WEBVTT

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It's a little different at the FIC. The FIC is

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P -H -I -C. Yes. It's actually Anthropo, but

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it's pronounced Anthropo. It's from anthropology.

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Actually, it's the same type word. And then we

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thank you for this lesson, for me feeling led

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to do it, and for this and the upcoming lessons

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as we look at these words that are in Scripture

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that remind us of more and more things about

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you. Be with us during this time and lead us.

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We've got less than an hour to look at a pretty

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fast -paced topic, and so we pray that we'll

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get through it. In Jesus' name, amen. Okay, so

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does somebody want to give me their own personal

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definition of what anthropomorphic means? It's

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a big word. Go ahead. Yes. So when something

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is given like human characteristics, like you

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might say it sticks out like an arm. So you say

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it sticks out like an arm. That means it has

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an anthropomorphic characteristics. It has a

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shape and a look of an arm of a person. OK. And

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so it's the same way with God. So scripture uses

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some what are called anthropomorphic words for

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God that actually don't. literally make any sense,

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right? So today we're going to look at the eyes

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of God. And so while we look at the eyes of God,

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understand that God does not have an eye like

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you or I have an eye, right? So God is a spirit.

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The scripture describes him as spirit. And so

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he doesn't have an eye that receives light bouncing

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back off of things. So he doesn't have eyes per

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se. But the scripture nonetheless talks about

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God's eyes. All right. So for our purposes tonight,

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know that the Bible frequently, quite often,

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we're only going to use some examples, but quite

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often it speaks of the eyes of the Lord. He does

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not literally possess physical eyes. So when

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you read that, don't read it literally in the

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sense that he has eyes. It's using anthropomorphic

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language. Human characteristics applied to God

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to help people who, like us, understand God's

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infinite nature. Okay. And so when scripture

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says God's eyes see, it's teaching that nothing

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escapes his notice. His vision is perfect. His

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knowledge completes, right? God knows, God sees,

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and his attention is constant. Unlike human eyesight,

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God's vision never grows dim. Sometimes, like

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when I turned 40, I had to get glasses for the

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first time ever, about 40 and a half. And I was,

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and I had. better eyesight than just about anybody

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that I knew up until that point in time. And

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so I would be traveling and I'd read a sign from

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like a mile away and Sherry would get mad at

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me because she had glasses already and still

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couldn't read the sign. But then our eyesight

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does dim, but God's eyesight never dims, nor

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is he distracted, nor does he overlook the smallest

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detail. The eyes of God then communicate. At

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least four main truths, and here they go. These

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are the four little lines that you've got there,

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the four truths that the eyes of God communicate.

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So the first one is kind of a hard word, is that

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he, God's omniscience. So omniscience, which

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is spelled O -M -N -I, and then science, S -C

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-I -E -N -C -E. Like omni -science. It means

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that God knows everything. And so to say that

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God, who is infinitely large, has an eye that

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looks everywhere means that God sees and knows

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everything. So what we're being called to do

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by the scripture is to compare our eye to the

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eye of God as we might compare ourselves to God.

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And you should find yourself to be kind of infinitely

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small compared to infinitely large God. So God's

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omniscience means he sees everything. So if you

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don't want to put omniscience there, you can

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put that he sees everything on the first line.

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That's easier to spell. The next one is God's

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constant presence. So God does not stop seeing.

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God does not stop existing. God does not stop

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having access. God is God. So his constant presence.

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We go to sleep. While you're asleep, you don't

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see much. You might hear things, you might dream

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things, but you don't see much. But God never

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goes to sleep. God never stops looking, so God

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never stops seeing, so God's presence is constant.

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God's loving care. So God is concerned, remember

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the verse, God is concerned about all kinds of

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things, and we'll see some very specifics of

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that as we get down into the verses. So God's

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loving care, he's paying attention. And then

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God's righteous judgment. God can see it for

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what it is. And you're going to see before we're

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done that God can see things that we don't see

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in ways that we don't see. All right. And it

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goes way beyond what we're capable of. All right.

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So first of all, I want you to think for a second

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before we go any deeper into the first verse.

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Think about a museum. Has everybody here ever

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been to a museum? Has there ever been at some

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time you've been in a museum? Did you notice

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that there were security cameras in the museum?

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The more expensive stuff in the museum, the more

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security cameras, the maybe the more expensive

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security cameras. Anyway, so the museum is watched

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by the security cameras because the stuff is

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priceless, right? But the difference is, is one

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huge difference. Why this camera is everywhere.

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Every piece of art has a camera, every hallway,

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every corner. Like they talk about gaps in security.

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There aren't any. The more priceless the stuff

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is, the more complete the coverage is. God's

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different. The cameras only record events as

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they happen. So if somebody damages a picture,

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the cameras will record the picture. What are

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you going to do about that? File an insurance

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claim, throw them in jail, right? But God sees

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stuff before it happens. So God sees a person's

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heart, for example. Before they would ever damage

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that painting, he sees that their heart is willing

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to damage the painting. He sees that they might

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well do it. He could send some discouragement

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saying, oh, don't do that. You know, that's not

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a good idea. Or he could allow that for his purposes,

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whatever it is. So God's eyes never record history.

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God is not watching us doing stuff, right? We're

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not deists, which deists believe that God just

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watches everything and doesn't actually intervene.

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But God sees everything. perceives the motives

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of the heart before people act, thoughts before

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they become words, intentions before they become

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decisions. So by the time you make a decision

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to do something bad and you're making a willful

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decision to do something bad, God knew it was

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in your heart before then because he can see

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your heart. And then. consequences before beginning.

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So even before something starts, God already

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knows where it will go, right? Which is why God

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can say, don't do that. Because God knows if

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you do that, he said, well, I can do it. It won't

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ever be a problem. And you can do it a hundred

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times and it's never be a problem. But God knows

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you're going to do it 101 times. And the 101st

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time, it's going to be a horrible problem, right?

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And so that's why God says, don't do certain

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things. And God can see you should do certain

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things. And if you do those things, you're like,

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oh, it never seems to help. I'm nice all the

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time. I'm kind all the time. I'm patient all

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the time. It never seems to help. But God knows

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what that builds in you and the people that you're

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dealing with, and this takes you to a place that

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you want to go. So, all right. Nothing surprises

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God. Nothing escapes God. Nothing confuses God.

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This is all testified to by the fact where it

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says his eye rose through all the earth. So the

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eyes of the Lord are infinitely better than...

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like a surveillance camera or a security system

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or 50 guys with guns, right? Watch staring at

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you, keeping you safe. They are the perfect awareness

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of a holy, loving God. Okay, the first verse

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is Proverbs 15, 3. I printed it on the page there

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for you, as long as I didn't print it too small.

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There's a lot to get on the page. And I'm actually

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going to go to read it out of this particular

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paper Bible. The eyes of the Lord are everywhere

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observing the wicked and the good. So this is

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the same translation that's on your paper. OK,

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so from this verse, then we remember not actual

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eyes. So because we're thinking of them as not

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actual eyes, what do we learn about God because

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of that? OK, so the verse summarizes God's universal

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knowledge. Notice the balance. God sees evil.

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He also sees good. I was in a staff meeting at

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one point in time. There was a verse that said

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God cannot look on evil. And somebody tried to

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tell me that when people were sinning, God was

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not looking at them. Like I couldn't see it.

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And I'm like, no, that's not true at all. God

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sees everything, right? So he doesn't like sin,

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but he sees it. He sees evil and he sees good.

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The Wiccan often think that they're going to

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get away with something. So if you're doing something

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and you're repeating it. A lot of times you think,

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well, I've done this a bunch of times and I've

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not gotten caught yet. Nobody knows. I'm getting

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away with it. It doesn't really seem to hurt.

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The world even says it's okay. The righteous

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sometimes think that they're unnoticed when they

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do the right thing. It's like God's not really

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rewarding me. I'm doing what's right. I'm showing

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up. I'm serving. I'm giving. I don't really feel

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like anything positive is happening. But both

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of those things are actually wrong. God sees

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both of those things. That's what the verse says.

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He sees the good. He sees the evil. So he does

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see. Nothing escapes his observation. So now

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you're looking at the application. So you can

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break those key points down however you want

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under Proverbs 15 .3, but God sees evil, sees

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good. The wicked sometimes think they'll get

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away with something. The righteous sometimes

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think they're unnoticed. You can put any of those

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in there that kind of rings your bell, so to

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speak. Nothing escapes God's observation. Any

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of that. All right. The application then is realize

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that human beings have a human eye, which means

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they may not see your work. They may not see

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what you're doing. And but God does. Right. And

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so people may never discover your hidden sin.

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You could sin against your spouse or against

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your kids or whatever your whole life and get

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away with it. And sometimes you have sin you

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don't even realize you have. Right. And then

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you go, oh, crud, I'm doing something wrong.

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And then you want to change. Right. But God has

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already seen what you're doing and the results

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it will have. So that's the application. Don't

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think that you can do bad and have it not be

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seen. And don't think that you can do good and

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have it not be seen. All right? Okay. Then we're

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on to the next one. Verse 2. The eyes of God

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search the whole earth. 2 Chronicles 16 .9 says,

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For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro. throughout

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the earth that he may strongly support those

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whose heart is completely his, right? So we usually,

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you'll hear people quote that first part. They'll

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say, the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout

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the earth. And they even use it for support of

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what we already talked about above. Pay attention

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to what you're doing because God is watching.

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He's going to deal with you, right? They'll use

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that. But notice that second part. It says that

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he does that. The reason it's so is so that he

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may strongly support those whose heart that is

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completely his. That's crazy, right? So this

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verse tells us that God is actively seeking,

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not because he lacks information or because he

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lost something, like I was searching for my keys

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for 20 minutes today, right? But because God

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delights to do something. What? What does God

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want to do? He loves to do this thing based on

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this verse. What is it? Anybody, just say it.

