It Can't Be Done!
It Can't Be Done!
John 6: 1-15
Most of us who are here have never heard of Leo Szilard, but he has impacted our lives.
Leo Szilard was a theoretical physicist, and a key figure in the beginning stages of atomic energy.
On September 12, 1933, he was working in London.
On this particular morning, The Times, had an article of a meeting of the leading scientists
of Great Britain.
These great scientists had concluded,
"Anyone who looked for a source of power in the transformation of the atoms was
talking moonshine."
The statement upset Leo.
He said, "Pronouncements of experts to the effect that something cannot be done
have always irritated me."
He threw down the newspaper and went to lunch.
All through lunch he thought about splitting neutrons.
On the way back to work, Leo had to stop for a red light.
As he was waiting for the light change it occurred to him that neutrons, in contrast to
alpha particles, do not ionize the substance through which they pass.
The light changed to green and he started across the street.
By the time he reached the opposite curb, he had the answer, and as the light turned red
behind him the nuclear age had dawned.
As he arrived back at work, his co-worker, a man by the name of Albert Einstein,
asked if he had a good lunch.
Leo told Einstein his idea.
Einstein said, "That's impossible! That cannot be done!"
Leo said, "Yes, but I did it."
Leo began explaining how he came to this conclusion.
Five or ten minutes later, Einstein also understood.
Einstein told Leo, "You had an incredible lunch!"
How often have you heard the words, "It can't be done!"
How often have you been told, "It can't be done!"?
Or, you might have been told, "It's a good idea, but it won't work."
In reply to this statement and older, wiser man said to his young employee, "Young man,
I trust you will soon learn life's fundamental lesson: if it is a good idea it will work,
and if it won't work it isn't a good idea.
And, how do you know if it's a good idea or not until you try it?"
How often we have limited God by defining reality and possibility by saying,
"It can't be done!"
Someone must have told Jesus it couldn't be done, when He expected to take five loaves
and two fish to feed 5000 men and who knows how many women and children.
On the shore of Galilee, a short distance from where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered,
a large crowd had gathered to hear Jesus speak.
They had been listening to Jesus for a long time.
Jesus sensed their hunger.
Jesus told His disciples that they would need to feed that hungry crowd of people.
They didn't have enough money to do that.
Jesus probably heard more than once, the statement, "It can't be done!"
Andrew found a little boy with five loaves and two fish who was willing to give up his lunch.
Can you hear the cynics in the crowd?
"Five loaves and two fish! What does Jesus expect to do with that?"
"It's a good idea, but it won't work."
"It can't be done!"
"Everyone knows you can't feed more than 5000 people with five loaves
and two fish."
"Everyone knows that it cannot be done."
That is the bottom line!
Renowned scientists said that you couldn't find power in the splitting of atoms.
It cannot be done!
Everyone will tell you that you cannot feed more than 5000 people with five loaves and two fish.
It cannot be done!
But, cynics underestimate the power of God.
The cynics underestimated the power of Jesus who not only fed the multitude,
but had 12 baskets left over.
We cannot afford to be misled by our perceptions.
And we cannot allow the perceptions of cynics to discourage us.
The potential was there to feed over 5000 people.
The potential was there in five loaves and two fish.
There is potential in every situation.
There is more potential in your marriage than you realize.
There's more potential in your children than you can possibly realize.
There is more potential in your work than you realize.
There is more potential in your faith than you realize.
There is more potential in you than you realize.
There is more potential in this church than any of us realize.
God is able to do far more than we can ask or even think.
God is able to do more than we can ever conceive or dream.
We must not be limited by our perceptions.
We dare not be limited by only what we see.
We must not be limited by an "it can't be done" mentality.
An old proverb states,
"You can count the apples on a tree, but you cannot count the trees in an apple."
George Bernard Shaw wrote a play that was later produced as the musical, "My Fair Lady,"
where a woman from the slums is transformed into a proper English lady.
A group from Harvard University did a study based on George Bernard Shaw's play
called "Pygmalion in the Classroom."
In the Pygmalion Study, a group from Harvard University went to an elementary school
and said to the teachers, "We are going to give your class a test called the
Harvard Test of Intellectual Spurts.
It is going to measure, which kids in your classroom are going to grow intellectually during the year.
It will pick them out.
It never fails.
We will be able to tell you which of your students have this intellectual potential."
So they gave the students the test.
The test was really an obsolete IQ test.
They took the results, and without looking at them, threw them in the garbage.
They asked the teacher to give them the names of five kids.
The teacher did so.
The Harvard group told the teacher, "These are the students who are going to spurt
this semester."
The list of the five students expected to spurt was posted for all to see.
The teacher looked at one name and exclaimed, "Why, he couldn't spurt
if you put him in a cannon!"
The experts from Harvard replied, "The Harvard Test of Intellectual Spurts never fails."
Well, you can guess what happened!
Every student on the list of five advanced remarkably during that school year.
You get what you expect!
It is in our perceptions that we get confused.
We assume that what we see is what we get.
We look at five loaves and two fish, and make assumptions on what we see.
But that is not the determination of things.
The 12 baskets of leftovers were potentially within the five loaves and two fish.
We do not discover what a fully developed reality is by only looking at what it was when it began to be!
We cannot look at a seed and assume that it is a full picture of reality.
We must consider the potential that is in a seed that we do not yet see.
Don't judge, predict, or limit a child or a youth to what you see!
Don't judge, predict, or limit this church on what you now see!
Aristotle was much nearer the truth when he said, "The true nature of a thing is
the highest that it can become."
There is potential in every situation.
It just has to be realized.
That takes faith!
Jesus saw the potential in the five loaves and two fish.
Jesus believed that they would feed more than 5000 people.
Leo Szilard saw the potential in the atom while waiting for a red light.
He believed that it was possible to sustain a nuclear chain reaction.
We must see the potential in this church.
We must see 50 committed Christians becoming 500 committed Christians.
Catch the vision and believe in the potential.
Then, act on your belief.
Jesus saw the potential.
Jesus believed it was possible to feed more than 5000 people.
The potential to do this became possible when the little boy gave his lunch and put his faith into action.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to think, that after experiencing this tremendous miracle, the stingy
and the selfish would realize their potential by sharing their food and experiencing the joy
of doing something significant.
We, who are gathered here this morning, are the people of God.
We are the people that Jesus has called to do His work.
We are called to help Jesus feed the multitudes.
We are called by Jesus to tell the world of the living Bread of Life.
We are challenged to believe the potential of our church.
Who can't count the trees that are in the apple?
If we all participated in God's work, if we all believed in the potential growth of our church,
if we all acted according to what God has given each of us, we would realize
the great potential of this church.
We would see these pews filled with people seeking God.
We would see these pews filled with people worshiping and praising God.
We would see our tithes and offerings go way above our budget.
Just think what Jesus can do with only five loaves and two fish.
Just think what Jesus can do with only 50 dedicated Christians.
Herb Miller gives a workshop called "Magnetizing and Revitalizing Your Church."
He has conducted extensive surveys of growing churches.
One survey asked visitors why they came to a particular church.
The number one reason most often given was because someone in the congregation invited them.
Seventy-seven percent came the first time to the church because someone
in the congregation invited them.
The difference between a growing church and a declining church is that the members
of a growing church invite their friends and families.
The second largest group of visitors came because they saw the building.
Seven percent came the first time because they saw the building.
If you asked visitors today why they eventually join a particular church, they will probably tell
you it's because of the music program.
Many will first come to a concert, and then return to a worship service.
Others will tell you they join a particular church because of its youth programs.
Does this tell us what we need to do?
There are some here who are doing a great job of spreading the word.
Imagine what would happen if each one of you began inviting people.
Tap into the rich potential in your circles of acquaintances and relationships.
Many of your friends and co-workers are unchurched.
Many who are still on the roll of this church are not attending anywhere.
Work this question into a conversation, "Do you do go to church regularly?"
If they say, "Yes."
Then, tell them that is wonderful, and share experiences with each other.
If they say, "No."
Then say, "I'd like to invite you to mine."
Isn't that easy!
Imagine what would happen if each of us shared our loaves and fish!
It can be done!
God is the same God who divided the Red Sea.
God is the same God as He was in the days of Jesus.
God will still do miracles and wonders beyond anything that we can ever imagine.
There is potential in every person.
There is potential in every situation.
There is a tremendous potential in this church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
See it!
Believe it!
Act on it!
Act with the faith of what might be, not what is, and what might be can be
through the power of our great God.
It Can Be Done!
Sermon by Dr. Harold L. White
