The Omnipresent and Omnipotent God of Jonah - Beacon Sunday Service: August 17th, 2025

Well, uh, if you guys have your Bibles, please turn uh in your Bibles to Jonah chapter one, and then we're gonna uh I'm gonna actually encourage you to keep it open, but please uh join with me, or join me on my on our rise with me, and then uh we'll read the word of the Lord together. Jonah chapter one, verses three to four. Yet Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. He went down to Joppa, found a ship which is going to Tarshish, and paid its fare, and went down into it to go with them Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. But Yahweh hurled the great wind on the sea, and there was a great storm on the sea, so that the ship gave thought to bring it apart. Let me pray for us.

Father, we ask that you would speak our fleet, that you would minister effectively, and would you become just great and large and huge in our presence? We know that when you become greater in our sight, everything else starts not to matter, and we respond with awe, with humility, and healthy dose of terror before the God of the universe. Father, remind us afresh that you are a fearsome God.

Though you are a loving father, you are also God, the creator of the heavens and the earth. So as we reflect together on just the truths of who you are, I pray that you would help us to respond appropriately with the proper posture of worship for all such statements. Go ahead and take your seats.

Uh, for the then attempted murder of his estranged wives boyfriend. And so he was arrested, and then shortly thereafter, he was released on bond, and he failed to show up to his port appearance, and then he disappeared. And for over 40 years, he was on the U.S. Marshall's most wanted list until his arrest in New Mexico earlier this February. So Stephen Craig Campbell, he had fled Wyoming and had ultimately hidden away in Wee, New Mexico. How many of you ever heard of we, New Mexico? Probably not. It's a remote part of New Mexico, which has had, as of 2023, a population of 90 people. So for nearly 40 years, Campbell had taken on the identity of a dead former roommate who had passed away in 1975.

Campbell had a social security card in his former roommate's name, and he even purchased property in that name. And he had purchased an elevated 44-acre plot of land in Wheat, New Mexico, and he was hiding out and was bunkered there. And there was a big standoff this past February as he sought to fight off the authorities with 60 guns and a large stash of ammunition. He was arrested, and he currently is in prison. So for 42 years, he had been on the run and he had succeeded in evading the authorities. He had moved 700 miles away. He had hidden himself in an isolated corner of the world. He had changed his name. He had surrounded himself with firearms and tons of ammunition, and was nonetheless still captured.

And at present, sources now trying to hide behind an insanity feature as he waits to stand child and he waits for sentence complaints. So Stephen Craig Campbell will likely spend the rest of his earthly life in prison. And he is currently 76 years old. And there will be physical consequences to his many poor choices. So it may have taken a while, but flawed and finite men working within a flawed and finite system still succeeded in capturing this fugitive. National law enforcement agencies with all of their access to special intel, special equipment, and a large network and an almost unlimited firepower, are nowhere near close to being omnipresent or omnipotent. Right? On a good day, you could beat up Alex and Albert.

You can deceive them, you can trick them, maybe hide from them. Their knowledge is limited, and their abilities are finite, and there are many, many restrictions on the handling of men like Stephen Craig Campbell. But law enforcement is still a fearsome and powerful thing. But no matter how fearsome and powerful local and national law enforcement agencies are, they have no power over anything beyond this life. So even the most powerful and fearsome governments in the world, even the cruel ones, can only punish a man's physical body. Their jurisdiction does not extend past this life. They would have no single power over a person's soul. So law enforcement, is it worthy of respect? Say yes. Yes.

But they're not worthy of fear. As Jesus said, do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. And the hymn there obviously is who? Is God. God can destroy both body and soul. And we're going to keep this Matthew 10 passage in mind as we're going to come back to it a few times throughout the sermon. Today we're going to be looking at two attributes of God. His omnipresence, say omnipresence, and his omnipotence. Say omnipotence. Okay? Because these are two very prominent attributes in this very first chapter of Jonah. And the prophet Jonah was defying him, who was both able to destroy body and soul in hell.