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Go ahead. Right. So he wants to strengthen you

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if you are committed to him. So he wants to come

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in on your side. He might come in with resources

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like in the world. I wish God sent me some money.

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I wish I could have more time. But he is for

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sure going to send blessings, whatever that looks

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like. It may not be money or time because the

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more you want the money, probably the worse off

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it is that you get the money. So God searches

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for opportunities to demonstrate his power through

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surrendered believers. I was just telling River

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this in the hallway. So we went to visit my mom

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this week. We got down there. We arrived in Tennessee

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on Tuesday and it was. quite the journey. And

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then we went to my mom's first thing Wednesday

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morning. So my mom's been having a health concern.

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Her health concern is if she walks more than

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about 30 or 40 steps, she breathes heavy. So

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she's huffing and puffing. And she went to the

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doctor. The doctor said, there's nothing wrong

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with your lungs. There's nothing wrong with your

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heart. There's nothing wrong with your brain,

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as far as we can tell. Nothing wrong with your

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nervous system. We really cannot find a reason

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for this. So she's been huffing and puffing.

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And she told me on the phone, and I started praying

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for her for a while before we went down there.

00:12:41.190 --> 00:12:42.610
And we got there Wednesday morning. We went to

00:12:42.610 --> 00:12:45.210
the house, and we went out to eat, and we walked,

00:12:45.289 --> 00:12:48.299
and we did stuff. Took my car, my van to the

00:12:48.299 --> 00:12:50.139
shop because it broke while I was down there.

00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:52.840
And then we came back home and played cards for

00:12:52.840 --> 00:12:54.799
a while. And then we went out to dinner. We did

00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:56.840
all that. And guess what never happened? She

00:12:56.840 --> 00:12:59.200
never huffed and puffed once. So then at night,

00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:01.659
she's asked me, so why is it different when you're

00:13:01.659 --> 00:13:04.279
here? And I'm like, I can't answer that question.

00:13:04.500 --> 00:13:06.960
That's not up to me. But what I can tell you

00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:10.000
is that it's not infrequent. That God will cause

00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:13.100
something, you could say miraculous, but it might

00:13:13.100 --> 00:13:15.600
be just a stretch. Something very suspicious.

00:13:16.350 --> 00:13:19.330
in the presence of believers, right? So the Lord

00:13:19.330 --> 00:13:22.210
is with you and something changes, right? Could

00:13:22.210 --> 00:13:23.950
have been an evil spirit that was affecting her,

00:13:23.970 --> 00:13:25.590
making her huff and puff. And then he was uncomfortable

00:13:25.590 --> 00:13:27.929
being around me or being around Haley or being

00:13:27.929 --> 00:13:29.950
around Ariana, right? Because we're all Christians

00:13:29.950 --> 00:13:32.210
or the three of us. And we had prayed and we've

00:13:32.210 --> 00:13:34.190
been doing devotionals and stuff. We were, you

00:13:34.190 --> 00:13:36.590
know, walking in the Lord. And so it's hard to

00:13:36.590 --> 00:13:39.110
say what it was. Now, this verse comes from the

00:13:39.110 --> 00:13:42.350
life of Asa. The verse we just read comes from

00:13:42.350 --> 00:13:46.940
the life of Asa. Basically, he was thinking about

00:13:46.940 --> 00:13:49.279
earthly consequences, like the things that were

00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:52.559
going to happen in his life. But God really wanted

00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:55.360
him to just be dependent on God. And that's what

00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:57.159
God wants from you. So while you're thinking

00:13:57.159 --> 00:13:59.419
about your problems being alleviated and you're

00:13:59.419 --> 00:14:01.720
like, oh, God doesn't see. Well, clearly, if

00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:04.279
God sees, he's not helping me. Right. Realize

00:14:04.279 --> 00:14:06.860
that God wants the super most important thing,

00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:09.639
which is you to be dependent on him. It's more

00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:11.460
important than your income, more important than

00:14:11.460 --> 00:14:13.580
your relationships, more important than your

00:14:13.580 --> 00:14:15.639
education, anything. It's more important than

00:14:15.639 --> 00:14:17.200
anything that you can depend on him. Because

00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:19.320
if you aren't dependent on him, if Jesus comes

00:14:19.320 --> 00:14:21.600
again before you're ready and finally become

00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:22.980
dependent on him, then you're not going to go

00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:26.100
with him. And secondly, whether Jesus comes again

00:14:26.100 --> 00:14:29.059
or not, ultimately you get to heaven by being

00:14:29.059 --> 00:14:32.460
dependent on him. That's the recipe for eternal

00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:35.250
salvation. So that's what God really wants. So

00:14:35.250 --> 00:14:37.909
he's not searching for impressive people. You

00:14:37.909 --> 00:14:39.509
may know some people who are Christians who look

00:14:39.509 --> 00:14:41.789
like impressive people, and they'll let you know

00:14:41.789 --> 00:14:43.950
that they're impressive. They've got a pedigree.

00:14:43.950 --> 00:14:46.509
They've got a platform. People listen to what

00:14:46.509 --> 00:14:48.710
they say. They have a million followers on Twitter,

00:14:49.029 --> 00:14:51.909
40 books, all top 10 bestsellers, whatever, you

00:14:51.909 --> 00:14:54.070
know, that kind of thing. But God is not looking

00:14:54.070 --> 00:14:56.549
for impressive people. God is looking for people

00:14:56.549 --> 00:14:59.529
who are surrendered to him. And according to

00:14:59.529 --> 00:15:02.389
what we just read, when he finds them, he weighs

00:15:02.389 --> 00:15:05.269
in. He fights on behalf. Look at David versus

00:15:05.269 --> 00:15:08.950
Goliath. David wasn't a big guy. He said, well,

00:15:08.970 --> 00:15:11.070
he killed a lion and a bear. Yeah, he did kill

00:15:11.070 --> 00:15:12.769
a lion and a bear, and that's really something.

00:15:12.929 --> 00:15:14.769
But it's not the same thing as fighting an armored

00:15:14.769 --> 00:15:17.850
guy with a big shield and a big spear and a helmet.

00:15:18.429 --> 00:15:21.889
He needed Goliath to be full of hubris to order

00:15:21.889 --> 00:15:23.730
his shield man away and take his helmet off,

00:15:23.789 --> 00:15:27.370
and then one stone and down he went. So the point

00:15:27.370 --> 00:15:30.889
is... God will pour in resources to those people

00:15:30.889 --> 00:15:32.629
that he finds and he's actively searching for

00:15:32.629 --> 00:15:33.850
them, not because he doesn't know where they're

00:15:33.850 --> 00:15:35.490
at, but because that's what he wants. He's saying

00:15:35.490 --> 00:15:39.129
that's what he's looking for. So consider a lighthouse

00:15:39.129 --> 00:15:42.529
that continually sweeps across the ocean near

00:15:42.529 --> 00:15:45.029
the shore where there are rocks. And the lighthouse's

00:15:45.029 --> 00:15:47.570
job is to point to where the rocks are. And the

00:15:47.570 --> 00:15:49.110
ship will see the lighthouse, which is built

00:15:49.110 --> 00:15:51.490
tall, much way before it'll ever see the rocks.

00:15:52.370 --> 00:15:55.529
God's eyes are like that. He'll point out to

00:15:55.529 --> 00:15:58.600
you what's dangerous. He'll point out to you

00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:01.779
who's trustworthy, who's godly, who's faithful,

00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:05.259
and that we can stand together in his strength.

00:16:05.539 --> 00:16:08.659
All right, next one. Did we get the blanks filled

00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:14.200
in? Okay, so God searches for what? Yeah, but

00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:17.279
he's looking for specifically those hearts that

00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:19.539
are dedicated to him, right? Hearts that depend

00:16:19.539 --> 00:16:21.980
upon him. And so the application of that would

00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:23.960
be what? What would you do? If God is searching

00:16:23.960 --> 00:16:26.320
for people who have hearts that depend on him,

00:16:27.029 --> 00:16:29.610
Depend on God. That's right. Day in, day out,

00:16:29.610 --> 00:16:33.649
right? And let's be realistic. In a lot of things,

00:16:33.690 --> 00:16:35.230
we don't feel like we have to depend on Him.

00:16:35.389 --> 00:16:38.129
I got in a habit, it was probably almost 10 years

00:16:38.129 --> 00:16:40.590
ago now, of praying in the morning on Sundays,

00:16:40.649 --> 00:16:42.309
not every day of the week, but on Sundays specifically,

00:16:42.429 --> 00:16:44.769
I pray, asking God what I should wear to church.

00:16:45.370 --> 00:16:47.190
So when I come up here on Sunday morning, I'm

00:16:47.190 --> 00:16:50.549
wearing the suit or the tie or none or whatever.

00:16:50.870 --> 00:16:53.289
I've had God to tell me to wear shorts on a Sunday.

00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:56.080
That hasn't happened even on the hot days. But

00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:59.139
the point is, so I depend on him to dress me

00:16:59.139 --> 00:17:00.539
on Sunday morning. I don't know why I don't do

00:17:00.539 --> 00:17:02.360
it on the other six days, because I guess they're

00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:04.740
not as important or whatever to me. You get the

00:17:04.740 --> 00:17:08.240
idea. Okay, Psalm 34, 15. The eyes of the Lord

00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:12.019
are toward the righteous, and his ears are open

00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:15.140
to their cry. Remember, not literal eyes. So

00:17:15.140 --> 00:17:18.920
when my eyes are toward Tony. I see Tony. When

00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:21.240
my eyes are toward this side of the room, I do

00:17:21.240 --> 00:17:23.480
not see Tony. That doesn't mean that God cannot

00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:26.079
see the rest. We already know from the verse

00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:28.039
that we already looked at, he sees good and evil,

00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:29.900
right? He searches the whole earth for whom,

00:17:29.900 --> 00:17:32.940
whose hearts depended on him and so on. All right.

