"God Is Powerful” Series

When Asa became king of Judah, he got rid of idols and places of false worship. As he sought to turn people back to God, God blessed him.

In 2 Chronicles 14:8-15, we’re told a crisis faced Asa and Judah, when a million-man Ethiopian army with three hundred chariots invaded the land. Asa sought the help of the Lord through prayer. God heard his prayer and they defeated the huge army, taking much spoil.

Then in 2 Chronicles 15:1-2, we’re told that as Asa was coming back from this victory, the prophet Azariah met him with a word from God. “The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found of you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”

Having just experienced such a great victory, no one was inclined to forsake God. There was a renewed commitment to God, and a second cleansing of the land. Asa had a long and prosperous reign over Judah.

Then in 2 Chronicles 16, we read how the king of Israel, who likely was jealous of Asa’s wealth, decided to invade Judah. Fortifying the city of Ramah, just north of Jerusalem, he wanted to cut off supplies to Jerusalem. In response, Asa took money from his treasury and sent it to the king of Syria to hire mercenaries to attack Israel in the north.

As the Syrians invaded Israel, the king had to redeploy his troops to the north. Then Asa sent troops to Ramah to dismantle the fortifications being built, and used the materials to fortify his cities. This was a clever strategy that worked. Asa was no doubt proud of himself and of his wealth, knowing he could always buy his way out of trouble.

But then came a rebuke from the prophet Hanani, who said, “Because you relied on the king of Syria and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped your hand.” He reminded him of how, when invaded by the Ethiopian army, because he trusted in the Lord, the Lord had delivered them. Then he said: READ TEXT

The Bible makes it clear that our God is all powerful. When we speak of God being all powerful, we often use the word, “omnipotent.” This word comes from the Latin words, “omnis,” which means “all,” and “potens,” which means power.

The Bible teaches that there are two sides to God’s omnipotence:

1. He is free to do all that is consistent with His nature.

Therefore, there are certain things God cannot do -

A. God cannot lie - Titus 1:2

B. God cannot be tempted to sin - James 1:13

C. God cannot deny Himself - 2 Timothy 2:13

D. God cannot go back on His promises - Psalm 119:89

If there are things God can’t do, how can He be all-powerful? Well, omnipotence doesn’t mean God can’t exercise self-limitation. God can’t contradict His nature. So it’s impossible for God to lie or to die.

Neither can God contradict things He has established. So God cannot make two plus two equal five, nor will He circumvent man’s free will.

God has limited Himself to acts that are consistent with His righteous, loving character. He can’t do evil and He can’t do anything irrational. He can’t go back on His Word. He’s all-powerful when it comes to things that are right, but He has no power to do things that are wrong.

2. He is free to do all that is necessary to accomplish His purpose.

Which brings us to our text for today. Two things:

A. God wants to display His power.

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth . . .”

Since God’s free to do what’s necessary to accomplish His purposes, He can, has and will intervene in the affairs of men. As we look to God’s Word, we find many instances in which God intervened by His power in the affairs of men. Like He did on behalf of king Asa.

But the greatest example is the coming of Christ. Christ coming this world was God intervening in human history by His power to fulfill His purpose to redeem a lost mankind and restore His creation to its former glory. God is working with a purpose and toward a goal.

“But indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.” - Numbers 14:21 (NASB)

That’s God’s goal. That’s God’s purpose. And it will happen because He is alive and active in the affairs of men by His power.

B. God wants to display His power through the lives of His people.

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.”

Chuck Smith shares a great illustration that really gets to the point of how God wants to work in and through believers to display His power.