The Bible tells us time and time again that ‘with God all things are possible.’ (Matt 19:26) If we read the Bible believing that the impossible can’t happen, then we will have to chop out a lot of the stories it tells, because most of these are impossible for people to achieve on their own.

• A hundred year old man and his barren wife having a baby? Impossible.

• A nation enslaved by Egypt escaping because the Red Sea parts and lets them through? Impossible.

• A city’s walls collapsing just because people march around and blow trumpets? Impossible.

• A young boy defeating a 9 foot warrior with a sling and five stones? Impossible.

• People surviving being thrown into fire and coming out totally unscathed? Impossible.

• An unmarried virgin giving birth to a son? Impossible.

• A man walking on water? Impossible.

• A man healing the sick and raising the dead? Impossible.

• A man rising from the dead? Impossible.

Yet the Bible declares categorically that all these things happened because God worked the impossible for His people. God specialises in things thought impossible, the song says. He is the Lord, the God of all mankind. Nothing is too hard for him. So if we have an impossible situation to deal with today, we could well be in for a big surprise. The God of the impossible could step in and change our situation. All He is looking for is that little bit of crazy faith, that mustard seed of faith, which believes there is nothing too hard for the Lord. All He wants is for us to dare to believe that He can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. Miracles happen when people dare to believe that nothing is too hard for God. If we will stretch that faith muscle and believe nothing is too hard for the Lord, then we will see the impossible become possible in our lives, not just in other people’s!

Jeremiah 32:1-29 tells the strange story of Jeremiah, a prophet who has been telling Israel that they are about to go into exile for 70 years, buying a field, even though he is not likely to get any use out of the field himself. This seems a bizarre thing to do, given that he knows he will not live to see the return of Israel from Babylon, but is a vivid living parable that in a life of faith, we have to take the long view.

God reminds Jeremiah through the question ‘Is anything too hard for me?’ (Jer 32:27) that even though life may look unrelentingly bleak at present, He is still working and has not abandoned Israel. Jeremiah’s apparently ludicrous act of purchasing a field is a visible testimony to Israel that ‘houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’ (Jer 32:15) God, the Sovereign Lord, has not abandoned His people forever; there will be a time when He acts decisively and the people will return. Jeremiah’s act of faith reminds us that we are called to see more than the visible: ‘We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’ (2 Cor 4:18) Now, with all its humiliation and hurt, with all its persecution and pain, is not the final story. Now they may have to endure God’s furious anger and great wrath, but in the future, they will be gathered from all the lands and brought back to Jerusalem where they will live in safety. God’s covenant with His people will survive even punishment and exile, but they – like us – need eyes of faith to see the impossible become possible and to believe through the waiting period when nothing seems to be happening.

Dave spoke this morning about grace, looking at the time in David’s life when he showed grace to Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth (2 Sam 9:1-12). David wanted to show kindness to his friend’s son and is a picture mirroring God’s grace to all people. Rom 5:11 reminds us that sin cripples us; Mephibosheth was physically crippled through a fall and had ended up in a place called Lo Debar, a place of no pasture, a place of barrenness. David made the first move in seeking out Mephibosheth, just as God made the first move to us in sending Christ.

That initial summons to see the king may well have frightened Mephibosheth who could have expected judgment or punishment (so often, a new king got rid of any descendants of the previous ruler in order to avoid any claims to power.) But when Mephibosheth appeared before the king, he only received kindness. David knew his name: God knows ours too. We have done nothing to deserve His grace, but God seeks, saves and restores us. Mephibosheth was allowed to eat at the king’s table, an act of grace. God’s grace is sufficient for us too, drawing us into fellowship and communion with Himself. God’s kindness, grace and favour are shown to us and we are, like Mephibosheth, the happy recipients of grace!

Charisma is defined as ‘compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others’ or ‘the ability to attract the attention and admiration of others.’ Some people are naturally ‘charismatic’; others seem to turn charm on for effect. When the Bible talks about ‘charisma’, however, it means that which results from the activity of generosity, and refers to something which is not earned or deserved in any way. In other words, it refers to a gift, a gift with no strings attached and no concditions.

We often feel that a free gift is worth little (think about cheap Christmas crackers with their plastic gifts which no one really wants and compare that with a box of 6 Fortnum & Mason crackers (costing £1000) which has gifts including an Alex Monroe charm bracelet or a sterling silver honey drizzler!) However, God’s gifts are not worthless, even if they are free. HIs common gifts (including life itself) cannot be valued in the way we may value a piece of art. Every life is precious and irreplaceable.

God’s grace and forgiveness are free gifts which are also very precious. (Rom 6:23) We often don’t see our sin as wrong (everyone else is just as sinful, after all!), but in comparison to the purity and holiness of God, we clearly fall far short of the mark. We deserve sin and death and punishment, but instead, God’s gift of grace is offered to us (Rom 5:15). We can have many gifts from God (see 1 Cor 1:4-7, 1 Cor 12:4-9). These include what are commonly known as ‘gifts of the Spirit’, including those of inspiration (speaking in tongues, interpreting these other languages and prophecy), revelation (words of knowledge, wisdom and distinguishing of spirits) and power (healings, miraculous powers and faith.) Rom 12:6-8 reminds us that we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us and need to use these and not neglect them (see 1 Tim 4:14, 2 Tim 1:6, 1 Pet 4:10).

God’s free gifts are not to be despised. We need to use what He gives us and seek more, for there are no favourites in God. God bestows His gifts on all who come and sincerely ask.

The Trinity is the technical word given to the fact that Christians worship One God who has revealed Himself in Three Persons: Father, Son and Spirit. It’s very difficult for us to understand that God is One and yet is also seen in three distinct persons; perhaps the closest mathematical way of describing this is not to think of each person in terms of addition (1+1+1=3) but to understand that 1x1x1=1. The Bible describes God in this way in both the Old and New Testaments, and our image and understanding of God is vital to our beliefs and actions. If we understand God as being faithful, we can respond to life’s challenges with hope and confidence; if we understand God as gracious, we too will become gracious in how we act towards others. Where our image of God diverges from the Biblical account, we start to go down wrong paths, living according to our own ideas and goals.

The Christmas story reveals God in three persons to us. The angel who appeared to Mary (Luke 1:26-38) talks of God the Father, the Son (Jesus) who would be born to Mary and the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon her to make this possible. Other accounts (such as the baptism of Jesus and the transfiguration of Jesus) also point to the three persons of the Godhead being seen. The Father is shown to be the Creator, the source of life, but we also see the Spirit of God ‘hovering’ over the waters in the Genesis account of creation and are told (John 1:1-5) that Jesus is the Word through whom everything was made. This is not simply seen in the New Testament, but the Old Testament also points to the Father-heart of God (see Ps 2:7, Is 9:6) and we see God’s Spirit on different people there as well, empowering people to build the Tabernacle, for example, as well as coming on people with the gift of prophecy. The Holy Spirit is our counsellor and advocate; the Son is our Saviour who shared in our humanity so we can be redeemed.

The Great Commission given to the disciples (Matt 28:18-20) reminds us once again of the role of the Trinity in our evangelism: we are to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching and baptising people in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit. We need to hold firmly to a Biblical understanding of the Trinity if we are to fulfil this commission and live as God wants us to.