WHERE
IS GOD?
Introduction: I still clearly remember
several years ago kneeling beside the bed of our then three-year-old Tara and
leading her into a sinner's prayer. She enthusiastically repeated after me the
prayer of forgiveness and inviting Jesus to come into her heart and make her
his child. I asked her afterward, Tara, where is Jesus? Without blinking an
eye, she said, "Right here, pointing to her little heart." It is true
when we ask Jesus to come into our hearts; He comes in.
Two little boys were best friends at church, but
they both had a reputation for getting into trouble. One Sunday, one of the
boys was homesick, but the other boy, not wanting to let his friend down, was
twice as bad as usual. As he was running through the sanctuary after church,
the pastor grabbed him and sternly said, "Where's God?!"
The little boy
was frightened and didn't know what to say. The pastor continued, "I want
you to go home and think about it, and I don't want you to come back until you
can tell me where God is." The boy went home and called his sick friend on
the telephone. "Guess what," he said. "They've lost God, and
they're trying to blame that one on us, too."
That is how
children perceive. How do we understand the presence of God? We grown-ups and
even seasoned Christians often wonder where God is, especially when we go
through hard times. Some think God is uninvolved in my life so I can live my
life the way I like it. And still, others believe they are smarter than God and
try to run from Him. Can they run from God? Others deny the existence of God.
In what category do you fit in today?
This
morning we will pick up our study on the attributes of God based on "Behold
Your God," series. We will try to find out where God is and whether He has
any physical address like us human beings do. What does the Bible mean when it
says that God is near to us or that He is far from us? How are we to live our
lives based on the answers we will discover today? The passage for our study is
taken from Psalm 139:1-12: WHERE IS GOD?
Let's draw from experts who tried
to answer the question, where is God? A.W Tozer, "God dwells in His
creation and is everywhere indivisibly present in all His works. He is
transcendent above all His works even while He is immanent within them."
John
Arrowsmith, "A pagan philosopher once asked, "Where is God?" The
Christian answered: "Let me first ask you, where is He not?" For
those who think they can run away from God, here are the words of C.S. Lewis, "We
may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God." What is the
basis of their understanding? I believe it is God's Word!
What
do the scriptures say about where God is? Before we look into the biblical view
of God's omnipresence, let me clarify how Hindus and Buddhists view this vital
doctrine of God. They believe in Pantheism, which is similar to polytheism (the
belief in many gods) but goes beyond polytheism to teach that everything is
God. A tree is God; a rock is God, an animal is God; the sky is God; the sun is
God; you are God, etc.
The
Christian view of God's Omnipresence means God is present everywhere. There is no
place in the universe where God is not present. The difference between
Pantheism and the Christian view is that yes, God is everywhere, but He is not
everything. Yes, God is "present" inside a tree and a person, but
that does not make that tree or person God.[1] It is good to be informed of what others believe, but we
must hold on firmly to what we believe to be accurate from God's Word. What
does the Bible say about God's Omnipresence?
I. GOD'S
OMNIPRESENCE. (God is Everywhere): The book of Genesis opens up with these
words, "In the beginning, God." God spoke, and everything came into
existence.
God
had no beginning, and He will have no end.
He always has, and He ever will exist from eternity to eternity. In John
1:1-3, we read, “In the beginning, the Word already existed. The Word was with
God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created
everything through him, and nothing was created except through him."
According to these scriptures, God and Jesus are the same, and they have no
beginning and no end.
From
Adam to the three Patriarchs: Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac were very aware of the
fact that God is everywhere, as God has appeared to them on numerous occasions.
We see God getting involved with and in the lives of people at crucial moments
in the History of humankind.
For
instance: When Adam and Eve sinned against God, God has walked right where they
were and confronted them of their sin and pronounced judgments on both of them,
including the Devil, who deceived them, (Gen 3). When Cain killed his brother
Abel, God rebuked Cain and punished him, (Gen 4). Later on, when the wickedness
increased on the earth, God appeared to Noah and ordered him to build an Ark to
preserve His creation, (Gen 7).
