How to Get Spiritually Fit - Part 3: Just Get to the Door

REVIEW
 
So a couple of weeks ago we started a new series on how to get spiritually fit. And when I am talking about getting in shape spiritually, I am not referring to what a lot of people consider to be “spiritual.” No, I am referring to our inward man, called our spirit, getting fit and in good shape. And the fact is, the real us that lives on the inside of this flesh desperately needs to be nourished & exercised just like our body needs these things.
 
We see 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.”
 
So we can see how the apostle Paul likened how we get in shape spiritually to how we get in shape physically. And as I told you in the beginning – that is how we are going to tackle this subject of getting spiritually fit. We are going to look at how this works in the natural and see how it works the same way spiritually. 
 
So in week one, we looked at the first and most foundational part of being spiritually fit and that is becoming spiritually alive by being what the Bible calls “born again.”
 
We looked at the various Scriptures where being born again is described and saw that this is how one is made spiritual. But we saw how being born again is not just some metaphorical way of describing someone having a new life. No, 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.
 
But we saw that the awesome part of all of this is that when you are born of God, you’ve got all the spiritual genes that you need to be fit, in shape, and strong in your spirit! In other words, you inherited your spiritual DNA/genes from HIM and, therefore, have His nature and potential.
 
Now in the natural, not everyone is born on the same playing field. That’s because we inherit whatever our parents inherited physically & mentally. However, spiritually speaking, we are all on the same playing field, being born again from the same Heavenly Father. Yes, for everyone who has experienced the new birth has been born with ALL of the characteristics & qualities that they need to be strong and fit in the spirit just like their Heavenly Father. So since you’ve got God’s divine nature, you’ve got His potential when it comes to getting fit.
 
But last week, we looked at 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 talked about how just as we all must be born again spiritually, we all likewise must grow up spiritually. Sure, we might have all experienced a lot of grace right after we were born again to where it felt like the Lord was carrying us & feeding us, but that usually doesn’t continue forever. And I believe that’s because the LORD wants us to grow up – learning to walk on our own and feeding ourselves.
 
But we learned that just like it is in the natural, just because we’ve been saved for decades doesn’t mean we’ve automatically grown up. Think about it from the physical: There are a lot of people that even though they have become 20, 30, or 40 years old, they still haven’t grown up a lot. Sure, they might have gotten bigger physically, but mentally & emotionally they still act like a 10-year-old.
 
Well, I believe that same thing happens to a lot of born again, Spirit-filled Christians. Sure, they might be spiritually alive, but they haven’t grown much over the years. That’s on us, church! It’s up to us to grow up and hit the gym. The LORD is not going to do this for you. We all must decide how to become spiritually mature and to get in shape in our inward man. 
 
So we saw that the Bible actually talks a lot about spiritual infancy and shows us that it is a much more widespread epidemic in the Lord’s church than most realize. Yes, there are several New Testament passages of Scripture that talk about being babes in Christ and most of these verses are not commendations.
 
So we looked at most of these and learned what spiritual maturity looks like and how we grow up out of spiritual infancy …
 
Some of the things we learned included that the fruit of being spiritually mature is the fruit of the Spirit, not the gifts of the Spirit. Yes, we learned that what made the Corinthians carnal was that they were walking in things like strife and divisions. So even though they had an abundance of gifts, the fruit of the Spirit wasn’t as developed, which kept them in spiritual infancy.
 
So we learned spiritually mature people learn how to clothe themselves. Yes, they will choose certain spiritual behaviors even when they might feel like something else just like a naturally mature person learns how to both dress and behave in this world.
 
We also learned how another trait of maturity is learning how to talk, and how that is exactly what the word for “babes” meant – unable to speak. So evidently God considers a mature person as someone who knows how to use & control their tongue.
 
Also, the New Testament teaches us that a spiritually mature person discerns what to eat. Yes, just like a baby doesn’t have the filter of knowing what it should ingest, likewise spiritual babies tend towards eating whatever doctrine that appeals to them.       
 
So what is the solution to spiritual infancy? How do we grow up spiritually? We saw that this comes through both crying out (i.e. hungering & thirsting for) pure spiritual milk that comes through both fellowship with the LORD and through His Word.
 
When we put our whole heart into getting to know God better and becoming disciples of His Word, we can’t help but grow up in our salvation. Amen?
 
JUST GET TO THE DOOR
 
Now then … Now that someone has been born again and has matured spiritually, they are in that place in life where they can truly get fit and in shape spiritually.
 
So what is the first thing someone who desires to start exercising and getting in shape needs to do? What is the best way to go about getting started to get fit? Well, 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.
 
Well, I believe that is also true with getting in shape spiritually. Yes, there are certain mentalities and attitudes that go into becoming spiritually fit.
 
So over the next couple of weeks, I want us to look at some of the ways of thinking that propel us to go into health & fitness so that we can learn how our frame of mind also impacts our spiritual health & fitness.
 
Let me start out this week by giving you a good example of what I’m talking about:
 
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 in 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 you from going to the gym. It’ll try to convince you 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 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!” 
 
Now I am going to get a little ahead of myself, but 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?
 
BROTHER VERSUS BROTHER
 
Church, you have to know that this flesh that we have is diametrically opposed to nourishing & exercising our spirit. Our bodies will actually war against us doing what we have to do to get spiritually fit.
 
We learn this in Galatians chapter 5 where the apostle Paul teaches us that the flesh is opposed to the spirit and the spirit is opposed to the flesh – these being contrary to each other. Let’s look at this verse …
 
Galatians 5:17 says, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”
 
Now regarding this term “Spirit” remember – there are no capitalized words in the original language. Capitalizations were added by the translators based on whether they feel this word pnuema was referring to the Holy Spirit of God or some other kind of spirit such as an evil spirit or our human spirit. Therefore, I believe the battle that is being described here is our new nature in Christ versus our old nature in the flesh.
 
