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[0:00] Thank you for that, Dave. Just a wonderful gift that we have to sing these songs that speak to us about God's eternal truth.

[0:11] So I'm delighted that Dave decided to sing my favorite hymn, Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus. This morning I want to address or talk to you, preach about the subject of God's omnipresence, God's omnipresence.

[0:31] In case you're not familiar with that term, there is this Latin phrase, omni, that theologians use, which means all.

[0:42] So when we talk about God's omnipresence, we're talking about God's all presence, that God is everywhere.

[0:52] There's a few other terms that also have the prefix omni. We have omniscience, which would mean God is all-knowing.

[1:04] And we also have omnipotence, which means that God is all-powerful. So these three terms, God's omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence are probably considered God's greater attributes in light of the scope of them.

[1:28] But as well, there is nothing that can in us be done to compare ourselves to them. So just, we talked about God's goodness a couple weeks ago.

[1:41] We can be good. There's a measure of good that we can be. Last week we spoke about God's wisdom. There's a measure of wisdom that we can be. But when it comes to God's omnipresence, omniscience, and God's omnipotence, yeah, we're not even close.

[1:58] Those are attributes that are beyond, and they are the majestic ones that belong to God alone. The fact of the matter is, when you ask someone about God, these are the qualities that everyone describes or wants a God to be, right?

[2:18] We want a God to be everywhere, whether we like it or not. But that would mean he is certainly mighty. We believe in a God that is all-knowing and a God that is all-powerful.

[2:34] If anyone introduced us to a God that wasn't these things, we probably wouldn't pay much attention to. What's interesting, in ancient times, people did not believe these about gods.

[2:50] They believed that gods were limited in their presence. So certain gods were worshipped by certain nations. The gods certainly weren't all-powerful or all-knowing, but only in geographical and certain locations.

[3:08] And sometimes it was dependent upon how many worshippers they had, which gave them their powers. We see even in the Old Testament, when the Assyrians, Babylonians, came against Israel, the Babylonians wanted to return back to Babylon as quick as possible, lest the gods of Israel overcome them.

[3:33] But this morning, I want to specifically address the issue of God's or the attribute of God's omnipresence. That God is present in all places.

[3:48] The Bible clearly portrays God as this attribute, that he is all-present.

[4:02] It is an understanding that God is everywhere. And today, I want to focus on what that means, so we understand the term, what that means for us, and how that matters in our Christian walk.

[4:16] What are the implications of this truth for believers in Jesus Christ? Now, if you have your Bibles out, we're going to be taken from the passage that I read from today.

[4:31] It's going to be Psalm 139, and we're going to be looking at verses 7 to 10. But before I go there, I want to provide for you a definition.

[4:42] A definition of what the doctrine, which is the biblical teaching of omnipresence, means. It simply means that God is at the same point in time present in every part of the universe.

[5:01] I know it's a little bit of a mouthful. God is at the same point in time present in every part of the universe. I think it was probably a month ago, I preached a section on God is spirit.

[5:16] We know that God is not limited by physical, material means. He can be everywhere. And this kind of helps us with this understanding that God does not have a size, which means he can be in all spaces at once.

[5:36] But what's really interesting about this teaching is it isn't that God is the same place everywhere. He is of the same nature in every place at every time.

[5:49] But God can act differently with different people groups in different situations at different places. Let me just simply say it this other way, and hopefully this will be the most confusing part of the sermon.

[6:04] God is present in all places at all times, and he is fully God in all of those places.

[6:16] All right, we're going to get to why that is significant, what the Bible teaches about this. Now let me ask you a question. When you hear the words that God is everywhere, or you're thinking of this idea of the doctrine of omnipresence, where does your mind go?

[6:40] Does it go that God is far away in the universe? Or do you think of God being right here, right now, in our place in time?

[6:55] And there's two ways to look at it. And the Bible actually speaks about these two places. That God is both far off in every part of the universe, every part of this world, every part of our country.

[7:09] But the Bible also teaches that God is everywhere that is close to here. And the reality is, we are all different people.

[7:21] And sometimes we think of certain points before others. So some of us may consider God far and not near.

[7:31] And some of us might dwell on God being near and not far and not understanding the majesty in that.

[7:42] So let's begin at looking at Psalm 139. And we're going to be beginning in verse 7. And I want us to see these profound truths that this author has for us.

[7:56] It simply says, about God.

[8:27] We understand from this text that God is a God who is both far and who is near. So let's take a look at verse 7. The question is asked, Where shall I go from your spirit?

