Absolute Power - Part 2

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I'd like for you to turn as we begin this evening, as we continue our study of the attributes of God and particularly His omnipotence; I'd like for you to turn to Romans chapter 1. In Romans chapter 1, Paul does something very interesting, in verse 20 he says, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible attributes" and then he defines those invisible attributes in two ways. His divine nature which encompasses all of those attributes and then he identifies one attribute His eternal power. You see Paul identifies in Romans 1:20 the one attribute that creation most clearly illustrates. When you look around you at all that God has made what you see most obviously and clearly is God's absolute unrestrained power.

You can see it just about anywhere you look but for our consideration this evening let me come to the greatest source of power in the Milky Way Galaxy. What do you think that would be? The greatest source of power in our galaxy; it's our sun. Our sun is a star, a huge ball that is 99.8% of the mass of the Milky Way Galaxy. The sun has a diameter of 865,000 miles. A diameter of 865,000 miles or 109 times that of the earth. Let me just give you a way to put it in perspective. There's the sun and you see that small little ball down in the corner that is the earth in comparative size to our sun. The sun consists of 75% hydrogen and 25% helium and more than 70 elements make up the remaining 1-2%. So it's primarily hydrogen and helium the gases together. They estimate, and obviously it's just an estimate, of the temperature of the core of the sun as 27 million degrees Fahrenheit but at the surface it's a cool 10,000 degrees. It's an average of 93 million miles from earth. But sunlight traveling to fall on your garden every morning, traveling at a 186,000 miles a second, sunlight from the sun takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds to get to your yard. Its heat and its light is the product of a constant nuclear reaction between the hydrogen atoms at its core in effect a constant hydrogen bomb or a number of them as we know them. That's what generates the heat and light that we witness. And it's there every day, 365 days a year now for at least 6000 years and maybe as much as 10,000 years depending on how you take the genealogies of Genesis. That's power. But remember our sun is merely the closest star in our galaxy. And that's the power that God is exercising every moment. And scientists estimate again that there are and I have to look at this number because I can't get it right without it, our sun is only one of an estimated ten billion trillion stars. The most powerful thing in our galaxy.

That's power, and it was all created and it is all sustained by one being; the God of the Bible. But in spite of the fact that creation including our sun displays the power of God creating the entire universe did not tax His power at all. He merely spoke it into existence. Psalm 33:2 says God just spoke and everything was. As I illustrated for you last week it's as if God used in creating everything you and I see the same amount of power that you and I use merely to speak. He spoke it into existence. There is infinitely more power in God than is expressed in all His works.

You remember I mentioned to you last week Job 26:14, where Job calls the universe and everything in it merely the outer fringes of God's works a faint whisper. So he says who can understand the thunder of His power. If everything we see around us is like a whisper of God's power who could imagine what the thunder would be like. Habakkuk chapter 3, turn there for a moment, because Habakkuk the prophet sets this into stark contrast for us. Habakkuk 3, the prophet describes God coming to Sinai and to the people of Israel as they've exited from Egypt in the first 3 verses and in verse 4 he describes it, "His radiance is like the sunlight; and He has rays flashing from His hand," then he goes on Habakkuk does, in the rest of the chapter, to describe God shattering the mountains verse 6, and disintegrating the ancient hills; crushing the hills as if they were just dust under His feet. And you go through the rest of this chapter there's some amazing images of the power of God. And Habakkuk says that seems at first as if it's an impressive display of God's power, but it's not really; look back at verse 4 again. Really in all these things he says at the end of the verse, "there is the hiding of His power." What does that mean? In these great and mighty displays that are God crushing the mountains and shattering the hills, there is the hiding of His power. A W Pink puts it this way in his book about the attributes of God, he says, "So inconceivable, so immense, so uncontrollable is the power of deity that the fearful convulsions which He works in nature conceal more than they reveal His infinite might."

You're watching on the news as I am if you have any relatives in Florida this storm that marching across the Caribbean moving toward somewhere on the Gulf coast. A category 5 hurricane, power that's unimaginable. If you want to know I had the opportunity I guess would be the word, when I was growing up in Mobile to sit through the fringes of hurricane Camille, and we sat in our house as the place just absolutely rattled and my father thought at any moment the roof would go, and we were a long way from the eye. Habakkuk the prophet says, when you look at that kind of power there's more hidden of God's power in that than there is revealed. What an amazing statement about the great power of God.

We're talking about God's omnipotence. When we talk about that, it comes from the Latin word omni which means all and potence which means power. There are two aspects if you will, of God's omnipotence we looked at the one last week and that is God's sovereign will. God has the freedom of will to decide whatever He wants. It's His power to choose or decide. God is not limited in the exercise of His will. But there's a second aspect of it and it's the one we come to tonight and that is absolute power, absolute power. It's God's omnipotence in the technical sense. When we use that word this is really what we're describing. Its power to execute His will. He can choose whatever He wants and His power is the ability to execute it. It describes how much and which power God has. It is God's power not to choose, but His power to do.

Two weeks ago we looked at God's sovereign will and tonight I want us to look at His absolute power. Spurgeon puts it this way, "God's power is like Himself; self-existent, self-sustained. The mightiest of men cannot add so much as a shadow of increased power to the omnipotent One. He sits on no buttressed throne and He leans on no assisting arm. His court is not maintained by His courtiers, nor does it borrow its splendor from His creatures. He is Himself the great central source and originator of all power." Not a creature in the entire universe has an atom of power that God doesn't delegate.

Now, let's look at what when we talk about God's absolute power or in a technical sense His omnipotence what do we mean? Let me give you some definitions. Stephen Charnock in his classic work on The Existence and Attributes of God, says, "As God's essence is immense not to be confined in place, as it is eternal not to be measured in time, so it is almighty not to be limited in regard of action." God can do whatever God chooses to do. Raymond in his Systematic Theology says, "God can do and does all His Holy will." The simplest perhaps is simply that God is all powerful. It comes from two words one in the Old Testament, El Shaddai, Genesis 17:1, God announces himself to Abraham by this title, He says I am God Almighty. I've made some promises to you Abraham, some amazing promises to you and I want you to know I have the power to execute it. I am God Almighty. In the New Testament the Greek word is Pantocrator. It's used in Revelation 19:6. Where John the Apostle writes, "I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns." All powerful.

Now what do we mean when we say God is all powerful? Let's step back and look at what the scripture says at the biblical propositions. The first one I want to highlight for you is this; God has the power to do everything He's determined to do. The power to do everything He's determined to do. And we're just going to run through these references we're going to get to the many applications of God's power to our lives as shortly as we can. Job 23:13, "He is unique and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does." Psalm 115:3, "our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases." Psalm 135:6, "Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, and in the seas and in all the deeps." In other words, there's nowhere where God doesn't exercise His power and do what He chooses to do. We see it in Isaiah 14:24-27, "The Lord of hosts has sworn saying, "Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand." "For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His outstretched hand, who can turn it back?" God couldn't say it any more clearly than that could He? I have the power to do whatever I have determined to do. Daniel 4:35, Nebuchadnezzar learned this powerful lesson. "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will and the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'" Listen when God chooses to do something absolutely nothing can thwart His purpose. He has the power to execute everything He decides to do.

But there's another biblical proposition that explains God's power not only does He have the power to do everything He's decided to do, but God has the power to do everything, all things. Genesis 18:14, I believe a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ to Abraham and Sarah says, "Is anything too difficult for Yahweh?" Numbers 11:23, "The Lord said to Moses, "Is the Lord's power limited?" Does it have any bounds? "Now you will see whether My word will come true for you or not." Job 42:2, "I know that You can do all things" Job says "and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted." Scripture could not be any clearer about the power of our God. The same thing is in Jeremiah 32:17, "Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You." Jeremiah 32, later in the same chapter, "The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?" God wants us to get the point that He can do not only what He's determined to do, but He can do all things. Matthew 19:26, "Looking at them Jesus said, "With people this is impossible," and we'll come back to this verse later and look at it in its context "but with God all things are possible." And then finally Luke 1:37, "For nothing will be impossible with God." You start looking at it in scripture so clear not only can God do everything He's determined to do, but literally there's nothing that God can't do.

