One of the many names by which
our God has revealed himself is El Shaddai. It means God Almighty. God Almighty. Omnipotence is the unlimited,
infinite power and ability of God to do all his will and all
his pleasure. Turn with me to Luke chapter
1. In this passage, the angel is
announcing the birth of Christ. He is telling Mary that though
she is a virgin, one who has never known a man, she shall
be herself made to bear the God-man, Jesus Christ the Lord. She shall
be the Messiah's earthly mother. She shall be the one out of whom
Messiah shall be born. and she seems to stand back in
awe and astonishment, saying, How can this be? I've never known
a man. And then we're told in verse
37, For with God nothing shall be impossible. That's how it
can be. God purposed it. God said, Behold,
a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and thou shalt call his
name Immanuel, God with us. How can a virgin bear a son?
How can a virgin give birth to a child? How can a virgin, one
who has never known a man, conceive and bring forth another human
being? With God, all things are possible. That's how it is. We're told
by our Lord, when he describes the salvation of sinners, that
with God nothing shall be impossible. He assures us that the salvation
of his elect is a certainty, because with God all things are
possible. Then our Lord appeared to John,
and he declared that he is himself the Omnipotent God. In Revelation
1, verse 8, he says, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which
is to come, the Almighty. the omnipotent God of all power. Now, today I want to hold before
our hearts and minds the Almighty God, the Almighty God as the
object of our faith. The title of my message is this,
He is able. He is able. Now, you just jot
it down in your memory bank somewhere. May God write it upon your heart,
no matter what your circumstance. No matter what your need, no
matter who you are, no matter where you are, no matter how
helpless you are, no matter what it is that you stand in need
of, he is able. He is able. God helped you to
hear it and know him who is able. Because the Lord our God is omnipotent. Because he is omnipotent, we
can confidently trust him in all things and with all things. Omnipotent, that's a mighty big
word. It simply means all power. Omnipotence
is an attribute essential to God, and it is an attribute that
belongs to God alone. It is the nature of God to be
almighty. Anything less than almighty is
not God. Anything less than an almighty
God is no God at all. A weak God is a useless absurdity. I hear the promoters of religion
in our day, and they talk about what God wants to do but can't
do. How many times have you heard somebody say, God can't do this,
or God can't do that? Why, a weak God, Joey, is useless. A weak God, my soul, is of no
value to anyone. A weak God is a contradiction
in terms. A weak God is an absurdity. It is a mockery of men to call
upon men who are rational and not in a madhouse to worship
a weak God. God Almighty, if he were not
omnipotent, would not be himself one worthy of our trust. If he
were not omnipotent, we could not trust him with all things. Now, listen to me. You say, well,
we trust him because he's honest and true and faithful. Yes, that's
so, but we cannot commit ourselves to it. We cannot entrust ourselves
to his hands unless he's omnipotent. That's the reason we can't trust
the flesh. Everybody here, I suppose, I hope it's so, trusts me as
a man. You can trust me to tell you
the truth. You can trust me to deal honestly with your soul.
I hope that I've demonstrated that to you. But don't you dare
put your trust in me. Don't you dare put your trust
in me. I'm weak. I'm weak. And I cannot always
do what I want to do, what I will to do, or even what I purpose
to do. Sometimes I'm frustrated. Most
of the time I'm frustrated in what I intend to do. We can trust
God because he's omnipotent. He's omnipotent. Though he knows
all things, and though he knows what is fit and proper for his
own glory, and knows what is good for his people, his knowledge
would be of no comfort if he lacked the ability to perform
good for us. Though he has willed, determined,
decreed, and predestinated all that he would have to be done,
his purpose would be futile, vain, meaningless, if he did
not possess the omnipotent power to execute all his will. Though
he makes many promises of faithfulness, many promises of goodness, many
promises of mercy, they would all be meaningless words. If
he lacked the ability to carry them out to perfection, God's
love and grace would be nothing more than helpless, frustrated
emotion if he lacked the ability to savingly bestow his love and
grace upon his people. Though he is righteous and just
in rendering to every man the proper reward of his works, his
righteousness and justice would be vain if he lacked the power
to execute righteousness and justice upon man. Do you follow
what I'm saying? If God is righteous and just,
and he is, then the Lord God will reward all his people with
everlasting life and eternal glory on the basis of Christ's
righteousness and satisfaction of divine justice by his blood.
