What does the future hold?
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Where can we find certainty
in a world of uncertainty?
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The Book of Revelation
provides hopeful answers
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for today,
tomorrow, and forever.
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Join Mark Finley, author
and world renowned speaker
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on a journey into the future
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with Revelation's
Ancient Discoveries.
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Revelation's prophecies
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focus on every
aspect of our lives.
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You may wonder what
does health have to do
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with spirituality,
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how does our spiritual
life impact our physical life,
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and how does our physical
life impact our spiritual life.
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As we open the
pages of the Bible
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and focus on the
Book of Revelation,
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we'll discover today
answers to those questions.
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Let's pray.
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Father in heaven, thank
You as the wonderful Creator
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that You've shaped
and fashioned our bodies
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that we're not
some cosmic accident.
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We pray that as
we study Your word
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and specifically
the Book of Revelation,
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You would reveal to
us Your divine truths
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in Christ's name, Amen.
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The topic in this
program is Revelation Reveals
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Life at its Best.
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More and more
scientific research indicates
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that the decisions we make
dramatically impact our health.
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The question at times
is still raised though,
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"Do our lifestyle choices
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really make a
difference at endtime?"
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And how do these
lifestyle choices
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impact our spiritual life?
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Is there any relationship
between what we eat,
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what we drink, and
how we treat our bodies
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to our relationship with God?
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Does the Book of Revelation
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discuss these
subjects at endtime?
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When you look
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at what's taking
place in our world,
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men and women are
often dying prematurely,
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dying of heart
disease, dying of cancer,
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dying of complications
as the result of diabetes.
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We look around the
world and we see the health
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of scores of
people deteriorating.
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Does this make
any difference to God?
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Are we just kind of
genetically programmed
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to get certain diseases as
the result of what happened
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to our parents
or are we programmed
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because of our
environments around us?
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Is health matter of chance
just like rolling the dice
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or is it a matter of choice?
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More and more research
is coming to the forefront
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indicating that
health is not simply
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some matter of chance.
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Certainly environment
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and certainly
genetics play a role.
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But our choices can either add
or subtract years to our life.
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And the choices we
make matter to God.
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What happens when
we make poor choices?
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What's the result
of those poor choices?
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And how does that
impact our own spiritual life?
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What does the
Bible say about health,
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and specifically,
how does health play
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into the scenario of
the Book of Revelation?
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Well, let's go back,
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back thousands of years in time,
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back over the millenniums,
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Revelations 12:9,
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"So the great
dragon was cast out,
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that serpent of old,
called the Devil and Satan,
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who deceives the whole world."
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Now the dragon
figure is used of Satan
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as one who destroys.
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If the devil wants to destroy,
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he merely doesn't
want to destroy this earth
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by polluting the atmosphere,
polluting the waterways,
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but he would want to
focus on the most specific thing
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that God created
that reveals God's love.
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And what do you think that is?
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Of course, human beings.
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So the devil focuses
on destroying our health.
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He is the health destroyer.
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Now notice what
the scripture says.
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It says the great
dragon was cast out,
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he's the dragon who
destroys and the serpent of old.
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Why is he called the serpent?
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Because he deceives,
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so the devil is
a great deceiver,
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not only a
destroyer, but he is a deceiver.
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He deceives us into thinking
that our lifestyle, practices,
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or habits make
very little difference.
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You see, "The way we
care for our bodies on earth
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reveals how we would care
for them through all eternity."
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Satan attacks
the creation of God,
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tries to destroy
these bodies of ours,
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and the choices
that we make today,
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you see the highest object
of all creation is our body.
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There is
nothing more significant
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to God than you.
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Your mind, your
body, your spirit,
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your emotions are
all an integrated whole.
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And how we care
for our bodies now
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would really
determine how we'd care for them
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throughout all eternity.
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In fact, our
Lord says, 3 John 2,
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"Beloved, I pray
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that you may
prosper in all things
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and be in health, just
as your soul prospers."
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God desires us to be in health.
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God desires our bodies
to be in tip-top shape.
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God is a health giver.
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Satan is a health destroyer.
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And that's why
John writing says,
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I pray that you prosper.
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God wants you to be
prosperous and in health.
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That's His desire.
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Now the Bible teaches
that we're whole persons,
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that God wants to save
us completely, physically,
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mentally,
emotionally, and spiritually.
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See, the Greek idea
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is that the soul and
the body are separate
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so that the Greeks
believe that whatever you do
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to your body
doesn't affect the soul,
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that the soul is
separate and distinct,
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you could eat whatever you want,
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drink whatever you want,
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it really made little
impact on your spiritual life.
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But according to scripture,
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God wants to
sanctify us completely.
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In fact, 1
Thessalonians 5:23 says
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that God would
sanctify us completely, body,
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soul, and spirit,
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that He could
present us blameless
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before the coming of Jesus.
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The things that
affect our physical bodies
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also affect our minds.
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What affects our
minds, our thought processes,
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affect our physical bodies.
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And what affects
our physical bodies
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and our minds also
affects our spiritual health.
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How does the Holy
Spirit communicate with us?
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Does He
communicate with our fingers?
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Does He
communicate with our big toe?
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How does the Holy
Spirit communicate with us?
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He communicates with
us through our minds.
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And in our minds, we
have housed the brain
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where there's conscience,
reason, and judgment.
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So if the quality of food I eat
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produces an
unhealthful quality of blood
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that brings less
oxygen to the brain,
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then the Holy
Spirit has a difficult time
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communicating with my brain.
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If I don't have
an exercise program,
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so my blood is sluggish
and my thoughts are foggy,
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then I tend to fall
asleep when I read the Bible,
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tend to fall asleep
when I pray or sit in church.
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So our physical habits
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dramatically
impact our spiritual life.
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That's why in
Revelations 14:6, 7,
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when God gives
His last day message
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to the world,
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where God speaks to all humanity
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about His soon return,
that's why the scripture says,
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"Fear God," that is reverence
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or obey God, not
be afraid of Him,
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"and give glory to Him
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for the hour of
His judgment has come,
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and worship Him who
made heaven and earth,
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the sea and springs of water."
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Can we worship God
by merely destroying
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and defiling the
greatest object of His creation
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namely our bodies?
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But notice what the Bible says,
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fear God and do what?
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What does the scripture say?
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Fear God and do what?
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Give glory to Him.
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So part of God's
last day message,
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part of His endtime message
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in the Book of Revelation
is to give glory to God.
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How do we give glory to God?
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What does it
mean to glorify God?
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Does glorifying
God have anything to do
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with these bodies of ours?
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The Apostle
Paul tells us exactly
00:09:01.94\00:09:04.57
what it means to glorify God.
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1 Corinthians 6:20,
00:09:06.71\00:09:09.58
"For you were
bought with a price,
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therefore
glorify God in your body
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and in your
spirit, which are God's."
00:09:14.42\00:09:16.75
So we glorify God in
our lifestyle practices.
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We glorify God
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in the physical
practices of our bodies.
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The scripture goes on
to say and put it this way,
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"For you were
bought with a price."
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We are bought with a price,
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the precious blood of
Christ on Calvary has purchased
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not only these minds but
has purchased these bodies.
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Therefore,
whatever you eat or drink,
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do all to the glory of God.
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So my habits, what
I eat, what I drink,
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what I take into
this body of mine reveals
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whether I am treating my body
as a funhouse or as a temple.
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Remember, the Bible says,
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your body is the temple of God.
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It's not some funhouse,
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but there the Holy Spirit
is to live within our bodies
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and everything we
take into these bodies
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is not merely to
satisfy or gratify
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selfish appetites,
desires, or cravings
00:10:19.31\00:10:23.28
but it's rather
to give glory to God.
00:10:23.32\00:10:26.25
Now there are some
lifestyle practices
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which destroy our bodies,
00:10:28.66\00:10:30.26
and so we need to
take a look at them,
00:10:30.29\00:10:32.06
lifestyle practices
that defile this temple
00:10:32.09\00:10:36.50
that God has created.
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One of those of
course is cigarette smoking.
00:10:38.37\00:10:40.74
Dr. Linus Pauling
has put it this way,
00:10:40.77\00:10:43.30
"Every cigarette you smoke
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takes 14.5
minutes off your life."
00:10:46.11\00:10:50.15
Think of it, one
pack of cigarette.
00:10:50.18\00:10:52.18
Just calculate
it how many minutes
00:10:52.21\00:10:54.05
that's taking off your life.
00:10:54.08\00:10:55.78
Smokers will tend
to get lung cancer
00:10:55.82\00:10:58.29
far more rapidly
than non-smokers.
00:10:58.32\00:11:01.12
They'll tend to have
coronary heart attacks
00:11:01.16\00:11:03.09
at a much greater
degree than non-smokers.
00:11:03.12\00:11:06.70
In fact, the
Cancer Research Institute
00:11:06.73\00:11:09.00
in the United
Kingdom puts it this way.
00:11:09.03\00:11:11.83
"Smoking is the single
biggest cause of cancer
00:11:11.87\00:11:15.60
in the world."
00:11:15.64\00:11:17.24
God wants you
to have pure lungs.
00:11:17.27\00:11:20.44
He wants you to
breathe fresh air.
00:11:20.48\00:11:22.58
He wants you to
be climbing mountains
00:11:22.61\00:11:24.85
with your children
and your grandchildren
00:11:24.88\00:11:28.52
as your life proceeds.
00:11:28.55\00:11:30.62
He wants you enjoy life,
00:11:30.65\00:11:32.95
not be afflicted with
cancer or heart disease
00:11:32.99\00:11:38.09
as the result of
poor lifestyle habits.
00:11:38.13\00:11:41.40
You know, smokers
have a 25% higher risk
00:11:41.43\00:11:45.60
of a heart
attack than non-smokers.
00:11:45.63\00:11:48.17
God desires that
you live an abundant,
00:11:48.20\00:11:52.07
that you live a full life,
00:11:52.11\00:11:54.54
that you live a
life of joy and meaning.
00:11:54.58\00:11:57.28
You remember
what the Bible says,
00:11:57.31\00:11:58.81
"The thief cometh not
but to kill, to steal,
00:11:58.85\00:12:02.18
and destroy", John 10:10.
00:12:02.22\00:12:04.92
But Jesus says, I am come
00:12:04.95\00:12:06.72
that you have
life more abundantly.
00:12:06.76\00:12:09.36
In the original language,
00:12:09.39\00:12:10.73
that more abundantly is
a life in super abundance.