One more biblical proposition, God even has the power to do what He chooses not to do. It's an interesting way to look at it. But Matthew 3:9, this is a parallel passage to the one in Luke we looked at this morning. John the Baptist says, listen God could raise up children to Abraham from these stones if He wanted to. He's not going to do it, but if He wanted to He could do it. Jesus said listen do you think My Father couldn't put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? He has the power to free me Christ said. He's not bound by this human court that's trying Me. And Mark 14:36 Christ was saying "Abba Father." Isn't it interesting just as an aside that Christ used this figure, this reference to His Father and we as the adopted children are urged to use it as well; Abba Father. All things are possible for You, remove this cup from Me. In other words, Father, You can work this out where I don't have to take the separation from You. You can do that yet not what I will, but Your will. It was never God's intention to remove that cup, but Christ says it would be possible for Him to do so. So, God has the power to do whatever He determines to do. God has the power to do absolutely everything and God has the power to do even when He chooses not to do.

Now where is that power displayed and I'm not going to spend any time here except just to highlight them for you. Most graphically God's power is displayed in creation. You see it in Isaiah 44, God says I stretched out the heavens by Myself displayed My power. Romans 1:20, we already looked at. In providence, Hebrews 1:3 says "He upholds all things by the word of His power." Miracles, Mark 5:30, there we have the miracle of Christ. Christ perceived that "the power proceeding from Him had gone forth." It's talking about the account of the woman who had the hemorrhage of blood and came up and touched his garment. Christ sensed that the power had gone out of Him, flowed into this woman to heal her. God's power was displayed in the miracles, especially the miracles of Christ. It's displayed in redemption, and finally it's displayed in Christ himself Matthew 28:18, Christ says, "All power is given unto Me." All power and authority.

Now theologians, and again I'm not going to spend a lot of time here but I just want you to think about this for a moment. Theologians break down the power God exhibits into several truisms, let me give them to you. First of all, all power in the universe belongs to God. That's obvious we've already seen that in the text we've looked at. God can do everything and this is mind boggling, God can do everything as easily as He can do anything else. For us some things are a lot harder to do than others. But for God there's nothing too hard for God. There's nothing harder for God than something else. As we saw, God in creating the universe hid more of His power than He displayed. All of His acts are accomplished without effort. Imagine that. We'll look at the reference to that in just a moment. God never expends energy that must be replenished. When you and I give power out of ourselves to whatever limited degree we have it, we need Gatorade, we need something to replenish the energy that we've displaced we need to replenish that strength that power. God never has to replenish His strength. God is never tired. When you think of God resting on the seventh day after creation? Don't think God was tired and needed a break. God does not do all that He can do. Robert Raymond writes, "God does not will to do all that He has the power to do. God has the power for example to rid the world of all evil right now. But for wise and holy reasons determined from all eternity He does not will to do so." So God has the power to do anything He wants to do but He doesn't do all that He can do.

Now when we say that God is all powerful we do need to qualify that in a couple of ways. What God can't do. All powerful does not mean God can do anything. But let me begin this by saying that isn't necessarily a sign of weakness. I had the opportunity recently to go out to the Rangers ballpark here in town and enjoy Rangers game. Imagine for a moment you Ranger fans, this would be like heaven to imagine, but imagine for a moment that there was a player on the Ranger's team who every time he came to bat, he hit a home run, every time he came to the plate he hit a home run. You wouldn't say that he lacks the power to hit singles and doubles. You just wouldn't think to say that. The same thing is true with God. To say that God can't do some things isn't a sign of weakness in God it's really a sign and demonstration of His power.

