4 Keys To The Impossible 🔑

Have you ever been in a situation that seems impossible?

You look this way, you look that way, and your back is up against the wall. There doesn't seem to be an answer. Your friends can't help you. Even your dog walks away from you. I think we've all been in situations like that, and those situations will continue to arise in our lives.

But I believe that God has an answer for us…

Paul references Isaiah 64:4 in his own words and writes in 1 Corinthians 2:9 —

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (NKJV)

I also really like the way the Amplified Bible translates Ephesians 3:20 —

"Now to him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we ask or think [indefinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us.” (AMP)

That's a powerful verse that God has placed in His Word so that you and I can be encouraged, but that’s not what we’ll be studying out of.

Let's pray:

Father, We thank you for this moment that as we open up Your Word, and we dissect Your Word, that You are going to give to us some keys that will help us in our lives. Now, Lord, we understand that there are more keys in various situations than what we’ll read today. God, I pray that you will anoint me and those that are here to read that, Holy Spirit, you will speak something into each one of our lives that will make a difference. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let’s read out of Mark 11:11-14 —

"And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. Now the next day, when they had come from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And His disciples heard it.” (NKJV)

Now we're going to skip a few verses and jump down Mark 11:20-24 —

“Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away." So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them." (NKJV)

I started out by asking the question, “Have you ever been in a situation that seems impossible?” Maybe there was not enough money to pay the rent, maybe you didn't have food. Just an impossible situation. And I believe that God is able to bring us out of that situation and into victory. That God is able to perform things in our life where what we see as impossible that God can pull us out.

Somebody might be thinking, "Are you saying that if I apply these four principles that you're going to talk to me about here in just a few moments into my life, that I can see the impossible performed?"

Well, yes, I am saying that. And the reason I can make such a bold statement with so much assurance is because I believe that these four keys that I'm going to give to you in just a few moments come directly from the Word of God.

Now, please understand that there may be some mitigating circumstances or situations.

"Oh, now you’re backing up."

No, I'm not, because God is not going to work aside from His Word.

And what I mean by that is if there's sin in our lives, maybe if there's disobedience or a lack of faith in our lives, or if God is wanting to discipline us about something in our lives, that maybe the impossible is going to take a little bit longer to happen.

And I believe that God's Word teaches us in Numbers 23:19 —

"God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (NKJV)

The Contemporary English Version says —

"God is no mere human! He doesn't tell lies or change his mind. God always keeps his promises." (CEV)

God always keeps His promises.

And Jesus is speaking to the disciples, and He's just cursed the fig tree. In Mark 11:22, Jesus says, "Have faith in God." Or, literally, what that translates out of the Greek and into the English is, "Have the faith of God."

Have the faith of God.

Now, that's a tall order by Jesus. How is it possible that we are to have the faith of God? When we remember that man was created in the image of God, and that man was created with the potential to have God's faith, but then because of the fall, doubt and unbelief entered into the heart of man.

But when we are born again, faith is restored in our lives.

We can read that in Romans 1:5-17. And when we're born again, then we have the potential to also have the faith of God, which is a great faith. I'm confident that we all need to perform the impossible or see the impossible performed in our lives. Maybe that's a better way of saying it, right?

Situations, finances, physical challenges, whatever it may be that you are facing in your life, you want to see the hand of God move in a powerful way.

And here's key number one. Jesus said it.

🔑 HAVE FAITH IN GOD

I praise the Lord that I know that there is an all-powerful, almighty God who's alive and well, and that He is concerned about me. And this God that I brag about is not just a theory or some concept of thought in my mind, but He is real and He is alive and working not only in my life, but in the lives of my family and in the lives of my friends.

God is also working in your lives as well.

You might say,” I don't see that whatsoever. I don't see the hand of God in my life.”

Maybe you're not looking in the right place. Maybe we're looking in our circumstances, looking at our difficulty, rather than looking to see what God wants to do in the midst of that. Now, I feel so sorry for people who do not know who God is. And so they try to mold God into their own idea, into their own idol. But when has a form or an idol cleansed the soul of a sinner. When has an idol ever restored sight to the blind or healed the lame so they can walk. When has an idol ever touched the tongue of a mute man so that he can talk again. When has an idol lifted the prostitute, the drunkard, or the drug addict out of sin and despair. When has an idol put its loving arms around a mother who stands before the coffin of her dead child who just died unexpectedly? Never.

When has Buddha ever saved a sinner?

When has Muhammad ever transformed a life? Never.

I want you to know that our God does that. He can take the most ungodly, wretched, wicked, reprobate sinner and turn that individual into something beautiful — a follower of Jesus Christ. Let the world turn to their idols of alcohol and drugs, but when the going gets tough and they're facing impossible situations, their idols won't do them a bit of good.

But there's no deliverance, there's no miracles without having faith in God. The Bible says that it takes faith to please God (Hebrews 11:6). God operates on our faith, and that's why it's so important to have faith in God, or rather have the faith of God. And in order for us to see the impossible occur in our lives, the impossible will be made possible, or the greater things that Jesus speaks about in John 14:12 —

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (NKJV)

In order for us to see that, we've got to develop our faith, learn to operate according to God's Word, and not according to what we know, see, or hear. Now the Bible is full of examples of God working in impossible situations.

Remember the story of David and Goliath? Or what about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the furnace? Daniel in the lion's den? Joshua marching against Jericho? Moses crossing the Red Sea? What about Elijah being fed by the ravens? Or Jesus raising Jairus' daughter from the dead?

These were all impossible situations, but because of these individuals' faith, people were delivered. They were healed, raised from the dead, and provided for.

We need to understand what was stated in Luke 1:37 —

"For with God, nothing will be impossible." (NKJV)

He's the one who created everything out of nothing, all that is seen and unseen, and that Jesus holds this world together. (Colossians 1:16-17)

God created everything. Whether we can see it with our naked eye or we need a telescope or microscope, whatever it is, God has created all of that. God is a creative being, and though the circumstances and mountains that stand in our way seem like giants before us, they are not overwhelming to God. As Paul writes in Romans 1:17, we need to move from faith to faith. We must exercise our faith in God in order for it to grow. Now, for years, I went to the gym and I lifted weights, and in order to become stronger, you've got to just keep adding heavier weights and doing more reps. And what you're doing is you're working that muscle. You're building that muscle up, and that's what we have to do with our faith.

We have to build up our faith.

I know that one of the ways that I do it is by reading some of the Old Testament stories. And I like to read them aloud. Why? Because Romans 10:17 says —

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (NKJV)

Open up the book of Hebrews and read in chapter 12 the heroes of the faith. Read about what they did, how they survived, how they released their faith, and see how God is going to bring you through your situation. But you've got to have faith. We've got to have faith.

🔑 SPEAK TO THE MOUNTAIN

Remember what Jesus tells us in Mark 11:23 —

“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea…” (NKJV)

Now, I want you to see something here. Jesus didn't say, "Take a pickaxe or a shovel and just kind of start chipping away." He didn't say, "Use your strength, use your own ability." That's not what He said.

We cannot move the mountain on our own.

Jesus said, "Speak to the mountain." And why does He want us to speak to the mountain? Because speech is undoubtedly one of the most powerful forces on earth. If you remember, God himself spoke the entire universe into being.

Proverbs 18:21 —

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue." (NKJV)

There is power in what we say. And the Scripture tells us that we can speak, curse, or bless. And that if we will use our tongues in faith and speak to our problems, that it begins to build our confidence in God. As we speak to our problems and situations, our faith builds and God brings deliverance. As we see God beginning to work in our lives, then we're beginning to develop our faith. And our faith is growing and we're beginning to believe God for more and more.

Psychologists have determined that if people would only verbalize their problems, 85% of them would dissolve. Isn't that an amazing statistic? I mean, you have problems because the Bible says all God's children have problems. And this is a technique that I use when I'm counseling people is I just try to let them talk. And while they're talking, I'm praying, "God, help them to hear what they're saying."

And some people just go on and on and they never listen to what they're saying so they can never be helped, because you know what, I'm not that good. I didn't take any counseling classes aside from what I had to do to get my credentials. But I let people talk. And as they talk, I'm praying, "Holy Spirit, help them to resolve their own issue and hear what they're saying."

But speaking is cathartic and that's what these psychologists are saying.

