The Power of God
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THE POWER OF GOD BY ISAAC CHARLES “The twenty-four elders fall before him who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.’”–Revelation 4:8–11
INTRODUCTION: Creation, or the process of bringing something into existence, is a profound demonstration of God’s omnipotence and His ability to create something new out of nothing. The intrinsic nature of creation not only demonstrates the infinite wisdom of God but also demonstrates the authoritative power of His Word with which the entire creation was made. We read throughout the Scriptures about the manifestation of God’s power time after time as He moves to fulfill His plan and purpose for His chosen ones. He is supernatural. His Word reveals that He is above and beyond seasons, circumstances, human realities, and the forces of darkness. His power has no comparison. The word “power” can be interpreted in multiple ways in our present world context. Power is associated with authority, control, dominion, rule, and enforcement. We want to understand God’s power based on the interpretations of the Scripture. To do this, we will focus on five aspects of God’s power.
1. The Creating Power of God
2. The Transforming Power of God
3. The Sustaining Power of God
4. The Overcoming Power of God
5. The Resurrecting Power of God
Our scripture for today shows that only God is worthy to receive glory, honor and power.
8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “ ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever,
10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”
Transitional Sentence: So let’s jump in and take a look at these five aspects of God’s power.
I. The Creating Power of God
A. Creates something from nothing
1. God’s power creates something new into existence out of nothing. As I said during the introduction creation is the process of bringing something into existence. It’s not taking something that already exists and making something new from it. It’s actually starting with nothing and making something. The Creation story in Genesis 1 shows how powerful God’s Word is. It begins with the process of creating light.
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 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.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Through the creation story we see all that is come into being, including time. Each part of the story ends with “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” All the way up to day seven. Something from nothing - Only by God’s power.
The only other idea about the creation of the universe that I could find is the Big Bang theory. A tiny super dense ball of fire exploded and over the last 13.8 billion years has turned into all that we see in the night sky. It’s a nice idea but it completely leaves out the creation of time. There are some who say that the big bang was the point of God speaking. That would require everything to go directly to its place in the heavens. Not billions of years to get there.
B. The creating power of God creates His People.
1. God’s power creates His people.
Genesis 1:26-27 says:
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Here begins the story of God creating mankind in His own image. Mankind is unique amongst all that God created. Nothing else bears His image.
Genesis 2:7 says:
7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
This verse goes on to give the details of the creation of Adam. Dust of the earth and the breath of life. nĕšāmâ - breath, spirit. Primarily refers to breath; can also refer to the human spirit or to the Spirit of God. God breathed His Spirit into Adam. He was created as a living being. Alive with the Spirit of God.
God’s power moves from the original creation of man to
2. to creating a new heart in His people.
Why do we need a new heart? We are born with a dead one. We are born in the image of our fathers.
Ezekiel 36:26 says:
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
God’s ability to create a living being from a cold heartless dead human being is amazing. We are all born into the world in sin. The first sin of Adam is our reality. That first sin is imputed to us before we even learn what sin is. This is why we all have a God sized whole in our hearts that we try to fill. We try to fill it with all sorts of things. It is’t until we fill it with God and accept Christ Jesus into our hearts do we really come to life. Get rid of that heart of stone, that cold dead heart and get a heart of flesh. A living pumping heart that is driven by the Spirit of God. If you are still walking around with a heart of stone then now is the time to call out to the Lord and let God’s power change you.
Next let’s talk a look at
II. The Transforming Power of God.
A. Through All Circumstances
1. God’s power changes situations and circumstances.
Have you ever had anything happen in your life that you could only explain by saying that “God did that”? Think about it sometimes the situations and circumstances in our lives seem like they can only have one outcome - a bad outcome. But then everything changes. Suddenly the possible outcome is positive instead of negative. That’s God’s power. He can work in each and every situation to transform your life. That life governed by a cold dead heart of stone to a life governed by a heart of flesh.
As one possible example:
2. Psalm 107:35 says:
35 He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs;
That sounds like a wonderful change of situation but if we look at this verse in context Psalm 107:33-38 says:
33 He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground,
34 and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
35 He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs;
36 there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city where they could settle.
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest;
38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish.
So God changed the circumstances of life for His people by making good things happen. Dry land turned to watered soil full of growth, but for the wicked He made bad things happen. Rivers turned to dry ground, springs to thirsty ground and fruitful land to a salt waste. Wow. The circumstances changed in both directions. Bad to good and good to bad. It all depended upon God’s intention and His power over all things.
Not only can His power can transform situations and circumstances in creation, but He can also transform
B. His People.
1. Which means God’s power transforms people into new creations. How many of you have seen the amazing transformation that can take place in the life of a person after accepting Christ Jesus? Remember that heart of stone that everyone begins their life with? Well, this is where the rubber meets the road of that idea. The surgical removal of a heart of stone by God’s hand changes everything. Even the hardest of people will change when they truly turn their life over to God through Christ Jesus. Sanctification is amazing. Old habits melt away, sins are walked away from, fears and anxiety are released, and so much more. That is what Isaiah 42:7 is talking about.
7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
Those with a heart of stone are captives of the Evil one, held in bondage by the power of sin and death. But, Christ Jesus frees all those who call upon His name from the dungeon where they sit in darkness.
And He makes each and everyone one of them a new creation.
2. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
So be in Christ Jesus. Be freed from sin and death. Have your eyes opened and your heart surgically replaced. Let the power of the Almighty turn you into a new creation. The old will pass away and the new will come. You will be given a heart of flesh. A heart that cares, a heart that shares and a heart that knows how to love because He first loved you.
That brings us to
III. The Sustaining Power of God.
A. Which is what keeps us going through all the Moments of our lives.
1. His power sustains us through our ups and our downs, through our times of strength and weakness. Have you ever heard the poem Footprints in the sand?
One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.
After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.
This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."
He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."
That sums it up pretty nicely, He is always there, and when necessary He does the heavy lifting.
This is what
2. Isaiah 40:28-31 means.
28 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.
29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
So put your hope in the Lord. Let His power do the heavy lifting. There is no reason to grow weary and faint if you walk with the Lord.
His power will also sustain us through all of our
B. Challenging Circumstances.
1. We all have them. These are the times that leave us scared and hurting, both inside and out. The times that try our faith and push us to a point where we think we can’t go any further. Those times when you are bullied as a kid, friends and family die, all that you know is destroyed in a matter of minutes, or your body is broken and scared in a terrible accident. We know that life with Christ Jesus doesn’t mean we will have a wonderful pain free and challenge less life. But God’s power will sustain us through these times. He will sustain us so that we can come out on the other side as a testimony to His power and for His glory. We can come out on the other side so that we can help others as they go through the same trials that we have seen.
2. Psalm 54:4 says:
4 Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.
So trust in His promise to sustain you. Trust in His power to see you through all the challenging circumstances of your life.
And then there is
IV. The Overcoming Power of God that will keep you
A. In and Through Opposition.
1. God’s power helps us to overcome obstacles and opposition. Ephesians 6:16 says:
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Those flaming arrows of the evil one are Satan’s way of bringing opposition against us. It is his way of opposing the children of God. It is his way of trying to keep us from serving the One true God. Praise the Lord that His overcoming power will carry us through the opposition. God’s armor, His shield of faith in particular helps to keep us moving forward, it helps us to continue serving Him. Don’t ever let your shield down, don’t let go of your faith. God will never leave you or forsake you, He will be an ever present help in times of trouble and opposition.
Isaiah said it a different way:
2. Isaiah 54:17 says:
17 no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord.
According to this verse, that shield will stop all weapons. This promise belongs to the servants of the Lord. So, keep your shield at the ready and let His overcoming power see you through all the opposition the evil one can throw at you.
Especially when you are
B. Facing Temptations because
1. God’s power helps us to face life’s battles with courage and boldness. These battles are often those times when we are tempted to sin.
The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Broadly defines, temptation as the enticement to do evil and Satan is the tempter. Beginning with Eve, Satan successfully tempted Adam, Cain, Abraham, and David to sin. He was less successful with Job, and Jesus was “tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.’’ James explains that God cannot be tempted by evil, and He does not tempt anyone. Temptation may be for the purpose of destroying a person through sin leading to death and hell. This is Satan’s intent. God may allow testing for the purpose of bringing forth faith and patience, which ultimately honors Him, as in the case of Job. James further explains that a blessing awaits the one who endures temptation.
Whether the temptations you face in your life require boldness and courage or just an open window to escape doesn’t matter to God. His power can deal with both. He can provide you with courage and boldness or just present you with a way of escape because His power can do both.
His power can overcome temptations because He is more powerful than the opponent.
2. 1 John 4:4 says:
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
He is in us. Call upon Him in those times when temptation threatens to overcome you.
And finally we can depend upon
V. The Resurrecting Power of God.
A. When We Have No Hope
1. God’s power can resurrect a dead situation in our lives. Have you ever been told there is no hope? No hope you will have a baby. No hope you will survive the cancer. No hope you will ever own your own home. No hope you will ever be reconciled to an estranged loved one or family member. With God there is always hope. That’s what God does, He resurrects things. He brings joy where once there was no hope. He has resurrected more than one dead situation in my life. He resurrected a dead situation in my life before I even accepted Him. I had left the Army after my first three years and for the next three years I wondered around trying to fit into life. He resurrected the situation by making a way for me to reenter the Army. He knew I was better off as a soldier, He knew the plans He had for me. He can do the same in your life too.
That’s why
2. Genesis 18:14 says:
14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Nothing is too hard for Him and He is in the business of resurrection.
And there is one resurrection in particular that
B. Only He Can.
1. God’s power resurrects us from death to life.
We are dead in our trespasses and sins and He gives us new life. We have a sentence of physical death which He redeems that we might have eternal life. Only God has the power to deal with what truly ails us. Our sin. Our dead hearts that are made of stone. Our need for a Savior.
But God made a way. Call upon the name of the Lord and let His power resurrect you from death to life.
2. Philippians 3:10–11 says:
10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
It’s time to know the power of that resurrection. It’s time to know Him personally. It’s time to call upon the name of the Lord. If you don’t know Him as Lord and Savior now is the time. Don’t wait until tomorrow, don’t wait until Tuesday, now is the time. You don’t know what will happen in your life tomorrow. But you can know that you will receive a new heart, a new life, and eternal life when you accept Christ Jesus.
CONCLUSION: As you are going about your business this week reflect upon God’s ultimate power; His infinite, holy power. Reflect on the Creating Power of God, the Transforming Power of God, the Sustaining Power of God, the Overcoming Power of God, and the Resurrecting Power of God. Reflect upon how He has worked in your life through His power. Apart from Him, we are unable to participate in His plans and spend eternity in His presence. Thank Him for who He is again and again.
Father, thank You for the power of Your love and power of Your person. You are our ultimate Provider, and we are honored to spend time with You. Draw us closer to You by Your sustaining power. Amen.
