THE POWER OF GOD

Jesus Christ, while on earth, declared that some people err because they do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.  The statement  was prompted by a question from the Saduccees, one of the religious sects in Israel at that time, in which they told an allegorical story meant to ridicule or cast doubts on God’s power or ability  to resurrect the dead. – Matthew 22:23-33
The Saduccees will find ready company among many people in the world today who make light of, doubt, or even or even reject what the Bible teaches about the power of God Almighty.  This dangerous attitude which has led many to emptiness and ruin, and will still lead many more down that path, is at the instance of Satan the devil.
The word god derived from the Hebrew word elohim, means a mighty or powerful one. There are many mighty and power ones both in heaven and on earth.But the Great Architect of the entire universe, the Sovereign LORD whose holy name is Jehovah, meaning Self-existing One, is the greatest of all hence Prophet Moses referred to Him as “the God of gods and LORD of lords” (Deuteronomy 10: 17). The name Almighty God by which He appeared to Abraham denotes His unlimited ability to execute His purposes. In the words of Christ, God Almighty “is greater than all.” (John 10: 29) He further declared: “…With God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19: 26. See also Luke 1:37; Genesis 18: 14) It is to Him all power should be ascribed. Truly “power belongeth unto God.” (Psalm 62: 2) Thus it is written in Revelation 4: 11: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” And further expounding on the power of God, Jeremiah the prophet declared: “Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee…” – Jeremiah 32: 17
The Lord God is described as “omnipotent” in Revelation 19: 6.  Omnipotence means His power to do all, or everything, according to His purposes..  In the words of  Charles C. Ryrie in A SURVEY OF BIBLE DOCTRINE (pages 22 & 23)  …God’s omnipotence is seen in His power to create (Gen.1: 1), in His preservation of all things (Hebrews 1: 3) and in His providential care for us.” The Almighty God is the Creator; all others are His creatures.
Creation
The heavens and the earth and the things therein are manifestations of the power of God Almighty. Thus Jeremiah the prophet declared:  “He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion ” (Jeremiah 10: 12; See also Proverbs 3: 19; Psalm 104: 24) The heavens and the host therein, came into being at the command of God Almighty (Psalm 33:6,9; See also Isaiah 40:26)  Indeed He is the Great King.  In the words of Solomon, “where the word of a King is, there is power” -Ecclesiastes 8: 4-5  
Further Demonstration of the Power of God
Most Britons who were asked whether they believed God can change the course of events on Earth, responded negatively. (Newsweek July 12, 1999)  This is sheer ignorance. There is no denying the fact that God Almighty had on several occasions altered  the course of events on earth in order to vindicate His holy name. This truth Pharoah, Nebuchadnezzar and others found out at great cost to themselves and to their nation.
When Pharoah, representing Satan the Devil at that time, was told to allow the children of Israel to go, he refused to obey and challenged the power of God saying: “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go” – (Exodus 5:1-2)  Consequently God Almighty declared: “For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.” – Exodus 9:14,16
Great and terrible were the ten plagues God Almighty visited on the Egyptians.  The magicians of Pharoah made puny efforts to replicate the earlier miracles such as turning a rod into a serpent, turning water into blood and causing swarms of frogs to invade the land. But from the fourth plague, the plague of lice the magicians of Pharoah could no longer imitate what Moses did, and they confessed:: “This is the finger of God.” (Exodus 8:19) Thus, Pharoah, inspite of himself declared “I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.” (Exodus 9:27) This confession notwithstanding, he continued to harden his heart.
Pharoah was eventually compelled to let Israel go following the last plague – the slaying of the first-born of the Egyptians. (Exodus 12:37-40) After the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites and the annihilation of Pharoah and his hosts, Moses and the children of Israel glorified God saying: “Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” -Exodus 15:11; See also Exodus 18:11.