00:12:10.76\00:12:13.63
God wants you to have a life,
00:12:13.66\00:12:15.56
a life full of
meaning, a life full of purpose,
00:12:15.60\00:12:18.37
a life that is healthy.
00:12:18.40\00:12:20.34
Now certainly,
00:12:20.37\00:12:21.80
we live in an
environment of sin.
00:12:21.84\00:12:24.71
Certainly, we
live in an environment
00:12:24.74\00:12:26.34
where the air is polluted.
00:12:26.37\00:12:27.74
Certainly, there are some things
00:12:27.78\00:12:29.28
that impact our health
over which we have no choice.
00:12:29.31\00:12:32.38
But if this world is a world
00:12:32.41\00:12:36.58
in rebellion against God,
00:12:36.62\00:12:38.49
if indeed there
are environmental
00:12:38.52\00:12:40.99
and genetic factors
00:12:41.02\00:12:42.76
that
predisposition us to disease,
00:12:42.79\00:12:45.49
that doesn't mean that we
just throw up our hands and say,
00:12:45.53\00:12:47.96
"So what, I'm going
to get sick anyway."
00:12:48.00\00:12:50.00
It means that
we're more careful,
00:12:50.03\00:12:51.97
it means that we
are more conscious
00:12:52.00\00:12:54.70
about the things
that we take into our body
00:12:54.74\00:12:57.34
because we do
not want to cooperate
00:12:57.37\00:12:59.87
with the evil one
to destroy the body,
00:12:59.91\00:13:02.64
we want to build up this body.
00:13:02.68\00:13:04.65
Nicotine causes
the arteries to shrink.
00:13:04.68\00:13:08.42
And as they shrink
and become more hardened,
00:13:08.45\00:13:12.25
plaque builds up
in those arteries
00:13:12.29\00:13:15.16
and, again, smokers have
a much, much a higher degree
00:13:15.19\00:13:19.06
of coronary artery disease.
00:13:19.09\00:13:21.86
You know, you feel that
knife like stabbing pain
00:13:21.90\00:13:25.17
in the heart and brought
about by either poor diet,
00:13:25.20\00:13:31.24
cigarette smoking, high stress.
00:13:31.27\00:13:33.81
Jesus says to you and me,
00:13:33.84\00:13:36.04
"I want you to live a
life of peace and joy.
00:13:36.08\00:13:39.81
Come unto Me," Christ
says, "all you that are burdened
00:13:39.85\00:13:42.32
and heavy laden and
I'll give you rest."
00:13:42.35\00:13:43.85
He wants our bodies to
be in, indeed, good health.
00:13:43.89\00:13:48.22
You know, second hand smoke
00:13:48.26\00:13:49.72
dramatically
impacts our children.
00:13:49.76\00:13:52.13
And more and more
research is indicating
00:13:52.16\00:13:54.30
that children
have asthma problems
00:13:54.33\00:13:56.56
and children have
breathing problems
00:13:56.60\00:13:58.57
when they are in
the homes of smokers
00:13:58.60\00:14:02.00
rather than the
homes of non-smokers.
00:14:02.04\00:14:05.37
Now somebody says,
"Pastor Mark, I don't know,
00:14:05.41\00:14:07.91
I've been smoking
since I've been very young,
00:14:07.94\00:14:10.55
and I don't know if
I can possibly quit."
00:14:10.58\00:14:13.42
The Bible says
in Revelation 3:21,
00:14:13.45\00:14:15.65
look what Jesus says,
00:14:15.68\00:14:17.02
"To him who overcomes,
00:14:17.05\00:14:18.45
I will grant to sit
with Me on My throne."
00:14:18.49\00:14:21.66
You know, to the seven churches
00:14:21.69\00:14:23.59
in the Book of Revelation,
Jesus says, seven times,
00:14:23.63\00:14:26.56
"To him that overcomes,
to him that overcomes,
00:14:26.59\00:14:29.23
to him that overcomes."
00:14:29.26\00:14:30.63
You can be an
overcomer, you can have victory.
00:14:30.67\00:14:35.37
I love the way
the Apostle Paul says,
00:14:35.40\00:14:37.74
he says, "Thank God
that gives us the victory
00:14:37.77\00:14:41.08
through our Lord Jesus Christ."
00:14:41.11\00:14:42.98
You remember the theme
of the Book of Revelation?
00:14:43.01\00:14:45.88
The theme of the
Book of Revelation
00:14:45.91\00:14:47.25
is Jesus wins and Satan loses.
00:14:47.28\00:14:49.98
What is it, everybody?
00:14:50.02\00:14:51.35
Jesus wins and Satan loses.
00:14:51.39\00:14:53.59
As you reach out in faith,
00:14:53.62\00:14:55.86
as you believe
00:14:55.89\00:14:57.26
that Christ can give you victory
00:14:57.29\00:14:59.29
over tobacco, over
alcohol, over the unclean foods
00:14:59.33\00:15:05.07
that we take into
our body to destroy them,
00:15:05.10\00:15:07.77
over the harmful
drugs and substances,
00:15:07.80\00:15:11.87
over habits
00:15:11.91\00:15:13.24
that defile our
body of immorality
00:15:13.27\00:15:16.51
and multiple
sexual partners today,
00:15:16.54\00:15:19.91
often it is free
love and free sex
00:15:19.95\00:15:22.18
and what's taking
place in our society?
00:15:22.22\00:15:25.49
Sexually
transmitted diseases are growing
00:15:25.52\00:15:29.02
extremely rapidly.
00:15:29.06\00:15:31.39
But Jesus says, "I
will give you the power,
00:15:31.43\00:15:34.60
the strength to overcome."
00:15:34.63\00:15:36.97
Jesus says, "You can overcome
those desires of the flesh,
00:15:37.00\00:15:40.84
those cravings of the body."
00:15:40.87\00:15:43.14
Christ says, "I will
give you that power."
00:15:43.17\00:15:44.97
I was helping a young
man once quit smoking.
00:15:45.01\00:15:47.64
He was about 29 years old,
00:15:47.68\00:15:49.81
and he had been
smoking since 14, 15 years old,
00:15:49.84\00:15:53.28
he's been
smoking about 14 years.
00:15:53.31\00:15:55.25
Smoking a couple
packs of cigarettes a day,
00:15:55.28\00:15:57.85
and he said, "Pastor,
I really want to quit.
00:15:57.89\00:16:01.06
But the craving is so hard."
00:16:01.09\00:16:03.59
We read to him
passages from the scripture
00:16:03.63\00:16:06.90
helping him to know
the promises of God's Word,
00:16:06.93\00:16:11.20
read to him John 1:12,
"As many as received Him,
00:16:11.23\00:16:14.87
to them gave He the power
00:16:14.90\00:16:16.64
or the authority to
become the sons of God."
00:16:16.67\00:16:19.77
1 John, 5:12,
00:16:19.81\00:16:22.04
"This is the
confidence we have in Him."
00:16:22.08\00:16:24.28
If we ask anything
according to His word,
00:16:24.31\00:16:29.12
he hears us.
00:16:29.15\00:16:30.49
And I said, "Look,
00:16:30.52\00:16:31.85
who do you have
your confidence in?
00:16:31.89\00:16:33.22
Yourself?" "No Pastor."
00:16:33.25\00:16:34.59
"Where is your
confidence?" "It's in Jesus."
00:16:34.62\00:16:35.96
We ask anything according
to His Word or His will,
00:16:35.99\00:16:38.73
He is going to hear us.
00:16:38.76\00:16:40.10
"Is it God's will
for you to quit smoking?"
00:16:40.13\00:16:41.93
"Yes, it is, Pastor."
00:16:41.96\00:16:43.30
"When do you think he's
going to give you victory?
00:16:43.33\00:16:45.07
"Well, Pastor, I'm not sure."
00:16:45.10\00:16:47.24
"What does the text say?
00:16:47.27\00:16:48.60
This is the
confidence we have in who,
00:16:48.64\00:16:49.97
is it in our self?"
00:16:50.01\00:16:51.34
"No."
00:16:51.37\00:16:52.71
"Who is the
confidence in?" "Him."
00:16:52.74\00:16:54.08
"And if we ask
anything according to His what?"
00:16:54.11\00:16:56.44
"His will."
00:16:56.48\00:16:57.81
"He is going to do
what?" "He is going to hear us."
00:16:57.85\00:16:59.18
Let's pray, my brother.
00:16:59.21\00:17:00.55
We get on our
knees, he began to pray.
00:17:00.58\00:17:01.92
Here's how he prayed.
00:17:01.95\00:17:03.28
Seriously, here's how he prayed.
00:17:03.32\00:17:04.65
"Dear Lord, I'm so weak.
00:17:04.69\00:17:07.49
Dear Lord, I don't
think I can quit smoking.
00:17:07.52\00:17:10.13
Dear Lord, I've been
smoking for so long."
00:17:10.16\00:17:12.63
I listened to him pray
00:17:12.66\00:17:14.00
for about a minute
and a half, two minutes.
00:17:14.03\00:17:15.90
I said, "Oh, no, he's going
to be worse after he prays."
00:17:15.93\00:17:18.43
And so I shake him,
00:17:18.47\00:17:19.80
"Stop praying,
don't pray anymore."
00:17:19.83\00:17:22.67
He looks at me,
probably the first time
00:17:22.70\00:17:24.04
a preacher told
him to stop praying.
00:17:24.07\00:17:25.47
I said, "Stop
praying, don't pray anymore."
00:17:25.51\00:17:27.34
He said, "Why not?"
00:17:27.38\00:17:28.71
I said, "The way you're praying,
00:17:28.74\00:17:30.08
you're praying so negatively.
00:17:30.11\00:17:31.45
Dear Lord, I can't quit."
00:17:31.48\00:17:33.01
I said, "You are
reinforcing your mind
00:17:33.05\00:17:35.58
with all this negative
stuff even in your prayer
00:17:35.62\00:17:38.02
and you're simply
cooperating with the devil."
00:17:38.05\00:17:39.92
He said, "What?" I
said, "You pray like this.
00:17:39.95\00:17:41.79
Dear Jesus, I'm
weak but You are strong.
00:17:41.82\00:17:44.13
Dear Jesus, I might
not be able to overcome,
00:17:44.16\00:17:46.03
but You can
enable me to overcome.
00:17:46.06\00:17:47.86
Dear Jesus, the
Book of Revelation
00:17:47.90\00:17:49.46
says to him that overcomes,
to him that overcomes.
00:17:49.50\00:17:52.27
And I believe that You are going
00:17:52.30\00:17:53.67
to enable me to overcome."
