The Goal
"Nothing will be impossible with God"
(Luke 1:37)
I remember a time when I was in college and the teacher was writing suggested term
paper topics on the blackboard. One of them caught my eye --- It was "The Virgin
Birth". I was concerned for two reasons: 1) For some reason, I did not believe in the
Virgin Birth, a fact which I kept hidden from everyone, and tended to not think about it,
myself, and 2) the Lord was "prompting" me to choose precisely that topic.
Even though I had areas of unbelief in my heart, I was trying to follow Him. That was
why I had left a 14-year civil service job to return to "Bible College" in the
first place. I wanted to follow God.
And yet here I was, in an "impossible" place - I simply lacked belief in the
Virgin Birth, and felt this was a required "belief area" for a pastor in
training. I was about to be exposed as a fraud, or so I thought.
Off I went, and approached it like I do for any other paper; full bore. I went to the
college library, and surrounded myself with an initial ten-or-so books on the subject. I
wrote notes and copied quotes. I remember also that I was shocked that so many of the
"theologians" believed far less than I did.
But some did believe. I worked and worked, and wrote and wrote, and the Lord was with
me. When I turned on the car radio, they would be talking about the Virgin Birth, and it
wasn’t even Christmas! Dr. J. Vernon McGee was the best, giving insights into the
Hebrew and Greek words for "virgin", just when I needed them most.
Weeks later, I turned in that paper, and the wonder of it all, was this: At the moment
I handed that paper across the desk to the instructor, I suddenly recognized that I now
BELIEVED in the Virgin Birth. I can only understand it this way: God healed me of
my unbelief.
Two thousand years ago, Mary was experiencing strong emotions in relation to the words
of the angel. She was in wonder at what he said, and received his information in a place
of BELIEF. This is seen in her response: "Behold the bondslave
of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). She
believed (and received the Word of the Lord).
The news he provided to her was shocking: She would become pregnant when she was not
yet married. In that place and time, it was likely that she would be killed by outraged
townspeople. By responding in faith, she knew it was possible she could die for her belief
in God’s Word.
During the time I have been privileged to be with the quadriplegic Veterans at the
Spinal Code Unit of the VA Hospital, I have encountered what was for me a new definition
of the word "courage." Most of us would not emotionally survive the sudden loss
of the use of our bodies, and yet, here they are, courageously FUNCTIONING (going on) in
the face of such great loss. I am convinced it is God who gets them through.
And that is the common thread in relation to our Scripture for today. Whatever our
problem is: Unbelief, the likelihood of ostracism and death, or the sudden loss of
everything we hold dear - "Nothing will be impossible with God"
(Luke 1:37). God can get us through! He can give us a dream and He Himself becomes the
realization of that dream in our lives.
Last Sunday, we attended a "mission" Church in North Long Beach. The Pastor
and his wife had just "signed on the dotted line" and the building was theirs.
They had worked hard, tearing out walls and attending to a myriad of details to get the
place ready for God’s use in the lives of people. This dignified couple (he is a
retired college Dean) has had a dream given to him by the Lord.
In the evening, we went to see and hear Handel’s "Messiah", at a
Cathedral. After the music, we strolled through the adjoining art gallery, viewed the
creative statuary in the edifice, and listened to the sounds of lovely fountains. Another
dream, only this one was fully mature, whereas the one from the morning was a
"start-up" version of a concept given by the Lord.
As to the first dream (from the morning), the Pastor had about ten people in
attendance. In the other place, hundreds, or more likely thousands had attended on that
very day. But the one dream is no less a gift of God than the other. The first can best be
seen in the minds of the Pastor, His wife, and in the heart of God. In the other, we see
the full realization of what God had promised.
God can place a dream (a vision) in your heart, and, if you are willing to act on it,
He will change your life and the lives of all those you meet. Our Lord can take the
impossible and make it POSSIBLE. And He wants to do this – for you! Remember
Joel’s prophesy of the Church: "I will pour out My Spirit
on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream
dreams, your young men shall see visions; and also on My menservants and on My
maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days" (Joel 2:28-29).
In the Cathedral of the evening, we looked at a truly lovely manger scene, and in it we
saw a rendition of the Christ, the Son of the living God. Our God came into history,
through the woman Mary, and He took human form. He identified with the people He served,
to the point of dying a terrible, ignominious death, that we might live.
It was "impossible" for Mary to have that Baby. It is "impossible"
for quadriplegics to lead normal, reasonably contented, productive lives – but they
do. It was "impossible" for my unbelief to be healed. I didn’t do it –
HE did it in me! God can and will do anything, especially in two key areas: 1) He
will act to bring appropriate glory to His Name, and 2) He will change your life
INFINITELY for the better, when you become willing to live for God the Son.
No matter how LOW our lives might have gone. No matter how old or young,
"insufficient" or whatever we may think we are, "nothing
will be impossible with God", in your life or in mine. Whatever our pain,
whatever our sorrow, God can and He WILL get us through. Let us trust in Him,
RECEIVE the dream He has sent, and go forth in His Name. And we will, Father. We repent of
our sin, our unbelief, and we receive You, now. We receive Your Word. We trust in You. In
Jesus Name. Amen.
Ron Beckham
Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.fridaystudy.org
Ron@fridaystudy.org |
