Would you turn back to Daniel
chapter three and while you're turning there tonight, we're
going to observe the Lord's table together. And I have asked Matt
Vincent to speak on the bread and Luke Coffey to speak on the
wine, and they're both going to be speaking and we're going
to be remembering them. I'm very much looking forward
to that. I've talked to both of them. I'm excited about both
of them, what they're going to say and remember them in prayer
this afternoon that the Lord will help them. I've entitled this message, Is
Your God Able To Do This? Is Your God Able To Do This? In Daniel chapter 3, we read
in verse 1, Nebuchadnezzar, the king, This
is in Babylon, where the Jews had been carried into captivity.
He made an image of gold whose height was three score cubits. 90 feet high. From the floor down here to the
top of the ceiling is 14 feet. Multiply that times six and a
half and you'll see how tall this idol was made of gold. the breadth of it six cubits,
18 feet wide. He set it up in the plain of
Dura in the province of Babylon. As impressive as this idol was,
what could it do? Nothing. Now he made a law, Nebuchadnezzar,
regarding this idol. Look in verse 5. What time you hear the sound
of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, balsam, and all kinds
of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar,
the king, had set up. And whoso falleth not down and
worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning,
fiery Now, I'm sure that they had a lot of participation going
on in this worship. You understand that, don't you? But there were three Jews who
had been carried over into captivity, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
and they refused to bow. They refused to obey this law. regarding this false god. Now,
there were people who were jealous of him in the government. They had done well. And so some
people ratted on them about this because they were jealous of
them and they wanted them to be punished. Look at verse 13. So it's brought before Nebuchadnezzar
that these men refused to bow. And here's what Nebuchadnezzar
has to say to them. Verse 13. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage
and fury, commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Then they brought these men before the king, Nebuchadnezzar spake,
and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Do not ye serve my gods, nor
worship the golden image which I have set up? Now, if ye be
ready, then at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute,
harp, sackbuck, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music,
ye fall down and worship the image which I have made." But if you worship not, you shall
be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. And who is that God that shall
deliver you out of mines? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we're not careful
to answer thee in this matter. We don't have to stop and think
about it. If it be so, Our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver
us from the burning, fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of
Thine hand, O King. But if not, if He decides to
not deliver us, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not
serve Thy gods, nor worship the golden image which Thou hast
set up. Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury
at that time. He was angry that they dared to presume to not
obey him and worship this golden image that he set up. Impressive? Yes. Powerless? Yes. A false deity. You know,
a god that a man set up, there can't be much to him, could there? If that's all that's going on.
So in verse 23, Nebuchadnezzar As these three men thrown into
the fiery furnace. Verse 23. And these three men
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego fell down bound into the midst
of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar, the king.
Was astonished. And rose up in haste. and spake
and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound
into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the
king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men
loose, not bound up, walking in the midst of the fire, and
they have no hurt. And the form of the fourth is
like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near
to the mouth of the burning, fiery furnace and spake and said,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, you servants of the Most High
God, come forth and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
came forth of the midst of the fire, and the princes, governors
and captains and the king's counselors being gathered together, saw
these men upon whose bodies the fire had no power. nor was an hair of their head
singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire
had passed on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and
said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath
sent his angel, the Lord Jesus Christ, and delivered his servants
that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and
yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any
god, except their own Therefore I make a decree, and he had the
power to do this, that every people, nation, and language
which speak anything amidst, against the God of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses
shall be made a dunghill, because there is no other God that can
deliver after this sort. Now the issue here is God's ability. Is anything too hard for the
Lord? Turn to Numbers chapter 13. Now,
this is when the. Spies come back with an evil
report of the land that God had promised to give them. In Numbers
chapter 13, verse 31. But the men that went up with him said. We be not able to go up against
the people. But they are stronger than we.
I know God promised us this place, and it is indeed a land that
flows with milk and honey, but we are not able. You know, they weren't able to
get out of Egypt, were they? But they did because God enabled
them to and caused them to. They weren't as strong as the
Egyptians, but they were stronger because of God. But here they
are, back in unbelief. We be not able to go up against
the people, but they're stronger than we. And they brought up
an evil report of the land which they had searched under the children
of Israel, saying the land which we've gone to search it is a
land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof and all the people that
we saw are men of great stature. And there we saw the giants,
the sons of Anak, which come of the giants. And we were on
our own side as grasshoppers. And so we were in their sight. And the Lord was angry over this. And he said to Moses, I'm going
to disinherit him. And I'm going to make a greater
and mightier nation of thee. I've had it with these people.
