Participants: Dwayne Lemon, Lance Wilbur
Series Code: TKS
Program Code: TKS000018
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00:30 Hello, my name is Dwayne Lemon.
00:32 And I'm Lance Wilbur. 00:33 And we like to welcome you to another program of TKS, 00:37 A True Knowledge of Self 00:39 where we get to know ourselves from a biblical perspective. 00:42 We've been having a wonderful time 00:44 studying the Word of God and learning so much. 00:46 We've been seeing over and over again parallels 00:49 from the times of the Old Testament 00:51 and seeing the experiences especially 00:53 and in particular to Daniel the prophet 00:56 and of course his comrades, Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael, 00:59 who were then named Belteshazzar, 01:01 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 01:04 We watch how Nebuchadnezzar 01:05 put together a threefold attempt 01:08 to try to unfit these men to be faithful followers of God 01:12 and we found that in Daniel Chapter 1. 01:15 Throughout that first chapter, 01:16 we find that there were two emphasis 01:19 that were given that we already addressed. 01:21 One was the effort of Nebuchadnezzar 01:23 to change their educational system. 01:26 But then we also found 01:28 that Nebuchadnezzar wanted to change their name. 01:30 Today's program, we want to talk 01:32 about that third attempt, 01:33 that third effort that Nebuchadnezzar did 01:35 because this is a very significant point to make 01:38 and it's a very crucial issue in urban society today. 01:42 And we want you to definitely join with us 01:44 as we prepare to dig into this topic. 01:47 Lance, once again it's a blessing 01:48 to always be back with you, brother, 01:50 and to go over the Word of God together and, you know, 01:53 we have something very special we wanted to talk about. 01:55 Now I wanted to address this one 01:57 because this is the third attack 01:58 of Nebuchadnezzar upon Daniel and his fellows 02:02 where we find that they also had to take a stand 02:05 but this stand is a little different. 02:06 Okay. 02:08 Because when we look at Daniel Chapter 1 02:09 and we look at Nebuchadnezzar 02:10 trying to change the educational system 02:12 of what Daniel had received as an education in times past. 02:16 The thing that I found that was very interesting 02:19 is that when it came to Nebuchadnezzar's effort 02:22 to change or to introduce this new learning, 02:25 you do not find from Daniel Chapter 1 02:28 all the way to Daniel Chapter 12. 02:30 You find no evidence of Daniel protesting. 02:33 In other words, Nebuchadnezzar introduces 02:35 false signs and false concepts 02:37 or a commixing of good and evil. 02:39 You don't find anywhere in the Bible where Daniel says, 02:42 "No, I won't accept this." 02:45 There's nothing that says that. 02:46 So therefore there is no open protest, 02:48 but nevertheless we know that Daniel followed the principle 02:50 or in fact, Daniel's parents 02:52 followed the principle 02:54 which tells us, "Train up a child 02:56 in the way he should go and when he is old, 02:57 he will not depart from it." 02:59 So we find that Daniel was holding to true education 03:02 and he demonstrated that. 03:04 But then the other thing is, 03:05 is that they wanted to change the name. 03:07 They said, "Daniel, your name is no longer Daniel. 03:09 Your name is now Belteshazzar." 03:11 And again no protest. No protest. 03:14 You don't find from Daniel 1 to Daniel 12 03:16 where Daniel says, "Listen, you know, 03:18 I don't accept what you are sharing with me." 03:20 But nevertheless you do see 03:22 that when Daniel has an opportunity to speak. 03:25 In Daniel Chapter 7 he says, "I Daniel." 03:28 Daniel Chapter 8. "I Daniel." 03:31 Daniel Chapter 9, "Me Daniel." 03:33 So over and over again, 03:35 even though he was given a new name, 03:36 Daniel did not have to openly protest 03:39 because at the end of the day Daniel knew his name 03:42 and therefore he stuck to his name. 03:44 But when it came to the third test, 03:47 we find that this is the one 03:49 where Daniel had to make an open protest 03:53 and it's found in Daniel Chapter 1 03:55 as we're gonna go ahead and consider verse 5. 03:59 The Bible says in Daniel 1:5. 04:02 "And the king appointed them 04:03 a daily provision of the king's meat, 04:06 and of the wine which he drank, so nourishing them three years, 04:10 that at the end thereof 04:12 they might stand before the king." 04:14 Verse 8, 04:16 "But Daniel purposed in his heart 04:19 that he would not defile himself 04:22 with the portion of the king's meat, 04:24 nor with the wine which he drank, 04:26 therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs 04:30 that he might not defile himself." 04:33 And then I would like to conclude 04:34 with verse 11 and 12. 04:37 "Then said Daniel to Melzar, 04:38 whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, 04:40 Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 04:43 prove thy servants, I beseech thee, 04:45 ten days and let them give us pulse to eat, 04:49 and water to drink." 04:51 Here goes Daniel again, false education comes, 04:54 no open protest. 04:57 They try to change their name, no open protest. 05:00 They introduce a diet to him 05:02 and all of a sudden Daniel finds a need to say, 05:04 this one I cannot remain silent. 05:06 This one, I must open my mouth. 05:08 This one, I must openly protest. 05:11 And now we talked about 05:13 this just in short in our previous episode 05:16 but what in the world is this diet 05:19 that Daniel request in place of the meat 05:21 or the food from the king's table? 05:22 Yes. 05:24 And when he makes this protest, 05:26 he not only refuses the king's meat. 05:28 And by the way and I'm sure this will come up 05:30 but the word meat we know means food. 05:32 So it's not always referring to flesh. 05:34 Yeah. 05:35 But nevertheless, while he refuses 05:37 the king's food and wine and so on, 05:39 it says that and he wanted pulse to eat and water. 05:43 Now water we are very familiar with 05:44 but some individuals, some of our viewers, 05:46 they maybe wondering, well, that what is pulse. 05:48 So pulse is dealing with that which has been sown. 05:53 So in the original language. 05:54 So when we talk about pulse, 05:55 we are talking about things that had been sown. 05:57 And we know that what you sow are seeds. 05:59 And therefore, Daniel is talking about vegetation. 06:02 He is talking about the things that are plant based 06:06 and this was the diet 06:08 that Daniel wanted to have in comparison 06:10 to having the king's food and the king's wine. 06:13 Very interesting. 06:15 Now, Lance, you know, my question is this. 06:17 While we see, you know, 06:18 most people if you would ask someone 06:20 which one is most important. 06:21 Especially if you would go to someone, 06:22 let's say even in hip-hop culture today 06:24 or in urban society and you say, 06:26 "Which one do you think is more important, 06:29 education, 06:30 the importance of maintaining your name 06:33 or what you eat? 06:34 There is more than likely a good chance 06:36 that they are gonna put either education 06:39 or name on a higher level than what they eat. 06:42 There's a chance that, that would happen. 06:43 And I would think to say 06:45 that the modern day society would agree, 06:46 because when you look at modern day society 06:48 especially western culture, 06:49 we find that people pretty much eat just about anything, 06:52 everywhere, whatever moves. 06:53 But here it is that Daniel, he finds himself silent 06:57 on eating the flesh or eating the... 06:59 I'm sorry, silent on dealing with the education, 07:03 he is also silent on dealing with the name change, 07:06 but he is opening his mouth and protesting 07:08 when it came to the food that was given. 07:10 My question is, 07:12 "Why was it that Daniel took this so seriously?" 07:16 Well, we're gonna go into it and we're gonna look 07:17 and see what the Bible says, 07:19 but when we consider these great problems 07:23 that we've been identifying show after show. 07:27 We saw that sin was the problem that entered in, 07:31 Genesis Chapter 3. 07:32 We went back there 07:34 and saw that the origin of both true and false education 07:37 were also in the Garden of Eden 07:39 and we saw when we were discussing false education, 07:42 that origin was found in that exchange, 07:44 that dialog and ultimately the sinful act of Eve and Adam, 07:49 when they took of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 07:53 So I want to go back there 07:55 and kind of highlight some things 07:56 in Genesis Chapter 3 and show 07:59 what we're dealing with because again, 08:01 there is the principle that we need to identify 08:04 and establish, then we can get to the specifics. 