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Mark Wheeler
Hebrews 4:12-16
05/26/2024
Who is God? – “All-Knowing (Omni-Science)”
Lidgerwood Presbyterian Church
Happy Memorial Day Weekend to one and all!!
Our weather is always a little iffy this weekend – sun and warmth and rain and chill. So, as they say, “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”
Did you see the mountain of garden compost in the parking lot? It’s there for ANYone who wants/needs a little healthy dirt in their life! Bring a bucket or a truck, and take what you need (and share with your neighbors!)! Our own “Garden o’ Feedin’” is about to get started – water is on, weeds are getting weeded, and plants are starting!
We hope to see you out there whenever you want to get a little mud under your fingernails.
As we gather in worship today – let’s expect to experience God’s Holy Spirit in some very real ways!
To that end, today we continue our study on theology – who is God? How does God do what God does? Is He real? Today’s “theology word” is Omniscience – God’s Perfect-Knowledge – the word “science” is right in this character trait! – what is that and how does it work?
In our meeting together let us remember that we worship the God who created this world,
the God who spoke through His prophets from generation to generation,
led His people from captivity to liberty, healed the sick, fed the hungry,
and is faithful even when faced with rejection.
The same God who wants all people to be drawn to His love and grace,
to know His forgiveness and the joy of His Salvation.
Let us put aside all that hinders and join together in worship and praise. Amen
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Pastor Kathy calls us to worship, today, and proclaims God’s perfect omniscience, from Psalm 139:1-6:
4-7 And our Prelude of Praise and Worship ––– #85 … Join All the Glorious Names –
8 Good morning Friends! Welcome to worship at Lidgerwood!! Shalom Aleichem! May the PEACE of Christ be with you!
Welcome, friends, from around the world, to this worshipping community!
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit presence and power, in your homes, through your phones and computers, in this building here, and in your lives. Pray with us … and hear and be transformed by God’s Word.
9 This morning our Chancel Choir leads us in worship with anthem that praises God’s Creative power and presence: “How Beautiful”
10 Children’s Message
11 Pastor Kathy opens our Prayer time in Confession and Thanksgiving
12 Gloria Patri
13-16 Praises, thanksgivings, adorations, concerns and prays [The Lord’s Prayer]
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18-20 Song of Devotion and Preparation to receive God’s Word – #621 – I Must Tell Jesus –
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Awkward show of hands … who here likes that song? I mean, I do, too – I think it proclaims an important aspect of our dependence on Jesus to help us get through…. But – here’s the pop-quiz question for today – if God is omniscient, if God knows everything, if God really is all-knowing – why “must I tell Jesus” anything?
Let’s hold to that for a minute….
Have you ever said, “I wish I knew then what I know now”?
Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Dr D. Blair Smith, says, “A condition of being human is that at any given moment we do not know everything there is to know, and that if all our faculties are working correctly, we know more over the course of our lives. The fact that we often want to know more, and dedicate so much energy to education, indicates that knowledge is a good. That is, it is deeply valuable and beneficial for life; it is an ingredient of wisdom that we live by. Gaining more of it likely improves the condition of our humanity.” (By the way, in two weeks, June 9, we will honor and celebrate our graduates – if you have someone on your family who is graduating, please get that info to us ASAP!)
The point is – we all have to learn whatever we know – the smartest person you know, the person who seems to know things with little effort, who can explain complex mathematical formulae or who win trivia games or understands complicated theories – has to learn whatever they know – and has the capability of forgetting what they once knew!
And the truth is, if we actually did know then what we do know now, we might have made different life choices and maybe it would be better – but maybe not. And since we’re not omniscient, since we don’t know everything, we can never know if we would be happier, or wealthier, or healthier, or not…. We do not know – but guess who does!
Mid-20th Century theologian, pastor and evangelist, A.W. Tozer, defined God’s omniscience like this: “To say that God is omniscient is to say that He possesses perfect knowledge and therefore has no need to learn. But it is more: it is to say that God has never learned and cannot learn.”
So, again, we ask, “Why in God’s name “must I tell Jesus” anything?”
Psalm 94 declares: “He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does He not see?” God knows … it all!
I do not! If you were to ask me about Placentia, CA, I could tell you a little. I grew up there. I went to school there. I knew long-timers from there. But ask me about Eritrea and I can tell you almost nothing! Ten years ago, if you had asked me about Kyrgyzstan, I would have run away from you; but since Andrew has lived there I have learned quite a bit.
But God does know! God knows!
For me, and for you, we can say, “Aha! I didn’t know that!” God never has a “Eureka moment”! God is never surprised by what He discovers. God already knows!
Look at these words from Hebrews 4:12-16 …. —-
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12 For the word of God is alive and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
This suggests that God’s knowledge is not “perfect” simply because He knows more than we do, not just because He is smarter than us. God’s knowledge is omniscient because it is God’s knowledge! God exists outside of time, beyond creation, past understanding.
The whole reason God can be omnipotent, which includes foreknowledge and what we think of as predestination! In God there is no “fore”, no “before”, no “after”. There is no “pre”, no “post”. There is only now for God! God can never say, “Sheesh, I wish I knew then what I know now!” Then is now, and now is now, and tomorrow is still now, for God!
This is exactly why we 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. It’s because God is trustworthy. It is because God is Aseint, God is Immutable. God is Impassible. God is Agapeic. God is Omnipresent. God is Omnipotent. God is perfectly and completely Omniscient!
So, why “must we tell Jesus”?
It’s not because God doesn’t know. It’s not because if we don’t pray, He won’t understand our fear or pain or sickness or need.
We pray, not because there is power in prayer.
We pray because it is in prayer that we connect to the self-revealed, unchanging, irrepressible, love and presence and power of God!
We pray because we need it! After Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, the so-called forbidden fruit, they realized their nakedness, and in shame they hid from God. And God asked, “Where are you?” Did God not know? No! Of course, God knew. But God needed Adam and Eve to know what they were doing.
We pray so that we will know where we are, what we are doing, who we are,,, and Whose we are!
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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…. [So,] let us 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.
27 Receive our tithes and offerings as symbols of our very lives and livelihood, given as response to Your life given for us! Bless it, and by it bless the world around us. In Christ’s name, Amen.
Offering (4449 N Nevada St., Spokane, WA, 99207; or click HERE; or text 833-976-1333, code “Lidgerwood”)
28-30 Expedition Song #243 – Christ Is Alive! –
31 Benediction:
May we Grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Be filled with God’s Holy Spirit. And give glory to God, today, and forever! Amen.
“May the Lord bless you and protect you; may the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”
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Announcements
- Graduates in your family? June 9 we will honor and celebrate their achievements!
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- Ezra 3 Design Team –
- Furnace Fundraiser
- Summer Special Music – ASAP
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- Potluck Lunch & LPC Stories – June 2
- Spokane Indians Baseball Game, Tuesday, June 18 – Get your tickets on-line or sign up in the Hallway!
Resources:
Smith, D. Blair; “Omniscience”; TableTalk; May 2022; Pp. 23-25.
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