Who Do You Run To?

Introduction

Illustration: Who Can I Run To?

By The Jones Girls in 1979 off their self-titled album & remade by Xscape in 1995

"Who Can I Run To" is a 1979 song written by Charles B. Simmons, Frank Alstin Jr, Richard Roebuck and originally recorded by The Jones Girls. The song was the B-side to "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else".

As I stand here contemplating, on the right thing to decide.

Will I take the wrong direction, all my life, where will I go, what lies ahead of me?

I have strong determination, and I'm not afraid of change.

I have yet to find that someone, who would care to satisfy me, to stay right by me.

Who can I run to, To share this empty space?

Who can I run to, When I need love?

Who can I run to, To fill this empty space with laughter?

Who can I run to, When I need love?

And my mind is so confusing, Who would be that special one?

Everyday I'm trying to find you, all along, I've got to know, is there a place for me?

I know love has many names, and a message very clear.

All it takes is time and patience, to bring you near, but look at me, tell me

Who can I run to, To share this empty space?

Who can I run to, When I need love?

Who can I run to, To fill this empty space with laughter?

Who can I run to, When I need love?

Transition To Body

Proverbs 1:1–7 ESV

1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, 3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; 4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— 5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, 6 to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 18:10 ESV

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

City Architecture

The image of the strong city requires some basic differentiation between cities with walls and those without. The most important architectural feature of the ancient city was its fortification. The city wall with its accompanying gate complex and lookout towers provided the measure of protection envisioned in this saying. Villages, however, smaller settlements outside of the great city wall, were not usually so fortified.

The defensive towers that stood on either side of the gate complex provided a vantage point for viewing those who approached the gates. Usually at the center of the city was the acropolis, which formed an inner citadel. The acropolis was the highest point in the city. It might function as an internal stronghold and also might serve as the residence of the governor of the city. Security would be most heavy in this part of the city, both due to its height and due to the importance of the residents of the citadel.

More modern Hellenistic and Roman cities were characterized by a grid of streets running perpendicular to each other. Through this arrangement the city was divided into square blocks. In the Greek city an open square, the agora, served as a common meeting place and market. This central square took over the function of the more ancient city gate complex.

Body

Sanctuary Of The LORD’S Strength

Psalm 28:7 ESV

7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Proverbs 18:10 The Message

10 God’s name is a place of protection— good people can run there and be safe.

Stability Of The LORD’S Servants (Stability of faith)

Psalm 16:11 ESV

11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Stable in thinking/understanding

Proverbs 1:2–7 ESV

2 To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, 3 to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; 4 to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— 5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, 6 to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Stable in holiness of the LORD

As A. W. Tozer put it, “Plain horse sense ought to tell us that anything that makes no change in the man who professes it makes no difference to God either, and it is an easily observable fact that for countless numbers of persons the change from no-faith to faith makes no actual difference in the life.”

John 3:3 ESV

3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

2 Corinthians 5:16–18 ESV

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

"One view construes the notion of ṣdq “legally” and understands righteousness as concurrence with a standard or norm. Whoever watches over righteousness and justice (ultimately God) also distributes reward and punishment according to whether the righteousness in question corresponds to that norm. Antitheses include terms such as “mercy,” “compassion,” and “salvation.”"

https://ref.ly/o/tdot/20250717?length=370

Stable in worshipIng the LORD

Psalm 16:11 ESV

11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 34:1–2 ESV

1 I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.

Psalm 34:2–3 ESV

2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!

Stable in following the LORD

Genesis 15:6–7 ESV

6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. 7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

Romans 4:20–25 ESV

20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Illustrate: King Jehoshaphat & Hezekiah ran to the LORD when they had an issue

Stable in sacrificing to/for the LORD

Security Of The LORD’S Salvation

Proverbs 18:10 ESV

10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

Immediacy of the the LORD’s salvation

Immediacy

the quality of bringing one into direct and instant involvement with something, giving rise to a sense of urgency or excitement.

Synonyms

adjacency, closeness, contiguity, nearness, propinquity, proximity, vicinity

Immediacy of the LORD’s Word

Romans 10:8–13 ESV

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Romans 8:31–39 ESV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Luke 15:31–32 ESV

31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

And be saved- therefore the church should be a place a safety & protection

Transition To Close- Game of Tag

Basic rules

Players (two or more) decide who is going to be "it", often using a counting-out gamesuch as eeny, meeny, miny, moe. The player selected to be "it" then chases the others, attempting to "tag" one of them (by touching them with a hand) as the others try to avoid being tagged.[1] A tag makes the tagged player "it". In some variations, the previous "it" is no longer "it" and the game can continue indefinitely, while in others, both players remain "it" and the game ends when all players have become "it".

Many variants modify the rules for team play or place restrictions on tagged players' behavior. A simple variation makes tag an elimination game, so that tagged drop out of play.[2] Some variants have a rule preventing a player from tagging the person who has just tagged them (known as "no tag-backs", "no catch-backs", "no returns", "can't tag your master" or "can't get the butcher back").[3]

Base and truce terms

Players may be safe from being tagged under certain circumstances: if they are within a pre-determined area, off the ground, or when touching a particular structure. Traditional variants are Wood tag (see knock on wood), Iron tag, and Stone tag, when a player is safe when touching the named material.[3] This safe zone has been called a "gool", "ghoul", or "Dell",[4][5] probably a corruption of "goal".[6] The term "gool" was first recorded in print in Massachusetts in the 1870s, and is common in the northern states of the US. Variants include gould, goul, and ghoul, and alternatives include base and home.[7] In the United Kingdom, the base is frequently known as "den". In much of Canada and parts of the northern United States, the state or home base of being immune from tagging is known as "times" or "T", most likely as mutilation of "time out".

Players may also make themselves safe from being tagged by the use of a truce term. When playing the game tag, some may cross fingers to let others know that they, the player, cannot be it. Yet, this rule may come into play only if the crossing of fingers is shown; if the fingers are not shown to the person who is it, then the crossing does not count.

Close

I Am Who I AM Sent You!

Exodus 3:11–15 ESV

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” 13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

We Come In The Name of the LORD!

1 Samuel 17:45–46 ESV

45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,

His Name Is Immanuel- God with us!

Matthew 1:21–23 ESV

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Ask Anything In Jesus’ Name!

John 14:13–14 ESV

13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

No other Name Under Heaven by which we must be saved!

Acts 4:10–12 ESV

10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Have This Mind In You...

Philippians 2:5–8 ESV

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The Name That Is Above Every Name

Philippians 2:9–11 ESV

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.