April 28, 2013
Easter 5
The Rev. Kim Gilliland
SCRIPTURE:
John 13:21-28
Revelation 21:1-6
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”
Revelation 21:5 (NIV)
HEALTHY CHOICES - 2. THE BIGGEST BATTLE
IT’S ALL ABOUT MISSION
Last week we began this four part series which I have called “Healthy Choices”. If
you recall, we said that part of our Christian commitment to Christ is to look after our
bodies and the treat that like temples of the Holy Spirit rather than amusement parks. In
the past, that was an assumed part of the Christian life because it was understood that
those who looked after their bodies were also more able to do that which God called them
to do.
Somehow, in the last generation or two, we have forgotten about that. In the church
we have focused on the need to grow in spirit through prayer, worship and study. But we,
like much of the rest of North American society, have been woefully negligent when it
comes to our bodies. North Americans in general are not a very healthy society. We overeat and we under-exercise. In this regard, the Church community mirrors society. But is
that what we really want? Is that what God calls us to be? Or are we called to be and do
something more?
A growing number of people in the Church are beginning to understand this
deficiency in the Church’s teachings and are moving to change that. They are saying that
to mirror society is not good enough. We need to see past the unhealthy temptations and
lifestyles that surround us and begin to treat our bodies as the temples that God claimed
them to be in Scripture.
And always remember this. It is not about vanity. It is not about how you look or
what size clothes you can fit into. If that’s all it’s about then we can just pack up right now
and go home. It’s not about vanity. It’s about mission. It’s about our ability to do that
which God created us and called us to do. It’s not about being skinny because skinny
people can be just as unhealthy as overweight people. It’s about being healthy. It’s about
making better choices that will enable us to better fulfill our missions in life.
THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE
Today, I want to talk about the biggest battle of all when it comes to fitness and
health. It’s a battle that we all struggle with from time to time but it’s the one thing that
we can all do something about. What’s the biggest battle? It’s the battle of the bulge.
When I say the bulge, I mean that extra weight that most of us carry. That weight comes
primarily from one source. It comes from the food that we eat. That food is called
nutrition. Nutrition is not just about what we eat. It’s also about how much we eat and
when.
How important is nutrition? As my personal trainer, Stephanie, keeps telling me
fitness is 80% nutrition. Think about that for a moment. 80% of your health is directly
related to what you eat. I’m going to marginally disagree with her on that and say that I
think nutrition is more like 85% of fitness. There’s an old adage that you are what you eat.
That saying is more true than most of us would like to admit. It doesn’t matter what you
are trying to do with your overall health and fitness levels. If your nutrition does not
support it, you won’t achieve your goals. Fitness and health begins with proper nutrition.
Is that important? You bet it is. In Revelation 21:5 (NIV) John wrote, “He who was
seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’” Did you hear that? Who is the
person sitting on the throne? It is God. What did he say? He said that he is going to make
everything new. Did you pay attention to the second last word? The word was
“everything”. God wants to make everything new. He doesn’t want to just renew your
mind and your spirit. He wants to renew your body and your physical health as well.
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Remember that in the Kingdom of God you will be a physical being. You won’t be
a spirit floating around in the clouds. You will be a real live physical human being. The
renewal of your body is as much a part of God’s plan as is the renewal of your mind and
spirit. Don’t forget that. In life that renewal starts with nutrition.
The problem is that, like I said last week, it isn’t a fair fight. While nutrition is the
one thing that we can all change, it is the very thing that is the hardest to change. That’s
because to change your nutrition is to change your lifestyle and that is no simple task. It’s
not like getting some exercise two or three times a week. That’s much easier to do. You
do it and then you forget about it for the rest of the week until it’s time to get some more
exercise. Nutrition isn’t like that. It’s a seven day a week, twenty-four hours a day battle.
Why is that? It’s because there is just too much temptation out there to eat poorly.
Remember, it’s not a fair fight. The odds are stacked against you if you want to improve
your nutrition. We are surrounded by food. In our society, there is food aplenty. Every
time you turn on the TV there is another advertisement for food and most of the food that
you see advertised is simply not very good. Think about it; when was the last time you
saw an advertisement for broccoli or brown rice or fresh salmon? You’re more likely to
see advertisements for snack food, pop, prepared foods and Tim Hortons. Virtually all of
that stuff contains too much salt, too much fat and not enough protein. Most of it is made
to taste good, not be good. And that’s the rub. It’s so convenient and it’s so tasty that it’s
hard to resist.
DISCIPLINE & SACRIFICE
Getting proper nutrition is not easy. But it is possible. But it takes two things. It
takes disciple and sacrifice. Disciple and sacrifice are two things that I think we would all
agree are part of the Christian character. We believe that we are called to live disciplined
lives before God and we believe that we should be willing to sacrifice for others and for
the good of the Gospel. Discipline and sacrifice, we need them both.
