God’s concern is not due to man’sphysical strength, size, or intrinsicworthiness. Rather God createdman in His own image andlikeness. Such makes man distinctand separate from all of God’screation.
God’s Mindfulness of Man
“3: When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4: What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the sonof man, that thou visitest him?
5: For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6: Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thyhands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
7: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8: The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, andwhatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
9: O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all theearth” (Ps. 8)!
God’s Mindfulness of Man
“26: And God said, Let us make man in our image,after our likeness: and let them have dominion overthe fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, andover the cattle, and over all the earth, and over everycreeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27: So God created man in his own image, in theimage of God created he him; male and femalecreated he them” (Gen. 1).
God’s Mindfulness of Man
Having established the fact of God’smindfulness of man, we shall now explorefour areas in which we see thisawareness:
Man’s physical needs.
Man’s social requisites.
Man’s spiritual requirements.
Man’s eternal needs.
God’s Mindfulness of Man
1.Mindful of man’s physical needs.
A. The fact of God having madearrangements for man’s physicalneeds is seen in the prayer Jesustaught his disciples.
God’s Mindfulness of Man
“9: After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Fatherwhich art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as itis in heaven.
11: Give us this day our daily bread.
12: And forgive us our debts, as we forgive ourdebtors.
13: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us fromevil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and theglory, for ever. Amen.
14: For if ye forgive men their trespasses, yourheavenly Father will also forgive you:
15: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neitherwill your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6).
God’s Mindfulness of Man
2. God’s mindfulness of man’s socialneeds.
A. Man is basically a gregarious beingas opposed to solitary. Hence, Godmade the requisite provisions.
God’s Mindfulness of Man
“15: And the LORD God took the man, and put him intothe garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Ofevery tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatestthereof thou shalt surely die.
18: And the LORD God said, It is not good that the manshould be alone; I will make him an help meet for him”(Gen. 2).
God’s Mindfulness of Man
3. God has made provision for thespiritual needs of man.
A. God created man a free moralagent. Therefore, certain things had tobe put in place to accommodate man’sfree moral agency.
God’s Mindfulness of Man
“16: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying,Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatestthereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2).
Jesus as a sin offering (Heb. 2: 9).
The church (Eph. 1: 3).
The gospel (Rom. 1: 16).
In short, all that is needed is supplied (2 Pet. 1: 3).
God’s Mindfulness of Man
4. Mindful of man’s eternal needs.
A. Christ went to prepare a place, heis coming again, and he will receive thesaved to himself.
God’s Mindfulness of Man
“1: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe inGod, believe also in me.
2: In my Father's house are many mansions: if itwere not so, I would have told you. I go to preparea place for you.
3: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I willcome again, and receive you unto myself; thatwhere I am, there ye may be also” (John 14).
God’s Mindfulness of Man
Upon consideration of all the possibleneeds of man, one can truly say Godhas met all these needs:
Man’s physical needs.
Man’s social requisites.
Man’s spiritual requirements.
Man’s eternal needs.
God’s Mindfulness of Man
Belief
Repent
Confess
Baptism
I Peter 3: 12
God’s Mindfulness of Man
“24: I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: forif ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John8).
“30: And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but nowcommandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17).
“9: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him fromthe dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom. 10).
“38: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptizedevery one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remissionof sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2).