WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.379 Good morning. I wanted to have some time with 00:00:06.379 --> 00:00:08.320 you this morning just to share the latest in 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:14.759 eye fashions. Very special pair of glasses. I 00:00:14.759 --> 00:00:19.199 finally found out the answer. You see, when I 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:21.679 was a child, I always wondered how my mother 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:27.859 knew. You know, there were times when she was 00:00:27.859 --> 00:00:33.350 nowhere around. And I did something wrong. But 00:00:33.350 --> 00:00:37.130 in the end I found out that mom knew what I had 00:00:37.130 --> 00:00:41.390 done. And I swore she had to have eyes in the 00:00:41.390 --> 00:00:43.630 back of her head. Did you ever say that about 00:00:43.630 --> 00:00:47.130 your parents? Well these glasses do that because 00:00:47.130 --> 00:00:50.049 you see I can see you equally well from right 00:00:50.049 --> 00:00:54.469 here. As I can when I'm facing you. These, the 00:00:54.469 --> 00:00:59.140 latest of glasses, have vision both ways. Mom 00:00:59.140 --> 00:01:03.299 had a pair of these glasses 30 years ago. I'm 00:01:03.299 --> 00:01:07.439 convinced of it. She was a single parent, as 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:10.920 many of you know. I have a lot of respect for 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:17.099 single parents. They carry a heavy load. One 00:01:17.099 --> 00:01:20.540 parent cannot be both mother and father, but 00:01:20.540 --> 00:01:23.500 one parent can do a great job raising children 00:01:23.500 --> 00:01:30.099 with God's help. There were times when mom knew 00:01:30.099 --> 00:01:32.359 things that I didn't think she would ever figure 00:01:32.359 --> 00:01:37.540 out Things that I did wrong and sometimes things 00:01:37.540 --> 00:01:42.700 I did right on those occasions She used to work 00:01:42.700 --> 00:01:46.480 late on Saturday nights her job the grocery store 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:50.659 and so we children the four of us would get together 00:01:50.659 --> 00:01:54.780 and Clean her kitchen for her now. I'm not sure 00:01:54.780 --> 00:01:58.180 exactly what the True result of the cleaning 00:01:58.180 --> 00:02:00.819 was Whether it was something that was helpful 00:02:00.819 --> 00:02:03.959 or not, but it made us feel good and as soon 00:02:03.959 --> 00:02:07.340 as she came in the house Mom knew what we had 00:02:07.340 --> 00:02:10.300 done not question how she knew so quickly, but 00:02:10.300 --> 00:02:13.659 she knew what we had done It's an amazing what 00:02:13.659 --> 00:02:20.900 parents know And yet mom didn't know everything 00:02:20.900 --> 00:02:25.300 There are some things she never found out and 00:02:25.300 --> 00:02:32.069 I'm glad There are some things she didn't learn 00:02:32.069 --> 00:02:35.590 and I'm glad because I don't know if she could 00:02:35.590 --> 00:02:43.710 have born it. There is a tremendous weight that 00:02:43.710 --> 00:02:49.770 comes with knowing something. Can you imagine 00:02:49.770 --> 00:02:56.400 knowing everything? There are times when things 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:58.900 come on television my wife and I say turn it 00:02:58.900 --> 00:03:02.939 off. I don't want to hear any more of it We have 00:03:02.939 --> 00:03:08.080 heard enough about the sadness and the the grief 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:12.360 and the sorrow in the world just turn it off 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:19.379 But God doesn't turn it off The God that you 00:03:19.379 --> 00:03:24.240 and I worship knows what does he know everything 00:03:26.020 --> 00:03:33.360 And when does he know it? Always. He never forgets. 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:40.159 How does he know that? How does he do it? It 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:43.280 is simply a natural attribute of God. It's one 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:48.259 of the qualities that is his as deity. God never 00:03:48.259 --> 00:03:53.419 learns. God did not have to go to school to be 00:03:53.419 --> 00:04:00.439 deity. He has always known all things that can 00:04:00.439 --> 00:04:04.580 be known. One commentator put it this way, A 00:04:04.580 --> 00:04:08.539 .W. Pink, God is omniscient. That's what the 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:11.439 word means, all -knowing. He knows everything, 00:04:12.180 --> 00:04:15.840 everything possible, everything actual, all events, 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:19.100 all creatures of the past, the present, the future. 