God Is Big Enough

Introduction

And that reminds me of something Chris Emerson and I have been talking about. Chris preaches in Beaumont. He’s been a friend of mine for a number of years. We’ve been talking about dynamic beginnings to sermons. You might have noticed that I’ve cut out a lot of the introductory stuff and get right to the sermon. It’s been a habit of preachers to thank visitors for coming, but we do that. The elders do that at the very beginning, so I don’t feel the new need to do that as I begin preaching. But I’m glad you’re here, since I’ve already mentioned that. We’re so glad when visitors have come, but I’m not going to make that my habit. I’m here to preach. And so I get right to that.

But I have a couple announcements I have to make today. One is we rejoice with Daryl and Cindy Westmore over the baptism into Christ of one of their daughters, Ashley, on Friday night. And so that was awesome. And glad to see Daryl baptize her into Christ. Daryl has experienced his dad’s a preacher, if you didn’t know that. He’s seen his dad, Ronnie, baptize many folks, and I’ve known his parents for a long time. And of course, his dad has gone on to be with the Lord. But it’s good to have the Westmoreland attending in our midst. The other announcement I have to make has to do with this meeting in Bel Air this weekend. Steve Garrett texts me yesterday, says you have to announce the meeting and encourage people’s attendance.

And I said, But Steve, the problem is the preacher. It’s me. And they’ve already heard the sermon that I’m preaching, at least on Friday night. Saturday’s has yet not been written yet. It’s only partially composed in my mind. So that would be new. Saturday afternoon, I believe it’s at 3 o’clock. There’ll be a singing. I’ll be preaching at around 4 30, if you can make that. But Steve wanted me to plug that. I don’t know about how much that will do here. But that’s going on also. Now, to the lesson. I want to say one more thing. I appreciate the way in which our men thoughtfully lead our assemblies. You can tell they put effort into it. They guide our thoughts. And I appreciate Daniel and Tim and everybody who’s done so well today, even in that regard.

And that does take me to the lesson, and I want to start this morning in John 20. Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to many, appeared to the disciples. The first time he appears to them in the room, Thomas is not present. Thomas, who was called Didymus, is not present with them. And he told the disciples, I will not believe unless I see with my eyes. And for some reason, Jesus grants that wish. And as he reached, reaches forth his hands in this context to the prince in Jesus’ hands and in his side, he says, My Lord and my God. Thomas is convinced of the resurrected Lord. And Jesus said to him, Because you have seen me, have you believed? Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe.

That’s an awesome statement. That’s you and me. If we indeed believe in Jesus of Nazareth and devote our lives to him. Blessed are they who did not see and yet believe. Many other signs, therefore, Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. In fact, the whole world could not contain those things that could be written. John 21 and verse 25 tells us, but these things have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. The challenge has always been great. To believe in that which we have not seen with our own eyes. Serving and unseen God. Paul’s charge to Timothy is my charge to all of us.

1 Timothy chapter 6. He tells him first to flee from things like the love of money. And he says, You men of God, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness, and fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on the eternal life to which you were called. And you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. And he tells him to keep the commandment of God in verse 14. To keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. And though we have not seen that, we believe that day will come. The appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he will bring about at the proper time, he who is the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of Lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.

To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. He is the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God. 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 17. If we could only grasp the attention of heaven that is poised and riveted toward assemblies like this, all across the world this day. The great drama of the spiritual warfare. This isn’t just another assembly. This is another step by the forces of righteousness against the advances of Satan. This is another day of battle against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the great conflict, a conflict where victorious outcome is guaranteed by God for his people. Like we read about in Revelation chapter 12, as the great red dragon Satan that we’ve been talking about is poised to attempt to defeat God’s people, and he attacks the woman.

