WHERE IS GOD WHEN YOU NEED HIM?
Getting to Know God - Part 2 of 8 05-08-11 Sermon
Psalm 139:7-12; Jer. 23:23-24
Since today is Mother’s day, I thought I would begin with a list someone has made of which they call “Murphy’s Laws of Parenting.” Maybe you can identify with some of these:
1. The later you stay up, the earlier your child will wake up the next morning.
2. The gooier the food, the more likely it is to end up on the carpet.
3. The longer it takes you to make a meal, the less your child will like it.
4. A sure way to get something done is to tell a child NOT to do it.
5. For a child to become clean, something else must become dirty.
6. Toys multiply to fill any space available.
7. Yours is always the only child who doesn’t behave.
8. If the shoe fits…it’s expensive.
9. Backing the car out of the driveway causes your child to have to go to the bathroom.
It isn’t easy being a parent. A young single mom named Mary Jane with four children, it was difficult to get them all ready for church on time. One particular Sunday morning as the children started to complain and argue, Mary Jane stomped from one room to the other, saying out loud why it was important for them to go to church as a family and have a good attitude about it. Suddenly, she noticed all four children huddled together and laughing. “What’s so funny?” Mary Jane asked. “Mom,” they said, “every time you slam down your foot, smoke comes out. It must be the wrath of God!”
In reality, it was the powder Mary Jane had sprinkled in her shoes. But it worked. She says they made it to church on time that morning and practically every Sunday after that!
We're looking at the series, "Getting to Know God". Each week we're looking at a different aspect of the nature of God.
If I asked you, "Where is God?" how would you answer that? Some would say "Heaven" or "In my heart". Some people believe that God dwells in church buildings because a church building is often called a house of God, even though the bible never says that. There were no church buildings in NT times.
The Bible says that God is all over the place. David says in Psalm 139 we cannot escape from God's presence. v. 7 "Where can I go from Your spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to heaven, You're there. If I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn and if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me and will hold me fast." It's mind boggling to think that God never has to go anywhere. Because He's already there. The Bible says that God is everywhere. Jeremiah 23:24 (Good News) "I am a God who is everywhere and not in one place. Do you not know that I am everywhere in heaven and on earth?" The New International Version says, "I fill heaven and earth." There is no point in the universe where God is not.
We're talking about what theologians call God's omnipresence. The omnipresence of God simply means that God is everywhere. He's here, He's there, He's everywhere. There's no point in the universe where God is not. He's not limited by space. He's not limited by place. He is not confined to any one location. That's a hard concept for us to imagine because we're finite creatures with a body. Have you noticed that it is impossible for you to be in two places at the same time? How many of you have tried to be in two places at the same time? You can't. But it's no problem with God because God is a Spirit. So He can be in many, many places all at the same time. He's everywhere.
Acts 17:28 "He is not far from us for in Him we live and move and have our being." That's saying you cannot move apart from God. You wouldn't be alive. You wouldn't exist without God. It doesn't matter whether you're a Christian or an atheist or whatever -- God is what holds you together. He is the cohesive force in all of the universe. He holds everything together.
If God is everywhere I need to recognize that. I need to be aware of that. Right now this room is filled with radio and television waves. Every room in your house is filled with radio and television waves. You don't see them but they're there. If you can tune in to those radio and television waves you'll benefit from them.
Likewise, God is here. You don't see him but He's here, just like the radio waves are. If you can learn to tune in to the presence of God, it will benefit your life. God is everywhere, but my natural reaction to a doctrinal statement like that is, so what? What difference does it make in my life?
I want us to look at some verses from God's word that deal with the implications of God being everywhere. What does that mean to me? How does God’s presence benefit my life? We’ll look at four common experiences in life: When I'm lonely, When I'm worried, When I'm tempted, and When I'm discouraged. God's presence in your life will make a difference in those four experiences if you'll let Him.
1. WHEN I'M LONELY, GOD IS MY COMPANION.
You need to just tune in and recognize it. I need to remind myself that God is my companion. Psalm 25:16 "Turn to me, Lord, and be merciful, because I am lonely." Some of you may be lonely now. It's interesting that we live in a world where there were never more people in the world than there are now, yet there are more lonely people than ever before. There are many different kinds of loneliness. There's the loneliness of death of a spouse or friend. There's the loneliness of the business trip. There's the loneliness of a new school, of growing old, of the spouse who won't listen to you, the loneliness of the feeling that you're not understood. There's the loneliness of success -- life at the top is lonely. There are many different kinds of loneliness. You will be lonely in life. That's a fact. So what do you do when you have those moments of uncontrollable loneliness and you can't do anything about it?
