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In Job 35:10 one of Job’s friends declares that God is the one who “gives songs in the night.” At first glance songs in the night seems to be an odd phrase. Who sings in the night?
However, when you really begin to consider it there is an interesting theme here. The night is that dark time in your life. The night is that place far from the comfort and security of the light. The night is where bad men do bad deeds. The night is where evil lurks and enemies plot and plan your demise. The night is where your mind conjures up all kinds of fears, worries and doubts.
It may be true that monsters lurk in the darkness of the night. However it was in the Night that the angels sung to shepherds in their fields when that precious baby was born in a manger. God didn’t wait for the brilliance of day to share the wondrous good news of the birth of a savior. Instead he invaded the night with a song of praise. Peace on earth was sung in the darkness of the night and it was a song perfectly suited for the night. Isn’t that, after all, exactly what Jesus was? He was the light that shined into the darkness.
My friend, I just want to remind you today that we serve the God that gives songs in the night. Consider this, it was at midnight that the cry came to the wedding party, “The bridegroom cometh.” It was in the darkness of the night that the good news first reached the ears of those who had been waiting and watching. In the night their hopes were fulfilled. In the night their faith was realized.
This is an important little nugget of truth because you are going to have to walk through the night sometimes. There are going to be times and places where the storm clouds are going to hover low and the darkness of night is going to press in upon you. However, you serve a God that gives songs in the night!
The wonder of that truth is that it is in the darkness of the night when your soul really falls in love with or savior. It is when the skies are black and pressing in, when the doubts and fears crowd their way into your mind, in the darkest hours of your life, that’s when the Master gives you a song of grace and comfort. That’s when you truly learn to trust him. That’s when you truly learn to love him.
In the course of this life you will walk some lonely dark roads. However, the wonderful truth is that you will never walk them alone. The one who walks with you and will never forsake you is the one that gives songs in the night.
He’s the one that gives joy in times of sorrow.
He’s the one that gives peace in times of trouble.
He’s the one that whispers calm in the raging storm.
Today I simply want to remind you that you are walking through this life in the company of the peace speaker. He alone has the power to give songs in the night. The next time that troubles and doubts and fears come crashing in on you, the next time that you find yourself lost and alone in the darkness of the night, why don’t you reach out to the one that gives songs in the night and discover just how sweet the night song is. The sweetest of all songs is born in the dark crucible of the night. That’s where joy is born, that’s where hope is revived. That’s where God demonstrates his love for you.
He, alone, gives songs in the night. How sweet his songs are!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The Bones of Encouragement
I preached this thought this past Sunday night. Later on, when I get back to my notes, I'll try to post a more detailed version of the thought but here's the cliff notes version: Joseph, on his deathbed, commanded that when the Hebrews returned to the promised land they were to bury him there. The account in Genesis states that he shared with them the prophecy given to Abraham regarding the 400 years of captivity and the eventual deliverance of the Hebrews.
The thought was basically that during the 400 years that followed those old bones of Joseph were a constant reminder that, no matter how bad the situation may seem or how horrible the captivity may become, the day was coming when they would be delivered. That box of bones was Israel's source of encouragement during those long years of captivity.
The Pharaohs could pour out their fury on the Hebrews, they could try to crush the dreams and break the will of their slaves in Goshen but the fact remained that somewhere in the midst of the Hebrew camp was a box of bones that declared that "this too shall pass." Workloads could be doubled, task masters could become more violent and demanding, every male child could be slaughtered but there was a box of bones that carried a constant promise -- one of these days we are going to leave this place behind. For four hundred years that box of bones represented the hope of the Hebrews.
When deliverance finally came and the children of Israel found obstacles and armies standing in their way, that box of bones was a steady testimony that they were going to make it. When they had the Red Sea at their backs and the Egyptian army before them that box of bones said God is going to deliver you. When water was scarce and rebellion rose up in the camp that box of bones was a stark reminder that the journey doesn't end here -- we are going on to the promised land.
Eventually, the scripture tells us, they buried those bones at Shechem. The same Shechem where a dreamer was tossed in a dry well and sold by his brothers into slavery. It was at Shechem where that box of bones found their promise fulfilled. Joseph had returned home to be buried with the patriarchs and the word of God had been proven to be true once again.
The remarkable thing about the story is Joseph's forward looking faith that transmitted hope to the generations that would follow him that, although he would die in Egypt, the journey doesn't stop here. I proceeded to preach about the church. the foundation that was laid before us and the hope that has been passed down to us. This church is ordained by God and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Though Satan rages, though the economy falters, though our nation may fall into a moral abyss, this church is destined for revival. This church will be triumphant. And, one fine day, this church is leaving this old world behind. The journey doesn't end here. I've got a box of bones, the church, that declares we will be more than overcomers.
That's the view from the cheap seats on a Thursday afternoon!
The thought was basically that during the 400 years that followed those old bones of Joseph were a constant reminder that, no matter how bad the situation may seem or how horrible the captivity may become, the day was coming when they would be delivered. That box of bones was Israel's source of encouragement during those long years of captivity.
The Pharaohs could pour out their fury on the Hebrews, they could try to crush the dreams and break the will of their slaves in Goshen but the fact remained that somewhere in the midst of the Hebrew camp was a box of bones that declared that "this too shall pass." Workloads could be doubled, task masters could become more violent and demanding, every male child could be slaughtered but there was a box of bones that carried a constant promise -- one of these days we are going to leave this place behind. For four hundred years that box of bones represented the hope of the Hebrews.
When deliverance finally came and the children of Israel found obstacles and armies standing in their way, that box of bones was a steady testimony that they were going to make it. When they had the Red Sea at their backs and the Egyptian army before them that box of bones said God is going to deliver you. When water was scarce and rebellion rose up in the camp that box of bones was a stark reminder that the journey doesn't end here -- we are going on to the promised land.
Eventually, the scripture tells us, they buried those bones at Shechem. The same Shechem where a dreamer was tossed in a dry well and sold by his brothers into slavery. It was at Shechem where that box of bones found their promise fulfilled. Joseph had returned home to be buried with the patriarchs and the word of God had been proven to be true once again.
The remarkable thing about the story is Joseph's forward looking faith that transmitted hope to the generations that would follow him that, although he would die in Egypt, the journey doesn't stop here. I proceeded to preach about the church. the foundation that was laid before us and the hope that has been passed down to us. This church is ordained by God and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Though Satan rages, though the economy falters, though our nation may fall into a moral abyss, this church is destined for revival. This church will be triumphant. And, one fine day, this church is leaving this old world behind. The journey doesn't end here. I've got a box of bones, the church, that declares we will be more than overcomers.
That's the view from the cheap seats on a Thursday afternoon!