00:04:19.689 --> 00:04:22.350 He is perfectly acquainted with every detail 00:04:22.350 --> 00:04:25.329 in the life of every being in heaven, in earth, 00:04:25.470 --> 00:04:30.350 and in hell. Nothing escapes his notice. Nothing 00:04:30.350 --> 00:04:33.529 can be hidden from him. Nothing is forgotten 00:04:33.529 --> 00:04:39.370 by him. His knowledge is perfect. He never errs, 00:04:39.930 --> 00:04:44.990 never changes, never overlooks anything. How 00:04:44.990 --> 00:04:48.620 solemn is this fact. Nothing can be concealed 00:04:48.620 --> 00:04:53.860 from God. Though He be invisible to us, we are 00:04:53.860 --> 00:04:59.079 not so to Him. God not only knows whatsoever 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:02.420 has happened in the past in every part of His 00:05:02.420 --> 00:05:06.639 vast domains, and He is not only thoroughly acquainted 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:10.259 with everything that is now transpiring through 00:05:10.259 --> 00:05:14.860 His entire universe, but He is also perfectly 00:05:14.860 --> 00:05:18.230 cognizant with every event from the least to 00:05:18.230 --> 00:05:23.209 the greatest that ever will happen in the ages 00:05:23.209 --> 00:05:32.930 to come. The God that we worship knows. The story 00:05:32.930 --> 00:05:35.329 is told about a man who had several friends in 00:05:35.329 --> 00:05:40.069 town and on one occasion he thought he would 00:05:40.069 --> 00:05:42.990 play a practical joke on them and so he sent 00:05:42.990 --> 00:05:47.829 out seven letters. to seven friends and what 00:05:47.829 --> 00:05:52.689 it simply said in the letter was You have been 00:05:52.689 --> 00:05:56.009 found out Wasn't signed or anything. It just 00:05:56.009 --> 00:05:59.170 said you have been found out and he mailed them 00:05:59.170 --> 00:06:07.029 and five of them left town What does God know 00:06:07.029 --> 00:06:10.930 about you and me Well in the text that was read 00:06:10.930 --> 00:06:13.750 earlier this morning from Psalm 139 verses 1 00:06:13.750 --> 00:06:17.220 through 6 We see that God knows the events of 00:06:17.220 --> 00:06:22.100 our lives and the deeds that we do. He goes before 00:06:22.100 --> 00:06:28.000 us, He comes after us. Our down -sitting, our 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:32.639 uprising. Whatever we do, God knows it. Whatever 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:38.300 we say, God hears it. Deuteronomy 2 -7, it says, 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:40.779 God has known your wanderings through this great 00:06:40.779 --> 00:06:44.170 wilderness. These 40 years the Lord your God 00:06:44.170 --> 00:06:46.970 has been with you. You have not lacked a thing. 00:06:48.089 --> 00:06:51.269 Even though God caused his people to walk those 00:06:51.269 --> 00:06:53.470 years in the wilderness and to die, he did not 00:06:53.470 --> 00:06:55.949 forsake them. He was with them every day and 00:06:55.949 --> 00:06:58.990 knew them, knew their needs, and provided what 00:06:58.990 --> 00:07:03.490 they needed. Psalm 33 says, the Lord looks from 00:07:03.490 --> 00:07:08.930 heaven. He sees all the sons of men. From his 00:07:08.930 --> 00:07:11.709 dwelling place he looks out on all the inhabitants 00:07:11.709 --> 00:07:15.009 of the earth He who fashions the hearts of them 00:07:15.009 --> 00:07:20.769 all he who understands all their works God knows 00:07:20.769 --> 00:07:25.269 everything about us the events of our lives the 00:07:25.269 --> 00:07:30.350 deeds that we do The Lord Jesus illustrated this 00:07:30.350 --> 00:07:35.550 when in John chapter 1 he called Philip and Philip 00:07:35.550 --> 00:07:39.819 went and He found Nathanael and told him that 00:07:39.819 --> 00:07:43.939 we have found the Messiah. The next day it says 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:47.560 that Nathanael came to Jesus and Jesus said, 00:07:47.740 --> 00:07:50.240 behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile. 