We stand against the bad and give thanks for the good.”
–Lou Bradshaw (Man With No Face)
“And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
–Ephesians 2:22 (NIV)
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I used the first verse of J. Edwin Orr’s great hymn earlier this week. The hymn is so grand, I thought we would look at the complete song this morning. Remember, that this verse comes almost directly from the heart of David where he writes in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart, try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (KJV) David, a man with many failures, yet these two verses show why he was a man after God’s own heart.
Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray:
See if there be some wicked way in me:
Cleanse me from ev’ry sin, and set me free.
How do we become pure? Through the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross. How do we remain pure? By allowing and seeking His Word. Having a humble and grateful heart, and longing to walk beside Him each and every day.
I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin:
Fulfill Thy Word, and make me pure within;
Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame:
Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.
To have a pure heart there must be that longing for the Lord to have complete control over our lives. Nothing held back! He doesn’t want first place for that means there is always second place trying to take over. He wants the whole heart. He wants our minds, our thoughts, our desires, our passions–in other words all that is in us. Oh, that we would have that deep desire to surrender all to Him and serve Him completely.
Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine:
Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine;
Take all my will, my passion, self and pride;
I now surrender: Lord, in me abide.
We must let the Holy Spirit do His work within us. People may call for revival, but true revival should be taking place continually in our hearts. David most likely prayed those words in Psalm 139 many times. Let us trust Him more, let our desires finally be given over to Him. Let us then wall, step by step, together onward and upward to glory. As we follow Him, as we trust Him, we will realize that He blesses us more and more and will most assuredly supply our every need.
O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee:
Send a revival–start the work in me:
Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply our need:
For blessing now, O Lord, I humbly plead.