How Great is God

[0:00] He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made. Without him nothing was made that has been made.! In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

[0:12] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.

[0:26] He himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

[0:39] He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Children not born of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God.

[0:55] The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Well, thank you very much, Owen, for that reading.

[1:16] Thank you. This morning, I want us to look at the subject of how great God is.

[1:38] and we're taking it under three headings. The first is this, creation. How great is God in creation?

[1:49] The second is this, how great is God in salvation? And the third heading is, how great is God in communication? And you know, how this sermon came about was this, that a few weeks ago, I was walking down the road and something fell out of the sky and hit me on the head.

[2:15] Well, it actually touched me on the face. And what it was, was what I call a helicopter seed. Now, when I was young, the helicopter seed, we said it was from the sycamore tree, I think it's actually a maple tree, that this seed comes from.

[2:33] But you know, I looked at the seed as it fell on the ground and I was thinking, wow, you know, I remember reading about that seed when I was young. And you know, that seed needs to get away from the tree as far as possible.

[2:50] And its design is fantastic. That, you know, normally if a raindrop would hit a seed like that, it would knock it straight to the ground.

[3:00] But the helicopter seed, the blade is designed in such a way that when the raindrop hits it, it cuts the raindrop in half so that its flight is not disturbed.

[3:12] And its purpose continues. It regains its flight and flies away from the tree. And I was thinking, I wonder, did anyone actually take this design and use it to invent something?

[3:24] And I looked it up and it said, yes, the drones are designed on the helicopter seed. And it got me thinking, you know, I said, how great is God, you know, in this design of this little seed in creation that he made that.

[3:40] And, you know, it just got me thinking that that's only a tiny, minute, little piece of creation. When we think of the world, when we think of man, animals, insects, the universe and everything.

[3:53] Wow, our God is an amazing God. You know, he really is. And it made me think, you know, how important it is to consider the subject, how great is God.

[4:05] And no matter how we try to talk about it, or me especially this morning, I'm really going to come up short on this one. And because we can, God is so much greater than we can ever imagine or talk about.

[4:18] And Psalm 145, verse 3, it tells us of his greatness, no one can fathom. And so the question, how great is God, is so important.

[4:33] Because it gives us light to the important issues of life. Why am I here? What's the reason I'm here? What am I doing here?

[4:44] What's my purpose? Where am I going? Where's my destiny? And when we open our Bible, at the very first 10 words in Genesis, we read there that in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.

[5:05] And you know, they're the most important 10 words we can take on board in our life. That in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.

[5:16] And that is telling us that before the beginning, before everything, God was there because he was there in the beginning. He was there to create all things.

[5:26] So he's eternal. He's eternal. And he's always been there. Psalm 90, verse 2 tells us that before the mountains were brought forth, or even the earth was formed, or the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

[5:45] In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And you know, Owen read for us this morning from John. John says, In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.

[6:01] Who is the word? The word is God's revelation to us. The word is the Lord Jesus. Because we're clearly told that in the passage, in verse 14, where he says, The word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us, and we beheld his glory, as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

[6:22] And John tells us that all things were made by him and through him, and without him, nothing has been made that was made. Absolutely nothing.

[6:34] And that passage tells us that, you know, he was with God, and he was God. There is a plurality of persons, but there's one God.

[6:45] And we read in Genesis as well that the spirit was there in the beginning, moving in the darkness. And God's saying, Let us make man in our image, and our likeness.

[6:59] The Bible teaches there is one God, and that there are three persons in the Godhead. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.

[7:13] And it should really grasp us every day of our life, as we look around us, how great is God. But then, touching our hearts, really, when we think about God, how great is God in salvation.

[7:26] In verse 4, we read, In him was life. In Christ, who created all things, he is the fountain of life, and he is the giver of life.

[7:38] And in him was life, and that life was the light of men. And in him is a source of life, the source of all life, physical life, and spiritual life, is only found in him.

[7:52] He provides guidance, and directions, necessary for us in our life. And we need him. Because without him, we're nothing, and we're walking in darkness.

[8:05] For many years of my life, I walked in darkness. I lived for darkness. I lived for the parties in the night time. I lived for the pubs, and the friends, and all that. And I thought it was great, and I thought I had a great life.

[8:18] But one night, I walked out of a pub in Skibereen. It was past closing time. The front door was closed, and locked up, so we were sent out the back door.

[8:29] But for some reason, that night, the sky just spoke to me. As I looked at the sky, and I saw the stars and the moon, there was something special that spoke in touch, me and said, God made all this.

[8:44] That became clear to me. And then, I was struck by this, that if God made all this, which he did, it was just speaking to me. But I didn't know God.

[8:56] And that was a frightful thing, that one day, I would have to face God. And I knew that there was the word of God. I knew that, that was the place I needed to look into the word of God, to find answers.

[9:09] And that was the most important time in my life, if I feel, to get to know him in my life, because he gives light, and only he gives that light. And you know, it's one thing to exist in life, day by day, and go on for yourself and your own self-interest.

[9:26] But it's another thing to know how to live, because God teaches us how to live lives with a purpose and a destiny that awaits us and the hope that we have.

[9:39] And these days, you know, they're dark, and we do need the light of Christ in the pathway of our life. The light shined it in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it or couldn't understand it.

[9:52] It comprehended it. It could not defeat it. It could not overcome it. Man rejected the light, and today man is rejecting the light. But that doesn't stop the light from shining.

[10:04] We have no hope of ever defeating the darkness in our life by ourself. But God sent his son into the world. The world became flesh. He came.

[10:15] He died in our place. We've been remembering this morning. And he paid the full punishment for our sin by dying on the cross. How great is our God in salvation.

[10:27] And that should touch our hearts today. And not alone today, but every day of our life. And verses 12 and 13 that Owen read this morning just tells us clearly how we can become children of light.

[10:42] How we can become children of God. All who receive him and believe in his name, to them gave he the right to become children of God.

[10:53] It's not of good works. It's not going to church. I was out in the world, I was going to church. I went to church to talk about the night before and what we got up to.

[11:04] I had no interest in God. Going to church won't do you any good. Going to church is important. When you become a Christian, it takes on a whole new meaning. But going to church won't save you.

[11:16] It's not by doing your best, but it is by receiving him and believing in his name. We become children naturally when we're born.

[11:26] We all became children physically. And so it is with the spiritual birth. We must be born again of the spirit of God. And verse 13 shows us how the way the new birth does not happen.

[11:42] This is not the way it happens. First point is this. It's not by blood, which means you don't become a Christian because you have Christian parents. The second point is this.

[11:54] It's not the will of the flesh or the will of man. No man can make you a Christian. No pastor, no minister, no priest, no preacher.

[12:05] It's the work of God. And it shows us how we can be received at new birth in verse 13. He tells us how it happens.

[12:16] How to become a child of God? It's by God. It's being born born of God. Salvation is the work of God. And then we see the greatness of God in all of this in salvation.

[12:33] And just like the Holy Spirit was moving in the darkness of creation, the Holy Spirit moves in our life to shine the light of Christ into the darkness. In 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 6 pauses there.

[12:48] For God who said, let light shine out of darkness made his light shine in our heart to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

[13:01] Are you listening for his voice today? Are you looking for that light? Because God is shining that light for you to receive it today. And it's God who does the work and it's a marvelous work that God does.

[13:17] It's beyond description. We can never fathom it but we can grasp it to a certain extent but we'll be forever in wonder and in awe of it throughout eternity.

[13:30] And he made all new things new in Christ. He broke down the middle wall of partition. The veil was rent from top to bottom and now we have access to the Father and we cry through Jesus Christ in the Spirit Abba Father we're crying.

[13:46] So God has restored the communication that was lost in the garden and now we have communication with God.

[13:58] We can come to God and cry Abba Father. The world became flesh and dwelt amongst us and here's a picture of God coming and tabernacling among his people.