Briefly what are they? The things God can't do. God cannot act contrary to His nature. God does not have the power if you will to do actions that are contrary to His nature. There's several categories here, first of all actions that contradict His moral attributes. For example lying, Numbers 23:19 says, "God is not a man, that he should lie, or the son of man that He should repent; has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?" Titus 1:2, says, "God doesn't lie." Hebrews 6:18, says "God doesn't lie." James says God can't be tempted. God cannot do that which would contradict His moral character. Now God has some prerogatives that we don't. For example, we're told not to take a life, but God has the prerogative to take life. However, for the most part the morality the Bible prescribes for us is a reflection of God's Holy character. First Peter 1:16 says, "Be holy" why "because I am Holy." What God prescribes for us is a reflection of His character and so God in His moral character cannot do those things that contradict who He is. Other actions contrary to His nature, He can't contradict other divine attributes. For example He can't make a God equal to Himself. That contradicts His self-existence. God cannot do those things by which He abandons His divine attributes. For example could God determine that He would no longer be merciful, or that He would no longer be just? No He can't do that because that contradicts what? What characteristic of God does that contradict? His immutability, God doesn't change. And so He would abandon His attribute of immutability to stop being merciful or to stop being just. God exists as the One unchanging true God, He cannot do anything that would change that reality or Himself or He would cease to be God.

Secondly God can't do those things that are logically contradictory, those things that are logically contradictory. Throughout church history and you've probably read some of this, philosophers have asked questions like this, can God make a round square? Seems pretty silly on the surface doesn't it, but men have exhausted lots of ink on this issue. Can God make a four cornered triangle? Can God make two plus two equal five? The answer is God can't do what's logically contradictory. To do the contradictory, listen to this, is not an expression of power. Lots of humans do it all the time. How much power does it take to make the wrong mathematical answer, without changing it, to be the right answer? It doesn't take any power at all; it takes someone who needs more math education. You see the laws of logic, and at some point will cover this, it's really beautiful how the scripture presents God as a God of logic. The logic that you and I enjoy is a reflection of the divine nature. God is Himself logical. The laws of logic are nothing more than a reflection of the character and mind of God as revealed in the word of God and in human nature. So to do the contradictory goes back to the first one it's contradictory to His nature because God is reasonable, God is logical. Logic reflects the mind and character of God.

God can't do finite actions. For example God can't buy shoes. God can't take medicine. Or a philosopher's favorite; can God make a stone so heavy that He can't lift it? I won't ask how many of you have spent hours perhaps days thinking about that. Can God make a stone so heavy that He can't lift it? Now at first that seems to be contradictory, go back to the previous point. But it's really not, it's a finite problem. I mean you and I can make things that are so heavy we can't lift them. When Jesus was on the earth He might have built a house that with His human strength He couldn't lift. He is capable; God is, of taking human form and doing finite actions like buying shoes, Jesus did this in His humanity. So God's inability to do these things is not a lack of power. It's just these things are finite they don't concern an infinite God. For God to make a stone so heavy you can't lift it, contradicts His character, that is, His omnipotence, He's all powerful so of course He can lift it. And it would be an abandonment of His character. So God can't do finite actions.

God can't change His eternal plan. This is the last thing God can't do. Some asked can God change the past? Have you ever thought about that? If you've thought about that then you've watched Back to the Future one too many times. You like the concept of time travel. When we talked about God remember He stands outside of history looking at it in one great view. God has sovereignly determined the future in the past immutably and to change it would be contrary to His nature which is immutable. So God can't change His great eternal plan. Those are the things God can't do but again those are not a demonstration of the lack of God's power, like the illustration I began the section with, but a demonstration of God's power.

Now with that background let's talk about the practical realities of God's power and its ramifications its application to us. What does it mean that God can do whatever God chooses to do in fact He can do everything that is consistent with His character? What does it mean? Well first of all and most profoundly it means that we should fear God, we should fear God. Turn to Job 37, Elihu, the only one of Job's friends that God does not condemn, as he finishes chapter 37 which is a tremendous picture of God back of the storm, in fact as you think about the hurricane that's now down off the coast, realize that a hurricane is nothing more than a large group of thunderstorms together, read this passage because Elihu describes the power of God in the storm. But notice then he comes to verse 23 and as he's gone through this whole issue of God in the storm, he says, "The Almighty-we cannot find Him; He is exalted in power and He will not do violence to justice and abundant righteousness. " He says listen, God has power you cannot even imagine He is Almighty, all powerful. Verse 24, "Therefore men fear Him;" It is reasonable to fear a God like this. Listen to what A W Pink says, "Well may all tremble before such a God, to treat with disrespect One who can crush us more easily than we can a moth, is a suicidal policy. To openly defy Him who is clothed with omnipotence who can rend in pieces or cast into hell any moment He pleases, is the very height of insanity. To put it on its lowest ground it is but the part of wisdom to heed His command, kiss the Son lest He be angry and you perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little." Listen if you and I could ever get a grip on the true power of God as it's revealed in scripture, we would never have a problem fearing God.

