“Where is God?” To the man without Christ, the answer is ‘nowhere’.
Either a man declares himself an atheist and literally believes God is -nowhere-, or, if he serves false gods, God is for all intents and purposes, -nowhere-.
In I Cor 2 Paul explained that spiritual truth must be spiritually discerned.
Elsewhere in scripture we are assured that man without Christ, is spiritually dead. He is dead in trespasses and sins, and therefore has no spiritual senses for God to reveal Himself to.
Jesus Himself told Nicodemus that unless a man is born from above (spiritual birth), he cannot understand or comprehend the Kingdom of God.
So for the man without Christ, God cannot be found. “I am the way and the truth and the life” said Jesus, “no man comes to the Father except through Me.”
(Read Isa 7:14 and Matt 1:23)
The announcement made to all mankind in this verse from Isaiah, is that God would dwell with His nation. In reference to the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, the birth of Christ, Matthew quotes Isaiah to show that the promise has come to pass, and for his non-Jewish readers he interprets the Hebrew word, “Emmanuel”, saying, “God with us”.
I WANT TO SHOW YOU TODAY THAT GOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN WITH US.
I WANT TO SHOW YOU THAT FOR GOD, BEING WITHIN REACH OF THE SEEKING HEART WAS, FOR HIM, NOT ENOUGH.
I WANT TO SHOW YOU THAT THE GOOD NEWS, FIRST FOR THE JEW AND THEN FOR ALL OF MANKIND, IS THAT GOD SOUGHT US!
First then, GOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN WITH US
In the book of Acts, Luke recorded for us the sermon of Paul to the Greek philosophers on Mars Hill in Athens. In the course of that sermon he said,
“...and has made from one (man) every nation to dwell on the face of the earth, and has appointed their times and the boundaries of their habitations, that they might seek for God; if perhaps they would grope after Him and find Him. Though He is not far from any one of us, for in Him we live and move and exist.”
The point Paul was making to these worshippers of many gods, these worshippers of man-made philosophies, was that God is not contained anywhere, but that God contains.
Think of it this way. If you drop a bucket into the ocean, it will sink to the bottom. Now you can say that the bucket is filled with water, but at the same time, the bucket is surrounded by that same water...such a large body of water that the bucket becomes insignificant in comparison.
God is with us always, in that He contains and transcends all that He has made; the universe we live in and Heaven itself.
In relation to mankind though, God has always been personally with us in more tangible ways. Let’s take a brief run through the Old Testament.
In the Garden of Eden, we are told, God walked with Adam, until Adam sinned and through that sin broke fellowship with God for himself and all of mankind to come; for all of mankind was in Adam’s loins when he sinned, therefore all are guilty of sin. But it is important to note here that from the very beginning, God wanted fellowship with His creation. He condescended to actually walk in the garden with his son, his friend Adam, in the cool of the day.
I personally believe that even as early as this, these visits to Adam were pre-incarnate appearances of Christ in His divinity.
Throughout the Old Testament we see accounts of men and women of God being visited by someone referred to as the “Angel of the Lord”. It is very commonly accepted that the Angel of the Lord also referred to pre-incarnate appearances of Christ. The evidence for this is that these folks offered Him sacrifice and bowed down to worship Him, and He accepted their sacrifices and their worship. A created angel of God would never do that.
He is also seen in this light as the “Captain of the Lord’s Host”, who appeared to Joshua prior to the fall of Jericho, to give him encouragement and instruction for battle.
Let’s look at some more specific accounts.
The Lord spoke to Abraham and called him out of the land of the Chaldees, telling him to go out from his home and that God would lead him to a place he knew not. In faith he went out and was promised that his descendants would be greater in number than the sand on the seashore.
He later appeared to Abraham as a human visitor, with two angels who also appeared in human form, but Abraham recognized Him. We know, because Abraham offered Him sacrifice, which He accepted, and then in his discussion about the judgment to come on Sodom, called Him “Lord” several times.
It was early in this visit that He told Abraham that He would visit him about a year from that time, and that Sarai would conceive in her old age and bear a son; and that through his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
He visited Moses at the burning bush; calling him into service in delivering His people out of Egypt and to the promised land. He was with them during the plagues, keeping the effects of the plagues from affecting them in any way; and when they went out from Egypt He was with them in the pillar of smoke by day and the pillar of fire by night, to guide them through the wilderness.
He was with them to feed them and give them water miraculously; He was with them to fight their enemies for them; He was with them to give them laws by which to govern their lives so that if they would obey those laws they would please God and dwell safely in their land.
God was with all the patriarchs, often appearing to them in human form to have fellowship with them. He appeared to Isaac, Jacob, Joseph.
And God was with the prophets. Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Elijah, Ezekiel, Zechariah....all of them. He was with them to give them their messages to Israel. When they said, “Thus saith the Lord,” the were quoting Him directly. You and I can say, “The scripture says”, because we are quoting those who heard the Lord and wrote down His words. But they were hearing His voice and then turning around and saying, “The Lord hath said”.
God has always yearned for fellowship with His creation. Those who were blind to his presence were not blinded by God, but by sin. Unbelief. God draws the line between belief and unbelief very simply and very finally; we’re going to see that in the end, but first, let’s talk about why BEING WITHIN REACH OF THE SEEKING HEART WAS NOT ENOUGH.
