Nothing Is Too Hard: God’s Power & Presence

Say, God can do all things. He can do all things.

So there's two scripture verses that I want to share.

I want us to consider this morning, and they're from the Old Testament,

and I want them to consider them when we think of the words, God can do all things.

And they are verses from Jeremiah and Zephaniah.

Say Zephaniah, Zephaniah.

Have you ever faced a situation in your life so overwhelming that you saw that

there was probably no way through it.

Come on, let's be honest, church, this morning. We've all been there.

Maybe it's a diagnosis that steals your peace.

Maybe it's a bill that you cannot pay.

Maybe it's a relationship that's perhaps beyond repair.

And in those moments, when we're going through that, when we're going through

a situation where we can see no way through it,

it's during those moments occasionally that we'll either say out loud or we'll

wonder down deep, is this too hard for God as well? Is this too hard for God?

And it's as if when we either say that or think that That God leans in.

Pushes in where we are And answers our thought or our comment Through scripture

in Jeremiah 32 and verse 27 And this is what he says to us when we have those situations He says,

I am the Lord the God of all the peoples of the world,

is there anything too hard for me? Question mark.

Now, that's not a question of doubt either. I want you to know.

It's not a question of doubt.

It's actually a question of divine assurance because there's nothing that God cannot do.

There's no sickness he cannot heal. Okay? There's no debt that he can't cancel.

Who's ever had a debt canceled in their life?

Gone. Thank you, God. There's no heart that he cannot restore.

There's no situations that God cannot turn around.

Our God is the God of the impossible.

Who can give a hard-fought hallelujah this morning? Hallelujah.

Come on. Come on. Come on.

The other verse I want us to consider this morning, we've heard from Jeremiah,

and we'll hear from Jeremiah again, is in Zephaniah.

And it's Zephaniah chapter 3 and verse 17. We read, For the Lord your God is living among you.

Zephaniah 3 · chapter mention

He is a mighty saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness.

With his love, he will calm all your fears.

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

That's got to be one of my favourite verses in the whole, if not up to now, it is now. Okay.

Now, both of these verses, the verse from Jeremiah and the verse from Zephaniah,

remind us that God is both strong and near. Say strong and near.

He's powerful enough to handle any situation that overwhelms you,

yet he's tender enough to calm our fears. Do you see that?

Do you see that? That is powerful enough to deal with it, but tender enough

to sit with us and calm our fears. What an awesome God.

He doesn't just move mountains.

He walks with us as we face them.

And that means whatever burden you may be carrying today, you don't carry it

alone. You're not carrying it alone.

But hear me, church. The same God who comforts you is also the same God who conquers for you.

He conquers for you. The one who whispers peace over your soul is the same one

who funders against your enemies.

He's an awesome God, isn't he? He's a God that's just, he wants to gather us

up and hug us while he's screaming at our enemies.

He is both all-powerful and ever-present.

And if that's the case, then there is no chain that he cannot break.

There is no sickness he cannot heal.

There's no storm he cannot harm or cannot calm.

And no situation he cannot turn around.

He is the God. Our God is the God of the impossible, and he is here right now, right now.

So let's look at God's power this morning. Let's look at it,

and it's from the verse in Jeremiah.

Is there anything too hard for me as spoken in Jeremiah 32, 27?

Now, it's important to know that Jeremiah 32, 27 was not spoken in a season of peace or prosperity.

A little bit like now.

It was spoken in one of Judah's darkest hours.

Picture it, the Babylonian army had surrounded Jerusalem. The city was under siege.

The people's hearts were stubborn and their judgment was actually inevitable as well.

And right there in the middle of that chaos and hopelessness,

God breaks in with this reminder.

I am God. The God of all the people of the earth or the world.

Is anything too hard for me?

Now, this word hard, let's have a look at this word hard. Is there anything too hard for me?

The word hard, which we've just read in Jeremiah 32 and verse 27, is very rich in meaning.

You know, it's just a four-letter word in English. But in the Hebrew,

in the original Hebrew, it carries such richness that we need to consider it this morning.

In Hebrew, it carries the sense of wonderful.

It means extraordinary, and it means surpassing.

It's not simply about difficulty. God isn't asking, is there anything too challenging for me?

He's actually asking this. he's asking, is there anything so extraordinary that

I cannot bring it to pass?

Not just hard, but extraordinary.

Who needs something extraordinary in their life?

The same word, that same word hard or wonderful or extraordinary or surpassing

can be found in Psalm 139, verse 14, where it talks about us.

Psalms 139:14

It says this in Psalm 139, verse 14, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Psalms 139:14

The same word, just as the very life, just as your very life is a testimony

of God's extraordinary work, so every situation rests under his extraordinary power.

We also see this echoed throughout scripture.

In Genesis chapter 18 and verse 14, God asks Abraham and Sarah,

Genesis 18 · chapter mention

is there anything too hard for the Lord? That same word, hard.

