How Big Is Your God

HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD?

INTRODUCTION

A.     As the body counts continue to mount after last Sunday’s Tsunami in Asia…as our federal government considers re-defining marriage…as we continue to hear of daily bloodshed in Iraq…as we hear about high-ranking UN officials charged with the responsibility of bringing to peace and ending violence in the Congo enticing little Congolese girls into having sex in exchange for a bottle of mayonnaise, raping others, videotaping these events and selling them on the “net”…this seems like a strange time to reflect on the power of God.

A lady went to the butcher shop looking for a chicken for dinner.  She asked the butcher to see his selection.  He only had one chicken left but did not disclose this to the lady.  He kept the chickens in the bin below the showcase and so he reached down and pulled out his last chicken. He put it on the scale, the lady eyed the weight and asked if he had one a little larger.

"Yes," he replied.  He took the chicken and lowered it down to the empty bin, shook it against the side and brought it back out.  This time when he placed it on the scale his trained thumb hung just a little bit on the edge of the scale.

The lady eyed the weight and said, "that is fine, I'll take both of them."

B.     Like this butcher, many of us adjust the size an weight of our God according to the situation!

How Big Is Your God?

I.        IS YOUR GOD BIG ENOUGH TO BE

       UNDERSTOOD?

A.     Idol worship grows out of a lack of understanding.

1.      The most offensive “idol” we can put before God is the image of God that we paint in our confused minds.

2.      E.g. the gold calf.

Illus. of John Gleeson’s article in the December 30 addition of the Winnipeg Sun where he talks about the late John Lennon of the Beatles. In 1966 John Lennon said, “Christianity will go…it will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue with that; I’m right and I will be proved right. We’re (the Beatles) more popular than Jesus now…”

B.     Many times our view of God grows out of our circumstances instead of truth.

1.      We all know the song: “My God is so strong/ My God is so mighty/ There’s nothing my God cannot do!”

2.      We all hum along with George Beverly Shea when he sings: “How big is God?/ He’s big enough to rule this mighty universe/ Yet He’s small enough to live within my heart.”

3.      Yet, if we are honest, we’d admit that in our everyday lives we serve a very small God.

4.      If we know the truth about how big our God is and how much he loves us, why do we end up serving such a small God?

C.     Our problem is that Satan tricks us into serving a very small God.

1.      True or false? The Bible says, “Money is the root of all evil.”

2.      The Bible actually says in 1 Timothy 6:10 that the love of money…

“For the love of money is the first step toward all kinds of sin. Some people have even turned away from God because of their love for it, and as a result have pierced themselves with many sorrows.”

                                                                                  I Timothy 6:10

3.      Demas was a co-worker of the Apostle Paul but in 2

      Timothy 4:10 Paul says, “Demas has left me. He

                  loved the good things of life…”

Songwriter Rich Mullins may have said it best when he sang, “The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the giver of all good things.

 Is your God big enough to be understood?

II.               IS YOUR GOD BIG ENOUGH TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR NEEDS.

A.     What would happen if you ran out of money?

B.     How many people you  know have died solely from a lack of money?

C.     Why don’t we trust the Creator of the Universe to provide for our needs?

“You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus.”                           Philippians 4:19 (Msg)

Is your God big enough to take care of all your needs?

III.           IS YOUR GOD BIG ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT SATISFIES YOU?

A.     For some reason, we don’t think God can really satisfy our desires.

B.     We tend to think God as a good thing, but not something you want to want to focus your whole life on. After all, we still want to have some life!

C.     Is your God big enough to know the innermost needs of your life and know what it takes to satisfy you?

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

                                                                              John 10:10

Again, Rich Mullins summed it up best when he sang, “I’d rather fight you for something I don’t really want, than to take what you give that I need.”

Is your God big enough to satisfy all your desires?

IV.            IS YOUR GOD BIG ENOUGH TO BE YOUR

#1 PRIORITY?

A.      If so, see if you can pray the prayer of Agur in Proverbs 30:8,9:

“Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.                       

CONCLUSION

A.      How big is your God?

·        Has he shrunk over the years?

·        Does your faith in Him wilt at the thought of losing material things?

·        Do you cringe at trusting God instead of satisfying your desires yourself?

·        Does your view of God shrink when you’re going through hardships?

·        How Big is your God from your perspective?

B.       I want you to think about that as we listen to the a sermon by Rev. Shedrack Meshack Lockeridge titled “MY KING”…then the worship team with lead us in a closing song.