Today, we look at part 5 of our series on the Attributes of God: The Power of God. We cannot form a right conception of the LORD unless we consider Him as all-powerful as well as all-wise. If you talk to many in the church world, you will become convinced that their view of God is not the God of the Bible but is a god of their own creation. The religious world is merging into the great apostasy and is being brought under a great delusion, which is preparing it for the acceptance of the Antichrist when he appears on the scene.
Introduction
If God cannot do what He wills and perform, or bring to pass, all His pleasure, then He cannot be God. God has the power to execute His will. God who ordained everything from the beginning has the power to bring to pass what He ordained. To quote the old Puritan Charnock:
"The power of God is that ability and strength whereby He can bring to pass whatsoever He please, whatsoever His infinite wisdom can direct, and whatsoever the Infinite purity of His will can 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 His eternal councils, if power did not step in to execute them. Without power His mercy would be feeble pity, His promises an empty sound, His justice a slighted scarecrow. God's power is like Himself: infinite, eternal, incomprehensible; it can neither be checked, restrained nor frustrated by the creature."
Let us now examine the Power of God.
Section 1: Power Belongs to God
Psalm 62: 11 reads: "God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; THAT POWER BELONGETH UNTO GOD." In Matthew 24: 35 the Lord Jesus Christ said: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." God's Word stands, and when Psalm 62: 11 says, "Power belongeth unto God," why should God have to speak more than once? We poor weak mortals like to bring God down to our level and make Him altogether such as one as ourselves and think of Him as not being able to perform what He promises, but God has power to bring to pass all of His promises, and His decrees. Our God is able! In Psalm 89: 6, we read:
"For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him. O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? Or to thy faithfulness round about thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them."
Then in Daniel 4: 35, we hear: "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as NOTHING: and he (God) doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?"
I like to think of my God, the better yet, the God of the Bible, as the all-powerful One-One who is able to perform all that He wills and desires according to His glory. And who am I to try to stay His hand, or even suggest to Him, because the God of the Bible does as He pleases, as He wills and counsels with no one! Not even with you, I don't care who you think you are!
The God of the Bible has all power and authority.
Section 2: Power of the Lord Jesus Christ
When the Lord Jesus Christ walked the earth, a leper approached Him (Luke 5: 12), and said, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." And the Lord Jesus Christ said, "I will; be thou clean," and immediately his leprosy was cleansed. We see the dread disease of leprosy fleeing at His command. One day two sorrowing, weeping sisters led the Lord Jesus to the tomb where their brother Lazarus had been buried four days (John 11), and Jesus standing before that open tomb said, "Lazarus, come forth," and he that was dead came forth. Here we see death fleeing at the command of our Lord. After the resurrection He said, "I have the keys of death and hell."
One day He was in a boat with His disciples on the stormy sea of Galilee (Mark 4: 35-41); the waves were rolling, and the boat was out of control. It seemed death was certain. Then the Lord Jesus Christ stood up in that boat and said, "Peace be still," and the waves lay at His feet like the family dog, so much so until the disciples marveled. My friend, God has power over the raging waves of the of your heart so tossed by the power of Satan. We are to keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ when times are challenging. He has power over sickness, death and nature. Turn to Him and look all those that are awakened to their lost condition. He is your only hope.
Listen again, one day our Lord stood yonder in Gadara at the edge of a graveyard (Mark 5), and a man who was possessed with a legion of demons stood before Him, crying, "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God," and the Lord Jesus said, "Come out of him," and the demons came screaming out, leaving him in his right mind. Yes, the demons of darkness obey His command.
All the powers of hell, of Satan and all of the demon forces of hell cannot compare with the power of our Lord. They have nothing on Him! They cannot cope with Him. No human will, no combination of human wills and no combination of people, I don't care how many there are, how large a group, how many nations can oppose Him, our Lord sits in the heavens and laughs at them. Yes, He does, and our Lord is on the throne. My friends, His Holiness so surrounds every child and so overshadows us until Satan can't touch one of God's children apart from Our Lord's will. Just as sin surrounds you who are not saved, and Satan, the evil one, has you in his control, just so, when God delivers His child, He surrounds that individual with His holiness so that the evil one cannot touch him. God's child lives in that state of the holiness of God, and that is the thing that makes you in the image of the Son of God.
Listen to this, I want to make sure you get this, THE DEMONS FLEE AT HIS COMMANDS. All diseases flee at His command. Christ has only to speak the Word, and the fevered brow is cooled, the deformed made perfect, the harlet is cleansed, the dead raised, the sinner is cleansed. That's POWER! It took the power of a Sovereign God to break my stubborn will, lift me off the path toward hell, and make me into the image of the Son of God. His Power brought me crying, "My Lord, and my God, my Lord and my God!
I actually feel sorry for Christ rejectors today. It must be fearful to face all that is happening today without the Lord Jesus Christ. How glorious it is to know Him and be known to Him, because of His great saving power. It was the power of God that stopped me one day to see my lost condition and said to me "STOP." Do you know this experience friend? If you don't, you can.
