Participants: Dwayne Lemon, Lance Wilbur
Series Code: TKS
Program Code: TKS000038A
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00:28 Hello, I'm Dwayne.
00:30 And I'm Lance and we like to welcome you 00:31 to another episode of TKS, a True Knowledge of Self 00:35 where we get to know ourselves from a biblical perspective. 00:38 Now we're gonna continue dealing with this 00:40 very important topic of safely having fun 00:43 or biblical recreation. 00:45 It was a principle that was outlined 00:47 as one of the cornerstones of hip-hop culture 00:49 but we're gonna look at some practical guidelines 00:51 that help us to really see 00:53 what God has established principle wise for us to, 00:58 you know, go by when we consider 01:01 how we are to conduct ourselves, 01:02 how we are to have fun, 01:03 how we are to engage in enjoyment and recreation. 01:06 Now we only were able to go through an initial principle 01:09 and we're just continue going through, 01:10 so Dwayne, let's go right into it. 01:13 I mean, what's another principle? 01:15 We talked about the first principle being, 01:17 make sure that whatever you're going to engage 01:19 in this form of recreation 01:21 does not violate your conscience. 01:22 Yes. 01:23 And we saw that your conscience is primarily informed 01:25 by the Word of God. 01:26 That's right. 01:28 But even if you have no knowledge 01:29 of the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, 01:30 God can still inform your conscience 01:32 to say this is wrong or this is not wrong. 01:34 That's right. We shared some stories. 01:36 But I want to go on 01:37 'cause we got a lot of principles 01:39 we need to cover. 01:40 But they are very practical 01:41 and they can be very fruitful if we apply them. 01:43 So what's another principle? Yeah, and I like practical. 01:45 So we're gonna go ahead 01:47 and take a look at another text of scripture 01:49 where we're gonna look at 1 Corinthians 8. 01:51 All right. 01:52 And I like this because we're looking at 01:54 how to take gospel principles and make it practical. 01:57 I believe that this is an area 01:59 where the church can do a lot better, 02:01 where we can really start saying young people 02:03 as well as older individuals, 02:05 it's not enough that we just simply tell you 02:07 what to do and what not to do 02:09 but point you to the power source 02:10 and give you practical examples from scripture on 02:13 how to get these things done. 02:15 So in 1 Corinthians 8, 02:16 we see another principle that can guide us 02:18 when we're seeking to have enjoyment. 02:20 I have to tell you that I'm thankful 02:22 that we serve a God, we serve a creator 02:24 that is interested in our enjoyment. 02:25 Yes. 02:27 I think, just that alone is a beautiful thing 02:29 because sometimes Christianity can be presented as something 02:33 where God just doesn't want people 02:34 to enjoy themselves and life has to be fairly bitter. 02:37 But that is not the God of heaven and earth. 02:39 And the Word of God tells us a principle in 1 Corinthians 8. 02:43 What happened, just as a background 02:44 'cause we're not gonna go through 02:46 all the verses is there were new believing gentiles 02:49 that were coming into Christianity. 02:52 And there were also Jewish brothers and sisters 02:55 who already converted from Judaism to Christianity. 02:57 And gentiles is a non-Jew. Yeah. 02:59 And a gentile is simply a non-Jew. 03:00 Yeah. 03:01 And when the Jewish brethren were coming in to Christianity, 03:06 they started to impose a lot of things 03:08 upon the new believing gentiles. 03:11 They would take some of the principles 03:12 of the laws of Moses 03:14 and still say, "You have to be circumcised, 03:15 you have to do this, you have to do that." 03:17 And the Bible says a lot on it. 03:18 But in 1 Corinthians 8, 03:20 it talks specifically about a practice 03:22 that the gentiles used to do before they were converted 03:25 and then as practice 03:26 they were doing after conversion 03:28 and Paul was giving counsel on how his Jewish brothers 03:31 who had a higher knowledge should know 03:33 how to respond to them. 03:34 It was on the point of eating food 03:35 that was offered to idols. 