Pastor Mark Stafford

Present Everywhere | Psalms 139:7-10

Whenever we offer up a prayer to God, there are certain assumptions we make:

• We assume that God is there and that He’s listening.
• We assume that God is ready and able to hear us.
• In a word, we assume God’s “presence.”

God’s presence is something that is often assumed but rarely discussed in church. This morning I intend to focus on a few truths about God’s omnipresence that maybe you haven’t considered before. Just as the colors red, green and blue are critical for this projector to display images properly, God’s presence is critical for our lives to function properly. Without God’s presence, the Bible says everything we know in our world wouldn’t exist.

In Psalm 139:7 David asks, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?

If God exists, He has to exist somewhere. According to the Scripture, He does not just exist somewhere; HE EXISTS EVERYWHERE!  A couple weeks ago, we looked at the truth that God is not limited by time.  Today we are considering that our all-powerful God is not limited by space.

In our natural thinking, we often figure that God is like us in that He is present in some places and absent in others. The Bible teaches something totally different about God.  The Bible makes it clear God dwells in every part of His creation simultaneously.

To illustrate the Bible’s teaching, imagine that God was a never ending ocean. He is infinitely wide and infinitely deep. Now imagine that you took the entire universe and placed it in a bucket, then fully submerged that bucket in the ocean of God’s presence. God is touching every part of creation. Everything that exists, exists in the context of who He is. God completely engulfs His creation and extends infinitely past His creation. He is above it, below it, and enveloping it.

God is larger than time and vaster than space. God’s total and overwhelming presence is what David expresses in Psalm 139:5-7.

“⁵ You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

⁷ Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?”

God’s Presence is Universal – Psalm 139:5-7

To help us understand the Bible’s teaching about God’s omnipresence, let’s consider a few basic truths that His presence implies:

#1 No Place Can Contain God – 1 Kings 8:27

In 1 Kings 8, Solomon had just completed building the Temple. Solomon did not want God’s people to be confused and think that God’s presence was limited to the temple.  Solomon knew that God is omnipresent.  He offered up this prayer in verse 27, “…will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!”

God is not contained by a temple, by churches, by neighborhoods, by countries, by planets or by the entirety of His creation. God is not bound by space.  If God is present in one place, it does not mean that He is then absent from some other place.  Every place that exists is touched by God’s presence.

#2 Nothing Exists Without God’s Presence – Hebrews 1:3, Acts 17:28, Colossians 1:17, Psalm 139:8

Without God continually sustaining His creation, it would not exist. If anything continues to be, God’s word says that its very existence is proof of God’s presence in that place.

• Hebrews says that Jesus, as part of the Godhead, “upholds the universe by the wordof his power.”

God is present at the highest heights and at the deepest depths. Psalm 139:8 says, “If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!” This psalm is devotional in nature.  It is written as an encouragement to people going through difficult times on earth.  In this context, the poetry of the text seems to suggest that David is referring to the highest and lowest places on earth.

• Lowercase “heaven” is likely referring to the “upper region of the world.” The Hebrew word used for “heaven” can mean space or sky.
• Sheol is likely referring to “remote places.” The Hebrew word can also mean a place of no return, a place of exile, or a pit. Sheol can be translated as “hell,” but in this context it probably means a hell on earth.

This Psalm is one of encouragement. It tells us that whether you are flying high or you are down in the pits, God is present in both places.

• He won’t let us forget about Him when things are going well and He’ll keep us from loving His gifts more than we love Him.
• If we are facing a terrible season or a time of tremendous suffering, He’ll sustain us and protect us from walking away from Him.

#3 God is Present, but Separate from His Creation – Colossians 1:29, 2 Kings 19:10-12, John 4:24

In my very first semester of Bible College, I was emphatically taught two biblical terms: Immanence and Transcendence.

• Immanence means that God is totally present in His creation.
• Transcendence means that God is totally different than His creation.

God dwells everywhere, but the omnipresence of God does not mean that He is blended up with His creation. This truth is clearly taught by many of the prophets and apostles in the Bible.  It is affirmed by all conservative theologians.  However, it somehow does not sink into the hearts of many believers in the church.

