Bod4God – Inspiration
Sycamore Creek Church
February 9/10, 2014
Tom Arthur
Colossians 1:28-29

How do you find the motivation and perseverance to stay healthy when you’re constantly getting knocked around in the obstacle course of life?  That’s the problem I want to wrestle with today.  Where do you find your inspiration?  Sometimes we find our inspiration through social media, but then we have this problem:

Actually, I had something like this happen to me recently.  I wear a pedometer because I find it helps keep me motivated to be active each day.  Well, the other day I met someone at the mall and we had a “walking meeting.”  We walked the entire circuit of the mall twice including all the department stores.  It was a good hour to hour and a half or so.  I aim for 10,000 steps a day, and I probably took 15,000 steps.  After we wrapped up our walking and meeting, I realized I had left my pedometer at home!  My workout was worthless!  So later that night I went home and figured out how to fix the situation.  I sat in my comfy chair and attached my pedometer to my three-year-old son.  This was such a brilliant idea that I do it now every night and easily hit my 10,000 step goal each day!

Ok.  All kidding aside.  Let’s turn to the Bible and see if we can find any inspiration there for making healthy choices in how we treat our body.  Paul, the first missionary of the church, wrote a letter to the church at Colosse and this is what he said:

It is Christ whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature [teleios] in Christ.  For this I toil and struggle with all the energy [energeia] that he powerfully [dynamis] inspires [energe?] within me.
Colossians 1:28-29 NRSV

Now you thought you were walking into a physical exercise class today but you ended up walking into a Greek grammar class.  I’m sorry.  I’m a geek.  I gave you several of the Greek words behind the English translation because they give us a sense of what we’re aiming for and what kind of inspiration we need to get there.

First, we’re aiming at “teleios.”  Teleios means several things including:

1. Brought to its end, finished
2. Wanting nothing necessary to completeness
3. Consummate human integrity and virtue

In short, teleios is complete maturity.

Second, Paul talks about three kinds of energy: energia, dynamis, and energe?.  Energia is superhuman power.  Dynamis is inherent power or human power.  Energe? means to aid or work for one to accomplish something.  Thus, inspiration is = Energia energe? dynamis or supernatural power aiding our own power to bring about total and complete maturity in mind, soul, and body!  That’s the kind of inspiration we need, right?

Here’s the whole point of today’s message: We need the inspiration of supernatural power mixed with practical insight for today.  So where do you find supernatural power and practical insight?  The good news is that we have an abundance of both.

1.      Biblical Principles
Last week we looked at two biblical principles that are essential to having a Bod4God.  First, your body is a temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  Second, you begin by dedicating (devoting and disciplining) your body to God (2 Chronicles 7:5).  It all starts here.  Have you dedicated your whole body, your whole life to God?  Biblical principles provide the inspiration of supernatural power aiding your own human power.

2.      Past Leaders
You may think that only modern health leaders can inspire you to healthy choices.  You would be wrong.  Let’s look to Clement of Alexandria, a second and third century church leader.  He said, “We must guard against those articles of food which persuade us to eat when we are not hungry, bewitching the appetite.”  I’m sure Clement was talking about BBQ or Ranch potato chips.  Or maybe gummy bears.  OK, he wasn’t.  The food has changed but the basic problem hasn’t.  Some kinds of food call us to eat whether we’re hungry or not.  You could lose a lot of weight just by eating only when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re not hungry.

Then there’s John Wesley, the 18^th century founder of Methodism.  Wesley said, “Every day of your life take at least an hour’s exercise, between breakfast and dinner.  If you will, take another hour before supper, or before you sleep.  If you can, take it in the open air; otherwise, in the house.  If you cannot ride or walk abroad, use within a dumb-bell or a wooden horse.  If you have not strength to do this for an hour at a time, do it at twice or thrice.  Let nothing hinder you.  Your life is at stake.  Make everything yield to this” (Thoughts on Nervous Disorders).  Yeah, he’s from the 18^th century but he knew something about living a healthy lifestyle by making sure you get enough exercise.  The man lived to be 88 when the average life expectancy was between 35-40!

Past leaders provide the inspiration of supernatural power aiding your own human power.

3.      Spiritual Practices
Have you thought about praying for your health?  I’m not talking about praying after you’ve gotten sick.  I’m talking about praying when you’re tempted to not do what you should do?  Pray before, during, and after temptation.  Pray for self discipline when you know you’ll be in a situation where you’ll be tempted to make unhealthy choices.

