What We Believe and Why We Believe It
Concerning God: Part 2
A Four Part Sermon Series on the Nature of God
by Alan Walker
Church of Christ, Springfield, OR
God holds by the power of His very being the molecules together that make up the universe, that make up the earth, that even make up your body. He holds everything together, in the right balance, in the right measure.
The story is told about a young child who had not been around Church much. This Sunday was a special youth Sunday, so the children were participating more than usual. The child was called upon to lead the congregation in prayer as worship began. You can only imagine the surprised look on the faces of the people, and hear the slight chuckles as the child prayed to the Lord, "Dear Andy in heaven..."
After the amen, the preacher asked the youngster why the reference to God, as "Andy".
The child, quick to answer, simply could not believe the preacher didn't already know the answer. "Why, that's his name, preacher, Andy!"
The preacher, realizing the child was confused suggested to the youngster perhaps "ABBA," was the word.
Of course the child, now unsure where the preacher had received his theological degree, said, "Preacher, I didn't mean Abba, I meant Andy..."
The preacher realizing he was losing ground, finally asked the young person, how he knew God's name was "Andy."
The youngster said,"Well, that's simple preacher, we sing about it all the time here at Church....Andy walks with me, Andy talks with me...."
I wish I could do the impossible. I wish I could describe God. I wish I was a talented artist, and with a brush, could paint on canvas God. I wish I were a writer, and with pen and paper, could describe God for you! I wish I were a mathematician and could develop a formula to explain God. I wish I were a scientist, I would attempt to put God under a microscope for you.
God is not easily described! But that doesn't mean God cannot be understood. God cannot be explained as easily as he can be experienced.
God cannot be painted, but he can be portrayed. God cannot be put under a microscope, but with the lenses of scripture, we can get a glimpse of God.
While He cannot be painted this does not mean we cannot love Him, feel full of Him, become as acquainted as we possibly can with Him. It doesn't mean we cannot serve him with our whole heart, our entire being, all of our strength, all of our mind, our entire personality!
While the challenge is almost insurmountable to understand all God is... we can know Him! We can abide in Him. We are His. He knows us.
This is the second sermon in the series: What We Believe and Why We Believe it Concerning God.
Review briefly with Me. We shared together in the first message these three attributes of God. If you missed the message, I'm sure it was recorded.
1. God is One - Deuteronomy 6:4
2. God is a three-fold personality
3. God is Spirit.
In this message, let me share three more thoughts about God.
I. God Is Omniscient.
This is a great big theological term meaning God knows everything. There is nothing God does not know.
There is nothing about life He does not know. There is nothing about you he does not know. (Scarey, huh?) There is nothing about life He does not know. There is nothing you would like to keep a secret that God does not know.
Isaiah 40:13f - "Who would counsel God?"
Paul closes the Roman letter by saying, "The only wise God." (Romans 16:27)
Creation shows us the knowledge of God. Prophecy in the scriptures shows us the knowledge of God
He knows everything. He knows your dreams. He knows what causes a smile to tug at the corner of your mouth, and what brings a drop of moisture to the corner of your eye. He know what excites you and what depresses you. He knows what you are living with right now.
Did you hear about the little boy whose parents were atheists? One day he asked them, "Do you suppose God knows we don't believe in Him?"
Matthew 6: 25-27 - Tucked away in this passage is a simple truth... God knows their needs. Since He knows their needs, it stands to reason... That He knows ours as well!
Have questions? Ask God.
Can't figure out life? Talk with God. God is Omniscient!
II. God is Omnipotent.
This is a great big theological word simply meaning God is all-powerful. But, then, we already knew that, didn't we? We've experienced His power in our lives. Only God could have caused the changes that have taken place in our lives. Only God could have helped up overcome some of the obstacles we've faced. Only God and His power could have made us what we are today.
God is all-powerful.
Genesis 1:1-3 - God created. The Hebrew word means He created everything from nothing that existed. Folks, that is power!
God said let there be light and there was light . That's power! God said let there be a sky and there was a sky. Power! God said let there be dry ground and there was dry ground. Power!
Hebrews 1:3 - He made purification for sins more than merely a dream. Power!
Genesis 17:1 - "I am God almighty."
God holds by the power of His very being the molecules together that make up the universe, that make up the earth, that even make up your body. He holds everything together, in the right balance, in the right measure.
