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GETTING IN ‘S.H.A.P.E.’ 1 TIMOTHY 4:7-10 FEBRUARY 26, 2006
Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next. This is true, and everyone should accept it. We work hard and suffer much in order that people will believe the truth, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and particularly of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:7-10, NLT)
INTRODUCTION How many have been enjoying the Winter Olympics?! I sure have (elaborate) It never ceases to amaze me how committed and focused some people can be to a goal- all the training and sacrifice they do to be among the best in the world is remarkable. In fact, I remember hearing one commentator saying that while skill and natural ability certainly play a critical part in any sport, often the difference between a good athlete and a world-class athlete is the willingness to do whatever it takes to win. The truth is, most of the population- most of us- simply aren’t willing to do what it takes.
Many of us have a hard enough time just trying to stay in reasonably good shape. (Share about the ‘discovery’ that I was slowing getting out of shape physically.) My response to this ‘discovery’ was to implement an action plan to get in better physical condition. As I did so, however, I started to think about my spiritual health, and had to ask the question: Am I equally, if not more committed, to staying in shape spiritually? As I asked these questions, both on a personal level and as I anticipated this new series we are doing here at Whitepine, I realized that spiritually I had to make some adjustments.
IT HAPPENS SLOWLY When we get out of shape physically, it doesn’t happen overnight. We miss a workout here and there... we get busy and don’t take the time to go for as many walks... we spend more and more hours at the desk or in front of the TV... in our busyness, we don’t eat all of the foods we should, and fill in the gaps with food that isn’t as good for us. Before we know it, we breathe a little harder when we take the stairs and the once comfortably loose pants don’t need a belt to hold them up anymore!
In like manner, spiritual lethargy usually takes place gradually over a period of time. Proverbs 4:23- Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do. It tells us in the imperative sense, meaning that we are to keep on doing this. When we get lazy, our spiritual health deteriorates:
- We miss our devotional time with God here and there... until “here and there” becomes the way we describe the time we spend alone with God.
- We miss worshiping with our church family- sometimes because of other commitments, sometimes we experience periods of sickness, or we are travelling for a variety of reasons.
- The Bible that used to sit on the night-table with an up-to-date bookmark in it is now buried under scrap paper, Calvin & Hobbs, and car keys.
And as our heart and spirit slowly drifts further and further away from God, our passion for Him diminishes- as does our ability to feel a sense of loss over that separation- until one day we come to the realization that it’s been a long time since we’ve felt close to God or His people... and we wonder what has happened.
Perhaps even today you know what I’m talking about. You didn’t just wake up one morning and say, “Well, I’ve had enough of Christianity for a while. I think I’m going to take a break from God for a few months.” But as you sit and listen, you realize that there has been a gradual pulling away and loss of life and energy in your spiritual journey. You know something is missing.
TAKING OUR SPIRITUAL “TEMPERATURE” Over the next several weeks, in a wide variety fo ways, we will be encouraging you to do a “spirituality check”- to take your spiritual “temperature” if you will. At the outset, as we begin this journey of evaluation, there are a few critical keys that we must both acknowledge and deal with:
1- It requires honesty- When we first start to notice some of the signs that we aren’t as fit as we used to be, we often try to ignore them. “Well, everybody puts on a few pounds at Christmas, right?” “Oh, I’ve just been too busy to get on the exercise bike.” “Someone must have shrunk my jeans in the dryer!!” We can’t do anything about our deteriorating physical condition until we are honest with ourselves.
The same truth is applicable in the spiritual realm. Romans 12:3- As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. We have to stop ignoring the trouble signs. We have to stop making excuses. We need to be honest with God, ourselves, and others. Psalm 139:23-24- Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Until you and I are willing to be honest about our spiritual condition, we will go nowhere in the journey to better spiritual health. No more excuses... no more distractions- it’s time to be honest.
2- It requires understanding- I know roughly what kind of physical shape I am in, and what I should be able to do (elaborate). If we are willing to be honest with ourselves about where we are spiritually, we can then start to ask and seek the answers to some important questions: What does spiritual health look like? Where should I be? What forces are opposing me?
Many people are spiritually unhealthy because they don’t know what spiritual health should look like! They don’t know the kind of life and experience they ought to be living as a child of God, because they haven’t read or studied their Bibles enough to hear what God says about life in His family. One of the most basic “diagnostic tools” we have to judge our spiritual health is found listed as the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-25- But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
If these things are being evidenced in our lives fairly regularly, then we are doing fairly well. If not, then we’re not in very good shape spiritually. There are other areas of our lives that we will be looking at in this series that help us to understand spiritual health and what it looks like: For the sake of our study this morning, let us at least be willing to make the commitment to grow in our understanding so we can know what spiritual health ought to look like in our lives.
3- It requires faith- There are probably people here this morning who are not spiritually healthy because they don’t believe they can be. Now, I’m not talking about the prosperity “name-it-and-claim-it” distortion of the gospel that seems to be popular today- the kind of teaching that says you can have and experience and do and be anything you want as long as you have enough faith!! I can believe there’s a new Harley Davidson back home in my living room- that isn’t going to make it so!! But we can and should have faith in the promises that God clearly makes to us in His Word- and one of those promises (expressed in a variety of ways!) is that we can grow spiritually! Philippians 1:6- I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again. 2:13- For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.
Again, as we embark on this journey, each of us need to hear God say, “You can be spiritually healthy... you can grow up into a mature faith... you can experience power and joy and life... because I will walk with you and do the work in you as you surrender to me!”
4- It requires action- 1 Cor. 9:25-27a- All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. I can sit in my clothes that have gotten a little more “snug” or stop at the top of the stairs to catch my breath and think to myself, “Man, I’ve got to do something about this!”- but until I actually do something, it cannot and will not change. No athlete ever won an Olympic medal because they thought to themselves- “Hey! That would be a neat thing to do!” No athlete ever won a world championship because they knew the training and work ethic it would take to accomplish such a feat. They had to make a choice- but even more than that, they had to follow through on that choice. They had to start.
Like you, I have heard the little cliche Christian phrase, “Let Go and Let God.” Now, that’s okay advice for those things that truly are beyond our control- but the truth is, God has left a lot of things up to us. Sometimes when we’re shouting “Let go and let God!” we can’t hear God saying, “Get up and get moving!”
Every move of God in a nation, in a people group, in a church, in a family, and in an individual life, happens only after someone takes a step in faith, in obedience, in the direction God is leading. Like sitting on a railway track, we can be pointed in the right direction, but if we don’t get moving, we’re still going get run over!
WRAP UP... Over the next several weeks, we will have the opportunity to get into better shape spiritually. We will do it in part by getting a better understanding of who we are and how God has made us. As we make our way together, let us understand:
1- It will take time- This is a journey... but a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step! 2- We do need help- We need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us... and we need support each other.
But it has to start with: - an honest evaluation of our hearts and lives - understanding where we need to be and how to get there - asking for the faith to believe that we can grow - and a commitment to stop thinking about it, to stop making excuses for where we are, and to start moving in the right direction.
Remember what I said the difference was between being a good athlete and being world-class? The desire and willingness to do what it takes. The difference between being spiritually in shape- growing in our walk with Christ- and not being spiritually fit, is not the kind of circumstances we find ourselves in or the support we receive from others... it is up to us and the choices we make and follow through on. Let’s make the commitment today to do whatever it takes to grow spiritually healthy in our relationship with God, each other, and our world. |