Posting Drought
I've been through a bit of a posting slump lately. Things have been extremely busy at the church in the run-up to Easter. We started a small paint project that turned into a major remodel. The good news is that I plan to put the final touches on that project tonight. Things should start slowing down a little for me now and I hope I can return to a more regular posting schedule.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Law of Sowing and Reaping.
The law of sowing and reaping is one of those biblical themes that spans the whole of scripture. From the beginning of Genesis, where God emphasizes that everything produces seed and fruit after its own kind, to the final book in the Bible, where men reap in due season what they have sown in their lives, the simple idea of reaping and sowing is underscored in the word of God.
We often think of this law in the sense that God will not be fooled, a man WILL reap what he has sown. In regard to that principle, wise parents and teachers warn our young people that if you sow the wild oats you will reap the whirlwind. However, this isn't the whole of the concept. There is a positive aspect to the law of sowing and reaping as well. If you sow in righteousness you will reap in blessings. Therefore, we advise others as well as ourselves, live faithfully and righteously and you will reap the benefits and blessings of walking with God.
For much of my life these two principles have been the foundation for my understanding of the law of sowing and reaping. However, recently, I have become aware of another simple truth contained within this timeless law. There is a statutory, binding, aspect to this simple law in both the physical and natural realms. It is simply this: Where you sow you will reap. The converse is equally true: Where there is no sowing there will be no reaping.
Why does this matter? Because, the law of sowing and reaping pertains to much more than just judgment and blessing. This simple governing principle that God put in place from the beginning emphasizes the fact that where there is sowing, of any kind, there will be reaping, of the same kind. If you sow wheat you will reap wheat. Ask any farmer. Where wheat is sown, it produces after its own kind. Even in lean years, even in times of drought, at least a portion of what is sown results in a harvest.
Jesus touches this principle in several ways in the gospels. In a notable example, He told a great crowd in Luke 8 a parable about a sower that went forth to sow seed. Later, as He explained the parable, he told the disciples that the seed is the word of God. He then underscored the simple truth behind the law of sowing and reaping, if you sow you will reap. Not every soul that hears the word will receive it and bear fruit, however, if you are faithful in sowing you will be faithfully rewarded in reaping.
Perhaps this is why Paul told the Corinthians that one plants, another waters but God gives the increase. Because there is a statutory aspect to the law. If you will sow, you will reap. You and I don't create the harvest, we only sow the seed. God gives the increase. By god's own law, if we sow faithfully, sooner or later there will be a harvest where the seed is sown.
With this principle in mind I have found myself coming back to a simple theme over the last six weeks. With the image of Psalm 126 in my mind I have constantly reminded the church that "he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
I am persuaded that the harvest is in our hands! Revival is ours to have. We have, within our possession, the powerfully fruitful word of God and the law is steadfast. If we will sow it faithfully and indiscriminately in accordance with the example of the word of God, we cannot help but reap a harvest in due season.
I am reminded that a farmer once admonished me, "seed is cheap, sow it." It costs us little to share the benefits and blessings of the gospel but it gains us much in terms of harvest. I fully believe that we will each experience a revival that is directly proportionate to the amount of sowing that we have been engaged in.
I simply want to encourage you to sow the seed. Share the word of God. Share the blessings and promises of God. Tell anyone that will listen just how good your God is. The key to reaping lies in the sowing. Let me encourage you, friend, don't grow weary in well doing, if you are faithful, in due season you will reap a harvest. Your efforts are not in vain. They can't be in vain. Where there is sowing, there will be reaping, God's law requires it!
We often think of this law in the sense that God will not be fooled, a man WILL reap what he has sown. In regard to that principle, wise parents and teachers warn our young people that if you sow the wild oats you will reap the whirlwind. However, this isn't the whole of the concept. There is a positive aspect to the law of sowing and reaping as well. If you sow in righteousness you will reap in blessings. Therefore, we advise others as well as ourselves, live faithfully and righteously and you will reap the benefits and blessings of walking with God.
For much of my life these two principles have been the foundation for my understanding of the law of sowing and reaping. However, recently, I have become aware of another simple truth contained within this timeless law. There is a statutory, binding, aspect to this simple law in both the physical and natural realms. It is simply this: Where you sow you will reap. The converse is equally true: Where there is no sowing there will be no reaping.
Why does this matter? Because, the law of sowing and reaping pertains to much more than just judgment and blessing. This simple governing principle that God put in place from the beginning emphasizes the fact that where there is sowing, of any kind, there will be reaping, of the same kind. If you sow wheat you will reap wheat. Ask any farmer. Where wheat is sown, it produces after its own kind. Even in lean years, even in times of drought, at least a portion of what is sown results in a harvest.
Jesus touches this principle in several ways in the gospels. In a notable example, He told a great crowd in Luke 8 a parable about a sower that went forth to sow seed. Later, as He explained the parable, he told the disciples that the seed is the word of God. He then underscored the simple truth behind the law of sowing and reaping, if you sow you will reap. Not every soul that hears the word will receive it and bear fruit, however, if you are faithful in sowing you will be faithfully rewarded in reaping.
Perhaps this is why Paul told the Corinthians that one plants, another waters but God gives the increase. Because there is a statutory aspect to the law. If you will sow, you will reap. You and I don't create the harvest, we only sow the seed. God gives the increase. By god's own law, if we sow faithfully, sooner or later there will be a harvest where the seed is sown.
With this principle in mind I have found myself coming back to a simple theme over the last six weeks. With the image of Psalm 126 in my mind I have constantly reminded the church that "he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
I am persuaded that the harvest is in our hands! Revival is ours to have. We have, within our possession, the powerfully fruitful word of God and the law is steadfast. If we will sow it faithfully and indiscriminately in accordance with the example of the word of God, we cannot help but reap a harvest in due season.
I am reminded that a farmer once admonished me, "seed is cheap, sow it." It costs us little to share the benefits and blessings of the gospel but it gains us much in terms of harvest. I fully believe that we will each experience a revival that is directly proportionate to the amount of sowing that we have been engaged in.
I simply want to encourage you to sow the seed. Share the word of God. Share the blessings and promises of God. Tell anyone that will listen just how good your God is. The key to reaping lies in the sowing. Let me encourage you, friend, don't grow weary in well doing, if you are faithful, in due season you will reap a harvest. Your efforts are not in vain. They can't be in vain. Where there is sowing, there will be reaping, God's law requires it!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Lessons From A Snowflake…
The Snowflake Man, Wilson Bentley was 15 when his mother gave him a microscope. It was snowing on his birthday, so he used his new microscope to look at a snowflake. In the fleeting moment before it melted he glimpsed its six points and the intricacies of its patterns. That day excited a passion that never subsided. During the next 50 years, Wilson Bentley took over 5,000 pictures of snowflakes.
