[0:00] I'd like to turn with you please to Psalm 33 verses 13 to 19 and I'll read them again. The Lord looks down from heaven. He sees all the children of man.
[0:21] From where he sits enthroned, he looks on all the inhabitants of the earth. He who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.
[0:35] I'll stop there because we'll come back to the other part in a minute. I spent nine months as a student in Bristol 49 years ago.
[0:54] And I worshipped in a church on Sunday mornings as I went to this congregation during that time.
[1:06] And the interior of the church is definitely the most extraordinary I've ever seen for this reason. That where you see the glass there, there were two curtains about covering that size of the glass window.
[1:31] And the curtains were drawn aside a little bit. And in the gap in the curtains was this enormous I.
[1:48] And it was the creepiest thing you could imagine. And we used to sit there and wonder if it would blink.
[2:01] And it out stared us all. Emotionless. And it was not a help to worship. But it was telling us a truth.
[2:21] God, the Lord, your God, sees everything. And he knows everyone.
[2:37] And his knowledge is absolutely limitless. Whether it's his ability to distinguish between microorganisms.
[2:51] Or to survey every single galaxy that there is. He knows. He can take it in. He knows what is going to happen tomorrow.
[3:09] Isaiah again, he says, discerning the end from the beginning. Such is his knowledge. And declaring it.
[3:22] He knows about the fall of a sparrow. He knows about the end of a government. And the death of a dictator.
[3:34] He knows it all. When we come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is the very image of the Father.
[3:47] And has the exact imprint of his nature. We see something rather special. Because when Jesus came into our human existence.
[4:01] He took on our limitations. And that means he took on our partial knowledge.
[4:12] Our very limited understanding. And he agreed himself to be limited. So that he had to become a student.
[4:23] And to grow in understanding and wisdom. Such was that incarnation of the second person of the Trinity.
[4:36] But amazingly. But amazingly. Although his knowledge was muted. And he agreed for it to be limited.
[4:47] There were times when he chose to let it break out. And you could see when that happened. That he had within him. This knowledge of eternal things.
[5:01] And of limitless capacity. So that he could tell. When Peter went fishing.
[5:12] And cast his line into the water. That the first fish that would come up. Astonishingly. Would have a coin lodged in its gullet. And he could tell.
[5:25] And this is particularly important. He could tell from the very outset. The way in which he was going to die. And he knew it in extraordinary detail.
[5:39] Such was the knowledge. That was latent within him. Now. When we come. To ask about.
[5:51] The knowledge that God has. Of people. This. This is truly amazing. And it's exceedingly important for us.
[6:04] For God knows us. Through and through. He knows. Absolutely everything about us. We read that.
[6:14] In the psalm. That he knows. Our actions. He knows. What we do. He sees. All the inhabitants.
[6:25] Of the earth. And observes. All their deeds. Verse 13. And then we see that. He. Understands. What goes inside us.
[6:36] It's because he fashions. Our hearts. And. He knows. Our thought life. In the parallel passage. That we sung about.
[6:46] In Psalm 139. We're told that. Jesus. That the Lord God. Knows. Where we. Go. And where we. Come back.
[6:57] Where we wander. And where we sleep. What we say. And he knows. What we say. Even before. We say it. And so I want you to understand.
[7:09] From scripture. That God's knowledge. Is. Total. Inexhaustible. And he knows. You.
[7:20] Through and through. I'd like. From. This psalm. To. Draw. Two basic.
[7:32] Lessons. That we can go home with. Two lessons. That come. From us. Realizing. That we have.
[7:42] An all. Knowing. God. God. And the first. Is that. Realizing. We have. An all. Knowing. God. Helps us.
[7:54] To make. A right. Response. To our. Sins. Helps us. To make. A right. Response. To our. Sins.
[8:06] And the second. Truth. That I'd like. To draw from it. Is that. Knowing. Realizing. That we have. An all. Knowing. God. Helps us.
[8:18] To have. A right. Appreciation. Of his. Love. So. A right. Response. To our. Sins. First of all. In this.
[8:32] Psalm. Psalm. Of praise. For God's. Protection. Of his. People. The psalmist. Speaks. About. The surrounding. Nations. He says.
[8:43] Verse 10. The Lord. Brings. The council. Of the nations. To nothing. He frustrates. The plans. Of the people. And then. Verse 16.
[8:54] He speaks. About the nations. With all their. Supposed. Invincibility. The king. Is not saved. By his. Great army. A warrior.
[9:04] Is not. Delivered. By his. Great strength. The war horse. Is a false hope. For salvation. And by its. Great might. It cannot.
[9:15] Rescue. Israel. Was. Repeatedly. Under threat. From surrounding. Nations. Nations.
[9:26] With. Greater numbers. Bigger. Firepower. Greater. Threat. And these. Tribes.
[9:38] Would come. And. Put. The city. Of Jerusalem. Under pressure. And with their. Pride. And their. Self-importance.
[9:50] And their. Feeling. Of invincibility. They would. Attack. The people. Of God. Now the answer. That. The psalmist. Gives.
[10:01] To this threat. Is precisely. To ask. Do they. Really. Think. That God. Is not. Watching. Them. Do they.
[10:13] Really. Think. That. The creator. Of all. The earth. Can't see. What they're. Up to. The Lord. It says. In verse. 13. Looks.
[10:23] Down. From heaven. He sees. All the children. Of man. From where. He is. Sits. Enthroned. He looks. Out. On all the inhabitants. Of the earth. And these.
[10:35] These people. With. Their blasphemous. Thoughts. About Israel. And their disdain. For. For God. Did they not know.
[10:49] That God. Sees them. And sees. Into them. Now. What is true. For that.
[11:01] Hostile. Nation. Outside. Jerusalem's. Gates. Applies. To you. And me. Do we.
[11:12] Really. Think. That God. Doesn't see. Everything. That we do. That is often.
[11:23] What people. In scripture. Who have sinned. Wishfully. Think. Adam.
[11:35] Immediately. After he took. The forbidden fruit. When he heard. God. Coming. In the late afternoon. He hid.
[11:48] Because he was ashamed. David. When he had. Committed.
[11:59] Adultery. And murder. And. Multiple lies. He supposed. That everything. Could go on. Smoothly. Without other people.
[12:10] Being involved. Until. The messenger. Of God. Came. And read. The book. To him. God's book. And confronted.
[12:22] Him. With his sin. And showed him. God. Has seen. It all. And.
[12:32] That is. Absolutely. True. For every. One of us. He knows. What's in the darkness. And. The light. Dwells.
[12:42] With him. Those words. From Hebrews. No creature. Is hidden. From his sight. But all. Are naked. Exposed.
[12:55] To the eyes. Of him. To whom. We must. Give account. God. That.
[13:06] That. Of course. Is. An exceedingly. Alarming. Thing. When. When David. Wrote about it. In. In. Psalm. One. Three. Nine. He said. Such.
[13:16] Knowledge. Hemms. Me. In. But. You know. Realizing.
[13:28] That. God. Has. Seen. Every. Single. One. Of. Our. Sins. Is. Precisely. What. We. Need. To. Realize.
[13:40] It's. The. Most. Helpful. Truth. That. We. Can. Have. There.
[13:54] Was. A. Prayer. That. Was. Written. We. Think. A. Way. Back. In. The. 10th. Century. And. It. Was. Translated. From. Latin. Into.
[14:04] English. 500. Years. Ago. By. A. Man. Called. Thomas. Cranmer. And. It. Captures. Exactly.
[14:14] This. Truth. Wonderfully. You've. Maybe. Heard. This. It. Goes. Like. With. These. Words. Almighty. God. To.
[14:26] Whom. All. Hearts. Are. Open. All. Desires. Known. And. From. Whom. No.
[14:37] Secrets. Are. Hidden. Cleanse. The. Thoughts. Of. Our. Hearts. Now. You see.
[14:47] That. Prayer. Has. Seen. Something. Seen. The. Connection. Between. The. Cleansing. Of. Our. Hearts. That. We. So. Desperately.
[14:58] Want. And. Need. And. The. Fact. That. There. Are. No. Secrets. With. God. He. Seen. It. All. And.
[15:10] Realizing. That. God. Knows. Everything. About. Us. Is. A. Is. A. Wonderful. Inducement. To. Bring. It. Out. Before. Him. To.
[15:21] Let. Him. To. Let. Him. Expose. Our. Hearts. To. Our. View. As. Well. As. To. His. His. His. Because. When.
[15:31] We've. Come. To. The. Light. That. Is. The. First. Step. In. Going. To. Him. For. For. For. Now.
[15:47] Can I. Speak. To. Any. Of. You. Who. Do. Not. Yet. Have. Your. Faith. In. Jesus. Christ. That.
[15:58] One. Of. Of. Of. The. Way. In. Which. God. In. In. In. In. In. Great. Kindness. Does. To. You. Is. He. Comes. And.
[16:08] He. Shows. Up. Your. Heart. Shows. Up. Your. Inner. Life. Shows. Up. All. The. Ways. That. You. Have. Gone. Against. Him. And.
[16:20] That. Is. His. First. Step. In. Bringing. You. To. Faith. In. The. God. Who. Forgives. Sinners. Realizing.
[16:43] We. Have. An. All. Knowing. God. Then. Helps. Us. To. Make. A. Right. Response. To. Our. Sins. Love.
[16:53] But. Now. The. Second. Thing. That. Comes. From. This. Realizing. We. Have. An. All. Knowing. God. Helps.
[17:03] Us. To. Have. A. Right. Appreciation. Of. His. Love. Do you. See. That. In. Verse. 18. Behold. The.
[17:13] Eye. Of. The. Lord. Is. On. Those. Who. Fear. Him. On. Those. Who. Hope. In. His. Steadfast. Love. You.
[17:30] We. We. We. Need. To. See. This. Wonderful. Connection. Between. God's. All. Knowing. And.
[17:42] Our. Experience. Of. His. Loving. Kindness. Here. Here. Here's. A few. Ways. In. Which. You'll. Get. This.
[17:55] The. First. Is. You'll. See. That. You. Are. Known. Intimately. In.
[18:06] In. In. These. Verses. Verse 15. Especially. It says. He. Who. Fashions. The. Hearts. Of. Them. All. And. Observes.
[18:17] All. Their. Deeds. And. The. Idea. Behind. That. Fashions. Is. That. God. Has. Shaped. Every. One. Of.
[18:27] Us. It's. The. Same. Words. That. He. Uses. When. In. Genesis. Two. He. Formed. Adam. Out. Of. The. Dust.
[18:39] He. Used. His. Craftsmanship. To. Make. This. Very. Chief. Of. His. Creation. And.
[18:52] For. Each. One. Of. Us. We. Are. Similarly. Fashioned. And. Formed. By. God. We. Didn't. We. Didn't. Fall. Off. A. Conveyor. Belt. When. We. Were. Born.
[19:03] Our. Hearts. Our. Characters. Were. Shaped. By. Him. And. He. Continues. To. Know. Us. Through.
[19:14] And. Through. Now. This is exceedingly valuable. We live in.
[19:25] How many billions are in the world now? Is it eight? And. We live in. The family of God. Which. We're told is.
[19:36] As numerous as the sand on the seashore. In numbers. And. We ask ourselves. Does God.
[19:47] Can I really be known. By God. Amongst. All those numbers. We have problems. In our family.
[19:58] Remembering one another. And. Keeping in our minds. And thoughts. Each other's needs. And.
[20:08] We ask. Does God. Really. Keep in mind. Who I am. And the answer is. He fashioned you.
[20:19] He shaped you. Individually. You are. Personally. And. Intimately. Known. By the all-knowing God. But next.
[20:35] Take this. And apply it. In this way. I am known. In spite of my past.
[20:47] I am known. And loved. In spite. Of my sins. You know. Sometimes.
[21:01] We may live. In dread. Of people. Knowing. Knowing. Things. About us. That we don't want.
[21:11] Anyone to know. We think that. If that. Was known. About me. If that. Was known.
[21:23] About me. Would I still. Be accepted. Instead. If. When?
[21:34] Now. God. Knows. Everything. About you. And if. You.
[21:45] Have come. To Jesus. Christ. Turning your back. On a sinful way of life. And putting your faith. In Jesus. Christ. Everything has been forgiven because everything has been known by the all-knowing God.
[22:11] You see, no teller of tales is going to be able to show up on the day of judgment and say this one disqualifies you.
[22:30] And no skeleton is going to fall out of the cupboard of a Christian and take God by surprise. He knows the worst about us and the blood of his Son still covers us from all unrighteousness.
[22:57] He knows it all. And then, in closing, can I just apply this in this way? I am known and loved through every trial.
[23:10] Through every trial. That's verse 19. The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.
[23:26] Does anyone... You say this. I say this. Does anyone really know what I'm going through? My closest mate?
[23:39] My spouse? My dearest friend? Could they possibly know what I'm going through in this trial? And the answer is, well, they may be able to empathize and stand beside you, but no.
[23:59] Nobody really knows. Except the all-knowing God. Because in Jesus Christ, who's come and taken our humanity, he knows us like nobody else.
[24:22] I love that verse in Exodus. The people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help and their cry for rescue from slavery came to God and God heard their groaning.
[24:38] God remembered his covenant. And God knew. That's the wonderful thing.
[24:51] That God knew where I was. And he comes with complete understanding and protection. And says, look, I'm with you.
[25:09] Always. Always. Paul says, such knowledge, oh, the depths of the riches and the wisdom and knowledge of God.
[25:31] it's a great thing to be a child of the all-knowing God.
[25:43] Thank you.