Spiritual Bone Density Test
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
SCRIPTURE: - Ezekiel 37:3 “And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest”.
PRAYER: -
OPENING: - There is a commercial on T.V. that deals with a medication called Prolia. In that commercial it makes this statement “Now is not the time to ask Are My Bones Strong” then the commercial ends with a person getting ready to fall somehow and the commercial pauses with the look of fear on the persons face and the question Are you ready?
UNDERSTAND: - A bone is a rigid tissue that constitutes the skeleton in animals and humans. Bones protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, and enable mobility. Bones come in a variety of shapes and sizes and have a complex internal and external structure. They are lightweight yet strong and hard and serve multiple functions.
Although bones may seem like hard and lifeless structures, bones are living tissues with blood supply and active metabolism. Bones make up our skeletons and provide structure and support for our bodies. Not only do they act as a storehouse for minerals that our bodies need, but they store up a very vital mineral for us and that is calcium. Our bodies cannot make calcium it only gets the calcium it needs through the food you and I eat. If we do not get enough calcium in our diet, or if our body does not absorb enough calcium, our bones can get weak, will become brittle or in a younger person they will not grow properly.
According to the Mayo Clinic Website - During a person's lifetime, the body constantly breaks down old bone (through a process called resorption) and builds up new bone. Any time old bone is broken down faster than new bone is made, net bone loss occurs. Bone loss can lead to low bone density (osteopenia), weakness of the bone, and eventually osteoporosis.
The word “osteoporosis” means “porous bone,” if you would take a close look at the bones of someone with osteoporosis their bones are more like Swiss cheese than the spongy appearance of healthy bone. Spongy means absorbent, our bones need to be ale to absorb the calcium and nutrients we need.
WATCH THIS: - Now the commercial for Prolia targets women, however, both Men and Women are at risk for bone loss. Bone loss is not a gender specific issue. Even though bone loss usually occurs later in life for men compared to women, by age 65, men catch up to women and lose bone mass at the same rate.
Bone density, is the amount of bone mineral in bone tissue, that’s the spongy absorbent material inside the bone. The strength of one's bones is closely related to their bone density, the more density the bone has the stronger the bone is.
A bone density test is the only test that can diagnose osteoporosis before a broken bone occurs. The test uses X-rays to measure how many grams of calcium and other bone minerals are packed into a segment of bone. This test helps to estimate the density of your bones and your chance of breaking a bone.
TODAY: - I want to deal with a Spiritual Bone Density to help determine the density of your spiritual bones and keep you from developing spiritual osteoporosis.
WATCH THIS: - Understand without our physical skeleton, without our bones, we would be basically quivering jelly-like blobs of skin and organs. Our bones give us structure, allow us to function and literally allows us to exist.
Let me give the main functions of Bones. Understand God speaks in numbers as well as Word. Numbers have an especially important significance in scripture and also in our bones. 3 is the number of fulness. Past Present Future, Outer Court Inner Court Holy of Holies, Father Son Holy Ghost, Death Burial Resurrection. There are 3 main functions of bones, they are Mechanical, Synthetic, and Metabolic.
1. Mechanical Functions
Protection. Bones are vital for protecting the most important and fragile organs in the body. The chest for example protects the heart, while the skull keeps the brain safe from harm.
Structure. Without bones, the body would have no frame and essentially be an immobile mass of flesh and tissue.
Movement. The bones pair up with the joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles to enable the body to move as it does.
Sound Transduction. Bones are also important for conduction vibrations which allow us to hear.
2. Synthetic Functions
Blood Production. Bone marrow, which is found in the central cavity of the body’s longer bones, is crucial for producing both red and white blood cells.
3. Metabolic Functions
Mineral Storage. With phosphorus and calcium being the two most prevalent examples, the bones of the body store the most important minerals the body needs to function.
Fat Storage. Fatty acids are stored in yellow bone marrow to be called upon as energy reserves when needed.
Growth Factor Storage. Crucial growth factors are stored in mineralized bone matrix.
Acid-base Balance. Bone is extremely affective when it comes to both releasing and absorbing alkaline salts, which in turn helps preserve the pH balance of the body.
Detoxification. The tissue of human bones is capable of removing heavy metal and other toxins from the blood, so as to be stored safely away from the organs and slowly released to be expelled from the body in excretions.
Endocrine Organ. Bones release fibroblast growth factor which controls phosphate metabolism. Fat deposition and blood sugar levels are also controlled by the bones through the release of osteocalcin hormone, which is known to increase insulin production and help reduce excessive fat storage.
Let us take this into the spiritual realm, our spiritual skeleton is therefore formed by our spiritual bones. Our spiritual bone structure without our spiritual bones, we would be basically quivering jelly-like blobs of shouting, tongue talking, faith holding unstable blown by every wind and doctrine beings. Our spiritual bones give us structure, allow us to function and gives us the ability to stand and having done all stand.
Our spiritual bone structure/skeletons are our values, our integrity, and our beliefs for these are the spiritual components that provide us with structure and allow us to act accordingly to the Will and the word of God.
The problem is that many have developed spiritual osteopenia (weaking of the spiritual bone) and some even have spiritual osteoporosis (spiritual bone breakage or deformity).
WATCH THIS: - The Bible says in Galatians 5:9 “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump”. Leaven represents sin.
Sin eats at our values, chews on our beliefs, and devours our integrity, which causes our spiritual bones to become porous and weak until we develop spiritual osteoporosis.
The more we expose ourselves to sins influences, the more we compromise and fail to call sin – sin, allowing every diabolical thing and evil spirit to run Rashad in our lives our spiritual skeletal system is going to continue to become weaker and weaker WATCH THIS until we break something or die.
The Bible says in James 1:14-15 “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death”.
Do you see how sin will literally eat at your bone structure making it less and less dense? I preached the other week a message and, in that message, I posed the question my father presented to me and that was “Why doesn’t the church today experience the signs miracles and wonders that the early church did”? I said in that message that we fail to be like the people of the early church, we fail to be steadfast, and we fail to be daily in communication with God. All this failing has caused many to develop spiritual osteoporosis. Our spiritual skeleton is weak and now deformed. You have seen olde people who are bent over and have the large hump on their back. That is a result of osteoporosis, not enough calcium was being absorbed and now there I a deformity in the spine.
Spiritually we have holes in our values when we see things going on in the world and say well that is just the signs of the times. We have deteriorated in our beliefs and say I guess that is just the way it is going to be. Sadly, our integrity looks like Swiss cheese because so many times we are saying well I don’t want to be offensive. But the
Bible says Holiness without no man shall see the Lord. Yes, the Bible is offensive – it is offensive to sin. Sin robs us of the spiritual calcium needed. Just like in our natural bodies our spiritual bodies do not produce spiritual calcium but is only absorbed through the food we eat. John 6:48 says “I am that bread of life” verse 50 says “This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die”. People are suffering from spiritual osteoporosis because we have been eating the wrong stuff. Bread of Heaven feed me till I want no more.
We can compromise with the world, we must stand against sin, 2 Corinthians 6:17 says “come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord”.
Proverbs 3:7-8 says “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones”.
WATCH THIS: - Marrow is the substance in the bone which produces Red Blood cells. Red blood cells are the cells that work to carry oxygen-rich blood to the cells of the body. Leviticus 17:11 says “For the life of the flesh is in the blood…” but if I may submit the life of the blood is in the bones. We need to make sure our bones are strong.
Someone may be saying well Bishop you’re not preaching to me today because I don’t have any sin. The bible says in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”. Let me inject this right here that is not just talking about being born in sin and shappened in iniquity. The definition of sin is simply to miss the mark.
No doubt somewhere down through the week you have missed the mark, you may have failed to pray, you may have failed to read your word, you may have gotten up out of bed at 3:00 in the morning to go to the bathroom and stubbed your toe on the dresser and the first word out of your mouth wasn’t Thank You Jesus. See we are performing a Spiritual Bone Density Test. I am dealing with the things that cause osteopenia or porous bone it is the breaking down of the spiritual bone mass. A spiritual bone density test has been performed and - O Zion wat’s the matter now you don’t pray like you used to pray! There are holes in your spiritual bone mass.
Understand: - Healthy bones are a sign of good health, but unhealthy bones are a sign of poor health.
Let’s go to scripture and see what causes Bone to lose its density as well has what helps build bone density.
Proverbs 14:30 says “A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness to the bones”. If you are envious of what someone has and you don’t that’s sin and is rottenness to the bone which leads to spiritual osteoporosis.
Proverbs 17:22 says “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones”. A broken spirit, which is depression, drieth the bones cause them to become brittle and unable to support.
Psalm 31:10 says “For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed”. If your life is spent with grief not grief of a loss but constant grief, why is everybody always picking on me. That is the devil trying to cause your bones to become weak and porous. We need to say like Job said Thou He slay me yet will I trust Him.
Let’s build some bone Density Proverbs 15:30 says “The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat”.
Proverbs 16:24 says “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones”. Whose report will we believe we shall believe the report of the Lord.
Isaiah 66:14 talks about a time of peace and comfort and says, “And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies”. Peace and Comfort causes our bones to flourish. Jesus said in John14:26-27
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”.
GOOD NEWS: you can treat osteopenia and reverse the effects before it becomes osteoporosis.
In the natural there are things we can do to strengthen our bones, drink milk because it is full of calcium. Well, we need to strengthen our spiritual bones not just on the milk of the word of God but on the meat.
We need a daily supply and balance of the 5 basic spiritual food groups, 5 being the number of grace, the 5 groups are pray, study, fast, fellowship, and meditate. We need a steady balance of these five things in our lives if we want strong spiritual bones.
A. Pray/Prayer – 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says “Pray without ceasing”.
B. Study/Read God’s Word – 2 Timothy 2:15 says “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”.
C. Fast/Fasting – Matthew 6:16-18 says “When you fast, do not look som
ber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 1so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
D. Fellowship – Acts 2:42 says “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer”. 1 John 1:3 says “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ”.
E. Meditate/Meditation – Psalm 1:2 says, “But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in his Law doeth he meditate day and night.”.
Not only do we need to eat of the 5 Spiritual food groups we need to exercise also.
Hebrews 5:14 says “solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil”. Strength comes by reason of use and by exercise.
Spiritual Exercise
2 Corinthians 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight”.
Hebrews 12:1 says, “run with patience the race that is set before us”
Psalm 95:6 says, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker”.
CLOSEING: - A bone speaks a spiritual word more aptly than one at first thinks. Like the spiritual realm, bones are invisible, but they make their presence felt. Bones provide strength, protection, serve as a storage reservoir for minerals, and most importantly are the site of production of blood cells in the marrow.
We need to make sure are spiritual bones are strong and able to pass a spiritual bone density test.
Make sure to maintain a balanced spiritual diet and exercise. Keep your values, beliefs, and integrity strong so when the enemy comes in a tries to call you to fall you want have to be like the commercial and wonder are my bones strong.
Have a Spiritual Bone Density Test – Psalm 139:23 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts”.
Earlier I this message I said God speaks in number and in word. When He created everything in Genesis 1 His design was harmonious with the meaning of spiritual numbers we discover in the Bible. Now not every number literally has a meaning mainly just the numbers 1 – 12 have a meaning except for a few others, but mostly all the other numbers are combinations of numbers and meanings. Here is just a little nugget I want to close with today.
There are 206 bones in our body. The number 103 means “Image of God” or “Word of God”. The number 2 means “Division” or “Witness”. The highest purpose of man is to express in his thoughts, words, and deeds the nature of God. 2x103=206 Genesis 1:26 says “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth”.
Spiritual Bone Density Test
Are you ready!
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr
