The following is a manuscript of the sermon presented by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, July 23, 2023 at our West U Baptist campus. To view the sermon in full, check out the link below.

Good morning, 1 Tim. 4 today – meet me there. APP notes are available if that helps you in your discipleship/growth. Pray with me.

Lexlee Hudson, Linda Migliaccio, Ann Wulff, Jonathan Clinthorne, Marsha Parker. All of these people share something in common. They all have incredible and inspiring weight loss transformation stories. If you were to listen to their stories each person talks about intentional decisions that were made in their journey.

Each of these stories includes 2 decisions – an intentional no and an intentional yes. No to certain foods, and yes to other foods. Yes, to a regular exercise/fitness regimen, and no to the status quo of not moving their bodies much at all. As they made these 2 decisions in diet and exercise, their lives began to transform. They shifted from an unintentional life to a cultivated life. And the result and their stories are incredible and inspiring.

One of the things that we desperately need in our lives, in our homes, in our public offices, in our churches are those who lives practice what they preach, whose lives have been cultivated by their message, so that they practice what they preach.

I know that many of you have heard me talk about Brent Gallagher’s influence in my life on my journey to weight loss. He and his wife Cassie own Avenu Fitness and Lifestyle on Edloe Street, just on the other side of West University Elementary.

I’ll never forget the day I saw Brent on a run. He was moving. He was hustling. He was crushing it.

And I thought, “Now there is a guy that practices what he preaches.”

One of the things that Brent told me as he was coaching me, was when I was done with my workout, send him a selfie. So, now, I send selfies when done.

Just the other day, he published a newsletter where he talked about the “2 mile Run,” where you go as hard as you can.

So, I send him this photo, and then, at lunchtime, he sends me his post-workout selfie.

Now, I’m not sure if you can make that out or not, but that’s a 2 mile run in 12:49. I can barely run 1 mile under 12 minutes…

But, it’s absolutely clear…he practices what he preaches! He has cultivated his life such that what he says has authority, because he himself lives it.

You know, there are a lot of Communicators out there! There are a lot of preachers out there. There are a lot of influencers out there.  Lots and lots and lots.  Probably now more than ever.  We live in a day and time where, if you have an email address, and a smart phone, you too, can become an influencer.

So, how do we know who to follow? And how do we lead others?

What needs to be present in the lives of leaders so that those who follow can trust them?

More importantly, what needs to be present in the lives of spiritual leaders that those who follow them can trust their message?

I think the answer gets back to that simple statement…they practice what they preach.

Practicing what you preach will help you lead others. To do this, one must…

I. Cultivate the Discipline of a Right Diet

Right here on this table, I have things that are called food. We have manufactured food…chocolates, chips, cookies, and Coca-Cola…let’s have a party, right?

Then, we have fresh fruits and vegetables…

Which is the “right” diet that will nourish our bodies and lead us to health and well-being?

And which is it that is going to cause us to get sleepy while the preacher is preaching? Which is going to cause us to gain weight, clog our arteries, and make us sluggish?

Now, let’s move from the physical realm to the realm of the soul…your mind, your will, and your emotions.

In terms of your diet, what is your diet that you consume for your mind, your will, and your emotions? In other words, what sources of information and teaching are you feasting on? Look at 1 Timothy 4:1-6 with me.

1 Timothy 4:1-6

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, ² through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, ³ who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. ⁴ For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵ for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. ⁶ If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.

Trash Food/Junk Food is False teaching/bad teaching.  It is and always will be a reality. Always has been.

Go back to Genesis 3. Adam and Eve doing life in the garden, and it’s perfect. Until…False Teaching. A snake begins to talk. That should have been the first clue.  “Did God actually say…” “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1, 4-5)

• False Teaching is dangerous because it deceives. Just like this food, that we think will fill us, but it doesn’t provide us any nutritional value.
• We need to expect/reject false teaching because the entire aim is to deceive us…lie to us.
• One of the names for Satan is ADVERSARY, meaning to be against. The Devil is AGAINST YOU, but he doesn’t show you that. Instead, he puts on a mask, as an angel of light, to deceive. And through the deception, pulls you into his darkness.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul is warning the church at Corinth about false teachers. Notice how he says two things here. First, they use deception to pull you in, just like Satan does. Second, you can know them by their deeds.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15

¹³ For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

• False teaching is dangerous because it divides. We also need to expect/reject false teaching because it divides us…causes relational rifts and kills relationships. (This is what was happening in this church, so Paul goes there with Elders/Deacons, with who can teach, with the roles of men/women, all of that – there was chaos there). But now, here, it is destroying families.
• False teaching is dangerous because it destroys. Paul even says that some will depart/leave the faith because they buy into the bad teaching…they leave the faith forever. I have to just say that this really is big deal right now…so much false teaching on a variety of topics:
• The WOKE Philosophy that:
  • America is Racist,
  • that everyone deserves the same outcome,
  • that the Bible is immoral because it has absolutes in it,
  • that you get to pick your gender,
  • that we can’t define what a woman is any longer
  • that children are to be raised and trained by the state, and parents aren’t to have a say in their children’s education…

This is the false teaching of our day! And it’s destroying lives, families, communities, and our nation.

For Lexlee Hudson, Linda Migliaccio, Ann Wulff, Jonathan Clinthorne, Marsha Parker – they cut out the trash food and transformed. The same is true spiritually for us. Don’t consume the false/bad teaching that’s out there. Instead, look at verse 6 again.

1 Timothy 4:6

⁶ If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.

So, what is this verse saying?

1. First, if you expose false teaching, you are serving the flock well. Expose the junk food…let them know it will kill them…it’s bad for them…it tastes sweet and you think there is life there, but it actually is really bad for you…do this Timothy and you are helping them no what to avoid.

