It is a great blessing to be
with you all. I have come to love your pastor dearly. When was that you were in Orlando?
In August? End of July. And we have had
the, I've had the great privilege of being able to talk to him
almost weekly since then. That's endeared my heart to this
dear brother, and it's also taught me how to speak a little Australian,
so I'm working on that. I cannot thank Angus's wife,
Lisa, enough. You've been such a wonderful
hostess, and thank you. She's taken in a whole bunch
of us, and after a long, busy time with a lot of other things,
I know, but we're still very thankful. We appreciate you. Angus and I were speaking earlier,
and I mentioned Isaiah chapter 40, where the Lord commands His
preachers to speak comfort to His people, and to tell them
that their warfare is accomplished. Their iniquity has been taken
away. And that's my hope and prayer tonight and this weekend.
The Lord will comfort our hearts. We'll leave here with hope. I love this. I love this. I'm going to change ours when
we get home, Brian. Have you seen this? a big bold
print, Sir, we would see Jesus. And that is, that's my hope and
pray the Lord to be pleased to speak to us tonight. He hides
these things from the wise and the prudent and reveals them
unto babes. I want to bring a brief message
this afternoon on those things which God calls impossible. The things which God calls impossible. When God says something is impossible,
it's impossible. Men pride themselves in believing
in the power of positive thinking. I saw a little plaque some weeks
ago and it had a picture of a seagull flying on it and underneath of
it it said, he flies because he thinks he can. implying that if we could just
have good enough thoughts, we could fly too. That's not possible. Seagulls fly because God made
them to fly. And the only way I'm gonna get
back home is by the use of an airplane. I could sing, I believe
I could fly for the rest of my life and not be able to fly.
It's impossible. It's impossible. When God says
something is impossible, There's, it is impossible. There's
five things that I want us to see from God's word as to what
he calls impossible. The first thing is that it is
impossible for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
The second point to my message, it is impossible to be saved
except by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The third thing
is that it is impossible for God to lie. The fourth thing
is that it was impossible for the Lord Jesus Christ to remain
in the grave. And the fifth thing is that it
is impossible to please God without faith. Now those are five things
that God says are impossible. You remember in Matthew chapter
19 when our Lord was speaking with that rich young ruler. And
the rich young ruler came to Christ and said, good master,
what must I do to inherit eternal life? And the Lord began with
him by asking him, why callest thou me good? There's none good
but God. This man obviously thought himself
to be good, because the Lord turned around and asked him,
he said, what does the law say? And the Lord said, you know,
you want to inherit eternal life? Keep the law. And the young man
said, well, which ones? Which ones? And the Lord gave
him the easy ones. He said, you know, he said, don't
steal, don't lie, don't commit adultery, don't murder. And what
did the rich young ruler said? He said, I've done those things
since my youth. When in fact, he had never done
any of them. He'd never kept the law from
his heart. God requires perfect obedience from the heart of his
law all the time. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only one who ever kept God's law in a way that honored the
law of God and pleased God. But this young man didn't know
that he was speaking to goodness. He didn't know that the only
one that was good is the one he was standing before him. And
the Lord told him, he said, well, if you can be as good as God,
you can be as good as God, you can enter into heaven. That's
what God requires. God's not satisfied with our
best. God's not satisfied with good intentions. God requires
absolute perfection. And you remember what happened
in that story. The man went away sad because the Lord said, you
lack one thing. Sell all that you have, give
it to the poor and come and follow me. That was his God. That was
the first four commandments. The Lord said, have no image
before me and don't take my name in vain and keep holy the Sabbath. The real
hard commandments are the ones that he was breaking by his love,
for the God of his possessions, and he went away sad. And here's what our Lord said. He
said, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And the disciples said, who then,
Lord, can be saved? You remember what the Lord said?
With man. It is impossible. Now there's
only one way for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.