1. The Major Distraction of the Seen

He attacks those of the covenant of God, and it says, yet they overcame him by the word of their testimony, and by the blood of the Lamb. And because they did not love their lives even unto death. I’ve always loved Revelation chapter 12 and verse 11. You see, there’s a challenge for us in serving an unseen God. And I want to present four things about that would serve as a lesson in and of themselves, but then I want to make two additional points that should flow out of that as we talk about this one that we approach in worship today. Number one, the major distraction of the scene. One of the problems that we have in serving an unseen God is all of this stuff that we see.

I’ve said many times that one of our problems in worship as a group of people is that we’re distracted by things that we see, all the people that we’re interacting with, and the physical things that go on in an assembly like this, that it’s sometimes hard for us to raise our eyes to the realm of the unseen, and that we’re taking these petitions and prayers, the songs that we’re singing to the very throne of our Creator. We’ve got to have some conception of that. We’ve got to be thinking about where all of this is going and get it outside the building, as I’ve said. And our problem out there is most definitely the things that we see. Those things are a distraction. As we say, the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind.

That can quickly develop spiritually. We leave this place that’s focused on the unseen, and now we’re out there in the scene again, and the scene dominates everything. And yet we talk about passages like 2 Corinthians chapter 4, and our momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. What an incredible verse that is. While we look not, he says in verse 18, to the things that are seen. But to the things that are unseen. The things that are seen are temporal. The things that are unseen are eternal. Look, that doesn’t just happen. You don’t just attend enough worship services, and that automatically happens. You’re only going to focus your mind’s eye on the unseen with training and making those things your habit as you live your life.

2. Displaying Unwavering Confidence in the Unseen

One of the great problems that we have in serving an unseen God is the distraction of the seen. We must look to the unseen. Number two. We struggle to place, to display unwavering competence in the unseen. That’s not easy. Admittedly, we look foolish to the carnal people all around us. Faith in God is considered to be beneath so many. It’s a crutch for the emotionally weak. We get integrated all the time. People looking at us like, do they really believe in a God that they don’t see? They really believe this book came from their creator who made everything, and that there’s going to be a judgment day as they don’t even believe in hell, as Jay pointed out to us on Wednesday night. They want to believe in heaven, because after all, they know we’re not going to live here forever.

There’s got to be something good on the other side. But putting your trust and confidence in this book is coming from your creator, and that this involves our Savior and Redeemer that we never laid eyes on. And thus we can waver, entertain doubt. And we can begin to think if I just had something tangible, something I could touch, something that I could see that could verify these beliefs that I had that Jesus is indeed the Savior and that he died on the cross and he rose from the dead. If I just had something tangible. And the fact is, in a sense, we do. We have the eyewitness accounts, the trustworthy, reliable, historical words of those who did see. And that’s the very point John is making in 1 John chapter 1 when he says, What was from the beginning?

What we have heard and what we have seen with our eyes. What we beheld. And our hands handled concerning the word of life. And that life was manifested. You see? You see? That life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life. Which was with the Father and was manifested to us. Boy, he keeps saying that. And in relation to Gnosticism, that’s a reason why he’s emphasizing all of that. What we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you also that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. Look, if you throw out your creator and you throw out Jesus, you throw out all of these eyewitness accounts too.

All of these people who said they saw and they handled and they beheld, and it was manifested to us. You can’t believe in John either. You can’t believe that this was an actual historical eyewitness to these things. And so I want to tell you, as I know this is still a struggle, because of point number one, the distraction of the unseen. As we struggle, sometimes we begin to waver because we don’t have something tangible, something that we can see.

In realities, not question marks.

3. Sin Is Not Immediately Punished

John chapter 5, verses 13 and following. Number three. Another reason why people struggle in their conception of God and serving an unseen God is that sin is not immediately punished. Because it is not immediately on the spot punished, we can believe that wrong things are actually right things, and that God may even approve of this conduct. And that’s the very point the psalmist is dealing with in Psalm 50, which is one of my favorite Psalms, where he talks about the evil that men are doing, and because he does not come and punish them immediately, they begin to reason that God even approves of the conduct. And he says, But I will set the case in order before your eyes. And if you don’t repent, if you don’t understand the righteousness to which I call you, I’m going to turn and tear you into pieces.

