Amen. So this morning I'm going to continue on preaching about the topic of God's nature.
And this morning we're going to look at the fact that God is omnipresent. God is omnipresent.
And basically, you know, that word omni just means all.
So any time you hear these terms used, you know, omni, you can just think all, whatever.
All, whatever might follow. In this case, omnipresent.
Meaning that God is all present, meaning that He is present everywhere.
You know, there's no place that God isn't.
And when you say that, there's a couple things that you want to make sure you clarify.
Because a lot of people can get this idea about God that He's omnipresent
and kind of go to some extremes or go to some weird places when it comes to this.
They, like, folks might say, well, if God is everywhere, then God must be everything.
Okay. And I've heard people say this, well, you know, God is this pulpit.
You know, God's that piano. God is in everything.
And, you know, that's really getting into more of a pantheistic and, you know,
kind of a Star Wars type of view of God where God's just this impersonal force.
But we have to remember from our earlier lessons is that God is a spirit, that He is immaterial.
Now, of course, we know that Christ, you know, the Son of God, took on, you know,
the form of man and that He was created, you know, of a woman.
But God in His nature is omnipresent and that He is spirit.
So, and we'll make application here at the end.
I know these are kind of a little bit more abstract ideas that we're talking about.
But these are, you know, important things to understand about God.
You know, there's a lot we can learn about God's omnipresence.
There's a lot of things we can take away from this when we start to think about the fact that God is present everywhere.
And, you know, the Scriptures tell us about that here in Psalms 139 where you are.
It says in verse 7, whether shall I go from my spirit or whether shall I flee from my presence
if I send up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
So there's a thought, you know, people often think that somehow God has nothing to do with hell.
Well, He's actually the one that created hell.
And in fact, He's even, David's telling us here that He is present in hell.
You know, His spirit is there.
It says there, if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the utmost parts of the sea,
even there shall thy hand lead me, thy right hand shall hold me.
So you can kind of see how we can derive a sense of comfort here from this fact,
that God is present everywhere, that God is never absent from our lives, that God is always there.
That's what He says there at the end.
Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Now, sometimes it seems like God is not present,
but we have to understand that God by His very nature is always present.
Now, I'm kind of getting ahead of myself a little bit,
but what I want us to understand is that God is present in different places in different ways.
But we have to always understand that God is present everywhere, that His spirit is everywhere.
If you would, go over to Isaiah chapter 40.
Isaiah chapter 40.
And what this should make us think about, first of all, is the fact that how immense God is.
You know, and again, this whole series about God's nature and everything,
we're trying to get across these deep, powerful truths about the nature of God using man's terms.
You know, using terms like omnipresent, trying to put a vocabulary together
to where we can describe the nature of God and who He is and what He's like.
It says in Isaiah chapter 40, verse 12,
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
and meted out the heaven with the span,
and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure,
and weighed the mountains in scales and hills in a balance.
Of course, this is things that God has done.
This is just showing us how immense God is.
You know, we would look at an ocean and say,
Wow, what a vast ocean. It's so huge.
It would take, you know, weeks and months to,
you know, depending on the technology we had available to us, to cross these oceans.
We'd get lost in them and you wouldn't know which way to go.
But the Bible says here that God just, you know, that He has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand.
I mean, that's how immense God is.
Again, the Bible is just trying to illustrate and get us to understand
how vast God is, how big He is, how immense He is
because of the fact that God is present everywhere.
You know, we'd look at these mountains and say,
Man, we look at that mountain limit and say,
Well, I want to climb that someday.
Well, maybe we wouldn't all say that, you know.
But some of us would say that.
We would say, I want to try and scale that mountain one day.
It would be this difficult task.
It would be something we have to build up to and work at.
But He says there that He weighs the mountains in scales.
To God, it's just, you know, the biggest mountain on earth is just, it's nothing to Him.
He's comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure.
He knows, you know, how much soil there is.
I mean, God is everywhere.
These things are nothing to God.
God is that immense.
And to try and illustrate this, you know,
because again, I'm trying to put this in terms that we can understand
or at least so we can comprehend how immense God is.
We'll never truly comprehend that.
But think about the fact that everything that we know of has a center and an end, right?
Like this Bible, there's a center to the Bible
and then it has like a sort of circumference, if you will.
I know it's not a circle.
But it has a border, right?
It has a beginning and it has an end, everything.
Everything that we see and look at, this pulpit, those chairs,
everything that we look at, there's a center to that mass
and then there's an end to that mass, right?
It has limits.
Well, think about the fact that God doesn't have that,
that there is no limit to his being,
that he has a center and that center is everywhere.
So that's just trying an illustration to kind of get us to understand
when we're talking about, you know, the omnipresence of God,
we're talking about how immense the Lord truly is
and that he's beyond our, you know, human comprehension.
The Bible here with these illustrations like Isaiah 40 verse 12
are just trying to put it in, you know, human terms
so we can wrap our minds around the immensity of God.
Go over to Isaiah 66, Isaiah 66.
You know, this is something the Bible brings about
up several times and addresses is the fact of how immense God is.
The Bible says in 1 Kings, you're going to Isaiah 66,
but will God indeed dwell on earth?
Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain me.
So we know the heavens, right?
That's the sky that we see.
And the heaven of heavens, right?
That would be the space, you know, space, the stars, the galaxies.
The heavens of heavens cannot contain me.
We go to one of these observatories that are around here in Tucson
and we look out at that, you know, the deep vacuum of space, right?
That vast, just emptiness that is space
and the Bible says that even that cannot contain God.
That's how immense the Lord truly is.
How much less the house that I have builded.
You're there in Isaiah chapter 66, look at verse 1.
Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool.
I mean, God just says, oh, you know, earth is nothing to me.
It's like a footstool, I just rest my foot upon that.
You know, it's not, he doesn't literally do that, okay?
Don't try to fly up to the North Pole somewhere and find God's heel, okay?
So again, this is just, you know, the Bible illustrating to us
how immense the Lord truly is.
