God’s Constant Presence

This short passage, which we will be looking at today, comes in the midst of a lengthy section of messages which are dealing with those nations surrounding Israel and Judah. These other nations which are spoken against, had basically ignored Israel and Judah, or they were simply going against God's chosen people. God was informing them that they were going to receive the appropriate consequences. In fact, the very last part of chapter 48.8 makes it very clear that this will most certainly take place. "A destroyer will come to every city, so that no city will escape; the valley also will be ruined, and the plateau will be destroyed, as the Lord has said." This is all going to occur after the destruction of Jerusalem

If you were to read through chapters 46 - 51, you would also see God's orderly pattern for executing his judgment. It might be helpful for you to read through these chapters with the Bible map open beside your Bible. You will see that, as a rule, the punishment will move from west to east.

As we look at today's passage, we won't be going through it in the order it is written. Rather, I want us to look at this section today as if we're climbing a mountain. You look up at this incredible object, which seems impossible to conquer and you experience a whole gambit of emotions. You begin with concern, which could lead to nervousness. Your heart rate begins to increase, and you have not yet begun to climb. You evaluate the awesome spectacle of this mountain, feeling as if you are a tiny ant. You know that because you're out of shape, you'll probably experience a great deal of pain, as well as shortness of breath. Yet, as you get ready to strap on all your equipment, you realize that this mountain is not there to push you down or to prevent you from climbing it. As you become more objective, realizing the reality of what is about to take place, all of a sudden you discover that there is waiting for you one of the greatest feelings of exhilaration you will have ever experienced. You simply need to apply what you know and begin the trek. After all, you won’t be doing this by yourself. You have God’s constant presence.

As Christians, we should rejoice in God’s constant presence.

Jeremiah 46:27–28 NASB95

“But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear, Nor be dismayed, O Israel! For, see, I am going to save you from afar, And your descendants from the land of their captivity; And Jacob will return and be undisturbed And secure, with no one making him tremble. “O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord, “For I am with you. For I will make a full end of all the nations Where I have driven you, Yet I will not make a full end of you; But I will correct you properly And by no means leave you unpunished.”

God’s Presence Requires Discipline.

Sometimes, in our way of thinking, we have an idea that if nobody sees us and we do wrong, it's OK. This starts from the crawling baby all the way through adulthood. The baby will reach out to grab something which they should not have and then look to see if anybody is watching. If nobody is watching, the object usually goes straight to the mouth. You know, swallow the evidence. If there happens to be somebody watching, either the object is placed back, or the arms stretch outward in the desire to give you this thing, as if that was their whole purpose all along.

A robber will usually wear a disguise or do their thievery when nobody else is around. They feel that if nobody is around, they can get away with their crime.

Even Christians can sometimes display this mentality. For example, in the 70s and 80s, many vehicles had a device installed in them aftermarket. This was referred to as a "fuzz buster." The actual term for it was a radar detector. The whole purpose was to exceed the speed limit as long as there were no police with radar close by. The "fuzz buster" would beep when a policeman with radar was within a certain distance. This was to cause you to slow to the proper speed so you wouldn't get caught and receive a ticket. After all, people bought into the mentality that if you’re not caught, you’ve done nothing wrong.

There are many things which believers can participate in with nobody else knowing what is taking place. For some reason, many have the notion that since we can't see God, He really won't mind whatever it is we might be doing.

However, we must always remember that God is always present. God sees everything and He knows everything. He never steps out, as it were, to go get some coffee. He is never distracted or preoccupied with something else.

You may recall the passage in Psalm 139. In that Psalm, we are reminded that God knows us intimately. Even before we speak or think, He knows what is going to happen in our lives. No matter where we go, God is present.

In the book of Jeremiah, God knew beforehand and had seen all that was taking place. Those other nations who thought that God had turned away from Israel, that He was not going to deal with them, they were about to discover they themselves were going to be disciplined for their extreme hostility to God’s chosen.

Yes, Judah was going to have to be disciplined for her rebellion, obviously. God would not overlook their sin, nor would He become preoccupied with something else just because they were His chosen people.

We can be reminded of how our children, whom we love dearly, often respond when they get caught doing something wrong. They will look up with those cute, pleading eyes, hoping that the parent will not discipline them. But the Bible reminds us in the book of Hebrews, that if we truly love our children, in the way in which God loves his children, discipline must take place.

However, it cannot be blind fury. God’s discipline of His children was not Him randomly lashing out. Reread the last part of 46.28. "Yet I shall not make a full end of you; but I shall correct you properly and by no means leave you unpunished." You see, discipline is certain, but it is done with justice.

God’s Presence Reigns Justly.

So what does it mean to discipline with justice, or to correct you properly? Throughout the Bible, discipline is designed to restore and correct. In the New Testament, the context of discipline and restoration carries the picture of a bone which was not set properly. It had to be rebroken, then reset so as to heal correctly. That is the picture of discipline with justice.

God's constant presence will guarantee that He will not fly off the handle and lose His divine cool and pulverize His children. We know this because the Bible continually teaches that God's purpose of discipline is always that of restoration and reconciliation.

Of course, restoration and reconciliation can happen only if His children are willing to repent and surrender. Sadly, there were many Israelites, who blatantly refused to repent and accept restoration. In that case, God's justice and judgment was still going to be intact. The New Testament reminds us that the "wages of sin is death." For any people, of any generation, in any century, in any country, the wages are still the same. God is just, righteous, and holy. For God to merely overlook sinful behavior and say "that's OK; come on back and be accepted," would not be justice, nor would it be holiness.

At the same time, for an individual to repent, and then hear God say, "tough; you blew it once so you get to suffer the consequences eternally;” that is not justice either. God’s justice demands appropriate payment for the sin.

The reality is that sometimes discipline helps us to remember to never go the way of sin again. We will remember the pain and the heartache and realize the grief it causes our Lord, which should cause us to refrain from sin.

God’s Presence Removes Fear.

Finally, we come to the part in which the focus of this sermon comes to bear. Both of these verses we’re looking at today, start out with the same phrase, “O Jacob, my servant, do not fear." And the reason is found in the very next phrase in verse 28. "For I am with you."

Some of you may remember having to go out in a storm to do chores with the livestock. Not everyone can relate to this, but if you will use your imagination, you probably can understand. The younger person might not like doing those chores in bad weather by themselves. It felt very lonely and frightening. But if your dad or mom would come out there with you, everything seemed to be better. Lightning could be flashing all around you, the wind could be howling; but as long as that parent was there with you, you felt as though you could handle anything.

My friends, that is the way it is with God's presence. When we think that we're all alone, and God is some distant, uncaring force, then it is easy for fear to creep into our lives. When we don't realize God's intense love for us, then fear becomes the ruler in charge of our lives.

Many have seen those T-shirts that say "no fear." I would like to suggest that there needs to be an additional phrase on those T-shirts. What about adding "because God is present in my life."?

Ponderings

Most of us would agree with the theological attribute of God, which states that he is omnipresent; everywhere all the time. Yet, what about the practical implications of that theological truth?

Do we recognize that when we are disobedient, no earthly person is required to know about it for us to be disciplined by God? You see, God knows all about it, yet He wants us to be in right relationship with Him. As a result, because of His love, most likely discipline will occur, if we don’t repent and turn away from sin.

Do we also believe that God is not out to pummel us or destroy us? His desire is that we be reconciled to Him and to each other. He wants the relationship to be restored. Because of that, He will do whatever is necessary, but He will do so with justice.

In addition, it is so important that we be encouraged by His constant presence. That reassuring presence removes fear. The Bible says in 1 John 4.18 that "perfect love drives out fear." God truly does love us and does not want us to live our lives in fear.

Let me just conclude with some thoughts regarding our church. You have heard me say on various occasions that our church is a family. When I make that statement, I am referring to a family, such as what Scripture would have us be; not like what the world suggests a family is.

When others look at our family from the outside, what do they see? When people look at this family, do they find themselves wishing to become part of this family? When we look around at one another, how do we see each other as part of a family?

My prayer and desire is that we would continue to be a family, which is unified and working together in harmony. My prayer is that people would see us and recognize that the presence of the Lord is indeed with us.

In your home, if there is bickering and arguing and negative attitudes, you want to remind your family that this is not how God wants you to live. It is the same with our church family. We may not all agree on every single item, but we are to be united in harmony because of Jesus Christ and His Word.

So, as believers in Jesus Christ, we ought to rejoice in God's constant presence.