I have to tell you that some things give me cold chills.
! I am an emotional person.
For you that don't know me, I'll just tell you that ahead of time.
But that's the way I'm wired.
And I get cold chills when something touches my heart
and kind of connects.
And this morning I have cold chills to be able to say to you,
open your Bibles.
I want you to turn your Bible this morning
to 2 Corinthians 13, verse 5.
I have said many times that I am thankful
for the Lord bringing us our pastor-elect.
And I don't know if you pay attention to his prayers,
but his prayers are well-formed scripturally.
There's always a healthy dose of the Word of God
woven into his prayer, both to instruct
and to frame his thinking and to govern the things
that we join him in praying about.
And I'm thankful for that.
I found myself this morning so thankful
that in his prayer he prayed for me
as I opened the Word.
I like that.
And the reason is, is he wasn't praying,
Lord, I hope Reverend Knoyer
has had a good time reading USA Today
or, you know, Huffington Post
or, you know, the Wall Street Journal,
whatever else, so he could bring you
some very interesting little comment
about the culture and blah, blah, blah.
His prayer was that God would help Pastor Knoyer
as he opened the Word.
That's my job.
That's my calling.
And so when we take 2 Corinthians chapter 13 in hand,
I want you to know that the Lord has commissioned me
and given me the responsibility of taking the Word of God
and making it clear and practical
for your sakes and for my sake.
God has also called you to have an active part to play
in what is going to take place
in the next hour and a half.
And that is that you're to be actively engaged.
See, I got some of you to...
Whoa.
That's all right.
Okay.
Hour and 20 minutes.
You have a part as well.
And I would appeal to you
to resist the natural tendency of the heart
to decide you're just going to sit there kind of passively
and wait to see if anything happens significant.
You are charged by the Word of God
to be active in prayer.
And if your heart and mind is not atypical,
it's needed.
And so I appeal to you to multitask
that as I preach, you pray and listen.
Well, here we are at the start of the new year.
And New Year's are times
that most people make resolutions.
Isn't that right?
I, for whatever reason,
I was doing a little research
on what kind of resolutions people make.
And probably one of the most common resolutions
people make is to exercise more.
I mean, I understand,
not from personal experience,
but from observation,
that the gyms just kind of are flooded
with about four or five weeks of people
who have made resolutions
to kind of improve their health
and physiology.
And so off they go to the gym
and it kind of really bugs the regulars
because there are people
that don't know how to run the treadmill
and are on the stepper and things.
And they're only there for a couple weeks,
but they really break the routine.
And the beginning of the year
is where some people decide
that they're going to quit smoking.
I trust that's not the general nature
of our fellowship,
but you know, people do.
And people think, well, okay,
in the new year,
I think I'm going to read through the Bible.
Or I'm going to make a different resolution.
I'm going to finish my degree
or I'm going to, whatever it is.
We have a tendency of doing that
at the beginning of the new year
and I want to take a completely different track.
I'd like us to look back
before we look forward.
And the purpose of a backward glance
is to help us think objectively
about where we have been
in order to frame what we do going forward.
I want to tell you that in this new year,
one of the things that is going to characterize
this fellowship is that Pastor Shearer
and I are going to share
about 50% of the preaching.
He is, we are going to, first of all,
tag team through January and February.
And what I mean by that
is back and forth, back and forth.
And then we'll settle into six weeks
that I will preach
and six weeks that he will preach.
And the first things
that we are going to look at
next week and the week after
relate to some of the objectives
and some of the things
that we as a fellowship want to focus on.
In relationship to that,
I think it's appropriate for us
to kind of look in the back
and say, all right, what is it?
What is it that we need?
And what are some of the things
that we need to pay attention to
in our own personal lives
and in our fellowship?
And that's what brings me
to this passage in 2 Corinthians 13, verse 5.
Examine yourselves
to see whether you are in the faith.
Test yourselves.
Or do you not realize this about yourselves,
that Jesus Christ is in you,
unless indeed you fail to meet the test?
