WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:09.519 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:15.280 redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:22.640 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:33.439 Today's scripture reading is Psalm 139 as printed in the liturgy. 00:00:34.480 --> 00:00:38.159 A Psalter reading to the choir master, a Psalm of David. 00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:44.260 O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up. 00:00:44.600 --> 00:00:51.740 You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 00:00:51.740 --> 00:00:57.440 Even before the word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:02.460 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:07.480 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain it. 00:01:07.939 --> 00:01:11.560 Where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:18.000 If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed and shield, you are there. 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:27.359 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. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:35.420 If I say surely the darkness shall cover me and the light above me, about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to you. 00:01:35.819 --> 00:01:39.519 The night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. 00:01:39.859 --> 00:01:44.900 For you form my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb. 00:01:44.900 --> 00:01:48.340 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:52.180 Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well. 00:01:52.520 --> 00:01:58.820 My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 00:01:59.260 --> 00:02:01.600 Your eyes saw my unformed substance. 00:02:01.939 --> 00:02:07.640 In your book were written every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:10.620 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! 00:02:10.620 --> 00:02:12.879 How vast is the sum of them! 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:19.099 If I would count them, that you are more than the sand, I awake and I am still with you. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:22.140 Oh, that you would slay the wicked, O God! 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:24.219 O men of blood, apart from me! 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:27.000 They speak against you with malicious intent. 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:29.020 Your enemies take your name in vain. 00:02:29.540 --> 00:02:31.740 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? 00:02:31.920 --> 00:02:34.620 And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:36.800 I hate them with complete hatred. 00:02:36.920 --> 00:02:38.159 I count them my enemies. 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:41.599 Search me, O God, and know my heart. 00:02:42.060 --> 00:02:43.919 Try me and know my thoughts. 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:46.759 And see if there be any grievous way in me. 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:49.180 And lead me in the way of everlasting. 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:52.780 The grass withers and the flowers fall. 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:55.780 But the word of our God stands forever. 00:02:56.300 --> 00:02:57.019 You may be seated. 00:02:57.020 --> 00:03:03.000 Before we get started, would you join me in prayer one more time? 00:03:03.100 --> 00:03:03.540 Let's pray. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:08.500 Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your words of hope and comfort. 00:03:08.740 --> 00:03:12.920 We thank you that it has the power to change and to transform lives. 00:03:13.640 --> 00:03:17.420 And so, Lord, may the words of my mouth now and the meditation of our hearts together 00:03:17.420 --> 00:03:21.100 be pleasing in your sight, our rock and our redeemer. 00:03:21.439 --> 00:03:22.379 In Christ's name we pray. 00:03:22.640 --> 00:03:22.879 Amen. 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:25.060 Well, good morning. 00:03:25.340 --> 00:03:26.659 My name is John. 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:31.079 As mentioned, I'm the RUF campus minister at UC Berkeley. 00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:33.280 It's such a privilege to be with you all this morning. 00:03:33.379 --> 00:03:34.359 Thank you for having me. 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:39.680 I just finished my first year as the campus minister at UC Berkeley, and I've really enjoyed 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:41.400 working with college students. 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:45.400 And one of the things I have learned working with college students is that college students 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:46.479 love movies. 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:49.400 And they specifically really like superhero movies. 00:03:49.400 --> 00:03:53.400 I don't know if you guys enjoy superhero movies, but we're in the middle of summer. 00:03:54.200 --> 00:03:56.500 And summer blockbusters are coming out. 00:03:56.640 --> 00:03:58.800 And a lot of superhero movies have come out recently. 00:03:59.340 --> 00:04:03.980 Last month, I don't know if you guys are into it, but the new Spider-Man, I think, animation 00:04:03.980 --> 00:04:04.800 movie came out. 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:07.520 Later this month, the new Captain Marvel movie comes out. 00:04:07.640 --> 00:04:09.700 I think the Flash movie came out a couple weeks ago. 00:04:10.099 --> 00:04:13.319 If you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's because there's too many superhero movies 00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:16.480 to keep track of that sometimes it's hard for me as well. 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:21.500 But my college students love them, and I love watching it with them, talking about it with 00:04:21.500 --> 00:04:21.780 them. 00:04:22.300 --> 00:04:27.520 But one of the things that always happens when I watch a movie with family or friends or 00:04:27.520 --> 00:04:33.900 even by myself, and afterwards we have conversations about the movies, I always end up asking myself 00:04:33.900 --> 00:04:34.879 the same question. 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:37.720 And maybe you've asked yourself this as well. 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:42.740 And the question is, if you could have any superpower in the world, what would it be? 00:04:42.740 --> 00:04:49.019 And after many debates with friends and family and now with a lot of college students, my 00:04:49.019 --> 00:04:50.960 answer always ends up being the same. 