Spiritual Equilibrium: Part 1
Scriptures: Ephesians 6:12; Galatians 5:17; Matthew 4:1-4
The title of my message this morning is “Spiritual Equilibrium” and we will be dealing with this subject for the next two weeks.
Several years ago I developed some seasonal allergies that led to fluid building up in my inner ear. I knew something was off because when I moved my head too fast the room would continue to spin. When I was driving everything that I looked at seemed to move and if I moved my head too fast I became nauseated. When I went to the doctor to find out what was going on, they identified the problem and I was unable to drive for a week while the fluid slowly drained from my ears. Our inner ear plays a direct role in our equilibrium. If you recall from my message last week, I had Justin come up and stand on one foot with his eyes open. As longs as he had his eyes open he had no problem standing on one foot. Then I had him do it with his eyes close and you saw what happen. He started swaying and getting off balance and quickly opened his eyes to readjust himself. But it did not stop there. You all know how Justin hates to lose. Well he came into my office after Church saying that he could do it. I told him I would give him $50 if he could do it until I told him to stop. He tried again ad needless to say I did not have to pay him.
The reason that I knew I would not have to pay Justin is because the body’s balance system works through a constant process of position detection, feedback and adjustment using communication between the inner ear, eyes, muscles, joints and the brain. Deep inside the ear, positioned just under the brain, is the inner ear. While one part of the inner ear enables hearing, another part, called the vestibular system, is designed to send information about the position of the head (dynamic or static) to the brain’s movement control center, the cerebellum. Dynamic equilibrium lets us know the direction in which our head moves in three-dimensional space and also gives us information about rotation. Static equilibrium helps us to detect the positioning of our head relative to gravity; it helps us realize which way the head is tilted.
The inner ear balance mechanism works with the visual system (eyes and the muscles and parts of the brain that work together to let us see) to stop objects blurring when the head moves. It also helps us maintain awareness of positioning when, for example, walking, running or riding in a vehicle. In addition, sensors in the skin, joints and muscles provide information to the brain on movement, the position of parts of the body in relation to each other, and the position of the body in relation to the environment. Using this feedback, the brain sends messages to instruct muscles to move and make the adjustments to body position that will maintain balance and coordination. If the signal from one of the structures is inhibited, our equilibrium will be affected as signals from all is needed to maintain balance. This is why Justin (or anyone else) could not stand on one foot with his eyes closed and why my equilibrium was off when I had excess fluid on my ears. In both cases one of the sensory signals was being inhibited and could not fully communicate with the others causing the equilibrium to be off.
Equilibrium is defined as “a state of balance between opposing forces or actions that is either static (not moving) or dynamic (vigorous activity.)” In other words equilibrium means to have balance; you’re not too far to the right and you’re not too far to the left. This is what it means in natural terms. Spiritual equilibrium is a little bit different. We all know that in the spiritual realm there are opposing forces. Let me give you two examples. First we have an enemy who is actively opposing us. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.” We have an enemy who we are in a constant battle with and in order for us to maintain “equilibrium” we have to constantly be on guard and ready to take action. Second our flesh is constantly warring with the Spirit. Galatians 5:17 says, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” As it relates to our flesh warring against the Spirit, keeping our spiritual equilibrium is totally up to us. While we can only respond to and always be prepared for whatever Satan throws against us, when it comes to our flesh warring against the Spirit, we control that. This is the area I want us to focus on this morning.
So let’s all get on the same page with a natural example of equilibrium (or balance). Think about a scale that is balanced. Whatever you add to one side must also be added to the “opposite” side in order for the pole to remain balanced. When God created our bodies, He created them to maintain homeostasis which is another word for equilibrium or balance. An example of this is the relationship between carbohydrates, insulin and weight gain. Although I am using carbohydrates to illustrate this example, this also applies to all other types of food that we eat. When carbohydrates are eaten, the stomach digests it and breaks its down into another type of sugar called glucose. The stomach and small intestines absorb the glucose and then release it into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, glucose can be used immediately for energy or stored in our bodies to be used later. In order for this to happen, insulin is needed. In simple terms, insulin takes the glucose from the bloodstream and transports it into the body muscle and tissue. So whenever there is an increase in glucose in the bloodstream, there is a release of insulin to take the glucose from the blood steam so the body can use it. Whatever is not needed by the body immediately is stored for later use. When everything is working as it should, homeostasis (balance is achieved.) In a perfect world a person would only eat what is needed by the body for a given day based on their activity. When this happens a person can maintain their weight – no loss of weight and no weight gain. If, however, a person eats less than what the body needs to maintain their weight, insulin will convert the stored glucose from the body to compensate for what is missing which ultimately lead to weight loss. If a person consistently consumes more calories than they needs, they will gain weight because the insulin will take the excess glucose and store it in the body.
When the body is working as it should, insulin is released only when it is needed maintaining homeostasis. This is not the case with someone who has diabetes. When a person has diabetes their body does not produce enough insulin to remove the blood sugar from the blood stream after a meal resulting is excess glucose in the blood. The increase of sugar in the blood causes the blood to thicken and be unable to penetrate the smaller blood vessels throughout the body which can results in blindness, amputations of lower extremities and strokes. As the heart works extra hard to pump the overly thick blood throughout the body it eventually wears out leading to heart attacks and potentially death. All of this happens when the body is not in balance as it relates to how much sugar is floating around in our blood streams. Equilibrium is important to how our bodies functions and without it we will cease to function. The goal of all medical treatments is to get the body back into equilibrium as much as possible. Now if it is that important to be in equilibrium physically, imagine how important it is to be in spiritual equilibrium.
Spiritual equilibrium, as it is with physical equilibrium, is acquired and maintained based on the choices we make. Our daily choices demonstrate our understanding of who we are in Christ and if we are spiritually in a balanced state. Acquiring and maintaining balance requires not only that we understand who and whose we are, but also what we have in our possession in order to be that person. When we understand this our choices begin to change. For example, if a person knows that they can fight (they possess the ability to do it well) and they choose to keep it under control, they maintain balance. They are in balance because they are in control of how they use their skills. If someone tries to bully them, the knowledge of knowing that they possess the skills required to defeat the bully is more powerful than them actually doing it. The power does not come from taking action but in walking away and ignoring them because in this they are controlling the situation. Now consider the bully. Some bullies are physically bigger, but do not really want to physically fight. They get their bluff in because if they can convince others that they are “bad” then they never have to prove it. The bully’s power comes not from his being able to hurt someone, but the “perception” that he could hurt someone. The person who knows how to fight makes a choice based on reality while the bully’s influence is based on perception. Influence (power) that is based on perception is not real power. This is why we need to walk in the reality of who and Whose we are!
Turn with me to Matthew 4:1-4. I want to examine the story of Satan tempting Jesus to give us three areas where we need to have spiritual equilibrium. This morning we will examine Jesus’ first temptation and we will cover the last two on next Sunday. Before we read the story in book of Matthew, I want to remind you that when Jesus was in heaven, Satan knew Him. Jesus was there when Satan was kicked out of heaven. So Satan knew of the eternal existence of Jesus. Now when Jesus came to the earth to save mankind, Satan again knew that He was coming. Now here is what we need to understand: Satan tried to kill Jesus when He was a baby but he failed. When Jesus grew into a man, Satan understood that his best way of defeating Jesus would be to have Jesus fail in His assignment. Satan knew that his fate and the fate of mankind’s relationship with God the Father rested on the shoulders of Jesus the Christ. Let’s begin reading at verse one.
Physical Needs/Wants
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:1-4)
Notice how Satan waits until after Jesus had fasted for forty days before he approached Him. Jesus’ body was tired and He was hungry – a dangerous combination for someone who is not spiritually in equilibrium – and Satan chooses this moment to come and tempt Him. While Satan knows that He is the Son of God he also knows that Jesus was walking the earth as a man and subject to the same temptations as other men. Knowing that Jesus was hungry, tired, and a man, Satan attempts to get Jesus to prove that He was the Son of God by asking Him to turn a stone into bread. Jesus was very hungry and bread would have been very pleasurable to the body. However, the consequences of Jesus accepting that challenge were great. If Jesus turned a stone into bread He would have sacrificed His relationship with His Father and failed in His mission from His Father. He was our sacrificial lamb – one without a blemish. If He had given in to the needs of His body, He could no longer be the perfect sacrifice. And, without His sacrifice, we would not be able to have our relationship with the Father.
