How Can I Live The Christian Life?

Acts 1:1-8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Notice especially these words in this verse of scripture. After we are saved God has promised us---But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.

God is a God of power!!! And that power is given to us once we become a child of God.

One of the attributes of God is that God is Omnipotent!!!

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

The words OMNIPOTENT come from two words:

• Omni, which means “all”.

• And potent, which means “powerful.”

God has ALL POWER!!!

When we say God is Omnipotent, we are talking about one of the attributes of God.

There are many other attributes of God.

To name a few:

• Omniscient which means God knows all. There is not anything He does not know.

• Omnipresent which means God is present everywhere. There is not a place we can go that God is not already there.

It is essential for God to have these attributes for many reasons.

Such as when we are judge by Him:

• Him being Omniscient

He knows everything there is to be known about us. EVERYTHING!!!

• Such as He is Omnipresent?

He can Judge us fairly because He can say I was there when you said everything you said and did everything that you did whether it be good or bad. Absolutely!!!

But today we I want to preach about the attribute that God is OMNIPOTENT. He has ALL POWER.

Illus: Sunday school teacher was asking her students some questions after a series of lessons on God's omnipotence.

• She asked, "Is there anything God can't do?

• All was silent. Finally, one boy held up his hand.

• The teacher, on seeing his hand go up, was disappointed that young boy had missed the point of the lesson.

• She said Johnny, "Well, what is it you think God can't do?

• The boy replied, "Teacher He can't please everybody."

Illus: A young boy, traveling by airplane to visit his grandparents, sat beside a man who happened to be a seminary professor.

The boy was reading a Sunday school take-home paper when the professor thought he would have some fun with the lad.

• "Young man," said the professor, "If you can tell me something God can do, I’ll give you a big, shiny apple."

• The boy thought for a moment and then replied, "Mister, if you can tell me something God can't do, I’ll give you a whole barrel of apples!" (Today in the Word, April, 1989, p. 43.)

But there is one thing that God cannot do!!!

Now telling you God is ALL POWERFUL makes me sound like I am contradicting myself.

When we talk about the Omnipotence of God, we do have to keep in mind the fact that He also has other attributes that limit Him from doing some things we might ask Him to do.

For example, one of the attributes of God is that God is a God of holiness.

He is not part holy; He is a 100% holy. HOLINESS is one of His attributes.

That is being omnipotent

• God can do everything that is in harmony with His Holy character.

• He cannot do things which are contrary to His Holy character.

For example, Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, and Hebrews 6:18 teach that He cannot lie.

God lacks the ability to lie because lying is contrary to His moral perfection

So if God is a God of holiness, if He was to sin He would be violating His other attribute - that He is a holy God.

Illus: For example, someone might do you wrong and you ask God to turn them into burnt toast.

God could do that if he wanted to. But you have to remember God is a God of Love, kindness, and patience also.

To answer our prayer He would have to violate His attributes of LOVE, KINDNESS AND PATIENCE.

WE HAVE LIMITATIONS ALSO….

When we want to do something, we have to keep our limitations in mind, and so often we can not do what we want to do because of our limitations.

Illus: I would love to sing like Brother Kenny but I have this limitation when it comes to singing. I HAVE ACCEPTED THIS LIMITATION IN MY LIFE AND THIS IS WHY I DO NOT SING SPECIALS IN THE CHURCH SERVICE!

God can do anything He wants to do if it does not violate His other attributes!

It is clear that nothing is too hard for the Lord.

• The Psalmist said in Psalms 62:11, “…That power belongeth unto God.”