Participants: Dwayne Lemon, Lance Wilbur
Series Code: TKS
Program Code: TKS000020
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00:30 Hello, my name is Dwayne Lemon.
00:32 And I'm Lance Wilbur. 00:33 And we'd like to welcome you to another program on TKS, 00:36 A True Knowledge of Self, where we get to know ourselves 00:40 from a biblical perspective. 00:42 We thank you again for joining us 00:44 as we're continuing in the word of God. 00:46 We had a very in-depth study as we were looking at 00:50 a thought process that the Bible introduces to us 00:52 that for many has never been considered. 00:56 You know, we live in a world, we live in a culture 00:59 where there is indulgences is almost the middle name 01:03 of our experiences day by day. 01:05 We have appetites, we have appetites for fashion, 01:08 we have appetites for power, money, prestige, 01:11 whatever it may be. 01:13 And we most importantly understand appetite 01:14 as it relates to eating and drinking. 01:16 And we've been studying the Bible to look at 01:19 what does the word of God say 01:20 when it comes to the subject of appetite 01:23 and then the experience of indulgence in appetite. 01:26 We were looking at the word of God 01:27 to get an idea, to understand 01:29 what does God say to us on this point. 01:32 You know, growing up I know that for me, 01:34 especially me and my father, 01:36 we would eat whatever we could find that could move. 01:39 And there's a lot of people who have this experience 01:41 and we don't consider what is it doing to our body, 01:44 what is it doing to our minds, 01:46 how does it affect our walk with God? 01:47 Does it affect our walk with God? 01:49 And this is why we're studying this subject out 01:51 because with the true knowledge of self, 01:54 when we understand ourselves, our weaknesses, 01:56 our frailties, our intemperance, 01:59 we can begin to see that we need to tap 02:02 into a power source outside of us, 02:04 so that we can get that temperance, 02:06 that self control on the points of appetite 02:09 because if we can get control on the point of appetite, 02:13 it is the most perhaps one of the greatest 02:16 stepping stones that prepares us 02:18 to get victory over a lot of other appetites 02:21 beyond eating and drinking. 02:22 So we've been looking at the Bible, 02:24 we looked at the subject of Babylon 02:25 and we saw that this was one of the plans 02:27 of Nebuchadnezzar 02:28 when he tried to introduce the indulgence of appetite 02:31 to Daniel and his fellows. 02:33 And we saw the Daniel demonstrated the discipline 02:35 that was very, very necessary because he understood 02:38 the great controversy he was in. 02:39 And, friends, we are realizing more and more that 02:41 we're in a great controversy. 02:43 We're realizing that in urban culture today, 02:46 a lot of the influences that come, 02:48 connected to hip-hop culture and lifestyle as we look at it, 02:51 we see that there're all sorts of indulgences 02:54 that we can put our hands to at a moment's notice 02:56 and we can partake of it 02:58 in many respects to the point 02:59 that we can take no more to our full. 03:02 God wants us to be people of temperance. 03:04 He wants us to be people of self control. 03:06 This was the life of Jesus and for Christians, 03:10 this is to be our life as well. 03:11 So we were studying and looking at the fact 03:13 that the body is the temple of God 03:15 and we saw that God made it clear 03:17 that he has a plan for us as it relates to the temple. 03:20 And He wants us to make sure that we do nothing 03:22 that would bring any defilement to it, 03:24 so that we would be unfit to do His work, 03:27 fulfill His will and His ways. 03:29 And we're gonna continue to pick back up on this now 03:31 because we've been fairly general for the most part. 03:34 We're talking about specifically appetite 03:36 as it relates to eating and drinking, 03:38 but what we're doing now in this session is 03:40 we're gonna deal more with the specifics. 03:42 I remember when I was still in the entertainment industry 03:44 and I remember going through some experiences 03:47 that I'm gonna talk about in our session today 03:49 with Brother Lance where I learned some things 03:52 as it related to my body and what God requires of me 03:55 to put in it and not put in it 03:56 and the reasons why that blew me away. 03:59 And I remember learning these things over 20 years ago 04:02 and it's amazing to me 04:03 how God has allowed me to see these blessings 04:05 realize in my life as a result of following His will. 04:08 We want this for you too. 04:10 So we're gonna go ahead and transition now, Lance, 04:12 and we're gonna start getting into the word 04:14 and looking at this, you were talking to us 04:16 about the body being the temple, 04:18 you were talking to us about how God takes very seriously 04:21 how we take care of His body temple 04:24 and the fact that there can be some ramifications 04:27 if we don't take care of it properly. 