Stewardship of Physical Health: Part 1

Introduction: The Christian and Stewardship of Physical Health

0:02 The following message was delivered on Sunday morning, August 4th, 2002, in the Adult Sunday School class at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:16 God willing, this morning and then next Lord's Day morning in the adult class, we will be addressing this subject, wrestling together with this very practical subject, the Christian and the stewardship of his physical health. And I've arranged the material under four major headings. And I urge you not to try to scribble down notes. The headings that I give you are typical Martinized headings.

0:43 They're full of words and they are lengthy. And I would rather to have your full mental concentration and visual contact. Again, hopefully, I'm going to dictate the headings and the major text to Ann Rimbach throughout the week. And with some handouts that we'll be giving.

1:01 And I'll give you next week six different articles that I've collected over the past several years on the whole matter of physical fitness and diet and exercise, etc. We'll hand out an outline that will help you to retain, I trust, and refer back to the main headings and to the main text that we have covered. So, God willing, between now and next Lord's Day morning and the conclusion of the class, we will consider this. It's a very vital subject under four major headings.

Heading 1: An Emphatic Disclaimer and Sober Warning Against Body Worship

1:35 Heading number one is what I'm calling an emphatic disclaimer and a sober warning. An emphatic disclaimer and a sober warning. Now, a disclaimer, to disclaim, according to our dictionaries, is to give up or to renounce any claim to or connection with something. And so I want to make.

2:01 A disclaimer. On the very outset of this study, and the disclaimer is this. The concerns of these two lessons, that is, the lessons on the Christian in relationship to his physical health, are not, are not, underlined in red, highlighted in orange highlighter, felt marker. These lessons are not in any way an outgrowth of, or a capitulation to, the growing cult of body worship,

2:37 which in turn is a clear manifestation of our increasingly paganized society and culture. As surely as body markings and body piercings are a manifestation of a return to pagan culture, so likewise the cult of body worship, is a manifestation of that slide into a pagan culture. I have lived long enough to witness in the last 25 to 30 years, a plethora of magazines such as Men's Health, Women's Health,

3:19 the proliferation of health clubs, and fat burning supplements, and physical fitness gadgets and contraptions, constantly being advertised, in the infomercials on TV, books and videos, and how to attain and maintain the body beautiful. I can't get my papers on Monday without being smacked with articles advertising this and that medical center that will give you the body beautiful. Men can have their fat handles removed with liposuction and excessive fat tissue in their chest so they have nice, well-chiseled pecs. And women can have breast enlargement and all of the rest.

4:04 The evidence is out there for anyone to see that our increasingly pagan society is manifesting its paganism by this cult of body worship. Many of us grew up and never heard the word anorexia or bulimia. More technically, anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Anorexia.

4:29 Girls getting so obsessed with thinness, and men, that they starve themselves and never get thin enough. Or they binge and purge. Some of us grew up and never heard the words, let alone met a real live anorexic or bulimic. But it's epidemic proportions now.

4:49 Why? Because of the growing cult of body worship that is an undeniable manifestation of a return, to paganism. We are witnessing a horrible manifestation of the truth of Romans 1.25.

5:06 When they no longer worship the God revealed in creation and special revelation and in the theater of their own conscience, they worship and serve the creature more than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. And I want to make this disclaimer at the outset. My concern, and the concern of you, and of your elders to address the subject of the Christian and his physical health, or the stewardship of the care of his body, is not, in any way, an outgrowth of, or a capitulation to, this growing cult of body worship in our own society.

5:51 Now, surely as these two lessons are not an outgrowth of or a capitulation to this modern pagan cult of But in worship, now I want to give a warning. And the warning is this. Don't take what is considered this morning and God willing next Lord's Day morning and run off into a form of joining the cult of body worship. Nothing would grieve me more or your elders more if someone sitting here this morning whose conscience will be enlightened in these studies that you have been sinfully neglecting the stewardship of the care of your body.