The prophet Jonah was disobeying the will of the only one who is both omnipresent and omnipotent. And he knew it. And he attempted it anyway because, as we learned that last week, he was that upset. Because the people to whom God was sending him were that evil. So Jonah was angered to the point of death that God would have compassion on the wickedest and cruelest people on the earth, the Assyrians. So in some ways, Jonah is on a suicide mission of sorts to flee from the omnipresence and the omnipotence of Yahweh, the Lord of hosts. So Jonah is trying to flee. Alright? We're going to see this in both verses 3 and 10 of chapter 1. I'm only going to read verse 3. Yet Jonah arose to flee the Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.

So he went down to Japba, found a ship which was born to Tarshish, paid its fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh. So Jonah is fleeing from the presence of Yahweh. So when Jonah tells the sailors to throw him over in verse 12, hopefully Yahweh Bible's open.

So he did what he could to flee from the presence of Yahweh, and that's a foolish and a feudal thing because can that be done? No. Because God is omnipresent. And this attribute of God is one of the first things that is highlighted about Yahweh, God in the book of Jonah. Now, what does it mean for God to be omnipresent? This is important because we worship God and we fear God because of his omnipresence. Alright? And here are two textbook definitions. The first one is from Biblical Doctrine by Richard Nahew and John MacArthur, and it reads, God is present at every point in space in his entire being. And for Miller Ericsson, Christian theology is what I had a study in Talbot. Omnipresence is God's being present in every place and time.

So in other words, God is everywhere. There is no place that God is not. So the Trinitarian God, in all his fullness, is present everywhere in his creation. This does not mean then that everything is God. Okay, and that's what we call pantheism. And a lot of people confuse omnipresence with pantheism. Omnipresence means that God is present everywhere in creation, but he is very distinct from his creation. Hopefully that makes sense, okay? And omnipresence means that God is not limited by any spatial dimensions. The mysterious thing is that though God is omnipresent, he still chooses a specific and a special dwelling place on earth. So King Solomon, after the temp uh completing the temple and dedicating it, he says this as he's filled with awe and wonder.

1 Kings 8 27, but will God truly dwell on earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house which I have built. So King Solomon is worshiping God and he's praising God in this passage for his omnipresence. Hopefully you see this, right? God is present everywhere, and that is a big everywhere. Okay? Everywhere is a lot of space. So there is no place where omnipresent God is not. And though the heaven cannot contain him, he is still intimate and near. So God is involved with the vast, but he's also involved with the very intimate. That's what both Jeremiah and David proclaimed. Jeremiah 23 reads, Am I a God who is near and not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?

declares Yahweh. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? Declares Yahweh because a bunch of rhetorical questions here. David in Psalm 139 says, Where can I go from your spirit, or where can I flee from your presence? And that's the same words in Jonah. If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in She, oh, behold, you are there. If I lift up the wings of the dawn, and I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, what do you think the next words are? You are there. Okay? So God is omnipresent. Yahweh is present everywhere. So Jonah is attempting the impossible. Jonah perhaps thought that he could escape God by dying. Interesting, huh? Maybe that's why he's so eager to volunteer himself as a sacrifice into the sea.

Lift me up and hurl me into the sea, and then the sea will become calm for you. So he volunteers it really, like very fast. But he soon discovers that's not going to work. In chapter 2, we will see that either God preserved Jonah miraculously alive, or that God actually, or that Jonah did physically die, and then God raised him from the dead. And we're going to get to that in Jonah chapter 2. But either way, Jonah could not flee from the presence of Yahweh God. So God is omnipotent. Present, and there are three implications of God's omnipresence for all mankind. Here's the first one. God is present at everything. Which means God sees everything. God is present at everything and in every place.

He is everywhere and he has eyes everywhere. So God sees everything. There's nothing hidden, right? Proverbs 15, 3, the eyes of Yahweh are in every place watching the evil and the good. And to King Asa, 2 Chronicles 16, 9, for the eyes of Yahweh move to and fro throughout the earth. Okay, that's just a figure of speech. There isn't this like, right? We can dodge it. No. His eyes move to and fro throughout the earth that he may strongly support those whose heart is wholly devoted to him. You have acted foolishly, King Asa, in this, indeed, from now on you will surely have rewards. So God is watching us. God is actively watching us, and this was very bad news for King Asa. Okay, the one whom the second chronicle message is directed.

