Welcome to the Overcoming the Acceptable Christian Sin of Gluttony podcast, a companion podcast to the Acceptable Christian Sin of Gluttony message series. The purpose of this podcast is to share with you, from a biblical perspective, the means by which we can combat and overcome the sin of gluttony and its outcome of obesity.
Our passage from the Word of God today is Numbers 11:18-20 which reads: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?”
Now, let’s look at gluttony and its effects in the news: According to The American Lung Association, ‘People with obesity have reduced lung capacity. These people are at higher risk for respiratory infections. They are more likely to have asthma and other respiratory disorders. Asthma has been shown to be three to four times more common among people with obesity.’
In this podcast, we are going through the book, The RAVE Diet and Lifestyle: The Natural Foods Diet With Meals that Heal, by Mike Anderson. He writes in Chapter 1: Diet, Disease, & Weight Loss (Part 3):
During the 1800s, there was a doctor who followed the medically approved bleeding and drugging procedures of the time, but eventually lost confidence in these procedures because he saw that the health of his patients was not improving. In fact, he found that his patients started to get much better when he prescribed fewer or no drugs. Following a hunch, he decided to eliminate the drugs and bleedings altogether and give patients placebos, or sugar pills, instead. At the same time he gave them advice about improving their diet.
The key to this approach was that he told his patients the pill would not work unless they followed the diet he prescribed. Well, his patients followed his dietary advice to the letter, thinking the pill would not work unless they followed the diet, and much to their surprise, the “pill” worked! The diseases in his patients quickly vanished and the good doctor’s fame spread rapidly. He soon became known as the greatest healer of his time – for all the wrong reasons. No one talked about the diet he prescribed and all his patients could do was blather about his wonderful magic pills.
It’s been estimated that 70 to 85 percent of all hospital patients suffer from illnesses associated with diet-induced diseases. This should not come as a surprise. Throughout history, humans have lived primarily on a diet of whole, natural plant foods. Today, whole plant foods constitute only seven percent our diet! Forty-two percent of our calories come from animal foods and a whopping 51 percent of our calories come from refined foods.
In other words, animal and refined foods – which contain neither fiber nor cancer-fighting or heart-healthy nutrients – make up a whopping 93 percent of the calories we consume today. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how our diet is driving us into hospitals.
During the long history of humans, we ate 95 percent of our calories from whole plant foods. The precipitous fall in whole plant food consumption began only a century ago.
It should be obvious that disease would follow our switch from a plant-based to an animal- and refined-foods-based diet and this accounts for the explosion of the chronic, degenerative diseases and common cancers which are currently affecting every family in America today. Below is a brief summary of the differences between plant foods, animal and refined foods.
— PRAYER —
Now, in this series, as we focus on overcoming the sin of gluttony, and managing our bodies as God intended, we must not lose sight of the most important part of our existence — our spiritual life. Even those of you who are fit, who eat right, and who exercise regularly must still address the condition of your soul. You may keep your body in perfect condition till the day you die, but you will still die — we all will, and the only thing that will matter is the condition of your soul. Is your soul in shape? Is your soul in right standing with God?
The only way to make sure of that is to trust Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin and the consequences of sin. He alone can save your soul, put you in right standing with God, and ensure that you do not perish in Hell. Now, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, here is how you can trust Him today.
First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at dw3@gospellightsociety.com and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
BCNN1 WP 