Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / 7 Wonders

Am I Unique? 02/13/05

Title: ‘7 Wonders: Am I Unique?’                                                                                                                 Main Text: Psalm 139
 


PP Main Slide
Introduction: In his book ‘Culture Shift’, David Henderson writes about how most Americans determine their value and worth in life. Can you guess the number one way Americans determine that their life has value? ….

PP Women Shopping    
By how many bags they bring home from the mall. By how much they can buy. TV and the internet make it much easier to shop

PP QVC and E-Bay
…QVC and E-Bay. Somewhere in the back of our minds we think ‘I’ve got more than you, so I am more valuable.’

I know I am biased with the slides showing women shopping so to be fair, I thought I would show what men look like when they go shopping with their wives.

PP Men Shopping  (sleeping) (shocked)
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The advertising media is tells us that we are not ‘good enough’ unless we buy and use their products. It is cleverly insinuated that to have worth in society we must have more, better, and bigger …like cars, houses, jewelry and electronic devices. How do we get more, better and bigger things…by getting more money. And how de we get more money? According to the recent fad in TV, you participate on a reality show like Fear Factor

PP Fear Factor

where for just the chance at a whole lot of money you have to eat
PP Roaches
live South American Roaches while drinking a glass of
PP Blended Rat
blended hamster…or rat.

PP Main Slide
It just doesn’t make sense to me. These shows tell us that to have value and self worth as a individual we need to humiliate ourselves on national TV…just to get the money to buy the things that advertising says we need to have value in society.

There has got to be an easier way to determine our value, to gain a healthy understanding and appreciation of our self worth. 

Background: Two of life’s most basic questions are ‘do I have any intrinsic value as a human being?’ and ‘Am I unique’ The answer to these questions can only be found in three disciplines: science, philosophy and theology and it may surprise you that all are faith based. Let me explain.

PP Science
•    If you base what you believe to be true about your self worth on science; you believe, have faith, that science has the answers to the life questions you are asking.
PP Philosophy
•    If you base what you believe to be true about your self worth on some philosophy; you believe, have faith, that this philosophical ideology has the answers to the life questions you are asking.
PP Theology
•    If you base what you believe to be true about your self worth on theology (what the Bible says); you believe, have faith, that the Bible has the answers to the life questions you are asking.

All of these disciplines are faith based. But it is only theology, that we find, over and over again, that we are God’s
greatest and most loved creation. I think that should make us feel unique and quite valuable.

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Transition: I am not a scientist nor am I a philosopher. But, I am a beginning theologian, and as such I want to take a closer look at how theology, specifically the Bible, answers the questions ‘Am I unique? Do I have any intrinsic value?’

Open your Bibles to Psalm 139:1.

PP Bible Text Page #
If you didn’t bring a Bible with you, there is one under the row of chairs in front of you. Turn to page 476

 

Ps. 139:1-5    ‘God Knows Me!’
 

PP Ps. 139:1-5
Read: Ps. 139:1-5
PP Jer. 1:5a
Read: Jer.1:5a

You are unique, you have value in life because God knew each one of you even before you took your first breath as you entered the world. The Hebrew word for ‘knew’ is ‘yada’ and it has great meaning in the OT. It is much deeper and more intimate than intellectual knowledge or awareness. Yada means personal commitment to and intimate experience of the person known…even before you were a twinkle in your mother’s eye. But God’s knowledge of us doesn’t end there. David, the one who wrote this Psalm, says that

PP God Searched David
•    God searched him. The Hebrew word ‘searched’ means to dig deep and find out what makes you tick. This means God knows you, he has explored every area of your life; what makes you smile, what you are passionate about, what really ticks you off, he knows the pains of your past, the struggle of your present and the fears of your future.

PP God Knew Where David Was
•    God knew where he was at all times. This means God knows our routines and habits, what we do and where we do them.

PP God Knew David’s Thoughts
•    God knew his thoughts before he did. Do you know what this means? God knows what you are thinking right now…uh oh!

Let me ask you. When you value something, you do what you can to protect it…right? I think you would agree that a things value can often be determined by the amount of effort that is spent to safeguard it. Locks, keys, alarm systems, safes, some people keep a gun in the house to protect their family from intruders. Am I right?

Listen to this? God knows you so well, that he knows just what he needs to do to protect and guide you. That’s what vs 5 is all about.

PP Ps. 139:5 and God In Hands
Read: Ps. 139:5

God hems us in, he places his hands all around us, he establishes a hedge of protection from the enemy. To hem in is military language in the Hebrew meaning to surround. It is a continual action by God, he never sleeps, he never takes a break, his effort to protect you is constant. What this means is that you can feel safe because you are completely surrounded by God’s knowledge of and love for you. It means you are valuable to him.

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Talk about intimacy. That’s a God who is personally connected to his creation…to you. And what’s great is that the Bible tells us that what was true for David is also true for us because God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Transition: What a great God! So, what was David’s response to God’s relationship with him?

 

Ps. 139:6    ‘How Cool Is That?’
 

PP Ps. 139:6
Read: Ps. 139:6

If David lived today, his response to the intimacy of God’s relationship with him would be ‘How Cool Is That?’ In other words he was blown away by how involved God was in his life, so much so he was speechless, at a loss for words.

It brought him great pleasure and delight…it made him happy…it made him feel valuable,  it made him feel loved by God.

•    If you were to think about how intimate God desires his relationship with you to be,
•    If you were to think about how much God knows you and how he constantly works to protect and guide you,

you too would respond as David did. ‘How Cool Is That’

Transition: But it gets even better….

 

Ps. 139:7-10    ‘God Is Available to Me!’
 

PP Ps. 139:7-10
Read: Ps. 139:7-10

Since God knows me, really knows me, since God watches over and protects me, no matter where I go, that means…God is available to me! That is mind boggling.
There is no where you can go that God will not be available to you.

PP Joshua 1:5
Read: Joshua 1:5
PP Matt. 28:20
Read: Matt. 28:20

In every situation and circumstance, God is there for you. You can go to him.
•    In times of defeat and in times of victory.
•    In times of rebellion and in times of faithfulness.
•    In times of questioning and in times of certainty.
•    In times of insecurity and  in times of confidence

God is there, God is available. Can you be any more valuable?

Transition: But, why all this attention from God, the creator of the whole universe?
 


Ps. 139:13-14    ‘God Made Me!’
 

PP Ps. 139:13-14
Read: Ps. 139:13-14

Your value isn’t found in where you live, what you drive or how much money you make. Your value is found in God.  The God who loves you so much that he made you, each, uniquely the way you are.

PP Jer. 1:5a
Read: Jer. 1:5a

God formed you in the womb. The Hebrew word for ‘formed’ is ‘yatsar’. It is a word used by potters when they would mold and shape clay into a particular shape. Each shape being uniquely determined by the designer.

Then notice in vs 14 that David says ‘I am fearfully and wonderfully made’. The Hebrew phrase for ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ describes the process of how we were created: it was ‘awesome’ ‘supernatural’, and in a way that is apart from how everything else was made….in a word…unique!

God is telling Jeremiah, David and all of us today that he formed us, he wove us together, he brought us into existence …God,
•    not some scientific theory,
•    not some philosophical ideology,
•    Theology…God made you. And he made you like he made no other:

PP Uniqueness #1
•    Your Fingerprints,
•    Your Retinal Pattern,
PP Uniqueness #2
•    Your Voice Print
•    Your DNA
are all different, all unique. You are unique!

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Transition: Again…Why? All this begs the question…Why would God do all this? Why is God so intimately connected to our lives?

 

Ps. 139:16    ‘God Has A Plan for Me!’
 

PP Ps. 139:16
Read: Ps. 139:16
PP Ps. 138:8a
Read: Ps. 138:8a

Ps 138:8 actually completes Ps. 139:16, even though it comes before it in the Bible. The great and awesome God, who created you in a unique way, has a purpose for your life, that he is actively working out and will not stop until it is completed.  With God no life is an accident. Each life is special to God. What is God’s plan for each of us?

PP Jer. 29:11
Read: Jer. 29:11

Prosperity, hope, and a future. That’s God’s plan for you. Some of that will be realized here on earth. But the fulfillment of God’s plan is eternal.

PP. Ecc. 3:11
Read: Ecc. 3:11

God’s plan is for all of us to live forever and we will. God desires that we all live out our eternity with Him in heaven. His plan is to make that possible through the death and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ.  He did all this because we are valuable to him, because he loves us with an unending love. He set the plan in motion, he sent his son, he did his part. We too have a part in God’s plan for us to spend eternity with him.

PP Jer. 29:12-14a
Read: Jer. 29:12-14a

PP Call Upon the Lord
•    We need to call upon God. To pray to God and He promises to hear you.

PP Seek God
•    We need to seek God, look for him. We do that
        -by reading God’s Word, the Bible,
        -by attending worship services
        -by talking to him in prayer
        -by looking for him to act in and around you
        -by spending time with those who have already found Christ…it’s called fellowship and we have many opportunities here at CBC for fellowship
           (Calvary Café, Dinner 8’s,  Men’s Breakfast, Women’s Walk)

The promise is when you seek God with all your heart, you will find him (remember he is always available to you)

PP Crossing the Great Sin Divide
•    When we are found by God that means he will take us from captivity (our slavery to a life of sin and rebellion against God) and take us to life…eternal life. That’s God’s plan for all who desire to know him as he knows you, intimately and personally.

Conclusion
PP 1 Jn 4:10
Read: 1 Jn 4:10

Did you know that you are the only created being for which God sent Jesus to die on the cross to set free from the bondage of sin.

PP Why Did Jesus Have To Die On The Cross?

•    Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?
PP We Are Sinners
Because without Jesus, you and I are sinners condemned to an eternity in Hell as just payment for our sin against God.

•    Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?
PP Because He Loves Us
Because he loved you so much he was willing to pay the price for your sin.

•    Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?
PP Because We Are Created By God
Because you were created by God, therefore you are unique, and valuable.

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Do I fully understand it all? No. Does the scientist fully understand all scientific theories? Does the philosopher fully understand all philosophical ideologies?  No. We accept it by faith.

•    No matter what you have done, no matter who you are, you are good enough to be loved and forgiven by God.

And I believe it is in that order…loved and forgiven. It is because of God’s great love for you that he sent his son Jesus to die for you, offering forgiveness for all your sin…when you seek God, when you find him through faith in Jesus Christ.

•    We can have a healthy self image,
•    We can be confident that we are valuable,
•    We can know that we are unique…

when we look to God because...

PP Last Slide
•    He knows you
•    He is available to you
•    He made you
•    He has a plan for you
•    He loves you!

You are Valuable and you are Unique!