Knowing God 1. WHAT GOD KNOWS ABOUT YOU

Knowing God 1. WHAT GOD KNOWS ABOUT YOU

Hebrews 4: 13 We're beginning a new series today called "Knowing God." The attributes of God - What is God really like? The Bible says we can know God. In fact, God wants you to know Him. We cannot trust God unless we first know God. Paul says that the goal of his life was to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. What is God really like? To start us off, I want us to look today at - What does God know about you? Hebrews 4:13 "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare to Him to whom we must give account." Nothing in creation is hidden from God. Psalm 147:5 "His understanding has no limit." What these verses are talking about is called the omniscience of God. That means God knows everything. There is no question He cannot answer, no problem that confuses Him. He's never surprised. He's never shocked. He never says, "Oh, really?" God knows everything. 1. THE SCOPE OF HIS KNOWLEDGE God knows all about Himself. You don't know all about yourself. That's why you have a lot of problems. I'm constantly surprising myself - things I thought I could do that I can't, things I thought I couldn't do that I can. God knows Himself and knows He can do anything. God knows all about creation. He knows about everything He has made. Genesis 1:21 - after God had finished making the world, He saw everything He had created and He said, "It is good." Amazing statement - God saw everything. Every rock, every tree, every blade of grass, every fish, every bird, every animal, every star. He saw everything. He was totally aware of everything that He created and He said, "It is good." God knows all about history. He knows the past, the present and the future. He knows everything that has happened. He knows everything that is happening right now. He knows everything that will happen. Nott only that, He knows everything that could have happened but didn't and everything that can happen but won't. He knows the scope of history from beginning to end. 2. WHAT GOD KNOWS ABOUT ME Psalm 139 - God knows everything about you. He's intimately acquainted with you. We say that we know that God knows everything. But we really don't act like it. Today, I want to do a little reminder of 5 specific areas that God knows everything about in your life and the difference that it will make if you just remember that fact. A. GOD KNOWS ALL MY FAULTS AND FAILURES This is the bad news. Psalm 69: 5 (GN) "My sins, O God, are not hidden from you; you know how foolish I have been." God knows everything about us. Sometimes we want to forget the omniscience of God because it's uncomfortable. There's some things I'd rather God not know about me. But I don't have any secrets and neither do you. God knows everything. Foolishly, when we do something wrong, we try to hide our sins and lock the door but God knows what's behind that locked door. Proverbs 5:21 "For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths." You always have an audience. Nothing you ever say is "off the record." Everything you think, everything you see, everything you do, feel - God sees it all. He knows all about it. God is not shocked by my sin. He's already seen it. He saw it coming. When we confess to Him the things we've done wrong, He's not shocked. He saw it coming: "I know, I understand. I know why it happened. I know why you ended up in that situation." FACT: He knows my sins. MY RESPONSE: Be honest with God. Just admit it. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Just admit it. "You're right God. I was wrong." God knows everything about me. He already knows all I've done wrong and He still loves me. That means I don't have to fake it, I don't have to pretend. Proverbs 28:13 "Cover ups never work." B. GOD KNOWS ALL MY FEELINGS AND FRUSTRATIONS Psalm 31:7 "... you God have listened to all my troubles and have seen the crisis in my soul." Some of you think - "Nobody knows what I'm going through, nobody feels my pain." God knows. He has seen the crisis in my soul. Psalm 56: 6 (GN) "You know how troubled I am; you have kept a record of my tears." There is no hurt that goes unnoticed by God. He sees it all. When we're hurting we feel very isolated, very lonely. Maybe there's been a death in the family, a divorce, lost our job. We feel all alone and think, "Nobody understands the way I feel.” But God knows. What does God think when He knows how you feel? Psalm 103: 13, 14, "He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic for he knows what we are made of -- dust." He's our creator. FACT: God is sympathetic to my hurts. Not only does He see, He cares. God understands why - He knows the causes, the reasons, the things that brought you to this point. He sees how it all fits together. Psalm 142: 3 "When I am ready to give up, He knows what I should do." Some of you are ready to give up and God knows what you ought to do. MY RESPONSE: Give Him my hurts. 1 Peter 5: 7 "Cast all your cares on the Lord, for He cares for you." Give Him your hurts just like you give Him your faults. 3. GOD KNOWS ALL MY FUTURE Psalm 139: 16 "The days allotted to me had all been recorded in your book before any of them ever began." Jeremiah 29: 11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, ... plans to give you hope and a future." Everybody is interested in the future. It's interesting to me the things people will try to know what the future holds. People try all kinds of things to figure out what's going to happen next. They are going to the wrong source. There is somebody who knows what's going to happen next - God. FACT: God sees my tomorrow, today. God is not limited by time. He can be in the past, the present, and the future all at the same time. That gives me great confidence in God. Nothing ever catches Him by surprise. He knows your future. He is in your future and He's prepared for everything. MY RESPONSE: I should ask for His advice. He knows what's going to happen. Jeremiah 33: 3 "Call unto Me and I will answer you and I will show you great and mighty things that you know not." "I'll give you advice because I know what's going to happen!" You can ask Him in advance for wisdom, for strength, for what you will face each day. God knows all my faults and failures and He still loves me. God knows all my frustrations and my feelings and He cares. God knows all my future so I can ask Him for advice. 