IMPOSSIBLE WITH MAN, POSSIBLE WITH GOD And he said, The things which are impossible with men

are possible with God Luke 18:2 ! "hrist had said to the rich #oung ruler, $ell all that thou hast !!! and come, %ollow me! The #oung man went awa# sorrow%ul! "hrist then turned to the disciples, and said: &ow hardl# shall the# that ha'e riches enter into the kingdom o% God( The disciples, we read, were greatl# astonished, and answered: )% it is so di%%icult to enter the kingdom, who, then, can be sa'ed* And "hrist ga'e this blessed answer: The things which are impossible with men are possible with God! The te+t contains two thoughts, that in religion, in the ,uestion o% sal'ation and o% %ollowing "hrist b# a hol# li%e, it is impossible %or man to do it! And then alongside that is the thought, -hat is impossible with man is possible with God! The two thoughts mark the two great lessons that man has to learn in the religious li%e! )t o%ten takes a long time to learn the %irst lesson, that in religion man can do nothing, that sal'ation is impossible to man! And o%ten a man

learns that, and #et he does not learn the second lesson, what has been impossible to him is possible with God! .lessed is the man who learns both lessons( The learning o% them marks stages in the "hristian/s li%e! Man Cannot The one stage is when a man is tr#ing to do his utmost and %ails, when a man tries to do better and %ails again, when a man tries much more and alwa#s %ails! And #et 'er# o%ten he does not e'en then learn the lesson: -ith man it is impossible to ser'e God and "hrist! 0eter spent three #ears in "hrist/s school, and he ne'er learned that, )t is impossible, until he had denied his Lord and went out and wept bitterl#! Then he learned it! 1ust look %or a moment at a man who is learning this lesson! At %irst he %ights against it2 then he submits to it, but reluctantl# and in despair2 at last he accepts it willingl# and re3oices in it! At the beginning o% the "hristian li%e the #oung con'ert has no conception o% this truth! &e has been con'erted, he has the 3o# o% the Lord in his heart, he begins to run the race and %ight the battle2 he is sure he can con,uer, %or he is earnest and honest, and God will help him! 4et,

somehow, 'er# soon he %ails where he did not e+pect it, and sin gets the better o% him! &e is disappointed2 but he thinks: ) was not watch%ul enough, ) did not make m# resolutions strong enough! And again he 'ows, and again he pra#s, and #et he %ails! &e thought: Am ) not a regenerate man* &a'e ) not the li%e o% God within me* And he thinks again: 4es, and ) ha'e "hrist to help me, ) can li'e the hol# li%e! At a later period he comes to another state o% mind! &e begins to see such a li%e is impossible, but he does not accept it! There are multitudes o% "hristians who come to this point: ) cannot2 and then think God ne'er e+pected them to do what the# cannot do! )% #ou tell them that God does e+pect it, it appears to them a m#ster#! A good man# "hristians are li'ing a low li%e, a li%e o% %ailure and o% sin, instead o% rest and 'ictor#, because the# began to see: ) cannot, it is impossible! And #et the# do not understand it %ull#, and so, under the impression, ) cannot, the# gi'e wa# to despair! The# will do their best, but the# ne'er e+pect to get on 'er# %ar! .ut God leads &is children on to a third stage, when a man comes to take that, )t is impossible, in its %ull truth, and #et at the same time sa#s: ) must do it, and ) will do it, it is impossible %or

man, and #et ) must do it2 when the renewed will begins to e+ercise its whole power, and in intense longing and pra#er begins to cr# to God: Lord, what is the meaning o% this* how am ) to be %reed %rom the power o% sin* )t is the state o% the regenerate man in 5omans ! There #ou will %ind the "hristian man tr#ing his 'er# utmost to li'e a hol# li%e! God/s law has been re'ealed to him as reaching down into the 'er# depth o% the desires o% the heart, and the man can dare to sa#: ) delight in the law o% God a%ter the inward man! To will what is good is present with me! 6# heart lo'es the law o% God, and m# will has chosen that law! "an a man like that %ail, with his heart %ull o% delight in God/s law and with his will determined to do what is right* 4es! That is what 5omans teaches us! There is something more needed! 7ot onl# must ) delight in the law o% God a%ter the inward man, and will what God wills, but ) need a di'ine omnipotence to work it in me! And that is what the apostle 0aul teaches in 0hi82:19 : )t is God which worketh in #ou, both to will and to do! 7ote the contrast! )n 5omans , the regenerate