In all his photographs of snowflakes Bentley never found two alike. In fact, he was the first to recognize and catalog this fact. Bentley said, “Every crystal was a masterpiece of design; no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.”
Wilson Bentley photographed over 5,000 snowflakes and found no two identical. Understand this, there are 5,000 snowflakes in just a swipe of snow, and 10 million to a cup. There are 18 million snowflakes in a single cubic foot of snow -- and not one of them is like another. The chances of two snowflakes being exactly alike are about one in a million trillion.
This is the first lesson you can learn this afternoon from a snowflake. You are unique! Psalms 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. God himself intentionally made each of us who we are. There's not anybody in the world like you. There never has been, and there never will be. The same God that calls the snow from his storehouse and insures each individual flake, trillions an hour, is uniquely formed – he crafted you in your mother’s womb. He made you uniquely you! If you were to search the whole world, you wouldn't find two people who had the same footprint or fingerprint or voice print. God fashioned you and formed you and he made you perfect according to his plan and purpose for your life.
You, as a person, are the combination of many seemingly random things. Not only are your fingerprints, voiceprints, footprints, even the design of the iris of your eye, completely unique. You are further made an individual by other factors. You are the compilation of DNA gathered from both your mother and father. DNA that was further impacted by your grandparents and great grandparents, on down the line. Your personality and character are the compilation of all of your life experiences. Everything that has happened to you along the way. Your education, your work, your skills, your talents, they all combine together to make a completely unique you.
This leads us to the second lesson to be learned form a snowflake. What stunned and motivated Bentley to study snow was the tremendous balance of order and recklessness. Whatever their pattern and variety, all snow crystals are six-sided. This fact had intrigued the German astronomer Johannes Kepler. In 1610 Kepler wrote a book called The Six-Cornered Snowflake. Why, asks Kepler in his little treatise, do snowflakes fall as six-cornered starlets? There must be a cause, he asserts, for if it happens by chance, then why don’t snowflakes fall with five corners or with seven? At the end of his little book, Kepler confesses his ignorance and leaves the problem of the snowflake’s symmetry to future generations of natural philosophers.
The riddle of the snowflake has since been partly solved. Physicists have traced the snowflake’s six-sided secret down into the heart of matter, to the form of the water molecule, and, ultimately, to the laws of atomic bonding that give the water molecule its shape. Water is a combination of an atom of oxygen linked with two atoms of hydrogen in a regular hexagonal lattice. That forms the foundation for the shape of a snowflake. But their growth as crystals has an element of randomness that gives them their individuality.
Snowflakes look stable but at the atomic level they are a frenzy of activity, as the water shifts and electronic bonds between molecules are made and broken a million times a second. Faults in the crystal jump from place to place and are repaired. “And somehow,” he says, “in the midst of this atomic chaos, the snowflake acquires and retains an ordered form.” The snowflake is one of nature’s most profound mysteries. Beauty and structure arise from a delicate balance of order and disorder.
This is the second lesson you can learn from a snowflake this afternoon. Your life may seem to be the compilation of random chance but there is a divine order to the events and happenings of your life. All of these external forces that have shaped and formed you – while they may seem random – were divinely orchestrated to order your life according to God’s purpose. God has a plan for you. You were shaped for a purpose! You're not here by accident.
God made you for a reason.
You were designed by God, and it was his idea to make you. It's not a mistake. You were planned before birth. The Lord told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." The Bible clearly teaches that you were purposefully and personally planned and designed by God. His loving hand made you exactly the way you are. Your uniqueness is what God wants you to offer to the world. God designed you to minister to hurting world. Your experiences, the seemingly random events of your life, have conspired together to make you a tool in the hands of the lord uniquely fashioned for a singular purpose. There is a work that only you can do. There are souls that only you can reach. God has blessed you with experiences, both good and bad, that uniquely equip you to minister to some individual in this world that desperately needs to know him.
We can marvel at the snowflakes, but human beings are much more complex than snowflakes. Each of us has been endowed by God with a completely unique spectrum of gifts. Each one of us can do things, say things, think things in different ways. Each of us fills a specific role in the Kingdom of God! In a hurting world every need must be addressed. And in order to accomplish that every one of us must excel at being that perfect individual that God made us to be. Today, lets learn a lesson from the snowflake. It was formed in a seemingly random and chaotic environment. However, when it finally made landfall, there was a specific, ordered and unique six-pointed design to it. Let it remind you today that you were fearfully and wonderfully made by God, for his purpose!
This brings me back around to our final lesson to be learned from a snowflake today. As I studied snowflakes last night I discovered something that I never knew about snow. Scientists have discovered that every snowflake has a tiny piece of dust at its core. Snow crystals begin their growth on a nucleus of wind-borne dust. Every snowflake has at its center an invisible grain of dust. A water molecule bonded to that speck of dust as it fell through the atmosphere. It happened once, twice, three times, and more, gathering weight, and then it was lifted again by the updrafts of the wind, each time acquiring more water molecules that form the branches and points of the snowflake. The flake keeps getting bounced back up into the atmosphere until it becomes too heavy and finally falls to the earth as a completely unique snowflake.
I must admit, I was shocked to discover this last night, particles of airborne dust provide the nucleous about which snowflake crystals grow. Without dust there would be no snow…. But what struck me last night was the fact that every snowflake has a heart of stone. A “dirty heart” if you will. The process of the formation of snow covers that heart of stone with the pure white of frozen water crystals. We have a lot in common with snowflakes. We also had a heart of stone. We also had a dirty, sin stained heart. But the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah (1:18), extended us an invitation, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…”
My favorite thing about a snowfall is how it changes everything. The whole world becomes a much prettier place for at least a few hours as a fresh blanket of new snow covers all the impurities and imperfections. Everything is made brand new by the miracle of snow. The Lord, extended you and I an invitation to experience a similar transformation in the spiritual realm. When the blood of Jesus is applied to the heart of an individual, it cleanses him from all sin. God removes every stain and washes him even whiter than snow. This is why David prayed in Psalm 51:7, “…wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Wash me, David said. Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow. How do you get whiter than snow? The answer lies in the third lesson we can learn from a snowflake this afternoon. In the Hebrew language there are two words to express the different kinds of washing, and they are always used in a distinct manner to indicate the kind of washing that takes place. One word for “wash” indicates the kind of washing which only cleanses the surface of a substance, which the water cannot penetrate. This is the kind of washing you do on your car, or your floor when you mop it. You can’t wash it through and through, you only clean the surface of it. This is the kind of washing that takes place in a snowflake. The speck of dust is covered. It is concealed. It is transformed on the surface, but at it’s core it is still dirty. Just like the pristine tranquil beauty of a snowfall. Under that snow, all the trash, and imperfections are still there and in a few hours of harsh sunlight, they will be revealed again.
