How Big Is Your God?
And
God Created The Heavens
How many have heard the phrase “My God owns the cattle on a thousand hills[i]” and counted it as a level of the wealth of God? How many have been told God doesn’t do those things (insert the item of your choosing) any more, and accepted it? We limit God and our faith when, in our heart, we limit His abilities in any way. Many have a belief that heaven is the “place” God lives. This belief reduces the glory and greatness of Almighty God. For you to have faith to move mountains, you must truly believe God is big enough to move mountains. To better understand how big God is we need to know the omnipresence of God; Solomon said it well when praying at the temple;
II Chronicles 6:18 But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!
Understand that heaven cannot contain God! God is bigger than heaven! The prophet Jeremiah spoke the words of God regarding His omnipresence, and also His omniscience;
Jeremiah 23:23, 24 Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.
You cannot hide from God, and God says He fills heaven and earth; God sees everything, and God is everywhere! The apostle Paul stated to the Athenians this very thing;
Acts 17:27, 28 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Paul acknowledges that we are in God at all times, knowing that He fills heaven and earth. Isaiah 57:15 begins For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity … God inhabits eternity, and does not know time as we do. The things that we see are all time related; time is finite, restricted, bound, or limited. Man’s lifespan is about 70 years. There are often things that must be done in a certain time or the opportunity is lost. An object can occupy a location for a while, and then be replaced with something else; this is the dimension of “time”. Whether scientists believe in the Big Bang Theory or not, they generally all believe the universe had a beginning in time, and is also expanding in area. From Genesis we know the beginning of the universe;
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
God was not in heaven, as if it were His home, but He created it. It had a beginning in time, and space. Additionally, we are told that God stretched out the heavens;
Isaiah 42:5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it, he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
Long before science had the ability to tell us that the universe was expanding, God was telling his servants that He stretched out or spread the heavens (see also Job 9:8, Psalm 104:2, Isaiah 44:24 and 45:12, Jeremiah 10:12 and 51:15, Zechariah 12:1)! I love the word stretched, since it speaks of being outside of the object! Therefore, despite the vastness of space that we do not fully comprehend, the universe is finite in area! But God is on the outside of it stretching it out! As Jesus told the disciples of things to come, He also told us that Heaven and earth shall pass away;
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
As there was a beginning, there will be an end of the things that we see and know. We are further reminded by the Apostle John of God’s eternal existence, of the things God created, and then told that time itself will end;
Revelation 10:5 – 7 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
God is not bound by time or space, but inhabits eternity! Can you see that God is not in the universe, but the universe is in God?! God is infinite! While preparing How Big Is Your God, God spoke to me the word pervasive. This was unsure, due to other “perv” words with bad meanings, but a dictionary definition was immediately sought. Pervasive means existing in, or spreading through, every part of something. Ephesians 4:6 speaks of God being in all;
Ephesians 4:4 – 6 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
God is not pervasive in something, but in everything! Pervasive describes God’s presence well. Not recalling the word pervasive as being from the Bible, it was checked, and the dictionary said the word dated to about 1750 in English, which is after the King James Bible was written. In fact, since He is beyond time and space, a bigger, better word than pervasive should be created! That is how God can speak of things that have not happened in time yet, He sees it all at once;
Isaiah 46: 9, 10 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Now let us consider the love of God;
I John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
If God is love, and God is pervasive in heaven and earth, the love of God is pervasive! It is everywhere and in all things! Please get a different understanding then of the following scripture;
Romans 8:38, 39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Since the love of God is everywhere, you cannot be separated from it! And that love is in Christ Jesus! If we could only understand this! That is how the apostle Paul could say that the love of God passes knowledge;
Ephesians 3:17 – 19 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
When first reading this scripture after God showed me His love was pervasive, the immensity of His love was so awesome that the full depth of these scriptures was not seen. By faith Christ can dwell in our hearts; we are then immediately rooted and grounded in love by His presence. As we begin to comprehend and know His love, which we will never have a full knowledge of, we … might be filled with all the fullness of God. To be filled with the fullness of God we must begin with faith; and then the more rooted and grounded in love we become the more we can be filled with His fullness! Let the desire of your heart be to know His love.
