Is There Anything Too Hard for God?

It is a simple question. Is anything, and I do mean anything, too hard for God? You know, whenever God asks that question, it's rhetorical. It's only rhetorical because God knows the answer. He knows what the answer is. When He asks it, He's not looking for the answer for Himself, because He knows that no nothing is too hard for Him. But you know what? For you and me, it's not automatically a rhetorical question. Now, sometimes a person might say, oh yeah, it is. It's rhetorical for me, too, because nothing's too hard for God. And our mouth says that, but our actions might say otherwise.

Our actions might say differently. We might say, yeah, nothing's too hard for God, when in our hearts and our concerns is the question, what is too hard for God? Or, well, is this too hard for God? Or, well, maybe this is too hard for God. What makes the difference? That is what allows it to be a rhetorical question with us. There's one basic issue, one basic issue, one basic issue that turns it into a rhetorical question for you. That's the issue of faith. Personal faith. Not somebody else's faith, not the faith that others hold, personal faith that you hold. It's an issue of trust. It's an issue of belief. It's an issue of conviction. And that brings it down very close and personal. That gets it down into what we call the nitty-gritty. And that is where it matters to God and our dealings and our relationship with Him.

So, is anything too hard for God? That's what I'm going to talk about. That's the subject. That's the title. Is anything too hard for God? No. And when a person really, truly does know that and believe that, there is a comfort and there is a confidence. And God wants us to learn to live and walk in the sheer comfort and confidence of that. Now, I want to quote you a Scripture. You can find this in four places in the Bible. And we will probably turn to one of those places after a while. But you'll recognize it. That quote in the Bible that says, now the just shall live by faith. And as the years go by, you begin to realize that if you don't live by faith, you will not and cannot stay in a position that lets you be considered just or righteous by God. That it takes faith in order to be able to do the things that allow God to define you as just or justified or righteous. Now the just shall live by faith.

Question again. What do you think is too hard for God?

What does Sarah think was too hard for God? Let's look at it in Genesis 18. Genesis 18, verses 9 through 15.

Genesis 18. Here's the account where three people show up at Abraham's place, a Brahms, the Lord Jesus Christ appearing as a human. He wasn't a human, but he was appearing as a human with two angels with him and them appearing as humans. They appeared as three men.

So Christ, with a couple of angels, again appearing as men, show up. And picking it up in verse 9, and they said to him, to Abraham, where is Sarah, your wife? And he said, in the tent, you know, tents don't generally have thick walls.

Tents have pretty thin walls. They're not good sound barriers. And her being a female, I'm sure she had her ears stuck up against the tent wall listening. Of course, a man in the tent would have been doing the same thing, wanting to know what's going on. She's in the tent, and he said, I will certainly return to you according to the time of life. And lo, Sarah, your wife, not her handmaid, her, Sarah, your 89-year-old wife, your 89-year-old wife, who's never had a baby, never been pregnant, the time of life has passed her decades ago.

She doesn't have her monthly time anymore. It hasn't for a long, long time. Sarah, your wife, shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well-stricken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore, Sarah laughed. Well, what? May have a kid? After I've gotten old like this, 89 years old, shall I have that pleasure of having a son? You know, my Lord being old also. And the Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh? Why did she laugh, saying, shall I have a surety? Really? Shall I actually bear a child? Here I am old. And notice what the Lord said. Is anything too hard for the Lord?

At the time appointed, I will return to you according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

Then Sarah did say, I didn't laugh, for she was afraid. And he said, you did laugh. You know, you think about it. It was a laugh that came out of unbelief. It came out of doubt. She just couldn't quite accept that this was actually going to happen. It was in the face of the reality of her circumstances. She was too geared to the physical realities around her. This was totally out of keeping, out of kilter, with the way things physically work. You know, it wasn't that she wasn't happy about it. It wasn't that she didn't want to believe.

It was just simply out of the normal pattern of life. The way things work. Step forward into the New Testament times for a moment. In one sense, an even clearer picture, pattern, or illustration of this, Matthew 14, verses 22-31. Matthew 14. The famous account of Peter when he got all wet, and he didn't have to. Matthew 14. Now, you'll notice that what precedes this are the five loaves and the two fishes. What precedes this are about 5,000 men not counting the women and children. So, you had somewhere around 10,000 people or more.