After
the flood, God appeared to Abraham and gave him a call to be a blessing to the
nations. (Gen 12) From that point on until today, God has not stopped getting
involved in the affairs of people. It is safe to say that God is present
everywhere, even when we don't see Him, and He is deeply involved in providing
for and sustaining humanity and all that He created.
Psalm
104 and 105 talk about God's providential care over humankind and His creation.
Psalm 104: 24, 27-30, "O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In
wisdom, you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures…They all depend
on you to give them food as they need it. When you supply it, they gather it.
You
open your hand to feed them, and they are richly satisfied. But if you turn
away from them, they panic. When you take away their breath, they die and turn
again to dust. When you give them your breath, life is created, and you renew
the face of the earth.” Depending on God for His provision seems to be working
for animals. God is the one who is sustaining them.
What
do you think would the same principle work for human beings as well? It would,
and Psalm 105 is historical evidence of how God provided for His people and how
he will continue to provide. I can testify to how my family and I have
experienced God's providential care time and again. In Acts 17:28, we read, “For in him we live
and move and exist."
In
other words, we cannot live without God. This realization of God is everywhere,
and he alone is capable of sustaining all life, and He is in all places
observing and governing, can either bring great rejoicing or dreadful fear, but
this fact must not be ignored and forgotten.
Yet
some people think they can run from God thinking that they can manage their
lives on their own better, but can they? Let's ask David, who perhaps
entertained such thoughts and see what we can learn from his understanding of
God's Omnipresence.
II. HIDING FROM
GOD?
In
Vs1-6, we read about David's recognition of God's intimate knowledge of him.
God knew everything about David; his every thought, word, action, and move. God
was familiar with his travels and restful moments at home. There was nothing
hidden from God, and all were exposed to God. Such knowledge was too incredible
for David that he could not understand it.
Then
he makes this poetic confession: Vs. 7-12, "I can never escape from your
Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are
there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the
morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
I
could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but
even in darkness, I cannot hide from you. To you, the night shines as bright as
day. Darkness and light are the same to you.” The truth of these verses is you
cannot simply hide from God. He is everywhere. He encompasses the heavens, the
earth, and even underneath the ground.
There
is no such place as "No God Zone." Proverbs 15:3, "The Lord is
watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good." 2
Chro 16:9, "The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to
strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." How are we to live in the light of God is
everywhere? When it comes to sin, we must have a fear of God. That God is
observing us, and one day we have to give an account of all that we now do here
on earth. On the other hand, we have absolutely nothing to be afraid of because
He is watching over us. He will make all things to work together for our good.
III. WHERE IS GOD
WHEN IT HURTS?
As
nothing escapes God's attention, so is our pain, sorrow, and suffering. When
God saw the suffering and the ill-treatment of His people, He stepped in and
delivered them of their misery. God is near to those who are hurting and
broken-hearted. He is closer to you when you are afraid, feeling lonely and
depressed. He will not abandon you in your misery.
God
sees what you are going through and feels your pain. He is there to comfort you
and heal you and provide all of your needs. If you are wondering where God is
when you need him the most, and you feel like you are all alone, listen to this
poem of "Footprints in the Sand."
“One
night I dreamed a dream. I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the
dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord. When the last
scene of my life shot before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
There was only one set of footprints. I realized that this was at the lowest
and saddest times of my life.
This
always bothered me, and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma. "Lord, you
told me when I decided to follow You, you would walk and talk with me all the
way. But I'm aware that during the most troublesome times of my life, there is
only one set of footprints. I just don't understand why, when I need You most, you
leave me."
He whispered, "My precious
child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and
testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried
you."
This
poem reminds us that our faith in God does not excuse us from experiencing
hardship and sadness. The reality is that we all go through ups and downs in
our lives. Sometimes God walks beside us, and other times He must carry us, and
He will. Amen!
