1Timothy 6:3-10

1 Timothy 6: 3-10

God’s Advice For Daily Living: Praise God For His Blessings

November 18, 2007

Part 5 of God’s Advice For Daily Living series

For the past several weeks we have been looking at the Epistle of 1 Timothy – the first of 3 – 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus — “Pastoral Epistles” that Paul wrote to address every day problems the early Christians were facing. Paul gave some very practical advice for how to live every day as a Christian. The advice he gave is still great advice – in fact it is God’s advice – to us today.

God’s advice for daily living.

That’s our theme as we look at 1Timothy.

5 weeks ago we looked at 1 Timothy 1:1-11 and saw one piece of advice God gives us: be conformed to Christ instead of conformed to the world.

4 weeks ago we looked at 1Timothy 1:12-20 – and saw a second bit of advice God gives us for our daily lives: be saved by His grace.

2 weeks ago we looked at 1 Timothy 3:1-12 – and saw that God advises us to not compromise our integrity.

Last week we looked at 1 Timothy 4:1-16 and saw a 4^th piece of advice that God gives us – Get spiritually fit.

Be saved by God’s grace

Be conformed to Christ

Don’t compromise your integrity

Get spiritually fit.

4 wonderful pieces of advice for how to live our daily lives in God’s ways.

Today we are going to conclude our look at 1 Timothy as we look at 1 Timothy 6:3-10 – and see that another piece of advice that God gives us for living our daily lives is that we should praise God for His blessings.

Read Passage

Be saved by God’s grace

Be conformed to Christ

Don’t compromise your integrity

Get spiritually fit.

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

Today – the Sunday before Thanksgiving – is a natural day for us to look at praising God for all His blessings on our lives. Every year about this time we have a tendency to talk about how thankful we are for all God has given us. Churches have special services focusing on giving thanks to God – much as we will have tonight. Many churches are having their Stewardship emphasis – just as we are – and ministers and officers are reminding the members that they have been blessed by God and need to use what God has blessed them with for the work of the Church.

It is indeed a natural day for us to focus on praising God for His blessings.

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

God has indeed blessed us.

Everything we have is from God – it’s all a gift from God – so we need to use all we have for God’s glory and reach out with God’s love into the world with the gifts He has blessed us with. We need to recognize that God has richly blessed us – and be thankful for what He has blessed us with. We truly need to:

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

Many of you know that some of the guys in the community formed a prayer and devotional group that meets at the store every morning at 7:30. We drink coffee and catch up on what’s going on in the community – of course we talk about sports – especially this time of year – and have a short devotional and prayer time. The other day Sonny read the devotional. It was about a man who was traveling and stopped in a town overnight and decided to take in a Minor League baseball game. During the course of the evening he won several prizes – tickets to upcoming games, a free oil change at a local garage, and a free meal at t local restaurant. He knew that he would never be in that town again, so he gave away all his prizes. As he thought about the evening, he mused that we all have been given gifts from God – gifts that are not for us to keep, but for us to give away – to share with others.

Again — everything we have is from God – it’s all a gift from God – so we need to use all we have for God’s glory and reach out with God’s love into the world with the gifts He has blessed us with. We need to recognize that God has richly blessed us – and be thankful for what He has blessed us with. We truly need to:

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

So – how thankful are your?

How often do you thank God for what He has given you – and use what He has blessed you with to be a blessing to others?

We all need to learn to:

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

I once worked as the Director of an Outreach Center where people in need would come for financial assistance and food. Most of our clients were truly needy – many elderly on fixed incomes who had high medical bills and could not make ends meet – single moms with several children who had jobs that paid minimum wage – and were not making near what they needed to make to pay their bills and buy food for their families. Some of them, however, were out to get what they could for free. I remember one couple who had been living on welfare and food stamps for 20 years. They had drawn a great deal of money from the welfare system and the local churches – as well as the Outreach Center I worked for, before it was discovered that the couple had stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, savings and checking accounts amounting to a half-million dollars. They were required to pay back the entire amount they had received from the welfare system including a fine, and were able to write a check for the entire amount. They were then required to serve time in jail and make restitution to the Department of Human Services. Now – as I said – their case is the exception rather than the rule, and there is a system in place to find those who try to misuse what was intended to benefit people who are truly in need. The point is that this is a perfect example of the fact that enough is never enough. No matter how much some people have they will always want more. And in some ways that is true of all of us.

Instead of seeing what God has given us and being thankful, we have a tendency to look at what we have and wonder why we don’t have more!

Part of God’s advice for our lives is:

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

We need what I call an attitude of gratitude.

What’s an attitude of gratitude?

An attitude of gratitude is an attitude of living life thankful for what God has given you – and looking for ways to use what God has given you to show God’s love to others.

It’s an attitude where we look at what God has blessed us with – and

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

Now – the question is – how do we develop this attitude of gratitude – this lifestyle of looking at what God has given us and looking for ways to use it to show God’s love to others?

How do we develop this attitude of looking at what God has blessed us with – and

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

First of all – we need to realize that we can be content with what God has blessed us with.

An attitude of gratitude creates contentment.

