Can’t Do It

Introduction

Have you ever been given a task or an assignment that you just knew you couldn’t do? That no matter what, you were going to fail. And what was the result of that mindset? I’ll tell you of a time that happened to me. You know me as a preacher, but I’ve had other jobs throughout my life, secular work, and one time that that happened, newly into a new job, I was given a task, or asked if I wanted to do a task or assignment, and I knew I would fail. Started a new job, and the HR lady wanted to sign me up for a 401k. And I told her, I can’t run that far.

And you know that whether that is reality, whether you really will fail at that task, that that mindset is often self-fulfilling prophecy. There’s a difference between an external dialogue and internal dialogue. An external dialogue, someone might tell you you can’t do that. And you might have one of those personalities that’s defiant, and you say, yo, yeah, watch me. But that’s not usually the result of an internal dialogue. When you tell yourself, I can’t do that. Rarely does another side of your brain say, oh yeah, watch me. Usually when you say, I can’t do that, you’re exactly right. You either can’t or you won’t do that. You will either fail at that task because you were right in the assessment of your abilities to that task, or what usually will happen, like what happened with me in the 401k, is I don’t even start because I know I can’t do that.

What I like for us to try this morning is to do what the scriptures try to do for us, and that is to change that internal dialogue, and to tell you that you can do it. You may feel at times that the task that God has assigned you is an insurmountable task. God has asked you to become one of his followers, to be like him, to follow the rules, to do the things he’s asked you to do, and so that when you die, you’ll get to go to heaven. And you may have looked at that task and assignment and said, I can’t do that. Or maybe it just in times in your life, those low moments, those dark moments that Gene talked about this morning, you’ve surely said or felt to yourself, I can’t do that.

1. Reasons Behind the I Can’t Do It Attitude

And you know, there’s some reasons behind the I can’t do it attitude. You may say, No, I I can’t do that. And here’s maybe some of the reasons that you would give. You know, Matthew chapter 7, Jesus said that narrow, straight and narrow is the way, and few there be that find it. And you may look at yourself and just say, you know, if only few can make it, I’m not going to make that cut. I’m not one of the few.

He says that Satan is out there like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. And you read of the power and the cunning devices of Satan and sin and temptation, and you may just say, They’re more powerful than I am. No, I can’t do it. It doesn’t help when you look at the failures of others who you deemed to be stronger than you.

And he didn’t get to go to the promised land.

And Bathsheba. And I think if he couldn’t do it, what hope is there for me? I look at the close confidants of Jesus of men like Peter and Judas who were there with him, who heard from his very own mouth the teaching, who saw with their own eyes the miracles, who spent literally every day of their life for about three years, and they at the most important crossroads of their and Jesus’ life, they failed. And I think they can’t do it. What hope is there for me? And then sometimes there’s just discouragement from others around me. That discouragement bleeds in. I see maybe other people who I look up to spiritually who are failing, in my estimation at least, or those rather than lending me encouragement, seem to be lending me discouragement.

And then I have just the discouragement of the world around us.

When we are beat down and we are discouraged in life in general, whether it be about politics or morality or economics or just the burdens of life, and we think that those troubles, those burdens don’t leach into our Christianity, you’re kidding yourself. Your brain is like cheap styrofoam, it’s going to leach out and bleed into every different part of your life. Those things can creep into the church and to affect you and discourage you. And I’m going to tell you, nothing, nothing discourages me more than me of my own failure. Forget Moses and David and Peter and Judas. My own life when I tried to do what was right. And not only have let myself down, I let God down. When others were depending upon me to be that spiritual rock, to be that strength, and I was just the opposite.

I get it. It’s easy to say, no, I can’t do that. But in the light of all of these things, what makes me think I can do it? And what makes me think that I dare stand here in front of the audience like you who’ve experienced these type of discouragement and try to tell you that you can do it. What is there? What’s the antidote to that? What makes me think that yes, I can do it? One word.

2. You Can’t Do It, But God Can

We could title it, you’re right. You can’t do it. But God can. So I want to be your cheerleader this morning. I want to help you to understand that the task that the assignment that God has given you, you can do. Despite all of the discouragement of all of the knows that the world and Satan and sin and temptation and in your dark moments, your own self would throw at you. Never forget God. That God can do this. And with God, you can do it. God is on your side. All of those things that we talked about. Do you remember this verse? Memorize this verse, at least part of this verse. Romans chapter 8 and in verse 31. Romans chapter 8 and verse 31. Here’s a good technical, scholarly, biblical lesson for you.

Romans chapter 8 follows Romans chapter 7. Romans chapter 7 is that chapter where Paul is saying, I can’t do it. I’m struggling. What I want to do, I don’t do, and what I don’t want to do, I do, and weary, I can’t. We wrestle with that. Paul was saying in chapter 7, I can’t do it. But then chapter 8 follows it up by saying, Yes, I can, or more properly, yes, God can. And so he begins to list the things on our side there in Romans chapter 8, and he comes to this wonderful rhetorical conclusion in Romans chapter 8 and verse 31, when he says, If God be for us, who can be against us? You can do it because God’s on your side. I think I’ve told you this story before.

