Sunday, March 18, 2012 Message to the Winston-Salem Church of God of Prophecy

The Question of Truth

This week I read an article on ChristianPost.com by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. Let me begin this message this morning by reading you a portion of the article.

Amidst the debris of postmodernism (a movement that has basically run its course) stands a great ambivalence about the nature of truth. The great intellectual transformation of recent decades produced a generation that is not hostile to all claims of truth, but is highly selective about what kinds of truth it is willing to receive.

The current intellectual climate accepts truth as being true in some objective sense only when dealing with claims of truth that come from disciplines like math or science. They accept objective truth when it comes to gravity or physiology, but not when it comes to morality or meaning.

One result of this is that we can often be heard as meaning less than we intend. When we present the gospel, it can easily be heard as a matter of our own personal reality that is, in the end, free from any claim upon others. In other cases, this generation will confront an open denial that any truth can actually be known, except by means of empirical science or similar sources of knowledge.

Beyond this, our truth claims are claims of revealed truth. The modern mind is shocked to incredulity when we make clear that we claim knowledge revealed to us in written form by supernatural revelation.

In other words, this generation will face the continual challenge of making clear that the gospel is not merely interesting, not merely meaningful, but true.

(John 8:32) "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (NKJV)

Have you ever heard this statement? AIt doesn't matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.@ Now that sounds so good. It sounds so broad-minded, so tolerant…It is politically correct. ADifferent strokes for different folks. You believe that; I believe this.@ Fine, we're both cool.

The only problem is, it is absurd and irrational to hold that belief. There are some beliefs that are exact opposites of each other. It is not only absurd and naive to hold this view; it is also self-destructive.

Do you remember when Elijah had the showdown with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel? Those prophets cried to Baal, even going as far to cut themselves trying to get Baal to answer. They were very sincere in what they were doing but they were wrong.

You can be sincere, but you can be sincerely wrong. The fact is, it takes more than sincerity to make it in life. It takes truth.

I will share with you six facts about the significance of your beliefs.

I. Beliefs Are a Choice

Nobody forces you to believe anything. If I don=t want to believe something, I don=t have to. If I want to believe Elvis is alive, I can believe it. If I want to believe in the Loch Ness monster, I can believe it. If I want to believe the moon=s made of cheese or the world is flat, I can believe it.

You can't blame others for your beliefs. If you are no longer under your parents' authority you can't blame them because they're not holding on to you anymore. You can drop those beliefs anytime you wish. It is a choice. God even gives you a choice as what to believe.

(Romans 1:25) Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (NKJV)

²⁵Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen. (Rom. 1:25 NLT)

Our beliefs are a choice, and if they do not agree with the revealed truth in God's Word those errant beliefs need to be changed.

II. Beliefs Determine How I Act

(Proverbs 4:23) Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. (NKJV)

Proverbs 4:23 says, ²³Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do (NLT)

Everything you do has an unconscious or conscious belief behind it. When you sat down on that pew this morning, you unconsciously believed it would hold you. That belief gave you the confidence to sit down.

When you get in your car after this service, you believe you will get home. If you happen to go to lunch after the service, you pick up a menu and choose something because you believe it's going to taste good. It may not.

The problem is this: My beliefs determine the way I act, even when they're wrong. For instance, if you believe you=re clumsy, how are you going to act? You are going to act clumsy. If you believe you=re unlovable, you will act unlovable. If you believe other people cannot be trusted, you will tend to treat them with suspicion. If you believe that God is unconcerned about you, you will never pray. If you believe that God=s out to get youClike many people doCyou will try to avoid God.

The point is, even if your beliefs are wrong, they affect your behavior. So you need to examine them.

III. Not All Beliefs Are True

It used to be that people would say, AYou know, I will believe it when I see it.@
You can't even believe what you see anymore. Technology has now created a thing called virtual reality, a blend of fact and fiction. So even if you see it, it doesn't=t mean it's true. You can't believe everything you see.

Television and technology have blended fact and fiction into docu-dramas, reality-based programming where everything is staged but appears as if it were real.

Someone suggested that this is what the daily talk shows on TV project as truth.

1) All your problems are somebody else=s fault.

2) This world owes you happiness.

3) You will be happy if you get whatever you want.

4) There is never any reason to feel guilty.

5) Man is basically good and unselfish.

6) All beliefs are equally valid.

7) Pornography and perversion are innocent.

8) You can have it all.

9) You shouldn't have to wait for anything.

10) Because you=re God, the answer lies within you.

The Bible gives us some very blunt advice about this.

(1 John 4:1) Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (NKJV)

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. (1 John 4:1)

The Bible tells us in other places that the reason there are so many false teachers is because it's profitable. They're making lots of money on those psychic hotlines.

A belief does not have to be true in order for it to affect you emotionally or cause emotional turmoil. If you=re camping in the mountains and believe that you hear a bear pawing around outside your tent, your heart will start racing. Adrenaline will shoot into your system. Your muscles will tense up. You will be in emotional turmoil over something that is not true.

That happens all the time, but we don=t realize it. We worry about all sorts of things that aren't true. But if we want to overcome stress or anger or guilt or depression or worry or perfectionism, we must clarify and correct the misbeliefs behind those feelings.

