Examine Yourself

[0:00] Praise the Lord. We're going to come around the table of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 11. We like to have a time of communing around the Lord's table together.

[0:18] ! And starting with 1 Corinthians 11. Examine yourself. Now, one time, a while ago now, I was a process worker in a local factory.

[0:40] When we used to have local manufacturing, I can remember one of the important jobs of the factory that I was in, which was the Bonaire factory down at Salisbury, was that of the quality control people.

[0:53] And at Bonaire, they would examine every air conditioner to make sure all of the parts were there, all of the pieces were fitted, installed correctly and in good working order.

[1:05] And there was people there that were there to measure the quality of the product. Now, the Bible talks about an examination. An examination. Now, it's easy to examine other people, isn't it?

[1:17] Isn't it? I can scrutinise you and see. I can find, oh, there's lots of faults out there. Lots of faults, lots of things I could say. Room for improvement. Oh, absolutely. And it's very easy to scrutinise other people. But what about ourselves? What about looking at ourselves?

[1:37] And the Bible talks about that in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 28. In the context of communion time, it tells of this examination of believers, an assessment, really a self-assessment.

[1:51] It's something that we undertake at communion time where Paul says, but let a man examine himself. And so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.

[2:02] So the Bible calls us to a self-examination. How do we measure up to what God wants for our lives? And I put to you the Bible talks about at least three ways, three things that our Lord examines.

[2:18] Our heart, our faith and our work. The Bible tells us of these examinations. The words highlighted in yellow that we'll come to in the next verses are the like word or derived from that word examine.

[2:35] So firstly, the Bible tells us God examines our heart. So let's take a look at our own heart. 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 4 says, but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

[2:59] That word again, examine, try. God examines our heart. He sees what it's like, what's going on there. Is it saved? Or is it lost? Is it tender towards God?

[3:11] Or hardened? Or hardened? Like a rock. First and foremost, let's be sure, really the most important measure of our heart is, are we saved?

[3:23] Is our heart yielded unto God? Luther said, I'm more afraid of my own heart than the Pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great Pope, self.

[3:34] It's the worst enemy of all, isn't it? Self. It's the worst of the worst is the self, the self nature, that fleshly, carnal man. Let us take time this morning to examine our own heart, not others hearts, but our own heart.

[3:51] Our standing in the sight of our great God. Examine the accounts. This is a solemn act. Examine our heart. David prayed along this line in Psalm 26, verse 2.

[4:04] Of course, we know David had some heart trouble, but yet he was called a man after God's own heart. And he prayed this prayer in the Psalm 26. Along this line he says, examine me, O Lord, and prove me, try my reins and my heart.

[4:20] Now, of course, the Old Testament's in Hebrew, but the Greek Bible that translates this word into Greek is the very same word, examine.

[4:32] Examine yourself. Examine me, O Lord. Examine me, O Lord. We must compare our heart and life by the word of God. Do we know Christ as our Saviour and Lord?

[4:45] Does he have our heart? It's the most fundamental consideration, isn't it? And friends, as we come to the table to examine ourselves before the Lord, when we let God examine our hearts, search out our hearts today.

[5:00] A second area the Lord examines is our faith. We see 1 Peter 1, verse 7. Peter exhorts the folk that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold, it perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the revelation, at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

[5:26] So, the Bible talks of a faith that will carry us through trials. So, as we should examine, our Lord examines our faith. There's a trial of it. There's a trying of it.

[5:37] Same word, examine. And our hope and prayer, our trust, is that our heart will be right, our faith will be right. That it will be the faith that saves, saving faith, saving faith in our Saviour.

[5:52] And it will all be to His praise and honour and His glory. I look back to another time when I was a worker in another factory, the Preachstone Tire Factory.

[6:03] Yes, we used to make tires in Australia a long, long time ago. And one day, I recall watching the quality control of tires. And the assessor would be there, they would fit the tire, this brand new tire on this machine, that would spin the tire.

[6:20] And it would run it repeatedly over this bump, almost like a brick. That it would run, boom, boom, boom, boom, at high speed. Punishing that tire over and over and over again, to see what punishment that it could sustain.

[6:35] I put to you that our faith can be likewise tried. Like that tire, boom, boom, boom. How much testing can it take? Our faith can be tested, can't it? And God wants it to pass the test.

[6:48] The trial of our faith. Our Lord calls us to a resilience of faith, that it will be like gold, gold, tried in the fire. Gold quality faith.

[6:59] Despite all the trials and tests that we might face through life as a believer, and surely we will, and we have, and will do. Face trial.

[7:10] But God is making you stronger for it. Brother, sister, He's making you stronger for that testing. How is your faith today? Is it assured in Christ? The Bible talks about being established in the faith.

[7:23] That we can strengthen our trust in Christ. The Lord examines our heart, and He examines our faith. And thirdly, another aspect that the Lord examines is our work.

[7:35] The Bible speaks, 1 Corinthians 3, 13, how every man's work shall be made manifest, or be revealed. For the day shall declare it.

[7:46] This coming day of assessment, it says the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire. And the fire shall try, or test, every man's work of what sort it is.

[7:59] Think of those places of furnace where the gold is manufactured, and we see how that great heat brings forth the gold. I know at one time we were living in Mount Isa, and there would be a time where they would put the metals through this great furnace.

[8:17] And it was a shining golden product that would come out of those flames. And it's the same with you and me, brothers and sisters, that our work is going to be tested.

[8:28] As metals are tested for their quality and strength, friends, our work will be examined. What have we done? What have we to show for our life? Will it be gold, silver, precious stones, or wood, hay, stubble?

[8:44] How is our workmanship? What of the works? Our practical application of our faith. It's a challenge to think of it, isn't it? To examine that. Examine our works.

[8:55] Will they be wood, hay, stubble, or gold, silver, precious stones? The trial of our faith, being much more precious than of gold. The work. It says that every man's work shall be made manifest.

[9:09] It shall be revealed. The fire shall try it. Examine it. Now, as I say, examine your works. How's it going? How's that going for you? The practical application of your faith.

[9:21] Now, some people worry a lot about what other people think, and the approval of other people. But what actually matters the most?

[9:32] It's not the approval of other people, is it? It's the approval of Him, our Lord. It's God's approval. That's what counts. And again, here is a like word to examine or prove.

[9:43] Is approve. The Bible speaks of, as Paul commends, one who was approved. It tells of appellers. We don't really hear much about this chap, appellers.

[9:55] But one thing we know about him, as Paul saluted him, as he greeted him, he says of appellers, he's approved. Approved in Christ. And again, we see that word in 1 Corinthians 11, 19.

[10:09] It says, there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. So the context there is of teachings.

[10:21] And God wants us to be approved, that when our faith is under fire from false teachings, it will be shown to be approved. Proven. Again, this is that like word of examination.

[10:34] This proving that our Lord calls us to. And friends, the Bible says we can be approved, as if it were God stamps us with His stamp of approval. And he says, I approve of what you do.

[10:45] I approve of what you're doing. Let us be those whose faith is firm and biblical, grounded in Christ, approved. Stand with God's stamp of approval to His pleasing.

[10:59] Not because of our own works, but because of our faith. And that faith stands on God's truth, not error. You see, those who are approved are those who are not part of the heresies, but are part of the truth.

[11:14] Again, Paul speaks of approved in 2 Timothy 2.15, where he tells Timothy, Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, but rightly dividing the word of truth.

[11:31] So again, we see this sense of approval, of living right, of believing right, of living right. To be approved.

[11:43] Will you be approved? Or the alternative is to be ashamed. It's God's will that we be rather approved. That our faith will be tested, our works will be proven, we'll be approved in His sight.

[11:57] We'll be pleasing unto Him. And then we will be not ashamed, but will be rather those that take His word and rightly divide it. God is proving and approving of us.

[12:10] So there's this thought that I'd like to underline for you today, this morning, to examine. That testing, that examination.

[12:23] And it's of yourself. It's of ourselves, isn't it? Paul says, Let a man examine himself. And so, in fact, really all things should be tested and proven.

[12:35] As Paul tells the Thessalonians, he says, Prove or examine, test all things. Hold fast that which is good. So, this morning as we come together, it says, Let a man examine himself.

[12:49] It's having that self-assessment today. Take that time out for personal reflection. Search out. Is there something we can scrutinize, not of others, but of ourselves, of our own hearts?

[13:04] Is there something we should search out and remove that would be offensive to God? Come to the Lord and ask Him in that act of consecration.

[13:16] Lord, search me. Try me. Is there some wicked way in me? It's a good time to have that moment of, Lord, I want to get things right with you, if things are not.

[13:29] And deliberately and honestly examine yourself, our words, our conduct. So, examine your heart. Are you saved? That's the first and foremost consideration.

[13:41] That you've yielded your heart. You've said, save me. And He has. And that faith that He generates, our heart becomes alive.

[13:53] Filled with Himself. And there's works to follow. So, let's examine our heart, our faith, and our work before Him this morning.

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