Mark 9, God Is Able
1. God is interested and concerned about your life (v21)
2. God expects us to be honest and sincere with Him (v21-22)
3. God wants us to have faith in Him (v23-24)
Mark 9:21-24, God Is Able with Russell Burrell
Did you enjoy this teaching?
Let others know!
VIEW TRANSCRIPT
A story that's gonna have some some bearings on our text this morning.
There once was a lady, a Christian lady.
She lived in a neighborhood.
This particular neighborhood, and everybody.
Everyone in her neighborhood in her neighborhood knew how dedicated she was as a believer in Jesus Christ.
Every morning she could be heard she could be seen.
On her front porch, giving praise and honor to God.
Each and every day.
This was her routine.
She was not ashamed.
She was not embarrassed.
She didn't care what people thought of her.
As she went through her ritual every morning, that's a believer in Christ.
One day
An atheist.
Moved in next door to her.
And sure enough, she continued to give praise and honor to God.
And as you can imagine.
This atheist, he wasn't too thrilled about it.
He became perturbed, irritated, frustrated with this old lady.
Who continue to praise God each and every day?
One morning
She got up to go through her routine again, but this particular morning.
Her prayer was a little bit different.
The atheist he was on his front porch listening to her.
And as she went through her.
Normal prayers are giving praise to God for his faithfulness for his graciousness in her life for his.
For his goodness in, in in her life.
God, I need your help.
This morning
She said.
I've spent everything that I've had all my money and I don't have food to eat.
For this week.
She said if you can do anything.
And I know that you're able to do anything.
Could you please please provide for me?
Food that I need for the week.
She said my faith is in you and you alone.
As she concluded a prayer, she continued to say, Lord, I thank you.
For your faithfulness, I still thank you for your goodness.
I thank you for your graciousness in my life.
The following morning she got up.
Went out to her front porch again to begin her prayer and as she.
Walked out out.
The door they were sitting on her porch.
With three bags of groceries.
And you could imagine she was overjoyed.
And her praise went through the roof.
They could hear her three blocks down, giving praise to God.
And the atheist.
He was out there that particular morning also drinking his coffee.
And he just couldn't take it anymore.
And he screamed out to he's out.
And he said, God didn't give you that food.
He said I bought that food and placed it on her on your porch.
And she then stopped praising God.
She just.
Kept going on and.
And she said, my God, my God, you get look how you provided for me.
You gave me this food and all these provisions and you made the devil pay for.
It you know that.
That's a rather, you know, little whimsical story that kind of gonna go into.
I was studied this morning.
Let's begin with a word of prayer, guys.
My father, we just want to say thank you.
For your goodness this morning.
We want to say thank you for being with us.
We want to say thank you for always watching.
Watching over us and keeping us.
Even though at times when we don't give you.
The proper recognition and the praise for what you do for those little things that you do in our lives.
We want to say thank you this morning, my father.
We know that you are God that is able.
So in all that we do, my father help us to recognize that.
So as we get into your word this morning, I pray that you open our hearts, open our ears, open our eyes, my father to see.
How good you are to us as believers?
So keep us.
Bless us.
And may you be glorified.
In your word this morning it's in your son, Jesus Christ name we pray Lord Amen.
Like I indicated this morning guys I was study is going to come out of the book of Mark the Knight Knights chapter and we're going to be looking at versus 14 through 24 but.
Even though this is what we're going to be studying this morning, I'm going to concentrate mostly on verses 21 through 24 for our study this morning.
So let's begin by reading the word together.
It says.
And Mark Chapter 9 verse 14.
It says him when he came to the disciples he saw a great multitude talking about Jesus around them and scribes dispute him with them.
Immediately when they saw him, all the people were greatly amazed and run into him, greeted him.
And he asked describes.
What are you discussing with them then?
One in the crowd answered and said teacher.
I brought you my son, who has a mute spirit.
That would that whenever 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.
Verse 19 he answered him and said, O faithless generation, how long shall shall I be with you?
How long shall I bear with you?
Bring him to me.
Then they brought, brought him to him.
And when he saw him immediately the spirit.
Convulsed him and he fell underground, and wallowed, foaming at the mouth, so he asked his father, how long has this been happening to him? And he said, from childhood. Verse 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.
