How to Get Spiritually Fit - Part 12 & 13: Exercising Yourself Toward Godliness

​REVIEW
 
So over the first quarter of this calendar year, we have been studying the subject of getting spiritually fit, understanding that just like keeping ourselves physically fit is important to the quality of our natural life, taking care of ourselves spiritually affects the quality of our life even more.
 
In fact, we’ve learned that the way that we get and stay in shape spiritually mirrors the way that we do this physically. So we’ve been looking at how one gets fit physically in order to see how these things work spiritually.
 
So we started off talking about some of the more obvious and foundational parts of getting spiritually fit like the fact you have to first be born and then mature. Yes, just like you cannot get in shape physically if you never have been born on this planet and matured to a certain extent, you must be born again and mature spiritually in order to truly start getting in good, solid spiritual shape.
 
Then we learned that after we are in position to start working out, the first thing we need to possess is certain mentalities & attitudes. So we went through a few good mentalities to have like just getting to the door, going small or going home, and the importance of goal setting.
 
Then after we got the proper mindset to working out, we worked on some practical things that accompany exercise such as the importance of hydration, rest & recovery, just simple walking, and focusing on the heart muscle. These are all some of the more underestimated parts of exercise that also apply to our spiritual fitness.   

And then last time, we looked at the importance of nutrition and fueling our bodies for getting in shape. We learned that, in the world of physical fitness, many focus on the hours spent in the gym, the intensity of the workouts, or the types of exercises. But one crucial element often gets overlooked – and that is how we are fueling our bodies for those exercises.
 
But the fact is, our bodies require the right nutrients to function optimally and perform at their best. So whether we are training for a marathon or simply aiming to get stronger, fueling our bodies with the right nutrition can make all the difference in achieving our fitness goals. Therefore, by understanding the relationship between nutrition and fitness, we can maximize our performance, accelerate recovery, and stay energized throughout our physical journey.
 
But again, the same goes for our spiritual journey. Therefore, just like nutrition plays a vital role in our physical fitness, there is spiritual nutrition that also plays a role in our spiritual fitness.
 
So that’s what we talked about last week was, what good, healthy spiritual nutrition is and how to actually become nourished by it. It’s the Word of God. In fact, the apostle Paul said that we are nourished in the words of faith and good teaching. Therefore, we looked at several other verses that describe God’s Word as our spiritual food. Yes, God’s Word is to our spirit what meat, milk, bread, and vegetables are to our physical bodies.
 
But we also learned that its not just about possessing a Bible; it’s about extracting the life that is found within it. That’s what nourishes us! Yes, a lot of Christians think that just because they own a Bible, carry it to church, or even read it occasionally, that they are eating spiritually. Well, that wouldn’t be much different than someone making sure that their refrigerator & pantry stays full, but they don’t give much thought to what’s in that food that they are eating.
 
I said that I know I’ve been guilty of this before – both in the natural and in the spiritual. For example, when it comes to physical food, I have lived the majority of my life both making sure I keep my belly full and ignoring what I fill it with. I have also had my times where I eat spiritually by reading or listening to the Scriptures, while not paying attention to what I’m feeding myself with.
 
But what we came to understand is that this Book we call the Bible, in and of itself, will not feed your spirit. It’s what’s contained within it that nourishes our inward man. Yes, it’s the Word of God contained within these pages. It’s the spirit and the life that are in these words. It’s the truth written therein that makes us free. Amen?
 
And we looked at First Timothy 4:6 and saw how Paul said that God’s Word nourishes us – it’s through our own personal study & meditation as well as enjoying good, solid teaching. So taking this back to the example of food, I compare this with the two ways that we eat physically – by what others prepare for us and by how we feed ourselves.
 
LET’S EXERCISE!
 
So now that we’ve covered some of these other things that go into our spiritual development like proper nutrition, staying hydrated, rest & recovery, etc., let’s move into the gym itself and talk about the actual exercise that gets us in shape spiritually.  
 
If you recall, in our verses from First Timothy 4:6-8, we see emphasis placed on spiritual exercise. The apostle Paul said in verses 7-8 – “…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.”
 
In these passages of Scripture, Paul makes a comparison between exercising physically and exercising spiritually. Now I want to make a quick point about what Paul did not say here … He did not say that physical exercise is unimportant, and it profits nothing. The point he was making was that, in comparison to the exercise and conditioning of our inner-man, the exercise and conditioning of our outer-man profits little. In other words, our spiritual well-being is by far more important than our physical well-being.  
 
But as we start talking about this spiritual exercise, it is important to reiterate what part of us that we are exercising – our spirit. Yes, like when we physically exercise, we are focused on strengthening & developing our physical muscles, when we talk about exercising spiritually, we are talking about doing the same for our spiritual muscles. So what we are talking about exercising here are our spiritual muscles.
 
When I refer to us having spiritual muscles, that might seem strange to you. But the fact is, our spiritual man possesses many of the same things that our physical man does. For example, we have a spiritual heart just like we have a physical heart. Well, if we have that muscle spiritually, then it’s safe to assume that we have other muscles too, right?
 
I know this all too well because this is one of the first things that the LORD revealed to me …  
 
You see, early in my Christian life I was on a fast and the Lord asked me a question: He asked me – “Do you want to know what the muscles of your spirit are?” Of course, I said “yes.” Then He told me that our spiritual muscles are the fruit of the Spirit.
 
You see, our fruit is the indication of how strong and in shape we are spiritually. And after He gave me the answer, He gave me the Scripture “you will know them by their fruit.” Essentially, what the Lord was telling me was that just as we recognize people from a distance by their physical physique, we recognize those who are both spiritual and unspiritual by their spiritual physique. So if we can physically recognize some people by their ”shape,” then we can spiritually recognize them by how “in-shape” they are.  In that case, it is by their fruit (their spiritual muscles or lack thereof) that we will know them.
 
Now again, this is contingent upon us being born again – for it is only by being born from above that we can possess this spiritual fruit in our lives. Yes, we must be born from our Heavenly Father in order to have His muscular makeup. And this is important to understand when considering a very key word that Paul used when describing our spiritual exercise – that it’s being “toward godliness.”
 
WHAT IS GODLINESS?
 
Now “godliness” simply describes being godly. I would translate it as “God-likeness.” In other words, godliness is just being like God, and in this case, it’s being like Him in word, thought, action, etc.
 
Now to me, there are not too many more spiritual virtues that I would consider as more important to possessing than this one – for to be more like God in our lives is what I would personally aspire to be like more than anything else.
 
So, according to the apostle Paul, this “godliness” is what we are exercising towards – meaning, what we are working out towards--or the goal & aim of our spiritual exercise--is to be more G0d-like.
 
And I do not consider a better detailed description of what it means to be God-like than this fruit of the Spirit that we’ve referred to. Yes, that list of nine spiritual fruit found in Galatians 5:22-23 is a beautiful description of who God is.
 
For example, what is the first fruit of the Spirit listed? It’s love. And doesn’t the Bible teach us that God is love (See First John 4:16). So that means that God does not just have love; He is love. In other words, love is His core nature. Therefore, if I am being “godly” then I will obviously be “lovely.”
 
You can also find God’s nature in the rest of the fruit of the Spirit: Take “peace” for instance. God is called the God of peace in several places. Jesus Himself is even called the Prince of Peace. All of this shows us that peace is a big part of who He is. “Joy” is another great example: Most don’t necessarily realize that joy is a part of God’s nature, but it most certainly is. Yes, and God is “goodness, kindness, faithfulness, etc.”   
 
GETTING RID OF THE GARMENTS
 
Now the next word that is of significance in First Timothy 4:6-8 is the word “exercise.” Now when you look this word up in the original language that it was written in, you see that it is where we get our English word “gymnasium” from (Greek gymnazo). The root word literally describes a bare, naked body. Therefore, the word for “exercise” is translated by many as to exercise in the nude.
 
Now this was obviously something that was a regular practice back in their day because these men needed to strip down to work out more freely and/or to keep their body temperature down. In fact, at the inception of the Olympic games, men did compete in the nude! I think we see a little bit of this in our “gymnazo’s” today, right? No, not working out naked, per se, but in removing any and all encumbrances so that they can have a greater range of motion when exercising.     
 
You see, back in their day, men wore garments that were more like dresses than what we see guys wearing nowadays. So if they needed to do something that required some athleticism, these long, flowing robes would be an encumbrance. Therefore, what these men would do when they needed to maybe run or do something else that was not very casual, they would gather up that robe and tuck it underneath maybe a belt or something else in the waist area.  This would remove any hindrance that might slow them down or cause them to stumble.
 
Well, there are couple of different possible interpretations of what this might mean for us – one being that as we are exercising spiritually, it is important that we do so unincumbered and freely.
 
This reminds me a little of good ole’ Blind Bartimaeus and how when Jesus called for him that the Bible tells us that the first thing he did was he cast off his outer garment. Mark 10:50 says, “And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.”
 
You see, this garment that Bartimaeus was throwing aside here is understood to be his outer garment, which was basically what associated him with his being a beggar or we might say, “who he was.” And the words “throwing aside” literally describes him as “casting” them away from him. In other words, this was not just the simple laying aside of a piece of clothing, but the getting rid of it by throwing it as far away from you as you can. 
 
So by throwing aside his outer garment, Bart showed here that he was not wanting to hold on to his prior lifestyle. This man knew that this larger outer garment might slow him down in responding to the Lord, so he got rid of it asap. He now was ready to lay aside all the weights that would associate him with his past and what would impede him from moving towards the new life Christ was calling him unto.
 
The writers of Hebrews exhorted us to do this very thing in Hebrews 12:1 by saying, “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.”
 
How many “weights” do you suppose hold people back even now from arising and responding to the Lord’s call on their lives? And from this story, we see that these “weights” might be hindrances that keep us from receiving our healing. Let me explain: Do you think there might be some people who want to hold on to the things that come as a result of their infirmity? Maybe this would be the sympathy that they get from people. It might be some financial benefits that they receive because of their physical issue. And there are other “weights” that hold people back. But what we need to learn from this is that we need to not let any of these “outer garments” impede and ensnare us from wholly following the Lord. Amen?
 
And do you remember how I referred to David dancing before the Lord with all his might? One thing that is interesting here is that David humbled himself in this situation by only wearing a linen ephod and not his usual kingly garments. So like Bartimaeus, he did not let his garments hinder him from wholly honoring the Lord. You see, God does not mind us having things, but we should never let those things become a hindrance to responding to the Lord’s calling.  
 
For example, if I were planning on running in a marathon, it would be downright dumb for me to show up wearing blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a trench coat to run in this race, right? No, this is why you see people competing in activities like this wearing as little as possible – avoiding things that would add extra weight and weren’t very aerodynamic. No, they will wear very light material that would not provide any resistance. Amen?
 
So that’s probably one of the reasons Bartimaeus got rid of that outer garment – because it would have kept him from getting to Jesus as quickly.
 
And church, there are certainly “garments” that keep us from progressing spiritually and following the Lord too.
 
But Hebrews 12:1 doesn’t just talk about “weight” but also of the “sin” that so easily besets us. So that means that sin too is what can keep us from exercising “in the nude.”
 
You see, when God created man originally, we are told that he was naked and unashamed – for the glory of God covered his shame. This was the LORD’s original intention in His creation of man. But when Adam willingly chose sin, the shame of his nakedness was exposed – showing us that it is sin and sin alone that even makes this idea of nakedness such a shameful thing.
 
Jesus taught us in John chapter 8 that there is a freedom that can be found in Him as we learn to continue in His Word and truly become His disciples. This following closely after His commands, statutes, and precepts results in freedom from sin to where we are not in the bondage of it.
 
So my point is that this all starts by making a decision to strip ourselves of the wrong kind of clothing. Yes, both getting rid of the fig leaves that we try to cover our sin with and getting rid of the sins of our old man themselves.
 
Now the phrase the “old man” refers to the old nature that was crucified when we became a born-again Christian. But even though this “old man” died, that doesn’t mean that his habits, tendencies, etc. died with him. That is why the apostle Paul says in multiple places to “put off” those behaviors (See Colossians 3:8-9)
 
The words “put off” come from the Greek word apotithemi which mean “to put aside” or “to place away” (like clothing). So, the putting off the old man is like taking off dirty, stinky clothes and the process is similar:
 
The first step is realizing that the clothes you have on stink and are dirty. If you don’t believe that what you have on is unattractive then you will keep it on. We must first get an understanding of how filthy and rank sin is, saints! And until we do, we won’t put forth nearly the effort we should to get rid of it. A way to get this revelation is to ask God to open our eyes so we can see the sin in our lives the way He does.
 