Asa is one of Judah's eight righteous kings. He's a good king. And he had led Judah for 41 years. But in year 36, toward the end of his reign, he started doubting God's power and provision, and he actually secretly and strategically made alliances with neighboring pagan kings. But guess what? God is privy to all those secret conversations, because God is everywhere at all times. And that's the turning point for Asa, and though he was a righteous king, his reign ended miserably. So God's omnipresence is not good for those who sin. Okay? Because of the second implication of God's presence, which is there is no sin that is hidden before Yahweh. There is no sin that will not be punished. He sees all sin, he sees everyone's sin, and every sin of every human being will receive its just punishment.

Job 34, 22, there is no darkness or shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. If you want more specifics of where evil doers cannot hide, you can look at Psalm 139, Amos chapter 9, verse 1 to 4. Hebrews chapter 2, verse 2 tells us that every sin will receive its punishment. And what does that mean? This means that all the sins that you may have feel like you've gotten away with, every sin that you've justified and excused away, and even every sin you've long forgotten about, God was witness to. God is witness to every sin you commit in private, thinking no one will know. God is witness to. And he has punished every sin, and he will punish every sin. You cannot escape that from the scriptures.

Right? The important thing then is on whom will your punishment or your sins fall. Is it going to fall on you, or is it going to fall on the substitute, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? But again, as it says in Hebrews chapter 2, verse 2, every sin will receive its punishment either by the sinner or by a penal substitute. So for the Ninevites, punishment is coming. And so it appears the day of reckoning is fast approaching. And Jonah chapter 1, verse 2, he usually sends a warning. God is kind. He says, don't do it. Don't do it. And the Ninevites have sinned. Okay? So Jonah chapter 1, verse 2, God commands Jonah to preach against the Ninevite's evil, because their evil has come up against him.

And God was witness to all their evil. He saw every single one of their grievous sins that we talked about last week. And God will pour out his unbridled fury and his wrath upon all sin with perfect rage and wrath. And God's rage and wrath are eternal. So God's omnipresence means that God is present in hell. Where all who have sinned and fall short of his glory will be in his presence for all eternity. So here's an important theological statement. God will be eternally ever present to punish in hell. So a person cannot flee from the presence of Yahweh even after his physical death. That is doctrinal truth. Okay? So there are a few passages of scripture that almost at face value make it appear that hell is simply being away from the presence of God.

Or it's an absence of God. And people think that because most of the time in the scriptures, when we're talking about the presence of God, it usually refers to his benevolence or his presence to bless and extend kindness. Okay? So to be on the receding end of your just penalty is to be away from the benevolent presence of God. But in the scriptures, especially the book of Revelation, it describes a very present God who is very present to punish. So the torment that is painted for us in the scriptures, a torment that is eternal, takes place actually in front of the presence of the Lamb. Okay? So Revelation 14, 10 to 11. And he, and that's every worshipper of what is false. Okay? And he also will drink the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of his rage, and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy presence, angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. They have no rest day and night. Those who worship the beast and his image, whoever receives a mark of his name. So the way to understand the wording and the theology of the whole of the scriptures on the omnipresence of God is this. In hell, God is present in justice and wrath. Hell is devoid of the face of God, which is the Greek word for presence. That's used in 2 Thessalonians 1 9, where it says, the lawless one is cast away from his presence. Okay. Hell is a place that Reformed theologian Louis Burkoff says is the total absence of the favor of God. And while his favor will be absent in hell, God in his justice and holiness will be very present.

