Spiritual Vitamin
Deficiency
Text: Colossians 2:10
And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all
principality and power.
Introduction:
I have chosen today’s text
to introduce our thought because I want to make it perfectly clear that God has
provided us with everything we need to be a health productive Christian. We are
lacking in nothing. If we are experiencing a Spiritual deficiency it not
because we do not have – because we do have – rather it is because we have
neglected to use that which God have given us.
A man that is hungry because
he does not like the food in the refrigerator or in the pantry cannot blame
poverty for his hunger.
In the same manner a person
that is spiritually dull cannot say it is because he lacks anything. If he is suffering
form spiritual malnutrition, it is because he has neglected what is his for the
taking.
Just like the body needs a
number of vitamins to function correctly there a number of spiritual vitamins
needed for the Believer to function correctly. It would take much longer than I
have and you would be able to endure for me to touch on everyone. However,
there are three important spiritual elements that need to present in every
Believer and in most cases these elements are to be found lacking in spiritually
dull Christians.
We are commanded to
be filled with the Spirit
Ephesians 5:18
18
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the
Spirit
Likewise
the Bible shows us a number of examples where Believers were filled with the
Spirit.
Acts 4:31
31 And when they had
prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Being filled with the
Spirit is not a matter of ‘will’. You
do not will yourself filled with the Spirit. However, it is a matter of choice.
Not some much a choice of wanting to be filled – every true believer worth is
salt would want to be filled – but rather it is a matter of choosing to
1.
A matter of
choosing to Forsaking Sin
Illustration:
David forsook his sin: Psalm 51:1-5
Have mercy upon me, O
God,
According to Your
lovingkindness;
According to the
multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my
transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly
from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from
my sin.
3 For I acknowledge
my transgressions,
And my sin is
always before me.
The very purpose of Jesus was Luke 5:32
“I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
2.
A matter of
choosing to Surrender Self
Matthew 10:38
“And he who does not take his cross and
follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
3.
A matter of
choosing Servanthood
Matthew 20:26
. . . whoever
desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.
Of
all the spiritual deficiencies this is the most common and often the most
devastating.
It
is not because we lack forgiveness but because we so often fail to forgive.
I
believe this element is missing in some many Christian because it truly is a
large pill to swallow. Many are long on generosity, many are long on service,
many are long on praise, but few are long on forgiving.
This
is a point we need to spend a little time on.
Turn and Read with me
Mark 11:25-26
25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone,
forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.26
“But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in
heaven forgive your trespasses.”
1. “if YOU have anything against
anyone” This verse puts the ball in your court.
2. Nothing is said about who is at fault.
3. Nothing is said about the other guy
coming and seeking forgiveness.
4. Your Prayer life is directly affected by
forgiving (Look and the verse before – someone is going to say, isn’t a lack of
prayer a spiritual deficiency? Yes, and there is little prayer because there is
little forgiveness!)
5. It directly affects your ability to enjoy
forgiveness.
Someone is going to say, “Preacher this is easy for you to preach
but you don’t know what I’ve been through.” Doesn’t matter – the Bible says,
forgive!
Someone is going to say, “This is easier to preach than it is to
practice.” Yes! But that doesn’t make it any less true!
The
American Christian today is busy – running here and there, always rushing.
There is the job, school, friends and everything is urgent. It needed to be done yesterday.
Except
for the things of God. The American Christian is laid-back, slow moving. When
it comes to the things of God, it can wait until tomorrow. Rush is missing from
our vocabulary.
We’ll
pray tomorrow. We’ll share Jesus with we have a chance. There always time to
repent. We’ll teach our children about Christ when suppers is over.
When
it comes to the matters of God – there is no urgency.
How
unbiblical!
Matthew 24:42-44
42 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.43
“But know this, that if the master of the house had
known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his
house to be broken into.44 “Therefore you also
be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
James 4:13-14
13 Come now, you who say,
“Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy
and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen
tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a
little time and then vanishes away.
Hebrews 3:7
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice,