Sunday Morning April 26, 2009
Bel Aire Baptist Church
Series: “Moving With God (Exodus)” [#17]
OUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH
Exodus 16:1-17:7
Introduction:
We learned last week that The United States is considered the 2nd busiest place in the world, 2nd only to Japan. With that statistic also comes the same ranking as the least healthy nation in the world, 2nd only to Japan.
This last week, Kim and I had several visits to the doctor. Some of the things that we learned is that our health does matter and that it directs how we perform our daily activities. While talking to Dr. Smith in Lubbock, it became very apparent to me that our spiritual health directs how we handle our daily activities also. This morning I want to ask you to examine the status of your spiritual health.
Exodus 16:1-15
The Israelites were struggling mentally because of their lack of food and water. When we are hungry and thirsty, our mental status is greatly affected. In fact, if not addressed quickly enough, your eating habits and types of food and drink you consume can greatly affect your health. You may be wandering around in the desert just living from day to day. How is your mental health spiritually?
The Israelites were back in the Desert. How quickly we forget things when in the desert. Often times, while wandering around in the desert we forget about the presence, provision, and love of the Lord. We begin to let fear lead our lives.
Fear causes…
* Spiritual Alzheimer’s. You can remember parts of the past, but not in a realistic way. You don’t have any short-term memory- Just an inaccurate account of the “Good ‘ol days” that weren’t really that good.
* Spiritual Bipolarism. When things are good you treat people well, but when stresses occur; you turn into a monster. You start blaming others, complaining about everything, and try to get everyone else in an uproar.
* Spiritual Tourette’s. All of a sudden your mouth just starts saying inappropriate things. You start saying things that just should not be said.
In order to maintain proper spiritual mental health, we must…
1. Replace fear with faith.
How do we do that? We need to treat these spiritual mental diseases and we need to apply preventative things to our lives to keep them from happening.
* The prescription for Spiritual Alzheimer’s is a realistic remembrance. Remember the whole picture. Remember how God brought you out of slavery in order to move you forward, not leave you in the past.
* The prescription for Spiritual Bipolarism is love. You can only treat people with what is overflowing from your life. If hate is overflowing from your life, that’s what people will experience from you. If love is overflowing from your life, that’s what people will experience from you. It is only through the love of Christ that we can treat people right even when everything is going wrong.
* The prescription for Spiritual Tourettes is Holy Spirit control. We must allow the Spirit to lead us in what we say. We need to remember the potential damage of our tongue and let it be controlled by the Holy Spirit of God. Our words are an indication of what’s going on in our hearts.
We read of how God provided manna, quail, and water for the Israelites. Our spiritual health is greatly determined by our spiritual diet.
* The Menu:
=> Manna: Manna was a white bread that tasted like wafers made with honey. The word “Manna” means, “What is it”? Our spiritual manna is the Word of God- It is our Bread from Heaven. It is sweet, nourishing, and filling. It is our spiritual carbs. Carbs are needed for energy.
=> Quail: Quail is a small bird that has a tasty piece of meat. 1 quail is equivalent to about 2 chicken nuggets. Our spiritual quail is the deep truths of the Word of God. Christians, we need meat. Meat is protein and it is protein that builds muscle.
=> Water: We know what water is, but do you realize that the hydrogen and oxygen that makes it up is what keeps our body functioning. You will not live long without water. Our spiritual water is the Holy Spirit of God.
In order to maintain a proper spiritual nutritional level, we must…
2. Be filled with the Word and Spirit of God.
* The Routine:
We need to eat regularly. We should eat until we are full and we should eat often. The daily recommended amount of meals is 5 per day.
We should be eating of the Word of God often throughout the day. We need to eat of that which God gives us that day. Don’t try to make today’s Word last for several days. The Lord has more for you than just once in a while.
While there was quail, the quail was primarily for the evening meal; but the manna was for all meals. Meat is necessary and good, but nutritionist tell us that we need about 80% carbs compared to about 15% protein. We need to dig into the meat of the Word of God; but don’t spend all of your study on the deep theological things. You need daily practical application for the energy to go through the day in a godly manner. Without energy from the Bread, you won’t have the energy to build muscle which will make the meat pointless.
We need to drink water all the time. Nutritionist say that if you wait until you are thirsty to drink that it is too late. We should be filled with Spirit of God and walk in the Spirit at all times. You will not be satisfied apart from the Spirit of God.
In order to maintain a proper spiritual mental and spiritual nutritional health, we must…
3. Walk faithfully.
It is important that we eat properly and we consider our mental state, but without exercise none of these things will do what they are supposed to.
The doctor told us that we should have aerobic exercise for 45 minutes a day, 6 days a week. The most common form of aerobic exercise is walking.
We must use the energy and strength that we receive from our spiritual intake of food and water to do something. We are supposed to accomplish those things in which God has called us to do each day and we can only do that if we are exercising those gifts and talents in which God has given us.
Conclusion:
How is your spiritual health? If it isn’t so good- If you have some of these spiritual diseases- If you are spiritually weak- Then you have the prescription, the diet, and the exercise plan in which to be brought to the spiritual health that God wants from your life. What you must do is do it. You have to make the choice to do these things.
