We invite you to turn to 1 Timothy chapter 4. We're going to look at verses 6 to 9 this morning. Follow along in your Bible. 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. but reject profane and old wives' fables and exercise yourself toward godliness. 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. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. The title of my message this morning is the kind of exercise you really need. Now I for one would have to acknowledge that I have not been getting the kind of exercise that I probably should be engaging in. You know, when you go for your annual wellness check with the doctor, the doctor asks me, have you been exercising? And I will say, well, I try to get in, you know, some exercise. And I've been really trying to do better as I get older, I realize how important that is. And I wonder how many of you would say, you know, I'm not exercising as much as I really ought to. But I want to talk to you about a different kind of exercise. An exercise that's really more important than bodily exercise. And you know, there's also mental exercise. I believe it's important to exercise our minds. Including as we get older, we want to keep our minds sharp. There's also spiritual exercise. And so this morning, I'm going to challenge you to put the priority where God puts a priority, and that is exercising ourselves unto godliness. I have two main points this morning from this text of Scripture, and the first is this. Don't make having a good body your priority. And I believe this point is brought out in our text. Paul says in verse 8 that bodily exercise profits a little. Yet this was contrary to the Greeks and the Romans of Paul's day who put great emphasis upon bodily exercise. You remember seeing those statues of the Greek and Roman world where the guys were basically naked and they had this strong, amazing looking body according to these statues. And that's the kind of body, that's the kind of athletic ability that the Greeks and Romans sought to achieve. In fact, they would have gymnasiums in just about every city of the biblical period. In fact, the word translated exercise is gymnasia from which we get our word gymnasium from. And so they were really big into exercise and athletics. Paul was writing to Timothy, who was serving in Ephesus, and the city of Ephesus was a large city, and they had a coliseum for the athletic games that would seat 100,000 people. Oh, they were really big about exercise and athletics. And you know, our country is the same way. Man, we go crazy about college football. 100,000 people will fill a stadium and cheer on these great athletes on the gridiron. We're big into other athletics and sporting events and going to the gym and so forth. We idolize models and their fantastic bodies. And you know, young people want to be like them and oftentimes they just can't be and they feel bad about themselves. But let's see what the Bible teaches about taking care of your body. exercising your body. First of all, bodily exercise indeed has some benefit, as Paul says in verse 8. It profits a little. And this is confirmed by medical science. Exercise bestows health, vigor, and improved looks. Exercise will help control your weight. It will combat chronic disease. Doctors Roisin and Oz pointed out that inactive people are 2.4 times as likely as active people to develop heart disease. Exercise will elevate your good cholesterol, which helps to combat the effects of bad cholesterol. Exercise will give you more energy. Exercise has psychological benefits as well. If you don't exercise, you're more likely to have depression. If you do exercise, you're more likely to have a better mood. And so it's important to get adequate exercise several days a week. But you know, we need to hold things in correct perspective. It's good to take care of your body, but we're going to see in this text of Scripture that spiritual exercise is even more important. Now, you may have a translation that doesn't say exercise, but training. because the word translated exercise refers more than just exercise, but all aspects of physical training to make an athlete at the top of his game. That would include self-discipline. That would include proper nutrition. And so not only is exercise good for your body, but so is good nutrition. Ephesians 5, verse 29 says, No one ever hated his flesh, but they nourish and cherish their own flesh. And so we nourish our bodies. But if you're wise, you will nourish your bodies with the best kinds of foods. That means whole foods, especially fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and so forth. And you Eat these kinds of foods because they not only have vitamins, but they also have compounds that help to fight cancer and other diseases. And you need to either abstain from or at least eat in moderation foods that are not good for you, like fried foods, desserts, processed foods with all those ingredients, you know, that they put in there. Listen, eating the right kind of food is not going to make you a better Christian, but it will make you healthier in body. And so we need to recognize the benefits of exercise, the benefits of good nutrition. But something else about the body is this, that good appearance has some benefit. 