Pastor L. Allen Homan delivered this powerful commencement address at Faithway Baptist College of Canada. He urged graduates, students, families, and the entire church family to embrace a life of bold, unwavering faith. Drawing from Matthew 17 in the King James Version, he challenged listeners to move beyond human limitations and trust God to accomplish what only He can do.
The Biblical Foundation: Nothing Shall Be Impossible
Pastor Homan invited the congregation to open their Bibles to the book of Matthew, beginning in chapter 17, verse 19. He read, “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” He highlighted the final phrase of verse 20: “Nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
He led the audience in prayer, asking the Lord to still hearts and minds from the evening’s activities and to bless the faculty, staff, church family, students, parents, grandparents, and relatives. He then congratulated the graduates and their parents, noting that he and his wife had four children graduate from the college and that parental support had been vital.
A Challenge to Dare the Impossible
Pastor Homan shared a quote from Coach Arbaugh of the National Football League: if people are not laughing at your dreams, you are not dreaming big enough. He issued a direct challenge to the graduates and all present: dare the impossible. Scripture, he noted, speaks often of impossibilities. In Mark chapter 9, verse 23, Jesus saith unto him, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” In Mark 14, verse 36, the Lord prayed, “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” And in Luke 1, verse 37, the angel declared, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
He observed that many today live with an anemic, self-centred Christianity, attempting only what is possible through human ability. Goals remain no higher than people can reach, and vision extends no further than they can see. Preachers often repeat stories of what God did generations ago, yet Pastor Homan asked, “Is there no one today who will dare the impossible?”
Because of Who God Is
The first reason to dare the impossible, Pastor Homan explained, is because of who God is. He recalled the late Charles Keene urging students to “factor God in” when considering ambitions and plans. God is the Creator of the universe, omnipotent, omniscient, and immutable. His plans, purposes, and power do not change. Believers often focus only on their own strength, yet when they recognise their weakness, they discover that God can accomplish the impossible. If men of old trusted God, there is no reason to linger in despair because of personal impotence.
Because of What Is at Stake
A second reason to dare the impossible is what is at stake: the glory of God and the eternal souls of men. God receives no glory when people accomplish only what they are able to do in their own strength. He is glorified when He accomplishes through them what only He can do. Pastor Homan pointed to the twelve spies sent into Canaan from Kadesh Barnea. Ten saw giants and declared the task impossible in their own ability, while Joshua and Caleb urged the people to factor God in, declaring that the Lord could give them the land. People will perish in a Christless eternity unless believers dare the impossible. Every time a Christian confronts a dying soul with the gospel, they dare the impossible, turning a sinner from the road to destruction toward heaven.
Biblical Examples of Daring the Impossible
Pastor Homan walked quickly through Scripture, citing those who dared the impossible. Noah built an ark and saved his family. Abraham received a nation. Moses delivered a people. Joshua claimed a land. Rahab and her family were saved. Gideon defeated the Midianites. Ruth found her place in the line of Christ. David defeated a giant and established his dynasty. Daniel, the three Hebrew children, Nehemiah, Zacharias, and Elizabeth all dared the impossible. Mary gave birth to the Messiah. Peter saw three thousand souls saved on the day of Pentecost. Paul carried the gospel to the reaches of the empire. Later figures such as John Bunyan, Hudson Taylor, Charles Spurgeon, William Carey, Amy Carmichael, and David Livingstone also dared the impossible, resulting in transformed lives and nations. Even lesser-known individuals, such as an appliance salesman who started a fundamental Baptist church, demonstrated that ordinary people can dare great things for God.
A Heroic Act of Courage: Captain William Jackman
Pastor Homan illustrated daring the impossible through the story of Captain William Jackman, a sixth-generation Newfoundland sailor. During the October gale of 1867, Jackman rescued twenty-six souls from the schooner Sea Clipper, wrecked six hundred feet offshore in the freezing North Atlantic waters near Spotted Island and the Domino Run. Swimming back and forth more than five miles, often with passengers on his back, Jackman repeatedly entered the treacherous waves until every person, including a dying elderly woman from the cabin, was brought safely to shore. Exhausted and bedridden for three days afterward, he received a medal from the Royal Humane Society on behalf of Queen Victoria. His courage affected not only those twenty-six lives but countless families and communities who learned of his bravery.
Faithfulness in the Ordinary: Eldred Stanford
Not every act of daring occurs on a storm-lashed shore, Pastor Homan noted. He told of Eldred Stanford, born in 1936 in Greats Cove, Newfoundland. Saved as a young man with little spiritual guidance, Stanford later moved to St. John’s, married Florence, and became part of the first Baptist church on the island, established by American soldiers. From 1972 onward, he and Florence dared the impossible through daily faithfulness: reading the Scriptures, praying for their sons, building the church building with his own hands over three years, serving as a door usher, and sacrificing for his children’s Christian education. Because Eldred Stanford dared the impossible day by day, his daughters attended college and his son now pastors the very church he helped construct.
Practical Steps for Daring the Impossible Today
Pastor Homan made the challenge personal and practical. Young people should read four pages of the Bible daily, pray faithfully, give consistently, attend church services, support their pastor, distribute gospel tracts, and invite others to church. Though many claim it is impossible to maintain a conservative, independent, fundamental Baptist church in today’s world, believers can dare the impossible because God remains the God of the impossible.
Will You Dare the Impossible?
Pastor Homan closed with a favourite poem that captures the spirit of the message. Someone said it could not be done, but the determined individual buckled right in with a trace of a grin, tackled the task, and watched God bring it to pass. He urged graduates and the entire congregation to decide to have dreams, even if others laugh or prophesy failure. Thousands may point out dangers, but the call remains: buckle right in, take off your coat, start to sing, tackle the thing that could not be done, and watch God do it.
As we reflect on these timeless truths and stirring examples, may every one of us, whether graduate, parent, or church member, resolve to factor God into every ambition and every step of faith. The God who makes nothing impossible still calls His people to dream big, trust completely, and act boldly for His glory and the eternal souls of men.
