Expanding Self-Examination, Part 3

Over the summer, I've had the opportunity to read several different books, and one of the ones that I was given during our time was a book called Devoted to God's Church by Sinclair Ferguson. It's a great book because it determines how devoted we truly are to the church of Jesus Christ. And he goes through why the church is so crucial to the believer. And in it, he talks about the fact that so often we go to church and it's so easy for us to assess the externals but never examine the internal. In other words, we go to church and we look at what's happening around us.

We look at the aesthetics. We look at the songs. We look at the music. We look at the people. We look at the sermon.

We judge the eloquence of the sermon. We pass all kinds of judgment on the externals without ever examining what's on the inside. And everything about the church is what takes place on the inside of an individual. The heart and soul of a man. And so many times we don't come prepared to worship, somehow thinking that what happens in the service will some way prepare us to worship. But if you haven't been prepared before you arrived, you certainly won't be prepared while you're here. And that requires examination.

It requires an external look at what's happening on the inside of me. It's one of the disciplines of the Christian life. It's not easy to assess because our heart's deceitful. It's desperately wicked. We can't even know our own hearts. And yet we are to line our lives up with the truth of God's holy word. We measure our lives by the message of the text. What does God say about our lives? And so before we embark on Hebrews 11 verse number 1, knowing that without faith, verse 6, it's impossible to please God, we started by looking at self-examination as one of the great disciplines of our lives.

It talks about the reality of our faith. Do we really truly believe in what God has said? If we're going to examine Hebrews 11 and go into the great hall of faith, examine the reality of our own faith. Do I, like Abel, like Noah, like Abraham, like Sarah? Am I the one who lives by faith and not by sight? So we said, if you're going to examine your life, examine the reality of your faith. And then examine the destiny of your soul. Do you know for certain that if you were to die today, you would spend eternity with the living God?

So important. The Bible always calls us to reexamine our lives. Do we know for certain that we will wake up in eternity when we pass from this life into the next, that is, eternity in the presence of the living God, absent from the body, present with the Lord? So if we're going to accurately assess and expand examination beyond the reality of our faith, beyond the destiny of our soul, what about the authenticity of our heart? Is it sincere? Is it genuine? Is it arrogant? Is it prideful? Is it humble?

Is it truly seeking the Lord God? How about this? Examine the purity of our minds, as we talked about last week. Is my mind pure? Is it holy? Am I seeking to be as holy as God himself is holy? Is there a cleansing of the mind that my heart would be true and pure before the Lord that I would know the destiny of my soul because I walk by faith and not by sight? Expanding examination is crucial because we passed it off as if it doesn't really make a difference, but it does. That's why it's called one of the key disciplines of the Christian life.

We must learn to discipline our lives. And nobody necessarily likes discipline, but it's part of who we are and what we do. So let me move on to point number five, and that is we need to examine the integrity of our life.

The integrity of our life. It kind of sums up the authenticity of my heart, the purity of my mind. It sums up the reality of my faith and the destiny of my soul under the integrity of my life. The Bible says in Psalm 12, verse number one, help Lord for the godly man ceases to be for the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

Where is the godly man? Where is that individual? Why have they disappeared? Where have they gone? The Bible tells us in Psalm 15, these words, Oh Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell in your holy hill? He walks with integrity and works righteousness and speaks truth in his heart. Who is able to abide in the presence of God, his temple, his holy hill? The person who within his heart is complete and whole. That's what integrity means, right? It means completeness. It means wholeness. That means everything about life matches everything about my lips.

Life and lip are equivalent. There is no disparity between the two. They're the same. There is a comprehension of life because integrity is all-encompassing. It encompasses heart, soul, mind. It encompasses everything about my life. It's all the same. It speaks the same thing, looks the same way. That's why the integrity of our life is so important. Psalms would go on in Psalm 26 and say these words, Vindicate me, oh Lord, for I have walked in my integrity and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.

