REVIEW
 
I hope you’ve been getting a lot out of this, our current series, which is geared towards us getting spiritually fit. And let me reiterate to you just how important our spiritual development is – It’s absolutely vital, church! Just like we shouldn’t allow our physical bodies to spiral downward, not taking care of this, our temple of the Holy Spirit, we shouldn’t allow the eternal part of us to suffer either. Yes, as important as our physical condition is; this can’t compare to the condition of our inward man.
 
So what we have been doing is learning how we get our spirit man, the hidden man of our heart, in shape and healthy. And we are basing this on First Timothy 4:6-8 where the apostle Paul makes the comparison between physical nutrition & exercise and spiritual nutrition & exercise.  Again, these verses say, “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”
 
So if we are going to develop our inward man and get in shape spiritually, then we are going to have do certain things. And what we’ve learned is that the same way we get fit and in shape physically, that’s how we get fit and in shape spiritually. No, I’m not referring to these physical things like being nourished & exercising helping us spiritually. I’m referring to how there are certain spiritual practices that will both nourish our spirit and exercise those spiritual muscles.
 
So most recently, we have been looking at certain mentalities that we need to possess when entering this spiritual exercise. And last week we learned the importance of setting various goals – everything from the outcome goals to the process goals that get us to the ultimate outcome.   
 
We learned that the outcome goal of Christianity is to finish & win our race, to receive the crown of righteousness, and get inducted into God’s hall of fame! But the process goal that gets us there is Christlikeness. Yes, becoming more like Jesus in the way we think, in the way we speak, in the way we act, etc. is what will bring us to our ultimate goal. 
 
This is why I call being like Jesus the goal above every goal – because if we adopt the same mentality as Him, we will receive the end of our faith and that crown of righteousness at the finish line. Amen! 
So now that we have covered some of the important mindsets when entering exercise, let’s start looking at some of the more practical things – things that any good personal trainer or fitness expert would tell you as you get into working out …
 
THE IMPORTANCE OF HYDRATION
 
Now as we head into some of the more practical things, it’s important to understand that there are some parts to fitness that are relatively unknown to the average person. And one of these things that most of those who desire to exercise are ignorant of is the importance of hydration – before, during, and after working out.
You see, our bodies need fluid to keep functioning, and that’s especially true during exercise. Without refilling the water we lose while working out and other rigorous exercise, we could experience symptoms of dehydration, such as dizziness, nausea, fatigue, headaches, muscle cramps, and excessive thirst. It’s even possible to have a heat stroke if we do not properly hydrate ourselves. 
You see, drinking enough water keeps the body hydrated, which helps the heart more easily pump blood through the body. So if you’re well hydrated, your heart doesn’t have to work as hard. It also helps muscles work efficiently.
Did you know that your body weight is made up of 60% water, with your muscles consisting of 75% water? And when you exercise, you shed that fluid through sweat. Therefore, not replacing those fluids can negatively impact your performance in several ways. Therefore, maintaining proper fluid levels is vital because it:
a)    Maintains body temperature. When you work out, your body temperature rises. So one way to stop your body from overheating is by sweating. Therefore, if you aren’t producing enough sweat, your body cannot cool down.
b)   Boosts endurance. Water flushes your body with the nutrients it needs to keep going. Without it, your energy lags, your muscles cramp, and you’ll cut your workout short. So if you want to exercise longer, you need to drink plenty of water.
c)    Keeps you focused. Dehydration also affects your brain, leaving you foggy and unable to concentrate. So when you lose focus because of dehydration, your athletic performance can suffer.
d)   Speeds recovery. Are you feeling tired and a bit achy after a workout? That’s normal. But drinking water after exercise helps you recover faster and prepare for the next workout.
So it’s rather obvious that hydration is important when it comes to exercise. But again, there are so many who are simply ignorant of this and, therefore, don’t properly hydrate themselves when exercising.
Well, do you figure that it’s any different with spiritual exercise? I “drink” not! No, the fact is, just as ignorant as some people are of the importance of proper physical hydration, there are plenty of Christians who are ignorant of just how vital being spiritually hydrated is.
So what is this spiritual hydration? Well, it’s not a question of “what” it is as much as it’s a question of “Who” it is! You see, didn’t the Lord Jesus Himself compare Himself to being the One who would satisfy our every thirst on multiple occasions? He sure did!
One of our more popular passages of Scripture is found in John 7:37-39 where we are told – “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
So in verse 37, by addressing anyone who thirsts, He is essentially referring to those who are spiritually dehydrated. And church, this is certainly a very real condition! In fact, until someone comes to Jesus and drinks from the water that only He can give, they remain permanently dehydrated. They might not realize it, but this truly is everyone’s condition who has not come to Christ.
However, I personally don’t believe the “drink” part is automatic just because one has been born again and has their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. No, we might have once “drunken” from Christ, but there is a daily “going back to the well” that we all need to experience in order to abide or remain spiritually hydrated.
Notice that Jesus went on to describe this hydration as the promise of the Holy Spirit. Well, the Holy Spirit also isn’t just a one-time experience either. Sure, we might have been filled with the Lord’s waters of life, but the Scriptures speak about many subsequent refilling’s of the Spirit to stay full of this life-giving water. Amen?
So my point is that we have to continually come to the Lord Jesus and drink from the water that only He and His Spirit can provide. Just like you won’t be properly hydrated by only drinking something on Sunday but not on the other six days of the week, we need to realize that in order to remain spiritually hydrated, we must drink, drink, and keep on drinking.    
THE WATER WHO WAS, IS, AND EVERMORE SHALL BE
This same principle holds true when it comes to hydrating ourselves in the physical, doesn’t it?
You see, how much fluid we need depends on several things – our body weight, the temperature wherever we are exercising, the intensity of the workout, etc. So while everyone is different, these general guidelines should keep you and I hydrated as we work out:
Before our workout – Pre-hydration is important to keep our fluid levels in balance as we exercise. It’s recommended that we drink between 16 to 20 ounces of water two to three hours before our workout, and then eight to 10 ounces within a half-hour prior.  I’ve seen the importance of this because if you don’t properly hydrate well in advance, cramping and other symptoms of dehydration can hit you before you know it and then you’re just simply trying to treat the dehydration after it’s too late. 
During our workout – They say that to replace lost fluids, we should drink between 7 to 10 ounces for every 20 minutes of exercise that we do. Rehydrating in the middle of exercising is absolutely vital for the quality of our current workout.
After our workout –  You could shed two quarts or more of fluid after a workout. To gain that fluid back, we are told to drink a minimum of eight ounces immediately following your workout. I’ve found that my body tends to continue sweating well after I exercise because my body heat is apparently still high. Therefore, it’s important for someone like myself to continue to drink plenty of water well after exercising.
So this pretty much sounds like we need to be sure to hydrate ourselves at all times, right? At the beginning of the day, in the middle of the day, and at the end of the day.
Well, Jesus is called the One was “was, is, and evermore shall be” right? He’s the same yesterday, today, and forevermore, huh? Then it shouldn’t surprise us that he is important for us in the morning, during the day, and in the evening.
Now the pre-workout from a spiritual standpoint would be maybe the time we spend with Him first thing in the morning – before our day even gets started. King David said, “Early in the morning, I will seek you” (See Psalm 63:1).
This is what many consider to be the best time to drink from that well because when we give God the first fruits of our day, we are showing that He is our priority. And when we spiritually hydrate ourselves first thing, we can tackle our day with more spiritual energy.
Then during the workout part of hydration would be that constant communication aspect of a relationship. What I’m referring to is the day in and day out part of our spiritual exercise where we must learn to remember Him through the hustle & bustle of life.
You see, just as it’s easy to get so wrapped up in our exercise routine and to forget to take a swig of that water from time to time, it’s easy to get wrapped up in our everyday lives and doing the “work of the ministry” and forget the importance of our personal relationship with Him.
And finally, the after the workout part of hydrating would be maybe closing our day drinking from the waters of life. This might be spending a few minutes in prayer before we get in the bed or reading the Bible just before we go to sleep. This time is also important because if we don’t fill our minds with Him at the end of the day, it can actually affect how well we rest at night. 
So there’s never a part of the day that drinking from the waters that He provides isn’t important. Amen? It’s Jesus in the morning, Jesus in the afternoon, and Jesus when the sun goes down! Jesus is a good idea all day long!
LEARNING TO GO TO THE WELL
 
Now John chapter 4 contains one of our best examples we have of Jesus being the source of our spiritual hydration. So let’s look at this story, beginning in verse 3 …
 
Our story starts in John 4:3-6 with – “He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.”
 
So I want you to notice that this story begins in Samaria at a well – namely, Jacob’s well.
So in verse 6, we see that Jesus became “wearied.” This word describes one becoming tired, exhausted, or fatigued.
 
Some might find this strange that Jesus, the Son of God, actually got tired and fatigued at times. Well, that’s just because people do not understand that He was not operating out of His divine power. No, He walked on this earth as a man, and as a physical man, Jesus would get exhausted at times like we all do. So, in this case, being wearied from His journey, Jesus needed some rest and some water. So John tells us that He “sat thus by the well.”
 
Here’s the lesson I see in this for us: It’s important that when we feel weary in this Christian journey that we learn to sit by the well. In fact, as we learned earlier – we don’t need to wait till we feel weary to drink from that well. Oftentimes, that is when it is too late. Visiting “Jacob’s well” is a good idea to do before, during, and after our spiritual exercise.
 
