Participants:
Series Code: RAD
Program Code: RAD170019A
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00:01 What does the future hold?
00:02 Where can we find certainty in a world of uncertainty? 00:05 The Book of Revelation provides hopeful answers 00:08 for today, tomorrow, and forever. 00:11 Join Mark Finley, author and world renowned speaker 00:14 on a journey into the future 00:16 with Revelation's Ancient Discoveries. 00:23 Revelation's prophecies 00:25 focus on every aspect of our lives. 00:29 You may wonder what does health have to do 00:33 with spirituality, 00:35 how does our spiritual life impact our physical life, 00:39 and how does our physical life impact our spiritual life. 00:43 As we open the pages of the Bible 00:46 and focus on the Book of Revelation, 00:48 we'll discover today answers to those questions. 00:52 Let's pray. 00:53 Father in heaven, thank You as the wonderful Creator 00:58 that You've shaped and fashioned our bodies 01:01 that we're not some cosmic accident. 01:04 We pray that as we study Your word 01:06 and specifically the Book of Revelation, 01:08 You would reveal to us Your divine truths 01:11 in Christ's name, Amen. 01:14 The topic in this program is Revelation Reveals 01:18 Life at its Best. 01:21 More and more scientific research indicates 01:24 that the decisions we make dramatically impact our health. 01:29 The question at times is still raised though, 01:33 "Do our lifestyle choices 01:35 really make a difference at endtime?" 01:39 And how do these lifestyle choices 01:42 impact our spiritual life? 01:45 Is there any relationship between what we eat, 01:49 what we drink, and how we treat our bodies 01:52 to our relationship with God? 01:54 Does the Book of Revelation 01:56 discuss these subjects at endtime? 02:00 When you look 02:01 at what's taking place in our world, 02:03 men and women are often dying prematurely, 02:07 dying of heart disease, dying of cancer, 02:10 dying of complications as the result of diabetes. 02:15 We look around the world and we see the health 02:18 of scores of people deteriorating. 02:20 Does this make any difference to God? 02:23 Are we just kind of genetically programmed 02:27 to get certain diseases as the result of what happened 02:31 to our parents or are we programmed 02:33 because of our environments around us? 02:36 Is health matter of chance just like rolling the dice 02:40 or is it a matter of choice? 02:43 More and more research is coming to the forefront 02:46 indicating that health is not simply 02:49 some matter of chance. 02:51 Certainly environment 02:52 and certainly genetics play a role. 02:54 But our choices can either add or subtract years to our life. 02:59 And the choices we make matter to God. 03:03 What happens when we make poor choices? 03:06 What's the result of those poor choices? 03:09 And how does that impact our own spiritual life? 03:12 What does the Bible say about health, 03:14 and specifically, how does health play 03:17 into the scenario of the Book of Revelation? 03:21 Well, let's go back, 03:22 back thousands of years in time, 03:25 back over the millenniums, 03:28 Revelations 12:9, 03:31 "So the great dragon was cast out, 03:34 that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, 03:37 who deceives the whole world." 03:39 Now the dragon figure is used of Satan 03:41 as one who destroys. 03:44 If the devil wants to destroy, 03:47 he merely doesn't want to destroy this earth 03:50 by polluting the atmosphere, polluting the waterways, 03:54 but he would want to focus on the most specific thing 03:59 that God created that reveals God's love. 04:02 And what do you think that is? 04:03 Of course, human beings. 04:05 So the devil focuses on destroying our health. 04:10 He is the health destroyer. 04:12 Now notice what the scripture says. 04:14 It says the great dragon was cast out, 04:17 he's the dragon who destroys and the serpent of old. 04:21 Why is he called the serpent? 04:23 Because he deceives, 04:26 so the devil is a great deceiver, 04:29 not only a destroyer, but he is a deceiver. 04:32 He deceives us into thinking that our lifestyle, practices, 04:36 or habits make very little difference. 04:39 You see, "The way we care for our bodies on earth 04:42 reveals how we would care for them through all eternity." 04:46 Satan attacks the creation of God, 04:50 tries to destroy these bodies of ours, 04:53 and the choices that we make today, 04:56 you see the highest object of all creation is our body. 05:00 There is nothing more significant 05:02 to God than you. 05:04 Your mind, your body, your spirit, 05:07 your emotions are all an integrated whole. 05:10 And how we care for our bodies now 05:13 would really determine how we'd care for them 05:15 throughout all eternity. 05:16 In fact, our Lord says, 3 John 2, 05:20 "Beloved, I pray 05:22 that you may prosper in all things 05:25 and be in health, just as your soul prospers." 05:29 God desires us to be in health. 05:32 God desires our bodies to be in tip-top shape. 05:36 God is a health giver. 05:39 Satan is a health destroyer. 05:42 And that's why John writing says, 05:45 I pray that you prosper. 05:48 God wants you to be prosperous and in health. 05:52 That's His desire. 05:53 Now the Bible teaches that we're whole persons, 05:56 that God wants to save us completely, physically, 06:01 mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. 06:05 See, the Greek idea 06:07 is that the soul and the body are separate 06:11 so that the Greeks believe that whatever you do 06:14 to your body doesn't affect the soul, 06:16 that the soul is separate and distinct, 06:18 you could eat whatever you want, 06:20 drink whatever you want, 06:21 it really made little impact on your spiritual life. 06:24 But according to scripture, 06:26 God wants to sanctify us completely. 06:28 In fact, 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says 06:32 that God would sanctify us completely, body, 06:36 soul, and spirit, 06:37 that He could present us blameless 06:39 before the coming of Jesus. 06:42 The things that affect our physical bodies 06:45 also affect our minds. 06:46 What affects our minds, our thought processes, 06:50 affect our physical bodies. 06:52 And what affects our physical bodies 06:55 and our minds also affects our spiritual health. 06:59 How does the Holy Spirit communicate with us? 07:03 Does He communicate with our fingers? 07:05 Does He communicate with our big toe? 07:07 How does the Holy Spirit communicate with us? 07:09 He communicates with us through our minds. 07:13 And in our minds, we have housed the brain 07:16 where there's conscience, reason, and judgment. 