04:29 And therefore the question is this, 04:32 does the Bible speak about specific things. 04:34 You know, sometimes we're very generic. 04:36 It's kind of like a parent telling to a child, 04:38 now that I'm a father especially of four, 04:40 I've learn it's enough to tell a child what to do 04:43 but it's also important to show them how to do it. 04:45 Yeah, stay out of trouble. That's right. 04:47 You know, so if you just tell a child to stay out of trouble, 04:49 you have to define what trouble is. 04:51 And then when the child understand 04:52 what trouble is then they know 04:54 that they need to stay away from that. 04:55 Well, we've been talking about the body, 04:57 temple, appetite, defiling and all these other things, 05:01 but now the question is, 05:03 you know, what are the specific things 05:05 that the Bible does address 05:07 that God says this is what I mean, 05:09 don't put these things inside of you, 05:11 don't put these things upon you because these are the things 05:13 that can debilitate the mind, fever the blood 05:15 and causes not to understand God and His law 05:18 and to be faithful to Him 05:20 in these very last moments of earth's history. 05:22 All right, so we're gonna be going to several text 05:24 but as we discussed that, 05:26 you know, sometimes we think that, 05:28 well, you know, God's not really concern with the body. 05:30 Okay, the body is gonna die 05:32 and it's almost that dualistic mentality, 05:35 you know, that ancient philosophical mentality. 05:38 But, on the other hand, if God created us, 05:43 then He knows how best to govern our being. 05:47 He knows what is the best nutrients to provide energy 05:52 and essentially this is what we're talking about, 05:54 we're talking about eating and drinking. 05:56 We're talking about what does my body need to produce energy? 05:59 Right, because we don't eat an apple 06:01 and the apple magically goes into our body parts, 06:04 the body extracts the nutrients and absorbs the nutrients, 06:08 the vitamins, the minerals, the carbohydrates etcetera 06:11 out of the food to deliver to our cells 06:14 because our cells need the energy to function. 06:17 Our life can't exist without it, 06:19 the water and so and so forth. 06:20 So God is trying to give us the best possible fuel 06:24 to provide the best possible energy, 06:27 the most efficient energy for our body's function. 06:30 And if our body functions, then again it affects the mind 06:32 and so on and so forth. 06:34 So if we're using this analogy of the temple 06:38 that the Bible uses, we didn't make it up, right? 06:40 Right. 06:41 And so this brings to the mind of the Bible student, 06:46 well, God had a temple, a physical temple, okay. 06:49 Began with Moses, right in Exodus 25:8, 06:52 "Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them." 06:55 But we know that God desire to dwell closer than that 06:57 and eventually He desired to dwell in 06:59 each and everyone of us as individuals 07:01 through His spirit. 07:02 Well, are there rules and regulations 07:05 that governed the administration 07:08 of the physical tabernacle in the wilderness, 07:10 the physical temple that Solomon built 07:12 and all these things? 07:14 Absolutely, there's entire chapter 07:15 is dedicated to it, 07:17 in the Book of Exodus, the Book of Leviticus, 07:19 there's entire chapters and verses dedicated strictly 07:23 to how the temple is to administered 07:25 down to the fabric and the layout, 07:27 the measurements, the materials used, 07:30 the garments of the priest, 07:31 all of these things that were strictly guarded 07:35 because God wanted to show how important it was 07:38 to keep the temple clear from defilement. 07:42 Because it was a representation of God's presence amongst men 07:45 and God does not mingle with uncleanness 07:50 if you will, with filth. 07:53 And even at that level, so if that's the case, 07:57 is it true for our bodies. 07:58 I think we've concluded already that it is 08:00 but we want to get more specific. 08:02 And there's a verse in a Book of 2 Chronicles. 08:04 We're looking at 2 Chronicles 23:19 08:09 that kind of summarizes, 08:11 it's just one text of many that shows how important it was 08:14 that God kept a things, unclean things 08:17 outside of the physical temple at that time, 08:20 the physical temple, the literal temple. 08:23 And in 2 Chronicles 23:19, it says, 08:27 "And he set the porters 08:28 at the gates of the house of the Lord, 08:31 that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in." 08:37 So at this point there were guardians placed at the temple, 08:41 at the door of the temple if you will, 08:43 to make sure that nothing unclean, 08:46 nothing unclean whatsoever entered in at any time. 08:51 So, this is an important principle 08:52 and that was for a temple 08:54 that God was just using as an illustration, 08:57 a teaching of His plan of salvation that eventually 08:59 when Christ came, was no longer necessary, 09:02 the sacrificial system in the temple economy 09:04 if you will. 09:05 And now we're seeing that I'm going to dwell in you 09:07 through my spirit, as an individual 09:09 your body will become my temple, 09:11 your mind if you will, will become my temple. 09:14 And so, do the same rules apply? 09:16 And I think there is, you know, well, let's just to the Bible 09:20 and we're looking at the Book of Leviticus 09:23 because the Book of Leviticus has a strict guidance. 09:26 Remember, it's very important, I guess that people understand 09:30 that we don't have time to go through 09:31 and build all the graphics and what not. 09:33 But the Book of Leviticus 09:36 is actually the most important book of the five books of Moses 09:41 what's refereed to as the Torah. 09:42 You know, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, 09:44 Numbers, Deuteronomy. 09:46 Leviticus is actually the most important book 09:48 and again there you have to, 09:51 you know, it will take me some time to explain why 09:53 but we can study that perhaps at some future moment. 09:55 And you're referring to the chiastic structure 09:57 that this is what you're dealing with 09:58 but we can build on that at a different time 10:00 'cause it requires a lot of explanation. 10:02 Yeah, this is a literally device that Moses used, 10:05 you know, through inspiration to highlight. 10:07 You know, it's like if we make something bold 10:09 and underline it and put it all caps. 10:12 We want to highlight that thing 10:13 so when you're reading the narrative or the document, 10:16 all of the sudden there is this thing that stands out 10:17 is highlighted. 10:18 Well, they used different literally devices 10:20 a little more sophisticated than we do, very simple, 10:23 but nevertheless so that the reader, 10:25 the student of the word would understand 10:28 what is the highlighted point. 10:30 And Leviticus is the highlighted book 10:32 of the five books of the Torah. 10:34 All right because in it in Chapter 16 10:36 is the Day of Atonement, 10:37 the atonement where God cleans the temple 10:40 from all sin and defilement from the blood if you will 10:43 from the sacrifices once per year. 10:45 So that was actually the apex of the Book of Leviticus 16 10:48 and so this is where God is directing the importance. 10:52 So Leviticus is all about how to live. 10:55 It's practical instruction 10:56 and how Israel was to govern itself. 10:59 How the priests were to operate, 11:01 the religious system was to operate. 11:03 How your festivals 11:06 and all of the religious celebrations were to operate. 11:09 How your household was to operate. 11:11 How to keep your house hygienic and clean? 11:14 How to deal with sanitation and sewage 11:16 and all these things? 11:17 And how to deal with cuts and wounds? 11:19 How to deal with disease and all these things? 11:21 All of these instructions are given in the Book of Leviticus 11:23 and there's also instruction 11:26 in regards to eating and drinking. 11:29 So we're gonna to the chapter, 11:30 one of the chapters that deals with these Levitical, 11:34 this health instruction, this health instruction. 11:36 And we're going to Leviticus 11 11:38 because Leviticus 11 clearly outlines 11:42 what would be clean or unclean for the children of God to eat. 11:47 And let's make this clear, 11:49 when we're talking about clean and unclean in this context, 11:51 we're talking about healthy versus unhealthy 11:54 to make it very simple, right? 11:56 So God is going to say, this is healthy for you to eat, 11:59 this is not healthy for you to eat. 12:01 You know, it's that simple. Okay. 12:03 In the practical, God is very practical. 12:05 So Leviticus 11 and we're gonna read, 12:08 you know, several verses here, just to kind of get an outline, 12:11 does God get specific? 12:13 Yes, He does. All right. 12:14 Leviticus 11 and I'm going to just read verses, 12:18 we're not gonna read through the whole thing 12:20 but I have some verses that we selected 12:21 and I'm going through verse 3. 12:24 Leviticus 11 and I'm reading from verse 3, it says, 12:30 "Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, 12:36 and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, 12:39 that shall ye eat. 12:40 Again there's a little, 12:42 you know, some archaic language there, 12:43 this is the King James Version. 