A Spiritual “Check-Up”… Know the Bible Study Series PART 1

Introduction Some people wait until they are sick to go to a doctor…others have check-ups. Spiritually, people do the same thing. Should we wait until we are in “trouble” before knowing our health status? In this lesson, lets take a spiritual “check up” to see how healthy we are!

2 Cor. 13.5 “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.” - NKJV

James 1.22-25 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” - NKJV  We can know our spiritual health by looking into the mirror of God’s Word and comparing our lives.

Let’s Check on… Our heart Our eyes Our hands Our growth Our evangelism Our benevolence Our worship

Our Heart… Our heart needs to be pure. We speak what comes from our heart. As we think in our hearts, so are we. Many suffer from heart problems today. The heart can be repaired. Outward actions are not enough, God knows and desires us to act sincerely, from our hearts!

“Blessed are the pure in heart, Matthew 5.8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” - NKJV

Matthew 5.28 “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” - NKJV

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6.21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - NKJV

Matthew 12.35 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” - NKJV

Matthew 15.8 “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.” - NKJV

Luke 18.1 “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,” - NKJV

Luke 24.32 “Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” - NKJV

Acts 2.37 “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ ” - NKJV

Hebrews 3.12 “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;” - NKJV

Our Eyes… There are numerous problems of the eye Blindness is not the only problem Shortsightedness can hurt us spiritually We need to have goals and a vision of our own spiritual successes! What do you see for yourself spiritually: Next year? Next 5 years? Next 10 years?

Matthew 13.15 “For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ ” - NKJV

Matthew 13.16 "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; ” - NKJV

Acts 26.15-18 “So I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.' ” - NKJV

Ephesians 1.15-20 “Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,”  - NKJV

Revelation 3.18 “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” - NKJV

2 Peter 1.8-11 “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  - NKJV

Our Hands… God wants us to work at honest and honorable jobs for our employment Symbolically, our actions are on “our hands” or are our responsibility We cannot wash our physical hands to cleanse what is accounted to us When we have “clean hands and pure hearts” we are righteous before God!

Ephesians 4.28 “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” - NKJV

James 4.8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” - NKJV

I Timothy 2.8 “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;” - NKJV

Our Growth… We expect infants to grow, children and teens to grow to maturity Something is definitely wrong when proper growth does not occur Proper growth is not to be confused with activity or progressive actions Diet and exercise are key ingredients Proper growth includes spiritual strength Let’s look at a few passages concerning our growth in this spiritual check-up

I Peter 2.2 “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,” - NKJV

2 Peter 3.18 “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever.”  - NKJV

2 Corinthians 13.9,11 “For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, that you may be made complete. Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”  - NKJV

To Be Continued…