Jesus said to him.
If you can believe.
All things.
Are possible to him who believes?
Verse 24 immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.
As a way of introduction this morning.
As depicted at the beginning of this chapter, Jesus had just returned from the amount of transfer, transfer, transfer, give transcript.
Figuration OK.
With three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, the scripture indicates that they were coming to meet up with the remaining non disciples.
And as they approached them, they noticed this great commotion that was going on.
And that's a dispute that was taking place between the disciples and some of the religious leaders.
In this case describes.
And evidently it was about this man son who was demon possessed.
Immediately you want to ask yourself the question what word describes.
Talking to them about why was it dispute?
You know, anytime you see anybody arguing with each other or having any type of dispute, the first thing that comes into comes to mind is what are they arguing about?
What, what are they doing?
What is this all about?
Maybe describes were giving him a hard time because they were not one were unable to cast out this demon and help the father and son.
Or maybe they were saying to them.
You guys, you so-called followers of this man, named Jesus.
Weren't you able to help?
This father and son.
Or they could have been saying you claim.
To have faith in this Jesus.
Where is he now?
Why won't he help this family?
Maybe in your own life.
You have faced questions like this as a believer.
People have come up to you if they know, know that you're a believer may be mocked.
You, uh, as described, who's doing with their disciples here, saying things like you claim to be a Christian, a believer in Jesus.
Why you going through this or why you going through that?
Why would your so called God?
Allow this to happen in your life.
Or to your family member.
Since you believe in God.
Shouldn't your life always?
Be Peaches and cream.
Shouldn't you just have the best of everything experiencing the best of everything as a believer?
The short answer to that is no.
It's not always sunshine and blue skies for any of us.
That goes for believers and unbelievers alike.
All you got to do.
And look at some of these stories or read some of the stories in the Bible about God, people.
And look at the hardships.
That they faced here on this Earth, and one that comes to mind for all of us that are familiar with the scriptures.
It's job.
Job 11 says.
There was a man in the land of us whose name was job.
And that man was blameless and upright, and one who fear God and shunned evil.
Job of righteous man.
Described here in the Bible in in this verse I just read.
And nobody suffered.
As much as he did.
In his life.
Through no apparent fault of his own.
The Bible theme was a righteous man.
He shunned evil.
But read about the things that job suffered in his life.
Yet through all the heartache through all the tears throughout the pain job was able to other these words in job chapter 19 for I know that my Redeemer lives.
And he should stand at last under Earth and after my skin is destroyed.
This I know that in my flesh.
I shall see God.
Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me.
You see guys as a result of living in a senfield golf forsaken world life going to have its ups and downs.
For all of us, for everyone, like I said, for believers and nonbelievers alike.
And just because we're believers, we don't get a pass.
From the pain and the heartache.
That it's associated with this life.
Jesus said for he speaking about God the father makes his son.
Rise on the evil and under good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust.
Notice here just a side note.
The Bible said his son.
And not the son.
This one small statement tells us that there is an almighty sovereign God.
That controls and is in control of everything.
That means everything that happens in our life.
Also, I want you to keep this.
Start in mind this morning as we go through our study.
And because he is an almighty and sovereign God.
Jesus wants to encourage us and remind us who isn't in control despite the heartaches, despite their hardships that we may experience in this life.
He said these things I have spoken to you that in me you would have peace in this world.
You're going to have tribulations but be of good cheer because I have overcome the world.
And then later on in the book of Second Timothy, the Apostle Paul tells us, yes, those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
But even with this in mind.
I want to encourage you guys this morning that we as believers.
We serve a God that is able.
And that's the title of my message this morning God is able.
Never forget that.
We serve a God that is able.
Despite the heartaches
Despite the pain.
Despite the losses, the setbacks in life.
In and through life.
We serve a God that is able.
He's able to help us in all the life, situations and circumstances.
He's able to help you through anything we have gone through or you have gone through in life anything that you will go through in life.
And anything that you're currently going through in life.
He is able to help.
Remember, one of the best promises in God's word, and that's the thing that we need to stand on when we face in these hard hardships, not on how we're feeling.
Because all of us know that our feelings change from day to day from only the moment our from our from our tower.