I’m a little mad at Marion this morning, by the way. Let me get that off my chest. She put in the bulletin that today is our seven year anniversary. I don’t know that you need to know that. That maybe you go like, oh, he’s been here too long. It’s not time to make it. But anyway, no, I’m serious. I’m kidding. I’m thankful for that. But having been here seven years, you’ve probably heard it’s time to start recycling these stories. And so there’s where the collective groan comes in. But I may have told you this story before. I know I’ve told you that I grew up in North Alabama. I graduated from West Point. I like telling people that. Now it loses its luster when you learn out that it was West Point elementary in high school in Coleman, Alabama.

But I did graduate from West Point. And I don’t know how they did things when you were in school, where you were in school, but when I was in school, when you were in the lower grade, sometimes the older kids, we were all on one campus. First through 12 was all on one campus. The big kids, the older high school kids, would come down and be a teacher’s aide one period for the elementary school classes. They would help the teacher grade papers and do different things. And we had a teacher’s aid. When I was in the third grade, this is how old I am. We didn’t have PE. We called it play period back then. And third grade play period in North Alabama at least was all about football.

If the weather permitted it and the coach allowed it, we would choose up teams and play football out on the field behind the gymnasium for our play period. And it was all about choosing up teams. We’d get the football and we would have the Super Bowl every five days a week. And sometimes during the third grade, we had that teacher’s aid, a full grown man by the name of Terry. He was in the eighth grade. Now you laugh when I say full grown man, but this was North Alabama. He had been held back a few years. He was a full grown. He had a beard, a driver’s license, a couple kids of his own. But he was just a big, big, big eighth grade versus third grade.

And Terry would play football with us. And you’re choosing up teams. And I can remember sometimes I would be the captain and I would get to choose, and be me and somebody else, and we’re choosing up teams. And if the coin flip worked your way, you got the first choice, I’m picking Terry. Terry’s on my team. And I would mockingly look at my opponent and I say, You can pick the rest. You can pick the rest of them for me and you. Because the game’s over. Because Terry’s on my team. He’s an eighth grader. We’re all third grade. It doesn’t matter. The game was over as soon as I picked Terry. Isn’t that the point that Romans 8 verse 31 is trying to make for us spiritually?

And boosting us and saying, if God be for us, who can be? He’s not saying there’s not a list we can’t compile that might discourage us and oppose us, but he’s saying it doesn’t matter. Because God’s on your team. God is for you. Look at this. Look with me in the book of Micah in the Old Testament of all places. In Micah chapter 7, Micah introduces us to a God who majors in forgiveness. That he delights in loving us. He delights in forgiving us of our sins. Notice what Micah says. Micah chapter 7. Let’s look at verses 18 and 19. After God declaring that he would forgive Israel of all their atrocious sins and transgressions against him, Micah makes this observation. Micah 7, verse 18. Who is a God like you?

Pardoning iniquity, passing over the transgression of the remnant of the heritage. He does not retain his anger forever because he delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Who is a God like you? Who delights in mercy and will take all of our sins and throw them to the bottom of the ocean. That’s the God that’s on your side. Go back to the book of Romans. We reference chapter 8. Go back to Romans this time in chapter 5. There is no way to put into words the magnitude of God’s love for us. The Holy Spirit tries in in Romans chapter 5 to tell us how much God loves us and what he’s done for us.

Look in Romans 5, let’s start in verse 6. For when, for when we were still without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. To get us to understand the magnitude of his love, he says, think of how much God loved you when you were the most unlovable, when you were not a good man, when you were not a righteous person, when you were his enemy, God sent his only begotten Son. But he’s not through. Much more then, verse 9, having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

For if when, if when we were his enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved through his life. If when we were his enemies, God would send his son to be humiliated, to die on the cross for our sins.

God be for us. Who can be against? Paul, the Holy Spirit through Paul is telling us there’s no way to measure his love. If he loved us that much as enemies, how can we even measure his love for us? If he wanted to save us that much when we were his enemies, there’s no way to measure how much he wants to save us now that we’re his friend and his children. God is on our side. And God has given you support.

3. God Has Given You Support

He’s given you the avenue of prayer. And he’s given you one another. I know you know this passage. In fact, I’m not even going to ask you to turn over there. Just listen as I read Hebrews chapter 10. And in verse 24, it says, let us consider one another in order to stir up to love and good words. The inclusion of those words one another. Tell me that the Hebrew writer, the Holy Spirit through the Hebrew writer, is not just enjoining upon us some command that you help other people. Oh, that’s there, certainly. But when he says one another, he’s talking about this being a symbolic relationship, that this goes both ways. That this is a one another relationship. That I am here offering you encouragement, that I am considering you to stir you up into love and good works, but it’s a one another relationship.

You’re doing the same for me. So let’s recognize the responsibility and the blessing that He’s given us to stir one another up, to encourage one another. Why is it? And that’s not a rhetorical question, maybe not right now, but sometime today or this week, I’d like to know if you have the answer. Why is it that when we need God the most, when we are at our darkest moments, when we are the most discouraged, when we are most feeling attacked by Satan and temptation and sin, why is it then that we tend to withdraw and to pull back from God and our brethren and our support system. And it ought to be just the opposite.

And to God. Consider one another to stir up to love and good work. And let’s make sure that those of us who maybe view ourselves as the guardians of the fort, that when someone does come or comes back to us for that refuge, that support, that help and that encouragement, that we don’t attack them with slings and arrow, that we consider them. And we stir them up into love and good work. Now it’s true that if I wanted to, if I was so inclined, I could make a list of brethren who’ve discouraged me, who’ve let me down, who, by my estimation, haven’t maybe lived the godly life the way they ought to have, maybe who have spoken words of hate and discord and discouragement to me.

But that list would be dwarfed by brethren who’ve uplifted me, who’ve encouraged me, who’ve either patted me on the back or kicked me in the seat of the pants when I needed it. Because they considered me. They wanted to stir me up into love and good work. And that tells me that I can do it.

4. God Can Make You Better

You can do it because God has given you the support that you need, and that you can do it because God can make you better.

It seemed impossible. That person needs to remember two things. The first thing, first and foremost, is again remember God. God is on your side. But secondly, remember that you don’t have to remain that person. Moses didn’t when he failed. David didn’t.

Peter overcame denying his Lord three times. And God can change you, transform you, if you’ll but let him. My discouragement so often comes when I try to do things my way. I know the wise man, the book of Proverbs told me that the way of man is not in himself. We shouldn’t direct our own steps. But I tried that too many times. And I fail. And that’s what discourages me. But my encouragement is when I realize that God can help me. Look with me in James chapter one. Now I don’t always know or understand how God is working and helping me, but he’s promised that he will. And that’s enough. James chapter 1, in telling these brethren that they were going on undergoing tremendous trials and difficulties, but they could grow and improve.

That’s what verses 3 and 4, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. That’s James chapter 1, verse 3. Verse 4 then says, Let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. He’s saying, You’re gonna grow, you’re gonna grow, and you might be saying, I don’t know how to grow. Verse 5 says, but if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. Let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it’ll be given to him.

James says, in the midst of these trials, your faith can grow and you can do dynamic and wonderful things. And again, you may be crying out, I don’t see that. How is that going to happen? He says, Ask of God. A God who gives liberally will answer those prayer. Jeremiah read for us the encouragement or encouraging statement in the book of Philippians, where Paul says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Paul was not patting himself on the back when he says, I’ve learned to be content with a little and with a lot. I can do it all. He wasn’t saying, I can do it all. I’ve pulled myself up by my own bootstraps. He says, I can do it through Christ. It’s God who has empowered me.

In fact, turn over there in Philippians chapter 4. Jeremiah’s reading concluded in verse 13. It says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me. Skip down to verse 19. Same chapter, Philippians 4, verse 19. And he tells them they have that same supply of strength. Philippians 4, verse 19, and my God, my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Now, is he just talking about a financial need that they were supplying for him that would be reciprocated to them? Well, maybe, but I tend to think that it’s not limited by that context. My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Those two last two passages we’ve read give us the encouragement that God can make you better.

You know, your fellow man, some of them at least, they want to help you. But there’s usually one of two problems with your fellow man. Sometimes your fellow man doesn’t want to help you.

Let’s say that you’re in a financial strait. You need a big influx of money. I don’t know. I didn’t do the research. I don’t know how many millionaires they are in this country, but there’s a lot of people who could just, by the wave of a pen or of a credit card, fix all of your financial problems. You know the problem? They don’t want to.

They don’t want to do that. The other side of the equation, you got people like me. I’m better than that guy. I want to help you. I love you, and I want to help you. The problem is, I can’t. I don’t have the money. I was hoping you were coming over to give me some money rather than to ask for money. Paul says in Philippians 4, verse 19, God is rich.

We saw in James chapter 1 that he gives liberally. He has the resources. That’s not an issue. And he’s generous. That’s not an issue. And if you’ll turn your life over to him, and either quit stubbornly saying, I can’t do this, or equally stubbornly saying, I’m going to do this on my own. But if you’ll just turn to God and say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do this because of you, God. Because your love knows no bounds. You delight in mercy. But if I’ll come to you, you’ll throw my sins to the bottom of the sea. You’ve given me a support system. You’ve given me the avenue of prayer, of Bible study. You’ve done so much to help me.

Conclusion

God’s given you a task. And he has said, you can do it. Every soul that is here this morning is a soul in a life that means something to God. The soul in the life that God has the very hairs of your head numbered. He cares about you. And he, I don’t know why, but he wants me to spend an eternity with him in heaven. He wants you there too. And it is he who is telling you. You can do it. Don’t give up. Don’t give up. Don’t give up. You can do it. Will you begin that journey today knowing that you can complete that journey? That God has not given you an unsurmountable task, not given you an impossible hill to climb. He has given you something and the resources to be able to do it and abound.

If you would come forward this morning in obedience to the gospel or in return to God’s kingdom, God would want you to know what this audience will resoundingly tell you this morning. You can do it. Can we help you? Can we help you together? We stand and as we sing.