God is Vast

Vast means of very great extent or quantity; immense. Other words include king-sized, mega, giant, massive, huge, extensive, mammoth, enormous, gigantic, colossal, stupendous, Herculean, titanic, humungous, monumental, astronomical, gargantuan, ginormous … Is there a bigger English word to describe God is vast?

With this attribute we are going to look at this vast God from the standpoint of His involvement in our every-day lives. Not outside our existence but how big and vast He is within our world of time and space. Many can believe that God is vast and big; but this may lead them to believe that He is too big to have time or to see what is going on in our small little lives. They can’t imagine that He can be big and near at the same time. But, in Is 57:15b, God says, “I live in a high and holy place but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit.” He is in both places, heaven and heart. He can be in multiple places at one time because He is God. He wants to be in our hearts because He is God and He cares for us.

We just don’t spend enough time considering how vast and big God is. We live such busy and self-focused lives that there is no time or maybe we feel there is no reason to think or consider about God. Probably the most common times we do consider Him is when we are out in nature. Job 37:14 says we should “stop and consider God’s wonders.”

[Gen 2:1] “The heavens and the earth were completed (by God) in all their vast array.” If you live in the city, its activity and bright lights cover up the real view of the sky. When you get a chance to look at a night sky where there are no city lights, you see how many stars fill the sky. This is the same with God, you cannot see how vast and beautiful He is if you are entrenched in the man-made things of this world. It is only when you surround yourself with God focused things that you begin to see how awesome He is.

To show the world His great and vast love, God sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came as a man and lived within our time, in our finite world, with human limitations. God was showing us that He may be big; but is willing live so close to us, come down to our level, that humans could actually touch Him, look into His eyes, and hear the sound of His voice. He visited people’s homes, touched the sick, and fed the multitudes. Jesus proved His own deity and that He had all the power of God through His vast miracles yet His attitude to us showed that He is not a lofty god demanding that we bow before Him. No, He is an intimate God seeking to come so close and speak words of instruction, encouragement, comfort and life. 

Those who have the Holy Spirit in their hearts have the third member of the holy Trinity living inside of them. You have this vast God on your side. I John 4:4 says, “You are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” Rom 8:31-32, says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

When God brought the Israelites to Canaan, they sent 12 spies. Ten came back and said, the land was filled with giants. They compared the giants to themselves and told the others in fear that they were no match to them. But, two compared the Canaan giants against the big, vast God they believed in and said, “If the Lord is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land…Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”  

How big is the God you believe in? If your belief is smaller than who God really is, then you are actually believing in some other god, you are not believing in the true God. How you view God is truly the most important thing about you and it effects how you live. Believe that God is bigger than your problems; then you can take a deep breath and relax, knowing He has your back or that He will provide all you need. You don’t have to strive or worry.  You can move forward with confidence.

Transcript

Vast means of very great extent or quantity; immense. Other words include very big, king-sized, mega, giant, massive, huge, extensive, mammoth, enormous, gigantic, colossal, stupendous, Herculean, titanic, humungous, monumental, mountainous, astronomical, gargantuan, ginormous … Is there a bigger English word? This is what we are trying to say when we say God is vast.

In our study, we have already discussed that God is infinite, transcendent, and eternal which already implies vast, big, and grand. But these are all literally incomprehensible attributes that we know about God that are true but outside of our limited and finite minds and time-encapsulated world. [Ps 145:3] Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom. Those are unfathomable attributes.

With this attribute we are going to look at this vast God from the standpoint of His involvement in our every-day lives. Not outside our existence but how big and vast He is within our world of time and space. Many can believe that God is vast and big; but this may lead them to believe that He is too big to have time or to see what is going on in our small little lives here on this planet earth. They can’t imagine that He can be big and near at the same time. But that is who God is. We must believe that this vast God loves us dearly, cares for us intimately, provides for us personally, and desires only the very best for us.

We will do this through the word, through creation, through Jesus Christ and in our hearts.

I.        How does God reveal Himself as Vast through the Word

Let me mention that I normally use the NIV bible but the actual word, vast, is mentioned more times in other versions so I will use both words when applicable.

 [I Kings 8:27] But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. 

It is a great mystery that a transcendent God could dwell on earth but scripture said He took up residence in the world first in the tabernacle as it says in Exodus, “the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting;” and then secondly, when the ark was brought to the temple that Solomon built, it said “the glory of the Lord filled the temple and priests couldn’t enter the Holy Place” because God was there. God was also on the mountain with Moses receiving the 10 commandments, and He walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. So, this big God comes to earth and is near to His people.

 God says in Is 57:15b, “I live in a high and holy place but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit.” God is saying here that He is in both places, heaven and heart. He can be in multiple places at one time because He is God. And He wants to be in our hearts because He is God and He cares for us.

 [Ps 150:2] Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing (vast) greatness.

God’s vast acts of power were demonstrated in great and small miracles and were very real for the people involved. God parted the Red Sea, rained down bread (manna) from heaven; the walls of the city of Jericho came crashing down, turned every cell in the body of Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt, opened up a donkey’s mouth to talk, gave a widow a bottomless jar of oil, gave a man extra strength due to his long hair, prevented men from being burned to death in a roaring fire, opened up the earth to swallow disobedient people, and revived a woman’s dead son. God’s miracles were not only vast in range and scope but also vast in quantity and we only know about the ones recorded in the bible.

There are many verses that state that God is the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of a vast heavenly host. [Ps 68:17] “The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into His sanctuary.” NIV commentary says, God’s great heavenly host, here likened to a vast chariot force. [Luke 2:13] Says that a vast heavenly army appeared with the angel to announce Jesus birth. [Matt 26:53] Jesus said He could call on His Father and He would at once put at His disposal more than 12 legions of angels. These verses convey how a great and a mighty protector our God is.  

To further show this, let’s consider [II Kings 6:16-17] the case of the prophet Elisha and his servant, who were surrounded by an entire Syrian army. The terrified servant asked Elisha what they should do. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O Lord open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” We are like the servant and cannot see these invisible forces all around us but they are there.

 We do not have to be afraid either. God’s heavenly army represents just a small part of the vast spiritual forces God has available to carry out His will and assist His people! This same kind of help is available to all of God’s children. It was not only for Jesus or the nation of Israel at large that God would send such aid. God often sends ministering angels for His people even today but we are often times just not aware of it. You can declare like David to the Philistine, [I Sam 17:45] “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the heavenly armies.”

 [Psalm 139:17-18] How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.” This chapter in Psalms speaks of how intimately God knows us. He knows our own thoughts and is familiar with all our ways. Only a big God could know us in this way. David found great comfort in knowing that God watches over him and that all of God’s thoughts about him were vast and good. 

 II.      How does God reveal Himself as Vast through Creation

We just don’t spend enough time considering how vast and big God is. We live such busy and self-focused lives that there is no time or maybe we feel there is no reason to think or consider about God. Probably the most common times we do consider Him is when we are out in nature. Job 37:14 says we should “stop and consider God’s wonders.”

I don’t know if you have ever been to the Grand Canyon in Arizona USA. Maybe you have only seen it in a picture and not in person. In the picture you have a limited view. But when you go and stand before the real thing, you realize that the picture didn’t even come close to showing the magnitude of the canyon. When you view yourself right next to just a section of it, it can take your breath away. Not even a panoramic photo can capture its vast array of beauty, strength, and expansiveness. I think we view God that way. We only have a picture view of God from what we have read or heard about Him. But once you have experienced God up close, do we actually get a truer idea of how great He really is. That is why I believe we need to take the time to consider Him and know Him personally in order to know Him correctly.

[Gen 2:1] “The heavens and the earth were completed (by God) in all their vast array.” If you live in the city, its activity and bright lights cover up the real view of the sky. When you get a chance to look at a night sky where there are no city lights, you see how many stars fill the sky twinkling as if to say, look at me. See how beautiful God made me. This is the same with God, you cannot see how vast and beautiful He is if you are entrenched in the man-made things of this world. It is only when you surround yourself with God focused things that you begin to see how awesome He is.

