The God Who Knows It All - Part A

Whatever it is that you think about God determines what you think about everything else. If you get God wrong you have everything else wrong because whatever you think about God will determine what you think about yourself what you think about the world what you think about what is right and what is wrong. W Joseph was right said whatever a person thinks about God is the most important thing about that person you notice the children know everything you tell them something to respond.

I know today on connect with skip-Skip talks about the all-knowing nature of God and how to continue growing in your understanding of the first want to share about what you can hear more biblically solid teachings from Skip what I want you to know that because of support from listeners like you. Our media ministry is expanded our weekly half-hour TV program is continuing to grow. In addition to our weekend broadcast on the worldwide health song channel we are now being seen each week on the Trinity broadcasting network. Thank you for your donations that make this expansion even possible. It's a joy to see the teaching of God's word reach even more people there are the viewing details for health song and TVM to interconnect with skip.

I took on the hills on channel on Saturdays at 4:30 PM Mountain or catch it on TV yet on Sundays at 5:30 AM Eastern. Check your local listings. Now we're in Psalm chapter 139. As we dive into the teaching with Skip Heitzig to read something that gentleman wrote to dear Abby dear Abby, my wife insisted that I put the Christmas lights up this weekend. I went out of my way, taking valuable time away from watching football games to go out into the cold and put them up now rather than being appreciative of my efforts. She stopped talking to me signed confused but you need to know the rest of the story and he sent a picture and show you the rest the story. So that's a little bit different. Isn't it yeah he hung up the Christmas lights in a blob on one nail that great but the reason you're laughing is because you learn something you thought that this guy when all around the house and put up the lights when in fact he did not do that and so you laugh because you learned the whole truth.

You gain more knowledge by seeing the picture versus just hearing what was written and we are always learning. That's how we know things we know because we learn things over the course of time by research or experience very different than than God does and what we learn we accumulate over time. In fact, there's a lot of stuff in our minds that is just worthless information could be lyrics of songs or movie lines or facts about celebrities. It's not meaningful information but it's stuck up there and it's funny how people love trivia and there's a big market for its because it's interesting, here's a here's a sample I bet you didn't know that no piece of paper can be folded more than seven times.

Don't try it now, but you can gladden try that sometime. I bet you didn't know that donkeys kill more people every year than plane crashes never get near a donkey again. I bet you didn't know that the liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma. Crazy stuff you did know that you burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television. All that snoring.

I bet you didn't know that a Boeing 747's wingspan is longer than the Wright brothers first flight, or I bet you did know that most dust particles in your home are made from dead skin that's gross, but you did know it takes 3000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply footballs. You probably did not know most of those things if you knew them. You're a scary person or your hard to be around people that know a lot can be intimidating if you ever thought how intimidating it might've been for the disciples to be around Jesus who knew everything, even what people were thinking like the time they brought the paralytic to Jesus and Jesus look down at him and said sign, your sins are forgiven and the Bible says they began to think within themselves. This man speaks blasphemies in the Bible says and Jesus knowing their thoughts said why is it that you think evil thoughts evil in your heart. The realize Jesus knew it all.

So imagine knowing someone who knows everything you do that, your God, let me put it to different life.

Imagine knowing someone who knows everything about you and loves you anyway. That's the vantage point that we approach this from Psalm 139 describes the God who knows it all and this Psalm is a treasure trove in our series. The biography of God is what Charles Spurgeon called one of the noblest of the sacred Psalms because it highlights for unique characteristics of God tells us about his knowledge, his presence, his power and his holiness tells us that God is omniscient, all-knowing God is omnipresent always everywhere. God is omnipotent ever and always an ultimate Lee powerful and he is uniquely holy and why all of this is important is for this reason whatever it is that you think about God determines what you think about everything else. If you get God wrong you have everything else wrong because whatever you think about God will determine what you think about yourself what you think about other people what you think about the world what you think about what is right and what is wrong a W toaster was right when he said whatever a person thinks about God is the most important thing about that person. That's why theology is essential to meaningful life. You get God wrong you get everything wrong but don't let me scare you away. This is not a theology lecture per se. David in Psalm 139 takes the theology off the top shelf and takes it down to his personal level. So what were going to do today is look at the first six verses of Psalm 139 going from wide to narrow from general to specific, from theological to personal because that's what David does so that is what we are going to do with the look of God's knowledge stated his knowledge studied more in depth by David and finally his knowledge surrender to. So let's begin by looking at the first six verses as a whole, but I do not want you to look down at your Bibles and read along fact I like you to close your eyes or keep them open. If you prefer, but let me read it to you because Anna read it to you in a version that you don't have on your lap. Probably this morning. I want this to fall on fresh years, when you get a fresh take on it before we we delve into the familiar. Here are some select verses from the song God investigate my life get all the facts firsthand. I'm an open book to you, even from a distance. You know what I'm thinking you know when I leave and when I get back I'm never out of your sight. You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence, I looked behind me and you are there. Then I go up ahead in your there to your reassuring presence coming and going. This is too much to wonderful.

