Sermon Central
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Overcoming Heartache
Contributed by Ralph Andrus on Nov 22, 2005 (message contributor)
Summary: - If you are struggling with an identity crisis - You are not sure just who you are - You need to know Ps 139
Overcoming Heartache
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- I’m going to give you an identity crisis.
- With the question of ‘Who am I?’
- Especially when we discover that our earth is but a tiny speck in a vast universe
- I’m within that speck on an obscure planet located in a second rate galaxy among billions of other galaxies in a great universe.
To understand this
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- The sun is our nearest star. How big is the sun
compared to our earth? A million spheres the size of our earth can fit into the sun.
- How far away is the sun from the earth?
93 million miles.
- If one inch represented 10 million miles, how far would I have to go before I reached the sun. I could take one step and I’d be there.
- If I wanted to get to the next nearest star, I would have to walk forty miles.
- The second nearest star is 300,000 times as far away as the sun.
- Milky Way 100,000 light years across in diameter and
3000 light years thick
- The Milky Way galaxy .
- Compare a galaxy like a beach in space.
- Sand on the beach are stars (100 billion stars in this galaxy.)
- Going from beach to beach (Galaxy to galaxy)
A Speed of Light Viewpoint (186,000 miles per sec.)
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- Moon to Earth 1.2 sec.
- Earth to Sun 8.5 min
- Sun to Solar System 5:40 Hr.
- To our nearest star 4.3 years (Alpha Centauri)
- Across the Milky Way 100,000 years
- This could make me feel insignificant.
- Having absolute no value
- Then Ps 139 puts everything into perspective
- My true relationship with God
- If you are struggling with an identity crisis
- You are not sure just who you are
- You need to know Ps 139
- Broken into four parts of six verses each.
- In each part the psalmist faces a question about himself in relationship to God.
- Summery statements are given at the first and last of the Psalm
- God is searching us - v.1
- My desire to be searched by God - v.23
1) ‘How Well Does God Know Me?
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v. 1-6
- God knows everything about me
- What does that mean
• He Knows Everything I Do
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- v. 2- Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising
• He Knows My Every Thought
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- v.2 - Thou understandest my thoughts afar off
• He Knows Everywhere I Go
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- v. 3
- Compass - Circling around me.
(Heb. Winnow sifting)
- Scrutinizing me from every angle
• He Knows My Every Word
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- v. 4
- There are the Words we say
- Then the words we want to say the unspoken word
- Words have wide meaning
- The innuendoes are known “altogether”
- Knowing this about God can be frightening or encouraging
- Frightening because we want to hid our sin
- Encouraging because there is intimacy with Him
• What He Does With This Knowledge
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- v. 5
- “Beset Me” - Fortifies me with protection
- Gives me His stronghold
- He is also on the point and is covering our backside
• Never Caught by Surprise
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- v. 6
- He knows me perfectly
- He has every conceivable action to me covered
2) How Near Is God to Me?
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v. 7-12
• v. 7 Asks the question - Can I ever be away from God
- Question asked twice - Answer I am never alone
- Jonah tried to do this in Jonah 1:3
Any Limitations?
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• v.7-9
- As High & low
- Far & Wide – East & West
- Even if I could travel faster the light you are there with me
- v. 11-12
- Using ever conceivable means of hiding you are still now and still are there
- v. 10 Gives the promise assurance - He is there
3) How Can I Know All This For Sure?
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v.13-18
• Because of my creative design of my body.
- v. 13, 15-16
• Be impressed by the abundance of revelation from God
- v. 17-18 - The heart is the strongest muscle in the body, beating an average of 100,000 times a day. Weighing less than a pound, it pumps blood through the 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the body.
- Scientists now calculate that if the electronic energy in the hydrogen atoms of our body could be utilized, you could supply all of the electrical needs of a large, industrialized country for nearly a week. A DuPont scientist said that the atoms of your body contain a potential energy of more than 11,000,000-kilowatt hours per pound of body weight. By this estimate, the average person is worth about $85,000,000!
