“Omnipotence” 8-21-22

Overview

The Omnipotence of God

In Numbers 11, Israel grows tired of the manna God provides and longs for the meat they remember from Egypt—conveniently forgetting the bondage that came with it. Moses, overwhelmed by the people's complaints, cries out to the Lord that the burden is too heavy and even asks God to take his life. God responds first with grace, raising up seventy elders to share the load, and then with a promise: the people will eat meat, not for a day or two, but for a whole month. When Moses protests that 600,000 men cannot possibly be fed, God answers with a piercing question: "Is the Lord's power limited?" A more literal rendering asks, "Is my arm too short?"—an image of God's saving strength.

That question frames the doctrine of omnipotence: God can do whatever He desires. Scripture testifies to this everywhere. Job confesses, "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted" Job 42:2. Jeremiah prays, "Nothing is too hard for you" Jeremiah 32:17. Jesus declares, "With God all things are possible" Matthew 19:26. The biblical record displays this power concretely—stilling seas, healing the sick, striking armies blind, making iron float, and raising the dead.

A common but mistaken piece of counsel says, "There are things God can't do unless you let Him." But Psalm 135:6 answers plainly: "Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps." God's power is not held hostage by the human will. Saul did not "permit" the risen Christ to transform him on the Damascus road; he was changed. Abraham laughed at the promise of a son in his old age, yet the God who introduced Himself as "God Almighty" Genesis 17:1 did exactly what He said. We do not hand God control over our lives—He never lost it.

Take an honest inventory: where, even in small ways, are you living as though God's arm is too short? Some burden, some sin, some unanswered prayer, some person who seems beyond reach? Hear the Lord's question to Moses spoken to you. The same omnipotent God was pleased to send His Son to the cross to bear our sin—including our stubborn unbelief in His power—and is pleased now, through Word and Sacrament, to turn hearts of stone into hearts that trust Him. We worship God Almighty, and by His grace He empowers us to rest in whatever He desires to do.

Transcript

Would you open your Bibles' plays with me to Numbers the 11th chapter this morning? 2s

That is in the Old Testament and if you're using a Pew edition of Holy Scripture, you're 8s

going to find that on page 121. 12s

Numbers the 11th chapter, page 121. 16s

There is a special place in my heart for Numbers the 11th chapter. 22s

There's a special fondness that I have for Numbers 11th. 28s

Because the first few verses of Numbers 11 was the text of the very first sermon that 33s

I ever preached. 41s

It was back in seminary first year. 44s

As the preaching cycle goes on through the years of seminary, your introductory courses 49s

of preaching in that first year, the preacher teaching the mechanics of preaching. 55s

Then you also have what is called a preaching laboratory. 63s

I have always been intrigued by the title of that practicum, preaching laboratory. 69s

When I saw it there on my schedule that first year, images of first year seminarians, 77s

not dressed in white robes but dressed in white coats. 87s

In some laboratory, some place on the seminary with beakers full of what they had learned 92s

in a few months that they were there. 100s

Concocting all kinds of sermons that had the incredibly powerful potential to be catastrophically 102s

explosive. 114s

Preaching laboratory. 118s

The clipboard was passed around those in that section of the laboratory and I was at the 122s

that meant that all those before me took the more recognizable texts and when it got 132s

to me, poor little numbers 11 was it. 142s

What I found was that text was absolutely glorious. 150s

I have no memory of the sermon. 156s

I have no memory what I said. 160s

But I do remember that text. 164s

The backdrop here of numbers 11 is that you'll recall that the people that God was feeding 171s

the people with heavenly mena. 177s

He was providing for them. 179s

But they became tired of what God was feeding them. 182s

And so they started to fondly reminisce about Egypt. 189s

Now that is rather ironic, isn't it? 196s

Because as we see from the witness of Scripture, the time in Egypt, why they had been turned 198s

into slaves under an oppressive Pharaoh here. 204s

That was no cakewalk at all. 208s

But now all of a sudden they were remembering the good old days back in Egypt because 210s

they remembered that they had meat to eat. 217s

And frankly, they were simply tired of this manna that God was providing. 223s

Moses was the recipient of the complaints. 232s

And Moses, he had it. 237s

He just reached his limit. 242s

And he simply had it. 245s

Look when he pleased. 250s

At numbers 11, verse 11. 250s

So Moses said to the Lord, why have you treated your servant so badly? 254s

Why have I not found favor in your sight that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 259s

Did I conceive all this people? 265s

Did I give birth to them that you should say to me, carry them in your bosom as a nurse 267s

carries a suckling child to the land that you promised on oath to their ancestors? 273s

Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? 281s

For they come weeping to me and say, give us meat to eat. 284s

I'm not able to carry all this people alone. 289s

They're too heavy for me. 292s

If this is the way you're going to treat me, put me to death at once if I have found favor 294s

in your sight and do not let me see my misery. 300s

Moses had reached the limit. 308s

And Moses had had it. 312s

And God responds revealing the attribute of study for this morning. 321s

His omnipotence. 332s

Look when he pleased. 335s

At verse 16. 336s

So the Lord said to Moses, gather for me 70 of the elders of Israel who 337s

you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them. 343s

Bring them to the tent of meeting and have them take their place there with you. 347s

I will come down and talk with you there and I will take some of the spirit that is on you 352s

and put it on them and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not 357s

bear it all by yourself. 365s

God's response here to Moses is really a word of grace, isn't it? 369s

That God is going to bring around Moses, 70 people that are going to help him with the administration of the nation. 376s

And then regarding the meat, God says this, verse 18, 384s

and say to the people, consecrate yourselves for tomorrow and you shall eat meat for you've 394s

wailed in the hearing of the Lord saying, if only we had meat to eat surely it was better for us in Egypt. 404s

Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat. 413s

You shall eat not only one day or two days or five days or ten days or twenty days, 417s

but for a whole month until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes 423s

lothsome to you because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wailed before 429s

him saying, why did we ever leave Egypt? The people that cried for the good old days of Egypt 436s

when they had meat were going to get meat and they were going to get so much meat that it was going to be 445s

lothsome to them. The people cried, Moses cried, God responds, 458s

and now Moses responds. Verse 21, but Moses said, the people I'm with, number 600,000 on foot 472s

and you say, I will give them meat that they may eat for a whole month. Are there 486s

enough flocks and herds to slaughter for them? Are there enough fish in the sea to catch for them? 493s

Moses looks at this and says, this is absolutely impossible, God, to supply that much meat. 502s

And now God responds. Verse 23, the Lord said to Moses, is the Lord's power limited 511s

or a more literal translation, God is saying, is my arm too short? 521s

Can also be translated as my hand to short because the imagery here is the hand including the 528s

forearm. It's the imagery of the saving power of God and God says, Moses is my arm too short to 534s

handle this and he reminds Moses of his omnipotence. Omnipotence means that God can do whatever it is 544s

that he desires. He has all power. Whatever he desires, he can do. Job, the 42nd chapter, Job says this, 568s

I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Jeremiah 32, 589s

Lord God that is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched 600s

arm, nothing is too hard for you. Matthew 19, but Jesus looked at them and said, for mortals, 607s

it is impossible but for God all things are possible. In Exodus 14, chapter, God affects the rotation 616s

of the earth in Joshua 10th chapter. He makes an iron head of an axe to float in second kings, 628s

the sixth chapter. He strikes an entire army blind in Matthew the 8th chapter, our examples of 637s

healing and then he comes a raging sea in Luke 7th chapter is the raising of the dead. 645s

The omnipotence of God is his ability to do whatever he desires. Whatever he desires. 656s

And we can be tempted to not believe that. I imagine that the council was given with the best 676s

intentions. But the person that had received the council, they were they were troubled by it. 694s

It didn't sit well with them and for good reason. The council that was that was troubling the 702s

person. What he had received was this. Remember, there are things that God can't do 714s

unless you let him. There are things that God can't do unless you let him. 727s

Not, not ponder that with me. Was there enough, there are some things that God can't do 743s

unless you let him. But compare that to Psalm 135 that says, 755s

for I know that the Lord is great. Our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, 765s

he does in heaven and on earth in the seas and all deeds. Whatever the Lord pleases 775s

in heaven and on earth he does. The council, there are things that God can't do unless you 783s

let him. Who has the power now? You see the expression of the omnipotence of God 802s

is not beholden to our will. The expression of the omnipotence of God is not beholden to our will. 826s

For example, we see in Holy Scripture that Saul was persecuting the church. He was bent 836s

on destroying the church. The risen Lord Jesus Christ meets him on the road to Damascus. And remember, 843s

in the several accounts in which Paul, who used to be Saul, is relating what happened. 851s

He never says, and the risen Lord Jesus met me on the road and I allowed him to transform 860s

my life so that I would be utilized to write the majority of the New Testament. Paul never says 868s

that, does he? Because what happened on the road to Damascus? He was absolutely transformed. 878s

He was absolutely changed. He wasn't given the potential to then actualize his decision, 886s

whether or not he is going to allow God to change him. No, he's absolutely transformed 896s

from a murderer of Christians into the one that God is going to use in incredible, incredible ways. 905s

You see, we don't give God control over areas of our life because he never lost it. 921s

It's not a situation where we say, like a little child, pretty pleased. 936s

It's not as if God is saying on his throne, pretty pleased. Please let me have the ability 944s

to exercise my power. No, no, the expression of God's omnipotence is not limited. 952s

It's not beholden to our will. 965s

Beloved, take an inventory of your life here. Take a quick inventory. Where is it? 973s

Where is it in your life that even in the tiniest of ways, 981s

your understanding of God or your belief in God is that somehow he is limited in what it is that he can do? 987s

Take the inventory there. Where is it? Even in the tiniest of ways, where 1001s

you are believing that God is somehow limited in his omnipotence? 1007s

Where is it? That God is saying to you. Is the Lord's power limited? Where is it that he is saying to you? 1019s

Is my arm too short? Is my arm too short to handle this? Where is it? 1035s

I think of Genesis the 17th chapter. There in the 17th chapter, 1051s

God says this to Abraham. He says, as for Sarah, your wife, you shall not call her Sarah, but Sarah, 1061s

she'll be her name. Oh, bless her. Moreover, I will give you a son by her. I'll bless her. 1066s

And she shall give rise to nations, kings of peoples shall come from her. 1073s

And what's Abraham's response? The Abraham fell on his face and laughed. 1081s

And said to himself, can a child be born to a man who's a hundred years old? Can Sarah 1089s

who's ninety years old bear a child? And that exchange all comes after how the exchange 1097s

starts in Genesis 17 where God appears to Abraham and says, I am God Almighty. 1107s

I can do it. Ever, I desire, God says, my power is not limited and it's not beholden to the human will. 1126s

It's like what the children sing, right? My God is so great, so strong and so mighty. 1148s

There's nothing my God cannot do for you. 1160s

The omnipotence of God, his desire, he can do whatever it is he desires. 1171s

And he desired to send his son the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross, 1183s

to bear all of our sin, including our penchant for believing that he's not omnipotent. 1191s

Bearing at all for giving us redeeming us. 1202s

Our God was pleased and is pleased to come and through word and sacrament transform our hearts 1210s

of stone into hearts that love Him to where we are transformed by God into believers. 1222s

And God is pleased. God is pleased by His grace to empower us to trust 1239s

in whatever it is he desires to trust that. We worship God Almighty. 1248s