KNOWING GOD - #4
He is Able
Various Scriptures
Introduction
I’ve got a good feeling about this message today. I’ve been looking forward to this all week.
As you know, we have been looking at the attributes or character qualities of God. We have looked at His love, His glory, His compassion, mercy, and His forgiveness.
This morning we are going to look at the fact that He is able. Able to do anything. But we will look at 6 things in particular.
My purpose this morning is to give you a glimpse of our all-powerful God, and my prayer is that you will leave here today excited, possibly more excited than ever before about our awesome God.
I hope you will pick up my sense of excitement as we get through the message. And I hope it is an encouragement to you, no matter what you might be going through today.
I need to give credit for something real quick here. The outline we are using is not mine. I got this from Dr. Earle C. Wilson, one of the General Superintendents of the Wesleyan Church.
At the Pastors and Wives conference a couple weeks ago, he spoke on how to improve our preaching (no amens, now, okay?), and he offered this outline for us to use someday.
The message is mine, but the outline is his.
And it fit just beautifully with what we were covering, so I am using it today.
So, because we have a lot of ground to cover, I want to get right into our outline, and I would like you to turn in your Bibles to Hebrews 7:25, which is on page 849 of the Bibles in the seats.
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
Our first point this morning is that God is able to…
I. Save to the uttermost.
The King James Version uses the term “uttermost” instead of the word “completely,” but you get the idea.
God doesn’t just save us somewhat. He didn’t kinda save us. He doesn’t just save us a little bit. He doesn’t save us halfway. He saves us completely. And that is something to shout about, folks!
We don’t have to walk around wondering if the salvation He offers will get the job done.
The job’s already done, and it’s done completely! There’s nothing we can add, and there’s nothing He can add, because there’s nothing more to add.
Thank God and get excited about that, folks. You can sleep well knowing that your salvation is complete.
And keep in mind who did the saving: God Almighty, Creator of the heavens and earth.
He is able to save you to the uttermost.
And here’s another part of that verse that just blows me away: He always lives to intercede for them.
Now how’s that for awesome. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is up there praying for you and me.
Why do you think He would need to do that? Look around at our world, with all its evil, pain, and suffering, and you’ll see why.
It’s one thing to know someone godly is praying for you, but it’s quite another to have the Lord Jesus praying for you.
In Brookings, there is a lady named Ellene Jensen. She is who we named our youngest daughter after. But everyone just calls her Mrs. J.
Anyway, if she is praying for you, you could just count on it being a done deal. I mean, she has the ear of God like few people have. And just knowing that she is praying for my family and ministry here, and for you as well, is an honor.
But as much as I am honored and comforted by knowing I am on Mrs. J’s prayer list, it can’t compare to being on Jesus’ prayer list, amen?
Thank God for not only the sacrifice of Christ, but the prayers of Christ as well.
He is able to save us to the uttermost.
Next, please turn back a few pages to Hebrews 2:18, which is on page 847.
Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
Our second point this morning is that He is able to…
II. Succor the tempted.
What you mean by that, Preacher?
“Succor” basically means to aid, or help. And as we saw in the verse, He is able to help when we are being tempted.
Two things here:
First, you will be tempted. Make no mistake. In fact, I am willing to bet my new house on the fact that everybody in here has already been tempted to sin in one form or another, and countless times.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says that no temptation has seized you except what is common to man.
You will be tempted. No matter how holy you think you are, no matter how long you have walked with God, no matter how much sin disgusts you and turns your stomach, you will still be tempted.
And if there was no help in those times, this world would be an even sicker mess than it already is.
But here’s the second thing. He is able to help.
He knows what you’re going through, and He will help. But how does He do that?
The second part of 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that even though you are tempted just like anyone else, He will provide a way out of that temptation.
Maybe a billboard is tempting you to think impure thoughts. You pass that billboard everyday on your way to work. His way out might be to give you another route to work.
I don’t know what your temptations are, but I know that He will provide a way out. Because He is able to.
Believe me, folks, He doesn’t want you to sin even more than you don’t want to sin. He will give you the help you need if you really want it.
