you
Welcome everyone to steadfast baptist
If you could please find your seats and grab your song books
We're gonna turn to one hundred and seventy five. It's just like his great love
Song 175 it's just like his great love
Song 175 sing it out nice and loud. It's just like his great love a
Friend I have called Jesus
Whose love is strong and true
And never fails how e'er is tried
No matter what I do
I've sinned against this love of his
But when I knelt to him
Confessing all my guilt to him
The sin clouds rolled away
It's just like Jesus to roll the clouds away
It's just like Jesus to keep me day by day
It's just like Jesus all along the way
It's just like Jesus to keep me day by day
It's just like Jesus all along the way
It's just like his great love
Sometimes the clouds of trouble
Be dim the sky above
I cannot see my savior's face
I doubt his wondrous love
In heaven's mercy seat
Beholding my despair
In pity burst the clouds between
And shows me he is there
Just like Jesus to roll the clouds away
It's just like Jesus to keep me day by day
It's just like Jesus all along the way
It's just like his great love
When sorrows, clouds o'er take me
And break upon my head
When life seems worse than useless
And I were better dead
I take my grief to Jesus then
Nor do I go in vain
For heavenly hope he gives that cheers
Like sunshine after rain
It's just like Jesus to roll the clouds away
It's just like Jesus to keep me day by day
It's just like Jesus all along the way
It's just like his great love on the last
Oh, I could sing forever
Of Jesus, love divine
Of all his care and tenderness
For this poor life of mine
His love is in and over all
And wind and waves obey
When Jesus whispers peace be still
And rolls the clouds away
It's just like Jesus to roll the clouds away
It's just like Jesus to keep me day by day
It's just like Jesus all along the way
It's just like his great love
Great singing. Let's open up in order of prayer.
Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening's service
and thank you for all the people here.
I pray that you would bless this service for your honor and glory
and that you would fill Brother Ben with the Holy Spirit this evening.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
All right, for our second song, we'll go to 161,
our great Savior.
161, our great Savior.
Song 161, our great Savior.
Jesus, what a friend for sinners
Jesus, lover of my soul
Friends may fail me
Foes assail me
He, my Savior, makes me whole
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Hallelujah, what a Friend
Saving, helping, keeping, loving
He is with me to the end
Jesus, what a strength in weakness
Let me hide myself in Him
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing
He, my strength, my victory wins
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Hallelujah, what a Friend
Saving, helping, keeping, loving
He is with me to the end
Jesus, what a help in sorrow
While the billows o'er me roll
Even when my heart is breaking
He, my comfort, helps my soul
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Hallelujah, what a Friend
Saving, helping, keeping, loving
He is with me to the end
Jesus, what a Guide and Keeper
While the tempest still is high
About me, night o'er takes me
He, my Pilot, hears my cry
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Hallelujah, what a Friend
Saving, helping, keeping, loving
He is with me to the end
Jesus, I do now receive Him
More than all in Him I find
He hath granted me forgiveness
I am His and He is mine
Hallelujah, what a Savior
Hallelujah, what a Friend
Saving, helping, keeping, loving
He is with me to the end
Alright, at this time we're going to go through our bulletins
If you don't have a bulletin, go ahead and raise your hand and an usher will bring you one
On the front of our bulletin there, we have our Bible memory passage of the week, Revelation 1.16
If anyone 18 years of age or younger quotes this to myself, Pastor Shelley, or an usher
You'll get a treat after the Wednesday evening service
Also, just as a reminder again, I put a picture there to remind myself of the conference coming up in Vancouver, Washington this week
Some people from Steadfast are going to this, but make sure you tune in online
Pastor Shelley is going to be kicking off the conference on Thursday evening
So make sure to check out the Sure Foundation Baptist Church YouTube page for that conference, should be a great conference
If you open up on the left, we have our service times there
Sunday morning, 10.30 AM, our Spanish service every week at 4.30 PM
And our Sunday evening service, 5.30 PM, Wednesday evening service at 7 o'clock
We're blessed to have Brother Ben filling in this evening for us
Pastor Shelley is preaching at our church plant in Oklahoma City
And so be sure to be praying for a safe return this evening
Also we have our soul winning information there listed
Our church wide soul winning times that meet at our location
And our regional soul winning times meet everywhere all over the DFW area
So if you're interested in any of those, you can talk to those respective leaders there
We do have our stats there listed on the bottom left
And the Bahamas definitely helped us with our stats for this year
So that was great, hopefully we can do that in the coming years as well
We have our expecting ladies list there, make sure to be keeping those ladies in prayer for healthy pregnancies, healthy deliveries
As well as our weekly prayer requests listed there
And if you ever have a prayer request, send them in to our email
Or like I said this morning, sometimes you need prayer right away
You can post that on Facebook, if you don't have a Facebook
You can let me or Pastor know and I can post that for you
Upcoming events talked about this morning
We have the Shreveport, Louisiana soul winning marathon coming up June 3rd
There will be church transportation provided for this if you want
So please sign up at the sign up sheet up there
And let us know if you need a ride or if you can give a ride as well
And there will be more details as far as when the church van is going to be leaving
To come
July 1st is the wedding of Suhail and Laurie
And that ceremony is going to be at 11am
12pm noon is the reception
There's a link there where you can RSVP and have some more details about their wedding
And just as a reminder, the RSVP window does close June 1st
You got to do it before then if you'd like to attend that wedding
Otherwise the door is shut, no man can open
It's just too late, you can't go
So make sure to do that before
Alright, let's go to our third song
Psalm 150
In your white handouts, Psalm 150
Psalm 150
Praise ye the Lord, praise God in his sanctuary
Praise him in the firmament of his power
Praise him for his mighty acts
Praise him according to his excellent greatness
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet
Praise him with the psaltery and harp
Praise him with the timbrel and dance
Praise him with stringed instruments and organs
Praise him upon the loud cymbals
Praise him upon the high sounding cymbals
Let everything that hath breath
Praise the Lord, praise ye the Lord
Praise God the Father, praise God the Son
Praise God the Holy Ghost, praise God in three
persons
Great singing as the offering plates are being passed around
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter number 18
Genesis chapter number 18
Genesis chapter 18
The Bible reads
And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre
And he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day
And he looked up his eyes and looked and lo, three men stood by him
And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door
And bowed himself toward the ground
And said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in thy sight
Pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant
Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched
And wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree
And I will fetch a morsel of bread
And comfort ye your hearts
After that ye shall pass on
For therefore ye come to your servant
And they said, So do as thou hast said
And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah
And said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal
Knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth
And Abraham ran unto the herd and fetched a calf tender and good
And gave it unto a young man
And he hastened to dress it
And he took butter and milk
And the calf which he had dressed
And set it before them
And he stood by them under the tree
And they did eat
And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife?