You recognize God's presence. He is your companion. Hebrews 13:5 "God has said, `Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you!'" He is your constant companion. Jesus called us friends, "You are My friends." He's a friend that knows more about you than any other friend. He knows more about you than you do. He understands you. Remember the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" -- it's true. You have a constant companion; God is always with you.
When we face a challenge we like to have somebody with us. Remember your first day at school and you wanted your parents to go with you? We like to have reinforcements. When I am lonely I need to remember that God is my companion because He says "I'm always with you." He never asks you to do anything by yourself.
2. WHEN I'M WORRIED, GOD IS MY CONFIDENCE.
Isaiah 42:2-3 "When you go through deep waters and great troubles, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you won't drown. When you walk through the fires of oppression, you won't be burned up." Reminds me of the three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego [or Your shack, My shack and a Bungalow] who walked through the fire. God walked through it with them. When they came out the ropes that had tied them were burned off but they were protected. Maybe you're going through a fire -- some of you are going to go through difficulty this week. None of us can predict the problems we're going to face. But one thing we can be certain of: God's going through it with you. God is with you! When I'm worried, God is my confidence.
God told Moses one day, You're going to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt into the Promised land. Moses started making excuses, "God, I can't do that! I'm insecure! I'm nothing! I can't speak!" God gives one answer to his excuses, "I will be with you. My presence will go with you. I will be your confidence." When I'm lonely, God is my companion, but when I'm worried God is my confidence.
Psalm 16:8-9 "I am always aware of the Lord's presence..." Are you always aware of the Lord's presence? I'm not always. But if I were, look at what the results would be... "... He is near and nothing can shake me. I'm so thankful and glad and I feel completely secure." This is the second benefit. When I'm lonely, God's presence cheers me up, but when I'm worried, God's presence calms me down. It gives me stability. It's a stabilizer. It's a stress reliever. I have confidence because I know "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." He's with me. I can handle anything.
I can even handle death. Psalm 23:4 "Even though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." That kind of confidence does not come from psychology. It comes from knowing that God is with me. He's with me all the time. He says, "Nothing can shake me. I'm completely secure."
When I'm lonely I have a companion and when I'm worried I have a confidence.
3. WHEN I'M TEMPTED, GOD IS MY COUNSELOR.
He is ready to give me advice. He is ready to help me make it through the temptation. 2 Cor. 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." That is an encouraging verse! When God is with you, He provides a way out. When you're tempted, He's your counselor.
There are several things about this verse. First, it says temptations are common. They are common to man. We all have the same problems. People think they have a unique problem but they don't. We all have the same problems. And if there are some common problems it means there must be common solutions. They're in God's word.
Then it says God is with me when I'm being tempted. He's right there when I'm being tempted. That's a motivation for me not to give in. When I realize God is right here watching me, that is a motivation to resist the temptation. I don't want to sin right in front of God. Every time I do sin it's as if I do it right in front of His throne.
The real benefit of God's presence that not only cheers me up and calms me down, but God's presence helps me out. He knows exactly the struggle going on in my mind. He's pulling for me. He's preparing an escape route. He sees it coming before I see it coming. He knows I'm walking right into it. He's already preparing an escape route for me to get out of it. It's not just my will power but His power and He's promised to help me. That's good news!
When I'm tempted God is my counselor. He gives me advice. He knows what I need to do. And He promises to help me out. No matter what temptation I face this next week at home, at work, at church, at school God is there. He's with me in that time of temptation. Job 13:27 "You, God, keep a close watch on all my paths." Circle "close". Because God is everywhere He sees everything.
Last week we talked about the omniscience of God -- God sees everything. Why does He see everything? Because He's there. He is omniscient because He's omnipresent. God is an eyewitness to every single thing I do. As much as I, like Jonah, run from the presence of God, I can't. He's at the office, in my car going to work, at school, at home, in the store. Surprise! God knows! There is no such thing as a locked door to God. You can't lock Him in, you can't lock Him out. He's everywhere. It's no big surprise to Him. He's there.
Psalm 139:11 "If I say surely the darkness will hide me and the light of the night becomes night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to You for the night will shine like the day for darkness is as light to You." We see on news stories that many of our soldiers have night vision goggles. God has night vision but he doesn’t need the goggles. The Bible says men love darkness rather than the light because their deeds are evil. A lot of things go on at night that don't go on during the day because they think they are being hidden. But the Bible says, God sees everything. He can see through the darkness. He created light but he doesn’t need it. He can see right through the darkness. He can see everything that is going on in my life.
It is so much easier to control yourself when you know other people are watching. Have you noticed that in your life? You go to the salad bar at the restaurant... You see this huge bowl of chocolate mouse. You think "I'm going to take the whole thing" and you begin to heap in onto your plate. Then you look and see an attractive, slim lady standing next to you -- "You think, What a pig!" and you heap it back into the bowl! Because somebody's watching! Or some of you who are in school... you don't ever attempt to cheat on a test when you know the teacher is standing over you watching you. Would it be a correct assumption, that teenagers, are less affectionate with their dates when their parents are around than when they are alone?
