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.

READY - Remember What Christ Has Done

In the Old Testament, God would sometimes tell His people to build a cairn (a mound of rough stones built as a memorial). He knew that people are forgetful and need reminders.

In Joshua 4, we see an example of this, but we need some background information before we can understand it.

So all the way back to the end of Genesis, the Israelites (God’s people) are living in the land of Egypt. In the beginning of Exodus, the King of Egypt enslaves the Israelites and treats them very harshly. In Exodus 1:14, it says the Egyptians “made their lives bitter with hard labor.” In the following verses, we find out that the king starts having their babies killed and increases their workload. The people can’t handle all that is being done to them and they cry out to God for deliverance.

Then God says, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” Exodus 3:7-8a

One day left to live...

1 Peter 4:7-9 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

If you knew that the world was going to end in 30 days or that you were going to die tomorrow, how would you spend your last month or day? Are there things you would start or stop doing? Are there people you’d be sure to talk to or others you’d no longer care about? I think each one of us would do things differently if we knew the end was near.

This part of the chapter Peter has a reached a point that he’s giving some instructions and these verses are just some bullet points of instruction. Why is he giving these instructions? The beginning of verse 7 he says the end is coming. Jesus could return at any moment. We don’t have any guarantee that we get to live to see tomorrow or next month or next year. Then again it could be another 50 or 100 years before Christ returns. We don’t know exactly when it happens, but Christ could return at any moment. How are we to live in light of that? Here are some of Peter’s suggestions:

First, “be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” Don’t ramble on praying about things that don’t matter. Pray for your unsaved friends and family. Pray for boldness in reaching out to them. Pray that people from every nation would know Jesus is Lord. Be intentional in praying for things that matter in light of eternity. (I’m not saying that we aren’t to go to God in prayer with small things. We read all through the Psalms of David crying out to the Lord with all sorts of emotions he was dealing with. Just don’t be so focused on yourself that you forget to also pray for the big things.)

Next Peter tells us to love one another. He makes a big deal of this. He emphasizes this “above all” of the other things. Why? “Love covers a multitude of sins.” I think we can use that verse a bit flippantly at times. But don’t read it too quickly without paying attention to what Peter is saying. Love people- even when they sin (purposely or accidentally, knowingly or unknowingly). You are not God to judge them for the things they are doing. You are to love them! Loving them can look different for different people. It can be praying for them, lending a listening ear, disciplining them, teaching them, serving them, or as Peter mentions in verse 9, being hospitable.

Being hospitable is all about being generous and inviting to people—we often use it in reference to how we treat guests to our home. So you can see how that’s another way to love people.

So as suggested by Peter, keep in mind that Christ could return at any moment. Pay attention to the things that you are doing and think about whether they make an impact in light of that. Don’t be so focused on yourself that you miss out on opportunities to love others.

1) If you knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow, what would you do? What if He returns next month? Next year? In ten years?

2) What do your prayers look like?

3) How do you show people you love them?

4) Take some time to pray and journal about this passage.

How Not to Win Survivor

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary,bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." (1 Peter 3:8-12 ESV)

I love watching Survivor. I find the group dynamics so entertaining – seeing the way people act and interact with the group and how that helps or hurts them when it comes time for challenges and tribal councils. Each season can be drastically different. Sometimes the people who make it to the end win because they were everyone's friend or they had the best strategy or they just kept winning everything.

There are quite a variety of people who have won the game. There are also certain people who will never win the game one of the most notorious villains to play Survivor was Russell Hantz. He ruthlessly made it to the end but had no chance of winning because he manipulated and mistreated people so badly.

It was also extremely entertaining to watch CBC and GBC play Survivor. I had a lot of fun watching the challenges and seeing what went down tribal Council. Early on in Survivor Hawaii, it became obvious that Stephen had become this season's Russell Hantz. He was doing everything right as far as playing the game was concerned, but he took the blame for the decisions and liked to talk way too much. Bushy made a smart decision taking Stephen to the final two.

What does that have to do with this passage in 1 Peter though? In these verses, we read about characteristics that explain why Bushy won, not Stephen.