12:45 But I'm just gonna ask you as you understand it. 12:48 What does it mean cloven hoofed, 12:51 parteth the hoof, clovenfooted? 12:54 Yeah, when you look at in animal, 12:55 if you look at the foot, you would see that there would, 12:59 if this is the whole foot, 13:01 there would be a clove that would come down 13:04 and it would kind of create almost a section here, 13:06 a section here for lack of better terms. 13:08 It would be a clove in between, so it's a clove and hoof. 13:11 Right, so it's the hoof and the split in the middle 13:14 and it kind of looks like two parts. 13:15 Correct. All right. 13:16 So I was talking about, number one, 13:18 the first criteria is the beast of the field, 13:22 animals that have that style hoof. 13:24 Now, if we were, if we were to consider that, 13:26 then let say, we take this principle now and we say, 13:29 all right, well, let start looking at animals. 13:30 You know, let say I'm a person that, 13:32 you know, I like to eat meat or what have you. 13:34 If I'm looking at animals, then what I'm getting 13:36 from what you're reading here is that, 13:38 if I'm going to consume, 13:41 you know, animals that it God's instruction was 13:43 that there should be a split hoof or cloven hoof 13:46 and then it must also chew the cud 13:48 which is another term for let say grass. 13:50 Yeah, like grazing. Yeah, grazing. 13:52 Herbivore. Okay. 13:53 Something like that, yeah. 13:54 So and these two have to be combined, 13:56 it couldn't be like it chews the grass 13:59 but it doesn't have the cloven hoof 14:00 or it couldn't be that it has a cloven hoof 14:02 but it doesn't chew the grass, it would have to be both. 14:04 So then when I look at that 14:06 and see this is very interesting 14:07 because then what this means then 14:09 is that when I look at things like, 14:11 okay, one product of food 14:13 that I know I grew up on eating was pork. 14:17 And in eating pork, 14:19 you know, I then would come to realize 14:21 after I review these studies that according to the Bible 14:24 then a pig does not do what you just read there. 14:29 And these, what you just read was the animals 14:31 that were permissible to eat. 14:32 If they're cloven hoof and then also chews the cud. 14:35 So therefore pork would not be included. 14:37 Right. And the reason why? 14:39 The pig has the cloven hoof but it doesn't chew the cud. 14:42 It is pretty much anything. 14:43 Yeah, it's kind of a forager, scavenger, it digs, 14:46 you know, and so, it doesn't fit. 14:51 Now, here's the thing that's very interesting. 14:53 You remember in the previous programs, 14:54 we were talking about how, you know, there are sometimes 14:58 the mixture of good and evil. 15:00 Whenever we were looking at 15:01 the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 15:02 and false education 15:04 and that evil is not always gonna come out 15:06 100 percent evil but it's one of the greatest evils 15:09 is when it tries to mix or blend itself with good 15:12 because it makes it less apparent. 15:13 And it has a deceptive affect upon the minds of the hearers. 15:16 Well, here is that this is one of those points now 15:18 because you're showing us that, 15:20 you know, when it comes to the pig especially 15:23 that this is an animal that does not fit 15:26 within the picture 15:27 of what God gave as it related to the animals 15:29 He permitted man to eat 15:30 with the cloven hoof and the chewing of the cud. 15:33 And, you know, when you talk about the chewing of the cud, 15:35 you mentioned about them 15:37 eating of the herbs or the grass but, you know, 15:39 there is additions to that, is that right? 15:40 Right. 15:42 Those kind of animals basically consume the food 15:45 and then they have a process of regurgitation 15:48 which then become, you know, they eat it several times 15:51 over after regurgitating, eating again. 15:53 So this is included in the idea 15:55 or the concept of chewing the cud. 15:57 Okay. And we know for sure the pig does not do that. 15:59 So therefore it is definitely a pig would be put 16:02 under the picture of an animal that is unclean. 16:07 You would definitely say that without a doubt. 16:10 Now, when we look at 16:11 the influences in hip-hop culture, 16:13 this is one of those areas where they teach good. 16:16 This is one of those areas where we definitely see 16:18 for the most part when it comes to knowledge itself 16:20 and dealing with the various points 16:22 of eastern influence with eastern religion 16:24 that we see they definitely identify this 16:26 and that was something both you and I identified with. 16:28 I remember when even though 16:30 I was very much in hip-hop culture, 16:32 I would not eat a piece of pork because that's not good. 16:35 I stopped eating pork years and years before 16:37 I ever heard of, you know, Adventist or Christianity. 