SPIRITUAL EXAMINATION PART 5

CHECK OUR PULSE

Revelation 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in
Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven
Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works,
that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

A dead tree never produces fruit. A dead animal never
grows it just deteriorates. So many churches today are
not producing fruit and they are actually already dead
and deteriorating and are not aware of it just like the
church at Sardis.

We must be alive in our service for our Lord. We must be
growing in grace and in Spirit and then we will grow in
number. We can't be satisfied with just keeping the
doors open and having enough people to pay the bills. We
need to be actively pursuing new life for our churches by
reaching the lost.
Go back over the devotionals for this week and re-examine
your spiritual health. If you are not spiritually well a
good dose of prayer and a good soaking in scripture will
help you a lot.

SPIRITUAL EXAMINATION PART 4

AN EYE AND EAR EXAMINATION

Mark 8:18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
So many people are blind to the spiritual truths of the Bible. There are things they have seen in the lives of other people but never have experienced for themselves.Spiritual blindness is the cause of much frustration in the lives of believers. When we open our eyes to the truth in the Word of God it can change our whole attitude and our perspective on life. We then become useful vessels in God's service.
One of the most disheartening things I have experienced as a pastor is to preach on a particular thing over and over and then have someone else preach the same thing and people act as if they have never heard it before. They become so excited as if they have received a new message when all the time they had ears to hear and they heard not. Listen actively to your pastor. The message you receive is not his but is from God.
Sometimes we see and hear but we are too soon to forget the lessons we should have already learned. Don't forget the spiritual lessons you have learned. Incorporate them into your life and live them out everyday.

SPIRITUAL EXAMINATION PART 3

CHECK OUR TEMPERATURE

Revelation 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

So many times we hear the expression that a church is cold and indifferent and we take pride that our church is a warm and friendly church. Look at what Jesus says about lukewarm.
Lukewarm churches are made up of lukewarm Christians. What we need are people who are fired up about their salvation. If we could only muster a little of the enthusiasm found at a sporting event in our church services we could shake up the world.
Your church will never be completely on fire for the Lord until you are. Ask God to build a fire in your heart and get your spiritual temperature to where you can get excited and excite others about the Saving Power of Jesus.

SPIRITUAL EXAMINATION PART 1

2 Cor 13:5) Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

Introduction: We all know that occasionally we need to get a physical examination to see what condition our body is in. Shouldn't we also take time for a Spiritual examination to check our relationship with our Savior. We should ask God to examine us and reveal to us what we are. The next few devotionals will deal with examining our spiritual condition. Just for today I want you to think about this spiritual examination and pray that God will speak to you over the next few days about your relationship to Him.
We need to check some things.
Our Heart
Our Temperature
Our Eyes and Ears
And Even Our Pulse
Before you read each devotional, ask God to show you some things about yourself. Let's pray for each other as we examine our own selves.

BEWARE OF ENTICING MEN

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Through the ages many have been spoiled by weird teachings of one philosopher or another. They are usually mean who know nothing of scripture and reject it without having applied it to their lives.
Most of the times those whose vain deceit lead them astray are not satisfied to go alone. They need to spread their confusion and gain followers to validate themselves.
Paul tells us to beware of these. They follow after the things of the world. The way to be on the safe side is to make sure any teaching is one that will lead you to a closer walk with the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
He can offer eternal life, peace that passes understanding, joy unspeakable and full of glory to those who love him. There is no other religion, philosophy or teaching in the world that can offer this and back it up with their own death, burial, and resurrection.

PERSECUTION

Acts 8:3-4 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. (4) Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

It seems that the early church was much like us. They were comfortable and they all stayed together enjoying their salvation and fellowship with one another.
It wasn't until persecution came that they began to scatter and spread the gospel through the world as Jesus had commanded them to do. They had to be pushed out of their comfort zone before they did that which they were commanded to do.
We certainly can identify with the early church. Most of us are in that comfort zone where we are enjoying our relationship with Christ and our fellowship with other Christians but we are not concerned about those who don't yet know him.
Things are quickly changing in this country. Don't be surprised if persecution comes. It might be the only way we will do the things we should be doing anyway.

SPECIAL OCCASION

Psalms 118:24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Several years ago I received one of those stories that are emailed around and forwarded to everyone because it makes such a good point. It was about a woman helping her brother-in-law pick out the clothing for his wife's (her sister) funeral. He came upon a special piece of clothing that she had bought several years earlier and was saving to wear for a special occasion. "I guess this is the last special occasion she will have the opportunity to wear it." he commented.
I go back every once in a while to read that email because it reminds me that special occasions and special days are the ones we make special. It takes some effort and it takes putting some thought into it but we can do little things everyday to make them special.
When my grandson was younger we used to plan something special for the breaks he got from kindergarten. He still talks about some of those days because we made an extra effort to make them special occasions.
This day is special, the Lord allowed me to be a part of it and that in itself is special. With such a special gift as brand new day I feel kind of obligated to make a special occasion out of each one. I certainly don't want my next special occasion to be my funeral.

TO REMAIN GREAT

Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain GOOD WORKS. These things are good and profitable unto men.

In the 1830's Alexis de Tocqueville toured America. When his tour had been completed, he made this observation (and I paraphrase): " I have toured America, and I have seen most of what you offer. I've seen the richness of the fields and the wealth of your mines. I've seen your industrial might, the beauties of the rivers, the streams, the lakes, and the grandeur of the mountains. I've noticed the abundance of the forests and the marvelous climate with which you are blessed. In none of these things did I see the cause for the greatness of America. It wasn't until I went into your churches that I saw the reason for America's greatness. America is great because America is good; and as long as America is good, America will be great. If it ever ceases to be good, it will cease to be great." (Copied)
How can an nation who has expelled God from the classrooms and other areas of public life call themselves good? How can a nation who will not even protect the unborn child call themselves good? Can we look at the controversy over marriage and family and say that we are good people?
Yet, there is a remnant. There are those who believe that God is the head of government. There are many who believe in the sanctity of life even for the unborn. Multitudes believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman and that some lifestyles are sinful and against God's word. If we are cowed into silence and say nothing even though we know a thing is wrong, is that a good work?
Can America remain great, or have we gone too far?

GOING NOWHERE DOING NOTHING

BY Jeremy BurkesPs 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God:...

We come up behind us riding our bumper like being a few feet closer to and tailgating the car in front of them will get them somewhere quicker. People can be scatter brained and be in such a hurry even they do not know whether they are coming or going. So many times the person riding your bumper doesn't really have anywhere important to be. (Have you ever noticed that the person who will risk your life to pass on a double yellow line will be sitting at the next traffic light when you stop?)
It seems like we are all too busy and in too big of a hurry doing nothing and accomplishing nothing. We can waste God's time by moving to fast.
Sometimes when we are in such a hurry we completely run off and leave God behind. We get so far ahead of where God wants us to be that we wind up lost.
If Satan can keep us running ahead of God he finds us vulnerable to attack. He comes at us in our weakest state.
The Bible says: 2Timothy 2:15 STUDY to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
To stay close to God we need to study His Word and talk to him daily in prayer. When you find yourself in such a hurry that life, and God's purpose for your life seem to be a blur, remember what David said, "Be still and know that I am God."
Remember, the world might be riding your bumper and going nowhere but you can be still and trust God.