As the game was being played, Bushy, Spencer and Stephen had unity of mind – they had the same goal in mind, stick with their alliance and make it to the merge. At the merge, they stayed unified and they eliminated bigger, stronger players.

However, Bushy and Spencer made decisions with sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind. They were playing to win, but weren't cocky and boastful as they did so. They kept their tongues from evil and their lips away from speaking deceit.

Survivor relies on the people voted out to determine the winner. Natural human tendency is to repay evil with evil. When Stephen was cocky about those he voted out, he burned those bridges and in doing so, lost their votes at the end because they repaid evil for evil.

Moral of the story: when developing your Survivor strategy for next season, keep in mind that although you must vote people off, the way in which you do so makes a difference. More importantly, this is true in life outside of Survivor too. As you interact with others you need to do so with unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind. Peter tells us this is necessary if we desire to love life and see good days.

Answer This:

1) In what ways does your life show that you are sympathetic? Loving? Tender-hearted? Humble?

2) What can you do to overcome the tendency to want to repay evil with evil?

3) Do you seek peace and honor God with your life? If so, how? If not, what needs to change?

4) Take some time to pray and journal about this passage.

Anybody have a dollar?

"Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:13-17 ESV)

The Bible is one long story. We get in the habit of breaking it down into more manageable chunks to read. There is great benefit in doing that, but it can also cause us to miss certain connections.
So we're reading 1 Peter which was written by: _______________. We know this guy – he was one of Jesus's 12 disciples. He walked on water. He cut off the soldier's ear. He denied Christ three times. He preached on the day of Pentecost.
Don't forget who the guy is that's writing the book as you're reading it. Now why do I bring that up?
I enjoy studying Peter's life and seeing how he was very passionate about serving Christ, even if he didn't always get it right. We see character development throughout the Gospels and Acts and as we read his epistles– We see how he made mistakes but also how he learned from the experiences he had.

As I read this passage and Peter, it reminded me of a story about Jesus. Let's read it:
"Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away." (Matthew 22:15-22 ESV)

Jesus respects Caesar as an earthly authority and pays his taxes. Although Peter isn't specifically mentioned, he knew Jesus' stance (see Matt. 17:24-27) and very well may have seen this all go down to. This is a lesson Peter learned and is now teaching to others.

It is God's will for you to submit yourself to the authority of your parents, teachers, youth leaders, police officers, government officials, congress and the president.

Peter's comment in verse 15 is interesting considering the story we just read about Jesus – became asking about the tax looking for a way to accuse Jesus. Because He had paid it, there was no fault against Him and they left. His obedience "silenced the ignorance of foolish people."

So as Peter says, "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood [other believers]. Fear God. Honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:17 ESV)

Answer This:
1) Do you have a difficult time submitting to and respecting authority? Why or why not?

2) Why is it important for us to respect our authority figures?

3) Can you think of a time where your obedience had a positive influence on others watching?

4) Take some time to journal about this passage.

It's my Party, I'll Cry if I Want to.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (1 Peter 1:10-12 ESV)

Entitled. Spoiled. Ungrateful. Lazy. These are words often used to describe young adults and teenagers. Our parents have often worked hard to provide great things for us and we expect good things. Right?

I love watching Survivor. One of the last episodes I watched, it was Rodney's birthday. Rodney hasn't won a reward challenge all season. 30 days in and everyone else who is left has won a food reward or some cool experience. But not Rodney. So a few people had told him that if they won, they'd pick him to go on the reward with them.

When they get to the reward challenge, it's a team challenge, not an individual one. Rodney's team loses, so he then begs the three winners to give up their reward so he can go. He feels like they owe it to him to celebrate his birthday. No one is willing to do so. (and I don't blame them – they've all been eating a scoop of rice a day for 30 days! Plus, they were going to an orphanage to give the kids toys and school supplies… No one wants to turn that down!)
Anyway, Rodney and the others on the losing team go back to the beach, where Rodney has a major temper tantrum. He's so ticked off that no one would give up the reward to make his birthday special. He complained that it was the worst birthday ever. One of the women said to the camera, "he's on Survivor - millions of people would think that's a pretty great birthday."

