How Big Is God

Preached at Norwich19th December 2004

How big is God?

Introduction: (a) Read Matthew 1:18-25

(b) Before 1929 the common thought amongst scientists and cosmologists was that the universe was static, still, dead and unmoving. It was Albert Einstein'sGeneral Theory of Relativity, which established the relationship between matter, space, time and gravity, and governed modern cosmology's view of the universe.

But when Einstein began to apply his theory to the structure of the universe, he was dismayed to find that it predicted either an expanding or contracting universe--something entirely incompatible with the prevailing notion of a static universe.

In what he would later call "the greatest blunder of my life," Einstein had added a term called the cosmological constant to his equations on relativity that would make his calculations consistent with the commonly held theory of a static universe.

Most school children will now be able to tell you about the amazing discoveries of Hubble, Hubble’s Law and even in later years the Hubble telescope that has shown that this supposition about the Universe was simply not true. A concept of a cosmological constant or a static universe was Einstein’s greatest blunder!

(c) Hubble, in his research noticed that the light coming from many galaxies was shifted toward the red, or longer wavelength, end of the spectrum. The simplest interpretation of this "redshift" was that the galaxies were moving away from us and moving away at a tremendous velocity!

Hubble, who had been the first to establish that the universe included many other galaxies outside of our own, noticed something else: the galaxies were receding from us at a velocity proportional to their distance. Hubble discovered that the more distant the galaxy, the greater its redshift, and therefore the higher the velocity, a relation known as “Hubble's Law”.

(d) In Theology – the word theology, by the way, means the knowledge of God – we have a word that describes how big God is. It is the word OMNIPRESENT – this is an interesting word with an interesting meaning.

Omnipresent \om-nuh-PREZ-uhnt\, adjective:

Present in all places at the same time

Present everywhere simultaneously

Some other words are – all pervading, all knowing, all present, almighty, endless, eternal, everywhere, infinite, glorious, immeasurable, infinite, limitless, majestic, perpetual, pervasive, radiant, radical, sheer, sovereign, supreme, sweeping, timeless, ubiquitous unbounded, unending, unrestricted, veritable.

Our English definitions strain considerably to describe GOD!

Isaiah inspired by the Holy Spirit said this: Isaiah 9:6-7

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.”

No words could be employed to accurately describe Him or His Majesty:

Preached at Norwich19th December 2004

Wonderful
Counsellor
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace
Increase
No end
Reign
His Kingdom
Establishing and upholding it
Justice and righteousness
From time on and forever
Zealous
The LORD Almighty

Preached at Norwich19th December 2004

A. How big is our God?

He is big enough to fill the entire Universe

He is so big that “all of Him” fills the universe

He is so big that ALL OF HIM fills a rapidly expanding universe – let me ask a question: How fast is the universe expanding? The answer from science is 1.8 times the speed of light! Does this exceed the speed-of-light speed limit? No. Einstein's theory does not limit the speed of space expansion--only motion through it.

How big is our God? The word “big” is insufficient to use in a proper description! Consequently we use other words to describe Him. Some words and concepts are more poetic than others.

Jeremiah 23:23-24

23 "Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away? 24 Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD.

This scripture implies that there is no place you can go and not find God – there is no secret place where God is not – and that God is not only “nearby” but also preeminent

Psalms 113:5-6

5 Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, 6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?

This scripture seems to suggest that God is actually OVER the heavens – we use the words transcendent – lying beyond the ordinary range of perceptions!

Psalms 139:7-8

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

Again there is no place you can go and not find GOD!!

OMNIPRESENCE. (From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary) An attribute of God alone, by which is meant that God is free from the laws or limitations of space. It is essential to the right conception of God in this respect that we avoid all materialistic notions of His presence that confuse God with everything and thus lead to pantheism.

God is Spirit, and His infinite presence is to be regarded in the dynamic sense rather than in the sense of a substance infinitely extended. He is distinct from all His works while His power and intelligence and goodness embrace and penetrate them all. The omnipresence of God is also to be regarded as compatible with various manifestations of His presence according to the spheres of life in which He exists and operates. Thus in the most exalted sense He is "Our Father . . . in heaven"

OMNIPRESENCE

God's omnipresence is closely related to His omnipotence and omniscience: that He is everywhere enables Him to act everywhere and to know all things, and, conversely, through omnipotent action and omniscient knowledge He has access to all places and all secrets.

Thus conceived, the attribute is but the correlation of the monotheistic conception of God as the Infinite Creator, Preserver and Governor of the universe, immanent in His works as well as transcendent above them. (From International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia)

Story of leading a man to Christ in Yangon, while sipping coffee on the sidewalk.

