HopeLives365

Mark Finley: What does John say? This is the same John that wrote the book of Revelation. He says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” God wants you, my friend, to have good health.

Guest (Male): This is HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message: Give Glory to Him. Enjoy and remember you can always catch past messages and stay up to date with HopeLives365 and Pastor Mark by going to HopeLives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: A number of years ago, I was giving a Bible study way up in the mountains of Tennessee. I had to drive on a dirt road a few miles, get back to this little cabin. It was a log cabin, dirt floor, no running water, no toilet, no electricity, and I was studying with some mountain people. As I was studying the Bible there, a mountain man walked in smoking a big cigar.

As he smoked the big cigar and was puffing away, he said, "Praise God, I'm healed. Praise God, I'm healed." I was just a young pastor, and I looked at this man. I said, "Sir, what have you been healed from?" He said, "Lung cancer." I said, "Lung cancer, and you're still smoking a big cigar?"

He said, "Young man, don't you know? If you have enough faith, no big cigar smoke can touch you, and you will be always in God's hand. Nothing can take you out of God's hand, and so you can smoke as many big cigars as you want, you'll never get lung cancer." Do you think the big cigar man was right or wrong?

If you have faith, can you eat whatever you want, drink whatever you want, live however you want and say, "But I just have enough faith, so it's not going to hurt me"? The Bible has a message for an end-time generation. That message is not only a message of spiritual health and mental health; it's also a message of physical health.

We've been studying in this series the God's last message for the world. It's called the message of the three angels. It's found in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 14:6, it says, "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God,’ that is, respect God, take God seriously, obey God, ‘and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.’"

We discussed in our last program that to fear God means to obey him and that God is leading a generation of men and women in these last days of Earth's history to be totally committed to his will and live godly lives of obedience. As Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love me, keep my commandments."

But today, in this program, we want to look at what does it mean to give glory to God? Can I give glory to God if I'm abusing my body? Can I give glory to God if I'm taking toxic substances into my body? Am I giving glory to God smoking, drinking, vaping, etc.? Am I giving glory to God if I have a high-fat, rich, sugary diet?

What does it mean to give glory to God? What is God calling us to do in this final message to mankind that says, "Fear God and give glory to him"? What does it mean to give glory to God? How do we do that? Let's go to the book of Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 6.

Here in Scripture, we have clear instructions what it means to give glory to God. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, and here Scripture says, "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

So the Scripture teaches that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. As the temple of the Holy Spirit, God invites us to glorify him. I remember I was helping a lady quit smoking once, and as I was helping her, everything we tried, she couldn't quit. One day I came to her home and she said, "Pastor Mark, Pastor Mark, I've quit, I've quit."

I said, "What was the key?" She said, "I began to visualize my body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and I began to visualize God living within me through his Spirit. Then I said every cigarette that I take and smoke, every time I inhale that tobacco smoke, I'm really choking the Spirit of God. Pastor Mark, I can't do that anymore. If my body is the temple of God, I want to treat it like that temple."

How do we give glory to God in these temples of ours? 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 31 puts it this way: "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." So eating and drinking, we eat and drink to the glory of God. The things that we take into our body either are defiling our bodies or we're giving glory to God in our bodies.

Our bodies are not a plaything; they're a temple—the temple of the Holy Spirit. How we treat our bodies indicates our appreciation for our Creator. Let's suppose someone gave you a magnificent piece of art. That piece of art was by Leonardo da Vinci or Michelangelo. It could be a sculpture by Da Vinci or a picture by Michelangelo.

Let's suppose you decided to take that sculpture and paint it all different colors, defiling the sculpture. It would be a disrespect to the artist. Or let's suppose you wanted to touch up on some of the great masters of paintings, or you just painted over them in modern art. This indeed would be disrespect.

So we disrespect God if we defile the highest thing of all creation. There's nothing higher in the created world that God has done than create our bodies. These bodies are created in the image of God. You remember what it says in Genesis chapter 1? You go back to creation, and in Genesis chapter 1, the Bible talks about the fact that we are created in the very image of God.

