Like you, I have seen images and heard about what Hurricane Helene has done up and down the East Coast. But I admit that my heart is still filled with the images and experiences I had in Canada two weeks ago. Not only have we heard about destruction and devastation, Judy and I saw, first hand, awesome evidence of the power of Almighty God. I know that people often refer to the Lord as the “Almighty,” but rarely do we “be still” long enough to really KNOW Jehovah as almighty. In the Old Testament, the “Almighty God” is a translation of “El Shaddai.” “When Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the ALMIGHTY GOD; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” Jehovah said to Abraham, “I am El Shaddai.” “Almighty God” is also found in the New Testament were the Greek word is also rendered “omnipotent.” 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.” Of course, as you know, “omnipotence” means “all powerful.”
I mentioned last Wednesday, some of the ways in which my wife and I saw and felt the power of God. There was just the sheer act of divine power which caused those towering mountains to be formed. We were not driving through mere sand castles or even sleeping volcanos. (I hope you take time to read the first article on the back of today’s bulletin, dealing with the formation of mountains.) There were waterfalls everywhere, often beginning in the middle of what appeared to be a sold rock face. And we were told that the power of some of them would kill anyone trying to take a shower underneath. There were dozens of glaciers clinging to the sides of mountains. Some of the lakes and most of the rivers were white or sometimes turquoise in color, because those glaciers had the power to grind the granite and the quartz of the mountains into dust, coloring the water. Down the sides of many mountains there was the evidence of avalanches with vast moraine fields at their feet. I mentioned Wednesday the power of the ferocious winds, kicking snow off the tops of some of the peaks. But I didn’t mention how some places had been stripped clean of their forests by recent wildfires. I could go on, but I don’t want this to become a show and tell, or a report on “what I did on my summer vacation.” Suffice it to say that Judy and I were once again impressed with the omnipotence of the Almighty God.
I’ve selected for our text this morning the song of lady Hannah, the mother of Samuel. I smile to think that one of the greatest and most all-encompassing declarations of God’s attributes comes to us from someone who was not a noted theologian or New Testament Apostle. This mother in Israel, filled with the Spirit of God, rejoices in the fact that salvation is of God alone. She speaks of Jehovah’s holiness, eternal stability and therefore His trustworthiness. She tells the proud unbelievers to shut their mouths. And she points to the enemies of God whom He has broken in the past. But, “The Lord killeth, AND maketh alive, He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up” – verse 6. That requires creative omnipotence. Furthermore, Jehovah determines who will be poor and who will be rich. Just this past week, there were wealthy people back East who became quite poor over night. But God “will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness, for by (human) strength shall no man prevail” against Him. And finally when the Day of the Lord comes, Jehovah shall judge the ends of the earth, proving Helene to be but a minor event in the larger plan of God. Nearly every point in Hannah’s psalm refers to the power of the Almighty God in some fashion.
I have three simple points I’d like to share with you this morning, but, honestly, I don’t know how to begin. The power of God is such a vast subject; a subject which is found in every corner of the Bible. And it is as undeniable in the physical world as we find it declared in the Word of God. Judy and I were watching a video the other day which was trying to prove one of the Bible’s well-known events using archeology and science. We both concluded that the information was interesting, albeit a bit questionable. But she and I don’t need science to authenticate the Word of God. Far more important than what the world says, or science proves, is what the Bible merely declares
And the Bible declares the absolute sovereign POWER of God. But with limited time, what scriptures should I share with you this morning? Nave’s Topical Bible, a reference book I sometimes use, has 8 columns of scriptures referring to God’s power. The omnipotence of God is so common and pervasive in the Bible, we read of it but often don’t see it. It takes the practice of Psalm 46:10 to find it. “Be still, and know that I am God: will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” For just one example, how many of us never hear the reference to the Lord’s power in Jesus’ model prayer. “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For THINE is the KINGDOM, and the POWER, and the GLORY, for ever. Amen.” Jehovah asked to Abraham, “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” That’s a rhetorical question. There is absolutely NOTHING too hard for the Lord. Job said in prayer, God, “I know that thou canst do EVERY THING,” even to the hearing of our every thought. The Psalmist said, “Our God is in the heavens; He that done WHATSOEVER he hath pleased.” He HAS done whatever he wanted to do, and will always do whatever He chooses. He can dazzle the eye with marvels of creation in the West, while blinding eyes with devastation in the East.