But a good diet isn’t just what you don’t eat…it also had to do with what you eat.

2. So, second, You have to know what you can and should eat.

Look at what he says again in the last part of verse 6.

1 Timothy 4:6b

…being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.

Remember, this letter is from the Apostle Paul, to Timothy. And Paul’s aim is to further equip Timothy for the culture war that he and his church are facing. It’s a war within the church and outside of the church as well.  As a matter of fact, the war is often the fact that the culture outside of the church tries to come in and invade the church.

Here, Paul is saying:

“Timothy, you must stay grounded in the truth of the Gospel. You must feast on good doctrine. You have to walk in the faith and remember the word for your own life to lead your people. Don’t neglect the word!”

One of the main purposes of the sabbatical that the church extends to me each year isn’t just rest. It’s renewal. It’s reading, reflection, prayer, and study.

During my sabbatical, I read the book of Romans, slowly, for my devotional life. I didn’t read it to preach it. I read it to reflect on it.

During my sabbatical, I read great thinkers in the faith. I read Charles Spurgeon. I read Mark Dever, I read Charles Solomon. I also consumed preaching via YouTube.

I want my diet to be a diet of the right things, so that I can be sure to impart to you the right things.

Listen to me – “You can’t give out what you don’t have.” Don’t neglect your diet, but feast on the Holy Scriptures, because in them is life, health, wholeness, healing, goodness, virtue, and truth.

Remember, we are talking about a cultivated life, where we practice what we preach.

Practicing what you preach will help you lead others. To do this, one must…

Cultivate the Discipline of:

1. A Right Diet
2. A Right Devotion

II. Cultivate the Discipline of a Right Devotion

Look at verses 7-10 with me.

1 Timothy 4:7-10

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; ⁸ for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. ⁹ The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. ¹⁰ For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Notice what Paul is saying to Timothy here – “The most valuable thing you can do is develop in your devotion to Jesus.”

He calls it GODLINESS.

Def. of Godliness: Godliness is a life of devout faith and good deeds.

This life has values in all things.

Just as physical training has value or worth…godliness has value or worth in all things.

Now, how do we develop physically, especially in the hurried culture in which we live?

1. We make it a priority.
2. We make provision for it…we let it occupy a line item in our budget.
3. We make it a practice…we show up and keep showing up.

Jerry Seinfeld – Don’t Break the Chain

When Jerry Seinfeld was trying to break into comedy, he would go and do stand up routines and then seek feedback. The feedback he got was that he needed to do something else, because he wasn’t a good comedian.

Instead of quitting, Seinfeld decided that the best thing that he could do for himself was write three jokes a day. He was so committed to this, that he made a wall sized calendar and hung it on his wall. As each day passed, Seinfeld would make a big X across the day when he had written three jokes.

There were days that Seinfeld didn’t want to write jokes. But he realized that he didn’t want to break the chain more. You see, he had many days having X’ed out on the calendar. He didn’t want to not put an X on the calendar for that day, so he would sit down and write until he had three jokes.

And on this journey, he would say to himself, “Jerry, don’t break the chain.”

What is your devotion to a life of godliness—devotion to Christ that is accompanied by good deeds?

Just as we make exercise a priority, we make provision for it in our budgets, and we make it our practice, to show up again and again, we must prioritize our devotion and practice of doing good.

Now, why is this so important? In other words, what is the fruit of this?

Go back to physical training for a moment. The benefits of physical training are for today and for tomorrow, right?

For today, when I train on a consistent basis, I:

• Have more energy
• Enjoy endorphins in the brain
• Have a confidence that I can face hard things

The benefits of training tomorrow are:

• Lower cholesterol
• Lower resting heart rate
• Improved appearance
• Improved Strength in muscles and bones

So, notice it says, that…

1 Timothy 4:8b

…godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Listen, training to be godly, strengthens my hope. I’m confident…in my salvation, in my Lord Jesus, in hearing the voice of His Spirit, in the Word of God. I am confident that in world events, as things are progressing to the return of Christ, I’m not fearful or afraid.

No, I’m confident… “Yep, Jesus is coming soon. I’m ready…”

A life of disciplined devotion sharpens my confidence in Jesus. That’s why we train!

Listen to what Paul says in verse 4:10.

1 Timothy 4:10

For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Remember, we are talking about a cultivated life, where we practice what we preach.

Practicing what you preach will help you lead others. To do this, one must…

Cultivate the Discipline of:

1. A Right Diet
2. A Right Devotion
3. A Right Development

III. Cultivate the Discipline of A Right Development

1 Timothy 4:11-16

¹¹ Command and teach these things. ¹² Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. ¹³ Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. ¹⁴ Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. ¹⁵ Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. ¹⁶ Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

There is a discipline to growth and development here. Notice these statements:

• Practice these things…
• Immerse yourself in them…
• Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching…
• Persist in this…

The word “teach” or “teaching” is put before us three times in this chapter. Then we also have the phrase, “trained in the word,” and “sound doctrine.”

Paul is drawing attention to the preaching and teaching ministry of the church, as the place of our growth. Remember, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

God the Holy Spirit uses preaching and the proclaimed powerful word of God to break up the rocks of the heart.

And then, as Paul taught Timothy, he told him:

• Command and teach – be confident and bold!
• Don’t let them look down on you because of your age – and if it’s a problem for you Timothy, get over it, as God wants to use you!
• Be consistent with your life — Be an example in:
  • Speech
  • Conduct
  • Love
  • Faith
  • Purity
• In other words, “Practice what you preach!”

Be cultivated by the Word, and Cultivate others in the Word!

Why? Because of the power of the Word to change us!

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 

Here’s the truth – your cultivated life will impact the lives of other people! I promise. You will have influence in the lives of other people. Don’t underestimate your cultivation consistency.