6:35 And arrows of conviction will find their mark in your heart. And there will be deep and real repentance. Oh God, forgive me. I've sinned in not being concerned about the stewardship of my body.

6:49 Nothing would grieve us more than for you then to swing from indifference and carelessness about the care of your body. All. All the way in to a wretched form of body worship. I don't know who said it to me, but I've quoted it many times to my fellow elders and to other Christians.

7:09 Early in my Christian life, someone said these two things to me have been a great help to me. They said, my brother, never forget, if the devil can't keep you climbing the hill of any truth, he'll push you down the other side of it. And if he can't freeze you out, he'll burn you up. Now I hope.

7:30 It will be a help to you. Some of you have been standing down at the bottom of the hill of the biblical revelation with respect to a responsible care of your body. And in trying to get you to climb the hill, once you start climbing up that hill, the devil will be plotting how to push you down the other side and have wreckage at the bottom of the hill. Some of you have been utterly indifferent to the biblical teaching concerning the stewardship of your body.

7:58 The devil has frozen you out.

8:01 You're going to have. The heat of God's word come into your conscience and into your heart, into your understanding. The devil's right there to take the bellows and blow on it and burn you up with it and consume you with body worship. So at the very outset, I want to make a disclaimer and I want to give a warning.

8:20 All right. You kids hearing me? You hearing me with three ears? Sometimes I ask you that at the door.

8:26 When I said something that has peculiar relevance, I said, did you hear me with three ears this morning? And that usually gets the two ears. Listening to me, what do you mean three ears? I say, well, at least you're listening to my question.

8:38 And I hope you listen to the message the same way. There's the disclaimer and there's the warning. That's Roman numeral one. All right.

Heading 2: The Larger Biblical and Theological Context (The Six Strands)

8:46 Roman numeral two and three will form the bulk of our study this morning and God willing, next Lord's Day morning. As I take up the next two headings, I want to do so under the analogy of a string of pearls. And the string that goes through. Through the pearls is comprised of six strands.

9:08 You know, that string sometimes you tie up a package with will have three or four strands and the ends will get frayed if you don't knock them off. Well, I want you to think in terms of a string that has six strands to it and the seven pearls have a hole through them. And this string goes through those seven pearls. Those seven pearls are seven basic biblical texts that we're going to study.

9:33 God willing, next Lord's Day. That I believe every Christian ought to memorize. Every Christian ought to internalize until he cannot think of his body without thinking of those texts. And that those texts regulate his sense of the stewardship of the care of his body or his concerns about physical health and well-being.

9:57 But those seven pearls are not hung out there on a sky hook. They come to us in the scriptures hung together by this six-stranded string of biblical and theological perspectives. At the end of the day, there is no issue that is not theological. That is, we must think of that issue in terms of God, His revelation, our relationship to Him.

10:29 And so this morning, I want to set before you in the time that remains. What I'm calling, this is Roman numeral two. I gave you the disclaimer and the warning. Roman numeral one.

10:40 Roman numeral two. The larger biblical and theological context in any responsible consideration of the Christian stewardship of the care of his body. More briefly stated, the string on which the pearls hang. All right?

10:59 That's Roman numeral two. And we're going to look at six strands. All right? Here is strand number one.

Strand 1: Physical Decay is Woven into Human Existence Due to the Fall

11:07 And I cannot emphasize how critical these things are. I've lived long enough to see Christians go off the rails in this matter of the stewardship of their physical health because they either did not understand nor perhaps did not hold to one or more of these strands of biblical truth. Here's the first. As a result of the fall, physical abnormality.

11:34 Liabilities, degenerative diseases and various illnesses and death itself are woven into the fabric of human existence and will remain until the coming of the Lord Jesus and the redemption of the body. You've got to get hold of that and hold it in a death grip. As a result of the fall, physical abnormality.

12:05 Normalities and liabilities, degenerative diseases and various illnesses and death itself are woven into the fabric of human existence and will remain until the return of Christ and the redemption of the body. Remember Genesis 3, 19b. God says to Adam, subsequent to the fall, Dust you are. And to dust you shall return.

12:41 Therefore, our bodies, even as believers in their present state, will, in their most healthy condition, still remain what the Bible calls them in Philippians 3 and verse 21. The old King James rendering is not good. Who shall change our vile bodies? No, our bodies are not vile in the present.

13:06 Sense of the use of that word. Who shall change the body of our humiliation? The old 1901 renders it. The NIV renders it in more contemporary language, our lowly bodies.

13:23 Until Christ comes and fashions our bodies like unto the body of his glory, in our most healthy state, it is still a body of humiliation. A lowly body, a body which, according to 2 Corinthians 5, 2 and Romans 8, 23, will make us groan and long for resurrection glory. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, 2, We that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, longing to be clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven. And Paul says in Romans 8, 23, Likewise,

14:06 We also groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, that is, the redemption of our bodies. I say this because a Christian ought immediately to have all his caution lights blinking when someone comes along and says, I have the key to perfect health. You've got the gurus who say, all the potential for perfect health is in you. You've just...

14:37 You've just got to get it released.

14:40 You heard that kind of nonsense? God never intended for us to be sick. And all sickness and degenerative diseases are because we are somehow blocking the potential for perfect health that is within us. Others say it's out there in the right combination of herbs.

14:58 Now this is not Dr. DeLisi's position. But I've heard some chiropractors say it's all between here and here. Get rid of all the subluxations in your spine.

15:08 And you will release the nerve energy and have perfect health. That is sheer heresy, nonsense, garbage. And I don't care how many gurus are let loose on Channel 13 with big bushy beards.

15:24 And all the books. A child of God should say no. Until the resurrection.

15:33 Physical disabilities. Degenerative diseases. Sickness and death itself are part. Of the fabric of human experience.

Strand 2: Body Care is Subservient to Soul Care and the Kingdom of God

15:45 Get that strand deeply embedded in your soul. All right? Strand number two. Our concern for and care of our bodies must always, must always be subservient to the greater concerns of our souls and of the kingdom of God.

16:11 Let me give you strand number... Our concern and care of our bodies must always, without exception, be subservient to the greater concerns of our souls and of the kingdom of God.

16:27 Now in setting body and soul against one another, I am not infected with platonic dualism and I resent anyone thinking that about me. I'm simply trying to express what the Bible teaches. Matthew 10, 28. Jesus said, Do not be afraid of those.

16:43 Who kill the body, but rather be afraid of him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Don't be afraid of those diseases that can debilitate. Don't be afraid of those afflictions that can make life miserable. Let your greater fear be the state of your soul and its condition before God and its destiny.

17:13 Or second. Second Corinthians 4, 17 and 18. Paul said, Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not on the things that are seen, but on the things that are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal.

17:31 He calls all of the physical afflictions he bore light affliction. And he says in the setting of that, While the outward man is decaying, the inward man is being...

17:43 being renewed day by day. Outward man, inward man. What is to be our primary concern? The outward man?

17:52 Or the inner man? Scripture says it's the inner man. Or take Matthew 6, 25 and following. Jesus said, Don't be anxious for your body, what you shall eat, what you'll drink, what clothes you'll wear.

18:05 Your great concern should not be with these external temporal things. And it concludes in verse 33, Seek first, the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. And then the text will come back to God willing next week as one of the pearls. First Timothy 4, 7b and 8.

18:26 Timothy, exercise yourself unto godliness for bodily exercise is profitable for a little. And it's unclear whether the little is time, space wise, or little in comparison to something greater. But, bodily exercise is profitable for a little. That's one of the most positive statements about a Christian's view of bodily exercise.

18:52 It is profitable for a little. But, Paul says, godliness is profitable having promise not only of this life, but of the life which is to come. Comparatively, godliness is more profitable. So you see, the primary concern of the Christian must always be the state of his soul and the greater, the greater concerns of the kingdom of God.

