Where Is Your God? - Part 2

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, March 23rd. God is present everywhere. And if we really believe that, it should influence how we live. The series on the character of God continues while answering the question, Where is your God? Now, if God is not omnipresent, then you and I cannot call him a sovereign God. The fact that he is sovereign means that he is in absolute control of everything.

To do so, he must know all things and the attributes of God, not only that he is omnipotent and sovereign and omniscient, he is likewise involved in everything. So when we say that God is everywhere, it's far better to say that everywhere is in the presence of God. And back to Psalm 139, notice what he said now. He says, If I sin up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me. Then he says, If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideeth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day, the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Now, let's put that in a very practical way. What does the omnipresence of God mean to you and to me every day? I think it means a number of things.

They all begin with C. So you won't forget them and you'll need them before the week's over. Number one, the omnipresence of God means comfort to the believer. You and I have quoted this passage all of our lives. I want you to turn to it.

You know it by heart. Turn to Psalm 23. He says, The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He restoreth my soul. Slip on down, if you will, to verse four. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

Why not? For thou art with me. Thy rod and thy stab, they comfort me. Listen, if the message of omnipresence is anything, it is the message of comfort. How many times have you and I walked through valley experiences in life when we were afraid? And the only thing we had to hold to was the awareness of the presence of God.

How many times? In fact, most people, when someone passes away in their family, most people request the reading of the 23rd Psalm. Is it because it says, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want? No. Is it because surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life? No. Is it because, he says, he restoreth my soul?

No. Why is it that when death comes, the one passage above all the others that God ever spoke, they want read at that funeral because of one particular verse? Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

Why? For thou art with me. Listen, there are many, many experiences in life that the only thing we have to resort to is the presence of God. And how many times when you go to the hospital and death may be imminent or some incurable disease is about to be diagnosed and fear absolutely and totally grips your life and you know that you cannot reach out to the doctor. You cannot reach out to any other thing, no amount of money or wisdom or knowledge or anything. The only thing you have is the awareness of the presence of God to comfort you. Suppose he were not omnipresent. Can you imagine the absolute futility of facing those kinds of crises and not being able to feel the presence of God? The message of omnipresence is comfort.

Secondly, the message of omnipresence is calmness. You remember the fourteenth chapter of Matthew when the disciples were out in the sea and they were frightened and afraid and the storm was balling and tossing and turning and you recall when the Lord Jesus Christ came walking on the water and you remember that Peter went out to meet him and what a total disaster that became. And then the scripture says in verse 32, And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.

Who is they? Jesus and Peter. Now, when the Lord Jesus Christ came aboard, everything calmed down. And sometimes we allow ourselves to get in the turmoils of life and we begin to be aware of the turmoil, but totally unaware of the presence of God. You see, any problem that you can bring up, the omnipresence of God has a message that will do something about that problem. And when storms within our life begin to toss us and tumble us and tosses hither and yon, and we cannot seem to grab hold of the anchor to settle our life down, what does He say?

He says, When they came into the ship, the seas were calm. It is our awareness of His presence. And so often as I've prayed with people who've just been in such tremendous turmoil in their soul, and we begin to pray, Lord Jesus, thank you for being here. Thank you for calming our heart.

Thank you for knowing the problem of this, dear one. Thank you that you understand completely and that you genuinely love Him and that you're going to walk with Him right through this. It is absolutely amazing. Far better than a tranquilizer is the awareness of the presence of God. Brother, His presence calms every single storm. And then the message of omnipresence is the message of capability. Now, are there not times when you and I have requirements in our life that we think, God, there's no way?

How in the world could I ever possibly be able to accomplish that? And sometimes all God has to say to us, I'll go with you. You see, the presence of God makes any task possible. The absence of God can make even the simplest task most confusing and frustrating. The simplest task can become one big ball of confusion apart from the awareness of the presence of God. You see, the fact that He's omnipresent isn't some theological attribute of God out yonder in the heavens somewhere. It is a truth you and I are to live by every day.

You see, you need to settle this once and for all. He is with you in whatever He requires of you. There'll never come a time, never come a situation, no requirement of God, when He's not in your presence to help you and to see you through every circumstance of life. The next thing I want you to notice is this, and that is the message of omnipresence is the message of confidence. He says in Matthew 28, 18, 19, and 20, those last couple of verses, He says, as we go, we are to make disciples of all nations. We are to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and to teach them all the things that He's taught us.

And what does He say? He says, and lo, He says, and look, remember this, I'll be with you even unto the end of this age and beyond that into eternity. God never requires us to share our faith alone, never. Now listen, whenever we have a work to do for God, it is never a matter of us doing it. It is a matter of our being available for the God who is within us to do it through us. And there's all the difference in the world in knowing that an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God is within me to face the task, whatever it might be. You see, His omnipresence is a message of confidence. There aren't many things you and I can do without God. Oh, there's some things you may be able to do.

They won't be worth anything. But there isn't anything that God requires of us that we cannot do in His presence. And right before God was giving Moses His command to lead the people and they had the problem of the golden calf and all the problems with Israel and Moses was just as defeated as he could be.

And God said to him, He said, and I will go with you and I will give you rest. Moses confidence was not in his own leadership. Moses confidence was not in the obedience of Israel.

No, their willingness to follow Him. The only thing Moses had to grasp was the fact of the presence of God. Listen, watch this, God's presence is not limited to feeling. God's presence is a fact whether you feel it or not. And don't ever forget that because they're going to be sometimes, you're not going to feel the presence of God.

You're just going to be so wrapped up in your own problem, your own heartache or your own fears. You're just not going to be able to feel the presence of God. Your feeling has nothing to do. Listen, now watch this, your feeling has nothing to do with the presence of God because if your feeling could affect the presence of God, your human changeable feelings would have an effect upon a divine, irrevocable, unalterable attribute of a holy God and it cannot.

If my feelings could affect the presence of God, then my human carnal feelings could affect God. He's omnipresent whether I feel He's here or not, He is absolutely and totally here. And there is comfort and assurance and confidence as we begin to see that. Now listen, again He says, the message of the omnipresence of God is the message of courage. The message of courage. He says, if I say surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light.

The darkness hideth not from thee, but the night shineth as the day, the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. There'll be times when you and I will face dangers that the only thing we have to hold on to is the presence of God. Look in Joshua chapter 1. You'll recall when God had given to Joshua the responsibility of leading the nation of Israel. He gave him a promise. And all through the Old Testament, God is giving this promise not only to Joshua, but to others of his leaders all the way to the prophets.

He's continuously saying to them in one form or the other the same thing. Have not I commanded thee to be strong and of a good courage? Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed.

And he knew that he was going to face some tremendous odds, tremendous battles. For the Lord thy God is with thee, whether so ever thou goest. Joshua, listen, what are you to depend upon? What are you to rely upon? What are you to have faith in?

Spears, javelins, sword, ramming rods? No. He says, Have not I commanded thee to be strong and of a good courage? Fear not, neither be thou dismayed. For the Lord thy God is with thee, whether so ever thou goest. David understood that when he went out to fight Goliath. One of the most beautiful passages in all the Bible is the message of young David to Goliath. He said, You come to me with spear and sword. I come to you in the name of the Lord God of Israel.

He means victory. And the only thing he had, five stones, a sling and the presence of God. You see, God's people are to live with courage, confidence, boldness in their heart. No fears for the simple reason we live and abide and walk in the presence of God every day. Now, listen, the message of the omnipresence of God is not only comfort, but it is conviction. When you and I sin against God. It is the awareness of the presence of God that drives home conviction to our heart. Oh, my God, forgive me. We love to think about the omnipresence of God when we're in need.

We're not too keen on it when we're disobedient. You see, the message of the omnipresence of God is this friend. It is very difficult for a genuine born again child of God. Very difficult to be contented with sin in the heart, aware of the presence of God.

The many attributes of God, one of which is holiness. Remember what Isaiah said in the year that King Uzziah died? I saw the Lord. And what did he say? Woe is me. I'm a man of unclean lips. And his response after confession repentance was, Lord, here am I.

Send me. It is the awareness of the presence of God that drives us to our knees. And brings us to conviction. The message of the omnipresence of God is condemnation. One of these days the Bible says in Revelation chapter 20 that every lost man in the world is going to send the presence of God before the great white throne judgment. And men who never believed in God are going to realize that God was everywhere. He was in every nation, in every house, in every hut, on every street, in every block.

He was in the presence of every man. You see, God tonight is downtown in the bars. He knows what's going on. He's in the houses of prostitution tonight.

He knows exactly what's going on. He's in the porno shops tonight, in the movie houses. He's where they're gambling. He's in the presence of men who are telling dirty, filthy jokes.

He's in the homes of many people who are drinking tonight, carousing, living it up. No thought of God. They're not doing that outside the presence of God. And they may say to you and me, well, I've never seen him. Blind eyes cannot see light. But when a man's born again, it is amazing how he's able to recall how wicked he's been.

You know why? The awareness of the presence of God has a way of shining the light of his holiness on our past and exposing it for what it is. The fact that he's everywhere is all we need. Because if he's everywhere, wherever you and I will ever be, the all-sufficient God will be adequate and available to meet our need. Hallelujah.

He is on the present. Father, if you could be seen this evening, you'd be seen in so many ways. And one of those ways may be standing with arms open, ready to receive anyone who would come to receive you as Savior and Lord of their life. It may be with an outstretched hand of compassion and comfort and assurance to some aching and hurting heart. This we know, Father, that you would manifest yourself according to the need of each individual. And all of us would see you and feel your presence according to the need of our human heart.

Thank you for being that kind of God. Not presence only in power, but in love, in kindness, in gentleness, in pardon. And we ask you tonight to speak to somebody's heart who's been running from you, trying to escape, trying to get away when you've said the darkness that they attempt to be covered by is like light to you. You can walk through the midnight, and with you it's just like the sun was at noonday. There's no place to hide, no place to cover any sin.

It's all daylight to you. And somebody here tonight, Father, who needs to be saved, who has thought somehow they had covered the years of their sin, and tonight they've realized you've seen everything they've done. You've been there each time they disobeyed you, and now you're willing to forgive and to cleanse and to forget to save, to write their name in the Lamb's Book of Life because you're a God of love. And this we ask in Jesus' name. Thank you for listening to part two of Where Is Your God? If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.