Will you please turn to 1 Timothy 4? We will read verse 8 through verse 10.
Exercise thyself unto godliness:
For bodily exercise is profitable for a little;
But godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come.
Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation.
For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe.
And will you please turn to Hebrews 5, verses 13 and 14.
For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe.
But solid food is for fullgrown men, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
May we have a further word of prayer.
Dear Lord, we do want to thank Thee for gathering us together this morning. We are gathered unto Thy name, and where Thy name is, there is Thy presence. There is nothing that we love more than Thy own presence.
We pray that this morning Thou wilt speak to our hearts. May Thy Spirit quicken Thy written Word and make it life and spirit to us.
We open ourselves to Thee, Lord, saying, “May Thy will be done in us as it is in heaven.” We will give Thee all the glory. In the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.
Thank God for gathering us together this morning. I often feel that any opportunity of gathering is a special grace of God.
I believe that God is preparing us for His imminent return. We are looking forward to seeing Him, and we thank Him for giving us every opportunity to be ready for Him.
This time, as I waited before the Lord, I felt that the Lord wants us to share together on this matter of spiritual exercise.
I believe we all know what bodily exercise is. Especially in California, I realize people are very conscious of that. People are using every means to exercise their bodies. Bodily exercise is important.
You may eat well and you may sleep well, but if you do not exercise yourself, well, you know what will happen. You will be fat, you will be unhealthy, and you will easily get sick.
So the apostle Paul says, “Bodily exercise is profitable for a little.” Yes, it is profitable, but the profit is only a little. It affects your body, and it affects you only while you are alive on this earth.
Brothers and sisters, I do believe that we are conscious of bodily exercise. We all know that our minds need to be exercised. That is the reason why we need to study, get information, and become wise. That is very important.
But the more you get information and the more you become wise, listen to the wisest man in this world—Solomon. He tried everything and thought through everything, and he came to the conclusion: “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity. It is vexation of spirit and a striving after wind.”
But, brothers and sisters, there is another exercise which the Scripture emphasizes. It is the exercise of our spirit. It is called exercise unto piety, or godliness. We need to exercise our spirit that we may be like Christ, that we may be like God.
And this exercise is the most important of all, because the Bible tells us that exercise unto godliness is profitable in all things, especially for life.
The word life here is not the ordinary word for life. The life here is zoe—divine life, spiritual life. Exercise unto godliness is profitable to that spiritual life, and this spiritual life is not only for this age, but for eternity. Its profit is beyond description.
But, brothers and sisters, unfortunately we find that among God’s people, we are supposed to be people who exercise our spirit. But have we done that?
Now, you must remember what exercise is. Exercise is something into which you put your heart. Exercise must be done diligently and continuously. And when you exercise, you have to exercise according to rules.
Sometimes you have to go to a gymnasium under a coach to tell you what needs to be exercised and how. Irregular exercise may hurt you instead of helping you.
So, in spiritual exercise, we need to exercise diligently. We need to exercise constantly. We need to exercise under the direction of our divine Coach.
And you know who our divine Coach is. It is none other than the Holy Spirit.
Thank God, when we believe in the Lord Jesus, He not only forgives our sins; He also gives us His life. We are all born from above. We all have His life in us.
You remember our Lord Jesus said that He came to give life, and to give it more abundantly. Not only does He give us His life, but He wants that life in us to grow into abundance.
Now, how can our spiritual life grow? We need to exercise it, and we need to exercise it under the direction of the Holy Spirit. This will enable us to know the life of God and to know it more abundantly.
Unfortunately, we find in Christianity today that there are lots of activities and lots of teaching. But when you look at all these teachings and activities, you discover one thing: they are all catered either to your body or to your soul.
When people talk about worship, they think of a cathedral with stained glass, dim lighting, and all kinds of pictures. When you get into that place, you have a sense of worship.
During the time of worship, you find all kinds of actions. You stand up, you kneel down, and you do all kinds of physical exercises. But, brothers and sisters, these things cater to our bodies. They may raise within you a sense of mystery, but they are far from the spirit.
In modern times, in order to attract young people, all kinds of things are being done. You have all these soulish songs trying to stir up your emotion and make you feel that you are high. These things cater only to your body and to your soul.
There are also teachings about the prosperity gospel. They try to boost your ego and make you feel good about yourself—positive thinking.
But, brothers and sisters, is your spirit being touched? Is your spirit being increased? Is your spirit growing? That is a very serious question.
Christians today do not know how to have spiritual exercise. Because of this lack of spiritual exercise, even though we do have life, we remain as babes. We do not grow spiritually. We do not grow in Christ. We do not enjoy the abundant life of Christ Jesus.
We neglect spiritual exercise, and this spiritual exercise must be done daily, continuously, and under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Are we doing it? How do we do it? This is something that we would like to share together this time.
Will you please turn to Romans 12, verses 1 and 2?
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Now, concerning this matter of spiritual exercise, what is the first lesson? According to the Word of God, the first spiritual exercise of a believer is consecration.
Thank God, we are saved. Thank God, we have His life in us. Thank God for the redemption of our Lord Jesus.
Now, after we are saved, after we are redeemed, what should we do? What is our first response? We often say that consecration is the first Christian experience.
Before you believed in the Lord Jesus, you may have had many experiences, but you had no spiritual experience. You had no experience with the Lord and no experience with spiritual life.
But thank God, now we are saved. Now we have His life in us, and having His life, we are able to have spiritual experience. We need to exercise immediately.
You remember when God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt by the blood of the lamb at the Passover. They were delivered from death, and the Lord led them out of Egypt.
The first thing that God said to them after they were delivered, in Exodus 13, was, “Set apart your firstborn. The firstborn belong to Me.”
Because God delivered them, the firstborn there represented the whole family. So in the New Testament, after we are saved, what is the first Word of God to us? The first Word is, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice.”
I believe, brothers and sisters, that you all know Romans 1 through Romans 11 tell us of the compassions and mercies of God. We who were dead in sins and transgressions have been saved through His beloved Son.
He not only died for our sins, that our sins might all be forgiven, but on the cross our Lord Jesus not only bore our sins in His body; He also took our old man with Him, and we were crucified with Him.
So He delivered us from the power of sin. He not only justifies; He sanctifies and glorifies. He has chosen us for Himself and wants us to be conformed to the image of His beloved Son, that His Son may be the firstborn among many brethren.
From Romans 1 through 11, it tells us of the manifold mercies of God. After we have received all these compassions and mercies, what should we do? Present your bodies a living sacrifice.
This is holy. People seek for holiness, but how can you be holy? How can you be separated unto God? Present your bodies a living sacrifice. This is holy, and it is acceptable to God.
You know, we often do many things that we think we are doing for God. But will God accept what we do? Not everything that we do will He accept. Not everything that we do even in His name will He accept.
We can, in His name, preach the gospel. We can use His name to do miracles. But you remember what our Lord said in Matthew 7: “I never knew you.”
Brothers and sisters, how can we be acceptable to Him? I believe we all want to be acceptable to God. Here is the way: present your bodies a living sacrifice. This is acceptable to Him.
Not only that, but this is our reasonable service. You want to serve God? It begins when we present our bodies a living sacrifice. If you do not consecrate yourself to Him, you have not begun to serve Him.
In some versions it says that this is our spiritual worship. We who are redeemed by Him want to worship Him, but God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Consecration is our spiritual worship.
So consecration is the first Christian experience, and it is our first spiritual exercise.
There is a difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In Old Testament times, the people were under law. Therefore, God demanded that they set apart their firstborn, because it was the right of God.
But in the New Testament, consecration is not according to law but according to grace. By right of redemption, He could demand that every one of us present our bodies a living sacrifice. He has bought us with a price.
Because He has redeemed you, He has every right to demand that you present your body a living sacrifice. But He does not do that, because He puts us under grace.
By right, you are His. You have to live for Him and according to what He says. Yet He sets us free. Even after He has redeemed you, you can still live whatever way you want to live.
It is love that constrains. So the apostle Paul said, “I beseech you.” In other words, “I beg of you.” It is as if there is no right at all, but God is using His love to melt us.
When we are melted by His love, we cannot live for ourselves anymore. We have to live for Him. Brothers and sisters, this is consecration, and this is the first spiritual exercise.
I wonder if every one of us here this morning has done that. If you have not done that, you have not begun your Christian life. No matter how many years you have believed in the Lord Jesus, you have not started yet. This is the starting point.
When I was young, when I was first saved, I was at a conference. On the last day of the conference, the speaker always spoke on consecration.
A large map of China was hanging on the wall. The preacher began to preach: “Now you are saved. Now you have to consecrate yourself. You have to present your bodies to God, to serve Him, to preach the gospel. That is what you have to do.”
He said, “You can choose where you want to serve.” I was just saved, after a whole year of seeking earnestly to be saved. I was so filled with the love of Christ, and I was fifteen.
So naturally, I said, “I want to go to the furthest place to prove my love to the Lord.” The preacher said, “You can come to the platform and point your finger to the place where you will serve.”
So I marched to the platform and pointed my finger on Mongolia, because at that time Mongolia was the furthest place, the most difficult place. I had never been to Mongolia, but my consecration was true. It was out of my heart.
Actually, I prepared myself to do that, but God intervened, because this was not God’s will for me.
But anyway, brothers and sisters, what is consecration? Consecration is not doing something for God. Consecration is letting God do everything in you.
Now that is consecration. In other words, you present your bodies a living sacrifice.
In Old Testament times, when a person was thankful to God, he would take from his flock or from his herd and present that animal to God. He would bring that animal to the altar, and the animal would be killed and put on the altar. The fire would burn it until it was reduced to ashes.
In other words, that animal was mine. I had the right over that animal. But now I give it to God. Now it is Yours. God may do with it whatever He desires, that He may be satisfied.
Now, in New Testament times, it is much better. Instead of taking an animal, you present yourself to God. The reason it says, “Present your bodies,” is that we live by our bodies.
Now this body is presented to God. It means that your whole being is now presented to God. It is a sacrifice.
Why do you call it a sacrifice? It is not killed, and yet it is a sacrifice, because it is out of your hand and put into the hand of God. You give up your rights and let God have the right over your life.
It is a living sacrifice. In other words, every day you give yourself to God. He has every right over your life. He can do anything He wants with you.
Now do not be afraid, because God is love. Everything He does in your life is the best. He wants you to have fullness.
This is consecration. Now, have you done that? Consecration is a door.
What do you mean by a door? A door is a place where you cross over—outside the door and inside the door. When you cross the threshold of the door, you are inside the family.
Formerly, you belonged to yourself. You lived for yourself. You decided what you wanted to do. But now you cross the threshold. You give yourself to God. Now you are God’s.
And now you can go on the way of consecration. Consecration is not only a door, but it is a way.
You have to cross the threshold. There must be a moment when you really give yourself to the Lord. But that does not mean that is the end. That is the beginning. You have a long way to go yet, because consecration comes in three stages.
The first stage is that you consecrate yourself in your heart. From the very center of your heart, you are touched by the love of God, and so you give yourself to Him.
But you do not know what is involved. You do not know what will happen. All you know is that you are touched by the love of Christ. This is your first love, so you give yourself to Him.
It is the heart’s desire. That is the first stage. It means that now you are beginning to go the way of consecration.
In the second stage, because you have consecrated yourself willingly and voluntarily to God, God accepts it. And after He has accepted your consecration, He will make it real.
He will continually make you a consecrated person. Now consecration is in seriousness.
Why is it so? Because God will never violate your will. He created us with a free will, and He honors that will.
He has many things to do in your life. He wants to bless you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. But He will not force you. Until you are willing, then He will start to work.
So you find consecration is important. In the beginning, it is a willingness. Because you are willing to consecrate yourself to the Lord, now He is going to work.
Now the spiritual exercise of consecration begins. Your spirit begins to exercise. The Holy Spirit in your spirit begins to speak, direct, and instruct you.
After you are saved, after you consecrate your life to the Lord, the Holy Spirit will begin to touch your spirit. The Bible says He is the anointing within you; He will teach you in all things.
If you listen to the voice of the Spirit, then you abide in Christ. Brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit within us will begin to speak to our spirit, and He will make your consecration real.
You say you have consecrated yourself to the Lord. Now, how do you know? The Holy Spirit works in us tenderly, according to His wisdom.
He will begin to take away anything in you that is not of Christ, and He will begin to add Christ to you. We do not know how many things are holding us back from Christ.
We say we love the Lord, but there are so many things that have precedence over Christ. So the Holy Spirit has to begin to work in your life. He begins very softly.
Maybe in the very beginning He will touch something in your life. Maybe you have the habit of exaggeration. Maybe you have the habit of telling lies.
But if you believe in the Lord Jesus, and you consecrate your life to the Lord, when you speak, your old habit is there. You begin to speak exaggeratedly and incorrectly, and perhaps you even tell a white lie.
What will happen? Before you believed in the Lord Jesus, when you did that, you felt good about it. But now, when you do it, you feel uncomfortable. “Can I say that? Can a Christian say that?”
You have to confess your sin before there is peace in you.
Maybe you love something. You love the world; you love the things of the world. But the Holy Spirit begins to work in you, and your spirit begins to be exercised. The Lord says, “Can you give this up for Me?”
Did you have such an experience? You have a habit, and the Holy Spirit begins to touch your old habit.
Maybe you like to sleep. The Holy Spirit begins to speak to you and says, “You should get up a little earlier to commune with Me, to read your Bible.”
Did you struggle over it? Thank God, by the grace of God you overcome it. You are able to get up a little earlier and spend more time with the Lord.
Your old habit begins to drop off, and a new habit begins to grow in your life. But you need to be exercised. You struggle over it, you pray over it, you try, you fail, and by the grace of God, you succeed.
So you find the Holy Spirit is touching the things outwardly, and gradually He will even touch your thought life. He will begin to clear up your thinking. Instead of thinking things below, you begin to think things above.
He begins to touch your emotions and your love. You think that you love the Lord, but you find that you love somebody else more than the Lord.
And the Lord begins to say, “Do you really love Me more than these?” You struggle, and your spirit seems to be exercised. Finally, the Lord gets you over, and you say, “Lord, I am willing to give this up. You are my love.”
The Lord begins to touch your will. You have your opinion, your idea, and your plan. The Lord begins to touch you, and you struggle until your consecration becomes real.
You find that the Spirit of God, as your Coach, exercises your spirit and delivers you not only from the world but also from your soul.
After crisis upon crisis, you come to that point where you are really, absolutely surrendered to Him. That is a trying time. That is what we call growing pain. That is the way we grow spiritually: through spiritual exercise.
After one day there seems to be a climax, and when you get through that climax, you enter into the third stage.
The third stage is a consecrated life. Now your life is a consecrated life. That is to say, now you really live for Him. Now you are willing to follow Him all the way.
It does not mean that from now on there will be no testing or temptation. It simply means that you have got over, and it becomes easy—or easier—for you to submit yourself.
Your life now is a consecrated life.
Let me tell you a story. I think probably you have heard of the Cambridge Seven.
There was one time when seven graduates of Cambridge University came to China as missionaries. One of them was C. T. Studd.
C. T. Studd was well known in England because he was the best cricketer in England. His father was a millionaire, and he inherited much money. But through D. L. Moody, he came to the Lord, and he felt the Lord call him to China.
Before he came to China, he first traveled through the three isles of Great Britain. One day he was in Edinburgh, and he was to speak in a big church there.
The pastor of that church was F. B. Meyer. Many know the name of F. B. Meyer. He wrote many, many books, and his English was so good that when you read his writing, if he wrote about a river, you could hear the water flowing.
He was a brilliant young man and very successful as a pastor. C. T. Studd stayed with him.
That was in November. You know, in Edinburgh, November is very cold and chilly. Early in the morning, F. B. Meyer saw that Studd’s room had a light on.
As the host, he was concerned. He wondered if something had happened. But out of courtesy, he did not feel that he should go and knock at the door so early. So he waited and waited.
But the light was still on, and finally he could not contain himself. He knocked, and he heard a voice say, “Come in.”
F. B. Meyer wrapped himself up with a robe and went in. He said, “You are early.” C. T. Studd just said, “I love the Lord. I love His Word. I am searching His Word for His commands, that I may obey.”
You know, brothers and sisters, when we search the Scriptures, what are we looking for? We look for promises. We avoid all the commands.
We may be so lazy that we do not know where the promises are, so we have a promise box. We just pick up one card, and we have a promise for the day.
Now, does it mean that we love the Lord? But here was a person who searched the Scripture for God’s commands, that he might follow them.
That touched F. B. Meyer deeply. So Meyer said, “C. T., I want what you have.”
And C. T. Studd said, “Have you consecrated yourself?” He was telling a pastor, “Have you consecrated yourself?”
Meyer said, “Of course. I have consecrated myself.”
Studd said, “Put your whole life—everything in your life—one by one, and hand it over to God. Not just generally. Everything in your life, hand it over to the Lord.”
Meyer said, “I have not done that.” Studd said, “Do it.”
So Meyer went to the Lord. He numbered everything in his life and presented it to the Lord.
He said that the Lord came to him, and he put a bundle of keys before the Lord—the keys to every room of his life. But he kept one small key behind.
The Lord said, “No. If you allow yourself to keep this small key, I promise you, I will do no more for you.” And the Lord began to turn away.
F. B. Meyer was in desperation. So he cried out, “Make me willing to be willing.”
And at that word, the Lord turned back and took the whole bundle, including that small key. He took every room.
After that, F. B. Meyer was greatly used by the Lord.
So here you find that consecration is not just once for all. Consecration is a way that we have to walk throughout our life.
Not until we come to live a consecrated life have we real consecration.
So, brothers and sisters, this is our first spiritual exercise. We have to exercise our spirit daily concerning this matter of consecration.
That is the reason why you find that the fire of the burnt offering never goes out. The fire is burning day and night.
So, brothers and sisters, let us begin our exercise under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Do not try to do it all by yourself.
We will talk about it later. Be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and then you will discover what our Lord Jesus said: “I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.”
May the Lord lead us in this spiritual exercise.
Dear Lord, we commit Thy Word into Thy hand. Make it real to every one of us, that Christ may be all and in all. Amen.