Can you believe it, God is Omnipotent. Revelation 19:6 & Jeremiah 32:17-18 Today we will complete our look into the OMNI attributes of God.

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1 Can you believe it, God is Omnipotent. Revelation 19:6 & Jeremiah 32:17-18 Today we will complete our look into the OMNI attributes of God. This is the third and final message on the omni attributes. These are a little difficult to grasp because we have nothing to compare them with in our minds. You and I are limited in space, but God is omnipresent. Our knowledge is limited but God is omniscient. We are more aware of our weakness, than our power and God is omnipotent, or all-powerful. The word omnipotent is derived from Latin and means that God s power is infinite and unlimited. He never loses an engine or runs out of gas. The word omnipotent is defined by the biblical word, Almighty, which occurs 345 times in the Bible, and is never used of anyone but God. He alone is Almighty as Psalm 89:8 says, O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee? God has the strength to do all He wills to do. He has all the resources and the ability to work His will in every circumstance in the universe.here s an easy definition to remember: Nothing is too difficult for God. God is able to do everything he needs to do or wants to do. It may be helpful 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 evil. James 1:13 -He cannot change His basic nature. Numbers 23:19 The doctrine of God s omnipotence is assumed everywhere in the Bible. Although the word is not used in our modern translations, it is found in the King James Version of TEXT: Revelation 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. The Apostle John heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and loud peals of thunder shouting out: For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Handel composed his majestic Hallelujah Chorus around this verse. As a little boy I had the opportunity to go to Niagara Falls. If you ve ever been to the Niagara Falls, you ll have an idea of what I experienced. When I got out of the car, I heard a loud, thunderous noise that seemed to be coming from the sky and the earth at the same time. As I walked closer to the falls, I could barely think. My heart was racing within me, my head was pounding, and my ears were ringing. It was deafening and breathtaking. What John experienced was so much greater than that. Job writes of a similar incident in Job 26:12a &14b He divideth the sea with his power; but the thunder of his power who can understand? That s our challenge this morning to attempt to understand and experience the thunder of His power!

2 Implications of Omnipotence. 1. No power or will can ultimately thwart His purposes. No power in the universe can stop God or impede His plans. No natural catastrophes. No airplane crashes. Not fate or luck or chance. Nothing can stop God or impede His plans. Another implication: 2. What God starts, He always finishes. When God starts to do something, He stays with the job until it is completed. There is never a divine engine failure, never a black out or a brown out, or meltdown. Our eternal security rests on the truth of God s omnipotence. 1 Peter 1:5 teaches that we are kept secure by His power, not ours: Who through faith are shielded by God s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. Phil 1:6 reminds us that God won t stop halfway through His work in our lives: Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Nothing is Too Hard for God Choosing a text this morning was difficult because there are so many rich passages that can help us better understand the depth and thunder of God s power. I wanted to find one that both establishes His power and one that will give us practical hope so that we can experience that same power in our lives. In the book of Jeremiah 32: we find more nuggets to treasure regarding Gods power. Let me set the context. The prophet Jeremiah, was commissioned by God to proclaim a very unpopular message that Judah was about to be destroyed by the powerful country of Babylon. That was his job. You can see why people didn t want to have him around. We know from reading the book of Jeremiah that he had a very timid nature and felt very inadequate for the task. At first, he rejoiced when God spoke to him. vs16: When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty. But soon these words of the Almighty and Omnipotent God became a source of pain and suffering for him. He was put in stocks and thrown into a well. He reasoned that it would be better to just keep his mouth shut. Have you ever felt like that? Beginning in chapter 30, Jeremiah looks beyond the impending judgment to Judah s restoration and salvation. God s people will be conquered and then deported to Babylon but they will return 70 years later! God will once again repopulate the united nation. The Almighty, Omnipotent God continuously has demonstrated His power on behalf of His people. When we come to Jer 32, he buys a field. We read that the prophet has been imprisoned again. The king was ticked off because Jeremiah was advocating that they surrender to the Babylonian army. We see in verse 2 that Nebuchadnezzar and his army were right outside the walls of Jerusalem.

3 God tells Jeremiah to buy some property from his cousin, so Jeremiah buys a Lot. In the midst of all this chaos and uncertainty, this is strange thing to do because when you think about it, the entire land was about to be subjected to years of desolation, filled with darkness and despair. And yet, Jeremiah is told that his cousin would come to visit him and try to sell him a chunk of land. God tells the prophet to buy it. Doesn t it seem ridiculous to buy property when the city was about to fall into enemy hands? It would be like purchasing a lot in your hometown that flooded every rainy season, or land that had gasoline tanks, asbestos or PCB s buried under it, and was located right next to the county landfield. To top it all off, when you were growing up, you remember that this chunk of land had a big fence around it, with a sign that read, Keep out! Condemned property! This lot was already in the hands of the enemy and Judah s future was in jeopardy. Faith often seems foolish, doesn t it? Many times it just doesn t make sense. There s often a risk side to it. Noah built an ark when there was no water. Abraham went on a journey without a map. Moses left the treasures of Egypt to wander in the desert. I doubt if Jeremiah s cousin was acting by faith. He was simply taking advantage of the situation. It was a chance to unload his land and get some money before the city fell. You can take money with you into captivity, but you can t take real estate. So Jeremiah has him bring a deed to be signed. God then makes it clear to Jeremiah that the land ultimately would be restored and the deed would once again be valid. He was to then put it in a safety deposit box. After making everything official and notarized, Jeremiah breaks out into prayer and praise and that is the context of Jeremiah 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: Jeremiah knew that God was omnipotent, that He could do anything He wanted. Since He created the heavens and the earth, He can literally do anything. He then recounts some highlights from history in vss that demonstrated God s omnipotence. Jeremiah reminds himself of the power of God who made the heavens and the earth. Nothing is too hard for the One who has done great wonders among mankind, and whose miracles stand embedded in history. Not surprisingly though, Jeremiah begins to have some doubts. He s probably thinking, This is crazy! What did I just do? This makes no sense at all.

4 In verse 27, God answers his prayer and addresses his doubts rather dramatically: Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? With great kindness, God urges Jeremiah to greater faith by taking up the prophet s own statement in verse 17: Nothing is too hard for you and asks it of Jeremiah in the form of a question, Jeremiah, do you really believe what you have just said? Is anything too hard for me? And so as God said to Jeremiah, He also says to us this morning: Is anything too hard for me? Let s boil this down to where we live. Most of us, if we were honest, would admit that God is allpowerful. Our problem is more like Jeremiah s: Do we really believe it? Do we live in light of His power? Do we experience His power on a daily basis? I want to take the rest of our time this morning to help you see the doctrine of God s omnipotence in your own life: NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR GOD. DO YOU BELIEVE IT? God gives us; 1. Power for Witnessing. The mighty power that is available to believers when they are called to witness and share the gospel with those who do not yet know Christ. Acts 1:8 says, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. We are witnesses, who have been infused with Holy Spirit power, for the task of communicating the gospel in our community, our county, our state, our country, and on the continents. Friends, God equips us for the task & He gives us His power. Have you been accessing this power in your life? Have you been mixing it up with non-christians for the express purpose of sharing Christ with them? Or do you sometimes think that some people are too hard and too set in their ways to come to Christ. NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR GOD. DO YOU BELIEVE IT? God also gives us; 2. Power for Living. We need power for witnessing and we need power for living. Many of us have settled for a mediocre Christian life. We ve fooled ourselves into thinking that we can never change. We say things like, That s just how I am. I just have a bad temper. I can t help myself. Take me or leave me. Many of us give lip service to God but live our lives in our own strength. We operate in our own energy probably 80% of the time. That s not the way God intends for us to live. Listen to these strong words from Paul s prayer in Ephesians 1:18-20: I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms.

5 Can I ask you some questions? Do you experience that same power that raised Jesus from the dead in your life? Do you access this power in your marriage, or do you believe that it can t get any better? Are you convinced that your kids will never change? Do you assume that your parents will never understand you? Have you lost hope that your finances will ever stabilize? Do you need to trust omnipotent God with a physical problem? Remember, with God, all things are possible. Remember, you don t need to necessarily have great faith in God, but rather faith in a great God who is omnipotent. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that we have been given a spirit of power and 2 Peter 1: 3 reminds us that His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness Let me say this strongly: The normal Christian life is to be characterized by us using His power for living. It s normal to experience and tap into God s power on a daily basis. Conversely, it is abnormal to not access His power. Here s the good news. You don t have to be strong to get this power. In fact, you need to be weak. 2 Cor 12:9 is written to people like you and me: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ s power my rest on me. Are you a candidate for God s power this morning? All you need to do is admit that you re weak and needy. When you do, God s power will come flooding into your life. When we get out of the way, and let God have control, His power will flow! NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR GOD. DO YOU BELIEVE IT? God also gives us; 3. Power for Salvation. I d like to address my comments right now to those of you who are not yet believers in Christ. Some of you are still checking out Christianity. That s good. I hope you continue your search. I want you to know this morning that according to Gods Word, your life can be radically changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Romans 1:16 refers to the gospel as the power of God. This word power is from the Greek word dunamis, from which we get our word, dynamite. The Gospel is the dynamite of God. It can blow away sin and bad habits. It can knock off those hard edges. It can burst through a hard heart. Are you ready to have that kind of power this morning? You see, you can t really experience the power of God in your life until you first respond to the power of the gospel. You don t have the power to change yourself and the good news is that you don t have to clean up your act before coming to Christ. Put your faith in Christ and He ll unleash His cleansing power in your life.

6 NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR GOD. DO YOU BELIEVE IT? In closing I want to challenge each person here to day to** Get Connected to God s Power. Ill: I heard the story that just before WWII in a small town in Texas, a school fire took the lives of over 200 children. When the war ended, the town began to expand and eventually built a brand new school, which featured the finest sprinkler system in the world. Civic pride ran high. Honor students were selected to guide visitors on tours of the new facilities, pointing out the most advanced sprinkler system ever developed. Never again would this small town experience another such tragedy. Well, the town continued to grow, and seven years later, it was necessary to put an addition on the school. When they added the new wing, they discovered that the sprinkler system had never been connected! What a tragedy it would have been to have had another fire and not be connected to the sprinkler system. What a tragedy it is when we fail to hook up to the power of God available to us. It s a double tragedy when we consider that all we need to do to get this power is to surrender to Christ. What kind of power do you need today? Do you need witnessing power? Do you need power for living? Do you need power for salvation? I m going to ask you who read this sermon to answer the questions. Is there some area in your life where you need God s Omnipotent power operating? If so, BY FAITH, ask Him for it now. We would love to hear from you occasionally via to see if these sermon notes are helping you. Pastor Bill.