08:06 So, God is going to layout the principle. 08:08 The Bible is going to layout the principle 08:10 that can be applied in every situation 08:12 and then He is gonna help us 08:13 with specifics and practical examples, 08:15 so we know to make a decision, 08:17 because God always puts as we saw in Deuteronomy 08:19 two decisions before us, life, death. 08:22 So, He is always gonna give us that option. 08:24 So, I'd like to turn at this time 08:26 to Genesis Chapter 3 08:28 and I want to look back again at verse 6. 08:31 So Genesis Chapter 3 08:32 and we're gonna be reading from verse 6. 08:36 Remember the dialog now. 08:39 Eve is dialoging with the serpent 08:41 and we saw that the serpent is the Devil 08:44 and Satan according to Revelation 12:9. 08:47 And now as I read Genesis 3:6, 08:52 we see something very interesting. 08:54 "And when the woman saw that the tree 08:57 was good for food, 08:58 and that it was pleasant to the eyes, 09:01 and a tree to be desired to make one wise, 09:03 she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, 09:06 and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat." 09:10 And we identify, we talked about this. 09:12 We showed the connection between in 1 John Chapter 2 09:15 where you had that threefold challenge, 09:18 the things of the world that were called not to love 09:21 because if we do, we're an enemy of God. 09:23 The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, 09:27 and the pride of life. 09:29 And we see this now in Genesis 3. 09:31 So John is not grasping, the Apostle 09:33 John is not trying to reach for some new concept. 09:35 He is simply applying something 09:36 that was established in the very beginning. 09:38 Man fell on these three, very three points. 09:41 The lust of the flesh. 09:43 It says that Eve saw that the tree was good for food. 09:46 It says that she saw that it was pleasing to the eyes, 09:49 the lust of the eyes. 09:50 And then it says the pride of life. 09:52 She saw that the tree was a desire to make one wise 09:54 that she could be as God as the serpent had offered her. 09:59 The serpent had presented. 10:02 If we wanted to summarize 10:05 these three kind of categories or these three evils 10:09 or the three aspects of the love of the world, 10:12 we can summarize it with one word 10:14 and that word would be appetite. 10:16 That's right. 10:17 Man fell on the point of appetite. 10:20 And when we talk about appetite, 10:21 obviously we are talking in the context of food, 10:23 eating and drinking. 10:25 But appetite consists or addresses 10:28 every single need, want and desire of the human being. 10:32 So anything that I see, 10:33 we talked about the effect of the feelings and the senses 10:35 and how Eve allowed her rational combined with 10:39 what she was preserving through her five senses 10:44 to give her the safe felt feeling of safety 10:50 to make the decision, 10:51 to partake of that which God says 10:53 explicitly not to do, if you do, you will die. 10:56 So this appetite, 10:57 this desire to be like we saw with Lucifer, 11:01 like we saw with Herod, 11:02 like we saw with Nebuchadnezzar. 11:07 Yes. 11:08 The desire to be like God 11:10 or to claim the prerogatives of God 11:13 or to be something that we are not, 11:15 not realizing a true knowledge of self 11:17 and thinking that we can be as God. 11:20 Thinking that we can be greater than God. 11:22 Is this core idea and concept of appetite 11:27 and this appetite is most commonly expressed 11:30 through eating and drinking 11:31 because eating and drinking is something, you know, 11:33 there's three things scientifically 11:35 that we do in our lifetime, in our entire lifespan 11:39 more than anything else, sleeping, eating and drinking. 11:43 Sleeping and eating being the top two. 11:45 So of all the hours that make up the average lifespan, 11:48 most of our time is spent sleeping and eating. 