And examine me, oh Lord, and try me, test my mind and my heart. For your loving kindness is before my eyes and I have walked in your truth. I do not sit with the deceitful men, nor will I go with pretenders. I hate the assembly of evildoers and I will not sit with the wicked. He goes on to say in verse number 11, I shall walk in my integrity. How do you do that? How do you do that? If I'm going to examine my life and I examine the integrity of my life and the psalmist says, Vindicate me, Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, I have walked in truth, I've made a commitment to walk in my integrity.

In other words, I've made a commitment to be whole, to be complete, to everything echo the same thing, live the same way, so that I'm an honest, truthful, trustworthy person. How do I do that? It marvels me when I study the book of Daniel, because Daniel was a man of supreme integrity. And that's why God used him the way he did in the life of Nebuchadnezzar, because Nebuchadnezzar was surrounded by people who were lacking integrity. He was surrounded by liars, people who were untruthful. And Daniel rose to a place of prominence in the political realm of Babylon.

Can you think of anybody in the political realm today who walks with integrity, whose life has no blot against it? Like if they sought to find something out about you or something within you, they could find nothing, so they have to bring something against you because of your God. That's the way it was with Daniel. They couldn't find anything in him or about him. And for years, for 70 plus years, this is how he lived his life. He rose to great prominence under two world powers, an amazing man. He walked in his integrity.

How do you do that? Let me give you some principles, okay? All right, here's principle number one. Install Christ as your chief priority. Install Christ as your chief priority, so important. I was sharing these principles with our leadership team back in July because I told them that we must walk in integrity. So we must install Christ as the chief priority of our lives. Listen, there's always something that takes priority in your life and mine, right? Always something. The question comes, the man who walks in integrity has Christ as his chief priority.

In other words, everything else is secondary to the Christ. That's the way it was with Daniel. Everything was secondary to the God of Israel. But everyone in the room has something that takes preeminence and prominence in our lives. A lot of the times it's us, right? We're like Diotrephes in 3 John 9, we seek the preeminence. Diotrephes was that kind of person. It was all about himself. But Daniel sought the preeminence of his king. He installed Christ as the chief priority. And you have to do that because every day there's this battle going on on who I will serve, me, my will, or God, his will.

To walk in integrity, you must install Christ as the chief priority. Now, how do you do that? I'm gonna tell you, one thing. All you gotta do is one thing. That's it, nothing else. Just do one thing if you're gonna install Christ as a chief priority in your life. We talked about a number of weeks ago in Mark chapter 10 with the rich young ruler. Christ said to the rich young ruler, there is one thing you're lacking, only one. He wanted to know the way to obtain eternal life. What must I do to obtain eternal life?

Christ said, you gotta keep the commandments. Well, I do that. I don't commit adultery, I don't steal, I don't lie, I don't covet. I honor my mother and father. I do all those things. Christ says, great, good for you.

Tell you what, sell all that you have, give to the poor, follow me. Mm, wouldn't do that. Christ says, you must install me in your life as the chief priority.

If you don't do that, you won't inherit eternal life, you won't. I must be prominent. You see, Christ questioned what was the most important thing to him. He was an idolater. He had another God other than the one true God. So Christ says, listen, I need from you unequaled adoration.

That's it. One thing. If I'm gonna install Christ as the chief priority, there's only one thing you gotta do. And that is, make sure you have an unequaled adoration for the true and living God. That's it. That's it, just one thing. It was said another way in Luke chapter 10, when Martha was encumbered by so many things around her, but Mary had chosen the best part. And Jesus said to Martha, Martha, there is only one thing that's needful, only one. There's not two things that are needful, just one.

There's not three things, one thing. And Mary has chosen that one thing. She has chosen the best part. She has chosen that which is the best thing she could ever do. And that was to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to the words of Christ. If you're gonna install Christ as the chief priority in your life, there's only one thing you must do, only one. That is unequaled adoration and undivided attention. Undivided attention. If he is your chief priority, you're not gonna be easily distracted. And it's so easy to go through life being distracted, isn't it?

