November 30, 2025 • 44 mins
"He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts."
In this episode, Kate returns to Luke 1:51 and Mary’s bold praise to explore three big truths most of us know about—but often forget to live from: God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. After a frightening moment in her own neighborhood stirred old fears, Kate invites listeners into the steadying reality that God isn’t just “all-powerful, all-knowing, and always present” in theory—He is those things for you, right now, in the nighttime fear, the overwhelming decisions, and in the quiet places where loneliness whispers.
With gentle clarity and Scripture-rich teaching, Kate unpacks what each “omni” really means and how believing them in real time reshapes our days—from how we pray, to how we make decisions, to how we walk through grief and uncertainty. Mary’s posture can sometimes contrast ours: pride shrinks God down to our understanding; humility lets God be God and brings us rest.
If you’ve been anxious, weary, or carrying life on your own shoulders, this episode will help you trade panic for practiced faith—and actually experience the strength, wisdom, and nearness of the God you study.
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Episode Transcript
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Kate (00:00):
Hey guys, this is Kate from Abidible.com, and you're
listening to the AbidiblePodcast.
I'm just a regular wife and momwho's had my life transformed
by learning to study the Bibleon my own.
If I can, you can.
On this show, I help you knowand love God more by abiding in
Him through His Word yourself.
(00:21):
My neighbor hung himself thispast week.
I won't get into the details ofthe story because it's tragic
beyond words, but please bepraying for his family.
On a personal level, it reallyaffected me in not a good way.
(00:45):
I was shaking with fear.
It brought me back to the firsttime I'd experienced death as a
third grader.
In a short period of time, mygrandfather died, as well as our
family dog in a tragicaccident.
I distinctly remember beingterrified of the dark after
this.
In fact, until now I'd sort offorgotten this memory, but I
(01:09):
would walk through rooms and upthe stairs with my back along
the wall.
Going up the stairs, I was soscared of the front door and the
windows beside it at night thatI'd often have to have my
parents follow me up the stairsso I'd feel safe.
This eventually passed withtime, but the feeling I had when
I heard about my neighbor wassimilar.
(01:31):
I was terrified.
I texted some friends and askedthem to be praying for the
family and for our own home.
We haven't told my son aboutwhat happened for now because I
didn't want him to carry that.
And one of my friends textedback.
She said, just a reminder, justin case, don't let the enemy
convince you that you are insome sort of danger or evil
(01:54):
because of this.
Yes, it happened right nextdoor, but you and your household
are under the protection ofJesus.
Declare your covering.
The enemy doesn't get toconvince you of things that
aren't true.
And then she sent me somescripture reminding me of the
strength and protection andshelter that I have because of
(02:15):
the Lord.
It really helped.
I didn't have that as a kidbecause we weren't walking with
Jesus yet as a family.
And all of this has me thinkingas we continue here in our
study of Mary's song in Luke 1,46 to 55, that knowing God
should change everything abouthow we see and respond to real
(02:37):
life situations on a dailybasis.
But as I saw, it's not enoughto know about him in a detached,
cold, or formulaic way.
We have to know him personallyin a way that meets us every
single day.
He has shown strength with hisarm.
He has scattered the proud inthe thoughts of their hearts.
(03:01):
Today, as we look at that, ournew verse from Luke 1.51, I want
to focus on three traits ofGod: His omnipotence, his
omniscience, and hisomnipresence.
These big omniwords areprobably terms that most of us
have heard, but if we're honest,probably have a little
(03:21):
difficulty explaining.
And certainly, just like methis past week, there are also
these traits of God that weforget about in the moments when
we need to remember them most.
Thank God for sisters in Christwho can point you back to his
word.
We need to know and believethese things to survive this
world, friend.
(03:42):
Because as you've heard me sayso many times before, things are
broken here.
What would change in your lifeif you really believed and
walked out these three aspectsof God's nature omnipotence,
omniscience, and omnipresence.
Real quick, if you're a big fanof the Abidible Podcast, check
(04:04):
out the link in the showdescription to learn more about
partnering with us by buying usa coffee.
So you've heard this before.
You better watch out, youbetter not cry, you better not
pout, I'm telling you why.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
Gather round.
He's making a list and checkingit twice.
(04:25):
He's gonna find out who'snaughty and nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
And then what does the songsay?
He sees you when you'resleeping.
He knows when you're awake.
He knows if you've been bad orgood, so be good for goodness'
sake.
Yep, the big fat man with thelong white beard, the one who
(04:50):
sees all, knows all, and has thepower to determine your
Christmas morning fate, he'scoming to town.
Interesting, right?
We learn that song as kids.
We grow up and sing it out loudwith our kids.
We watched Home Alone 2 lastnight.
At the end, the family wakes upin the Plaza Hotel on Christmas
(05:11):
morning and Kevin warns Fullerto not get too excited because
Santa doesn't visit hotels.
Without missing a beat, Fullerreplies, Are you nuts?
He's omnipresent.
He goes everywhere.
Why is it so easy for people totell kids that Santa knows and
sees and goes everywhere?
But so hard to confidentlyascribe those qualities to God.
(05:36):
Is it because Santa is all ingood fun and one day the kids
will grow up and find out thatSanta was just a myth?
Because common sense and logicand science tell us that no one
can be truly omnipotent,omniscient, and omnipresent?
Probably, right?
That's also probably why God isso often placed in the same
(05:57):
category as Santa in the EasterBunny and the Tooth Fairy.
He's just a myth people make upto comfort themselves and to
help them feel better about theworld around them.
Mary talks to us today aboutthe strength of God as well as
the justice of God.
He's demonstrated that strengthwith his arm, and he brings
justice by scattering the proudof heart.
(06:20):
God wasn't a myth or a fairytale to Mary, and he shouldn't
be to us either.
He has given us evidence ofthese attributes that we can
build our lives on.
But to get there, I think weneed to first define these terms
and then back them up withevidence that we have in
Scripture.
(06:40):
And then, second, I think weneed to address the nature of
our proud human hearts, thenature that causes us to
disbelieve that God really iseach of these omnis.
My hope is that the Holy Spiritwill clarify and highlight
these aspects of who God is forus today.
And then I'd like us to agreetogether in our request that
(07:02):
He'd enable us to walk by faithwith unshakable confidence.
Your God is omnipotent,omniscient, and omnipresent.
And if your heart is open tothe information and evidence
today, I think it will transformhow you face everything every
day.
Though what happened with myneighbor this past week was
(07:26):
tragic and evil and so heavy, Ihad every reason to stand firm
by faith without fear.
My God, even in tragedies Idon't understand, is omnipotent,
omniscient, and omnipresent.
When I forgot that for amoment, I was trembling with
fear and panic, completelyunsettled and afraid in my own
(07:50):
home.
I told you that story to remindyou that you can love Jesus
like I do.
You can abide in his word andyou can still forget sometimes,
still have a moment of panic.
Our flesh is stubborn, butGod's grace is greater.
And by that grace, he istransforming us day by day.
(08:10):
So the hope, dear friends, isthat we will be quicker to
remember, faster to stand firmby faith, and ready to rest in
the immeasurable comfortavailable to those who know and
choose to believe.
Let me say that again, andchoose to believe that God is
(08:33):
omnipotent, omniscient, andomnipresent.
It would help tremendously ifwe first define these terms and
support them with scripture.
We had a great manycross-references for Luke 1.51.
There is no better source thanGod's word to tell us who He is.
We go to the source because itis trustworthy and true.
(08:57):
Our feelings are not, andneither are the things the world
has to say about who God is.
So, what does it mean that Godis omnipotent, omniscient, and
omnipresent?
