What is God like? We've been talking about the attributes of God. God is creator, truth, eternal, self-existent, gracious. He is the great I am. He is wise, righteous, sovereign, holy, good, omnipotent. And today we're gonna add a new one. God is present. He is present. He is with us. Do you ever get scared? Maybe you fear for your safety. Maybe something scared you at school or on TV. Maybe you're scared that someone will hurt you or scared that you'll lose something or that you'll lose someone that you love. Maybe you're afraid that someone will leave you. When I feel that way, sometimes I do this little activity with my fingers. I hold up five fingers and I say, Jesus will never leave me. Those words are from Hebrews 13 verse five. He himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Why don't you try that? Hold up your fingers and touch each one. And then when you say, he will never leave me, touch your thumb to your chest. Jesus will never leave me. Deuteronomy 31.6 says, be strong and courageous Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He won't leave. Our God is present. He is here with us. He goes wherever we go. He watches over us no matter where we are. God is present. You can be strong and courageous because God is with you. He is protecting you. He says, do not be afraid. You don't have to fear anything, because your God is the one who made everything. He is omnipotent. He is powerful. He has the strength to take care of you. Not just sometimes, but all the time. Wherever you go, He goes with you. Where are some places that you go? Whether you go to school, to church, to a restaurant, maybe you go on a long trip in a car, or a trip in an airplane, wherever you go, he goes with you. You are never alone. When I taught fourth grade at a school called Cali in Windsor, one day I saw a kid looking sad and I said, what's wrong? He responded, I miss my friend. I asked, who is your friend? He said, my friend's name is Isaac. I said, would you like to talk to Isaac? He said, yes. So I called Isaac on my cell phone and let him talk to his friend. Isaac had left that school and started homeschooling. And this little boy really missed his buddy. You ever have someone leave you? Maybe a friend or a relative. They say goodbye. Or maybe they just don't want to spend time with you anymore. Maybe they move away and you don't even see them. People leave sometimes. But the Bible says that God will never leave you. He will never say goodbye. He'll always be around to listen to you, to love you, to teach you, and to help you. He is your loving Heavenly Father. God is present. He is always present, and He's always working for your good. Have you ever had a friend who stopped being your friend? Yikes, yeah, that hurts. Now they don't like you anymore. They're not nice to you anymore. They don't want to play with you anymore. But God will never forsake you. To forsake means to abandon or to leave. On the cross, Jesus said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Basically, why have you abandoned me? Why have you left me to die? Why would Father God do that to his son? Isaiah 53 verse 10 says, it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. Why would God crush his own son? Why would he cause Jesus to suffer and die on the cross? Isaiah 53 verse 10 also says, the Lord makes his life an offering for sin. Jesus died for sin. Isaiah 53, five through six. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Transgressions and iniquities, two words for sin. The punishment that brought us peace was on him. And by his wounds, we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our own way. And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. So why did the Father abandon Jesus? So that He would never have to abandon you. God is present. Try saying it with your fingers. Jesus will never leave me. You can always count on that. Jesus died on the cross for your sin. He took your punishment so that God would never have to leave you and that God would never have to punish you for your sin. God actually crushed Jesus for two main reasons. The first reason was for Jesus, for Jesus to be the great one. Isaiah 53 verse 12 says, therefore, I will give him a portion among the great. and he will divide the spoils with the strong because he poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressors for he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. Why did God the Father put Jesus through all this? He did it for Jesus because he wanted to give his son the opportunity to achieve greatness. Jesus is the greatest. Why? Because he poured out his life unto death. He made the ultimate sacrifice and he bore the sin of many. Not all, but many. He died for the sins of those who had put their faith in him. And Jesus has achieved greatness. He is the ultimate goat, G-O-A-T. the greatest of all time. Philippians 2, 9 through 11 tells us, because Jesus went to the cross, therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Why did God forsake Jesus? Two reasons. Number one, so that Jesus would achieve greatness. And number two, so that God could always be present with you. Psalm 46, verse one, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. When you need help, God is there. When you're in trouble, God is there. He is your refuge. He will protect you from the storms of life. He is your strength. He will give you courage so you do not have to be afraid. Take your fingers out and just say, Jesus will never leave me. Now back to Hebrews 13, five, where we see that. He himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. But let's look at the context. The context is the verses that come before and the verses that come after. If you want to be a good Bible student, you need to look at the context. It will really help you understand the verse. Hebrews 13, five through six, you can see that our key verse is right in the middle. Now first, let's look at the context that comes before our key verse. Notice that the words right before don't talk about fear or trouble. They talk about covetousness. That's weird. Covetousness is when you want things that aren't yours. You're not happy or content with what you have. You want more, but you're jealous of what other people have. So verse five begins like this. Let your conduct be without covetousness. Be content with such things as you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Don't be covetous because God is present. He will take care of you. He will give you the things that you need. Be content with what you have. Don't be covetous, but be content because God will never forsake you. There are some nice things that you don't have, and maybe you'd really like to have them, but the God who loves you and is present in your life has chosen for you not to have those things. He didn't give them to you because he loves you. He may give them to you later, but for now he knows that it's best for you not to have them. Don't be covetous because God is present and he will never let you down. Now let's look at the context after the verse. So he says, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Then verse six says, so we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me? God is present. He is your helper. So you don't have to fear. He loves you so much that he sacrificed his son on the cross for you. That is huge. You don't have to fear and you don't have to be covetous. Now, if he gave Jesus on the cross for you, if he did that, then you know he's going to take care of you. Romans 8.32, he who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? If God sacrificed Jesus for you, you know he's gonna take real good care of you. He has all the power in the universe and he absolutely loves you. So you have nothing to fear because God is present in your life. Remember, Jesus will never leave you.