man sa#s: To will is present with me, but to do, ) %ind ) cannot do! ) will, but ) cannot per%orm! .ut in 0hilippians 2, #ou ha'e a man who has been led on %arther, a man who understands that when God has worked the renewed will, God will gi'e the power to accomplish what that will desires! Let us recei'e this as the %irst great lesson in the spiritual li%e: )t is impossible %or me, m# God2 let there be an end o% the %lesh and all its powers, an end o% sel%, and lot it be m# glor# to be helpless! 0raise God %or the di'ine teaching that makes us helpless( -hen #ou thought o% absolute surrender to God were #ou not brought to an end o% #oursel%, and to %eel that #ou could see how #ou actuall# could li'e as a man absolutel# surrendered to God e'er# moment o% the da#, at #our table, in #our house, in #our business, in the midst o% trials and temptations* ) pra# #ou learn the lesson now! )% #ou %elt #ou could not do it, #ou are on the right road, i% #ou let #oursel'es be led! Accept that position, and maintain it be%ore God: 6# heart/s desire and delight, : God, is absolute surrender, but ) cannot per%orm it! )t is impossible %or me to li'e that li%e! )t is be#ond me! ;all down and learn that when #ou are

utterl# helpless, God will come to work in #ou not onl# to will, but also to do! God Can 7ow comes the second lesson! The things which are impossible with men are possible with God! ) said a little while ago that there is man# a man who has learned the lesson, )t is impossible with men, and then he gi'es up in helpless despair, and li'es a wretched "hristian li%e, without 3o#, or strength, or 'ictor#! And wh#* .ecause he does not humble himsel% to learn that other lesson: -ith God all things are possible! 4our religious li%e is e'er# da# to be a proo% that God works impossibilities2 #our religious li%e is to be a series o% impossibilities made possible and actual b# God/s almight# power! That is what the "hristian needs! &e has an almight# God that he worships, and he must learn to understand that he does not need a little o% God/s power, but he needs, with re'erence be it said, the whole o% God/s omnipotence to keep him right, and to li'e like a "hristian! The whole o% "hristianit# is a work o% God/s omnipotence! Look at the birth o% "hrist 1esus! That was a miracle o% di'ine power, and it was said to 6ar#: -ith God nothing shall be

impossible! )t was the omnipotence o% God! Look at "hrist/s resurrection! -e are taught that it was according to the e+ceeding greatness o% &is might# power that God raised "hrist %rom the dead! <'er# tree must grow on the root %rom which it springs! An oak tree three hundred #ears old grows all the time on the one root %rom which it had its beginning! "hristianit# had its beginning in the omnipotence o% God, and in e'er# soul it must ha'e its continuance in that omnipotence! All the possibilities o% the higher "hristian li%e ha'e their origin in a new apprehension o% "hrist/s power to work all God/s will in us! ) want to call upon #ou now to come and worship an almight# God! &a'e #ou learned to do it* &a'e #ou learned to deal so closel# with an almight# God that #ou know omnipotence is working in #ou* )n outward appearance there is o%ten so little sign o% it! The apostle 0aul said: ) was with #ou in weakness and in %ear and in much trembling, and ! ! ! m# preaching was !!! in demonstration o% the $pirit and o% power! ;rom the human side there was %eebleness, %rom the di'ine side there was di'ine omnipotence! And that is true o% e'er# godl# li%e2 and i% we would onl# learn that lesson better, and gi'e a