I had help with thisinformation from a Gospel
Coalition article by John M.
Frame.
I'm going to link the articlefor you in this episode's
(09:19):
description because Framereferences just shy of 70 Bible
verses or passages to supporthis argument.
I'll share the ideas of thoseverses in a moment here, but I
can't possibly cite them all foryou, so it'll be in the
description.
We'll begin with shortdefinitions of these big omni
words.
The prefix omni means all.
(09:42):
So omnipotence meansall-powerful.
Omniscience means all-knowing,and omnipresent means all
present or everywhere present.
Frame says each of theseinvolves the other two, and each
provides a perspective of theall-embracing lordship of the
(10:04):
true God.
When it comes to the mosthelpful definition of God's
omnipotence, frame says God hascomplete control over
everything, the big things andthe small things.
In scripture, we see that God'somnipotence means that he has
the absolute ability toaccomplish everything he
(10:28):
intends.
Nothing can stop his purposes.
When he speaks, creationresponds.
Even human sin, thoughgenuinely disobedient, still
falls, this is mind-blowing,somehow under his sovereign
control and is ultimately woveninto his good plan.
(10:50):
This doesn't mean God can doanything in the careless sense.
He cannot lie, act wickedly,contradict himself, or do
anything out of step with hisperfect nature.
His power is never a rational,immoral, or absurd.
(11:10):
A clearer way to speak abouthis omnipotence is that he
exercises total andcomprehensive rule over
everything.
Again, the smallest details andthe biggest moments.
Every seemingly random outcome,every rise and fall of nations,
every decision of rulers, andeven the events surrounding
(11:34):
Jesus' crucifixion unfold underhis authority.
God's power extends to thestory of every individual life,
our formation, our daily paths,and even the inner workings of
our hearts.
And most beautifully, his poweris what saves us, opening our
(11:55):
hearts to believe and giving usnew life in Christ.
His rule truly covers allthings at all times for his
glory and our good.
How about God's omniscience?
Remember, we said that thismeans God is all knowing.
Scripture shows us that God'spower is never blind or aimless.
(12:19):
His works flow from completeand perfect knowledge.
He knows everything, his ownpurposes, the whole created
world, every event in history,and every detail about our
lives.
Scripture consistentlydescribes his knowledge as
(12:40):
limitless and exact, evenregarding things that have not
yet happened.
Passages that seem to show Godlearning something are not
describing ignorance, butportraying him gathering
evidence as the righteous judge.
Because God himself is thestandard of truth, he can never
(13:01):
be mistaken.
This all-knowing God sees everypart of our lives, our actions,
our thoughts, our hiddenplaces, and our future days.
While this is terrifying forthose who reject him, it is a
source of comfort and awe forhis people.
His intimate knowledge of us ismeant to lead us to repentance,
(13:25):
trust, and worship.
Finally, God is omnipresent.
He is everywhere present.
In scripture, we see that Godis present everywhere.
Not because he has a physicalbody that fills every space, but
because his power and knowledgeextend to every corner of
(13:48):
creation and every moment oftime.
Since nothing happens outsidehis rule or his understanding,
he is never absent.
He is present in every placeand throughout all time, and his
presence is not distant orabstract.
Throughout Scripture, God makeshimself known among his people.
(14:09):
Most profoundly, he came nearto us in Jesus Christ, who lived
among us, died, and rose again.
For God's people, his presenceis a promise of mercy and help.
I will be with you.
This is the heart of hiscovenant love.
He is our God and we are hispeople.
(14:33):
Jesus Himself is calledEmmanuel God with us.
He just wants to be with us.
God is also present with thosewho reject him, but that
presence means judgment ratherthan comfort.
Still, whether for salvation orjustice, God is truly present
(14:55):
everywhere, working out hispurposes.
In summary, Frame saysomnipotence means that God is in
total control of himself andhis creation.
Omniscience means that he isthe ultimate criterion of truth
and falsity, so that his ideasare always true.
(15:15):
Omnipresence means that sinceGod's power and knowledge extend
to all parts of creation, hehimself is present everywhere.
Together, they define God'slordship and they yield a rich
understanding of creation,providence, and salvation.
Now, my mind is swimming.
(15:36):
How about yours?
Yeah, I can read all that anddefine it and see the evidence
in Scripture.
I can hear Mary say that Godhas shown strength with his arm
and enter into this new sectionwhere she highlights in detail
evidence of God's omnipotence,omniscience, and omnipresence.
But my finite mind can't seemto grasp it.
(15:59):
It's too lofty.
I feel like Isaiah hearing fromGod in chapter 58, verses 8 and
9.
God says, For my thoughts arenot your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways, declares theLord.
For as the heavens are higherthan the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways, and mythoughts than your thoughts.
(16:22):
Confession time.
I think that my own limitedunderstanding of this otherness
of God gets me in more troublethan any kind of willful
rebellion.
It's insidious.
It's a making of God in my ownimage.
Because I can't possibly havecomplete control over
(16:44):
everything, how could anyone?
How could God?
Because I can't grasp what itmeans for me to do everything at
all times with perfectknowledge, complete
intelligence, and a definitegoal, how could God?
And because I certainly can'tbe in all places at all times,
for all people, at all times inhuman history, well then no one
(17:06):
can.
I can't grasp it.
So how can it be?
How does this unbeliefprimarily manifest itself in my
life?
I think when it comes to myunbelief about God's
omnipotence, I can get reallyfearful of evil.
I take a look at the world, atcertain people in the world, and
(17:27):
at certain things that arehappening in the world, and I
think, and therefore sometimeslive like he who is in the world
is greater than he who is inme.
As if Satan, his demons, andevil are stronger than God,
because it sure seems like evilis pervasive right now and is
winning.
This ties into how my unbeliefabout God's omniscience plays
(17:50):
in.
I am most tempted to waste timedoom scrolling or reading the
news when I'm caught in unbeliefthat God knows all, that in all
things he has intelligentpurpose and a definite goal, and
that he can even use evil forgood, because he knows
everything throughout allhistory, including how the whole
story ends.
(18:11):
And probably, like many of you,I struggle with unbelief about
God's omnipresence when I seesuffering, when I learn about
injustice, when I can'tunderstand why something has
been allowed to happen.
Because I can't comprehend it,and because it seems
incompatible with God's natureor what I presume to be the
(18:34):
right plans for human historyand all of mankind, I doubt him.
If it feels untrue, it must beuntrue.
If I can't understand it, itmust be wrong because I know
best.
What I'm essentially doing islimiting God in some of the ways
that I limit myself or that Imyself am limited.
(18:56):
If not for studying and havingthis podcast, that's probably
not something I'd say out loud.
It would probably be a blindspot for me.
I'd nod alongside any sermon orBible teacher who calls God
these three omnis.
But in the everyday details ofmy life and the world I know, I
(19:17):
reign God's otherness, his omnisin by putting them into
controlled, knowable littleboxes.
The only image that comes tomind to illustrate how
ridiculous this is of me is thetragedy and arrogance of a
rancher slamming the gate closedon a wild stallion that he's
(19:40):
confined to a 20 by 20 foot pen.
The horse doesn't belong there,and the rancher's ignorance
will prevent him from seeing theglory of this wild stallion
running at full speed with thewind in its mane and its muscles
flexing and contracting, andits nostrils flaring wide with
(20:01):
the intake of freedom, unleashedto fully exercise all his power
unhindered and unrestrained.
Mary says, He has shownstrength with his arm, he has
scattered the proud in thethoughts of their hearts.
This section of her song, as wediscussed last week with verse
50, is the section where Maryturns outward from personal
(20:24):
reflection of who God is to herpersonally, again, outward to
who he is to all mankind.
