Wonderfully Complex - 2

                                                                 Wonderfully Complex - 2

Subject – Discovering Our Identity in Christ

By Rick Welborne

Psalm 139:13-18 (NLT) 

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 

16 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. 

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 

18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! 

Review Last Week:

1. There has never been and never will be anyone else like you!

2. No one can worship God like you or for you!

3. To find out who you are supposed to be, you will have to dig deep.

Psalm 139:14 (NLT) 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

–Tonight we want to continue this journey of recognizing God’s unique print upon us and our willingness to find our uniqueness in God. We want to look for defining moments.

1. We must recognize those defining moments which reveal our destinies.

Batterson: Time may be measured in minutes, but life is measured in moments. And some moments are bigger than life. And it’s those defining moments that dictate the way we see life.

–Some of these moments may be as predictable as a wedding day or the birth of a child. Others may be as unpredictable as an accident.

–You never know which moment may become a defining moment, but being able to identify those moments is the key to identifying who you are. We must be sensitive to Holy Spirit all the time. 

–Psychological research suggest that one’s self concept is defined by a very small number of experiences. They say 99% of life’s experiences vanish like vapor into the subconscious abyss. Not sure about that percentage.

–That means only 1% of these experiences (according to them) make it into our conscious memories and only 1% of that 1% not only are remembered but are unforgettable. 

Batterson:  These are the moments that define who we are. And managing those memories is a form of stewardship. Every past experience is preparation for some future opportunity.  

–One of the ways God redeems the past is by helping us see it through His eyes. His providence. So the key in finding your destiny is hidden in your past memories.

Joshua 4:5‑7 (NKJV) 

5 and Joshua said to them: "Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 

6 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' 

7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever." 

–Joshua was telling the people to set up memorial stones for their children in the future...These valuable memories become a part of who they are...do it for your kids. I have set up memorials for our kids.

–When you look in the mirror what do you see...you see the reflection of accumulated experiences.

–Defining moments are what shape us into what we have become. We are the aggregation (accumulation) of where we’ve been, what we’ve done, and who we’ve known...Wow...how important our choices are.

–Hear me...there are a few places, a few experiences, and a few people who leave imprints in ways that become parts of our soul prints. Can you give us an example in Scripture? Stephen left his soul print on Saul/Paul.

Acts 7:56‑60 (NKJV) 

56 and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" 

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 

58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 

59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 

60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. 

Acts 8:1 (NIV) 1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.

1 Corinthians 15:9 (NKJV) 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 

2. We must understand what our soul print is.

–Think about this...your finger print distinctly identifies and differentiates you from everyone else who has ever lived, but your finger print is only skin deep.

Batterson: You possess a uniqueness that is soul deep. I call it your soul print. It’s not just who you are, present tense. It’s who you are destined to become, future tense. It’s not just who others see when they look at you from the outside in. It’s who God has destined you to become from the inside out.  

–Your soul print hard wires your true identity and true destiny like your genetic code programs your physical anatomy.

–We always try to live our lives forward but God works backward. The Omniscient One (All Knowing) always starts with the end in mind. Example please:

Psalm 139:16 (NIV) 16 All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  

–As with the Psalmist all your days are ordained by God. It is our holy responsibility to discover that God ordained destiny, just like David did. His epitaph speaks for itself:

Acts 13:36 (NIV) 36 "For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. 

–Very important that you understand this: Even though David had very humble beginnings and made huge mistakes he fulfilled his destiny. Your mistakes do not define you…giving up will.

–We will look to David as our example of having this soul print and fulfilling God’s unique purpose in our generation.

–On a day a defining moment happened when he bent down in a brook and picked up 5 smooth stones. His life was about to end or was about to begin. His destiny was being designed by God and by his courage. 

–Everybody who had ever known David, including his own father, saw him as nothing more than a shepherd boy. Don’t worry about what others do not see in you. God sees you differently.

–David saw the person God had destined him to be...a worshiper and a giant killer. That was his true identity and his true destiny.  What is your true identity and destiny?

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. 

3. We must believe that we were conceived by God before we were conceived by our parents.

–Every work of an artist originates in the imagination of the artist...so you and I were conceived in the imagination of God...how awesome is that?

–You took shape in the heart and imagination of God before you took shape in the womb of your mother. 

Vincent van Gogh: Christ is more of an artist than the artists...He works in the living spirit and the living flesh; He makes men instead of statues.

–God is painting a picture of grace on the canvas of your life. God is writing His-story, history with a hyphen, through your life. God is crafting your character through the circumstances of your life.

Batterson: To see yourself as anything other than God’s masterpiece is to devalue and distort your true identity. And it’s in discovering your true identity that your true destiny is revealed.

–A sense of destiny is your sacred birthright as a child of God. Former verse:

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. 

–The word “planned” is drawn from the Eastern custom of sending servants in advance of a king to prepare the road ahead. It was their responsibility to secure safe passage and make sure the king arrived at his destination.

–Paul took something they understood and turned it upside down (really right side up). The King of kings goes before His servants to prepare the road ahead. Jesus is going ahead of you!

–In other words He strategically places us in the right place at the right time. God is setting you up and that ought to fill you with an unshakable sense of destiny. Example:

Isaiah 45:1‑3 (NKJV) 

1 "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held‑‑ To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: 

2 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. 

3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 

--God will do the same thing for us if we seek Him with all of hearts. 

Intimacy with God - 4

                                                                    Intimacy with God - 4

Subject – Having a Determined Purpose is not Easy

By Rick Welborne

Philippians 3:10 AMP                                                                                                                                         [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him—that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding [the wonders of His person] more strongly and more clearly. And that I may in the same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [the power it exerts over believers]; and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death.   

--Today let’s look at two more essential decisions, each related to a discipline (we are disciples), that will help us develop an in-depth intimacy with Christ and Holy Spirit. 

--If you are serious about becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with God, you will find these two decisions will help you in that process. 

--Last week we looked at these two disciplines and they had ouch written all over them. It only gets tougher.

Reordering One’s Private World: The Discipline of Simplicity

--Everything we encounter in this world works against reordering and simplifying our lives. Yes, everything. Our world is cluttered with junk and is extremely complicated. 

Ecclesiastes 7:29 (TEV)                                                                                                                                        29 God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated.

--Solomon was definitely right…We have made ourselves very complicated. Not only do we acquire more stuff, we accumulate more and more and run out of room to keep it. 

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NKJV)
³  But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Being Still: The Discipline of Silence

--I have almost found in my own personal life that this challenge is insurmountable. Another family crisis, another funeral, Covid, and just life keeps us from the times of silence. But listen to the Psalmist:

Psalm 46:10 (NKJV) 

¹⁰  Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! 

Swindoll – Noise and words and frenzied, hectic schedules dull our senses, closing our ears to His still small voice and making us numb to His touch.

--Intimacy with Jesus calls for disciplines that are no longer valued or emulated by our society. We must begin with simplicity which allows us to re-order our private world. 

--After this, there must be silence…Be still and know that I am God. This silence and stillness allows us to be able to hear from God and allow for the closeness we so desperately need. 

--All of us can testify, God does not speak to a hurried, worried mind. It takes time alone with Him and His word before we can expect our spiritual strength to recover. Let’s look at two more disciplines today.

1. Cultivating Serenity: The Discipline of Solitude

--We all understand (hopefully) the value of companionship to enable us to be encouraged, accountable, and challenged. But please do not miss the value of the discipline of solitude where we cultivate serenity.

Serenity – the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled. 

--Solitude has been called the “furnace of transformation.” Not just a quick-stop of privacy where we gain just enough strength to keep going. It becomes an oasis of the soul.

--It is where we see ourselves, others, and especially our God in new ways. It is where the clutter of our lives is identified and exterminated. Soul surgery transpires as serenity replaces anxiety.

Swindoll – In solitude, struggles occur that no one else knows about. Inner battles are fought here that seldom become fodder for sermons or illustrations for books. God, Who probes our deepest thoughts during protracted segments of solitude, opens our eyes to things that need attention. It is here He makes us aware of those things we try to hide from others. 