wholehearted, undi'ided surrender to it, we should learn what blessedness there is in dwelling e'er# hour and e'er# moment with an almight# God! &a'e #ou e'er studied in the .ible the attribute o% God/s omnipotence* 4ou know that it was God/s omnipotence that created the world, and created %ight out o% darkness, and created man! .ut ha'e #ou studied God/s omnipotence in the works o% redemption* Look at Abraham! -hen God called him to be the %ather o% that people out o% which "hrist was to be born, God said to him: ) am God Almight#, walk be%ore me and be thou per%ect! And God trained Abraham to trust &im as the omnipotent :ne2 and whether it was his going out to a land that he knew not, or his %aith as a pilgrim midst the thousands o% "anaanites, his %aith said: This is m# land, or whether it was his %aith in waiting twent#=%i'e #ears %or a son in his old age, against all hope, or whether it was the raising up o% )saac %rom the dead on 6ount 6oriah when he was going to sacri%ice him, Abraham belie'ed God! &e was strong in %aith, gi'ing glor# to God, because he accounted &im who had promised able to per%orm! The cause o% the weakness o% #our "hristian li%e is that #ou want to work it out partl#, and to let

God help #ou! And that cannot be! 4ou must come to be utterl# helpless, to let God work, and God will work gloriousl#! )t is this that we need i% we are indeed to be workers %or God! ) could go through $cripture and pro'e to #ou how 6oses, when he led )srael out o% <g#pt2 how 1oshua, when he brought them into the land o% "anaan2 how all God/s ser'ants in the :ld Testament counted upon the omnipotence o% God doing impossibilities! And this God li'es toda#, and this God is the God o% e'er# child o% &is! And #et we are some o% us wanting God to gi'e us a little help while we do our best, instead o% coming to understand what God wants, and to sa#: ) can do nothing! God must and will do all! &a'e #ou said: )n worship, in work, in sancti%ication, in obedience to God, ) can do nothing o% m#sel%, and so m# place is to worship the omnipotent God, and to belie'e that &e will work in me e'er# moment* :h, ma# God teach us this( :h, that God would b# &is grace show #ou what a God #ou ha'e, and to what a God #ou ha'e entrusted #oursel%, an omnipotent God, willing with &is whole omnipotence to place &imsel% at the disposal o% e'er# child o% &is( $hall we not take the lesson o% the Lord 1esus and sa#: Amen2 the things which are impossible with

men are possible with God* 5emember what we ha'e said about 0eter, his sel%=con%idence, sel%=power, sel%=will, and how he came to den# his Lord! 4ou %eel, Ah( there is the sel%=li%e, there is the %lesh=li%e that rules in me( And now, ha'e #ou belie'ed that there is deli'erance %rom that* &a'e #ou belie'ed that Almight# God is able so to re'eal "hrist in #our heart, so to let the &ol# $pirit rule in #ou, that! the sel%=li%e shall not ha'e power or dominion o'er #ou* &a'e #ou coupled the two together, and with tears o% penitence and with deep humiliation and %eebleness, cried out: : God, it is impossible to me2 man cannot do it, but, glor# to Th# name, it is possible with God* &a'e #ou claimed deli'erance* >o it now! 0ut #oursel% a%resh in absolute surrender into the hands o% a God o% in%inite lo'e2 and as in%inite as &is lo'e is &is power to do it! God Works in Man .ut again, we came to the ,uestion o% absolute surrender, and %elt that that is the want in the "hurch o% "hrist, and that is wh# the &ol# Ghost cannot %ill us, and wh# we cannot li'e as people entirel# separated unto the &ol# Ghost2 that is wh# the %lesh and the sel%= li%e cannot be con,uered! -e ha'e ne'er understood what it is

to be absolutel# surrendered to God as 1esus was! ) know that man# a one earnestl# and honestl# sa#s: Amen, ) accept the message o% absolute surrender to God2 and #et thinks: -ill that e'er be mine* "an ) count upon God to make me one o% whom it shall be said in &ea'en and on earth and in &ell, he li'es in absolute surrender to God* .rother, sister, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God! >o belie'e that when &e takes charge o% #ou in "hrist, it is possible %or God to make #ou a man o% absolute surrender! And God is able to maintain that! &e is able to let #ou rise %rom bed e'er# morning o% the week with that blessed thought directl# or indirectl#: ) am in God/s charge! 6# God is working out m# li%e %or me! $ome are wear# o% thinking about sancti%ication! 4ou pra#, #ou ha'e longed and cried %or it, and #et it appeared so %ar o%%( The holiness and humilit# o% 1esus, #ou are so conscious o% how distant it is! .elo'ed %riends, the one doctrine o% sancti%ication that is scriptural and real and e%%ectual is: The things which are impossible with men are possible with God! God can sancti%# men, and b# &is almight# and sancti%#ing power e'er# moment God can keep them! :h, that we might get a step nearer to our

