Faults … everyone has some type of imperfection in their character. A fault can be a bad habit, a character weakness, or a personality flaw.   A fault is not necessarily a sin, but it can become one.  Although a fault may not be a sin, it is an area of weakness that the Devil can use to attack.  It is the fault line, or fracture in a person’s character.  When pressure is applied on that fault line, it can cause a break.

Most of us are not involved in deep sin, but we have faults.  A fault is not necessarily a sin, it more of a pre sin.  The Devil will get you to deny or ignore your faults.  It is what he uses to destroy us.   The effects of it are devastating to our lives and relationships.  In Leviticus, the Israelites made a sacrificial offering of a goat when they became aware of an unintentional sin.  The lesson here for us today is that God expects us to deal with our faults responsibly.

In order to deal with your faults you must,

“Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine.  Test yourselves.  Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you.  If not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” (2 Cor. 13:5 NLT)

God wants us to be genuine people.  We should model King David, who was called a man after God’s own heart.  He asked the Lord to search his heart and see if there were any flaws; and if flaws did exist, to help him.  As maturing Christians, you must:

1.  RECOGNIZE   YOUR FAULTS.

In order to recognize your faults there are three things that you must do, that no one else can do for you:

1.   Humble yourself

2.   Discipline yourself

3.   Examine yourself

We tend to turn a blind eye to our faults but we must be able to recognize our faults, in order to deal with them. Recognizing precedes healing.  The American Journal of Medicine states, “The health of the 21^st century American will no longer be determined by what the people can get the doctors to do for them.  The health of the 21^st century American will be determined by what the doctors can get the people to do for themselves.”  It is the same principle for our faith.  We must diagnose, before we can treat the ailment.

When there is a problem or fault, we need to recognize it, or we will be blind to what God wants us to work on.   Jesus illustrates,

“Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard Him say this and asked, ‘What? Are we blind too?’ Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” (John 9:40-41 NIV)

It is not sin that destroys God’s people.  Unresolved sin is what destroys them.  Jesus Christ made the sacrifice for our sins, but not for the unresolved sins.  God is not afraid of our faults. We need to cooperate and obey Him, so He can optimize our lives.  There are a lot of fault lines, and Jesus works through those faults with us.

The Lord shows and identifies ours faults as illustrated in Scripture:

“One of their own prophets has said. “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.’  This testimony is true.  Therefore, rebuke them sharply so they will be sound in faith.” (Titus 1:12-13 NIV)

When God shows our faults to us, it is for a reason. He is not afraid of our faults; He wants to use our faults to build up our character.  Jesus says, “For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery.” (Mark 7:21 NIV) In our hearts we have these latent ill desires. It is easy for us to drift into these ill conditions.  When God touches our faults, He wants us to prioritize and work on it.  God want us to,

2. EMPHASIZE HIS LEAD.

The Lord knows our faults and future. By submitting to God’s direction and leadership He will work with us to overcome our faults.  We have a natural tendency to ignore, deny, and blame others for our faults. If we ignore what God prompts us to work on, we will be ill equipped for when pressure is placed on the fault line, which can cause us to snap.

It is important that we give a person permission to speak truth into our life.  That person must love Jesus first and love you second. This person can help identify our faults, so we can recognize it and submit to God to work on them. The truth can be very painful and uncomfortable.  Jesus did not live a life of comforts.  Jesus did not come to Earth so we can be comfortable. 

·     God’s goal is not leisure.  It is ­likeness.

God’s goal is for us is to discern His voice, so we can cooperate with him.   God will touch some area in our life that He wants us to work on. If we ignore, dismiss and not cooperate with him, we might erroneously reinterpret what God wants us to emphasize.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” (Phil. 3:8 NLT)

The Holy Spirit knows what you are going to face, and he is going to emphasize areas in your life that he wants you to work on. Your key part is your cooperation, and with that,

3.  GOD WILL MAXIMIZE YOUR OBEDIENCE.

God’s word says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28 NASB)

Whatever the Devil uses, God will maximize it for Good.  Prioritize the fault that God is showing you.  If it may be anger, laziness, shutting down, etc.….  God will locate what He wants you to work on. He will work with you, strengthen you and turn that fault into an asset.  The Holy Spirit knows where the pressure will be placed on your life and when you are about to throw in the towel.  He’ll work with you, as long as you emphasize His lead and in obedience prioritize and begin to overcome your fault.  This is so because God loves us and He wants us to follow better,

THE PROMISE

WHEN YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR FAULTS AND EMPHASIZE HIS LEAD, GOD WILL MAXIMIZE YOUR OBEDIENCE - CONVERTING A FAULT INTO AN ASSET and A WEAKNESS INTO STRENGTH.

Discussion Questions

1.   What fault does God want me to recognize in my life?

2.    How can I emphasize his lead?

3.    Who do I have to speak into my life?

4.   How can I cooperate with God on my faults?