But we need to stand on the promises of God and sometimes that's hard to do.
But one of the best promises in the Bible, one that Jesus gave to his disciples right before he ascended into heaven.
He said.
And behold, I'm with you always, even to the end of the age.
That has application for us today.
He's with us.
His Holy Spirit.
He's not physically with us as he was with the disciples when he uttered that statement.
But he told.
Them when he got ready to leave that.
God would send them a comforter, the Holy Spirit.
To comfort them and to guide them in all things, and we have that same spirit living with their knots as believers.
The sovereign Almighty God.
Who is Abel?
It's always with us guys.
So as we prepared like I said, I'm gonna concentrate on verses 21 through 24 this morning. I want you to keep that one thought in mind.
I don't know what you're going through in life.
But God knows, and because he's know because he knows he's able the first thing we noticed here in verse 21.
God is interested and concerned about our lives.
He's interested and concerned about our life.
We see Jesus asking the father the question here.
How long has this been happening to your son?
How long has he been going through this?
There's one statement shows that Jesus is interested in concern about.
What this father is going through what this son is going through, and undoubtedly what this family is going through because of this son being demon possessed.
Jesus, he could have just when they brought the kid to him he could have just said the word I touched the kid and he would have been healed.
But he went farther than that.
He went deeper than that.
He engaged the father, showing a genuine concern for this man son and for this family as a whole.
This is the same genuine genuine concern that he displays towards us.
The Bible tells us in the book of First Peter that we should cast all of our cares upon him because he cares for us.
And then in.
Some 5522 it says cast your burden.
Under Lord and he shall sustain you.
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
Whatever the issues that you are facing or dealing with in life.
Jesus is interested and concerned about them and he wants us.
You and me to bring them to him and tell him about it.
Just as we see, we're going to see this father, it's going to do.
Secondly, we see.
God expects us to be honest and sincere.
With our petitions to him, he expects us to be honest and sincere with him.
In response to the question when Jesus asked the father how long has your son been dealing with this or going through this at the end of verse 21, the Father says from childhood.
So we don't know the age of this this, this son, but evidently he probably was a teenager, teenager or something.
You know the father said he's been going through this ever.
Since he was a kid.
And then the father goes on to say, and often he speaking about the demon now 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, you see the father told Jesus a whole complete.
Devastating an ugly story.
Of what his son was going through.
The turmoil, no doubt that the family was dealing with because of this demon possession.
Often times.
As if God.
Doesn't already know.
We may try to downplay.
What we're dealing with in life of what we're going through, especially as believers sometime.
Maybe we do it because we want people to think that we're stronger.
Than what we actually are.
Maybe we want to put on religious platitudes.
And be all pious before people.
So they can look at us and say, oh look at that individual.
You've got such strong faith in God.
People would look at us in a certain light.
Or even hoping that God are, you know, looking down on us and come and it's commending us for our strong faith.
In the midst of the troubles and the circumstances that we're facing in life.
Instead of being honest.
Acknowledging what you're going through.
Telling God, telling, pouring out your heart to him, and tell him exactly how you're feeling.
That's what he wants to hear from us.
He wants that intimate relationship where we can come and talk to him where he feels like we can come and talk to him about anything that we're dealing with anything that we're going through.
Yes, he already knows it because, you know, we know that he's submissions.
He knows all knowing.
But he wants that relationship with us.
That type of relationship?
That we should have for all of us that are married with our spouses or that type of relationship that you might have with a best friend that you can you know.
Tell him or her anything.
It should be so much more.
In terms of our relationship with Christ.
He just waiting on us to hit to tell him about what we're dealing with.
The issues that we're going through.
So he can help us.
Just what we are.
Whatever we dealing with just lay it out on the line.
Being open to him.
Hebrews 13-6 puts it this way, so we may boldly say.
The Lord is my helper.
I would not fear what man can do to me.
At the end of verse 22 we see.
A desperate plea
Of a father who undoubtedly.
Had tried everything.
Consulted everyone.
Probably paid out money.
Beyond measure may be about his son's condition, but nothing or no one was able to help him.
Now he's face to face with the one person who is able to help him.
Jesus himself.
And notice what he said at the end of verse 22.