He says, he says, can any, verse 24,
hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him, saith the Lord.
Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord.
And really, we got to kind of think about what he's saying here.
Look, because of the fact, this is the application,
because of the fact of how immense God is and he is present everywhere,
there is nowhere we can hide from God.
There's nowhere, and this kind of goes back to the fact that God is all knowing, right?
God knows everything and God sees everything.
God is everywhere.
And people sometimes, even Christians,
can get this attitude that maybe God doesn't see them,
that maybe God's not paying attention to what they're doing,
but the fact is, is that if God is everywhere, there is no hiding from him.
You know, he sees us not just here on Sunday, not just here on Thursday,
but he sees us Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday and Saturday.
He sees us every day of every moment of our lives.
He's present everywhere we go.
And you know, this can be taken as both a warning and a sense of comfort.
You know, depending on how we're living our lives.
And if you would, go over to Proverbs chapter five,
Proverbs chapter number five, Proverbs chapter number five.
So the practical, you know, application here about how immense God is,
is that if God is everywhere, you know, don't think you can hide from him.
Don't think that you can, there's some place that you can hide away from God
and do things that are just pleasing to him, right?
And whenever I think about this, I always think about that story in Ezekiel chapter eight,
when Ezekiel's taken back and shown what the abominations
that the elders of Israel do in the temple.
And I won't read that whole story, but he tells them to dig the hole in the wall, right?
Then there's a door, and then he goes through it,
and he's literally like in this, and they got the censors going,
the elders are there with all the smoke.
So it's like literally this dark, smoke-filled room where they're worshipping,
you know, idols and figures and things like that,
where the Bible says that they are committing abomination.
He says, look Ezekiel, look what they're doing in the dark, committing abomination.
It says that in verse 12 of Ezekiel eight, I'll read to you, it says,
Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark?
Right, that man has this foolish notion that if I can just do things in the dark,
if I can just hide in some shadowy place somewhere, God's not going to notice what I'm doing.
No, God is omnipresent, God is everywhere, God cannot be escaped, there is no hiding from God.
And it says there, they say, do you see what every man, the house of Israel do in the dark?
Every man in the chambers of his imagery.
For they say, and this is the foolish notion that enters into man's head,
for they say the Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth.
That's what's going through their mind.
They go, God doesn't see what we're doing here.
And I brought this up before.
I've always read that and thought, well, if God has forsaken the earth and God doesn't see them,
why are you doing it in the dark?
It's because they still know in the back of their minds that God does see, that God hasn't forsaken the earth.
And that's why they have to do these things in secret.
They try to hide these things from God, but the fact is that there is no hiding from God.
I'm not saying if you're trying to hide in the dark and do something you shouldn't be doing,
you shouldn't be doing that all of a sudden Ezekiel's going to show up or something, right?
But the fact is that God sees everything.
He's omnipresent. He's everywhere.
There's no hiding from Him.
Don't let this foolish thought enter into your head like these ancients of Israel that think,
well, God's forsaken. God's not seeing what we're doing.
We can get away with this.
You can't get away with it. God sees everything.
You're in Proverbs 5, right?
In Proverbs 5, he said in verse 21,
For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord.
He pondereth all his goings.
So does it say God just ponders some of our goings?
God only pays attention to us when we're out-souling.
God only pays attention to us when we're going to church.
God's only paying attention when we're on His terms, when we're on His turf.
No, God pays attention to all of our goings.
No matter where we're going at all times, God sees us.
Because the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, He pondereth all His goings.
And now for guys like the guys in Ezekiel chapter 8, that's bad news, right?
But we read earlier with David, he said,
Look, even there shall thy right hand lead me, thy right hand shall hold me.
Depending on how you're behaving, this can either be a blessing or a curse to you.
If you're feeling like you need some comfort,
like you need God, need to know that God is near, well, He is near.
That can be a great assurance to us that we know that God is everywhere.
If we're backslidden and living for the world and not living for Christ,
we're not going to want to pay attention to this truth.
We're going to say, Well, let me go find my smoke-filled room somewhere.
Let me go hide out somewhere dark and just pretend like God doesn't see.
But the fact is, the Bible tells us over and over again that God does see.
I mean, how couldn't He see?
How couldn't God, who even the heavens can't contain, not see?
I mean, He sees everything. He's everywhere.
He's at all places at all times.
If you would, go over to Ephesians chapter 2.
Ephesians chapter 2, when you get there, put a bookmark in Ephesians 2.
We're going to come back again later.
But people get this idea, don't they?
That they can somehow hide from God, a God who is present everywhere.
And we'll even see that in Revelation chapter 6,
where they open up the sixth seal,
and it says that the kings of the earth and the great men
and the rich men and the chief captains and the mighty men
and every bondman and every free man hid themselves
in the dens and the rocks of the mountains.
Christ is about to come back and return and judge the earth,
and these guys are running and hiding in the dens and the rocks of the mountains.
And they literally have bunkers dug into the sides of these mountains
in Colorado and places like that.
It's kind of an interesting correlation there.
But it says in verse 16,
and they said to the mountains and rocks,
fall on us, and do what?
Hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne,
from the wrath of the Lamb.
You know, there's something in man's nature when he's doing wrong,
when he's sinful, when he's wicked, that wants to hide from God.
Going all the way back to Genesis, I mean, think about Adam.
Right? He sins.
The first thing he does is he runs and hides, you know, in the bushes
when God shows up, right?
That's just part of man's nature now.
They think that somehow they can hide from God.
But the only time people really want to get away from God
or pretend that they can hide from God is when they're not doing right,
when they're wicked, when they're doing evil.
I mean, in the case of Revelation 6,
these are, you know, very wicked people
that are running into these caves and dens and saying hide out.
You know, they literally want rocks to just cave in on them
and just keep God out and hide them from his face.
Why?
For the great day of his wrath has come.
Right?
They want to hide from the punishment of God, the wrath of God,
the judgment of God.