No awakened sinner need despair that God is not able to deliver you. He is able to deliver the vilest, the lowest, the most wretched; just take Him at His Word. You may be addicted to drugs, alcohol, gambling, or pornography (and most Christian men are according to statistics and surveys), but His Power can set you free. How, you ask? Ask Him through the power of the Holy Spirit to deliver just for one day. He will, you will defeat the addiction with His power. Do the same the next day, and the next day and so on. Just like sin gets more dominant as you yield to it, the same works for righteousness. As you depend more and more on the Holy Spirit to deliver you, He will, and the temptations and addictions will grow quieter and quieter.
Remember this: not one creature in all of God's universe has one ounce of power except what God gives them. No awakened sinner is able to deliver yourself, but God says in His Word: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." (John 1: 12) Paul wrote: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it (the Gospel) is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth (Romans 1: 16). Again, our Lord said: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you (Acts 1:8)." Christ also said, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and earth (Matthew 28: 18)."
C.H. Spurgeon said: "God's power to save himself; this power is like Himself, self-existent, self-sustained. The mightiest of men cannot add so much as a shadow of increased power to the Omnipotent One....He is Himself the great central Source and Originator of all power." Job 38: 4-6 says: "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or Who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or, who laid the corner stone thereof?"
Listening friend, as we behold the power of the Almighty One and realize that we have no power except Him, this completely brings our pride down and lays it in the dust. Most churches today make man in charge. Salvation is man's doing not God's doing. Man will take charge of his destiny. This is all false theology and look where it has got us. Churches embracing LGBTQ+, abortion rights and transgender issues, all contrary to the Word of God. Remember the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the drowning of the Egyptian army, and other Biblical events that demonstrate His unmatched power. Our God has the right and power to do with His creations as He wills. Don't forget that!
Section 3: God's Sovereignty and Power
The God of the Bible is not only Sovereign, all-wise, and holy, but He is all-powerful and is able to bring to pass what He wills; He does as He wills in heaven and on earth and no man "can stay His hand." That being true, we as God's children need never despair, because He is able to supply all our needs. It is our business to walk in His will and in His way. Let His will become our will and our will lost in His will. Ephesians 3: 20-21 says: "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end."
Consider these verses as we reflect upon God's Sovereignty and power:
1. Philippians 4: 19 states: "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
2. Genesis 18: 4: "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" This is similar to when our Lord said to His disciples: "All things are possible with God."
3. 1 Samuel 17: 47: "The battle is the LORD's. This is true so why should we despair?
4. We should trust in the LORD with all our heart; and lean not unto our own understanding. In all our ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct our paths." (Proverbs 3: 5-6)
5. Mark 14: 62: "The Son of man sitting on the right hand of power." Here, "power" is used as a name of God. In other words, "sitting on the right hand of power" means sitting at the right hand of God.
GOD AND HIS POWER ARE INSEPARABLE. God never manifests all His power; we might say there is more power lodged in the nature of God than is expressed in all His works. Ponder that thought for a while.
God is Sovereign and He manifests His power as He wills. Consider the following Biblical examples:
1. God parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to pass as they escaped from Egypt, but He let the enemy drown in the depths of the sea.
2. God manifested His power in sending them food from the skies and water from the rocks.
3. The Lord exercised His power is delivering Peter from prison, but He retrained that power and let Stephen (stoned) and James's die (king cut off his head with a sword).
4. In Hebrews 11, we read about the deliverance of Noah from the flood, Moses rescued from the slayers, but God permitted thousands of other children to be put to death.
5. God's power threw down the walls of Jericho, but He made the children of Israel take the rest of the cities at the point of a sword.
6. Many were delivered by His power, but "others had atrial of cruel mocking's and scourging's, yes, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword (Hebrews 11: 36-37).
GOD IS ALL POWERFUUL AND HE WILL DISPLAY HIS POWER WHEN HE CHOOSES.
Section 4: Responses to God's Power
In light of what has been said, the only thing that we believers can do is to cast ourselves upon Him and rest at His feet wholly submissive unto His will. Our God is able to deliver; our God is able to save, and though He is Sovereign in the demonstration of His power, yet I have never seen the LORD reject anyone who comes to Him pleading nothing but the shed blood of Christ on his behalf and asking for mercy. We respond to God's power to save by coming to Him with all our defenses and excuses gone/ The sinner that cries, "Christ died for a sinner like me," will never leave disappointed.
Listening friend, you cannot come any other way. That is the only way you can come; that is the only way God will admit you into His presence. You come taking responsibility for your sins. They are not mistakes, indiscretions, or missteps, they are sins.NO ONE EVER GETS SAVED UNTIL HE TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIS INDIVIDUAL SINS. I have seen people come and make a pseudo repentance, a few tears and he says, "I'm sorry," but they had a disclaimer or blame another. When someone comes clean before the Lord, they are ready for God's saving grace and mercy.