03:37 Gentiles, when they were worshipping devils 03:40 basically, they would go ahead and offer food to idols 03:43 and this was a way of appeasing and doing other things, 03:45 but when they came over into Christianity, 03:48 many of them as a result of always connecting these meats 03:52 being offered to idols and whatnot, 03:53 they would start to pull away from that all together 03:56 and just started eating herbs. 03:57 It was because their consciences 03:59 was very, very, weak at that time, 04:01 very, very infantile, very, very, you know, developmental. 04:05 So they were just 04:06 in the developmental stage of Christianity. 04:10 However, the Apostle Paul was speaking to his brothers 04:12 and saying, "Listen, guys, we know that 04:14 an idol is just a piece of wood, metal, 04:16 or whatever else, and if we saw food 04:19 that God's Word permits us to eat, 04:20 even though it might have been offered to an idol, 04:22 we know an idol is nothing so we can eat it." 04:24 But he make a point now 04:26 that we're gonna pick up in 1 Corinthians 8 04:28 and we're gonna look at verse 7 04:29 and see what his council goes on 04:31 to say as Paul is dealing with interaction with brothers. 04:35 All recreation is interaction with family, right? 04:38 You know, we call each other brothers and family, bro 04:41 and, you know, whatever. 04:42 We're using this family type language. 04:44 So Paul is giving us a counsel here 04:46 that we can apply in recreation. 04:49 It says in 1 Corinthians 8:7. 04:51 "Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge." 04:55 In other words, this knowledge that, 04:56 you know, these idols are nothing 04:58 and we can eat the food that's been, 04:59 'cause the idol's nothing anyhow, 05:01 if we need to eat, we can eat. 05:02 He says, "Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: 05:05 For some with conscience of the idol 05:08 unto this hour eat it as a thing offered 05:11 unto an idol. 05:13 And their conscience being weak is defiled. 05:15 But meat commendeth us not to God, for neither, 05:19 if we eat, are we the better, 05:21 neither, if we eat not, are we the worse." 05:23 And then he says the key point, 05:25 "But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours." 05:31 In other words he's saying, you have a right to do it, 05:34 but just because you have a right to do something 05:37 does not mean that you should exercise 05:38 that right under every circumstance. 05:40 Right. 05:41 So He says, "But take heed..." 05:42 Be careful, "Lest by any means this liberty of yours 05:46 become a stumbling block to them that are weak. 05:52 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge 05:55 sit at meat in the idol's temple, 05:57 shall not the conscience of him 05:59 which is weak be emboldened to eat those things 06:02 which are offered to idols. 06:03 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, 06:06 for whom Christ died? 06:08 But when ye sin so against the brethren, 06:11 and wound their weak conscience, 06:13 ye sin against Christ. 06:15 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, 06:17 I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, 06:20 lest I make my brother to offend." 06:23 So here's a principle 06:25 that we can carry over into our recreations. 06:27 If I'm looking to participate in a recreational activity, 06:31 I must ask myself before getting engaged in it, 06:33 how will this affect my brothers? 06:35 Yeah. 06:36 What example am I leading for those 06:38 who are looking at me and those who are following me? 06:40 Do you understand it, if we thought more like this 06:43 as it relates to what activities we participate in, 06:46 there would be a serious process of elimination. 06:48 There would be a lot of things that would start going away 06:50 because we would start having a higher level of thinking 06:53 that is not just about me, 06:55 it's not just about what I want, 06:56 I have to consider how will this affect those 06:59 that I am called to be an example to. 07:02 So this is another principle that we get now from scripture 07:04 of how we can safely have fun, or enjoyment, 07:09 or better termed true biblical recreation. 07:12 So you're not only thinking about 07:14 how is this gonna affect me, 07:15 but how is this gonna affect anybody 07:16 who might happen to witness me doing this. 07:18 That's correct. 07:19 Especially, if I'm considering those 07:21 who I know, I mean, this verse is very deep 07:24 because it's a call to humility. 07:26 If I know you are weak 07:29 and I know I have a right to do this thing 07:32 that I want to do but because you are with me, 07:35 I have to understand, I can't look at you and say, 07:37 this week brother, "Look, man, you just have to deal with it, 07:40 I'm gonna to do what I want do." 07:41 That is actually countering what God's counsel says. 07:44 If that brother or sister is with you 07:46 even though they may be weak on a certain point, 07:49 we literally have to say, "You know, what? 07:51 We're not gonna do this recreation." 07:52 Even though it's okay to do, 07:53 but because it's gonna offend this individual here, 07:56 I'm gonna surrender my right. 07:58 Yeah. 08:00 Because I don't... 08:01 It's kind of like praying the prayer 08:02 and lead me not into temptation 08:04 but you're gonna lead others into temptation. 08:05 Right. 08:07 You don't want to pray, you pray to God, 08:08 "Lord, lead me not into temptation." 08:09 So don't be an instrument to lead others into temptation. 08:12 So whatever recreational activity 08:14 you're getting ready to do, 08:15 consider the group that you're with 08:17 and if you know you got some brethren in that group 08:19 that may be a little weak or not as developed as you are, 08:22 you have to consider that 08:23 when you have whatever recreational activity 08:25 you're gonna do. 08:26 So that way everyone can leave without their consciences, 08:31 without avoiding their consciences, 08:32 and violating, and making themselves feel like 08:35 they have sinned against God or even their fellowman. 08:37 All right. 08:38 So this is a very important principle 08:39 that we can also take from scripture. 08:41 Absolutely. Yeah. 08:42 And you know, we can move on to another principle 08:45 because there are several that we have to cover. 08:47 And one very important principle is found 08:49 in 1 Corinthians 6. Oh, yes. 08:52 So thus far we understand that 08:54 we are not to violate our conscience by anything 08:57 that we engage in for fun or recreation 09:00 and we are not only to consider the impact on us, 09:04 but the impact on anybody who is around us 09:07 or might witness what we're doing. 09:08 That's right. 09:09 So the next one here in 1 Corinthians 6, 09:11 if we could just read it, 09:12 1 Corinthians 6:19 and 20, it says, "What? 09:19 Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost 09:22 which is in you, which ye have of God, 09:25 and ye are not your own? 09:26 For ye were bought with a price. 09:29 Therefore..." 09:30 Or in conclusion, "Glorify God in your body, 09:34 and in your spirit, which are God's." 09:37 Now this goes back to the same kind of thing, 09:38 we're in the Book of 1 Corinthians still 09:40 and there was a constant issue with those 09:44 that were coming in to accept the gospel, 09:46 coming into the church if you will 09:48 who were from pagan, you know, gentile backgrounds. 09:53 They didn't have a Jewish culture 09:55 or a Jewish orientation 09:56 so there are a lot of things that they did 09:58 were part of their culture 09:59 that were completely against scripture 10:02 and against the gospel. 10:03 So they were not only bringing these practices 10:06 like eating food that was offered to idols, 10:10 they were also engaged in other idolatry practices. 10:13 For example, there was an entire culture in these, 10:17 you know, Greco-Roman, Hellenistic cultures 10:20 that also engaged in what they call temple prostitution. 10:24 So the whole idea of prostitution, you know, 10:28 we think of it today in a certain sense 10:30 but prostitution actually started in ancient times 10:32 and it was always associated with religious, 10:35 you know, observance. 10:37 In other words, they created a culture, 10:40 if you will, cults that were surrounding, 10:44 you know, this worship of a particular deity 10:46 and the highest form of human intimacy 10:49 was considered the highest form of worship 10:52 toward whatever God. 10:54 So we all know what the highest form of intimacy 10:57 between two human beings, you know, sexual intercourse. 