This Infinite, Intimate God Of Psalm 139 Series

There is hardly a week that goes by, that I don’t in some way, shape, or form, remind those who are under my ministry, that the fundamental principle of Christianity is this:

Christianity is not a religion

Religion [Webster]- An organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods

Christianity is a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ!

Roy Delia- Christianity is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ! It is not rituals, ceremonies, and/or sacraments. It is a personal, spiritual, loving relationship with a real and living Saviour, Jesus Christ. In this, Christianity is unique. No one claims or can have a living personal relationship with Buddha; no one can have or claim a personal, living relationship with Mohammed.

Jesus himself said that this is the essence of what eternal life is!

John 17: 3 And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent.-AMPC

And what is another reason that this is important?

John Calvin –“Without the knowledge of God, there is no knowledge of self.”

I believe that is why the Apostle Paul implies above all else, this should be the primary pursuit

Philippians 3: 8 Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),

Reason?

Philippians 3:9a And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, -AMPC

When I find him, I find myself! And that is why…

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.-NKJV

If that be the case then…

Philippians 3:10a [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquaqinted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], --AMPC

Having said all that – I want to bring to you a message from the 139th Psalm that I've entitled:

The Infinite, Intimate God of Psalm 139!

The goal of this message is to help you to get to know the God who knows you!

The word infinite means to be without limits. Finite means having limits.

And again the reason that this is important because as Tozer said…

AW Tozer - “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

And as John Piper says….

John Piper –“ We weren’t meant to be somebody–we were meant to know Somebody.”

So my proposition to you from this 139th Psalm is this:

Getting to know the God who knows you, the Infinite, Intimate God of Psalm 139, by that I mean becoming progressively more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, will bring you into what the essence and experience of eternal life is all about, and will help to establish you to enjoy your temporal life on earth!

The Westminster Shorter Catechism- Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

John Piper- “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”

Let’s begin by taking a look at the attributes of this Infinite, Intimate God, that we are to glorfy and enjoy.

The first attribute about this Infinite, Intimate God that David puts before us not in a historical, context, but rather in a personal context is this….

I. This Infinite, Intimate God, Perceives You!

A) Perceive - To know, to recognize, discern, or understand you!

Psalm 139:1a You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.

B) Point?

1. The God of Psalm 139 knows you!

C) Personality?

1. Omniscient!

a) Omniscience is defined as “the state of having total knowledge, the quality of knowing everything.

b) From Latin omni- (“all”), and scient from the Latin scientia (“knowledge”).

c) God has all knowledge!

d) He knows everything that there is to be known!

e) And to have a personal relationship you must:

D) Personalize it:

1. He knows everything that there is to be known about – YOU!

a) “Know” – implies he has an intimate personal knowledge of you!