[14:11] It reminds us of the tabernacle of old with God with his people. God coming and tabernacling among his people in the person of Christ. God communicated through the world becoming flesh.

[14:24] In creation we see in the beginning God communicating with God in the garden. That wonderful connection and fellowship that we have but sin came in and that communication with God was broken and man hid from God but salvation through Christ God has restored that communication and sends his Holy Spirit to live in us and therefore we cry Abba Father.

[14:55] We have access to the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. And what a privilege that is for each of us. You know Jesus said when you pray and he didn't say if you pray.

[15:11] Communication has been restored. God calls us you and me to come to him and you know it says in Jeremiah call on me and I will answer you.

[15:26] God will answer you when you call on him. Philippines 4 and verses 6 and 7 tells us don't be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

[15:51] The power of God in your life you're not like you were. You have that communication with God. You can talk with God.

[16:01] You can tell him bring your anxieties. You can bring your thanksgiving. You can bring him whatever is going on in your life and the Lord might lead you in a life that's very difficult.

[16:13] Not what you had planned but he has a plan for your life that even in the circumstances there can be glory in your circumstances when God is in your life and when God is in fellowship in your life.

[16:28] You know I was in someone's house recently and they said to me I've got an app on my phone which can tell me where all the power is being used in my house and they showed me this app on their phone and they said look I can on such a time such a day the washing machine was on the fridge was going and everything and it showed all the power being used in the house and they said oh hold on a second they said do you want to see where the power is used in your house and I said oh yeah they said have you got your account there and they tapped it in and lo and behold it came up and the first question they said to me which was kind of funny they said to me oh what time do you go to church on Sunday morning and I was like what and they said and they laughed and they said because that's when the most power is used in your house and as I thought about it

[17:35] I was thinking oh yeah the toaster's going the kittle is going the showers are going the heater is going the shower the fan is going the shower the hair dryer is going yeah that was right it was strange but it got me thinking it got me thinking you know that this app is designed to cut down on the use of power you can see where your power the idea is to cut down on the use of power but when we how opposite the greatness of God is the greatness of God is designed not to cut down on power but for you and me to use power in our life because without it without prayer and without God we are powerless and when we think of the greatness of God that creates in us a desire to pray to the one who is so great the one who has provided a way to salvation the one who has opened up communication why would we not pray to him who is so great and who invites us and has done everything for us in salvation you know the prayer and God's word is so powerful in our life we lived a life without that now we have a life with that let's not be living our life without it let's go into that and be aware that God is with us every step of our day you know

[19:04] James tells us about Elijah how he prayed that there wouldn't be rain and there was no rain for three and a half years and then he prayed again and the rain came and you know what was the difference what made Elijah so great in what happened in his day well it wasn't Elijah because James clearly brings that before us because he says you know he was a man with a nature just like ours he was just like us well what made a difference was God and you know when we are in touch with God it makes all the difference in our life and today I want to say to you just be motivated by the greatness of God we can't fathom it out I can't describe it but I can say it can it can definitely motivate each of us each day each week and by his word and by his fellowship in word and prayer that power comes into our life to live for him and to live to his glory and to give him the glory for everything that's going on in our life and you know we look today at how great God is in creation we look today in how great God is in salvation and we look today in a way in the way

[20:35] God is great in the new creation what he has made us to be and he has made us to be communicating with him to him to be the centre of our life we are new creatures in Christ to live as new creatures and I started off today with the question how great is God but I want us today to end the sermon with this statement my God how great thou art that each of us would say my God how great thou art and maybe that be the story of each of us today and if it's not if you don't know God to come and look and seek out God his light and his life that he gives my God how great thou art and you know we're all together here today and we'll be together next Sunday please God and let us all be together saying how powerful it is you know let's all be together saying how great is our God that he is our God and we live every day for him and he is the power in our life and no matter what we face in life we can give him the glory and we're going on to glory we have a hope and we have a reason in our life our life was empty

[21:57] I can testify you can have everything in life and it's empty but with God there is a fullness and a joy and a peace that only he can give and we say how great is our God Amen Amen