God of the Impossible
Notes
Transcript
The God of Impossibilities Jeremiah 32:17-23
Sunday, February 26, 2017
6:21 AM
I have been fascinated recently with the study of the Reformation and WWII what a strange combination. Both of these show the fight against evil and wrong. In a book I have been going through recently called "Vanished: The Sixty-Year Search for the Missing Men of World War II." There is an amazing story of something that is almost hard for me to believe it sounds so impossible. Were it not for somewhat understanding what can happen during major adrenaline rushes I would have consigned it to the deli counter as bologna.
Back in 1999 Eric Emery an anthropologist who was studying archelogy, was working with a French Team in the Ecuadorean Mountains on Lake Champlain. He would spend two months living in a pup tent retrieving artifacts, at least that was the plan.
The seasonal rains picked up with weeks stuck inside the tent. He and another archaeologist Jon Faucher finally decided during a break in the weather they would get out. They scrambled to get their things together and climbed aboard the chopper.
"rising over the lake and looking down at the bamboo huts trailing into the valley, when suddenly there was a deafening grind and the chopper hung right, lurching and twisting as it plunged toward the water, its tail whipping into the surface.
Emery yanked at his seat belt as the water rushed in. He still wasn’t sure what had happened. He glanced around and saw Faucher kicking open the door, but Emery’s seat belt was jammed. He felt the water creeping higher as the chopper slid down. He pounded the buckle and pulled frantically at the strap, trying to wriggle free, but the water was rushing into his mouth. He held his breath. Then he gasped. Then the world went dark.
Outside, Faucher paddled furiously to stay on the surface in heavy clothes. He glanced around in search of Emery and saw the other team member and the pilot. Faucher shouted to see if either of them had a knife, and when the pilot called that he did, Faucher swam over to grab it. He tried to ignore the pain in his back. It was broken in two places, and his trachea was crushed, but he turned back toward the chopper with the knife, heaved a breath, and dove.
Faucher swam down to the door of the sunken bird. He saw Emery’s lifeless body inside, tangled in canvas, wire, and metal. He grabbed Emery’s seat belt and began to saw through it with the knife, but the material was thick and he was running out of air. His lungs surged. His back spasmed. When he couldn’t take any more, he shot up for another breath, then plunged back down, back to Emery, hacking and sawing at the seat belt until at last it tore apart. He grabbed Emery and pulled him free, kicking his way to the surface.
Time seemed to have stopped. It might have been five minutes or twenty; Faucher would always wonder. Looking at Emery’s body, one thing was clear. Emery was gone. “He was gray,” Faucher said, “and his eyes were open and fixed. That was the worst part.”
Treading water, Faucher began to blow air into Emery’s mouth, a scuba-rescue technique he’d learned in training. Between breaths he studied Emery’s dead eyes for any sign of life. Finally, a trickle of water bubbled through Emery’s lips, and his eyes began to blink frantically with confusion. Faucher dragged Emery to shore. Other members of the team rushed over to wrap them in blankets. Faucher could not stop staring at his friend. He had not only saved a life; he had brought Emery back from the dead.
They spent a final night on the mountain, and in the morning a new chopper came to get them. After two weeks fighting off infection at an Ecuadorean hospital, Emery went home."[1]
While this sounds impossible to me, Jeremiah tells God in verse 17 and God reminds him of it in verse 32 "There is nothing too hard for God."