Fear of God:

As believers in God we need to develop an appropriate view of God – we need to appreciate the bigness of God, His omnipotence, His awesomeness, to relate to Him with the proper reverence and fear.

Fear; not in some frightening way like we felt when we were children and thought there were monsters under our bed but with a respect that creates awe and circumspection. That we would walk before Him with a regard to His presence, His kingdom, His righteousness and Justice, His will and our destiny!

We are at times guilty of trivializing God – our reactions, thoughts, worries, words, emotions reveal we serve a tiny God, a God we have trivialized and kept in a box. Our lives reveal a God Who is less than us – a God who needs our help to achieve His will, our counsel to convince others and our power to augment His own omnipotence!

Isaiah 55:8-9

8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

The word trivial means, “Of little significance or value, ordinary; commonplace”, and believe me when I say our God is not ordinary or commonplace!

Psalms 111:10

10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.

Yet we lack understanding and revelation because we have confined God, kept Him small and kept within boundaries, restricted: We have not been moulded by a revelation of the bigness or greatness of God.

We act in a petty manner because we have not seen the greatness and awesomeness of God
We are vindictive and vengeful because we have not seen the power or authority of our Christ.
We are blinded by the patterns and ways of this world and by the way the world does its business.
Instead of seeing the boundlessness of God we sit and worry,
Instead of seeing His justice we allow bitterness to constrain our lives,
Instead of seeing His mercy we luxuriate in the cesspool of unforgiveness,
Instead of seeing His sovereignty we some how think our anger will help God to achieve His righteousness!

We live by expedience and not by revelation! We take advantage of opportunities without regard for the consequences for others, without regard for God or the things of God! Because our God has just simply become too small for us!

B. How big is our God?

He is big enough to become a man in human flesh
He is big enough to don a towel and wash His disciples feet
He is big enough to lay aside his rights to divinity to live as a man and suffer all we have had to suffer
He is big enough to cry for the death of a friend, look up into a tree and invite himself out to lunch, forgive a woman caught in adultery and heal a woman who had spent her entire fortune on doctors!
He is big enough to walk the road of men to be tempted in all way even as we yet without sin – he was big enough to do battle with the Devil and win
He is big enough to have allowed evil men to take him scourge him, spit upon Him and hang Him on a cross! He allowed Himself to suffer for all mankind even though he could have called ten thousand angels!

Hebrews 12:2

Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Colossians 2:9

9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

Philippians 2:6-8

6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!

C. Just How big is God?

I suppose one of the greatest definitions of how big God is was seen over 2,000 years ago in the house of a young Jewish woman – a woman of audacious faith and righteousness – a young girl named Mary.

Mary was a young woman of virtue – she was a virgin. She was one night in prayer when an Angel came to visit her. And told her she was highly favoured of God.

Luke 1:30-37

30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end."

34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 37 For nothing is impossible with God."

In those words – we see just how big our God is – so big that He is able to take the ova of a young woman and “the power of the most high overshadowed her.”

The life of God came into the ova of Mary, her egg was infused with divinity – human cells were injected with the heaven – she was with child. A virgin had conceived the Son of God – the Christ conceived in the womb of the virgin – humanity and divinity fused together by a miracle of God – you want to know HOW BIG GOD IS then think on these miracles! Selah!!

How big is God? He was big enough to live 9 months in the womb of the virgin child Mary. How big is God? Big enough to have been born in an insignificant town in an insignificant country in a humble and rude stable – a home for animals – that’s how big God is – big enough to not distain the humble, the insignificant – the obscure or the hidden!!

Jesus showed us what God was like! Jesus was big enough to be a servant, a humble son, and a respectful child. Jesus was not afraid of obscurity or insignificance.

Philippians 2:7, “but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

So awesome as to fill and constantly expanding universe so great to become a child and a human being!

So awesome as to be everywhere at the same time but equally almighty to invade the ova of a virgin woman.

All Mighty –all of God is everywhere at the same time – not just a part of Him everywhere – but ALL OF GOD EVERWHERE! Yet equally awesome to live in our hearts!

Ephesians3: 16-17

16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

Ephesians 2:21-22

21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

1 John 4:4

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Conclusion:

This Christmas in the midst of all your celebrations – and please do enjoy those celebrations – but meditate on just how big is your God.

Don’t be caught worshiping a little God – don’t keep Jesus in a box like we do our presents this year.

But this season recognise His omnipresence – that He is an Almighty God – unrestrained, unrestricted, all pervading – eternal, everlasting, boundless and truly awesome! Infinite – immeasurable – Radiant!

Ephesian 3:17-21

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

Amen.