Greetings to you, friend! I’m Mack Lyon. The program’s a Bible study In Search of the Lord’s Way. Even when no one else does, the Father in Heaven knows everything about me and you. He knows how I think, and what I say, and what I do. Would I ask the Lord to open my heart and see if there is any hurtful way in me? Am I willing to rid my life of every sin? Well, these are important questions and Phil Sanders has prepared a message that challenges us to live by a higher standard. Stay tuned.
Thank you, Mack, and the Lord be with you! Hello, I’m Phil Sanders and this is In Search of the Lord’s Way, where we search the Scripture seeking the Lord’s way to be saved and to live the Christian life. Thanks so much for taking time with us. We really appreciate hearing that you are watching or listening; and we want to be a part of your life each week.
I hope and pray you make it your goal each day to live pleasing to the Lord. It’s amazing how many take the grace of God for granted and never think about improving their spiritual lives. The apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5, verses 9 and 10, “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Each of us must one day face the consequences of our behavior. How does God see you?
Have you made it the business of your life to grow in your faith, your love, and your zeal for the Lord? Many people live their lives in complacency, thinking that because they are under the grace of God, they never need to mature or grow. But God expects all of us to examine our hearts and see if there are things that we can do better. Now, as we study the Scriptures today, I hope you’ll take a long look at your heart, your life, and your soul. Are you living as God wills? Could there be some sinful or hurtful way in you?
This program is now in its thirtieth year, and Mack Lyon has been preaching the truth in love to all of us and offering the information on this program free. Now, if you’d like a printed copy, a CD or tape of our study, mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or e-mail us; that’s searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, if you like, call our toll-free telephone number. We’ll pay for the call. That number is 1-800-321-8633. We also stream this program on our website at www.searchtv.org.
Well, Ken Helterbrand’s going to lead the Edmond Church of Christ as they sing; and then we’ll read from Psalm 139, verses 1 to 6.
Our reading today from Psalm 139, verses 1 through 6: “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.” That’s a reading from God’s Holy Word. Let’s pray together. Father, we’re grateful for the joy we have in Christ. And we are thankful, Father, that You know us so well and are so much interested in our lives. Help us, Heavenly Father, to live pleasing to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
One can’t read this magnificent psalm, Psalm 139, without the overwhelming realization that God is here, and there and everywhere. He sees and knows everything. He searches our hearts and He knows us better than we know ourselves. God is omniscient, that is all-knowing, and He knows us perfectly. He knows our actions, for instance Psalm 139 says, “You know when I sit down and when I rise up.” God knows our thoughts. Psalm 139 says that God discerns our “thoughts from afar.” The Lord even knows every word we speak. Psalm 139 says, “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.”
The Bible says God encircles us. “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me” (Psalm 139, verse 5). The fact is you can’t go anywhere that God isn’t already present. You can’t run away from God. Psalm 139, verse 7 to 12 says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.”
God is both omniscient (that means all-knowing) and omnipresent (that means everywhere). He is not limited by space or time; you see nothing escapes His notice. Proverbs 15, verse 3 says that, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” No one can escape the presence of God. And this fact ought to warn us that we must keep pure and holy lives. God said in Leviticus 11 and verse 44 and in 1 Peter 1, verse 16, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Again the Bible says in Hebrews 12, verse 14, “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” God expects His people to forsake their sins and to live holy lives. God will not tolerate being put in second place to our sins. God wants to be first in your heart, and in your life, in your thoughts, and in your words. David knew that God would not tolerate wickedness, but will one day slay the wicked.
God knew about us even before we were born. Speaking about God, David said in Psalm 139, verses 13 to 16, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth (that is the mother’s womb). And your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.”
Because David knew that God saw every aspect of his life and that sin would displease God the Father, he asked the Father in verses 23 and 24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous (or hurtful) way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” David wanted to please the Father so much that he wanted God to search his heart and his life to see if there was any grievous or hurtful way in him. Now God already knew what was in David. God didn’t need to search to find out. But David is the one who needed to know. He didn’t want anything, that is David didn’t want anything to come between God and himself. David wanted to get rid of the hurtful way and be led in the everlasting way!
David was saying, “You know if there’s something wrong with me, I want to know it so I can change my ways.” This is so refreshing to consider! David wanted so badly to stand right in the sight of God that he opened his life up to God’s scrutiny. You know, we might be able to fool others; we might even be able to fool ourselves about our sins; but we can never fool God. David was afraid that he was ignorant of a sin or maybe he had blinded himself to some sin that he was committing.
And we must all be concerned about whether we are living in sinful ways and we don’t even recognize it. Perhaps you or I, we’re entertaining some wicked thought or failing to do our duties as Christians. God’s Word tells us the things that we must do and the things that we must not do. They are clearly set out in Scripture, but you know what many people live their lives completely oblivious to their own sin. I’m reminded of Proverbs 30 and verse 20, which says, “This is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, Why I have done no wrong.”
Sin is deceitful. People who commit sin don’t like to acknowledge they could have done such a thing. And the more people sin, the more likely they are to excuse themselves of sin. They often re-label sin that softens the sting or makes it appear innocent. For instance, a person might say “Well, I’m not greedy; I just have business savvy.” Or a person who drinks too much will hardly ever admit that he’s intoxicated; instead he’s just “high.” Or a gossip may never admit that he or she is backbiting and hurtful; instead they are just being zealous against sin. You know, many people shape their principles according to their practice rather than shape their practice according to their principles.
