GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING! //// A simple statement you accept as true or reject as not true: God knows everything! The theological word for this teaching is Omniscience ~ “omni” means ALL and “science” means KNOWLEDGE. God is OMNISCIENT (as we get started, a word puzzle on back of the order of service… for those that can multi-task, how many names can you find?…it will come towards the end….)
Chad & I are spending a few weeks on attributes of God. Last week Chad spoke on how God is so beyond our understanding scripture has seemingly contradictory truths. Ps. 139:6 accentuates God’s unfathomable character: READ Ps. 139:6…. We cannot fully understand. Today I want to scratch the surface of God’s omnipotence.
Chad & I are spending a few weeks on attributes of God. Last week Chad spoke on how God is so beyond our understanding scripture has seemingly contradictory truths. Ps. 139:6 accentuates God’s unfathomable character: READ Ps. 139:6…. We cannot fully understand. Today I want to scratch the surface of God’s omnipotence.
What can we say? #1: God’s knowledge is intuitive. He did not go to school he just knows… READ Job 38:1-7… God knows what he knows because he knows it! We need people who know things that we don’t and we have to trust them: the pilot of the plane, the surgeon, the teacher. How much more God Almighty, the God of knowledge… Trust in the Lord because he knows…
I love the title Hanah gives to God after God miraculously gave her a child in her old age. Hannah offered a prayer for little Samuel giving glory to God:, “The Lord is a God of knowledge” (1 Sam. 2:3). Add that title to the names of God: he just knows. May God’s knowledge be an inspiration giving you confidence and appreciation. You never see “The God of knowledge” in a list of titles, but it should be…
#2: God’s knowledge is vast. He knows everything! Heb. 4:13: “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Ps. 50:11, God says, “I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects of the field are mine.” God’s knowledge expands to the heavens. Ps. 147:4: “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.”
God knows. He knows what is done in public and in private. This is one reason we can never judge the human heart because we don’t know… we don’t know what makes another person tick, but God does. Only God knows the depth of the human heart. God’s knowledge is comprehensive.
#3: God’s Knowledge is personal: READ Ps. 139:1-5. Every detail of daily life… surely I am not the only one that ponders God’s amazing watchful care over the story of my life… On Thursday I went to Sally’s retirement party… her bosses and staff spent time going over some of the highlights of her career at the library as well as personal expressions of appreciation. I have always known that I am married to an amazing woman, but the things I heard only added to the wow factor... What a dummy I’ve been.
God knows more about us than we can imagine. When I stand I tend to take it for granted… God doesn’t… “familiar with all my ways…” God knows my thinking, “you perceive my thoughts from afar…” God’s knowledge is personal.
One of the life changing verses of scripture is 1 Sam. 16:7. Samuel is sent by God to recognize the future King of Israel, the shepherd boy David, the youngest of eight brothers, an unimpressive boy at first sight. A timeless principle is given: “…The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” We should not be surprised when people misunderstand us…As I scroll through FB, I think the top lament is other people don’t understand me…
If we can let go of the disappointment of not being understood and instead be amazed by God’s personal knowledge of us, that will bring healing to our lives. God knows your thoughts before you speak the words: READ Ps. 139:4. Almost every phrase of Ps. 139 is a gold mine of insight into God’s personal knowledge of each one of us, how we think, what makes us tick, the daily decisions we make…
God’s personal knowledge is bad news for those that resist a relationship with God, but for those that are ready to be known by God, it is very good news… May the final verses of this rich Psalm be one of the big takeaways of truth of God’s knowledge that we might dedicate our lives to him and invite him to know us: READ Ps. 139:23-24.
God’s knowledge is intuitive, vast and personal. Much more could be said, but one more big idea, #4 God’s knowledge is purposeful. God is not a passive observer… Listen to Eph. 1:4-6, 11. How do we understand the purposefulness of God’s knowledge? As we consider God’s vast knowledge intersecting with personal purpose, to what extent does he know and determine the details of our lives vs. our free will to make decisions? God is not a bystander in the audience while drama unfold on the stage, he has purpose…
God’s knowledge extends to every decision every human will ever make in a purposeful way, so what does that do to free will? Are we truly free? Perhaps I was tempted to sleep in today and skip church. Did God know 5000 years ago that Sally would have to remind me on Aug. 19, ‘18 that I’m the pastor and I am preaching today and you would notice if I skipped church? How does that fit in with genuine choices that have consequences? Does God pre-know tragedies? God is loving and good and surely wants us to make good choices, yet he seems to allow us to choose that which he would never desire for us? If we don’t genuinely choose, if every choice is mapped out before we are born, how does that square with a heart felt commitment or rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord? Reconciling these two seemingly contradictory ideas is a problem. That’s part of the mystery of God Chad spoke of last Sunday….
Christians are divided over how to understand God’s knowledge vs. human choice. Many people do not want to believe in a God with complete knowledge. This is the background for many of the O.T. & N.T. stories in which the unbelieving world is confronted by the all powerful, all knowing, all loving, all caring, all seeing, the oneness of God Almighty and Jesus Christ. The ancients of every age believed in multiple gods with limited power and knowledge. In the O.T. the most common regional god is Baal. Here is a description: “Among Baal's titles were "Rider of the Clouds," "Almighty," and "Lord of the Earth." He was the god of both fertility and the thunderstorm, as well as a mighty warrior, sometimes a sun god and the protector of crops and livestock.” (New World Encyclopedia). What’s missing? /// Love, caring about me, a personal touch… Isaiah 44 has a scripture that makes me laugh, ~~ Isaiah is describing false idols. He talks about the trees being cut down for human use and he sarcastically says, READ Is. 44:15-20…
People today are still creating “blocks of wood” to worship… we have an innate need for something greater than ourselves, but we want limits, we reject a God whose knowledge is intuitive, vast and personal because that limits us, so we create gods in our image suited for more freedom to chart our own course.
Science is a religion for many, the final authority, until it is inconvenient (e.g. a baby in the womb is a baby, defying common sense and science to say otherwise so we can justify the termination of pregnancy) …
nature is worshipped… We all believe in responsible environmental measures. I want to preserve Mt. Baker, the beautiful forests and the majestic glaciers, but Mt. Baker is inanimate… Once in a while nature throws a curveball… did you read abut mama Orca that has been keeping it’s dead baby afloat for several weeks (is it over now?)… it appears mama is grieving. the other Orca’s are helping so mama can rest… Why does this pull on our heartstrings? For unbelievers, I think it is because we have an innate need to be known. Mama Orca defies the normal impersonal character of nature and is a window into love.. if you don’t believe in God and his all knowing character, this is a glimpse of love in nature… For those who believe in God Almighty and Jesus Christ mama Orca affirms God is astounding in his love and care, he created the animals, he created nature…
The Bible says in Matt. 10:29, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your father’s care.” I love one person’s comment on this verse: “God is the only one that goes to the funeral of every sparrow.” Like Mama Orca, God cares about baby orca. Only God knows the extent of the love of an Orca…~ God knows the depth of the human heart.
Some Christians consider God’s knowledge and have decided that God knows us to such depth he knows before we are born every decision we will ever make. For others, that takes away free choice and the heart. But if we are free to choose does that mean we do something to earn God’s favor? There is an ancient question, “Can God create a rock that is too big for Him to move?” The trick is that the answer YES or NO, puts limits on God. What’s the real answer? Both. Who can fathom the depths of God? God’s vast knowledge vs. free choice… Both are true at the same time. That is an unsatisfying answer to some, yet I just know it is the only answer. How is it sin is never God’s will yet he uses us imperfect sinners to accomplish his perfect purposes? I don’t know…
I cannot fathom the fullness of the omnipotence of God, yet I believe. Two strategies that help me believe that which is beyond my understand is first of all the truth I just spoke about ~~ I accept that I can’t understand God. I wish more Christians would allow the mystery of God to stand as the final answer. The unknowable unfathomable God is knowable not because we can figure him out but because He allows himself to be known, to love us and be loved by us. God’s knowledge is beyond compare, too lofty…Learn to accept mystery….
The other truth that helps me… Let me introduce by asking you the names of Jesus that you discovered in the little puzzle….
Another name of Christ that does not appear in the Bible, but the idea is there…. Jesus Christ is GOD INCOGNITO… Incognito means hidden… secretive… like the words hidden in your puzzle…. Think of a spy in a trench coat… Jesus is God, yet in many gospel stories the people do not recognize him. Philippians puts it this way in Phil. 2:6-9 READ.
To know God is a lifetime unfolding of the revelation/revealing of God. He already completely knows us, it is our knowledge of him that is insufficient. Jesus Christ is God incognito, a mystery who emerges with greater clarity as we are able to more fully comprehend his character, his knowledge, even when our words and understanding fail. God’s Knowledge is intuitive, vast and personal. His capacity to know everything is beyond us so that we cannot get our minds around his character, yet he invites us to know him personally. The mystery of God is slowly revealed for those who seek Him and receive Him. The mystery of God is revealed to those who allow themselves to be known by God: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts…and lead me in the way everlasting.” Amen.
I love the title Hanah gives to God after God miraculously gave her a child in her old age. Hannah offered a prayer for little Samuel giving glory to God:, “The Lord is a God of knowledge” (1 Sam. 2:3). Add that title to the names of God: he just knows. May God’s knowledge be an inspiration giving you confidence and appreciation. You never see “The God of knowledge” in a list of titles, but it should be…
#2: God’s knowledge is vast. He knows everything! Heb. 4:13: “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Ps. 50:11, God says, “I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects of the field are mine.” God’s knowledge expands to the heavens. Ps. 147:4: “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.”
God knows. He knows what is done in public and in private. This is one reason we can never judge the human heart because we don’t know… we don’t know what makes another person tick, but God does. Only God knows the depth of the human heart. God’s knowledge is comprehensive.
#3: God’s Knowledge is personal: READ Ps. 139:1-5. Every detail of daily life… surely I am not the only one that ponders God’s amazing watchful care over the story of my life… On Thursday I went to Sally’s retirement party… her bosses and staff spent time going over some of the highlights of her career at the library as well as personal expressions of appreciation. I have always known that I am married to an amazing woman, but the things I heard only added to the wow factor... What a dummy I’ve been.
God knows more about us than we can imagine. When I stand I tend to take it for granted… God doesn’t… “familiar with all my ways…” God knows my thinking, “you perceive my thoughts from afar…” God’s knowledge is personal.
One of the life changing verses of scripture is 1 Sam. 16:7. Samuel is sent by God to recognize the future King of Israel, the shepherd boy David, the youngest of eight brothers, an unimpressive boy at first sight. A timeless principle is given: “…The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” We should not be surprised when people misunderstand us…As I scroll through FB, I think the top lament is other people don’t understand me…
If we can let go of the disappointment of not being understood and instead be amazed by God’s personal knowledge of us, that will bring healing to our lives. God knows your thoughts before you speak the words: READ Ps. 139:4. Almost every phrase of Ps. 139 is a gold mine of insight into God’s personal knowledge of each one of us, how we think, what makes us tick, the daily decisions we make…
God’s personal knowledge is bad news for those that resist a relationship with God, but for those that are ready to be known by God, it is very good news… May the final verses of this rich Psalm be one of the big takeaways of truth of God’s knowledge that we might dedicate our lives to him and invite him to know us: READ Ps. 139:23-24.
God’s knowledge is intuitive, vast and personal. Much more could be said, but one more big idea, #4 God’s knowledge is purposeful. God is not a passive observer… Listen to Eph. 1:4-6, 11. How do we understand the purposefulness of God’s knowledge? As we consider God’s vast knowledge intersecting with personal purpose, to what extent does he know and determine the details of our lives vs. our free will to make decisions? God is not a bystander in the audience while drama unfold on the stage, he has purpose…
God’s knowledge extends to every decision every human will ever make in a purposeful way, so what does that do to free will? Are we truly free? Perhaps I was tempted to sleep in today and skip church. Did God know 5000 years ago that Sally would have to remind me on Aug. 19, ‘18 that I’m the pastor and I am preaching today and you would notice if I skipped church? How does that fit in with genuine choices that have consequences? Does God pre-know tragedies? God is loving and good and surely wants us to make good choices, yet he seems to allow us to choose that which he would never desire for us? If we don’t genuinely choose, if every choice is mapped out before we are born, how does that square with a heart felt commitment or rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord? Reconciling these two seemingly contradictory ideas is a problem. That’s part of the mystery of God Chad spoke of last Sunday….