How long is it going to be till they believe me after all they've
experienced and yet listen to what they're saying. And then
look what Moses says to the Lord, verse 15. Chapter 14. Now, he's arguing with the Lord
over not arguing as in debating, but he's he's giving the Lord
reasons as to why he doesn't want him to kill these people. He says in verse 15, now, if
thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations
which have heard the fame of thee will speak saying, because
the Lord was not able. To bring this people into the
land, which he swear unto them, therefore, hath he slain them
in the wilderness. If you kill them, you know what
everybody's going to say, you want those folks back in Egypt who are going to
say, well, that bunch was so wicked, God wasn't able to save them.
They were so unbelieving, they were so hateful, God wasn't able
to save them. Therefore, he just went ahead and slew them and
left them in the wilderness. Moses said in verse 17, Now I
beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great according as
thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is longsuffering, of great
mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means
clearing the guilty. visiting the iniquity of the
fathers and the children of the third and fourth generation.
Pardon, I beseech the iniquity of this people according unto
the greatness of thy mercy. And as thou has forgiven this
people from Egypt, even to now on, the Lord said, I pardoned
them according to thy word. Now, evidently, this thing of
God's ability is an issue with him. We see that from that passage
of Scripture. Now, is your God able. You've got a God. Everybody in
this room, you've got a God. Is your God able? Now, faith is made of a belief
regarding God's ability. In Romans chapter 4, verse 21,
we read that Abraham staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully
persuaded that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1 12,
I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I've committed to him. against that day. I think of those two blind men
coming to the Lord in Matthew chapter nine, groping their way
into the house where he was, and he asked them this question.
Do you believe that I am able to do this? Do you believe that God is able
to save you? with no contribution from you. Do you believe that? Now, there
is a particular type of person who will have a keen interest
in this subject. People who are conscious of the
fact that they, by nature, have no spiritual ability. Those are the people. Who are
interested in this subject. They're without strength. They're
ungodly. They can do nothing to save themselves. They can't keep the law. Romans 8, 7, the carnal mind
is in with his against. God, it's not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be lacks the ability. They can't
come to Christ on their own. Have you ever found yourself
where you can't even get to Christ? John 6, 44, the Lord said, no
man can come to me. No man has the ability to come
to me except the father which has sent me, draw him and bring
him to me. Now, you can't even come to Christ
unless God causes you to. That's how sinful, that's how
weak, that's how helpless we are by nature. Now, somebody
that believes that, they're going to have a keen interest in God's
ability. Somebody knows they can't even
receive grace unless God gives them the grace to receive it.
They have a keen interest in God's ability. Now, all men are
in this state of inability and sinfulness. All men are in this
state, but not all men know they're in this state. Now listen real
carefully. If you believe in free will, if you believe that God loves
everybody. Christ died for everybody. God
wants to save everybody. He offers salvation to everybody.
But it's up to your free will as to whether or not you'll accept
him or reject him. And you believe that you have
a will and that you can, in your own strength, by the power of
your will, receive Christ and that's what's going to make you
saved. You don't believe in inability. Matter of fact, you don't believe
in depravity or sin. You believe man is capable of helping out
in his own salvation. Now, that person, if that's where
you're at, you're not going to be much interested in God's ability
because you already got some ability and that's what you're
depending on. But if you're someone without
ability, someone who in and of themselves, you say with Paul,
I know that in me that is in my flesh. Well, it's no good
thing if that's you. You're going to be very interested
in God's ability to save somebody like you. And let me tell you what my Lord
Jesus Christ is able to do. First, would you turn to Hebrews
chapter 7, verse 25. Wherefore, he is able also to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them. What does the uttermost mean?
He's able to save them to the uttermost. How safe is Christ? He's safe
to the uttermost, isn't he? How secure is Christ? He's secure
to the uttermost. How righteous is Christ? He's
righteous to the uttermost. How holy is Christ? He's holy
to the uttermost. How accepted is Jesus Christ?
He's accepted to the uttermost. Now, that's how a believer is
saved. However saved Christ is, that's
how saved I am. However righteous Christ is,
that's how righteous I am. However holy Christ is, that's
how holy I am. However secure Christ is, that's
how secure I am. I'm saved to the uttermost. Somebody once said, from the
guttermost to the uttermost. And that's so. He is able to save them to the
uttermost, but there's a description given of these people. He doesn't
save everybody to the uttermost. There's a place called hell.
There's a place where God's justice and judgment meets out punishment
against the offender. Who does He save to the uttermost?