When people watch us, it is a motivation. God is always watching you. When I am tempted, He is my counselor. He says, "I'm making a way out. I'll help you. He's there to help you out.
When I am aware of God's presence it helps me to maintain more control. I am more alert to the things I say. The Bible says I'm going to give an account of everything I say. Have you ever had anyone swear in front of you or take the Lord's name in vain and then ask your pardon for it? I always want to say, "You ought to ask God to forgive you. It's His name you're using. He's the one you're offending. He's listening right now because He's there." We need to be more careful when we realize He's present at all times.
4. WHEN I'M DISCOURAGED, GOD IS MY COMFORTER.
Psalm 34:18 (Good News) "The Lord is near to those who are discouraged. He saves those who have lost all hope." Circle "near". If you're discouraged, one thing I can say with all confidence: God is with you. The Living Bible: "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted..." Is your heart breaking this morning? The Lord is near you.
The book by Phil Yancey, Where is God When It Hurts? came out a while back. The answer to that question is He's with you. He feels your hurt. He feels your discouragement. He knows when you're not making it, when you're frustrated. Some of you may be going through some rough times right now and you're ready to give in or give up or throw in the towel. You don't know if you want to keep on going in the direction you're going. You may be ready to give up. I don't know what you're going through but whatever it is God is going through it with you. You are not alone. His presence is there because He wants to be your comforter.
God is not some impersonal force. He is not some far off, far away power. He's very personal and He's right there with you. Jesus said in John 14 "The Father will send you a Comforter who will never leave you" and He is the Holy Spirit. No matter what you're going to go through this next week, God will go through it with you. When the roof caves in, God is with you. He's never too busy to listen. He never says Come back later, the line is busy. You never get knocked off line once you have made a connection. He is sympathetic to the stress that you are feeling in your life.
Some of you are listening to this, thinking of this as intellectual truth and you're filing it in your mind. Others of you know exactly, from experience, what I'm talking about. You've been through some deep waters and you have felt God's presence in your life. He has comforted you. He has given you the strength and encouragement to keep on going. He's an encourager.
I see all kinds of reactions that people have in life. I see the reactions to funerals, the hospital stays, the crises that come that nobody can predict or plan. I don't know how people make it without the Lord. In fact, some don't make it. They have scars and they don't get over things as quickly as people who depend on the presence of God do. They hurt much more deeply and much more severely than those who know that God's presence is there. He's there to encourage them.
Psalm 116:8-11 (Good News) "The Lord stopped my tears and kept me from defeat. So I walk in the presence of the Lord. I kept on believing, even when I said, `I'm completely crushed' and even when I was afraid and said, `No one can be trusted.'" That verse has only been applied in my life a couple hundred times. Time after time when I have been discouraged and ready to quit, I thought I was in the wrong direction, without the presence of God's encouragement in my life I would not have made it. Times when you think, "I'm defeated. I'm completely crushed. Nothing can be relied on. Everybody lets me down." That's when you need to recognize the presence of God in your life.
Pastor Ken Gaub was once on vacation in a motor home. He and his family stopped for food south of Dayton, Ohio, and he took a short walk to get a Coke and stretch his legs. Strolling past a gas station, he noticed the phone ringing incessantly in a phone booth in front of the station. Out of curiosity he answered it. The operator said, “Long distance call for Ken Gaub.” He almost choked on a chunk of ice from the Coke. The call was from a lady in Harrisburg, PA, who had heard the pastor speak on TV.
Sobbing profusely, she told Ken that she felt he was the only one in the world who could help here. She was writing a suicide note when God gave her this phone booth’s number, and Ken was right there!
God is there when you are discouraged and he will get you the comfort and help that you need. He can do that supernaturally if he has to.
The presence of God not only cheers me up when I'm lonely and calms me down when I'm worried and helps me out when I'm tempted—it sees me through when I'm discouraged. It gives you the motivation to keep on going, the power to keep on keeping on. It renews your strength. It lifts up your heavy heart. It gives you a new vision. That's what God's presence can do to your life. But you have to tune in.
The key to keep on keeping on, to overcoming discouragement, is the phrase "I walk in the presence of the Lord." How do you do that? God is present all around us but most people are totally unaware of it. How do you walk in the presence of the Lord?
