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.
2.3 Layer Three: The Attributes of God
The Bible describes God with numerous traits, attributes, or characteristics. This is a series devoted to this third layer of accurately seeing God – we’re talking God’s attributes or His traits. In the weeks to come we’ll explore His faithfulness, His holiness, and His goodness.
Today’s Scripture
“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.” (Psalm 139:7–12)
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23–24)
In the heart of this series, we are spending four Sundays examining Psalm 139. This psalm actually breaks down into four almost completely equal and matching parts of six verses each. The first part (verses 1-6) tells us God knows everything. We are surrounded by His knowledge. The second part (verses 7-12) tells us God is everywhere. We are surrounded by His presence. The third part (verses 13-18) tells us God is invincible. We are surrounded by His power. While the fourth part (verses 19-24) is a response to the first three parts, telling us God is pure and holy. We are surrounded by His pure justice. Putting it all together, God not only knows what needs to be done, but He’s also where He needs to be, and lastly, He has the power to do it while there.
Psalm 139 celebrates God’s invasion of our privacy. This is known as God’s omnipresence and this aspect of God can be powerful in your life.
Abraham Lincoln gave a farewell speech from his railroad car before he departed for his inauguration in Washington. The speech was short and Lincoln devoted sixty-three words of his 152 words to sketching the omnipresence of God. Think of it. Nearly forty percent of the speech was devoted to this theme. He says from the steps of the rail car, “Without the assistance of that Divine Being … I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him, who can go with me, and remain with you and be every where for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well.”
3. God is Always with Me
David asks two rhetorical questions in verse seven: “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence” (Psalm 139:7)? And the answer to both is obvious – “Nowhere.” Let’s do this together, I’ll read the questions and you answer “Nowhere.” “Where shall I go from your Spirit?” “Nowhere” “Where shall I flee from your presence?” “Nowhere” Right now, I ask you would you all point to exact spot where God is located? Look around for a moment and see where everyone is pointing. While we can only be in one place at one time, God is not limited by space or time.
Now, David’s song/poem is really a masterpiece before you. David doesn’t just offer us information about God; instead, he tells us how he feels about that information. David doesn’t just give us insights about God; he tells us how his heart reacts toward God. To make his point, David points to three items that fail to separate us from God.
3.1 Death Cannot Separate Me
“If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there” (Psalm 139:8)! No matter how high I go, God is there. No matter how low I go, God is there. I cannot move so high up that God is not present. And if I reversed course and descended into the depths of the grave, God is waiting patiently for me there as well.
3.2 Distance Cannot Separate Me
“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” (Psalm 139:9–10). If I could highjack a light beam, traveling at 186,000 miles per second, and go as far as it would take me, God would be there. Yes, if you were to highjack a light beam, you could still not escape God. “He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind…” (Psalm 104:3).
Return again to verses 9 & 10: “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” (Psalm 139:9–10). The morning sun appears in the east, does it not? And if you are in Israel where David is writing this song, the Mediterranean Sea is your nation’s boundary on the west. So put them together now and He is saying God is with me if I travel east and if I travel west. You cannot move so high up or so low down, that God is not present. And you cannot move so far east nor can you travel so far west, that God is not present.
3.3 Darkness Cannot Separate Me
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” (Psalm 139:11–12). Turn off the lights, pull the drapes, and close the blinds. You may even pull the covers over your head. While darkness may conceal one man from another, darkness it can never hide me from God.
Have your heard about the little boy at the family reunion?
There was a basket of apples at the very beginning of the serving line and someone had written a big sign that said, “God is watching. Take only one.”
At the end of the line, next to the chocolate chip cookies, a little boy had written a little sign that said, “Take as many cookies as you want. God is busy watching the apples.”
You cannot move so high up or so low down, that God is not present. You cannot escape to the far nor or to the west, that God is not present. And God meets you in the light of day and in the darkness of night.
Death Doesn’t Hide Me from God.
Distance Doesn’t Hide Me from God.
Darkness Doesn’t Hide Me from God.
The Bible teaches that God is present everywhere. He is present with you in your classroom just as He is present in the far-distant galaxies of the Hubble telescope. God is in the homeless shelter off Lancaster in Fort Worth as He is in the Crescent Court of Dallas.
So here’s our vision test - it is best to see instantly and regularly that God is not like us. I get tired; God does not. I need to learn; God does not. I am delayed by traffic; God’s always present. We need to have our spiritual eyes examined so can focus clearly and accurately on God.
4. God Is Beyond Global; He Isn’t Local
Someone may ask, “How big is God?” “But 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)! “How big is God?” You cannot measure God. God transcends all limitations. God is equidistant to you no matter where you are. God doesn’t wear the flag of your favorite nation or your sports team. God is present in the giant cathedrals of Europe and in the tiny churches of West Texas. He is present in the urban jungle of Chicago and in the steamy, humid jungles of the Amazon. “Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:24).
God is Spirit and He does not have a body (John 4:24). God is Spirit so the laws of physics cannot explain Him. God does not fill a space like a gas might fill a space. If I brought in a canister of a particular kind of gas and I opened it, it would go out and fill the room. Yes, it would be everywhere, but basically what’s happening is you’re extending the molecules, so some of the gas is there, some of the gas is there, and some of the gas is there. God’s presence is not diluted. God is never spread thin. All of Him is in Chicago and all of Him is in Calcutta. No matter where you are, you have all of Him. God created all things out of nothing, he did not have to “move out of the way” to make room for the world. God’s circumference is nowhere and His center is everywhere.
5. God’s Presence Assures Me
I hurry to a conclusion. Even though God is everywhere, there are times when He feels far away. Here’s how to close the distance with God, so to speak.
5.1 God Cannot Be Far Away
“You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me” (Psalm 139:5). When your feelings cause you to think God has abandoned you, you must remind yourself not to trust your feeling. “…I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5b). We cannot be in more than one place at one time. While we reach for omnipresence ourselves, we guarantee that we will be fully present nowhere. We spread ourselves thin; God never does. Our best efforts at multitasking make us people of divided attentions, affections, efforts, and loyalties.
5.2 He Comes to You
“The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:15–18). God’s Presence Assures Me – He is always with me. Jesus said to His disciples, “I am always with you. Always.” God is not like you and that’s a good thing.
The Five Truths to Seeing God Everywhere are…
1. My Sight is Handicapped
2. I Can Best See God in Scripture
3. God is Always with Me
4. God Is Mobile; He Isn’t Local
5. God’s Presence Assures Me
