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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
January 4, 2008
Spiritual Warfare, Part 5; The Belt of Truth, Part 2
Lies Against God’s Infinity
Introduction
This morning we pick up again our study of spiritual warfare and the armor of God in Ephesians 6. We are in a fight with a very cunning spiritual being and we will only have victory if we fight him God’s way. The great tragedy is that Satan continues to gain the upper hand over people because there is so much nonsense believed about how to do battle with him. Even among Christians too many are trying to live their lives without the armor God has provided for them.
Some people want to relegate the activity of the demonic to mythology and exciting but untrue stories. However, Satan and demons are real and they can cause a wide variety of physical, mental and emotional problems. People are influenced by the demonic to varying degrees with some to such a great extent that they even demonstrate superhuman strength, psychic abilities and healing powers. To ignore or consider the reality of the devil and demons as inconsequential is to fall into one of his traps.
There are also those who go to the opposite extreme that give more credit to Satan than he is due. They incorrectly blame the demonic for all troubles and ills. Those involved in so called “deliverance” services are the most obvious. The claim is that demons are the reason people lie, cheat, steal, swear, look at or read pornography, commit fornication, etc. Demons are said to be responsible for all your troubles too from not having enough money and bad business ventures to all of your health problems. There was even one man that was trying to cast out the demon of halitosis (the demon of bad breath affects me most mornings and Diane would be glad to have that one cast out if possible). Their solution to your sin and problems is to deliver you from the demons causing it so that your life will be wonderful.
Certainly the demonic realm is powerful and can do many, many things. Satan can entice you in ways that make you feel like you have no choice but to sin, however, he cannot make you do anything. When you sin, it is because you have chosen to do so. Man is quite capable of sin and causing problems without demonic assistance, and even when there are demons present and overtly active they are a secondary issue. God wants us to be mindful of Him, not demons. Our battle with Satan is fought by first submitting to God and then resisting the devil who will then flee from us (James 4:7). Without that we are open targets for the adversary. We do not have to fear the evil spiritual entities that seek our woe. The Holy Spirit within us is greater than they are (1 John 4:4) and they are limited by God in what they can do (Job 1 & 2).
God has given to us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) including the means to be victorious in our spiritual battle. God has given us a whole set of armor to be put on daily so that we are ready and able for the spiritual conflict around us. Here is what Paul tells us in Ephesians 6, 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual [forces] of wickedness in the heavenly [places.] 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” In our previous sermon in this series we began our discussion of the first of the six pieces that make up our armor, vs. 14 “Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth.”
The belt is an essential piece of equipment. The Roman soldier needed to be able to move quickly and with agility. The belt held his tunic in place so that it would not encumber his legs and cause him to stumble. It also gave him a place to hang his other equipment. Typically the soldier, or anyone else for that matter, would not have their belt fastened when they were sitting around. As soon as they were called to go somewhere the first thing they would do would to put the belt on and cinch it up. To “gird your loins” is the first step in preparing yourself for action.
Paul refers to this belt as truth. It is truth that ties everything together securing us and giving us the ability to move quickly and decisively. It is truth that holds the sheath for the sword of the Spirit, the Bible. Truth is foundational to the Christian. It is truth that the devil attacks in his efforts to lead us astray.
As I pointed out in the previous sermon, the devil is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44), and ultimately those lies are against the nature & character of God. When we are thoroughly grounded in the truth we can easily resist his lies. If we are not, then we easily succumb to them. The greater our awareness and trust in the nature and character of God, the greater our ability to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
We have previously dealt with Satan’s lies against God’s existence (See: Spiritual Warfare, Part 4: The Belt of Truth: God’s Existence) . This week we will look at his lies against God’s attributes that arise from His infinity – eternal (always existing); omniscient (all knowing); omnipresent (everywhere present): omnipotent (all powerful) and sovereign (in supreme control). All of these are primarily aimed at keeping people from Christ, but they can also negatively impact the Christian too if you are not careful.
Satan has many lies against God being an infinite eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent & sovereign. Those involved in some form of direct Satan worship, witchcraft, voodoo and such admit their reliance on the demonic. Other forms of the occult that occur in the New Age Movement, paganism and animism also rely on demonic forces though they do not necessarily recognize that fact. The common lie given to both groups is that the Lord God of the Bible, creator of heaven and earth, is not eternal, all knowing, everywhere present, all powerful and in supreme control. These attributes of God are also attacked by false religions, cults and aberrant theology within Christianity.
Let us examine briefly each of these attributes of God to understand them and how lies against them will encourage people in their sin.
God is Eternal
God is infinite in relationship to time. Psalms 90:2 – “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.” As the creator of time He is free from it and yet conscious of all succession of time. He is not entrapped within time’s box as we are. As Isaiah 57:15 puts it, God is the “high and lofty One that inhabits eternity.” There is no past, present or future with God. He declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). He is pre-temporal in that He was already present at the beginning (Genesis 1:1). He is post-temporal for He continues on in eternity as the Alpha & Omega who is all in all (Revelation 21 & 22; 1 Corinthians 15:28).
Though God is external to time He can also enter into it. He hears & answers the prayers of those within time (Isaiah 65:24; 1 John 5:14-15). In addition, Christ took on human flesh and entered time with man – Galatians 4:4, “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman . . .” That is why Hebrews 1:5 quotes from Psalm 2:7 where God says of the promised Messiah, “Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee.”
Various false religions and cults lie against God’s eternity by saying He Himself is a created being. Polytheistic religions have lots of gods and goddesses that come into existence at some point in time. The Jehovah’s Witnesses declare Christ to be a created being by their terrible interpretation of Colossians 1:16. They then seem oblivious to that fact that this makes their Jesus a lesser god and not the promised Messiah of Isaiah 9:6 who is also the “mighty God” and “eternal Father.” Some philosophers claim that the concept of “god” came about as man evolved and developed the idea of pantheism, then polytheism and then monotheism.
All these ideas are contrary to what God has revealed about Himself. They are also contrary to an essential quality of a creator God. If God is not eternal then He is not a sufficient uncaused cause, but a being caused by something else and therefore cannot be the supreme sovereign. A non-eternal god cannot be God, but that is just the point of the lie. It makes God into a lesser god that man can define into something he can handle.
I read an interesting speculation that perhaps at the basis of Satan’s rebellion against God is a belief that God is not eternal but an evolving being. This would give Satan reason to believe that he would also evolve and become like or possibly even superior to God. The foundation of evolutionary thought is that matter is eternal instead of God, which is poor science, but a consistent philosophy. A lie against God’s eternality has serious consequences.
God is Omniscient
God is infinite in relationship to knowledge. Psalms 147:5 – “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” It means that God knows everything perfectly in breadth and depth. Isaiah 20:28, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.” This is true of Him not only of present knowledge but also of all knowledge throughout time for the past and the future are present knowledge with God. There is nothing unexpected. He is never surprised. 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, 10 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.”
There is no comparison of human knowledge to that of the Lord. Psalm 139:1-6 “O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known [me.] 2 Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. 3 Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, And art intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all. 5 Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, And laid Thy hand upon me. 6 [Such] knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is [too] high, I cannot attain to it.”
God’s omniscience brings fear to those who do evil because nothing can be concealed from God and they will be judged accordingly. Luke 12:2, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 “Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.” Revelation 20:12, “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.”
It is this fear of exposure that makes people so willing to believe Satan’s lies against God’s omniscience. The unrighteous still think they can get away with their evil deeds. That is one of the reasons they lie and seek to deceive others for in doing so they think they are also deceiving God. However, that is sheer folly for God knows their heart even better than they do themselves for He searches the heart and tests the mind (Proverbs 15:11; Jeremiah 17:9-10;). All things are open and bare before the eyes of the Lord (Hebrews 4:13). Even the Christian can fall for this lie and act like they can hide things from God. This shows up in efforts to conceal, deceive and even lie to others as if that would keep God from knowing about it. It also shows up in a lack of prayer as if avoiding talking with God will keep Him from knowing your heart. We know such things are charades, yet we will still do them if just to continue to try to deceive ourselves.
The Biblical writers found comfort in God’s omniscience for they understood that it meant He knew them perfectly including their problems and needs and they trusted Him to meet those needs. Isaiah 65:24, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” Matthew 6:8, “Be not you therefore like unto them: for your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask him.”
The same should be true for us. Belief and trust in the omniscience of God should bring us comfort and confidence. The God that knows us perfectly and still loves us will never abandon us or forsake us. Believing the devil’s lie leads only to self deception and the fear and guilt where there could and should be peace.
God is Omnipresent
God is infinite in relationship to space. He is everywhere present at the same time. We must keep in mind that God is a spirit (John 4:24) and therefore this attribute is speaking about the divine presence of His essence rather than a material substance filling the physical dimensions. Psalm 139:7-12 describes this: 7 “Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Thy hand will lead me, And Thy right hand will lay hold of me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” 12 Even the darkness is not dark to Thee, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee.” Jeremiah 23:23,24 add, “Am I a God at hand, says the LORD, and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? says the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? says the LORD.”
Lies against God’s omnipresence are in some ways similar to those against His omniscience. They are designed to get a person to think that they can somehow escape being held accountable by God. Jonah tried to do that by physically fleeing to Tarshish as if somehow God would not be there.
The idea that a god was only local was and is common to pagan, pantheistic and polytheistic religions. Such gods are thought of as being limited to certain regions whether that be hills, valleys, the sea, a local area or in association with some physical object. In that case the god could be wherever that physical object might be and hence the power of idols and fetishes. It was true in the ancient world and it is true today. While the New Age movement may seem more sophisticated than the ancient polytheistic religions, is there any real difference between thinking there is supernatural power associated with an idol or with a crystal or other object? They are really just modern pantheists which is demonstrated by their attributing special spiritual power to particular objects or locations.
This idea of God being limited also crept into the mindset of ancient Israel and also exists in modern churches. 1 Samuel 4 & 5 is a clear example of the former. The Israelites brought the Ark of the Covenant to the battlefield as if that would assure that God was with them and would bring them victory. The Philistines, who were idolaters, became afraid because they also thought God was in the box. However, they defeated the Israelites and captured the Ark. They thought they had also captured God so they put the Ark in their Temple to their god, Dagon. Now the Philistines did have a problem because God began to chasten them and that was not confined to just having the idol of Dagon falling down and being broken apart. God afflicted them throughout their towns until they repented.
Whenever someone attributes special power to some idol or object or location then they have succumbed to the devil’s lies in this area. Within Christianity there are many that treat particular objects as if they have special power – crosses, crucifixes, icons, etc. I recall growing up that many of my catholic friends had statues of Mary glued to the dashboard of their car to protect them, or they carried St. Christopher medals, at least they did until St. Christopher was demoted. Others think there is special access to God if they are in a certain location as if prayer in a church sanctuary holds more sway with God than praying someplace else. Their trust is no longer in the person of God, but in the object or place or a caricature of Him.
The true God is not confined or limited to an object, a place, a region or even to Earth itself. The true God is omnipresent. This is an attribute that should bring fear on those who do evil for it means they cannot run away from or hide from God. It brings comfort to the righteous for as Jesus said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).
God is Omnipotent
God is infinite in relationship to power. God can do anything that is in harmony with His attributes. Job understood this and said, “I know that Thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted,” (Job 42:2). The prophet Jeremiah proclaimed, “Ah Lord God! Behold, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and by Thine outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for Thee,” (Jeremiah 32:17). Jesus commented to His disciples in regard to the salvation of rich men, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible,” (Matthew 19:26). The Lord proclaimed of Himself, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27).
Skeptics often like to throw out a question such as, “If God can do anything, can He make a rock so large that He cannot lift it.” The answer is no, for the question is an absurdity and God can only do what is in keeping with His attributes, and absurdity is not one of His attributes, though it is commonly found among those who refuse to acknowledge and obey Him.
Satan has many lies against God’s omnipotence that strive to get people to consider God to be less than He is. There is the lie inherent in macro evolution that God is not powerful enough to create the world and communicate to us how He did so. There is the lie often repeated by skeptics that God could not have brought about the miracles recorded in the Scriptures. There is the lie that God cannot keep His promises.
Many false religions carry the idea that there is a struggle between a good god and a bad god with neither able to overcome the other. This also expressed in philosophies such as the oriental idea of ying – yang. There is no omnipotent God in such systems and philosophies.
Other false religions and cults may avoid a competing god that is as powerful, but their god is still not powerful enough by himself to accomplish his will. He must have other forces, possibly even human ones, to assist. It is not uncommon for cults to teach an idea that their prayers and activities are what enable their god to carry out his plans.