07:19 So if the quality of food I eat 07:23 produces an unhealthful quality of blood 07:27 that brings less oxygen to the brain, 07:30 then the Holy Spirit has a difficult time 07:33 communicating with my brain. 07:35 If I don't have an exercise program, 07:37 so my blood is sluggish and my thoughts are foggy, 07:42 then I tend to fall asleep when I read the Bible, 07:44 tend to fall asleep when I pray or sit in church. 07:48 So our physical habits 07:50 dramatically impact our spiritual life. 07:55 That's why in Revelations 14:6, 7, 07:59 when God gives His last day message 08:02 to the world, 08:03 where God speaks to all humanity 08:05 about His soon return, that's why the scripture says, 08:09 "Fear God," that is reverence 08:11 or obey God, not be afraid of Him, 08:13 "and give glory to Him 08:15 for the hour of His judgment has come, 08:17 and worship Him who made heaven and earth, 08:20 the sea and springs of water." 08:23 Can we worship God by merely destroying 08:27 and defiling the greatest object of His creation 08:31 namely our bodies? 08:32 But notice what the Bible says, 08:34 fear God and do what? 08:35 What does the scripture say? 08:37 Fear God and do what? 08:39 Give glory to Him. 08:41 So part of God's last day message, 08:44 part of His endtime message 08:46 in the Book of Revelation is to give glory to God. 08:50 How do we give glory to God? 08:53 What does it mean to glorify God? 08:56 Does glorifying God have anything to do 08:59 with these bodies of ours? 09:01 The Apostle Paul tells us exactly 09:04 what it means to glorify God. 09:06 1 Corinthians 6:20, 09:09 "For you were bought with a price, 09:11 therefore glorify God in your body 09:14 and in your spirit, which are God's." 09:16 So we glorify God in our lifestyle practices. 09:20 We glorify God 09:21 in the physical practices of our bodies. 09:24 The scripture goes on to say and put it this way, 09:27 "For you were bought with a price." 09:29 We are bought with a price, 09:31 the precious blood of Christ on Calvary has purchased 09:36 not only these minds but has purchased these bodies. 09:40 Therefore, whatever you eat or drink, 09:43 do all to the glory of God. 09:47 So my habits, what I eat, what I drink, 09:50 what I take into this body of mine reveals 09:54 whether I am treating my body as a funhouse or as a temple. 10:00 Remember, the Bible says, 10:02 your body is the temple of God. 10:06 It's not some funhouse, 10:08 but there the Holy Spirit is to live within our bodies 10:12 and everything we take into these bodies 10:15 is not merely to satisfy or gratify 10:19 selfish appetites, desires, or cravings 10:23 but it's rather to give glory to God. 10:26 Now there are some lifestyle practices 10:28 which destroy our bodies, 10:30 and so we need to take a look at them, 10:32 lifestyle practices that defile this temple 10:36 that God has created. 10:38 One of those of course is cigarette smoking. 10:40 Dr. Linus Pauling has put it this way, 10:43 "Every cigarette you smoke 10:46 takes 14.5 minutes off your life." 10:50 Think of it, one pack of cigarette. 10:52 Just calculate it how many minutes 10:54 that's taking off your life. 10:55 Smokers will tend to get lung cancer 10:58 far more rapidly than non-smokers. 11:01 They'll tend to have coronary heart attacks 11:03 at a much greater degree than non-smokers. 11:06 In fact, the Cancer Research Institute 11:09 in the United Kingdom puts it this way. 11:11 "Smoking is the single biggest cause of cancer 11:15 in the world." 11:17 God wants you to have pure lungs. 11:20 He wants you to breathe fresh air. 11:22 He wants you to be climbing mountains 11:24 with your children and your grandchildren 11:28 as your life proceeds. 11:30 He wants you enjoy life, 11:32 not be afflicted with cancer or heart disease 11:38 as the result of poor lifestyle habits. 11:41 You know, smokers have a 25% higher risk 11:45 of a heart attack than non-smokers. 11:48 God desires that you live an abundant, 11:52 that you live a full life, 11:54 that you live a life of joy and meaning. 11:57 You remember what the Bible says, 11:58 "The thief cometh not but to kill, to steal, 12:02 and destroy", John 10:10. 12:04 But Jesus says, I am come 12:06 that you have life more abundantly. 12:09 In the original language, 12:10 that more abundantly is a life in super abundance. 12:13 God wants you to have a life, 12:15 a life full of meaning, a life full of purpose, 12:18 a life that is healthy. 12:20 Now certainly, 12:21 we live in an environment of sin. 12:24 Certainly, we live in an environment 12:26 where the air is polluted. 12:27 Certainly, there are some things 12:29 that impact our health over which we have no choice. 12:32 But if this world is a world 12:36 in rebellion against God, 12:38 if indeed there are environmental 12:41 and genetic factors 12:42 that predisposition us to disease, 12:45 that doesn't mean that we just throw up our hands and say, 12:48 "So what, I'm going to get sick anyway." 12:50 It means that we're more careful, 12:52 it means that we are more conscious 12:54 about the things that we take into our body 12:57 because we do not want to cooperate 12:59 with the evil one to destroy the body, 13:02 we want to build up this body. 13:04 Nicotine causes the arteries to shrink. 13:08 And as they shrink and become more hardened, 13:12 plaque builds up in those arteries 13:15 and, again, smokers have a much, much a higher degree 13:19 of coronary artery disease. 13:21 You know, you feel that knife like stabbing pain 13:25 in the heart and brought about by either poor diet, 13:31 cigarette smoking, high stress. 13:33 Jesus says to you and me, 13:36 "I want you to live a life of peace and joy. 13:39 Come unto Me," Christ says, "all you that are burdened 13:42 and heavy laden and I'll give you rest." 13:43 He wants our bodies to be in, indeed, good health. 13:48 You know, second hand smoke 13:49 dramatically impacts our children. 13:52 And more and more research is indicating 13:54 that children have asthma problems 13:56 and children have breathing problems 13:58 when they are in the homes of smokers 14:02 rather than the homes of non-smokers. 14:05 Now somebody says, "Pastor Mark, I don't know, 14:07 I've been smoking since I've been very young, 14:10 and I don't know if I can possibly quit." 14:13 The Bible says in Revelation 3:21, 14:15 look what Jesus says, 14:17 "To him who overcomes, 14:18 I will grant to sit with Me on My throne." 14:21 You know, to the seven churches 14:23 in the Book of Revelation, Jesus says, seven times, 14:26 "To him that overcomes, to him that overcomes, 14:29 to him that overcomes." 14:30 You can be an overcomer, you can have victory. 