Leap of Faith
According to scientist's calculations, every second, more than four million tons of matter is converted into energy within our Sun's core. They say our sun today is roughly halfway through its 'life cycle' and will remain fairly stable for four billion more years.
And our sun is just one star at the center of our solar system in our galaxy. A typical galaxy contains hundreds of billions of stars, and there are more than 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe. It is impossible for us to even count every star much less calculate all of the sheer energy in each of them! But God created them, and even their combined power is nothing compared to His power.
Let's switch gears - One mathematician decided to calculate the amount of energy that would be required for man to completely melt the polar ice caps in Antarctica. It turns out that there's 26.5-thousand-billion cubic meters of ice down there. That's a lot of ice. He also calculated that the specific heat required to raise the temperature of all that ice just one degree would take 51 trillion-trillion joules of energy - just to raise the temperature of all that ice one degree Celsius. Not even to melt it, just to raise the temperature one degree.
Now, with that in mind - In 1961, Russia detonated a hydrogen bomb nicknamed the "Tsar Bomb". It was the most powerful manmade explosion in human history. It put out over 50 megatons of energy! But it would take detonating 243,000 of those bombs simultaneously to raise the temperature of all the ice in Antarctica just one degree Celsius.
When you compare man's best theoretical power to God's actual, demonstrated power in His creation - you cannot deny - no matter what you can imagine about God....
I. God is bigger!
Just how big is God? Think about the concept of eternity for a moment - 'time' without beginning or end. Imagining the scope of God's presence is like trying to comprehend eternity. We can try to fit the size of God into our imaginations, but it just won't work. It just doesn't fit into our limited, human brains.
Back in the Old Testament, when God was commissioning Moses to lead the people of Israel, Moses had some doubts about the scope of God's plan. We find this exchange in Exodus 3:13-14 (NIV)...
Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" (14) God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
The literal translation is - "I am that I am." The words express an 'un-definable' but absolute, unchanging, eternal Being. The name, which Moses was told to use, conveyed the ancient nature of God. Mere human words can't fully describe God - but that name carries a lot. God is, and was, and always will be - I Am!
That means that God is bigger, larger and greater than absolutely everything that exists. He is the One who called everything into existence! We can't even begin to fully comprehend just how big God is, how vast His power is - How enormous His presence is. And because we can't understand God's greatness, it's difficult for many to accept...
A. God's ways
There are many people who will not accept God because He doesn't make sense to them. It begs the age old question, 'Why would a good God allow bad things to happen?' 'If God is all powerful and omnipresent - why is there so much evil in the world?'
And that argument rings true for many people. Why would a 'good God' allow this seemingly never-ending worldwide pandemic? Foreign tensions continue to rise with rumors of wars on the horizon. Our nation is divided and angry over politics and a myriad of issues. The news is filled with conflict and death. And people question, "Why won't God intervene and stop all of this?"
And we don't even have to look that far to find 'bad things'. I'm guessing many of you personally know of someone who tested positive recently. Last month we had four different families connected to Deep River who lost a loved one to death. Many question why God would allow bad things to happen to those who believe in Him. But just because we don't understand 'why' God does what He does, does not mean that God is wrong or uncaring.
There is something about the "I AM" that I like to stress frequently...
Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. (9) "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
God does not always explain His actions to us. Many of His decisions don't make sense to us. But just because I can't understand doesn't mean that God is unjust - I always say, that just means the problem is in me, not in God. Our understanding of 'God's ways' needs to be enlarged. And how do we expand our minds to understand that God does things His way, for His purposes that may simply not make sense to us?
To even begin to be able to accept God's ways we have to admit - we are not as smart as we'd like to think - when compared to God. We guess - but...
B. God knows
In this life there ARE absolutes. There are things of which we can be completely certain. There are things spelled out in scripture that cannot be argued or denied. But be very wary of the person who claims to have all the answers, especially when it comes to the mind of God. There are some things to which God has simply not given us answers.
And in those situations - we have to be very careful where we 'place our footing'. If you decide something as absolute, but you're on the opposite side of the argument as God - I'd say that's a problem. For instance, in the New Testament, many Jewish people had firmly made up their own opinions about who God was and they weren't interested in being corrected by The Authority. Jesus told the crowd...
John 8:56-59 (NIV)
"Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." (57) "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!" (58) "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" (59) At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
They claimed to worship "I Am", but then tried to stone Him to death when He showed up in the flesh. They read God's Word, but didn't know 'God's Word become flesh'.
There are many people today who are quick to tell you 'truths' that are in direct opposition to what God's Word actually says. Knowledge apart from a healthy fear of God, from a reverence for His Word - that knowledge will only lead you further away from God. It's extremely important for believers to humbly read the Bible.
I don't expect everyone to be a 'religious scholar', but if you're going to follow God, shouldn't you work hard at being very familiar with His revealed Word? If you don't read the Bible on a regular basis - could that communicate that perhaps you think you already know it all...?
Since God is so much bigger than we can imagine. - And since God's ways are higher than our ways. And because many don't like to admit that perhaps God is a lot smarter than they are. Perhaps the biggest obstacle to following "I AM", is...
II. Biggest obstacle = pride
There are a lot of people who are more highly educated than I am; who have more prestigious jobs and influence than I do; who earn significantly more than me and are much more well known and liked than me. But if they're too proud to humble themselves before God - I'd take my future over theirs any day.
I want to share a passage that one preacher referred to as 'possibly the most profound thing Jesus ever said'. Let's look at Matthew 18:1-4 (NIV)...
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (2) He called a little child and had him stand among them. (3) And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (4) Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Let that sink in. Don't miss the weight of that phrase, the "I AM" in the flesh said, "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Jesus told His closest disciples that if they did not change, if they could not humble themselves like a child, they would not enter the kingdom of Heaven. Why would it be different for any of us?
In light of God's greatness - we need to learn humility. I've had people, who were possibly interested in following Jesus, ask things like, "But does following Jesus mean that I'll have to give up, (fill in the blank)?" What if it does? Is your willingness to follow Jesus conditional?
Is there any possession, personal belief, deeply held conviction or even core value worth holding onto rather than laying it at the feet of Jesus? I've had friends who have rejected Jesus because some of their personal choices conflicted with what the Bible says. And rather than humbly looking to see what they could learn, instead they rejected it outright because it didn't fit with their personal opinions or values or maybe even political ideas.
When we follow Jesus - there is never a point in this life where we've 'arrived'. Even as a senior, as one who has followed Jesus for years, decades - can there ever be a point when we don't need to grow? And if, as we follow Jesus - if we don't continue to become more 'Christ like', more gentle, more compassionate, more gracious with others, more patient, more faithful, more loving - if we don't - what does that say about who's will we're really following?
When you acknowledge and accept Jesus - and let's back it up even further - for anyone to even admit that there IS a God, a Supreme Ruler of Heaven and earth - inherent in that admission is that you have to...
A. Give up 'control'
If a person doesn't accept that God exists, they don't answer to anyone. They live as their own authority. They make their choices based on what they want. But when you have to humbly admit that there is a God greater than yourself - you then have to act on that belief. If you accept that there is a God - He, by definition, is in charge. That's a leap that many can't make because of their pride.
Think of it this way - being called to allow yourself to be baptized into Jesus is admitting your own shortcomings. You have to admit that you don't have all of the answers. You have to give up the illusion that somehow you understand more than God and then submit your will to His. Baptism is basically admitting that you're not good enough to make it to Heaven on your own - that's pretty humbling! But that is what we are all continually called to.
Matthew 16:24-26 (NIV)
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (25) For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. (26) What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Is there anything that's worth so much that we can't let it go compared to what we gain in Christ? But there are still those who struggle. Even many who have been following Jesus for years run into issues or difficult life situations that can shake their faith. Fortunately for us, according to God's Word...
B. It's okay to question
Think about the passage we read earlier where a group of Jewish men tried to kill Jesus with stones. Technically - wouldn't Jesus have been fully within His rights of self defense to strike back? And Jesus certainly had the power to strike back - to 'smite' His enemies! But yet in that situation, Jesus allowed even their outright threats and simply chose to walk away. Have any of your questions or doubts ever compared to that...?
God is big enough to handle your questions. The Bible has many instances where people questioned God; why He allowed or prohibited what He did. God never said we couldn't ask Him questions when we had doubts or struggles. How else do you get answers? But the 'why' behind our questions is important. Are we seeking help and to learn and grow in our faith, or are we seeking to challenge God's authority?
In the Gospel of Mark we see an account of a boy who was possessed by a spirit. It says that when the spirit saw Jesus it threw the boy to the ground. This passage resounds strongly in me for multiple reasons... Let's read Mark 9:21-24 (NIV)...
Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. (22) "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." (23) "'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." (24) Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
At that, Jesus cast out the spirit. And if you read the rest of the story, you find - Jesus didn't go back and lecture the man about his doubt. Doubting in itself is not a sin - but if we let those lingering questions keep us from humbly following Jesus, that's a problem.
We are allowed to have doubts and even question God - but what's the motivation behind our questions? Are you going to scripture to prove your personal beliefs or are you looking to find God's truth, no matter the personal cost to your beliefs...? People with impure motives or personal agendas, or perhaps those who even make veiled accusations against God's character in the form of a question - they won't get answers from God.
A sincere person who genuinely seeks answers from God for their doubts or questions will be satisfied. They may not get the exact answer they are looking for, but when you start from a position of faith - God will honor that faith.
So What?
Learning to submit to God is a lifelong process. We learn to trust God as we first obey Him and see for ourselves that His ways are better than our ways. But if we never take that leap of faith and obey, even when we don't completely understand - we won't learn to trust Him. And this is not a 'blind' leap of faith! We have God's track record! We have seen how He keeps His promises. We have seen how He has given strength to those faithful ones who have gone before us. It's not a 'blind' leap, but becomes an informed leap!
God is awesomely powerful! He is the great "I Am"! He is omnipresent and eternal! He created everything in the universe just by His Word! And then He sent that Word to become flesh, to live on this little speck of dirt in space, to give His life for us so that we could spend eternity in Heaven with Him. Any response other than humbly falling on your knees and accepting His gift of eternal life doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Give yourself unreservedly to God - everything you have and everything you are! I promise you, when you reach the end of this life - you will not regret it!