IV. True Beliefs Will Set Me Free

Psychologist Chris Thurman wrote, ATruth is the road map for negotiating the difficult challenges of life. Without it we get lost and we develop emotional problems that tell us we're lost. We often settle for half-truths or no truth at all because they are usually easier. But truth is the only road to emotional health. There is no other path.@

Now the good news is that truth is available to anyone who wants it……which also means that emotional health is possible for anyone. The real question is, AAm I willing to pay the price?@

Jesus said the same thing about two thousand years earlier.

(John 8:32) "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (NKJV)

My goal is that we expose the lies that we have been taught and or being taught by our culture and apply the truth. The truth will set you free and you will experience new freedom from some hang-ups, some habits, and some hurts that have messed up your life for a number of years.

V. I Must Choose the Basis for My Beliefs: The World or God=s Word

(Romans 3:4) Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: "That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged." (NKJV)

Romans 3:4 says, ^4….Though everyone else in the world is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say, "He will be proved right in what he says, and he will win his case in court."
(NLT)

There is a fundamental question you need to ask yourself: AWhat is going to be the authority for my life? What=s going to be the basis for my beliefs and my behavior? What=s going to be the guidebook that I rely on? What=s my North Star? What=s my compass?@

When it comes down to it, you have only two options. You either have the world or the Word of God. You will either build your life on what culture says or what Christ says….the world or the Word.

Which of them do you think is more reliable? The problem with what culture says is that it just keeps changing; it is shifting every day. The therapy that works today is not the therapy that was so popular five years ago. Why? Because man=s knowledge is increasing, and they find things don=t work.

God=s knowledge is ultimate, and it is always true. The average life of a science textbook is just eighteen months. After that, it's out of date because knowledge is increasing so rapidly.

In a world where something=s changing every day, you don=t want to put your faith in something you can't depend on tomorrow.

(Luke 21:33) "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. (NKJV)

God=s Word has stood the test of time. You can trust it as your guidebook, as your authority, as your basis of faith. The Bible is based on God=s character. It is impossible for God to lie. If you want something to build your life on that=s solid, you'd better build it on God=s truth.

VI. I Must Commit to Become a Person of Truth

Jesus says and it translated in the KJV of the Bible "Verily, verily I say unto you…" which means AI tell you the truth,@ over eighty times. The NKJV translates "Verily, Verily" as "Most Assuredly." Over twenty times in Scripture Jesus says, ANow you have heard it said, but I say to you.@ Jesus is correcting false beliefs and assumptions.

(Matthew 7:26) "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: (NKJV)

Jesus says that building your life is like building a house: The right foundation is absolutely critical. You can build your house on the solid rock, God=s unchanging truth. Or you can build your house on shifting sands, the constantly changing opinions of the world.

But Jesus tells and He is very blunt about it that it's foolish to build your life on things that are changing every day. So build your house on the rock of God=s Word, unchanging truth.

When you are in the midst of the storms of life, you=re battered around and knocked up against the wall. Emotional earthquakes shake up your life. If your life is not built on the foundation of truth, you will crumble. We see people every day who are crumbling because they haven=t built on the foundation of truth that keeps them solid.

(Matthew 7:24) "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: (NKJV)

Do you want to be emotionally stable? Do you want to get it together? You need to hear and you need to practice the truth.

Now hearing the truth is not enough. You need to practice it. Practicing something takes commitment. And the first step toward being released from the hurts, habits, and hang-ups that are messing you up is to make a personal commitment to become a person of truth.

VII. Transformed by Truth

(Romans 12:2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV)

Would you like to experience the kind of life God has always meant for you to live? Would you like to be freed from emotional hang-ups that keep you from being happy? It is possible. God can transform your mind and replace the faulty beliefs with a new system of beliefs based on the truth.

There is one key to having that transformation happen in your life. The first key to freedom is one three-letter word in that sentence: "…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." That involves a choice and a commitment.

I encourage you to make three commitments regarding truth in your life. If you do you will be well on your way to emotional healing and health.

1) I commit myself to seeking the truth.

(1 Timothy 4:1) Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, (NKJV)

1 Timothy 4:1 in the Living Bible says, AThere's going to come a time when people won't listen to the truth, but they will go around looking for teachers who tell them just what they want to hear.@ That sounds like astrologists or psychic hotlines to me. They just tell you what you want to hear. AThey won't listen to what the Bible says but will follow their own misguided ideas without a care in the world.@ Why? Because it is easier.

It's not always easy or popular to seek the truth because the truth contradicts popular opinion. It contradicts conventional wisdom. While the world is saying, AIt's okay because everybody=s doing it,@ the truth is, it's not okay. So it's not always popular to be honest and to seek the truth.

I need to warn you that sometimes the truth is painful. Sometimes the truth is scary. Sometimes the truth is disturbing. Sometimes the truth is dangerous. Sometimes we don=t want to face the truth about our past. But it is the only way to emotional health and stability.

(1 Timothy 4:7) But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. (NKJV)

ADon=t follow foolish stories that disagree with God=s truth.@ If you had an experience that seems to contradict the Bible, trust the Bible and not the experience. What we feel can be wrong but the Bible is never wrong. Now granted our understanding of God's Word can be enlightened so that we see the truth more clearly.

I thank God for the multitude of counselors in our International Assembly. I am grateful that the Church of God of Prophecy from the beginning has based our beliefs and practices on the revealed Word of God and we are willing to walk in the light of God's Word as the Holy Spirit directs us.

2) I commit myself to living the truth. Now this is a little bit harder.

