Realizing the Promises of God

Excerpted pages 67- 68 from Lesson 7 – Jesus’ Call to Spiritual Fitness

Unconscious Integrity Reflects the Inward “Good Works” of Spiritual Fitness

Immediately after Matthew Chapter 5 comes Matthew 6:1, where Jesus directs believers to do their “righteousness” in private, so as not to lose the rewards of inherited blessings. This is not a contradiction to doing one’s “good works” so all can see, as Jesus ordered in Matthew 5:16, because the “good works” of which He speaks is the “work” that the Holy Spirit is doing in the believer to build up a Christ-like character through Spiritual Fitness. It is the well developed, Spiritually Fit Christ-like character that the world will see; not all the internal “good works” of preparation, exercise, and practice that went on behind the scenes. No, it is the RESULT of those “good works” done on one’s heart that will be unconsciously reflected in one’s integrity, not the many secret deeds of genuine “righteousness” done along the way in building up the Spiritual Fitness by release of the Holy Spirit’s power.

To illustrate this point, here is a true story. There was a man who worked at a company for many years. There was another employee in the same company, who, on infrequent occasions, would run into this man, and they would have a brief conversation. Their paths had crossed once before in another organization, but they had not developed a close friendship, only a professional relationship. When the man retired, the acquaintance came to this man’s retirement dinner to say good-bye. To the man’s surprise, the admirer said, “I am glad we knew each other, for you changed my life.” After the dinner, the man thought to himself; how could I have possibly changed this man’s life, I barely knew him; we interacted in our line of work and we spoke in passing, but we never talked about anything of a personal nature. The truth is, one does not know how much one’s example impacts the lives of those who are watching.

Releasing the Holy Spirit Requires Real Practice

The living water of Life is in its Holy Vessel, like the water behind a dam, but one must open the gates. Does one send a child to open the gates of a large dam ? No, he probably could not ever budge the large wheel. One might, however, direct the child to a small dammed-up stream where the wheel is smaller and provide him some assistance. The same is true with growing in Spiritual Fitness by releasing the power of the Holy Spirit. One can follow the mechanisms given in Table IV (particularly Item 5) and practice small acts of kindness and generosity to build up at least some level of Spiritual Fitness; then once fit, one might attempt turning the next larger wheel on the gate of righteousness.

One cannot develop this Spiritual Fitness by just participating in the social programs of a religious organization. The meaning of Hebrews 6:1-3 is clear: if one goes to church each Sunday and talks about repentance, reaffirms belief in God, teaches baptism, lays on hands, expresses belief in the resurrection, and proclaims the final judgment – they remain just a Salvation Satisfied believer; no matter how many times they “lay over and over again” these truths week after week and year after year. “No, if God allows, let us go on” to learning how to release the power of the Holy Spirit in PRACTICE and build Spiritual Fitness, so we may enjoy the Inherited Blessings of The Promise.

The goal of the Promise Seeking believer is to understand in depth the cause and effect relationship between the conditional statements of Scripture, (Table III, Lesson 6) and to discipline oneself to PRACTICE AND APPLY these concepts to the utmost of one’s ability. Remember what Paul said to Timothy:

I Timothy 4:7-8 (underlined words for text comparison)

Take time and trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit. Bodily fitness has a limited value, but Spiritual fitness is of unlimited value, for it holds promise both for the present life and the life to come. (Phillips)

Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. (NASB)

Exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. (KJV) Spiritual Fitness increases as one understands the conditional statements in Scripture and fulfills them by the power of the Holy Spirit, through “discipline”, “exercise”, and taking “time and trouble” to be Holy. This is not always easy to do, for the selfish desires of one’s heart (i.e., human nature) are diametrically opposed to the heart of God, a Christ-like character, and the Holy Spirit. One must deny self and direct one’s attention towards the sacrificial care of others. It is totally against human instinct for one to surrender one’s own desires and to give over their efforts in care of others. However, this is exactly what Jesus asks people to do in His three direct commandments:

• Care about and serve God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength

• Care for your neighbor (anyone in the world) as you would yourself

• Care for “one another” (disciples) to the point of sacrificing your life

Jesus gave the first two of these commandments as being the most important of God’s commandments, as He said, “The whole of the Law and the Prophets depends on these two commandments.” (Matt. 22:40, Phillips)