Too many times we suffer from a disease I like to call

“Affluenza,”

the virus of affluency and prosperity. Wealth, prosperity and material things do not satisfy us when we have them — they only create a desire in us for more. Just take a look at the stars of television and movie fame. How many of them are addicted to alcohol and/or drugs?

Michael Vick had all the money he could ever use – and then some – but he wanted more – so he turned to raising dogs to fight and betting on their fights.

Many people who seem to “have it all” have an emptiness deep down inside of them that they are try to fill with “things”. They have a hunger they cannot satisfy, and a thirst they cannot quench.
In contrast to them, listen to the words of Paul as he described what his life was like:

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

Paul’s life was filled a lot of difficulties – – thing he could have complained about.

How many of us would put up with constant stress, confusion, persecution, and beatings that left deep scars and permanent injuries, and still maintain a positive attitude?

But Paul had learned an important secret to life. He said,

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13).

He had learned the secret of not living life based on the conditions around him. He could be content in prison as well as at home. His happiness was not based on situations, it was based on his relationship with Christ.

Despite your situation, you can be content with what God has blessed you with.

You can have an attitude of gratitude.

You can look at what God has given you and look for ways to use it to show God’s love to others.

You can develop an attitude of looking at what God has blessed us with – and

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

You see — God is saying to us: “Don’t wait to be happy. Don’t postpone happiness until your situation changes, or you have acquired a certain thing. If you cannot be happy now you will not be happy then, for happiness is not a matter of what you have, or what situation you are in. It is a matter of who you are and how you respond to life. It is found within, and unless it is on the inside, all the things in the world on the outside will not make a difference.

If you have been saying, “I’ll be happy when…,” then you will never be happy, because when that condition is met there will be a dozen more conditions to take its place. If you cannot learn to be happy now, you will never learn to be happy in spite of how much you have or achieve. If you are not content with less you will never be content with more.

There are many people who live in a world of “If onlys.”

If only I had this…. If only this were different…. If only I could do that…. If only this had not happened in my life….
The Bible says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

It does not say: “Prosperity with contentment is great gain.”

Contentment comes from seeking God, not things.

Jesus said,

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

If we sought God the way we seek after other things many of our problems would disappear. It is our relationship with God which is the source of contentment, and nothing else can take His place. You could be the wealthiest person on the face of the earth and still not be content. On the other hand you could be poor and be quite content.

Despite your situation, you can be content with what God has blessed you with.

You can have an attitude of gratitude.

You can look at what God has given you and look for ways to use it to show God’s love to others.

You can develop an attitude of looking at what God has blessed us with – and

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

What is it that makes people content?

It all depends on how you look at life.

Contentment comes when you learn that this world can never satisfy you, but that satisfaction can be found in a relationship with God and living for him. It is that relationship which provides us with meaning and security in this life, and an assurance of eternal life where all our deepest needs will be completely satisfied.
Someone once said to me: “If people are not happy with what they have, why do they want more of it?”

Good question!

A person who does not know God will never be content in this world. Only the person who has a relationship with God – that sees all God has given them and lives in praise to God and looks for ways to share God’s blessings with others — can find true contentment, because our contentment comes from the fact that we are linked to God. Our contentment comes from our knowledge that we have a heavenly Father who cares for us and blesses us.

Despite your situation, you can be content with what God has blessed you with.

You can have an attitude of gratitude.

You can look at what God has given you and look for ways to use it to show God’s love to others.

You can develop an attitude of looking at what God has blessed us with – and

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

You know – this attitude of gratitude gives us contentment – but it also gives us joy.

I read of a man who wrote a list of things he was thankful for one Thanksgiving. He called his list, simply: What I Got – and it incudes:

1. A gracious God

2. A loving wife

3. A healthy family

4. Abundant life (Eternally and materially I am filthy rich compared to the rest of the world.)

5. A meaningful vocation

6. Friends

7. Today

8. Opportunities to grow in grace, knowledge, and experience (Some people call these tragedies, bad days, difficult people and the like.)

And the list goes on and on and on…

How important it is to take the time to remember these things!

When we do this, it generates joy.

That is what Thanksgiving is all about.

But this year, as in recent years, the retailers have begun their Christmas displays before Thanksgiving even arrives. Some even started before Halloween. Every year we jump the gun a little sooner celebrating the Christmas season. I wouldn’t be too surprised if one year I see a Christmas display – before my birthday – which is in August.

A lot of times thinking about Christmas gets us to thinking of what we don’t have and want to get.

Thanksgiving reminds us of what we have and God – who gave it to us. Thanksgiving can take our mind off our wants and focuses them on our blessings.

Thanksgiving can our hands a rest from our labor and allows to us lift them in praise.

Thanksgiving can give our minds a rest from thinking about our problems and lets us remember how few problems and needs we really have.

Yea — despite your situation, you can be content with what God has blessed you with.

You can have an attitude of gratitude.

You can look at what God has given you and look for ways to use it to show God’s love to others.

You can develop an attitude of looking at what God has blessed us with – and

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

You know – as I have gotten older I have found that I am really content — until I start looking through the LL Bean or Land’s End catalogues or the Circuit City or Best Buy flyers in the paper.