00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:34.779
So we know that he can still see everything.

00:17:34.859 --> 00:17:38.500
So what is the point? Well, notice that the verse

00:17:38.500 --> 00:17:42.259
joins together two anthropomorphisms. Do you

00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:45.240
see them? We know what they are, what an anthropomorphism

00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:47.640
is now, right? So we got eyes and what else?

00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:51.400
Ears, right? So it joins those two. It ties together

00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:53.920
God's eyes and his ears. That's what the verse

00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:57.099
does. So God's attention is personal. He cares

00:17:57.099 --> 00:18:00.220
about your situation. He watches over his children

00:18:00.220 --> 00:18:03.299
with love. This does not mean believers avoid

00:18:03.299 --> 00:18:05.779
suffering. You know that already, I'm sure, because

00:18:05.779 --> 00:18:08.960
we have suffering, right? So you might believe

00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:11.319
in God with all your heart and yet face suffering.

00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:16.140
Rather, it means their suffering never goes unnoticed.

00:18:16.180 --> 00:18:18.519
Do you understand that? So when God sees you

00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:21.440
going through difficulty, he cares about that

00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:24.000
difficulty. If you're still going through that

00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:27.180
difficulty, then there's a reason for it. God's

00:18:27.180 --> 00:18:29.500
doing something. Now, it could be because you're

00:18:29.500 --> 00:18:31.220
being chastised or disciplined if you're not

00:18:31.220 --> 00:18:33.119
faithfully following the Lord, right? That's

00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:35.500
possible. It says he chastises those whom he

00:18:35.500 --> 00:18:37.720
loves, so that's possible. But assuming that

00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:39.119
you're faithfully following him and still facing

00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:41.579
suffering, then there is a purpose for the suffering,

00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:44.720
right? There is something that God is accomplishing.

00:18:45.019 --> 00:18:48.480
So the application then, do we get the, we don't

00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.180
have a lot of notes under it, so just the application

00:18:51.180 --> 00:18:53.819
is then, what would you say is the application

00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:57.500
point then for that? If God sees and cares and

00:18:57.500 --> 00:19:00.619
listens when a believer is struggling, and he'll

00:19:00.619 --> 00:19:02.579
hear you if you cry, then what should you do?

00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:06.259
Cry out to him, right? And that's, if you get,

00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:09.019
To get my meaning, I think that's probably the

00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:11.299
biggest problem with Christians when you face

00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:14.180
difficulty. So we don't want to cry out. We might

00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:16.180
say we trust in God. Like we'll say, well, I

00:19:16.180 --> 00:19:17.640
trust God's going to take care of it, right?

00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:20.039
For example, you might get a really bad patch

00:19:20.039 --> 00:19:22.240
and then people will say, are you okay? Oh, yeah,

00:19:22.259 --> 00:19:24.789
I'm fine. I mean, you're going through some really

00:19:24.789 --> 00:19:26.089
difficult stuff. Are you sure you're OK? Oh,

00:19:26.109 --> 00:19:28.069
I'm fine. God's got this. He's got it under control,

00:19:28.190 --> 00:19:30.170
whatever. And we keep telling ourselves God's

00:19:30.170 --> 00:19:31.809
got this. He's got it under control. We quote

00:19:31.809 --> 00:19:35.769
Romans 8, 28, where it says all things work together

00:19:35.769 --> 00:19:37.329
for the good of the one who loves the Lord is

00:19:37.329 --> 00:19:39.150
called according to his purpose. And that's fine.

00:19:39.369 --> 00:19:42.309
But because we do that, then we don't do crying

00:19:42.309 --> 00:19:44.470
out to God. And you should be crying out to God.

00:19:44.609 --> 00:19:47.950
In fact, if God has asked you to cry out to him

00:19:47.950 --> 00:19:50.819
and then the word says. He works all things out

00:19:50.819 --> 00:19:52.559
for the good for those who love him and are called

00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.619
according to his purpose. And you don't cry out

00:19:54.619 --> 00:19:56.859
to him or you're not dependent on him, then can

00:19:56.859 --> 00:19:59.440
you really call yourself loving the Lord and

00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:02.200
called according to his purpose? Or are you missing

00:20:02.200 --> 00:20:04.000
something, right? So you're not really depending

00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:06.019
on God because you're not crying out to God.

00:20:06.140 --> 00:20:09.519
So I submit to you, when people curse because

00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:11.420
they stubbed their toe or they dropped and broke

00:20:11.420 --> 00:20:14.299
something, whatever like that, instead, you should

00:20:14.299 --> 00:20:17.180
cry out to God, right? And say, Lord, I need

00:20:17.180 --> 00:20:20.339
help. It should be like a go -to thing. The first

00:20:20.339 --> 00:20:22.000
thing that should happen. Lord, I need help.

00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:26.539
I dropped it. My car is broke. My car won't start.

00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:28.480
Lord, I need help. That should be the first thing.

00:20:28.680 --> 00:20:31.079
Because if your heart is for God, he'll see and

00:20:31.079 --> 00:20:34.140
he'll hear and he'll act. And I submit to you

00:20:34.140 --> 00:20:36.119
that sometimes when people do that, they never

00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:37.539
really get to figure out what the real problem

00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:39.519
is. Because God's taking care of it before they

00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:41.680
ever get there. They go, oh, God, I need help

00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:43.480
right now. And then the problem that they thought

00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:45.430
was going to be so bad. It goes away before they

00:20:45.430 --> 00:20:49.250
ever see it fully fulfilled. So get used to it,

00:20:49.309 --> 00:20:51.269
crying out to the Lord, because the Lord is looking

00:20:51.269 --> 00:20:53.450
for who is faithful to him and wants to pour

00:20:53.450 --> 00:20:55.609
in strength. That was the previous verse. And

00:20:55.609 --> 00:20:58.529
now we realize, he says, our cries will never

00:20:58.529 --> 00:21:01.430
go unnoticed. And so the application, of course,

00:21:01.490 --> 00:21:06.950
then was cry out to God. So if we look into 3415,

00:21:07.130 --> 00:21:08.990
you just had the application. Did you fill in

00:21:08.990 --> 00:21:12.019
the blanks, though? The eyes of the Lord, so

00:21:12.019 --> 00:21:14.460
its eyes are toward the righteous and his ears

00:21:14.460 --> 00:21:17.240
are open to their mercy is the blanks. And then

00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:21.299
four, God's eyes test humanity. The Lord is in

00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:24.420
his holy temple, Psalm 11 .4 says. The Lord's

00:21:24.420 --> 00:21:28.049
throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his eyelids

00:21:28.049 --> 00:21:31.269
test the sons of men. So again, God doesn't have

00:21:31.269 --> 00:21:33.789
eyes and God doesn't have eyelids per se. And

00:21:33.789 --> 00:21:36.230
even the throne of God is not exactly like what

00:21:36.230 --> 00:21:38.670
we would think of a throne or a temple. It's

00:21:38.670 --> 00:21:40.549
not like what we would think of as a temple necessarily

00:21:40.549 --> 00:21:43.630
on earth. So this is explaining to us that God's

00:21:43.630 --> 00:21:46.769
observation is not passive. God's not just witnessing

00:21:46.769 --> 00:21:50.589
or seeing, right? He is actively observing. Think

00:21:50.589 --> 00:21:52.730
about Sherlock Holmes, right? So Sherlock Holmes

00:21:52.730 --> 00:21:56.220
and what? Watson are standing there and the guy

00:21:56.220 --> 00:21:58.759
comes in. And next thing you know, Sherlock Holmes

00:21:58.759 --> 00:22:01.539
is like got 17 things he can tell you about this

00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:02.920
guy. He knows where he worked. He knows where

00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:04.980
it just came from. He just got off a boat. What

00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:07.099
country was in before that? and everything else.

00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:09.259
And Watson's baffled. He's like, what are you

00:22:09.259 --> 00:22:11.859
doing? Well, that's called active observation,

00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:15.380
right? So he's basing his conclusions on the

00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:17.920
facts and he's searching out the facts and he's

00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:20.319
connecting the facts one to another. And that's

00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:23.599
how God is. God examines, he evaluates, and he

00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:27.680
weighs character, right? So he examines, he evaluates,

00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:31.799
and he weighs character. His eyelids symbolize

00:22:31.799 --> 00:22:34.859
careful scrutiny, much like if you were narrowing

00:22:34.859 --> 00:22:37.079
your eyes to inspect something closely. So if

00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:39.420
I take my glasses off and I want to read this

00:22:39.420 --> 00:22:41.539
page, it's going to take me a second, but I can

00:22:41.539 --> 00:22:44.299
wiggle my eyes around and I can, if I focus just

00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:46.039
right and I get just throughout the right, now

00:22:46.039 --> 00:22:48.619
I can see it and notice that my eyelids changed

00:22:48.619 --> 00:22:50.759
position to make that happen. And that's what

00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:54.019
it's talking about. God has an... effort that

00:22:54.019 --> 00:22:56.339
he's putting in, a completely unnecessary effort.

