EXAMINE
YOURSELF
BREAD
37 Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed
it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of
the Most High that both calamities and good things come? 39 Why should any living man complain when
punished for his sins? 40 Let us
examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD. 41 Let
us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, and say: 42 “We have
sinned and rebelled and you have not forgiven.” Lamentations
3:37-42 (NIV)
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of
Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of
Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were
not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and
horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD,
he delivered them into your hand. 9 For
the eyes of the LORD range
throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to
him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” 2 Chronicles 16:7-9 (NIV)
27 Tekel:
You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Daniel
5:27 (NIV)
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do
what I say?” Luke 6:46 (NIV)
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has
been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes
through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God, 24 and are
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans
3:21-24 (NIV)
21 “Not everyone who says
to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and
perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from
me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature
but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not
have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is
dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised
Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will
also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers, we have an
obligation--but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the
sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds
of the body, you will live, 14 because
those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans
8:9-14 (NIV)
5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the
faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless,
of course, you fail the test? 6 And
I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 2
Corinthians 13:5-6 (NIV)
28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the
bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For
anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks
judgment on himself. 1 Corinthians 11:28-29 (NIV)
13 Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and
compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending
calamity. Joel 2:13 (NIV)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Every
man who is wise in the kingdom of heaven will cry, ‘Search me, O God . . . Try
me’; and he will frequently set apart special seasons for self-examination, to
discover whether things are right between God and his soul. The God whom we
worship is a great heart-searcher; and in the past His servants referred to Him
as ‘I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your
works deserve.’” C. H. Spurgeon revised
by Alistair Begg
“Neither go back in fear and misgiving to the
past nor in anxiety and forecasting to the future, but lie quiet under His
hand, having no will but His.” H.E. Manning
“You
can learn a lot about a man by what he groans after. Some men groan after
wealth—they worship money; some groan continually under the troubles of
life—they are merely impatient. But the man who sighs after God, who is uneasy
until he is made like Christ—that is the blessed man. May God help us to groan
for the coming of the Lord and the resurrection that He will bring to us.” C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg
“If you want to be spiritually strong at the end of your life, then be
spiritually strong right now. The end is determined by the beginning, the
evening by the morning. Walk with God now, and you will be walking with Him
then. You will be able to look back reflectively over your life and worship, recognizing
that God was in control all along.”
Greg Laurie
“The brilliant are
always the ones who simply live like light. What breaks any dark is the courage of just one star.” Ann Voskamp
“By
the precious blood of Christ, which was not shed to make you a hypocrite, but
rather that sincere souls might declare His praise, I urge you to search and
look, for fear that in the end it will be said of you, ‘Tekel, you have been
weighed in the balances and found wanting.’”
C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg
“Humble yourself
under God’s mighty hand that He may lift you up. Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for
you and He will never, never let the righteous fall. The way up is always down. Be willing to honestly search your own heart. Be willing to deny self and follow Him – for your
good, for His glory. Be willing to walk
in a manner worthy of the precious Gospel of Christ again, always through His
power, for His glory, for our good. We
simply can’t muster up enough good intentions in our flesh it will fail us
every time – it is always through the indwelling power of the Spirit in the
saint that we are enabled to walk as Jesus walked. The flesh, the world screams loud, vies for
all of our attention and leads to our downfall.
We are not God – we are the created not the Creator. Listen for His still small voice. He knows what is best for our lives – always. Indeed His plan for each of His children is
good pleasing and perfect albeit extremely hard. Each child of the King should hear Jesus
asking the same questions to them as He did when He reinstated Peter – do we
truly love Him more than all and are we willing to follow: 15 When they had finished eating, Jesus
said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly
love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love
you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” 16 Again Jesus said, “Simon
son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know
that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” 17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt
because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love
me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. 18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed
yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out
your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want
to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of
death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” John 21:15-19 (NIV). BHY
“Heart-rending is divinely wrought and solemnly felt. It is
a secret grief which is personally experienced, not in mere form, but as a deep,
soul-moving work of the Holy Spirit upon the inmost heart of each believer. It is not a matter to be merely talked of and
believed in, but keenly and sensitively felt in every living child of the
living God. It is powerfully humiliating,
and completely sin-purging; but then it is sweetly preparative for those
gracious consolations which proud unhumbled spirits are unable to receive; and it
is distinctly discriminating, for it belongs to the elect of God, and to them alone.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“Keep sowing faithfully. God sees. He knows. In Christ, your labor will not be in vain.” David Mathis
“Let me encourage you in His name to diligently search and solemnly test your spiritual state, for fear you should come short of the promised rest. This is what every wise man does, and what God Himself does with us all. I exhort you to do the same yourself this evening. Let the oldest saint examine the basics of his piety, for gray heads may cover evil hearts: And the young professor should not despise the word of warning, for the greenness of youth may accompany the rottenness of hypocrisy. Every now and then a spiritual giant falls. The enemy still continues to sow tares among the wheat. It is not my aim to introduce doubts and fears to your mind; I rather hope that the rough wind of self-examination may help to drive them away. It is not security but fleshly security that we would kill, not confidence but carnal confidence that we would overthrow, not peace but false peace that we would destroy.” C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg
HEART SAVOR
·
I
am to examine my heart asking God to search it and point out all the offensive
ways which lies within. Purge of
iniquity through the power of the Spirit enabling me to walk in a manner worthy
of Him. Pleasing Him in all I say and do
and think. The cleansing of a heart with
the living water always leaves it shining for His glory.
·
God’s
way is the best way no matter what the world or self may say.
·
Be faithful.
Finish well. It matters how you live
your life – it truly does.