How long? Eternally. That's a terrifying thing. And right now you're like, I don't like the message. I don't like the direction of the. Yeah, because that's a fearsome thing. Right. God alone is the only one truly worthy of fear. So as again, Jesus said, 1028 of Matthew, do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul, but fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. And this destruction is a living destruction. Think about this. There is no dying from this killing. Does that make sense? Mark 9 48. Now, while God's omnipresence is a fearsome thing for the evil and for the proud, it's not that fearsome a thing for those who are elect. It's bad news to be on the outside of the grace of God.

But for those who are in the inside, the omnipresence of God actually is an immense comfort. It's good news. It's gospel because omnipresent Yahweh is perfectly present and good.

He is slow to anger and he relents from sending calamity, and he is the refuge for all who cling to him for mercy. So God's omnipresence means that there is no place that the love of God and the protection of God is not present for who? The believer. And that's actually how the prophecy of Nahum begins. Jonah remember is all message of grace. Nahum, it's mostly all wrath. But the beginning of Nahum says this. Yahweh is good. A strong defense in the day of distress. He knows those who take refuge in him, but guess what the Ninevites did? Their repentance was short-lived. They turned back to their evil ways. Okay. So the believer's strong defense, the believer's refuge is omnipresent. So there is no stronger defense.

There is no more impenetrable a refuge. So the third implication of God's omnipresence is the following.

So if you are a child of God, there is nothing that can separate you from the love of God, because there is no place where the love of God towards you is not. Are you guys tracking? So Romans 8, one of the most beloved passages in all scripture. I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to drive a wedge between the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, and those who He loves. Nothing. Okay? As fearsome as the omnipresence of God can be, there is no greater confidence. Okay? So the omnipresence of God should serve as a great and indescribable comfort to the believer, because if you once were lost and now you've been found, you could never lose that.

The law enforcement authorities to a fugitive like Stephen Craig Campbell represent death and disruption. But for someone who's just been abducted or hurt or lost, law enforcement actually should represent hope. That they're not going to stop in an ideal set. When you're speeding, the law enforcement on the freeway, it is a fearsome thing. When you're driving under the speed limit and someone's driving crazy around you, and then you see the lights, you're like, that's right. You're happy about this, right? So God's omnipresence should be a great source of great comfort for the believer, especially in the midst of trial and suffering. Why? Because God is near to the brokenhearted, and he saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34, 18. That's not a physical nearness because he's always physically near. But it is you will sense the kindness and a special embrace of God in those times. So suffering and trial, will they come? Yeah. The Bible never promises that it will be gone on this side of eternity. They may come, but God's omnipresence and omnipotence means that you know with absolute certainty that he's allowed it for you. And always either for your good or for good. So maybe you already counted all choice. And where's that from? James 1 2. When we face all kinds of multifaceted trials. And then the throne of grace, which we can approach with confidence, then, because in a sense, it's accessible at all times and in all places.

And because God is omnipresent and he sees you, he knows you, he cares for you, he is always aware of you and watching over you like a warm hawk. Rather than to crush you and tear you apart, to crush others and tear apart those who would attempt to injure and harm you.

Genesis 19, uh, 16, 13. Hagar called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, and he and she gave him a name. The God is a source of great comfort for those who are fleeing to God.

Sometimes in our folly and in our things, in time of trouble, we run away from God. And we shake our fists wide. Now here's a tangential but important question. Was God's omnipresence a good thing for the pagan sailors on the ship? These guys are like victims. They're collateral damage. They had no part. They're just doing their job. But this Jonah dude comes on a boat, homeboy goes to sleep, the storms come, and God shows himself to be present there. Is that a good thing or a bad thing for the sailors? Well, it terrified them. But God being present out in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea is going to turn out for what I believe is to be their salvation. So to these terrified sailors, omnipresent God would show himself also to be omnipotent.

So on the surface, the beginning of the narrative, it looks like they're going to be victims. They're going to be collateral damage. That's what the narrative makes you think, right? When you're reading it. But in reality, they become beneficiaries. Omnipresent God is omnipotent. And in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, that is where this group of pagan idol worshipping sailors are going to be introduced to omnipresent God of Jonah. And they're first going to be introduced to him through his omnipotence. Alright? So let me read this for you. It might be a little harder to read. God shows his power on the sea. And first thing he does in verse 4 is what? He hurls a great wind. So he is the source.

