Knowing God Series #4
“Our Infinitely Available, Aware and Able God”
Introduction
The only way you can get to know someone is to spend time with them. The more time and energy expended in the relationship the better you get to know each other. Some couples stop investing the energy. They get to a certain point and stop pursuing any deeper relationship. The same is true with God. It is possible to lose the love you may have had at the beginning. Certainly the church at Ephesus did and Jesus reprimanded them for it.
‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Revelation 2:2-5 (ESV)
Think back what your relationship with your spouse was like at first. What are some words that would describe it? Not many have maintained that intensity. Life happened. It happens with God also. Jesus told them to compare the current picture to the previous. My purpose is to motivate us do the works we did at first.
I. The nature of God
II. The Attributes of God
A. God is infinitely great in His ability / capacity
1. God is SELF-EXISTENT
2. God is ETERNAL
3. God is SELF-SUFFICIENT
4. God is IMMUTABLE (unchanging)
Introduction
Ever felt lonely? Ever felt clueless? Ever felt helpless? This message is for you! Today we will explore three more truths concerning God that affirm His greatness. I call them the “omni triplets.” Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent.
David eloquently touches on all three of them in Psalm 139. These truths run all though Scripture in both declarative and descriptive form. Like the other attributes we have touched on so far, these also convey personal implications.
5. God is OMNIPRESENT which make Him continually available
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. Psalm 139:7-12 (ESV)
They answer to living a fearless life flows out of this fundamental truth. “God is with us.” Emmanuel; God with us. Christ in you the hope of Glory. “I will be with you even to the end of the age.”
Description
In a world of busyness and unavailability of what we may need, we can take great comfort in knowing we have a God who is never far from us. Yes He is a God who is far beyond us but He is also always near us.
"Am I a God who is near," declares the LORD, "And not a God far off? Jeremiah 23:23
Jesus promised to never leave us or forsake us. Solomon understood the omnipresence of God
Will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much
less this house that I have built! 1 Kings 8:27
God’s omnipresence is a specific application of the truth of His infinitude. If God has no limits, it would naturally follow that He would not be limited by space. God is spirit and thus can be both near and far at the same time. His presence fills this very room. His presence is at the same time with my aunt in Florida and my brother in Oregon. God is not made up of parts or some mystical force permeating the atmosphere, He is personally present at all times in every place.
We talk to Him this morning while a lonely missionary wakes restlessly in the middle of the night and talks to Him at the same time. Fortunately not only is He present everywhere but can be equally attentive to everyone and everything that needs His attention. Just because I may be present in the room is no guarantee that I am attentive to everything and everyone in the room.
God is not only present everywhere but also actively and positively involved in my life.
God is over all things, under all things, outside all; within but not enclosed; without but not excluded; above but not raised up; below but not depressed; wholly above, presiding; wholly beneath, sustaining; wholly within, filling.”
I like Tony Evan’s titles.
He is too close to for us to ignore.
He is too caring to ignore us.
He is too big to avoid.
You can’t be lost. You can’t hide or run.
Question
• If God’s presence is everywhere, how can one depart from the presence of God?
How is it that we don’t see him or feel the intensity of His presence all the time?
Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Genesis 4:16
And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 2 Thes. 1:9
Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Psalm 10:1
The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous. Proverbs 15:29
Even though God is equally and wholly present everywhere, He is not equally related to everyone and everything. Statements about God’s presence in the Bible address relationship not to literal presence. “Call on Him while He is near.” Speaks of relationship. These statements define relational not spatial proximity. Near and far, close and distant describe the direction of His attention. Imagine being in a room where no one ever looked your direction. Even though I am present in this room, my direction of attention is not toward every person at all times.
I do not have the same relationship with every person equally and therefore my presence triggers a variety of responses. When my wife is home, I am aware of her presence even though I may not see it or feel it every moment of the day. There may be any variety of encounters with varying intensity when she is present. Physical, emotional, intellectual, positive, not so positive.
So with God. His present is continual. Our awareness varies from time to time.
