Knowing the God Who Knows You - Part B

If God's ability transcends my reality. It's best about to his immensity.

God you are so unfathomable, so transcendent, so above me so far behind me so high and so I'm giving you completely to you God's knowledge is best knows everything you know. That also means he knows everything about you today on connect with Skip project Skip shares how he could be comforted and encouraged by God's infinite knowledge before we begin, here's a resource that will take your prayer life to a new level. Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China said it is possible to movement through God by prayer alone and down the other nine books on prayer said God shapes the world by prayer, the more praying. There is in the world, the better the world will be in. Billy Graham said to get nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees here. Skip, I think you know the Bible says that we will experience God's peace. When we pray, and it tells us to pray about everything. We want to help you know how and what to pray. What to expect. That's why were offering. Lord, teach me to pray in 28 days by Kay Arthur you give to support this ministry.

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Let's get into today's Psalm 139. In our study with skip-do you know that there are over 300 about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament where you would be born.

What tribe you would be from things about his family things about his friends about his accusers betrayers that over 300 predictions in the Old Testament. It is estimated that in 100 million years. There is no chance that those prophecies that Jesus fulfilled could ever be fulfilled is not enough time without God see when you really look at it, you discover that biblical prophecy isn't just a good gas because it always has multiple contingencies that cannot be known, or cannot be controlled. That shows us gives us proof that this Bible is of divine origin, not human origin. Now, when God all knowingly predicts a future event and it comes to pass. You know that does for us, it increases our faith right side while God said would happen. It happened it should cause you to place more confidence in him. That's what Jesus said should happen. This is Jesus speaking in John chapter 14 verse 29 and now I have told you before it comes. So that when it does come to pass. You may believe. Fulfilled prophecy increases faith. There's just no other way to explain the Bible's ability to predict the future unless we see God as its author because the precision is undeniable. So God's knowledge is immeasurable. But it's also instructional because God lets us in on what is going to happen. So what we learned so far. First of all, God knows it all, knows everything and when he uses prophecy he showing off in a good way. He showing what he alone is able to do because other books of Scripture, other religions, and after Scripture do not have predictive prophecy. The Bible does so when he does that he instructs us in the future and our faith grows it is bolstered so God's knowledge is immeasurable. God's knowledge is instructional. Now let's let's move on to 1/3 feature of God's knowledge God's knowledge is individual, such as general is not the guy just knows future events. Generally, God's knowledge is personal and individual.

Let's look back at our saw him in a notice now with you emphasize something else the Lord you have searched me.

David writes and known me, you know my sitting down in my rising up. You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down. I will go through it all, but I counted 13 personal pronouns in verses one through six, 13 personal pronouns and adjectives.

What are bring this up because David is not dealing with God's knowledge and some abstract theological academic way. He is looking at God's knowledge in a personal where he's taking this personally is personalizing now what David does with this attribute of God with this truth of God. God is omniscient what David does with it is exactly what you and I should be doing every time we crack open the Bible every time we listen to a sermon at church every time we do our daily devotions. We should personalize it we should individualize because otherwise Bible knowledge is useless unless it affects us see whenever you study the Scripture probably a lot of you arty know this, that there stages that you go through observation is the first stage, then interpretation is the second then application is the third.

So first you read it and you observe what what is this text saying that's the question you ask in observation what is it saying what you discover. I observation what the text is saying. Then he moved to the second stage which is interpretation what is the text mean what are made to the original recipients what one of the original author or speaker intended to mean what are the historical exigencies around it. What is the language that is employed being etc. so I discover what it says I discover what it means, but the third, the most important is the application what does the text mean to me personally. That's what David does with this attribute but knowledge of God is in subcommittee theology sizes or philosophize is, but he personalizes it to give you a quote by JI Packer, who incidentally went to have been two days ago on Friday. He went into heaven and he's 93 years of age. Great theologian but he wrote these words, if we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake.

It's bound to go bad on us.

It will make us proud and conceded that very greatness of the subject matter will intoxicate us listen, I've met drunk theologians drunk pastors drunk Christians were mean is drunk on their own knowledge are a no eschatology invited her to impress that even though the word eschatology. They just love they their own accumulation of theological truth but you might now stop but it might not change you some of the same people can of rotten marriages, shallow personal worship. It's when truth becomes personal that it becomes profitable to look what he says, verse two. This is how individual it is God. He says God knows my every movement in verse two.

You know my sitting down and my rising who cares about that. These are mundane activities.

