Even There
CCCAG March 19th, 2017
Scripture: Psalm 139:1-18
A pastor took his minivan into the dealer for an oil change. The waiting room was empty except for him and one other man. The pastor struck up a conversation with the other man, and after a while, the topic of President’s Day came up. The man thought it was a shame that instead of celebrating Lincoln’s birthday and Washington’s birthday like we used to, we now just have one generic holiday for all the Presidents. He went on to say that he considered Lincoln to be a great man, one of the greatest men in American history; perhaps even the greatest man in history, period. In fact, he even said that he tried to live his life according to the teachings and example of Abraham Lincoln.
This piqued the pastor’s curiosity. He had heard of Confucians, and Buddhists, but had never met a "Linconian," a disciple of Abraham Lincoln. The pastor didn’t even know there was such a thing, so he inquired a little further:
Are there others like you? (he asked) "Oh yes, there’s a group of about 40 here on the West Side; we meet once a week on Friday evening (that’s the day Lincoln was shot). Our leader is a man with a Master’s degree in American History. Every week, he reads a selection from Lincoln’s writings, and then he gives a talk explaining what it means, and suggesting ways we can apply it to our lives. And of course, February 12th, Lincoln’s birthday, is a big holiday for us. We have parties, and exchange gifts, and sing Civil War songs. Sometimes, one of us dresses up like Lincoln in a beard and top hat, and he gives out presents to the kids. It’s a lot of fun.
The pastor said- That’s fascinating! So you must study Lincoln’s life and writings? "
The man replied, “Well, not exactly. I do own a leather-bound copy of Lincoln’s complete works -- his speeches, his writings, his letters. It’s beautiful.
I have it displayed on a table by our front door, so when anyone comes in the house, they can see that I’m a follower of Abraham Lincoln. I also own several biographies of Lincoln. One of these days I really do plan to read them. I just haven’t had the time yet."
Probing a bit deeper, the pastor asked, “But how can you be a disciple of Lincoln if you don’t read what he wrote?”
"Well, it’s mostly common-sense stuff.” The man replied. “Really. ’Do unto others,’ the golden rule, be nice to people, free the slaves, that kind of thing. And besides, I listen to a half-hour speech on Lincoln every Friday so why do I really need to read what he wrote?”
The pastor said, “I see. So how does being a follower of Lincoln affect your life?
"Well, like I said, I go to a meeting every Friday. I celebrate Lincoln’s birthday once a year. I own a leather-bound edition of his writings and speeches. Oh, and most of my friends are also Linconians."
The pastor replied- “So when you get together with your friends, you talk about Lincoln’s life and how to live out his teachings?”
"Oh, no. That stuff’s for Fridays, when we go to the meetings. No, we just talk about sports, politics, our families. The same things everybody else talks about." “We are THAT serious about it”
Obviously this is satire, meant to probe into our own hearts about how we see our relationship with God-
Is your Faith a part time hobby, or shown through a changed life lived in the believing that God is everything?
In the Psalm we are going to read and study this morning, King David is meditating on God.
Yes, Meditating. Meditation has gotten a bad name because of eastern religious influence on the church, but mediation is key to learning how to live your life hidden with God. That will be next week.
As David meditates on God, he writes what most ancient Jewish Scholars call “David’s most excellent Psalm”, and we are going to unpack that today as we read and learn to mediate on our God and His relationship to us.
Psalm 139 1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Prayer
David wrote this Psalm, most likely toward the end of his life, after he had gone through all of the failures and triumphs that make him such a compelling historical figure. He is now sitting alone with God and meditating on God and His nature, and writes down what he has discovered through a long life of trusting in his Father.
What this Psalm focus’ on is teaching us how a believer is hidden with God
I. God knows YOU Verse 1-6
Whether you or anyone else on this planet, whether it be past, present or future acknowledges the reality of God is irrelevant- HE is! AND HE knows you personally.
A. What verses 1-6 teaches us is God’s Omniscience
Omniscience is a theological term that comes from two words- omni meaning all-encompassing or compete and science which means knowledge. Put together, it means God divine attribute of omniscience means he knows everything.
If you mediate on that for a moment, it will quickly overwhelm you when you consider the vastness of that knowledge.
This idea of God’s omniscience is a lot easier to apply to creation than it is ourselves.
