Excercise
1 Timothy 4:6-8
Recently Deborah enrolled us at the Y.M.C.A. This was not my idea. It has been a tremendous adjustment for us (well, more for me). The doctor told me that I have to do more exercise because my cholesterol is up and the medication is not adequately bringing it down. As I get older I find that I cannot eat what I could when I was younger without seeing it in the mirror. I guess my metabolism has slowed down and I have the chest-r-drawer disease which is “my chest has dropped into my drawers”. I am learning that if I eat without proper exercise I become overweight and sluggish. Likewise, if I do not exercise spiritually I will become unbalanced, ineffective and weak in my walk of faith.
The word exercise is similar to the word discipline. Neither of these words appeals to me. I have some friends who enjoy working out, but that concept is not what I consider fun by any stretch of my imagination. They like to jog, ride a bike or work out at a gym while I enjoy a movie, a fishing trip or an ice cream cone. Whenever I think of exercising I just sit in my recliner and wait for the feeling to pass. The truth is that all of us need to discipline ourselves to play an instrument, learn a foreign language or even grow spiritually. Any worthwhile endeavor requires a lot of time and energy. In the early church believers were delighted to discuss spiritual disciplines of their faith, but today it is branded as legalistic and narrow-minded and, by some, simple minded.
If your desire is to be used of God and grow in your faith then you must decide to train yourself (1 Timothy 4:7). Note that Paul exhorts young Timothy to train himself. This strongly says that it is up to Timothy himself. There are countless passages that tell us about grace: we are saved by grace (Eph 2:5), kept by grace (Rom 5:17,20), find grace in our time of need (Heb 4:6), but here Paul is telling Timothy that he must work at his faith. Let me share with you some things that I believe we need to train ourselves.
· Discipline in your Personal life. (vs 7-8,11) If God is going to do something in me and through me I need to get to His feet as fast as possible. Romans 12:1-2 says that my worship is to present my body to Him. I submit my mind, my will and my emotions to Him so He can control my life. He will never be satisfied with a portion of me because He desires it all. There are different ways to worship but Jesus wants us to know the full extent of Him being Lord of all. He seeks to control our finances, our families and our future and it all begins in worship.
· Discretion in our Social life. (vs. 12)
- Speech: Be careful what you say and speak up when the Spirit prompts you.
- Life: Live in such a way that others will see Jesus.
- Love people who are unlovely.
- Faith: Trust God in every area of your daily lives and quit worrying.
- Purity: Have nothing to do with the filth of this world, be holy.
Devotion in Vocational life. (vs. 13)
- Read the Bible and other wholesome Godly materials.
- Preaching: Tell others about Jesus wherever you go.
- Teach the word of God.
- Serve the Lord with all your heart.
Diligence in our Spiritual lives (vs. 15-16)
- Character is what you do and who you are when no one is watching.
- Keep a balanced approach in your doctrine. Know what you believe.
Philippians 3: 12-14 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has calked me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