Bringing it down to its most obvious form, Christ, in Luke 12:5 says listen don't fear those who can kill your body "but fear the One who, after He takes your life can pass your body and soul into hell." Fear someone like that. Fear of God who is all powerful. It's interesting in First Peter 5, and I didn't put this verse in here, but in First Peter 5, in fact let's turn there. I want you to see this, First Peter 5, Peter is dealing with the issue of humility, and in verse 6 he says "humble yourselves" but let's go back to verse 5 because he quotes the proverb "for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Literally God, the word opposed, the Greek word implies God take up arms against, it's a military term. God, if you will surrounds to conquer, "He takes up arms against the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves" and how is it that you and I can get a grip on the need to humble ourselves before God? Well if the proverb doesn't do it, this should. "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God." The picture Peter wants us to get is that it's easy to humble ourselves it's easy to fall down in fear before One when we really get a grasp on His great and mighty hand; we get a grasp on the reality of God's power.

Secondly, the power that we're talking about is the very same power at work in us to, that should say, effect our sanctification. Look at Ephesians chapter 1, and this is remarkable go back to verse 19, Paul is praying here he's praying for the Ephesians and he says, I'm praying that you would come to know several things and one of the things I want you to know, verse 19, "what is the surpassing greatness of God's power toward us who believe." He says listen, I want you to understand that while you feel weak and feeble and you are, God is at work in you. And it's not just any amount of power that's being exerted I want you to understand the surpassing greatness of God's power that is available for us who believe. And then he says, it's the same power "in accordance with the working of the strength of His might." You see how he's just exhausting the Greek language for words about strength and power and might. He says it's the same power watch this verse 20, "which He brought about in Christ when He raised him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. And gave Him all dominion," verse 22, "put all things in subjection under His feet." He says listen, you want to know what power is at work in you to affect your change? To make you like Jesus Christ? It's God's omnipotent power. It's the same power He exerted in raising the body of Jesus Christ from the dead. It's the same power He exerted when He seated Him at His right hand. It's the same power God exerted when He put everything in the universe under the control of Jesus Christ. You know it's sad how we sort of drag ourselves about like Christian Eeyore's because we can't get over some little issue in our lives, some little sin has us down on the ground with its knee on our chest and we act as if we'll never survive, we'll never be able to obey God. Listen the power that is at work within you is the very power of God Himself.

Paul makes the same point in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 10, he says "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might." That's how you can defeat Satan, that's how you can put on the armor it's in God's might. We've looked in Philippians, at Philippian chapter 1 verse 6 he says "God is the one who began a good work in you and He's the one who's working and He's the one who'll perfect it." It's God's power chapter 2 verse 13, "God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." It's the same God who created the universe; it's the same God who sustains our sun as we began talking about earlier tonight. It's the same God who raised Jesus Christ; it's the same God who will destroy His enemies in the end that is at work in you to make you like Jesus Christ. It's not that someday that power might be available to you; it's that God is at work right now in that power within you; will you believe Him? Will you set out to obey Him in refusing those sinful habits that are a part of your life?

Let's move on you can look at these other references in your leisure. God will accomplish because of His power all that He has promised regardless of how unlikely it may look to us. I love this turn to Genesis 18. I've just gone through this recently with my family in our morning time together. My girls were shocked at Sarah laughing at Jesus Christ as He tells them what He's going to do. But I want you to see the context here. The Lord, verse 1 chapter 18 of Genesis, "Now the Lord appeared to Abram by the oaks of Mamre, where he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of day." Three men come, two of them are angelic beings, one of them is I believe a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. So verse 6 Abraham says okay Sarah let's get some food ready, we have some very special guests. That happens and then they said to him verse 9, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "In the tent." he said, listen, verse 10, "I will surely return to you, at this time next year, and behold Sarah your wife will have a son." And Sarah was listening at the door of the tent, shame on her. "which was behind him. "Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbirth."