00:22:56.500 --> 00:22:58.799
And if it is a completely unnecessary effort

00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:00.359
because they're not human eyes and they don't

00:23:00.359 --> 00:23:02.940
technically have eyelids, then we learn from

00:23:02.940 --> 00:23:05.480
that effort that he's putting in. So bottom line

00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:09.559
is nothing about our character internally, past,

00:23:10.099 --> 00:23:12.740
you know, backstory, what's going to happen next

00:23:12.740 --> 00:23:15.640
week, nothing about our character escapes God's

00:23:15.640 --> 00:23:17.880
intentional examination. And then that brings

00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:20.839
us to the application. God measures more than

00:23:20.839 --> 00:23:23.240
behavior. So in other words, if you're saying

00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:26.579
I'm doing this right and you're expecting God

00:23:26.579 --> 00:23:29.000
to reward it, then your motives are probably

00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:32.039
wrong. Right. But if you're saying I'm becoming

00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:34.779
this kind of a person. And so when this opportunity

00:23:34.779 --> 00:23:36.500
comes up, of course, I know what I'm going to

00:23:36.500 --> 00:23:39.180
do. So let's take lying for an example. I've

00:23:39.180 --> 00:23:41.359
been working really hard not to lie. Guess what?

00:23:41.420 --> 00:23:43.799
You could stop lying and never lie again for

00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:45.339
the rest of your life. And it's not going to

00:23:45.339 --> 00:23:48.079
bring any glory to God whatsoever. So what? But

00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:50.680
what if I stop lying for God? So I stop lying

00:23:50.680 --> 00:23:53.079
for God. That doesn't bring God any glory whatsoever.

00:23:53.500 --> 00:23:56.579
So when I stop lying for God and I tell everybody

00:23:56.579 --> 00:23:58.819
about it, I tell I give him all the credit. I

00:23:58.819 --> 00:24:01.259
tell everybody that God did it. He's the one

00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:03.160
who helped me stop lying. Doesn't work because

00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:06.400
God is not interested in measuring people specifically

00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:08.680
by their actions. If he was, you would be going

00:24:08.680 --> 00:24:11.299
to hell. And so would I. Right. So what God wants

00:24:11.299 --> 00:24:14.750
to do is he wants to deliver grace. To people

00:24:14.750 --> 00:24:18.410
who have failings, they are aware of their failings,

00:24:18.410 --> 00:24:21.609
right? And they're submitting those failings

00:24:21.609 --> 00:24:24.369
to the Lord so that God can change them. Now,

00:24:24.410 --> 00:24:27.769
if I have become the kind of person that does

00:24:27.769 --> 00:24:30.130
not lie, my character has been changed to be

00:24:30.130 --> 00:24:33.470
a person that does not lie, and God sees I do

00:24:33.470 --> 00:24:36.529
that by depending on him, right? I submit to

00:24:36.529 --> 00:24:38.069
you it's possible that we can't change our character

00:24:38.069 --> 00:24:40.440
any other way, right? People... People stop doing

00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:42.400
things for decades, but I don't think it actually

00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:44.519
changes their character. I think it's about your

00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:46.220
heart being changed, it's about your mind being

00:24:46.220 --> 00:24:48.559
changed, and you can brainwash yourself to not

00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:50.519
do something or to do something, but I really

00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:52.740
don't think it changes your character. Which

00:24:52.740 --> 00:24:55.240
is why people who have really strong self -discipline

00:24:55.240 --> 00:24:57.519
in their character can do that more easily, whereas

00:24:57.519 --> 00:24:59.559
somebody who has a compulsive personality, they

00:24:59.559 --> 00:25:02.039
don't do it. They become compulsive about changing

00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:04.009
their character and it still doesn't work. Because

00:25:04.009 --> 00:25:05.869
they have a compulsive character, right? Bottom

00:25:05.869 --> 00:25:08.369
line is, God is looking for more than behavior.

00:25:08.509 --> 00:25:11.009
He wants your character to change. He wants your

00:25:11.009 --> 00:25:14.990
motives to change, okay? So God measures more

00:25:14.990 --> 00:25:19.069
than behavior. He measures motives. Okay, checking

00:25:19.069 --> 00:25:21.890
to see what blanks we have there. All right,

00:25:21.910 --> 00:25:25.930
so key points there were things like God is actively

00:25:25.930 --> 00:25:29.589
searching, right? Looking intently, though he

00:25:29.589 --> 00:25:32.970
might not need to. He evaluates. He weighs character.

00:25:35.329 --> 00:25:38.390
Nothing about our character escapes God's examination.

00:25:39.250 --> 00:25:42.470
And then under application, God measures more

00:25:42.470 --> 00:25:45.750
than behavior. He measures motors. And we're

00:25:45.750 --> 00:25:48.230
on number five. We're doing good. Hebrews 4 .13.

00:25:48.490 --> 00:25:51.269
And there is no creature hidden from his sight,

00:25:51.349 --> 00:25:55.170
but all things are open and laid bare to the

00:25:55.170 --> 00:26:00.559
eyes of him with whom we have to do. So every

00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:04.180
human all the time is wearing masks. Take a basic

00:26:04.180 --> 00:26:06.380
sociology class in the freshman year, and they

00:26:06.380 --> 00:26:09.299
call it playing roles. So I run role -playing

00:26:09.299 --> 00:26:11.319
games as part of the Christian Games Ministry

00:26:11.319 --> 00:26:15.609
here, and just for fun. The fact is that people

00:26:15.609 --> 00:26:18.150
who play role playing games are sociologically

00:26:18.150 --> 00:26:21.650
more healthy than people who don't. Now, there

00:26:21.650 --> 00:26:24.250
are other ways to get there. Right. But the bottom

00:26:24.250 --> 00:26:26.130
line is sometimes in the day, like today, for

00:26:26.130 --> 00:26:28.470
five hours, I was in my office in the office

00:26:28.470 --> 00:26:31.710
in here. And for five hours, I was the director

00:26:31.710 --> 00:26:34.410
of the life station and the pastor of New Heights

00:26:34.410 --> 00:26:36.410
switching back and forth over and over again.

00:26:36.430 --> 00:26:38.369
I was working on this lesson and I was working

00:26:38.369 --> 00:26:40.230
on an email list for an email that was going

00:26:40.230 --> 00:26:42.400
out. For the life's sake, back and forth and

00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:44.440
back and forth. And then I would get stuck working

00:26:44.440 --> 00:26:46.140
on the email list for a while and forget that

00:26:46.140 --> 00:26:47.599
I was supposed to be working on the lesson. Or

00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:49.079
I'd get stuck working on a lesson for a while

00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:50.140
and forget that I was supposed to work on the

00:26:50.140 --> 00:26:53.039
email. So you're a dad or you're a brother or

00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:55.339
you're a son or you're a boyfriend or you're

00:26:55.339 --> 00:26:57.619
a girlfriend or you're a student. Right. And

00:26:57.619 --> 00:26:59.700
so people like they go to school and while they're

00:26:59.700 --> 00:27:01.059
at school, they forget that they're supposed

00:27:01.059 --> 00:27:02.839
to be a good boyfriend or girlfriend. Or they

00:27:02.839 --> 00:27:04.680
forget that they're supposed to be a good son

00:27:04.680 --> 00:27:08.180
to their mom or dad. And so we are constantly

00:27:08.180 --> 00:27:12.420
switching roles all the time. And so then we

00:27:12.420 --> 00:27:15.079
think we're one thing, but in reality, it's our

00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:17.740
character that's inside us that is the question.

00:27:18.220 --> 00:27:21.599
So somebody in this room might be the best brother,

00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:24.359
for example, that anybody on the earth can be.

00:27:24.460 --> 00:27:27.180
Like, I am just a brother I love and I care and

00:27:27.180 --> 00:27:29.539
I go after. I'm looking for ways and I'm trying

00:27:29.539 --> 00:27:31.299
to be a good brother. While somebody else in

00:27:31.299 --> 00:27:33.059
the room might be like, well, I'm a good brother,

00:27:33.099 --> 00:27:35.180
but... My good brother is not as good as his

00:27:35.180 --> 00:27:37.059
good brother. He really is something, right?

00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:39.519
But then that second person might be good at

00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:42.220
something completely different. And so your character

00:27:42.220 --> 00:27:46.039
and your masks are what the world is going to

00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:48.980
see. Primarily the masks, but not God, right?

00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:52.380
God's eyes see spirit. So every excuse disappears.

00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:56.599
Every secret is exposed. Every motive is made

00:27:56.599 --> 00:28:01.019
visible, okay? And so... The language here is

00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:04.200
talking about like an animal prepared for sacrifice,

00:28:04.519 --> 00:28:07.839
laid out before the priests, splayed open, guts

00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:10.779
removed. That's the kind of language that's here.

00:28:10.900 --> 00:28:14.900
When God looks at us, he sees you. There's nothing

00:28:14.900 --> 00:28:17.940
that you can do. There's no hiding it, no pretending,

00:28:18.359 --> 00:28:22.019
no using the right words. No false religion will

00:28:22.019 --> 00:28:25.700
get the job done. We are completely exposed before

00:28:25.700 --> 00:28:28.599
God. The same God then who sees your failures

00:28:28.599 --> 00:28:31.940
also sees Christ's righteousness covering believers.

00:28:32.339 --> 00:28:34.819
So if you're going to let Jesus Christ's righteousness

00:28:34.819 --> 00:28:37.019
stand for you, then one of the things you're

00:28:37.019 --> 00:28:40.000
going to have to do is own your mistakes. So

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.670
John writes, he who confesses, right? confesses

00:28:44.670 --> 00:28:47.450
his sin god is faithful and just and righteous

00:28:47.450 --> 00:28:49.630
to forgive him of his sins and cleanse him of

00:28:49.630 --> 00:28:51.750
all unrighteousness but the one who hides like

00:28:51.750 --> 00:28:54.069
lies and says oh i'm not i didn't sin i didn't

00:28:54.069 --> 00:28:57.630
do it i only did i just reacted or that never

00:28:57.630 --> 00:28:59.750
happened or whatever like that i don't have any

00:28:59.750 --> 00:29:01.890
sin now i've been a christian for so long it's

00:29:01.890 --> 00:29:04.170
all gone i don't do anything wrong anymore That

00:29:04.170 --> 00:29:06.769
person does not get that promise from the Lord

00:29:06.769 --> 00:29:09.269
because God does see. You're laid out. So the

00:29:09.269 --> 00:29:12.109
same God who sees your failures also sees Christ's

00:29:12.109 --> 00:29:14.309
righteousness covering believers. That's an application

00:29:14.309 --> 00:29:18.470
point. And that makes the gospel wonderful news.

00:29:18.730 --> 00:29:20.410
When you're talking with somebody and sharing

00:29:20.410 --> 00:29:22.789
the gospel with somebody and they act like they're

00:29:22.789 --> 00:29:25.210
all that and they never did anything wrong. I

00:29:25.210 --> 00:29:27.670
don't have any sin. You ever steal anything?

00:29:27.869 --> 00:29:29.690
Well, no, I never stole anything. Not even time,

00:29:29.809 --> 00:29:32.690
like you were punched in at work. No, no, I worked

00:29:32.690 --> 00:29:34.230
the whole time from beginning to end. What about

00:29:34.230 --> 00:29:35.769
candy when you were a kid? No, I never stole

00:29:35.769 --> 00:29:38.009
candy. Did you ever lie? No, I've never told

00:29:38.009 --> 00:29:40.049
a lie. I've never lied in my whole life. You

00:29:40.049 --> 00:29:41.890
never like a lie of omission, like you knew the

00:29:41.890 --> 00:29:44.170
truth and somebody asked you and you just didn't

00:29:44.170 --> 00:29:46.289
say anything? No, I never have. And you go down

00:29:46.289 --> 00:29:49.250
the list and they have never sinned whatsoever.

00:29:49.509 --> 00:29:52.329
Guess what? They are not ready to be saved. And

00:29:52.329 --> 00:29:54.230
that's just the reality. And we see that a lot

00:29:54.230 --> 00:29:55.990
with little kids. Because you ask them about

00:29:55.990 --> 00:29:57.529
sin and they're like, no, no, I've never done

00:29:57.529 --> 00:29:59.509
that. I've never sinned. Right. And if a kid

00:29:59.509 --> 00:30:01.309
can say he's never sinned, then he can't have

00:30:01.309 --> 00:30:03.609
the righteousness of God bestowed upon him because

00:30:03.609 --> 00:30:05.630
he doesn't need it and he doesn't want it. Right.

00:30:06.069 --> 00:30:08.250
So the gospel becomes wonderful news because

00:30:08.250 --> 00:30:11.170
we are laid open before God and all our messy

00:30:11.170 --> 00:30:14.549
nastiness is exposed and God sees it all. And

00:30:14.549 --> 00:30:16.670
so then we depend on Jesus Christ through the

00:30:16.670 --> 00:30:19.210
gospel of Jesus Christ to be saved. And the same

00:30:19.210 --> 00:30:22.230
for anybody else. OK, so we got those filled

00:30:22.230 --> 00:30:29.339
in there. So the blanks then. were key points.

00:30:30.579 --> 00:30:34.299
Every human wears masks. Every excuse disappears

00:30:34.299 --> 00:30:37.779
in God's sight. Every secret is exposed. Every

00:30:37.779 --> 00:30:43.019
motive is visible. Humanity stands exposed. And

00:30:43.019 --> 00:30:47.099
the application is God's bestowed righteousness

00:30:47.099 --> 00:30:49.559
or the righteousness of Jesus Christ on us covers

00:30:49.559 --> 00:30:53.039
us. And also the gospel is wonderful news if

00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:54.880
you want to put that in there as well. OK, on

00:30:54.880 --> 00:30:57.259
to number six, Matthew six, four. So this is

00:30:57.259 --> 00:30:59.339
just a little piece of it. It comes from the

00:30:59.339 --> 00:31:03.259
Sermon on the Mount. But it says your father

00:31:03.259 --> 00:31:06.200
who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

00:31:06.259 --> 00:31:09.059
So, yeah, there's a picture of him seeing and

00:31:09.059 --> 00:31:12.000
which implies he's looking with his eyes. Right.

00:31:12.099 --> 00:31:17.740
And Jesus repeatedly tells the believers that

00:31:17.740 --> 00:31:21.319
God's attention is directed toward hidden faithfulness.

00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:25.349
So like. Most of us are pretty good at public

00:31:25.349 --> 00:31:27.450
faithfulness. Some of us kind of maybe struggle

00:31:27.450 --> 00:31:29.210
a little bit now and then when we get busy, things

00:31:29.210 --> 00:31:31.170
like that. But most of us are pretty good at

00:31:31.170 --> 00:31:33.410
public faith. When we know that people will see

00:31:33.410 --> 00:31:35.049
whether or not we're being faithful, we tend

00:31:35.049 --> 00:31:37.849
to try to want to show up, right? But Jesus is

00:31:37.849 --> 00:31:40.250
constantly talking about hidden faithfulness.

00:31:40.650 --> 00:31:43.309
And so he talks about private prayer. That's

00:31:43.309 --> 00:31:45.430
the first one, private prayer. He says, go into

00:31:45.430 --> 00:31:47.269
the room in the inner parts of your house where

00:31:47.269 --> 00:31:49.509
no one sees but your father and your father who

00:31:49.509 --> 00:31:52.410
sees in secret will reward you publicly. He talks

00:31:52.410 --> 00:31:54.950
about private generosity. Don't let your left

00:31:54.950 --> 00:31:56.630
hand know what the right hand is doing, whatever.

00:31:56.809 --> 00:31:59.009
Don't shout it to the hills, basically, that

00:31:59.009 --> 00:32:01.970
you gave. He talks about private fasting. So

00:32:01.970 --> 00:32:04.710
when you fast, don't make yourself look all miserable

00:32:04.710 --> 00:32:07.519
and talk, oh, my, because I give up. food today

00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:10.539
or whatever but rather try to look normal and

00:32:10.539 --> 00:32:13.660
do as much work as normal you know shower bathe

00:32:13.660 --> 00:32:15.700
wash whatever you got to do to try to be normal

00:32:15.700 --> 00:32:17.819
so that people aren't walking around going oh

00:32:17.819 --> 00:32:20.319
poor dan he's a christian he's really suffering

00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:22.960
for being for christ right because god wants

00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:25.980
to reward your private prayer generosity fasting

00:32:25.980 --> 00:32:29.440
and then secret obedience And that's what it's

00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:31.880
all about. Private prayer is about secret obedience.

00:32:32.140 --> 00:32:34.839
Private generosity, secret obedience. Private

00:32:34.839 --> 00:32:36.980
fasting, secret obedience. And it goes beyond

00:32:36.980 --> 00:32:39.640
that. Now, we are to avoid the appearance of

00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:42.440
sin. That's another topic, right? But the bottom

00:32:42.440 --> 00:32:44.279
line is when you're doing what's right, it's

00:32:44.279 --> 00:32:46.559
about whether you're doing it for God. If you're

00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:48.640
doing it for God, nobody else really needs to

00:32:48.640 --> 00:32:52.759
know, right? Okay. The world then will reward

00:32:52.759 --> 00:32:55.319
your performance. The church will think highly

00:32:55.319 --> 00:32:57.259
of you if you're constantly showing up, serving,

00:32:57.380 --> 00:33:00.220
doing stuff. Your boss will put you in for a

00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:01.920
bigger raise if you're the hardest worker on

00:33:01.920 --> 00:33:04.819
the clock, right? So the application then is

00:33:04.819 --> 00:33:07.420
that much of your greatest ministry, in other

00:33:07.420 --> 00:33:09.220
words, much of the greatest service that you

00:33:09.220 --> 00:33:12.339
do for God on this earth will never receive applause

00:33:12.339 --> 00:33:15.359
on the earth. Literally, probably no one is ever

00:33:15.359 --> 00:33:17.359
going to say thank you. In fact, I submit to

00:33:17.359 --> 00:33:21.119
you that if they saw it and they say thank you,

00:33:21.299 --> 00:33:23.079
then it is probably not your greatest service.

00:33:23.710 --> 00:33:25.890
The greatest service would be what you do when

00:33:25.890 --> 00:33:28.809
no one's looking, in the prayer closets, behind

00:33:28.809 --> 00:33:31.369
closed doors. When the money comes from your

00:33:31.369 --> 00:33:32.990
bank account and goes where it's supposed to

00:33:32.990 --> 00:33:36.089
go and you don't bother asking anybody, you're

00:33:36.089 --> 00:33:39.250
not announcing it, right? Those are the great

00:33:39.250 --> 00:33:42.329
acts of service that God... And I think the reason...

00:33:42.640 --> 00:33:44.640
Me personally, my theory is, I think the reason

00:33:44.640 --> 00:33:46.799
that's true is because those things arise out

00:33:46.799 --> 00:33:49.200
of character while all the rest of it arises

00:33:49.200 --> 00:33:51.799
out of that kind of push and pull of desires

00:33:51.799 --> 00:33:54.880
and I want applause, so I'm going to try really

00:33:54.880 --> 00:33:56.339
hard to get the applause. I don't want anybody

00:33:56.339 --> 00:33:57.740
to say anything negative, so I'm going to do

00:33:57.740 --> 00:33:59.099
whatever will keep them from saying something

00:33:59.099 --> 00:34:02.220
negative and like that. So I think the greatest

00:34:02.220 --> 00:34:05.460
ministry ever done on earth probably won't be

00:34:05.460 --> 00:34:08.500
any applause or any thank you, and this is key,

00:34:08.659 --> 00:34:12.510
it is already noticed in heaven. is already noticed

00:34:12.510 --> 00:34:15.710
in heaven so my time if i if i should do so i'm

00:34:15.710 --> 00:34:17.250
not saying i do but if i should do so i spend

00:34:17.250 --> 00:34:20.090
time in my prayer closet god is already rewarding

00:34:20.090 --> 00:34:22.250
that and that's sort of what it means when you

00:34:22.250 --> 00:34:24.349
store prejudice yourself in heaven not on earth

00:34:24.349 --> 00:34:26.449
right so god is already rewarding that because

00:34:26.449 --> 00:34:28.610
he sees my secret faithfulness you have a comment

00:34:28.610 --> 00:34:32.269
yes it's the greatest recognition also is in

00:34:32.269 --> 00:34:35.489
heaven like if someone recognizes you at the

00:34:35.489 --> 00:34:38.519
same level It's like, oh, thanks. You know, someone

00:34:38.519 --> 00:34:41.079
recognizes you, that's a greater status. It's

00:34:41.079 --> 00:34:45.480
like, oh, wow. You know, but in heaven, when

00:34:45.480 --> 00:34:47.360
recognized by God, you're being recognized by

00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:50.380
the one, you know, that is the creator. Yes.

00:34:51.260 --> 00:34:53.820
From like any other person that's recognized

00:34:53.820 --> 00:34:56.139
you because everybody falls short of the glory

00:34:56.139 --> 00:34:59.340
of God. Absolutely. That's that great recognition.

00:34:59.679 --> 00:35:02.420
Yes, absolutely. And so who do you, like if you

00:35:02.420 --> 00:35:05.780
went to the park and you pick up litter? and

00:35:05.780 --> 00:35:08.079
one of your friends is there like that's cool

00:35:08.079 --> 00:35:10.260
you pick up some litter right or another time

00:35:10.260 --> 00:35:12.460
you went to the park when your friends your friends

00:35:12.460 --> 00:35:14.659
isn't there but your dad is there and dad's like

00:35:14.659 --> 00:35:18.300
wow son daughter i raised you right i am so proud

00:35:18.300 --> 00:35:20.659
of you you just did that no nobody nobody had

00:35:20.659 --> 00:35:22.780
to ask you to do that you just did it see the

00:35:22.780 --> 00:35:25.440
praise difference between a parent and a friend

00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:28.469
you know or a stranger even. Sometimes praise

00:35:28.469 --> 00:35:30.010
from a stranger is more important than praise

00:35:30.010 --> 00:35:31.929
from people because they might just be faking

00:35:31.929 --> 00:35:35.610
it, right? But we are laid open bare before God.

00:35:35.750 --> 00:35:38.349
He sees all our dirty nastiness, and then if

00:35:38.349 --> 00:35:41.690
he praises us, that's good, right? Okay, last

00:35:41.690 --> 00:35:45.010
one. God's eyes watch over his people. 1 Peter

00:35:45.010 --> 00:35:48.469
3 .12 says, For the eyes of the Lord are toward

00:35:48.469 --> 00:35:51.929
the righteous, and his ears attend to their prayer.

00:35:52.300 --> 00:35:55.099
But the face of the Lord is against those who

00:35:55.099 --> 00:35:58.539
do evil. So in case you thought anthropomorphic

00:35:58.539 --> 00:36:02.119
godism, like thinking of God was only Old Testament,

00:36:02.219 --> 00:36:05.420
this is actually Peter quoting Psalm 32. So he

00:36:05.420 --> 00:36:07.119
brought it into the New Testament. Jesus did

00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:11.199
that quite a bit as well. He said, we're going

00:36:11.199 --> 00:36:13.619
to get there later, but in the hand of my father

00:36:13.619 --> 00:36:17.340
and things like that. The New Testament confirms

00:36:17.340 --> 00:36:21.400
this truth. God is actively watching over you.

00:36:21.480 --> 00:36:24.139
He is an active participant in your life as a

00:36:24.139 --> 00:36:27.480
believer. His attention is constant. His protection

00:36:27.480 --> 00:36:30.500
is real. His justice remains certain. I'll do

00:36:30.500 --> 00:36:32.159
that again because those are the his's that are

00:36:32.159 --> 00:36:34.619
on your paper. So his attention is constant.

00:36:34.840 --> 00:36:36.980
He doesn't go to sleep. He doesn't quit working.

00:36:37.039 --> 00:36:39.199
He doesn't quit examining. You're not... sometimes

00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:41.159
laid out before him and other times not laid

00:36:41.159 --> 00:36:43.800
out before him. He doesn't stop looking at your

00:36:43.800 --> 00:36:45.420
character. He doesn't stop looking at the good

00:36:45.420 --> 00:36:48.360
and the evil of the world. It doesn't change.

00:36:48.760 --> 00:36:52.179
His attention is continual. His protection is

00:36:52.179 --> 00:36:55.980
real. God really does pour in resources on the

00:36:55.980 --> 00:36:58.539
side of the believer so that they can end their

00:36:58.539 --> 00:37:02.179
journey well and arrive in heaven intact. And

00:37:02.179 --> 00:37:05.119
then his justice remains certain. You might question

00:37:05.119 --> 00:37:07.000
it some days because some things don't seem right.

00:37:07.340 --> 00:37:10.480
But God's justice remains certain. The eyes of

00:37:10.480 --> 00:37:12.500
the Lord toward the righteous and his ears attend

00:37:12.500 --> 00:37:14.679
to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is

00:37:14.679 --> 00:37:17.099
against those who do evil. It's also an interesting

00:37:17.099 --> 00:37:18.860
verse based on what we just studied on Sunday.

00:37:18.960 --> 00:37:22.880
We're talking about how the mercy for some is

00:37:22.880 --> 00:37:26.320
the judgment for everyone else. And so God is

00:37:26.320 --> 00:37:28.699
giving mercy to believers who trust and depend

00:37:28.699 --> 00:37:31.440
on him and come to him, cry out to him in anguish

00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:33.860
and whatever. At the same time, judgment falls

00:37:33.860 --> 00:37:37.389
on those who refuse to do so. So then the application

00:37:37.389 --> 00:37:41.429
there is that the believer never walks outside

00:37:41.429 --> 00:37:43.849
God's notice. I've said it a number of times

00:37:43.849 --> 00:37:45.969
this way in my own life. So as long as I'm doing

00:37:45.969 --> 00:37:48.710
what it is that God wants me to do, no one and

00:37:48.710 --> 00:37:50.869
nothing can stop me. If they kill me, I'll go

00:37:50.869 --> 00:37:53.070
straight to heaven. See, as long as I'm walking

00:37:53.070 --> 00:37:55.949
in the Lord, he's got it. His attention is continuous.

00:37:56.070 --> 00:37:57.969
Protection is real. Justice remains certain.

00:37:58.670 --> 00:38:02.070
So all of this together then comes down to this.

00:38:02.230 --> 00:38:05.340
The eyes of God. as a phrase right because not

00:38:05.340 --> 00:38:07.699
remember not literal eyes got his spirit teaches

00:38:07.699 --> 00:38:09.920
us something it teaches us his omniscience he

00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:12.500
sees everything it teaches us his providence

00:38:12.500 --> 00:38:16.059
nothing happens outside his awareness his compassion

00:38:16.059 --> 00:38:19.559
he notices suffering his justice he observes

00:38:19.559 --> 00:38:23.280
every sin without fail his faithfulness he remembers

00:38:23.280 --> 00:38:26.539
every act of obedience he will not forget If

00:38:26.539 --> 00:38:28.579
you don't see the treasure, the reward or the

00:38:28.579 --> 00:38:31.300
praise on earth, God forbid, that would be like

00:38:31.300 --> 00:38:33.219
that. If you don't see that, you will see it

00:38:33.219 --> 00:38:35.739
in heaven and you will be eternally, immensely

00:38:35.739 --> 00:38:38.079
grateful to have it there. Even if you don't

00:38:38.079 --> 00:38:40.960
have it here. Bless you. His sovereignty. He's

00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:43.099
in charge. Nothing surprises him. His covenant

00:38:43.099 --> 00:38:46.139
love. His children live continually under his

00:38:46.139 --> 00:38:48.239
watchful care. All right. So then that brings

00:38:48.239 --> 00:38:50.179
us down to the question of, first of all, what

00:38:50.179 --> 00:38:52.980
are we going to do about it? OK, so. The number

00:38:52.980 --> 00:38:55.960
one thing I would say is to live transparently.

00:38:56.119 --> 00:38:59.219
You are seen. You are known. Since God already

00:38:59.219 --> 00:39:02.280
sees it, what do you gain by pretending? If you're

00:39:02.280 --> 00:39:05.079
in this room and you are not a Christian, you

00:39:05.079 --> 00:39:06.900
have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord,

00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:08.699
that means he tells you what to do and you do

00:39:08.699 --> 00:39:12.159
it, or as your Savior, which means that he paid

00:39:12.159 --> 00:39:14.099
the price for your sins. You're not trusting

00:39:14.099 --> 00:39:15.760
in him for salvation. I look around this room,

00:39:15.800 --> 00:39:17.579
I don't see anybody that would not say that that's

00:39:17.579 --> 00:39:20.619
true. And if you're lying, just stop. You're

00:39:20.619 --> 00:39:23.059
really not doing yourself any good. You'd be

00:39:23.059 --> 00:39:26.619
much better off to actually begin to say, I need

00:39:26.619 --> 00:39:29.059
to find out whether this is real or not. What

00:39:29.059 --> 00:39:32.179
does God really want from me? What can my relationship

00:39:32.179 --> 00:39:35.019
with God really be like? Why fake it? I'm trying

00:39:35.019 --> 00:39:37.539
to impress Pastor Dan. I'm already impressed.

00:39:37.920 --> 00:39:39.820
You're already incredible. Stop it. You don't

00:39:39.820 --> 00:39:43.300
need to do that. Seek the Lord. And it's the

00:39:43.300 --> 00:39:45.360
same thing with if you're just trying to cover

00:39:45.360 --> 00:39:47.280
up a sin. So I'm a Christian, but I know I'm

00:39:47.280 --> 00:39:49.809
not quite living right. Don't do it. You'd be

00:39:49.809 --> 00:39:52.469
better off. I am trusting the holy God of heaven

00:39:52.469 --> 00:39:54.449
to be saved. I'm trusting Jesus alone to pay

00:39:54.449 --> 00:39:55.889
for my sins. And he's given me righteousness.

00:39:56.210 --> 00:39:59.210
And I am into pornography. I want to follow the

00:39:59.210 --> 00:40:01.409
Lord with all my heart. But I am struggling with

00:40:01.409 --> 00:40:03.929
pornography. You'd be better off there than saying,

00:40:04.010 --> 00:40:06.110
I love Jesus. I'm serving the Lord. I don't have

00:40:06.110 --> 00:40:08.889
any problems. Or I have some problems. But they're

00:40:08.889 --> 00:40:10.329
the kind of things that everybody struggles with.

00:40:10.369 --> 00:40:12.469
Sometimes I feel lazy. Sometimes I get angry.

00:40:12.730 --> 00:40:15.110
Sometimes I lie when I don't mean to. Anything

00:40:15.110 --> 00:40:17.909
that society will accept is okay. But then if

00:40:17.909 --> 00:40:20.199
I get into like, I look at little children in

00:40:20.199 --> 00:40:22.719
a perverse way. And if Christians would say,

00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:25.519
well, I can't bring myself to admit that that's

00:40:25.519 --> 00:40:28.079
true. Now they have a problem because God is

00:40:28.079 --> 00:40:30.659
not going to pour in his resources while you're

00:40:30.659 --> 00:40:32.880
lying about who you are in Christ. If you're

00:40:32.880 --> 00:40:35.300
struggling with alcohol, admit it, cry out to

00:40:35.300 --> 00:40:36.860
the Lord and say, I'm struggling with alcohol,

00:40:37.039 --> 00:40:40.699
right? Live transparently because God sees it

00:40:40.699 --> 00:40:43.380
anyway. So the only people that you're kidding

00:40:43.380 --> 00:40:45.780
is other human beings who can't save you or send

00:40:45.780 --> 00:40:48.340
you to hell, either one, and yourself. And you

00:40:48.340 --> 00:40:49.960
can't save yourself or send yourself to hell,

00:40:50.079 --> 00:40:52.920
either one either. It's up to God. The second

00:40:52.920 --> 00:40:56.019
thing is then be encouraged. God notices faithful

00:40:56.019 --> 00:40:59.539
service. Others overlook. So when you do work

00:40:59.539 --> 00:41:01.000
and you don't get paid for it, you don't get

00:41:01.000 --> 00:41:02.579
praise for it, you don't get a pat on the back

00:41:02.579 --> 00:41:05.320
for it or whatever, understand that God knows

00:41:05.320 --> 00:41:08.159
absolutely. And he has taken care of it. And

00:41:08.159 --> 00:41:10.460
you realize you could get a gem in your crown

00:41:10.460 --> 00:41:12.960
in heaven for picking up a tiny piece of litter

00:41:12.960 --> 00:41:15.179
that nobody saw and doing it for the glory of

00:41:15.179 --> 00:41:18.190
the Lord. for going to bed on time on a Saturday

00:41:18.190 --> 00:41:20.349
night and getting up not tired on a Sunday morning.

00:41:21.329 --> 00:41:23.210
Maybe you can get a gem and then you get to add

00:41:23.210 --> 00:41:26.550
a boy in heaven for an eternity because you decided

00:41:26.550 --> 00:41:28.789
to go to bed at 11 instead of midnight on Saturday

00:41:28.789 --> 00:41:31.510
night so you could be sure you were ready for

00:41:31.510 --> 00:41:33.550
Sunday morning. Or you can break your Bible out

00:41:33.550 --> 00:41:35.889
and actually read when no one makes you. There's

00:41:35.889 --> 00:41:37.909
no Bible study to do nothing. I'm just going

00:41:37.909 --> 00:41:39.449
to read something just because. Just because

00:41:39.449 --> 00:41:41.829
I want to know. Wow, really? And you can get

00:41:41.829 --> 00:41:44.150
a gem in your crown in heaven because God sees

00:41:44.150 --> 00:41:46.650
that when nobody else sees it. Bless you again.

00:41:47.190 --> 00:41:49.929
Repent quickly. Hidden sins are never hidden

00:41:49.929 --> 00:41:52.309
from him anyway. So right away, turn back to

00:41:52.309 --> 00:41:55.369
God. Oh, I screwed up. Like when somebody hurts

00:41:55.369 --> 00:41:57.730
me, I want to go forgive them first thing because

00:41:57.730 --> 00:42:00.949
that only makes it worse if I don't. So I'll

00:42:00.949 --> 00:42:02.530
first forgive them. And then I might forgive

00:42:02.530 --> 00:42:04.449
them again later if it was pretty bad. Maybe

00:42:04.449 --> 00:42:06.510
later again if it was pretty bad. Maybe later

00:42:06.510 --> 00:42:08.550
again if it gets thrown back up in my face, that

00:42:08.550 --> 00:42:10.489
kind of thing. But when it comes to repenting,

00:42:10.489 --> 00:42:12.849
you need to be the same way. As soon as you realize

00:42:12.849 --> 00:42:14.780
you did something that you shouldn't do. repent

00:42:14.780 --> 00:42:16.800
immediately and turn to the Lord so that he can

00:42:16.800 --> 00:42:18.800
cleanse it, so he can deal with it. Because not

00:42:18.800 --> 00:42:22.039
only does it say he forgives, but it also cleanses

00:42:22.039 --> 00:42:24.159
us from the unrighteousness, the impact of it,

00:42:24.159 --> 00:42:26.480
the dirtiness, the nastiness. He'll clean you

00:42:26.480 --> 00:42:28.219
up and clean you out and build your heart back

00:42:28.219 --> 00:42:31.119
up new. Turn right away to him because he already

00:42:31.119 --> 00:42:32.780
sees it anyway. If you're delaying, you're only

00:42:32.780 --> 00:42:34.480
delaying. It's like, I go to the doctor's office

00:42:34.480 --> 00:42:36.230
and he writes me a prescription. But I don't

00:42:36.230 --> 00:42:38.190
pick it up until three days later. The doctor

00:42:38.190 --> 00:42:39.630
doesn't know I didn't pick it up until three

00:42:39.630 --> 00:42:41.969
days later. But my health knows and I need that

00:42:41.969 --> 00:42:43.650
medicine for whatever purpose. And I still have

00:42:43.650 --> 00:42:45.590
the infection and now I could maybe die and whatever.

00:42:45.929 --> 00:42:49.170
So God knows the medicine for sin is repentance,

00:42:49.230 --> 00:42:50.989
is turning to the Lord and letting him deal with

00:42:50.989 --> 00:42:53.949
it. Do it fast. Do it early. Do it quickly. And

00:42:53.949 --> 00:42:56.550
then the next thing is to trust him. Trust God.

00:42:56.710 --> 00:42:59.809
The God who sees tomorrow already knows how he

00:42:59.809 --> 00:43:01.489
will provide what it is you need. Like you might

00:43:01.489 --> 00:43:03.030
be looking at a problem going like, man, this

00:43:03.030 --> 00:43:05.869
is going to be tough. I'm $40 ,000 from where

00:43:05.869 --> 00:43:09.090
I need to be, or my health is not where it needs

00:43:09.090 --> 00:43:11.809
to be. I might have to lose weight, gain muscle,

00:43:11.909 --> 00:43:13.909
get my head under control, get my brain cleaned

00:43:13.909 --> 00:43:16.869
out. I might have to break an addiction. Or you

00:43:16.869 --> 00:43:18.949
look at where you want to go, and you're like,

00:43:19.090 --> 00:43:20.730
man, this is a long journey. This is going to

00:43:20.730 --> 00:43:23.650
really be tough. But God is already there. One

00:43:23.650 --> 00:43:25.869
of my favorite movie lines of all times comes

00:43:25.869 --> 00:43:28.469
from, I think the movie's called Covered Wagons,

00:43:28.469 --> 00:43:31.449
an old John Wayne movie. And he's a wagon train

00:43:31.449 --> 00:43:34.920
scout. taking people west out to california and

00:43:34.920 --> 00:43:37.880
at the end of the movie he's there in a bar by

00:43:37.880 --> 00:43:39.940
himself and he's in the corner of the table and

00:43:39.940 --> 00:43:41.480
some of his friends are supposed to be looking

00:43:41.480 --> 00:43:44.000
on and they asked him say i don't know what his

00:43:44.000 --> 00:43:46.340
character's name was and he said say john say

00:43:46.340 --> 00:43:49.179
john uh where do we go next and he says well

00:43:49.179 --> 00:43:51.199
i don't know where we're going next and i can't

00:43:51.199 --> 00:43:53.039
do a good john wayne impression he says but this

00:43:53.039 --> 00:43:56.519
one thing i can tell you wherever it is god's

00:43:56.519 --> 00:43:58.320
already there and that's the end of the movie

00:43:58.320 --> 00:44:00.239
it goes black doesn't come back up goes to credits

00:44:00.239 --> 00:44:02.590
right Except here's the funny thing about that

00:44:02.590 --> 00:44:04.849
line. It wasn't in the script. They got to the

00:44:04.849 --> 00:44:06.250
end of the movie and they're like, oh, crud.

