For With God Nothing Will Be Impossible, Part 2
Merry Christmas! I pray God’s blessing and peace upon you and your family. Christmas season reminds me of how with God, nothing is impossible. It is a time of year to trust God to move in miraculous ways! The angel Gabriel declared to the virgin Mary,
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1:35-37 NKJV
As I was reflecting on the virgin birth and God’s miracle power last week, I was reminded of a miracle I witnessed several years ago while ministering in a church in Brazil. I shared this story last Sunday, and you can watch the short testimony of the miracle here:
To recap, an unsaved woman, who had never been in a church before, felt compelled to come into the service as she was walking by the church. She observed the worship, heard my translated message, and heard me share a few words of knowledge about healing God wanted to do. One of the words was quite simple: “Someone here has a problem with a left ear.”
It turns out that this woman, who had never heard the gospel message about Jesus, never been in a church service, was also born with a deaf left ear, but could hear normally out of her right ear. When I gave the word about a problem with the left ear, immediately her left ear opened, and she could hear out of it!
Her healing shocked her, and she came forward to share what happened. Someone captured the moment on video, and you can watch her testimony in the video above. This woman was miraculously healed by God the moment I simply shared what God wanted to do—heal a problem with a left ear. God is the God of the impossible today—do not ever doubt that! Over the years I have observed many healings and miracles; the skeptics doubt, but I can personally attest that Jesus is still performing miracles today!
Elizabeth and John Discern Jesus
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”
Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
And Mary said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.” Luke 1:35-56 NKJV
The angel promises Mary that the Holy Spirit will come upon her, she will conceive Jesus and give birth to the Messiah.
He promises that The Holy Spirit will “overshadow” Mary, and she will conceive (vs. 35).
Mary responds, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) Mary in essence says, “Here I am Lord, use me, and let your promise come to pass according to your word!”
Mary believed the now word, or rhḗma word from God. This word was active and alive with potential because it was from God. Paul shares an important truth about faith in his letter to the Romans,
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (rhḗma) of God.” Rom. 10:17 NKJV
The Greek for Word in this verse is rhḗma, which means “that which is said or spoken,[1] an active word,[2] a happening to which one may refer—‘matter, thing, event.’[3] Faith often develops from an active word, that causes a manifestation or event.
Literally, the Holy Spirit came upon Mary like a glory cloud. The very glory, or presence of God, that rested on the ark and caused Moses’ face to shine, that we read about throughout Scripture, came upon Mary and deposited the divine seed of the Son of God in her womb. The incarnation is not understood with human reasoning, logic, or senses. Only by the Spirit can we understand!
This miraculous event demonstrates two fundamentals of our Christian faith, 1) the virgin conceived by God’s power and Spirit, and 2) the resurrection occurred by God’s power and Spirit.
This confounds unbelievers, as many reject the idea of God and miracles. Former editor of Charisma Magazine Lee Grady wrote in a blog last week about the importance of the virgin birth. He mentioned that Thomas Jefferson called the virgin birth a fable. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins called the miracles of the Bible “religious propaganda.” Physicist Stephen Hawking, who passed in 2018, rejected the possibility of miracles. [4]
So did 19th-century enlightenment era philosopher David Hume. Working in a deductive circle, he argued based on experience miracles do not happen. Yet he dismissed credible eyewitness testimony for miracles based on his assumption that miracles do not happen. I discuss this prevalent anti-supernatural bias in our modern culture in my book Receive Your Miracle Now: A Case for Healing Today [5]
As I shared about the deaf ear miracle above, many can hear these types of miracle stories and still doubt they occurred because they simply do not believe in God or in miracles.
But as we read in Luke’s gospel about the virgin birth, Elizabeth, by the Holy Spirit, could see and discern Mary was with child. Being empowered by the Spirit, she begins to prophesy about Jesus. Even John, in her womb leaps as Mary enters—the Holy Spirit upon him as promised!
We see in this part of the story of Christ’s birth an example of how faith sees, or discerns, the unseen. In this case, both the natural reality of a child in the womb and the eternal promise of God the Messiah growing within Mary.
Real Faith Operates in the Unseen Realm
The seen realm – that which we understand with our senses and circumstances – is temporary, not eternal. Therefore, Paul could boldly say in 2 Cor. 5:7, “the just shall live by faith.” (NKJV)
Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians an important truth regarding the unseen world and the role the Holy Spirit plays in revelation to us:
But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” 1 Cor. 2:9-10 NKJV
The Holy Spirit reveals what is eternal and unseen; God’s realm is not seen with the natural senses or understanding. But we live in a world that is “sense” driven. What we can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch are very real to us—for some, more real than God’s promises or active word.
But to receive anything from God, faith is required; it connects us to His realm. God gives each a measure of faith; we then steward the faith (or grace) He gives. Paul wrote,
Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you.” Rom 12:3 CEB
Faith is both a fruit of the Spirit and a gift from God. While you can position yourself for an increase of faith through reading God’s word, worship, and prayer, faith is also a gift imparted to your heart from God.
