The Bible tells us that God is everywhere. That means he's inescapable. But is that good news or bad news?

This Sunday we'll be looking at God's omnipresence - at his inescapable goodness and his inescapable holiness, and the implications of both for us.

You can download sermon summary notes in English here.

Or you can read them below:

The Inescapable God

God’s character and nature is like a many-faceted diamond. Today we look at another facet – his omni-presence.

Inescapable Goodness

We can only be in one place, at one time. God is different. He created space, and so cannot be limited by space. Solomon, who built the temple as a house for God, realised that nothing could contain God: he is present everywhere.

Knowing this can give you a wonderful sense of security: there is nowhere where God is not present. This means whatever you go through in life, he is present. You are never lost to him. And whilst he does not promise us answers as to why we go through what we go through, he does promise us his presence.

He is present with us from the very beginning of our lives: he knitted you together in your mother’s womb. And he will be with you to the end of your days: he is the shepherd who leads you through death’s dark valley. In between, in every circumstance of life, he is there: to guide, strengthen, comfort and correct you. It is his inescapable goodness.

But this also means there is nowhere to hide from him.

Inescapable Holiness

There is nowhere we can hide from God. But why would we want to? Adam and Eve were the first to do it, when they became aware of their guilt. And we do the same. But there is nowhere to hide. And God’s presence, as Isaiah the prophet discovered, is a holy presence. To stand in that presence, like Isaiah, we must be cleansed. But what will cleanse us from our guiltiness? What can lead us out of the darkness of our secret places into the light of his presence?

Christ - The One to Flee To

God went further than just filling Solomon’s temple. The Son of God was himself knitted together in his mother’s womb. He became a man, and, at his trial and death, he was humiliated so we would not be shamed, he was stripped naked so that we might be clothed with his righteousness, he was stained by his blood, so we might be washed clean. He was excluded from God’s presence so that we need never fear that presence.

When you know that this is what Christ has done for you it alters the way you see things.

• It alters the way you see sin. When you delight in the goodness of God’s presence, sin loses its attractiveness. •

It alters the way you see your suffering. Whatever you feel like, you know he is present with you, so you don’t need to fear.

• It alters the way you respond when he asks you to do hard things. You can do them, not because you can do them, but because he can give you the strength to do them, and he is always with you.

• Finally it alters how you see evangelism. You know that Jesus has promised to be with you, so you won’t fear what others think. Instead you’ll love and serve them, because you want them to enjoy his presence as well.