00:17:53.70\00:17:55.30
That young man prayed in faith,
00:17:55.34\00:17:57.67
and by the grace of
God, there was victory.
00:17:57.71\00:18:00.58
You see, quitters always win.
00:18:00.61\00:18:03.01
And by the grace
of God, you can win.
00:18:03.04\00:18:06.05
Whatever habit is
gripping your life,
00:18:06.08\00:18:09.58
whatever habit you
are struggling over,
00:18:09.62\00:18:13.39
Christ's grace is
greater than that habit.
00:18:13.42\00:18:16.99
Christ's grace is
stronger than that habit.
00:18:17.03\00:18:20.10
The Bible says in Roman 5:20,
00:18:20.13\00:18:23.20
"But where sin abounds,
grace abounds much more."
00:18:23.23\00:18:29.00
No matter how you've been caught
00:18:29.04\00:18:31.04
in the shackles of sin,
00:18:31.07\00:18:33.51
no matter how
sin has gripped you
00:18:33.54\00:18:35.78
and held you in its hands,
00:18:35.81\00:18:38.08
Christ is stronger
than that evil power of sin.
00:18:38.11\00:18:43.15
You see, Jesus is stronger
00:18:43.18\00:18:44.95
than any
enslaving physical habit.
00:18:44.99\00:18:48.16
The Christ that
touched the eyes of the blind
00:18:48.19\00:18:51.13
and they're open,
the Christ that touched
00:18:51.16\00:18:53.23
the ears of the deaf
and they're unstopped,
00:18:53.26\00:18:55.70
the Christ that
healed the withered man's arm
00:18:55.73\00:18:58.57
and new life and
vitality came in again.
00:18:58.60\00:19:01.50
The Christ that
caused the lame to walk,
00:19:01.54\00:19:03.97
worked miracles by the
man by the pool of Bethsaida
00:19:04.01\00:19:07.44
who was there for 38 years.
00:19:07.48\00:19:09.91
You may have had these
enslaving habits for years,
00:19:09.94\00:19:12.95
but Christ is stronger.
00:19:12.98\00:19:14.68
People often say to me,
00:19:14.72\00:19:16.42
"Where are the
miracles of Christ today?
00:19:16.45\00:19:19.05
We don't see Him
working miracles."
00:19:19.09\00:19:21.09
Come with me,
00:19:21.12\00:19:22.46
I see Jesus working
miracles all the time.
00:19:22.49\00:19:25.26
He is working
miracles of His grace,
00:19:25.29\00:19:27.86
miracles of His power,
miracles of His strength.
00:19:27.90\00:19:31.10
He's delivering
people from tobacco,
00:19:31.13\00:19:33.07
delivering people from alcohol,
00:19:33.10\00:19:35.00
delivering people
00:19:35.04\00:19:36.50
from the
enslavement of evil habits
00:19:36.54\00:19:39.07
that are
destroying their bodies.
00:19:39.11\00:19:40.78
He is still the
miracle working God.
00:19:40.81\00:19:45.01
He is still the one just
as He did 2,000 years ago,
00:19:45.05\00:19:50.02
who healed people miraculously.
00:19:50.05\00:19:52.35
He's healing
them of habits today
00:19:52.39\00:19:54.76
that are
destroying their bodies.
00:19:54.79\00:19:57.23
The Bible says
in Matthews 7:7, 8,
00:19:57.26\00:20:00.36
"Ask and it
shall be given to you.
00:20:00.40\00:20:02.86
Seek and you shall
find, knock," the Bible says,
00:20:02.90\00:20:07.20
"and it will be opened to you."
00:20:07.24\00:20:09.07
The scripture says,
"For everyone," for who?
00:20:09.10\00:20:11.91
Not a few, "for
everyone who asks receives
00:20:11.94\00:20:15.58
and he who seeks finds
00:20:15.61\00:20:17.91
and to him who
knocks it will be opened."
00:20:17.95\00:20:20.62
Jesus says to you,
"Come, come to me asking,
00:20:20.65\00:20:24.55
come to me seeking,
come to me knocking,
00:20:24.59\00:20:28.06
and I will give you My strength,
00:20:28.09\00:20:29.62
I will give you My power."
00:20:29.66\00:20:31.13
"You can be,"
Jesus says, "victorious."
00:20:31.16\00:20:35.06
Romans 6:16,
00:20:35.10\00:20:37.77
"Do you not know
to whom you present
00:20:37.80\00:20:40.10
yourself slaves to obey
that one's slaves you are."
00:20:40.14\00:20:44.77
If nicotine is controlling you,
00:20:44.81\00:20:46.68
you may not realize it,
but you're a slave to it.
00:20:46.71\00:20:49.18
If alcohol is controlling you,
00:20:49.21\00:20:51.25
you may not realize it,
but you're a slave to it.
00:20:51.28\00:20:53.75
If lusts are
controlling you or drugs,
00:20:53.78\00:20:56.99
you become slaves to that
thing that is controlling you.
00:20:57.02\00:21:00.96
But Christ can set you free.
00:21:00.99\00:21:02.32
Somebody says,
00:21:02.36\00:21:03.69
"Pastor, I'm fighting
the battle of the bottle."
00:21:03.73\00:21:08.03
Bloodshot eyes,
00:21:08.06\00:21:10.47
the alcohol
affecting the human brain,
00:21:10.50\00:21:13.87
affecting conscience
and reason and judgment.
00:21:13.90\00:21:16.67
There are many people
00:21:16.71\00:21:18.04
that want to find
relief from anxiety,
00:21:18.07\00:21:20.71
relief from stress and worry
00:21:20.74\00:21:22.54
and they turn to
the bottle to do that.
00:21:22.58\00:21:24.58
And as they do,
00:21:24.61\00:21:25.98
alcohol simply
deadens their senses.
00:21:26.01\00:21:29.42
Alcohol keeps them
00:21:29.45\00:21:31.65
from enjoying
life to its fullest.
00:21:31.69\00:21:35.09
Alcohol creates so
many physical problems,
00:21:35.12\00:21:38.06
so many social problems.
00:21:38.09\00:21:40.36
The Bible is right when
it says in Proverbs 20:1,
00:21:40.40\00:21:45.30
"Wine is a mocker."
00:21:45.33\00:21:46.74
What does that
mean? It deceives you.
00:21:46.77\00:21:48.60
"Strong drink is a brawler,
00:21:48.64\00:21:50.44
and whoever is led
astray by it is not wise."
00:21:50.47\00:21:55.58
So the Bible says it's not wise
to be led astray by alcohol.
00:21:55.61\00:22:00.05
It goes on to put it
this way, "Who has woe?"
00:22:00.08\00:22:02.72
I don't want woe, do you?
00:22:02.75\00:22:04.12
"Who has sorrow?" I
don't want sorrow, do you?
00:22:04.15\00:22:06.35
"Who has strife?"
I don't want strife.
00:22:06.39\00:22:08.02
"Who has complaints?
00:22:08.06\00:22:09.39
Who has needless bruises?
00:22:09.42\00:22:10.83
Who has bloodshot eyes?"
00:22:10.86\00:22:12.56
What a catalogue of things?
00:22:12.59\00:22:14.60
Do you want these?
00:22:14.63\00:22:15.96
Woe, sorrow, strife, complaints,
00:22:16.00\00:22:18.20
needless
bruises, bloodshot eyes,
00:22:18.23\00:22:20.74
what does the Bible say?
00:22:20.77\00:22:22.24
"Those who linger over the wine
00:22:22.27\00:22:25.01
and go to sample
bowls of mixed wine."
00:22:25.04\00:22:29.14
Yes, the Bible is very clear.
00:22:29.18\00:22:31.41
The person who
lingers at wine or alcohol
00:22:31.45\00:22:36.18
simply brings
sorrow upon their life.
00:22:36.22\00:22:39.65
How many broken families
as the result of alcohol?
00:22:39.69\00:22:44.83
How many car accidents
as the result of alcohol?
00:22:44.86\00:22:48.83
How many women abused
as the result of alcohol?
00:22:48.86\00:22:52.53
How many families
left financially in ruin
00:22:52.57\00:22:58.54
as the result of alcohol?
00:22:58.57\00:23:00.68
The Bible is plain
in Proverbs 23:29-33,
00:23:00.71\00:23:04.05
when it says,
00:23:04.08\00:23:05.41
"Do not gaze at the
wine when it's red."
00:23:05.45\00:23:07.25
That's when it's fermented.
00:23:07.28\00:23:08.88
"When it sparkles in the cup,
00:23:08.92\00:23:10.39
when it goes down smoothly."
00:23:10.42\00:23:11.99
God says, "It's
going to deceive you.
00:23:12.02\00:23:14.06
Don't even stand
there gazing at it.
00:23:14.09\00:23:16.76
"In the end it
bites like a snake
00:23:16.79\00:23:18.99
and poisons like a viper."
00:23:19.03\00:23:20.93
How many of you want
to be bit by a snake,
00:23:20.96\00:23:22.50
you're walking down a path.
00:23:22.53\00:23:23.90
There's the rattler and you say,
00:23:23.93\00:23:25.27
"Hey, rattler, come on
over here a little closer.
00:23:25.30\00:23:27.90
Let me stick out
my leg to give you
00:23:27.94\00:23:29.27
a little bit of blood."
00:23:29.30\00:23:31.24
That's certainly not
what you're saying, right?
00:23:31.27\00:23:33.34
You take a glass of
alcohol, it says, at the end,
00:23:33.38\00:23:36.64
you may not think
it at the beginning,
00:23:36.68\00:23:38.05
but at the end,
00:23:38.08\00:23:39.41
it's going to bite like a snake.
00:23:39.45\00:23:40.78
Somebody says,
00:23:40.82\00:23:42.15
"Well, that's not
going to happen to me."
00:23:42.18\00:23:43.52
Do you know that two
out of every five people
00:23:43.55\00:23:45.39
who begin drinking end up
with serious alcohol problems?
00:23:45.42\00:23:49.62
Two out of five.
00:23:49.66\00:23:51.86
What if you had
a German shepherd
00:23:51.89\00:23:54.86
and it only bit
two out of five people
00:23:54.90\00:23:57.23
that came to your house.
00:23:57.27\00:23:58.60
You'd say, "Hey,
Mark, come on over.
00:23:58.63\00:23:59.97
I'd like you to visit my house.
00:24:00.00\00:24:01.34
I got a German shepherd,
00:24:01.37\00:24:02.70
and I got to tell
you ahead of time,
00:24:02.74\00:24:04.07
it only bites two
out of five people."
00:24:04.11\00:24:05.44
I think you've got a
pretty good chance here.
00:24:05.47\00:24:07.01
I'm not coming over
to your house for lunch
00:24:07.04\00:24:08.84
and risking that my legs
are going to be torn apart
00:24:08.88\00:24:11.28
with only two out of five.
00:24:11.31\00:24:12.91
Two, it's sobering, friend.
00:24:12.95\00:24:14.98
Two out of every five people
that begin drinking end up
00:24:15.02\00:24:18.35
with serious alcohol problems
00:24:18.39\00:24:20.06
that impact their
family, impact their job,
00:24:20.09\00:24:22.79
impact their
relationship with their friends
00:24:22.82\00:24:25.03
because alcohol
becomes the most dominant thing
00:24:25.06\00:24:27.40
in their life.
00:24:27.43\00:24:28.76
The Bible says,
Proverbs 23:29-33,
00:24:28.80\00:24:32.53
"Your eyes will
see strange sights,
00:24:32.57\00:24:34.60
your mind imagine
confusing things."
00:24:34.64\00:24:38.67
But somebody says, "Pastor Mark,
00:24:38.71\00:24:40.81
didn't Jesus create
an alcoholic beverage
00:24:40.84\00:24:44.68
at the wedding
feast of Cana of Galilee?"
00:24:44.71\00:24:49.15
You know, the Bible tells us
00:24:49.18\00:24:50.85
how much alcohol actually
00:24:50.89\00:24:53.89
was in those jars,
00:24:53.92\00:24:57.13
those wine jars.
00:24:57.16\00:24:58.89
In John 2:6, 7, it
says, "There were set there
00:24:58.93\00:25:02.56
six water pots
filled to the brim."
00:25:02.60\00:25:04.73
So they were filled with water,
00:25:04.77\00:25:06.27
and then what happens is
00:25:06.30\00:25:09.84
Christ uses that water and
turns that water into wine.
00:25:09.87\00:25:15.24
Now what does the Bible says
00:25:15.28\00:25:16.81
was the quantity
'in each water pot?
00:25:16.85\00:25:20.82
One thing you have to understand
00:25:20.85\00:25:22.28
before we go to quantity,
00:25:22.32\00:25:23.65
actually, that's
helpful here is this.
00:25:23.69\00:25:25.85
The Bible talks
about wine in two ways,
00:25:25.89\00:25:27.92
it doesn't often
distinguish between
00:25:27.96\00:25:29.82
fermented wine
and unfermented wine.
00:25:29.86\00:25:32.39
Fermented wine in the
Bible is an alcoholic beverage,
00:25:32.43\00:25:34.96
the Bible condemns that.
00:25:35.00\00:25:36.53
But also the Bible
uses the term "wine"
00:25:36.56\00:25:38.63
and it describes a pure juice
00:25:38.67\00:25:40.44
of the grape
which is non-alcoholic.
00:25:40.47\00:25:43.04
Let me give you
an example of that.
00:25:43.07\00:25:44.97
Isaiah 65:8 puts it this way,
00:25:45.01\00:25:47.94
"As the new wine," what
kind of wine, everybody?
00:25:47.98\00:25:50.31
New wine, the new wine
is the freshly pressed juice
00:25:50.35\00:25:54.62
of the grape that's unfermented.
00:25:54.65\00:25:56.42
"As the new wine is found
in the cluster and one says,
00:25:56.45\00:25:59.85
'Do not destroy it,
for a blessing is in it.'"
00:25:59.89\00:26:02.82
So new wine has a blessing.
00:26:02.86\00:26:05.06
It's fresh, it's
found in the cluster.
00:26:05.09\00:26:08.43
We know today that grape juice
has heart healthy benefits.
00:26:08.46\00:26:13.67
Indeed, it's not so much
the fermentation in the grape
00:26:13.70\00:26:17.74
as it is the qualities
of the grape unfermented.
00:26:17.77\00:26:22.11
So let's go back
now to these jars.
00:26:22.14\00:26:25.45
Did Jesus create a
fermented drink for people
00:26:25.48\00:26:28.35
to go crazy after they drunk it
00:26:28.38\00:26:30.55
because they were drunk at
the feast that Christ made?
00:26:30.59\00:26:32.92
Certainly not. Here's the jars.
00:26:32.95\00:26:35.12
One jar, according
00:26:35.16\00:26:36.49
to the
measurements in the Bible,
00:26:36.52\00:26:37.99
was 20-30 gallons,
there were 6 of them.
00:26:38.03\00:26:41.36
So these 6 jars had
120-180 gallons of wine.
00:26:41.40\00:26:45.87
How much wine does it
take a person to get drunk?
00:26:45.90\00:26:48.90
Can you get drunk on a gallon?
00:26:48.94\00:26:50.84
Can you get
drunk on half-a-gallon?
00:26:50.87\00:26:52.57
Certainly one could.
00:26:52.61\00:26:54.91
Now look, how many
people were at this feast?
00:26:54.94\00:26:58.41
This was not a large village.
00:26:58.45\00:27:00.28
There may have been
100, we don't know for sure,
00:27:00.32\00:27:02.68
but I know this.
00:27:02.72\00:27:04.05
There was enough wine
00:27:04.09\00:27:05.59
to get every
person at that feast,
00:27:05.62\00:27:08.42
if they would drink
at all, drunk one time,
00:27:08.46\00:27:11.39
two times, three times.
00:27:11.43\00:27:13.13
Can you imagine?
00:27:13.16\00:27:14.73
Here's a person.
00:27:14.76\00:27:16.50
They're leaving this feast,
00:27:16.53\00:27:18.03
if what some believe
that was fermented wine,
00:27:18.07\00:27:20.47
the wine's been all drunk up,
00:27:20.50\00:27:21.84
they're driving
in their ox cart.
00:27:21.87\00:27:23.20
They drive their
ox cart off the road,
00:27:23.24\00:27:26.11
they break their leg.
00:27:26.14\00:27:27.48
"Hey, how did
you break your leg?"
00:27:27.51\00:27:28.84
"Well, I had such a
good time at Jesus' feast."
00:27:28.88\00:27:30.38
Somebody comes home,
00:27:30.41\00:27:31.75
and they have going
off with another woman.
00:27:31.78\00:27:35.88
"What happened, why
did you come so late?"
00:27:35.92\00:27:37.25
"Well, I got
drunk at Jesus' feast."
00:27:37.29\00:27:38.62
Somebody comes home
and beats their wife.
00:27:38.65\00:27:39.99
It's preposterous.
00:27:40.02\00:27:41.96
That's not going to happen.
00:27:41.99\00:27:43.59
Jesus is not going
00:27:43.63\00:27:46.76
to in any way create this
00:27:46.80\00:27:49.86
fermented beverage
that destroys health,
00:27:49.90\00:27:53.74
that destroys life,
that destroys families,
00:27:53.77\00:27:56.37
not at all.
00:27:56.40\00:27:57.74
Did Jesus create
enough fermented wine
00:27:57.77\00:28:01.54
to get the whole village drunk?
00:28:01.58\00:28:04.71
Certainly not.
00:28:04.75\00:28:06.88
He would never have done that.
00:28:06.92\00:28:10.25
The Bible says, in
John 2:10, "He said to them,
00:28:10.29\00:28:12.52
everyman at the beginning
sets out the good wine,
00:28:12.55\00:28:15.69
and when the guests have
well drunk, then the inferior."
00:28:15.72\00:28:18.79
But look, but you have
kept the good wine till now.
00:28:18.83\00:28:21.60
What kind of wine was
this? Was this fermented?
00:28:21.63\00:28:24.10
It was good
wine, it was the pure,
00:28:24.13\00:28:26.40
sparkling juice of the grape
00:28:26.43\00:28:28.80
that brought
invigoration to the body.
00:28:28.84\00:28:31.87
Christ invites you,
00:28:31.91\00:28:33.31
through His
grace and by His power,
00:28:33.34\00:28:35.24
not to defile
the mind or the brain
00:28:35.28\00:28:38.91
with alcohol to
deaden the brain cells.
00:28:38.95\00:28:41.38
One drink begins
to deaden brain cells,
00:28:41.42\00:28:44.62
and Jesus says to you and me,
00:28:44.65\00:28:46.92
I want to speak to your heart.
00:28:46.96\00:28:48.82
I want to talk to your mind,
00:28:48.86\00:28:51.53
I want to send the Holy
Spirit to give you the highest,
00:28:51.56\00:28:54.53
the noblest, the most
elevated thoughts possible.
00:28:54.56\00:28:58.93
But if we defile
our minds with alcohol,
00:28:58.97\00:29:01.40
the Holy Spirit
cannot communicate with them
00:29:01.44\00:29:04.24
as He would so want.
00:29:04.27\00:29:06.01
The alcohol, social problems,
00:29:06.04\00:29:08.01
more car wrecks
are caused by alcohol
00:29:08.04\00:29:10.08
than any other thing.
00:29:10.11\00:29:12.88
Somebody says, "Mark,
I'm really struggling."
00:29:12.91\00:29:15.32
I know sometimes
alcohol becomes really a crutch,
00:29:15.35\00:29:20.12
it really becomes a way out.
00:29:20.16\00:29:22.49
You have deep
problems in the family,
00:29:22.52\00:29:24.66
financial problems.
00:29:24.69\00:29:26.80
You work and you
are stressed at work
00:29:26.83\00:29:30.10
and you find a
little relief in alcohol.
00:29:30.13\00:29:32.87
I want to say to you,
that relief can come in Jesus.
00:29:32.90\00:29:36.20
Don't make the bottle
a substitute for Jesus.
00:29:36.24\00:29:39.01
Don't make alcohol a substitute
00:29:39.04\00:29:41.24
for the one that is
the Prince of Peace.
00:29:41.28\00:29:44.11
I love the way
it's put in Isaiah 26:3,
00:29:44.15\00:29:47.35
where Jesus says this,
00:29:47.38\00:29:49.22
"Peace, I will keep
him in perfect peace
00:29:49.25\00:29:52.69
whose mind is stayed upon
thee because he trusts thee."
00:29:52.72\00:29:56.69
You see, when you take
alcohol searching for peace,
00:29:56.73\00:30:00.93
you're going to have
to take another drink
00:30:00.96\00:30:02.36
and another drink and
you become more addicted,
00:30:02.40\00:30:04.27
more addicted, more addicted
00:30:04.30\00:30:05.93
but Jesus can
give you that peace.
