Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: TOTE
Program Code: TOTE000020
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00:02 Can you believe it? Can you build your faith on it.
00:08 The promises of God's word are sure. They do not fail. 00:17 This book has stood the test of time. 00:29 Tonight we thank you, for the great sacrifice 00:34 that You made for us on the old rugged cross. 00:40 We ask Lord that this evening as we look at the provisions 00:46 you've made for us to be healthy, to be happy. 00:52 We pray that You will give us understanding 00:57 and give us the wisdom that we need 01:00 that we might seek Your guidance 01:04 and Your direction and give us the faith to follow. 01:09 For this we pray in Christ name. Amen. 01:21 Gordon and Donna Kline and myself 01:24 had gone over to a town. 01:29 We were looking for some material, 01:32 a material to put in some curtains in a motor home. 01:37 And we had gone to this particular store 01:40 and was looking at the material and the young lady 01:45 that was waiting on us was quite obese. 01:50 I mean, quite large and in the course 01:54 of the conversation we were talking about it and-- 01:57 and she was telling us what a problem 02:00 it was to her in being so heavy and all, 02:05 and we found it to be interesting that the comment 02:09 that she made and I think it's kind of illustrates 02:13 some of the thinking that we have today, 02:15 'cause she said that when she was in school, 02:19 she had a terrible time when it came time 02:22 for a prom or something like this 02:25 that she couldn't find a dress to fit her. 02:27 Just couldn't find one. 02:29 And--and so she said I've solved my problem. 02:33 And we said, well, how did you solve your problem? 02:35 She said, "oh, I learned to sow" 02:37 and I think that's pretty much 02:40 the concept today rather than to take a look 02:44 at what I'm doing and what's causing me 02:48 to put on the weight and say well I just learn to sow. 02:52 No, God's word make some rare things very-very clear. 02:58 I'm going to share with you some of the circumstances 03:01 and some of the things that we face today 03:04 as people in this country. 03:06 And why I've referred to this subject 03:07 as the 'Fattening of America'. 03:09 To begin with, 55% of the adult 03:14 American population is overweight. 03:20 Okay. Fifty five percent of the adult 03:26 American population is overweight today. 03:31 What does that mean? 03:32 Being overweight does that-- does that carry 03:35 any consequences or should I just simply say well, 03:39 uh, that's genetically the way I am and I--I can't help it. 03:44 What consequences does it carry? 03:47 Well, obesity is on the rise. 03:51 In the last ten years-- in the last ten years 03:56 obesity has risen 32%, in the last ten years. 04:02 So that in itself should tell you and I 04:05 that we're doing something. 04:09 We're doing something that's causing this. 04:13 I mean, there has to be a reason for this. 04:16 And so what is bringing that about. 04:19 Well, look at this. 04:21 Excess body mass is related to premature death 04:26 from all illnesses up to the age of 75. 04:33 Put it down, premature death. 04:35 How--how does that affect. 04:37 I was invited to speak to a convocation of retirees. 04:44 And I went there, walked into this room 04:46 to speak to these people and here were about 300 of them 04:51 and I looked out across the audience. 04:56 And in the entire audience of 300 people, I saw 22 men. 05:06 All the rest were women. 05:09 And there wasn't one heavy man in there among those 22. 05:15 I don't know if you're getting what I'm trying to tell you. 05:18 All the rest of them had died. 05:23 And I'm just trying to be very honest with you tonight 05:27 and face where we are. 05:29 Excess body mass is related to premature death 05:33 from all illnesses up to the age of 75. 05:38 So if you and I are carrying excess body weight, 05:43 then dear friend don't think that it is going to affect you. 05:48 Fat Tax article, 300,000 people a year 05:53 die due to weight complications. 05:56 Three hundred thousand die every year 05:59 due to weight complications which include heart disease, 06:02 diabetes, hypertension and stroke. 06:05 All that because of excess weight. 06:12 In the United States, this is by Hamer and Copeland, 06:15 Kenneth Copeland, and he's has done 06:17 tremendous amount of study and this is what he says, 06:19 "United States spends approximately $40 billion a year 06:25 on diet foods, weight-loss books and exercise videos." 06:31 Now folks if you don't understand 06:32 what I'm going to get across here is American people, 06:37 people in this country we have the greatest amount 06:42 of obesity of any country and we spend more money 06:48 on exercise equipment and on diet foods 06:51 than anybody in the world. 06:54 You talk about something that's not right, 06:58 I mean here we buy all kinds of exercise equipment. 07:02 We buy diet foods. We do all this, 07:05 and yet we are the most obese people on earth. 07:11 Why? This is what he said. 07:15 Copeland--Hamer and Copeland, 07:17 "The only thing growing faster than the national waistline 07:21 is the bottom line of the weight control industry." 07:25 It's the only thing is growing faster. 