1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,000 Out of my bondage, sorrow and night, Jesus I come, Jesus I come, 2 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:52,000 Into thy freedom, gladness and light, Jesus I come to thee. 3 00:00:52,000 --> 00:01:17,000 Out of my sickness, into thy health, Out of my want and into thy wealth. 4 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:46,000 Out of my sin and into thy self, Jesus I come to thee. 5 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,000 Let's bow together. 6 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:54,000 Lord Jesus, we come to you this morning because we need you. 7 00:01:54,000 --> 00:02:03,000 Out of the busy days of this past week, we come together for this time of worship 8 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,000 and ask that you will meet us in a very personal way. 9 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:14,000 I pray that you will use this service this morning to speak to us deeply 10 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:20,000 and to enable us by your Spirit working in us to walk more closely with you. 11 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:26,000 To that end, we invoke your blessing on what we are going to do today. 12 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,000 We thank you for the way that you have brought us together. 13 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,000 And now we pray that you will enable us to enter in fully 14 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:40,000 into what you have prepared for us in this time of worship. Amen. 15 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:46,000 Would you open your Bible, please, to Revelation chapter 1? 16 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:50,000 As I have already stated, and will state again for those of you that just come in, 17 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:57,000 this is going to be one of the most unusual services that we'll probably ever have at Grace Church Roseville. 18 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,000 I feel sorry for those of you who have come for the first time today 19 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:06,000 because we're going to do it so differently that you're going to think it is quite weird. 20 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:10,000 And it may be. Just don't think this is the normal. 21 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:17,000 But I have been pressed of the Spirit of God to arrange the service today in a different manner 22 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:23,000 to accomplish what I trust will be a specific purpose in our lives. 23 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:28,000 From time to time, it's wise for us to stop and to take stock of our lives, 24 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,000 to see who we are and where we're heading. 25 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:38,000 In Revelation chapter 1, we see that the work of the Lord Jesus Christ involves that of inspecting us 26 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,000 to find out those very things. 27 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:48,000 In chapter 1, verse 12, John turns to see the voice that was speaking with him. 28 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,000 And he writes these words, 29 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,000 Having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, 30 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:59,000 and in the middle of the lampstands, one like the Son of Man, 31 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:06,000 clothed in a robe, reaching to the feet, and girded across his breast with a golden girdle. 32 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:11,000 And we know from the rest of the verses that the one that he sees is none other than 33 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:17,000 the Lord Jesus Christ in his resurrection glory. 34 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:24,000 He sees the Lord Jesus in the midst of seven golden lampstands. 35 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,000 What are those lampstands? 36 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:32,000 Well, we find from verse 20 that the lampstands are the seven churches 37 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:35,000 to which he will now address seven letters. 38 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,000 And those letters are found in chapters 2 and 3. 39 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,000 And so the picture that we have in this last book of the New Testament 40 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:49,000 is that of the glorified Christ in the midst of his churches. 41 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:55,000 In his present ministry, the Lord Jesus is preparing a place for us 42 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,000 who are his disciples. 43 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:02,000 And one day he's going to come and receive us to himself. 44 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,000 That where he is, there we may be also. 45 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,000 In addition, at the present time, he is interceding on our behalf 46 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:15,000 as our great high priest and advocate before the Father. 47 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:20,000 But there is a third present ministry of the Lord Jesus that often we overlook, 48 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:25,000 and that is the ministry of his inspecting his churches. 49 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:30,000 For that is what he was doing as John saw him in the midst of these seven 50 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,000 churches that are named. 51 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:38,000 He was examining them to see what their true condition really was. 52 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:44,000 And then he wrote a letter to each of those churches based upon what he found 53 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,000 in that examination. 54 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:51,000 I'd like you to turn to chapter 3 as we look at the final letter 55 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:55,000 to the church at Laodicea. 56 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:59,000 It is interesting to notice that in each of the seven letters 57 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,000 there are two words that are found. 58 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:07,000 Each of the letters begins with a personal introduction of the author, 59 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:09,000 the Lord Jesus Christ. 60 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,000 There's a word said about him. 61 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,000 And then in the letter to the people themselves, 62 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,000 there are two words that begin every letter. 