Nov 19 2017 1 Tim. 4 - Training Ourselves to be Godly

By Mike Marette

Lord, thank You so much for the opportunity to be before You and to focus on YOU this morning. Help our hearts to be able to be settled – that our hearts and souls would be focused on You and that we would be of a posture that You could speak into our hearts. It is so easy to allow other things to hinder us, help us to reengage with You.

Training ourselves to be godly
1 Timothy 4:7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
I have a couple minutes of a Bible-geek moment: “Old Wives Tales” – this can be offensive and give the impression that Paul is making derogatory remarks about old women. This phrase can also be used by those who WANT to justify making derogatory remarks. This phrase is a little complicated – and only found a couple times in the entire Greek language. Some translations render this godless myths and foolish talks. The most conservative translation (probably) uses the phrase silly tales.
The only other time it is used is in the Greco-Roman philosophical debates. They would fill arenas with people to witness these things. And in this context, it was a put-down – a bazinga moment, if you will. The listeners would have been familiar with this concept of philosophical debates – and Paul is taking their own words, their own ‘put down’ and using it against them.
We’ll move on from that.
Train yourself to be godly.
These teachers were forbidding marriage and telling them to abstain from certain foods. We looked at legalism last week and we’ll look at asceticism this week – abstinence/self-denial – don’t be involved sexually – EVEN in marriage. They are taking a good thing – abstinence and self-denial can be good things and important to our spiritual lives when it is held in balance, but they were getting off the rails when it comes to this issue.
Then v. 8
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
Training for godliness and physical training. We talk about getting in shape. In doing that – you will HAVE to deny yourself of some things in this world – and Paul is saying there is some value to that – some value in physical training – but it is temporary. Spiritual training is so much more valuable – so our training is something we will take on with us into eternity. That is why it is so important to get into a spiritual exercise program! Are you on a spiritual exercise program? If your physical conditioning looks like your spiritual conditioning, what shape would you be in?
There will be times when we need to deny ourselves – things that prevent us from being in relationship with God – and there will be times when we will need to set things aside so we can focus on being holy for God.
There is no value in doing certain things JUST FOR THE SAKE OF DOING THEM. I believe being SILENT is a valuable thing to do However, if you try to be silent just to be silent, there is no value in that. But I can say, confidently, that if all of us would, I want to say, SHUT UP, that God could speak to us more. We all need to do this regularly – shutting down all noise so we can hear from God speaking into our hearts.
Fasting for fasting sake is of no value. You may lose a little weight, but you will put it back on quickly. BUT – fasting for the purpose of prayer and seeking God for breakthrough in our lives can be of tremendous value. All of us should have times in our year where we set aside the eating of food so that we might seek God and pray that He might break through. This is a practice from early on in the Bible and through Christian history – and is still done today.
We think – Give up FOOD? To PRAY? Yes – but we don’t need to be like the Pharisee and take it to the extreme. These are the disciplines of abstinence that we should make part of our lives.
There are also disciplines of engagement. Active things that we can do. The key to making any exercise program work is to find exercises that you can and will do. If you can’t do it – you won’t. For 15 years, I jogged – very slowly. At that time, I could do that, and I DID do that. A few years ago, that had to end. So, I had to find something else that I could and would do.
It is the same spiritually. The ones that work for me may or may not work for you – but you need to be exercising spiritually! We all need to find ones that work for us.
Reading the Bible, contemplation, meditation, prayer, study, worship, service, fellowship, confession, accountability – and you can go on. These will focus on these areas – but even in reading the Bible – it must not be that we just read the Bible. To read the Bible just to read it is of no value – in fact, it could damage you. Pharisees – they read it all the time – they knew it, they memorized it – but we should read it so that God can do a work in our hearts – but if we don’t go with the attitude of wanting to hear from God and doing what God tells us to do, it can become detrimental to our souls. We pray to be in God’s presence – to communicate with Him We worship that we might experience God in our hearts and souls – not just to sing. We contemplate and meditate to discern God’s activity in our lives – and all of these things are to bring us into a deeper love relationship with God.
Make sure you have one or two that you can do consistently. I would be happy to talk about this more. I used to do certain things – but it has changed over the years – it is important to throw new exercises in that it might remain fresh.
Set that out – I don’t mean to guilt you about it – but I know the benefit of it. Paul is saying it is the most beneficial thing you can do – with eternal benefits.
1 Timothy 4: 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things.
He goes back to his purpose – that people would come to Christ and the kingdom would be filled – that is OUR purpose. That ALL might come to Christ.
1 Tim. 4:12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

