10/20/24 “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made”
“Fearfully & Wonderfully Made”
Psalm 139:13-16
If someone were to describe you, what words would they use?
What adjectives do you think would instantly come to their mind when asked about you?
Of course, there’s the physical attributes…short or tall, old or young, thin or not as thin, sick or healthy…
There would also be personality attributes.
Are you a patient person, or are you the kind of person who sits at a red light tapping your finger on the steering wheel saying “c’mon…c’mon…c’mon”
Maybe you’re a naturally outgoing person who enjoys talking to others…or…maybe you’re more introverted and reserved.
Then there are those things in life that we enjoy – as well as those things that we don’t really go for.
Some of you love to fish. I really WISH I could enjoy fishing…I really do. Spending a day out on a lake just casting a line sounds so relaxing.
My problem is after a couple of hours, I’d be thinking of all of the things I’m not getting accomplished in my office or around the house…then I would turn into that impatient person at the red light we talked about earlier.
Maybe you like sports. Or…Maybe you think sports are just dumb…
Maybe you like the taste of broccoli. Or…Maybe you think broccoli tastes like cardboard.
Maybe you love to listen to music. Or…Maybe you only listen to talk radio…
Maybe you like Culver’s…Or…maybe you LOVE Culver’s (Because It’s impossible to NOT like Culver’s, right?)
Well, you get the point…each one of us is a conglomeration of attributes that makes us completely distinctive from everyone else.
Just like snowflakes are unique, so are you…In this world of 8 billion people, there is no one exactly like you! 😊 You are literally one of a kind.
…and last week, we looked at how each human being is made in the image of God – the “Imago Dei.”
We all share some basic attributes with our heavenly Father.
Just like God, we are self-aware of who we are and that we have purpose.
Just like God, we have emotions and a will.
Just like God, we have responsibilities to attend to.
Just like God, we can love others unconditionally
It’s amazing to think that the creator of the Universe chose to share some of His own attributes with humanity…His crown jewel of earthly creation.
We truly are “Fearfully and Wonderfully made”, as our passage for today tells us.
However, there are some attributes of God that are specific only to Him.
There are some words – some adjectives – that can only be used to describe the almighty….and none other.
Psalm 139 – from which we have today’s sermon passage – includes 4 attributes of God that are His alone.
In the first 6 verses of this psalm – David, the author – describes God’s knowledge of all things
He says in verses 1, 3, and 4 that God knows him completely…
In verse 2 (Psalm 139:2) he writes that God can read his mind…
..and in verse 6 David admits that God’s complete knowledge of all things is far above that of his own…
In theological terms, this is referred to as God’s omniscience….His omniscience.
Then, in verses 7 through 12, we are told that God is able to be in all places…all the time.
In verse 7 (Psalm 139:7) David rhetorically asks “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?”…
…the answer, of course, is nowhere…God is everywhere.
I find this to be one of the most fascinating aspects of God…the idea that He is outside of the limitations of time.
…in fact, He created time itself – along with space and matter…therefore, He is not restricted or constrained by any of these things that we humans are bound by.
Have you ever thought about the fact that God is just as present 5,000 years ago - as He is 5,000 years into the future…as He is right now, today.
I don’t know about you, but this just boggles my mind how God is literally time-less
..and He doesn’t even need a 1981 DeLorean equipped with a flux capacitor to travel through time! 😊
Folks, we serve an amazing God – one who is in all places at all times.
This is referred to as God’s omnipresence…His omnipresence.
Another unique attribute of God is mentioned in verses 19-24….His perfect holiness.
David somewhat indirectly describes the holiness of God by contrasting God with the character of wicked men.
Man’s depravity disqualifies him from obtaining any kind of holiness on his own…
this is why Jesus is so important to the believer – because only through the transaction of the cross where Jesus took on our sin…and in return…imparts to us his righteousness – may we be considered holy in God’s sight.
No other method will suffice.
This is why Jesus declares in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
God is all-holy in every possible sense of the word – and this attribute can only be ascribed to Him.
No created being can ever be said to have complete holiness like that of the uncaused, first-cause…the Triune God of creation.
Lastly, we encounter God’s ultimate power in verses 13-18…including our specific passage for today.
To be all-powerful means that there is literally no force within – or outside of - the universe with greater influence than God himself.
There are times is scripture when God’s ultimate power – what’s called His omnipotence – is described through His mighty and awesome creation of the universe…
The Sun, moon, stars…all of these large-scale objects definitely instill a spirit of wonder within us, don’t they?
But here in Psalm 139, David describes God’s ultimate power in a much different way - through the creation of something that starts out very small…
…the creation of a human being.
Verse 13 (Psalm 139:13) begins by saying “For you created…”
This puts to rest the theory of Darwinian evolution…that idea that we all just somehow evolved from ape-like ancestors millions of years ago.