(Ephesians 4:14-15) that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ-- (NKJV)

Ephesians 4:14 says, ¹⁴Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. ¹⁵Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. (NLT)

Truth is not just something you know; it's something you do. It's something you practice. It's something you apply. It's something you obey. It's something you follow. It's not just some intellectual trip, it's something you put in your life. We ought to be a living Bible and yes that is harder.

(2 Corinthians 4:2) But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. (NKJV)

3) I commit myself to believing in the truth. Now, the wonderful thing about God is that He wants us to know the truth because it does set us free. He has given us the Bible. But He also came to earth two thousand years ago and took the form of a man. Jesus Christ came so that we would have a living model of the truth as our example. He modeled the truth. He incarnated the truth.

(John 14:6) Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (NKJV)

I just don=t understand when somebody says, AI believe Jesus was a good person, but I don=t believe Jesus was God.@ He is either who He says He is, or He is the biggest con man that ever lived.

That forces a decision. He was either who He claimed to beCGod came to earth to show us the truthCor He was a phony, a fake. And you are trusting your life now and for eternity on what you believe about it.

God has given you the freedom to choose what you believe. He doesn't force any belief on you. You can choose to believe that this microphone is God if you want to. There are people all over the world who make little gods and worship them. God gives you the freedom to choose your god.

But once you make that choice, you do not have the freedom to choose the consequences of that belief. You can say, AI don=t intend to accept Jesus for who He claimed to be. I don=t intend to accept Christ as the truth.@ God will let you choose to be separated from Him now, but the consequence of that decision is to be separated from God for all eternity. And that is called hell. Hell was made for the devil and his angels, not for God's people. But when you choose to reject God, He says, Athen be separated from Me.@

(2 Thessalonians 2:10) and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (NKJV)

Second Thessalonians 2:10 says ¹⁰He [the antichrist] will use every kind of wicked deception to fool those who are on their way to destruction because they refuse to believe the truth that would save them. (NLT)

Millions and millions of people are saying no to the Truth. They have refused to believe it and love it and let it save them. So God will allow them to believe lies with all their heart. John 3:18 tells us that if we don't believe on the Lord Jesus Christ then we are condemned. And that disbelief will send the unbeliever to hell, because he/she refused to accept and follow and love the truth. Jesus said, "I am the truth.@

Conclusion: Truth, the Path to Heaven

How do you go to heaven? There's only one way. It's not by being good, not by getting baptized, not by taking Communion, not by giving to the United Way. There's only one way to heaven; to accept and love and follow the Truth. Jesus said, "I am the truth.@

Now you know. So what is your decision?

Seek the Truth

Live the Truth

Believe the Truth

Sunday, March 11, Message to the Winston-Salem Church of God of Prophecy

The Holiness of God

(Isaiah 6:1-3) In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" (NKJV)

(Isaiah 6:4-6) And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts." Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. (NKJV)

(Isaiah 6:7-8) And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged." Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." (NKJV)

Introduction: Two weeks ago I spoke about the Glory of God—Glory can be defined as the sum total of all God's attributes. Last Sunday I spoke about God's Omnipotence—truly we serve a God who is All-Powerful. Last Sunday evening during the service I felt impressed to speak about God's Holiness and my mind went to Isaiah 6, and the verses which we just read.

Verse 1 mentions the death of King Uzziah. He was the tenth king of Judah and he was a very godly man. He was highly influenced by the prophet Zechariah and, unlike many of the other kings; he never totally departed from the worship of the true God. He was not a David, but neither was he noted for the corruption that characterized the kings of the north such as Ahab.

Uzziah ascended to the throne when he was sixteen years old. He reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. During the past 52 years the United States has witnessed the administrations of Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2 and Obama. For many people Uzziah was the only king they knew. Under his influence, the southern kingdom attained power, wealth and success unlike any it had enjoyed since the days of Solomon.

The Bible tells us that Uzziah begin his reign in godliness, doing "what was right in the sight of the Lord." He sought after God and God blessed him. He was victorious in battle over the Philistines and other nations. He built towers in Jerusalem and strengthened the city walls. He dug massive cisterns in the desert and stimulated great expansion in the nation's agriculture. He restored the military power of Judah to a standard almost as high as it had been under David. For most of his career Uzziah was noted as a great and beloved king.

The story of Uzziah ends with a sad note. The last years of his life were like those of a Shakespearian tragic hero. His career was marred by the sin of pride committed after he acquired great wealth and power. He tried to play God. He boldly entered the temple and arrogantly claimed for himself the rights that God had given only to the priests.

When the priests of the temple tried to stop his act of sacrilege, Uzziah became enraged. When he was screaming at them in fury, leprosy broke out on his forehead.

(2 Chronicles 26:21) King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD.

He was stricken with leprosy by the Lord for his disobedience to the Lord. He died in that leprous condition! Disobedience to the Lord is a serious thing!

Well, evidently, Isaiah is disturbed by the death of the great king. After all, he had reigned for 52 years. His death signaled the end of a time of great prosperity and consistency. For Isaiah and the entire nation, it ushered in a time of uncertainty, change and doubt.

Yet, for Isaiah, this is to be a time of rediscovery. Apparently Isaiah had his attention focused on Uzziah, but now that Uzziah is dead, his attention is redirected back to the Lord. What must have been a down time in the prophet's life became an uptime. That which had held his attention was removed and Isaiah had a fresh encounter with God. What happened to Isaiah in this event spotlights for us what we need at all times and especially during the down times in our own lives.

