Known - Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

Intro

Good morning to our church family in the house and those that are tuning in online.

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Just text the word LOOP to the number on the screen. Make sure to fill out the form so we know who we are texting. If you need any help with that, just see me after service and I will be glad to get you connected.

Today I want to start a new series called Known.

We live in a culture where knowledge is thriving. We have the ability to KNOW whatever we want on whatever subject we want. We have access to a vast majority of knowledge at our finger tips.

We also live in a culture where there is a deep desire to be known.

To know and to be known seem to be two of our deepest needs as relational beings. We are more digitally connected today than at any point and time in history.

And even with all the likes, comments, shares, followers, people still feel completely alone.

The fact is, humans were created for more. Every single person in this room, every single person watching this online, was created in the image of God.

Genesis 1:27 (NASB95)

27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

We were made in the image of God for:

community

fellowship

Kingdom centered relationships

Over the next few weeks we are going to dive into Psalms 139, some writings of Paul, Peter, and the Jesus in order to gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of God’s intention and design for His creation…you and me.

Before we dive into today’s Scripture let me ask you a few questions.

When was the last time someone called you wonderful?

When was the last time you felt deeply - personally known by another?

When was the last time you thought about what it means to be a saint, a member of God’s Holy priesthood, a friend of Jesus?

Maybe you are sitting there thinking none of these things happened to me.

The truth is, these things have happened to all of us whether we knew it or not. God has already said these things about you and He knows you more than anyone in the world. He knows you even more than you know yourself.

Main Teaching

Let’s dive into our main Scripture for today found in Psalm 139. This Psalm was written by David, King David, giant slayer David, David who got caught with another man’s wife, and David a man after God’s own heart.

As we read through this, listen and you will hear how David had this intimate relationship with and understanding of God.

Psalm 139:1–6 (NASB95)

1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.

3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all.

5 You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

I love this passage of Scripture as it gives to us an inside look at how David understands the omnipotence (all powerful) and omnipresence (unlimited nature of God, He is everywhere) of God in his life.

David has this deep understanding: He is fully known.

Fully Known

God knows His creation, David, and God knows His creation, You and I.

He knows when you sit down and when you stand up

He knows every thought and every word you are going to say

He know which way you are headed in your life and why you want to go there

Here is what I want you to grasp today. If you get nothing else out of this message…know that:

YOU ARE FULLY KNOWN today!

Even if you don’t fully understand the fact that you are known, doesn’t change the fact that you are.

In fact David even said,

Psalm 139:6 (NASB95)

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

Isaiah said this about the knowledge of God which includes knowledge about me and you:

Isaiah 55:8–9 (NASB95)

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.

9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

God has abilities that far exceed our comprehension. We cannot even imagine the extent of His infinite wisdom and knowledge.

Imagine with me if you will, the smartest person you know in your life right now. Picture them for a moment.

Think about how you interact with them when they begin to share the knowledge they have with you.

You trust them. You may even retweet or share their story on social media. You share with others what they said to you. You don’t waste anytime second guessing them.

This is a reasonable response when interacting with someone who has superior knowledge.

I do this with things I learn from people who are smarter than I in different subjects.

Wonderfully Made

Keep that in mind as we read this next section of verses.

Psalm 139:13–16 (NASB95)

13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

In the first part of Psalm 139 we see how God has a vast amount of knowledge about His creation. You and I.

These are the words that He says about not only His creation called David, but you and I. No matter what you come to believe about yourself, know today that you are:

Wonderful

Marvelous

Beautiful

David, a man after God’s own heart, understood God enough to recognize how God views His creation and David took it and applied it personally.

His soul knew it very well.

So here we have God, the creator, with infinite wisdom and knowledge, who intricately and intimately formed every life on this planet and knows exactly who and what you are.

For some that may be scary and others that may be encouraging. Either way, it is the truth we live in.

Even though this is truth, there are many of us who do not feel wonderful, beautiful, or marvelous. We feel the opposite. We feel unloved and unknown. In a world where we are connected to others more than ever, we still feel alone and something feels off.

So what’s the disconnect between what God says and how we feel?

And is there a way to restore that connection?

Restore the Connection

Anyone ever play telephone growing up?

It’s where you have a line of people and at the beginning of the line someone whispers a phrase. Something like “God says you are wonderfully made. Pass it on.” And you are only allowed to say it once and then you have to pass it on.

So it gets passed on and on. By the time it gets to the last person what was originally said gets all twisted and is usually way off.

God says you are wonderfully made, but somehow you heard you were trash. Not good enough. You will always be alone. You will never be known.

You see the message from God that you are “known, loved, and forgiven” gets so easily distorted as it makes its way through all the chaos and distortion of life.

Everyday is another opportunity to hear mixed messages, destructive messages, and confusing messages about who you are. We are bombarded with these messages everyday from our encounter with the world.

Not to mention the enemy will speak these same destructive messages as well in order to steal, kill, and destroy every good thing that God has placed in your life.

This is why it is incredibly important to connect with and get yourself rooted in truth every single day.

What is that truth? Simple.

John 14:6 (NASB95)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Jesus is that truth. Jesus is the way that we restore that connection with the one who wrote the message in the first place.

It is like the game of telephone. It is easier to go back to the one who started the message to get an accurate account of what was said.

I know what you are thinking, that is cheating in the game of telephone. You’re right. But in this thing we call life, you are cheating yourself of truth when you don’t go back to the author to get a clear message of who you are.

Don’t settle for a poor connection. When you are on the phone with a friend and you have a spotty connection you move around until you get more bars so you can hear clearly.

It is time for you to move towards the One who can clearly speak to and speak over your life and tell you exactly who you are.

You are known. You are loved. You are forgiven. You are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God.

Conclusion

In closing here is what we need to understand.

Psalm 139 gives to us a clear picture of at least two things that we need to hold close to us in the midst of all the chaos in our world today.

God’s comprehension and understanding of all things has no limits. He knows all aspects of you life. For better or for worse.

The all knowing, all seeing God of the universe says YOU ARE WONDERFUL.

This message by God to us can get easily lost in all the messages that we are inundated everyday with.

Maybe this is why some of you are feeling the loneliness, disconnected, unknown. Some of you may have drifted away from the original message. You have lost connection.

Maybe some of you were not connected in the first place. The good news is either way, you can get connected or reconnected today.

You see David understood that he was known by God, but only because he knew who God was/is.

I invite you to connect or reconnect today.

Don’t walk out of here not knowing that you are:

Fully Known

Fully Loved

Wonderful

Marvelous

Beautiful

Altar Call