http://bible.com/events/49258675

Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg

The Power of Prayer Part 2

Search me, test me, uncover my sin, and lead me.

Today we are continuing in our teaching series called “The power of prayer” based on Psalm 139.

Prayer like we find here in Psalm 139 is very vulnerable. It’s a complete opening of ourselves to the Lord.

In Psalm 139 David is inviting the Lord behind the curtain, behind what even David himself knows, to search him, to test him, to uncover hidden sin, and to lead him. As David sought the Lord in these areas, we want to do that as well.

Throughout this series we are exploring and praying these four petitions: Search me, test me, uncover my sins, and lead me.

Today we continue with “Test me and know my anxious thoughts”

Psalms 139:23-24

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

This psalm sets a scene of tension. Evil, violent, malicious antagonists surround the psalmist and blaspheme his God. The abrupt shift in tone is jarring, but it reflects reality—especially for the leader of a nation with mixed loyalties. The psalmist, devoted to God, cannot stand those who hate God and pervert his ways. Yet he knows that he too is fallen, and in his current state he needs God’s searching light to expose the hidden darkness in his own soul. The psalmist concludes by asking God to search his heart and lead him on the right path.

-(NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible)

Psalm 139:23

Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about; See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life.

1 Peter 1:7

I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

Know My Anxious Thoughts

(thoughts that are troubling)

tribos = thoughts- well-worn paths

know the paths of my thoughts.

Excerpt from “Am I Really Okay” by Debra Fileta

“We all have automatic thoughts—things we think without a conscious decision to think those things. The thing we have to be most aware of about our automatic thoughts is that sometimes we’re not really seeing the big picture. Sometimes what we’re thinking isn’t accurate or complete. Sometimes we find ourselves thinking thoughts because it’s the easiest way to think. It’s the way we’ve always thought. It’s easy and superficial and doesn’t take too much work. When it comes to our thought process, our brain loves the path of least resistance. What I’ve done most often is the easiest thing to do again because it takes the least amount of work. Thoughts included. The problem with that response is that too often our default patterns of thinking are unhealthy and often untrue.”

Tests are our opportunities to trust God to help us take a different path…

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Bottom Line:

We must ask for help if we want the Healer to heal.

Updates on the new Waynesboro campus

God is inviting us to step out in faith to plant a Spanish-speaking campus in the Waynesboro community. Join us on the journey! Check out the link below for more information and for frequent updates throughout the journey.

Waynesboro

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org Thank you for your partnership in building the Kingdom of Christ as you impact others!

Giving

Establish COTN as Your Church on the App

In this YouVersion Bible app, we encourage you to set up COTN as your church. It’s a simple process and will open up opportunities to stay connected to us!

https://help.youversion.com/l/en/article/y03uerubo8-mychurch

https://www.bible.com/events/49256128

Church of the Nazarene – East Rock

The Power of Prayer Part 2

Search me, test me, uncover my sin, and lead me.

Today we are continuing in our teaching series called “The power of prayer” based on Psalm 139.

Prayer like we find here in Psalm 139 is very vulnerable. It’s a complete opening of ourselves to the Lord.

In Psalm 139 David is inviting the Lord behind the curtain, behind what even David himself knows, to search him, to test him, to uncover hidden sin, and to lead him. As David sought the Lord in these areas, we want to do that as well.

Throughout this series we are exploring and praying these four petitions: Search me, test me, uncover my sins, and lead me.

Today we continue with “Test me and know my anxious thoughts”

Psalms 139:23-24

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

The word in the original language for “test me” means to examine thoroughly, to scrutinize, to try, or to investigate. It can be used figuratively of proving precious metals such as gold or silver.

David is asking for the Lord to conduct a thorough investigation, to give him an examination, a test run, to arrange his circumstances to reveal his true character and nature.

Having already revealed that God is omniscient, why is David asking for a thorough evaluation from the Lord to know his thoughts again?

The answer is twofold-

Here in this prayer, it’s personal. David is inviting the Lord into his story. It’s no longer a long-distance relationship David wants, but close intimacy.

Second, the testing will reveal to DAVID what is really in his thoughts. While the Lord already knows, David may not.

So, David is signing himself up for an examination to open himself up before the Lord, to allow him behind the curtain- for what? So that his anxious thoughts would be revealed.

“Anxious thoughts” here is a translation of one word in the original language, and it’s a bit difficult to articulate. It’s most literal translation is “disquieting thoughts”

Disquieting is defined by Websters as:

to take away the peace or tranquility. To disturb or alarm

a lack of peace or tranquility- think anxiety.

It suggests a lost sense of security or peace of mind.

So, David is asking the Lord to test him, to arrange his life circumstances, to reveal the things that shake him up, that upset him, that disturb his peace, or make him feel insecure, things that cause him to worry or be anxious.

In this verse David is praying that the Lord would test him, would put something before, him that would reveal the things that throw his mind out of order.

He wants to know those default paths that his mind always takes, those thoughts that have worn and old familiar groove in his mind. Un-productive, disturbing, frustrating, ruminations-He wants them to be cut-off in his mind.

To be made aware of the impact those thoughts are having in his relationship with the Lord. Test me and know my anxious thoughts.

The value in praying along with David in this psalm is that he is asking the Lord to help him get in front of these thoughts- before they get out of control, and before they consume his focus.To help him realize what triggers are there, what’s really happening behind those thoughts, to help him recognize what’s happening in this thinking before it gets to far.

Here’s the thing about the anxious thoughts. When our minds go into this spiral, without even knowing it, we are shifting our focus away from the Lord and onto our circumstances.

We are turning in on ourselves through our own thinking, and that’s a fruitless and hopeless endeavor. When that happens, we cannot hear the Lord’s voice, we don’t consider the truth and promises of his word. We are consumed in our own head- and our thoughts hold us captive.

That may be for a few minutes, or a few hours or days. Perhaps it even lasts for years.

As nervous as it might make us to ask the Lord to test us, it might just be how he frees us from the prison of our thoughts.

James 1:2-5

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Psalms 139:23-24

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

We began last week with the simple prayer “Search me, God, and know my heart.” We invited the Lord to explore the shadowy depths of our inner heart and life- places that only he can go.

Today, we want to open up our thinking to him- Not just that he would explore our mind- but that he would reveal the real condition and health of our thoughts.

Test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Asking the Lord to test you is not to be taken lightly, because he will do it. There will probably be situations this week even that arise and send your mind down an old familiar spiral- Except this time- you might sense the Lord asking you something like:

“What are you thinking?”

“Don’t you want to slow down?”

“What’s really behind your reaction right now?”

If you ask the Lord to test you and know your anxious thoughts- He will answer.

Let’s pray together!

Test me and know my anxious thoughts

Updates on the new Waynesboro campus

God is inviting us to step out in faith to plant a Spanish-speaking campus in the Waynesboro community. Join us on the journey! Check out the link below for more information and for frequent updates throughout the journey.

Waynesboro

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org Thank you for your partnership in building the Kingdom of Christ as you impact others!

Giving

Establish COTN as Your Church on the App

In this YouVersion Bible app, we encourage you to set up COTN as your church. It’s a simple process and will open up opportunities to stay connected to us!

https://help.youversion.com/l/en/article/y03uerubo8-mychurch

http://bible.com/events/49254919

Church of the Nazarene – Harrisonburg 

The Power of Prayer

Search me, test me, uncover my sin, and lead me.

Today we are beginning a new teaching series titled “Power of Prayer.”

Our series is based out of Psalm 139, where David prays four very specific petitions asking the Lord to do a deep and thorough search of his heart and inner life.

Throughout this series, that’s our desire too.

Psalms 139:23-24

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

SEARCH ME, AND KNOW MY HEART

C.S. Lewis

We must lay before him what is in us; not what ought to be in us.

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

John Wesley

There is nothing so false and deceitful as the heart of man; deceitful in its apprehensions of things, in the hopes and promises which it nourishes, in the assurances that it gives us . . .

One commentary notes:

David came to the God of perfect knowledge and constant presence knowing He was also a God of love, and could be trusted to search him and to know him at the deepest levels.

This is also an admission that God knew David better than David knew himself, and that he needed God to search and know him.

It is not the challenge of a person protesting his innocence or righteousness.

Rather it is the confession of one who has been in the presence of the Lord and is convicted of his own sinfulness.

He realizes that he is not cognizant of all his sins and wants the Lord to point them out so they can be dealt with effectively.

The searching isn’t fun,

but the surgeon is faithful

Warren Wiersbe

We must never dispute with God, for He loves us and wants only the very best for us.

Updates on the new Waynesboro campus

God is inviting us to step out in faith to plant a Spanish-speaking campus in the Waynesboro community. Join us on the journey! Check out the link below for more information and for frequent updates throughout the journey.

Waynesboro

Giving at COTN

If you ever have questions or need help with online giving, please let us know: finance@cotnaz.org Thank you for your partnership in building the Kingdom of Christ as you impact others!

Giving

Establish COTN as Your Church on the App

In this YouVersion Bible app, we encourage you to set up COTN as your church. It’s a simple process and will open up opportunities to stay connected to us!

https://help.youversion.com/l/en/article/y03uerubo8-mychurch