Only one way. And that's to make that camel
really small. Really small. The Lord said,
with God it is impossible. And he wasn't talking about material
wealth, was he? I see there's a quote in your
little flyer that wasn't original with me, but it's true. All of the righteous believe
themselves to be unrighteous. And all the unrighteous believed
themselves to be righteous." The Lord was talking about the
riches of man's righteousness. You remember what he said to
the church at Laodicea? He said, you think that you're
rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, but I
say unto you that you're poor and miserable and blind and naked. Come and buy of me. Men by nature
believe themselves to have something to offer God. And the Lord says
it's impossible, absolutely impossible for a rich man to enter in the
kingdom of heaven. He's got to be made small. He's
got to be stripped of his righteousness. He's got to be made a sinner.
He's got to realize that he has no goodness whatsoever in and
of himself, that all of his righteousness are as filthy rags, that all
the unrighteous believe themselves to have some righteousness, and
those that God have made to go through the eye of a needle,
oh, they've been humbled, haven't they? They realize Lord, what
did Paul say in Romans chapter 7? In me, that is in my flesh,
dwelleth no good thing. Lord, I have no righteousness.
I have nothing to offer you. I'm completely dependent upon
you for everything. So God says it's impossible,
it is impossible for a rich man to enter in to the kingdom of
heaven. The gospel is for the poor and
the needy. That's how the Beatitudes open,
isn't it? In Matthew chapter 5, the Lord begins right there.
And when we talk, when we share the gospel and preach the gospel,
we begin with this thing of sin. Because until men see themselves
as sinners, they're not going to see the need for a Savior.
So, you know, We must say to men, it is impossible
for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. It's impossible.
God can make him poor. God can make him needy. God can
make him a sinner. And when He does, when He does,
He'll see his need for Christ. People want to debate different
things of the Bible. I hear men talk about the atonement,
and they want to debate whether or not the atonement was particular,
or whether or not it's general, or they want to talk about grace,
whether it's resistible or irresistible, or they want to talk about sanctification,
whether it's progressive. The real problem lies in being
made a sinner. God makes you to be a sinner.
You won't have any trouble with the rest of it. God makes you
poor and needy. God strips you of your righteousness.
God leaves you with nothing to offer Him. and you become completely
dependent upon Christ for everything. It's impossible for rich men. Now, physically speaking, we're
all rich. We really are. We, you know,
compared to the way most men have ever lived, but we're talking
about spiritual poverty now, aren't we? Blessed are the poor
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Now, I used to think, well, if I can
just make myself poor enough, then I'll be blessed with the
kingdom of God. In fact, the blessing is to be made poor.
That's the blessing. God makes you poor, you've been
blessed. You've been blessed. So it's impossible. Impossible
for rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is impossible
for any man to be saved except by the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. What did the Lord say when he prayed to the father
in the garden? He said, Father, if there be any way this cup
can pass from me, let it be. Nevertheless, not my will, but
thy will be done. It wasn't possible. It wasn't
possible for a sinner to be saved apart from the shed blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. God required a blood sacrifice
and he required blood of a spotless lamb. And that blood was placed
on the mercy seat. And in the Old Testament when
the priest took that blood into the Holies of Holies and put
it on the mercy seat, what did God say? He said, here I will
meet with you. Right here. When I see the blood,
I'll pass by you. There's no hope of salvation.
There's no way to be saved apart from the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission of sins. God's looking to the shed blood
of His dear Son. And that's the only covering,
the only atonement that there is to cover our sins. And the
sight of a holy God is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn
with me to Hebrews chapter 10. If you will, Hebrews chapter
10. Look at verse four. For it is
not possible, it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats
should take away sins. David said in Psalm 51, if sacrifice
and offerings is what you wanted, Lord, I would give them. Hebrews
chapter 10 at verse 4, it is not possible that the blood of
bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore, when he cometh
into the world, he saith, sacrifice and offerings thou wouldest not,
but a body thou hast prepared me. You remember when the angel came
to Mary and told her that that holy thing was conceived by the
Holy Spirit? And she said, how can this be?
