The Power Of God

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.”