There are some folks who speak of Him as the “Man upstairs”. Any time you hear someone refer to Almighty God like this, it is safe to assume they do not know the first thing about God.
God is not a MAN and he does not have human attributes like mankind with limitations.
WHAT KIND OF GOD IS HE? We have already seen -
• THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD (He knows everything)
• THE OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD (He is everywhere)
But also let’s look at something else about Him. Let’s look at-
III. THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD
What does the word “Omnipotent” mean? The word means "all-powerful" and refers to the fact that God’s power is infinite and unlimited.
• He can do with power anything that power can do
• God has the power to do all He wills to do
• He has both the resources and the ability to work His will in every circumstance in the universe
If you prefer a simple definition, just think of these three words - "GOD IS ABLE." No matter what you and I can imagine, GOD IS ABLE TO DO IT!
• He is able to do everything He Needs to do
• He is able to do everything He Wants to do
• He is able to do everything whenever He wants to do it
There is a contemporary chorus that we sing sometimes that I like a great deal, it is called, “Our God is an Awesome God!” He really is!
When you stop and look at what the Bible has to say about Him being OMNIPOTENT, it will bring us to a standstill.
Illus: Speaking of a STANDSTILL, did you hear about the elderly woman that just returned to her home from an evening worship service and was startled to find an intruder in her house? Catching the man in the act of burglarizing her home, she yelled, "STOP! Acts 2:38!"
That verse says, "…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,…"
The burglar did not have any idea of what Acts 2:38 was, but later in prison, someone said to the man driving the get away car, “If you had not stopped we could have gotten away, WHY DID YOU STOP?”
He said, “When she said, ‘STOP! Acts 2:38’ I thought she said, ‘Stop, I have an ax and two 38's!’ So I just stopped in my tracks.”
When you start getting into the scriptures and see what the Bible says about God being OMNISCIENT, OMNIPRESENT, and OMNIPOTENT, it will cause you to stop in your tracks.
But before we get too far into the sermon about God being Omnipotent, we need to consider that there are some things God can not do.
Illus: A 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 this, was disappointed that they had missed the point of the lesson. She sighed and asked, "Well, what is it you think God can not do?"
The boy replied, "He can't please everybody."
Listen, this is a comfort to pastors, because if God can not make everyone happy, why in the world should a pastor think he can?
It may be useful to know that there are at least four things the Bible says that God cannot do.
• He cannot deny himself (2 Timothy 2:13)
• He cannot lie (Titus 1:2)
• He cannot be tempted to do evil (James 1:13)
• He cannot change his basic nature (Numbers 23:19)
In short, God will never act contrary to his own righteous, holy, unchanging character.
Let’s look at several things about the Omnipotence of God, such as -
A. NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR GOD
Look at Jeremiah 32:17, we read, “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:”
In Luke 1:37 we read, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
Illus: Years ago they had a television program called “Mission Impossible”. This 7-year series chronicled the adventures of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF), a team of government spies and specialists who were assigned "impossible missions" by the unseen "Secretary".
The series is best known for its opening mission assignment (assigned on a pre-recorded tape), that gave them a mission that seemed virtually impossible to achieve, then the tape would self-destruct. But week after week, viewers sat in amazement watching them do the impossible.
Of course, we know in real life they could never do such things.
When it comes to real life, THERE IS NOTHING ALMIGHTY GOD CAN NOT DO!
Look at the life of Abraham and Sarah. Among the many titles given to God in the Old Testament is one that relates directly to his Omnipotence.
In Genesis 17:1 God speaks to 99 year old Abraham, who has been promised a child by God. By this time his body is "as good as dead."
Look at Romans 4:19-22, we read, “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”
In the face of all his very understandable doubts, God reassures him by calling himself El Shaddai, which means Almighty God.
God was saying to Abraham:
• "Don’t look in the mirror, Abraham. Look at me.” Look at Romans 4:19, we read, “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:”
• “If I say you’re going to have a son, you are going to have a son.” Look at Romans 4:20-21, we read, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”
God was saying that age means nothing to Him. He is “El-Shaddi” (Almighty God.) God can do anything.
Illus: Doing the impossible, reminds us of a man that advertised he had a talking dog for sale.
A man saw the sign and stopped to inquire. The man said, “Before I buy him I would like to hear him talk.”
He took him out to the dog pen and he said to the dog, “How are you doing?” The dog said, “I am doing fine, how are you doing?”
The man heard this conversation taking place and he was amazed at the dog talking, and he decided he would join the conversation.
He said to the dog, “Tell me something about yourself.”
The dog said, “Years ago I used to work as an undercover agent for the CIA. After many years I transferred over to the FBI and this is where I retired and I met my owner.”
The man was greatly impressed and he said to the owner, “How much do you want for this talking dog?” The owner said, “I will sell him to you for $10.00.”
The man was shocked, he said, “That’s all you want for a talking dog? Why are you willing to sell him so cheap?”
He said the reason I am willing to sell him for $10.00 is because all the things he told you about working for the CIA and the FBI, are lies, you can not believe a thing he says.