Genesis chapter 1, verse 27, the Scripture says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." What does it mean that we were created in the image of God? There's a physical resemblance, certainly. There is a mental resemblance. We can think, we can reason, we can choose.

We are spiritual beings. All of this, the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, we're created in the image of God. Our goal is to preserve the image of God in humanity. We do that by following basic health principles to preserve the physical image of God. We preserve the mental image of God by filling our minds with the very word of God, and through his word, our minds are changed.

The Bible talks about the renewing of our mind. Our goal is to preserve the very image of God, to prepare for the soon return of Jesus in our world. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, the Bible talks about the fact that God indeed has for us a plan in these last days of Earth's history, a plan in which we are to be preserved physically, mentally, spiritually.

So what we eat, what we drink, what we take into our bodies makes a dramatic difference. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 23 and 24, the Bible puts it this way: "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you." What does it mean to sanctify? To make you holy completely. How much completely? "May your whole spirit," that is your mental attitudes—you know sometimes we say this person has a gentle spirit, they have a kind spirit, they have an angry spirit—"may your whole spirit, your soul," that's your spiritual faculties, "and your body be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful and he also will do it."

The Scripture says that God is faithful. If we dedicate our bodies to him, he will enable us to glorify himself in these bodies of ours. I have seen people struggle with terrible addictions. Some have struggled with drug addiction. Some have been addicted to alcohol. Some have been addicted to tobacco.

I've seen God move powerfully in their lives. I remember on one occasion, I was studying the Bible with a woman who had a terrible smoking addiction. She really wanted to quit but didn't seem to have the strength, didn't seem to have the willpower. So we studied the Bible, and I remember coming to Philippians chapter 4, verse 13 with her that says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

I said, and I'll call her name Joy, I said, "Joy, do you believe that?" She said, "Well, I know that Jesus can do it, but I don't know if I can." I said, "Now wait a minute. What does the text say? 'I can do all things through' who? 'Christ who strengthens me.'" She said, "But I'm so weak." I said, "Yeah, but Jesus is strong." She said, "But I don't have much of a will." "But no, but Jesus can strengthen your will."

She was just hesitating and struggling. So I said to her, "Well, Joy, take out your pen. I want you to write something: 'I can do all things,' and then I want you to write, 'except quit smoking through Jesus Christ who strengthened me.'" She looked at me and said, "Pastor Mark, I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to write in my Bible 'I can do all things except quit smoking through Jesus Christ.'" I said, "Joy, do you believe it? I want you to put your finger on this text and say, 'By the grace of God, I claim the promises of God. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'"

She said, "Pastor Mark, I believe it. I can't do it, but Jesus can. I am weak, but he is strong. I'm frail, but he's mighty." We claimed the promises of God, and God gave that woman victory. Certainly, I helped her. I told her that when she got a craving, I wanted her to start drinking water. That would help to flush the nicotine out of her system.

I told her that I wanted her to start taking walks right after her meals rather than sitting down in the chair that was saturated with tobacco and the curtains saturated with tobacco. Get out, take a walk. We helped her in many ways, get on a better physical lifestyle program. She was rejoicing that now she had victory through Jesus Christ her Lord, and now she could glorify God through that victory.

Guest (Male): You're listening to HopeLives365. We'll be right back. And if you like what you're hearing, we invite you to check out our website, HopeLives365.com. There you can find many ministry resources, encouraging messages, and even a link to our HopeLives365 YouTube ministry. And, of course, an opportunity to sow into this valuable ministry. Find out more by going to HopeLives365.com. That's HopeLives365.com. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: I remember another occasion, I was helping a young group of middle-aged adults over alcohol. We claimed the promises of God that God could deliver them from their addiction to alcohol. There was a given night that they brought all their alcohol into their kitchen. They went and got their Budweiser beer cans out of the refrigerator. They went and got their Johnny Walker whiskey out and put it on the table.

