Our Personal God

It is an honor to be with you all here this morning to fill in for Jason,

and hopefully I can do half as well as we look at God's word this morning.

Psalm 139, to the choir master, a psalm of David.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up.

You discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it all together.

You hem me in behind and before and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.

It is high.

I cannot attain it.

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 Sheol, 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.

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.

For you formed my inward parts.

You knitted me together in my mother's womb.

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.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

If I could count them, there are more than the sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

Oh, that you would slay the wicked, O God!

O men of blood, depart from me!

They speak against you with malicious intent.

Your enemies take your name in vain.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

I hate them with complete hatred.

I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart.

Try me and know my thoughts.

See if there be any grievous way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the God is everlasting.

You may be seated.

My note, my bookmarks are falling out.

There we go.

A.W. Tozer, in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, begins his book this way.

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.

For this reason, the gravest question before the church is always God himself.

And the most portentous or important fact of any man is not necessarily what at any given time he may say or do,

but what deep in his heart he conceives God to be like.

We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God.

So in other words, if I can paraphrase, our conception or our understanding of who God is

will help to orient us in our daily walk,

in how we worship,

the direction of our families,

and ultimately the direction of our church.

So this morning, as we begin,

how would you describe God?

What's some of the first things to come to mind when you think of who God is?

Is he loving?

Merciful?

Powerful?

Maybe he's limited.

Maybe he's angry.

He's unfair.

Is God intimate and personal to you today?

This morning?

Have you built trust with God?

Have you built a relationship with him?

Or perhaps where you are right now, he is distant.

Maybe impersonal.

Maybe he's a philosophical, abstract idea.

Something you haven't grasped personally yet.

Maybe most importantly is your description and understanding of who God is

biblical and accurate.

Well, wherever you are this morning,

as we look at Psalm 139,

I want each and every one of you to be able to walk out of here

with a right understanding of who God is.

If our conception of God is the most important thing about us,

then I think it behooves us

to ensure that we have a right understanding of God,

to dive into the scriptures,

to look at it.

If you're here this morning,

and maybe you don't even agree with the premise of what I just read,

well then let me, hopefully this next 30 minutes,

will help to persuade you

that you really need to think about who God is.

By seeing who God is,

we must strive to align our perspective and our conception,

lest we violate the second commandment,

and we create an image of God

in our own making.

So Holy Spirit,

I ask that you will

open our eyes,

our minds,

our hearts,

that we may have the same understanding of God

that David the psalmist has.

Before we begin and dive in,

let us go before God in prayer.

Oh God,

your word is more precious than fine gold

and sweeter than purest honey.

As we turn to look to your scripture,

send your Holy Spirit to infuse your word with truth and grace,

so the good news of your personal love and care and provision

would shine before us this morning

and delight our senses,

so that we cannot help but to respond with wonder,

worship,

faith,

and trust.

Lord,

help me now to proclaim your truth

so that we may know you better.

In Christ's holy name,

Amen.

As we look at the scripture,

as we look at Psalm 139,

depending on how your Bible breaks it out,

you may see that there are essentially four stanzas.

Verses 1 through 6,

7 through 12,

13 through 18,

and 19 through 24.

Each of these stanzas are made up of the first four verses.

David provides a theme for us.

And then the last two verses of each stanza

are a little couplet

that emphasize or reinvigorate that theme.

If you are here this morning taking notes,

I have a little line or term for each of these stanzas.

They all begin with the sound N,

but as my young daughter is learning,

not every word that starts with an N starts with an N.

Sometimes we're going to start with a K.

So the first stanza is God knows you.

That's the one that starts with a K.

The second stanza is God is near you.

The third stanza,

God knit you.

God created you.

And the fourth stanza,

God is the nemesis of the wicked.

Not a common word,

but I'll explain that one as we get there.

Join me and look with me there at the first stanza.

God knows you.

Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me.

When I go to Google

and I'm searching for something on the internet,

it's not because I know what it is

before I search for it, right?

But this is not the idea of God searching us

as if God does not know something about us.

This term here is used for a thorough examination.

God is examining us,

is searching us intimately and deeply.

And the idea of knowing here

is knowing us at an intimate,

deep, personal level.