You know, if we understand that God is everywhere
and sees everything, that he ponders all our goings,
you know, that should cause us to live in a way
that we wouldn't want to hide.
We would just want to say,
God, look at what I'm doing right now
and let all my ways please you, right?
Let everything that I do and say and think be pleasing in thy sight.
Let the meditation of my heart be pleasing in thy sight.
That's the difference.
But either way, you know, God is going to be present everywhere
no matter how we live our lives.
And again, the other side of this coin
is the fact that that can be a very comforting thought.
You know, some people are going to look at that and say,
well, let me try and find a cave or a den to hide in.
Let me try to dig into some wall to commit my abomination.
Some people are just going to, you know, run to God.
Say, well, if God is everywhere, great.
I want him to see me.
I want that comfort.
I want that assurance that he's there.
The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 13,
let your conversation be without covetousness
and be content with such things as he hath,
for he saith, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,
so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper.
I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
You know, that's a great assurance
that God is never going to leave us,
that he is always going to be with us.
He's never going to forsake us.
But again, that truth should what?
Affect the way we live.
It said, that starts in Hebrews 13.
It says, let your conversation be without covetousness.
You know, don't be a covetous person.
Don't be lusting after things that aren't yours,
things that you can't have, things that you shouldn't have.
Be content with such things as you have,
and understand that God is never going to leave you,
that he is never going to forsake you,
that he's always there with you.
And that's going to be something
that should be a great assurance to us.
So we understand, you know,
the beginning of the sermon is just showing us that,
you know, God is omnipresent.
He is everywhere at all times.
And, you know, that could feel kind of cold.
That can feel impersonal.
We could say, well, what's so special
about God's presence then?
I mean, if it's just everywhere at all times,
you know, what's the big deal?
You know, and people could say, well, that's just, you know,
you're just talking about some kind of a force at that point.
Okay?
But we have to understand that, you know,
God's presence is everywhere,
but he manifests his presence in some places
in a way that he is not in others.
Let me say that again.
God manifests his presence in some places
in a way that he is not present in other places.
Okay?
It's true God's everywhere, right?
He's a spirit.
You know, he fills heaven and earth.
The heavens of heavens can't contain him.
The eyes of man, you know,
he beholds all the ways of man.
We understand that.
But there are certain instances
where God manifests that presence
in ways that he is not present in other places.
And I'll show you what I mean.
First of all, think about, you know,
we believe in the Trinity.
Okay?
So we have the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Well, the Father, he is in heaven, right?
He's not here on earth.
He's specifically, the Father specifically,
God manifests himself in the Father in heaven.
Okay?
Now, when I say manifest,
I'm not saying like God, you know,
morphs into the Father and then morphs out of it.
He's always been the Father.
Okay?
Every time you've got to say stuff like that,
you've got to clarify it these days.
But he's the Father in heaven, right?
That's his presence is there specifically
as the Father in heaven like nowhere else.
Okay?
And we, you know, there's just a multitude of Scripture.
I mean, just go read the Gospels.
How many times Jesus talks about
our Father which is in heaven,
my Father which is in heaven, right?
The Father is in heaven.
Well, think about how the Son,
we know he's in heaven now, right?
He's seated in the right hand of the Father.
Okay?
He's not seated in the same seat.
He's seated in the right hand.
But think about the fact that he was here,
that his presence was manifest,
that God, you know, that God became flesh, right?
That God was manifest in the flesh, right?
That was a very unique manifestation
of his presence here on earth specifically.
And it wasn't anywhere else.
You know, Jesus was here in Palestine,
on earth, working miracles.
He wasn't there and also on Mars
or some other place.
He was here, right?
So when we talk about the fact that God is omnipresent,
that he's everywhere,
we don't want to let this idea creep in,
well, if he's everywhere, then he's, you know,
does it really matter?
You can kind of take that for granted
if you see what I'm saying.
Because God does manifest his presence
in specific places, in specific ways, right?
In ways that he is not present in other places.
The Father is in heaven.
The Son was on earth.
Those were very specific.
Think about how God manifests today in his churches, okay?
And this is, you know, this is an important truth
because you're sitting in church right now.
You probably already knew that, all right?
But in case you didn't, that's where you are.
This isn't a movie theater.
But God manifests himself in churches.
Look, God manifests himself in Jesus Christ here on earth.
He came here and he was present here,
but now he's in heaven.
Does that mean God has just abandoned the earth in some way?
You know, but we have his specific presence
here in church, even this morning.
Look at Ephesians chapter 2, verse 19.
Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the saints,
and of the household of God,
and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone,
in whom all the building fitly framed together
groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord,
in whom ye also are builded up together
for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Look, that's what church is.
This is the habitation of God
that is built up of us through the Spirit.
You know, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
If you're born again, if you're saved,
you are sealed with the Holy Spirit
unto the day of redemption.
And when we gather together as a church,
we're coming together and God is present in this building
because he's present in every single one of us.
And we become a temple of the Lord.
We are built up in holy temple in the Lord.
We are in habitation of God through the Spirit.
I mean, so think about that.
You know, we started out trying,
I started out trying to explain, you know,
this profound thought that how immense God is, right?
And I don't know if I blew your minds or not, okay?
But the fact is, it's really,
when you stop and think about it,
it is, you know, it's hard to comprehend
that the God of the universe fills everything, right?
How immense God truly is.
But think about this.
His presence is here this morning in this building.
In a unique way.
Look, God's not present in other places right now,
like he is even in this room this morning,
through the Spirit,
through the indwelling of the Holy Ghost
here in this room.
You know, he's not manifest in the mall right now.
He's not manifest, you know,
his Spirit isn't over in the way it is here,
like it is out on some lake or some golf course
in front of some television.
You know, and all the other things
that people are spending their Sunday mornings doing,
God's presence is not there
in the way that it is present here.
Now, is God's Spirit there?
Is God present there?
Of course.
But not the way it's present here.
Because here we have the believers,
we have the habitation of God
built through the Spirit, through us.