But my point is, just like we would never neglect stopping by the gas station to “fill’r up” or plugging our device in to recharge the battery, we need to know that learning to sit by the well and have a drink is how we recharge our spiritual battery and fill our spiritual tank up. If we neglect doing this, we will most certainly run out of gas and not have the power to do what the Lord has called us to.
 
JACOB’S WELL VS. JESUS’ WELL
 
So as Jesus stopped at this “gas station,” another person entered this story:
 
John 4:7-15 goes on to tell us, “A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give Me a drink.’ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, ‘How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?’ For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?’ Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’ The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.’ ”
 
So here we have the meat of the story – Jesus revealing to this woman that He had water to give that the water of Jacob’s well could not hold a candle to.
 
We see this Samaritan woman coming to draw water from the well where Jesus was resting. So because of the racial & religious prejudices of their day, when Jesus asked her to give Him a drink, she was floored that a Jew would ask a drink from a Samaritan woman.
 
You see, we need to understand that the Lord does not pay attention to the outward appearance like we do. He looks at heart and is willing to drink from or pour through any cup, no matter what color that cup is. We would be wise that if we were in a desert and were thirsty not to say, “I don’t drink from black cups” or “I don’t drink from white cups” or “I don’t drink from pink cups.” If you are thirsty, it would behoove you to drink from whatever cup is available. If He chooses to use a Jew or a Gentile, a male or a female, a barbarian or a Scythian, we drink from that cup! Amen!
 
So Jesus steered her prejudiced attitude away from who she was and who He was after the flesh and told her that if she knew the gift of God who was before her and would ask, He would give her living water.
 
Of course, she didn’t know what He was referring to because her mind immediately went to the fact that Jesus had nothing to draw water from Jacob’s well with. In other words, she thought that the water He was saying that He would give her was coming from a similar source like Jacob’s well. But we know that Jesus was referring to Himself! So might we say that Jesus was saying that He has His own well – Jesus’ well? – and that well contains living water.
 
She asked Jesus – “Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” And the obvious answer to that question is – Yeah! He absolutely is greater than the Patriarch, Jacob, being the One who outwrestled him. So yes, Jesus’ well is certainly greater than Jacob’s well!
 
Now wells are repeatedly seen in Scripture as places of provision, and not just of the water that the well possesses but other things: A couple of examples of this are the story of Abraham’s servant discovering Rebekah for Isaac at a well (See Genesis chapter 24) and the story of Moses when settling in the land of Midian, when he sat by a well and there met the seven daughters of priest of Midian which included his future wife.
 
So we can see that special relationships were provided at these various wells. And that is what I believe Jesus was trying to point this Samaritan woman towards – that He is that relationship that she had spent a good portion of her life searching for. This will be a theme that is echoed here at Jacob’s well.
 
ABSOLUTELY SATISFIED
 
So Jesus’ response to her question is so profound. He tells this woman (and us as well) – “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
 
So what Jesus was saying here is that when we come to Him and drink the water that He has to offer, we will never thirst again. Why? Because of what it will do in us – providing a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.
 
You see, people do not realize it, but a lot of the habitual practices in our lives are a result of a thirst that is always in search of being satisfied. People turn to all kinds of things to satisfy their thirst, but the truth is – only Jesus can satisfy that thirst! Only our personal connection with Him can fill us up and make us satisfied and content.
 
I like to look at it this way: Every one of us has been created like a puzzle, and there is one large piece right in the middle of us (our heart) that only one thing will fit. And that one missing piece can only be fulfilled by Jesus Christ!
 
You see, the world tries to cram everything from sex, drugs, success, and family into that void, but none of those things can totally fulfill them. Sure, they might have some temporary happiness when they gratify those lusts or desires for natural things, but it does not bring them that everlasting contentment that I am talking about.
 
But this is not just true for the world! Even believers can digress in their Christian walk to where they attempt to satisfy themselves with the things of this world instead of through their personal relationship with the Lord. I am not saying that they have lost their relationship with Jesus altogether; I am just saying that we can walk in the flesh like the world, and when we do, our desires will be for natural and carnal things above spiritual things. In other words, when we walk in the flesh we will try and fulfill ourselves through relationships, recreational activities, financial success, etc.
 
You see, when we are abiding in Christ, and He in us, the ups and downs of this life will not dictate our joy and peace. We will not feel like we have to have something more or something better to be happy because we know that we are right in the middle of God’s perfect will for our lives which is, in communion with Him!
 
An example I can use from my own life is with relationships: During the times where I have walked in the flesh one of the main things that I tried to fulfill that void with was with other people. For example, when I was abiding in the Lord and He had preeminence in my heart I did not have to be on the phone talking to someone all the time. I did not have to be hanging out with my friends and family constantly. The reason was because my relationship with God was where it needed to be, so I was not trying to fulfill myself with the relationships of my friends and family. I was content in the acceptance and goodness of my Lord and did not need the acceptance of my friends, co-workers, and family. Not only that, but I was also content with my single life. I was not driven to find a girlfriend because my focus was on the Lord and not on the opposite sex. I was simply content with my relationship with the Lord and was willing to wait on the Lord to bring my wife to me!
 
Again, if Jesus is on the throne of your heart, you will not be dominated by these natural desires. Now, don’t misunderstand me! I am not saying that if you have desires for anything in this world other than the Lord that you are not abiding in Him. I am just saying that if you are fully abiding in Him then those desires for something you do not already have will not dictate your joy and peace, and will not drive you. They will not cause you to feel discontent when you are not experiencing fulfillment in those areas. You will not be bent on finding fulfillment through natural things. You will simply be satisfied with Jesus! Nothing more and nothing less!
 
The Scriptures have a lot to say about this principle but let me share with you one very powerful passage that echoes what the Holy Spirit is teaching us today – Psalm 36:8-9.
 
In the beginning of verse 8, David says, “They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of your house...” The “they” being referred to are the ones that draw near to God in faith (See verse 7). And what does he say is the benefit of drawing near to Him? They are “abundantly satisfied with the fullness of God’s house!” You see, in the Old Testament the “house of God” was symbolic of the “presence of God.” So the way David says that we become abundantly satisfied (i.e. content) is by abiding in the fullness of God’s “presence.”
 
In Psalm 16:11 David put it this way – “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” If you want to be full of joy and abundantly satisfied, then learn to abide in the fullness of God’s presence! You could say, “The more of His presence you are abiding in, the more content and satisfied you will be!” There is no substitute for His presence! It brings fullness of joy, peace, contentment, and satisfaction! The only reason (yes, I say that as an absolute) that we ever become discontent is because we are not drawing our strength for that contentment from the presence of Christ. If we ever feel like we “need” anything other than Christ, then we are showing signs of this discontent condition that we have discussed. 
 
The rest of verse 8 says, “And you give them drink from the river of your pleasures.” You see, true satisfaction comes from nothing else but being close to Lord, drinking from His well of salvation. He alone can satisfy our deepest needs, not a spouse, a job, or a hobby just as water is the only thing that can satisfy us when we truly thirst. There is no substitute for Christ like there is no substitute for water!
 
Then notice what verse 9 says- “For with You is the fountain of life; In your light we see light.” David goes on to say that it is only being with Him (i.e. in His presence) that you can experience the fountain of life – that is, the life of God continuously flowing through your very being making you satisfied and content. He also said that in His light (i.e. “in His presence” – because God is light) we see light. In other words, when we are in His presence, we can see more clearly. Our perspective will change. The things we used to think were important and that we had to have will no longer be our focus. We will be able to see what is important with an unclouded perspective and realize that all we need is the Lord in our life. We do not need anything or anybody; all we need is Jesus! He is the secret to being completely content and abundantly satisfied!
 
So our lesson is this – Learn to draw your strength and satisfaction from pursuing a relationship with Christ! Know that if you ever feel you have to have anything other than His presence and those wanton desires are causing you to lose your joy and peace, you need to check the condition of your fellowship with Him. Plug into your power source through spending time with the Lord and watch how abundantly satisfied you become.
 
Church, this is how we quench that thirsting that’s in our heart. It’s by learning to come to Jesus and drinking from the waters that only He has to satisfy our heart. Amen?  
 
BROKEN CISTERNS
 
So Jesus’ words about never thirsting again sounded like a pretty good deal to this Samaritan woman, right? Therefore, she responded in verse 15 with – “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
 
And then Jesus responds with something rather interesting – Jesus says in verse 16, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” And, of course, this prompts the whole conversation of whether she currently had a husband and how many husbands she had had (See John 4:16-19).
 
Now a lot of times, we make the mistake of thinking this story changed gears here when Jesus went from this conversation of having this living water to addressing this woman’s marriage history. But what we need to understand here is, Jesus was showing this woman by the fruit of her life how she needs this water so that she will not thirst again.
 
You see, as we’ve alluded to already, some people turn to all kinds of natural things to satisfy that thirst. This Samaritan woman had obviously tried to satisfy that thirst with men. Yes, she was looking for her contentment and happiness in a relationship with the opposite sex. And this resulted in what? Five failed marriages!
 
Now I understand that there are several legitimate reasons for divorce like unfaithfulness, abuse, etc. but if we were being honest, those are not the number one reason for failed marriages. No, we don’t need a national survey to tell us that the number one cause of divorce is this very thing – people looking for happiness, contentment, and satisfaction in their spouse when the only way to fulfill that thirst is in Christ alone. In other words, countless men & women are looking for a spouse to do for them what only Christ can do for them.     
 