Then after we realize the filthiness of those leftover garments, the second step is to simply take them off. And notice that it is not God, but we are the ones that take it off (See Colossians 3:8). Clothes don’t just fall off of us. This is not something that we ask God to do for us. This is a process that is up to us and that means that it will take some effort and determination.
 
And I believe a very important key to taking them off lies in the prefix of the Greek word--apotithemi. The word apo means “away from.” This means that you don’t put the things that feed those old habits of the old man at arm’s length. You put them “away from” you where you can’t reach out and put them back on again. On a lot of things we shouldn’t do, or want to stop doing, we often get as close to the line as we can without stepping over—this sets us up for failure. Don’t go anywhere near those things; put them out of reach—that’s how you will have more success.
 
BEING REAL OR PUTTING ON?
 
Now some might incorrectly think that exercising in the nude might describe just being real and transparent, but it actually describes the opposite.
 
It’s like exercise – Why do most people not exercise? It’s because they don’t feel like it. They cater to their feelings and listen to what their body wants to do. Well, we understand that this being “real” is just being “really carnal,” right? 
 
You see, in my experience, a lot of people don’t like messages like this. And that’s because they believe we are being untrue to ourselves if we deny what it might seem like who we are. But that’s simply not true. Sure, there might be some things that we’ve always done and things that just seem to be a part of who we are, but that doesn’t mean they are acceptable and pleasing to the LORD. So those are things that we must strip ourselves of and adopt a new way of being.
 
And yes, it really is that simple. Getting rid of certain sinful behaviors is really as easy as making a decision to take a certain garment off and putting another piece of clothing on. And that’s exactly what Paul said next in Colossians chapter 3 – to put on other godly behaviors.
 
You see, if you skip down to verse 12, you will see that Paul then begins to transition into some specific behaviors for us to put on…
 
He says in verses 12-14 - “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender-mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”
 
Now it is important to note that the words “put on” here – in the putting on of tender-mercies, kindness, all the way to love –  come from the Greek word enduo, which literally means “to clothe.”
 
You see, we possess some pretty snazzy clothes in Christ! As Paul says in the beginning of verse 12 – We are the elect of God! We are holy in Christ! We are His beloved! We’ve been given garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness, and we have all of these fruits of the new recreated spirit. But just because we have His clothes in our closet doesn’t mean we automatically wear them! This is where the “putting on” of these things comes in!
 
So the question that needs to be asked here is – How do we put them on? Well, just as we “put off” those wrong behaviors by simply making the choice to, we put these things on by making the choice to wear them as well! Amen?  
 
So, again, a big hang-up in people with this is that they think that they are not being genuine and authentic by acting in a way that they are not truly feeling on the inside. In other words, they don’t like to feel like they are “putting on.”
 
Well, if this is you, let me give you an illustration that might help you with this …
 
Say you came to church early this morning (a novel idea for some) and 10:15 rolls around and there’s no sign of Pastor Trey. So you continue greeting people and 10:30 rolls around, time for service to start, and still there is no sign of me. Then at about 10:32, the back door flies open, and I come running up to the podium naked as a jay-bird, grab the microphone and say, “Welcome to High Point Church!”
 
Many of you would be appalled and someone might holler out – “For God’s sake, man! Go put some clothes on!” and then I respond with – “I don’t believe in putting on!” 
 
Now that might sound rather humorous to some of us, but did you know that this is the same thing as “putting on love?”
 
Someone could say, “Hey, I came out of my mother’s womb naked and, by golly, I’m going to let it all hang out because I just believe we should just be real.” Well, that would just not be acceptable in society, would it? Well, likewise, it is not acceptable in God’s kingdom for us to just act on what we feel like doing, venting all of our feelings and letting all of these things just hang out! No, we put on love and all of these loving characteristics because it is the right thing to do and because we have been given orders to. Amen?
 
