RJ - Dearly Loved & Known by Our Wonderful & Mighty God
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Just over 8 billion people in the world today & God knows them ALL… think about that!
Safety, Belonging, Mattering - Abraham Maslow (Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs)
Satan has consistently lied to people to keep them from understanding they are deeply loved, desired and known by God.
Started in the Garden of Eden & He’s still at it.
Article in the Australian - 300,000 Australian primary kids surveyed, one third stated “they lose their temper a lot”, 45% can’t calm down -
1 in 25 Australians are estranged from their families
Safety, Belonging & Mattering are so important
1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. 5 You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. 7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; 12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You. 13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. 17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You. 19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men. 20 For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain. 21 Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
You have to remember David was a real person, He wrote this out of his own experience of God. He stopped one day to pen this…Think about this!
David reveals God’s Omniscience (All knowing), Omnipresence (Everywhere at the same time) & His Omnipotence ( All Powerful).
What a revelation David had, that God all knowing, ever present and all powerful, was intimately took time to search and know him!
1. You Know Me
1. You Know Me
1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. 5 You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.
CONTRADICTION: I am not seen/known
vs 1-6 Depth of God’s knowledge about you
Know:
Hebrew word for Know is “YADA”
The idea of "knowing" in Ancient Hebrew thought is similar to our understanding of knowing but is more personal and intimate. We may say that we "know" someone but simply mean we "know" of his or her existence, but in Hebrew thought, one can only "know" someone if they have a personal and intimate relationship with them.
Genesis 18:19 God says about Abraham, "I know him" meaning he has a very close relationship with Abraham.
In Genesis 4:1 it says that Adam "knew Eve his wife" implying a very intimate relationship.
David prayed to Yahweh, understanding that He had personal knowledge of him. Pagans often thought that their gods were hostile or indifferent to men and women; David knew that the true God cared enough to have searched and known each man and woman.
“All my postures, gestures, practices…whether I sit, stand, walk, lie; you search and know them all
Just to put it into perspective, I think Nathan I’m close to Nathan & he knows me… let me tell you there is nothing about you that God doesn’t know, He knows things about you, you haven’t even admitted to yourself.
Theres nothing about you thats shocking to God!
Maybe the greatest miracle is that God Knows me and still loves me..HA!
2. You Surround Me
2. You Surround Me
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me; 12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
CONTRADICTION: I am abandoned
vs 7-12 Never alone / too far
When I’ve seen the evidence of God all around me, it’s made me draw closer to him
There is nowhere that you can run or hide from God
Even in the toughest or darkest day’s, He is there
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock. 6 Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me. At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the Lord with music.
3. You Created Me
3. You Created Me
13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. 17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.
CONTRADICTION: I have no value
vs 13-18 Your value to God
The destruction of the sanctity of Human Life
God actually created me - He wanted a Rachel… think about it ( what an intimate God)
He made it personal
He intricately created in detail
This shows great care, love, desire & purpose
6 “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. 7 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
4. I Draw Close to You
4. I Draw Close to You
19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men. 20 For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain. 21 Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
As we come closer in relationship & revelation of God’s intimate love for us, we are stirred for the things of God
David begins to express his hate for what God hates, his passions for the things God is passionate about
Our revelation of God’s intimacy toward us, in light of who & all that He is, produces humility & a desire for God to search our hearts for anything that may stand in between Him & us.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: David came to the God of perfect knowledge and constant presence knowing He was also a God of love, and could be trusted to search him and to know him at the deepest levels. This is also an admission that God knew David better than David knew himself, and that he needed God to search and know him.
Search me God… I know my heart and that it can deceive even me
God point out the things in my life that offend you
God I was looking at others, BUT I need to look to myself because I need you to lead ME.
SEARCH GOD= examine with great care and show me
David took his theological understanding of God’s nature and attributes and applied it to his own personal discipleship. The nature and attributes of God were not mere theories; they were guides to David’s spiritual growth.
Just like David, we too need a continuing revelation of God’s Intimate love & care for us and to respond with our hearts open before him.
John 3:16 (NKJV)
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.