Faith Challenge
Principle #2:

God Can Do What He Says He Can Do!

 



Hello friends!! How was your week? I am thankful to say that mine was a whole lot better than last week!!

I am so excited to share with you the nuggets of truth that I have found in this week's chapter of "Believing God" by Beth Moore. Last week we discussed the first principle of our Faith Pledge which is "God is Who He says He is" this week we take that principle one step further to say that "God Can Do What He Says He Can Do". In fact, Beth Moore states that...

God can do what he says He can do precisely because He is who He says He is. Most of the biblical titles for God...connect who He is to what He can do.

For instance:

As Savior, He saves

As Deliverer, He delivers

As Redeemer, He Redeems

As Master, He assumes authority

As Bread of Life, He provides

and

As Almighty, He exerts divine strength

 What glorious hope we can have as Christians if we were to really believe that God is capable of being and doing all of these things. Think about your current situation, what if you believed even for a fraction of a second that God could do what He has said He can do in your circumstance. What would that mean for you? Believe it friend, because if God IS even a fraction of what He says He is, then He has to be EVERYTHING He says that He is. Which means that He is TRUTH (John 14:6) and therefore what He has said He can do He TRULY IS able to do! We cannot believe part of what He said without believing ALL of what He has said.

In Luke chapter 4, when Jesus began His public ministry, he went into the Synagogue and read from the book of Isaiah (Ch 61), proclaiming that this Scripture was now being fulfilled before the people's very eyes. Beth Moore, in her "Breaking Free" series states that in reading this scripture, Jesus actually took complete ownership of his 'Job Description'.

This is what that scripture says:

The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me,

Because He Anointed Me to Preach the Gospel to the Poor,

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

And recovery of sight to the Blind,

To set free those who are oppressed,

Luke 4:18-19

In another scripture, John the Baptist, while he was in prison, sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was really the "one they had been expecting". You see, although he had declared that Jesus was indeed the Christ, had even heard confirmation from Heaven that He was the son of God, John's circumstances were such that he was now beginning to question if Jesus really was who he had thought He was. Anyone ever been where John was?? I know I have!!

Jesus reply to John was as follows:

Go report to John what you hear and see:

The blind receive sight and the lame walk,

The lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear,

The dead are raised up,

and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

Matthew 11:4-5

So, what about these miracles that Jesus performed? Were they just something that happened in 'Bible Times'? Or what about even before Jesus came to earth? Like Abraham's receiving a son at the ripe old age of 100 (Genesis 21), or the Israelites crossing the Red Sea on dry land (Exodus 14), or three Hebrew boys walking around in a fiery furnace yet never getting burned (Daniel 3). I dare to believe that the same God that brought these biblical miracles to life is the God that I serve today, and therefore He is able to do the same for you and I as He did for them.

So Beth Moore offers two reasons why we may not see as many miracles today as we once did, they are as follows:

1. We are a dreadfully unbelieving generation

"We are caught in a tragic cycle. We believe little because we see little, so we see little and continue to believe little..."

2. God may just be waiting for us to muster up some corporate belief and start asking Him for our miracles.

"If in reality we are seeing few wonders of God in the midst of His people and through His people, shouldn't we...inquire why?

 Are we not equally desperate?

 Is God no longer willing to intervene miraculously and wondrously in our behalf?

We are surrounded by a dying and depraved world,

 mounting violence and threat of mass destruction, disease, plague, enticing false religion and a surging fury of satanic assault and seduction.

 We are desperate for the wonders and miracles of God.

We need Him to show His mighty arm and tell the world that He is alive, active, and very much with us.

We are told churches are in terrible decline.

 Many pastors and leaders are depressed. Oppressed.

 Throngs of clueless people encircle us.

We need more than the best programs and planning can accomplish.

In fact, we need more than we have the courage or imagination to ask. 

Oh that the church would fall on it's face and cry out the words the prophet Habakkuk cried: "Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known"

Even as I write this today I am dealing with my own areas of unbelief, questions that I don't know the answer to and fear of what the truth might be.

I ask the Lord, as the father in Mark 9 (v 22-24) asked...

"But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us".

Jesus response to this man...

"If You can? All things are possible to him who believes".

 In other words, it's not a question of IF He can, the question is...

 Do We Believe He Can!!

Then the cry of our hearts must be the same as this father's was...

 "Help my unbelief".

As I end for this week, I'd like leave you with a song entitled "Do it Lord". What if we truly believed we would someday see the things in this song come to light! Would you dare to believe with me that the Lord can "Do it"?

  

Remember this friends:

 "The God we serve is able (Dan 3:17). Everything is possible (Mark 9:23). Nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37). We can always hope and pray diligently for a miracle. If, in God's sovereignty He chooses to accomplish His purposes another way, let it not be that we have not because we asked not (James 4:2) or that we have not because we believed not (Matt 9:29)

Beth Moore, Believing God, pg. 61

Praying for you until next week, that your faith will be increased!!

Love and blessings,

Tammy JOY