I love how this is also what the angel tell Abraham and Sarah a 90 year old man and a woman well past the age of giving birth but in Genesis 18:14 You will have a son, "Is anything too hard for God"
I want to talk to us a little this morning with the Lord's help on "THE GOD OF IMPOSSIBLILITIES"
The book of Jeremiah focuses primarily on the events that happened during the reigns of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah. Also the two kings with which Jeremiah clashes with the most. The two major events that, "dominate the story" of Jeremiah are: "1.) The surrender and exile of many of Jerusalem in 597 BC and 2.) The fall and destruction of Jerusalem which led to the execution of many of its leaders and the exile of others in 586 BC"[2]
This chapter is part of the section of Jeremiah called, "The Book of Restoration" which covers chapter 30-33. Its theme is the restoration of Israel and a NEW COVENANT that he talks about in Chapter 31 one of the greatest texts of the Holiness People, "
Jeremiah 31:33 (KJV)
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Chapter 32 flows like a narrative. You could outline it like this:
Verses 1-5 give the setting (Jeremiah is in prison)Verses 6-25 Purchasing a field (symbol of restoration) and Jeremiah's Mighty PrayerVerses 26-44 God's response to Jeremiah [3]
Getting back to verse 17 I like this phrase - "Too hard" it can mean "wonderful, marvelous, extraordinary, something beyond our power to do"
Jeremiah acknowledged seven facts about God's power (vv.17-23).
⇒ God's power created the universe (v.17). Nothing is too hard for the Lord. He can do anything He chooses to do. The creation of so vast a universe proves that God can do anything.
⇒ God uses His power to show love and execute justice on earth (v.18a). He pours out His love on thousands of people, but He also executes justice and punishment on everyone who commits sins, both parents and children.
⇒ God's power is seen in His very name. He is the Lord of hosts, the Lord of every living being in the universe, both in the heavens and on earth. He is the Lord Almighty.
⇒ God has the power to achieve great purposes and to do mighty works (v.19a). God's great purposes and mighty works are clearly seen in the history of Israel as recorded in the pages of Scripture and in the history of other nations as recorded in the pages of human history. He has the power to appoint nations to be His agents of both mercy and judgment. God has the power to achieve great purposes and do mighty works.
⇒ God has the power to see the ways of all people and to reward them according to their deeds, whether good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10).
⇒ God's power has performed miraculous works in behalf of His people down through history (vv.20-22). These works are seen in the signs and wonders done in Egypt and all around the world among all the peoples of the human race. His miraculous works are also seen in the great deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery and in His great gift of the promised land to His people.
⇒ God's power has brought the present judgment on His people, the invasion and siege of the Babylonian army (v.23). Due to the people's disobedience and their refusal to obey His commandments, the Lord was using the Babylonians as His agent of judgment. God, not Babylon, was bringing this disaster upon them.[4]
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In the New Testament it was something Jesus wanted us to know about as he had it repeated three different places
Matthew 19:26 - "With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible"
Mark 10:27 - "With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible"
Luke 18:27 - "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God"
Do we get the picture our Impossibilities are God's possibilities.
Now when we are talking about a hindrance, burden, problem, a victory we are needing in our life I see in the scripture three different ways God brings them. Now there may be more but these three I want to stress this morning
Some victories you Pause For - Waiting on GodI think of Peter in Prison - he was surrendered to the will of God and waiting on him -and God sent an angel to wake him up and bring him out.
Some victories You Pray for - Take great intercession and prayer before God (sometimes fasting) God answers prayer. Aren't you thankful. I still believe in answered prayer. I still believe that prayer will bring many victories. Transform a life, change attitudes, bring provision and grace.
Some victories you Praise For - It is amazing to read the Old Testament and see how many battles were fought not with weapons and battle strategy but with shouts of Praise. They could have walked and walked around the walls of Jerechio, but it wasn’t till they shouted that the walls fell downPaul and Silas may have rotted in that Jail cell if at midnight they didn't start to praise - and God sent an earthquake and shook things upPsalm 5:11 But let those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.Psalm 32:11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. There is no astrericks or small print that says you have to wait till you feel it, shout and let the walls fall down.
One songwriter put it this way:
And I'll praise you in this storm
And I will lift my hands
That you are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise you in this storm[5]
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[M] Wil S. Hylton. Vanished (Kindle Locations 1584-1603). Penguin Group US. Kindle Edition. [M] Hays, J. Daniel. Jeremiah and Lamentations (Teach the Text Commentary Series) (Kindle Locations 357-360). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. [M] Ibid[M] The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible – Jeremiah II and Lamentations, (Chattanooga: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 2006), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "D. The Great Faith Needed in the Coming Days, 32:1-44".[M] From <https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=praise+God+in+the+storm+lyrics&*>