14:35 I love the way the Apostle Paul says, 14:37 he says, "Thank God that gives us the victory 14:41 through our Lord Jesus Christ." 14:43 You remember the theme of the Book of Revelation? 14:45 The theme of the Book of Revelation 14:47 is Jesus wins and Satan loses. 14:50 What is it, everybody? 14:51 Jesus wins and Satan loses. 14:53 As you reach out in faith, 14:55 as you believe 14:57 that Christ can give you victory 14:59 over tobacco, over alcohol, over the unclean foods 15:05 that we take into our body to destroy them, 15:07 over the harmful drugs and substances, 15:11 over habits 15:13 that defile our body of immorality 15:16 and multiple sexual partners today, 15:19 often it is free love and free sex 15:22 and what's taking place in our society? 15:25 Sexually transmitted diseases are growing 15:29 extremely rapidly. 15:31 But Jesus says, "I will give you the power, 15:34 the strength to overcome." 15:37 Jesus says, "You can overcome those desires of the flesh, 15:40 those cravings of the body." 15:43 Christ says, "I will give you that power." 15:45 I was helping a young man once quit smoking. 15:47 He was about 29 years old, 15:49 and he had been smoking since 14, 15 years old, 15:53 he's been smoking about 14 years. 15:55 Smoking a couple packs of cigarettes a day, 15:57 and he said, "Pastor, I really want to quit. 16:01 But the craving is so hard." 16:03 We read to him passages from the scripture 16:06 helping him to know the promises of God's Word, 16:11 read to him John 1:12, "As many as received Him, 16:14 to them gave He the power 16:16 or the authority to become the sons of God." 16:19 1 John, 5:12, 16:22 "This is the confidence we have in Him." 16:24 If we ask anything according to His word, 16:29 he hears us. 16:30 And I said, "Look, 16:31 who do you have your confidence in? 16:33 Yourself?" "No Pastor." 16:34 "Where is your confidence?" "It's in Jesus." 16:35 We ask anything according to His Word or His will, 16:38 He is going to hear us. 16:40 "Is it God's will for you to quit smoking?" 16:41 "Yes, it is, Pastor." 16:43 "When do you think he's going to give you victory? 16:45 "Well, Pastor, I'm not sure." 16:47 "What does the text say? 16:48 This is the confidence we have in who, 16:50 is it in our self?" 16:51 "No." 16:52 "Who is the confidence in?" "Him." 16:54 "And if we ask anything according to His what?" 16:56 "His will." 16:57 "He is going to do what?" "He is going to hear us." 16:59 Let's pray, my brother. 17:00 We get on our knees, he began to pray. 17:01 Here's how he prayed. 17:03 Seriously, here's how he prayed. 17:04 "Dear Lord, I'm so weak. 17:07 Dear Lord, I don't think I can quit smoking. 17:10 Dear Lord, I've been smoking for so long." 17:12 I listened to him pray 17:14 for about a minute and a half, two minutes. 17:15 I said, "Oh, no, he's going to be worse after he prays." 17:18 And so I shake him, 17:19 "Stop praying, don't pray anymore." 17:22 He looks at me, probably the first time 17:24 a preacher told him to stop praying. 17:25 I said, "Stop praying, don't pray anymore." 17:27 He said, "Why not?" 17:28 I said, "The way you're praying, 17:30 you're praying so negatively. 17:31 Dear Lord, I can't quit." 17:33 I said, "You are reinforcing your mind 17:35 with all this negative stuff even in your prayer 17:38 and you're simply cooperating with the devil." 17:39 He said, "What?" I said, "You pray like this. 17:41 Dear Jesus, I'm weak but You are strong. 17:44 Dear Jesus, I might not be able to overcome, 17:46 but You can enable me to overcome. 17:47 Dear Jesus, the Book of Revelation 17:49 says to him that overcomes, to him that overcomes. 17:52 And I believe that You are going 17:53 to enable me to overcome." 17:55 That young man prayed in faith, 17:57 and by the grace of God, there was victory. 18:00 You see, quitters always win. 18:03 And by the grace of God, you can win. 18:06 Whatever habit is gripping your life, 18:09 whatever habit you are struggling over, 18:13 Christ's grace is greater than that habit. 18:17 Christ's grace is stronger than that habit. 18:20 The Bible says in Roman 5:20, 18:23 "But where sin abounds, grace abounds much more." 18:29 No matter how you've been caught 18:31 in the shackles of sin, 18:33 no matter how sin has gripped you 18:35 and held you in its hands, 18:38 Christ is stronger than that evil power of sin. 18:43 You see, Jesus is stronger 18:44 than any enslaving physical habit. 18:48 The Christ that touched the eyes of the blind 18:51 and they're open, the Christ that touched 18:53 the ears of the deaf and they're unstopped, 18:55 the Christ that healed the withered man's arm 18:58 and new life and vitality came in again. 19:01 The Christ that caused the lame to walk, 19:04 worked miracles by the man by the pool of Bethsaida 19:07 who was there for 38 years. 19:09 You may have had these enslaving habits for years, 19:12 but Christ is stronger. 19:14 People often say to me, 19:16 "Where are the miracles of Christ today? 19:19 We don't see Him working miracles." 19:21 Come with me, 19:22 I see Jesus working miracles all the time. 19:25 He is working miracles of His grace, 19:27 miracles of His power, miracles of His strength. 19:31 He's delivering people from tobacco, 19:33 delivering people from alcohol, 19:35 delivering people 19:36 from the enslavement of evil habits 19:39 that are destroying their bodies. 19:40 He is still the miracle working God. 19:45 He is still the one just as He did 2,000 years ago, 19:50 who healed people miraculously. 19:52 He's healing them of habits today 19:54 that are destroying their bodies. 19:57 The Bible says in Matthews 7:7, 8, 20:00 "Ask and it shall be given to you. 20:02 Seek and you shall find, knock," the Bible says, 20:07 "and it will be opened to you." 20:09 The scripture says, "For everyone," for who? 20:11 Not a few, "for everyone who asks receives 20:15 and he who seeks finds 20:17 and to him who knocks it will be opened." 20:20 Jesus says to you, "Come, come to me asking, 20:24 come to me seeking, come to me knocking, 20:28 and I will give you My strength, 20:29 I will give you My power." 20:31 "You can be," Jesus says, "victorious." 20:35 Romans 6:16, 20:37 "Do you not know to whom you present 20:40 yourself slaves to obey that one's slaves you are." 20:44 If nicotine is controlling you, 20:46 you may not realize it, but you're a slave to it. 20:49 If alcohol is controlling you, 20:51 you may not realize it, but you're a slave to it. 20:53 If lusts are controlling you or drugs, 20:57 you become slaves to that thing that is controlling you. 21:00 But Christ can set you free. 21:02 Somebody says, 21:03 "Pastor, I'm fighting the battle of the bottle." 