Beware of Spiritual Fatigue
-Introduction
-couple weeks ago – “one of those weeks” – not complaining – nothing bad
-difficult to get things to “come together,” back hurting – not sleeping well
-So, Sunday came along and I was tired! That’s not a good way to worship God.
-harder to stay focused, mind wanders
-Have you ever had your mind wander during a song and then wonder if you had sung
the proper words?
-Can you relate? Then the preacher gets up to speak and you’re supposed to stay focused?
-There are times we’re going to be tired. Sometimes it is due to things outside our control,
sometimes it may be things that are within our control.
-So, here’s a thought: Preparing to worship God isn’t limited to the “scramble” to get ready
and to the building on time (or close to it) on Sunday morning. Perhaps we could do a
better job with that on Sunday morning. Or, perhaps we could do a better job of preparing
on Saturday night.
-Again, worship isn’t to be taken lightly and, yes, we should prepare ourselves for it –
physically and mentally.
-But, this morning I don’t want to talk about physical fatigue but spiritual fatigue.
-Warnings Against Spiritual Fatigue
-Joel 1:15 – “awake” – an early warning to Judah regarding God’s sending of the locusts
-If we are not careful, we might find ourselves in a spiritual slumber out of which we
need to awake.
-1 Pet 5:8 – “watchful” = from a Greek word which means “to keep awake” (Strong)
-We need to be on the alert, spiritually. We don’t want to be “asleep on the job.”
-Rev. 3:15-19 – lukewarm vs zealous (Could this relate to spiritual fatigue?)
-Those at Laodicea had become spiritually dulled. They became comfortable (v 17) and
fell asleep.
-Let us not make the same mistake.
-1 Thess 5:6-8
-Context - Jesus’ 2nd coming – The Thessalonians were not to be caught off guard. They
were “children of light” (v 5) and were therefore to be awake and sober (clear-minded).
-On that day, you don’t want to be awakened by the Lord’s alarm clock – shout, voice of the
archangel and the trumpet of God. It will be too late for those who were spiritually asleep.
-Remember / Reflect
-If you feel spiritually fatigued, remember and reflect upon all that God has done.
-“Remember” is a word that occurs numerous times in the scriptures – i.e. Deuteronomy.
-Rev 2:5; Eph 2:12-13, 19-22
-“Reflect” upon the blessings offered through Christ (Eph 1:3). But also reflect upon the
responsibilities that we have as children of God.
-Eph 4:1 (Col 1:10, 1 Thess 2:12) – We can’t do this in a spiritual slumber.
-Resources
-To avoid spiritual fatigue and/or to recover from it, utilize the resources that God provides.
-Utilizing something electrical (getting the energy necessary) requires plugging it in.
-Do we stay “plugged in” spiritually?
-Our electronic devices need to be charged and recharged (while typing my phone is charging).
-Do we keep our spiritual “batteries” charged?
-How do we stay “plugged in” / charged?
-Read and Study the Word
-Worship - If worship doesn’t help “charge” your spiritual batteries, then something is wrong.
-In such situations, the tendency may be to look outward (the services themselves) but
it is probably an indication of a need to look inward.
-Fellowship - Time spent with brothers and sisters in Christ should be encouraging. But, are
we spending time with our Christian family as we should?
-If may not depend upon the busy-ness of a schedule but the focus of the schedule.
-busy away from our Christian family vs busy with our Christian family
-Prayer – Is it a regular pattern in our lives or an occasional action?
-Acts 2:42 – pattern established from the beginning of the church
-Responsibility
-Obviously, this category blends with the previous.
-But, I want us to think in terms of our responsibility toward service. Not only are we to worship
God but we are to serve him (Matt 4:10).
-One of the best avenues of encouragement is service. And, there are many, many ways to serve
God – to be involved in his work.
-Mark 14:8 – the importance of doing what you can
-God does not expect us to do that which we cannot. He does expect us to do what we can.
-Summary and Invitation
-There are going to be times when we are tired on a Sunday. And, with that being the case, we
may struggle to stay focused. But, we certainly do not want to be spiritually fatigued.
-Matt 11:28-30
-Invitation
Joplin – March 17, 2013 – a.m.