For I've never known a man. And what did the Lord say? He said, with God, nothing is
impossible. This miracle of the incarnation
is only possible by the power of God. And here the Lord says,
I have a body that was prepared for me. The Lord Jesus Christ
was born of a woman, born under the law to redeem them who are
cursed by the law. We had to have a perfect sacrifice.
The Lord Jesus Christ is God's perfect man. And he's man's perfect
God, isn't he? He's the only hope that we have.
But what hope he is! Thou hast prepared for me a body
in burnt offerings and sacrifices of sins. Thou hast no pleasure. God's not taking any pleasure
whatsoever in our offerings, in our gifts, in our intentions,
in our good works, in our decisions. He's satisfied with the Lord
Jesus Christ. He saw the travail of his soul
on Calvary's cross and he was satisfied. Then said I, here's the Lord
Jesus Christ speaking, then said I, In the volume of the book,
it is written of May, to do thy will, O God. Lord Jesus Christ,
the only one that ever satisfied the will of God. God's looking
to His precious, sinless blood for the redemption of our sins.
He's the only one that ever did it. I had some Jehovah's Witness
come to my house the other day and they wanted to engage me
in conversation. I've learned over the years not
to talk very long with them. He asked me, he said, Sir, if
you wanted to find happiness for life, he said, where would
you look? And I said, I don't know, where would you look? And
he said, well, the Bible. And I said, Oh, I said, you think
that's that's the message of the Bible? How to live a happy
life? He said, Oh, yeah, that's the message of the Bible. So
I quoted this verse and some others. You know, you search
the scriptures because you think in them you have eternal life.
But these are they which testify of me. And beginning with Moses
and the Psalms and the Prophets, he expounded unto them those
things concerning himself." This book is all about the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's a revelation of who He is.
Why? Because we can't come to God
without Him. And He reveals Himself by His
Word. And so He says, low in the volume
of the book, It is written of me. And what is written of him?
I have come to do thy will, O God. God satisfied with the sacrifice
of his Son for the sins of his people. And it is impossible
to be saved except by the blood of Christ. Above when He said,
look at verse 8, Above when He said, Sacrifice and offering,
and burnt offerings, and offerings for sin thou wouldest not, neither
hadst thou pleasure therein, which are offered by the law. No amount of presumed law keeping
on our part is going to satisfy the law of God. Christ Jesus
the Lord is the end of the law for righteousness. He's the only
one that made it honorable. And that's why His blood was
sufficient to cleanse us of our sins. His atoning blood. That's the covering, isn't it?
You know, that word, I know your pastor has shared this with you,
but when Noah built that ark, that ark is a picture of Christ.
And God shut the door. God brought His people into the
ark. And in order for that ark to float, in order for it to
be protected from the wrath of God. What did Noah have to do? He had to pitch it within and
without, didn't he? He covered it with tar. And tar
works really good as a water repellent. And no water got into
that ark. It floated safely above the wrath
of God. And God's people were saved. Interesting side to that pitch. You remember when men were at
the Tower of Babel and they tried to build a tower to God? And
the scripture says they had brick for stone and they had tar for
mortar. Now, tar doesn't work very good
as a mortar. As soon as it gets hot, it melts
and the whole thing falls apart, doesn't it? But that's exactly
what men do. They try to hold together the bricks that they're
making with their hands with the atoning blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And you can't mix law and grace.