Another king who defied God and was chastised by Him was Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon.  Despite being forewarned of the consequences of not humbling himself before God, he remained adamant, attributing the glory and majesty of the Babylon to himself, as it is written: “At the end of twelve months he (Nebuchadnezzar) walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.  The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whosoever he will.” (Daniel 4:29-32, emphasis ours) Nebuchadnezzar remained in that condition until the seven years were over.  He then confessed: “And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants  of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” He concluded: “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the king of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.” (Daniel 4: 34-37)  Thus, it is when the Almighty God delegates His power to anyone that such one can exercise any authority over others.  People in power today are doing so under divine sufferance. If they misuse it, such power could be taken away from them.
Another glaring instance of the demonstration of the power of God Almighty was the raising of Jesus Christ from the dead. As St. Paul explained in the following words: ” And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places…”  -Ephesians 1:19,20
Worship
    The power and wisdom of God should move men to fear Him, by doing His will at all times and by giving Him “the glory due to His name” so that He will shield them from the assaults of the Devil, shower them with His blessings and save them in His kingdom fully established. The Prophet David stated:  ” He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.” (Psalm 33:,7,8; See also Psalm 107:15,21,31.) That apart, Job the prophet declared, among other things: ” I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number” (Job 5:  8-16) And a scholar observed “Those who have experienced deliverance by the hand of God, and who live under His sovereignty must show it by distinctive behaviour.”  (The Lion Handbook to the Bible page 124) God will do marvellous things for His people when they show faith in Him as “the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards toward him.” (2 Chronicles 16: 9; see also 2 Chronicles 14:11)
In the first world, the world of Adam,  there were many whose behaviour did not conform with the laws of God and were consequently, after due warning destroyed with a deluge  or flood. As it is written: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually….And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth…” (Genesis 6: 5-22;;)  As a result of this, the first world was destroyed by a flood, with Noah and his family of seven being the only survivors. (Genesis 7: 1-24; 2 Peter 2: 5) The people of Sodom and Gomorrah also perished when the cities were overthrown because of their iniquities. Only Lot and his two daughters who kept themselves away from the evils going on around them, were saved. (Genesis 19: 1-29) As Jesus Christ said, the same fate awaits all those who refuse to serve God in these last days – when God shall manifest His power against all wickedness at the battle of Armageddon, now impending. – Luke 17:26-30; Isaiah 24:1-6; Psalm 66: 3; 22: 28,29.
Before the destruction of the wicked, God has purposed that the saving gospel should be preached as a warning to the nations and for the gathering of  His sheep into His kingdom. Isaiah the prophet under the inspiration of God wrote: “For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.  Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your hands be made strong: for I have heard from the LORD GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.” (Isaiah 28:,22,21)  The strange work of God is the preaching of the truth which appears strange to people (because they  had over the years been fed with lies) while the strange act of God is the destruction of the wicked, an event which has not been “since the beginning of the world…no, nor ever shall be.” – Matthew 24:21.
Concerning that time God used Isaiah to declare: The proud and arrogant on earth shall tremble before the great power of God as it is written:   ” The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down; and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the cave of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” (Isaiah 2:10-22; See also Isaiah 13:6-9)     To escape the forthcoming calamity, all people of goodwill must take warning now by doing the will of God as stated in His word, the truth, which He has made manifest in these last days.
That God has not taken action yet is not a sign of weakness as He is only giving all men a full and fair opportunity of knowing the truth so as to repent of their sins by taking their stand in His organisation so as to be saved. (Acts 14:16; 17:30,31) St Peter explained thus: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as  some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9) In exercise of His great power, God Almighty will  in due time destroy the devil who is using the wicked ones in the universe. – Ezekiel 28:12-19; Isaiah 14:12-15; Romans 16:20; Psalm 83:17,18; Exodus 9:16; etc.
But the meek, or teachable ones in the earth, who are steadfast in their worship of God Almighty and Jesus Christ will be delivered by God’s grace. The Bible admonishes: “Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’s anger come upon you.  Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.” Zephaniah 2:1-3; Isaiah 26:20-21
May Jehovah, in exercise of His infinite power, have mercy on His sheep now being gathered all over the world into His kingdom so that they may be saved to glorify His holy name for ever. Amen