[사랑의교회] 주님은 나의 모든 것을 아시나이다 - 오정현 담임목사

Amen. I am confident that the Lord has accepted the confession of our choir. They sang of the grace of salvation. On this festive Sunday, I would like to pause our continuous sermon series on Romans and share what is currently on my heart with you. Before I begin, I hope that everyone attending this worship service—those in the main sanctuary, in the annex chapels, in various chapels, and those joining us online—experiences the grace of truly meeting the Lord. When that happens, what grace will God give us? When I was young, there was a verse in Exodus that deeply moved my heart. It was truly a poetic verse. It is found in Exodus 24:9-10. Verse 9 says, "Who went up with Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel?" They went up to the mountain of God. They went up to the mountain of God to worship, and when they arrived, let’s read verse 10 together. "They saw the God of Israel, and under His feet was a pavement made of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself." Amen. When they saw God, what was laid under His feet? A sapphire pavement. This "sapphire" is what we call sapphire today. Do you like sapphires? I think sapphires are much better than diamonds. It was a sapphire pavement as clear as the sky. In my childhood, the words "sapphire" and "clarity" touched my heart. Even if the path of our lives is filled with thorns and rocks, my prayer today on this Sunday is that He grants us the grace of a sapphire pavement and the clarity as clear as the sky. Amen. Yesterday, at a special festive concert, we addressed complete devotion to God, sincerity towards people, and loyalty to our work. And in yesterday's festive worship, we focused on the childlike heart. A childlike heart. As you know, there is an old saying that "the world of a child's heart is the home of every adult's heart." So today, I hope you will open your hearts wide and have a "Welcome Home" time in the Lord's embrace. That’s why I wrote "Welcome Home" above the choir. With a pure heart, with a childlike heart. So once again, I hope that through this worship, the grace of a sapphire pavement and clarity as clear as the sky unfolds in your lives. Amen. Amen. Today, I want to share what is on my heart with you. The title for today is "The Lord Knows Everything About Me." The Lord knows everything. In other words, there is nothing our Lord does not know. Today's scripture is Psalm 139. Who wrote it? David wrote it. David wrote this psalm while going through the adversities and sufferings of life, passing through many tunnels. This is what David reflected on in his life, confessing, "Yes, that’s right." And the reason this resonates more deeply with you is that it is not just a simple explanation but the content of David's earnest prayer. And because it is a prayer, it resonates even more deeply. Amen. Yes. So what does David say in verses 5 and 6 today? Verse 5 records, "You have hedged me behind and before." And what has He done to me? "You have laid Your hand upon me." Here, "You have hedged me behind" means that He knows my past. The Lord knows all my pains and wounds, and the many difficult journeys of my past. And the Lord knows my future. He knows my future, and truly goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. My future—the Lord is laying His hand upon me now. He is currently laying His hand upon me. To lay a hand on someone means to touch them, and God's hand is the source of power. With the Lord's mighty hand, He is holding me today. The Lord knows and watches over my past, present, and future. This is the theme of this prayer. Friends, how old do you think David lived to be? David lived to be 70 years old. Of course, there were people who died before the age of 70, but David was a king. Because he was a king, he could have lived to be 80 or 90, but he lived to be 70. He suffered too much pain. He went through many hardships, and his father-in-law created three assassination squads to try to kill David. He tormented him so much that he made him weary, and he kept fleeing, lamenting in the wilderness of Judah, "I am like a lonely owl in the desert, and like a sparrow on the rooftop." He made such a confession while being pursued so painfully, and there were many people opposing him. Shimei cursed David every day, which, in modern terms, is like leaving malicious comments every night. Moreover, there was also Ahithophel. The Bible records that Ahithophel's advice was like the word of God. He was the smartest person on earth, an excellent strategist in planning to kill people. Conspirators like Ahithophel plotted daily to kill David. And what was the peak of his suffering? His beloved son betrayed him and tried to kill him, stealing the heart of his father—how wicked he was, as indicated by his name "Absalom" (a play on words meaning "father of peace" and "wicked person"). Yes. Amen. In broad daylight, David's concubines were insulted, and people tried to kill him. So David went down to the Kidron Valley with his hair disheveled, weeping. At that time, Shimei cursed him from behind. All kinds of things happen. Friends, no matter how difficult things are, is your father-in-law trying to kill you right now? Yes. How did David survive and make this confession through such terrible circumstances? Later, David suffered so much that he fled to the Philistines and pretended to be insane before King Achish, drooling. Friends, no matter how difficult things are, is there anyone here pretending to be insane and drooling? Yet, even in that pain, anguish, and bitter wounds, David survived with this confession today. What was the secret that allowed David to establish his kingdom, that God gave Solomon instead of Absalom, and that enabled him to overcome numerous adversities? I want to share that secret with you today. I want to share it along with my personal experiences. I usually preach expository sermons and rarely thematic sermons, but today I want to say what I need to say. Yes. From verses 1 to 4, it is not my words but David's powerful confession. Verse 1 says, "O Lord, You have searched me and known me." What does He do to me? "You know me." Verse 2 says, "You know when I sit down and when I rise up." What is it? The Lord knows. Whether you are sitting or standing, the Lord knows everything. And from afar, what does He know? He knows your thoughts. He knows what you think when you wake up in the morning, what you think before going to bed, and what you think when you meet people. Verse 3 says, "You search out my path and my lying down." The Lord knows all my ways, what I do when I wake up in the morning and what I do before going to bed at night. Verse 4 says, "Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it altogether." This double negative indicates a strong affirmation. O Lord, I believe You know all the words of my tongue. In summary, the Lord knows all my situations, pains, difficulties, flaws, and weaknesses. Therefore, the Lord knows everything about me. Repeat after me. The Lord knows everything. The Lord knows everything. The Lord knows everything. When I look back on my life, there have been countless ups and downs. Who does not have their own sufferings? The generations of the 60s, 70s, and 80s in Korea. They are the most unique group in the world. They are the most unique generation. They were born in an underdeveloped country, educated in a developing country, and live in a developed country—a truly unique generation. Should we also include the 90s generation in Korea? Should we add the 50s who suffered even more? Yes. The teens, 20s, and 30s may not fully understand yet. Countless things have happened. We have gone through numerous processes. There have been gratitude and suffering, injustice, pain, and many obstacles. But why have we survived until today? Like David, the Lord knows everything. Even during the times when I cried and hid under the blanket at night, wondering what to do, the Lord knew everything then too. If I had not known this, perhaps... If David had not known this, he would have probably died of cancer ten times over. David would have likely burst his insides and died. But the Lord knows everything. This is David's confession today. The Lord knows everything. There is nothing He does not know. He knows everything I am about to do. So when I look back on my life and think about what I have gone through, when we say that the Lord knows everything during this festive season, it provides insight and application to life. And two things have particularly stood out to me. The first is that when we say the Lord knows everything, that confession is not resignation but a declaration of faith. "Since the Lord knows everything, why should I do nothing?" It is not that. Saying the Lord knows everything is not resignation; it is a declaration of faith that entrusts everything to the Lord. When facing true difficulties in life, there are situations where we must entrust everything to the Lord. When things become too hard, we realize there is nowhere to go. When things become too difficult, we realize there is no one to meet. Why is there nowhere to go? Why is there no one to meet? But in those truly hard times, we realize there is nowhere to go and no one to meet. So there is only one way. We must entrust everything to the Lord. Entrusting to the Lord means completely surrendering to Him and finding independence from relationships with others. Do you understand? When we fully entrust to the Lord, we become somewhat free from the recognition of people, their approval, their attacks, their praise, or conversely, the wounds they can inflict. To express it in a slightly more complex term, our inner selves live under oppression. We all thirst for human recognition, suffer from the wounds inflicted by others, and bear the burdens of countless inner conflicts. This is true between husbands and wives, as well as between parents and children. However, when we realize that the Lord knows everything and entrust ourselves to Him, it becomes a complete surrender to God and independence from people. Going a bit deeper, we can move from being people-centered to being God-centered. So what is the usual reason husbands and wives fight? They feel they are not understood by each other. And every time husbands and wives fight, they always do the same thing, right? Wives always bring up stories from 20 or 30 years ago. Husbands do the same. We all have these flaws. But if I can fully entrust myself to the Lord even in those flaws, the evaluations of my husband or wife, or those close to me will not greatly affect me. Because I am independent from people. Therefore, saying the Lord knows everything is not resignation but a declaration of faith that completely surrenders to God. That is it. Amen. So you will no longer be oppressed within. You will become somewhat free from inner pain, inner wounds, and the desire for recognition. I hope that all the members of Love Church will experience true surrendering faith from all wounds, relational issues, and the desire for recognition caused by people during this festive season. Amen. I say it again. When you completely entrust yourself to God, you become independent from people. This "independence from people" does not mean that you do not need people. It means that I will not depend on the praise of others. I will not let the criticisms of others weaken the mission God has given me. A person who is completely entrusted to God and accepted by Him does not expend their life trying to prove themselves to others. Therefore, a Christian who is independent from people and fully entrusted to God receives the ability to love their neighbors and colleagues more. What does that mean? When you receive the grace of being completely entrusted to God, your focus on God becomes clear, your love for your husband becomes genuine, and your love for your wife gains true depth. How can all this be explained? At one moment, my wife looked at me. My wife is the type who becomes engrossed in one thing. When she studies, she is engrossed in studying; when it comes to her husband, she is engrossed in her husband; when it comes to her children, she is engrossed in her children. So such people often hurt each other a lot. At one moment, she realized this truth and gave me up. And she entrusted everything to God. So in my heart, I thought, "Ah, since she has entrusted me to God, she will truly love me." And even if I become "the husband who prepares three meals at home," she will not abandon me. Now, here is the important point. Friends, where are the parents who are not bound by their children? Where is the family that does not care about their husband or wife? They all exist. The same goes for the church. There are dynamics between lay leaders and pastors in the church as well. They all exist. However, when we completely entrust everything to God and transition from a people-centered life to a God-centered life, remember that God counts even the hairs on our heads. There, true peace and rest are found. But people are like chaff blown by the wind. When people are the center, they will always be shaken. Therefore, I hope that you and I will have the mature grace and declaration of faith to break free from the inner desire to be recognized by others. I earnestly hope for the grace to break free from the state of inner slavery. Amen. Next, one of the great blessings of saying, "The Lord knows everything" is that our lives receive the miraculous power from the hand of the Almighty. What does that mean? When we say that God knows me, it is not simply observing me or knowing me perfectly on a scale of 100. God is not just the God who knows me; He is the one who created me. He is the Creator. It is not just a dimension of knowing through objective knowledge. Because God created me, He makes me a masterpiece of faith and holds me in the hand of the Almighty. This is very important. Therefore, upon the confession that the Lord knows everything, our lives become masterpieces shaped by the hand of the Almighty. Hallelujah. God has all the information about my past and present without missing a single detail. It is not just at that level. God does not merely observe and study to know me. God created and formed me, and because He created me, He knows me completely. He knows not only your temperament and talents but also the weight of life you cannot bear, the points where you are wounded, and everything about you. Today, we look only at the present me. But our God is the God who knows everything from birth to eternity. He knows everything. The word "knows" I mentioned earlier means omniscience. So God knows everything. He knows everything as the Creator God. It is not enough that He knows me. He is the God who knows my life, and He has the power to accomplish that life according to His mission and ability. Therefore, completely entrusting to that God—entrusting my destiny to the Creator God who has infinite power—means believing that the God who knows me better than I know myself has the ability to bring miraculous life to me. That is it. You must have assurance in your heart. The moment I acknowledge that God knows everything, I experience the grace of independence by completely entrusting myself to Him. It is not only a declaration of faith but also, even if I have shortcomings and spiritual weaknesses, the moment He knows my weaknesses, when I entrust myself to the Lord and rely entirely on Him, the power of the Creator God will perform miracles through my life. When we look back at the past, we praise the Lord for the countless miraculous events He has given us. Knowing this, as believers, should even deacons go to fortune tellers in their old age? Fortune tellers may seem to know a little more because they are connected to the spiritual realm or evil powers, but that is nonsense. Because the Creator God knows us, we must entrust ourselves to Him, and because of the grace that He knows us, we should expect Him to shape our lives with the hand of the Almighty. When we receive that grace, we do not remain stuck in the wounds and problems of a predetermined past, but when we entrust ourselves to the God who knows us better, when we entrust our abilities, thoughts, judgments, praises, commitments in life, and love to the Lord, He performs miracles. Amen. Amen. As I mentioned yesterday, when we offer ourselves to God with deep meditation on His Word and the power of high praise, God leads us to a miraculous life. Amen. Once again, in verse 5, He has hedged me behind and before, and what has He done to me? He has laid His hand upon me. My past, present, and future, He has laid His hand upon all. Let me say it more emphatically. He has hedged me behind and has embraced me. Therefore, when you sit in His embrace in this sanctuary, if you recite Psalm 139:5, God will pour out miracles upon your past, present, and future. That is the power of the Word. The Lord has hedged me behind and what has He done to me? He has laid His hand upon me. When I am sitting in His embrace. Worship is already crowded, so today, we started a few minutes earlier than usual. Only those who know know. Yes. We started a little early. There are many people worshiping outside, and I hope that for everyone in the main sanctuary, in our chapels, and all those joining us through broadcasts, this worship becomes the embrace of the Lord. Amen. What happens then? He shapes me in ways I cannot imagine, accomplishes God's mission in places I did not plan, and pours out amazing grace. People may say that everything has come to a period and is over, but I believe in the God who starts a completely new sentence right at the point where we thought it was finished. I believe in the God who turns the period of our lives into a comma. Amen. Therefore, God does not allow our lives to end with a period of evil, pain, and wounds. He does not permit our lives to end only with wounds, depression, and suffering, but changes it into a comma and gives us the ability to start again. Amen. Hmm. Let’s read together. When everything seems to be over, He gives us the ability to start again. Hallelujah. In summary, because God knows me completely, there are no wasted pieces of my life, and because God is Almighty, even broken pieces become materials for rebuilding life. We see this tangled thread, but God knows the masterpiece that is already completed. Until now, when we say, "God knows everything," we can somewhat explain and understand. However, there is one really important thing remaining today. God knows everything, but what does He know? When I am truly treated unfairly, or when there are people who cause unfairness and are the source of pain and evil, does God know the wicked? Are you listening to the Word? Yes. Once again, does God know the wicked? God knows the wicked. Deep down, we always have that thought—when we are treated unfairly or suffer because of enemies, when it seems like no one knows the truth, and when the other party seems to live as if nothing happened, it can hurt. In today’s text, in verses 19 and 20, David makes an amazing declaration. What declaration does he make? In verse 19, "O God, You will surely..." What will You do to the wicked? "You will kill them." "You bloodthirsty men, depart from me!" And in verse 20, "For they speak against You wickedly, and Your enemies take Your name in vain." David realizes that those who treat him wickedly are not just treating him badly but are also speaking wickedly against God. He knows that the Lord knows everything—the enemies taking the Lord's name in vain, the Lord knows everything. So David says, "Lord, from a human perspective, I want to eliminate these wicked people and deal with them." "But since You know everything, I will entrust them to You." Once again. When we are treated wrongly by others, the hardest thing to endure is not the loss itself but the feeling that no one knows the truth. When those who wrong us roam freely, or when it seems that lies are winning, a courtroom is established in our hearts. I become the prosecutor, witness, judge, and executioner trying to prove the guilt of the other party and punish them. The moment I bring them to court and pass judgment, as I mentioned earlier, I become entangled in my inner self. All freedom disappears. In such times, the fact that God knows the wicked and this situation becomes the gospel for you and me. Amen. He knows who lied first. He knows the motives of the wicked. And the Lord knows the tears you have shed and the sleepless nights you have endured that you have not seen. Does He know? The Lord knows everything. Therefore, we do not need to expend our souls and energy to prove the truth. You do not need to burn your soul to punish evil. You do not need to obsess over that wound and pass judgment in the courtroom of your heart. Once again. Does God know the wicked? Or does He not know? He knows. Friends, revenge is an attempt to return the pain received to the other party. However, completely entrusting everything to God means leaving the final judgment of my pain and the sins of the other party to the God who knows. This is not my word. David entrusted the right of final judgment to God. There was King Saul, who sought to kill him. He went into a cave to relieve himself, and David's men saw him. David was deep in the cave, but Saul did not know—caves in the wilderness of Judah can be very deep. God is alive. Finally, God gave him the opportunity to kill that wicked enemy, King Saul. This is not my word but the words of his men. So David said, "No." Revenge must be entrusted to God. Instead, he left evidence. He cut off the edge of King Saul's robe. Later, when King Saul was sleeping with his soldiers at night, David went in and took his spear and water jug. David's men said, "God is alive. God has given us the opportunity to kill King Saul. We have his spear, so let’s strike him down." But David said, "Do not harm the Lord's anointed." "Let us entrust it to God." Does God know the wicked deeds of King Saul? Does He not know? David entrusted the final judgment of Saul to God. He relinquished the right to judge Saul's wickedness to God. This is the biblical picture of entrusting. He laid down the sword but did not discard the evidence. However, he entrusted it to God. David did not say Saul was right. He simply decided not to become like Saul because of Saul's wickedness and entrusted the right of final judgment to God. Today, entrusting this right of final judgment to the Lord is a confession that only those who believe that God knows everything can make. Friends, does God know the situation in Korea? Does He not know? Does God know everything about the political leaders in Korea? Does He not know? Therefore, let us truly believe this Word and pray. "Lord, You who know everything, lead this country in the right direction." Amen. When we pray earnestly with tears, God will also guide Korea. Amen. Amen. Therefore, today let us have this heart: to completely entrust to God and become independent from people! Because the Creator God knows us, He leads us to a miraculous life, and because He knows the wicked, we entrust our revenge to the Lord and leave the final judgment to Him. Once, there was an employee whose boss was so bad that when the team failed in a project, he shifted all the blame onto that employee. This employee was a Christian, and he was very angry that such a bad boss could exist. Every night, he recorded his boss's problems on his phone, knowing all his past mistakes and issues. He wrote and deleted a revelation to post on an anonymous bulletin board, constantly struggling. However, he also entrusted that to God. He prayed to reveal the truth without destroying others. He organized all related emails and meeting records and requested the truth according to the company's official procedures. However, he did not slander his boss to his colleagues and maintained the necessary distance until the truth was revealed, giving up the joy of hurting the boss who insulted him and entrusted the judgment to God. So he did not try to drag his boss down with lies. He did not become the judge himself. He spoke what was necessary but did not say things to stab the other party. He followed the path of justice but gave up the pleasure of revenge. He followed the path of justice but gave up the pleasure of revenge. This is what it means to entrust in daily life. When we do this, God will anoint you throughout your life and perform miracles in your life. Amen. Hallelujah. Amen. The Bible says that the name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe. Let us sing together with high praise. The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the tower of the Lord; the righteous who run to it will be safe. The name of the Lord, hallelujah, the one who runs to it is a strong tower. Amen. Amen. Let’s place our hands on our hearts. It is a true expression of the heart. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, I believe that You know everything. I believe that You have known all our tears, wounds, pains, and flaws from the moment we were born until now. Lord, I believe that You know the many times of despair in our lives and that You are the one who turns them into commas of hope. I believe that You are the one who makes my life a masterpiece of miracles and faith. Lord, who knows all the unfairness I have experienced at home and work, help me to entrust even those who have hurt me and the wicked to You. Amen. I earnestly pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who created and protects me. Amen. Amen.