Search Me
Notes
Transcript
This morning, we are continuing in our sermon series “Dangerous Prayers.” But before we get into the prayer for this morning’s message, I want to recap where we’ve been the last two weeks to remind us of what I believe is an important base for this morning’s prayer.
I want to remind us of classic definition for Christian prayer that we find in The Bake Encyclopedia of the Bible:
“an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies”
Two weeks ago we began with this idea that we need be willing to pray bold prayers. We talked about how in a biblical sense boldness is not a personality trait and that we are to ask God for boldness. Even introverts can be bold! We were reminded that bold pray often triggers spiritual opposition, but that it often releases God’s miracles. We talked about how God is still in the miracle working business, but that we are often to busy to see them. We concluded with the idea that boldness take faith - belief that if we really do pray the bold prayers that are in line with God’s Spirit and Word that we need to truly believe that God is capable of doing so. We were challenged to pray bold prayers, because we will never fulfill the mission that God is calling us to from our comfort zones.
Last week, we talked about God speaking to us, and that we need to be better listeners and do less talking during our time with God. We talked about the importance of finding the quiet time alone with God to have space to hear him speak to us.
Be Still
God speaks through His Word
God speaks through others
God speaks through circumstances
Be Willing
Be Ready
British writer Samuel Chadwick had this to say: "To pray as God would have us pray is the greatest achievement on earth. Such a prayer life costs. It takes time….All praying saints have spent hours every day in prayer….In these days, there is no time to pray; but without time, and a lot of it, we shall never learn to pray."
By the time this series is over, I will probably sound like a broken record - and know that I am talking to myself as well - we need to be intentional about making and taking the time for prayer and not allow ourselves to get so caught up in our busyness that we forget to do so. If we are not intentional about taking time, we are likely not going to be intentional and serious about praying dangerous and bold prayers.
If you have your Bibles or your phones, turn with me to:
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Let’s take a minute and understand the context of this Psalm. David is the one who is praying this. He is being pursued by King Saul to be put to death because Saul sees him as a threat. Saul had falsely accused David of treason and sent his full forces after him. David, even though all of this was happening, still wanted to please God and surrendered himself to God throughout all of this. Then in verses 23 and 24, we see him pray this prayer:
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
This is a prayer that is difficult to pray - often because deep down we know the things that God might poke at in our lives. And while it is hard to pray, it is even more difficult to live out. You see, when God answers this prayer he might just correct you, redirect you, convict you, and even change how you see others.
You might be thinking, well, God won’t find any of that in me. Is that really true? Or have we become so good at rationalizing things to ourselves that we think we know our motives and believe they are of pure intent - but do they really line up with the Word of God? Or do we think we know what God really meant and rationalize that he couldn’t possibly think that is wrong or that we should be doing things differently. We might think we are good, but without Christ we have no chance of truly being good. We need the touch of Christ!
D.L. Moody said, “It is said that on one occasion when Caesar gave a very valuable present, the receiver replied that it was too costly a gift. The Emperor answered that it was not too great for Caesar to give. Our God is a great King, and He delights to give gifts to us: so let us delight to ask Him for great things.” I would argue that this prayer of search me is one of those great things we can ask God for that he delights to do. For when we pray this we are asking him to restore us to how he created us to be and we are asking him to restore us to relationship with him.
Something for us to consider is do we pray prayers that will change eternity, shake the gates of hell and make demons flee in the name of Jesus? In other words, are we praying those dangerous and bold prayers that can change the course of people’s lives or increase the influence of God’s Kingdom in our contexts leading to revival? We need to remember that God hears the cries of our hearts. If we are going to pray these dangerous prayers we must realize that we will face trouble. In fact, do you know what Jesus had to say on this subject?
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
Instead, Jesus calls us to:
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
What if we really decided to pur our whole mind, heart, and soul into praying these prayers in a way that we fall on our face time and again really crying out to God to search me?
I believe there are four things that we would see happen, two of which we will cover this morning and the last two we will talk about next week.
The first is that when we pray dangerous prayers, we will need to make hard choices. First among these is the decision to pray it first. I want us to ponder this for a moment - would you be ready right now to pray the prayer search me and are you ready for what God will point out to you and are you ready to deal with it? Are you ready to be blindsided with the depths of yourself that you have rationalized for far too long?