00:30:05.97\00:30:09.10
Christ promises you both
peace and abundant health,
00:30:09.14\00:30:14.58
living at endtime,
00:30:14.61\00:30:16.48
preparing for the
second coming of Jesus.
00:30:16.51\00:30:19.51
Jesus desires that our
bodies and minds give Him glory
00:30:19.55\00:30:25.72
by the lifestyle
habits that we have.
00:30:25.75\00:30:28.36
Now what about habits
that come in the area of diet,
00:30:28.39\00:30:32.99
the things that we eat?
00:30:33.03\00:30:34.73
Look at a promise that
God gave to ancient Israel
00:30:34.76\00:30:37.43
in Exodus 15:26,
00:30:37.47\00:30:40.14
"If you diligently heed
the voice of the Lord your God
00:30:40.17\00:30:43.10
and do what's
right in His sight,
00:30:43.14\00:30:45.44
give ear to His commandments,
00:30:45.47\00:30:47.08
keep His statutes,
00:30:47.11\00:30:49.24
I will put none of
the diseases on you
00:30:49.28\00:30:51.71
which I have
brought on the Egyptians.
00:30:51.75\00:30:53.08
For I am the
Lord who heals you."
00:30:53.11\00:30:54.78
Now God promised Israel
00:30:54.82\00:30:57.59
that as they wandered
in the desert wilderness,
00:30:57.62\00:31:00.99
if they kept His commandments,
00:31:01.02\00:31:03.29
that the Egyptians would
have certain types of diseases
00:31:03.32\00:31:06.43
that Israel would not have.
00:31:06.46\00:31:08.56
Following God's way of obedience
00:31:08.60\00:31:11.83
enhances our health.
00:31:11.87\00:31:14.50
Turning our back on
God's way of obedience
00:31:14.54\00:31:17.74
is health destroying.
00:31:17.77\00:31:20.04
Let's look for a
moment at what the promise was
00:31:20.08\00:31:23.35
and how that
promise was fulfilled
00:31:23.38\00:31:25.25
to the Israelites.
00:31:25.28\00:31:26.61
Psalm 105:37 says,
00:31:26.65\00:31:28.95
"There was none
feeble among His tribes."
00:31:28.98\00:31:31.45
In other words,
00:31:31.49\00:31:33.25
as Israel followed
the commands of God,
00:31:33.29\00:31:37.26
as they lived in harmony
with the principles of God,
00:31:37.29\00:31:40.53
God met His promise.
00:31:40.56\00:31:42.66
He fulfilled His promise
and there was abundant health
00:31:42.70\00:31:46.90
given to the Israelites.
00:31:46.94\00:31:49.80
What about the Egyptians?
00:31:49.84\00:31:51.24
Studies confirm
00:31:51.27\00:31:52.81
that the
truthfulness of God's word
00:31:52.84\00:31:55.41
is wrought out certainly in,
00:31:55.44\00:31:58.68
as we study the
Egyptian lifestyle,
00:31:58.71\00:32:00.88
studies done on
the Egyptian mummies
00:32:00.92\00:32:03.42
continue to show the
authenticity of God's Word.
00:32:03.45\00:32:07.29
Let's look at a
couple of those studies.
00:32:07.32\00:32:10.69
Ramses II,
00:32:10.73\00:32:12.53
one of the
famous Pharaohs of Egypt
00:32:12.56\00:32:15.66
died of a massive heart attack.
00:32:15.70\00:32:18.43
Now here is the
most amazing thing.
00:32:18.47\00:32:20.87
Dr. Rosalie David of
Manchester University in England
00:32:20.90\00:32:23.67
has done autopsies on mummies.
00:32:23.71\00:32:26.07
Now what happens
in these autopsies?
00:32:26.11\00:32:28.61
Mummification was very
often practiced in Egypt.
00:32:28.64\00:32:34.28
The bodies were taken,
00:32:34.32\00:32:36.85
the organs were
taken out of the body,
00:32:36.89\00:32:39.75
the brain was taken out,
00:32:39.79\00:32:42.09
and they were put in
what's called canopic jars.
00:32:42.12\00:32:46.16
And so you are able to
do an autopsy out of mummy,
00:32:46.19\00:32:49.60
look at the organs,
00:32:49.63\00:32:50.97
looked at the
veins and arteries,
00:32:51.00\00:32:52.60
and see how these people died.
00:32:52.63\00:32:55.34
This is an amazing photograph.
00:32:55.37\00:32:57.87
You are looking,
can you believe it,
00:32:57.91\00:33:00.38
at the arteries of Ramses II.
00:33:00.41\00:33:03.98
And notice the artery here
00:33:04.01\00:33:06.68
on the left side
of the photograph.
00:33:06.72\00:33:10.49
You notice the
plaquing in that artery.
00:33:10.52\00:33:13.12
Notice the
arteries on the far right,
00:33:13.15\00:33:15.89
the narrowing, the
hardness of those arteries.
00:33:15.92\00:33:19.09
The later Egyptian dynasties,
particularly among the wealthy,
00:33:19.13\00:33:24.13
had a very high
fat, high sugar diet
00:33:24.17\00:33:27.64
and so as the result of
that cholesterol built up
00:33:27.67\00:33:30.57
in the arteries, and
you know what happens
00:33:30.61\00:33:32.91
when cholesterol
builds up in the arteries.
00:33:32.94\00:33:34.84
The heart can pump, as it pumps,
00:33:34.88\00:33:37.68
it pumps the blood
through a narrower artery
00:33:37.71\00:33:40.48
or a narrower area.
00:33:40.52\00:33:42.55
That artery gets smaller
and smaller with the plaquing.
00:33:42.58\00:33:45.69
As the heart pumps a
plaque can break off.
00:33:45.72\00:33:48.82
As it does, it
can seal that artery.
00:33:48.86\00:33:52.89
When that happens,
00:33:52.93\00:33:54.26
the oxygen supply to
the heart is cut off,
00:33:54.30\00:33:57.33
there is that painful
stabbing heart attack.
00:33:57.37\00:34:01.64
The Israelites
had abundant health.
00:34:01.67\00:34:04.84
The Egyptians suffered
00:34:04.87\00:34:06.84
from many of the
lifestyle diseases
00:34:06.88\00:34:08.51
we are suffering today.
00:34:08.54\00:34:09.88
Dr. Claude
Rufeis, French physician,
00:34:09.91\00:34:11.85
has done X-rays
on 14,000 mummies.
00:34:11.88\00:34:15.75
So we have a pretty good idea
00:34:15.78\00:34:17.49
of what the
Egyptians were dying of.
00:34:17.52\00:34:19.85
What were they dying of?
00:34:19.89\00:34:21.22
Heart disease, cancer,
they were dying of arthritis,
00:34:21.26\00:34:25.46
obesity, high blood pressure,
00:34:25.49\00:34:27.83
rheumatism, sexually
transmitted diseases.
00:34:27.86\00:34:31.13
Many of the diseases we
have today in our society
00:34:31.17\00:34:35.77
were diseases of lifestyle.
00:34:35.80\00:34:38.67
Today, the great diseases
00:34:38.71\00:34:40.48
that are killing us
are no longer influenza,
00:34:40.51\00:34:43.81
no longer our
western societies dying
00:34:43.85\00:34:47.12
as much of child birth deaths.
00:34:47.15\00:34:50.82
We are dying now
of lifestyle diseases,
00:34:50.85\00:34:54.26
diseases that are brought
about by our own living habits.
00:34:54.29\00:34:58.13
You know, in the first
book of the Bible, in Genesis,
00:34:58.16\00:35:01.70
God gives to us a diet for
life and a diet for health.
00:35:01.73\00:35:06.13
It was really a
plant-based diet.
00:35:06.17\00:35:08.94
Genesis 1:29, the Bible says,
00:35:08.97\00:35:11.84
"And God said,
'See, I have given you..."
00:35:11.87\00:35:15.08
Who has given it? God
says, I have given it.
00:35:15.11\00:35:17.48
If God gives us a diet, I
want to follow it, don't you?
00:35:17.51\00:35:20.55
He says, "I have
given you every herb,
00:35:20.58\00:35:22.72
berry that yields seed
00:35:22.75\00:35:24.65
in the face of all the earth."
00:35:24.69\00:35:26.15
In other words, fruits,
nuts, grains, He gave there.
00:35:26.19\00:35:29.46
And some of the thing
00:35:29.49\00:35:30.83
we would call vegetables
today like tomatoes or bens,
00:35:30.86\00:35:34.03
the things of seed.
00:35:34.06\00:35:35.40
"And every tree
whose fruit yields seed,
00:35:35.43\00:35:37.57
it shall be to you for food."
00:35:37.60\00:35:39.90
So God gives to Adam and
Eve a plant-based diet in Eden.
00:35:39.93\00:35:44.11
The diet in Eden
was a vegetarian diet.
00:35:44.14\00:35:47.04
Can you imagine Adam
saying to Eve, "Hey, Eve.
00:35:47.08\00:35:51.35
You see that cow over there,
00:35:51.38\00:35:53.18
how do you like a
steak for supper?"
00:35:53.21\00:35:54.82
And can you
imagine Adam chasing it,
00:35:54.85\00:35:57.59
jumping on it, be forcing,
00:35:57.62\00:35:59.65
slitting a throat of some cow
00:35:59.69\00:36:01.16
and having blood
all over the place?
00:36:01.19\00:36:02.99
Certainly not.
00:36:03.02\00:36:04.93
God gave to Adam and
Eve, a plant-based diet.
00:36:04.96\00:36:07.60
There was no death
of animals in any way.
00:36:07.63\00:36:11.17
God did not create the animas
to be killed and eaten by man.
00:36:11.20\00:36:16.24
It wasn't until after
the flood in Noah's day
00:36:16.27\00:36:19.54
that God gave people
permission to eat flesh food.
00:36:19.57\00:36:23.14
That came right
after the flood, why?
00:36:23.18\00:36:26.58
Well, the human race had sinned
00:36:26.61\00:36:28.35
and all the world was
destroyed by the flood
00:36:28.38\00:36:31.12
and vegetation was destroyed.
00:36:31.15\00:36:33.15
So to meet that emergency,
00:36:33.19\00:36:34.52
God gave them
permission to eat meat.
00:36:34.56\00:36:36.62
Also, God gave permission
00:36:36.66\00:36:38.43
because human beings had sinned
00:36:38.46\00:36:40.33
and they had gone
into such sinful lives,
00:36:40.36\00:36:42.76
that He knew that flesh
food would shorten the lifespan.