Examining ourself is appropriate.
It's something that we all do fairly regularly.
This morning as I was finalizing the details
of getting dressed for the services,
one of the things that I did
was I stopped in the mirror
and I looked at my Christmas sweater.
I wanted to be sure that it kind of matched.
I decided, well, should I button it up?
Should I not button it?
Whatever.
You know, there are little details like that.
You pay attention.
Did my hair look right?
We all did that.
Am I right?
We pay attention to certain details.
We examine ourselves occasionally
when we're under pressure.
We stop and say, all right, what's going on?
Why am I responding this way?
I do want us to understand,
the passage tells us that we are to examine ourselves,
but I think we need to recognize
that it's fairly easy to examine yourself
and be quite deceived.
Think with me just for a moment.
You're there in 2 Corinthians,
but turn back.
2 Corinthians chapter 13,
go back to chapter 10.
In 2 Corinthians chapter 10,
Paul is in the process of defending
his apostolic ministry.
By the way, when people don't like what they hear,
one of the things that they tend to do
is become critical of the messenger,
and that's what had happened to Paul.
Well, look at what he says there in chapter 10, verse 12.
Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves
with some of those who are commending themselves,
but when they measure themselves,
and the term here in the Greek
could be taken one of two ways.
I prefer the way that is not here in the ESV.
When they measure themselves by themselves
instead of one another
and compare themselves with themselves,
they are without understanding.
Now, here's the point that I want to start with.
I want you to recognize that self-examination
can be quite deceiving.
In particular, when we measure ourselves
by our own standard,
and we rely upon our own lack of objectivity
to determine where we are
and how we're doing spiritually.
I mean, it's amazing.
The truth of the matter is,
is we're better at identifying sin in other people
than we are identifying it where?
In ourselves.
And Paul says, listen, don't make that mistake.
And so when I start out here at the beginning
by saying, listen, it's important for us
to engage in self-examination,
I want you to recognize that just going about doing it
in a natural and a carnal way
can end up being quite deceiving,
and it can cause you a great deal of heartache
if not done properly.
But just because it can be done improperly
doesn't mean it shouldn't be done.
And so let me kind of step into this a little further
by saying spirit-enabled self-examination
is an essential part of the believer's life.
Spiritual examination enabled by the Holy Spirit
is an essential part of the believer's life.
Let me kind of get into that a little further
by having you look at several different passages
that hammer that point.
Go back, if you will, in your Bibles
to Job chapter 13, verse 23.
Self-examination is beneficial,
though it is hard, and it's necessary,
in fact, it's characteristic of a thoughtful believer.
Here's what it says in Job.
How many are my iniquities and my sins?
Make me know my transgressions and my sin.
So let me ask you this.
When was the last time you prayed
and said, Lord, I am fairly good at fooling myself.
I need your help to be more discerning
about the issues of sin in my life.
Job prayed that way.
Let me have you look at another passage in Psalm 139
and turn to that, if you will.
We know Psalm 139 fairly well,
but mark what it says in verse 23 and 24.
Psalm 139, verse 23.
Search me, O God, and know my heart.
Try me and know my thoughts.
And see if there be any grievous way in me
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Hey, Lord, you be the one that searches me
and checks out my heart.
And I need your help to do it
because my natural tendency is not to do that objectively,
not to be honest with myself.
Let me read another passage to you
in Lamentations 3, verse 40.
It says this,
Let us test and examine our ways
and return to the Lord.
Let us test.
Lamentations 3, verse 40.
Let us test and examine our ways
and return to the Lord.
I'm curious.
When was the last time
that you consciously and deliberately
took some time to think carefully
about where you were in your spiritual journey,
your walk with Christ,
your relationship with Him
and with the body of Christ?
Come to one more passage.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 11,
and last week I had the privilege
of having bronchitis that kept me in bed
until Sunday.
And I appreciate Pastor Shearer
on short notice
taking the Lord's table in communion.
And I don't know whether he used
1 Corinthians chapter 11,
but you certainly are aware of the text
because we on various occasions
have come to that text
being reminded in that passage
not only of the fact
that we're to remember the Lord's death,
but we're also to do what?
We're to engage in self-examination.
It says,
But let a man examine himself
The Scripture encourages us
every time we take the Lord's table
to engage in self-examination.
And I would propose that
the better time to do it
is not while the elements
are coming down the row
and you,
oh,
we are very,
very superficial on short notice.
Isn't that right?
In fact,
the matter,
the truth is
we probably give ourselves
a pass when we shouldn't.
Self-examination
is something that takes
some time and some care
and some real deliberate thinking
about where we are spiritually.
So let's kind of
get into that a little further
and say this.
Self-examination
is less painful
than the alternatives.
Will you note that down?
Self-examination
is less painful.
Less painful,
spirit-enabled self-examination
is less painful
than the alternatives.
What do I mean by that?
Just nod your head
if you know what I mean.
I'll say it again.
Spirit-enabled self-examination
is less painful
than the alternatives.
Everybody look up.
Nod your head
if you really do understand this.
Okay?
Here's what I'm saying.
If you're a child of God,
can you keep on
getting away with sin?
Now go this way.
No, you cannot.
You cannot.
And so if we are
persisting in disobedience
and sinful behavior,
what do we know
God will do for us?
What will He do?
Hebrews chapter 12,
13 rather,
says this.
Whom the Lord loves,
He chastens.
And so I want you
to understand that
spirit-enabled
self-examination
is always less painful
than the alternatives.
And so it's wise
for us to do that.
If we are persisting
in our disobedience,
you can be sure
that one of the things
that will flag you
as a genuine believer
is that He will not
let you get away with it.
Listen to me.
If you are a genuine believer
and you are walking
in disobedience,
you will not be able
to persist.
Let's come to another thing.
Spirit-enabled
self-examination
breeds humility
and joy.
Spirit-enabled,
and why would I say
spirit-enabled?
Why would I say that
at the beginning?
Does anybody have an idea?
How many of you
tried self-examination
without the enabling
of the Holy Spirit
and the governance
of the Word of God?
Have you ever done that?
It can be rather superficial
and very counterproductive.
Spirit-enabled
self-examination
is one that relies
upon the Holy Spirit
and relies upon
the Word of God.
And when those things
are actively at work
in our lives,
it breeds humility
and joy.
It invariably prompts us
to recognize
our dependence on Him
and to have a thankfulness
for His grace.
One of the things
that I did
last week in particular
was spend some time
in prayer and review
of what the last year
had been in my own life
and what are some
of the things
that God had brought
to the surface
and admonished
and rebuked me for
and dealt with.
What were some of the things
that He'd helped me grow in?
And without question,
as I look back
over the year,
there was a spirit
of thankfulness
to say,
wow, Lord,
I am thankful
for what You are doing
in my heart
and my life
and I want You
to be the one
who receives the praise
for that.
I want you to also
stop and recognize
that there are things
that help us
to identify
what self-examination
really is characterized by.
So let's talk about
that a little bit.
What are some things
that mark
spirit-enabled
self-examination?
Listen,
it's very easy
for us to be
quite superficial
and say,
well,
check this box.
I have been to church
consistently.
Check.
I have been faithful
in my giving.
Check.
I am one
who practices
all the externals
of religion.
Check.
Does that sound
a little bit like
the Pharisee?
Remember when he was
praying in the temple?
I thank God
I'm not,
you know.
So,
let's talk about
what are some things
that mark
spirit-enabled
self-examination?
For one,
honest prayer
to the Lord.
Lord,
not the garden
variety of
now I lay
me down to sleep.
I hope you give
me a nice pass
for being a good
guy.
It's like,
hey,
Lord,
I really want
to be honest
and I need
your help
to recognize
the things
in my heart
that need
to be changed.
And by the way,
at what age
is that no
longer necessary?
Listen to me
carefully.
Getting old
without the
enabling of the
Holy Spirit
can make you
just kind of
a crotchety,
unhappy individual.
