God Can… Do You Believe?

Introduction

When I went to the back while the collection was being taken, Richard actually volunteered to preach for me this morning, and I almost would have to take him up on it if there were four verses instead of three to that song we just sang. When you get to that sleeps and slumbers part, my voice, it just kills me. And it’s not doing very well anyway today. But that was the perfect psalm for the thoughts that I will be presenting this morning. And yes, I do have many favorite verses. I don’t know why I want to call all of them favorites, but I guess they just so impress me. and apparently a lot of songs impress Dana.

Are y’all having the young people tonight? As okay. That’s not on the slides. I needed to tell you that. the young people are meeting at Brad and Lydia’s tonight. So passing that along. And I must tell you, if you see certain men in our auditorium sleeping this morning, I gave them a pass. Why you ask? Well, they were lifting a lot of heavy furniture at the henses yesterday as they were moving from one location to another. And I said, I’ll give you pass just this Sunday morning. But they all look to be doing well at this point, but I haven’t really started preaching yet. John’s already losing him. Now, those of you that are sleeping because you stayed up late watching a certain football game, and man did that run late.

No mercy for you. I’ll call you out from the poll. All right. Here’s where we’re starting this morning. And if you truly grasp this and get this, you will have gotten what this message is about today. And it is this. If you put God first, and that’s a lot, that conditional phrase, if you put God first, he will provide. This is the testimony of all scripture. In the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus begins to address anxieties about this life, and people have those. After he first says, No man can serve two masters, please don’t disconnect that statement with all that follows about anxieties, about having two masters, he who loves to the one rejects the other, so on and so forth. And then the idea of anxiety, all of that flows out of that verse.

And he talks about being anxious for your life. But I want to start in verse 30. But if God sow arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will he not much more do so for you? O men of little faith. Do not be anxious then saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or with what shall we clothe ourselves? For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious for tomorrow. For tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

It’s hard for us to appreciate what it would have been like to live in a mostly agricultural society, as Israel did. Especially in relation to the Sabbath day. That would require great faith. I mean, there was a day each week that you were to do no work. There’s no going out into the field and harvesting anything. This was a day dedicated to God for spiritual reflection and worship, no gathering of food on the Sabbath day. In an agricultural society, that is going to require faith. You think that’s bad. What about the sabbatical year? What about a whole year where you’re not supposed to work or harvest? What kind of faith would that require? And one of God’s accusations against Israel was their failure to keep the Sabbath.

I want you to go back to Leviticus chapter 24. Actually 25. Let’s look at Leviticus 25, verses 18 through 22.

In fact, when you come to the proclaimed penalties of disobedience in chapter 26, the assumption is that the sabbatical years would be forgotten. And indeed they were. But look at this, Leviticus 25, 18. You shall thus observe my statutes and keep my judgments, so as to carry them out that you may live securely in the land. Okay, you do what I instruct you to do, and I’m going to make sure you live securely in the land. Then the land will yield its produce. Now that goes back to the Habakkuk 3 statement where the land is not yielding its produce because God had promised that it would.

But if you say, What are we going to eat on the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our crops? Then I will so order my blessing for you in the sixth year, that it will bring forth crop for three years, because you see, if you don’t plant or gather in the seventh year, then in the eighth year, you’re going to have to take the time to plant so that you can harvest. When you are sowing the eighth year, that’s year one in the next seven year cycle, you can still eat old things from the crop, and that’s in the sixth year, eating the old until the ninth year when the crop comes in. And so there would be a period of several years where you’re going to have to depend upon that sixth year of produce to get you through this sabbatical year.

But remember the promise, you will live securely in the land. If you do this, Israel’s faith was weak. They struggled with this instruction. But if we doubt the Lord’s ability to provide and care for us, even in the midst of the most desperate and difficult circumstances of life, we too are guilty of too little faith. This is a familiar statement, right? You men of little faith. Did you see that in Matthew chapter 6, and where you’re reading there about anxieties when he said you’re of little faith that this is your problem? This phrase or something like it appears four times in Matthew’s account, four different stories in the Jesus narratives. And it’s interesting to me that two times it is spoken in relation to having life’s necessities.

