Good Shepherd Community Church

“asphaleian” – firm, stable, certain, undoubted truth, secure, safe.

“Here’s the truth: We cannot live without belief of some sort. We may believe in God, or we may believe…in our bodies and a material universe that has no meaning. In either case we are believers. There are no unbelievers in the world, just people who believe in different things. In such a world certainty becomes a rare and precious gift. The quest for certainty poses real dangers. We can give up on the quest prematurely, concluding that certainty itself is a hoax. Or we can be certain about things that are wrong or false. We all face that danger. So, we’re left with a question: Can we be sure that what we believe is true?”
– Thabiti Anyabwile, Exalting Jesus in Luke

1. Be CERTAIN of the things taught in the Bible!

Be certain because of FULFILLED PROPHECY

Be certain because of HISTORICAL EVIDENCE

Be certain because it is VERIFIABLE

2. Some disappointments feel impossible.

Sarah in Genesis 18, Rebekah in Genesis 25, Rachel in Genesis 29, Samson’s mother in Judges 13, and Hannah in 1 Samuel 1-2.

3. God promises to do the impossible to accomplish His purposes.

1. “Do not be afraid…”
2. “…your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.”
3. “…you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth…”
4. “…for he will be great before the Lord…”
5. “…he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb…”
6. “…he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God…”
7. “…he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

4. God helps us believe the impossible when we doubt.

“When our eyes are on our problems—in Zechariah’s case, his old age—we will not receive God’s word or trust God’s power. We can’t think our problems are great and God’s power is great at the same time. We will exalt one a little bit more than the other. Did you know you can block out the noonday sun with a quarter? All you have to do is bring the quarter right up to your eye. We sometimes hold our problems and limitations to our eyes in that way, bringing them so close to our eyes we cannot see the great, glowing sun of God’s promises and God’s power.”
– Thabiti Anyabwile, Exalting Jesus in Luke

Big Idea:
Be certain that God will do the impossible to accomplish His purposes and will help us believe the impossible when we doubt!

“Next Step” Takeaways
With God:
• Start keeping a prayer journal. In your first entry, bring your disappointments and impossible requests to God and confess your doubts.
• Ask God to help you be certain that He will do the impossible to accomplish His purposes.

“Next Step” Takeaways
With Others:
• Share your “with God” journal entry with a close friend or family member and pray together about it.

“Next Step” Takeaways
On Mission:
• Ask an unbeliever in your life to share some of the reasons they don’t believe. Ask them if they would be willing to read and discuss the Gospel of Luke with you.