Everybody said
amen,
right?
How do you
want to go
out?
Joyful,
humble,
thankful for
the power
of the Spirit
of God
to continue
the work
of progressive
sanctification
until he
shuts the
engine off.
Humble prayer
to the Lord.
Number one.
Number two.
Stop and think
about the depth
of your love
for your Savior.
When Jesus
spoke to Peter
at the very
end of John
about his
responsibility
of feeding
his sheep,
the context
and the frame
in which he
laid the
responsibility
of what Peter
was to do
with the
remainder of
his life
was what?
Do you
love me?
And so an
honest question
for you to
ask yourself
and ask the
Holy Spirit
to help you
think about
is,
so what is
my genuine
affection for
Christ like?
I want you
to think with
me again
to another
passage in
relationship to
this over in
Revelation chapter
three and don't
turn to it,
but remember
the church at
Laodicea when
the indictment
of Christ
actually fell on
their ears,
what was it?
You have lost
your first love.
And so I would
appeal to you
this morning as
you think about
how do I go
about examining
my heart
honestly?
The question
is this,
do I really
have a love
for the Lord
Jesus?
I'm not
talking about
are you
sitting here?
I'm talking
about does
the thought
of Jesus
actually fill
you with
satisfaction and
delight and
does it cause
you to smile
in the face
of the adversity
of life?
Yesterday,
as we were
passing out
oatmeal to
some people,
one under a
bridge and
another in a
tent,
very interesting,
Greg,
where's Greg?
He's not in
here, Connie,
she's in the
nursery,
okay.
One person,
one person,
how can I pray
for you?
That's one of
the things we
asked, so you're
trying to make a
conversation,
how can I pray
for you?
Well, pray for
our nation is
really divided
and the person
I voted for
did not win.
I mean,
that's what they
wanted me to
pray for.
Very interesting
opportunity to
pray in that
environment,
you know,
and so I took
advantage of it.
You can weave a
prayer into any
kind of prayer.
You can weave the
gospel into any
kind of prayer.
How many of you
learned that?
It's just like,
hey, thank you for
giving me an
opportunity here.
Bang.
The other guy,
living in a tent,
he said, yeah,
you need to pray
that the new
president comes in.
I thought, whoa,
I got one guy under
a bridge who wants
to pray for the
division because his
candidate didn't win.
That's the only thing
he wanted me to pray
for, right?
And the other guy
wants me to pray that
this thing would get
on sooner.
I thought, you guys
have no idea what's
really going on, do you?
Here's the truth.
At the center of our
confidence and security
is the sweetness of our
relationship with Christ.
And if you are a
believer, there is good
reason for your life to
be marked by joy in
Christ and joy in the
Holy Spirit.
Isn't that right?
So when you do a little
self-examination, ask
yourself the question,
how often am I a
moody, unhappy, sullen
person because things
aren't going my way?
Hmm?
If you're a believer,
that is where you need
to be spiritually, your
life is marked by
humility and by joy.
Here's another thing that
is a good test of where
we really are.
Give an honest review of
your attitudes and
responses to those who
are closest to you.
I'll go real slowly
from this one.
Ask the Holy Spirit to
help you in an honest
evaluation of your
attitudes and responses
to those who are
closest to you.
How many of you
understand that it's
fairly easy to be
pretty polite and
civil to your neighbor
that you only see very
occasionally?
Huh?
The one who really
knows your heart best
in a marital situation
goes to bed with you
at night and gets up
with you in the morning,
shares all the details
of life.
And if you're a grumpy
and sullen person,
guess who really knows
best?
Who?
Your husband, your wife,
your children.
And so ask yourself,
do I see in my life as I
engage in self-examination,
do I see a humble,
forgiving, tender,
forbearing spirit that
loves those who God has
put me in close
relationship with?
If not, then it's
appropriate for you to
come back and say,
Lord, I need your help
to have that kind of
attitude.
At the end of the day,
it's very interesting,
when you go through the
book of 1 John,
you'll find that 1 John
is a book that has
a recurring theme,
namely,
how do I know that
I'm really saved?