You see, this is what the Bible refers to as “broken cisterns” …
 
In Jeremiah 2:13 the Lord revealed such an important truth for us to understand- particularly regarding where we put our expectations. He said, “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns- broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
 
You see, in Bible times, a cistern was an artificial reservoir that was dug into the earth or carved into rock for collecting and storing water. Israel has a long dry season with relatively few natural springs, so catching winter rain in cisterns was very important. Fresh water was extremely valuable, so a broken cistern was practically worthless. Cracked rock or crumbling masonry could hold only a small amount of dirty water – or maybe no water at all. 
 
But while constructing an artificial spiritual reservoir was bad enough, rejecting water from the life-giving Spring was tragic! Imagine a very thirsty person in a parched land, ignoring a bubbling spring of cool water, only to hack out a cistern in the blazing sun hoping to collect some rainwater!
 
Without a natural spring nearby, a cistern would be the best thing you could do. If you were unaware of a nearby spring, at least you could be pitied for your diligent efforts to try to collect some water. But if you did know that there was a fresh spring available, and you deliberately turned your back to build a cistern, you’d be incredibly foolish. 
 
So God’s case against Israel in Jeremiah chapter 2 was that they had forsaken their God in favor of other gods. He said that this was unprecedented, even amongst other nations (vs.11). But before we are quick to condemn Israel, we need to understand that we do this same thing all the time …
 
Now while most of us do not consciously reject Him and choose other gods to worship, we still do this through our actions. We choose “cisterns” that are broken and are unable to hold water in an attempt to obtain satisfaction and meet our needs when they simply cannot. These broken cisterns can be anything from relationships, hobbies, careers, possessions - namely, anything natural that we put first in our lives and put our hope in. When we do this, we will find that none of these things can truly satisfy us or give us joy.
 
The 17th chapter of Jeremiah tells us that we are cursed when we make flesh our strength and when our trust is in man. It also says that when our heart departs from the Lord like this, we become like a shrub in the desert that is never satisfied (vs.5-6). On the other hand, verses 7-8 say that when we trust in the Lord and our hope is in Him we are like a tree whose roots will be spread out by the river where there is a constant flow of water both to keep our leaves green and to provide a continuous harvest of fruit. And verse 13 goes on to say that God is that fountain of living waters - identifying Him the same way as Jeremiah 2:13.      
 
So when our hope is in the Lord, we are looking to Him to meet our needs; we are placing all of our expectancy in Him and not in other people or things. You see, when our hope is in these other things, we are looking to them to draw our happiness, contentment, satisfaction, and strength from. We do not consciously know we are doing this, but we are actually making these things “idols” because we are putting our hope in these things rather than in the One True and Living God.
 
But the good news is found in Isaiah 55:1-2: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.”
 
In these verses, the Lord is proclaiming the gospel to us! He is telling us that if we want to be truly satisfied and fulfilled, just come to Him! If we want our soul to delight itself in abundance, just draw near to Him! This abundant satisfaction for our souls is free! It is freely available by grace! All we need to do is to turn our lives fully over to Him and make Him our all in all.
 
Now He basically asks the question in verse 2 – Why do we spend money on things that do not satisfy when He, the fountain of living waters, is free? But we do this all of the time, don’t we? We spend all kinds of money, time, and energy on these broken cisterns that could never hold water in the first place! Sure, they might temporarily seem able to hold water, but eventually that water will drain out of those cracks, and we will thirst again.
 
This can certainly be reflected in what we choose to drink when exercising, can’t it? I’ve even seen that when some people are out doing some arduous physical exercise or are working outside, that they will choose to hydrate themselves with sodas, coffee, etc.
 
I for one, didn’t realize for a long time that when I would go out and sweat profusely, that it wasn’t always best to simply drink water because our bodies tend towards just sweating it out and it doesn’t have the opportunity to truly rehydrate our bodies. That’s why they say that we need electrolytes in what we drink so that our bodies can properly assimilate what it needs to rehydrate.
 
So, I see this as practically important with spiritual things because how many people out there are thirsty spiritually but are turning to all kinds of other things to satisfy that thirst? Yes, we turn to all kinds of things to satisfy that spiritual thirst that only the LORD Himself can satisfy.
 
In fact, I’ve seen one of the greatest keys to weight loss being the simple decision to change what we drink. Things like carbonated drinks that contain a lot of sugar seem to just swell us up as bad as anything that we eat.
 
Friends, it is time we truly understand that God is the fountain of living waters and turn to Him for our joy, satisfaction, and contentment! His is an unending flow of life-giving water as opposed to those man-made cisterns that only temporarily hold water! Let’s go to the source of that living water today – that river whose streams shall make glad the city of God (Psalm 46:4)!

REVIEW
 
So currently, we are learning how to get spiritually fit – understanding that the way that we get in shape physically is the same way we get in shape spiritually. Yes, we have to eat right and we have to exercise properly, and in so doing we can develop our inner man like we can our outward man.
 
We’ve seen this in First Timothy 4:6-8 where the apostle Paul makes the comparison between physical nutrition & exercise and spiritual nutrition & exercise. These verses say, “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”
 
Therefore, if we want to become good servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are going to have to do two things: We have to be properly “nourished” and we have to “exercise” ourselves toward godliness. No, not physically; we are talking about doing these things spiritually.
 
But what we have learned is that in order to get spiritually fit, we have to first become spiritual – and this is being born again. So we looked at the various Scriptures where being born again is described and saw how it is a literal transformation that takes place in the spirit where the Holy Spirit impregnates us with the Father’s seed, and we become a new creation in Christ Jesus. Then, and only then, are we able to grow up and become fit spiritually.
 
Which we then looked at in part two – We learned that once we get born again, we then have to grow up spiritually and become mature Christians. We learned that just because one is born, that doesn’t automatically mean that they can develop like an adult can. No, even though a baby is born with all of the bones and muscles that it is ever going to have, the child has to grow up and mature physically in order to unlock their full potential in fitness.
 
So we looked at what the signs of spiritual infancy / immaturity are, and how one grows up in their salvation – because again, we have to be mature in the Spirit in order to truly get in shape spiritually.
 
 
So last week we learned, once we’ve been born again and have grown up a little spiritually, what the first thing someone who desires to start exercising to get in shape needs to do. And we saw that a lot of physical fitness experts will tell you that the first step to getting in shape physically starts right between the ears. In other words, it is cultivating the right attitude and mentality that goes into getting in shape.
 
I explained that one thing I remember hearing my wife, Shannon, (who has a degree in health & fitness, mind you) say, is that if someone who has decided to start working out can just “get to the door” of the gym, they have overcome the first obstacle.
 
Anyone here who has either endeavored to get in shape or allowed themselves to get out of shape will tell you that there is a lot in this flesh that will try to keep us from going to the gym. It’ll try to convince you and I that it’s too tired, it doesn’t have the energy, it was a hard day at work, it doesn’t want to roll out of bed, etc., etc., etc.
 
But we saw that just as consistent as those obstacles are, is the following statement people make who press through and exercise anyway when they didn’t feel like it: They will say, “Man, I’m so glad I went to work out today! I feel so much better!” And I told y’all that I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard something similar right here – People tell me all the time about how they were tempted to not come to church, but they pushed through and came anyway. And when they left, they told me – “Pastor, that service was just for me! I needed to hear what you had to say.”
 
So when it comes to working out spiritually, the lesson I learn from this is we have to overcome the flesh’s tendency to try and talk us out of doing what we need to do and what’s best for us – and this all starts between the ears, right?
 
You see, there is a war on the inside of us—flesh versus spirit. It is the nature of God against the nature of Satan. Yes, it is Isaac versus Ishmael; Jacob versus Esau; Cain versus Abel. It’s brother against brother. And through this battle on the inside of us we are doomed to live a roller coaster Christianity if we do not learn to live by the spirit, which comes through developing our spiritual nature to where it runs the show.
 
But what we specifically learned last week is that there is a third party within us. No, we are not just a spirit and a body. We also have a soul, and the soul is the middleman in this. In fact, we saw him as the arbitrator in this constant battle for control.
 
So we learned that whichever part of us can convince the soul to team up with it is the part of us that will win. So, if the flesh is persuasive enough saying, “Hey soul, let’s take this path right here. It is best for us and it’s easier. Come on, let’s go this way …” and then the soul obliges by thinking in that direction, that is the path your life is certain to take. But, on the other hand, if the spirit man can convince the soul to go the other direction – by getting the soul to think like it thinks – then the spirit and the soul will override the lusts of the flesh.
 
So we learned that that’s why the attitude & mentality that we possess is the first and most important variable – because this victory in becoming spiritually fit begins with the soul. That’s when we have to just “get to the door” – that is, decide that we are going to do what we need to do more than what we want to do. And once you and I press through the adversity & struggle of our flesh and do the right thing, it’ll start getting easier.
 
Then last time, we looked at another mentality that we need to have when it comes to getting in shape, and that is the importance of not despising the day of small beginnings.
 
You see, what the professionals say is that one of the pitfalls of successful exercise is that people try to do too much too quickly. In other words, while they want the results that they see in others like people running marathons or pumping a lot of iron, they don’t have the patience or work ethic to build up to that place. Sure, they might want to possess that tone, fit body or those huge pecs & biceps, but pressing through the time of building the body up to that place is where most fall short.
 
You see, it’s tempting to wait for a burst of motivation or the “perfect moment” to tackle everything at once. But this mindset often leaves us overwhelmed or stuck in a cycle of procrastination. Therefore, starting small works because it’s achievable, and it builds momentum.
 