We all have down times in life! Those down times can grow us, or they can ruin us, which depends upon what has our attention. Learning what to do when life turns down will help us to get back up in short order.

I. V. 1-4 WE NEED TO SEE WHAT ISAIAH SAW

A. V. 1 He Saw God's Position

Isaiah saw God in His sovereignty. An earthly king may have died, but the Lord still reigned. He saw the Lord in His glory. And, it had a profound impact on the life of Isaiah.

When life seems to fall apart at the seams, we need to remember the God Who is in control of it all! Our God can even redeem what seem to us tragedies in our lives. We need to remember just who is in control!

Before we go further with the story, notice how in Isaiah 6:1 how the word Lord is printed.

(Isaiah 6:1) In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. (NKJV)

Lord begins with a capital letter and then is finished with lower case letters. This stands in contrast with the word LORD that occurs in verse 3 and frequently in Scriptures.

(Isaiah 6:3) And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" (NKJV)

Sometimes the word Lord appears in all capital letters – LORD. This is not an error in printing or a mere inconsistency on the part of the translator. The KJV and NKJV and some other translations of the Bible follow this device of rendering the word Lord sometimes in lower case letters and other times in uppercase letters. The reason for this difference is that two different Hebrew words are used in the original text, but both are rendered in English by the Word Lord.

When the word Lord occurs in lower case letters, the translator is indicating to us that word Adonai is found in the Hebrew Bible. Adonai means "sovereign one." It is not the name of God. It is a title for God, indeed the supreme title given to God in the O.T.

When LORD appears in all capital letters it indicates that the word YAWHEH is used in the O.T. Yahweh is the sacred name for God, the name God revealed Himself to Moses within the burning bush. This is the precious name, the ineffable name the holy name that is guarded from profanity in the life of Israel.

We see, for example, this contrast in words found in the Psalms.

(Psalms 8:9) O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth! (NKJV)

What David was saying was, "O Yahweh, our Adonai, how excellent is Your name in all the earth." Or we could render it, "O God, our Sovereign One, how excellent…"

LORD is the name of God; Lord is His title. For example, Pastor Billy Norris; Pastor is my title; Billy Norris is my name.

B. V. 2-3 He Saw God's Personality

(Isaiah 6:2) Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. (NKJV)

The seraphim are not sinful men burdened with impure hearts. Yet as angelic beings they are still creatures, and even in their lofty status as consorts of the heavenly host it is necessary for them to shield their eyes from a direct gaze on the face of God. They are fearfully and wonderfully made, equipped by their Creator with a special pair of wings to cover their faces in His majestic presence.

The seraphim have a second pair of wings. The second pair is used to cover their feet. This equipment is not intended as a sort of angelic shoe to protect the soles of their feet or to facilitate walking in the heavenly temple. The covering of the feet is for a different reason, a reason reminiscent of Moses' experience with the burning bush.

Moses saw a bush on fire but the bush was not being consumed by the fire. Upon approaching the bush for a closer investigation God called to Moses and told him to take of his shoes for he was standing on holy ground. The ground was made holy by the presence of God. The act of removing the shoes was a symbol of Moses' recognition that he was of the earth or earthly. The feet of man, sometimes called "feet of clay," symbolize that we are creatures. It is our feet that link us to the earth.

The seraphim are not of the earth. Their feet are not made of clay. As angels they are spirit-beings. Nevertheless they remain creatures, and the imagery of Isaiah's vision suggests that they two must cover their feet, acknowledging they are also creatures in the exalted presence of God.

(Isaiah 6:3) And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" (NKJV)

Here we encounter the crux of Isaiah's vision. It is the song of the seraphim that reveals the awesome message of this text. The song is the repetition of a single word – holy. The significance of the repetition of the word holy can be easily missed. It represents a peculiar literary device that is found in Hebrew forms of literature, especially in poetry. The thrice repetition of holy is a form of emphasis.

When writing something in the English language to emphasize the importance of something we can use italics, boldface type, underline, quotation marks, etc. These are all devices to call the reader's attention to something that is especially important.

The O.T. Jew also had different techniques to indicate emphasis. One such device was the method of repetition. On a handful of occasions the Bible repeats something to the third degree. To mention something three times in succession is to elevate it to the superlative degree, to attach to it emphasis of super importance.

Only twice in sacred Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree. The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Not that He is merely holy, or even holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy. The Bible never says that God is love, love, love or mercy, mercy, mercy, or wrath, wrath, wrath, or justice, justice, justice. But it does say that God is holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is full of His glory.

Isaiah finally understood that Uzziah might have been a good king, but the Lord was a holy God and He and He alone deserved the glory for all of life!

We need to remember that God's prime characteristic is His holiness! Our duty before the Lord is to honor His holy nature by living holy lives before Him. We are to recognize His right to glory by giving Him all the glory for everything in our lives, 1 Cor. 10:31.

Isaiah learned that it was not about Uzziah or Isaiah, but it is all about God! God and He alone deserve to be in the place of honor and glory! Be careful not to assume the place that belongs to Him alone! During the downtimes of life, we need to remember Who is working all things out of His holiness and for the glory of His Name.

C. V. 4 He Saw God's Presence –

(Isaiah 6:4) And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. (NKJV)

We are told that the "house was filled with smoke". This was a symbol of the presence of God. You will notice that God's "train" filled the temple! That speaks of His robe. God was the central figure in the Temple! When God shows up, things happen!

