Participants: Dwayne Lemon, Lance Wilbur
Series Code: TKS
Program Code: TKS000021
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00:30 Hello, my name is Dwayne Lemon.
00:32 And I am Lance Wilbur. 00:33 And we like to welcome you to another program on TKS, 00:36 a True Knowledge of Self, 00:38 where we get to know ourselves from a biblical perspective. 00:42 We thank you again for joining us 00:43 as we are continuing in the Word of God. 00:46 We had a very in depth study 00:48 as we were looking at a thought process 00:51 that the Bible introduces to us 00:53 that for many has never been considered. 00:56 You know, we live in a world, we live in a culture 00:59 where this indulgence 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, 01:11 prestige whatever it may be, 01:12 and we most importantly understand appetite 01:14 as it relates to eating and drinking. 01:16 And we've been studying the Bible 01:18 to look at 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. 01:25 And 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 01:33 I know that for me, specially me and my father, 01:35 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 mind? 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 a true knowledge of self 01:54 when we understand ourselves, 01:55 our weakness, our frailties, our intemperance, 01:59 we can begin to see 02:01 that we need to tap into a power source outside of us 02:05 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 02:14 perhaps one of the greatest stepping stones 02:17 that prepares us 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 that 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 02:41 that we are in a great controversy. 02:43 We are realizing that in urban culture today 02:46 a lot of the influences 02:48 that come connected to hip-hop culture 02:50 and lifestyle as we look at it, 02:51 we see that there are 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 in many respects to the point 02:59 that we can take no more to our folk. 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, 03:08 and for Christians this is to be our life as well. 03:12 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 03:33 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 03:40 is 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 03:50 where I learned some things as it related to my body 03:53 and what God requires of me 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 realized 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. 04:15 You were talking to us 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 their child, 04:38 you know, now that I'm a father especially of four, 04:40 I've learned it's not 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 understands what trouble is, 04:53 then they know that they need to stay away from that. 04:55 Well, we've been talking about the body, temple, appetite, 04:59 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," 05:12 because these are the things that can debilitate the mind, 05:15 fever the blood and cause us not to understand God 05:18 and His law 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, that dualistic mentality, 05:35 you know, the 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. 05:46 That's right. 05:48 He knows what is the best nutrients 05:51 to provide energy and essentially 05:53 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 05:58 to produce energy, right? 06:00 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 on 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 06:31 then again it affects the mind 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 this Bible student. 06:45 Well, God had a temple, a physical temple, okay, 06:49 it 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 desired to dwell closer than that 06:57 and eventually He desired to dwell 06:58 in each and every one of us 07:00 as individuals 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 chapters dedicated to it, 07:17 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 be administered 07:25 down to the fabric, and the layout, 07:27 the measurements, the materials used, 07:30 the garments of the priests, 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. 07:52 That's right. 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 the Book of 2 Chronicles. 08:04 We're looking at 2 Chronicles 23, 08:07 2 Chronicles 23:19, that kind of summarizes, 08:11 it's just one text of many 08:12 that shows how important it was that God kept things, 08:16 unclean things outside of the physical temple 08:19 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 anything should enter in." 08:37 So at this point there were guardians 08:39 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 08:59 that eventually when Christ came 09:00 was no longer necessary, 09:02 the sacrificial system in the temple economy, 09:04 if you will. 09:05 And now He's saying that I'm going to dwell in you 09:07 through My Spirit. 09:08 As an individual, 09:10 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... 09:19 Well, let's just go 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 09:29 I guess that people understand it, 09:30 we don't have time to go through 09:31 and build all the, in the graphics and what not, 09:33 but the Book of Leviticus 09:36 is actually the most important book 09:39 of the five books of Moses, 09:41 what's referred 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 it's there, you have to, 09:51 you know, it would take me some time to explain why, 09:53 but we can study it out perhaps in some future moment. 