WITH THE HELP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, I HUMBLY, BOLDLY, AND COURAGEOUSLY ASK HIM TO SEARCH ME AND REVEAL TO ME THE TRUE CONDITION OF MY HEART, TO SHOW ME MY ANXIETIES OR FEARS, AND POINT OUT TO ME MY SIN AGAINST GOD AND OTHERS IN MY LIFE. ONLY WITH HIS HELP CAN I KNOW FOR SURE, AND IN ALL TRUTH, THE EXACT NATURE OF MY SIN.
Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
As we approach the footwork of Principle 4 by doing an inventory (which is the manifestation and proof of our newfound faith in Christ), we must ask ourselves, are we fearful, anxious, or worried about what we might face? This is not only understandable but is an expected reaction of our flesh or sinful nature. The scripture states that we hate the light as long as we are in darkness, and we fear the possibility that our deeds might be exposed. We have also been humbled by our past to the point that we are now not proud of what we once were, and it now causes us shame, guilt, regret, and remorse.
John 3:19-20 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."
Romans 6:21 "What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death."
Now, as a child of God and believing that we have a loving Heavenly Father, we must accept His way of bringing us closer to Him despite what our feelings try to tell us. We have learned through the scriptures and the fruit that has been born in our new life in Christ, that our feelings or emotions are not a valid or trustworthy compass to the obedience and ways of God. They cannot be trusted in the majority of circumstances. Therefore, we must believe what the scriptures say when they tell us that God loves us, and, therefore, He will discipline us.
Hebrews 12:6-7,11 "For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives." If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
We must remember that the LORD desires us to reason with Him about our true nature and to learn a whole and fruitful way of life.
Isaiah 1:16-18 "'Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together,' says the LORD, 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.'"
God has made everything possible for us to be clean and sober before Him through His Grace. He has made provision for every change that is required for our lives to be abundant and overflowing. He starts by changing the inside of us.
Ezekiel 36:26-27,31"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations."
We need to ask ourselves at this point, why would God, after doing all these good things in us and for us, want us to remember (look at) our "evil ways and deeds" and to loathe ourselves for our "iniquities and abominations"?
Let’s look at what God states in Psalm 36:1-2, "An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes, when he finds out his iniquity and when he hates."
This is confirmed in the New Testament when John states in his first epistle:
1 John 1:8,10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
If we state that we’re without sin, we deceive ourselves and, furthermore, the truth is not in us! In essence, God is telling us that He associates refusal to identify sin with wickedness, and when we deceive ourselves by refusing to identify these things in our lives, it shows that our understanding of His Word is blocked and has no place in us.
"To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). John states, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). This is our assurance and our call to obedience, to proceed as God would have the right and our willingness to allow Him to search us, to know us, and to try our hearts.
John 15:1-2 shows us the process: "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."
If we truly believe God’s Word shows that this process is biblical and a necessity for us to be clean and sober, we are now ready to obediently begin. Since "confess" means to identify and acknowledge, we can begin the process of doing this by asking the Holy Spirit to guide us in identifying to what extent the strengths and weaknesses (personality traits) in our lives manifest themselves. It also shows the full extent and truth of our repentance as we do everything possible to have our lives restored by Christ.
2 Corinthians 7:10-11 "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter."
We will get some idea of this as we check the appropriate columns in the following inventory below. Be sure of the following promises as you begin this process.
Philippians 1:6 " . . . being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; . . . "
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."
Hebrews 13:20-21 "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."
Copyright © 2004, 2008 Randall Nurmi
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