Sunday's Message - Keep Calm Because It’s Impossible

As disciples of Jesus, we've been called to follow him by claiming his example and learning from his teachings. From June to October, we're going to focus on the Gospel of Mark so that we might better understand how we might follow our Savior and live as his community. 

During the following twenty Sundays, the message will apply following passages:

June 6, 2021 - Mark 3:20-35

June 13, 2021 - Mark 4:26-34

June 20, 2021 - Mark 4:35-41

June 27, 2021 - Mark 5:21-43

July 4, 2021 - Mark 6:1-13

July 11, 2021 - Mark 6:14-29

July 18, 2021 - Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

July 25, 2021 - Mark 7:14-23

August 1, 2021 - Mark 7:24-37

August 8, 2021 - Mark 8:27-38

August 15, 2021 - Mark 9:30-37

August 22, 2021 - Mark 9:38-50

August 29, 2021 - Mark 10:2-16

September 5, 2021 - Mark 10:17-31

September 12, 2021 - Mark 10:35-45

September 19, 2021 - Mark 10:46-52

September 26, 2021 - Mark 12:28-34

October 3, 2021 - Mark 12:38-44

October 10, 2021 - Mark 13:1-8

October 17, 2021 - Mark 13:24-26, 32-36

On Sunday, September 5, 2021, we looked at Mark 10:2-16. The passage, the message and the podcast is below:

Mark 10:17-31 [Contemporary English Version]

As Jesus was walking down a road, a man ran up to him. He knelt down, and asked, “Good teacher, what can I do to have eternal life?”

Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. You know the commandments. ‘Do not murder. Be faithful in marriage. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Do not cheat. Respect your father and mother.’”

The man answered, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these commandments since I was a young man.”

Jesus looked closely at the man. He liked him and said, “There’s one thing you still need to do. Go sell everything you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come with me.”

When the man heard Jesus say this, he went away gloomy and sad because he was very rich.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “It’s hard for rich people to get into God’s kingdom!” The disciples were shocked to hear this. So Jesus told them again, “It’s terribly hard to get into God’s kingdom! In fact, it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God’s kingdom.”

Jesus’ disciples were even more amazed. They asked each other, “How can anyone ever be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything.”

Peter replied, “Remember, we left everything to be your followers!”

Jesus told him:

You can be sure that anyone who gives up home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or land for me and for the good news will be rewarded. In this world they will be given a hundred times as many houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and pieces of land, though they will also be mistreated. And in the world to come, they will have eternal life. But many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first.

Keep Calm Because It’s Impossible

You know, we just don’t like to accept that something might be impossible. For example... 

No, the whole idea that something is actually the impossible, I’m telling you, I think that’s an assumption most folks don’t want to accept. And you know, that’s why we’re more than willing to suspend reality and believe that Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson could actually jump from one building to another or that Bryce Dallas Howard could actually outrun a T-Rex wearing heels (now that’s Bryce Howard wearing the heels, not the T-Rex) or that a guy looks and acts like Seth Rogan could ever end up with Katherine Heigl much less Charlize Theron. And yet, that’s what we accept when it on the screen. Why? Because deep down we want to believe that the impossible is possible. And you know, that’s probably why we eat up sayings like “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination” [Tommy Lasorda] and “Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude” [Lou Holtz] and “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I'm possible’!” [Audrey Hepburn] No, I don’t think there’s anyway around it, most of us get really uncomfortable when we’re told that something is impossible.

And you know, when you think about it, why shouldn’t we be. I mean, I don’t know about y’all, but I like to think of myself as capable, you know, in control, able to do whatever’s necessary when faced with a problem. But you know, as soon as I’m told that solving that problem, that making that repair, that earning that grade, that running away from that T-Rex is impossible, well, all of sudden my control has been brought into question, hasn’t it? And all of sudden, I might not be as capable as I thought I was. And all of a sudden, I may have to face the fact that no matter how much determination I have or how positive my attitude might be, I’m just not going to be able to do it, because it’s what? Impossible. And there I am, discouraged, frustrated and a little bit scared. My gosh, no one really wants to accept that one in a million doesn’t actually really mean you have real a chance. And I think that’s why most of us would just as soon avoid the word impossible if we could.

But even though that may be the case in most of life, I think there’s exception to this rule. You see, in my opinion, there’s something in everyone’s life that’s simply impossible for us to do; no matter how hard we try, it just ain’t going to happen. But unlike all those other impossible things we work hard to deny or ignore, this impossibility is actually something that I believe we should celebrate, because when we do, it can absolutely change how we feel and what we do. And that’s going to be our focus for the next ten minutes or so. And by the time we leave here this morning, I believe we’ll actually be able to keep calm because it’s impossible.

Of course, when I said that we’re going to talk about something that’s impossible, I’d wager that some of y’all may already have a pretty good idea about what I’m going to say, because it’s something that Jesus said in the passage we just read. I mean, remember what Mark wrote:

The [disciples] asked each other, “How can anyone ever be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything.” [Mark 10:26b-27, CEV]

Or as it says in the New Revised Standard Version: They were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.” [Mark 10:26-27, NRSV] But you know, it really doesn’t matter which translation we use, the meaning is the same. 

You see, when we’re dealing with salvation, and I’m talking about our salvation, no matter what we say, it’s impossible for us to achieve. And no matter what we do, it’s impossible for us to attain. And no matter what we promise or accept or believe, man, it’s just impossible for us to get. Now that’s not just coming from me; that’s what Jesus said. And I’ll tell you, in this passage, I think we see that point being made in the what happened before. I mean, remember what Mark wrote. A guy came to Jesus and asked a very clear and direct question. After kneeling, a sign of respect in the ancient world, he asked, “Good teacher, what can I do to have eternal life?” [Mark 10:17b, CEV] Now that’s what he said. And even though Jesus told him what the law required, the man stated that he was already doing all the legal stuff. But there must be something else he could do or say or promise that would stamp his ticket to heaven. You see, he already had the burger and the bun; what he wanted was the secret sauce. And so “the man answered, ‘Teacher, I have obeyed all these commandments since I was a young man.’” [Mark 10:20, CEV] And then, according to Mark, 

Jesus looked closely at the man. He liked him and said, “There's one thing you still need to do. Go sell everything you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come with me.”

When the man heard Jesus say this, he went away gloomy and sad because he was very rich. [Mark 10:21-22, CEV]

Now that’s what happened, but it didn’t just stop there. You see, this little encounter, started the whole conversation between Jesus and the disciples, first, about rich people and God’s Kingdom and then, second, to how there were some things that people just couldn’t do and salvation was one of them. I’m telling you, I think Jesus was pretty clear in telling his disciples then and now, that salvation was and is impossible for us to earn or attain or to get. And you know, if that was all he said, man, they’d have and we have every reason to be at least as discouraged and frustrated and scared as we feel when we face any other impossibility.

But course that’s not all Jesus said, because to those disciples who must have felt as though they’d just taken punch to the mid-section, he also said, “...but God can do anything,” [Mark 10:27c, CEV] “...for God all things are possible.” [Mark 10:27c, NRSV] Now that’s what he said, and I’ll tell you, when you think you think about it, this could offer these discouraged and frustrated and scared disciples all kinds of hope and peace and confidence. You see, if what Jesus said was true, salvation wasn’t based on what they’d said or done. And it wasn’t based on the promises they’d made or the rules they’d followed. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t based in anything they’d done or could do. Instead, their hope and peace and confidence was grounded in God, the one who wouldn’t forget the sacrifices that they’d made and the one who held eternal life and salvation in his loving and merciful hands. Now that’s what Jesus told them. And as reminder that this promise included those outside his little group, he said, “But many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first.” [Mark 10:31, CEV] And so, when you’re talking about salvation and eternal life, it’s seems pretty clear; it’s impossible for us but not for God.

And I’ll tell you, I believe this is wonderful news for us, and in my opinion, this impossibility is something that we should not only accept but celebrate, and I say that for two reasons. You see, first, it gives us the opportunity to relax and to stop trying to get saved, something that Jesus says is impossible for us to do. I mean, instead of worrying about whether we’ve said all the right words and instead of worrying about whether we’ve made all the right promises and instead of worrying about whether we’ve accepted all the right doctrines, we can simply stop and take a deep breath and accept that the Apostle Paul knew what he was talking about when he wrote, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [Romans 8:35, 37-39, CEV] You see, when decide to trust the words of Christ and accept that, when it comes to getting saved, it’s impossible for us but not for God, then we can relax. And that’s the first thing that’ll happen.

And second, once we’re relaxed, now we can respond. We can respond to the one who can and does save. And we can respond to the one who holds our eternal destinies in his hands. And we can respond to the one who loved us before he laid the foundation of the universe and who will love us long after time has lost its meaning. Man, we can respond. And our response, well, it’s not going to be based on some narrow set of laws that some believe can enable us to do what Jesus called impossible. No, our response is going to be based on who we are and what God has given us the ability to give. It’s like Paul said to the Romans, “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.” [Romans 12:6-8, CEV] But more than that, it’s going to be focused on doing what God wants us all to do. Continuing what Paul wrote to the Romans: Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. [Romans 12:9-13, CEV] You see, once we stop trying to get something that’s impossible for us to get, we can start offering who we are and what we have to the one who actually did what we were incapable of doing. I’m telling you, once we’re relaxed, we can respond. And that’s the second thing that’ll happen.

Of course, having said all this, I doubt that we’ll ever be comfortable with the world “impossible.” And we’ll still go to movies in theaters and watch shows on television in which the impossible is not only possible but generally probable. And we’ll continue to enjoy little inspirational sayings that tell us that making the impossible possible involves erasing just two letters. In other words, in spite of the odds, I think most of us would like to be able to believe, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.” But let’s intentionally recognize that there’s one exception to this rule. You see, let’s accept that when it comes to getting saved and receiving eternal life, well, it’s impossible for us, but possible for God. And with that acceptance, then let’s simply relax and respond. In other words, as it relates to salvation, let’s keep calm because it’s impossible, and praise God it is.