21:08 Bloodshot eyes, 21:10 the alcohol affecting the human brain, 21:13 affecting conscience and reason and judgment. 21:16 There are many people 21:18 that want to find relief from anxiety, 21:20 relief from stress and worry 21:22 and they turn to the bottle to do that. 21:24 And as they do, 21:26 alcohol simply deadens their senses. 21:29 Alcohol keeps them 21:31 from enjoying life to its fullest. 21:35 Alcohol creates so many physical problems, 21:38 so many social problems. 21:40 The Bible is right when it says in Proverbs 20:1, 21:45 "Wine is a mocker." 21:46 What does that mean? It deceives you. 21:48 "Strong drink is a brawler, 21:50 and whoever is led astray by it is not wise." 21:55 So the Bible says it's not wise to be led astray by alcohol. 22:00 It goes on to put it this way, "Who has woe?" 22:02 I don't want woe, do you? 22:04 "Who has sorrow?" I don't want sorrow, do you? 22:06 "Who has strife?" I don't want strife. 22:08 "Who has complaints? 22:09 Who has needless bruises? 22:10 Who has bloodshot eyes?" 22:12 What a catalogue of things? 22:14 Do you want these? 22:16 Woe, sorrow, strife, complaints, 22:18 needless bruises, bloodshot eyes, 22:20 what does the Bible say? 22:22 "Those who linger over the wine 22:25 and go to sample bowls of mixed wine." 22:29 Yes, the Bible is very clear. 22:31 The person who lingers at wine or alcohol 22:36 simply brings sorrow upon their life. 22:39 How many broken families as the result of alcohol? 22:44 How many car accidents as the result of alcohol? 22:48 How many women abused as the result of alcohol? 22:52 How many families left financially in ruin 22:58 as the result of alcohol? 23:00 The Bible is plain in Proverbs 23:29-33, 23:04 when it says, 23:05 "Do not gaze at the wine when it's red." 23:07 That's when it's fermented. 23:08 "When it sparkles in the cup, 23:10 when it goes down smoothly." 23:12 God says, "It's going to deceive you. 23:14 Don't even stand there gazing at it. 23:16 "In the end it bites like a snake 23:19 and poisons like a viper." 23:20 How many of you want to be bit by a snake, 23:22 you're walking down a path. 23:23 There's the rattler and you say, 23:25 "Hey, rattler, come on over here a little closer. 23:27 Let me stick out my leg to give you 23:29 a little bit of blood." 23:31 That's certainly not what you're saying, right? 23:33 You take a glass of alcohol, it says, at the end, 23:36 you may not think it at the beginning, 23:38 but at the end, 23:39 it's going to bite like a snake. 23:40 Somebody says, 23:42 "Well, that's not going to happen to me." 23:43 Do you know that two out of every five people 23:45 who begin drinking end up with serious alcohol problems? 23:49 Two out of five. 23:51 What if you had a German shepherd 23:54 and it only bit two out of five people 23:57 that came to your house. 23:58 You'd say, "Hey, Mark, come on over. 24:00 I'd like you to visit my house. 24:01 I got a German shepherd, 24:02 and I got to tell you ahead of time, 24:04 it only bites two out of five people." 24:05 I think you've got a pretty good chance here. 24:07 I'm not coming over to your house for lunch 24:08 and risking that my legs are going to be torn apart 24:11 with only two out of five. 24:12 Two, it's sobering, friend. 24:15 Two out of every five people that begin drinking end up 24:18 with serious alcohol problems 24:20 that impact their family, impact their job, 24:22 impact their relationship with their friends 24:25 because alcohol becomes the most dominant thing 24:27 in their life. 24:28 The Bible says, Proverbs 23:29-33, 24:32 "Your eyes will see strange sights, 24:34 your mind imagine confusing things." 24:38 But somebody says, "Pastor Mark, 24:40 didn't Jesus create an alcoholic beverage 24:44 at the wedding feast of Cana of Galilee?" 24:49 You know, the Bible tells us 24:50 how much alcohol actually 24:53 was in those jars, 24:57 those wine jars. 24:58 In John 2:6, 7, it says, "There were set there 25:02 six water pots filled to the brim." 25:04 So they were filled with water, 25:06 and then what happens is 25:09 Christ uses that water and turns that water into wine. 25:15 Now what does the Bible says 25:16 was the quantity 'in each water pot? 25:20 One thing you have to understand 25:22 before we go to quantity, 25:23 actually, that's helpful here is this. 25:25 The Bible talks about wine in two ways, 25:27 it doesn't often distinguish between 25:29 fermented wine and unfermented wine. 25:32 Fermented wine in the Bible is an alcoholic beverage, 25:35 the Bible condemns that. 25:36 But also the Bible uses the term "wine" 25:38 and it describes a pure juice 25:40 of the grape which is non-alcoholic. 25:43 Let me give you an example of that. 25:45 Isaiah 65:8 puts it this way, 25:47 "As the new wine," what kind of wine, everybody? 25:50 New wine, the new wine is the freshly pressed juice 25:54 of the grape that's unfermented. 25:56 "As the new wine is found in the cluster and one says, 25:59 'Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it.'" 26:02 So new wine has a blessing. 26:05 It's fresh, it's found in the cluster. 26:08 We know today that grape juice has heart healthy benefits. 26:13 Indeed, it's not so much the fermentation in the grape 26:17 as it is the qualities of the grape unfermented. 26:22 So let's go back now to these jars. 26:25 Did Jesus create a fermented drink for people 26:28 to go crazy after they drunk it 26:30 because they were drunk at the feast that Christ made? 26:32 Certainly not. Here's the jars. 26:35 One jar, according 26:36 to the measurements in the Bible, 26:38 was 20-30 gallons, there were 6 of them. 26:41 So these 6 jars had 120-180 gallons of wine. 26:45 How much wine does it take a person to get drunk? 26:48 Can you get drunk on a gallon? 26:50 Can you get drunk on half-a-gallon? 26:52 Certainly one could. 26:54 Now look, how many people were at this feast? 26:58 This was not a large village. 27:00 There may have been 100, we don't know for sure, 27:02 but I know this. 27:04 There was enough wine 27:05 to get every person at that feast, 27:08 if they would drink at all, drunk one time, 27:11 two times, three times. 27:13 Can you imagine? 27:14 Here's a person. 27:16 They're leaving this feast, 27:18 if what some believe that was fermented wine, 27:20 the wine's been all drunk up, 27:21 they're driving in their ox cart. 27:23 They drive their ox cart off the road, 27:26 they break their leg. 27:27 "Hey, how did you break your leg?" 27:28 "Well, I had such a good time at Jesus' feast." 27:30 Somebody comes home, 27:31 and they have going off with another woman. 