1 Samuel 16, 7, God says, man looks on the outward appearance. Yes, people judge you by your look. And so it does help that you take care of your appearance. If you're going to get a job, if you're going to get a date with someone and you're young and want to date someone, it's important that you maintain your appearance. Some people judge you and even accept you as a friend or not based on your appearance. Now, we Christians should not judge people based on their appearance. You know, God says, I look at the heart. And we ought to judge people more by what's on the inside than what's on the outside. But nevertheless, the world will judge you by your appearance. And so we need to make it a priority that we put the heart first, but also give some consideration for taking care of your body. After all, the Bible says that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You need to take care of your temple. You should not abuse your temple, the temple of your body. But secondly this morning, though I agree you should not make your body your priority, what Paul says is that we should make godliness our priority. Strive to be a godly Christian. For we see in the last of verse 7 that Paul told Timothy to exercise yourself toward godliness. Just as an athlete exercises and trains and practices good nutrition and abstains from things that will interfere with the goal of excellent body, even so, we should do those things that will make us godly in heart and spirit. You know, we see this in other scriptures, even right here in Timothy. In chapter 6, verse 11, Paul told Timothy, you, O man of God, pursue righteousness, and godliness. Godliness is reverent piety toward God that affects how we live in our lives. True godliness is demonstrated in our conduct. In verse 12, Paul told Timothy to be an example in word, in conduct, in love, and impurity. In chapter 6 verse 3, Paul refers to the doctrine which accords with godliness. True doctrine, Christian doctrine, promotes godliness. But in 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 16, he said that false doctrine tends to increase ungodliness. And so based on these verses of Scripture, which is more important? your physical body, or your spiritual self? Well, the answer, of course, is your spiritual self. And Jesus said, Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of your bodily needs will be taken care of, basically is what he says there. And in Psalm 147, verses 10 and 11, it says that God does not delight in the strength of the horse. He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him and those who hope in His mercy. How do you like that? Man, here's this guy. pumping iron with his legs, building up big old strong legs, and God says, I have no care or delight about how strong your legs are. What I care about is your heart and your soul. 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse 7 again says, Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. And so the great aim of every Christian should be to pursue godliness. Do what it takes to become a godly Christian. George Whitefield was one of the greatest preachers of the colonial period. We are told that George Whitefield put emphasis on the spiritual evidently over the physical because he said, I would rather wear out than rust out. And wear out he did, traveling all over the country, preaching the Word of God, and he died by the time he was 55 years old. Now perhaps he could have taken care of his body and he would have lived as long as George Wesley did at 87 when he died. But he really put the emphasis where it belongs. And so how do we train ourselves to pursue the goal of becoming a godly Christ-like Christian? First of all, through proper spiritual nourishment. Paul says in the last of verse 6, be nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. Be nourished in the words of faith. Jesus said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Peter said, As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby. If you look down in verse 13 of our text, Paul exhorted Timothy, Till I come, give attention to reading to exhortation and to doctrine. He's talking about reading God's Word, no doubt. And then in verse 15, he said, meditate on these things. When you read the Word of God, you ought to take time to reflect upon what you have been reading. And so I ask you, are you nourishing your soul and spirit on a regular basis? And let me tell you, I appreciate if you come every Sunday, but once a week is not enough nourishment. You need to nourish your soul every day with the Word of God. Read good Christian books. Read biographies of some of the great saints of God. Nourish yourself. But then secondly, you need to engage in spiritual Exercise. As Paul said in the last of verse 7, exercise yourself toward godliness. Just as an athlete goes through a course of training, even so we ought to exercise ourselves toward the goal of godliness. I'm talking about the disciplines of discipleship. You know, in Acts chapter 2 and verse 42 it says, that the early church devoted themselves to doctrine and fellowship and the breaking of bread and prayers. They were devoted to these spiritual disciplines. And so there are several aspects of this spiritual training that we ought to be involved in and one is that We must put forth significant effort. Effort. Godly habits will not just happen. You must put forth effort to do so. For example, regular prayer will not just happen. Oh, we pray when circumstances drive us to our knees But I'm talking about praying to the Lord every day, even several times a day. It takes purpose. It takes effort to do that. Reading your Bible every day. And you know, prayer and Bible reading go hand in hand. You read God's Word and then you pray. You read God's Word and you're convicted of sins and so you pray confession. You read God's Word and you seek commands and you say, God, help me to obey those commands. You read God's Word and you see a promise and you pray, claiming that promise. And so, prayer and Bible reading are spiritual disciplines you need to engage in. Church attendance is a discipline, folks. You know, this is something you just train yourself to do this Sunday morning and you go to church. You discipline yourself. Christian service is an important spiritual exercise. Every Christian ought to be serving the Lord in at least one kind of ministry through the local church. And so you need to put forth effort. Willful effort. Secondly, you need to practice abstinence and self-control. Now, an athlete, if they are going to be at their game, if they are going to succeed, they know they have to have self-discipline, they have to abstain from things that will interfere with athletic success. In 1 Corinthians 9, verse 25, Paul wrote regarding the athlete, Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. That means they abstain from unhealthy food while they're training. They abstain from alcohol. They abstain from distracting pleasures that will distract them from their success. You know, I think about these college football games. And I think that these teams that travel, and they check into a motel, that some of these athletes, instead of going to bed like they ought to, party half the night, and you wonder why they lose the game the next day. It's because they're not self-disciplined. That's what it takes to succeed in athletics. You've got to be willing to deny yourself. 1 Corinthians 9, verse 27, Paul said, I discipline my body and bring it into subjection lest, when I have preached to others, I myself am disqualified. And so the Christian needs to exercise self-control and discipline over themselves to achieve godliness. Man, we've got to control that tongue. We've got to control that anger. We've got to... control our any illicit sexual desires. We need to control and never get drunk or become gluttonous. We need to control how much time we spend pursuing entertainment rather than the things of God. You know, if you're watching A whole lot more TV, sporting events, videos and social media than you are exercising yourself unto godliness, you've got your priorities wrong. And so, have you made godliness your goal? Let me ask you, how do other people view you? As other people look at you, do they see you mainly as a person who's obsessed about your body? or do they view you as a person who's pursuing godliness in God himself? That's the question I want you to contemplate. And so, if we're going to maintain physical success, then that means that you probably need some motivation to go to the gym just about every day. That means you need some motivation to eat like you ought to eat and get the rest that you ought to get rest and so forth. It helps to have motivation. And for the athlete, the motivation is to win, right? Or as we get older, we realize that taking care of your body is really important because as you get older, this old body begins to break down and we think, oh, I wish I had taken better care of myself when I was younger. I wish I had exercised more. Oh yes, we are motivated and that motivation helps us. Well even so, I close by pointing out that the Apostle Paul gives some motivation for spiritual exercise. First of all, it's profitable in every way. Paul says in verse 8, godliness is profitable for all things having promise of the life that now is. Oh listen, physical exercise has some benefit, but godliness, exercising yourself in godliness has much wider benefit You see, we are body, soul, and spirit, and it's all interrelated. The more godly you are, the more mentally and physically healthy you are likely to be. Think of the ways that spiritual exercise is beneficial in every way. Godliness will improve your relationships. And when you have good, peaceful relationships, it reduces stress. and reduced stress helps you physically. Church attendance promotes better health. There were five well-designed studies which demonstrated that those who are very active in attending church compared to those who do not attend church, there was a big difference in life expectancy. Seven years difference for men. Exercise yourself, it will help you even physically. Prayer reduces stress. Avoiding sinful, addictive and destructive habits certainly produces better mental and physical health. Exercise yourself spiritually and you'll become stronger spiritually and mentally and psychologically. Indeed. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 10 says, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 1 John 2.14 says, I've written unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. Godliness. will make you a stronger Christian in overcoming temptation and dealing with the trials and the difficulties of life. And so it will help you in all ways. But it will also help you because it has eternal value. Godliness has eternal value. Now, if you have a great body, man, if you're one of the Premier athletes, how long is your body going to stay like that? Probably no more than 20 years. Which professional athlete lasts beyond the age of 40? Almost none. Almost none. The fitness guru Richard Simmons died this year at the age of 76. And boy, you know, he was physically fit, It still doesn't guarantee you a long life. Very few people live even to the age of 90. But your spirit is eternal. What you do spiritually will affect you the rest of your life, and will affect you for all eternity, and will affect your eternal reward. And so let's put priority on achieving godliness. but also take care of your body because this is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And by the way, he gives one other reason why we should give heed to verses 7 and 8. He says in verse 9, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. He says it ought to be believed, it ought to be accepted, and it ought to be practiced in our daily lives. And so I asked you this morning, how many hours a week do you spend truly exercising yourself to godliness, to becoming a Christ-like Christian? And how does that compare with how you spend your hours addressing the care and needs of your body? How much is your mind exercising the things of God as opposed to the things of this world? Listen, folks, we need to make sure We have our priorities straight. Will you join me in prayer? Heavenly Father, I thank you for the challenge of the Apostle Paul, and I pray that you'll help us in the days to come to give focus and attention where it really ought to be in our daily lives. Help us to accept and take this message to heart and respond in this time of invitation as you would have us to, and we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.