"The Future Rests on God"
Psalm 89:1-8
Attributes of God Series
Sunday, September 23, 2012

Introduction: Do you believe that your life is your own, or do you believe that it is a gift from God? How we answer this question will determine how we receive the attributes of God that I am going to talk about this morning. Many people believe that (and live like) their lives are their own. They might say that they believe in God, but they don’t give ownership of their lives to God. We are told by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “¹⁹Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

            It is clear in the Bible that God has given us life, and by Jesus dying on the cross, has bought back our lives. So the challenge for us today will be whether or not we can give up ownership, and accept God as the merciful, gracious, faithful, sovereign God over our lives.

I.                   God is Merciful- (Matthew 5:7)

a.      The hurt is there- Before I talk about the first attribute, God being

merciful, let me set the stage. In life, we have many encounters with others that can cause us to be hurt, or angry, or disillusioned. In essence, it creates a hole in our hearts. For some, the wound of the heart has been there a long time. For others, it might be a new wound. There are many things that can cause this hurt.

            Maybe a friend borrowed money, and hasn’t returned it, but has since purchased new things. And you are angry. Or, maybe you told a friend a secret, and that friend told someone else. And you are angry. Or, maybe there was a gathering of friends, and you weren’t invited. And you are angry. Maybe a child you have raised doesn’t acknowledge you or love you, as they should. And you are hurt.

            In this anger, in this hurt, part of you is broken, and part of you is bitter. Maybe part of you wants to cry, but another part wants to fight. And through these emotions, resentment starts to bubble up to the surface. As this resentment comes, you wonder if you should put out the fire, or heat it up. Do I get over it, or get even?

            Have you ever experienced any of these emotions? We all have at some point in our lives. The problem is, that if we let resentment reside in us too long, it turns from hurt to hate. This resentment and hate begins to take on a life of its own, until it consumes you. But resentment can never have a positive outcome. Resentment will lead you down a dark path.

            Why? Well, let’s say you get even with the person; let’s say somehow you get back at them. Will you be free at this point? Now be careful how quickly you answer. You might want to answer “yes.” But if you talk to people who sought out revenge, the truth is, it doesn’t take away the bitterness.

Bitterness can only be removed in one way, and God gives us an example of how this can happen: it comes through forgiveness and showing mercy. As we are told in Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” The mercy we receive is in direct proportion with the mercy we give. How can this be? Well, before I answer this question, let’s look at how God has responded to us first.

b.      The mercy of God- Think about your life for a moment. What are

the things that you have done for God? If you were to take some time, I’m sure you could come up with a list of good things you have done in the name of God, or because of your faith in God. But what if you had to list all the things you did wrong? What if you had to list all the times you were selfish? What if you had to list all the times you hurt another? The point is, that your list of wrongs would be far greater than the list of things you have done for God.

EX. There is a story of a man who died and found himself at the gates of heaven. He was told that he would be asked some questions, and that he would receive a certain amount of points for each answer. Then he was told that he would need 100 points at to earn his way into heaven. So the questions began: “What have you done with the life God gave you?” The man stammered for a moment, “Well….I…” Then he thought of something, “I was an elder in my church.” “Good,” said the angel, “that is worth 1 point.” The angel continued, “How have you served others?” The man thought, and then smiled as he remembered some of what he had done: “I volunteered at the Rescue Mission once, and I helped to build a home with Habitat for Humanity. Then there was the time when I volunteered in the youth program for a year.” “Very good,” the angel replied. “That will be worth another point.” ……. At this the man was surprised, and responded: “At this rate, I’ll never be able to get into heaven.” ….The angel looked at the man for a moment, and then said: “That is exactly right. I’m afraid to tell you that you will never be able to get into heaven on your own. However, the good news is that all who believe in Jesus Christ, will receive eternal life.” The man’s expression changed as he shouted out: “Oh, I do believe; I do believe.” And the angel smiled and said, “I know you do. Your name is written in the book of life. Come, enter into heaven for all eternity!”

           We understand God to be a God of mercy. We ask God for mercy on Sunday, but on Monday we cry out for justice against another. When we do not know how to give mercy, then we will not know how to receive mercy. God, through Christ, will give us mercy. But we must humble our hearts to find it. GOD IS MERCIFUL in that He does not count our sins against us when we put our trust in Jesus Christ.

II.                God is Gracious- (John 13:1-8)

A second attribute of God that I want to look at this morning, is God

being GRACIOUS. While mercy is God holding back the punishment we deserve, grace is being generous to us beyond measure. Think for a moment about the disciples; those 12 men who got the opportunity to walk with Jesus. They heard Jesus’ lessons, but the lessons didn’t really sink in. Jesus talked about faith, but when they were in a storm with Jesus, they panicked and accused Jesus of not caring. Jesus talked about caring for others, but then the disciples argued about who was number 1, and who should get to sit at Jesus’ right and left. Jesus talked about feeding the people, but they panicked and told Jesus to tell the people to go and get their own food.

            Jesus was always in a teaching mode, even when He and the disciples were celebrating the Passover meal in the Upper Room. We read from JOHN 13:1-8, “¹It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. ²The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. ³Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. ⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" ⁷Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." ⁸"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." …The disciples had been selfish, they had lacked faith and compassion, they had failed to see what they needed to see. And yet, Jesus comes to them to wash their feet! This is God’s grace. The disciples had done nothing to deserve this act of service bestowed on them. And they knew this to be true. That is why Peter rejects Jesus at first. He knows that he doesn’t deserve Jesus’ act of kindness. But in the end Peter receives it, and Jesus proceeds to wash his feet, and then all of the disciples’ feet; He leaves no one out!

The wonder of this story is that you and I are at the table. It is us who are being cleansed, not from our dirt, but from our sins. The cleansing is not a gesture, it is a necessity. To place our feet in the basin, is to give to God the filthiest parts of our lives. We might want to resist, but we must not. God is a God of GRACE, who wants to cleanse us and heal us and give us life to the full!

III.             God is Faithful- (Deuteronomy 7:9; Revelation 19:11; Luke 15:4;

    Psalm 89:1-8)

a.      Knowing- On top of these 2 attributes, we see a third one: that

God is faithful. As Deuteronomy 7:9 tells us, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God.” In fact, in Revelation 19:11 we get an image of God: “¹¹I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.” Here we have someone who will never let us down; God the faithful one.

            What does this mean? By definition of who God is, not only will God be faithful, He can’t be unfaithful. Every word, every promise can be counted on.

EX. When I was in college I had a good friend named Cliff. Cliff and I would do many things together. We got along great and enjoyed each others’ company. But there came a time when Cliff got busier. We weren’t able to get together as often as before. So we would have to schedule times to be together. One day I saw Cliff at church, and we decided to schedule a time to have lunch together. The day came and off I went to the restaurant. I waited for a while, but Cliff didn’t show up; Cliff didn’t call. The next time I saw Cliff, he said he was sorry, but I’m not sure if it was sincere. He said he wanted to get together again, so we scheduled another time. But when that time came, Cliff didn’t show up again. The next time I saw Cliff he was very apologetic. So we again scheduled a time to get together. This time, however, I scheduled it at the church, where if Cliff didn’t show up, I had other things I could do. And guess what, Cliff didn’t show up again! After that I stopped scheduling times to try and meet with Cliff.

            We have all known people who have been unfaithful to us. But God is not in that category. God is faithful, and will always be faithful. Because of this we don’t have to doubt God, God’s word, or God’s promises to us.

b.      Declaring- Because God is faithful, we can know that when God

gives us a dream, God will help us to have all that we need to carry out this dream.

Even when we are unfaithful to God, God stays faithful to us. Because of God’s faithfulness to us, when we stray, God calls out to us, reaches out to us, seeks us out, and brings us back home.

            If you think of a staff, it might remind you of a shepherd. A shepherd is faithful to his sheep, because without the sheep, the sheep will get lost. And if a sheep gets lost, the shepherd will seek him out. As the Bible tells us in Luke 15:4, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?”

Because of God’s faithfulness to us, we should be led to share of this faithfulness to others. All people need someone in whom they can trust; all people need someone who won’t let them down. God is that someone. But so many people don’t know about God’s faithfulness. It is up to you and me to tell them! As we were told in Psalm 89:1-8, “¹ I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. ² I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself…⁵ The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. ⁶ For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD, Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings?…⁸ O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you.”

            In and through God’s faithfulness, we can stand confident, at peace, and secure. We don’t have to wonder about whether God will ever stop loving us, because He won’t. We don’t have to wonder if God will leave us, because He won’t. God is faithful, and will be faithful for all eternity.

IV.             God is Sovereign- (Colossians 1:15-18; Romans 8:28)

a.      God over all- And lastly, I want to talk about God being

Sovereign. God is the One who has designed this world. God is the One who reigns over it. God is the One who is in control. As we are told in Colossians 1:15-18, “¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. ¹⁷He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”

            But what do we really mean about the expression that God is sovereign? To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, carrying out all things in accordance to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth.  To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, stop His purpose, or resist His will (Ps. 115:3). To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is "The Governor among the nations" (Ps. 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the "Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” This is the God of the Bible.

            We see that God is sovereign over creation, salvation, the operation of the world, prayer, and on and on it goes. God has created all things to function in a certain way, and has designed for it to run affectively when functioning in this way. Unfortunately, we seek to affect that by our choices. And yet, because God is sovereign, God’s will, will still be done in the end.

b.      Your way or His?- However, God doesn’t rule over our every

thought or control our every movement. So we have to decide, will we follow our way or God’s?            Illus. “The Parable of the Sandwich Sign,” Max Lucado, A Gentle Thunder, p. 149 There is a story of a town where it was raining very hard. The news came to the mayor, the rains had washed the bridge out. Many cars had already driven over the edge into the river. The crowds were around the mayor as they sought a solution. “What can we do?” The mayor thought for a moment, then, came up with a solution. He said: “I need three people to wear these sandwich signs. The first will say, ‘Bridge out.’ The second will say, ‘Reduce speed.’ The third will say, ‘Take right road,’ with a finger pointing toward the safe route.” And so the people responded, taking their places with the signs to warn the travelers of the washed out bridge. Because these three did their job, many people were led to safety.

            The difference before, and after, was that after there were signs warning the people of the danger. Because of these signs, the people not only knew of the danger, but, knew of the way to safety. God is sovereign over all things, and in His sovereignty, His will, will be done. As Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” But in the meantime, we have many people who are ignoring the signs, and choosing to follow their own path, which leads them to destruction.

            We have to let God be sovereign in our lives. We have to choose to follow God’s path. We have to acknowledge that our lives are a gift from God, given to us to believe in God, follow God, and live for God. As I said before, in His sovereignty He has worked it out for all things to work together. As we do what we are called to do, we will make a difference with our lives just as God planned it to be. If you want to be a part of God’s plan, you have to act on God’s leading you.

            Be faithful to others………Refuse to cheat……….Be neighborly….Love others….Be a giving person……Forgive others….Enjoy the life God has given you.

           

Conclusion: What kind of world would it be, if we experienced mercy, and grace on a daily basis? What kind of world would it be, if we were faithful to each other? What kind of world would it be, if we made decisions according to God’s will? I’m sure it would be a world on the verge of being heaven on earth.

            God is the God who is merciful (who, by our faith, doesn’t count our sins against us). God is the God who is gracious (who gives us blessings beyond what we deserve). God is the God who is faithful, never leaving us. God is the God who is sovereign, having ultimate control over all things. May we choose to give ourselves fully to this God, who knows us, loves us, and searches us out. Amen.

"To Infinity and Beyond"
Psalm 102:25-28
Attributes of God Series
Sunday, September 16, 2012

Introduction: You don’t have to live long to understand that life is always changing. While most people don’t like change (they like their lives to be somewhat of a constant), the truth is that change is the only constant. The changes of life can be a little overwhelming, causing us to wonder what is going on. Many years ago, a family would buy a house and stay in one place. But now families move quite regularly. Because of this, if we try to find our security in anything in this world, we will be disappointed, because this world is always changing.

            This morning, the attributes of God I want to talk about are: God being immutable (or unchanging), transcendent (existing beyond the created universe), and infinite (having no beginning and no end). These attributes of God are quite remarkable, and stretch our thinking on how we need to understand and relate to God.

I.                   God is Immutable- (Malachi 3:6; Psalm 62:2, 102:25-28, 33:11; Hebrews 13:8; Exodus 3:14; Acts 17:28)

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could find stability in a world of change?

a.      Changeless- Illustration- In my years of dating, one of the most

challenging parts was wondering from day to day how I would feel about the person I was dating, or how she might feel about me. There would always be times when I felt good about the relationship. But there were also times when I didn’t. This is a natural part of relationships, yet hard to deal with, because our emotions can be all over the place. One of the aspects of Tami that I appreciated so much while we dating (and still appreciate now) is how she is pretty constant in her emotions. Once Tami and I fell in love, there was no longer any doubting. I knew that Tami loved me. This was a constant.

            But even though Tami is pretty stable in her emotions, she is not perfect. As imperfect people, we still have times when we change, when we waver. So where should our real security lie?               

    GOD. We are told in Malachi 3:6, “I the Lord do not change.” This is the attribute of God’s immutability. God does not change. And yet, we might want to argue: “But everything must change. Flowers bud, bloom and then wilt. Ugly caterpillars become beautiful butterflies, which in time flutter no more. Shiny new tools rust. New clothes fray.” And yet we hear again Malachi 3:6, “I the Lord do not change.”

While everything in our world seems to be in continual flux, we have a creator who is changeless. This is quite a contrast to the creation. The creation changes, the creator does not! Change actually highlights the security that can be found in the unwavering, unchanging ROCK that is our God. As Psalm 62:2 tells us, “Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” And so the change we experience in life helps us to appreciate the Changeless One.

Another aspect of this, that is different than what we are used to, is that God does not progress, develop, grow, or get better, for God is and always has been absolute perfection. God is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) This is why God can state in Exodus 3:14 that His name is “I AM WHO I AM.”

All that God is today, He has ever been and will ever be. Because God is perfect, He can’t change or get better. He always was perfect, and will always be perfect.

b.      Finding stability- Since God is the only one and the only thing that

can never change, then our lasting security lies only in Him and in His ways. God, knowing His creation, warns us against trusting in people. God knows that He alone can be trusted, for nothing can influence or change Him from His nature of total goodness.                    Illus. A few years ago there was a scandal that hit the NBA; the National Basketball Association. It had been discovered that at least one of the officials was betting on games that he officiated during his last two seasons or work, and that he made calls affecting the point spread in those games. This is troubling, because referees and umpires and judges and others in power in this way are supposed to be impartial, fair, and trustworthy…You probably have heard of judges and politicians who have been bribed to change their decisions.

            This scandal reminds us that people can be influenced to change their nature, opinion, or decisions by some kind of manipulation. How can there be stability in our world, when the very people who make up the world are not stable? And the answer is, that there can’t be. We cannot count on living in a stable world. But, because of God, we can find stability in parts of our lives, and God can help us to bring some stability to the world by allowing Him to make us more trustworthy.

            Stability in life comes from having stability in our faith. God is the only truly stable object of faith for man. All else may change around us, but as Christians, we may live secure as we remember that it is in the Changeless One, God whom “we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

            The truth is, this attribute of God, being changeless, is what affects all other attributes of God. Because God is changeless, God will always possess knowledge of everything and the ability to make perfect use of this knowledge. God will always have all power; God will always be all-present. God will always be there to provide for us. God will always stand by His word. As Psalm 33:11 tells us, “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations.”

And so this brings us great encouragement and hope, because the

Bible tells us that “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.” What great security can be found in the promise of One who does not change! Or as we read in our Bible reading, in Psalm 102:25-27, “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. ²⁶ They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. ²⁷ But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”

II.                God is Transcendent- (Isaiah 40:18-29, 55:8-9)

a.      God is over and above us- The great theologian R.C. Sproul tells

Us in his book The Holiness of God: “Transcendence means literally, ‘to climb across.’ It is defined as ‘exceeding the usual limits.’ When we speak of the transcendence of God we are talking about that sense in which God is above and beyond us. He is higher than the world. He has absolute power over the world. The world has no power over Him. Transcendence describes God in His consuming majesty, His exalted loftiness. He is an infinite cut above everything else. [p. 55]”

This is the second attribute of God I want to talk about this morning: God being transcendent; our God who is above and beyond us.

The prophet Isaiah was pointing to God's transcendence when he wrote in Isaiah 40:18-29, “To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to? Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”

And scripture records God's own testimony in Isaiah 55:8-9,

“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.”

All throughout the Bible we read words like this. They are designed to remind us that God is apart from us. He is over and above what we know and experience.

b.      What difference does it make?- Of course there are many other

illustrations of God's transcendence. But you may be thinking, "Why should I care about this?" "What difference does it make?"

First, since God is transcendent it reminds us that we must describe God carefully. EX. You might have heard the story of the little boy who was working hard at drawing a picture. His mother noticed his hard efforts, and so she went over to him and asked: “What are you drawing, honey?” To which he replied: “I’m drawing a picture of God.” The mother was a little surprised and responded, “But honey, nobody knows what God looks like.” To which the boy said: “They will when I get done!” The truth is, we make a mistake when we seek to draw a picture of God, in that inevitably we will diminish God even though we have the best of intentions.

For example, many of you know that my dad passed away about 8 years ago. If you asked me to tell you about my dad I might tell you that he was a hard worker. It is a  simple and true statement . . . but is it an accurate picture of my father? No. I also need to tell you that he worked as a painter, that he was an active father who coached all my baseball teams from when I was 8 to when I was 16. I would also have to tell you that he served in the Navy. I could go on and on, but the truth is, I would leave out many things about Him, and you could never fully get a true picture of whom he was.

            SO, if it is that difficult to accurately describe my father, should we be

surprised when words fail us when we try to describe God. I’m not trying to say we shouldn’t talk about God to others. Of course, we need to tell others about Him. But we must always do so with a quiet reverence that admits that God is so much bigger than our descriptions of Him.

Listen to St. Augustine's declaration about God: “You are ever active, yet always at rest. You gather all things to yourself, though you suffer no need. . . . You grieve for wrong, but suffer no pain. You can be angry and yet serene. Your works are varied, but your purpose is one and the same. . .You welcome those who come to you, though you never lost them. You are never in need yet are glad to gain, never covetous yet you exact a return for your gifts . . . You release us from our debts, but you lose nothing thereby. You are my God, my Life, my holy Delight, but is this enough to say of you? Can any man say enough when he speaks of you? Yet woe (to) those who are silent about you.” [Confessions p. 21]

Second, since God is transcendent it means we should worship Him passionately. God is unique, spectacular, the One before whom we should bow. EVERY TIME we come to worship. EVERY TIME we bow in prayer, EVERY TIME we open His Word we should do so with a reverence that comes from the fact that He is above and beyond us. But we have lost much of this sense of wonder.

            Let's be painfully honest, we give more intensity to our play than we do our worship. We are more passionate towards our family than we are to the Creator. We give greater priority to our jobs, our hobbies, and all other things, than we do developing our relationship with the Lord. We have lost our sense of awe.

Knowing God should be the joy of life. Knowing Him and being with Him should be our finest and chief pursuit. Our God is not a "run of the mill" Deity. He is the great God of the universe. Keeping a sense of His transcendence is essential for us to truly honor Him and know Him.

III.             God is Infinite- (Romans 12:3, 11:33)

a.      To infinity and beyond- There is a clip from the movie “Toy Story”

where Woody tells Buzz that he can’t fly because he is just a toy. Buzz tries to prove Woody wrong. As Buzz jumps off the bed, he shouts: “To infinity, and beyond.”He then bounces off a ball, lands on a toy skateboard, goes along a hot wheels track, is thrown up to the ceiling fan, which whisks him back onto the bed!

            In this clip, we discover that Buzz believes that he is far more than he truly is. The truth is, Buzz IS just a toy, and limited in what he can do. Buzz is not a space ranger. Buzz is not all-powerful. Buzz is not infinite in his being. Buzz did not fly.  He did as Woody said, he fell with style.

b.      The infinity of God- We, like Buzz, too often think more of

ourselves than we ought. We are warned by the apostle Paul in Romans 12:3, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” When we think too highly of ourselves, we lose sight that God is the only one who is infinite. This is the third attribute of God that I want to talk about; God being infinite.

            What does it mean for God to be infinite? It does not mean that God is everything. God is not found in the trees or in the mountains. These are creations of God, not God.  We see God’s power displayed THROUGH the creation of the trees and mountains and everything else, but those things are not to be worshipped. Only God is to be worshipped, for He created all things in His infinite power with His infinite wisdom.

            For God to be infinite, means that we can’t measure God’s size, or weight, or being. God is beyond measurement. As we talked about last week, God cannot be contained. But beyond that, God has no beginning, no end, and no limits. As Romans 11:33 tells us, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”

    We cannot search God out and find God. We can only know of God, and know God, because God has searched US out. There is no way to fully understand the vast greatness of God. Infinity is the term we use to describe something (or in this case “someone”) that cannot be counted or measured. God is surely immeasurable.

Conclusion: Only what God has chosen to reveal of Himself can be known. The good news is that God has chosen to reveal many of His attributes to us, including His unchanging nature, how He is beyond the created universe, and how He is beyond all measurement. God is the creator, and we are His creation. There is a connection there between us, because God has made it possible, through Jesus Christ. And so as we have learned today, by understanding that God is unchanging, we can have stability in our lives as we place our trust in this God who is to be our rock.

Likewise, we know that God is beyond and above us, but through Christ can impart to us His presence and greatness and wisdom. Even though God exists beyond the created universe, God has found a way to not only come to this earth, but to live within us through His Spirit.

            And finally, God is infinite, which means that God has no limits. We believe in and trust and follow a God that is UNLIMITED! And this God gives us access to His unlimited nature. “All things are possible through God” because when we are in God’s will, filled with God’s Spirit, we can accomplish all that God has for us. Let us leave here today in awe of God, and thankful that this immense God makes Himself so close and personal to us. Amen.

"God is Our All"
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Series: Attributes of God; Psalm 139:1-12

Introduction: If you know anything about sports, you know that almost every sport has a “hall of fame.” The hall of fame is to set apart, and remember, those athletes who accomplished great achievements in the sport. But it isn’t just sports that have a hall of fame. Music has a hall of fame. And in the entertainment industry they have their own forms of remembering the great actors, actresses, directors, and others. The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award given for great achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. In all walks of life, we have people who are accomplishing great things.

            This morning, as we continue our series on the attributes of God, we will be looking at some more of the great accomplishments God has done, because of who God is. This morning we will be looking at God’s attributes of being all-powerful (or omnipotent), all-knowing (or omniscient), and all-present (or omnipresent). We will see that these are characteristics that are beyond anything we could fathom.

I.                   God is Omnipotent- (Habakkuk 3:4; Genesis 1:2-3; Hebrews 1:3;

1 Peter 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:17)

a.      Nothing is impossible- In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina

passed by the east of New Orleans, as a Category 3 hurricane. But it created waves equivalent to that of a Category 5 hurricane, and caused the levees to be breached, thus flooding much of New Orleans. There is great power in a hurricane. There is also great power in a lightning strike. Have you ever seen lightning strike? The bolt that comes down is an amazing sight, and can cause great destruction as well. How about an earthquake? I have been in many earthquakes in my life, including the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. A few years ago, while on our vacation, my family and I drove over the San Francisco Bay Bridge. This is a double-decker bridge. And during the 1989 earthquake, the top level crashed down on the lower level. So as we were driving across the lower level, I had this anxious feeling about the destruction that was caused by the earthquake.

            People…desire…to be powerful. We see it in societies. We see it in rulers. We even see it in the average person. I our world we have created the nuclear bomb, chemical weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. The sense of power causes people to want to control and dominate others. In essence, we want to be like God. But no one will ever be as powerful as God.

            Habakkuk 3:4 tells us, “His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden.” God’s power in many ways is concealed, more than it is revealed. From time to time we just catch a glimpse of what God is capable of doing. Think about how God created everything out of nothing. In Genesis 1:2-3 we read, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” By simply speaking, God was able to create the earth, and the heavens, and all that is in it!

            But even more, God allows everything to exist by His power as well: (Hebrews 1:3)- “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word….” Again, we see it is by the power of God’s word…. By simply speaking, God exhibits tremendous power!

            The other amazing thing about God’s power, is that there is no such thing as one act being more difficult than another. This is hard to imagine, because on earth, for us, there are definitely some things that are more difficult than others.