Five loaves, two fishes, they're fed, and the fragments taken up, 12 baskets full. So, on the hills of that, verse 22, straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, to go before him, to leave ahead of me, go to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray, to have some solitude, to have some alone time, some private time. And when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with the waves, for the wind was contrary.

And I don't know how many of you have ever been out on the open water, in a boat, when it's getting real dicey, and you're beginning to wonder if you're going to make it back to shore without capsizing. And if you add to it darkness and nighttime and all of that makes it even worse. In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them walking on the sea.

He wants to join them. He steps out on the water and he starts walking on the surface of the water. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it's a spirit! And they cried out for fear. They were terrified. Can you imagine you're out there, it's stormy, you're kind of unnerved already, your nerves are on edge, and in the starlight or the moonlight you look and what do we see? There's something walking on the water. It's a man! It's a spirit! A man can't walk, it's a spirit! They were terrified. But straightway, Jesus spoke to them, saying, be a good cheer.

It's me, it's I, don't be afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be you, then tell me to come to you on the water. And he said, come, come on. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked. Notice, he didn't step out of the boat and sink.

He did walk on the water to go to Jesus. Of course, we know the account, but when he saw the wind, you think about it, and there's a lot been said about this over the years. When he looked, he saw the wind, boisterous. I mean, it's slashing the waves against the boat. The wind is whipping. It's blowing his hair around. Whatever clothing he's got on, I mean, he can feel the wind, he can see the wind, he can see the actions.

He says he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he didn't just plummet, he just started sinking. Maybe slowly. But he cried saying, Lord, save me. And immediately, Jesus reached out, got him by the hand, caught him and said to him, oh, you of little faith, why did you doubt? Now, Peter stepped out of the boat onto the water with a measure of faith. That's when he came out of the boat. You know, it was on a basis of faith.

He literally started walking on the surface of the water. And then the reality, the reality that what he was doing went against everything that the physical laws and circumstances had taught him all his life. He looked at the strong wind. He knew the danger of the strong wind upon the waters. I'm sure in his lifetime, they had had, in some cases, neighbors, other fishermen who had drowned and washed up on shore later, maybe. They knew the danger.

They knew what could happen. All the fishermen were very aware of it. And the fear that it generated kicked in and he started sinking. And when Christ reached out and grabbed him, he said, notice he didn't say, you have no faith. Notice what he said, oh, you of little faith.

You've got some faith, Peter. Peter had some faith. That's what brought him out of the boat. But he didn't have enough to sustain him upon the face of the waters. He didn't have enough to sustain him in the face of all the physical that he was so used to. Think about that for a moment.

Christ acknowledged he had some faith. He also said, why did you doubt? He had some faith, but he didn't have enough to sustain him in the face of all the physical that he was so used to. See, Sarah and Peter shared a common problem. It's common to human beings. It's common to you and me, all of us. It's a problem which becomes a challenge to face and deal with when we're called to walk by faith and guide. It's the problem or challenge of not focusing on the physical conditions and circumstances around us in such a way and to a degree that it affects our faith and trust in God. That we don't focus on the physical circumstances around us to such a degree and point that it just undermines our faith and trust in God. See, faith, trust in God, has to supersede what surrounds us in the physical world. Our faith has to supersede. Our trust in God has to supersede what surrounds us in the physical world. Otherwise, we will fall prey to the fears and anxieties that plague society. In a daily diet of doubt and fear will sink the spiritual. The spiritual doesn't survive in that climate. That climate does not generate or promote spiritual growth. That's why we're called to walk by faith. That means that you and I don't have to fall prey to the fears and frustrations. We don't have to fall prey to the stresses and anxieties of the age and times we live in. We can rise above them through faith in God. Now, for one of those places about the just shall live by faith, Hebrews 10.38. Hebrews 10 and verse 38.

