FITNESS

Synopsis of Bible Study 01/21/21

Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III, D.Min.

Luke 10:27 NKJV 27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

       I.            INTRODUCTION

• Our body is the temple of the Lord. We have to take of our bodies, because our body belongs to God.

     II.            HEALTHY BODY, HEALTHY MIND, HEALTHY SPIRIT

1. Psalm 139:13-14 NKJV
   13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. –  There are some people that take better care of their cars, than they do their bodies.
2. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NKJV
   19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. – All that God wants to do in life, he speaks it through the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us.
   1. We have to be careful what we put inside our bodies. God doesn’t want the Holy Spirit to sit in a lot of mess.
   1. Would you let you body lay in a dirty crib? You can contribute to your own demise, just by how you treat your temple.  
3. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NKJV
   16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. – You can’t deal with everyone else and not deal with what’s inside of you.
4. 1 Corinthians 12:27 NKJV
   Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. – Your health is important to the whole Body of Christ. When your health knocks you out of operation, the whole body of Christ suffers.

  III.            FOUR REASONS YOU SHOULD EXERCISE

1. Improve Your Mood – Some of you know that you are too moody. Physical activity also stimulates the release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. These brain chemicals play an important part in regulating your mood.
   1. Serotonin is the key hormone that stabilizes our mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness. This hormone impacts your entire body. It enables brain cells and other nervous system cells to communicate with each other. Serotonin also helps with sleeping, eating, and digestion.
   1. Lots of people don’t have a outlet. Exercise gives you an outlet to release your frustrations too.
2. Increase Energy Levels – There was a study in Georgia that found that exercise increases your energy by 20%.
3. Create A Better Sleep Pattern – Sleep is part of taking care of yourself too. No boundaries, no schedule, and no balance causes you to have problems. Work on getting more sleep. Try to get 6 – 8 hrs sleep per night.
4. Avoid Sickness – Exercise can help many issues. It can help your immune system which helps in avoiding sickness.

 IV.            LEARN TO SHIFT THE PHYSICAL INTO SPIRITUAL

Romans 8:5 NKJV
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. – It is essential in cultivating a mindset. When you are spiritual, you view your spiritual health in a spiritual capacity. This is warfare for us! We can’t expect God to do extraordinary things in our lives, if we don’t take care of our physical health.

1. Physical Health Is A Result Of Emotional Health – Your physical health can directly affect your emotional health.
2. Your Emotions Are Your Personal “Check Engine” Light – We see people emotionally eat. When they do this, this means that there is something emotional that they need to fix. You have to be your best version of yourself.
3. Don’t Allow Your Fear Or Failure Keep You Out Of Shape – Be who God called you to be. Don’t quit, because somebody else is getting better results than you. Don’t try to replicate someone else, just be the best you that you can be.
4. Take care of your Mental Health too. You can do this by listening to spiritual music or by sitting still and taking time to reflect on God.
   1. Jesus carried the cross after being scourged and beaten. He was nailed to the cross and then he gave up the ghost. To be clear, they didn’t kill him, He willing gave his life.
   1. Jesus died as a man, so we have to realize that He couldn’t have fulfilled his purpose as a man, if he had not been in shape. Your health and condition has a lot to do with you being able to carry out your purpose.
5. Think about what you put into your body. Think as much about what you put into your body as you do that which you put on your body.
   1. How many people have we lost too soon, because of things like diabetes and heart disease?

    V.         MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS

(Case Study: Man In The Tombs)

Jesus meets the man in the tombs. He is placed among the tombs by other people, because he was cutting and himself and could have cause harm to come to others. When Jesus appears, the demon spirit inside him says to Jesus, “What have we to do with you” They know who Jesus is.

This man is in real pain. Some of us, like this demon possessed man, is haunted by demons. He can’t live in peace with himself. Everyone knows who he is. He is fit enough to break the bond of his chains, but not mentally sound enough to break the bond of the demons.

1. Live Within The Parameters Of Peace – If you take care of your temple and your body, you will experience peace.
2. There Is Hope For Your Healing – Jesus wants the man whole, not just healed. God wants you to be made whole. You’ve got to be willing to let go of anything that has you in despair.
3. In the tomb, no one can hear the man, because he is with dead people. When you have mental issues, you have to be careful of the people you have around you. If you are around dead people, they might not hear you when you need help.
4. What are you willing to pay for your deliverance? Matthew 8:28 – 32 – ²⁸ And when He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men confronted Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. ²⁹ And they cried out, saying, “^[a]What business do You have with us, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before ^[b]the time?” ³⁰ Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding at a distance from them. ³¹ And the demons begged Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” ³² And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the pigs; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and ^[c]drowned in the waters. –  Jesus let the demons go into pigs as they requested. They went into the pigs, but then the pigs ran into the sea and drowned. There is always a price to pay for deliverance.
5. In this season when we talk about eating right, we want your head and your body healthy. The woman with issue of blood touches the hem of Jesus’ garment and was healed. Jesus said that it was her faith that made her whole. In other words, she no longer has the issues and residue of what people did to her at throughout the years.

In a pandemic, your mind and body needs to be in optimal shape. Let’s keep our fitness up, so that we will be well enough to carry out the purpose that God has planned for us!