11:52 So the Bible includes the idea of appetite 11:56 in all of these categories and all of these various ways 12:00 that this principle can play itself out, 12:02 but food is made prominent because we do so much of it. 12:08 And everything that we put into our body affects our body 12:12 and that's what we're gonna be talking about. 12:13 Everything that we insert, whether it's through the eyes, 12:16 ears, mouth, skin, 12:19 and just through nutrients, through food and drink. 12:21 Anything that goes into our body 12:23 has an affect on our entire body, 12:24 our entire physiology, our entire mind. 12:27 And does that indeed now have an effect on our spirituality 12:31 and I think that's something that we need to address. 12:33 Well, you know, it must have an effect upon our spirituality 12:36 and the reason why is because 12:38 the Bible tells us something that's very, very clear. 12:41 It's found in Romans the 7th Chapter. 12:43 When you look at Romans Chapter 7, 12:45 you are gonna find that 12:47 we know that God has called His people to honor Him 12:50 and also to obey His law. 12:52 Remember we talked about what sin was. 12:53 Sin was a transgression, the breaking of God's law, 12:56 His commandments. 12:57 God wants us to live a life that is harmonious 12:59 with His commandments, harmonious with His law. 13:02 Jesus showed us one of those secrets of how to do that. 13:05 He said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 13:07 So love for God will be demonstrated 13:09 in keeping God's commandments. 13:11 If I love my wife, I will clearly not commit adultery. 13:13 Right. 13:15 So, you know, love is that motivator 13:16 behind the keeping of God's commandments, 13:18 but God calls us to keep His commandment, 13:20 to keep His law. 13:21 Now in this reality, 13:23 the Bible tells us or it shows us 13:26 kind of like a means of how it's done. 13:28 It's found in the Book of Romans 13:29 the 7th Chapter. 13:31 In Romans 7:25 13:33 and I'm gonna look at a very key portion 13:35 that Brother Paul was talking about here 13:38 and I want you to notice this because what is the correlation 13:41 between diet and the law of God or us obeying the law of God? 13:46 Is there a connection? Let's notice. 13:48 The Bible says in Romans 7:25, 13:50 "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 13:54 So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God, 14:01 but with the flesh the law of sin." 14:05 So the Bible introduces that the means that God gives us 14:08 on how to serve or to obey His law 14:11 as He says we must do it with the mind. 14:14 And this is why often God's words 14:15 are the same throughout the Bible. 14:17 He said in Deuteronomy 30:19, 20 choose life. 14:21 So therefore, it's a choice, 14:23 and you use your mind to do that. 14:24 God says in Joshua 24:15, 14:27 He says, "Choose you this day whom you will serve." 14:30 Again choice. 14:34 Again we find Elijah reasoning with his own people 14:38 and he says, "How long halt ye between two opinions? 14:40 If the Lord be God, follow Him." 14:43 So over and over again throughout the Bible, 14:44 we find that God does not compel men, 14:46 He doesn't force men, He encourages men, 14:49 He strengthens men 14:51 and He encourages them to choose Him. 14:53 And you choose God with the mind 14:56 and therefore when God tells us that 14:57 we are to honor Him and to keep His law, 15:00 then we do that also with the mind. 15:02 It's the mind that makes the decision. 15:04 Now, understanding that does food affect the mind? 15:09 When we eat and when we drink, 15:10 does it have any bearing upon our mental state or condition 15:15 that can affect our decisions? 15:16 And you know what, 15:17 Solomon the wise man helps answer this question. 15:20 The Bible says in Proverbs the 30th Chapter. 15:23 And see, this is very important because I know growing up 15:25 in hip-hop culture and lifestyle 15:27 and this is way beyond hip-hop culture and lifestyle. 15:29 This is, you know, this is even in some of the most 15:32 highly professed religious worlds. 15:35 Even of the worlds that profess to follow Jesus Christ 15:37 and believe the Bible. 15:39 We know that indulgence and appetite 15:41 is a major issue in urban communities 15:43 and outside of urban communities. 15:45 So even though we know that our program, 15:47 we like to speak to the hearts of those 15:49 in the urban communities, 15:51 those who are affected especially by hip-hp culture. 