--Henri Nouwen describes solitude as a place to get rid of scaffolding that holds us up: no friends to talk to, no telephones, no meetings, not even music, no books except the Bible.

--Just us, naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken, nothing. It is in this nothingness that I have to face my solitude. So much nothingness that all I want to do is run to my friends, work, my phone. It hurts.

--As we stay in our solitude we have confusing thoughts, disturbing images, wild fantasies, and weird thoughts attack my mind like wild monkeys in a banana tree. Anger and greed show up. 

--Wow, Pastor Rick, that sounds terrible. Our task is to persevere in solitude, to stay in our isolation, until the monkeys (demons) decide to leave. Most of us resist this kind of soul searching because it is too severe.

--We think; life is way too short for this kind of scrutiny. My religious show must continue! No, the point of the discipline of solitude is to stop the show. Listen to the Psalmist inviting this examination.

Psalm 139:1-4, 23 -24 (NKJV)
¹  O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
²  You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.
³  You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴  For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
²³  Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
²⁴  And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. 

--The Apostle Paul sees the church at Corinth abusing the wonderful Lord’s supper so he corrects them. He tells not to neglect those who are hungry. Don’t get drunk. Listen to his instruction to examine themselves:

1 Corinthians 11:28-31 (NKJV)
²⁸  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
²⁹  For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
³⁰  For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
³¹  For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

--If we refuse to take these times of solitude we find ourselves continuing busy with no hope of serenity.

--Let’s face it, it is time for judgment to begin and to begin at the house of God. God never intended His church to become a place of empty, endless chatter. Self-examination is necessary if we will grow up in the Lord.

--Listen to Jesus’ admonishment to His disciples after a time of ministry to the people. 

Mark 6:30-32 (NKJV)
³⁰  Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.
³¹  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
³²  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.

--Sadly the people chased them down before they could rest but Jesus’ words still resonate with us for solitude. Swindoll strongly encourages us to keep a journal of these times of solitude. Easy to forget what you heard.

2. Trusting the Lord Completely: The Discipline of Surrender

--I am well aware that all of us have heard how “trusting in the Lord” is not a new concept or a new revelation to the church. Just a few days ago someone said the verses about trusting in the Lord were their life verses.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
⁵  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 

--Though it has been used and re-used the fact remains that God is inviting us in all of our ways, in everything we are doing or hoping to do, that we should trust Him with all of hearts. Easy to say but hard to do.

--If we have a determined purpose, like Paul, to become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Jesus, we cannot do our own thing or try to work out the details of our own lives. We must trust Him fully.

--This generation, thanks to us who have raised them, pretty much cannot stand the word “surrender” so the discipline of surrender sounds ridiculous. No one surrenders anything now days.

--For the most part, our kids have never had to learn to trust God because we have taught them to trust us more than God. Thus, we raise kids who become adults not knowing how to trust God with all their hearts.

--They want it, we get it. They do not have to work for it or change anything about their lives and we oblige to serve them. They don’t appreciate it and then, they want more and more. We give it. Remember working?

--Sadly, we have been cheating this generation out of trusting and surrender. Too bad, since it is in trusting and surrender that some of God’s greatest treasures are found. Listen to Swindoll talk about trusting God:

Swindoll – I’m finally learning that His sovereign plan is the best plan. That whatever I entrust to Him, He can take care of better than I. That nothing under His control can ever be out of control. That everything I need, He knows about in every detail. When I keep my hands out of things, His will is accomplished. His Name is exalted, and His glory is magnified. 

--I hope we are learning that surrendering to our sovereign Lord, leaving the details of our future in His hands, is the most responsible act of obedience we can do. Find solitude, learn to trust, and find intimacy. 

--Trusting will make me a deeper person passionately loving Him with all my heart. Intimacy!

Courage to Get Out of the Boat - 2

                                                       Courage to Get Out of the Boat - 2

Subject: Do Not Let Jesus Pass You By

By Rick Welborne

Mark 6:45‑51 (NKJV) 

45 Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. 

46 And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. 

47 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. 

