Monday, 17 July 2017

CCP SERIES STUDY WEEK 5 – GOD IS...EVERYWHERE (OMNIPRESENT)

19:54 Posted by Matthew Beaney No comments

COMMUNITY GROUP/FAMILY AND DAILY STUDIES BASED UPON OUR PREACHING SERIES AT COMMUNITY CHURCH PUTNEY)
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COMMUNITY GROUP/FAMILY STUDY
There is nothing we know of that’s everywhere. The biggest things like oceans have all have a shore. Even the universe is considered by many to be finite and expanding. God is a bit like big things we know; but He’s also infinite so He’s also nothing like anything we know of – He’s infinitely more!
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR GOD TO BE OMNIPRESENT?
Earlier we looked at how God is eternal, that is His infinity in time; omnipresence is God’s infinity in relation to space.
Ø What does Psalm 139:7-10 say about God’s presence with us?
'God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places.’ (Wayne Grudem)
God is not like butter spread too thinly on some of the bread. He’s fully present in all possible places in the material and spiritual realms. However, God being everywhere does not mean He acts the same everywhere:
Ø Heavenly throne-room. How is God’s presence different in the context of Revelation 4:1-6 than say your sitting room on a normal day?
Ø The temple. What does 2 Chronicles 7:2 say about the power of God’s presence on this special occasion?
Ø The body of Christ. In the church He can be present in such a way that one has to be reminded that He’s here (1 Cor. 3:16). At other times His manifestation can overwhelm us (Acts 4:31)
Ø Christians who sin. What does Ephesians 4:30 say about how sin affects our experience of God’s presence? 
Ø In Hell. Revelation 14:10 shows that God is fully present in hell in a different way to how He is in all other places.
LET’S RESPOND TO WHO GOD IS
Ø What does Psalm 23:1-4 say about God’s presence with us?
Ø What does God’s omnipresence teach us about the power of prayer when we can’t get to a place or person in need?
Ø Read Matthew 6:3-4 and 6:6. How does this help us to have a good attitude, particularly when our efforts have gone unseen and un-praised?

Ø Jesus’ wants to be a comfort to you. Pray for one another that the Spirit would come in a special way.

GOING DEEPER PERSONAL DAILY STUDIES 
‘Omnipresence means that God is everywhere present with His whole being at all times’ (Charles Ryrie)
Monday: Where can I go from your Spirit?
Psalm 139:7-10 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, 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, your right hand will hold me fast.
God is with you no matter where you go or are experiencing. ‘Right hand’ speaks of God’s great strength keeping a hold on you. Who or what can prise God’s fingers apart?
As Jesus promises us,  
Matthew 28:20 And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Tuesday: Jonah ran from the Lord
Jonah 1:1-3 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:  “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. (Also read the whole of chapter 1)
‘Jonah ran away from the Lord’. God is everywhere, Jonah knew this but He still fled. Running from God can take on many forms – refusing to do His will through fear, pride, laziness etc. It can be choosing to throw our faith away. Are you running from God in any part of your Life? Spend some time in thought and prayer about this.
Wednesday: Jonah prayed in his distress
Jonah 2:1-2 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry…” (Also read the whole of chapter 2)
Jonah has fled from God in disobedience but God is always with Him. God was with Jonah in the fish. In our place of darkness, maybe created by our own sin, God is right there, ready to listen to your prayers.
Thursday: Everywhere but is also personal
Jonah 3:10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. (Also read the whole chapter)
The mystery of God is that He is everywhere, seeing and knowing everything before it happens, and yet He still acts in a relational fashion. We read ‘When God saw…he relented’. God is present in a special way where He sees repentance and faith.
Friday: God is already there, but we must go also!
Jonah 4:11 But the Lord said… should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” (Also read the whole of chapter 4)
If God was already present in Nineveh, why did He even need Jonah to go and preach? We can often wish that God would act without us, and becoming discouraged when He is not doing more whilst, all the time, we are running from God’s call for us to act. God is everywhere. This is not an encouragement to passivity. This is a truth to inspire acts of faith because God is with us!
Saturday: The Lord who is there
Ezekiel 48:35 “And the name of the city from that time on will be: the Lord is there.”
One of the names of God comes from Ezekiel’s prophecy, given to a people in exile, prisoners of a foreign power is the Lord is there.” Christians are now God’s temple; the Spirit is poured out from heaven, He is with us, He is Jehovah Shammah ‘The Lord who is there’ right where you are.
What an opportunity we have to worship and pray to such a wonderful king.
Let’s remember, as we come together as a church on Sundays, in Community Groups and other settings, that God is with us as we meet in Jesus name. Every time Christians are together is an open invitation to meet ‘the Lord is there’. Jesus said,
Matthew 18:20For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
God is always there, He’s with you now. But He is present in a special way when we come in faith, through our only Saviour, Jesus.
2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 


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