For our third point, please turn to Jude 24-25. Jude is the last book in the Bible before Revelation, and is found on page 866 of the sanctuary Bibles.
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
From this passage, we see that He is able to…
III. Support from falling.
We just talked about how Jesus prays for us, and how He provides a way out from our temptations.
He is also able to keep us from falling. That is a great comfort to me.
I don’t have to worry about God not being able to keep track of everybody, and maybe letting some people fall through the cracks, keeping us from getting into heaven.
He keeps us from falling. And not just positionally in how we are seen as being saved, but also from walking blindly into a lifestyle that rejects Christ and the grace we have received.
If we walk into that kind of thing, it will be with our eyes wide open.
But Christ can support us from falling. We can rest in that. We can count on that. Because He is able.
This goes back to our first point that Christ saved us completely. He is able to support us from falling because He saves us completely.
We will sin sometimes. Unfortunately, that’s one of the hard parts about being a Christian. We say we want to live for Christ, then we do things we shouldn’t do. Read Romans 7 for a description of the struggle.
But repentance brings forgiveness from God, and He restores us to His fellowship. And there is no distance too far from His forgiveness and restoration.
You may be sitting here wondering if it is possible for God to forgive you because of all the things you have said, done, or thought.
Well, let me assure you from the word of God that it is possible. He wants to do it, and He is able.
Fall into His arms of mercy, and He will save you from falling from Him.
And that’s not all. This verse also says that He is able to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy!
Now isn’t that something! Looking at yourself now, that just doesn’t seem possible, does it?
Jim Downing, a former vice-president for the Navigators say he has this idea of getting to heaven and going to visit God.
“God, I would like to see my file. You know, my record of my life on earth.” And God says, “Well, Jim, if that’s what you want. Come into the file room.”
God goes over to a file cabinet, opens it up and grabs a file. But instead of the name “Jim Downing,” it says, “Jesus Christ.”
“Wait, God, I asked for my file, not Jesus’.”
“Let me take a look.” And he looks in the file cabinet to find that all the files have the name of Jesus Christ.
God then says, “You see, Jim, when you took My Son as your Savior, you inherited His file, and gave up your own.”
“I see you through Him.”
That’s why we can be in His presence without fault. Thank God that the blood of Jesus covers your sins and mine.
For our next point, we turn to Phil. 3:20-21, which is on page 832 of the sanctuary Bibles.
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
This passage shows us that God is able to…
IV. Subdue all things.
Verse 21 especially brings this out when it says that He has the power to bring everything under His control.
I’ve discussed before that God cannot wipe out evil without wiping out all of creation. Yet we also discussed that one great day God will triumph over evil, and all creation will recognize and His supremacy.
He wins, folks, and that’s something you can stake your eternal life on.
And that power is there to transform our lowly bodies so they will be like His glorious body.
How many here are ready for that to happen?
There will be no sickness or disease. No obesity or acne. No dandruff or psoriasis. Nothing keeping us bound by handicap. Nothing but absolute and perfect health, radiating the glory of our Savior.
I’d like to think that everybody will be short, skinny, and bald, but I can’t see that from Scripture, so I won’t promise that.
Some of you are looking at me like that would be a bad thing.
God will subdue all of creation, and He will use that same power to transform us to be like Him physically. I can’t wait. Can you?
Folks, this gives me hope not just for the future, but for the present.
Our old world is doing its level best to do away with the truth of Jesus and His Word. And we see the results of that in all of our war and strife.
But no matter what happens, He will win in the end. No matter what evil comes our way, no matter what we face because of our love for Christ, no matter how we suffer because of our allegiance to Him, we can look forward to that great and glorious day when the name of Jesus will be named above all names and we will be vindicated in the presence of all creation.
Because He is able to subdue all things. And He will. Amen.
Let’s move on to our fifth point. Turn with me to 2 Timothy 1:12. This is on page 843.
Paul is talking about being in chains for preaching the gospel. Let’s pick it up in verse 12.
That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
God is able to…
V. Secure forever.
Paul is about to be executed for His work for Christ. This was his last letter. He knew the time of his death was near.