I don’t usually do this, but let me quote a Puritan theologian – this time it is Stephen Charnock: “The power of God is that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatsoever He pleases, whatsoever His infinite WISDOM may direct, and whatsoever the infinite PURITY of His will may resolve. As holiness is the beauty of all God’s attributes, so power is that which gives life and action to all the perfections of the Divine nature. How vain would be the eternal counsels (of God), if power did not step in to execute them. Without power His mercy would be but feeble pity, His promises an empty sound, His threatenings a mere scare-crow. God’s power is like Himself; infinite, eternal, incomprehensible; it can neither be checked, restrained, nor frustrated by the creature.”
In stopping to contemplate the power of God, we all should be brought to TREMBLE before Him.
Helene is what I have heard was the 4th deadliest hurricane in American history. Several hundred people were killed; a million homes and businesses were without power, and some still are. Tens of thousands of people sill have no drinking water or proper sewage removal. Thousands lost their homes and businesses, including people some of us know. I don’t need to go into more details, because you are familiar with much of them. But if people, two weeks ago, prepared for this storm the way some have in the past, we’d have an illustration of people’s general response to being told about the power and authority of God. Over the years, many people on hearing that a hurricane was coming, hunkered down rather than to obey the warnings to flee for their lives. And some of those self-reliant people died for their foolishness.
To treat the Lord with carelessness and fleshly pride is more foolish than to look into the eye of a Category Five Hurricane. To openly defy the One who can crush us as easily as we can crush a moth or a flower, is suicidal. I heard that Tuesday or Wednesday a man walked out and sat down in the middle of I-90 here in Post Falls. His behavior was LESS foolish than to raise a fist toward heaven and dare God to shower down His wrath. That mentally-challenged man is alive today, but every one of those who defy Jehovah will die and suffer for their foolishness for eternity. The Psalmist, understanding God’s power to some degree, asks the question: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” How can they behave that way? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.” The Psalm concludes with “Kiss the Son, let he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little…” The lesson is: “Make peace with this God who can open up the earth under us, or who can bury us under mountains of mud or a flood of water.” Pharaoh led his army into the Red Sea, chasing the people of God, while the Almighty held back the water. But then that omnipotent hand was withdrawn and the waters returned, drowning one of the most powerful human armies in the world.
Tremble before this holy and all powerful God. And remember that the Lord’s authority and power are not confined to this physical world. Jesus says, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather FEAR him which is able to destroy body soul and boy in hell” – Matthew 10:20. The Apostle says to us all, “pass the time of your sojourning here in FEAR” – I Peter 2:17. In our natural sinful flesh, we should all be filled with fear – trembling before God. In Daniel 5, a proud unbelieving king did his best to show his contempt for Jehovah. “In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.” What he saw may have looked like a man’s hand, but it was actually the finger of Jehovah. “Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.” THERE was the attitude Belshazzar should have had from the beginning. There is the position we should all take before the Almighty God.
BUT for those who have been adopted into His family, God’s omnipotence should fill with holy WORSHIP.
The wonderful and infinite perfections of such a divine being as this should draw out our adoration and praise. If people are supposed to stand when a judge enters his courtroom, we should fall to our knees as we come – or as we are brought – into the presence of the Lord. Those people who showed deference to King Solomon as they approached his royal throne, should also have seen HIM fall on his face before God in adoration and worship. Moses sang, “Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods, who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders” – Exodus 15:11. And in another place he prayed, “O Lord God, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand; for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works and according to thy might?” – Deuteronomy 3:24. Looking at the evidence of the Lord’s great power, those who know Him should be filled with praise.
I am not trying to say that I’m some great saint, but one day two weeks ago, as we drove from the valley floor into Yoho National park, I could not get a certain Isaac Watts hymn out of my mind. “I sing the mighty power of God That made the mountains rise. That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies.” To be honest, I couldn’t remember any of the rest of hymn, but those few words went through my heart over and over again, several hundred times that day. But it often ended with with my own conclusion: “and all this to thy praise.” The Psalmist cried, “O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker” – Psalm 95:6. When we fully understand that El Shaddai is our creator, we WILL come, and bow down to worship. And by the way, it is perfectly acceptable to FEAR the Lord and to WORSHIP Him at the same time. Psalm 96:9 – “O WORSHIP the Lord in the beauty of holiness; FEAR before him, all the earth.” The omnipotent power of God should make us tremble, and it should make us worship.