Faith is not just an intellectual understanding of God’s promises, but a revelation to the heart by His grace. One can believe a promise, yet not have faith to see the promise become reality.
Faith is not optional for the follower of Christ; it is essential. “The just shall live by faith” is a timeless truth to live dead to this world and alive in Christ. The reason Christ is our solid rock is our firm conviction of our future hope and resurrection in Him.
Genuine Christianity, led by the Holy Spirit, opens the mind to the potential of being completely transformed to think like heaven—to have God’s perspective. God desires something more than just your “good behavior;” He wants to mature you, and His church, into the fullness of Christ, to function with a mindset that nothing is impossible with God.
We walk confident of our future hope, not based on what our circumstances or senses dictate, but what God has promised in His word and what the Spirit confirms as our guarantee. But God’s promises to us are conditional; we must respond in faith to what He has promised in His Word and to us. He gives a measure of faith – we must act!
“Sense knowledge” faith denies the follower of Christ the opportunity to allow God to do the impossible—His way. God’s ways are simply not our ways; His methods defy logic and reason.
Faith Sees through God’s Eyes and His Perspective
Faith perceives as fact what is not revealed to the natural senses. Faith apprehends things (God’s promises, His revealed will) that the senses cannot perceive and views them as a real fact.
Belief is an assurance of the mind; faith is an assurance of the heart.
The fulfilled promises and answers are first realized in the unseen eternal realm before they materialize in our earthly world. Faith makes invisible realities available on earth. Your answers are connected to God through His promises in another realm—a heavenly kingdom—where you are seated with Christ.
The eye of faith observes the unseen eternal realm, where the fulfillment of God’s promises resides. Faith enables you to know that those unseen realities are real and that they have substance now. Faith pulls God’s promises and hidden realities into being. Faith realizes that answers are “in motion” before the “mountains” start to move.
You may never see Jesus, but you believe God’s Word and the testimony of others.
You know He is alive through belief in His Word and by the witness of the Holy Spirit living in you. Through experiencing your new birth in Christ, the Holy Spirit empowers you to have eyes of faith to see. These are not just metaphorical “faith eyes,” but the capacity to receive revelation from God through His written Word and by impressions of the Holy Spirit which can enable you to see into unseen spiritual realms.
In Eph. 1:17-18, Paul prayed for believers to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation, and for the eyes of their hearts to be illuminated about who Christ is and what He has done for them. Have you ever considered that your heart has eyes?
When Paul refers to your heart, it is the center of your spiritual being that knows and relates to God. Through faith in Christ, you have now been given spiritual eyes to see—you have the capacity to know Jesus intimately and understand revelation from God.
What you experience with your natural senses is real, but the unseen spiritual world around you is just as real; even more than that, it is eternal. What you see with the eyes of your heart should be as real to you as what you see with your natural eyes.
I have discovered that God often communicates through impressions, thoughts, pictures, and visions. Tuning your spirit to the “language of the Spirit” and valuing the impressions you receive are required to grow in your ability to spiritually see. Learning how God communicates to you is important—it is a practice that develops over time as you walk with God. Faith works through receiving what God is communicating (apprehending what is revealed by God) and being confident it will come to pass.
Understand that, while you may never see Jesus, or have significant visionary encounters, you believe through His Word and witness of the Spirit. You believe; therefore, you see!
Real faith is anchored in your new life in Christ and union with Him through the Holy Spirit, which empowers you to come with confidence and boldness before God, to ask in faith for the very things you have need of (Heb. 4:16). Faith-filled vision sees Christ and understands who He is and where He sits now, and who you are in Him.
Final Thoughts
The moment you take your eyes off Jesus, you lose sight of the primary goal of your faith. He is the goal, your destination, and the reason you do what you do. Faith to move mountains begins and ends with Jesus.
For with God nothing will be impossible. What has God promised you? Are you struggling to believe the impossible, or are you confident in God’s commitment to perform His word?
If you view your situation with your natural senses, faith will ebb. But if you view your circumstances according to God’s word and promise, all things become possible.
Jesus is the author and perfecter of your faith (Heb. 12:2). You can have God’s faith as you learn to keep your focus upon Christ. Gaze on Jesus this Christmas, and believe God for your breakthrough, He is a miracle worker today!
For a deeper look at this topic, watch the Passion Church message, “For With God All Things Are Possible, Part 2”
[1] Henry George Liddell et al., A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), 1569.
[2] Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich, and Geoffrey William Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1985), 505.
[3] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 161.
[4] https://charismamail.com/ga/webviews/4-774721-64-37694-39183-91606-2a6c2768e2
[5] Bob Sawvelle, Receive Your Miracle Now: A Case for Healing Today (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2017), 70-71.
