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Engineered by God

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DWM-10 Engineered.doc
Engineered by God: Loving the Way
God Made You
Psalm 139:13-18
DWM-45

Each of us here this morning are engineered by God; and as we open to Psalm 139, He wants us to understand His intentional design and reflect His glory, by loving the way He made all of the unchangeable features of our lives.

One of the greatest reminders of God’s creative power is the reality that each of us humans who have ever lived are distinctly, uniquely, and wonderfully different. From our fingerprint, to our tongues, from our DNA to our lives—we are all spiritual snowflakes, truly one-of-a-kind.

The fingerprint of God upon us means that no two of us have ever been quite alike, in all the generations of humans, since Adam and Eve were created in the Garden of Eden.

We Uniquely Bear the Fingerprints of God

Engineered by God

Each of us are built to a perfect and intricate set of plans, engineered by God Himself. Part of the distinction that sets humans apart from all other living things is what God’s Word describes as “the image of God”. Within every cell of our physical body is a set of those Divine Fingerprints called our DNA. The Human Genome is a wonder of precise engineering that laid down everything about your physical body. And once regenerated by salvation, we have another unique set of plans made up of God’s gifts and callings that exactly corresponds to how God designed our unchangeable features. Our response to the spiritual DNA God places within us at salvation, combined with the physical abilities and design of our bodies makes such a wonderful life for all who know God.

So each one of us was perfectly designed by God for His glory; and each aspect of our existence that we had no choice in, is a reflection of God’s power: who we are, where we were born, how we look, all of our imperfections and weaknesses, and countless other details—are all part of God’s marvelous design.

Each of us are the handiwork of God, like spiritual snowflakes, no two exactly alike.

Each of us are like rare and precious jewels, no one is worthless or unimportant in God’s plan.

This morning, every man, woman and child, gathered here, were especially designed by God for Divine Purposes. Your intellect, your giftedness, your abilities, and most of all who you are as a man, woman, young man, or a young woman are the strategic resources God has given you to serve and please Him. Now comes the challenge.

•    Do each of us know what God’s Word has clearly explained are the desires of God for us as individuals?
•    Then, as we enter into relationships, do we know what God has said are His expectations for every relationship in life? God’s Word explains how to succeed in every relationship of life: dating and marriage, employers and employees, church members and ministry, citizens of countries and society, and so on.
•    Then as we train others by example and teaching, nurturers and parents, do you know what God wants from your sons as men and from your daughters as women? In some areas the Lord wants similar character for boys and girls, but in most areas, His plan for a young lady GREATLY DIFFERS from His plans for young men. That means:

Finding Your Divine Design for Life

The Lord Almighty, God of the Universe has made men and women differently, with different qualities, different roles, and different purposes within His great plan. Today, God wants each of us to know what He designed us to be as men and women, as sons and daughters, as husbands and wives, and parents and children.

As we walk through many passages in the Scriptures this morning we will see a portion of God’s wondrous plan. And we will see anew and afresh that praying, studying, and obeying God’s Word is where each of us need to start each day. Then as parents and disciple-makers, and nurturing believers teaching, and modeling we understand that the Word of God is the key to raising, nurturing, and launching our children and those we disciple into lives that please the Lord. We need to realize how vital it is to pray for, and nurture, those we love from the Scriptures.

Please stand and listen to the Lord speak from Psalm 139.13-18.

Psalm 139:13-18 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. 17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You. (NKJV)

Pray

As the world crumbles, as society disintegrates, and our culture works night and day to obliterate God-given roles and gender-specific responsibilities—God’s Word stands.

As even the Christian community erases masculinity from the Bible versions, and families abdicate God’s standards for the family, the Christian home is getting harder and harder to build.

But one truth remains which though ignored is always operative, God has promised His blessing on those who will believe Him and His Word enough to obey Him!

God wants us as His children to stand out from our culture as living representations of God’s plan. This morning God’s Word is specifically speaking to parents and disciple-makers, and asking us to see exactly what God wants us to prayerfully see Him do in the lives of those we love, serve, teach, model, nurture, and train.

To guide us through this study we have prepared a small, handy, pocket guide called “How to Pray For those we Love”. This small card outlines the Scriptures that guide us into a lifelong pattern for prayer and ministering the Word.

We have come to the third main element of which is: 3. Pray that they reflect Christ’s love in their relationships.

And under that third main point there are four truths that we focus on in our prayers.

They reflect Christ’s love by:

•    Cultivating Love for others;
•    Trusting God when Troubles come;
•    Loving God’s plan for their lives; and
•    Waiting for God’s Chosen Partner for life.

Today we are looking at that third truth under the third main element: loving God’s plan for their lives. Turn back with me to Psalm 27. This entire Psalm is about David wanting to follow God’s plan, no matter what opposition or hardship he faces. Verses 1, 4, 8, and 14 declare that allegiance. Then v. 11 summarizes David’s heart:

Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.

David loved the Lord, loved God’s plan, and wanted to reflect that love by His obedience. For those we lead, reflecting Christ’s love means they also need to love God and His plan by:

LOVING THE WAY GOD MADE THEM AS MEN AND WOMEN

Each of us are the handiwork of God, like spiritual snowflakes, no two exactly alike.

Each of us are like rare and precious jewels, no one is worthless or unimportant in God’s plan.

So how should we direct, train, and guide our young men and women as specifically designed by God? Of course, using the Scriptures. Turn with me now and note how specifically the Lord has directed our young men and young women to be, so they can please God by their lives, their choices and their conduct. God wants the younger trained by the example of the older.

The key is that more is caught (discipleship) than taught (lecture). Fathers and mothers, what YOU ARE is very much what THEY WILL BECOME!

The Type of Nurturing Man God Commends

When Paul instructed Timothy how to ground the greatest, largest, and most influential church of the First Century which gathered at Ephesus, listen to thes
e specific words in First Timothy.

1 Timothy 2:8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;

From this single verse directed to “the men” we can see four simple yet foundational truths that set the proper environment for nurturing discipleship.

1.    Men of Prayer: “pray everywhere”

YOUNG MEN SHOULD SEE THEIR FATHERS as MEN OF PRAYER: at the table, at bedtime, before school, before travel, on the road, alone, in public. Godly fathers just have a habit and desire to include God in everything they do, by praying in every context of their lives.

2.    Men of Purity: “lifting up holy hands”

YOUNG MEN SHOULD SEE THEIR FATHERS as MEN OF PURITY. When their hands, and lives, and secrets are exposed all that shows are holy hands, cleansed and kept pure by a Spirit filled walk!

3.    Men of Patience: “without wrath”

YOUNG MEN SHOULD SEE THEIR FATHERS as MEN OF PATIENCE.  The fruit of the Holy Spirit, when allowed to grow in the daily routine of my life, shows up in an ever increasing habit of long suffering patience, that grows and takes over more and more of my responses to people and unexpected circumstances!

4.    Men of Persevering Faith: “without doubting”

YOUNG MEN SHOULD SEE THEIR FATHERS as MEN OF FAITH. Believing God’s Word enough to live it in every arena of life, whether at work or home, on the playing field or in recreation, whether alone or in a crowd. God is lived out, obeyed, trusted, and life is measured by “whether therefore we eat of drink” everything by faith will be sought to be done “for the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31).

The Type of Nurturing Woman God Commends

Paul continues as he writes Timothy the specifics for the largest collection of godly women ever assembled in the First Century. Here are what the nurturing women, godly wives and moms of Ephesus were to look and act like:

1 Timothy 2:9-10 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.

From these two short verses directed to “the women” we can see four simple yet foundational truths that set the proper environment for nurturing discipleship.

1.    Women of unhindered worship: “in like manner also”

Paul was explaining to the men of Ephesus (and to us all over the centuries) that who we are inside, spiritually, makes all the difference in how much we can live for God’s glory and serve Him in our lifetime. In overview Paul explains to women that first of all, two attitudes ought to characterize your approach to making every day a life lived worshipfully for the glory of God: “modestly and discreetly” (v. 9).

2.    Women of chosen modesty: “that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel”

The Greek word translated “modestly” in verse 9 refers to modesty mixed with humility. At its core it connotes a sense  of shame—not shame in being a woman, but shame for in any way inciting lust or distracting others from a proper worship of God. A godly woman will do all she can to avoid being a source of temptation. The word also has the connotation of rejecting anything dishonorable to God. Some would even suggest it means “grief over a sense of sin.” A godly woman hates sin so much that she will avoid anything that can produce sin in others.

YOUNG LADIES SHOULD SEE THEIR MOTHERS as “modest”. What is that? Our English dictionary has some amazingly wise words for all who check definitions. Here is what the dictionary describes: seen as having a regard for decencies of behavior or dress; quiet and humble in appearance, style; not displaying one’s body; not boastful or vain; unassuming; virtuous; shy or reserved; chaste. God says to all women, pursue an attitude, a lifestyle, and a wardrobe that displays not your body but your modesty.

3.    Women of evident restraint: with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing

YOUNG LADIES SHOULD SEE THEIR MOTHERS as proper and discreet: Moms that means they see you as having a specially adapted or suitable manner; appropriate; conforming to an accepted standard; correct; fitting; right; decent. Moms that means they see you as having a lack of ostentation or pretension; showing good judgment; prudent; cautious; careful about what one says or does.

4.    Women of overt godliness:  but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works

In our culture God’s desired “good works” are often looked upon as the exact  opposite of what young ladies should be taught. Women today are encouraged to find their own way, stay away from dependent relationships, love whomever they want, if they have to bear children, farm out their children to someone else’s care and influence, and not to worry about being sensible or pure, but to do whatever pleases them in fulfilling their desires.

As we know, when Paul enlarges upon the curriculum younger ladies are to follow he adds God’s desires in these words to Titus:

Titus 2:4-5 that they admonish the young women to love their husbands,  to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. GOD

The conclusion is that God wants younger women to stand out in our culture. They are to be prayerfully and patiently taught to be young women of: unhindered worship; godly young women of chosen modesty; disciplined young women of evident restraint; and powerful young women

Love God’s Plan For Your Life

The Lord Almighty, God of the Universe has made men and women differently, with different qualities, different roles, and different purposes within His great plan.

Today, God wants each of us to know what He designed us to be as men and women, as sons and daughters, as husbands and wives, and parents and children.

In the Scriptures this morning we have seen a portion of God’s wondrous plan.

And have seen see anew and afresh that praying, studying, and obeying God’s Word is where each of us need to start each day.

As parents and disciple-makers, and nurturing believers teaching, and modeling the Word of God is the key to raising, nurturing, and launching our children and those we disciple into lives that please the Lord.

I hope you will continue, or start today praying from the Scriptures for those God has placed in your life: that they will see, understand, and love the way God made them.

Slides

 


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