And that great wind creates a great storm. So these are experienced sailors. They're terrified, they're scared for their lives. Jonah 1.5. The captain in verse 6, it's not up there, but it's in your Bible. He tries to go and wake up Jonah. He goes, pray, dude. How is it that you're sleeping? Go pray. But then God cranks up the volume and causes the seas to become even more stormy. Verse 11. You see that? So it was stormy enough to freak them out. But it goes from there to another level to where I'm assuming they should be shh, right? Now they're in an absolutely terrifying squall. This is a storm of demonic, divine proportions from their vantage point. This is not an ordinary storm. So if you actually look at the language, it calls this great calamitous evil, is what they call the storm.

This is a spiritual thing. The sailors freak out. What's their job? I just said sailors. They sail the Mediterranean for a living. But they're terrified in verse 5. By verse 13, they're in absolute panic. Even to a point where they're actually going to be willing to make a human sacrifice. So in verse 15, what do they do? They lift Jonah up and they hurl them into the sea. And imagine they're going. Jonah, ah, it's blooch. Calm. The sea becomes immediately calm. So imagine this scene. And my guess is they were amazed, terrified, and they offered similar musings as Jesus' disciples did, who also were experienced sailors. Mark chapter 4. I'm going to just read 41. The disciples, they became very afraid.

And they were saying to one another, who is this? Even the wind and the seas obey him. So as I mentioned to you last week, there are parallels of plenty in the entire prophecy of Jonah with the ministry of Jesus. As the captain of the ship goes and wakes up Jonah, Jesus' disciples wake him up, and what do they say? Do you not care? And similarly, which is a simple command of omnipotent Yahweh, the raging sea stand still from all its raging. And so the disciples questioning cries. They go from, do you not care? To who is this? So all over the book of Jonah, we're going to see demonstrations of God's omnipotence. And as this is something we looked at last week, he hurls, he appoints, he commands.

Yahweh appoints. Yahweh appoints. Because he is all powerful. He can do everything that he desires to do. Jeremiah 32, 17. Ah, Lord Yahweh, behold, you made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. Can you guys all read the under that part with me? No. Nothing is difficult for you. In other translations, it actually means nothing is impossible for you. The greater show of God's omnipotence was not in what he did with the seats. But turning an act of disobedience of his prophet into what I believe an occasion for salvation for these pagan sailors. Think about this with me, okay? God is mighty to say. Amen. He can turn a heart of stone into a tender heart of flesh for his glory.

I mean, the Bible says he makes centuries old dry bones live. He can convert a sinner into a saint. It's only God who can do this. No one else can do this. No one can will himself to be saved. Is that clear? You can't be saved by your own desire. If you have been saved, none of that was possible in and of yourself. So David Rivington, he's a missionary to Thailand for over 30 years. He says the following The greatest lie taught in the church, I mean it's longer than 100 years, but in the last hundred years is that a person can make himself a born-again Christian by making a decision for Christ, repeating a prayer to ask Jesus into their heart. No. Lie. Christ said it is the Holy Spirit who gives life.

The flesh can do nothing. So no matter how outwardly righteous and rebellious a man, he cannot convert himself. A holy, moldy, outwardly righteous man cannot convert himself. How much less an outwardly unrighteous and wicked man? That's a truth we can't take for granted. But in Matthew 19, 26, Luke 18, 27, Jesus says, What is impossible with man is what? The very possible of God. So I want you to think with me for a moment. The all-powerful God of the universe is a God of love. He is good. He is a seeker and a saver of the lost. Amen? He sought you out. He sought me out, and he saved you, he saved me. And he may have you some horrible circumstances to do this. Does God use gnarly, horrible, evil circumstances to draw people unto himself?

Absolutely. He can use the evil of the rebellion of man to save souls. So in meditating through this passage in Jonah, I actually muse over this question. Why did God not just stop Jonah at the court? Could it be that God in his sovereignty chose to use Jonah's rebellion to reveal himself and to save the pagan sailors on the sea? Did God use the defiance of his own prophet for the salvation of the terrified sailors? Did God allow for terror that these men felt to turn their hearts into a heart that would seek his face? I mean, they were scared to death. Actually, they weren't just literally scared to death, they were scared into life. Right? So God uses fear. Terror. Sit back. Rather than be like, God, where are you in all of this?

He is absolutely in control. Jonah 1 5, then the sailors became fearful, and every man cried to his God. That was the in the beginning. Verse 10. Then the men became greatly fearful, and they said to him, Jonah, what is this you have done? Because they are fleeing from the presence of Yahweh. Verse 14. Then they call on Yahweh. And they say, O Yahweh, we earnestly pray. Do not let us perish on account of this man's life. And do not put innocent blood on us, for you, O Yahweh are omnipotent. You see the definition of omnipotence there. You have done as you have pleased. As you have pleased, you have done. The sailors were fearful, so they cried to their gods in the beginning. God doesn't wipe them out for their idolatry.

God is not petty. Okay. But then the men in their fear, they turn to Yahweh, they pray. And then the men, verse 16, greatly fear Yahweh. They offer a sacrifice to Yahweh and made vows. Do you see how their fear comes from just the natural? And then appropriately to the supernatural. There's a process there. So when God is seemingly bringing catastrophic things in and around the lives of people around you. Don't panic. Be still and pray. Because perhaps God in his omnipotence and sovereignty is using the terrifying circumstances of this life to save people around you. Amen? God turns the sailors' fears of the calamitous evils of a storm, the fears of the things that can kill their body into an appropriate fear of the one who can destroy both body and soul and hell.

So in verse 16, the men greatly fear Yahweh. They offer a sacrifice to Yahweh, and that's not Jonah. Okay?

The text doesn't explicitly say that these men got saved, but I believe that they got saved. Because Proverbs 9:10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. So omnipotent God doesn't just demonstrate his power over the brand.

You're going to see this in Jonah. The all-powerful God is intimately involved in even the smallest details of the lives of these pagan Gentiles. Look at the text. He even orchestrated the lots that were cast by these superstitious sailors to allow for the unfolding of things that will lead to them there being saved. You guys see this? After all, even the outcome of the lot, the dice, every human that is placed, are also in the hands of the Lord. Prophet 1633. So, first thing we learn. God is omnipotent. Present. He is present everywhere. He is all-powerful. What's the theological word for that? God is omnipotent. And that's a fearsome and terrifying combination. True or false. He is omnipresent, he is omnipotent, and that fear that you may have is an appropriate response.

But you know the mystery of mysteries? The two commandments most often found in the scriptures, in second place is do not be afraid, 110 times in the Bible. The first one is rejoice.

The two most frequently found commandments are not about sex, money, or power. The most frequently written commands in the scriptures are not prohibitive. They're actually words of encouragement. So let that sink in. God, who is omnipresent and omnipotent, desires us to most find our joy in him.

Uh in two weeks. But I want that to sink in. Omnipotent and omnipresent God desires your joy rather than your fear. So is God deserving of fear? Yes or no? Absolutely. But why is the repentant believer who takes refuge in him not to fear when fear is the only appropriate and natural response? Because though he is an all-powerful, fearsome God, he is a tender nurturer to his children. So I'm going to take us back to Matthew 10, 28. Okay. Ah, I forgot the slide for this one. Okay, I'm taking you back to Matthew 1028.

You passed it. Let me do it. It has 28 and ah, no. Okay. Turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 10. This is very important. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know what I'm doing in the slide. But God is on the 10. He's going to use this so that your eyes can see what the scriptures say. Matthew chapter 10, 28. Do not be afraid, right? Of the one who can kill the soul. Or kill the body. Right? That's how that starts. God's omnipotence is not the threat in this passage. It's actually a reassurance. Do you have your Bibles open? Matthew chapter 10, verse 28, I'm going to start with that verse. Do not fear those who kill the body who are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

So he isn't commanding you to fear. But this is not a threat. It's a promise of and it's reassurance. What does he say, verse 29? Are not two sparrows sold for an Assyria? This is a penny. Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father. The very heads on your head are all numbered. So do not fear. You are more valuable than many sparrows. Verse 32, therefore everyone who confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my father who is in heaven. And you know what that means? All the due penalty for sin, he's gonna take. So a worthless sparrow is a creature that is not even worth a penny. In that time, right? What's the cheapest animal you can buy? It's a duppy. Some places is 15 for a dollar.

Alright? The guppy. I used to buy that in defeat to my other fish. Okay? Now, that worthless sparrow, when it falls to the ground, God sees it. He cares about it. Do you see that in the text? They don't even have souls. How much more does he care about you and me who seek refuge under his loving care? He loves me more than I love my kids. He loved you more than you could ever love your kids. And that's the closest thing to unconditional love you can get. And he's not irritable like we are. Or unwise. Or self. Sometimes I get upset with my kids, not for their correction, but for my comfort. It's like, God does not do that. He intimately cares about our lives to the point where he actually knows how many hairs are on our heads.

So it says, do not fear. Verse 28, what does it say? Fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell. What's verse 32 say? Do not fear. This is not a contradiction. If he is your God, no fear. If he is not your God, old boy. You're done. So in some God has absolute power over the universal and cosmic. And of course, the elemental. Climate change ain't got nothing on our God. Amen? I don't care where you say politically. God is fine. We are fine. Two, God has absolute power over the national and the societal. Make sense. Jonah's gonna end up in Assyria.

Isaiah chapter 10, verse 5 says that Assyria is later going to be used as a to discipline Israel. God is going to use Assyria as a big old mem stick on his people. And God, Daniel chapter 2, he orchestrates all the national things to his liking for his good. Third, God has absolute power over the intimate and the personal. The hairs on your head, the outcome of every cast lot, every minute, seemingly insignificant detail of your life, he is intimately involved in.

All of that are just their insignificant problem. Fourth, God having absolute power over all things means that he has full control over the spiritual and the salvific. So Christian, if you've been saved, he has changed you. Amen. He is changing you. He won't stop. Amen. Corpses don't change. If anything, they rot. But active living human beings, because the DNA is in there, they grow up to look like a parent. It's impossible to reverse. You are his child, and God is far from a garelic father. God is not only not a derelict father, he is at all places, at all times, and he is all powerful, and he is for you.

Amen. So may the understanding of God's omnipotence then fuel your intercession for people. May that fuel your evangelism. A Puritan writer, Anthony Burgess, this is what he says. The stony heart is not softened by argument. But by what? But by omnipotence. If an ever-present omnipotent God is for us, there's a report of the question that is very famous in the Bible. If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son. How will he not along with his son? Graciously bestow upon us all things. And if God can save you the vilest wretches throughout history, like we learned last week, can he not also save you?

What sin can you commit that is so bad that gets you outside of the grace of death? Or impossible for God to reach.

But may it cause us to wonder, to awe, and to be thankful.

So the litmus test is this if you are terrified of God's omnipresence and his omnipotence and his hatred of sin. If the primary feeling you have is terror, you are not a Christian. First John 14. There's no, there is no fear in love. There is no fear in love. But the fruit of the Spirit, after love, is what? Joy. I am thrilled that God is in full control. Sometimes the fact that he sees me fully is a little uncomfortable. It's a lot uncomfortable. And I can't hide. But the fact that He is all powerful, He is ever-present, and that He loves me. There's nothing to fear. Amen? That's great, good. Father, help us to respond appropriately to the truths of your omnipresence and your limitance.

Help us to truly have postures of awe and reverence more than anything else. And may that drive how we engage in this lost world, how we defend our faith, how we love on and pursue people. May your omnipresence and your omnipotence make us big fireballs of joy. For the just for your now and for our delight in participating with your great work, greatness of Jesus.