A man that is at his wits in no doubt.
He said, but if you speak into Jesus, if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us see this father.
He wasn't being pretentious, he wasn't putting on in errors.
He wasn't being all wholly impious.
He was just a man realizing that.
His own limitations.
And the limitations of others around him.
Here he is asking Jesus, the Lord Almighty for help.
If you could do anything.
That showed you that he said it went in.
He wasn't even sure Jesus could do.
Something he just say.
If you can do anything to help us.
I like.
Doctor J Vernon McGee commentary on this particular portion of Scripture.
He puts it this way, he said.
It's not a question if God can do anything as the father was asking here, he said, the Lord Jesus can do everything.
A God who is able to help us in our most desperate and heart wrenching situations.
I've been here.
In this man situation.
As a father.
Some of you know.
Probably about.
12 years ago.
Oldest son, he was 24 at the time.
But diagnosed with kidney cancer.
You realize.
As a father.
You wanna help?
You should be able to help.
You should be able to make this situation right.
When you have young.
Child looking at you.
Whether or not they can live or die.
And I found myself.
In the same place that this father was.
Asking God why?
Asking God.
Can you help?
Will you help?
Nothing that I could do.
As a father.
I was going to change the situation.
No amount of money that I could pay would change his situation.
I didn't have it in me to heal him.
I'll prevent.
The diagnosis that we had just received.
So I understand exactly.
The desperate
Situation that this father found himself in.
Because I was there, I've been there.
Thank God.
My son was healed of cancer.
It's been 12 years now.
Got healed him through the doctors that was treating him and everything.
And just a side note on that.
You know sometimes we as believers, we we, you know we think OK, we got the faith.
God just gonna say the word to reach down and touch and heal.
You know God sometimes.
Works supernaturally in the most natural way.
In my case, in my family case it was through the doctors.
We realize sometimes we forget.
Who do you think?
Give those guys the knowledge, the wisdom.
To be able to perform their job.
It comes from God.
It doesn't happen have to happen in a supernatural way the way that we describe way way we may define it.
Like I said, God works supernaturally in the most natural way, and sometimes we as believers, we can forget that.
He doesn't have to.
He can and he has touch and help people without the use of doctors, but at the same time.
He has used doctors to heal people.
I remember talking about Doctor J.
Vernon McGee.
If any of you guys know Doctor McGee had cancer in his life and I remember him saying listening to him him on the radio you know he said he got responses from fellow believers and they met.
Well saying just have enough faith God is going to touch and hear you.
And Doctor McGee, you know?
And I I can't remember it verbatim what he said, but he said I had faith.
But at the same time, I had enough sense to God telling me, hey, go find you a good doctor.
And God touched anele him through the through the doctor that he had.
And he said he had a, uh, a very good Christian doctor.
So just I would just decide no guys.
I've even in my notes.
I don't know.
I'm sorry, OK.
And finally.
In our portion of Scripture we see that God wants us to have faith in him.
God wants us to have faith in him.
We see in verse two and three, Jesus said to him, if you can believe.
All things are possible to him who believes?
And verse 24 goes on to say and notice again the humility and honesty of the father, he said.
The verse says immediately the father, the child, cried out and said with tears.
Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.
Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.
See how honest he was.
He wasn't trying to put on airs or anything.
He wasn't trying to say.
Look at me, Lord, I got faith.
He said yes, Lord, I believe but I'm I'm I'm struggling here I'm doubting can you help me?
Will you help me?
It's nothing wrong with that guy.
Life throws us some curveballs.
Sometimes that we can't hit.
And at times.
Your faith may waver.
At times you'll find yourself at your wits in asking God.
Yes, God, I I know what the Bible says.
I understand what your word says, but.
Can you help?
Will you help?
My faith.
About what I'm going through.
You see this father.
He wasn't on a religious high horse, pretending that nothing was bothering him, pretending that nothing could shake my faith.
He would be an honest.
He would be sincere.
He would being humble about what he was dealing with, he said, Lord, I believe.
But I need help here.
Help my unbelief.
If we're willing to be honest and.
Sincere with God.
He can and.
He will show himself strong on our behalf.
He is a God that is able to keep us to sustain us to help and provide for us even when we are traveling through the darkest valleys in life.
