Ezekiel 48:35                   The Lord Is There
Intro. Ezekiel is seeking to describe the glory of the new city that will
       be adjacent to the Temple. The crowning glory is found in the name
       of the city which is "The Lord is there." or Jehovah Shammah.

I. The omnipresence of God.
        A. Where can I flee from your presence, if I ascend into heaven
           you are there, if I make my bed in hell, you are there.
                1. Solomon declared, "The heavens of heavens cannot
                   contain you."
                2. Some men think they would like to find a place where
                   God isn't.
                        a. They would like to escape if possible from
                           the presence of God.
                        b. Jonah tried to run from the presence of God.
                        c. There are many in the United States today
                           who wish to escape from God.
                                1. They want no mention of Him in the
                                   public schools, or no reminders of
                                   Him in public places.
                                2. They are working hard to if possible
                                   to destroy God.
                                3. The ACLU and the PAW are very
                                   dedicated to develop a nation where
                                   God isn't.
                                4. If they succeed, you would not want
                                   to live there, and neither would they.
                        d. Some men are so foolish as to thing that they
                           can destroy God with words. That they can talk
                           Him out of existence. The psalmist said, "Why
                           do the heathen rage and the people imagine a
                           vain thing? The rulers of the earth have 
                           gathered against the Lord and His anointed,
                           But He that sitteth in heaven shall laugh for
                           He shall have them in derision."
        B. Our problem is that we forget that God is there.
                1. A lot of things a person does he would not do if he
                   were only conscious of the presence of God.
                2. When Moses killed the Egyptian, the scripture tells
                   us that the looked this way and that way and saw no
                   man so he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the
                   sand. There is one way he did not look and that was up.
                3. One of the most important things for man is to live in
                   the consciousness of the presence of God. As Paul said,
                   "In Him we live and move and have our being." We need
                    to by conscious of that. It is when I forget that,
                    that I am prone to sin.

II. Why do men lose the consciousness of the presence of God?
        A. Many times there is nothing to suggest the presence of God.
                1. Things seem to be so confused, and we are in big
                   trouble.
                2. When Jacob was fleeing from the intent of his brother
                   to kill him, he came the first night to a mount
                   called Bethel where he lay on the ground exhausted,
                   and used a stone for a pillow. He dreamed of a ladder
                   reaching from earth to heaven and the angels of God
                   ascending and descending upon this ladder. In the
                   morning when he woke up he declared, "Surely the 
                   Lord is in this place and I knew it not."
                        a. The night before as he arrived at this rocky
                           hillside with his mind tormented by the
                           uncertainty of his future, there was nothing
                           to suggest the presence of God, in this
                           barren rocky place.
                        b. Had he only looked up to the starry sky
                           above, surely he would have been reminded of
                           God, but that revelation of God often makes
                           Him seem so remote.
                3. Often times when we lose the consciousness of the
                   presence of God is when we need most to be conscious
                   of His presence.
                        a. Our hearts begin to despair over the
                           conditions of our lives, and we can see no
                           way out. Take heart, the Lord is there.
                        b. Some people are only conscious of the
                           presence of God when everything is going
                           well. They rejoice in their blessings.
                        c. God is present with you when you are going
                           through the deepest trials. If you can only
                           become conscious of that you will gain
                           strength to endure.
        B. The three Hebrew children Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, more
           commonly known by the names given to them by the Babylonians,
           of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, must have felt disturbed
           by the edict of Nebuchadnezzer to heat the furnace 7 times
           hotter than it had been heated before. They were facing a
           fiery death at the hands of this pagan king. As they were
           thrown into the furnace the men throwing them in were killed
           by the heat of the furnace, but they were not even singed.
           As Nebuchalnezzer peered in the furnace he asked how many
           they had thrown into the furnace and the answer was
           three, he then asked, "How is it that I see four walking
           around in the midst of the fire, and the fourth looks like
           the Son of God?"
                1. The Lord was there in the midst of the fiery trial.
                2. The Lord is with you in the midst of every trial that
                   you may face.
                3. The consciousness of this will change your whole
                   perspective.
                4. David said, "Ye though I walk through the valley of
                   the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
                   FOR THOU ART WITH ME."
        C. Paul had been in a vicious storm where they had not seen the
           sun for fourteen days, and even the seasoned seamen had given
           up all hope for survival. Paul finally stood before the crew
           and declared, "Men be of good cheer, for none of you will lose
           your life, only the ship will be destroyed. For there stood
           by me this night the angel of God whose I am and whom I serve.
           He said, fear not Paul, you must be brought before Caesar,
           and I have given you the lives of those that are with you.
           You are going to be cast up on an island. Paul declared
           to them, "I believe God that it will happen to us even as He
           showed me."
                1. Fourteen days of darkness, fourteen days of vicious
                   storm, hopelessness had set in, fear and despair.
                2. What a difference it makes to find out that the Lord
                   is on board the ship with you. You are going to
                   survive.
        D. Joseph went through some harrowing experiences. His brothers
           turned on him and sold him as a slave where he was taken to
           Egypt, his masters wife falsely accused him of attempted rape,
           he was thrown into prison as a result of these false charges,
           but we read that the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was there
           even in the prison.

III. I am so thankful that God is there. Where? Anywhere I might find
     myself.
        A. He is there in the midst of the jubilation of victory. When
           voices are lifted in excited praise to Him because he has
           thrown the enemies horses and the riders into the sea.
        B. He is there when it seems like the waters are going to
           overflow us. He said, when you pass through the waters,
           I WILL BE WITH YOU, and through the rivers, they shall not
           overflow you. When you walk through the fire you will not
           be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon you.
        C. "Fear not, for I AM WITH YOU, be not dismayed, for I am your
           God, I will strengthen you, I will help you, yes, I will uphold
           you with the right hand of My righteousness."
        D. What should we be celebrating at Christmas?
                1. That a virgin gave birth to a Son who was to be known
                   as Immanuel, which interpreted from the Hebrew means,
                  "God with us."
                2. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
                   God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh
                   and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the
                   only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth.
        E. The consciousness of the presence of God will keep you from
           sin.
        F. The consciousness of the presence of God will give you
           rejoicing
           and victory even in the midst of the battle.
        G. Rejoice you children of the Father, for the Lord is there,
           where ever that may be.