The Audacity of Hope

Introduction: Barack Obama

It was the early 2000s and America was weary. Eight years of George W. Bush’s presidency had left the nation at war overseas and facing economic anxiety at home. People were ready for change.

Then, a young senator from Illinois named Barack Obama announced his candidacy in 2007—an announcement that caught many people by surprise. There were a number of concerns the American people had about this unusual candidate:

He was only 47 years old

He was only a few years removed from his days as a state legislator.

He had a name that sounded foreign to many ears, leaving many to believe he was a terrorist.

And, perhaps most daunting of all, he was a Black man running for president of a country that had once enslaved people who looked like him.

Polls reflected the doubt. In early surveys, most voters said they didn’t believe America was ready for a Black president. Party insiders whispered that he was “too young,” “too idealistic,” or that “the country isn’t ready for him.” Even some Black leaders worried he would fail. The conventional wisdom was clear: it wasn’t his time, and maybe, for a Black man, it might never be.

But Obama believed in what he called “the audacity of hope.” His campaign didn’t have the big donors or the deep political machine of the frontrunner, Hillary Clinton. Instead, it built an army of ordinary people — teachers, students, and retirees — who knocked on doors, made phone calls, and filled gymnasiums across the cold plains of Iowa.

In a state that was 94 percent white, Barack Obama won the Iowa caucus — the very first contest of the Democratic race. Reporters called it “a political earthquake.” His speech that night began with the words:

They said this day would never come. They said our sights were set too high. They said this country was too divided; too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose. But on this night [January 3, 2008] - at this defining moment in history - you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do.

That moment changed everything. It proved that voters could look beyond race — that the barriers of history weren’t as unbreakable as they’d seemed. The victory electrified his campaign and reshaped the national mood.

From there, momentum carried him forward. Through months of grueling debates and rallies, through the heartbreak of racial attacks and political skepticism, his movement grew. When the financial crisis struck in the fall of 2008, many voters looked for steadiness and hope — and found it in Obama’s calm, measured leadership.

On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States, defeating Senator John McCain by a wide margin.

Popular vote: 52.9 % for Obama, 45.7 % for McCain — the largest margin for a Democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

Electoral vote: 365 to 173.

Voter turnout: about 62 % — the highest in 40 years.

Crowds wept in Chicago’s Grant Park as he told the nation:

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible… tonight is your answer.”

The long line of presidents who had all looked the same was finally broken. And the young man who once seemed like a long shot had proven that, sometimes, the impossible isn’t really impossible — it’s just waiting for someone brave enough to try

What we just shared was about a man who dared to dream. It was about a man who was able to look past what many people saw as an improbability and had hope.

However, I want to make this clear, what occurred with Barack as not an impossibility. It was an improbability—a very strong improbability. It was not impossible for a black man to be elected in America. Rather, it was improbable and for some, unrealistic.

Audacity- boldness or daring, especially with confident or arrogant disregard for personal safety, conventional thought or other restrictions.

Hope- is the trust one places in God; it is the confidence we have in God. It is having expectation in God, which is generated by Jesus.

Hebrews 11:1 “1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”

What President Obama overcame was an improbable circumstance. However, what we read in our text for today was more than just an improbability. It was an impossibility.

Abraham: An Impossible Situtation

A. Time Delay (25 years)

Genesis 12:1-4 Abraham was initially 75 years old when he was called.

Genesis 15:1-6 10 years, the promise is renewed.

Genesis 16- Abraham has a baby with Hagar at approximately 86.

Genesis 17- 13 years passes and the promise is renewed.

Genesis 21- The promise is fulfilled.

Prolonged waiting tests faith more than initial impossibility.

Each year aged the body and made conception less likely.

Waiting without progress produces cognitive dissonance: “Did I hear God correctly?”

B. Biological Impossibility

Both Abraham and Sarah passed reproductive capacity.

Romans 4:19 “19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.” underscores this.