Isaiah was reminded, rather forcefully, that Uzziah might be gone, but the Lord was still there! He had not been forsaken even during this downtime, but the Lord was still with Him in great glory!

We need to remember this truth as well! If we are saved, we are never alone, but even during the downtimes of life; we still have the presence of the Lord with us at all times.

II. V. 5-7 WE NEED TO SENSE WHAT ISAIAH SENSED

A. V. 5 He Sensed His Own Condition –

(Isaiah 6:5) So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts." (NKJV)

The doors of the temple were not the only things that were shaking. The thing that shook the most was the body of Isaiah. When he saw the living God, the reigning Monarch of the universe displayed before his eyes in all of His holiness, Isaiah cried out, "Woe is me."

On the lips of a prophet the word woe is an announcement of doom. In the Bible, cities are doomed, nations are doomed, and individuals are doomed – all by uttering the oracle of woe.

Isaiah's use of woe was extraordinary. When he saw the Lord, he pronounced the judgment of God upon himself. "Woe is me," he cried, calling down the denouncement of God, the utter anathema of judgment and doom upon his own head.

The sudden realization of ruin was linked to Isaiah's mouth. He cried, "I am a man of unclean lips." Strange…Why this focus on the mouth? Perhaps a clue to Isaiah's utterance may be found in the word of Jesus when He said…

(Matthew 15:11) "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." (NKJV)

James, the Lord's brother writes, (James 3:8) But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. (NKJV)

When Isaiah saw the Lord, he instantly realized that there were problems within his own heart. That is what happens when you get close to Him! Moving closer to God and seeing Him as He is, reveals the wickedness and sin in our own lives.

Note: Isaiah probably thought all was well in his life until he saw the Lord in His glory and holiness. When he did, he was made aware of his own shortcomings! Until we see God and are confronted with our own condition before Him, we will remain haughty and proud, but when we come face to face with Who He is and what we are, it will produce humility and confession!

Isaiah did not cry out "Woe is my neighbor!" He cried out "Woe is me!" Until we are able to see our own failures and our need for repentance before the Lord, we will never come clean. And, the sooner we come clean with the Lord about our own condition, the sooner we will see our downtime start to turn up!

B. V. 6-7 He Sensed His Own Cleansing –

(Isaiah 6:6-7) Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged." (NKJV)

There was nowhere for Isaiah to hide. He was naked and alone before God. He had no Eve to comfort him, no fig leaves to conceal him. His was pure moral anguish, the kind that rips out the heart of a man and tears his soul to pieces. Relentless conviction screamed from his every pore.

The Holy God is also a God of grace. He took immediate steps to cleanse the man and restore his soul. He commanded one of the seraphim to jump into action. The angelic creature moved swiftly, flying to the altar with tongs. From the burning fire the seraph took a glowing coal, too hot to touch for even an angel, and flew to Isaiah.

The seraph pressed the white-hot coal to the lips of the prophet and seared them. The lips are one of the most sensitive parts of human flesh, the meeting point of the kiss. Here Isaiah felt the holy flame burning his mouth. This was a severe mercy, a painful act of cleansing. Isaiah's wound was being cauterized; the dirt in his mouth was being burned away. He was refined by holy fire.

In this divine act of cleansing Isaiah experienced a forgiveness that went beyond the purification of his lips. He was cleansed throughout, forgiven to the core, but not without the awful pain of repentance. He went beyond cheap grace and the easy utterance, "I'm sorry." He was in mourning for his sin, overcome with moral grief, and God sent an angel to heal him. His sin was taken away. His mouth was purged. He was clean.

Thank God, the Lord does not just point out our sins, He also provides a means for our cleansing! With Isaiah, it was an angel with a live coal from the altar. With us, it is the precious blood of Jesus.

(1 John 1:7-9) But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (NKJV)

If we ever see Him as He is and we see ourselves as we are, then we will come before Him in humility and confess our sins. The closer you get to Him, the worse you look! But, when that realization comes, and we deal with it in repentance before the Lord, we will experience His cleansing and we will be able to stand in His presence and receive all He has for us! Talk about a downtime turning up!

III. V. 8 WE NEED TO SAY WHAT ISAIAH SAID

A. He Said "I Am Available" –

(Isaiah 6:8) Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." (NKJV)

Isaiah's vision took on a new dimension. Up to this point he had seen the glory of God; he had heard the song of the seraphim; he had felt the burning coal upon his lips. Now for the first time he heard the voice of God. Suddenly the angels were silent, and the voice that boomed throughout the temple, the voice that Scripture elsewhere describes as the sound of many waters, that voice echoed with the piercing questions: Whom shall I send? And Who will go for us?"

There is a pattern here; a pattern repeated over and over again in history. God appears, man quakes in terror, God forgives and heals, God sends. From brokenness to mission is the pattern for man.

Notice, Isaiah was not Humpty Dumpty. In the nursery rhyme the fall of Mr. Dumpty is tragic because no one could put him back together again. Yet he was not more fragile than Isaiah. Isaiah was shattered into as many pieces as any fallen egg. But God put him together again. God was able to take a shattered man and send him into the ministry. He took a sinful man and made him a prophet. He took a dirty mouth and made him God's spokesman.