Sure it is. So many things coming at us, being bombarded every single day, at work, at play, at school, on the news, but you know what? Mary chose the best part. Martha was so encumbered with the work of the ministry, she forgot the one you're to worship in ministry. And that was to Christ. If you're gonna install Christ as the chief priority, there's only one thing you gotta do, only one. Not two, not three, not four, not five, not 10, one thing. I said this way in John 9, by the man born blind, right?

And Christ healed the man. He said, go down and wash in the pool of Siloam. He went down and washed and he could see. The man could see. And they said, who did this? I don't know, but one thing, only one, I know. Only one thing I know. Once I was blind, but now I see. Only one, because he understood that the only one thing you need is an undeniable affirmation of the Lord. An undeniable affirmation, an undivided attention, an unequaled adoration. There's only one thing you need, because there's only one thing the rich young ruler lacked.

There was only one thing that was needful. And there's only one thing the man born blind knew that once he was blind, but now he could see. An undeniable affirmation as to the character and nature of the living God. But if you want to install Christ as a chief priority in your life, there's only one thing you must do. And over in the book of Philippians, the third chapter, the apostle Paul says these words, one thing I do, forgetting that which lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call in God through Christ Jesus, my Lord.

One thing, an undeterred ambition. If you're gonna install Christ as the chief priority, there's only one thing, one thing that's necessary. Only one thing that you lack. There's only one thing you must do. There's only one thing you must know. Just one, not many things, just one thing. You say, what is it pastor? You've just given us four things. Oh no, you're not listening. It's all the same thing. It's making Christ absolutely preeminent above everything else in your life where your intention, your ambitions, your affections, your adoration are all centered on the living God.

That's what he demands. Have you installed Christ as the chief priority in your life? There's only one thing you must do. The psalmist says it clearly in Psalm 27. One thing, only one. Five times in the Bible, it says one thing. This is the fifth. One thing I have asked from the Lord that I shall seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in his temple. Only one thing, only one thing he asked and that it was an unparalleled anticipation of beholding the beauty of the Lord.

That's it. So you think the Christian life is difficult? No, it all sums up in one thing, just one. One thing he asked. One thing he knew. One thing was necessary. One thing I do. One thing you lack, just one. And it all centers around the preeminence of Jesus Christ our Lord in our lives. You want to walk in truth. You want to walk in integrity. You must install Christ as the chief priority of your life. And that's how you do it. How about you? Is he your chief priority or is he at best running a close second to somebody else or something else?

If you want to walk in integrity, you must install Christ as your chief priority. Number two, you must nurture your own spirituality.

You must nurture your own spirituality. And that's important. Daniel nurtured his own spirituality. How did he know the length of time they would be in captivity unless he studied the book of Jeremiah? He was a man of study. He was a man who was well-read in the Old Testament, in the law and the prophets, right? How did he know? And that's what caused him to pray and to seek the face of the Lord. That's what caused him to be on his knees and cry out and ask for forgiveness because he was in the word of the Lord.

That caused him to pray over and over again. All throughout the book of Daniel, the man is on his knees. He doesn't not pray because of the king's edict. No, he prays all the more doing what he's always done. He doesn't change anything. Doesn't go off into his closet and pray because he can't be seen praying. No, he does what he always does because the man of integrity always does what he always does as long as it honors the Lord. And that's what he did. But he nurtured his own spirituality. You got to do that.

It takes work. You know, we like every notice that we love retreats. We like couples retreats, marriage retreats, men's retreats, women's retreats. Why? We like those high emotional experiences. We like to get away and get this high feeling of joy and excitement. But the Christian life has not lived in that realm. It's lived in the daily grind of every single day. And you have to find joy in the grind of every single day. Going on retreats is fine. It's okay. But that's not where life is lived. Life is lived in the mundane daily monotony of every single day.

I've had my daughters over the years call their mother and say, Mom, have you ever noticed that when you raise your children? Have you ever noticed? She goes, it's the same thing every single day. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's the same thing every day. That's right. That's what motherhood is. It is the same thing every single day. Nothing changes. That's why women have such a hard time raising their children. They hate the mundane. You gotta love the mundane. You gotta live in the realm of the mundane, my friends.

That's where life is lived. You go to work. That's why guys change jobs all the time. They don't like the mundane. Listen, I would like you to be in my shoes just for one day because for 35 years, I have kept the same schedule, done the same thing every single day. And I love every minute of it. Every minute of it, I love it. I love what I do. And yet, people don't like to live in the realm of everyday rigor. It's too much. It's too boring. Too difficult. Not enough joy. And yet, when you nurture your own spirituality, you're in the Word every day, every day, every day.

You're on your knees every day, every day, every day. I'm not getting anything out of it. That's a commentary on you, not the Word of God, right? And the unique thing about that is that you're in the Word every day, but guess what? You learn something new about the character and nature of God every day because you've installed them as your chief priority. There's only one thing needful, undivided attention. Undivided attention. Only one thing I seek, an unparalleled anticipation. There's only one thing I know, an undeniable affirmation as to the character and nature of the living God.

See that? You want to walk in integrity? Install Christ as the chief priority in your life. Nurture your own spirituality. Number three, turn away from all iniquity.

Turn away from all iniquity. Remember what the Bible says about Job? Job chapter one, he was blameless and upright, fearing God. And what's the next phrase? Turning away from evil. That was Job. The most blameless man, the most righteous man on the face of the earth was Job. Because he would turn away from evil, he would set no worthless thing before his eyes. That's what he said. He said, I've made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully upon any woman. Made a covenant. Why? Because you're going to turn away from evil.

Last week we talked about taking drastic measures, right? Remember that? Doing whatever I had to do to turn away from sin and follow the Lord. It's that constant turning. You know, every day you're making new turns. You know that? Every day you're making a new turn. Nope, not going that way, I'm going this way. Then you're going this way. Ah, not going that way, I'm going this way. You're always making turns, right? Why? Because there's always something evil down the road. And you got to keep turning and keep turning.

That's why the Bible says, flee immorality. Flee idolatry. Flee the love of money. Keep running, running, running, running, running. Why? Because that's all we do is we run away from evil. We turn away from evil. But I can't do that if I haven't installed Christ as a chief priority of my life. I can't do that. I don't want to do that. If I'm not nurturing my own spirituality, I'm not going to be sensitive to sin and evil when it comes my way. But when I do, I recognize the evil in me, around me. I say, oh, I got to go a different direction.

I got to turn around, go a different way. That's what it means to walk in integrity. Install Christ as the chief priority of your life. Nurture your own spirituality. Turn away from all iniquity. Number four, exalt and express God's glory. Exalt and express God's glory. We are to live, 1 Corinthians 10, 31, we are to live and do all we do for the glory of God. Everything is about His glory. That's why the Bible says that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6.

Therefore, glorify God in your body. That's why Isaiah 24 says, glorify the Lord in the fires. Exalt and express God's glory. What is the glory of God? It is the righteous radiance of the Redeemer being reflected in and through His redeemed. That's how you give glory to the Lord God of the universe. He is righteous and He is radiant. He shines forth with the beauty of truth. So if I exalt and express the glory of God, I'm going to reflect that righteous radiance of my God. And therefore, I will walk in my integrity.

Whoso offers praise, Psalm 50, glorifies me, reflects me, honors me. We live a life of praise because I want to exalt and express God's glory. Number five, guard against the enemy. Guard against the enemy. The devil goes about like a roaring lion, 1 Peter 5 verse number eight, seeking who may me devour. But you got to be on guard. You got to stand equipped. And you must guard your heart. Guard your heart, protect your heart. That's why God gives you the breastplate of righteousness, right? That's why He gives you the shield of faith.

That's why He gives you the helmet of salvation. You must guard against the enemy because the enemy is not your wife or your husband or your children or your boss or your governor or your president or the Taliban. Your enemy, your enemy is the evil one. And all of us emissaries, we fight against the spiritual forces of darkness. If you don't understand that, you won't have the proper weaponry. You won't understand what to do. You must guard against the enemy. Number six, you must respect your ministry.

I'm not just talking about your spiritual ministry. I'm talking about your vocational ministry. Do you respect your ministry enough to live for the glory of God? You see, every one of us has been called to live out our spiritual life within a sphere in which God has called us to live. And none of us have been called to that same sphere of influence. All of us to a different sphere. Some in the realm of a political sphere, some in the realm of an educational sphere, some in a medical sphere. But all of us have been called by God to be used by God.

Daniel was called by God in a political sphere to be used by God within the realm of the leadership of Babylon and in Medo-Persia. And God used him greatly. But that was his ministry. Did he receive visions? Yes. Did he read the Bible? Yes. Did he study the Bible? Yes. Was he a prophet? Yes. Although he's never called a prophet, he's a prophet. You, likewise, have been called to live out your spiritual existence in some arena. And whatever that arena is, listen, make sure you know why you're there.

You're not there to make money. Now, you're going to get paid. Hopefully, you're going to get paid for working. But you're not there to make money primarily, right? You're there to make an impact for the glory of his name. You don't go to school to get an education, although you do. You go to school because during that four years or six or eight or ten, however long it takes you to get through and get your master's and your doctorate, whatever it is you're going to do, that is a sphere of influence in which God has called you to live out your spiritual existence.

Live it for his glory. Now, that's your minute. Do you respect that ministry enough to live for the glory and honor of God within that realm? So you can't come to church on Sunday and go to work on money, live any way you want. You can live the same way at work on money as you do at church on Sunday. You can live the same way at home on Sunday night as you do at church on Sunday morning. That's integrity. It's wholeness. It's completeness. It's all-encompassing, right? It's all the same thing. We need to respect our ministry enough, whatever that may be.

I'm not talking specifically about your spiritual ministry because hopefully you respect that in the church enough to live for the glory and honor of God. But when you go to work, that is a ministry. I believe in vocational ministry. I believe that within that realm, you are a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you are a minister for the glory and honor of God as you share the gospel, as you live a life of integrity. You are that influence. How is it Nebuchadnezzar came to the Lord? There was one man, just one man who lived for the glory of God.

That's Daniel. One man had such an impact that he revolutionized the king of Babylon. Yes, God saved him. God did a work in his life. Yes, he did. But God had a vessel and that was Daniel. Guess what? You are God's vessel. You're born again. You're the vessel. Right now, that vessel might only be, not only be, might primarily be as a mother in your home, raising your children, investing your children. That's what you do. And maybe there's, God's going to raise you to do something else. And maybe you're here today and you have a question about what job I take or where I go.

Ask yourself, not, what job has the best benefits for me financially? What job has the best benefit for me spiritually? That I can live for the glory and honor of God. That I can speak the truth and stand for truth and witness for the gospel of Christ. Where can I do that primarily the best? And wherever you are today, wherever God has placed you, that's where He's placed you. And if God placed you there, do not move unless God moves you. Do not do that. That would be detrimental to your soul. It'll give you the desires of her heart, but send a barren wasteland to your soul.

Psalm 106, verse number 15. Do not move from that sphere of influence unless God specifically moves you. And you know for certain that God has led you and moved you because His hand is upon you. You know that without unquestionable. Very important. Respect your ministry. Identify with the godly. Identify with the godly, not the ungodly. Psalm 1, you know the psalm. How blessed is a man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

Be careful who you stroll with. Be careful who you talk to. Be careful who you stand with, and be careful who you sit with. Sit with the godly. Told you last week that he who's a companion of fools suffers much, much horror. Proverbs 22, 24 says, do not associate with a man given to anger, or go with a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and find a snare for yourself. Do not be among those who give pledges. How about this? Proverbs 24, verse number 21. My son, fear the Lord and the King.

Do not associate with those who are given to change. Don't do that, for their calamity will rise suddenly. And who knows the ruin that comes upon both of them. We don't think of that very often, do we? But if you're always hanging around people that cannot make up their minds, and they're always changing their mind, one day they're doing this, the next day they're doing that. One day they got this job, the next day they got this job. One day they go to this school, next day they go to that school.

One day they're with this wife, next day they're with that wife, right? They're given to change. They can't make up their minds. There's no commitment. Why does someone say, where's the godly man? Where's the trustworthy man? There's no commitment. I'm always changing. I can never be content. I can never be satisfied. I can never sit and rest in the sovereignty of Almighty God, and live right there in that realm, trusting in God to do things for me. I need to identify with the godly. But if I identify with those who are always given to change, there's going to be a sudden calamity that comes upon them.

It's going to affect me as well. So important. Identify with the godly. And then make sure that you treasure your family. You treasure your family. I can speak so much about this. But you know, husbands, your wife is to be the most treasured possession that you have. Listen, if there's anything that you're doing that sends a message that something's more valuable to you than your wife, you got to stop whatever else you're doing, and make your wife a priority in your life. If your wife thinks she's secondary to your work, secondary to your hobbies, secondary to your education, secondary to whatever, she's playing second fiddle, no good.

Make sure she knows she is the most treasured possession. It doesn't mean you can't get an education and work and do all the things too. She must know that no matter what happens, she's a priority. First Peter 3, husbands, live with your wife in an understanding way, and treat her as the most honorable vessel that you have.

Treasure your family. And lastly, yearn for eternity. Why do I say this? I say this quite often. If you were here Wednesday night, you know why this is so important. Yearn for eternity. You have a longing to be with Christ. This is what happened in Daniel's life. We said on Wednesday night that those who clearly see the future can stand clean in the present. Those who do not clearly see the future will never stand clean in the present. How is it Daniel for over 70 years lived a clean life? How did he do that?

Amidst all the pagan idolatry around him. What is it that caused Daniel to live a clean and holy life? He had a clear perspective on the future. He knew where the world was going. He knew what was going to happen. God had given him that vision. He wrote it down. He's given it to us. That's why John says, he who has this hope in him purifies himself even as he himself is pure. There's something about eternity. There's something about the future that cleanses me today. And those who do not clearly see the future are bound to live an unclean life today.

If you're unclear about the future, you're going to be unclean today. If you're clear about the future, you'll be clean today. Yearn for eternity. Look toward the future. Anticipate Christ's coming. Know what's all going on around and encompassing the return of Jesus Christ our Lord. That's why prophecy is so prevalent in the pages of Scripture. It's everywhere. Why? We told you on Wednesday night, Peter said it. It's 2 Peter chapter 3. What did he say? Knowing that all these things are going to happen.

What things? The day of the Lord. The elements are going to burn with fervent heat. There's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. What manner of man are you to be? What kind of person should you be? A holy, godly person. Because you know these things and they've been given to you. The result is live a holy life. With a walk in integrity, I just spelled it out for you. Literally, I spelled it out for you. Did you get that? Of course you did. One thing. That's it. Just one thing you do. Install Christ as your chief priority.

And everything else is like a domino effect. It all comes to play. Not without discipline. Not without work. That's why we expand examination. Is my life lived in integrity? Is my mind pure? Is my heart true and genuine? Is my faith real? And where will I spend eternity? Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today and all that you do. We are grateful that, Lord, truly we can follow your word. Thank you for how you instruct us. In Jesus' name, amen.