27:35 "What happened, why did you come so late?" 27:37 "Well, I got drunk at Jesus' feast." 27:38 Somebody comes home and beats their wife. 27:40 It's preposterous. 27:41 That's not going to happen. 27:43 Jesus is not going 27:46 to in any way create this 27:49 fermented beverage that destroys health, 27:53 that destroys life, that destroys families, 27:56 not at all. 27:57 Did Jesus create enough fermented wine 28:01 to get the whole village drunk? 28:04 Certainly not. 28:06 He would never have done that. 28:10 The Bible says, in John 2:10, "He said to them, 28:12 everyman at the beginning sets out the good wine, 28:15 and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior." 28:18 But look, but you have kept the good wine till now. 28:21 What kind of wine was this? Was this fermented? 28:24 It was good wine, it was the pure, 28:26 sparkling juice of the grape 28:28 that brought invigoration to the body. 28:31 Christ invites you, 28:33 through His grace and by His power, 28:35 not to defile the mind or the brain 28:38 with alcohol to deaden the brain cells. 28:41 One drink begins to deaden brain cells, 28:44 and Jesus says to you and me, 28:46 I want to speak to your heart. 28:48 I want to talk to your mind, 28:51 I want to send the Holy Spirit to give you the highest, 28:54 the noblest, the most elevated thoughts possible. 28:58 But if we defile our minds with alcohol, 29:01 the Holy Spirit cannot communicate with them 29:04 as He would so want. 29:06 The alcohol, social problems, 29:08 more car wrecks are caused by alcohol 29:10 than any other thing. 29:12 Somebody says, "Mark, I'm really struggling." 29:15 I know sometimes alcohol becomes really a crutch, 29:20 it really becomes a way out. 29:22 You have deep problems in the family, 29:24 financial problems. 29:26 You work and you are stressed at work 29:30 and you find a little relief in alcohol. 29:32 I want to say to you, that relief can come in Jesus. 29:36 Don't make the bottle a substitute for Jesus. 29:39 Don't make alcohol a substitute 29:41 for the one that is the Prince of Peace. 29:44 I love the way it's put in Isaiah 26:3, 29:47 where Jesus says this, 29:49 "Peace, I will keep him in perfect peace 29:52 whose mind is stayed upon thee because he trusts thee." 29:56 You see, when you take alcohol searching for peace, 30:00 you're going to have to take another drink 30:02 and another drink and you become more addicted, 30:04 more addicted, more addicted 30:05 but Jesus can give you that peace. 30:09 Christ promises you both peace and abundant health, 30:14 living at endtime, 30:16 preparing for the second coming of Jesus. 30:19 Jesus desires that our bodies and minds give Him glory 30:25 by the lifestyle habits that we have. 30:28 Now what about habits that come in the area of diet, 30:33 the things that we eat? 30:34 Look at a promise that God gave to ancient Israel 30:37 in Exodus 15:26, 30:40 "If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God 30:43 and do what's right in His sight, 30:45 give ear to His commandments, 30:47 keep His statutes, 30:49 I will put none of the diseases on you 30:51 which I have brought on the Egyptians. 30:53 For I am the Lord who heals you." 30:54 Now God promised Israel 30:57 that as they wandered in the desert wilderness, 31:01 if they kept His commandments, 31:03 that the Egyptians would have certain types of diseases 31:06 that Israel would not have. 31:08 Following God's way of obedience 31:11 enhances our health. 31:14 Turning our back on God's way of obedience 31:17 is health destroying. 31:20 Let's look for a moment at what the promise was 31:23 and how that promise was fulfilled 31:25 to the Israelites. 31:26 Psalm 105:37 says, 31:28 "There was none feeble among His tribes." 31:31 In other words, 31:33 as Israel followed the commands of God, 31:37 as they lived in harmony with the principles of God, 31:40 God met His promise. 31:42 He fulfilled His promise and there was abundant health 31:46 given to the Israelites. 31:49 What about the Egyptians? 31:51 Studies confirm 31:52 that the truthfulness of God's word 31:55 is wrought out certainly in, 31:58 as we study the Egyptian lifestyle, 32:00 studies done on the Egyptian mummies 32:03 continue to show the authenticity of God's Word. 32:07 Let's look at a couple of those studies. 32:10 Ramses II, 32:12 one of the famous Pharaohs of Egypt 32:15 died of a massive heart attack. 32:18 Now here is the most amazing thing. 32:20 Dr. Rosalie David of Manchester University in England 32:23 has done autopsies on mummies. 32:26 Now what happens in these autopsies? 32:28 Mummification was very often practiced in Egypt. 32:34 The bodies were taken, 32:36 the organs were taken out of the body, 32:39 the brain was taken out, 32:42 and they were put in what's called canopic jars. 32:46 And so you are able to do an autopsy out of mummy, 32:49 look at the organs, 32:51 looked at the veins and arteries, 32:52 and see how these people died. 32:55 This is an amazing photograph. 32:57 You are looking, can you believe it, 33:00 at the arteries of Ramses II. 33:04 And notice the artery here 33:06 on the left side of the photograph. 33:10 You notice the plaquing in that artery. 33:13 Notice the arteries on the far right, 33:15 the narrowing, the hardness of those arteries. 33:19 The later Egyptian dynasties, particularly among the wealthy, 33:24 had a very high fat, high sugar diet 33:27 and so as the result of that cholesterol built up 33:30 in the arteries, and you know what happens 33:32 when cholesterol builds up in the arteries. 33:34 The heart can pump, as it pumps, 33:37 it pumps the blood through a narrower artery 33:40 or a narrower area. 33:42 That artery gets smaller and smaller with the plaquing. 33:45 As the heart pumps a plaque can break off. 33:48 As it does, it can seal that artery. 33:52 When that happens, 33:54 the oxygen supply to the heart is cut off, 33:57 there is that painful stabbing heart attack. 34:01 The Israelites had abundant health. 34:04 The Egyptians suffered 34:06 from many of the lifestyle diseases 34:08 we are suffering today. 34:09 Dr. Claude Rufeis, French physician, 34:11 has done X-rays on 14,000 mummies. 34:15 So we have a pretty good idea 34:17 of what the Egyptians were dying of. 34:19 What were they dying of? 34:21 Heart disease, cancer, they were dying of arthritis, 34:25 obesity, high blood pressure, 34:27 rheumatism, sexually transmitted diseases. 34:31 Many of the diseases we have today in our society 34:35 were diseases of lifestyle. 34:38 Today, the great diseases 34:40 that are killing us are no longer influenza, 34:43 no longer our western societies dying 34:47 as much of child birth deaths. 