"I-M-POSSIBLE"

Message I had prepared for my message in the Christos Mar Thoma Church, Kenger, as part of the Youth Week Deputation program on the 19th of October, 2008.

Mark 10:17 - 31
(See also: Mathew 19:16-30, Luke 18:18-30)

This passage talks about a man who was

• young
• a ruler (see Luke)
• law-abiding
• humble (he got onto his knees when he met Jesus)
  
• rich
• on a quest

People today feel that money is the be-all and end-all to all things done on earth. But here was a young man, who knew that having all the money is not important. But being assured of eternal life was all that he wanted to know about.
This is infact the very sentiments that Paul talks about in his letter to the Philippians (see ch. 3)

He was a perfect man in the sense of the world

• He had obeyed the commandments since his youth.Youth, in my opinion, is the time when children tend to go the wrong way. In their childhood, parents are their answer to all things. But as they grow, then tend to start hiding things from their parents, lying, stealing and even not honoring their parents. This tendency is more when a child is brought up in riches. But here was a man, who was probably born in riches who has kept the commandments.
• His claim to obedience was not a sham. It was a reality. This is the reason Jesus loved him when he looked at him (v21). Jesus could see the heart of any person. So for Jesus to have loved him, indicates just how good this rich man actually was.

Jesus wanted him to come out his comfort zone

• Some people may seem to be perfect in the eyes of the world. But God knows our weaknesses, and knows that those weaknesses make us imperfect.
• Your imperfection is no reason for Jesus to not love you. He infact loves you inspite of your weaknesses. But He wants you to be ready to leave your comfort zones if you want to be perfect in His eyes.
• This is one of the reasons why Jesus mentions that you can't enter the kingdom of God unless you enter it as a child. Children are very quick to leaving the comfort zones when they are with their parents. If you have ever played the game of tossing a baby in the air and catching it, you'd have seen the joy on the baby's face, when it is in mid-air. For a baby, the comfort is in the arms of it's parent. But when it's parent were to toss it in the air, it is not scared because it completely trusts that it's parent knows what to do. But as the baby grows up, it is easily scared.
• God wants us to be like those babies. When He asks you to leave what you have for His sake, then you should be willing to leave all that you have. Because a God who has created you, also knows your needs, and will provide for the same.

When you give up something for God, He'll give you a 100 times more

• This is probably the most wrongly quoted verse from the Bible. Here God is not talking about your money. He is talking about your attitude.
• When you give up your house or family for the Lord, and go places, you are bound to meet a lot of people. God intends each one of these people we meet to be like an extension to our families. Their homes to be like our homes.
• When Jesus asks the apostles to go out in 2s, He told them that when they enter a town, they were to stay in a house all the time they are in the town. When you are a guest in a house, you feel uncomfortable after a few days. By asking them to stay there for their entire time in a town, Jesus was telling them that that place is going to be their home away from home. (Luke 10)
  
• Jesus on the cross was still thinking of his mother. He knew his mother was losing a son for the extension of God's kingdom. Hence he told her that John was her son, and told John that this was his mother. (John 19)
  
• But not all people are called to leave homes and family for His kingdom. Some people are called to be hosts too. This requires a lot of sacrifices too. When you have guests staying over at your place, you will endure quite some inconveniences like loss of privacy, loss of comforts like watching TV when you want.

Impossible for man, possible through God

• Sometimes giving up something is not every easy. Infact it seems like the toughest thing to do or even impossible. But when you put your trust in God and ask Him for help, He'll make all things possible. All He wants us to do is to put our complete trust that He will take it to completion.

We need to put in our efforts, but always remember that,
Even IMPOSSIBLE actually spells out as "I AM POSSIBLE", and our God is the great "I AM".

Ezekial - Chapters 14-15

Dated: 10-Oct-2008

14:4 - Today we are worshippers of idols in our hearts too. Money and materials take precedence over God for us most times. If we are asked to let go of our possessions, will we do as asked?

14:14 - Noah, Daniel and Job were saved because of their righteousness. W personally can't boast of righteousness. But we are saved because of the righteousness we've received from the blood of the Lamb.

14:16 - Your righteousness is yours alone. God will not save an unjust person because of you. So does that mean, you live a just life and that is it? No, we are called to be shepherds for the Lord. Though we can't save some one else because of our righteousness, we can be a reason for them to find their righteousness through us. That's what we are called for.

14:23 - When you go through trials in your life, you might wonder what/why God is doing this. But the righteous will come out unscathed and unharmed. When you see this final result, you will know and understand God's purpose for you. God does nothing without reason or cause. He has everything planned out. But the best part is that He has contingency plans in place too.
When you sin, His plan to prosper you is no longer valid. The contingency plan to your destination becomes the primary plan, and His initial plan becomes the contingency option. To reverse these plans, all you need to do is to repent wholeheartedly. That's all it takes.

15 - The wood of the vine is of no use at all. But in John 15, Jesus says, "I'm the vine". What does this mean?
If you are in the vine, you are of use. The moment you fall out, you get rendered as just another piece of wood. This piece of wood from a vine is of no use at all. Your identity is there as long as you are part of the vine. The moment you leave the vine, you are just a piece of useless wood. As mentioned in John 15:6 , a withered wood/branch has no purpose but to be thrown into the fire.

