Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
Many years ago when I was in high school, I was able to take an automotive class. At the time I knew nothing at all about engine repair, but by the end of the course I had completely ripped apart an engine and put it back together again. I find it amazing that so many different parts can work together as one. But sometimes when you fired up the motor, you could tell something was wrong. It was running a little rough, and there was something that needed to be corrected inside the motor. At times like this, we had a big machine that we would roll up alongside the engine. After hooking up some cables it would automatically diagnose what was wrong. It might be a bad spark plug, or one of the plug wires. It might even have been the timing or some issues with the alternator.
This reminds me of the Christian life.
Sometimes when a motor isn’t running right, it needs to go through a diagnostic test. Christianity is very similar. We need to go through a process of self-diagnosis, correcting the things that are wrong in our lives, so that the motor of our hearts runs perfectly before God.
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”
— 2 Corinthians 13:5
To examine, is to closely test, inspect or investigate a matter. Each day we need to take a look inside of our own hearts, to see if we are walking in the true faith. Although God can see everything, many things in a person’s life are completely hidden from the view of others. You need to take a look at yourself and diagnose if your faith is running on all eight cylinders. Do the things that you do line up with the teachings of Holy Scripture? Does your behavior agree with the gospel of Christ? Are you departing from iniquity, and walking in the perfect will of God? We must do a self evaluation, repenting from dead works to serve the living God.
“Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.”
— Lamentations 3:40
Our salvation depends upon turning from things that are displeasing to God, and walking in His perfect will. To do this, we first must possess a humble and penitent heart, recognizing the things in our lives that we need to change, in order to come into compliance with God’s purpose. Many people possess an outward form of religion, but Christianity is about the status of one’s heart. To examine yourself is to take your own self test, looking deep inside of your heart to see if you truly are walking in the faith. We must correct those things that others cannot see, deeply reflecting on the wrongs that you have committed, so that we can do what is right. The only way to overcome sin is to take a good look at yourself and to admit your own faults. This is why it’s crucial to examine your own heart, to see if you are abiding in the truth. We must do the will of God, to inherit the kingdom of God.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
— Matthew 7:21
“And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
— 1 John 2:17
When Jesus came to the Earth, there were many people who were very religious on the exterior. It continues today in many forms of modern Christianity. People need to reflect upon themselves momentarily, and recognize their sinful and wicked ways, because It is impossible to change your life, unless you first humbly admit the faults in your heart.
James 4. ⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. ⁹ Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Jesus taught the Pharisees to take a look inside their own hearts and to cleanse themselves.
Matthew 23
²⁵ Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. ²⁶ Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;”
— Isaiah 1:16
Psalms 24
³ Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? ⁴ He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. ⁵ He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Many times people will partake of Holy Communion to their own damnation, because they refuse to look inside their own heart and acknowledge the wrongs that they have committed. There is no contrition, and no Godly sorrow that would cause them to humbly repent of their sins. Their hearts are not right before God. They want to believe that they are going to be in heaven, but refuse to reconcile with God and with others whom they have wronged. Before taking Holy Communion, one must judge themselves, looking at the sinful things that you have committed, and having a desire to correct the wrongs that you have done.
1 Corinthians 11. ²⁷ Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. ²⁹ For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. ³⁰ For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. ³¹ For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
³² But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Before you can find forgiveness with God or others in the church, you must accept full responsibility for the wrongs that you have committed. You must admit the truth, and confess the error of your way.
“I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”
— Psalms 32:5
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
— 1 John 1:9
To inherit eternal life, we must make sure that we are walking in the truth of the Christian faith. Like maintenance on your vehicle, you will have to look under the hood and inspect the motor of your heart. You will have to rid yourself of all the things that are displeasing unto God, so that your faith is running smoothly. Maybe it’s high time for you to hook up some cables to your own heart, and do some….
…..Self-Diagnosis
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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