The word for Lord here is Yahweh,

Almighty God, Lord of hosts,

the Almighty Creator God knows you.

What an amazing and sobering thought.

And then David goes on to describe

some of the ways that God knows us.

Verse two, you know when I sit down

and when I rise up.

God knows everything the psalmist does.

Whether resting,

watching TV,

reading a book,

working,

exercising,

using your phone,

eating a meal.

God knows what you are doing.

He discerns his thoughts from afar.

Before we take any actions,

God knows our invisible thoughts.

And not just your thoughts,

but the motivations for the actions you have.

These are thoughts that flitter through our mind

and are gone again.

Sometimes these are embarrassing thoughts

as we think about what God has seen in our minds.

These are the deep,

heartful longings and desires

upon which we dwell

and mull over

our heart longs for.

Nothing is hidden from God.

Verse three,

you search out my path

and my lying down

and are acquainted with all of my ways.

The concept of path here

has to do with the public areas.

When we go out to the store,

we're at work,

God knows.

The idea of lying down

is privacy

and the privacy of your own home.

The four walls of your house

do not block God's view

from what is happening

inside of your house.

There is nowhere we can go

that God does not know about.

Now one thing that David

did not have to deal with

is smartphones or computers.

But God knows where you go digitally

just as much as physically.

The Lord is intimately acquainted

with all of our ways.

Look at verse four,

even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord,

you know it all together.

The Lord knows what you're going to say

before you even say it.

And then the negative phrasing here

that David uses

is a poetic way

of noting the emphasis.

Even before a word is on my tongue.

The Lord knows what I'm going to say

in five minutes,

even though I don't know exactly

what I'm going to say yet.

Hopefully based on my notes,

I have a semblance of any idea

of what I'm going to say.

But I don't know what I'm going to say

in five minutes.

The Lord knows perfectly

what will come out of my mouth.

Though we might try to conceal

what we're thinking

from other people,

God knows.

And the totality

and the completeness

is emphasized

in that final word

of verse four,

all together.

You and I cannot deceive God.

God knows who I am.

God knows who you are.

God knows who you are.

To emphasize this,

David in verse five continues,

you hem me in

behind and before

and you lay your hand upon me.

This idea of hemming in

is to surround us.

You and I cannot escape

God's knowledge of us.

He is behind us,

scouting out before us.

He's flanking on our left,

guiding us on the right.

Nothing is going to get past

God to us

without his knowledge.

And under his watch,

there is nothing

we can ever do

to outmaneuver

or outsmart

our Heavenly Father.

Remember Jonah?

What did Jonah try to do?

He ran away

from God's instruction

to go and preach

at Nineveh.

He tried to go

the direct opposite direction.

Was there a point

where God didn't know

where Jonah was?

No, of course not.

God knew where Jonah was

the entire time.

He sent the storm

to remind Jonah.

And as they threw Jonah overboard

in the midst of the sea,

God provided a fish

to swallow Jonah up

to save him from drowning.

It was the first recorded

prayer meeting

under the sea.

The Lord's hand

was there with Jonah

to preserve

and to protect

and to guide

despite Jonah's

direct rebellion

and disobedience.

Similarly,

the hand of God

here in Psalm 139

is not a hand

of oppression.

It's a hand

of care,

of guidance,

of provision

and protection.

I'm reminded

of Jesus'

reassurance.

my father

is greater

than all

and no one

is able

to snatch

a single one

of my sheep

that hear

the shepherd's voice

out of my father's hands.

John 10.

There is no

safer place

to be

than in the hands

of the son

and of almighty God.

Now,

before we look

at verse 6,

I want you to look down

in your Bible

and count

the number

of times

that the words

I and my

are used

while I get

a sip of water.

Would you have

the number?

Go ahead

and shout it out.

Go ahead.

You have a number?

Go ahead.

I'm going to make

this a little bit

interactive.

I don't know

if Jason ever

do this.

How many

I's and my's

there,

depending on

your version

of scripture

there?

I'm sorry,

yeah,

for verses

1 through 5.

1 through 5.

I should have

been more

explicit.

8?

Somebody's got

8?

Anybody else

have a different

number?

I've got 11

in my version

of the ESV.

I know,

I have an older

version of the ESV.

11 times

in those first

5 verses,

David uses

the term

my or I.

What's the point

of pointing this out?

Couldn't David,

the psalmist,

have just said

God knows

everything?

God is

omniscient?

He would have

been correct,

right?

If he had just

said God

knows everything.

But that's not

what David

chose to do.

God's knowledge

of us,

God's knowledge

of everything

is not an

abstract,

theoretical

construct.

God's knowledge

of you and I

is deeply

personal.

It is

experiential.

Hence the

title of my

message this

morning,

our personal

God.

God knows

my ins

and outs,

my likes,

my dislikes,

my habits,

my hobbies,

my weaknesses,

my sins,

my deepest

desires and

struggles.

God knows

everything

about who

I am.

The false

gods

that were

worshipped in

the ancient

Near East

were not

personal.

those that

didn't actually

interact with

people,

with humans,

were not

caring,

were not

loving.

In contrast,

David, I think,

is intentionally

drawing a deep

contrast in

calling out the

intimate,

personal relationship

that the

Heavenly Father

has with

David.

God is

loving.

He is

caring.

He wants

to get to

know us.

And what

is David's

response to

God knowing

him,

everything he

does and

says and

thinks?

Look there

at verse

six.

Such knowledge

is too

wonderful for

me.

It is high.

I cannot

attain it.

The

psalmist here

cries out and

is praising God

for his

knowledge.

At the

same time,

he is

comforted and

encouraged that

God knows

everything about

him.

Do you

find God's

intimate,

personal

knowledge of

everything you

say and do

and think

comforting?

Or deep

down,

does it

terrify us

just a little

bit,

that God

knows our

deepest

secrets?

Dwell on

that for

now.

We're going

to circle

back near

the end

here.

So the

first point

is God

knows you.

The second

stanza,

God is

near us.

Look there

at verse

seven.

Where should

I go from

your spirit?

Or where

shall I flee

from your

presence?

These are

purely

rhetorical

questions.

The psalmist

here is not

necessarily

trying to

flee God,

but rather

it's a

figure of

speech.

If I

were to

run away,

where can

I go?

And he

provides some

examples.

Verse eight,

if I ascend

to heaven,

you are

there.

If I

make my

bed in

Sheol,

you are

there.

Whether I

go to the

skies,

heavens,

whether I

go under

the ground

to the

ground,

Sheol,

God is

there.

These are

the vertical

extremes of

David's world

then.

Verse nine,

if I take

the wings of

the morning

and dwell in

the uttermost

parts of

the sea,

again,

the wings of

the morning,

the sun is

rising in

the east.

Where Israel

was to the

west would

have been the

Mediterranean Sea,

the extent

of the

known world

at that

time,

dwell in

the uttermost

parts of

the sea.

Israel was

not a

great seafaring

nation,

so David's

understanding of

the sea would

have been a

little limited,

but he

understands that

if he goes to

the farthest

extent of what

David knows the

world to be

then,

God will still

be there.

So the east

or the west?

And not

just that God

will be there,

but God's

hand is on

him.

Look at

verse 10.

Even there

your hand

shall still

lead me,

and your

right hand

shall hold

me.

This is the

leading,

protecting,

shepherding,

and caring

hand of the

Lord that

harkens back

to what I

was just

talking about

in verse

five.

That David's

like,

ah,

maybe darkness,

maybe darkness

can hide me.

Verse 11.

If I say,

surely the

darkness shall

cover me,

and the light

about me at

night,

but even the

darkness is

not dark to

you.

The night is

as bright as

the day,

for darkness

is as light

with you.

It might be

difficult for you

and I to see

in the dark,

but the dark

does not hide

us from God.

God can see

in the dark

just like we

can see here

this morning.

He sees

everything that

happens under

the cover of

night.

Thus,

as we see

David here,

both God's

omniscience,

God's knowing

everything,

and his

omnipresence,

God being

everywhere,

both of these

things are

comforting and

encouraging to

David.

All of us

have various

moments of our

lives,

walked through

the valley

of the

shadow of

death,

whether

oppression

or opposition

in this

world,

loneliness,

despair,

depression,

poverty,

want,

abuse,

neglect,

whatever your

life experience

is,

God has

been with

you,

and God

is with

you today.

even more

importantly,

for those of

us in

Christ here

this morning,

who are

walking by

faith and

holding to

Christ's death

on the cross

as the

payment for

a penalty

for our

sins,

we have

now the

comforter,

the Holy

Spirit,

who has

sealed us

and is

dwelling within

us this

morning.

Almighty

God has

taken up

residence in

you this

morning.

This is

something that

we have in

the New

Testament,

the New

Covenant,

that David

would not

necessarily

be experienced

fully in

the Old

Covenant.

I'm reminded

of Romans

8.

There is

nothing,

neither death,

nor life,

nor angels,

nor rulers,

nor things

present,

nor things

to come,

nor powers,

nor height,

nor depth,

nor anything

else in all

of creation

will be able

to separate

you from

the love of

God in

Christ Jesus

our Lord.

What a

comforting

reminder

that God's

presence

brings to

us.

You might

know that

God is

near.

You might

agree,

but you

really live

like God

is near.

You can,

and you

should.

You should

shout out

to him,

God is

near you.

This is

what David

wants us

to understand

about God.

God

knit you

together.

God

created

you.

Look at

verse 13

with me.

For you,

you being

God,

for you

formed my

inward

parts.

You

knitted me

together

in my

mother's

womb.

God

formed your

inward

parts.

If these

first two

points,

these first

two stanzas

of Psalm

139 don't

get this

point across,

David is

going to

get even

more intimate

and more

personal in

the third

stanza.

This word

knitted is

often used

for tapestries.

If you've

ever seen a

tapestry of

all the

threads woven

together to

form a

beautiful picture,

if you flip it

around, what's

it look like?

Y'all ever

seen that

before?

It's a

mess,

yeah.

You look

inside of us,

it might look

like a jumbled

mess,

but God

has created

and knitted

us together.

God has

formed our

genes, our

DNA, our

organs, our

muscles, our

sinews, our

veins, skin,

hair, in

just the way

he wanted.

Nowadays

say, there's

probably something

about us that

we wish God

had made a

little bit

different.

But he

made you

just the way

he wanted.

He gave

you personality.

He gave

you a

temperament.

He gave

you certain

skills.

He gave

you certain

abilities.

He gave

you a

unique

laugh.

He gave

you unique

fingerprints.

All of

this is

unique to

you.

And the

psalmist

David here

in verse

14, he

can't help

but just

stop himself

and just

praise God

for what

he has

done for

David.

I praise

you for I

am fearfully

and wonderfully

made.

Wonderful

are your

works.

My soul

knows it

very well.

I have a

brother who

is a medical

doctor and

I have a

brother-in-law

now who

has just

graduated from

medical school

and every

time we get

together and

discuss about

the beauty

and intricacies

of the human

body, I

cannot fathom

how other

people in the

world can

look at the

human body,

the genomes,

the DNA,

the structure

of the

eye, how

they believe

that they

have been

formed by

random

mathematical

chance that

originated in

a pool of

water.

I can't

fathom it.

I was going

to list off

some amazing

facts of the

human body

but I was

already running

long so I'm

going to mention

one.

The ability

of the human

body to heal

itself is

amazing if you

think about it.

from a

little paper

cut to a

broken bone

to viruses

to disease

God has

created the

human body

to recuperate

to heal

itself.

Just

astounding.

Everything about

how our bodies

point to a

designer and a

creator.

David continues

God's eyes

saw our

unformed

substance.

Even before

we were

God saw

us.

In your

book were

written every

one of

them the

days that

were formed

for me

when as

yet there

were none

of them.

God has

been near

you not

just since

you were

born but

he has

been with

you since

you were

in your

mother's

womb.

If he

goes further

he knows

all of

your days

that were

already written

down in

his book

the idea

of a

journal or

a commentary

before you

existed for

a single

day

God knew

everything

about you.

No one

else can

see this

book.

No one

not even

yourself can

ever change

any part of

what God

has written.

You cannot

add a day

you cannot

subtract a

day for

God has

already numbered

your days.

Everything

that I do

everything

that you

do

God

already

knows.

His

knowledge

is

complete

and

perfect.

Now I'd

be remiss

here if I

didn't point

out that

this passage

is one of

the strongest

evidences from

the Bible

in support

of the

personhood

of the

preborn.

One of the

common phrases

that the

world uses

is that

I can do

whatever I

want with

my body.

this assumes

that the

preborn is

just a part

of a

woman's

body.

Based on

the science

we have

today and

the evidence

of scriptures

here this

morning,

especially

some of the

pronouns that

David uses

here,

which clearly

distinguishes

his body,

his preborn

body,

from his

mother's

body,

we have

a distinct

and biblical

evidence for

the personhood

of the

preborn.

We do

well to

understand

why

we

protect

the

preborn.

What is

David's

response to

all this

knowledge of

what God

has done

to knit

him

together?

Look there

at verse

17.

How precious

to me are

your thoughts,

O God!

How vast

is the sum

of them!

If I

could count

them,

they are

more than

the sand.

I awake

and I am

still with

you.

This idea

of precious

is that

they're worthy

they're

heavy.

How many

are God's

thoughts?

More than

the sand.

God's

thoughts

encompass

our entire

lives.

He knows

what is

best for

us,

not today,

not just

tomorrow,

not just

next month,

not in

five years,

but for

eternity.

Being able

to retain

this much

information is

unfathomable

to me.

Talking to

the guys

here first,

let's be

honest,

you and

I can

barely have

two or

three thoughts

at the

same time,

right?

Ladies,

maybe you

can handle

a hundred

thoughts

at the

same time,

but that

is still

well short

of what

our Heavenly

Father can

fathom all

at the

same time.

He knows

our thoughts.

He knows

the thoughts

of everyone

here this

morning,

including

those who

are daydreaming

and not

paying attention

to me while

I'm joining

on up here.

If you're

daydreaming,

God knows

your thoughts.

Come back,

hear me out,

listen to

this.

God

personally

knows

you.

God is

personally

near to

you.

God

writing all

the days

of our

lives

point to

a big

truth of

scripture

that God

is sovereign.

This is a

big word

that means

that God

is powerful.

He is in

control of

everything.

This can

be a

comfort and

a consolation

to us

because we

know that

nothing can

happen to

us that

God already

doesn't

know.

In

plenty,

in want,

in health,

in pain,

in comfort,

in suffering,

we often

want to

know how

our lives

are going

to turn

out.

What is

the Lord

doing?

But David

says here,

I trust

you,

O Lord,

for your

thoughts are

precious.

They are

worthy.

You have

written all

the days

of my

life.

I can't

begin to

fathom and

count your

knowledge.

It is too

wonderful for

me.

Now the

matter of

God's

sovereignty is

a heavy

topic and

we don't

have the

time or

place this

morning to

dive in

and fully

unpack it,

but one

application that

I do want

us to consider

this morning.

It is

not wise or

fruitful for

us to

ever have

to worry

or be

anxious about

what's going

to happen

tomorrow.

The Lord

in the

Gospels

himself warns

us not to

be anxious

for tomorrow,

for our

Heavenly

Father knows

all that

you need.

What does

he say

next?

But seek

first the

kingdom of

God and

his

righteousness,

and all

these things,

food,

clothing,

housing,

provision,

will be added

to you.

We are

to live

by faith

day in

and day

out.

Our

understanding,

our grasp

of God's

provision and

plan for

us should

strengthen our

faith as

the Lord

works everything

out for

our good

and his

glory.

Trusting in

God should

increase our

love and

affection for

him and

increase our

passion and

zeal for

worshiping

him.

David is

pretty clear

in stanza

four that

not everyone

acknowledges

this God.

This God

that knows

you, that

is near you,

that has

knit you

together.

There are

people, maybe

even within

the church,

that conduct

their lives as

if God did

not know

them, as

if God is

not watching

them, as

if God did

not know

their very

being.

we see a

rather jarring

shift in

David's tone

and content,

the vengeance

of the Lord.

Or as I

put it, to

keep my

Baptist

not

alliteration

consonants,

no I should

have looked

that up,

whatever, to

keep the

ends going,

God is the

nemesis of

the wicked.

The nemesis

is retributive

justice.