And again, and against all human impossibility, a barren couple,

Abraham and Sarah in their old age held a promised son.

Nothing's too hard for God. And then in Luke 1 and verse 37, don't forget this one.

Gabriel, the angel Gabriel, declared to Mary, for nothing is impossible with God.

The virgin birth, unthinkable in human terms, because it became the very doorway of our salvation.

Nothing is impossible.

God can do all things.

If God can speak galaxies into existence, who's had a look up in the sky at nighttime recently?

There's a lot of stuff up there. There's a lot of stars up there,

and they're just the ones we can see.

If God can speak galaxies into existence, if he can part seas,

if he can raise the dead, then your situation is not a problem for him. Amen? Amen.

Your impossibility, your impossible circumstance is not a roadblock. It's a stage.

It's a stage for God.

It's an opportunity for his glory to shine, just like those stars.

His power to be revealed and his name to be lifted high.

Remember, remember this, the same God who did the extraordinary in scripture

is still alive today, okay?

Working in our lives, what looks impossible to you is in no way impossible to him.

Charles Stanley said, when God gives you a vision, he will give you provision, okay?

We often measure God's ability by our resources, okay? But God measures by his own infinite power.

That's the God that we serve. Your lack is never a limitation for God.

It's an invitation for his power to be displayed in our lives.

A man once watched a silversmith at work purifying silver.

Okay. The craftsman heated the metal until all the impurities rose to the surface. surface.

Curious, the observer asked, when do you know it's pure?

The silversmith replied, when I can see my reflection.

When I can see my reflection. God sometimes allows the heat of trial.

Not because he cannot deliver us instantly, because he can, okay?

But because he's shaping us, he's refining us, he's removing what would keep

his image from being shining through us.

The purpose of the fire is not punishment in any way at all, it's purification.

And when he is done, his reflection will be seen in us. Oh, wow.

Now let's look at God's presence. We've looked at God's power as found in Jeremiah.

Now let's look at God's presence as we've read in Zephaniah.

Let's read it again. Zephaniah 3.17.

For the Lord your God is living among you.

He is a mighty Saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness.

With his love, he will calm your fears.

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Now, Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of Josiah.

Okay. His message began with warnings of judgment, but ended with the glorious

promise of restoration.

God is not distant. He's present, he's active, and he's rejoicing over his people.

So firstly, put that verse still there.

See where it says, God, he is a mighty savior. Okay, see that bit there?

He says, God as a mighty savior, also a warrior, is an all-powerful God.

But then look at this. We'll read on a little bit further.

It says, he will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

Okay, so one breath it's saying that he's a mighty warrior or a mighty savior.

The next thing he's saying is he's rejoicing over us with joyful songs.

Rejoice, which literally means to spin around in delight. That's what it means.

God's joy over his redeemed people, it's exuberant, okay?

He just doesn't spin around. He probably jumps as well, and he's excited for us.

Look at our God. He's a mighty warrior.

He's a saviour king, and then we see him spinning around in delight about us.

That's how much he loves us.

Is your baby kicking, Georgia? Is your baby spinning? Because he can hear his grandfather.

Here he goes again. Grandfather's preaching again.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing at all.

Matthew 28 and verse 20, and be sure of this, I am with you always,

even to the end of the age.

And then Romans 8, verses 38 and 39.

Romans 8:38

I read it last week, but I'm going to read it again, okay? Because it's worth

reading every week, I reckon.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love.

I'm convinced. I'm certain of it. Neither death or life.

Angels or demons. Our fears for today or our worries about tomorrow.

Not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.

No power in the sky above or in the earth below. So indeed, nothing in all creation

will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ our Lord.

I want you to go this week and I want you to see a picture of our mighty warrior,

Savior King God, spinning around in joy and love for us.

God's not distant, okay? God's not distant and he's just merely aware of your struggles.

He's right there with you in the midst of them.

He fights for you. He fights for you when you cannot fight for yourself.

He sings over you with joy.

Can you imagine a worldly king doing that? Our saviour king does.

He sings over you with joy. He calms your fears.

Not with empty promises, but with his very own love. That's who he is.

This is the God who never fails, never abandons, and whose power is greater

than any obstacle that you face.

Whatever you're walking through today, remember you're not alone,

and nothing is too extraordinary for him to accomplish in your life.

Now, who owns a refrigerator or two?

Yeah. Who's got a refrigerator or three? Anyone got three?

Yeah, thank you, Kelly, Peter, all in the same house. Yeah.

Hang on, let me go through this, okay? So one in your kitchen, yeah?

One in your garage, maybe? No, where's the second one then?

Oh, in the Airbnb, okay, so there's two.

Oh, one in the fourth bedroom. Okay, there's three. And don't tell me, one down the coast?

Just one down the coast? Okay, so four refrigerators.

Where am I going with this? Who puts pictures on their refrigerator?