And he said, Behold in the tent
And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to thy time of life
And lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son
And Sarah heard it in the tent door which was behind him
Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age
And it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself saying
After I am waxed old, shall I have pleasure, my Lord being old also?
And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh saying
Shall I of a surety bear a child which am old?
Is anything too hard for the Lord?
At the time appointed I will return unto thee according to the time of life
And Sarah shall have a son
Then Sarah denied saying, I laugh not for she was afraid
And he said, Nay, but thou didst laugh
And the men rose up from thence and looked toward Sodom
And Abraham went with them to bring them on the way
And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?
Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation
And all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him
For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him
And they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment
That the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him
And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great
And because their sin is very grievous
I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether
According to the cry of it which has come unto me
And if not, I will know
And the men turned their faces from thence and went toward Sodom
But Abraham stood yet before the Lord
And Abraham drew near and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Paraventure there be fifty righteous within the city
Wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
That be far from thee to do after this manner
To slay the righteous with the wicked
And that the righteous should be as the wicked
That be far from thee, shall not the judge of all the earth do right?
And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city
Then I will spare all the place for their sakes
And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord
Which am but dust and ashes
Paraventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous
Wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five?
And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it
And he spake unto him yet again and said, Paraventure, thou shalt be forty found there
And he said, I will not do it for forty sake
And he said unto him, O let not the Lord be angry and I will speak
Paraventure there shall thirty be found there
And he said, I will not do it if I find thirty there
And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord
Paraventure there shall be twenty found there
And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty sake
And he said, O let not the Lord be angry and I will speak yet but this once
Paraventure ten shall be found there
And he said, I will not destroy it for ten sake
And the Lord went his way as soon as he had left communing with Abraham
And Abraham returned unto his place
Let us pray
Father we thank you for this great chapter
We thank you for brother Ben and his family
We just pray that you would fill brother Ben with the power of the Holy Spirit right now
And help him to gather his thoughts and lay on his heart the message that you have prepared for him to deliver to us
Help him to preach with boldness and authority
And hold nothing back
And help us to apply what he gives us to our Christian lives
And also we pray that you would bring Pastor Shelley and his family home safely to us
And we just ask these things in Jesus name, Amen
Amen, I want to thank Pastor Shelley for the opportunity to fill the pulpit today
We're going to start in Genesis chapter 18 and we'll look at verse 11 where the Bible read
Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age
And it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself saying
After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure my Lord being old also
And the Lord said unto Abraham
Wherefore did Sarah laugh saying
Shall I of a surety bear a child which am old
Pay attention to this in verse 14
Is anything too hard for the Lord
At the time appointed I will return unto thee according to the time of life
And Sarah shall have a son
Now this is part of the Abrahamic Covenant
That Sarah would conceive seed
And that there would be physical descendants coming through her
God's chosen people
They would be promised a land
And we know that those people really are a picture of the spiritual nation of Israel that would come
And those consist, that nation I should say consists of believers
But what's interesting is this really famous rhetorical question in verse number 14
And the question is coming from God
Is anything too hard for the Lord
It seems fairly obvious
The answer is no, right?
God is omnipotent
He's all powerful
There's nothing too hard for him
Yet Christians apparently forget this every single day
Because you look at a lot of people who are saved
Who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
And they struggle with having a defeatist attitude
And a lot of people have lapses in faith
And they have lapses in their trust
They're resting in God
And a lot of them are very anxious and nervous about the future
And I understand that
We live in a wicked world
There's a lot of adversity that we all have to go through as Bible believing Christians
I get that
But I think every once in a while we need a reminder that you know what
There is nothing too hard for God
Whatever situation you might be going through right now
Scenario, hardship
Doesn't matter what area of life you're struggling in
You have to remember there is nothing too difficult
There is nothing too hard for God to handle
And that's the point here in Genesis 18
Is that even though Sarah is well past child bearing age
The Lord would miraculously still enable her to conceive
And that's exactly what happened
Now Sarah laughs within herself
And I find it kind of funny because she denies it
And it's like, no you laughed, right?
If you read the text
Thou didst laugh, okay?
We all know you did
It's alright, you can admit it
But you know, kind of called out there
And again, this phrase here
It's something that all of us need to keep in mind
When we're going through tough times
And that's the title of my sermon this evening
Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
Now this has such a deep meaning
And there's a lot of different ways we can
A lot of different applications we can make
Based on this phrase here in scripture
I believe it's a rhetorical question
The answer is obvious
But I think first of all it speaks to the omnipotence of God
Now what do I mean by that?
That phrase, or that word I should say
Omnipotence, the omnipotence of God
One of God's attributes
It's talking about the fact that he's all powerful
You know, omni, all, potent, powerful
And there are multiple ways we can expound on this
But I think the biggest one is that God is all powerful
And so we can trust him with our burdens
Now look over at chapter 21
Chapter 21, Sarah doubts here
And I mean, how could you blame her?
Right?
