three and a half years since it had rained. Remember they were on Mount Carmel. There was not a huge supply of water in the land and for Elijah to use 12 barrels of water probably had many people murmuring about what Elijah was doing.
Elijah had faith in God that God was going to prove HIMSELF faithful and true and that HE was going to answer by fire. There is no indication that God had ever consumed a sacrifice before by bringing fire from heaven, but Elijah was willing to put God to the test and to see the Lord demonstrate HIS power to an unbelieving nation. Elijah did not have to pray all night as the prophets had prayed and danced all day. Elijah simply prayed and asked God to hear so that the people might believe and God immediately answered.
God was willing and able to answers Elijah�s faith. To God, nothing is impossible and nothing is too small. Elijah was creative in finding a way that God could demonstrate HIS power to the people. Elijah believed God was able to do the impossible and God honored Elijah�s faith by performing the miracle that could not be doubted.
There is very little difference between you and Elijah. You are both serving God in a land that is full of wickedness. The main difference between Elijah and you is that Elijah was willing to do something about the wickedness of the land and to draw the nations attention back to the living God. Elijah had seen God�s faithfulness in his life and was willing to try God and allow God to prove HIS faithfulness to an entire nation.
America like the nation of Israel could look back and point to several different examples were God intervened on behalf of the country. However, because of unbelief, these miracles are not as prevalent as they were many years ago. God is willing to show HIMSELF strong just as HE was many years ago through the life of Elijah. God is simply looking for the individual that HE will use. HE is looking for a servant who is willing to put God first and to ensure that God is glorified through their actions.
Are you the one that God is looking for? Are you the one that God desires to use to draw many to HIS power and HIS grace? Are you the one who God longs to use as an example of great faith? God may be looking for you but the question is whether you are listening and looking for opportunities for your actions to bring glory to your Creator. Put God first in your life. Understand that it is not you but HE that is in you that must be glorified.
Acts 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
The seven sons of Sceva decided that they were trying to cast out a demon. They called upon Jesus of whom Paul preached. These men did not have a personal relationship with God. God�s power did not reside in them. They only saw that Paul had power and he was preaching Christ. It appears that these men desired the attention of men and as such, they wanted to do the thing that Paul was doing to garner attention.
Paul did the impossible because of his relationship with God. These men tried to do the impossible on their own strength. Because these men tried to perform a miracle by their own power, the demon that they were trying to cast out attacked them. God used this failed miracle to cause the people of Ephesus to realize that not anyone could cast out demons. It helped put extra emphases upon the message that Paul was preaching.
Acts 19:11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
For two years, Paul was traveling around Asia, preaching the gospel to
both the Jews and the Gentiles. God supplemented Paul�s preaching with
special miracles so that the people in Asia came to Paul rather than
Paul being required to go find an audience. It was not Paul who did
these miracles but it was God through Paul that did the miracles.
Paul was willing to be used of God to spread the gospel. Because of
Paul�s faithfulness to preach the gospel, God rewarded Paul�s ministry
by allowing Paul to do special miracles. God understood that Paul would
Acts 13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
Saul and Barnabas had just returned to Antioch from ministering to the saints in Jerusalem. God impressed upon a couple of prophets that they were to separate Saul and Barnabas for the work God had called them to. Saul and Barnabas are now on their first trip and they are at Paphos and one of the local leaders desires to learn more about God. However, Elymas prevents the sharing of the gospel until Saul commands God to blind the sorcerer. The deputy was so astonished that he believed.
Acts 12:5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
Herod had just killed James the brother of John and he was going to kill Peter also. The situation was impossible so the church did the only thing it could do, pray. The night before Peter was supposed to be killed, God sent his angle which enabled Peter to escape through four quaternion of soldiers. After Peter had escaped he went to John�s house but he was required to stay outside for a period of time because the young lady who heard his voice was so glad to hear he was alive that she forgot to let him in and because no one else believed the young lady that Peter was actually alive.
