I'd like to start out today by having you consider a number. I thought of saying, "I'm thinking of a number between one and..." but I couldn't think of a number a lot bigger than this. But it is a very large number. If you're taking notes on a piece of paper, go ahead and write down the number 1 followed by 24 zeros. And I'll let you put the commas in there. But 1 followed by 24 zeros. It'll look...it won't sound like that, but it'll look something like this. All right. And as I considered this number, I thought, "Okay, we have..." What do we have? Hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, trillions, but there's a few more brackets of zeros even beyond that. This number is 1 septillion. If you can wrap your mind around what 1 septillion might be, believe it or not, it's, to me, an encouraging number. And I'll explain why to you here shortly.

Last several weeks have been a challenge for a number of individuals, I think we've all recognized that. If you've opened your email, you noticed you had many more emails from me than normal of health issues, of various challenges that people have gone through. Again, there's been health-related challenges. And I can't remember having ever sent out that many prayer requests in such a short period of time just with things happening in the lives of various people around the circuit. Additionally, some have experienced financial challenges, job-related challenges, challenges that we could all, you know, consider that happened to us in this life. There was challenge of fire on a couple of circumstances where one family lost their home, another home and property is threatened by fire.

So these are things that are real and ongoing around us at this time. Additionally, the world as a whole is challenged on a number of fronts as well. And, you know, just turn on the news and see what's going on at any point in time, it's rather dramatic. And those challenges have a tendency to spill into our lives as well, and the effects of those challenges. So there's a lot going on. And in the face of challenges, we can almost become let down, shall we say. We can almost become anxious, disconcerted. These challenges can cause us to fret, maybe become overwhelmed, not exactly sure how to respond because sometimes you turn this way, here's a challenge, you turn that way, here's a challenge following close on its own heels. And quite frankly, many of these are weighty matters. Many of what people have gone through, many of the prayer requests we've sent out in recent times are weighty matters.

And again, becoming anxious over these things, I would say, is honestly a natural human result. And I tend to be a worrier personally at times myself. But in Philippians 4:6 the Apostle Paul instructs us to “be anxious for nothing.” And I think, you know, that could be an easy thing to say, right? I mean, Paul, just be anxious for nothing. What does he know? But again, the epistles that we find, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, these are prison epistles, Paul's writing to the churches under arrest, under Roman guard, and he had plenty to be anxious about.

Philippians 4:6 And he said, "Be anxious for nothing." But he said, "But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God." Again, that's Philippians 4:6. And that can be easier said than done.

You know, be anxious for nothing, it's easy to say that, but on the other end, it's more challenging to actually allow it to be the reality in your life. It's challenging to let go of excessive worry. But here Paul gives us the solution. You know, what is the solution to this anxiousness? He describes the solution as turning these things over to God. Right? As giving them over to God in prayer. And I appreciated the focus of Mr. Oliver's sermonette, he said something along the lines of, you know, "There's things we can control and there's things that are outside of our control." And I would say a lot of times our anxieties come from things maybe that are outside of our control and our ability to control them, but they're not outside of God's. And so it's, take those things and bring them before God, trusting Him, knowing God's ability to work things out for good is within His power, especially as we face these challenges in our lives.

We, obviously, have our part to do, but again, the confidence, the assurance, the letting go of the anxious care comes by trusting in God that I've given this to Him. I will do my part, but God will do His part for working out His purpose for my life. And He works it out for good in the end. This is where I'm encouraged by the number again, right? One septillion. One followed by 24 zeros. That's a big number. And it's really hard to maybe even comprehend or to wrap your mind around that number. But for me, it represents one example of God's ability to handle whatever care of mine that I may turn over to Him. It represents His ability to just take this and work it out in the way He knows best.

It assures me that this solution, whether it is immediate or whether it's in the long-term perspective of my eternal salvation will be worked out by God according to what He knows is best and according to His perfect will. One septillion is the estimated number of stars contained in the observable universe. Of course, the observable universe is constantly expanding, right, as they build better telescopes and they can observe more. But there's dimmer stars that become seen under telescopes that can see more defined ways. But again, it's a number that reveals something that is, for me, hard to wrap my mind around. But it is something that they recognize is...that number, it's a drop in the bucket probably to what is truly out there, but it is vast. Again, our ability to wrap our mind around those things.

I mentioned in my sermon about the Boundary Waters that I could look up through the opening in the tent at night and just see stars because we're out away from any city, any pollution. And one night actually about 2:00 in the morning, I got out, I unzipped my tent and went out, looked up into the sky, and just stars everywhere. And the longer I looked, you know, your eyes adjust, and then there's more stars beyond the stars, but it is just a drop in the bucket. And again, to consider what's out there is absolutely incredible. What I could see is a drop in the bucket compared to what God has created and does indeed exist.

So again, that was nothing in terms of numbers compared to 1 with 24 zeros following it, and I can't even really wrap my mind around 1 septillion other than to say it is a trillion-trillion. Right? We maybe can grasp a trillion because, you know, national debt, $28-plus trillion. That's still hard to wrap your mind around, but at least we've had a little experience with that number. But a septillion is a trillion times a trillion.

Psalm 147:4 states that, "God counts the number of the stars." You know, He knows exactly how many there are at any given time. He knows how many are gone into supernova. God counts the numbers of the stars. And it says, "He calls them all by name." Right? So each has a name. He knows how many they are, where they are, what their name is because, you see, He gave them their names in the beginning. God is the creator of these things. He's the creator of the stars as well as the planets that are associated with the stars, which is another incredible number that I think would be mind-blowing if we truly knew what the real number is.

But again, this is all brought into being by our creator, God, and it's all held together by the power of His will. That's the God we worship. And that's just something we can barely glimpse on the physical realm and the physical scale, and yet, to me, it is mind-boggling. King David said,

Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork." The Psalm 19:1, "The heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament shows His handiwork." So when we look up into the night sky, we should be awestruck, as we consider who God is, what He has done, and the vastness of His creation that came into being by His awesome power. And it should cause us to pause and just consider the greatness of a God that we worship. And I would say, again, that incredible scope shows for us God's ability to accomplish anything that He would purpose to do.

For God, that's probably nothing, right? It's something as physical beings we look at because it's far beyond our ability to even do. But I'm trying to bring this message again from the perspective of when we have challenges and trials, who is the God that we're handing these things over to, and why can we allow comfort, then, to be a part of our life knowing they're in His hands? Well, because He is the God of all power, and He can accomplish whatever He purposes to do.

I've mentioned before a YouTube video that I've enjoyed watching, and it starts out with a human being on Earth, and it zooms out farther into outer space. And as you back out farther, the Planet Earth is getting smaller, and then you go by the other planets. And then, you know, the solar system gets smaller, the Milky Way galaxy gets smaller. And then pretty soon, it's like, here's all these galaxies in this area that gets smaller. It's now just a pinpoint of light among all these other lights. And that gets smaller. And it's just out and out and out. And your mind could hardly wrap your mind around the expanse of the universe and the intricacy of that.

But then the video zooms back in, back down to the human level, and then into the human body and down to the cellular level. And then you get down inside the cell. And it's like the universe that opens up there on the microscopic level is just as incredible. And it's all purposed by God and designed by Him. And again, held together by the power of His will. And it's awe-inspiring to consider.

According to medicalnewstoday.com, the average human male body contains approximately 30 to 40 trillion cells, all working their purpose together for the overall function of the body. You know, 30 trillion to 40 trillion. We hear these numbers get thrown around, it's hard to really wrap our mind around them. But again, what is going on within each singular cell, multiply it by 30 trillion, 40 trillion and that's what's happening in one person's body. And God has ordered these things according to His purpose.

So these are just a couple of examples of the majesty and the supremacy of the God that we worship as our creator. And so for the sermon today, I want to then consider in light of these things the scope of God's supremacy and majesty as it has been directed towards us because there's a focus to all of this. There's a focus to the power of God, because, brethren, as we struggle with our own trials and difficulties in the flesh, we should never take our eyes off the fact that the Supreme Being of the universe has His arms wrapped thoroughly around everything.

There's nothing that slips through the cracks or misses His attention. Okay? There's nothing beyond His ability. There's nothing that happens outside of His knowledge and His ability to control. And again, as we consider these things, it should give us comfort as we turn our anxieties over to God. The title of the message is, "Take comfort in the majesty of God." Take comfort in the majesty of God. And the more we understand who and what God is and what He is doing in our lives, what He’s purposed for us, the more we will be ready to cast our cares upon Him because He cares for you.

God's majesty and unconditional supremacy is made plain all throughout the pages of the Bible, right? From Genesis at the creation to Revelation in terms of what God will establish when His kingdom comes. And He fills all in all. All right? So the blessing of what God is and who He is and what He can accomplish is all throughout the Bible record. The Prophet Isaiah recorded an awesome characteristic of God that is, again, to me, mind-blowing. I can't wrap my mind around really what it means. Isaiah 57:15, let's turn there. Sometimes the Bible just states something in a very quick and passing phrase and yet the implications are incredible.

Isaiah 57:15 says, "For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy." He says, "I dwell in the high and holy place with Him who has a contrite and humble spirit. I revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

So here God says, "I dwell in the high and holy place." But if we back up, He's described as “one who inhabits eternity.” And what does that mean exactly, one who inhabits eternity? That is the God we worship. And it's another concept that's difficult for our physical minds because our physical experience is what we see around us. But God who inhabits eternity, He and Jesus Christ, the Word who became Christ, they have always existed. And it's like, can you explain that? And how would you explain that? Because again, everything in our experience says, all right, everything had a beginning. Each person, each animal, each life form was… Right? We were born or there was a creator or something brought something else into existence, but God the Father and Jesus Christ, divine spirit beings, no one created them. They were present before the beginning of all creation. They are eternal. And it says, "God inhabits eternity." Again, what does that mean?

Well, in part, again, by limited, very limited understanding, to inhabit eternity means that God's not bound by time and space as we are. He's not limited by the physical laws and the various dimensions that govern our created world. God has a plan and purpose for us and God interacts with His creation but He is not bound by His creation. You know, God's not bound by the physical time and space and the mechanics that you and I are bound by. And it's incredible as we consider these things.

Another attribute of the majestic God we worship is His omnipresence, His omnipresence. It means God is everywhere. His omnipresence. Again, it's a divine trait that's not limited by the physical realm, and for us as human beings, that can be a very hard thing to wrap our mind around. But God is omnipresent.

Let's notice what God says in the book of Jeremiah. Here He is pronouncing judgment on false prophets here in Judah. But we see very clearly this attribute of who and what He is, His omnipresence. Jeremiah 23:23. There's so many things contained in the prophets that we can just easily read over very quickly. And sometimes it's good to slow down and stop and just grab the magnitude of what's being said.

Jeremiah 23:23-24 says, "'Am I a God near at hand,' says the Lord, 'and not a God far off?' He says, 'Can anyone hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him?' says the Lord. 'Do I not fill heaven and earth?' says the Lord."

There's nowhere that a person can go that is outside of God's presence. You know, I'll run away here and He's not there. Seems like Jonah tried something like that. It didn't really work so well for him. God is everywhere. He inhabits heaven and earth, and that should give us comfort knowing He sees all. He knows all. He can readily interact with all, and nothing escapes His attention. And King David understood this concept very well. David had a very close and personal relationship with His creator. Psalm 139:7, David expresses this concept of God's presence, all around, always there, always active.

Psalm 139:7-12 King David, he says, "Where can I go from Your spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?" He says, "If I ascended into heaven, You are there. If I made my bed in hell, in Hades, the grave,”—As it is here—“if I went and made my bed in the grave," excuse me, "Sheol," he says, "You're there." You're there. "If I take the wings of the morning and the dew of the uttermost parts of the sea, even Your hand shall lead me and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say surely the darkness shall fall on me, even the night shall be light about me. Indeed the darkness shall not hide from You." It says, "But the night shines as the day, the darkness and the light are both alike to You."

So here we have David. He is commenting on the amazing fact that there's nowhere he can go to be out from God's attention, God's presence, God's watchful care because He is everywhere by His spirit. No way to be hidden from His sight.

No way to, in some ways, be overlooked. Like God says, "Okay, there's 7-plus billion people on the Earth and I just, I didn't notice that one. They got lost in the crowd," that doesn't happen with God. God can see and reach us everywhere and anytime. And it's an incredible blessing to consider. Again, as we're bringing to Him the things that are on our mind and the things that we're struggling with, to know that God knows, and God is there. And it's a very encouraging thing to consider. It's a blessing as well because it gives us assurance that nothing can separate us from God. He's there all throughout our lives. And even in matters such as death, even the grave can't hide us from God's purpose, which He will accomplish. David said, you know, "I could go and essentially make my bed in the grave and it won't separate me from you God and what you will fulfill in my life." And it's a very encouraging concept.

Additionally, the God we worship is omniscient. The God we worship is omniscient. It means he is all-knowing and all-wise. We're still on Psalm 139. Let's go back to verse 1.

Psalm 139:1-6 David says, "Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me." He says, "You know my sitting down and my rising up. You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down. And You're acquainted with all my ways." He says, "For there is not a word on my tongue but behold, oh Lord, You know it altogether." He says, "You have hedged me behind and before. You have laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high, I cannot attain it." And then he goes into, "Where can I go from Your presence?"

