Good morning and welcome to 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.
The other day I was driving over to a neighbor’s house to pick up a few things with my trailer, but I noticed that something was making a strange clicking sound from the back of my truck. The faster that I went, the louder that the noise became. Because my neighbor is a mechanic, I asked him if he knew what he thought it might be, and when he took a look at the back tire, he noticed that the lug nut cover was very loose, which caused it to rattle as I went down the road. All I needed to do was to grab a screwdriver and tighten down the screws, and it never made a noise after that.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
A mechanic can quickly diagnose something that is wrong with a vehicle, but as a Christian, we need to be able to do the same type of thing. We must be able to diagnose the things in our lives that are outside of the will of God. This is so that we can correct the problems at hand and quickly repair them.
2 Corinthians 13:5 (KJB) 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?
Whenever you diagnose something you are figuring out what is wrong. A lot of mechanics will use an engine manual in order to discover why an engine isn’t running properly, but the Lord has already given us a Spiritual manual, so that we can diagnose the things that are wrong and unpleasing in His sight. We want to make sure that our hearts are right before God, but it requires self-examination and aligning ourselves with the teachings of Holy Scripture. The Apostle Paul told the church that they needed to do this whenever they partook of Holy Communion together.
1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (KJB) For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 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. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Some people find it very easy to judge others in this world, but at the same time, it’s not so easy for them to judge themselves. It can be simple to find fault with someone that you really don’t know, rather than with the person that you look at in the mirror every morning. Sometimes people will examine the tiny faults in someone else’s life, rather than starting first at diagnosing the huge problems that they have of their own.
Luke 6:41-42 (KJB) And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.
To cast out the beam in your own eye is to judge yourself, and look closely at the way that you personally live your life. In order to find Grace with God, we must recognize the things that we have done wrong and own up to our own mistakes. This requires humility, and the Apostle James warned the church that before God would lift them up and shower them with His grace, they needed to first humble themselves before Him.
James 4:4-10 (KJB) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Humility is an incredible attribute to possess as a Christian, because it will help you to identify and address any problem areas in your life that need attention. Many times in the military, they will do all kinds of inspections to make sure that you are doing things correctly. But as a follower of Christ, we must inspect our own hearts everyday, and allow ourselves to be judged by the teachings of Scripture, which have been put forth for our guidance and correction.
2 Timothy 3:14-17 (KJB) But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Remember that each of us will need to examine ourselves on a daily basis, to make sure that we are walking in the one true faith. We must find out the problems, and correct the things that are wrong, until the engine of our heart purrs like a kitten. Sometimes a motor can be running a little rough, but you will have to identify what’s wrong to make it better. Each of us must look deep inside of our hearts and compare them to our Scriptural manual, and just like a mechanic, begin the process of,…..
……Spiritual 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 all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
https://tlkjbc.com/written-sermons/
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2055335/episodes
https://www.facebook.com/share/14RHGVBBHbG/
tlkjbc.com
Note: Any copies may be printed and freely distributed among those who have no internet service. There is no AI creative involvement in my writings, and must be left intact because they are very personal to me. These are not to be sold, and are made public only for the free benefit of Spiritual knowledge to those who are genuinely seeking the will of God.
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 