Dale Carnegie Bronner - A Check Up From The Neck Up: Learn Exactly What Is Necessary for Your Future

Copyright 2003 by Dale Carnegie Bronner

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

A Check Up From The Neck Up, Learn exactly what is necessary

for your future.

By Dale Carnegie Bronner

Published by Carnegie Books

212 Riverside Pkwy

Austell, GA 30168

www.DALEBRONNER.com

ISBN 978-0-9891356-0-3

eISBN: 9780989135634

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

ARE YOU
READY FOR YOUR
CHECKUP ?

W hat do you think the doctor would say if, during your annual medical exam, you refused to cooperate?

Stick out your tongue and say, Aah! says the physician.

No, you reply, I dont feel like doing that!

Well, let me check your blood pressure, he continues.

Dont bother, you insist. I had that done last year and it was fine.

It wouldnt take long before the doctor would escort you out of his office and quietly remove your name from his patient roster.

If you plan to live a healthy, productive life, the decision to have periodic thorough checkups must be yours!

A FULL INSPECTION

On the pages that follow you will be given a self-examination that involves your thinking, your speech, your vision, your decision making, and much more. I call it A Checkup from the Neck Up!

However, these seeds will not take root unless you make a personal choice to receive them. Like the psalmist, you must say Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart (Psalm 26:2 NKJV).

If you want to know what God has in store for your life, ask Him for an in-depth examination and look forward to hearing the results. To make sure you are on the right track in life, a good question to ask yourself is, How do I want to be remembered?

Nehemiah was just a doorkeeper in the house of the king, yet the Lord saw his potential and asked him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Joseph was exiled from Israel, but he had a mind and heart for God and was elevated to reign with the governor of Egypt.

David was only a shepherd boy when the Lord examined his life and declared, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will (Acts 13:22)

HARD LESSONS

Never forget that King David trained before he reigned.

He was anointed with oil that ran down his head, however, for the next fifteen years he had to run for his life. There were twenty-one attempts made to kill him.

It is more than one step from a sheep pasture to the kings palace. There were many tests along the way.

In the early church, Saul was a tormentor of Christians before his Damascus Road experience. At that moment the Lord transformed his life and gave him a new name Paul.

Some people think he immediately set off for his great missionary journeys. No. For three years, Paul studied in the city of Petra. God put him in a rigorous school in the City of the Rock. Thats where he learned the lessons needed to evangelize the known world and write two-thirds of the New Testament. Because of what Paul experienced, he could tell the believers at Corinth, Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves (2 Corinthians 13:5).

ARE YOU PREPARED?

We may wonder, Why did God send me to this city? Or, Why did the Lord permit this person to come into my life? I believe the Father allows what we see and hear to prepare us for service for the equipping of the saints (Ephesians 4:12). The Lord will call you, prepare you, then He will commission you.

Dont confuse your call with your commission. There is a strenuous training and examination period in between.

Heavens X-ray machine sees everything! God
knows exactly what is necessary for your future.

Have you ever opened a gift box at Christmas and noticed the words Assembly Required"? Thats exactly how it is when we first come to Christ. There are pieces of our heart, spirit and mind that must be properly joined together. We cannot be used to our peak potential until we are fully assembled.

A NEW VIEW

In addition to the Lord watching our lives, He asks us to take an introspective look at ourselves. Before partaking of communion, we are given this warning: But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup (1 Corinthians 11:28).

The price of ignorance is steep. For he who eats and drinks is an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lords body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep (vv.29-30 NKJV).

I believe you are ready for that examination.

In these chapters you will be asked:

What are the strongholds of your life?

Can you define your core beliefs?

What thoughts dominate your mind?

What is the impact of your words?

How does your will line up with Gods?

What is the key to successful decision making?

How is your vision?

Are the weapons you use carnal or spiritual?

It is my prayer that the Lord will allow you to see yourself in a new light that He will stretch your vision and take you to a higher level of excellence.

A gentleman approached me after a service and confessed, Pastor, Ive been prayed for, anointed with oil, and had the devil cast out of me. Still, there are certain things that wont leave my life.

It was obvious to me the man had a stronghold something that had a strong hold on his life. Sir, I told him, Perhaps it is time to deal with the problem yourself! God wants you to personally take charge of the situation!

You too may be struggling with a similar dilemma and ask, Cant I just bind this thing?

It is true that Jesus declared, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew 18:18).

However, we cannot use this principle to deal with strongholds. There are more issues involved. For example, when David killed Goliath, he did not realize the giant had four other brothers, and it took him forty years to destroy them.

A LARGER PROBLEM

Perhaps you have heard the expression, When you lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas. Just because you separate yourself from the dog, doesnt mean you are free of fleas.

You cant simply say, I bind this stronghold, since you are most likely still a carrier of this problem.

I remember the time when a winter storm uprooted a dogwood tree in our backyard. It toppled over and I thought, Ill wait until the weather warms up before I remove it.

When spring arrived, I could hardly believe my eyes. That fallen tree began to bloom! The buds popped out and produced a beautiful display of color. You see, the tree had fallen, but some roots were still connected!

You may tackle one specific thing, but have you addressed the entire issue?

In Scripture, there is no account of Jesus ever binding an evil spirit or demon. He either rebuked them, or told them to leave. Shackling what is evil will simply restraint or deactivate a spirits power; it is not a total resolution to the problem.