I See Yu! Psalm 139 Intr 1. Psalm 139 is ne f the greatest chapters in the entire Bible. 2. Michael W Smith des a dramatic reading f it at a cncert. 3. We are appraching it n tw levels thelgical (what des it reveal t us abut Gd in general) and relatinal/persnal (what it reveals abut ur relatinship with Gd). 4. Big Idea: Our all knwing, all pwerful and ever present Gd enjys being invlved in every part f ur lives. 5. The key phrase in that statement is Enjys being invlved. If it is stated, Is in every part f ur lives then it is a sterile and distant relatinship. Enjys means that his affectins and heart is fully engaged. He wants t be fully invlved in ur lives. Thelgical Level three truths abut Gd He is mniscient All Knwing vs.1-6 Gd knws everything there is t knw abut me. My mtives, thughts, wrds and actins. AW Tzer Qute: Gd knws instantly and effrtlessly all matter and all matters, all mind and every mind all relatins, all causes, all thughts, all mysteries, all feelings, all desires, every unuttered secret, all things visible and invisible. He knws everything equally well. He never discvers anything. He s never surprised, never amazed. He never wnders, nr des He seek infrmatin r ask questins because He lacks understanding. Fr the persn withut Jesus this is a scary thing fr Gd has recrded everything. Rev.20.11-12,15 reads: 11 And I saw a great white thrne and the ne sitting n it. The earth and sky fled frm his presence, but they fund n place t hide. 12 I saw the dead, bth great and small, standing befre Gd s thrne. And the bks were pened, including the Bk f Life. And the dead were judged accrding t what they had dne, as recrded in the bks. 15 And anyne whse name was nt fund recrded in the Bk f Life was thrwn int the lake f fire. Fr the child f Gd this is a great thing b/c nthing is hidden befre Him. WE can t surprise Him; He knws us cmpletely and as Ps.103 says, He is like a father t his children, tender and cmpassinate fr he knws hw weak we are and he remembers we are nly dust. He is mnipresent All r Ever Present vs.7-12 I can never be ut f Gd s presence. Wherever I g, I never travel s far that I am ut f His presence. Jke: Tw farmers meet up in a bar during a agricultural cnventin. One frm PA the ther frm TX...
PA: Back hme I gt a 40 acre spread! TX: Aw, heck yu ain't gt nthin' - why my spread in Texas is s big that I get in my pickup in the mrning and I dn't get t the ther side f my ranch until the sun ges dwn! PA: Yeah, I used t have a pickup truck like that... We can never be utside f Gd s reach. This is true f every persn alive. N ne is beynd the tuch f Gd. He isn t watching frm a distance like thrugh a security camera. Verse 5 states, Yu g befre me and fllw me. He is clse; He is next t me; He is right here. Brther Lawrence image. He wrte a bk entitled, Practicing the Presence f Gd. He is mniptent All Pwerful vs.13-16 Frm the mment f cnceptin Gd has been invlved in my develpment as a persn. This is true f creatin itself. Article with Eric Mataxas - http://www.gspelherald.cm/articles/53759/20141229/atheist-scientists-turning-tgd-as-science-increasingly-prves-his-intelligent-design.htm r http://www.wsj.cm/articles/eric-metaxas-science-increasingly-makes-the-case-fr-gd- 1419544568 I m glad the genius level Ivy League schl prfessr types are catching up with the average, run f the mill church member! Summary: It is imprtant that we knw these truths and pint thers t them in times f questining, hurt and dubt. Here s the cautin: If we believe these truths, but d nt have the persnal and relatinal level f understanding, they will nt bear the full measure f fruit that Gd desires. Persnal/Relatinal Level f Psalm 139 Intr Yu shuldn t read Ps.139 like a Bible Cllege prfessr (academic) nr can yu read frm the vantage f being a sinner (guilt & fear). Yu have t read it with child like wnder. If yu read it frm a fear based relatinal mdel - Augh! Gd sees everything I d and knws what I think then yu end up with this kind f view f Gd: Yu better watch ut Yu better nt cry Better nt put I'm telling yu why Santa Claus is cming t twn He's making a list And checking it twice;
He's gnna find ut Wh's naughty r nice Santa Claus is cming t twn He sees yu when yu're sleeping He knws when yu're awake He knws if yu've been bad r gd S be gd fr gdness sake! Yu better watch ut! Yu better nt cry Yu better nt put I'm telling yu why Santa Claus is cming t twn Our Gd is nt like Santa Claus! He s nt watching us t decide what t d with us. He s nt lking t catch us r scld us r give us presents when we d gd. Sme f us serve a Gd wh lks mre like Santa Claus than Jesus. Yu think, Well, every time I d smething gd he blesses me and when smething bad happens t me it must be because f smething bad in my life. That s a SC Gd. He makes it rain n the gd and bad; gave manna in the desert t the mst dedicated and the least. Sure there are cnsequences t bth gd and bad behavir, but yu never default t the blessings r hardships f yur life as thugh yur gd r bad behavir merited them. If this psalm creates a lingering fear, shame, regret in yu, i.e., He knws what I m thinking! He knws where I ve been! He knws what I ve dne! Yikes!,Or, yu use it that way in peple s lives, then yu have nt been made perfect in lve. I Jhn 4.16, 18 We knw hw much Gd lves us and we have put ur trust in His lve. Gd is lve and all wh live in lve live in Gd and Gd lives in them. Such lve has n fear, because perfect lve expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is fr fear f punishment, and this shws we have nt experienced his perfect lve. The prblem fr sme is that yu are relating t Gd frm an OT mindset f law and wrks rather than the NT revelatin f grace and frgiveness fund in the death, burial & resurrectin f Jesus. Big Idea. What we see in Ps.139 is smething mre than just an mniptent, mnipresent and mniscient Gd, but alng with thse attributes He enjys being invlved in every part f ur lives. The key is enjys b/c if he desn t enjy it, then we re just under surveillance. Yu can use facebk t spy n yur kids r use it t enjy what yur kids are ding. Is he stalking us r enjying us? Like the title f the message, it can be read tw ways, I see yu!i.e., caught yu; I see yu!,i.e, like in a fun game. This is why I say yu have t read Ps 139 with child like wnder. Alng with that, cnsider the jy, pleasure, excitement a child has with a new pet. The child will spend hurs lking at animal, talking with it, handling it, playing games with
it, nurturing it, prtecting. I m nt suggesting we are Gd s pets, but I am stating that a child s respnse t animals is a reflectin f Gd s heart f jy, care and wnder fr his children. Gd is nt unmved by us; we are Hephzibah Is.62 my belved r the ne I delight in. I believe it brings Gd great jy t be invlved in ur lives and watch us grw and this Psalm captures essence f it.. Yu are aware f every detail f my life - v.1-6 He knws my mtives, thughts, wrds, whereabuts and actins. Fr the child f Gd, this shuld nt fill us with fear, dread r shame, b/c ur sins were nailed t the crss and I bear them n mre, praise the Lrd, praise the Lrd, O my sul. Yu will never let me leave yur hand v.7-12 Even if yu dn t feel Gd s presence and yur relatinship with Gd is like dried tast, yu are still in his hand. Jhn 10.27-30: 27 My sheep hear my vice. I knw them, and they fllw me. 28 I give them eternal life, they ll never be lst, and n ne will snatch them ut f my hand. 29 What my Father has given me [a] is mre imprtant than anything, [b] and n ne can snatch it frm the Father s hand. 30 I and the Father are ne. Yu never get ut f His reach. Yu meticulusly created me v.13-16 He thught abut every dna strand, cell, fiber, bne, muscle and hair fllicle. He is cncerned abut every secnd f yur life frm the mment f cnceptin t the day f death. He is nt the alf chemistry prfessr checking n his lab prjects frm time t time t make sure they re develping just right. N, he s watching, tweeking and intimately thinking abut yu. Yur thughts are always abut me v.17-18 Different translatins and I chse this ne because it flws better with the general theme f Gd s persnal care f ur lives. He is always thinking abut yu and they are always gd thughts. When yu, as the parent, have healthy relatinships with yur kids, yu re always thinking gd abut them. Yu are aware that they will mess up but yu re always pulling fr them, believing the best and desiring fr their success. Jer.29.11 Fr I knw the plans I have fr yu. They are plans fr gd and nt fr disaster, t give yu a future and a hpe. His thughts twards us all are as many as the grains f sand in the earth. We are always n His mind! Ntice hw His jy is expressed: Yu place yur hand f blessing n my head. v.5 With yur hand f lve upn my life, yu imparted a Father s blessing t me! Even there [the farthest cean] yur hand will guide me and yur strength will supprt me. v.10 Yur wrkmanship is marvelus. V.14
Hw precius are yur thughts abut me they cannt be numbered. v.17 Every single mment yu are thinking f me! Hw precius and wnderful t cnsider that yu cherish me cnstantly in yur every thught! Cnclusin Hw d yu primarily relate t Gd? Student (disciple), Servant (fllwer), Sldier (wrker) r Child Rle Outcme Means Student Knwledge & Understanding Truth & Crrectin Servant Task Efficiency Obedience & Cntrl Sldier Fulfill Duty Drill & Discipline Child Healthy Relatinship Lve If yu relate t Gd as a student then Ps.139 becmes a statement f wh Gd is; t the servant it s a statement f hw Gd cntrls my life; t the sldier that I m under watchcare. If yu relate t Gd as a child, then Ps.139 is a picture f Gd s enjyment f every part f ur lives. Big Idea: Our all knwing, all pwerful and ever present Gd enjys being invlved in every part f ur lives. Invitatin: I want t knw a Gd like that. I need a fresh revelatin f Gd s heart fr me. Benedictin: Jer.29.11 Fr I knw the plans I have fr yu. They are plans fr gd and nt fr disaster, t give yu a future and a hpe.