¶ The Power and Presence of God
Today we're going to talk about secrets . You know , I used to laugh at my mom because she would be yelling at us kids , just screaming why did you do that ? Why did you do that Telephone or drink ? And she'd pick it up and go hello . And we always wondered how could she turn from screaming at us to that sweet little hello .
I always thought it was hilarious and I was talking to my son about it the other day and he goes mom , you used to do the same thing I probably did , because you don't want to insult anyone when you answer the phone , you don't want to be grumpy , but turning that off so quickly was just funny to me and I got to think how we do that in so many things .
We can be a good Christian on Sunday and something else all week long , but everybody sees us going to church and doing the things you're supposed to do . There's also the times where if someone's coming to the house , you hide the things that you would not want them to see and make sure everything is put in its place so no one thinks any bad of you .
And I got to thinking how we're writing that stuff for people who probably don't really matter in the whole scheme of life . Shouldn't we be cleaning that stuff out of our lives ? For God ? We can't hide it from him , because he sees our every mood , he sees our every deed , he sees our every action . He sees and hears and knows everything there is about us .
Scripture says he's counted the hairs on your head . Now for me that's probably a job , because I'm losing my hair and so he's going to have to keep re-smelting , but he still doesn't . There's nothing that we can hide . Some people think that if everyone sees them as good , then they're good , but does God see you as being that person ?
I knew a minister who used to get in the pulpit and lie about things that he did and then go home and treat his family terrible , beat on his kids , beat on his wife , but as long as he went to church and told everybody how great it was , then he was a great and wonderful Christian man , a good minister . God knew what was going on .
The only people he fooled was people here on earth . Do you do that ? Do you think you're hiding your secrets ? Yeah , maybe you can hide them from your husband and your friends , but you can't hide anything from God . He knows it all , and I think that's one thing about God that people talk about sometimes but don't comprehend exactly what that means .
And so that's what we're going to talk about . God is three things he's omnipresent , omnipotent and omniscient . And we're going to talk about those three things and what that means to us when we're living our secret lives that aren't secret at all . Omnipresent means he is present in all places , at all times .
Grammar correct one or two when I typed that in my paper that they wanted to change it just to say present at all times . That's not true . He is present in all places at all times . The moon is present at all times , but not in all places . So you have to put both of those in . And what is the scriptures that tell us this ?
If you look at Jeremiah 23-24 , can anyone hide himself in secret places ? So I shall not see him , says the Lord . Do I not fill heaven and earth , says the Lord . And then there's Proverbs 15 , 15 , 3 .
¶ God's Omniscience and Protection
The eyes of the Lord are in every place , keeping watch on the evil and the good , so he sees all . You can't hide from him . And Psalms 139-7-10 says when can I go from your spirit , where can I flee from your presence If I ascend into heaven , you are there . If I make my bed in hell , behold , you are there .
If I take wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea , even there your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me . Can't go anywhere , can't hide anywhere . There are no secrets from God . I don't know why we try to keep our lives hidden from other people because they're not important .
God is the other thing that God is , is omnipotent , and that means having unlimited power at able to do anything . He is present at all times , in all places , and has the power to do anything . Do you ever wonder when you're starting to do something wrong and something happens that keeps you from doing it ? I wonder how that happened .
I'm sure God happened because I didn't do it . God's able to do anything and he says nothing is going to take you from his hand . So maybe sometimes , when you've been saved from doing something wrong , you need to thank God that he was there to protect you . Isaiah 43.11 through 13 says I , even I , am the Lord and besides me there is no savior .
I have declared and saved , I have proclaimed . There is no foreign God among you . Therefore , you are my witnesses say of the Lord that I am God . Indeed , before the day was , I am he . And there is no one who can deliver you out of my hand . I work and who will reverse it . No one can deliver you out of his hand . Matthew 19 , 23 , 26 said .
Then Jesus said to his disciples , assuredly I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven . And again I say to you , it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God . When his disciples heard it , they were greatly astonished , saying who then shall be saved ?
But Jesus looked at them and said to them With men this is impossible , but with God all things are possible . So next time you're out hiding trying to make sure that no one sees what you're doing , god sees and God's able to save you from yourself . Jesus done it for me several times . I'm always surprised when he does that . I stumble a little bit .
All of a sudden the thing I was going to do , that was going to cause me to stumble , disappears , or I come to my senses . When I come to my senses I usually say that's when God slapped me in the face and , believe me , I need that every once in a while . We probably all do . The other thing that God is is omniscient .
That means he knows everything , and this is where we get into the stickiness . There is a scripture that says With a man sees a woman and has lust for her in his heart , he has committed adultery . That's because you can't hide the things that you are thinking about doing or planning to do or desiring to do . He knows that too . He knows everything .
He knows everything about us . Hebrews 4 , 11 through 13 says Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest , least any fall according to the same examples of disobedience .
For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword , rehearsing even to the division of the soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow , is a discerner of thoughts and intents of the heart , and there is no creature hidden from his sight , but all are naked and open to the eyes of him , who we must give an account .
Naked and open . He sees it , he knows it , he could do anything about it . That's our God . I'm not saying the next time you're screaming at your kids and the phone rings and you go Hello , that you shouldn't do that . That's only polite .
That was just an example of how quickly we can turn on and off the things that we're doing so that someone else doesn't see the bad side of us . I don't want God to see the bad side of me . The only way to keep God from seeing the bad side of me is getting rid of the bad side of me .
¶ God's Presence and Knowledge Importance
Matthew 10 , 29 , through 31 said Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin ? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your father's will , but the very hairs on your head are all numbered . Do not fear , therefore . You are more valued than many sparrows . He knows about us through the hairs on our head .
He knows our wants , our desires , our dreams . Do your dreams and wants and desires and the secret things that you're trying to hide from others align with God's will ? Are you fooling yourself to think that , as long as you show your good parts to everyone else , that God's okay with that ?
There's a scripture that talks about going into your private place and praying , instead of standing out on the street and pounding your chest and praying like the Pharisees and the Sadducees did in the day he says to go in your secret place and do it .
When you are doing that in public , acting holy and greater than thou , but behind everyone's back , you live in a secret life . That's being a Sadducee or a Pharisee . We need to show the world what we want to show God . We need to show the world that God is always there , that God knows everything , that God is able to do everything .
Those words are just not fancy words . They're not just omniscient and omnipresent and omnipotent . They're not just words . They mean something very , very important . He's here . He's here now , he's here tomorrow . He was here yesterday . He knows your very heart , he knows when you stomp your toe . He knows it all and he has the power to do anything .
And he's done so much for me , he's given me so much in my life , that I don't want to be the person that shows him just when others are around and forgets him when I'm by myself . When I'm by myself , I want to talk to him . I want to adore him . I want to let him know that I understand that he is always with me . I'm never alone .
I'm in Listener's song on the radio , alone again , naturally , and it talks about God deserting me in my hour of need . He never deserts us . Whether it's in our hour of need or our hour of joy , he never , ever , deserts us . He is always here . That's the thing that you have to understand .
He is present in all places , at all times , knowing everything that you're doing , and he has the power to do anything that needs to be done to keep you from being snatched from his hand .