48 Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 

49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; 

50 for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid." 

51 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. 

–Last week we talked about getting out of the boat and walking on water...we talked about the process where God calls us to trust Him and obey even if it is out of our comfort zone.

–It was interesting to hear so many talking about God’s call and the process they went thru in obeying Him and even some who struggled to obey Him. Tonight we will look at what Mark records:

Mark 6:48 (NKJV) 

48 Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 

–Today I want to speak to you about: Do not let Jesus pass you by.

1. Do not let Jesus pass you by when it seems your boat is going to sink.

–One of the things that we struggle with so much when we are in the storm is recognizing the power and presence of God. Didn’t He say He would never leave us?

Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)
¹⁹  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
²⁰  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

–So what was Jesus up to when He was out walking on the sea at 3:00am? What was His purpose of passing them by? Was He trying to show them how cool He was?

John Ortberg: David Garland points out the verb parerchomai (to pass by) is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament as a technical term to refer to a theophany—those defining moments when God made “striking and temporary appearances in the earthly realm to a select individual or group for the purpose of communicating a message.”

–God put Moses in the cleft of the rock so he could see God’s glory pass by...There are always patterns to these revelations whether thru a burning bush, thru wind or fire or even walking on the water...with each person God was calling them to do something extraordinary for Him and to see His glory.

–Fear was always in their lives, but when they recognized Who it was, Jesus, they made a decision to say yes to Him...they truly experienced the power of God in their lives. It was Life Changing!

–The whole concept of God’s revelation is hopefully to connect you on a deeper level. It may just be the Lord’s time and way of telling you to get out of the boat and walk to Him.

Heb. 10:24-25 (NCV) ²⁴  Let us think about each other and help each other to show love and do good deeds.
²⁵  You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming.

–Pastor, I have been hurt...I’ve been burned...all of us have been hurt or disillusioned at some time but never do we get an option to quit: Remember:

Romans 11:29 (NKJV) 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 

2. Recognize that this is a chance of a lifetime, and do not let Jesus pass you by.

–Is your boat filling up with water? Are the winds and waves pushing you all around? Are you thinking...there is no recovering from this situation. I lost my chance to minister or for my miracle. Cry out to Him.

Mark 10:46‑52 (NKJV) 

46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 

47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 

48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 

49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you." 

50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. 

51 So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." 

52 Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. 

–He heard Jesus was passing by and he knew this was his opportunity for God to heal him, to restore him, to use him for His glory.

–He began to cry out...They warned him to be quiet...there are always those who will warn you to be quiet ...don’t make a scene...don’t bother Jesus...this is your lot in life. Ignore them kindly!

–No way! Jesus is passing by and this is my opportunity...It may be my only opportunity...He cried out all the more...Son of David, have mercy on me!

–Some of the most powerful words in the Bible...Jesus stood still...Bartimaeus had Jesus’ attention. Jesus is close by for a reason. He loves you!

–Maybe you are hurting, brokenhearted, sick, blind, broke, feel burned out...you fill in the blank...Cry out to Jesus until He stands still for you and calls you to Himself.

–What do you want Me to do for you? A blank check! Are you kidding me? I want to see...I want to be able to see You Jesus! Immediately He received His sight.

–Get out of your boat...cry out to Him...let Him turn your life around! Surrender totally to Him! I don’t mean for you to try Jesus…He is Lord and He is not to be tried but to be served and obeyed.

3. Obedience to Christ is no guarantee that you will not have adversity.

Psalm 34:19‑22 (NKJV) 

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. 

20 He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. 

21 Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. 

22 The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. 

–Wasn’t it Jesus Who told them to get in the boat and to go to the other side...The One Who had power over the sea, over the winds and waves thought it was time for them to see Who really is in charge.

Mark 6:45-46 (NCV)
⁴⁵ Immediately Jesus told his followers to get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida across the lake. He stayed there to send the people home.
⁴⁶ After sending them away, he went into the hills to pray. 

--Jesus instructed them to get in the boat and to go to the other side. Let me mess with your theology a little bit. Would Jesus ever send us into trouble? Into a storm?