The problem is that when it comes to food, discipline and sacrifice are no where to
be found. They are replaced by two other qualities that the exact opposite. What are those
qualities? They are sloth and gluttony. Those are two words we don’t hear in the Church
very much any more. When’s the last time you heard a sermon preached on sloth or
gluttony? When was the last time you attended a Bible study on the topic of sloth and
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gluttony? I imagine it’s been a while, if ever.
We don’t preach on sloth and gluttony any more. We don’t teach about it. We don’t
usually even mention it. And yet, in years gone by, the Church considered them to be two
or the seven deadly sins. That’s right, sloth and gluttony are right up there with lust, greed,
wrath, envy and pride. That might be a surprise for a lot of people because a lot of us
don’t necessarily see those things as being quite so deadly. After all, what’s so bad about a
little sloth and gluttony in life. For that matter, what harm would a little envy or pride do?
While that might be our attitude, it was certainly not the attitude of our ancestors in the
faith who saw these things as huge problems.
What is it about these deadly sins that makes them so deadly? They are deadly for
two reasons. The very first one is because most people don’t see them as being all that
bad. It’s not like you’ve stole something or murdered someone. Those are really bad sins.
And that’s exactly the point. All of us recognize that theft and murder are wrong.
All of us try to avoid doing those things because there is universal agreement that they are
sinful. We know it and we accept it. The Church very early on in its existence recognized
that these sins were deadly because people tended not to take them seriously.
That brings us to the second reason why these sins are so deadly. It’s because they
have a huge potential to interfere with our relationship with God. Any sin will hurt us
because every sin causes us to be separated from God. If we continually persist in the
practicing the seven deadly sins, they will get in the way of our becoming all that God has
called us to be. Lust, pride, envy, greed, wrath, gluttony and sloth may not be so bad in
little bits but when taken cumulatively, they have the potential of damaging our ability to
fulfill God’s calling on our lives.
So how do we battle sloth and gluttony? One of the ways is to develop good eating
habits. Good nutrition is a great way to battle the sloth and gluttony of our lives because
good nutrition requires discipline and it requires sacrifice. How does that work?
To improve your nutrition, you must become disciplined. Is discipline something
that we should seek as sisters and brothers in Christ? Yes it is. God calls us to live
disciplined lives. In 1 Corinthians 9:27 (NKJV) it says, “But I discipline my body and
bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become
disqualified.” Paul wrote that he disciplined himself and that we should learn how to
discipline ourselves as well.
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If you want to be disciplined with your nutrition, you have to do a few things. The
first thing you do is create a meal plan. When are you going to eat during the day? What
are you going to eat and how much? How much protein do you need each day? How many
carbohydrates and fats? How many calories does that add up to? Is that too few or too
many for your body size and level of activity?
That all sounds very complicate and it used to be a difficult thing to figure out but
in the age of computers and the Internet it’s a mere mouse lick away. There are all kinds
of websites that provide that information free of charge. The one that I often use is called
Calorie Counter. You input your personal information and it tells you how many calories,
carbs and grams of protein that you need each day. Then it gives the nutritional facts on
almost any food imaginable. Believe it or not I was at a dinner in February where haggis
was served and I had a little bit of it. When I got home I was shocked to discover that the
nutritional facts for haggis were listed on Calorie Counter.
Once you have all of the information, then you need to decide what foods you can
eat and when to eat them. Again that required discipline. You have to shop for the right
foods and take the time to prepare them in a healthy manner. You have to discipline
yourself to eat only the right proportions at the right time.
All of that stuff takes discipline. It just so much easier to dig into the freezer for
some pre-processed fish and chips or some breaded chicken nuggets to go with that tin of
canned ravioli. Just pop them in the oven or microwave and - presto - instant supper. It
takes discipline not to do that. It takes discipline to get yourself to change your eating
habits so that you will improve your nutrition.
Discipline is important to the Christian life. So is sacrifice. Jesus said this in Luke
9:23 (NIV): “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross
daily and follow me.” Did you hear that? It says that for someone to follow Jesus Christ,
that person must be willing to deny himself. We aren’t very good at denying ourselves
when it comes to food. Again, for most of us, food is just way to accessible. It’s hard to
walk past those Cheetos in the grocery store. And wouldn’t that caramel sauce taste great
on some ice cream? Can you feel your mouth start to salivate? How many brands of
cookies do you have in your house right now? Do you think they’re good for you? How
often do you drink a pop or a beer? The trouble is that we can have them whenever we
want. We indulge ourselves.
