We cannot hide from God

METHODIST CHURCH NIGERIA

DIOCESE OF OSOGBO

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, 19TH JULY, 2020.

GOD’S WORD TO GOD’S PEOPLE.

THEME: “We cannot hide from God”

   “A ko le f’ara pamo fun Olorun.”

TEXT: Psalm 139:7.

“Where can I go from Your Spirit?” or “Where can I flee from Your presence?”

“Nibo ni emi o gbe lo kuro lowo emi re? tabi nib ni emi o sa lo kuro ni waju re?”

God sees and knows everything he created, and as such nothing can ever be hidden away from him or from his presence. Human beings are not Creator, but creatures and for this reason they can never hide themselves from God nor hide away their deeds from his presence “Nitoripe oku kan ki f'ara pamo fun eni tio sin”. In fact, our God is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. These of course are the subjects of David’s meditations in this great Psalm, Psalm 139. In this Psalm, which is said to have been written by King David and chosen as the text for our meditation this 16th Sunday in ordinary time of Christian calendar, David asked God to examine him thoroughly to affirm his innocence and see how cordial his relationship with God is. David knew very well that what we think about God and the level of our relationship with him usually determine what we think about every other thing around us in the world. That is to say, our thinking about God determines what we think about our neighbors, the world itself, God’s word, God’s will, faith, sin and other things in life. When we have wrong ideas about God, certainly, we are going to conceive wrong ideas about who we are and what we should do as human beings. Consequently, we may find ourselves living wrong life and following the wrong path towards the wrong destiny. It is therefore important for us to have the right knowledge of God, which is essential to living a fulfilled life in this world and according to God’s will. David thoughtfully considered the way of God, and concluded that God is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. He then wrote Psalm 139 to encourage us (readers) to be in right relationship with God and never think that we can hide ourselves or our deeds from God who created heaven and earth. The Psalm under study today can be divided into four (4) strophes (sections) with 6 verses each. Its message progresses significantly from one topic to another as follows:

1) The all-knowing God cannot be deceived (Ps. 139:1-6): Our neighbors, friends and fellow human beings can only see the outside of us, but God sees the heart, and so cannot be deceived by anyone (1Sam. 16:7). Adam’s and Eve’s attempt to hide themselves from God in the garden of Eden after they had missed the mark was obviously fruitless effort (Gen. 3:8) Cain tried to hide himself from God after killing Abel, his brother, but he could not (Gen. 4:1-15) and even David, the Psalmist, tired it in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12, but discovered that God knew everything about him. The Psalmist therefore in verses 1 to 6, explains that God examined him with pain and care and got to know him in and out without anything hidden from him. God knows each of us too well. The fact that God knows us intimately and exhaustively is asserted in verses 1, 2, 4, 14 and 23 of Psalm 139 under study today. God knows our locations, our actions, our thoughts, our words, our way and all our motives for doing whatever we do (Heb. 4:13) This is further confirmed by the Old Testament reading appointed for this Sunday, Genesis 28:10-19a, where Jacob ran away from home having rubbed Esau, his brother, of his birthright, but met with God in the wilderness. No one can hide from God. He knows what is best for us and does all he can to guide our foot-steps in life. God is always behind us and before us, and he puts his hand on us to take care of us and direct us. As human beings, who recognize God as omniscient one should therefore be thankful to him always that he knows us by name. Any attempt of human beings to deceive God will amount to wasteful effort and share foolishness.

2) The ever present God is always with us and so we cannot escape him (Psalm 139:7-12): To say our God is omnipresent, as seen in the Psalm, means that all humans' escape routes are not hidden to him. God knows so much about us and he is with us constantly. The best thing is for us to walk blameless before him and ensure we please him with the rest of our life on earth. Let us run away from everything which can lead us to hiding away from God. For if we go up to heaven or down to sheol, God is there; if we run to the east or west, south or north, God’s hand will catch us and tenderly guide us. There is no hiding place for human being under the heaven because darkness is as the light before God. Our God is interested in walking with us because his plans for us are not of evil (Jer. 29:11) Why then should anyone be thinking of running away from him into a hiding place if not for his/her wickedness (sin). (Lev. 26:17-36) Instead of trying to hide from God for reasons best known to you, why not come to him with remorse for your misdeeds and plead for forgiveness today. Remember what happened to Jonah when he tried to run away from God. He went from bad to worse (Jonah 1:2-4,15) Men and brethren, do you know that we need the presence of God with us if we must enjoy his love and fulfill his purpose in life (Matt. 28.19&20; Ps.23:4). Hiding from God or his presence for any reason(s) is therefore a great disadvantage to anyone. Amend your way and stop hiding from the omnipresent God.

3. The all-powerful God and Creator of the Universe cannot be ignored (Psalm 139:13-18): In this passage, David declared that God is present at the conception and birth of any child, because all human beings emanate from him and he has a purpose for every person who is born into this world (Ps. 139:13) God created us as he wants us to be, and we must accept his will no matter how we feel about our structures, looks or abilities. Do you know what? Beyond the creation, God also plans and determines our days for us (Ps. 139:16; Job 14:5; Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:12&13). Then if we live our lives foolishly, outside his plan and will for us, we might die before the time ordained for us by God. How then can we ignore God who has power to create and bring to fulfillment his good plans for our wonderful life. Let us therefore yield ourselves to God daily, meditate on his word, and walk in the Spirit on his way. Brethren, don’t forget that the omnipotent God thinks of us always (Jer. 29:11) It is not bad if we also think about him every time of our lives.

4) God, the righteous judge cannot be disputed (Psalm 139:19-24): If God cannot be deceived, escaped, or ignored, it is then reasonable and sensible to obey him in all things. In Psalm 139, David referred to all who oppose God and dispute what he says about them in his word as wicked and violent people who are nothing, but liars, blasphemers and rebels. They are sinners who brought sorrow to God (Gen. 6:6), who grieved Jesus Christ (Mark 3:5), and the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:29&30). Christians who pray the Lord’s prayer every time must hate sin and flee from all evils which would not allow them to stand in the presence of God, because each time they pray “Thy Kingdom come”, they are requesting God to judge the wicked, and they leave everything about themselves in his hands. David, however, closed the Psalm with a prayer for God to search his heart, to know his worries and concerns, to forgive his sins and lead him on the right path. (Ps. 139:23&24). Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be careful as we examine ourselves because we do not even know our own hearts (Jer. 17:9) It is necessary to open the word of God, study it and allow the Holy Spirit search our heart and speak to us in order to discover the truth and be free. We must never quarrel with God who loves us and who wants the best for us. If we fight with God, where else do we think we can go to find answers to all our anxieties and worries? Let us run away from evils and stop all forms of wickedness which will not allow us to stand tall in the presence of omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God who is the only righteous judge, who will bring every work and all secret things to judgement on the last day, whether good or evil. (Eccl. 12:14). Remember, there is no hiding place for sinners. “Ase pamo lowa, ase gbe kan osi”. No sinner will go unpunished, stop sinning my fellow pilgrims, because there is no place to hide from the judgement of the righteous judge.

Let us pray

Rt. Rev. A.K.O. Ogunrinde, JP, FICT.

Bishop, Diocese of Osogbo.

OS-CAN Chairman.