16:40 Exactly, and it became a point of confusion for me 16:42 because I would look at Christians and I say, okay, 16:44 you believe the Bible but it's written in your Bible, 16:47 you know, that we are not supposed to be consuming this 16:50 and God never redeemed the pig, he redeemed people, 16:52 but he didn't redeemed the pig. 16:54 If the pig was unclean from day one, 16:55 it's still unclean today, 16:56 so, you know, in my mind that always challenged me. 16:59 And so, we find that, 17:01 you know, and we can include a lot of other things, 17:03 dogs and cats and horses 17:05 and, you know, I mean there's lots of land animals 17:07 that do not fit under what you just read 17:09 in Leviticus Chapter 11, but we highlight pork 17:11 because there's a large chance 17:14 that there are many of our viewers 17:16 who more than likely 17:17 may partake of these type of things and therefore 17:19 this is a major point of education for them 17:22 to see, wow, I didn't know that 17:24 and then there are some in hip-hop culture that say, 17:26 yeah, that's right, that's true. 17:29 So there are things that are taught 17:30 in hip-hop culture that are correct 17:32 but the dangers are is that there's a mixture 17:34 of the right and wrong, 17:36 the good and the evil, the truth and the error. 17:38 So, you know, we went through it 17:41 and God set a standard 17:43 and he doesn't make it that complicated, 17:46 it's very simple. 17:47 If it fits in this category, it's healthy for you to eat. 17:50 If it doesn't fit in this category, 17:52 don't eat, it's not healthy, it's unclean for you, right. 17:54 So, if we go down to verse 9 17:56 'cause God doesn't just deal with, 17:58 what is classified as the beasts of the field, 18:00 then we discussed some of them. 18:01 Some have the cloven hoof but don't chew the cud. 18:04 Some chew the cud, don't have the cloven hoof. 18:06 Now, he goes into the sea animals, 18:10 I don't know what you want to refer to them as. 18:12 So, we classify them as fish and going back in Leviticus 11 18:17 and skipping down to verse 9, Leviticus 11:9, it says, 18:24 "These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: 18:28 whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, 18:34 in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat." 18:36 So it talks about freshwater and saltwater, 18:39 all the animals that dwell in the water. 18:41 The classification here 18:43 for healthy that you can consume, 18:45 it has to have fins and scales. 18:48 If it doesn't, it's unhealthy or unclean. 18:51 Now, this was the point of contradiction for me 18:54 when I came to this revelation, the very night that I was, 18:57 I remember being in my room and here it is that 19:00 I'm heavily influenced by the hip-hop culture 19:03 and Nuwaupu, and, you know, 19:06 this movement called Nuwaupu which was kind of like, 19:09 you know, the Five-Percent of movement 19:10 and I remember going through this battle in my mind, 19:13 I had the Egyptian tablets as it were here 19:18 and then I had the Bible here and I'm praying to God 19:19 and saying, Lord, what do you want me to do? 19:21 And the following day a friend of mine finds a flyer, 19:24 laying on the street and she takes me, 19:27 it's a flyer telling me about the tent meeting 19:29 taking place 15 minutes from my house. 19:31 And the subject that night 19:33 was called the African-American and the pig. 19:35 You know, I'll never forget it. 19:37 So here I am, I'm at this stage of my life 19:39 where I'm trying to figure out myself 19:40 and get a knowledge of myself. 19:42 And here it is that I get this flyer, 19:44 so it was 15 minutes from my house, so I said, I'm going. 19:46 Was a Christian meeting. 19:48 That's why, it's a Christian meeting, 19:49 I'm not a Christian, I'm right at the point 19:51 where I'm leaving Christian influence all together 19:53 because the Nuwaupu Movement was very, very attractive 19:56 and appealing to me. 19:58 Well here it is that as I'm getting ready to-- 19:59 As I go down there, I'm listening to the minister. 20:02 And he is going over these points 20:03 like you just read in Leviticus 11, 20:05 first dealing with the pig. 20:06 When he dealt with the pig, it blew my mind 20:09 because I'm saying to myself Christians actually teach this 20:13 because, you know, everywhere else I went 20:14 from Baptist to Methodist to Pentecostal 20:17 or what you have, you know, when there was potluck, 20:20 pork was always on the table, you know, always. 20:22 And as he is going through the verses, 20:23 what is your reaction as you're sitting there? 20:25 Yeah, I mean he is going through the verses 20:26 and as he is saying the pig is this, 20:29 the pig is that, I got so excited 20:31 that I became a little disruptive in the meeting 20:32 because I'm like, that's right preacher, 20:34 that's right preacher, tell these Christians, 20:36 you know, because I'm feeling like 20:37 there's a vengeance in my heart 20:38 coming against all these ignorant Christians, 20:40 that was going on in my mind. 20:42 And, you know, I'm just in total agreement 20:45 with this minister as he's showing from the Bible 20:47 in a Christian meeting 20:49 that the pig was never designed for mankind to consume as food. 20:54 Well, when he did that, 20:55 I was like, wow, this is amazing. 20:57 But here's the problem. 20:58 Myself and many others who were heavily influenced, 21:01 heavily influenced through the hip-hop culture 21:04 and the teachings of Nuwaupu and the Five-Percent Movement, 21:07 many of us, though we didn't eat pork, 21:09 often we would be found at the Chinese restaurant 21:11 ordering shrimp with broccoli or sometimes getting, 21:14 you know, shrimp with lobster sauce on it, 21:16 you know, and all these different things, 21:18 so we were eating shellfish, so it was different. 21:20 It was like I was never taught through hip-hop culture 21:24 that I was exposed to, 21:25 I'm not saying that they don't teach it at all, 21:26 but I would say from what I was exposed to, 21:28 never saw or heard anyone refute shrimp and lobster 21:33 and crab and all these other things, 21:34 but the pork was always clear as day. 21:36 Well, here it is, the minister is going on the pork thing 21:38 and I'm like that's right, that's right. 21:40 But then he says, and also the shrimp, 21:43 the lobster and the crab and he read the same verses 21:45 you just read and I was like, what? 21:47 And I mean, man, that thing blew my mind. 21:50 And I was like, I can't believe it, 21:52 that's in the Bible too. 21:54 And you got to understand, 21:55 I was a seafood lover par excellence. 21:58 I was the kind of guy that on my birthday, 22:00 every March 22nd I would go to Red Lobster 22:03 and I would order a shrimp platter 22:05 and I would get a cream soda and I would get a cheese cake 22:08 from Junior's in Brooklyn, New York 22:09 and that would be my birthday gift to me. 22:11 So you're talking about a guy who really loved seafood. 22:15 So this was devastating to me 22:16 when I found this out initially, 22:18 but it was a blessing to me because now, 22:20 you know, I stand before you at 40 years of age 22:23 and, you know, diabetes and high blood pressure 22:25 runs down my father's line 22:26 and cancer run down in my mother's line 22:28 and I'm thankful that as a black man at the age of 40 22:32 that God still has blessed me 22:33 with the total clean bill of health. 22:35 My mind has never been sharper, 22:36 my body has never felt so strong 22:38 and I've never been more available for God service 22:40 than I have been at this stage of my life. 22:42 So I'm very thankful for the benefits now 22:44 of understanding that my body is a temple. 22:47 I need to keep it clean 22:48 and God does not want me to put anything 22:50 that is unclean. 22:51 And the things that we once loved, 22:53 through the powerof Christ we can hate and we can choose 22:54 not to put in our system anymore 22:56 for the glory and honor of God. 22:57 We can eat and drink to the glory of God. 22:59 So there's a powerful blessing. 23:01 This is good news what you're sharing. 23:03 This is not news of condemnation. 23:05 This is not news of depression. 23:07 It's definitely a news of change, 23:09 but through Christ we can make those changes 23:11 and we will see the benefits practically. 23:13 Yeah, so we talked about this now, 23:15 so we have the cloven hoof, chew the cud, 23:18 now we have fins and scales, 23:19 so anything that doesn't that lives in the water, 23:21 no fins and scales, both unclean, unhealthy 23:24 including all shellfish you mentioned 23:26 and other things catfish and others, right? 23:30 Now, skipping down Leviticus 11 23:32 and we're looking at verses 13 to 20 23:35 because it talks about now the birds if you will, 23:38 the fowls, right. 23:39 And we're starting at verse 13 of Leviticus 11 and it says, 23:43 "And these are they which ye shall have 23:46 in abomination among the fowls, they shall not be eaten, 23:50 they are an abomination: the eagle, the ossifrage-- " 23:54 And again some of these, 23:55 well, I'll keep reading and then we'll talk about it. 23:57 And the ossifrage, and the vulture, 24:00 and the kite after his kind, every raven after his kind, 24:04 and the own, and the night hawk, 24:05 and the cuckow, 24:07 and the hawk after his kind, and the little own, 24:10 and the cormorant, and the great owl, 24:12 and the swan, 24:14 and the pelican, and the gier eagle, 24:15 and the stork, 24:16 the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat, 24:19 all the fowls that creep, going upon all four, 24:23 shall be an abomination unto you." 24:26 So it now highlights, it just lists all of these particular 24:30 and most of them are birds of prey or scavenger birds. 