Many Bible teachers shy away from teaching on God’s omnipresence and its full implications because they are afraid it will confuse people. Bible teachers often fear that God’s people will confuse omnipresence with an old heresy called pantheism.

Pantheism is the belief that god is nature and nature is god. I’m very concerned that when I talk about God’s omnipresence that those hearing me speak may mistake God’s omnipresence for pantheism. The Bible is explicitly clear that God and creation are not the same – no matter how powerful created elements may be.  Consider Elijah’s encounter with the Lord in 2 Kings 19[4].  In it, Elijah encounters:

• Wind so strong that it tore off pieces of a mountain
• An earthquake
• A fire

Here we have Biblical examples of kinetic energy, seismic energy and thermal energy. These are three of the most potent forms of natural energy on the earth and in each case the prophet reports that God was not in the energy.  He’s different than this created energy and set apart from it.

This is highly relevant to us here in the Verde Valley because Pantheism is the foundation for many New Age and Eastern belief systems. After further study, I discovered that the modern New Age movement often adopts the Pantheistic belief that nature is god and that god is nature.

New Age Pantheists actively seek spiritual experiences derived from nature and completely ignore or exclude the Holy Spirit. Let me ask you this, do you really want to have a spiritual experience that does not involve the Holy Spirit? (In the best case it’s completely meaningless. In the worst case, it’s demonic.  Personally, I don’t want to mess with it!)

New Age Pantheists believe in a god that is completely united with the natural world. They figure that if God is everywhere, then they can worship anything and be worshipping god.  New Age Pantheists worship red rocks!  They believe that if they are touching a leaf or a stone that they are touching God. It is an utter distortion of the doctrine of God’s omnipresence.

Many of them believe that we are as much a part of this god-energy as a rock, a star, a leaf, or the solar system.  So, it is right and fitting to worship ourselves.  Some New Agers even pray to themselves, or they meditate, thinking only of themselves.  They believe that their connection with some universal god-like-energy makes them able to manipulate this energy and therefore answer their own prayers.  This is a spiritually dangerous and heretical belief system.

My kids have given me a critique of the Lego-movie song that if everything is awesome, then in reality, nothing is awesome. Everything is just the same. In the same way, if everything is God then nothing is God. Everything is made out of the same stuff.

Pantheists degrade the incorruptible Deity of God in order to make all things divine. In doing so, they eliminate divinity from the world entirely.  The truth is that while God is present in the world, He is infinitely and entirely different from the world.  However closely He might be associated with the works of His hands, and no matter how powerful those works may be, His works are altogether other than who He is.

God is a person. He is not a strong impersonal force.  He has the power to think, to act and to exercise free will.  His being and His personality are completely separate from His creation.

• God is not His gifts.
• God is not His works.
• God is not nature.

John 4:24 says, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

There are many people in Christian churches who believe in a form of pantheism without being aware of their heretical thinking. There are pantheists here in our Valley who are so greatly deceived that they believe they are following Biblical Christianity when they are far from it.

Application

The truth of God’s presence was never intended to boost our ego or to lead us to believe that we can somehow attain the status of a god. Instead, the doctrine of the presence of God is meant to be a great comfort to godly people. It is also intended to bring fear into the heart of the person who is rebelling against God so they will quickly turn away from their wrong-doing and turn towards God in repentance.

Let’s take our remaining time to unpack a few of the implications of God’s omnipresence for God’s people.

#1 When We are Greatly Tempted, God Does Not Leave Us – Romans 8:31-34, Psalm 14:5

Ephesians 6 mentions Satan’s fiery darts. The assurance we have is that God not only gives us the shield of faith to protect us from Satan’s attacks, but that He also allows Satan to go only so far in his attacking.  God is with His people and sovereign over Satan.  He’s present everywhere when we’re tempted.