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But indulging ourselves is not what Jesus called us to do. He called us to deny
ourselves, to take up our crosses and follow him. Is denial easy? No way. It’s hard. Last
night Ruth and I were at the wedding reception for Nikki Strong and Dale Morand. It was
a beautiful wedding and a fabulous reception. And the food, on the whole, was really good
and healthy stuff. But then they brought out the deserts. You had a choice between
chocolate mouse and two kinds of cream filled pastries. They looked delicious but they
are definitely not part of my meal plan so I wasn’t supposed to have them. Do you know
how hard it was to not have one of those delectable deserts when everyone else around me
was enjoying them? You can guess that it wasn’t easy. But that sacrifice and self-denial.
YOU DECIDE!
Discipline and sacrifice are key components to any good nutrition plan. And the
thing to keep in mind about disciple and sacrifice is that they are completely our decisions
and they are completely within our control. You can decide to be disciplined or not. You
can make the decision to deny yourself of you can choose to eat whatever you want,
whenever you want.
But understand this: like everything else in life, decisions come with consequences.
If you don’t maintain proper nutrition, it will eventually show up in your personal battle of
the bulge.
Does that mean that you can’t ever have any treats? No it doesn’t mean that. The
Bible tells us that there is nothing that we cannot eat. All food is permissible even junk
food from time to time. Just don’t have too much of it. If you are going to step off the
sacrifice and self-denial wagon to have a gooey desert, just make sure that you have the
self-discipline to get back on that wagon after you’ve licked your fingers.
SMALL CHANGES
There are just a couple of more things that I want to say before wrapping up this
message. The first one is this: when you are ready to make changes to your nutrition, start
by making small changes. You aren’t going to change your nutrition overnight. It took
you years to develop your bad habits and it might take years to change them. Big changes
seldom work. Better to have series of smaller one that are both measurable and doable.
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Maybe you want to start drinking more water. You know that you should but you’re
just not used to drinking plain old water. Instead you drink tea, coffee, pop and flavoured
water, all of which contain either sugar or artificial sweeteners, none of which are good
for you. Start by replacing one of those fluids with water. Maybe it’s you replace you
lunch time coffee with a glass of water. Of maybe rather than drinking flavoured water,
you get some regular tap water and add a slice of lemon to it. Then give yourself time to
get used to the taste. I guarantee that you won’t like it right away. But stick to it. Be
disciplined. Practice some self denial. One by one, replace the not so good fluids with
plain old water. Eventually, you will be shocked to discover that good old tap water can
taste pretty good. Making small incremental changes to your nutrition will eventually
accumulate into big changes that will alter your physical health for the better and improve
your ability to do God’s work.
THE AFFECT ON THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
That is the first thing I want to say - make small changes. The second thing is this:
as you develop discipline and sacrifice around your nutrition, you will be learning how to
build discipline and sacrifice into the rest of your life. This is key. The skills that you learn
with your nutrition are directly transferable to the rest of your life. Think of it this way - if
you can learn to discipline yourself around nutrition, then you can also discipline yourself
around prayer, daily devotions and worship. Because the skills are directly transferable,
you can grow in spirit as you become healthier in your body. At the same time, if you
develop sacrifice in your nutrition you can also learn to sacrifice in the rest of your life.
You can learn that’s it’s okay not to buy too many clothes. You learn that you really can
get by with a less expensive car and a smaller house. You don’t need to go to the casino to
kiss your money good-bye. And you can get by just fine with one fewer coffee everyday
which leaves you more money to sponsor a child in a third world country with World
Vision or Compassion Canada.
That’s how it works. Winning the battle of the bulge through discipline and
sacrifice teaches you to be more faithful in the rest of your life as well. Everyone,
absolutely everyone can take measures to improve their nutrition. When you do that, you
also improve you ability to be the person God created you to be and do the things he
called you to do.
And here’s the last thing. Engage Jesus in the process. Seek his strength and his
guidance to build discipline and sacrifice into your lives. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you
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along this journey. God said that he would make all things new. Let him be your partner
as you make the small incremental changes that will add up to improved health and
vitality. And next time you stop at Dairy Freez, order a small cone, maybe with peanuts or
dipped in chocolate. Enjoy it immensely. Then drive by without stopping for the next
month. Become the person God created you to be and remember that you really are what
you eat.
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PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Holy God, we come before your throne with hearts full of praise for all of your
great deeds and wonders. Thank you that we can come to you, that through Jesus Christ
we are your adopted children and inheritors of your eternal promise. We thank you for the
beauty of creation as it unfolds around us. Thank you for budding trees and warm spring
days. Thank you for colours, breezes and new life.
We are so grateful that we are valuable in your sight. You have called us and made
us for specific purposes. You have chosen us, and set your purpose within each of us.
Enable us to comprehend, understand, and fulfill that purpose, knowing that if we
accomplish anything it is only through your Wonderful Spirit. Because you live, we also
live!
