"Live UP" Sermon series 5 (This aint by Accident!)
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This aint by Accident!
This aint by Accident!
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 far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can 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 settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
Intro:
The Psalmist David is describing doctrinally how he sees God and how God views him.....
He talks about God’s Omniscience:
The attribute that says God knows all things......meaning all events are persent in God’s mind.
He discusses God’s Omnipotence:
The attribute that refers to God’s ability to do whatever is consistent with God’s own character.
and...
He mentions God’s Omnipresence:
The attribute that explains God’s being present everywhere in creation.
(pause)
And what I love most about David taking the time to speak so boldly about God..
.....and the attributes of God.
.....is that he is convinced that God knows him!
(pause)
And Freedom......
....I don't know if you know this or not but....
You and I are still discovering people that God has known the whole time.
People who God decided needed to be here....
......because of their brilliance
.........because of their gifting
............because of some purpose that they were created for.
(pause)
Barrel:
I was watching the Virginia Waldon Ford story the other day on television and how she advocated for children in inner city schools......
And what inspires me about Mrs. Ford is that she not only broke a cycle of inadequacy in her community......
.....but she also started a new cycle of possibility and promise and hope!
(pause and expound)
And Freedom......
.......as awesome as her life story is
.....I am just now discovering her!
(slight pause)
But watch this......
…....because even though I am discovering her
......God knew her before she knew she had a passion for making a difference in her community.
(pause)
And.......
.......this morning I want to speak into your lives as it relates to
“Living UP!” in our identity to make an impact for Christ!
(pause)
I know there are damaged places in our lives
I know that there are broken areas in our past
But.......
......I got to get you to see that
“This aint by accident!”
(pause)
Look at it......
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 far away.
David says.....
“God you have explored “ME””
........and everything that makes up who I am is God investigated!
(pause)
And so....
God has a detailed report of everything concerning our lives...
(slight pause)
So much so that David says in verse 2....
“....God you know when I sit down and you know when I rise up.”
....which suggests that God is looking at all of the activities of our lives.
(pause)
And so...
.....if we are going to believe any reports regarding who we are
......God is the only one that knows us like that!
(pause)
Nobody else.....knows us like this!
.......they may know something about you
......but they don’t know everything about you
they know some of your activities........but they don’t know it all.
(pause)
And I believe that the enemy will try to use partial knowledge about us......
.....to change our minds about how God sees us with all of the knowledge about us.
(pause and expound option)
And David says......
“From far away, you discern my thoughts”
Meaning......
.....distance and time cannot restrict what God finds in our mind!
(pause and expound)
Look at it.....
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
The text says....
“God you have measured off my entire life”
And so.....
.....when you got up this morning and started getting dressed
.....and left your house
God was right there!
......and then God makes a decision that I’m not going to leave you unwatched throughout the day
.......but I am going to stay with you until you get back and lay back down in your bed tonight.
(slight pause)
And for the whole day.......
God is experiencing our decision......
God is paying attention to what directions we take....
....familiarizing God’s self with our habits.
(longer pause and optional expound)
Freedom.....
What does God see when God follows you throughout your day?
Our weaknesses
Our strengths
Our Wins
Our Losses
(pause)
David goes on to say in verse 4...
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
And so.....
Before we ever say what we are going to say God knows it........
(pause)
The good we speak.....
The bad we speak......
David says.....
.......before syllables can even form words
God has already heard us!
(pause)
Some of us are speaking as if God cannot hear us!
(longer pause)
And........
......i’m not just talking about the bad things we speak
(pause)
Because.....
......if we really knew God was listening
......we would say LESS
......and THINK more!
(pause)
So by the time we actually start speaking........
......God is already MOVING in what we are SPEAKING!
(pause and expound)
Look at it.....
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
David says....
“I am SURROUNDED by God”
.....and its not like God wants to hurt me
But......
......I am hemmed in by God so that God can help lift my life UP!
(pause)
David says.....
God has God’s hands laid over my life.....
.....and the whole entire time God is “protecting me”
.....the entire time God is “witholding nothing from me”
(pause)
Freedom.....
......David’s words here mean,
.....that there is a possibility of attack intended to disrupt our lives.
(pause)
And so......
David knows that......
It’s God’s hand of protection that keeps the enemy from getting too close!
No weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper,
and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
and their vindication from me, says the Lord.
(pause)
And not only that....
........but in my spiritual imagination
I believe that the reason God SURROUNDS a David is because of what David says earlier concerning God knowing...”Our Ways”
(pause)
Because.....
.....we would get into too much trouble if God did’nt SURROUND us to PROTECT us!
(pause and expound)
Look at it......
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
David says....
“I’m Mind blown!”
(pause)
because.......
......for you to know my ways
......and for you to surround me with your love and faithfulness
(pause)
David says.....
“I can’t comprehend that.....”
(pause)
Because David knows.......
....like all of us in here at Freedom
.....that we have given God several reasons as to why we don’t deserve what God does for us
(slight pause)
And watch this.....
because that’s why......