However, that’s not the word that the Psalmist used. The Hebrew word used by our songwriter is one that signifies the kind of washing which penetrates completely through the substance of the thing washed, and cleanses it thoroughly. It is the word that is applied to the washing of clothes – a process where a thing is washed through and through. This is the same word that David used in verse 2 of this same Psalm (51:2) when he said "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin;" Wash me, David said 5 verses later, and I shall be whiter than snow.
This is the third lesson to be learned from a snowflake. In the matter of cleansing, we are different from the snowflake. When God washes us, he washes us whiter than snow. He doesn’t just cover up our dirty heart – he washes it through and through. My sins don’t remain, their stains are gone. I’ve been given a brand new heart! My past is forever past. It has been cast as far as the east is from the west – never to be remembered against me again!
As I looked over my yard today I was struck by the sheer beauty of the snow. But I was also reminded that this beauty is a passing thing. Tomorrow it will all be a muddy mess. Today all is pristine and white. Tomorrow things will be muddy and messy and generally worse than they were before the snow.
As I considered that, I was very thankful for the cleansing blood of Jesus. I’ve been washed in the blood – and it was more than just a temporary change. My soul was cleansed by the blood of the lamb. I’ve been washed through and through. That's the most valuable lesson we can learn from a snowflake...
In all his photographs of snowflakes Bentley never found two alike. In fact, he was the first to recognize and catalog this fact. Bentley said, “Every crystal was a masterpiece of design; no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.”
Wilson Bentley photographed over 5,000 snowflakes and found no two identical. Understand this, there are 5,000 snowflakes in just a swipe of snow, and 10 million to a cup. There are 18 million snowflakes in a single cubic foot of snow -- and not one of them is like another. The chances of two snowflakes being exactly alike are about one in a million trillion.
This is the first lesson you can learn this afternoon from a snowflake. You are unique! Psalms 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. God himself intentionally made each of us who we are. There's not anybody in the world like you. There never has been, and there never will be. The same God that calls the snow from his storehouse and insures each individual flake, trillions an hour, is uniquely formed – he crafted you in your mother’s womb. He made you uniquely you! If you were to search the whole world, you wouldn't find two people who had the same footprint or fingerprint or voice print. God fashioned you and formed you and he made you perfect according to his plan and purpose for your life.
You, as a person, are the combination of many seemingly random things. Not only are your fingerprints, voiceprints, footprints, even the design of the iris of your eye, completely unique. You are further made an individual by other factors. You are the compilation of DNA gathered from both your mother and father. DNA that was further impacted by your grandparents and great grandparents, on down the line. Your personality and character are the compilation of all of your life experiences. Everything that has happened to you along the way. Your education, your work, your skills, your talents, they all combine together to make a completely unique you.
This leads us to the second lesson to be learned form a snowflake. What stunned and motivated Bentley to study snow was the tremendous balance of order and recklessness. Whatever their pattern and variety, all snow crystals are six-sided. This fact had intrigued the German astronomer Johannes Kepler. In 1610 Kepler wrote a book called The Six-Cornered Snowflake. Why, asks Kepler in his little treatise, do snowflakes fall as six-cornered starlets? There must be a cause, he asserts, for if it happens by chance, then why don’t snowflakes fall with five corners or with seven? At the end of his little book, Kepler confesses his ignorance and leaves the problem of the snowflake’s symmetry to future generations of natural philosophers.
The riddle of the snowflake has since been partly solved. Physicists have traced the snowflake’s six-sided secret down into the heart of matter, to the form of the water molecule, and, ultimately, to the laws of atomic bonding that give the water molecule its shape. Water is a combination of an atom of oxygen linked with two atoms of hydrogen in a regular hexagonal lattice. That forms the foundation for the shape of a snowflake. But their growth as crystals has an element of randomness that gives them their individuality.
Snowflakes look stable but at the atomic level they are a frenzy of activity, as the water shifts and electronic bonds between molecules are made and broken a million times a second. Faults in the crystal jump from place to place and are repaired. “And somehow,” he says, “in the midst of this atomic chaos, the snowflake acquires and retains an ordered form.” The snowflake is one of nature’s most profound mysteries. Beauty and structure arise from a delicate balance of order and disorder.
This is the second lesson you can learn from a snowflake this afternoon. Your life may seem to be the compilation of random chance but there is a divine order to the events and happenings of your life. All of these external forces that have shaped and formed you – while they may seem random – were divinely orchestrated to order your life according to God’s purpose. God has a plan for you. You were shaped for a purpose! You're not here by accident.
God made you for a reason.
You were designed by God, and it was his idea to make you. It's not a mistake. You were planned before birth. The Lord told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." The Bible clearly teaches that you were purposefully and personally planned and designed by God. His loving hand made you exactly the way you are. Your uniqueness is what God wants you to offer to the world. God designed you to minister to hurting world. Your experiences, the seemingly random events of your life, have conspired together to make you a tool in the hands of the lord uniquely fashioned for a singular purpose. There is a work that only you can do. There are souls that only you can reach. God has blessed you with experiences, both good and bad, that uniquely equip you to minister to some individual in this world that desperately needs to know him.
We can marvel at the snowflakes, but human beings are much more complex than snowflakes. Each of us has been endowed by God with a completely unique spectrum of gifts. Each one of us can do things, say things, think things in different ways. Each of us fills a specific role in the Kingdom of God! In a hurting world every need must be addressed. And in order to accomplish that every one of us must excel at being that perfect individual that God made us to be. Today, lets learn a lesson from the snowflake. It was formed in a seemingly random and chaotic environment. However, when it finally made landfall, there was a specific, ordered and unique six-pointed design to it. Let it remind you today that you were fearfully and wonderfully made by God, for his purpose!
This brings me back around to our final lesson to be learned from a snowflake today. As I studied snowflakes last night I discovered something that I never knew about snow. Scientists have discovered that every snowflake has a tiny piece of dust at its core. Snow crystals begin their growth on a nucleus of wind-borne dust. Every snowflake has at its center an invisible grain of dust. A water molecule bonded to that speck of dust as it fell through the atmosphere. It happened once, twice, three times, and more, gathering weight, and then it was lifted again by the updrafts of the wind, each time acquiring more water molecules that form the branches and points of the snowflake. The flake keeps getting bounced back up into the atmosphere until it becomes too heavy and finally falls to the earth as a completely unique snowflake.