            EX. When I was in high school, I started lifting weights. One reason was that I was small and skinny. And in high school, when you are small and skinny, you get picked on. So I decided to get stronger. I worked hard throughout the year. And then the next year. As you work out, especially with bench press, you regularly try to lift your “max” (which is pressing the most you can press one time). When I was a junior in high school, I weighed 130 pounds. One day I decided I was going to try to “max” 265 pounds! More than twice my weight. I looked at all the weight on the bench (it was a lot), and then I got myself mentally ready. And in the end, I lifted 265 pounds. I was the only one in school that could bench press twice his weight!

            It was a great achievement, but nothing compared to what God can do. For God, nothing is too difficult. God can do whatever He WILLS to do. This is difficult for us to accept, because so often we want our will to become God’s will. But God, whether it is physically healing someone, bringing someone back from the dead, or creating new life, God is capable of doing anything! And when it is in His will, He will indeed do it.

b.      Eternal life- But another great power that God brings to us is that

of eternal life. When sin was brought into the world, by Satan, through Adam and Eve, life looked bleak. God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, so they wouldn’t eat of the tree of life, because God didn’t want humankind to live forever in sin. God also made a plan to save His people from their sin. God knew that in time, He would come in the flesh, in the form of Jesus Christ, and die so that all those who believed could live. As 1 Peter 1:23 tells us, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” By placing our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we have become new in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us of this, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Even more, the power of God is exhibited in that the God, who is all

powerful, lives in you and in me when we believe! So the same power that was in Christ, and raised Christ from the dead, is at work IN you and IN me. We have the power of God available to us to do the work God calls us to do. This is wonderful.

      God’s power is at work all around us. Unfortunately, we are too pre-occupied, or too blind to see it. If we look with believing eyes, we will see God’s power exhibited regularly. You will see God’s power exhibited in your life!

II.                God is Omniscient- (Psalm 139:1-6; Acts 15:18)

a.      God knows us- A second great power that God possesses is that

of being all-knowing. Now in some ways, this could be disconcerting. We really don’t want anyone knowing all that we do, or all that we think. And yet, because God knows all things, God can understand who we are. God also knows our needs (as we talked about last week), and God can relate to where we are in life.

            Maybe you are lost or confused, in anguish, or frustrated. You don’t know what to do or where to turn. The truth is, you need to turn to God; the God who knows everything about us. As the psalmist tells us in Psalm 139:1-4, “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. ² You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. ³ You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. ⁴ Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.”          God knows not only what we are thinking, but also how we feel.

            Illustration: “The President and the Little Boy,” p. 140,  More Hot Illus.

            During the war between the states, a young soldier in the Union Army lost his older brother and his father. He decided to go to Washington D.C. to see President Lincoln to ask for an exemption from any further military service so that he could go home to help his mother and sister do the spring planting on the farm.

            When he got to the White House front gate, he was told by the guard: “Son,

you can’t see the president. Don’t you know there is a war going on? The president is a very busy man. Get back out to the battle lines”….So the young soldier left, very disheartened, and sat down on a park bench. Not long after sitting down, a little boy came up to him. “Soldier, you look unhappy. What’s wrong?” The soldier decided to tell the boy his story, and tell him how he couldn’t get in to see the president…. The little boy answered: “I can help you, soldier.” And with this he grabbed the soldiers hand and led him back to the front gate of the White House…Apparently the guard didn’t notice them, because they were able to walk right through. The boy continued to walk the soldier straight up to the front door of the White House. To the soldier’s astonishment, they walked right through the front door; past generals and high-ranking officials. Why wasn’t anyone trying to stop them?……Finally, they reached the Oval Office, where the president was working. The boy didn’t even knock. He just walked right in, pulling the soldier behind him. AND, there behind his desk, sat President Abraham Lincoln….The president looked up at the boy, and then at the soldier. And then said: “Good afternoon, Todd. Can you introduce me to your friend?”….. And Todd Lincoln, the son of the president, said: “Daddy, this soldier needs to talk to you.”….The soldier pled his case, and right then and there received an exemption from President Lincoln. The great news is that not only does God know what we are thinking and feeling, but we have total access to come to God.

b.      God knows everything- But what does the phrase “God knows

everything” really mean? This concept can be a difficult one for us to grasp. In Acts 15:18 we are told, “Known to God from of old are all his works.” God has total knowledge. God knows the tiniest movements that have occurred and that will occur. And yet, this knowledge is just a fraction of God’s omniscience.