09:55 And you're referring to the chiastic structure, 09:57 this is what you're dealing with, 09:58 but we can build on that at a different time 10:00 because it requires a lot of explanation. 10:02 Yeah, there's a literary device that Moses used, 10:04 you know, through inspiration to highlight, 10:07 you know, it's like if we make something bold 10:09 and underlined 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 10:15 all of sudden there's this thing 10:17 that stands out, is highlighted. 10:18 Well, they use different literary devices, 10:20 a little more sophisticated than we do, 10:22 a very simple 10:23 but nevertheless so that the reader, 10:25 the student of the word 10:27 would understand 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 cleanse the temple from all sin, 10:40 and defilement from the "blood," 10:42 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, the festivals 11:06 and all of the religious celebrations 11:07 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 structures are given 11:22 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 go to the chapter, 11:30 one of the chapters that deals with these "Levitical," 11:33 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, all right? 11:56 Yes. 11:57 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. 12:02 Okay. 12:04 In that practical and God is very practical, 12:05 so Leviticus 11 and we're going to read, 12:08 you know, several verses here, just to kind of get an outline. 12:11 Does God get specific? Yes, He does. 12:13 All right, Leviticus 11 12:16 and I'm going to just read verses, 12:18 we're not going to read through the whole thing 12:20 but I got some verses that we've selected 12:21 and I'm going to verse 3. 12:23 Okay. 12:24 Leviticus 11 and I'm reading from verse 3. 12:28 It says, "Whatsoever parteth the hoof, 12:33 and is clovenfooted, 12:36 and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, 12:39 that shall ye eat." 12:41 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 an animal, 12:56 if you look at the foot, you would see that there would, 12:59 if this is the whole foot there would be a clove 13:03 that would come down 13:04 and it will kind of create almost a section here, 13:06 a section here for lack of better terms, 13:08 it will be a clove in between, so it's a cloven hoof. 13:11 Right, so it's the hoof and it's split in the middle 13:13 and it's two, it's kind of looks like two parts. 13:15 Correct. 13:17 All right, so it was talking about number 1, 13:18 the first criteria is the beasts 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's say we take this principle now 13:28 and we say, all right, well, let's start looking at animals. 13:30 You know, let's say I'm a person that, 13:32 you know, I like to eat meat or what have you, 13:34 then if I'm looking at animals 13:35 then what I'm getting from what you're reading here 13:37 is that if I am going to consume, 13:41 you know, animals 13:42 that God's instruction was that there should be a split hoof 13:45 or cloven hoof 13:47 and then it must also chew the cud 13:48 which is another term for let's say grass or... 13:50 Yeah, like grazing. Yeah, grazing. 13:52 Herbivore. Okay. 13:53 Something like that. 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 a cloven hoof, 14:00 or it couldn't be that 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, this is very interesting 14:07 because then what this means then is that 14:09 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. 14:16 Yeah. 14:17 And in eating pork, you know, 14:19 I then would come to realize after I review these studies 14:23 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 chew the cud, 14:35 so therefore pork would not be included. 14:37 Right and the reason why the pig has the cloven foot 14:41 but it doesn't chew the cud. 14:42 It eats pretty much anything. 14:43 Yeah, it's kind of a forager, a scavenger, a digs, 14:46 you know, and so it doesn't fit. 14:51 Now here is the thing that's very interesting, 14:53 you remember in a previous programs 14:54 we were talking about how, 14:56 you know, there are sometimes the mixture of good and evil 14:59 when we were looking 15:01 at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 15:02 and false education, 15:03 and that evil is not always gonna come out 100% evil 15:07 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 effect upon the minds of the hearers. 15:16 Well, here it 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 specifically 15:23 that this is an animal that does not fit 15:26 within the picture of what God gave 15:28 as it related to the animals 15:29 He permitted man to eat with the cloven hoof 15:31 and the chewing of the cud. 15:33 Right. 15:34 And, you know, when you talk about the chewing of the cud, 15:36 you mention about them 15:37 eating of the herbs of the grass 15:38 but, you know, there's additions 15:40 to that, is that right? 15:41 Right, those kind of animals basically consume the food 15:45 and then they have a process of regurgitation 15:48 which then becomes, 15:49 you know they eat it several times 15:51 over after regurgitating eating again, 15:53 so this is included in the idea of the concept 15:55 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 16:02 would be put under the... 16:04 under the picture of an animal that is unclean. 16:07 We would definitely say that without a doubt. 16:10 Now when we look at the influences 16:12 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 of self 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 I understood. 16:34 Yeah, I stopped eating pork years and years 16:37 before I ever heard of, 16:38 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 16:44 and I say, "Okay, you believe the Bible 16:45 but it's written in your Bible, 16:47 you know, that we are not supposed 16:48 to be consuming this 16:50 and God never redeemed the pig, 16:51 He redeemed people but He didn't redeemed the pig. 16:53 If the pig was unclean from day one, 16:55 it's still unclean today." 16:56 Right. 16:58 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 and, 17:05 you know, I mean there's lots of land animals 17:07 that do not fit under what you just read in Leviticus 11, 17:10 but we highlight pork 17:12 because there's a large chance that 17:14 there are many of our viewers 17:16 who more than likely may partake 17:17 of these type of things and therefore 17:19 this is a major point of education for them to see, 17:22 "Wow, I didn't know that," 17:24 and then there are some in hip-hop culture that say, 17:27 "Yeah, that's right, that's true." 17:29 So there are things 17:30 that are taught in hip-hop culture 17:31 that are correct 17:33 but the dangers are is that there's a mixture 17:34 of the right and wrong, the good and the evil, 17:36 the truth and the error. 17:38 Right. 17:39 So, you know, we went through it 17:41 and God set the standard 17:43 and He doesn't make it that complicated, 17:46 it's very simple, if it fits in this category, 17:48 it's healthy for you to eat, 17:50 if it doesn't fit in this category, 17:52 don't eat it, it's not healthy, it's unclean for you. 17:53 Right? 17:55 So if we go down to verse 9 17:56 'cause God doesn't just deal with what is classified 17:58 as the beasts of the field and 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 sea animals. The sea animals. 18:09 Sea animals, I don't know 18:11 what you want to refer to them as it, 18:12 so we classify them as fish. 18:15 Going back in Leviticus 11 and skipping down to verse 9, 18:20 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." 18:37 So He talks about fresh water and salt water, 18:39 all the animals that dwell in the water. 18:41 The classification here for healthy 18:44 that you can consume, 18:45 it has to have fins and scales, if it doesn't, 18:49 it's unhealthy or unclean. 18:51 Now this was a 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 18:59 and here it is that I'm heavily influenced 19:01 by the hip-hop culture and Nuwaupu 19:05 and, you know, this, this movement called Nuwaupu 19:07 which was kind of like, 19:09 you know, the Five-Percenter 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 19:19 and I'm praying to God and saying, 19:20 Lord, what do You want me to do, 19:22 and the following day a friend of mine 19:23 finds a flyer laying on the street 19:25 and she takes me, 19:27 it's a flier telling me 19:28 about a tent meeting taking place 15 minutes 19:30 from my house 19:31 and the subject that night was called 19:33 the African-American and the pig, 19:35 you know, I'll never forget it. 19:37 Right. 19:38 So here I am, I'm at this stage in my life 19:39 where I'm trying to figure out myself 19:41 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 19:45 so I said I'm going. 19:47 It's a Christian meeting. 19:48 That's right, it's a Christian meeting, 19:49 I'm not a Christian 19:51 and I'm right at the point where I'm leaving 19:52 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, 20:01 I'm listening to the minister 20:02 and he's 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, 20:08 it blew my mind because I'm saying to myself 20:10 Christians actually teach this 'cause, 20:13 you know, everywhere else I went 20:15 from Baptist to Methodist to Pentecostal 20:17 or what have you, 20:18 you know, when it was potluck pork 20:20 was always on the table, you know, always. 20:22 And as he's going through the verses 20:23 what is your reaction as you sit in there? 20:25 Yeah, I mean he's going through the verses 20:26 and as he's saying 20:28 the pig is this, the pig is that, 20:29 I got so excited that I became 20:31 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 20:41 and, you know, I am just in total agreement 20:44 with this minister as he's showing 20:46 from the Bible 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 I was like, 20:55 wow, this is amazing but here's the problem, 20:58 myself and many others who were heavily influenced, 21:01 heavily influence 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 a 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 21:22 through hip-hop culture 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 21:28 to never saw or heard anyone refute shrimp 21:32 and lobster and crab and all these other things 21:34 but the pork was always clear as day. 21:36 Yeah. 21:37 Well hear it is, the minister's going 21:38 on the pork thing and I'm like that's right, 21:40 that's right but then he says and also the shrimp, 21:43 the lobster, 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 and you got to understand 21:55 I was a seafood love par-excellence. 