She's well past childbearing age
And she's being told that she's going to bear a child
But that's exactly what happens
In chapter 21, it says in verse 1
And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said
And the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken
And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him
Whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac
So Isaac right here, this was the catalyst for the chosen lineage
But in spite of her internal laughter
And perhaps some doubts
Sarah gives birth to Isaac
Aged 90
90, 90, 9-0
This is miraculous
Now what seemed impossible though
What seemed impossible was possible with God
And that's a common theme you'll find in the scriptures
What seems impossible with man is possible with God
And we'll see that over and over again
But I want to kind of lay the bedrock for the sermon
The foundation for the sermon first
And then we'll get into some application
Turn to Exodus 14 to start
Exodus chapter 14
And we started off talking about Sarah
And she laughed within herself when told she would conceive seed
But she does anyway
And bears Isaac
And this is, you know, the chosen seed
The descendants that went through Sarah
And Isaac, Jacob, Israel eventually
And we'll look at Israel because
Israel, their journey through the wilderness pictures the Christian life
They had ups, they had downs, a lot of downs
A lot of doubts
Lapses of faith over and over again in the wilderness
And it seems like they forgot that there was nothing too hard for God
Every time they faced a situation that seemed impossible to them
At that point they lost faith
And they said let's just go right back into Egypt again
It's like they forgot who they were dealing with
It's like they forgot the omnipotence of the Lord
That he would orchestrate their entry into the promised land
That he promised them that land
That's why it was called the promised land
It was for them, it was saved for them
And yeah it might have been occupied by a bunch of heathen nations at the time
But the Lord would wipe them out on their behalf
And yet they just kept having
Over and over again these lapses in faith
Now I had you turn to Exodus 14
I wanted to quote a few other places first
Before we read some scriptures in Exodus 14
The Bible says in Jeremiah 32
Ah Lord God behold thou hast made the heaven and the earth
By thy great power and stretched out arm
And there is nothing too hard for thee
So Jeremiah extolling the Lord in prayer
And he says there is nothing too hard for thee
Again speaking to the omnipotence of God
The all powerful nature of the Lord
And this is something we should be doing in our prayer life
And I get it that yes we should ask
If you ask you'll receive
I understand that's one of the main purposes of prayer
Is that we can ask God for things
We could place our burdens on him
And rest on him for those things
And ask him for things
And I get that but we should also make sure
That we are glorifying the Lord in our prayer life
Extolling the Lord in our prayer life
Pedestalizing God in our prayer life
That's what Jeremiah does
And I appreciated that
In Jeremiah 32 it also says
Behold I am the Lord the God of all flesh
Is there anything too hard for me
Again that same phrase that we read
In Genesis chapter 18
And in Jeremiah 32
God pronounces judgment on the southern kingdom of Judah
He tells them about the Babylonian captivity
They would eventually be redeemed from that after 70 years
But the same concept is taught there
And it's taught in multiple places in scripture
Including in the New Testament
Where Jesus said with men this is impossible
But with God all things are possible
Speaking to the situation with the rich young ruler
Who had attempted to justify himself to get to heaven
And Jesus teaching his disciples that
It's very difficult for a rich man to get to heaven
Because of what they were trusting in
To get there and the disciples were kind of incredulous to this
But Jesus said hey with God all things are possible
With God all things are possible
So the same sort of concept taught in the New Testament
But like I said there are several key moments
When you look at the journey of Israel
In the wilderness where they needed to be reminded
There is nothing too hard for the Lord
Exodus 14 is one of those spots
And look at verse 10
See there were several moments
Where the inheritance seemed improbable
Or even impossible for them to acquire
But they did
Look at verse 10
Exodus 14 verse 10
The Bible read there
And when Pharaoh drew nigh
The children of Israel lifted up their eyes
And behold the Egyptians marched after them
And they were sore afraid
And the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord
And they said unto Moses
Because there were no graves in Egypt
Hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness
Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us
To carry us forth out of Egypt
Chased by Pharaoh's armies
The Red Sea in front of them
They're thinking this is it we're done
It's over for us
You promised us safety
You promised us a land that we would procure
It would have been better for us to remain in Egypt
Why did you bring us out into this wilderness
We think you did it intentionally
To have us slain here by the Egyptians
And they want to go back
One of many times where they respond this way
To a scenario that appeared to be
Not just improbable
But perhaps impossible
Discounting the providence of God
Look what happens next
Verse 21
We all know the story
It's very famous
But in verse 21
The Bible read there
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea
And the Lord caused the sea to go back
By a strong east wind all that night
And made the sea dry land
And the waters were divided
Certain death
Seemed to be the only realistic outcome here
But instead the seas are parted
In one of the most famous stories in scripture
When they walk on dry land
And it's Egypt that's drowned in the sea
We see that
God miraculously saved them
From this predicament
Is there anything too hard for the Lord
The answer is no
Let's look a few chapters later at Exodus chapter 17
Exodus chapter 17
Where the Israelites have a very similar reaction
To a difficult predicament
The realization sets in
There's a lack of natural resources here
What are we going to do
It's like wait a minute
God literally just led you through the Red Sea
Part of the seas for you specifically
And you're still going to doubt him
It's kind of mind-blowing if you think about it
But Christians do this every day
Exodus 17
Look at verse 1
And all the congregation of the children of Israel
Journeys from the wilderness of sin
After their journeys
According to the commandment of the Lord
And pitched in Rephidim
And there was no water
For the people to drink
Evidently this was just an insurmountable problem
There's no water
What are we going to do
I mean look how they react
Wherefore the people did chide with Moses
And said give us water that we may drink
And Moses said unto them
Why chide ye with me
Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord
And the people thirsted there for water
And the people murmured against Moses
And said wherefore is this
That thou hast brought us up out of Egypt
To kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst
So it's like
Okay we make it to the Red Sea
Egypt is chasing them and they think
Alright this is why you brought us out here to kill us
Well God's miraculous hand intervenes
He opens up
You know he parts the waters
They walk through on dried land
And everything works out
Then in chapter 17 there's no water
And again they think
You brought us out here to kill us
Just get a grip
Alright
Let's see what happens
Obviously that's not the reason
Why they were removed, redeemed from bondage
There is no water in Rephidim
And they believe they're dying
They believe they're in an impossible
No-win scenario
Again
They believe that God's promise
Would not materialize
God promised them land
And they thought in that moment
Not gonna happen
It's not gonna happen
But
Is there anything too hard
For the Lord?
No
Obviously
Let's look at verse 5
And the Lord said unto Moses
Go on before the people
And take with thee
Of the elders of Israel
And thy rod
Wherewith thou smote us the river
Take thine hand and go
Behold I will stand before thee
There upon the rock in Horeb
And thou shalt smite the rock
And there shall come water out of it
That the people may drink
And Moses did so
In the sight of the elders of Israel
So God orchestrates a miracle yet again
And Moses smites the rock
Water comes out of it
A tremendous picture of the Lord Jesus Christ
Who is the rock
The Bible tells us in the New Testament
Jesus Christ is the rock
And just as Jesus was smitten to offer living water
It was that rock that was smitten by Moses
Which then offered water
For the Israelites who were then
Their thirst was quenched
And in Numbers chapter 20
We see a similar deal
Where Moses and a rock are involved
And this time God asks Moses to speak unto the rock
Because it had already been smitten
Instead Moses smites it
And he's not allowed into the promised land
Screwing up the picture of the gospel
So that's I think one of the reasons
Why God was very upset with him
Upon a cursory reading of the text
You might wonder well what was the big deal there
But once you understand the spiritual significance
I think it makes more sense
That's kind of a side point
But what I'm trying to show you here
Is that God orchestrates a miracle
By which they receive water
Even though they felt like they were in
An impossible to win predicament
And yet is there anything too hard for the Lord
He gets them through it
In spite of their anxiety
In spite of their unbelief
The lapses in faith that they had along the journey
God took care of them because he made a promise
Look at Deuteronomy chapter 1
Deuteronomy chapter 1
Now there comes a time though
Where even as a saved Christian
It gets to the point where God's about to
Cloud up and rain on your life
And when you exhibit unbelief
Over and over and over again
There are consequences for that
And that's what happened with Israel
Where the men of war
Who doubted that the Lord would offer them
Or would actually procure the promised land
On their behalf
They ended up falling
Other than Caleb and Joshua though
Because they had faith
And in Deuteronomy chapter 1
We see their unbelief rearing its ugly head again
In verse 26
After searching the land for 40 days
It says in verse 26
Notwithstanding you would not go up
This is kind of a recap of what happened
But rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God
Verse 27 in Deuteronomy chapter 1
Verse 27
And ye murmured in your tents and said
Because the Lord hated us
He hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt
To deliver us into the hand of the Amorites
To destroy us
It's like good night
Here we go again
First you thought you wouldn't make it through the Red Sea
Then you thought you would die
Because of thirst
Now here you think that
The heathens that are occupying the land at the time
Are going to kill you
And there is no way you can possibly overcome them
To take what God had promised for you
And in verse 28 it says
Whither shall we go up?