You know, I love the understatement of scripture, listen you know how old Abraham is at this point? He's 99; you know how old Sarah is? She's 90 years old. Yeah I'd say past childbearing age would be an accurate description. So she hears this verse 12, "Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I've become old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh?" What a revelation about God's awareness. She laughed to herself, but Christ sitting outside the tent knowing all things heard it. Why did she laugh? "Shall I indeed bear a child, when I am old?" That's what she said. Here's what Christ said to Abraham, "Is anything too difficult for Yahweh? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son." Listen God had promised that 25 years before when he was 75, 74 and God didn't do it. And He waited and He waited and to Abraham and Sarah it looked impossible. But God promised and listen, God's power insures that whatever He's promised He will perform. I love that. God has made us some precious promises in the word of God. And God's power absolutely guarantees that He will bring those to pass. Has He spoken and shall He not make it good.

God's power and the reality of that means that nothing can happen to us that God does not permit. Psalm 27:1 says, "The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid?" Listen if God's power is the power that guards you, that protects you, that means nothing can happen to you that God doesn't permit. Why should you be afraid? You struggle with fear? Fear about what may happen if you lose a job, fear about what may happen if you lose a mate, lose a child? Fear about what may happen if the storm hits where you live? Fear about another airline moving out of Dallas? You don't need to be afraid, the Lord the all-powerful One is the strength of our lives. I love Psalm 91, let's turn there. I pointed this out to you before but it's just such a favorite I cannot skip it. Psalm 91, the psalmist writes, verse 1, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty." We abide under the shadow of the Almighty One. The word almighty is the word El Shaddai. You see the image of Psalm 91, if you just glanced down through Psalm 91; you get the idea that the world is filled with danger. Verse 3, you have the snare of the trapper and deadly pestilence. Verse 5, you have the terror by night, the arrow that flies by day, the pestilence that stalks in darkness, the destruction that lays waste at noon. You have in verses 11-13, even the creation itself the danger of tripping and falling and hurting, of the lion and the cobra and the young lion and the serpent. The world is filled with danger but we abide under the shadow of the Almighty. What's the picture there?

In the ancient world, the safest place was always the highest place. It's before the age of airplanes where now the safest place is sometimes miles underground. But in the ancient world the safest place was always as high as you could get because that was always the place from which you could defend. So with that mindset Moses says God is the permanent immovable high place of refuge. You see in the ancient world nothing could be more comforting than to know that you lived in the shadow of a great mountain to which you could always run for safety. You lived in the shadow a mountain where if you saw the enemy coming on the plain you and your family could go to the top and be safe you could be protected. Well you and I don't live in the shadow of a mountain we live in the shadow of the Almighty One, the all-powerful One. Nothing can happen to us that God does not permit. He is our protector.

What are some other ramifications as we finish this evening? God's power guarantees our eternal salvation. Look at First Peter chapter 1 verse 5, let's start back in verse 3, Peter writes, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you." You might be thinking well all that sounds great I mean that sounds like a wonderful future that God is prepared but I'm weak and feeble and I'm so prone to temptation and sin and all those things. Well notice the next verse, it's reserved in heaven for you because you "are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." In other words listen, you can anticipate that all of those things will come to pass, that you will be delivered ultimately from the wrath of God in the time to come, and protected for ages to come because of God's power. Really this is another way to express what Christ expressed in John 10 when He said listen, nobody can snatch you out of My hand. I have you in the palm of My hand, and I and My Father and Our power are able to hold you. God's omnipotence is at stake in your salvation. He has promised and He will not let a single one of His own be lost; kept by the power of God. What an amazing encouragement. You and I are so weak, we're so prone to failure, but as Paul says in Romans 8, those whom He called, He justified and those whom He justified will ultimately be glorified.

The reality of God's power underscores the terror of coming judgment. Psalm 24:8 says, "Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle," that's an interesting image and it's often used of God, God as a warrior, the Almighty God as a warrior. Joel 1:15 talks about the coming day of the Lord when God destroys His enemies, and Joel writes, "Alas for that day! For the day of the Lord is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty." The All-Powerful One. What a terrifying thought.