And in verses 51 to 53, we seethe choices that are given to
man.
Depend on God's strength, or bescattered because of your
pride.
Be humble and exalted by God,or be mighty in your own eyes
(20:50):
and brought down from yourthrone.
Be hungry and filled with goodthings from God, or be rich on
your own and sent away empty.
Do things your way or do themmy way.
Be lowercase g God of yourlife, or lower yourself in
(21:10):
submission to the one true God.
Left to my own devices andtiny, tiny brain, I'd stack my
strength against God'sunknowable omnipotence.
I'll proudly rely on my wisdomand understanding rather than
God's omniscience.
(21:31):
And I'll keep trying to be allthings to all people at all
times rather than rest in God'somnipresence.
Not out of a place again ofwillful rebellion, but out of an
inexcusable, finiteunderstanding.
The consequences aredisastrous.
I end up crushed, exhausted,despairing, and disappointed.
(21:56):
Because I am not all-powerful,all-knowing, and everywhere
present, my efforts will failevery time.
And instead of surrendering tothe one who is entirely and
completely each one of thesethings, I'll get back on the
hamster wheel of my man-madeeffort.
My point is, we can know God isomnipotent, omniscient, and
(22:21):
omnipresent, but not live likeit.
I know that I can be in thatplace of knowing but not living.
How about you?
How in the world do we remedythat?
We'll be right back after thismessage.
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(22:44):
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quite know where to begin, thisis the perfect time.
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of our How to Study the Biblestudents.
Learning is such a gift, andGod has a lot in store for you
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Hope to see you there.
And now back to the show.
I said that we can know God isomnipotent, omniscient, and
(24:10):
omnipresent, but not live likeit.
We can slam the gate shut onGod based on what we are able to
understand of His nature.
This is no good.
We can all agree on that.
So I asked, how in the world dowe remedy it?
We have this pride in our fleshthat assumes if we can't grasp
(24:32):
something, it must not be realor reliable.
So we shrink God down to thesize of our comprehension.
But when we do that, when I dothat, nothing, absolutely
nothing, changes about God.
My inability to understand Himdoes not in any way diminish
(24:56):
God's omnipotence, omniscience,or omnipresence.
My lack of understanding has noimpact on the boundaries of the
reality of God's completeotherness.
Just think about the radio orthe TV.
I have neither on in my officeright now.
There's just silence.
But just because I'm not tunedin, it does not mean that the
(25:20):
radio and TV stations aren'tbroadcasting right in this
moment.
Even if the receiver is off onmy end, those signals continue
strongly and consistentlytransmitting.
It is absurd, really, to thinkthat God's omnipotence,
omniscience, and omnipresenceare dependent on my ability to
(25:43):
understand them.
My confusion does not alter hisnature, one iota.
So the issue isn't God's lackof clarity, it's my lack of
capacity.
And the question is (25:56):
can anything be done to change that?
My finite mind feels sort ofhopelessly limited unless
something or someone intervenes.
There are all kinds of versesand stories in the Bible that
(26:16):
talk about the right arm of God,about the mighty hand and the
outstretched arm of God.
Now, stick with me for asecond, because God the Father
is an eternal spirit.
Jesus is clear about this inJohn 4.24 when he asserts that
God is a spirit, and also whenhe explains to us in Luke 24, 39
(26:40):
that a spirit does not haveflesh and bones.
So anywhere that Scripturedescribes God with physical
attributes, aka a mighty handand an outstretched arm, these
are metaphorical rather thanliteral.
But something crazy happenedwhen life was placed in Mary's
(27:00):
womb.
God took on human nature in aphysical body.
The Son, co-equal andco-eternal with the Father and
the Spirit, put on flesh.
The baby growing inside Marywould remain fully divine,
meaning he would still beomnipotent, omniscient, and
(27:24):
omnipresent as displayed by themiracles he performed, while
also being limited by hishumanity.
He would experience all of thenon-sinful limits that we
experience as humans, likehunger and exhaustion.
How Jesus could be fully manand fully God is known as the
(27:45):
hypostatic union and is aprofound mystery beyond human
comprehension.
And here we arrive again atthings too wonderful and too
lofty and too other for me tocomprehend with my finite mind.
But here is the beauty of whatthis baby would become for me
(28:06):
and for you.
The right hand of God, themighty arm of God, the
outstretched arm of God would bedemonstrated in no way more
powerful than in the sending ofhis son to earth.
Think about it.
Jesus, symbolically, is theoutstretched arm of God.
(28:28):
If God is omnipotent andomniscient and omnipresent, but
I can't wrap my mind around allthat entails, how can I walk
with him and trust himcorrectly?
The answer is Jesus.
The Son came, and during everysingle day of his 33 years on
(28:49):
this earth, he perfectly trustedevery one of God's
omni-attributes.
He related to the Father incomplete and perfect obedience,
fully confident in God's power,knowledge, and presence.
When I put my trust in Christas a 17-year-old, as a very
(29:10):
naive young girl, an exchangetook place.
His record became my record.
His trust becomes my trust.
His knowledge becomes myknowledge.
What he knows of the Father,not just some of that knowledge,
but all of it, Jesus sharedwith me.
(29:31):
The Father becomes approachableand knowable.
And my record of frail, fickle,finite comprehension was traded
for his perfect record ofunwavering faith.
The best news in all of this isthat I don't have to conjure up
belief.
I don't have to force my finitemind to finally figure out
(29:55):
God's otherness.
I just receive faith as a gift.
The Holy Spirit, whom Jesuspromised as a gift to me upon
his departure, takes whatbelongs to Jesus and makes it
mine.
And Jesus, the symbolic,outstretched right hand of the
(30:16):
Father, now sits at the righthand of the Father, interceding
for me, praying the other daythat when I heard the tragic
news of my neighbor's death, Iwould choose to rest in his
lordship, that he has controlover all things, that he has the
authority to declare what istrue, and that he exists ever
(30:38):
near to me and can also be nearto my neighbors as they grieve.
When I momentarily forgot it,he was all powerful in causing
me to text my friends forprayer, all knowing and giving
my friend the right words topoint me back to what I needed
to hear and what was true, andpresent everywhere,
(30:59):
simultaneously with my friendspraying for me, with my
neighbors comforting them, andwith me encouraging me and
comforting me and calming medown.
Here's the big idea (31:09):
God will be who he is regardless of
whether I tune in or not.
But because of Jesus, I amtuned in.
So, if this is true, whatshould life look like for the
one who is in Christ?
Well, when I wake up in themorning, God is omnipotent,
(31:32):
omniscient, and omnipresent.
As I live my life throughoutthe day, God is omnipotent,
omniscient, and omnipresent.
And when I go to sleep atnight, God is still omnipotent,
omniscient, and omnipresent.
And because of Jesus, becauseof the gospel, the believer's
(31:54):
future is one of growingconfidence in God's
omniattributes.
All of this can be lived outdaily.
Instead of feeling crushed,anxious, self-reliant,
overwhelmed, and spirituallydizzy, we can be settled,
relieved, surrendered, steady,and confident in God's power,
(32:17):
wisdom, and presence.
I know that there are things inyour life right now that are
tempting you to spiral out infear.
That story on the news, arecent diagnosis, the behavior
of your child, impending layoffsat work, a medical bill that's
coming in the mail, or afriendship that has unexpectedly
(32:39):
gone south.
Instead of all consuming fear,you spend your days increasingly
aware of the fact that Jesuspurchased a life for you in
which you get to remember God'somnipotence and free fall into
his strong arms and surrenderwhen you are afraid.
The Spirit, gifted to you byGod, will cultivate that
(33:03):
reminder, desire, and action,even though you don't fully
comprehend what the heck itmeans for God to be omnipotent.
As you grow in the Lord, again,a gift from God, this is your
reality in Christ.
I know that there are manyplaces in your life where you
have no clue what you aresupposed to be doing.
(33:25):
You're at a loss over yourhusband's lack of desire to
engage with God and you don'tknow how to change that.
Something is different withyour child.
They haven't been themselveslately and they're pushing you
away.
You've gotten yourself intodebt, and it appears that
there's no way out.
You don't know how to fix it.
You want to start attendingchurch again, but you have no
(33:48):
idea where to go or how tochoose.
Work is a dumpster fire, andyou're slammed with a massive
project that you don't have thetime or the team to complete.
Your ministry is failingdespite all of your best efforts
and the pure desire in yourheart to serve.
You just don't know what to do.
(34:08):
Imagine making decisionsgrounded in God's wisdom rather
than proudly scrambling for yourown.
Instead of relying on your ownfinite understanding, you lean
into the knowledge of theomniscience of God that Jesus
purchased for you and that theHoly Spirit will cultivate in
(34:29):
you.
This is your reality in Christ.
I know that you have momentswhere you feel completely alone.
You step off the stage and feelthat no one understands the
weight you carry.
You and your spouse have whatfeels like zero connection
anymore and are spending yourdays as roommates rather than
(34:50):
lovers.
You're waiting to meet thatspecial someone and it just
isn't happening.
You are the only one at workwho believes in God and you're
mocked and ostracized for havingarchaic, foolish beliefs.
Your friend, the friend youalways used to be able to count
on, has gone mysteriously MIA.
(35:11):
And despite an overwhelmingfeeling of loneliness, imagine
remembering that Jesus purchasedGod's ever-present presence for
you.
He will never leave you norforsake you.
This is the reality, whetheryou know it or not, whether you
believe it or not, whether youfeel it or not.
(35:33):
Because you belong to Christ,God could not possibly be any
closer than He already is to younow.
Psalm 139 tells you everythingyou need to know.
Wherever you go, if you go upto heaven, he is there.
If you make your bed in thedepths, he is there.
If you take the wings ofmourning and dwell in the
(35:54):
uttermost parts of the sea, eventhere, God's what?
His hand will guide you.
His right hand, symbolicallyJesus, will hold you.
Even the darkness we choosethrough sin cannot separate us
from the love of God.
For even there, darkness is notdark to God.
(36:17):
The night is as bright as theday, for darkness is as light to
God.
This is your reality in Christ.
There is nothing, no darkness,no finite thinking, no lack of
knowledge, and no small faiththat can separate us from the
God who is, who always has been,and who always will be
(36:40):
omnipotent, omniscient, andomnipresent.
Mary knew this.
That's why she describes thesechoices: pride or humility,
perceived might or God'sstrength, temporary riches and
separation from God or eternalsatisfaction in God alone.
(37:01):
These choices are not burdens,they're an invitation to depend
on God alone, humbling yourself,and to be filled with what he
offers alone.
And what he offers is himself,a God that was Mary's God, the
God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,and Israel, the God of
(37:24):
generations, the only God whoalone is omnipotent, omniscient,
and omnipresent.
Hear Mary, see Mary, she isdoing exactly what we are to do
every day.
She is choosing him, though shedoes not have the strength in
(37:44):
her flesh to be the mother ofthe Messiah, though she does not
have the knowledge of how itwill all work out for her and
Joseph and this baby.
And even though she does notyet even hold the baby in her
arms and has not yet seen himhang on a cross and rise from
the grave three days later, whatshe is doing is choosing to
(38:09):
tune in to the truth of who Godis, no matter how small, how
inadequate, how confused, howscared, or how alone she feels.
Her feelings fade when sheplaces her faith in the factual
foundation of the nature of herfather.
He is all-powerful,all-knowing, and ever-present.
(38:33):
That was enough for Mary.
Let it be more than enough forus.
And that's it for this episode.
If you know someone who wouldbe blessed by what you just
heard, please share the Abidiblepodcast with them.
Keep spreading the word so wecan make much of the word.
Drop us a review, tell us whatyou love and what you're
(38:55):
learning.
Check out the link to learnmore about partnering with us by
buying us a coffee one time, byjoining our Abidible Plus
Women's Membership community for$10 a month, or by becoming a
monthly supporter.
For those of you followingalong in the workbook, go ahead
and begin working on our nextverse in this series, Luke 152,
on pages 42 to 45 in your studyworkbook.
(39:18):
Ideally, you would have thissection done before you listen
to the next episode, number 76.
In this episode, we will seewhat God does to those who
proudly exploit their positionsof leadership and how he
responds to the humble.
The verse next week is Luke1.52 and says, He has brought
(39:40):
down the mighty from theirthrones and exalted those of
humble estate.
Next week, we will take anhistorical look at what Mary is
referring to and study thepatterns of God toward those in
power who do what is right intheir own eyes, who sit proudly
on their thrones withoutacknowledging God, and who do
(40:02):
what is wicked in the eyes ofthe Lord.
I know it will be hard to thinkof modern-day politicians who
act like that, but try hard tocome up with a few before our
next episode.
I think this message will beexceedingly encouraging to all
of us living under the authorityof such godless governments.
(40:23):
I'll pray for us and then closeus out with our memory work for
verse 51.
Father, we come before youhumbled by who you are, high and
holy, all-powerful,all-knowing, ever-present, and
yet so near to us because ofJesus.
We confess that our minds aresmall and our hearts are easily
(40:46):
overwhelmed.
We admit that we often shrinkyou down to the size of what we
can understand.
Forgive us for the ways we letour limited comprehension shape
our view of your limitlessnature.
Thank you that our confusiondoes not diminish you.
Our doubts do not weaken you.
(41:07):
Our inability to grasp yourgreatness has never once reduced
your power, your wisdom, oryour presence.
Thank you that you remaincompletely yourself even when we
forget, even when we fear, evenwhen we fail to tune in.
Jesus, we praise you as theoutstretched arm of the Father,
(41:29):
the one who put on flesh, whotrusted perfectly where we trust
imperfectly, who obeyed fullywhere we falter, who believed
without wavering where we sooften stumble.
Thank you that through yourlife, your death, and your
resurrection, your record is nowours.
(41:49):
Your trust becomes our trust.
Your knowledge becomes ourknowledge.
Your nearness becomes ournearness.
What a gift.
Holy Spirit, help us.
Tune our hearts to the realityof who God is.
When fear rises, remind us ofhis power.
(42:10):
When confusion clouds ourvision, ground us in his wisdom.
When loneliness creeps in,anchor us in his presence.
Cultivate in us the very faithyou have already placed within
us.
Grow our confidence in the Godwho has always been and will
always be omnipotent,omniscient, and omnipresent.
(42:33):
And like Mary, teach us tochoose humility over pride,
dependence over self-reliance,and surrender over striving.
Help us anchor our lives not inwhat we feel, but in the
unchanging truth of who you are.
Let your nature be more thanenough for us, just as it was
(42:55):
more than enough for Mary.
Lord, thank you that because ofJesus we are tuned in.
Open our eyes to see you, openour hearts to trust you, and
open our hands to receiveeverything you offer, chiefly
yourself.
In the strong, wise,ever-present name of Jesus we
(43:16):
pray.
Amen.
Let's close by doing our memorywork together.
I'm going to repeat Luke 151five times.
Say it out loud with me orquietly to yourself.
He has shown strength with hisarm.
He has scattered the proud inthe thoughts of their hearts.
(43:38):
He has shown strength with hisarm.
He has scattered the proud inthe thoughts of their hearts.
(44:04):
He has scattered the proud inthe thoughts of their hearts.
Luke 1 51.
Remember, you are able to abidein the Bible.
We'll see you next time.
Until then, let's abide.
Hey guys, this is Kate from Abidible.com, and you're
listening to the AbidiblePodcast.
I'm just a regular wife and momwho's had my life transformed
by learning to study the Bibleon my own.
If I can, you can.
On this show, I help you knowand love God more by abiding in
Him through His Word yourself.
(00:21):
My neighbor hung himself thispast week.
I won't get into the details ofthe story because it's tragic
beyond words, but please bepraying for his family.
On a personal level, it reallyaffected me in not a good way.
(00:45):
I was shaking with fear.
It brought me back to the firsttime I'd experienced death as a
third grader.
In a short period of time, mygrandfather died, as well as our
family dog in a tragicaccident.
I distinctly remember beingterrified of the dark after
this.
In fact, until now I'd sort offorgotten this memory, but I
(01:09):
would walk through rooms and upthe stairs with my back along
the wall.
Going up the stairs, I was soscared of the front door and the
windows beside it at night thatI'd often have to have my
parents follow me up the stairsso I'd feel safe.
This eventually passed withtime, but the feeling I had when
I heard about my neighbor wassimilar.
(01:31):
I was terrified.
I texted some friends and askedthem to be praying for the
family and for our own home.
We haven't told my son aboutwhat happened for now because I
didn't want him to carry that.
And one of my friends textedback.
She said, just a reminder, justin case, don't let the enemy
convince you that you are insome sort of danger or evil
(01:54):
because of this.
Yes, it happened right nextdoor, but you and your household
are under the protection ofJesus.
Declare your covering.
The enemy doesn't get toconvince you of things that
aren't true.
And then she sent me somescripture reminding me of the
strength and protection andshelter that I have because of
(02:15):
the Lord.
It really helped.
I didn't have that as a kidbecause we weren't walking with
Jesus yet as a family.
And all of this has me thinkingas we continue here in our
study of Mary's song in Luke 1,46 to 55, that knowing God
should change everything abouthow we see and respond to real
(02:37):
life situations on a dailybasis.
But as I saw, it's not enoughto know about him in a detached,
cold, or formulaic way.
We have to know him personallyin a way that meets us every
single day.
He has shown strength with hisarm.
He has scattered the proud inthe thoughts of their hearts.
(03:01):
Today, as we look at that, ournew verse from Luke 1.51, I want
to focus on three traits ofGod: His omnipotence, his
omniscience, and hisomnipresence.
These big omniwords areprobably terms that most of us
have heard, but if we're honest,probably have a little
(03:21):
difficulty explaining.
And certainly, just like methis past week, there are also
these traits of God that weforget about in the moments when
we need to remember them most.
Thank God for sisters in Christwho can point you back to his
word.
We need to know and believethese things to survive this
world, friend.
(03:42):
Because as you've heard me sayso many times before, things are
broken here.
What would change in your lifeif you really believed and
walked out these three aspectsof God's nature omnipotence,
omniscience, and omnipresence.
Real quick, if you're a big fanof the Abidible Podcast, check
(04:04):
out the link in the showdescription to learn more about
partnering with us by buying usa coffee.
So you've heard this before.
You better watch out, youbetter not cry, you better not
pout, I'm telling you why.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
Gather round.
He's making a list and checkingit twice.
(04:25):
He's gonna find out who'snaughty and nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
And then what does the songsay?
He sees you when you'resleeping.
He knows when you're awake.
He knows if you've been bad orgood, so be good for goodness'
sake.
Yep, the big fat man with thelong white beard, the one who
(04:50):
sees all, knows all, and has thepower to determine your
Christmas morning fate, he'scoming to town.
Interesting, right?
We learn that song as kids.
We grow up and sing it out loudwith our kids.
We watched Home Alone 2 lastnight.
At the end, the family wakes upin the Plaza Hotel on Christmas
(05:11):
morning and Kevin warns Fullerto not get too excited because
Santa doesn't visit hotels.
Without missing a beat, Fullerreplies, Are you nuts?
He's omnipresent.
He goes everywhere.
Why is it so easy for people totell kids that Santa knows and
sees and goes everywhere?
But so hard to confidentlyascribe those qualities to God.
(05:36):
Is it because Santa is all ingood fun and one day the kids
will grow up and find out thatSanta was just a myth?
Because common sense and logicand science tell us that no one
can be truly omnipotent,omniscient, and omnipresent?
Probably, right?
That's also probably why God isso often placed in the same
(05:57):
category as Santa in the EasterBunny and the Tooth Fairy.
He's just a myth people make upto comfort themselves and to
help them feel better about theworld around them.
Mary talks to us today aboutthe strength of God as well as
the justice of God.
He's demonstrated that strengthwith his arm, and he brings
justice by scattering the proudof heart.
(06:20):
God wasn't a myth or a fairytale to Mary, and he shouldn't
be to us either.
He has given us evidence ofthese attributes that we can
build our lives on.
But to get there, I think weneed to first define these terms
and then back them up withevidence that we have in
Scripture.
(06:40):
And then, second, I think weneed to address the nature of
our proud human hearts, thenature that causes us to
disbelieve that God really iseach of these omnis.
My hope is that the Holy Spiritwill clarify and highlight
these aspects of who God is forus today.
And then I'd like us to agreetogether in our request that
(07:02):
He'd enable us to walk by faithwith unshakable confidence.
Your God is omnipotent,omniscient, and omnipresent.
And if your heart is open tothe information and evidence
today, I think it will transformhow you face everything every
day.
Though what happened with myneighbor this past week was
(07:26):
tragic and evil and so heavy, Ihad every reason to stand firm
by faith without fear.
My God, even in tragedies Idon't understand, is omnipotent,
omniscient, and omnipresent.
When I forgot that for amoment, I was trembling with
fear and panic, completelyunsettled and afraid in my own
(07:50):
home.
I told you that story to remindyou that you can love Jesus
like I do.
You can abide in his word andyou can still forget sometimes,
still have a moment of panic.
Our flesh is stubborn, butGod's grace is greater.
And by that grace, he istransforming us day by day.
(08:10):
So the hope, dear friends, isthat we will be quicker to
remember, faster to stand firmby faith, and ready to rest in
the immeasurable comfortavailable to those who know and
choose to believe.
Let me say that again, andchoose to believe that God is
(08:33):
omnipotent, omniscient, andomnipresent.
It would help tremendously ifwe first define these terms and
support them with scripture.
We had a great manycross-references for Luke 1.51.
There is no better source thanGod's word to tell us who He is.
We go to the source because itis trustworthy and true.
(08:57):
Our feelings are not, andneither are the things the world
has to say about who God is.
So, what does it mean that Godis omnipotent, omniscient, and
omnipresent?
I had help with thisinformation from a Gospel
Coalition article by John M.
Frame.
I'm going to link the articlefor you in this episode's
(09:19):
description because Framereferences just shy of 70 Bible
verses or passages to supporthis argument.
I'll share the ideas of thoseverses in a moment here, but I
can't possibly cite them all foryou, so it'll be in the
description.
We'll begin with shortdefinitions of these big omni
words.
The prefix omni means all.
(09:42):
So omnipotence meansall-powerful.
Omniscience means all-knowing,and omnipresent means all
present or everywhere present.
Frame says each of theseinvolves the other two, and each
provides a perspective of theall-embracing lordship of the
(10:04):
true God.
When it comes to the mosthelpful definition of God's
omnipotence, frame says God hascomplete control over
everything, the big things andthe small things.
