5 Truths To Seeing God Everywhere Series

I want to offer you a vision test this morning. The good news is, I’m not going to dilate your eyes. No, I want you to see clearly for this exam. This test is for your spiritual sight. I want to offer you a vision test of how you view God. For how you view God can either distort your life or it can define your life.

It is really important for you to define your life with an accurate view of God. Here’s why. If you’ve attended a twelve-step program, one of the first ideas for your recovery is to “submit to god as you understand him.” Recently a philosophy professor and lawyer spoke of how her view of God changed because of her time in a twelve-step program. Science had convinced her that God could not exist and did not exist. Yet over time, she recognized her need of help in overcoming an eating addition. While she was attending a twelve-step program, she realized she wasn’t happy. The words of the first step presented in the twelve-step program of caused her to pause: “Submit to god as you understand him.” If your view of God matters for you to overcome your addictions, it must be important.

So here’s a spiritual vision test as I want you to see Five Truths to See God Everywhere.

1. My Sight is Handicapped

It’s not always easy to see God. Our minds are hostile toward God. David recognizes this: “And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:24)! Our minds are flawed. Our capacity to reason is flawed while our minds are bent away from the holiness of God. God is incomprehensible to us – there’s so much about Him that we do not know and we will never know. Know this: the moment Adam & Eve sinned, they hid themselves from God. Studying God is not the same as studying science for when you studying God, He’s studying you. “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21). Again, our minds are hostile toward God. The Bible the difference between our minds and God’s minds: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9).

And, I’ve noticed this about many Christians when we gain even a little bit of knowledge of Scripture, we quickly become arrogant. In fact, I think it is wise for us to stop and pray to ask God to enlighten our minds and humble us before going forward.

Father in Heaven, reverse the effects of sin on our minds. Reduce our hostility toward you when we feel threatened by you poking around in our lives. Cause us to see your kindness and goodness spread before us. Take our minds to a place where we are energized by knowing you better. Make knowing you more attractive than wealth. Renew my mind and shape my thinking.

Again, I ask you to humble me and I open my life and my thinking to your will. In Jesus Name, Amen

This leads me to my second truth in order to see God everywhere…

2. I Can Best See God in Scripture

The Bible is the curtain pulled back on God, so we can better see Him and know Him and ultimately trust Him. Many people love to say they see God in a beautiful sunset or on a mountain. Yes, you can see God in nature (Psalm 19:1). But to go from nature up to see the God of nature is hard for it is hard work going up a steep hill. It’s better to start at nature’s God and then move down to nature because everybody knows it’s always better to work downhill.

Here are three layers to viewing God. The Bibles offers us three layers to accurately view God.

2.1 Layer One: The Names of God

The Bible offers us the various names of God including Yahweh (Lord), Elohim (God), and El Shadday (God Almighty). You can study the various names of God to better see Him.

2.2 Layer Two: Portraits of God

The Bible presents portraits of God, or word pictures, for us to better see God. For example, the Bible pictures God for us as a Shepherd and a Judge. God is even pictured as a Lawyer (see Isaiah 1-3) and even a Defense Attorney (1 John 2:1). One of the favorite ways the Bible pictures God is a King – over 2,800 times Scripture refers to God as King. You can study the various portraits of God in Scripture to better see Him.