Living the Impossible - a podcast by Lewis Marsh

Living By Faith In a Faithless World,

Part 5: Living the Impossible, Heb. 11:11-12

By Louie Marsh, 12-12-2021

 

Living the Impossible Puns

 

They say nothing is impossible…But i do nothing every day

 

Why is it impossible to hold a race in Finland? Because in Finland, every line is a Finnish line. . .

 

The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.

 

The little girl said, “When I get to Heaven, I will ask Jonah.”

 

The teacher asked, “What if Jonah went to Hell?”  The little girl replied, “Then you ask him.”  

 

 

WHEN I LIVE BY FAITH…

 

1) God will challenge me to BELIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE.

 

“11By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.” (Hebrews 11:11–12, ESV)

 

Impossible Things Christians Believe:

 

• The All Powerful Creator of the Universe cares about us.
• God became a man.
• God in human flesh allowed Himself to be tortured and killed.
• He did this to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins
• After being dead for three days, He came back to life in His physical body!
• He gives us salvation as a gift of His Grace because of Christ’s death, burial & resurrection.
• He answers prayer, changes lives, and gives us his power today!

 

2) God will challenge me to DO the impossible.

 

SHOW SLIDE: In WW 2 the "Seabees" had as their slogan, "If it’s difficult, it will take a day or two. If it’s impossible, it will take a little longer." Here’s an example…

 

SHOW SLIDE: It was October 1958. Legson Kayira was sixteen or seventeen, his mother wasn't sure. His parents were illiterate and didn't know exactly where America was or how far. But they reluctantly gave their blessing to him to make a journey.  

 

He possessed a five-day supply of food, a Bible and Pilgrim's Progress (his two treasures), a small ax for protection, and a blanket. With these, Legson Kayira eagerly set out on the journey of his life. He was going to walk from his tribal village in Nyasaland, north across the wilderness of East Africa to Cairo, where he would board a ship to America to get a college education.

Like his role models, Abraham Lincoln and Booker T. Washington, Legson wanted to serve mankind, to make a difference in the world. To realize his goal, he needed a first-rate education. He knew the best place to get it was in America.

Forget that Legson didn't have a penny to his name or a way to pay for his ship fare.

Forget that he had no idea what college he would attend or if he would even be accepted.

Forget that Cairo was 3,000 miles away and in between were hundreds of tribes that spoke more than fifty strange languages, none of which Legson knew.

He hadn't always been so determined. As a young boy, he sometimes used his poverty as an excuse for not doing his best at school or for not accomplishing something. Like many of his friends in the village, it was easy for Legson to believe that studying was a waste of time for a poor boy. Then, in books provided by missionaries, he discovered Abraham Lincoln and Booker T. Washington. Their stories inspired him to envision more for his life, and he realized that an education was the first step.

After five full days of trekking across the rugged African terrain, Legson had covered only 25 miles. He was already out of food, his water was running out, and he had no money. To travel the distance of 2,975 additional miles seemed impossible. He promised himself that he would not stop until he reached America. Or until I die trying.

Sometimes he walked with strangers. Most of the time he walked alone. He entered each new village cautiously, not knowing whether the natives were hostile or friendly. Sometimes he found work and shelter. Many nights he slept under the stars. He foraged for wild fruits and berries and other edible plants. He became thin and weak. A fever struck him and he fell gravely ill. Kind strangers treated him with herbal medicines and offered him a place to rest and convalesce. Weary and demoralized, Legson considered turning back

Instead, Legson turned to his two books, reading the familiar words that renewed his faith. He continued on. On January 19, 1960, fifteen months after he began he had crossed nearly a thousand miles to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. He was now growing stronger in body and wiser in the ways of survival. He remained in Kampala for six months, working at odd jobs and spending every spare moment in the library, reading voraciously.

In that library he came across an illustrated directory of American colleges. One illustration in particular caught his eye. It was of a stately, yet friendly looking institution, Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, Washington, became the first concrete image in Legson's seemingly impossible quest. He wrote immediately to the school's dean explaining his situation and asking for a scholarship.

The dean at Skagit was so impressed with Legson's determination he not only granted him admission but also offered him a scholarship and a job that would pay his room and board.

Another piece of Legson's dream had fallen into place - yet still more obstacles blocked his path. Legson needed a passport and a visa, but to get a passport, he had to provide the government with a verified birth date. Worse yet, to get a visa he needed the round-trip fare to the United States. Again, he picked up pen and paper and wrote to the missionaries who had taught him since childhood. They helped to push the passport through government channels. However, Legson still lacked the airfare required for a visa.

Undeterred, Legson continued his journey to Cairo believing he would somehow get the money he needed. He was so confident he spent the last of his savings on a pair of shoes so he wouldn't have to walk through the door of Skagit Valley College barefoot.

Months passed, and word of his courageous journey began to spread. By the time he reached Khartoum, penniless and exhausted, the legend of Legson Kayira had spanned the ocean between the African continent and Mount Vernon, Washington. The students of Skagit Valley College, with the help of local citizens, sent $650 to cover Legson's fare to America.

