Psalms - Songs for the Journey: Psalm 139 - God's Got You! | Pastor René Dekker

Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is

an international church in Bangkok, Thailand,

with dozens of nationalities worshiping together.

We invite you to connect with us from wherever

you are through our website, ecb .asia, or our

mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed

by this week's sermon. Well, today we continue

our sermon series from the Psalms called Songs

for the Journey. The book of Psalms, as you may

know, is called the songbook for the church.

And the word psalm even means that. It means

song sung to harp music. Well, the harp has kind

of vanished from our contemporary music. Well,

here's a funny story, by the way. When I was

eight years old, my mom and dad put me through

a music course so I could taste and see musical

instruments. And after a year of that, I knew

it. I wanted to play the harp. So on the day

that I came back home and I told my mom and dad,

I want to play that. I couldn't even finish because

they bought me a piano. So anyway. The harp has

kind of left the stage. It's still a great instrument,

by the way. Kind of left the stage for the singing

of worship songs and psalms. And like here at

ECB, we have replaced it for more contemporary

music. But forget about the musical accompaniment

for a moment. The psalms includes language to

express our deepest thoughts and emotions to

God. Whether those are feelings and thoughts

about praise and thanksgiving, or about pain

and desperation, even our complaints to God,

it's all captured there in the Psalms. Songs

written by people like you and me, inspired by

the Holy Spirit. Well, those of you who don't

like to sing probably don't want to hear this,

but did you know that God commands us over and

over and over in Scripture to sing to Him? It's

true. Even for the grumpy ones who don't like

singing and worship like this all the time, God

commands us to sing. Like here in Colossians

3, which says, Let the message of Christ dwell

among you richly as you teach and admonish one

another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns,

and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with

gratitude in your hearts. Apparently, to have

the message of Jesus dwell in us, come alive

in us we have to sing songs why is that well

it's because god made us embodied people so next

to a mind and a heart and a soul god has given

us a body and when we sing we use our vocal cords

and our hands in clapping and lifting up for

our body to announce to our mind and our heart

and our soul, hey, there is some truth coming

and it really needs to land in the deeper parts

of your being. So songs and music enable that

what we know with our minds that we are so good

at to really enter those places where it really

has to land, you know, in our convictions, in

our feelings, in our emotions, the deepest level

of our being. That's what songs and music are

capable of. That's why God is commending us over

and over to sing. Songs connect our head and

our heart and our souls and aligns them on truths

about God and ourselves. If you ever had those

moments when you were singing a worship song

by yourself or in church, And you were just overwhelmed

by the goodness of God. And all you wanted to

do was shout your praises to him. Have you had

those moments? It's what songs and music do to

you. Have you had those moments where you were

singing a song and you became so vividly, vibrantly

aware of your desperation and need for God and

tears began to flow from your eyes and you cried

out to God. Have you had those moments? It's

what songs do. This is why God commences over

and over to sing. We just need to make sure that

we sing the right songs. And I mean this now

more in a proverbial sense. The playlist we sing

along with every day has more songs on it than

just God -inspired songs, you know? And that's

confusing. I mean, God says this about him and

me, but my friends tells me this, and my spouse

has a different opinion. And the influencer I'm

listening to in my podcast series says something

completely different, and the culture around

me sends me messages that are different all together.

Here's a nice experiment for you to do when you

get home today. Collect a few mobile phones.

If you only have one in your home, ask your neighbors

or friends. So a couple of mobile phones, put

them on your table. Open YouTube or Spotify on

those phones. Select different songs and then

play them all at the same time at the same volume.

Okay? And then try to sing along with one of

these songs. Well, let me spare you having to

go through the hassle of that experience. You

cannot. When all those songs are playing at the

same time, at the same volume, you will not be

able to sing along with the song that you want

to sing along with, even if you know that song

really well. Why is that? It's because of the

noise of all those other songs. It's very confusing.