--Just as a reminder, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted or tested by the devil. Yes, God would send us into a storm, not for our destruction but for His glory. 

--If that was not enough…once He sent them into the storm, He went to the hills to pray. Does God hear His prayers? Of course. Would He be praying the perfect will of the Father? Of course!

Romans 8:34-39 (NKJV)
³⁴  Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
³⁵  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
³⁶  As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
³⁷  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
³⁸  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
³⁹  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

–I am sure Peter said we have this thing...I am a fisherman and I know the sea...really? Don’t trust yourself when Jesus is so near. Don’t let Him pass you by!

–Jesus: Yes, guys you will have adversity but understand that I can be trusted...If I say get in the boat and go to the other side...you will get there. Your destiny is in My hands. How many of you believe that?

–There will be those defining moments which are divinely appointed by God which will shake us to our foundations, to our core...not a time to pull back or quit.

–If you were to take a survey of all those in this service tonight who have been at the breaking point...that would be most of us...it is not a time shrink back or turn away.

Hebrews 10:37‑39 (NLT) 

37 “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 

38 And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.” 

39 But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved. 

Dale Brunner: According to the Holy Scriptures, human extremity is the frequent meeting place with God. 

–When you get to the end of yourself, when it appears all hope is lost, when you think you are going under, when you have been given no chance by the doctors...reach up...Cry out...You just might touch the hand of God!

Key: Do not let Him pass you by!

 

Wonderfully Complex - 1

Wonderfully Complex - 1

Subject - Finding Your Uniqueness in God

By Rick Welborne

Psalm 139:1‑16 (NLT) 

1 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 

2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. 

3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. 

4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. 

5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! 

7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 

8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. 

9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 

10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. 

11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— 

12 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. 

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 

16 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. 

–This portion of Scripture has always brought me a measure of comfort and of great consternation. God knows everything about me!

–He knows what I am going to say before I say it...wow!  He goes with me everywhere! Verse 13-14 begins to talk about how God made you and I unique...

Psalm 139:13‑14 (NLT) 

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

–Look at your neighbor and say...you are wonderfully complex!

–He was watching when we were formed and woven together (my body, my personality, everything about me). You were there watching and forming me.

–If that were not enough...every day of my life...every moment was laid out in your book before a single day had passed...God has a plan uniquely for me...just for me. Mark Batterson - Soul Print!

1. There has never been and never will be anyone else like you!

–Look at the person on your right and left and say “Amen”. This is not a testament to you.  It is a testament to the God Who created you.

–You are unlike anyone who has ever lived...you have your own finger prints...your eye scan would be different than anyone else...God is so incredible...snowflakes!

–Your uniqueness is not a virtue but a responsibility. Uniqueness is God’s gift to you, and uniqueness is your gift to God.

Mark Batterson - You owe it to yourself to be yourself. But more important, you owe it to the One Who designed you and destined you.

–Before any of you start to get nervous...this is not going to be a self-help sermon or series. Self-help is nothing more than idolatry...you are not good enough to get where God wants you to go without His help.

–Here is the good news:  There is nothing God cannot do in you and through you if you simply yield your life to Him. All of it. All of you. Think of your uniqueness in this verse

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 

2. No one can worship God like you or for you!

–This sermon is all about you, but it’s not about you at all. The fact that there has never been and never will be anyone like you simply means no one can worship God like you.

Batterson - You were created to worship God in a way that no one else can. How?  By living a life no one else can – your life. 

–God has created you to fulfill a unique destiny and no one else can take your place. Fulfilling your true destiny starts with you discovering who you really are and this is probably our greatest challenge.

–Most of us live our entire lives as strangers to who God intended us to be. We know more about other people than we know about ourselves.

–How do we lose our true identities? They get buried in the mistakes we have made, the choices we have made, the insecurities we have embraced, the lies we have believed.

–You will never amount to anything...you are not supposed to be here.   When are you leaving home? 10 yrs.

–Hear me...we are held captive by others expectations of us...their belief of what we will become...we are uncomfortable in our skin. We are prisoners of others thoughts of us. 

–We spend way too much emotional, relational, and spiritual energy trying to be who we are not. Why?  Because it is easier and safer! When I went to Bible school everyone wanted to be Jimmy Swaggart. 

–When we try to be someone God has not called us to be it is the equivalent of selling our birthrights. The sad thing is not just that we are lying to ourselves...somewhere along the way, we lose ourselves.

Missionary Amy Singleton - I am not sure where you are on your journey.  Maybe you are at the beginning trying to figure out who you are. Maybe you are on the back end of your life trying to remember who you were meant to be. Possibly you are somewhere in the middle trying to close the gap between who you are and who God intended you to be. 

–The key is that I want you to experience the joy of finding out who you really are and the freedom of discovering who you are not. I am not Jimmy Swaggart or any other preacher on the planet.

–It is not necessarily easy to discover who you were intended to be (clouded so much by cheap imitations) and there are no shortcuts. God has not given up on you yet.

–I am challenging you tonight not to give up on yourself and let this promise soak into your spirit...it is never too late to be who you might have been...stop believing what others said about you.

–Pastor Rick, what if I only have two days, two weeks or even two years? It does not matter...become who God intended you to be for the rest of your life!

James 4:13‑15 (NIV) 

13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 

14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 

15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 

3. To find out who you are supposed to be you will have to dig deep.

Batterson - Self-discovery is like an archaeological dig. It takes a long time to uncover the hidden treasures that lie buried beneath the surface. You can never be certain of what you will find or where you will find it. And it is a painstaking process.  

–If we fail to dig deep in discovering who we are in Christ. It will result in a superficial life.

--If you live as a stranger to yourself how will you ever find intimacy with others? Intimacy is a product of self-discovery. It stands to reason that it will be hard to get to know others when you do not even know yourself.

–How will this relate to our occupation? If you have not discovered who you are with your unique gifts and passions how will you find fulfillment in what you do?

Key - You might make a living, but you will not make a life. You will never experience the joy of doing what you love and loving what you do. 

–How does this unwillingness to dig deep and discover who we are in Christ affect us spiritually? 

Batterson: Superficiality is a form of hypocrisy. If you fail to discover the truth, the whole truth, about yourself, aren’t you lying to yourself? Your life becomes a half truth.

–Many of us live second persona lives because we have bought into the notion that image is everything.

Amy Singleton (Missionary) - Young adults are tired of seeing in our churches all the lights, the glitzes, and the superficial. What they are looking for are people who will be real and who will be themselves. When a real person speaks the truth hungry people will come flocking to them because of the void that now exists.

–I am so glad that Amy was who God called her to be. When will live as the second persona we end up with a second hand life. Instead of living out God’s best for us we allow someone else to narrate our lives...Hypocrisy!

Psalm 139:14 (NLT) 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

–No matter how bad your situation or life maybe God has a plan for you...exclusively for you. When God’s people were being led into captivity listen to what he says to them:

Jeremiah 29:11‑13 (NIV) 

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 

–We not only cheat ourselves and others when we fail to discover our God given identities and God ordained destinies, but we also cheat God Himself.

–Your life inside whatever image you are living needs constant care, feeding, and of course, protection. We live in disguise presenting ourselves to be what we think we are meant to be. We are lying to ourselves. 

–Superficiality is the curse of our culture and I am afraid it has crept into our churches. You see it with 60-70-year-old pastors with their designer jeans and spiky hair cuts...shirts out and pointy toed shoes.

–Nothing wrong with that if that is who you are and who God created you to be. Why do we do this?  Why do we try so hard to imitate others...to be a copy?

–Here’s the answer...We are afraid of who we will find if we start digging deep into our own lives. We are afraid of digging up past hurts, failures, major sins we have done or major sins done to us.

–Pastor Rick, I don’t want to dig all that up in my life...keep digging...dig past all the junk and all the mess and you will find the truth that is buried beneath your sin...the image of God.

Genesis 1:27 (NKJV) 

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 

–Keep digging and you will find your true identity and God’s true destiny for your life. As you do you will never see yourself the same way again because you will see yourself thru the eyes of your Creator!