Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

When I was a young boy in grade school, I was a part of a revolution, so to speak. It was not the type of revolution you think of where a country was to be overturned. It was something quite different.

My parents had become Christians, shortly after my sister Kathy decided to follow Jesus, right around when I was born in 1973. My dad was an electrical engineer and a high-level manager in the tech space in Silicon Valley. My mom had five (and soon to be six) kids at home. After five years, they decided to go into full-time ministry. My dad resigned from his high-paying job and they went off to Bible school.

Upon their return, my dad took a position with the San Jose Rescue Mission. A few years into this position, as tons of Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees came over to the US to escape The Killing Fields, my parents would help them get food, clothing, and furniture at the Mission. Somewhere along the way, the thought entered their minds that they should start a Cambodian Bible study in their home. They invited the people they were giving food and clothing to, and had a van pick some of them up. After a few months, people invited more people, and the Bible study grew to over 100 people (adults and kids) coming to our house every week. It got so big it had to be moved to a church, and they bussed in hundreds of Cambodians. My Mom also taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to refugee women in their homes using the Bible. It became such a passion for her, she even did it when she was sick and in a wheelchair.

I think Jesus’ point about a little bit of yeast in a lot of dough is this — that a small amount of yeast has a multiplied effect, for good, in the dough. So too it is with our faith, when it is completely surrendered to the will of God. When we are humble, repent of our sins, and continue to seek hard after God and his ways, he rewards our efforts. When we step out in faith and trust him with the impossible, HE MAKES THE “IMPOSSIBLE SQUARED” POSSIBLE!

My mom probably thought it wasn’t possible to fit 100 people in a 2800 square foot house, but God knew it was. He also knew this ministry would catch fire and there would be no stopping it until thousands of Cambodians heard the gospel.

What is God calling you to today that seems impossible? How will you respond — will you play it safe, or will you go “all in”?

Lord, thank you for this wonderful insight into how you work! You truly have our best in mind — great adventures and joyful journeys of leading others to salvation — when we trust you completely and act in faith!