A common

definition might

be arch enemy.

A little

more archaic

definition that's

not as common

now, it's the

agent of

someone's

downfall.

God will

bring vengeance

and God is

the nemesis

of the

wicked.

Look at

verses 19

with me.

David shifts

his tone and

says, oh that

you would slay

the wicked,

oh God,

oh men of

blood, depart

from me.

They speak

against you

with malicious

intent.

Your enemies

take your

name in

vain.

Do I not

hate those

who hate

you, oh

Lord?

And do I

not loathe

those who

rise up

against you?

I hate

them with

complete

hatred.

I count

them my

enemies.

This is

what's called

an imprecatory

prayer.

This is David

praying out to

God, calling

for God to

show his

vengeance, to

bring his

vengeance against

the wicked.

These are

men that

have blood

on their

hands.

They're

murderers.

They deny

God's very

existence.

They deny

that God

is present.

They are

blasphemers who

speak against

God.

These are

people that

hate God.

Maybe our

first thought

as we're reading

Psalm 139 is

where does this

come from?

this was a

nice poetic

psalm,

uplifting,

encouraging,

and David

turns around

and is like,

kill them

God.

I don't

think it's

completely out of

left field

though.

For the

first 18

verses of

this chapter,

David has

been meditating

on who

God is.

The

immensity

of God's

knowledge,

his care,

his love,

his sovereignty,

have caused

David to

worship him,

to esteem

God,

to wonder

at how big

and great

he is.

And when

you and I

love and

appreciate God

as much as

David does

here in

Psalm 139,

you and I

ought to find

anything that

is against

God to be

revolting,

despicable,

something that

needs to be

opposed.

men,

wouldn't the

love for

your wife

and your

children cause

hatred and

justice to

rise up,

of someone to

desire evil

on them,

going to the

worst to

defile them?

Mothers,

ladies,

wouldn't your

mother bear

instincts kink

in if

somebody came

after one of

your little

ones?

You would

hate the

evil.

evil.

You would

hate the

evildoer

because of

the object

of that

evil,

somebody you

love,

somebody you

cherish.

evil.

I don't

see David

in Psalm

139 being

any different,

just the

object is

different.

David's

hatred is

directed at

those who

oppose God,

still evil.

As I was

preparing, I

was listening to

Alistair Begg preach

on one Psalm

39, and I

couldn't put it

any differently,

so I'm just

going to quote

him and

paraphrase it

to make it a

little bit

shorter.

He puts it

this way,

David sees

how evil

evil is,

but we

often fail

to.

As a result

of this, we

are uncomfortable

with God's

justice and

wrath.

We fail to

see how

holy God

is.

A holy

God cannot

stand evil,

evil, and

he must

punish

evildoers.

I'll

posit that

if you

are uncomfortable

with a

passage like

this this

morning,

maybe you

don't fully

understand God's

wrath and

justice against

sin and

evil.

Maybe you're

too comfortable

with the evil

that is around

us.

We must

hate

evil.

We are

often unsure

what to do

with this,

but

imprecatory

prayers are

not something

that we

just find

in the

Old

Testament.

Jesus

himself

references

Psalm 69,

another

imprecatory

prayer,

multiple

times.

We see it

in John

15 and

Matthew

27.

Jesus

himself,

before he

goes to

the cross

in Matthew

23,

has a

series of

curses,

promising

vengeance on

those that

oppose him.

The

apostle Paul

also uses

Psalm 69

in Romans

11.

And maybe

the most

poignant

language is

what Paul

says in

Galatians

1,

where he

uses very

strong language

against those

preaching another

gospel.

If anyone

is preaching

another different

gospel,

let them be

accursed.

That is

damned.

They are

anathema.

They are to

be cut

off.

Is that the

way you think

about evil?

Nearby to

where Calvary

Redeeming

Grace meets,

there is a

so-called

church,

the so-called

preacher,

that twists

the gospel

into a

message of

hope,

not based

on Christ,

but on

an amalgamation,

a syncretism

of personal

empowerment,

of spiritual

meditation.

I must confess

that almost

every time I

drive by this

so-called

church,

I have

prayed one

of these

imprecatory

prayers against

this church.

I have

asked God

to stop

the deception