Examine Yourself

Intro : Why?

Dokimazete: To Test or to put yourself on trial

1.Car..oil ..light comes on

2.Furnace Fall… Filter…Function

3.Doctor.. Symptoms/physical

4. Spiritual health

bb.C.S. Lewis: “I go to church to be reminded of that which I already know”

cc. The Bible commands it

as we will see.

5. So Today we will talk about 1. the necessity of self examination and

2.give you some tools to help you. And

3. Give you the roadmap back if you are a little off the path.

The idea being that it is a different season and a check up might be in order.

The Main idea is to get back to a closer walk with Jesus

Comfortable

1.People like to be comfortable.

2.At home, at work, in church, their car I remember when

Car seats were only heated in July

3. Some people in Our culture have become woke and hypersensitive to the slightest things. They have lost discernment. Rather than self examination, they are self focused. Very small things make them uncomfortable.

4. therefore self examination can hurt their feelings and they need a safe space.

Liberal arts College students today. Mrs. McCall

The church should be a safe space but sometimes

5.Listening to Bible preaching can make one uncomfortable.

6. In the old days they called it conviction of the Holy Spirit.

a. That is part of what the Spirit does, He convicts but He also guides us into truth.

a. an old pastor said I am here to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Bible truth ultimately is comforting in that God has placed parameters in His word for your safe conduct as you travel through a fallen world.

Most of the time ,we grow through adversity or trials.

James 1:2-6 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.”

However we must also test ourselves Biblically and on a fairly regular basis . Lets explore that idea in 2 verses

1 Cor. Written by Paul to confront sin in the Corinthian church

b. 1 Cor.11:27-32 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”

the commentary says “Don’t do it in a ritualistically indifferent way with an unrepentant heart, spirit of bitterness or other ungodly attitude.”

So as often as you do Communion you are commanded to examine yourself. And it is a bit of a warning. That is a little uncomfortable But we are here now and we have been reminded so we can press on

a.2 Cor.13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”

2Cor. Pauls personal bio . He sent Timothy who reported there were false apostles attacking Pauls teaching and authority. Paul wrote a very pointed letter to which the majority of Corinthians responded by repenting.

Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament Chapter 13

The Corinthians were spending a great deal of time examining Paul; now it was time they examined themselves. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” A true Christian experience will bear examination. “Are you even in the faith?” asked Paul. “Are you truly saved?” Every believer must prove his or her faith; no one can tell others whether or not they are born again

How do we examine ourselves?

Dokimazete: To Test or to put yourself on trial

A. The Bible

1. Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

B. Prayer in The Spirit

Pray, take time to listen, pay attention to people and situations

God can use these but they will never contradict the Bible

C . Mature and Learned believers

(Intro Macarthur study sheet)

Uncomfortable

What is the scariest verse in the Bible?

Mt.7:21-23 ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Six: The King’s Principles: True Judgment (Matthew 7)

How can we prepare for this judgment? By doing God’s will. Obedience to His will is the test of true faith in Christ. The test is not words, not saying “Lord, Lord,” and not obeying His commands. How easy it is to learn a religious vocabulary, and even memorize Bible verses and religious songs, and yet not obey God’s will. When a person is truly born again, he has the Spirit of God living within (Rom. 8:9); and the Spirit enables him to know and do the Father’s will. God’s love in his heart (Rom. 5:5) motivates him to obey God and serve others.

Words are not a substitute for obedience, and neither are religious works. Preaching, casting out demons, and performing miracles can be divinely inspired, but they give no assurance of salvation. It is likely that even Judas participated in some or all of these activities, and yet he was not a true believer. In the last days, Satan will use “lying wonders” to deceive people (2 Thes. 2:7–12).

We are to hear God’s words and do them (see James 1:22–25). We must not stop with only hearing (or studying) His words. Our hearing must result in doing. This is what it means to build on the rock foundation. We should not confuse this symbol with the “rock” in 1 Corinthians 3:9ff. Paul founded the local church in Corinth on Jesus Christ when he preached the Gospel and won people to Christ. This is the only foundation for a local church.

Now as sinners We fail. Everyone fails but God is faithful.

Phil.1:6 “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

If we do sin.

Heb4:14-5:10 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

God’s bar of soap

1John 1 :9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Jesus as our great high priest intercedes for us

Hebrews & James C. A Superior Experience of Grace and Mercy (4:14–16)

The transcendence, sinlessness, and grace of Christ encourage us to claim his mercy with confidence.

Steps

Hebrews & James Applications

• Examine yourself to be certain that you are not failing to follow God’s promises.

• Live with a conscious awareness of Jesus’ presence in your life.

• Read God’s message in the Bible to learn his diagnosis of your needs.

• Don’t be timid about coming to God to confess your sin and claim his forgiveness.

• Tell Jesus your areas of weakness and ask him to lead you to understand his power.

IN closing

Rom.10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Rom 10:13 “for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

John 6:37 ““All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

John 10:28-29 “and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”