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:55.379 Nathanael said, how do you know me? And Jesus 00:07:55.379 --> 00:07:58.379 says, when you were under the fig tree before 00:07:58.379 --> 00:08:04.139 Philip called you, I knew you. You see, God knew 00:08:04.139 --> 00:08:08.540 all about Nathanael. That's one evidence again 00:08:08.540 --> 00:08:12.100 of Jesus' deity. He knew where Nathanael was. 00:08:12.139 --> 00:08:13.939 He knew what he was doing when Philip called 00:08:13.939 --> 00:08:18.519 him. God also knows the thoughts of our minds 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:22.560 and the motives of our hearts. Psalm 139 again 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:25.720 makes this clear. But so do many other texts 00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:28.420 of Scripture. For example, God knows the heart 00:08:28.420 --> 00:08:32.620 of an ungodly king like Sennacherib of Assyria. 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:36.200 Through Isaiah the prophet, God said to him, 00:08:36.740 --> 00:08:39.480 I know you're sitting down, and I know you're 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:41.820 going out, and you're coming in, and you're raging 00:08:41.820 --> 00:08:45.779 against me. God said to Snackram, I know all 00:08:45.779 --> 00:08:49.259 about you, you hate me, but I know when you stand 00:08:49.259 --> 00:08:51.480 up, I know when you sit down, I know you're rage, 00:08:51.620 --> 00:08:54.659 I know you're coming in, you're going out. And 00:08:54.659 --> 00:08:57.120 God said, and I will put my hook into your nose. 00:09:00.940 --> 00:09:03.879 David said to his son Solomon, 1 Chronicles 28 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:07.879 verse 9, As for you, my son Solomon, know the 00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:12.080 Lord your God, the God of your father, and serve 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:16.659 him with a whole heart and a willing mind. For 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:21.220 the Lord searches all hearts, understands every 00:09:21.220 --> 00:09:25.500 intent of the thoughts. If you seek him, he will 00:09:25.500 --> 00:09:27.659 let you find him, but if you forsake him, he 00:09:27.659 --> 00:09:31.580 will reject you forever. God knows every thought 00:09:31.580 --> 00:09:35.679 and every intent of those thoughts. And to the 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:38.460 house of Israel, Ezekiel said on behalf of God, 00:09:38.980 --> 00:09:44.440 I know your thoughts. Ezekiel 11 verse 5. Once 00:09:44.440 --> 00:09:48.299 again we see Jesus illustrating this in his deity. 00:09:49.340 --> 00:09:51.500 For as he was speaking to the crowds in one day, 00:09:51.539 --> 00:09:53.700 as recorded in Matthew chapter 9, and then another 00:09:53.700 --> 00:09:58.809 time in Matthew chapter 12, It says, Jesus knowing 00:09:58.809 --> 00:10:04.090 their thoughts said, you see as he was talking 00:10:04.090 --> 00:10:07.990 to them he was able to read their thoughts. Aren't 00:10:07.990 --> 00:10:11.009 you glad I can't read your thoughts as I'm talking 00:10:11.009 --> 00:10:19.610 to you? That would be fun for me. Jesus was able 00:10:19.610 --> 00:10:23.629 to listen in on the thoughts of his hearers as 00:10:23.629 --> 00:10:28.059 he spoke to them. How could he know the thoughts 00:10:28.059 --> 00:10:31.200 of another person's heart? Or how could he know 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:34.860 the motives of their hearts as he obviously did 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:42.220 he was God and as God he knows all things God 00:10:42.220 --> 00:10:48.940 also Knows the future of our lives God knows 00:10:48.940 --> 00:10:50.759 the future of the world. He knows the future 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:54.409 of our lives in Revelation 1 1 it says the revelation 00:10:54.409 --> 00:10:57.850 of Jesus Christ which God gave to him to show 00:10:57.850 --> 00:11:01.070 his bond servants the things which must shortly 00:11:01.070 --> 00:11:06.129 take place. Did the Lord Jesus illustrate this? 00:11:06.169 --> 00:11:11.409 Many times. For example, he told them, now you 00:11:11.409 --> 00:11:13.190 go over here to this village and there's going 00:11:13.190 --> 00:11:16.049 to be a donkey there with a colt and the owner 00:11:16.049 --> 00:11:18.230 is going to say this to you and you respond that 00:11:18.230 --> 00:11:22.909 and he'll let you have the donkey. It hadn't 00:11:22.909 --> 00:11:24.850 even happened yet. He knew exactly what was going 00:11:24.850 --> 00:11:29.029 to take place. As they were gathered around the 00:11:29.029 --> 00:11:31.009 Lord's table, he said, one of you is going to 00:11:31.009 --> 00:11:37.610 betray me. Peter said, no, though everybody else 00:11:37.610 --> 00:11:40.250 betray you, I will never forsake you. Jesus said, 00:11:40.389 --> 00:11:42.570 Peter, before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, 00:11:42.950 --> 00:11:48.990 three times you're going to deny me. You see, 00:11:49.029 --> 00:11:51.330 God knows what you're going to do this afternoon 00:11:51.330 --> 00:11:58.169 at 3 31 or next year at this time where you're 00:11:58.169 --> 00:12:00.690 going to be and what the circumstances of your 00:12:00.690 --> 00:12:06.549 life will be. God knows everything about you 00:12:06.549 --> 00:12:10.230 and about me. He knows the intimate details of 00:12:10.230 --> 00:12:14.450 our lives. What are the ramifications of this? 00:12:15.629 --> 00:12:18.350 knowledge that the psalmist calls wonderful. 00:12:20.309 --> 00:12:22.830 Well, in the first place, it brings conviction, 00:12:23.070 --> 00:12:26.629 doesn't it? Because it means if God sees everything 00:12:26.629 --> 00:12:34.110 about me, He sees my sin. Proverbs 15 .3 says, 00:12:34.269 --> 00:12:38.070 The eyes of the Lord are in every place watching 00:12:38.070 --> 00:12:44.240 the evil and the good. In Hebrews 4 .13 it says, 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:47.639 there is no creature hidden from his sight, but 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:50.580 all things are open and laid bare to the eyes 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:55.460 of him with whom we have to do. Or as one writer 00:12:55.460 --> 00:12:58.779 says it, with whom our final reckoning has to 00:12:58.779 --> 00:13:05.399 be made. One thing is for sure that every human 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:09.409 being is one day going to stand before God. And 00:13:09.409 --> 00:13:13.889 God is going to give a final reckoning to everyone. 00:13:15.330 --> 00:13:18.149 And on that day, God is not going to be guessing 00:13:18.149 --> 00:13:22.389 what happened in the life. God is not going to 00:13:22.389 --> 00:13:24.629 be flipping back and forth through books trying 00:13:24.629 --> 00:13:27.730 to find out all the details because every moment 00:13:27.730 --> 00:13:31.049 of every day He knows every detail of every life. 00:13:34.590 --> 00:13:38.990 Therefore, It is wise on my part to be sure that 00:13:38.990 --> 00:13:43.950 I am right with God before I stand before Him 00:13:43.950 --> 00:13:49.450 for my final reckoning. How wonderfully possible 00:13:49.450 --> 00:13:52.429 God has made that for us to be right with Him, 00:13:52.490 --> 00:13:56.860 to have our sins forgiven. And he says, there 00:13:56.860 --> 00:13:59.980 are sins and iniquities I will remember no more. 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:02.299 It doesn't mean that God actually forgets them 00:14:02.299 --> 00:14:05.399 because God knows all things. But it's an expression 00:14:05.399 --> 00:14:07.820 that meaning that God chooses to overlook them 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:12.639 or to hold them against us. He sets them aside 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:15.039 as having any influence in His thinking about 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:20.620 us when we trust in Jesus Christ to be our Savior. 00:14:22.019 --> 00:14:25.720 How wonderful God is that He chooses not to hold 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:29.440 against us everything that He knows about us. 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.440 He can lay some of those things aside, those 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:37.820 sins aside, because we trust in Jesus Christ 00:14:37.820 --> 00:14:42.820 as our sin bearer. When we think about God knowing 00:14:42.820 --> 00:14:46.440 all things, it also brings consolation to us 00:14:46.440 --> 00:14:50.259 because we know that God sees all of our hurts, 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:55.220 all of our pains. our weaknesses and our needs. 