63 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,000 I know. 64 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:24,000 You can trace that through and find it so, but look in verse 15. 65 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:30,000 Jesus says, I know your deeds, that you're neither cold nor hot. 66 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,000 I would that you were cold or hot. 67 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,000 So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, 68 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,000 I will spit you out of my mouth. 69 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:45,000 Because you say, I am rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing, 70 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,000 and you do not know. 71 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,000 Notice the contrast. 72 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,000 Jesus said to them, I know. 73 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,000 You do not know. 74 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:01,000 Now, it wasn't that they couldn't know, but it was that they did not know. 75 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,000 Did not know what? 76 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:07,000 They did not know their true spiritual condition. 77 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:14,000 They looked upon themselves as rich, wealthy, and in need of nothing. 78 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:19,000 Jesus said, you do not know that your true condition is that you are wretched 79 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:27,000 and miserable and poor and blind and naked. 80 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:33,000 The Lord Jesus then concludes the letter by showing himself outside the church 81 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:34,000 in verse 20. 82 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:39,000 Behold, I stand at the door and I knock. 83 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,000 If any man opens the door, here's my voice, and opens the door, 84 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:48,000 I will come into him and will dine with him and he with me. 85 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,000 This hymn that we have sung, Have You Any Room for Jesus, 86 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:55,000 would be an appropriate hymn for the church at Laodicea, 87 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,000 for Jesus was outside the church seeking entrance, 88 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:01,000 but they didn't really understand that. 89 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,000 They did not know it. 90 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:08,000 I am sure that when they got this letter, they must have been surprised. 91 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:14,000 They must have been shocked to understand their true spiritual condition. 92 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,000 My application is this, dear people. 93 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:26,000 I believe it is important for each of us to honestly evaluate his spiritual condition regularly. 94 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:36,000 We can easily deceive ourselves and not really know what the Lord Jesus knows about us. 95 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:40,000 As we look into the New Testament, there are four areas of our lives 96 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,000 that are mentioned as in need of examination. 97 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,000 I would like you to follow along with me as we look at these four areas 98 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,000 that need to be examined in all of us. 99 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:58,000 The first one is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 13, verse 5. 100 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:03,000 In the last part of this epistle, Paul finds it necessary to defend himself 101 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,000 to the Corinthian believers. 102 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:12,000 There were false teachers who had entered in undermining his authority as an apostle. 103 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:16,000 They said he is not a genuine apostle of Christ. 104 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:24,000 So Paul proves to them indisputably that in fact he is a true apostle. 105 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,000 But in verse 5, he says to them, 106 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:36,000 Examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves, he says. 107 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:45,000 The first area that I believe the New Testament tells us to examine is the area of our faith. 108 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:51,000 The most important thing about us is our relationship to God. 109 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:59,000 And thus we need to examine the question, am I genuinely a child of God? 110 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:07,000 In whom or in what am I truly trusting for my salvation? 111 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:13,000 What evidence is there to prove that I am a child of God? 112 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:18,000 As we think this morning about self-examination, I believe the first area 113 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:22,000 that each of us needs to look at in light of what the New Testament says 114 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,000 is this very basic one, the area of our faith. 115 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:34,000 I think we need to examine that not to create doubt, but to determine certainty. 116 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,000 There is a second area of life that we need to look at. 117 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:41,000 This one is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 28. 118 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:45,000 1 Corinthians 11, 28. 119 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:49,000 It is the area of our walk. 120 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:53,000 The context again of verse 28 is important. 121 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:59,000 The Corinthian believers were abusing the love feast or the agape dinner. 122 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:03,000 It was a dinner which they all shared together and which concluded with 123 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,000 the observance of communion, the Lord's Supper. 