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JESUS' GREAT COMMISSION TO ALL CHRISTIANS:
Matthew 28:18-20
King James Version (KJV)
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
NOTE WELL:
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
2 Timothy 3:16-17,King James Version (KJV)
Matthew 5:43-48 New King James Version (NKJV)
Love Your Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 [a]But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your [b]brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the [c]tax collectors do so?48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Annette Bailey-Sargeant:
WHAT A WORLD WE WOULD HAVE
IF PEOPLE LOVE, OBEY AND TRUST GOD...
Please hear what God says:
Exodus 20:1-17
King James Version (KJV)
20 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
13 Thou shalt not kill.
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
"May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you as He has promised you!" Deuteronomy 1:11 New King James Version (NKJV)
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
John 17:3, New King James Version (NKJV)
Luke 6:46-49 Amplified Bible (AMP)
A Secure Foundation
46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not practice what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and obeys them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a [far-sighted, practical, and sensible] man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and yet could not shake it, because it had been securely built and founded on the rock. 49 But the one who has [merely]heard and has not practiced [what I say], is like a [foolish] man who built a house on the ground without any foundation, and the torrent burst against it; and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
Luke 19:1-10 New King James Version (NKJV)
Jesus Comes to Zacchaeus’ House
19 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up [a]and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, [b]make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 So he [c]made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all [d]complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone byfalse accusation, I restore fourfold.”
9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
19 And He said to them,
“[a]Follow Me
[as My disciples, accepting Me as your Master
and Teacher and walking the same path of life that I walk],
and I will make you fishers of men.”
Matthew 4:19 Amplified Bible (AMP)
John 3, English Standard Version (ESV)
You Must Be Born Again
3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2 This man came to Jesus[a]by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again[b] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.[c]
7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You[d] must be born again.’
8 The wind[e] blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you[f] do not receive our testimony.
12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.[g]
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.[h]
Matthew 5, King James Version (KJV)
1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
21 Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Romans 8:31-39, New King James Version (NKJV)
God’s Everlasting Love
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us,
who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall
He not with Him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also
risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for
us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”[a]
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Parable of the Sower
4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Purpose of Parables
9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that
‘Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.’[b]
The Parable of the Sower Explained
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
The Parable of the Revealed Light
16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him morewill be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers Come to Him
19 Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. 20 And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”
21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
Wind and Wave Obey Jesus
22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. 23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. 24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”
Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.25 But He said to them, “Where is your faith?”
And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
A Demon-Possessed Man Healed
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes,[c] which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes,[d] nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. 37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes[e] asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
40 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. 41 And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. 43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him[f] said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”[g]
46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer;[h] your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
49 While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.”[i]
50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” 51 When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in[j] except Peter, James, and John,[k] and the father and mother of the girl. 52 Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.” 53 And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.
54 But He put them all outside,[l] took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.” 55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. 56 And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.
The Old Testament frequently mentions false prophets (2 Kings 3:13; Isaiah
Today's Story |
The Story of the Barber A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. |
Acts 9:1-22 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Damascus Road: Saul Converted
9 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. [a]It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Ananias Baptizes Saul
10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”
And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. 12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”
13 Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much [b]harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children[c] of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord [d]Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.
19 So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.
Saul Preaches Christ
20 Immediately he preached [e]the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”
22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.
The Pastor and His Son - (Author Unknown)
Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the Pastor and his eleven year old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts.
This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside, as well as pouring down rain.
The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, 'OK, dad, I'm ready.'
His Pastor dad asked, 'Ready for what?'
'Dad, it's time we gather our tracts together and go out.'
Dad responds, 'Son, it's very cold outside and it's pouring down rain.'
The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, 'But Dad, aren't people still going to Hell, even though it's raining?'
Dad answers, 'Son, I am not going out in this weather.'
De spondently, the boy asks, 'Dad, can I go? Please?'
His father hesitated for a moment then said, 'Son, you can go. Here are the tracts, be careful son.'
'Thanks Dad!'
And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract.
After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted..
Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered.
He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited but still no answer.
Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him.
Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch!
He rang again and this time the door slowly opened.
Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady.. She softly asked, 'What can I do for you, son?' With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, 'Ma'am, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that * JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU * and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE.'
With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave.
She called to him as he departed. 'Thank you, son! And God Bless You!'
Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As the service began, he asked, 'Does anybody have testimony or want to say anything?'
Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet.
