Our God is Omnipresent (Part 2)

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. Let’s pray together. Our Father, thank you for your Word, for who you are. Help us, Lord, to stand in all of your glories, your attributes, Lord. We study these things because we want to know more about our God, and knowing more about Him we can draw great comfort and faith and assurance and peace and patience even, and as we live our life for your glory and for your honor, Lord, help us to know you better and to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Bless our study this morning, we pray. Lord, would you please help us? Help me to say the things that are encouraging and helpful from your Word to your people. I pray you would help us all to receive these things and they would profoundly affect us and move us, Lord, that we might be greater servants for you, that we might do your will better in Jesus’ name, amen.

Now we looked at the first several verses of this psalm and we looked at, the first thing we saw is how that the omnipresence, that is that God is everywhere, how that is related and this is obvious, that it is related both obviously and in this psalm to God’s omniscience, which we’ve already covered, so we won’t recover that ground, but just like all the other attributes of God, they are all interrelated.

The attributes of God are like a tapestry, they’re woven together and you cannot, you can’t pull one without pulling the other and so, and God in his perfections has, you know, he is, there is no thing greater, there’s no thing that ever is or could exist that is more complex or more infinite, if you can say that. So when we read these things, we’re just really skimming the surface of God’s attributes and so omniscience is related, omnipresence rather, is related to omniscience and we saw in the psalm how that God knows not only the big things in our life, but also the mundane things.

We saw how that God surrounds us, compasses us in verse 3, and besets us behind and before and lays his hand upon us and the idea, which we’ll come back to later, the idea of laying your hand upon someone means that you are close, you’re at hand, you’re right there and that’s true of every single one of us with the Lord, the Lord is right here because he is omnipresent and there’s a lot of practical, you know, obviously a lot of practical ideas and truths behind that.

And so we go down to, the last thing we looked at was we looked at verse number 7, says, whither shall I go from thy spirit or whither shall I flee from thy presence? And the idea is to run away from God’s presence, to flee from God and we saw Jonah, remember Jonah chapter 1, if you took notes on this, Jonah tried to flee from the presence of God because God called him to do something that he was unwilling to do so his response to that was to flee from God’s presence, which is foolish, it’s impossible to flee from God and we saw how that turned out for him, but we saw how that’s a fact and we’ll see another example today, but that’s a fact of humanity.

Whenever we have a problem with God, what do we do? We try to run from him, but we, you know, you can’t run from an infinite being who is everywhere at all times, but what we do is we substitute all the things of God for God and we run from those things. So we think we’re running from God just like Jonah, he ran away from Tarshish, right, of the Nineveh, he ran, Nineveh was to the east, he ran to the west, right, Nineveh was to the east, he ran to the west.

In other words, he ran away from the thing that God called him to do geographically and that’s what we do, we run away when we’re out of sort or out of the will of God, we run away from all the things that are associated with God and we saw that and it’s the same truth, the same idea, but it is impossible to run away from the Lord and we saw that.

Okay, the next thing I want you to see is I want you to draw your attention down to verse number eight. This is an interesting verse, if I ascend up into heaven, behold, if I ascend up into heaven thou art there. Now that’s simple enough, we know that you think about heaven as the place where, okay, let’s back up, turn on the reverse a little bit, okay.

Just because the Bible says heaven is not always referring to where God dwells, most of the time it’s not. Most of the time when God’s referring to the heavens, he’s referring to the place where the birds fly or to the place where the stars are, most of the time, there are some exceptions. So this says if I ascend up into heaven, thou art there, that’s talking about obviously no matter where you go up in the sky, if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

Now that’s an interesting question, this idea of the word hell, right? The psalmist says if I make my bed in hell, okay, this is where you go when you die. And so he’s saying whether you go way up top or way down bottom, right, no matter how far you go, right, that’s obvious. Now what’s interesting is when you think about hell as it’s presented especially in the New Testament which is like the place of the damned, right, where the condemned wicked go.

That’s a strong, clearly articulated New Testament truth, it’s true in the Old Testament too but it’s clearly articulated in the New Testament. Think about this though, but this nevertheless applies if I make my bed in hell. So let me ask you a question, is God in hell? Because there’s a Christian cliché that’s kind of passed around and the idea that if a person without Christ dies in their sin and they go to hell, well God’s not there.

They go to hell where God is not, there’s no light, there’s no joy, there’s no peace, you know, that kind of thing. That’s kind of this common Christian think. But this verse says if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. And the reason I’m pointing this out is because when you read other verses of scripture, of course you don’t see a contradiction but you see something that is noteworthy and worthy of more attention.

Okay, let’s look at a couple of them and just compare these two. So you have this one in your mind, look at Matthew chapter 7, Matthew chapter 7, Matthew 7, and we’ll look at verse number 21, Matthew 7, 21 says this, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils and in thy name done many wonderful works and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. What’s interesting is we also referred to this verse when we were studying the omniscience of God because Jesus says to these in the day of judgment, he says, I never knew you.

So there was this same kind of dynamic but here it’s not the omniscience that’s in view but the, or what we’re focusing on is the omnipresence. He says, depart from me, and then he casts them into the lake of fire. So think about this, so Jesus says, depart from me, is that not a term of, I’ll give you a 10 cent term, a spatial term, right? He’s saying, depart from me, he’s saying, I’m here, you’re there, go away, right?

So the idea is you’re casting into the lake of fire, this is where we get that in hell people are separated from God, in the lake of fire they’re cut off from God because of this, depart from me. But we just read in the Psalm 139 verse 8 that if you make your bed in hell that God is there too. And so you have this tension, now I have an explanation but it looks like a couple of you, go ahead brother, you had your hand up?

Well, it’s something we are trying to study, we’re actually studying the Bible, but there’s God’s manifest presence and the Christian, the whole school of thinking, it’s constantly changing, and so we’re trying to study that. And so I think that’s a good way to do it, to say God is everywhere, and God is everywhere, and you’re not knowing, you’re not being aware of the human manifest presence, and you’re being under this, just like there are areas of the African and African-American, there’s something that’s evil, but God’s still there, and his presence is everywhere, and I think that’s what’s telling us, that God is aware of everything that’s going on, and he’s there for you and everyone, and that’s it, he’s there for you, and everybody there is aware of him.

Really? There’s a big difference between the way the testament is viewed, the shield, or the place you’re waiting after death, and the fire and the new testament. I’ll take a rabbit trail on this, because this confuses a lot of people with some of the references to grave, pit, hell, in the old testament, whereas in the new testament you don’t see that, and the reason is because you’re dealing in two different languages, but the point, to give you a short version, the old testament presents hell in a broad sense, right?

It’s kind of an umbrella term that includes where the wicked go when they die, and the wicked go when they die, and you can find verses that say that, like David himself says in Psalm 110, I think it is, but David himself says that, that thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, and I know that’s ultimately referring to Christ, and a lot of people, because they misunderstand that, think that Christ went to burn in hell, which I don’t think the scriptures teach that at all, but the point is, is in the old testament, it’s kind of this umbrella term that refers to where you go when you die, right, your soul, where your soul goes when you die, and that’s why sometimes it’s mixed up with the pit, you know, and that kind of thing, but in the new testament that is clearly spelled out, right, because further revelations give, yep.

Right. Got to be all contextual. Right. Yeah, that’s what he’s getting at. We’re looking at it a little bit broader to get the kind of theological background, but okay, but just to go back to what Brother Wayne said, just to kind of tie that all together, is, I about lost my train of thought here. Yeah. Oh, yeah, is this, you know, some people, some people when you say that, it sounds like you’re copping out, right, you’re copping out on a good, strong, sound word in the Bible, right, but you’re not, because if you have a good, thorough dictionary, you will find the definition for the word hell that states what I’m saying, and it’s, because it is, especially, now in our day, we say that word, and it only refers to one thing, because we live in the New Testament time where believers go directly to be with Christ, right, but under the Old Testament economy, things were a little bit different, and so point being is that it’s not a cop out, it’s just a matter of an English definition of a word, and so you can research that, get a good Oxford English dictionary, and you look it up and it’ll be there, I promise.

I’ve looked it up myself, I know it’s there, okay. All right, little diversion there. Okay, so the point is this, is that in Matthew 17, the Lord says to those unbelievers, he says, depart from me, and then to believe, but then in the Psalm, he says, he says, if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there, and the idea behind that is wherever, wherever God is there, right, that’s the idea, whether it’s up there, down here, wherever it is, God is there.

Look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, you’ll see another example, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, verse number 8, the Bible says, In flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. This is another one where it says, the punishment will be away from his presence.

