It Is Written

Health Matters

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Bradshaw

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW001329A


00:06 It has stood the test of time,
00:11 God's book, the Bible.
00:17 Still relevant in today's complex world.
00:22 It Is Written, sharing hope around the globe.
00:36 Thanks for join me today This is It is Writen
00:38 I'm John Bradshaw We all have to eat - and God
00:43 in His goodness has created an enormous variety of food.
00:49 One of the most interesting foods I learned to love is
00:52 durian. It grows in Asia - It's a
00:56 large fruit covered in dull spikes - not the prettiest
00:59 thing you'll ever see. I read where someone
01:01 described the durian as looking like something that
01:04 would dangle from a gladiator's chain.
01:07 The durian is probably best known for its smell - it
01:12 smells... how would you say?
01:15 Okay - there's no delicate way to say it.
01:17 The durian stinks! But if you can get past that
01:21 - and I did, I'm proud to say - you can love it.
01:24 And I do. Now if you don't like durian
01:27 then about the worst thing that can happen is that
01:29 you... don't like durian.
01:31 More for me. But there are some other
01:34 foods people in that are just plain hazardous.
01:38 Dangerous, even. In Japan there's a fish
01:42 that's popular in certain circles called "Fugu".
01:46 It's a pufferfish. Fugu means, literally, "river
01:50 pig" - and maybe for good reason.
01:53 Some say eating this fish is the culinary equivalent of
01:56 playing Russian roulette. Diners pay good money to eat
02:00 this fish, which, if prepared incorrectly, could kill them
02:05 owing to parts of the fish being toxic.
02:08 Fugu served as tempura of sashimi, or baked or added to
02:12 a glass of hot sake, is considered a treat by many.
02:17 Now in Tokyo food authorities are preparing to introduce
02:20 a change to regulations, allowing unlicensed
02:23 restaurants to serve fugu - a move that will make eating
02:27 the fish cheaper but which some chefs say could raise
02:31 the risk for diners. Now there is a safeguard.
02:34 Chefs that serve Fugu have to undertake special
02:36 training which takes about two years before they are able
02:40 to serve it. During this time they are
02:42 taught and then examined on how to remove the poisonous
02:44 parts of the fish. Only 35% of the candidates
02:49 pass the exam. Several people die every year
02:52 after attempting to prepare fugu at home.
02:55 The flesh is safe but other parts, including the liver,
02:58 heart, intestines and ovaries, contain tetrodotoxin,
03:03 which can kill you if it's ingested, even if you
03:07 ingest it in minute quantities. There were 23 deaths among
03:11 338 fugu-poisoning cases recorded in Japan from
03:16 the year 2000 to the year 2009. You're not going to catch me
03:21 eating anything poisonous and potentially lethal.
03:23 I'm guessing you'd probably say the same.
03:27 But what's interesting is that many of us are eating
03:30 foods every day that are potentially lethal.
03:36 Let me tell you about that. A friend of mine told me
03:39 about an article he read online.
03:41 It was in the 'health' section and the article was
03:43 about the dumbest things American eat.
03:48 Here's some of what the article talked about.
03:50 Here is what people eat. Deep fried donuts.
03:54 Not so surprising. Deep fried candy bars.
03:58 Turkey stuffed with a duck that has been stuffed with
04:04 a chicken. Deep fried bacon.
04:08 Squirt on cheese. Fried macaroni and cheese
04:12 balls Scrapple. Scrapple is described as
04:16 scraps of pork boiled with cornmeal and spices until
04:20 it's thick enough to form a loaf.
04:22 After congealing over night, slices of the loaf are fried
04:26 to order. I read about deep friend
04:29 cheese balls being served at a county fair somewhere.
04:33 Well these may bring a bit of a smile to our faces and we
04:36 may well be thinking that's just not quite normal.
04:40 But a restaurant in Las Vegas has attempted to take all
04:42 this to a whole new level. The restaurant is called the
04:46 Heart Attack Grill. There've been other locations
04:49 in the past in Arizona and Texas.
04:51 The management of the Heart Attack Grill has been quoted
04:53 as saying their intent is to serve food "so bad for you
04:57 it's shocking". Waitresses are dressed as
05:00 nurses and customers are referred to as patients.
05:03 Burgers have names like the "Quadruple Bypass" and can
05:06 contain as many as 8000 calories.
05:12 (8000 - the recommended daily calorie intake for men is
05:16 around 2500 and for women it's around 2000.
