But, one of the PRIMARY REASONS He gave us the Bible is so that we might come to know what kind of God He is. He knows if we do not come to know Him in all His greatness...
-We cannot worship Him.
-We will not serve Him.
-We cannot become like him.
So, a great deal of the Bible tells us that He is a God of kindness, love, mercy, patience, holiness, and that He is immutable, etc.
Also, the Bible tells us that The God of the Bible is omnipresent. In simple language that means God is HERE and THERE and EVERYWHERE all at the same time.
Jeremiah 23:24, "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord."
Illus: One little boy said to his dad, "Dad, why is there but one God?" The dad very wisely said, "Because God fills all the earth and there is no room for another one!"
Now, if you are one of those people who thinks that God has forsaken you and is no longer with you, you do not know the God of the Bible.
Illus: Every day we come into contact with people on our jobs, on the streets and in our neighborhoods. We look at some of these people from time to time and we know their FACES and their NAMES, and if someone asked us if we knew them, we would say, "Yes, I know them!" The fact is, we DO NOT know them. All we know about them is their names and their faces that we associate with the names.
When we "know" someone we know details about their life, such as:
• Are they married or single.
• What they like and do not like to do.
• What kind of car they drive.
• Where they live.
• If they have children.
• What their hobbies are.
• Where they go to church.
• If they are Christians or not.
These are only some of the details we know about people that we really know.
God gives us the Bible so WE CAN COME TO KNOW THAT HE IS AN OMNIPRESENT GOD. That is why you should:
• Take time, on a daily basis, to study His Word.
• Attend all the regular scheduled services of a Bible-teaching, Bible-preaching church.
You cannot know the God of the Bible unless you spend time in God's Word.
Illus: This is why the devil has gotten Christians so busy. He does not want them to have time for the Word of God, or for church. Why? Because the devil knows God reveals Himself through the Word of God.
The Bible tells us that God is omnipresent!
Illus: In fact, in Matthew 10:29 we are told that the omnipresent God knows if one little sparrow falls to the ground.
The omnipresent God, that sees every sparrow that falls to the ground, is the same God that watches over us every day with His presence. How does God's omnipresence benefit us? In many ways, such as:
I. HIS PRESENCE IS A COMFORT TO US.
We can all be thankful that God is OMNIPRESENT. Why?
If He was not an omnipresent God, it would mean that God could be in our church, but He could not be in the church down the street. Because God is omnipresent, it means He can be present in all churches, where people worship Him, at the same time.
Illus: David was a shepherd and he knew as a shepherd that there would be times when wild animals would come to attack his flock, but David said, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for THOU ART WITH ME..."
One of the great things about life is that we have our family and friends with us to SHARE THE GOOD TIMES and the BAD TIMES of our lives.
Did you know that there are some people in our society that do not have any family and friends - they are all alone!
Illus: Perhaps we have some widows here today whose mates have been gone some time and your children are grown and married with families of their own and you feel all alone. Here is the good news. The OMNIPRESENT GOD says to you, "I will never leave you nor forsake you.."
One of the major problems today that many are facing is the loneliness they feel. They will tell you they are surrounded by people, but they feel all alone. If they only knew the God of the Bible, they would know they are not alone!
We all can find great COMFORT in knowing that God is OMNIPRESENT. That is, we are not alone. Every day we have God with us. The psalmist said, Ps. 139:7-10, "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me."
While we, today, can rejoice in this life, knowing that God is OMNIPRESENT, we also need to consider one of the things that will make hell such a horrible place, and that is that the sinner will be forsaken by God..
Illus: On the cross of Calvary the Lord paid the price for our sins. On the cross He...
-Suffered thirst as no one has ever thirsted so we would never have to thirst like the rich man who cried out for one drop of water to cool his tongue as he suffered in hell. Jesus cried out, "I thirst!"
-Suffered loneliness. Always, and during His life on earth, He referred to God as His heavenly Father, but when He took our sins on Himself the "Son" relationship was broken. He became as a dreadful sinner before the Holy God of Heaven, Who cannot associate with evil. Jesus then cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!"
Oh, sinner, you may not think it is important now, but one of the horrible things about hell is that you will never again have access to the blessed presence of God!
What a comfort it is to know that the God of the Bible is with us every day of our lives. HIS PRESENCE IS A COMFORT TO US! Also...
II. HIS PRESENCE IS A CHALLENGE TO US.
Knowing God is with us every day not only COMFORTS US, it also CHALLENGES US.
