Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - The Bigger Than God Illusion - #5060

Friday, June 2, 2006

The world looks a little different through three-year-old eyes. Peter is three years old. He's the grandson of one of our good friends. Little Peter was out with his Mom the other day, and they drove past this construction site and they saw one of those giant cranes. Well, Peter's all wide-eyed, and he's watching this mechanized monster moving things around. Finally, in total amazement he found a way to express how big that crane looked to him. "Mommy," he said, "it's bigger than God!"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Bigger Than God Illusion."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from 1 Samuel 17:33 . We are watching the army of Israel totally intimidated by Goliath, the Philistine giant. David, this little guy (a teenage guy probably), wants to go out and fight him, but Saul replied in verse 33, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him. You are only a boy." And Saul's been fighting like a man from his youth. Verse 37 says this: "The Lord who delivered me," David says, "from the paw of the lion, and the paw of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." So, by the time we get to verse 45, he charges the giant, and David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day, the Lord will hand you over to me."

Now the Israeli army looked at Goliath and it's like they said, "He's bigger than God!" and they retreated. David was the least likely person there to take on the giant, but he's the only person there who knew that God was bigger than the giant. So David "ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him," the Bible says. The Jews of Moses and Joshua's day made the same mistake when they measured the challenge in front of them. They looked at the Promised Land. They saw walls, and cities, and warriors that are bigger than they were. And Joshua said, "Hey, God's bigger than they are." But unbelief won the day and the people spent forty years wandering in the wilderness as a result. That's usually where unbelief takes you.

"It's bigger than God." That's what unbelief always says. It's what worry really says. We don't really believe that theologically, but practically we seem to. And we get beaten by the walls, beaten by the giants and the obstacles, because in effect, we respond as if they're just too big for God.

So what's the big thing that's making you afraid or discouraged? "These bills seem bigger than God." Really? "This crisis is bigger than God." Is it, really? "This pain, this illness, this heartbreak, this need, this family problem, is it bigger than God?" It's nowhere near. Compared to you, your obstacle is huge. But, you belong to a God who created and controls a hundred billion galaxies and everything in them. Why not measure your monster next to Him. You'll find your fear turn into faith and stress melting into peace. This is an awesome God we serve. You walk by faith, you measure the giant by God, not you by the giant. When you encounter something very big, oh, be awed, but not by what's big, but by your God who is bigger.

My three-year-old friend saw something that is bigger than he is, and so he thought it was bigger than God is. Well, remember, worry and unbelief always make that mistake. Maybe that's where you are right now. Well, don't miss a miracle because you let something loom larger in your heart than the awesome God of the cross, the God of the empty tomb, and the God of the universe!