And it's a very beautiful, just, demonstration for us, brethren, that God is there and He knows. And the one that has the most intimate knowledge of you and me is not another person, it is God. And it's actually safe to say as well that God knows us better than we know ourselves. Because we're told the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it. We will hide ourselves even from ourselves. But we're not hidden from God. God can see who and what we are clearly. And I hope that is actually very encouraging to us.

It says, "He knows our sitting down and our risings up each day." And again, knowing that God knows and that nothing escapes His attention is incredibly encouraging. Sometimes if I can't even really find the words, I'll say, "God, you know." Sometimes in prayer when I'm anointing someone, "We don't know what the problem is. There's this symptom, here's this issue, they have to go in and perhaps have a procedure done. We don't know what the problem is. God, You know, because You're the creator, and You have perfect understanding." And He's the one that gives us life and sustains our life. So the blessing again is in knowing that God knows. He knows intimately.

Luke 12:6, Jesus here is expressing again this same concept of the attention of God and the intimate understanding of God in our lives.

Luke 12:6 he says, "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins, and not one of them is forgotten before God." So you want to go to the vastness of space and say God knows every star by name. He counts every star. He knows what's happening within the gravitational forces of every part of the universe. And He knows what happens to these two sparrows...five sparrows sold for two copper coins. He knows when anything happens that takes place in His creation. It's not an oversight. It's not something that escapes His attention. He says, "Not one of them is forgotten before God."

Luke 12:7 "But the very hairs of your heads are all numbered, do not fear, therefore you are of more value than many sparrows." So God not only knows everything that takes place in the universe in detail, but He knows what takes place in our life from moment to moment. You know, He knows our triumphs. He knows our struggles, our worries, our concerns. God's not a far away, far off uninvolved, you know, hands-off God. He is intimate with our lives. God sees our circumstances and He is the one with power.

So again, I go back to the concept that was brought up during the sermonette that there's things that are in our control and we need to do what we can do well on the things in our control. But there are things that are outside our control. And those things can tend to bring anxiety. They're not outside of God's control.

And that leads me to the next point regarding God's majesty. We worship a God that is omnipotent. We worship a God that is omnipotent, all-powerful. All-powerful. There isn't anything that God determines to do that He cannot do. Like, "Well, I kind of wish I could do this, I just don't have the energy today, I don't have the power." Whatever He purposes, that He does.

Speaking of God, Job stated, "I know that you can do everything." Right? The sort of an all-encompassing statement. Everything. There isn't anything apart from what you can do. And he says in that, "No purpose of Yours can be withheld from You."

Job 42:2 "I know that You can do everything and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You." So whatever God determines He will do, He has the power to bring it to pass and He will do it. It's an acknowledgment of the might and the power that He has to fulfill His will, His will. Prophet Jeremiah declared much the same thing in Jeremiah 32:17.

Jeremiah 32:17 He says, "Oh, Lord God, behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power, by Your outstretched arm. And there is nothing too hard for You."

And nothing beyond the scope of God's ability to handle it if it's within His purpose and His will to do so. "There is nothing too hard for You." As a divine spirit, being God is all-powerful. Right? He said, "Let there be light," and there was light. Now, for us, we can't. You know, maybe we can strike a match, you know. "Do you have a light?" Maybe that's the best we can do as physical human beings. God brought light from darkness and there was. He has the power over life and death. He has the power to fulfill His purpose no matter the obstacle because God is above all gods, small G. God is the king above all kings. God is the authority above all authorities. He is the magnificent creator, God. And there is nothing too difficult for Him.

And so the purpose again of this message is to consider the awesome scope of His majesty but not just for any purpose, it is the scope of His majesty now as He has directed it towards us. As He brings His awesome abilities and bear, and bear towards the purpose of our salvation because these are attributes of His divine nature. They're not attributes of our limited physical abilities. So we give what we cannot handle over to God. We also pray about the things we can handle. But the understanding of the scope of His might gives us comfort in knowing that the God we worship can handle all things.

God's bringing His divine family to birth. Right? That is His purpose. That is why we can look up in the sky and see the bodies we see in the heavens. It's why we can look around the Planet Earth and the creation around us, it is put together for a purpose, and it is the purpose that God has willed to fulfill to bring many sons to glory.