The other is when he tells them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and they began talking among themselves that they had no bread. They were concerned about their next meal. And Jesus says, Oh, you of little faith. And the other two times, interestingly enough, he says these words, oh men of little faith, or oh, you of little faith in relation to storms. Remember when they’re in the boat and Jesus is asleep in the boat and this great storm assails the boat. They think they’re all going to die. Master of the Tempest is raging. Don’t you care that we’re perishing? And he says, Oh, you of little faith. And he gets up and he stills the sea. He stops the storm. And the other occasion is Peter in Matthew chapter 14, when he begins to think after he started so well walking toward Jesus on the water.

And he says, Oh, you a little faith, as he reaches out to save him. So it’s interesting to me that this expression, little faith, is found four times, two times in regard to essentials, and two times in regard to storms. Because that’s where we often struggle with faith. How strongly do you believe a later verse in the Sermon on the Mount? Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and the door shall be open. How strongly do you believe that? You know, this message appears several times in Scripture, a couple of times, that I want to call to your attention in Genesis chapter 18 and verse 14, where God is telling Abraham, the time has come, you’re going to have a child next year.

Now remember, he made the promise to him 24 years ago. That through his descendants shall the nations of the earth will be blessed. And so he finally comes to him and says, It’s going to happen next year. Sarah’s in the tent, she laughs. And thus Isaac’s name is given, Laughter. But this is said by those celestial visitants to Abraham is anything too difficult for the Lord. And then in regard to Mary, in Luke chapter 1 and verse 37 in regard to her miraculous conception and birth, nothing shall be impossible with God. We need to think about these kinds of statements in Scripture and ask ourselves, do we believe that?

Is anything too difficult for the Lord? Nothing shall be impossible. Do you believe in the God of the impossible? This really boils down to our belief and our confidence in God’s ability to act. And listen, the issue is not, did he act in biblical times?

Of course he did. The question is, do you believe in God’s ability to act now? Sometimes I think we look at what God did in biblical times and we look at his remarkable miracles that he did. We say, well, God isn’t doing those kinds of things today. You know, people aren’t walking on the water, as we just alluded to that story. God is not creating a universe like he did at the very beginning. He’s not doing miracles like he did through the prophets and the apostles of the first century. And so we can come to think that God isn’t doing anything now. Not like he was then. But you realize, don’t you, that most of the Bible story is more about God’s providence than his miracles.

It’s more about God arranging circumstances and causing things to happen in ways other than miracles as he worked in the lives of his people. Let me just give you an illustration of that. David is anointed to be the next king over Judah. And yet it’s a long time before he actually ascends to the throne. And in the meantime, Saul gets very jealous after the Goliath incident. And he tries to kill David on more than one occasion. And he’s chasing him all over the countryside. And I love the story, and it is in verse Samuel, and I’ve got it written here somewhere, but I can’t find it in my notes. Where they’re running around the mountain, and it says, Saul’s on one side of the mountain, and David’s on the other side of the mountain.

It’s like they’re circling the mountain, and David is trying to get away from Saul, and it’s looking bad. I mean, eventually he’s going down. And then Saul gets word of an invasion. And he has to go deal with that. And he’s so close to catching David. I wonder where that call of the invasion happened. I wonder why that invasion happened. I wonder who was involved in that. And then when Saul goes into the mountain, well, the purpose he was going there is somewhat interesting. He goes in there, and just so happens there’s David and his companions. He’s sleeping in the cave, Saul is, and he cuts off a part of his robe. All this. Hmm. How did David escape all those times? Because God said he’s going to be the next king.

God was involved in the life of David a couple of weeks ago. And this lesson actually expounds on some of the thoughts of that lesson. I know some of you were not here. I know at least a family of ten that will remain nameless. Was not here for that lesson. We talked about God is big enough. And we talked about changing our ideas about God, about serving an unseen God and some of the problems that we have in doing that. That the scene is such a distraction, and that we struggle to place our confidence in the unseen, that sin is not immediately punished, and thus the conception that some people have of God is not very compelling. And so if you didn’t hear that sermon, maybe this will spur you on to listen to it eventually.