You will not be able. However, when you turn

up the volume of that one song on your playlist

that you desire to sing, you turn down the volume

of all the other songs, the words. and the melody

becomes clear, you can sing along with that song

and allow the truth of that song to really land

in those places where it needs to land. So that's

what we want to do in this sermon series, Songs

for the Journey. So we are journeying through

life as followers of Jesus. We want to put together

a really good playlist of songs. And although

we no longer have the melodies of the original

Psalms, that would be cool, right? Hearing also

the melody. We don't have the melodies, but we

do have the incredibly rich truths of the words

of those Psalms. And because those words are

inspired by the Holy Spirit, they are alive and

active, and they're able to change us. So that's

what we're doing, songs for the journey. And

today I want to have a look with you at Psalm

139, a psalm that may be a favorite to some of

you. And when you know Psalm 130, you know that

it is packed with some really incredible things.

It speaks of God as the all -knowing one, an

ever -present one, an almighty one, and the holy

one. How do you pack that in a 40 -minute sermon?

You don't. Actually, I don't because I don't

think I can, which is why I chose to just focus

on the first 10 verses of Psalm 139 that address

a very specific attribute of God that needs to

be on repeat on our playlist, and that is this,

God knows me. Let me read the first 10 verses

of Psalm 139 for you. Oh Lord, you have examined

my heart and you know everything about me. You

know when I sit down or stand up. You know my

thoughts even when I'm far away. You see me when

I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything

I do. You know what I'm going to say even before

I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me.

You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such

knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great

for me to understand. I can never escape from

your spirit. I can never get away from your presence.

If I go up to the heaven, you're there. If I

go down to the grave, you're there. If I ride

the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest

oceans, even there your hand will guide me. and

your strength will support me. That's a good

song, isn't it? That's a rich song. And do you

see the intimacy that's going on between David

and God? And what is underlying this song and

the way David addresses God is that God personally

knows David. and personally knows us, you and

me, for the matter. We're going to look at this

a little bit later, but before that, we first

need to address another important reality about

God, and that is this. God has ultimate knowledge

of everything. One of the key themes in Scripture

is that God is omniscient, all -knowing. God

knows everything. about everything. Psalm 147

says that God's understanding has no limits.

Go figure. Did you know that God never has to

learn any new thing? That he never needs to sweat

to go through an exam because he already knows

everything? God knows more about astronomy than

the best astronomer. He knows more about biology

than the best biologist. He knows more about

theology than the best theologian. He knows more

about leading nations than the best world leader.

By the way, God knows more about women than men

do. And he knows more about men than women do.

And he knows more about teenagers than parents

do. God knows everything about everything. God

has ultimate knowledge of everything there is

to know. Don't you ever dare God for a game of

trivia unless you want to be crushed. Because

he will beat you big time. And when we need to

go through an often painstaking process of learning

new things and putting a lot of time and effort

in learning those things and doing research here

and there to come to know things only to forget

them when we get older because our brains are

no longer able to remember those things. Not

so with God. God's knowledge is immediate. God's

knowledge is comprehensive. It has no limits.

And God's knowledge is without deterioration.

He never forgets anything. That is, he only forgets

our sins when we have confessed them. That's

also true about God. That's the only thing that

he decides to forget. Other than that, his knowledge

doesn't deteriorate ever. That what Google and

AI can tell you about a certain topic, God already

knew that. And by the way, God already knows

that what Google and AI... Don't know yet. God

has ultimate knowledge of everything. That's

impressive, isn't it? And if that doesn't blow

your mind yet, here is one more thing about God's

knowledge. God's knowledge transcends time. Whether

it's things in the past, things in the present,

things in the future, God knows it all at the

same time. In Isaiah 46, God tells us about himself

that he knows the end. From the beginning. So

God knows things even before they exist. God

knows every single day that you and I will live

before we have ever lived those single days.

David speaks about that later on in Psalm 139.

That's the verse that we haven't read and will

not read today. God knows the past, the present,

and history. all at the same time. Why? Because

he is outside of our concept of time. It's impressive,

isn't it? If this is too much for you to understand,

that's okay. It happens to me all the time. But

just realize it. God has ultimate knowledge of

everything. And as we learn from David in Psalm

139, not just everything, also, God intimately

and completely knows me, knows you. This is how

David opens his song with these words, O Lord,

you have examined my heart and you know everything

about me. David addresses God with an understanding

that he was personally known. It's one thing

to believe and say that God knows everything

about everything. It's something else to believe

and say that God knows everything about you.