Go over to 1 Corinthians chapter 3,
1 Corinthians chapter 3.
This isn't an isolated, you know, scripture here.
This is something the Bible teaches,
that we have the presence of God in a way,
here in church,
in a way that we don't have it in other places.
We should tell you something,
that church is important, you know.
Not just so we can write down a number,
not so that we can just, you know, fill a room,
because this is where God's Spirit is meeting this morning.
In this church, and churches like it,
wherever God's people are meeting together
and singing praises unto him.
I mean, the Bible says that he, you know,
he inhabited, and he inhabited the praises of Israel.
Right?
He inhabits the praises that we sing to him.
You know, wherever God's people are meeting together,
where God's words being preached,
God is present there,
in a way that he is not present in other places.
I mean, I want to get in on that.
You know, whether I'm on this side of the pulpit or that side,
I want to be where that's going on.
If you're telling me there's a place
where I can have the Spirit of God meet
in a way that he doesn't meet in any other place,
that's pretty unique.
And that, you know, the building doesn't matter,
the way it looks,
I mean, if the Spirit of God is there,
that's all that matters.
And I want in on that.
And hopefully you feel the same way,
at least you should.
You know, and maybe we need to think
a little bit more about what that means.
You know, say, oh yeah, I get it,
you know, he's there.
But think about who it is you're talking about.
And that's what this whole series is about.
We're just trying to, you know,
emphasize and wrap our,
emphasize how great God is, truly is.
You know, and maybe I'm not doing the best job of that,
but I'm trying.
But either way, God is magnificent.
God is, you know, amazing.
He's unique.
You know, there's nothing,
I mean, it's just,
it's really something to sit there and say
that the God who fills the whole universe
is present here with us this morning.
You know, and we all have to process that ourselves.
And we'll do with that what we will.
It says in 1 Timothy 3,
But if I tarry along,
that thou mayest know how,
I know you're not there,
how thou oughtest to behave in the house of God,
which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of truth.
That's what the church is.
It's the pillar and ground of truth.
It's the church of the living God.
It's the house of God.
It's where God dwells in a unique way.
The Bible says in 1 Peter 2,
He also as lively stones
are built up a spiritual house
and holy priesthood
to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Look, Peter's telling us that we're lively stones.
We're a living assembly, right?
That this building, this temple of God
is made up of flesh and blood.
It's made up of me and you.
It's not made up of ornate paintings
and stained glass windows
and beautiful, you know, buildings
and things like that.
Look, that's cheap.
That's easy, right?
That's easy to just have man
build some giant edifice
and say this is where God dwells
because look, look at all the brass
and gold and silver.
Look how beautiful we've made it.
Obviously, God's here.
That that's not what the Bible teaches.
The Bible teaches us
that we are those lively stones,
that we are the temple of God,
that we are that holy priesthood,
that this is where God dwells
is where God's people are gathered together,
not regardless of what
their surroundings might be,
what the building might be.
Look at 1 Corinthians 3, verse 9.
It says in verse 9,
For we are laborers together with God,
ye are God's husband debris,
ye are God's building.
Ye are God's building.
So what is he saying there
when ye are God's building?
I mean, God built it
because that's where
he's going to dwell.
I mean, that's why
we build buildings, right?
So people can go in them
and work and live and do whatever.
And we are God's building.
Why?
Because God dwells in us.
It goes on and says in verse 16,
For know ye not, excuse me,
know ye not that ye are
the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you,
if any man defile the
temple of God,
him shall God destroy.
For the temple of God is holy,
which temple ye are?
Another way,
we're talking about how
God is specifically
manifest in the church.
But even beyond that,
God is specifically
manifest in a way in you
that he's not manifest
anywhere else.
In each and every believer,
the Holy Spirit
is dwelling within.
You say,
I don't understand that.
Me neither.
I can't fully explain
You know, I'd probably
do a really poor job at that,
trying to get that across.
How is it the Spirit of God
dwells inside the believer?
But the Bible says it.
The Bible says right here
that we are the temple of God.
Does God dwell
in every single person?
No, he does not.
The Spirit of God is not
resting in every single person.
He's resting in those
that have put their faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ
that have trusted
in his death-bound resurrection.
That's a unique, you know,
presence of God
that we have as believers.
You know, we should not
take that for granted,
to sit there and think
about the fact that
the God who fills the universe
also dwells within us
by his Spirit.
It's a powerful truth.
Another place
that God is manifest
is not just in the churches,
but also in prayer, okay,
in prayer.
Go over to Psalms 100.
I'm just going to go through
this very quickly in prayer.
Go to Psalms 100.
The Bible says
in Psalms 100,
the Bible says in Matthew 18,
this probably verse
probably has come to few minds,
even as we were talking
about the subject.
It says,
And again I say unto you
that if two or three of you
shall gather together
as touching, excuse me,
that if two of you
shall agree on earth
as touching anything,
they shall ask,
it shall be done for them
of my Father,
which is in heaven.
For where two or three
are gathered together
in my name,
there am I
in the midst of them.
Right?
So whenever we get together
with brethren
and we pray,
two or three of us,
you know, God's presence
is there in the midst of us.
Whatever we ask in his name,
you know, when two or three
of us are gathered together,
he's there in our midst.
That's something to think about.
So where is God also
manifest in prayer?
So we should never, you know,
maybe this will motivate us
to pray because honestly
of all the disciplines
that we are to practice
as Christians, you know,
personally speaking,
I think prayer is probably
the hardest one
because nobody sees it
because it's not something,
look, if someone's
seeing you praying,
you're not doing it right.
Okay, now I understand
we pray publicly,
we pray with our families,
but you need to have
your own personal time of prayer
and that's between
you and the Lord, okay?
And if, you know,
that's probably why
it's a more difficult discipline.
The soul wedding, you know,
and I don't think anyone's
guilty of this,
but we probably, you know,
we could be.
Well, I'm gonna go soul wedding
so so-and-so can see me
so I can make an impression
on so-and-so.