07:27 So what-- where are we 07:30 and what does this mean to you and I tonight. 07:33 Watch, look, this is what's happening folks. 07:38 I'm talking about non-communicable diseases. 07:42 Okay, these are not diseases 07:43 that are spread by communication. 07:45 They are non, what they call non-communicable diseases, 07:49 such as cancer, heart disease, 07:56 diabetes. Okay. Watch, watch and begin to understand 08:03 what's happening in this country. 08:05 This kills most of our people in this country, okay. 08:08 Watch. Non-communicable diseases killed 58% 08:15 of the world's population in 1998. 08:19 Fifty eight percent of all the people that died in 1958 08:23 died from non-communicable diseases, okay. 08:28 I'm saying worldwide. Now, look. 08:37 Eighty one percent in rich countries, 08:43 81 percent of the people that die 08:47 in rich countries die from non-communicable diseases. 08:52 That is cancer, heart disease, diabetes 08:55 and that is directly in relationship to how you eat. 09:02 That's directly in relationship to how you eat. 09:06 39.8 percent in poor and middle income countries. 09:14 So in poor and middle income countries, 09:16 far less people die from non-communicable diseases. 09:21 Why? Because they can't eat. 09:29 Okay. They're poor. 09:33 We--we can eat and so we kill ourselves with our mouth. 09:40 We need to learn what-- what God has to say about it. 09:44 Well, how do we stand what takes place because of this? 09:47 The average American male adult has 53% 09:53 more body fat than what is ideal. 09:57 The average American male adult 10:02 has 53% more body fat than is what is ideal for him, 10:10 and the women aren't much better. 10:14 The average female adult has 50% 10:18 more body fat than what is ideal. 10:22 And that's the situation that we find ourselves in today. 10:27 So what's the problem, what's causing this? 10:30 Well, let me tell you what's causing this. 10:35 High carbohydrate low fat diet. 10:41 Now, why, why for the last 15 years 10:45 has the medical community and the nutritional community 10:51 pushed a high fat--a high carbohydrate low fat diet. 10:56 Why have they pushed that? 10:57 Well, they pushed that because they felt they needed 11:01 to lower to try and do something to lower 11:05 the health care cost in this country. 11:10 They felt if they can lower the health care cost 11:14 then that would help the whole country tremendously 11:17 and so they felt that was the way to go 11:20 and so you now have what is called a food pyramid. 11:24 Have you looked at your food pyramid? 11:26 Where your food pyramid says 11:27 have high carbohydrate low fat diet. 11:31 And people have tried to follow that 11:34 and because they've been following that as a result 11:37 the weight has been going up. 11:42 That's what brought it about. 11:44 Now, what is the case? 11:47 Well, you have what is called 11:49 macro nutrients, macro nutrients. 11:54 There are three of them. 11:56 You ought to learn those three 11:58 and they have a great-great affect upon you. 12:03 Those three are simply this. 12:06 One is carbohydrates. It's one of them. 12:10 The other is, protein and the other is fat. 12:17 Those are the three macro nutrients. 12:21 Carbohydrates, protein, fat. 12:26 If you eat a high carbohydrate diet low fat diet, 12:35 what is wrong with that? 12:41 Well, you just bypass protein. 12:45 Now, folks let me just tell you a simple little fact here. 12:49 You can say all you want to deny 12:52 and you will never convince me differently, okay. 12:57 What I'm trying to tell you is God knew 13:00 what He was doing when He made you. 13:03 Okay. And when God made you, 13:06 He gave you certain things to eat, 13:09 but He gave them to you to be eaten balanced. 13:15 They have to be balanced. 13:17 And if I have anything to stress to you tonight 13:20 is you got to take these macro nutrients 13:24 and balance them and if you don't 13:26 balance them you're in trouble. 13:29 Carbohydrates. Okay, let's take a look. 13:33 Carbohydrates given to us to eat. 13:36 What are carbohydrates? 13:39 You know what carbohydrates are? 13:42 Well, bread, pasta, 13:49 okay, cake, cookies, 13:55 you ought to know it-- 13:56 can you name some other carbohydrates? 14:00 Let me name some most people don't think about. 14:03 Fruit, vegetables, 14:09 those are all carbohydrates. Okay. 14:14 So you have to balance what you're going to eat. 14:18 Your muscles, muscles in your body will store 14:22 300 to 400 grams of carbohydrates 14:24 can be stored in your muscles. 14:26 That's the most it can store, okay. 14:29 That's all you can store. 14:33 Now, I'm gonna ask you a question. 14:35 What happens if you sit down to a great big meal, 14:40 a pasta and in that meal of pasta, 14:46 you eat about 7-800 grams of carbohydrates. 14:51 All that your muscles can store is 300 to 400 grams, okay. 14:57 Your brain--your brain and that's all it uses 15:02 is glucose which is a carbohydrate that's all. 15:05 And all that your brain can use is 80 to 90 grams 15:09 of carbohydrates that's all your brain can use. 15:12 So here I've eaten 7-800 grams of carbohydrates in pasta 15:18 and my muscles have taken 3 or 400 grams, 15:21 my brain had 80 to 90, 15:24 what's going to happen to the rest of it. 15:27 It all goes to your body, all excess carbohydrates 15:32 are stored in the body as fat. That's where it goes. 15:38 You see you have a hormone in your body 15:43 that when you eat too many carbohydrates, 15:47 it raises the insulin in your body. 15:51 Insulin in your body folks lowers blood sugar, okay, 15:57 carbohydrates raise blood sugar. 