Jesus says, "My Father has been working and I have been working," and They continue to work, and it's the purpose of bringing many sons to glory in their family. And we can be confident that no obstacle, no challenge, no trial will stand in the way of God accomplishing His purpose in this way. So again, as we step back with our struggles and the things that we think, you know, this is beyond my control, and the anxiety and the worry starts to build, consider the fact that you are a part of the plan and purpose of God, and He will fulfill what He has purposed in your life. He has the power to do it. He has the knowledge to do it. And He is present there in your life doing so. As long as we remain faithful to Him, what He has determined to fulfill will be fulfilled.

I began rolling this sermon around in my mind earlier this week. I was actually at a time that I was performing a funeral. And we were up at the graveside service for Debbie Small's brother, Doug, this week, upon the top of a hill in Colfax. In the middle of a cemetery, there was a plot of ground that had been purchased by a member of her family generations back. And there were multiple family members buried on this piece of ground. And to me, it was incredible to walk around and look, just a very, honestly, special place for the family. All right?

But again, going back to the 1800s, there were people that lived in the mid-1800s that are there. And yet this concept came to mind as I am performing this service because as I stood there expressing to the family the hope of the resurrection... Doug died in the faith. Debbie's in the faith. David is in the faith. But the extended family is there and I'm expressing to them what the faith Doug held is. I said, "This is not the end. Right? This is not the end. God has a plan. And He has a purpose for our existence. And nothing, not even the grave is an obstacle to God fulfilling what He purposes to fulfill in our life." And that's very encouraging. That's very uplifting, really, to consider.

The reality is that we should all have comfort in the knowledge that as those who have received the calling of God and follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, this is His focus to us all. And, you know, He knows the numbers of our hairs on our head, not a sparrow falls without Him knowing. Nothing happens in our life without God's intimate knowledge. That's a blessing, to know He is on our side, and His purpose will be accomplished. Indeed God has brought His eternal majesty and power to bear for the purpose of our salvation. Again, that's the purpose for the physical creation. It's the purpose for the life you and I have today. And it has been God's focus from eternity to accomplish what He is accomplishing here and now in you and in me.

So when we have challenge and we bring those things to Him, don't imagine they're not important. Don't imagine that God does not know, does not care. These things are the focus of what God is doing in our life. And that should be a comfort.

Human beings are not an afterthought in God's purpose, right? He didn't create the universe as an experiment and then create different life forms and just say, "Well, let's decide what we're going to do with these humans. I have an idea." No. This was purposed before time began. Notice were Apostle Paul's words in this regard.

2 Timothy 1:8-9 Paul says, "Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God." Verse 9 he says, "Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works," notice, "but according to His own purpose." Okay, God has a purpose He is working out, and we are called according to that purpose “And grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” And so the Bible reveals that not only has God always existed from eternity, but He Himself has made the plans that He has purposed towards us from eternity. Okay. God has made these plans from eternity. Time is a relative thing to the physical universe, but God determined His purpose for us prior to the creation of the septillion multiplied by, what, septillion or more stars. Before that was created, before the planet earth was created, God had a plan and a purpose before time began. And time is a matter of the physical universe.

1 Peter 1:20 states that "Jesus Christ was ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifested in these last times for you." So again, God knew before the foundation of the world that He would be bringing a family into existence. He knew we would need a Savior and a sacrifice. And this was purposed before anything that we see around us even existed. This is what God has purposed. The prophet said, "There's nothing too hard for You. Nothing that You purpose to do would be withheld. 'Nothing that I purpose to do,' God said, 'would be withheld.'" And He has this purpose He's fulfilling in us. Ultimately, our ability to inhabit eternity as God does was planned long before the physical creation.

Titus 1:2, again, Paul's words. He had a depth of understanding in this. Titus 1:2, breaking into the middle of his introduction, it says,

Titus 1:2 "In hope of eternal life, which God who cannot lie, promised before time began." Right? So God promised eternal life for His children before time began, before we even came into existence. God says, "This is My purpose and I will fulfill it. And I will have my family." And He brought everything into creation to set into motion the fulfillment of His purpose.

The God we worship has declared the end from the beginning. He has both the will and the power to bring it to pass. And it will come to pass. And maybe it seems like I'm weaving two threads or two messages together, but I'm trying to blend the concept of no matter what we are facing as a challenge in this life, God, the all-powerful God of the universe has put His eternal power and focus and abilities and brought them to bear in our life to fulfill a purpose for us. All He has done to bring a family into being, don't imagine that these things escape His attention or His desire to work out for the good.