[8:42] The answer is obvious. With our teaching of the majesty and the glories and power of God, there is nowhere that we can go to be away from him.

[8:53] And then he says, Or where shall I flee from your presence? Nowhere. It's kind of interesting.

[9:04] My wife and I love to watch this one TV show. It's called Person of Interest. And it deals with the idea of what happens if the world was controlled by artificial intelligence.

[9:15] And it was able to use every camera, every phone to track every human being. And what's interesting is in this show, they have a map.

[9:26] And it's called the dark map. And it's when they use this map, they can go to places where they cannot be seen or and they cannot be heard. And what's interesting in the show, one of the people calls the computer God.

[9:40] They believe this is God because this computer can orchestrate things. That is not the biblical God. There is no place that we can go where we cannot be seen.

[9:53] And there's no place that we can go where we cannot be heard. Notice in verse 8, he says, If I ascend to heaven, you are there. And what the author is telling us is even in the highest place that we know of heaven, which is above the earth, in life, you are there.

[10:12] Verse 8, If you make my bed, if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. The word Sheol means the grave. It's the underworld, hell.

[10:25] It is the bottom of life. And it's almost as if the author has this map that he's using. And he's got a north, south, east, west.

[10:37] And we understand the north, up, would be heaven. God is there. South, Sheol. God is also there to the lowest point.

[10:48] So in the highest point of life to the lowest point of life, we cannot get away from God. If we look at verse 9, it says, If I take the wings of the morning.

[11:00] What happens in the morning? It is the time when the sun rises. Where? The east. So if we look like at a map again, we're seeing not only is God far at the highest peak of north, the lowest low of south, but we also find him in the east in the morning where the sun rises.

[11:25] Verse 9. And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea. If we were in Israel at that time, the Mediterranean ocean, which is made up of many seas, is to the west.

[11:39] So the author of this psalm is telling us, whether it's north, south, east, west, there is no place that we can go where God cannot be found.

[11:50] And he's also drawing the distinction, whether you be on land or be on sea. Remember the story of Jonah? Thought he could go to sea to get away from God.

[12:01] It doesn't happen. And the result of it in verse 10. Even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

[12:13] If you were in the farthest north, the furthest south, the furthest east, the furthest point west, God is there. And what's even more than this, it's the life in heaven or even life in hell.

[12:28] That even in the place of death, there is no escape from God. So there's such this interesting positioning here that even in the furthest parts of our lives, God is near.

[12:48] It's interesting, probably one of the most amazing times of worship, and I'm just using as an experience, was I had the opportunity to travel to China, and I was at a European church, the music team was made up of people from Africa, the preacher was from Europe, I believe he was Dutch, and all these people from many nations, and it was a massive conference that was there, and it was probably about 400 or 500 people, and they mixed up the worship songs, and what was really amazing is, although I did not know all the words, I knew all the tunes, and all the people there were singing with the same vibrancy in faith and worship to the Lord Jesus Christ, people we've never met before, we could not speak in language to one another unless we had an interpreter, or unless they knew French or English for me.

[13:45] It was amazing, but we were there, we were there worshiping the one God, even in a country of China, where they're trying to kill God, to say that God does not even exist.

[14:02] You see, there is no place that God is greater, and there's no place where God is lesser.

[14:15] God is always God everywhere, and God is fully present in every area that he is.

[14:26] Now, I want us to look at a few other passages that teach this truth. So some of these verses will show up on your screen. We have Psalm 123.1.

[14:37] It says, To you, I lift up my eyes, O you are enthroned in the heavens. Now, I want you to pay special attention to that word heavens.

[14:51] It's plural. And what it means is, it's the highest point of heaven, of even in heaven, which we know is above us, where God resides, in the highest point, is where his throne is.

[15:12] As we know, and we think of ancient times where castles were built in ancient times of this world, they were in high places in order to scope out the land.

[15:24] And not always just to see the enemy's approach, but they see their farm, their people, and the domain that they ruled. Our God sits in the highest point of heaven.

[15:39] And this is the theological principle. This verse is speaking about God's transcendence. God's transcendence.

[15:49] That he is over and above all that is created. It is in the place beyond us. God is in the place beyond our concept of material space.

[16:04] That it's in a place beyond our concept of power. That is in a place beyond our concept of understanding. That in the highest points of these heavens, there is nothing more beyond God.

[16:22] He is transcendent. There is nothing higher. There is no higher place to compare him to.