Or I wanna serve in the church
or I wanna do something for God
so I can be seen of men.
This is something that
men fall into.
This is something that
is in the nature of man.
They just want the praise
and the glory of being
seen of men.
You're saying,
oh, look how spiritual I am,
look how religious I am,
look how holy I am, right?
And prayer is probably something
that gets neglected quite a bit
if we're being honest
in a Christian life
because it's not something
that is seen of men.
Because it's something that,
you know, we're not gonna go
around talking about, okay?
But so let me try
and motivate us, you know,
if we're one that is struggling
in this area,
think about the fact that,
you know, nobody else is,
you know, maybe your neighbor
is not gonna see you.
Maybe everybody at church
isn't gonna know how much
prayer you did this week.
But you know who is there?
You know who is in your
prayer closet with you?
God Almighty is there.
The Lord is there
listening to those prayers.
Or you know what?
The Lord is there
not hearing those prayers.
Or the Lord is there
where that prayer closet is
saying, boy, it's been a while.
You know, when are you gonna,
when are you gonna come
spend some time with me?
Right?
That's something to think
about right there.
The Bible says,
let us come boldly
before the throne of grace
that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help
in time of need.
We have such a great access
to the Lord through prayer.
And we can be present with Him.
And look, anyone who's spent
time in prayer, you know,
reading His word,
meditating on His word,
praying to God,
has had those moments
where they've felt close
to God and they've known
that God is present.
And if you're scratching
your head and you're not,
and you're wondering
what I'm talking about,
you need to pray.
You need to pray
and know what I'm talking
about and understand
because that is
a spiritual reality
that is available to all of us.
But so many don't
take advantage of that.
Why?
Because maybe we just think,
well, God's everywhere,
but is He gonna be
specifically, you know,
big deal about Him
specifically being manifest
in my prayer closet.
You know, you need
to let that sink in,
that God is present with you.
Right?
It doesn't matter
whether anybody else
recognizes that or not
if God does.
So look, we have this access
to come to God's throne,
don't we?
It says that we should,
we can come boldly
to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy
and help and find grace
to help find time of need.
So the question is, you know,
if we can be present with God
in God's church, right,
if we can come to church
and be in God's presence
in a way that He is
and anywhere else,
if we can go to our prayer
closet and pray and be
in God's presence in a way
that you can't be
in other places,
you have to ask yourself
what kind of an attitude
do you bring into His presence?
Or even if you're just
going about your life,
just living your life,
just going about your day,
you know, what kind of an
attitude do we have
in the presence of God?
Look, if our way,
if God beholds all of our ways,
if God is everyone,
sees everything,
what kind of attitude
are we living with day to day?
You know, is it, is it,
are we complaining and bitter
and angry in the presence
of God, or is it,
are we rejoicing,
being thankful, being grateful?
Are we being covetous
or are we being content
with the things that we have?
You're there in Psalms 100,
look at verse 1, he said,
make a joyful noise
unto the Lord, all you lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness,
come before His presence
with singing.
You know, come before
His presence with singing.
That's a, you know,
a major reason why we start
the service the way we do
with the song, right?
Because we're here,
we're gathered together,
God's presence is here
through the indwelling
of the Holy Ghost,
through the Spirit,
and we're gonna come before
His presence with singing.
You know, we didn't get up
and just go,
all right, everyone,
let's start the service,
I guess, I mean,
you got the Bible,
you're all here,
let's see if we can get
something out of it
this morning.
You know, I mean,
that's this dopey,
just sad attitude.
But look, we might not
do that here,
but do people do that
throughout the rest of the week?
Do people do that
the rest of their lives?
Sure, you know,
and I understand that
that's just part of
human nature,
that we all are
probably have done that,
but when we,
we should catch ourselves
when we were doing that.
When we're coming to,
you know, when we're
living our lives
with just this bad,
angry, bitter attitude.
Well, I guess I gotta go
to church,
I gotta read my Bible,
you know,
because after all,
God's there, right,
when we saw that.
Just this lackadaisical
approach to living
the Christian life.
You know,
when you start to realize
that God is present
in all these places,
that God is indwelling you,
and that God sees,
you know, that should,
that should, you know,
motivate us.
You know,
that should inspire us.
That should make us
want to live for God.
That should make us do what?
Want to come before
His presence with singing.
You know, it's amazing to me
the power of singing,
the power of music,
how it can just change
your whole attitude.
I mean, you can,
you can kind of have
a bad attitude,
and if you just pick a song,
pick a chorus,
and just kind of start
singing it to yourself,
it can really
turn your day around.
And if you're kind of
looking at me cross-eyed,
like,
I don't know about that,
try it.
Just try it.
Or reading the Bible.
You know,
that's one thing
I've noticed.
I'll start out my day
just bad attitude,
like great,
what's next?
Well, I better get
my Bible reading in.
And whether I go into it
with a good attitude or not,
just reading the Bible
will change my attitude.
I'll read something,
and then it'll just
snap me out of it,
and just say,
wow, God's good.
I've got a lot
to be grateful for.
The question is,
what kind of presence
do you bring,
or what kind of attitude
do you bring into
God's presence?
Do we come before
His presence with singing?
Look at verse 3.
Know ye that the Lord,
He is God.
It is He that has made us,
and not we ourselves.
We are His people,
and the sheep
of His pasture.
Verse 4,
enter into His gates
with thanksgiving,
and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful unto Him,
and bless His name.
That's the attitude
we should bring
into God's presence,
is one of praising,
rejoicing,
of blessing,
of blessing His name,
of being thankful unto Him.
That's the attitude
we should bring to church.
It's a privilege to be here.
It's a privilege to come
and to be with God's people,
hear the preaching
of God's word,
sing praises unto the Lord.
That's the attitude
that we should have
when we go to pray,
and understand that we're
coming into His courts,
that we should praise God.
That's a good way
to start off prayer,
is just praising God
and being thankful.
I'd pray to God,
but I don't know
what to pray for.
