1

God Is Closer Than You Think

Part 5: Finding God In The Midst Of Impossibility

Central Thought: There is so much more to God and to His plan than we have experience to date. We experience God in greater ways as we see Him

at work in the impossibilities of our life.

The theme of the series we have been in is…God is closer than you think.

Even in the difficulties of life, when God feels a million miles away—God is right there with us, ready to reveal Himself to us. Our choice to worship

when we are lonely, confused, discouraged, or in trouble—is an exercise in perspective. Worship helps us see God in the midst of life.

This weekend as we complete this series, I want to add a thought to this

concept. Not only is God closer than you think, He is far more amazing, more wonderful, more powerful, and more interested in you than you think.

As God reveals Himself to you in the midst, you begin to realize that magnificence of this person you are relating to.

And there is so much more to Him and to your experience with Him than

what you have known to date.

My wife’s parents have been missionaries in Central America most of her life.

When I first met her, they were stationed in Panama. Just off the coast of Panama on the Atlantic Ocean side, there are a series of Islands called the

San Blas Islands. On these islands a tribe called the Cuna Indians live.

During my first visit to meet Mel’s family, David (her father) took me out to the Islands for a few days. I met people there who had never been off of

this tiny little island that you could walk completely around in just about 20 minutes. The island was just long enough to land a small plane.

I met a woman, who was the pastor’s wife for the church that was planted

on this island. David told me the story of the time that he took this pastor and his wife from the island and to the states. Up until that moment, she

had never been into any civilized areas. She had never seen a city. She had never seen a car. She had never flown on a plane.

Now she was being exposed to a whole new world that was out there. She came to the states where she saw grocery stores, restraints, sky-scrapers,

TV, people from many different races. Wow.

Imagine what it was like for her to go to Disney World and ride Space Mountain? Talk about sensory overload?

2

Now, you could have tried to explain all of the wonder of the world out there for her while she lived on her little island. But it would never have even

made sense to her until she experienced it for herself. How could she have even begun to imagine Space Mountain when all she had known was jungle

and sand? How could she have imagined a sky scraper when the tallest things she had ever seen was a palm tree?

There was so much more to the world than what she had known from her

personal experience.

Can I draw a parallel with your relationship with God?

There is so much more to Him and to what He can do than what you have experienced to date in your life. You say, well I have seen him do some

pretty amazing things in my life or in my family. I have experienced

answers to prayer or divine moments in worship.

I would say, yes—but God is a person of infinite ability, indescribable beauty, unmatched creativity and power. Part of what we will do all

throughout our experience in heaven is continually learned and be overwhelmed by the magnificence of God.

Your life in 2007 can also be a progressive revelation of the wonder and

glory of God in your life? How? A lot of it depends on your choice to worship in the midst of your difficulties. God will reveal himself to you as

you magnify Him and minimize your problems. And as you worship Him you will enter into a working partnership with the Almighty. He wants to work

with you on the problems and issues of your life.

He wants to partner with you to see miracles happen in your experience. In

fact, the windows through which you will get a glimpse of the Almighty will be the trials and impossibilities of your life.

Let me share again with you an equation that I have come to believe. We

want to see miracles happen right? We are calling January 2007—MIRACLE MONTH and we are believing God to demonstrate Himself to us as we begin

this new year. Do you know what you need in order to have a miracle? There a pre-requisite to all miracles in a person’s life.

What is it? UNSOLVABLE PROBLEMS! Impossibilities.

If we want to see miracles happen, first we have to be willing to look at our

impossibilities as opportunities.

3

So here’s the equation: Problems > Resources = Miracle Zone.

When your problems are greater than your resources you are in the Miracle

Zone. This is something I learned from Lloyd Ziegler.

We don’t tend to look at things this way. If our problems are greater than our resources we see ourselves as in the DEPRESSION ZONE. When is that

ever good news right? That is unless you have God on your side. Every impossibility becomes an opportunity for God to work in your life, and for

you to discover more of the beauty and majesty of his nature.

So how does this happen for us? How do we turn our unsolvable problems into miracles? How does our heart response in the midst of impossibility

release God’s power in our lives?

Let’s learn from Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. Jehoshaphat was the king

of the nation of Judah. At the beginning of this passage he gets the news that 3 nations have aligned against him: Moabites, Ammonites, and

Meunites. They are described as vast multitude, and enormous force far beyond the capacity of Israel to deal with.

Sometimes it is almost an advantage to face a problem so enormous that

you have no hope of overcoming it, because then you are not tempted to try to handle it in your own strength or power. This was the case in

Jehoshaphat’s era. There was no way they could face down this huge force.

