SERMON SUBJECT:  THE OMNIPRESENT GOD

 

SCRIPTURE:  Selected passages from the Prophesy of Jonah.

 

SERMON THESIS:  God is everywhere.

 

INTRODUCTION:  Theologians use three words to describe the character and nature of God:  1)  Omnipotent (all powerful), 2) Omniscience (all knowing), and

Omnipresent (everywhere).   Unpacking the Old Testament Book of Jonah, as the basis for our study, we will focus on the last one of these—Omnipresent, to talk about the ever present God.

 

The Prophet Jonah discovered that one can run from the ever present God, but there is no place to hide.  God, he discovered, is everywhere!

 

Before looking at our text, we turn to the Psalmist, who gave us a good commentary on the Omnipresent nature of God, when he asked, “Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go to the heavens, You are there; If I make my bed in the depths (hell KJV), 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.  If I say, surely the darkness will hide me, and the light became night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for the darkness is as light to You'(Psalm 139:7-12). 

 

Having looked at this Old Testament commentary of the ever present God, we will now turn to the Book of Jonah, to discover four lessons that Jonah learned about the Omnipresent God, in his flight from Him.

 

The first lesson Jonah learned is that . . .

 

1. THE OMNIPRESENT GOD IS PRESENT ON THE STORM TROUBLED SEA (Jonah 1:4-15).  In chapter one of the book bearing his name, Jonah found himself in serious trouble as a result of his disobedience.  Not only did he find himself in a storm at sea, he was experiencing a storm in his life as well.  The storm(s) in which he found himself not only created a storm for himself, but for the ships crew as well.   Self-imposed storms often do this.

 

Presently my nephew is undergoing a divorce.  This has created a storm for his mother, my sister, because her grandsons are going to be hurt in the process.  Sometimes, however, the storm in the life of someone else, of which we are affected, causes us to cry out to God, and allows us to experience His presence.

 

Having been affected by Jonah's disobedience, the sailors were given the opportunity to experience God's presence.  After crying out to their deity to no avail, they tried Jonah's God.  The Bible says, “Then they cried to the LORD, 'O LORD please do not let us die for taking this man's life.  Do not hold us accountable for killing and innocent man, for You, O LORD, have done as You pleased.'  Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.  At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to Him'(Jonah 1:14-16).

 

The next thing Jonah knew he was being swallowed by a large fish.  The Bible says, “But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights'(Jonah 1:17).  This sets the stage for Jonah next occasion to experience God's presence, and for us the fulfillment of prophesy.  First the prophesy, and then Jonah's next experience.  “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth'(Matthew 12:40).

 

Now for Jonah's next experience of the Omnipresent LORD.  The next lesson Jonah learned was that . . .

 

2. THE OMNIPRESENT GOD WAS PRESENT IN THE OCEAN AND IN THE BELLY OF THE GREAT FISH (Jonah 2:2-9).

 

The Bible says, “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'(Jonah 2:2). 

 

From inside a hospital room in Omsk, Southern Siberia, while on mission to that country, following a car crash in which I was seriously injured, Carolyn discovered the presence of the Omnipresent God,  when she heard these words, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.'  On another occasion, while on mission to the West Indies, Carolyn learned upon our arrival that her mother had died.  Forced to make a decision whether to return home for the funeral, or remain on her God given assignment, God spoke to her through His Word . . . “ . . . if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast'(Psalm 139:9,10).  She stayed and completed her mission as God's hand held her close to himself.

 

In was in the blackest darkness know to the human eye, at the bottom of the ocean, inside the belly a great fish, Jonah discovered the presence of the Omnipresent God.  After three days and three nights, the fish was sick to death of his intruder and vomited him out on the seashore.  I would imagine that he ran all the way to Nineveh. 

 

Now he was ready for his third lesson.  Jonah learned that . . .

 

3. THE OMNIPRESENT GOD WAS AT NINEVEH WHEN HE PREACHED (Jonah 3:10).

 

Following Jonah's preaching on repentance to the people of Nineveh, the Bible says, “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had planned'(Jonah 3:10).

 

Here we see how the compassion of God overrides His judgment when the sinner repents.  It was the writer of Proverbs who put it like this, “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion'(Proverbs 28:13). 

 

Thus Jonah not only learned that the Omnipresent God was present when he preached, He learned that God is a compassionate God as well.

 

There is a fourth and final lesson to be learned.  Jonah learned that  . . .

 

4. THE OMNIPRESENT GOD WAS PRESENT WITH HIM EVEN WHEN HE POUTED (Jonah 4:4-11)

 

As you might recall from a historical context, God called missionary Jonah to preach to Nineveh.  Now Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrians—hated enemies of the Jews.  Needless to say, Jonah was unhappy when God brought salvation/deliverance to his worst enemies.  Thus the prejudiced Jonah pouted and prayed to die, “But God said to Jonah, 'Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?'  'I do,'he said, 'I am angry enough to die.'

But the LORD said, 'You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow.  It sprang up overnight and died overnight.  But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty-thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well.  Should I not be concerned about that great city?'(Jonah 4:9-11).

 

What can we learn?  Is not Jonah's disobedience, surrender, and triumph, a picture of many of us?

 

1)  God calls us to unusual tasks, even preaching in the enemy's capitol (1:2).  This means going across many cultural barriers and being misunderstood by many.  2)  God calls us to be rejected (1:3).  God calls, but we are not forced to respond.  3)  God will chastise us if we are disobedient (1:17).   To refuse God's call is tragic, inviting His discipline.  4)  We can repent, and God will forgive (2:2).  We can find restoration to obedience.  5)  God will, perhaps, give us a second opportunity (3;1-2).  Even when we sin, God will give us another opportunity if we repent.  6)  Success will attend our disobedience (3:5).  How wonderful it is to be a part of God's great missionary effort.   'Credit is given to the Disciple's Study Bible for sermon outline and concluding lessons).