C. Cultural Pressure and Shame

In the Ancient Near East, barrenness was viewed as a divine curse or disgrace (cf. Gen 30:1; 1 Sam 1:6).

Sarai bore the social stigma of childlessness — adding emotional pressure on the couple.

D. Domestic Strain

The Hagar episode led to tension, jealousy, and household division (Gen 16:4–6).

The supposed “solution” brought pain — a psychological blow that could erode hope.

E. Deferred Fulfillment and Silence from God

Between Genesis 16 and 17, there is a 13-year gap of silence — no recorded word from God.

That silence could easily have been interpreted as divine abandonment.

Paul described this as a hopeless situation:

Romans 4:18–20 “18 Even when there was no reason for hope [Why from hope, but in hope, kept on believing], Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” 19 And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. 20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.”

Point 1: God can do the impossible!

List of Impossible Breakthroughs

Matthew 8:1–4 – He heals a man with leprosy.

Mark 2:1–12 / Matthew 9:1–8 / Luke 5:17–26 – He heals a paralyzed man lowered through the roof.

John 9:1–7 – He gives sight to a man born blind.

Mark 5:25–34 / Matthew 9:20–22 / Luke 8:43–48 – He heals a woman with an issue of blood for twelve years.

Luke 17:11–19 – He heals ten lepers.

Mark 7:31–37 – He heals a deaf and mute man.

John 4:46–54 – He heals the nobleman’s son from a distance.

Matthew 8:14–15 / Mark 1:29–31 – He heals Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever.

Mark 4:35–41 / Matthew 8:23–27 / Luke 8:22–25 – He calms the storm with a word.

Matthew 14:22–33 / Mark 6:45–52 / John 6:16–21 – He walks on water.

John 2:1–11 – He turns water into wine at Cana.

Luke 5:1–11 / John 21:1–6 – He causes a miraculous catch of fish.

Matthew 17:24–27 – He provides temple tax money from a fish’s mouth.

Matthew 21:18–22 / Mark 11:12–14, 20–21 – He curses a fig tree, and it withers.

Matthew 14:15–21 / Mark 6:30–44 / Luke 9:10–17 / John 6:1–14 – He feeds 5,000 with five loaves and two fish.

Matthew 15:32–39 / Mark 8:1–10 – He feeds 4,000 with seven loaves and a few fish.

Mark 1:23–27 / Luke 4:33–36 – He casts out an unclean spirit in the synagogue.

Mark 5:1–20 / Matthew 8:28–34 / Luke 8:26–39 – He delivers the man possessed by “Legion.”

Matthew 9:32–33 – He heals a mute demoniac.

Matthew 12:22 / Luke 11:14 – He heals a blind and mute man possessed by a demon.

Mark 7:24–30 / Matthew 15:21–28 – He delivers the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter.

Luke 7:11–17 – He raises the widow’s son at Nain.

Mark 5:35–43 / Matthew 9:18–26 / Luke 8:49–56 – He raises Jairus’s daughter.

John 11:1–44 – He raises Lazarus from the dead after four days.

Luke 23:46 / John 19:30 / Matthew 27:50 – He surrenders His spirit and dies willingly.

Matthew 28:1–10 / Mark 16 / Luke 24 / John 20–21 – He rises from the dead Himself — the ultimate impossible.

Paul’s point however, is to use Abraham’s impossible as proof that God can do impossible things such as save our souls.

Romans 4:21–25 “21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. 22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.”

The God of the Impossible and Improbable

Point 2: If God is able to do the impossible, we don’t have to worry about the improbable!

Debt

Sickness

Mental struggles

Passed up on the job

Overlooked by your friends

Ephesians 3:20–21 “20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”

Abraham looked at the God who promised more than what God promised.

Abraham lived with a peculiar assurance.

Abraham implemented practical faith.

It was not righteous faith that led to practical living. Rather, it was practical faith that led to righteousness.

He believed God is able to perform what He says.