“The Exam”
July 21, 2013
2 Corinthians 13:5
”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?”
1 John 4:1
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Last Monday I was suppose to go to the VA at Mather in Sacramento for a MRI exam. Those aren’t too bad. I have known a couple of people who have freaked out while taking them, my mom being one, but I’m not too afraid of closed in spaces, I just close my eyes and go to my little happy place in my mind, so they are pretty easy for me. Some other kinds of exams are pretty tough, tho. You probably have had some unpleasant exams in your life.
Another kind of exam that we have to take occasionally is educational exams. In high school and college it was a pretty big deal. I remember Julie and a lot of other friends would cram for the exam and do all nighters trying to prepare for it. For some reason I always kind of enjoyed them. One of the keys to doing well is the less stressed you are about them – the better you will do. In High School I didn’t do too well because I didn’t care about my education. In college I did quite well because I did care and wanted to learn. Attitude is everything isn’t it. Some said “attitude is like a paint brush – it colors everything you do.” And it does, doesn’t it?
This morning I want to talk about taking a spiritual exam. We need to test ourselves. We need to keep our finger on our spiritual pulse. Some people never do that. They never question where they are spiritually. Sometimes they arrogantly think, “I’m just fine. It doesn’t matter how I live. Jesus did it all!”
Really? They why does the Bible repeatedly tell us to test ourselves or examine ourselves or consider our ways, etc? I think we CAN go astray. We can get off. Therefore we need to consider our lifestyle and our focus and so on. Some people even convince themselves that the truth is a lie and a lie is the truth. Therefore it is important to examine ourselves once in a while.
Let me give you five helps in testing yourself to see if you are in the faith or not. I’m sure there are many more and probably some very individual questions or areas to examine that are just between you and God. These are just what I consider five of the more important areas to exam. And let me quickly say that you obviously can get OUT of the faith – You CAN fall out of the center of God’s will – or the Bible wouldn’t say you could.
First, you need to examine your Bible Study habits. Do you even make Bible reading and Bible Study a habit? Most Christians don’t. They think they don’t have time for it. In reality, we don’t have time for anything else until we make time for God – otherwise all our efforts are pointless anyway. The bible says,
“...from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
2 Peter 3:18
How do you grow in grace? You use what you have. How do you grow in the knowledge of Jesus? You study. Paul writes the young pastor,
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
Are you doing your best to find approval from the Lord? Do you believe He would say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
I have put reading the Bible and studying it as the first thing to test in our spiritual lives for a couple of reasons. 1. You connect to God when you read His Word. There is a spiritual connection. It is almost an act of prayer.
2. You must become familiar with God’s promises to grow in faith. Faith is built on hope and hope come from learning and believing God’s promises. We do that by reading them.
3. You receive spiritual strength by reading God’s Word. Spiritual strength (or God’s grace) is kind of like the manna in the Old Testament. It’s good for about a day. We need to feed ourselves on God Word to strengthen ourselves spiritually. If you get into God’s Word every day it is unlikely that you will stumble. The Word strengths us for the day. It is our rudder – our direction setter. It is our spiritual gyroscope to keep us on course.
Another thing to test yourself on is your prayer life. The Bible says,
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2
“Pray continually.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Prayer is just talking to God. It is just talking to Jesus. I remember when I was a young man a lot of old timers would pray using ‘Thee’s and Thou’s”. It was like they were in Shakespearean times. They didn’t talk that way normally. I guess they thought it was a prayer language that was more holy or something. It’s not. Jesus is your friend. Talk to Him like one. God, our heavenly Father is like a loving Father. Talk to Him like one. The Bible says,
“Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 5:19b-20
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Colossians 3:16
Do you ever sing to the Lord? The Bible tells us to – with gratitude in our hearts. God doesn’t want us to be whiny, complainers. He wants us to be joyful, happy, and grateful.
Julie and I have been married over 4 decades now – what if we never talked to one another? What if we never communicated? It wouldn’t be much of a relationship, would it? But the fact is we share our hopes and fears and dreams and answers to prayer and anything else that moves us. Don’t you think we should talk to God that way? I have gotten into the habit of talking to Him all day long – mostly praise and gratitude – but sometimes with concerns I have. It’s good to just slip in and out of prayer like you would an old and close friend.
Don’t neglect that special time of prayer, tho. Mine is right after I read the Bible. Sometimes I sit by the window and look outside and enter into praise and prayer. Other times I go on a prayer walk. I pray as I walk. I have some specific things I pray about every day. My health, my intellect, wisdom, prosperity, spiritual focus, ability to minister and bear fruit and to glorify His name. I pray God will use my hands and mind and voice as He wills. Then I pray for my family by name and my church, often by name, and wherever else God leads me. Have a specific time of prayer daily.
Sometimes when Julie is talking to me about something she is excited about – I am happy for her. Sometimes I drift off and lose my concentration – but God never does. I can be a bad listener – but God never is. How is your prayer life? God would love to hear from you every day.
Here’s an unpleasant subject – 3. Tithing. I put it in the top three things to test because it is so revealing of our spirituality and our spiritual maturity. Tithing has very little to do about our money and everything to do about our faith. It is simply a matter of trust. Do we trust God to provide our needs if we give Him the tithe?
Tithe is a matter of obedience. The bible says,
“‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.” Leviticus 27:30
“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.”
Deuteronomy 14:22
Jesus, when scolding the religious hypocrites of his day, said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” Matthew 23:23
Jesus said we shouldn’t neglect the tithe. It doesn’t replace faith or being just and merciful—we ought to do it all.
If you are not tithing – you are missing out on God’s blessings. You are missing out on God’s best. You may be living in disobedience at worst and in spiritual immaturity at best. Money was one of Jesus major topics. He had a lot to say about it. It is important to us. It is our power. It is our security. If we have a lot of it we may think we have little need for God. We can handle things ourselves. But Jesus said you can’t have two loves – money and God. You will love one and not care about the other. Make your choice. Who are you going to put your faith in – God or your bank account?
Here’s another test. 4. Worship. The Bible says,
“Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” Exodus 34:14
“Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.” Psalm 29:2
Worship is the expression of our love for God. It is an act of love. Living sacrificially is the highest form of worship but singing, praying, gathering together is the common form of worship. The Bible says,
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1
To get yourself up on Sunday morning when you want to sleep in is sacrificial. When you want to go fishing, swimming, camping or watch the game – but you elect to worship God instead is pleasing to Him. It is easy to isolate ourselves. People are problems. They can be judgmental and nosey and pushy and even rude. But God wants us to have one day a week to worship Him. Some worship Him the Old Testament way – on Saturday. Most of us Christians worship on Sunday in celebration of His resurrection – but I don’t think it really matters much to God when you worship Him so much as that you DO worship Him in word and in truth. True worship is from a sacrificial, loving heart. Don’t neglect it.
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:24-25
We go to church sacrificially. We go to express our love for the Lord and we go to bless others. We are to spur and encourage them to love and do good deeds. When you don’t worship collectively (go to church) you are being selfish. Sometimes it is to spend time on us or the family or to work. But church is to minister to others in fellowship and to bless God. You empty yourself of you and your desires. Praise is a sacrifice. Are you doing it?
Lastly, 5. Are you using your gifts in Kingdom building? The Bible says we have each been given gifts (Eph 4, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12). Do you even know what yours are? If not, you need to figure them out or just jump in until you realize your gift. The Bible says,
“Do not neglect your gift...” 1 Timothy 4:14
The reason the church is in the state of decline it is in today is because people are neglecting their gifts. God has designed this institution we call the church to be self perpetuating the way it was in the Early Church days. Here’s the key.
“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”
2 timothy 2:2
You need to “Pass it on”. The church is always only one generation from extinction. Breese, the founder of our denomination said “we have a debt to share the Gospel in the same measure we have received it.” Test yourself. If you are not in Kingdom building in some way – something is wrong.
Most people don’t like tests – because it shows up their lack of knowledge and ignorance. Sometimes it’s humbling. Sometimes we fail. But we need them. We need to know where we are. It is even more important in the Spiritual realm. We need to know where we are spiritually.
And there is another thing about tests – it shows you where you are and where you need to go. It shows what you need to work on. I remember in our school, Desert Son Christian School, we would give a new student an exam to see where his ‘learning gaps’ were – then when we found out what they were – we prescribed curriculum to strength those weak areas.
I hope you found a few gaps this morning. Take time this week and give yourself a through and prayerful spiritual exam. Let’s press on ahead to that high mark Paul talked about. Let’s be the men and women God takes delight in.
SONG
