Training for Godliness

What are you training for?

In a world that often prioritizes appearances, it's easy to focus on looking like a faithful Christian while neglecting the deeper work of becoming like Christ. In this message from 1 Timothy 4:7-8, we explore Paul's challenge to "train yourself for godliness" and discover the difference between spiritual appearance and spiritual fitness.

God isn't interested in polished facades—He's transforming hearts. Learn why authentic faith is built in private, strengthened through daily discipline, and revealed when life gets difficult.

Don't train to look godly. Train to be godly.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good morning. Before we jump into our lesson, got a quick pop quiz for you, more like an accountability test. I know a couple weeks ago we had a message about the table and sharing the table with those around you and those in our community. So my question this morning is how many of you have put that into action? How many of you have had somebody over to your house at your table or gone out to share a meal with somebody that you wouldn't have otherwise? And I don't want you to raise your hand right now. I just want you to think about that. If you haven't, now's a great week. This week, today, tomorrow, this week is a great time to do that. And we're not looking for perfection. We're just looking for an opportunity to share community. And I think this is so important for us as a congregation. It's so important for us as Christian individuals. It's so important for us to grow together and to share those opportunities every chance we get. I went on vacation the week after, um, uh, and then this past week I was caught up in everything else. So that's the reason I'm bringing it up for accountability for myself. Because I haven't done it. Uh, but this is the week to do it. So uh who are you having over to your house? Who are you having at your table this week? Uh, whether it's at home or out at a restaurant somewhere, how are you sharing your table? So today we're taking another step in our journey through growing in stature, and we do that by training. We're training for godliness. So the question is, what does that look like in our individual lives? How do we put that into practice in what we do each and every day? And I think it really comes down to spiritual fitness versus spiritual appearance. Are we just trying to look the part? Are we actually going about growth? Are we actually making Jesus a daily part of our lives? Are we growing closer to him? Are we doing the things that builds our relationship with him? And I think part of that goes back to being in community. Part of that goes back to what we talked about two weeks ago and being in each other's lives and learning more about one each other each other. But it also means our personal spiritual journey, what we do in private, how are we growing closer to him and what we choose to do when we wake up in the morning, what we do right before we go to bed. I think the temptation is to just fall into those habits of just scrolling on our phone or waking up uh barely on time and getting where we have to do it, where we have to go at the last minute. I'm preaching to myself here, and we don't have time to fill in the gaps with those things that are most important. So, what does that mean? What does that look like? And I think about these old Western movies, right? You have you seen those old Western movies where it's basically they build out this town, and all you see is the front of each of these buildings. There's an old bank and a hotel and a saloon, a sheriff's office, whatever it may be. And it looks great in the movie because they're walking up to these scenes. But if you really break it down and look what's going on when they open the door, there's nothing behind it, but maybe some pieces of wood that are holding it up. And when I think about what that looks like, it's a great-looking set, but when it really comes down to it, it's not an actual town. When it really comes down to it, there's nothing behind that facade that has gone up. It looks good, but there's no substance behind it. And that becomes the question for us this morning. When it comes to your spiritual life, when it comes to your walk with God, does it look good? And is it just a facade? Those are two different questions because we can walk the walk, we can we can talk the talk and do the things that we're called to do, but when it really comes down to it, are we living like we should? Are we growing closer to God? Are we building our maturity? Are we growing towards Him? That becomes the question. It's not just about what we're not doing, but it's also about what we are doing. And that's what our text talks about this morning. Notice what Paul says there, as Larry read for us this morning. He doesn't say train yourselves to look godly. That's not his point. He doesn't say go up there and make sure you're putting on a good show. He says, train yourself for godliness. Do you see the difference? He doesn't say look godly, he says, be godly. He says, lean into that, trust in him, do the things he asks, grow closer to him. That's what it means to be godly. One is concerned with appearance, but the other is concerned with reality. One is concerned with what people see, but the other, where we need to be, is concerned with who are we becoming? What does it look like in my life? How am I growing closer to God? So this morning I want us to think about the difference between spiritual fitness and spiritual appearance because the truth is God is more concerned with your spiritual fitness than with your spiritual appearance. And if you're using your outlines this morning, this is the first blank to fill in. I threw in a couple extra this week. We got more room in the bulletins, so I took that as more opportunity for me to preach longer and have longer lessons and more blanks. No, don't worry. I'm not keeping you till midnight. Nobody's falling out any windows tonight. But I do want you to, if you have those bulletins, here's the first blank. That's the point. God is more concerned with your spiritual fitness than with your spiritual appearance. And I think we often get those backwards. Number first point this morning. See, we're rolling right through it. First point God is more concerned with character than image. Paul says, train yourself for godliness. And what I want you to see is godliness in itself is not image management. Instead, it's character formation. And if you think about the people in this world that need image management, are probably the ones that don't have very good character because they need someone going out there. We need someone taking care of all the mistakes, all the problems that I have in my life and covering those up. God's not worried about image management, but he's worried about what is actually inside you, the choices you're making, the character that's happening in your life. The Lord told Samuel, man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. And I think that's the opposite of how the world tends to operate. We are constantly evaluating our appearances, how someone looks, how they speak, how they present themselves. But here's the thing: God sees beyond the front of the building. He sees the scaffolding behind, he sees what's holding up that building. He knows what's inside, he sees through to the foundation. God walks around back. God sees what nobody else sees. He sees what's holding everything together. I think that's why the movie set illustration holds up so well. From the street, everything looks real. The bank, the hotel looks like someplace you might stay that night. The saloon is there. But if you walk around back, you discover what's actually there. And God sees the back of the building. He sees your motives, God sees your attitude. It's not just about not doing and doing, but it's about why we do it. It's about growing closer to Him. God knows what's in your heart. He sees your private thoughts. We can say all the right things all we want, but God knows what's really going on in your mind. And if you notice, when Jesus talks about doing what's right, he takes it to the next level. It's about what you're thinking in your head. It's about what's going on in your heart. God sees our secret struggles. But here's the thing, he also sees our hidden obedience. And I think sometimes we get caught up in doing the right thing and we're worried that, well, what is this really? Is it really making a difference? What's really changing in my life? Well, God sees some of those faithful decisions we're making that you think nobody else notices. God sees. He knows what's in your heart, he knows what's happening behind the scenes. God knows everything about us. Will and I were having this conversation about this yesterday. She was asking me, Does God know this? Does God know that? And uh we got to the point where I said, Willa, did you know that God even knows the number of hairs on your head? Willa said, Well, how many hairs do I have on my head? I said, I don't know, but God knows. And we ended up asking Siri, and I think it was somewhere around a hundred thousand if you're curious. He knows the exact number. We can make a guesstimate. Even Siri doesn't know the exact number, but God knows. He knows every single thing about us. And I know I can look around the room and see some of you may have close to a hundred thousand and some are far from it. But God knows how many are on your head. God knows everything about you. And I think sometimes we think we can build this facade. We can build up the front door, we can make it look like a real Christian on the outside. What's going on in your heart? What's going on in the decisions you're making? What's your motivation when you woke up, when you wake up each and every day? I think one of the greatest dangers in Christianity is becoming more concerned with appearances rather than reality. It's easy to appear spiritual. It's much easier than becoming spiritual. I think it's easier to quote Scripture than it is to actually forgive someone. It's easier just to show up and attend worship than it is to surrender our pride. It's easier to talk about faith than to trust God in those moments where it just doesn't seem to make sense, where we think our way might be better. I think that's exactly what happened with the Pharisees. Jesus said they were like whitewashed tombs. They were beautiful on the outside, but they were something entirely different on the inside. Their appearance exceeded their reality. And guess what? Jesus was not impressed. He looked at them, what they were doing on the outside, and said, that is not what we're looking for. I don't want a whitewashed tomb. I'm concerned about what's going on on the inside. Because God is always more interested in character rather than our image. Number two this morning, spiritual fitness is developed in private. You notice nobody becomes spiritually fit just by showing up. It's more to it than that. It's what's happening on a regular basis. Think about physical fitness. You don't become physically fit by talking about fitness. You can know everything about lifting weights, you can talk about it all day long, but if you're not doing something, it's not gonna make a difference. Nobody becomes strong by posting workout photos. Just because you're taking the photos doesn't mean anything's actually happening. I can load that bar with 400 pounds, but if I sit underneath it, I'm not gonna be able to lift it up. I can take a fancy picture, make it act like make it look like it. You know, you can you can do this video thing where you have like a wide angle with the huge weights, and then you can kind of zoom it in on just the bar, and then I can pretend like I'm lifting all that weight. But I'm not really doing anything. But but is it what I'm doing, or is it the image that makes the difference? And I think too often we get so caught up in what it looks like. Strength is built in the work that nobody sees. It's those times at the gym where you're not taking the pictures, where you're focused in that make you physically fit. And I think the same is true in our spiritual lives. It's the repetition, the discipline, the consistency. You don't get strong by showing up on one day. It takes weeks, it takes months, it takes years of repetition and hard work to get there. And I think sometimes we think all I gotta do is just show up and everything's gonna be okay. But God wants more from you. You want spiritual fitness in your life. It means focusing in and growing closer to Him. Godliness is developed in private. And I think one of the most remarkable things about Jesus is how often we find him alone in the scriptures. As he was going about his public ministry, it often calls back to a moment and it points out to us very clearly in God's word that he was praying alone, that he was withdrawing from the crowds, that he took some time with just himself seeking the Father. I think that's intentional. There's a reason it's put in there because it's pointing to you and it's it's saying, we need to look more like this. You need moments of your life where it's just you and God, focused on him, growing closer to him in your private life. When's the last time you closed your eyes and just spent more than five minutes in prayer? When's the last time that you've withdrawn from everyone just to spend time with God? And I think we know these things. Just like physical fitness. We know there's no magic formula to getting in shape, losing weight. What do you have to do? You gotta work out, you gotta eat better. You know that, but yet we often don't do it because it's either not important or we just don't have time, or whatever excuse we want to throw in, myself included. But the same is true in our spiritual lives. You know what it looks like, you know what you need to be doing, but are we actually putting it into practice? And I don't want to make this a beat-you-up sermon because I know there are a lot of great things that are happening here at Chisholm Hills and in your own personal lives, but I want us to take a look and and kind of do an inventory of ways we can improve, of ways we can grow closer to him. Because I think we all have room to improve. We all have room for improvement. Jesus says in Matthew 6, your father who sees in secret will reward you. So why do you think that Jesus keeps emphasizing what is done in secret? I think it's because what happens in private eventually becomes visible in public. Think about the movie set again. The audience only sees the front, but the builders know what's behind it. They know about the support beams and the framework and the structure, and I think that's what determines whether the building is actually standing at the end of the day. Likewise, it's your private walk with God that is the framework of your faith. It's about your prayer, it's about your Bible study, it's about repentance and worship, it's about being dependent on God. And these are the hidden beams that hold everything else up. And I think this is a question worth asking. If nobody saw your public Christianity, would there be enough private Christianity left to convict you? Show up to court and accused, you are a Christian, and you have to defend your case. You're your own lawyer in this moment. And the judge says, Alright, first of all, we're gonna throw out everything about your public life. About showing up to church, about quoting scripture, what you post on your social media, none of that counts. Give me the evidence that you're a Christian. Give me the evidence that you're close to God. What does it look like? What kind of case can you present? My guess is we could all use a little work. My guess is we could all strengthen our case before the jury. Prayer, Bible study, repentance, worship, forgiveness. However, you've been dependent on God. Is it your Bible reading, your private obedience? Would the jury convict you of being a Christian? Because spiritual fitness is built in private long before it is revealed in public. Pressure reveals what is real. I think one reason appearance is dangerous is because our appearances eventually get tested. Pressure reveals reality, and it's our storms that reveal our foundation. And I believe, I know, I've lived it out, that oftentimes life has a way of walking behind the facade. You know what I'm talking about? Have you been there? That diagnosis comes, the job disappears, the marriage struggles, the grief arrives, maybe it's the plans falling apart, and suddenly what looks strong now is being tested. What does that look like in your life? Are there moments you can look back on and say, man, that was where the foundation was really exposed? And I think we tend to build our lives oftentimes on public image. Sometimes I've been guilty of this in my own life. Leaning on the hey, I can be a good father, I can be a good husband, I can be a good preacher, I can be good at my job, I can love other people, and that's what I'm building my life on. What happens when the storm comes and wipes those things away? Those things you thought you had confidence in, those things that you built up are good things. But your life is not about performance at the end of the day. It's about trusting in Jesus. It's about having the foundation that's built on him. It's not about you, it's all about Jesus. And it's a very simple story that you knew in BBS growing up. It's one that you sang about on Sunday mornings in children's Bible class. It's the story of the two foundations. About the one man who built his house on a rock. The one who built his house on the sand. And when the rain and the storms came, what happened to the man that built his house on the rock? You can say it. What happened to it? It stood firm. You know the song, everybody's being shy and quiet this morning, but you know it. I know you you can answer this one. What happened to the man who built his house on the sand? And down came the rain and up came the floods. And what happened to that foolish man's house? It went what? Splat. Why? Because what it was built on. And I think sometimes we think the sand is good and it can be good, but that's not your foundation. Your foundation is not performance. Your foundation is not the roles that you have been handed down. Sometimes these are blessings that come to your life, but if we build upon the blessings, they're gonna go away because it's the blesser, it's the one that's given them to you that we lay out our foundation and we trust in Jesus, we trust in his word, and we go back to him because before you know it, some of these good things can be gone. If we put our trust in a relationship, what happens when that relationship fails? Whether it's a problem within each other, or whether it's someone's passed away, if our trust is there, then it's gone. If we put our trust in things and money, what happens when the storm comes? The money's gone, the house is wiped away, natural disasters happen. But all those things are tempting. There's only one thing that's gonna hold in the end, and that's a solid rock. Who is the rock? Jesus Christ. Where's your foundation? Where are you building your life? The temptation is to trust in these other things, the temptation is to think we're earning something along the way. But unless you're rooted in Him, it's not going to hold. Both houses looked fine, but the difference wasn't the appearance, the difference was the foundation. You see, the storm exposed what no one else can see. And that's what pressure does to each and every one of us. Pressure doesn't create character, and we talked about this as we went through our wisdom series, but pressure reveals our character. Pressure doesn't create your faith, pressure reveals your faith. And when life gets hard, those appearances stop working. It's not about what you look like, but it's about what's inside. The nitty-gritty. Movie sets are great, and so somebody tries to live in them. When you open up that door and there's just a couple pieces of wood holding up the facade, it's gonna be a very good home. Same goes true in our spiritual lives. You discover there's no depth, you discover there's no foundation, no support. And spiritually, many people have built movie set faith. It looks good from the road, but it's not gonna survive a storm. Paul says, train yourself for godliness because godliness creates something deeper than appearance. Trust in him, live for him, because that's what creates a faith that can withstand the pressure, a faith that remains when circumstances change, a faith that survives the storm, a foundation that holds even when the storm doesn't pass. Because the truth is, there are times in our life where it feels like it's just blow after blow, where it feels like the storm has just settled over myself. And we go to God and we plead with Him to take it away, but it remains. And it's not because God is unfaithful, but maybe it's in those moments where we grow closest to Him. Because we realize it's not about you, it's not about performance, it's not about what you can accomplish, but it's about what God is doing within you. You see the difference? And then we talk about all of these things, about how we grow our faith and these things, but those things are about growing closer to Him. That's how we build the foundation that won't fall. The one that will hold firm. The rains came down, floods come up. Number four this morning, godliness is becoming like Jesus. And this all this old lesson, the linchpin of it is this. What is godliness? Because we talk about being godly and we need godliness, so what is it? And it's very simple. Just becoming like Jesus. Being more like him. Sometimes we define Christianity by what we don't do. Think about it. When somebody says, what does it mean you're Christian? I think, and a lot of people look at us and say, Oh, you're a Christian. That means you don't drink, you don't curse, you don't cheat, you don't lie. And while those things matter, that's not the ultimate goal. We're not defined by what we don't do. The goal is not simply avoiding bad behavior. The goal is this. The goal is becoming more like Jesus Christ. So I want you to ask these questions to yourself this morning. As I read through them, kind of take inventory of your own life. Am I more patient than I was a year ago? Can I look at the things that how I react in certain situations? Am I more patient? Am I more humble than I was two years ago? One year ago? Can I see a difference in the way I behave? Am I more forgiving? Am I more compassionate? Am I more generous? Do I find myself giving more than I was a year ago? And it all comes down to this last question. Am I more dependent on God? Can I look at my life and see evidence where I trust him more? Where I depend on his way instead of mine. Paul tells us the fruit of the Spirit, and you know this, most people in the room can probably quote it. It's love, joy, and I'm gonna look at it because I'll mess it up if I don't. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Always go through and end up with seven. I'm like, think about those things. Look at those things. Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Notice that none of those are really appearance-based, are they? All of those things are evidence of transformation. All of those things are the fruit of a life that's genuinely connected to Jesus Christ. You see, godliness is not acting like a Christian. Godliness is becoming like Jesus Christ. You see the difference? It's not about just acting, but it's about doing. It's about trusting, it's about growing closer to Him, it's about growing in stature, growing in our faith. Godliness is about becoming like Christ. And I think that's the difference between a movie set and a real building. One of them looks the part, but the other has substance. The other has a nice appearance, but the other is reality. One is imitation. Imitation. The other one is transformation. Imitation versus transformation. Paul says, train yourself for godliness, not for reputation. He doesn't say train yourself for appearance or for applause, but for godliness. Because God is more concerned with our spiritual fitness than our spiritual appearance. If you're using your outlines, don't train to look godly, train to be godly. The challenge this morning is simple. Are you building a movie set or are you building a life? Are you focused on what people see? Are you more focused on what you are becoming? Because one day, every facade will be exposed, every foundation will be tested, and when the day comes, what matters most is how is not how your faith looked, but what matters is was your faith real? So let's not train to look godly, let's train to be godly. Let's grow closer to Him. Build something deeper than appearances. Let's build a faith that is real. Let's build a faith that can withstand the storm. Let's build a faith that looks more and more like Jesus. Because the truth is, spiritual fitness will always matter more than spiritual appearance. One more blank on your outline, and I must admit, I thought it was Father's Day. But I think the challenge still holds true as we approach Father's Day. The challenge is the greatest legacy we leave behind is a faith that is real. When I think about what it means for myself as a father, what that looks like, what I'm striving for. The number one thing I want to be is a good example of Jesus Christ. That's the number one thing I want for my daughter in all the world is for her to know Jesus. Fathers, take that challenge this week as we approach Father's Day next weekend. Take that challenge to become more authentic in your faith, to grow closer to God this week. And I and I spent some time in some training, some courses about youth ministry many, many years ago. And when I did, one of the things I learned, I remember, and if you think about our kids, think about what they learn and who they learn from. The number one indicator of whether your kids are gonna show up after they leave the house, the number one indicator of their faith is their parents' relationship. It doesn't always hold true. There are other external factors that can come in, but as an overall majority, number one indicator of whether your children are becoming faithful, example that you lead. So, fathers, take that to heart this week. Make that a priority in your own life to show that example to your kids by the faith you're building quietly. Because I guess what because guess what? Even though the world may not see their little eyes on you all the time, they see the choices you're making is making an impact on your kids, whether you know it or not. So we end with our invitation this morning. Are you growing closer to God? Are you growing in stature? Are we more worried about our physical appearance, our spiritual appearance, our spiritual fitness? Are we more worried about growing closer to God? I want to invite you this morning to make a change in your life. To commit to spending more time with Him this week, to commit to building that foundation. If that means taking that first step and being immersed in baptism for the forgiveness of your sins, we want you to do that if you've never made that choice. If that means turning away from some things in your life, if it involves a public stance where you come forward and rededicate your life for Him, we want you to do that. Or maybe you just need the prayers of the congregation. We want to invite you forward if we can help in any way, as together we stand and sing.