Evidently Todd knows God has studied this God watches this and God cares about.

In fact, looked down at verse 17 is… Sort of Skip ahead some. Sometimes these truths overlap. David says in verse 17 how precious are your thoughts to me of God, how great is this some of them if I should count them they would be more in number than the sand when I awake I am still with here is David realizing this know what all God not only knows everything about everything I do, but he cares about everything I do like like Peter wrote casting all your care upon him because he cares for you. The latest count of world population as of today is 7.8 billion be there 7.8 billion people alive on planet Earth. Not only does God know everything about you and your actions. But God individually knows all the 7.8 billion people staggering to think that way. Proverbs 5 puts it this way, the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all of this paths. He knows it all and he knows all the individual details so David says God knows my every movement verse two. Also in the same verse.

Not only does God know my every movement. God knows my every motive for use as you understand my thought afar off that this term afar off, refers to time, not space.

He's not saying afar off spatially but chronologically in other words, you know, my thought before. I think my thought. So I'm going to the prom thought processes to form the first word you arty know the end of the sentence before the electrical and chemical signal is transmitted at the synapse of the neuron. You know I'm going with this thing.

You understand my every motive in one sense dealing with this kind of a God could be for some unsettling because I've discovered people have a basic fear of being exposed and are not only are we discovering that were in this crazy culvert age that nobody thought was possible. But here we are, but were being surveilled their surveillance cameras virtually everywhere bugging devices are possible. There are tracers that can be put on your phone to track your every movement so we are discovering were living in a world where there are no secrets that bothers us. You know what it feels like.

Perhaps if you discover your line of the story are sitting in the restaurant.

The everything back now always for you to be able to sit in a restaurant, you will one day hopefully.

But when you discover that somebody's been staring at you across the room just makes you feel creepy second person staring at me that they are invading my space visually would even like that. So David is coming to grips personally with our God who has that kind of awareness of him personally. He knows everything, or is the writer of Hebrews summed it up in Hebrews 413. There is no creature hidden from his site, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account what this means in short is you cannot pull the wool over God's eyes. So why bother trying to wine or just be honest before God. Do try to sell God and how good you are cool your really big guy just like God knows BU be honest, by the way, before we move on from this. The reason that God's assessment of things and God's ultimate judgment of things is better than everyone else's, is because he has this attribute help you in a God of love judging how will you judge dealing with somebody who has an attribute known only to him called Omniscience she knows everything you put a person before a human judge in it in a modern courtroom setting and witnesses come forward and I saw this person do that than he did that and so we get information. The judge listens to the testimonies. Then there are lawyers that countermand and counteract and and the judge will make a decision based on very limited knowledge, God will make a judgment based on all the facts all the motives so God's statements. God assessments God's judgments are always much better than anybody else.

Yours included might include, so God's knowledge is immeasurable. It is instructional it is individual.

Finally, David tells us here, the God's knowledge is inspirational. What I mean by that is, it motivates us to do something when I discover this God who knows everything. It should lead me somewhere. Let's see where it leads David want to drill down with me a little bit in verse five liquidy says you says to God, you have hedged me behind and before or in the back and in the front you have hedged me in the back and the front and laid your hand upon me. The word hedged the Hebrew word sure means to bind to encircle or to lay siege to it was used of an army laying siege or seating city.

So David Hume might translate this is saying I am hemmed in by you like a city under siege. That's what it's saying that's the observation I was moved to the interpreters. What is he mean by that, while some think that he means nestled protective you nestle me you protect me. Others think that he is talking more fatalistic way like you think I feel trapped. Follow my thinking here. They interpret the David is saying look, if you know everything before it happens that I'm a prisoner of fate. It's going to happen. I have no choice in the matter. I'm sorta hemmed in that way. I'm trapped I'm hedged in.

Now I don't think it means that I actually think it means the first. I think he means I'm surrounded by God because when he says he laid her hand on me, it means you've cupped your hands around me and that's a protective measure so yeah I'm hedged then I'm hemmed in and protected by your hand and so II think that's true because liquidy says in verse six. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me he would call a wonderful if he felt trapped again.

Verse 17 how precious are your thoughts to me. He wouldn't call those thoughts precious if he felt trapped.

How great is the sum of them. So David is saying I'm a prisoner of fate. He sang unprotected by the father. That's what he sang. Now this leads him somewhere. This motivates him. This inspires him to do something.

Taking out of the very end of this Psalm saw verse 23.

Now he makes it appear search me oh God, and know my heart trying me or test me and know my anxieties and see if there is any wicked way in me have at a God you're all knowing, examine my life and when you find bad stuff. Tell me what it is but look how he ends the Psalm and lead to me in the way everlasting in the summit of this workbook. If I try to figure you got out all blow a fuse.

Your knowledge is so high I can't attain to it so I'll just deal to you all to submit to you all just surrender to. That's the motivation that's that's the inspiration is inspired to fully surrender and submit to God's will. Now let me give you the whole Psalm.

In a nutshell is ended here by David. Since God's ability transcends my reality. It is best to bow to his immensity. Once again if if God's ability transcends my reality. It's best to bow to his immensity.

God you are so unfathomable, so transcendent, so above me so far beyond me so high I can attain to it so I'm really yield completely to you and trust and have confidence in you. You see of God were big enough for your mind, he wouldn't be big enough for your needs. If you can fit them all in the confines of her little brain. I have them all figured out. You have nothing to trust in order to appeal to so that is Psalm 139 versus 136 that's how David renders this beautiful quality of God's knowledge. Let me give us three things to walk away with three practical application points number one since God knows everything I means he knows the worst about us. This is good news because in human relationships. When a person gets to know another person. There is a fear that once that person really knows who I am not like me anymore and I'm not going to have that person's love. I will be rejected by that person. Once they really discover who I am.

So what happens is people in their relationships resort to hiding, putting putting their best face on their best foot forward and they don't have the freedom to be the real them. But God already knows the truth about and loves you anyway. So God knows everything that he already knows the worst about you when you call to a second take away since God knows everything he does the best about us say why this is good news because how many times do you do your best, but your best in good enough for some people, you fail at doing your best and when you fail, even with the right motivations.

People are critical of you doing your best. You can take confidence in the fact that God knows the real scoop.

God knows the motive of your heart.

God knows what was behind your best effort that you fail that. So, for example, when Peter denied the Lord and failed Jesus. Jesus met him after the resurrection. Remember what Jesus asked him he said Peter do you love me asking that three times because Peter said yes Lord, I love you again.

Jesus said do you love me. Yes, Lord, I love you Peter do you love me three times. Peter ended that little discourse by saying, Lord, you know all things you know all things and you know that I love you that's reluctant. He appealed to the knowledge of Jesus. You know the worst about us. You know the best about us even when we fail at our best. I love what what John says.

First John chapter 3, even if our own heart condemns us. God is greater than our heart and knows all things. So, since God knows everything you knows the worst about us. He knows the best about us and third take away is since God knows everything. He knows the potential in us all. Yes he sees all of your imperfections.

But God also sees the finished product. He knows what you're going to become the Bible says we are his workmanship, his work of art. And you know how an artist is an artist begins the painting or the, the sculptor with the finished product in his or her mind is already done.

I see what it's going to become. And so you might just see a blob of green or yellow on a canvas, but the artist sees the whole finished product.

He knows the stages. It will take to get you there. We all know Romans 828 writes one of her favorite verses we know the God all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. One of the most famous verses in the Bible. Romans 828.

I encourage you to make the very next verse as important as Romans 828 Romans 829 says this for those that God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son to get that God knowing everything in advance as purpose that you end up looking just like Jesus. That's why it takes so long and so many trials to get there and you won't even be cooked until you get to heaven you will be done to your in his presence, but that is his goal that is his aim for those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of the son, and those he predestined he also called those he called he also justified those he justified, listen, he also glorified. Now God is adding something that hasn't happened yet to your resume glorified you're not glorified yet you're not glorified your nice bridging glorified your brothers and sisters, not glorified, I'm not glorified yet. But God says the future is as true to me as the past.

I justified you, I'm going to glorify you.

I'm in a stated this way glorified. It's a done deal. That's God's knowledge to Skip a text message from the series 2020 Skip to share. You can keep these messages going strong to connect more people to God. The Bible is full of promises by a promise keeping God and our goal is to share all those promises. With friends like you to encourage and strengthen you in your faith.

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Thank you for your generosity and come back tomorrow as Skip Heitzig shares what you can take comfort in the knowledge that God is in all places at all time. Where is God. God is here, there and everywhere.

That's what I'm calling this message. Yes I know it's a title of a Beatles song stuff is just in my head that is what sums up God nature God is here and there and everywhere Skip presentation of connection communication is changing true ever-changing time