Have you thought about memorizing Bible passages to help you make healthy choices?

Jesus fought off temptation in the desert with scripture that he had memorized.  He didn’t have a smart phone to Google the question: “What does scripture say about fasting for forty days and being tempted by the Devil?”  He had it in his head, and he resisted the temptation to destroy the work of God for the sake of food by quoting scripture to himself and the Devil.

What about worship?  Do you regularly attend worship so that you’re filled with God’s power to be able to resist the temptations of unhealthy choices and filled with inspiration to take care of your body?

Simplicity is a practice that has been used for thousands of years.  Our culture wants more…more…more…more.  How much is enough?  A little bit more.  Following Jesus means living a simple life where what you have is enough.  You don’t need all that food and all that rich food because you eat in a simple manner that is sufficient to meet your basic needs.

Then there’s fasting.  Ah…fasting.  Fasting is not an attempt to lose weight.  That’s called a diet.  Fasting is giving up something good in order to attain something better.  You fast not to lose weight but to break the power of pleasure.  Back to Clement who said, “By keeping pleasures under command we prevent lusts.”  Lent is coming up.  Have you considered fasting from something during Lent?

The last practice I want to look at today is baptism. In baptism we die to ourselves and we are raised with Christ.  When we go under the water we enter the tomb with Jesus.  When we come out of the water we are raised with Jesus.  We are made new.  The old self dies.  The new self is resurrected.  We are given new power to resist the temptations in our life.  At Sycamore Creek Church we do a nine session small group to help you prepare for baptism called Christianity 101.  You can join this small group if you want to be baptized, if you were baptized as an infant or at some other time in your life and you want to reaffirm your baptism, or if you just want to go deeper in your faith.  Have you been baptized?  Do you want to follow Jesus?  Why not be baptized this summer at our Baptism @ the Beach.

Spiritual practices provide the inspiration of supernatural power aiding your own human power.

4.      Pronouncement of Judgment
Did you know there will be a day of judgment?  There will be a day when we stand before God and our life will be weighed, no pun intended.   Paul says:

For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
Romans 14:10 NRSV

You cannot earn God’s love, but your life’s work will be shown for what it is.  Like a refiners fire, God’s judgment will burn away all the impurities and that which is pure and holy and righteous will be left standing before God.  On that day I want to hear God say, “Well done good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21 NIV).

What will be judged?  We usually talk about four things: how did you use your time, talent, treasure and testimony.  But maybe we should add a fifth: temple.  How did you care for the temple of God that is your body?

The proclamation of judgment provides the inspiration of supernatural power aiding your own human power.

5.      Passion of Christ
The word “passion” literally means “to suffer.”  Thus, the passion of Christ refers to the suffering of Christ in his crucifixion and death.  Jesus suffered in his body to accomplish God’s purposes in your life and all of our lives.  That was Jesus’ passion.  What is your passion?  If you’re like most of our culture, which most of us are, then your passion is to indulge our pleasures until we suffer in our health.  Friends, this is not what Jesus died for.  Jesus did not suffer so that we could indulge our pleasures to the point of suffering.  Jesus suffered so that God could work in us.

The passion of Christ provides the inspiration of supernatural power aiding your own human power.

6.      Practical Wisdom
So far we’ve been mostly talking about supernatural power.  Now I want to talk about the power inherent in each of you.  Where do you find practical wisdom for taking care of your body?  And how does that practical wisdom inspire you?  Here are a couple of thoughts mixed with some of my own tips and tricks.

First, what will be your legacy?  Will your health allow you to invest in the spiritual lives of your grandchildren?  What about your great grandchildren?  I told you last week I was in a car accident four years ago and had significant back pain because of it.  I could only hold my newborn son for one or two minutes without pain.  The desire to be able to invest significantly in his life inspired me to stick with physical therapy for almost two years to get back in shape to the point of not having any more back pain.  Now I can do just about whatever I want with him.  My legacy in and through Micah inspired me.

Second, what is your testimony or witness to others?  When people get to know you, do they give thanks to God because of the choices you are making in taking care of your body?  Or if you have some kind of birth handicap or something that you didn’t have any choice about, is the way you’re currently treating your body and is your attitude about your body brining glory to God?  Is your body a temple pointing your friends and family to God?