00:36:42.80\00:36:47.07
So God made
accommodations to that.
00:36:47.10\00:36:49.87
But the original diet
was a plant-based diet
00:36:49.90\00:36:53.21
and His desire
was human beings eat
00:36:53.24\00:36:56.68
that plant-based diet,
00:36:56.71\00:36:58.11
even after sin, even
after the days of Noah.
00:36:58.15\00:37:01.15
God instructed Noah to
bring into the ark animals
00:37:01.18\00:37:04.79
that were clean and
animals that were unclean.
00:37:04.82\00:37:07.79
So God didn't
give Noah permission
00:37:07.82\00:37:10.19
to eat any kind of
animals, not at all.
00:37:10.23\00:37:13.03
God gave them permission
to eat only the clean animals,
00:37:13.06\00:37:16.80
never the unclean.
00:37:16.83\00:37:18.17
Now if you want
the healthiest diet,
00:37:18.20\00:37:19.53
of course, you go back
00:37:19.57\00:37:20.90
to a
plant-based vegetarian diet.
00:37:20.94\00:37:23.71
Genesis 7:1, 2, "Then
the Lord said to Noah,
00:37:23.74\00:37:27.21
'Come into the ark,
you and all your household,
00:37:27.24\00:37:30.01
because I have seen
00:37:30.05\00:37:31.38
that you are righteous
before Me in this generation.
00:37:31.41\00:37:35.38
You shall take with you seven
each of every clean animal,
00:37:35.42\00:37:38.39
a male and his female,
00:37:38.42\00:37:39.85
two each of
animals that are unclean,
00:37:39.89\00:37:42.16
a male and his female."
00:37:42.19\00:37:43.99
So God creates animals
00:37:44.03\00:37:45.63
that are clean
and that are what?
00:37:45.66\00:37:48.10
Unclean.
00:37:48.13\00:37:49.46
The unclean are the
scavengers of the earth.
00:37:49.50\00:37:52.50
They are to eat up all
the refuse of the earth.
00:37:52.53\00:37:55.40
You know, somebody said,
00:37:55.44\00:37:56.77
"What you eat today
walks and talks tomorrow."
00:37:56.81\00:38:00.28
So these
scavengers are digesting
00:38:00.31\00:38:04.68
the garbage of this world.
00:38:04.71\00:38:07.48
Now there are
two kinds of animals,
00:38:07.52\00:38:08.98
the clean and the unclean.
00:38:09.02\00:38:11.25
We were never
to eat the unclean,
00:38:11.29\00:38:13.05
they were to do the work
that God gave them to do.
00:38:13.09\00:38:17.43
The unclean and the
clean were taken into the ark.
00:38:17.46\00:38:20.06
The clean were
taken in by sevens,
00:38:20.10\00:38:22.10
because they would
be used for sacrifices.
00:38:22.13\00:38:25.57
The Bible is
very clear in defining
00:38:25.60\00:38:28.50
these unclean animals.
00:38:28.54\00:38:30.01
So if you want to
follow the Bible's way,
00:38:30.04\00:38:32.27
never take the unclean animals.
00:38:32.31\00:38:35.28
Deuteronomy puts
it this way, 14:6-8,
00:38:35.31\00:38:39.38
"And you may eat every animal
00:38:39.41\00:38:41.15
with cloven hooves,
00:38:41.18\00:38:42.58
having the hoof
split into two parts,
00:38:42.62\00:38:46.32
and that chews the
cud, among the animals."
00:38:46.35\00:38:48.72
So the clean animals
have two characteristics.
00:38:48.76\00:38:52.23
What are they?
00:38:52.26\00:38:53.60
They chew the
cud, what's that mean?
00:38:53.63\00:38:55.50
They chew their food,
00:38:55.53\00:38:56.97
it goes down into their stomach,
00:38:57.00\00:38:58.57
they have a very
complex digestive system,
00:38:58.60\00:39:01.00
they spit it up
and chew it again.
00:39:01.04\00:39:03.10
So the clean animals have
a complex digestive system
00:39:03.14\00:39:05.51
and don't absorb
00:39:05.54\00:39:06.88
the toxins
directly into their flesh.
00:39:06.91\00:39:08.88
They also must
have a split hoof.
00:39:08.91\00:39:12.21
Sheep are like
that, cows are like that,
00:39:12.25\00:39:15.68
and so sheep and cows
would be clean animals.
00:39:15.72\00:39:18.99
If you're going to eat
meat, stick with the clean ones.
00:39:19.02\00:39:21.92
But what about
the unclean animals?
00:39:21.96\00:39:24.63
We look back at
Deuteronomy 14:6-8,
00:39:24.66\00:39:28.30
"Nevertheless, of
those that chew the cud
00:39:28.33\00:39:31.40
or have cloven hooves,
00:39:31.43\00:39:32.80
you shall not
eat, such as these:"
00:39:32.83\00:39:35.40
these are what
you shall not eat,
00:39:35.44\00:39:36.77
"the camel, the
hare, the rock hyrax,
00:39:36.81\00:39:39.67
for they chew the cud but
do not have cloven hooves.
00:39:39.71\00:39:42.81
They are unclean to you."
00:39:42.84\00:39:44.68
So notice the Bible
says, "The camel is unclean."
00:39:44.71\00:39:47.75
So I want you to go
home and throw away all camel
00:39:47.78\00:39:51.69
in your refrigerator.
00:39:51.72\00:39:53.12
Do you love Jesus enough
to take out all the camel
00:39:53.15\00:39:54.92
in your refrigerator?
00:39:54.96\00:39:56.29
No more camel
sandwiches for lunch.
00:39:56.32\00:39:58.59
Women, don't make your husbands
any more camel sandwiches
00:39:58.63\00:40:01.13
for lunch,
00:40:01.16\00:40:02.50
no more fried camel
for the kids at breakfast.
00:40:02.53\00:40:04.67
You say, "Pastor, I
don't eat that stuff."
00:40:04.70\00:40:07.07
Well, let's keep going.
00:40:07.10\00:40:08.64
It says, "The swine is unclean."
00:40:08.67\00:40:11.01
Nobody eats swine,
do they? What's a swine?
00:40:11.04\00:40:13.68
That's pig, that's
pork. I mean nobody.
00:40:13.71\00:40:16.48
Would anybody eat that?
What does the Bible say here?
00:40:16.51\00:40:18.55
"The swine is unclean to you
because it has cloven hooves,
00:40:18.58\00:40:21.48
yet does not chew the cud.
00:40:21.52\00:40:23.28
You shall not eat their flesh
or touch their dead carcasses."
00:40:23.32\00:40:28.19
So the Bible says that
swine or pigs are unclean, why?
00:40:28.22\00:40:33.93
Because as they
waggle in the mud,
00:40:33.96\00:40:38.10
as they eat the scraps in food
00:40:38.13\00:40:41.37
that's absorbed into their body.
00:40:41.40\00:40:43.97
"Well, my pigs are grain-fed."
00:40:44.01\00:40:45.97
They still have waste,
00:40:46.01\00:40:47.54
they still don't have a
complex digestive system,
00:40:47.58\00:40:50.18
and all that toxin or poison
is absorbed in their flesh.
00:40:50.21\00:40:56.18
The Bible says in Psalm 84:11,
00:40:56.22\00:40:58.79
"No good thing will Jesus
00:40:58.82\00:41:01.09
withhold from them
that walk uprightly."
00:41:01.12\00:41:03.32
If pork were good, God
would not uphold it for us.
00:41:03.36\00:41:06.39
Somebody says, "But
Pastor, wait a minute,
00:41:06.43\00:41:07.83
that's Old Testament,
Jesus died on the cross."
00:41:07.86\00:41:13.13
Jesus did not die on
the cross to cleanse pigs.
00:41:13.17\00:41:17.01
He died on the
cross to cleanse sinners.
00:41:17.04\00:41:19.27
What was unclean
before the cross is unclean
00:41:19.31\00:41:21.68
after the cross.
00:41:21.71\00:41:23.04
You know, you think
Jesus dies on the cross,
00:41:23.08\00:41:24.45
does He work some kind
of magic through His death
00:41:24.48\00:41:26.72
so that pigs that were unclean
00:41:26.75\00:41:29.38
and unhealthy become now clean?
00:41:29.42\00:41:31.49
Not at all.
00:41:31.52\00:41:33.25
This is not a
ceremonial requirement,
00:41:33.29\00:41:36.56
it is rather a
health requirement.
00:41:36.59\00:41:38.49
Pork has the
highest cholesterol source
00:41:38.53\00:41:41.50
of all meats.
00:41:41.53\00:41:42.93
And when you cure
bacon with nitrates,
00:41:42.96\00:41:46.70
that links bacon
with cancer today.
00:41:46.74\00:41:51.34
Dr. McNaught, a
health researcher,
00:41:51.37\00:41:54.14
found that one of
every four pork specimens
00:41:54.18\00:41:58.78
had living
trichina larvae in it.
00:41:58.81\00:42:01.78
One out of every four.
00:42:01.82\00:42:03.15
Somebody said,
00:42:03.18\00:42:04.52
"Pastor, but I cook my
pork so hot it kills them all."
00:42:04.55\00:42:08.46
Does it give you any
comfort that you are eating half
00:42:08.49\00:42:12.36
a million dead trichina
larvae rather than living ones?
00:42:12.39\00:42:15.80
You know, some physicians wonder
00:42:15.83\00:42:18.23
whether some rheumatism
and arthritis with pains
00:42:18.27\00:42:21.34
may be wrongly
diagnosed and actually
00:42:21.37\00:42:23.91
that inflammation
and pain may be coming
00:42:23.94\00:42:26.01
from some of the
unclean foods that we eat.
00:42:26.04\00:42:28.41
So God is calling us to health,
00:42:28.44\00:42:30.75
He is calling us
from these unclean foods.
00:42:30.78\00:42:34.55
Somebody says,
00:42:34.58\00:42:36.69
"Does it really
make a difference?"
00:42:36.72\00:42:38.05
Look what the Bible says,
00:42:38.09\00:42:39.42
Philippians 3:19,
"Whose end is destruction,
00:42:39.45\00:42:42.42
whose god is their belly,
whose glory is their shame."
00:42:42.46\00:42:46.46
The issue is not
only what we eat,
00:42:46.49\00:42:48.26
how it destroys our bodies.
00:42:48.30\00:42:50.63
But the issue is the desire,
00:42:50.67\00:42:53.80
the craving, not
to give our appetites
00:42:53.84\00:42:57.54
under the
control of Jesus Christ.