The greatest evidence of His power is what He has done and what He is doing in the lives of people today.
Jim was a divorced man. He lost custody of his children. He was a heavy drinker, smoker, a worldly man. Today he's a successful executive, a great dad, a good husband, and teaches and preaches as time allows. That's the power of God unleased!
A 3 pack a day smoker, a week-end alcoholic, married 3 times, with 3 families. No time for the Lord. God's power was unleashed on him, and he surrendered to Jesus. His life was forever changed!
The same story can be told of those who are young, older, middle aged. Those who were happily married, and those close to calling it quits, when the power of God was unleashed in their lives, they were changed. In many ways this is your story.
The God who created the air we breath is the only one who can use His power to change us, mold us, make us what He wants us to be.
Bystanders spotted the nine-year-old boy in the swollen river. He was struggling with all his might to stay afloat in the raging torrent. He did not have the strength to swim to shore, though it was only ten yards away. Rescuers jumped in and pulled him to safety. The boy, exhausted and bedraggled, lay panting on the riverbank. After he caught his breath, someone asked, "Did you fall in?" "No," he said. "I just wanted to see how strong the current was. I sure found out!"
III. God is Omnipresent.
Another big word. It means God is everywhere at once. God is everywhere present and there is no place at any one time he is not! How does He do it? He is God!
How do we describe it....
"Begin where we will, God is there first." - A. W. Tozer
"God is above, presiding; beneath, sustaining; within, filling." - Hildebert of Lavardin (1056-1133)
"God is an infinite circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere." - Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
"God is over all things, under all things, outside all, within, but not enclosed, without, but not excluded, above, but not raised up, below, but not depressed, wholly above, presiding, wholly without, embracing, wholly within, filling." - Hildebert of Lavardin (1056-1133)
God is where he was.
"God, surrounding all things, is himself not surrounded." - Philo Judaeus (30 B.C.-40 A.D.)
"God, whose center is everywhere and his circumference nowhere, cannot be fitted into a diagram." - Empedocles (C. 494-C. 430 B.C.)
Consider the following passages:
1 Kings 8:27
"But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built." (NIV)
Jer 23:23-24
"Am I a God who is only in one place and cannot see what they are doing? Can anyone hide from me? Am I not everywhere in all of heaven and earth?" (TLB)
Psalms 139-1-10 (read)
When Jonah ran, God was there. When Elijah ran from Jezebel, he found God in the form a still small voice. When David sinned, God was there. Moses found him in a burning bush in a desert. Abraham found him in three messengers who told him he would be a father. Joseph found him in Egypt. Joseph, the fiancee of Mary, found him in a dream of an angel. On the isle of Patmos, John was blessed to know God was there. In a Roman prison, Paul rejoiced God was with him.
God is everywhere at once, and there is never at any time, any place God is not!
One person said this: "If you don't feel close to God, guess who moved?"
God has no latch key children. God has no agenda that keeps Him away from us. God is always there, always here, always will be.
A small child attended church with his parents. When he knelt to say his prayers before going to bed that evening, he prayed: "Dear Lord, we had such a good time at church today. I wish You could have been there, too!"
IV. Personal Application
What does it all mean?
God's omniscience means He knows more than Bo. He knows us. He knows all about us. He knows even more than we know about ourselves! Because He is an all-knowing God, because there is nothing He does not know, we can go to Him in prayer for answers. We can trust His book.
God is all-knowing... I hope we want to know the all-knowing God.
God's omnipotence means He has to power to create not only the universe, but Christ in me. He has the power to use me in His Kingdom. The power to transform this vessel into one He can use. He has the power to see me through the doorway of this life into the next. He has the power to keep his promises.
The God who holds it all together, allow Him to use His power to hold your world together.
God's Omnipresence means there is never a time when we are alone or on our own. God is always beside us. The Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm, The Vine of John 15, the one who carries us of the poem, "Footprints"...is always with us.
In the dark, the night, the valley, the disease, the reversal, the disappointment, through the aging process, all the way into the light of eternity, He is there!
How does He do it? He's God. Our Father. Our Creator.
Know Him... Serve Him... Love Him... Seek to fully understand Him!
Alan Walker is editor of The Preacher's Corner and Minister of Evangelism at the Mt. Vernon Church of Christ in Springfield, OR. He may be reached at adwalker@pond.net.