Them that come to God by Him. Now, I'm coming to God right
now. I'm coming into His very presence right now. And let me
tell you how I'm doing it. I'm doing it by Him. I'm not
coming pleading Him. I'm coming by Him. That means
when He comes into God the Father's presence, I come into God the
Father's presence. That's the only way I come. Our
Lord said, No man cometh to the Father but by Me. And the only way I come into
The Father's presence is by Him. And this is the earnest desire
of my heart. Lord, let me be found in Christ
so that all you see is Him. And the only way I come into
the Father's presence is by Him. And everybody that comes like
that, everybody that comes only, you don't come in your own name.
You don't come in your own works. You don't come in your own anything.
You come by Him. Everybody that comes by Him He
is able to save to the uttermost. It's a powerful word, isn't it?
The uttermost. Turn to Second Corinthians, chapter
nine. Verse eight. And God is able To make all grace
abound toward you. Now, I find that attractive,
don't you? To have all of God's grace, all
of His saving grace. Now, remember this about God's
grace. It's not an offer. It's not an offer up for you
to accept or reject. God's grace is saving grace.
We're talking about electing grace. We're talking about justifying
grace. We're talking about redeeming grace. We're talking about regenerating
grace. We're talking about preserving grace. Grace! God is able to
make all grace abound toward you. Well, who's the you that
he's able to make all grace abound toward? Anybody who needs it. Anybody who needs it. Do you
need grace like this? What is this thing of abounding
grace? Look over in Romans chapter five. Verse 20. Moreover, the law entered
that the offense might abound. Overflow. Go beyond the boundaries. If you ever see what the law
says, you'll see that all you do is sin. Have you seen that? In and of yourselves, all you
do is sin. You know, I've seen that about
myself. I'm not just saying it, I really
believe it. It's called total depravity. Everything I do is
sinful because I did it. Sinful nature. The law entered
that sin might abound. But! Where sin abounded. That's me! Right here! Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, sin reigned to death. Reigned. Here's what this means. How much
power, how much ability do you have to stop death? None. You're going to die and there's
nothing you can do about it. You're going to die at God's
appointed time and you can't stop it. How much power do you
have to stop death? None. Well, just as sin has reigned
unto death in the same manner, grace reigns. How much power
do you have to stop God's grace? We're talking about irresistible,
invincible grace, reigning grace. Who's this for? Everybody who
needs it. Do you need grace like that? Do you need irresistible,
invincible, reigning grace? Then this grace is for you. God
is able to make all his grace abound toward you. Is your God able to do this?
Turn to the book of Jude right before the book of Revelation. Verse 24, Now unto Him that is able to
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless
before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. There's two things God is said
to be able to do. First, he's able to keep you
from falling. Now, don't you know, if he doesn't
keep you from falling, you will fall and that fall will not stop.
It will go further. You know that, don't you? But
thank God he's able to keep you from falling. Who's interested
in this? Those who need to be kept from falling. I'll fall
if he doesn't keep me. So what a blessed thing this
is. He's able to keep me from falling. But not only that, that's
a glorious thing. But look what it says next. And
to present you. What's that next word? Faultless. Without sin. Without blemish. Perfect in Christ Jesus, He is
able to present me faultless before the spotlight of His own
holiness. Now that's ability. Somebody
says, how in the world can He do that? Well, I'm going to quote
a scripture. I got to thinking about this
while I was looking over my notes this morning. I quote this scripture
probably 90% of the time when I preach. And if you get tired
of this scripture, well, you're going to have to hear it again.
Second Corinthians 521, I'm not tired of it, I'm glory in this.
For he hath made him, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be sin for us,
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. That's how I can be Presented
faultless, my sin became his sin on the cross. He became guilty
of it. And his righteousness becomes
mine so that I'm guilty of his righteousness. It's mine. Now,
that's faultless, isn't it? Would you turn to Hebrews chapter
two? Is your God able to do this?
Is your God able to take you and keep you from faultless?