124 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:10,000 The tragic thing about the people was this. 125 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:14,000 They were so gluttonous in food and wine 126 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:19,000 that by the time they got to the Lord's Supper, to the communion part of their feast, 127 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:23,000 many of them would be drunk. 128 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:27,000 So the Apostle says, you are abusing what the Lord has intended 129 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,000 to remind you of His own death. 130 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,000 Because of that, there are some of you who are sick 131 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,000 and some of you have died prematurely. 132 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:38,000 Some of you sleep, he says. 133 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:42,000 He warns in verse 28, let a man examine himself 134 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:47,000 and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. 135 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,000 He says to them, examine your walk. 136 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:55,000 Test your walk to see if it's what it ought to be, how you live. 137 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,000 Does your talk and your walk match? 138 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:01,000 It's what Paul is suggesting. 139 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:06,000 Of course, the New Testament says a great deal about the walk of the Christian life. 140 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:11,000 The Christian life is a quality of life. 141 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:15,000 It is above and beyond that which is natural. 142 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:19,000 Just consider with me some of the commands of the New Testament 143 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:20,000 relating to our walk. 144 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,000 For example, in the book of Galatians, it says, 145 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:30,000 walk by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. 146 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:31,000 He goes on to say a few verses later, 147 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:37,000 and the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, and so on. 148 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:41,000 And so in Galatians, he says, walk, conduct yourselves, 149 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:45,000 live your lives by the Spirit, 150 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:50,000 and thus the fruit of the Spirit will be evidenced. 151 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:53,000 In Ephesians, he says, walk in a manner worthy of your calling 152 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:56,000 as he begins chapter 4. 153 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,000 Walk worthy of your calling. 154 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,000 What does that mean, Paul? 155 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:06,000 Well, he goes on in chapters 4 and 5 to mention these kinds of things. 156 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:21,000 Humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, unity, purity, honesty, kindness, wisdom, 157 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,000 submission, and forgiveness. 158 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:29,000 Those things are part of what it is to walk worthy of our calling. 159 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,000 In Colossians, he puts it a little differently. 160 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:38,000 He says, walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. 161 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:42,000 And he goes on to say, as you have received Christ Jesus, the Lord, 162 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:47,000 so walk ye in him. 163 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,000 So there's a lot said about our walk. 164 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:53,000 We need to examine our walk by asking kinds of questions like this. 165 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:57,000 Is my lifestyle distinctively different? 166 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:04,000 By that, I don't mean peculiar, zany, or weird, or holier than thou either. 167 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:11,000 But is my lifestyle in contrast to the evil society around me? 168 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:20,000 Am I truly light in darkness? 169 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,000 We are to examine our faith. 170 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,000 We are to examine our walk. 171 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:33,000 A third area is found in Galatians chapter 6, verse 4. 172 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:38,000 Where the Word of God says, but let each one examine his own work. 173 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:42,000 By the way, have you noticed the emphasis on doing it for ourselves? 174 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:46,000 Not for our husband or wife, or for the person sitting next to us, 175 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,000 or for someone else in the church. 176 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:51,000 But he says, let each examine himself. 177 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,000 That's something we need to keep in mind. 178 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:58,000 Let each one examine his own work, and then he will have reason for 179 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:02,000 boasting in regard to himself alone and not in regard to another. 180 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:07,000 Essentially what he's saying here is that we need to examine our works. 181 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,000 I need to examine what I do. 182 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:15,000 What am I doing that will count forever? 183 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:18,000 What am I doing that will give me reason for genuine boasting 184 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:23,000 in the presence of the Lord? 185 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:26,000 All of us have one thing in common. 186 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:27,000 Not many things. 187 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:31,000 All of us are not created equal in most respects. 