This particular attribute means HE IS ALL POWERFUL!
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.)
The word OMNIPOTENT come from two words:
• Omni, which means “all”.
• And potent, which means “powerful.”
When we speak of God’s power and strength, we are talking about the ability of God to do that which God wants to do.
Illus: 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.
God can do what God wants to do. He has no limitations.
However, 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.
Illus: For example, I want to ask you a trick question, “Can God make a rock so big that even God can not move it?”
Before answering that question, we need to understand the implication of the omnipotence of God.
To do that, we have to take into consideration the fact that God also has other attributes, and what that implies.
For example, one of the attributes of God is that God is a God of holiness. He is not partly holy, He is a 100% holy.
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.
Not only can He not sin, it is impossible for Him to even tempt anyone to sin.
That is why James 1:13 says clearly, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.”
Being a HOLY God, He is incapable of sinning, or of tempting us to sin.
Illus: That would be like someone who knew absolutely nothing about calculus trying to teach someone about calculus.
So going back to our trick question, “Can God make a rock so big that even God can not move it?”
He 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.”
• Jeremiah proclaimed in Jer. 32:17, “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:”
• Jesus spoke in Matthew 19:26, “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
The reason I am expounding on the Omnipotence of God so heavily is because I want to talk to you about the POWER OF GOD and how it relates to our lives.
WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT TO US?
It is important that we, the children of God, recognize that WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.
WHY? Because we all face problems and we serve a God that is Omnipotent, and we do not have to wonder if GOD CAN HELP US OR NOT!
No matter what we face, the God of Omnipotence can help us with our needs if they do not violate His other attributes.
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.
Sometimes we ask Him to do some things that would violate one of His other attributes.
As the children of God we are not a POWERLESS PEOPLE, we are POWERFUL!
If we only knew that…
• WHAT LIES BEHIND US, AND
• WHAT LIES BEFORE US,
…are small matters compared to WHAT LIES WITHIN US.
HOW HAS GOD EMPOWERED OUR LIVES? God has empowered us by giving us the Holy Spirit to live WITHIN US.
John 14:17 “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for HE DWELLETH WITH YOU, AND SHALL BE IN YOU.”
The Holy Spirit empowers us with His MIGHTY POWER.
WHAT KIND OF POWER DOES HE EMPOWER US WITH? He gives us the POWER TO LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.
Illus: Sometimes we witness to lost people and we ask them if they would like to accept Christ as their Saviour, and they will say, “No, not today, I am not able to live the Christian life yet!”
When they say that, they are telling the truth. Because none of us are able to live the Christian life within ourselves.
It is only after He saves us that He fills us with the Holy Spirit of God, and EMPOWERS us to live the Christian life.
Look at John 14:17, again, we read, “…HE DWELLETH WITH YOU, AND SHALL BE IN YOU.”
Illus: Remember the cartoon of Popeye the sailor man. He was always taking a beating from this other sailor, “Bruto”. But once he opened that can of spinach, he became a different person. He became a powerful force that was more than adequate for the situation.
Once God empowers us with the Holy Spirit, we become endued with HIS POWER and we then have the power to live the Christian life as it is suppose to be lived.
As the children of God, our life now reflects certain things. We now can live -
I. THE PLEASING LIFE
Before we accepted the Lord we certainly were not living a life that was pleasing to the Lord.
The Holy Spirit empowers us to live a life that is PLEASING TO THE LORD. Notice, God does not empower us to spend the rest of our life sitting on a church pew.
Illus: That would be like buying a new car that is loaded with horsepower, then keeping it parked in the garage all the time.
That car was not made just to be PARKED, it was made to be DRIVEN!
God saved us, not for the purpose of being PARKED on a church pew, but to be empowered to live in such a fashion that we will bring glory to His name.
Illus: One New Year's Day in the Rose parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas. The amusing thing was that this float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of gas. Someone neglected to put gas in the gas tank.
Much of the time we Christians are “sputtering” and “parked” because we are not filled with the Spirit of God. But, once we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can live a life that will PLEASE GOD
Much of the New Testament is instructing us how to do this.
Look at 1 Thess. 4:1 "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to WALK and to PLEASE GOD, so ye would abound more and more."
God gives us power to live a life that is PLEASING TO HIM. This is not something we can do within ourselves.
Illus: Every January, there are people who make New Year’s resolutions to stop doing some things, and to start doing other things. But most of the people who make these resolutions are back doing the same thing they vowed they would not do within a few hours or a few days.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? The problem is that sin has a grip on their life, and they have no power to break that grip.
God gives us the Holy Spirit to live within us so that we can overcome these sins.
Illus: It is only when a branch has been grafted into the tree that it can bring forth fruit.
It takes the POWER OF GOD in our lives to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. We within ourselves do not have SUCH POWER, but as a child of God we all have ACCESS TO THIS POWER.
Once we have been EMPOWERED by the Holy Spirit of God, we can live THE PLEASING LIFE. But also, we now can live -
II. THE PRODUCTIVE LIFE
This power that we are given by the Holy Spirit produces something in our life.
What does the Power of the Holy Spirit produce in our life? It is-
A. A POWER THAT PRODUCES CLEANLINESS
Rom. 6:22 "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life."
Notice, we are made free from sin, and now our life is producing, “…Fruit unto holiness…”
• One of the most DISGRACEFUL THINGS that can be said about a person who professes to be saved, is that they are an “Unholy” person.
• One of the most COMPLIMENTARY THINGS that can be said about a person who professes to be saved, is that they are a “holy” person.
Illus: A lady came to Dr. Odell Belger for some counseling about her daughter who was in her early thirties. She was raised up in a hellish home, had one abortion, and was in her third marriage. She had been involved in drugs and alcohol, and her mother said, “I do not know what is wrong with my daughter, Dr. Belger, do you know?” He said, “Yes, but I am afraid I will offend you if I tell you.” She said, “Please tell me, I want to help her, I must know what is wrong with her.” Dr. Belger took a deep breathe and said, “The problem with your daughter, is this; she is full of the devil. She does not wake up thinking about what God wants for her life, the only thing she wakes up thinking about is what she wants!”
That is not what this mother wanted to hear. She was hoping to hear of a:
• MIRACLE DRUG
• MIRACLE DOCTOR
• MIRACLE HOSPITAL
But listen, when it comes to sin, only the Savior can save us from sin. No drug, no doctor, no hospital can do it. If it has to do with sin, only the Lord Jesus, the Savior, can help you.
And if your life is:
• One-third full of the devil, your life will reflect that you are one-third full of the devil.
• Half full of the devil, your life will reflect you are half full of the devil.
• Full of the devil, your life will reflect you are full of the devil.
But there is good news for the Christian. If your life is full of the Holy Spirit, your life will reflect that also.
When He is within us He will PRODUCE HOLINESS! The Power of the Holy Spirit produces holiness in our lives.
But the power of the Holy Spirit also is -
B. A POWER THAT PRODUCES CONVERTS
Look at Acts 1:8 again. The evidence that we are Holy Spirit filled is this; “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.”
You can go into any church in the world, and in a few minutes accurately determine if that church has the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THERE!
HOW CAN YOU DETERMINE THAT? God Word says, “YE SHALL RECEIVE….AND YE SHALL BE WITNESSES.”
Listen, do not go around telling people that you are Spirit-filled if you are not actively seeking to win the lost. The Holy Spirit of God produces HOLINESS in our lives, and uses us to CONVERT a lost world to Christ.
Illus: It's almost impossible to see a rainbow and not point it out to someone else. It's the kind of thing that just must be shared. You see one and you want to tell someone about it. If you are by yourself and see one, it's frustrating. The gospel is such a beautiful expression of God's love that it just must be shared.
Conclusion:
Illus: Jack Handey writes, "There used to be this bully who would demand my lunch money every day. Since I was smaller, I would give it to him. Then I decided to fight back. I started taking karate lessons, but the instructor wanted $5 a lesson. It was cheaper to pay the bully, so I gave up karate."
Too many Christians believe it's easier to pay the bully than learn how to defeat him.
God has given us POWER, now we must use that power to live for His glory! As the children of God, our life reflect that power. We should have:
I. THE PLEASING LIFE
II. THE PRODUCTIVE LIFE
A. A POWER THAT PRODUCES CLEANLINESS
B. A POWER THAT PRODUCES CONVERTS