1. God Can Meet Our Needs

But these thoughts really build upon that. As I asked you this morning, God, oh, wait a minute. Those are the two points that flew out of that. I forgot about that class. Those are the two main points that we made about the perceptions of God that we have and how important those are. They encourage holiness and evoke fear. Now getting to my question. The issue is not whether God can, because he can. The issue is, do I believe? And I want to make four quick practical points about what God is doing now in our lives. And the first really flows out of that context of Matthew chapter 6, and that is that God can meet our needs. Do you believe that? And one of the causes of a weak faith in regard to that is that we become tomorrow oriented.

And that’s how he concludes that in Matthew chapter 6. Because when he’s talking about anxiety, and God knows you need these things, and he’s going to supply these things. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. He then says, Don’t be worried about tomorrow. Tomorrow’s going to have enough trouble of its own. Each day has enough trouble of its own. He says, You worry about today. And he’s not saying worry, be anxious, but he’s saying you focus on today and what God has provided for you today. And notice how he’s taking care of you today. And when tomorrow comes, he’ll take care of you that today. But don’t worry about tomorrow before it ever gets here. And he’s not saying don’t ever do any planning.

He’s just saying, live your life by faith. Trust in God to provide. And that’s why James says in James chapter 4, don’t boast about what you’re going to do tomorrow. And he’s not saying by that in James chapter 4, well, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do tomorrow, and boast in that way. He’s talking about simply boasting that there’s going to be a tomorrow. You don’t know that. Who knows what a day may bring forth? Proverbs 27 and verse 1. He says, therefore you ought to say, don’t boast. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will do this or that. I don’t think that passage is saying that when you talk about any future plan, you always have to say with your lips, if the Lord wills, I’m going to.

Now, if you had to say that about every future plan you made, I mean, after a while it would stop to have any meaning at all. Because all you ever said was, if the Lord wills, if the Lord wills, if the Lord wills. But I want to tell you ought to say it sometimes. Just for self reminder and reminder of others. Every now and then, punctuate your future plan with, if the Lord wills. And if you’re not doing it with your lips, because you maybe shouldn’t do it every time you talk about a future plan, but you at least ought to be punctuating it here in your thoughts. Whatever I’ve got planned for tomorrow, or next weekend, next spring or next summer, or however far down the road we’re looking and planning, it ought always to be if the Lord wills, we will do this or that.

Because the point is, God provides amply for you today. And it’s because of that kind of faith that you have people like Barnabas who would sell a tract of land regardless of the financial implications to himself, and he would lay it at the apostle’s feet and make that kind of sacrifice. Because he knew the Lord was going to take care of it. And that’s why the widow who had just two mites would come to the treasury and drop in her two cents, and that’s all that she had to live on. She didn’t starve to death the next day. The Lord provided for her. Even though scriptures don’t tell me that. I know that. Jesus called attention to her sacrificial gift. And this isn’t my way of trying to get you to put more in the collection plate.

2. God's Role in Our Transformation

When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? Luke chapter 18 and verse 8. And I want to make another application from this. God can, do you believe? What about the role God plays in our transformation and growing into his likeness? How are you doing in the battle against temptation?

Having a struggle of late?

Not defeating the temptation that comes your way? Well, if that’s the case, it may well be because you’re depending upon a bankrupt source of power.

And that’s yourself. You know that familiar text in 1 Corinthians 10 13? Good day for that. I thought Martha was going to ruin my sermons, mentioning 1 Corinthians 10 13 in the Bible class. I have to have them in these sermons today because this is October 13th. See, 10 13. 1 Corinthians 10 13. Both this morning and tonight in a little different way. Notice this, where it says, let’s go back to verse 12 first. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Okay, see? See the emphasis on me there? Let him who thinks he sans take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man, and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation, and this emphasis is supplied here, God will provide the way of escape also that you may be able to endure it.

Now, let’s illustrate this by Jesus Himself. Here he is, he’s fasted for 40 days. The devil comes to him and tempts him, a threefold series of temptations. Many of you are familiar with those. And how did he escape? What was the escape route? All three times, what did Jesus do? He went to the source that provides power for victory over temptation. He quoted scripture. All three texts from the book of Deuteronomy. Now, I’m going to a Bible study with preachers at the end at the first part of November, and we’re going to study the book of Deuteronomy. So I’m going to come back with sermons on Deuteronomy. So hold on until late November, early December for more on Deuteronomy. Apparently, there’s some good stuff in there that Jesus used to defeat temptation.

When you feel tempted, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Scripture.

Does that one pop in there? Examine everything carefully. Hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Those pop in there, 1 Thessalonians 5, 21 and 22. And are we convinced of their truthfulness? I’ve always wondered about Lot. Righteous Lot. And the circumstances that he lived in that vexed his righteous soul. 2 Peter 2, verses 7 through 9 tells us. But I’ve also pondered Genesis 19, when finally the angels say, We’ve got to get up out of here. We’ve got to go, destruction is coming. What does it say Lot did? He hesitated. He lingered. One translation set. I think that’s sometimes where we are. Because of our lack of faith. We’re hesitant to make a break with evil. Wanting to wallow in a place that we have no business being.

We need to invoke God’s help. That He has offered to provide for us when we are facing severe temptation. What does it say about Jesus? We can go through the whole book of Hebrews now on this point. Because I really think this is the thread that runs throughout the entire book. That Jesus is our high priest and he’s there to help us. We have a sympathizing ear with our high priest. He is able to assist us in a time of temptation. We can find grace and help and mercy in a time of need, Hebrews 4. But if you go back to chapter 2, it says something else about Jesus, who was made like his brethren in all things. It says what? Verse 18, I love this verse.

He is able to come to the aid of the tempted.

And he is able to save us forever. Hold that thought. He is able to save us forever. He ever lives to make intercession for us, Hebrews 7 and verse 25. And then in chapter 12 and verse 1, I don’t want to leave that out, where it says, we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, we have all of these examples in Scripture. And what do these examples of faith tell us? Lay aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles us and run with endurance, the race that is set before us looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Those passages are telling us the Lord, as it said of Lot, the Lord knows how to deliver us from the clutches of temptation.

And more than that, he can powerfully change us into his likeness. If we will listen to him, if we will learn of him, remember that familiar text that so many people know about, come to me, all you are heavy laden, I’ll give you rest. Come, take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. What’s the key there? Come, learn of me. One of our hymns talks about being glad I’m not what I used to be. One of the hymns in our supplement book. And I like that phrase. We’re not what we used to be. Think of how you changed. Think of how worship is more meaningful to you now than it was 10 or 15 years ago.

I tell you, when I was little, growing up among the Lord’s people, remember that’s how you’re supposed to say that. When I was growing up among the Lord’s people, I love to sing. And me and my buddies would all sit on the second row and we’d sing the bass parts. And, oh, it’s so good when we all hit the same note and it was right. And so I learned to sing bass sitting next to my buddies. And I gotta tell you, I didn’t think about the words very much. I was singing the notes. And there’s something to be said for learning how to sing and growing up and maturing in that whole process. And that’s what our kids do. They learn how to sing the notes and sing the songs, and it sounds pretty.

Because we are singing to a great God. Mighty is the Lord. And I’m thankful for all that I’ve learned about what it means to be a Christian. I tell you, I used to have a really simplistic view of that. And now I realize being Christian is really pretty involved. And it’s the business of taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 5. And I want to tell you, those rebellious thoughts, those are the ones. It’s more than just abstaining from alcohol. Some people don’t get that far, but it’s more than that. It’s more than just not lascivious dancing and all the other vices that we all making sure you’re in all the services. I’ll tell you, Christianity is so much more than that.

3. I Need His Help in Relationships

It’s about surrendering every thought to his control. And casting your affections on things above. And God can help me do that. And I need his help. And I need his help in relationships. I think a lot of times relationships are so difficult for us because we don’t invoke God’s help. He’s there for us. He wants to guide us through. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to be able to exit the relationship necessarily, like husband and wife. But he’s going to see us through. If you’re frustrated about your marriage, if you feel like it’s impossible, remember we serve the God of the impossible. And that he’s there to help us and see us through no matter what storms are. It doesn’t mean that my marriage is going to magically be fixed.

But maybe I’m going to get better. Maybe I’m going to learn to cope with it better. And not just marriage. What about in-laws? They can be a nightmare.

