*WHAT GOD KNOWS ABOUT YOU Part 1 Getting to Know God *ILL When we have a distorted view of a situation or a person, it influences our actions and attitudes. There was a time when people believed the earth was flat. They were afraid to venture out into the ocean for fear they would fall off. Their distorted view effected their behavior and attitude. Many have a distorted view of God because of what they have heard on TV and seen in movies. Many popular books misrepresent the character and nature of God. Ill In the book, The Good Earth, the main character, Wang, is a Chinese peasant farmer. One day when he and his wife were walking home, they were full of joy because they had just had a child. The couple became very fearful. They were afraid that if they had too much joy that God would punish them. That is a distorted view of God. The Bible is God s self-revelation and the only reliable source of knowledge about God. In its pages, He has made himself known. We're beginning a new message series today called "Getting to Know God." We will look at the attributes of God and discover what He is really like. The Bible says we can know God and in fact, God wants us to know Him. Paul said that his goal in life was to know Christ and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10) and that should be our goal. When you get to know God, you will discover that you can trust Him. Unless you get to know God, you will never trust Him. The first question we want to examine is TS WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF GOD S KNOWLEDGE? *1. God Knows Everything. *Look at Hebrews 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. NIV *Nothing is hidden from God. "His understanding has no limit." (Psalm 147:5, NIV) These verses are describing what theologians call the omniscience of God. That means God knows everything. There is no question He cannot answer, no problem that confuses Him. He is never surprised. He never says, "Oh, really, I didn t know that." God knows everything. *(1.) God knows all about Himself. You and I don't know everything about ourself. That causes a lot of our problems. God is not like you and me, He knows Himself and the Bible is His self-revelation.
Page 2 of 5 *(2.) God knows all about the universe. He knows about everything in the universe. After all, He created it. *Look at Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. NIV That's an amazing statement -- God saw everything in the universe, every star, every planet, every atom, every tree, every blade of grass, every living thing, He saw it all. He was totally aware of everything and He said, "It was very good." *(3.) God knows all about history. He knows the past, the present, and the future. He knows it all. He knows everything that is happening right now. He knows everything that will happen. And not only that, He knows everything that could have happened but didn't. He knows the scope of history from beginning to end. *Listen to what God said in Isaiah 46:9 I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. 10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. NIV God knows the end from the beginning. That is so awesome! *Look at Deuteronomy 18:22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. NIV God is 100% accurate in predicting the future. If a person makes one prediction that does not come true, he is a false prophet. God knows everything that has happened and is going to happen. TS Let s answer the main question for today. WHAT DOES GOD KNOW ABOUT YOU AND ME? *2. God knows everything about you. *Look at Psalms 139:16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. NIV He's intimately acquainted with you. We say that we believe that God knows everything. But, do we really act like it? We are going to look at some specific areas of God s knowledge about you. I hope by looking at the details it will help us to grasp the reality of God s intimate knowledge of each of us.
Page 3 of 5 *(1.) God knows all about your faults and failures. *Psalms 69:5 O God, you know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from you. NLT Sometimes we want to forget the omniscience of God because it's a little uncomfortable. It is uncomfortable for me to realize I don't have any secrets from God. 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. We think we can sneak it past God, and He won t notice. When Adam sinned in the garden, the first thing he did was run away and hide as if he could hide from God. God comes walking through the Garden, figuratively speaking, and says, "Adam, where are you?" Whenever God asks a question, it is never for information, never for His benefit. God knew exactly where Adam was. Adam needed to admit where he was. When God asked Cain, "Where's your brother Abel?" Cain needed to admit he had killed Abel. *Proverbs 5:21 For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths. NIV You and I always have an audience. Nothing you ever say is "off the record." There is nowhere to hide. Everything you think, everything you see, everything you do, or feel -- God sees it all. ILL What is the worst thing you have ever done? When you did it, you probably thought that no one would ever know. Maybe to this day no one does. But God knows. You have already been found out. God knows and He's the one who counts. He knows all your faults and all your failures and He still loves you. God is not shocked by my sin. He saw it coming. When we confess to Him the things we've done wrong, He's not shocked. He knows what happened. How should I respond? Be honest with God. Just admit it. *The Bible says, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8 NIV) 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. Isn t that great news! You never have to worry about God finding out what you have done and not loving you anymore.
Page 4 of 5 When I admit it to Him, it never changes the way He feels about me, because He already knows. He loves me and He loves me unconditionally. That means I don't have to fake it, I don't have to pretend. *Proverbs 28:13 People who conceal their sins will not prosper, NLT Cover-ups never work, especially when it comes to God. God knows all my faults and failures. *(2.) God knows all your feelings and frustrations. *Psalm 31:7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. NIV There is a common lie that we often believe when we are going through a crisis. We think, "No one knows what I'm going through, no one feels the pain I'm experiencing." But, that s just not true. God knows what you are going through. No one is hurt more deeply by your pain than God is, because no one loves you more than God does. Ill When our son was a baby, he came down with an infection and had a very high fever. We rushed him to the hospital. The doctors thought he might have Spinal Meningitis. As they took him from his mother s arms and headed down the hall to do a spinal tap, I could see the pain written all over Beverly. As they began the procedure, we could hear his pain filled cry. All I could do was to hold Beverly and watch her cry. God loves you more than a mother loves the child she gave birth to. *Look at Psalm 56:8 You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. NLT There is no hurt that goes unnoticed or unfelt by God. He sees it all and feels it. Often when we're hurting we feel very isolated, very lonely. Maybe there's been a death in the family, a divorce, maybe you've gotten fired. We feel all alone and we think, "Nobody understands the way I feel, nobody feels the pain." But God knows. He understands my frustrations and feel my pain. *Psalms 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. NIV He's our creator. The fact is: God is sympathetic to your hurts and mine. Not only does He see, He cares. God understands why it happened. He understands the reasons. He sees how it all fits together.
Page 5 of 5 The Bible says He understands because He made us. He knows our thoughts, our failures, our feelings, our frustrations. He sees the hurt in your heart. Nobody else may know or understand what you are going through. *Psalm 142:3 When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. NLT Some of you are overwhelmed and you need to surrender your whole life to God. He knows what you ought to do. If you will obey Him, it will change your life. How should I respond? God knows all your FEELINGS AND FRUSTRATIONS, so give them to Him. Give them to Him to heal you and guide you. *1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. NLT Give them all permanently to God, once and for all, don't take them back. Challenge: Give your feelings and frustrations to God. Give Him your faults and failures. Give Him every area of your life. You can trust Him. He will take your life and make something beautiful out of it.