READY - Examine Yourself

Last week we looked at Remember. This week we are going to look at Examine.

How to examine yourself:

1. Know and obey the truth. (This happens by reading our Bible and going to church, then putting the things we hear into practice.) (Psalm 119:9-12, 2 Tim. 3:16-17)

Spiritually we can be all over the place. We go through highs and lows. There are times we are close to God and times we are far from Him. There are so many stories in the Bible about King David and we see his writing in many of the Psalms that we can see highs and lows in his life and learn from him.

We’ve previously looked at stories about David to know that he was a lowly shepherd boy, the youngest in his family. He was not the likely choice to be king. But he has a heart for God and he faces public and private giants. Sometimes his decisions honored God and sometimes they did not.

Acts 13:22 - After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'

David starts off doing well. He is called a man after God’s own heart. In Psalm 119:9-12, we can see some of the ways David followed after God. It says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.  Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!“

David knew the Scriptures and obeyed them. The Bible is God’s Word and so important for us. It is our instruction book for life.  “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

2. Reflect on your actions, words, thoughts & motives and see if they are in line with God’s will. (Psalm 139:23-24, Prov. 4:23)

Unfortunately, something happens over time where David is no longer making wise choices. We all have the potential to fall into this same thing.

“The spiritual life will never come naturally. Left to what comes naturally, regrettably we will sin. If we are going to live as spiritual [men and] women, it will result from a deliberate, conscious surrender to the Holy Spirit.” (Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself, p48-49)

Let’s take a look at 2 Samuel 11:1 “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.” David should have gone to war with his men. He sets himself up for failure by not going with his men.

In the following verses, we read about David seeing Bathsheba bathing and he invites her to his house to sleep with her. She gets pregnant and to cover it up, David brings Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, back from the war so he sleep with her. Her husband refuses, so David gets him drunk and tries again. Uriah still refuses, so David has Joab, the captain of the army, get Uriah killed.

In 2 Samuel 11:26-27 it says “When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”

In order to follow God and live life deliberately, we need to be in the habit of examining ourselves. David wrote in Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Somewhere along the line David had stopped doing what he knew he was supposed to do. He was so wrapped up in his sin that he was committing sins trying to cover up other sins. Proverbs 4:23 says “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” What’s in your heart will show itself.

1. The Holy Spirit is with you to reveal things to you. (John 16:13-15)

2. There are people in your life who can also be used to help you examine yourself, when you don’t recognize issues in your life. (2 Samuel 12)

Luckily for David, he had people in his life who called him out on it. Read 2 Sam 12:1-7a,13 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity." Nathan said to David, "You are the man! … David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eho1_fkjiOA (Video recap of 2 Sam 11&12)

Nathan was a prophet that God used to help David examine himself. Sometimes we need others to point out an area of our life we need to examine. We need an outside perspective to help us see what we don’t see on our own. (Share a personal example of this??)

3. Continue doing the things that honor Him. (Col. 3:17)

Just because David sinned he wasn’t disqualified from being king. There were consequences to the decision he made, but he was still able to move forward and serve God.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

4. Stop doing the things that do not honor Him. (2 Timothy 2:22)

After Nathan helped David to see what he had done, David admitted to his wrong and sought forgiveness. He fasted and wept over what he had done and asked the Lord for grace.

“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 2 Timothy 2:22

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Do you have healthy spiritual habits? Do you read your Bible? Pray? Listen to worship music? If so how frequently?
2. Do you have people in your life who question you about decisions you are making? Who?
3. Do you listen when you feel the Holy Spirit is prompting you?

Personal Reflection:

1. Is your faith authentic?
2. Do you live what you say you believe?
3. Is there unconfessed sin in your life?
4. Are your motives in the right place?

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This is the second of a 5-part series I was asked to write for the middle school ministry at my Hawaiian Church, New Hope Leeward. The series is on the acronym READY.