About 500 years ago, a new theory regarding the world started to emerge.
People used to think the planet Earth is the center of the universe,
and everything revolves around it.
But through observing the sky and recording the location of few known stars over time,
a few scientists concluded that the sun is the center of our galaxy,
and we revolve around the sun,
and there is something much bigger that is at the center of the universe.
Scientists and astronomers continue to explore the night sky
in order to find out the size of our neighboring planets
and their exact distance between each other
in order to work out the size of the solar system
and hopefully to work out the size of the Milky Way galaxy and the universe.
In early 1700s, astronomer Edmund Haley proposed that
one way to calculate the exact distance between each planet of our solar system
is to observe Venus moving across in front of the sun
from different parts of the world.
So in 1769, Lieutenant James Cook travelled to Tahiti
to observe the transits of Venus in front of the sun.
The answer to great scientific question is in observing.
By observing the sky,
scientists were able to work out the exact distance
between planets of our solar system.
After his work at Tahiti was done,
Lieutenant Cook carried on his forager,
down south to survey and charter what they can find.
And in April 1770,
he landed on a huge uncharted landmark stand under,
and he named his landing place Botany Bay.
The planet Venus not just helped scientists
to work out exact distance between planets.
It also led to the landing of which Australia,
the land down under, was found.
Today, Psalms also tell us that
the heaven and skies will help us to find out
something very important for each one of us too.
something as important as the finding of a new country
and a new life.
So let's pray.
Father, as we start the new year
and looking into your words,
please help us to have attentive ears
and an open heart for your words.
Please help us in this coming year
to keep searching and looking for who you really are
and have a true relationship with you.
In Jesus, I pray.
Please turn with me to Psalm 19 again.
I would like to use today's passage
to answer the question,
how do we know God?
There are three areas that I want to explore with you.
First one is,
how is it possible to know God?
Secondly,
what does nature say about God?
And lastly,
what is the way to know God?
So let's start from Psalm 19,
first one to four.
The heavens declare the glory of God.
The skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day,
they pour forth speech.
Night after night,
they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech.
They use no words.
No sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth.
Their words to the ends of the world.
When we start thinking about God,
what does that make you feel?
If I tell you,
you are now in the presence of God,
does that wake you up
and cause you to sit up straight?
Or does it make no difference
because you think
you already know God
and be in his presence all the time?
For many cultures,
God is someone who hovers above us,
waiting to send down thunder and lightning
when we do something that he disapproves.
We often associate God
with punishment and retribution.
How often do you think about the glory of God
and the works of his hands?
The heavens declare the glory of God.
The skies proclaim the works of his hands.
Do you believe God as a personal God
that you can approach
or a mysterious, powerful force
that you need to reckon with?
The Jewish tradition believed
the divine name of God
is too sacred to be uttered.
So they used an equivalent of the Lord
instead of calling God directly.
They do not dare to call God's name directly
out of fear and respect.
The Chinese believe the realm of God
is about three feet above our heads.
So as we grow up,
we are told we need to sit properly
at our dining table
and do not hit the table with our chopsticks
because it will upset the gods above us.
And what God will do is
he will send us nightmares
and make our teeth fall off when we sleep.
Some believe God is localized
in each particular culture.
So the God of the Bible
is a Western God
and people from Asia
should believe Buddha
or people from Middle East
should follow Allah.
as if God is how human beings
make him out to be,
as if we control how God is to be known.
Just like what people used to believe
the world revolves around the planet Earth,
we believe we are the center of the universe
and everything revolves around us.
If we hold to a very unhealthy
and unrealistic view of God,
how is it possible
for you to know God?
The heavens declare the glory of God.
The skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day,
they pour forth speech.
Night after night,
they reveal knowledge.
The knowledge of the glory of God
and the work of his hands
is revealed to us
through God's creation.
It is possible to know God
because God has revealed
that knowledge to us.
the heavens and the skies
are calling out to us
to say that there is much more
to what we think
we know about God.
In verse 3,
they have no speech.
They use no words.
The sound is heard from,
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into the earth.
Their words to the end of the world.
There is something very fundamental about God.
It is so fundamental
that we humans often miss it.
We are often too busy
working out how to keep the world
revolving around us
that we forget to observe
the fundamental truth.
It is there in the second half
of verse 4.
In the heavens,
God has pitched a tent for the sun.
The God of the universe,
the God of our world,
has everything under control,
even the sun.
God has pitched a tent for the sun.
He has set the course for nature
in place of his glory
to reveal the knowledge
of the work of his hands.
God is not a concept
of human imagination
to somehow make us feel better
about ourselves
or to help us
to parenting our kids.
God,
not us,
not you or me,
is the center of our universe
and he is active
in reaching out to us
for us to know him better.
So,
how is it possible
to know God?
It is possible
to know God
because God
has revealed
that knowledge to us.
It is possible
to know God
because God
is much bigger
than what we can imagine
him to be
and he is under control.
Everything in nature
has its proper course
for us to know God.
In the heavens,
God has pitched a tent
for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom
coming out of his chamber,
like a champion
rejoicing to run his course.
It raises at one end
of the heavens
and makes its circuits
to the other.
Nothing is deprived
of its warmth.
God has said
the most powerful thing
in nature,
the sun,
in a circuit.
God has pitched
a tent for it.
What is the meaning
of that to us?
What does that say
about God?
I believe
it says that
no matter how powerful
we think the nature is,
it is not God.
For many years
and even now,
many cultures
worship nature.
They worship
the sun,
the moon.
However,
nature is only
the reflection
of the glory of God.
God has a power
and ability
to manipulate nature
to achieve
his goals.
But not every
natural phenomenon
is a result
of God's manipulation.
when natural disasters
strike,
like a tsunami
or earthquake,
to attribute them
to God
and saying God
is pronouncing judgment
is very irresponsible
and wrong.
The same attitude
can be applied
to our lives,
ups and downs.
Not all the ups
are the reward
of God
and not all the downs
are the punishment
from God.
God
is not
the purpose
of the sun
to run its course
is that nothing
is deprived
of its warmth.
The presence
of the sun
is unavoidable.
It hits
every senses
of our body.
The bright light
hits your eyes,
the warmth
you feel
on your skin.
The presence
of God
is even more
unavoidable
and undeniable.
My family
went to
Hokkaido,
Japan
on Christmas Eve
and we got back
just after
the New Year.
In Hokkaido,
there is no
New Year Eve
countdown
or firework.
So we followed
the Japanese tradition
and we got up
around 5 in the morning
on New Year Day.
We caught the cable car
to man
Mao
and
to welcome
the first sunrise
of 2019.
The sun
meant to come out
at 7 or 3
in the morning
but it was
very windy
and stormy.
The snow
was just blowing
very heavy.
So we didn't
see the sun
until about
8 o'clock.
But we feel
the sky
brighten up.
The temperature
when we get up
to the mountain
is negative 3.
Just before
the sun rises
it drops
to negative 6.
But after
the sun rises
it becomes
0 degrees.
So we feel
the warmth
swell a little bit.
The presence
of God
like the sun
is undeniable.
David
in another
psalm
in Psalm 139
verse 7
to 10
says this.
Where can I
go from
your spirit?
Where can I
flee
from your
presence?
If I go up
to the heaven
you are there.
If I make
my bed
in the death
you are there.
If I rise
on the wings
of the dawn
if I settle
on the far
side of the sea
even there
your hand
will guide me.
Your right hand
will hold me
fast.
nature
tell us
that God
like the sun
will surely
rise after
a long
dark night
to provide
us with
warmth.
God is
everywhere
and he knows
our coming
and going
and the works
of his hand
is to guide
us and hold
fast to us.
You might
for some reason
want to run
away from God.
You might want
to go from
his spirit
and flee
from his presence
but no matter
where you run
to
he will be
there
up to the
heavens
or down
to the
death.
God is
there
not to
punish you
but to
celebrate
your life
with you
like a
bridegroom
running out
of his
chamber
like a
champion
rejoicing
in running
his course.
God will
go from
one end
of the
heavens
to the
other end
to make
sure you
fulfill the
course that
he set
for your
life
and declare
the glory
of God.
Do you
look at
God
with this
kind of
understanding?
What do you
think is
the purpose
of life
God has
intended for
you?
Or are you
currently trying
to flee and
hide from the
presence of
God?
One other
thing we can
learn from
the metaphor
of the
son is
that God
is concealed
from human
sight for
a reason?
In our
stupidity,
we often
think that
we can
handle the
ray of
the sun
blinding
ourselves.
We often
think that
we can
handle
God.
We say
things like,
if God
is so
loving,
why did
he allow
suffering
to exist
in this
world or
in my
life?
If God
is for
me,
why don't
things go
my way?
God is
the most
important
thing of
this
universe.
He set
everything
into
motion.
He is
in
control,
and he is
the only
one that
really knows
what is
best for
you and
me.
So let
me encourage
you to
look into
nature and
be amazed
of the
glory of
God that
he declares
and proclaims.
Let me
encourage you
to run
towards
him and
not away
from him,
for he
will guide
you and
hold fast
to you.
We can
know God
because God
has revealed
himself to
us through
his creation,
through the
heavens and
the skies.
The nature
tells us God
is much bigger
than what we
can imagine
him to be.
God is
everywhere and
all-powerful,
and he
controls even
the sun.
So how do
we really
know God?
Is
looking at
nature and
God's
creation enough
to let us
know God
intimately?
Let's
read on
from Psalm
19,
verse 7.
And we
look at the
last point,
what is the
way to
know God?
Verse 7.
The law
of the
Lord is
perfect,
refreshing
the soul.
The
statue of
the
Lord are
trustworthy,
making
wise the
simple.
The
precepts of
the
Lord are
bright,
giving joy
to the
heart.
The
commands of
the
Lord are
radiant,
giving light
to the
eyes.
The
fear of
the
Lord is
pure,
enduring
forever.
The
decrees of
the
Lord are
firm,
and all
of them
are
righteous.
The
Psalms tell
us that
by our
serving
nature,
it's not
enough to
know God
intimately.
We need
something more
from God.
The
law,
statutes,
percepts,
commands,
and decrees
of God
referring to
his words.
These are
what we can
find in the
Bible.
Nature is
only a
pointer,
pointing us
to the
specific
revelation of
God through
his words.
The
Bible is
given to
us as
the most
reliable
source of
knowing God
intimately
to build
a personal
relationship
with God.
The
Bible is
perfect,
it's
trustworthy,
it's right,
it's radiant,
it's firm.
It
refreshes the
soul,
it makes
simple people
wise,
it gives
joy to
the heart,
gives light
to the eyes,
and all of
it are
righteous.
As we
know God
intimately,
as we
build a
personal
relationship
with God,
we shall
have a
sense of
fear
towards
God
growing
within
us.
This is
not the
same fear
that most
cultures
don't know
about God
personally
have.
It's not
a fear
of punishment
or retribution.
As we
experience the
greatness and
glory of
God,
as we
come to
realize how
precious is
our
relationship
with God,
how sweet
it is to
be loved
by the
creator of
the universe,
his word
warns us
that in
obeying God
there's
great reward.
Do you
find it
strange that
we are
warned about
a great
reward?
Wouldn't it
make more
sense to
say in
disobeying
there's a
great
punishment?
But instead
say that's
a great
reward.
God is
not
hovering above
us,
waiting to
punish us,
but he
knows that
we are
so feeble
that we
cannot
discern
our own
error or
keep
ourselves
from
sinning
against
him.
So he
became
one of
us and
lived among
us and
paid the
price for
our
disobedience
on the
cross.
God
had done
the
impossible
to make
it possible
for us
to be
in loving
relationship
with him.
by trusting
him for
his grace,
he will
forgive our
hidden
thoughts
because the
punishment for
our disobedience
has fully
paid out.
There are
only rewards
left within
our relationship
with God.
Apostle
Paul is
so overwhelmed
by the
greatness and
majesty of
God,
he breaks
out with
these words
in Romans
11,
verse 33
to 36.
O the
death of
the riches
of the
wisdom
and
knowledge
of God!
How
unsearchable
is his
judgment,
his path
beyond
tracing
out!
Who has
known the
mind of
the Lord,
or who
has been
his
counselor,
who has
even given
to God
that God
should
repay
them?
For
from him
and through
him and
for him
are all
things,
to him
be the
glory
forever.
Amen.
By
treasuring
our
relationship
with God
like pure
gold and
honey from
the
honeycomb,
God will
keep you
from
willful
sins,
from being
ruled over
by evil.
He will
make you
blameless
and keep
you in
relationship
with him
forever.
This is
the right
kind of
fee,
the right
kind of
attitude
towards
the almighty
creator
of this
universe.
Take
courage
that God
is full
of wonders,
big with
mercy,
and because
of what he
had done
for you,
he looks
upon you
with a
smiling face.
We can
find God
because he
has revealed
himself to
us through
his creation,
used them
as a
pointer to
point us
to his
words,
the Bible.
The creation
of God,
nature of
itself,
cannot
help us
to build
an intimate
personal
relationship
with God.
The word
of God
is the
way to
know
God.
How are
we to
know
God?
God is
his own
interpreter
and he
will make
it plain
to us.
So
forgive my
hidden
thoughts.
Keep
your servant
also from
willful
sins.
May they
not rule
over me,
then I
will be
blameless,
innocent,
of great
transgression.
May these
words of
my mouth
and this
meditation of
my heart
be pleasing
to your
sight,
Lord,
my rock
and my
redeemers.
My wishes
for you
in the
new year
are to
discover
God
through
his
word,
to
discover
your
rock
and your
redeemer,
to have
a pleasing
personal
relationship
with God.