In scripture, we see that God'somnipotence means that he has
the absolute ability toaccomplish everything he
(10:28):
intends.
Nothing can stop his purposes.
When he speaks, creationresponds.
Even human sin, thoughgenuinely disobedient, still
falls, this is mind-blowing,somehow under his sovereign
control and is ultimately woveninto his good plan.
(10:50):
This doesn't mean God can doanything in the careless sense.
He cannot lie, act wickedly,contradict himself, or do
anything out of step with hisperfect nature.
His power is never a rational,immoral, or absurd.
(11:10):
A clearer way to speak abouthis omnipotence is that he
exercises total andcomprehensive rule over
everything.
Again, the smallest details andthe biggest moments.
Every seemingly random outcome,every rise and fall of nations,
every decision of rulers, andeven the events surrounding
(11:34):
Jesus' crucifixion unfold underhis authority.
God's power extends to thestory of every individual life,
our formation, our daily paths,and even the inner workings of
our hearts.
And most beautifully, his poweris what saves us, opening our
(11:55):
hearts to believe and giving usnew life in Christ.
His rule truly covers allthings at all times for his
glory and our good.
How about God's omniscience?
Remember, we said that thismeans God is all knowing.
Scripture shows us that God'spower is never blind or aimless.
(12:19):
His works flow from completeand perfect knowledge.
He knows everything, his ownpurposes, the whole created
world, every event in history,and every detail about our
lives.
Scripture consistentlydescribes his knowledge as
(12:40):
limitless and exact, evenregarding things that have not
yet happened.
Passages that seem to show Godlearning something are not
describing ignorance, butportraying him gathering
evidence as the righteous judge.
Because God himself is thestandard of truth, he can never
(13:01):
be mistaken.
This all-knowing God sees everypart of our lives, our actions,
our thoughts, our hiddenplaces, and our future days.
While this is terrifying forthose who reject him, it is a
source of comfort and awe forhis people.
His intimate knowledge of us ismeant to lead us to repentance,
(13:25):
trust, and worship.
Finally, God is omnipresent.
He is everywhere present.
In scripture, we see that Godis present everywhere.
Not because he has a physicalbody that fills every space, but
because his power and knowledgeextend to every corner of
(13:48):
creation and every moment oftime.
Since nothing happens outsidehis rule or his understanding,
he is never absent.
He is present in every placeand throughout all time, and his
presence is not distant orabstract.
Throughout Scripture, God makeshimself known among his people.
(14:09):
Most profoundly, he came nearto us in Jesus Christ, who lived
among us, died, and rose again.
For God's people, his presenceis a promise of mercy and help.
I will be with you.
This is the heart of hiscovenant love.
He is our God and we are hispeople.
(14:33):
Jesus Himself is calledEmmanuel God with us.
He just wants to be with us.
God is also present with thosewho reject him, but that
presence means judgment ratherthan comfort.
Still, whether for salvation orjustice, God is truly present
(14:55):
everywhere, working out hispurposes.
In summary, Frame saysomnipotence means that God is in
total control of himself andhis creation.
Omniscience means that he isthe ultimate criterion of truth
and falsity, so that his ideasare always true.
(15:15):
Omnipresence means that sinceGod's power and knowledge extend
to all parts of creation, hehimself is present everywhere.
Together, they define God'slordship and they yield a rich
understanding of creation,providence, and salvation.
Now, my mind is swimming.
(15:36):
How about yours?
Yeah, I can read all that anddefine it and see the evidence
in Scripture.
I can hear Mary say that Godhas shown strength with his arm
and enter into this new sectionwhere she highlights in detail
evidence of God's omnipotence,omniscience, and omnipresence.
But my finite mind can't seemto grasp it.
(15:59):
It's too lofty.
I feel like Isaiah hearing fromGod in chapter 58, verses 8 and
9.
God says, For my thoughts arenot your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways, declares theLord.
For as the heavens are higherthan the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways, and mythoughts than your thoughts.
(16:22):
Confession time.
I think that my own limitedunderstanding of this otherness
of God gets me in more troublethan any kind of willful
rebellion.
It's insidious.
It's a making of God in my ownimage.
Because I can't possibly havecomplete control over
(16:44):
everything, how could anyone?
How could God?
Because I can't grasp what itmeans for me to do everything at
all times with perfectknowledge, complete
intelligence, and a definitegoal, how could God?
And because I certainly can'tbe in all places at all times,
for all people, at all times inhuman history, well then no one
(17:06):
can.
I can't grasp it.
So how can it be?
How does this unbeliefprimarily manifest itself in my
life?
I think when it comes to myunbelief about God's
omnipotence, I can get reallyfearful of evil.
I take a look at the world, atcertain people in the world, and
(17:27):
at certain things that arehappening in the world, and I
think, and therefore sometimeslive like he who is in the world
is greater than he who is inme.
As if Satan, his demons, andevil are stronger than God,
because it sure seems like evilis pervasive right now and is
winning.
This ties into how my unbeliefabout God's omniscience plays
(17:50):
in.
I am most tempted to waste timedoom scrolling or reading the
news when I'm caught in unbeliefthat God knows all, that in all
things he has intelligentpurpose and a definite goal, and
that he can even use evil forgood, because he knows
everything throughout allhistory, including how the whole
story ends.
(18:11):
And probably, like many of you,I struggle with unbelief about
God's omnipresence when I seesuffering, when I learn about
injustice, when I can'tunderstand why something has
been allowed to happen.
Because I can't comprehend it,and because it seems
incompatible with God's natureor what I presume to be the
(18:34):
right plans for human historyand all of mankind, I doubt him.
If it feels untrue, it must beuntrue.
If I can't understand it, itmust be wrong because I know
best.
What I'm essentially doing islimiting God in some of the ways
that I limit myself or that Imyself am limited.
(18:56):
If not for studying and havingthis podcast, that's probably
not something I'd say out loud.
It would probably be a blindspot for me.
I'd nod alongside any sermon orBible teacher who calls God
these three omnis.
But in the everyday details ofmy life and the world I know, I
(19:17):
reign God's otherness, his omnisin by putting them into
controlled, knowable littleboxes.
The only image that comes tomind to illustrate how
ridiculous this is of me is thetragedy and arrogance of a
rancher slamming the gate closedon a wild stallion that he's
(19:40):
confined to a 20 by 20 foot pen.
The horse doesn't belong there,and the rancher's ignorance
will prevent him from seeing theglory of this wild stallion
running at full speed with thewind in its mane and its muscles
flexing and contracting, andits nostrils flaring wide with
(20:01):
the intake of freedom, unleashedto fully exercise all his power
unhindered and unrestrained.
Mary says, He has shownstrength with his arm, he has
scattered the proud in thethoughts of their hearts.
This section of her song, as wediscussed last week with verse
50, is the section where Maryturns outward from personal
(20:24):
reflection of who God is to herpersonally, again, outward to
who he is to all mankind.
And in verses 51 to 53, we seethe choices that are given to
man.
Depend on God's strength, or bescattered because of your
pride.
Be humble and exalted by God,or be mighty in your own eyes
(20:50):
and brought down from yourthrone.
Be hungry and filled with goodthings from God, or be rich on
your own and sent away empty.
Do things your way or do themmy way.
Be lowercase g God of yourlife, or lower yourself in
(21:10):
submission to the one true God.
Left to my own devices andtiny, tiny brain, I'd stack my
strength against God'sunknowable omnipotence.
I'll proudly rely on my wisdomand understanding rather than
God's omniscience.
(21:31):
And I'll keep trying to be allthings to all people at all
times rather than rest in God'somnipresence.
Not out of a place again ofwillful rebellion, but out of an
inexcusable, finiteunderstanding.