One of the ways that I
know that I'm really
saved is for my
ongoing affection
for the body of Christ
and for fellow believers.
Do you realize that?
People that are close
to me are the ones
that often are a
greater challenge than
those I only see
occasionally.
And so when I'm engaged
in self-examination,
I ask myself the
question,
so where's my heart
in relationship to
those who are close
to me?
Another thing that I
would encourage you to
do as you engage in
self-examination is
kind of check where
your confident joy in
the Lord is.
Those who walk in
communion with the
Lord will certainly
have storms around
them, but they don't
have to have the storm
in them.
I want you to think
about a couple
different passages in
relationship to this.
And if you will,
turn in your Bible.
You're there in 2 Corinthians
probably.
So turn in your Bible
to 1 Peter 1,
verse 6.
By the way,
when Peter wrote this,
was he kind of
sitting by the
Mediterranean Sea
kind of anticipating
a good retirement
and all the benefits
of his long-standing
ministry?
No, he was
expected.
He was expecting
to be executed.
Listen to what he says
in verse 6.
In this you rejoice,
though now for a little
while, if necessary,
you've been grieved by
various trials.
In the middle of the
heartaches and challenges
of life, are you one
who is rejoicing in what
God is doing and is
actively involved in doing
in your life?
Look at verse 8.
Though now, though you
have not seen him,
you love him.
Though you do not now
see him, you believe in
him and rejoice with joy
that is inexpressible
and filled with glory,
the characteristic
of a believer
that is in communion
and in sweet relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ
is their life is marked
by confident joy
in the Lord.
Is that the way it is?
Confident joy
in the Lord.
One other thing
as we think about
self-examination.
Consider how quickly
Scripture comes
to be your counselor,
your correction,
and your comfort.
When you stop and think
about where am I spiritually,
ask yourself this question,
how quickly does Scripture
come to my mind
to be my counselor,
my comfort,
my encouragement,
the challenge to my heart?
Let me have you think
about a passage
in relationship to this.
You're in 1 Peter.
Turn over there
to Colossians 3,
verse 16.
Colossians 3,
verse 16.
Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly.
Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly,
teaching and admonishing
one another in all wisdom,
singing psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs
with thankfulness
in your hearts to God.
Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly.
That word richly means there
to have complete,
to fill everything.
How many of you
have little pantries
at home where you keep
a couple extra cans
of whatever it is
that you're going to have
as part of your supper plan
or whatever?
And you go to that
and there's nothing there.
What do you have to do?
You have to make a journey
to go somewhere else
to get it.
Isn't that right?
You'd rather have it on site
when something comes up
and says,
oh, I need a couple extra
cans of beans
or I need this
or there it is.
It's in the pantry.
The scripture is giving us
encouragement
that we as believers
are to have the word of God
packed into our life
that it is the thing
that dominates us.
And so when you find yourself
in a moment of stress,
when you find yourself
needing encouragement,
when you find yourself
at that point
where you're challenged
by life,
what is it that you rely upon?
What do you go back
and cling to
and rely upon
to be the encourager
and the instructor
of your life?
This morning
as I was sitting here
on the platform
or sitting on the pew
thinking about
the responsibility
of preaching,
I had several different passages
going through my mind.
One was in Isaiah 8,
verse 20
after Pastor prayed
where it says this.
It says that
if the word of God
is not at the front and center
of the whole thing
being presented,
it's because there is
no light in it.
At the end of the day,
the word of God
is the thing
that is the benchmark,
the standard,
the measuring stick
against which we
evaluate all other things
to be true or not.
And I was thinking
about that passage
also in Isaiah
or in Deuteronomy
where it says this,
that the priest's lips
should get,
it's in Malachi,
sorry, sorry.
Malachi says this,
that the priest's lips
should keep knowledge
for they should seek
the law of God
at his lips.
When a pastor speaks,
at the end of the day,
the thing that should
characterize what he says
is a connection
to the word of God.
Now if that is true
for a pastor,
should it be true
for godly believers
that are part of the fellowship?
What's the answer?
Absolutely.
Your counsel
should be framed,
you don't have to rattle off
the Bible verse,
but it has to be
the frame of reference
that you're relying upon
to make your point.
And so looking back,
doing some soul searching,
some self-examination
is valuable to the believer,
particularly when it's
complemented with a comfort
and confidence in the Lord.
And so I want us to do that
as a second piece
of our logic.
We're going to examine ourselves
to see whether in their faith,
we're going to examine ourselves
to see whether or not
our hearts are where
they need to be.
Let's do the second part
and that is rely upon Him
and have confidence
in His help.
Turn in your Bibles now
if you would
to 1 Samuel chapter 7
verse 12.
1 Samuel chapter 7
verse 12.
Self-examination
that is not enabled
by the Spirit of God
is going to breed
complete self-deception.
Self-examination
that does not bring us
to dependence upon Christ
is going to bring us
to discouragement.
And so I want us
to couple our self-examination
with a healthy dose
of confidence
in the Lord and His power.
Go to 1 Samuel chapter 7.
Any of you that have
worked your way through
Joshua, Judges,
1 and 2 Samuel, etc.,
would have to say
that the history of Israel
is marked by recurring failures.
Isn't that right?
I mean, you read the book
of Judges
and you just kind of
think to yourself,
man, that cycle
is so incessant.
They would kind of
depend upon the Lord.
They would see some progress
in their lives.
They would get confident
and arrogant
and they would fall
into deep sin
and then they would endure
the chastening of God
and just cycle back
and back and back.
1 Samuel chapter 7
is at one of those points
of heartache
in the nation's history.
They had endured
a very, very poor
high priest's ministry,
Eli,
who instead of
admonishing and correcting
his sons in their wickedness,
he had tolerated it.
And as a result,
he and his children
failed miserably,
but also the nation
struggled as well
in spiritual misbehavior
and idolatry.
And as a result of that,
God brought other people along
to discipline Israel
and to bring them
to humility.
He used the Philistines.
There was a great battle
and in the midst
of the battle,
the Israelites thought,
well, hey,
great idea would be
for us to bring the ark
because if the ark is there,
then God's got to
pull it off for us.
Kind of manipulating God
in this situation.
Have you ever tried that?
Don't raise your hand
and smile at me.
But you know,
Lord, I will do A, B, C
if you will, right?
Israel thought they could
kind of manipulate God
and it didn't work out well.
As a result of that
miserable failure
on the part of Israel,
they endured many years
of spiritual heartache.
And finally we find there
in 1 Samuel chapter 7
that the house of Israel
finally came to the place
where they lamented
after the Lord.
Look at 1 Samuel chapter 7
verse 2.
It says,
And all the house of Israel
lamented after the Lord.
How many of you ever been
at the point in your life
where you have been tired
of the consequences
of your sin
and you cried out
to the Lord
and said,
Lord,
do whatever you think best
but get this nasty heart
back to where it needs to be?
Israel lamented
after the Lord.
Samuel,
the faithful prophet,
comes into the picture
and he says there
in verse 3,
If you're returning
to the Lord
with all your heart,
then put away
the foreign gods,
the Asheroth
among you,
and direct your heart
to the Lord
and serve Him only.
And as a result
of their plea
and the counsel of Samuel,
the nation of Israel
obediently began
to pursue the Lord
and when that news
got out to the Philistines,
the Philistines decided,
All right,
we're going to come back
and try to oppress them again.
What happened?
Now God was on their side
and you read there
in verse 7,
Now when the Philistines,
this is verse 7
of chapter 7,
when the Philistines
heard that the people
of Israel had gathered
at Mizpah,
the lords of the Philistines
went up against Israel
and when the people
of Israel heard of it,
they were afraid.
The people of Israel
said to Samuel,
Do not cease to cry out
to the Lord our God
for us that He may save us
from the hand
of the Philistines.
What happened?
