1 Timothy
4:6-16
Godly Exercise
Here
in the 4th Chapter of 1 Timothy Paul exhorts his young Pastor friend
Timothy to exercise himself toward godliness.
A)
I typed in the word workout routines on the internet the other day/ there were
435,000 sites that came up.
B) 100’s of Books on diet
and Nutrition and exercise have been written
1)
There are many plans and formulas for getting in shape and people seeking to
get rich off them .
C) But when it comes to
being spiritually fit – there is only one book – one set of guidelines –
1)
Any supplemental book written on the subject needs to base it’s principles on
this book – the Bible
In
the Passage we just read Paul lays out game plan for Timothy concerning what it
takes to be a good godly minister.
A)
Although Paul is talking to Timothy as a Pastor – the principles he shares can
apply to everyone who desires to live an effect godly life.
B)
Paul lays before us Nine important principles concerning: Exercising yourself toward godliness.
1)
We will look at part of them today – and the rest next time.
#1
Have a Proper Diet for godliness. V.6-7
A) One of the first things trainers will tell
you if you want to get into shape is you have to eat right – can’t get around
that –
B) Donuts ice
cream not cut it{ Quarter pounders and whoppers are a no / no
1)
Bags of Chips are not good.
2) Stay away from
Junk food
C) Well The first thing that Paul addresses is the matter of a good
spiritual diet
1)
And what is essential to having a good spiritual diet is the rejection of junk
food here described as old wives fables.
If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good
minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good
doctrine which you have carefully followed.7 But reject profane and old wives'
fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.
AMP
translation –irreverent Myths and silly legends
Example:
Da Vinci code
By
referring to them as myths and fables Paul was pointing out how a lot of people
will believe anything.
A)
Article in the LA times – Supplements – Not Proven-
B) One company spends
10million dollars a yr in advertising – not proof it works
C)
But people are buying if they have a 10 million dollar advertising budget.
1)
People will do anything for quick results
D) And they Don’t care about
the side affects – Dizziness / nausea/ increased heart rate – increased blood pressure/
feel restless and hyper active/ nose bleeds/
blurred vision and outbreaks of acne.
E) But Hey I am going to have bigger muscles
We
live in this Give me a quick Fix mentality –
A)
Listen there are no short cuts to godliness and spiritual growth –
B) Top of the list is a good
diet !
C) Paul urges Timothy to give himself to that which will feed his spiritual life.
1) "the words of the faith, which speaks
of the body of Christian truth contained in the scriptures.
D) and good, sound doctrine."
TEACHING
You
hold in your hands the greatest book ever written, the most amazing book in all
the world,
A)
The only place in all humanity, in all human history, where you are given the
bedrock, undiluted truth about life. IS IN THE BIBLE
The
Word of God gives you the insights of God into life, the explanation of who you
are,
A) What God intended you to
be and what will fulfill you.
B) It is the Book that will
change your life;
1) it will lead you into fullness, freedom,
liberty and beauty.
C) What are you going to do
with your time? TV – Movies – Novels –video games –
1)
Here is a Better idea Nourish yourself on the sound words of the faith;
2)
build yourself up in the sound doctrine of the Scriptures;
D)
Give your daily attention to this, that you might be nourished, strong,
well-fed, capable, efficient Christians
1)
Skip H How to study the Bible and enjoy it.
E) So the first step toward
exercising yourself toward godliness is having the right diet.
#2
Having Focused Priorities: V.8-9 { Hand ball player from Oregon
A) One hand – Secret –
Choices – I don’t have a Choice – Clear
B) Best way to Exercise yourself
toward Godliness is make that your clear Choice. First Choice
8
For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all
things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.9
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.
A) Why should aiming at godliness be your
first Priority? PROFITABLE FOR ALL
THINGS
B) It is good to exercise the Body physically{ But Paul says it profits a little.
1) More Energy / live longer /
feel better – But it doesn’t last.
C)
Feb of this year decided I was going to get into shape –Hit the Gym hard – for
about 5 months
1)
Paid off I lost 20 lbs – I felt better – I had more energy – Less pain
D) Summer hit – Routine
changed – didn’t go much at all.
1)
It takes a long time to build muscle and get in shape
Get out of Shape really fast !
The
results that come from Bodily exercise are small and temporary–
A)
But Godliness is far reaching: Every aspect of your life is affected by it: Marriage / work /
ministry:
Friendships
Around 40 years ago, Yale University
conducted an extensive seven-year study on how a persons actions in life
effects the lives of his or her children.
This study was focused around the lives
of two men: Max Jukes and Jonathan Edwards.
Max
Jukes and Jonathan Edwards both lived over two hundred years ago. They were
contemporaries :
Max Jukes was an Atheist and did not expose his
children to church, even when they asked to go.
He believed in the abolition of laws
and rules.
Mr. Jukes formed an organization
called the Freedom Movement that preached free sex, no laws, no formal
education and no responsibilities.
Jonathan Edwards was a Preacher – Sinners in the hands of an angry God”
He was a Godly man - known by all as a
"disciplinarian".
Not because he disciplined his
children harshly, but because he was a self-disciplined man.
He exercised himself toward Godliness
Both of these men were chosen for
their diverse beliefs, but also because they both fathered 13 children.
Here are the legacies they left behind:
Max
Jukes was known to have had at least 1,026 descendants. Three hundred were sent
to prison for an average of 13 years, 27 were murders, 190 were public
prostitutes, 680 were admitted alcoholics.
His
family cost the state of New York close to 1.2 Million dollars in rehabs / jail
time dollars and does not appear to have made much contribution to society.
Jonathan
Edwards was known to have at least 929 descendants.
Of these,
430 were ministers, 314 were war veterans, 86 became university professors,
13
became university presidents,
75
wrote wholesome books, five were elected to the US Congress and two to the
Senate.
Three
Were Governors and One was vice president of the United States.
As
far as we know, the Edwards' descendants did not cost the state or society one
cent, but rather contributed immeasurably to the life and strength of New
England and of our entire nation.
C) Godliness is Profitable for all things
D) The best thing is the results are ETERNAL –
1)
Fruit leading into eternity !
Hughes & Sanders:
E)
So if you have to Choose between body building and Bible study – opt for Bible
study
1) Have to choose between working out or
worship – take worship the benefits are going to last a lot longer.
Now
the word exercise is interesting:
A) It means to train
yourself – taken from the grk word gumnos –Gymnastics – Gymnasium
B) In the traditional grk
contest the participants competed without clothing,
1)
So that their movements would not be hindered. –
C) So the word train carried the idea of exercise naked.
1)
The focus being not hindered. Not
distracted.
Training
and exercise involve discipline!
A) First started going to
the Gym – first 2 months I hated it –
B)
But I got to where I liked it – looked forward to it.
C) Now I am back to that
place of hating it again – after a summer lay off.
I
was working out with a guy the other day who is new to working out – showing
him some exercises
A) Showed him this one for
your back – He says to me I don’t like that it is not comfortable
B) Duh – It is not supposed
to be comfortable
C) Sit-ups
comfortable – laying on the couch watching a football game eating chips
1) Working out is not comfortable
D) Certain exercises that
are meant to stretch you make you uncomfortable – part of their Job
Sometimes
the Bible needs to make us uncomfortable
Heb 4:12-13
For the word of
God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even
to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a
Discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.13 And there is no creature
hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to
whom we must give account.
NKJV
V.12 In the Amplified
For the Word that
God speaks is alive and full of power [making
it active, operative, energizing, and effective];
it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the
breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very
thoughts and purposes of the heart.
There
are times when exercising yourself spiritually can be tough
A) Get up early to read or
pray – body screams I want to sleep – Have to
Discipline it
B)
Times when working your way thru the word – Hard difficult dry
1)
Change up the routine –
C) Take a break from one
year Bible – Do inductive or vice versa –
1)
Take a break from Commentary do a word study –
F) Point is keep going be
consistent –
Key
to Bible study is the same for working our –Consistency and A Routine
A)
Guys who work out don’t randomly going from one exercise to the next there is a
plan – Chest and triceps / Back and Biceps – Legs /
B)
They have a Plan and are consistent
#3
Keep your eye on the Prize. V.10-11
10 For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we
trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who
believe.
11 These things command and teach.
Being
godly can be hard and suffering is sometimes accompanied with it
A) But the results are huge
– People get saved. Lives touched.
B) Hard times are when
believers Shine
1) Pray for our Bros/
sisters in the south right now
C) This is there time to
shine
Understanding
this fact spurs the excellent minister
on to serious efforts.
A)
No wonder Henry Martyn, the missionary to India,
exclaimed, “Now
let me burn out for God.”
B)
Because of his diligent, hard work as
a missionary to the American Indians, David Brainerd was dead before he reached thirty.
Quote
“Ministers
of God are engaged in an eternal work, with the destiny of men’s souls at stake. The urgency of that
work drives them on, through weariness,
loneliness, and struggle.”
J.
Oswald Sanders wrote, “If he is unwilling to pay the price of fatigue for his
leadership, it will always be mediocre.… True
leadership always exacts a heavy toll on the whole man, and the more
effective
the leadership is, the higher the price to be paid” (Spiritual Leadership,
175, 169).
1 Cor 9:24-27 Do you not know that those
who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that
you may obtain it.25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in
all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an
imperishable crown.26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight:
not as one who beats the air.27 But I discipline my body and bring it into
subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become
disqualified.
#4 Overcome your insecurities v. 12a
Let
no one despise your youth,
A) For Timothy it was his
age –
B) For you maybe it is your
lack of experience – knowledge or your inability to speak.
C) My greatest struggles in
ministry have come from this very thing.
1)
Wrestling with my incompetence – lack of skill –
D) Sometimes it has been
crippling – sometimes it causes me to not minister in confidence
Usually manifest
itself when I start looking at some body else’s gifts –
A) They are funnier /
smarter / more articulate / more knowledgeable
C) It is over come when I
get my eyes off of looking at others and on to Jesus – I am who He made me
1)
He has called me to this calling – He has equipped me in a way that He feels is
right for this task. – Rest in that!
Analogy: Comparisons { Comparing yourselves among yourselves is
not wise
D)
It is also overcome when I am reminded of Zech. 4
Not by might not by power
–age experience, training, but by my spirit says the Lord.
There
is no effective spiritual ministry apart from personal godliness, since
ministry is the overflow of a godly life. Kent Hughes
J.
Oswald Sanders wrote, “Spiritual ends
can be achieved only by spiritual men who employ spiritual methods” (Spiritual Leadership, 40).