Why don't you just praise Him
for a little while?
Why don't you just pick out,
go read through some psalms
and recite some psalms?
I mean, the psalms will
practically guide you
through prayer.
They're a prayer in and
of themselves.
Sometimes you'll be listening
to these psalms or reading them.
It's like you're praying
right along with David.
Maybe you should just stop
and be thankful for a while,
just thank God.
That's a good way to pray,
rather than just not
doing anything at all.
But this is the attitude
we should bring
into God's presence.
I kind of try to think
of an illustration
about how to kind of,
you know, why this is
important to understand
is that, you know,
I think sometimes people
don't want to come
into God's presence
because they think God
is just this mean old man
with a bat who's just like,
just stepped out of line
one time.
Like, they're just thinking
that God's just waiting
to crack you over the head.
And look, God,
He chases every son
whom He receiveth.
We understand that.
God corrects,
but He does that
out of love.
You know, but God wants
us to come to Him.
He wants us to come
into His presence
with singing.
He wants us to come
to His giving.
He wants us to come
in rejoicing.
He wants us to come boldly
before the throne.
That's what it said
in Hebrews, that we should
come boldly before the throne.
You know, we should just
walk right into the place.
I mean, that's what it means
to come in boldly, right?
I mean, just think about,
you know, if I were to come
boldly behind the pulpit,
I'm like, you know,
walking up behind it
and grabbing the pulpit
and start to talk.
Or if I just came in
bashfully and meekly
and just said,
well, I hope you guys
would like to hear something
this morning.
You know, I've written
a little something down.
If you've got the time,
wouldn't mind sharing.
Is that okay?
You know, right?
Now, there's probably preachers
out there that do that.
But no, we've got to get up
boldly and do that.
Look, that's the same attitude
we need to come into
God's presence with.
Come boldly before that throne.
I'm not saying like a jerk,
you know, and I'm going
to talk a little bit
about that tonight,
but to come boldly before it,
God wants to hear from us
if we come with,
especially if we come
with that right attitude
into his presence.
Thanksgiving.
You know, the illustration,
that's what I was saying,
is that, you know,
I was actually writing this
and I was in my office
and I'm sitting there,
you know, deep in thought.
I'm trying to just, you know,
really commune with the Spirit
and just really pull something
deep out of the word of God
for you today.
You know, I was taking it
seriously.
But you know, I can't be
disturbed, the doors close,
and then all of a sudden,
my little three-year-old
comes walking in just,
and she's, you know,
being potty trained, right?
So she's in her little pull-up
and she just marches,
she just throws the door open,
doesn't knock.
Doesn't say,
Dad, you got a minute?
Are you busy?
The older ones will knock.
Say, hey, you know,
this or that.
Okay, you know.
She just walks right in
and without even saying a word,
she just walks right over
to where I'm sitting
and just goes...
Sorry, you're making kissy
faces at me.
All she wanted was Dad
to pick her up and kiss her
and give her a hug
and tell her he loved her.
She just said,
What are you doing?
She's like,
I just thought I'd come see Dad.
That's what she said.
Right?
And yeah, we were getting
all the ah's and everything.
And it's sweet, right?
It's precious.
But look, that's the same way,
well, maybe not the
exact same way.
But it's that same attitude
that we should have about God
and not just go,
Well, maybe I need to knock
and make sure
everything's okay.
Come in here.
If we're looking for affection,
if we're looking for comfort,
if we're looking for
something from God,
we want to know He's there,
that He cares about us.
Well, why don't you go to Him?
Why don't you go to Him
and just start praising Him
and thanking Him
and He'll be there
because He already is there.
It's not like you have to
schedule an appointment with God.
God's there waiting.
He's just waiting for us
to show up
and spend time with Him
because God's everywhere,
because God's omnipresent.
God's in that place
and He's waiting for us,
but we are the ones
that have to go boldly
into that office.
We're the ones that have to
throw that door open
and start making
spiritual kissy faces
in a way.
Now, you apply that
however you want,
but I thought that was
an interesting illustration
in the midst of writing
the sermon that happens
and I'm like,
Man, that's a perfect
illustration of how God
wants us to just come
right into the throne
and just look for that
fellowship with Him
and just ask for it
and it'll be there.
I mean, what kind of
a cold-hearted father
would I have been
and look at that sweet
little face going,
and be like,
I'm too busy.
Get out of here.
Don't you know who I am?
I'll see you on my terms.
No, it was just like
I stopped what I was
doing immediately
and took a minute
and we had sweet fellowship
and that's the same way,
that's the same thing
that we can have
with the Lord,
but we have to be the ones
to be willing
to just go into that place
He's there waiting for us
because He's everywhere.
So God is present
in all these places.
So again, we're talking about
how God is omnipresent,
how He's everywhere,
but don't let that
turn into this cold feeling,
well, God's everywhere
so He's not really anywhere
in a way, right?
Like He's just
some impersonal force.
No, God is everywhere.
His Spirit is everywhere,
but He manifests Himself
in specific places
in specific ways
that He isn't present
in other places, okay?
So He's present where?
In the church.
He's present in the believer.
He's present in prayer,
but another place
He's present is,
and we talked about this
briefly, is in praise
and if you kept something
in Ephesians,
go back to Ephesians
chapter number five.
Ephesians chapter number five.
The Bible says in Psalm 22,
But thou art holy, O thou,
that inhabits
the praises of Israel.
He inhabits
the praises of Israel, right?
God is present
in those praises.
Look at Ephesians
chapter five, verse 17.
God wants us to be filled
with the Spirit.
Don't be drunk.
Don't be filled with wine.
You know, be filled
with the Spirit.
So how do we do that?
Well, verse 19.
You know, this is a recipe
for being filled
with the Spirit.
Speaking to yourselves
in Psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody
in your heart to the Lord.
It sounds to me like
singing has a lot to do
with being filled with the
Spirit.
I mean, it's seeing yourselves
in Psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody
in your heart to the Lord.
