Preparation

Introduction

I love the Fall of the year. I think it is my favorite season. The colors, the cooler temperatures, and of course it is football season. I have loved the game of football every since I can remember. I loved playing it, I love watching it, and I love being in that atmosphere and all that entails. I am too old to play the game of football now so I have a great appreciation for the athletes that do play and all they do to stay in the game. I am reminded that although scripture never mentions football, it does mention several things that are sports related. In fact, there are several analogies in Scripture that can be made not only to football, but to many sports. If you are not a football fan, you can implement your favorite sport. I have been watching lots of volleyball over the last few weeks. There are terms like setting and serving that come to mind. I have watched our high school team do that well. I think God uses sports for His glory. For example, we do know that God is a baseball fan, the very Word of God starts out, “In the big inning.” There are many analogies as I have mentioned that help me see correlation between sports and the Christian life. However, just as there are different stages in sports, there are different stages in the Christian life. To be successful, we have to figure out ways to stay in the game.

So the question is, how does one stay in the game? Any coach of any sport will tell you that the key to stay in the game begins with preparation. The Apostle Paul shared with young Timothy some very specific details in how to best prepare.

Listen to these verses from 1 Timothy 4:7-8.

1 Timothy 4:7–8 NIV84

7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For 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.

The Decision (vs. 7)

As you and I prepare to stay in the game of life, we must first make a very bold and drastic decision to do so. The begins with a desire.

The Desire

What is it that you desire most in life? Psalm 37:4

Psalm 37:4 NIV84

4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Life was designed for you and I to be lived and lived abundantly. As long as we have breath, it should be our desire to delight ourselves in the truth of our Lord. If we are to stay in the game, we first must have to desire. It is God’s desire for us to do His will and His way, but we have to choose it because I has made us with free will. Free will is an awesome gift, but it causes a dilemma for us.

The Dilemma

That dilemma is that we have a choice to make. We can choose who to believe and what to follow. Paul recognizes the choice that is before Timothy and the culture in which he lives. He can follow godless myths and old wive’s tales, or he can follow the way of the Lord. This dilemma has faced mankind since the beginning of time. Moses told the Israelites there was a choice to be made:

Deuteronomy 30:19–20 NIV84

19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

We have that same choice today. Paul gives Timothy a better direction in which to go.

The Direction

That direction is the opposite of godless myths and old wive’s tales. Paul says, “Rather, train yourselves to be godly.” Any athlete knows that to be game ready, you have to train yourself. The same is true for us a Christians. We have to train ourselves. The Greek word for train is gymnasia. You can see in that word where we get our word gymnasium. What happens in a gymnasium? If you remember, that is where you went for P.E. That is where you go to train and exercise. The word gymnasia literally means to “exercise vigorously naked.” Now that just gave a picture in your mind that you can’t erase but let me help you understand this from a spiritual aspect. It means that you train without any layers and you are training with the very essence of your spiritual being. You are training from your very core to be like God. It comes from your heart of hearts. From the deepest part of who you are, you are training to be godly! You stay in the game because the very center of your existence is to glorify God. You have to decide to do that.

The Diet (vs. 7)

You also have to make sure your diet supports your training. Physically to stay in the game, you need to eat foods that give you great nutrition to help your body perform at is very best. Dieticians will tell you that junk food will prevent you from performing at your best. Spiritually, we should have a diet that avoids spiritual junk food.

Avoiding Spiritual Junk Food

Specifically we see that we need to avoid the spiritual junk food of godless myths and old wive’s tales. We need to reject fables and false truths. These kinds of teachings lack substance and certainly do not provide the spiritual nutrients we need. In fact, these false teachers will argue and quarrel with you as they try to take you away from the truth.

2 Timothy 2:23 NIV84

23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.

They cause division. The Bible tells us what to do with a divisive person.

Titus 3:10 NIV84

10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.

Dining on the Bread of Life

Instead, we are to have in our diet the greatest nutrient of all, the bread of life.

John 6:35 NIV84

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

Our diet also includes dining on good teaching.

Dining on Good Teaching

In fact, we see this in the verses preceding our text today. 1 Timothy 4:6

1 Timothy 4:6 NIV84

6 If 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.

Good teaching comes from the greatest teacher who we have already seen as the Bread of Life. Just as a reminder, Jesus, the Bread of Life also said, Matthew 4:4

Matthew 4:4 NIV84

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

The great theologian John Stott wrote, “Nothing evokes the worship of God like the Word of God.”

Are you dieting on the Word of God? It ought to be in our daily routine! Billy Graham told the story of the daily routine of his father in law, Nelson Bell. He ran a 400-bed hospital in China, (often on his own) and made it a point “to rise every morning at four-thirty and spend two to three hours in Bible reading. He didn’t do his correspondence or any of his other work. He just read the Scriptures every morning, and he was a walking Bible encyclopedia. People wondered at the holiness and the greatness in his life.” The more you get into the Word of God the more Word of God gets into you!

We have to make the decision to stay in the game. We have to make sure we have the right diet to stay in the game. We must also maintain discipline to stay in the game.

The Discipline (vs. 8)

The Profit of Physical Training

Paul tells Timothy that physical training is of some value. We all know that physical training in some form is good for us. We all need to exercise. But life is so much more that just physical exercise.

1 Corinthians 9:25 NIV84

25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Physical training has some value but it is limited. But the power of godliness is unlimited.

The Power of Godliness

Paul says, “but godliness has value for all things holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Life is illustrated in two tenses here: now and in the life to come. Godliness penetrates every aspect of our lives. It covers self, relationships with our family, parenting, our business and work, our civic responsibilities, our environmental outlook, our relationships with neighbors and everything else that involves the life in which we live. But also, it takes us into eternity.

In Mark 8:36 Jesus said,

Mark 8:36 NIV84

36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

What we become in this life we carry on into eternity.

The Promise of God’s Way

Paul is emphasizing the promise of God’s way. God desires for us to use this earth as a training ground for eternity with Him. Paul wrote about this more when he spoke of Abraham in Romans 4:20

Romans 4:20 NIV84

20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

We can trust the promise of God and we and be assured He is faithful. Psalm 119:140

Psalm 119:140 NIV84

140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.

Our training in godliness has already been proven and it still works today!

The Devotion

Because of that fact, we can be devoted to what God has called us to do and be!

Success in this Life

We can be assured that we will have success in this life.

Success in the Life to Come

We can be assured that we will have success in the life to come.

Success in Being Loyal

There is also success in being loyal. If we were to keep on readying past verse 8 in 1 Timothy 4, we will see this:

1 Timothy 4:9–10 NIV84

9 This 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.

If we labor and strive to put our hope in the living God, we are going to be loyal to the plan and purpose of God. I Corinthians 15:10

1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV84

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Grace is the red blood of a disciplined life. Because of the grace God has given me, I want to make sure that I shape my character by training the right way. Just as muscles atrophy when they are not used, I believe that our spiritual muscles will atrophy as well when we do not train consistently and constantly. Godly character and Godly conduct are way more valuable than championship trophy! Therefore, I will labor and strive. I will train myself to be godly. I will be a champion for Christ by being prepared and staying in the game. What about you?