15:54 And we'll be bringing out some things 15:55 as it relates to diet and so on and lifestyle 15:57 that is more pointed to hip-hop culture. 15:59 But right now this is something that's so general and broad 16:02 that it touches every class of people. 16:04 Right, because every human being, at least I know, 16:08 I'm just gonna speak from my experience. 16:10 Before I became a Christian, 16:12 as far as eating and drinking is concerned, 16:14 I did whatever I wanted to do, whenever I wanted to do it. 16:17 You ate constantly. 16:19 You find yourself eating all day long. 16:21 You know, if I felt hungry at two in the morning, 16:23 go get some food. 16:25 If I want to stay up for 48 hours, 16:26 I'm eating constantly, you're constantly nibbling by. 16:29 Drinking, you're drinking whatever you want 16:32 and you know it registers if it's like a drug or alcohol 16:36 and we'll be talking about that 16:38 but, you know, I know if I drink alcohol, 16:39 I'm going to get drunk. 16:41 So obviously what I put into my body affects my mind. 16:43 Sure. 16:44 What is it little more subtle 16:45 and what we kind of are more dismissible 16:48 as well if I eat this or that, 16:51 even though I'm not getting drunk 16:53 like I were if I drank a large amount of alcohol, 16:56 it's having an affect on my body, 16:58 therefore it's having affect on my mind. 17:00 It's intricately connected, we know, 17:02 you know, even science has at least qualified this now 17:06 or confirms this ancient idea 17:08 that the body is connected with the mind 17:11 that every single cell in the body 17:14 needs basic nutrients, needs water, needs air, 17:18 needs your vitamins and minerals 17:19 and all the other nutrients and fiber. 17:22 Every cell in the body needs it. 17:24 So the blood delivers this to every cell in the body. 17:26 But then we also know that the nervous system 17:30 is connected to virtually every over 100 trillion cells, 17:33 virtually every single cell in your body, 17:35 the nervous has this intimate connection. 17:38 So now, I have this connection between my nervous system, 17:42 my brain, my mind and the way that my body moves and thinks 17:45 and executes and the nutrients that I provide. 17:50 And so everything is intimately connected, 17:52 so obviously the things that I put into my body, 17:56 I consume if you will through any of this senses, 17:58 but especially eating and drinking 18:00 is going to have some kind of impact 18:02 for better or for worse on my mind. 18:05 And if my mind is affected 18:07 from what we discovered even to this point, 18:09 if my mind is negatively affected, 18:12 then possibly the potential exist that I can affect, 18:15 adversely affect my relationship with God. 18:18 I mean, these are at times unfathomable concepts. 18:23 That's right. 18:25 Now, Solomon, he brings out this point 18:27 in a way that is very interesting 18:29 in Proverbs the 30th Chapter. 18:31 He says right here in the 7th verse. 18:33 This is Proverbs 30:7, 18:36 it says, "Two things have I required of thee, 18:38 deny me them not before I die, 18:41 remove far from me vanity and lies, 18:44 give me neither poverty nor riches, 18:47 feed me with food convenient for me, 18:52 lest I be full, and deny thee, 18:56 and say, Who is the Lord?" 19:00 Now, here go Solomon, 19:01 he is talking about things that are being given to him. 19:05 He says, give me neither poverty nor riches 19:07 and then he says feed me with food convenient for me. 19:11 In other words, give me a sufficient amount. 19:14 Don't let me over indulge in appetite. 19:17 And he tells us what would happen if he did in verse 9. 19:20 He said, "Lest I be full, and then I would deny thee, 19:25 and say, Who is the Lord?" 19:27 And so we find that according to the Bible 19:30 that it is possible that if an individual 19:33 overindulges in appetite that it can affect their mind 19:38 that they can actually deny God 19:41 and say, who is the Lord and question His sovereignty. 19:44 And this is the reason why 19:46 God wants us to have government over appetite. 19:50 And if we don't, God's council ends. 19:53 It is a very serious thing. 19:56 It gives me no joy to read a text like this, 19:58 but it's a very serious thing 19:59 because people today are governed by appetite. 20:01 They're controlled by it 20:03 and God actually says 20:04 some very strong language in the Bible 20:06 about when individuals are controlled by appetite. 20:09 It's found in Proverbs the 23rd Chapter 20:11 right there in the first verse. 20:14 It says in Proverbs 23:1 20:16 and we're also gonna look at verse 2 and 3. 20:19 Look at what it says. Yeah. 20:21 "When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, 20:24 consider diligently what is before thee, 20:29 and put a knife to thy throat, 20:33 if thou be a man given to appetite. 20:37 Be not desirous of his dainties, 20:41 for they are deceitful meat." 20:44 God gave us appetites when He created us. 20:46 Yes. 20:48 But when God gave us appetites, 20:49 appetites were supposed to be controlled. 20:51 And when an appetite is not controlled 20:53 and it controls us 20:55 and if we allow it to control us 20:57 over and over and over again to the point it consumes us, 21:00 God says, put a knife to your throat 21:03 if you be a man given or controlled by appetite. 21:07 This is how serious God takes appetite. 21:08 Yeah. 21:10 And this is why we are having this study 21:11 because this was one of the attacks 21:14 of Nebuchadnezzar. 21:16 Indulge, go ahead 21:17 and have the best of what's laid out on my table. 21:19 I can guarantee you there was not a minimal amount, 21:21 there was a maximal amount. 21:22 And therefore, have all the wine, 21:24 have all the meat, have all the food 21:25 that you want to have. 21:27 Take as much as you want 21:28 but praise God that Daniel said no, 21:30 self-control, temperance. 21:32 Daniel said no because he knew that if I do this, 21:35 I know what it's gonna do not only to my body, 21:38 this is not just about livers and hearts 21:40 and organs of the body. 21:41 Daniel understood what this is... 21:43 How this is gonna affect his mind and his decisions 21:47 as it relates to faithfulness to God. 21:49 That's right. 21:51 So we talked about 21:52 how big of an issue is this appetite issue. 21:57 And I think there's one place that we have to go in the Bible 21:59 that shows us the magnitude of the appetite problem. 22:04 It's the very point on which Adam and Eve fell 22:06 generally speaking this appetite, 22:08 right, on the point of appetite. 22:10 So now we see 22:11 and we're gonna go to Matthew Chapter 4, 22:14 we see that Jesus Himself. 22:17 Again, He is a man now, 22:19 a mature man of 30, early 30s, 22:22 at least 30-years-old and He is baptized. 22:26 He is anointed if you will to begin His public ministry 22:28 by John the Baptist in the River Jordon. 22:30 And almost immediately 22:32 after Jesus enters this public ministry 22:35 which is very short, 22:36 you know, three and half years basically. 22:39 But as almost immediately 22:40 after He enters this public ministry officially 22:43 the Bible says that the Holy Spirit leads Him 22:46 into the wilderness. 22:48 And I'm not gonna read through all of Matthew 4, 22:50 but look at in Matthew Chapter 4 22:52 in the beginning stages and understand that 22:54 it shows us that Jesus was led by the spirit 22:57 into the wilderness 22:58 to be tempted of the devil three times. 23:02 Now the devil we've identified is Satan, fallen Lucifer, 23:06 that old serpent. 23:07 And now Jesus is led by God to go His Father, 23:12 to go out into the wilderness by Himself 23:15 and it says that He fasted for 40 days. 23:18 So He is out in the wilderness, 23:20 meaning this is like the desolate area, 23:21 the desert if you will. 23:23 There's nothing, even animals rarely venture out 23:27 into the wilderness. 23:28 So He is there by Himself and He fasts, 23:31 meaning He abstains from food, 23:34 food, physical food for 40 days, okay. 23:39 At the end of this fast, Satan comes to Him, 23:42 but Satan comes to Him 23:43 as an angel of light if you will. 23:45 Jesus does not preserve yet 23:46 at least from what we gather from the Bible story. 23:49 It is not yet perceived that it is Satan. 23:51 So this angel appears at the end of this fast period 23:55 and says, "Listen, if you are the Son of God 24:00 why don't you turn these stones into bread?" 