Who puts photos of their kids or grandkids on the refrigerator?

Have we got a photo of our grandchild on our refrigerator yet? We need to change that.

I could show you a photo that was sent through us to us yesterday.

It's in the pantry. It's on the little blackboard. Sent you in one of ours.

I'm here to tell you that if God had a refrigerator, your photo would be on it.

Yeah, that's right. It's on the palm of his hand, but if he had a refrigerator,

there'd be a little magnet there with your photograph there.

That's the God that we serve. All four of them, all four of them.

And that's not sentimental fluff either, okay? It's biblical truth.

God delights in his children. God delights in his children.

We're going to be doing this in the next 12 to 18 months or so,

or certainly Georgia and Johnny will be.

They'll be watching their child perhaps taking his first steps. Okay.

And I remember Angela and I have probably got videos of the first steps of all

of our children, don't we? I think.

You know, every wobble is met with smiles and encouragement.

Who can remember those days? You know, come on. You look, oh, look, he fell over.

He's back up again. That's why he wears a nappy because it's cushioning for

when he, and hopefully there's nothing in that nappy when he drops on it.

Every wobble is met with smiles and encouragement.

That's how your heavenly father sees you too.

Delighting in your progress, steadying when you fall, and cheering on when you

grow in faith. That's our God.

Let's bring our two verses together now, shall we? Our two verses from Jeremiah

and Zephaniah together.

Together, what do they form a picture of?

Jesus. Jesus. Jeremiah and Zephaniah's words point forward to Jesus,

the ultimate display of God's power and love. Jesus.

The gospel in full. They point to the gospel in full. Do you want to know what the gospel is in full?

Jesus came fully God, fully man.

He lived a sinless life that we couldn't live.

Jesus died on a cross.

He bore our sin and our shame and our punishment for us.

Jesus was buried, a sealed tomb testifying to his death.

Jesus rose again, defeating sin, death, and hell forever.

And Jesus reigns, offering salvation to all who repent and believe.

So God loved, God gave, and God saved.

John 3, 16 and verse 17. For this is how God loved the world.

He gave his one and only son so

that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

God sent his son into the world not to judge the world but to save the world through him.

Confess and believe, and you will be saved.

Romans 10 and verse 9. If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe

in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

That's the gospel. That's the gospel. Josh, come on up.

So as we spoke about a few weeks ago, as we read a few weeks ago in John 19

and verse 30, Jesus cried, it is finished. What's that word?

Teteslasti. Yeah, that one. That one. Jesus cried, it is finished. It is finished.

He didn't cry, I am finished.

But he cried, the work is complete. The debt of sin was fully paid right there and then.

We don't bring our strength to God. We need to bring our weaknesses to God and receive his strength.

That's how we get through every situation.

So what should our response be this morning? What should our response be to this this morning?

It should be, I want us all to go. there's that word again, go,

and trust the God who can do all things.

We need to repent, we need to repent, we need to turn from sin and our self-reliance

to trust in Christ alone.

We need to rest in God's presence, even in uncertainty, and we need to rejoice

in his love because he delights over you.

Now, highlighted by the events of the last few weeks, and I'll say the name

again, Charlie Kirk, in a world anxious about economy,

in a world fractured by politics, in a world unsure about its future,

this is the moment for us.

This is the moment for our young people. It's the moment for the church to stand

as a living testimony that God is alive, he's present, and he's mighty to save. That's our God.

If you've never trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, today is the day,

I'm telling you, it really is.

He's not asking you to clean yourself up first either.

He's inviting you to come as you are.

Repent, believe, and receive his forgiveness.

Walk in his love. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord. Look, I'm just so overwhelmed, Lord God, that you are a God

who is mighty to save, that there is nothing too hard for you.

You are our saviour king. You are our warrior.

Yet at the same time, Lord, you bundle us up. You wrap your arms around us and

you love us just as we are.

That is the God who we serve, Lord God. And we bless you and we honour you for that, Lord God.

Lord, we lift our troubles. We lift our anxieties.

We lift our concerns up to you, Lord God. We hand them over to you.

And Lord, I picture you gathering those up and destroying them,

destroying our fears and our worries.

And what's left, Lord God, and what I pray, Father, that you would implant on

everyone's heart and soul right now is a picture of you, the loving God,

caring for us, leading us,

opening doors for us, shutting doors, but Lord, loving us.

You are our God who can do all things.

In Jesus' name, just for us. In Jesus' name.

Amen. So go this week, everyone.

Go this week, knowing that the God of Jeremiah 32, 27 and Zephaniah 3, 17 is your God.

Is your God. Able to do all things, rejoicing over you with singing and holding

you in his unfailing love.

Go this week. Amen.

Amen. Bless you guys. There's food coming out.

We are going to have a feast welcoming back these guys and you guys are going

to have an awesome week just picturing with me will you picture him with me

fighting off the enemy but then rejoicing over you that's our god amen bless you guys.