15:59 So God made you, He said, 16:01 all these people have lost their cookies, 16:03 they're eating too many carbohydrates and-- 16:05 and, I've got to do something, 16:07 the Lord gave you body insulin so it lowers it, 16:10 but insulin does it double whammy on you. 16:14 Insulin says, take all those carbohydrates 16:18 and store them as fat. 16:21 And then the insulin says, don't let them out. 16:28 And that's the reason you have hard time losing weight, 16:32 because the insulin says don't let them out. 16:35 That's carbohydrates, okay. 16:39 All carbohydrates as I mentioned to you are fruits, 16:43 vegetables, grain, pasta, so forth. 16:47 All these carbohydrates have what is called a glycemic index. 16:54 Let me try to explain what a glycemic index is. 16:56 A glycemic index just means how fast 17:01 those carbohydrates enter the blood stream. 17:05 Some enter the blood stream much faster than others. 17:10 Okay. That's what glycemic index means. 17:13 And there are basically three types of carbohydrates. 17:18 One is called glucose. 17:21 Now folks, all your brain uses is glucose, that's it. 17:28 It's a glucose form, okay. 17:30 So, that's all your brain will uses glucose. 17:34 So if you eat some carbohydrates 17:37 that are glucose then that goes directly 17:40 into your blood stream, into your brain. 17:42 It enters it very-very fast 17:45 that is called a high glycemic index. 17:50 You're with me. Okay. 17:53 There are others that don't-- 17:55 that don't have as high they as glucose does 17:59 and this one is called fructose. 18:03 Why does it not have as high glycemic index as glucose, 18:07 is because your brain only uses glucose. 18:12 So when you eat fruit, it has to go to the liver 18:16 and be converted into glucose before it can go to your brain. 18:20 So it goes in the bloodstream much slower, okay. 18:25 The other type of carbohydrate is that, 18:29 that is called galactose. 18:31 That comes from milk products. 18:34 And again same thing. 18:37 Got to go to the liver, be converted 18:39 before it can go on to the brain 18:40 so it has it's lower glycemic index. 18:45 I'll give you an illustration. 18:46 I have a friend who, worked at where I lived 18:54 and so I invited him anytime he's out there to come 18:57 and stay with me, any day. 19:00 My friend is quite heavy, and I came home 19:06 and he came in a little later and as he came in 19:09 he was carrying three bags of rice cakes. 19:15 You know what I'm talking about, rice cakes in it. 19:17 And I said to him, I said, what are you doing with those? 19:21 He said, uh, he said, I'm having such a hard time 19:24 with this weight problem and he said, 19:26 I'm just going to eat rice cakes tonight. 19:28 He said that way it's high carbohydrate low fat. 19:32 And I said, you know, you would be much better off, 19:38 to take those back to the store 19:40 and buy you a half a gallon of ice-cream. 19:46 And he looked at me like I was crazy, okay. 19:50 You see the highest glycemic index there is, is rice cakes. 19:58 And, he would have been better off 19:59 to buy a half gallon of ice-cream. 20:01 We do things folk that are foolish, absolutely foolish. 20:07 And then we wonder why we struggle 20:09 with the weight problem that we have 20:11 and it's simply because we are not doing 20:14 what God laid out for us to do. Okay. 20:21 What's God's original diet? 20:23 Now, follow carefully what God gave man to eat. 20:30 Genesis 1:29, "And God said, 20:33 'See I have given you every herb that yields seed 20:37 which is on the face of all the earth 20:40 and every tree whose fruit yields seed 20:43 to you it shall be for food.'" 20:46 So when God created man, 20:48 He gave him fruits, grains, nuts. 20:52 That's what God gave man to eat. 20:56 Now, folks say whatever you want to say, 21:00 but you're not going to improve on that diet. 21:05 You're not going to improve on it. 21:07 That's what God gave for man to eat. 21:10 Now, true enough you've got to use 21:12 your head as to how you do it. 21:15 God didn't give you just carbohydrates to eat. 21:18 Or He didn't give you just grains to eat. 21:21 He gave all three of those 21:23 and God just simply says they are to be eaten. 21:26 You see fruit is carbohydrates, 21:30 but fruit has carbohydrates is also high in fiber. 21:36 Okay. Two things happen when you eat fruit. 21:39 One, it cannot go directly into your bloodstream, 21:43 it has to go to the liver and be converted 21:45 to glucose before it does. 21:46 And secondly fiber also slows down 21:50 its entrance into the bloodstream, 21:53 so the glycemic index on fruit is much lower. 21:58 Okay. God understood that, He made it that way. 22:02 So that's one reason, fresh fruits good for you. 22:05 Secondly, God gave grains. 22:10 Complex, listen to me. Complex carbohydrates. 22:16 What are complex carbohydrates? 22:19 Complex carbohydrates are such thing as oatmeal, okay. 22:26 Lentils, peas, beans. 22:34 All those are complex carbohydrates, 22:39 but they also contain protein. 