Faith in the Impossible

Introduction

Life sometimes throws the seemingly if not the actually impossible at us. I say the seemingly because when we look back we often wonder how we made it through those circumstances. Back when I was in bible college, I struggled to pay my way through college. For the most part I had no help and I was working like crazy to pay my bills. Every Semester, 1/5 of the semester bill had to be paid for a student to come back that semester; so I would work open at 5 am to 2 pm at one store in Shelby and then drive to Charlotte an hour away and start work at 4 and usually get out around 1 and drive that same hour home to start over again the next day. This was the only way I could afford to come back the second semester every year. There were many times when I didn’t think I was going to make it. Especially those times when the school would pull us into the office and ball us out for not having more paid or threaten to turn us over to the credit agency. It was easy to feel like giving up. There was no miraculous deliverance here, but somehow looking back God got me through the seemingly impossible.

Some of us face situations that truly are impossible. Doctors have told them they couldn’t have kids because their body can’t carry to term. Another is told they have six months to live and there is no treatment for what they have. There are many smaller things that are out of our hands because they are dependent on someone else. We don’t know what to do about it, but we cry out on our knees for an answer.

This chapter has been about the faith of Abraham. Abraham faced a real life impossible situation. God had made a promise that his descendents would be a nation who would inherit the land. His seed would be as the stars of heaven and the sand on the beach. But there was one big problem: he didn’t have any children and on top of that he was about 100 years old. Seems pretty impossible right? When life threw the impossible at Abraham, It didn’t destroy him because he had faith.

How is it that Abraham wrestled with the doubts that he must have had, the questions that came to mind, the impossible situation he was faced with. This morning I would like to look not just at Abraham’s faith, but how he had that kind of faith during impossible situations. How did Abraham have hope when all hope was against him?

The God of the Impossible

The foundation of Abraham’s faith was who he had placed his faith in. Faith is only as good as its object. If I hire Levi, to design and construct me a brand new car, is the job going to get done to my satisfaction? Maybe out of Legos. But Levi isn’t up to the task. So who can be up to the task of the impossible?

I’ll tell you one thing, It isn’t you or me. The fact that it is called the impossible is because we can’t do it. There are things in life you can’t do. There are things in life you can’t fix, you can’t make them happen by manipulating the circumstances or forcing them. You can’t plead enough, complain enough, argue enough to make them happen. They are outside of your control and we don’t like that. We don’t like to be out of control in life. But the only way we are going to get through the impossible is when we wrestle with the fact that we don’t have to and can’t have control of everything. Because it is only then that we truly go to the one who can do something about the impossible. Abraham knew who that was.

Romans 4:17 “(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.”

Even God- Hope can only be found in the God of the impossible. In the story of Jesus’ birth, we read these words spoken to Mary, a woman of faith: Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Our only hope of seeing the impossible come to pass, is going to the literal only person who can do the impossible. Nothing is beyond his power. Paul gives us two examples of impossible situations, that God has already proven his power over:

Resurrection

Creation

Resurrection- who quickeneth the dead- The word quicken is an old English word for to make alive. (Looney Tunes illustration)3204j This verse speaks of the resurrection. There is probably no greater impossible situation than death itself. Death is a closed door. It is a one way ticket and there is no coming back. I can’t bring my loved ones back to me nor can I reverse the effects of death. While they are lying there sick, feeble and frail I have time, but there comes a point when that time is all gone. Death is impossible to come back from. And yet, Jesus rose from the dead. And yet, Elijah raised the widows son. And yet, Peter raised up Tabitha and possibly Paul raised up Eutychus from the dead. None of these men did the impossible on their own. It was only through the power of God in his will that we see the impossible situation of death reversed.

Creation- called those things which be not as though they were- Most are agreed that this phrase refers to the act of creation. It isn’t saying God pretends that things that aren’t are; rather that by the word of his mouth he makes them come to be. The impossible situation is nothingness. God in creation created out of nothing ex nihilo. If there is nothing there, then there is nothing to work with. If I were to come up to …. and say hey I want you to make me a cake right now, could you do it? No, you’d probably say but I don’t have the flour, the sugar, the water or even anything to cook with. You have nothing to make a cake with right now. Sometimes we face situations where we are asked to make brick without straw. We have a bill, but there is no money to pay for it. We are asked to face a trial, but there is no strength left to go through that valley. I can’t make anything out of nothing, but God can.

