Psalm 139 v23-24; Lord Lead me; This is a psalm about King David and his hatred of the

sin he kept committing. God had to chastise him and bring David to a place of repentance. This king discovered that he could not hide from God and the words of this psalm : Certainly for posterity. Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit or whither shall I flee from Thy presence ? If I ascend up into heaven you are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall your hand lead me and your right hand shall hold me. If I say surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea the darkness hideth not from you but the night shines as the day ; the darkness and the light are both alike to you. So King David, a man with a wealth of personal experience with God realises that there is no hiding from God who sees all and knows all. So in the last two verses of this psalm we see David opening his heart to God. v23-24; Search me 0 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. These two verses have been separated into several parts and from these come many thoughts about consecration to God. SEARCH ME. Consternation. The more we read God's word the more concerned we should be as we realise just how unholy we are in God's sight. King David a sinner, despite his holding the highest position in the land, had to come to God, seek forgiveness and then ask God to do some major surgery on his heart. We all need to ask God to make us and mould us into His pattern that we might become holy vessels for His use. 0 GOD: Realisation. We see the need for God to cleanse us afresh, and we acknowledge that He alone can make a new creation out of us. Romans 12 v2; And be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. There is no use looking for a friend, a lawyer to counsel us for we truly know that God alone will meet all our needs through the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Communication. Through the Scriptures we are reminded that we are able to come boldly to the throne of grace, seek pardon and help and guidance. Through the shed blood of Jesus we can be reconciled to God. God wants us to praise and bless Him and to come to Him in prayer. James 4 v8-10; Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double minded. Be afflicted and mourn and weep let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up. Invitation. So because of the desire to serve God, we join with the psalmist in this special plea from the heart.our own efforts to live righteously before God have failed, how foolish we are to think that we could do without God, As human beings we are sinners by nature and only God can search our hearts and correct our daily walk so that we may walk before Him in righteousness. 0 God , search my heart. Mould me and make me after your will. KNOW MY HEART: Recognition . That it is only God who knows man's innermost thoughts. 0 God, search my heart, search out my innermost thoughts for you know me better than I know myself. Get rid of old bad habits which may grieve you. What is it that is preventing us from getting God's blessings ? Investigation. Lord I bare my heart before you, knowing that nothing can be hid from you. I ask you Lord to change me that I may do that which pleases you. Psalm 139 v7-12; This of course is a tremendous prayer. Make sure that you mean it when you call upon God for He will readily answer. TRY ME:

Submission; Lord I repent of my rebelling against you. Living my life the way I wanted to . Give me another chance to serve you effectively and be a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is no easy thing to submit to another person yet there is only joy and peace in serving Jesus. John 15 vll; These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. Determination. David could say, Lord I have sinned against you and you punished me. I dont want to grieve you or quench the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul could say in 1Corinthians 2 v2; For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This kind of prayer needs to come from a sincere heart, one who has known the chastisement and blessings of God. Let us show a determination to grow into Christian maturity and renounce old bad habits. Let us truly desire to be shining lights for Jesus where we live. KNOW MY THOUGHTS: Revelation. We cannot know each others deepest thoughts so we often judge by the outward appearances. Sow a thought reap an act, sow an act reap a deed sow a deed reap a character. Sow a character reap a destiny. Reveal to me 0 God those undesirable things in me that other people so easily see. Let me not be the cause of stopping someone coming to Jesus because of my poor way of life. Sometimes people can know where we were thinking by the actions that result from wrong thinking. Proverbs 23 v7; As a man thinketh in his heart so is he. SEE IF THERE BE SOME WICKED WAY IN ME. Correction; God instructs me by His Holy Word and my conscience. if I dont read His Word or neglect my communication with Him then before long I will begin to show apathy towards His commandments. Then come chastisment from Him. Matthew 15 vl8-19; But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart and they defile the man , For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies, these are the things that defile a man. LEAD ME: From these two words come six important attitudes in our consecration to God. Expectation, Adoration. Restoration, Consecration, Transformation and Jubilation. Expectation. King David had communed with God since he was a shepherd boy, He would have experienced blessings when he obeyed and worshipped God and chastisement when he sinned against God. He finally called out to God with this request of verse 23 and 24. He knew by now that God would answer this prayer and we need to believe that God will answer the sincere prayer of a repentant sinner. There should be some excitement in asking God to do something for us. Acts 4 vl2; Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. Jesus Christ died to redeem us from the bondage of satan and rose again from the dead to give us a new life in Him Adoration; We cannot ask God to lead us anywhere unless we love Him. most people do the things satan wants them to do because they like doing the things he gives them to do. But God says dont do them. Repent of your sins and follow Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life. Christ is everlasting life and the path He leads us on leads to heaven and eternity-with Him. Matthew 22 v37-38; Jesus said unto him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Let us love our God and worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Restoration. Reconciled to God as we repent of our sins and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Redeemer. Ephesians 2 vl8; For through Him (Jesus ) we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father Now fully established as a member of God's family. What a glorious feeling this should be. All past sins wiped away and forgotten by God. A new start, a new life in Jesus Christ. Consecration. After the Prophet Nathan told King David about God's anger over his sin, 2 Samuel chapter 12, David knew he was in trouble and hence following his punishment by God, David had to repent and turn to God, So realising where his folly had led him he now consecrates his life to God and the past is forgiven. But now comes the task that for a human being in his own efforts is so very difficult. So we call out to God to lead us out and ask for the indwelling Holy Spirit's guidance every day. What a wonderful God we have.

Transformation. Again refer to Romans 12 v2. our lives need to be t7ransformed, and only God can do this, That my life might be so transformed that people will know that I have been with Jesus and seek Him out for themselves. May the Master Potter remould me into the image of Christ. Jubilation. When you read back over these notes and realise just what consecration to God means, there should be great jubilation for we are claiming to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. A child of God and a member of His family. The joy of the repentant sinner forgiven. We can truly say of God, His banner over me is love. John 14 v27; Peace I leave with, my peace I give unto you. not as the world giveth give I unto you, Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 15 vll; IN THE.WAY EVERLASTING: Protection. Hebrews 13 v5b. ..for He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Upon our conversion we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God. Now as children of God He is ever with us to guide us each day and to make us mature Christians. As Christ's disciples He will keep His mighty hand upon us, and no one shall pluck us out of His hand. Preservation. I Thessalonians 5 v23; And the very God of peace sanctity you wholly and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christians have everlasting life in Jesus. John 3 vl6. Our eternal life is promised us by God Himsel.f so we can confidently believe in His preservation. Perfection. So all this assures us that we will stand before a Holy God clothed in robes of righteousness purchased for us through the shed blood of Jesus. We shall be presented to God as the body of Christ in all perfection, Isaiah 61 vlO; Revelation 6 vll.