Listen, if you and I could hear a talking dog, that would shock us. But God can do things that are so IMPOSSIBLE it would make a talking dog seem insignificant.
NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR GOD. But also-
B. NO ONE CAN STOP GOD’S PLANS
Look at Job 42:2, we read, “I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.”
WHAT IS JOB SAYING?
Those who oppose Him do not stand a chance, He knows every evil thought that enters their mind. NO ONE CAN STOP HIM!
Illus: When the military invaded Iraq it was an amazing victory. But once the military victory was achieved, trying to locate Saddam was more difficult.
To achieve this goal, they started using INTELLIGENCE to find out where he might be. Some of the INTELLIGENCE was good INTELLIGENCE and they captured some of his top leaders. Also, with good INTELLIGENCE they killed his two sons.
And good INTELLIGENCE led them to capture Saddam Hussein.
No country in the world has PERFECT INTELLIGENCE, but I am here to tell you that the OMNIPOTENT GOD OF HEAVEN has perfect intelligence, and this is why Job said, “I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.”
God knows the thoughts of the mind.
Illus: Did you hear about the Irishman who went to the mind reader and paid $5.00 to have his thoughts read. After half an hour, the mind reader gave him his money back.
Illus: Did you hear about the woman who told her husband, “I've just changed my mind.” He said, “Does it work any better?”
God is Omnipotent and NO ONE CAN STOP HIM, HE KNOWS EVERY THOUGHT THEY ARE THINKING.
He does WHATEVER HE PLEASES, WHENEVER HE PLEASES, and no one can stop Him.
In Psalm 115:3, we read, “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”
C. NO ONE CAN COMPREHEND GOD
His Omnipotence is beyond our comprehension.
Since God is “all-powerful,” this creates a lot of questions for us mortals. For example, If God is all-powerful:
• Why is there so much suffering in the world?
• Why do buses crash or tornadoes destroy homes?
• Why does God allow armies to kill innocent people?
• Why is there so much disease?
• Why do good people die of cancer?
• Why doesn’t God stop the suffering in the world?
Let’s think together about three implications of God’s Omnipotence.
(1) NO POWER OR WILL CAN EVER CHANGE HIS PURPOSES
Job has some questions for God concerning the things that stormed into his life.
The Book of Job ends with God interrogating Job in a most humbling fashion.
• "Job, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Were you there when I put the stars in their places?”
• “By the way, have you ever tried to make a crocodile? What about a rabbit? A simple rabbit, Job, how are you at making rabbits? That’s what I thought."
In the end, Job bows in silence before a God whose ways are beyond human comprehension.
Omnipotence teaches us that no power in all the universe can stop God or impede His plans.
• Not evil men
• Not natural catastrophes
• Not reversal of fortune
• Not fate or luck or chance
• Not human errors
• Not even Satan can hinder God’s plan in the least
Illus: In the words of Martin Luther, “The devil is "God’s devil" because he serves God’s purposes.”
When it comes to trying to comprehend the OMNIPOTENCE of God, we also need to consider-
(2) WHAT GOD STARTS, HE ALWAYS COMPLETES
This is a most comforting thought, because we live in a world where all our best work is unfinished.
Illus: Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Hemingway, Wright, Edison - they all left behind unfinished paintings, unfinished manuscripts, plans for buildings that were never built. That’s the way it is in this world.
Even when we finish something, it’s never really finished.
• That’s why houses must be repainted
• Beds have to be made every morning
In fact, of all the people who have ever lived on planet earth, only Jesus could truthfully cry out at the end of his life, "It is finished" (John 19:30).
When God starts to do something, He stays with the job until it is completed.
(3) NO MATTER HOW GREAT THE NEED, GOD’S RESOURCES ARE NEVER INADEQUATE
That’s why you can safely cast all your cares on Him. He not only cares for you, He’s got unlimited power to carry your burdens and to solve your problems.
Illus: A little boy was asked by his father to pick up a heavy rock that was in their way. The boy tried, but couldn’t, and he said, "Daddy, I can’t lift it!" The dad said, "Yes, you can" the boy tried again: "Dad! I can’t lift it!" The father said once again, "Yes, you can." This went on a few more times, and finally, the father put his arm around the boy and said, "Son, you don’t understand. You didn’t use all your resources. You didn’t ask me."
God can pick up the rocks in our life. "Without me," Jesus said, "you can do nothing".
Illus: Let’s suppose that one day you are walking down the street and you are surrounded by the meanest gang in the South East.
As you look at this gang, you see this huge man coming toward you from the other direction.
• Let’s suppose he’s really big—say 35 feet tall
• Let’s say he weighs in at about 1500 pounds, all muscle
One glimpse of his face tells you he is there to help you.
WHAT WILL YOU DO? You will stay as close to him as you can.
That’s why Psalm 23:4 says, "I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;"
If God is walking by your side, you have nothing to fear. The all-powerful God is with us. He exercises His power on our behalf.
Conclusion:
I. THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD
II. THE OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD
III. THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD
