Well… Welcome to Embrace…
at all… 6 of our campuses…
My name is Adam…
I’m one of the pastors here…
and we are just so excited… that you are with us…
just so thrilled that you are here… today.
And now… As a high extrovert…
As a high extrovert…
one of my absolute favorite things to do… is talk with people.
Like I think… the only gift God gave me…
I have no other gifts….
The only gift God gave me…
is the gift of gab…
And my wife always says… that I can talk with anyone…
And because of it...
that I attract weird people…
and I take that as a compliment…
No but again… I just love talking to people…
And so nothing is better…
than running into someone that I know…
when I’m out and about.
Like… if I’m out grabbing coffee…
it’s just fun to say hello to someone that I know.
And if I’m out on my daily walk…
it’s fun when someone waves me down…
to ask how I’m doing.
And whether… it’s at the Mall of America…
Or at Chevy’s…
It might drive my introverted wife crazy…
But it’s just so great…
when I see someone that I know…
and I get a chance to say hello.
And so again… I just love others… and running into people.
but have you ever noticed…
how awkward it can get…
when you run into the same exact person…
multiple times… in the same day.
Have you ever noticed that?
Like at a place like Target…
the first time you see a friend or coworker…
it’s cool right?
And you say hello….
And you ask how their day is…
And you talk about the fact that you only came to Target…
to buy 1 thing…
but you ended up buying half of the store.
Can I get an Amen?
And then you talk some more…
and you say goodbye.
And again… the first time is great…
But if you run into the same person…
even 5 minutes later.
It starts to get a little… awkward right?
Like the second time you see the person…
You normally laugh… or you smile…
And sometimes you’ll say… “hello again.”
or Hey… what’s up..
and the second time… it’s not too bad...
and it’s not that big of a deal.
but nothing is worse…
even as a high extrovert…
nothing is worse….
than running into the same person again…
I mean… on the 3rd time…
It’s like… you try… to not make eye contact… with them right?
And you act like they’re a complete stranger…
that you’ve never met them…
And you’re just kinda…
annoyed for some reason as well….
And even if the other person… is your best friend…
You start thinking… these crazy thoughts…
Like… are they following or something?
because… they’re everywhere…
Like every place I go….
If I go to the grocery section…
They’re there…
If I go to the towel section…
They’re there…
And if I go to the dollar section…
to get something…
to keep my kid from screaming
They’re even there…
Like everywhere… I go…
They are there.
Again… they’re everywhere…
and I can’t get away from them…
And my favorite part… is after the 3rd run in…
the rest of your time in Target….
It’s like… you’re just trying to hide…
from your best friend…
and once you check out…
you’re tempted to run to your minivan… right?
And it’s all…
just so awkward… isn’t it?
Now as I shared last week…
one of my favorite books in the Bible… is the book of psalms…
I just truly love the psalms…
But specifically… one of my absolute favorite psalms... is psalm 139
and psalm 139… is a psalm from David.
and really this psalm… is a prayer of his.
It’s a prayer from David… to God…
and it’s filled with words…
describing… who our God is.
Again it’s this prayer… and throughout it…
it’s just describing…
all these crazy wild… things about God.
And last week… we looked at the first part of this psalm…
And now today… we’re gonna look at the 2nd part…
which you should have been given…
as a bookmark today…
at all campuses…
But starting in verse 7… here’s a part of what it says…
David says:
Lord… where can I go from your Spirit?
and where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there…
And if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
And if I rise on the wings of the dawn,
and if I settle on the far side of the sea…
even there… your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
And just to say this again…
David’s basically saying:
God… where can I go… that’s away from you?
And where can I escape from your presence?
I mean… if I go up high… to the heavens…
you are there
And if I go down… to the grave…
you are there.
And if I rise at the very start… of the morning…
or if I go to the far side of the ocean…
even there… your hand will guide me…
even there… your hand… will hold me.
And… just to sum this up for us…
David is just trying to say:
God, you are everywhere…
You’re everywhere.
No matter… where I go…
if I go the Heavens… or to the grave…
No matter… if I go to the horizon…
where sun rises…
or if I go to the furthest side of the ocean…
even there…
you are with me.
even there…
you are present.
Again David’s just declaring…
God, you are everywhere.
You are everywhere.
Now I don’t know about you… but this is crazy right?
I mean… it’s just overwhelming…
and really… it’s incomprehensible…
to think that God is everywhere.
and that He’s all-present.
And the big churchy word for this…
is saying… that God is omni-present.
He’s omni-present
And it’s like… what does that mean?
Like… Christmas presents?
Again… God is everywhere…
He is present… everywhere…
And today… I just wanna highlight a few of the things…
that this means… for each of us.
And first off… this means…
that there is no place we can go…that’s away from God.
To use bad grammar…
There is no place we can go…
where God isn’t already there.
There is no place we can go…
where God isn’t present.
Now I know for myself…
when I think about God… and Jesus…
and where He is…
the very first place that comes to mind… is church right.
like the actual building.
And I mean… if you want to be with God…
then you go into this certain building…
and if you want to stay away from God…
then you stay away from this building…
and you go… and you watch a Steelers game…
or something sinful.
No but again… the truth is… is that God is everywhere…
And there’s no place we can go away from His presence.
And when you open the Bible…
and especially when you look at Jesus…
you see this…
I mean… Jesus goes to the places…
and he hangs out with the people…
that you’d least expect Him to go to… and be with.
He went… where the religious people wouldn’t go.
and instead of avoiding the crowds…
He went into the crowds…
He sat and he ate with sinners…
And he even went and hung out…
at to their houses…
Again… when we think about where God is…
we typically only picture Him in church…
but if we haven’t heard…. He is everywhere…
including the places…
that we’d least expect Him to be.
I mean… there is truly…. no place we can go…
that our God… isn’t already there.
And with this… for whatever reason…
have you ever thought… about taking a break away from God?
And that you just kinda want some space… from Him.
Or maybe… you’re subconsciously…
running away from God… or something.
It’s kinda humorous to think about…
I mean… good luck with that.
Because…
ummm… God is everywhere.
Like have fun running away from God…
you’re just burning calories for no reason…
because He’s everywhere.
No but seriously…
wherever we run to… God… He’s already there.
He’s present.
and when we want nothing to do with God…
absolutely nothing… He’s still there.
And when it’s a Friday night…
or when we’re at home… by ourselves…
and we just kinda wanna do our own thing…
God… He is there.
and when we’ve screwed up…
Like the moment…
that we’re making a poor decision…
He is with us.
Once more… God is everywhere....
from the heavens… to the far side of the ocean…
He’s everywhere…
and there is no place we can go…
where God isn’t already there.
And so there’s that... and then the second thing…
that I wanna highlight for us today…
is the truth… that God is everywhere…
He is there.
and He has always… been there.
Hear this: at all times… and at every place…
God… He’s always… been with us.
I mean… in the last part of our psalm… that we’ll touch on next week…
It talks about God seeing us… and watching over us…
before we were even born…
Again… God is there…
and He’s always been there.
And just to be clear… God hasn’t just been present…
like He’s just hanging out… or something…
But instead David says that… even there…
your hand with guide me…
even there… your right hand…
will hold me.
And you see… God’s right hand… is a symbol…
of His loving care… and his protection.
And so… David’s basically saying…
at all times… you’ve protected me…
in all places… you’ve cared for me…
at every point… and wherever I’ve ever been….
all of my life….
Lord, you have watched over me.
Once more… God is there…
and He’s always… always… been there.
And what this means…
is that in looking back at our life…
we can know… that at our greatest points….
and also… at our lowest places…
In looking back at our life…
we can know… that God was there…
and He has always been there.
I mean… When we graduated from school…
When we had our baby….
When we got our promotion…
When we met our spouse….
God… He was there.
And on the flip side…
When we were hurt… and walked on…
When we got the worst phone call of our life…
When were picked on in school….
When we got fired…
When we walked through cancer… our divorce… and whatever else.
We can know… that the whole time…
that God was always there… with us.
And even when no one else was there… He was there.
And even when all signs showed otherwise….
God was present… protecting us…
caring for us…
watching over us…
He was there… and his right hand…
was holding us.
so again… our God… He is there.
and He has always… been there.
And then the last thing I wanna highlight today…
is the truth… that God is there….
and He will always… be there…
Where is your… even there?
Even there…
Looking back… present… future….
Where do we need… to be reminded.
And hear this… He’s there…
partly because it’s who He is…
He’s omni-present or something right?
But more than that…
He’s there… because He loves us…
I’m not sure if you’ve heard…
but God so loved… this world…
He so loves us… that He sent us… Jesus.
There is no place we can go where God isn’t already there.
And starting in verse 1…
Here’s just a part of what it says…
It says:
O Lord, you have searched me… and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise…
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down
you are familiar with all my ways.
And before a word is on my tongue…
O LORD… you know it completely.
Now… I don’t wanna call God a stalker…
but this is more than borderline crazy… right?
Like if this was anyone other than God…
we’d be calling the cops…
I mean… David is saying… that God pretty much knows…
and He sees… everything about us…
which includes… even the little things…
that we maybe don’t want God to see…
Like God knows and sees…
when we use the bathroom
and we don’t wash our hands…
Is it I Lord?
And God knows… how many times we wear our pants…
before washing them.
And God knows… that sometimes you… I don’t…
but he knows that you…
sometimes bite... your toe nails…
Okay I’ll stop… but just to share it again… David’s like…
O Lord, you have searched me…
you’ve examined my heart… and you know me.
And you know when I sit and when I rise…
like you know everything I do…
and you know my thoughts from afar.
and you know when I go out… and when I lay down…
and Lord… you are familiar… with who I am…
and all of my ways…
Like before I even speak…
you know… exactly what I am going to say.
And I don’t know about you… but wow right?
Again… these are just crazy verses…
And David’s basically saying…
Lord… you know me… you know me…
and you know every part of… who I am.
And now… today…
there is so much we could say from these few verses.
there’s so much we could talk about…
as I read through these verses… over and over again this week.
I was just in awe of God… and who He is…
and what this means for us…
but for today… I just wanna highlight… a few things.
And the first thing is this…
the simple truth that:
God knows us… and this is a good thing.
God knows us… and this is good.
I mean… reading through the verses… just now…
We maybe joked around about it being creepy… but it’s not.
God sees every part of us…
and every part of our lives…
and this is good.
Like David’s rejoicing over this truth…
and He’s in awe of God… because of it.
But with this… one of the things that I often hear from people…
is if God only knew what I’ve done…
He wouldn’t want anything to do with me.
and if God only knew…
if He knew… the person that I really am…
He wouldn’t love me.
and I’ve heard this so many times before...
And these same feelings…
are often what keep us from coming to church…
and these same feelings often keep us from praying…
and reading the Bible…
and talking with God.
And these same feelings…
even when it’s with something small that we’ve done…
are often why we distance ourselves from God.
Because I just don’t want Him to see it… right?
I just don’t want Him to know…
because if does… He’ll think less of me.
we’re like Adam & Eve hiding in the garden.
And in this moment… I tell people…
that the truth is…
is that He’s actually… already seen it all…
and He knows everything.
And yet... He’s still crazy about us.
He’s seen it all…
and He knows that the person that we really are…
not just the person that we show up as on Sundays
when we put on a nice face…
He sees who we really are…
and yet… He still wants… to know us.
Again… God knows us… and this is a good thing.
God knows everything about us…
and this is good.
And just to be clear… this would be a bad thing…
if our God… was an angry uptight God.
And this would be a bad thing… horrible actually…
if He was a God…
that was just waiting for us to make a mistake…
so He could grill us.
And some of us view God this way…
Don’t we?
I mean for some of us…
this is all we’ve ever heard.
When the truth is… our God is good…
and He’s slow to anger…
And His love… it has no end.
And with His grace…
I’ve heard that it’s amazing.
You see… with God… we’re fully known…
but we’re also fully loved.
Once again…
our God… He knows us… and this is a good thing.
And so that’s the first thing to highlight…
And then the second thing… is the truth….
that God knows you… and He knows me… personally.
Again… He knows you… and He knows me… personally.
I mean… our God…
the God found in the Bible… Jesus…
He is not a far off… distant God…
And He’s not an abstract thing… or a machine.
And He didn’t create the universe… and then leave.
Instead… He’s a God… who knows us… personally…
And just to be clear…
this means… that God doesn’t just know things about us.
Like He doesn’t just know information…
where we live…
And what we do for a job.
And our height… and our weight.
And who our favorite football team is
and Go Bengals…
And Lord… please help us…
to beat the evil Steelers today.
Again though… God doesn’t just know things about us…
Instead He knows us personally…
Like our God knows the desires of our heart…
And He knows what we’re scared of…
and what we dream about…
And He knows what we find joy in…
And He knows our personality…
He knows the intangible things…
that make you you… and me me…
And He doesn’t just kinda sorta know us…
Like a random friend of ours does.
And He doesn’t just know us…
Even like our parents do…
Or our best friend
or even our spouse does.
Instead… God… He knows us… better than we even know ourselves.
And that’s what David is trying to say.
He’s like… Oh Lord… you know me.
And you know everything… like everything…
about me. You know when I sit and when I rise…
and you know my thoughts…
my very thoughts from afar.
And you are familiar… with all of my ways…
Like before I even speak… Lord…
you know… what I’m thinking.
And so again… first off…
God knows us… and that’s a good thing…
And then secondly…
God knows you… and He knows me… personally.
And then the last thing I wanna highlight today…
is the simple truth…
that our heart… that it longs to be known by God.
our heart… it longs to be known by Him.
I mean… just in general…
we just have this longing… to be known by others… don’t we?
Emotionally… and even physically…
we just have this desire…
inside of us… to be known.
For our heart… the depth of who we are…
to be known by someone else.
And it’s just something that we crave…
And we often… go searching to fill this desire… in others…
And speaking of Facebook earlier…
it’s part of the reason…
that some people will bare their souls online.
Because… we just wanna be known.
And it’s part of the reason that we wanna be successful… and recognized
Because we just wanna be known…
And it’s a part of what makes something… like sex…
so amazing…
Can I get an Amen?
But it’s also why it… can be so destructive…
just being known… on that level…
And often you’ll run into a person…
who will start sharing…their deep dark secrets…
within 2 minutes of meeting them…
and it’s just so clear…
that they’re just longing to be known… by someone.
by anyone.
And even in healthy sense… as human beings…
we just have a desire to be understood…
And it’s kinda cool… but when David says…
O Lord, you know me…
It can also translate as… Lord, you understand me.
It’s like…he’s saying: O Lord, you get me.
I don’t have to explain myself…
You hear me.
But again… as human beings…
we just long to be noticed and known by others…
and we so badly want someone else…
to want... to know us.
to want us.
But hear this… what our hearts are truly after…
And what our hearts are actually looking for…
is to be known… by God.
What we’re actually craving for…
is to be known by Him.
And that’s why in our psalm…
David is crying out…
And that’s what David is in awe of…
Again… He says…
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
And You know when I sit and when I rise…
You are familiar with all my ways.
And before a word is on my tongue you
O LORD, know it completely.
And then listen to verse 6…
he says… and such knowledge is too wonderful... for me…
such knowledge… is too great for me to understand!
Basically Lord… knowing that you know me… so fully
It’s too wonderful…
that I can’t fathom it.
Knowing that you know me… like you do…
It’s so great… that I can’t comprehend it.
Once more… our heart…
it longs to be known by God.
Now closing things up today…
this week… as I looked at these verses…
And I kept reading through them…
the one question… that continued to rise up in my soul... was:
Lord… okay… so you know me…
but how well do I know you?
You know me… and you want to know me…
But how well… and how much…
do I want to know you?
And for myself… the very first time…
that I had ever heard… that God knew me…
and that I could possibly… know Him…
was as a sophomore in high school.
And I grew up in the church my whole life…
and rarely missed…
but I had just never heard… that God knew me…
and that I could know Him…
I mean… all that I thought mattered… was going to church…
and getting confirmed…
and that was it…
And God was just some far off thing…
that you tried to keep happy or something.
but you didn’t interact… with Him.
I mean… what? You can’t do that.
But when I heard… that God knew me…
And that He loved me…
And that He wanted me… to know Him…
I just couldn’t… believe it…
It’s like the creator of all things…
wants to know me?
He does?
And the One who set the stars in their place?
I can know Him…
I can?
I mean… I felt… exactly what David put into words…
When he said…
such knowledge… is too wonderful...
and it’s too great…
for me… to understand.
And from that moment on…
I just wanted to know more… about God…
And I personally… wanted to know Him… myself.
Like you didn’t have to convince me… to pray and to talk with God.
Because… I just did.
And even though I didn’t understand much of it…
You didn’t have to convince me to open up my Bible… and read it.
Because I wanted to.
And with church each week…
I was in high school…
and so there was also… youth group on Wednesday.
And I no longer had… to go to church…
instead I couldn’t wait to go…
Like I never wanted to miss.
And I just wanted to know God… and be with Him…
as much as I possibly could.
And you could say… in a good sense…
It was almost… like I was stalking God.
And I just wanted to know Him… more and more.
And as followers of Jesus…
this should be… the story of our lives…
this should be our heart beat….
Not just for a month or 2…
when we first start following Jesus… and we’re excited…
but for the remainder…
of our time… here on earth.
just this desire… to know God… more and more.
to know every part of Him…
to know every aspect of who He is…
to know everything about Him…
basically… that we would stalk Him.
And just being honest… I can tell you… that there will be days…
when the desire will be there…
and you’ll just feel… like there’s a fire in your soul for God.
like you just can’t get enough.
And there will be other times… days… maybe even months…
where you won’t have any feelings… at all
and you’ll maybe question God…
and whatever else.
And it’s in those moments…
where you’ll have to choose… to pursue Him.
where you’ll have to decide… to be faithful to Him...
even though the feelings aren’t there.
But once again… our question… Lord… you know us… and you know me…
but how well… do we know you?
And now… today… I just wanna say…
that if we’re here… and we’ve never heard…
that God knows us… and that we can know Him.
And it’s possible that we’ve done the church thing our whole life…
but we just never knew…
Or maybe we’ve been curious about God…
but have never had a relationship with Jesus.
Or we’ve just been on the fence… with things.
My simple challenge…
would be… to simply say… and pray…
Jesus, today I want to know you.
God, I’m new to this…
but today I want to know who you are.
And Jesus, I want a relationship with you.
and Lord, I want to know you…
like you know me.
Again… this is such a simple challenge…
but something powerful happens…
when we say this to God.
And we make it known to Him.
And so there’s that…
and on the flip side…
for those of us who have maybe been following Jesus for years.
Or maybe we were excited about God…
and our relationship with Him in the past…
but just with life… and our schedules… and other things…
our love and desire for Him…
has grown cold…
And maybe we’re just going through the motions… in our walk with Jesus.
Or we’ve even stopped doing that.
If that’s us… my challenge would be…
to simply ask God to light a fire in us again…
You see… there’s power in prayer… and just asking God
to ignite our passion for Him…
that our hearts… would long to know Him…
more than ever before.
That we would just have a hunger for God…
and knowing more about who He is.
Just declaring… Lord, today… would you stir my heart… for you.
Would you breathe new life in me…
would you give me a longing to just be with you…
to be close to you.
Jesus, today… I long to know you…
the same way… that you know me.
Let’s pray.