This vast God shows Himself in the big things of creation and the small things. [Luke 12:24] “Consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds? [Luke 12:27-28] Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will He clothe you.” You do not have to fear or worry because this big God has all the vast resources of creation to provide for all your needs. God says in Ps 50:10-11 that “every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.” If He is intimately acquainted and provides for earthly creatures, then He is intimately acquainted with you and your needs.

 III.    How does God reveal Himself as Vast through Jesus

To show the world His great and vast love, God sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. This statement from John 3:16 shows how our big God cares for us. Jesus came as a man and lived within our time, in our finite world, with human limitations. God was showing us that He may be big; but is willing live so close to us, come down to our level, that humans could actually touch Him, look into His eyes, and hear the sound of His voice. He visited people’s homes, touched the sick, and fed the multitudes. Jesus proved His own deity and that He had all the power of God through His vast miracles yet His attitude to us showed that He is not a lofty god demanding that we bow before Him. No, He is an intimate God seeking to come so close and speak words of instruction, encouragement, comfort and life. Jesus said, come unto Me all who are weary and I will give you rest. He was inviting, accepting, and forgiving. He said if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father who sent Me. So, you can see the very nature of God in Jesus Christ. God sent Jesus because He loved the world and gave us a way to salvation and eternal life through belief in Him.

Paul described the vastness of the blessings, riches, and glory of Jesus. In Rom 15:29, he said, “I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full (or the vast) measure of the blessing of Christ.” And in Col 1:27, “to whom God was pleased to make known (to His saints) what is the (vast) riches of the glory of this mystery…which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Oswald Chambers says, “We are apt to forget that a man is not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation; he is committed to Jesus Christ’s view of God, of the world, of sin and of the devil” and how we are to live our lives. If you want to know an exact definition of God, listen to how Jesus describes what this vast God wants for us in John 14:23, “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him.” First, Jesus is calling God Father with shows a more personal relationship as in a loving family. Second, Jesus says that He and the Father will make a home. This isn’t a description of a master and servant. It is as it says in the next chapter in John 15, Jesus no longer calls us servants; but he calls us friends. Jesus said both He and the Father would send another Counselor or Comforter. He wouldn’t leave them as orphans, but the Holy Spirit would come and guide them into all truth.  Jesus and God show us the position we have in His loving family.

 IV.   How does God reveal Himself as Vast in our Heart

Those who have the Holy Spirit in their hearts have the third member of the holy Trinity living inside of them. You have this vast God on your side and you never have to be afraid or discouraged. I John 4:4 says, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” When you come up against something evil or wrong or challenging, remember that you and God make a majority. Rom 8:31-32, says, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?”

When God brought the Israelites to the edge of Canaan, a land that He promised them, they sent out 12 spies to check out the land. Ten of the 12 said, the land was filled with giants. They compared the giants to themselves and told the others in fear that they were no match to them. They said, we “seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes.” But, two of the 12 lived by faith. They compared the Canaan giants against the big God they believed in, the true vast God. They said in Num 14:8-9, “If the Lord is pleased with us, He will lead us into that land…and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”  

It is worth considering how big is the God you believe in. If your belief is lower or smaller than who God really is, then you are actually believing in some other god, you are not believing in the true God of heaven and earth. How you view God is truly the most important thing about you and it effects how you live. Believe that God is bigger than your problems; then you can take a deep breath and relax, knowing He has your back or that He will provide all you need. You don’t have to strive or worry.  You can move forward with confidence.

[Heb 12:1] “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great (vast) cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” [Heb 10:35] So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly (vastly) rewarded.

Think bigger, believe bigger, proclaim with your mouth that a vast God is with you, in you, over you, before you, behind you, and all around you.

Living a Radical Life for Jesus means believing that God is Vast.