05:21 8000 is a LOT of calories! Not surprising this thing has
05:26 8000 calories seeing as it comes, with among other
05:29 things, 20 slices of bacon!) There are reduced versions of
05:34 that burger - such as the Single Bypass burger - that
05:36 contain far fewer calories. But still a lot!
05:41 The establishment's "Flat Liner Fries" are cooked
05:45 in pure lard, and soft drinks are made with real sugar.
05:49 And anyone who weighs over 350 pounds can eat for free.
05:55 "So bad for you it's shocking" is the claim made.
05:58 (Nodding...) While you might be surprised by people
06:03 wanting to eat food that is celebrated for being
06:06 unhealthy, and while the food we've just talked about isn't
06:09 your every day food and is a little over the top,
06:13 lots and lots of people eat food very similar to that
06:16 every day. How does God feel about that?
06:20 Does it matter to God at all what we eat?
06:24 We'll find out in just a moment.
06:29 Planning for your financial future is a vital aspect of
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07:27 around the world. Our dream is to impact
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07:47 itiswritten.com today. Welcome back to It Is
07:51 Written. Today - Health Matters.
07:54 It's fair to assume that a lot of the food that's
07:57 available to us today simply isn't good for us.
08:00 But where do we go to get the information that we need to
08:02 help us make the right decisions.
08:05 In Australia a professor called Bruce Neal, the senior
08:08 director of the George Institute for Global Health
08:12 has come out and said that diet and exercise campaigns
08:14 are so ineffective at preventing heart disease that
08:17 they should be abandoned and replaced with strict
08:21 regulation of salt levels in food combined with wider
08:24 medication use. Professor Neal is saying that
08:26 the government should stop having a hands off approach
08:30 and regulate the food industry to bring about
08:32 change. But then one doctor says this
08:35 and another doctor says that - and it usually is not bad
08:38 advice, usually - and in all of the confusion we are just
08:42 trying to do our best. Let me make a suggestion.
08:46 The Bible encourages us to go to God and seek his advice
08:51 about things that are happening in our lives.
08:53 Has God ever failed to give you good advice?
08:56 No he hasn't. Sometimes we say 'what would
08:59 Jesus do about this'? Well, what did Jesus eat when
09:03 he was upon this earth and better still what would
09:07 Jesus eat if he were upon the earth now?
09:10 Jesus was not raised in a wealthy family, which means
09:13 that as far as his diet went his family probably couldn't
09:17 afford too many extras - or too many expensive
09:21 alternatives. In society today, if you come
09:24 from a lower socio economic background you're more likely
09:26 to be sick, a smoker and/or a drinker and have
09:29 a poor diet. That's what the researchers
09:31 tell us. So when the government looks
09:34 at health issues they have to keep those things in mind.
09:36 Now Jesus wasn't weighed down by that kind of diet or
09:40 lifestyle. For thirty years Jesus had to
09:43 work hard in his fathers carpenter shop and no doubt
09:45 ate a fairly typical Mediterranean diet that was
09:48 wholesome, unprocessed and in line with the Jewish dietary
09:53 laws. He would have consumed little
09:55 saturated fat, only natural sugars, He would have got
09:59 plenty of sleep and lots of exercise.
10:02 Jesus would also have a heart full of love for his father
10:07 and have a concern for the needs of others.
10:10 And no doubt someone is tempted to say, "That's all
10:12 very well but I can't go back and live in Jesus time."
10:17 But the Word of God gives us guidelines for what we can
10:19 include in our busy modern lifestyles.
10:22 One thing I'm quite certain of: Jesus likely wouldn't
10:27 advise us to eat at the burger restaurant I talked
10:30 about a moment ago. I mentioned previously the
10:34 Jewish dietary laws just a second back.
10:36 These were laws that God gave to Israel to preserve their
10:39 health. The Hebrews had been slaves
10:41 in Egypt for several hundred years.
10:43 Yet even among that slave lifestyle they got to the
10:46 stage where they considered their food tolerable.
10:50 They later said this (you read it in Exodus 16), "Oh,
10:54 that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of
10:57 Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate
11:02 bread to the full! For you have brought us out
11:05 into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with
11:09 hunger." Exodus 16:3 But history
11:13 tells us that the Egyptians lifestyle wasn't too healthy.