00:42:57.57\00:42:59.77
Jesus says,
00:42:59.81\00:43:01.14
"Come, present your body
a living sacrifice to me."
00:43:01.18\00:43:05.81
The issue is setting our
mind, as Philippians says,
00:43:05.85\00:43:09.08
"on earthly things"
00:43:09.12\00:43:10.92
rather than setting our
mind on the things of heaven
00:43:10.95\00:43:14.92
and giving Christ our
body to live with Him forever.
00:43:14.96\00:43:18.29
Now what about
things in the sea?
00:43:18.33\00:43:20.70
Deuteronomy 14:9,
00:43:20.73\00:43:22.46
"These you may eat of
all that are in the waters,
00:43:22.50\00:43:24.97
that you may eat all
that have fins and scales."
00:43:25.00\00:43:27.80
So if it's in the
sea, has fins and scales,
00:43:27.84\00:43:30.34
you can eat it.
00:43:30.37\00:43:31.71
Whatever does not
have fins and scales,
00:43:31.74\00:43:33.74
you shall not eat, it's unclean.
00:43:33.78\00:43:35.98
The things that do
not have fins and scales,
00:43:36.01\00:43:38.71
lobsters, crabs,
00:43:38.75\00:43:41.95
the things like
clams and quahogs.
00:43:41.98\00:43:45.05
So they are
absorbing the toxins in the sea
00:43:45.09\00:43:50.03
and as the result of that...
00:43:50.06\00:43:51.93
I remember when I was a
boy, I didn't know these things.
00:43:51.96\00:43:55.00
I'd walk there in the
mud, the filth, in the ocean,
00:43:55.03\00:43:58.97
about up to my knees,
look for what we call quahogs,
00:43:59.00\00:44:02.04
they were like clams
but they have hard shells,
00:44:02.07\00:44:04.47
and you know,
what are they doing?
00:44:04.51\00:44:05.84
They are absorbing the refuses,
00:44:05.87\00:44:08.48
they're absorbing the guts
of the fish that have died,
00:44:08.51\00:44:12.31
absorbing all those dead things,
00:44:12.35\00:44:13.92
and you know what, and
I feel in one of my foot,
00:44:13.95\00:44:15.58
I'd find it.
00:44:15.62\00:44:16.95
I take this
clamp, this quahog out,
00:44:16.99\00:44:18.72
throw it to my grandpa on shore,
00:44:18.75\00:44:20.46
he would take a
knife and cut it open,
00:44:20.49\00:44:22.49
put a little vinegar,
and salt and pepper on it,
00:44:22.52\00:44:24.56
hand it back to me, I'd go...
00:44:24.59\00:44:26.90
swallow that thing raw.
00:44:26.93\00:44:29.10
You know, as a teenager,
00:44:29.13\00:44:31.40
I had terrible stomach problems.
00:44:31.43\00:44:33.20
You say, "Pastor, you
should have known better."
00:44:33.23\00:44:35.07
Yeah, I didn't know better,
I didn't know these things,
00:44:35.10\00:44:38.17
but you are excused my friend.
00:44:38.21\00:44:40.08
You see, God is calling us.
00:44:40.11\00:44:41.48
God is calling us away
from all these defiling things.
00:44:41.51\00:44:44.28
Since I gave up
the pork as a boy,
00:44:44.31\00:44:46.95
since I gave up the
unclean food as a boy,
00:44:46.98\00:44:49.85
since I gave up
the clams, the lobster,
00:44:49.88\00:44:54.09
my health has
been so much better.
00:44:54.12\00:44:56.73
Somebody says, "Pastor
Mark, what about Peter's vision?
00:44:56.76\00:45:00.16
Didn't Peter have a vision
of all these unclean things?"
00:45:00.20\00:45:02.60
Let's go to it.
00:45:02.63\00:45:03.97
Peter is up on the
roof, he is praying,
00:45:04.00\00:45:05.73
and he sees in his sheet,
00:45:05.77\00:45:08.90
rats, snakes, alligators,
00:45:08.94\00:45:11.97
he sees elephants,
00:45:12.01\00:45:13.41
he sees
monkeys, he sees turtles,
00:45:13.44\00:45:16.24
he sees all these
wild animals and God says,
00:45:16.28\00:45:18.98
"Peter, go eat that."
00:45:19.01\00:45:20.72
Peter says, "Lord,
I could never do that.
00:45:20.75\00:45:22.55
I've never eaten
anything unclean."
00:45:22.58\00:45:24.72
Now notice, this
is after the cross.
00:45:24.75\00:45:28.16
So obviously, Peter saying
I never ate anything unclean.
00:45:28.19\00:45:31.29
So Jesus didn't make
some miraculous change
00:45:31.33\00:45:34.36
in these animals at the cross.
00:45:34.40\00:45:36.13
Jesus says, "Go eat it."
Peter doesn't understand.
00:45:36.16\00:45:39.03
The sheet is
taken up from heaven.
00:45:39.07\00:45:41.14
Two men come and
knock on his door.
00:45:41.17\00:45:42.50
They say,
"Cornelius is praying."
00:45:42.54\00:45:44.87
Peter considered Cornelius
to be unclean as a gentile.
00:45:44.91\00:45:50.65
The voice came to Peter
in his dream, Acts 10:13, 14,
00:45:50.68\00:45:55.22
"Rise, Peter, kill and eat.
00:45:55.25\00:45:56.69
What does Peter
say? Not so, Lord.
00:45:56.72\00:45:58.25
I have never eaten
anything common or unclean.
00:45:58.29\00:46:00.09
I can't do that Lord.
00:46:00.12\00:46:02.12
This is not in
harmony with Your will."
00:46:02.16\00:46:05.36
God shows me, Peter says
as he interprets the dream,
00:46:05.39\00:46:10.00
the two men knock
on his door, they say,
00:46:10.03\00:46:13.40
"There's one called Cornelius.
00:46:13.44\00:46:15.40
He has been praying.
00:46:15.44\00:46:17.01
God has revealed to
him that someone will come
00:46:17.04\00:46:20.74
to preach the gospel
and we'd be led to Simon,
00:46:20.78\00:46:23.55
the tanner's house,
and Peter we found you,
00:46:23.58\00:46:25.31
come and preach.
00:46:25.35\00:46:26.68
Had Peter not had that dream,
00:46:26.72\00:46:29.15
his prejudice
against the gentiles
00:46:29.18\00:46:33.36
would have been so high,
he wouldn't have come there.
00:46:33.39\00:46:35.46
So later, when he is explaining
what he did and why he did it,
00:46:35.49\00:46:38.59
he says, "God has shown me
00:46:38.63\00:46:41.60
that I should not call
any man common or unclean."
00:46:41.63\00:46:45.13
Peter interprets the dream
not that he should eat any food
00:46:45.17\00:46:49.67
that he wants,
00:46:49.70\00:46:51.04
but that he should never
call a human being unclean.
00:46:51.07\00:46:56.14
"In truth I perceive
God shows no partiality."
00:46:56.18\00:47:00.15
This is a vision
about racial harmony.
00:47:00.18\00:47:03.85
This is a vision about
respecting men and women
00:47:03.89\00:47:07.22
as the unique creation
of God from all backgrounds,
00:47:07.26\00:47:11.49
all cultures,
all colors of skin,
00:47:11.53\00:47:14.36
all language groups.
00:47:14.40\00:47:16.10
So it has nothing to
do about what you eat,
00:47:16.13\00:47:19.80
everything to do
about how you treat people.
00:47:19.83\00:47:23.30
Because look what
Peter says, Acts 10:34, 35,
00:47:23.34\00:47:27.21
"But in every
nation whoever fears Him
00:47:27.24\00:47:30.65
and works righteousness
is accepted by Him."
00:47:30.68\00:47:33.88
It's a vision to break
down barriers between creeds,
00:47:33.92\00:47:38.29
and peoples, and races.
00:47:38.32\00:47:40.12
But somebody says,
00:47:40.16\00:47:41.49
"You know what Pastor,
this is so difficult for me.
00:47:41.52\00:47:44.53
I don't know how I
can give up tobacco
00:47:44.56\00:47:46.73
or alcohol.
00:47:46.76\00:47:48.10
I don't know how I
can give up unclean foods.
00:47:48.13\00:47:50.47
And to be honest
with you, Pastor,
00:47:50.50\00:47:52.67
sometimes my physical
desires get out of control.
00:47:52.70\00:47:56.47
Sometimes my
cravings get out of control."
00:47:56.50\00:47:59.51
Sometimes somebody says,
00:47:59.54\00:48:00.98
"Pastor, my life
isn't morally pure."
00:48:01.01\00:48:04.38
Here is the
reality of the situation.
00:48:04.41\00:48:08.65
Without Christ,
you can do nothing.
00:48:08.68\00:48:12.05
If you try to
overcome the physical cravings
00:48:12.09\00:48:14.82
of your body without Christ,
00:48:14.86\00:48:17.26
you're not going
to accomplish it,
00:48:17.29\00:48:18.63
you're gonna fail
again and again and again.
00:48:18.66\00:48:21.30
It's like Shakespeare said.
00:48:21.33\00:48:22.66
He said, "It's not
hard to quit smoking.
00:48:22.70\00:48:24.80
I've done it a 1000 times."
00:48:24.83\00:48:27.07
You see, Shakespeare
worked to try to overcome habits
00:48:27.10\00:48:31.67
of his life in his own strength.
00:48:31.71\00:48:34.58
But you can never overcome
the habits of your life,
00:48:34.61\00:48:38.11
those physical
habits in your strength.
00:48:38.15\00:48:40.52
Without Christ,
you can do nothing.
00:48:40.55\00:48:42.92
But with Christ,
all things are possible.
00:48:42.95\00:48:47.66
Look at Philippians 4:13.
00:48:47.69\00:48:51.33
Jesus, through the
Apostle Paul says to you,
00:48:51.36\00:48:54.86
"I can do all
things through Christ
00:48:54.90\00:48:57.07
who strengthens me."
00:48:57.10\00:48:58.53
What can you do through Jesus?
What can you do through Jesus?
00:48:58.57\00:49:02.17
Who is stronger,
Jesus or tobacco?
00:49:02.20\00:49:04.94
Who is stronger,
Jesus or alcohol?
00:49:04.97\00:49:07.48
Who is stronger,
Jesus or unclean foods?
00:49:07.51\00:49:10.45
Who is stronger,
00:49:10.48\00:49:12.21
Jesus or the
cravings of the flesh,
00:49:12.25\00:49:14.75
the physical desires?