God has revealed Himself to mankind in every conceivable way throughout history. He has spoken verbally from the heavens, He is displayed in His creation, His miracles, His appearances to godly men and women...and at every turn, every step along the way, His purpose has been to declare His Christ...the promised One who would come and redeem mankind from sin back to God, so that He might finally have that desired fellowship with them.
In the fullness of time, says Paul to the Galatians, “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons”
Jesus Himself said of Himself, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” and “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many”.
Throughout His entire ministry on this earth He was calling men to the Father through faith. His message was always “Come”. “Come to me, all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” “He who drinks the water that I give will never thirst” “I am the bread of life”. “I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. ANYONE WHO BELIEVES IN ME, THOUGH HE DIES, YET SHALL HE LIVE, AND ANYONE WHO LIVES AND BELIEVES IN ME SHALL NEVER DIE”
Man could not climb up to God, so God came down to man in the person of Jesus.
And we find ourselves in the third thing I want to show you today; THE GOOD NEWS, FOR THE JEW FIRST AND THEN FOR ALL OF MANKIND, IS THAT GOD SOUGHT US.
In the third chapter of Romans Paul said, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside. together they have become useless; there is none who does good. There is not even one.”
He made it clear in these verses and others in those early chapters of his letter to the Romans that man is helpless, and not only helpless but in deliberate rebellion against God, and not only in rebellion, but declared enemies of God.
No one seeks for Him on their own volition; they can only come to Him as the Holy Spirit draws them. No one does good, no one understands, no one knows the way.
But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
What is the main point? God wanted our fellowship and was willing to pay the greatest cost to purchase us back to Himself; and that cost was the shed blood of His own sinless Son...
...and friend here today I want to assure you that if God was willing and even pleased to sacrifice His only Son on Calvary’s cross in order to provide eternal life for you and me and all who would believe, then you can rest assured that the only way you’re going to get to Heaven is by way of that cross!
Is God still with us today? The answer is uncatagorically, “YES!” Jesus promised His followers that when He left He would send the Holy Spirit. He was WITH them in person, but after His accomplished work on the cross He came in Holy Spirit to be IN them...and in us, and in all who believe.
He told Nicodemus that except a man be born from above he could not understand spiritual things; and billions of people over the centuries have discovered that promise to be absolutely true. Under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit they have repented of their sin and turned to God in faith in the shed blood of Christ for that sin, and have been immediately indwelt by the Holy Spirit...GOD WITH THEM...and have entered into eternal, blissful, glorious fellowship with the God and King of the universe; ushered into His presence by their Savior.
But wait; there’s more!
As I near a close, please listen to Zechariah 14:4
“And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.”
...and in Acts chapter one the risen Christ takes His disciples to the top of the Mount of Olives where He gives them some words of encouragement and promises the Holy Spirit, then ascends from there up into heaven. As they stand watching even after He has disappeared from view, two angels appear next to them saying,
“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heave, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven”.
Jesus IS going to return folks. God, with us. He is going to descend from Heaven to the earth and touch down precisely on the spot where His foot left; the top of the Mount of Olives, and establish His Kingdom on earth for a thousand years before He creates a New Heavens and a New Earth, where all who have believed in Him will rule and reign with Him eternally.
Now here is the line that God draws between belief and unbelief.
It is not belief in His works that saves you. The children of Israel saw His works in for forty years, yet most of them fell in the wilderness through unbelief.
It is not belief in His existence. Demons believe, and tremble.
It is not belief in His Law. The most devout followers of God’s Law throughout history have entered eternity apart from God because they trusted in their own strength to keep the Law and failed because their faith was misplaced.
The line God draws...saving faith...begins with this:
GOD BECAME FLESH.
That is the key. There are religions that will recognize that Jesus was here, but insist that He was spirit, not flesh. But if He was not flesh; if He did not become man and live among us, then He could not have fulfilled the Law of God in paying for our sins, because the Bible says that apart from the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.
I John 4:2,3 says this, “BY THIS YOU KNOW THE SPIRIT OF GOD; EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSES THAT JESUS CHRIST HAS COME IN THE FLESH IS FROM GOD, AND EVERY SPIRIT THAT DOES NOT CONFESS JESUS IS NOT FROM GOD”
God draws the line between belief and unbelief, and He draws it here:
GOD IS NOW/HERE
This is the Christian message people. God became FLESH and dwelt among us.
Do you want a very special blessing? Sometime in the next week, find one person...whether it be the clerk at the grocery store or unchurched relative or the friend in trouble...and tell them this: GOD BECAME FLESH AND LIVED AMONG US IN THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST. HE POURED OUT HIS BLOOD ON CALVARY’S CROSS, THEN RAISED BODILY FROM THE GRAVE IN VICTORY OVER SIN AND DEATH SO THAT IF YOU BELIEVE IN HIM YOU CAN HAVE SWEET FELLOWSHIP TOGETHER IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LIVING GOD, FOR ETERNITY.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will draw that line in their life...that line that will vanquish their unbelief and make them say, “EMMANUEL”...GOD WITH US...GOD WITH ME!