The consequences aredisastrous.
I end up crushed, exhausted,despairing, and disappointed.
(21:56):
Because I am not all-powerful,all-knowing, and everywhere
present, my efforts will failevery time.
And instead of surrendering tothe one who is entirely and
completely each one of thesethings, I'll get back on the
hamster wheel of my man-madeeffort.
My point is, we can know God isomnipotent, omniscient, and
(22:21):
omnipresent, but not live likeit.
I know that I can be in thatplace of knowing but not living.
How about you?
How in the world do we remedythat?
We'll be right back after thismessage.
If you've never taken our Howto Study the Bible course, or if
(22:44):
someone you love has beenlonging to grow but doesn't
quite know where to begin, thisis the perfect time.
Our 20-lesson video course ison sale right now for nearly 40%
off, which will change afterthe new year.
And I cannot tell you how manypeople have said it has
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(23:04):
One woman recently told me, andshe has been in church her
whole life, that she has neverexperienced a Bible study as
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She said the course helped herfinally understand what the
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(23:25):
even start bearing fruit in waysshe never expected.
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And if you want to gift thecourse to someone this Christmas
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(23:46):
link in the show description.
I would absolutely love to haveyou join the course and be one
of our How to Study the Biblestudents.
Learning is such a gift, andGod has a lot in store for you
or for your loved one in thiscourse.
Hope to see you there.
And now back to the show.
I said that we can know God isomnipotent, omniscient, and
(24:10):
omnipresent, but not live likeit.
We can slam the gate shut onGod based on what we are able to
understand of His nature.
This is no good.
We can all agree on that.
So I asked, how in the world dowe remedy it?
We have this pride in our fleshthat assumes if we can't grasp
(24:32):
something, it must not be realor reliable.
So we shrink God down to thesize of our comprehension.
But when we do that, when I dothat, nothing, absolutely
nothing, changes about God.
My inability to understand Himdoes not in any way diminish
(24:56):
God's omnipotence, omniscience,or omnipresence.
My lack of understanding has noimpact on the boundaries of the
reality of God's completeotherness.
Just think about the radio orthe TV.
I have neither on in my officeright now.
There's just silence.
But just because I'm not tunedin, it does not mean that the
(25:20):
radio and TV stations aren'tbroadcasting right in this
moment.
Even if the receiver is off onmy end, those signals continue
strongly and consistentlytransmitting.
It is absurd, really, to thinkthat God's omnipotence,
omniscience, and omnipresenceare dependent on my ability to
(25:43):
understand them.
My confusion does not alter hisnature, one iota.
So the issue isn't God's lackof clarity, it's my lack of
capacity.
And the question is (25:56):
can anything be done to change that?
My finite mind feels sort ofhopelessly limited unless
something or someone intervenes.
There are all kinds of versesand stories in the Bible that
(26:16):
talk about the right arm of God,about the mighty hand and the
outstretched arm of God.
Now, stick with me for asecond, because God the Father
is an eternal spirit.
Jesus is clear about this inJohn 4.24 when he asserts that
God is a spirit, and also whenhe explains to us in Luke 24, 39
(26:40):
that a spirit does not haveflesh and bones.
So anywhere that Scripturedescribes God with physical
attributes, aka a mighty handand an outstretched arm, these
are metaphorical rather thanliteral.
But something crazy happenedwhen life was placed in Mary's
(27:00):
womb.
God took on human nature in aphysical body.
The Son, co-equal andco-eternal with the Father and
the Spirit, put on flesh.
The baby growing inside Marywould remain fully divine,
meaning he would still beomnipotent, omniscient, and
(27:24):
omnipresent as displayed by themiracles he performed, while
also being limited by hishumanity.
He would experience all of thenon-sinful limits that we
experience as humans, likehunger and exhaustion.
How Jesus could be fully manand fully God is known as the
(27:45):
hypostatic union and is aprofound mystery beyond human
comprehension.
And here we arrive again atthings too wonderful and too
lofty and too other for me tocomprehend with my finite mind.
But here is the beauty of whatthis baby would become for me
(28:06):
and for you.
The right hand of God, themighty arm of God, the
outstretched arm of God would bedemonstrated in no way more
powerful than in the sending ofhis son to earth.
Think about it.
Jesus, symbolically, is theoutstretched arm of God.
(28:28):
If God is omnipotent andomniscient and omnipresent, but
I can't wrap my mind around allthat entails, how can I walk
with him and trust himcorrectly?
The answer is Jesus.
The Son came, and during everysingle day of his 33 years on
(28:49):
this earth, he perfectly trustedevery one of God's
omni-attributes.
He related to the Father incomplete and perfect obedience,
fully confident in God's power,knowledge, and presence.
When I put my trust in Christas a 17-year-old, as a very
(29:10):
naive young girl, an exchangetook place.
His record became my record.
His trust becomes my trust.
His knowledge becomes myknowledge.
What he knows of the Father,not just some of that knowledge,
but all of it, Jesus sharedwith me.
(29:31):
The Father becomes approachableand knowable.
And my record of frail, fickle,finite comprehension was traded
for his perfect record ofunwavering faith.
The best news in all of this isthat I don't have to conjure up
belief.
I don't have to force my finitemind to finally figure out
(29:55):
God's otherness.
I just receive faith as a gift.
The Holy Spirit, whom Jesuspromised as a gift to me upon
his departure, takes whatbelongs to Jesus and makes it
mine.
And Jesus, the symbolic,outstretched right hand of the
(30:16):
Father, now sits at the righthand of the Father, interceding
for me, praying the other daythat when I heard the tragic
news of my neighbor's death, Iwould choose to rest in his
lordship, that he has controlover all things, that he has the
authority to declare what istrue, and that he exists ever
(30:38):
near to me and can also be nearto my neighbors as they grieve.
When I momentarily forgot it,he was all powerful in causing
me to text my friends forprayer, all knowing and giving
my friend the right words topoint me back to what I needed
to hear and what was true, andpresent everywhere,
(30:59):
simultaneously with my friendspraying for me, with my
neighbors comforting them, andwith me encouraging me and
comforting me and calming medown.
Here's the big idea (31:09):
God will be who he is regardless of
whether I tune in or not.
But because of Jesus, I amtuned in.
So, if this is true, whatshould life look like for the
one who is in Christ?
Well, when I wake up in themorning, God is omnipotent,
(31:32):
omniscient, and omnipresent.
As I live my life throughoutthe day, God is omnipotent,
omniscient, and omnipresent.
And when I go to sleep atnight, God is still omnipotent,
omniscient, and omnipresent.
And because of Jesus, becauseof the gospel, the believer's
(31:54):
future is one of growingconfidence in God's
omniattributes.
All of this can be lived outdaily.
Instead of feeling crushed,anxious, self-reliant,
overwhelmed, and spirituallydizzy, we can be settled,
relieved, surrendered, steady,and confident in God's power,
(32:17):
wisdom, and presence.
I know that there are things inyour life right now that are
tempting you to spiral out infear.
That story on the news, arecent diagnosis, the behavior
of your child, impending layoffsat work, a medical bill that's
coming in the mail, or afriendship that has unexpectedly
(32:39):
gone south.
Instead of all consuming fear,you spend your days increasingly
aware of the fact that Jesuspurchased a life for you in
which you get to remember God'somnipotence and free fall into
his strong arms and surrenderwhen you are afraid.
The Spirit, gifted to you byGod, will cultivate that
(33:03):
reminder, desire, and action,even though you don't fully
comprehend what the heck itmeans for God to be omnipotent.
As you grow in the Lord, again,a gift from God, this is your
reality in Christ.
I know that there are manyplaces in your life where you
have no clue what you aresupposed to be doing.
(33:25):
You're at a loss over yourhusband's lack of desire to
engage with God and you don'tknow how to change that.
Something is different withyour child.
They haven't been themselveslately and they're pushing you
away.
You've gotten yourself intodebt, and it appears that
there's no way out.
You don't know how to fix it.
You want to start attendingchurch again, but you have no
(33:48):
idea where to go or how tochoose.
Work is a dumpster fire, andyou're slammed with a massive
project that you don't have thetime or the team to complete.
Your ministry is failingdespite all of your best efforts
and the pure desire in yourheart to serve.
You just don't know what to do.
(34:08):
Imagine making decisionsgrounded in God's wisdom rather
than proudly scrambling for yourown.
Instead of relying on your ownfinite understanding, you lean
into the knowledge of theomniscience of God that Jesus
purchased for you and that theHoly Spirit will cultivate in
(34:29):
you.
This is your reality in Christ.
I know that you have momentswhere you feel completely alone.
You step off the stage and feelthat no one understands the
weight you carry.
You and your spouse have whatfeels like zero connection
anymore and are spending yourdays as roommates rather than
(34:50):
lovers.
You're waiting to meet thatspecial someone and it just
isn't happening.
You are the only one at workwho believes in God and you're
mocked and ostracized for havingarchaic, foolish beliefs.
Your friend, the friend youalways used to be able to count
on, has gone mysteriously MIA.
(35:11):
And despite an overwhelmingfeeling of loneliness, imagine
remembering that Jesus purchasedGod's ever-present presence for
you.
He will never leave you norforsake you.
This is the reality, whetheryou know it or not, whether you
believe it or not, whether youfeel it or not.
(35:33):
Because you belong to Christ,God could not possibly be any
closer than He already is to younow.
Psalm 139 tells you everythingyou need to know.
Wherever you go, if you go upto heaven, he is there.
If you make your bed in thedepths, he is there.
If you take the wings ofmourning and dwell in the
(35:54):
uttermost parts of the sea, eventhere, God's what?
His hand will guide you.
His right hand, symbolicallyJesus, will hold you.
Even the darkness we choosethrough sin cannot separate us
from the love of God.
For even there, darkness is notdark to God.
(36:17):
The night is as bright as theday, for darkness is as light to
God.
This is your reality in Christ.
There is nothing, no darkness,no finite thinking, no lack of
knowledge, and no small faiththat can separate us from the
God who is, who always has been,and who always will be
(36:40):
omnipotent, omniscient, andomnipresent.
Mary knew this.
That's why she describes thesechoices: pride or humility,
perceived might or God'sstrength, temporary riches and
separation from God or eternalsatisfaction in God alone.
(37:01):
These choices are not burdens,they're an invitation to depend
on God alone, humbling yourself,and to be filled with what he
offers alone.
And what he offers is himself,a God that was Mary's God, the
God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,and Israel, the God of
(37:24):
generations, the only God whoalone is omnipotent, omniscient,
and omnipresent.
Hear Mary, see Mary, she isdoing exactly what we are to do
every day.
She is choosing him, though shedoes not have the strength in
(37:44):
her flesh to be the mother ofthe Messiah, though she does not
have the knowledge of how itwill all work out for her and
Joseph and this baby.
And even though she does notyet even hold the baby in her
arms and has not yet seen himhang on a cross and rise from
the grave three days later, whatshe is doing is choosing to
(38:09):
tune in to the truth of who Godis, no matter how small, how
inadequate, how confused, howscared, or how alone she feels.
Her feelings fade when sheplaces her faith in the factual
foundation of the nature of herfather.
He is all-powerful,all-knowing, and ever-present.
(38:33):
That was enough for Mary.
Let it be more than enough forus.
And that's it for this episode.
If you know someone who wouldbe blessed by what you just
heard, please share the Abidiblepodcast with them.
Keep spreading the word so wecan make much of the word.
Drop us a review, tell us whatyou love and what you're
(38:55):
learning.
Check out the link to learnmore about partnering with us by
buying us a coffee one time, byjoining our Abidible Plus
Women's Membership community for$10 a month, or by becoming a
monthly supporter.
For those of you followingalong in the workbook, go ahead
and begin working on our nextverse in this series, Luke 152,
on pages 42 to 45 in your studyworkbook.
(39:18):
Ideally, you would have thissection done before you listen
to the next episode, number 76.
In this episode, we will seewhat God does to those who
proudly exploit their positionsof leadership and how he
responds to the humble.
The verse next week is Luke1.52 and says, He has brought
(39:40):
down the mighty from theirthrones and exalted those of
humble estate.
Next week, we will take anhistorical look at what Mary is
referring to and study thepatterns of God toward those in
power who do what is right intheir own eyes, who sit proudly
on their thrones withoutacknowledging God, and who do
(40:02):
what is wicked in the eyes ofthe Lord.
I know it will be hard to thinkof modern-day politicians who
act like that, but try hard tocome up with a few before our
next episode.
I think this message will beexceedingly encouraging to all
of us living under the authorityof such godless governments.
(40:23):
I'll pray for us and then closeus out with our memory work for
verse 51.
Father, we come before youhumbled by who you are, high and
holy, all-powerful,all-knowing, ever-present, and
yet so near to us because ofJesus.
We confess that our minds aresmall and our hearts are easily
(40:46):
overwhelmed.
We admit that we often shrinkyou down to the size of what we
can understand.
Forgive us for the ways we letour limited comprehension shape
our view of your limitlessnature.
Thank you that our confusiondoes not diminish you.
Our doubts do not weaken you.
(41:07):
Our inability to grasp yourgreatness has never once reduced
your power, your wisdom, oryour presence.
Thank you that you remaincompletely yourself even when we
forget, even when we fear, evenwhen we fail to tune in.
Jesus, we praise you as theoutstretched arm of the Father,
(41:29):
the one who put on flesh, whotrusted perfectly where we trust
imperfectly, who obeyed fullywhere we falter, who believed
without wavering where we sooften stumble.
Thank you that through yourlife, your death, and your
resurrection, your record is nowours.
(41:49):
Your trust becomes our trust.
Your knowledge becomes ourknowledge.
Your nearness becomes ournearness.
What a gift.
Holy Spirit, help us.
Tune our hearts to the realityof who God is.
When fear rises, remind us ofhis power.
(42:10):
When confusion clouds ourvision, ground us in his wisdom.
When loneliness creeps in,anchor us in his presence.
Cultivate in us the very faithyou have already placed within
us.
Grow our confidence in the Godwho has always been and will
always be omnipotent,omniscient, and omnipresent.
(42:33):
And like Mary, teach us tochoose humility over pride,
dependence over self-reliance,and surrender over striving.
Help us anchor our lives not inwhat we feel, but in the
unchanging truth of who you are.
Let your nature be more thanenough for us, just as it was
(42:55):
more than enough for Mary.
Lord, thank you that because ofJesus we are tuned in.
Open our eyes to see you, openour hearts to trust you, and
open our hands to receiveeverything you offer, chiefly
yourself.
In the strong, wise,ever-present name of Jesus we
(43:16):
pray.
Amen.
Let's close by doing our memorywork together.
I'm going to repeat Luke 151five times.
Say it out loud with me orquietly to yourself.
He has shown strength with hisarm.
He has scattered the proud inthe thoughts of their hearts.
(43:38):
He has shown strength with hisarm.
He has scattered the proud inthe thoughts of their hearts.
(44:04):
He has scattered the proud inthe thoughts of their hearts.
Luke 1 51.
Remember, you are able to abidein the Bible.
We'll see you next time.
Until then, let's abide.
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