GOD’S GRACE WAS SHINING LIKE A THOUSAND SUNS
MIKE CUNNINGHAM
APRIL 21, 2013

Last Wednesday I reached a point where I just couldn’t continue. I knew that I had to stop. It isn’t that I was quitting and giving up on composing today’s sermon but I sure needed to take a break. That’s how profoundly affected I was by reading various accounts of the horrible genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1996. Thoughts that I would be plagued by nightmares flooded through my mind, so much so, that I found it difficult to stop crying. I have no intention of sharing any of such vivid accounts of those atrocities in this or a future sermon, nor do I want to expose you folks to them. I don’t want to remember them. I want them out of my mind.

The awful horrors the Rwandans experienced took a lot out of me emotionally. Christians rightly wonder where God was while close to a million Tutsi were being massacred. I pleaded with God to help me get through this ordeal. I felt miserable. I also asked Him to bless me with lots of comfort, encouragement and hope. I had to get this off my mind. I asked Him where He was during my present torment. The following Scripture suddenly popped into my mind.

Jeremiah 23:24 (ESV) 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.

Those verses were the beginning of the answer to my prayers. It’s comforting in knowing that, not only is God always watching over me, but that He is, in fact, always present with me. I’m never alone and neither is any other human being.

Tozer in his classic “The Knowledge of The Holy,” (which I have revised and modernized) explains that: “God is imminent in His creation, that there is no place in heaven or earth or hell where men can hide from His presence. They teach that God is at one and the same time both far away and also near. It’s in Him that all human beings live and move and have their being. What is essentially convincing is the fact that the Scriptures compel us to acknowledge that God is omnipresent [always present] which accounts for all the other facts they tell us about Him.”

“For instance, the Scriptures teach that that God is infinite. This means that His supernatural Spirit being knows no limits. Therefore there can’t be any limit to His presence; He is always present. In His infinitude He surrounds the finite creation and contains it. God is our environment just as the sea is to the fish and the air is to the bird. “God is over all things,” wrote Hildebert of Lavardin, “under all things,” but not enclosed; He’s without but not excluded; He’s above but not raised up; He’s below but not depressed; He’s wholly above everything presiding; and wholly beneath everything sustaining; God is wholly within everyone and everything filling.”

“The doctrine of the divine omnipresence personalizes mans relation to the universe in which he lives. This great central truth gives meaning to all other truths and imparts supreme value to the life of every human being. God is always present with them. God sees every person and knows them inside out, infinitely better than they can possibly know themselves. This is where faith begins, and while it may go on to include a thousand other wonderful truths, these all refer back to the truth that God is and God is here. “He that commeth to God,” says the Book of Hebrews, “must believe that He is.” Christ said “You believe in God, believe also….” Whatever “also” may be added to the elementary belief in God is the superstructure, and regardless of the heights to which it may rise, it continues to rest solidly upon the original foundation.”

“Canon W. G. H. Holmes of India told him (Tozer) about the time he saw Hindu worshipers tapping on trees and stones and whispering “Are you there? Are you there?” to the god they hoped might reside within. In a spirit of loving humility a knowledgeable Christian can provide the answer to that question. God is indeed there. He is there and He is here and He’s everywhere. God isn’t confined to trees or stones. He’s free in the universe, near to everything, next to everyone, and through Jesus Christ, God is immediately accessible to every loving heart.”

“Folks who believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired inerrant Word of the Living God derive a enormous amount of comfort, encouragement and hope in the midst of their sorrowful ordeals.”

“To such a person, “the practice of the presence of God” consists not of projecting an imaginary object from within his or her own mind and then seeking to realize its presence. On the contrary, it is recognizing the real presence of the One the Scriptures declares is already there.”

“All will be well. In the world in which we live tears have a therapeutic effect. The healing balm distilled from the garments of the enfolding Presence cures our ills before they become fatal. The knowledge that we are never alone calms the troubled sea of our lives and speaks peace to our souls.”

“That God is here both Scripture and reason declare. It remains for us only to learn to realize this in conscious experience. A sentence from a letter by Dr. Allen Fleece sums up the testimony of many others: “The knowledge that God is present is blessed, but to feel His presence is nothing less than sheer happiness.”

Jeremiah 23:24 (ESV) 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.