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:57.340 My answer to the question, if I could have any superpower in the world, I would want the 00:04:57.340 --> 00:05:00.280 power of infinite knowledge. 00:05:01.300 --> 00:05:02.600 I don't know what that says about me. 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:03.840 I'll let you draw your own conclusions. 00:05:04.780 --> 00:05:08.360 But I want to know everything about everything. 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:09.860 I would love to know what's going to happen later. 00:05:09.980 --> 00:05:11.280 I want to know what people are thinking. 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:13.279 I want to know everything. 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:19.679 And I think given everything that's happened in the first six months of this year, which 00:05:19.679 --> 00:05:22.759 I don't know if you guys realize, we're halfway done with 2023 already. 00:05:22.859 --> 00:05:23.659 We're already in July. 00:05:24.159 --> 00:05:27.879 But given everything that's happened, I think the power to know everything would have come 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:29.199 in pretty handy, wouldn't it? 00:05:30.039 --> 00:05:33.459 If you think back to the beginning of the year, maybe right around Christmas time and 00:05:33.459 --> 00:05:38.259 the new year, if any of you were traveling, maybe some of you hit some of the travel disruptions 00:05:38.259 --> 00:05:38.799 that happened. 00:05:38.799 --> 00:05:41.079 It would have been nice to know about those if you were traveling. 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:45.000 Or just a couple of weeks ago, I think there were new travel disruptions, right? 00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:46.799 Some of you might have been caught up in that. 00:05:47.479 --> 00:05:53.500 But in between early this year till now, a lot of other things have happened, right? 00:05:53.500 --> 00:05:56.479 We've still had to deal with nationwide inflation. 00:05:56.479 --> 00:06:00.279 If you're in the tech industry, there are still continue to be layoffs. 00:06:00.679 --> 00:06:02.379 We've dealt with school shootings. 00:06:02.379 --> 00:06:03.899 We've dealt with a lot of difficulties. 00:06:03.899 --> 00:06:10.439 And those are all just the macro news items that we've heard about or seen or experienced. 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:15.279 Those don't even include some of the personal difficulties that you've had to face the first 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:15.939 half of this year. 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:22.979 For some of you, 2023 so far, you've had to deal with maybe health scares. 00:06:22.980 --> 00:06:25.900 For some of you, maybe the loss of loved ones. 00:06:26.460 --> 00:06:31.819 For some of you, relationship conflicts in the home, at work, maybe at school. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:33.640 Right? 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:36.780 It would be nice to know that these things were going to happen. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:40.280 And it would be even nicer to know how those things would work out, wouldn't it? 00:06:40.279 --> 00:06:45.259 Well, obviously, none of us have the superpower to know everything. 00:06:45.679 --> 00:06:50.139 But David here in our psalm this morning reminds us of someone who does have that power. 00:06:51.459 --> 00:06:51.559 All right. 00:06:51.619 --> 00:06:56.539 Psalm 139 is a beautiful psalm that expounds so many beautiful truths about God. 00:06:56.619 --> 00:07:01.439 But one truth that comes across crystal clear is the truth that God is omniscient. 00:07:01.859 --> 00:07:04.439 That he knows everything about everything. 00:07:04.779 --> 00:07:08.399 And specifically, he knows everything about you. 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:09.399 Right? 00:07:10.459 --> 00:07:12.159 He knows everything you're going through. 00:07:12.339 --> 00:07:14.439 He knows everything you are struggling with. 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:17.479 And he knows how he will work those things out. 00:07:19.399 --> 00:07:22.579 Maybe for some of you, you are going through a difficult time right now. 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:26.099 Maybe you're experiencing a time in the valley of darkness. 00:07:26.099 --> 00:07:27.019 And you don't know why. 00:07:27.139 --> 00:07:31.199 And you can't comprehend or understand why you are experiencing it. 00:07:32.339 --> 00:07:36.839 But even though that may be the case, I want you to know this morning that you can trust 00:07:36.839 --> 00:07:39.119 in a God who knows what you're going through. 00:07:39.579 --> 00:07:43.759 And especially in a God who knows how he will work those things out for you. 00:07:45.039 --> 00:07:45.179 All right. 00:07:45.219 --> 00:07:47.739 David needed to be reminded of that truth himself. 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:50.620 And you and I need a reminder of that truth this morning. 00:07:50.620 --> 00:07:55.739 And so what I hope to share today is that because God fully knows everything about you, 00:07:56.579 --> 00:07:58.779 you can fully trust in him. 00:07:59.779 --> 00:08:00.000 All right. 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.779 Because God fully knows everything about you, you can fully trust in him. 00:08:04.779 --> 00:08:08.239 And we're going to look at three ways in which God knows things about us. 00:08:09.019 --> 00:08:12.099 And the first is God knows what your situation is. 00:08:12.679 --> 00:08:15.219 Second is he knows where your story began. 00:08:15.699 --> 00:08:18.259 And third is he knows what you're searching for. 00:08:19.079 --> 00:08:23.659 What your situation is, where your story began, and what you're searching for. 00:08:24.799 --> 00:08:25.219 All right. 00:08:25.239 --> 00:08:27.199 So first, God knows what your situation is. 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:32.480 David starts off this psalm by painting a pretty clear picture that God knows all about you 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:33.740 and all about your circumstances. 00:08:34.519 --> 00:08:34.600 Right. 00:08:34.679 --> 00:08:39.100 In verse two, David says, God knows when you sit down and rise up, he discerns your thoughts. 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:41.980 Verse three, God knows your path and your lying down. 00:08:42.059 --> 00:08:43.319 He's acquainted with all your ways. 00:08:43.879 --> 00:08:48.279 Verse four, God knows what you will say even before you say it. 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:50.240 All right. 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:55.179 David is describing how comprehensive God's knowledge is of you and what you're going through. 00:08:55.179 --> 00:08:57.939 There's not one aspect of your life he doesn't know about. 00:08:59.139 --> 00:08:59.199 Right. 