As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face, 'No one in this church knows me. I've never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live.
So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck.. Standing on that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, 'I'll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.'
I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly...
I thought to myself again, 'Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.' I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.
When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you!
The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, 'Ma'am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU .' Then he gave me this
Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand.
As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't be needing them any more.
You see-- -I am now a Happy Child of the KING. Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here to personally say THANK YOU to God's little angel who came just in the nick of time and by
so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell.'
There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was
seated..
He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.
Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor for his son.... Except for One.
Our Father also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark world. He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of heaven shouted praises and honor to The King, the Father sat His beloved Son on a throne far above all principality and power and every name that is named..
Blessed are your eyes for reading this message.
Don't let this message die, read it again and pass it to others. Heaven is for His people!
Remember, God's message CAN make the difference in the life of someone close to you.
Please share this wonderful message...
If you love JESUS, please forward this message.
Spread His word, and share His goodness and faithfulness.
Matthew 10:32 says:
'Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever disowns Me before men, I will disown him before My Father in heaven'
" Except the LORD build the house,
they labour in vain that build it:
except the LORD keep the city,
the watchman waketh but in vain."
Psalm 127:1, KJV.
Sermon #2020 Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit 1
Volume 34 www.spurgeongems.org 1
“IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD?”
NO. 2020
DELIVERED ON LORD’S DAY MORNING, APRIL 22, 1888,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
“Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the Lord,
the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for Me?”
Jeremiah 32:26, 27.
THIS method of questioning the person to be instructed is known to teachers as the Socratic method. Socrates was
likely, not so much to state a fact as to ask a question and draw out thoughts from those whom he taught. His method
had long before been used by a far greater teacher. Putting questions is Jehovah’s frequent method of instruction. When
the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind it was with a series of questions. “Know you the ordinances of Heaven? Can
you set the dominion thereof in the earth? Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover
you? Can you send lightning, that they may go and say unto you, Here we are?” and so forth.
Questions from the Lord are very often the strongest affirmations. He would have us perceive their absolute certainty. They are put in this particular form because He would have us think over His great thought and confirm it by our
own reflections. The Lord shines upon us in the question and our answer to it is the reflection of His light. The Infallible
One challenges a contradiction, or even a doubt. “Is anything too hard for Me?” is the strongest way of saying that nothing can be too hard for Him, for it proclaims defiance to Heaven and earth and Hell, to produce a difficulty which can
perplex the Lord.
I invite you, therefore, dear Friends, to turn the question over in your minds till the omnipotence of Jehovah shall be
your one all-absorbing thought. You cannot think of anything which renders it necessary to put a footnote to the text.
Search well and see if it needs qualification. See whether there is an exception to the rule of absolute omnipotence. Revolve the Divine question long and well—“Is anything too hard for Me?” May your thoughts be awake at this time! May
the Truth of the text take possession of your minds and fill them with its fragrance even as the woman’s box of ointment
filled the room with its perfume!
I. I shall ask you, first, to consider the wonderful question of our text which the Lord put to the Prophet, VIEWING
IT AS NECESSARY. The utterance of these words was no superfluity, there was need for them to be spoken. Flesh is frail
and mortal minds are forgetful. And Jeremiah, great as he was, was but a man.
It was needful to tell the Prophet this though he knew it. He never doubted that the Lord is Almighty and yet it was
needful for Jehovah Himself to speak home this Truth to his mind and heart. It is often necessary for the Lord Himself to
drive home a Truth into the mind of His most faithful servant. None can teach as the Lord teaches. Truth is never fully
known by the sons of Zion until the Lord teaches it to them. Hence it is written, “all your children shall be taught of the
Lord.”
We learn much in many ways, but we learn nothing vitally and practically till the Spirit of God becomes our schoolmaster. The God of Truth must teach us the Truth of God or we shall never learn it. Jeremiah knew this Truth in his inmost soul—see the sixteenth and seventeenth verses of this chapter—“I prayed unto the Lord, saying, Ah, Lord God!
Behold, You have made the Heaven and the earth by Your great power and stretched out arm and there is nothing too
hard for You.” He expressed the Truth admirably and yet the Lord saw it needful to give him a special Divine Revelation
to impress it more fully upon his heart.
Brethren, it is one thing to know that such a doctrine is true and quite another thing to know the Truth itself. We
need to be persuaded of it so as to embrace it. It is a glorious thing to see Truth blaze out as if written in letters of fire.