Allow me to share the following excerpts that I received in emails from one of my grandchildren who has clearly grasped this wonderful truth. “Grandpa, Due to recent events here in Boston and the fact that I can’t be there at your church to say this, I was hoping that you would be willing to read this to them for me, on whatever upcoming Sunday you are able to. Not paraphrased or anything, but word for word. It’s very important to me and everyone in Boston. Here it is:

“As you all must know, two bombs went off at the Boston Marathon finish line on April 15th which is the holiday Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts. Three people died, over 150 were injured, and about 17 are still in critical condition. One of the people who died was an 8 year old boy. His family is still in the hospital. The bombs were made of shrapnel, nails, and ball bearings in pressure cookers. Despite all of this tragedy and horror, one thing matters more than anything, God was there.”

“The bombs were designed to kill a staggering amount of people, yet somehow they didn’t. I watched this live on TV. Almost every single person there did not run away in fear, but they ran straight into the blast to rescue the injured. Everyone who was able to helped save another person. That is just the beginning. Thousands of people drove to the nearest hospital to donate blood. Some people even kept running right after the marathon to a hospital to donate. This saved many lives. Doctors and nurses from all over the city who were at home immediately drove to hospitals to help, without having been called or asked to come in. A webpage was started where thousands of people listed their names and phone numbers with offers to take the injured, the families, and the marathon runners into their homes. They offered to drive people places, they offered meals, clothes, money for hotels and cabs, and they offered their own beds to these strangers. God was there that day. Throughout the entire world, people are sending their thoughts and prayers. In every sports game in America, they had a moment of silence, played Boston songs, and put aside all differences to support us. Even the Yankees! Sports are very important to Bostonians so this is remarkable.”

“Yes, there were one or two wicked people who caused this tragedy, but thousands and thousands of people in Boston and MA showed true kindness and goodness. For every evil person, there are 1,000 good people. Throughout the world, every act of kindness and all supporting words show the magnitude of people who are still fighting for what is right and have hope for a better place.”

“I am so blessed that none of my family or friends were hurt. Normally many people I know would be there, but none of them were this year. Praise God for that. I had a hard time trying to reach Luis at the time. He works near there and leaves work around the time it happened. The cell towers were shut down so no calls were able to go through. I can’t tell you the panic I was in until he sent me a text. My sister Mary was ok, my cousins Lucy and Andrew, my Aunt Abby and Uncle Alan, and friends were all safe. I’m dumfounded by all the people who contacted me to check up on me and the family. I want to praise God for all who lived. Praise him for the outpouring of kindness from people and for those willing to sacrifice themselves for others. That saved so many people. Boston is my home and my family and I praise God and thank Him for being there.”

“Today I watched Obama give a speech in Boston and it was incredibly moving. Even he kept saying how they chose the wrong people to mess with. Afterwards, he visited all the hospitals and talked to the wounded. There is a big Memorial site where thousands have come and left things such as candles, cards, stuffed animals, running shoes, signs, and medals. Even children begged to come. Some drove across the country to be here to watch Obama and visit the Memorial. I plan to visit it before my surgery on the 25th. I still can’t believe how there were so many people who had just run the Marathon, and that they kept running two more miles to donate blood. Not one person cowered, everyone helped and supported. So many incredibly amazing and wonderful things have happened that I know MY faith in humankind is restored. And I also know they definitely chose the wrong city to mess with.”

“There are so many things and stories I could tell you but that would take forever. I just know that God’s grace shined like a thousand suns. It was enough to touch the entire world.”

“P.S. One story is that a man who was waiting at the finish line for his wife was near the blast when it happened. His wife was running in honor of their son who died in the Afghanistan war. They were ok. The husband rescued a man by fighting his way through the rubble and carried a man whose legs had been blown off to safely. The rescuer was holding an American flag at the time but he refused to ever drop it. After the man was in the ambulance he showed it to a cameraman. It was completely soaked in blood. I hope I could be even a fraction as amazing is he was, someday. As I said before, no one ran away from the bomb blasts, they all ran right into to them to uncover and save people, which is why there is such a low death count (because of God’s holy intervention). Then the thousands who offered their homes and food and rides and everything, it something I will never ever forget. I’m not going to recover for a very long time but knowing my fellow Bostonians are around me, and God’s never ending grace, will always, always give me hope for the future.
We don’t look back in confusion. We fight our way forward!

