Time Flies!
Sunday Evening English Worship
September 1, 2019 - 5:00 pm
Messenger: Don Frank
Bible Passage: Psalm 139:7-10 and others
Introduction: It’s absolutely amazing to think that September is starting today! Where did the first eight months of this year go?! This last week I started back teaching in my junior high and high school classes. Summer vacation is done and it’s time to get back to work!
Most of you guys know that I am really into all the new technology these days. I always try to keep an eye open for all the new stuff that’s coming out. To me, it’s really very interesting. And one of the things that I have been enjoying watching is virtual reality. And the technology is getting better and better day by day. Yet still, there’s one thing we humans can’t do even in the world of virtual reality and that is to be in two places at the same time! Even though there may be some of you watching me on online right now, still I’m in the city of Sapporo, Japan and nowhere else!
But with God, it’s a whole different story. And that brings me to my final study tonight about the 3 “omnis” of God - His Omnipresence. And this may be the hardest of the 3 for me to talk about. I know it’s the hardest one for me to imagine! But, let’s give it our best shot and take a look at God being present everywhere at the same time in this universe of ours.
1. Clouds and Oceans - Psalm 139:7-10 (NLT)
So, let me begin tonight by saying that there are so many Bible passages that talk about this topic. And I’m going to give you fair warning, I’m planning on giving you a lot of Bible passages tonight! And let’s start with point #1, Clouds and Oceans, from the book of Psalms, one of the same psalms that we talked about last month, Psalm 139:7-10.
7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. 9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.
And David continues from where he left off last time when he was talking about God knowing everything. Now he continues by saying that he feels there is no where he can go, either up above the clouds or down below the deepest oceans where God isn’t. In every single location, God is there to guide us, to strengthen us and to support us. That’s His purpose and his great desire. He wants so much to be with us!
2. Clocks and Timelines - Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11 (NLT)
And it’s not just anywhere in space, but time also. And time is one of those things that we humans can’t imagine not having. We use our calendars, we use our clocks how many times every day. But those are things that God never needs. For God, time never flies because there isn’t any time for Him! David’s son, Solomon, wrote about time in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3. Let’s take a look at it.
1 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven... 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
This is a very well-known passage and we’ve heard it many times before. For us humans, there’s a time or season for every activity that we can think of. But Solomon goes on to say in verse 11 that God has put eternity into our hearts. Because of that, we know that God doesn’t need time, but it’s still pretty hard to imagine. God IS with Abraham. God IS with us. God IS there at the end of time, waiting for us! I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty tough to wrap my head around!
3. Comfort and Strength - Joshua 1:9 and Matthew 28:20b (NLT)
And this ever-present God wants us to have comfort and strength from the fact that He is always everywhere non-stop. As we come to know God every way that we can, He works in our hearts to give us peace and comfort and joy and assurance about the Himself. God doesn’t want us to be scared or discouraged. He wants us to trust Him and find all the hope that we need.The book of Joshua tells us this:
This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
Here is King David commanding us and encouraging us again, as he has done many times through the Psalms, that this wonderful, ever-present God is with us no matter where we go. And if that’s not enough, Jesus himself encourages us with these words:
...And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Then the Son of God Himself, just moments before He’s ready to takeoff to go back to heaven and be with His Father, giving us a very direct and simple promise. Basically he’s telling us that He is the ever-present God Himself and that He would never ever leave us all the way through eternity!
4. Christ and His Children - 1 Corinthians 2:9, 1 John 3:2 (NLT)
And the true comfort that I got from preparing this study for us this evening comes in our final point about how much Christ loves us and what He’s got planned for us. I think the phrase, "I had no idea!" is one I'm going to be using over and over again when I get to heaven! And it’s literally true! Look at 1 Corinthians 2:
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
And this is one that I’ve actually thought about quite a bit. Anything that I can see or hear in this world, even anything that pops into my head that might be possible when I get to heaven is going to be so small compared to what God has in mind for us!
Now, you’re probably wondering what this all has to do with God being everywhere all at the same time. And that’s where our next Bible passage comes in, 1 John 3:2 -
Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
Now, let’s take a minute and unpack that last part. The last sentence says that we are going to be like him. Please don’t get me wrong. I’m NOT saying that we are going to be all-powerful, all-knowing or ever-present! The word here is the word “similar.” We were made in the image of God and though sin has partly destroyed that image, God is going to bring us back to that original image. But the last part of the sentence is interesting for me...
Conclusion: We often say in Christianity that we should keep our eyes on Jesus. And that’s what this sentence means. The original word means face-to-face, to stare at something and then nuance means to experience something. And I believe that’s exactly what is going to happen. In this life we have a little power, little knowledge and we can only be in one place at a time, but look what 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) says:
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
That is what is waiting for us when we go to meet Him! He is even now transforming us by the power of His Spirit and He's going to finish that work when we finally see Him face-to-face! And we have no way of knowing what that's going to be like!
Closing Prayer: Let's close out our evening by reading one of our Bible passages together.
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT)
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
Now let's look at our closing prayer, based on God's Word and pray it back to Him together:
Our dear loving God, thank you so much for Your Word that You shared with us tonight. We know You are in each of our hearts right now as we trust in You. We know You are in heaven and here in our church too. We can't imagine how beautiful heaven will be. We just trust You that You have a very special place prepared for us. And with thankful hearts, we pray this now in Jesus' precious name, Amen.
September 1, 2019 - 5:00 pm
Messenger: Don Frank
Bible Passage: Psalm 139:7-10 and others
Introduction: It’s absolutely amazing to think that September is starting today! Where did the first eight months of this year go?! This last week I started back teaching in my junior high and high school classes. Summer vacation is done and it’s time to get back to work!
Most of you guys know that I am really into all the new technology these days. I always try to keep an eye open for all the new stuff that’s coming out. To me, it’s really very interesting. And one of the things that I have been enjoying watching is virtual reality. And the technology is getting better and better day by day. Yet still, there’s one thing we humans can’t do even in the world of virtual reality and that is to be in two places at the same time! Even though there may be some of you watching me on online right now, still I’m in the city of Sapporo, Japan and nowhere else!
But with God, it’s a whole different story. And that brings me to my final study tonight about the 3 “omnis” of God - His Omnipresence. And this may be the hardest of the 3 for me to talk about. I know it’s the hardest one for me to imagine! But, let’s give it our best shot and take a look at God being present everywhere at the same time in this universe of ours.
1. Clouds and Oceans - Psalm 139:7-10 (NLT)
So, let me begin tonight by saying that there are so many Bible passages that talk about this topic. And I’m going to give you fair warning, I’m planning on giving you a lot of Bible passages tonight! And let’s start with point #1, Clouds and Oceans, from the book of Psalms, one of the same psalms that we talked about last month, Psalm 139:7-10.
7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. 9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.
And David continues from where he left off last time when he was talking about God knowing everything. Now he continues by saying that he feels there is no where he can go, either up above the clouds or down below the deepest oceans where God isn’t. In every single location, God is there to guide us, to strengthen us and to support us. That’s His purpose and his great desire. He wants so much to be with us!
2. Clocks and Timelines - Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11 (NLT)
And it’s not just anywhere in space, but time also. And time is one of those things that we humans can’t imagine not having. We use our calendars, we use our clocks how many times every day. But those are things that God never needs. For God, time never flies because there isn’t any time for Him! David’s son, Solomon, wrote about time in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3. Let’s take a look at it.
1 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven... 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.
This is a very well-known passage and we’ve heard it many times before. For us humans, there’s a time or season for every activity that we can think of. But Solomon goes on to say in verse 11 that God has put eternity into our hearts. Because of that, we know that God doesn’t need time, but it’s still pretty hard to imagine. God IS with Abraham. God IS with us. God IS there at the end of time, waiting for us! I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty tough to wrap my head around!
3. Comfort and Strength - Joshua 1:9 and Matthew 28:20b (NLT)
And this ever-present God wants us to have comfort and strength from the fact that He is always everywhere non-stop. As we come to know God every way that we can, He works in our hearts to give us peace and comfort and joy and assurance about the Himself. God doesn’t want us to be scared or discouraged. He wants us to trust Him and find all the hope that we need.The book of Joshua tells us this:
This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
Here is King David commanding us and encouraging us again, as he has done many times through the Psalms, that this wonderful, ever-present God is with us no matter where we go. And if that’s not enough, Jesus himself encourages us with these words:
...And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Then the Son of God Himself, just moments before He’s ready to takeoff to go back to heaven and be with His Father, giving us a very direct and simple promise. Basically he’s telling us that He is the ever-present God Himself and that He would never ever leave us all the way through eternity!
4. Christ and His Children - 1 Corinthians 2:9, 1 John 3:2 (NLT)
And the true comfort that I got from preparing this study for us this evening comes in our final point about how much Christ loves us and what He’s got planned for us. I think the phrase, "I had no idea!" is one I'm going to be using over and over again when I get to heaven! And it’s literally true! Look at 1 Corinthians 2:
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
And this is one that I’ve actually thought about quite a bit. Anything that I can see or hear in this world, even anything that pops into my head that might be possible when I get to heaven is going to be so small compared to what God has in mind for us!
Now, you’re probably wondering what this all has to do with God being everywhere all at the same time. And that’s where our next Bible passage comes in, 1 John 3:2 -
Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
Now, let’s take a minute and unpack that last part. The last sentence says that we are going to be like him. Please don’t get me wrong. I’m NOT saying that we are going to be all-powerful, all-knowing or ever-present! The word here is the word “similar.” We were made in the image of God and though sin has partly destroyed that image, God is going to bring us back to that original image. But the last part of the sentence is interesting for me...
Conclusion: We often say in Christianity that we should keep our eyes on Jesus. And that’s what this sentence means. The original word means face-to-face, to stare at something and then nuance means to experience something. And I believe that’s exactly what is going to happen. In this life we have a little power, little knowledge and we can only be in one place at a time, but look what 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) says:
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
That is what is waiting for us when we go to meet Him! He is even now transforming us by the power of His Spirit and He's going to finish that work when we finally see Him face-to-face! And we have no way of knowing what that's going to be like!
Closing Prayer: Let's close out our evening by reading one of our Bible passages together.
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT)
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
Now let's look at our closing prayer, based on God's Word and pray it back to Him together:
Our dear loving God, thank you so much for Your Word that You shared with us tonight. We know You are in each of our hearts right now as we trust in You. We know You are in heaven and here in our church too. We can't imagine how beautiful heaven will be. We just trust You that You have a very special place prepared for us. And with thankful hearts, we pray this now in Jesus' precious name, Amen.