11:00 So they would have an entire, 11:04 what they would call temple prostitutes, 11:06 both male and female 11:07 that would stand in the place of the particular deity or God, 11:11 engage in sexual intercourse with worshippers 11:15 as a form of the highest form of religious devotion. 11:19 So this happen on the regular, I mean, this happened in, 11:22 if you wanted to go and you had, you know, 11:24 once or twice a year you bring your flock of sheep 11:28 to get sheared, and trading, 11:29 and, you know, making your money, 11:31 you would go and engage with a temple prostitute. 11:35 So the God could bless your business transaction. 11:38 I mean, it was a common practice, 11:40 it was just like a everyday thing 11:42 in that culture. 11:44 So when they became Christians 11:45 and they came into the churches, 11:47 some of them were still practicing 11:49 these cultural things 11:51 and trying to blend these two practices. 11:54 Trying to blend Christianity with this, 11:57 you know, pagan culture that they had come from. 12:00 And the Bible and Paul is dealing 12:02 with this over and over again in these large cities 12:04 where all of these converts are coming in 12:06 from different cultural backgrounds, 12:08 and he's saying that you have to understand 12:11 that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. 12:15 It's the temple of God. 12:17 God is literally going to come and dwell in you, 12:20 just as he came and dwelt in, you know, 12:22 the Jewish temple of the sanctuary 12:24 and the tabernacle of old. 12:26 Now because Christ has died and been raised to the dead 12:29 and is now ministering, He sent His Holy Spirit 12:32 and God is literally desiring 12:33 to dwell inside of each and every individual Christian 12:37 who accepts His promises. 12:39 When He dwells inside, 12:40 He's not dwelling inside of a corrupt temple. 12:43 He doesn't want to dwell inside of a dirty temple, 12:45 that was why there was so much of a meticulous, you know, 12:49 guidelines and governance for the Jewish temple. 12:51 There was no, you know, filth in the temple. 12:55 You know, the only filth that came into the temple 12:57 was via the blood which symbolized a sin. 13:00 We don't want to get to deep into it, 13:01 but that blood was a reminder of sin, 13:05 that blood had to be shed, 13:06 that was the only filth in the temple 13:08 and that got cleansed, 13:09 you know, once a year on the Day of Atonement 13:10 but nevertheless, 13:12 He's likening the human body 13:13 and the accumulation of human individuals, 13:16 the church to the temple of God where God dwells. 13:20 So you cannot just glorify God in your spirit, 13:23 you can't just say, "I accept Christ, 13:26 I accept all of these biblical points and principles, 13:28 I accept the gospel, 13:29 but I'm still gonna to do whatever I want with my body." 13:32 We talked about something in a previous episode, 13:35 one particular pagan practice, 13:37 and now I'm gonna talk about another 13:38 it's called dualism, right? 13:40 So we know that Greco-Roman culture, 13:42 again Hellenistic culture, you know, you think of Plato, 13:45 Socrates, Aristotle, you know, Alexander the Great 13:47 and then what became the Greco-Roman culture. 13:50 You know, they looked at this idea of dualism 13:53 where there was a complete separation 13:55 between the physical, 13:56 the animate and the metaphysical, 13:58 the inanimate, the things 13:59 that you can perceive with your senses. 14:01 And they believed, they taught that everything 14:04 that was animate, physical was evil. 14:09 Whether that be this table, whether that be this book, 14:12 whether that be your human body, it was evil. 14:15 Everything inanimate that couldn't be perceived 14:17 by the senses was considered spiritual, metaphysical. 14:21 So the human spirit, the human psyche, 14:24 you know, the human ego was considered spiritual, 14:26 and therefore, everything spiritual was good and holy. 14:30 So they believed that 14:31 the spirit was just one day desiring 14:34 to break free from the shell, you know, the physical body 14:38 and it would go off into a greater higher existence. 