00:14:57.480 --> 00:14:59.159 Several years ago when we were going through 00:14:59.159 --> 00:15:02.539 a very difficult time in ministry before we came 00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:07.440 here to the Twin Cities, a verse in Psalm 142 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:11.879 ministered to my wife and me. It says, when my 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:16.240 spirit was overwhelmed within me, thou didst 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:22.179 know my path. It is great to know when you're 00:15:22.179 --> 00:15:26.740 absolutely overwhelmed that God knows all about 00:15:26.740 --> 00:15:32.740 it. Psalm 38 verse 9 says, Lord, all my desire 00:15:32.740 --> 00:15:38.000 is before Thee, and my sighing is not hidden 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:41.480 from Thee. Do you ever get to the place in life 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:43.620 where you just can't even say anything else? 00:15:48.330 --> 00:15:56.250 God knows what the sigh means. Because God knows, 00:15:57.230 --> 00:16:02.169 I can rest. I can rest knowing that He totally 00:16:02.169 --> 00:16:08.070 understands me and my circumstances. He knows 00:16:08.070 --> 00:16:15.370 my frame. He remembers that I am dust. He understands 00:16:15.370 --> 00:16:19.759 my weaknesses in prayer. In Romans 8, it says 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.259 that the Holy Spirit actually is in me to help 00:16:22.259 --> 00:16:26.220 me to pray. And when I run out of words, He actually 00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:28.519 groans, as it were, within me with words that 00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:33.840 can't be uttered. And brings requests to the 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:35.919 Father that are in perfect tune with the will 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:40.240 of God. God knows all about us. What consolation 00:16:40.240 --> 00:16:44.340 there is in that. When you are wrongfully treated, 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:52.440 When you are persecuted for Christ's sake, remember 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:57.159 that He, the Lord, will take out our vengeance. 00:16:57.799 --> 00:17:02.379 We need not do it ourselves. God sees the wrongs 00:17:02.379 --> 00:17:06.740 and the injustices of life, and He says, vengeance 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:11.019 is mine, I will repay. We can rest, you see, 00:17:11.019 --> 00:17:15.369 in the Lord. The fact that God knows everything 00:17:15.369 --> 00:17:21.309 brings tremendous consolation to our souls. But 00:17:21.309 --> 00:17:26.109 it also brings adoration. Such knowledge is too 00:17:26.109 --> 00:17:29.109 wonderful for me. What the psalmist means is 00:17:29.109 --> 00:17:35.710 it causes me to wonder, to be in awe of you, 00:17:36.009 --> 00:17:38.930 God, when I think of the knowledge that you have 00:17:38.930 --> 00:17:43.099 of me. He says, it is too high, I can't attain 00:17:43.099 --> 00:17:49.759 to it. Job felt that he knew a great deal and 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:52.960 had pleased God in his suffering. And yet God 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:56.220 came to Job in the latter days of his suffering 00:17:56.220 --> 00:18:00.119 and taught Job some things about his power and 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:04.279 his knowledge. And after God's discourse, Job 00:18:04.279 --> 00:18:08.829 replied, I know that thou canst do all things, 00:18:08.829 --> 00:18:11.670 and that no purpose of thine can be thwarted. 00:18:12.349 --> 00:18:15.710 I have declared that which I did not understand, 00:18:16.650 --> 00:18:20.009 things too wonderful for me, which I did not 00:18:20.009 --> 00:18:25.950 know. Romans 11, 33, O the depths of the riches, 00:18:26.069 --> 00:18:29.630 both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how 00:18:29.630 --> 00:18:33.710 unsearchable are his judgments, and unfathomable 00:18:33.710 --> 00:18:40.099 his ways. God knows all things that are actual, 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:47.000 and God knows all things that are possible. And 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:50.519 what that latter means is that He knows what 00:18:50.519 --> 00:18:52.579 would have happened if what did happen had not 00:18:52.579 --> 00:18:58.420 happened. No, I won't repeat it. You think of 00:18:58.420 --> 00:19:03.380 all the choices in your life. The vocation that 00:19:03.380 --> 00:19:05.890 you have, or the person that you married, the 00:19:05.890 --> 00:19:09.190 place you chose to live or the job that you have 00:19:09.190 --> 00:19:12.490 at the present time. Think of all the choices 00:19:12.490 --> 00:19:15.430 and what might have happened had you made another 00:19:15.430 --> 00:19:18.589 choice. And then you begin to multiply that and 00:19:18.589 --> 00:19:22.369 you can see that it's infinite. The different 00:19:22.369 --> 00:19:26.190 possibilities of life. But God could sit down 00:19:26.190 --> 00:19:28.930 with you and tell you what would have happened 00:19:28.930 --> 00:19:31.690 had you made the other choices in life. Because 00:19:31.690 --> 00:19:35.259 God knows not only all things actual, but all 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:41.900 things possible. I can hear someone say, if God 00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:44.900 sees what I'm experiencing, then why doesn't 00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:50.799 He intervene on my behalf? If God knows what 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:53.920 I'm passing through right now, if He really understands 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:57.220 it, then why doesn't He do something for me? 00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:03.119 And that cry is sincere. It's a cry of torment 00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:07.990 and pain. And it's a cry that most of us have 00:20:07.990 --> 00:20:11.650 uttered in one way or another in our lives. Why 00:20:11.650 --> 00:20:19.390 doesn't God do something since He knows? If God 00:20:19.390 --> 00:20:23.309 knows that those Kurdish refugees are starving 00:20:23.309 --> 00:20:30.150 to death and freezing to death and being shelled 00:20:30.150 --> 00:20:37.269 by Saddam Hussein, in a sadistic campaign, why 00:20:37.269 --> 00:20:43.509 doesn't God do something? If God knows that there 00:20:43.509 --> 00:20:46.309 are homeless orphans in Brazil like those that 00:20:46.309 --> 00:20:49.410 Vinny Zachary is seeking to help, why doesn't 00:20:49.410 --> 00:20:55.829 God do something? If God knows that this ministry 00:20:55.829 --> 00:20:58.529 out here that we've loved and appreciated is 00:20:58.529 --> 00:21:01.329 about to collapse because of problems inside, 00:21:01.410 --> 00:21:06.509 why doesn't God do something? If God knows all 00:21:06.509 --> 00:21:10.329 about the marriage that I'm in and the heartache 00:21:10.329 --> 00:21:12.069 and the suffering that I'm going through, why 00:21:12.069 --> 00:21:15.690 doesn't God do something? If God knows about 00:21:15.690 --> 00:21:19.569 my cancer or the disease that I'm inflicted with, 00:21:19.589 --> 00:21:26.599 why doesn't He do something? There are some people 00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:29.720 who say, well, surely God knows, but He's not 00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:36.259 powerful enough to do anything about it. There 00:21:36.259 --> 00:21:39.079 are others who say, well, yeah, God knows and 00:21:39.079 --> 00:21:42.480 He could do something, but God doesn't really 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:48.180 care that much. He's sort of off over there. 00:21:51.059 --> 00:21:53.279 Bette Midler captured this thought in the song 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:59.599 that she made famous recently. God is watching 00:21:59.599 --> 00:22:09.519 us. Where? From a distance. Is that right? No, 00:22:09.579 --> 00:22:15.559 it's not right. When we're answering that kind 00:22:15.559 --> 00:22:18.619 of a question, there are several possible responses 00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:23.450 that can be made. One is that whatever the circumstances 00:22:23.450 --> 00:22:27.450 may be, even if they're life -threatening, God 00:22:27.450 --> 00:22:30.630 is working in those circumstances for a greater 00:22:30.630 --> 00:22:35.690 good than I can possibly know. His knowledge 00:22:35.690 --> 00:22:39.589 is too high for me. I can't see what God is doing, 00:22:39.670 --> 00:22:44.069 what He knows, but He knows. Furthermore, God 00:22:44.069 --> 00:22:48.099 works on a different schedule than we do. The 00:22:48.099 --> 00:22:50.720 people of Israel cried out to God for centuries, 00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:54.140 deliver us from Egypt, deliver us from this bondage. 