“Where could Jesus be,” wondered the disciples. They hung on tightly to the tiny boat as it was being tossed about by a strong wind.
“He should have called to us by now,” said one of the men. “He was only going to send the people away and pray. That was many hours ago.”
In fact, that was while it was yet day, and now it was after 3 in the morning. “Perhaps we cannot hear Him call,- the waves have pushed us very far from shore,” said Nathaniel. “I doubt it,” Thomas replied. “I pray the Jews have not arrested Him,” said John, fearfully. Peter said nothing. He just continued to peer through the breaks in the fog, hoping to spot a signal fire from the Lord. Occasionally, he would tilt his ear in hope of hearing a distant call.
Suddenly, there was a terrifying cry of fear,- “I see a ghost!” “There, through the fog!” Immediately panic seized the hearts of the disciples, holding them in its paralyzing grip. Surrounded by a raging sea there was nowhere to run.
Through the fog they could see the ghostly figure moving across the churning waters toward them. Sensing the mental anguish of His disciples Jesus cried,- “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” His stunned followers continued to stare, but no longer from fear but in wonder. John said, “It is the Lord!” Thomas spoke up and asked,- “How can we be sure?!”
Then Peter turned back to the sea and called out saying,- “Lord, if it is really You, command me to come to You on the water.” Judas Iscariot immediately rebuked Peter saying,- “What are you doing? You will surely drown in these waves!” “Quiet Judas!” said Peter sternly. “If it is the Lord He will uphold me,- if not I will begin to sink immediately and you may pull me back into the boat.”
Then a familiar voice called out again,- “Come, Peter. Come to Me.” Peter felt sure now,- it was the Lord. But Peter had asked the impossible, and now Jesus was inviting him to do the impossible.
God had created the laws of science, including the law of gravity. Surely Peter’s own weight would pull him down into the sea. It was one thing to believe that the Lord could walk on water, but another to believe that a mere man could.
Looking down at the angry sea, Peter wondered,- “Should I dare the impossible?” Suddenly a comforting thought began to form in Peter’s mind. Something that he had heard the Lord say one day,- “With men, some things are impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
What an empowering thought! Peter’s faith began to rise up within him and he quickly leaped overboard. Peter found himself standing on the waters but he was not surprised. Quickly and joyfully, he began to walk toward the out-stretched arms of the Lord. Peter thought, “the Lord was right! We can do anything if the Lord is with us.”
As Peter came near Jesus he could see an expression on the Lords’ face that unmistakenly told him that the Lord was happy that he had overcome his fear, and had acted upon the invitation to walk on water. Then Peter remembered something Jesus had said when He was teaching them about the importance of faith. He had told them,- “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” “God is most pleased, when you step into the realm of impossibility,” - “the place where, with man it is impossible, but being assured, that with God all things are possible.”
Many thoughts began to race through Peter’s mind confirming what Jesus had taught. He began to remember the stories he had heard read each Sabbath in the synagogue. Stories of how ordinary men did extraordinary things when God was with them. When Moses stretched his arms the Red Sea parted. Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace could not harm the young Hebrew slaves who were cast into it because the Lord was with them. Faithful Daniel was safe in a den of lions. Young David killed the Philistine giant, Goliath with a single stone. Elijah prayed and shut up the heavens that it should not rain, and also called fire down from heaven. “God has always been faithful,” thought Peter. “Why should I doubt?”
Suddenly, Satan, the prince of the power of the air, seeing Peter’s shield of faith growing large and strong, sent a mighty gust of wind to break his concentration. The wind blew up a wave that slapped hard against Peter’s leg. Suddenly, Peter took his eyes off Jesus and looked down. Seeing the angry sea, feeling the power of the wind and hearing Satan whisper - “You are not able!” into his consciousness, Peter began to sink into the deep. “Lord, save me!” he cried. Jesus stretched forth His hand and took hold of him saying, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Lack of faith was the problem.
Peter’s faith ebbed and flowed that day. When he was strong in faith he could walk on water, but when he wavered he sank. James later wrote,- “... ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:6-7)
Though God’s promises to us are “impossible,” they can be realized when we act in faith. Faith activates the power of God. Jesus repeatedly said to those who were healed,- “Your faith has made you well.” Those who had received miracles believed that God was not only able, but willing to fill their pressing needs.
Throughout His ministry Jesus continued to challenge the limited thinking of His disciples. He sought to shake them from the contentment of their “comfort zone” by telling them what they could, and indeed would, do.
Near the end of His ministry on earth, Jesus sat down with His followers and began to teach them saying,- “My friends, since you have been with me you have witnessed great and awesome things. You have seen Me give sight to the blind, make the crippled walk and even bring life to the dead.” “You have seen Me cast out demons, calm the sea with a word, and fill the stomachs of thousands with only a few fish and a little bread.”
“Now I want you to believe that the power that is in Me to work such wonders shall be in you.” Indeed, you shall do even greater works!”
“Truly I say to you, if you say to this mountain, “be moved into the sea” it shall happen if you have faith.” “Whatever you ask your Heavenly Father in My Name He will do.” “That is a promise which cannot be broken, but it is a promise that must be received in faith.”
“After I go to the Father you will receive power when the holy spirit falls upon you.” “Go to all the world and preach the gospel of salvation to every creature. Those who believe shall be saved.” “Baptize them in My Name and teach them all that I taught you.”
“Truly I say to you, these signs shall follow those who believe,- they shall cast out demons, speak with new tongues, heal the sick with a touch of their hands and perform many other wondrous miracles, all in My Name.” “And I will be with you till the end.”
The promises of God are unchangeable.
Jesus once said that though heaven and earth pass away, His Words would never pass away. Notice carefully that Jesus said these “signs” shall follow those who believe. He could have said these “miracles” or “wonders” but He said “signs.”
The Greek word translated “signs” here (Mark 16:17) literally means “mark” or “signal.” Notice Webster’s definition of “mark,”- “a distinguishing sign; indication or evidence.” Now notice Webster’s definition of “signal”,- “a sign to communicate.” Jesus was saying that certain distinguishing signs would follow those who believe which would serve as evidence of who they were. Signals, communicating to the world that God was still performing miracles through His servants. Servants who truly believe. And not really mere servants, but children of the Living God who by faith, dare the impossible.
Sarah and Abraham
“God has certainly blessed us since we left our home in Ur,” said Sarai to Abram. “Yes, the Lord is faithful and true and has always provided for our needs,” Abram replied.
“If only God had called us into His blessing before we were too old to have children,” lamented Sarai with a sigh.
“Sarai, the Lord promised that our descendants would be as the sand of the seashore in number,- He promised us a son. It is part of the covenant which He has made with us,” said Abram confidently. “We must believe to receive.”
“But how can I believe when my body is producing no seed?!,” said Sarai. She continued,- “It has been near 25 years since the promise; I am now almost 90 years old. If only the Lord would accept Ishmael.”
Abram replied,- “Be faithful Sarai, for the Lord says He cannot lie. You must believe to receive. Perhaps the Lord is waiting on you.”
Sarai received the Word that she would be blessed with a son when she was 65 years of age. She was now almost 90 years old and still without child. She began to think about all the words of faith which her husband had been speaking to her.
She looked back over the past 24 years since God had called them and saw that every provision needed was always faithfully provided. Sarai’s faith began to grow. She determined in her soul that the Word of God was true, and indeed, could not be broken.
She began to ignore the impossibility of her body producing a child and began to fix her eyes and her hope upon the God of impossibilities. In her heart she proclaimed the devil a liar and took hold of the sure promise of the Almighty.
She remembered what Abram had told her,- “You must believe to receive.” Finally “Sarai” believed and became “Sarah.” “Sarai” means “Jah, or God is Prince”, “Sarah” means “Princess.” She entered into royalty the moment she believed. And finally, she conceived Isaac.
Her decision to believe is eternally recorded in the Bible,- “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.” (Hebrews 11:11) The promise of God was activated by faith. When Sarah began to “act to see the fact,” her hope turned into reality.
Jesus said that the Word of God is as a seed sown which must be received in fertile soil to grow.(Matthew 13:23) In Sarah’s case, the seed was there when God gave the promise. She was 65 years old, but it took her 25 years to plant the seed in her heart by faith. When she finally did, the promise was immediately activated and she conceived a son. Finally, Sarah had stepped into the realm of impossibility and dared the impossible. She learned that impossibility cannot stand in the presence of God.
A Personal Testimony
On August 17th; a Sabbath, we received word that one of our member’s was at the hospital with their 18 year old daughter. She was experiencing excruciating pain in her lower abdomen which the physicians believed to be an inflamed appendix.