4. GOD KNOWS ALL MY FEARS He knows everything that gets you uptight. Matthew 6: 31, 32 "So do not worry saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them." He knows what you need. He knows everything you need. He knows about your financial fears. Worry is the result of not realizing the omniscience of God. When I think that God doesn't know what's going on in my life, that He's unaware of it and He doesn't care and He's totally oblivious to it, then I think I must take matters into my own hands. I'll be God. I start worrying about it. Worrying is trying to play God. Worrying is taking responsibility for things God never intended you to have. When you know God it brings emotional stability into your life. Stress is created when you forget what God knows and what God does and what God has promised to do in your life. Worry comes when we forget that God knows all of our fears. Matthew 6: 8 "Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." FACT: God is aware of all my needs. When we come and pray God knows what you need before you ask. Prayer is never giving God information. He already knows what's going on. What's the use of praying, then? You don't pray in order to tell your needs to God. He already knows. You pray to get the answer to your needs, the solution to your problems. You're not revealing anything to God. He's waiting for you to ask Him for help. MY RESPONSE: Don't worry! I trust God. Philippians 4: 6 "Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything." Don't panic - pray. If God knows all my needs then I don't have to get His attention because I already have His attention. I can talk to Him about anything in my life, because He's already aware of it. We already have His undivided attention. It's no problem for Him to meet everybody's needs all at once. That's what makes Him God! 5. GOD KNOWS ALL ABOUT MY FAITHFULNESS Every time I do the right thing, God is watching. Every time, instead of sinning, I choose not to sin, every time I resist a temptation, every time I stand for something - I have a conviction – no matter how small or insignificant, God understands and He sees my faithfulness to Him. Matthew 6: 1, 4 "Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." FACT: Every good deed will be rewarded - no matter how insignificant, regardless of whether anybody else on earth saw it or not. Every encouragement you give to other people, every kind word or compliment you give to your children, every time you do a thoughtful act for your husband, every time you pick up around the office when it's not your job, every time you set up chairs in church, every kind thought, every act of courtesy, every time you had the opportunity to gossip and you didn't, every time you had the opportunity to be critical and you weren't, that you were positive instead of negative -- God sees it all! Every time you gave an offering sacrificially, God knew how much you had left over. Try to imagine living for an audience of one - God. Character is what you are in the dark. Reputation is what other people say about you. Character is what you are. What matters is the integrity in your life when nobody is looking. Because there is someone looking. God. He's saying, "I saw that act! I saw that kind thought! I saw that patience you had with your children! Good job, my child! I'm watching!" That is a tremendous motivator for me to live a godly life. I realize that nothing in my life is in secret. God sees it all. MY RESPONSE: Don't Be Discouraged! Some of you are saying, "I've been trying to do the right thing in my marriage. I don't see any results. I've been trying to be the right kind of person and respond correctly with my kids, to my parents, to my husband/wife. I've been trying to be a good Christian at work. I've been trying to have a good testimony at school. I don't know if it's paying off. I don't see it making an impact in anybody's life." God says, "I see it! No good thing ever goes unrewarded!" Galatians 6: 9 "We should not grow weary in doing good because we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Matthew 10 says even a cup of cold water given in the name of Jesus Christ, God is writing it down and you're going to get credit for it. Which of these 5 areas have you been acting as if God is totally unaware of? God knows all my faults and failures. Maybe you thought you could get away with it. You need to admit it to yourself and to God - come clean - and ask God to forgive you. Remember that He already knows about it. And He still loves you. That's grace! God knows all my feelings and frustrations. Maybe you're hurting. God loves you and He's very much aware of all that has happened in your life. Look to Him for comfort. Look to Him for strength. God knows all my future. He is already there. He's with you today in the present but He's also out there in the future. Nothing will catch Him by surprise. Ask Him for advice. God knows all my fears. What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that your needs will not be met? Your Heavenly Father knows what you need. He will take care of you. God knows all my faithfulness. Are you discouraged trying to do what's right? Nobody seems to be thankful. I don't even know if it's worth it. God knows and He will reward you. He is the audience cheering you on, clapping - "I saw that good thought! I saw that kind action!" - He's cheering you on. To me, the most amazing thing in life is God knows. Nobody knows me like God does. He knows me better than I know myself and yet nobody loves me like God does. Prayer: “Heavenly Father, I thank You that You know us like no one else, yet You love us like no one else.”