Now going back to the example of how we act at work as opposed to how we act at home … Generally, we don’t dress however we want when we go to work. We wear whatever our boss wants us to wear – whether we feel like wearing it or not. Why? Because we want to please the one who signs our paychecks. Amen?
 
So yes, it’s about clothing ourselves in whatever pleases our LORD, not us. It’s about what He says is right & acceptable and not what our flesh wants. And love is a great example of this – the command to love …
 
DON’T FOLLOW YOUR FEELINGS
 
So many feel that they do not have love because they don’t “feel” love. In other words, because they don’t have the emotions of love and there is selfishness, anger, etc. in there, they believe that they are void of love. But this is when we must believe what the Word says more than what our feelings and our heads are telling us. Amen! 
 
And, as it is with everything spiritual in nature such as love, we are not led by our feelings … For example, we wouldn’t say – “Well, I don’t feel like reading my Bible anymore” and then just cater to that, would we? No, we have enough sense to know that is wrong. Nor would we believe that because we don’t feel like praising God that we evidently do not need to press through those feelings and stop catering to our flesh. No, if we know we are to act on things like this whether we feel like it or not, why would walking in any of the fruit of the Spirit be any different?
 
Saints, what I am saying is – do not wait until you feel like operating in these spiritual things before you practice them. Know that they are fruits of the spirit and spiritual things are not based on feelings.
 
Now the reason I bring this out is because I have been around long enough to see that most believers that even desire to grow in love are waiting for the feelings and emotions of this love for others to come all over them. In other words, they are waiting to feel like loving people before they actually act on this commandment.
 
Saints, I’m here to tell you that if you are waiting for all of this “lovey dovey” emotions to come all over you and overtake you, you are going to be waiting a long time! As you have heard me say before, I believe you are walking in love the most when you feel like strangling somebody, but as an act of your will, you decide to bless them instead. In other words, love is being exercised the most when our feelings are completely contrary, but we act on the decision to love. Amen!
 
As I have said, love is a fruit of the Spirit – meaning, it is spiritual in nature. It’s not something that is tied into our flesh or our soul. Therefore, it doesn’t involve our feelings (a product of the flesh) or our emotions (a product of the soul). Love is a spiritual thing- meaning, it is an action that comes as a result of our will.  
 
But this doesn’t just apply to “putting on love.” This applies to everything in this list Paul gives us – forgiveness, humility, kindness, longsuffering, etc. These are all things that we must intentionally clothe ourselves in, and the good news is – the more we put them on, the easier they are to keep on.
 
You see, I make these points because the way that we exercise spiritually is actually by doing the opposite of what we feel.
 
Now the actual exercising is done a lot like this putting off of these vices and putting on of these virtues. It has to be done by faith, which means it won’t necessarily be done by feelings. Like it is when you decide to start exercising, it’s hard to start off with. You’ll be sore for the first couple of weeks. But the more you do it, the easier it gets. Well, that’s exactly how it works spiritually. If you haven’t been exercising yourself unto godliness, you’ll have to do it by faith for a little while. But if you continue in it, it’ll get easier because it'll become more a part of who you are and how you operate.
 
Isn’t this the truth when it comes to exercising physically? When you determine to get fit – especially initially – you cannot yield to your feelings, or you’ll never reach your physical goals. Why? It’s because your flesh would rather lay on the couch, eating potato chips, and watching days of Our Lives as the days of our life waste away. But in order to get in shape, you are going to have to resist your flesh’s desire to be lazy. Amen?
 
Well, it works this way with getting fit spiritually. You cannot trust your flesh when it comes to getting strong & in shape spiritually because it will want you to focus on you, to do things that are in your own self-interest, to indulge in your own carnal, selfish, and self-centered desires. But that is NOT spiritual. That is carnal and will keep you weak and out of shape spiritually if you continue yielding to it. 
 
You see, the Bible teaches us that our flesh always wants something different than our spirit. In fact, it teaches us that they are at war within us, one desiring to dominate the other and vice versa. Therefore, these feelings associated with our flesh cannot, should not, be trusted – especially if you and I want to get in shape spiritually.
  
MUSCLE USE
 
Now in some cases, the opposite of how we feel is just simply doing something. You see, this is how we exercise the spiritual muscles that we have. It’s the same way that we grow our physical muscles – by using them!
 
Now I say, “by using them,” but there are obviously different layers of use. For example, in order to keep atrophy from occurring, we just simply need to use the muscles we have. In other words, if we don’t want to lose the little strength that we have, we have to at least use our muscles. The same goes for us spiritually …  
 
Hebrews 5:14 verifies this by saying, “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age (i.e. grown up), that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
 
What this verse is saying is that there are those who are spiritually mature, and this meat from God’s Word is reserved for them. And what makes this believer of “full age”? It’s because they are “those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” In other words, they are mature because they used the Word that they heard. In this case, they were doers of the milk and now have moved on to meat.
 
You see, the things that we are hearing from the Scriptures are not just meant to be consumed. No, “by reason of use” we are to put into practice what we are learning – thus exercising our senses to be able to tell the difference between what is right and wrong, good and evil. So what we are to be doing is, yes, partaking of God’s Word, but it’s for the purpose of putting it to use so that we can grow & develop in the truth we are putting on.
 
So this usage of our spiritual muscles is what the writer(s) of Hebrews call “exercise.” In other words, we are exercising ourselves spiritually by doing what we hear.
 
You see, being a hearer of the Word and not doing it is like eating good healthy food but never exercising. And we all know what will happen if we do that, right? If we ate poorly – consuming all kinds of unhealthy, fattening foods – and never exercised, what’s going to happen? We will become obese. There’s no other way around it.
 
The spiritual equivalent to that is hearing things other than the Word. Yes, it could be anything of this world like we watch on television to what we listen to on the internet that has no real spiritual substance. And if we live our lives with this being our main diet, and never apply any spiritual principles to our lives, we will be spiritually obese and have zero spiritual stamina.
 
Now even if we eat well, partaking mainly of good, healthy spiritual food, but never apply those spiritual truths to our lives, we might not be as out of shape spiritually, but we certainly won’t be strong & fit. Why? Because in order to get in shape & fit, we have to both eat right and exercise what we are partaking of.
 
So one form of exercise is obviously finding workouts that simply put to use the muscles that we have. This might be the simpler forms of exercise like stretching, walking, and other kinds of movement that put to use our muscles so that they are not inactive.
 
RESISTANCE TRAINING
 
But while simply using our muscles is how we can keep from going backwards and develop them somewhat, the best way to develop our physical muscles is through using them in a much greater way, like weight training and other more strenuous forms of exercise. Another way of describing this is what we call “resistance training.” 
 
You see, resistance training simply involves exercising muscles using some form of resistance. This resistance could be weights, bands, or even your own body weight working against gravity. And the reason this is so important is because by having some sort of resistance, one is able to better strengthen their muscles and endurance.    
 
So what is the spiritual resistance that we use to develop our spiritual muscles? Simple – They are the adverse circumstances that come into our lives. This is described in two New Testament passages of Scripture …
 
The first one is found in Romans 5:3-5 where the apostle Paul teaches that the “tribulations” that come against us actually have the potential to produce good, godly characteristics in us.
 
You see, when we have trials and tribulations come into our lives, aren’t those the hardest times to walk in peace, love, patience, and faith? Of course they are! It is easy to love people when there are no enemies coming against you. It is easy to have peace when there are no waves of life crashing against your boat. It is easy to have faith in God when you are not walking through a trial of your faith.
 
You see, it is easy to walk in the fruit of the Spirit when your fruit is not being squeezed, but this is the real test to find out what your fruit is made of. It has been well said that you will find out what your fruit is made of when it gets squeezed.
 
But, you see, we should actually view these weights (i.e. trials and tribulations) as opportunities and not just as obstacles. The reason is because they are opportunities to exercise our spiritual muscles. As a matter of fact, the word “tribulation” that is used oftentimes in the Bible literally describes a heavy, tight, and pressure situation.
 
You see, these “tribulations” are our spiritual weights! When these circumstances come up that tempt us to become unloving, impatient, or not so joyful, this is when we should make the most of the opportunity and resist those temptations – thus exercising ourselves to develop the love, patience, and joy on the inside of us. I guarantee you that, just as it is with natural exercise, when you start off “lifting those spiritual weights” it will be hard at the beginning, but if you keep at it those spiritual muscles will begin to develop, and it will become easier and easier as you resist those temptations. So, in short, use those weights the enemy deals you and don’t become bitter, become better!
 
Church, this is how we really can see some increase in our spiritual muscles – when we choose to take on those weights that tempt us to be the opposite of these spiritual things. And this is certainly where most fail because it’s hard. It’s not what our flesh feels like doing. But like the world says, “no pain; no gain” that’s the way it is spiritually too. It might be hard, but that’s where the best fruit is found. Amen!
 
James chapter 1 teaches a similar principle: James 1:2-4 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
 
So notice that James begins by telling us that when we fall into various trials to count it all joy. Well, why would you have to tell someone to do this? It’s because it’s not natural! When we fall into different kinds of trials, the tendency will be to get discouraged, depressed, and despondent; certainly not to have joy.
 
So what we are seeing here is that spiritual exercise is doing the opposite of what we naturally would do. In other words, it is to “work out” the very thing that we are tempted to not do. I mean, joy is a fruit of the Spirit, is it not? That means that we are exercising that particular spiritual muscle when we don’t feel like it.
 
Then, James tells us why to rejoice in the midst of these trials. It’s because the testing of our faith produces something called patience.
                    
Now the “testing of our faith” sounds to me like there are going to be things that we go through that will “prove” the things that we say we believe. In other words, these various trials are going to test us; they are going to test what we believe.
 
Now it’s important to realize that trials don’t automatically produce these good virtues in our lives. I know we’ve heard that – people saying trials make you stronger – but that’s simply not true. That would be like someone in school saying, “tests make you smarter.” No, tests don’t make you smarter. Quizzes, tests, and exams simply prove how smart you are. In other words, these tests show you how much you have really learned.
 
Well, believing that simply going through trials & tests makes us stronger spiritually is no different. In fact, if going through stuff makes us stronger, some of us should be spiritual giants by now!
 
It’s passing the tests that makes us smarter, not simply taking them! Likewise, it’s resisting the temptations to lose our faith, joy, peace, patience, etc. that makes us stronger, not being tested and failing the test.
 
It would be like me having a full gym in my basement or garage and thinking that just because I have those weights & machines, I’m getting stronger and in shape. No, just having discouraging circumstances doesn’t make my joy stronger any more than having a treadmill in my home makes my leg muscles stronger.     
 
But notice that James specifically tells us that these tests & trials “produce patience.” That means that the adversity works something in us – namely, patience.
 
We’ve all heard it before – A lot of Christians will tell you, “Don’t ever pray for patience – because every bad thing that could happen to you will!” Well, I’m not so sure that this is completely true, but it is true that the only way that you and I are going to become more patient, exhibiting the fruit of patience in our lives, is by being tempted to be impatient and resisting that temptation. Amen?
 
Yes, you can pretty much count on the fact that when you desire to grow spiritually and want to see more of the fruit of the Spirit in your life, that the LORD is going to take you to the gym! Yes, for example, say you were praying to love people more – don’t expect God to send you lovely people. He will likely send you people that your flesh has a hard time loving. And why? It’s because you need those people to hit the weights and start developing that spiritual muscle of love in your life! Amen? What about if you prayed to have more self-control in your life? Well, you might have a number of circumstances come up that will require you to operate in more self-control. Amen?
 
But here is where most people fail – with what verse 4 goes on to say. They don’t let that patience have perfect work in their lives. Therefore, they never truly let that fruit come to maturity and become perfected. It would be like me deciding I’m going to get in enough shape to finish running a marathon. Well, I go to the gym and hit the treadmill for a couple of weeks, but then I listen to that rascally flesh and take my foot off the gas. That would be like planting a seed and seeing the first blade come up out of the ground but then digging it up before it had time to reach full maturity so that its fruit could come forth.
 
Church, if we want to become “perfect” (that is, spiritually mature) and “complete” (that is, whole and reaching full completion), then we have to let that seed of patience have her perfect work. This is how we get to the place where we “lack nothing” – where we don’t lack development in any spiritual muscle, where we don’t lack any spiritual endurance & stamina, and where we are spiritually conditioned.
 
This is how we exercise ourselves unto godliness and put on the godly virtues on the inside of us. Let’s exercise today!