Well, the judgment does not come immediately, it is indeed coming. And because judgment doesn’t come immediately for our actions sometimes, people hold to a form of godliness but deny its power, 2 Timothy 3 and verse 5, and yet they think all the way along that God’s approving of this. After all, it’s Christianity. After all, it’s about the mercy of God and the love of Christ and the Bible is the Word of God. So what could be wrong with it? Because it’s holding to a form of godliness but denying its power. People by the thousands and hundreds of thousands believe error and practice wickedness and think that they are saved when they are not. Because the only way you can accurately measure those things is by the word of God.

4. Our Conception of God Is Too Small

And they are either uninformed or misinformed as to what this book says. Since no immediate consequences are visible, they convince themselves that all is good. You know, if we had some flashing neon sign that said, you are lost. You are lost. Your behavior right now is unacceptable to God. You are lost. If we had something like that, we might say, oh, I might need to make some changes. But that’s not the way this works, is it? That’s one of the challenges. And then finally, the mental image or conception of God that people have is often not as compelling, not as adequate as it needs to be. I’ve mentioned to you before the tiny little book that I’ve recommended to others. In fact, Matt Hall, when I posted about what I was preaching about today, some of you saw that post and had some great comments on there.

When I was talking about, I want to see what some other Facebook friends thought about the size of God. Matt put on there, yeah, there was a little book that you made me read many years ago when he worked with me one summer, and I still have that book. The pages are yellow, but I was looking at it again this week. Your God is too small by J.B. Phillips. I think it’s one of the problems that we have. What is your conception of God when you worship? What conception should we have of God? I mean, we have to have some mental image of this God that we serve. And yet I realize the very challenging part of that is that God is spirit. Which means he is limitless in size.

And in many ways immeasurable. But what do you think about when you think about worshiping God? What mental image comes to mind? That’s why I like praying better outside than inside. Even if that’s inside a car. Because at least I can look out of the window and look into the sky and see the clouds and think God is bigger than that. Or he’s often pictured in judgment as riding on the clouds. You ever thought about God hooking up a cloud as like a chariot and riding down in judgment? I mean, how big is God? I mentioned this. The Voyager probe. The Voyager probe. There are actually two probes launched. Was Voyager 2 launched before Voyager 1? I think it was. 1977. That’s odd. Don’t ask me why that is.

But it was 1977, 36 years ago. And it is now Voyager 1 is now a proxy ahead of Voyager 2. It is now 12 billion miles from the sun. 36 years. 12 billion miles from the sun. It is believed to have just left our solar system in recent time. And in all that time, and after all those miles, 12 billion miles, it has traversed just a minuscule, infinitesimal amount of the entire universe. After all those miles and after 36 years. This much. In fact, one source I consulted ventured that the diameter of the observable universe, and that’s just the observable part. The diameter of the observable universe is estimated at about, and you’ve got to be a trekky to appreciate this.

I love that term. 28 billion parsecs, which is ninety-three billion light years. That’s the observable universe. 93 billion light years. You know how long, how big a space encompasses a light year. Six trillion miles. Don’t hurt yourself.

Now remember, Voyager 1 in all this time has only gone 12 billion miles. A light year is six trillion miles. And if we’re talking about the observable universe being 93 billion light years, that is that the observable universe, if my math is right, I could be off a little bit. 558 trillion miles. The observable universe. God created that.

He tends to that. And one day he’s going to destroy that. So my question then is. How big is God? I really think when I have worshiped in the past, and this is really the fuel for this whole sermon for me, when I’ve worshiped in the past, the conception I’ve had of God is too small. As much as I’ve worked on it, as much as I’ve thought about it, my conception of God is too small. God is big enough, changing our ideas about God. The pictures painted for us in Scripture have to do with a majestic and beautiful, awesome, all powerful, all knowing person who is perfect in character and love and who sits on the ultimate throne and tends to the needs of his people.