Think about it like pushing a heavy boulder. The first push is the hardest, but once it’s moving, the effort becomes easier. Tiny steps—like tidying a single shelf, setting a 5-minute timer to journal, or taking a short walk—are those first pushes. They’re manageable actions that remind you that progress is possible.
 
Small wins also give you a sense of accomplishment. They release dopamine, the “feel-good” chemical, which motivates you to keep going. This is how one tiny shift today can snowball into meaningful growth tomorrow.
 
This is when they say that starting small is a key to getting the ball rolling in the right direction. And when they say small, they are not just talking about lifting a small amount of weight at the gym or running on the treadmill for a couple of minutes. They are talking about figuring out how we can simply add movement to our regular activity. In other words, intentionally adding small things like simple movement to our day-to-day activity.
 
So what this has to do with exercising spiritually is that you can do the same with your spiritual exercises. I think a lot of people see what they can and should be, but they see it as too far off. So what does that do? It does the same thing we’ve seen that it does naturally; it zaps the motivation.
 
But what if there was that same “feel-good” chemical that is released spiritually when we start exercising spiritually? I think there is something similar that happens when we start taking small steps …
 
So we looked at one of my favorite chapters of the Bible – Zechariah chapter 4 – and we saw the LORD encouraging a man named Zerubbabel, who was called to rebuild the LORD’s temple, with the insurmountable mountain in front of him.
 
So we learned that having the right attitude is important when it comes to these small beginnings – because if you don’t have the correct mentality, you won’t make it from the small beginning to the desired outcome.
 
SETTING GOALS
 
So now that we have covered a couple of good mindsets & attitudes to have, like the importance of getting to the door and understanding the value of starting small, let’s look at one more thing that all the experts say is important when it comes to physical fitness – and that is, the importance of setting goals.
 
You see, there is power in setting goals. For one, it drastically improves your chance of reaching your desired outcome. This might sound rather obvious, but it might surprise you to hear that many people go to the gym or do other fitness activities with no real goal in mind, without any real objective.
 
But just think about it: With just about any task we do – whether simple or complex – there is usually a goal at the end of it. For example, some of us perform the simple task of writing a shopping list with the intention of buying those items because we need them. And we know whether we’ve been successful once we’ve checked them off the list. Without that list, it’s likely we might forget something and/or spend our time aimlessly wandering around the store which results in not achieving our goal.
 
And this same principle can certainly be applied to fitness: Having a goal and writing it down somewhere you can check it helps you to plan what you need to do to achieve it, so you don’t end up in the gym wandering around wondering what exercise to do.
 
On top of that, not having a goal also makes it hard to know what we’ve achieved or what we are trying to achieve. We might think we are doing all the right things, but in reality, we’re focusing too much time on one aspect of our fitness and not enough on another. So fitness goals are important as they help us to stay aligned and do the workouts we might skip if left to do it by memory or by what we feel like doing.
 
For example, if you don’t like leg days, sometimes it’s easy to forget the last time you did a leg strength session. Without a goal you might think, “I worked on my legs last week, that’s okay,” but in actuality, it was 2 weeks ago, and now you’ve neglected it again and your overall fitness has gotten out of balance.
 
However, if you regularly check your fitness goals, you’ll quickly realize that you’re not on target with leg strength like you are in other areas. Without your written fitness goals, you won’t notice it until your friends start making sarcastic comments about your chicken legs. LOL!
 
So this is why fitness goals are important – because they …

1. Keep you on track
2. Make working out efficient
3. Help you progress quickly
4. Help you notice progress
5. Keep you motivated

 
OUTCOME GOALS VS. PROCESS GOALS
 
But the following is something that I have learned is important when it comes to this topic of goal setting:
 
One of the best ways to stay committed to our long-term goals is to set some other kinds of goals. In fact, I’ve heard it recommended to not only set “outcome goals” but to also set “process goals.” Simply put, the outcome goals are the ultimate thing you want to achieve, and the process goals are the smaller steps you’ll implement in order to achieve those outcome goals.  
 
Outcome goals might read like bucket list items – naming what it is that you want to achieve. For example, outcome goals for these physical fitness things might be running a 10K, finishing a marathon in under a certain amount of time (or maybe just finishing it), losing 40 pounds, or benching 300 pounds.
 
But when you’re coming up with these outcome goals, you need to also implement process goals. These are the daily and weekly goals you are going to commit to in order to move you closer and closer to that outcome. So if your outcome goal is to simply lose weight, your process goals might be something like walking 8,000 steps per day, eating a protein-rich breakfast every day, or cutting your soda intake in half. Meanwhile, if you want to lift more weight, your process goals might include things like hitting the gym a certain number of days each week, doing a certain amount of reps each time of a specific weight, or having a post-workout protein shake every time.
 
You see, by having these specific process goals and adhering to them “religiously,” you will be more apt to reach your outcome goals.
 
Now along the lines of having these two types of goals is writing them down and journaling your progress. Writing down your workouts may sound tedious, but doing it is a great way to stay motivated, as well as to tangibly measure how far you’ve come.
 
Not only can writing down your workout feel as rewarding as checking off an item on your to-do list, but it also gives you a way to track your progress. When you record your workouts, you give yourself a way to see how much progress you’ve actually made. Particularly after a rough day at the gym or a slower-than-wanted run, it can be helpful to go back and flip through all the workouts you’ve done, the miles you’ve logged, and the weights you’ve lifted.
 
In addition to writing down what you did at the gym, it is also recommended that you record the more nuanced tidbits about your workout, like your mood and energy levels during the workout, your confidence level that day, or how easy or hard the workout felt.
 
So write both types of goals down somewhere. When you have a detailed plan written down, you are more likely to follow through with it. Then, once it’s written down, assess how confident you feel that you can achieve your outcome with the process goals you can realistically implement. These experts say that on a scale of 1 to 10, you want to be at least 80% confident that you can achieve your outcome goal. Why? Because when you are confident, the motivation comes more easily.
 
SPIRITUAL GOAL SETTING
 
But while this is certainly good wisdom for physical fitness, we are not talking about physical fitness here, are we? We are looking at how to become spiritually fit, but I believe that the wisdom found in these natural things can be applied to exercising our inward man.  
 
So what would some outcome & process goals be towards our spiritual fitness? Well, it depends on how specific we want to get.
 
If we look at things on a smaller scale, some outcome goals for us might be things like having our love perfected, becoming more patient, having our joy full, seeing more consistent results in healings when we pray for people, seeing more evidence of having what we say, etc.
 
So the process goals for each of these would be different, right? If, for instance, my outcome goal was to be more developed in patience, my process goal might be looking for those opportunities to be impatient and choosing to lift those weights by resisting the temptation to be impatient. In other words, I’m not just hoping I miraculously become more of a patient person, but I’m looking for those times where I’m tempted to be frustrated, irritated, and my emotions get all worked up, and then I view those as opportunities to pump some iron and exercise those patience muscles. Not everyone realizes this, but that is how you develop in patience – by exercising it when you don’t feel like it.
 
My point is that if it works this way with physical fitness, then you can be sure that it works this way with spiritual fitness. So having goals for our spiritual conditioning too is helpful so that we can track our progress and to keep ourselves encouraged & motivated.
 
THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF CHRISTIANITY
 
But let’s think “bigger picture” today. Let’s look at what the ultimate, long-term goal of Christianity really is. In other words, what should be the ultimate objective for every believer?
 
Well, I believe it is ultimately to win the prize of our heavenly reward and to be inducted into God’s Hall of Fame.
 
You might say, “I didn’t even know that the LORD has a Hall of Fame?” Well, it’s not like the HOF’s that we have on the earth today, but Hebrews chapter 11 chronicles the lives of men & women of God who did this by faith and did that by faith. Many who walked on this earth and excelled in the arena of faith up until the time of Jesus are mentioned as a memorial to their walk with the One True God.
 
Then chapter twelve begins with – “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us …” (Hebrews 12:1)
 
So the picture that the author painted was of us being competitors in a race, surrounded by the grandstands of heaven that are full of all those who have run a race of faith before us. And since we are the ones on the course right now, he gives us three exhortations for running our race in verse one alone.
 
The first exhortation I want us to look at is found in the last phrase of this verse – “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” So it’s the necessity of running with endurance.
 
Now endurance is one of those very important New Testament virtues – that “won’t quit” persistent attitude. But how many of you know that in order for a runner to truly have endurance there are a couple of things that the runner must do. And these two things are what the writer of Hebrews lists before ever mentioning the race we are in and the endurance that we are to run it with. So what are these two things?
 
He said just before mentioning the race, “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us…” The words “lay aside” literally mean “to get rid of.” So there are two things that the writer of Hebrews mentions that we are to get rid of in order to successfully run our race with endurance.
 
You see, if a runner has a lot of baggage on him while he is trying to run a race then he is going to have a harder time enduring to the end, right? So how come so many believers think that they are going to finish their course with so many encumbrances in their lives? No, the first thing we must do if we want to make this race we are running easier to endure is to “get rid of every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us.”     
 
First of all, let’s look at the word “weight”: This word “weight” literally means “bulk or mass.” Now there are two ways that you can look at this word… Number one, it could describe the clothing or other encumbrances that would hinder a runner in his or her race. Number two, it could also describe the excess “bulk or mass” on the runner himself. In other words, this word “weight” can also refer to him or her as being overweight and out of shape.
 