11:17 The Egyptians suffered from every modern disease that we
11:20 suffer from today, except of course from modern diseases
11:23 such as AIDS. Heart disease, Cancer,
11:27 Cirrhosis of the liver, Gallstones, Kidney stones,
11:29 Gout, Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Pneumonia,
11:33 obesity - of course the depictions of Egyptians by
11:36 the artists of the time were quite flattering, but they
11:39 were some sick people. God knew that when the
11:42 children of Israel eventually settled in the land that he
11:45 had promised them they might be tempted to adopt an
11:48 Egyptian-style so he said this.
11:54 "You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God
11:58 has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be
12:02 well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the
12:05 land which you shall possess."
12:08 Deuteronomy 5:33. God through Solomon advised
12:12 the people like this "My son, give attention to my words;
12:18 incline your ear to my sayings.
12:20 Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the
12:23 midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find
12:26 them, And health to all their flesh."
12:30 Proverbs 4:20-22. Our present day knowledge has
12:33 been gathered in little over 100 years or so.
12:37 However there was an efficient public health
12:39 program in effect some 3000 years back and how sad that
12:45 it was lost sight of for centuries.
12:47 Moses the great Egyptian leader and then Hebrew leader
12:50 was the founder of preventive medicine.
12:53 The children of Israel lived in the desert for 40 years
12:56 and not one of them got sick. In just a moment - more
13:00 timeless health principles from the Bible.
13:07 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says "It is written 'Man
13:11 shall not live by bread alone but by every word that
13:14 proceeds out of the mouth of God'."
13:17 Every Word is a one minute Bible-based daily devotional
13:20 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed
13:23 especially for busy people like you.
13:25 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it
13:28 on-line everyday on our website itiswritten.com.
13:32 Receive a daily spiritual boost.
13:35 Watch Every Word. You'll be glad you did.
13:37 Here's a sample.
13:48 When they found her body in the wreckage of the car,
13:50 Police noticed a cell phone with a half-finished text
13:54 message on it. See, she'd been texting while
13:57 driving in terrible weather, in a car full of people.
14:00 The risks are so well known, but that doesn't stop a lot
14:03 of people. Sin is the riskiest behavior
14:07 of all, and it says in Ecclesiastes 8:11, "Because
14:09 sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,
14:12 therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in
14:14 them to do evil." God isn't going to zap you
14:17 every time you sin, so some go on sinning like there are
14:20 no consequences. Ignoring the consequences of
14:26 sin is deadly. One day we'll reap what we
14:28 have sown. Don't roll the dice on sin.
14:30 Be motivated by love for God, and let Him keep you
14:32 in the center of His will. I'm John Bradshaw for
14:35 It Is Written. Let's live today by Every
14:40 Word. This is It Is Written.
14:42 And today - Health Matters. And the Bible is clear health
14:47 really matters! Humans were carefully
14:50 designed by God - and just like when you buy a car the car's
14:53 engineers - the creators of the car - tell you how
14:56 to run your car to keep it in the best possible condition,
14:58 God gave us the Bible as an owner's manual
15:03 so we'd know how to keep our bodies - and more
15:06 importantly, our minds - in the best condition: to give
15:10 us every advantage in receiving everlasting life.
15:14 Now I'd understand if you said, "But John - salvation
15:17 is a gift we receive freely through Jesus.
15:20 What does eating have to do with that?"
15:23 Good question - I'm glad you asked!
15:25 The state of our health most often affects the
15:28 functionality of our frontal lobe, the part of your brain
15:31 that governs moral reasoning and social behavior.
15:36 It's the part of our brain that governs our
15:38 decision-making processes. And the point for Christians
15:41 is that if you compromise your decision-making ability
15:45 - your moral-reasoning ability - you compromise your
15:49 ability to maintain an optimum connection with God.
15:54 It just makes sense. If you want your vehicle to
15:56 run right you make sure it gets the right fuel.
15:59 A farmer is going to make sure his or her farm animals
16:02 get the right food so those animals produce the best
16:05 results. Athletes follow careful diets
16:08 because they want the best possible outcome when they
16:10 compete. And here we are involved in
16:12 what Paul calls a battle against spiritual darkness...
16:16 Don't you think we need every advantage we can get?
16:19 Of course we do. Which is why God drew up the
16:22 menu in the Garden of Eden. It's why God provided the
16:25 food for the children of Israel when they were in the
16:27 wilderness. God knew that health matters.
16:32 Now I'ld like to show you a text from the book of
16:34 Proverbs. Does the wisest man who ever
16:37 lived give us good healthy living advice?