“After the second suspect was arrested, everyone lined the streets and cheered every time a cop car, ambulance or fire truck passed. Everyone thanks them and treasures them and what they did. Now that the suspect has been captured everyone is going outside to cheer and play Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. That song is pretty much Boston’s theme song. It’ll be played to boost spirits, in celebration, and during the 8th inning of every Fenway game. People are crowding at the memorial site, even in the middle of the night, to pay their respects and leave treasures. The Boston Commons is full of celebrating people. The terrorist was arrested, good overcame evil.”

“Instead of fear, there was faith here. We knew right would prevail and we knew America would do everything possible to help with the victims and manhunt. The terrorist was captured alive. That is very, very rare. Alive, he is able to give us information. He did not martyr himself. Everyone who is related to the captured and dead terrorist’s family is horrified by what they did and they want to meet with the victim’s families to apologize. Their families are good people who want to help.”

“It took only five days to catch the bad guys. Five days! Not five years and a war. All of the USA supported us and cheered when they heard the news of the capture. There were families at home and fans in ballparks all jumping for joy. All of the world has offered condolences. By giving us support, the entire country was bonded as one. No rivalries.”

“I am so proud to belong to a city full of wonderful, strong, brave, welcoming, very smart, happy, faithful, loyal, incredible heroes and people. I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful and amazing the people are here. In times of need, we have faith and refuse to be afraid. We fight for what is right.”

“I miss watching baseball but obviously the Red Sox couldn’t play the last few days. They did not want to get in the way of the manhunt during the lockdown. Many, many government agencies came together to work, and there was no butting heads. They actually worked together extremely well. That never happens!”

“Every single circumstance and possible opportunity turned out well. There could have been more deaths, we could have never found the terrorists, there could have been rioting, the bombs could have worked better. A small bit of blood was noticed and led to the capture. There could have been arguing between law officials, and the bomber could have tried to be a suicide bomber and take people out with him. Everything that happened was orchestrated in a way that lets me know that God’s hand was in this, making things to be so much better than it could have been, and people showed only goodness and strength.”

“Seven million dollars have already been raised to help the victims and buy prosthetics and pay hospital bills. They’re still getting donations. In a hard time we all came together and became the very best people we could be. Two bad people are nothing against millions of amazing people.”

“The world prayed and many were brought back to God. They knew where to turn for help, and He listened.
This was a life changing event that will be remembered by everyone, but for us here in Boston, it is deeply rooted in our hearts and became a part of us. We know the magnitude and effect this had on each other. It’s made us bond more and want to be better people and help others. This will be a part of me forever, and I’ll never forget everything I’ve seen and heard.”

“I’ve never been in lockdown before. It was interesting. We were outside the zone so we could go out but only went to get some food. We’ve been watching local news all day and night since Monday. We’re all exhausted and can finally sleep knowing things are resolved.”

“I would like the people in your church to know they should never give up hope even in the darkest of times. With faith, amazing things can happen.”

“Boston is awesome. The people, the city, the culture, the sports teams (who have dozens of charities, more than any other city in our country), and of course the song Sweet Caroline, Go Boston! Please thank the people in your church for all their prayers. I love you Grandpa, Katie.”

Tozer says that, “Belief in the absolute certainty that God is always near us; just as He is present in all parts of His world, that He’s closer to us than even our thoughts, such a belief should keep us in a high state of moral happiness most of the time. But not always! For instance, though “always rejoicing,” Paul admitted that he was sometimes sorrowful, and for our sakes Christ experienced strong crying and tears though He never left the bosom of the Father (John 1:18).”

“It would be dishonest to promise that every believer will experience uninterrupted jubilation all the days of his or her life and it would it be unrealistic to expect it. Just as a child may still cry out in pain even while he or she is sheltered safely in its mothers loving arms, so too a Christian will experience suffering even while they have a conscious awareness of the presence of God.”

The Lord used Tozer’s reminder to bless me with therapeutic tears of joy and He also used Katie to get my mind off the horrors of the Rwandan genocide and on to the Boston Marathon, an event at which God’s Grace was shining Like a Thousand Suns.

Lord willing, next week….