I have found that I really like my car — until I see the Hummer or BMW.

I have found that I am satisfied with my clothes — until I look at those catalogues again or stroll through Eddie Bauer or the other Mall stores.

I am happy living in the manse – very happy — until I think of what it would be like to own a log cabin on the shore of some remote lake or a large mansion with a lot of rooms.

I am satisfied with every area of my life — until I start comparing with someone else’s life.

I feel like I have enough of everything — until I see someone who has more.

I’m afraid that most of us are that way! Comparisons breed envious thoughts, jealous hearts and grudging dispositions; they take the joy out of life.

But – here’s the thing — despite our situations, we can be content with what God has blessed us with.

We can have an attitude of gratitude.

We can look at what God has given us and look for ways to use God’s gifts to us to show God’s love to others.

We can develop an attitude of looking at what God has blessed us with – and

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

A few years ago, a new book reached the #1 spot on the New York Times best-seller list. The book’s title was: Final Exit, by Derek Humphry, the director of the national Hemlock Society. It gives detailed instructions on a variety of ways to commit suicide.

When a book is written about how to end your life, and it ends up on the best-seller list, you get the impression that there is something wrong out there — not much contentment or joy. All of this in the wealthiest land in all the world, with more privileges, freedoms and possibilities than anywhere else, at any time. It speaks of how much some take for granted, and how much ingratitude has poisoned many hearts. Under all the luxury many are still more unhappy than many of those who live in abject poverty.

Many have not denied themselves anything — except a relationship with their Creator.

But – despite our situations, we can be content with what God has blessed us with.

We can have an attitude of gratitude.

We can look at what God has given us and look for ways to use God’s gifts to us to show God’s love to others.

We can develop an attitude of looking at what God has blessed us with – and

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

This attitude of gratitude brings contentment and joy.

It also stimulates sharing. Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a young attorney in New York who was single. Every year at Thanksgiving the senior partner of the firm would buy everyone a fresh turkey for their Thanksgiving dinner. The young man never knew what to do with his turkey, since he did not have a family, but every year he accepted it graciously. One year, as he rode the subway home, he wondered what to do with the large prize sitting in his lap. He didn’t know how to cook it, and his family lived in another state. As he traveled home that night, a disheveled and discouraged looking stranger sat beside him on the subway. They began to talk, and the attorney learned that the man had spent the whole day looking for a job, but without luck. He had a large family, and was concerned about what he would do for Thanksgiving. The attorney was thrilled to find someone who could use the bird that had been given to him. He did not want the man to feel like a charity case so he said to him, “How much money do you have?” He said, “Only a couple of dollars and a few cents.” “Sold,” exclaimed the attorney and placed the turkey in his lap. The man was moved to tears and thanked him over and over again, delighted that his family could have a good Thanksgiving with such a fine bird!
God has blessed us with His gifts. That is why we can say:

“This is the day the LORD has made; [we will] rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

We can be content — we can be happy — because we are a people of hope.

We are a people of hope because we have a God who cares. He has made us, and he has made our world. He has made today and all our tomorrows. And out of the gratitude we feel toward him for all his faithful goodness, we can share the blessings He has given us.
In an article entitled “What Good Is a Tree?,” an author in Reader’s Digest explained that when the roots of trees in a forest touch, there is a substance created which makes it possible for all of the trees to survive. A special fungus grows which helps link the roots of different trees—even of dissimilar species. A whole forest may be linked together in this way. If one tree has access to water, another to nutrients, and a third to sunlight, the trees have the means to share with one another.

That is a picture of what we should be like as we experience our life together here on earth — mutual support and sharing.

You see — despite your situation, you can be content with what God has blessed you with.

You can have an attitude of gratitude.

You can look at what God has given you and look for ways to use it to show God’s love to others.

You can develop an attitude of looking at what God has blessed us with – and

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

Having an attitude of gratitude and praise is an act of faith. It means you are unafraid to live and be happy because you have faith in a God who cares for you and provides for you. He is faithful and His promises are true. He never fails. And because you have a relationship with this wonderful God you have contentment, joy and a desire to pass on some of what God has blessed you with.

So – one of the pieces of advice God gives us for our daily lives is:

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

Let yourself develop this attitude of gratitude and praise.

Let yourself look at what God has given you and look for ways to use it to show God’s love to others.

Let yourself develop an attitude of looking at what God has blessed us with – and

Praise God for His blessings

Praise God for His blessings

You know – God has given us many pieces of advice for how to live our lives — much advice for daily living – but some of the best is here in 1Timothy – some of the pieces of advice include:

Be saved by God’s grace

Be conformed to Christ

Don’t compromise your integrity

Get spiritually fit.

Praise God for His blessings

Amen

1 Timohthy 4:1-16

1 Timothy 4:1-16

God’s Advice For Daily Living: Get Spiritually Fit

Part 4 of God’s Advice For Daily Living series from 1 Timothy

November 11, 2007

For the past few weeks we have been looking at the Epistle of 1 Timothy – the first of 3 – 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus — “Pastoral Epistles” that Paul wrote to address every day problems the early Christians were facing. Paul gave some very practical advice for how to live every day as a Christian. The advice he gave is still great advice – in fact it is God’s advice – to us today.