Isn’t it easier for us to consider that-
God knows the due date of a rhino in Africa as much as He knows when you are getting ready to leave to do something He wouldn’t approve of.
Isn’t it easier to say that God knows exactly how fast a butterfly’s wings are moving as it flies around a playground near Beijing China then it is to admit to ourselves that He also knows exactly what you thought of the person who cut you off in traffic on the way to church.
Isn’t it easier to consider-
God knowing the precise location of every atom of hydrogen in the most distant star of the most distant galaxy from us is a lot easier to understand then it is to want to think of God knowing our most innermost thoughts…before we even think them.
David starts with a statement acknowledging this- you have searched me and you know me.
Everyone here this morning can say the same thing- God has searched you and knows you.
If we are honest with eachother, most often when someone says something like that, your mind immediately goes to something you really don’t want God to know about-
Like, “I wish Pastor John would make this a short sermon, because if he doesn’t hurry up we won’t beat those Baptists to Subway!”
But even there- he knows what happened, why it happened, how it happened, when it happened, what lead up to it happening, and what the aftermath was when it happened. He knows every possibility of every event in the universe, as well as what will actually happen.
Early one Sabbath, a priest once opened the temple to see a man already inside, laying at the altar weeping and crying out to God. The priest was surprised as the guards should have kept anyone from entering the holy place. The priest slowly and quietly walked toward the altar, seeing the man’s clothes had been torn, and his head covered in ashes as we wept and wailed before God. Sensing this was a holy moment, the priest began to back away, when a soft voice began to sign a praise song to God. Immediately the priest recognized the voice- it was that of the King- the king who was currently embroiled in a major scandal involving the betrayal and murder of one of his closest friends, and adultery with the dead man’s wife- and now she was even pregnant with the king’s child!
The person who wrote this Psalm, was that man at the altar.
After going through such a horrendously embarrassing scandal this man came to know the truth-that God knows, and He Knew.
What did God know?
God knew before the previous King Saul messed up one too many times, and God decided it was time for a new King.
God knew before He told Samuel to pour the oil over Jesse’s youngest son- anointing him as the future king.
God knew when David stepped out on the patio that night, who he would see bathing in the moonlight.
God knew. Even then, and even there.
Yet, He still selected David to be King.
And David in verse 1 sees the truth of this- “You God have searched me and you have known me”
What does that mean for us?
God has searched you and known you- and HE STILL CHOSE TO SAVE YOU.
He saw that last time you failed, and the time before that, and remember the big one- the one everyone seems to know about? He saw that too- before you even thought of doing it.
And He still saved you.
God still called you
God still wants to use you.
BECAUSE GOD STILL LOVES YOU
Failing does not make you a failure. A boxer isn’t known as a chump because he gets knocked out. He’s known as a chump for not getting back up and fighting again.
Some of you need to hear this- “God isn’t finished with you yet!”
That brings us to our second point-
II. You Can’t Run from God Verses 7-12 (Omnipresence)
David asks- “Where can I go to flee from your presence?”
This thought describes God’s omnipresence, meaning He is present everywhere at the same time. This is why God can know the future, because HE exists outside the timeline so He is simultaneously in the past, present, and future all at the same time.
In spring of 1984 I was shuffling into St Mary’s church with about 40 other teenagers, all dressed in robes to be confirmed in the Lutheran church.
We went through the ceremony, spoke the words which actually include the sinners prayer, repenting of our sin and receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord. I remember feeling great, like a large weight had been removed from my chest.
I remember the youth pastor at the time, David Meissner preaching the sermon and I even remember his main points-
He said out of our class, 1/3 of us would be pew sitters, or twice a year attenders- we would come when we could or felt like it, not really contribute much, and not make much of our confirmation
He said the next 1/3 of us would be faithful members- getting involved, faithfully supporting the church financially and through serving in various ways- that 1/3 would become the mortar that held the rocks of the church together and ensured it’s ministry continued into the next generation.
Then he said, and the last 1/3- I’ll never see you again after today.
In my mind, I remember clearly thing, “Yep, that’s me! I’ve had enough of this religion stuff. Me and God are alright, and I’m living my own life”
For the next 9 years of my life I ran from God. I started partying, left home at 16 to live among other family and friends. After I turned 18, I dropped out of high school and worked various low paying jobs.