Rather, the Word of God says that he created.
He created the first humans – Adam & Eve – and …he created every single human being since that time….including you and me.
Moses reminds us of this truth in Deuteronomy 32:6 when he says “….Is He not your Father, your creator, who made you and formed you?”
The prophet Isaiah writes: “This is what the Lord says – he who made you, who formed you in the womb….”
Paul tells us in Romans 1:20 that the creative fingerprint of God is all around us to see - if we care to look for it.
Sadly, the majority of secular scientists today still cling to Darwin’s ideas of vertical evolution even though the fossil record shows absolutely no evidence of intermediate or transitional speciation occurring.
…If Darwinian evolution were true, we should be seeing countless numbers of these so called intermediate species, but that’s not what the fossil record reveals.
Highly respected molecular biologist Michael Denton says that “Evolutionary theory is still, as it was in Darwin’s time, a highly speculative hypothesis entirely without direct factual support.”
One of the repercussions of a purely evolutionary view of man’s origins is that it naturally leads to a de-valuing of human life…
If people are taught that man is just another animal, rather than being specially made in the image of God, then it becomes easier to understand how the sanctity – the preciousness – of human life is completely rejected in society today.
Nowhere is this more evident in our culture today than in the way people view the unborn.
How one views man’s origins will result in a direct correlation to how one views a baby in the womb.
Either we are specially created in God’s image…or we accidentally evolved from a prairie chicken.
Leading evolutionist Richard Dawkins had this to say back in 2013 concerning his views on abortion “With respect to those meanings of ‘Human’ that are relevant to the morality of abortion, any fetus is less human than an adult pig.”
He’s not alone in this way of thinking.
Cambridge ethics professor Dr. Peter Singer had this to say “Human babies are not self-aware, or capable of grasping that they exist over time. They are not persons; therefore, the life of a newborn is of less value than the life of a pig, a dog, or a chimpanzee.”
When we ignore the truth of God’s creation in mankind, we end up with abhorrent views such as these.
This anthropological ideology is one reason why – I believe – we see so many mass shootings take place…
This ideology is why students no longer have respect for authority in our public schools, causing many good Christian educators to leave the profession altogether…
…my son-in-law was one of them.
This ideology is why horrific events – such as the holocaust and slavery – have taken place in our world…
Evolution is inherently racist because it promotes the idea that stronger races will naturally oppress weaker ones in the struggle for life.
In fact, the full title of Darwin’s most famous work – including the subtitle – is ‘On The Origen of Species by means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the struggle for Life.”
Darwin was indeed a racist. He believed that his own race was more developed and superior to others…
and because of that view…people in positions of power who were motivated by Darwin’s theory have used it to justify the mistreatment of others based solely upon one’s race or ethnicity…
…one such adherent to Darwin’s ideology was a man named Adolph Hitler…I think you may have heard of him.
On the other hand, the Bible teaches that ALL human beings have equal value in God’s eyes…
…and that we ALL originate from the first created human beings – Adam & Eve.
Despite having different skin tones, we are all of one race – the human race…and there is simply no room for racism in the heart of the Christ follower.
Ironically, many of the loudest voices being heard today regarding racial injustice (or perceived injustices) are often the same people who adhere to the racist views of Darwinian evolution… That’s called Satanic deception.
Back to our text:
The second half of verse 13 (Psalm 139:13) describes God as knitting David together in his mother’s womb.
This is a beautiful illustration of how God is personally involved in guiding the physical development of every single unborn child.
The imagery of knitting reminds us of the human body’s incredible vascular and nervous systems – and the extreme complexity needed for each of these systems to function properly.
Notice how David refers to himself at this stage of his life...
He uses the words “I”, “My & “Me” to describe himself…and he continues to refer to himself with these subjective, objective, and possessive pronouns throughout this passage…
David’s choice of grammatical wording here indicates that he viewed himself as a distinct person, separate from his mother – long before being born.
The book of Jeremiah begins with a similar sentiment – but this time written from God’s perspective…
…it reads: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
The word “You” – used many times in this verse to refer to the yet-to-be-born Jeremiah, is a second-person pronoun indicating distinct personhood…
Jeremiah was a unique individual while growing in the womb.
In verse 14 of our passage for today, David rejoices in God’s creating of him in His own image….exclaiming: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made….”
YOU…are fearfully and wonderfully made!!
From eternity past, God had a plan for how He was going to design you…
…you are made exactly the way you were supposed to be!
Now….The question always comes up…what about those born with certain deficiencies or special needs of some kind?
…are those children created exactly the way God wanted them to be?
…And that’s a valid question.
One could answer that by discussing the fall of man & how sin has affected & corrupted the purity of God’s creation…which is true.
But I’d like to answer that question a bit differently this morning.