We are far too apt to put Truth down in our creed and after that to shut it away from practical everyday use. We believe
it and we should be indignant if anybody disputed it. And yet we ignore it. The Truth of God laid upon the shelf is as “Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?” Sermon #2020
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good as unknown. Doctrines which are disputed often have the most influence upon the community because they are
brought clearly before men’s minds. And being threshed out, they yield seed for the sower and bread for the eater.
We read in one of the Epistles, “I put you in remembrance of these things, though you know them and are established in the present truth.” There is a Proverb which says that, “Truth is mighty and will prevail.” That is true, as far as
it goes. But the Truth of God may be formally admitted and then it may be laid aside and so may never prevail. It is ill to
treat a Truth like some great Egyptian king who is swathed in fine linen, embalmed with precious spices and pompously
placed in the tomb with other honorable mummies. The Lord would not have the Truth of His own omnipotence thus
dealt with, and therefore He comes forth from His secret place and speaks personally to His servant, saying, “Is anything
too hard for Me?”
May the Lord do the same with us in reference to the precious Truths of His Gospel! May the Holy Spirit Himself
take of the things of Christ and show them to us. Then shall we see them in their own light and know them as Divine realities!
But I go a step further and say that it is necessary for us to be thus specially instructed, even though we know a Truth
well enough to plead it in prayer, as Jeremiah did when he cried, “There is nothing too hard for You.” That man is no
mean scholar in the classes of Christ who has learned to handle Scriptural Truths when pleading with the Lord. Oh, that
we used more argument in prayer! Prayers are weak when they lack pleadings. “Bring forth your strong reasons, says the
Lord.” The sinews of prayer are the holy arguments which we urge with the Lord, such as His own promises and our
great needs—His own glory, His covenant, the malice of the enemy, and so forth. We know great Truths of God well
when we see their bearing towards God in supplication.
And yet, though we may be able to plead it in supplication, we may not even, then, know the Truth to the full. O
men of God, you that are fathers in Israel, may the Holy Spirit still teach you, till you know all the power and fullness of
His Truth. In lowliness of spirit I doubt not that you still cry—
“I find myself a learner yet,
Unstable, weak and apt to slide.”
May the Comforter continually bring to your remembrance the things which Jesus has told you till you know the heart
and soul of them.
You gracious mothers in Israel, may God reveal Himself to you more and more and even those Truths which you already plead in your closet may He yet cause you to realize more vividly still. May you weave songs as well as prayers out
of the Truth of God. This Truth of His omnipotence may He come and speak to our hearts as He did to the heart of
Jeremiah—
“Behold, I am Jehovah, the God of all flesh—
Is there anything too hard for Me?”
But I must yet go a step further. It is necessary for God thus to reveal Truth individually to each of our hearts even
though we may have acted on it. Jeremiah had acted on the fact that nothing was too hard for God. He had but very little
money. And in days of famine and pestilence money was very precious. A morsel of bread was worth silver during the
siege. Poor Jeremiah had not many shekels and those shekels would all be wanted in one way and another for the necessaries of life. And yet he had counted into the scales the price of a piece of land at Anathoth, which he would probably
never see, much less enjoy.
The Lord had bid him do so and he had done it without demur. Beloved, it is a great thing to be a little child before
God, unquestioningly obedient to our Father’s will. We may not calculate consequences, nor estimate difficulties. We are
to do what the Lord tells us, as He tells us, when He tells us. O you Jeremiahs, it is—
“Yours not to reason why,
Yours at all price to buy.”
Jeremiah did not doubt, debate, or even delay. He signed the deed and took care to have it properly preserved. If you see
any difficulty, obey the Lord first and seek an explanation afterwards, for so the Prophet did. He obeyed in the full confidence that nothing was too hard for God.
After his obedience he began to look back on what he had done and to be considerably bewildered while trying to
make out how God would justify what He had done. Elijah himself was faint, though he had taken the Prophets of Baal
and slain them before the Lord—but the faintness came after the conflict and not before it. This is much the best time for Sermon #2020 “Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?”
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faintness, if we faint at all. He was the Prophet of fire, a man of iron firmness for his Master, yet after the strong excitement had passed he was overcome and it was needful for his Lord to revive him.
The best of men are men at the best. If the Lord lifts you up into the purity and dignity of a child-like faith, yet you
will have your moments when you will cry, “Lord, speak to me Yourself again, even though it be out of the whirlwind.
And let me know that I have done all these things according to Your word and not after my own fancy.” Even the practice of Truth does not raise us above the need of having it again and again laid home to the soul. So, you see, our gracious God applies to our hearts the Truth which we know, which we plead and which we practice—that it may come even
yet more fully into our soul and abide there.
Another necessity for this arises out of further manifestations with which we are to be favored. God had caused
Jeremiah to know His omnipotence so far but he was to see still more of it. Faith has led you into marvelous places. But
there are greater things before you and the Lord presses Truth upon you that you may receive more of it. Did you ever
climb a mountain? A friend of mine, when among the Alps, asserted confidently that he could reach the top of a certain
mountain in half-an-hour. It certainly looked very near us but my eye had been better educated to estimate distances
among mountains and I assured him that it would take him all the day to stand upon that ridge.
The fact is, that when you have climbed one stiff bit of hill you find yourself bound to go down into a valley before
you can tackle the next ascent. There are hills above hills and one summit is a sort of lookout from which you see that you
have much further to go. That which looked like a part of the side of the hill may really be a mountain by itself. And
when you have ascended it, you have the cheering privilege of seeing that you are now at the bottom of the next. In fact,
although you are decidedly higher, you often seem to have further to go than when you started.
It is just so with our experience of Divine things—when we know the Lord to the full of our capacity, that capacity
enlarges and we begin to learn again. We know more and for that very reason are far more conscious of our ignorance
than we were at the first. The Lord Himself came to His servant Jeremiah and thus prepared him for those greater things
which He was about to reveal. The Lord had told him what to do and he had done it and thus he had believed up to the
highest degree of that which was revealed to him. And therefore the Lord was going to reward his obedient faith by
committing to him other mysteries and prophecies of the future.
The city was to be burned and to be destroyed. God would wash out the footprints of sin in the blood of the sinners
and lay their land utterly waste. And yet the day would come when the scattered people would come back and lands and
vineyards would be bought and sold, whereof the buying of the field at Anathoth was a type and a pledge. Then the Lord
would restore the nation to more than its former prosperity and make with the people an Everlasting Covenant that He
would not turn away from them to do them good and would put His fear in their hearts that they should not depart from
Him.
All that he had already believed would prepare Jeremiah to believe in this amazing blessing. Possibly some of you
imagine that it would be an easy thing for him to believe well of Israel but, indeed, you forget how the people had treated
him. He had been dealing with them patiently and tearfully for many years and they had proved a most perverse, rebellious and cruel people. They had jested at his tears, disbelieved his prophecies and refused his warnings. He was even then
in prison for having spoken the Truth. So that it needed that God Himself should come to him and cheer him as to these
people, saying, “I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for Me?”
The stiff-necked people could be brought to obedience and should be, for the Lord Himself would do it. The Lord
would take away the stony heart out of their flesh and make them a lovingly obedient people. This was impossible with
Jeremiah but possible with Jehovah. He will yet be glorified even in the midst of those who have dishonored Him and
despised His Prophets. Thus you see how wise it was of the Lord to repeat to His servant that which he knew, pleaded and
acted on—that he might be made to believe still more fully in the all-sufficiency of the Lord his God.
II. Under the second head of our discourse we shall look at the text REGARDING IT AS DECISIVE. “Then came
the Word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for
Me?” This argument is decisive. For the argument is fetched from the Lord Himself. Note this—in his prayer, Jeremiah
drew his encouragement from what the Lord had done. Observe “Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and
the earth by Your great power and stretched out arm and there is nothing too hard for You.” “Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?” Sermon #2020
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Creation is a fine argument. The God that made the heavens and the earth without help from any can surely do anything He pleases. He who made the mountains and the sea and the isles thereof can do anything. He who created the skies
and made the stars also in the far-off space—those great and mighty orbs—what is there that He cannot do? This was
good argument for Jeremiah. But Jehovah does not point to His works, nor quote creation nor Providence—He speaks
of Himself—the source of all, from where a thousand earths and heavens might flow like streams from a fountain. There
it stands in its majestic simplicity—“I am Jehovah.”
When we look to God alone and think, by the help of His Spirit, of who He is and what He must be, then we realize
that nothing can be too hard for Him. Alas, what feeble notions we have of God! I dare say we think that we magnify
Him but in reality we belittle Him with our highest thoughts. When we go down to the sea of trial and do business on
great waters of trouble we find that we know little enough of God. When we see His wonders on the deep we are astonished and overwhelmed and if one of His storms should arise, our faith is staggered. If we did but rise to an idea of
God—if we could but form a fair idea of the immeasurable greatness of His power—doubt and mistrust would become
impossible. “Is anything too hard for Me?” says Jehovah.
Meditate much upon the Divine Father, Creator and Preserver. Meditate upon the Divine Son, the risen Redeemer,
who has all power in Heaven and in earth. Meditate upon the sacred Spirit, of whom the rushing mighty wind in the tornado is but a faint symbol and you will feel that here is the source of all might. “I am Jehovah.” The argument takes you
to Himself and coming to you from His own mouth the reason is a decisive one.
But He means us also to see the argument as founded on His name, “I am Jehovah.” I am always sorry that our revisers had not the courage of their knowledge and had left the Divine name as it is in the original Hebrew and given us the
word “Jehovah” where they usually put LORD. It is a name of awe and glory, and the Christian Church must get back to
it and return more distinctly to the worship of Jehovah. The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob—this God is our
God forever and ever. And we might more clearly have recognized this if the incommunicable name had been preserved to
us in our version of the sacred Scriptures.
The name brings out the personality of God. Those who say that there is no God, are, some of them, forced to admit
that there is a central force—a power which makes for righteousness. They talk of an impersonal something but we believe in a personal God and he who has no personal God has, in truth, no God at all. I cannot call an unknown force my
Father, and I cannot address my trust or my prayer to it. It, indeed! The Creator of persons an it! We want Him, a Person, a conscious, thinking, acting personality. This we have here—“I am Jehovah.” The name signifies self-existence.
God does not exist because of His surroundings—He draws nothing from without. His life is in Himself. He derives no
support or aid from anything outside of Himself. Indeed, there is nothing which has not come of Him. All things were
made by Him and He sustains all things by the word of His power.
The name of Jehovah reminds us that He has within Himself sufficiency for all His will. He has adequate power of
performance for all His purposes and decrees. Jehovah wills and it is done. He has created legions of angels but He borrows nothing from them. He can truly say, “I Am and there is none beside Me.” Those mysterious living creatures which
are nearest to His Throne are His creatures and not His helpers. The best instructed and the most willing of His servants
derive their all from Him but supply Him with nothing. Remembering the name, Shaddai, God All-Sufficient, we understand all the better His question, “Is anything too hard for Me?”
He lays the burden of the question upon His own Self. The whole stress of that which is hard in itself and too hard for
others, He meets with that word, “I am Jehovah.” All the power that can possibly be required in any imaginable case is in
that name “Jehovah”! It is an immeasurable word—the eagle’s wing cannot rise to its height. He that dives into the
abyss cannot reach its depth. Jehovah’s name is higher than Heaven, deeper than Hell, broader than space and greater
than all things. What can we know of this infinite Word, “I am Jehovah”?
Moreover, the name sets forth the Truth that He is immutable—He is “I Am that I Am.” Time does not affect Him,
nor change come near Him. He is never less than Jehovah. He cannot be more. We may at any moment of the dark night
rest as confidently upon the I AM as in the brightest day. In fact, the meaning of that glorious word is infinite and unutterable. I do not wonder that the Jew should fear to write it and substitute for it the word Adonai, or Lord. We, casting
away the superstition, feel an equal reverence and when our God says to us, “I am Jehovah,” we bow before Him and confess that all questioning of possibility is ended forever. Sermon #2020 “Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?”
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Yet in the text please notice that the argument is also founded on the Lord’s relation to man. “I am the Lord, the
God of all flesh.” There is no other God for man anywhere or at any time save Jehovah. The gods of the heathen, aha,
aha! They deserve no such name—they are idols but our God made the heavens. There is one living and true God for all
flesh. There is, there can be no other. There is no room for another god, for our God fills all things. He is the God of all
flesh, for “it is He that made us and not we ourselves.”
We have neither been evolved by Law, nor struck out by chance. The wretched it, which idiots talk of, is no sire of
ours—Jehovah is the Maker of all flesh—
“His sovereign power, without our aid,
Made us of clay and formed us men.”
We rejoice that all flesh have such a God. Yet note that before the Lord, men are only “flesh.” Hear this, you kings and
great ones of the earth! He calls you “flesh.” How sorrowfully do we see the truth of this in the heart-rending sickness of
one of the greatest and best beloved of potentates! How wretchedly do we see it amidst the pomp of the funeral when the
greatest of the great are carried out to be laid in the pasture of the worm!
Hear this, you men of light and leading! You who have bedecked your names with all the letters of the alphabet!
You, too, with all your learning, are but flesh. Do I hear you say of such a one—he is a great man? Is “great” a word
which can be linked with flesh? What is the grandeur, the glory, the pomp of flesh? All flesh is grass and grass is cut down
and withers. Right surely is he accursed that trusts in man and makes flesh his arm. You tell me of the charms of beauty.
You sing of your beloved so white and ruddy—think what they will come to by-and-by. Flesh! Ah me! Leave it to itself.
Is there anything fouler or more putrid than flesh when God calls back the spirit which quickens it?
Behold the harvest of flesh in the garner of the sepulcher! See how the great reaper heaps up corruption! This is what
we are, Brothers and Sisters. God sees us in our true condition and He calls us “flesh.” Yet I do rejoice that, while we are
flesh, He is our God. How is the worm linked to the immortal! Happy men who have such a God! Not that flesh and
blood, as they are, can inherit the kingdom of God, nor that corruption can dwell with incorruption. But for Believers in
the Lord Jesus there is a resurrection which shall lift us into a body of a nobler sort. We shall soon be rid of this carrion
and we shall be aloft with Him where He dwells. And then, in the day of His appearing, even this poor body shall put on
glory and in our flesh shall we see God.
As the Lord makes the dull gold of earth into clear gold, like unto transparent glass, even so He makes this vile body
to be like the glorious body of our risen and ascended Lord. We bow before the Lord, even we who are but dust and
ashes, yes, worse—who are but flesh—and we bless His name, that yet He deigns to call us His people and to be our God.
The argument is that since Jehovah is the God of all flesh He can effect His purposes by men and work among them things
which seem impossible. The argument is so great that it puts all other arguments out of court.
Poor Jeremiah is puzzled—he has been buying that acre or two of land which he will never see and his pockets are
empty. And Baruch has been putting away the title-deeds in an earthen vessel, with a half-smile upon his face. The
Prophet sits down and thinks over the transaction and his reason as the devil whispers, “What a fool you are! You might
just as well have bought a horn of the new moon.” Yet, somehow it must be made to appear a wise and sensible transaction, for the Lord never makes fools of His people. Jeremiah feels that as the command came from Jehovah, his own
judgment is out of court—it is for the Lord and not for him to make good the transaction.
All Jerusalem was to be burned and destroyed. What could be the use of his purchase? But, then, the condition of Jerusalem was not the point to be considered. God had said, “I am Jehovah,” and that had put the King of Judah and his
mighty men out of the reckoning. Is anything too hard for Jehovah? Come, Jeremiah, rake up your difficulties. Set in
order the discouraging circumstances. Call in your friends, who all shake their heads at you and point their fingers to
their brows, as much as to insinuate that you are a little gone from your senses. And then, answer them all with this—
“nothing is too hard for Jehovah.”
This clears the deck of every doubt that would board your vessel. This is the blessed argument which answers every
difficulty and sets faith upon a rock from which it cannot be removed! “My soul, wait you only upon God. For my expectation is from Him.”
III. Having led you thus far, I now would have you follow me in something practical, namely, APPLYING IT IN
DETAIL. The text says, “Is anything too hard for Me?” Apply this question to the justification of your obedience. When “Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?” Sermon #2020
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you know what is right it will happen, more often than not, that to do right will be costly or at least risky—and if you
judge after the manner of worldly-wise men you will consider yourselves likely to be losers by obeying God. You may lose
friends, reputation, assistance and peace. This question of loss is answered at once by this fact—if you do what God bids
you—the responsibility of your conduct lies with Him and He will bear you through. “Is anything too hard for the
Lord?”
As He justified the action of His servant Elijah at Carmel and justified the purchase made by Jeremiah, so will He justify all the obedient actions of His people. He will bring forth our judgment as the light and our righteousness as the
noonday. Apply this glorious Truth of God to the sure fulfillment of all the Divine promises. Consider a great one to
begin with. This chapter evidently shows that the Jews are one day to be converted and restored. Do you believe it?
“Oh,” says one, “that would be a wonder”! It will be a wonder and the text may be read, “Is anything too wonderful for
Me?”