[16:34] Now we also see that there is no competition for God. Take a look at Psalm 97.9. For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth.

[16:50] You are exalted far above all gods. And that is a small g, gods. There is no place higher and there is no competition for God.

[17:03] He is God. We spoke about this several months ago. Some people believe that God and Satan are like battling forces. It's not like this. It's like this.

[17:13] God is up here. Satan is down here. There's no competing in his power or the scope of his transcendence.

[17:26] Isaiah 6.1 again. This is Isaiah and I've preached on this verse previously. But it says when Isaiah comes into this, he says, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.

[17:40] And the train of his robe filled the temple. And we talked about this idea of temple. When we talk about God's sovereignty, this temple, this train is this world.

[17:53] It's all of creation. That God's throne, his power, his rule is over everything. Nothing is uncovered. There is no place hidden.

[18:06] And then there's this amazing passage here in Revelations 4. Revelation 4, verse 1 and 2. And I want to give you the context first. This is the Apostle John.

[18:19] He's writing on the Isle of Patmos. So he's been exiled. And God has called him to write. And he's writing this book of Revelation about what is to come.

[18:33] Notice what he says. He says, after this, which is the previous teachings on the first three chapters, he goes, I looked and behold, a door standing open in heaven.

[18:44] And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, come up here. And I will show you what must take place after this.

[18:55] Now, I want you to pay very attention to what John says here. He says, at once I was in the Spirit. And then he uses this word, and behold, a throne stood in heaven with one seated on the throne.

[19:16] The Bible teaches us many things about heaven. Notice what John focuses on.

[19:28] He could focus on the mansions that Jesus is preparing for us. He could focus on the people who were saved, the Old Testament saints that are there.

[19:42] Most likely, the 11 other apostles were there before him. His friends, those who walked with Jesus. He could have spoken about the gemstones, the streets of gold, the pearly gates, how amazing Jerusalem, Zion looks like.

[20:04] But he doesn't. The first thing he focuses on is this throne. This throne that stood in heaven.

[20:16] And the image that he's given us is that God is here ruling over all things. This is God's transcendence.

[20:29] What does that mean for us here today? Possibly for this generation, there's been other generations who have been through much more difficult times than we are in.

[20:44] But for us who've never experienced a draft, having gone to war, a world war where we're sending off family members, worldwide famines that are killing millions of people.

[21:00] But we live in a time where people are asking, where is God? Is he here? Is he sleeping? What is God doing with COVID?

[21:10] COVID? These racial issues are bubbling up. We see death without justice, destruction, financial ruin.

[21:25] We have before us perhaps a perception of no law and order. It is very easy to watch the news and be discouraged, perhaps to even despair.

[21:40] I know there's times where even myself, I just have to shut it off. I met with a fellow pastor this week and we were just talking and thinking through theologically about what we see.

[21:54] And what Gura gives us, and there are moments as a pastor where I would have to say, I've kind of shut down in some ways where I just have to go to a place of meditating and praying because I don't know what to do with the information that I'm seeing or reading, the confusion, the hurt, the pain.

[22:24] I get emails from friends, their churches are being painted over, their graffiti. There was a statement even this past week in the States that the movement BLM wanted to destroy churches because they're an emblem of white society.

[22:39] And this has rattled some churches and some church groups in some cities where they believe, where they worship. Now, overall, let's be honest.

[22:50] Those are bad things. But in China, the state was destroying churches, right? But for us, it's real, it hurts, it's deep. But what's amazing is God is still completely in control.

[23:05] He hasn't stepped away from the throne. It's not as if he's on the dark side of the moon and he cannot see the earth anymore. God sees it and it's not going, he's not going away.

[23:19] In fact, God is not surprised by it. And what's interesting what it does is it was kind of funny and I'm poking fun at one of my buddies this week. He said, you know, 2020, we've seen such crazy things.

[23:31] And he goes out and it's hailing and he lives in this town of Florida. He says, I've lived here for 20 years and I've never seen hail. Is this the end? Is this the end? And I kind of googled to him that actually the weather report said that hail was experienced two times in your city last year alone and every year in the past 20 years.

[23:52] Just because he didn't see it meant it probably or his experience was more than what it really is. See, the reality is when we look at one another, it's easy to be discouraged.

[24:07] It is easy to despair. Why? Because we're discouraging people. We're not perfect. We sin. We have anxiety. We hurt.

[24:18] We lash out. We're scared. But our calls as believers in Christ is to look to the transcendence of God.