19:17 This is why a Christian justifies martyrdom. He is willing to have his body sacrificed, immolated, beaten, starved, rather than sell his soul by denying Christ. This is why the scripture tells us of a man like Epaphroditus in Philippians chapter 2. One of those men who was like-minded with Paul.

19:48 He says for the cause of the gospel he hazarded his life. He was reckless about his physical well-being for the sake of the gospel. There's a place for being reckless with my body for the sake of the gospel. For the sake of the gospel.

20:05 There's a place for being willing to submit to radical surgery that removes an organ. Why? That one might live to serve in the work of the gospel. So our concern, for and care of our bodies, must always be subservient to the greater concerns of our souls and of the kingdom of God.

Strand 3: A Long and Healthy Life is Desired for Fruitfulness for God

20:29 Beware of any teaching which holds out physical health itself as the greatest good. It isn't. Third strand that holds our biblical pearls together is this. A long and healthy life is to be desired and sought.

20:51 When it is desired and sought for the sake of fruitfulness for God, a long and healthy life is to be desired and sought. When it is desired and sought for the sake of fruitfulness for God. And here, I'm not just going to quote the passage, as you've all been very attentive, and I've been quoting passage after passage, passage. I want you to get it through your eye gate. Two key passages. Philippians chapter 1.

21:27 This is the spirit of the apostle. He has no grandchildren who want to have a grandpa to play ball with, go fishing with, watch the stars together. He has no wife who will stand grieving by his casket. Paul had very few things that many of us have that would make it natural for us to want to stay on and live a bit longer. And this intensified his sense of eagerness to

21:58 depart and to be with Christ. And he tells us this in verse 20 of Philippians chapter 1, verse 21. To me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if to live in the flesh, if this should bring fruit from my work, then what I shall choose, I do not know. But I'm in a strait between the two,

22:17 having the desire to depart and to be with Christ. It's very far better. Yet, yet, to abide in the flesh is more needful for your sake. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide, yes, and abide with you all for your progress and joy in the faith. You see what the apostle is saying? In the inner man, my greatest desire is to see

22:44 Christ face to face and be with him, be done with all of the inconveniences and all of the hassle that I continue to experience. He's writing this from a prison. And he's in prison, not because he mugged anybody, not because he was guilty of corporate fraud, just because he preached Jesus and loved people enough to tell them the truth about their need of the Son of God. But he said, I'm willing to stay on and take all this hassle for what end? That I might be fruitful in the lives of others.

23:14 So that's why I frame this third strand with this language. A long and healthy life is to be desired and sought after. It is desired and sought for the sake of fruitfulness for God. Now, the second passage I want you to look at with me is Psalm 92. Psalm 92, where this principle is clearly articulated

23:35 by the psalmist. Verse 12, the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon, the stately cedar, the fruitful palm tree. They are planted in the house of God. They are planted in the house of God. They are planted in the house of God.

23:53 They shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age. They shall be full of sap and green to show that the Lord is upright. He is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him. Here the psalmist holds out the prospect of a lengthy and a healthy life

24:23 to what end? Fruitfulness for God. Not to grow dry and brittle and sour and lemony, but to be full of sap and green. To have, as it were, the freshness of youth percolating through the wrinkles and the arthritic joints of old age. The people will look and say a life of godliness is a

24:48 wonderful thing. To show that all of God's promises of his blessing, they're real. They're true. Look at that woman. Look at that man. Even in old age, they're not all wrapped up

25:00 in themselves. They have something more to talk about than their latest ache, their latest pain, and how life has done them in. They're praising God. They're finding people with need. They're

25:10 involved in others. They're full of fruitfulness. Now, you've got to get hold of that strand, that a long and healthy life is to be desired and responsibly sought, if it is desired and sought, for the sake of fruitfulness for God. That's why the scripture says in Proverbs 17, 6, the hoary head, the gray head, is a crown of glory if it is found in the way of righteousness.