......we only show people the part of us that we believe they will love.
We put on believeable clothes
We put on believable faces
(slight pause)
Because.......
......if they really knew the part of us that God knows
(slight pause)
......they would have said bye-bye a long time ago.
But David says.......
“God you know that part of me that nobody else knows.......
.....and you’re still here!”
(pause)
And so......
.......God your presence in my life is not by accident!
......You showed up and stayed even though you know all you know about me!
(pause and expound)
Freedom......
....in verses 7-10 David goes into the details of God’s presence in his life.
(pause)
He says.....
Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I go as high as I can go into the heavens.......
You are there!
and....
If I go to the depths of Hell............
You are there!
and......
If I go as far as I can to the East where the Sun rises
....and then turn and go back to the West where the Sun sets
You are there!
(pause)
And this is what messed me up Freedom...
.....beause verse 10 says..
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
And so.....
Wherever you go........
God ‘s only purpose for being there is to:
To Lead you
To Hold you
(pause)
And when the bible talks about “Holding us fast”
David is saying,
God is there to Sustain or Help us!
(pause)
And I’m just curious to know......
......if anybody needs God to Sustain or HELP you and you didn’t know that God would come to Hell.......
......and kick out demons in your lowest moments!
(slight pause)
......and when life is UP and you feel like celebrating God shows up for the party
(slight pause)
......and when you’re going through your searching season
......God shows up and says,
“I’m here to LEAD you!”
(pause and expound)
Look at it now....
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Freedom listen.....
Darkness is an inaminate object.......
......meaning it has no life.
but.......
....most times we breathe life into our dark places that don’t even understand how to live.
(pause)
And David says......
....when we give our darkness power;
God says,
“It still doesn’t have enough power to overcome Me!”
(pause)
David says,
“If we say; “I’m covered or crushed in a place that I can’t see my way”
.....I’m going to hide myself in a false sense of security that aint even there.
(pause)
and even if I try to....
.....turn the lights down and create more darkness in my life.
It still wont matter to God.......
.....because dark is not dark to God.
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination.......
David is saying,
“What we call overwhelming, God calls something else...”
(pause)
Look at it......
When David says Darkness......
.....it is used in the sense of being “Overwhelmed”
And when we are “Overwhelmed; whether it be from circumstances, sins, or whatever.
........our tendency is to Hide or Run!
(pause)
But look at somebody and say......
“I’m done HIDING!”
and......
“I’m done Running!”
(pause and expound)
Here it is......
David says.....
......when God looks at Darkness, it shows up the same as Light.
In other words.....
.....Midnight and 12noon looks exactly the same to God!
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination I see David saying.....
“Instead of shrinking back and hiding.........in darkness Overwhelmed
Let’s start “Living UP!”
.......and stand strong in the light as Overcomers!”
(pause)
Freedom listen......
It’s the same place.....
But David sees Darkness based on his presence that says “Overwhelmed”
And God sees Darkness based on His presence that says “Overcomer”
(pause)
And so the question becomes........
If God is with you........
Are you going to stand there and be OVERWHELMED?
or......
Are you going to “Live UP” like an OVERCOMER!?
(pause)
Here it is....
For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
David says.......
“I’m thankful because you Built me........”
and you didn’t just build me.....
But you BUILT me.........
......with WONDER
.......Mysteriously
(pause)
I don’t know who I’m talking to.......
But this aint NO ACCIDENT!
.........YOU are not an accident!
“For you are Fearfully......and Wonderfully made - (BUILT)!”
(pause and expound)
And so......
Behind closed doors.........
God envisioned your life!
God begin working on putting you together!
(pause)
And the reason God decided to create you so WONDERFULLY is because of what David says next in this verse 14......
(pause)
After David says,
“I’m fearfully and wonderfully made”
David says.....
“Wonderful are your works......
.......that i know very well”
(pause)
And so David says.......
.......When I look around me at everything else you have done
“This is not an ACCIDENT!”
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination......
I see David realizing......
.....what we need to realize in order to “Live UP!”
(pause)
God didn’t place God’s hand on my life by accident.......
But.....
.....We are the EVIDENCE
......of how Marvelous God really is!
(pause)
And that’s why.......
Mrs. Virginia Ford walked into Congress and told them our children are too important......
......... to not have a chance at education without having to deal with hopeless situations.......
Because she understood that.......
The only accident is when you take something WONDERFUL
.......and try to place it in DARKNESS!
(pause)
And so she told Congress.....
......Take our God made children out of Darkness
out of hopelessness
out of poverty
out of inadequacy
........because they’re too wonderful!
give them opportunity
give them resources
give them esteem
(pause)
And Freedom......
.....God told me that its time for us to be DISCOVERED!
Because.....
......If God is
Everywhere
Knows all things
Has all power
And......
.......if you’re here
“THIS..........
is NOT..........
.......and accident!”
And......
.........because we are FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made!
I’ll Testify of all of the Battles we’ve won!
(pause)
.......everything around us needs to look just as WONDERFUL!
............EXPOUND and CONCLUDE..............
