God’s Message Today Is
“Alpha and Omega”
Text: Revelation 1:8; John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Mark 9:23; 1 Peter 4:12; Hebrews 13:5; Philippians 4:19; Matthew 21:21-22; Mark 9:23
Text: Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”
PLAY SONG: Alpha and Omega (Long song – play at my signal).
Introduction: THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA - the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It’s also another way of saying that God is the beginning and the ending of all things—including human history. He is THE Source of all life and the fulfillment of all perfection. God is eternal.
From creation to the completion and on into infinity He has a perfect plan for his people. Almighty God is LORD over everything; He is God Almighty over all. He is and has always been the final victory over evil and the authority over all things belong to Him.
This same title, or designation, for God the Father is used also for Jesus as God the Son (22:13), and nine of the ten New Testament references to God as the “Almighty” (Alpha and Omega) occur in Revelation (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7,14; 19:6,15; 21:22).
One of the meanings of Jesus being the “Alpha and Omega” is that He was at the beginning of all things and will be at the close. It’s saying that He’s always existed and always will exist. Jesus also played a big part (along with the Father and the Holy Spirit) in the creation of the universe and again, Creator of all things. John 1:3 says, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made”
As God incarnate, He has no beginning, nor will He have any end with respect to time, being from everlasting to everlasting.
Alpha means that God always was, is and will be. He has no beginning or end. Jesus, who is God along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, called Himself the Alpha and the Omega, which means the first and the last in the Greek.
God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), is also our Omega: “Who is to come.”
In Bible days Jewish rabbis commonly used the first and the last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It implied the whole of anything, from beginning to end. Jesus as the beginning and end of all things is a reference to no one else but the true God. This statement could only apply to God.
I want to look at Almighty God Yahweh, in this content today being the Alpha and Omega – Beginning and the End. Our Holy, Ok so Holy God
Prayer:
I. God equips our unique beginnings.
A. He supports our new endeavors. He is there when we make the decision to pack up and move across the country. He’s present and new every morning.
1. We have the ability to call on Him the first thing every day. a. We can ask for his blessings and protection.
B. God can guide us with important decisions: He loves it when we call on him FIRST for major decisions.
1. When we leave the harder decisions to Him, when we ask for his guidance first, we can know ABSOLUTELY that He’s directing us to what’s always best for our lives.
2. I Corinthians 2:7 reveals the beauty of God’s wisdom, “We speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory.” (CSB).
II. Christ, as the Alpha and Omega, is the first and last in so many ways.
A. He is the “author and finisher” of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), which means that He begins it and carries it through to completion.
B. He is the totality, the sum and substance of the Bible, both the Law (Old Testament) and of the Gospel (New Testament) (John 1:1, 14).
1. He’s the fulfillment – end of the Law (Matthew 5:17), and He’s the entire subject matter of the gospel of grace through faith, not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9).
C. He’s found in the first verse of Genesis and in the last verse of Revelation. He is the first and last, the all in all of salvation, from the justification before God to the final sanctification of His people.
D. Jehovah God is infinite, eternal and unchangeable. He has governed the world from the beginning and will until the end of time. That’s why every single Christian should be depending on Him because He IS – He’s everything we need Him to be!
Mark 9:23 says, “Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
III. God Is Everything We Need Him To Be.
PLAY SONG: NAMES OF GOD
A. Sometimes we get frustrated by the many things that come at us every day and wonder if God sees our needs and is going to help us get through them.
1. Maybe its sickness; maybe its money; maybe its something spiritual; maybe its something emotional, etc.
B. None of these issues (whatever they are) should surprise us. Instead of looking at issues as problems we should be looking at them as opportunities! Peter reminds us of this in I Peter 4:12. He said, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.”
C. Moses had a similar issue – when God called him to lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt.
1. He faced the same concern and anxiety over what God was calling him to do as we do when God puts pressure on us through circumstances and issues.
D. Moses was at the point of pressing the panic button and consequently he gave God one excuse after another as to why he couldn’t do what God was asking Him to do.
1. At this point in his life he wasn’t ready to rush right out and conquer the world. Now he was 80 yrs. old and now he started using the “what ifs” on God.
a. “See if you can get someone else to do it.” “I don’t talk right.” Etc, He came up with a lot of excuses why he wasn’t the guy for the job. But, you know what?
E. God answered every objection Moses had by assuring Him that He in fact was everything that Moses needed Him to be. And, today I want to remind you that God is Everything You Need Him to Be too!
1. God said to him, “I AM that I AM.” Tell them “I AM” sent you. What’s that mean? Well it wasn’t just the bare name of God, but it was the SIGNIFICANCE of the MEANING of His name.
F. In essence God told Moses, “I am He who exists and who will be dynamically PRESENT now, then, and there.” “I will be with you in every situation I’m sending in.” He said, “I will be with you.”
1. Do you ever stop to think that God is ACTIVELY PRESENT with you – every place – every time – ALWAYS? God promised in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
G. God made it known to Moses that His name was filled with His AUTHORITY and his POWER - that He was ALWAYS DEPENDABLE and that He has all the RESOURCES to meet every need of His people.
IV. Listen Folks, God is THE ONLY UNCHANGEBABLE, UNSTOPPABLE GOD and He is a present God to us today too!
A. He has the resources to meet our needs. Philippians 4:19 (AMP), “And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
1. There’s no reason to think that God can’t be what you need him to be, because He’s capable of being everything you need him to be – when you need Him to be – where you need Him to be – how you need Him to be, etc.
B. Name a trouble you have that’s greater than God can handle?
1. You just have to believe! But not just believe! You must believe in the God - that He will be what you need Him to be – when you need Him to be it (expound).
2. Matthew 21:21-22, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. 22 You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”
3. Mark 9:23 says, “Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." NKJV
4. The New Living Translation puts it this way, “What do you mean, ‘If, I can?’ Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”
The Message Bible puts it still another way. “If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!” Jesus said, “If? There are no ifs among believers. Anything can happen.”
CONCLUSION: I would like to conclude with this story. A pastor saw a little kitten stuck in a tree and it would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and drove until the tree bent down, he could reach up and get the kitten. He did this, checking his progress in the car frequently and then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent down enough for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved just a bit further, the rope broke, and the tree snapped upright and the kitten instantly sailed through the air and out of sight.
He felt just terrible and walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they had seen the little kitten. Nobody had and finally he prayed. “Lord, I commit this kitten to Your keeping.”
A few days later he was at the grocery store and met one of his parishioners. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman hated cats, and he wondered why she was buying cat food.
She replied, “You won’t believe this, but I have been refusing to get my little girl a cat even though she has been begging me for one. Finally, I told her that if God gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.
“I watched my child go out into the yard, get on her knees and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won’t believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky and landed right in my daughter’s lap. Of course, I had to let her keep it since it came from God.”
Expound: at closing.
PLAY SONG: HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD
