How to Check Your Vital Signs
Rom 6:11-14 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
• The obvious craze in America during the past decade or so has been the Fitness
• According to the Centers for Disease Control, 60% of Americans still do not exercise regularly, while 25% do not exercise at all.
• Tragically, deception based on appearance is not confined to the world of physical fitness, but is also found in the family of God.
• For example, if one were to base a judgment on media reports and our sight, then one might conclude that with more “mega-churches” than the world has ever known, the family of God is not only healthy but also thriving.
• Yet upon closer examination, much like the health of our citizens, the Church, or the Family of God, is not as healthy as we appear.
• In order to have a healthy church, we must have spiritually healthy Christians.
• It is imperative that we know what good spiritual health really is, and not just assume that because we are believers we are in the best shape available.
• This text teaches us three of the many vitals signs of a healthy Christian. To be spiritually healthy:
I. We Must Have The Right View
a. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
b. A spiritually healthy person has a proper view of self. In this text, the words “count” mean to consider or to view.
c. How we view ourselves has much to do with how we behave.
d. Our spiritual sight must be based on our faith in God and not any trust in self.
e. It is impossible for us to consider ourselves “dead to sin” without our relationship with Jesus Christ as our savior.
f. It is because of Him that we are able to have victory over death and sin
g. Therefore, since we now consider ourselves dead to sin, the door is opened for us to view ourselves in the context of a new and spiritually healthy condition. This is known as being “alive unto God”.
h. Just as physical life is demonstrated by certain signs, so must spiritual life show some sign of its existence.
When Benjamin Franklin was 27 years old, he decided he would take control of his life. He selected 12 virtues he wanted to acquire, and kept a daily chart of his progress in the development of each one. Whenever he missed the mark, he put a black dot beside that virtue. His goal was to ultimately have no dots on the chart. This method contributed to Franklin’s success as an inventor, publisher, and statesman.
II. We Must Have The Right Authority
a. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
The Japanese introduced a tree to the world that is called a Bonsai tree. It is measured in inches instead of feet as other trees are measured. It is not allowed to reach anywhere near its full growth potential but instead grows in a stunted miniature form. The reason for it growing in stunted form is that when it first stuck its head out of the ground as a sapling, the owner pulled it out of the soil and tied off its main tap root and some of its branch feeder roots and then replanted it. By doing this, its grower deliberately stunted its growth by limiting the roots ability to spread out and grow deep and take in enough of the soils nutrients for a normal growth. What was done to the Bonsai tree by its owner is what Satan has purposed to do to the believer, if he can. He is going to try to tie off our tap root of prayer. He wants to limit our receiving in prayer what God supplies for our spiritual growth.
b. As the result of viewing ourselves properly, we now have the opportunity to live under the proper authority.
c. Everyone, whether saved or lost, lives under some authority. We live under the control or authority of self or God
d. Perhaps the most difficult problem we face is that many of us are attempting to live under both authorities.
e. This is unhealthy for us both physically and spiritually – “a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways
i. “No one can serve two masters”
f. Yet when we are in good spiritual shape, we recognize that there is only one legitimate authority in this universe. That authority not only rests with God, but it is God. His authority is His very essence; He is authority.
g. Knowing this we can be assured that obedience to Him places us under rightful and legitimate authority.
III. We Must Have the Right Action
a. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
A HUNTER, not very bold, was searching for the tracks of a Lion. He asked a man felling oaks in the forest if he had seen any marks of his footsteps or knew where his lair was. "I will," said the man, "at once show you the Lion himself." The Hunter, turning very pale and chattering with his teeth from fear, replied, "No, thank you. I did not ask that; it is his track only I am in search of, not the Lion himself."
b. When we have the right view of self, and the right authority operating in our lives, then it stands to reason that these should produce the right action in our lives.
c. This is the healthiest response to the saving work of Christ in our lives.
d. Paul is saying that in order for right action to follow the right view and the right authority; then WE must make a presentation.
e. A true sign of spiritual health is the humble gift of self to God for His use.
f. Many times we define spiritual health based on actions that may not be of priority to God.
i. Certainly the Lord wants us to be givers, for sure He wants us to treat our neighbors as we would be treated, but perhaps spiritual health can be summed up in an act of love, our humble submission to Him to do His will.
g. This is the essence of a spiritually healthy persons – not perfect, but humbly submitted to God in all things, even when error is present
h. Spiritual health is not as difficult as we seem to have presented it to be.
i. God simply wants us, all of us.
i. He wants our entire self, our being and our very essence to be humbly submitted to Him.
ii. This is the kind of life He wishes to inhabit and use for His Glory.
Back when the telegraph was the fastest means of long-distance communication, there was a story, perhaps apocryphal, about a young man who applied for a job as a Morse code operator. Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the address that was listed. When he arrived, he entered a large, noisy office. In the background a telegraph clacked away. A sign on the receptionist’s counter instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office. The young man completed his form and sat down with seven other waiting applicants. After a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in. Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on. Why had this man been so bold? They muttered among themselves that they hadn’t heard any summons yet. They took more than a little satisfaction in assuming the young man who went into the office would be reprimanded for his presumption and summarily disqualified for the job. Within a few minutes the young man emerged from the inner office escorted by the interviewer, who announced to the other applicants, "Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but the job has been filled by this young man." The other applicants began grumbling to each other, and then one spoke up, "Wait a minute--I don’t understand. He was the last one to come in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That’s not fair." The employer responded, "While you have sat there the telegraph has been ticking out the following message: "If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours." A man’s entire livelihood, indeed his life, depends upon his ability to discern the meaning of these words: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
Let’s play ‘Let’s Pretend’. Let’s pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel abroad and stay there until a new branch office gets established. I make all the arrangements to take my family and move to Europe for six to eight months. And I leave you in charge of the busy stateside organization. I tell you that I will write you regularly and give you directions and instructions. I leave and you stay. Months pass. A flow of letters are mailed from Europe and received by you at the national headquarters. I spell out all my expectations. Finally, I return. Soon after my arrival, I drive down to the office and I am stunned. Grass and weeds have grown up high. A few windows along the street are broken. I walk into the Receptionist’s room. She is doing her nails, chewing gum and listening to her favorite disco station. I look around and notice the wastebaskets are overflowing. The carpet hasn’t been vacuumed for weeks, and nobody seems concerned that the owner has returned. I asked about your whereabouts and someone in the crowded lounge area points down the hall and yells, "I think he’s down there." Disturbed, I move in that direction and bump into you as you are finishing a chess game with our sales manager. I ask you to step into my office, which has been temporarily turned into a television room for watching afternoon soap operas. "What in the world is going on, man?" "What do you mean?" "Well, look at this place! Didn’t you get any of my letters?" "Letters? Oh yes! Sure! I got every one of them. As a matter of fact, we have had a letter study every Friday since you left. We have even divided the personnel into small groups to discuss many of the things you wrote. Some of the things were really interesting. You will be pleased to know that a few of us have actually committed to memory some of your sentences and paragraphs. One or two memorized an entire letter or two - Great stuff in those letters."
"OK. You got my letters. You studied them and meditated on them; discussed and even memorized them. But what did you do about them?" "Do? We didn’t do anything about them." (Improving Your Serve, Chuck Swindoll)
