The God That Created You Is Ever-Present

Bill Woody

The Attributes of God • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

Psalm 139:7–10

Character

Being and Attributes of God

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The God That Created You Is Ever-Present

Text: Psalm 139:7–10 (AV)

7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Introduction:

* Our God is a God who is here, there and everywhere.

* Our God is fully present every place in the whole universe all at the same time.

* We struggle with this idea because God has created us to be limited creatures. We are fixed to a particular place and a particular time.

* Our Creator has no limits. This is why we say that He is a “Holy” God; not that He is sinless, which He is, but that He is “set apart”, meaning that there is no other like Him. He is set apart from the limitations that have been placed on mankind.

* We as humans can only dream of being in two places at one time. We have tools like Skype, and video conferencing, but in reality, only or image is more than one place.

* Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, mankind is still trying to be “like God”, but all we can do is imitate the attributes of God.

* If you watch our movies and read our fictional books, mankind is fascinated with having abilities like God has. Think of the examples, Stargate, The Time Machine, Star Treck and the transporter, Ghost Whisperer ect.

* This reminds me of the magicians in the day that Moses by the hand of God did miracles in the presence of Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s magicians and sorcerers tried to imitate the miracles that God did at the hand of Moses.

* I read a story one of a German soldier in world war II. This man’s city was destroyed by the Allied bombing raids. As he looked up at the roof of the partially destroyed railroad station, he read the word written in German “Beyond the stars there must live a gracious Father.”

* This soldier said out loud to himself “I need a God who is not beyond the stars, but right here. I need a God who is available to me and who can see the situation that I am in.”

* God has put within every man to desire Him. We desire a God who dwells with us like God dwelt with Adam and Eve in the Beginning, before our sins separated us from the face of God.

* God has put within the heart of man to desire a God who is ever- present, and knows and understands our every situation.

* This morning I am here to tell you that we have a God who is present, and understand exactly what we are going through.

* The God that created you is always available.

* The God that created you is able to understand your every situation because He is there, experiencing the situation with you.

* This truth gives us great comfort and boldness as we pray to an ever- present God.

* Theologians call God’s ability to be everywhere at the same time God’s Omni-presence.

* God is everywhere all the time, but His presence is manifested in different ways in different places and times. That’s why you can come away from church or a concert or conference and say, “I really sensed the presence of the Lord in that place.” Or we may sense the closeness of the Lord with us when we go through difficulties and suffering.

* The Scriptures give many proofs of the Omni-presence of God. Listen to the words of Solomon as he prayed at the dedication of the Temple:

1 Kings 8:27–28 (AV)

27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? 28 Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day:

* According to this passage, verse God fills the earth with His presence.

* In this day of New Age heresy, it is important to note a distinction between omnipresence and pantheism.

* Pantheism is an Eastern religious philosophy that sounds biblical, but is not. Pantheism says their god is everywhere because their god is everything. Wherever space, time, and matter exist in the universe, God is there because all matter is God.

* That certainly is not what the Bible teaches. God is a person, not a rock or a chair or a tree. God is everywhere in the creation, but He is not the creation. He is separate and distinct from that which He has created.

* The temple of Solomon was huge and magnificent a wonder to behold, but Solomon knew that it could not contain God!

* It is hard for us to imagine that God is greater than the universe in his size, immensity, and in His presence.

* When we remember that God created the universe, then we can better understand how that He is larger than the universe it’s self.

* God not only fills the visible universe, but He fills beyond the universe. The God that created you exists even outside the universe that we experience as mankind.

* Listen as Job tries to explain the omnipresence of God:

Job 22:12–14 (AV)

12 Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! 13 And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? 14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.

* Listen to the words of David contemplates that an omni-present God is able to think about a little boy keeping sheep, looking up at the night sky:

Psalm 8:3–4 (AV)

3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

* Is it any wonder that David wasn’t afraid to face that giant Goliath? David knew that he had that stands outside the universe on his side!

* If you are a child of God this morning you have the same God at your side, who thinks about your state of affairs. The God who created you is a God who continues to think about you.

* Listen to God’s conversation with the prophet Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 23:23–24 (AV)

23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? 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.

* By this own testimony, we have a God this morning who is a God at hand! He is not afar off! His presence fills the earth.

I. This truth gives us the conviction to face temptation.

* If God was going to be showing up where you are soon would you commit this sin that you are pondering?

* Meditation on the great truth of the ever-present God is a great antidote in the presence of temptation.

* Meditating on the truth that God is always everywhere reminds us that God is always present—just as much as if he were standing next to us as a physical person.

* Most people would hesitate to sin in the immediate presence of a friend or family member, yet we are willing to do so in the presence of God.

* Adam and Eve hid from God in his own garden!

* Jonah thought he could run fast and far enough to get outside the boundaries of God’s presence.

* We can’t have God for comfort and then deny His ministry of conviction. If you want Him to be with you for one, you’ll have to accept His presence for the other.

* The Dutch theologian pictured beautifully what happens when we try to get alone to sin. Here is what he wrote:

“When you wish to do something evil, you retire from public into your house, alone, where no enemy can see. And from these places in your house which are open and visible to the eyes of men, you retire yourself to your room. And even in your room, you fear some witness from another quarter, so you retire yourself into your heart. And when you get into your heart, there He is already.”

II. This truth gives us courage to face difficulty.

* One of the most well know passages of Scripture for comfort in times of difficulty is found in Isaiah 43:1–3 (AV)

1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: … Fear not, for I am with you.… * We have a very graphic example of the fact that God is with us in difficult situations in the account of the 4 Hebrew children. Daniel 3:19–27 (AV)

19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

III. This truth gives us Confidence to face hard Assignments.

* Sometimes God’s leading is unmistakable, but our natural reaction is sheer terror—“Lord, choose someone else!”

* In Exodus 3:12, we find that God answers all of Moses’ objections with a simple statement: “I will certainly be with you.”

Exodus 3:11–12 (AV)

11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee;

* Would that have been enough assurance for you or for me? It should be.

* If God promises to be with us, that’s all we need to know.

* God encouraged Joshua, Moses successor, in the same manner he encouraged Moses later in Deuteronomy 31:8 (AV)

8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

* Is God leading you into an area of service for Him, and maybe you have fears and reservations? God has the same word for you this morning?

I will be with thee…I will not fail thee… Fear not, neither be dismayed.

Conclusion:

1). Are you struggling with temptation in your life? Are there sins in your life that you thought you have kept hid from God? Realize that God has been right there with you in your sin! Repent and be forever cleansed! Remember our text this morning: Psalm 139:7–10 (AV)

2). Are you facing difficulty in life this morning? Know that the same God who was with the four Hebrew children in the fiery furnace is with you in the fiery trial that you are going through. Come to the lord for strength and companionship this morning!

3). Is God speaking to your heart to do something for Him but you are afaid? The ever present God this morning has a message for you!

I will be with thee…I will not fail thee… Fear not, neither be dismayed.

Also remember our text this morning as well. Psalm 139:7–10 (AV)

9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

The God That Created You Is Ever-Present

Text: Psalm 139:7–10 (AV)

Introduction:

I. This truth gives us the conviction to face temptation.

II. This truth gives us courage to face difficulty.

III. This truth gives us Confidence to face hard Assignments.

Conclusion:

3). Is God speaking to your heart to do something for Him but you are afraid? The ever present God this morning has a message for you!

I will be with thee…I will not fail thee… Fear not, neither be dismayed.

Also remember our text this morning as well. Psalm 139:7–10 (AV)

9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

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