I personally believe the latter is what the writer of Hebrews had in mind here – that is, the extra weight on the body of the runner that would encumber the athlete from being agile and swift and cause him to not have endurance. What this admonition is referring to is that we must be in shape, not physically, but spiritually in order to effectively run our spiritual race with endurance. Being spiritually fit is such an important key to running our race effectively.
 
The next phrase that the author of Hebrews says is “and (lay aside) the sin which so easily ensnares us.” Again, the words “lay aside” literally mean “to get rid of” and we have already seen that we are to get rid of the weight that is hindering us. So what else are we to get rid of? He says, “and the sin which so easily ensnares us.” Notice that the writer does not say “the sins (plural)” but rather “the sin (singular).” You see, he was not referring to the specific and individual sins in our life, but he was referring to “sin in general” (i.e. the sin nature of the flesh).
 
You see, we are all clothed with this body and all of its weaknesses and limitations. And it is through this sinful body we are trapped in, that we do not arise to the full potential that God created us to live up to. Now I am not saying that this is the way that it should be, because God has given us all the grace that we need to live up to this potential. What I am saying, however, is that in reality, most believers have not mastered their flesh nature, and they allow it to usurp the authority some of the time.
 
It is for this reason that the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4:22- “…put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts.” The truth is that our old man was crucified with Christ, but what so many Christians do is they continue to wear the same clothes that the old man left behind.  You see, when Paul used the term “put off” it literally meant to take off some sort of clothing. In other words, when he admonished his readers over and over again to “put off” this characteristic of the flesh and “put off” that characteristic of the flesh, what he was literally saying was “take off this piece of clothing” and “take off that piece of clothing.” You see, things like anger, wrath, bitterness, envy, and lying are all garments left behind by the old man, and we are admonished to take them off and get rid of them.
 
But why do we need to take them off? It is because of what Hebrews 12:1 says… “which so easily ensnares us.” The word “ensnare” means “to impede, hinder, or trip up.” So if we do not take off this sin, our running will be hindered. You see, if we try and run our race of faith while wearing all of these garments of the flesh, we will be tripped up time and time again and fall constantly, similarly to how a runner can constantly be tripped up if he is wearing too much clothing.
 
So we see in Hebrews 12:1 our long-term goal and the means of reaching it. Amen?
 
Ultimately, we see this outcome goal accomplished in the life of the apostle Paul in Second Timothy chapter 4 …
 
He said in verse 8 – “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not only me but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
 
This crown of righteousness that he spoke of is that prize that we are all running for. It’s the one that Paul said in First Corinthians 9:25 that we all are running for – that imperishable crown. 
 
But what did the apostle Paul say that He did in verse 7 to gain this crown of righteousness? He said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
 
So these were the things that he did throughout his ministry that led him to reach His outcome goal. So let’s talk a little further about the process goal that will lead us to our ultimate objective of receiving the reward and being inducted into God’s Hall of Fame.
 
THE GOAL ABOVE ALL GOALS
 
But I want to show you the greatest goal that will help up reach that long-term goal. I call it – the goal above all goals.
 
You see, we see in the Book of Philippians that the apostle Paul obviously believed in goals. In fact, we see that he lived his life for just one goal.
 
In Philippians 3:12-14 he said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
 
So the apostle Paul starts out making sure that his readers were aware that he had not “arrived” (i.e. attained) or that he had already reached some elite level of spiritual maturity (i.e. perfected). In other words, he was saying that he wasn’t perfect. But he went on to make it clear that he was certainly “pressing” towards something. Yes, he said that there was just one thing that he was doing, and that was that he was “pursuing” (Lit. definition of “press”) after the goal of total spiritual maturity or perfection. He was chasing after this goal and after the prize that accompanied it!
 
So what was this goal? Paul said that it was laying hold of that for which Christ Jesus had also laid hold of him. What an interesting statement, huh? What was the “that” that he was pressing on to lay hold of? It was that for which Christ Jesus had also laid hold of him.
 
You know, when it comes to us getting saved, the church likes to say we found Jesus. But we say this like Jesus was the One who was lost. Jesus wasn’t the One who was lost; we were! Yes, Jesus found us, that pearl of great price! He found us, that treasure hidden in the field! So it would be more correct to say that Jesus found us, or might we say, “Jesus laid hold of us!” Jesus took us with His righteous right hand and now nothing can pluck out of His hand.
 
So the “that” that we are pursuing & pressing on to lay hold of is the One who already pursues and pressed on to lay hold of us. Amen! In other words, it’s about us fully grasping and taking hold of the Lord Jesus Christ! Paul called this in the next verse, the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
 
In verse 13, Paul reiterated that he hadn’t yet taken hold and apprehended Him fully yet, but he goes on to say, “but one thing I do …” Notice he didn’t say, “but two, three, or five things I do.” No, he said he only did just one thing. And what was that? It was forgetting those things which were behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. And Paul made it clear in the context here that the thing he was pursuing was Christ Himself – that is, knowing Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformed to His death (See verse 10).
 
So when you compare other Scriptures that talk about this “one thing,” you’ll discover what this was for Paul too.
 
Psalm 27:4 teaches us what made David the man after God’s own heart: It says that the one thing that he desired and pursued was to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life. And we know that this is talking about living in the LORD’s presence every day! So it’s being with Him. Amen?
 
Then in the Gospels (Luke 10:38-42), when Jesus was in Martha’s house teaching, we see that Martha got irritated with her sister because Mary only wanted to be with Jesus and not be troubled with the duties of being a host. Well, Jesus said that there was only one thing that was needed in that moment and Mary had chosen that good part. And what was that? It was being in Jesus’ presence! Amen!
 
So the Scriptures make it clear that the “one thing” is being with the One Lord! Amen! So when Paul says that this is the one thing that he did, we can assume that this was also being in the presence of the Lord too. In fact, it was fully being with Him and identifying with Christ in every way. Glory!  
 
Then he goes on to say in verse 14 that he pressed toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus! And we just saw that this upward call is getting ahold of Christ in our life like He got ahold of us – that is, gaining Christ, knowing Christ, and becoming Christ in our everyday life!
 
And notice that the apostle Paul called it the “goal.” Church, I believe this describes the biggie – that goal above every other goal.
 
You see, as we consider some goals that we can have as children of God, I want you to know that I am specifically going to look at the big goals (i.e. the overarching, main goals). You can feel free to break these down into more specific goals, but in my humble opinion, all our goals should come through this “one thing” that we are looking at today.
 
And the first goal is the main goal. In fact, the rest of what we will look at actually fall under this oh so important target of the born again, Spirit-filled child of God. And that goal is this – TO BE JUST LIKE JESUS!
 
Now when I say to be just like Jesus, that statement requires some explanation:
 
For one, if you have been born again, your spirit is already just like Jesus. Yes, as we’ve learned already, you have been born of your Heavenly Father’s seed and possess the divine nature in your inward man. Amen! That’s the gospel!
 
But like we’ve learned, just because you’ve been born again and possess His holiness, righteousness, love, joy, peace, etc., doesn’t mean that you’ve developed those spiritual blessings & virtues. Yes, like a baby has to grow up and mature physically, we likewise, have to grow up and mature spiritually (which we’ve already learned).
 
So when I say, “to be just like Jesus,” I’m not referring to the new birth; I am referring to what Jesus Himself chose to develop in. Yes, He worked out His salvation and this caused Him to walk in the Spirit, producing all kinds of spiritual fruit and spiritual gifts. Amen!
 
That’s what I’m referring to when I say to be like Him – to love people the way He loved them, to do good like He did, and to destroy the works of the devil like He was known for. This is the bullseye! This is the mark! And it should be our goal as Christians!    
 
TO BE JUST LIKE JESUS
 
So if that’s the case (and it most certainly is!), then let’s look at what made Christ the way that He was so that we can know specifically what we are to pursue about Him.
 
Philippians chapter 2 teaches us this very thing. Yes, this chapter instructs us to let this mind be in us which was also in Christ Jesus. That’s just a fancy way of saying, “Have the same attitude & mentality that Jesus had” or you could just simply say, “Think like Jesus thought.”
 
In essence, what he was saying was – “This lifestyle of esteeming others better than yourself and looking out for the interests of others more than your own was the way Christ lived. Therefore, learn to think like He thought and adopt His mentality” (See Philippians 2:3-5).
 
So we learn a couple of things from Philippians 2:5:

1. We learn that Jesus had a certain way of thinking. Yes, He possessed a certain mindset and lived His life from this mentality.
2. We also learn that we are to adopt His way of thinking and to think like He thought.

 
So a good question is – What was His mentality? Well, we don’t have to speculate because the following verses teach us how He thought about things because all we have to do is look at verses 6-8 to see what was on His mind … 
 
In verse 6, the apostle Paul begins to describe Jesus’ attitude by saying, “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.” 
 
Now by describing Jesus as being in the “form of God,” Paul was showing his readers that Jesus was, at this point, the very nature and essence of God Himself. But even though He possessed this divine nature in heaven, Paul goes on to tell us that He “did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.” Now this phrase does not translate well into our modern language. What the original language literally meant is that Jesus did not consider His equality with God (i.e. being in the form of God) as something to be held onto. In other words, as verse 7 goes on to say, even though Jesus was by nature the Second Person in the Trinity, He was willing to lower Himself to the place of having no “reputation.” Again, this is another somewhat vague translation. What this means is that because Jesus was willing to lay aside His divine nature, He “set aside all of His divine privileges.” In other words, even though He never ceased being God, He willingly laid aside His divinity and became 100% in the likeness of men. Yes, He willingly adopted the nature of mankind, even to the extent of becoming a bondservant to those He created. Now, saints, that is seriously laying down one’s life right there! Amen? 
 