We need to talk the talk and walk the walk, but in order for that to truly happen we need to allow God to search us, convict us, change us, and send us. You might be going, well Pastor Todd I don’t have anything to hide? My challenge back is if that is the case and you are not praying for God to search you, then why not? What is holding you back?
When we pray search me, it is a different type of prayer. We are not praying for God to give us something or provide some sort of blessing, but to do a work in us, on a deeper and personal level. You see, in my experience we are hesitant to pray these types of prayers because we know what God is going to point out. Maybe it is our lust, maybe it is our critical spirit, maybe it is pride, maybe it is selfishness, maybe it is any number of things.
That leads us to the second thing we see happen when we pray this prayer of search me - when we pray dangerous prayers such as search me God will reveal our fears.
Worry is fear's extravagance. It extracts interest on trouble before it comes due. It constantly drains the energy God gives us to face daily problems and to fulfill our many responsibilities. It is therefore a sinful waste. A woman who had lived long enough to have learned some important truths about life remarked, "I've had a lot of trouble, most of which never happened!" She had worried about many things that had never occurred, and had come to see the total futility of her anxieties.
An unknown poet has written: "I heard a voice at evening softly say, Bear not your yesterdays into tomorrow, Nor load this week with last week's load of sorrow. Lift all your burdens as they come, nor try to weigh the present with the by-and-by. One step and then another, take your way; Live day by day!" (Our Daily Bread)
Here are some things about fear that we need to understand, because they can keep us from praying this prayer of search me (or any other bold prayer for that matter):
Fear cripples
Fear stops us
Fear terrifies us of letting go of those things we are hanging on to
Fear can paralyze us when we are anxious about things we cannot control - or things that we don’t want to trust God with
Our Fears show where we are relying on our own effort, not on God - we are inadequate and need God - we cannot do it on our own
To please God, to serve Him, to honor him, to live for him, we cannot be driven by fear - we MUST be led by faith!
“There are no shortcuts when it comes to revival. The church desperately needs revival, but it is not going to come by quick and easy methods. Evan Roberts prayed for eleven years before the Welsh Revival broke out, and his ministry during that remarkable time broke him physically. More than one hundred thousand people were converted to Christ during that mighty awakening, but it was not the result of manufactured meetings (they were spontaneous) or manmade promotions. True revival goes deeper than that.” (Warren Wiersbe, God Isn't In a Hurry, (Baker Books; Grand Rapids, MI, 1994), p. 14)
Friends, I believe that we need to be praying dangerous prayers in order for us to truly see revival. Praying for revival is itself a dangerous prayer! however, we need God to search us first so that we are ready for the things he wants to do. What are we fearing? What are our anxious thoughts? Are we giving them over to God? My challenge to us all this week is to have the boldness and the courage to pray the prayer we find in
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Prayer and altar call - pray for God to Search Me.
RITUAL
The Communion Supper, instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a sacrament, which proclaims His life, His sufferings, His sacrificial death, and resurrection, and the hope of His coming again. It shows forth the Lord’s death until His return.
The Supper is a means of grace in which Christ is present by the Spirit. It is to be received in reverent appreciation and gratefulness for the work of Christ.
All those who are truly repentant, forsaking their sins, and believing in Christ for salvation are invited to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ. We come to the table that we may be renewed in life and salvation and be made one by the Spirit.
In unity with the Church, we confess our faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. And so we pray:
PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND SUPPLICATION:
Holy God,
We gather at this, your table, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who by your Spirit was anointed to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, set at liberty those who are oppressed. Christ healed the sick, fed the hungry, ate with sinners, and established the new covenant for forgiveness of sins. We live in the hope of His coming again.
On the night in which He was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
Likewise, when the supper was over, He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to His disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And so, we gather as the Body of Christ to offer ourselves to you in praise and thanksgiving. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these your gifts. Make them by the power of your Spirit to be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ, redeemed by His blood.
By your Spirit make us one in Christ, one with each other, and one in the ministry of Christ to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
EXPLAIN ELEMENTS
The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for you, preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. Eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.
The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for you, preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.
CONCLUDING PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND COMMITMENT
And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, let us pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Next week - uncover my sins and lead me.