Then the army and national guard. I straightened out a little bit, but outside of occasionally attending a church service here and there, usually because I was starting to feel bad about how bad I had been, I stayed away. I carried my Gideon New Testament because I figured if I got killed with it on my person, God might give me a break.
Then I met Tammie, we had our oldest child Haley. As you have heard before, Kevin Robinson who spoke here a couple of years ago lead me to Christ by asking me a pointed question- “You said that your upbringing was horrible with your mom and dad fighting, and separating then finally divorcing.
You father has had multiple wives because of infidelity. You know your own past of womanizing. What makes you think you’ll be any different than your father, or his father, or his father before him?”
Kevin had known me most of my life, and saw a lot of what I had to go through. It was those words that finally tripped me up from running from God any more.
After I got home, Kevin’s words were haunting me that Haley would grow up like I did.
Smoking my last cigarette in tears, I gave my life to Jesus.
Even there and even then- God was with me to welcome me back home.
So I ask you this morning “Where can we flee from his presence?”
You can’t.
Jesus said- “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.”
You can’t outrun God- didn’t work for me
You can’t out wrestle God- Didn’t work for Jacob
You can’t outswim God- Didn’t work for Jonah
And you can’t hide from God.- Didn’t work for Adam
With that in mind- listen to David’s words again-
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
God has a word for some one listening- “Stop running. You cannot run anywhere I am not.”
It’s like an old military sniper, once the main part of the war was over he was put on guard duty over the prisoners. He walked up to the prisoners carrying his rifle and told them- “Don’t try to run away- you can’t run fast enough to get out of my scopes sight, and you’ll just die tired.”
That’s just like us running away from God- you’re just going to be tired until you finally surrender all to Him.
One of the prerogatives of being God is this- GOD always wins.
This all matters, because God has a plan for you-
III. God has a plan for you- you were created for a purpose
Verses 13-16 (Omnipotence) Omni- complete Potence- power
God’s omnipotence is seen in how HE as intricately molded us, formed us, and placed us where we are for such a time as this.
It’s not an accident- it’s part of a plan. Your wins, your losses, your challenges, your trials, your failures, and your triumphs are all part of making you who you are, so that God’s Kingdom is made complete in our hearts.
I like to think about how things work- maybe that’s a family trait as my dad was a mechanic and then worked fixing water meters. My brother is one of the heads of engineering the HVAC at a large hospital in Milwaukee, and my paternal grandfather fixed TV’s when TV’s could actually be worked on and fixed.
When I’m meditating on scripture and what I think God wants me to say any given Sunday, I try to think through the scripture I’m reading from all angles- theological, practical, philosophical, historical, and cultural. When I read Verses 13-16, watching God mold each individual child and having a plan for each person that has ever lived, it blows my mind.
Can you imagine that planning meeting in heaven? Not only did it deal with the huge issues like wars, countries, how hot each star burned or which planets circled which stars, but it also dealt with the smaller issues in each individual human life.
Consider the trinity talking amongst themselves in heaven planning just one event in my life that cause my life to intersects yours-
In eternity past, during a planning meeting God the Father says- “So in 2014, we need a pastor in Whitehall WI.”
Stop for one second, and imagine God moving history along for the last 7 thousand years to make sure my great great great to the 20th power ancestors met, had children, who then had to meet the right people, have the right children from the right ancestry, who would eventually leave Germany and Bohmeia on my dad’s side for Chicago, and Norway on my mom’s side for Hayward, and somehow the two family’s ending up 30 miles away from each other in Spooner and Hayward and still my mom and day met, married, and had me.
Then God takes me on the most improbable path anyone has ever took to the ministry. Teaching me along the way to work long hours without it bothering me, living with less, patience upon patience upon patience, molding and shaping and using the gifts He designed into my being to be brought to fruitfulness and eventually land me right here to deliver the word of God to you today.
Is your mind blown yet? Now take that and consider your own life for a moment- what it took to get you here this morning to hear this message.
Our God is an awesome God. He is Omnipotent, which means all powerful if he could take a guy like me and make me anything in His Kingdom.
That’s why it’s important for you to realize-
God knows you
Musicians.
If He Is calling you today, you need to surrender, because otherwise you’ll just die tired. He has you in His sights, and HE never misses.
Because, He has brought you through everything you have gone through for such a time as this.
Yes, even if you are presently in a spot that is not pleasing to HIM-even there. Right where you are- come to Him this morning.
Prayer