[24:30] To look vertically. We're always going to get confused when we look horizontally at one another. But our eyes are to be focused on Jesus Christ, the perfect mediator and perfecter of our faith.

[24:43] It's to be God focused. Perhaps we need to be more aware of new opportunities for the gospel. New opportunities to share the love of Jesus. I know I've now talked to my neighbors more so than I have before this.

[24:58] And I'm not an unfriendly guy, but people are coming over and asking for help in different situations and they're wanting to talk. And it's allowed us to be engaged more. The reality is some of our ways are very broken.

[25:13] But the God, the God that is presented in this word, this word which is represented in the person of Jesus Christ, is above these things.

[25:26] Nothing is hidden from him. Nothing surpasses him. Our decisions do not fool him. Our decisions don't even confuse him. You see, God sits on the highest heights of heaven and on his throne which he sees and knows all.

[25:43] One of my friends talks about the Tower of Babel. And it was something that I missed. But the Tower of Babel which is told in Genesis 11, all the people of earth get together.

[25:55] They want to create this great city and build this tower so they can reach God. And it says in Genesis in verse 5, I believe it is, is that the Lord had to come down from heaven to see it.

[26:08] Like it was so puny and tiny, although he sees it, he had to actually go all the way down to earth just to see this small thing, this great thing in man's eyes, but it was such a small thing in God's eyes.

[26:23] God, my friends, is transcendent. The second area that I want to talk about is God's eminence. God's eminence.

[26:34] This is the teaching that God in his omnipresence is here with us. Usually, honestly, I am one of the people when I think about God, when I started learning about God, I was blown away by his power and majesty that was far off.

[26:53] And God had to teach me through my pain that God was close, that God was near me. Jeremiah 23, verses 23, 24 says, Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away?

[27:14] Can a man hide himself in secret places that I cannot see him, declares the Lord. He says, I have heard what the prophets had said who prophesy lies in my names.

[27:29] The fact of the matter is, our lives begin with God, do they not? The moment we were saved, it begins with the God who was here.

[27:43] It began with our crying out, whether as a child, admitting we were sinners, that we had sinned against a holy God.

[27:55] He wasn't far away, he was actually really close to us. The connection we have to God through his son, Jesus Christ, it's a personal connection.

[28:06] That's why we talk about a relationship with God. It's not a relationship that is far off, it is a relationship that God entered into our world.

[28:17] We were going one way and God cut us off and brought us another way. We have many different testimonies in this church. some of you were going on complete roads of destruction till God in his eminence entered into your life and changed the direction of your life.

[28:43] Whether it was in your sin, foolish circumstances, or someone else's sinner circumstances in your life, God rescued you.

[28:54] God set you free. And it's interesting, this is the testimony that God came to Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses.

[29:08] God revealed himself to his people that he was a personal God. In the nitty-gritty of life, God is there. I think of the Magnificat, which is Luke 1, 46.

[29:21] Remember, Mary is given the news that she's going to bear Jesus, the Savior of the world. She's a teenager. The fear that would have overcome her.

[29:36] but she finds her rest in this spirit who is near her. We all know one of the first verses we learn as new believers is Psalm 23.

[29:53] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.

[30:05] Deuteronomy 4, 39. Know, therefore, today, and lay it in your heart that the Lord is God in heaven, above, and on the earth.

[30:20] There is no other. when the Bible speaks of God's omnipresence, it speaks of his presence outside of us, but his presence that is with us.

[30:37] It also speaks of a God who is engaged with us. He's engaged in our lives, in our pain, in our sorrow, in our suffering.

[30:53] Isaiah 57, 15, the prophet writes, for thus says the one who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

[31:22] That's an incredible place. If you want to know where God is, if you want to say, where is God, go see the humble, those who are contrite in spirit.

[31:39] This verse teaches that God is to be found in the highest heights. His transcendent glory is clear to see for all. But for those who know him as Lord and Savior, we also know him through his eminence.

[32:00] That God is found with those who are broken, those who are contrite, those who are humble, those who are beaten down, forsaken either by man or the trial of life.

[32:19] God is there. I just want to read to you the beginning of Matthew 5, which is the Sermon on the Mount. This is the teaching that turned the world upside down.

[32:31] Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God, kingdom of heaven, sorry. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

[32:47] Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

[33:00] Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, sinners, for they shall be called sons of God.

[33:17] Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you, falsely on my account.

[33:37] Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

[33:49] What's interesting, at the very end of the gospel of Matthew, it's written, and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.