Four Secrets to Practicing the Presence of God:
1. Invite Jesus into your life if you haven't done that already. God is around you, God is by you, but He wants to be in you. He wants to put His Spirit inside of you so you can handle the stress. Whenever you get under stress and you feel all of this pressure coming in on you, you must have an equal pressure from the inside enabling you to cope. Whenever people get under pressure, they always begin to fill themselves with something to equalize the stress: food, alcohol, drugs... they put something on the inside to equalize the pressure on the outside. Yet the Bible says real clearly, "Don't get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit." Instead of being filled with spirits, be filled with The Spirit. As you are filled with God's presence in your life it equalizes the pressure on the outside and you can cope. You can handle stuff. It doesn't cave you in.
The starting point is to invite Jesus Christ into your life. The Bible says that what Jesus has done for us on the cross has made possible for us to come in the presence of God with freedom and confidence.
2. Be quiet. Just be quiet. Close your mouth and don't talk. I believe so many people never feel God's presence because they're too busy. They're too distracted. They've always got their radio on. Too much noise. The Bible says in Psalms "Be still and know that I am God." Paschal said, "Most of man's problems come from his inability to sit still." Just be quiet.
Several times a day, "Tune in and drop out". Tune in to God's presence and drop out of the environment around you. Just say, "God I realize that You are present with me right now, that You are by me, with me, and in me if I'm a believer.” Tune in to His presence. Take these little breaks during the day to be quiet and recognize that no matter where you are God is with you. The Bible says in James 4:8 "Draw near to God and He'll draw near to you." As you tune in to Him you'll begin to be aware. He's always there but you have to be aware of it.
3. Talk to God about everything. Last week we saw with God's omniscience that God knows everything anyway. You can pray about anything and ask Him for help. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians, "Pray without ceasing." Pray continually. How do you do that? How can I get on with life and be continually in prayer? It's talking about maintaining a continual conversation with God. Talk to Him about anything. Walk outside in the morning, "Lord, it's a beautiful day!" You get in your car, "Oh, Lord, I'm low on gas." As you're driving, "God, these are some things I'm thankful for." Talk to Him about everything. Have a continual conversation with the companion who is always with you. That's what it means to pray without ceasing. The Bible says in Psalms 62:9 "Trust Him at all times and pour out your heart to Him." You maintain an ongoing conversation with Him at all points.
Some of you say, "When I pray I feel like my prayers never get above the ceiling." Guess what? God is below the ceiling. He's right next to you. He reads your mind the moment you think it. He knows what you're going to think before you even think it. You don't have to have these super duper pious prayers that blast off from earth and get a million light years away up to God in heaven on His throne. He is right there. You don't have to feel like you're getting them up to heaven. You just think it; He knows it. So you talk to Him about everything.
4. Develop the habit of praise. Praise means to thank God for who He is and what He's done for you. Psalm 100:4 "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter His courts with praise." We move into an awareness of God's presence. Nothing will help you become aware of God and His presence in your life faster than developing the habit of praise. Nothing helps you tune in to Him more than beginning to praise God. God is always around us. He's always present. But sometimes we sense His presence more than at other times. He's equally present no matter where you are -- office or wherever, when you're tired or happy -- He's always present. But sometimes we sense His presence more. We talk about entering His presence through praise. That simply means "tune in!” Since God is everywhere you can praise Him everywhere. You can worship God in your car driving down the road, singing some of the songs we sing here on Sunday morning. You can sense God's presence. Do the same things you do here on Sunday morning. You will have the same experience of feeling close to God during the week that you do when we're here together on Sunday morning. God is everywhere so you can praise Him everywhere.
A whole new life is about to open up to you if you will grasp the simple truth I have just shared with you. If you will become aware that God is always with you it is going to change your life. It will cheer you up, it will calm you down, it will help you out, it will see you through when you become aware of the presence of God. No matter where you find yourself this week, God will be there, in advance, with you when you get there -- school, vacation, traffic jam, flying 35,000 feet high -- God is everywhere. He's in the jail, in the bar -- everywhere. To those of you who are tired or discouraged or frustrated, hurting, afraid, worried, sick, or depressed I want to say to you: God is with you.
Prayer:
God's presence is here with us this morning whether you're aware of it or not. He wants you to know Him. He wants you to feel His love. It's nothing spooky or scary or mystical that we're talking about here. It's just a part of life you haven't been aware of. He has been around your life since you were born. He's always been around you. It's a fact of life that you need to tune in to. Say in your heart, "God, I'd like to know Your presence in my life." Then just be quiet. Take a deep breath and relax. Tell God what's on your mind. Aches? Pains? Feel good, worried, tired? Tell Him what's on your mind right there where you're seated. If you've never done so would you invite Jesus Christ to come into your life. Because God is a Spirit He can move in you. Radio waves go through your life all the time. God can come into your life.
Father, I thank You for Your word and that it is relevant. Thank You that You are with us. Help us this next week to sense Your presence and realize that there is no point we will be that we cannot say "The Lord is in this place." Thank You for the confidence and the comfort that gives us. In Jesus' name. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment