Statements You Just Can’t Walk By

We are familiar in the gospels with Jesus performing miracles that we marvel at.  Following one of these miracles when Jesus cast out a demon from a boy, his disciples ask him, “Why couldn’t we drive this demon out?” To this question Jesus replies, “Because you have so little faith.  I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to there and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.” 

What do we do with a statement like this from Jesus?  Some people of course try to rationalise Jesus’ words here to say that he is using the extremes of a small seed and a large land mass to exaggerate his point around faith.  But there is really nothing ambiguous about Jesus’ statement that “nothing will be impossible for you (with faith)”.  Do we actually believe that through faith we can do anything?

GLS speaker Steven Furtick is a young man of faith.  In his recently published book “Sun Stand Still” he recalls the story of faith when Joshua, who was faced with the armies of the five kings of the Amorities, receives the promise from God that he would have victory over them.  Yet as the day of battle wears on, Joshua realizes that he will not defeat the army in the daylight that is left, so he calls on God to make the sun stand still so that he can complete the battle.  And Scripture records that “the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.  There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man.” (Joshua 10:13-14.)

Furtick exhorts us to have the faith of Joshua, the faith to be able to say to a mountain, “move from here to there and it will move.”  Now that’s audacious and bold and some people may say it’s over the top and not letting God be God.  But how many great moves of God that have you heard about, have come through a people who are modest in their appeal to God?  “Lord, if you think it’s a good idea, perhaps you could, if it’s not too much trouble, move this little mound of earth from here to there.”  

Now I’m not suggesting in any way that God is at our beck and call to do our bidding, but he calls us to a place of faith, to call on him to do the humanly impossible.  For you that might be seeing a friend or relative who won’t have anything to do with God, come to a place of saving faith in him.  You may be faced with what seems like an impossible situation.  Then take hold of the words of Jesus, “nothing is impossible for him who believes.” 

Come and be inspired by attending the Global Leadership Summit next month.  Let people like Steven Furtick stir you up to be the leader that God is calling you to be.

Andrew McCafferty

CEO, Willow Creek Australia