So when we see the phrase “the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh,” we are talking about our born-again spirit versus our old man of the flesh. In fact, this word “lusts” literally means “desires or longs for.” So, what does this mean that the flesh “desires” against the spirit and the spirit “desires” against the flesh? The key is in understanding what the word “against” means here. Both times it is used in this verse, they come from the Greek word kata which carries the idea of something that is suppressing and dominating. So, for example, what the phrase “the flesh lusts against the spirit” literally means is “the flesh desires to suppress the spirit.” Likewise, Paul goes on to say that “the spirit desires to dominate the flesh.”
 
And then Paul goes on to say that “these are contrary to one another.” This means that they are “opposites” and, therefore, “opposed to” one another.
 
Oh, there are so many different analogies I could use to describe the opposition that we have between our spirit and our flesh. They are the world’s biggest “rivals”—like two sports teams or “adversaries” who are constantly “warring” against one another. The competition is fierce. The hatred is evident. And the rivalry will never end. Like two amateur wrestlers who are pitted against one another, both trying to pin the other down. That describes the flesh and the spirit—both in us, desiring to drive and control us.
 
And notice what the apostle Paul says at the end of this verse – “… so that you do not do the things that you wish.”
 
Do you know why you have had those points in your Christian life where you didn’t seem able to do the things that you really wanted to do—meaning, you had a desire to do the right thing, but there was a part of you that seemed to drive you in the other direction? We’ve all been there.
 
In fact, the apostle Paul described this frustrating condition in Romans 7:15-25 – “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
 
You see, Paul realized that the flesh is utterly corrupt and bent on sin. Therefore, this flesh is always going to try and pull us away from godliness, righteousness, holiness, and spiritual growth. But the truth, that Paul brought out in Romans chapter 8, is the reason we have those times where we seem unable to do the good, righteous and holy things that we desire in our hearts to do, is because we are walking in the flesh and not in the spirit.
 
That is why Paul encouraged us in the previous verse (Galatians 5:16) to walk in the spirit to where we will not do the things our flesh lusts for. In other words, if we walk by the spirit, we won’t walk by the flesh and, as a result, will be able to do the things we wish! Amen!
 
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.
 
WHO IS THE ARBITRATOR?
 
But let me remind you – you are not just a two-part being. You don’t just have the inward man and the outward man, a spirit and a body. No, you are a THREE-part being, also possessing a soul.
 
And the truth is that the soul is the variable in all of this. Yes, whichever nature – spiritual or carnal – that can get the soul to team up with it is the part of us that is going to win and run the show.
 
Let me show you an insightful teaching by Jesus that echoes this, found in Luke chapter 12:
 
It starts off in verse 13 by saying – “Then one from the crowd said to Him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ ”
 
So notice our teaching starts off with enmity between two brothers – sounds eerily similar to the situation between Jacob & Esau doesn’t it – as they warred over their birthright & blessing. Again, like we just saw in Galatians chapter 5, there will always be this striving between the two natures we have – given by our earthly father and our Heavenly Father, our earthly mother and our Heavenly Mother, the Holy Spirit.
 
And because of this striving within us, we do the same thing that this young man from the crowd did – we go to Jesus about it, hoping that He will fix it.
 
But notice Jesus’ response in verse 14 – “But He said to him, ‘Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?’ ”
 
So Jesus’ response to this man’s plea was simple – He said that He wasn’t called to be their judge or arbitrator. Now what is an arbitrator? It’s an independent party officially appointed to settle a dispute between two or more. Jesus said that He was not that.
 
So what we can learn from this is that Jesus isn’t the one that’s going to fix this struggle between our two brothers. Yes, Cain will always want to kill Abel, Ishmael will always mock Isaac, and Jacob will always want the birthright & blessing. This struggle will continue until the Great Judgment at the Second Coming of Christ. But until then, He is not the Judge or Arbitrator.  
 
But what He will do is teach us the why’s behind the struggle. And in this case, it was this brother’s covetousness that fueled the strife between he and his brother. Notice the rest of verse 14 … “… And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’ ”
 
Then in Luke 12:16-19 Jesus gives them a parable, saying, “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”
 
You see, the soul is kind of like the middle-man - or you could say, the soul is the “yes man.” In other words, the soul is the third part of us that determines the direction of our life – because whichever part of us it agrees with, is the part of us that will dominate our life.
 
Notice in verse 19 that Jesus quotes this fleshly man as saying, “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ ” First of all, notice that this man said that he was going to say something to his soul. Now what part of this man do you reckon was trying to persuade his soul to take it easy and hoard up these treasures? That’s easy – that was obviously his flesh!
 
So what would the regenerate, righteous part of this man desire (if he possesses the new nature)? It wouldn’t be hoarding up treasures for himself. It would be looking for ways to give to others. In short, it would be love, goodness, kindness, etc.; not covetousness.
 
So 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.
 
I guess we can then say that our soul is the arbitrator. Yes, it is the part of us that calls the shots and determines what direction we will take. Amen?
 
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.
 
So 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.
 
But for most of us, we’ve given our flesh what it wants when it wants it for so long. So don’t expect it to just roll over and play dead and let us get in shape spiritually. It will dig its heels in and resist those spiritual exercises.
 
That’s when we have to say, unlike this man did in Jesus’ parable – “Soul! You have been laid up for far too long! No more taking it easy! It’s time to eat & drink right! It’s time to get happy about some spiritual exercise!”
 
So let’s get our soul on board, church! Let’s start thinking like a fit person! Let’s have the attitude of someone who is bound to get in shape and quit letting this flesh run the show!