God is not like men

Samuel chapter 16 and read from verse 7 for simplicity, shortness. And the Lord said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance nor on the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

Isaiah chapter 55. Isaiah 55 and we'll read from verse 8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Last of all in Numbers chapter 23. This is in the context of Balaam's, shall we say prophecy, speaking about the God's people. Numbers 23 and verse 19.

God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said and shall he not do it, or hath he spoken and shall he not make it good. If we were to read in Psalm 50, we'd find a verse in verse 21 that God addresses to the wicked.

And he says, because thou thoughtest that I was such a man as thyself. And you know that in this world around us it's very evident that men that don't know God, they think God is like they are. But the word of God says God is not like man.

In fact, in every way God is different, higher in every possible degree, in every characteristic, every attribute, every expression of his own person, God is not a man. And it's always been man's attempt, I believe, empowered and inspired by the devil to seek to bring God down to man's level and to bring man up to God's level. You shall be as God's.

We're living in a world in which that kind of thinking can affect you and me. The attitude of a world that has such low thoughts about God and fails to appreciate the infinite greatness of God. And how important it is for us to rise in our appreciation to understand how truly great our God is, how different he is.

In fact, to try to lower God to man's level and to make him out to be like man is simply a form of idolatry. It's making man in what we think he to be. But I want to very quickly, 10 minutes, I want to look with you at these three portions and remind us that in 1 Samuel chapter 16, we learned that God does not see like man sees.

He doesn't see like man sees. In Isaiah 55, we learned that God doesn't think like man thinks. My thoughts are not your thoughts.

And in Numbers 23, we learned that God's actions are not like man's actions. They're different. Thinking first of all, in 1 Samuel chapter 16, notice with me that Samuel has been looking at the sons of Jesse.

He looks at them from the oldest to the youngest, almost to the youngest. It's almost like in Jesse's eyes, that youngest son doesn't count for very much. He left him out in the field when Jesse was told to call his sons.

And David was still in the field taking care of the flock. And he called every one of those sons that had passed before him. And certainly, Samuel said, this must be the one that's the Lord's anointed.

No, it's not that one. Well, it must be this one. And down the line they go until they finally come to the last one.

And he's reminded from the very first when he sees Eliab that God does not look on men like man looks. He says man looks on the outward. You know, that was the problem when it came to Saul.

He was head and shoulders of all the people. He was a large man in the eyes of men. But think how small he became in the eyes of God.

God could say that when thou was little of thine own eyes, then I exalted thee. But the time came in Saul's experience when God had to say, you're too great. You're too big.

And he ruined his life. When you think of God looking upon men and looking, it's not like men sees or in any way that man looks only on the outward appearance, he says, we look on the outward appearance. We judge from the outward.

We look at what we see. But God says, I look deeper than that. I look from the inward.

And God's desire is that what is inward will be expressed on the outward. Not what is outward trying to mask what is inward, but what is inward being truly expressed in the life outwardly. I just very quickly noticed with you that when you look at God's looking, it's very important and interesting to examine those passages in our Bible, see how God looked upon creation in Genesis 1 and 2. He saw it differently than how men see it today.

They see it as a development, imperfection, and really coming out of strife and conflict and disorder. Somehow it's all come to the place it is today. That's not what God says.

God looked at everything was very good. And in chapter four, chapter six and verse five, he looked upon men. I remember men in that day, they were marked by progress, intelligence, abilities.

And God looked, he saw the wickedness of man was only great in all the earth. And right down to the word of God, we can see that as God has looked upon conditions, as he's looked upon men, he evaluates them in a totally different way. So that we recognize that while we can be deceived by appearances, we might even put on an appearance that might deceive others.

God is very simply looking for transparency. I'm summarizing because God wants us to be inwardly what we are outwardly and outwardly what we are inwardly. As God looks upon each one of us, I believe the desire that's been expressed in our prayer tonight, as our lives might be transformed to express outwardly what is actually true inwardly as a result of the spirit of God, Christ is in us.

God wants him to be seen outwardly as well. So God doesn't look upon men like men look. We look upon men sometimes and we evaluate them and we think this person is very great and this one is very important.

And all the times we are deceived and we can't see the reality, but God says, I look on the inward, I look upon the heart. And so when I think about these, this aspect of God looking, it only reminds me that I need to remember that God's desire for me is that the word of God might have such a powerful effect in my life. That it might transform me to express what God wants to see, what he desires to see in each one of us, something of Christ, something to the beauty and the fragrance and the moral qualities that mark the Lord Jesus.

He doesn't see like men see. May God help us to see men like God sees them. In Isaiah 55, we have that lovely expression and context of the gospel sometimes used, the result of Isaiah 53, no doubt, that God doesn't think like man thinks.

And this passage makes it clear that God is comparing his ways of thinking about things and planning and his purposes, not like men do. Because his purposes, his intentions, his anticipations and desires, they're all far superior to the very best of the highest that men could ever attain. He says, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Who can measure the distance between man's thoughts and God's thoughts? You know, I'm glad that God doesn't think like men do. We'd never enjoy the blessings we have today if it were the fact that God thought like we did. If God thought like we did, we'd never have a place in his presence, not now nor for eternity.

Thank God he has thoughts of grace and mercy. We thank God that he has thoughts that purposed a great salvation that was to be accomplished at an infinite cost. Not only that, his thoughts have not ended there.

They're still working. And when I think of God's thoughts, very briefly, I'm just going to give you three headings and I'll leave them with you. God's thoughts, first of all, are unsullied in their motivation.

There's no deviousness about God's thoughts, absolutely pure and straightforward. And his motivation is perfect and never marred by selfish or sinful desires. Unsullied in their motivation, unchanging in their objectivity, because despite man's failure and sinfulness and shortcomings, God has never changed his purpose.

You can look in the word of God and find that. That what God is determined to do from the very beginning, even from eternity, he is going to carry it out. His purposes never change.

What a blessing that we can put our confidence in him. And not only that, but God's thoughts are unappreciated, sadly, in their graciousness. That chapter makes it so very clear.

God says man doesn't appreciate the intent of his thoughts, that God desires that men would respond to him, that they would listen to his word and they would recognize that if they'd only come to him, he would bless them eternally and ask nothing from them, charge them nothing for it. No, they're unappreciated. Man doesn't appreciate the wonderful thoughts of God toward them.

So we see that God doesn't see like man does. He doesn't think like man does and he doesn't act like man does either. When you look at Numbers 23, and I'm sorry this is going so fast, but the time is limited.

You can develop yourself. But Balaam is having to acknowledge the fact that God doesn't act like man do. I love that verse in Malachi at the close of Israel's Old Testament history.

God surveys that past with all of its failure, with all of its departure, with all its rebelliousness. He says, I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob are not consumed.

In other words, their preservation didn't depend on their faithfulness to him. Their preservation depended on the unchanging character of God himself. I am the Lord.

He makes good his promises. And Balaam here is saying God is not a man that he should lie. That is, his words are dependable.

Neither the son of man that he should repent. That is, he never has to change his mind. He doesn't make a mistake.

Hath he not spoken and shall he not make it good? That's his power to accomplish it. Hath he not spoken and shall he not do it? That's his power to accomplish it. Has he not spoken and shall he not make it good? That's his purpose that he's going to accomplish.

You know, it's a wonderful thing to just to be dependent upon the power of God. The acts of God that are for the blessing of his people, for the blessing of mankind. And the ability of God is unlimited to accomplish what he purposes to do.

And brother, we've come together with the expectation that God will pour us out blessing. I've been praying all week for this conference. And I trust you have too, that indeed God will draw near to us and empower his word in such a way that we might hear his voice, that we might respond to his working in our souls, and not only us, but also the unsaved.

We might be brought in the stream of God's thoughts for us, but we might respond in a way that would cause that what is seen outwardly would express what he is doing inwardly. May God help us to think high thoughts.