The God of the Impossible: I'll Believe it When I See It
The God of the Impossible • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro:
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
For the next three weeks I want to preach on [The God of the Impossible]. The title of my message is [I’ll Believe it When I See It].
The phrase, “I’ll Believe it When I See It” is one we have all heard and probably said to each other. For some reason, I remember the first time I heard it was in a TV show when I was a child.
I have no recollection of the name of the show or what it was about. I just remember two of the characters stomping around singing, “I’ll believe it when I see it” over and over.
The idea was don’t trust what people say. As one person said, trust, but verify. After that, I began to notice a lot of people doubt what people say.
For instance if one of the aunts said they would be on time, someone would remark, I’ll believe it when I see it.
Or if we promised to have all of our chores done, I heard it said, I’ll believe it when I see it.
While it is true there are those who are not trustworthy and there are some who might say one thing and do another, we must realize that this mindset does not work in our relationship with the Lord.
One of the tactics of the enemy is to get people to hear God’s promises and then begin to think, well I’ll believe it when I see it.
While very few would actually articulate that type of doubt concerning God, people’s actions show that there are many who do not believe what Jesus promised to do.
If the enemy can cause us to doubt God’s promises then we will end up living a life that never receives all that God has promised for us.
Our entire relationship with God hinges on one word— FAITH.
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Faith is more than a feeling, it is everything. People of faith believe in what they CANNOT see.
We have faith in a God we cannot see
We recieved grace we cannot see
We feel the presence of the Spirit who we cannot see
We believe in a place called heaven, which we cannot see
There is no room in the body of Christ for the mindset that thinks, I’ll believe it when I see it. Though it is counter culture and backward from conventional thinking, in our relationship with God, believing comes BEFORE seeing.
We might hear this and think, well that sounds good, but what do we do when we face a situation that seems impossible?
How do we handle circumstances in life when we do not know what to do?
As I mentioned last week:
The word impossible is found four times in Scripture,
The word possible is found fifteen times in Scripture,
And all of the references are found in the New Testament.
Through Jesus, NOTHING is impossible. Last week we focused on Zachariah and Mary who issued the promise from Gabriel that nothing is impossible with God.
Now, we will look an encounter Jesus had with a demon. Through His actions we will discover that He really is the God of the impossible.
I have four points, [A Confusing Situation], [A Controlling Spirit], [A Confronting Statement], and [A Concluding Secret].
Let’s begin
1. A Confusing Situation
1. A Confusing Situation
14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.
15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.
16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”
17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.
18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”
After Jesus was transfigured on the mountain before Peter, James and John, they head down the mountain to meet the other disciples.
The closer they get to them the more they notice a crowd has gathered. The disciples are arguing with the scribes, that is the religious people.
Then, as soon as everyone sees Jesus, they take off running to Him. Confused by the situation, Jesus asks, what are discussing with them.
It was never a good sign for the Pharisees/Religious leaders to stand opposite His disciples. To make matters worse, three of his most trusted disciples had been with Him on the mountain while the situation began.
Notice that the disciples and the religious leaders remained quiet. Finally, one man raised his voice and explained, I brought my son so you could heal him.
He has an evil spirit in him that has made unable to speak. The spirit will manifest and throw the boy violently on the ground. I brought him to your disciples and they could not do anything.
It had to have confused Peter, James, and John when they came down the mountain and saw a large crowd. But think of how confused the dad must have been.
He heard about Jesus and the miracles He preformed. In his mind, surely his closest followers have power too, but nothing happened.
The disciples were also confused. Jesus already gave them power when He called them.
14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,
15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:
But when they tried to cast out the demon, nothing happened. Confusion took over as they wondered, was it impossible to cast out this demon.
When the disciples prayed, I expect that the religious leaders thought, yeah, I’ll believe this when I see it. Finally, Jesus spoke.
19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”
Notice Jesus’s words— FAITHLESS Generation.
The disciples did not believe so they could not see it
The religious leaders would not believe so they could not see it
The father was so distraught he struggled to believe so he could not see it
Their lack of faith insulted Jesus, but His compassion on the boy led Him to take action. The events of the day began with a confusing situation and an encounter with...
2. A Controlling Spirit
2. A Controlling Spirit
20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.
22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
The entire conversation with the crowd, the man, and Jesus took place far from the demon possessed boy. After rebuking them for a lack of faith, Jesus goes to the boy.
As soon as the spirit that controlled the boy saw Jesus, he began to manifest. The spirit threw the child into a violent convulsion, casting him to the ground, where he would writhe and foam at the mouth.
Think of that as a parent. There have been times Davis has been beside himself. Generally, if he is crying uncontrollably, he is sick and doesn’t feel well. But Bekah knows how to soothe him and calm him.
This boy, whatever his age, had never been able to calm down, for his problem was not physical, it was spiritual.
Surely the parents were at their wits end, seeing the entire situation as impossible.
To make matters worse, the spirit that controlled him would throw the boy into fire and water. Distraught, the father begs for mercy and asks for help.
But notice his request, IF you can do anything, have compassion on us.
That word IF is very revealing.
IF does not denote faith. When we come to God, we there is not room for ifs or buts.
I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, IF He can.
I want God’s help, BUT I have prayed before and nothing has happened.
We have to come to God boldly, in faith believing that He CAN and WILL do what only HE CAN and WILL do.
Evidently, the inability of the disciples, the questions of the religious leaders, and the power of the controlling spirit made him question and wonder, can this really happen or is this impossible?
Jesus noticed his question and issued a...
3. A Confronting Statement
3. A Confronting Statement
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”
Jesus did not let the lack of faith go unnoticed. He turned it around, you ask IF I can do anything, I say, IF YOU can believe, all things are possible.
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
Why would Jesus become so confrontational in His statement?
He went to great depths to show the necessity of faith. Without faith, believing God, everything will stay impossible for us.
Matthew describes Jesus’s words this way:
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
All God needs is faith the size of a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds. With this type of faith, we can look to the mountain, obstacle, or impossible situation and declare, MOVE, and it will move for NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE.
Jesus’s earthly ministry centered on showing that through the Holy Spirit, He came to do what was humanly impossible.
After establishing this truth, the father, weeping, responds, I BELIEVE, HELP MY UNBELIEF.
Evidently he had lived with the idea, I’ll believe it when I see it.
I love that. How many times have we lacked faith? All Jesus wants us to do is come to Him and call on Him for help.
After confronting the man’s unbelief, Jesus confronted the demon. Without begging or pleading, He declared, COME OUT AND DO NOT RETURN.
Was this demonic controlling spirit too much for Jesus?
26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
The spirit, who made the boy unable to speak, screamed as it left the boy. But it did not go without a fight. The demon made the boy convulse violently. Then it left.
Is anything impossible for Jesus?
The demon thought so, because on its way out it left the boy lifeless on the ground. As the boy appeared dead, the crowd began to murmur, he’s dead.
From one impossible situation to the next, but not for Jesus. He took the boy by the hand and helped him to his feet and he stood up, with full strength and health.
Mark took time to include many of Jesus’s miracles. He did so that people would see Jesus’s true identity as son of God empowered by the Holy Spirit.
He wants every one to know, we do not have to see to believe for believing is seeing. If we will live with this type of faith, NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR US!
But Jesus’s encounter does not end there.
4. A Concluding Secret
4. A Concluding Secret
28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
I wonder how it was when everyone left. The crowds were amazed at what they saw. It almost makes me wonder if was sort of a side show for a lot of people.
They were entertained and intrigued by this man who performed miracles. That must have been the case for many were intrigued by his miraculous power, but they did not leave everything to follow him.
Think of the dad walking home with his son. For the first time in the boy’s life he was not controlled by a demon.
But the disciples went away with a different attitude. They were discouraged and had many questions.
After a while, they came to him in private and wanted to know, what’s the deal? You cast out that demon with no trouble at all, what is our problem?
Jesus’s answer— a lack of prayer and fasting.
He shows the secret to this type of supernatural strength, some things can only be cast out by prayer and fasting.
Jesus modeled this example while on earth.
How many times we do we read of Him getting alone to pray?
Before He began His earthly ministry, He spent forty days in prayer and fasting.
He even promised in Matthew,
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
People may not hear us pray or know when we fast, but our lives will tell the story. What we do in secret, God rewards in the open.
If we will pray and fast in private, there is no mountain that can stand in our way, no situation that is too hard, and no circumstance that is impossible.
For with God ALL things are possible to those who believe.
Close:
I’ll believe it when I see it. Many have uttered this about life, but would never admit that the flawed attitude is exactly what Satan wants from us and for us.
A lack of faith is exactly what Satan needs to hold people back from walking in all God has for them.
When we enter a confusing situations where the enemy wants to control our mind, health, or emotions, Jesus wants to know, do we believe?
I know it is likely that few of us have encountered a demon like Jesus did. That is not to say that the enemy has not and does not strategically attack us.
We must remember we have a real adversary who has one goal— to steal, kill, and destroy.
He places situations in our path that seem impossible. And I will declare this, without faith, prayer, and fasting, he is right, it is impossible.
If our faith does not accompany prayer and fasting, we really do not have faith at all.
How can I say I believe God to do the impossible, if I do not communicate with Him every day, throughout the day.
But when we partner faith with prayer and fasting:
God will forgive our sins
God will deliver us from temptation
God will heal us when we are sick
God will baptize us in the Holy Spirit
God will answer our prayers
God will give us a boldness and faith that serves Satan notice, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO ME FOR I BELIEVE.
Is this a blanket statement, EVERYTHING is possible?
We must put it in proper perspective. When we have faith all things will be possible according to His will.
There are times we might want something or desire something that is not according to His will. And the worse decision we can make is to move forward outside of God’s will.
So we must pray and fast, believing God, that His will for us is perfect and we will trust Him.
We must live with the attitude and mindset that declares:
Sin is not impossible for God
Sickness is not impossible for God
Hardship is not impossible for God
Discouragement is not impossible for God
Hopelessness is not impossible for God
Broken marriages are not impossible for God
Financial difficulty is not impossible for God
There is no mountain, no obstacle, no problem that God cannot solve or conquer.
So today, let’s ask God to build our faith and trust Him for the impossible!