14:40 So it really did not matter what you did with your body. 14:44 So they could do anything they wanted to their body. 14:46 So the physical things 14:48 because they were inherently evil, 14:49 it didn't really matter how you treated them. 14:51 Paul and the Holy Ghost are coming 14:53 and saying here in the Word 14:55 that it's not just acceptable to glorify God intellectually, 15:01 spiritually, you have to glorify God also 15:03 in your physical frame, in your body, 15:05 the choices that you make, 15:06 the things that you do with your body. 15:08 And so now when we're talking about having fun 15:11 and recreation, we can't just say, 15:13 "Oh, you can do whatever you want, it doesn't matter. 15:15 We can do this, we do that." 15:17 What you do to your physical body, 15:18 what you do to other people's physical body does matter. 15:22 Our body is the temple of God. 15:24 It's something that God desires us 15:26 to glorify through His power and through His spirit, 15:29 not just in one sense but in every sense. 15:31 So we have to take that into consideration. 15:33 I think that's a vitally important principle 15:36 that we must understand. 15:38 So then what some applications of ways 15:40 to preserve your body 15:43 when you think about having fun? 15:44 Because there's lots of things people do right now 15:46 in the name of fun and again, they may say safely 15:50 but it may not be safe. 15:51 In other words, there's a need for clarification. 15:53 So what would be some applications 15:54 of how someone might abuse their body in having fun 15:58 and obviously the contrast of that 16:00 which is to not do those things? 16:02 I mean, the list is long, right? 16:03 So we don't want to go too far. 16:05 Right. Just a few. 16:07 In context of hip-hop culture, that's normally experienced. 16:09 Yeah. 16:10 I mean, part of hip-hop culture is, you know, obviously, 16:14 you know, you have two cans. 16:15 We've been talking about this. 16:18 We don't want to paint the picture like hip-hop is, 16:20 even though they call themselves universal 16:22 and international, they're not unified. 16:25 They talk about it, they're not really unified. 16:27 You know, there's some in there that, 16:28 you know, have a plant-based diet, 16:30 and there's some that don't, 16:32 there's some in there that don't drink or smoke. 16:34 In fact, when we talk about those contradictions 16:36 there are artists, many artists that make hit records 16:41 about smoking and drinking. 16:44 Yup. And they don't smoke or drink. 16:47 I mean, people would be shocked to understand that 16:49 these same people that are promoting 16:51 smoking and drinking, 16:53 and the same people that are listening to it 16:54 and going out and smoking and drinking, 16:56 thinking they're in solidarity with the artists that they, 16:59 you know, idolize that artist doesn't smoke or drink. 17:01 Yup. 17:03 Because they understand 17:04 that if they want to have some longevity, 17:05 they want to be healthy, 17:07 then they're not gonna smoke or drink. 17:08 So that's a perfect example. 17:10 There is a heavy undertone in all pop culture. 17:12 You know, in all genres of music and of drugs, 17:16 you know, and alcohol. 17:17 You know, the old, you know, cliche, sex, drugs, 17:20 and rock and roll, it's still the same in hip-hop, 17:23 there's no different, right? 17:24 So that is a direct violation of your physical principles. 17:28 And again, we don't have time to go into all the science 17:30 and everything like that, but I don't think in 2000 17:33 and, you know, in the modern era, 17:36 I don't think that it's, you know, 17:39 we have to go through a much of a stretch 17:40 and many mental gymnastics to understand 17:44 that smoking cigarettes is bad for your health, 17:47 or smoking weed is bad for your health. 17:48 And now, I mean, nowadays we're down into 17:50 a whole another level 17:52 because people aren't just smoking, you know, 17:53 weed they got, you know, vaporizers, and edibles, 17:57 and medicinal marijuana, and you can go to, you know, 18:00 now they've got vending machines, 18:02 you know, in certain states where you get marijuana. 18:04 So it doesn't matter. 