And he will punish all the wicked with everlasting destruction
because he's righteous and just. Righteousness and justice demand
that he do so. But if he lacks the power with
which to execute righteousness and justice, then the righteous
have no hope and the wicked have no fear. He's useless. He's useless. If we in any way
limit God's sovereignty, if in any way we limit his omnipotence,
we would be denying his essential divinity and destroying the very
foundation of faith in him. Throughout the scriptures, God's
sovereign omnipotence is set before us as a matter of greatest
praise and adoration, ever-encouraging faith in him. Oh, hear me! The Lord our God is great beyond
all comprehension. He's infinite in his greatness,
in his glory, and in his power. Let me give you some scriptures.
I'll just read them to you. You can jot them down and read
them at your leisure if you would like. In fact, in 1 Chronicles
29, verse 10, David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel,
our Father, forever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness
and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty,
for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine. Thine
is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted, head above all."
In Psalm 62, verse 11, the psalmist says, God hath spoken once, twice
have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God. Jeremiah,
in Jeremiah 32, verse 17, says, Ah, Lord God, behold, thou hast
made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and stretched
out arms, and there is nothing too hard for thee." Do you believe
that? Do you believe that? There's
nothing too hard for God. Why, there's nothing to put God
in a strain. There's nothing that causes God
to strain his back. There's nothing that causes God
to be vexed or to be placed in a position where he's somewhat
made to exert himself. Nothing too hard for him. Nothing
too hard for him. He's the great and the mighty
God, the Lord of hosts. Nebuchadnezzar learned this.
In Daniel 4, verse 35, he says, All the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his will in
the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
And nobody can slap his wrist and say to him, What are you
doing? None can say his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
Not only do God's saints in the earth praise him for his omnipotent
power, but if you read the book of Revelation, you'll observe
that the saints of God and the angels in heaven, when they ascribe
glory to God, praise him every time for his omnipotence, his
power, and his greatness. Every time. Omnipotence means
that God has all power over all things. Let it sink in. God has all power over all things,
over all beings, over all creatures, all power, all power. Sovereignty is the exercise of
that power by the sovereign omnipotence of God. He declares his greatness
and calls for men to bow before him, and he encourages our faith
in him at all times. Turn over to Isaiah 46. I want
you to look at this one. Isaiah 46. The Lord God calls our attention
to his sovereignty and his omnipotence. He is calling for faith in him.
He's calling for us to look to him, to trust him, to commit
our souls to him, to commit everything to him. And this is how he encourages
that faith. Isaiah 46, verse 9. Remember
the former things of old. For I am God, and there is none
else. I am God, and there is none like
me." I wish this generation would
learn that. I get so tired of hearing men
liken God to a few things on this earth. There is none like
him, none like him. I expect to hear comedians speak
of God as the big guy. And I expect to hear blasphemy
speak of the man upstairs. But I'm telling you, there is
none like Jehovah. None. Nothing to compare to him. God's not a co-pilot and he's
not like Pepsi-Cola. He's God. He's God. Declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying,
my counsel shall change. I will do all my pleasure." Now,
just mark her down, brother. Whatever pleases God, Wes, he
does. Whatever pleases him, he does. I will do all my pleasure. Whatever his will is, whatever
his plan is, whatever his counsel is, whatever his purpose is,
God will do it. That's what he says. Now, either
he'll do it, or he's a liar. You take your choice. You take
your choice. God's plan's not frustrated.
God's purpose is not defeated. God's will is not overturned.