34:50 We are dying now of lifestyle diseases, 34:54 diseases that are brought about by our own living habits. 34:58 You know, in the first book of the Bible, in Genesis, 35:01 God gives to us a diet for life and a diet for health. 35:06 It was really a plant-based diet. 35:08 Genesis 1:29, the Bible says, 35:11 "And God said, 'See, I have given you..." 35:15 Who has given it? God says, I have given it. 35:17 If God gives us a diet, I want to follow it, don't you? 35:20 He says, "I have given you every herb, 35:22 berry that yields seed 35:24 in the face of all the earth." 35:26 In other words, fruits, nuts, grains, He gave there. 35:29 And some of the thing 35:30 we would call vegetables today like tomatoes or bens, 35:34 the things of seed. 35:35 "And every tree whose fruit yields seed, 35:37 it shall be to you for food." 35:39 So God gives to Adam and Eve a plant-based diet in Eden. 35:44 The diet in Eden was a vegetarian diet. 35:47 Can you imagine Adam saying to Eve, "Hey, Eve. 35:51 You see that cow over there, 35:53 how do you like a steak for supper?" 35:54 And can you imagine Adam chasing it, 35:57 jumping on it, be forcing, 35:59 slitting a throat of some cow 36:01 and having blood all over the place? 36:03 Certainly not. 36:04 God gave to Adam and Eve, a plant-based diet. 36:07 There was no death of animals in any way. 36:11 God did not create the animas to be killed and eaten by man. 36:16 It wasn't until after the flood in Noah's day 36:19 that God gave people permission to eat flesh food. 36:23 That came right after the flood, why? 36:26 Well, the human race had sinned 36:28 and all the world was destroyed by the flood 36:31 and vegetation was destroyed. 36:33 So to meet that emergency, 36:34 God gave them permission to eat meat. 36:36 Also, God gave permission 36:38 because human beings had sinned 36:40 and they had gone into such sinful lives, 36:42 that He knew that flesh food would shorten the lifespan. 36:47 So God made accommodations to that. 36:49 But the original diet was a plant-based diet 36:53 and His desire was human beings eat 36:56 that plant-based diet, 36:58 even after sin, even after the days of Noah. 37:01 God instructed Noah to bring into the ark animals 37:04 that were clean and animals that were unclean. 37:07 So God didn't give Noah permission 37:10 to eat any kind of animals, not at all. 37:13 God gave them permission to eat only the clean animals, 37:16 never the unclean. 37:18 Now if you want the healthiest diet, 37:19 of course, you go back 37:20 to a plant-based vegetarian diet. 37:23 Genesis 7:1, 2, "Then the Lord said to Noah, 37:27 'Come into the ark, you and all your household, 37:30 because I have seen 37:31 that you are righteous before Me in this generation. 37:35 You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, 37:38 a male and his female, 37:39 two each of animals that are unclean, 37:42 a male and his female." 37:44 So God creates animals 37:45 that are clean and that are what? 37:48 Unclean. 37:49 The unclean are the scavengers of the earth. 37:52 They are to eat up all the refuse of the earth. 37:55 You know, somebody said, 37:56 "What you eat today walks and talks tomorrow." 38:00 So these scavengers are digesting 38:04 the garbage of this world. 38:07 Now there are two kinds of animals, 38:09 the clean and the unclean. 38:11 We were never to eat the unclean, 38:13 they were to do the work that God gave them to do. 38:17 The unclean and the clean were taken into the ark. 38:20 The clean were taken in by sevens, 38:22 because they would be used for sacrifices. 38:25 The Bible is very clear in defining 38:28 these unclean animals. 38:30 So if you want to follow the Bible's way, 38:32 never take the unclean animals. 38:35 Deuteronomy puts it this way, 14:6-8, 38:39 "And you may eat every animal 38:41 with cloven hooves, 38:42 having the hoof split into two parts, 38:46 and that chews the cud, among the animals." 38:48 So the clean animals have two characteristics. 38:52 What are they? 38:53 They chew the cud, what's that mean? 38:55 They chew their food, 38:57 it goes down into their stomach, 38:58 they have a very complex digestive system, 39:01 they spit it up and chew it again. 39:03 So the clean animals have a complex digestive system 39:05 and don't absorb 39:06 the toxins directly into their flesh. 39:08 They also must have a split hoof. 39:12 Sheep are like that, cows are like that, 39:15 and so sheep and cows would be clean animals. 39:19 If you're going to eat meat, stick with the clean ones. 39:21 But what about the unclean animals? 39:24 We look back at Deuteronomy 14:6-8, 39:28 "Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud 39:31 or have cloven hooves, 39:32 you shall not eat, such as these:" 39:35 these are what you shall not eat, 39:36 "the camel, the hare, the rock hyrax, 39:39 for they chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves. 39:42 They are unclean to you." 39:44 So notice the Bible says, "The camel is unclean." 39:47 So I want you to go home and throw away all camel 39:51 in your refrigerator. 39:53 Do you love Jesus enough to take out all the camel 39:54 in your refrigerator? 39:56 No more camel sandwiches for lunch. 39:58 Women, don't make your husbands any more camel sandwiches 40:01 for lunch, 40:02 no more fried camel for the kids at breakfast. 40:04 You say, "Pastor, I don't eat that stuff." 40:07 Well, let's keep going. 40:08 It says, "The swine is unclean." 40:11 Nobody eats swine, do they? What's a swine? 40:13 That's pig, that's pork. I mean nobody. 40:16 Would anybody eat that? What does the Bible say here? 40:18 "The swine is unclean to you because it has cloven hooves, 40:21 yet does not chew the cud. 40:23 You shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcasses." 40:28 So the Bible says that swine or pigs are unclean, why? 40:33 Because as they waggle in the mud, 40:38 as they eat the scraps in food 40:41 that's absorbed into their body. 40:44 "Well, my pigs are grain-fed." 40:46 They still have waste, 40:47 they still don't have a complex digestive system, 40:50 and all that toxin or poison is absorbed in their flesh. 40:56 The Bible says in Psalm 84:11, 40:58 "No good thing will Jesus 41:01 withhold from them that walk uprightly." 41:03 If pork were good, God would not uphold it for us. 41:06 Somebody says, "But Pastor, wait a minute, 41:07 that's Old Testament, Jesus died on the cross." 41:13 Jesus did not die on the cross to cleanse pigs. 41:17 He died on the cross to cleanse sinners. 41:19 What was unclean before the cross is unclean 41:21 after the cross. 