They took all of their alcohol, and we claimed the promises of God and began to sing, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." We read to them the promises of God. For example, 1 John chapter 5: "This is the confidence we have in him." I said, "Where's the confidence? Is the confidence in ourselves? No, Pastor. This is the confidence that we have in him. If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."

Is it your will, is it God's will for you to give up this addictive alcohol that's destroying your brain cells? "Yes, Pastor." Do you have confidence that you can do it? "No, Pastor." Do you have confidence that he can do it? "Yes, Pastor." This is the confidence we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, what does he do? He hears us. Whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desired of him.

We took that alcohol, we began to sing, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." I took the can of beer, Budweiser, and opened it up and handed it to this young woman and I said to her, "Go pour this down the sink." We took the Johnny Walker whiskey, unscrewed the top, popped the corks, poured it down the sink. We sang and the whole place stunk like alcohol, but they had victory in Jesus Christ our Lord.

I remember a young man struggling with drugs, really going through a terrible, terrible struggle. He had been abusing drugs since he was just in his early teens. His brain was becoming fried, and I said, "Look, I know that God can renew and restore all those years." Sometimes when we abuse our bodies, our bodies pay the toll of that, our minds pay the toll of that, and it becomes extremely difficult to reestablish a good healthy practice in our lives.

As I was talking to this young man, he wanted to be free. He wanted to be liberated from the drugs that were destroying his body. I read to him these words in Joel chapter 2: "So I will restore the years that the swarming locust," and for that, I substituted "the drugs have eaten, that alcohol has destroyed." "I'll restore the years. You'll eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of your Lord who's done wondrously with you."

I said, "Look, you can give God glory in your body. God is going to restore the years." And you know, that young man had victory. He was clean. He eventually went on to study for the ministry and became a powerful preacher for our Lord Jesus Christ.

I don't know what you're struggling with. Maybe alcohol. You want to give it up, but it's tough. You've become addicted to it. Maybe it's tobacco, maybe it's vaping, maybe it's marijuana. Maybe for you, it's some other drug addiction. Or maybe, just maybe, your appetite is out of control. You're not living in harmony with God's will. You're not glorifying God with the things you put in your mouth, and your stomach has become your god. Maybe for you, you're abusing your body through the things you eat.

But here, the apostle Paul speaks to you in Romans chapter 12, verse 1. God is speaking to you. God is moving in your life. The apostle Paul writes to the church at Rome, "I beseech you," that is I urge you, I appeal to you, "therefore, brothers, by the mercy of God"—we can never have victory in any of these issues in our life except by the mercy of God, except through the grace of God, except through the power of God—"that you present your bodies."

Now notice, it's a choice that you present your bodies. The word "body" is there as a Greek word "soma." It's the sum of all we have physically, mentally, spiritually, that you present. God is not going to come down and take that tobacco out of your mouth. He's not going to tie your hands behind your back so you don't long for the drug anymore and reach for it. He's not going to keep you from walking into the store to buy another bottle of alcohol.

Neither is he going to keep you from eating the third serving of sugar-laden desserts that are simply destroying your health. He's not going to deny you eating the diet that is fat-rich, high in cholesterol. He's not going to do that. You present your body by the mercies of God. The Holy Spirit convicts you of what you ought to do, but you must choose to do it.

The Bible says in James 4, verses 7 and 8, "Submit yourselves to God and resist the devil and he'll flee from you." We do the submitting, and as we do, God gives us the power. We present our body and God gives us the strength. God gives us the power to be overcomers. "I beseech you," Paul says, "I'm urging you, brethren, by the mercies of God, through the grace of God, present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Don't be conformed to this world."

In other words, don't let the world squeeze you into its mold. Because everybody else is drinking in the party doesn't mean you have to do that. Because everybody else has a fat-rich diet doesn't mean you can't make a change in your diet to be more healthful with fruits, nuts, grains, vegetables. Don't be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

God is not going to hold back anything that is good for us. God's not going to hold back anything that is best for us. The book of Revelation is a book that prepares us for the last days of Earth's history. "I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those that dwell on the earth, to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God’ and do what? ‘Give glory to him.’"