25:40 And we need old, wise, respected, and seasoned saints full of sap and green to be beacons to the rising generation. And to seek that is righteous and godly and biblical. And therefore, to use every means to attain that is righteous and godly and biblical. To fail to use those means and yet to expect that end is wretched presumption, expecting God to give that end while we are indifferent to the means. Now, the passion for

26:20 a long life in our society, for the most part, is utterly self-centered and self-serving. People want early retirement. And longevity. And they want government-funded spare parts so they can live long to indulge themselves. It's not the passion to live long to serve and to be useful. It's the passion to live

26:45 long simply because you only go around in life once and you want to grab as much gusto for as long as you can. The Christian has no sympathy with that. Deuteronomy 4, 9 says, you shall teach them to your children. And to your children's children. It's right for me to say, Lord, I want a long and fruitful

27:04 life that my grandchildren will remember a grandpa who taught them the ways of God. That's a noble and godly ambition. All right? Strand number four. I'm going to look at the clock

Strand 4: Poor Health May Be Due to God's Unexplained Sovereignty

27:16 here. I say, Lord, help me not to preach myself out of a voice. I had a watch here somewhere. I've got a clock. Okay, it's ten after. We've got to pick up speed. All right? Strand number

27:29 four. Poor health. Chronic physical ailments and premature death may be the result of an unexplained exercise of the absolute sovereignty of God. Poor health, chronic physical ailments and even premature death may be the result of an unexplained exercise of the absolute sovereignty of God. Let me give you a couple of

28:04 examples. John chapter 9. Jesus, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? He says, you only got two alternatives. You're dead wrong. It was an exercise of absolute sovereignty

28:23 against the day when my glory and power would be manifested in this physical abnormality. Lastly, Lazarus in John chapter 11. Premature death by one of whom it says Jesus loved Lazarus. Lazarus is dead. Yes, Lazarus is dead. And until Jesus raises him from the dead, it's a premature

28:51 death that comes to Lazarus as an unexplained manifestation of the absolute sovereignty of God. And then when Jesus raises him, the divine purpose then becomes clear. But he doesn't. He doesn't always make the purpose clear in this life. Exodus 4 in verse 11, a key text in thinking

29:14 biblically about this matter of physical health and the stewardship of our bodies. Exodus 4 in verse 11, when Moses is complaining that he had some kind of a lisp or something, he says, I can't speak well. I don't know whether it was a lisp. I don't know what it was. But he says, I can't be

29:34 the speaker you want me to be. And what does the Lord say to him? The Lord said unto him, Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes a man dumb or deaf or seeing or blind?

29:47 Is it not I, the Lord? God says, I take full responsibility to exercise my sovereignty with respect to specific physical maladies and limitations. And a Christian has got to think in that category of God's absolute prerogative. To do this. You see, we read the book of Job and we know the whole story. Job never did. All of this

30:17 affliction that came upon him. Job never knew the story like we do. The whole cosmic warfare going on out of sight between God and Satan. All Job knows is he loses all his kids, all his goods, all his stuff, and he's sitting on a pile of ashes scraping boils because God is absolutely sovereign in that cosmic warfare.

30:41 Accomplishing designs often hidden from our sight. So in taking up the subject of the Christian and the stewardship of his physical health, for those of you that take these articles, every one of them responsible, medically sound articles, and beginning to implement them in a new way, it's no nickel in the slot automatic assurance that for those of you who right now have physical maladies that have a direct connection. As far as medical knowledge would connect the two, between your present maladies and your lack of concern about the

31:21 stewardship of your body, it's not automatic that if you begin to exercise the stewardship, you're going to move from ill health to good health. God is still on his throne and he'll never relinquish his right to be God. Not to your treadmill or mine. Not to your weight machine or mine. Not to your carefully fat, limited,

31:44 intake, diet, to bring your cholesterol down and all the rest. God is still God and he'll remain God. And you and I need to remember that. All right, strand number five. Poor health, chronic physical ailments, and even premature death may be the result of divine chastisement for sin or a divine restraint from sin.