God’s advice for daily living.

That’s our theme as we look at 1Timothy.

4 weeks ago we looked at 1 Timothy 1:1-11 and saw one piece of advice God gives us: be conformed to Christ instead of conformed to the world.

3 weeks ago we looked at 1Timothy 1:12-20 – and saw a second bit of advice God gives us for our daily lives: be saved by His grace.

Last week we looked at 1 Timothy 3:1-12 – and saw that God advises us to not compromise our integrity.

Be saved by God’s grace

Be conformed to Christ

Don’t compromise your integrity

3 wonderful pieces of advice for how to live our daily lives in God’s ways.

Today we are going to continue looking at 1 Timothy and seeing God’s advice to us for how to live our daily lives as we look at 1 Timothy 4:1-16 – and discover a fourth piece of advice God gives us – Get Spiritually Fit.

Read Passage

God’s advice for daily living:

Be saved by God’s grace

Be conformed to Christ

Don’t compromise your integrity

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

Around the end of World War 2 – over 60 years ago — social scientists were predicting that religion would become a thing of the past in western culture. They reasoned that more discoveries would be made in the field of science and people would be more and more educated. They reasoned that society would become more secularized. They thought that these things would cause people to be less concerned about things like God, salvation, and spirituality.

Well, sixty years later sociologists and cultural anthropologists have had to eat crow and admit that couldn’t have been more wrong. People today are more interested in spiritual things than ever before. As far back as 1991 Newsweek did a cover story on the popularity of talk about spirituality. How else can we explain the phenomenal success of the Psychic Friends Network? Books on spirituality make the third largest market among the nations book sellers.

Now, in saying people are more interested in spirituality than ever before, I don’t mean that people are more interested in Christian spirituality than ever before. People turn to a variety of sources to nurture their souls these days. Yes, some opt for more traditional approaches, like reading the Bible, prayer, and worship in a church. But many opt for less traditional options, like yoga, past life regression therapy, hallucinogenic drugs, and so forth. Oprah Winfrey is the closest many people come to having a spiritual mentor or guide or advisor.

One piece of advice God gives us for our daily lives is: Get spiritually fit!

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

But – the question we might ask might be — how?

How can we become spiritually fit in the way God wants us to be?

How can we become more truly spiritual people?

How can we take God’s advice and become the spiritually fit people God wants us to be instead of the type of spiritual people Oprah might want us to be?

Are all these bewildering approaches to spiritual growth equal options — kind of like all the ice cream flavors at Baskin Robbins?

Is choosing prayer or past life regression therapy no more different than choosing chocolate or jamoca almond fudge?

I don’t think so!

In fact, I believe that – here in 1 Timothy 4:1-16 – we see two warnings for things to not do and two prescriptions for things to do as we strive to become more spiritual people.

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

First – let’s look at the warnings.

1. In verses 1-2 of 1 Timothy 4 Paul contrasts what God’s Spirit says and teaches with what “deceiving spirits” are saying.

1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

Paul writes.

For Paul, the fact that some people abandoned the true Christian faith and followed “deceiving spirits” and the “teachings of demons” was wrong – and Paul encouraged Timothy to grow stronger in his relationship with God so he can combat such deceptions.

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

You see — there are right ways to become spiritually fit and there are wrong ways. Granted – that is not a very popular idea these days, but when you think about it, it makes sense. The terrorists behind the September 11 attacks believed they were becoming more spiritual by sacrificing their lives to further their cause. I don’t think anyone can doubt their sincerity or the depth of their commitment, yet we look at what they did and say, “That’s an evil way to try to become a spiritual person.” Many of the people back in the 1960s who used LSD to become more spiritual found their lives destroyed by the chemicals they thought would unlock the spiritual life.

Paul calls the people who teach dangerous ideas about becoming more spiritual “hypocritical liars.” The Greek word the NIV translates “hypocritical” means “to give a false impression”. Paul thought that those who taught dangerous ideas about becoming more spiritual were teaching false and dangerous things.

So — here’s the first warning to heed if you want to become a more spiritual person – if you want to be more spiritually fit as God calls you to be:

If you want to become more spiritually fit, don’t ingest spiritual poison.
You see, not every idea about the spiritual life is a good one. In fact, some ideas are downright poisonous.

William Walsh , a US Scientist, studied strands of hair from the body famous classical composer Beethoven. By studying those strands of hair, Dr. Walsh discovered that Beethoven’s body had one hundred times the normal amount of lead. He concluded that Beethoven’s untimely death at the age of 57 may have been due to lead poisoning – which could be traced to the mineral spa that he went to in order to relax. Think about that: the very thing he thought was bringing him relief and relaxation may have been actually slowly poisoning him to death.
That’s what spiritual poison is like — as people engage in practices and embrace ideas that are spiritually poisonous, they think it is making them more spiritual when in reality it’s gradually killing them spiritually.

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

If you want to become more spiritually fit, don’t ingest spiritual poison.

But we also find a second warning here in vv. 3-5.

2.

3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

You know, after reading that these ideas about becoming more spiritual are “things taught by demons,” we might be expecting something really, really bad. When we find out that these false teachers are telling people to become more spiritual by forbidding marriage and abstaining from certain kinds of food, it seems a little anti-climactic. We’re expecting people who practice human sacrifice or cannibalism, something horrible and awful. Celibacy and vegetarianism may not be our cup of tea, but at first it hardly seems to merit the dangerous warning Paul gives.
But let’s think deeper about this.

These people were teaching that sexual intimacy between husbands and wives and certain kinds of food were inherently evil and a hindrance to becoming more spiritual. By forbidding people to get married, these teachers were saying that sexual intimacy in marriage prevents you from becoming more spiritual. And by forbidding certain kinds of food they were claiming that some foods are inherently unclean.

Throughout history, religious people have had a kind of love-hate

relationship with sexuality. On the one hand, some people worshipped sex in the name of religion. The temple to the Greek god Aphrodite in Ephesus employed hundreds of temple prostitutes. Men would regularly visit this temple and be with a prostitute as an act of their religious devotion to Aphrodite, and no one would have a second thought about it, not even their wives. So some people turned sex into a religion itself. But on the other hand, a lot of religious people believed that sexuality was inherently evil. Following the ideas of the Greek philosopher Plato, these people believed the physical world was evil. The physical body was thought to be a prison for the soul, and so long as the physical body existed, the soul couldn’t become spiritual and free. So the physical drives of the body (the appetite for food, sexual intimacy, sleep and so forth) were thought of as inherently unspiritual. Gradually this idea developed into a whole new religion called Gnosticism. Apparently some of the people Paul was warning Timothy not to follow had been captivated by this kind of thinking.

We also learn here that some of people Paul warned Timothy not to follow were forbidding the eating of certain kinds of foods. This teaching probably goes back to the Jewish dietary food laws found in the Old Testament. God had given the nation of Israel very precise laws about what they could and could not eat. Since the Christian faith grew out of Judaism, the early Christians struggled with whether they should obey these food laws. The apostles who wrote the New Testament taught that the coming of Jesus had overturned these food laws, and that for the follower of Jesus, no food was unclean in itself. But still many people struggled with this question.

Paul reminds us here that physical intimacy within marriage and food were created by God. Because God made them, we ought to receive these gifts with gratitude. Instead of viewing the physical relationship between a husband and wife as unspiritual and certain foods as unclean, we should rejoice in these good gifts God has created.

Everything created by God is good so long as it’s enjoyed within the parameters God has set up. According to the Bible, human sexuality is a gift of God to be enjoyed in marriage. Although sex outside of marriage is wrong and immoral, it’s not the act itself that’s inherently evil, but it’s the fact that the act is performed outside of the confines God set up. And food is a gift of God, and although the Bible warns us about overeating and becoming slaves to our appetites, we should enjoy the culinary gifts God has given us.

So here we find a second warning about hoe to become spiritually fit:

If you want to become more spiritually fit, don’t reject God’s good gifts.

Rejecting God’s good gifts is not the pathway to becoming a more spiritual person.

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

If you want to become more spiritually fit, don’t ingest spiritual poison.

If you want to become more spiritually fit, don’t reject God’s good gifts.

2 warnings Paul gives Timothy about things not to do – or teachings not to follow – in his quest to be more spiritually fit.

We also find 2 “positive prescriptions” – or 2 things to do – if we want to become more spiritually fit.

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

Look at verse 6 and the first half of verse7 here in 1 Timothy 4.

6If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales

Timothy has a tough assignment. He had to point out these false approaches to the spiritual life to the people in the church. But — Paul reminds Timothy that his ability to do this will reflect how he’s been brought up in his own faith. The Greek phrase translated “brought up” in v. 8 is a verb that refers to being “nourished” or “nurtured.” Timothy has been brought up to maturity in the truths of the Christian faith and good teaching. This refers to the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. These good teachings are the spiritual food that nurtured Timothy to become the spiritual young man he had become. The opposite of the truths of the faith and good teaching are the “godless myths and old wives’ tales” Paul refers to in verse 7. Many early Christians were devoting themselves to these myths instead of the clear truths of the Christian faith. Paul wants Timothy to entirely avoid these myths and irrational, bizarre ideas.
In the example of Timothy we see the first prescription for becoming a more spiritual person – the first thing to do if you want to become the more spiritual person God wants you to be:

If you want to become more spiritual, look for nourishment in God’s truth.

Be nourished in the truths of the faith and good teaching.

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

I heard about a letter to the editor of a British newspaper several years ago that went like this:

Dear Sir: It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending church for 30 years and I have probably heard 3,000 sermons. I can’t remember a single sermon. I wonder if a minister’s job might be spent more profitably on something else.”

One of the replies that came went like this:

“Dear Sir: I have been married for 30 years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals-mostly my wife’s cooking. Suddenly I have discovered that I can’t remember the menu of a single meal. And yet I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago.”

If you want to become more spiritual, look for nourishment in God’s truth.

Somehow God works through the words I give – or the words others give when they stand to preach — and spiritual nourishment is given. Believe me – I don’t understand how it works – it’s a mystery how the Holy Spirit can use me to touch others with God’s truth – but I trust that it happens. But – you have to look for that nourishment – you have to be prepared to receive that truth.