I can't take it all in your thoughts. How rare, how beautiful God, I'll never comprehend them. I couldn't even begin to count them anymore than I could count the sand of the sea. O let me rise in the morning and live always with you, David comes to an understanding that he articulates we call it in the general theological sense God's missions have you heard of that term before God is omniscient as a theological word. Granted it's it's it simply means God knows it all comes from two Latin words stuck together on Nye which is all and see in Chia which is knowledge. God has all knowledge.

What this means is, is that God by nature without the need to learn anything, knows everything, past, present and future is the ultimate knower in every field of knowledge. God knows more astrology than any astronomer more biology than any biologist.

God knows more about counseling than the best counselor more theology than the most astute theologian I've heard women say I don't understand man or men say. I don't get women and men, but God does.

God understands both men and women has written about them both. Does our best approach to men or women is from the lens of this book. By the way God even understands your teenager. Can you imagine that now. Man's knowledge mankind's knowledge, it is accumulated knowledge. It's the product of tedious learning, and research or experience in every now and then I read something that tries to elevate just how smart we are as a human race.

For instance, I read that mankind is accumulating knowledge exponentially at such a rapid rate that it was represented. This way if you took all of the accumulated knowledge of mankind from the beginning of recorded history into the year 1845 and you represented that by 1 inch so 1 inch depth represents now all of man's accumulated knowledge from the beginning of recorded history to the year 1845, 1 inch then what we learn from 1845 to 1945 Amir 100 years is represented by 3 inches and what we've learned from 1945 to 1975 would be the height of the Washington monument in Washington DC.

Amazing how brilliant we are. They say it is true we know more today than it any other time in history fact half of what is known today, was not known 10 years ago knowledge doubles on earth every 18 months so I don't know what the accumulated knowledge would be from 1975 to our year, but you get the idea.

It is growing exponentially is way up there but David would say, no matter how great it is. You compare that to what God has always known, and it's like what ever it's hardly anything at all. It's insignificant.

We had a learning God's knowledge is immediate, instantaneous, comprehensive and fully retentive the flesh that out what God knows.

He knows without any kind of painstaking research what God knows he does not have to move from one logical premise to another logical premise to another premise to finally a conclusion. God never had to go to school, take a test. God never has had to be informed about anything God never says things like like this, or a really or wow or I didn't know that you can never be informed. You can never tell God something he doesn't already know.

He knows it all and get this guy never forgets. It's amazing how much we forget that we are reminded of that every time our child or grandchild brings home a book and assess a question that's on his paper and you struggle really hard to get in touch with that subject and it is as foreign to you as a foreign language, you knew it wants for about a week when you were that age and it's gone. For the most part God retains it all. God knew who would win the election. God knows who's gonna win the Super Bowl, thinking why would she tell me so. According to the Bible. God is omniscient. He knows everything, past, present, future. Now, sadly, I have to report to you that not everyone who comes to Christian churches, believes that there's a whole teaching afoot these days, known as open theism in some churches and you be surprised if I told you Christian musicians you swear doesn't bless your socks off that holder. This idea of open theism or the finite knowledge of God, they believe in the idea that God created a world in which he does not know the future God is learning as he goes. They would say God does say wow really, what I wouldn't make God omniscient. That would make him unmentioned, or part, missions, or micro mission for the Bible declares quite the opposite. He knows at all. There's a question. Isaiah 40 asks to be answered rhetorically, who has understood the mind of the Lord or instructed him as his counselor who did the Lord consult to enlighten him and who taught him the right way. Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding the answer would have to be nobody because of who he is what he knows. He knows everything is in question got asked Job, Job, chapter 38.

These guys are trying to figure out why there was suffering in the world and God finally said who is this that darkens counsel with words without knowledge. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth. Tell me if you know God is comparing what he knows, with what they don't know. So all of this means that God knows everything, past, present and future didn't have to learn it knows it instantaneously, comprehensively and with full retention and that even means that the future will it's like a rerun to God is Artie seen. Isaiah 46 verse nine I make known the end from the beginning. Okay so that's the general sense God is omniscient, but David doesn't leave it there. What I love about this Psalm is that David takes the theological philosophical premise off of the top shelf, dusted off and live it personally this truth to him is not theological this truth to him is not philosophical. This truth is relational, and personal David goes with J. Vernon McGee used to always say when he was alive on his radio broadcast. He said every Bible should be bound in shoe level of always love that he personalizes it so. Notice the personal pronouns and emphasize them as we go through Lord you have searched me 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 your acquainted with all my ways. There's not a word on my tongue, but behold, Lord you know it all together you've hedged me behind and before you laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high I cannot attain and I counted a personal pronouns. David didn't say Lord you know all things and you search all things, but he personalizes it.

You know me, you search me and I'm bringing this up because what David does in this Psalm we must do with all truth.

We must not be content to leave it on a page of a book or discuss it in a roundtable discussion at Starbucks with our friends of what is the meaning of life and who is God, we have to personalize this just be content to be astute theologians.

We always teach our students this at the school of ministry we teach them those three steps in reading the Bible observation, interpretation, application first to observe what is the text say next to interpret what is the text mean third you apply it.

What does the text now having seen what it says and what it means. What does it mean to me personally and all three of those stages are necessary in the series. I've been referring to JI Packer's great book knowing God.

And here's a little excerpt whenever we embark on any line of study in God's holy book.

We need to ask ourselves what is my ultimate aim and object in occupying my mind with these things. What do I intend to do with my knowledge about God.

Once I have gotten for if we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake. It's bound to go bad on us.

It will make us proud and conceited. The very greatness of the subject matter will intoxicate us. I'm here to tell you I met a few intoxicated theologians intoxicated pastors intoxicated Bible students and Christians, they become more intoxicated with their personal knowledge rather than God himself and and I say intoxicated because though they have so much knowledge he didn't seem to change them the very truth they deal with didn't seem to shake them. They still have bad marriages.

They still have horrible quiet times not shaped by the very truth that their spouse to be familiar with.

So David says you have searched me very strong word word search means to see through to Pierce.

Sometimes you been with a person there to give you a spiel and you'll say or you say to your wife or husband. I could see right through that person's. The idea here, God sees right through me. He search me in the notice.

The next one you have known me that means to examine something carefully or to explore to know inside and out. Think of going to a doctor and getting a complete physical examination and they run every single tax test and a look in every conceivable place by the end of that examination they have searched you and they know you and then they tell you what you need to do to fix it or going to a counselor in your pouring out your heart before the counselor or friend who asked you very deep probing personal questions and by the end of the session. They searched you and they know you. That's what David is realizing about God. Now when you say that dealing with any person who knows this much could be quite unsettling. We have a fear of being exposed. Most people do as part of human nature which is interesting because we live in an age that is the information age. Their surveillance cameras everywhere. Even here at the church you can bug a person's room. What you say this morning could be on YouTube this afternoon. You can be exposed quickly to the entire world or what you feel like when in a restaurant, you suddenly realize somebody's been staring at you from that table, you get an easy, you have no qualms about staring at other people. But when you discover that you are being stared at it embarrasses you because we want privacy we don't like that exposure to. Here's David personally coming to grips with the God who searches him and knows everything about him full examination that Skip message from the series the biography of God. We want to share about an exciting resource interview questions about who God is to know him more intimately you imagine reading a biography about your life, only to find details about your life that were wrong felt it would be frustrating, wouldn't in God's nature, character and motives have often been poorly portrayed, and even intentionally misstated. That's one of the reasons I decided to write the book, the biography of God to open your eyes and heart to a larger picture of God. I hope you will go on this journey with me as we ask and answer the universal question.

Can we know God. Here's how to get your copy of my newest book, the biography of God.

The biography of God is are we to say thank you you give $35 or more today to help expand this Bible teaching outreach to more people request your copy when you give online securely connectwithskip.com/offer or call 800-922-1888. Every day listeners are growing closer to God to this radio ministry and your making it possible. Listen to what one person signing my wife and I found your teachings to be just what we needed to enhance our walk with God and help satisfy our hunger to learn more about the Bible you make stories like this one possible gift to connect more people to God's truth and we invite you to help reach even more people by giving the gift today@connectwithskip.com/donate and help reach more people with God's word that connect the skip.com/donate or call 892 1888 and 1992. Thank you. Tune in tomorrow to remind you about our God who knows everything and shares what you can put all your trust in what you understand at least in part, agree with this attribute of God he's omniscient you go any God that can be said to know it almost certainly didn't know the Skip presentation of connection communications through ever-changing time