You know, we're supposed
to be doing these things.
We're supposed to be speaking
to ourselves in Psalms and hymns.
We're supposed to be singing
and making melody
in our hearts to the Lord.
You know, that's important
when we come to church
that we do that.
And, you know, I get it.
Not everyone in here is,
you know, a professional,
you know, operatic singer.
But the Bible says
make a joyful noise.
You should come in here
and praise God from the heart
and sing out loud.
I believe that.
Because here's the thing.
Nobody wants to start
singing out loud
because they're afraid
because nobody else is.
It always takes that one person
to kind of get the ball rolling.
And the further you are
away from the piano
and the further away
from the song leader,
the more your own voice
stands out, right?
So it seems like,
and this is just the way
it is in church,
people who tend to sit back,
they tend to the people
who sing about this loud.
They get their hymnal open
and they say,
Great is the Lord
greatly to be praised.
They just want to sing
loud enough to not be heard
but to be singing, right?
Look, if you're praising God,
if you're singing to God,
who cares what your neighbor
thinks about your voice?
You know, your neighbor
cares.
But who cares, right?
You should sing that out.
Great is the Lord.
See, I'm off, right?
But sing it out.
You know, that's something
that's going to help you do
what?
Be filled with the Spirit.
That's going to help something
that's going to bring God's,
bring you closer
into the presence of God.
It's singing these songs,
these hymns,
making a melody in your heart
to the Lord.
So that's even something
that you can do
throughout the day.
You know, that's something,
and if you're walking,
and this is something
I think will just happen.
If you're living for the Lord,
if you're filled with the
Spirit, you'll just find
yourself singing these songs.
I mean, I hear it all the time
at my house.
My kids, it's just
all of a sudden,
they'll be bursting out
in song, some hymn
they heard at church.
You know, and I'll stop
and just listen, you know,
and it fills my heart
with praise to God,
things like that.
And look, if we're
living for the Lord,
this is something, I believe,
that will happen just naturally.
But look, if you're having
a hard time being
filled with the Spirit,
here's a good recipe.
You know, force yourself
to do it.
Pick out a hymn and sing it
in the car.
Sing it in the shower.
Sing it while you're
going about your chores.
Sing it while you're
living your life,
going about your day.
Have that in your heart,
singing unto the Lord.
It will fill you
with the Spirit.
It'll bring you
into His presence.
So the last thing
I want to look at
is how God manifests Himself.
We're talking about
the Spirit of God,
how He's present everywhere,
but also how He is present
in certain places
that He's not present
in other places.
So God is present in praise,
but He's also, His presence
is through the Holy Spirit.
Right?
And that kind of ties
all of this together.
It's the Holy Spirit
indwelling the believers
that makes the church
the temple of God.
It's the Holy Spirit
in our hearts
that fills our hearts
with praise,
that brings us closer
to the presence of God.
But God is manifest
through His Holy Spirit.
And there's a difference
between being filled
with the Spirit.
Go to John 14, John 14.
You know, if anyone,
this is probably
my favorite chapter.
In fact, this is probably
my favorite passage
in the Word of God, for now.
But it's one, every time
I read it, I'm always just,
you know, I remember
the first time being shown this
and just thinking about this
and what a great truth
that this is.
And this is something that,
you know, if you don't get
this, you know, you need
to think about this.
You need to get this
this morning.
You know, there's being,
you know, there's being
sealed by the Spirit, right?
We understand that
when we get saved,
we're sealed with the Spirit.
You know, God has marked us.
We're His.
That's never gonna change.
But being filled with the
Spirit is something different.
You know, that's something
that we have to work at.
That's something that
we have to, through song,
through the way we're living,
you know, we're not all
filled with the Spirit.
And we're not all filled
with the Spirit at all times.
And that's something
we have to work at.
Otherwise, why would it
be commanded where we read
in Ephesians?
Be filled with the Spirit.
If that were automatic,
that would make no sense.
You'd say you are filled
with the Spirit,
just automatically.
No, it's something
we have to work on.
We have to be filled
with the Spirit.
Now, look at John
chapter 14, verse 15.
He says,
If you love Me,
keep My commandments,
and I will pray the Father,
and He shall give you
another Comforter,
that He may abide
with you forever.
So who's the Comforter?
Well, that's the Holy Spirit,
right?
And if we love God
and we keep His commandments,
look, we know we already
have the sealing of the Spirit,
but we'll have the Comforter
that's gonna abide with us
if we do what?
If we love God
and keep His commandments.
You know, that's being
filled with the Spirit.
Even the Spirit of Truth
whom the world cannot receive
because it seeth Him not,
neither knoweth Him.
So again, talking about
how God's presence is manifest
in a unique way
through the Spirit.
That's what it says right there.
The Spirit of Truth
whom the world cannot receive.
They don't get to have that.
They don't get to know
the presence of the Holy Spirit.
That's not an option for them.
They have to get saved
if they want to know that.
And even for the believer,
if they want to know
the filling of the Holy Spirit,
that's something that
they have to work at.
That's something that they have to,
you know, I don't want to
necessarily say earn,
but in a way it is.
It's something that they have
to work at through
the way they live,
you know, through all the things
that, you know,
the praying, the reading,
living the Christian life,
asking for the Holy Spirit,
praying and asking for it.
You know, that's even unique
in that way.
But look at here,
he says here,
the Spirit of Truth
whom the world cannot receive
because it seeth him not,
neither knoweth him,
but ye knoweth him,
ye know him,
for he dwelleth in you
and shall be in you.
I mean, that's a unique
manifestation of the presence
of God in our lives,
is that we can have
the Holy Spirit.
I will not leave you
comfortless.
Again, Jesus was going
back to heaven.
He was going back
to the throne of God.
You know, he wasn't going
to be present here on earth,
but he was going to give us
the Holy Spirit.
He's not going to leave us
what, comfortless.
I will come to you
yet a little while
and the world seeth me
no more,
but ye see me,
because I live,
ye shall live also.