I must admit, I was shocked to discover this last night, particles of airborne dust provide the nucleous about which snowflake crystals grow. Without dust there would be no snow…. But what struck me last night was the fact that every snowflake has a heart of stone. A “dirty heart” if you will. The process of the formation of snow covers that heart of stone with the pure white of frozen water crystals. We have a lot in common with snowflakes. We also had a heart of stone. We also had a dirty, sin stained heart. But the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah (1:18), extended us an invitation, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…”
My favorite thing about a snowfall is how it changes everything. The whole world becomes a much prettier place for at least a few hours as a fresh blanket of new snow covers all the impurities and imperfections. Everything is made brand new by the miracle of snow. The Lord, extended you and I an invitation to experience a similar transformation in the spiritual realm. When the blood of Jesus is applied to the heart of an individual, it cleanses him from all sin. God removes every stain and washes him even whiter than snow. This is why David prayed in Psalm 51:7, “…wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Wash me, David said. Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow. How do you get whiter than snow? The answer lies in the third lesson we can learn from a snowflake this afternoon. In the Hebrew language there are two words to express the different kinds of washing, and they are always used in a distinct manner to indicate the kind of washing that takes place. One word for “wash” indicates the kind of washing which only cleanses the surface of a substance, which the water cannot penetrate. This is the kind of washing you do on your car, or your floor when you mop it. You can’t wash it through and through, you only clean the surface of it. This is the kind of washing that takes place in a snowflake. The speck of dust is covered. It is concealed. It is transformed on the surface, but at it’s core it is still dirty. Just like the pristine tranquil beauty of a snowfall. Under that snow, all the trash, and imperfections are still there and in a few hours of harsh sunlight, they will be revealed again.
However, that’s not the word that the Psalmist used. The Hebrew word used by our songwriter is one that signifies the kind of washing which penetrates completely through the substance of the thing washed, and cleanses it thoroughly. It is the word that is applied to the washing of clothes – a process where a thing is washed through and through. This is the same word that David used in verse 2 of this same Psalm (51:2) when he said "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin;" Wash me, David said 5 verses later, and I shall be whiter than snow.
This is the third lesson to be learned from a snowflake. In the matter of cleansing, we are different from the snowflake. When God washes us, he washes us whiter than snow. He doesn’t just cover up our dirty heart – he washes it through and through. My sins don’t remain, their stains are gone. I’ve been given a brand new heart! My past is forever past. It has been cast as far as the east is from the west – never to be remembered against me again!
As I looked over my yard today I was struck by the sheer beauty of the snow. But I was also reminded that this beauty is a passing thing. Tomorrow it will all be a muddy mess. Today all is pristine and white. Tomorrow things will be muddy and messy and generally worse than they were before the snow.
As I considered that, I was very thankful for the cleansing blood of Jesus. I’ve been washed in the blood – and it was more than just a temporary change. My soul was cleansed by the blood of the lamb. I’ve been washed through and through. That's the most valuable lesson we can learn from a snowflake...
Monday, February 16, 2009
How Many...
Acts 18:9-10
Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
Corinth
Corinth was an ancient city founded on a natural trade route with a good harbor for ship traffic. It was destroyed by the Romans about 147 BC but rebuilt by Julius Caesar a century later. The revived, rebuilt Corinth exceeded all the cities of the world, for its splendor, magnificence and opulence. Its public buildings and baths were embellished with beautiful columns that gave birth to the Corinthian Order in Architecture. According to history, Corinth became a leading city of Greece and the seat of the Roman proconsul for the Roman province of Achaia.
Corinth was known for its wealth and luxury with a bustling commercial and industrial center boasting a population of almost 700,000. However, Corinth was also renowned for its drunkenness and immorality. It was a vile city that epitomized the decadence of the Greek world. The city was the site of a great temple of Aphrodite, whose priestesses, known as sacred prostitutes, freely roamed the streets while plying their trade. So notorious was this city for its lewd conduct that the verb “corinthize” came to signify the act of being a prostitute and the phrase “a Corinthian girl” was synonymous with the term harlot.
In Acts 16:9-10 Paul responded to a vision from God calling him to Macedonia. The fulfillment of that calling would lead Paul to found churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and possibly Athens before finally turning his attention to Corinth. Corinth proved to be a testing ground. Here, Paul experienced obstacles and opposition, but it was also here that Paul had his greatest breakthrough in his first missionary journey.
In the narrative of Acts 18 we find Paul in the process of endeavoring to evangelize Corinth. We catch small glimpses into his ministry there. We know from the witness of scripture that he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. We also know that they opposed and reviled him, to the extent that he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent.”
Up to this point in the Acts account, in every city that Paul visits opposition to his ministry normally results in him being forced to leave a place of ministry and move on. It is likely that, as we come to verse 9, Paul was discouraged by the violent opposition of the Jews and probably was in danger of his life. He was likely entertaining thoughts of moving on and ministering elsewhere. He references his mindset and condition in 1 Corinthians 3:20 (ESV) when he says “And a I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling…” However, as his moral dipped low, God stepped in with a vision.
“Be not Afraid,” the Lord said. Though his enemies plotted his demise the spirit informed him, “No man will be permitted to lay hands on you.” But God didn’t stop with a promise of protection. He provided an incredible glimpse into his plan and purpose for Paul in Corinth. “Speak and hold not thy peace,” the Lord declares, “for I have much people in this city.”
I have much people!
The Lord looked at the teaming masses of immoral people in Corinth and said to Paul, “I have many in this city who are my people.” What a phenomenal statement! God wasn’t talking about a church that was already established. He was talking about people that were still lost, people that hadn’t yet heard the gospel message, people that were desperate, hurting and bound in sin.
What he was saying to Paul was that there were many in Corinth that had not resisted his Spirit. There were many, in the midst of the sin and vice of Corinth, that God looked at and said, their heart is tender towards me. They haven’t spurned my advances and they are ready to embrace my Gospel as soon as you declare it to them. Speak! Hold not thy peace. There are many that are ready to hear the gospel. Speak! Tell somebody because there are people here that are ready! They are mine, God said, and I’m commissioning you to reach out to them.
How many?
When I recently read this passage I was stirred in my spirit. I began to recognize the fact that when the Lord looks down at Lake City he sees more than a small apostolic church struggling to survive. He sees the multitude of people that are bound in sin and mired in the immorality and vices of this world. As he gazed upon those people he marks out those among that number that are sensitive to him, those that are hungry, those that haven’t rejected his advances. And of them he says to the church, “Speak. Hold not thy peace. I have many people in this city!”
I have come to the realization that God has people in our city that are his. People that don't know truth. People that haven't ever visited our church. People that are hungry for a change and are ready for someone to sahre with them the wonderful truth that we have.
There are those within this city that live within blocks of this church that have not rejected the spirit of God but have hungered after him. They've made mistakes, they are bound in sin and tradition. They don't know the truth but they are ungry, they are sensitive to God and God is commissioning us to reach out to them! It’s our job to reach them. It’s our job to speak to them. It’s our job to hold not our peace but proclaim the saving message of God’s love and forgiveness. Its our job to lead them to the cross of Calvary, to take them to an alter of repentance and bury them in the waters of baptism that they might receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. They are HIS people and they are our commission.
I have pondered the question for several weeks now. How many are there? I've come to the conclusion that there are more than we have even begun to imagine. I believe there are more than our church can contain. I believe that God has MANY in our city.
I've also come to the conclusion that we will never know how many there are until we reach out to them. Unless we reach them, they will never come. Unless we invite them the will never enter the church. Unless we tell them they will never hear. Unless we show them they will never see.
Paul stayed in Corinth and ministered for 18 months. It became the greatest revival of his ministry to that point. All because he heard the voice of the Lord and answered the call. The greatest revival the church has ever experienced is before us. I believe that the Lord is sending a message to the church that isn't much different from the message He sent to Paul. Don't stop now. I have many people in this city.
I think its time we endeavored to discover just how many there are...
Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
Corinth
Corinth was an ancient city founded on a natural trade route with a good harbor for ship traffic. It was destroyed by the Romans about 147 BC but rebuilt by Julius Caesar a century later. The revived, rebuilt Corinth exceeded all the cities of the world, for its splendor, magnificence and opulence. Its public buildings and baths were embellished with beautiful columns that gave birth to the Corinthian Order in Architecture. According to history, Corinth became a leading city of Greece and the seat of the Roman proconsul for the Roman province of Achaia.
Corinth was known for its wealth and luxury with a bustling commercial and industrial center boasting a population of almost 700,000. However, Corinth was also renowned for its drunkenness and immorality. It was a vile city that epitomized the decadence of the Greek world. The city was the site of a great temple of Aphrodite, whose priestesses, known as sacred prostitutes, freely roamed the streets while plying their trade. So notorious was this city for its lewd conduct that the verb “corinthize” came to signify the act of being a prostitute and the phrase “a Corinthian girl” was synonymous with the term harlot.
In Acts 16:9-10 Paul responded to a vision from God calling him to Macedonia. The fulfillment of that calling would lead Paul to found churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and possibly Athens before finally turning his attention to Corinth. Corinth proved to be a testing ground. Here, Paul experienced obstacles and opposition, but it was also here that Paul had his greatest breakthrough in his first missionary journey.
In the narrative of Acts 18 we find Paul in the process of endeavoring to evangelize Corinth. We catch small glimpses into his ministry there. We know from the witness of scripture that he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. We also know that they opposed and reviled him, to the extent that he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent.”
Up to this point in the Acts account, in every city that Paul visits opposition to his ministry normally results in him being forced to leave a place of ministry and move on. It is likely that, as we come to verse 9, Paul was discouraged by the violent opposition of the Jews and probably was in danger of his life. He was likely entertaining thoughts of moving on and ministering elsewhere. He references his mindset and condition in 1 Corinthians 3:20 (ESV) when he says “And a I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling…” However, as his moral dipped low, God stepped in with a vision.
“Be not Afraid,” the Lord said. Though his enemies plotted his demise the spirit informed him, “No man will be permitted to lay hands on you.” But God didn’t stop with a promise of protection. He provided an incredible glimpse into his plan and purpose for Paul in Corinth. “Speak and hold not thy peace,” the Lord declares, “for I have much people in this city.”
I have much people!
The Lord looked at the teaming masses of immoral people in Corinth and said to Paul, “I have many in this city who are my people.” What a phenomenal statement! God wasn’t talking about a church that was already established. He was talking about people that were still lost, people that hadn’t yet heard the gospel message, people that were desperate, hurting and bound in sin.
What he was saying to Paul was that there were many in Corinth that had not resisted his Spirit. There were many, in the midst of the sin and vice of Corinth, that God looked at and said, their heart is tender towards me. They haven’t spurned my advances and they are ready to embrace my Gospel as soon as you declare it to them. Speak! Hold not thy peace. There are many that are ready to hear the gospel. Speak! Tell somebody because there are people here that are ready! They are mine, God said, and I’m commissioning you to reach out to them.
How many?
When I recently read this passage I was stirred in my spirit. I began to recognize the fact that when the Lord looks down at Lake City he sees more than a small apostolic church struggling to survive. He sees the multitude of people that are bound in sin and mired in the immorality and vices of this world. As he gazed upon those people he marks out those among that number that are sensitive to him, those that are hungry, those that haven’t rejected his advances. And of them he says to the church, “Speak. Hold not thy peace. I have many people in this city!”
I have come to the realization that God has people in our city that are his. People that don't know truth. People that haven't ever visited our church. People that are hungry for a change and are ready for someone to sahre with them the wonderful truth that we have.
There are those within this city that live within blocks of this church that have not rejected the spirit of God but have hungered after him. They've made mistakes, they are bound in sin and tradition. They don't know the truth but they are ungry, they are sensitive to God and God is commissioning us to reach out to them! It’s our job to reach them. It’s our job to speak to them. It’s our job to hold not our peace but proclaim the saving message of God’s love and forgiveness. Its our job to lead them to the cross of Calvary, to take them to an alter of repentance and bury them in the waters of baptism that they might receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. They are HIS people and they are our commission.
I have pondered the question for several weeks now. How many are there? I've come to the conclusion that there are more than we have even begun to imagine. I believe there are more than our church can contain. I believe that God has MANY in our city.
I've also come to the conclusion that we will never know how many there are until we reach out to them. Unless we reach them, they will never come. Unless we invite them the will never enter the church. Unless we tell them they will never hear. Unless we show them they will never see.
Paul stayed in Corinth and ministered for 18 months. It became the greatest revival of his ministry to that point. All because he heard the voice of the Lord and answered the call. The greatest revival the church has ever experienced is before us. I believe that the Lord is sending a message to the church that isn't much different from the message He sent to Paul. Don't stop now. I have many people in this city.
I think its time we endeavored to discover just how many there are...
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The Greatest Treasure
An Exposition of Psalm 139
David is well known as a “man after God’s own heart.” It is a title that was bestowed upon him by God, no less. But, even as a man that loved and worshiped God with all his heart, David was not without his faults. He made mistakes, demonstrated bad judgment and failed miserably from time to time. Perhaps the greatest failure of his life was when he chose to send his armies to battle as he, their king and leader, remained home in the safety and luxury of his palace. Out of that bad decision and poor demonstration of leadership arises one of the most sordid chapters of David’s life.
