HE CAN DO IT

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”– John 15:5
There are times, no doubt, that we all face situations that seem impossible– actually are impossible without help. Sadly, more often than not, our first thought is to give up, surrender our joy and live in a depressed state. But God expects better of us. While it’s true that we don’t always get what we desire, in some cases God expects us to expect the impossible. For example– have you noticed how many of the Bible commands seem to be impossible? Think about it. We are told to “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” (Matt. 5:44). Really? Indeed– we are called to live a miracle, to live on a level so high that it is impossible without God’s help. The demands of discipleship far exceeds our human ability. We are told to do things that in and of ourselves we could never do. Christians are confronted with challenges they could never meet without Christ.
Jesus was clear and blunt about this in John 15:5- “without me ye can do nothing”. Notice, He didn’t say “Without you I can do nothing”! You aren’t that important. Don’t ever think you are indispensable. God can get along just fine without you or me, but we can’t get along without Him. Do you realize that Jesus is the only person ever who could truthfully say this? And I want you to notice who He is speaking to and about. He isn’t speaking about unbelievers. He is speaking to the apostles about believers– those who are branches of the vine, those who are saved. It is to them that that He says , “without me ye can do nothing“. In vs. 4 He says we cannot bear fruit apart from the vine. He alone makes what He expects possible. That’s encouraging!
This should be a great encouragement to us. Christ enables us to do the impossible. That should put you at peace and make your life better in every way. With Him all things are possible. Christ can cause us to conquer any challenge. I can’t always tell you what He will do, but I can tell you what He is able to do–everything! Think about how this can improve your life. It can restore relationships, cleanse your conscience, provide peace, help you to be happy, etc. Christ makes all that and more possible.
But there is something else you need to think about. While these are the blessings of abiding in Christ you need to consider the consequences of not doing so. That’s a depressing thought! Not only are we miserable, we also become useless– we waste our lives. The Lord’s desire is that we “beareth fruit” (vs. 2), “more fruit” (vs. 2), and “much fruit” (vs. 8). In doing so He is glorified (vs. 8) and we are gratified (vs. 11). That is making the best possible use of your life!– HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”– 1 Pet. 1:18-19
As I study God’s Word I am often at a loss for words when I think about the glorious things He has spoken. And that has never been more true than it is as I write this. My heart is overflowing. Having observed the Lord’s Supper Wednesday evening, I have been focusing on my sermon for Sunday morning–“The Precious Blood”. How can you not be moved thinking about that?

My thoughts took me back more than fifty years to the time when I trusted in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to save me from my sins. When I walked out of the Community Baptist Church in Willard, Mo. on that Sunday morning it seemed that the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders and that all the birds were singing Amazing Grace. I had never before, nor ever since experienced anything like that. What happened that morning cleansed me, comforted me, changed me, and claimed me – I now belonged to Christ. Minutes before , under deep conviction, I was the most miserable I had ever been, but now I had never felt so good. But it was more than feelings. I now had faith. Faith in the One who cannot lie, the One who promised to save me.

The verse that shook me to the core of my being was Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. I had done nothing to please God and everything to offend Him, yet He loved me. How amazing is that! Indeed the goodness of God leads us to repentance! He took me from condemnation, turned me from corruption, and transformed me into a new creature. He did it by the offering of His precious blood. I had spent all my life apart from God, and now I was “accepted in the Beloved” because He shed His blood for me! His blood was shed for you also. Trust Him today.–HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares”— Heb. 13:1-2

Pastor Jack Graham wrote: I recently spoke with a man who was looking for a church to attend. He told me about one church he visited and said, “You know, when I walked into that church for the first time, I didn’t know a single person. And all the people were huddled together as friends, enjoying each other’s fellowship, which was great. But not one person welcomed me in.”
    Very often, I see people in the body of Christ become so inward focused that they forget there are people outside the walls who need to know Jesus as Savior. They neglect welcoming others into the community of faith because they’re so engrained into their church clique.
    But I can’t help but wonder what would happen if we stepped out of those cliques, turned our focus outward more often, and extended a warm welcome to those who aren’t a part of our local body of believers. I’m convinced if that happened, more people would respond to our message and our churches would grow like never before!  
    When God brings outsiders to your doors, welcome them in with open arms. Turn your focus outward and allow God’s love to be shown through you to a watching world!

Notice the word “Let”– that puts this responsibility squarely on our shoulders. It speaks of something we can and should do. The outsider might or might not be an angel – it shouldn’t make any difference. Whether the person is a bum or a banker, the president or a prostitute, a drunk or dignitary we ought to show them loving concern. God loved us while we were yet sinners (Rom. 5:8). Let us do the same toward others. – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:4

   A man was sitting on a street corner, weeping. A friend saw him and asked, “Why are you crying?”
   “Haven’t you read the papers? Rockefeller died.”
   The friend responded, “Why are you crying? You were no kin of his!”
   “That’s why I’m crying!”
   You have an inheritance right now as a child of God. It is incorruptible. The foul breath of decay and gnawing tooth of time cannot take it away. It is undefiled. No high-powered lawyer can find a loophole. It will never fade away.

   If you understood what you have in Jesus, you would never be jealous of anybody. Ezekiel 44:28 says that God is your inheritance. You have an inheritance that is faultless, flawless, fadeless, and reserved in heaven for you!- Adrian Rogers

How true that is! I’ll never forget the first time I heard the song “I’m a child of the King”. Ever since that day I have been thrilled by the thought. To think that we are joint-heirs with Christ makes you want to shout for joy! Understanding who you are and what you have as a result of the person and work of Christ will keep you going when everything seems to be going wrong. Knowing it is all due to grace leaves us without reason to complain– ever! – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”– 1 Cor. 15:55
Based on years of observation I think it’s fair to say that death is “the elephant in the room”. As obvious as it is nobody wants to talk about it. After all when is the last time you told your friends to grab a bag of chips and come over to chat about death? Just about everyone wonders what the experience will be like and wants to know what happens after death, but they don’t want to discuss it.

Tim McGraw sang, “Live like you’re dying”, but most people live as though they will never die. They couldn’t be more wrong– “it is appointed unto man once to die..: (Heb. 9:27). As to what happens then there are only two options– heaven or hell, glory or grief. That being the case would it not be wise of us to consider where we’re headed? We often hear people say “Get real”, but when it comes to the reality of death they want to pretend that it will never happen. To them it is a dreadful thought to be avoided at all cost. They would rather listen to music, watch the ball game, or a 1001 other things than to think about the “D” word. But, ignore it or not, you are going to die. We all have that in common.
About three people die every second and one of these days your turn will come- it might be today! The fact is you are dying right now. Your heart is beating a death march to the grave and the next beat could be your last. We are moving toward the grave even as we sleep. We are closer than we’ve ever been. There is no escape from death and there is no way to eliminate the dread of death except through saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith turns our feelings upside down, or should I say right side up. Christ causes us to see death as gain rather than loss, the beginning rather than the end, glory rather than grief.

As mysterious and miserable the thought of death might be to you, we have good reason to believe that God’s grace will be sufficient to encourage us at our point of need. I believe God will enable us to see death as a friend instead of a foe and to face it head-on without fear– knowing that as He has promised so will He do, and therefore the best is yet to come!- HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346