This sermon focuses on the intimate knowledge and care that God has for each individual, emphasizing the importance of allowing God to search our hearts and minds. It explores the idea that even in the midst of confusion and pain, God's purpose can be revealed in hindsight, drawing us closer to Him. The message encourages listeners to open themselves up to God's word and to trust in His plan for their lives, knowing that they are known, loved, and never alone.

You know, as I sit there and pray before I get up here, I just say to myself, Lord, who happens to be here today? Who is struggling with significance, purpose? Who is having to fight off the attacks of why me, why now, why this? How many lonely, hurting, confused, wounded believers and unbelievers are there today? I believe that God has a word for you. It's certainly not a word for me, it's a word from his book. I hope you will try to put yourself into the psalm of David. David is not going to talk about Israel, David is not going to talk about historical acts. David is going to talk about his personal knowledge and conviction about God. And I hope that you can put your life in here. I mean, I think Paul had it right. 1 Corinthians 13, let me kind of paraphrase him. We walk through a dark fog right now. We look at life and we just go, this just doesn't make sense. Why this? And yet it has been my experience. That what I thought was so good and so of God, it hadn't been too many months or years I look back and say, that was a disaster. But that which I thought was coming from evil people or bad circumstances or whatever you want to call it, it hadn't been too long till I look back in that and say, you know, as painful as that was, that has made me closer to God. As painful as that was, I'm stronger today. As painful as that was, I see God's purpose in that as I look back, though I could not see it in the fog. The fog of the immediate, the fog of the why, why, why. And I don't think it's bad to ask why's. But I guess I'm asking you to open yourself up today and let God speak to you to the deepest needs of your heart and mind, of your family, of your goals and plans. I guess I'm asking you to hear the word of the Lord as it comes from Psalm 139. Is there a purpose for the individual? Does God care for the individual or is God just involved with the big events? Well, amazing enough, I think he cares for the big events and the individual. And it's texts like this that bring home that truth. Now, when in David's life this was written, I don't know. But I remember as a young child coming home from church on one Sunday night, and I remember looking up at the Milky Way in Houston. There wasn't a lot of street lights then. It was so vast and so awesome. I don't know what the preacher preached on. I don't know what happened that night. But I remember looking up and for the first time in my life not being afraid of God and feeling like he was with me. All these years that stuck. I just wonder if David, out with those sheep, those knights in the pasture land alone, maybe this was the experience that caused him to think about God. If I had to characterize this first stanza, it would be God knows me. The concept in Hebrew is much more intimate. It's a knowledge of persons. It's an intimacy factor. Adam knew Eve and she conceived, Genesis 4.1. Jeremiah 1.5, before you were born, I knew you and called you to be a prophet to the nations. It's an intimacy factor. And so we're going to talk about God's knowledge of the individual. Search me, O God. Well, that's exactly how this psalm starts. Search me, O Yahweh, and know me. Now, what is he saying? This word search is the idea of digging into the earth about something. God, dig into me. Know me intimately. God, be fully acquainted. I often think of my life as a house with no roof. A book fully open to the Lord. We don't have to tell the Lord what we're doing. We just have to tell Him why and that we want anymore. I mean, our lives are open books. I guess what amazes me, He knows us and still wants us to be a part of the family. I guess that's what amazes me is the knowledge is linked with compassion. And the knowledge is inclusive with all of our sins and problems and doubts and fears and personal rebellions and intentional sin. God still wants us to be a part of His family. He knows us and still loves us. Thou does know when I sit down and when I rise up. Thou does understand my thought from afar. Thou does scrutinize my path and my lying down. Thou art intimately acquainted with all of my ways. God is preparing you. He wants to use you. Your life is not by chance or luck or fate or happenstance or maybe or could be. If the Bible is true, you have an integral, personal, individual place. But you gotta come to know it. You gotta come to receive it. You gotta come to walk daily in it. This same little book that I like so much says that faith does not know that it has wings until it's knocked off its feet. Has something knocked you off your feet? Would you let the wings of the Word of God take your wounded, fearful heart to the very throne of the One who knows you, is with you, made you, and will not leave you? My heart and my soul, I give you control. Consume me from the inside out, Lord. Let justice and praise become my embrace to love you from the inside out. Who knows you, is with you, made you, and will not leave you. Yeah, my heart and my soul, I give you control. Consume me from the inside out, Lord. Let justice and praise become my embrace to love you from the inside out.