He poses the test question in verse. Where can I flee from your presence? If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea …. If he ascends into the heavens above, God is already there. If he descends into the deepest part of the earth, God is there too. Next, he explores the expanse of the globe. If David were to "rise on the wings of the dawn"—if he were to rise with the sun and follow its course from horizon to horizon until he set with it on the far side of the sea, the result would be no different.
He would find God there too. David concludes that flight from God is impossible. Not because God is relentless in pursuit, but because anywhere he might go God is already there. Everywhere that David goes, he runs into God. But David makes a further point: not only is God with him wherever he goes, but God is also guiding him. Verse 10 says: "even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
If the policeman lays his hand on you to apprehend you, there is little comfort in that touch. You would feel very different if the hand that rested on your shoulder was that of a friend or a lover. If you are about to slip on the ice, the strong grip of someone who holds you fast is reassuring.
But if your intent is to flee, you would feel about that grip the way a prisoner does his shackles. You would hate it; you would strain against it. I noticed something about my two sons when they moved from childhood into adolescence. I noticed that my boys responded differently to my touch as they got older.
When they were little, they seemed eager to hug me. They would jump into my arms and cling to me with all their might. When they became teenagers, things changed. Oh, they still let me hug them. But in their teen years, they stiffened, ever so slightly. Suddenly, there was a resistance that wasn't there before.
What changed? Some of it I am sure can be attributed to the awkwardness of adolescence. Many teenagers seem to go through a stage where they feel uncomfortable showing affection. But I think the change was also a symbol of their growing independence. The autonomy they declared with their body language was matched by many of the choices they made. They stiffened against the constraints Jane and I had placed on them, just as they did my embrace.
The rules and standards that we saw as an expression of love and a means of protection, they mistook for a prison. So which is it for you, when it comes to God's strong hand of love? Is it a source of comfort to you or something that you stiffen against and resist?
Does the inescapable presence of God make you feel protected? Is that steady footfall that you hear the mark of a faithful companion? A guide? A rear guard who's got your back? Or do you feel like God has laid siege to your soul? Do you see his relentless pursuit as the pursuit of an adversary? If we are honest, we would probably have to say a little of both.
Even David, as he describes his experience in this Psalm seems a little ambivalent. He seems comforted and uncomfortable at the same time. In verses , he seems to imagine what it would be like to try and hide from God under the cover of darkness: "If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,' even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
If you are trying to navigate an unfamiliar landscape in the dark, the thought that God sees as clearly in the darkness as in the light is good news. But not if you are trying to use the darkness for cover! In these verses David makes it clear: we are transparent before God. There is no way to cover ourselves. We can't run. We can't hide. We can't put up a smokescreen that obscures the true state of our heart or our actions. God sees everything with complete clarity.
You may be able fool your neighbor. You can even deceive yourself. But God? Well, He's got your number. He is my fortress. Definition of fortress -a military stronghold, especially a strongly fortified town fit for a large garrison.
A picture of strength and stability to dwell in as the enemy attacks. A place of security. A place to hide. A place of stronghold. Building a secure ancient fortress was not an overnight process. It happened day by day, brick by brick. Knowing God is also a process. It happens day by day as we read the Bible, worship Him and stay in community with other believers. He is my deliverer. Savior of our troubles - save us, protect us and removes us, helps us overcome or survive from our troubles.
He is my God. He is above all, He close and personal and promises to care and not leave me nor forsake me. He is to be worshiped, honored and praise. And righteousness! Without that we are lost! Oh, Lord God, the Temple and the city — what I see there sickens me. That ripe and rotten ritual, those empty gestures, those paid and padded priests! O God, Scripture: Micah Denomination: Baptist. Americans struggle with who they are.
If they would only listen to God and see who He has made them to be. Who are you? Who has God made you to be? Scripture: 1 Corinthians Denomination: Lutheran.
Third in the series "God Has a Dream. We get to love those who love us. Scripture: Genesis , Genesis This sermon shows the importance of encountering God if we have any hope of being transformed.
Scriptures give many example of those whoes lives were changed by an encounter with God. We need to be transformed in our thinking head , the passions of our heart, and our actions. Scripture: Acts , I. We Cannot Transform Ourselves A. Pride keeps us from seeing Scripture: Acts We want, whenever we gather together for worship, that we will meet with Jesus Christ.
We do not gather to preserve a dying tradition, we are here to worship a living Savior! Did you draw near to him and did he draw near to you? Did he bring light to your mind and strengthen your faith? Did he strengthen your soul? To meet Jesus is what we want for ourselves. It is also what we want for others. During the Thrive campaign, we learned that one in every four people in America has no experience whatsoever of church. We want to invite many of them to come and join us here at The Orchard and what we offer is the opportunity to meet Jesus, to open the Bible and discover who he is, what he has done, and what he is able to do for all who believe in him.
We want this church to be a place where people from every background come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may find life in his name. If you are a visitor today, I want you to know that we are glad you are here. Whether you have a Christian faith, some other faith, or no faith at all, we are glad that you would join us. I hope that you will want to be here each week as we open the Bible in order to meet Jesus.
I want us to focus today on verse 18, where John speaks to what must surely be the first issue in any journey to faith: How can I know God? These words have huge importance for us today. Earlier generations in this country grew up in a culture that was so dominated by Christianity that there was really only one decision: Do you believe or do you not believe?
But today, a student going to university arrives on campus and finds people who profess many different religious beliefs. There may be a new age group or two, and some people who are into the occult, and all of them are talking about God! How in the world is a thinking person to choose between them? There are many occasions in the Old Testament when God appeared in a human, visible form. We call these theophanies, and they are wonderful examples of God making himself known.
But God is Spirit. He is invisible to us. So what Moses actually saw was the after-burn of the glory of God. No one has ever seen God. Here is what this means: Not Moses, not Mohammad, not the Dalai Lama, nor any guru or any religious teacher, nor anyone laying claim to visions or experiences of another world, no prophet, no pastor, no person you can ever meet, read, hear, or see in this world has ever seen God.
Exercise your critical faculties.
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