and to present you faultless before His presence with exceeding
joy. Now look in Hebrews chapter 2, verse 18. For in that he himself
hath suffered, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, being tempted,
he is able to succor. He is able to help them that
are tempted. He's able to help them that are
tempted. The word tempted carries with
it two meanings. First, trials. Trials. The trials of life. Sickness, health problems, cancer. Disease. Bereavement. Family troubles. Loneliness. The issues of personal weaknesses
in our character. Abuse. Abandonment. A past that we just can't get
past. Misunderstandings even between
friends that create friction and tension. Emotional turmoil,
depression, loss, material loss. Man that's born of a woman is
born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward. That's just the way
it is. Trials. Trials. But temptation also means temptation
to sin. Satan is called the tempter. The temptation To give yourself
in to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the
pride of life, the temptation to go back to the world, the
temptation to not believe your son, the temptation to give in
to the fear of man. Now, is he able to succor those,
to help those who are tempted? Yeah, he is. Let me show you
how. Turn to Hebrews four. Verse 14. Seeing then that we have a great
high priest that's passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of
God, let us hold fast our profession, for we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched, moved to sympathy with the feeling
of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we
are yet without sin. You know, that part used to really
Make me stop. Well, how is it temptation if
you didn't fall before? How can he be touched by the
feeling of my infirmities and my weakness and my sinfulness
if he himself never sinned? He never sinned. And on the cross,
he never sinned, but he experienced everything about sin. He experienced the weakness of
temptation before. He never sinned, but when he
was made sin, he experienced everything about sin except for
the commission of it. He knows all the shame and the
guilt. He knows the weakness, the fear,
and when you feel that way, when I feel that way, he's touched. Isn't that amazing? He's touched by the feeling. of our infirmities. Verse 16,
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace. Now the only throne I can come
to boldly is the throne of grace. Unmerited favor that we may obtain
mercy and find grace to help. He's able to succor them that
are tempted. What I do, I'm to come boldly
to the throne of grace that I may obtain mercy and find grace to
help in time of need. While you're there in Hebrews,
look in Hebrews chapter five, verse one. For every high priest
taken from among men is ordained for men and things pertaining
to God that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins
who can. That word can is who has the
ability. Who can have compassion on the
ignorant and on them that are out of the way. Now that's the
kind of priest I need. Someone who can have compassion
on the ignorant. That's me. The one who's straight
off. That's me. That's how he's able
to succor them who are tempted. Turn to Philippians chapter 3. Verse 21, Philippians 3, 21. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like
unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is
able even to subdue all things unto himself, bring into subjection
all things unto himself. He's able to subdue me. He's
able to work in me both to will and to do of his good pleasure. And this is what I need. I need
subduing grace. I think of that gathering. Cutting
himself with stones in the tombs, no man contained. They try to
chain him up and he bursts into slavery. But there's somebody
that could tame him. The Lord Jesus Christ, that same
man was found sitting at his feet, clothed and in his right
mind. He's able to subdue all things
to himself. And this is the way we pray,
Lord, subdue me. And then in Romans chapter 14,
Just a short comment, the way I came up with this, I just looked
at everything he said to be able to do. Romans chapter 14. Verse four. Who art thou that judges another
man's servant? When you stand in judgment on
somebody, do you do that? For one thing, it's grotesque
hypocrisy. If I sit in judgment of you, it's hypocrisy. Besides, that person doesn't
answer to me or you. Who are you to judge somebody
else's servant? To his own master he standeth
or falleth, yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able to
make him stand. That brother or sister that you're
judging, Don't do that. God is able to make that one
stand. And he does. Ephesians 3. I know I'm asking
him to turn to a lot of scriptures. We're almost finished. Ephesians
chapter 3. I guess I'll not apologize for
asking him to turn to a lot of scriptures, should I? Verse 20, Now unto him that is
able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think
according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the
church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Is God able to blank? Yes, whatever it is. Is anything too hard for the
Lord? He's able to do exceedingly above all we ask or think God's
able because God's God. Now, do you believe in his ability? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. I really do. I believe in the
absolute ability of God to do his will. I believe in his ability
to save me. I believe in his ability to save
you. I surely do. I don't despair of anybody in
here because if God is pleased, he can save you. I don't care
how far off you are. He can save you. But you know,
something else is necessary. With regard to him being able,
something else is necessary. You know what that is? He also
has to be willing. Is he willing to save you? Is
he willing to save me? Perhaps I have some understanding
of his ability, but perhaps he's not willing to save somebody
like me, and I can understand if he wouldn't. I really can.
I can understand if he'd say, nope, I'm not going to save him.
Send him to hell. Can you understand that? Why he'd say that regarding
you? You understand that he's able, but you're not real sure
if he's willing. One last scripture. Turn to Mark
chapter one. Verse 40, And there came a leper. What
must he have looked like? Luke's account tells us he was
full of leprosy. And there came a leper to him, beseeching him And kneeling down
to him and saying unto him, if thou wilt, thou canst make me
clean. Now, this guy was settled. He's
got the ability to make me clean. I believe that. But when I come
to him, my question is not his ability, but his willingness. If you will, if you will, you
can make me clean. Verse 41, And Jesus moved with compassion, put forth
his hand, and touched him. How long do
you reckon it had been since that man had been touched by
another human being? I dare say he had not experienced
physical contact in a very long time. And Jesus moved with compassion,
put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will
be thou clean. And immediately As soon as he'd
spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him and he was
cleansed. If you in your heart right now
say, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. If that's your
heart, if that's your cry, he says to you, I will. Be thou clean. And you know what? You're clean. Let's pray together.