24:32 Right, for the most part. Yeah. 24:35 Yes, some of these, you know, in the translation, 24:39 there's questions asked is it specifically this bird, 24:42 specifically that bird but, you know, most people know, 24:45 most people don't eat, you know, heron, 24:48 great blue herons and pelicans, you know, 24:53 people eat chicken in the poultry and turkey 24:56 and things like that and pheasants, so, you know, 24:58 most people don't have a problem with not eating 25:00 birds of prey or vultures. 25:01 Right. 25:03 It doesn't even come to most people's mind, 25:05 I'm sure there's some people that will eat anything. 25:07 So the Bible gives in every category 25:10 of the animal kingdom, 25:12 God gives guidelines, this is healthy, this is not, 25:16 this is healthy, this is not. 25:18 And again, it's not punishment. 25:20 It's for man's benefit because God knows what's best for man 25:25 because He created us 25:26 and not only did He created us but He purchased us 25:29 with the blood of His Son. 25:30 Amen. Amen. 25:32 So this is the goal that God wants to accomplish. 25:34 God knows that it's not enough to just give 25:36 open abstract instructions because mankind's mind, 25:40 we are very frail people 25:41 and we are very easy to private interpretation, 25:44 this is why the Bible had to specifically say 25:47 that the scriptures cannot by the will of man 25:49 or by any private interpretation, 25:51 the holy men of God spake 25:53 as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 25:54 This is the reason why 25:56 God does not want to leave it up to us. 25:58 He wants to spell it out so it can be clear enough, 26:01 succinct enough that we can see it, 26:03 understand it and then put our will on the side of God, 26:07 so that we may follow His will and receive the benefits 26:10 of following His will. 26:11 Right and let's-- You know, there is no confusion here. 26:14 Again we talked about Eve and the senses, the stimulus. 26:18 We're not talking about feeling or preference here. 26:20 And we're not saying that anything that God says 26:23 not to eat doesn't taste good. 26:25 There's all kinds of indulgences that we can engage 26:28 in that feel good or look good or taste good, right? 26:30 That's right. 26:32 So this is not what we're dealing over here. 26:33 We're dealing with biblical principle. 26:35 God knows better 26:36 because He created and designed my body, 26:38 He knows best and I'm going to taken for His word. 26:40 So this is what we're about on that side. 26:42 And now, going forward, 26:44 there's many objections people have 26:46 and we're going to deal with those objections 26:48 in the next episode. 26:49 People have objections, they say, 26:51 well, the Bible says this and the Bible, 26:52 what about this and what about that, 26:54 God changed some of this, 26:55 this is for the Jews, not for us. 26:56 What does the Bible say? 26:58 We're going to go over some of those objections 26:59 and I think it will get some clarity. 27:00 Yeah. 27:02 And I really forward to it because I know for me, 27:04 one of the things I was tired of was being confused. 27:06 I don't like being confused, I like things to be clear, 27:09 I like things to be plain, most importantly practical. 27:12 And therefore, it is important 27:14 because I can assure you that there are individuals 27:16 who more than likely are listening to us 27:18 and they're thinking to themselves, 27:20 never heard this before 27:21 or atleast maybe I never heard it this clear before 27:23 so straight and therefore it can have an affect on them 27:27 to the point that they're saying, 27:29 what about these things I heard, 27:30 whether be from ministers, friends, family 27:32 and the list goes on, 27:34 so I'm thankful that we have an opportunity where we can by 27:36 God's grace bring some clarity on some of these points. 27:39 Well, friends, we got to another point 27:41 where we're right at that climax, 27:43 that cliffhanger if you would 27:44 and we're just on the edges of our seat, 27:46 wanting to understand these words, 27:48 but we're gonna ask you to just continue to hold on, 27:51 tune and come back for out next episode 27:53 where we'll go deeper into these points. 27:54 And always remember Proverbs 2 and 6, 27:57 that it's the Lord that gives wisdom and out of His mouth 27:59 comes knowledge and understanding. 28:01 God bless. |
Revised 2016-03-03