If it is of grace, it can no longer be of works. Otherwise,
grace is no grace. But that's what Babylon's all
about. And Babylon represents the religions of the world mixing
their works with God's works. Can't do it. The work of Christ
alone is sufficient for our salvation. He says, he repeats in verse
9, look, Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh
away the first, that he may establish the second. By the witch will
we are sanctified through the offering of the blood of Jesus
Christ once for all. We're made holy. in the sight
of the Holy God by the blood of Jesus Christ. There's no sanctification
outside of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, men talk
about being, you know, being sanctified by what they do, by
the keeping of the law. The sanctifying work of God is
in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ once for all. Verse 11, And every priest standeth
daily, ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of
God. We just sang about that, didn't we? The Lord Jesus Christ
is seated at the right hand of God. He ever lives to make intercession
for his people. And he's always presenting his
blood to the father on behalf of his people. Verse 13, from
henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. Now, each one of us came into
this world at enmity with God and had an idol imagined in our
mind that was all together as ourselves. God had to make us
to sit at his feet, didn't he? What did the Lord say to Mary,
to Martha about Mary? He said, Martha, Mary has chosen
that one thing needful. Where was she? She was sitting
at the feet. The Lord Jesus Christ makes his enemies his footstool. There was a time when I was an
enemy of God. and by His grace, and by the
shed blood of His Son, He's caused me to sit at His feet. For by one offering, for by one
offering, verse 14, He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Holy. Holy. It is impossible for a rich man
to enter into heaven. It is impossible to be saved
except by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And thirdly, it
is impossible, it is impossible for God to lie. He's made a covenant and he's
ratified that covenant with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And by two immutable things, the word of God and the work
of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is impossible for our God to
lie. He is faithful to keep his promises. The promise that God the Father
made to his son to give to Him a bride based on the shed blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the promise that the Son made to
the Father in the covenant of grace to redeem God's elect,
the promise that the Holy Spirit made in that covenant of grace.
All religions of this world are based on us making promises to
God. They all are, every single one
of them. The hope of one's salvation is based upon how faithful they
are to keep their promises. How much hope does that give
you? Doesn't give me much hope. Oh, but when I think about the
fact that God has made a covenant with God, there's a covenant
of grace established in eternity past before the world ever began,
and that it is impossible, it is impossible for our God to
lie. What did the Lord say? I am the
Lord, and I change not. And therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. If my wrath was activated by
your unfaithfulness, you'd be consumed by it. But I change
not. I've established a covenant with
my Son and with the Holy Spirit, and I'm faithful to my promises.
You remember when the Lord made that covenant with Abraham in
Genesis chapter 15 and he told Abraham, he said, Abraham, you
take a bullock and you take a ram and you take a sheep and you
divide them in half and put them on each side and I'll pass. And
then Abraham was put into a deep sleep and the Lord passed through
as a smoking Furnace and a burning lamp. What was that? That was
all about Christ. That sacrifice was the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the ram. He was the one
who shed his blood. He was the one that passed through.
And what does smoke represent in the scripture? Well, the scripture
says that our prayers go up before God as a sweet-smelling aroma,
don't they? The prayers of the Lord Jesus Christ, that's the
hope of our salvation. And God promised to hear His
Son, and God did hear His Son. When the Lord Jesus Christ prayed
on Calvary's cross and He said, Father, forgive them for they
know not what they do. There's that smoking furnace
going up between the sacrifices to the Father. God was making
an oath. confirming his covenant promises
with Abraham. And by two immutable things,
Hebrews says, which it is impossible for God to lie. The two immutable
things are the word of God and the work of Christ. And then
there's that fiery furnace that goes between the sacrifice. And
that's the fiery wrath of God's judgment that has fallen on the
Lord Jesus Christ. So he prays for us. And he says,
he said, he said, he said, father, I thank you that thou always
hears me. Is it possible for the Lord Jesus
Christ to offer a prayer to his father and not be heard? Father,
I pray not for the world. I pray for them which thou has
given me out of the world. Thine they were and I gave them
unto me. And now father, I pray that thou
would keep them. The Lord Jesus Christ. suffered
the full wrath of God's justice on Calvary's cross. You see,
the hope of our salvation is based on God's promise to us.