So Jehoshaphat was in the MIRACLE ZONE. He faced a problem that was greater than his resources. This situation became an opportunity for God to

demonstrate Himself in the nation of Judah.

So let’s flip to the end of the story? Does anyone do that? How many of

you read the last few pages of a novel so you can know how it turns out? How many of you enjoy the suspense?

2 Chron 20:22-26

22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and

they were defeated. 23 The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished

slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the

ground; no one had escaped. 25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry

4

off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment

and clothing and also articles of value-more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 26 On the

fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they praised the LORD. This is why it is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.

The miracle happens. God sends the angels of heaven to set ambushes

against the enemy. Then the armies got confused and started fighting each other until they had completely destroyed one another. The victory was so

great that it took 3 days to collect it all. The named the place of victory—the valley of Beracah…which basically means the valley of worship or praise.

The root Hebrew word is the word ‘barak’ which means to kneel in reverence or worship.

So they said, let’s name this valley…the place where worship took us from

the problem to the plunder, from impossibility to victory.

How do we get there? What did Jehoshaphat do to experience this amazing

miracle? Let’s consider this process together.

1. Get In Position

I have a lot of practice in teaching kids how to catch. Having brought 5 of my own children through that exciting phase, I have learned some basic

principles. When they are like three or four years old, you teach them how to receive the ball. Get in position. Put your hands out there. Watch the

ball…keep your eyes focused on it. Here it comes.

There are certain things you need to do to put you in a position to receive something. This is true with receiving a miracle. It is important to get in

position.

So what did Jehoshaphat do to get in position?

• He positioned his eyes: 2 Chron 20:12b--we have no power to face

this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.

Don’t you love this statement. We have no clue as to what to do. We have

no power to face this problem. We are at a total loss. But we first of all position our eyes. Instead of staring at the problem, we are going to focus

on the provider. Instead of magnifying the enemy, we are going to magnify our God. Worship is an exercise in perspective…we put our eyes on God.

5

• He positioned his ears: 2 Chron 20:3--Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.

His first response on getting the bad news was to proclaim a fast. Why? Fasting and prayer do not earn God’s answers. God answers prayer simply

because of His grace. Fasting positions your ears to ear God’s voice more clearly. We always hear the cries of our flesh…feed me, take care of me, do

what’s best for me. God’s voice is often a faint whisper.

Fasting denies our natural appetites so that we can distinguish between the cries of our stomach and the voice of the Spirit of God.

In January we are going to do a fast to position our heart, our spiritual ears

to receive from God. We want to diminish the voices of the flesh and turn up the volume of the Spirit of God in our lives.

• He positioned his lips: 2 Chron 20:9--'If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in

your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.'

Here is a response of desperation. We will cry out to you in our distress.

Our lips will be used to cry out in prayer rather than to complain. We will call on you rather than grumble to ourselves. We will restrain our speech

from expressing doubt, fear, anger, and discouragement. We will discipline ourselves to speak to you, because we know you hold the answer to our

need.

• He positioned his person: 2 Chron 20:13--All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.

All men, women, and even little ones stood before the Lord. They just showed up and stood in His presence. All together. All in unity. They came

together to pursue the presence of God.

Again, January is a time for us to gather together and just be in the presence of God. Every Wednesday night we will have a Worship Gathering.

Why? Just because we know we need God in 2007.

The week of Jan 14-19, we will have a week of prayer and fasting. Every night that week, we will gather for a time of seeking God. And we will fast

and pray and position ourselves to hear from God.

6

And we will seek out the unsolvable problems together. We want you to go

to your friends and neighbors and co-workers. Bring their prayer needs here. We will gather in the Prayer Chapel and ask God to do miracles in

their lives.

Bring them to the services. We will all join together and pray for them every week during the month of January, during every service. You bring a friend

with a need—we will pray for them.

By the way, we are already seeing God respond to our prayers. A few weeks ago we gave you a list of about 20 people in our church who were suffering

with severe or lingering illnesses. Several of them have reported healings since that time. Jami Bukovac who had had a brain tumor, and had it

removed. She had been suffering severe headaches. She told me a few weeks ago…I have not had a headache since that Sunday when the entire

church prayed for me.

I will share more of these stories in weeks to come. But let me tell you God

is responding to our prayers. Greater miracles are yet to come.

