|
Sermon
of 05-25-02
How Big Is Our God?
He may be bigger than you think.
by Dr David A. Farmer, pastor
Scripture - Isaiah 40:18; "To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?"
As many of you know I grew up in West Texas. The land where the wind never stops blowing. A place where
sand and dirt finds its way that we don't even want to talk about. Needless to say, living in West Texas your clothes can become dirty and dingy.
Growing up as a boy, my mother never trained me to wash clothes. I remember back in 1972 when I decided to wash some of my son's diapers. Being a little conservative with how much work I have to do, I decided to wash some other clothes with his diapers. Well wouldn't you know it, one of the items I washed was a brand new ruby red towel. No one ever told me not to wash red with whites. Needless to say what the diapers looked like.
Another thing I never learned to do as a child was to iron. As a pastor I like my shirts to look nice neat and pressed. I don't like wrinkles. I recall the first time I ironed one of my shirts. I laid my shirt on the ironing board and turned the iron up full blast. I thought, "The hotter the better." I figured I would get all of the wrinkles out in no time at all. Wrong! After scorching a few of my shirts I've learned a thing or two about ironing too. But since this is the new Millennium, I have a stream press. I can whip out a whole ironing load in an hour or so. I send those wrinkles to the "Big Cleaners in the sky." But even with all I have learned about washing and ironing, Kathy still doesn't trust me to wash or iron any of her clothes.
You know, I believe being a Christian is a lot like washing and ironing. The different is we go to God and allow Him wash us clean from sin. We ask Him to iron out the wrinkles that keep us all ruffled up from being happy.
I have discovered over the years as a child of God that our Bible will answers many questions we might have. It
answers puzzling questions about life and death. Questions like how we were created? The Bible also tells us how to handle many of those wrinkles of life that attack each of us everyday. God's word answers questions about how to be saved? Over and over our Bible gives us answers to some of life's biggest and greatest questions.
This morning I would like to look at another question I believe the Bible answers. The question, "How big is God?" It's found in Isaiah 40, please return there with me. Here God gives us some comparisons to help us understand just how big He really is.
I've found that mankind has a tendency to work hard at trying to figure out God. We want to place Him in a box and say, "This is God."
Many times when I gaze into a clear Sky, every star I look at I wondered how long ago God created it? I often pondered how many stars are there? How big is the biggest one. How small is the smallest one? I also sometimes wonder how far is it to heaven?
In Isaiah 40, I believe God wanted to give us an enlarge picture of how big He is. Let's look at some of these comparisons God gives us.
First, I believe God compares His greatness to humans. Look at verses 6 and 7.
"The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh [is] grass, and all the goodliness thereof [is] as the flower of the field: V:7
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people [is] grass."
You can't help after reading that verse, but wrestling with the mental picture of just how big is God?
Have you ever sat in a field or yard of grass before? I'm sure most of have sometime in our lifetime. Have you ever gotten down on your hands and knees and looked beneath the tall grass to see what's under them? Want to know what you'll find?
Beneath the tall grass are millions of tiny blades of grass just waiting to get big. God says, "You want to know how big I am? Compared to who I am, you are like a blade of grass."
Let me give you an example of what I believe God is saying here in verses 6 and 7. Compared to our strength what is a blade of grass? Everyone in this room could pull all the blades of grass up you wanted to. Roots and all. How many of us this morning as you were coming to church ran and jumped in your car, locked your door because you were afraid of the killer grass in your yard? Hopefully no one. If you did, see me after church, we need to talk. What's the worst that could have happen to you as you walked to your car? Well the wind could blow a blade of grass and cause it to slap you on your ankle. What do we all do when our grass gets a little too tall in our yard? Of course, we get out our lawn mowers and level it. Compared to our strength, compared to the power of a lawn mower - what is a blade of grass?
Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 1:25 from the NIV: "The weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."
Next, Isaiah 40 tells us how God compares His greatness to the nations of the world. Listen to verse 15:
"Behold, the nations [are] as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing."
Now drop down to verse 17: "All nations before him [are] as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity."
Kathy and I have had the privilege of flying to Russia twice. Both times we flew over several countries. When I fly I like a window seat. I like to look out the window to see what's below. You know at 35,000 feet the world looks rather small. But at the same time after a 20-hour flight, I marveled on how huge this world is. We hadn't even traveled half way around the world.
God asks, "You want to know how big I am? Take all of America. Throw in China and Russia. Add Africa and South America. Toss in England, Scotland and Ireland. Add all those countries together and I tell you, "All These nations are like a drop in a bucket to Him" (verse 15).