Ezekial - Chapters 11 - 13

Dated: 05-Oct-2008

11:16b - What a promise it was. That God will be with us wherever we are. All He wants us to do, is to love and worship Him. He is ready to go to the extent of coming to us. If we feel that we are away from home, and in a foreign land, there is nothing to worry. God is with us. He is keeping an eye out for us.

12:1-6 - God can make you do some crazy things. He asked Noah to build an ark when they had no rains. Here He asks Ezekial to go out of his house, like he is in exile. But there is method in His madness. Even incase of Noah, maybe if some one had stopped by to ask him what he was doing and why, they might've gotten saved.
Here again, though Ezekial does some crazy things, no one asks him what he is doing. But here God gives them a second chance, by sending Ezekial back among them.

? Is there a message to us too here? To take note of the seemingly eccentric people around us? Are there similar crazy people who are trying to tell us something? Do we have time or interest to interact with them?

12:21-28 - God is listening to every word we say. He keeps track of them. And when the time is right, we will hear His response to us. Hence it is very important that we guard what we say. Things we intend to be said in jest, may not be taken so by others.
The words that come out of our mouths make people determine a lot about us. Here God is just giving us an example by disproving the haughty statements made by men against Him. When God says things, He means it. There are no jest statements made by Him. So when we hear His word or promise, we can rest assured that He will bring it to completion. We can rest assured of His support in claiming His promise.

13:17-23 - The description of women wearing charms and scarves matches the current day fortune tellers; infact I think most of them are women too. It's pretty clear that these people have evil powers. They are not just another set of people who are putting on an act. The devil is working through them. Nothing but God can fight those powers away. So it's best we stay away from these people. Not giving them a chance to find a weak link within us, and enter into us.

Ezekial - Chapters 8-11

Dated: 26-Sep-2008

9:11 - The man sent to mark the foreheads of people comes back at the end of the conversation between God and Ezekial. What does that mean? There were so little people that he could finish his work before the conversation ended?

10 - Glory of the Lord leaves the temple. A temple is God's home. If He has to decide to leave home, things must've been so terrible in the Jerusalem temple. If our houses get pest infected, we will do our best to remove the pest. We will get the best terminators in business and spend all that we have to ensure our house is clean again. But if nothing helps, our only resort would be to shift to a new place, and perhaps bring down the old house. This is similar to what God planned for too.

? What is the significance of coal being scattered in Jerusalem? Is this supposed to indicate the wrath of God on all of them?

9:4-6 - God asks the man in linen to go around and place a mark on the foreheads of people who are still children of God.

• Revelation 14 talks of 144,000 people along with Him, who had the mark of the Father.
• Revelation 13 talks of the mark of the devil.

? Does everything have a mark? When do we get to see our marks?
Everyone might have a mark, but do we have the mark of the Father?

8:12 - God never forsakes us. He is always aware of our thoughts and intentions at all times. We might be very big sinners, we might not even walk with the Lord. But inspite of all this, God is still looking out for us. He is seeing our every move. The things we do, thinking we are not God's children afterall, still does hurt him.

Ezekial - Chapters 4-7

Dated: 12-Sep-2008, 19-Sep-2008

7:20 - "The things that you use to disgrace the Lord will be destroyed".
When we misuse the talents given to us, God will destroy those talents. People who know you because of your talents will find no use for you. Our God is a selfish God. He wants all the glory and love to be His alone. God has given you the talents you have. When you use these talents in ways that don't please God, then He'll take it away as your punishment.

4:14 - Even in the midst of His fury, God listens to prayers. When Ezekial said he didn't want to defile himself, God heard it. He was ready to go soft on him. God loves to talk to us and listen to us and to give us what we need. He is always all ears to all our woes and cries. He wants to give us nothing but the best. So, when you cry out to the Lord, He does listen. But how He chooses to answer our prayer varies. Sometimes what we ask for may seem like the best for us. But God knows everything about us. And He knows what will be the best for us and also remain the best for us, in our complete lifetime.

3:14 - Annoyed and angry (Refer the question I felt here)
God had taken complete control of Ezekial. Imagine being under complete control of another person. How would you feel? Would you be able to be happy? So, the human side of Ezekial just comes out, when he says this.

4:4-5 - Ezekial was called to be a prophet for the Lord. But this required sacrifices from him too. He had to lie down for 390+40 days. He had food restrictions too. So when God calls us to be His workers, we need to be ready to make sacrifices He asks for.

7:21-27 - There is a code of conduct when you are God's people. When you break this, God is angry. People of Jerusalem did that. They worshipped other Gods and built altars for them. This is why God chose to punish them. In the same time, there were wicked people around them. God was not planning on destroying them though. For the sole reason that they didn't belong to His family.
If you see a boy smoking on the road, the most you'd do is advise him to not smoke. But if it is your own son, then you'd belt him then and there. It's a similar situation with God too. When you decided to be sons of God, you are giving Him full authority over your life. When you start to do things not pleasing to Him, He will punish you.
If you sin without knowing the Lord, He is going to be sad about you. But when you sin after getting to know Him, He is also gonna get angry with you. You need to remember that.