No matter what men may say about it, God's pleasure is done. He
says in verse 11, I'll illustrate it for you, calling a ravenous
bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from of
our country, The Lord God took his prophet, sitting out all
alone, and he said it. You know how he said it? He called
a carnivorous bird, he called a flesh-eating bird to come bring
his prophet to me every day. Well, that's not according to
nature, it's according to God! That's what it is. Over in Isaiah
45, he talks about Cyrus. He says, Thus saith the Lord
to his anointed to Cyrus. He's a pagan king! Cyrus is an
infidel! Cyrus is an unbeliever! But God's
going to use him. He says in verse 3, "...I will
give thee the treasures of darkness, and the hidden riches of secret
places, that thou mayest know that I am the Lord which call
thee by thy name. I am the God of Israel." He said,
for Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have
called thee by thy name, I have surnamed thee, though you don't
even know me. And this man Cyrus is raised
up of God, directed by God, and led of God for the deliverance
of his chosen people. That's God's way. He says here
in Isaiah 46 again, I call the ravenous bird from the east,
the man that executes my counsel from a far country, yea, I have
spoken it, I will also bring it to pass, I have purposed it,
I will also do it, hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted that are
far from righteousness, I bring near my righteousness, it shall
not be far off, my salvation shall not tarry, and I will place
salvation in Zion. for Israel my glory." The omnipotence
of God is displayed in the creation of the world. By faith we understand that the
worlds were framed by the word of God. Now, brother, that's
power. God said, let there be light.
And he didn't wait six million years for it to shine. God said,
let there be light, and there was light. As a matter of fact,
when the Scriptures speak of God said, it's not even as though
he articulated the word, but rather, through his Son, who
is the word, he willed light, and light is there. He created
the heavens and the earth. Well, he took six days to do
it. He had good reasons for that. I'll deal with that another time.
But he didn't get in the strand. He created the earth just as
it is only now it's marred with sin. He created the earth in
all the splendor of its fruitfulness in six days and stopped from
his work. He vested from his work to picture
for us a Sabbath in Christ's season, not because he was God,
with the word of his power, spoke the world into being. Now, that's
omnipotent, and folks talk about this God wanting to do something
you can't. What fools! It is the omnipotence
of our God that sustains, provides for, and rules the world and
all things that are in it. He upholds all things by the
word of his power. Turn over to the book of Job,
Job chapter 9. There are lots of texts I could
read for this. Let's just read Job 9, beginning
at verse 4. He is wise in heart, and mighty
in strength, who hath hardened himself against God, and prospered,
which moveth the mountains, and they know not. which overturneth
them in his anger, which shaketh the earth out of her place, and
the pillars thereof tremble, which commandeth the sun, and
it riseth not, and seedeth up the stars, which alone spreadeth
out the heavens, and treadeth upon the ways of the sea, which
maketh archereth Orion and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south,
which doeth great things past finding out, yea, wonders without
number. Lo, he goeth by me, and I see
him not. He passeth on also, but I perceive
him not. Behold, he taketh away, and who
can hinder him? Who shall say unto him, What
doest thou? God rules the universe. The cattle
on the thousand hills belong to him, and he feeds on every
one from the hollow of his hand. He is the one who gives the water
by which the earth is refreshed, and he's the one who dries it
up. He's the one who raised up the
mountains. I know fellows who call themselves
scientists say they evolved by terrible eruptions and so on. The Lord God raised them up,
and he takes them down. He removes them. He's the one
who shakes the earth with the earthquake and the one who erupts
the mountain in a volcano. God! God! This God reveals his
omnipotence not only in the material, physical universe around us,
but he reveals it in the redemption of sinners by Christ. His omnipotence
is seen in all those things leading up to our redemption and in the
completion of redemption by our Lord Jesus. His incarnation,
in the text we read earlier in Luke 1, is a work of omnipotence. With God, nothing's impossible.