188 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,000 But there is one thing that we share in common, 189 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:37,000 and that is that we are given 24 hours a day. 190 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,000 And it's likewise as certain that we will take a record of the use 191 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:47,000 of that 24 hours each day into eternity with us. 192 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,000 And I believe that what we're called upon to examine here is what 193 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:55,000 we're doing that's going to make a difference 100 years from now. 194 00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:00,000 It's easy for us to be involved in even good things and neglect the best. 195 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:04,000 So we need to examine our works. 196 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:08,000 What am I doing that will count forever? 197 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:12,000 And then a final area the New Testament commands us to examine is 198 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:27,000 suggested by 1 Thessalonians 5.21. 199 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:37,000 He says, But examine everything carefully, hold fast to that which is good. 200 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,000 Again, the context is important here. 201 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:43,000 The New Testament had not been completed, of course, when Paul wrote this 202 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:47,000 epistle, which was early in his ministry. 203 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:52,000 There were many prophesying being delivered by prophets of that day 204 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,000 called of God. 205 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:58,000 And what the apostle exhorts is that they be selective in listening to 206 00:16:58,000 --> 00:16:59,000 the prophets. 207 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,000 He says, Examine what you hear. 208 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,000 Don't buy into everything you hear. 209 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:10,000 Make sure that what you hear is of God. Examine your doctrine. 210 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,000 That's the fourth area. 211 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:20,000 We are exposed today to a broader variety of thought, belief, and teaching 212 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,000 than any people in history. 213 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:31,000 We are constantly bombarded by ideas, philosophies, religions, propaganda, 214 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:38,000 experiences, through television and radio and the printed media, through 215 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,000 books and personal contexts. 216 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:46,000 And we must examine these in the light of the Word of God. 217 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:51,000 We must examine what we say we believe. 218 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,000 Do you know what you believe? 219 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:59,000 Or are you an easy target for some false teacher? 220 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:03,000 The Lord Jesus Christ is pictured in Revelation as during this age 221 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:06,000 examining His churches. 222 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,000 Now remember when we talk about the church, we're not talking about an 223 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:15,000 entity out there somewhere, but we're talking about you and me. 224 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,000 We're the church. 225 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:23,000 The Lord Jesus is examining us, and I believe that we're commanded in the 226 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:28,000 New Testament on our part to examine ourselves. 227 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,000 We need to be inspectors. 228 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:38,000 The job of an inspector is to determine the worth or the propriety of 229 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:41,000 whatever it is he's inspecting. 230 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:46,000 And that's what we need to inspect about ourselves and our lives. 231 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:54,000 Thus, I want to invite you this morning to take an inventory, to use a tool 232 00:18:54,000 --> 00:19:00,000 which may be used of God to help you evaluate your life in these four areas 233 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:05,000 where the New Testament commands us to examine ourselves. 234 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,000 Now before we do that, I'd like for you to take your worship folder and look 235 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,000 on page three on the inside. 236 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:17,000 There are five stanzas to a hymn we're going to sing, to a familiar tune. 237 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:22,000 I'd like for us simply to remain seated and to read or to sing through these 238 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:30,000 five stanzas of O for a Closer Walk with God. 239 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,000 I'm going to ask the ushers to begin passing out to each of you a copy of an 240 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:38,000 inventory that we have prepared for our personal use this morning. 241 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:42,000 As they're doing that, there's also someone coming with some pencils. 242 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:47,000 If you don't have a writing instrument of some kind, a pen, pencil, crayon, 243 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:51,000 or whatever, these gentlemen have a pencil they'd be glad to hand to you 244 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:58,000 and then you can turn them back in when you leave this morning. 245 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,000 Pencils, that is. 246 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:04,000 I don't want you to begin writing at all on the inventory yet. 247 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:09,000 Please listen to what I'm saying as these men complete the work. 248 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:14,000 I want to encourage you not to be intimidated by the inventory because only 249 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,000 you will ever see the answers that are written on it. 250 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,000 This is not to be passed back in to anyone. 251 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:25,000 It is simply a matter between you and the Lord. 252 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:30,000 And I want to tell you that probably none of us will feel very good 253 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,000 about this exercise. 