GOD IS PRESENT

Mark 12: 27 "He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err."

God is Present

God is present. He is present in time and place. And when you fail to realize this, you fail to learn other important things.

Such was the case with the Sadducees in Jesus' day. They came to the Lord with a question in Mark 12:18. Their question was not square-they did not believe in the resurrection. They came up with a hypothetical question about one bride for seven brothers. In the story, the first brother marries her and croaks. So the second brother marries her and finds the same fate. And so on and so on until all seven brothers died. Their question in verse 23 was, "In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them?" Perhaps the seventh brother should have considered the following question: If six of your brothers married this woman but they all died, why in the world are you marrying her? Stop while you are ahead!

Fools can ask questions that wise men cannot answer. Even though you may not have the answer, the truth is still the truth. That is no excuse for laziness, but there are some questions you may not know the answer to. There is an answer-you may have to wait until Heaven or you may need to dig for it, but there is an answer.

The Lord Jesus answers in verse 24 by saying, "Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God?" Did these men not know the Old Testament? No, they knew what it said, but they did not know the God of the Scriptures. I have met folks like this before, that have learned much of the Scriptures for some religious exercise, but they do not know God.

The Sadducees also did not know the power of God. The two points go together: they did not know the Scriptures, nor did they know the power of God. The Lord puts great stress on what He said to Moses hundreds of years before. Verse 26 repeats those words: "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." The Lord stressed the tense: "I am." God is always present.

The crux of the truth is, God is present here and now, and you ought to live like it. God is the God of the living. His power is not diminished from Bible times. I thank God for any Christian who knew God and lived for Him. But you can see the same power of God in your life today because God is present.

D.L. Moody held great revival crusades that lasted for several weeks. I am reading his sermons from a particular eight-week crusade. How many preachers do you know today that could preach a different message each night for eight solid weeks? But Moody did not run out of Scriptures or power because God is present. But D.L. Moody is historical; that is, he was born and he died. He once said, "You'll read one day in the papers that D.L. Moody has died. Don't believe a word of it, for then I will be more alive than ever before." D.L. Moody is alive today in a real place called Heaven, and the reason is a real God Who is present.

God is present. The same God of Moses, the same God in Mark 12, and the same God of D.L. Moody is present today. If you fail to realize this, you will fail to learn other important things. Do not be content to just read about God working in the Scriptures. Ask God today to do what only He can. He is present.


Prayer Requests:

1. Revival services tonight in St. Matthews, SC and New Albany, MS
2. West Branch Men on the Move Conference in Williams, AZ today and tomorrow
3. Bill Rice Ranch Deaf Rally in Landrum, SC tomorrow
4. Evangelistic youth outreach in Starr, SC tomorrow
5. Ranch evangelists traveling to services this weekend in Franklin, TN; Kings Mills, OH; and Elizabeth City, NC

For more information about the Bill Rice Ranch visit our website: billriceranch.org