05.15.14

…assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. - Matthew 17:20 NKJV.

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” - Matthew 21:21-22 NKJV.

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” - Mark 10:27 NKJV.

As a pastor, and having taken many groups to youth camps, I’ve played my share of table tennis; although just about anyone can beat me. I think that I’m playing good if I can successfully return the ball when it is hit toward me. There are, however, some very good table tennis players in the world, and it is considered a serious sport, especially if you watch some of the world class players playing. Ibrahim Hamato is one of those world class players, and he is very good. So good that he has been invited to the 2014 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Tokyo. 

Ibrahim Hamato lives in Egypt and he is a little different from the rest of those competing in Tokyo. The difference is that Ibrahim has no arms! He lost both of his arms in an accident when he was ten years old. His favorite sport was and is table tennis so he learned how to play by holding the paddle in his mouth. Ibrahim gives this encouragement to everyone, “I hope this shows people that nothing is impossible as long as you work hard.” (New York Daily News; ESPN; USA Today; Christian Post 05.13.14)

One man that I knew and went to church with early in my Christian life only had one arm. I asked him once how it happened and he said that his brother accidentally shot him with a deer rifle when he was ten years old. Joe Clark was a mechanic, which now with all of the great tools available would be much easier. But back then, I always wondered how he could do the impossible….

From withering fig trees to saving people, nothing is impossible with God, even the moving of mountains from one place to another. I think we can agree on that. God can do whatever He wants to do, whenever He wants to do it. Most of us don’t have a problem with that. However, what we have a problem with is when God says we can do the impossible too when we ask in prayer for God to do it. That through prayer we can move mountains too. 

The literal moving of mountains used to be impossible, but now with earth moving machines and explosives they can be moved, flattened. In China, there are plans to remove 700 mountains for additional space for the city of Lanzhou (NTD TV 12.07.12). It should be easier for us now than ever to believe, but we still have a lack of faith. Faith, that appears to be the missing ingredient that we need prior to seeing mountains move in response to our prayers. What is it that we need for our faith to increase? “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).”