254 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:39,000 It is not going to be one of those comfy mornings in church when we all go away 255 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:47,000 feeling stroked and comfortable. 256 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,000 As you read through the inventory and answer the questions, 257 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,000 don't become angry about anything or get hung up on a question. 258 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:57,000 If there's a question that you particularly don't like for some reason, 259 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:03,000 ignore it and go on and make the most positive use of this tool. 260 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,000 Don't linger over any answer. 261 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,000 Go on and return to that question later if you want to give it more thought 262 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:13,000 before the Lord. 263 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,000 Remember that this inventory is man-made. 264 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:21,000 It is therefore not perfect in the way that it asks some of the questions. 265 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:25,000 It may be too heavy in some areas or too superficial in others. 266 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:30,000 It does not cover every area equally. 267 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:34,000 As you go through the inventory, don't be overwhelmed by it, 268 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:40,000 but make it a positive experience to help you fulfill what the New Testament 269 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:44,000 tells us to do in examining ourselves. 270 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:48,000 Above all, I want you to be honest in answering the questions. 271 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,000 Don't answer the questions as you would like to be able to answer them 272 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,000 or as you want to someday, 273 00:21:54,000 --> 00:22:01,000 but answer the questions honestly as it applies this morning to your life. 274 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,000 The questionnaire is for everybody. 275 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,000 It's for me on the platform. 276 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,000 It's for our ushers. 277 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:09,000 It's for each of us seated here. 278 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:13,000 We will all go through this together. 279 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:17,000 In just a moment, we're going to scatter out in the auditorium. 280 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,000 Some of you will need perhaps to even come up into the choir 281 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,000 if you're congested, 282 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,000 and there are some areas where you're kind of tightly packed. 283 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:29,000 So I want you to feel free to scatter out and sit at least with one chair 284 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,000 between you and everybody else. 285 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:35,000 That way you'll have some privacy in answering the questions. 286 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:38,000 In doing that, I want you to pull the door shut on yourself 287 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:43,000 and enter into a closet of at least imaginary creation 288 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,000 and answer your questions honestly before God, 289 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:49,000 for after all, there's no purpose in being less than truthful 290 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,000 in an examination like this. 291 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:56,000 So first, let me lead us all in prayer. 292 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:57,000 And then, well, I'll tell you what. 293 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:58,000 Go ahead and scatter out. 294 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,000 Let's do that first. 295 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:05,000 Just scatter out so that there's some space between you and others around you. 296 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,000 I know some of you hate to part. 297 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,000 It's sweet sorrow. 298 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,000 But if you could just manage that for a few minutes, 299 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,000 I think it would be helpful. 300 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,000 We can use the choir area. 301 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,000 If you want to sit in the middle of the aisle, you can do that. 302 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:31,000 That makes you feel comfortable. 303 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,000 I would encourage you not to sit beside somebody else 304 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:41,000 just so that you feel free to answer the questions. 305 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,000 Now, you may be a husband and wife, 306 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,000 and you feel like you know what the other person is going to put down anyway. 307 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,000 Well, that may be true. 308 00:23:48,000 --> 00:24:03,000 We would encourage you to do that. 309 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,000 I think we're getting that pretty well taken care of. 310 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,000 Let's bow together now in prayer. 311 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,000 Would you join me? 312 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:17,000 Dear Lord Jesus, I pray that as we take an inventory this morning 313 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:25,000 that you will make this a profitable spiritual exercise for us. 314 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:29,000 I pray that you would expose our hearts where you see things about us 315 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:36,000 that we have not been able or willing to take a good look at. 316 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,000 I pray that as we go through this exercise 317 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:46,000 that you will speak to us tenderly and quietly because you love us 318 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:50,000 and bring us to a point of making some changes. 319 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:59,000 But I pray that as we get alone with you in these quiet minutes 320 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:07,000 that we might sense your Spirit speaking in that loving and quiet voice 321 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:11,000 to our inner man. Amen. 322 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:15,000 It will take 15 or 20 minutes probably. 323 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:21,000 There is not a prize for getting through this first. 324 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,000 We just want to take some time to do this 325 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:46,000 and then we will continue on with some other things. 326 00:25:53,000 --> 00:26:21,000 Amen. 327 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:27,000 I am not sure how you feel after an experience like this. 328 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:33,000 Perhaps you feel rather exposed or naked in the sight of God or uncomfortable. 329 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:41,000 You may feel like a failure, like you are defeated or a loser of a Christian. 330 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,000 I am glad that the Lord Jesus Christ understands our feelings 331 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:49,000 and that we can come to Him with those, talk to Him about them. 332 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,000 I would like for us to bow in prayer. 333 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,000 I doubt that you have been talking to the Lord right along. 334 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,000 But let's bow together now in prayer. 335 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:02,000 You quietly write where you are seated, talk to the Lord. 336 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,000 Renee is going to come and sing for us. 337 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:33,000 You listen to the words and let them minister to your heart as she sings. 338 00:27:33,000 --> 00:28:01,000 Out of my shameful failure and loss, Jesus I come, Jesus I come 339 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:19,000 Into Thy glorious gain of Thy cross, Jesus I come to Thee 340 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:38,000 Out of earth's sorrows, into Thy balm, Out of life's storms and into Thy calm 341 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:57,000 Out of distress to jubilant song, Jesus I come to Thee 342 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:15,000 Out of unrest and arrogant pride, Jesus I come, Jesus I come 343 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:33,000 Into Thy blessed will to abide, Jesus I come to Thee 344 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:51,000 Out of myself to dwell in Thy love, Out of despair into raptures above 345 00:29:51,000 --> 00:30:13,000 Upward for hay on wings like a dove, Jesus I come to Thee 346 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:28,000 Our Lord, we thank You that Yours is a throne of grace, that we may come to You and find 347 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:32,000 their mercy and forgiveness for our shortcomings. 348 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:40,000 We confess to You that we have not been able to come through this self-examination unscathed. 349 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:47,000 But in fact, there have been areas of our lives where we have failed You. 350 00:30:47,000 --> 00:31:01,000 There have been areas where we have weaknesses, possibly even some matters of disobedience 351 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:05,000 have been uncovered. 352 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:16,000 And my prayer is that You will so work effectively in each of us that we will be able to look 353 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:25,000 at those areas of our lives and honestly confess them to You and still know that You with open, 354 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:30,000 outstretched arms welcome us to Yourself. 355 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:35,000 For Jesus, we do come to You. 356 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:44,000 Out of our failure, our shame, our pride, we come to You. 357 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:50,000 We would lift our eyes from ourselves where we find very little to take heart in, and 358 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,000 we would place our eyes upon You. 359 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:59,000 For we know that You love us unconditionally and that You receive us, and that it is Your 360 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:04,000 desire to work in our lives to make us like Yourself. 361 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:11,000 I am so grateful, Lord, that You will not fail in that promise and that what You have 362 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:19,000 begun in each of us You will complete on that day when we see You face to face. 363 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:25,000 Our prayer is that even now, day by day, we might be taking some little steps in that 364 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:33,000 direction and that You would conform us to the image of Yourself. 365 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:37,000 Amen. 366 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:47,000 I suppose if we were to leave at this point, most of us would go away feeling rather depressed, 367 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,000 not really excited. 368 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:57,000 Therefore, I would like for you to right now in your mind look over the landscape of your 369 00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:58,000 inventory. 370 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:02,000 In fact, you may even want to look through it literally. 371 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:09,000 I would like you to find one or two, maybe three areas which you feel are most important 372 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:14,000 for you to work on, and then circle that area or check it off. 373 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:20,000 Do something to signal the fact that this is an area of priority where you want to do 374 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:29,000 some work. 375 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:35,000 One, two, or maybe three at the most which are of greatest concern to you, and you thank 376 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,000 to the Lord. 377 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:44,000 When you've decided on those, I'd like you to turn to that fourth page. 378 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,000 There's about a half of a blank page. 379 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:55,000 I'd like you to write at the top of that space, my commitments. 380 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:58,000 Once again, these are between you and God. 381 00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:06,000 You say it, write it like you want to, for His eyes and your eyes only, my commitments. 382 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:19,160 Then, something like this, in light of my self-examination, I will by the grace of God 383 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:28,440 and then list a goal to correspond with those areas of concerns that you have marked. 384 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:34,000 In light of my self-examination, I will by the grace of God do this or that. 385 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:39,200 For example, if you found that memorization has been slipping in your life, perhaps you 386 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:45,800 would like to say, I by the grace of God will memorize a verse a week or three verses a 387 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:49,000 week or whatever. 388 00:34:49,000 --> 00:35:01,120 If it's an area of doctrine, I will by the grace of God learn more about the doctrine 389 00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:04,440 of the Holy Spirit or whatever it may be. 390 00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:08,960 Then after you've done that, below it, put steps one, two, or three, however many you 391 00:35:08,960 --> 00:35:16,320 need and list the steps that you believe would help you achieve that goal. 392 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:20,800 What do you need to do so that you can accomplish memorizing a verse a week? 393 00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:23,360 You need to select the verses. 394 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:25,480 Maybe you need to decide on a time that you're going to do it. 395 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:29,720 I don't know what the steps may be, but write some steps there that you think will help 396 00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:34,240 you to keep those goals that you've established. 397 00:35:34,240 --> 00:36:00,120 It will take just a couple of minutes to do that. 398 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:04,000 I'd like you to consider doing one more thing there at the bottom of the page. 399 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:10,040 Would you consider writing down the name of a person who can be your encourager with whom 400 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:14,440 you could share your goals and your steps? 401 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:21,040 Someone who's close enough to you to pray for you and to encourage you to help you accomplish 402 00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:23,040 your goals. 403 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:42,600 Write down the name of someone to be your encourager. 404 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:49,920 The Word of God has these potent verses in the book of James. 405 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:58,880 Believe yourselves doers of the Word, doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude 406 00:36:58,880 --> 00:36:59,880 themselves. 407 00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:06,640 For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at 408 00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:09,600 his natural face in a mirror. 409 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:14,740 For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind 410 00:37:14,740 --> 00:37:16,880 of person he was. 411 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:22,880 The one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, 412 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:31,240 not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed 413 00:37:31,240 --> 00:37:34,420 in what he does. 414 00:37:34,420 --> 00:37:40,460 Having looked in the mirror of sorts this morning, it does us no profit if we go away 415 00:37:40,460 --> 00:37:43,320 and do nothing about it. 416 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:47,640 In fact, we are worse off than when we came in, if that is what we do. 417 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:53,680 Rather, by God's grace, let us press toward these goals. 418 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:56,820 We can correct everything in our lives all at once. 419 00:37:56,820 --> 00:38:00,160 The Lord does not expect us to. 420 00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:05,760 But we can make some steps in the right direction. 421 00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:11,340 That should be our heart's desire as we depart from here this morning, knowing that our Lord 422 00:38:11,340 --> 00:38:15,040 is going to continue His work in our lives. 423 00:38:15,040 --> 00:38:20,440 He has called us to a destiny which is far greater than any of us can possibly imagine 424 00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:23,680 at this point. 425 00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:30,160 He desires to work in our lives powerfully, to glorify Himself. 426 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:35,800 Through this process today, we have looked at ourselves and seen areas where we are not 427 00:38:35,800 --> 00:38:40,040 living perhaps as we would like to or He wants us to. 428 00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:47,840 Now we have isolated some things in our lives we are going to begin working on by His power. 429 00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:56,280 So I hope as we go we can sing with meaning, number 536. 430 00:38:56,280 --> 00:39:06,600 To God be the glory, my tribute. 431 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:10,520 How can I say thanks is how it begins. 432 00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:21,440 I'd like for us to turn there and to sing together with confidence because God is working 433 00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:27,880 and will continue to work in us. 434 00:39:27,880 --> 00:39:31,600 And I think we should probably stand together as we sing and then we'll be seated for the 435 00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:33,480 final selection from the choir. 436 00:39:33,480 --> 00:39:40,480 Let's stand together as we sing 536. 437 00:39:40,480 --> 00:40:04,160 You can stay if you want to. 438 00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:27,160 You can stay if you want to. 439 00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:48,160 You can stay if you want to. 440 00:40:48,160 --> 00:41:07,160 You can stay if you want to. 441 00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:27,160 You can stay if you want to. 442 00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:47,160 You can stay if you want to. 443 00:41:47,160 --> 00:42:07,160 You can stay if you want to. 444 00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:27,160 You can stay if you want to. 445 00:42:27,160 --> 00:42:39,160 You can stay if you want to.