Okay, I thought we'd start off with a little magic trick today. I need a little of your imagination. Now, sitting on this table in front of me is this cellophane, okay? Right, okay. Now, next to it is this glove, all right, now here's the trick - my glove is going to pick up the cellophane. I'm lying right down next to the cellophane, okay, "Glove, pick up the cellophane!" Ah, "Glove! Pick up the cellophane!" Ah, nothing is happening. Now it doesn't matter what we do, no matter if we baptize this glove, if we get it confirmed, dedicated, rededicate this glove, it's never going to pick up the cellophane! Oh, but watch this, here we go, oh, actually, listen to this - now the glove is moving and it is moving toward the cellophane. Listen! (Sound of cellophane moving) Ah, you've just got to trust me, it is literally the glove picking up the cellophane. Are you amazed or what? Well, there is one little factor that I forgot to mention - I put my hand in the glove before I picked up the cellophane. It's amazing! All of a sudden that glove could do what, otherwise, gloves could never do!
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Amazing Glove Trick."
Our word for today from the Word of God is one of the most amazing statements in the New Testament I think, Philippians 4:13, you may have heard it. "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." Through Christ who gives me strength. Now, Paul has just been talking about the extremes of our life's circumstances. He talks about being in need and having plenty. He says I can do it, either one, through Christ. He talks about being well fed or hungry. He says I can do it, through Christ. He talks about being in plenty or in want. He says I can do it, through Christ. Now you may be facing a challenge right now that looks a lot bigger than your resources to meet it. Now think about how this affirmation changes the equation! "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."
Now a lot of people live with this negative voice that has been planted there by people throughout their life. Maybe you can hear it inside of you. I call it the "can't chant." Even though that story of the little engine taught us to say, "I think I can, I think I can." We have this voice that keeps whispering, "I think I can't, I think I can't." And maybe you struggle with feelings of inferiority, inadequacy, and it's held you down. It's held you back many times.
I remember seeing a refrigerator sticker not long ago. It was a picture of a dog and he says, "My name's No No Bad Dog. What's yours?" Well, you see, a lot of us have had that kind of negative input in our lives and we think that's who we are! It's torn down our confidence and our worth. Consequently we miss a lot of mighty things God wants to do in us and through us because we think we can't - which brings us to the amazing glove trick! The glove is powerless to pick up anything but the power of my hand in that glove changed everything. It empowered that glove to do what it never could do in it's own power. Now, what God is asking you to be, is His glove. Recognizing, yes, you are powerless to do what He's asking you to do. You can't. That's right. But then trusting that Jesus can! He wants to put His hand in your life, your personality, your experience, your abilities, your relationships, and do things you alone could never do!
Now, it doesn't say, "I can do everything." No. It says, "I can do everything through Christ who gives me (the) strength." It is not my strength.
So the question is, "Are you willing to be God's glove?" If so, you'll go for what you may have been running from. You'll risk what you may have been shrinking from. You'll run toward that challenge instead of running from it. God wants to do His amazing glove miracle through you. He waits only for you to be willing.