            On top of this knowledge, God also knows the “what-ifs.” God knows about all the possibilities that could happen. Illustration- Many of you know that I have a very analytical mind. I like to think things through. In fact, I try to think about all the possibilities that could possibly happen in a given situation. This can be a blessing in some ways, but a curse in others. For example, let’s say that I need to have a talk with someone else, and this talk could possibly lead to a conflict. I will role-play this talk in my head trying to imagine how the conversation will go I try to imagine what the other person MIGHT say, and what I would say in response!

          Far beyond what we could ever imagine, God can imagine the possibilities of what could happen; because God doesn’t control our decisions and actions. What will we do each moment of the day is not pre-determined. But God is not surprised by anything we think or do, because God has knowledge of all of the possibilities.

            The good news is that even though God knows everything about us, God still loves us, and wants to help us make good decisions. Wouldn’t it be wise to go to God to receive counsel and guidance in our lives? Wouldn’t it be prudent to let the God of all knowledge have control of our lives?

III.             God is Omnipresent- (Psalm 139:7-12, 32:8; Hebrews 13:5;

Matthew 28:20; Jeremiah 23:24; 1 Kings 8:27; Romans 8:35, 38-39)

a.      Presence- Right now, you and I are surrounded by the presence of

God. But God’s presence isn’t limited to this church building. Anywhere we go, God’s presence is there. You cannot go where God is not. As Psalm 139:7-12 tells us this, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. ⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. ¹¹ If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," ¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”

            This presence is not the presence of just part of God, for God is not divided, diffused, or spread throughout the entire universe. God is one. All that God is, is totally present everywhere. Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by God. We are therefore always in the presence of God.

            The word “presence” here in Psalm 139:7 literally means “face.” The Hebrew word is “paw-neem.” The concept of presence is that of facing or looking at a person eye-to-eye. Everything that God is, is continually facing or being directed toward you and me. No wonder God can promise in Psalm 32:8, “I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”

            Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5) He also said in Matthew 28:20, “Lo I am always with you.” It is true that God could never leave us, because God’s very nature is of being always present. This is what allows us to have peace in all situations, because we know, by faith, that God is always with us. All of God is inside of us in a most unique way through the Holy Spirit.

b.      Uncontained- But the truth is, that God is uncontained. There is

nothing that can contain God. This is one of the great mysteries. God is not just here on earth, God fills the heavens as well! As we are told in Jeremiah 23:24- “‘Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the LORD. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the LORD.”… If you are inside your home, you know that you are not anywhere else. You can only be in one place at a time. But space limitations do not affect God, for He is Spirit.

            God also exists outside of space. As 1 Kings 8:27 says, “Heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You (O God).” God is not contained in space (like our spirit is by our body while we live here on earth). This is great news, because I know there are many people who worry about doing something that will cut them off from God. But the apostle Paul assures us, in Romans 8:35, 38-39- “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

            This brings us great security and encouragement. The truth is that God is everywhere, and we cannot separate ourselves from that presence. In God, through Christ, we have a Guide, a Protector, a Father, a Friend, present and available to us. And as we allow ourselves to be more aware of this, we don’t need to fear darkness or challenging circumstances. For “the night shines as day to God.”

            Since we are always in the presence of God, we have the potential for fullness of joy. We need to embrace God’s presence, not be fearful of it in any way!

Conclusion: The Bible clearly teaches us that all power belongs to God. Any power that we might possess is nothing compared with the power of God. God Himself tells us that He is God almighty, the God of all power. We have a choice, we can receive God’s power or fight against it. And while we are finite and limited in our being, God is infinite. Infinite in His knowledge. He knows all about us; He understands the ways of the world; He knows completely every detail. As God said to Job, in Job 38:4-11, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. ⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? ⁶ On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone- ⁷ while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? ⁸ "Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, ⁹ when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, ¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, ¹¹ when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'?” God is infinite in His presence as well. The amazing truth is that we can always be in the presence of God, and there is nothing that can keep us from being in God’s presence. Although, the one thing that will keep us from God’s presence is not believing in Jesus. Without faith, we don’t have access to God. We disconnect ourselves from God here on earth, and ultimately we will be eternally separated from God.

Let us go from here today believing that in Jesus, and through our faith, we come face to face with God’s power, knowledge, and presence. Amen.