Our brethren have discouraged our hearts
Saying the people is greater and taller than we
The cities are great and walled up to heaven
And moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there
So the spies confirm
That the promised land is filled with milk and honey
But you have people who were overtaken with unbelief
And they said there is no way we could ever procure that land
There is no way we can overcome this predicament
It is an insurmountable opponent that you're asking us to defeat
But what are they discounting?
Well what did we read all the way back in Genesis chapter 18?
Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
See in their mind they're thinking well this is where the journey ends
You know we've got a formidable opponent
The Anakims being one of them
They were very tall and strong people
In the land at the time that they thought they couldn't defeat
But Joshua and Caleb said this I'll quote it for you
If the Lord delight in us
Then he will bring us into this land
Only rebel ye
Let me rephrase that sorry
Only rebel not ye against the Lord
Neither fear ye the people of the land
For they are bred for us
Their defense is parted from them
And the Lord is with us
Fear them not
Notice the faith that they had
That God would deliver on his promise
Saying fear them not
God will fight for us
In other words is there anything too hard for the Lord?
Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
This land was promised by God
He will deliver on his promise
Have faith in him
Trust in him
Rely on him
Depend on him
Rest on his promises
You know I have two statements this evening that I want you to remember
That I think are connected to this famous phrase in Genesis 18
You see it elsewhere in scripture as well
Two statements that I think are really important for us
To understand as Bible believing Christians
And remember as we go through the storms of life
The ups and the downs that we all have to face in our lives
And the first one is this
In relation to this phrase
Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
It brings into remembrance this
There is no promise that is too hard for the Lord
He can't lie
This is basic stuff
But there is no promise too hard for him to keep
And one of the promises that he makes for us in scripture is what?
Preservation
This is a promise that Israel struggled with
They didn't think they would be preserved
Until God gave them the land
And there were several moments where they thought
Alright we're done
This is an improbable or even impossible situation to get out of
It's finished
They didn't believe they would be preserved
But God expressly promises preservation
Preservation is a promise
And I think there are multiple components to this promise
You see he also promises to preserve his words
And his eternal words tell us that he'll preserve his people
But first of all let's look at Psalm chapter 12
What seems improbable or even impossible with men is possible with God
And in Psalm chapter 12 we have a promise
There is no promise too hard for the Lord
And in Psalm 12 we have a famous promise
Related to
I believe not just the word of God but his people
And we'll get into that
But look at verse 5 when you get there
Verse 5 the Bible reads
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy
Now will I arise, sayeth the Lord
I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him
The words of the Lord are pure words
As silver tried in a furnace of earth
Purified seven times
Thou shalt keep them, O Lord
Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever
The wicked walk on every side
When the vilest men are exalted
So the poor, it's saying, would be safe from those that are puffing at them
God's word, the Bible tells us here, is pure
Purified seven times
Some people look at that and connect it to the lineage of the King James Bible
I think that's kind of intriguing
But my point is that God promises his words would be kept forever
For all generations
That's the promise made so clearly in Scripture
The promise of preservation
And there is no promise that is too hard for God to keep
And it's too bad that Just As Sure as Israel had an issue with faith
And over and over again just suffered with this unbelief that they had to deal with
Yet we see people today who exhibit unbelief when it comes to the promise
So clearly outlined in Scripture of preservation
Of preservation
These are basic doctrines, folks
Basic doctrines that are taught in the Bible
One of them is this, that God preserves
God not only inspires, but he preserves
And he promised us preservation in Psalm chapter 12
But there are some who would say preservation as we understand it
Preservation as it was outlined in our documentary, The Preserved Bible
Which you can check out, thepreservedbible.com
You guys have already seen it
Gotta get the cheap plugs in there for any new people out there
Thepreservedbible.com
As it was outlined in that documentary
There might be people who look at that and say
The way you understand this doctrine of preservation
Impossible
There is no way God could have preserved his words the way that you're describing
That just doesn't, you're telling me every word preserved from the very beginning
But what about all of the new discoveries that we've made
The archeological discoveries that have been made
Thanks to the geniuses and textual criticism
Who've given us Codex Vaticanus
Codex Sinaiticus
Westcott and Hort
The Nestle-Allen Greek New Testament
You're telling me you're discounting all that?
Yeah, I am
Because there is no promise too hard for God to keep
And if that's the philosophy you want to adopt
You're telling me that apparently it was too hard for God to keep the promise of preservation
So clearly outlined in Psalms 12
And elsewhere
But critical text advocates in spite of what we just read there
They want to reconstruct the text
Let's go on an excavation mission to find the originals
Let's find them originals folks
And today, as a result of their philosophy
The Nestle-Allen Greek New Testament is on its 28th edition
28th
28th edition
Because the new philosophy of textual criticism says that
Hey, the Bible is an ever evolving work
And we need to work to get closer and closer to the original
That we will never discover
Seriously
Let's work our way to an original that we don't know what it says
We never will know what it says
And we'll never discover it
Doesn't that sound like a fun mission to go on?
Let's go find something we'll never find because we'll never know what it says
And it's not possible to ever know what it says
It's not possible to ever find these originals
They're lost
But let's try and find them anyway
I don't know if we've ever found them
You say this sounds crazy
They don't actually believe that
Okay, I'll give you a quote
You say you're just making stuff up
Nope
Dan Wallace from Dallas Seminary
Now who is Dan Wallace?
He's a very famous critical text advocate
Here's a direct quote from him
He said
We do not have now in our critical Greek texts or any translations
Exactly what the authors of the New Testament wrote
So we don't have what the author said in the originals
Currently in the modern era
But he adds this
He says
Even if we did
We would not know it
Interesting
Even if we had the originals
We would not know it
Uncertainty
I mean, boy, that sounds like an atheistic worldview to me
It's the atheists who say we can't ever know anything for certain
It's Christians who are supposed to have certainty in their worldview
So here's a translation of basically what he said
No certainty on what we can consider scripture
There is no certainty on what we can consider to be scripture
In other words, we don't know what the Bible is
We do not know what the Bible is in 2023
And we never will
I mean, in that case, might as well shut this thing and go, you know, bowling or something
Like, what are we doing here?
Do we even know this is the Bible?
Do we know any...
What is the Bible?
Right?
But yet they keep looking anyway
It's an impossible mission, but they're still engaged in it
And now they've found a new way to engage in textual criticism
The coherence-based genealogical method
And what they do with this
Of course, you know, Westcott and Hort led to the recent eclecticism of the 20th century
And now CBGM in modern times is being used to compare witnesses with extant Greek manuscripts
They had to come up with different readings that are brand new
This is why they had to come up with a 28th edition of the Nestle-Allen Greek text
Which is the bedrock of modern Bible translations
And there will be a 29th edition of the Nestle-Allen Greek text
Which will be using the CBGM method
Perhaps they'll use it on the gospels
And they'll come up with some new verses that they decide to add in
Or maybe they'll take some out and they'll make some changes here and there
We don't know which, every verse is up for grabs
James White said so
Now he'll deny it because he's a liar
But he said so as clear as day in a debate with Jeff Riddle
Every verse is up for grabs
We don't know what the Bible really says
And all this is based on the idea that we do not have the originals
But more so than that, it's based on the idea that we cannot know what the originals said
Because when God promised preservation, he didn't really mean what we all think he meant
You know, every word, preservation, it's not what we think
Okay, here's my response to that
Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
Is it possible that maybe the plain reading of Psalm chapter 12 means what it says?
Isn't it possible?
I think it is, in fact I think that's a lot more reasonable than believing that there's some mystical text out there that we'll never procure
And that we all need to go find it in some archaeological dig
Hey, you know what? I can find you exactly what the Greek New Testament said
Go to the Trinitarian Bible Society website
Go purchase yourself an 1894 FHA Scrivener's edition of the received text
And you've got what the originals said
Because that's the word of God, that's the preserved Bible
You can go get the Daniel Baumberg Masoretic text in Hebrew
And you can know what the Bible said in Hebrew
And make no mistake about it, you can go to a dollar store
And you can pick up a King James Bible in English
And I'm telling you right now, you've got what the originals said
In English
A perfect translation of the originals
Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
Can he preserve every single word of the scriptures?
Yes, and he has done it
Now there's a refining process at times
And the Byzantine manuscripts were refined
And gave us the received text of scripture which was further refined
Until Scrivener's edition
The Masoretic text, the English Bible went through the same refining process
Starting with William Tyndale's edition
But yet here we have it
The perfectly preserved word of God
If you're asking me, can God possibly preserve every single word exactly like he promised?
The answer to that question is yes
Psalm chapter 12 verse 7 says it so clearly
Thou shalt keep them, O Lord
Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever
But that's not possible
How could that be possible?
Is anything too hard for the Lord?
Of course not
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth
But the word of our God shall stand forever
And there are many different scriptures that would substantiate the doctrine of preservation
But just as sure as he promised to preserve his words
Listen up folks, he promised to preserve his people
And the preservation of his people points us to the preservation of his words
We're all collectively a symbol of the preservation of God's word
I think the preservation of his people points us to the preservation of his words
A picture of the preservation of his words
Because I think that people are also in view
In Psalm chapter 12 it's a secondary application to be clear
But look at, if you would, Psalm 37
The poor would be preserved in Psalm chapter 12
People being preserved, picture God's word being preserved
Israel doubted this repeatedly in the wilderness
Forgetting there is nothing too hard for the Lord
There is nothing too hard for God
And we need to be reminded of this fact because
Like I've said, you go through life, you've got your ups, you've got your downs
But we need to remember that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord
And he delighteth in his way, though he fall
Yet he shall not be utterly cast down
For the Lord upholdeth him with his hand, the Bible says
And that's earlier in the chapter I had you turn
But look at verse 18
Look at verse 18 where the Bible said there
The Lord knoweth the days of the upright
And their inheritance shall be forever
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time
And in the days of famine
They shall be satisfied
Many people are worried about the state of the economy
In the United States of America
Rightfully so because we've got a brain-dead moron freak pedophile in the White House
Who's intentionally destroying this country at the behest of his son
So yeah, I get it
But you know what?
Here's the thing about that
Are you right with God?
Have you got your spiritual life taken care of?
In that case, you have nothing to worry about
Let's read it again
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time
In the days of famine
They shall be satisfied
In the days of famine
They shall be satisfied
Let's skip down to verse 27
Depart from evil and do good and dwell forevermore
For the Lord loveth judgment and forsaketh not his saints
Pay attention to this
They are preserved forever
But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off
You know who should be worried?
During a time of trouble
During a time of famine
When this economy inevitably collapses
The destruction of the US dollar
It should be all these wicked people out there
Who hate the Lord Jesus Christ
Let them be anathema maranatha
They're the ones who should be shaking in their boots at the wrath of God
And you know what?
I'll add this into the mix
Christians who are unprofitable
They're not useful
You know, the received text of scripture was being used, wasn't it?
And it was preserved
If you want to be preserved
You need to be useful
So God can use you
You can be meat for the master's use
You say, I want to be preserved
During a time of trouble
And so I'm heading over to infowars.com
And I'm buying me some storable foods
You know, he plugged it on his radio show about 85 times a minute
And I'm ready to purchase some
Hey, great!
Get your food if you want
But if that's what you're relying on to be preserved
You will be severely disappointed
You ought to rely on this
Then you can support the broadcast later, all right?
Get your spiritual life in order first
Some would say, you know what? I'm struggling, man
It's easy for you to get up and rah rah sermon
Get everybody to say amen
Easy for you to get up there and say that
But you don't understand what I'm going through right now
You don't understand this economy
You don't understand living paycheck to paycheck
You don't understand what it's like
You know, struggling badly
To put food on the table, to provide for my family
And look, I don't want you to feel like I cannot relate to that
I can, okay?
And I understand that
There are struggles and there are probably people in this room
Struggling right now with that
And I get it
And it may be hard
And it may induce stress
And he might start to doubt
Is God really going to preserve me?
Is this really going to happen?
I mean, when's my next meal?
Am I going to have enough in the bank to provide for my kids?
I've got a big family
Some of you might be thinking that
But here's my question in response
Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
There is no promise too hard for God to keep
Including the promise of preservation
Get your spiritual life in order first
And it'll work itself out
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you
That's what Jesus promised
Do you believe it?
Or are you going to have a defeatist attitude and say
I'll end up on the streets, there's no way
Well, with that attitude maybe it will happen
But you ought to trust in the promises of God
One of them is preservation
You know, some might ask this question
How is it possible for someone to attend
Steadfast Baptist Church
And even be kind of public about it
Aren't you afraid?
I mean, what if your employer finds out
I mean, what if your family finds out
And they find out what you really believe
It's like too late, I mean, that already happened to me
Some of them don't want anything to do with me
That's cool, I've got a family right here in front of me, so it's fine
Oh no, what could possibly happen?
You know, I got a phone call the other day
It was funny, I got a phone call the other day from somebody
He said, look, I agree with a lot of what you believe
I do, I agree with a lot of what you believe
But just, you know, why can't you just kind of keep quiet about it though
Like, do you have to post about it on your social media
Like, advise me not to even preach right now
Like, wait, you're going to preach on the internet
And people are going to hear you?
It's like, what are you doing? Are you crazy?
And, you know, it's funny, I think about that and I go
Okay, so this is basically what you're telling me to do
Go cower in fear, go hide in a cave somewhere
Don't tell anyone anything
Don't stand up for the things of God
And just let the wicked reprobates do that all up and down the streets
You know, that's the attitude, and this is a nice person
I'm not down on them, if you're listening, I'm not trying to attack you
But, you know, that's the attitude that's destroying America
Because guess who has the boldness
Guess who has the trumpet that they're sounding all over our culture right now
Going up and down the streets and flaunting their filth
The enemies of God
Because God's people have hid in a cave somewhere
And decided that they're too afraid to believe the promise of preservation
That's outlined in the Bible
And so they're not saying anything
They're not doing anything for God
They're too afraid
And, you know what, over my dead body
I could not live with myself if I compromised on the things of God
I could not live with myself if I knew what the Bible said
And I shut up about it
Because I was too afraid of what the left might do
Give me a break
What are they going to do, hit me with a purse?
These people are literally a bunch of pencil-necked, spineless cowards
I'm not afraid of them
You know, me and my friend Glock sleep very well every single night
Knowing that I've got a hedge of protection about me that comes from the Lord
Cower in fear
No
No, I'm just going to openly say it
I don't care
Put me on your Twitter
Put me wherever you want
I believe the Bible
And it's time for Christians to stop being so ashamed of the Bible
Stand up and say
I believe Romans 1
I believe Leviticus 20-13
I believe the Gospel
You don't like it? Nuts to you
We need some spines
We need some courage
And some
But what about
Just stop
Just shut up
Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
There is no promise too hard for God to keep
Including the promise of preservation
He will preserve His people
You ought to be more afraid of cowering in fear
Than standing up for what's right
Stay confident in His promises
That's what this phrase should elicit from us
A renewed confidence in the promises of God
There is nothing too hard for Him
Let's go to Matthew chapter 21
Matthew chapter 21
You know, there's a famous portion of Scripture in 1 Peter
I'll quote this for you as you turn to Matthew chapter 21
But it says in verse 15
For so is the will of God
Or sorry, wrong spot, that's chapter 2
It says, But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts
And be ready always to give an answer to every man
That asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you
With meekness and fear
You all know that meme
Where everything's burning around the dog
And what does the dog say?
This is fine
That's the hope that we all have as Bible-believing Christians
That we should be ready to give a reason for that hope
To everyone who asks
How could you remain so calm knowing
That there are people out there who want you to die
Who hate you
Who hate you because of your faith
Who are persecuting you because of your faith
Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
God promised to preserve me
And I believe it
That's the hope that we should have as Christians
Matthew 21, look at verse 21
It says, Jesus answered and said unto them
Verily I say unto you
If ye have faith and doubt not
Ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree
But also if ye shall say unto this mountain
Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea
It shall be done
And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer
Believing ye shall receive
Here's another promise
How about the promise of prayer
Ask and you will receive
How about the promise that God will answer your prayers
Believing though is the key word
Have great faith, rely on him
Cast your burdens on him
James tells us, yet ye have not because ye ask not
And some would respond, well you don't understand my predicament though
I mean, yeah, I get it, all right, pray, whatever
Every preacher says that
But my predicament, you have no idea
The burden, the stress that is on my shoulders
Oh, is there anything too hard for the Lord?
Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
Stay confident in his promises
He said he would answer prayers
How about you take him up on that offer
Here's my second statement, speaking of prayer
My second statement is this
There is no prayer that is too hard for the Lord
How about this one
The prayer to have children
Go to 1 Samuel chapter 1
1 Samuel chapter 1
There was a man of Ramathium Zophim
1 Samuel chapter 1
Elkanah, he had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah
Hannah did not have children
Was barren up to this point
In 1 Samuel chapter 1
Let's see what she does about that
In 1 Samuel chapter 1
Remember, there is no prayer that is too hard for the Lord
And in 1 Samuel chapter 1 it says in verse 5
But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion
1 Samuel chapter 1 verse 5
But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion
For he loved Hannah
But the Lord had shut up her womb
Now Hannah was a godly woman
Yet she was barren
And what you have to understand
Is that yes, having a barren womb can be a curse of God
We all understand that
But not always
Don't get carried away with that
Not always
There were several women in the Bible who were barren for a long time
Yet righteous
And Hannah was one of them
But look what she said in verse 11
Verse 11
She vowed a vow and said, O Lord of hosts
If thou would indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid
And remember me and not forget thine handmaid
But will give unto thine handmaid a man-child
Then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life
And there shall no razor come upon his head
Speaking of the Nazarite vow
We can't get into that for sake of time
Read more about it in number 6
Verse 19
And they rose up in the morning early and worshipped before the Lord
And returned and came to their house to Ramah
And Elkanah knew Hannah, his wife
Speaking about the physical relationship within marriage
And the Lord remembered her
Verse 20
Wherefore it came to pass when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived
That she bear a son and called his name Samuel
Saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord
She asked and she received
God blessed Hannah with a child, not just any child, Samuel
An epic picture of Christ right here, Samuel
And yes, she was barren for a time
But notice what happened
She prayed for that to be rectified and it was
And she received a child
Turn to Luke chapter 1, Luke chapter 1
Zacharias and Elizabeth
Also another example of a righteous couple
The Bible even goes as far as describing them as blameless
And yet childless
Blameless and yet childless
But that was not the end of their story
In verse 36 it says, in Luke chapter 1 and verse 36
And behold thy cousin Elizabeth
She hath also conceived a son in her old age
And this is the sixth month with her
Who was called barren
Verse 37 is the theme of the whole message
For with God nothing shall be impossible
Nothing shall be impossible
Zacharias and Elizabeth barren for a time
But then John the Baptist's parents right
They were righteous yet God delivered them a child
We see the same thing with Hannah
And all the way back in Genesis chapter 18
That was the reason that Sarah laughed within herself
Thinking there was no way she could ever conceive
Beyond your typical child bearing age
And that's what happened with her as well
Even at age 90 via a miracle
All examples of barren women
And there's more who eventually conceived
But Hannah specifically prayed
And asked God for a child
She had been afflicted by the kind of feud
She was having with Peninnah
And she was in a scenario that seemed impossible
It seemed improbable
But there are many things rather
That are improbable or impossible with man
That are possible with God
And this is one of them right here
You say well but Ben I have been praying
I have been hoping
And I understand that
And there may be somebody like that
And you might think it's an impossible request from God
That it's just not going to happen
But is there anything too hard for the Lord?
The answer is no
And we see that in the scriptures
What seems improbable
What seems impossible with man
Is possible with God
And the prayer for God to bless you with children
Is not too hard for him to answer
And I get it
Maybe the answer is no
And in that case
We need to just have faith that the Lord knows why
We need to have faith in God
To know why that's his answer
The answer might be no
But how are you going to know unless you ask?
And so if you're that person
Keep asking
Keep requesting
Keep praying
The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5 17
Pray without ceasing
What seems impossible or improbable to us
Is possible with God
There is nothing too hard for him
A doctor one time told my wife
You are not going to have children
That's it
It's done
It's just
It's not going to happen
And that's tough
Right?
We thought, all right
What can we do?
Let's just get that on our knees
And ask the Lord to fix this for us
Right?
I mean, think about how jarring that is
You're not going to have kids
The doctor says
Well, today we have two
We asked
And asked
You pray without ceasing
Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
But as if that wasn't enough
All right, she gets pregnant
And then
When she delivers the baby
He comes out blue
Gray
Grayish blue
Not breathing
And just kind of flops there
And I'm thinking like
What?
Like this isn't how it's supposed to happen
That's not what I
You know, in the movies and things like that
They're supposed to cry
What's going on here?
And I'm thinking
All right
We prayed and prayed and prayed up to this point
I guess it's time for us to pray again
And so I prayed
And this is all I said
I said
God, please just let my baby live
That was it
I said
God, please let my baby live
And it was only a few seconds later
That he starts coughing up
Whatever was stuck in his lungs
And he starts crying
And we had one of the best
Midwives in the business
Working on him
And
And he started crying
You know, he took his first breath
But
In that moment
I had to realize this
Even though it seemed dire
And frankly in my head I'm thinking like
Okay
This isn't good
But is there anything too hard for the Lord?
What seemed improbable
What seemed impossible
What seemed like it was over
What seemed
It seemed like it was done
It seemed like a tragedy had just occurred
With the birth of our first child
Well
Nothing's too hard for God
You pray in those situations
When you're in that predicament
You pray
You rely
You trust
You rest on him
You cast your burdens on him
And you realize
There is nothing too hard for God
There is no problem
Too hard for him to solve
And there is no prayer
Too hard for him to answer
What seems improbable
What seems impossible
With men
Is
Possible
With God
And I was gonna talk about health
But for sake of time we'll skip that
You know, people have a bad diagnosis
Perhaps the doctor says
You only have
A certain amount of time to live
Whatever the case may be
There may be someone in this room right now
Struggling with a health issue
Struggling with something
That you've been dealing with for years
And you just can't figure out
Where to go next
Well have you prayed?
Have you asked God
For a solution?
And even if it feels like
There's no end in sight
Never forget
What we read in Genesis chapter 18
Is there anything
Too hard
For the Lord?
Is there anything
Too hard for the Lord?
Remember Hezekiah
He was told
That he would die
But God gave him
15 more years
Let's move on to Acts chapter 4
Acts chapter 4
And I'll look at
This last example here
Acts chapter 4
We tend to think
That
There is no solution
Israel felt that way
They got to the
Red sea and felt
Alright I guess we're gonna perish here
Rephidim they thought
There's no water
We're gonna perish here
They got to the promised land
Saw who had occupied it
At that time
And said
I guess we're gonna perish here
And you might come
To that point in your life
And think
I guess I'm gonna perish here
I guess it's over for me
I guess this isn't gonna happen
I guess this request
Isn't gonna be met
And there are plenty of requests
On that bulletin
That we can all look at
And pray for every single night
And there may be people
Who put those requests
On that bulletin
Thinking there is no way
That those requests
Could possibly be met
I'm not sure
Who else to turn to
I'm not sure
If God is hearing me
And it's at that point
That they need to be reminded
Is there anything
Too hard
For the Lord
Is there anything
Too hard
For the Lord
Now
I believe I told you
To turn to Acts chapter 4
Is that right?
Now in Acts chapter number 4
We have an epic verse
In verse 29
And
What I want to talk about
Next is this
The prayer for boldness
Because there are people
Who have crippling anxiety
That prevents them
From thinking
They can never do
Anything mighty for God
They have crippling anxiety
And they think
There is no way
That they could ever
Preach the gospel
There's no way
That they could ever do anything
In a public setting
For the Lord
Not them
No way
Not gonna happen
I'm an introvert
It's just not gonna happen
Well look at verse 29
Acts chapter 4 verse 29
The Bible says there
And now Lord
Will hold their threatenings
And grant unto thy servants
That with all boldness
They may speak thy word
Peter and John stood firm
For Christ and the council
And you had
The
Phrase there
It is better to obey God
Rather than men
Later on
But my point is
That they go back to the
Their own company
After standing firm
For the cause of Christ
They go back
To their own company
And the prayer of believers
Here is this
Grant your servants
Boldness
They go back
To their own company
And they pray
And what do they ask
What do they require
What are they looking for
They're looking
For boldness
The believers
Are looking
For boldness
The believers
Want to stand strong
On the word of God
And stand strong
On the word of God
And advance
The cause of Christ
And who is it
That they ask
God
And there's some in this room
Who think
But that just couldn't be me
There's no way
I'm too introverted
I'm too shy
I'm too timid
But is there any prayer
That is too hard
For God to answer
If you ask
For the Lord
To give you boldness
He
Will
Give
You
Boldness
I don't care who you are
As I'm walking
To the classroom
To preach
The gospel
In the Bahamas
We're in the Bahamas
And I'm walking
To the classroom
We went to the public
School system there
To preach
To the kids
And I'm walking
To the classroom
And they're leading
Me there
And I'm thinking
In my head
That's when the doubts
Start to creep in
I'm thinking
I can't do this
They're not gonna
Take me seriously
They'll laugh at me
They've never seen
A Middle Eastern guy
Before maybe
They'll be like
Who's this
I have to say
You know I was worried about it
And I started to get
Anxiety about it
And I started to think
I don't know that I can do this
As I'm being led
To the classroom
So in that moment
I prayed for God
To give me boldness
So I can cast out those fears
And do what I was
Sent there to do
And do what I went there to do
Why did I fly there?
To do exactly that
And some of you are thinking
Well I'm shy
I'm timid
I'm fearful
I've never done something
Like that before
There's no way
I could ever do
Such a mighty work for God
There's no way
I could ever publicly
Preach the word
There's no way
I could ever stand
For the truths
Of God's word
I have crippling
Social anxiety
That prevents me
From doing that
And I'm too scared
There's no way
I could ever knock a door
And ask somebody
About what it takes
To go to heaven
Not me
I'll cheer you on
As you do it
But I can't do it
Hold on
Is there anything
Have you asked for boldness?
Have you asked God
To solve that problem
For you?
Now Peter went from denying
Christ in front of a damsel
To preaching Christ
In front of a council
Didn't he?
He can take anyone of you
And use you mightily
For the Lord
As I lose my mic
Is there anything
Too hard for God?
There is
Look folks
What seems improbable or impossible with men is possible with God. And the prayer
for boldness, I don't care who you are, who you think you are, how much you doubt
yourself, it is not too hard for God to answer that prayer. Is there anything too
hard for the Lord? The prayer for boldness is not too hard to answer. He can
take someone who is shy and timid and fearful. If that's you this
morning, you're thinking, yeah, that's me. He can take any one of you, no matter who
you are, whether you're shy, whether you're timid, whether you're fearful,
whether you have anxiety, man, woman, boy or girl in this room right now, and he
can make you bold like a lion. He can make you bold as a lion. He can take any
one of you and use you mightily for God. If you ask for boldness, he can, look, if
you pray without ceasing, don't give up and you ask God for boldness and ask God
for courage and ask God for strength, he could take you and maybe one day you'll
walk into a city council meeting, you'll look the mayor in the eye and rebuke the
fire out of him for helping to destroy America. Could be you. Maybe you'll go to
a foreign country, maybe you'll go to the next Bahamas trip, maybe you'll go to
whatever other missions trips we have planned here at Steadfast Baptist Church
and you'll walk into a classroom somewhere in a foreign country and you'll
look those kids in the eye and you'll preach in the gospel of Jesus Christ and
maybe, just maybe, you'll get them all saved if you ask God for boldness. You
see, if you pray without ceasing, if you rely on him to come through for you and
you realize there is no prayer too hard for God, you can fight the good fight of
faith. You could be unashamed, you could be strong, you could be courageous, all
for God, standing for the truths of God's Word, preaching his Word with boldness,
you can fight for him, you can fight for the cause of Christ because you asked
God for boldness. Let me ask you this question, we've been asking it all
throughout this entire message, is there anything too hard for God? Well, you don't
understand, I have a speech impediment, I don't think I could do it, I'm too
nervous, no, no, no, I don't want to hear that. Is there anything too hard for the
Lord? No, no, ask for boldness, he will give you boldness, the boldness to fight
the good fight of faith, to be unashamed, to be strong, to be courageous, to do
mighty works for him, to do mighty works for him. Let's wrap it up in Genesis 18
and we'll be done. Now according to my clock here, I have 30 seconds to hit an
hour, that is great, I'm really happy about that folks, like super excited
right now. You say, no, no, no, no, no, this is impossible, I can't do it, I can't go,
you know, I'm not gonna go to the classroom, I'm too scared, I can't preach
the gospel, I can't knock on someone's door and get them saved, I can't stand
firm for the cause of Christ. Then you've missed the entire point of the
sermon. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? He could take you and mold you
and make you into something great. How about you let him, how about you yield to
him, rely on him to do that. Genesis 18 is where we're gonna wrap it up, verse 14,
and I'll wrap it up here. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Is anything too hard
for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee according to the
time of life and Sarah shall have a son. Whenever you feel discouraged, whenever
you begin to doubt, whenever you start to think that maybe God will not come
through on his promises, whenever you start to doubt the power of prayer,
repeat this in your mind. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? No, there
isn't. The answer to, you know, with anybody, anybody who has like a modicum
of understanding realizes that. It's the most fundamental truth you could
possibly preach, the all-powerful nature of God. What can we learn and apply to
our lives from this verse in Genesis 18 for 14? Well the first one was this, stay
confident in Christ's promises because there is no promise too hard for him to
keep and pray without ceasing because there is no prayer that is too hard for
him to answer. There is no prayer that is too hard for the... But most of all, this
phrase should give us peace. It should give us an inner peace. It should give us
peace and it should motivate you to cast your burdens on him and realize whatever
it is you're going through right now, he can handle it. He can handle it. Because
ultimately, like I've said, what appears to be seemingly improbable and
impossible even with man is possible with God. And if you've missed everything
I've said so far, I hope you at least remember that. Let's bow our heads for a
word of prayer. Father in heaven, we thank you Lord for your promises, for the
truths that are expounded in your word and I just pray Lord that you would help
us to never forget there is nothing too hard for you. There is no problem too
hard for you to solve. There is no prayer too hard for you to answer. There is no
predicament that you could not handle on our behalf and I just pray Lord that you
would help us to be strengthened, help us to be bold, help us to stand for the
cause of Christ and help us Lord to never forget this most fundamental truth
that there is nothing too hard for you. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
Amen.
Master, the tempest is raging, the billows are tossing high. The sky is o'ershadowed with blackness, no shelter or help is nigh.
Carest thou not that we perish, how canst thou lie asleep? When each moment so
madly is threatening, a grave in the angry deep. The winds and the waves shall
obey my will, peace be still. Whether the wrath of the storm toss sea or demons or
men or whatever it be, no water can swallow the ship where lies the master
of ocean and earth and skies. They all shall sweetly obey my will, peace be still,
peace be still. They all shall sweetly obey my will, peace, peace be still. On the
second. Master with anguish of spirit, I bow in my grief today. The depths of my
sad heart are troubled, awaken and save I pray. Torrents of sin and of anguish sweep
o'er my sinking soul. And I perish, I perish, dear master, oh hasten and take control.
The winds and the waves shall obey my will, peace be still. Whether the wrath of
the storm toss sea or demons or men or whatever it be, can swallow the ship
where lies the master of ocean and earth and skies. They all shall sweetly obey my
will, peace be still, peace be still. They all shall sweetly obey my will,
peace, peace be still. Master, the terror is over, the elements sweetly rest. Earth's
sun in the calm lake is mirrored, and heaven's within my breast. Linger, oh
blessed Redeemer, leave me alone no more, and with joy I shall make the blessed
harbor and rest on the blissful shore. The winds and the waves shall obey my
will, peace be still. Whether the wrath of the storm toss sea or demons or men
or whatever it be, no water can swallow the ship where lies the master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey my will, peace be still, peace be still. They all shall sweetly obey my will, peace, peace be still.
Thank you all for coming. God bless. You are dismissed.