7/30/06 - “God’s Plan For A Healthy Life – Part 2” - 31L - FM
Victory Ministries International presents:
Awesome Truths and Amazing Facts  
Treasures of awesome truths from God’s Word 
and facts that affect you!

Hello!  This is Richard Vaughn

Today’s subject –  “God’s Plan For A Healthy Life – Part 2”
Last week if you were listening you might have said, where does that guy get off telling me that the Bible says we shouldn’t eat hogs, squirrels, rabbits, catfish, eels, lobsters, clams, crabs, shrimp and oysters. Then he says I shouldn’t drink or smoke. Well friend, I’m not that smart, but I can read the Bible and God makes it clear He wants us to be in good health. He won’t stop us if we choose to violate the laws of health. But it is certain disease and premature death will be the result. It’s a choice to be saved and it’s a choice to be healthy.

Before going into today’s subject, I do want to cover a few New Testament scriptures that usually cause concern in regards to what God has said we should not eat. 1 Timothy 4:4 says, “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving.” This scripture refers to flesh meats and are the clean meats listed in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.  Verse 5 tells us why these animals are acceptable, “For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” They are “sanctified” by God’s Word, which says they are clean, and by a prayer of “blessing” which is offered before a meal. Please be aware that Isaiah 66:17 says that God will destroy people who try to sanctify themselves while eating unclean food.

The question is also asked, didn’t Jesus cleanse all animals in Peter’s vision as recorded in Acts 10. The answer is no, not at all. The subject of this vision is people and not animals. God gave this vision to Peter to show him that the Gentiles were not unclean as the Jews believed. God had instructed Cornelius, a Gentile, to send men to visit Peter. But Peter would have refused to see them if God had not given him the vision, because Jewish law forbade entertaining Gentiles. But when the men finally did arrive, Peter welcomed them, explaining that ordinarily he would not have done so. In verse 28 Peter explains, “God hath shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.” In the next chapter 11, the church members criticized Peter for speaking with Gentiles. So Peter told them the whole story of his vision and its meaning. And Acts 11:18 says, “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”  

Some then ask, what did God make the hog for if not to eat? He made it for the same purpose as the buzzards of the air or the shellfish in the waters. They are scavengers and they eat the garbage of the earth.

God has given us so much to eat. In the earth made new, flesh meats will not be part of the diet of man. This life is a good place to start eating the original diet of fruit, nuts, grains and vegetables. Why not get a head start now and minimize your risk of getting many of the diseases where the risk is increased dramatically by eating animal foods.

Today:  The Eight Natural Doctors Found in the Bible - What Health Principles in Scripture apply to Christians today? Part 2

Why is there so much sickness and disease today? Surely this can’t be God’s plan for the people who profess to be His followers. Is there a simple plan that can be followed by those interested in vibrant health and wellness? Yes there is. These eight principles provide the foundation for dealing with any health condition successfully. Using the acronym NEW START, it makes them easier to remember. You might want to write this down.

N – E – W – S – T – A – R – T

N for Nutrition, E for Exercise, W for Water, S for Sunlight, T for Temperance, A for Air, R for Rest, and T for Trust in God. Applied individually, each health principle is very effective; but combined, the benefits are multiplied beyond what each one by itself could do.
Psalm 67:2 “That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.” Let’s look at each of God’s 8 doctors in the light of Scripture. 

Starting First with N for Nutrition: Genesis 1:29 “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Good nutrition and regular meals are essential for good health. We need to eliminate as much junk foods, fried foods, white flour products, white sugar and artificial sweeteners as is possible. We would never put water in the gas tanks of our cars. Why should we put unhealthy so-called food in our bodies which are God’s property and we are the caretakers? More and more is being learned about the deleterious affects caused by sugar. There has been an explosion in obesity and just as the fast food restaurants have been super sizing everything, they have super sized their customers. Well God’s word said our diets should be fruits, nuts, vegetables and grains. The more raw food the better. Low and behold we see and hear new scientific findings telling us to eat like the Creator told us in the beginning.
 