You cannot become a son of God within yourself: you are utterly dependent upon God to make you a new creature in Christ Jesus. You are totally dependent upon God to break the power of Satan over you. You are completely dependent upon the Lord to deliver you from Satan and translate you into the kingdom of the Son of God. Lost one, all that being said, I would not rest until I got to Him completely broken, resting in dust and ashes at His feet. That is where I have to live all the time; that is where I want to live. This is impossible to do until the Sovereign Lord changes who you are and makes you a new creation. That new creation will want to sit at His feet in repentance, the old carnal mind hates the things that pertain to God. This shows the power of our Lord. He has the power to change you into a new person. Bless His Holy Name! The new creation loses his will into God's will. That is the power of God! To change your want To's into His want.
Section 5: A Picture of God's Power
Consider the following Scriptures that reveal a beautiful picture of the power of God:
1. In Job 9:8 we find these words: "Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth (walketh) upon the waves of the sea." Here we see the LORD walking not running, no haste, no hurry, "upon the waves of the sea." This is a picture of uncontrollable power. In Job 22: 14, we find these words: "And he walketh in the circuit of heaven." These words tell us of the immensity of His presence and that all the heavens are under His control.
2. Psalm 104: 3: "Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariots: who walketh upon the wings of the wind." Here we see God walking "upon the wings of the wind," which would signify the swiftness of His operations. Our God has everything under perfect control; the worlds are held in their place by the word of His power and move with such precision that scientists can tell you when the sun will be in eclipse a thousand years from now.
3. Psalm 33: 6 reads: "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." For any individual to say there is no God, shows his totally depraved, blinded nature and that his utterly rebellious heart is pitted against his maker. Just think how everything you see was made without materials. To not believe in God is to believe that everything sprang from emptiness itself. It was the LORD who said, "Let there be," and it came into existence. The LORD willed and it was done. What amazing power!
Section 6: God's Power in Preservation and Government
Let us consider God's power in preservation. Did you ever stop to think that no creature has power to preserve himself, or itself. No flower can grow without soil; no beast would ever live without food Psalm 36: 6 says: "O LORD, thou preservest man and beast," and in Hebrew 1: 3 we find He upholdeth all things by the word of His power. As Psalm 66: 9 states, truly He "holdeth our soul in life." Do you see how we are at the mercy of an Almighty God? You are alive this very moment because of His Mercy!
Let's notice God's power in government. In 1 Peter 5: 8 we read: "The devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." Satan is filled with hatred against God, and he hates the saints of God to the very utmost of his soul. Except for the power of God Satan would have every saint put to death before the sun sets. But thank God, Satan has no more power than God delegates to him, and Satan will go no farther than God permits! God restrains the natural corruption of men. If God should remove His hand, there is no limit to what they would do against the sons of God. Romans 3: 14 says, their "mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood." This is the natural condition of the human race.
Man by nature hates God; man by nature would take God off the throne. But thank God, He restrains the wrath of man and holds him in check (Psalm 76: 10). No sinner would ever be saved if he could help it. Talk about the free will of man; man has free will but that will is subject to his depraved nature and will always freely choose against God. Man's free will chooses evil. Man left alone without the constraining influence of the Holy Spirit would not only destroy everyone else, but he would destroy himself and would never come to Christ for salvation. Man by nature, hates the Gospel of the grace of God with a dying vengeance. So, you see, the only way in the world that a person is ever saved is by the Holy Spirit taking the Word of God and breaking the sinner down until he is made to cry, "God, be merciful to me a sinner."
Let us consider God's power in judgment. For years, man has tried to remove the sword of judgment out of the hand of God. In Ezekiel 22: 14 we find that when God smites, none can resist Him. When God sent the flood, no person could escape God's hand except those in the ark of safety. At Sodom and Gomorrah, all in those places could not escape the fire and brimstone. Someday God is going to display His mighty power upon the sons of men who reject the Lord Jesus Christ, and they will find their place in hell. God is a God of love, but He is also a God of wrath.
Every sinner, before he is saved, learns in unmistakable terms that God is a God of wrath. No sinner can know the love of God until he first knows the wrath of God in judgment. Every sinner, before he is saved, is brought into the court of justice. He is made to see himself under the wrath and judgment of God. He is made to see and feel the wrath of a sin-avenging God as he sits in the court of justice. The sinner takes responsibility for his sins, blames no one else. The Holy Spirit open's the sinners' eyes to see and to know that God loves him, and that Christ died for him, to see and to feel and to know his sin debt was paid in Christ. By faith, the sinner sees his blood substitute and knows that he is eternally saved.
Conclusion
Our God is a God of power. His power is so immense and limitless that no being, spirit, or force can deter Him. What He wills to do, He will do. What He purposes for you will come about, and nothing can stop it. That is the God I serve. Is this the God you serve? If not, come to Him in repentance and have faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to save you. He will never turn anyway away that comes to Him.
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