In December 1960, more than two years after his journey began, Legson Kayira arrived at Skagit Valley College. Carrying his two treasured books, he proudly passed through the towering entrance of the institution.

But Legson Kayira didn't stop once he graduated. Continuing his academic journey, he became a professor of political science at Cambridge University in England and a widely respected author.

"I learned I was not, as most Africans believed, the victim of my circumstances but the master of them." --Legson Kayira

Excerpted from "Unstoppable" Copyright 1998 by Cynthia Kersey

 

“29By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.” (Hebrews 11:29–30, ESV)

 

SHOW SLIDE:

Impossible things God has done at River Church!

 

• This church was said to be impossible by and “expert” in church planting!
• Many people told me that adding a full time staff member was impossible.
• Our church has touched lives all over the world!

 

SHOW SLIDE:

Impossible Things He’s calling us to do now!

 

• Forgiving and loving those who’ve hurt you, abused you, opposed you and maybe still do
• To overcome life long fears.
• To triumph over the persistent fears that have crippled me all the life.
• To make an eternal difference in the world today.

 

HOW SHOULD I REACT TO ALL THIS?  LAUGH!

 

1) The laughter of ASTONISHED FAITH.

 

“15And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” 19God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.” (Genesis 17:15–19, ESV)

 

What did Abraham do?

 

• He  WORSHIPPED.

 

• He laughed – he reacted HONESTLY.

 

What Did God do?

 

• He made a bold, UNBELIEVABLE promise.

 

• He reminded Abraham to BELIEVE it.

 

2) The laughter of DISGUISED DOUBT.

 

“10The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. 12So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 14Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”” (Genesis 18:10–15, ESV)

 

What is Doubt?

 

One of the common Greek words = “to stand in two ways.”

 

Doubt is NOT UNBELIEF!

 

• Doubt is to be UNSURE of something.

 

|__________________|______________________|

Unbelief                 Doubt                               Faith

 

 

How do we often handle doubt?

 

• We FEAR IT.

 

• WE DENY AND LIE about it.

 

How does God handle doubt?

 

“22And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”” (Mark 9:22–25, ESV)

 

•  He CONFRONTS it.

 

• He CHALLENGES it.

 

• He CHANGES it.

 

• He does not CONDEMN it.

 

THE RESULTS OF THIS KIND OF FAITH

 

1) God makes the impossible POSSIBLE AND TRUE in my life.

 

And so a whole nation came from this one man, Abraham, who was too old to have any children—a nation with so many people that, like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them. Hebrews 11:12 (NLT)

It's not often that God speaks through the guy in the next shower stall. But that's exactly what Charif Haddad said happened to him.

Haddad, pastor of a new church among people of Middle Eastern descent in Dearborn, Mich., says he struggled with his call to ministry as a teenager in his native Lebanon. During a shower after a soccer game one day, he found himself thinking of all the reasons he couldn't obey: He had a family to raise, a plan to become an engineer, and the obstacles were just too great.

"It's impossible to do it financially," he told God. "It's impossible for me to change people's hearts."

Then his friend in the next stall, a non-Christian who had not heard his silent prayers, shouted out loud: "What is impossible to man is possible to God."

"It made the hair on my neck stand up," Haddad said. "I said, 'Sam, where did those words come from.' He said, 'I don't know. They just came to mind, so I blurted them out.'"

That was the beginning of God's intervention, Haddad said. Later he felt God wanted him to serve in the United States, but he didn't see a way for it to happen. "I said, 'Lord, if you want me to serve you, send me to the States. I don't have the visa, I don't have the resources, I don't even have the desire to go."

The next day, he received a letter from a church in the United States offering to sponsor him as he pursued his education and ministry. Eventually - after Bible college and seminary - God called him to his current work in Dearborn, Mich.

Obedience to God's call also is central to this type of work, says North American Mission Board President Robert E. Reccord: "Answer his call, tell his story and change your world."

"When you answer his call, you will inevitably have the opportunity to tell his story," Reccord says. "And when you unapologetically do that, you will change your world." The Christian journey can be seen as an adventure, something that involves risk - and potentially tremendous joy and excitement.

"What would your life be like if there were no adventure in it?" he asks. "What would your life be like if there weren't any risk involved in it? Would you ever have learned how to walk?"

"Jesus Christ wants you to be a follower who blasts into the future on a flame of the Holy Spirit to chart the unknown, where you have never been before," Reccord says. " Are you ready? Because if you aren't, you're going to miss the great things in life he has for you."

"I think we have set up a dualism that's not biblical," he says. "Here's what we've made it sound like: If you are a missionary or if you are minister, you can be called of God. But if you're a plain old laywoman or layman, how can God call you? There is nothing more inaccurate than that."

"My question to you," Reccord asks, "is, Are you doing what you're doing because God called you do it?"

HOMEWORK:

• What impossible truth about God am I struggling to believe?
• How well am I dealing with doubt?
• What impossible thing is God calling me to do?
• What can I do this week to begin obeying God’s call?

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