Romans 8:31 asked, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Remember that we said that the answer isn’t “nobody.”  Plenty of people are against us: Satan, demons, our own flesh, this fallen world, terrorists, and bad drivers.  The attacks of our enemies might slow us down.  They may make us frustrated.  They are not greater than our ever-present and almighty God.  Romans 8:32-34 that says,

“³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

The Bible never says that life will be easy. But it does promise that, in the end, God’s people will prevail.

• Nothing can take away their salvation.
• No sin is too awful for God to forgive.
• Not even one of God’s people will be lost in their struggle against this fallen world.

He is present on both sides of every situation and using the entire scenario to conform His people to the image of His son and to display His glory. Anyone who opposes God will ultimately be put to shame.  Psalm 14:5 says, “There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.”

#2 In Time of Great Affliction, God is Nearby – Isaiah 43:2, Psalms 46:1-3, 2 Timothy 4:16-17

I often read Psalm 139 when I visit people in the hospital because we need to be reminded that God is present at all times. We especially need to focus on this truth when we are sick or hurting.

In Biblical poetry, “water” often refers to danger or violence. With that in mind, consider what God said through the prophet Isaiah: “When you pass through the waters (danger or violence), I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”[5]

Often in the Bible, the Lord is spoken of as a shelter in the storm or a sanctuary for his people in the midst of their adversaries. He is not passively present.  It says He is VERY PRESENT during our times of trouble.  Psalm 46:1 says,

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

The symbol of water shows up in the next two verses:

“Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, ³ though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”

When we are faced with trouble, God is with us. God’s omnipresence was of real help in Paul’s life.  Towards the end of Paul’s life, he was put on trial and no one showed up to defend him.  The seasoned minister knew that God’s presence was enough and he penned these words to Timothy:

“¹⁶ At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! ¹⁷ But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.”[6]

#3 Wherever We Go to Seek the Lord, He is There– Psalm 139:7, 11-12

Back in Psalm 139, David asked, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” Skipping down to verse 11 he adds this comment:

¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” ¹² even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

God is present in the light and in the dark. God is available for us to talk to Him in a landfill and in a cathedral.  Although it might be strange to do your devotions at the dump and there might be fewer distractions for YOU at the cathedral, God is present in both places and always ready to meet us in our time of need.

God’s omnipresence means that we can worship anywhere. God can be worshipped in a beautiful church, in a school cafeteria, in a rec. center conference room, in a gymnasium, or in a home.  The worship of the Lord’s church is not defined by the building but by the sincerity and obedience of His people.

It also means that we can reach out and pray to our Lord anywhere. He is just as eager to hear the prayers made at your office as those made in a prayer garden.  He is always present anywhere we seek Him and He is eager for you to reach out to Him in faith, anytime and anywhere.

#4 If We Are Given a Difficult Task, God is a Source of Comfort – Exodus 4:12

Moses was sent on a difficult task. He was assigned to confront Pharaoh.  The Egyptian Pharaoh was the most powerful man in the world at the time and he had the power to end Moses’ life on a whim.  In addition, Moses was not confident in his ability as a negotiator or as a public speaker.  God called him to an impossible task.

There was no way that Moses was going to get the job done with his own skills or in his own strength. This scenario gave the Lord an opportunity to shine.  If the Hebrew people were going to be released. God needed to intervene and show His power.

To Moses’ concern about his lack of ability, the Lord said in Exodus 4:12, “Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”

God’s presence and assistance is an encouragement to his servants when they find themselves walking into an unpromising situation.

#5 God’s Presence Means That We Have Access to All of God All the Time – Psalms 16:8

What good would God’s grace and mercy be if it was at a great distance from us? What good would God’s power and strength be to us if His office was closed when we needed Him the most?  God is present and available at every moment.  David said in Psalm 16:8, “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

Any time of the day, we have access to God’s wisdom to guide us, His power to support us, His mercy to show compassion to us, and His goodness to relieve us. Knowing that we always have access to all-of-who-God-is, all-of-the-time is a tremendous encouragement to us as God’s people!

[1] Hebrews 1:3

[2] Acts 17:28

[3] Colossians 1:17

[4] 2 Kings 19:10-12

[5] Isaiah 43:2

[6] 2 Timothy 4:16-17