Sin is able to deceive us because sin colors our judgment, our thinking. And if I allow a certain lust in my heart to continue, it won’t be long until I find a way to approve of my own action. People just naturally begin to think that whatever pleases them must be all right. And the same passions that lead people into sin often blind them to its deceitfulness. And they begin justifying their behavior. For instance, the more we hate somebody, the more inclined we may be to tell ourselves that this person is rotten and deserves to be hated. We may even tell ourselves that we are right to hate other people. Ah, sin corrupts the heart and it makes its thoughts twisted.
And this is why the Bible says in Hebrews 3, verses 12 and 13, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Sin deceives us; it blinds us to ourselves; and it hardens our heart toward Christ and sometimes even to other people. Many people who get caught up in sin grow angry at anyone who thinks what they are doing is wrong. Well, inside they know the truth; they just don’t want to face it.
Proverbs 21, verse 2 says that, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” You know if given enough time you can justify to yourself whatever it is you want to do. But just because you think it’s all right, doesn’t mean that God approves of your sin. All you have really done is lied to yourself. We can’t always trust our own hearts. The Bible says in Proverbs 28 and verse 26 that, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom (that is God’s wisdom) will be delivered.” Don’t trust your own thinking as to what is right and wrong. Trust the wisdom of God found in the Word of God.
People usually see the faults of others but they seem to miss even the most glaring faults of their own. You remember the words of our Lord Jesus in Matthew 7, verses 3 to 5 about unfair judging. You remember Jesus asked, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but you don’t notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is a log in your own eye?” He says, “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
When some people see the errors of others, they can quickly condemn them; but it seems easy for people to excuse themselves for committing the same sin. Romans chapter 2, verses 1 through 3 says, “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who do such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God?
Paul urged the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” So, let’s ask ourselves some questions that search our souls. Let’s see if there is any grievous or hurtful way in our lives. Let’s see if we pass the test.
Do I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? Do I believe that He died for my sins and that He was raised up again on the third day? Do I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God and free from error? Do I believe the Lord Jesus is coming again one day to judge the world in righteousness according to the things written in the Book and according to our deeds? Do I really believe? You see if I don’t have faith in Christ, I cannot please God at all. I’ve failed the test.
Well, do I love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength? We might easily say that we love God, but do we love Him completely and freely? Do I put Him first in my life, and my decisions, and my plans, or my time? Do I pray regularly and fervently? Do I study and meditate on God’s Word? Do I really put God first? Do I tell others about God? Do I turn to God when I hurt? Am I compassionate toward those who hurt and those who are poor? Have I encouraged anyone lately? Am I willing to be a bigot towards other races or to be prejudiced towards those who are not like me?
Do I let the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life lead me away from God? Do I have pet sins that I keep committing? With what kinds of things do I feed my heart? Do I think pure thoughts or do I allow sexual sin to flirt with me? Do I allow my eyes to see things I shouldn’t see or my ears to hear things I shouldn’t hear?
Do I allow my heart to indulge in envy or jealousy? Do I fuss with others often? Do I gossip? Am I greedy? Do I support the Lord’s church generously? Am I grateful for all the blessings that God gives to me and my family? Do I tell little lies? Am I honest in all my dealings with others? Do I cheat on my taxes?
The grace of God provides a wonderful blessing of forgiveness, and we all desperately need the grace of God. But God’s loving grace should lead us to repentance; to change our ways. We must never presume on the grace of God or think that the grace of God somehow allows us to just keep on sinning. God’s gracious gift of the death of Jesus Christ and His blood that was shed on the cross so that we might be forgiven was not a cheap gift. It deserves to be taken seriously. So, let’s examine ourselves so that the grace of God that He has given to us may not be in vain. What about you? Have you taken the grace of God in vain? Let’s pray together. O Father, may each of us take seriously the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross, and the high price that He paid for our sins. And Father, as we look deep into our lives help us not to be blind to our own sins but to forsake them. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen!
In Psalm 26 and verse 2, David asks God, “Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.” Could you ask God to examine you to see what kind of person you are? Would you want God to look into your heart? What would He see? Would you want Him to look into your mind? Would you want Him to know what you are really thinking? Listen to me! God already knows what’s inside of you, but are you willing to face yourself spiritually, that you might correct what’s wrong? Would you be willing to see if there is any grievous way in you and give it up?
David could say in Psalm 26 and verse 1 that, “I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.” Can you say that? In verse three, David says, “For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness. I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked.” Can you say this?
As you look at your life, you might ask yourself if you have made a firm commitment to God. God has loved you enough to send His Son to die for you. Have you come to Him? A person makes a commitment and becomes a Christian when he believes with all of his heart that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. A person who commits to Christ will recognize Jesus as Lord and he will turn away from every sinful thought or behavior and turn to a life that pleases God; that’s repentance. A person who commits to Jesus will confess Him before others and will be baptized, that is immersed in water for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2 and verse 38). And I’m praying that you’ll do that today.
We hope you’ve been blessed by today’s study. If you want a free printed copy, a CD, or a tape of this message, “Search Me, O God,” then mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or by e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org.
Or, you can call the Search office toll-free at 1-800-321-8633. Now all of our programs also appear on our website; that’s www.searchtv.org. Or you can access them or download them in a printed, audio, or video format. Now we are also offering free study sheets to go along with our programs and people are loving these study sheets. You can download them free at our website, that’s searchtv.org, or you can call and request them. Now these study sheets, if you download them before the program they will help you study God’s Word with us.
Please visit one of the churches of Christ in the area that’s served by this station or network. The church loves guests and visitors, and you’ll be so glad that you visited. Now, Mack and I will be back next week, Lord willing; so keep searching God’s Word with us and tell a friend. God bless you and we want you to know that we love you from all of us here at In Search of the Lord’s Way.
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