TIME TO TAKE INVENTORY

January 3   Time to Take Inventory!  2 Corinthians 13:5

Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina…“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.”  (2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV)
Before the service began one Sunday morning, a parishioner said to his pastor, “If you see me fall asleep while you’re preaching, don’t take it personally. It’s not that your sermon is boring. It’s just that I was taking inventory of all my merchandise last night and I didn’t get to bed until the wee hours of the morning. This is that time of the year, you know. I discovered a lot of merchandise that I didn’t sell during the year. I came to realize how many mistakes I had made. Some shelves were empty and others were full of goods that had not sold. Apparently I had bought too much of what I shouldn’t have and didn’t buy enough of others that were good sellers.” Then he asked the pastor, “Don’t you think that at the beginning of each New Year every one of us should take inventory of our lives?” In one sense, that’s what our devotion is all about: “Examine Yourselves…” The main purpose of an inventory is to determine whether a loss or gain has been realized. We should ask ourselves how our lives have influenced others. We can learn from a look at our past, our present—and even our plans for the future, and what better time than at the beginning of a New Year. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at ourselves. WE NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE PAST… (Reflection)… Count our blessings:
· Health
· Safety
· Friends
· Family
· Material needs
· Answered prayer
· Spiritual progress
Examine the Negative Aspects:
· Trials—teaches us patience and compassion
· Failures—teaches us the value of confession
The benefit of looking at our negative past is so that we will not make the same mistakes again. As the saying goes, “Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat its mistakes again and again.” However, don’t look too long. If you do, you may fall prey to a gloomy disposition which Satan may use to defeat you.
WE NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE PRESENT…
A true, spiritual inventory not only includes a look backward, but also involves a careful examination of our present lives. In order to do this, two things must be scrutinized: (1) our attitudes and (2) our actions. If one of the definitions of a Christian is to share in the concerns of Jesus, we ought to know what they are. Jesus said, “I have come to seek and save the lost.” Evangelism was a main concern of our Lord. He said to His followers, “Learn of me.” Therefore, discipleship was also a primary issue. In John 17, Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them; keep them from evil.” Holiness was something that He was deeply concerned about as well. And these are but three. A careful examination of the gospels will reveal others…                “One day I looked at myself—at the self that Christ can see;
I saw the person I am today and the one I ought to be.
I saw how little I really pray and how little I really do;
I saw the influence of my life—how little of it was true!
I saw the bundle of faults and fears I ought to lay on the shelf;
I had given a little bit to God, but I hadn’t given myself!
I came from seeing myself, with my mind made up to be—
The sort of person that Christ can use, with a heart He may always see.”  Examine yourself! What is the condition of your heart? WE NEED TO TAKE A LOOK TO THE FUTURE…
Each New Year we need to take at least a two-way look so that we can have a proper appreciation of the past and a bright outlook for the future. I have added a third because I believe that our present determines our future to some extent. Change—improvement—progress. That’s the whole purpose of self-evaluation. It’s a good thing to say, “I resolve in my heart.” It’s better to make resolutions and keep them for a while than never to have made them at all!  As you inventory your life, what plans do you have for the New year? What changes? What goals? What resolutions are you going to make with God’s help? May God grant us to so live that the world of which we are a part will know that Christianity is the most powerful and life-changing force in the universe!  On Friday, Ava wrote an encouragement message for her “Papa’” and it said this: “I work for God!”  “You will have an angel where ever you go!”  Thank you Ava: for reminding me about what I am, and to whom I serve.  Inventory your life!  Who are you serving? Embrace…CHANGE…IMPROVEMENT…PROGRESS!  Stay Strong, Stay Focused…THE BEST IS YET TO BE! (Source-Sermon Central)