Larry Siegle · Psalm 139:7-12
Link to sermon video: The Futility of Running – L Siegle
God’s Positioning System II
“The FUTILITY of Flight”
(Psalm 139:7-12)
Thesis: God has created each of us with a purpose
INTRODUCTION
1. The title of the message today is, “The FUTILITY of Flight”
2. Last week we explored God’s omniscience (His intimate knowledge of everything)
3. This week we are looking to better understand and to appreciate God’s omnipresence (He is everywhere present).
THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF WHAT DAVID IS DESCRIBING AT IT RELATES TO RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
1. This week I had my first experience in going to visit with someone in St. Elizabeth hospital in Youngstown.
a. You look for a place to park in the parking garage that is located across the street from the facility on Park street.
b. You go into the garage, descend into the ‘basement’ area, find a space and find the elevator.
c. You do up to the 2nd floor and then across the “sky bridge and into the hospital itself.
1) The “sky bridge” takes you down from the 2nd floor at a 7% grade…(no problem on the way in, but a cardiovascular event on the way back to your vehicle)
2) For the sake of this message it does illustrate the “ups” and “downs” each of us experience in our daily lives.
2. When I got to front desk to find the room where Vern Martin is staying, I was immediately launched into an episode of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” where I was asked every question imaginable: (“what is he FULL name of the
patient?” “What was the name of his wife?” “How many children does he have?” “Where does this person live?”
a. They would not provide his room number until I could somehow prove that I had some level of knowledge about Vern.
b. Finally I asked the lady, “Could I make a ‘lifeline’ call to Terry who perhaps could give me some information.
1) Was the actual first name of Vern (a) DAVID, (b) PHILLIP, (c) GEORGE, or (d) FRED. My “final answer” was (c) GEORGE and eventually I was allowed to proceed to the visit.
2) The reality of life is that there is going to be challenges, problems, and difficulties along the way.
(a) God wants us to learn how to respond to these situations in a way that reflected HIS character rather than some of the ungodly ways we tend to react in a moment of haste, without thinking.
PSALM 139 USES A LITERARY DEVICE THAT IS KNOWN AS A “CHIASTIC STRUCTURE” OR “CHIAMUS”
1. What is a “chiastic” “chiasmus structure”?
a. “a literary device where grammatical structures or ideas are repeated in reverse order, creating a mirror-like, or “X-shaped,” pattern within a sentence or phrase.”
1) “Working hard, or hardly working?” (A B and then B A)—a mirror effect.
2) “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going”
3) (Mark 2:27) Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
b. There is a reflective comparison being made in the statement in reverse order.
2. Last week as we explored the nature of God and His vast knowledge, the psalmist make some comparisons for us to consider:
a. God knows us intimately “when we sit down” and “when we get up”
b. God knows our thoughts from “far away” and when we are “near” (distance has no effect).
c. God knows the directionality of our lives when we are on the “pathway” or when we are “lying down” at rest.
3. There should be a sense of comfort and peace of mind in the realization that God knows and that He is interested in every area of our lives (Luke 12:6, 7)
a. Whatever the size of our problems—large or small, God is interested in what is going on in our lives (Job 31:4-7; 34:21).
WHEN WE WANT TO CONCEAL OR COVER OF JUST HIDE FROM GOD
1. There are times in our lives where we have thought something, said something, or done something foolish and a sense of conviction arises with us on the inside.
a. In those moments of weakness, the temptation is to somehow find a way to hide from God (Gen. 3:7, 8)
b. The “transgression” created within Adam and Eve a sense of “fear” and “dread” (Isa. 2:8-10).
2. Disobedience to God can cause a person to “run away” in some other direction (Jonah 1:1-3)
3. The psalmist asks if it is even possible for someone to “run away” from God (Psa. 139:7).
a. No matter where we attempt to go to get away from the “presence of the Lord” are we successful.
b. If I ascend to heaven (go up as high as is possible), God is already there (Psa. 139:8)
c. If I go down into the depths of the earth into Sheol, God is already there.
d. If I go EAST like the wings of the dawn (Psalm 139:9) God is already there.
e. If I go as far WEST as is possible can I escape from God? Nope, because He is already there.
f. If I close myself us in the place of darkness or stand outside in the warm sunshine both day and night are alike with God.
4. God fills up everywhere and everything with His presence (Jer. 23:23, 24).
THERE ARE ALWAYS CONSEQUENCES THAT COMES INTO OUR LIVES WHEN WE TRY TO RUN AWAY FROM OUR FATHER
1. Luke 15 is where Jesus describes in “parables” what happens when we become “lost”
2. Those who violate God’s will are considered “dead” in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1ff)
3. It is the desire of God to bring NEW life with joy and victory into every area that we surrender to Him.
CONCLUSION
1. So far we have seen the nature of God manifested in three distinct qualities:
a. God’s omniscience (all knowledge)
b. God’s omnipresence (everywhere present)
c. God’s omnipotent (design)
2. As believers we can accomplish whatever God’s will is for our lives.
3. We can BECOME transformed objects of HIS workmanship (Eph. 2:8-10).
4. God sees our POTENTIAL and guides our steps in a direction to manifest them in reality
CONCLUSIION
1. This PROCESS all begins with surrendering our lives to the Lord, allowing HIS nature and HIS goodness to be manifested in every area of our lives.
2. Look at the transformation Jesus accomplished with a group of men in the first century…HE transformed their hopes, dreams and realities.
3. God can and will do the very same for each one of us.
Outline (Word document): The_Futility_of_Flighta.docx