Gods Positioning System

Psalm 139:1–12 ESV

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Introduction

I want to talk to you this morning about GPS “gods positioning system”

Last week Krista and I went and celebrated our 15 year wedding anniversary

And we decided we would go and do something we’ve never done before

We flew down to Fort Lauderdale and took a cruise to the Bahamas for 4 nights..

and it was great…

No cooking, no cleaning, no phone calls, no responsibility, just four days of peace, rest and a lot of food.

Middle of no wear.

one night we were sitting on the balcony

the ship was moving to our next port

and we were in the middle of no where..

every direction you looked was pitch black, save a couple of other cruise ships in the area..

nothing around us gave any guidance on where we should be heading..

just darkness.. and open waters until the horizon..

Krista

We were talking about this and Krista asked

how in the world do they know how to get where were going..

because theirs nothing to point towards…

..

to be honest..

if we had been abandoned in a life boat right there..

we would have been completely lost..

but we knew the ship was not..

Caption Leo knew exactly where to go.

why? because the ship had a navigational GPS..

GPS

The ship was equipped with a satellite based computer that knew where they were…

Knew where they were going..

and knew how they were going to get there..

And because of that GPS..

telling them where to go…

assuring them that they were going in the right direction..

the ship would surely get to our destination the next morning..

and sure enough we did..

Us

And this got me thinking..

how many times in our lives is that us..

how many times have we felt lost in the middle of no where..

with no idea what direction to go..

feeling like we are just floating on the ocean with no land in sight..

because nothing around you gives you any indication of what direction to take…

you might be there now..

lost..

directionless..

Hopeless..

feeling alone in the midst of your situation..

not knowing where to go..

but I’ve got good news..

we have a gps..

God

Its not just a global positioning system..

Its better than that..

its a god positioning system..

And i want to remind you this morning..

wherever you are..

God knows right where you are..

He knows where he’s taking you..

and he knows how you’re going to get there..

So I want to encourage you this morning to listen to his gentle guidance and trust him..

So lets look at the God Positioning System..

God knows right where you are

One of the most important features of a GPS system is the ability of the computer to determine exactly where you are on earth.

This function is paramount if the system is going to help you navigate to your destination.

God

And Even better than a computer based GPS.. the bible shows us that:

God knows exactly where we are

and not only does he know where we are, but he is PRESENT with us wherever we are..

The psalmist here in psalms 139 Proclaims..

Psalm 139:7–8 ESV

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

be it good, bad, high, low, Rainy or sunny..

Gods knows where we are and is there with us where we are..

whatever we face, where ever we go..

God knows where we are and what we are going through..

knows you better

but not only does God know our physical location..

our situation..

our circumstance..

HE KNOWS US ALTOGETHER..

Better than we know our selves.

Look at verse 1-5..

Psalm 139:1–5 ESV

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

God knows us..

Intimately..

Jesus reiterates this in john 10:14

John 10:14 ESV

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

rest assured that god knows the ins and outs of your life..

Your though, your words, your ways..

You hurts, your joys, you pains..

He’s well aware..

and he’s knows us well before anyone else…

Before anyone else.. …

in Jeremiah God tell Jeremiah that he has always known us..

Jeremiah 1:5 ESV

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

There has never been a day in our life that God didn't know us..

Theres never been a situation we have faced that he wasnt aware of in your life…

Not that he approved of it all..

but he was there, in the middle, and he knows..

And this this knowledge God has of us is intimate and detailed..

Luke 12:7 ESV

Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

how many of you know the number of hairs on your heads?

Our needs

Jesus in Matthew 6 reminds us that god even knows our needs..

Matthew 6:8 ESV

for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Where ever you are

how ever you feel..

whatever your going through..

I want to remind you this morning..

Our heavenly father knows us and where we are..

but not only does god know where we are..

He knows our destination..

God knows where your going

The second purpose of a gps is not only to tell you where you are..

but to help you get where you want to go..

but in order to do this.. it has to know where you are going..

And when you input that information..

the computer learns this information..

God

God however..

doesn't need you to tell Him where your destination is..

He already knows..

because he’s purposed that destination for you and in you..

He’s put the coordinates in your heart..

he knows the situations we face and where they will end..

He knows how he will work it all out for our good

and how he will work everything together..

God knows your destination..

Again the psalmist says..

Psalm 139:3 ESV

You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

God speaks through Jeremiah and tells Israel in Jeremiah 29..

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

God knows our eventual destinations..

because he has purposed them in us..

he created us with many of our destinations..

and the situations we fave he has a purposed destination for their end..

he has promised them..

He already already spoken them into our lives..

And in the grand scheme of life..

God knows your ultimate destination..

His desire for that destination being heaven..

ultimate destination

jesus told the disciples this in John 14

John 14:1–4 ESV

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”

Many times our concerns are with the temporal areas of life..

the immediate things we are facing..

but ultimately..

God has a final destination for our lives..

And Jesus said that destination is heaven..

Its the place he has prepared for those who love him..

Its the place he desires for us to be..

this life

in this life we will go through many different journeys..

God will lead us through many valleys, mountains, storms, and sunsets..

but ultimately the destination God desires for our life is heaven..

Everything else is temporary in comparison to this eternal destination..

This is our ultimate destination..

and not only god know its coordinates..

not only does he desire for us to be there..

but like a good GPS.. he has made a way for us to get there..

and he’s been giving us directions since our life began to make sure we do.

God knows how your going to get there..

Finally, A GPS knows where we are..

its knows where were going..

but ultimately its job is to help us get to that destination..

and like I’ve already said..

God is beyond good at helping us get to the destinations he intends for our lives..

Look at verses 9-10 of psalms 139..

Psalm 139:9–10 ESV

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

God knows how to get us where we need to go..

and he has given us guidance and help to get there..

the Spirit

He has given us the holy spirit..

Jesus promised us in john 16 that when he ascended the father would send a guide for us..

to give us direction..

John 16:13 ESV

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth...for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

Paul told us in galatians 5 that if we would listen his leading and learn to follow him we would live righteously..

Galatians 5:16 ESV

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

If we will learn to follow the leading of the holy spirit he will lead us to the destinations God has destined for us..

The word

But in addition to the holy spirit.. We have the word of god as well..

Psalm 119:105 ESV

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 25:4–5 ESV

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.

gods word is direction for out life and the various different situations we fave in our lives..

We should read it, know it, and do it..

Listen to it.. and act upon it..

and let it guide us..

Jesus

God has not just told us the way..

but he has made a way for us…

Isaiah 43:19 ESV

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

when we walk through difficult journies in our life..

Jesus is a way maker for us..

and in the ultimate destination God has for us, Heaven, God has made a way for us to be there..

and Jesus told us that we know that way..

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is the way…

ending

I want to remind you this morning..

wherever you are..

what ever your facing..

God knows where you are..

He knows where hes taking you..

and he wants to help you get there..