![\"God](\"http:\/\/www.all-creatures.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/lambleft.jpg\")
<\/a>A Sermon Delivered to
\nThe Compassion Internet Church<\/p>\n
20 July 2014<\/p>\n
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor<\/p>\n
Scripture References:<\/p>\n
Genesis 28:10\u201322
\nPsalm 139:1\u201324
\n1 Corinthians 3:16
\n2 Corinthians 6:16<\/p>\n
\u201cGod searches us and knows us\u201d is a common theme throughout the Bible. It may be expressed in different ways, but the understanding is the same.<\/p>\n
The problem with most people is that they either are oblivious of understanding, indifferent to God\u2019s presence, or they have knowingly turned their backs to God, just as they have turned their backs to the horrible suffering and death of billions of animals every year.<\/p>\n
So, today we are going to take a look at a few of these examples of understanding how God searches us and knows us.<\/p>\n
Our first example in today\u2019s study is found in Genesis 28:10-22, where we are told more about Jacob.<\/p>\n
10. Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran.<\/p>\n
11. And he came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place.<\/p>\n
12. And he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.<\/p>\n
This is a very interesting passage, for it tells us some of the ways that God searches us and knows us.<\/p>\n
The angels of God are His messengers and, as we are told here, they are ascending the ladder to heaven as an example of their taking our thoughts and prayers to God, and then they are descending bringing God\u2019s responses and instructions to us.<\/p>\n
Then the Lord speaks directly to Jacob in his dream.<\/p>\n
13. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.<\/p>\n
This is the same message and promise that God gave to Abraham and Isaac.<\/p>\n
14. Your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.<\/p>\n
15. And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”<\/p>\n
Because God searches us and knows us, He also knows to whom He can give this kind of responsibility; but He also has other things for each and every one of us to do, if we are willing to accept them even if they are small things.<\/p>\n
16. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”<\/p>\n
17. And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”<\/p>\n
Because of his dream, Jacob sees this place as the gate of heaven; but in reality, the gates of heaven can be within an arm\u2019s reach of each and every one of us.<\/p>\n
And in 1 Corinthians 3:16, Paul tells us that this connection to God can be even closer.<\/p>\n
16. Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
\nNASB<\/p>\n
This assurance means that if we are true believing and peacemaking children of God, then the gate of heaven is within us.<\/p>\n
And again in 2 Corinthians 6:16, Paul tells us\u2026<\/p>\n
16. Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,<\/p>\n
“I will dwell in them and walk among them;
\nAnd I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
\nNASB<\/p>\n
This is the promise and assurance for each and every one of us, if we are willing to reject the corrupt ways of the world and turn wholeheartedly back to God\u2026God searches us and knows us.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s continue with our Genesis passage.<\/p>\n
18. So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on its top.<\/p>\n
19. And he called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz.<\/p>\n
Bethel means \u201chouse of God\u201d in Hebrew.<\/p>\n
20. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear,<\/p>\n
21. and I return to my father’s house in safety, then the LORD will be my God.<\/p>\n
22. And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house; and of all that Thou dost give me I will surely give a tenth to Thee.”
\nNASB<\/p>\n
Jacob is bargaining with God, which we believe is wrong.<\/p>\n
Jacob even bargains with God over his faith, for he tells God that if He does what he asks, then he will accept the Lord as his God.<\/p>\n
And, this bargaining was totally unnecessary, because God had already told him He would do everything that he is trying to bargain for.<\/p>\n
If we believe and have faith in God, and we know that God searches us and knows us, then we should also know that He also hears all our prayers and knows what we need, and He is faithful to answer our prayers in the best ways for our lives here on earth and for when we get to heaven.<\/p>\n
We should never bargain with God.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s continue with our theme as we look at Psalm 139:1-24\u2026<\/p>\n
1. O LORD, Thou hast searched me and known me.<\/p>\n
2. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up;
\nThou dost understand my thought from afar.<\/p>\n
The psalmist is also confirming that we never need to bargain with the Lord, for God searches us and knows us.<\/p>\n
We just need to hold on to our belief and live in faith.<\/p>\n
3. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down,
\nAnd art intimately acquainted with all my ways.<\/p>\n
4. Even before there is a word on my tongue,
\nBehold, O LORD, Thou dost know it all.<\/p>\n
This is further confirmation that God searches us and knows us, and knows everything we need.<\/p>\n
This should be a primary factor in our living by faith.<\/p>\n
5. Thou hast enclosed me behind and before,
\nAnd laid Thy hand upon me.<\/p>\n
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
\nIt is too high, I cannot attain to it.<\/p>\n
Understanding the full scope of God\u2019s caring for us can be overwhelming for us to comprehend, but it should also confirm that we never need to bargain with God, for God searches us and knows us, and guides and protects us as He sees what is best for our lives and spiritual maturity.<\/p>\n
And, it\u2019s this spiritual maturity that strengthens us to reject the corrupt ways of this world with all its violence and bloodshed, and to become the loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God that the Lord wants us to be.<\/p>\n
So the psalmist reasons within himself.<\/p>\n
7. Where can I go from Thy Spirit?
\nOr where can I flee from Thy presence?<\/p>\n
8. If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there;
\nIf I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there.<\/p>\n
9. If I take the wings of the dawn,
\nIf I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,<\/p>\n
10. Even there Thy hand will lead me,
\nAnd Thy right hand will lay hold of me.<\/p>\n
God is ever present in our lives; we just need to hold on to this assurance by faith, and continue to help free creation from its present corruption, for the glory of God.<\/p>\n
Then the psalmist adds to his understanding\u2026<\/p>\n
11. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
\nAnd the light around me will be night,”<\/p>\n
12. Even the darkness is not dark to Thee,
\nAnd the night is as bright as the day.
\nDarkness and light are alike to Thee.<\/p>\n
If we think about darkness as being like the evil in the world, or the lack of good which is like the light, then we can have a better handle on what we need to do to overcome the evil darkness in the world around us.<\/p>\n
We just need to shed a little light (the heavenly light of God) upon it, and we can see the evil start to disappear.<\/p>\n
And the psalmist continues with his understanding\u2026<\/p>\n
13. For Thou didst form my inward parts;
\nThou didst weave me in my mother’s womb.<\/p>\n
14. I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
\nWonderful are Thy works,
\nAnd my soul knows it very well.<\/p>\n
This is the understanding of living by faith.<\/p>\n
15. My frame was not hidden from Thee,
\nWhen I was made in secret,
\nAnd skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.<\/p>\n
16. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance;
\nAnd in Thy book they were all written,
\nThe days that were ordained for me,
\nWhen as yet there was not one of them.<\/p>\n
We should all know and understand these things about our relationship with God.<\/p>\n
17. How precious also are Thy thoughts to me, O God!
\nHow vast is the sum of them!<\/p>\n
18. If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
\nWhen I awake, I am still with Thee.<\/p>\n
Our relationship with God is not to be wishful thinking or a dream.<\/p>\n
It is real and ever present, and what we need to do is hold on to it by faith, knowing that God searches us and knows us every moment of every day.<\/p>\n
19. O that Thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God;
\nDepart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.<\/p>\n
When we consider that most of the people in this world participate in this bloodshed through their eating and wearing of animals and their byproducts, and through other ways of exploiting them, then we should also realize that after the Flood God said that He would never again destroy the people, and left the task of freeing creation from corruption to us who believe to accomplish through peaceful means.<\/p>\n
We are to destroy the evil darkness in these hard of heart people through our loving, compassionate and peacemaking ways of life, as an example of what it means to live in the heavenly will and light of God.<\/p>\n
20. For they speak against Thee wickedly,
\nAnd Thine enemies take Thy name in vain.<\/p>\n
21. Do I not hate those who hate Thee, O LORD?
\nAnd do I not loathe those who rise up against Thee?<\/p>\n
22. I hate them with the utmost hatred;
\nThey have become my enemies.<\/p>\n
We should certainly understand the feeling of the psalmist, for many of us have had similar thoughts about the evil acting people in the world, but none of this hatred is of God\u2019s heavenly will.<\/p>\n
We are to hate the sin but not the sinner.<\/p>\n
We are to overcome evil with good and love.<\/p>\n
For, God searches us and knows us, which even includes the evil people in this world.<\/p>\n
And, this assurance should also encourage us, because there is always hope that these people will change from their evil and dark ways, and become children of light; we are never to give up.<\/p>\n
23. Search me, O God, and know my heart;
\nTry me and know my anxious thoughts;<\/p>\n
24. And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
\nAnd lead me in the everlasting way.
\nNASB<\/p>\n
This is knowing that God searches us and knows us.<\/p>\n
This is living by faith.<\/p>\n
This is our encouragement to keep doing everything in our power as peacemaking children of God to free creation from its present corruption, and end all the violence and bloodshed that plagues this world.<\/p>\n
Amen.<\/p>\n
\nThank<\/span> you for visiting all-creatures.org.<\/p>\n![\"date\"](\"http:\/\/all-creatures.org\/images\/date.gif\")
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