No Pain No Gain Part 2 Essential Exercises for Building a Better Body
We have all heard it in order to build a better stronger Body No Pain no gain
It is no different in growing as a Body of believers because we must walk in the truth.
Our focus for this series is Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints
WE talked last week about the need to be strong to fight for our relationships. In order to grow often times we experience pain but pain in the hands of a surgeon leads to life God’s Word is often just the surgeon he will use to bring life to us
Paul begins his defense of our relationships by stating in verse Ephesians 6:14
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth,
Truth is not something easy for us to walk in, how many times have we shared little “white lies” in order to protect some one’s feelings or big ones to keep us from getting into trouble
It is hard to always walk in the truth to maintain your integrity. I mention integrity because integrity is truth in not only what we say but what we do.
The belt of truth on a Roman soldier’s uniform is what protected his core…the focus of strength to keep the Body upright and able to function in an optimum way…The kidneys, liver, back are all protected from strong blows by the belt
How many have ever had back pain? All it takes is one time and you never want to go there again. Integrity is pivotal to our having functioning, strong, healthy, relationships.
Integrity goes against the grain of our culture and anytime you go against the culture it will cause you pain but when you stand in truth you stand with Jesus because He is truth.
Pizza business story
It is hard to restore integrity and truth when it has been ruined, it is not impossible just difficult so it is better to never fracture it.
Proverbs 10:9 and 13:6 says this
People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.
Godliness guards the path of the man of integrity, but the evil are misled by sin.
When people know they can trust your word and your actions then you will always walk in safety.
The Psalmist writes in Chapter 15:4 that the one who can come into the presence of God is one who
“keep their promises even when it hurts.”
When you learn to walk in integrity you can be yourself without worrying about rejection, you know who you are and where you are going.
When you have relationships based on truth you don’t have to walk on eggshells or worry about what people are thinking because they will tell you the truth lovingly and gently.
Truth protects our relationships
People know with certainty who you are, how you will handle things and what is being spoken is true
It protects from false accusations. It doesn’t mean you won’t go through stuff but your integrity will always win the day
1 Peter 3:16
Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.
Attorney Generals office
If you routinely lie at work or bend the truth people are going to wonder if you will do it toward them
A mother complained to me about her son being a liar because of a drug problem that he had yet she routinely would tell her son when people called home, “tell them I’m not home”
Those are the “little lies” that begin to tear at our strength
Truth and integrity are a guide for us.
The Holy Spirit is our guide into all truth and He is the spirit of truth
“But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. John 15:26
Proverbs 11:3 Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people.
Honesty teaches you to say things in a way that is loving and true
Truth isn’t always truth either….if you are upset you may think you have a truth but in a calmer mode is not really truth
So real truth gives you the power to walk away from certain situations so that you can walk in real truth. The Holy Spirit will quicken in your heart what is loving, caring truth versus what may seem like truth at the moment.
See when we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth and to walk in all truth God lifts us up, promotes, vindicates and in other ways protects us from the enemy in others and his attempts to use us.
Psalm 41: 11,12
By this I know that You are well pleased with me, Because my enemy does not triumph over me.12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever
Doing what is right and saying what is right is so foreign to our culture. That at times it can be confusing to us. So taking a breath, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide can keep us living in real truth.
This verse also shares the idea of the preserving power of integrity and truth.
Some relationships sour over time, some become broken, I believe if pressed, 99.9% of them are because of a truth or integrity problem
The Psalmist has written that as we live in truth, integrity we will be set before the Lord’s face forever. We have to be lovingly honest with each other, we must walk in truth in in that way we will preserve our relationship, they won’t sour, they won’t fall apart.
Do you see now why truth is our core, how it protects our core?
We don’t have to worry about what others are thinking or saying when we walk in truth together. We can develop real friendships and have a real body of believers moving in love because we are living by the Spirit of truth
But there is a truth I felt the Holy Spirit told me we needed to work on this morning
Many are here this morning living a lie
Here are some of the lies
I am a failure (at work, as a parent, friend)
I am ugly (if people only knew how ugly inside)
I have no value (no ne cares about me, my opinion or who I am)
I will never be anything
I am broken and will always be that way
Nothing will ever change for me
Some here this morning have even had suicidal thoughts because the enemy wants you to end your life because he is afraid of what you will become
The truth is…there are no ordinary people in this room today, because of Jesus you are all extraordinary
The truth is…it is not about your feelings it is about your character and the way God sees you.
Your parents, boss, friends, teachers and others have lied to you. God spoke to me Wednesday as I was wrapping up this teaching that God was going to break every lie and bring truth and freedom and even save someone’s life