Now Hebrews 12:2 gives us a little more insight into the mind of Christ …
 
This is where we are told that Jesus is the One that we are to be “looking unto.” Now when the writers of Hebrews say, “looking unto Jesus,” it literally means that we are looking away from everything else and only unto Jesus – meaning, Jesus is the best & most perfect example of a walk of faith from beginning to end that we have.
 
That’s why they go on to describe Jesus as “the author and finisher of our faith.” The word “our” there is not in the original language, so this verse literally describes Jesus as the originator and the perfector of faith. In other words, Jesus walked by faith perfectly from beginning to end. Amen!
 
And why? What helped him to walk in this flawless faith? It was because of what was said next … “who for the joy that was set before Him …”
 
Now most have interpreted that phrase as saying that there was a joy that was set before Him like a carrot and that is what He was looking at as He did the will of His Father. But I don’t believe that’s what was being said here. No, the word “for” here comes from the Greek word anti, so that describes “in exchange for the joy that was set before Him.” In other words, the joy that was set before Christ was what Philippians 2:6 was describing – it was the joys that He had as being in the form of God and being present in heaven as God Himself.
 
So because of the way He thought, Hebrews 12:2 says that He endured the Cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
 
You see, church, what I am describing to you is the ultimate goal of Christianity! It is to die to ourselves, to lay down our lives, and to truly live for Him.
 
The “despising” of the shame shows us that He didn’t place any value to the shame involved in His life & ministry, ultimately climaxing on the Cross. In other words, Jesus didn’t place any value on what He endured. He only valued what His goal was – which was to do the will of His Father and drink from the cup that His Father gave Him to drink from.
                              
So this is how our Lord & Savior thought, saints! This is the perspective He had, and it was ultimately what led to him to receiving the reward that He did, and that Philippians chapter 2 explains – Him being given the Name which is above every other Name and receiving the greatest reward at the right hand of God. Might we say that Jesus received the name above every name because He pursued the goal above every goal. Amen!
 
This is why I call being like Jesus the goal above every goal – because if we learn to think like Jesus, act like Jesus, talk like Jesus, etc., we will receive the end of our faith and that crown of righteousness at the finish line. Amen! 

REVIEW
 
So currently, we are learning how to get spiritually fit – understanding that the same way that we get in shape physically is the same way we get in shape spiritually. Yes, we have to eat right and we have to exercise properly, and in so doing we can develop our inner man like we can our outward man.
 
We’ve seen this in First Timothy 4:6-8 where the apostle Paul makes the comparison between physical nutrition & exercise and spiritual nutrition & exercise. These verses say, “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”
 
Therefore, if we want to become good servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are going to have to do two things: We have to be properly “nourished” and we have to “exercise” ourselves toward godliness. No, not physically; we are talking about doing these things spiritually.
 
But what we have learned is that in order to get spiritually fit, we have to first become spiritual – and this is being born again. So we looked at the various Scriptures where being born again is described and saw how it is a literal transformation that takes place in the spirit where the Holy Spirit impregnates us with the Father’s seed, and we become a new creation in Christ Jesus. Then, and only then, are we able to grow up and become fit spiritually.
 
Which we then looked at in part two – We learned that once we get born again, we then have to grow up spiritually and become mature Christians. We learned that just because one is born, that doesn’t automatically mean that they can develop like an adult can. No, even though a baby is born with all of the bones and muscles that it is ever going to have, the child has to grow up and mature physically in order to unlock their full potential in fitness.
 
So we looked at what are the signs of spiritual infancy / immaturity and how one grows up in their salvation – because again, we have to be mature in the Spirit in order to truly become in shape spiritually.
 
 
So last week we learned that once we’ve born again and have grown up a little spiritually, what the first thing someone who desires to start exercising and get in shape needs to do. And we saw that a lot of physical fitness experts will tell you that the first step to getting in shape physically starts right between the ears. In other words, it is cultivating the right attitude and mentality that goes into getting in shape.
 
I explained that one thing I remember hearing my wife, Shannon, say (who has a degree in health & fitness, mind you) is that if someone who has decided to start working out can just “get to the door” of the gym, they have overcome the first obstacle.
 
Anyone here who has either endeavored to get in shape or allowed themselves to get out of shape will tell you that there is a lot in this flesh that will try to keep us from going to the gym. It’ll try to convince you and I that it’s too tired, it doesn’t have the energy, it was a hard day at work, it doesn’t want to roll out of bed, etc., etc., etc.
 
But we saw that just as consistent as those obstacles are, is the following statement people make who press through and exercise anyways when they didn’t feel like it: They will say, “Man, I’m so glad I went to work out today! I feel so much better!” And I told y’all that I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard something similar right here – People tell me all the time about how they were tempted to not come to church, but they pushed through and came anyway. And when they left, they told me – “Pastor, that service was just for me! I needed to hear what you had to say.”
 
So when it comes to working out spiritually, the lesson I learn from this is we have to overcome the flesh’s tendency to try and talk us out of doing what we need to do and what’s best for us – and this all starts between the ears, right?
 
You see, there is a war on the inside of us—flesh versus spirit. It is the nature of God against the nature of Satan. Yes, it is Isaac versus Ishmael; Jacob versus Esau; Cain versus Abel. It’s brother against brother. And through this battle on the inside of us we are doomed to live a roller coaster Christianity if we do not learn to live by the spirit, which comes through developing our spiritual nature to where it runs the show.
 
But what we specifically learned last week is that there is a third party within us. No, we are not just a spirit and a body. We also have a soul, and the soul is the middle-man in this. In fact, we saw him as the arbitrator in this constant battle for control.
 
So we learned that whichever part of us can convince the soul to team up with it is the part of us that will win. So, if the flesh is persuasive enough saying, “Hey soul, let’s take this path right here. It is best for us and it’s easier. Come on, let’s go this way …” and then the soul obliges by thinking in that direction, that is the path your life is certain to take. But, on the other hand, if the spirit man can convince the soul to go the other direction – by getting the soul to think like it thinks – then the spirit and the soul will override the lusts of the flesh.
 
So we learned that that’s why the attitude & mentality that we possess is the first and most important variable – because this victory in becoming spiritually fit begins with the soul. That’s when we have to just “get to the door” – that is, decide that we are going to do what we need to do more than what we want to do. And once you and I press through the adversity & struggle of our flesh and do the right thing, it’ll start getting easier.
 
STARTING SMALL
 
So let’s look at some other attitudes that are important to adopt in the soul when it comes to physical fitness because in learning about good mentalities to have for getting physically fit, we can learn good mindsets to have regarding getting spiritually fit … 
 
So now that we’ve entered the door of the gym, what do we do next? You see, it can be quite intimidating to see all of the equipment, causing us to become overwhelmed as we are getting started.  
 
Well, this is when those that seem to be somewhat among them (I speak concerning the so-called health & fitness experts of this world) will tell you another very important mindset to have – and that is, you have to start small.
 
You see, inside a lot of gyms are men & women who have been working out for a long time. These “gym rats” have been religiously going through their exercise routine for so long and it is evident when you look at them. Well, that also can be discouraging because it’s hard for us to see how we can ever get to that point ourselves with our current condition.
 
Do you think this might happen in church too? There are some who have been at this for a long time and they have obviously applied themselves to growing spiritually, so now they appear to be strong in faith, they know how to love others well, and their knowledge of God seems to be well beyond others.
 
Well, that too can be intimidating for some of us. So in both of these instances whether it’s at the gym or at church, we need to remember – no one got to where they are now overnight! No, everyone had to start somewhere.
 
So while the world likes to say, “Go big or go home!”, in this case, we might better say, “You better go small, or you will go home.
 
This is why it’s important that we learn to start small as the experts tell us …  
 
You see, what these professionals say is that one of the pitfalls of successful exercise is that people try to do too much too quickly. In other words, while they want the results that they see in others like people running marathons or pumping a lot of iron, they don’t have the patience or work ethic to build up to that place. Sure, they might want to possess that tone, fit body or those huge pecs & biceps, but pressing through the time of building the body up to that place is where most fall short.
 
You see, it’s tempting to wait for a burst of motivation or the “perfect moment” to tackle everything at once. But this mindset often leaves us overwhelmed or stuck in a cycle of procrastination. Therefore, starting small works because it’s achievable, and it builds momentum.
 
Think about it like pushing a heavy boulder. The first push is the hardest, but once it’s moving, the effort becomes easier. Tiny steps—like tidying a single shelf, setting a 5-minute timer to journal, or taking a short walk—are those first pushes. They’re manageable actions that remind you that progress is possible.
 
Small wins also give you a sense of accomplishment. They release dopamine, the “feel-good” chemical, which motivates you to keep going. This is how one tiny shift today can snowball into meaningful growth tomorrow.
 
This is when they say that starting small is a key to getting the ball rolling in the right direction. And when they say small, they are not just talking about lifting a small amount of weight at the gym or running on the treadmill for a couple of minutes. They are talking about figuring out how we can simply add movement to our regular activities. In other words, intentionally adding small things like simple movement to our day-to-day activity.
 
