If you are saved today, it’s because the same God who said “let there be light” at creation said “let there be light” in your heart. Do you trust that the God who is all-powerful has done this great work?
“Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”
- Jeremiah 32:17
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Transcript: Hi, welcome to Five Minutes With Pastor Lutzer. Once again, I’m so glad that you have joined us as we continue our study on the attributes of God. Now, if you’ve been with us before, you know that I have repeatedly emphasized the fact that God is a very complex being. And yet, the desire of our hearts should be that we would know Him better, and understand His ways to the extent that we can, as human beings.
Today, we’re studying the attribute of the omnipotence of God. That means that God is capable of doing anything that He desires to do. The text of Scripture comes to us from the book of Jeremiah, chapter 32. I’m picking it up in verse 17: “Ah, Lord! It is you who has made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” Wow. Nothing.
Now, of course he’s talking about creation. And there are other verses. We’re thinking, for example, even of Genesis chapter 1 verse 1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” And someone has pointed out, by the way, that in that verse you have all of the elements of science. “In the beginning” introduces us to time. “He created” introduces us to force; “the heavens,” of course, space. And then “the earth”—matter. God created.
Now let’s back off and think about that for just a moment. First of all, as we know, He created everything out of nothing. Too often, we hurry over that. But let’s remember: it’s one thing for you to create something from something that has been given to you. But imagine out of nothing, creating something. It’s mind boggling. Now if you ask the question, “Well, how did God do it?” The answer is we don’t know.
Not only did He create out of nothing, but He created effortlessly. I’m thinking here of Psalm 33 verse 6: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” So God just spoken and said, “Let there be stars,” and there were stars. “Let there be planets,” and there were planets. Effortlessly. Now of course, He did not create randomly. By that I mean, our creation is ordered. You think, for example, of the planets who have such predictability that our scientists and astronomers are able to predict the eclipse of the sun and so forth to the very minute and the very second. But God is the one who creates.
Now here’s what’s interesting, and this applies to us. He not only created back there, but He continues His creation. You say, “What do you mean by that?” Well, think of it this way. Salvation actually involves the creative ability of God in two different ways. First of all, I’m thinking for example of 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, where the apostle Paul says that God, who caused the light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts and given us the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. If you’re saved today, it’s because the same God who said, “Let there be light,” is the same God who said “Let there be light” in your heart. I’m reminded, by the way, of the song written by Charles Wesley, stanza three:
“Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
fast bound in sin and nature’s night.
Thine eye defused a quickening ray;
I rose, the dungeon filled with light.
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose up and followed Thee.”
It’s the miracle of God. But there’s a second way, and that is, God creates within us a new nature. I’m thinking, for example, of 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.
Now think about this: the omnipotent God who spoke the worlds into existence, who said “Let there be light,” and there was light; and the God who took nothing and created something—if you’re a believer today, He has exercised the very same power in your heart. You are a new creation. What that means is after you are saved, there is something within you that wasn’t there before. That new nature changes our desires, it makes us new people, it gives us new hope—and of course, it can also be spoken of as the new birth.
So today let us rejoice in the omnipotence of God, not only in His physical creation, but the creative power of God within our own lives when He stepped out of heaven, into time, in the person of Jesus, and came to save us. Today, as you go about your very busy life, think about the fact that God the creator is with us today and in the hearts of all those who have come to faith in Christ.
So glad that you have joined us. I hope that you join us next time, and as for today, go with God.