It seems funny to see a grown man acting that way, but we do the same sort of thing.

Christ has come – we know who the Messiah is. We have the complete Bible and it's easily accessible to us – you probably have more than one Bible as well as access to all different versions on your phone or computer. Beyond your Bible, you can attend church and Bible studies, free of persecution. You can buy a plethora of books – commentaries, Bible studies, any resource you can imagine – to help you learn the Bible and apply it to your life.

These verses talk about the prophets who proclaimed grace and salvation – for us! They earnestly, carefully, diligently searched and inquired of the details of the coming Messiah for us. Yet, like Rodney, we feel entitled and complain over things we don't have rather than recognizing the blessings we do have.

Recognize the incredible blessings you've received. Make the good news that has been given to you real in your life.

Answer This:

1) We have so many tools for learning God's word at our fingertips. Which of those tools are you most thankful for?

2) The prophets "were not serving themselves, but you." And others "have preached the good news to you." How are you doing these things for others?

3) Do you feel like the words used at the beginning of this devotional describe you – entitled, spoiled, ungrateful, lazy? If so, what can you do to change that?

4) Take sometime and journal about this passage.

Please Pass the Popcorn

You know how we sometimes do those popcorn praise prayers at youth group? That's basically what Peter does after his introduction. Reading it, I can't help but get excited. Take your time as you read today's passage.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5 ESV)

"Blessed be" is also translated at "praise be." So Peter is saying praise God and is about to tell us why.
Also, I like that Peter specifies that God is the father of Jesus Christ. Remember, these letters are being written to the early church. Comments like this reinforce the authority of Jesus' life and teaching.

"According to his great mercy" This makes me excited because I know I need mercy and not only does God have some, it's great! It's powerful and abundant. And I find myself wanting to keep reading to see what his mercy will compel Him to do.

As we continue reading verse 3, we see what it is He has done. "Born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" this should blow your mind. But this is such common knowledge to us, you probably didn't give it much thought. Read it again: "Born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" wow!

In both John and Romans, we're told it's because of love that God sent Jesus to be born, live a sinless life, to be that perfect sacrifice who would die on the cross for our sins. But it would be in vain if that's where the story ended. Jesus Christ rise from the grave! Not Walking Dead style - He became fully alive, defeating death and Satan! That's awesome!

Because of this, we can be born again. And not just to some boring life. We have "living hope," which is explained more in verse 4.

In heaven, we, who are born again, will receive an inheritance that is...
1) imperishable- unlike the Promised land which was the Israelites inheritance, this will last FOREVER! It has no end.
2) undefiled- it is not obtained dishonestly or corruptly. Nor will it have any intrusions, or sin, or any impurities.
3) unfading- unlike the flowers and grass mentioned in verse 24, this will keep its beauty and never stop blooming.

Verse 5 is exciting and a little confusing.
"God's power" is unmatchable, all-sufficient, unending, uncontainable, unstoppable - if our God is for us, who can stand against us? That's a rhetorical question because obviously the answer is no one or nothing. That should get you excited for being in God's side!!

So by God's power, we, who are born again, are being guarded through faith.
This part seems a little confusing--what are we being guarded from? I don't think it means pain or safety or death. I've been hurt, been in car accidents, had friends and family die. All over the world we see all sorts of persecution and injustices happening to believers.

What I think Peter is referring to here is that once we have been born again and have this living hope and inheritance, satan can't take that from us--that's what we are being guarded from... Woohoo! God's got me covered and He does you too, if you're born again! Satan can come at us anyway he wants, like he did to Job, and although it may be difficult and painful to endure, we still get heaven!! That's awesome!!

Peter's last comment about salvation to be revealed is a little confusing. But it makes me think of when Paul talks about seeing things now dimly but it will be revealed to us eventually. There's so much more that God is doing than we realize. Eventually we will understand more and more.

Questions:
1) I mentioned more than once that this passage get me excited. What about God gets you excited?

2) Are you born again? Do you have that living hope Peter referred to?

3) According to his great ______________, he has caused us to be  ______________to a living hope through the ______________ of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4) Take some time to pray and journal about this passage.