Sermon: Food
by Chris Cumming
Have any of you seen the movie, “The Movie Phenomenon.”
Film about a very nice man living in a rural town who develops a brain tumor that stimulates areas of the brain not normally used by humans. Among other things, he develops great intelligence and insight.
Key scene: George, played by John Travolta is at a farm house. He takes the two young children of his girlfriend over by the fence and talks to them about life. He shows them an apple....
My specific purpose today is to declare to you that you are what you eat.
You are what you eat
1) Physically
2) