How do I grow spiritually?

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For an athlete it isn’t difficult to understand what it takes to excel in sports. Every high performing athlete understands that to reach your athletic potential it takes practice, drills, film, lifting weights, stretching, proper nutrition, and the like. Basically, as an athlete it comes down to discipline. When I dressed out and played in my 1st college football game, I had thought that I had arrived. I had the swag, I was on the team, I was traveling on the team plane, I stayed in hotels and unfortunately for me I thought that’s what it meant to be a college football player. All of that came to a crashing halt when I got earholed and laid out on the 45-yard line on the opening kickoff of my 1st game. My special team’s coach had warned about the opponent’s blocking scheme but as a young man I felt I knew better than my coach and I ignored all his warnings. As an athlete, I knew how to talk the talk, but I didn’t have the discipline or character necessary to sustain my position.

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Just as an athlete needs to have discipline to excel in their sport, an athlete must also exercise discipline to excel in their faith. Paul reminds his young student Timothy, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8) on the surface we understand exactly what this passage is talking about. There is great value in physical training (especially for an athlete) but one day we will understand that things of this world will be remade in Glory and that there is greater value in “working out” spiritually and growing our spiritual muscles and endurance, for the spiritual work outs benefit this life and the next.

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So here’s the question, are you training as hard in your faith as you are in your sport?

Here’s the good news, God provides resources for soul training to help you grow.

There aren’t enough pages in this magazine for us to talk about everything needed for our “spiritual workouts” but there are 2 practices we can focus on today that will enhance our spiritual growth. “Wholly Surrender” and “Holy Sweat”.

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Wholly Surrender – The Holy Spirit

Your faith will grow as your surrender to God increases. To his letter to the Ephesians, Paul teaches that as soon as someone believes in Jesus they are sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Sprit is God’s deposit and his holy presence in the life of every Christian. Athlete, that means when you get up, walk around, work out, and compete you have God literally WITH you. One way we experience spiritual growth is to learn how to surrender to the Holy Spirit daily. Many people have a misconception about surrender. Surrender does not mean you give up, surrender simply means you are relinquishing your authority and agreeing to come under the authority of another. In the Christian sense, we relinquish authority over our own lives and agree to come under God’s authority and the Holy Spirit is God’s chief tool for us to do this. The Holy Spirit is God’s power available to us.

  • Here are some of the ways the Holy Spirit aids us in our daily lives.
    • The Holy Spirit can fill you and lead you. (Luke4:1)
    • The Spirit can empower you to live the life God desires for you. (Luke 4:14)
    • The Spirit counsels you, teaches you and reminds you of God’s truth. (John 14:26)
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Holy Sweat – The Bible

In Luke 4 we see how Jesus’ spiritual training and discipline prepared Him to win as He faced temptation from the devil. He was able to recite God’s truth each time the devil tempted Him. Jesus is the living Word of God (John 1:1) and the Son of God, but He is also a man who grew in wisdom and stature. (Luke 2:52)

Just like all Jewish young men, He spent regular time at the temple listening to God’s Word being taught, He memorized the Torah (first five books of the Old Testament), and he prayed often. He knew God’s Word, He was filled with the power of God’s Spirit, and He followed God’s plan. Essentially, Jesus put in Holy sweat equity as a young man that prepared him for the ministry ahead. For us to grow spiritually we too must engage in “Holy Sweat”.

  • Here are a few “spiritual workouts” for us as we engage God’s Word and put ourselves in a place to spiritually mature.
    • You need times of solitude away from noise and activity in order to learn to hear God’s voice (Mark 1:35). This will help you recognize God’s voice during the chaos of the “game” of life. This can help increase your self-control.
    • Read, listen to and study the truths of the Bible often. This will help you know God better, know yourself better and know His plan.
    • Practice memorizing God’s truth from the Bible. This will help you combat the lies and temptations you will face. (Psalm 119:11)