22:43 If you don't believe me then when you go to the store, okay, 22:47 when you go to the store get a can of beans, 22:50 turn it over to the back and on the back it will list 22:53 how many carbohydrates are in it, 22:55 how much proteins in it and you'll see 22:58 that it has carbohydrates, 22:59 it has good amount of protein in it, okay. 23:03 So they contain both, all right. 23:07 He also gave you nuts to eat. 23:12 Nuts contain two things. 23:15 Nuts contain protein and fat. 23:20 So God just simply gave that all three of those 23:24 macro nutrients are there. 23:27 If you eat too many carbohydrates 23:30 what's going to happen? 23:33 Your blood sugar is going to go up 23:36 and your body is going to have to secrete 23:38 insulin to lower it, okay. 23:43 But if you eat protein which you need to eat, 23:48 well then that affects a hormone called glucagon 23:54 and the glucagon raises blood sugar, 23:57 so that balances the insulin and the blood sugar, okay. 24:02 Fat unbeknownst to many people fat is neutral. 24:07 It doesn't raise your blood sugar, 24:08 it doesn't lower your blood sugar. 24:10 All it does is its quite high in calories. 24:13 But you have to have some fat folks 24:16 and I can't go into all the details of that 24:19 because you have a hormone in your body 24:22 that's extremely important. 24:24 You have a whole family of hormones in your body 24:29 that are tremendously important 24:31 and much of the medical research today 24:34 that's being done is in this area 24:36 and this family of hormones is called eicosanoids. 24:41 And eicosanoids can only operate in a fatty acid base 24:47 and if you don't eat fat they won't work 24:50 and you really, I'm sorry, 24:53 some people are going to think I'm crazy, 24:55 but you can't really lose weight unless you eat fat. 25:00 So you got to have some fat. 25:02 Don't misunderstand me, I'm talking about lot, 25:05 but you got to have it balanced if it's going to work, okay. 25:09 Now folks, if you take what I've just given you 25:15 and you go home and study it, it can change your life. 25:19 Now, I'm sure that there are some of you 25:21 sitting out there they are saying well, 25:24 what about meat as a protein. 25:29 What about meat as a protein. Well, let's see. 25:34 It is a source of protein, okay. 25:37 But the scripture, the word of God has something 25:42 to say about meat and if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, 25:48 then you need to understand 25:50 what the scripture says about meat, okay. 25:54 Let's look and see what it tells you. 25:56 Leviticus 3:17. "There shall be a perpetual statute 26:01 throughout your generations in all your dwellings." 26:05 That means it goes on forever. 26:07 "You shall eat neither fat nor blood." 26:12 Number one, God says don't eat 26:16 fat or blood of an animal. 26:21 And you and I don't really need a big explanation about that. 26:24 We understand that if you eat animal fat, 26:27 it raises your what? Your cholesterol. 26:31 We understand that blood, 26:34 chances of disease are much greater. 26:36 So God just simply said, if you're gonna eat an animal, 26:39 you don't eat the fat, you don't eat the blood. 26:43 And I have some dear people say to me, 26:45 oh, Brother Cox, that was written for the Jew. 26:49 Well, let me tell you something. 26:50 The only difference I know between my stomach 26:54 and a Jewish stomach is mine might be a little bigger. 26:58 That's the only question I know, okay. 27:01 God said don't eat it 27:03 and that is simply what He meant 27:05 when He said don't eat it. All right, let's go on now. 27:09 God says there are some animals that are clean. 27:14 That means as far as scripture is concerned 27:18 they are okay to eat, okay. 27:23 And God says, there are some animals 27:25 that are not to be eaten 27:27 and the scripture calls them unclean. 27:31 They are not a very inviting list, okay. 27:34 They are unclean. Scripture says don't eat them. 27:38 And I can tell you right now dear friend, 27:41 your health will be much better off 27:44 if you listen to the Lord, okay. 27:47 Let's see what the Lord has to say about it. 27:51 Yeah, I have people like I said that say well clean 27:54 and unclean business that was given to the Jew. 27:56 No, it wasn't. It was given before the Jew existed. 28:01 You ever read about Noah. 28:05 Listen to what He says to Noah. 28:09 Genesis 7:2. "You shall take with you seven 28:14 each of every clean animal." 28:18 You were told, weren't you? 28:20 The animals went into the ark two by two. 28:23 No, they didn't. The unclean went in the ark by two's. 28:28 The clean went in the ark by seven's. 28:32 A male and his female, two each of the animals 28:36 that are unclean a male and his female. 28:39 So God just sent--made a clear distinction way back 28:43 then in the beginning that the clean were there 28:46 and the unclean there and God has never 28:49 changed that, friends, at all. 28:51 So when you go to the Book of Leviticus, 28:53 you begin to see what the scripture says. 28:55 "Also seven each of birds 28:58 of the air male and female to keep the species alive 29:02 on the face of the earth." 29:03 Okay, Leviticus, this is what it says about the animals. 29:07 "Among the animals whatever divides the hoof, 29:13 having cloven hooves and chewing the cud 29:16 that you may eat." Very simple. 29:21 An animal is clean that has divided hoof 29:26 and it has to chew the cud. 29:28 Those are the two things it has to do. 29:31 Not one or the other, but both of them, okay. 29:34 God named some of them for you. 29:37 "Nevertheless, these you shall not eat 29:40 among those that chew the cud-- 29:42 chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves. 29:45 The camel, because it chews the cud, 29:47 but does not have cloven hooves is unclean to you." 29:50 I don't see there are many people eating camels. 29:55 Have you ever looked at a camel, uh? 29:59 They are strange animals, camels are. You know, really. 30:05 You know, what they remind me of. 30:07 They remind me of a horse 30:09 that's been put together by a committee. 30:10 Is what they remind me of, okay. 30:13 But God said, don't eat them. 30:15 Leave them alone, okay. Secondly: 30:19 "The rock hyrax," that's the rock badger, 30:22 if you don't know what that is, 30:24 "because it chews the cud but does not have 30:26 cloven hooves is unclean to you. 30:28 So God says don't eat the rock badger. 30:32 The hare, that's the rabbit, okay, 30:35 because it chews the cud 30:36 but does not have cloven hooves is unclean to you 30:41 and the swine," that's the pig. 30:44 This is the one we eat Mr. Piggy 30:48 from the tail to the snout, you know, okay. 30:52 "The swine though it divides the hoof having cloven hooves 30:56 yet does not chew the cud is unclean to you. 31:02 God says, do not eat it. It's unclean. 31:11 When I became a Christian, I had a real problem here. 31:18 My problem was as I told you another night, 31:23 I belong to something called the FFA, 31:26 Future Farmers of America. 31:30 And one thing I had done is I had bought a pig, 31:35 I don't know if you know what rested Duroc-Jersey pig is, 31:39 but it's so--if you ever go to county fair 31:41 you can go look at them they are red in color, 31:43 that's what they are. 31:45 I had bought one to raise to show at the county fair 31:48 and had won the county fair with it. 31:52 My father also had one, 31:53 so we both had sows that we raise pigs from. 31:58 I got to read in God's word, you know, 32:01 I was just a young person and I was reading a scripture 32:04 and here I began to read 32:05 what it had to say about the pig in here. 32:08 And from reading that I decided 32:10 it wasn't right for me to eat it. 32:14 And then I got in a conviction 'cause I didn't know 32:16 what to do with the pig, you see. 32:19 And my father was not a Christian. 32:22 My father was violently opposed to what I did. 32:28 And I knew that if I killed that pig he'll kill me. 32:34 So I didn't know what to do with it. 32:36 A fellow offered to trade me a calf for it, 32:38 I wouldn't even do that. 32:40 I just didn't know what to do with it. 32:42 That plagued me folks, bothered me. 32:46 Finally one night, I went in the bedroom 32:50 and I shut the door and I got down on my knees 32:53 and I said, Lord, I don't know what to do with this pig. 32:58 I know that my dad would just--no telling 33:02 what he would do if I kill that pig. 33:05 And I said, I don't know what to do it. 33:07 I don't feel right about keeping it. 33:11 I don't know how to get rid of it, 33:13 so Lord I made up my mind I'm giving it to you, 33:17 it's not my pig anymore. And that's what I did. 33:23 Just gave it to Him and said it's your pig, not mine. 33:27 The next morning I went out 33:30 on the back porch picked up a slop bucket, 33:33 go out have to feed the pigs walked out there 33:36 and mine was lying in pen dead. 33:39 And dad just ran around took care of him. 33:43 What I'm trying to get across to you 33:46 is God is very clear folks He just tells you and I 33:50 we're not to eat it. Let's go on. 33:54 "Their flesh you shall not eat 33:56 and their carcasses you shall not touch. 33:58 They are unclean to you." 34:02 Okay. What about sea life. 34:06 What does the scripture say there? 34:07 God gave you two rules for an animal. 34:10 They have to divide the hoof, they have to chew the cud. 34:13 When it comes to sea life, he gives you two rules. 34:15 Let's see what they are. 34:18 "These you may eat of all that are in the water, 34:21 whatsoever in the water that has fins and scales, 34:25 these whether in the sea 34:28 or in the rivers that you may eat." 34:30 So the rule is, they've got to have fins and scales, both. 34:35 Not one or the other. They got to have both. 34:40 "But all in the sea or in the river 34:42 that do not have fins and scales, 34:45 all that move in the water or any living thing 34:48 which is in the water they are an abomination to you." 34:51 So God says, if they don't have 34:53 fins and scales, you can't eat them. 34:56 And if you look at most of them folks they're scavengers. 35:00 Okay. I have people say to me well, 35:03 why did God create the pig? 35:06 Well, very easy, for garbage disposal. 35:10 That's why He created the pig. 35:13 That's also why He created these such things 35:16 as crabs and oysters and--and, 35:19 cat fish and these thing that don't have fins and scales 35:23 'cause they're scavengers. 35:24 There's what they cleans up the bottom of the river, 35:27 in the bottom of the pond. 35:29 And God says don't eat them. 35:31 If they have fins and scales they are clean, 35:35 clean to be eaten, okay. 35:38 When we take a look and it says: 35:41 "And these you shall regard 35:42 as an abomination among the birds." 