00:08:59.299 --> 00:09:05.120 God knows when you are resting at home, when you're relaxing, maybe at a vacation by the beach. 00:09:05.199 --> 00:09:07.659 I don't know where Jonathan and Andrew are, but maybe they're vacationing somewhere. 00:09:07.719 --> 00:09:09.079 And God knows that they're relaxing. 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:13.579 But God also knows when you're struggling to drag yourself out of bed on a Monday morning 00:09:13.579 --> 00:09:15.379 to go to work or go to school. 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:17.239 Right. 00:09:17.439 --> 00:09:21.000 God knows when you've accomplished something great like graduating college or high school 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:21.620 or getting married. 00:09:21.779 --> 00:09:26.460 And he knows when you're struggling potentially to find a new job and make, to make ends meet 00:09:26.460 --> 00:09:29.500 or you're going to the doctor's office for a scary diagnosis. 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:35.679 And God doesn't just know what your situation is. 00:09:36.220 --> 00:09:40.059 God also knows how you will respond to those situations. 00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:41.019 Right. 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:43.759 He knows your opinions about what is going on in the world. 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:47.539 He knows what you think about what is going on at work or at school. 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:51.600 He knows how you feel about what is going on in your family. 00:09:53.139 --> 00:09:57.080 God doesn't just know what you're going to post on social media or tweet before you do it. 00:09:57.360 --> 00:09:59.620 God even knows the things you decide not to post. 00:09:59.840 --> 00:09:59.960 Right. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:01.960 And not to tweet on social media. 00:10:04.259 --> 00:10:05.580 My parents came to visit me. 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:07.879 Like last year around this time, my parents came to visit me. 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:09.360 They live in Taiwan. 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:13.159 At the time, I was in San Diego as a youth pastor at a church there at the time. 00:10:13.539 --> 00:10:16.159 And it had been three years since I had seen them in person. 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:19.180 Because of the pandemic, I had not been able to see them in person. 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:22.159 So when they came and finally I was able to see them after three years, 00:10:22.180 --> 00:10:25.740 it was a wonderful time to spend with them and hang out with them. 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:30.639 But what was uncanny to me was how well my mom knew me, 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:33.759 even after three years of not being physically present together. 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:37.399 There was one morning I was taking them for breakfast 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:39.579 and they were staying with my brother at the time. 00:10:39.720 --> 00:10:42.539 And so I went up, got up this morning, or that morning, 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:44.799 drove her to my brother's place, knocked on the door, 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:46.919 and my mom opens the door. 00:10:47.019 --> 00:10:49.899 And the first thing she says to me when she sees me is she says, 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:53.740 John, you did not brush your teeth this morning. 00:10:55.299 --> 00:10:56.360 And I was shocked. 00:10:56.399 --> 00:10:58.179 I was like, Mom, how could you? 00:10:58.439 --> 00:11:00.299 How did you know? 00:11:01.079 --> 00:11:01.259 Right. 00:11:01.340 --> 00:11:04.259 And just to dislamour, I do brush my teeth. 00:11:04.299 --> 00:11:05.279 I brush my teeth this morning. 00:11:06.039 --> 00:11:09.720 But that day I had just got back from a youth retreat. 00:11:10.019 --> 00:11:11.259 It was a three-day, two-night youth retreat. 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:12.059 We got back late. 00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:13.279 I was so tired I crashed. 00:11:13.659 --> 00:11:15.000 And then I slept in. 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:16.279 So I woke up late to breakfast. 00:11:16.339 --> 00:11:17.220 So I just rushed out of the house. 00:11:17.259 --> 00:11:18.279 So she was correct. 00:11:18.360 --> 00:11:20.220 I had not brushed my teeth that morning. 00:11:20.299 --> 00:11:22.059 And I still, to this day, don't know how she knew. 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:28.839 But my point in telling that story is if that is how well my earthly mother knew me, 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:32.060 how much more does our heavenly father know us? 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:33.920 Right. 00:11:34.040 --> 00:11:38.840 And David here, he gives us at least two reasons why God knows all these things about us. 00:11:38.940 --> 00:11:44.060 And one is because God is actively and specially interested in you. 00:11:44.059 --> 00:11:44.459 Sorry. 00:11:47.459 --> 00:11:48.579 Does my mic not work? 00:11:49.459 --> 00:11:49.819 Sorry. 00:11:49.979 --> 00:11:51.519 I hope you guys could hear all that first part. 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:57.619 But David gives us at least two reasons why God knows all these things about you. 00:11:57.719 --> 00:12:01.559 One is he's actively and specially interested in you. 00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:07.439 And if you look at verse one with me, David says, God has searched me and known me. 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:08.500 Right. 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:13.639 That word search there, it has the idea of like a treasure hunter digging for treasure. 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:21.059 It has the idea of a lawyer pouring through piles of evidence, preparing for a trial. 00:12:21.839 --> 00:12:29.779 The word is also used in the Old Testament when spies are spying out of land and being thorough in their findings. 00:12:29.779 --> 00:12:30.779 Right. 00:12:31.360 --> 00:12:37.519 David is describing God who takes a special interest and effort to seek you out and to know you. 00:12:38.059 --> 00:12:38.199 Right. 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:44.559 From knowing your biggest dreams and aspirations down to the smallest detail, like what color socks you chose to wear this morning. 00:12:45.699 --> 00:12:45.819 Right. 00:12:45.899 --> 00:12:52.879 And David isn't saying that God has to do such a thorough search in order to find out and know these things about you. 00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:54.819 We know God's knowledge is infinite. 00:12:55.019 --> 00:12:56.279 God's knowledge is immediate. 00:12:56.279 --> 00:13:02.360 But what David is doing is he's using vivid language to describe how much God knows you. 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:09.639 And the second reason why God knows what your situation is, is because God is everywhere. 00:13:10.860 --> 00:13:10.980 Right. 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:13.500 There's no place you can go where God isn't. 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:15.839 And David asked that rhetorically in verses seven through 10. 00:13:16.259 --> 00:13:19.699 If there was, he asked if there was somewhere he could go that God was not present. 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:22.980 If he went to heaven, God would be there. 00:13:23.400 --> 00:13:27.200 If he went down to Sheol, which is the place of the dead, God would be there. 00:13:28.060 --> 00:13:31.220 Verse nine talks about if he takes the wings of the morning, which is the east, right? 00:13:31.280 --> 00:13:33.400 Sun rises in the east, God would be there. 00:13:33.480 --> 00:13:38.400 And if he goes and dwells in the uttermost part of the sea and the sea was west for Israel. 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:40.780 So if he goes west, God would be there. 00:13:40.779 --> 00:13:46.539 No matter where David goes in this universe, God is there. 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:52.779 You might initially hear that and you might think to yourself, well, that actually sounds a little bit smothering. 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:56.819 To our American ears, we definitely don't like it when people know everything about us. 00:13:56.879 --> 00:13:59.600 And we for sure don't like it when they follow us everywhere. 00:14:00.459 --> 00:14:05.199 But David here is not describing God so much like Google or Amazon in your house, 00:14:05.259 --> 00:14:08.360 listening to your conversations and then giving you the ads that he thinks you want to buy. 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:12.960 But David here is more describing God like a loving parent, right? 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:16.840 Someone who is lovingly and carefully watching over their children. 00:14:18.460 --> 00:14:24.879 God is everywhere with us so that he can hold us and lead us and guide us, like David says there in verse 10. 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:33.340 God knows our situation and our circumstances not to be nosy, but to help us through them. 00:14:33.340 --> 00:14:40.680 And that's probably the most encouraging truth about God knowing what your situation is. 00:14:41.420 --> 00:14:45.100 God doesn't just know about your present trials and tribulations, but I mentioned before, 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:47.820 he knows how he's going to bring them to an end. 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:51.879 Look at verse 16 with me or the second part of verse 16. 00:14:52.280 --> 00:14:52.840 David says there, 00:14:52.840 --> 00:15:07.480 David there is getting at the truth that God has a plan for you, that he knows your future, that he has numbered your days. 00:15:07.660 --> 00:15:11.420 And I know that initially when you hear that, we might think that sounds like a threat, right? 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:13.100 In English, we have an idiom, right? 00:15:13.160 --> 00:15:14.080 Our days being numbered. 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:16.060 And that sounds like a threat to us. 00:15:16.060 --> 00:15:19.000 But actually here, it should be extremely comforting. 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:27.440 If you are nervous and scared and you're going to the doctor and you're nervous for a diagnosis that the doctor is going to give you, 00:15:27.659 --> 00:15:33.000 you can be confident that there is nothing the doctor can say that will change how many days you have to live. 00:15:33.940 --> 00:15:34.240 Right? 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:36.259 The doctor can tell you what's going on with your body. 00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:39.580 They can tell you what is going on with your health. 00:15:39.580 --> 00:15:46.480 But there is nothing a doctor can say that will shorten a day of your life because your days rest in the hands of a sovereign God. 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:53.440 My brothers and sisters, trust in that God who fully knows your situation. 00:15:54.680 --> 00:15:54.820 Right? 00:15:54.879 --> 00:16:02.200 Amidst all the difficult and distressing news that swirls around us from war still going on between Ukraine and Russia 00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:07.840 to school shootings that still happen across our country to political uncertainty and economic unrest, 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:14.519 live not in fear but in faith that your heavenly father has already determined your days 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:18.160 and nothing this world throws at you can change that. 00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:24.040 And so first, God knows what your situation is. 00:16:24.220 --> 00:16:26.899 But second, he also knows where your story began. 00:16:27.740 --> 00:16:30.139 And as David is reflecting on how much God knows him, 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:35.000 he naturally goes all the way back to the beginning when God formed him and created him. 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:40.899 God knows all of us fully because he was the one who created us in the first place. 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:44.460 God knows the beginning of our story. 00:16:46.460 --> 00:16:48.419 When we talk about God the creator, 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:51.960 oftentimes we think about God the creator in very general terms, 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:53.279 that he's the creator of the universe, 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:55.820 that he's the creator of the heavens and the earth. 00:16:55.820 --> 00:17:00.200 And less often do we take time to reflect on God being our personal creator. 00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:01.000 Right? 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:04.619 But that's what David does here, especially in verses 13 through 16. 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:08.960 David describes God as knitting you in your mother's womb, 00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:11.059 that he intricately wove you together. 00:17:11.420 --> 00:17:14.039 It's not dissimilar to what Isaiah says in Isaiah 64, 00:17:14.259 --> 00:17:16.460 that God was the potter and that you were the clay. 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:21.339 And David is not just saying that God has only created your physical body, 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:23.640 but he has also created your emotions, 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:26.240 your desires, your passions as well. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:29.319 Right there in verse 13, when David says, 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:30.859 God formed my inward parts, 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:35.140 that word inward parts literally could be translated to inner organs, 00:17:35.140 --> 00:17:39.339 which is a Hebrew idiom of saying your entire inner being. 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:41.180 Right? 00:17:41.259 --> 00:17:44.380 God knows you so well because he created everything about you, 00:17:44.380 --> 00:17:46.519 from how many hairs there are on your head, 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:47.920 to why you are an extrovert, 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:49.880 or to why you're an introvert. 00:17:49.880 --> 00:17:55.340 And that just shows us how much God cares about us. 00:17:55.760 --> 00:17:55.840 Right? 00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:57.780 God was meticulous when he made you. 00:17:58.080 --> 00:18:00.580 He formed you with painstaking detail. 00:18:02.280 --> 00:18:04.340 One commentator put it this way, which I really liked. 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:05.600 We, you and I, 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:09.080 we don't come into existence just because of some biological reaction, 00:18:09.800 --> 00:18:13.860 but we are the product of divine artistry. 00:18:15.060 --> 00:18:15.500 Right? 00:18:15.660 --> 00:18:17.980 God knew you when you were in your mother's womb. 00:18:17.980 --> 00:18:19.120 He was forming you. 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:21.420 He was, he knew you when you were an unformed substance. 00:18:21.420 --> 00:18:22.539 When nobody knew you, 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:24.779 he was making you in secret. 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:29.140 And if that is who our God is, 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:32.099 a God who cares us so much that he carefully designed you, 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:33.819 every last detail about you, 00:18:33.900 --> 00:18:39.220 then you know you can trust in him because he created you for a reason. 00:18:40.779 --> 00:18:40.900 Right? 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:42.539 God puts you on earth for a purpose. 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:45.460 There is a reason why God made you the way you are. 00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:48.920 And that's what David praises God for there in verse 14, 00:18:48.980 --> 00:18:49.360 where he says, 00:18:49.840 --> 00:18:52.319 I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 00:18:53.180 --> 00:18:53.259 Right? 00:18:53.380 --> 00:18:56.360 And that phrase fearfully and wonderfully made initially can be confusing. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:56.720 Right? 00:18:56.740 --> 00:18:58.700 What does it mean to be fearfully made? 00:18:59.740 --> 00:19:02.400 But that phrase there has the idea of being distinct, 00:19:02.900 --> 00:19:03.000 right? 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:04.039 Of being set apart. 00:19:05.360 --> 00:19:10.100 David is praising God for creating him to be part of God's plan. 00:19:10.099 --> 00:19:11.779 Right? 00:19:11.879 --> 00:19:14.759 Similar to what the prophet Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 29, 00:19:14.879 --> 00:19:15.179 when he says, 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:17.039 I know the plans I have for you, 00:19:17.399 --> 00:19:17.519 right? 00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:22.359 Plans to give you a hope and a future to prosper you and not to harm you. 00:19:24.019 --> 00:19:27.119 We can trust God because God knows the beginning of your story. 00:19:27.459 --> 00:19:29.980 He has already written your story with a plot laid out, 00:19:30.219 --> 00:19:33.259 a plot that ends with your hope and with your future. 00:19:33.259 --> 00:19:41.680 But part of knowing our story is also knowing our faults and our failures. 00:19:42.379 --> 00:19:43.339 And God knows those too. 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:44.619 Right? 00:19:44.660 --> 00:19:45.259 Look at verse 11. 00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:48.879 It's part of the section in the Psalm where David has been asking God, 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:50.759 where might he flee from his presence? 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:55.319 David has already acknowledged there's nowhere he can go to escape God. 00:19:55.319 --> 00:19:59.500 So he asks about a scenario in which darkness would cover him, 00:19:59.700 --> 00:20:01.539 where he'd be surrounded by darkness. 00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:03.000 Well, 00:20:03.019 --> 00:20:04.980 why would David want to hide from God? 00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:07.980 Why would he want darkness to surround him? 00:20:09.379 --> 00:20:12.000 It's because David knows that he is a sinner. 00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:15.819 And David knows that God knows that full well. 00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:17.939 Right? 00:20:17.980 --> 00:20:21.079 We've seen this before in scripture when Adam and Eve sinned, 00:20:21.119 --> 00:20:21.259 right? 00:20:21.299 --> 00:20:21.819 In Genesis, 00:20:22.460 --> 00:20:24.700 when they ate from the tree that God commanded them not to eat, 00:20:24.700 --> 00:20:26.559 they tried to hide themselves from God. 00:20:27.019 --> 00:20:27.120 Right? 00:20:27.140 --> 00:20:29.200 They didn't want God knowing what they did. 00:20:29.380 --> 00:20:30.539 And that's in the very beginning of scripture. 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:32.360 If you go all the way to the end in Revelation, 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:33.360 chapter 6, 00:20:33.400 --> 00:20:34.319 the apostle John, 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:38.220 he has a vision of people on earth who are rebelling against God. 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:41.080 And when God comes to hold them accountable, 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:41.920 they call out, 00:20:41.980 --> 00:20:44.559 those people call out to the mountains and to the rocks, 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:48.180 fall on us and hide us from the wrath of God. 00:20:49.360 --> 00:20:49.740 Right? 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:52.000 From the beginning of mankind to the end of humanity, 00:20:52.180 --> 00:20:53.279 nobody can stand it. 00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:56.599 When God comes to hold you accountable for your sins, 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:59.019 our default reaction is to hide. 00:21:01.740 --> 00:21:03.460 And David knew that only too well. 00:21:04.500 --> 00:21:04.980 Right? 00:21:05.059 --> 00:21:06.740 David was a man after God's own heart, 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:09.240 but he was also a man that sinned miserably. 00:21:10.019 --> 00:21:10.940 And his most famous sin, 00:21:11.139 --> 00:21:14.579 we probably know is when David committed adultery with Bathsheba 00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:16.299 and then later murdered her husband, 00:21:16.420 --> 00:21:16.859 Uriah. 00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:18.859 Well, 00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:23.439 can you imagine what David felt like when he was being confronted by Nathan, 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:23.979 the prophet? 00:21:25.740 --> 00:21:26.579 My secret, 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:27.519 my deepest, 00:21:27.979 --> 00:21:28.539 darkest, 00:21:28.719 --> 00:21:31.019 most heinous crime is about to be, 00:21:31.579 --> 00:21:32.759 is about to come to light. 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:34.839 What is God going to do to me? 00:21:36.159 --> 00:21:39.639 Is God going to remove me as King of Israel? 00:21:39.640 --> 00:21:43.120 Is God going to forsake me and my family? 00:21:43.320 --> 00:21:45.860 Is God going to kill me? 00:21:47.700 --> 00:21:47.880 Right? 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:50.280 Those might've all been thoughts that were running through David's head. 00:21:50.580 --> 00:21:54.300 And so naturally he might've wanted to run and hide from God. 00:21:54.960 --> 00:21:57.140 He might've wanted to hide in the darkness, 00:21:57.360 --> 00:22:00.340 to hide in his sins so that the light would not shine on it. 00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:05.959 And so you can imagine the relief then when Nathan tells David, 00:22:06.639 --> 00:22:08.439 the Lord has put away your sin. 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:10.939 You shall not die. 00:22:12.819 --> 00:22:15.500 David still had to suffer the consequences of his sin, 00:22:15.619 --> 00:22:17.500 but the Lord did not forsake him. 00:22:18.179 --> 00:22:19.839 The Lord did not kill him. 00:22:20.659 --> 00:22:20.720 Right? 00:22:20.859 --> 00:22:23.579 God knew how heinous David's sin was, 00:22:23.699 --> 00:22:25.500 and yet he still loved David. 00:22:28.379 --> 00:22:28.819 Well, 00:22:28.839 --> 00:22:29.019 friends, 00:22:29.079 --> 00:22:30.119 the same is true for you. 00:22:30.339 --> 00:22:32.939 God knows your sin. 00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:36.579 He knows what you try to hide from everybody else, 00:22:36.980 --> 00:22:38.759 from your friends, 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:39.939 from your coworkers, 00:22:40.259 --> 00:22:41.019 from your family. 00:22:42.059 --> 00:22:43.059 He knows the deepest, 00:22:43.319 --> 00:22:46.899 darkest secret that you will not want anyone to ever find out. 00:22:47.159 --> 00:22:48.759 And despite knowing all those things, 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:51.379 he still loves you. 00:22:53.299 --> 00:22:54.720 And the question is why? 00:22:55.579 --> 00:22:59.399 Why does God still love you despite all your sin? 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:02.340 And the answer is because of David's greater son, 00:23:02.740 --> 00:23:03.019 Jesus. 00:23:04.280 --> 00:23:05.780 I look at verse 12 with me. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:07.120 David says, 00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:08.880 even the darkness is not dark to you. 00:23:09.180 --> 00:23:13.220 The night is bright as the day for darkness is as night, 00:23:13.380 --> 00:23:15.580 is as light with you. 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:17.559 Right? 00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:20.839 The darkest moment in the history of humanity was when Jesus Christ, 00:23:20.899 --> 00:23:21.379 the son of God, 00:23:21.419 --> 00:23:25.759 was crucified on a Roman cross for your sins and for my sins. 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:29.599 When God was knitting you together in your mother's womb, 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:34.399 he knew that his only son was going to be torn apart on the cross for you. 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:43.120 Jesus was willing to sacrifice himself and experience the ultimate darkness for you and for me. 00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:46.700 But praise God, 00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:49.840 even the ultimate darkness was not too dark for God. 00:23:50.220 --> 00:23:51.380 God knew what he was doing. 00:23:52.080 --> 00:23:53.080 As David says in this psalm, 00:23:53.180 --> 00:23:55.960 truly darkness is as light with God. 00:23:57.140 --> 00:24:00.880 Jesus turned the darkest night in the history of humanity, 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:03.000 also into our brightest day. 00:24:04.320 --> 00:24:05.860 His death washed our sins away. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:06.740 And then three days later, 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:07.860 he rose from the grave, 00:24:08.020 --> 00:24:14.180 conquering sin and death so that you and I will one day also be guaranteed to rise with him. 00:24:15.760 --> 00:24:22.120 Jesus went through that ultimate darkness so that you and I would never have to experience it. 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:27.140 That's why even though God knows all your sins, 00:24:27.380 --> 00:24:30.780 even though he knows all the shame and guilt and dark secrets that you don't want, 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:31.640 anybody else to know, 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:32.580 despite all that, 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:34.460 he still loves you. 00:24:35.620 --> 00:24:39.320 He loves you because of what his son Jesus has done for you. 00:24:40.380 --> 00:24:40.780 Right? 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:41.200 That's what, 00:24:41.300 --> 00:24:43.760 that's what's most amazing to me about this truth, 00:24:43.820 --> 00:24:45.460 that God knew all the sins you were going to commit. 00:24:45.580 --> 00:24:47.420 He knew all the wickedness that was in your heart, 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:50.100 and yet he still sent Jesus to die for you. 00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:53.120 That's how much God loves you. 