Third, recognize that you’re not going to look like a model.  You won’t look like a model because models don’t look like models either.  The image you see in an ad is not a real human being.  It is a photoshopped icon and symbol.  Give up on trying to be like a fake image of a model.

Fourth, set realistic goals.  A healthy weight loss is one to two pounds a week.  That means if you’re trying to lose fifty to a hundred pounds it is going to an entire year!  You don’t get into this situation quickly.  You won’t get out of it quickly either.

Fifth, measure.  We pay attention to what we measure.  It has been shown over and over again that people who wear pedometers are more active.  So pick up a cheap pedometer and wear it.  I also weigh myself daily.  I then write it down in my journal.  Last Sunday I weighed 166.6.  On Monday I weight 167.2.  On Tuesday I weighed 165.6.  It’s natural for your weight to fluctuate two or three pounds.  I weigh daily because it causes me no anxiety.  I realize women come to a scale with very different expectations.  Perhaps if weighing daily causes you extreme anxiety, then you should weigh yourself weekly.  I also keep a food journal.  I simply write down what I eat each day and any exercise I do.  I do this because I used to use Weight Watchers, and I got into the habit of it.  Now I can do it and have educated myself enough that I don’t really need Weight Watchers anymore.  Just writing it down is enough.

Sixth, when it comes to eating, I try to always have lots of fruit around.  I snack on fruit when I’m hungry.  I also like to have lots of healthy snacks around.  Pretzels, tortilla chips and salsa.  When I go get the tortilla chips bag, I count out one serving and put it on a plate.  Then I put the bag back in the pantry.  If I didn’t do this, I would eat the entire bag!  I don’t buy temptation food. I just keep it out of the house.  I have no discipline when it comes to candy.  So I don’t buy it.  I’m having a particularly hard time right now with this one because we’re using M&Ms to help potty train Micah.  I always think I deserve a handful of M&Ms too when he goes potty. Then I deserve a handful a little later too.  And another handful before I go to bed.  Before I know it, I’ve eaten the entire bowl of M&Ms, and we no longer have any rewards for Micah’s potty training!  So I generally keep temptation foods out of the house.  I drink mostly water.  I drink little to no pop or soda.  I’d prefer to eat my calories than drink them.  And I’m skeptical of the long-term affects of all those ingredients with names I can’t pronounce in diet drinks.

Seventh, Sarah and I are “flexitarians.”  We’re not complete vegetarians.  We are mostly vegetarians.  Or we are significantly vegetarians.  We like meat, but you can’t eat hamburger for every meal and expect to be healthy.  So we eat many meals that have no meat in them.  But Friday night is date night and date night is eat-whatever-the-heck-you-want night.  It’s my “cheat night.”  Steak and Shake meal: steak burger with cheese, fries, salad with blue cheese dressing, and a shake.  Then a movie and popcorn.  One night a week I give up the discipline and celebrate life with my wife.  I can’t do that every night, but I can do it one night a week and doing it one night a week makes it that much more special.

Eighth, I have a covenant with my pants: I will never leave them nor forsake them.  I let the discomfort of tight pants inspire me to lose weight.  I don’t buy a bigger set of pants.  I’ve been wearing 34 inch waist pants for most of my married life.  My wedding pants are 29 inch waist.  I can’t really fit into them anymore.  But that’s OK.  34 inch is a good healthy spot for me to be in.

Here’s my last practical inspiration.  When it comes to exercise I try to do little things that add up.  I do walking meetings with anyone that I can meet and walk and talk all at the same time.  I always take the stairs in buildings.  I park in the back corner of the parking lot to get some extra steps in.  I exercise with my kids by taking them sledding or hiking or biking.  If you don’t have kids, you can borrow mine.  They’ll give you a good workout.  I walk in the mall in the winter (and I don’t buy stuff!).  I try to shovel the driveway and sidewalk instead of using the snow blower.  I mow the yard myself rather than pay someone to do it.  All these little things add up to an active lifestyle.

Practical wisdom provides the inspiration of supernatural power aiding your own human power.

So you can’t do all these things tomorrow.  You’d be overwhelmed.  But what one or two things can you do this week?  What inspires you from this message today?  Do what you can.  Do what you have your own human power to do.  Then invite God’s supernatural power to inspire your human power.  With God’s help, you can have a Bod4God.

God, inspire our human power with your supernatural aid so that when we stand before you in the day of judgment, we hear you say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”  May it be so in the name of Jesus and the power of your Holy Spirit.  Amen.