And yet he expresses hope. Why could he do that? Here’s why:
When you took Jesus Christ as your Savior, He redeemed you. He paid for your soul. And He has possession of it.
Let me tell you something: it’s safe with Him.
We trust Him with our destiny in life. Guess what: it’s safe with Him.
We trust our hearts and minds to Him. Even these are safe with Him.
This verse says that He guards them. Can you imagine that?
One of my favorite shows is the Andy Griffith show. There are a lot of characters in the show, and you are familiar with most, if not all of them.
One of them is an elderly gentleman whose name I can’t recall, but He is the bank guard.
He can barely move at all, and he just sits in a chair in the bank lobby sleeping.
It takes a good bit of work to wake him up, and then it’s generally too late to do any good.
Even Barney Fife would be a drastic improvement.
Let me assure you that Jesus is not like that. He doesn’t sleep on the job, and He is always ready.
Nothing can get by Him. Nothing takes Him by surprise.
One of the comforting things in my life is that no matter what happens to me, He already knew it was going to happen.
He’s not up there going, “Huh? What just happened? I guess I better do something about it.”
No, He’s already there doing something about it. Not always what we think He ought to be doing, but He’s acting.
Philippians says that we are to pray about everything and not be anxious. Because the peace of God guards our hearts and minds.
And they are safe with Him.
Our salvation is secure forever. Don’t get me wrong. I am not preaching an unconditional eternal security.
What I am saying that our salvation is safe in Him. He won’t forget about it. He won’t lose it. He won’t return it at the Customer Service desk of heaven.
It is secure in Him. And if that’s not good enough for you, then you need to rethink where you place your trust.
Lastly, let’s look at Ephesians 3:20-21, which is on page 828.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
In this passage, we see that He is able to…
VI. Surprise.
Here’s what I mean. He is not locked into acting in ways that we can recognize or expect.
Isaiah 55:8-9 says this:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
I love that! God isn’t limited by my imagination, or yours. He’s not limited at all, except that He can’t go against His Word.
If you are looking for God to act on your behalf, give Him a chance to do something you don’t expect.
There’s a phrase in business today that goes like this: think outside the box. Well, that’s what we need to do with our perceptions of how God works.
We expect Him to act one way, and He has perfect freedom and power to act in another. This is a great ability.
Think outside the box, and let Him surprise you.
Conclusion
Here’s the bottom line: God is not some heavenly weakling. He’s not the pseudo-gods of Greek and Roman mythology, who couldn’t even control their emotions and lusts.
He’s the all-powerful God of creation, and nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing is beyond His ability.
And we have that our awesome power on our side as we travel through life.
I wonder if you have noticed something about this message. Normally I use these messages to illustrate how we are to reflect His character.
We can reflect His love in how we treat others, His glory as we look on Him with reverence, His compassion, His mercy, His forgiveness, but we cannot reflect His ability.
Interesting, huh?
Only God is able to do these things.
And His ability is something we can lean on when the times get tough.
Let me mention some things He is able to do.
He is able to meet your needs emotionally. He is able to meet your needs spiritually.
He is able to meet your needs physically.
He is able to meet your needs financially.
He is able to meet you in the darkest moments and draw you into the light.
He is able to meet you in the valley of despair and bring you to the mountain of blessing.
He is able to give you insight into His Scriptures so you can learn to love Him better.
He is able to take you from here to there and back again in safety.
He is able to keep you from the evil one.
He is able to bring us peace in the midst of the storm.
He is able to calm the storm.
He is able to feed the five thousand, and he is able to feed you.
He is able to raise the dead, and He can raise you to glory.
He made the mountains, and He is able to move them for us.
He is able to take care of us from the womb to the tomb and into eternity.
And get this. He is able to offer you the salvation we so desperately need.
And He is able to offer it because He was able to gain for you.
It took His blood. And it’s enough for you, it’s enough for me, and it’s enough for anybody in the world.
Take hold of the salvation He offers to you.
Confess Him as your Lord and Savior, turning from your sins and seeking His forgiveness and the eternal life He wants so badly to give you.
And you will get it.
Because He is able to give it to you.
Shall we pray?