In these last two verses.
We get a sense of this father's desperation.
As he faced with the question whether or not he believed that Jesus is able to help him.
When the unexpected twists and turns of this life come comes knocking at your door.
Who of what are you placing your faith in?
In yourself.
In your own abilities.
In others.
And what they can or can't do, probably.
Maybe you might be placing it in your finances, your wealth.
Whatever it is.
No this.
None of these things can help you when the bitter realities of life.
Comes knocking at your door.
You will feel you will soon come to the to the realization as his father did.
As I did.
That only an.
Almighty God is able to provide help.
To provide comfort.
To provide peace.
With what you're facing in life.
Notice how the Bible address these things that I just talked about.
If you're dependent on your own strength and your only bit of abilities, Psalms 3316 says a minor man is not delivered.
By his great strength.
If you're depending on others.
Psalms 146 three says do not put your trust in Princess.
Nor in a in a son of man, in whom there in whom there is no help.
If you do, putting your trust.
In money, your wealth.
Proverbs 1428 says he, who trusts him, riches.
Will fall.
And then first Timothy 617 says command. Those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty or arrogant.
Not to trust in certain riches.
But in the living God.
And then to sum all of that up.
In the knife chapter, put it this way.
Thus says the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom.
Let not the mighty man, glory in his might.
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches.
But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, speaking about God, that I am the Lord.
Exercise and loving kindness judgment.
And righteousness in the earth.
As we.
Come to the end of our study this morning.
If you're a believer, fit in here.
Or if you're listening.
Via the radio or through some social media media platform.
Like I said, know that we serve a God that is able.
The Bible says be still.
And know that I am God.
He told Moses.
When he got ready to.
Delivered the issuer life out of the land of Egypt when Moses said, Lord, who should I say, sent me?
And God replied, tell him, I am that I am have sent you.
He was going to show the Israelites I'm everything that you need.
You're going to see things that I can do that no one else can do.
I am that I am.
I'm whatever you need me to be that's what I can be.
And that's what I will be.
And he's telling us that today.
Whatever you need God to be in your life.
According to his will, he can be that.
And he will be that.
I'm everything you need in life.
I am everything you need in life.
Your problems, your issues.
That you're facing in life.
He said turn him over.
To the great I am.
The Bible said Jesus Christ is said same yesterday, today and forever.
Just as he was putting people of Israel and all the other characters in the Bible.
We say we serve the same God today.
He hasn't changed.
He will not change.
And because he is the same always, he's able to help us.
Just as he's helped those individuals some 2003 thousand 4000 years ago.
Within a spiritual.
Things that you might be going through and the physical problems that you might be going through.
Any emotional battles that you might be facing.
He's able to help.
He is one of the name for God is LL Young.
Which means the supreme ruler over everything.
And because he is the supreme ruler over everything, he's in control of everything that happened as our life.
Colossians puts it this way.
All things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things consist.
Even though darkest forces
That seek to destroy us.
That seek to take us down in life.
God is in control of those, as he proved that he was when he cast out this demon from this man son.
In a sense that you might be battling that you just can't get a control over that you can't say I can't get Lord, I can't get past this.
Why am I still struggling with this?
He's able.
To remove those things from your life.
Although dog.
Evil forces that beats down on us as believers.
He's able to deliver us from those things.
Jesus said in the book of John, the Gospel of John.
Rather, I didn't when he was praying right before he went to the cross, he said.
Praying for the disciples, he said, I do not pray that you talking to the father should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from.
The Evil 1.
He's our.
In assessor today for us as believers.
He's constantly.
Tranfer us as believers as the Bible tells us.
Sometimes we forget that or we don't realize that.
And we need to be reminded of that.
He can help us in all situations.
The Bible another.
Name for Jesus says it's known he's known as Jehovah Nissi, meaning that God is our banner.
Despite life, circumstances, disappointments, heartaches, headaches and everything, keep your eyes fixed on God.
Just like in the old days when God went to battle, you know you had the once what they call stand.
Up a barrier.
You know God carried the flag and and as long as those soldiers that was coming up behind him, they could see that banner.
They could see that flag.
They gave him the courage to continue on.
And that's the way we should be.
Yes, believer God is our battle flag.
Our banner in this life.
And we should keep our focus fixated.
On Jesus.
That's what Joseph did.
Despite the many setbacks that happened in his own life, the suffering, the tears.
That he experienced.
It would have been so easy for him to.
Said well God, I don't see you in this look what every time I take one step forward bam I get knocked back five steps.
But he didn't do that.
Joseph kept his focus on Jesus on God.
So he could say.
When he finally revealed himself.
To his brother, he said, you guys meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.
That's what we'll be able to say.
One day
With all the heartaches and headaches that we're going through, I'm not saying we're gonna always get the answers.
Here on earth.
Some of the answers we might not get until we get into heaven and then we'll look back and say.
You know, I thought there was a lot of stuff that I was going through with evil, but.
God you meant it for good.
To help me to grow in whatever area that I need to to grow in.
Then he's known also as a Jehovah Rapha.
That means the God that heals.
Know that God can and will heal any sickness.
In our lives if.
If it's it's well to do so.
Sometimes it's not as well.
And despite what you what, what you have heard to the contrary, or if you believe are you should be healthy and wealthy.
You should never experience sickness.
No, it's not no no.
We live in a fallen world.
And guess what?
Despite what we may think one day, if God terrorists, we're all going to be laid out in a box one day.
I'll put in an urn whatever your preference is, you know it's not gonna.
You know we don't get out of it.
We don't get away from it.
And we need to know that.
But he can heal if it said well, you guys remember the story.
King had king Hezekiah.
When the Prophet came to hands or heads of God, you need to get your house in order.
It's time for you to die.
God has told me.
You're gonna die.
And the Bible says it has a car.
Turned it face to the wall and prayed to God and asked God to heal him.
And the Bible goes on to say in Second kings that God.
Heard his prayer.
And and said Santa and tell has a car.
Hezekiah seen his tears and I'm going to heal them.
This is another story that has.
Special meaning to me.
My mom.
And mostly you guys know some of you guys know.
Rather I lost both of my parents last year.
Within four months of each other.
My sister.
Lost her husband.
The day after Christmas, unexpectedly.
So Needless to say, 2020 was a tough year for our family.
But I can remember my mom telling me this story once and this was probably 10-15 years ago. My mom suffered an aneurysm.
And she was in ICU.
My grandmother died from my maternal grandmother, died from an aneurysm.
My mom.
She didn't tell us this something years later.
She was there, you know, and I see you.
She remember praying to God like Hezekiah, here, you know.
Kind of like turned her head to the wall of the Lord.
Heal me.
And she's.
Said she heard an audible voice.
You're probably within her spirit.
And the voice told her, don't worry, you're going to be OK.
And my mom survived that.
So every time I read this story about Hezekiah, I think about that's what happened with my mom at that time.
God healed her.
This time when she got sick last year.
He didn't heal her.
He took her home.
I see all of that like I said, and to reiterate that we don't get a pass.
If it's God's will to heal, he will heal. If it's not his will.
To heal us as believers.
We make the transition to be with him.
Then the Bible said he's our Jehovah Shalom mean the God of all peace.
As I alluded alluded to, even if it's not God's will.
To heal here on Earth, he can give us strength and peace when we lose a loved one.
I wish I could say.
And I know.
Individuals in here that have lost loved ones, and it's not easy.
Even as believers, it's not easy.
It's tough.
It's tough.
I stay up by myself wanting to pick up the phone.
I have to catch myself to call my mom and dad.
I still miss hearing their voices.
I want to see their faces.
But I know that's not going to happen again.
On God's green earth.
Because we serve a God of all peace.
We can have peace.
Even when we lose a loved one.
Is the pain still there?
You better believe it.
Like I said, do you still yearn to hear their face hear their voices and see their faces absolutely?
I'm not downplaying that.
But when I think about where they are.
That's what gives me comfort.
That's what gives me peace, because as a believer I know that we one day we will be reunited one day I will see them again.
I will see my mom and dad again.
Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you and I will come again and receive you to myself.
That where I am, you may be also.
And then talking about this peace, he said, peace, I leave with you, my peace, I give to you not as the world gives.
Do I give to you.
Let not your heart be troubled.
Neither let it be afraid.
That's the comfort that I have.
The promises that I stand on in God's word concerning.
The loss.
Of my loved ones.
People that don't know Christ.
I don't know how they get through it.
When you have something devastating happens.
To your family like that.
Now last but not least, he's known as El Shadai.
That means that God almighty, the God, the all sufficient one, the the God of all power.
He is able.
Simply because of who he is.
He's God almighty.
He's the all sufficient 1.
And again, I'm gonna use another biblical image illustration.
There's no, no, this was no more apparent than in the biblical story of Shadrack, Meshach and a Bendigo.
When they would come.
Brought before King Nebuchadnezzar.
When they were getting ready to be thrown into the fiery furnace disk with their statement to King Nebuchadnezzar.
Say our God, whom we serve is able.
To deliver us from the burning fiery furnace.
And he will also deliver us from your hand.
King Nebuchadnezzar
Because we serve a God that is able.
To help us in all situation.
Just as he helped the father in our text this morning.
With his son.
And the pain and suffering that his family that family was going through, just as he helped the Israelites.
When he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
And took them into the promised land.
And just as he helped the three Hebrew boys that I just alluded to, Shadrack, Meshach and Bendigo.
We know.
That he's able to help us.
We should never, ever be afraid to come to God with our fears.
Without concerns.
Without worries.
Without doubt.
When we're afraid and we don't know what to do when your faith has been shaken.
When you're looking around and you're saying God, I do not understand.
That I still believe in you, but I need you to help my unbelief.
Here come.
The Bible says in Psalm 27.
Wait on the Lord.
And he should strengthen your heart.
Wait, I say on the Lord.
The God that is Abel, the one who created this vast universe and everything in it.
He says, behold.
I am the Lord, the God of all flesh.
Is anything too hard for me?
And we know that the answer to this rhetorical question is no.
Now guys I want to leave you guys with.
This one verse.
That I consider my one of my life. 1st Ephesians 320. It says now to him who is able to to do exceedingly and abundantly, above all that we can ask or imagine.
According to the power that works within us.
We serve a God that is able.
Despite what you may be going through.
Despite what you may have done, you're not disqualified.
You're still breathing.
Don't let the enemy think that.
Nope, God can't use you.
Look at you.
Some of you guys that know me.
Told you about some of the things that I've been through and some of the things that I've struggled with.
And I have to keep reminding myself, well, the Holy Spirit said, I'm not done with you yet.
And that's what you have to believe.
Don't let the enemy tell.
Tell you that your disqualify God can't use you or God won't use your God.
Don't need you.
He doesn't need you need any of us.
I should say that, but he still wants to be with us and he wants to use something.
Want us to do great things for him.
Don't fall victim to that trap.
God is willing and able.
To meet us just where we are, but we need to be open, we need to be humble.
We need to be sincere.
In our desire for that help.
And tell him, said God, I need you.
I believe that you can do all these things but help my unbelief.
Hey man guys, let's pray.
My father helped us to realize, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that you are always there for us.
Despite anything that we may have gone through.
Anything that.
We are currently going through or anything that we may go through in the future.
Help our hearts our minds.
Our very beings be fixated on you, my father.
To keep our.
Eyes upon you asking you for help, asking you for directions, asking you to strengthen us.
When our faith has been shaken.
Not being ashamed, not being.
Questioning our faith in you, but simply being honest, my father and saying, Lord, I believe but help my unbelief.
Continue to use us, my father.
Strengthen us where we are.
That we may.
Look to you my father.
That we may depend upon you.
And that we may trust in you.
If we believe.
All things are possible to those who believe.
And place our trust and our faith in the right person, and that's our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
So we thank you this morning for your word.
We thank you for the your faithfulness.
For your goodness.
For your Grace in our lives, my father, not anything that we could do.
But it's all because of what you have done and continue to do on our behalf.
So as we prepare to.
Have this potluck luncheon my father and showing appreciation to Pastor Jerry.
We ask that you bless this time together.
A time of fellowship.
And that you encourage us throughout this week.
That you are able to help us in anything that we're going through.
And then seeing your son Jesus Christ holy name, we pray.
Lord Amen.
God bless you guys.