[34:02] See, the Bible gives us this promise that God is both transcendent and he is both imminent. Hebrews 13, 5 tells us that he will never leave us or forsake us.

[34:17] So we can confidently say, the Lord is my shepherd. He is my helper. I shall not fear for what can man do to me?

[34:35] See, the Bible presents both a God who is great and glorious and over and sits on his throne, but also a God who enters into our brokenness, who enters into our pain, our confusion, and he makes himself known.

[34:55] One author simply says, God may be far off, but God is never closer than when we need him the most.

[35:08] A few months ago during our sermon series on spiritual warfare, we learned that God is also sovereign over heaven and hell.

[35:19] That was surprising to many people. We all thought that hell was Satan's domain, but it's actually God's domain. In fact, Revelation 14, Revelation 14, 9 to 10, teaches us that the torment of hell is actually overseen by God and in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

[35:50] The punishment that is due those who reject God, God oversees their punishment. that's a tough thing to learn, to understand.

[36:06] And there's a tension in the teachings because we say, can God be in the presence of evil? Now, what's going on there is the judgment over evil. But Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1, 9 writes, they will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.

[36:31] Now, there's that word presence that Paul uses there. And what that word means, it doesn't mean that God is not present.

[36:42] It means that the face of God, the common grace, which Pastor Dave spoke about several weeks ago, is taken away. That God's goodness is no longer available to them.

[36:55] The son that we will enjoy today, most people will be outside, whether it be mountain biking, gardening, taking care of their lawn, going for a walk, all those things that we get to enjoy, even to those who despise God, who hate God, who malign God, they can enjoy those good things.

[37:19] But at the end of days, God moves his face away from them. God moves to God. The reality is some of us have been living with God's goodness, but not a relationship with him.

[37:39] We're close to God because we happen to have wonderful parents who are believers. Perhaps it's grandparents. Perhaps we've gone to a Christian school or a Christian university.

[37:52] We've been blessed with Christian friends that love and care for us. but we do not know God personally. The Bible teaches that there will come a time where God will remove his goodness from you, that your heart will become hardened, that you will choose your sin, that you will choose your destruction.

[38:17] God will oversee his divine wrath of you. Today is the day of salvation.

[38:33] Today is the day that you can be saved. Today is the day where you can call out to Jesus Christ, declare him Lord and Savior, master and friend.

[38:48] You can repent of your sins. You can repent of who you were and what drove you and turn to God and simply bow to him and say, Lord, I believe.

[39:02] I believe that you took all my sin, all my shame, all the death that was due me, that was supposed to be on the cross. And as we learned last week, if you didn't listen to last week, I would encourage you, God in his wisdom gives us his life.

[39:24] Take his life. I implore you, you do not want God to take away his goodness from you.

[39:38] call out to God. Cry for his mercy.

[39:50] Cry for his forgiveness. Declare Jesus as Lord. Confess with your mouth that you are in a sinner worthy of destruction because of your sin and choose life with Jesus Christ.

[40:10] And perhaps today will be the day of your salvation. That God would not only be transcended over you, but that you would experience his imminence that he has for you.

[40:28] See that the Lord is good in belief. Amen. Dear Holy and Heavenly Father, we come before you. Father, I pray that we would both experience and see your transcendence and your imminence.

[40:46] May we see that that to be in you, that your presence offers us incredible blessing and encouragement.

[40:59] I can think of several in this church who have been through some incredible trials and times of adversity in this year. And they have responded with Psalm 23.

[41:11] They have held to those truths. To God's people, God is fully committed and because of that, man, we as believers will endure no matter how crazy this world is.

[41:30] But on the flip side, this teaching proves to be an incredible warning to us. For those who are opposing God or believe that they are hiding from God, there is no place for them to flee and there is no place for them to hide.

[41:49] There is no place where they cannot be seen and known. There is no action which may be done in our darkness, but to God darkness is light. The fact of the matter is God has not dispensed his perfect justice yet, but the Bible teaches us that it will.

[42:12] And that God's justice is both perfect and infinite. There is no error. And those who have not called on the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be met with eternal destruction, eternal punishment.

[42:37] Father, I pray that you will give ears to hear and give those who have a thirst for righteousness. May they come to you and be fully satisfied.

[42:47] God, we pray for your grace and your mercy upon our children, upon our parents, upon our families.

[42:59] May we in this time be given avenues to share this most incredible news. May we weep over our lost ones.

[43:10] may we not despair. May we be focused on you and always know that you forever will sit upon your throne.

[43:26]  We ask these things in your most holy and precious name. Amen.