But what about among true believers? Satan’s lies against God in this area still disrupt us from trusting Him as we should because we begin to doubt God can take care of us. Sometimes it seems easier for the Christian to believe that God can save their soul from Hell and take them to heaven than to believe that He can provide them with daily bread, clothing and shelter. We trust Him for our eternal future but not our temporal future so we compromise truth and our ethics in order to keep our job, keep from offending someone that could cause us trouble, keep from getting graded down on a test or paper.
Our God is omnipotent. He is all powerful and we can trust Him to fulfill every promise He makes. That should bring fear to those who do evil for it means there is no other power that can overcome God and keep Him from carrying out His judgements on those who do not know Him and obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus (2 Thessalonians 1:8). It should bring comfort to the believer because it means that as Paul expresses in Romans 8:38-39, “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
God is Sovereign
God is infinite in relationship to His rule over all things. Sovereignty arises out of God being infinite in His attributes related to time, space, power and knowledge. He is the supreme being, unlimited and absolute in His position with the undisputed right to make decisions and act accordingly.
Though Satan and others may think of themselves as rivals to God, there is no actual rival to Him. Deuteronomy 4:39 tells us, “Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.” He is unlimited in what He can do. Job expressed this in rhetorical questions, “Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could say to Him, ‘What art Thou doing?’” (Job 9:12) and the Psalmist expressed it, “Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps,” (Psalm 135:6). Even King Nebuchadnezzar realized that “all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And [among] the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What hast Thou done?'” (Daniel 4:35). Even God’s punishment of His enemies is so that they might know that the Lord alone is the Most High over all the earth (Psalm 83:18).
There are many lies against God’s sovereignty. Most obvious of course are those by false religions that claim their deity is either supreme or at least a rival. There are also the philosophical systems that deny that there is any supreme being and instead try to make man autonomous, or in the case of the materialistic systems, that nature reigns supreme. The cults attack the sovereignty of God by developing systems in which God becomes obligated to man. That ranges from works based systems of salvation in which God becomes obligated to reward them heaven because of their religious practices, to compelling Him to answer their prayer the way they want because they used a particular formula in their incantation.
Christians can also fall for the devil’s lies against God’s sovereignty. It is easy for us to fall into the same trap as the cults and think that we can somehow manipulate God so that He owes us something, but it also shows up in theologies which limit it and in our practical trust of Him.
An example of this in a theology that limits it shows up in the the continuing debate about the sovereignty of God in relationship to the will of man in salvation. Philosophers criticize it with the logical construct that if God is sovereign then He is also responsible for sin and man is just a robot that should not be held accountable for what he cannot control. While most evangelicals would reject that conclusion, they will use the same logic to reject God’s sovereignty in salvation claiming that man must have free will in whether they are saved of not.
What is the truth?
First, God is not the author of sin for He has revealed Himself to be holy and incapable of evil Himself (Habakkuk 1:13; Psalm 5:4).
Second, man is not a robot, but is made in the image of God with the attribute of volition. Man can make decisions and will be held accountable for the decisions he makes including his response to God and His commands. Paul warned the Athenians, “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent,” (Acts 17:30). As pointed out earlier from 2 Thessalonians 1:7, men will be judged for their refusal to obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus. Romans 10:11-13 among many other passage makes it clear that there is a universal offer of salvation to man. “For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same [Lord] is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him; 13 for “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Third, man is utterly lost and incapable of being saved without God’s direct intervention. Romans 3:10-12 describes man’s depravity in simple terms, as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” Isaiah 64:6 adds, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” So much for the ideas that any man will seek God on their own or is capable of doing anything to win His favor. Jesus was direct about God’s intervention in salvation saying in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” It was while we were dead in our transgressions that God made us alive together with Christ by His grace and saved us. It is a gift from God, not as a result of any works (Ephesians 2:1-10; Titus 3:3-7).
Man is offered salvation and is personally responsible for his rejection of it. Unless the Father extends grace and draws the person to Christ and through the Spirit makes them alive (born again – John 3), they cannot come to salvation. Both of these statements are true and it is wrong to stress either truth to the exclusion of the other. The proper term for this seeming logical contradiction is an antinomy. However, we are called to believe what God reveals, not resolve antinomies to make them fit our own system of logic.