00:44:06.250 --> 00:44:08.070
We don't know how to end the movie. So let's

00:44:08.070 --> 00:44:09.630
put the camera on John Wayne and let him end

00:44:09.630 --> 00:44:11.389
it however he wants. And that's what he said.

00:44:11.510 --> 00:44:13.869
And it made it into the annals of American history.

00:44:13.969 --> 00:44:15.869
It became one of the greatest lines. God sees

00:44:15.869 --> 00:44:18.789
your tomorrow. He sees your problem. Like God

00:44:18.789 --> 00:44:20.750
might be having you give up some small thing

00:44:20.750 --> 00:44:23.369
today that will actually make you able to deal

00:44:23.369 --> 00:44:25.150
with something that's huge in your future 10

00:44:25.150 --> 00:44:27.480
years down the road. Most things like. left to

00:44:27.480 --> 00:44:29.940
their own devices grow out of control like weeds

00:44:29.940 --> 00:44:32.239
now i have this little problem it's not a big

00:44:32.239 --> 00:44:34.219
deal i'm not dealing with it god's not dealing

00:44:34.219 --> 00:44:36.219
with it we're okay it's not a problem right now

00:44:36.219 --> 00:44:39.159
10 years from now it's a huge huge problem and

00:44:39.159 --> 00:44:40.960
god knows that so god wants you to deal with

00:44:40.960 --> 00:44:43.019
it right now so that in 10 years it won't be

00:44:43.019 --> 00:44:45.239
that huge huge problem that god sees tomorrow

00:44:45.239 --> 00:44:48.440
and he knows how he will provide today tomorrow

00:44:48.440 --> 00:44:50.880
the next day and so on then the last one is to

00:44:50.880 --> 00:44:55.199
persevere do not Quit. Every unseen act of obedience

00:44:55.199 --> 00:44:58.239
is fully known by God. Do not allow yourself

00:44:58.239 --> 00:45:00.019
to grow weary and say, well, I'm not going to

00:45:00.019 --> 00:45:02.119
do what it is that God has given me to do. Typically,

00:45:02.239 --> 00:45:04.760
if we're doing that, it's a failing in our character,

00:45:04.860 --> 00:45:07.039
which God already knew, which means God already

00:45:07.039 --> 00:45:09.039
made a provision for it. So it should be fine.

00:45:09.559 --> 00:45:11.539
During the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge

00:45:11.539 --> 00:45:14.599
in the 1930s, none of us were around then, workers

00:45:14.599 --> 00:45:18.239
were laboring for hundreds of feet above the

00:45:18.239 --> 00:45:20.539
water. So they're building this bridge like 300

00:45:20.539 --> 00:45:22.940
feet above the water. And when you hit, water

00:45:22.940 --> 00:45:25.739
falling from that distance. It's like concrete,

00:45:25.880 --> 00:45:27.659
they say. I've never done it. I don't know for

00:45:27.659 --> 00:45:30.820
sure, but it's bad. And so lots of people fell

00:45:30.820 --> 00:45:33.679
and died. And everyone that fell died. No one

00:45:33.679 --> 00:45:36.619
survived. So as you can imagine, the work slowed

00:45:36.619 --> 00:45:40.019
to a crawl. So what happened was they built a

00:45:40.019 --> 00:45:43.519
huge safety net under the entire bridge, built

00:45:43.519 --> 00:45:45.659
it all the way across where they were working,

00:45:45.780 --> 00:45:47.679
right? So, I mean, it was probably hundreds of

00:45:47.679 --> 00:45:49.829
yards long by... 50 yards wide or whatever. And

00:45:49.829 --> 00:45:52.329
if anyone would fall, they would fall into the

00:45:52.329 --> 00:45:55.389
net. And as soon as the net was built and the

00:45:55.389 --> 00:45:58.690
danger was removed, it transformed how they worked.

00:45:58.829 --> 00:46:01.670
They went back to working not only fast like

00:46:01.670 --> 00:46:04.150
they were in the first place, but faster still,

00:46:04.329 --> 00:46:06.250
right? Because some of the very courageous, very

00:46:06.250 --> 00:46:08.090
fast working guys had actually fallen and died.

00:46:08.440 --> 00:46:10.480
But now we've got people that are working with

00:46:10.480 --> 00:46:13.380
no fear. And that's what it's like to be a Christian.

00:46:13.519 --> 00:46:15.159
That's what it's like to be a follower of the

00:46:15.159 --> 00:46:17.780
Lord. Christians live under the watchful eyes

00:46:17.780 --> 00:46:21.400
of God. God's care does not eliminate every trial.

00:46:21.539 --> 00:46:24.579
But it means that no hardship, no act of faithfulness,

00:46:24.599 --> 00:46:28.639
no tear, no prayer goes unnoticed. His watchful

00:46:28.639 --> 00:46:32.420
gaze gives courage to obey. We can do it. Confidence

00:46:32.420 --> 00:46:35.599
to persevere. We can keep doing it. and hope

00:46:35.599 --> 00:46:38.219
in every circumstance, no matter how bad it looks.

00:46:38.500 --> 00:46:41.139
The eyes of the Lord are not merely watching

00:46:41.139 --> 00:46:44.199
history. They are watching you. Abby, the eyes

00:46:44.199 --> 00:46:46.440
of the Lord are watching you. Imagine if you

00:46:46.440 --> 00:46:49.199
were on a stage in front of a big audience and

00:46:49.199 --> 00:46:51.679
they're all watching you. And it's time now for

00:46:51.679 --> 00:46:54.039
you to deliver your big line. You're playing

00:46:54.039 --> 00:46:56.059
like a bunch of grapes and you've got one thing

00:46:56.059 --> 00:46:59.039
to say. Yummy, I'm grapes, right? And you step

00:46:59.039 --> 00:47:01.500
up in front of 5 ,000 people all watching you

00:47:01.500 --> 00:47:03.860
and you're going, I got to say my line exactly

00:47:03.860 --> 00:47:08.280
perfectly. God's eyes are on you. And that's

00:47:08.280 --> 00:47:10.960
more than all the people in the world. For the

00:47:10.960 --> 00:47:13.400
unbeliever, that's a solemn warning. Look out,

00:47:13.460 --> 00:47:15.780
God's eyes are on you. Every sin is fully known

00:47:15.780 --> 00:47:18.760
and nothing can be concealed from God. The God

00:47:18.760 --> 00:47:21.800
who sees all will one day call every person into

00:47:21.800 --> 00:47:23.820
account. It says, will be called to account for

00:47:23.820 --> 00:47:27.679
every idle word, let alone actions, right? The

00:47:27.679 --> 00:47:30.260
one who sees every weakness also sees every act

00:47:30.260 --> 00:47:32.460
of faith, every quiet sacrifice, every hidden

00:47:32.460 --> 00:47:35.699
prayer, and every tear that's shed in the name

00:47:35.699 --> 00:47:38.199
of the Lord. You are never forgotten, never abandoned,

00:47:38.300 --> 00:47:41.159
never beyond his loving attention. The hymn writer

00:47:41.159 --> 00:47:44.519
says, His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he

00:47:44.519 --> 00:47:47.579
watches me. God's gaze spans the universe. He

00:47:47.579 --> 00:47:51.219
sees the specks on planets to which humans have

00:47:51.219 --> 00:47:54.039
not yet roamed. But he lovingly watches over

00:47:54.039 --> 00:47:57.300
each of his children, inviting us to live in

00:47:57.300 --> 00:48:00.619
his holiness, confidence, and unwavering trust.

00:48:00.880 --> 00:48:03.219
That's what you're called to. So the next time

00:48:03.219 --> 00:48:05.539
you start to worry, remember, God already sees.

00:48:05.679 --> 00:48:09.280
Next time you start to... God saw it before you

00:48:09.280 --> 00:48:12.300
did it, not when you did it. So now you're regretting

00:48:12.300 --> 00:48:14.380
what you did the day before yesterday, but God

00:48:14.380 --> 00:48:16.980
saw what you did the day before yesterday years

00:48:16.980 --> 00:48:20.179
before that. Repent, turn to the Lord, and trust

00:48:20.179 --> 00:48:22.260
him with all of it. Did everybody get all the

00:48:22.260 --> 00:48:27.880
blanks filled in? Seven, okay. Yeah, a lot of

00:48:27.880 --> 00:48:31.500
his is there, right? I'll help you. Okay, so

00:48:31.500 --> 00:48:35.659
the top seven is his. Attention is continual.

00:48:36.000 --> 00:48:39.019
His protection is real and his justice remains

00:48:39.019 --> 00:48:41.739
certain. If you go down into the bottom, then

00:48:41.739 --> 00:48:43.760
where it says on a keyword or phrase, it completes

00:48:43.760 --> 00:48:49.739
each statement. His omniscience is that word

00:48:49.739 --> 00:48:54.659
again. It's O -M -N -I -S -C -I -E -N -C -E means

00:48:54.659 --> 00:48:59.440
nothing is unknown. His providence means nothing

00:48:59.440 --> 00:49:02.539
happens outside his awareness. His compassion.

00:49:02.619 --> 00:49:07.429
He notices your suffering. His justice, his faithfulness,

00:49:07.570 --> 00:49:11.070
his sovereignty, which is another weird word

00:49:11.070 --> 00:49:14.829
to spell. It's S -O -V -E -R -E -I -G. There's

00:49:14.829 --> 00:49:17.789
a G in there. N -T. Sovereignty means like being

00:49:17.789 --> 00:49:20.369
in charge. And his covenant love.