To make matters worse, she was 7 months pregnant. To make matters much worse, this young woman’s parents had been saved only three years earlier and she had rebelled and left home.
She had told me and her parents that she wanted to “serve the devil.” She had been taking illegal drugs, practicing immorality and had set her course to self-destruction. In all of this she knew that we loved her and were continually in spiritual warfare for her, offering prayers of intercession daily.
After Sabbath services, several members of the church and I went to the hospital. In the room, we stood around her bed as she suffered. Her mother turned to me and said,- “We can pray for her.” I replied, “If she wants prayer.” The mother then asked her daughter,- “Do you want us to pray for you?” The girl indifferently replied,- “If you want to.”
I knew that Satan had a stranglehold on this girl. And I also knew that she had invited the powers of darkness into her life,- she must now invite the power of God into her life by requesting a prayer for healing. I said to her,- “We already pray for you everyday. But if you want prayer for anointing you must ask for it.” She stubbornly refused, rejecting God’s involvement.
Soon afterward a surgeon and a nurse entered the room and asked that we wait in the hallway for a few minutes. The surgeon told this young woman that there was a small chance that she may die during surgery, and a 15% chance that the baby would not survive.
The news devastated the family. While the family tried to comfort her the rest of us went to the waiting room. Minutes later her father came and said that she was asking for me. I went, hoping she would open her heart to receive a Word from the Lord. I stood at her bedside waiting for the invitation to ask for God’s involvement.
She had great difficulty, truly a struggle was taking place within her. Part of her desperately wanted to ask for prayer, but the spiritual powers of darkness were doing their best to stop her. Her face began to distort as she began to sob, but finally said,- “Brother Larry would you please pray for me?”
As I laid hands upon her head I could feel the demons shudder as the power of God surged like electricity. I knew that God had healed her of an inflamed appendix, but more importantly had implanted Words into her being that would stay, and continually trouble the devil’s plan. She also knew that she had been healed but did not say so at the time because she still did not want to totally change her lifestyle. She wanted only enough God to get out of this situation. This was an important moment. One who sows much reaps much and one who sows little reaps little. It seemed that she wanted to sow, but only a little, which meant that God would deliver accordingly.
The door opened and another physician entered. He said the first surgeon was wrong in saying that she and her baby may die. He said,- “The worst thing that could happen is that you may give birth prematurely, but the baby should be fine.”
He then noticed that she was no longer vomiting, in pain or running a fever. He checked the readings on her monitor and saw they were normal. He said,- “Though the ultra-sound showed an inflamed appendix, I am tempted to wait until morning since everything seems normal.”
He asked me to step out of the room while he examined her again to determine whether to cancel the surgery or not. Moments later he quickly exited the room and said, “It is definitely appendicitis, we must get her in surgery!”
Seeing this, I knew that there were still demonic strongholds exercising their powers, so I went back to the waiting room and told the brethren to begin praying fervently. I knew that she had been healed, but I also knew that she was holding back in professing it, and giving God the glory for it.
There in that public waiting room members of the Crusade Church of God Fellowship got on their knees and began offering powerful prayers to the Living God. We prayed for well over an hour. During this time I could hear the waiting room door open and close from time to time, but we did not care for we were lost in prayer.
The physicians performed the surgery and removed a perfectly healthy appendix. The inflamation they had seen on the ultra-sound was no longer there, which of course was “impossible.”
But by asking for prayer, this girl had dared the impossible and found that with God nothing is impossible. She later admitted that she knew immediately that she had been healed.
Had she given God the glory at first she would not have experienced this unneeded surgery. I am convinced that the physician would have cancelled it. In prayers offered in faith, the brethren also dared the impossible and prevailed.
God has promised that those who believe would be clothed with power from Heaven.
That signs and wonders would follow them as they walk their walk of faith.
We must only believe to receive, and act to see the fact. God’s promises are never “yes”, “no” and “maybe,” but only “yes.”
Notice,- “But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no, for the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us. . .was not yes and no, but is yes in Him. For as many as may be the promises of God, in Him they are YES.” (2 Corinthians 1:18-20)
Brethren, you need not settle for a spiritually powerless Christianity. The gifts and the calling are yours. Jesus said that His followers would be “clothed with power.”
We need only to believe to receive. It is our faith that activates the power of God which dwells within us.
Will you please God by stepping into the realm of impossibility? Will you dare the impossible?