41:23 You know, you think Jesus dies on the cross, 41:24 does He work some kind of magic through His death 41:26 so that pigs that were unclean 41:29 and unhealthy become now clean? 41:31 Not at all. 41:33 This is not a ceremonial requirement, 41:36 it is rather a health requirement. 41:38 Pork has the highest cholesterol source 41:41 of all meats. 41:42 And when you cure bacon with nitrates, 41:46 that links bacon with cancer today. 41:51 Dr. McNaught, a health researcher, 41:54 found that one of every four pork specimens 41:58 had living trichina larvae in it. 42:01 One out of every four. 42:03 Somebody said, 42:04 "Pastor, but I cook my pork so hot it kills them all." 42:08 Does it give you any comfort that you are eating half 42:12 a million dead trichina larvae rather than living ones? 42:15 You know, some physicians wonder 42:18 whether some rheumatism and arthritis with pains 42:21 may be wrongly diagnosed and actually 42:23 that inflammation and pain may be coming 42:26 from some of the unclean foods that we eat. 42:28 So God is calling us to health, 42:30 He is calling us from these unclean foods. 42:34 Somebody says, 42:36 "Does it really make a difference?" 42:38 Look what the Bible says, 42:39 Philippians 3:19, "Whose end is destruction, 42:42 whose god is their belly, whose glory is their shame." 42:46 The issue is not only what we eat, 42:48 how it destroys our bodies. 42:50 But the issue is the desire, 42:53 the craving, not to give our appetites 42:57 under the control of Jesus Christ. 42:59 Jesus says, 43:01 "Come, present your body a living sacrifice to me." 43:05 The issue is setting our mind, as Philippians says, 43:09 "on earthly things" 43:10 rather than setting our mind on the things of heaven 43:14 and giving Christ our body to live with Him forever. 43:18 Now what about things in the sea? 43:20 Deuteronomy 14:9, 43:22 "These you may eat of all that are in the waters, 43:25 that you may eat all that have fins and scales." 43:27 So if it's in the sea, has fins and scales, 43:30 you can eat it. 43:31 Whatever does not have fins and scales, 43:33 you shall not eat, it's unclean. 43:36 The things that do not have fins and scales, 43:38 lobsters, crabs, 43:41 the things like clams and quahogs. 43:45 So they are absorbing the toxins in the sea 43:50 and as the result of that... 43:51 I remember when I was a boy, I didn't know these things. 43:55 I'd walk there in the mud, the filth, in the ocean, 43:59 about up to my knees, look for what we call quahogs, 44:02 they were like clams but they have hard shells, 44:04 and you know, what are they doing? 44:05 They are absorbing the refuses, 44:08 they're absorbing the guts of the fish that have died, 44:12 absorbing all those dead things, 44:13 and you know what, and I feel in one of my foot, 44:15 I'd find it. 44:16 I take this clamp, this quahog out, 44:18 throw it to my grandpa on shore, 44:20 he would take a knife and cut it open, 44:22 put a little vinegar, and salt and pepper on it, 44:24 hand it back to me, I'd go... 44:26 swallow that thing raw. 44:29 You know, as a teenager, 44:31 I had terrible stomach problems. 44:33 You say, "Pastor, you should have known better." 44:35 Yeah, I didn't know better, I didn't know these things, 44:38 but you are excused my friend. 44:40 You see, God is calling us. 44:41 God is calling us away from all these defiling things. 44:44 Since I gave up the pork as a boy, 44:46 since I gave up the unclean food as a boy, 44:49 since I gave up the clams, the lobster, 44:54 my health has been so much better. 44:56 Somebody says, "Pastor Mark, what about Peter's vision? 45:00 Didn't Peter have a vision of all these unclean things?" 45:02 Let's go to it. 45:04 Peter is up on the roof, he is praying, 45:05 and he sees in his sheet, 45:08 rats, snakes, alligators, 45:12 he sees elephants, 45:13 he sees monkeys, he sees turtles, 45:16 he sees all these wild animals and God says, 45:19 "Peter, go eat that." 45:20 Peter says, "Lord, I could never do that. 45:22 I've never eaten anything unclean." 45:24 Now notice, this is after the cross. 45:28 So obviously, Peter saying I never ate anything unclean. 45:31 So Jesus didn't make some miraculous change 45:34 in these animals at the cross. 45:36 Jesus says, "Go eat it." Peter doesn't understand. 45:39 The sheet is taken up from heaven. 45:41 Two men come and knock on his door. 45:42 They say, "Cornelius is praying." 45:44 Peter considered Cornelius to be unclean as a gentile. 45:50 The voice came to Peter in his dream, Acts 10:13, 14, 45:55 "Rise, Peter, kill and eat. 45:56 What does Peter say? Not so, Lord. 45:58 I have never eaten anything common or unclean. 46:00 I can't do that Lord. 46:02 This is not in harmony with Your will." 46:05 God shows me, Peter says as he interprets the dream, 46:10 the two men knock on his door, they say, 46:13 "There's one called Cornelius. 46:15 He has been praying. 46:17 God has revealed to him that someone will come 46:20 to preach the gospel and we'd be led to Simon, 46:23 the tanner's house, and Peter we found you, 46:25 come and preach. 46:26 Had Peter not had that dream, 46:29 his prejudice against the gentiles 46:33 would have been so high, he wouldn't have come there. 46:35 So later, when he is explaining what he did and why he did it, 46:38 he says, "God has shown me 46:41 that I should not call any man common or unclean." 46:45 Peter interprets the dream not that he should eat any food 46:49 that he wants, 46:51 but that he should never call a human being unclean. 46:56 "In truth I perceive God shows no partiality." 47:00 This is a vision about racial harmony. 47:03 This is a vision about respecting men and women 47:07 as the unique creation of God from all backgrounds, 47:11 all cultures, all colors of skin, 47:14 all language groups. 47:16 So it has nothing to do about what you eat, 47:19 everything to do about how you treat people. 47:23 Because look what Peter says, Acts 10:34, 35, 47:27 "But in every nation whoever fears Him 47:30 and works righteousness is accepted by Him." 47:33 It's a vision to break down barriers between creeds, 47:38 and peoples, and races. 47:40 But somebody says, 47:41 "You know what Pastor, this is so difficult for me. 47:44 I don't know how I can give up tobacco 47:46 or alcohol. 47:48 I don't know how I can give up unclean foods. 47:50 And to be honest with you, Pastor, 47:52 sometimes my physical desires get out of control. 47:56 Sometimes my cravings get out of control." 47:59 Sometimes somebody says, 48:01 "Pastor, my life isn't morally pure." 48:04 Here is the reality of the situation. 48:08 Without Christ, you can do nothing. 