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:54.860 That's how much he cares for you. 00:24:54.980 --> 00:24:56.320 That's how much he treasures you. 00:24:56.319 --> 00:25:01.980 How can we not help but trust in a God who loves us that much? 00:25:02.679 --> 00:25:02.819 Right? 00:25:02.819 --> 00:25:08.159 Who knew how sinful you and I were from the beginning and still sent his son to save us. 00:25:09.460 --> 00:25:10.980 And that leads me to my last point. 00:25:11.399 --> 00:25:13.460 God knows what you're searching for. 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:15.000 Right? 00:25:15.059 --> 00:25:16.659 Knowing everything Jesus did for us, 00:25:16.740 --> 00:25:20.379 how he turned our darkest night into also our brightest day, 00:25:20.380 --> 00:25:22.020 how should we respond? 00:25:22.940 --> 00:25:25.980 What should be your heart's desire and my heart's desire? 00:25:26.300 --> 00:25:26.400 Well, 00:25:26.440 --> 00:25:30.260 David tells us at least two things that we should desire and search for, 00:25:30.320 --> 00:25:32.960 and both those things are things that God knows, 00:25:33.180 --> 00:25:34.780 and he will provide them. 00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:36.820 And the first, 00:25:37.180 --> 00:25:42.000 David tells us we should look and ask for deliverance from sin and wickedness. 00:25:43.220 --> 00:25:45.500 Verses 19 through 22 in the Psalm, 00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:50.360 David now shifts from praising God to asking God to deliver him from evil. 00:25:51.260 --> 00:25:54.600 To bring his righteous judgment on those who are against God. 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:56.120 Right? 00:25:56.180 --> 00:26:00.080 David has been reflecting on how much God knows him and cares for him, 00:26:00.220 --> 00:26:05.020 how God who formed him and knows all of his shortcomings still loves him and is there for him. 00:26:05.080 --> 00:26:10.900 And so David's response is one of loyalty to God and hatred for those who are against the Lord. 00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:13.160 Well, 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:13.700 what about you? 00:26:14.840 --> 00:26:17.600 What is your attitude towards sin? 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:23.679 Does knowing how much Jesus sacrificed in order to save you, 00:26:23.959 --> 00:26:26.919 inspire you to hate your own personal sin? 00:26:29.919 --> 00:26:32.619 Do you have the same posture Isaiah did in Isaiah 6? 00:26:33.199 --> 00:26:35.000 When he encounters a vision of God, 00:26:35.379 --> 00:26:36.139 seated on a throne, 00:26:36.279 --> 00:26:37.119 high and lifted up, 00:26:37.199 --> 00:26:39.959 and Isaiah realizes that he is a man of unclean lips, 00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:44.880 because he has such a sense of his own sinfulness and unworthiness. 00:26:46.420 --> 00:26:46.819 Right? 00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:55.519 The truth here in Psalm 139 should spur us to want to be killing our own sin and not let our sin be killing us. 00:26:55.519 --> 00:27:02.059 But as you heard verses 19 to 22 read, 00:27:02.099 --> 00:27:03.240 or as you read them yourself, 00:27:03.420 --> 00:27:06.920 maybe you might feel a little bit uncomfortable saying the same things David says there. 00:27:07.579 --> 00:27:07.759 Right? 00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:09.379 How can we pray what David prays, 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:13.500 asking God to slay the wicked and to hate those who hate God? 00:27:13.500 --> 00:27:15.519 Well, 00:27:15.599 --> 00:27:20.140 you and I can pray those things in the same way that Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord's Prayer. 00:27:21.119 --> 00:27:21.259 Right? 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:23.019 When you and I pray the words, 00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:24.980 thy kingdom come and thy will be done, 00:27:25.640 --> 00:27:29.000 that we are praying at the same time that the kingdom of Satan be destroyed, 00:27:29.799 --> 00:27:32.240 the enemies of God be eliminated. 00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:33.920 Right? 00:27:33.940 --> 00:27:36.019 And after everything Jesus has done for us, 00:27:36.579 --> 00:27:38.180 we want his kingdom to come. 00:27:38.380 --> 00:27:39.920 We want his justice to reign. 00:27:40.140 --> 00:27:42.539 We want to be his loyal subjects. 00:27:42.539 --> 00:27:45.500 And the second thing, 00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:47.680 at least the second thing David tells us we should search for, 00:27:48.319 --> 00:27:50.299 and that is the way everlasting. 00:27:51.319 --> 00:27:51.759 Right? 00:27:51.819 --> 00:27:54.759 Not only should we be searching out our own sin and killing it, 00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:59.079 but we should be searching out how to live our lives in a way that glorifies God, 00:27:59.619 --> 00:28:02.159 that signals to the world that he has saved us, 00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:03.779 that we are his. 00:28:05.159 --> 00:28:08.240 And that's how David ends this Psalm in verses 23 through 24. 00:28:08.579 --> 00:28:08.659 Right? 00:28:08.779 --> 00:28:09.279 Search me, 00:28:09.339 --> 00:28:09.680 O God, 00:28:09.819 --> 00:28:10.599 and know my heart. 00:28:10.700 --> 00:28:12.519 Try me and know my thoughts. 00:28:12.539 --> 00:28:15.579 And see if there is any grievous way in me, 00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:18.240 and lead me in the way everlasting. 00:28:20.379 --> 00:28:22.599 David wants God to fully know him. 00:28:23.240 --> 00:28:24.639 To know his worries, 00:28:24.940 --> 00:28:25.720 his hopes, 00:28:25.819 --> 00:28:26.420 his doubts, 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:27.639 his aspirations. 00:28:27.639 --> 00:28:29.279 And he is looking to God 00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:32.399 to show him how to live amidst all those feelings. 00:28:34.119 --> 00:28:34.399 Well, 00:28:34.420 --> 00:28:36.579 God knew that's what David was looking for, 00:28:36.579 --> 00:28:39.179 and he led David in the way everlasting. 00:28:40.919 --> 00:28:42.859 Is that also your heart's desire? 00:28:43.980 --> 00:28:46.379 Is that also what you're searching for? 00:28:46.380 --> 00:28:53.380 My hope is that you will also make verses 23 through 24 your prayer. 00:28:54.080 --> 00:28:54.600 Right? 00:28:54.680 --> 00:28:57.180 And you can pray them even more confidently, 00:28:57.180 --> 00:28:58.920 and even more boldly than David, 00:28:59.080 --> 00:29:03.080 because you know already what Jesus has accomplished for you. 00:29:04.080 --> 00:29:04.480 Right? 00:29:04.520 --> 00:29:06.880 You can boldly ask God to search you, 00:29:07.080 --> 00:29:08.340 and know you, 00:29:08.339 --> 00:29:11.159 because you know that God fully loves you 00:29:11.159 --> 00:29:12.559 based on Jesus' life, 00:29:13.059 --> 00:29:13.379 death, 00:29:13.579 --> 00:29:14.220 and resurrection. 00:29:16.339 --> 00:29:18.299 Let me close with a personal story. 00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:19.879 When I was in high school, 00:29:19.939 --> 00:29:21.159 I had a Bible teacher who I really, 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:22.000 really enjoyed 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:23.639 because he was not only knowledgeable 00:29:23.639 --> 00:29:24.839 about his subject, 00:29:24.839 --> 00:29:27.179 but he also really cared about his students. 00:29:27.180 --> 00:29:29.820 So I really enjoyed taking his class, 00:29:29.940 --> 00:29:31.420 but one time in the middle of the semester, 00:29:31.539 --> 00:29:32.620 there was a test or a midterm, 00:29:32.840 --> 00:29:33.980 and I didn't study well for it. 00:29:34.039 --> 00:29:35.660 I pretty much didn't study at all for it. 00:29:35.860 --> 00:29:36.940 And so on the day of the test, 00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:38.740 I cheated in order to get a better grade. 00:29:39.940 --> 00:29:40.120 Now, 00:29:40.160 --> 00:29:41.279 the first couple days, 00:29:41.420 --> 00:29:42.539 I felt nervous. 00:29:42.940 --> 00:29:43.759 I felt ashamed. 00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:45.620 But after a week went by, 00:29:45.980 --> 00:29:47.279 and nothing happened, 00:29:47.380 --> 00:29:48.720 and so I knew he didn't catch me. 00:29:50.340 --> 00:29:51.620 But unbeknownst to me, 00:29:51.720 --> 00:29:54.620 one of my friends in the class saw me cheat, 00:29:54.619 --> 00:29:57.419 and she actually went and told my teacher. 00:29:57.699 --> 00:29:58.519 And so a week later, 00:29:58.619 --> 00:29:59.679 I get a text from him, 00:30:00.019 --> 00:30:00.919 and he says, 00:30:01.019 --> 00:30:01.179 hey, 00:30:01.339 --> 00:30:02.519 would love to take you out for lunch. 00:30:02.779 --> 00:30:03.779 And in my head, 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:05.359 I thought he wanted to catch up 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:06.879 on how life was. 00:30:06.939 --> 00:30:07.939 I was a senior at the time. 00:30:08.019 --> 00:30:09.099 I thought he wanted to ask me 00:30:09.099 --> 00:30:10.319 about my college applications 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:11.259 and how they were going. 00:30:12.439 --> 00:30:12.679 Naively, 00:30:12.919 --> 00:30:14.939 I thought that he was going to tell me 00:30:14.939 --> 00:30:17.059 how well I was doing in that class. 00:30:18.219 --> 00:30:19.719 I had no idea what was coming. 00:30:20.919 --> 00:30:22.079 But so we got to lunch, 00:30:22.099 --> 00:30:22.859 and we sat down, 00:30:22.939 --> 00:30:24.259 and he said two words to me 00:30:24.259 --> 00:30:25.720 that I still remember to this day 00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:28.539 that shook me to my very core. 00:30:28.759 --> 00:30:29.660 When we sat down, 00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:30.900 he said the words to me, 00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:32.980 I know. 00:30:35.460 --> 00:30:36.700 When I heard those two words, 00:30:36.859 --> 00:30:37.579 I froze. 00:30:37.879 --> 00:30:39.339 My heart was beating so fast. 00:30:39.440 --> 00:30:40.640 I thought those two words 00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:42.519 were going to be my condemnation. 00:30:43.879 --> 00:30:45.759 I thought I was going to get kicked out of school. 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:47.720 I thought I was going to get rejected 00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:49.240 by all the colleges I applied to. 00:30:49.319 --> 00:30:51.220 I thought I was going to bring shame on my family. 00:30:51.220 --> 00:30:52.360 I thought I was going to be rejected 00:30:52.360 --> 00:30:54.720 and forsaken by all my friends. 00:30:57.220 --> 00:30:58.339 But those two words, 00:30:58.440 --> 00:30:59.819 instead of being my condemnation, 00:31:00.180 --> 00:31:02.339 restored me and gave me life. 00:31:03.480 --> 00:31:06.180 I still had to suffer the consequences of my sin. 00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:07.140 I still failed that test, 00:31:07.220 --> 00:31:08.519 but I was not kicked out of school. 00:31:08.819 --> 00:31:10.500 My teacher did not forsake me. 00:31:11.579 --> 00:31:13.779 Instead, what he did was he prayed with me. 00:31:14.600 --> 00:31:15.860 He cried with me. 00:31:15.859 --> 00:31:19.039 He forgave me for what I did. 00:31:19.099 --> 00:31:21.799 He loved that dumb 17-year-old boy 00:31:21.799 --> 00:31:25.199 who thought his world was crashing down. 00:31:27.779 --> 00:31:28.699 Brothers and sisters, 00:31:28.839 --> 00:31:30.719 you have a God who is saying to you, 00:31:31.139 --> 00:31:32.240 I know. 00:31:33.859 --> 00:31:35.979 You have a God who knows your circumstances, 00:31:36.919 --> 00:31:38.299 who knows your sin, 00:31:39.159 --> 00:31:41.619 who knows that you long to be fully known 00:31:41.619 --> 00:31:42.899 and fully loved, 00:31:42.900 --> 00:31:45.759 and the good news is he does. 00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:49.620 God fully knows you 00:31:49.620 --> 00:31:51.600 and he fully loves you 00:31:51.600 --> 00:31:53.120 because of his son, Jesus. 00:31:54.800 --> 00:31:56.980 So may we entrust our lives fully to him, 00:31:57.380 --> 00:31:59.780 knowing that he will lead us in the way everlasting. 00:32:00.100 --> 00:32:00.300 Amen? 00:32:00.980 --> 00:32:01.660 Let's pray. 00:32:02.380 --> 00:32:03.240 Dear Heavenly Father, 00:32:03.320 --> 00:32:05.880 we thank you that you are a God who knows us. 00:32:06.780 --> 00:32:08.300 We thank you that you are the God 00:32:08.300 --> 00:32:09.880 who formed us in our mother's womb, 00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:12.180 that you are the God who has numbered our days, 00:32:12.180 --> 00:32:13.980 that you are the God who knows us 00:32:13.980 --> 00:32:16.440 and cares for us from womb to tomb, 00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:17.880 and that you are always with us. 00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:22.060 We praise you that even the darkness is not dark to you, 00:32:22.140 --> 00:32:24.060 and that you sent your son, Jesus Christ, 00:32:24.200 --> 00:32:26.500 to suffer the ultimate darkness for us, 00:32:26.640 --> 00:32:29.220 and in doing so, turn that darkness into light. 00:32:30.420 --> 00:32:33.220 May we live our lives echoing David's prayer in this psalm, 00:32:33.320 --> 00:32:35.340 search us, O God, and know our hearts. 00:32:35.460 --> 00:32:37.220 Try us and know our thoughts. 00:32:37.740 --> 00:32:39.580 See if there is any grievous way in us, 00:32:39.940 --> 00:32:41.240 and lead us in the way everlasting. 00:32:41.240 --> 00:32:42.839 It's in Jesus' name we pray. 00:32:43.140 --> 00:32:43.359 Amen.