On Spiritual Fitness

A Sermon Preached by Dr. James Flamming
First Baptist Church, Richmond, Virginia
January 9, 2005

Scripture: Hebrews 12:1-3; Philippians 4:4-6

It is fitness time. Resolutions without number are made about exercise and diet. A friend of mine who sustains a disciplined exercise program at one of our fitness clubs here in Richmond, said, “I hate January. All the well-intenders show up, crowd the machines, fill up the dressing rooms. Then in February the well intentioned stay home. All of us who last through the year have it to ourselves again.”

This morning I want to speak to you about spiritual fitness.  If I mention fitness, you are likely to think of your health, your diet, your blood pressure, your exercise. But what about the spiritual side of your life. Taking care of your spiritual self may be the most important thing you can do. I know people whose physical bodies are weak, but whose spiritual selves are vibrant. I know people who are physically healthy but spiritually empty.

The Scripture speaks of fitness in Hebrews 12.

A little background please. Chapter 11 has been a catalogue of heroes of the faith. All from the Old Testament. So the writer is blessing all of these of the past and realize they are the builders, the shapers.

Abraham Lincoln said, "If we can know where we have been and whither we are tending, we will better know where we should arrive.

Having given us the hall of fame of faith, the writer turns to the right now.

Run the Race: Commitment

Spiritual fitness begins as does physical fitness with commitment. No one ever began a race, walked a walk, made a journey without commitment. Even when I was a boy and we would race on the playground at school. Someone would say, “Let’s race.” We would get the teacher to set us off: on your mark; get set; go.” Some never ran. They watched. Spectators. Running a race, walking the walk, making the spiritual journey is not a spectator event. It takes commitment.

The Cheerleaders: Those who have gone before

The picture is fascinating. It is a snapshot from heaven. Those who have gone before are standing at the edge of the balcony, as it were, cheering for those of us who are here. They are not hoping for good intentions, or what denomination we are in, or even how much we know.

They are cheering, encouraging hoping we will stand up at the starting line and begin. You don’t have to know much to get your feet in the starting blocks. You do have to be committed.

The Sin which so “easily besets us”

Do you need to be concerned about your spiritual fitness? Let me give you a gage. On a scale of one to ten, how anxious are you?  Jesus took anxiety very seriously. It was for him a spiritual cancer. We treat it like a headache. In the Sermon on the Mount he asked his disciples, “Why are you so anxious?”

Paul used the identical word when he wrote to his friends in Philippi, “Be anxious for nothing.” It is a fascinating word because the root for the word is “to care.” It is used in Hebrews in two opposite ways: “Casting all your care upon him for he cares for you.”

Anxiety happens when caring has been separated from trust. Caring a great deal, without bringing God into it, is guaranteed to produce great anxiety.

The truth is we are only anxious about that which we care about. For example are you anxious about the weather in Slovakia today? How about the stock market in Russia? On the other hand, are you anxious about Iraq today? Sure you are, because we really care about what is going on there, and our people. Two of our own went to Iraq this last week. We care and we are anxious.

Living Water

It was an unlikely meeting at an unlikely place. A woman on the backside of heartbreak made a lonely walk to an ancient well. She was living out the quiet rejection of broken dreams.

Jesus had sent his disciples into the village nearby to get Happy Meals for lunch. In the meantime he rested near the well. As this solitary woman drew water, Jesus asked for a drink of water. Astounded that he would ask her for some water, since a Jew never spoke to a Samaritan much less a Samaritan woman, he told her that he could give her “living water” and she would never thirst again.

Now, for me, and for many of you, that is what it feels like when you have had a wonderful prayer time with the Lord. It is like your soul has tasted like “spiritual water.” Sometimes it feels like your parched soul has been watered like a plant in a dry and thirsty land. In confession, guilt seems washed away. Sometimes it is like a dry cistern has been filled full again. I believe the Lord gave us baptism because of the water symbolism. “Buried with him in baptism, raised to newness of life.”

Jesus said, “I will give you living water.”

Prayer is the “open door” to Christ who is our “living water.” It is like the deep worry and misplaced caring that causes anxiety has been washed away. If you have high levels of anxiety, put together a program of spiritual fitness that begins with prayer, which leads then to trust.

The Reward

What is the reward of connecting with God on a sustained basis in prayer?

Paul says, it is peace. One of Paul’s favorite phrases for God, is the God of peace. “And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus.”

What do you need to turn over to the Lord today in trust and in commitment. It is the first step toward spiritual fitness.