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Our "Spiritual Five"
Your spiritual fulfillment only matters if you care whether your comfort is real or imagined. Since most of us live in our
imaginations most of the time, it probably doesn't matter how you choose to fulfill your spiritual need, until you are in
a corner. Either you have a helper, or you only have your imagination. If you ignore what God has said
and promised, you will get blind sided and find yourself all of a sudden before the Judge. The blessings and privileges that believers have in Christ are bountiful, to say the least. Scripture
declares, in fact, that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3), indeed, we are complete in Him (Col. 2:10). The outworking of these blessings
means a number of wonderful things in a Christian’s life. When understood and appropriated by faith, they mean peace,
joy, happiness, comfort, encouragement, and significant purpose. But that’s not all, though this is often all you hear
emphasized in many messages and in the conversations of Christians. It certainly seems this is the main focus of many, if
not most people, in our comfort and pleasure-crazed society. However, with our privileges come two more vital concepts:
Our blessings and privileges mean the ability, by the power of God bestowed in those blessings, to
be different from the world as believers in Christ. We can live victoriously over sin and the self-life. They also mean the responsibility
to do so, not in our own strength, of course, but through the ability God gives us through the Savior.
This will be accomplished if we can maintain our growth by keeping our "Spiritual
Fives". These "Spiritual fives" are: PRAYER- 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Why
is prayer important? If God already knows all about you and knows all that He has written, why should you pray? It’s because God created us to have free will. He wants us to come to Him willingly and not as robotic creations.
He has given us a mind to make decisions and the most important decision is about eternity. Even though He knows the future,
we don’t know the future choices we will make. It’s important to live by His guidance to make the right choices.
In the Bible, you will find kings, prophets, and ordinary people like you and me, averted destruction by praying to God.
One prayer stopped the sun, one prayed fire down from heaven, one gained fifteen years to his own life, and one prayer even
saved a whole city. These people prayed intensely to the God who answers prayer.
When you pray, God listens to your cries. When you don’t pray, God feels left out of your life. “He is patient
with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9b). As you pray consistently, you are affirming the existence of God in your life. You are building your faith as you see God’s
hand do His mighty work on your behalf just because you asked.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and
you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who
knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
WORD-Isaih 40:8, Joshua 1:8, Psalms 1:1-3 The Bible is the Word of God.
The Bible reveals God. And because the Bible is the Word of God, because it reveals who God is, it is one of the most necessary
ingredients for having fellowship with God. We need to spend time reading the Word of God to learn about God. It may sound
simple to say, "Read the Word." But many of us have tried without much success. Not only do we need to read the
Word, but we also need to understand it and apply it to our lives. we need t set a time(psalms 5:3) a place(mark 1:35)
and have a plan (Luke 11: 1-2). Here are five practical suggestions on how to go about it. Have a Plan. When you read the Word of God you need to have a plan,
or you'll probably give up very quickly. As the saying goes, if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time. So have a plan.
There are a wide variety of plans available for reading through the Bible. Most reading plans take you through the entire
Bible in one year. It doesn't take a lot of time, and if you will do it regularly, in just one year you will have read God's
Word from cover to cover. Imagine reading through the entire Bible not once, but several times! Since we already know that
the Bible reveals a living God, that's a great way to get to know Him. All it takes is a real desire and a little bit of discipline
and perseverance. Read For Observation and Personal Application. When you read, don't just read to get the job done. Don't just read so you can mark
it off on your plan and feel good that you did it. Read for observation and personal application. Pay attention to details.
Ask yourself, "What's taking place here? What does God have to say? Is there a personal application for my life?"
Ask Questions. You're going
to come to passages you don't understand. I often come to passages I don't understand and I ask, "Lord, what does this
mean?" There are things I still don't understand that I've asked about years ago. You see, God hasn't told us everything
(I Corinthians 13:12). There are critics out here who want us to give them all the answers to tough questions like, "Where
did Cain get his wife?" Well, the Bible doesn't tell us. If God had wanted us to know, He would have told us. The Bible
doesn't tell us everything, but it does tell us all we need to know in this life. God wants us to ask questions, and He will
answer many of those questions. But we must know that complete understanding will only come when we see the Lord face to face.
Write Down Your Thoughts.
This is just a suggestion that has helped me. I've been doing it for years. As I sit at my computer I type out the questions
I have for God. Sometimes even when I'm driving during the day, after I've had my devotional time and I'm thinking about the
Lord and meditating on a scripture I've read, God will give me a thought or an insight. When God tells you to do something,
you should write that down, too. If God tells me to do something, I'll write it down because I forget easily. Pay attention
to the voice of God. Sometimes He will tell you to do something and at first you may not recognize it as His voice because
you're expecting something big and important, like when He told Jonah, "Go to the great city of Ninevah and preach
against it." But God may say very ordinary things like, "Cut the grass" or "Clean up your desk."
He may tell you to write a letter or take someone a meal. So learn to listen for the little things God tells you, as well
as the big things. And if necessary - write it down! Respond. After God speaks to you, you need to respond. This is probably the most important
of all. If you just read the word and know what it says, what good has it done you? God's intention is not only that we know
His word, but that we do His word. Knowing it means nothing if we don't do it. James wrote about this in James 1:22-26:
WORSHIP: Psalms 34:1, Psalms 119:164
The purpose of our worship is to glorify, honor, praise, exalt, and please
God. Our worship must show our adoration and loyalty to God for His grace in providing us with the way to escape the
bondage of sin, so we can have the salvation He so much wants to give us. The nature of the worship God demands is the
prostration of our souls before Him in humble and contrite submission. James 4:6, 10 tells us, "God resists the
proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift
you up". Our worship to God is a very humble and reverent action. God seeks true worshippers, and He identifies them as those who "worship
Him in spirit and in truth". Worshipping God in spirit means that it must be done from the heart. Worshipping
God in truth means that it must be done according as God has specified in the Bible. Worshipping God in spirit and in
truth is a serious matter which must not be taken lightly. If we have any regard for our own souls, we will want to
make sure we are worshipping God in spirit and in truth.
Our
worship not only honors and magnifies God, but it is also for our own edification and strength. Worship helps us develop
a God-like and Christ-like character. We become like unto those we admire and worship. When we worship God we tend to
value what God values and gradually take on the characteristics and qualities of God, but never to His level. As Philippians
2:5 says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ." How do we take on the mind of Christ?
In Romans 12:2 we read, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
We renew our mind as we study and meditate on God’s word and worship Him.
FELLOWSHIP: Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 10:25 Today,
churches have fellowship halls, fellowship dinners, and fellowship retreats, but very few have real fellowship. Yet for a
church that seeks to be guided in principle and practice by the New Testament, fellowship is very important. Our
English word, “fellowship” is the translation of the Greek word, “koinonia.” This Greek word
is derived from the root, “koinos,” which was a prefix in ancient Greek. If you were to add this prefix
to words meaning “living,” “owning a purse,” “a dispute,” and “mother,” you
would get words meaning “living in community together,” “owning a purse in common,” “a public
dispute,” and “having a mother in common.” So we see that the root of the word, “fellowship,”
means “to hold something in common.” The Greek word, “koinonia,” was
used to describe corporations, labor guilds, partners in a law firm, and the most intimate of marriage relationships. From
the usage of the word, we can conclude that fellowship is a word denoting a relationship that is dependent on more than one
individual. It is an interdependent relationship.
People
often do not take part in a church because they see no clear purpose. Our purpose is to show God’s glory to the world
in all the many ways He has instructed us in the Bible. We participate together seven days a week to glorify God, to do it
His way, and to do it together. We can practice fellowship by taking
an active part where you can best help with this goal. You can discover where you can best help by recognizing your spiritual
gifts and natural abilities and by knowing the needs of your church. Then help where you can make not just yourself, but the
church as a whole, to be the most fruitful. If you do not know your spiritual gift, pitch in where you have a natural ability.
As you work with others, your gifts will surface and you’ll find places you might function in your church according
to your gifts and abilities.
