Pastor Elwin Ahu
March 13, 2011 - W1111

Thanks for everyone being flexible this weekend. We had a plan for this weekend to continue our series, but sometimes we need to change things to be relevant on what is going on around us. As we reflect on what we saw going on over in Japan on television and the newsprint for the last few days, we saw the severity of what has happened. Many of us have been watching the effects of 8.9 on the Richter scale earthquake on Japan. We also saw what happened in Japan had an effect on our own Hawaiians islands. At the same time we saw all of these events happening, it also makes us reflect that aside from having a real church and real world, we have a real God. Our God is an all powerful God. When you see the tsunami and earthquake, how can you not believe in an all powerful God. Unless you are an atheist. An atheist believes that the world came in being as a cosmic coincidence. But if we believe in an all powerful, all knowing and omnipresence God, why would this happen.

According to George Barna, a well known Christian researcher, majority of Christians and non-Christians alike want to ask God, if they have a chance, ?Why is there so much devastation in the world?? Then , we also ask after, ?How can an all powerful God allow this to happen?? How can a gracious and loving God allow this happen? How could this happen to families, homes and futures. But if you believe in an all knowing God, you knew already He knew about this before it happened.  God had the powerful to intervene.

In turn, we need to ask this question which is beneath this question, ? Why do we need to know? In times of tragedy,  we cannot explain and we come face to face with our humanness. We, as human beings, in our finite minds, want to know. We wanted to know what a infinite God would do to our finite situations. During the New Testament times, the disciples had a similar questions they asked Jesus.

Let us read the Bible verse in Luke?

"Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. Luke 8:24-25

The disciples were in a boat with Jesus. There was a storm going on. The boat was rocking back and forth. The disciples were asking Jesus to calm their fears concerning the storm. But Jesus said to them, ?Where is your faith?? Like in our life, God wants to ask that question. When things are not going our way, we question God. Like in the current situation in Japan, ? Where are you Lord when lives are lost in Japan? Families separated and futures are no longer? Let us stop and think. Sometimes it is easier to explain 911 than the natural disaster that happened in Japan. Terrorist commandeer the planes to go through the buildings. Man made choices on their own. But about natural disaster, how do you explain that. It is easier to blame God.

Let us read the next verses?

The seas have lifted up, O LORD, the seas have lifted up their voice; the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea? the LORD on high is mighty. Psalms 93:3-4

Nobody can define God?s power. God has an infinite mind. We can?t define it. We don?t need an explanation from God.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields [fn] with fire. "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalms 46:1-10

According to the above verses, God wants us to be still. We need to stop asking questions and let God be God. Sometimes our lives become like a natural disasters, we need to stop and allow God to be God in our lives. As you see the pictures of the tsunami being so  powerful that it took whatever was in its way.  All of our material things could be gone in an instance. It showed how powerful our God is. It show us we have an infinite, all-knowing and all-powerful God.  How could you not see that? We can?t define him. Logic rules our lives more than faith. We walk more with sight than faith. God is going to be God no matter what. In the Book of Job, Job ask God?

Let us read?

"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. Job 42:3-4

In the Book of Job, Job was talking to God. It is okay to talk to God. When we do this it elevates our awareness of who He is. When we see whatever he does, it is hard to understand. We need to know that God is a God who understands us and cares. God doesn?t let our lives go chaotic all the time. We already know what happened in the past. But we don?t know what our future holds. We really don?t know but God knows. He knows the beginning to end. He understand and cares.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are?yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16

God knows all those things. He had experienced what we had gone through.  We can trust Him with our lives. Sometimes we get a glimpse of it but still not all of our future. God is in control of all our lives.  We don?t really know why it happened to Japan. We can?t fully understand what happened in Japan. It was powerful tsunami. It moved Japan 8 feet closer to the United States. Our God is all powerful. With all these things happening, God allowed his grace to shown upon the people of Hawaii.  Maybe we can?t ask ourselves this questions, what are we going to do with our time now? God is in control all the time. Where was God in this situation? He was with the elderly man in his apartment shivering. He was with the baby crying when she was reap away from her mother by the tsunami. He cares about us and the people of Japan.  Let us read the next verse?

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalms 73:25-26

In conclusion, our God is all knowing, all-powerful or omnipotence, omnipresent and infinite. He is in control of our lives. He is sovereign. We need to be still. We need to trust him amidst our storms of our lives. If not, we will miss his awesome power.

Discussion Suggestions:

1. If you had a chance to ask God a question, what would you ask?

2. What are characters of God reflected on what?s going on the lately on the news?

    Explain.

3. What does it mean that God is omnipotent or all powerful?

4. How are you going to live differently after we experience God?s grace?