God Has All The Information
Lent 4
April 3, 2011
We continue our journey – following Jesus to the cross during the Season of Lent — today.
As we have noted, Lent is the most important time in the Christian year. This six week season of the Church year before Easter — 40 days to match the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness — is designed for us to spend time reflecting on the death of Christ for our sins – what that means for us – and how we can respond to it and live our lives differently because of what God has done for us.
Lent is a good time for us to focus on the things that God might be calling us to do – things that we can do any time but may need a special time – or a special push – to get us started and keep us on track. On our Sundays during Lent this year we are looking at some of the passages of scripture that help us focus on Christ – what He has done for us – how He calls us to live — and how we can respond to Him.
What does following Christ mean for us?
We are looking at 2 passages of scripture today that help us understand how following Christ means that we need to act in God’s ways – not just sometimes – but all the time.
Listen to God’s word from 1 Samuel 16:1-13 and Ephesians 5:1-14
When I was growing up (and that was not that long ago) it seemed that folks had things they shared with others about their lives and things they preferred to keep to themselves. People had “public lives” – things they did in public and an image they projected in public – but they also had “private lives” – things that others did not know about. Even politicians had their “public lives” that everyone could readily see – and their “private lives” that the public did not have access to. This split between a person’s “public life” and “private life” was accepted by everyone – and protected. Some people were very particular about what others knew about them, and did not want others to have “too much information” about them or their families.
While I was in college I drove a beat up Chevrolet Nova. It served my purposes very well – but when I was home for weekends I would sometimes ask my Dad if I could borrow his Olds ’98 for the night. Dad was on the Highway Commission at the time and had a special license tag on his car – and would always respond to my request to borrow his car – with the license tag everyone could easily identify – by saying:
“Bill – I don’t want people to be able to identify my car at some of the places you’re going to!”
Looking back on it, I can understand why he would feel that would have been too much information.
Well, that was then.
Things sure are different now – aren’t they?
Now we have Social Media sites like Face Book and Twitter – or video sharing sites like You Tube – where some people share almost everything about their lives. There seems to be little concept of “too much information” these days. Things that in the past would have been considered awkward or inappropriate to share with others now seem like the perfect things for a status update on Face Book or a 140-character rant on Twitter for some folks.
For example –
“Never eat leftover sushi for breakfast. Feeling SO pukey right now. LOL!”
would be considered “too much information” – or even “way too much information” for some folks – me included – but for others it would make a great video blog on YouTube. Some people might think that food poisoning caught on video could become a You Tube sensation.
Things sure are different than they used to be.
Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zane recently predicted that in the next 10 years, sharing all sorts of details of one’s life in the form of status updates, Twitter feeds and YouTube clips will evolve into something even more revealing and make some people’s lives even less private. Zane predicts that technology will allow something called “LifeCasting,” a nearly nonstop, streaming video of one’s every moment.
If Zane is correct, then the next internet sensation will be to literally share every second of one’s existence with computers and cell phones around the globe.
I don’t know about you, but for me that would truly cross the line from “too much information” to “way too much information”.
Think about it.
Suppose that Twitter feeds and Face Book updates gave way to a constant stream of data capturing your every moment for all to see. Suppose that all you did was seen and shared with a watching world. What kind of person would the world see? If there were no distinction between the “private you” and the “public you,” what might the world truly think of you?
You might truly consider it “way too much information” – and truly not a pleasant thought.
Maybe you are used to being one person when others are around and doing certain things when others are around – but doing the complete opposite when you are alone. Maybe you look at things and do all sorts of things when no one is watching – things you would never do or look at if you knew someone were watching you.
Yea – if “Life-Casting” were a reality some of us might want to hide some of the things we did — turn off the video camera – shut off the Face Book and Twitter!
There are indeed some things we hide from others. Regardless of how much of our personal lives we share, there are still things we don’t share – things we would never want to share! We still have our “public life” we share with others – although for some it may involve things we would have never shared in the past – but we also still have our “private life” – the things we think, do, or say in private that will never share with anyone else.
If you would not want your life to be “life-cast” for everyone to see, but would rather keep some things you are doing a secret, here’s something you need to know.
You need to know that – in a very real way – your life is already being “life-cast”.
Your life is already a “streaming live video” – but not for others to see. Your life in being “life-cast” and is already a “streaming live video” – for God to see. You may be able to have a “private life” and have things others don’t know about you, but you will never have a thought, a word, or an action that God does not know. God knows everything about you. God knows what you think and what you say and what you do when you are living your “public life” that everything else can see, but God also knows what you think and what you say and what you do in your “private life” – when the doors are locked and the window shades pulled and you think no one knows what you are doing. God sees and God knows.
God has all the information.
God has all the information about you.
God knows what is in your heart.
In our Old Testament passage for today from 1 Samuel God has decided that Saul will not be King over Israel much longer and has sent Samuel the Prophet to Bethlehem to anoint one of the sons of Jesse as the future king. Samuel does not know which son God will choose, but when he sees Eliab – that oldest and tallest and strongest and “most kingly looking” of Jesse’s sons he is ready to anoint him – but what does God tell him?
God says:
“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
God had all the information He needed about Eliab – and so for all of Jesse’s other sons. He knew what was in their hearts. He had their “life-casts” running and knew everything about them – and He knew He did not want them to be king.
But then – there was David.
God also had all the information He needed about David. God knew what was in his heart. God had his “life-cast” running and knew everything about him – and He knew that David was the one who would be king. Yes – God knew that David would not be perfect – but God also knew what was in David’s heart, and that was all the information God needed to know that David would make a Godly king.
In our Ephesians passage Paul is calling on those who follow Christ to imitate God. He is calling on those who follow Christ to live lives that show God to others.
Does this mean that you show your “best self” – your “public self” – the actions you want others to see you do – to others – while keeping a secret your “private self” – the things you don’t want others to know about you?
Well – what if everyone could see everything about your life – what you thought and did and said in public – as well as what you thought and did when no one was around? Would they see Christ in you – all the time?
The thing is that God has all the information there is about you. He has information about what you do and think and say in public – and He has information about what you do and think when no one else is around.
What information does God have about you?
What does He see you do – what does He hear you say – that you would rather not share with Him or anyone else?
What does He know about you that you would rather no one know – especially God??
What does He see you doing that you would rather no one see – especially God?
What does He know you are thinking that you would rather no one know – especially God?
What does He hear you saying that you would rather no one hear – especially God?
God has all the information – so trying to hide it from Him doesn’t work! You can hide things from others. You can be one way when they see you and
another way when they don’t, and you might get away with it with other people but you will never get away with it with God.
So – how about it?
Are you trying to look good and trying to look like you are living in God’s ways when people see you – but doing just the opposite when they can’t see you?
In our Ephesians passage Paul talks about having nothing to do with “works of darkness”
Do you do good things and act like you are living in God’s ways in the light – where others can see you – and then do completely the opposite in the dark – when others can’t see you? Others may not have all the information about every aspect of your life, but God does! God does not care when you do things that you know He has called sin, what matters to God is that you are doing them!
I’m afraid that some people think you can come to Church and look like you are following Christ – I’m afraid some people think you can look the part – sing the hymns and participate in the worship –I’m afraid some people think you can look good while people are watching you – but when people don’t see you you can do what you want.
That’s not the way it is with God!
God wants you to imitate Him.
God wants you to have a heart for Him.
God wants you to strive to do His will – all the time!
You might let people have partial information about you – you might just let them see what you want them to see – you might just let them know about you want you want them to know — but God sees everything and know everything.
God has all the information!
Are you trying to act like a Christian – when really you don’t have Christ in your heart?
You might fool some people and you might fool everybody — but you won’t fool God. You might be able to hide things about yourself from others – but you won’t hide them from God!
Friends – just coming to Church and looking like you have a heart for God might impress others but it does not impress God!
Someone reminded me the other day that sitting in Church won’t make you a Christian any more standing in a garage will make you a car!
What makes you a Christian is what is in your heart!
What makes you a Christian is trying to live in God’s ways and do His will – not just sometimes or when others can see you, but all the time!
Are you doing things God wants you to do sometimes – or when others are watching – or when you know it will make you “look good” – or – as Paul says: in the light – then doing other things in the dark when no one will see you?
If there are things you are trying to hide from God, you need to know that you can’t do it. God has all the information there is about you!
So – what do you need to do to truly live the life God wants you to live?
You need to “come clean” – so to speak –
You need to come to God
You need to confess to Him the things you try to hide from others, and would like to hide from Him.
You need to confess your sins to God – whatever they are
The thing is that He already knows them – because He has all the information there is about you – but you need to confess them to let Him know that you realize them – and repent of them.
That’s the first step.
Once you confess your sins to God, you can truly live like God wants you to live.
You can strive to serve God.
You can be active in the Church –not because you are trying to look good or impress others — but because you are overwhelmed with what God has done for you and you want to thank Him by serving Him.
Friends – the invitation to imitate God and have a heart for Christ is given to you and to everyone.
Here’s the invitation –
Come to God – and let Him change you. Let Him not just change your actions and thoughts, but let Him change your heart.
Come to God – and live a life that is pleasing to God. Strive to live this life that is pleasing to God all the time – not just when people are watching – but also when they are not. Strive to live a life that is pleasing to God “in the light” as Paul puts it – but also – as Paul puts it – “in the dark”.
Now – you know and I know and God certainly knows that you and I will never be perfect and will never always live a life that is pleasing to God. There are going to be times we continue to sin and go against God’s will. David – who God chose above his brothers – was in no way a perfect person and did not perfectly please God. But if your heart is on Christ you can confess your sins and God always forgive you.
I pray that we all will use this Fourth Sunday in Lent to come to God – confess our sins to Him – and get our hearts set on serving Him – all the time.
Friends – you can live with a heart set on God – all the time. You can strive to live in God’s ways — all the time.
Always remember to have a heart for God and to live in His ways.
Always remember that God has all the information. Amen.