Now look at, go a little bit further in Revelation chapter 14 to complicate the matters a little bit. Revelation 14, Revelation 14. Look if you would at verse number 9, and the third angel followed them, I know I’m just, listen, I know I’m cherry picking these verses, they all each have their, their specific contexts, what we’re talking about here is this is future, this is talking about the period of tribulation and actually related to our study in Matthew, but anyway, I just want to get to the theological point here.

The third angel that followed them say, and the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast in his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence, in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb, which sounds like it contradicts 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and Matthew chapter 7.

You see, you see the, the, the conundrum, all right? And so the idea here is this, is on one level you have, which is what Psalm 139 is stating, you on one level you have the fact that God is everywhere at all times, and that’s the thrust of Psalm 139. But in, in one sense, in another sense rather, and that’s a, so that’s a part of God’s nature, right?

That’s something that can’t, that is, that is a part of who God is. God, it must be in every place at all times because it is an essential part of his nature. It is who he is. But just because God is in the absolute sense, we might say, is present, it does not mean to what, to go to what Brother Andrew says, that does not follow that he is then perceived to be there.

Now, let me give you, let me give you a perfect illustration of this. Is God here right now? Yes. But why do you say yes? Do you say yes because you can perceive God being here? Does anybody here perceive God being here in any visible or physical or obvious way? None of us do. None of us in a physical sense. We don’t see a manifestation of it.

And you might say, well, you know, I feel good today. Well, wait till next week. But that doesn’t change God’s, God’s, God’s presence, right? God is present. But the reason you say yes, that God is here is because you know the truth of Scripture, that whether God manifests his presence, whether he is perceived or not, does not affect the truth of his presence. Jesus said, where two or three are gathered together in my name, there will I be in the midst.

Now remember, Jesus said that, of course, he’s looking forward because at that point he’s still alive in the body. He hasn’t gone to the cross. But of course, he’s looking forward to a time when he won’t be present. And this, I’m giving away the game here, the later lessons on this subject. But he says, I will be in the midst. He’s saying, you might not perceive me, but if two or three are gathered in the name of Christ, he’s there, right?

His presence is there. So the, but whether you perceive him or not does not affect his presence. So there are times, however, when God allows us to perceive his presence, right? That might be on an individual level or it might be as a congregation. How many of you, I haven’t forgotten about you, Jim, how many of you have ever been in a service when there was a manifested presence of God, not visible, right?

Not audible. But you’ve been in a church service where the Lord manifested himself in a plain way that wasn’t just you personally, but it was a manifested move of God, if I can put that word, put it in those terms, that affected others in the congregation. It wasn’t just you. Listen, I’m not talking about hocus pocus here. I’m talking about independently, God is working in people’s hearts.

And it’s not the eloquence of the preacher. It’s not an emotional tactic. It’s not, you know, twisting arms or, you know, 800 verses of just as I am. But it is actually God work. I mean, I’ve been in services like that where it’s almost palpable. Like the night that I got saved was like that. Now, I can only speak to my own experience, but the testimony of others, and I had no idea what God was doing in the hearts of other people.

No idea whatsoever. I mean, I was just thinking about myself. Well, but he was working in other people’s hearts, and it was manifested later by their testimonies to that fact. And there was no manipulation. I was there. There was no manipulation. There was no emotional, you know, arm pulling or anything like that. It was a manifested work of God. And then the days following that, we had a revival at our church.

Remember that? Went on for some time, and there were things that happened in this, you know, each night, every night they came, people came, and we met together. And that was all, I mean, that was all spontaneous. That was all God working in people’s hearts, and that was it. Right? And some of you have probably been in services like that where the Lord really showed himself. Not that he was, not that he is not present today.

That’s the key. But he manifested. He manifested. He made himself obvious, even though he was there the whole time. Does that make sense? And he has the prerogative to do that. Does he not? He does. Brother Jim, go ahead. I’m sorry to keep you waiting. No, this is going back to how we know the Lord exists. Right. Yeah. You say, well, I mean, that’s just your feeling.

Well, it’s kind of hard to discern what is going on in your heart. Well, it’s kind of hard to discern between the soul and the spirit, right? And, you know, there’s a lot of overlap there. I mean, when you see people that were filled with the spirit in the Scripture, you do see their emotions affected often. Not always, but you do see it often. Yes, sir?

So the Lord does, even though the Lord is present here, you think, well, I ain’t going to that church. God ain’t there. Hold on now. Listen, just because, you know, there’s not a high level of emotion does not mean God is not there. There’s more to it than that. If you want to be scriptural about it, right? No, I’ll be honest with you, I’m going to get in trouble here, but that’s okay.

A lot of people mistake emotional hype for an actual manifestation of God’s presence. It’s not the same. You know, when God manifests His presence, what you often see is repentance and testimony to that fact. You see people bowing before God. And so that’s why you got to be careful. There’s a lot of blurring of the lines here. And so, anyway, yes, sir? Right. Right. Yep. You know, that’s one reason why reading after church history in this way can be beneficial, because there are godly people that have gone before us that have dealt with these very issues, and they have written these things down, even people in our own experience, right?

Think about, I’m getting to you, Brother David, but think about, you know, what you said, about the 28-day revival here, right, Brother Vernon? I bet you could follow that up with information about how that all turned out, right? Whether there was reality to it or whether it was just a flash in the pan, whether it was emotion or there was fruit that was actually born from it.

You see, because like he said, the proof is in the pudding. A work of God is what God does, He does forever. All right, so, yeah, Brother David? Right. Right. Right. A lot of people think that the Great Awakening was one of the preparatory events that enabled the revolution. But, yeah, even the D.L. Moody revivals, even the revivals in the Old World, even though there was sometimes emotionalism involved in that, yet you actually read accounts of there was an actual effect upon people’s everyday life in society.

It wasn’t just a flash in the pan. Yeah, so, yeah. Right. You talk about revival, you know, you talk about revival. I don’t know how we got here. You people are trying to get us off base. You’re like a naughty class of students. No, this is good. One of the go-to references to revival, which is often misapplied to the United States, is 2 Chronicles 7-14. Probably the most misapplied passage in the Bible, which says, Now, that was spoken to Israel.

But it does have application to us as the people of God. Right? Concerning revival. Okay? Americans are not the people of God. There are people of God in America, just like there are people of God in Costa Rica and in Azerbaijan and wherever. Okay. But that description of revival is not exactly what people are always looking for with revival, now are they? People say, We want revival, and we want God to manifest Himself, but listen to the words.

If my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves, people are not interested in that, pray, can’t get people to come to a prayer meeting, seek my face, turn from their wicked ways. Those four things are the ingredients involved in a revival. Those are if-then statements. Nobody wants to do that. Nobody wants to be involved in that. I’m just shooting straight with you. To what Andrew, David, those of you who have said, what we want is we want the outward look of revival, the hype.

But we aren’t interested in that. It’s just true. It’s just true. Right? We don’t want to turn from wicked ways. We don’t want to give up time that we spend on leisure, because I mean that’s what’s involved. Our sin, is it expense? Yeah. I’m just telling you. Does that not set revival and the manifestation of God’s presence in a different light? But go back, and I’m done, I’m not going to be able to get any further.

Thank you. But go back to the times that you all have experienced when you have seen an evidence manifestation of God’s presence. And all of you have probably seen that from time to time, especially those of you that have been saved a while. What was that like? Well, what you saw is humble themselves. Pray, seek my face, turn from their wicked ways. That’s what you saw. Without exception, that’s what you saw.

You saw people confessing sin, getting right, their life changing, humbling, acknowledging wrongdoing, getting right with one another. You saw tears, you saw bowing, you saw humility, you saw all of these. You saw people giving up things that aren’t necessarily evil so that they could seek God. That’s what you saw. I remember one time after I got saved that revival, there’s this guy in our church, you probably remember, the Thomases probably remember.

But when that happened, this guy came in and he had a saddle, a horse saddle over his shoulder. Do you guys remember that? He had a horse saddle. He brought it in and laid it up here on the stage up here. Why? Well, because obviously riding a horse is a sin. Okay, nobody’s going to call me on that. You’re just going to let me say something like that and not even give me a funny look.

It’s not a sin to ride a horse. But the point is for him, the Lord is working in his heart that that had become an idol in his life. It had taken the place of the Lord in his priorities. So he gave it to God. And that was the visual representation of that. Now, I don’t know how that turned out because I was a teenager myself. But my point is that that’s in line with 2 Chronicles 7-14, is it not?

A manifestation of God’s presence. Anyway, God does from time to time, even though he is present at all times, he does from time to time show. And this gets to what we’ll say next week. He does from time to time show his face, reveal his face to us in a way that’s obvious. All right, let’s pray together.