02/27/2025
Yesterday we visited John 4:11 during our morning contemplation, and today we are going to return there as we dwell on the almighty nature of God and Jesus. I read a statement made by Oswald Chambers in which he wrote "The reason some of us are such poor specimens of Christianity is because we have no Almighty Christ." I looked at myself and asked if I was included in such an observation… are you wondering the same thing right now?
The woman at the well was surprised that Jesus would ask her for a drink, and she was perplexed by the thought that He spoke of giving her living water, but most of all she had no basis on which to understand His ability to step into the spiritual world in His provision for her. She was trapped in the now... in the physical world she lived in each day. Do we imprison ourselves there too? Do we interact with Jesus the man and neglect Jesus the divine?
“The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?”
John 4:11 KJV
Pastor Chambers warned us of being trapped within our understanding of existence. He encouraged us to look upon Christ, not as Jesus the man, but as the Almighty Son of God.
"Beware of the satisfaction of sinking back and saying - "It can't be done"; you know it can be done if you look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness is deep, but make the effort and look away to Him." - Oswald Chambers
We fix things in our lives every day. The garbage receptacle gets full so we take out the trash, the car is low on fuel so we stop at the filling station and get gasoline. We make hundreds of these physical fixes every day; we do this so often that it becomes the rule by which we judge what is possible and what is not; we make this determination based on our own abilities. Sometimes we carry this perception into our prayer closets and apply it to Jesus and God as well. Are we trapped as Lazarus’s sister Martha was?
“Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
John 11:39-41 ESV
Have you ever caught yourself neglecting to pray for something because you believe it is impossible? Did you have a dream that you shuffled away from because there was no way that it could ever happen? Well, I am here to tell you that we live in a world that is both physical and spiritual, and that forces are at work which are not bound to our physical world.
“And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”
1 Corinthians 15:49 KJV
Jesus Christ is not handcuffed by our earthly limitations and God is not chained to our perception of what is possible. Our God transcends all and is omnipotent... nothing is beyond His ability, even though it may be outside His will. So, don’t confuse what he can do with what he wills to do.
Understanding the Almighty nature of Jesus is hard for us. It is so foreign and difficult for us to grasp that the Bible continues to address it over and over again. From Genesis where we read...
“Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
Genesis 18:14 KJV
To the time of Jesus...
“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26 KJV
We are reminded again and again in statements and stories of God's interaction with us, that He is capable of all things. Yet, we somehow slip back into placing Jesus and God the Father into bondage to our physical notions of what they might be capable of. We limit them to the hard things we think are possible, and the daily things we could possibly do for ourselves that are just barely beyond our own ability. And we assume that those things we view as impossible are beyond them too... they are not.
I love a certain verse in the book of Revelation because it praises God for being Almighty. This scripture acknowledges that God is all powerful and encourages us to ask Him for not only those things we think He can do, but anything we can imagine... and even those beyond that.
“Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.”
Revelation 11:17 KJV
Are we ready to break the chains of our earthly existence and ask God and Jesus for those things that we believe to be impossible? Are we going to ask for them to give us unthinkable knowledge; to give us unimaginable wisdom that we can’t even begin to contemplate on our own; and are we prepared to dream of an unlimited existence we can’t even fathom so we simply call it eternity? Are we willing to step away from all we know, and off of terrafirma into the vapor of a spiritual world of unlimited life, and faith?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for allowing me to ask you for things I can’t begin to imagine, and to make my dreams real. Father, teach me to leave my human perception of reality behind when I enter into my prayer closet. Give me confidence in your Almighty nature and encourage me to ask for the most incredible things of you, knowing that even in those outlandish desires you can, and will, provide. Holy Father, I am a child in your eyes and a babe in my understanding of you. Raise me up as I would one of my own children; teaching me your ways and building my confidence in your miracles by showing me that they are not miracles to you at all, but instead, let me see them as everyday occurrences in an expanded life with you.
Even in as much as I have faith that I will eventually do those things that once amazed me in my earthly father's ability and actions, let me come to understand that one day I will also be able to do those things that amaze me in you. I am your son, and my rearing is made purposeful by you. Help me Father so that one day I will realize not only that you are Almighty, but that your desire for me in this regard has been realized as well. I hear the words of Jesus in my ears as He encourages me to be as He is by telling me I will do those things He has done and more, and that it is not only He who abides in me but you that do as well. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who is boundless and able in all things. Holy are you who allows me to not only stand in your presence, but to abide in you, as you abide in me. Your mercy and grace engulf me, and lift me from this world to the next on glorious wings while giving me limitless peace and joy as you do so. Hear my prayers Father and never let me withhold a single one from you for fear of finding a limitation in your ability. Perfect me Abba, and walk with me forever through eternity… loving you, and being awed by your creation, but not being limited by it. I praise your name always, and like Jesus I can do nothing without you because you are the wonder in my eyes, the eternal love in my heart, and the good in all I am. In you I am complete and completed. In you I am and will forever be righteous, Holy, and eternally grateful.
Amen! Amen! Amen!
““Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:12-14 ESV
“At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”
John 14:20 KJV
“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:48 ESV
“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.”
John 5:19-20 ESV
Rich Forbes