Everyday Relationships Spiritual Gauges

EVERYDAY RELATIONSHIPS

Spiritual Gauges

CULTURE  are external, superficial signs or practices that set one group apart from another.

For scribes and Pharisees: observing strict dietary laws, rigidly keeping the Sabbath, and circumcision.

“Spirituality wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God” Dallas Willard

What are some wrong ways people in our day gauge spiritual health and maturity?

Do you sometimes use wrong spiritual gauges? What are they?

The Right Gauge

Teacher, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?

 Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and

with all your soul and with all your mind.”

This is the first and greatest commandment.

And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

(Matthew 22:36-40)

The right gauge is LOVE.

If I have not love – even if I am knowledgeable, even if I do miracles, or give myself up as a martyr – I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

God is not interested in some abstract thing called your spiritual life.

God is interested in your LOVE LIFE.

He wants you to be filled with love – love for Him, and love for people.

What barriers keep you from being a more loving person?

Using the Right Gauge: Training Vs. Trying

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.

They do it to get a crown that will not last;

But we do it to get a crown that will last forever”

1 Corinthians 9:24-25

To Train means to BUILD my life around activities I can do that will enable me, over time, to do what I cannot do by direct effort alone. Dallas Willard

Train yourself to be godly. 1 Timothy 4:7

Everyone who is fully trained will be like [their] teacher. Luke 6:40

Training is an indispensable ingredient for pursuing spiritual transformation.

We will have to train to be loving.

The purpose of such activities is not to demonstrate how spiritual we are.

Training activities exist to help us grow in love for God and other people and to become more like Christ.

You asked for STRENGTH, and God gave you DIFFICULTIES to make you STRONG;

You asked for WISDOM, and God gave you PROBLEMS to SOLVE;

You asked for PROSPERITY, and God gave you BRAINS & SKILLS to WORK;

You asked for COURAGE, and God gave you DANGER to OVERCOME;

You asked for LOVE, and God gave you TROUBLED PEOPLE to HELP;

You asked for FAVORS, and God gave you OPPORTUNITIES;

You received NOTHING YOU WANTED... but received EVERYTHING YOU NEEDED.