Upper Path Valley Presbyterian Church

  On January the first, I signed up for Weight Watchers. All the sitting in the car, sitting at my desk, eating all the great treats so many of you gave me for the holidays, PLUS the restaurant portions that are enough to feed 2 of me, had finally caught up to me. So, instead of buying new clothes, I decided it was time to get serious about losing about 25 Path Valley pounds. I signed up for Weight Watchers on-line. In other words, no meetings to go to, but still a sense of daily accountability. I had to type into the computer my height, my weight, my activity level, my goal weight - and they then told me how much I was allowed to eat every day. Every day I was supposed to log in what I ate, and once a week I was supposed to log in my weight.
Now, just suppose that I had not lost any weight after two whole weeks. Just suppose that I picked up my telephone and called Weight Watchers and had a conversation like the following: “Hello. This is Reverend Meagan Boozer. Two weeks ago I signed up for Weight Watchers on-line, but so far, I haven’t lost even one pound. Something’s wrong with your program.” “Well, Rev. Boozer, have you followed the prescribed plan?” “What?” “Have you eaten only the amount of food you were allotted?” “Uh no.” “Have you stepped up your activity level?” “Not really.” “Have you logged in what you have eaten every day?” “Huh-unh.” Now, at this point, the poor person at the other end of the phone is probably thinking something like... ”Well, duh...no wonder you haven’t lost weight. There’s definitely something wrong, but it’s not on our end!”
This story makes perfect sense to us. We know what must be done. And yet, compare getting fit physically to getting fit spiritually and the whole thing falls apart. Even though we understand changes must be made in order to lose weight, or maintain fitness physically, we really struggle with applying this same principle to our spiritual lives. Oh, we’re happy we signed up (that one day we said, “Yes, Jesus. I want to be your disciple and follow in your footsteps.”), but then we think that just signing up is all we need to do. Why can’t we make the same connection like we do with Weight Watchers? You can’t just sign up. You have to follow through and do the things the program tells you to do if you want to achieve your goal. And here, my friends, may be where the difference lies. What is your goal as a Christian? What is mine? Is it simply to get into heaven, to gain an admittance ticket? Or is our goal more daily than that - becoming a fully devoted follower (a disciple) of Jesus Christ?

Get into heaven & live eternally with God?
OR
Grow up in our faith day by day?

Let’s take a look at what the Scriptures tell us our goal should be...for God’s holy Word to us should be the definitive standard.
1 Timothy 4:7 & 8: “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 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.”
Physical training is important, Paul says, but training in being godly is even more important. Godliness for the apostle Paul (the writer of this letter to his student, Timothy) is an action word. It’s not a boring, stale word. It is alive! Godliness implies movement, it is about growing, moving forward, gaining wisdom & knowledge in the ways of the Lord. So, let me ask you. Is this your goal? Growing, moving forward day by day, gaining wisdom & knowledge in the ways of the Lord? Be honest. IS THIS REALLY YOUR LIFE’S GOAL??? IS IT MINE?
Over the last month, we have been learning about the five purposes of the healthy church. We started with worship, moved to fellowship, added outreach, and today are challenged with discipleship. A healthy church is well-balanced in all of these areas. All of them. Implying, of course, that we (because we are the church) are making it our goal to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ - implying that we are intensely interested in growing, moving forward, gaining wisdom and knowledge in the ways of the Lord. If we want to be a healthy church, we must ask God to help us desire spiritual fitness more than we desire any other kind of fitness.
God, through the words of Solomon in Proverbs 4:20-27 challenges us to: “Pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body . . . Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” Do you hear the movement in these words? They don’t give me the picture of sitting in the lazyboy passing time!
Listen to all the actions prescribed in these verses:
“Pay attention!
Listen!
Keep the words of God in your line of sight!
Keep his words in your heart!
Put away bad talking,
stop speaking bad language,
look straight ahead,
fix your gaze,
level out the ground under you,
choose only the firmest path, and
stay on course!”
We are called to be active in our spiritual training, (that’s why it’s called training!) always moving forward towards the goal of becoming mature disciples of Jesus Christ.
On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit of God came and blew his power into those who would be the founders of the first churches. Up until that time, there were many who were proclaiming faith in Jesus, but there were just as many who still weren’t sure what to do with the faith they had. The disciple, Simon Peter, was one of those. But on the Feast of Pentecost, Peter was given the power of God to stand and deliver one of the greatest sermons of all time! Peter, the ole’ fisherman, stood and taught 1000’s of people what had just happened as the Holy Spirit came roaring into their midst. They thought perhaps some bad, or even too much wine had found some willing morning drinkers. Peter stood and said, “No! Let me tell you what this is all about!” He reminded them of the Scriptures they already knew, reminding them that through the prophet Joel, many hundreds of years before, God had promised the coming of His Spirit to men and women, young and old! God used Peter in an amazing way that day, and the Scriptures tell us that “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3000 were added to their number that day!” (Acts 2:41)
Now listen: God will use regular people like you and me to do amazing things (as he used Peter), but God has to have something to work with. He won’t miraculously put knowledge in your head about the stuff that you haven’t first studied. God has made the world to be an orderly place. In other words, students who haven’t studied their geography worksheets, cannot rely on God to give them the answers to the geography test right out of the blue (which I know is a great disappointment to some). We have to do our part. Peter did his part. He was a Jewish man learned in the Scriptures, he was devoted to godliness, and because of his faithfulness, all at once God brought it all together for him with the power of the Spirit flowing in and through him. The result: Astounding things occurred! (I mean, I think 3000 saved souls in one day is astounding. Don’t you?)
If we want to be a strong, healthy, growing church, each one of us whom God has called here must commit to growing as disciples of Jesus. We must choose to be more than pew-sitters. Why? First of all, because God says we should do it. “Train yourself to be godly,” he said. Be in training. Read and take-in the Scriptures, not just by reading your Bible at home (which is great), but commit to being in a smaller group of people to help you grow in your Biblical knowledge (like Sunday School or other Bible study groups). This is important because it provides accountability with a group of people. That’s why I started Weight Watchers. I knew I needed accountability for what I was eating and how much physical exercise I was getting. Being accountable kept me on track. As fellow travelers on the journey of godliness, we need accountability too so we will continue to grow in our faith. Trust me, losing spiritual fitness is just as easy as losing physical fitness. We have to keep at it. So, the first reason we commit to growing in our faith is because God says so. God knows what is best for us.
The second reason we should commit to growing is because the more mature we are in our faith, the better equipped we are to handle the trials and tribulations that come our way. If all we have ever done is sign up to be a Christian, but never put any effort into growing as a disciple, when we get hit by the rough moments of life, we’ll find our faith doesn’t really help us much. Think about this hypothetical phone call to God. “Hello God. Ten years ago I signed up to be a Christian, but so far, it doesn’t seem to be doing anything for me. Something’s wrong.” “Well, Meagan, have you followed the prescribed plan?” “What prescribed plan?” “Have you made a steady diet of the Bible - studying it by yourself and with others?” “Uh no.” “Have you changed some of your habits, stopped hanging out with people who bring you down, stopped swearing, made a real effort to pray and attend Sunday School and worship regularly?” “Not really.” Now, at this point, God is thinking, “Well, duh... No wonder being my follower hasn’t ‘done anything’ for you. You’re not really following. You’re just standing still.”
Back in 2 Samuel 16, there’s this compelling story of King David, when he was being threatened by his own son, Absalom. David and his men had fled from Jerusalem, and here’s what happened, “As King David approached Bahurim, a man . . . came out . . . and he cursed as he came out. He pelted David and all his officials with stones. As he cursed, Shimei (the one cursing) said, “Get out, get out you man of blood, you scoundrel. . . The Lord has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood!” Then one of the king’s officials said, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.” But David wouldn’t let him. In v. 13 we learn that “David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt.” Just picture that, will you?
Some days you and I feel like we are being cursed at from all sides. We feel attacked. We are exhausted. It seems like stones are hitting us from all sides. Our jobs stink. School is too hard - or too boring - or too hot. Our relationships are a mess. The bills keep piling up. We have so many medical tests, we feel like a pincushion. We have pain in just about every joint we have. When will it ever stop? Well, let me tell you, if we aren’t students of the Word committed to learning as much about God and his ways as possible, if we haven’t spent time learning the discipline of prayer, if we are not being held accountable to growing in godliness, we are going to have a tough time making it through the hard times - continuing to march forward as David did. We’re not going to know what God says to encourage us along the way. We might just decide to turn away from God and his church - because what difference has it made, anyway?
On this Memorial Day Sunday, allow me to tell you a little about Lt. General William K. Harrison, the most decorated soldier in the 30th Infantry Division, rated by General Eisenhower as the number one infantry division in WW II. General Harrison was the first American to enter Belgium during that war, which he did at the head of the Allied forces. He received every decoration for valor except the Congressional Medal of Honor - being honored with the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart (having been wounded in action). When the Korean War began, he served as Chief of Staff in the United Nations Command and because of his character and calm self-control was ultimately President Eisenhower’s choice to head the long and tedious negotiations to end the war.
General Harrison was a soldier’s soldier who led a busy, high-energy life, but he was also an amazing Christian who took God’s command to be trained in godliness seriously. When he was a 20 year old West Point cadet he began reading the Old Testament through once and the New Testament 4 times annually. He did this until the end of his life. Even in the thick of war he maintained his commitment by catching up during the 2 and 3 day respites for replacement and refitting that followed battles, so that when the war ended, he was right on schedule. When at the age of 90 his failing eyesight no longer permitted this discipline, he had read the Old Testament 70 times and the New Testament 280 times. It is no surprise that the Lord used him for 18 years to lead Officers Christian Fellowship. His closest associates say that every area of his life (domestic, spiritual, and professional) and each of the great problems he faced was guided by the Scriptures. People marveled at his godliness and his ability to bring the Word’s light to every area of life.
Folks, everything we need for training in godliness is within our reach. We have more than enough Bibles to go around, and then go around again. We have wonderful, dedicated Sunday School teachers. We have each other to keep us accountable. And, most importantly on this Pentecost Day, we have the Holy Spirit of God living within us to teach us, to convict us, to empower us to be the kind of disciple that is continually growing in godliness, giving a life-changing witness to this community in ways we couldn’t think up on our own, even if we tried.
It really boils down to being a personal choice. John and I, as parents, made the decision early on to make sure our children attended Sunday School and Worship every week. We didn’t allow them to stay overnight at friends’ houses on Saturday nights, unless we were given assurance that they would attend Sunday School and Worship with their friend’s family, or would be home in time to go with us. Even now, when 16 (almost 17) year old Doug is going to Central Pres. by his own decision, he doesn’t miss Sunday School and Worship. Believe me, we have many eyes watching out for him there, and we know if he’s there or not! Twenty-five years ago we made a rule, and by that rule we have taught our children that training in godliness is first before anything else. We never got pulled into the Sunday morning soccer games, etc. because from the start, no matter what, we were committed to weekly Christian training. (Now, I’m not saying we’re perfect...far from it...but on this one item, we’ve done OK.) Spending time in the Word every day is a personal decision. Listen, if I had time every day to log in to the computer how much I ate, I certainly better admit I have time to read my Bible, too. It’s a personal choice. But gratefully, the Spirit of God helps us in our weakness!
Today is a great day to say something like this to the Lord (let us pray), “OK Lord. I’ve tried it my way. Now, I’m going to do it your way. I know your ways are best. As it says in Psalm 86, “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth. Give me an undivided heart that I may bring honor to your name.” Holy Spirit, fill me. Mold me. Use me. As I take of this Holy Meal today, may my communion with you inspire me to not lose something, as with Weight Watchers, but may I be inspired to gain everything as I choose to change the self-centered use of my time over to being a God-centered use of time. Help me Lord, to become a student of godliness from the rising of the sun to its setting, this day and every day. This I pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.”