We want to get in position to receive from God. If we are really serious about seeing God answer prayer, do miracles, bring breakthrough—we can’t

just casually sit back and wait. We need to position our eyes—we don’t know what to do…but our eyes are on you. We need to position our ears,

through fasting and prayer to hear from God. We need to position our lips and show up to cry out to God for an answer. We need to position our

families, our persons…just by being together in the presence of God.

2. Get in Position…ON THE PROMISE.

I know that I talk a lot about the promises of God. The reason is that they

are the basis for our faith. They are like loading your gun with ammo when it comes to prayer. If you want to hit the target in your prayer life, then you

need to load your prayer gun with the ammo of God’s promises in your life.

How do I do that? I want to equip you to pray effectively, confidently. I have written 3 Prayer Guides that are all promise-based. Take a Prayer

Guide today. Start the new year getting ready to jump start your daily time with God.

Get a Bible reading plan (we recommend the One Year Bible) and a Prayer

Guide and set a time every day to read and pray. It will revolutionize your life.

7

Back to the 2 Chronicles story. As they got into position—God gave them a

promise. They were all standing before God, men, women, children, families—and a word of prophesy came forth.

2 Chron 20:14-17

14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant

of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

15 He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or

discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by

the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions;

stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and

Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'"

Don’t you love that promise. The battle is the Lord’s. You will not even

have to fight. Get IN POSITION. And stand firm…On what? On this promise. And you will watch the deliverance of the Lord. Don’t worry.

Don’t be afraid. Don’t give in to discouragement. For God will be with you.

This is the way God most often works. When you are in the middle of a problem, God gives you the promise first…then the provision. Before you

get anything visible, before you get anything as an evidence of his working, before things get better—God gives you a promise. He says—trust me, this

is what I am about ready to do.

The promise doesn’t immediately remove the problem. It simply gives you a

basis to believe for the miracle to occur.

So here’s the order. 1) The problem; 2) In position; 3) The promise; 4) God’s provision.

Before the provision comes, God asks you to stand firm in position, on the

promise. Say that with me. I will stand firm…in position, on the promise, until the provision comes.

A few months ago Barb Fair came to me and told me of a condition she had

with pain in her abdomen. They found cists on her ovaries. They were very concerned about what that might mean.

8

We prayed together, and then I asked her to continue to speak God’s

promise over her body. Let the pain be a prompter for prayer. Every time you feel pain, speak to your body. I declare the healing of Jesus in my

body. I speak to those cists to be removed in Jesus name.

Barb came to me a few weeks ago and said, they did further tests and found no evidence of any cists at all. The pain is gone and so are the cists.

CUBA STORY

3. Get in POSITION on the PROMISE with PASSIONATE PRAISE.

2 Chron 20:18-22

18 Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of

Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD,

the God of Israel, with very loud voice.

20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem!

Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." 21 After consulting the people,

Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

"Give thanks to the LORD,

for his love endures forever."

22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the

men of Ammon

After they got the promise, they didn’t just meditate on it. They didn’t just file it away as something to be comforted by. They went to war with it.

They got bold and expressive with it.

• First there was a PHYSICAL EXPRESSION of it. They fell down in worship with their face to the ground. It was an expression of humility

and total dependence on God. By their action they declared their dependence on God.

9

Now I know that many of us are somewhat conservative in our approach to

God…that’s one of the things that is unsettling about APC is that there is physical expression of worship.

Just know few things: 1) we will never pressure you to do anything. Relax.

You won’t be forced or made to feel funny if you don’t raise your hands or come to the altar or whatever. 2) these expressions are both Biblical and

practical. They have purpose. They involve your will and your person in an expression to God.

At some point in life you may become desperate enough for a miracle that

you don’t care what it looks like or what people think. If God didn’t come through for Jehoshaphat, they were going to die. What’s the difference if

they looked funny when they bowed down.

• Second, there was a VOCAL DECLARATION of it. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and

praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with very loud voice.

The word hear means exceedingly great…a powerful shout. This wasn’t a cry for help. This was a declaration of praise. You are good. You are amazing.

You are awesome. We declare you God.

• Finally, there was a UNIFIED CELEBRATION

This is one of those amazing stories in the Bible…like Joshua marching around the walls as a battle strategy; or like Gideon standing with 300 men

and breaking pitchers and blowing trumpets. In this story, they go out into battle with the Choir leading the way.

Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

"Give thanks to the LORD,

for his love endures forever."

22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon.

When did the breakthrough occur? As they began to praise. Not before.

Not after. But at the moment of praise. Their unified celebration became a trigger for the release of God’s miraculous power. And the Lord ambushed

10

the enemy. He set them into confusion. There problems were totally wiped

out right before their eyes.

And God took their problem and turned it into plunder. It took three days just to gather the wealth. Free stuff laying all around, just go and pick it up.

And it happened as they began to worship.

Now, I need to give a word to this congregation this morning. This is what the Lord has said to us, through a number of sources: suddenly God is

going to do amazing things among you. It will happen all of the sudden. There will be miracles of healing. There will be hundreds of salvations.

There will be many who will turn back to God. Your sons and your daughters. God is going to burst forth on the scene.

And we have been praying for that since the summer. It has happened in

small ways. But we haven’t seen the fullness of it yet.

But God is saying…Get into POSITION…on that PROMISE…and

PASSIONATELY PRAISE.

A few months ago, I was in Hampton Va. As I was in the service, there was a breakthrough there in that church. It happened at a moment of

celebratory praise. You could feel the atmosphere in the room change. It was powerful.

And I felt God speak to me. The breakthrough will begin through a moment

of celebration and praise. Just like in this story. In a moment of praise…as they began to worship, the power of God began to move. Don’t miss the

Wednesday night worship gatherings…it could happen there? It could happen during the fasting week? It could happen on a weekend service?

When? I don’t know. I just know what God has asked me to do. Get in

POSITION…on the PROMISE…with PASSIONATE PRAISE.

The Bible says in Acts 4 that the apostles and the church gathered in the midst of a problem…they had just been threatened with persecution.

Acts 4:24-31

They raised their voices together in prayer to God… After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the

Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Do you see the connection? It’s time for us to act. God is closer than you think. He is more magnificent than you think. He wants to show Himself to

us as we worship Him.

11

He wants to suddenly break forth a do miracles among us. He wants to do miracles for us. But he also wants to show himself to our families, our

neighborhoods, our co-workers, our classmates.

So let’s get into position?

1. Communion – take time to get right with God.

2. Worship – even today.

3. Family Blessing Time – declare God’s promise over your life and over your family today.

Bread: Whatever you need—begin to speak to it today.

Cup: We declare God’s promise. Suddenly God will begin to move in this house. Miracles will happen. Bodies will be healed. Addictions will be

broken. Depression will be lifted. Souls will be saved. Marriages and families will be restored. God will be glorified. And many people in this

North Hills area will hear of what is happening and turn their hearts to the Lord. We lift our voices and declare it to be so in Jesus Name. Amen.

TESTIMONIES OF HEALING:

Barb Fair: I actually had two situations that have occurred

> since September. The first was with my knees. On September 1st

> (Friday) I had been teaching all day. I had to go up and down stairs to

> get to my classroom and because I teach little kids I was constantly

> standing up and sitting down on the floor all day. By the end of the

> day I could hardly move my knees hurt so bad. I couldn't keep them in a

> bent position for even like 10 seconds. I didn't think I would be able

> to drive home. I had seen a Doctor about the pain in my right knee

> before. Physical therapy, exercises and applications of heat and cold

> were not helping-but the Doctor would not send me to a specialist. This

> knee problem has been getting progressively worse since about 2001.

> Well I came home that Friday and could barely move the rest of the

> weekend. I called my family Doctor and made an appointment because this

> time the pain was in both of my knees and I wanted to ask again for

> them to send me to a specialist to find out what was wrong. On Sunday

> September 3, I went up for prayer with Pastor Jeff, as my daughter

> stood with me, for prayer for my knees (and another problem which I

> will get to in a minute). I had my appointment on September 6 and my

> family Doctor did give me authorization to see a specialist. Well, I

12

> was going to make the appointment, when I realized that my knees really

> didn't hurt that bad. So, I thought I'll wait till the end of the week

> because Thursday and Friday are my hardest days. Well I have been

> completely pain free in both of my knees since then. I never did

> schedule the appointment with the specialist. It is completely amazing

> the things that I am able to do without pain that I have been

> struggling with for the past 5 years. I thought the answer to my prayer

> was getting to see a specialist but God had a better answer-He took the

> problem away!

> The second part of this and most recent occurance is a little more

> personal. I'm not sure how you can tell this part without giving the

> church all the details of my "female problems" but if God can use this to

> help someone He will provide you with the right words. On August 17, I

> went for my yearly check up with my Gynecologist and she immediately began

> to ask me questions about being in pain and excessive bleeding, etc.