It says, now the just shall live by faith. Now, man is the one who put in the chapters. The chapter breaks, that is. And I'm glad that a guy long ago did this because it makes it a whole lot easier for us to find places. Right? We don't just have to scroll through. But what you read, what I just read in chapter 10 and verse 38, that's part of the intro, the preface, the lead into for what we call the faith chapter of chapter 11. It's all part of a flow here regarding faith. And when you go to chapter 11 and verse 6, this is the most important scripture in the Bible in terms of the personal value to you as an individual, to me as an individual in regards to God and faith. It's the most important scripture in terms of personal value in regards to your personal faith regarding God and the value that that personal faith is to you. Let's read it. First of all, it makes a very fundamental statement. Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. Christ, if it's really you, tell me to come to you.

Come on. Come on, Peter. So Peter stepped out. He walked just a little bit, and then he started sinking because of what superseded his faith in Christ. And when Christ reached out, grabbed him, pulled him back up, and they got in the boat, and said, oh, you little faith. Why did you doubt? It wasn't a heavy correction. It wasn't a real heavy chiding. But it's obvious Christ wasn't pleased with Peter. He acknowledged you've got some faith, but Peter, that's not enough to cut it. That's not going to get it. Without faith, if God can be, let's say, a little bit disconcerted because we walk weak in faith, what if we have no faith at all? The fundamental here, without faith, it's impossible to please Him. You have to have faith in order to please God. And there's two aspects to it. And the first aspect, which is the most basic question, the most important, basic, fundamental, important question that a person can ever answer for themselves, is the first part. For He that comes to God must believe that He is, that He exists. It doesn't matter if I live or die, God is there. If my head gets cut off someday, God is there. I have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. It doesn't matter what you do or anybody else does. I know God exists. I've proven that. I know He's there. Now, hopefully, each one of us has proven that for ourselves, done the shadow of a doubt. And if we haven't, we certainly need to because that's the first and foremost, most important thing, God's existence. But the second part is also extremely crucial because if I were to step up to the level of the angels, and in this case, the fallen angels, the Scripture says, you know, in James, they believe, they know there's a God. They've been in His presence. But they're not pleasing the God in any sense, until they're the fallen angels. The second part is extremely crucial. Oh, yes, we've proved God exists. I know He exists. Okay. And that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Does a person have the kind of faith and trust in God that He really believes that that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him?

It's applying what's contained in this verse in the way that the Apostle writing it means it. It lets us rise above the surroundings around us that we have to deal with. It lets us supersede them. Putting God at the center of your life guarantees an ability to live above the effects of doubt and fear. We're very familiar with Matthew 22, so that's one I will not turn to, but it's Matthew 22, verse 37. To love the Lord your God with all your soul, all your might, all your being, all your mind. The way it's expressed there is the same as saying, take God to the center of your thinking. Take God to the center of your actions. Orient your thinking around God as your center point. Orient what you do, your actions, your way of life around God as the center point. Take God to the center of your being, your life, your mind, your existence, and keep Him there. That guarantees an ability to live above the effects of doubt and fear. But to take God to the center requires believing that He exists and that He's a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Because if you don't really believe He's a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, you won't diligently seek Him. A close relationship with God gives you comfort. It gives you confidence. It gives you a peace of mind that supersedes conditions and circumstances even when you are in the midst of them. Notice John 16, 33. You know, in the night that Christ was taken to be brutalized and crucified, this is one of the things that He emphasized in John 16 in verse 33.

He says, These things have I spoken to you that in me. He says, In me.

The more we take God into the center of our life, the more we are truly in God and He is in us. That in me, you might have peace. That means comfort. That means confidence. That means calmness of spirit. He says, In the world, you shall have tribulation. Well, do we have trials and tests? Absolutely. Sometimes, as we stumble with a learning curve and we're learning, do we create some of our own trials? Yes, absolutely. Do others sometimes create trials for us? Absolutely. Does society put trials upon us many times? Absolutely. Sometimes, have there been cases, and our cases and will-be cases, where some will put severe tribulation upon those who are in Christ? Yes, absolutely. He says, But be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. But notice, he says, In the world, you shall have tribulation. I mean, one way or the other, you're going to find yourself having to deal with things that are many times hard to deal with. But in the midst of that, he says, In me, you might have peace. Read with me Philippians 4.7. Philippians 4.

When Christ spoke of that kind of peace, that comes from a very, very deep faith and trust in Him.

Paul says here to the Philippians 4.7, notice how this is worded. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Now take that phrase, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding. What does he mean, passes all understanding? You ever had somebody say to you, you know, man, I know what you're having to deal with.

How can you be so calm in the face of that? Man, I know what you're having to deal with.

How can you have a peace about you? Well, if I was having to deal with that, I'd be going nuts. I'd be going crazy. You don't seem rattled. You're not coming unglued. In fact, you seem to have a certain peace or comeness about you. I don't get it.

That's part of what it means when it says the peace of God, which passes all understanding.

Others who see it in those who have it don't understand it, because they know they would not be that way in those circumstances.

Is anything too hard for God? What is too hard for God?

John 11. We're very familiar. Again, one of the accounts that is one of the most familiar in the Bible, Lazarus. John 11. And I'm not going to go through the whole account. Just have a couple of high points here. You know the account? The word went to Christ. Your friend Lazarus is sick. Christ purposely waited, knowing that he was going to die. And God's glory and power was going to be illustrated through the power of God and what would be done regarding Lazarus. So, when it was time, Christ and his disciples head to the home of the now deceased Lazarus and Martha and Mary, his sisters. So, in John 11 and verse 17, then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. He's already been put away. It's four days already that he's been put away.

Verse 21. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother had not died. I know that if you had been here, you could have kept him alive. You could have given him life. He would not have died. Now, there's faith there. Notice what she goes on to say in verse 22. But I know that even now, even though he's been dead four days, what so ever you will ask of God, God will give it to you. That's faith. That's Martha. Okay. Verse 32. Mary. Then when Mary was come, where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, said the same thing Martha did, that part. If you had been here, my brother had not died. Verse 39. Verse 39. Jesus said, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said to him, Lord, you know, by this time he stinks. He's been dead four days. And we know the famous account very well. And we know that in verse 43, and I will even try to imitate it, what he thus has spoken, it says, He cried with a loud voice. He elevated his voice with power and strength, not just to address the dead in there, but for everybody to hear. Lazarus, come forth. And a man, an obvious, undeniable, already decomposing human being brought back to life and walked out of there. Mark 11. One is too hard for God. Mark 11. Verses 20 through 23. Verses 20 through 23. Mark 11. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots, withered. And Peter, calling to remember, said to him, Master, look, the fig tree which you cursed is withered away. And Christ had done that and doing what He's doing to make certain points. And Jesus answered, said to them, Have faith in God. For, truly, I say to you that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be you removed, and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he has said shall come to pass, he shall have whatever whatsoever he says. Now, I do not believe that means you can just go along the mountain range and start saying that each mountain be cast into the sea, and it's going to be because, first of all, you're not going to believe it's going to be cast into the sea. Now, if there was a sufficient reason, a valid reason, you ever stop to think God does nothing in vain? If there was a sufficient reason for a hill or a mountain to be cast into a body of water, if the reason was sufficient enough and you said it, and you didn't doubt in your heart, you might just see that mountain or that hill go into the body of water. But he's illustrating something. He's talking about faith. Okay, instead of moving something, how about stopping something? Joshua 10. Remember Joshua? God told Joshua, here's Joshua carrying the mantle of Moses, so to speak. In four different times, God's told him, be strong, have good courage, don't fear. As I was with Moses, I will be with you all the days of your life. No man will be able to stand against you. There's a battle going on with the Amorites. Israel is winning. And like any foe that is losing, and they're trying not to be totally, totally, totally routed, totally annihilated, and they're thinking, if we can just hold on, hold out, till dark, then under cover of darkness, we can get away.

Joshua 10, verse 12, 12 through 14.

Then spoke Joshua to the Lord, in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and He said, in the sight of Israel, His army saw Him do this. In the sight of Israel, Son stands still upon Gibeon, and you, moon in the valley of Agilon. Can you picture a human being looking and maybe pointing at the sun in the sight of his army and saying, stand still? And to the moon, stop, stand still. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hastened not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened to the voice of a man. Can you imagine the enemy? The sun, let's say, is at midday, and they're fighting, and they're losing, and they realize something like what we would call an hour goes by, and they look up at the sun, and it's in the same place. The second time they look at the sun, and it's still in the same place, then the fear really starts setting in. And they fight for hours and hours, and the sun is in the same position, hasn't moved, and the moon hasn't moved.