Implications
• With regard to Discipline
What difference would it make in our daily walk were we to practice a continual awareness of God’s presence throughout every day? Brother Andrew wrote a classic book called “Practicing the Presence of God.” We live like somehow God doesn’t really see or notice. The reality is that nothing ever gets by Him because He is always everywhere. Adam and Eve thought they could hide and man has tried to hide from God ever since. Just as Adam discovered, we must continually realize that there is nothing hid from the presence of the one who will bring all things hidden into the light.
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13 (ESV)
Nathan told David,
“You have despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in His sight.”
David prayed,
“Against You and You only have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight.”
Note: The unbeliever will not be able to escape God’s active presence.
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, "Smite the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, and break them on the heads of them all! Then I will slay the rest of them with the sword; they will not have a fugitive who will flee, or a refugee who will escape. 2"Though they dig into Sheol, from there shall My hand take them; and though they ascend to heaven, from there will I bring them down. 3"And though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will search them out and take them from there; and though they conceal themselves from My sight on the floor of the sea, from there I will command the serpent and it will bite them. 4"And though they go into captivity before their enemies, from there I will command the sword that it slay them, and I will set My eyes against them for evil and not for good." Amos 9:1-4
• With regard to Devotion
You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fulness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:11
Thus says the LORD, "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? 2For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word”. Isaiah 66:1-2
• With regard to our daily duty
“Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the earth.”
• With regard to our daily difficulties
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. Isaiah 43:2
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Psalm 46:2
Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," 6so that we confidently say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?" Hebrews 13:5-6
The Word of God is very clear about the impact of His presence. Emmanuel, God with us. Now we see in a glass darkly, then face to face. We will be like Him because we will see him as He is. God is everywhere present. He is ever available to interact and fellowship with us. He is there to communicate and touch us. He is there to instruct us and admonish us. The more we learn to recognize His presence and practice His presence, the more precious those moments will become. When we live in recognition of His presence, we cannot be the same. With God, we are never alone. God’s presence not only fills the universe but His awareness absorbs it all.
6. God is OMNISCIENT (Aware)
O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. 5You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Psalm 139:1-6
This attribute means that God knows everything about anything and everything. God does not learn, never has learned and does not need to learn.
“God perfectly knows Himself, and being the source and author of all things, it follows that He knows all that can be known. And this He knows instantly and with a fullness of perfection that includes every possible item of knowledge concerning everything that exists or could have existed anywhere in the universe at any time in the past or that may exist in the centuries or ages yet unborn.
God knows instantly and effortlessly all matter and all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirit and all spirits, all being and every being, all creaturehood and all creatures, every plurality and all pluralities, all law and every law, all relations, all causes, all thoughts, all mysteries, all enigmas, all feelings, all desires, every unuttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and in earth, motions, space, time, life, death, good, evil, heaven and hell.
Because God knows all things perfectly, He knows nothing better than any other thing, but all things equally as well. He never discovers anything, He is never surprised, never amazed. He never wonders about anything.”
Why then to we try to tell God what to do or inform Him about life as if He didn’t know.
God is not only available, due to his omnipresence, but he is also fully aware of our situation. Just in this one Psalm the writer acknowledges God’s awareness of our body functions, our thoughts, our activities, our leisure, our disposition, and our actual and intended speech.
This awareness includes active loving involvement. “enclosed me (care), laid hand on me (guidance). God is intimately aware of everything going on all at one time. He continually monitors all the feelings, thoughts, heart aches and dreams, of 6 billion people. Israel cried to God and He answered, “I have seen your pain.” I am aware of what you are facing.
He is not only there, but he is aware of everything there is to know about everything all at once.
Implications
His plan is perfect. It is the best of all possible plans. He is the source of all wisdom and knowledge. His way is the truth. His way is best whether we understand it or not.
James 1 affirms that: “If any of you lack wisdom, let Him ask of God who gives to all liberally (without limits) and without scolding.”
The Bible is full of exhortations to seek wisdom from above. The Bible also encourages you, in light of God’s awareness and care, to cast all your care upon Him for He really cares for you.
7. God is omnipotent (Able)
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Psalm 139:13-16 (ESV)
There is no greater demonstration of God’s power than His prized creation. The Psalmist’s contemplation of the universe and stars made him feel insignificant in comparison.
What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than God (Elohim) and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, Psalm 8:4-6 (ESV)
Scripture abounds with glowing references and examples of God’s power. The omnipotence of God may be described like this.
By the mere exercise of His will, God produces whatever He wills.
There was no exertion. He spoke and it came into being. We not only have a God who is available due to his omnipresence and a God who is aware of everything due to his omniscience, but we have a God who is able and willing to act on our behalf and work all things for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. We may not always understand His perspective and timing, but nothing escapes his notice and nothing is beyond his ability. Isaiah 40 exalts the majestic power of our infinitely great God.
2Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
70% World made up of water. Pacific Ocean alone is 64 million square miles with an average depth of 14,000 feet. And God holds it in the palm of His hand.
And marked off the heavens by the span,
The heavens are so expansive that we have to measure in light years. A light year is the distance light travels at @186,000 miles per SECOND. The estimated size of our universe is 10 billion light years. And God measures it between His pinky and thumb.
And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
Ever count dust particles?
And weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in a pair of scales?
Mt Everest at 29,000 and Rainer at 14, 000.
Isaiah went on to talk about God’s wisdom and power and significance over the nations.
18To whom then will you liken God? 21Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22It is He who sits above the vault of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. 23He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. 25"To whom then will you liken Me that I should be his equal?" says the Holy One. 26Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power not one of them is missing. 27Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God"?
Basically the people lost sight of the fact that God was always available to them, aware of them and able to help them.
28Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. 29He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. 30Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, 31Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.
9The eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” 2 Chron. 16:9
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty Psalm 104:1
CLOSING THOUHGTS
Even though at times it seems God is silent and indifferent. Even though at times God seems to be far off. Even though at times God seems powerless or at least reluctant to act.
Please don’t assume that because you feel that way it is because God does not care. Many are angry with God for any number of reasons. We wrongly assume silence is an indication of disapproval.
• Scripture affirms that he is a God who is omnipresent and thus available whenever we call. Indeed invites us to call upon Him while He is near.
• Scripture affirms we serve an omniscient God who knows all there is to know about everything and thus aware of what is going on and what needs to go on.
• Scripture affirms that we serve a God who is omnipotent and thus able to bring about everything He has purposed to do and promised us He would do.
God simply wants our absolute trust. He wants us to continue to trust in the darkness what He taught us in the light. Because we can’t see him does not mean he is not there. Because we don’t hear from Him does not mean he does not care. Because he doesn’t act like we think he should does not mean he is powerless or indifferent. Trust comes when we put our confidence in the truth of the Bible and not in our senses. Faith sometimes is like flying an Airplane in clouds by using instruments only. Life can at times get completely fogged in and the scripture serve as instruments to keep us from disorientation and destruction. God is always there, he always sees, he’s always able to provide all our needs and bring about his glory.
How can we respond to such lofty truth? Perhaps we can pick up at least a few clues from the final verses of Psalm 139
• Spend time thinking about Him. Meditate on His attributes.
17How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. Psa 139:17-24
He alone is worthy of our devotion. Allow no other gods to take His place in our heart and mind.
• Invite God to turn the searchlight of His truth into every part of my being.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.
Allow Him to search your attitudes to Him.
Allow Him to test your heart and thoughts.
Allow Him to try your anxieties that reveal your lack of trust.
Allow Him to dislodge any hurtful way or pattern that may be hidden.
Invite Him to lead you with his omniscience in the everlasting way.
God called us to participate in his eternal purpose.
• In his omniscience he has gifted us and placed us in the body of Christ.
• Through his omnipresence He is available for guidance, confidence and boldness as we march against the very gates of hell.
• Through his omnipotence, which mightily works within us, we have the victory through Christ Jesus our Lord over the world, the flesh and the very hosts of hell.
Our job is to trust Him.
The life that I now life in this flesh, I life by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Our God is always available, intensely aware and powerfully able to keep us from falling, able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think and able to continue to make us what He designed us to be. God’s omnipresence calls us to embrace Him and know him and walk more carefully. God’s omniscience calls us to seek His truth and trust HIS plan. God’s omnipotence calls us to draw on HIS strength to mount up with wings like eagles.