Illus: A Christian man was saddened by the death of his father. His minister was talking to him about the fact that his dad was in heaven and he read Heb. 12:1-2, which says, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." When he got through reading this to the bereaved man, he told him that many believe that the "...great...cloud of witnesses..." could be all those, INCLUDING OUR LOVED ONES, who have gone to be with the Lord. That is, it is as if they are in the grandstand of heaven pulling for us. The man said, "Preacher, I thank you for sharing that with me. Just knowing that my Christian dad is watching me as I run this Christian race is a real CHALLENGE to 'run the best race I am capable of running.' I want to make him proud of me."
How much more then should we be challenged when we realize that our OMNIPRESENT GOD is with us every day. When we come to know He is that kind of God, we want to make Him proud.
Illus: Every good coach will encourage his players to invite their parents to come watch them play. Why? Because every good coach knows that nothing inspires a child to want to be his best like looking on the sidelines and seeing his parents encouraging him.
What a challenge it is to us to know that every day, everywhere we go, the OMNIPRESENT GOD is there watching us.
Illus: A good school teacher was telling how she will have a supervisor in her class watching her as she was going to teach a particular course. She told how having that supervisor watching made her want to do even more than she normally did. In other words, having her in the class motivated her to do better than she would ordinarily do.
When Christians come to realize that God is omnipresent they will recognize they cannot hide behind excuses. God is with us twenty-four hours a day! HIS PRESENCE IS A COMFORT TO US and HIS PRESENCE IS A CHALLENGE TO US. Also...
III. HIS PRESENCE IS A CAUTION TO US.
Illus: Dr. John Braille made it a practice to open his course on the doctrine of God at Edinburgh University with these words, "Gentlemen, we must remember when in discussing God, we cannot talk about Him without His hearing every word we say. We may be able to talk to our fellows, as it were, behind their backs, but God is everywhere, yes, even in this classroom. Therefore, in all of our discussions we must be aware of His infinite presence and talk about Him, as it were, before His face."
While we recognize that GOD'S PRESENCE brings COMFORT TO US and is a CHALLENGE TO US, we need to recognize God's presence is also a CAUTION TO US. Every day God sees the GOOD and the BAD that we do.
-STUDENT, the next time you are taking a test and the teacher has his/her back turned and the devil tempts you to cheat, remember that the teacher may not be able to see you, but God does see you because He never turns His back.
-YOUNG PERSON, the next time you are away from home on a date, remember that your parents may not be with you, but God is.
-HUSBAND, the next time you are on a business trip away from your loving wife, remember that she may not be able to see you, but God is there.
-WIFE, the next time you sit down to watch those "slop operas" on television that you would be ashamed to have anyone know that you watch, remember - God knows you are watching them!
Illus: Every preacher knows what it is to walk into a place and seeing the surprise and changes people go through when they notice that a preacher is there. The usual first statement is, "Preacher, excuse me, I did not know you were here."
Listen, respecting a preacher is good, but you need to recognize the holy God of heaven is with you all the time you do what you do and say what you say.
In Psalm 139:11-12 we read, "If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee." David knew that it doesn't matter if we do evil in a pitch dark place, or in broad daylight; God is where we are and can see as good in the dark as in the daylight!
Conclusion: Charles Collins, author of the well-known "Discourse on Freethinking." was one of the most infamous free thinkers of England in the 1700's. One day Mr. Collins met a poor working man on his way to church and asked where he was going. The poor man said to Mr. Collins, "To church, sir." Mr. Collins saw his opportunity to confuse the poor man by asking him, "Is your God a great God or a little God." The poor man gave him a perfect answer. He said, "He is so great, sir, that the heavens cannot contain Him, and so little that He can dwell in my heart."
God fills the heavens and earth and yet He is small enough to live within our hearts. God is everywhere.
Illus: God is like the sun in that:
-You can look in the vast ocean and see the reflection of the sun.
-You can look in the large lakes and see the reflection of the sun.
-You can look in the small streams and see the reflection of the sun.
-You can look in the small dew drop and see the reflection of the sun.
You can look anywhere in this universe that God created and see Him there.
Before we close this message about the OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD, I want every lost person, sinner, here to know that God is big enough to save you! Sometimes we hear a person say, "I am such a big sinner that the Lord cannot save me!" You need to recognize that God, Who fills the heavens and earth is more than big enough to save you. That is why you can come to Him for salvation today. You need to come today because you have no promise of having a future chance.
I. HIS PRESENCE IS A COMFORT TO US
II. HIS PRESENCE IS A CHALLENGE TO US
III. HIS PRESENCE IS A CAUTION TO US