We eat because we need food, but Jesus’ reply to Satan speaks to something else we need more than food – the Word of God. If Jesus had turned a stone into bread He would have had something to eat; proven He was the Son of God; but ultimately He would have sacrificed us! It would have meant death for us – in this life (physical) and in the life to come (spiritual). Jesus told Satan that He could go without food but He couldn’t go without the Word of God. If Jesus needed the Word of God to survive His tests, what about us? Satan had a perception of what could possible make Jesus fail, but Jesus knew the reality of the situation. He knew He would physically eat again and He also knew that if he accepted Satan’s challenge we would never eat at His Father’s table. That was His reality and Satan did not understand it.
The first area we need to get into balance is our physical needs and desires. We must learn restraint. Based on Jesus’ response to Satan it clearly teaches us that we are to take every word of Scripture into our hearts and soul and feed on it. This is implicitly more than just coming to Church once or twice a week and reading a devotional. We have to study in order to implant the Word of God within our hearts and soul. The Word of God has the power to bring nourishment to our lives, even more so than natural food. It will feed us in a way that natural food cannot and it will enable us to make better choices about the natural foods we choose to ingest. I watch our kids sometimes, and I am sure you have seen this also, how when they want something they want it right then – no waiting, hurry up and give it to me now mentality. I also know that as an adult I have had times when I have had these same responses. But to be in balance means that we practice self-control because we understand that this life is only temporary – our true life starts later. Our physical desires and needs must be managed to ensure that we do not sacrifice our mission for one day’s physical gratification.
Just as we must have physical food to survive and thrive, our spiritual nature must have God’s living Word as our daily sustenance if we are to live in His abundance and thrive. It is essential that we live “on” the Word of God if we want to spiritually flourish. To ignore or neglect our spiritual need for the Word is the equivalent of denying our bodies the food that they need to grow, develop, and prosper in health. I want you to see this clearly. When we fast from food, we do not take in food or water for a specified period of time. When we fast our bodies literally starts crying out for something to eat, but we remain steady and do not eat. If you have ever fasted then you know that your senses are heightened when you’re fasting. This is not by mistake. When you’re hungry everything edible smells better. Even food that you normally would not eat smells better. Why? It’s because your body, your flesh, is trying its best to entice you to satisfy its need for food. It does not care about the spiritual aspects of why you’re fasting. It does not care about spiritual things period. All it wants is to be satisfied so it goes into overdrive to get you to eat.
Do you understand that many, many Christians are fasting from God’s Word? It’s like we have fasted for so long that our spirits are not even craving the Word of God. Whereas we should be starving, we are living as if nothing is wrong. Our spiritual blood sugars are so low that they are not able to be read. I am asking you this morning to break your fast. Get back into the Word of God – allow it to feed you the food you really need to live. You are dealing with situations and you do not have the strength or energy to handle, feed on the Word of God. It will not only give you the wisdom you need for the moment, it will give you what you need to be prepared for the next round.
David said, “Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11) Whether we are talking about Christians of the past or us who are living in the last days of this age, the answer for living in a sin-darkened society is the same. We must be people of the “Word” – continually receiving nourishments from God’s living Words.
Jeremiah 15:16: “Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart. For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.”
John 6:26-27: “Jesus answered them and said, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
John 6:51: “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
Romans 10:17: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.”
1 Timothy 4:6: “In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.”
Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
1 Peter 2:1-2: “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”
Jesus told Satan than man cannot “…..Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Are you eating the bread of life every day or are you most often fasting from the Word of God?
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. We are developing more social media streams so please stand by and we will notify you once those channels are up and running. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you. )