The Next Natural Doctor is E for Exercise: Genesis 2:15   “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Exercise is important to digestion and to a healthy condition of body and mind. It increases oxygen intake and the efficiency of the lungs. It normalizes blood pressure, improves muscle tone, charges brain and nerve cells, lowers cholesterol and fats in the blood, burns up unwanted fat, slows the aging process, and promotes good sleep. Inactivity causes a reverse of the benefits of exercise. Most people dread exercise, however walking is nature’s most perfect exercise and if we would do it the same time each day, starting with a small distance and constantly increasing the length of the walk, before long we will enjoy this healthful daily benefit.
The Third Doctor is W for Water: Nehemiah 9:20 “Thou… gavest them water for their thirst.” Did you know the earth’s surface is ¾ water and your body is any where from 60-80% water? Little babies are 80% water. Fat cells have 20% water and muscles cells 80%. Bone cells contain 25% water. Water is so important to you that the loss of 10% to 20% of your body’s water would be fatal. We should hydrate our bodies daily and not wait till we are thirsty. We should use refreshing pure water, not soft drinks, coffee, hurtful teas and canned or bottled juices. Drink about 6 to 8 glasses of pure water every day and you will be aiding all the systems of your body that depend daily on adequate hydration. Your joints especially as you age.
The Fourth Doctor is S for Sunlight: Psalms 84:11 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Man receives many benefits from the sun’s energy both directly and indirectly. With the energy supplied by the sun, plant life takes in water, carbon dioxide and minerals and transforms it into vegetable matter we call food. We also receive heat and light from the sun as well as Vitamin D in skin exposed to the sun. Without vitamin D the body cannot readily absorb calcium. The benefits of sunlight are too numerous to mention here.
The Fifth Doctor is T for Temperance: Galatians 5:22,23   “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”  Satan is constantly on the alert to bring all of mankind under his control. His strongest hold on man is appetite. We need to practice moderation in that which is good and abstain from anything that could injure the body, mind or spirit.
The Sixth Doctor is A for Air: Psalms 150:6  “Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.” Everybody needs about 3,000 cubic feet of fresh air every hour to waft away the waste products given off by the skin and the lungs.
The Seventh Doctor is R for Rest: Exodus 33:14 “And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” There is not a single cell in our body that does not need rest. Newborn babies need up to 22 hours of sleep, while most adults get by with 6 or 7. In addition to a restful sleep for the mind and body, we should abstain from secular labor one day in seven for spiritual rest.

And finally the Eighth Doctor is T for Trust In God: Psalms 28:7 “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped.” Proverbs 3:5,6  “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” No one has ever trusted the Lord in vain. 

There you have God’s eight natural doctors as found in His Word.  Some may ask if health laws and eating and drinking are really important to them personally if they love the Lord. Isn’t that enough? Well friends they are a matter of life versus death, because these laws involve obedience. Remember it was appetite that Satan used to cause sin to come into this world and it was victory over appetite that Jesus won when the devil tempted Him, Satan is still using appetite to claim many Christians today. 

God does not force us to comply with His will regarding health, but if we choose the path of disobedience regarding health laws, we will have health problems in this life and jeopardize eternal interests. Hebrews 5:9 says, “he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”  Love to Christ is involved here because Jesus said “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15. And when we love the Lord supremely, we will gladly obey Him without dodging or making excuses. 

If you would like to receive a free copy of an excellent magazine called “Radiant Living - Simple Steps to Health and Happiness”, which gives much more information on NEW START and radiant health, write to me at: Victory Ministries International, P.O. Box 970, South Hill, VA 23970 

Next Week: We’re going to look at the future in advance as it was revealed to Daniel 603 years before Christ. As a matter of fact in the coming months we are going to explore many of the prophecies in Daniel of the Old Testament and Revelation in the New Testament. This generation may very well be the last on earth and the most fearful warning ever given in the Bible is that we do not receive the mark of the beast. Why? Because those that do will go through the seven last plagues and be lost. The coming broadcasts will lay a foundation so that when we deal with the subject of the mark of the beast, you will clearly understand and know what you have to do to keep from getting it. So tune in next week for our first study in prophecy, “Prophecy – The future told in advance – Daniel Chapter 2”

If you would like to worship this seventh day Lord’s day, come and visit us this Saturday at Victory Seventh Day Adventist Church, 117 W. Danville Street in South Hill. 
Until next week, Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. Even so, Come Lord Jesus.