LORDSHIP: 1 Corinthians 15:31, Luke 9:23 We make Jesus
the LORD of my life by: Submitting your will to His LORDSHIP- Romans 12:1-2,Luke 6:46-49. When we submit to the
Lordship of Jesus, we are inviting Him into our home and all that it represents. Imagine you invited Jesus to your
home and took Him from room to room, showing Him around and asking Him to be the Lord of your life…
- The Study or Library –
This would represent the intellectual center of your life. Invite Jesus to look around at the books and magazines your read.
Imagine that He sits down at your computer and searches the “History” on your internet browser. Maybe in letting
Him do this, you feel a little uncomfortable and realize there are some things you need to get rid of, some things you need
to throw away. Maybe you need to change your internet habits and install a filtered system so you can not visit the same places
you have been visiting on the web. The Biblical counsel for this room is clear: (Philippians 4:8).
- The Dining Room – This would represent the appetites and desire of your life. In this room, Jesus sees the things
that you desire the most in this life. As He looks around, with some He sees their stock portfolio and money, for others He
sees their diplomas, degrees and awards. Maybe you feel a little chagrinned as this room cuts to the very core of what you
want most in life. Again, the Bible’s counsel is clear, to make Jesus the Lord of my life, I need to “seek
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33)
- The
Family Room – This would represent the relationships
in your life. In this room we invite Jesus to view our relationships with those of our family. As He walks through this room,
He sees the angry fight you had with your spouse last night—He hears the shouts, sees the looks of seething anger, and
watches you slam the door as you walk out. Looking around a little more, He sees you ignore your child’s request for
a little play time together or your exasperation over their needing help with their homework. Establishing Jesus as the Lord
of my life, I will follow the Bible’s counsel: “let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as
himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:33, p. 1041). And also, “Fathers,
do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord…Children, obey
your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Ephesians 6:4, 1)
- The Garage or Shop
– This would represent your work, job or
career in life. When He comes out to the shop, He looks around what you do for a living and how you behave while you are at
work. Does He see you slacking off and being lazy whenever the boss is not watching? When He looks at how you treat others
at work, is that you talking behind the back of one of your co-workers, or getting mad when you don’t get your way?
Here is how the Bible addresses the theme of Jesus’ Lordship regarding my work: “whatever you do, do it heartily,
as to the Lord and not to man” (Colossians 3:23,). Also, “Whatever you want men to
do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12,).
- The Office or Desk – This would represent the financial center of your life. Coming back inside the house,
here you invite Jesus to sit down at your desk and look over your financial books. He sees how and where you spend your money.
He sees your contribution amount and how much you spend on entertainment. Here is what the Bible says to those who make Jesus
the Lord of their lives: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy
and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”
(Matthew 6:19-21, p. 854).
- The Game Room – This would represent the entertainment of your life. As you lead Him down the hall, you show
Him into the game room and it is here that Jesus sees how you entertain yourself. He glances over toward the TV and sees what
you spend your time watching. Looking around, He spots your DVD collection and looks through the movies you’ve purchased
or rented—He turns them over and reads the movie rating and examines the content of each one. He looks over at your
stereo or Ipod to see what the music is like that you listen to. He views your video games and every other sort of entertainment
you use. Along these lines, the Bible counsels, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the
issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23, p. 563), and “out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are things which defile a man…”
(Matthew 15:19-20, p. 864).
- The Closet – This would represent all the things you try to keep hidden & closed up in your life. We now come
to the last and final room of your house. This is the room you don’t want anyone to see; this is the room you’ve
actually passed by several times in showing Jesus around…but each time you glance over at it and then walk right by
again. This small, dark and dank room contains all my past hurts, wounds, pains and times of lonely suffering. This room holds
all the deep dark secrets of my past that keep popping up and reminding me of just how weak I am. Also, in the back corner
of this closet are the things I want no one else to know about—my shortcomings, my weaknesses and my sins. Jesus looks
into the closet and you expect Him to turn in anger or disgust, but He doesn’t; He begins picking the items up one by
one and placing them in His pockets and tucking them under His arms and as He leaves your house, He carries all of them with
Him—if you will let Him. As He walks out carrying all your sins, all your secrets, all your hurts and pains, He says,
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are
many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John
14:1-3).--- glory to God
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