High Quality
Open the downloaded document, and select print from the file menu (PDF reader required).
GOD'S PRESENCE IN EVERYDAY LIFE Based on Acts 17:22-31By Pastor Glenn PeaseAn atheist and a Christian were debating the value of prayer, and the atheistsaid, "I never pray." The Christian said, "But you must have prayed at sometimein your life." "Yes," he admitted. "I did pray once. I was on a hunting trip in theYukon and got separated from my party. A blizzard came up, and I became snowblind as I wondered about, and then I was also starving and cold. I finally fell onmy knees and asked God for help." "Well," said the Christian, "it looks like yougot it." "Got it nothing" he responded, "if an Indian guide hadn't come along justthen I would have died."Here was a man who was experiencing the absence of God in the very presenceof God's grace and loving kindness. Unfortunately, this is an experience not limitedto atheist and unbelievers. Even God's own people can have all kinds of misconceptions that blind them to the presence of God. The Jewish leaders hadtheir own ideas about what the Messiah would be like, and so, even in the presenceof the Messiah they experienced His absence, and they rejected Him. Christ wasobjectively there in their presence, but they were not subjectively aware of Hispresence.How often does Christ come unto His own, and His own receive Him not?Multiplied millions of times, I am sure. Theologically Jesus is always present withus, but practically we experience His absence because we are not aware of thatpresence. He promised He would never leave us nor forsake us, but we need tobecome aware of His being ever present. This is what Paul was doing on Mars Hillas he tried to make the Athenians aware of the presence of God. They worshippedan unknown god. A god that seemed far away, and they only had an obscureawareness of this absent god. Paul's message was to help them become aware thatGod is not far away at all, but very near, and that in fact, they lived and moved andhad their being in Him.We are not unlike these Athenians, and part of our problem is that we need to beup a tree and out on a limb like Zaccheaus before we become aware of the presenceof Christ. We get conditioned by dramatic stories to think that the only time to seekChrist's presence is in a crisis. We read of Daniel in the lion's den; the three friendsin the fiery furnace, and Paul and Silas in the dungeon, all experiencing thepresence of Christ in great power, and we think this will come in handy if I ever getstuck in a hopeless situation. But what we really need is an awareness of Hispresence in the common place every day events of life. The crisis is rare, and if weonly want to be aware of Christ in a crisis, we put Him in the same category as aninsurance policy. We only need to think of Him when something goes radicallywrong. This is a very superficial concept of who Jesus is as Savior and Lord, and iteliminates Him altogether from the role of companion, guide, and friend.
Paul is seeking to convince the Athenians that the God who sent His Son into theworld is the God of the commonplace. He is the God of the every day, themarketplace, and the home, as well as the God of the Temple. This unknown Goddoes not need to remain unknown, for it is His desire that men know Him andexperience His presence. In verses 27 and 28 Paul makes two things clear: There isan objective and subjective presence of God. In other words, there is the actualityOf God's Presence, and the awareness of God's presence. There is the fact of God'spresence, but only the feeling of God's presence makes the fact a vital part of everyday life.Paul says God wants us to seek for Him. He wants man to reach out and touchsomeone, and He wants that someone to be Him. He is not far from each one of us,but we can miss Him completely if we do not strive to reach Him. Fact and feelingmust become one; the actuality and the awareness must be united. Let's look firstat-I. THE ACTUALITY OF GOD'S PRESENCE.The Bible makes it clear that God is everywhere because of the very nature of Hisbeing. Matter cannot be at two places at the same time, but this law does not applyto spirit. Spirit does not have the limitations of matter, and since God is spirit Hehas no limit of place. Our bodies are stuck to being in one place at a time, but ourminds can be in many places at the same time. My mind is just as aware of the clockin the back as it is of the pulpit in the front, and of the windows on the side. Mymind is present everywhere in this room even though my body is present only in onespot. My body is in the front, but my mind is everywhere in the room. If I had amind that transcended the limits of these walls I could be aware of more yet. Godhas a mind that is universal, and thus, He is aware of all that is a part of Hiscreation, and thus, He is everywhere present in His universe, just I can with mymind be everywhere present in this room.There is no where to go to be out of the presence of God. This is David's point inPs. 139 where he writes, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where I can flee fromyour presence? If I go up to the heavens you are there; if I make my bed in thedepths you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me." You can't go where God is not,anymore than you can go to another pew and be out of my awareness. As long asyou are in the sphere of my awareness you are in my presence. God's awarenesstakes in all the universe, and therefore, there is no place to go out of His presence.God does not have to work at being present everywhere anymore than we have towork at being aware of how many fingers we have, or of how many people aresitting at the table with us. We can all easily be aware of what is part of ourimmediate environment. So God, because He is everywhere present, is easily awareof all that is. As President Lundquist of Bethel once said, "God knows the numberof hairs on our heads, not because He makes a count each time I comb it, but
because He is present at every point. He knows that number as easily as we knowthe number of people riding in a car with us.The implications of God's omnipresence are enormous. One of them is that He isalways available whether we are aware of Him or not. Tennyson wrote,Speak to Him for He hears,And Spirit with spirit can meet.Closer is He than breathing,And nearer than hands and feet.The actuality of God's presence is a theological truth, but to experience this realitywe need to move on to the second point which is-II. THE AWARENESS OF GOD'S PRESENCE.We need to understand that much that is real, true, and actual does not have animpact on our lives until we become aware of it. Candid Camera is a great example.People do things they would never do if they were aware they were on camera.When they become aware they immediately cease to do the foolish things they weredoing.We do the same thing everyday in our homes. We do things that hurt and hinderrather than help and heal. They are foolish things we do and say to those we lovefor any number of reasons, but primarily because we let the circumstances of lifecontrol us. We let the frustrations of life outside the home affect how we treat thoseinside the home. Just imagine how becoming aware that the Candid Camera crewhad set up your home to film how you treat your family after a miserable day atwork. You would by the power of that awareness suppress all anger and unkindcutting remarks, and you would be curteous and thoughtful and reasonable in allyour requests. You would be a model of love.But since you know the chances are several billion to one that your reactions tolife behind your own doors is going on tape, you feel free to be sub-Christianwithout the fear of discovery. Our awareness that our behavior would be exposed tothe public would greatly modify our behavior. We can only justify sub-Christianbehavior because we are unaware of the presence of Christ. We practice theabsence of Christ because it is the only way we can be comfortable on a sub-Christian level.It would be extremely embarrassing to come rushing into your living roomscreaming at your mate or children, and discover Jesus sitting on the couch visitingwith the one you are blasting verbally. You'd give anything to have the chance to goback and come in dealing with the issue in a civil and polite manner. The point is, if we could be aware of the presence of Christ we could control all of the sub-Christian impulses that all of us feel at times.
Add a Comment
Patricia Kenneyleft a comment