Samuel prayed.
Samuel offered sacrifice
and God divinely intervened
for the sake of the nation
and protected
and preserved them
and after that great battle
and that success,
we find that Samuel
called for a time
of offering
and sacrifice
and praise.
Look at verse 12.
Then Samuel took a stone
and set it up
between Mizpah and Shem
and called its name
Ebenezer.
Now, question,
how many of you remember
when we used to sing
that song,
Here I raise my Ebenezer?
Ebenezer.
And some of the modern hymn books
have just taken it out
because we don't make
that translation.
It's not hard.
Ebenezer means what?
Hitherto hath the Lord
brought us.
One of the things
that Israel did
on a regular basis,
they were into
stacking stones.
Now, one of the things
you know about stacks
of stones is they don't
happen by themselves.
Do you understand that?
They just don't pile up
by themselves.
They may do it
on cartoons,
but they don't do it
in real life.
And so when you saw
a pile of stones,
you thought,
that's about something.
I wonder what that is.
Classic illustration
of that would be
that when the nation
of Israel
crossed the Jordan
on dry land,
what did Joshua
tell the nation
to do?
Pick out 12
husky guys.
By the way,
I need four strong men
to help move a...
Some of you are
laughing at this,
but I do.
I need four strong men
after the morning service
to go into the
multipurpose room
to help bring a large
credenza into the
conference room.
There we go.
So Joshua said,
I want 12 strong guys.
I want each of them
to pick up a big stone
and carry it out
to dry land.
And what did they do
with those stones?
They built a pile of them
on dry land,
and there was another one
in the middle of the river.
So later on,
years from now
or years in the future,
the children of Israel
would look at that pile.
What's this all about?
Well,
there's a pile just like that
in the middle of the river,
and we crossed on dry land.
A reminder.
And here is Samuel saying,
I want us to build
this pile of stones,
and what I want...
I'll put a big stone up.
He says,
I want us to call
this stone
Ebenezer,
because this is how far
God has brought us.
On the heels of that great
and supernatural victory,
Samuel wanted the nation
of Israel to remember
for all time,
this is what God has done
for us.
Why is that important?
Because there will be
other times
where we will forget
what God has done.
And in the middle
of some of our heartache
and our difficulty,
we're going to forget
that He is on our side
and He's at work for us.
Right now,
if you read the news,
you will understand
that Israel is in a hard place.
Would you agree with that?
Israel is in a hard place
in our world perspective.
And as I look at that,
I am reminded
that the God of Abraham
who made a promise
in Genesis chapter 12
has not changed His mind
regarding His people.
And God will take care
of the nation of Israel.
And because of His faithfulness
to the nation of Israel,
Tim Kenoyer has confidence
that He will keep
His promises to me as well.
And that pile of stones
that Samuel set up,
that pile,
that big stone
that he set up,
he said, listen,
this is a reminder,
this is what God
has done for us.
And so it's fitting for us,
practically speaking,
as a group of people,
to stop and think,
all right,
what has God done?
What has He done?
And what are things
that we can give Him thanks for?
So let's think about
the things that we can
thank God for.
For one,
I have to tell you
as I think about 2016
and the years actually
behind that,
I am very thankful
to the Lord
that He directed
this congregation's heart
regarding a transition plan
and that this congregation
voted in complete unanimity
to proceed with that process.
And after about
a two-year search process,
He brought us
a senior pastor-elect.
That is not
some light thing.
And I'm thankful for it.
And I trust you remain
with that spirit of thankfulness.
Furthermore,
I would say that
as I look back over the year,
I am thankful
that He has worked
in our hearts
to give us
a deliberate attention
to the needs of others
and to help us grow
in this area.
We're not where we want to be,
but we're not where we used to be.
And I'm thankful for that.
I think of just this last fall
when we entertained
the Franklin County
Board of Elections
and week after week
after week,
our small groups
brought suppers in
for that group of people
and served them willingly.
Do you know what they did?
Instead,
they invited me to a banquet
that I tried to get
Pastor Shearer
or Pastor Andrew
to go to instead of me.
I even asked Pastor Saul
if he would go.
And in front of a whole
roomful of people,
they gave this church
an award for being
the most civic-minded group
of blah, blah, blah.
You know,
wow!
We served them.
Did we do it for a token
and a little plaque?
I don't even know where it is.
It's in my truck.
I'm not hanging it up.
We've grown.
We made headway.
Thank the Lord for that.
He has helped us
increase our impact
in the community
through things like Awana.
We've had a lot more
young people in Awana
this year than last year.
He has helped us
in Thursday evening basketball.
And I'm thankful for that.
Thursday evenings,
there is a crowd of guys
who come in here
and play basketball.
By the way,
since Joel Dobney
decided there's going
to be a police officer,
Lord willing,
he handed that off to me.
I went in a couple weeks ago
and I'm with the guys in there
and they said,
so you're Joel's replacement.
I said,
well,
yeah.
They said,
well,
you're going to have to sub in.
I said,
no way.
I'm sitting over here
on the side.
I'll be present,
but that's it.
And I have an opportunity
week after week
to share the gospel
with people
that don't hear it
any other way.
And by the way,
if you'd like to join me,
let me know.
I'll get you involved.
There are other ways
in which we are growing
in our attention
to the needs of people
around us
week after week.
Quiet little activities
that you engage in
as God's people
in meeting the needs
of people
that are right there
in your neighborhood
that you know
need Christ
and you're building
those bridges
for their sake.
Beloved,
all of this
has been the work
of God in us
and we want to give
Him credit for it.
And it's fitting for us
as we look back
by self-examination
to say,
man,
there's a ways
for me to go
and I need to grow.
But at the same time,
it's appropriate
for us to look back
and say,
look what God has done
and the blessings
that He's produced
in our life
and we're thankful
for that.
So let me bring it
to a close
and have you think
with me very practically
about how this applies
to you.
Truth of the matter
is that you are here
in one of two conditions.
I would believe
that the vast majority
of you are here today
and you know Christ
as your Savior
and self-examination
along with thanksgiving
is to characterize
your life moving forward.
I see what God has done.
I know there's more to do
and I renew my commitment
to Him
to grow to be the person
that He wants me to be.
That's a believer.
I don't want to play games
spiritually.
I want to be
who He wants me to be.
But there are some of you
here today
that do not know Christ
and so self-examination
this morning
is a matter of bringing you
to conviction
to recognize
that the truth of the matter
is this,
is that if you were
to die tonight
and God were to say
why should I let you
into heaven,
you wouldn't have an answer.
I got to tell you
if you would recommend to me
that you've been
a pretty good person,
I'll tell you this,
Jesus died on the cross
because there are
no good people.
Scripture says this,
all have sinned
and come short
of the glory of God
and there's no hope
for an individual
making it into heaven
on the basis
of their own efforts.
Christ Jesus came
into the world
to save sinners
and only those
who come to Christ
in humility
and say,
I know I'm a sinner
and need Jesus
as my Savior
are the ones
who find everlasting life.
So at the beginning
of the year,
this is January the 1st,
if you're a believer,
it's a matter of,
Lord,
is there work
to do in my life?
Yes.
Can I trust you
to help me?
Yes.
I am committed to grow.
And if you're here
as a person
who does not know Christ,
today is the day
to trust Him
and plead for salvation.
Let's close in prayer.
Our Father,
we are thankful
this morning
for the clarity
with which you make it
plain to us
that we are a people
who need the Lord Jesus Christ
as our Savior.
we're thankful
that you have saved
so many of us
here today.
We're thankful
that we can examine
ourselves
with the power
of the Holy Spirit
and make commitments
to grow in our walk
with you.
I'm thankful also,
Father,
for the privilege
of being able
to share the gospel
and to have
complete confidence
that Christ Jesus
came into the world
to save sinners
and that this morning
is the hour
in which people
may call upon
the name of the Lord
and find salvation
through Him alone.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.