The Bible shows that God created the angels for the purpose of our success as well. So we're looking at before time began, what God purposed to do, and now the groundwork that was laid as well even before the physical creation. Hebrews 1:13, speaking of the angels. Going to break into a prophecy pointing towards Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 1:13-14 "To which of the angels has He ever said sit on my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool?" We know He never said that to an angel, right? He said that to His son, Jesus Christ, the one that existed from eternity with Him. Verse 14, "Are they," the angels, "not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation."

So before God created the physical realm, He created the angels. And we see that one of the primary responsibilities of the angels is to serve those who will inherit salvation, right? To serve mankind, to serve the people of God, to help them, and to intervene according to God's direction in various ways, to minister to and to bring along the heirs of salvation for the fulfillment of the purpose of God. We find all this planning and focus in advance on the part of God and Christ for our benefit. All this power, all this knowledge, all this ability brought to bear for the purpose of us. And who and what God...and who God is bringing into His family. God then brought the physical creation into existence as well, following the angels for the purpose of our salvation. Isaiah 45:18. This is not as random as some would like to make it appear.

Isaiah 45:18-22 "For thus says the Lord who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain." It's an important phrase. Okay? "God did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited." He says, "I am the Lord. And there is no other. I have not spoken in secret or in a dark place of the earth. I did not say to the seed of Jacob, 'Seek Me in vain.'" Right? You gave a purpose for those that would seek Him. "I, the Lord, speak righteousness." He says, "I declare things that are right." Verse 20, "Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together you who have escaped from the nations." In our case, we would say, "You who have come out of the world." Right? "Draw yourselves together." He says, "They have no knowledge," speaking of the nations, "who carry the wood of their carved image and pray to a God that cannot save." He says, "Tell and bring forth your case. Yes, let them take counsel together who has declared this from ancient time. Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord, and there is no other God besides Me. A just God and a Savior. There is none besides Me." And in light of that, Verse 22, He says, "Look to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other."

Verse 18 declared that God did not create this earth in vain. He created it to be inhabited. And he created it to be inhabited because He has a purpose, and a future, and a hope that He's laid before us all. God brought the physical creation into existence so that we could live these physical lives and have the opportunity to develop an intimate relationship with Him, and to be reconciled to Him for the purpose of salvation. This is the focus of God, it's the work that He is doing, it's the purpose of our existence and our efforts today.

Additionally, Jesus Christ, who was the Word, became flesh for the purpose of our salvation. Right?

John 3:16 "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." It is God's love that is a driving force. Genesis to Revelation is a love story. I don't know if you've ever thought about it that way, but it is a love story. The driving force behind all that God does is out of love. His plan and purpose for us is out of love. His actions toward us is motivated by love. And our very existence and relationship with Him, again, is a love story. God so loved the world, because this was the gem and it is the gem.

And it is the focus of what He is doing to build His family. And because it is the love of God that is the basis for all of this, it cannot fail. It can't fail. When God has a purpose to accomplish, He will accomplish. And nothing is too hard for Him. Jesus Christ said, "My Father is greater than all and none is able to snatch out of His hand." And I hope that concept is a comfort. None can snatch out of God's hand what He has purposed and what He is doing. We can remove ourselves from that scope but none can take from His hand. That is God's focus towards us.

The Apostle Paul also wrote, "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." That is a guarantee that God finishes what He starts. And as Mr. Oliver said, "You don't start anything without intending to finish." We run this course in this race, we start it intending to finish. God who is all-powerful will finish what He has begun.

Brethren, we worship a creator, God of incontestable power and majesty, whose goal it is, is to accomplish in us what He has purposed not from the beginning, go back from that, right, before time began. This has been God's purpose and His focus. He is all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful, and he has directed those attributes of His divine nature towards the success of our calling and fulfilling in us that which He has purposed. As we face ancient scares in this life, take comfort in the majesty of God. It is a comfort. Again, things we can control, control. Work diligently through those things. Put your best effort at it with God's help. But the things that are beyond our control, turn them over to the one who has all control, who has all power. Trust in Him. Count on Him to work out all things for the good in the end.

And if you ever doubt God's ability to handle your challenges, just take a look up into the night sky and start counting, right? And my guess is you'll lose your place. You'll lose track, right? "Did I count that one?" It's a mass of brilliance on a dark night, and it is a drop in the bucket compared to what's out there. We should be awe-inspired by the glory and the magnitude of the power of God. And remember, brethren, that the same God who created more than 1 septillion stars, times, whatever number we could possibly imagine, He also holds your life in His hands. And He is the same God who has assured us, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."