Ancient Reflections 4 “Greater Than My Weakness”

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S.O.A.P. – “Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer”

What person knows more about you than anyone else on earth?

Scripture:

O LORD, you have examined my heart and 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 am 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! Psalm 139:1–6 NLT

Sermon Insights:

God knows everything about us.

Psalm 139 reminds us that God know us, our past, our future, our confusion, our apathy, our low self-image, and our weaknesses. He knows everything about us (which in all honesty can be a little scary), but He loves us anyway!

David had been a LOT of places…some enjoyable and some terrifying…yet he had come to realize that God was always with him, no matter what. When have you been tempted to wonder if God is still there for you?

When you hear that God sees everything and is with you always, does that comfort or bother you? Why?

Do you believe that God has your best in mind, even though he may not relieve your difficulty?

“You place your hand of blessing on my head” – how have you watched God’s hand of blessing in your life?

Consider praying the Scripture (Psalm 139:1-6) as your personal prayer to God. If there is something in the Scripture that you genuinely do not feel or believe, talk to God about it! He is a good Father, capable of loving you and guiding you through your doubts, worries, and fears.

When you feel weak, how do you typically respond?

Scripture:

I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are 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. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. Psalm 139:7–12 NLT

Sermon Insights:

God is always with us. Why do we run or hide? First of three reasons: because we feel guilty.

God knows us. He knows everything about us. And we don’t have to hide from him.

Have you ever been to a place so “far away” that you didn’t think God was there?

When you feel guilty, do you do what many typically do—hide from God or church or Life Group?

Even though God knew where Adam and Eve were, God went looking for them. How has God pursued you, even when you were hiding?

If God were to audibly ask you, “Where are you?” what would you say?

Like yesterday, consider making the Scripture (Psalm 139:7-12) a personal prayer to God. Have a genuine conversation with your Father and, quieting your spirit, “listen.”

When was a time you were completely convinced that you were right, and you turned out to be completely wrong? How did you find out, and how did you respond to the realization?

Scripture:

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees.

Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid…” Genesis 3:1–10 NLT

Sermon Insights:

God is always with us. Why do we run or hide? Second of three reasons: because we want to do “our thing” instead of what God wants us to do.

Why do you think Adam and Eve hid?

Sin often leads to feelings of independence and superiority followed by feelings of loneliness and fear. Adam and Eve wanted to be independent and make their own decisions apart from God’s plan. They ended up hiding from God with whom they no longer walked freely in total peace.

How did sin hurt Adam and Eve’s relationship with God?

How did sin hurt Adam and Eve’s relationship with each other?

Lord, thank you for actively showing love to me even after I sinned and became independent. Freedom, like a kid running away from home for a day only to return at night for dinner, is not as I imagined. Teach me to trust you and enjoy your presence. Thank you for always being with me!

Do you see anger as a strength or a weakness? Why?

Scripture:

Job, in the midst of his unimaginable suffering, while never accusing God of evil, openly expressed his frustration with God: “I cry to you, O God, but you don’t answer. I stand before you, but you don’t even look. You have become cruel toward me. You use your power to persecute me. You throw me into the whirlwind and destroy me in the storm. And I know you are sending me to my death—the destination of all who live.

“Surely no one would turn against the needy when they cry for help in their trouble. Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy? So I looked for good, but evil came instead. I waited for the light, but darkness fell. My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me.

I walk in gloom, without sunlight. I stand in the public square and cry for help. Instead, I am considered a brother to jackals and a companion to owls. My skin has turned dark, and my bones burn with fever. My harp plays sad music, and my flute accompanies those who weep….If only someone would listen to me! Look, I will sign my name to my defense. Let the Almighty answer me. Let my accuser write out the charges against me.” Job 30:20–31, 31:35 NLT

Sermon Insights:

God is always with us. Why do we run or hide? Third of three reasons: because sometimes we are angry at God.

God knows us. He knows everything about us. And we don’t have to hide from him.

James teaches us that God never lies or does evil. Job wisely never crossed the line of accusing God of doing evil. Job did express his anger, confusion and frustration for what he believed was God’s choice to subject Job to suffering. He wanted an audience with God.

Have you ever been angry with God? What was your response—did you simply go and hide, or did you approach God and communicate your frustration?

Why is it important to go TO God instead of hide from him?

Anger is a “secondary emotion” that usually comes after feeling vulnerable in some way. It’s an attempt to take control after feeling out of control. Anger has been compared to steam—powerful enough when focused to propel a locomotive, useless as the whistle on a teapot when dispersed aimlessly. Do you focus your energy in positive, meaningful, self-controlled choices to help create positive change?

Lord, thank you for being so approachable when I am angry, confused, and disturbed. Thank you for loving and listening when I pour out my heart, and thank you for caring for me through everything.

What is the most complex thing you have created? What medium did you use to create (e.g. wood, food, technology, music, words)?

Scripture:

King David wrote, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers! They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name. O LORD, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you? Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.

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.” Psalm 139:13–24 NLT

In the great chapter describing real, authentic faith, the writer of Hebrews wrote, “By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” Hebrews 11:3 NLT

Sermon Insights:

God knows us – because He made us.

The capability of weaving matter, energy, and information together in a complex system such as the human body—including the ability for us to be aware on some level of it—points to an extravagant creator who wants a relationship with his creation. God created human beings with capacity for awareness and appreciation so that we could look at him in wonder and find him staring back in love.

How does Psalm 139 help you sense the magnificence of God?

How does Psalm 139 grow your appreciation of how God created you?

“Every day was recorded…every moment was laid out before a single day had passed…” Does God’s foreknowledge of your life help you trust him?

Most people’s distrust of their Heavenly Father is directly related to the expectations they created for God that he did not, in fact, meet. Where have your expectations of God come from?

“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.”

Ancient Reflections 4 “Greater Than My Weakness”

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