P6 A SUMMER OF PSALMS

# Understanding God's Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnipotence: A Reflection on Psalm 139

## Introduction

Psalm 139 is a profound piece of scripture that delves into the nature of God and how His attributes intersect with our lives. This sermon explores the omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence of God, and how these characteristics impact our daily existence. By understanding these divine attributes, we can deepen our relationship with God and find comfort, conviction, and purpose in His presence.

## God's Omniscience: He Knows Everything

### What Does It Mean That God Is Omniscient?

God's omniscience means that He knows everything there is to know. Psalm 147:5 states, "His understanding has no limit." This means that God has never been surprised or learned something new. He knows every detail about our lives, our thoughts, and our actions.

### How Does God's Omniscience Affect Us?

David reflects on God's omniscience in Psalm 139:1-6, acknowledging that God knows him completely. This knowledge brings practical implications for our lives. We are fully known by God, and yet His love for us remains unshaken. Romans 8:38-39 assures us that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

## God's Omnipresence: He Is Everywhere

### What Does It Mean That God Is Omnipresent?

God's omnipresence means that He is present everywhere with His whole being all the time. Jeremiah 23:24 says, "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" This means that God is not spread out in parts but is fully present everywhere.

### How Does God's Omnipresence Affect Us?

David ponders God's omnipresence in Psalm 139:7-12, realizing that there is nowhere he can go to escape God's presence. This truth brings both comfort and conviction. God's perpetual presence means we are never alone, but it also means that He is with us in every situation, witnessing our actions and thoughts.

## God's Omnipotence: He Can Do Anything

### What Does It Mean That God Is Omnipotent?

God's omnipotence means that He can and does do anything He wants. Isaiah 46:10 says, "My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please." This means that God has the power to accomplish His will perfectly.

### How Does God's Omnipotence Affect Us?

David reflects on God's omnipotence in Psalm 139:13-16, acknowledging that God created him purposefully. This means that each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made, designed for a specific purpose. Understanding this can help us find our unique role in God's plan.

## Intimacy with God and Indignation Toward Sin

### How Does Intimacy with God Affect Our View of Sin?

As David grows in his understanding of God's attributes, he becomes more intimate with God and more indignant toward sin. Psalm 139:19-24 shows David's desire for God to search his heart and lead him away from any offensive ways. Intimacy with God naturally produces a disdain for sin and a desire for righteousness.

## Life Application

### How Can We Apply These Truths to Our Lives?

Understanding God's omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence can transform our relationship with Him. Here are a few questions to reflect on this week:

1. **How does knowing that God is omniscient affect the way you live your life?**
2. **In what ways can you find comfort in God's omnipresence during difficult times?**
3. **How can you discover and fulfill the unique purpose God has for you, knowing that He created you purposefully?**

### Challenge for the Week

This week, take time to reflect on how God's attributes intersect with your life. Spend time in prayer, asking God to reveal areas where you need to grow in intimacy with Him. Seek to understand how His omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence can bring comfort, conviction, and purpose to your daily walk with Him.

By embracing these truths, we can deepen our relationship with God and live out our faith with greater confidence and clarity.

Psalm 139 Outline July 28, 2024
Intro: Charles Blondin
God is Omniscient
His understanding has no limit (Psa. 147:5)
Psalm 139:1-6 (NIV2011) 

1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. 
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 
4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. 
5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
God is Omniscient
God knows you perfectly
Example: Human relationships
Romans 8:35, 38-39 (NIV2011)
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God is Omnipresent
“Do I not fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord. (Jer. 23:24)
Psalm 139:7-12 (NIV2011)
7  Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10  even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11  If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12  even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
God is Omnipresent
God is with you perpetually
God’s perpetual presence is comforting
Example: Getting lost
Hebrews 13:5 (NIV2011)
…God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
God’s perpetual presence is convicting
Example: Back to the Future
God is Omnipotent 
“My purpose will stand and I will do all that I please.” (Isa. 46:10)
Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV2011)
13  For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16  Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
God is Omnipotent
God made you purposefully
Example: New Building
Application: PLACE
David’s Response:
Psalm 139:19-24 (NIV2011)
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? 22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Intimacy with God produces indignation toward sin
Example: High School Basketball
“To love all men with benevolence is our duty; but to love any wicked man with complacency would be a crime. To hate a man for his own sake, or for any evil done to us, would be wrong; but to hate a man because he is the foe of all goodness and the enemy of all righteousness, is nothing more nor less than an obligation. The more we love God the more indignant shall we grow with those who refuse him their affection.” – C. H. Spurgeon
Lord’s Supper:
Luke 22:14-20 (NIV2011)
14  When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.
15  And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
16  For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
17  After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you.
18  For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19  And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
20  In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.