21:58 I was the kind of guy that on my birthday 22:00 every March 22, 22:01 I would go to Red Lobster 22:03 and I would order a shrimp platter 22:05 and I would get a cream soda 22:07 and I would get a cheesecake 22:08 from Juniors 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 22:24 and high blood pressure runs down my father's line 22:26 and cancer run down my mother line 22:28 and I'm thankful that as a black man 22:30 at the age of 40 that God still has blessed me 22:33 with a 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 22:39 for God's service 22:41 than I have been at this stage in my life. 22:42 So I'm very thankful 22:43 for the benefits now of understanding 22:46 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 power of Christ 22:54 we can hate and we can choose not to put it 22:55 in our system any more for the glory and honor of God, 22:57 we can eat and drink to the glory of God, 22:59 so it'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 or anything that doesn't that lives in the water 23:21 no fins and scales both unclean, 23:24 unhealthy including all shellfish you mentioned 23:26 and other things catfish and others, right? 23:29 Yes. 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, 23:49 they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination, 23:52 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 ospray, and the vulture, 24:00 and the kite after his kind, every raven after his kind, 24:04 and the owl, and the night hawk, 24:06 and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind, 24:09 and the little owl, and the cormorant, 24:11 and the great owl, and the swan, 24:13 and the pelican, and the gier eagle, 24:15 and the stork, the heron after her kind, 24:17 and the lapwing, and the bats, 24:19 all the fowls that creep, 24:21 going upon all four shall be an abomination unto you." 24:26 So it now highlights all and it just lists 24:28 all of these particular 24:30 and most of them are birds of prey 24:31 or scavenger birds, right? 24:33 For the most part. Yeah. 24:35 Yes, some of these, 24:37 you know, in the translation there's questions ask to is, 24:40 is it specifically this bird, specifically that bird 24:43 but you know most people know most people don't eat, 24:47 you know, heron, great blue herons, 24:49 Right. 24:50 And pelicans, 24:52 you know, people eat chicken 24:53 and, you know, poultry and turkey 24:56 and things like that and pheasants. 24:58 So, you know, most people don't have a problem 24:59 with not eating birds of prey or vultures. 25:01 Right. 25:03 It's doesn't even come to most people's minds, 25:05 I'm sure there're some people that will eat anything. 25:06 Yeah. 25:08 So the Bible gives in every category 25:10 of the animal kingdom, 25:12 God gives guidelines this is healthy, 25:15 this is not, 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 25:23 what's best for man because He created us, 25:26 and not only did He create us 25:27 but He purchased us with the blood of His own 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 25:36 to just give open abstract instructions 25:38 because mankind's mind, 25:40 we're 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 came not by the will of man 25:49 or by any private interpretation 25:51 but holy men of God speak 25:53 as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 25:54 This is the reason 25:55 why 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 26:04 and then put our will on the side of God 26:07 so that we may follow His will 26:09 and receive the benefits of following His will. 26:11 Right and let's, you know, there's no confusion here, 26:14 we're not, again, we talked about 26:15 eve and the senses, the stimulus 26:18 and we're not talking about feeling 26:19 or preference here 26:21 and we're not saying that anything 26:22 that God says not to eat doesn't taste good. 26:25 There's all kinds of indulgences 26:27 that we can engage in that feel good 26:29 or look good or taste good, right? 26:30 That's right. 26:31 So that's not, that's not we're dealing with here, 26:33 we're dealing with biblical principle, 26:35 God knows better 26:36 because He created and design my body, 26:37 He knows best and I'm going to take Him for His word. 26:40 So this is what we're talking about on that side 26:42 and now going forward, 26:44 there's many objections people have, 26:46 and we're gonna deal 26:47 with those objections in the next episode. 26:49 People have objection, they say, 26:51 well, the Bible says this and the Bible says 26:52 what about this and what about that. 26:53 God change some of these, 26:55 this was for the Jews not for us. 26:56 What does the Bible say? 26:58 We're gonna go over some of those objections 26:59 and I think it will get some clarity. 27:00 Yeah, and I really look forward to it 27:02 because I know for me one of the things 27:04 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 because I can assure you 27:15 that there are individuals 27:16 who more than likely are listening to us 27:18 and they are thinking to themselves, 27:19 "Never heard this before," 27:21 or at least, "maybe I've never heard this clear 27:22 before so straight," 27:24 and therefore it can have an effect on them 27:27 to the point that they're saying, 27:29 "but what about these things I heard 27:30 whether it be from ministers, friends, family," 27:32 and the list goes on. 27:34 So I am thankful that we have an opportunity 27:35 where we can by God's grace bring 27:36 some clarity on some of these points. 27:38 Yeah. 27:39 Well, friends, we got to another point 27:41 where we're right at that climax, 27:43 that cliff-hanger 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 in, come back for our next episode 27:53 where we will go deeper into these points, 27:54 and always remember Proverbs 2:6 27:56 that it's "The Lord that gives wisdom 27:58 and out of his mouth 27:59 comes knowledge and understanding." 28:01 God bless. |
Revised 2017-06-05