Facing The Giants: Faith To Face Your Impossibilities Series

Sherwood Baptist Church has one of the most dynamic media ministries of any church in America. They have produced Facing the Giants, arguably the best feature-length movie ever made by a local church. It’s a God-glorifying, excellently created sports film in the tradition of Hoosiers, Remember the Titans, and Friday Night Lights. Facing the Giants is being released by Sony/Goodwyn and will be in theaters on September 29th.

Accompanying the movie are numerous sermons by such leaders at Johnny Hunt of Woodstock Baptist Church, Michael Catt, Pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church, and Dr. Jay Strack of the Student Leadership Network. You may copy and paste the following links to access these sermons:

1. Evidence of Christian Growth (Johnny Hunt)

URL: http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=94258&ContributorID=15171

2. Overcoming The Grasshopper Syndrome (Dr. Jay Strack)

URL: http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=94257&ContributorID=15170

3. Faith to Face Your Impossibilities (Michael Catt)

URL: http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=94256&ContributorID=15169

4. Hearing God When You’re Hurting (Michael Catt)

URL: http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=94255&ContributorID=15169

5. It’s Always Too Soon to Quit (Michael Catt) URL:

URL: http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=94254&ContributorID=15169

6. What Does It Mean to Live By Faith? (Ron Dunn)

URL: http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=94253&ContributorID=15167

7. Will a Man Serve God for Nothing? (Ron Dunn)

URL: http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=94252&ContributorID=15167

Also, a study curriculum that accompanies the movie may be downloaded at:

http://www.facingthegiants.com/resources.php

Faith to Face Your Impossibilities

Joshua 3:1-17

Michael Catt

During WWII, my dad’s brother was in the Seabees, the naval construction battalion. He did a lot of work in the Pacific. After the marines would come in and land on an island. They would build roads and they would build camps. I love the slogan for the Seabees. It says, “The difficult we will do immediately; the impossible may take a little longer.” The great thing about our God is the impossible doesn’t take him any longer. There is no difference in the eyes of God between the difficult and the impossible. However, there are some reasons why we get to the edge, but then quit and fall short of walking in the life that God intends for us. In the movie, Facing the Giants, the team thought the playoffs were impossible, but Coach Taylor challenged them to believe God. What causes us to give up on the seemingly impossible?

1) We trust in fleshly wisdom rather than in the Word of God. In other words, when we begin to say, “I think,” instead of, “God says,” we’ll fall short. What we think can be challenged, refuted and argued about, but what God says is forever. And God’s word is true forever. Ten of the twelve spies in Numbers chapter 13 got the grasshopper complex, and they missed God’s blessing because they got to thinking instead of trusting.

2) We get a word from God and then go ask somebody what they think about it. I’m not talking about seeking godly counsel because that’s a biblical directive. However, if God gives you a promise from his Word, you need to stand on it. It really doesn’t matter whether or not everyone agrees with you. You’ll always find someone who says, “Well, I don’t think you’re believing it enough,” or “You’re believing it too much.” Just take God at his word.

3) We hold onto traditions rather than truth. Sometimes we have a hard time believing God can operate outside of our experiences or outside of our denomination. We can get caught up in our traditions and think God has to do it “the way it’s always been done.” Unfortunately, we’ll fall short because God is not going to stay in the box we try to put Him in. He’s going to keep pushing us to get beyond what feels comfortable and keep stretching us to be where He wants us to be.

4) Fear grips us at the moment of decision. We get right to the edge, and all of a sudden we become afraid and focus on the problem rather than the on Lord. We start to worry: What are people going to think? What about my reputation? What if God doesn’t come through? I’d rather step out, believing God told me to do something than never step out and never see anything happen. I would rather risk failing than never take a risk at all. A. B. Simpson said, “Be afraid of your fears…they will pierce your heart and hinder your advancement.”

5) We focus on ourselves. We allow the devil to bring up something from our past, and we forget that God has covered us with His blood, that He forgives and that He casts our sin into a sea of forgetfulness and remembers it no more.

6) Just a total lack of faith. We’re just not willing to believe God.

Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and he and all the sons of Israel set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, and they lodged there before they crossed. And it came about at the end of three days that the officers went through the midst of the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people. (Joshua 3:1-6, NASB)