God's promise to God and God's promise to his people. And it
is impossible. It is impossible for our God
to lie. Acts chapter 2. And we, your pastor, read this
in the Psalms before the service, or at the opening of the service. And Acts chapter 2 quotes from
that Psalm that you read, Angus. Look at verse 23 in Acts chapter
2. Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, being delivered by the determinate
counsel of God. It was determined by God in His
counsel, in His purpose, in His covenant, before Adam was ever
made, to deliver his son for the sins of his people. Did that
relieve men of their sin, of their responsibility, of what
they did? No. Now here we have the sovereign
purpose of God being carried out through the wicked hands
of men. And he says, him being delivered by the determined counsel
and foreknowledge of God, you have taken him by wicked hands,
have crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having loose
the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
be holding of it. It was not possible for the Lord
Jesus Christ to remain in the grave. Why? because God was satisfied
with what he did. He was satisfied. His work was finished. He's the
firstborn among many brethren. God was obligated to raise his
son from the dead. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ
fulfilled all the requirements of the covenant that he made
with his father. And the father in turn was required to fulfill
his promise to raise him from the dead. It was not possible
for him to remain in the grave. He conquered death. Look at verse 25. For David speaking
concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for
he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore
did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad. More also, my
flesh shall rest in hope. Because thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell, neither will I suffer thy holy one to see corruption.
There's our hope. Our hope is that the Lord Jesus
Christ was received back into glory by His Father. He said,
let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in Me. In My Father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go and
prepare a place for you. When the Lord Jesus Christ was
received back into glory. You see, the ascension wouldn't
have been possible without the resurrection. It was impossible
for Him to remain in the grave. And when He was received back
into glory, how was He received? He was received as a victorious
substitute, taking with them the names of those for whom He
lived and died. When the scripture says, my word
will not return unto me void, we take great comfort in that
when we speak God's word, that the Lord is going to use it to
accomplish His purpose. But don't forget the Lord Jesus
Christ is the living word, and He did not return to His Father
void. He returned with the names of
those that God had chosen in the covenant of grace, those
whose names were indelibly written in the Lamb's Book of Life. The
Lord Jesus Christ took them back with Him so that we are in the
heavenlies in Christ Jesus right now. Right now. It was impossible for him to
remain in the grave. Aren't you glad? And it's impossible. It's impossible for those that
he died for to remain in the grave. There's our hope. If there is no resurrection,
we are of all men most miserable. I mean, we're deceived if there's
no resurrection. If there's no hope of us being
received into glory? I've had people say to me, well,
you know, even if there was no life after death, I'd want to
live for Jesus. That's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible says, if there's no
life after death, eat, drink and be merry. Tomorrow you shall
die. Just indulge yourself in all the pleasures of this world.
There's nothing to look forward to. No, we have hope, don't we? We have hope in the resurrection.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. You want to inspire sin in your
life? Just get under the law, or put somebody under the law.
The strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, we have
victory. through the Lord Jesus Christ,
who has fulfilled the law and conquered death, and has raised
from the dead and been received back into glory. Oh, we have
so much to look forward to, don't we? To be without sin, to see Him
as He is and be made like Him. This home is not our world. This
world is not our home. We're strangers. We're pilgrims. We're just passing through, aren't
we? We're passing through. It doth not yet appear what we
shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we'll see Him
as He is and be made like Him. Oh, that will sustain you through
whatever God has ordained for you in this world. It was impossible for the Lord
Jesus Christ to remain in the grave. And Hebrews chapter 11. Faith. Faith, the scripture says,
is the substance. What termed me there? Hebrews chapter 11. What do we have? You know, I
hear people talk about faith as if it's some sort of inner
strength of character and determination. You know, there's a great man
of faith. Look how tall and stalwart and
strong he is. And the truth is that faith is
just the opposite of that. It's just the opposite. The Lord
said, unless you have faith as a little child, you shall not
enter the kingdom of heaven. What can a little child do? Suffer
the little children to come unto me, for such are the kingdom
of God. What can a small child do? Nothing. They can cry, and
they can mess themselves up. And that's about all we're good
at, isn't it? It's about all we're good at, messing ourselves
up and crying out to God. A child is dependent, and the
Lord used that little child, that baby, to illustrate faith. He didn't point out some great
Pharisee that everybody else looked to. Well, there's a man
of faith walking out. He pointed out a little child.