He can call them off from money-hunting—can take away their unbelief concerning the Lord Jesus. He can cause the
lips which now revile the name of the Crucified to sing praises to the Nazarene. Glory be to His name, He can cause the
waters of Siloa, which flow softly, again to flow with blessing and make the desolate land again to blossom as the rose.
They that crucified the Lord of Glory shall look on Him whom they pierced and shall mourn for Him. “Is anything too
hard for the Lord?”
Apply this to any case of great sin. Select anyone whom you knew to be especially hard-hearted and pray for him
earnestly and hopefully. Choose out some glaring sinner, or special heretic, or fierce hater of religion and pray for him.
You say to yourself, “I will choose an easier case.” Do not. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Will you, in your judgment, set anyone beyond the reach of mercy and out of the bounds of grace? Make an application of our text to the most
desperate and loathsome sinner and believe that nothing is too hard for the Lord. O chief of sinners, if you are here this
morning—blasphemer, swearer, thief, drunkard, whoremonger, harlot, take home this question to yourself—Thus says
the Lord, “Is anything too hard for Me?”
If you believe in the Lord Jesus, God has saved you, saved you now. He can and will wash every believing sinner from all
his sins through the blood of Jesus and He will graciously blot out all his iniquities. Remember how He forgave David and
Manasseh and the dying thief and Saul of Tarsus and the woman that was a sinner? May the Holy Spirit make a personal application of omnipotent love to each of you who now feel your sins! Salvation is not too hard a thing for the Lord.
Apply this to difficult Truths of God. I will put before you a problem. There is the Truth of man’s free agency. It is an easy
cut, you know, to deny that there is such a thing as free will. But it is not fair, for men are responsible, free agents, and God
has endowed them with will. But the knotty question arises—if man acts freely in his sinful actions how can predestination be
a fact? If every man acts after his own will, how, then, does God foreordain all things? I answer, “Is anything too hard for Jehovah?” The solving of this great problem constrains me to worship the Lord. For He does solve it in actual history.
I could understand God’s executing His purposes upon material substances such as stones and wood. But this is the grandeur of His power, that while He leaves men free agents and does not in any case lead them to sin, yet they do act exactly as He
foretold that they would do. The responsibility lies with them, for they do as they please. But yet His Divine purpose is effected. Peter said to the Jews concerning our Lord, “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” They did their evil deed most willingly and yet it was in
the Divine purpose from of old.
They were eager to destroy Christ out of diabolical malice and yet all the while they were the instruments of the death by
which we are redeemed from destruction. Have faith enough to believe that Jehovah rules in the world of mind as well as in
that of matter. He does as He wills among the armies of Heaven and among the inhabitants of this lower world. Consider another hard case—the hardest of all—human salvation. Sin must bring with it punishment. It is an inevitable Law of moral
government that if you break the commandment, the command will be avenged upon you.
Yet God is merciful and He is willing to forgive sin. How can it be possible for God to exercise the fullness of His mercy
and yet discharge the necessities of His justice? All men and all angels put together would have made but one fool in trying to
solve that difficulty. The Lord has answered it. He gave His Son to bear our sin. Jehovah Jesus died and presented Himself as
the great sacrifice for our iniquities. On yonder Cross the Law is honored and man is justly saved. “Is anything too hard for
the Lord?” Sermon #2020 “Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?”
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Bring here your own little problems. You are always getting into tangles and snarls. Prudent friends try to help you but
the tangle grows worse. Bring your hard cases to One who is wiser than Solomon and He will draw out a clear thread for you.
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” After Calvary nothing is intricate or difficult. The atoning sacrifice is such a triumph of
wisdom and grace as can never be paralleled. Love here wore the girdle of omnipotence. All things are possible since Jesus has
died. We believe in the deep depravity of humanity but Jehovah can change its nature. The Lord of Love can make sinners into
saints. We tremble lest some have lost the very capacity for virtue. We ask in despair, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or
the leopard his spots?” But with God such marvels are everyday things.
For the salvation of great multitudes we are also exercised. We look on wicked London and despair of it. We look on
China and India and Africa and say, “Can these dry bones live?” “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” The tears are in our eyes
as we think of the Congo and the heroic ones who have perished by its pestilential waters. Will Africa ever stretch out its hands
to Christ? “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
We look upon the Church at home in the present day. It is steeped in worldliness and smothered with false doctrine. Many
have turned aside from the Gospel and given themselves up to a thousand errors—how can the evil be cured? It is to be cured.