God now( :h, that the light o% God might shine, and that we might know our God better( ) could go on to speak about the li%e o% "hrist in us, li'ing like "hrist, taking "hrist as our $a'iour %rom sin, and as our li%e and strength! )t is God in &ea'en who can re'eal that in #ou! -hat does that pra#er o% the apostle 0aul sa#: That he would grant #ou according to riches o% his glor#, it is sure to be something 'er# wonder%ul i% it is according to the riches o% &is glor#,to be strengthened with might b# his $pirit in the inner man* >o #ou not see that it is an omnipotent God working b# &is omnipotence in the heart o% &is belie'ing children, so that "hrist can become an indwelling $a'iour* 4ou ha'e tried to grasp it and to sei?e it, and #ou ha'e tried to belie'e it, and it would not come! )t was because #ou had not been brought to belie'e that the things which are impossible with men are possible with God! And so, ) trust that the word spoken about lo'e ma# ha'e brought man# to see that we must ha'e an in%lowing o% lo'e in ,uite a new wa#2 our heart must be %illed with li%e %rom abo'e, %rom the ;ountain o% e'erlasting lo'e, i% it is going to o'er%low all the da#2 then it will be 3ust as natural %or us to lo'e our %ellowmen as it is

natural %or the lamb to be gentle and the wol% to be cruel! @ntil ) am brought to such a state that the more a man hates and speaks e'il o% me, the more unlikable and unlo'able a man is, ) shall lo'e him all the more2 until ) am brought to such a state that the more the obstacles and hatred and ingratitude, the more can the power o% lo'e triumph in me, until ) am brought to see that, ) am not sa#ing: )t is impossible with men! .ut i% #ou ha'e been led to sa#: This message has spoken to me about a lo'e utterl# be#ond m# power2 it is absolutel# impossible, then we can come to God and sa#: )t is possible with Thee! $ome are cr#ing to God %or a great re'i'al! ) can sa# that that is the pra#er o% m# heart unceasingl#! :h, i% God would onl# re'i'e &is belie'ing people( ) cannot think in the %irst place o% the uncon'erted %ormalists o% the "hurch, or o% the in%idels and skeptics, or o% all the wretched and perishing around me, m# heart pra#s in the %irst place: 6# God, re'i'e Th# "hurch and people! )t is not %or nothing that there are in thousands o% hearts #earnings a%ter holiness and consecration: it is a %orerunner o% God/s power! God works to will and then &e works to do! These #earnings are a witness and a proo% that God has worked to will! :h, let us in %aith belie'e

that the omnipotent God will work to do among &is people more than we can ask! @nto him, 0aul said, who is able to do e+ceeding abundantl# abo'e all that we ask or think, unto him be glor#! Let our hearts sa# that! Glor# to God, the omnipotent :ne, who can do abo'e what we dare to ask or think( The things which are impossible with men are possible with God! All around #ou there is a world o% sin and sorrow, and the >e'il is there! .ut remember, "hrist is on the throne, "hrist is stronger, "hrist has con,uered, and "hrist will con,uer! .ut wait on God! 6# te+t casts us down: The things which are impossible with men2 but it ultimatel# li%ts us up high, are possible with God! Get linked to God! Adore and trust &im as the omnipotent :ne, not onl# %or #our own li%e, but %or all the souls that are entrusted to #ou! 7e'er pra# without adoring &is omnipotence, sa#ing: 6ight# God, ) claim Thine almightiness! And the answer to the pra#er will come, and like Abraham #ou will become strong in %aith, gi'ing glor# to God, because #ou account &im who hath promised able to per%orm! Andrew Murray