Take your Bibles today to the gospel of Luke, chapter 18. That’s where we’re going to camp out, and I want to talk to you about something that shows up in just about every one of our lives.

When I was a kid, my dad had a few TV shows he really loved. Star Trek sat at the top of that list, and I still enjoy watching the original ones. He also liked a show called Mission Impossible. Leonard Nimoy played Spock on Star Trek, and he was in Mission Impossible too. I know Tom Cruise has come along and made a whole pile of those movies, but the show back in the seventies was really good. The movies basically run on the same premise, just with better effects. They ripped off the original, and that’s just how it is.

But Mission Impossible is what I want to talk to you about this morning out of Luke 18. Because in our lives, most days honestly, there are things that appear to us like they would be impossible to accomplish. Some of them are things the Lord has placed on your heart. You look at it, and you know yourself, and you think, boy, that sounds really good, God, but that’s impossible. I’m here to encourage you this morning that it’s not.

The Rich Young Ruler Comes to Jesus

We’ll start in verse 18. The Bible says, “And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said unto him, “Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is, God.”

What Jesus is doing there is getting this man to recognize and admit who he’s actually talking to. People will tell you all the time that Jesus never claimed to be God. I’d say those folks have never read the Bible, because He clearly did, over and over again.

Verse 20 says, “Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.” That last one is probably the hardest on the list.

Verse 21, “And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.” – Right, sure he did.

But here’s the response. “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.”

Notice what Jesus doesn’t do. He doesn’t correct him. He doesn’t take that moment to remind him that he hadn’t actually kept any or all of those commandments. He just moves on. That’s a good lesson when you’re doing personal work. Don’t get sidetracked with all the little side arguments and side issues people bring up to get you off the road. Stay on the Romans road. There are examples of that all through the Gospels, how Jesus dealt with people. Think about the woman at the well in John chapter 4. He never let those other things distract Him or pull Him off point. We can learn a valuable lesson from that.

Jesus knew this fellow’s heart, and He knew what the issue was. Covetousness, riches, relying on himself instead of on the Lord. We all struggle with those same things.

The Camel and the Needle’s Eye

Verse 23 says that when he heard this, he was very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

A lot of people say, well, that needle’s eye is talking about the gates shaped a certain way through the walls of the cities. No. He said needle’s eye, and you know exactly what He’s saying. He didn’t say it was impossible for a rich person to come to a saving faith and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. What He’s saying is that it’s very difficult for them, because they’re trusting in themselves.

Most of us would aspire to the day where we’ve got plenty in the bank, we can pay every bill, do everything we want to do, and never have to worry about money again. First of all, I’m here to tell you that day is never going to come. Not because God can’t bless you with all the money in the world. He could, and He very well may. But if that’s your attitude, it still won’t satisfy. That’s the problem.

Verse 26, “And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?” And He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

The Excuses We Make

So here’s the encouraging word as I wrap this up. We look at some things, and the way we think about them, they just look impossible. I could never do whatever the task might be.

Moses had that problem, remember? Oh, I can’t talk in front of people. I’ve got a bad history. I’m a wanted murderer. All these excuses for why he couldn’t do the thing God had selected him to do. And none of those excuses were valid. None of the excuses you have, or I have, or anyone else has are valid either.

The gifts and callings of God are without repentance. In other words, He doesn’t change His mind after He calls you to do something. We looked at that in our post about Jonah. Regardless of our failures and our disobedience, or even our successes and past triumphs, none of those things change the calling God places on your life.

And anything He’s called you to do, He has made possible. Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 20 says, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”

The Lord can accomplish it. If you’re trying to do it in your own strength, your own will, your own abilities, it very well may be impossible. So don’t do it that way. Do it in the strength of the Lord. And then all things are possible. Mission impossible can be accomplished through the Lord Jesus Christ.