Change Series – Disciplined Training

So we have covered three aspects of individual change.  First that Scripture is the basis of the truth in our lives.  Secondly, we saw conviction as a way to guide us in the right direction.  And then thirdly, is of correction to move out of conviction and toward God’s purpose.  We will end this discussion with our final idea, and the most important.

The three areas we have studied leads to us, as servants of God, will be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  The thought of “thoroughly equipped” is a hard concept in English to represent.  The closest idea is that of “training”.  Think of someone who is well trained in sports or other areas, like someone who trains for a marathon.  It is something that you just don’t get up and do.  You have to train well to be able to run 26 miles straight.  In addition, there are many different aspects of the training: nutrition, endurance, equipment, etc… In the same way we are to train hard in our Christian lives.  We are to work day-in and day-out to prepare ourselves for a Christian life.

One of the aspects of training is that it does not have a finish point.  Training always moves forward. Runners will always work to quicken that running time.  For Christians, our training is never finished.  We are always keeping our lives open to what God has for us.

In Ephesians, Paul discusses a principle in raising children.  He uses the same word, training, that he used in 2 Timothy.  We are not to leave our children left to chance when raising our children.  Disciplined training in all areas to bring them forward.  This also includes verbal instruction to guide them in truth and wisdom.  The challenge is to be prepared before issues, so that we are not having to try and teach during the issues.

Disciplined Training:  To provide instruction with the intent of forming proper habits of behavior.

But imagine that you get on an airplane and find that the pilot has never flown before, but he is going to try and see what he doesn’t know.  Pretty scary, right?  Well we find many Christians will accept God’s promises, but then goes out into a fallen world with the same mindset.  That they will figure out things at the point that it becomes an issue.  But that isn’t the way God wants us to live life.  He wants us to use disciplined training in righteousness, so that we are “thoroughly equipped” for whatever life brings.  If we fail to do this, we get shaken, rattled, and often bitter when we get hit with life’s challenges.

God’s promise is that we will be complete, fully equipped, and ready for every good work.