Keys to a Healthy Body
Various Scriptures
(May 20, 2001)
Introduction
How many here made a New Year’s Resolution to take better care of yourself this year?
Gonna eat right, exercise, and all that?
Since I don’t want to bring too much negative into the message this morning, I’m not going to ask how you are doing on those resolutions.
Last we talked at length about taking care of the Body of Christ. We mentioned that our church is part of the Body, and that other churches are part of the body.
We also mentioned that while our church is part of the body, the body is made up of individuals.
As I was praying about what God wanted me to talk to you about this week, I was impressed to continue in this theme about the Body of Christ.
And I thought that the best route would be to move from, in a sense, identifying that Body of Christ as being made up of us as well as others, to looking to how we could promote a healthy Body of Christ.
You know from last week how I feel about cooperating with other members of the Body of Christ.
We have our differences in theology, but we agree on the main things: the inspiration of Scripture, the death, resurrection, and second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the deity of Christ, and so forth.
And so I am of the opinion that not only can we get along with brothers and sisters of other denominations and churches, but we can actually do bigger things together than we can ever do alone and isolated.
So I would like to give you three things to keep in mind that will go a long way to promoting a healthy Body, and the first of these is to…
I. Promote Healthy Habits.
You will see that I had a verse printed out for you here, and I want to read it to you as the main point of this section.
After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church.
My point here is that just as we are supposed to take care of our physical bodies, so we are to take care of the Body of Christ.
And how do we do that, you ask? Well, just like your physical body, you need to…
A. Eat Right.
Okay, Brian, just how do we do that?
The main ways we eat right in the body of Christ are to worship and fellowship together.
Listen to this very familiar passage from Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
The writer here describes not a healthy habit, but an unhealthy one – not meeting together for worship and fellowship.
And if not getting together is not healthy, then it stands to reason that getting together is a healthy habit.
Some would say they don’t need church – they just worship themselves.
Think that if you want. It’s not scriptural. We need each other, and there is nothing like getting together with like-minded believers to celebrate the love of God as we worship together.
So we need to eat right by breaking the bread of fellowship and worship.
Next, we need to…
B. Exercise.
Sometimes when we think of exercise, we think of the maintaining of our present health. But I want to focus on another aspect of exercise.
When we exercise, we take our bodies beyond what they are used to, in order to get them into shape
What I mean by this is that we need to do something our body is not used to doing.
We need to move out of our comfort zones, whether in our spiritual development as a body, or in our ministry as a body.
Also, it’s been said that faith is like a muscle. It grows with exercise. And as we step out in faith to impact the area for Christ, He will increase our faith to do even more for Him.
If I were a betting man, I’d lay money on it. As the Lord opens opportunities, let’s go for it and see what He does.
I am extremely encouraged by your LBA. We are getting ready to discuss some ideas for outreach and visitation, and in all of our discussions, never once have I heard, “Well, we’ve never done it that way before.”
The attitude is, “Let’s give it a shot and see if God blesses it.”
That is a great attitude that allows us to exercise our faith as a body.
Lastly, we need to be involved with…
C. Service
In seeing statistics for retired people, it is scary to see many people who die within a few years after retiring.
They are otherwise healthy, but without a job, many people give up on life. They have nothing to give them a sense of purpose. Even those with menial jobs felt they had something to offer; and then they retired and lost that opportunity.
Well, we can’t afford for that to happen to us here at Aberdeen Wesleyan Church.
This church has been in existence since 1886, at least according to the commemorative plate hanging in my office.
We can’t rest on our laurels, whatever they might be, and we certainly can’t afford to retire!
There are too many people who don’t know Christ! Let’s begin serving the body of Christ, and serving those who need to belong to it.
If you are one of those who think this church needs a shot in the arm, then service to those outside these walls is just the ticket!
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not saying this is an unhealthy church. At the same time, I don’t think anyone here would say we have finished our task, amen?
So we need to promote the healthy habits of eating right through worship and fellowship, exercising our faith as a body, and serving.
Next, I want to show you that we need to…
II. Promote Healing.
Phil 2:1-2 says this:
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Unspoiled fellowship is tremendously healing. And as we strive to be like-minded, the same love, etc., great things happen.
The main thing is the God is glorified. It pleases Him to see His children getting along. And it makes people sit up and notice, as well.
Part of our goal as a church should be to seek healing and cooperation within the body, both within our church, and within the larger Body of Christ.
I think of three areas of healing. The first is…
A. Preventative
Health professionals will tell you that it is easier to stay healthy than to become healthy.
I want to encourage you to encourage and atmosphere of health.
Listen to Romans 14:19 – Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Look for the good in people – don’t look for something to criticize.
Build each other up – don’t tear down. And if you’re not careful, you may just develop a great habit!
I’ve got a two-word prescription for preventative health care in the body of Christ: lighten up!
Don’t take everything so seriously. And for heaven’s sake, don’t take yourself too seriously. No one else takes you that seriously, so loosen up a bit, okay?
This isn’t to say that there aren’t times to be serious. But I’m saying don’t sweat the small stuff.
Remember one of my first sermons here? I closed with these words: Grumpy is one of the seven dwarfs – not a fruit of the Spirit.
Do what you can to promote an atmosphere of healing.
Next, let’s look at…
B. Early Intervention
Any Andy Griffith Show fans out there? I love that show!
I don’t remember the details about this one particular episode, but something was going on with Opie and the gang, and it was concerning Andy and Barney.
While they were discussing the problem, Barney, in the way only he can, began offering his theory of the best way to approach it. “Nip it in the bud.”
“Yep. Nip it. In the bud.”
“The bud, Andy. Nip it. Innnn the buuud.”
Well, that’s my advice to you this morning.
If you see something, particularly in this body, that would lead to disharmony and strife, nip it. In the bud.
Before you speak about someone, think about whether it is edifying or destructive. There is no profit in destructive talk.
Eph. 4:29 – Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
There’s a whole sermon right there. We won’t get into detail here, but you get the idea, right? It’s pretty straightforward.
And I’ve said it before,if you come to me about someone, be ready for me to ask you if I can quote you on it.
If you don’t want your name associated with it, don’t bother bringing it to me. That’s gossip.
And all it does is bring bitterness and divisiveness.
Seek to discourage the root of bitterness from growing in our body.
Look for early intervention to promote healing. Then, let’s look at…
C. Treatment
To me, this is basically summed up in one word – forgiveness.
What’s the use of nursing a grudge? Health professionals will tell you that nursing a grudge can have very negative effects on your physical body.
Well, it’s no better for the body of Christ. You need to forgive. And as I have said before, you don’t wait for them to ask forgiveness. You may just wait forever. You need to forgive now. And frequently.
Remember how much Christ has forgiven you, and then work to remove the plank from your own eye before looking for the speck in someone else’s, okay?
Here’s a pet peeve of mine: bringing something up that was supposed to have been dealt with a long time ago.
Or bringing up an old mistake.
Listen to Proverbs 17:9 – He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
Let me give you a bit of advice. Generally, to promote the healing of a wound, you have to quit picking the scab.
Blunt? I know, but that’s the way it is. Quit picking the scab. Let it alone.
Better yet, apply some balm, or anointing oil, and bandages.
Forgive – it’s the treatment that promotes healing.
So – first, we promote healthy habits. Then we promote healing. And thirdly, we need to…
III. Promote the Head.
Last week I mentioned that as we look to take care of the Body, we need to remember who the Body belongs to. It doesn’t to us – it belongs to Christ.
Colossians 1:18 says this:
And He is the head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.
The last phrase is the key to me: so that in everything He might have the supremacy.
The idea of the Body of Christ is to bring glory to God, not to bring light to the foibles if the members of His Body.
I would venture to guess that if we spent our time looking at Christ and how we can serve Him, we will have little time to look at the faults of our brothers and sisters.
We need to lift up the Savior, not tear down our brethren.
He is not honored by the in-fighting in our body. It grieves Him.
Exert yourself in the effort to bring glory to God. Jesus said that we do that by letting our good deeds shine before men. Peter reaffirmed that in his first letter.
Also, point to Christ when others ask about your life, not the church.
A number of years ago, at an Easter sunrise service, we at Brookings got together with another church for worship.
A number of people gave testimonies, and there was a major difference in them. The group from the Wesleyan church used their time to talk about what a difference Christ had made in their lives.
The group from the other church focused on how much their church made a difference.
I rejoice that God used their church. But their remarks missed the mark.
I trust that God will use this church to make a difference. In fact, I’m counting on it. But when someone comes to you and asks you what made the difference in your life, I hope your answer will focus on Christ.
Invite them to church to meet the Head of the Body, Christ; He will be glorified and lives will be changed.
Conclusion
Here’s my point in all this today.
The Body of Christ is a wonderful thing. And it’s great to be a part of it.
Let’s promote a healthy Body.
It’ll do us all some good, and it will please God.
When your physical body fights against itself, it can be fatal. Can it be any better for the Body of Christ?
Yet we don’t hesitate to tear down Christians with whom we disagree.
We can disagree with other Christians about many things. But we can’t live without them. Focus on the commonality, and you will see that the differences pale in comparison.
Yes, there are differences. And while I don’t think they should necessarily be ignored, I am saying don’t let them stand in the way of working together for the health of the Body and the advance of the Kingdom.
Before we leave, I want to give you an invitation to join the Body of Christ, if you haven’t already.
You become a member of the Body of Christ, or the family of God, by confessing Christ as your Lord and Savior.
You do this by confessing your sins and turning from them with His help, believing Christ died for you and rose from the grave, and calling on Him to forgive you and give you eternal life.
Leave here today knowing that you will spend eternity in heaven, and allow us to rejoice with you in that.
Shall we pray.
