Faith Workout

Series: BREAKOUT
July 6, 2008

When Robin and I were first married I was working as a campus minister. In the summers, when college was out, I would focus my work on the youth of the church. One of my favorite summer ministries, then and now, was camp. I served as director of a camp called SB2W, and it was awesome. The preparation, as you can imagine, began months in advance- interviewing and hiring staff, registration, collecting fees, securing facilities and equipment, curriculum and program development- it was a lot of hard work, but worth every minute of it. Every summer we saw kids come to know Jesus as their savior, and many more make him Lord of their lives as they grew in faith together.

But there was something else I did to get ready, something much more subtle in a way, and yet something that I had to devote hours to each week. And in many ways this would truly make or break my camp experience. Robin didn’t even notice at first, but then she began to notice subtle changes in me. George, you seem to be going to they gym more often these days. George, your pectoral muscles seem to be huge these days, Why George, your biceps are enormous and your legs like giant oaks. OK, she may not have said all that, but she did notice the changes in me, and she was right, in the weeks before summer camp part of my preparation getting in the best physical shape I could be in. So she asked, why do you spend so much time working out and getting big before camp? And my answer was simple, “Robin, kids respect muscle before they respect faith.”

I know, I know, it sounds shallow and somehow less that spiritual. I should have been fasting and praying and spending extra hours in Bible study. But I make no apologies about it- I worked out my body to make an impression on those kids. I want to be able to run fast, jump high, hit the ball hard, climb the towers, and throw them around the pool like little rag dolls. And you know what, every year I saw kids lives changed. Every year kids came to respect me as the camp director, as and athlete, as a strong male that they could look up to, and in time, many of them came to look up to me as a man of faith.

I worked out my body to will and to act according the purpose of camp. And the principle still stands, and it stands for all of us. If you want huge pectoral muscles, you have to hit the gym. If you want to hit the ball like Tiger Woods, you have to hit the course. If you want to hit a baseball like Barry Bonds, you have to take steroids. If you want to be a person of strength or speed or any skill, you have to work it out. No athlete gets to the Olympics or the top of their game by natural ability or dumb luck. They work. They wake up at 4 am and hit the ice or the gym or the track while the rest of us are sleeping. And later in the day when we are goofing off or playing video games, they are working out in their sport and with their teammates.

You’ve heard the old expression; success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. They may have been born with more natural ability, or given some opportunities we were, but they worked it out. They paid their dues in blood and sweat and tears, hour after hour, year after year. I was told that someone once said to Arnold Palmer in an off-handed remark, I’d give anything to hit the ball like you. Arnie didn’t let it slip by; he stopped and called his bluff. He said no you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t give anything to hit like me because you aren’t giving anything to hit like you. You don’t wake up before sunrise. You don’t hit 1000 golf balls before your first round. You don’t play a second round. You don’t hit 1000’s more golf balls in the evening. You don’t eat, sleep, live and breath golf the way I do. You haven’t given anything to hit the ball the way I do.

And the same goes for faith. IF you want to be a person of faith, a man or a woman of God, you have to work it out. If you want to know the will of God, you have to work it out. It’s about 10% inspiration, and 90% hard work. I’d love to tell you the opposite, I’d love to tell you that 90% of my life and faith is absolute inspiration. Every time I open my Bible beams of light shine up on my face. Every time I pray I hear God’s voice calling my name. Every night I go to bed and have a dream that tells my future. Every time I go for a swim the clouds part and the Holy Spirit descends from heaven, and it almost gets to be a nuisance how my life is so inspired.

Folks, working out our faith is a lot like working out our bodies. Hours of hard work for one moment of glory. Hours in the gym for an ounce of respect. Hours in the Bible for God’s word to soak in. Hours in prayer to start to hear God’s voice. Hours in worship, and sometimes only a few minutes of emotion and true inspiration. But just like those athletes, without the hours of work, they will never have the moment on the podium. And without the hours and work of our faith, we will not have the moment when it all comes together.

But here’s the great thing- don’t miss this: we work out our faith with fear and trembling as God works out his purpose in us. IF this verse is telling us anything, it’s telling us that we are on a two way street with God. WE are in this loving dynamic relationship that is a process of give and take, our work and God’s. On our part, we continue in OBEDIENCE. And in so doing, we WORK OUT our faith with fear and trembling. On God’s part, he WORKS in us to WILL and to ACT according to his purpose.

Now all of us have decisions to make. We make decisions everyday, all day long. Most of them are relatively inconsequential. Do I have the corn flakes or the Rice Krispies for breakfast? Do I wear my boots or my runners? Do I fill up with gas now, or wait until the next exit? For most of these decisions we do not consult God, or open our Bibles. However, I will say that small decisions, over a long period of time, can lead to major situations. The decision to have that Tim’s donut everyday with your coffee can add up in pounds and inches.

But in the midst of the small decisions, nearly all of us have larger decisions weighing on our minds. In fact I bet everyone here has some very significant decision to make in the near future. Maybe you’ve been putting it off, maybe it’s right upon you. Where am I going to go to school next year? Is this really what I want to be studying? Do I really see this relationship going anywhere, and do I like where it’s going? DO I really want to quit my job? Do I really want to take this new job and move my family? Some of these decisions will changes our lives forever. Some of these decisions we cannot help but approach with fear and trembling because we know just how important they really are. These are the decision for which we actively and even desperate seek God’s guidance. And we have this assurance from the Bible- God works in us to will and act according to his purpose. God is working on our behalf.

How do we work with Him? We W.A.T.C.H. for God’s will to be revealed.

Now I certainly did not invent these points we’re about to cover. I came up with the acronym, but others before me, and scripture before them, revealed that these are the five ways that God speaks to us and works in us. These are the five ways that God works in us to change our will and actions. Five ways at our disposal to discern the will of God. God may use one, a combination, or for major decisions, all five.

WORD of God
The first way we work out God’s will- in the WORD of God. The Bible. The Bible is our constant companion and source to know and follow the will of God. The Bible is literally God’s manual for living. It is his testimony to us of redemptive history, that is, how he has worked out salvation for his people, for us, over the span of human existence. It answers the most basic questions of life and the search for meaning.

How awesome that we have all the most basic and general questions of life answered for us, written down and available right at our fingertips. You want to know God’s will on any number of issue- just go to the book. You want to know how to be saved- work it out in the book. You want to know how to make a marriage work- work it out in the book. You want to know how to use your money- work it out in the book. It’s all there folks. Now there’s now way you could really study this, but I’m going to go out on limb here and say that for most of us, and most of our lives, we can know about 90% of God’s will and purpose for our salvation. I say that because so much of what God desires for us has been made so clear in his word that with nothing else we can live our lives and move forward with such confidence.

Now how are you going to find that 90%? Regular, methodical study. The consistent study and application of his word to our lives so that we know we are living and abiding by its authority. And the more we regularly read scripture, the more we’ll discover how relevant and applicable it is. It’s amazing how often when we star our day in His word, how later that same day, God will use that passage of just a verse- in our lives or is someone else’s.

I say this because far too many Christians use the Bible as a Ouiji Board. We don’t ask our question and open it up and expect to find the answer. At times God will use his word in such a supernatural way, but don’t live by the exception. The bible is our sword, a double-edged knife, it is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Why? So that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work!

ATTENTIVE Prayer
Second, we work out God’s will through ATTENTIVE prayer. By taking the time to pray, and listen for his voice to guide and direct. Jesus tells is that his sheep will recognize his voice. And the only way to recognize his voice is to know his voice by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. All of us have voices that we recognize instantly. Even more, there are some voices that we almost have a supernatural ability to hear. I’m telling you, when I sit up here in front of the church I can hear my daughters Karis’ voice like she’s sitting next to me. Actually, that’s not a good example because I think everyone here can hear my daughter Karis like she sitting next to you- but you know what I mean.

IF we want to work out God will we must give time to attentive prayer, both speaking and listening for the voice of God. It may come as a voice. Often is comes as strong conviction, or a feeling down in your bones. Sometimes it is impressed upon us very quickly, others will find it growing over time. In the Bible God spoke to his servants through an audible voice, through angels, through visions and dreams. The fact is that God speaks to us through his Holy Spirit in different ways, but he is in fact speaking if only we’ll take the time to listen and learn his voice. In everything, through prayer and petition, bring your requests before God.

THINKING it Through
Third we work out God’s will by THINKING it through. There’s nothing complicated about this one folks- God gave us brains, and never tells us to stop using them. In fact, he commands us to use them. Now don’t take this the wrong way, but sometimes discerning God’s will isn’t an in depth spiritual exercise. If you feel God is leading you to jump off a cliff, without a rope or parachute, well let me tell you, he probably isn’t. That sounds silly, but people have told me the silliest, most outrageous things that they thought God was telling them to do and called it a leap of faith- no, it was a leap of foolishness! If you believe God is telling you to leave your family and have and affair- he isn’t. If you feel God is leading you to a new job, but you think you’ll have to lie or cheat or not fully disclose or spread a rumor about the other person up for the job, he isn’t. If you feel God is telling you to marry someone that isn’t a Christian, unless you’re the prophet Hosea, he isn’t!

Romans 12 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds- then we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will. That verse alone is a whole sermon- and it illustrates the point beyond a shadow of a doubt- that God gave us brains for a reason and wants us to use them- so Christians- start using them more!

COUNSEL of the Saints
Forth, we work out God’s will by seeking the COUNSEL of the church. While not putting the weight of a decision on anyone but ourselves and seeking first God’s counsel, we must seek the counsel of the people of God. Talk to your spouse and your family, talk to folks in your small group, talk to your pastors, talk to other trusted Christian friends, talk to others that might have a unique insight or experience in the area of your decision. As important as the Bible, prayer, and thinking it through is, don’t’ go this alone. Seek Godly counsel.

And when you do, tell the whole story, not just the parts that sound good or will bias another opinion in the way you want it to go. Truly Godly counsel is a rare and blessed thing. When you find someone that will be completely honest with you, that will you the truth, will want God’s best in your life, not your best for your life, don’t ever let that person go. But go to them, talk with them, listen to them, and heed their counsel.

HAND of God
And finally, we work out God’s will by the HAND of God. What do I mean by that? Simply put, for Christ followers we have the undeniable assurance that God is in control and will at times supernaturally work things together by his hand to guide our path and show us his will. God will use his hand to open doors and shut doors, to direct and redirect our path.

The problem is see with too many is that they reverse the order. So often we want something miraculous to happen to guide and direct our life, to make the decision for us. But that’s not working out our salvation. That’s not letting God work out his plan and purpose in our lives. I’m convinced that the hand of God most often works in conjunction with all these other elements. That the hand of God shows itself undeniably when all the other work is in place.

If God were to try to guide and direct you, but you had no biblical knowledge, no prayer life, no trusted Godly friends to help you thinking it through and pray with you, I don’t believe we’ve given God the space to show his hand at work. Don’t put the cart before the horse- do the work, and then see how it plays out in the field- see what God does to bring it all together.

There have been times in my life, and perhaps times in your life, when it was simply amazing to watch and experience God’s hand working and orchestrating events, people, phone calls, Bible study, everything, coming together in a way that his will was so obvious is was almost smacking you upside the face.

Church planting is like the extreme sport of Christian ministry and working our God plan and purpose. It has truly been amazing to WATCH and see what God has been doing to build his church- and that is what he does- he has been building his church and continues to build. On my part I keep in His word, in prayer, in study and thought, in conversation with as many people as possible. But in the end it’s amazing to see God’s hand bring people, bring gifts, bring opportunities our way…

IF you have a decision to make- and you do. If you have a salvation to work out, and you do- do it with fear and trembling- do it with the confidence that it is God who is working in you to will and act for His plans and purpose. WATCH for it- in God’s Word, in Attentive prayer, by Thinking it through, with the Counsel of the church, and trusting in His Hand to bring it all together.