If you want to become more spiritual, look for nourishment in God’s truth.

Regular attendance at worship is one of the keys to becoming spiritually fit.

But — it’s only one key.

Being here on Sunday morning is not the only thing needed for nourishment in God’s truth. As we attend and participate in Bible study, fellowship times, and times when we reach out to others with God’s love our souls are strengthened – we become more spiritually fit.

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

If you want to become more spiritual, look for nourishment in God’s truth.

Regular attendance at worship is one of the keys to becoming spiritually fit.

Participation in the other activities of the Church is another.

Of course, we also need daily times of prayer and study of God’s word.

Every Christian ought to spend time each day reading the Bible devotionally, to find spiritual nourishment in God’s truth.All these are important – and yet many Christians are drawn to speculative ideas that have nothing to do with the truths of the Christian faith. We see it in excessive speculation about Bible prophecy and with the quest to uncover secret Bible codes. We see it when Christians get so enamored with a theological system that they start building excessive speculation about things the Bible only hints at.

These things will stunt our growth spiritually, and cause us to become less and less spiritual people. Instead, we need to follow Timothy’s example and look for nourishment in God’s truth.

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

If you want to become more spiritually fit, don’t ingest spiritual poison.

If you want to become more spiritually fit, don’t reject God’s good gifts.

If you want to become more spiritually fit, look for nourishment in God’s truth.

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

2. We find another “positive prescription” for becoming spiritually fit in vv. 7-10:

7Have nothing to with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance 10(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

Instead of jumping on the speculation bandwagon, Paul wants Timothy to train himself to be godly. The word translated “train” here is the Greek verb gumnazo, where we get the word gymnasium. It’s a word that described the physical training an athlete went through to compete. The training of a professional athlete provides a word picture for us of spirituality. Notice he tells Timothy to train himself. He doesn’t say, “Hire a personal trainer” or “take a seminar” but “train yourself.” This is something no one else can do for you.

The focus of this training is godliness. Godliness is simply a God centered life, and this word emphasizes a continuity between what we believe and how we behave. A God centered life is a life that has accurate beliefs about God that are expressed in consistent and appropriate ways in our behavior. Our culture trains us in “self-liness,” a self centered life. We need to engage in training to shift into godliness, a God centered life.

Paul uses physical training as a metaphor for spiritual growth:

8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

This verse is implying something that only now scientists are beginning to discover. This verse implies that people who have a God centered life are more healthy, more happy, less depressed, and have more satisfying personal relationships. Only in the last few years have scientists begun to confirm what this verse is saying. But a God centered life also has value for eternality because it prepares us for living in heaven.

So here we find the final prescription for becoming spiritually fit:

If you want to be more spiritually fit, engage in a lifestyle of spiritual training.

If you think becoming a more spiritual person is a passive lifestyle where that God simply zaps us with spiritual depth, you’re sadly mistaken. For an athlete to compete, he or she must live a different kind of lifestyle than other people. Olympic marathon runners train between 80 and 150 hours per week. Olympic cyclists ride between 400 and 600 miles during a typical training week. Many athletes train in high altitude areas to build greater stamina and endurance. Often an athlete will focus on strengthening a specific muscle or muscle group to increase their performance. This lifestyle of training enables athletes to compete at their maximum potential.

Paul tells us to look at how an athlete trains, and then to learn from that how to train ourselves to become more God centered. Spiritual training involves participating in spiritual exercises, sometimes called disciplines or habits. These spiritual disciplines are similar to the various exercises an athlete uses to train.
Whether it’s individual disciples such as prayer or Bible study or corporate disciples such as worship study, fellowship, or service — these are things we need to do – to train ourselves in – if we are to become spiritually fit. Neglecting physical exercise makes our muscles flat and flabby. Neglecting spiritual exercise makes us flabby Christians – not the spiritually fit people God wants us to be.

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

If you want to become more spiritually fit, don’t ingest spiritual poison.

If you want to become more spiritually fit, don’t reject God’s good gifts.

If you want to become more spiritually fit, look for nourishment in God’s truth.

If you want to become more spiritually fit, engage in a lifestyle of spiritual training.

2 things to do –

look for nourishment in God’s truth

engage in a lifestyle of spiritual training.

and 2 things not to do –

don’t ingest spiritual poison

don’t reject God’s good gifts

if we want to become spiritually fit.

Get Spiritually Fit

Get Spiritually Fit

Along with:

Be saved by God’s grace

Be conformed to Christ

and

Don’t compromise your integrity

 

Get spiritually fit is another piece of advice God gives us for daily living. Amen

1 Timothy 3:1-13

1 Timothy 3:1-13

November 4, 2007

God’s Advice For Daily Living: Don’t Compromise Your Integrity

Part 3 of “God’s Advice For Daily Living” series

I recently read in “US News And World Report” that the author of the Dear Abbey daily advice column caused a furor when she responded to a letter about gay marriage:

“If that’s what they want to do, I say more power to them.”

While many protested this apparent condoning of gay marriage, the company that syndicates the column blithely reported that no newspapers had cancelled running the columns, so everything must be ok.

This might be a way to gauge the current thinking about ethics and how to live your daily life –

As long as people don’t complain too much, you’re ok to do whatever you want.

But I wonder – is this the attitude God wants us to have?

I don’t think so.

God has a lot of advice to give us on how to live our daily lives – and the “anything goes” theory is not a part of it.

So – what advice does God give us for how to live our daily lives?

Several weeks ago we began looking at some of God advice for daily living as we started looking at the Epistle of 1 Timothy – the first of 3 – 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus — “Pastoral Epistles” that Paul wrote to address every day problems the early Christians were facing. Paul gave some very practical advice for how to live every day as a Christian. The advice he gave is still great advice – in fact it is God’s advice – to us today.

God’s advice for daily living.

That’s our theme as we look at 1Timothy.

3 weeks ago we looked at 1 Timothy 1:1-11 and saw one piece of advice God gives us: be conformed to Christ instead of conformed to the world.

2 weeks ago we looked at 1Timothy 1:12-20 – and saw a second bit of advice God gives us for our daily lives: be saved by His grace.

Be conformed to Christ

Be save by God’s grace

2 good pieces of advice for daily living that God gives us.

Today we’re going to continue our look at advice that God gives us for living our daily lives as we look at 1 Timothy 3:1-13 – and see that God advises us to not compromise our integrity.

Listen to God’s word:

Read passage

God’s advice for daily living:

Be conformed to Christ

Be save by God’s grace

Don’t compromise your integrity

Don’t compromise your integrity

Bible scholars feel that the Pastoral Epistles – and some of the other New Testament letters – may have been written in response to questions members of the early church were asking Paul. You can almost imagine Paul having a list of questions in front of him as he wrote these letters – questions like – how can we know we are saved – or how do we live our daily lives as Christians in a pagan world?

When you look at 1 Timothy 3, you get the feeling that Paul was responding to a question about how the leaders of the church were to live — and Paul responded that they were to live their lives differently from the way the leaders of the pagan world lived theirs. When Paul looked at the leaders of the pagan world, he saw people who had many wives at the same time – which was legal – but Paul knew it was against God’s will for His people. He also saw people who did not care if people respected them, were inhospitable, were drunkards, violent, violent, quarrelsome, loved money, and whose families lived any way they wanted to live.

Paul knew God wanted His people – and particularly the leaders of His people – to live differently – so these verses from 1 Timothy 3 give a list of expectations – which included things like:

1. being above reproach
2. being the husband of but one wife
3. being temperate self-controlled
4. being respectable
5. being hospitable
6. not being given to drunkenness
7. not being violent but being gentle
8. not being quarrelsome
9. not a lover of money
10. managing his own family well
11. not be a recent convert

These may make for quite a daunting list of expectations that Paul placed on the leaders of the church – and – I believe – God places on church leaders even today. Paul expected the leaders of the early church to live their lives differently from the ways others lived theirs – to live differently from the pagans that surrounded them in their culture who followed little or no rules or guidelines for living – to live their lives in a way that was distinct and that showed Christ to others. It was a life of integrity Paul was calling on the leaders of the early church to live. It was a life of integrity that Paul did not want to see compromised by anything.

One piece of advice that God gives for daily living is:

Don’t compromise your integrity

Don’t compromise your integrity

God still expects this life of integrity from those who would follow Him.

Live your life differently from the way others live theirs —

Live differently from those who follow little or no rules or guidelines for living –

Live your life in a way that is distinct and that shows Christ to others –

Live your life with integrity.

Don’t compromise your integrity

Don’t compromise your integrity

Paul specifically addresses this to the leaders of the church – the “overseers” as the NIV translates it – or the Elder as some other translations have it – in other words the leaders of the local congregations – and the “deacons” or those who served specific functions within the local congregations. It’s the leaders Paul was addressing here.

Don’t compromise your integrity – Paul says to the leaders of the early church.

Don’t compromise your integrity

We can see the wisdom in this advice to the leaders of the church. The leaders of the church need to be held to a high standard of integrity. They are the ones to whom members of the church look for leadership and guidance. They are the ones who represent the church – indeed represent Christ – to the world. They are the ones who take the oaths – make the promises – to lead the church when they assume their positions of leadership. They are the ones who are called by God to live lives of integrity. They are the ones to whom God says:

Don’t compromise your integrity

Don’t compromise your integrity

When leaders of the church fall – when they compromise their integrity — everybody knows about it. Many times it’s headline news.

When Sally and I lived in North Carolina the minister at the closest neighboring Presbyterian Church to us – a man we knew and considered a friend at the time – was arrested for trying to hire a hit man to kill his former wife. The only problem was the hit man he thought he was hiring was actually an undercover policeman. The minister was arrested on a Thursday night, and you can guess what the headlines were the next morning in the local paper.

From local situations like this to national and international headlines of Jim Bakker, Ted Haggard, Jimmy Swaggert, and numerous others who have made the news – we all know about ministers and other church leaders who have compromised their integrity — and I am sure there are numerous others we will never hear about because they have not been caught. When this happens, the mission of the church is harmed. It not only harms the mission of the particular church or ministry involved, but it hurts the ministry of every church or ministry. It gives those who are always attacking the church and the ministry of Jesus Christ all the ammunition they need.

“See” – they may say –

“I told you they were all hypocrites!”

Even though there are hundreds – even thousands – of leaders who do not compromise their integrity – we tend to hear about those who do.

So – one piece of advice God gives us for our daily living is:

Don’t compromise your integrity

Don’t compromise your integrity

You know – Paul may have been addressing the leaders – the “overseers” and the “deacons” in the churches here in 1Timothy 3 – but you know what I believe? I believe that God wants to extend these qualities Paul lists here to include – not only the leaders of the church – but to include all Christians.

God’s advice to all of us – for our daily living – includes:

Don’t compromise your integrity

Don’t compromise your integrity

This list Paul gives:

1. be above reproach
2. be the devoted to your spouse 3. be temperate self-controlled

4. be respectable

5. be hospitable

6. don’t be given to drunkenness

7. don’t be violent but be gentle

8. don’t be quarrelsome

9. don’t be a lover of money

is indeed a daunting list – but it’s not just a daunting list for the leaders of the church – it’s a daunting list for us all. It’s not just “their responsibility” – it’s our responsibility. God wants all of us – as His people in the world – to live this life of integrity Paul spells out here. .

Live your life differently from the way others live theirs, God is saying —

Live differently from those who follow little or no rules or guidelines for living, God says –

Live your life in a way that is distinct and that shows Christ to others – god says —

Live your life with integrity – God says.

Don’t compromise your integrity

Don’t compromise your integrity

Instead of feeling that these words of Paul apply only to the leaders of the church and don’t apply to members who are not leaders – we need to see that they apply to us all. Instead of getting the members who are not leaders “off the hook”, so to speak, these words – this calling to live lives of integrity – this calling to live lives that do not compromise our integrity – actually get us all “on the hook” – the hook of living lives that show God to the world.

Don’t compromise your integrity

Don’t compromise your integrity

The truth is that – while the leaders of the church may be watched with greater interest and intensity – all the followers of Christ are being watched. We all are being watched. People watch us to see what we are going to do in certain situations. People watch us to see if we are going to do things that they may be doing – but they know are wrong. People are gong to always watch us to see what a Christian would do in certain situations.

This puts us in an uncomfortable position. Nobody likes having to be careful and feeling that they are being watched. But – because we are followers of Christ – it is the position that we are in – and so we need to accept it and live in God’s ways.

One piece of God’s advice for daily living for us all is:

Don’t compromise your integrity

Don’t compromise your integrity

You may ask:

“Why not?”

Well – if because God says so is not enough of a reason – let me suggest 2 more.

1. God has saved you by His grace – and wants you to live in His ways and not the ways of the world.

God has saved you from sin.

God has saved you from the ways of the world.

God has saved you from the things that are against His will.

Why would you want to go back to them?

Why would you want to even give the hint that you are going back to the things God has saved you from?

God has saved you from a life of compromise to a life of integrity.

Why would you want to go back to a life of compromise when – by the grace of God – you can live a life of integrity?

It makes very little sense, doesn’t it?

God calls us – and strengthens us – to live in His ways. We can respond to this call – we can say “thank you” to God for what He has done for us – by living in His ways and dong His will instead of living in ways that go against Him.

Don’t compromise your integrity

Don’t compromise your integrity

There’s another reason for not compromising your integrity:

2. We’ve already seen how others are watching us to see how we are going to react in certain situations and what we are going to do at certain times and what we are going to choose when we have choices to make. One reason for not compromising your integrity is that we represent Christ to the world.

We call ourselves Christians.

Do you know what that means?

That means that we are saying that we belong to Christ – that we are following Christ. That name “Christian” was first used derogatorily — as a put down – towards those who followed the teachings of Christ. We now use it proudly. We are proud to let the world know that we are followers of Christ. But – if we are going to proudly call ourselves Christians – we are going to have to make sure we are making Christ proud by what we do – and representing Christ well in the world.

What that means is that we can’t claim to be followers of Christ and do things Christ would not have us be doing.

What that means us that we can’t claim to be followers of Christ and try to do things in secret that Christ would not have us be doing in public – first of all God is watching us at all times – and secondly more times that not it becomes public knowledge before it’s all said and done.

What that means is that we can’t even do things that are innocent and not wrong but may appear to be wrong. We can’t even give the appearance that we are doing things that would compromise our integrity.

We call ourselves Christians.

Part of what that means is we don’t compromise our integrity.

Don’t compromise your integrity

Don’t compromise your integrity

God has saved you by His grace – and wants you to live in His ways.

Don’t compromise your integrity.

You are a Christian – a representative of Christ to the world.

Don’t compromise your integrity.

Each day – every day – live as a person who has been saved by the grace of God – because that is what you are.

Each day – every day – live as a person who is a representative of Christ to the world – because that is what you are.

1. Be saved by God’s grace

2. Be conformed to Christ

3. Don’t compromise your integrity

These are 3 pieces of advice God gives us for our daily living.

Amen.