And as we learn from David today, the fact that

God knows everything about you is not an unsettling

thing. It's a deeply fulfilling thing. As human

beings, One of our deepest longings is to be

seen, to be known, and to be accepted. We crave

it, one of our deepest cravings. This is why

we ask people, even total strangers, to follow

us on Instagram, and we hope that many will like

what we post or retweet, so much so that every

15 minutes we're on our phone to check how many

likes or hearts or whatever emojis we've got

on our posts. This explains why we're often devastated

when people ignore us and reject us and unfriend

us. Because it fuels the fire of our insecurity.

We want to be seen, we want to be known, we want

to be accepted. When the youngest of four, four

siblings, and with quite an age gap with my older

two brothers and my sister, and as I grew up

as a child and a teenager, I often felt as the

left out one, especially when we had family dinners

on Sunday afternoons and my older siblings were

talking about things that I had no idea about.

I mean, they were in their 20s. I was in my early

teens. I mean, jobs didn't mean anything. I couldn't

relate to their stage of life. And as they didn't

show any interest in my life and the things that

were making my day tick. I would often withdraw

from those family gatherings to be by myself

in my room, allowing all those negative notions

to get to me, feeling miserable, to be honest

with you. And this turned out to be one of the

major areas of discipleship in my years of following

Jesus. And I came to understand that if I don't

seek to be first known by God intimately and

completely, I get all these unhealthy emotional

attachments which make me feel miserable. We

crave to be known, to be seen, to be accepted,

to be recognized. And God is the only one who

can fulfill that longing in us. Don't expect

it from anyone else, will you? Expect it from

God because he does intimately. and fully knowing

you and knowing me, and shaping us into people

with a healthy identity. So what is it that God

knows about you and about me? Well, David tells

us. For starters, God knows our actions. You

know when I sit down or stand up. You see me

when I travel and when I rest at home. You know

everything I do. Whatever you undertake, God

knows it. Whether it's the mundane things like

brushing your teeth or eating your breakfast

or playing board games. Or the bigger things

in life like who to date and what job to take

and where to move to. He knows about the things

that you do in broad daylight. But he also knows

the things that you do in secret in the darkness

of the night. God knows it all. God knows our

actions. God also knows your motives and my motives.

As David says, you know my thoughts even when

I'm far away. What we do, our actions, are motivated

by our motives, right? By our thoughts. That's

how we work. And where actions are visible, our

motives are often not visible. And let's be honest,

we often like to keep it that way, right? We

act a certain way toward people, but boy. If

they would only know what we were thinking, if

they would only know our motive behind it, well,

let's not get there. I'm so glad that my motives

are not visible. Well, they are to God. God knows

your thought life. God knows your motives. God

knows your intentions even while they are still

developing in you. That's what David means by

far away or afar. God knows our motives. God

also knows our words. Even before they come out

of our mouth, God already knows what we're going

to say, whether it's words to people or words

to him. Did you know that you cannot tell God

anything that he doesn't already know? You can't.

You can't share anything with God that makes

him say, huh, I didn't know that. By the way,

it makes some people wonder about their prayer

life. Here's how the wandering goes. Well, if

God already knows what I'm going to ask for,

we're going to tell him, why should I even bother

about praying? You know why God still wants you

to pray and me to pray? Because he loves to hear

and enjoys it so much when his kids share about

what's going on in their lives. A couple of months

ago, two of my daughters, Elisa and Norcia, they're

on the basketball varsity team of their school,

and they had a tournament in Penang, Malaysia.

And the school, the organizing school, Dalat,

they offered a live stream to parents at home

from the schools that were traveling in. So you

could watch the basketball games of your kids,

which Chanukah and I did while we were doing

ministry. We also watched the games. So every

game we watched, and we saw our girls' moves

and scores. We saw their joy and disappointment.

We saw their excitement after winning the tournament.

Go Eagles! We saw all of that. So by the time

they got home and began to share about what they

had experienced during those days in Penang,

Malaysia, we knew everything that they were going

to tell us. But do you think that as a dad I

said, skip it? A little bit faster. I know that.

I mean, I saw you play. Boring. Of course not.

Because I'm a dad who loves my girls. I'm deeply

interested to hear what's going on. And I desire

to be invested in their lives. The same with

God. God is so interested in your lives. God

desires to be so invested. In your life. That

he loves to hear you share the things that he

already knows. The things that you're excited

about. The things that you're worried about.

The things that excite you. The things that you're

dreaming of. The things that are hurting you.

He loves to hear you say it to him. Because he

is a really, really good father. Who is deeply

interested and invested in your life. So God

knows your actions, he knows your motives, and

he knows your words even before we do. It's crazy,

right? Not only is it crazy, for some of us,

knowing this can be a very unsettling reality.

Because hey, if God knows everything about me,

Even those things that nobody knows about me,

even those things that I'd like to keep hidden

and in secret, what is he going to do with that

information? I mean, knowledge is power. Is God

going to expose me? Is God going to use that

information against me? Is God going to... beat

me up because he now knows what I'm doing and

thinking and speaking and all of that. Some of

you have been raised with the idea, with the

concept that God is an angry God. A God who is

always watching over you, waiting for that moment

where you fail, when you fall, so that he can

beat you up and he can say, ha, I got you again.

Others of you, because of your experiences in

life, have a view of God as someone who is distant

and indifferent. He couldn't care less about

your life. And perhaps you're even blaming yourself

because of the things that you have done or you

have not done. And therefore you think, hold

on, God. If you are all -knowing, I'd rather

hide from you. than to engage with you. If that

is how you view God, I want to tell you today

that this is not who God is. God is not surveilling

you, okay? God doesn't use CCTV cameras in hidden

places to watch over you. God is not planting

secret bugs behind the curtains to hear everything

that you're saying. so that he can really beat

you up whenever there is something that you say

or do wrong. God is not surveilling you. You

know what he is doing? God is lovingly watching

over you, ready to place his hand of blessing

upon your head. That's how David says it in verse

5. You go before me and you follow me. You place

your hand of blessing on my head. Wow. God is

surrounding you, yes. Hemming you in, as other

translations say. But not to control you. Not

to squeeze the life out of you. But to guide

you. To care for you. To love you. To strengthen

you. To place his hand of blessing upon your

head. That's how God wants you. To view him.

And how you view God, it's the most important

thing in your life. I think A .W. Tozer said

it once. How you view God is the most important

thing in your life. And I like it how the theologian

J .I. Pecker once said it. Living becomes an

awesome business when you realize that you spend

every moment of your life in the sight and the

company of an all -knowing and an ever -present

God. That's life. That's the amazing business

of life. When you know that God knowing everything

about you is not a threat, it's not unsettling

at all, deeply fulfilling. God knows you and

God lovingly watches over you, ready to bless

you. It's overwhelming, can be overwhelming.

And you're in good company if this is too much

to understand. Oh, you're in good company because

David fell dead. I see a claim, exclaimed in

verse 6, such knowledge is too wonderful for

me, God. Really? Wow, it's too great for me to

understand. It's overwhelming, right, to think

that God knows everything about you. and still

wants to hang out with you. It's overwhelming.

Don't try to understand it, will you? Did you

know that God has never ever asked us to understand

Him? Never ever do we find in Scripture a command

from God saying, hey, your job is to figure me

out so that at some point you can say, ah, that

makes sense. God has never asked that. God will

never ask us to understand him. Why? It's impossible

to understand him. His ways are so much higher

than our ways. His thoughts and plans are so

much bigger than our thoughts and plans. So don't

try to understand him. You know what God is asking

of us? Know me and trust me. So if what you're

hearing this morning is too much to comprehend

like it was for David, like it is for me, can

I encourage you, don't try to understand it,

but receive it, believe it, appropriate it, and

live it. Will you? Allow that what you hear and

understand with your mind to really land in those

deep places of your soul where it is supposed

to land. Well, as David continues his song in

verse 7, of Psalm 139, he reveals another aspect

of God that I want to briefly talk about. This

is what David says. I can never escape from your

spirit. I can never get away from your presence.

If I go up to heaven, you're there. If I go down

to the grave, you're there. If I ride the wings

of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

Even there, your hand will guide me and your

strength will support me. If you box in those

verses like I have done on this slide, and when

you read them out of their context, you can come

to a conclusion that David felt like a prisoner

of God. Boy, he's always there. Can I really

not shake him off my back? I mean, I go there,

God is there. I go there, God is there. I go

there, God is there. What is up with this God?

You can interpret that. And maybe you even feel

like that. Oh, God is always there. But that's

an out of context interpretation of what David

is saying. These are not the words of someone

who felt like a prisoner of God. These are words

of a guy that sought the presence of God and

found the presence of God in his everyday experience

of life. In the first and second Samuel, those

are really including the storyline of David.

We understand the experiential side of things

that David is proclaiming here. Lord, wherever

I go, you're there. Wherever I am, you're there,

God. You're always there. What David wants us

to know is wherever I am, God is there. And wherever

I'm going, God is already there. Not only does

God know everything about you, he is also with

you. all the time he surrounds you by his presence

today tomorrow next week next month next year

whether you're here in bangkok when you're on

vacation when you're traveling for business and

when you're leaving this part of the world to

go and live somewhere else god is omnipresent

that's the word that theologians give to this

you can leave it to a theologian to make things

complex right omnipresent which means is god

is ever present god is always there. What is

he doing? Guiding you with his hand, as David

says, supporting you with his strength. Knowing

this is a very deep and significant truth for

me and my family in this season of transition

that we're in. We're three weeks away from our

last Sunday. with you here at ECB. June the 1st

is the last time that we get to worship with

you before we do our final packing and then leave

this you, this place, this city, this country

that we consider our home. And there are days

where that reality hits us, deeply so. It unsettles

us. It overwhelms us. It's hard. To say goodbye

to the people that we love and the place of ministry

where we have seen God at work in incredible

ways over the past years of ministry. I mean,

it's hard to see our girls, our daughters, maneuvering

through this season of saying goodbye. So yeah,

truth be told, it's hard and it unsettles us.

You know what helps us? Significantly so in this

season? It's knowing that God is the one who

is calling us out into this new place of being

and ministering. And it's experiencing God's

presence in big ways and in small ways in our

moments of unsettledness, overwhelmedness, and

sadness. God shows up all the time, making sure

that at least most of the times, we experience

deep peace amidst the unsettledness. It's God,

loved ones. Jesus is able to give the kind of

peace that no one else is able to give. It's

God's presence that gives you the peace. So I

want to encourage you because I know that we're

not the only ones in a season of transition.

In a community like ours here at ECB, transition

and change and moving in and moving out and the

unknowns and the uncertainties, it's a reality

to many of you. But I want you to know, God is

with you where you are right now. God is already

there where you will be going, looking after

things that you didn't even have the time for

to look into. And God will be with you every

step of the way from here to there because he

is an ever -present God ready to bless you, ready

to guide you with his hand, ready to give you

his strength, his comfort, and his peace. That's

our ever -present God. Amen? So those were the

first 10 verses of Psalm 139. but I don't want

to finish yet. Because there is this response

of David at the end of the psalm, after he has

acknowledged God as the all -knowing one and

the ever -present one, and there is some more

in the psalm that we had no time for today to

look into, but at the end of his song, David

responds with a prayer, and it's such a good

prayer. that I don't want us to miss out on that

part of the psalm. This is what David prays.

Search me, O God, and know my heart. Test me

and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything

in me that offends you and lead me along the

path of everlasting life. That's a good prayer.

Ever prayed that prayer? Maybe? It's the kind

of prayer that takes David's understanding of

God, his theology, to a place of real life, raw

discipleship. By the way, this is Discipleship

101. And write it down, if you will. Discipleship

101 is this. Theology only becomes profitable

if you make it personal. One more time. Theology

only is profitable when you make it personal.

It's exactly what David is doing here. What does

this look like for David? Well, knowing that

God knew everything about him was not at all

alarming to David. As a matter of fact, knowing

this was reason for David to honestly reflect

on his life with God. Lord, if there is anything

in me that offends you, I need to know it. Would

you tell me, Lord, if there is any anxiety in

me because I trust my ways more than I trust

your ways, let me know, Lord, because those are

things that get in between you and me, and I

don't want that. So after letting me know, would

you help me? Would you lead me? along the path

of everlasting life. Help me get rid of those

things. That's discipleship. That's bringing

our commitment of following God to a place of

getting real with God. So no, the fact that God

fully knows you is not threatening. It's not

unsettling at all. Not only is it fulfilling,

it's also an invitation for us to get real with

God. It's an invitation to us to get our theology,

our knowing of God, knowledge of God, to a place

of real and raw discipleship. And discipleship

requires change. And change requires honesty

with ourselves, often brutal honesty with yourself.

And there's no better place to get real about

yourself than with God because God is a safe

place. God already knows everything there is

to know about you. Yes, also the ugly and the

dark stuff, he already knows. You don't need

to be ashamed. You don't need to feel guilty.

You just need to get real with him. God is a

safe place, loved ones. So let's get real with

God. Shall we? And by the way, for the better,

let's get real with each other as well. Discipleship

is a bit raw and is a little bit messy. No, not

a little bit. It's very messy. Let's get real

with God. Let's get real with one another. You

know what will be the result? If you make this,

that what we just read, your daily prayer, change

in you. will be the result, increasingly so.

You know what else? The experience of freedom

and fullness of Jesus will be your experience,

increasingly so. Okay, so we're getting toward

the end of this study, of this song. And for

those of you who like quick summaries, I mean,

we have some practical people here right now.

Maybe you're now asking, well, Pastor, What are

a couple of truths, maybe two or three, make

it simple and concise, that you want me to have

on my playlist on repeat after what you have

said this morning? Well, thank you for asking.

Here are two truths that I really would like

for you to have on repeat on your playlist. Ready?

Here we go. Truth number one, God knows your

worst and your best, and he loves you the same.

Can you say that? Can you now make it personal

and change the you's and so with the me's? Here

we go. God knows my worst and my best and he

loves me the same. Do you believe that? The author

Jerry Bridges in his book, The Discipline of

Grace. explains the good day, bad day mentality

that is going around in Christian circles. What

is that mentality? Well, let me explain. Good

day is a day on which you had spent time with

God, you made godly choices, you resisted temptation

really well, and so on and so forth. And because

it was a good day, you believe that God loves

you a lot. Because it was a good day. The bad

day, on the other hand, is a day on which you

didn't keep your spiritual disciplines. Actually,

you fell for temptation. You treated your friend

or your spouse not so rightly. You did all kinds

of stuff. And because of that, God is really,

really disappointed in you. As a matter of fact,

he gives you a couple of challenging circumstances

to teach you a lesson on this bad day. That's

the good day, bad day. And by the way, it has

found its way in a lot of Christian circles.

Maybe after hearing this, you recognize yourself,

hold on, that's kind of how I see God as well.

On good days, he loves me a lot. On bad days,

I'm not sure if he would approve of what I'm

doing. And therefore, he probably loves me a

lot less. This is not the gospel, friend. If

this is your mentality, that's not the good news

of Jesus, okay? This is the good news of Jesus.

God is so rich in mercy and he loved us so much

that even though we were dead because of our

sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from

the dead. It is only by God's grace that you

and I have been saved. What you do or don't do

doesn't change God's love for you. That's the

good news of the gospel. Even while you and I

were in our most unlovable condition, dead because

of our sins, that's pretty unlovable if you ask

me, God already loved us. And God's love for

us, even in that unlovable condition, was His

motivation. forgiving us jesus to save us and

the application of that is called grace okay

there is nothing that you can do that will make

god love you more or that will make him love

you less that's good day bad day mentality that's

not the gospel okay nothing that you will be

able to do can make god love you less The same

Jerry Bridges that I referred to earlier said

this. I love what he says. Your worst days are

never so bad that you are beyond the reach of

God's grace. And your best days are never so

good that you are beyond the need of God's grace.

This is grace. This is grace. is grace and God

continues to apply grace to our everyday life

and therefore you're never too far away not to

receive it grace and you're never too close not

to need it let me also say this the fact that

God loves you on your worst day and your bad

day, worst day and your best days, doesn't mean

that he condones, that he approves of all your

actions, all your motives, all your thoughts,

and all your words, okay? That's why he wants

us to get real with him. Because when you're

out of shape, spiritually, emotionally, God loves

you too much to keep you in that shape, and he

wants to get you back into shape. That's why

he invites us to get real with him. Which brings

me to the second thing, the second truth for

all of you who like quick summaries. God knows

your potential, and he is transforming you toward

that goal. God not only intimately knows who

you are today, he also intimately knows who you

are becoming. God is changing you. You know that,

right? And we're called in scripture God's workmanship

or God's masterpiece. And when you know how artists

work, like painters and, what's it, sculpture?

People who make sculptures, what is it called?

Yeah, hard word for someone who is ESL. When

you know how artists work, you know that they

begin with the finished product in mind, right?

When a painter begins to paint, he or she already

knows, that's the outcome. That's the finished

product I'm working on. But when you walk into

the room where the painter is painting, in the

process, you know what you see? Some broad strokes

of paint, some blobs of green, yellow, and red,

and it makes you wonder, it looks like nothing.

It's a mess. What are you doing? And the painter

would tell you, hold on, hold on. I know the

stages I need to go through to get to that place

of finished. I know the potential of that painting,

what I'm still making. That's a picture that

God wants us to have of him. God is an artist.

God is a painter or a sculptor. God is an artist

making us into something. You know who is the

finished product that he has in mind? It's Jesus.

That's the prototype that he is looking at. Like

Romans 8 .29 says, God knew us in advance and

he also chose us to become like his son. That

is Jesus. So that's our potential, becoming like

Jesus. And yeah, that takes time to get there,

right? We're talking Jesus here. So God goes

through the stages. God transforms us every step

of the way. And you may be wondering, like wondering

when the painter's making this painting, say,

well, God, I don't think it's going anywhere.

What I see is a blob of green and yellow on a

canvas and a couple of broad strokes. It's messy

what you're doing. If you feel like that about

your journey of discipleship, can I just encourage

you, trust the process. Because the process is

being undertaken about the master artist. And

his name is God Almighty. God knows what he is

doing. God knows the stages that he needs to

be taking you through. Stages of transformation.

Some are a little bit easier than the others.

But he is forming you. He is shaping you into

becoming like his son Jesus. Do you want to become

like Jesus? I do. Anyone else here wanting to

become like Jesus? Let me encourage you, God

is doing it. Let me also encourage you in saying,

we'll get there after a lifetime plus one day.

Or the moment Jesus returns and right thereafter.

That's when we will be like Jesus. While we're

here, God is working. He's a master at it. He

knows what He is doing. Every stage, every step

of the way. What a song, right? Psalm 139, put

it on repeat on your playlist. There is also

songs made about this psalm, so there is melodies

and all of that, but make sure that these words,

these truths are on repeat on the playlist of

your life so that your soul and your heart can

be immersed with what your mind already knows.

As I close, I want to ask you one question. Are

you allowing God to know you? Is it possible

that God has been speaking to you this morning

about your reservations to fully engage with

Him? Because the idea of being fully known by

God threatens you and unsettles you. Could it

be that you are hiding for God? Because your

view of him is one of he is surveilling me, he

is watching over me, ready to beat me up whenever

I go wrong in my actions, my motives or my words.

Could it be that this morning you've become aware

that you are actually doubting God's love for

you and with that his motive for him wanting

to know you? If these are things you are struggling

with, you're wrestling through at this moment,

we're here for you to help you. We're here for

you to pray with you. So if the Lord has been

speaking and revealing to you things in this

realm, I encourage you to come after this worship

service. We're here. For as long as we need to

be here to pray with you, to be there for you,

to be still with you, but I invite you, come.

God desires to be invested in your life. So come

and allow Him to know you. I want to ask all

of you to bow your heads and let's quiet ourselves

for a couple of moments before I pray. Father,

you are here. And your presence is evident this

morning. Lord, you have used me to speak words

that I believe you wanted me to speak. But I

acknowledge that my teaching was incomplete as

it always is. And that there is more that you

want to unpack and reveal to us. So would you

do that, Holy Spirit? Make us aware of those

things in our lives that are offensive to you.

Make us aware of any anxious thoughts we pray

with David. And Lord, help us to follow you on

your way of life everlasting. So Lord, as we

bow before you and quiet ourselves, continue

your ministry, Holy Spirit. In this moment, in

the hours and the days to come, Holy Spirit.

Minister to your people. Minister to me. Thank

you for wanting to be involved deeply into our

lives. Thank you for intimately and completely

knowing us. Father, your grace is enough. There's

nothing that we can do To make you love us more

or make you love us less, your grace is enough.

Thank you, Father. It's in the name of Jesus

that we pray. Amen. If you are looking for community

or are in need of prayer, we welcome you to engage

by sending us an email to office at ecb .asia

If God is calling you to support our ministries,

you will find giving options on our website.

And remember to join us next week. God bless

you.