What about that throne scene that Isaiah thought? Again, this is a visible manifestation of an invisible God that no man has ever seen. These are just pictures.

But when he sees this visible manifestation of God’s throne, what is Isaiah’s reaction? Woe is me. I’m a dead man. I’m undone. For mine eyes have seen the king. And he sees this perfection and awesomeness. And he says, I’m a sinner. And I live among sinners. And he has seen and witnessed perfect. Isaiah 40. How big is God? All the nations of the world? Yeah, they’re nothing. Nothing to God. Drop in a bucket. That’s what Isaiah 40 says. Reduces, what does he do to the rulers of this world? He reduces them to nothing. He goes. He goes, bye. They’re gone. It doesn’t matter who they are. It doesn’t matter if they’re the most powerful man in the whole world. It’s gone. That’s how powerful and big God is.

I am the Lord, and there is no other. There is no one besides me in Isaiah chapter 45. He’s the one who formed and created everything. He sits in the heavens and he does what he pleases. And we see the picture in Revelation chapter 4 of the one who sits on this majestic throne. And we need to envision that. This great God who sits on this throne. Don’t fear the persecutors is the message. Don’t fear the persecutors, those who can take your life. Fear him.

5. The Conception of God Encourages Holiness

These visible threats must not shake our confidence in an invisible but real and still reigning God. I could have gone on for an hour with this. But I want to get to the two points I want to make about this. How important is your size of God? And then the lesson is yours this morning. Number one. The conception you have in your mind of God is important because it encourages holiness.

If your God is too small, you might not be motivated or compelled. If your view of God is not adequate or big enough, it might not compel you to see holiness as he is holy in your life. 2 Corinthians chapter 6. Come out from their midst and be separate. Do not touch what is unclean. I will welcome you. I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters. The fact that the creator, this immeasurably large God wants to have such a relationship with us. What is man? What is man that thou art mindful of him? This is the question David asked in Psalm 8. When he saw the works of God’s fingers, his creative abilities. And he looked as he was a shepherd out shepherding his sheep as he looked into the stars of the heaven and must have had the concept that God was greater than all of that.

He says, You’re mindful of me.

Come out from their midst to be separate. It says, therefore, removing all defilement of flesh and spirit. Perfect holiness in the fear of God. Our view of God and our frequency of thoughts about Him, a proper conception of Him, those things fuel the right choices. Listen to this. Struggles and holiness can always be attributed to a forgetfulness about God. Every time. Struggles and holiness can always be attributed to a forgetfulness of God and a failure to properly regard him. And that’s why Philippians 4 5 is so important. You know that verse, right? Philippians 4 5, four words that start that verse. There’s actually two statements in that verse, but I want you to focus on the first four words. Seem sort of out of place in the context, but don’t.

The Lord is near. The Lord is near. People struggle in holiness, the Lord is not near. That’s five words. That’s not in the verse. When people struggle in holiness, it is because they are not perceiving or comprehending that the Lord is near. An incredibly large and powerful God who is very and always near to us is important for us to pursue holiness. And so when you think about God being big enough, what is he big enough to do? He is big enough to uproot fear and a lack of trust and confidence in him, which the world is always trying to get us to waver in our convictions and in our confidence of God and this message that he gives to us. Our conception of God can uproot fear.

He can help me to defeat my sin. By the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the flesh, Romans chapter 8 and verse 11. I’ll tell you what else. When relationships are troubling, when people get discouraged and want to quit in relationships, he can help me to persevere in my marriage. And he can help me to survive life’s storms. The problem is that we get to where in our culture we almost demand, I’ve got to have clear skies. Clear skies. If I’m going to serve you, God, I’ve got to have clear skies. And if we don’t get it, we whine like babies. Whether it’s troubled relationships in our families, problems in the local church, discouragements that sadden us, God is the perfect refuge. Point number one.

