Conducting a Spiritual Audit-2

Want to read from second Peter chapter 1 Peter chapter 1 getting at verse one Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust but also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge, self-control, self-control, perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love, for if these things are yours and abound you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted even to blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins, therefore brother and be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble for so in an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

For this reason I will not be negligent. To remind you always. Of these things though you know and are established in the present truth.

Yes, I think it is right. As long as I am in this tent to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly. I must put off my tent just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease well is you perhaps are aware, I was unable to preach last Sunday night. My recovery from covert I took to a step or two backwards last week was not able to fulfill my assignment pastoral tour filled in admirably for me and I'm thankful for that. But it had a good weekend. My strength is back and I think I am 85, 90% recovered. So I want to return to the subject that I treated on January 3.

If you recall, we gathered here, and we considered the subject of a spiritual audit.

I walk you through some disciplines and we conducted a spiritual audit and we did not finish that and I think it's good to beginning of this 20, 21 that we finish that pause in think through these things businesses do inventory and have audits and it's it's helpful for us to just think through these things and I read this passage this evening and it is mine. It is not my intention to preach exposition away from this if you want a great exposition from Dr. Jim Orrick preach from this passage when he was with us at the fall Bible conference. I would highly recommend you go back and listen to that sermon, but I did want to draw your attention to what Peter is saying here he is putting stress on the believer's responsibility in his Christian development talks about what God is done for us and then he says give all diligence and add to your faith in here are a number things that we are to be working at and then he says verse 10. Therefore brother and be even more diligent. So is talking about laboring he's talking about being diligent to make your call and election sure if you do these things, there is emphasis on what were to be doing now what God has done.

But what we are to be doing. If you do these things, what things add your faith virtue and knowledge and kindness and so on.

Then Peter says three times in just a couple of verses. After that gives an explanation why he's stressing this, he says. For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always. Of these things though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right. As long as I'm in this tent to stir you up by reminding you and then he closes there in verse 15. I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease and the question is why this repeated emphasis on being reminded of these things is not enough for us just to hear.

One time the we don't need to address it or be reminded of it again, but over and over and over and over again.

Why is that it's because of the nature of the Christian life.

We believe in progressive sanctification that is that from from the time of of regeneration being born again we undergo a process of change spirit of God working with the word of God is committed to changing us transforming us from 1° of glory to the next and because that is a lifelong process will go on as long as were on this earth will have to continue to grow at this. That's the nature of the Christian life the Christian life is a nature of growth of progressive changing in being sanctified. It's God's way. Little by little, little by little over a lifetime and it's good to be reminded that the goal of the Christian life is progress. Progress not perfection.

So my point tonight is not for you to dwell on your failures. My point this evening is to ask you to be open to the spirit of God to help you identify those areas where you need to accelerate and come and participate and yield to God and in growing particular areas.

That's so were all a different place were all maturing were all growing were all being changed from one glory degree of glory to the other. Some of us are back your son was here somewhere here and it's easy to be back here and wish we were up here and it's good to have a desire to grow but God is committed to our development and the point is to think about our trajectory.

It really does not matter. The goal is out there it's Christ likeness. It's full glorification it's full sanctification, and wherever we are in relationship to that word. We know that God is committed if we are a genuine believer to our ultimate sanctification or ultimate glorification as long as were moving in that direction. That's the encouragement that we need to find now here's a hymn that we have not sung for a long time, but it speaks to this issue of growth. Listen to it would. I asked the Lord that I might grow let's a good thing is God who puts a desire in our hearts to grow and to develop and to become more Christlike. So when were asking the Lord, that we might grow. That's a good thing. I asked the Lord that I might grow in faith and love and every grace might more of his salvation know and seek more earnestly, his face was he who taught me. Thus, to pray and he I trust has answered prayer, but it has been in such a way as almost drove me to despair. I hoped that in some favorite hour at once. He'd answer my request and by his loves constraining powers to my sins and give me rest instead of this he made me feel the hidden evils of my heart and let the angry powers of hell assault my soul in every part Lord why is this I tremble and cried. Wilt thou pursue thy warm death is in this way, the Lord replied, I answered prayer for grace and faith.

The hymn writer is expressing a desire for God to subdue sins and bring them into a place of spiritual development almost instantaneously. Did you catch that. I hope that in some favorite hour at once. He'd answer my request and by his loves constraining power subdue my sins and give me rest. I want to be done with that I want to be finished with that I want it now. I thought he would do that. But no, the agonizing reality is that we have to know what's in our hearts, and it is a long arduous process of rooting out sin, rooting out the remaining Adamic remnant of our sins and being changed little by little 1° of glory to the next. God could God could completely sanctify us in a moment if that's what he will. That was his intention, and some think it is. Some think that progress is an instantaneous thing because you come to an altar and you receive a second work of grace that brings to an end.

Your battle with sin and depravity. But if you study your Bible, you will discover that that's a false teaching. There is no such experience to be found infected is been my experience to those who have subscribed to that that in order for them to kick and continue on. They have to redefine sin while I don't do these three or four things and therefore God has delivered me from my struggle with sin. What about attitudes.

What about pride what about covetousness, what about all all know it is the nature of the Christian life that we are engaged by God in progressive sanctification got as many tools at his disposal to provoke and promote growth and development in our lives we talked last two weeks ago about how God uses people all kinds of people to challenge us and to provoke us and promote growth in our lives. He uses people uses circumstances favorable circumstances, unfavorable circumstances, all these things are at God's disposal during his toolbox and he employs them. And he uses them to do what to see us grow and change become more like the Lord Jesus Christ but is a significant responsibility that is laid upon us where to discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness where to be diligent to add to our faith.

Those are things that God has commanded the believer the Christian to do. And if God commands us to do it. He's not going to do it for us not God is at work in us both to will and to do according to his good pleasure, but that does not remove our responsibility where the one the ones who must exert the effort. The energy we must be the ones working out our salvation with fear and trembling. I think were little gun shy with this whole idea of work as a relates to the Christian life and us because we are confusing the place of work in the realm of the Christian life. The minute you introduce work and effort into justification you've created problems. You can't work hard enough you can't sweat heart.

You can't.

There's nothing you can do to be justified before God that something God has got to do for you so work were not interested in and bringing work into that part of the paradigm, but work is very much a part of our responsibility as we live out our Christian lives on this earth, so don't let anybody tell you well.

The Christian life is all of grace.

It's all of God from A-to-Z beginning from know if you understand your Bible. There is significant responsibility that lies with us if we are going to make progress to the degree that God wants us to. In our pilgrimage so we have responsibility and there's no getting around that. I remember two weeks ago.

As we were conducting this spiritual audit.

There were a number of questions that I ask you, there were I think eight areas and I think we looked at for five of them so in one sense this message is broke up a little bit and two weeks that separate the two parts, but perhaps that's good because as I remind you of these areas that we covered two weeks ago.

It'll cause you to think. Have I done anything with that as has the spirit of God provoke me because me to do anything intentionally on purpose in that particular area or did it just go in one ear and out the other and I am afraid that we are guilty too often of being hearers of the word and not doers and we need to repent of that we need to be mindful of that tendency, and we need to be more committed to being newer of the word, and not just to hear.

So as I say, perhaps it's good if you remember we looked at these areas and there was a an evaluation system that I set before you a B and C so as you think about these areas. I was asking you to assign a letter and a Avira CNA.

I consistently demonstrate solid growth in this area. Wonderful be to give myself a B in this area because I am making progress, but I need to focus on this even more and make it a solid and regular reality in my life or see see to be quite honest, I've neglected this area. It's not been on my radar. I I need to make a commitment to this area that I might see significant growth in so as we think through these things.

Think about that evaluation system in a B receipt.

What are those areas well area number one.

I ask you this question. Are you living a disciplined life.

Are you living a purposeful life. Is there an upward trajectory to your Christian life. Are you disciplining yourself say well in in in one area. It's puzzling to me. We all have the same number of hours in a day and it's troubling to me when I hear people who profess to be Christians tell me that they cannot find time to read your Bible, do you have a quiet time well know, I really struggle with that… Just know not not consistently in the question is why not, why not what you doing with your time you watch television will yell a lot of it, you read the newspaper while yeah are you on Facebook.

Are you and we begin to see we find time for the things that we deem important in your making a very very strong statement with your neglect of a quiet time and a devotional life.

That's not really that important to me because it was important to you, you would find time for you get up earlier. You would go to bed earlier, you would find the time to do that and we need to discipline ourselves. There is no substitute for that regular intake of the word of God. We must do it. Question number two was are you content. Are you content that's a bit of a tricky question if I'm not all that God intends for me to be. How can I be content. I'm not in heaven yet. I'm still on this sin cursed earth. I'm still struggling with my own sinfulness. How can I be content with. Here's how you can be content.

I would suggest that a healthy posture to have is a contented discontentment. I've said this before, I believe from this pulpit. What I mean by that is you are content in Christ you realize your acceptance before God is based not on your performance, but on the record of Jesus Christ you're trusting his person you're trusting his work in your place, and on the basis of that you accepted before God and that is a settled matter.

God looks on you your one of his children. You are your beloved of him your sins of been forgiven.

You're on your way to heaven. That's cause for contentment.

There's a measure of discontentment because were not all that God has determined we will be. That's what I mean not talking necessarily about your financial place not talking so much about your work talking about who you are as a person. Are you content with that. So contentment won't spend much time on this third one, but we asked the question, are you becoming less religious and more spiritual. The Pharisees were religious but were not called to be religious per se were called to be Christ followers. He's called us to be in a living relationship with him is not enough to simply say well I go to church. I carry my Bible and because I'm in church.

Therefore, I'm all right. No, you can be in church for you for a lifetime. That doesn't guarantee your Christian any more than sitting in a chair and a garage makes you a mechanic used to work in the body shop used to work around cars and some of the older men in the neighborhood were retired and they bring the car in and they want to know if they could come in and sit and watch well and pull up a chair and watch as I would work on the vehicle. Well, they could sit there till Jesus comes.

And it wasn't gonna make them a mechanic that will make you mechanic any more than sitting in a church will make you a Christian, this question number four. Does your family see and smell the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ about you with those who know you the best with. They say yes, he's a he's a lover of Christ.

Yes, he's a believer in Jesus Christ. Yes, he's a committed Christian enough somebody different at home, then he is a church he doesn't wear to faces. Is there a sense, those who know you, your neighbors, your work, your coworkers, your family, your children, your spouse would they attest, yes, the genuine there's life spiritual life. Evidence of it again a B or C. We talked about your prayer life is your prayer life improving.

I think for most Christians, this is an area of struggle thought about the disciples when they asked Jesus to teach them to pray for that wasn't at the very beginning of their itinerant ministry with Jesus.

They'd been with Jesus for a period of time they heard and prayed they had prayed, but when they heard Jesus praying to the father, they realized now that's prayer and there they were saying, Lord, teach us to pray like that I just say words but Lord, teach us, show us what it means to be in communion with the father sense of intimacy and a sense of communion teach us that and I trust that were growing in the discipline of prayer that prayer is not just a last resort, but it's something that is a part of our life. We pray about everything work were in an attitude of prayer, gnosis prayed all prayed all times. What is that means I mean just don't do anything else but pray no means to be in an attitude of prayer and attitude of dependence.

The God only hears our words but he knows our hearts. He knows our attitudes he knows are posture. He knows whether were cultivating humility, or whether there is pride residing in our hearts and in all the rest of us here so we left off and I need it just mention this to you because my mind is on Zimbabwe and the men over there is probably been.

I don't know five or six years ago that the brother Jerry.

Gerald went to Zimbabwe with me and I given him an assignment.

I was familiar with navigators 27 discipleship material had been through it and they have an illustration.

It's called the wheel straight and there are six parts of that we and there are two verses attached. Each part of that and those are the verses that we were to memorize and understand how they all related to the wheel and is I above mentioned this to you it from. For what it's worth, the first part of that was Christ the hub Christ must be at the center of your life can be at the peripheral he's got to be at the center. He's got to be at the hub that the decision-making center of your life. Christ at the hub of your life. And then the outer part of the circle is the obedient Christian life. What attaches where the wheel meets the surface of life, what what what attaches that were therefore supposed to that wheel illustration thereto vertical and thereto horizontal in the two vertical our prayer and the word in the two horizontal are fellowship and witnessing. That's what brother Jerry spent his time teaching the men the men the wheel illustration developing those ideas. Prayer the word witnessing prayer how it all relates to the Christian life and that was received very very well as men have thanked me. Other times I've gone back would ask about brother Jerry and how much they valued that teaching and how much they had employed at for themselves and for their ministries where's the next question.

Are you in the habit of maintaining a regular all of God AWE awe of God because there is the trivial trivialization of God all around us.

God is not seen as high in majestic and holy and sovereign. He's viewed by many, many people far far far less than that.

My question is, is that a daily habit of yours a regular habit of to cultivate and maintain a genuine all of God. Now we try and put resources said your disposal. Recommend them in our book room in this past year. One of the books we recommended was Paul David Tripp's book titled all a WE look like this. We choose hymns that remind us of that challenge us in that particular area.

Constantly we sign this morning. Let us do what let us love and saying and wonder.

Let us praise the Savior's name. Let us love the Lord who bought us.

Let us saying through fierce temptation. Let us wonder grace and justice. Let us praise and join the choir. Those ideas, this is from a devotional that I've been working through this was on January 2. This is again Paul David Tripp. He says in your most brilliant moment. You will still be left with mystery in your life, sometimes even painful ministry will face things that appear to make little sense and don't seem to serve any good purpose. So rest is never found in the quest to understand it all. No rest is found in trusting the one who understands it all any rules it all for his own glory and our good.

Then he concludes a devotional with this and moments when you wish you knew what you can't know there is rest to be found there is one who knows and he loves you and rules. What you don't understand with your good in mind, praise the Lord for that he says in this book all he says. Proper theology is rooted in our interpretations of our circumstances.

I'm sorry.

Proper theology is rooted not in our interpretation of our circumstances, but in God's revelation to us of his unchangeable glory. Yes, so that's a book that I would recommend to the scenario that you want to grow in get a book like that commit yourself to reading it and it will help you out and experience with Gabe about 14 months ago little live with me for the rest of my life for a lot of reasons, but telling the story now because it relates to the subject here of all he and I were on a hill can't in New Mexico and we been successful. I've been successful he was with me. I wouldn't of been successful successful without him. So I gotta say we were successful and after harvesting the animal we had to hike back to camp, which was to an F mile hike back to the truck and drive back to camp and get rid of our gear in my gun and gather up knives and things to process this animal and the time we get back over there and got back up on the mountain. It was starting to get dark and it took us three hours to make this animal down and get him in game bags. We are coming off the mountain in the dark around midnight and we been up and back that the distance from the truck to the harvest site enough times that would kind of had three areas that we designate what we get here were third of the way from here to there. It's the second, third, and then were on the last leg when we get the middle section was a huge huge meadow. It must've been hundred and 50 acre meadow and we come out of the, the aspens and the timber and again it's midnight. There's no artificial light. It's as dark as it can be the only light we've got is a headlamp on our hat and Gabriel says look up look up. I looked up the brilliance of the Milky Way stars just it was unbelievable. No, I wasn't inclined to be looking up. I was looking down trying to keep my feet under me and I had 75 pounds on my back, but I was so thankful for that reminder and I said let's take our packs often we took our packs. Often we set there and just stared up at the sky and reflected on God would create all of this God who set the stars in place a God who named the stars knows of the stars we could see there are millions and billions of stars that we cannot see that he said those in their courses well and it was a time just to be overwhelmed by all of God. I will carry that memory with me for a long long time. Question number seven this past year was your life marked by increased desire and increased appetite for God's truth was God cultivating an increased appetite and desire for him.

There a lot of things that we could point to and look to as signs of spiritual health.

But I think that may be as significant as any. Is there hunger. Is there a hungering and the thirsting for righteousness from God for his truth. And if you think back on 2000 you say you know I was hungering and thirsting for an awful lot of things in, not to the degree ought to God's word in righteousness. And if that's the case, you know, just a recommitment in 2021 Lord in increase the appetite in my life for you for righteousness, for the word of God. And when it's absent when that appetite is absent when you lose your appetite, what conclusion do you draw used to eating to three meals a day, and when your appetite leaves you, what conclusion do you draw I'm sick. There's the present of fever, there's something not right. The same thing is true in the spiritual realm. If you're lacking desire for God lacking desire for truth and righteousness. There is the presence of spiritual sin in your life and it needs rooted out my God cultivate that hunger and thirst for righteousness and for him and for his word again as I'm raising these issues were doing the spiritual a lot of time asking you to evaluate your life.

This is between you and God. A beer see yes that is a consistent reality in my life.

Rejoice in that praise the Lord for that. That's not any credit to you. That's God's working in you, but again we have responsibility to provoke that and develop that or be I see evidence of that. But I really need to grow in that area or see I I've really been negligent here, it's good to be able to think through specific areas and make an assessment to do an audit so we know where we need to give attention question number eight is your life marked by joy or brief pockets of happiness is your life marked by joy or do you just have brief pockets of happiness. You know the difference. Happiness is dependent upon favorable circumstances.

As long as things are going well as long as nobody sick. As long as the cars running as long as the bills are paid as long as you understand there is no friction in my major relationships.

I'm happy long as the Dow Jones is going north and not south. I'm happy as long as my financial advisors happy, I'm happy you you understand that's the root the basis of happiness, but joy something different. Joy is something that's divinely produced is one of the at one aspect of the fruit of the spirit and you can have joy in the midst of calamity you can have joy in the mix. In the midst of tension and trouble because it sourced and go at your resting in God.

You see, happiness is something that comes and goes, because our lives are full of disappointment and challenges and difficulties just nature of life, but joy can be a constant listen to this definition, the Heidelberg catechism states I belong body and soul in life and in death. To my faith in Christ. Nothing can separate me from his love. These are the fixed quantities amid changing circumstances.

These are the soil of joy. Yes, that's the soil of joy, praise the Lord, O my soul and all that's within me praise his holy name, praise the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits with benefits. Forget not all his benefits well. He forgives our sins, he heals our diseases. He's redeemed our life from the pit he crowns us with love and compassion he satisfies our desires with good things. Those are the specifics of the benefits that we have from God, and we need to dwell on those. We need to relish those things we need to rehearse those things and find our joy in those things Jesus said in John chapter 15 verse 11 these things I've spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your may be full. Psalm 1611. You will show me the path of life in your presence is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore and Psalm 43 verses four and five.

Then I will go to the altar of God to God my exceeding joy wire you cast down, O my soul and wire you disquieted within me. Hope in God.

For I yet shall yet praise him the help of my countenance, and my God, you know it's thrilling to be around people that that their lives are anchored and rooted in the God of the Bible they been taught. They have read. They have embraced a God who sovereign talk to a woman briefly over the weekend dealing with a very very difficult, challenging situation that is producing strife and emotional distress, and all the rest, but in the midst of all that she said I don't know what God is doing.

I don't know what he's doing but whatever he's doing.

He's all wise. He's good it'll all be all right. That's it folks.

When were resting and have our life anchored in that God that will produce joy in her life and it doesn't mean that everything is wonderful and rosy as God doesn't make mistakes. This God loves his children he loves his people as God is not limited in his knowledge is not limited in his power. So many things we don't know so many things we can't see, so limited. We are much better to trust that big of a God with all of life and all of its circumstances so as my challenge for you tonight to complete this spiritual audit to think through these areas and and again we had two weeks since I began this spring. Bringing this to conclusion tonight, and I trust that that you have thought about these things and have look forward perhaps to the conclusion of this there are so many other areas that we could address but I know confinement infection tonight so that we can move on. But rejoice that if you are a genuine Christian you are a Christian because God is giving you life and becoming a Christian is not any thing you've done. It's no credit any decision you've made its a transformation if any man be in Christ he is a new creation. God is imparted divine nature to us. Christianity is not something you put on and take off. It's something that changes you from the inside out. So if you are a true believer. Your life is been changed. You are partaker of spiritual life in the place of death your life to God because you're alive to God.

God is committed to your growth and your development but here are areas your responsibilities laid upon us to keep our shoulder to the plow, the keep giving ourselves to the means of grace, that we might grow and develop and become more Christlike in this world and more effective in this. When you think about the sermon on the Mount in the Beatitudes being meek and being P a peacemaker and being all those things count came before being salt and light in the order significant to the degree that you are being made humble being made peaceful being made.

Me being those things you will be salt and light into the degree that you're not your effectiveness as salt and light will be diminished.

So thank you for your interest in your being with me tonight as we've considered the subject conducting a spiritual audit for reflecting on 2020 and looking into 2021. Let's bow and pray father, thank you for these reminders.

Thank you that Peter gives us this warrant to do this thing is he is said I want to remind you always.

Of these things though you know and are established in the present truth. The stars up to remind us so Lord I'm simply a man I trust that you will use me and use my words and that you would stir us up on the love and to good works that way we would be provoked and we would be moved to growth and development in these areas we have considered tonight. Thank you for the word of God, thank you for the people of God, thank you for the purposes of God revealed in Scripture, or we don't need to wonder what it is you're committed to. We don't need to wonder what it is you want to do innocent forests. This is it. And you are a God that is able to incorporate everything every life experience and use whatever it is for this ultimate purpose.

All things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to your purpose and that good is not left for us to define that good is conformity to Christ likeness. So Lord, keep us focused on this reality. Spirit of God bring us to submission in a place of yielded nests as you work in us both to will and to do according to your good pleasure not to him who is able to keep you from stumbling the present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy to God our Savior, your who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.

Amen