The virgin gave birth to the God-man because God's able to
do it. Our Lord Jesus Christ performed
many miracles, and as he performed those miracles, it was declared
that this man surely worked by the mighty power of God. In his
death, our Lord Jesus displayed his omnipotence. Here he is. The Son of God hanging upon the
church's tree, bearing the sins of men, suffering the wrath of
the Almighty. But that One who suffers is Himself
the Almighty! He cried, It is finished! And
He bowed His head and breathed out His life. That's God Almighty! He has the power to lay down
His life and the power to take it again, raising Himself from
the grave. He's God! The resurrection of our Lord
Jesus Christ is a declaration of his Messiahship, a declaration
that he is the Son of David and the Son of God by the power of
God. It is by the omnipotent and irresistible
power of God's grace that sinners are born again, regenerated and
converted, given faith in Christ Jesus the Lord. The Apostle Paul
in Ephesians 1.19 tells us that the very same omnipotent power
that God wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead is
the power by which we believe. The very same power. God commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, and he commands it to shine in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. How can the dead live? How can
the dead live? Some of you here this morning
are dead in trespasses and sins. You're dead. I'm not talking
about you're a little bit weak or a little bit sick or a little
bit sinful. You're dead with regard to life
before God. Spiritually dead. Dead. Dead. Helplessly dead. And you cannot live. Now hear
me. You cannot live unless the omnipotent
God speaks life into your heart. That's right. Well, I'll make
a little decision for Jesus when I get ready to. You may do it,
but you'll still be dead. Well, I'll join the church whenever
I want to. You may do it, but you'll still
be dead. Well, I'll go to one of those
churches uptown where folks don't have to be told such things as
this. You may do it, but you'll still be dead. dead. We cry to God, I do, these men
and women here do, as I stand before you to preach the gospel,
Lord God Almighty, speak with life-giving omnipotent power
today that dead sinners may live. And if he speaks, dead folks
live. Just that simple. Just that mysterious
and profound, but just that simple. He passes by, and behold, the
time is the time of love, and he says, live, and the dead arise,
and live by his power. How is it that men believe on
Jesus Christ? Why, God calls them to live.
How is it that men who would not come to Christ suddenly want
Christ more than anything on this earth? God calls them to
live. How is it that men and women
who would not believe the gospel now rest their souls upon Jesus
Christ alone. God calls the dead to live. Converting
the work of his almighty grace, his omnipotent effectual power. And when God sets forth to save men and women by his
effectual power You can mark it down, whoever he's coming
to save is going to be saved. You can just mark it down. You believe in irresistible grace?
There ain't no other kind. There just ain't any other kind.
Grace that can be defeated by men. Grace that can't be overturned
by the will of men. Grace that when God's coming
with the mighty rush of his Spirit, the wind of the Spirit to the
sinner's heart, the sinner stops. And he says, now wait right there. I'll decide whether or not you come. You mean folks that
really believe that kind of stuff? I'm afraid they do. I'm afraid
they do. But I'm telling you that when
the Spirit of God comes, Nobody will resist his power. If the
Spirit of God this day invades your heart with the word of life
and causes this word, the seed of life, to be implanted in your
heart, I'm telling you, you shall live before him! And if he doesn't,
you'll never live. Never. It is God's omnipotence alone
by which the gospel has made progress and been successful
in the world from the dawn of creation down to this present
time. Though men and nations and kingdoms
and the demons of hell and Satan and the religion of man has endeavored
all in one concerted effort to stamp out the truth of God, yet
the gospel of God's grace flourishes today. The word of his power
still stands. The Bible, this word of God,
has been given in every generation since it was completed, and continues
to be printed in multiplied languages, and God continues to send faithful
men to declare it throughout the world. without the support
of government, without the support of men, without the support of
popular opinion, always running contrary to the opinion of men,
always running contrary to the tendencies of society, always
swimming upstream, always swimming against the tide, the word of
the gospel still prevails, and it shall until Christ Jesus comes
again. The preservation of God's saints,
every one of them, is a display of his omnipotent power. Some of you have been walking
in the way of faith for a long time. You were here Tuesday night,
heard the gospel and rejoiced in it. And you're back, whatever you
needed, he said. God give you grace to trust him,
for Christ's sake.