It must be cured. It shall be cured, for thus says Jehovah—“Is anything too hard for Me?” If the Lord had left but one faithful
man under Heaven He would with that one man deliver Israel. But He has reserved for Himself thousands who have not bowed
the knee to Baal. Let us have no fear about it but let us exhibit a boundless confidence. God’s Truth will win the day whoever
comes against it. “Is anything too hard for Jehovah?”
I have lived to see and shall yet live to see such marvels in this respect as fill my mouth with laughter and my tongue with
singing. “The Lord has done great things for us, whereof we are glad.” If the Lord waits a little it is that He may gain the
more glory. If He even seems to draw back, does not many a man draw back when he is about to take the longer leap? Have
you ever seen a man draw back his hand when he is about to strike a tremendous blow? God is never baffled—Jesus shall not
fail, nor be discouraged. The living Christ has died in weakness once. But now that He lives He lives, in all the power and majesty of the living God. To what may we not apply the text, when Jehovah asks us, “Is anything too hard for Me?”
IV. Lastly, dear Friends, I beg you to treat the text as USING IT WITH DELIGHT. Time allows but few words. Use the
text as a preventive of unbelieving sin. You say you are in a nasty hobble. I know you are. And therefore the devil says, “Put
forth your hand unto iniquity.” An evil transaction seems the sure way to get you out of your difficulty. What? Do you wish
to help the Lord? Do you dream that He needs your sin to aid Him in delivering you? Flee from the rash action. Let not your
hand reproach you, as Crammer’s did. When at the stake he held it in the fire and cried, “That unworthy right hand,” because
it had once signed a recantation.
Do not sin. Be poor, but be holy. Be straightforward and honest, come what may. God does not need the help of your sin
in order that He may give you your daily bread. When I think of a man supposing that sin is necessary to help God’s Providence, I am ashamed. Even in what is right, our aid to God is like an ant lending help to an elephant. But to do wrong to help
the Lord to provide for us is a sort of acted blasphemy. And such a poor creature as you are, do you think that your foul finger
is needed for God’s Divine work?
Away with the idea of its ever being needful to do wrong. Let all sins of haste, all tricks of policy, all compromises with
error, all silence through the fear of consequences, all doings or not doings which would involve a blot on your conscience be
put away forever. That filthy thing—temporizing and parleying with evil, which men call prudence—let it be hanged upon
the gallows of scorn. Do God’s work thoroughly, heartily, intensely—and God will reward you in His grace.
Use it next for consolation in the time of trouble. You are now in a pit wherein there is no water—how can you ever get
out? Listen—“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” It is worse than a pit, you say —it seems like a living Hell. The Lord can
deliver you. Remember Jonah in the belly of the great fish which went down deeper and deeper till it seemed to dive below the
bottoms of the mountains? It seemed all over with Jonah. But it was not so. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Jonah
owned that “salvation is of the Lord,” and the fish was not able to imprison him any longer. Forth came Jonah to life and
liberty. Jehovah has delivered those who trust in Him, and He will yet deliver us.
Next, use the text as a window through which you look with expectation. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Expect the
unexpected to happen to you. He who whispers to himself—“God is going to do something for me that I have never looked
for” is the brave man. “A storm is brewing,” cries one. Is it? My way of putting it is—rain is being prepared for the earth.
Brethren, the Lord’s blessing is coming upon the Churches—look for it! Let this text be a stimulus to you to engage in great
enterprises. Launch out into the deep. Do not always keep on fishing for shrimp along the shore. “Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?” Sermon #2020
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Attempt great things for God. Attempt something which as yet you cannot do. Any fool can do what he can do. It is only
the Believer who does what he cannot do. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Fall back upon omnipotence and then go forward in the strength of it.
Let the text be a reason for adoration. O You to whom nothing is hard, we adore You! We worship You with all our
hearts and this day we believingly link our weakness with Your omnipotence. We trust You for life, for death, for eternity. Dear Savior, we trust You now with all our sins and sorrows. Nothing is too hard for You, therefore save Your
poor servants according to the riches of Your grace—
“A guilty, weak and helpless worm,
On Your kind arms I fall;
Be You my strength and righteousness,
My Jesus and my All.”
Adapted from The C.H. Spurgeon Collection, Version 1.0, Ages Software, 1.800.297.4307
Prepare To Meet Your God
Amos 4:12