Search Me O God CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
The Lord searches us in order to reveal to us what is truly in us. The purpose is to show us what’s wrong and then to lead us into something better. His desire is to improve us; to make us better. That’s why David said to the Lord, Search me O God. He wanted the Lord to lead him in the way everlasting.
When the Lord searches us, he is thorough. He searches everything. He searches:
Our Belly – Prov 20:27 – This is the driving force in us, like the seat of our underlying motives – Paul writes about preachers whose God is their belly [R0m 16:17-18] – they get in the pulpit and then they suddenly lose sight of why they are there – they don’t preach the truth, they don’t edify the saints, they don’t glorify God – they are there to feed themselves and their egos – politicians get into this trouble.
Our Heart – Jer 17:9-10 – This who you really are – I heard a man say, “your reputation is everything” – but I would say, “your character is everything” – you reputation is what men perceive you to be – your character is who you really are – as the Lord said, “man looketh upon the outward appearance but God looketh on the heart,” – your character stems from your heart – and there are two main components of what’s in your heart:
Our Thoughts – Heb 4:12 – These are simply what rolls around in your head and heart when you are thinking or day dreaming
Our Intents – Heb 4:12 – These are what you really intend when you do things or say things – a man who lies intends for you to believe what he is saying so that he can take advantage of you – that is his intent even though he may have led you to believe that he was interested in your benefit, not his.
Our Affections – Jer 17:10 [the reins] – These are what and who you love – today men love themselves more than they love God – they love pleasures more than they love God – they love those who love them – listen to them speak [out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh] and you will know what they really love no matter what they lead you to believe about their affections – look how they spend their money and their time and you will know something about their affections.
Our Ways – Ps 139:23-24 – We are to walk in the way of righteousness and in the way everlasting – many Christians spend their time in the ditches on either side of this narrow way and instead of getting in the way of righteousness, they complain that the Christian life is a drag.
Our Secrets – Ps 44:20-21 – These are the things that no one knows – and for the most part you may not be aware of them – but the Lord knows them and he wants you to know them so that you can repent from them and straighten them out.
There are four ways that the Lord conducts his search:
We search ourselves – Lam 3:40 [under the Lord’s direction] – This is what you do when you come to the Lord like David did in Ps 139 and say let me see myself the way you see me so that I can be transformed rather than conformed to the world.
The Lord searches us – Jer 17:10 – This is what he does when you are praying and meditation and talking with the Lord about these matters so that he can show you what’s wrong – when you go to the doctor, you expect him to be able to find the problem and fix it.
The Bible searches us – Heb 4:12 – This is what happens when you read and study the Bible – the words of God speak to you and show you who and what you really are – and then the Bible shows you how to fix it.
Preaching searches us – 1 Cor 14:24-25 – This is what happens when you come to church and the preacher seems to have a telescopic finger that nearly touches your nose when he is pointing out your sin – instead of fussing you should respond to the reproof.
Conclusion: Rom 2:16 the Lord judges the secrets by Paul’s gospel – in other words, when you are searched at the judgment, the truth is all coming out – if you are searched and found to be lost, you will spend eternity in hell – if you are searched and found to be saved you will spend eternity in heaven – if you find that you are on your way to hell now, then this same gospel that reveals your secret is the same gospel that will save you. So, get saved today!