Examining Ourselves Before God (Evening)

Pastor Matt Davis – Examination of Yourself – 1 Corinthians 11:28 Introduction If you have your Bibles with you, please turn with me to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 28. For as long as I’ve been on social media, I’ve seen this taking place, but even more so since the covid pandemic has started – You get on facebook and get into a heated argument or debate with someone, and you begin to tell them that they are sinful, or not right in the eye’s of God – but perhaps we have not represented God in our dealings with that person – or perhaps we have the exact issue and have not resolved it ourselves. Now, I am not advocating for not calling sin out, even on social media. I believe in calling wrong, wrong. I believe in pointing out when someone teaches something that is anti-biblical. But we also must be careful to follow the words of Christ, in Matthew 7:3, “3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?1” Beyond our engagement with others, we bear the name of our Lord – we represent Him. As His ambassadors, do we live our lives in a way that represents the one we declare as Lord? The world may not believe in our Lord, but they know what our Lord stands for. They are watching us. They are looking to see if we live as we say we believe. Paul instructs us in his epistle to the church in Corinth, 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.2 So as Christians, let us examine our lives, that we are representing the one who we declare to be Lord, even the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we will examine four points of interest in the Christian life, and examine our own hearts if we live what we have declared. I. EXAMINE YOUR LIVING The first of these interests in our Christians lives that I would like to examine is our way of living. Is our living consistent with what we preach? Does our living glorify the Father 1 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 7:3). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. 2 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Co 11:28). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. above? Would our way of living be seen as a light on a hill, a lighthouse, that would cause others to come to Christ? Let us examine these aspects of our Christian living: Sincere living 1 John 1:6 tells us “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth3” Too many Christians live as hypocrites – I’m not afraid to say that. Everyday, thousands of Christians are claiming to have fellowship with God, but they live a lie. They don’t follow what they say they believe. They don’t live consistent with the Christian life. They walk not in the truth, but they live a living lie. Let us examine our lives, and let us ask of ourselves the following question: Am I a hypocrite? It is a hard question to ask, and it’s a hard question to answer honestly, especially to ourselves. But we must examine our live continuously against the Word of God and make these course adjustments, that we walk in light, and not in darkness. Sacred living 2 Cor. 7:1 states “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.4” One of the many great things about being a Christian is we have secured for us the promise of eternal life. We have been promised the Holy comforter, to be Christs forever. He has promised to never leave nor forsake us, to be our best friend. We are promised to be children of a Heavenly Father. Above this, it came at a high cost to God, but it was free to us. It required of us a believe in Christ Jesus. It was not of works or our own righteousness that Christ saved us, but of His love for us. Now that we have secured these promises, now that we have what we couldn’t earn, and what we can’t lose, let us cleanse ourselves from filthiness! We can strive to live perfectly, knowing we are secure in the promise when we fail. 3 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Jn 1:6). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. 4 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Co 7:1). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. But too often, we pray for righteousness – “Oh God, please work in me, and make me righteous. Please take my sin from me.” But then we live in our same old rut. We pray for righteousness, but we don’t live righteousness. We must, as Christians, strive to live a Christian live. We must strive to abide in Christ, and in abiding in Christ, allow Him to work in us the process of sanctification. Let us examine in our lives if we have any filthiness of the flesh, and then let us remove it that we will glorify our God in heaven. Scriptural living John 14:15 tells us “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Given all that God has given us – His love for us, His Son for us, the comfort, protection, and eternal life – Do we love God back? Surely, we cannot be saved nor Christians if we love not God back. But if we say, I love God, how do we show that love to God and to the world? We show that love by keeping His commandments. In Christianity, we obey, not to be saved, but because we are saved. We obey, not because we want to earn our way into the Kingdom, but because we want to show our appreciation for the love He showed to us in allowing us into the Kingdom. If we say, “I love God”, and we abide in sin, we lie. Let us examine our love for God – and we can do that by evaluating our attempts to keep the commandments. Do we speak, as I hear many today, “We live in the New Testament, we don’t need the law” or do we speak “my God saved me, now let me try and glorify Him”? Our attitude towards the laws of God will express our love for Him more than our words will. Spiritual living Ps. 42:1-2 declares “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God?5” As saved Christians, what is it we desire and long for? Do we desire our old way of life? To sin, to look after worldly things, such as bars, inappropriate parties, pornography, and other fleshly desires? Do we long after the things of the heathen? Or do we long after the Word of God and His ways? As Christians, our desire should constantly be 5 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ps 42:1–2). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. getting closer to God. And the world will see this – if we are a Christian in name only, the world can tell. They can tell when we desire of the fleshly desires or when we desire the closeness of God. And more than the world, God can tell. Let us examine in our living what we desire and thirst for. We should experience a hunger and thirst for God, and if we don’t, we should correct. When we do desire after God and His righteousness, Christ tells us in Matthew 5:6 that He will fill that need “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.6”: II. EXAMINE YOUR LIFE After we examine our living, let us then examine our life. What are our desires, our devotions, our dedications, and our determinations? What is our driving factor? When we have examined the way we live, and we are living righteously, or we have corrected life issues, let us examine the why. A right heart and a right motivation are important in the life of a Christian. Are you doing it because you desire God? Or are you doing it because you feel the need to belong to a club? Let’s examine four aspects of our life that we should give a self-examination too. Desires of life In Psalms 27:4 the psalmist declares “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.7” David says, “I have desired of the Lord.” This is the heart of one whose desires are right. David seeks after the Lord in all aspects of his life. When David made a mistake, he sought the Lord. When David was afraid, he sought the Lord. When David made decisions, he sought the Lord. David said, “that I may dwell in the house of the Lord” – David’s desire was to be with the Lord and live in His house. His desire was to be welcomed into His home. David lived his live according to this desire, that he would then see the beauty of the Lord. 6 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 5:6). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. 7 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ps 27:4). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. We must examine our lives and ask, of whom or what do I desire? As Christians, we must desire after our God, and long for a growing relationship with Him – and then we must work on that relationship. As humans, we will naturally have desires – and when we don’t consciously desire after God, we will naturally desire after the flesh, and fall into sin and temptation. Devotional life Job 23:12 tells us of Job “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.8” In this last weeks Bible study, we discussed the temptations of Christ in the wilderness. After forty days of no food, the Devil temps of Christ, who is no hungry, “if you be the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.” Christ replied back, “It is written, you should not live on bread alone.” As humans, we are more than physical beings with physical needs – for we are spiritual beings with spiritual needs. If we feed only our physical bodies, but not our spiritual selves, then we are in reality starving. I’d say, as did Job, that feeding on the Words of Christ is more necessary than that of our necessary foods. We then, as Christians need a daily devotion time we set aside for God. We must commune with God, and we must feed from God. Christ describes Himself as the living waters and bread, of whom if we eat, we will never hunger or thirst again. It is necessary then, that we fill ourselves daily with the waters and bread of God, that we hunger and thirst not. We must learn to trust in the Lord, and allow Him to be our provider. Let us examine our lives and ask, “Do we set aside time to have fellowship with God?” And if so, let us further ask, “Do I set aside enough time for fellowship with God? Am I being filled and renewed in my time with the Lord?” If the answer to first or the second question is no, then let us adjust our lives that we can reverse the starvation of our spirits and have the renewal of our minds. Dedication of life 8 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Job 23:12). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. Josh. 14:8 states “8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.9” Is our live dedicated to following the Lord, or do we follow after the ways of the world? Does the way in which we live cause people to look to God? Do we glorify God? Or does our living cause the hearts of the people to melt? Do we cause people to walk astray, or find other than the Lord Himself? We must dedicate our lives to be holy, and to be the Lords. We should seek after those things which are good, which are true and honest, which are just, and which are praiseworthy. Last night Xander and I were having a discussion on this exact topic (of sorts). We were discussing music and whether or not certain styles of music should be played, even if the lyrics solid. We discussed rap, and how rap has a rapport with sex, drugs, and gangs, and that because of the rapport, it shouldn’t be listened too. We discussed how even with good solid lyrics, the style of music is nearly always associated by bystanders hearing is as sex, drugs, and gangs. Though the lyrics are solid, should we as Christians listen to something that could cause another to be led astray? Rather, we should seek to live and present ourselves as living sacrifices of the Lord, shine as a light that would cause others to seek after Him. Determination Eccles. 12:1, Solomon says “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 10” King Solomon had it all – he had wisdom, prosperity, women, a peaceful kingdom – in fact, studies have shown that Solomon was the richest person to live. When reading in the books of Kings and Chronicles, it is stated that Solomon earned six hundred and sixty six talents of gold per year. To put this in perspective, we are talking over sixty billion dollars of gold throughout his reign. But Solomon failed to include God in his planning and ways. We must not “lose out” by failing to include God, but we must be determined in our life to include God in every 9 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jos 14:8). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. 10 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ec 12:1). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. aspect. Let us examine ourselves and ask, is God being included in what I do, or is God merely an afterthought? III. EXAMINE YOUR LOVE Next I would like for us to examine our love, our hearts. Do we poses the new heart of a believer? Or must we continue asking God to give us that heart and work to develop it? A Christians heart should be full of love – love of Christ, love of the church, of other Christians, and compassion and love for the unsaved. Let us examine these four aspects of our heart, and compare, does it line up with the believer? Christ Matt. 22:37, 39 states “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.11” The first of these commandments that Christ gives us is to love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind – Let us examine in our hearts if we truly love our God. If we love God, do we worship Him regularly? Do we use His name in vain? Do we live a life that would glorify Him? The scripture says with your heart, soul, and mind – This means that we love God and glorify Him in our very being. Everything we do we should do out of our love for God. Every fiber of our being and our spirit should vibrate in love. Let us examine and dig deep into our hearts, and answer this question, do we love our God? Do we love God in they way He has commanded us to love Him? This question is perhaps a question we should give much thought too – We should dig deep and make any adjustments needed in our hearts immediately. Loving God with all our beings will then enable for us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Church 11 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Mt 22:37–40). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. Heb. 10:25 Paul instructs us “ Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.12” If we have a true love of God, we too then, should have a deep love for the church – The church, or the assembling together, is the coming of the body of Christ. Too many Christians have said, “We don’t need the church to worship God.” While that may be true, we can and should worship God everywhere at all times, the church is not just for you. The church is for exhorting one another, for bearing each others burdens, and to assist one another in the struggles of a Christian life. We must examine our hearts, and ask, do I love the church? Do I love my fellow Christians and support them in a biblical manner? Ps. 122:1 says of the psalmist “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.13” We should love going to church, we should love entering into the house of the Lord. If we don’t like church, or we hate the people in the church, we should examine of ourselves the condition of our heart, and seek God in what we should change to bring about love for God’s bride. Christians 1 Cor. 13:4-7 Paul states “Charity isuffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the struth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.14” We should examine ourselves, and examine, do we have a true love of our fellow Christians? Do we envy them? Do we become puffed up? Or do we rejoiceth in their iniquity? These questions seem obvious, but there is a lot of this going around. We need to examine our hearts and ask these questions of ourselves. We should develop this love for our brothers and sisters, suffering long for them, forgiving their trespasses, and enduring all things as the body of Christ. 12 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Heb 10:25). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. 13 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Ps 122:1). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. 14 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Co 13:4–7). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. I find this topic extremely sensitive today for two reasons. First, and the most important, is we are commanded to love one another – But let us also consider our witness to the heathen – When they look upon us, do they see a family of God that loves on another, or do they see a family of God that is bickering with one another? Let us be forgiving, let us be loving, and let us be patient, rejoicing in truth, and in godly things. In addition to what Paul taught, in 1 John 1:7, John teaches us that we need Christian companionship and we, as Christians, would walk in such companionship. He says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.15” Compassion Jer. 20:9 says “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, Nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, And I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.16” Jeremiah suffered for the word which he spake, so much so, that he says, “I will not mention God anymore”. But the word was in His heart and he could not stay quite. Despite his suffering, Jeremiah continued to preach the word to people who would not hear it. As Christians, we ought to have much love and compassion for the lost – We have a message they do not want to hear, but we have a message they need to hear. If we truly love people, we could not simply stand-by and watch as they perish. But true love warns and protects. True love calls out the evil and sinfulness of others, and points them to Christ on the cross as their salvation. Let us examine our lives – do we warn others of the eternal nature of their path? Do we point them to Christ, both in our dealings with them and in our way of live? Do we have enough compassion to speak forth to them what they need to hear, but do not want to hear? Let us examine these things and let us develop this heart of compassion, that we might glorify our Father in Heaven. 15 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Jn 1:7). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. 16 The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Je 20:9). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc. Summary So let each of us examine our lives, and if we are living according to what we proclaim to believe. Let us examine our living, if we are sincere. Are we hypocritical in the way the we live? Do we live sincere according to our professions? Do we live a sacred life? Do we live after the things of the Spirit or after the lusts of the flesh? Let us cleanse from ourselves the dirt of our old ways and live sacredly to our God. Do we live scripturally? Do we keep the commandments? And let us examine our spiritual living. Do we thirst and hunger after God? Let us remember that Christ has promised to fill our desires if we desire after Him. Let us examine our lives – What motivates us, what drives us. What are our desires? We must remember that our desires will be the ultimate driving force behind our actions. Let us examine our devotional life, that we set aside enough time to be with God each day. That we are being renewed and reversing the starvation of our Spirits. Let us examine our dedications, what we dedicate our time and life too. Let our living present us as a lighthouse, that those who look at us want what we have. And let us examine our determination, that we don’t think of God as an afterthought, but we include Him in our daily planning. Let us examine our love – Our love for Christ, for the His bride, the church, and for other Christians. Let us examine our love and compassion for the lost, that we have a heart for them. Let us not sit back and watch as the perishing perish, but let us share the gospel with them and warn of the eternal consequences of their paths. I encourage each of you, as we depart here today, that we go to our private places and truly, and honestly examine ourselves. Let us be aware of our shortcomings and let us make corrections as needed that we may glorify our God in Heaven. ***Prayer***