BlankGod is Omnipresent
January 31, 2021
A young boy and his mother were having a discussion during lunch. He asked her “Where’s God?”
She said, “He’s in heaven.”
The boy said, “So, God lives there?” MOM - “Yes.”
The boy then asked, “Then, where’s Jesus?”
The mom said, “well, Jesus is in your heart.”
The boy looked puzzled and asked - “But how can He be in heaven and in my heart at the same time?”
The mom said, “Sweetheart, it’s hard to explain.”
The boy paused and then asked, “So, where does the Holy Spirit live?”
The mom paused and said, “I think it’s time for a nap.”
When we think about it, we all want to know where God is. Just as I want to know where my kids are and what they’re up to, we all want to know “Where’s God?”
We’re on our 4th week of looking at the attributes of God. We’ve seen how God is eternal, infinite, omnipotent and omniscient. And today, we’re going to be looking at God’s omnipresence.
Omnipresence is probably the most difficult of the omni’s for people to grasp. Humanly speaking, we can only be one place at one time, but God is everywhere at the same time. Our problem is that we have nothing to compare to it. Is God all powerful? Yes, and we can slightly grasp that concept because we have power and strength. Does God have all knowledge? Absolutely --- and we can understand this a little, because we have some knowledge.
But there’s no sense in which we are can be present everywhere! We can’t be in two places at the same time, as much as we would like to. For that reason God’s omnipresence becomes even more mysterious to us.
The word omnipresence is exactly what it says. It means God is all - present. He’s everywhere at the same time. He is present everywhere all at the same time. We may see stuff like that in movies, but those are movies and this is real as we look at God.
Remember last week, we looked at the first 6 verses from Psalm 139 to help us picture God’s omniscience. David felt he couldn’t go anywhere or do anything without God knowing completely what his thoughts and actions were.
Well, David continued that thought process and in the following verses, Psalm 139:7-12, provides us with the greatest statement of God’s omnipresence. Listen to what David wrote - -
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.
As David considers how God knows him inside and out, he wonders where could he hide from the Lord. If he ascended to heaven, descended to hell, if he went east or west, to the farthest part of the seas — — it wouldn’t matter - - - because the Lord is already there.
What about the darkness of the night? Maybe God can’t see well in the darkest dark. That won’t stop God either. Listen to how David writes this. I LOVE this thought. It’s comforting and powerful. It should give us a great sense of encouragement - - - For God, darkness is like the light. The night is bright as day. Isn’t that great!? There is nothing that inhibits or stops God from being present with us.
There are several important implications of this truth. Whether we believe it or not, God is always present with us. Even when we can’t see or sense His presence, He is with us.
God is present in our worst moments. God’s omnipresence means He’s with us in the midst of suffering, whether it be disease, pain, sickness, sorrow, anger, grief, bitterness, divorce, betrayal, cancer, accidents, death, abuse, abortion, war, famine, natural disasters, and at the moment of death. God is there!
And in the same way, God is present with us in the midst of our best moments. He is with us in our victories, celebrations, healings, in new beginnings, in marriage, in forgiveness and grace and mercy. He’s there in new relationships, in new love, new homes, new life. God is always present!
God is also always, always available to us wherever we go, 24 hours a day. We always have His full attention, we don’t have to make an appointment, He’s never too busy to hear us when we pray, He’s never preoccupied with other problems.
Can you imagine what it would be like if we prayed and an angel responds with - - “I’m sorry, God is busy handling a major crisis in your neighbors life. Please leave your name and number and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.”
That will never happen because all of God is completely available to you no matter where you are, no matter what time of day. There could be a thousand wars in a thousand places, yet your God hears you as if you were the only one praying. That to me is super comforting.
He fully present as if God were nowhere else.
Someone wrote that God’s presence is like the air we breathe. Air is odorless, tasteless, and invisible. Most of the time we don’t think about the air we breathe, yet we depend on it for our very existence. In the same way, we often don’t realize God is present with us, yet He is always there. Every moment of every day, no matter what. He’s there!! Just like the air we breathe, God is always there.
James tells us —
8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. - James 4:8
You see, we are to draw near to God. We are to take intentional steps towards God. And as we draw near to God in our spiritual journey, God promises to draw even closer to us. It does take work. That’s why reading the Bible, prayer, study, doing the spiritual disciplines are so important. These help us to draw closer and experience the power and grace of God. God is always near.
Even when we say God is in my heart . . . is He on the outer reaches of your heart or is God in the inner sanctum of your heart? It may sound like semantics, but I’d kind of like God as close as possible.
One of my favorite passages, and one you’ve heard me proclaim it a number of times, because I believe it and you need to believe it as well is, God tells us -
5 Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. - Hebrews 13:5
We see this same thought in Deuteronomy 31:6 and 8 - as Moses said ---
6 ... It is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. 8 ... God will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. - Deuteronomy 31:6, 8
Isn’t that great to hear? What a great promise from God. Even at the scariest point in life, He promises to be with us. At the end of the great commission, what does Jesus promise us?
20 I am with you always. - Matthew 28:20
I love it! I am always with you!! That gives me courage and power!