While his armies were at war David was lounging on the rooftop of his palace, watching another man's wife bathe. Eventually David committed adultery with Bathsheba. And, when she conceived a child, he had her husband killed to cover up his sin. When all was said and done David felt like his secret was safe. His darkest secret was hidden from everyone. His throne was secure. However, while David had successfully concealed his sin from those around him, God knew what David did.
Eventually David learned a powerful lesson. God wasn’t content to let David continue to drift further and further from him. Instead, God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David with his sin. And, by exposing his wrong and convicting him, God led David to a place of repentance where, although the consequences of his sin were not erased, the sin itself was forgiven. It was some time after this that David composed the beautiful words of Psalm 139.
At a casual glance the song would seem to be all about the knowledge of God. However, the Psalm is set in motion by the first verse which proclaims more than just the incredible knowledge of God. The Psalmist says, Lord, you have searched ME and known ME! While the Psalm is an incredible testimony to the inexhaustible knowledge of God, it is more then that. It is a personal statement of the fact that God sees and knows You as an individual
God knows everything that there is to know about you. You can’t hide anything from him. He sees the secrets of your heart. He looks upon the innermost part. He knows what no one else knows. Those things that you have hidden away deep within the recesses of your heart that nobody else knows about, God knows. That thing you thought you got away with, that incident you thought was concealed, God knows about that too.
The Psalmist begins in verse one by saying that the Lord has “searched me” and “known me.” The Hebrew word for “searched” originally means to dig, and is applied to the search for precious metals. The Psalmist said, Lord you have dug around in my life and have exposed everything that is there. I may have buried some things in hopes of concealing them, but you, O Lord, have searched them out. You know everything about me.
Not only do you know what is inside me, the Psalmist shares, but you are constantly aware of where I am and what I’m doing. You know when I sit down and you see me when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar. Lord, you even know what I’m thinking. From far away from me, you hear the secret thoughts of my heart. That’s getting pretty intimate my friend.
You see, the Psalm isn’t just about the vast knowledge of God, it makes that knowledge personal. David said, in verse three, "You searched out my path and my lying down. You, Lord, are acquainted with all my ways." He said, "Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. Not only do you know what I’m thinking, but Lord you know what I’m going to say even before I say it."
The tongue, according to James, is the most difficult member of our body to control but it possesses great power. With the tongue you can speak life or even death, you can build up or tear down. The tongue is this unruly member of the body that is difficult to contain. But it is of the tongue that David now speaks. He says, "Lord I have trouble controlling my tongue. I don’t always know what I’m going to say next, but Lord you know even before I do!" This is how well God knows you. He knows what you are going to say even before you say it.
David said in verse five, you have hemmed me in. You go before me and follow up behind me. You have laid your hand upon me. It boggles the human mind to think of this kind of personal involvement on the part of God in the life of every human being. With over 6 Billion people in the world today, this kind of knowledge would simply overpower our minds. There is no way we could ever be consciously aware of 6 billion people and know every thing about them all of the time. But, to God this is no problem. God, without confusion, beholds as distinctly the actions of every man, as if that man were the only one alive.
When David contemplates the wonder of that truth, he declares, in verse six, that "such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it." There is simply no way that you can even begin to grasp the absolute fullness of God’s knowledge of you. You may have convinced yourself that you don’t really matter, that no one is really that concerned with you. But God, knows you intimately. He know you in a way that I can’t even begin to describe to you.
Not only that, but he knows where you are. The Psalmist said, "Where shall I go from your Spirit. Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Hell, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." You can’t escape the presence of God. You can’t conceal yourself from his all-seeing eye.
The Psalmist goes on in verse eleven, "If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you." Men love darkness, because they believe the can hide their deeds there. But David said, even the darkness doesn’t hide me from you. You see me even when I hide myself from view. When I conceal myself behind closed doors and turn out all the lights, still yet the darkness is light to you and you see me and know me. There is nothing I can do, nowhere I can go, no hiding place I can find that will conceal me from you.
David said, in verse fourteen, "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them."
And then he comes to the reason for the Psalm. Finally in verse seventeen we find the point of this entire song. David said, "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!" This is the point of the Psalm. David treasures the knowledge of God. David said I delight in your thoughts O Lord. I’m glad that you know me. I count it among my greatest treasures that you have such vast knowledge of my life.
Not many men would welcome an in-depth look into all their affairs and dealings. Not many men would be comfortable with someone else looking in upon their innermost feelings. However the Psalmist says, in reference to God’s incredible knowledge of his life, your thoughts are precious to me! I delight in the fact that you know me. I am comforted by your vast knowledge of my life.
The key to David’s delight is found in the final phrase of the Psalm. This vast knowledge of God, David says, leads me into the way everlasting. I treasure your knowledge, O Lord, because without it I will never make heaven my home.
As he Remembers the time when he was caught in the web of his own deceit, when he had convinced himself that he had hidden his sin and that somehow he would escape its consequences, David is now thankful for the man of God that confronted him with God's knowledge of his life. Because David now realizes that, without the conviction that was brought upon him by the probing eyes of God, he might have never repented for his sin.
As he looks back at that dark chapter of his life he sees the hand of God leading him back to the way everlasting. And he takes great delight in the fact that he can’t hide anything from God. As a matter of fact, in light of God’s incredible knowledge the Psalmist comes to this powerful conclusion in verse twenty-three. "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"
This is the conclusion of the matter. David invites the Lord to search him anew. Dig through my heart and my life. Search mo, O God, and know my heart! Find everything that is within me, reveal every secret sin that might be hidden, don’t let anything escape your gaze. Because, above everything else, I want to stay in that way everlasting.
"Try me," David says. The terminology comes from the forging of metal. David invites the Lord, “Try me. Test me. Put me through the trial.” Do what ever you have to do to me, O Lord, to secure my soul for eternity. Know my thoughts, know my intentions. Judge my inner heart. Know everything there is to know about me. Because I understand that by that knowledge of me you will lead me to everlasting life. If there’s anything in me that’s not like you Lord, I can trust you to reveal it to me.
This, my friend, is the message of Psalm 139. If you will humble yourself before God, if you will surrender control of your life to him, he, by virtue of his vast knowledge of your life, will lead you to eternal life. His convicting spirit will reveal flaws and faults in your life. His penetrating gaze will make sin uncomfortable in his presence. If you will invite the searching of the Lord, he will lead you in his perfect way. This is what we need, more than anything else. We need God to search our lives and make us right.
David is well known as a “man after God’s own heart.” It is a title that was bestowed upon him by God, no less. But, even as a man that loved and worshiped God with all his heart, David was not without his faults. He made mistakes, demonstrated bad judgment and failed miserably from time to time. Perhaps the greatest failure of his life was when he chose to send his armies to battle as he, their king and leader, remained home in the safety and luxury of his palace. Out of that bad decision and poor demonstration of leadership arises one of the most sordid chapters of David’s life.
While his armies were at war David was lounging on the rooftop of his palace, watching another man's wife bathe. Eventually David committed adultery with Bathsheba. And, when she conceived a child, he had her husband killed to cover up his sin. When all was said and done David felt like his secret was safe. His darkest secret was hidden from everyone. His throne was secure. However, while David had successfully concealed his sin from those around him, God knew what David did.
Eventually David learned a powerful lesson. God wasn’t content to let David continue to drift further and further from him. Instead, God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David with his sin. And, by exposing his wrong and convicting him, God led David to a place of repentance where, although the consequences of his sin were not erased, the sin itself was forgiven. It was some time after this that David composed the beautiful words of Psalm 139.
At a casual glance the song would seem to be all about the knowledge of God. However, the Psalm is set in motion by the first verse which proclaims more than just the incredible knowledge of God. The Psalmist says, Lord, you have searched ME and known ME! While the Psalm is an incredible testimony to the inexhaustible knowledge of God, it is more then that. It is a personal statement of the fact that God sees and knows You as an individual
God knows everything that there is to know about you. You can’t hide anything from him. He sees the secrets of your heart. He looks upon the innermost part. He knows what no one else knows. Those things that you have hidden away deep within the recesses of your heart that nobody else knows about, God knows. That thing you thought you got away with, that incident you thought was concealed, God knows about that too.
The Psalmist begins in verse one by saying that the Lord has “searched me” and “known me.” The Hebrew word for “searched” originally means to dig, and is applied to the search for precious metals. The Psalmist said, Lord you have dug around in my life and have exposed everything that is there. I may have buried some things in hopes of concealing them, but you, O Lord, have searched them out. You know everything about me.
Not only do you know what is inside me, the Psalmist shares, but you are constantly aware of where I am and what I’m doing. You know when I sit down and you see me when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar. Lord, you even know what I’m thinking. From far away from me, you hear the secret thoughts of my heart. That’s getting pretty intimate my friend.
You see, the Psalm isn’t just about the vast knowledge of God, it makes that knowledge personal. David said, in verse three, "You searched out my path and my lying down. You, Lord, are acquainted with all my ways." He said, "Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. Not only do you know what I’m thinking, but Lord you know what I’m going to say even before I say it."
The tongue, according to James, is the most difficult member of our body to control but it possesses great power. With the tongue you can speak life or even death, you can build up or tear down. The tongue is this unruly member of the body that is difficult to contain. But it is of the tongue that David now speaks. He says, "Lord I have trouble controlling my tongue. I don’t always know what I’m going to say next, but Lord you know even before I do!" This is how well God knows you. He knows what you are going to say even before you say it.
David said in verse five, you have hemmed me in. You go before me and follow up behind me. You have laid your hand upon me. It boggles the human mind to think of this kind of personal involvement on the part of God in the life of every human being. With over 6 Billion people in the world today, this kind of knowledge would simply overpower our minds. There is no way we could ever be consciously aware of 6 billion people and know every thing about them all of the time. But, to God this is no problem. God, without confusion, beholds as distinctly the actions of every man, as if that man were the only one alive.
When David contemplates the wonder of that truth, he declares, in verse six, that "such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it." There is simply no way that you can even begin to grasp the absolute fullness of God’s knowledge of you. You may have convinced yourself that you don’t really matter, that no one is really that concerned with you. But God, knows you intimately. He know you in a way that I can’t even begin to describe to you.
Not only that, but he knows where you are. The Psalmist said, "Where shall I go from your Spirit. Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Hell, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." You can’t escape the presence of God. You can’t conceal yourself from his all-seeing eye.
The Psalmist goes on in verse eleven, "If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you." Men love darkness, because they believe the can hide their deeds there. But David said, even the darkness doesn’t hide me from you. You see me even when I hide myself from view. When I conceal myself behind closed doors and turn out all the lights, still yet the darkness is light to you and you see me and know me. There is nothing I can do, nowhere I can go, no hiding place I can find that will conceal me from you.
David said, in verse fourteen, "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them."
And then he comes to the reason for the Psalm. Finally in verse seventeen we find the point of this entire song. David said, "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!" This is the point of the Psalm. David treasures the knowledge of God. David said I delight in your thoughts O Lord. I’m glad that you know me. I count it among my greatest treasures that you have such vast knowledge of my life.
Not many men would welcome an in-depth look into all their affairs and dealings. Not many men would be comfortable with someone else looking in upon their innermost feelings. However the Psalmist says, in reference to God’s incredible knowledge of his life, your thoughts are precious to me! I delight in the fact that you know me. I am comforted by your vast knowledge of my life.
The key to David’s delight is found in the final phrase of the Psalm. This vast knowledge of God, David says, leads me into the way everlasting. I treasure your knowledge, O Lord, because without it I will never make heaven my home.
As he Remembers the time when he was caught in the web of his own deceit, when he had convinced himself that he had hidden his sin and that somehow he would escape its consequences, David is now thankful for the man of God that confronted him with God's knowledge of his life. Because David now realizes that, without the conviction that was brought upon him by the probing eyes of God, he might have never repented for his sin.
As he looks back at that dark chapter of his life he sees the hand of God leading him back to the way everlasting. And he takes great delight in the fact that he can’t hide anything from God. As a matter of fact, in light of God’s incredible knowledge the Psalmist comes to this powerful conclusion in verse twenty-three. "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"
This is the conclusion of the matter. David invites the Lord to search him anew. Dig through my heart and my life. Search mo, O God, and know my heart! Find everything that is within me, reveal every secret sin that might be hidden, don’t let anything escape your gaze. Because, above everything else, I want to stay in that way everlasting.
"Try me," David says. The terminology comes from the forging of metal. David invites the Lord, “Try me. Test me. Put me through the trial.” Do what ever you have to do to me, O Lord, to secure my soul for eternity. Know my thoughts, know my intentions. Judge my inner heart. Know everything there is to know about me. Because I understand that by that knowledge of me you will lead me to everlasting life. If there’s anything in me that’s not like you Lord, I can trust you to reveal it to me.
This, my friend, is the message of Psalm 139. If you will humble yourself before God, if you will surrender control of your life to him, he, by virtue of his vast knowledge of your life, will lead you to eternal life. His convicting spirit will reveal flaws and faults in your life. His penetrating gaze will make sin uncomfortable in his presence. If you will invite the searching of the Lord, he will lead you in his perfect way. This is what we need, more than anything else. We need God to search our lives and make us right.
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