1. 11 BECOMING OPEN TO GOD PSALM 139 (A PRAYER BASED ON THE CHARACTER OF GOD) ©Canon Jim Holbeck TOPIC 4

2. 222 THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE GOD WHO KNOWS AND CARES The truths about God How these truths relate to us today

3. Canon Jim Holbeck 3 3 What we think about God will determine how we pray to Him David’s prayer was based on the character of God as He had revealed Himself In this Psalm is a wonderful description of the character of God 1). Verses 1 to 6 God’s Omniscience 2). Verses 7 to 12 God’s Omnipresence 3). Verses 13 to 18 God’s Omnipotence 4). Verses 19 to 22 God’s Omnijudgment Then follows a Prayer based on the character of God. Verses 23 – 24

4. 4Canon Jim Holbeck4 1). THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD The God Who Knows Everything about us Psa 139:1) O LORD, you have searched me and known me. (Psa 139:2) You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. Psa 139:3) You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways (Psa 139:4) Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely. Psa 139:5) You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. (Psa 139:6) Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.Psa 139:1) O LORD, you have searched me and known me. (Psa 139:2) You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. Psa 139:3) You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways (Psa 139:4) Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely. Psa 139:5) You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. (Psa 139:6) Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.

5. 5 5 Canon Jim Holbeck Everything that has ever been done to us or said to us. He knows all the things that have made us what we now are. The good and the bad. He knows the damage done to us He knows the healing that is needed for us individually He knows how to heal us What His omniscience means for us He KNOWS all about OUR PAST

6. Canon Jim Holbeck 6 6 What His Omniscience Means For Us (continued) He KNOWS all about OUR PRESENT SITUATION He knows our inner desires, what we really want He knows our motives behind all we say and do He knows what we are thinking all the time He KNOWS and He UNDERSTANDS us perfectly God never misunderstands us. He never gets it wrong Others may falsely condemn us but He knows the truth His opinion of us is 100% accurate His opinion is the most important one in the world

7. Canon Jim Holbeck 7 7 What His Omniscience Means For Us (continued) He KNOWS all about OUR FUTURE We can trust Him with our future for it is in His plan and purpose Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Prov 3:5,6, Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

8. Canon Jim Holbeck88 2).THE OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD He can be found everywhere Psa 139:7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? Psa 139:8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! Psa 139:9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Psa 139:10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. Psa 139:11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," Psa 139:12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

9. 9 Canon Jim Holbeck 9 Can we flee from His presence? David couldn’t as he describes in this Psalm Francis Thompson’s poem “The Hound of Heaven”. I fled Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears I hid from Him, and under running laughter. Up vistaed hopes I sped; And shot, precipitated, Adown Titanic glooms of chasmed fears, From those strong Feet that followed, followed after But with unhurrying chase, And unperturbèd pace, Deliberate speed, majestic instancy, They beat—and a Voice beat More instant than the Feet— 'All things betray thee, who betrayest Me'.

10. 10 Canon Jim Holbeck 10 Later in the poem God “speaks” to Francis Thompson, (descriptive of his journey) Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee, Save Me, save only Me? All which I took from thee I did but take, Not for thy harms, But just that thou might'st seek it in My arms. All which thy child's mistake Fancies as lost, I have stored for thee at home: Rise, clasp My hand, and come!'

11. Canon Jim Holbeck 11 Professor C.S. Lewis couldn’t run away He wrote in “Surprised By Joy” of his being approached by the Hound of Heaven at night in Magdalen College in Oxford. He said he was conscious “of the steady unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet That which I had greatly feared had at last come upon me… I gave in and admitted that God was God and knelt and prayed: perhaps that night the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England”. Lewis’ gripping statement: The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and his compulsion is our liberation. What does it mean?

12. What the Omnipresence of God means to us today There is never a time when we as believers are alone. Heb 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Mat 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Eph 2:6 God….raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus What the Omnipresence of God means to us today

13. 13Canon Jim Holbeck13 13 13For it was You who formed my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother's womb What does that mean for us today? 3). THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. vs.13-18. He is all powerful. He can do all things

14. 14 Canon Jim Holbeck 14 “YOU … formed my inward parts;” “YOU knit me together in my mother's womb” You are a personal, individual creation by God Himself!!!! You are a person of eternal significance God meant you to be!!!! Eph 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will 3). THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. vs.13-18. He can do all things (continued) i). VERSE 13. You are NOT a MISTAKE!

15. Canon Jim Holbeck 15 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made Wonderful are your works; that I know very well What is our self esteem, self image like? Healthy or unhealthy? ( How do we go on the mirror test?) Do we like what we see? 3). THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. vs.13-18. He can do all things (continued) ii). VERSE 14. We are “Wonderfully made!”

16. 16 Canon Jim Holbeck 16 3). THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. vs.13-18. He can do all things (continued) Wrong ways of looking at ourselves can be very unhealthy. Eg., people suffering from I.U.S. Dysmorphophobia  What is it? dys morpho phobia  Morphe = form or appearance  Phobia = fear, anxiety, preoccupation with  An anxiety about our appearance IUS= Imagined Ugliness Syndrome B.D.D. = Body Dysmorphic Disorder Triggered by remembering hurtful remarks of the past about our appearance. Can be healed as we recognise who we are in Christ and accept His view of us

17. 17 Canon Jim Holbeck 17 15. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. What does that mean for us? 3). THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. vs.13-18. He can do all things (continued) iii). VERSE 15-16. God is with us always

18. 18 Canon Jim Holbeck 18 Some ask, “Where WERE YOU when things happened in my life that should never have happened?” God abhors all evil. He tries to prevent it happening Sometimes people don’t act on the niggling doubts they have in some situations and so innocent people suffer as a result It wasn’t God’s fault that the innocent suffered! Humans misused their freewill to hurt fellow humans contrary to the will of God God can bring healing to those who suffered provided they turn to Him for help The devil tries to stop people turning to God who can heal them 3). THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. vs.13-18. He can do all things (continued) God was involved in our birth, our ongoing growth and knows the end of our days

19. 19 Canon Jim Holbeck 19 17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them 18 I try to count them--they are more than the sand; I come to the end--I am still with you. One can never fully understand God. Is 55:8, His thoughts and ways are beyond ours. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. We may not fully understand Him but we can fully trust in His promises to us 3). THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD. vs.13-18. He can do all things (continued) iv). VERSES 17-18. Humility before God

20. 20Canon Jim Holbeck20 19 O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me-- 20 those who speak of you maliciously, and lift themselves up against you for evil! 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. (David is saying he is on God’s side living for His glory. He will not side with God’s enemies) 4). THE OMNIJUDGMENT OF GOD VS.19-22. He is judge of all

21. 21Canon Jim Holbeck21 23. "Search me O God and know my heart." "Test me and know my anxious thoughts." v.24. "See if there is any offensive way in me" (Any path in me that brings You grief) And lead me in the way everlasting." THE PRAYER OF THE PERSON WHO WANTS TO BE IN GOD'S WILL

22. 22 Canon Jim Holbeck 22 THE PRAYER OF THE PERSON WHO WANTS TO BE IN GOD'S WILL (continued) We invite the God who searches (see verse 1), to search us. 23. "Search me O God and know my heart.“ (Search and make known to me what You see. Then I will act on what you show me) "Test me and know my anxious thoughts." (Reveal to me what You recognise) v.24. "See if there is any offensive way in me" (Any path in me that brings You grief) And lead me in the way everlasting."

23. 23 Canon Jim Holbeck 23 THE PRAYER OF THE PERSON WHO WANTS TO BE IN GOD'S WILL (continued) Note WHO does the searching and the revealing. GOD DOES in answer to prayer. We don’t. We DON’T invite Him to cooperate with us while we search. Rather we cooperate with Him AS HE SEARCHES. He as THE COUNSELLOR will only reveal as much as we can cope with at the time. Then He reveals more for our healing. His ministry to us is always appropriate

24. 24Canon Jim Holbeck24 A SUGGESTED EXERCISE TO DO IN A TIME OF QUIETNESS WITH GOD

25. 25Canon Jim Holbeck25 ASKING THE GOD WHO SEARCHES ALL THINGS TO SEARCH US

26. Canon Jim Holbeck 26 Canon Jim Holbeck 26 What is it that God knows about in our lives? Everything -in the past, -the present -the future!

27. 27 Canon Jim Holbeck 27 1. All that we have thought, said or done. Has all my sin in thought, word, attitude and deed, been brought to the light, specifically confessed and forgiveness received? 2. Have I asked God to heal the wounds of those whom I hurt? "Lord, show me." “Please heal them.” 3. “What action do I now need to take?” THE PAST. (From conception to the present)

28. 28 Canon Jim Holbeck 28 All that has been thought, said and done to us and attitudes adopted to us 1. Whom do I need to forgive, and ask God to bless? 2. Do I need forgiveness for holding any resentment, bitterness or unforgiveness towards anyone? "Lord, show me.” 3. Have I asked God to heal me of the wounds other people have given me? “Lord please heal me.” 4. What action do I now need to take?

29. 29 Canon Jim Holbeck 29 1). "Lord, to what extent are they identical to what you want to do in me and through me? Gal 2:20,"crucified with Christ … Christ lives in me?" (Rom 8:5, What is our mind-set?) 2). What are my motives, desires and values? "Lord are they Yours for me?“ Am I willing to relinquish my rights in order to fulfil my responsibilities to Him? "Lord, show me. Lord, be the Lord of my life from this point on." THE PRESENT. My present thoughts, words, attitudes and deeds

30. 30 Canon Jim Holbeck 30 1. Is my goal the same as St.Paul's? His was "to know Him and the power of His resurrection.“ Phil 3:10 2. Is my ambition to build up adequate security? Am I looking for my security in things rather than in Him? 3. Are the plans I’m making for the future, really the ones You Lord, want for me? "Lord show me.“ “Lord, lead me in the way everlasting." THE FUTURE. My goals, ambitions and plans

31. 31 Canon Jim Holbeck 31 Through our openness to God, we can cooperate with Him as HE searches us. He can reveal to us the things we need to know for our HEALING and for our EMPOWERING to be able to live for Him and to serve Him.

32. Canon Jim Holbeck32 THE END Topic 4-Open to God Psalm 139