How do we give glory to God? Whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, give glory to God. We give glory to God in our lifestyle. We give glory to God in what we watch on television. We give glory to God in what we listen to in music. We give glory to God where we go. We give glory to God with what we put into our bodies.

What we put into our bodies is either breaking down that body, tearing down the health that God has given us, destroying the image of God, or it is enhancing that image. But somebody says, "Pastor Mark, does God really care about our health?" The Bible is abundantly plain. He does.

God wants you to live the abundant life. Jesus said, "The thief comes not but for to kill, to steal, and destroy," but Jesus says, "I've come that they might have life and have it more abundantly." Christ wants you to live the abundant life. Satan wants you to have your health destroyed.

In 3 John 2, it becomes very clear. This is little John. You have the Gospel of John, then right before the book of Jude, right before Revelation, you have 3 John. In 3 John 2, we read, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." What does John say? This is the same John that wrote the book of Revelation. He says, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers."

God wants you, my friend, to have good health. God wants you to have abundant health. God wants you to be healthy and well. But yet, the devil wants to destroy our health. But the decision is yours; the decision is mine. As the Holy Spirit impresses our hearts, as the Holy Spirit brings conviction to our mind, as the Holy Spirit prompts us, we make decisions for Christ and eternity.

Make a decision to glorify God in your body, to preserve the image of God in your life and not tear down that image. As we make those decisions, God empowers us. God strengthens us. We cannot do it without him, but he won't do it without us. A friend of mine tells the story of his father, who when he was becoming a Christian had a terrible, terrible struggle with tobacco.

They lived out on a farm, and his dad was chewing tobacco. He would chew and chew and chew. Then he said, "Oh, I can't do this anymore," and he'd spit the chew of tobacco into his hand and he'd take that tobacco early in the morning and he'd throw it as far as he could out into the cornfield.

My friend then, with a smile, said, "In the afternoon, often at lunch, his dad would be walking up and down those corn rows." What do you think he was doing? He was looking for the tobacco that he threw out in the morning. If you were God, would you let him find it, or would you hide it?

You see, God respects his freedom of will. If that man goes out and looks long enough, he may find it. God's not going to hide it from him. The key in glorifying God in your body, the key in preserving the image of God in your life, is yielding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and surrendering your mind and heart to the Spirit. Are you willing to do that?

Guest (Male): You've been listening to HopeLives365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at HopeLives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to HopeLives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.

Mark Finley: Are you willing to say, "Jesus, I surrender my life to you. I don't want to take into my body anything that's not in harmony with your will"? What we take into our bodies not only affects our physical health; it affects our mental and spiritual health.

If alcohol destroys the frontal lobe of the brain, that's where the Holy Spirit communicates. So when we abuse our bodies, we not only destroy physical health in those bodies, but we destroy the finer sensitivity of the brain where the Holy Spirit wants to communicate.

God is speaking to you right now. In the last days of Earth's history, there's a message that echoes and re-echoes down the stream of time. It says, "Glorify God in your body." Are you willing to say, "Lord, I present my body to you as an offering, as a living sacrifice"? Would you like to do that right now as we pray?

Father in heaven, thank you so much for the messages from the book of Revelation. We see that deep calls to deep and shallow calls to shallow. You're calling us to something deeper. You're calling us not simply to say, "Oh Jesus, I love you," but to say, "Jesus, I love you enough to live in harmony with your will. I want to restore your image in my body. I want to glorify you in my body."

Oh Father, we pray that Jesus will be near us. We pray that Jesus will fill us with his love, his grace, his goodness. We pray that we can glorify Christ in our bodies and that we will be filled with the Holy Spirit to represent you before a waiting world and a watching universe. Prepare us for your soon coming. And just now, give us the strength as we present our bodies to you as a living sacrifice. In Jesus' name, amen.