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INTRODUCTION
The church of Jesus Christ is blessed with great music like “Holy, Holy.”
TEXT is Romans 11:33-36. TITLE. Series Timely Truths that Transform us.
ILLUS: Sir Edmund Hillary died two weeks ago at age 88. He was an explorer from New Zealand,
and in 1953 was on a British Expedition who were the first to reach Mt. Everest in Tibet,
China, the highest point on the earth at 29,028 ft. It is said his partner left chocolates on
the top of the mountain and Hillary left a cross. What a view that must have been.
In the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul in the first 11 chapters is climbing a mountain called
Salvation. The highest mountain man can spiritually reach. He carefully explains the details
of the cost of sin on the human race, the meticulous plan of redemption that God bought
through Abraham, and the Law of Israel, and finally through the Son of God Jesus Christ. Those
11 chapters are a powerful detailed description of our Faith:
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
“If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God
raised Him from the dead you will be saved.”
“Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
11 chapters of the great story of salvation by faith through the grace of God.
Then as Paul reaches the summit of his discourse, and stands on that mountain of Salvation,
upon the glorious facts of faith through Jesus, and he can’t help but pause, and look
around at God’s glorious work and marvels at the beauty of God…
READ Romans 11:33-36
Today we want to catch a glimpse of the Greatness of God. The God I trust you personally
believe in today. Church Statement of Faith:
We believe in THE ONE TRUE GOD: who is an intelligent, sovereign, spiritual and
personal Being; perfect, infinite, and eternal in His being, holiness and love, wisdom
and power; absolutely separate from and above the world as its Creator, yet everywhere
present in the world as the Upholder of all things. He is revealed to us as Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, three distinct persons but without division of nature, essence or
being, and each having a distinct ministry in God’s relation to His creation and
people. Genesis 1:1; Exodus 15:11; Psalm 83:18; 139:7-9; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30;
15:26.
Let us Marvel at the Apostle Paul’s finite description of our infinite God:
1. The Immense Wisdom and Knowledge of God. v. 33
- Pastor John MacArthur: “The full wonder of God’s gracious omnipotence is
wholly beyond human understanding. It staggers even the most mature Christian mind,
including the mind of the apostle himself.” (Romans)
- Our text is what Paul with human words sought to say about God’s immense, vast,
eternal wisdom and knowledge:
- “depths of the riches” - two word pictures, two dimensions
- “depth” beyond our reach and sight, unsearchable.
- “Riches” beyond our wealth and capacity to possess,
unfathomable.
- Deep and rich is God’s wisdom - highest virtue - Proverbs. God in wisdom decides
the course in the realm of eternity. Omni-wise. God make perfect plans that are not
locked in time and space.
- He applies His deep and rich wisdom in time and space by His knowledge - His plans
fulfilled in the realm of man, His knowledge is thus knowable and experienced by us.
- God knows everything in time and space because He see and acts from eternity. He sees
the beginning and the End. Alpha and Omega.
- Therefore, His “judgments/decisions unsearchable” - too deep for
mortal minds to fully understand. Many “Why’s” we will never know.
ILLUS: Why do babies die? Why do tornados destroy family homes? Why is there
cancer and alzhemiers in people we know and love? Why? God knows.
- “His ways unfathomable&rldquo; - untrackable, A hunter seeks his prey
by tracking footprints. You cannot track the sovereignty of God.
ILLUS: How did he create out of nothing? How did use the blood of Jesus to take
away sin of mankind? How did He direct history’s details so perfectly to
make us be here today as a nation, church, a people? How does His providence work?
- There are many “How’s” we will never know. God knows.
- Think of some of the infinite attributes of God:
God is Holy - Isaiah 6 - Chief Attribute, repeated three times
Set Apart, the Holy Other, completely pure
Holy Love, Holy Justice, Holy righteous, Holy true.
God is Loving kindness - everlasting Psalm 136 26 x’s, Exodus 34:6-7
God is Omnipresent - everywhere present at the same time
God is Omnipotent - all powerful
ILLUS: “What is stronger than God...” Nothing.
God is Omniscient - all knowing because all wisdom.
- Statement of Faith: Our Awesome God “is an intelligent, sovereign, spiritual and
personal Being, perfect, infinite, and eternal in His being. He is holiness and love,
wisdom and power; absolutely separate from and above the world as its Creator, yet
everywhere present in the world as the Upholder of all things.”
QUOTE: “Our God is an Awesome God, He reigns from heaven above with wisdom,
power and love our God is an awesome God.”
2. The Incomprehensible Understanding of God vs. 34-35
- God’s understanding is boundless. v. 34 No created being can get into
the mind of God, He has no need for advisors, no board for governing
- v. 35 We cannot ever do anything for Him that would ever put the Eternal One
into a position where He has to repay us. God is never in debt to us, never dependent
upon us.
ILLUS: We are often in debt and dependent on others. I need the job to earn money
to put in bank to pay bills so I can live so I can have a job... Tennessee Ernie
Ford: “16 Tons...Saint Peter don’t you call cause I can’t go, I
owe my soul to the company store.”
- God is independent, transcendent. Class by Himself. Self-existent.
- “I am that I am” (Exodus 3). Self-sustaining. He is The Holy
Other.
QUOTE: Jonathan Edwards: “God is an infinite excellency, infinite glory, and
beauty itself.” (Crises, 159). Stressed the infinite beauty of God.
- “Do you believe God is an Awesome God?” With Immense
Wisdom and Knowledge of God? Whose understanding is incomprehensible? A God of
infinite beauty and glory? “Yes, I believe in this Great God!&rldquo;
TRANSFORMATION So What?
- Now we need to deal with how that truth transforms us. How does this truth of an
infinite God change us today
ILLUS: Commercial - “You have come to the end of the internet”
Surprised look. It seems the internet is infinite - we will not come to the end in
our lifetime. It grows exponentially, but is it infinite? No!
- If you have the internet your life is changed. If you have the Infinite God your life
must be changed. HOW you and I respond to this God?
- Accept the Invitation to worship
- Paul writes this paragraph as worship. Sets example for us. If we are
saved through Jesus - Praise God…- Not just on Sundays!
- Marvel at God, be amazed by God, “Be still and know that I
am God.”
Chorus: “Here I am to worship, Here I am to bow down. Here I
am to say that You’re my God. You’re altogether
lovely, Altogether worthy, Altogether wonderful to me.”
- You are invited into fellowship with the Almighty, invited into His
presence. Worship changes your heart, perspective.
- I trust worship does something to you, and you give yourself to God
- Accept the Sovereign wisdom of God
- Paul writes this great theological treatise, many thing He did not
fully understand. With Job “Blessed be the name of the
Lord.”
- There are many things we don’t understand - Instead of asking
for the reasons, affirm “I want glorify you, please show me how?"
ILLUS: It is hard at a grave, in a hospital, accident scene, lose
job.
- Trust His all knowing wisdom. God knows the future.
“Yes, Lord, I will worship You, and trust You.”
CONCLUSION
Look around you, like the Apostle Paul, can you take a look at what God has done for you
through Jesus and just worship and praise Him?
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