I had been studying on the Spirit, mainly in chapters 14 through 17 of John, where Jesus was teaching and preparing the disciples of things to come. While thinking on the “puzzle” of my walk, “I” considered the times in the past where “I” heard the minister preach of things that could hinder your walk with God, and the despair in knowing “I” could not give it up (the Super Bowl was a good example). “I” wondered how to now reach out to people facing that same circumstance, and God said You cannot now bear it. I immediately knew it was scripture, and began searching to find it. Was it Paul’s writing? It was amazing to find it in the chapters “I” had been studying;
John 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
While the Apostles had been with Jesus through years of his ministry, seeing and doing miracles, seeing Jesus faith in action, His righteousness, His love, and His glory, He was telling them that there were many things He needed to say to them, but they could not bear them then. The Spirit of truth will provide the guidance we need if we can hear;
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Our greatest problem today is we do not hear the Spirit due to the things of the flesh that consume our time. This leaves us in a condition of not being able to bear many things Jesus would have us know. While the Apostles may not have had the same bombarding of temptations and the time eaters of sports, television, movies, jobs, shopping, eating, and reading that are present today, as a result they had more time for ministering. We are starting out far behind in this race, and must catch up. As we face the things we cannot now bear, we need to realize that the love of God is always there for us. The love of God was there when we were yet sinners;
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Walk in the knowledge of His love, and ask God to give you grace for the walk. Begin to give up the things you can bear; hear and obey, God will bless and keep you in your walk. Do not let the enemy condemn you or stop you from repenting or seeking God. The enemy will attack you for the things you have not been able to change, trying to defeat you by convincing you that your failure is final. Your sin is only final when God says so;
I John 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
God sees your heart, and scripture tells us His mercy endures forever. Not just in the times of attack from the enemy, but always remember that Jesus is your advocate;
I John 2:1, 2 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
The word translated advocate here is the Greek word parakletos. It is also translated as the Comforter when used by Jesus in John chapters 14 through 16. The word means intercessor and consoler. Jesus is interceding for us with the Father, and has sent the Spirit to console and guide us personally. We also know from scripture that God is faithful, and will always provide a way for you;
I Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able: but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Change what you can bear, yield what you can yield, and let God establish you in it. Then return to God for more that you can bear. God will change you such that friends and family do not understand;
I Peter 4:4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
We are a generation with only minimal time for God, desiring our spirituality to be quick and painless. Stay on the continual path forward spiritually; hear and obey; when you stop or go back the snares will beset you. You are responsible for what you hear and know;
Luke 12:47, 48 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
The enemy may be attacking you even now, as you have read this scripture on your responsibility to the will of God; remember the love of God, and that you have an advocate with the Father. Do not listen to the enemy; if you are hearing the enemy, you will have greater difficulty hearing God. Keep seeking God and repenting, so He may establish you. Over time we can grow in God, and allow God to so establish His love and mercy in us, that we can help others overcome;
Galatians 6:1, 2 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
It is easy to also let the enemy convince you that you are doing well spiritually and don’t need church or fellowship at a certain time. That place of doing well spiritually is where God wants you, so you can meet the needs of others! Go and be a blessing and glory to God.
We saw above in Isaiah 42:5 that God gives spirit to those that walk in the earth. We touched briefly above on the Spirit, that God has also promised that He will give us;
Acts 2:16 – 18 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
We can see in the scriptures that speak of the gifts of the Spirit (I Corinthians 12:4 – 13), that … all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. We can see then that the Spirit is also pervasive in the church of God! If you cannot feel, hear, or see the things of the Spirit you need to check where you are at. We can also see again … it is the same God which worketh all in all. We understand inventor’s rights (patent), or property rights, but God has Creator’s rights, or ownership of it all;
Deuteronomy 10:14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
Isaiah 66:1 THUS saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest?
If heaven is only his throne, and earth his footstool, how big is God? Stop limiting your faith with the things you have heard of man; God has included specific scriptures in the Word to tell us of His love, His omnipresence, His omniscience, and His omnipotence. Accept this truth in faith, and yield to Him; your walk will be in exceeding abundance.
We have seen that God encompasses everything, that God knows everything, that we cannot hide from God, and that we only have life, breath, and spirit by Him. How much greater should we have awe and fear of Him? And yet, He is preparing a place for us if we choose Him;
Isaiah 66:22 – 24 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Where will you choose to abide of the choices in the above scripture? You will never be able to avoid the God who encompasses it all; choose life. How big is your God? When you gain an understanding in heart of the true omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and love of God that the above verses show you, that is how big your faith can become. That faith will be rooted and grounded in love, that you may be filled with His fullness. Seek His face, and find an abiding, overcoming walk of faith!
[i] Psalm 50:10 includes God saying He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. It is only one of several things He mentioned, ending with … the world is mine, and the fullness thereof. The word cattle does not refer to just domesticated animals if you research the original Hebrew word (Strong’s number 929), and is also translated beast. The Hebrew word used here as hills (Strong’s number 2042) is also translated mountain.