Lies against God’s sovereignty have led to theological systems in which salvation is changed from a work of God into a free will belief of man, and as soon as it becomes dependent on man it is something that can change and be lost. That is why those same groups teach that salvation can be lost despite Jesus’ statement in John 10:27-30, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given [them] to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father’s hand. “I and the Father are one.”
Conclusions
Lies against the attributes of God that arise from His infinite nature – eternality, omniscience, omnipresence omnipotence and sovereignty – are all designed to open the possibility that perhaps there is some other being that is powerful or sneaky enough to thwart God. If so, then perhaps there is a way for a human to also frustrate God’s plans and get away with doing what they want despite God’s commandments against it. Such lies are damning to the unbeliever for they will keep him from salvation, and damaging for the believer because they will keep him from a proper walk with God and knowing His peace.
Those who believe these lies think they are gaining freedom because they can now do what they want rather than submit to God. They want to assert themselves as captains of their own ships, the masters of their own fates. They think themselves either unaccountable to the God of the universe or masters at manipulating Him to their own ends. That is true for those in false religions, those following worldly philosophies and those in the cults. The reality is that they enter a world of bondage and fear. Depending on the particular belief system, there is fear of Satan, fear of demons, fear of other evil people, fear of the power that has been tapped into, fear that someone may use that same power against them, fear of making a wrong choice.
Those involved with the Satanic and demonic in hope that
someday he will triumph over God or at least will rule his own kingdom will be damned along with the devil when and his followers are all cast into Hell for eternal punishment as prisoners there (Revelation 20). Those who follow false religions will find their systems to be without foundation or truth as they too are cast into hell for their false beliefs and are condemned by their evil actions. Those who follow the cults will be shocked when they find they have believed in a false Jesus and hear the real one command them to depart from Him for He never knew them (Matthew 7:23). Those following aberrant theology will find that though they are still saved from hell by God’s grace, they will find that they will suffer loss of much of their works which turned out to be “wood, hay and straw” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
What a contrast this is to the true Christian who does not need to fear because the perfect love of Christ casts away the fear of punishment (1 John 4:18), and every other fear and anxiety can also be cast on the Lord because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). True Christians will have tribulation in this world because those who hate God will also hate them, but they will also have a perfect peace in the midst of it all because Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33) and they can trust the Lord (Isaiah 26:3). Our eternal destiny is to be with our eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, sovereign Lord in heaven from Whom we shall receive a reward (1 Corinthians 3:12-14). This is the difference between living according to Satan’s lies about God and embracing the truth about Him.
The next sermon in this series is: (See: Spiritual Warfare, Part 6: Lies Against God’s Veracity)
Sermon Notes – 1/4/2009
Spiritual Warfare, Part 5; The Belt of Truth, Part 2: Lies Against God’s Infinity
Introduction
Satan & demons are _________and cause a wide variety of physical, mental and emotional problems.
Man is quite capable of sin and causing problems without ___________ assistance
God has given to us __________we need pertaining to life and godliness including armor for spiritual war
The ________held his tunic in place and gave him a place to hang his other equipment
__________ties everything together securing us while providing a place for the sword of the Spirit
The devil is a _________and ultimately those lies are against the nature & character of God
God is Eternal – God is infinite in relationship to ________
Psalms 90:2; Isaiah 46:10; 57:15 Genesis 1:1; 1 Corinthians 15:28; Revelation 21 & 22;
God is _________to time but He can also enter into it – Isaiah 65:24; 1 John 5:14-15; Gal. 4:4; Heb. 1:5
Various false religions and cults lie against God’s eternity by saying He Himself is a __________being
A _____________ god cannot be God, but that is just the point of the lie
God is Omniscient – God is infinite in relationship to ____________
God ___________ everything perfectly in breadth and depth – Psalms 147:5; Isaiah 20:28; 46:9,10
There is no comparison of _____________ knowledge to that of the Lord – Psalm 139:1-6
God’s omniscience brings _________ to those who do evil – Luke 12:2; Revelation 20:12
God searches the ____and tests the mind – Prov. 15:11; Jer. 17:9-10. They are _____before Him Heb. 4:13
The righteous find _________ in God’s omniscience – Isaiah 65:24; Matthew 6:8
The God that knows us perfectly and still __________ us will never abandon us or forsake us.
God is Omnipresent – God is infinite in relationship to ___________
He is a spirit whose divine __________ is everywhere present – Psalm 139:7-12 ; Jeremiah 23:23,24
People believe these lies in hope that they can somehow __________being held accountable by God
Pagan religions commonly believed their gods were ___________ to certain places or objects.
1 Samuel 4 & 5 is an example of Israelites and Philistines thinking God was __________ to the Ark
Whenever someone attributes special power to some object or location they have believed the devil’s ___
God’s omnipresence brings ________to those who do evil and _________to those who are righteous
God is Omnipotent – God is infinite in relationship to __________
God can do ___________ that is in harmony with His attributes – Job 42:2; Jer. 32:17, 27; Matt. 19:26
Lies against this attribute are inherent in __________, denial of Biblical ________, and God’s faithfulness
False religions & philosophies in which good and evil continually compete ________God’s omnipotence
The god of some false religions and the cults must be __________by outside forces to accomplish his will
Christians believe this lie when they __________ God’s ability to keep His promises to them.
God’s omnipotence brings ____to those who do evil (2 Thess. 1:8) & _______to believers (Romans 8:38f)
God is Sovereign – God is infinite in relationship to ___________________________
Sovereignty arises out of God being _______in His attributes related to time, space, power and knowledge
There is no actual _______to God – Deuteronomy 4:39; Job 9:12; Psalm 135:6; Daniel 4:35; Psalm 83:18
Cults attack God’s sovereignty by developing systems in which God become ____________ to man
Christians deny God’s sovereignty with theologies which ________ it and living in practical denial of it.
God is not the author of sin for He is _______and incapable of evil Himself (Habakkuk 1:13; Psalm 5:4)
Man is not a robot, but is made in the image of God with the attribute of _______________
Man is commanded to ___________(Acts 17:30) and will be _______for his disobedience (2 Thess. 1:7)
There is a universal _________ of salvation to all men – Romans 10:11-13
Man is utterly lost and _____________ of being saved without God’s direct intervention
____seek God – Rom. 3:10-12. Our righteousness is _____- Isa. 64:6. The ______must draw – John 6:44
We are called to believe what God ____________, not resolve antinomies to fit our theological system.
Lies against God’s sovereignty have changed salvation from a work of _____into a free will belief of man
Those who are Jesus’ ________cannot be removed from His hand – John 10:27-30
Conclusions
Lies against God’s infinite attributes seek to offer the possibility of escaping His _____________
In the hope of gaining freedom people believe Satan’s lies and instead gain ________, fear and damnation
The true Christian gains peace and comfort in the promises of an _____________God.
KIDS CORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – 1) Count how many “lies” are mentioned. 2) Talk with your parents about the comfort and peace a Christian can have in believing and trusting an infinite God.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. Why is Satan able to so easily influence people? What is the danger of ignoring or considering the demonic as inconsequential? What is the danger of blaming the demonic for your ills and problems? What has God provided for us so that we can be victorious over the devil’s influence? What was a belt important to the Roman soldier? What is the importance of truth? What does it mean that God is eternal? What is God’s relationship to time? What are some of the lies that attack this attribute? Can a non-eternal god be God? Why or why not? What does it mean that God is omniscient? What are some of the lies that attack this attribute? Compare human knowledge with God’s knowledge. What effect does omniscience have upon the unrighteous? The righteous? What does it mean that God is omnipresent? How did the ancient Israelites fall for Satan’s lies in this area? What are some of the ways non-Christians fall for Satan’s lies in this area in the present time? What about Christians? What does it mean that God is omnipotent? What are some of the lies that attack this attribute? How do some of these lies disrupt the lives of even true Christians? What effect will God’s omnipotence have on the unsaved? On the saved? What does it mean that God is sovereign? How do false religions and philosophies attack God’s sovereignty? Cults? How do Christians fall for the devil’s lies in this area? What is the relationship between God’s sovereignty and man’s volition (ability to choose)? How is the belief that someone can lose their salvation an attack on God’s sovereignty? What do those who believe Satan’s lies think they will gain? What will actually happen to them? What about those with aberrant theology that undermines God’s infinite nature? What are the blessings true Christians receive because God is infinite?
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