6. It Evokes Fear

Our conception of God, having a proper regard for Him, encourages holiness. And number two, and this goes hand in hand with what Jay was telling us on Wednesday night, it evokes fear. Understanding God is a sin deterrent. His presence, he sees what’s going on. His judgment.

When we fail to do the things that honor and glorify him. Interesting the description of sin in Romans 3. Those who are dominated and controlled by sin, there is none who does good, no, not one. Everybody’s fallen short of the glory of God, that passage, Romans chapter 3. But it says, There is no fear of God before their eyes. When we sin. You know what’s missing, right? Any fear of God. And people who live their lives persistent in sin do so without fear of God. Because if they knew, if they knew the God with whom they were dealing, they would steer clear. And that’s really the point of the psalmist in Psalm 73, Asaph, when he’s talking about the incongruities of the unrighteous living it up, and the righteous suffering.

And he said, For me, my feet almost slipped. Now see, now what’s he doing? He’s focused on what? The scene. And I see it seems like they have the world by the tail, they’re having a blast, life’s going great for them, the righteous are struggling, the righteous are suffering. And he said, My feet almost slipped. And he said, But when I came to the sanctuary of God, what? When I started looking at things from a spiritual perspective, he said, then I perceived their end. How that they are suddenly cast down and destroyed in a moment. And when God is aroused, he will despise their form. And then he’s able.

The nearness of God is my good, as he concludes in Psalm 73. Gamaliel was no dummy. Men, I know you don’t like this new thing that’s taking place, this new cause and these apostles, but you might want to think about the fact that if this thing is of God, we would be found fighting against God. We really don’t want to do that. So you need to take care of what you propose to do with these men. Well, they flogged them and send them away anyway. But you don’t want God as your enemy. Gemaliel put two and two together. If this is of God, we better not be opposing this. And listen to this, folks. Friendship with the world, love of the world, serving the interests of the world, putting those above spiritual interests and serving God and serving his people, putting those first and foremost in our lives.

That is hostility toward God. You don’t want God as your enemy.

What’s going to happen to those? How much severe punishment do you think he will receive who is trampled underfoot, the Son of God, considered unclean, the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and is insulted the Spirit of grace? He says it’s a terrifying thing. It’s a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Don’t refuse him who speaks.

Conclusion

So did you get that? How important is your view of God, not just today, not just as we worship, not just as we sing to him tonight these songs and come before the creator and the sustainer of the universe, but as we live our lives day after day, our thoughts of God will encourage holiness and evoke fear if they’re sufficient and frequent. Enough. Our God is big enough. I want to conclude in all places in Zephaniah. Zephaniah chapter 3. Thanks to Jared who put me on to this. Zephaniah chapter 3. The context is God’s about to destroy the nation of Judah by the Babylonians. And in chapter 1, he says, be silent before the Lord God. The day is near, a day of wrath and trouble and distress.

And so when he comes to chapter 3, there are three things going on. Purge, purify, and praise. And the first thing he says is that his burning anger is going to be poured out. And those people that have done those evil things are going to be removed, verse 11. The humble and lowly people that are left will be purified. And then he says in verse 17, the Lord your God is in your midst. A victorious warrior, the ESV says, a mighty one who will save.

Of joy. A very real and powerful God is deserving of your efforts to get to know him and serve him and humbly submit to his will. And if there’s somebody in this audience this morning who has not put on Christ, who has sin on your account, listen. The reality of God is not going to go away. Our God is very real, as we have sung, and he is also very good. And he wants to shower you with his goodness, not punish you for your rebellion. So you must choose.

Even though you have not seen Jesus with your eyes, do you believe that he is the Savior of the world and that he died on the cross for your sins and that he is now the reigning king in heaven and one day appointed to be the judge of your heart and conduct? And are you ready to meet him if it would be that day? You need to respond to his invitation, his glorious and blessed invitation to come and be saved and learn of him and to be quieted by his love. Won’t you come while we stand and sing?