48:12 If you try to overcome the physical cravings 48:14 of your body without Christ, 48:17 you're not going to accomplish it, 48:18 you're gonna fail again and again and again. 48:21 It's like Shakespeare said. 48:22 He said, "It's not hard to quit smoking. 48:24 I've done it a 1000 times." 48:27 You see, Shakespeare worked to try to overcome habits 48:31 of his life in his own strength. 48:34 But you can never overcome the habits of your life, 48:38 those physical habits in your strength. 48:40 Without Christ, you can do nothing. 48:42 But with Christ, all things are possible. 48:47 Look at Philippians 4:13. 48:51 Jesus, through the Apostle Paul says to you, 48:54 "I can do all things through Christ 48:57 who strengthens me." 48:58 What can you do through Jesus? What can you do through Jesus? 49:02 Who is stronger, Jesus or tobacco? 49:04 Who is stronger, Jesus or alcohol? 49:07 Who is stronger, Jesus or unclean foods? 49:10 Who is stronger, 49:12 Jesus or the cravings of the flesh, 49:14 the physical desires? 49:16 Who is stronger, Jesus or those drugs? 49:18 I can do all things through who? 49:22 Through Christ that strengthens me. 49:25 A number of years ago 49:27 I was helping a woman to quit smoking. 49:30 Her name was Carrel, and I was talking to Carrel 49:34 and she had been brought up in a Christian home. 49:37 She had been drifting away from Christ, 49:40 and she began to smoke, 49:42 and she really wanted to come back to Jesus. 49:43 But she said, "Pastor, I feel so weak. 49:46 I feel just so weak, I don't think I can ever quit." 49:50 We opened the Bible, 49:51 and I began to read to her the promises of God, 49:53 "Without me you can do nothing, 49:55 but with Me you can do all things." 49:57 We came to Philippians 4:13 50:00 and I opened the Bible and I said, 50:01 "Carrel, read." 50:03 And she read, "I can do all things 50:04 through Christ that strengthens me." 50:06 And I said, "Carrel, do you believe that?" 50:08 She said, "I don't know. 50:09 Pastor, I've got to be honest with you. 50:11 I really don't know. 50:13 I don't know if I can quit or not." 50:15 I said, "Carrel, do you have a pen?" 50:16 She said, "Sure." I said, "Get your pen. 50:18 I want you to write something in your Bible. 50:20 It's really important that you write it there." 50:22 And she said, "Pastor, I'll write it." 50:24 And I said, "But let me tell you. 50:26 See that text that says, 50:27 "I can do all things through Christ 50:28 that strengthens me?" 50:30 "Yes, Pastor." 50:31 "I want you to write in your Bible, 50:32 except quit smoking through Jesus." 50:35 So the text is gonna read, 50:37 "I can do all things except quit smoking 50:39 through Christ that strengthens me." 50:40 She said, "Pastor, 50:41 I'm not writing that in my Bible. 50:43 Pastor, I am not writing that in my Bible." 50:44 I said, "Carrel, do you believe it? 50:46 Do you believe what God said? 50:49 Do you believe what God said counter to your feelings, 50:51 counter to your cravings?" 50:53 She said, "Pastor, I claim it. Pastor, I believe it. 50:56 Pastor, yes, I sense 50:58 that I can do all things through Christ 51:00 that strengthens me." 51:01 I said, "Get your tobacco." She got it. 51:03 We put it on the floor, we prayed. 51:04 And by the grace of God, that woman came to Jesus 51:09 and she let aside those habits of life. 51:13 You see, when you cry out from your soul, 51:16 "Give me Jesus, give me Jesus, give me Jesus. 51:19 Jesus, I know You are living in my heart, 51:21 but Lord, I am trapped, I am enslaved in this habit. 51:24 Give me, Jesus, strength. 51:26 Lord, I'm eating unclean foods but I love You. 51:29 But Jesus, give me Your strength. 51:31 Jesus, give me Your power." 51:33 Listen, as Celestine sings, give me Jesus. 51:37 Now wherever you are, open your heart 51:40 to that living Christ right now. 52:04 I could hold diamonds in my hand 52:12 Own a thousand mansions by the sea 52:19 Write the secrets of the universe 52:23 And endless mystery 52:27 But they could never set my spirit free 52:35 You can have the stars 52:38 Just give me Jesus 52:42 You can rope the moon Just give me Jesus 52:50 You take tomorrow 52:54 I will still believe 52:58 All the love He's given me 53:02 Is all I'll ever need 53:06 You can have everything 53:09 Just give me Jesus 53:17 He has moved mountains in my heart 53:25 Calmed the storms with whispers of His love 53:32 Now I know that I can never live 53:37 Without His tender touch 53:41 I never knew I needed Him so much 53:48 You can have the storms 53:52 Just give me Jesus Just give me Jesus 53:56 You can rope the moon 54:00 Just give me Jesus Just give me Jesus 54:04 You can take tomorrow 54:08 I will still believe 54:12 All the love He's given me 54:16 Is all I'll ever need 54:19 You can have everything 54:23 Just give me Jesus 54:27 All the treasures of this earth 54:31 All the pleasures of this life 54:36 Turn to dust in the light 54:40 Of His love 54:44 You can have the storms 54:49 Just give me Jesus 54:52 You can rope the moon 54:55 Just give me Jesus 55:00 You can take tomorrow 55:04 I will still believe 55:07 All the love He's given me 55:12 Is all I'll ever need 55:15 You can have everything 55:20 Just give me Jesus 55:34 Just give me Jesus 55:40 Maybe you have been struggling, 55:43 struggling with some habit in your life, 55:48 struggling with alcohol, 55:50 struggling with tobacco, 55:52 struggling with some drug addiction. 55:57 Maybe you felt enslaved, 55:59 imprisoned, chained, bound, 56:04 but yet, deep within your heart, 56:08 you want to be free. 56:10 Maybe you're in a relationship that you know is not in harmony 56:14 with God's will, and that's been binding you. 56:17 Maybe you've struggled again and again 56:19 with some article of food, unclean food. 56:24 Maybe you've not considered before that the people living 56:28 before the second coming of Jesus 56:31 will give Jesus everything. 56:33 They'll give Jesus everything, their mind, their body, 56:38 their emotions, their spiritual life. 56:41 Christ does not want part of you, 56:45 Christ wants all of you. 56:47 Would you just open your heart to Him right now? 56:49 And say Jesus, I'm opening my heart to You. 56:52 Will you cry out, give me Jesus. 56:56 Give me Jesus as we pray. 56:58 Father in heaven, thank You so much 57:01 for the living Christ, 57:03 who comes with all His power to meet our needs, 57:07 who comes to strengthen us and break the shackles 57:10 that hold us, 57:12 as we cry out right now, give me Jesus. 57:16 That's our prayer in Christ's name, amen. 57:19 Thank you for joining us 57:21 for Revelation's Ancient Discoveries. 57:25 Every single one of these messages 57:27 will be life changing. 57:29 So stay with us. |
Revised 2018-06-28