With God, the Impossible

With God,

the

Impossible

Is Possible

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s

glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-

increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)

The word

“glory”

appears throughout the Bible. It is a rich word, with

different applications and layers of meaning. For example, Scripture

uses

“glory”

to describe honor, wealth, and power – like the glory of a

king or a person held in high esteem.

But Scripture also uses

“glory”

to signify God’s manifest – or tangible

– presence. Often these references describe a personal encounter with

God when His glorious presence moves from the spiritual realm into

the earthly realm. During such an encounter, people experience God’s

glory

with one or more of their five natural senses: sight, sound, taste,

touch, or smell.

Does this mean we can experience God the same way? Yes!

Throughout both Testaments, the Bible gives examples of ordinary

people physically encountering God in their natural worlds. During

Israel’s journey in the wilderness, for example, about two million

people saw God’s

glory

with their eyes. It appeared as a pillar of cloud

by day, and pillar of fire by night. This was no emotional, imaginary

experience. Nor was it a symbolic, literary invention. The people actu

-

ally

saw

the cloud by day. They

saw

the fire by night. And the children

born in the wilderness during this time grew up without thinking that

such visible

glory

was something out of the ordinary!

Moses saw and experienced the same holy fire when he stood before

the burning bush (Exod 3:1-6). God spoke to him there, and even told

him,

“Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is

holy ground”

(Exod 3:5, NKJV). Moses’ experience of God’s visible, holy

fire was similar to Isaiah’s (Isa 6:1-7). For the Bible says,

“ he was afraid

to

look

upon God”

(Exod 3:6, NKJV).

Another example of the Lord’s manifest

glory

occurred on the Day of

Pentecost. The disciples

heard and saw God’s glory

as the Holy Spirit

came upon them.

“And suddenly there came a

sound

from heaven [they could physically

hear], as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where

they were sitting. Then there

appeared

to them

[they could physically

see]

divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them”

(Acts

2:2-3, NKJV).

The miracles of Jesus were also manifestations of God’s

glory

. They

were heavenly invasions impacting people in ways they could experi

-

ence with their natural senses.

For example, John tells the story of Jesus’ first miracle at a wedding

in Cana (John 2:1-11). Something happened that would have been

terribly embarrassing for the host family – they ran out of wine!

Mary, the mother of Jesus, entreated her Son to intervene. Jesus then

commanded the servants to take six large water pots – each one

capable of holding 20 to 30 gallons – and fill them with water. After

the servants filled them to the brim, the master of the feast tested

the water. To his utter amazement, it had become the finest of wine.

John explained the miracle this way:

“This beginning of signs Jesus did

in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His

glory

; and His disciples believed

in Him”

(John 2:11, NKJV).

God’s

glory

invaded the earth when, at an ordinary wedding, Jesus

changed six pots of water into the finest, most exquisite wine.

Acts 4 gives another account of God’s tangible

glory

. The early church

was praying for courage to preach the gospel in the face of persecu

-

tion, and to see powerful demonstrations of the Holy Spirit through

signs and wonders. The Bible says,

“And when they had prayed, the

place where they were assembled together was

shaken

; and they were

all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with bold

-

ness”

(Acts 4:31, NKJV).

These people had already been filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of

Pentecost. But later when they prayed for boldness to preach the gos

-

pel without compromise, the

glory

of God again came with tangible

signs. He filled the place with such power that even the physical build

-

ing where they had gathered was shaken! Heaven invaded the house!

In the next chapter, we read about the strong measure of

glory

rest

-

ing on Peter:

“And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both

men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and

laid them on beds and couches, that at least

the shadow

of Peter pass

-

ing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the

surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who

were tormented by unclean spirits, and

they were all healed

”

(Acts

5:14-16, NKJV).

How incredible that God would make His power available to His peo

-

ple this way. We could walk in such a measure of His manifest glory,

that sickness or demonic power would vanish in our presence the

way a snowball would melt under the blue flame of a welder’s torch!

And that is actually what God desires: His glorious power resting on

us to liberate people’s souls and magnify the Gospel message.

Experiencing the Gospel

So God – in all His glorious splendor – does move into the realm

of human existence. People can actually experience Him in this

world. I believe that people everywhere long to be touched by God

in a tangible way. A lost and dying world longs to see the Gospel,

experience the Gospel and be touched and healed by the power of

the Gospel. The Gospel must not come to people as a mere explana-

tion that requires an experience. Rather, the Gospel should create

an experience that requires an explanation! The Gospel must be a

life-altering encounter.

The Bible is full of accounts of how God demonstrates His

glory

through history. Some people think these are fictional stories, passed