Search Me and Know My Heart

In one paragraph

This message was the third in a summer series on the 12 Steps, working through steps one through four. Pastor Carl used a roadside breakdown in Wyoming to frame the idea that some problems genuinely cannot be fixed by sheer determination, and that honest diagnosis has to come before any real repair. The bulk of the sermon focused on step four: making a searching and fearless moral inventory of...

Read together

1. Psalm 16 quoted as 'you make known to me the path of life' and 'you fill me with joy in your presence'
2. Ephesians 2:10 referenced as 'Ephesians 10' describing we are God's workmanship created in Christ for good works prepared beforehand
3. Psalm 86 quoted as 'you, Lord, you are forgiving and you are good, you're abounding in steadfast love to all who would call on you'
4. John 16 upper room discourse describing the Holy Spirit's role to convict of sin, convince of God's righteousness, and illumine his word
5. Galatians 5 fruit of the Spirit listed as the way we were designed to run, followed by works of the flesh vice list
6. Romans 1 referenced as saying persistent sin leads to being turned over to it, searing the conscience
7. Psalm 51 cited as one of David's psalms written after recognizing his sin
8. Psalm 139 cited as one of David's psalms written after recognizing his sin, and closing hymn based on verse 23
9. Psalm 139:23 quoted directly as 'search me, oh God, and know my heart' in the closing song
10. James 4:17 quoted as 'to know to do right and not do it is sin'
11. Ephesians 1:19-20 quoted as describing the incredible greatness of God's power that raised Christ from the dead living in believers

Talk about it

1. Pastor Carl used the broken-down Jeep Cherokee as a picture of what it looks like when life becomes unmanageable. What does it feel like when multiple things in your life start falling apart at once, and what is your first instinct in those moments?
2. Pastor Carl said that a seared conscience can develop when we keep persisting in sin until the Holy Spirit's still small voice gets drowned out. Have you ever noticed that happening in your own life, and what brought you back to paying attention?
3. The sermon described David not being able to see his own sin clearly until Nathan held up a mirror through a story. Who in your life plays that Nathan role for you, and how do you respond when they do?
4. Pastor Carl read through the New Testament vice lists and suggested going through them as a grid for a personal moral inventory, asking God about each one honestly. Which items on those lists do you find easiest to overlook or excuse in yourself, and why do you think that is?
5. Pastor Carl said that people in recovery often tell him step four is the hardest because they can only stand to see a little of what is wrong with themselves at a time, but that step five, handing it over to God, is right around the corner. What makes it hard to look honestly at yourself, and what would make it easier to trust that God can handle what you find?