You know it's not surprising that the word Almighty is used very frequently in Revelation. We won't look at all those references but let's look at two of them. Turn with me to Revelation chapter 11 verse 17. The scene of course is in heaven verse 15, "the seventh angel sounded; there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." Those immortal words further memorialized by Handel and his Messiah. "And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God." These are the saints, they represent the saints; us. We fall on our face before God and we worship Him, saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. And the nations were in enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name." Listen there's a very fearful time coming when God displays in a way that we have never seen His power and it will be to destroy those who have declared themselves to be His enemies. What a terrifying thought it is to think of the God who has hidden more power in everything we see than He's revealed, to unleash that power against His enemies.

God's power controls and uses all of life's events and circumstances for our good. We come to a very familiar text we don't even need to turn there. But let me just remind you of it, God, Romans 8:28 says, "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and who are the called according to His purpose." That's every Christian. God causes all things; there is absolutely nothing excluded from that that includes your holy decisions, it includes your wise decisions, it includes your unwise decisions, it even includes your sins. While God is not excusing you for making those choices He can take all of that and in a way I cannot fully comprehend or explain to you, God can weave together His sovereign purposes even with your decisions to accomplish good in your life. And how does He do that? He does it through His great power.

God's power is available to provide strength for our trials. Isaiah 40, just a couple more I want you to see. Isaiah 40, Israel finds them self in great difficulty, and Isaiah says in verse 27 of chapter 40, "Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord," God doesn't see "and the justice do me escapes the notice of my God?" Where is God? I'm going through this difficulty, where is God? Verse 28, "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired." In fact verse 29, "He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, but those who wait for the Lord" that is who wait for God to act "will gain new strength." Literally the Hebrew text says will exchange their strength. In other words those who wait for God to act who've done everything they're required to do who have obeyed God, but now they find themselves in circumstances and trials beyond their control and you simply wait for God to act. And God says to those who wait they will exchange their strength. In other words, I take their feeble strength and I give them mine.

God's power for trials, we won't turn there but Second Corinthians 12:9, you remember is that verse where Paul says, I wanted God to take the thorn in my flesh away but I learned that God's grace is sufficient and that His power is perfected in what? Weakness. God's power is perfected in the weakness of your trials and the difficulties you go through. God has the power to remove our trials but He often chooses not to exercise that power, instead He chooses to give us the power to endure the trial.

The reality of God's power should motivate us to evangelism. I'm out of time so we won't turn here but let me just tell you in Matthew 25 and 26, you remember that the rich young ruler has come to Christ and he leaves sorrowing because he had much wealth, you remember the story? And Christ says it's hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God and the disciples immediately are thrown into turmoil. And they say, well, who then can be saved? And Christ says this is impossible with man but with God all things are possible. Listen understanding God's power should make us eager to share the gospel. Because it's not us, it's not you, it's not your great arguments, it's not your great presentation it's not your answering of their concerns; while all of those things are important in the end it's none of those things. Paul says in Romans 1:16 that the gospel is the power of God to salvation. All you have to do is to share the good news. It has the power of God, the Holy Spirit using it and His power to affect hearts and lives knowing God's power should make us eager to share the truth.

And then finally it guarantees God's eternal plan will be fulfilled. Turn one last time to Isaiah and we'll be done, Isaiah 14:27. God talking about His judgment on Assyria makes a profound point. He says, "For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His out-stretched hand," God doesn't have a hand. Remember this is an anthropomorphic expression it's saying when God acts "who can turn it back?" Listen what an amazing reality, God chose how the story would be written before it was ever begun and He has the power to finish it exactly the way He said it would end. What a great God we serve. May God help us to fear Him to love Him and to follow Him. Let's pray together.

Father thank You for who You are. Thank You that Your power is not limited by anything except Your own character. We can't even conceive what that is like and yet we're grateful that You are our Father and that we can call out to You through all of life's troubles and difficulties and into the eternity that awaits us and we can rest ourselves in the shadow of You the Almighty. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.