Here’s another reason small steps are effective: they eliminate the fear of failure. When the goal is tiny—like writing just one sentence instead of a whole chapter—you’re more likely to take action. Over time, these small actions compound into bigger results.
 
Here are some examples of how we can do this from the natural perspective:

• When you are on the phone, don’t just sit; stand and walk while you talk.
• Plan a little exercise routine like simply walking or stretching during your lunch break.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator/escalator when possible.

 
So what does all of this have to do with exercising spiritually? Well, you can do the same with your spiritual exercises. I think a lot of people see what they can and should be, but they see it as too far off. So what does that do? It does the same thing we’ve seen that it does naturally; it zaps the motivation.
 
So some things we can do to start small with spiritual things is maybe to:

• Instead of trying to read a chapter in your Bible every day, why not just read a verse. Yes, take one verse and meditate on it throughout the day. This is comparable to just adding some movement into our day-to-day activities.
• Instead of trying to love everyone you come in contact with, aim to find one person that you can sow goodness into each day. Once you experience that spiritual dopamine, it’ll inspire you to do more.
• Instead of trying to spend an hour with the LORD every morning, why not just give Him 5 minutes where you spend acknowledging Him and praising & worshiping Him.

 
It just takes a few steps in the right direction to start pushing that “boulder” to where you gain some spiritual momentum. But the key is not despising the day of small beginnings.
 
That sounds like a Scripture, doesn’t it? So let’s look at the chapter that this truth is found in and learn some more about this good mindset to possess when it comes to getting spiritually fit.
 
REBUILDING THIS TEMPLE
 
In one of my favorite chapters of the Old Testament – Zechariah chapter 4 – we see the LORD encouraging a man named Zerubbabel, who was called to rebuild the LORD’s temple.
 
But what I see in this prophecy is a very detailed description of the mentality that one who desires to accomplish any monumental feat must possess. In other words, this chapter shows us the right attitude to have when it comes to building or rebuilding anything for the LORD.   
 
In fact, it was the Temple of God that he was called to rebuild, correct? So what is the Temple of God according to the New Testament? What did it symbolize? Well, First Corinthians 6:19 says, “… do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you …”
 
So today, God’s temple is not made with hands. It was built & created by God. And God has chosen to inhabit this flesh & blood body as His Temple.
 
So as we consider this very example in Zechariah chapter 4 of the rebuilding / reconstruction of the Temple of God, I don’t think it’s too far-fetched for us to compare this to glorifying God in our bodies through both spiritual & physical exercise and nutrition. Right?
 
So let’s look at this prophecy in detail and learn what the right attitude is as we decide to exercise our spiritual temple and glorify God in both our spirit and body. And what we will find in this prophecy is the beginning process of building / rebuilding the LORD’s temple and how our small beginnings in doing so are to be handled correctly.
 
So let’s begin at the beginning of this chapter and learn some good, healthy mentalities to have as we are starting out in getting in shape spiritually.
 
WAKE UP AND LOOK UP
 
Now in verse one, it starts out by saying, “Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.”
 
Now this goes back to the point we made last week of how we have to press through the flesh’s tendency to keep us from doing the right thing, doesn’t it? Yes, sleeping through the chance to exercise and develop ourselves spiritually is always something that we need to “wake up” from.
 
We see this communicated by the apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 5 as he exhorts us, as children of light, to walk in the light we possess. Then he goes on to say that we need to arise from the dead and let Christ give us this light. This proves that even though we are spiritually alive, we can appear as though we are dead by simply being spiritually asleep. Paul describes this as having fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
 
Then in verse two, we see the angel asking Zechariah a question – “And he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ So I said, ‘I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.’ ”
 
So after waking the prophet up, the first thing the angel said to him was a question – “What do you see?” And this is likewise an important question for us.
 
You see, what we can see is important because if we can’t see it, we can’t accomplish it. Did you know that everything that is created has to first be seen by its creator? Yes, there must first be a vision in order for something to be invented.
 
Well, when it comes to our spiritual growth & fitness, we have to be able to see it. We have to see ourselves as fit! We have to see ourselves as strong! We have to see ourselves as in shape spiritually!
 
But what was it that the LORD was showing Zechariah? It was a solid gold lampstand!
 
Now does anyone out there have any idea what a golden lampstand symbolizes in the Bible? Well, at the beginning of the Book of Revelation, it is clear that the seven golden lampstands represented the seven churches of Asia Minor. So here, it is not a stretch to see that what the LORD was showing Zechariah was a representation of God’s people – the church of their day which was Israel.
 
So the way I see it, the thing that we have to be able to see is that the real us – that which God has created in His image and likeness – is to Him a golden lampstand.
 
The lampstand represents the light of the world that the LORD’s people are to be to this dark & perverse generation. But being called “golden” lampstands indicates how the LORD sees us in regard to value.
 
You see, gold is widely considered this world’s most precious commodity, right? So to the LORD, He sees His church as valuable & precious!
 
Now if you consider the seven churches of Revelation that were all called golden, they weren’t all so perfect. No, most of them were rebuked by the Lord Jesus for some pretty bad flaws they had. Yet, even in their imperfections, they were all considered golden.
 
Church, we need to know that even though you and I are very flawed and imperfect vessels, the LORD still sees us as valuable. Yes, our mistakes & failures do not change the way He both has created us and sees us. Amen!
 
So if this is how He sees us, then this is how we need to see ourselves! And I can guarantee you that seeing this “golden lampstand” that Zechariah saw is what will unlock more potential in us. Yes, as we see ourselves in the light that the LORD sees us, we will be more inclined to reach the level He has envisioned for us. Amen?
 
THE TWO OLIVE TREES
 
So this golden lampstand had some very specific attributes, didn’t it? It had a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. But I want you to notice how verse two goes on to say – “Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.’ ” And this was a very significant part of the vision he was seeing!
 
The significance of this part of the vision Zechariah had, was that the olive trees that were planted on both sides of the lampstand were (as the Amplified Bible brings out) “supplying it continuously with oil.”
 
You see, in their day, they used the oil that came from olive trees to burn in these kinds of lamps. Therefore, olive oil, to them, represented a supply of something that was extremely needful and important. So, by not having just two vials of olive oil, but two olive trees planted at its side, this lampstand would have a constant supply of the oil needed to burn continuously. 
 
Now we know through the things revealed in the New Testament that oil always represents the anointing. And if you look ahead to the end of Zechariah chapter 4 (verse 14), the angel tells Zechariah specifically who these two olive trees represent: He says that they represent the two anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.
 
Now Zechariah does not go into specifically who these two anointed ones are in this chapter, but again, we can interpret this prophecy through the rest of the Scriptures:
 
In the Book of Revelation, we are told that these would be the two witnesses who would come in the end times, during the tribulation. But notice that Zechariah describes these as those who were standing beside God. To me, this shows that they had to be more than just a human. Yes, they had to be equal with God the Father themselves. So, who would those two be? You got it – The Spirit and the Word! The two anointed ones are the Second and Third Person of the Godhead—the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit—because both of them are referred to as anointed. Jesus is called the “The Anointed One” (i.e. Christ) and the Holy Spirit is referred to as “the anointing” (See First John 2:26). 
 
Therefore, it is these two anointed ones of the Godhead that were going to supply the ability to Zerubbabel and the children of Israel to fulfill God’s will for their lives. (We will see this described more shortly) Likewise, the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit—the Anointed One and His Anointing are Who will give us that continual supply of grace to let our spiritual light so shine before men and to empower us to grow into our full spiritual potential!
 
NOT DESPISING THE DAY OF SMALL BEGINNINGS
 
So, let’s move on to what we are told next in Zechariah chapter four, and see exactly the message that this prophecy was intending to communicate to all the “Zerubbabel’s” out there:
 
Zechariah 4:6-10 says, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts. ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ” Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
 
You know, things like physical and spiritual exercise can feel like an insurmountable mountain too, right? I’m sure the mountain that the angel of the LORD was referring to here was the mountain of rubble left behind by the destruction of the Temple. So the first thing that went into the reconstruction of the Temple was what? It was “attitude.”
 
Now verse 10 gives us that very important Biblical principle through a question – “For who has despised the day of small beginnings?”
 
This is obviously a question that condemns the idea of despising the day of small beginnings, right? You see, the LORD knows that small beginnings, while oftentimes despised by those who are walking in them, are necessary for building that person up to the ultimate outcome that He has for them.
 
But the word “despised” here is the key word. While we think of this word as meaning to hate or feel contempt for something, the Bible describes this word as simply not placing the appropriate value on something. Our biblical example of this is when we are told that Esau “despised” his birthright. Now Esau didn’t hate his birthright. He just simply didn’t esteem his birthright like he should have, which the LORD saw as him despising it.
 
So despising the day of small beginnings would describe not seeing the value of that time period, and that’s what we need to avoid when it comes to these small beginnings – not having the right attitude.
 
Why is having the right attitude important when it comes to these small beginnings? It’s because if you don’t have the correct mentality, you won’t make it from the small beginning to the desired outcome.
 
If the Lord called you to do it and started this good work, He will see you through. Just be faithful in little, so He can make you ruler over much—expanding your ministry opportunities and granting you grace all along the way!
 
GRACE, GRACE!
 
