There are many good things that we need to know about our God, but I believe this one for our subject today is among the most important. We speak abstractly, sometimes, about God being all powerful without considering the application and meaning of those words. We could talk about God’s power to speak the world into existence, but we cannot fully conceive in our minds such power. We could speak about God’s power to destroy the world with a flood, but only Noah and his family witnessed such. The Bible says that "God has his way in the whirlwind and in the storms, and the clouds are the dust of his feet." (Nahum 1:2-3.) I understand that a #5 tornado is so powerful that it is called "the hand of God." It sustains wind speeds of over 300 mph! One such tornado hit Birmingham, AL in 1998.

God has creative and destructive power. Man should stand in awe of God. What power it must be to speak and bring the present world to an end. Peter wrote, "Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." (2 Peter 3:12.)

God has redemptive power. He answers prayers. Jesus spoke symbolically about mountains being moved into the sea by prayer. (Matt. 17:20.) Paul wrote, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." (Eph. 3:20.) We can think of some tremendous things, but God can actually do more than we think!

Our concept of God is always inadequate and in constant need of revision. Whatever you think about God, it is always less than who God really is!! As human beings we are always confusing our ideas of things with things themselves. Our concepts or ideas of relationships with others and the real relationship can often be two greatly different things. We often do damage to relationships because we try to match the idea with the reality. We can get foolish and wrong notions in our heads about people. These judgments or concepts affect your relationship with them. We must remember that our idea of a person or thing is not the same as the person or thing itself. This is especially true of God. We cannot respond properly to God until we come to terms with the fact that our idea of God is not God. He is greater than any of our thoughts, concepts, or ideas about him. (Isa. 55:8-9.)

We fail to fully appreciate God because we reduce the Almighty to our puny conceptions of God. Many give up on God because they do not appreciate what God can do for them. Since our concepts of God are always less than God, we therefore reduce God and his power in our minds.

I want to emphasize today that God majors in difficult cases! He specializes in them. We should not think that God can handle just simple and easy cases, but He cannot handle the most difficult ones. We should not think that some sicknesses are within God’s scope, but others are outside his ability. That some sins are easier for God to forgive than others; some sinners need not apply for help. That psychological problems are for trained counselors, but God cannot do anything for you. That sexually perverted people cannot receive help from the Almighty; homosexuals and lesbians need not apply. That drug addicts and alcoholics, those with multiple divorces and remarriages are beyond help! Church is basically for good people who can manage their own affairs. They are the decent and upright people in society. God does not need to do much for them; they do not require much forgiveness because they have not sinned very much.

I fear that we have left the impression with some people that our God cannot help them. I read a poem once entitled, "The Widow In the Bye Street," by John Masefield in 1912. The widow and mother of her only son in prison said that death "is the end of curses and the rest for broken things too broke to mend." (Poems, 186.) Some feel that their lives are so shattered that things cannot be made right again. I want to assure you that God is sufficient for every human need.

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19.) Not only so, but God majors in the difficult cases. Here are some biblical examples.

1) One demon possessed. A father brought his son to the disciples of Jesus to be healed, but they failed to cast out the demon. After Jesus healed the boy, the disciples asked, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, "Because of your unbelief. For verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (Matt. 17:14-21.)

The Lord specializes in "hard cases." These are the very ones that demand his touch. Jesus had power over the demons and Satan himself. No one could handle Satan except our Lord. Jesus said that you must bind the strong man first, then you can spoil his house. (Matt. 12:29.) Jesus dealt with Satan in the wilderness for forty days. In the end, Jesus defeated Satan at each temptation. It was not an easy matter; it required going to the cross to do it. Jesus lived his life without submitting to sin even once. He majors in difficult cases. . . like sin, Satan, death, demons, leprosy, etc.

2) A woman that doctors could not help. Jesus healed many people, but this woman spent all her living on doctors and medicine. Yet she remained just as sick as before, and even grew worse.

"And (the woman) had suffered many things of many physicians, and spent all that she had and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. When she heard of Jesus, came in the press behind and touched his garment." (Mark 5:26-27.)

The value of this account, in part, is that if Jesus could heal this woman, he can heal anyone. He takes the hardest cases first.

3) One who is dead. Mary and Martha thought that if the Lord had been there while Lazarus was still alive, he could have helped. But now that he is dead, there is nothing that anyone can do. Lazarus had been dead for four days. Jesus simply asked, Where did you lay him? (John 11:34.) Before he raised Lazarus, he told the sisters and others gathered there, "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believes on me though he were dead, yet shall he live. Whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die." (11:25-26.)

No man could handle this situation. Christians, like Mary and Martha, need to know the One who can handle these difficult cases. He majors in them. With God, all things are possible. He can and will raise the dead.

Jesus once said to some Sadducees, "Ye do err not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God." (Matt. 22:29.)

4) One entangled by riches. A rich young ruler came to Jesus to ask what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell what he had, give it to the poor and come follow him. The young man went away sorrowful because he had great possessions.

"And Jesus looked round about and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answered again and saith unto them, Children, how hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible." (Mark 10:21-27.)

The disciples were astonished beyond measure because they thought that riches were evidence of God’s blessings upon a person. The poor might have difficulty entering into God’s Kingdom, but not the rich.

The "eye of the needle" or the "strait way" is not going to be changed to accommodate people. (Matt. 7:13-14.) The change must occur with the "camel." God can change us if we allow him to do so. One writer said that "God can put the camel through; but it takes divine power to do it; and the process is hard on the camel." (J. J. Taylor, Coffman’s Commentary on Mark, 214.)

We should note that Jesus did not turn this rich young ruler away. He went away sorrowful. Here was a man overtaken with riches in his life. Jesus knew him well. I may have made a wrong judgment about the man, but Jesus did not. Jesus knew what stood in the way of his salvation. The young man knew that he was lost. He asked what he needed to do to have eternal life. (Mark 10:17.) He came to the right person for salvation. God can help us break the strong bands of covetousness, if we will just allow him to do so. All things are possible with God. Remember that this statement by Jesus is found in the context of one seeking salvation. Everyone can be saved by the Gospel. No one need be lost. Jesus never turned anyone away, but many walked away from him. (John 6:66, Mark 10:22.)

5) One overcome by immorality. At one of Jacob’s wells, Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman who came there to draw water. Jesus offered to her "water that would spring up into everlasting life." (John 4:14.) Like Nicodemus, she misunderstood. She only thought about the work of constantly drawing and carrying water. Jesus replied, Go call your husband and come here. The woman said that she did not have a husband. Like Abraham who lied twice about his wife being his sister, it was partially true and partially false. She was living with a man who was not her husband, but she had been married four times.

For most of us, this is admittedly a "hard case." What should you do with such people? Jesus did not turn her away. When she left, she left behind her waterpot to run into the city. (4:28.) Some have written that this woman left her waterpot subconsciously saying, I will be back.

We should all know that God hates divorce. (Malachi 2:16.) Jesus defined adultery clearly in his conversation with the Pharisees who tempted him with their questions. (Matt. 19:1-12.) But what should be done with those who break God’s will? Is there no hope?

I am afraid that many who are lost look at Christians as being those who do not need very much help. They have their lives fairly much in order. They have good jobs and are able to pay their bills. They dress nicely, at least on Sundays. Their children all have straight teeth; never need braces! All their children are good athletes and make straight A’s. The teens and adults never really commit any of the big three sins---drinking, cussing, and smoking. Christians rarely need the Lord to forgive them. . . because they are so good!

Like the disciples who were confronted with the boy possessed with a demon, we often cannot handle tough problems. We do not know what to do with someone who has been married twice, much less four times. We cannot handle someone having a child out of marriage. We do know how to condemn them! But we do not know very much about love, acceptance, forgiveness. What about someone has been incarcerated?? What do we do with them? They could never be a deacon; could they?? Saul of Tarsus killed people, yet God selected him to be a preacher and an apostle. The church did not want to have anything to do with him, but Jesus forgave him for destroying his churches. Can we forgive people?

6) The chief of sinners. Today we think so highly of Paul the apostle that we almost forget Saul of Tarsus, the overly zealous Pharisee. Perhaps, no Christian in Jerusalem ever imagined that this Pharisee would become a fervent believer in Christ. He was not likely on anyone’s prospect list for those to teach the Gospel.

We need to remember that he opposed Christians to the point of death. He was there when Stephen, the first recorded martyr, was stoned by Jews. (Acts 7:58.) In addition, he obtained permission to go "bounty hunting." Perhaps, his fellow Pharisees bragged on Saul; he was their respected leader exceeding all his teachers in his zeal against Christ and Christians.

Saul is the perfect example of the kind of cases in which the Lord specializes. We might not be able to reach such a man; in fact we cannot. But the Gospel is powerful enough; the Lord can. (Rom. 1:16.) The Gospel is God’s power to save. It can reach the most difficult. Someone said that we should not think that we have the responsibility to defend the Gospel. It can defend itself! The Gospel is like a tiger; just turn it loose! All enemies will run.

Paul wrote that his conversion is important to remind us that if the Lord could forgive him, he can forgive anyone. He killed Christians and destroyed churches.

"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever." (1 Tim. 1:15-17.)

7) One dying in sin. (Luke 23:39-43.) Everywhere Jesus turned, he was faced with difficult cases to handle. We can understand it. If Jesus were on earth today, many would crowd around trying to explain their situation to him and asking him for help. Lord, your disciples could not help us. Please help!

Even when Jesus was dying to free mankind from sin, one man turned to Jesus and asked to be remembered in his kingdom. If that dying thief had asked the priests, what would they have said? Well, we have a problem here. You are up there on a cross; you need to bring us an animal sacrifice. We will need to build an altar and get some wood. I do not think that you have time to accomplish all of this before you die. It just may be too late for you. What would we have said to this man? You will need to get cleaned up and come to church on Sunday. If you can do that and get down to the front during the invitation, we will pray for you and maybe God will forgive you.

We have not learned very much in all of our years of studying! The hard cases must be handled by the Lord. He is not ashamed of sinners. He understands sin and temptation. He knows all about Satan. He has grace and mercy. If the thief asked us about salvation, should we not say what John the Baptist said to his disciples? "Behold, the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29.) We should not try to solve things that take divine power and a divine being to solve. But we should know the One who has that power.

Who can forgive sins, but God? (Mark 2:7.) Sins are difficult things, but the Lord can handle them.

What should we do when things get all confused, when we have sinned against God and one another, when we have broken the rules?

What did Saul of Tarsus do after killing Christians and destroying churches? How did David go on after committing adultery and killing the woman’s husband? We must learn to let the Lord "cut the Gordian knot."

This phrase comes from Greek mythology. It was a skillfully tied knot. A peasant, named Gordius, who became king used it to tie his ox yoke to his chariot. A legend said whoever could loosen the knot would rule Asia. Many tried without success. Finally, Alexander the Great cut it with his sword, and declared that he had fulfilled the prophecy. Gordius was the father of Midas, whose touch turned everything to gold. The expression, cutting the Gordian knot, means solving a difficult problem in an easy way. God can easily solve difficult problems, but man cannot.

Another analogy is cutting your fishing line when it gets all tangled up. Fishermen know that if you jerk around on a nylon fishing line long enough, it gets all knotted up. You can spend hours in vain trying to untangle the line. Wise fishermen have learned that you carry an extra spool of line with you. When the line gets all tangled up so that it is impossible to untangle it, you simply cut it loose and put the new spool of line on. God, through his grace and forgiveness, cuts us free often. God can untie the Gordian knot!

If Paul had allowed it to happen, he could have spent the rest of his life grieving and moaning over what he did against the Christians. Likewise, David and Peter and Adam and Abraham and all the others who sinned against God. Judas would not allow the Lord to cut the Gordian knot for him. He saw no way out of his dilemma; so he committed suicide. Many others have committed spiritual suicide by giving up the hope that they can be forgiven and saved.

Let us go through the biblical examples again. If God majors in, not just hard cases, but the impossible, then why do we have so many problems in our lives? In the lives of Christians? How does God accomplish these things?

Go through the examples again with me and make some applications. Is this just so much talk or is it real? Can God accomplish "exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or think?"

Healing the possessed, palsied and sick. Jesus demonstrated on earth that he had such power over the spirit world of demons. His power was greater than "the forces of nature." This was and is possible because he is the creator of all those forces. He understands them and controls them. By his power all things consist. (Col. 1:17.)

Remember that even in the first century, all the sick and infirmed were not healed. That was not his purpose then. He will change this world and "a new heaven and new earth" will begin. God showed his power over the physical forces of the world so that men might trust him in dealing with unseen forces and spiritual matters. This world is not heaven. We should not demand of God to make it so. It is not his will. If it were his will, he could change all the adverse things in our lives. He has the power.

Jesus raised the dead. Just as with the sick, all the dead were not raised. Some were to prove to man that God has the power to raise the dead. He raised Jesus from the dead. The Gospel is based upon this very truth. God wants us now to trust in him that he will raise us up one day.

"And God hath both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power." (1 Cor. 6:14.)

If we understand that the One who has promised to raise us is the same One who created the universe and man, then it is not something incredible or impossible. Paul reasoned with Agrippa, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead?" (Acts 26:8.)

The rich young ruler. Jesus spoke about the difficulty of the rich finding their way to trusting in God. He preached, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." (Matt. 6:24.) The Jews thought, with good reason from Old Testament teaching, that the faithful would prosper materially. For this reason, they were shocked to hear Jesus talk about the difficulty of the rich entering into the Kingdom of God.

But God has the power to save equally the rich and the poor. It depends upon a common factor---faith in God. Can we, no matter our station in life, find it within ourselves to trust in God? If so, He has the power to break the bands of this world from us.

God is the One who makes faith possible. I reject the religious view that faith itself is a gift from God. Some so teach. If so, then God gives this gift to some and not to others. This is the false view of divine selection of some to be saved. What the Bible teaches is that God provides the evidence that produces faith. This was done for Saul of Tarsus more directly, but equally for all of us. We have enough evidence to produce faith in the resurrected Son of God. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." (Rom. 10:17.) We must "will to believe." Some "will to believe not."

Immorality and dying in sin. "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do his good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13-14.)

We have placed so much emphasis upon man and what he should do that we have almost left God out of the picture. God is the One who can do the impossible, not man. We are like clay in a potter’s hand.

"Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; some to honor and some to dishonor. If a man purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

(2 Tim. 2:19-22.)

I heard a sermon once based on this text entitled, "From Garbage Cans to Water Pots." We all wondered what the title meant. Then we heard the sermon. The preacher explained from the text that every house has a lot of different kinds of vessels for various purposes. In God’s house, He does not want any garbage cans. He wants pure vessels, like those from which you drink clean water. God is the maker of the vessels in his great house. It is by his power that we become a useful vessel.

The choice of what we do is ours, but it is God who makes of us new creatures. "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature (KJV), creation (NIV). Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Cor. 5:17.) If we are a new creation, who is the creator?? We must stop thinking that we can create this new person. Paul asked, "What do you have that you did not receive? If you received it, why do you boast as if you received it not?" (1 Cor. 4:7.) God is the creator of the world, of the physical man, and of the spiritual man. We are born of the Spirit initially, and we grow by the Spirit of God. Without the Spirit, there is no spiritual growth and maturity. If a man creates something spiritually, it is not much to observe! You can tell immediately that it is not of God.

For saints and sinners alike, we must learn to allow God to use us. There is no way to measure what God can do with a human life if we would just allow Him to have his way. We have such difficulty with forgiveness for this very reason. We want to think that we somehow accomplished it.

God is not limited to just forgiving us of wrong things done, but He can provide all else that we need as well.

1) Poor want just food. They need more than that; they need the bread and water of life. But many are content to just have a few cans of beans. They leave with so little. We want for them to have so much more; God desires more then we. "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33.) When I hear their excuses for not seeking after the righteousness of God, I feel so sick. We all limit God in our lives.

"Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel." (Psa. 78:41.) This phrase occurs only once in the Bible, but it is probably the most prevalent thing that is done by man.

2) Man seeks after earthly happiness. There is more discontentment in the lives of Christians than I have ever seen. People are unhappy in their marriages, school, professions. We have more than we have ever possessed, yet we are remain poor. The Lord said that some at Laodicea were naked, yet they wore the most expensive clothing of that day. (Rev. 3:17-18.) The only way to have a stable marriage is for both to seek God’s will above their own limited selfish interest.

3) The whole person needs help. Sin is not just some abstract thing that preachers talk about. It is real; it affects us in every way. It touches the physical life, the emotional well-being of a person, the confidence and peace that a person has with his God, all the relationships that we have with others. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind." (2 Tim. 1:7.)

We will always fail if we trust ourselves and limit God. We should rather limit ourselves and trust God. Have you ever noticed that the church often divides over what it thinks man should do to obtain salvation, but rarely ever discusses the role of God in the whole process? Shouldn’t that tell us something??

4) Man does not fully submit to God. If we would, he can do much with and through all of us. Saul submitted. The thief submitted. We must submit. Then God can work in our lives.