| Impossible people make an impossible congregation... |
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I have been hearing today from several sources all the things that make recovery of our little congregation impossible.
It is too callous...too critical...too stubborn....too fickle...too tired....too selfish...too lazy...
You might say that our little congregation is full of people that are just impossible...
impossible to teach...impossible to reach...impossible to motivate...impossible to navigate...impossible to inspire...impossible to love.
It is a church stuffed to the brim and bowing the hinges with impossibility.
10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." Mark 10:27
Then Jesus goes and says this...
Interesting that He did not say, "Nothing is impossible with God".
There's a reason for that.
It's not true.
We have God present and active in our little congregation.
God's reality is evident in our worship and in our prayers.
Jesus promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us and that He would be with us till the end of the age.
We hold fast to a doctrine that explains God's omnipresence-- His all-presence.
God is with us and surrounds us.
Even though we are "with God" and God is with us, we are still full of impossible people and the impossibilities they create.
But Jesus didn't say "nothing is impossible with God." What He said was:
"With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."
Full of broken, depravity-ridden human beings impossiblity is the default reality for ours-- and any--congregation.
But with God impossibilities --large and small-- in small and vast volumes-- are transformed into possibilities.
See, it is the very overwhelming mound of failure that is discouraging us which God uses as the primary ingredient in His "possibility" recipe.
It is our mercilessness that --with God-- becomes forgiveness.
It is our self-centeredness that --with God-- becomes sacrificial compassion.
It is our enslavement to a natural tendency to sin that --with God-- becomes holiness; becomes a passionate willfullness to obey the will of the Father...
With people-- impossible people who create an impossible congregation-- recovery is decidedly impossible.
But with God this congregation can yet be the fulfillment of the Lord's Prayer when He taught His disicples to pray...
OUR FATHER -- which art in heaven
Possibility #1: Living in the reality of loving, functional, spiritual family. We all share the same Father. We are all brothers and sisters.
HALLOWED BE THY NAME--
Possibility #2: God's children will bring honor and glory to His name by the way they behave on earth toward each other.
THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE--on earth as it is in heaven
Possibility #3: The Father's will is characterized by grace, mercy, and love. Jesus provided the working model of what it looks like to be obedient to Father's will consistently and faithfully. The Holy Spirit within us makes this possible. This is called "holiness". We are to be like Him in this world. And we can be. Scripture gives us that hope: 1 John chapter 4, 2 Peter chapter 1, Ephesians chapter 5... Imagine! Heaven on earth! It happens when the church begins to live and work within the power of God in our lives to be like Him; to be agents of grace and mercy in this world.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD--
Possibility #4: Our prayers are characterized by compassion and selflessness. Which means our hearts are characterized by genuine love and sacrifice. Jesus instructed the individual to pray this way. But His prayer model does not say "give ME today MY daily bread." This is a prayer that recognizes our dependence and need for each other. When I pray this prayer, I am praying for you and for you and you and also you over there... because I have prayed this prayer, you will have bread today. And because you have prayed it, so will I.
AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS--
Possibility #5: Our sins-- our debts-- our trespasses-- can be forgiven. But, more importantly and more powerful is the power within us to release others with the power of forgiveness. We will be shown mercy by the mercy we show. We will be forgiven in the same way we forgive. Compare the gospels that contain the Lord's Prayer to see this is true. Because of His love within us, we can and will desire to forgive others. It is wrong to expect to receive God's forgiveness if we refuse to let His power flow through us releasing others from their debt.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION--
Possibility #6: The power --the possibility-- to overcome sin in our life. When you master temptation, you exert your new-found authority over sin in your life. Paul explains this in Romans chapters 5,6,7 & 8. You are no longer enslaved to a sin nature. You do not *have* to sin anymore. 1 John and Hebrews both explain that anyone who continues to live as a slave to a sin nature is outwardly mocking God and all the suffering and work that Jesus did at Calvary.
DELIVER US FROM EVIL--
Possibility #7: Righteousness will prevail! So, we start when we stop blaming the devil for the evil we cause and the consequences of it. We have a sin nature. We have a self interested will that looks a lot like Satan's! When we act and behave according to our own selfish interest or desires, we are like him and not like God!
Working in the spirit and nature of God we heal not hurt; sacrifice not steal; love not leave.
All things are possible with God!
"Love the LORD with all your heart, mind and strength...love your neighbor as yourself...on these hang all the Law and the Prophets..." --Jesus
It's possible.
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