This morning, the Lord is bringing into focus one of the many attributes of who He is; the fact that He is omniscient or all-knowing.
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.
1 John 3:20
If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Psalm 147:3-5
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
On one occasion when the disciples were eating breakfast with Jesus after He resurrected, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Not coincidentally, this was the same amount of times the he denied even knowing Jesus the night that He was betrayed.
John 21:17
The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Since God exists outside of time and space, all of creation is always before Him. That’s why He is always the same yesterday, today, and forever. This is also how He is able to provide accurate prophetic insight. To Him, the future is happening right now and even already has happened.
Realizing that God knows everything about us is something that we may not often think about. It can be a little creepy or intimidating and even embarrassing to consider that God knows us that well; even our very thoughts.
Isaiah knew this truth, but he didn’t fully realize what that meant until he was taken into the very throne room of God in Heaven. Being in the Presence of a holy, perfect God who knew everything about him broke him down instantly!
Isaiah 6:5
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
God not only knows us perfectly, He also loves us perfectly and His love casts out all fear. With fear gone, all of the embarrassment and intimidation and shame that accompany it flees.
Isaiah 6:6-8
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Oh, the fire of God!!! It cleanses and purifies us. It burns away everything that we are not so that only who God created us to be remains.
After we are forgiven of our sins, there is an incredible peace and assurance that comes from being accepted just as we are by a God who knows everything about us. There is a boldness that rises up within us knowing that He is with us and for us. His forgiveness manifests His love and mercy and grace and power into our lives that drives out all fear.
When approaching God, we do not have to experience the pain and frustration of being misunderstood or rejected by others. All of us have experienced this from time to time and some of us far more often than others. Being pre-judged or have pre-conceived notions about who we are, how we think and what we are like is heart-breaking.
This will never happen when it comes to God. He knows us truthfully and entirely. His understanding of us is complete. Even the sin in our lives and the thoughts that are not our thoughts do not stop Him from responding to us when we cry out to Him.
Through Jesus, we can have confidence and boldness when approaching God!
Hebrews 4:13-16
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. 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
We can have confidence because we’re also never going to catch God off guard or unaware.
Matthew 6:7-8
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Even if we don’t know what to pray or how to pray when we cry out to God, we have a perfect intercessor through the Holy Spirit!
Romans 8:26-27
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
God knows us so well that not only did He know us before we came to know Him, He knew us before we were even conceived in our mother’s wombs!
Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
God truly knows everything that there is to know about us. He knows us better than we even know ourselves!
Psalm 139:1-18
1 You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
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.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
Without a doubt, we are each individually and thoroughly and completely known by God! God knows all of our weaknesses, our sin, our past mistakes, our failures; everything. And yet still, He calls us and equips us and strengthens us and commissions us and entrusts us with His Kingdom!
If we want to put an end to sin and shame and condemnation in our lives, if we want to be powerful witnesses for Jesus to a lost and hurting world, then it is religious masquerading that needs to stop.
The power that the enemy has over us is that which we keep concealed and hidden in darkness. When we expose it to the light, Satan loses the grip that he has on us! There is freedom and healing found in the confession of our sins.
God already knows it all anyways and it is Him alone that we have to answer to and give an account for our lives. Why fear man and what they think of us?
Jesus warns us about this very issue; hypocrisy. That’s what the concealment of our sin is; hypocrisy.
Luke 12:1-35
1 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
Why do we keep things concealed and hidden? We’re ashamed of them or embarrassed by them. Why fear what people think of us? What is the worst that they can do to us? Stop talking to us? Start talking about us? Kill us?
4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
God is the only One to fear because He is the only One that we will answer to for our lives. He has all power and all authority even to throw us into hell, which is far worse than any earthly death. And how does He treat us?
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
YOU ARE WORTH SO MUCH TO GOD!!! He gave up everything for you! He held nothing back for you! He purchased your sin-filled life at the cost of His perfect, sinless Son’s. He was cursed so that you might be blessed. He died that you might live. YOU ARE WORTH IT!!! Are you ashamed of Jesus, though? Are you afraid to live out your faith publicly?
8 “I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. 9 But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
It’s interesting that most everyone has good things to say about Jesus or God the Father. However, the things of the Spirit are often made fun of, spoke poorly of, and despised even by churches.
The gifts and operation of the Holy Spirit that we find in the scriptures, that Paul encourages us to earnestly seek after, are said to not be for today. Some churches even forbid prophecy or words of knowledge or speaking in tongues saying that those things have ceased or are only useful out on the missions field in foreign lands. Everything else is accepted and encouraged, and still for today, but not the things that the Bible teaches us about the moving and manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
There are some who teach that humans are incapable of blaspheming the Holy Spirit; that only angels can do that or the Pharisees standing before Christ in-the-flesh.
Why would Jesus take the time to warn this group of thousands of people that ANYONE who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven for it? In Matthew 12:32, Jesus says that this sin will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come.
Blaspheme, the Greek word blasphēmeō, simply means any abusive or humiliating speech, to utter false statements or charges toward, to injure the reputation of, to speak evil of. Whether or not we are capable of committing this sin is something that we can all debate, but regardless, we should be cautious not to speak against the Holy Spirit…
11 “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”
Some teach the that Holy Spirit is an impersonal force. Well, it doesn’t get much more personal than teaching us spontaneously in the moment what to say when we have to answer to authorities for living out our faith. We saw the early church often being drug into the courts to do so and we may have to one day do the same. Don’t worry if that happens, just trust the personal infilling of the Holy Spirit within you!
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Talk about someone who just doesn’t get it…
Jesus is teaching deep revelations about the Kingdom of God and this guy is focused on getting his fair share of an earthly inheritance. How often do we get so caught up in family arguments and disputes that we forget that the things of this earth really don’t matter. We’re going to be leaving it all behind anyways.
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Do Not Worry
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds (another reminder of our worth and value to God!)! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning
We end this morning with this reminder once again. Be ready, be serving, keep the fire of God burning brightly in your life fueled by the infilling of the Holy Spirit!
We are fully known and understood by God, so why try to hide or conceal anything?
We are fully known, yet perfectly loved. We can boldly and confidently come before God’s throne to receive all of the grace that we need to be empowered to be a public witness for Jesus! So let’s do just that and be just that!