Erika Wulser – Search me, O Lord – Biddeston 2, Queensland, Australia – 2017

Hymn 380

I enjoyed this hymn we have just sung, “Search me, O Lord.” It is a great privilege we have that we can be together here. God wants to show us what we are or what we think we are or what others think we are. God wants to show us what we are so that we can be changed and be helped and be healed and we could get into the way of truth.

Psalm 139:2-3, “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.” Verse 23, “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.” God Himself knows what we are and He knows everything and there is nothing we can hide before Him. He knows our failures and our weaknesses and knows what has happened in the past year, and yet He wants us to understand and see it for ourselves. He wants to open our eyes so we can see. I just felt like coming here was going to a doctor for a check-up and everything needs to be checked from time to time and sometimes that is not really easy. First of all, we have to be willing to sit down and let ourselves be checked and then we need to be willing to be open and honest, honest with the doctrine and with our own self.

I remember when I was four years old, I had a horrible toothache and my mother, after a lot of complaining, decided to take me to the dentist. I had never been to a dentist until then and it looked so strange to me with all the lights and they put me on this chair and there I was. He said, “Open your mouth.” The more he spoke, the more I kept my mouth shut and for 10 minutes, they tried all they could and there was no way they could open my mouth. After having done nothing, my Mum took me home and was very mad with me.

Not long afterwards, I had a big swollen mouth and I went back to the dentist. This time, my mother made sure I would obey and open my mouth and it was too late and the only thing that the dentist could do was to pull out that tooth. Coming here before God, there are all the remedies we need for all our needs and all our pains and anything that could be troubling us. God has all the provisions and there is nothing lacking, but am I willing to open my heart and willing to accept the master doctor and let him touch me. When He shows me this is bad and it needs to be mended or removed and needs to be dealt with, and God only wants the best for each one of us. God has created us with one thing in mind and that is we all should be with Him in eternity.

As we are, we do not fit into eternity yet because there is still work to be done in our hearts and in our lives. Things need to be changed and our attitude and thoughts and minds. Are we going to open our hearts or are we going to sit the whole convention and not do anything about it? We must be willing to open our hearts and open without any restrictions. Sometimes, we see in hotels or public houses there is a door for the public and a door for the private or for staff only. It would be sad if we kept certain doors or certain parts of our life shut from God and said, “Don’t touch that.” We want to be open so that God could heal and cleanse. One day, we will have an open door and if we don’t it will be the same that happened to my tooth. There is nothing else to do but pull it out. If I am not willing to be cleansed now and through my life the day will come and we will not be with God in eternity. None of us want to be left out.

I read in Mark eight and we read about a blind man. Mark 8:22, “And He cometh to Bethsaida and they bring a blind man unto him; and besought Him to touch him.” It was wonderful that there were people that were able to bring him to Jesus, and it is only Jesus that can help our need and there is no other doctor. Some in this world, they pretend to know something but they actually only make good money out of people. Then it is says Verse 23, “And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had spit on his eyes, and put His hands upon him, He asked him if he saw ought.” That is what God has done to us today and He has taken us a little way from town and a little bit away from where we usually live and just to be apart and to be separated from that which is usually around us. Then Jesus started to work with him and put spittle in his eyes and put His hands on him. If we were to go to an eye doctor and complain we cannot see and the doctor literally did what Jesus did, what would we think? That is a very strange treatment. God’s treatment is not what we would normally think. God’s treatment is just perfect and it is against all logical thinking. I believe this man’s need to see was greater than his pride or otherwise, he would have been deeply offended by putting mud in his eyes.

Jesus can help us if we can just humble ourselves. Jesus wants to help us and Jesus will have all the remedies and answer all questions. God wants to search us and search our motives and search our attitudes and search our desires and He wants to see if my service really is acceptable. There would be nothing sadder if we have served God all our lives and if God would say, “Iit was all in vain because it was not the way I wanted it.” God wants to search us and see if our service is really acceptable and what we do doesn’t fit together with God’s will and are we honest.

We read in [Acts 5] about Ananias and Sapphira and they saw how Barnabas and others sold all their goods to help others. This couple wanted to do the same and so they went and sold a certain piece of land and it says they kept a part of the price and the wife knew what was happening and bought it and laid it at the disciples’ feet and those two were united in a certain type of service that was not accepted. Do we serve God with a whole heart and do we really give God our all or do we have our little part where a door says, “Private and do not touch it and do not enter and do not disturb?” They agreed on something very sad and they pretended to serve God and may be in front of others so nice and wonderful and they were very helpful and God saw into their heart and into their spirit.

A number of years ago one afternoon in a tent mission that the brothers were holding, they normally serve a cup of tea after the meeting and the friends bring some cookies and some cake. Some of the children go around with tea and coffee and others go around and give out the cookies and the cakes. I was there and I saw something happen and there was a little boy and he was about six and he was very eager to help. He said, “I can take two plates at a time.” So he got two plates of cookies and cakes and off he went. I was the first one he served and he said, “There are good things on this plate.” I said, “Yes, I know.” There was one piece of cake he really wanted but he had no hands free. You know what he did? He put his little finger right on that little piece of cake he wanted to eat and he went around the whole tent and said, “Help yourself.” Yet no one could take his piece because his little finger was on it. Very often, I have felt I have been like this and say, “God, help Yourself, take a piece, a piece of my life and I want to serve you,” and there was a little finger on certain private things and, “Do not touch.”

We have so many wonderful examples and those who gave their whole heart and gave their all. We think of the lady who brought her two mites to the temple and she could have said, “You know, Lord, I have only two pieces of silver and you take one and I will keep one,” but no, she gave it all. Judas was even in the work and he left everything behind and I believe he loved Jesus in the beginning and little things crept in and his little finger went on those things. Jesus warned him many times and the time came when he lost his place because he was not willing to let everything be put in order at the time when he had the opportunity. Search me, O Lord. We want to be diligent, we want to be open and to be honest with ourselves. It is better to have tears now, better to have pain now and get rid of certain things God does not like than to cry all of eternity. It is much better to be sad now and enjoy eternity with God.

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:16, “Holding forth the Word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.” God does not want everything that we have done to be in vain. God, in His mercy in these days, wants to search our hearts and He wants to point out things that are not in the right order so everything could be right so we could have a full service so one day we would not have to cry for all eternity. May God help us when we have heard certain things and we could be willing in these days to let go and give God 100% control over our lives, and our thoughts and our actions and to be honest before Him and though it may cost us. Amen.