24:03 And this is what we read from Matthew 4:4 24:06 that Jesus answered and said, 24:08 "Man, It is written, 24:09 Man shall not live by bread alone, 24:11 but by every word that proceedeth 24:12 out of the mouth of God." 24:14 The story goes on, that's the first temptation. 24:16 The story goes on to show how now Satan brings 24:19 Jesus up to the pinnacle of the temple, 24:21 the highest point on the temple, 24:23 the Herod's temple if you will and he says, hey, 24:26 the Bible also says, remember Jesus answered 24:28 He says, It is written. 24:29 And He answered with a quote from the Book of Deuteronomy. 24:31 And now Satan takes Him with another challenge and says, 24:33 well... 24:35 Oh, the Bible also says that God will protect His Messiah 24:38 if you will that He won't allow Him to die. 24:42 He says, cast yourself down. 24:44 And, you know, we can trust in the Word, 24:47 essentially again I'm paraphrasing here. 24:50 So Jesus says again, "It is written" 24:53 and so not test the Lord thy God 24:54 or put the Lord thy God to the test 24:56 and He again passes through. 24:59 The third time now Lucifer brings him to a high mountain 25:04 and shows Him, 25:05 I imagine in panoramic view all of the kingdoms, 25:09 the great kingdoms of the earth 25:10 maybe present and future who know, 25:14 but now he says, 25:17 all of these kingdoms well, I give to you Jesus 25:20 if you bow down and worship me at this time. 25:23 And Jesus now automatically identifies. 25:25 Perhaps He had earlier 25:26 but He identifies now that it's Satan. 25:28 He says, "Get thee behind me, Satan. 25:30 But I shall worship the Lord thy God, 25:31 and Him only shall I serve." 25:33 So we see now, 25:35 if we remember now and remind ourselves 25:37 of those three categories the lust of the flesh, 25:40 the lust of the eyes and the pride of life 25:43 that's highlighted in 1 John 2 25:44 that's then shown and revealed in Genesis 3:6 25:47 and the point in which Adam and Eve fell. 25:49 We see those same three categories highlighted 25:52 in this temptation in the wilderness. 25:54 The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes 25:57 and the pride of life using, trying to use... 26:02 Jesus says, needs and desires, 26:05 His physical needs, trying to penetrate through 26:07 His senses and entice Him 26:09 to violate His commitment and the will of His Father. 26:15 Jesus had to overcome this very point 26:19 in order to qualify Himself for ministry 26:22 and to go forward and finish the work 26:24 that His Father gave Him to do 26:26 eventually leading to the cross. 26:28 If appetite was not important, 26:31 then Jesus would not have to had come to overcome 26:36 on these very points where Adam and Eve fell 26:40 in order to carry out the work that God had sent Him to do. 26:44 Salvation is almost not a possibility, 26:47 If Jesus does not overcome on this point of appetite 26:51 so that He can pass through successfully 26:52 all of the various and immense unimaginable temptations 26:57 that He experiences in the future. 27:00 Yeah. 27:01 You know, this is amazing because a lot of times 27:04 people do not connect spirituality and diet. 27:08 A lot of times people feel like I can eat what I want, 27:10 when I want, how I want 27:12 and this has nothing to do with my walk with God 27:15 and whether I will enter into the experiences 27:19 that God wants me to have with Him 27:20 in His righteousness, 27:22 but here we're seeing a very different picture 27:24 as we are carefully going through the scriptures 27:26 and seeing the role of appetite in the fall 27:29 and the role of appetite even in ultimately being saved, 27:33 very powerful. 27:34 Dear friends, we know that there is no food item on earth 27:36 that can save a man. 27:38 That is not our profession, that is not our teaching, 27:40 but we do know that the actions of an individual 27:43 testifies to the experiences that they had, 27:46 and God wants us to be people of self-control 27:48 even on the point of appetite. 27:51 We thank you so much for joining us. 27:52 We're gonna go a lot deeper into these things, 27:54 but until our next session just remember Proverbs 2:6, 27:57 "The Lord gives us wisdom, 27:58 and out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding." 28:01 God bless you. |
Revised 2016-02-18