Author: amerrill

Many of us have questions about God—who He is, where He is, and what He does. Currently at Shepherd Church, we are in a series studying God’s nature. The series is called “YHWH,” which is the sacred Hebrew name for God, appearing some 6800 times in the Old Testament. (You can view all past sermons in this series here.)

One of the things we’ve learned so far is that God is omniscient. The word “omni” means “all,” and the word “science” means knowledge. This means that God is all knowing. He knows everything. Psalm 147:5 declares, “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.”

Throughout the Bible, it is clear that God has an incredible view from above. He sees our past, present, and future. Jeremiah 1:5 indicates that God knew you before He even formed you in your mother’s womb. Isaiah 40:28 says, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” Even if we were to say that God’s vision is like a satellite in space, a high-powered microscope, an MRI machine, and the Central Intelligence Agency, it would not even begin to capture His manifold knowledge and wisdom!

You and I, on the other hand, have a limited view from below. We constantly try to compensate for our finite perspective by building incredibly complex systems to process information. We place immense trust in the advanced economic models forecasting the global stock markets, the sophisticated probability engines driving the best online casino, and the massive climate supercomputers simulating the shifting weather patterns. Yet, despite all our impressive technological achievements, human insight remains fundamentally restricted. As a pastor, I get asked deep and important questions all the time. But as much as I have studied the Bible and sought wisdom from the Lord, my understanding is limited. There are some things I cannot fully fathom. They are too awesome, too marvelous for me. God’s ways and thoughts are higher than mine, as Isaiah 55:8-9 states unequivocally.

And the biggest thing I fail to understand is why God—the almighty, all powerful, omnipresent, omniscient Creator of the universe—is interested in me. I relate to David when he asks the question in Psalm 8:4:

“What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

And yet Jesus says in Matthew 10:30 that “even the very hairs on your head are all numbered.” Psalm 56:8 reveals that God keeps track of our tears, and Psalm 139:1-4 tells us that God knows when we get up and when we lie down, and He knows everything we say.

So what should we do with this wonderful information about God’s omniscience? I believe it shows us that our best decision is to follow God and to trust Him because he knows what’s best for us. He knows our needs (Isaiah 65:24). God is the One who knows you the most and who loves you the most (John 3:16-17).

And most importantly, of all the amazing things God’s knowledge comprises, He knows that you need a savior. He knows that you and I are sinners and that our sin separates us from Him because He is holy. So, God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). God raised Jesus from the grave on the third day. In doing so, our Heavenly Father “canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:14-16).

Turn, today, to the One who knows all. Give him your cares and worries because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). There is one thing I know for certain in this world, and it is this: God is an awesome, holy, loving, and merciful God, and He wants us to trust and obey Him.

Trust is a prevalent theme throughout the Bible, appearing 186 times in the New King James Version. Trust is a vital element of any relationship. In order to have a healthy, happy bond with another person, one first must have trust or everything else falls like a house of cards.

This is especially true in your relationship with God. A relationship with Him, after all, is what He desires to have with you, and He made this possible through His Son Jesus. “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40).

God wants you to obey Him, trusting that He has your best interest in mind—that, no matter what curve ball life may throw your way, your future rests in the hands of a loving, capable, all-knowing, all-powerful Lord. Take a look at how the word trust is defined:

• reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.
• confident expectation of something; hope.
• a person on whom or thing on which one relies: God is my trust.

In whom or what do you put your trust, confident expectation, and hope? Your parents? Your spouse? Money? The government? Your teachers? Your talents and abilities? At the risk of sounding like a downer, I can say with certainty that every single thing under the sun will let you down at some point or another. Parents may disappoint or frustrate you. Spouses are imperfect. Money will run out eventually. Government officials are unreliable. Our own abilities will rust as we get older. Even the sun will let you down. It can burn your skin, melt your ice cream, or hide on your wedding day—and scientists predict that it will use up all its fuel and burn out altogether someday.

But God? He is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The Lord will never leave or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6-8; Psalm 9:10; Hebrews 13:5). He alone is “is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does” (Psalm 145:13).

Whenever we put our trust in someone or something, it is evidenced by a subsequent action. If you trust your parents, you will listen to them when they tell you not to cross the street until you’ve looked both ways for oncoming cars. If you trust your spouse, you’re not going to follow him or her around town to spy on his or her every move out of fear of infidelity. If you trust in money, you will place your identity and security in how much money you earn, and you will probably worry about your bills and choose to work excessive hours. If you trust in your own abilities, you might become devastated if you make a mistake at your job or suffer an injury on the athletic field.

If you trust in God you will obey His commands, which are found in His Word. You’ve probably heard that “B. I. B. L. E.” stands for “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.” Putting your trust in God means that you will follow these basic instructions in faith, each and every day. You will never ever go wrong by trusting God. Today, commit to memory Proverbs 3:5–6, which encourages us in this way:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him,
 and he will make your paths straight.

Oh, how comforting it is to rely upon a God who has the power to make our paths straight! It doesn’t matter if your path has been winding and crooked up until this point in time. All you have to do is trust in the Lord and He will correct your course with truth and righteousness. He will level it with love and plant security along its edges. He will remove from your path the weeds of confusion and fear. It’s up to you and it’s up to me to accept that He has a plan for our lives. And when we do, oh, what an adventure it will be! As Charles H. Spurgeon once wrote,

“God has great things in store for His people; they ought to have large expectations.”

There has never been an event in history that has so drastically and irreversibly changed the entire world like Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. No leader in power, no technological advancement or invention, no war or victory, no speech or political march has ever made such an indelible mark on all of humanity as the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross. Allow me to explain why:

First, despite all our advancements and improvements throughout history, we are still the same flawed human beings. Yes, we are still capable of love, kindness, and caring. But we are also still susceptible to sins that can destroy our lives as well as the lives of others. Though we’ve witnessed inspiring speeches and political movements, we are still prone to war and fighting. We are still blinded by our own pride, ego, and faults. We still divide ourselves by “us” versus “them.” And despite the information and knowledge we’ve amassed, crime continues. Individuals and families are still broken, hurting, and lost.

Second, despite everything we’ve accomplished as human beings since the beginning of time, nothing compares to what Christ accomplished on the cross for the sins of the world. In Mark chapters 14 through 16, we get a closer look at the great price Jesus Christ paid to give us freedom from sin and new life. At the Last Supper, which was also on the day of Passover, Jesus tells His disciples that God is establishing a new covenant. The old covenant with the Jewish people was through the Law. The new covenant would be for both Jews and Gentiles through God’s grace and faith in His Son, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:15).

This is amazing news for all of us! We were not able to obey the 613 commands of the Old Testament Law, but now, through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, God made a way for the entire world to be brought together for His glory, for the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life! The free gift of salvation is available to all who believe (Romans 1:16).

In the midst of revealing this incomparable and wonderful news, this was also a bittersweet moment for Jesus and His disciples. He shares that one of them will betray him (Mark 14:18) and that Peter will deny Him three times that very night. Later at the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus prayed to the Father and agonized about what would happen to Him, all His companions fell asleep. Jesus said, “Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:37-38). What an important reminder for us all to stay sober and alert lest we fall into sin.

As He predicted, Jesus is arrested and His disciples scatter. Peter indeed denies knowing Him, and when he realizes this, he is filled with deep remorse. Jesus is then condemned and judged, tortured and humiliated, and crucified though He was innocent. But He willingly submitted to God’s sovereignty and fulfilled the Scriptures and prophecies about Him, such as Isaiah 53:4-6:

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Despite our sin, God loves us and rescues us from our sin through His one and only Son Jesus. Three days after His death, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). He conquered sin and death so that we, too, can have freedom from sin, receive the Holy Spirit, and obtain everlasting life. The Bible says in John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” And again in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

We now organize our historical calendar (B.C. and A.D.) by Jesus Christ’s arrival on this earth—and rightly so. No other event and no other person in the history of our planet has ever changed everything so dramatically for mankind—not just then, not just now, but echoing into eternity. To learn more about Jesus, please join us at Shepherd Church at our campuses in Porter Ranch, West Valley, West L.A. and Agua Dulce.