But it should also remind us that He is infinitely trustworthy. We can TRUST Him.
Again, I tell you, nothing is too hard for the Lord. Does the Red Sea stand in your way to the Promised Land? “Moses said unto the people, FEAR ye NOT, STAND STILL, and SEE the salvation of the Lord…” “The Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever.” God has power over evil men and over the forces of nature. Is there a Saul of Tarsus tormenting you, or a Governor Pilate with the power to take your life? Remember Jesus’ words to that Roman: “Thou couldest have NO power at all against me, except it were GIVEN thee from above.” Jesus said, “All power is given unto ME in heaven and in earth.” And “the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water, He turneth it withersoever He will.” Trust the Lord; there is no reason to trust whoever becomes the next president of the United States.
But perhaps you find it difficult to trust God, because you consider yourself to be a wretched, horrible sinner. Perhaps you are afraid to put your life or soul into the hands of such a powerful and holy God. Truth is, No matter how low you consider yourself to be, in the sight of God, you are actually much worse. Maybe you have committed murder in your foolish, younger days, killing your own unborn child. Perhaps you destroyed your marriage and drove your children away from the Lord. Or you were found guilty of various crimes, and you spent time in prison. On the other hand, perhaps you were guilty of various sins, but you were not discovered or charged. Perhaps you know yourself to be a sinner without any reason to do anything but beat on your chest before God, crying out for mercy, while not really expecting it.
Maybe you feel like your heart is made of stone; is there a boulder inside you, dragging your soul into hell. My friend, remember that God created not only stones and boulders, but mountains and monoliths. And that same God has the power to raise up children out of stones – Luke 3:8. The God who created mountains and then crushes them, has power over the hardest rock. He can even make stones to sing His praises – Luke 19:40. Don’t for a moment imagine that the Almighty God and Saviour cannot do for you what He did with murderous Saul, adulterous David or thieving Matthew.
I can tell you with all the authority of the Word of God, that God is sufficiently powerful to make all grace abound toward you – II Corinthians 9:8. As I say, He has called, accepted, regenerated and forgiven sinners far worse than you. “His love has no limit, His grace has no measure; His POW’R has no boundary known unto men. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus; He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.” We have known drunkards whom the Lord has saved. We have known immoral men and even people others considered degenerate, made into new creatures in Christ. There is nothing too hard for the Lord, and that includes the saving of your sinful soul. “Trust ye in the Lord for ever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.” Paul, in the middle of his epistle to the Ephesians wrote, “Now unto him that his able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask of think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him to be glory in the church by Christ Jesus through all ages, world with out end, Amen!” And Paul concluded his letter to the Romans by saying, “Now to him that is of POWER to stablish you… to God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.”
The power of God is awe inspiring; it is terrifying; but it is also comforting. It is comforting to know that no matter how insignificant, or conversely, how wretched we are, the Lord is not incapable of lifting us up. Not only is He omnipotent, He is filled with inexplicable love for undeserving sinners like us. God’s omnipotent love is expressed by the words “grace” and “mercy.” That the holy God would choose to be gracious and merciful is once again and expression of His power and sovereignty. “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.”
I don’t know how to conclude this message, any more than I knew how to begin. I will just read the words of the unnamed writer of Psalm 71 – “My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee! Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.”
I will say with that Psalmist that the omnipotent, almighty God is my SAVIOUR. The Lord redeemed and saved me more that fifty years ago, forgiving me of my sins and giving me eternal life. Now that I am old and gray headed, I am asking the Almighty to strengthen me, and to enable me to declare His power to this generation and to that which is to come. Jesus Christ has power and the authority to forgive and cleanse you of your sin. He can give you life – eternal life – so essential for eternity. The question is: will you submit to that authority and willingly put yourself under His Sovereignty? Will you acknowledge your sin before God and humbly accept His gift of free grace and bountiful mercy? Will you put your trust in the Saviour, the infinite Son of God?
Are you prepared for the next avalanche or hurricane of divine wrath? Are you prepared for eternity, clinging to the Saviour?