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“Spiritual Fitness”
Luke 9:57-62
IPC, August 16, 2009

Are you in shape this morning?  An overweight guy said, “I’m in shape.  ROUND is a shape.”  We all know that one aspect of physical fitness is making sure that our weight is under control.  Many of us hate to diet.  I heard someone say that the word “diet” is actually the word “die” with a “t” added to it.  The diet industry is big business in the U.S.  Millions of dollars are spent annually in an effort to shed unwanted pounds.  Of course, maintaining an ideal weight is only part of the equation.  We need to add in that dreaded component we call “exercise.”  We need exercise to strengthen our muscles and bones and we need cardio-exercise to help our heart and lungs.   

In the realm of spiritual fitness, we don’t have pounds to shed.  We have self-centeredness to lose.  We are to be unselfish and give ourselves for the glory of God and the benefit of others.   When we lose self-centeredness, a natural by-product will be a strengthening of faith and will result in growth in our lives spiritually.  As our hearts are attuned to the needs of others, God gives us the cardio-exercise we need to have hearts that are strong, yet tender—hearts that reflect our Heavenly Father’s heart.  Listen to this encounter between Jesus and His followers: 

Luke 9:57-62 “As they were going along the road someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, & birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go & bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead. But as for you, go & proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Yet another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow & looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’”  Our desire should be to be found “fit for the kingdom of God.”  If we wish to be spiritual “fit,” there are several things we ought to do, according to this passage. 

1. Forget the Comfort Zone. (Vs. 58)

I saw a bumper sticker that read:  “Please hassle me!  I thrive on stress!” I don’t think that describes many of us.  Most of us want comfort.   

Oliver Cromwell was the first Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland in the first half of the 17^th Century.  He opposed the institution of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland and fought against the Scottish Covenanters. So, in my book, he wasn’t such a good guy.  However, he was a colorful character.  When he was the Protector, there was a shortage of silver for minting coins.  He sent men out to locate silver in the kingdom and the report came back, “The only silver we could find is in the statues of the saints standing in the corners of cathedrals.”  (I love his answer.)  Cromwell is reported as saying, “Good! We’ll melt down the saints and put them into circulation.”  (I’ve come across some “saints” over the years who could stand to be melted down…however, they weren’t made out of silver…they were made out of ice.) 

What is it that may keep you standing in the corner, like the sainted statues?   Getting into circulation involves leaving our comfort zones.  It requires being willing to do something differently.  An old black pastor prayed, “Lord, we can’t hold much, but we overflow lots.”  In verse 58 of our passage, Jesus talks about the principle of the foxes and birds and the fact that He had no place to call home.  Jesus ministered by holding things loosely.  He so gave Himself away that He apparently lived with an open palm?  Do we do that?  No, we have a tendency to grasp and gather and horde instead of giving ourselves and our time away. 

Jer. 12:5 “If you have raced with men on foot, & they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?”  You get the gist of what Jeremiah is saying here, don’t you?  It’s one thing to race another person—it’s a totally different level to foot race a horse.  And you may feel secure in an open, well-lighted area, but totally different when you are in ominous thickets and woods.  And folks, we will often deal with “horses” and with the “thicket of Jordan” in our lives.   

When I think of comfort zone, I recall the David Livingstone quote I read in my August 2^nd message.  Remember the quote from this 19^th Century British Medical Missionary who served in Africa?  “I would rather be in the heart of Africa in the will of God than on the throne of England out of the will of God.” 

A man got called in for an IRS audit.  The auditor met with the nervous taxpayer and said, “Let’s begin with where you claim depreciation on your wife.”  A patient called his dentist with an emergency.  The dentist said, “I can’t see you today.  I have eighteen cavities to fill.”  He hung up, picked up his golf bag and went to the country club.  A man with a prison record was discovered trying the doors of a church with a ring of keys.  He explained to the police officer: “I was just looking for a place to pray.” 

2. Can the Excuses. (Vs. 59 and 61)

These are actual explanations given to insurance adjustors, investigating automobile accident claims:

• “To avoid hitting the bumper of the car in front, I struck the pedestrian.”

• “A trucked backed through my windshield into my wife’s face.”

• “A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.”

• “The guy was all over the road; I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.”

• “I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law and headed over the embankment.”

• “My car was legally parked as it backed into the other vehicle.”

• “The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I ran over him.”

• “The phone pole was approaching fast. I attempted to swerve out of its path when it struck my front end.”

• “I was on my way to the doctor with rear-end trouble when my universal joint gave way, causing me to have an accident.” 

I would hope that this doctor from the UCLA Medical School was saying this “tongue-in-cheek,” but he probably wasn’t when he wrote:  “Now don’t worry if you find yourself angry with your spouse or boss.  You just have an emotional problem.  Eating too much?  That’s OK.  You’re simply suffering from obesity.  Certainly you needn’t concern yourself with any lack of will power.  As we have learned, your food problem is really just repressed sexuality, or maybe you don’t have enough pineapple in your diet.  The one thing that is clear is that the problem isn’t your fault and the solution could never be as simple as ‘Just stop eating so much.’ Are you bored with work? You probably suffer from burnout, one of the newest pet diseases of the middle class.  Remember the old days when you thought they called it work because it difficult, unpleasant and boring? Remember when you believed the reason you were being paid was to do your job, whether you like it or not? Those days are over. Remember when drug or alcohol abuse was a product of some combination of hedonism and foolishness? That era has ended too.  Now you’re an addict.  You have no will, so you are not to blame—the disease got you!” 

Excuses are given in verses 59 and 61.  The guy who needed to bury his father and the one who needed to go home and say goodbye.  I would venture to guess that dad wasn’t dead yet.  The guy was putting Jesus off until his father died.  Jesus told His followers to hate their father and mother…the phrase literally means to “love less” their father and mother than the Lord Jesus. 

Remember the wooden coins that were passed out ten years ago or so that were stamped “Round Tuit?”  It was a take-off on the excuse phrase we like to use, “One of these days, I’m going to get around to it.”  How many “Round Tuits” do you have this morning?  What is your excuse for not reading your Bible?  What is your excuse for not volunteering at the church?  In children’s ministry?  With Oasis Wednesday program?  With committing to a Home Fellowship Group?  Excuse number one re: children’s ministry is: “I don’t like kids.”  Seriously, it is often the excuse of “no time.  We’re so busy.”  I read that much of our activity today is nothing more than a cheap anesthetic to deaden the pain of an empty life. 

We talked about “kingdom terms” two weeks ago.  What are we doing that will last for eternity?  When you think in kingdom terms, most of our excuses are seen for what they are—FLIMSY! 

3. Forge Ahead.  (Vs. 60 & 62)

I love the bumper sticker which reads: “Don’t follow me. I’m lost!”  Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote: “To reach the port, we must sail—sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail and not drift or lie at anchor.” 

You know that the first step to any exercise program is to get out of bed and “show up.”  We have to get started—not talk about getting started.  And once we get started, there is the temptation to go back to point two and think of all kinds of excuses NOT to exercise on day two.  We have a tendency to give in or give up too easily.  One preacher wrote that one of the reasons mountain climbers connect themselves to one another with rope and cables is to keep the guy on the end from going home.  That connectedness should be a picture of the church alive.  Like the closing song in “High School Musical,” it reminds us that “We’re All in This Together.”  As one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence said after penning his name to the document: “Gentlemen, we must all hang together or surely we will hang separately.” 

Certain attitudes hamper us from forging ahead. Such as, there are people who love to talk about the “good old days.”  And there is nothing wrong with reminiscing from time to time.  But we can lose ourselves in our personal trophy room of past accomplishments and sit on our laurels and use our past successes as monuments to ourselves.  However, the danger of living in the past is that it can cause you to grow old before your time.  “He who lives in the future remains forever young.” 

We can also soak ourselves in the regret of past failures, listening to Satan’s whisper in our ears that says, “You’re no good.”  You answer that with one important word from 1 John 1:9 “IF we confess our sins, he is faithful & just to forgive us our sins & to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

Or we can flirt with past sins.  I saw a cartoon entitled “Will You Be Bored in Heaven?”  Three Christians are standing in some clouds and one is standing off by himself crying and the other two are talking.  One guy says to the other about the crying guy, “It’s 9 p.m. and he’s missing out on watching “American Idol.” 

We know that Lot’s wife looked back, with regrets of leaving her possessions behind.  The Israelites grumbled in the Wilderness.  God provided them bread from heaven, but they wanted more.  They said, “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, & the garlic.”  (Numbers 11:5)  They were heading to the Promised Land and they wanted the onions and garlic of Egpyt!  Unbelievable! 

Pastor Chuck Swindoll tells about a Christian friend who lives in a lovely old stone house.  Carved in the mantle: “If your heart is cold, my fire cannot warm it.” 

In Luke 9:62, Jesus talks about putting your hand to the plow.  Folks, when we put our hands to the plow, the ground is usually workable.  Day to day challenges can be taken in stride.  But then there are the big tests.  Alan Cameron was one of the great covenanters of the persecution of Scottish Presbyterians.  He was shown the head and hands of another covenanter, his own son Richard.  He was asked, “Do you know them?”  “I know them.  They are my son’s, my own dear son’s.  It is the Lord.  Good is the will of the Lord, who cannot wrong me nor mine, but has made goodness and mercy to follow us all our days.”   

Greece said, “Be wise and know yourself.”

Rome said, “Be strong; discipline yourself.”

Judaism said, “Be holy; conform yourself.”

Epicureanism says, “Be sensuous, enjoy yourself.”

Psychology says, “Be confident, fulfill yourself.”

Pride says, “Be superior, promote yourself.”

Diplomacy says, “Be reasonable, control yourself.”

Socialism says, “Be collective, secure yourself.”

Humanism says, “Be capable, trust yourself.”

Christianity says, “Be unselfish, give yourself.” 

“No one who puts his (or her) hand to the plow & looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”  I hope to see FITNESS in this congregation that cannot be accomplished by P90X, the Total Gym, or any facsimile.  I trust that we will strive to be spiritually fit, as Jesus said, “fit for the kingdom of God.”  It is day-to-day submission to the Lordship of Jesus in our lives and asking Him—NOT to be our “co-pilot,” but to take the controls and lead and guide us for His honor and glory.  Please pray with me. 

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In Christ,
Bill Bratley - Pastor