You and I know, if you got up early this morning and you watched the sun, you were to watch the sun all day, you watch it rise in the east. You watch it cross the sky instead in the west. But we know that's from our perspective, because the sun doesn't move. It never moves. It's sitting in one place all the time. But this globe that we are on turns. It turns toward the east, and because it turns, it makes it look like the sun comes up in the east and sets in the west. But it's the earth that is moving. It is turning. And the moon is circling around the earth. So what God did, He stopped the earth from turning. That's the only way to freeze the sun in one position. God literally took this planet and He stopped it from turning for x number of hours. And He stopped the moon from circling the earth. Just froze it right in that position. Is anything too hard for God? Joshua didn't think so. And because of His personal faith, that question was only rhetorical with Him. See, for Joshua, the God that made the heavens and the earth, who made the sun and the moon, the God who powered the systems, well, He could also alter or stop them.

Instead of stopping something, how about reversing something? Isaiah 38. In Hezekiah's day, as a sign to him, Hezekiah, that he would be granted 15 more years. Because Hezekiah was 39 years old. And God sent Isaiah to tell him, Set your house in order, you're going to die. And Hezekiah prayed and pleaded. And God sent Isaiah back to tell him, I'll give you 15 more years. So instead of dying at 39, He lived to 54.

But as a sign to him that he would be granted 15 more years, God reversed the earth. He didn't just stop it. He reversed it by 10 degrees as registered on the sundial. Chapter 38, verse 8. Verse 8, He says, Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees which has gone down in the sundial of Ahaz, 10 degrees backward, so the sun returned 10 degrees. Can you imagine somebody out in the field working? And they don't know what's going on with Hezekiah and God. And they're looking at the sun, wondering how much longer to be before quitting time or lunchtime or supper time or whatever, break time, whatever. And they glance up at the sun and look back at what they're doing and about five minutes later they look back at the sun and it's moved back. And they're wondering what is going on? The sun has actually moved back whatever 10 degrees worth is. God had to stop the earth and turn it towards the west. He had to stop the earth and turn it back 10 degrees worth. It was God's way of saving and showing Hezekiah that if I can reverse the turning of the earth I can certainly add 15 more years to your life because Hezekiah was a dead man. He was as good as death and God stepped in and superseded, superseded conditions and circumstances. Is anything too hard for God? For Jeremiah, that had become a rhetorical question only as it does for anyone who's developed a very deep personal faith in God. And when I say a deep personal faith in God, I mean a deep personal faith in His power, a deep personal faith in His love, a deep personal faith in His concern for us. Jeremiah 32-17. Jeremiah 32-17.

O Lord God, Jeremiah 32-17, you've made the heaven and the earth by your great power and stretched out arm and there is nothing too hard for you. It had become rhetorical because of the deep personal faith He had developed in God. And in this chapter in verse 27, God asks the question. Verse 27, God says, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?

Obviously, no. There isn't. So why then is there fear and failure? It's because the crux of the issue goes beyond the power of God. The crux of the problem, the question rests upon the human. It doesn't rest upon God's power. The issue rests upon the person's personal faith and trust in God, their personal measure of it. What is the degree and measure of an individual's personal faith, personal trust in God? That's the individual key. Is there anything too hard for me? God says.

No, not in terms of His power and all. No. Mark 6. Mark 6, verses 1 through 6.

Mark chapter 6. Mark 6, verses 1 through 6. Okay, it says, He went out from thence, He came into His own country. Now, He's in His own country. His disciples are following Him there. They go with Him. And when the Sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished. He's in His own country. He's in the synagogue. He's teaching. Many of them are astonished. They say from... they acknowledge that He knows things. They acknowledge His wisdom and all of that. From whence? Where did He get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him? That even such mighty works are wrought by His hands. Isn't this the carpenter? They knew Him. Many of them had seen Him grow up there. Is not this the carpenter? The son of Mary? The brother of James? Joseph? Judah? Simon? Are not His sisters here with us? Now notice, it's an insight into human nature. They can acknowledge His wisdom. They can acknowledge things that He's been doing and all of that. And they're offended.

But Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor, but in his own country and among his own kin and in his own house. And notice verse 5. The God who says, and this Jesus is the God of Jeremiah, the God who met with Abraham, said, Sarah will have a son this time, time of life this time next year. This is the God who said, is anything too hard for God? And here it says, it could there do no mighty work, except that He laid His hands upon a few sick folks and healed them. And He marveled because of, and this is what limited what He could do there, their unbelief. Unbelief may come in more than one form or format and in varying degrees, but it's all an issue related to faith. Unbelief, lack of faith, blocks God. Unbelief, lack of faith, blocks God's blessings. Unbelief, lack of faith, is the only thing that limits God.

Hebrews 3 is a chapter that deals with the reverse of faith, basically, unbelief. It's the chapter that deals heavily with the generation that died off in the wilderness. It could have entered the promised land. And when they came up against the promised land, a short time out of Egypt, and the 12 spies went in and they came back, and Joshua and Caleb said, we can do it. And the 10 said, no, we be not able to go up against the people. They're stronger than we. And it was unbelief that kept them out of the physical promised land and sealed their fate in a 40-year wilderness trek. Verse 19 of chapter 3 kind of sums it up. So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. That's the only reason. It had nothing to do with God's power.

What an example of unbelief the children of Israel set, you know, the Exodus account. Time and again, God's great intervening power was shown. Sometimes, just count up the number of times. Look at all the powerful proofs. And yet, faith never took hold in the older generation.

It would only take hold in their young ones. Psalm 78, the whole chapter is quite instructive. Psalm 78, it contains so much insight and information regarding that generation. Notice in verse 22, Psalm 78 and verse 22, because they believed not in God. Did they know He existed? Absolutely! In fact, Moses, we don't want God talking with us. You go up on the mountain and talk with Him. Oh, they knew He was there because they believed not in God. What was it? In what way did they not believe in God? Did they know He existed? Absolutely. It says, "...intrusted not." Oh, they believed not in Him. They knew He was there, but they did not believe in His salvation. What was the salvation for them? The promised land, Canaan. They come up against the border. The spies go in. They come back. The two says, we can do it. The tenor right, we can't. We're going to be... We go in there. We're dead men. You know the account. Verse 32.

Verse 32, "...for all this they sin still and believe not for His wondrous works." They believed not. And then verse 41. Verse 41, "...yes, they turned back and they tempted God and they limited the Holy One of Israel." See, their basic issue was a lack of faith and trust in God.

It wasn't of His existence. They knew He was there. But it was a lack of faith and trust in His power.

It was a lack of trust and faith in His love and concern for them. It was a lack of faith and trust in His willingness to truly help them, to intervene for them, to provide for them.

Verse 19 is quite insightful.

Verse 19, "...yes, they spoke against God." They said. Notice what came from their fiber, their mind, their concepts, their perspective, their attitudes. Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? What do you put on a table? Food.

What does the table represent? Sustenance. What does a table represent? Your necessities. Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? See, they were saying, will He take care of our necessities? Will He feed us and clothe us? Is He able to? Or, you know, does He even want to? Their doubting of God was the denial of His power, of His love, His concern for them. It was a slap in the face. That's what it was to God.

At the end of 40 years in the wilderness, there's an interesting notation of Moses in Deuteronomy 29. Interesting notation. Moses knows that his time is short. He knows that Joshua is going to be leading them into the land. They've been in the wilderness for 40 years. Time's up. Shortly, Moses will be taken up on a mountain. God will take His life and bury him, sell him to the future time of resurrection.

Moses is bringing some things to their attention. In Deuteronomy 29 and verse 5, Deuteronomy 29 and verse 5, he says, "...I have led you 40 years, four long decades in the wilderness. Your clothes that you were wearing coming into this wilderness 40 years ago have not gotten old upon you. The seams haven't broken, the fabric hasn't shredded. That's why we believe they probably had polyester, 40-year clothing. But he said it has not gotten old. And look at your feet. You're wearing the same shoes that you did 40 years ago. Your shoe has not gotten old upon your foot." Think about that for a moment. Living an outdoor-type life in rugged country, elements, clothing and shoes, look the same after 40 years as they did 40 years before. Would you like to find out where they sell that stuff? Pretty amazing, isn't it?

But you see, they had looked at their physical logistics. They had looked at the numbers, the conditions. They had looked at all the physical and they troubled and they doubted. There were... and I don't believe, if I remember correctly, Levi was not counted in this census, in this number. But other than Levi, they were... if I remember correctly, there were 600,000 men aged 20 and above. If you've got 600,000 men 20 and above, you can assume that you have 600,000 women 20 and above. That's 1.2 million. That's not counting all the kids aged 19 and younger.

Nor is it counting, obviously, those being... that will be born during that 40. Of course, during the 40 years that kids are being born, you've also got as many or more or whatever dying off. But going into the wilderness, 1.2 million, at least, 20 and above, plus them the 19 and younger. So you've got somewhere around 2 to 3 million people. Could have been more. But you've got around 2 to 3 million people. And don't forget, they had goats. They had sheep. And whatever, you know, else they had, oxen or donkeys or whatever. They had their livestock. So you've got at least 2 million people going into a wilderness area with all their herds, all their flocks. How is God going to do this? Can He do it? Will He do it? Does He really want to? Does He even care? I read a book two or three years ago.

It was titled Already Gone, written by two concerned individuals who basically in the book dealt with the idea of the reality of that in mainstream religion. So many of the youth that have grown up in Sunday school and all these stories and all from the Bible that they come of a certain age, whether they're 16 or 18 or whatever, and as they put it in the book, they leave the church. And of course, they title the book Already Gone. And one of the things they mentioned in the book was how so many of these accounts were like just stories to them. These aren't stories. These are historical accounts. These are realities. They happened. And God has included them in His writings for our benefit. Now, all these accounts that I have related, they're now history. All these people are long since dead. All these people are simply dust of the ages. And from all these accounts, from all these accounts and with all of these accounts, the only one in them that still remains alive is God. God is alive and God is still God. And God has lost no power. Not one bit.

And He's lost no love and He's lost no concern for His people. And that question, is anything too hard for God, doesn't apply to Jeremiah. From the time he had his last breath, he's had another thought. It doesn't apply to Peter, Martha, Mary, Sarah, Abraham. It doesn't apply to any of them. They're dead. When they lived, it applied.

They died knowing nothing is too hard for God. And they'll be resurrected knowing that. But that question, is anything too hard for God, now applies to you and me. Ask yourself, is it rhetorical only because you have the personal faith that makes it rhetorical, or is it still somewhat unanswered because you're not sure God can or will take care of you with and through all circumstances? It is extremely crucial. Extremely crucial that each of us grows in the measure of faith that makes it rhetorical. Brethren, we live in difficult times that are only going to get more difficult as they move along. We're going to see more and more people live with fear and uncertainty. Will we live deeper and deeper into those anxieties with them? We don't have to. We don't have to. God's given us an out. He's given us a way of escape. It's called faith. It's called faith. Faith secures us. Faith upholds us. Faith diminishes and cancels fear. Faith sustains us. Faith leads us hope. Faith knows that as we go along in whatever circumstances and conditions we have to deal with, and I did say we have to deal with, God is never going to step in and just wash all circumstances away from us because it's part of our training. But faith knows that as we go along in whatever circumstances and conditions we have to deal with, that God is there in the midst with us, and that, yes, there is nothing too hard for Him. When God's people live in frightening and unsettling times, they don't have to live with the anxieties and the fears that are coming to such times. But, put and keep God at the center of your life. Put and keep the kingdom of God and His righteousness as your number one top priority. Not your only priority. There are numerous good, solid priorities that God wants us to attend to.

In families, friendships, relationships. But as Matthew 6.33 says, the number one top priority is to seek first. Not seek only, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And if you put God at the center and keep Him there, and you make His kingdom and His righteousness your number one priority, if you do that, then you can rest and guide. And I will close with the words of King David, Psalm 37, verse 25. Psalm 37, and verse 25. Basically, as He drew close to the end, of a full life, rich in relationship with God, David said Psalm 37, verse 25. I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.