16:40 Yes he does. He talks about honey a number
16:44 of times. First he tells us to eat
16:47 honey because it is good. Solomon said in the book of
16:49 Proverbs: "My son, eat honey because it is good, and the
16:54 honeycomb which is sweet to your taste."
16:57 (Proverbs 24:13). Now that is good news.
17:01 But tell me what parent would let their child loose with an
17:05 entire pot of honey? We wouldn't do that because
17:08 we know that wouldn't be good for us.
17:11 What are the type of foods that are full of sugar that
17:13 we eat a lot of? Confectionary, soft drinks
17:18 ... the list goes on.
17:20 It's a big list. Is God giving us poor advice
17:23 here? No - we read in Proverbs
17:26 25:16, something that balances this up.
17:31 Proverbs 25 and verse 16: "Have you found honey?
17:37 Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it
17:44 and vomit." I remember as a child that my
17:46 brother went to a party and got stuck into his favorite
17:49 food. We used to call them
17:51 "Chocolate Crackles". They were made out of Rice
17:53 Krispies and chocolate and honey.
17:58 This boy was in his element. And without our mum looking
18:03 over his shoulder, he ate just as many of those things
18:05 as he wanted to, not as many as he needed to.
18:09 How did they work out? Let's just say...
18:14 it wasn't pretty. We read in Proverbs 25:27,
18:18 "It is not good to eat much honey."
18:22 (And what's meant by that is TOO much honey.) So there it
18:24 is, it is not good to eat too much honey, to much sweet
18:32 stuff. That same brother of mine
18:36 loves Mars bars. At least he used to.
18:39 He ate them for years. But he doesn't anymore (very
18:41 often...) I asked him recently why he gave them up.
18:44 He simply said: "Just too much sugar in them.
18:48 I know it's not good for me". Well I am glad to say that
18:51 you can teach an old dog new tricks.
18:55 Let me share with you something.
18:57 I want to share with you another text out of the
19:00 Bible, this time from the book of Proverbs, from
19:04 Solomon, and notice what it says.
19:07 Proverbs 23:1-3 says this:
19:16 "When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider
19:19 carefully what is before you; and put a knife to your
19:22 throat if you are a man given to appetite.
19:25 Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food."
19:31 It seems to me Solomon is warning us about over-eating.
19:36 Overeating is one of the biggest issues that we have
19:38 today in society, healthwise. You can go to restaurants in
19:42 every city from sea to shining sea and eat as much
19:46 as you want which leads to any number of things -
19:49 including obesity. Obesity is one of ...
19:52 pardon the expression ... the biggest public health
19:54 problems in the Western world today.
19:56 It leads to a host of diseases and chronic
19:59 illnesses including diabetes, cancer, heart disease,
20:02 osteoarthritis, gall stones, gout, asthma...
20:07 the list goes on and on. The Bible gives us good
20:10 advice. Don't over eat.
20:13 Along with overeating goes the national habit of eating
20:15 between meals. This is a nation that
20:18 has been encouraged to eat whenever it wants,
20:21 what it wants, how it wants. It is best to follow
20:24 the Bible's advice and teach ourselves not to overeat
20:28 and not to eat between meals. This brother I've been
20:33 telling you about told me recently that he had lost
20:35 about 9 pounds. I thought, well, he must have
20:37 got himself on the latest wonder diet from Oprah or Kim
20:39 Kardashian. He said "No, no.
20:42 My wife suggested that I eat my meal on a smaller plate."
20:47 Simple. He didn't notice any real
20:49 difference until it seemed to him as if his belt had
20:53 stretched. He suggested I try the same
20:56 thing - the smaller plate... and I suggested that he was
20:58 meddling. Solomon also tells us to
21:02 avoid the "delicacies". Now these are the extras, the
21:06 treats, the indulgences we like to eat.
21:10 Back in Solomon's time it seems like only the rich
21:12 could afford those things. Today they are available
21:15 to everyone. When it comes to practical
21:18 suggestions for our diet and health, the Bible has got
21:23 a lot to say. Here's just one more point.
21:25 God gave the children of Israel extensive advice on
21:28 what they could or couldn't eat.
21:31 On what they should or shouldn't eat.
21:33 In Leviticus 3:17, God says. "This shall be a perpetual
21:37 statute throughout your generations in all your
21:40 dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood."
21:46 Interesting! God told his people not to
21:50 eat fat. If that strikes you as
21:54 strange, the truth is God was simply up on the latest good
21:59 health information. I suspect that if you went to
22:02 your doctor for health advice he or she will tell you not
22:04 to eat fat. For many of us a low fat diet
22:07 is just common sense. You certainly don't get that
22:12 at some of these hamburger places we've been discussing.
