Spiritual Check-Up

Intro - One must always keep up with your health.

Now think about this for a minute. How often do you go to the doctor for a check up?

Just how often do you participate in this type of event?

For me for instance, I see my regular family doctor every six months to hopefully insure I am doing fairly well.

Now when I do this, they check my blood work, kidney function, sugar, thyroid, and various others functions. The hope is to ensure and get a handle on any problems that might be there or discover any thing that might be new to me.

I do this to hopefully be better.... Physically keeping a tab on me.

I bet you all do this as well....

_______

Now let me ask you an additional question...

Do you keep tab’s on your spiritual life?

_______

I think it is just as important to keep tabs on our spiritual health to make sure we are not dead as well

So how do we do it? Well here is what I think, just as we present ourselves to the doctor downtown or up in Norton, we need to present our self to the true doctor, to the Lord to make sure our vessel is healthy, inside and out.

1 Timothy 4:6–10 ESV

6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

There is no set list for what to do and how to do, but we are given several thoughts from the Scriptures themselves to remind us of what we need to be invested in if we are doing to be all that God has planned for us...

1) Prayer

Spending time in God’s presence, with or without words, empowers us. It is a privilege and a gift to be able to commune with God through prayer.

The disciples knew Jesus prayed and they asked the Master to teach them how they might pray. And from , he gave them a model of prayer

Matthew 6:1–10 ESV

1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:9–15 ESV

9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Jesus gave them a clear and purposeful template for prayer. And it one they could understand and follow as they lived in front of God

And as we look at Luke chapter 18, we see that Jesus taught them that they should always pray, never give up in prayer and always be in a state and purpose of prayer day in and day out.

Listen to

Luke 18:1 ESV

1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Luke 18:1–6 ESV

1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.

In this parable, Jesus speaks of the parable of the persistent widow. Just as she refused to give up, we need to never stop approaching the throne of grace to ask our loving Father for help.

And closely related to this idea of persistent prayer is the mindset to stop and listen to God. Listening to God is just as important as praying to God. So the second thought is

2) Listening to God; spiritual journaling:

Listening-paying attention-to God’s whispers in our hearts reminds us that God is active in our lives.

2) Listening to God; spiritual journaling: Listening-paying attention-to God’s whispers in our hearts reminds us that God is active in our lives. Writing down prayers, thoughts, questions, longings and hopes proves meaningful to many people of faith.

John 10:27 ESV

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

So we know without a doubt that God speaks to us, he communicates with us for a variety of reasons, but we know this, When god speaks it is important.

So why not write it down...

So we know without a doubt that God speaks to us, he communicates with us for a variety of reasons, but we know this, When god speaks it is important. Writing down prayers, thoughts, questions, longings and hopes proves meaningful to many people of faith.

Writing down prayers, thoughts, questions, longings and hopes proves meaningful to many people of faith.

Writing down prayers, thoughts, questions, longings and hopes proves meaningful to many people of faith.

Why would it help us to write it down?

It would help us to not forget, it would help us to have it to reference and reflect on later at a time when we have had time to consider and think about His words,

This also helps us act on what we hear from God.. James reminds us that we must do what we hear…

James 1:22 ESV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Hearing and doing go hand in hand, to have one and not act on it is a poor decision, and failing to act has meant that we have deceived our self terribly.

And then we must practice / participate in worship...

3) Private and corporate worship:

3) Private and corporate worship: Praising God opens us to the Holy Spirit, reorders our priorities and redirects our paths. Worship connects us to God on a wholistic level.

Worship is one of the most important accepts of our Christian life. And as such it must have a two fold action in our life, private and corporate.

Private worship begins with us, in prayer each day. We give thanks, we praise and we lift up the name of Jesus.

Praising God opens us to the Holy Spirit, reorders our priorities and redirects our paths. Worship connects us to God on a wholistic level.

And we must participate with a corporate level as well.

Hebrews 10:25 ESV

25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

According to Don Whitney, “There’s an element of worship and Christianity that cannot be experienced in private worship or by watching worship. There are some graces and blessings that God gives only in the ‘meeting together’ with other believers” (Spiritual Disciplines, 92). Surely, many more could be given, but here are five such “graces and blessings” that we experience uniquely in the context of corporate worship.

According to Don Whitney, “There’s an element of worship and Christianity that cannot be experienced in private worship or by watching worship. There are some graces and blessings that God gives only in the ‘meeting together’ with other believers” (Spiritual Disciplines, 92). Surely, many more could be given, but here are five such “graces and blessings” that we experience uniquely in the context of corporate worship.

In worship we have the opportunity to see the truth and plan of God more clearly. , David was troubled at the advance of the wicked but as he worshipped , the fog cleared and he was able to see their true end.

We have assurance when we worship, Elijah feared he was alone in his fight but in worship and prayer God told him he had 7000 reserved who had not bowed thier knee to baal. ()

We also have great joy in Worhisp…

As the Swedish proverb says, a shared joy is a double joy. In corporate worship, the “graces and blessings” In worship we have the accentuated joy of deeper and richer and greater adoration and awe, since our delight in Jesus expands as we magnify him together with others.

4) Bible-reading and study:

4) Bible-reading and study: Meditating on God’s Word keeps us focused on God, rather than on our problems and wants. Through the Bible God speaks to us and guides us personally.

Meditating on God’s Word keeps us focused on God, rather than on our problems and wants. Through the Bible God speaks to us and guides us personally.

Psalm 1 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 1:1–3 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Verse 2 is really key, His delight is in the Word The Word of God is where Joy comes from, for it shares with us the one who brings true life and true joy.

And He mediates on it day and night… The word mediate you have heard me share so many times before.. but it it truly the intake of God’s word and the ultimate focus upon it

And then I will come to the last thought today....

Meditating on God’s Word keeps us focused on God, rather than on our problems and wants. Through the Bible God speaks to us and guides us personally.

6) Loving God and our neighbors:

Putting our faith into practice increases our joy. This is one of the paradoxes of faith: when we submit ourselves to God, we find ourselves-and in an odd way, we are freed.

6) Loving God and our neighbors: Surrendering to God leads us to a life of love. God is love, and when we live and serve in Christ, we experience love ourselves.

Surrendering to God leads us to a life of love. God is love, and when we live and serve in Christ, we experience love ourselves.

The Greatest Commandment is the fullest expression in the law.

Mark 12:28–34 ESV

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

The greatest blessing of life is to live and love God, and allow that to outpour it self to those around us....

Nothing greater

8) Fasting, not necessarily from food-perhaps from TV or something else: Finding time or space to pay attention to God by giving up something else blesses us beyond measure. We need to guard our hearts as well as our time from distractions.

9) Serving others: Reorienting our attitude away from self keeps us on the right track. Following Jesus in serving others heightens our own experience of grace.

10) Fellowship with other believers: Building and being part of a Christian community equips us for sharing and caring, within and beyond that community. The values of God’s kingdom are different than those of the world, so we need the support and encouragement of other believers in order to truly live as Christians in our daily lives.

It’s important to remember that disciplines are not ends in themselves but means to the end of knowing God more deeply. If we seek God, we will find him because he wants to be found. We can’t earn salvation –we are saved through faith by grace () – but we can make the effort to stay spiritually healthy. When we are fully alive in Christ, we are also robust in spiritual health.

Romans 3:24–25 ESV

24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.