Sermon Central
-
God Is All Powerful Series
Contributed by Jeff Simms on Dec 2, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: To discuss how God is all powerful and will accomplish his will. Part of a series on the attributes of God
SBC Philippi 11/6/05 am
Rev. Jeff Simms
God is All Powerful
Primary Purpose: To emphasize that God is all powerful in all He does and nothing can ultimately hinder his purposes.
There is a movie out called “Bruce Almighty” where Jim Carey who plays Bruce is given powers by God (Morgan Freeman) to use as he sees fit. He only cannot interfere with man’s free will. It doesn’t take Bruce long to find out that though he may have much power, he cannot begin to know how to use it. What would it be like to have power without limit. One of the great truths of scripture is that God does have power that is unlimited. When the disciples ask Jesus about a statement that he made about the rich being saved. Jesus says simply “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
We notice the same type of statement is made by God in Genesis 18:14. God is revealing to Abraham that he will be a father at the old age of 100. Sarah is 90 and laughs about what God says. But, God asks of them the rhetorical question, “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” The assumption is that you understand that nothing is too difficult. In fact, God waited it this case it appears so that he could make this point to Abraham. Our God is the God of the impossible.
These types of statement about the unlimited power of God are made throughout scripture in both the Old Testament and the New. In Psalm 135:6 it tells us that God does what He pleases, in the heavens and in the earth, in the seas and in all the deeps. Isaiah 43:13 says that God acts and nobody can reverse it. Nobody can rescue you out of God’s hand. In Daniel 4:35, it says that God does what He wills and none can ward off His hand. In Psalm 115:3 it says that our God is in heaven and He does whatever He pleases. All of these point us to God as the source of ultimate power. In fact, the Bible declares this truth to us to tell us that God alone is all powerful and this should encourage us that if God tells us a truth in His word then He has the power and authority to back up what He says. This kind of God is worthy of our worship and our praise and our honoring Him with first place in our lives.
We can see God’s power in several ways. First, we can see it in His power to create. Man can create and God has given him that ability. But, we must start with some materials to work with. God doesn’t need anything, however, and was able to create all things by the simple power of His will which was expressed in Words. He simply willed it to be and it was. Isaiah 40:26 says about this “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens; Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name, Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” There are billions of stars in billions of galaxies we cannot even begin to see, but God knows them all by name and it’s His power that maintains them. What does that tell you about God’s power?
Then, God’s power is also demonstrated by his power to hold everything together. The fact is, that God must be everywhere present at the same time because without him whatever does exist would cease to be. In Hebrews 1:3 it tells us the God upholds all things by the Word of His power. In other words, from the sun in its power to the ant having enough power to walk across the floor, nothing has power that wasn’t given that power to be created and sustained by God. We simply need to realize that God is awesome. Ephesians 3:20 says that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than you can ask or imagine.
Then, again we see God’s power in his redemptive work. We see it in his sending Jesus to be a baby and to make Jesus a man. Many people have stumbled through the years over how God could become man. In fact, today the Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t believe that fact and don’t even honor Jesus by honoring Christmas. We may not be able to completely understand what God does, but that doesn’t make it less truth. In fact, we should be surprised that God is able to do more than we can imagine for God is unlimited and infinite and we are finite. By very definition then, there are going to be some things about God that I can’t understand or imagine.