As soon as Isaiah gets His heart clean, he hears the call of the Lord to service. When Isaiah said "Here am I", he was saying, "My downtime is over and I am ready for service!" He was signifying that he was over the death of Uzziah and that his life was on the altar of sacrifice for the glory of God!

That's what we need to say when life turns down! We need to get our all on the altar for God and come to the place where nothing means anything to us but what He wants from us! We need to submit, surrender and sacrifice, Rom. 12:1-2.

B. He Said "I Am Agreeable" –

Isaiah not only told the Lord of His availability, but he also mentioned his agreeability! He was saying, "Lord, I am here to do what you want and I am willing to do what you want! Send me and let me go do what you want me to do!"

That is a sure way to turn your downtimes upside down! Make yourself available to the Lord and get agreeable with whatever He asks you to do and you can be sure that He will bless your life and that He will use you for His glory!)

15 year old girl in Wales - "I love Jesus" was all she said and the Great Welsh revivals broke out!

Moody's statement, ""The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him."

Conclusion: Friends, the downtimes are going to come in life! You can count on them just as surely as you can count on the sun rising and sitting day by day. However, when they do come, you can shorten their duration and severity by simply seeing what Isaiah saw, sensing what Isaiah sensed and saying what Isaiah said!

A focused heart, a clean heart and a surrendered heart will quickly find itself on the upward path.

[Click Twice] I know that's what I want in my life, how about you?

Sunday, March 4, 2012 Message to the Winston-Salem Church of God of Prophecy

Is Anything Too Hard For God?

Let me ask you a question. It is actually my sermon title. Is anything impossible for God? Actually, the answer is yes. That may come as a surprise, but it really is true. God cannot do anything that would be inconsistent with His nature. For instance:

• Because God is Holy, it is impossible for Him to be unrighteous
  
• Because God is Truth, He cannot lie or deny Himself
  
• Because God is Life, He cannot die
  
• Because God is perfect, He cannot make a mistake
  
• Because He is immutable, He cannot change
  

We must not think of God as some super human being. He is not human; He is God Almighty!

Last Sunday I spoke about God's glory and I began with this text: (Jeremiah 9:23-24) Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD. (NKJV)

This morning we will explore the fact that He is omnipotent.

OMNI means all. Potent means powerful. Omnipotent simply means, "All powerful." The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines omnipotent this way, "All powerful, having unlimited or universal power, authority, or force; God."

• God is greater than any amount of atomic energy
  
• Greater than the sum total of this world's gravitational pull
  
• Greater than all military forces – both past and present
  
• Greater than all human causes and movements
  
• Far superior to world history itself
  
• Indeed God's power is greater than the greatest of powers for He is the source or Creator of those powers.

So, how does one spell omnipotent? G-O-D! God is omnipotent!

LOOK WITH ME NOW AT SOME VERSES OF SCRIPTURE THAT TESTIFY OF THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD

[Click Twice] (Job 42:2) "I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. (NKJV)

(Psalms 62:11) God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. (NKJV)

(Psalms 147:5) Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. (NKJV)

(Jeremiah 32:27) "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? (NKJV)

[Click Twice] (Matthew 19:26) But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (NKJV)

(Revelation 19:6) And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! (NKJV)

Listen to a portion of Ephesians 1:19 from several translations:

• The exceeding greatness of His power;
  
• The immeasurable greatness of his power;
  
• The surpassing greatness of His power;
  
• The incredible greatness of His power;
  
• The immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power.

Get the message? Everything about God is consistent with His omnipotence. Everything!

• His Names cry out that He is omnipotent
  
• His Character
  
• His Word
  
• His Actions

What an awe-inspiring thought it is that there is ONE BEING IN THIS UNIVERSE WHOSE POWER HAS NO LIMITS, WHO CAN DO ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING HE WILLS TO DO, AND DO IT BY HIS MERE WILL AND WORD, AND DO IT IN THE INSTANT HE WILLS IT! THAT BEING IS GOD!

I want us to now notice four ways that HE manifests this awesome and omnipotent power and some practical applications of those truths.

1. FIRST, CREATION

(Genesis 1:1) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (NKJV)

(Genesis 1:3) Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. (NKJV)

I repeat, "AND GOD SAID, 'LET THERE BE LIGHT, AND THERE WAS LIGHT.'" That is one of the most remarkable sentences ever written. It says so much. It is so profound and yet at the same time, it is so simple. A literal translation of the passage could go, "AND GOD SAID, LIGHT BE; LIGHT WAS."

It is as if God merely flipped on a light switch, light came into being; heavenly light; light without a sun, moon, or stars. Remember, they don't come into existence until the fourth day. Nonetheless, God created light – great light – with Himself as the only light source. "LIGHT BE-LIGHT WAS!"

God can say it because God can do it! (Jeremiah 32:17 NKJV)
'Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

A well-known American black preacher once mentioned in a sermon that God came out of nowhere. After the message, a fellow challenged him on that point. He said, "Preacher, let's be reasonable about this" to which the minister replied: "Alright, if you want to be reasonable about it, the reason God came from nowhere, there wasn't anywhere for Him to come from, and coming from nowhere, He stood on nothing, for there was nowhere for Him to stand. And standing on nothing, He reached out to where there was nowhere to reach and caught something when there was nothing to catch and hung something on nothing and told it to stay there, and nobody said a word, and the reason nobody said anything, there wasn't anybody there to say anything so God Himself said, 'That's good!'"