We give special thanks today for the marriage yesterday of Nikki Strong and Paul
Morand. Bless them, O God, as they learn what it is to be a married couple before you.
And may the grow in you as they grow together in love.
We pray for your healing presence in a world of pain and suffering. We would ask
your blessing upon the people of West Texas, Bangladesh and Syria - all places that have
experienced tragedy in the past week. We say a special prayer for our soldiers who
continue to serve and put themselves in harms way for the cause of peace and justice.
There is just needless suffering in this world, caused mostly by those who seek wealth and
power. Shine your light to bring healing and peace to your troubled children.
We lift up in prayer the sick of our congregation and community. We remember,
especially Doug Montgomery. We would pray that your Healing Spirit would descend
upon him and all others who need your touch, offering hope and light both for now and
forever.
Heavenly Father, it is our greatest desire to exemplify your love and character, not
only in what we say, but in everything that we do. We want our lives to be so much more
than just talk. We would be bold to ask that you would enable us to be constant and
consistent examples of your healing and self sacrificing love.
We raise these prayers in the Holy Name of Jesus. Amen.
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WORSHIP RESOURCE PAGE
April 28, 2013 / Easter 5
SCRIPTURE
Psalm 23; John 10:22-30; Acts 9:36-43; Revelation 7:9-17
CALL TO WORSHIP
God is our Shepherd;
God is our Saviour;
Let us lift our voices to the Lord;
We will praise the One who was and is and is to come.
PRAYER OF APPROACH
Hear our prayers, O Gracious God, as we come into this house of worship. The murmurings of our souls
cry out to you for you are the One who gives us hope, both for now and into the future. Speak to our
hearts. Touch our lives with deepest blessings. Enliven our spirits to experience your Word, that we may
be transformed into images of your love. Come, Lord Jesus, come and flow over us with the sweet waters
of life. Amen.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
We confess, O God, that we are not perfect. Our motives are seldom pure. Our vision is often clouded.
We place our hope in the transitory things of life and dream of fleeting fame. Forgive us, Merciful One,
when we do not keep our minds focuses on you and the things of your Holy Kingdom. Turn us around,
once more, that we may walk in your way. Amen.
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
When we stray, there is one who calls us home. Jesus is our Shepherd. He is the One who laid down his
life for his sheep. We are his sheep and we can have complete confidence that when we confess our sins,
we are truly forgiven.
DEDICATION OF OFFERING
Receive our offerings, Generous God, in the same spirit in which they are given. We could never match
your generousity but we give what we can, when we can. We thank you for all of your great goodness.
Amen.
COMMISSIONING
The time has come to leave this place and venture out into the world beyond these four walls. Always
remember that no matter where we go, God is there. The hand of God is upon us. The love of God is
within us.
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Message Outline
Pastor Kim Gilliland
April 28, 2013
HEALTHY CHOICES - 2. THE BIGGEST BATTLE
THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE
The biggest battle that we face when making healthy choices is the battle of the bulge...
... the extra weight that we carry around with us.
The primary source of the extra weight is nutrition.
Nutrition is 80% of health and fitness.
You really are what you eat!
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making all things new!”
Revelation 21:5 (NIV)
That includes our physical bodies. God wants to renew you physically as well as spiritually.
It’s not a fair fight.
To win the battle of the bulge means a change in lifestyle and that is not easy.
DISCIPLINE & SACRIFICE
To improve nutrition takes discipline and sacrifice - two Christian characteristics.
But when it comes to food, we often replace them with sloth and gluttony.
These are two of the deadly sins because:
1. we don’t see them as being all that bad; and,
2. they have the potential to impact our relationship with God in a negative way.
Sloth and gluttony are countered by discipline and sacrifice.
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I
myself should become disqualified.
1 Corinthians 9:27 (NKJV)
It takes discipline to improve nutrition - not just what you eat but how much and when.
It also takes sacrifice to improve your nutrition.
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Luke 9:23 (NIV)
Anyone can choose to be more disciplined and self-sacrificing but it’s still a choice you make.
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It does not mean that you can never have treats. Just don’t do it often.
SMALL CHANGES
Nutrition won’t change overnight.
It took years to develop bad habits; it will take years to change them.
Start to improve by making small changes that will build up over time
and eventually make a big difference!
THE AFFECT ON THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
Developing discipline and sacrifice into your nutrition plan will help to teach you how to improve
discipline and sacrifice in the rest of your life!
The skills are directly transferable to every other aspect of your life.
It will help you to be more faith spiritually as well as physically.
Everyone can improve their nutrition.
Ask God to help you with it.
Let him be your partner in the battle of the bulge.
He wants to make all things new!
Calorie Counter is a helpful website for those who want to improve their nutrition.
caloriecounter.about.com
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