How many times have you have carried water a drop at a time? Or asked for a glass of one drop water? One drop of water wouldn't quench much of your thirst.
Verse 15 also talks about dust. Have you ever seen dust flying in the air when a beam of sunlight hits it at just the right angle? Ever tried to catch one of those specks of dust? Even harder is trying to catch a certain one that you see and picked out. I read where scientist say; "It is scientifically impossible for you to identify a speck of dust floating in a ray of light and catch it."
God says, "You want to know how big I am? Take all the nations of this world and you'll see that they're like a speck of fine dust on a scale."
Do you remember how we marveled when the Berlin Wall fell? Folks to God that was nothing. He could do that with His eyes closed and both hands tied behind his back and both feet in the air.
Again I ask, "How big is God?" Is He big enough to answer your prayers? Is He big enough to deal with that pressure you're up against? Is He big enough to deal with that financial battle you're facing? Is He big enough to deal with that sickness your doctor just informed you about? Is God big enough to guide protect and take care for you? Only you can answer those questions.
The next thing I believe Isaiah 40 does is it compares God greatness to the greatness of the world. Look at verse 12: "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?"
Now jump down to verse 14: "With whom took he counsel, and [who] instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding?"
God says, "You want to know how big I am? Take Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, throw in the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Indian Ocean, add them all together. That's how big I am." God can take all the waters, which covers two thirds of this planet, and hold them in the hollow of His hand.
Do you remember Muhammad Ali's famous phrase he would chant? He would boast, "I'm the greatest! I'm the greatest!" Forgive me, but Ali may think he is the greatest, but God could place Muhammad Ali on the tip of His finger and say; "Oh! You're the greatest?"
I heard a story one time that Muhammad Ali was flying and the airline stewardess told him to fasten his seat belt. Ali said, "Superman doesn't need a seat belt." The stewardess said "Yes, and Superman can fly and doesn't need a airplane. So buckle your seat belt."
Yet, how many times do we tell God we can take care of ourselves? We have all probably tried to fix things ourselves. We tell God to just be available. That right now you can handle your own problems.
Friends, if you have ever thought this way before, then my advice to you is be careful.
Isaiah gives us another comparison on how big God is. In verse 26 Isaiah compares God's greatness to the whole universe. Listen to verse 26 from the NIV: "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."
We can also see in verse 12 where he has marked off the heavens with the span of his hand. In verse 22:
"He stretches out the heavens like a canopy."
I recently read that in the constellation of Orion there is a red super giant star called Betelgeuse. It is a star so large that if it were in the sun's place it would encompass the orbit of Mars. (See Grolier CD Encyclopedia 1996). Millions of our Earth's could fit into that one star. That star is 520 light-years away. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. I tried to calculate on my computer. All my computer would say is; "That's a bunch."
Light travels about six trillion plus miles every year. And Betelgeuse is 520 light-years away. You go figure that for yourself. In a science museum in Washington D.C. you will find a quote from Carl Sagan. In his research he concluded that there are billions of stars in every galaxy. He also wrote that not only are there galaxies and clusters of galaxies, but there are also clusters of clusters of galaxies. He said also there might be even clusters of clusters of clusters of galaxies called super galaxies.
God says: "You want to know how big I am? Take this whole universe. Not only do I know every star by name, but I can measure the galaxies, the whole universe by the span of my hand."
Now listen to verse 27 - 31 again from the Clear Word: "Why do you people complain? Why do you say, 'The Lord doesn't notice us - He doesn't care about us and our troubles.' - Don't you know that the Lord our God is the everlasting One? Haven't you heard that He was and always will be? He's the Creator of the universe! He never gets tired. He never gets weary. His understanding and comprehension has no limits." V: 29 "He gives strength to those who are weak and energy to those who are weary. Even young men become weak and stumble and fall." V: 31 "But those who wait on the Lord and go to Him for help will have their strength renewed. They will soar like eagles. They will run and not be weary. They will walk and not faint."
Friends, how old are the oldest and wisest of men compared with the eternal God? Our world has been in existence for but a moment, in comparison with eternity. The wisest of the wise is nothing when compared with the Eternal One. No man - no woman can comprehend the depths of God's divine guidance and wisdom.
Psalm 147:35 again from the NIV says: "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit."
Can He hear us? Can He help us? Does He care about us? Listen to Isaiah 41:10 - 13.
"Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
V:11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
V:12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, [even] them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
V:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."
1 Peter 5:7 says: "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
Friends, how big is God? You be the judge. From what I can see, He is big enough to take care of all mine and your problems and them some.
|