And what is really cool about this biblical account is that we can glean from it what the LORD considers the right attitude to have during these days of small beginnings. So let’s look back at verses 6-7 because contained in these verses are what I believe to be the right way to think when it comes to the building up of our spiritual temple …
 
Again, the angel told Zechariah – “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.” The message that this vision of the lampstand and the olive trees was intended to communicate is wrapped up in this one statement that the angel said was the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel –  “ ‘It’s not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
 
You see, the Lord was saying that it was only going to be by the ability of His Holy Spirit that this awesome task was going to be accomplished. It was not going to be by the might and strength that Zerubbabel possessed, but only by His Spirit.
 
You know, the Bible says, that unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who try and build it (Psalm 127:1). That means that unless the Lord does the work of building, we are wasting our time—for while we can do some things, it is not worth talking about.     
 
Now what are these words “might” and “power” referring to that the Lord of hosts was telling Zerubbabel that this great task was not going to be accomplished by?
 
The word “might” denotes his collective strength. In other words, this word focuses more on the amount of outside help that Zerubbabel had—such as, the number of people he had working for him or the resources they had to work with. The Lord was saying that he was going to do his work for God, but it was not going to be by the resources or outside help that he had. It was going to be by the Spirit of God.
 
And I believe this is a word for so many of us. It is certainly tempting to lean on our own “might”—that is, maybe our financial resources or on how many people we have helping us. But what we must always strive to do is not put our trust in this outside help. Yes, we need money to do certain things and, yes, we need people to help us, but we must always keep our eyes on Him as our source and not on numbers of dollars or numbers of people.
 
I have learned that the Lord oftentimes will not let you put your trust in these things. I have lost partners and then, right after they quit supporting our ministry, the Lord would add someone else. The same has happened in my church: you’ll lose someone and then the Lord will give you another (sometimes two) to take their place. So, I say all of this to say, keep your faith and trust in Him and not in numbers. That got King David in trouble, and will get us in trouble as well.
 
So again, “might” refers to collective strength and outside help. So, this means that we are not going to be perfected by anyone else’s help, but by the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual development is not going to come from spending a great amount of time listening to other preacher’s sermons; it is going to come from hearing what the Holy Spirit is saying to you. It is not going to come from hanging out with other believers; it is going to come from spending time in God’s presence and fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit.
 
Now I am not discounting the importance of listening to teaching tapes and reading books that are godly because they are good in their place. What I am saying though is that you are not really going to grow, apart from spending time with God Himself. His presence will transform you faster and greater than any other person’s presence will, and just one word from God will impact you more than thousands of words from man. Of course, God can speak to you and affect you through these natural things, but there is no substitute to just you and God fellowshipping together.
 
Now the word “power” deals more with Zerubbabel’s own, individual strength—referring to his own individual ability (i.e. his intellect and strength) to bring this great work to pass. So, God was saying that he was going to do his work for God, but it was not going to be by his own cleverness, abilities, or physical strength; it was going to be by the Spirit of God.
 
This is also a great temptation—to lean upon our own understanding and on the things we are good at. We have to avoid even taking the wisdom we have accumulated and the abilities God has given us, and putting our trust in them rather than in Him.  
 
So how does all of this apply to us being fruitful for God? It means that we are going to accomplish God’s will and do what is pleasing in His sight, not by any intrinsic values in ourselves or by any help from without, but only by the help of the Holy Spirit. This is a very important thing to understand, especially for us under this new and better covenant.
 
The apostle Paul was the one that God gave the fullness of this revelation to: In Romans chapter seven, he explains the utter frustration that comes to the man or woman who tries to keep the law in their own power. He says that although they have it in their heart to do what is pleasing in God’s sight, they lack the ability to do it because of the weakness of their flesh. But in Romans chapter eight, Paul provides the solution to this dilemma: It is the Holy Spirit! You see, before Romans chapter eight, the Holy Spirit is only referred to once or twice, but in chapter eight alone He is referred to scores of times. What can we conclude from this? If we are going to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law, we are going to have to walk in and be led by the Spirit of God. We cannot really please God with the arm of the flesh. It is only by the Spirit of God that we can live a life of pleasing God.
 
In regard to this: In order for us to become all that God intends for us to become in our spiritual lives, we are going to have to depend fully upon the grace of God and not on our own might and power. Amen?
 
So again, this means that you are not going to grow up spiritually in your own strength or because of any outside help. You and I cannot will it to happen. It is only going to happen through your personal fellowship with Jesus Christ and through the ability of the Holy Spirit. 
 
Therefore, the proper mindset that we need to possess when going into the building up of our spiritual temple is that it’s not going to happen through our own might or power. It’s going to happen by the might and power of the Holy Spirit!  Amen!
 
THREE IMPORTANT WAYS OF THINKING
 
But then, how do we cooperate with the Holy Spirit? How do we allow Him to do it in us? Well, it begins with thinking a certain way and possessing a certain mindset.
 
So I want you to notice what the Prophet Zechariah says next: He says, “Who are you, O great mountain?” He begins with the question of disrespect. He was basically saying, “I don’t even know who you are. You’re nothing.” Then he says that, before Zerubbabel, this great mountain would get flattened and become a plain. And then he even went as far as visualizing the capstone being put on this project.
 
Do you see what was happening here? We see three huge steps that went into the reconstruction of the temple that started right between Zerubbabel’s ears. 

1. Don’t respect the mountain more than you do the God of the mountain.
2. Declare that the mountain before you will become a plain before you.
3. Visualize your capstone.

 
Let’s begin with the way we address our mountain …
 
The beginning of this verse has always reminded me of Jesus’ words to His disciples in Mark 11:23 that “Whosoever shall say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things that he says shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he says.” And like it is in this popular verse, Zechariah 4:7 shows the mountain being addressed, not God.
 
You see, there is a time to pray and there is a time to say. There is a time to pray to God, but not when it involves mountains that are standing in our way from accomplishing great things for God. This is when we must speak to the mountain!
 
And in this prophecy, the “mountain” is certainly being confronted—not a literal “mountain”, but the seemingly impossible task in front of Zerubbabel (and perhaps, visually, the huge pile of rubble from the previous Temple Solomon had built). The prophecy states, “Who are you, O great mountain?” Notice that this is seemingly a statement of disdain and disrespect; you could interpret this phrase this way— “Who are you, mountain? You are nothing to God’s Spirit! You might seem great and insurmountable in the natural, but to God, you are a piece of cake.”
 
Likewise, when we are doing something for God, in the natural, it might seem too difficult or impossible. This is when we are to prophecy to our “mountain” with disrespect for its abilities, and say, “Who are you, O mountain of carnality? Who are you, O mountain of debt? Who are you, O mountain of disease? You are nothing to my God!”   
 
Then the prophecy continues with— “Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!” In other words, “You might seem like a mountain right now, but you shall be completely removed!” What an awesome statement of faith! It totally looks beyond the insurmountable problem before, it and looks with the eyes of faith to the eventual manifestation of God’s promise.
 
You see, it is important for these things to come out of our mouths. As Jesus said, we must speak to the mountain! Yes, it is only when we “prophecy to our mountains” that they will be removed and become a plain before us.
 
But specifically, I want you to see that, by faith, the mountain is said to have become a plain. So in our case, it will be us declaring what we will become before we have any evidence of it in the natural.
 
Notice the next statement in this prophecy— “And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!”’
 
Bringing forth the capstone describes the completion of rebuilding God’s house. In other words, it describes them reaching their goal. So our seeing ourselves reach our goal of spiritual fitness is also very important.
 
And what was the response going to be? They would be shouting and praising God for His grace that truly got the job done!
 
You see, when we do things for God the right way, which is by the power of His Holy Spirit and not in our own ability, the response will be a resounding— “It is all a product of the grace of God! It was done by God’s grace!”
 
In Ephesians 1:3-5, we have a list of different things that God has done for us in our salvation, and in verse 6, Paul says that the result of all of these things that God has freely given us would be— “So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.” (NLT) This should be the response to everything in our lives, including everything we accomplish in pleasing God - “Thank you God for the grace that enabled me to do that!”
 
This also reminds me of Mark 4:27 where, when describing how the kingdom works, Jesus describes the fruit coming with the words, “and he himself does not know how.” I believe this is the most powerful statement in this parable and is the point Jesus was trying to get across. This sower planted the seed in good ground and then there was nothing else he could do but rest! After the process of time, the seed began to sprout and grow, and he didn’t even know how it happened.
 
You see, this is the only way God will allow you to grow spiritually. He is not going to let you try and force fruit in your life. He will actually oppose you! Why? Because He wants all the glory! He does not want you to be able to take credit for your growth. He wants you to be like this sower, who had to say when asked about the harvest he had in his field - “You know what, all I did was put the seed in the ground. I couldn’t tell you how those little seeds produced all this. It just happened on its own. I can’t figure it out. I don’t know how!”
 
Church, these are just some of the attitudes that we need to possess during the days of starting small. We need to first wake up and not let our flesh decide what we are going to do. No, we need to press through the flesh’s tendency to not exercise spiritually and one of the ways we do this is by what we see. We need to see ourselves as fit! We need to see ourselves as grown up and in shape spiritually. But we can only do this by knowing how God’s sees us – and that is as golden! By knowing that He sees us with value & potential, it will inspire us to work out all the more. Then we realize it’s not by our own might or by our own power. No, it’s by the Spirit of God that we will develop. Unless He builds the house, we labor in vain. Amen?
 
And finally, it comes down to our attitude towards the mountain: We need to not respect it in the least. We need to declare its removal. And we need to see the finishing touches being applied.
 
Church, when we have this kind of attitude, there’s no mountain that can’t be tackled – And that includes the mountain of spiritual weakness & lethargy. Amen!