A Spiritual Check-up To Help You To Thrive

Spiritual Check-up time!

Now that most of us have a little extra time on our hands, why not take the time to see where we stand spiritually. It is good to know where we stand.

There are several scriptures we could use to help us with this, but we will use Ephesians 1:15-23. This is part prayer, part report from Paul to the church in Ephesus.

Faith and Love

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

Ephesians 1:15-16 (NIV)

This passage starts with thanksgiving. Paul is thankful for:

Their faith in Jesus.

Their love for God’s people.

We can start here, too. Can we be commended for our faith and love?

Let’s do a spiritual check-up. One word of note: no one will get a perfect score on this test. You have made some progress, maybe even great progress, but you’re not there yet.

Question One – Faith

How is your faith?

• Do you believe Jesus died for your sins?
• Do you believe that he provided eternal, abundant life for you?
• Does your life back up your confession?
• How far does your faith take you out of your comfort zone?
• Your daily lives must project your faith.
  • Prayer as priority. This is the voice of faith.
  • Listening as essential. We cannot hear God without listening.
  • Obedience as routine. When we hear God, he will prompt us to do something.
  • Comfortable with being uncomfortable. Faith always takes us out of our comfort zone. It takes us to the place where we must totally rely on God, not on our own resources.
  • Persecution accepted as a blessing. A life of faith attracts ridicule, isolation and sometimes violence. Jesus told us to consider persecution as blessing.
• Ask God, how am I doing on the faith test?

Question Two – How is your love?

• Do you love God’s people?
• Do you love God’s difficult people?
• Would you sacrifice your life for God’s people? This is the love standard Jesus gave when he told his disciples to love each other as he loved them.
• How far does your love take you out of your comfort zone?
• Our daily lives must project our love.
  • Forgiveness as essential.
  • Unconditional compassion.
  • Hard expressions of love instead of easy avoidance. We cannot avoid those who need love (and everyone needs love).
  • Comfortable with being uncomfortable. Again, we must embrace the idea that as followers of Jesus, we will be called upon to enter situations far from our comfort zone to express the love of God.
• Ask God, did I pass the love test?

Question Three – Wisdom

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

Ephesians 1:17 (NIV)

We are privileged to obtain wisdom for our lives. Here is a description of wisdom. See how well your life measures up to it.

Wisdom is:

• Discernment in all situations.
  • Sensitivity to people
  • Quick to listen – to God and to others
  • Slow to speak
• The ability to apply the truth in those situations – as Jesus would.
• Fine tuned to the truth as found in scripture.
• Grounded in scriptural knowledge.
  • Requires commitment and continual effort
  • Built with time and prayer
• Ask God, did I pass the wisdom test?

Question Four – The Spirit of revelation

• Are you open to hear from God?
• This requires:
  • Faith to believe that God still reveals himself
  • Patience to wait for that revelation
  • Quiet time because God will not shout over the noise of your life
  • Persistence in all these things until you receive that revelation
  • Scriptural foundation for your life because revelation will never contradict the written Word of God
• Ask God, did I pass the revelation test?

These two tests are important because they allow you to know him better. Our spiritual check-up isn’t over yet. How are you doing so far?

• Knowing God is the goal for this prayer.
• Knowing God is essential for us.
• He wants intimacy.
• Allows us to understand his will and ways.
• Helps us to pray better and to follow better.

Hope and Power

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)

Question Five – Hope

What hope has he called you to and does it fuel your spiritual health and passion? Here are just some of the things we can hope for as we follow Jesus. How well are you doing in this area?

• All the promises of Jesus
• Abundant life – already/not yet
• Eternal life – already/not yet
• Someday life with him in heaven
  • Indescribable glory
  • Inextinguishable joy
  • Enveloping presence
• Ask God, do I need to strengthen my hope?

Question Six – Power

This power is dunamis – God’s power. His power is given to his followers.

• God’s power doesn’t work against us.
• When we feel overwhelmed by the enemy we must know that God’s power is greater!
• This is a prayer for our perception of this great power.
• How would our lives be lived if we truly perceived it?
• What would that do to our faith?
• Ask God, did I pass the power test?

Encouragement for your Spiritual Check-up

That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Ephesians 1:19-21 (NIV)

Now Paul is going to explain to us a little about this power that is available for us.

• It is resurrection power.
• It is ascension and exaltation power.
  • Far above literally means above above! Jesus has absolute power and authority over all:
    • Rule
    • Authority
    • Power
    • Dominion
    • Name
    • Now and forever.
• This is the power that is available to us by faith!

And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Ephesians 1:22-23 (NIV)

Finally, Jesus is the head of the church. He is the originator and leader of his people. God accomplished that by his power as well!

• We are the body.
• He directs in ways we often cannot understand.
• Therefore, we do only what the head tells us to do.
• A healthy body does what the head tells it to do.
• To do otherwise would indicate great unhealthiness.
• We do his will in a natural and coordinated way.

Review

How did you do on your spiritual check-up today? When we honestly look at these questions they will help us measure our progress and prompt us to pray and ask God for more help in areas where we are weaker. No failures here – only areas for God to do greater work in and through our lives.