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:59.039 Generations came, generations went. God did nothing 00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:05.500 until it was His time. And then Moses came on 00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:07.559 the scene and tried to do it in his own way, 00:23:07.799 --> 00:23:09.740 and God sent him off into the wilderness for 00:23:09.740 --> 00:23:14.559 40 more years to wait, to be prepared. It still 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:17.559 wasn't God's time. and people died, and people 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:20.920 suffered, and people were oppressed. And then, 00:23:22.380 --> 00:23:27.980 and then it was God's time. And he brought back 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:32.059 Moses. And God delivered his people. You see, 00:23:32.099 --> 00:23:35.079 God works on a different schedule than you and 00:23:35.079 --> 00:23:43.900 me. J .I. Packer says it this way, God's almighty 00:23:43.900 --> 00:23:48.000 wisdom is always active and never fails. All 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:50.819 His works of creation and providence and grace 00:23:50.819 --> 00:23:54.599 display it and until we can see it in them, we 00:23:54.599 --> 00:23:58.059 just are not seeing them straight. But we cannot 00:23:58.059 --> 00:24:00.680 recognize God's wisdom unless we know the end 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:03.259 for which He is working. Here's where many go 00:24:03.259 --> 00:24:06.920 wrong. Misunderstanding what the Bible means 00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:10.339 when it says that God is love They think that 00:24:10.339 --> 00:24:15.339 God intends a trouble -free life for all, irrespective 00:24:15.339 --> 00:24:18.740 of their moral or spiritual state. And hence 00:24:18.740 --> 00:24:21.480 they conclude that anything painful and upsetting 00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:25.099 indicates either that God's wisdom or power or 00:24:25.099 --> 00:24:30.500 both have broken down, or that God after all 00:24:30.500 --> 00:24:35.180 does not exist. But this idea of God's intention 00:24:35.180 --> 00:24:40.200 is a complete mistake. God's wisdom is not, and 00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:45.279 never was, pledged to keep a fallen world happy 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:50.700 or to make ungodliness comfortable. Not even 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:52.940 to Christians has He promised a trouble -free 00:24:52.940 --> 00:24:58.380 life, rather the reverse. He has other ends in 00:24:58.380 --> 00:25:01.500 view for life in this world than simply to make 00:25:01.500 --> 00:25:08.900 it easy for everyone. Because God knows everything 00:25:08.900 --> 00:25:14.920 we don't mislead him for a moment I Don't brag 00:25:14.920 --> 00:25:19.119 about this, but I look back and I misled my mother 00:25:19.119 --> 00:25:26.400 on some occasions She was on track with what 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:31.660 had happened and I was able to By one means or 00:25:31.660 --> 00:25:35.640 another get her off track So that she didn't 00:25:35.640 --> 00:25:41.880 really learn or know the facts of the case. We 00:25:41.880 --> 00:25:46.519 can't do that with God. Somebody said that excuses 00:25:46.519 --> 00:25:49.720 are the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie. 00:25:53.960 --> 00:25:56.900 We have all kinds of excuses why we do this or 00:25:56.900 --> 00:26:01.759 don't do that. We excuse ourselves and our service 00:26:01.759 --> 00:26:05.009 for God. We say, well, I've done enough. These 00:26:05.009 --> 00:26:08.250 people over there, it's their turn. I can't do 00:26:08.250 --> 00:26:12.349 this. Moses tried that one, you remember? An 00:26:12.349 --> 00:26:14.589 excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a 00:26:14.589 --> 00:26:18.849 lie. We use excuses for stewardship. I can't 00:26:18.849 --> 00:26:22.750 give this or I can't do that for the Lord. I 00:26:22.750 --> 00:26:26.450 can't give that much. The skin of a reason stuffed 00:26:26.450 --> 00:26:30.609 with a lie. In our suffering, we say, I've had 00:26:30.609 --> 00:26:34.019 enough. It's not fair. Other people don't experience 00:26:34.019 --> 00:26:37.980 what I experience. It's not my fault. Why, it 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:42.019 was them. We point the finger at other people 00:26:42.019 --> 00:26:45.819 and try to bring up our excuses. Somebody has 00:26:45.819 --> 00:26:48.460 said those who are most successful in making 00:26:48.460 --> 00:26:52.079 excuses have no energy left for anything else. 00:26:55.440 --> 00:27:00.640 Most failures are expert at making excuses. The 00:27:00.640 --> 00:27:07.069 fact is that God knows. God