Maybe because that’s I’ve changed something. You heard about the guy who found the genie in the bottle and he rubbed the genie, came out. Three wishes, whatever you want. You’ve got to understand this is the twist on the genie story. Whatever you get, your mother-in-law gets double. So he says, okay, I want a million dollars. Well, okay, you realize now that your mother-in-law gets two million dollars. He’s okay with that. Second wish. I want a 40 room mansion. Okay, that’s great. You got it. Boom. But, you know, that means that your mother in law gets an 80 room match. Third wish. Beat me half to death.

4. We Need God for Salvation

Isn’t that awful? But at least I got your attention. No matter what the relationship is, maybe it’s maybe it’s a coworker, maybe it’s a neighbor. We were worshiping in Baytown, of course, several years ago, and I was talking to a family, and they were having such problems with their neighbor that one time the mother just gets the children and huddles them on the living room floor to pray about their neighbor. And maybe I need to ask you about that in regard to your faith. When you’re having relationship problems of any kind, is it your first response to pray? That may be the biggest indicator of your faith. Or lack thereof. And finally, as I have emphasized many times, we need God for salvation. Sometimes I think when we read by grace have you been saved through faith in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8, we tend to say the faith part louder than the grace part.

And probably because in relation to how that passage is misused and the denominational people who want to think that salvation is completely something God does, a man’s action or response is irrelevant. And because we’re answering that, we want to emphasize the faith part. But I want to tell you. While, yes, we have to do some things to be saved, at the end of the day, when we’ve done them, we’re simply depending upon God to wash and cleanse us. And I’ll tell you, if you look at baptism merely from a human perspective, it sort of, it would look silly. Just being dunked in water. But it’s not silly to us because we believe the scripture. And you know what we know happens when somebody is immersed in that water?

They’re appealing to God for a clean conscience. They’re appealing to God for an inner cleansing on the basis of the promises that He’s made. I believe because I read this book that when I was baptized, those sins that I’m repenting of, God’s washing them away, that the blood of Christ is doing that. I’m dying to sin just like Jesus died and rose again the third day. I believe that. Faith is written all over that. I trust in God for salvation. Now let’s talk about the end part of that. Eternal salvation. Hearing His well done on the day of judgment works exactly the same way. It’s not all about just me exerting enough diligence and enough effort that I’m somehow saved on the last day. No, all the way along, I’m asking for God to be involved in my life and guide me and ultimately give me salvation.

And it will only be by the mercy of God that it happens. This is the day which the Lord has made. Rejoice and be glad in it. You’ve heard that before, right? Psalm 118. This is one of my pet peeves, by the way. That verse is so often rinsed from its context, but actually, what the psalmist is anticipating is salvation in Jesus. And that’s a day to rejoice in. And he says in verse 23, this is the Lord’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. The verse before, the stone which the builders rejected, which is quoted several times in the New Testament, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. That’s the context of this statement. It is the Lord’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes, verse 25.

O Lord, do save. We beseech thee. O Lord, we beseech thee, do send prosperity. Talk about a verse that relates to this subject this morning. We need the Lord in our salvation. We have an inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. You’ve heard that verse before, right? 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 4. What about verse 5? It’s actually just a comma. It’s not the end of a sentence. Who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Are you concerned about your eternal salvation? You need to talk to God about that. You need to ask him for his guidance and his strength and his help.

Conclusion

That you will be saved in the end. We need to pray that prayer all the time. Now we come to the end. If you’re still in the Psalms, I want you to turn over to a very applicable Psalm to today’s weather. Psalm 129. Or Psalm 29. Excuse me. Psalm 29. Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty. Mighty is the Lord. Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory to his name. Worship the Lord in holy array. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of glory thunders. The Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. And the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. The voice of the Lord cues out flames of fire.

Verse 7, verse 9, the voice of the Lord makes the deers to calve. I think that’s interesting. And strips the forest bare. And in his temple everything says glory.

Yes. The Lord sets as king forever. The Lord will give strength to his people. The Lord will bless his people with peace. Oh, yes. God can. Do you believe? And do you need to respond in belief to the saving of your soul? Won’t you come while we stand and sing?