18:05 The harmful chemicals 18:07 and the substances in the thing, 18:08 no matter what form you 18:10 put it into your body is harming your body. 18:11 So that's a violation. 18:12 So the idea, you know, I used to not think 18:14 I could have fun, unless I smoked, 18:17 you know, and drank. 18:18 The night wasn't fun. 18:19 I would start the night out by, 18:21 you know, before there was even a party, 18:23 you would just begin your night with a certain ritual 18:26 to intoxicate yourself, to get to a certain level 18:29 and then continue to do that all throughout the night. 18:31 And that was the, you know, that was the fun. 18:34 Without that, oh, everything is boring. 18:36 You don't see the world the same or can't even, 18:38 you know, those harmful poisons, 18:42 toxins, chemical substances, drugs, narcotics, 18:46 you know, barbecues, the pills, that people are taking now, 18:50 the thing that's being promoted with the, you know, 18:53 putting the codeine and the other, 18:56 you know, drugs inside soda. 18:58 Yeah. 18:59 You know, the syrup or whatever they call it, 19:01 lean, all that stuff. 19:03 They are literally, you know, destroying their brains, 19:08 destroying their bodies, on a level 19:10 that they are not really going to be able to measure. 19:11 Right. 19:13 You know, they are not gonna be able to understand 19:14 what's happening until they are 10-20 years 19:15 down the line in some cases. 19:17 So those things are being promoted, 19:19 you know, those things are being highlighted, 19:21 those things are detrimental. 19:23 That is a violation of the principle 19:25 of the glorifying God in your body. 19:26 There is a whole another side 19:27 that we don't have time to talk about, 19:29 but, you know, there is an adverse effect 19:32 that stress has in the human body, right? 19:36 Stress hormones, you know, 19:38 anyways they are stress hormones 19:40 that's get released 19:41 when we have a stress response, right? 19:43 Well, stress response is designed to help us to escape, 19:45 you know, immediate danger, or immediate harm, 19:47 or help us to cope with deadlines, 19:50 and, you know, things happen in traumatic experiences 19:52 so there is such thing as healthy stress, right? 19:55 Because it comes, and then it goes away. 19:57 So the hormones come to help us cope, 20:00 and then they go away, that's normal, 20:02 God has build, you know, built that in us. 20:05 But then there is something called chronic stress 20:07 where that stress is unremitting 20:08 and when those hormones, 20:10 certain hormones are in your blood stream 20:11 and they don't go away, 20:13 it has a negative effect on your entire system. 20:16 Whether that be your reproductive system, 20:18 your immune system, every system 20:20 that's not needed for survival is shut down by these hormones. 20:24 So if it's chronically in your body, 20:26 you are chronically breaking down your body. 20:28 So there is lots of things that people do for fun 20:30 that creates stress, you know. 20:35 Anyways, things that people do for amusement. 20:36 Give an example, brother. 20:38 Hey, we are indicating, so go ahead. 20:40 Things that people do for amusement, 20:41 you know, I remember when I used to go to, 20:44 like a, you know, Disney World or Six Flags. 20:47 Yes, sir. You have your favorite ride. 20:50 When you get on that ride, you don't just go once. 20:53 I don't know, there might be some people 20:54 that do that but if I wait in line for something 20:57 and it surpassed my expectations, 21:01 you are going on that ride again. 21:02 You get right back on that line, yup. 21:03 You go ride on that again, you go again, 21:05 I remember one time, I went on a certain ride 21:06 may be like ten times in a row... 21:08 Yup. 21:09 'Cause it was close to closing and the line was no line, 21:10 I just kept running around, running around, running around. 21:14 That stress, you know, that idea, 21:16 that "Oh, I'm gonna die." 21:18 No, you are not. 21:19 You know, you're not gonna die, everything is okay. 21:20 You are going through a stress response. 21:22 And you go through that over, and over, and over again, 21:25 maybe for six hours out of your day, in a long day, 21:29 that's not good for your body. 21:30 So then are you basically saying 21:32 that going to amusement parks... 