Strand 5: Poor Health May Be Divine Chastisement or Restraint from Sin

32:13 Poor health, chronic physical ailments, and even premature death. Poor health, chronic physical ailments, and even premature death may be the result of divine chastisement for sin or a divine restraint from sin. Two passages. The first one, 1 Corinthians 11. Paul has been dealing with some of the sinful irregularities in the church at Corinth. And as he addresses those irregularities, calling them to repentance, notice what he says.

32:49 Verse 30, For this cause, and in the context, it is the cause of people who are profaning the Lord's table, coming to it drunk, insensitive to its significance, not discerning the significance of the bread and of the fruit of the vine, set apart for that ordinance. He says he who eats and drinks in this way, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he discerned not the body for this cause. Many among you are weak and sickly and not a few sleep. But if we discerned or judged ourselves, we should not be judged.

33:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. A passage could not more clearly state the fact that some sickness, some chronic physical weaknesses, and even premature death are God's chastisement for sin in the life of a believer. On the other hand, we turn to 2 Corinthians, and we find that a chronic physical affliction that left the Apostle Paul so weak, that he said, no way I can go on and fulfill my ministry. God, you've got to take it away.

34:09 And he said, three times I sought the Lord to take this thing away. Probably in ten seasons. A prayer joined to fasting. It doesn't say it.

34:17 All it says is, for this cause, I sought the Lord thrice for this thing. It was whatever this thorn in the flesh was, it was a thorn in his flesh. And it made him consciously, physically weak.

34:34 And God says, now Paul, you think that this physical malady is inconsistent with your usefulness. I know better. I know it's essential for your usefulness. And God tells him the purpose.

34:46 He said, I've given you this. Lest in the light of all of your special privileges, the abundance of the revelations I've given to you, you'd have too high a pin of yourself. Paul, my spirit will not rest in power upon a proud man, but it can rest in power upon a humble, physically weak man, and so clothe him with my strength, that he'll be a walking manifestation of the truth, that my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect, not replacing weakness, but the text says, if you look at it, my strength is made perfect in the midst of weakness.

35:20 You look at Paul and see weakness. How in the world does this guy do what he does? Look at him. Bent over.

35:29 Coughing up blood. You can hear his creaky joints from all the beatings and all of the shipwreck and all of the rest. He said, only one explanation for that guy. The power of God has literally intended itself around him.

35:45 And that's the language in the original.

35:49 Godly, therefore, he says, I will glory in my weakness, in my afflictions, that the power of Christ may intend itself around me. You see why I get so distressed when these health, wealth, and prosperity gurus parade their stuff and talk as though any Christian who gets lined up with the word of God in a life of faith will just be bouncing around like he's doing, you know, swallowing a handful of amphetamines, morning, noon, and night. You look at Paul and you'd say, man, oh man, what a wreck.

36:29 And some of the detractors of Paul picked up and they said, his physical presence is unimpressive. His bodily presence. Oh, he writes these hot shot bold letters. But you should see him.

36:40 You're nothing to look at. Impressive.

36:45 You young people especially, don't buy this nonsense. Whatever these texts that we're going to look at, God willing, next week, say about I will, that you be in health and prosper, even as your soul prospers. When we look at such texts as glorify God in your body, which is his, whatever that means, never exclude this fifth strand, that poor health, physical ailments, chronic debilitating diseases, may be not only the result of chastisement for sin, but a divine restraint from sin. And then my sixth strand is this, or the Bible's sixth,

Strand 6: Poor Health May Be the Result of Sinful Carelessness

37:27 poor health, chronic physical ailments, and premature death along with all of the consequences may be, may be the direct result of sinful carelessness with respect to the stewardship of the care of our bodies. You see, there's the clincher. That's the clincher. All the other strands are not canceled.