35:45 Now when it comes to the birds, God doesn't give a rule. 35:49 He just name them what you are not to eat. 35:53 Among the birds that shall not be eaten: 35:56 They are an abomination to you and he says the eagle, 35:59 the vulture, the buzzard, the kite, the cormorant, 36:02 the cuckoo, pelican, goes on and names them. 36:05 He says these are unclean. 36:07 Most of them folks are birds of prey. 36:11 That's what most of them are. 36:12 They are birds of prey and God says, don't eat them. 36:17 Okay, so that's simply when it comes to meat. 36:19 If you're going to talk about meat as a protein, 36:23 those are the things that God counsels us concerning meat. 36:29 Because you're going to use meat as a protein 36:32 then you need to follow the scripture 36:34 in junction about it and I'll just say, 36:37 when God wrote that He told you 36:41 to begin with that this His diet for you was fruits, 36:46 grains, and nuts, and later he added vegetables. 36:51 This day and age, I think you take great risk 36:57 with meat being as deceased as it is. 37:01 I think you're running great risk, okay. 37:04 So you need to be clear on what the scripture says. 37:08 And by the way, the ones that are unclean 37:13 like the camel and the pig, 37:19 and the seagull, and the mouse you know, I don't find them 37:24 served in the best restaurants. Do you? 37:28 I don't find people going in ordering roasted camel 37:32 or seagull a la King, or breaded mouse, you know. 37:38 Most of those things are things 37:40 that God says leave them alone. Don't eat them. 37:44 What does the New Testament say about it? 37:46 Well, people say well that's the Old Testament. 37:48 We don't go by the Old Testament, 37:50 we go by the New Testament. 37:51 Well, let's look at the New Testament. See what it says. 37:56 Second Corinthians 6:16. "What agreement 37:59 has the temple of God with idols? Listen carefully. 38:03 "For you are the temple of the living God." 38:07 So He makes it very clear when He says what agreement 38:09 has the temple of God with idols. 38:11 He's talking about what? Talking about you. 38:15 He's talking about your body, okay. 38:16 You are the temple of the living God. 38:20 "As God has said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them. 38:23 I will be their God and they shall be my people. 38:28 "Therefore come out come out from among them 38:30 and be separate, says the Lord. 38:32 Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you.'" 38:37 God is very clear in the New Testament. 38:40 He said, leave it alone. 38:42 Don't be touching, don't be eating what He list as unclean. 38:47 He says it's no to be. You'll say well, 38:52 "I will be a Father to you, you shall be 38:53 my son and daughter says the Lord almighty." 38:56 You say well, didn't Peter, 39:00 didn't Peter have some kind of a vision 39:01 where he cleaned it all up, uh. 39:04 Have you ever read Acts 10, where Peter had this vision 39:08 and the sheath was let down out of heaven 39:10 and in the sheath was all manner of unclean animals 39:15 and a voice said rise Peter kill and eat. 39:20 And Peter said, not so Lord, 39:23 I've never eaten anything common or unclean. 39:26 That was done three times. 39:29 And the voice said Peter 39:31 what I have cleansed don't you call common. 39:37 "But peter said, 'Not so Lord! 39:40 For I have never eaten anything common or unclean." 39:44 Peter can't figure this out folks. 39:47 He can't understand because this is direct-- 39:49 a direct contrary to the word of God. 39:53 And so it says in scripture while he is trying 39:56 to get all this put together, there's a knock at the door. 40:00 And there are some men there from Cornelius' house. 40:03 Cornelius is a Roman soldier. 40:06 He's a Centurion. He's had a dream. 40:11 And in the dream he's been told to send these men to Peter, 40:15 to get Peter from Joppa. Bring Peter back. 40:19 So he sent them there, they knock on the door, 40:22 Peter invites men, they tell him that Cornelius' had the dream 40:26 and so they spend the night with Peter 40:27 and the next day they go back, 40:30 or Peter goes with them back to Cornelius' house. 40:33 Cornelius is a Roman soldier folks. 40:36 He's a Gentile. Do you understand that? 40:40 Okay, listen. Listen to the words of Peter, 40:43 he'll tell you what the dream meant. 40:47 Acts 10:28. "Then he said to them, 40:50 'You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man 40:55 to keep company or go to one of another nation." 41:02 So you know that's out of keeping. 41:05 "But God has what? Shown me 41:08 that I should not call any man common or unclean." 41:13 God weren't trying to say Peter, it's okay to eat the pig. 41:17 He was saying Peter, you need 41:19 to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. 41:22 That's what He was telling him. 41:23 He wasn't telling unclean animals were now clean, 41:27 He was saying you need to take the Gospel to the Gentile. 41:30 Preach it to them. That's what it was about. 41:33 You see the New Testament says, First Corinthians 6:19. 