And the Lord said, faith is the substance of things hoped for.
Faith is the evidence of things not seen. And then he goes on
to say, for without faith it is impossible to please God. For they which cometh to him
must believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of them
that diligently seek him. Believe that the Lord Jesus Christ
is everything I need for my acceptance before God. Believing that God
is looking to Him and His shed blood for everything that He
requires of me. Believing that God is looking
to His life of obedience for my obedience. I have no place
to go but to cast all my hope on Him. knowing that He careth
for me. We can't do anything for ourselves.
That's what faith is. Faith. And without faith, it's
impossible to please God. God's pleased with Christ, and
He's pleased with those who are looking to Christ. One other thing I want to say
about faith. So many people think that faith
is the cause of salvation. Faith is my contribution to salvation. And that's not true. For by grace
are you saved through faith, and that not of yourself. It's
a gift of God. We can't just decide we're going
to believe God and have faith and then God rewards us with
salvation. No, faith is the result of salvation. If a man believes the gospel,
if a woman believes the gospel, it's because God saved them.
It's because God saved them. Faith is a work of grace. You say, well, you remember the
man that said, Lord, I do believe. Help thou my unbelief. We have
so much unbelief, don't we? And that's the cause of all of
our problems. The Lord Jesus Christ, the only one to have
perfect faith. That's why I use the King James, and I love the
King James, because it's the only translation of the scripture
that translates the faith of Jesus Christ in the places where
that's the way it's supposed to be. Paul said, I am crucified with
Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me. The life that I now live, I live
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself
for me. He's the faithful one. He believed
God to his dying breath, didn't he? Father, into thy hands I
commend my spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
faithful one. And our faith is believing upon
His faith. Believing upon Him to be faithful
to His promises. Be faithful to not be able to
lie. And Paul said in 2 Timothy chapter
2 verse 13, If we believe not, yet He remaineth faithful, for
He cannot deny Himself. God's people are part of, this
is the body of Christ. And the scripture says, he cannot
deny himself. So even when our faith falters,
and it does in so many ways in terms of our practice, but even
then, even then, you ask a child of God in whatever state they're
in, Whatever state of faithfulness or unfaithfulness they're in,
you ask them, do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God? What are they going to say? Every time, oh yeah, yeah, I
believe. When that Ethiopian eunuch asked
to be baptized, and he asked Philip, what doth hinder me to
be baptized? And what did Philip say? If thou
believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. What did the Ethiopian
say? Well, I'm completely in, I'm
committed, my whole heart's dedicated to God. He said, I believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe everything you just
told me about Him. And without faith, it is impossible
to please God. That's a work of grace in the
heart when God causes a sinner to cast all the hope of their
salvation, like a little child, upon the Lord Jesus Christ. It's impossible for a rich man
to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Impossible. It's never
going to happen. You've got to be made poor. You've
got to be stripped of all of your righteousness. You've got
to have nothing. It's impossible for a sinner
to stand in the presence of a holy God except by the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. It is impossible for our God
to lie. I'm so glad he's faithful to
all of his promises. It is impossible for the Lord
Jesus Christ to have remained in the grave because he was faithful
to his father. And without faith, it's impossible
to please God. Know how pleased he is. Why is
God pleased with faith? Same reason why he's pleased
with it, because it glorifies his son. But he's pleased with
it also because he's the one that put it there. And he's always
pleased with what he does, isn't he? Always pleased with what
he does. I don't want to try to do something
that God says is impossible to you. With God, with God, all things
are possible.