38:00 This is woven in as strand number six, and I want to give it to you again. Poor health, chronic physical ailments, along with their negative consequences, may be the direct results of sinful carelessness with respect to the stewardship of the care of one's body. Text, all right, Galatians 6. 7 and 8.

38:33 Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.

38:45 You sow indifference, carelessness, a cavalier attitude about what you eat, how much you eat, what the scales tell you, indifference to your cholesterol levels, indifference to your cardiovascular system, and you have chronic ailments, it may well be a direct result of your sinful carelessness concerning the stewardship of your body. Now, don't anyone go out and say, well, my chronic illness, Pastor, said it's the result. I didn't say it. Remember, the other strands are all in place.

39:20 This is strand number six. Fits in very neatly and comfortably with the other five, but the other five are incomplete without this. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. I shall never forget.

39:33 And I'm sure, Gene, you don't mind me telling this illustration because dear Jake reminded me of it. A number of years ago, dear Jake Vanderweel, for many of you don't know, he was the brother whose labors were significant in what you sit in every Lord's Day and all those lovely handcrafted oak rails. Jake crafted those. They were all custom made, even the little plugs that were put in there.

40:00 And Jake had had a habit, an addictive, a tobacco habit for years. And he reminded me of this on his deathbed. I had forgotten it. He one time offered to take me as my chauffeur to a conference.

40:14 And on the way home, he told me that in the car, he said, Pastor, do you mind if I have a smoke? And he said, you said to me, no, Jake, I don't mind if you have a smoke. However, I hope I don't have to stand by your bedside in a hospital when you're dying of lung cancer.

40:33 He reminded me of those. Words when I stood by his bedside in a hospital while he was dying of lung cancer. What so ever a man so that surely also great. And as I see a many of you baby boomers coming up into that stage in life, when metabolism changes, when you feel you've paid your dues in this or that area, and the idea of undertaking.

41:06 No. New and intensive disciplines about what you put in your mouth, what you do with your body, what you don't do with your body. I don't know how long I'm going to be around, but I fear that some of you are setting yourselves up for serious chronic, if not death bringing illnesses because of a sinful carelessness with respect to the stewardship of the care of your body. You precious young people being brought up in a society with body worship.

41:47 I fear that some of you will succumb to the skinny mentality. Some of you young ladies become anorexics and bulimics. That some of you men will get so absorbed with having a six pack. You know, that's the term when your abs are so well defined, you can see the three sets of them to the left and to the right.

42:10 That's the term. Boy, he's got a nice. Six pack. You get so absorbed in that you'll sell your soul pumping iron and doing a thousand sit ups a day.

42:24 This stuff has got to get into your system in a biblically balanced, thoroughly spirit controlled perspective. Poor health, chronic physical ailments and premature death may be the direct results of sinful carelessness with respect to the stewardship of the care of one's body. And this is why I've given myself to sitting for hours at my desk pleading with God, Lord, help me to think biblically. Help me to guide the consciences of your people in such a way

43:04 that we may have a thoroughly biblical perspective on this critical issue. And that we may, as in so many other areas, you have shown yourself a people ready to be obedient to the word of God, that some of you would look back on these two, two lessons and say, it was a turning point in my life. And it may, for some of you, add ten years to your life. That you might be fruitful for more years.

43:31 That you might have more energy to serve in those years. That you might be a good example to the rising generation. That your kids will be able to say, hey, look at my mom and dad. They haven't let themselves go to pot.

43:49 Look at my grandpa. He keeps him. He keeps himself in shape. He can go out and play ball with us.

43:55 And grandma can keep up with us, teaching us this and teaching us that. Dear people, that's a noble, noble ambition to be alive, long, and well. That you might serve. That you might be a good example.

Addressing Objections and Concluding Exhortation

44:10 Now, I'd be very surprised if there aren't some, maybe only a few, that you see I'm a sinner too. And I know what it's like when the Holy Ghost begins to shed light on you. And God's light is usually like a laser. And it just comes .

44:25 And then we start to wiggle. And we don't want to get out from under the laser. Huh? And somebody's saying, oh, but Pastor Martin, look at Winston Churchill.

44:33 Born in 1874. Died in 1965. Drank at least a pint of brandy every day. Sucked on his big cigars.

44:37 Sat open-legged with his belly hanging over it. He lived into his 91st year. So, you know what? You know what?

44:41 You know what? You know what? You know what? You know what?

44:46 You know what? You know what? You know what? You know what?

44:52 You know what? You know what? You know what? You know what?

44:57 You know what? You know what? You know what? You know what?

45:02 You know what? You know what? God's sovereign and God's merciful. He might have lived to be 120 if he'd taken care of himself and done a lot more good.

45:06 Oh, but I know some Christian who had a real conscience about diet and exercise and weight control and caress all levels, lit up one morning, went to work, and was dead of a heart attack at age 47. So what? As he's breathing his last, he can say, Lord, I'm not going out because I defied the basic principles of good health. health. I've had people say, well, Pastor Martin, you know, with your concern about

45:33 then, look at you, you've had prostate cancer. I say, yeah, but it's sure wonderful when you've been wheeled in the operating room to say, Lord, I'm not going in there because I just piled all the high fat red meat into my body and now I'm reaping the fruit of it. It's wonderful to say, Lord, I've done the best I can reasonably to keep this instrument in as good health as possible. You've allowed this cancer. I don't know why. Some genetic

45:59 predisposition that killed my father. You see, it's irrelevant. My duty is my duty. The results are God's. Don't hide behind Winston Churchill. And don't squeeze out because

46:11 you know a 47-year-old man that he keeled over and he looked like he was the epitome of someone embracing biblical principles. Your duty is your duty. My duty is my duty. And our duty is determined by a balanced grasp upon the precepts of God. Your word,

46:29 your word. It's a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my pathway. So there's the six-stranded string on which we want to hang, God willing, next week, the seven pearls. Don't take the pearls and just take them off one by one. No, no. No good if detached from the string. But the

46:48 string is incomplete without the pearls. So we've looked at the string in the six strands this morning. I trust God will help us to be Bereans, to search our Bibles, to see if indeed these things are so. We've got about two minutes, so I'm just going to give you the review. Run over them. As a result of the fall, physical abnormalities, liabilities,

47:11 degenerative diseases and various illnesses and death itself are woven into the fabric of human existence until the redemption of the body at the coming of Christ. Strand number two, our concern and care for the body must take second place to our concern for the soul and the advancement. So now all that is truly our concern is for God to come back from the 시작ling of étaiton business. In other words, what is the expected return that God may give us on our courageous journey intoְ on our distant fulfillment or apprenticeships?

47:53 Well, the bottom line is we may see downward growth. But we haven't seen downward growth. sin. And sixth, poor health, chronic physical ailments, and premature death, with all the consequences, may be the direct results of sinful carelessness with respect to the stewardship and care of the body. Let's pray. Father, we're so thankful that we have the Scriptures as a lamp

48:24 to our feet and a light to our pathway. We thank you that amidst all of the cacophony of voices, all of the reams of print in popular magazines telling us this, that, and the other, we have your word to flush out all of the worldly thinking and to give us a sure path by which to glorify you in our bodies. So we pray that you would write upon our hearts the principles of your word and that you would enable us to internalize them. And then, Lord, to give us grace when we begin to see the implications in the day-by-day decisions that

49:08 must be made, what we will and will not put into our mouths, what we will and will not do with our bodies. Lord, help us, help us, that our bodies may not be our masters, but that Christ the Lord will help us to master every appetite, every passion. O Lord, with the Apostle Paul, he too would say, we keep under our bodies, lest in speaking to others we ourselves should be reprobate. Help us, we pray, and seal these things to our hearts for our good and for your glory, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.