21:34 Yeah. 21:36 To, you know, get on these rides 21:38 and all these other things 21:39 that are creating this incredible stress 21:41 and releasing these hormones and keeping it there, 21:43 far beyond the time limits or frames 21:46 that it would be in the body and under the God's program 21:49 that this is something that is wrong. 21:51 This is not true biblical recreation. 21:54 It is a violation of physiological principles. 21:57 Yeah. 21:58 It doesn't promote health and longevity. 22:00 That's right, okay. 22:01 I mean, that's just the way it is. 22:03 So again, it's the innocence of desiring to have fun. 22:06 And again, these are all just things that, 22:08 you know, people do in various cultures. 22:11 And there is nothing wrong with having fun. 22:12 There is nothing wrong with doing something that brings, 22:14 you know, momentary exhilaration, 22:16 or happiness, or joy. 22:17 The question is what is it doing 22:19 and is it balanced. 22:20 We are going to get into another principle 22:22 about balancing temperance. 22:23 I want to build on a point in this. 22:25 You know, see, there may be some of our views 22:27 especially who can hear what you are saying 22:29 and say "Man, that sounds deep, that might even be extreme." 22:32 Right. They can say that. 22:33 But let's consider this, and I'm gonna consider this 22:35 from the text you just used in 1 Corinthians 6, right? 22:38 In 1 Corinthians 6:19, God says "What, no ye not, 22:42 that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost 22:44 which is in you, which ye have of God." 22:45 And this is how He closes it. Yes. 22:47 "And ye are not your own." Why? 22:51 Because you have been bought. Yup. 22:53 Now of course, this is speaking to the Christian, 22:55 this is speaking to the community 22:57 that has said, "I have accepted Christ, 22:59 I have accepted the atonement." 23:00 If you rejected Christ, 23:01 then this verse does not apply to you. 23:03 But if you and I say I accept Jesus Christ 23:05 as Lord and Savior, 23:07 I profess myself to be a Christian... 23:08 Yeah. 23:09 Then God is saying, then that means, 23:11 you have been bought. 23:12 You were bought with the precious blood of Christ 23:14 which means, you are not your own, 23:15 which means, you can't do 23:17 what you want to do with your body. 23:19 That's right. You have to go to the owner. 23:21 If I walk up in your store and I just take what I want, 23:24 there is a word for that in our society, 23:25 it's called stealing. 23:26 And the eighth commandment says "Thou shalt not steal." 23:28 And to break God's commandment is sin. 23:30 Yeah. 23:31 So therefore, they are ways that we can sin against God, 23:33 and sin against our bodies, when we do with 23:36 and what we want with our bodies 23:38 without consulting the owner. 23:40 And that is a hard pill to swallow for many people. 23:43 Very hard. 23:44 Because you know, as Christians especially we will say, 23:47 you know, we will say amen and rejoice, 23:49 when we talk about the world, you know, 23:51 the non-Christians and say 23:52 "Oh, Well, this is a contradiction." 23:54 Or we say "Oh, well, you know, 23:56 it's absurd for you to promote this practice, 23:59 but then violate it on the other side." 24:02 To say that we can be gods 24:04 and you don't have the right to say that. 24:06 God created you. 24:07 God, you know, is the only reason you exist. 24:09 You know, the Christ died for you, 24:11 and we get offended by that. 24:13 But then when, you know, as Christians, 24:16 we also don't understand that we are not at liberty. 24:18 We talk about that dependence verses independence. 24:21 And we say, "Yeah, you out there in the world, 24:23 you can't be, you know, independent from God. 24:26 You have to have total dependence." 24:28 And then in the church sometimes, 24:29 we come and rationalize 24:31 and we say "Oh, yeah, God doesn't care about that." 24:33 You know, we can be independent. 24:35 The Bible says we are not at liberty. 24:37 That's right. 24:38 We don't have the right to do whatever we want to do 24:40 spiritually or physically. 24:42 And then, you know, we can then apply 24:44 that to the mental, emotional, social, all that stuff. 