> Things that I actually were having problems with. I have had many problems

> over the years, I have Endometriosis, Fibroid tumors and cysts and I have

> had at least 5 surgeries in the past because of these things. This time,

> however, SHE brought up the questions. In the past, I would always tell

> her this is what is going on and then they would check out my complaint,

> find something and treat it. She told me I needed to come in for a

> sonogram as soon as possible. I had a sonogram onAugust 24. They found

> many cysts on both of my ovaries. This ,along with the endometriosis, was

> causing me a great deal of pain. She said the plan of action to take

> towards the re-occurrant cysts would be a treatment where I would get

> injections into my abdomen once a month and basically it would put me in

> to early menopause. I really didn't find out much more about that because

> I didn't believe that was an option for me. (That same treatment had been

> recommended to me back in 1998 and I chose not to do it because I didn't

> believe that is what God wanted me to do AND a year later I had my son!

> -If I would have had that treatment I would not have been able to have

> him.) I asked her if it was safe for me to wait to see if the cysts would

> go away on their own or get smaller. She said if I could stand the pain we

> could waait and do another sonogram in Novemeber but the chances of the

> cysts shrinking or disappearing on their own was not likely. Well, that

> was going to be my plan of action - pray and wait. In the meantime, my PAP

> test came back irregular for the third time in a row and at first it

> didn't really bother me because it had happened at least 4 times before.

> Well, this time when she had me come in she began talking about the stages

> of cancer and that this particular time was more serious that the past.

> She explained that the next step was Cryosurgery (which I had had before)

> and after that we would do another test to see where I was at with these

> cancerous cells. So I had Pastor Jeff and my daughter pray for me

> (September 3) for all of these things. I Had my Cryosurgery on September

> 19 and set up an appointment in November to have another test to check the

> abnormal cells.

13

> The fact that my knees were instantly healed definitely helped me have a

> great deal of hope for my other situation. I had people at work (I teach

> at Eden Christian Academy) praying for me. My mom had the ladies here at

> APC that she meets with on Sunday nights praying for me. I kept praying by

> myself and I kept coming forward to have prayer. Most of the time I felt

> no different. Sometimes I felt like I should be doing something more than

> just waiting but I would remember "Be still and know that I am God." The

> scripture that I kept leaning on was "Trust in the Lord with all your

> heart ..... Proverbs 3:5,6." During the months of September and October at

> school my 1st and 2nd grade students were preparing a musical for

> Grandparents day and one of the songs that I taught them to sing and sign

> was "Cares Chorus" which says " I cast all my cares upon You, I lay all of

> my burdens down at Your feet and anytime I don't know what to do I will

> cast all my cares upon You." There were so many days when I just clung to

> those words while I was waiting to have the next round of tests.

> Well, my sonogram was scheduled for Nov. 28 to check on the cysts. About

> 2 weeks before that I was experiencing the most pain I had ever

> experienced in my lower back. I couldn't sleep. When I did fall asleep if

> I moved I would immediately wake up in excrutiating pain. I couldn't stand

> for longer than 20 minutes at a time. Nothing, not even the medication the

> Doctor gave me helped the pain. On Sunday Nov. 19, I went up for prayer.

> My daughter came up to stand with me and Jeff and Maureen Maier prayed for

> me. I felt a physical warmth come over my body when they prayed over

> me.When I went back to my seat I felt such peace. My back still hurt but

> something was different. I went in to school and over the next week I

> told Maureen (we work together) that I really felt that something happened

> when they prayed for me so I was looking forward to seeing what those test

> results would be. On Nov. 28 I went in for my sonogram and I was talking

> with the lady doing it and I found out she was a Christian and went to

> Northway. I told her about why I was there and we talked a little more.

> Near the end of my sonogram she said "I don't see any cysts at all on

> either of your ovaries in any of these pictures." She told me the Doctor

> would call to discuss it with me. She called and was really happy for me

> and amazed that all of the cysts were completely gone. We then set up the

> next procedure to re-check the abnormal/cancerous cells. On Dec. 5, I went

> in for the repeat test and she said if I did not hear from her right away

> that everything was normal and that I could call in 2 weeks to be sure.

> On Dec. 21, I spoke with her and she said everything was normal and I

> would need no further tests unless I experienced certain problems that she

> and I discussed. I'm still experiencing pain from the Endometriosis but I

> know and believe that God can heal me from that, too. I am so thankful to

> have a praying family, church and place of employment! We serve an awesome

> God! Sorry this took so long! I got home later than I thought and it

> takes a little more time to write it than to talk about it. If you have

> any questions that I didn't answer please let me know. God bless! Barb

14