22:16 God also advice about which animals should or shouldn't
22:21 be eaten. Or perhaps I should say, may
22:24 or may not be eaten. It was as simple as this.
22:28 This is what God says. You find it in the Holy
22:30 Bible. "Whatever in the water has
22:34 fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the
22:38 rivers--that you may eat. But all in the seas or in the
22:42 rivers that do not have fins and scales..."
22:46 God says leave it off the menu.
22:49 God said in the same chapter that birds of prey or those
22:53 birds that feed on offal or carrion - the scavengers and
22:57 carnivorous birds - God says we shouldn't eat them either.
23:01 The fact is they're likely the most likely to transmit
23:05 disease to humans. If you're out driving and you
23:08 see an animal that's been hit by a car you don't say, "Good
23:11 news, here's dinner!" You know better than that.
23:15 Those birds see those animals on the side of the road, they
23:17 say "Good news! Here's dinner!"
23:19 Why would we want to eat them?
23:23 God made clear that the only animals that should be eaten
23:27 are the ones that have a cloven hoof and chew the cud.
23:33 Now, that would be what? Well - cows, goats, deer,
23:37 sheep... maybe some others.
23:39 But God said animals we shouldn't eat include the
23:43 camel - bound to disappoint you I know - rabbits,
23:48 badgers, and pigs. Hummmm.
23:51 Getting closer to home now. God said they are unfit to
23:56 eat. You read that in the Bible.
23:59 God doesn't want the food that we eat to make us sick.
24:04 He gives us an overarching principle in 1 Corinthians
24:07 10:31. He said this, he said
24:10 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
24:13 do all to the glory of God." So what can you do to help
24:19 improve your health in the future?
24:27 I would like to give you some advice.
24:29 My advice comes in the form of a suggestion.
24:32 As a matter of fact, my advice comes in the form
24:35 of an offer. I'd like to recommend to you
24:39 this book, produced by It Is Written titled "Easy Steps
24:44 for Better Health." This book has the capacity
24:48 to change your life and give you improved health.
24:56 To get your copy of Easy Steps for Better Health, just
25:00 call us at 1.800.253.3000. 1.800.253.3000.
25:08 Easy Steps for Better Health contains loads of great
25:11 information scientifically up to date, easy to implement
25:15 that will help you make the changes in your life that
25:18 will lead you on the pathway to better health, both
25:21 physically and spiritually. Easy Steps for Better Health.
25:24 To get your copy, call now, 1.800.253.3000.
25:30 Or, you can write to us at It Is Written, Box O,
25:34 Thousand Oaks, California, 91359 and we'll gladly send you a copy
25:39 of this book to your address in North America.
25:43 Easy Steps for Better Health. Getting this book might be
25:48 just about the best decision you've made in a long time.
25:51 It will be a blessing to your health and can set you on
25:55 the road to a fuller life, a healthier life, a life where
26:00 you can enjoy more of the blessings of God.
26:03 Easy Steps for Better Health. Call 1.800.253.3000 or write
26:06 to us at Box O, Thousand Oaks, California, 91359.
26:11 And please remember, It Is Written is a faith-based
26:16 ministry, made possibly by people like you.
26:20 To support the ministry of It Is Written, you can send your
26:24 donation to us at Box O, Thousand Oaks, California
26:28 91359 or you can go on-line to our website,
26:32 itiswritten.com. Thank you for your prayers
26:35 and thank you for your much needed support.
26:44 I'm glad you've joined me today.
26:46 Before we go, I'd like to pray with you.
26:48 We've got a lot to pray about.
26:50 Let's pray. Our Father in heaven,
26:52 challenging subject today, but a subject that can make
26:55 the difference between life and death, literally, for so
26:57 many of us that are watching today and people have been
27:00 saying, "Oh, I need to but how can I?"
27:03 Lord, we know Jesus said that we can do all things through
27:08 him who strengthens us. So Father, I pray your spirit
27:11 will get inside of us, that you will live your life out
27:14 in us and make in our lives the changes that need to be
27:17 made. We thank you for this
27:19 blessing and we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.
27:28 [Music]
27:41 Thanks for joining me today.
27:43 I look forward to seeing you again next time.
27:45 Until then, remember - It Is Written:
27:48 man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
27:52 word that proceeds from the mouth of God.


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Revised 2018-11-17