I was meditating on Isaiah 41:10“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: Be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” this last week. In this promise, God promises he will strengthen us. He will give us the strength we don’t have from the inside. When it feels like you are at your ropes end and you can’t go any further, he can give the strength you need. But it doesn’t stop there. God says he will help us. The difference between strength and help is that help comes from outside of us. I can’t do it but God can. Help can come either in the form of God doing something, or God using someone else to do it for him, but it is different than strengthening us. Finally, he says he will uphold us. When we have hit rock bottom, he can keep us from sinking lower. But all this comes because He is our God and He is with us. So in facing the impossible, we must remember who our God is.

The Faith of Abraham

1. Abraham Questioned God

The question though is how did Abraham wrestle with believing in God when it seemed so impossible. Lest you be tempted to think Abraham’s faith was perfect, remember Abraham questioned God in Genesis 15:2–3 “And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.” It wasn’t like Abraham never wrestled with believing that God could take care of it. I mean let’s be charitable, this was impossible after all. We do not see a perfect man and yet Hebrews calls him a man of faith though he questioned.

2. Abraham had lapses in faith

Abraham also had lapses of faith where he tried to take things into his own hands. Genesis 16:1–2 “Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.” It isn’t always easy to believe in the impossible and life is often up and down. Sometimes its easier than others to cling to God’s promises. Paul doesn’t just tell us Abraham believed God. Rather he tells us how Abraham wrestled with those questions and doubts.

Romans 4:18–21 “Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”

a. Believed in hope

b. Was not weak in faith

c. Strong in faith

Believed in hope- Here were told that against hope Abraham believed in hope. I think a huge point in believing God can do the impossible is deciding where we are going to start. Most of us already have in our minds an attitude of either faith or unbelief. I think of the man who came to Jesus to see his child healed. He declared i believe. He started from a position determined to believe, but he wrestled with doubt thus he said help thou my unbelief. At some point you are going to decide, are you determined to believe or doubt. Once that decision is made you can then go on to battle those doubts.

Was not weak in faith- Abraham strengthened his faith. In fact the word was not weak is an active verb meaning he strengthened his faith. You are not helpless in your battle against doubt. God can come alongside you as you do what Abraham did to strengthen his faith.

considered not- The first step in fighting doubt is reason. We see here Abraham doing some mental calculations. Our faith is not a blind faith; rather it is a reasonable faith- faith is believing and trusting in the dependableness of a person; so its reasonableness is dependent on that person. When Abraham does the math in his head and compares the impossible factors against what he knows about God, he chooses to believe in God. It would be irrational to believe the God who delivered Israel through the red sea could not so what he promised.

his own body nearly dead- He did not esteem even the deadness of his own body to be a significant factor.

the deadness of Sarah’s womb- two painful facts dealing with infertility, out of death God brought life

staggered not through unbelief- the word stagger is related to the word to judge but it carries the idea of through cross-examination or questioning or to dispute. Abraham shut down the negative arguments that were going through his head still. He has already reasoned that God is dependable even in his impossible circumstances, but now he needs to shut down the arguments still roaming in his mind. This is battle for the mind. 2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” at the promises of God- He knew what God had said and what God had promised and he went back to that.

Strong in faith- the result is he became strong in faith. So after waging battle in his mind, he moves forward in two ways.

gave glory to God- acknowledged the power of God- He praised God for what God will do. This is a change in focus and a commitment to keep our eyes on what we know to be true. I don’t know if Abraham did this but it helps to align my affections with what I know is true by singing praises to God when I am struggling.

fully persuaded- god is able to do what he promised- then he moves forward fully convinced that God will do what he said he will do. Sometimes we spend time on our knees struggling with our doubts, but we get up to soon. We need to fight through to confidence. The struggle may come back but go back and fight through again.

Conclusion

Paul brings his own sermon to an application in vs 23.

Romans 4:23–25 “Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”

Romans 15:4 “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

I want to bring two applications. Maybe you are struggling to believe God can save you. If God could raise Jesus from the dead and if God can create the world from nothing, don’t you think he can save you. Jesus provides salvation for you in two ways. He died on the cross to pay for your sins. A price has to be paid; either by Christ or by you. He rose again for your justification. If Jesus had only died, we would still be lost. Jesus rising allows us to be made right with God. These two truths: the cross and the empty tomb are both essential for our salvation today.

For the believer, Abraham did not just exercise faith once when he got saved. He lived a life of faith. Paul concludes that the story of Abraham is meant to be an example, a lesson for us today. God can fulfill His promises even when they seem impossible. If we are going to overcome our doubts, we must prioritize our knowledge of God over our seemingly impossible circumstances in a battle in the mind for faith or unbelief.