He lists specific areas of godliness that he is telling Timothy to train in – exercises in his life. I will look at two of them.
You need to be an example of this. He is writing to Timothy, but all of us should be examples in this. Speech – we talked about this a couple weeks ago – you don’t become an example simply because you want to. There is an enormous difference between trying and training. I tried to be a good golfer. There is an enormous difference between trying and training! Trying really hard to be a good piano player does not help without the tiny exercises. You must train and train – and over time you become an example. It is not different for our character and spiritual development; we must train.
Speech – two weeks ago we focused on this crude speech – and there is so much of that today – and it has no place with God’s people. The kind of talk that we hear so much – in the media and all over the place – there is no place for that with God’s people – it must be eliminated.
Today – I’d like to look at some other areas of speech – looking at Proverbs – if this is an area that you would like to address – read Proverbs -and you’ll feel bad about it every day!
Proverb 15:23 A person has joy in giving an appropriate answer, and a word at the right time– how good it is!
Speech is not just saying the right words and avoiding the wrong ones. It is saying the appropriate words at the right time in the right way.
He who blesses his neighbor with a loud voice in the morning – it comes back as a curse! We should bless our neighbors – but not at the wrong time in the wrong way. Then it becomes the wrong thing.
We need to learn to speak appropriately at the appropriate time.
Proverbs is a book of Wisdom. Wisdom is not about intellect, but understanding – to live in a way that is pleasing to God. Do this, don’t do that…. – but you also see, scattered throughout Proverbs – having social awareness as part of appropriate behavior – doing the right thing in the right way at the right time. You’ve heard of EQ? Emotional Quotient – that is like what the Proverbs are saying we should do.
We need to adapt to our social setting without compromising our faith and integrity. Read Proverbs in light of that.
Second line –
When words abound, transgression is inevitable…But he who restrains his words is wise.
The second issue – outside of filthy speech – is too much speech! Unavoidable – inevitable.
In certain situations – if I find myself in a group – I find myself leading – and to my wife’s dismay – she thinks I talk too much.
I have learned some practices that have helped. My wife, in her classrooms, has a talking stone. You do not talk unless you have the stone!
For me – I carry a mental talking stone into groups. A simple practice – yes, I may have to introduce the topic – but I think – has everyone else spoken? Or as many as will?
Another thing to carry in your mind – a stopwatch – and if you are talking more than everyone else – you need to change here. Best practice? Ask questions! Ask good questions – not yes and no, but ones that draw people out.
Third – speaking recklessly is like the thrust of a sword, but the words of the wise bring healing.
Speaking recklessly – rashly – is like taking a sword and just swinging it without knowing who is in the way – it is damage waiting to happen. We all do this – so it is nothing to be ashamed of.
James – understand this – be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. If we followed this verse, it would be so good. Listen to understand the fullness of what is being communicated. As a parent, we see this – the kids beating on each other or whatever and we immediately jump in – but first, we must strive to understand what is happening. We need to listen and understand – and be slow to speak, and slow to anger. The Old Testament says that about God over and over again. If we want to be like God, we must be slow to anger. We all catch ourselves at times.
James 1:26 If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
I was listening to a podcast, a couple Bible scholars talking about the Book of Romans – and the interviewer asked the author a question, and the author answered: “that is a good question – let me think about that a second…” – and on the podcast, there are thirty seconds of silence – and you can imagine the host stomping his foot… - and then the author came up with the most profound answer. Sometimes slowness of speech allows us to be profound. It is okay to say – let me think about that a moment
12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
…in purity.
There is so much going on in this world today in regards to purity – or should I say, impurity. We live in an unbelievable time.
Paul tells Timothy to treat younger women as sisters in all purity. This is so important. There are simply no excuses.
2 Tim. 2:22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
We think of sexual lust – but there is lust for power, fame, control, money, food – whatever it comes to – there is a difference between trying and training. Trying hard will not give you victory over your lusts. AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) figured this out. They had met so many people who really wanted to change – and tried and failed – that they came up with an exercise program – called 12 Steps. And when folks get on the training program, they tended to be more successful. Folks who had tried hard and failed found themselves successful when they trained.
Let’s say you have a lust for fame and recognition – and the reality is – when you get into a temptation – trying isn’t going to stop you – the only thing that will stop you is that you have trained yourself to do that. If you are lusting for fame and you are in a look-at-me moment – you need to have trained for it. Find opportunities to serve in secret – do it regularly – and make sure no one else knows about it – that is one way to not lust for recognition. Find lowly service work – do it secretly – never say a word about it.
1 Timothy 4:13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Devote yourself…
Do not neglect…
Be diligent!
Give yourself wholly –
Watch your life and doctrine closely
Persevere in them…
6 imperatives – even though we need to train and trying and training are different things – but training takes a lot of hard work. Changing our character takes a lot of hard work. It takes time. It takes diligence and perseverance. It takes devoting ourselves to these things. Watch your life – Guard your soul – and that takes a lot of energy and effort. When you are gardening – there are always things that need to be pulled out that don’t need to be there. It is just the nature of gardening. The same with our souls – our souls are a garden and if let go, they will be covered in weeds. If only the good stuff grew that way! But the soul is the same – the bad stuff seems to grow so easily in us – the good stuff takes work.
Becoming strong – becoming a great athlete, becoming a great carpenter – takes a lot of hard work – as does becoming a spiritually mature Christian.