Body For Life

11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. (NIV)

Last year Dino Calarco loaned me a book called “Body For Life.” It is a physical fitness book that combines a 12-week weightlifting and physical fitness regimen with diet and nutritional guidelines. It is a really good read, and I enjoyed reading it with a bag of Doritos and a Dr. Pepper!

One of the most pointed parts of the book, for me, was the introduction, where the author, Bill Phillips, shares his motivation for writing the book. He wrote,

A couple of years ago, I attended a fitness convention in Atlanta. It’s one of only a few industry trade shows I attend, and therefore, it’s one of the only times I come face to face with a large number of my readers at once. During the course of that weekend, hundreds of men and women who introduced themselves as avid followers of my magazine came up to shake my hand and chat. What struck me most about the entire experience – what absolutely floored me – was how strikingly out of shape many of these people were.

Don’t get me wrong – I enjoyed meeting all these folks, many of whom had been reading my work for years. I even recognized a lot of their names. That weekend I think I met about 600 of my students. Maybe 80 of them looked fir and strong, but the others, who had been receiving the same information on exercises and nutrition, looked like…well, like they had never had the opportunity to learn about how to get in top shape before.

On the flight home, I agonized over what I had experienced that weekend. I knew then and there that in order to become a better teacher, I had to create a solution that would help these people not just get the facts but apply them. I knew I could help these people. I knew it was my responsibility. [i]

You know, Bill and I have lot in common – and I mean more than the obvious physical similarities! Seriously, I can relate to Bill’s feelings of frustration and concern over the people who look to him for instruction and physical growth. I am often puzzled by the fact that in the same church there are people who week after week come up and say “Good message, pastor, you really spoke to me…” and yet show little, if any growth in their walk with Christ; while at the same time there are others who show consistent, spiritual growth - who are maturing in their faith and their walk with Christ.

Like Bill Phillips, I know that to some degree, it’s my responsibility. I have been called and gifted to “prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…” (Eph 4:12). It’s a responsibility I dare not take lightly. The Bible says, in James 3:1, that “not many of you should presume to be teachers…because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly…” That is a heavy burden to bear.

If you’ll indulge me for a little longer, I want to read another portion of this book to you, so you can get an idea of where I’m headed:

I consider it a privilege when people let me help them. I love it when they succeed. But numerous as the success stories are, I’m repeatedly reminded of the fact that there are still millions of people who have yet to discover their true potential. Many of them know how to exercise. Some know how to eat right, too. In fact, this vast and ever expanding population of people who have ye to successfully change even includes doctors and professors who know all about the human body. What these people are missing is the ability to apply knowledge. Without that skill, id doesn’t matter how much you know, you’ll be stranded at the edge of an infinite chasm I call the abyss. Until you discover how to cross the abyss, you will struggle, you will have setbacks. And you may even lose hope.[ii]

Do you hear how those words can accurately describe the spiritual condition of many believers?

How many Christians do we know who sound like that? For many, you may know all too well that it describes you! Struggling, experiencing setbacks, maybe even hopeless about ever becoming spiritually fit. You know what it takes – you know you should pray more, read and study the Bible with greater discipline, have meaningful relationships with other believers who really know the inner you – the good, the bad and the really bad – yet who love and accept you and are there to encourage you and challenge you. You know you should be discovering and using your gifts to serve others in the body of Christ. You know that you should be sharing your faith with others who do not know Christ…You know all that – but all it does is serve to remind you of all that you have not achieved.

Turn with me to Ephesians 4. Earlier I read for you verse 11-16 from this passage. We’ve been studying Ephesians for some time now, and we’re getting back into our study after taking a break from it for Christmas.

Today I want us to focus on the “preparing God’s people for works of service” part of verse 12. If you look at verse 11, you’ll see that “preparing God’s people for works of service” is my job description as your pastor. I understand fully that the responsibility for that preparation lies with me as your pastor, and with the Elders, teachers and ministry leaders at Gateway Community Church. We have a lot of work to do to provide the opportunities for growth and maturity that are necessary for each individual in the church. Those opportunities include the teaching that occurs on Sunday mornings at these services. It also includes small groups that meet through the week. We have some groups meeting at this time, more are coming, and will be available. That preparation also includes the special training times that come along – like the Spiritual Gifts class that is coming up in a few weeks, and the FAITH Training for evangelism that will take place on January 20 and 21. But maturity in the church means far more than having opportunities for growth – those opportunities must be grasped if there is going to be any meaningful. The subtitle for the chapter that I took that last Bill Phillips quote from says this: “There is a world of difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it.”

Bill Phillips, when meeting his readers at that trade show in Atlanta, felt a responsibility to provide his readers with a practical, clear plan to help them reach the physical goals that they all agreed were desirable, but few were reaching. That is a responsibility I share with him. I, and the rest of the ministry leaders of this church, recognize the responsibility that is ours to do all we can to provide opportunities for growth and equipping at Gateway Community Church, but like Bill Phillips, that responsibility can only go so far.

He takes that responsibility to help his readers seriously. He provides a 12-week plan. Six days a week you eat a controlled, balanced diet, which he outlines in the book. Six days a week you hit the gym – upper body, lower body weight lifting, cardiovascular training – every detail is laid out – less than an hour a day. You get Sundays off from the workout, and the diet - you can eat anything you want as much as you want. He even provides motivation – each year he sponsors a contest for people to sign up and submit a “before” and “after” picture from their 12-week experience, along with their personal story of success. From the results and the story, he selects one winner. The first year he gave the winner his personal Ferrari – now he gives the winner a million dollars.

I read his book 9 months ago. I agree with the concepts. But it hasn’t worked for me. Do you know why? Because I am not following it! “There is a world of difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it.”

I can’t hold Bill Philips responsible for my lack of results – I am responsible for my progress – no one else. He’s certainly done his part – but he can’t lift the weights for me, he can’t run on the treadmill for me. He can’t come and supervise every bite of food or sip of beverage that I put into my mouth – ultimately the responsibility lies with me!

Folks, what is true of each of us physically is also true of us spiritually. No matter how many or how few programs any church offers, the responsibility for each of us in our spiritual growth lies squarely with us. I can take you to Willow Creek church in Chicago, where they offer every program known to man, and I guarantee you there will be a large percentage of people who are not growing – and they are sitting right next to a person who’s making huge gains in his walk with Christ? I can take you to a Christian church in Bangalore India, that meets in secret for fear of their lives and you’ll find believers who are growing and believers who are not.

While the pastor and the leaders of the church are responsible for the growth of the body of Christ, and for equipping the saints for service, each one of us is personally responsible for our individual spiritual growth. Let me show you.

Ø Paul instructs his young apprentice in I Timothy 4:7 to “Train yourself to be godly…”

Ø In I Corinthians 9:27, Paul says, “I discipline myself and make myself a slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified from the prize.”

Ø Paul calls the entire church at Colosse to maturity in Colossians 2:7 – “So then just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to grow in Him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

Ø The writer of Hebrews calls on the believers to “Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.” And he further wrote, “Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves…”

Each of those is an example of personal responsibility for maturity and growth. No one else can do it for me – no one else can do it for you. I have to move from knowing what to do and actually do it!

Some of you know that I have set a goal of running in the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington DC this October 29 – 294 days from today. Running 26.2 miles might seem like a nightmare to some, but it’s something I have wanted to do since I watched Frank Shorter run in the Olympics back in 1972 and 1976. At that time, I had an uncle who ran marathons, too, and I admired his determination and discipline. I always felt I wanted to try it. But I realized a while ago that if I was ever going to do it, it wasn’t going to happen by accident – no one ever “accidentally” ran 26 miles, 385 yards! So this past summer, I started running, and dieting. I’ve lost over 20 pounds – and these shoes have gone over 300 miles – but obviously there’s a long way to go – but probably not for these shoes!

So how am I moving my goal from a wish to a reality? Well, I’m doing a few things – first, I have a group of guys who are going to run it with me – were committed to doing it, and training together – one of them is my uncle, who is going to lace up the shoes and run one more marathon at nearly 60 years of age! Another thing I’ve done, is invested some of my money in it – shoes, shorts, shirts, winter gear, entrance fees… Jesus said that where your treasure is, your heart will be also. I’ve also done research – subscribed to running magazines, gone on training websites, picked up training schedules. And I’ve also told people of my plans – you see, I’ve set a level of expectation in my family and among my friends that I’m going to complete this – and that helps motivate me – I don’t want to let them down – when I talk to people, they ask how it’s going – how are the knees? How’s that toenail? Another thing I do is I keep the end in view. When I’m running and I want to quit – or in the morning when it’s 40 degrees and raining and I don’t want to get up and go to the TAG Center and run – I try to imagine what it’s going to be like to cross the finish line at the Marine Memorial in DC in October…and it motivates me. And there’s one other thing I do – I run! There’s no amount of reading, buying shirts, downloading schedules, talking about the race with others that substitute for running.

Now, I’m not going to ask you to run a marathon this year – that’s not why we’re here. It wouldn’t be fair for me to expect that from you.

But there is an expectation that is completely fair for me to have of you – that you will take responsibility for your spiritual maturity and growth in the year ahead. I will commit to you that the leadership of the church and I will do our part to the best of our abilities – but we will not, in fact we cannot, mature for you.

But like Bill Phillips, I will give you all the support and tools that I can. Here’s the way it’s going to work:

If you are tired of knowing what to do, but not doing it, if you are dissatisfied with your spiritual fitness, and if you finally want to move beyond the plateau you are on – then I’m going to give you a chance to get to it!

After this service there’s going to be a lunch served in the cafeteria. I’ll be out there, and if you are sincerely interested in getting spiritually fit, then I want you to come and see me. I’ll have a sign up list for you to get on. In the days ahead, I will be getting you a 12-week plan. It will include daily spiritual nutrition and exercise. You will be expected to read and study your Bible every day. You will be expected to spend time in personal worship and prayer every day. You will be paired up with another person in the plan as a partner who you will be in contact with daily to check in. You will be expected to find out your spiritual gifts, and use them in the church. You will be expected to be at church. You will be expected to invest your resources in books, conferences, workshops or other opportunities for growth as God leads you to them. You will be expected to invest in the Lord’s work.

Sounds challenging, doesn’t it? It is…but it’s worth it! You will finally break out of the “couch potato Christian” life that has you feeling so bad.

I don’t have a Ferrari or a million bucks to give to one of the people who sign up on this list today – but even if I did, it wouldn’t be the greatest reward from this challenge.

The greatest reward will be the closer fellowship you will have with God, with His people, and the renewed sense of purpose that He will give you – that’s the payoff.

You are an amazing group of people. I love every one of you, and I want to see God’s very best for you in the year ahead, and every year that follows. Because of that love, I am driven to set high goals for you – to expect you to do the right things – to expect you to train yourself to be godly – to expect you to grow. And I do – but more importantly – God expects you to grow.

[ii] Ibid., pg 21