knows. And my excuses 00:27:07.069 --> 00:27:10.849 don't make it with God. And so what I'm better 00:27:10.849 --> 00:27:14.529 off doing is facing the truth. Acknowledging 00:27:14.529 --> 00:27:19.170 the truth. Because that pleases God. Even if 00:27:19.170 --> 00:27:26.029 the truth is bad about me. Even if it puts me 00:27:26.029 --> 00:27:30.009 in a light that is sinful. It's much better to 00:27:30.009 --> 00:27:34.200 acknowledge the truth. and try to make up some 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:38.420 excuse and think we're going to mislead God. 00:27:41.019 --> 00:27:45.500 The God that we worship knows. He doesn't have 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:55.740 to investigate. He doesn't have to measure. He 00:27:55.740 --> 00:28:01.460 doesn't have to open a book and see. He doesn't 00:28:01.460 --> 00:28:03.579 refer the question to somebody else who might 00:28:03.579 --> 00:28:11.500 know better, because God knows. That's the God 00:28:11.500 --> 00:28:14.599 that we worship. That's the God to whom we all 00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:20.000 must give a final accounting one day. Let's pray. 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:26.000 Friend, if God knows you, knows all about you, 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:30.039 and He does, He does. Are you ready for that 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:35.559 accounting with Him? Have you trusted Jesus Christ 00:28:35.559 --> 00:28:40.880 as your Savior to be your sin bearer so that 00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:46.079 you don't have to bear it before God? If not, 00:28:46.180 --> 00:28:52.299 will you do that right now? Dear fellow Christian, 00:28:52.359 --> 00:28:57.759 let this truth of God's knowing console your 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:01.359 heart. in the pain and the discouragement you're 00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:06.380 in. Let it console you regarding what He calls 00:29:06.380 --> 00:29:11.119 you to do, knowing that He will enable you. He 00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:13.400 knows your frame. He knows what you're made of, 00:29:13.640 --> 00:29:16.839 but dust. If He calls you to do something, He 00:29:16.839 --> 00:29:25.099 will enable you. He knows. Be consoled. Let all 00:29:25.099 --> 00:29:29.049 of us put away our excuses. Be transparent and 00:29:29.049 --> 00:29:35.950 genuine before God. Oh God, we worship you today 00:29:35.950 --> 00:29:42.690 because you know all things and you know us. 00:29:45.789 --> 00:29:49.069 We thank you for your grace and your mercy that 00:29:49.069 --> 00:29:53.829 enable us through Jesus Christ to be your children. 00:29:55.119 --> 00:29:58.680 To be forgiven, to be accepted by You, the Holy 00:29:58.680 --> 00:30:04.640 One. Thank You that in Your knowing of us, You 00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:10.660 bring sweet comforts to our souls. Father, there 00:30:10.660 --> 00:30:13.180 are some here this morning struggling with deep 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:21.140 problems of despair and loneliness and fear and 00:30:21.140 --> 00:30:26.079 worry. May those who are your children be comforted 00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:29.859 today in the truth that you their living God 00:30:29.859 --> 00:30:34.640 Know and understand and you're working even now 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:42.720 in their circumstances In Jesus name I pray amen 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:47.440 You stand with me please as we depart from here 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:52.069 today, let us depart knowing that God sees Do 00:30:52.069 --> 00:30:56.450 you remember Hagar of the Old Testament? Sarah's 00:30:56.450 --> 00:31:00.289 slave who bore a son to Abraham and then was 00:31:00.289 --> 00:31:04.049 chased out of the camp by an angry Sarah. And 00:31:04.049 --> 00:31:08.230 she was in a desert dying with her situation 00:31:08.230 --> 00:31:14.609 desperate. And God met her there. And her response 00:31:14.609 --> 00:31:20.529 was, oh God, you see me. God sees where you are 00:31:20.529 --> 00:31:23.559 too. and He's walking with you today, and He 00:31:23.559 --> 00:31:27.019 leaves with you, and He will be with you this 00:31:27.019 --> 00:31:31.859 week. So walk in fear of Him and worship Him. 00:31:32.839 --> 00:31:33.420 We're dismissed.