I remember the first time I was sharing my story, over 30 years ago in church. I was nervous and anxious, then I read this scripture in the bulletin. It was God telling Joshua as he was about to lead the people of Israel into the promised land -
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9
That’s a great passage. It’s why Debbie and I named Joshua, Joshua. I want you to really think about what God is telling us. Firstly, it’s a command. Literally, God is giving us marching orders! The General issued a command - Be courageous!
Be strong and courageous - it’s not being cocky. It’s not being arrogant or using our macho muscle. It’s strength and courage which comes through God. It’s standing firm in the midst of difficult times.
Then God adds - - Don’t be frightened or dismayed / discouraged / depressed / feeling broken. Sometimes that’s easier said than done. But that’s what God’s calling for us to do. And here’s where it gets really cool . . . it’s all for the same reason - - - He concludes by saying the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
In other words, you can be strong and filled with courage, you don’t have to be afraid, dismayed, discouraged ... Why? Because of the same promise on both ends ... the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go! You gotta love it.
I’m just getting started folks. This is fun stuff. You never knew theology could be fun. This is really what we’re doing . . . talking theology. But it’s fun to realize what our God does for us because of who He is.
As the people of Israel feared their oppressors, listen to what Isaiah said about God
10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
13 For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” - Isaiah 41:10-13
It’s so powerful. God’s telling the people, those oppressors will be defeated. They can’t stand before God. God holds our hand and walks us through those difficult times. So, fear not, God is our helper, He is the Lord of Hosts.
Then we have this promise from God which started in OT. In Isaiah 7:14, we read
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
In Hebrew the name Immanuel is made up of 2 words -
IMM - with and EL - God
So, the Hebrew literally means with us is God.
And we know in the birth story, Mary was to name Jesus Immanuel --- God with us. Yup, that’s my God. That’s my Jesus, always with me. He came into the world for you and me. He is with us.
Oh, I’m not done yet. Remember that story at the beginning when the boy asked about the Holy Spirit? We get confused on this one too, don’t we. But just hold on for a moment.
Because something happened which caused Jesus to tell the disciples something that in our minds makes no sense, but in the spiritual world makes complete sense. Jesus told them — — He was going to be leaving them. Can you imagine it? Can you imagine being a disciple, traveling all over with Jesus. In some ways believing He was never going to die, that He really is God. The disciples were shocked and distraught, but in John 14, Jesus told the disciples the Holy Spirit would come upon them.
Jesus said -
16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Then Jesus adds,
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. - John 14:16-17, 26
So, now the Holy Spirit becomes the guarantee that God is with us and will remain with us forever. Never to fail us, never to forsake us, always to be with us as our comforter, our teacher, our guide, our healer, to lead us to our Messiah, our final and only hope. You see, Jesus physically, as a man, could not be with us everywhere at the same time. So, His leaving the disciples, leaving this earth, was really for our benefit. We could now experience the power and glory and comfort and teaching of the Spirit of God.
So, friends, lots of great teaching today. Not because I’m the teacher, but because God proclaimed to us that He is omnipresent. He is always, always with us and always knowing and by the way, He is all powerful to make it all happen!
You think I’m done?! NO WAY! This is too much fun!! I’ve got one more thing for you, then you can take a deep breath and hold onto these words.
The Bible also tells us that he draws near to us in times of pain and suffering. David tells us in Psalm 34:18 - - -
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. - Psalm 34:18
Psalm 34 is a great reminder from David of God’s presence in our lives and the need to call on Him and to have reverence for God. Now, as we close, I want you to listen to these words from the most familiar of all Psalms - - -
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, FOR YOU ARE WITH ME; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
I want you to notice a shift in this psalm. 4 times in the first 3 verses - David referred to God as HE. He makes me lie down - He leads me beside still waters - He restores my soul - He leads me in paths of righteousness.
NOW - notice what David does - - -
David now shifts from He to a personal YOU. What does he say in verse 4?
YOU ARE WITH ME - then he continues using YOU for the rest of the psalm.
Why the change from “he” to “you?” I can only speculate. Because even though the Lord is with us every day, we don’t always feel His presence. Sometimes it’s a struggle. BUT in the moment of death, we are not left alone. The Lord Jesus comes for us and takes us home. Thank God, I don’t have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death alone. For He comes, God enters the room, He reaches down and takes hold of my anxious hand and He walks with me from this life into eternal life.
The shepherd is no longer up ahead leading the flock. The valley is too dark, too scarey. Now He’s walking with us, side by side reassuring His sheep by His calm presence.
If God is with us, we really do we have to fear?
We can struggle with many other enemies and defeat them, but we can’t defeat death.
We’ll all eventually go through the valley of the shadow of death. We need One who will bring light in the darkness. Where will we find a guide who can take us through that valley? We have One who has already traveled that road. One who’s been there and can take us by the hand.
Where can we find One like that? His name is Jesus! He’s been there before. He knows the way through. He’s been to the light on the other side and He’ll come for us. And because He’s defeated death, He can come back for you and I.
Thank God we don’t walk through that valley alone. Jesus will lead us.
The saints of God have nothing to fear in the moment of death. There may be suffering, but the moment will be filled with joy as our Lord Jesus escorts God’s children through the darkest valley. Only Jesus Christ can help us. And He does.
