Larry Siegle · Psalm 139:1-18, 23, 24
Link to sermon video: God’s Life-Mapping of You – L Siegle
God’s Positioning System (GPS)
God’s Life-Mapping of YOU
(Psalm 139:1-18, 23, 24)
Thesis: God has created each of us with a purpose
INTRODUCTION
1. The title of the message today is, “God’s ‘Life-Mapping’ of YOU’
2. There are three aspects of this Psalm we are going to explore today.
3. It will help us to better understand the intimate relationship God wants to have with His people today.
PSALM 139 HELPS US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF GOD AND IT RELATES TO HIS PEOPLE
1. There is an important relationship between faith and knowing God (John 17:1-4)
2. The story is told of a little girl standing on a ledge above the ground and the man came and told her to “jump into my arms, and I will catch you…She refused to “jump”. The mother of the little girl came over and told her to “jump into her arms…which she did, closing her eyes and the mother caught her. The man said, “why did you jump into her arms,but not into mine.” The profound answer from the little girl was, “because I know her, but I do not know you.”
3. The faith necessary to respond and to obey God arises from the fact that we know Him (and therefore trust Him.
THE INCREASE OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE
1. There is no question about the “increase” of knowledge in our world today.
2. According to Buckmaster Fuller, in his book the “Critical Path” the scientific the “Knowledge Doubling Curve” has been as follows:
“Until 1900, human knowledge approximately doubled every linearly. By 1945, it was doubling every 25 years, and by 1982, it was doubling every 12-13 months. According to an estimate by IBM, human knowledge has been
doubling every 12 hours since 2020”
PSALM 139 DESCRIBES THIS LEVEL OF TRUST IN GOD IN EVERY AREA OF LIFE BASED UPON KNOWING HIM
1. This psalm is divided into three points that reveal the very nature of God:
a. God is omniscient (He knows everything that can be known). (139:1-6)
b. God is omnipresent (He is everywhere present) (139:7-12)
c. God is omnipotent (He is all-powerful). (139:13-18, 22, 23).
2. As this Psalm is written and developed by David, some important observations can be made:
a. God knows the worst about each one of us here today—and He STILL loves us.
b. God knows the best about us, even when we FAIL
c. God knows the potential in us and what we can BECOME for Him.
3. The pronouns found in this psalm are profound.
a. David speaks to God personally as “YOU” 6x (139:1-6).
b. David sees his own relationship to God addressed 13x as “I” “my” or “me” (139:1-6)
4. In our own relationship with God do we experience the reality of His presence in our daily lives to this degree as expressed by David?
a. Do we believe God has “searched” the innermost parts of our being—and therefore “knows” everything that lies within the deepest parts of our hearts and lives?
b. Do we understand that God knows when we “sit down” and when we “rise up” and that whatever is happening in our lives is of His deepest concern (Psa. 55:22; Matt. 11:28-30)—the idea of “burden” is related to “cargo,
shipping, and weight of what is transported and carried”
1) The metaphor of how the “weight” is carried by Oxen pulling a wagon.
(a) A single ox could pull weight of 5,000 lbs.
(b) A team of oxen could pull the weight of 15,000 lbs.
c. As it pertains to those things that cause each one of us anxiety, fear, and discouragement, God’s “care” (concern) for His children is evident (I Pet. 5:5-7, 10)
d. God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of suffering and the daily struggles each of us experiences:
1) His desire is to perfect us (make us complete in Him in every way possible).
2) His desire is to confirm us (to establish us with “every spiritual blessing” (Eph. 1:3)
3) His desire is to strengthen us (Eph. 6:10)
4) His desire is to establish us (make firm every area of our lives, no matter what issue may arise).
GOD SETS ABOUT TO CORRECT OUR HEARTS AND THEREFORE OUR LIVES
1. God knows exactly what we are thinking (139:2).
2. God traces our path and the directionality of our lives (139:3)
3. God knows our ways in the greatest detail (139:3)
4. God knows exactly what we are going to say, before we open our mouth (139:4)
5. God’s protection surrounds us and hems us in (139:5)—He “shapes” our lives as we surrender to Him each day.
6. God’s work in our lives is beyond our finite ability to “understand” or fully “comprehend” (139:6).
NEXT WEEK WE ARE GOING TO EXPLORE HOW WE SOMETIMES RESIST AND TRY TO ‘RUN AWAY’ AND ESCAPE
1. As human beings, we often ‘set about’ to ignore God’s will with the feeble attempt to implement our own.
CONCLUSION
1. If God really knows us to the degree that David reveals in this psalm, how amazed we can become with the reality of the lengh and depth of God’s love, mercy, and grace in our lives (Eph. 3:14-19)
2. We are going to see in this series, how all of God’s nature and attributes are expressed toward each one of us with the goal of creating a deeper sense of purpose and growth in every area of our lives.
3. The first step involves complete surrender to Him and receiving His glorious “gift” of “eternal life” (Rom. 6:23).
4. The second step is that of spiritual growth in our ability to live for Him each and every day.
5. The third step is in knowing Him (Phil. 3:7-11)
PRAYER
Outline (Word document): Gods_LIfe-Mapping_of_YOU.docx