Summary: This message talks about the power of our awesome God.

INTRODUCTION

 When you think of God, what comes to mind? Who is God, what is God? When Barna research group asked this question in studies from 1997-1999 they got the following responses:

1. First of all 95% of those surveyed said they believe in God (1997)

2. Only 68% believe in God when described as the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today. (1999)

3. 11% believe that God represents a state of higher consciousness (1999)

4. 7% believe that God is the total realization of personal human potential (1999)

5. 15% say God is no longer involved in their life (1997)

 I think that from these surveys and others that have been taken, it is obvious that many people, when asked about God, really do not know who or what God really is.

 That leaves us in an interesting position. We are trying to tell people about a God of whom they do not understand. We have to try to get people past all of the false notions about God before we can really reach them.

 I would submit to you that some of us really do not know or understand God.

 Why do I say this, well, if we had a proper understanding of God, our lives would be totally different from what they are, including mine. I cannot help but to go back to Isaiah in Isaiah 6 where when he understood God, he could not wait to serve him. His life was totally changed by the experience.

 How can we get to really know who or what God is? We can take opinion polls, but those will not get us very far.

 What we are going to do together for the next few weeks is we are going to look at the attributes of our awesome God as found in the bible. God has many attributes and as we examine some of them, we will start to get to know who God is.

 There are a number of places that we can start this examination, but over the next three weeks I want us to look at three foundational attributes that our awesome God possesses that make Him God. If you had these three attributes, it would be hard not to consider you a god.

 The attributes I am speaking of are: God’s omnipotence (or God is all-powerful), His omniscience (God is all-knowing) and His omnipresence (God is everywhere). God alone possesses these three attributes in the persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 Today we are going to take a look at Isaiah 40:21-31. In these verses Isaiah is telling the people about the greatness of God. In looking at the greatness of God we will see that our God is omnipotent (or all-powerful)

 Every one of us has a god in our lives, the question is, what or who is it? In Isaiah 40:18, Isaiah, after explaining some of the greatness of God, asks the question, “To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?”

 Today as we look at our all-powerful God, I hope that we can answer Isaiah’s question with “no one!”

SERMON

READ ISAIAH 40:21-22,26,28

God Has power over:

I. THE UNIVERSE V22,26,28

1. God’s power over the universe is exhibited by His position v22

 Many times we ascribe power to someone because of his or her position. Is their office on the 75th floor of the office building? We recognize the power that comes with titles.

 This passage tells us that God sits above the circle of the earth.

 PSALM 11:4 The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven;

 PSALM 103:19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.

 Verse 22 tells us that God sits above it all and that He is so great that He towers over all of creation. This kind of reminds one of the biggest kid on the block. Everyone feared that kid because they knew that the kid could take them out if he wanted to. God is that big kid.

2. The universe is at God’s disposal v22

 We also recognize someone’s power because of the control that they can exercise over something. The CEO of a company has great power to direct the organization the direction they want it to go.

 We also recognize someone’s power by the size of the home that they live in. People put up extremely large houses so that they can impress people with their importance. (500,000 house in Springfield)

 As we look further at verse 22, the passage tells us that He stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. The heavens were made so that God would have a place to dwell. That is a big house!

 God can do whatever He wants with the universe.

 Who else do you know that can boast that kind of power?

3. God created the universe v26,28

 In reading the creation account we fairly hold our breath as we think of the awesome power of a God who could literally speak His universe into existence. “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens...and it was so.” (Genesis 1:14,15) LOOK AT GENESIS 1

 Do you realize that EVERYTHING that man comes up with is made with something that God created? Man does not come up with anything new. When God created the universe, He spoke it into existence. He took nothing and made something. Man cannot do that; we have to use things already created when we “create” something.

 READ VERSES 26,28

 ISA 40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales? Psalm 147:4 says that God named all of the stars!

 Verse 28 tells that God created the universe. Do you know anyone else who can make that claim?

 Romans 1 tells us that God has made Himself evident through the creation and that if we fail to recognize Him we are without excuse.

4. God sustains the universe by His power v26

God holds it all together, think about how fragile everything is. An accident, or a creator? Who do you know that has that kind of power?

God Has power over:

II. EARTHLY RULERS V 23-25

1. God can take everything away from a ruler. READ V23 (Nebuchadnezzar)

 In Daniel 4:19-37 we have Daniel telling king Nebuchadnezzar that God was going to take everything away from him including his sanity until was willing to acknowledge God as supreme.

 We saw God’s power over rulers when He delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. He hardened Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus 9:12.

 READ ROMANS 13 1:2

 World rulers have boasted of their power. The power of their armies. Hitler boasted that the Third Reich would reign for 1000 years. But none have ever held a power equal to that of God.

2. God’s judgments are greater than any earthly ruler v23

 The rulers of the world can do many bad things to people, but ultimately they cannot take your soul, they do not sit in final judgment of you. God is the one who we will ultimately stand before

 ROMANS 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

3. God can replace earthly rulers at His leisure v24

 DANIEL 2:21 "It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding.

 In Daniel 5, we have Daniel telling the Crowned Prince Belshazzar that God was going to rip the Babylonian Kingdom out his hands and give it to the Medes and Persians. This came to pass at the end of chapter 5. God was going to do this because the Crowned Prince would not humble himself before the Lord.

4. There is no one equal to God. V25 (God speaking.)

Who do you that has that kind of power?

God Has power over:

III. ME V27

1. God knows my every move. V27

 PSA 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.

 JER 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."

 PSA 139:13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

 We see in the book of Jonah that Jonah tried to hide from God, but God knew where he was.

 PSA 69:5 O God, it is You who knows my folly, And my wrongs are not hidden from You.

 1CO 4:5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.

2. God will judge me v27

 2CO 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

3. God has the power to change and save me Rom 1:16, 2 Cor 5:17

 ROM 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

 The word for “power” in this passage is the same word that we get dynamite

 God has the power though His gospel to totally rearrange your life and priorities. God will not force this on you, He loves you enough to let you decide which way you want to go.

 2CO 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

 God has the power to deliver you from the bondage of sin (John 8:36)

 God has the power to give you eternal life through His Son Jesus, you can defeat death through Jesus. (Romans 6) (1 Cor 15)

CONCLUSION

 Can you think of anyone who has the power to be able to truly change someone?

 Do you know anyone else who can truly save you from your sins?

 Everyone has some sort of God, the question is, what can their god do for them?

 The awesome God that we serve is the creator, not the creation of man

 He is not made from the hands of man. HE is the one who has complete and total power.

 He is the one that we will stand before when we face judgment. He is the one that we should stand in awe of. There is no one who is greater!

 God’s power is available to me READ Verses 29-31

 God wants you to experience His power in your life.

 We need to realize that we can run but we cannot hide from God. I am not telling you this to scare you, but to serve as a wake up call if you have not given your life to His son Jesus.

 Nothing will change that fact that there is a God in heaven and it is not us, since God is God, He makes the rules for the game. We cannot dictate the terms of salvation to God; He has told us that the way to heaven is through Jesus.

 I want to leave you with this one thought. JOHN 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

 I want you to understand that this all-powerful and mighty God LOVED YOU enough to send His son to die for YOU so that YOU can have eternal life.

 I am going to make the offer, what are you going to do with it? Are you going to keep serving your false gods that will do nothing for you, or are you ready to give your life to God through Jesus? Lets sing!