That speaking is a therapy that God has placed within us to help us to overcome our problems. God is so smart. The Bible says that His ways and thoughts are higher than our ways and thoughts. And again, I feel sorry for people without Christ in their hearts because they don't have anywhere to take their problems. They don't really have anyone to talk to that can truly help them with an answer that will help to resolve the situation in their life.

And I believe that every answer to every human problem is found right here in the Bible. And if we read the Bible, process it, and let it process us, we'll have the answer for whatever the need is.

Even if we're broke, God says, "I will provide all your needs according to my riches and glory."

Even if we're hurting, we don't have money to go to the doctor. God says, according to the stripes that Jesus bore upon his back, "You have been healed."

Every answer is found there. If a person goes to a psychiatrist, they might find temporary relief. But you and I as Christians, when we speak to our mountains, we express a desire and a confidence in our hearts and a confidence in God, and we become a channel from which God can move and flow into our lives, into our circumstances, and God can bring a resolution. Now, I want you to understand something or notice something with me here in this verse. The word used here in Mark 11:23 —

“…whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea…” (NKJV)

Now, it's interesting. This three-letter word here, the word is "say." The Greek word for the word "say" in this mountain passage is "epo."

Say "epo” to yourself.

This word is only used in Scripture in the past tense. So actually, this verse is telling us to speak to our mountains as if they were already gone.

What am I saying? For example, "I'm not broke. I was broke. I'm not tired. I was tired. I’m not sick. I was sick. I'm healed. I'm delivered… That's not who I am. It may look that way on the outside, but that's not the way I look. That's not the way it is now.”

Now, I want us to understand something. We're not denying the obvious. Rather, we are moving in faith. Having faith in God means that we need to see things as He sees them, speaking to our mountains with authority, knowing that we cannot be defeated because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. There is a power in what we say. Speak to that disease. Speak to that financial load. Speak to whatever ails you. Speak to whatever you need accomplished. Give that situation a direct order springing from faith in God. Don't ask the storm to stop. Tell it to stop. Don't ask your affliction to leave. Command it to leave in the name of Jesus.

That's what that little word "say" means, that little "epo" word.

It means command it as though it were already done.

🔑 DO NOT DOUBT

Jesus said in Mark 11:23 —

“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (NKJV)

Now, this agrees with James 1:6-7 —

"When you ask for something, don't have any doubt. A person who has doubts is like a wave that is blown by the wind and tossed by the sea. A person who has doubts shouldn't expect to receive anything from the Lord."

This is an important condition that we need to be aware of, folks. According to scripture, people who are doubters will not receive anything from God because they're double-minded. That means that they don't know whether or not they want what they're asking for to come to pass. If we're going to believe God for the impossible, the supernatural, then we better determine that in our hearts, not only in our head or in our reasoning, but really where it matters is down deep inside.

There must not be any doubt in our heart when we speak to our mountains. We must speak with such strong persuasion in our hearts as though that for which we've petitioned, again, has already taken place.

We cannot believe God for the impossible and have doubt in our heart.

We must dare to call those things which do not exist as though they did. Do not allow your faith to waver. We must not allow ourselves to be tossed to and fro like a drifting ship. We must stand upon what we're expecting God to do for us. Do not believe for something today and not tomorrow. We must believe with no doubt in our heart that the storm we are in has already stopped.

Know that your children are already healed.

Believe that your children are truly saved and serving God.

Believe without doubting that your finances have already been provided for.

Let that word become real and alive in your heart. I have experienced a word, prophecy, become real and alive many times in my ministry. When we were doing the musicals, when I had my band called Rejoice Ministries and then Sweet Anointing. I experienced this in this church today. I can see what God wants to do. I can see without a doubt that God wants to do the supernatural, the miraculous, the greater things than we have seen.

I can still see our choir as ministers to a full congregation. Now, we haven't started a choir yet, but I still see a choir. I still see all of that taking place now. I mean, it may be back here yet, but it's a real word to me. It's an alive word to me.

I'm calling those things that are not as though they were.

And I speak these things with assurance because I can see it. I can touch it. I can taste it. I can feel it. I can hear it in my spirit. When it's already yours in the spirit

, it's yours in the visible world. Once you have that vision, whatever that vision is, hang on to it. Become tenacious with it. Get like one of those old bulldogs.

Do you know why a bulldog snout is aimed backwards? So, it can grab a hold of something and keep breathing. Be like a bulldog and hang on to that vision. Don't let it go. Don't doubt. Speak to that. Determine that it's going to come to pass. Let your faith be released and watch God perform the miracle that you need in your life.

🔑 FORGIVENESS

Jesus goes on to say in Mark 11:25 —

"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses." (NKJV)

Now, it doesn't mean if you're sitting and praying, that doesn't mean you have to stand. I believe that one of the greatest hindrances to the work in miracles in our lives is our lack of forgiveness. Whether or not we feel that our unforgiveness is justified by circumstances, there must be that freedom from that root of bitterness and resentment, or there will be no mountain moving faith or miracles.

There cannot be any resentment. There can be no bitterness, no jealousies, no envy, no strife, none of these things to see miracles.

There must be forgiveness and love to flow.

Because you see, lack of forgiveness blocks access to God's miracle working power. And the first person you probably need to forgive is yourself. I think that more people have a lack of forgiveness towards themselves than toward anybody else. They're unwilling to forgive themselves of their sins or mistakes or failures, unwilling to recognize that God says, "As far west is from the east, that's how far I have removed your sin from you."

Maybe you’re thinking, “But what I've done is unbelievable. I was a wicked person. I was (insert whatever word describes what you’re thinking).”

God said, "I've forgiven you, so let it go."

If you're a believer, God has already cleansed your conscience from dead work so that you might serve the living God. God cleanses us for service in order to not leave us with the guilt of our past sins. That's an area that should be dead, buried and forgotten.

When I gave my life to Christ and I asked Him to cleanse me with His blood and forgive me my sin, all of my sin was washed away.

People must forgive all who need forgiveness. If the first person that you need to forgive is yourself, you need to say, "God, before you, I forgive myself. Whatever I have done, I accept your forgiveness. I thank you for cleansing me and I forgive myself.” Now, that may not seem like an earth-shaking element that needs to be done, but it needs to happen in our lives.

Because as long as we live under this condemnation, we will never have faith to see miracles. Because we'll always say, "Why should God perform a miracle in my life? I'm a horrible person. I've been a horrible person.”

Paul writes in Romans 8:1—

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

We need to first forgive ourselves. The second person we must forgive is God himself. There are people who blame God because a child died, because a spouse left the marriage, maybe because they themselves have been sick, because they've not had enough money, whatever, consciously or unconsciously. They think all of these things are God's fault, yet we cannot be resentful towards God and experience miracles in our lives.

Norman Vincent Peel said that when he was a kid, he found a cigar one day on the street. He said that he picked up that cigar, found the match and lit it. He felt bad, but he said he was feeling so grown up with that lit cigar. And then he said, "I turned to walk into an alley and I looked up and there standing right in front of me was my father." H took the cigar out of his mouth and tried to refocus his father's attention on the billboard that said a circus was coming to town. He said, "I pointed towards that billboard and said, 'Oh dad, can I go to the circus when it comes to town?'“ His father said, “Son, I learned a long time ago not to petition your father when you are holding smoldering disobedience in your life."

How can we ask God to perform the supernatural in our lives when we're angry with God, when we're blowing smoke in his face, when we can't trust him?

We've got to forgive God. The third person may be a member of your family. We've got to be rid of all resentment if we want God to work the impossible in our life.

Forgive your spouse. Forgive the children, forgive the parents. All must be forgiven.

And finally, there has to be forgiveness for anybody else who's ever done anything against us. Now, it may be that our unforgiveness is justified. Understand? Like my neighbors who cut my fence, I've forgiven them. I talk about it, but I've forgiven them.

We can hold grudges, and we may have every legal and every intellectual right to hold a grudge and hate that person.

But again, if we want to see miracles in our lives, Jesus said, "We must forgive."

One man once said, "Two marks of a Christian are giving and forgiving."

Another said, "We are like beasts when we kill. We are like men when we judge, and we are like God when we forgive."

In order to see God work the impossible in our life, learn to forgive. And this may be the hardest lock for us to unlock or to open. But if we will earnestly follow through, we will experience God's power working the impossible in our life.