Christians are divided over how to understand God’s knowledge vs. human choice. Many people do not want to believe in a God with complete knowledge. This is the background for many of the O.T. & N.T. stories in which the unbelieving world is confronted by the all powerful, all knowing, all loving, all caring, all seeing, the oneness of God Almighty and Jesus Christ. The ancients of every age believed in multiple gods with limited power and knowledge. In the O.T. the most common regional god is Baal. Here is a description: “Among Baal's titles were "Rider of the Clouds," "Almighty," and "Lord of the Earth." He was the god of both fertility and the thunderstorm, as well as a mighty warrior, sometimes a sun god and the protector of crops and livestock.” (New World Encyclopedia). What’s missing? /// Love, caring about me, a personal touch… Isaiah 44 has a scripture that makes me laugh, ~~ Isaiah is describing false idols. He talks about the trees being cut down for human use and he sarcastically says, READ Is. 44:15-20…
People today are still creating “blocks of wood” to worship… we have an innate need for something greater than ourselves, but we want limits, we reject a God whose knowledge is intuitive, vast and personal because that limits us, so we create gods in our image suited for more freedom to chart our own course.
Science is a religion for many, the final authority, until it is inconvenient (e.g. a baby in the womb is a baby, defying common sense and science to say otherwise so we can justify the termination of pregnancy) …
nature is worshipped… We all believe in responsible environmental measures. I want to preserve Mt. Baker, the beautiful forests and the majestic glaciers, but Mt. Baker is inanimate… Once in a while nature throws a curveball… did you read abut mama Orca that has been keeping it’s dead baby afloat for several weeks (is it over now?)… it appears mama is grieving. the other Orca’s are helping so mama can rest… Why does this pull on our heartstrings? For unbelievers, I think it is because we have an innate need to be known. Mama Orca defies the normal impersonal character of nature and is a window into love.. if you don’t believe in God and his all knowing character, this is a glimpse of love in nature… For those who believe in God Almighty and Jesus Christ mama Orca affirms God is astounding in his love and care, he created the animals, he created nature…
The Bible says in Matt. 10:29, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your father’s care.” I love one person’s comment on this verse: “God is the only one that goes to the funeral of every sparrow.” Like Mama Orca, God cares about baby orca. Only God knows the extent of the love of an Orca…~ God knows the depth of the human heart.
Some Christians consider God’s knowledge and have decided that God knows us to such depth he knows before we are born every decision we will ever make. For others, that takes away free choice and the heart. But if we are free to choose does that mean we do something to earn God’s favor? There is an ancient question, “Can God create a rock that is too big for Him to move?” The trick is that the answer YES or NO, puts limits on God. What’s the real answer? Both. Who can fathom the depths of God? God’s vast knowledge vs. free choice… Both are true at the same time. That is an unsatisfying answer to some, yet I just know it is the only answer. How is it sin is never God’s will yet he uses us imperfect sinners to accomplish his perfect purposes? I don’t know…
I cannot fathom the fullness of the omnipotence of God, yet I believe. Two strategies that help me believe that which is beyond my understand is first of all the truth I just spoke about ~~ I accept that I can’t understand God. I wish more Christians would allow the mystery of God to stand as the final answer. The unknowable unfathomable God is knowable not because we can figure him out but because He allows himself to be known, to love us and be loved by us. God’s knowledge is beyond compare, too lofty…Learn to accept mystery….
The other truth that helps me… Let me introduce by asking you the names of Jesus that you discovered in the little puzzle….
Another name of Christ that does not appear in the Bible, but the idea is there…. Jesus Christ is GOD INCOGNITO… Incognito means hidden… secretive… like the words hidden in your puzzle…. Think of a spy in a trench coat… Jesus is God, yet in many gospel stories the people do not recognize him. Philippians puts it this way in Phil. 2:6-9 READ.
To know God is a lifetime unfolding of the revelation/revealing of God. He already completely knows us, it is our knowledge of him that is insufficient. Jesus Christ is God incognito, a mystery who emerges with greater clarity as we are able to more fully comprehend his character, his knowledge, even when our words and understanding fail. God’s Knowledge is intuitive, vast and personal. His capacity to know everything is beyond us so that we cannot get our minds around his character, yet he invites us to know him personally. The mystery of God is slowly revealed for those who seek Him and receive Him. The mystery of God is revealed to those who allow themselves to be known by God: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts…and lead me in the way everlasting.” Amen.
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