24:46 We don't have the right to do all these things. 24:48 So that's what the text is saying, 24:50 it's an important principle that we have to understand 24:53 and, you know, often times 24:55 we use it in the context of diet 24:56 and, you know, nutrition, you know, diet choices, 24:58 and you know, that kind of stuff. 25:00 It goes far beyond that. 25:01 It's literally in everything 'cause the context of it 25:02 is dealing with temple prostitution. 25:04 You know, it's dealing with melding cultural practices 25:08 with Christianity that's unacceptable. 25:10 And we're gonna talk a lot about that. 25:12 So we can't just say, use the excuse, 25:14 "Oh, that's my culture." 25:16 That's fine, if that's your culture 25:18 but the question is, 25:19 if your culture violates biblical principle, 25:21 it has to go. 25:23 Yeah, because one or two has to go, 25:24 either we are gonna say, 25:26 we'll get rid of biblical principle, 25:27 so I can maintain my culture 25:29 or we're gonna have to surrender things 25:30 with my culture to maintain biblical principles. 25:33 For the Christian, the answer is very simple. 25:35 Man shall not live by anything else 25:39 except by the Word of God. Yeah. 25:41 Man shall live by the Word of God. 25:42 So that means that, whatever I am practicing 25:45 that violates God's word has to be surrendered. 25:47 And I appreciate this point because 25:50 in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, the Bible says "I pray God." 25:53 Talking about the second coming of Christ... 25:55 Yeah. 25:56 It says, "I pray God your whole spirit, soul, 25:59 and body be preserved blameless 26:03 at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 26:05 So that means that I really do have to consider 26:08 how does this affect me, 26:11 when I am getting ready to participate 26:12 in this recreation activity? 26:14 How will this affect my physiology? 26:15 How will this affect my body? 26:17 What's it going to do to my mind? 26:18 Can I stay focused? 26:20 Can I still whisper a prayer at any moment 26:21 and stay connected to Christ? 26:24 Or is what I am doing, drowning out the voice of God 26:27 and all I'm doing is being focused in the moment. 26:29 You know, is it hurting me, literally physically causing, 26:33 you know, my blood pressure to go up, you know, I mean, 26:35 we can really get deep into this thing. 26:37 That's right. 26:38 But, it's a principle 26:39 that God lays before us as His people, 26:41 that He says "Pay attention to these things, 26:43 and by His grace as we do it, we will have good recreation. 26:47 We will have good enjoyment. 26:49 We will have good as simple, 26:51 as the simple vernacular says, fun. 26:52 We will be able to do these things 26:54 without a problem. 26:55 Friends, we have been going through the word here 26:58 and you know, this is getting deep, 27:00 and it's gonna get deeper 27:01 because we have so many principles 27:03 that are in the Word of God that gives instruction on 27:06 what constitutes biblical recreation, 27:09 God's concept of safely having fun. 27:11 And you can see, it's a lots more detailed, 27:14 it's a lot more succinct, it is a lot clearer 27:17 what God wants 27:18 and He knows that He had to do this 27:20 because He knows the human frailty. 27:23 He knows that we have hearts that are bent towards doing 27:27 that which is wrong rather than that which is right. 27:29 And God love you, and He loved me, 27:31 and He loves all of us too much to let us function 27:34 by our own interpretations of what is fun or enjoyment. 27:37 And therefore, He teaches us His words 27:39 and when we apply them, 27:41 the Bible says something beautiful, 27:42 it tells us "Happy are ye." 27:45 And this is what God wants for all of us to be happy. 27:48 And we will talk more about it in our next episode 27:50 because we actually still have more. 27:51 We have more, we want to give it to you 27:53 and I know the Lord will bless. 27:55 So until the next episode, continue to be faithful, 27:58 remember the words of Proverbs 2:6 that tells us, 28:01 "It is the Lord that gives us wisdom, 28:03 and out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding." 28:07 God bless you. |
Revised 2017-07-14