[Click Twice] (Romans 4:17 declares that the Lord ….calls those things which do not exist as though they did; (Romans 4:17 NKJV) That's power!!

(Psalms 33:6) By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. (NKJV)

(Psalms 33:9) For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. (NKJV)

Someone once asked Jay Kesler, former President of Youth for Christ International and a college president if he believed that God could make a fish big enough to swallow a man? I mean REALLY? Dr. Kesler's reply is classic. He said, "I not only believe that He can make such a fish, the God who made the sun and the moon and the stars, if he wanted to, could air-condition and carpet the fish!"

Listen to Matthew 3:9,
"For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones." (NKJV)

God can do far more than he has already done:

• The Lord did not exhaust the limits of his power when He created Adam and Eve, He could have created many more people had He have wanted to.
  
• For every one world that He has made, He could have created millions
  
• For every star, if He could have willed, He could have been multiplied endlessly.

The next time you look at all the stars remember that God who created the limitless expanse that will be spread out before you. Remember Him and know that He is a Great Creator God who is without limits!

2. NEXT, WE WILL LOOK AT HIS POWER AS IT RELATES TO NATURE

There is an old saying that goes; you had better not fool with Mother Nature. God can and does – at His will.

I am awestruck by the fact that what cannot be done according to the laws, rules, and natural course of nature can yet be done by the GOD OF NATURE who is above these laws and cannot be bound by them! Let me refer to some of Scriptural references:

• As we know, He once stopped the sun dead still in its tracks for almost a whole day.
  
• On another occasion, He made the sun reverse directions 10 degrees.
  
• He once made an iron axe-head float;
  
• He protected the three Hebrew children while they were in a fiery furnace;
  
• And Daniel when he faced the hungry lions in the lion's den.
  
• Then too, Jesus walked on water.
  
• Also, He ascended up into Heaven without the aid of any rocket.

Repeatedly the Lord defied laws of physics as well as gravity. He defied them because He ruled them!

Genesis 18:14 asks, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" The word that is translated "hard" here actually means, "to be beyond one's power, to difficult to do." While I constantly encounter things that are to hard or to difficult for me, God never runs into that. Nothing in creation and nothing in nature is beyond the scope of His great power. Nothing.

His works testify of His power - His omnipotent - awesome power!

3. HIS POWER OVER THE NATIONS

(Isaiah 40:15) Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. (NKJV)

(Isaiah 40:23-24) He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. (NKJV)

Napoleon was arguably the greatest general of his day. He was also unequaled as a politician. He was known for a most unconquerable will. He willed to have the whole world at his feet; and it looked as if nothing could prevent that from happening. BUT GOD WILLED OTHERWISE.

History records how the grand army of Napoleon marched on Moscow after boasting "Russia next, then Britain and Napoleon shall rule the world." But friends, God spoke and a tiny snowflake fell on the emperor's coat sleeve. He brushed it off as nothing. Then another fell, and another, and another and they kept on falling until Napoleon's proud army was reeling back, broken and defeated, a sick shadow of it's former strength. History tells us that the emperor muttered darkly, "God Almighty was too much for me."

God's armies of the elements were loosed and the history of the world was changed by the SNOWS AT MOSCOW and the RAINS AT WATERLOO!

Daniel knew of the power of God. He wrote: [Click Twice] (Daniel 4:35) All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, "What have You done?" (NKJV)

(Psalms 33:10-11) The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. (NKJV)

Do you realize just how many kings, emperors, chiefs, pharaohs, Caesars, prime ministers, and presidents have ruled at one time or another on this earth? No doubt there have been millions down through the ages. Nevertheless there has been only One True God on the throne in heaven during all that time. Kingdoms rise and fall but His reign is without end.

We do live in a dangerous world. We are at war in Afghanistan with the war winding down in Iraq; Iran may have enough enriched plutonium to make an atomic bomb within a year; Israel has threatened to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities; Russia still has enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world as well as China as well as the United States. This is a dangerous world. In spite of this and all else, I know that God is omnipotent, that He reigns, and that His Kingdom will come and He is a Sovereign God.

(Revelation 11:15 NKJV)
Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"

4. LETS NOW NOTE THAT HE HAS POWER OVER DEATH

For some people nothing seems as final as complete or hopeless as death. It's everywhere reminding us that while we live our bodies are in the act of dying; that someday our names will be craved on a cold hard block of granite.

We can jog. We can diet. We can pump iron. We can play golf. We try with everything that is within us to escape it, but we can't. The best that we can hope for is that we can postpone the inevitable.

Oh, perish the thought, but have we been left to the whims of this dreaded enemy? Is there not a savior somewhere that can rescue us? Yes, yes, yes there is! His name is Jesus!

(1 Cor. 15:51-53) Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

(1 Cor. 15:54-57) So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:51-57 NKJV)

God is more powerful even than death. By His awesome power every man, woman, boy, and girl who has ever lived will be raised from the dead. The saved to everlasting life, the lost to eternal destruction. He can promise that for He and He alone has power over death!

5. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS OF THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD?

1. IT ASSURES US THAT HE IS ABLE

A Biblical translator once translated one of the names of God, "He is able." He is! Able to do what, you ask? Whatever!

• He is able to guard us while we are battling temptation
  
• He is able to comfort us in affliction
  
• He is able to keep us from falling away
  
• He is able to save
  
• He is able to heal
  
• He is able to deliver
  
• He is able to restore
  
• He is able to raise us from the dead
  
• He is able to take us to be with Him in heaven
  
• He is able to keep that which we commit unto Him

You see:

• His names
  
• His creative acts
  
• His power over nature
  
• His power over nations
  
• His power and place as seen in the Word--

Everything comes together in a beautiful harmony to declare,
(Ephesians 3:20 NKJV) Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

Someone once observed, "When God is going to do something wonderful He begins with a difficulty. If God is going to do something very wonderful, He begins with impossibility. Regardless, He is able!

2. HE GIVES US POWER

(Isa. 40:28-29) Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.

(Isa. 40:30-31) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31 NKJV)

Do you ever get tired? Sure, we all do; but God doesn't. The Bible says so. He does not exert energy to do what He does. He doesn't strain, grunt, or groan because something is too hard to lift or too difficult to make. It takes no more effort for God to create a universe than it does for Him to create an ant.

Not only does He have this power, but according to the passage I just read, He shares His strength with us to the extent that we are able to "mount up with wings like eagles; run and not be weary; walk and not faint."

In addition to this:

• The Word teaches us that He has given us power over the evil one including unclean spirits and devils
  
• He has given us power and authority over temptation, and sin
  
• He has given us power to witness
  
• He has given us certain gifts of power including healing, miracles and faith.

As Christians, we have power -- the imparted power of the Holy Spirit!

We are often like the little boy whose father told him to pick up a heavy rock that was in their way. The boy tried, grunted, and finally said, "Daddy, I can't lift it."

His daddy said, "Yes, you can." The boy tried again. "Ughhhh. Daddy, I can't lift it." "Yes you can." The boy, believing his father, went back and tried it a third time but only to again meet with the same result. "Daddy, I really can't lift the rock."

"Yes, you can son. You're not using all of your strength." The father then went over to the lad and put his arm around the child and said, "Son, you did not ask me to help you."

God can help you pick up the heavy rocks in your life. He has repeatedly promised us power to help. We just need to call upon His name. He is standing nearby simply awaiting our call. Believe me, there is power, wonder working power in the name of the Lord!

3. FINALLY, HE HAS POWER TO SAVE

When God made the universe, He met with no opposition; for there was no devil, the universe had no will with which to resist His commands; there was simply nothing there to hinder Him.

In conversion, though, He has to contend with the human will, with the opposition of Satan, the lure of temptation and the affection with this present evil world. The world, the flesh and the devil do not give up their prey easily.

Nevertheless, we remember the stories of:

• The Prodigal Son
  
• Peter
  
• Paul
  
• The Woman at the Well
  
• The woman that had been caught in the very act of adultery
  
• Matthew
  
• Zaccheaus.
  

Hey these were all born into sin and needed a Savior. Paul in fact called himself "the chief of sinners."

Nevertheless, the Lord redeemed them one and all. The Bible teaches us that truly the Lord has power to save.

Shortly after Viet Nam fell, Phom Hinn tried unsuccessfully to escape his country. Hinn had been a professing Christian who worked with some American missionaries. I will let him tell you the rest in his own words:

"I was put behind prison bars. Three different prisons I was taken to. And when I was in one of these prisons, they were tormenting my mind, calling me a CIA agent, working for the Americans, a Christian."

"Then they started to brainwash me. They gave me books in Vietnamese by Marx and Lenin. They gave me the writings of all of these men telling me that the capitalist was a liar, the American was a deceiver. And all of these things were bombarding my mind. Then one day, they gave me a book written by Engalls, who was the patron of Marx and in that book he described the man living under capitalistic oppression, destined to be a communist. "The more I read it, the more it started to change me. For the first time in my life, I wondered if I'd believed a lie. Maybe my American missionary friends had lied. Maybe the capitalistic system was all a lie.

As I was on the verge of breaking, they gave me one more book written by a French author, a woman. And that woman's book had the story of a priest who was trying to win a young boy for the priesthood. And one day the young boy comes home from school and listens through the key hole and then he finds out his mother is having an illicit relationship with the priest. In fact, he is the illegitimate son of that priest and that book slashed my faith in God and the church once and for all."

"God I don't believe in you. I don't believe in any of this." And as I came to that verge of abandoning everything, the commander put me in charge of latrine duty -- to clean the toilets in that dirty camp."

"I started to clean that dirty place and the stench... ohhh!" As he went on to share his testimony he apologized due to any offense his story might cause, then he continued, "There was a small can in that latrine with used pieces of paper that had been used as toilet paper. And as I was about to empty it, I thought I saw it was English. I looked closer. I saw 'Romans' written on the top."

And he said, "My brother, forgive me. I picked up that dirty piece of soiled paper with human excrement wiped on it. I washed it, put it into the shorts pocket I had, went back into my room and, under the mosquito net, I flashed a light and there near midnight I started reading this:

Ro 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.

34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,

39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJV)

He bent his knees under that mosquito net and gave his life right back to God with a total commitment. You know what else happened? He went back to the commander and said, "Do you mind if I take latrine duty every day?" Folks, he collected the whole book of Romans working in that latrine. Surely, that which Satan meant for evil, God had the power to change for good.

In conclusion, I understand that it is impossible to comprehend omnipotence. If God were small enough for our minds, He wouldn't be big enough for our needs.

Do you need a great big God this morning? An all-powerful God? If so, I want to point you to my God. Nothing is too hard for Him. Nothing!