That day ye shall know
that I am in the Father
and ye in me and I in you.
He that hath my commandments
and keepeth them,
he it is that loveth me.
You know, we can say,
oh, I'm saved, you know,
and we are saved.
But that doesn't necessarily
mean that you love God.
Right?
I mean, can you really say,
well, if you're saved,
you automatically love God.
No, I'm sure that you appreciate
what God did for you
and you love God
to a certain degree,
but I can't just say,
well, I love my wife
because, you know,
11 years ago I said some vows.
There's the proof.
Well, just, you know,
just let's roll the wedding tape.
Let's get the video out
and see, I love you.
Didn't I say that
on that day back then?
We made that covenant.
We made that seal.
Oh, is that going to be
good enough for my wife?
She can say, yeah, well,
there's the proof.
You know, I have to show my wife
that love day in and day out.
You know, we have to show that
to one another, you know,
through our actions,
through the things that we do.
You know, we can get saved,
and that's great, you know,
but it's another thing to say
that I love God.
Well, how do we know
that you love God?
He that hath my commandments,
verse 21, and keepeth them,
he it is that loveth me.
So if you see somebody
who is not keeping the commandments,
you know, who's not living
for the Lord,
that just tells me
they don't love God.
Now, they might be saved.
You know, they probably are saved,
you know.
They might be saved
on their way to heaven,
but that doesn't necessarily mean
that they love God.
The person that loves God
does what keeps his commandments.
And when you say,
well, what do we get out of it?
You know, what do we get out of it?
Well, look at what we get out of it.
It goes on and says,
and he that loveth me
shall be loved of my Father,
and I will love him
and will manifest myself to him.
Judas saith unto him,
not Iscariot, Lord,
how is it that thou
will manifest thyself unto us
and not unto the world?
He's like, look, if you show up,
everyone's going to see you.
This doesn't make any sense.
He's saying, if a man love me,
he will keep my words
and my Father will love him
and we will come unto him
and make our abode with him.
What he's talking about
is the comforter of the Holy Spirit.
You know, the comforter
because all three are God, right?
God the Father, God the Son,
God the Holy Spirit.
And God the Holy Spirit,
you know, is the presence
of God in your life.
It's the presence of God the Father.
It's the presence of God the Son.
It's the presence of the Lord
in your life.
Look, if we'll love God
and keep his commandments
and do those things
which please him,
we have this promise
that God is going to
make himself manifest unto us
and not just in this intellectual sense.
Like, oh, I'm going to read the Bible
and God, I can understand things about God.
God has manifest himself through his word.
Look, that's there.
But he's saying,
we will come unto him
and we will make our abode with him.
I mean, that's a powerful thing
to think about.
And every time I, you know,
the first time that I was shown that,
that was just like, wow.
That the God of the universe
will come and actually abide with me
if I love him
and if I keep his commandments.
Does that mean he's going to physically
knock on my door one day
and show up and walk in
and say, hey, I'm here.
Good job.
You've been keeping the commandments.
I can tell you love me.
No, you know where he's going to show up?
He's going to show up, you know,
in my spirit.
He's going to show up in my heart
and see me get a manifest in prayer.
You know, that's something
that has to be experienced.
It's not really something that,
you know, you can just,
it's hard to put into words,
but it's something that's there.
You know, it's something that we,
and look, it's not just there
for the preacher.
It's there for every one of God's children.
Every single person that wants to love God
and keep his commandments
can know what it is to have the spirit
and the presence of God in their life.
And I'm not just saying, you know,
some, you know, some overwhelming,
you know, moment or something like that.
I'm saying day in, day out,
know what it is to walk with the Lord,
to talk with the Lord.
He's that close and he's that present.
I mean, when you understand that,
you know, you're going about your day
and you could just be talking to the Lord
as you go about your day.
And just asking for help.
Lord, help me to, you know, be nice.
Help me to, you know, say thank you.
Help me to, you know, help here.
You know, all these things.
We can be talking to God throughout the day.
Why? Because he will come
and he will abide with us.
He will come abide with us.
But that doesn't just come because you're safe.
That comes because you love him
and you keep his commandments.
And then God comes,
then you have that walk with him, right?
And what is that?
That's a manifest presence of God
that is unique, that is not everywhere,
that is limited to certain people, right?
It's exclusive, you know?
And again, I want in on that.
That's, I mean, that's better than,
I mean, I don't know what else you could compare to that,
to have the presence of God with you in your life.
But you have to have that through obedience.
And look, you come into the presence of God,
you say, well, I don't know about all that.
I mean, I believe the Bible and everything,
but this sounds kind of metaphysical or whatever.
You have to come in the presence of God by faith.
It's by faith at the end of the day.
Go to one last place, okay?
Hebrews chapter 11, and we'll close there.
You have to come in the presence of God by faith.
The Bible says in Psalm 16,
in thy presence is fullness of joy
at thy right hand are pleasures forevermore.
You know, so many people are seeking for joy and pleasure
in so many other places that are unfulfilling,
that come to an end.
They might have the pleasures of sin for a season,
but then they go away.
Look, the presence of God,
his presence, it's fullness of joy.
At his right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
It's content, right?
It contents us.
It gives us contentment.
Look at Hebrews chapter 11, verse six.
But without faith it is impossible to please him.
For he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
You know when you'll come in the presence of God?
When you believe that you can.
You'll come in the presence of God
when you finally believe that you can.
And that's really the motive of the sermon this morning,
is to try to get you to understand that,
yes, God is everywhere,
but he can be uniquely manifest in your life
in a way that he is not in anybody else's,
you know, other than other believers, right?
In a very exclusive way.
But you have to believe that by faith.
And look, when you really believe that by faith,
you will seek him.
You will go to that prayer closet,
you will sing the psalms,
you will memorize the scripture,
you will live for the Lord,
you will keep the commandments,
you will love him,
and then you will have God abiding with you,
and you will know what it is
to have that presence with you every moment of every day.
Let's go ahead and pray.