Let me tell you about Jeff.
Jeff is about my age, and I’ve known him most all my life.
Jeff was born with Down syndrome.
Jeff and his family attended the small Baptist church that I grew up in…and to this day, I remember the authentic joy that would overflow onto Jeff’s face when he was worshipping God there at church with everyone else….
I remember thinking to myself: “I wish I could experience a level of joy similar to what Jeff experiences during worship service…as well as afterwards when greeting everyone….Jeff was truly abiding in Jesus his savior.
With all due respect to my former pastors, Sunday school teachers, family, and friends…
I learned more about what it means to be a genuine joy-filled believer from a boy with Down Syndrome than anyone else in my 53 years on this earth.
Jeff was a constant reminder of how we all ought to have a childlike faith and dependence upon God and His word – no matter what our age or cognitive ability.
I miss Jeff…I haven’t seen him for quite a few years…but I know that wherever he is, he’s inspiring people around him to be better human beings…and inspiring believers to be better followers of Jesus.
He is – without question – fearfully and wonderfully made…just like you and I.
So…not only does God have plans for people such as Jeff, but often times He will reveal more about His own nature through people with special needs than anyone else…
..those of you who have the privilege of working with these precious people could tell us all endless stories of how they’ve inspired you in some way…
Before we wrap up this morning, I would be remiss to neglect the issue of abortion.
Obviously, all of us adults know what abortions is – and for the sake of our younger listeners this morning – I’ll spare you the gruesome details of how these procedures are conducted…
Some people believe that abortion is only a political issue because they hear about it so much in political commentary, debates, and advertisements…
…but in actuality, it’s a biblical issue - because it deals with the sanctity of life…and the immense value that God places upon every single human soul.
I realize that this topic is a sensitive one…
It’s very personal for some of you because you’ve experienced abortion in some way…
It’s not lost on me that here in America, 1 in 4 women have had an abortion at some point in their life…
…And as many women as we have here this morning, those statistics would tell me that – yes - some of you have experienced an abortion firsthand.
…and my intention this morning is not to shame you, or to bring painful memories to the surface.
…I believe that any woman who has chosen to have a baby aborted has already experienced enough trauma…and guilt…I don’t want to add to that today.
…With a presidential election on the horizon, though, I feel led to discuss some of these biblical issues that also cross over into the political arena – and as we all know – abortion is one of those major issues.
Despite Roe v Wade being overturned two years ago and the issue of abortion being sent back to the states, there unfortunately has been an uptick in abortions being performed in the US within the last 24 months…
So…even though the federal law protecting abortion was struck down, we are still saw nearly 1 million pregnancies end in abortion during the last 12 months.
To drive home the need for protecting the life of an unborn child, I’d like to introduce you to someone…
(Show picture of Baby face)
I’d like you to meet my granddaughter
We don’t know her official name yet, so for this morning, I’ll just refer to her as “Lindsay Jr.”
This picture was taken on Wednesday of last week, and already this 25-week-old baby has her grandpa wrapped around her finger…
Which, by the way, she uses her fingers and toes quite a bit right now…
Lindsay says that when Ryan gets home from work, he’ll play a game of ‘poke the baby’ with his finger…and every time Ryan pokes Lindsay Jr, Lindsay Jr punches back!
Lindsay Jr’s brain, lungs, and digestive system are all formed and she can hear external noises and voices from beyond the womb.
Lindsay Jr’s hands are fully formed, and she can grasp things around her
She is beginning to know up from down, she feels pain, and her eyes are beginning to function…
Lindsay Jr has already grown hair, and she even has tiny fingernails.
…And lastly, Lindsay Jr - with the help of medical instruments – could survive outside of her mother on her own right now…
There are some people in our world today that – despite all of this information – would say that Lindsay Jr is not a baby…
They would call her a clump of growing cells that has no intrinsic value…
As our Ethics Professor friend from Cambridge, Dr. Singer puts it “A newborn is of less value that the life of a pig, a dog, or a chimpanzee.”
…taking Mr. Singer’s words to their logical conclusion then… the extermination of such a life would be of no real consequence.
…And yet - if Lindsay Jr were to be delivered today - she would have the full rights and protections afforded to any other human being outside of the womb…
There is something very wrong – dare I say, demonic - with the idea that one can base another individual’s worth and value simply on their home address…
The Bible is clear that life begins at conception…there is simply no other point on the growth continuum where one can objectively say “this is where human life begins.”…other than the moment when a sperm fertilizes an egg.
In fact, researchers have discovered that a flash of light occurs the moment an egg is fertilized…
It’s been said that light signifies life…and I would definitely agree.
My prayer is that when you walk into the polling booth next month, you’ll remember the image of my granddaughter - and others like her – as they depend on those of us living outside of the womb to be their voice for life.
Let’s Pray.