00:49:14.78\00:49:16.18
Who is stronger,
Jesus or those drugs?
00:49:16.22\00:49:18.75
I can do all things through who?
00:49:18.79\00:49:22.76
Through Christ
that strengthens me.
00:49:22.79\00:49:25.33
A number of years ago
00:49:25.36\00:49:27.80
I was helping a
woman to quit smoking.
00:49:27.83\00:49:30.17
Her name was Carrel,
and I was talking to Carrel
00:49:30.20\00:49:34.74
and she had been
brought up in a Christian home.
00:49:34.77\00:49:37.51
She had been
drifting away from Christ,
00:49:37.54\00:49:39.97
and she began to smoke,
00:49:40.01\00:49:42.31
and she really wanted
to come back to Jesus.
00:49:42.34\00:49:43.95
But she said,
"Pastor, I feel so weak.
00:49:43.98\00:49:46.55
I feel just so weak, I
don't think I can ever quit."
00:49:46.58\00:49:49.98
We opened the Bible,
00:49:50.02\00:49:51.42
and I began to read to
her the promises of God,
00:49:51.45\00:49:53.76
"Without me you can do nothing,
00:49:53.79\00:49:55.46
but with Me you
can do all things."
00:49:55.49\00:49:57.46
We came to Philippians 4:13
00:49:57.49\00:50:00.30
and I opened the
Bible and I said,
00:50:00.33\00:50:01.66
"Carrel, read."
00:50:01.70\00:50:03.50
And she read, "I
can do all things
00:50:03.53\00:50:04.93
through Christ
that strengthens me."
00:50:04.97\00:50:06.37
And I said, "Carrel,
do you believe that?"
00:50:06.40\00:50:08.30
She said, "I don't know.
00:50:08.34\00:50:09.67
Pastor, I've got
to be honest with you.
00:50:09.70\00:50:11.51
I really don't know.
00:50:11.54\00:50:13.17
I don't know if
I can quit or not."
00:50:13.21\00:50:15.14
I said, "Carrel,
do you have a pen?"
00:50:15.18\00:50:16.85
She said, "Sure." I
said, "Get your pen.
00:50:16.88\00:50:18.65
I want you to write
something in your Bible.
00:50:18.68\00:50:20.45
It's really important
that you write it there."
00:50:20.48\00:50:22.58
And she said,
"Pastor, I'll write it."
00:50:22.62\00:50:24.12
And I said,
"But let me tell you.
00:50:24.15\00:50:26.05
See that text that says,
00:50:26.09\00:50:27.42
"I can do all
things through Christ
00:50:27.46\00:50:28.79
that strengthens me?"
00:50:28.82\00:50:30.16
"Yes, Pastor."
00:50:30.19\00:50:31.53
"I want you to
write in your Bible,
00:50:31.56\00:50:32.89
except quit
smoking through Jesus."
00:50:32.93\00:50:35.66
So the text is gonna read,
00:50:35.70\00:50:37.03
"I can do all
things except quit smoking
00:50:37.07\00:50:39.10
through Christ
that strengthens me."
00:50:39.13\00:50:40.47
She said, "Pastor,
00:50:40.50\00:50:41.84
I'm not writing
that in my Bible.
00:50:41.87\00:50:43.20
Pastor, I am not
writing that in my Bible."
00:50:43.24\00:50:44.91
I said, "Carrel,
do you believe it?
00:50:44.94\00:50:46.81
Do you believe what God said?
00:50:46.84\00:50:49.21
Do you believe what God
said counter to your feelings,
00:50:49.24\00:50:51.68
counter to your cravings?"
00:50:51.71\00:50:53.21
She said, "Pastor, I
claim it. Pastor, I believe it.
00:50:53.25\00:50:56.18
Pastor, yes, I sense
00:50:56.22\00:50:58.89
that I can do all
things through Christ
00:50:58.92\00:51:00.26
that strengthens me."
00:51:00.29\00:51:01.62
I said, "Get your
tobacco." She got it.
00:51:01.66\00:51:03.12
We put it on the
floor, we prayed.
00:51:03.16\00:51:04.93
And by the grace of
God, that woman came to Jesus
00:51:04.96\00:51:09.93
and she let aside
those habits of life.
00:51:09.96\00:51:13.67
You see, when you
cry out from your soul,
00:51:13.70\00:51:16.00
"Give me Jesus, give
me Jesus, give me Jesus.
00:51:16.04\00:51:19.24
Jesus, I know You
are living in my heart,
00:51:19.27\00:51:21.08
but Lord, I am trapped, I
am enslaved in this habit.
00:51:21.11\00:51:24.35
Give me, Jesus, strength.
00:51:24.38\00:51:26.08
Lord, I'm eating
unclean foods but I love You.
00:51:26.11\00:51:29.08
But Jesus, give
me Your strength.
00:51:29.12\00:51:31.19
Jesus, give me Your power."
00:51:31.22\00:51:33.15
Listen, as Celestine
sings, give me Jesus.
00:51:33.19\00:51:37.43
Now wherever you
are, open your heart
00:51:37.46\00:51:40.06
to that living Christ right now.
00:51:40.10\00:51:42.86
I could hold diamonds in my hand
00:52:04.65\00:52:12.56
Own a thousand
mansions by the sea
00:52:12.59\00:52:19.53
Write the
secrets of the universe
00:52:19.57\00:52:23.74
And endless mystery
00:52:23.77\00:52:27.54
But they could
never set my spirit free
00:52:27.58\00:52:35.02
You can have the stars
00:52:35.05\00:52:38.69
Just give me Jesus
00:52:38.72\00:52:42.72
You can rope the
moon Just give me Jesus
00:52:42.76\00:52:50.47
You take tomorrow
00:52:50.50\00:52:54.90
I will still believe
00:52:54.94\00:52:58.37
All the love He's given me
00:52:58.41\00:53:02.51
Is all I'll ever need
00:53:02.54\00:53:05.98
You can have everything
00:53:06.01\00:53:09.78
Just give me Jesus
00:53:09.82\00:53:13.22
He has moved
mountains in my heart
00:53:17.93\00:53:25.83
Calmed the storms
with whispers of His love
00:53:25.87\00:53:32.94
Now I know that I can never live
00:53:32.97\00:53:37.21
Without His tender touch
00:53:37.25\00:53:41.18
I never knew I
needed Him so much
00:53:41.22\00:53:48.29
You can have the storms
00:53:48.32\00:53:52.29
Just give me
Jesus Just give me Jesus
00:53:52.33\00:53:56.20
You can rope the moon
00:53:56.23\00:54:00.00
Just give me
Jesus Just give me Jesus
00:54:00.04\00:54:04.11
You can take tomorrow
00:54:04.14\00:54:08.51
I will still believe
00:54:08.54\00:54:11.98
All the love He's given me
00:54:12.01\00:54:16.08
Is all I'll ever need
00:54:16.12\00:54:19.72
You can have everything
00:54:19.75\00:54:23.26
Just give me Jesus
00:54:23.29\00:54:27.66
All the treasures of this earth
00:54:27.70\00:54:31.17
All the pleasures of this life
00:54:31.20\00:54:36.50
Turn to dust in the light
00:54:36.54\00:54:40.08
Of His love
00:54:40.11\00:54:44.91
You can have the storms
00:54:44.95\00:54:49.15
Just give me Jesus
00:54:49.18\00:54:52.22
You can rope the moon
00:54:52.25\00:54:55.69
Just give me Jesus
00:54:55.72\00:55:00.16
You can take tomorrow
00:55:00.20\00:55:04.63
I will still believe
00:55:04.67\00:55:07.80
All the love He's given me
00:55:07.84\00:55:12.17
Is all I'll ever need
00:55:12.21\00:55:15.61
You can have everything
00:55:15.64\00:55:20.95
Just give me Jesus
00:55:20.98\00:55:25.25
Just give me Jesus
00:55:34.56\00:55:40.77
Maybe you have been struggling,
00:55:40.80\00:55:43.91
struggling with
some habit in your life,
00:55:43.94\00:55:47.98
struggling with alcohol,
00:55:48.01\00:55:50.25
struggling with tobacco,
00:55:50.28\00:55:52.78
struggling with
some drug addiction.
00:55:52.81\00:55:57.02
Maybe you felt enslaved,
00:55:57.05\00:55:59.89
imprisoned, chained, bound,
00:55:59.92\00:56:04.63
but yet, deep within your heart,
00:56:04.66\00:56:08.70
you want to be free.
00:56:08.73\00:56:10.47
Maybe you're in a relationship
that you know is not in harmony
00:56:10.50\00:56:14.24
with God's will, and
that's been binding you.
00:56:14.27\00:56:17.24
Maybe you've
struggled again and again
00:56:17.27\00:56:19.84
with some article
of food, unclean food.
00:56:19.87\00:56:24.51
Maybe you've not considered
before that the people living
00:56:24.55\00:56:28.92
before the
second coming of Jesus
00:56:28.95\00:56:31.32
will give Jesus everything.
00:56:31.35\00:56:33.32
They'll give Jesus everything,
their mind, their body,
00:56:33.36\00:56:38.23
their emotions,
their spiritual life.
00:56:38.26\00:56:41.50
Christ does not
want part of you,
00:56:41.53\00:56:45.23
Christ wants all of you.
00:56:45.27\00:56:47.30
Would you just open
your heart to Him right now?
00:56:47.34\00:56:49.90
And say Jesus, I'm
opening my heart to You.
00:56:49.94\00:56:52.94
Will you cry out, give me Jesus.
00:56:52.97\00:56:56.04
Give me Jesus as we pray.
00:56:56.08\00:56:58.15
Father in
heaven, thank You so much
00:56:58.18\00:57:01.65
for the living Christ,
00:57:01.68\00:57:03.32
who comes with all His
power to meet our needs,
00:57:03.35\00:57:07.59
who comes to strengthen
us and break the shackles
00:57:07.62\00:57:10.69
that hold us,
00:57:10.73\00:57:12.06
as we cry out
right now, give me Jesus.
00:57:12.09\00:57:16.10
That's our prayer
in Christ's name, amen.
00:57:16.13\00:57:19.60
Thank you for joining us
00:57:19.63\00:57:21.14
for Revelation's
Ancient Discoveries.
00:57:21.17\00:57:25.01
Every single one
of these messages
00:57:25.04\00:57:27.78
will be life changing.
00:57:27.81\00:57:29.48
So stay with us.
00:57:29.51\00:57:30.85