41:37 "Do you not know that your body is the temple 41:41 of the Holy Spirit who is in you, 41:45 whom you have from God and you are not your own?" 41:49 So when you accept Jesus Christ, 41:52 this body of yours becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit, 41:57 that's what the scripture says. 41:58 You are not your own, 42:01 your body belongs to the Lord, it's His. 42:07 And he gives you some very good 42:08 counsel about taking care of it. 42:13 "For you were bought at a price, 42:16 therefore glorify God in your body 42:19 and in your spirit which are God's." 42:23 He said, you've been bought with a price, 42:26 glorify God in your what? In your body. 42:31 That means that I'm to keep this body 42:33 as healthy as I possibly can keep it 42:36 for the Lord, that's what it means. 42:39 "Do you not know that you are the temple of God 42:42 and that the Spirit of God what? Dwells in you. 42:47 If anyone defiles the temple of God, 42:50 God will destroy him. 42:52 For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." 42:57 And so your body, what makes your body holy? 43:04 Do you know that, what makes your body holy? 43:07 The Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit dwells within you 43:11 and because he dwells in you that's what 43:13 makes your body holy and God says, 43:15 you need to take care of it. 43:17 You need to treat it right. 43:19 You need to make sure that it's cared for as it should be. 43:23 So I am not to put in things that harm it. 43:26 And in this country we do a lot of things that harm it. 43:31 We put things in our body. 43:32 Christ would not go along with that. 43:35 Jesus is hanging on the cross. 43:38 I told you that other night about the tremendous agony 43:41 that He went through, what crucifixion was like. 43:45 They've offered to Him, they've offered Him 43:49 sour wine mingled with gall. 43:52 You know what gal is? Gall is a poison. 43:59 That's what it is. Also deadens pain. 44:04 They offered Him that, mingled gall. 44:08 "They gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink, 44:12 but when He had tasted it, He would not drink." 44:17 He wouldn't drink it. 44:19 Now dear friend, God makes it very clear 44:24 in the word that you and I are not to put things 44:27 into our body that are harmful to you. 44:30 And one of the things that we do 44:32 quite often is that of tobacco. 44:37 Tobacco is an insidious poison. 44:44 Tobacco has 27 poisons in it, 44:51 nicotine being the worst. 44:55 You and I should not harm our bodies that way. 45:03 In America, cigarettes killed-- 45:06 cigarettes killed 582,000 people in 1998. 45:12 You know, why I'm saying? 45:15 Cigarettes in 1998 folks killed over a half a million people 45:22 in the United States, half a million people. 45:30 If we had a half a million people dying from some disease, 45:34 we would call that an epidemic and yet we go 45:37 right around here and we manufacture them 45:40 and we pass them out to the children 45:41 so they can get hooked on them. 45:44 And we think that's all right. 45:50 Surgeon General's warning. 45:53 Smoking by pregnant women may result in fetal injury, 45:58 premature birth and low birth weight. 46:06 Boy you talk about water down. That is really water down. 46:12 It shouldn't say that, it should say this will kill you. 46:17 That's what it needs to say, this will kill you. 46:20 No questions about it. 46:24 God doesn't expect us, He doesn't want us 46:28 to use something that is poisonous 46:31 or harmful to our body. It's very clear on that. 46:35 Cigarette smoking, what does it do? 46:39 It contributes to strokes. 46:43 Secondly, emphysema. Heart disease. 46:49 I'm just telling you what cigarettes do. 46:52 You talk about them being good for you. 46:56 Various forms of cancer. 47:00 All that in smoking. Poor circulation. 47:07 Premature births. 47:11 All that happens by smoking, 47:14 Shortness of breath. 47:17 Now, dear friends, the Lord came 47:21 to help you in that respect. 47:24 He came to give you life 47:26 and give it to you much happier. 47:31 We take hundreds, hundreds, and hundreds, 47:35 and hundreds of people off of tobacco every year. 47:40 Every meeting we hold, we take people off of tobacco. 47:44 And starting Friday night right here, 47:48 we will be conducting a program if you want to quit it, 47:52 we'll be glad to help you and I'll just tell you this, 47:54 if you do what we tell you to do for five days, 47:58 you'll be off completely and feeling good. 48:01 I promise that. So we'll talk more about that. 48:05 Something else that we're faced with, 48:09 some things that we do that the Bible says, 48:12 this is what wise people do. 48:15 "Wise people's lives get better and better. 48:19 They avoid whatever would cause their death." 48:24 Wise people do that. 48:26 Their lives get better and better because they avoid 48:28 what would cause their death, okay. 48:32 The other thing is that of alcohol. 48:38 Folks, you can give me all the excuses in the world 48:44 for using alcohol 48:47 and I'll tell you that you are ill-informed. 48:54 You're ill-informed. I'm--I will say this. 48:59 I'm glad that one of the candidates 49:02 that's running for the President of United States 49:05 had enough sense to say, I will not drink. 49:12 I'm at least glad that one does because there's no way. 49:18 All you got to do is take a walk with me 49:20 in the certain sector of the town 49:21 and I'll show you what alcohol does to people. 49:26 Ephesians 5:18. 49:28 "Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, 49:33 but be filled with the Spirit." 49:39 "Do you not know that the unrighteous 49:41 will not inherit the kingdom of God? 49:44 Do not be deceived neither fornicators, 49:48 nor idolaters, nor adulterers, 49:49 nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 49:53 nor thieve, nor covetous, nor what? 49:56 Drunkards, nor revilers, 49:58 nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." 50:02 Scripture is very-very clear on that, 50:06 but I cannot use that kind of thing 50:09 and make it into the kingdom of heaven. 50:11 Proverbs, listen. Proverbs 23:31. 50:15 "Do not look at wine when it is red, 50:18 when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly, 50:22 at last it bites like a serpent and stings like a viper." 50:28 God says, don't use it when it is intoxicating. 50:32 That's what that text is saying. 50:33 When it moves itself God says, don't use it. 50:38 Proverbs 20:1. 50:40 "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler 50:44 and whoever is led astray by it is not wise." 50:50 I mean the scripture is crystal clear on this question, folks. 50:55 Alcohol is estimated 50:57 to cause the United States economy $86 what? 51:02 $86 billion a year outstripping. 51:06 now listen folks, 51:07 outstripping illegal drugs by $30 billion. 51:14 And you hear the country talk about doing something 51:17 about the drugs and that needs to be done, 51:20 don't misunderstand me, but they don't want to say 51:22 anything about the alcohol. 51:27 This is the problem that we face. 51:30 The Bible says that you and I are to abstain from it. 51:36 That means leave it alone. 51:39 It won't help you, it doesn't make you healthy, 51:42 it doesn't make you happy, 51:43 it does not contribute to your life. 51:48 This doesn't do that. 51:51 Alcohol is responsible 51:52 for roughly 10% of all U.S. deaths. 51:59 Ten percent of every person that dies in the United States 52:04 is the result of alcohol. 52:08 What does the Lord want to do for you? 52:10 This is what He wants to do for you. 52:13 "The thief does not come except to steal 52:17 and to kill and destroy." Okay. 52:21 "I have come that they may have life 52:25 and that they might have it more abundantly." 52:28 You want to be happy, you want to be healthy, 52:32 you want to enjoy life. 52:35 Well, then dear friends, listen carefully what God says 52:39 about what you're to eat. 52:43 Balance, as the scripture give it balance what you eat. 52:48 Leave the tobacco, 52:52 the alcohol, the drugs alone. 52:58 Dear friend, let me tell you something, 53:00 if you do that, you'll find your health will increase immensely. 53:05 You'll find yourself happy. 53:08 You'll find that the whole thing will change 53:11 and God will simply come in 53:14 and touch your life in a very special way. 53:17 Listen as Maddy sings, 'He touched me'. 53:22 Shackled by a heavy burden 53:33 Neath a load of guilt and shame 53:43 Then the hand of Jesus touched me 53:53 And now I am no longer the same 54:06 Three questions I want you to look at me. 54:12 First question says, 54:14 I understand what scripture teaches about unclean meats. 54:18 I've shared with you. 54:20 The scripture is very clear on what's clean and unclean. 54:24 If you understand that tonight, put a check by number one. 54:29 Let me--let me take just a moment 54:32 to explain something to you. 54:34 Folks, what I'm telling you tonight 54:37 God--or principles that God gave to help you be healthy. 54:42 Salvation doesn't come this way. 54:45 You can't eat your way into heaven, 54:47 I hope you understand that. Okay. 54:51 But if you want to be healthy, you want to be happy. 54:54 If you want to follow what God says, 54:56 then follow it. 54:58 So if you understand what it teaches about unclean meats, 55:01 put a check by number one. 55:03 Second questions says, I need help with chemical dependency. 55:08 If you need help with chemical dependency 55:10 then put a check by number two. 55:13 Third question, I'd like to accept Christ as my Savior. 55:20 You may do some of these things by willpower, 55:25 but I'll tell you, it's a thousand times easier 55:31 if you give your heart to the Lord 55:33 and let the Holy Spirit work in your life. 55:35 So tonight if you don't know Christ as your Savior, 55:38 I'd like to invite you to accept Jesus Christ 55:41 as your personal Savior. 55:43 He touched me 55:47 Oh He touched me 55:54 And all that joy that floods my soul 56:07 Something happened and now I know 56:21 He touched me and made me whole 56:35 Let's bow our heads for word of prayer. 56:37 Heavenly Father, we thank you that not only do You love us, 56:44 not only do You provide salvation for us, 56:48 but You've give in ways in which we can be healthy, 56:51 we can be happy, we can enjoy this life. 56:54 I pray that You'll bless each one here, 56:57 and may they find in Christ constant help. 57:03 To obtain a copy of this program or for more information, 57:06 please write to Kenneth Cox Ministries 57:08 PO Box 1027 Loma Linda, CA 92354 57:13 Again Kenneth Cox Ministries 57:15 PO Box 1027 Loma Linda, CA 92354 57:21 In North America you can call 57:22 toll free at 888-747-1844 57:26 Or internationally call 909-790-2770 |
Revised 2014-12-17