DAILY BIBLE VERSES AND PRAYER THOUGHTS:

MONDAY - VERSES: 2 Corinthians 3:18; James 1:22-25; Romans 12:2-3 PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank God for His Word so we can know what He wants of us and so that we can measure ourselves by it.

TUESDAY - VERSES: Proverbs 20:9; 1 John 1:8-10; Romans 3:10-
18, 23 PRAYER THOUGHT: Ask God for the courage and strength to be honest and objective, without trying to justify or ignore faults as you examine every area of your life.

WEDNESDAY - VERSES: Genesis 20:5-6; Matthew 5:8; 6:21; Mark 7:20-23 PRAYER THOUGHT: Entreat God's assistance as you look deeply into your heart to see any sinful thoughts, intents and motives hidden from others and previously ignored by you.

THURSDAY - VERSES: Psalm 19:13-14; Psalm 55:20-21; Proverbs 8:6-9 PRAYER THOUGHT: Implore God's help in examining your methods of communication: the words, tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language to be sure that you are communicating with wisdom.

FRIDAY - VERSES: Acts 24:16; Titus 1:15-16; Hebrews 10:22-24 PRAYER THOUGHT: Beg for your conscience to be purified by correction of the sinful actions that have followed the impure heart and tongue. Pledge yourself to Him anew to live faithful to Him with a pure conscience and a pure life.

SATURDAY - VERSES: Psalm 26:1-12; Psalm 51:9-12 PRAYER THOUGHT: Welcome God's continuing examination of your existence and disciplining of you to bring correction to areas of your life that need it.

Faults are like the headlights of a car; those of others seem more glaring than your own.

ASSIGNMENTS

1. At least once a day read over this material and read or sing the song.

2. Place the scripture where you will see it often each day.

3. Honestly look for areas in which Christ is not living in you each day.

4. At the close of day write down the ways you need to improve.

6. Plan to tell the class how you honestly examined yourself and finally recognized a shortcoming in your life, or tell the class why you have a problem examining yourself.

SPIRITUAL HEALTH REGIMEN - WEEK 9

SELF-EXAMINATION

SCRIPTURE - 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?; unless indeed you are disqualified.

COMMENT - We must constantly look honestly at our lives and see where we might be falling short of living for Christ.

SONG - HAVE THINE OWN WAY, LORD

1. Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me After Thy will, While I am waiting, Yielded and still.

2. Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Search me and try me, Master, today! Whiter than snow, Lord, Wash me just now, As in Thy presence Humbly I bow.

3. Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Hold over my being Absolute sway! Fill with Thy Spirit Till all shall see Christ only, always, Living in me!
THOUGHTS

How often we overlook our own failures and sins while criticizing the faults in others! In fact, our judgment may reflect our own flaws, which usually are more serious than those we see in someone else.

Ruth Knowlton told how she learned this truth. The building across the alley was only a few feet away, and she could easily look into her neighbor's apartment. Ruth had never met the woman, but she could see her easily. As time passed, her neighbor was seen less distinctly and she wondered, "Why doesn't that woman wash her windows?"

One day Ruth did some housecleaning, including washing her own windows. Later, she sat to rest. Amazingly, she could clearly see her neighbor sitting by her window. Ruth said to herself, "Well, finally she washed her windows!" By now you've guessed what really happened: Ruth's own windows were the ones that needed washing.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Plato said: "The unexamined life is the life not worth living" and the unexamined religion is not worth having. It behooves us all to always examine what we do in light of the authority of the Word of God.

When you get what you want in your struggle for self And the world makes you king for a day, Just go to a mirror and look at yourself, And see what THAT man has to say.

For it isn't your father or mother or wife Who judgment upon you must pass; The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the one staring back from the glass.

Some people may think you a straight-shootin' chum And call you a wonderful guy, But the man in the glass says you're only a bum

If you can't look him straight in the eye.

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest For he's with you clear up to the end, And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years And get pats on the back as you pass, But your final reward will be heartaches and tears If you've cheated the man in the glass.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Charles Evans Hughes, former Supreme Court Chief Justice advised, "A man has to live with himself. He should see to it that he always has good company."

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Robert Burns wrote of the inability we sometimes have to see ourselves objectively in his poem, "To a Louse, On Seeing one on a Lady's Bonnet at Church" He concludes by saying, "O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us, An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us, And ev'n Devotion!"

Oddly enough, God has given us that power spiritually through the mirror of His Word if we will only be honest enough to use it.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

The following was supposedly reported originally in the Kansas City Times and later questioned, but recorded in The Boston Investigator, 23 August 1876. - There was no preaching in this town last Sunday, and all in consequence of a practical joke perpetrated by a lively young girl. The young girl, inspired by the world, the flesh, and a little devil mixed, sat down on Saturday evening and sent a note to each of the pastors. The missives were on tinted paper, and written nicely. They each contain these words: -- "All is discovered -- fly!" Nine of the preachers fled to St. Louis and three went West. There is a sensation in town larger than a man's hand.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Whenever two people meet there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other sees him, and each man as he really is. - William James We may never be able to see others as they really are (only God can), but we should try to see ourselves as God sees us for that is how we really are.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

________________ YOURSELF

INTRODUCTION

L. S. - SELF-EXAMINATION IS NECESSARY BECAUSE. . .

I. WE ARE ____________________ TO DO IT.

A. TAKE HEED - 1 CORINTHIANS ____:1-12

B. CONSIDER YOUR ______ - HAGGAI 1:4-7

C. AVOID GOD'S JUDGEMENT - 1 ____________ 11:27-31

D. DANGER OF COMING ___________ - HEBREWS 4:1-2

E. MAY FALL SHORT OF GOD'S _______ - HEB. 12:14-15

II. _____ _________ __________ CAN DO IT FOR US.

A. JEREMIAH 17:___

B. 1 CORINTHIANS ___:11

C. ________________ 14:10

D. PROVERBS 20:___

E. MATTHEW ____:1-5

III. IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO _________________.

A. TURN BACK TO THE _______ - LAMENTATIONS 3:40

B. TURN FROM _______ - EZEKIEL 18:27-28

C. REMEMBER AND _____________ - REVELATION 2:4-5

D. ________________ AND REPENT - REVELATION 3:1-3

E. PRODIGAL ________________ - LUKE 15:17-19

IV. WE CAN'T HAVE A ________ CONSCIENCE WITHOUT IT.

A. JOHN ____:3-9

B. ACTS 24:____

C. 1 _______________ 3:16-22

D. 1 CORINTHIANS ___:2-4

CONCLUSION

EXAMINE YOURSELF

SCRIPTURE - (2 Cor 13:5-6) Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?; unless indeed you are disqualified. {6} But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.

INTRODUCTION

A. POEM

When you get what you want in your struggle for self And the world makes you king for a day, Just go to a mirror and look at yourself, And see what THAT man has to say.

For it isn't your father or mother or wife Who judgment upon you must pass; The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the one staring back from the glass.

Some people may think you a straight-shootin' chum And call you a wonderful guy, But the man in the glass says you're only a bum If you can't look him straight in the eye.

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest For he's with you clear up to the end, And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the world down the pathway of years And get pats on the back as you pass But your final reward will be heartaches and tears If you've cheated the man in the glass.

B. WE DON'T SEE OURSELVES WELL - (Job 34:31-33) "For has anyone said to God, 'I have borne chastening; I will offend no more; {32} Teach me what I do not see; If I have done iniquity, I will do no more'? {33} Should He repay it according to your terms, Just because you disavow it? You must choose, and not I; Therefore speak what you know.

C. WHY DO WE DO OUR ACTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS? - (Zec 7:5) "Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me; for Me?

D. DISCERNMENT TO BE WITHOUT OFFENSE - (Phil 1:9-11) And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, {10} that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, {11} being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

E. LOOK AT OURSELVES REALISTICALLY - (Rom 12:3) For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

L. S. - SELF-EXAMINATION IS NECESSARY BECAUSE. . .

I. WE ARE COMMANDED TO DO IT.

A. TAKE HEED LEST YOU FALL - (1 Cor 10:1-12) Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, {2} all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, {3} all ate the same spiritual food, {4} and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. {5} But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. {6} Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. {7} And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." {8} Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; {9} nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; {10} nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. {11} Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. {12} Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

B. CONSIDER YOUR WAYS - (Hag 1:4-7) "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" {5} Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways! {6} "You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes." {7} Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways!

C. EXAMINING OURSELVES KEEPS US FROM THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD - (1 Cor 11:27-31) Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. {28} But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. {29} For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. {30} For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. {31} For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.

D. WE SHOULD FEAR COMING SHORT OF HEAVEN - (Heb 4:1-2) Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. {2} For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

E. WE CAN FALL SHORT OF THE GRACE OF GOD - (Heb 12:14-15) Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: {15} looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

II. NO ONE ELSE CAN DO IT FOR US.

A. (Jer 17:9) "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

B. (1 Cor 2:11) For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

C. (Prov 14:10) The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy.

D. (Prov 20:5) Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out.

E. (Mat 7:1-5) "Judge not, that you be not judged. {2} "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. {3} "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? {4} "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? {5} "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

III. IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO REPENTANCE.

A. EXAMINE AND TURN BACK TO THE LORD - (Lam 3:40) Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD;

B. CONSIDER AND TURN FROM SIN - (Ezek 18:27-28) "Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. {28} "Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

C. REMEMBER WHERE YOU WERE AND REPENT - (Rev 2:4-5) "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. {5} "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place; unless you repent.

D. BE WATCHFUL, REMEMBER AND REPENT - (Rev 3:1-
3) "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, 'These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. {2} "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. {3} "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

E. PRODIGAL CAME TO HIMSELF AND RETURNED - (Luke 15:17-19) "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! {18} 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, {19} "and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."'

IV. WE CAN'T HAVE A PURE CONSCIENCE WITHOUT IT.

A. (John 8:3-9) Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, {4} they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. {5} "Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" {6} This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. {7} So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." {8} And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. {9} Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

B. (Acts 24:16) "This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

C. (1 John 3:16-22) By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. {17} But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? {18} My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. {19} And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. {20} For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. {21} Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. {22} And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

D. (1 Cor 4:2-4) Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. {3} But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. {4} For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.

CONCLUSION

A. GOD EXAMINES YOU - (Psa 139:23-24) Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; {24} And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

B. BUT HE WANTS YOU TO EXAMINE YOURSELF SO YOU CAN REPENT

C. HAVE YOU EXAMINED YOURSELF AS TO WHETHER YOU ARE IN THE FAITH?

EXAMINE YOURSELF

INTRODUCTION

A. 2 Cor 13:5-6

B. WE DON'T SEE OURSELVES WELL - (Job 34:31-33)

C. WHY DO ACTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS? - (Zec 7:5)

D. DISCERNMENT WITHOUT OFFENSE - (Phil 1:9-11)

E. LOOK AT OURSELVES REALISTICALLY - (Rom 12:3)

L. S. - SELF-EXAMINATION IS NECESSARY BECAUSE. . .

I. WE ARE COMMANDED TO DO IT.

A. TAKE HEED LEST YOU FALL - (1 Cor 10:1-12)

B. CONSIDER YOUR WAYS - (Hag 1:4-7

C. AVOID GOD'S JUDGEMENT - (1 Cor 11:27-31)

D. DANGER OF COMING SHORT - (Heb 4:1-2)

E. MAY FALL SHORT GOD'S GRACE - (Heb 12:14-15)

II. NO ONE ELSE CAN DO IT FOR US.

A. (Jer 17:9)

B. (1 Cor 2:11)

C. (Prov 14:10)

D. (Prov 20:5)

E. (Mat 7:1-5)

III. IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO REPENTANCE.

A. TURN BACK TO THE LORD - (Lam 3:40)

B. TURN FROM SIN - (Ezek 18:27-28)

C. REMEMBER AND REPENT - (Rev 2:4-5

D. REMEMBER AND REPENT - (Rev 3:1-3)

E. PRODIGAL RETURNED - (Luke 15:17-19

IV. WE CAN'T HAVE A PURE CONSCIENCE WITHOUT IT.

A. (John 8:3-9)

B. (Acts 24:16)

C. (1 John 3:16-22)

D. (1 Cor 4:2-4)

CONCLUSION

A. GOD EXAMINES YOU - Psa 139:23-24

B. BUT HE WANTS YOU TO EXAMINE YOURSELF SO YOU CAN REPENT

C. HAVE YOU EXAMINED YOURSELF AS TO WHETHER YOU ARE IN THE FAITH?
2 Corinthians 13:5

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?; unless indeed you are disqualified.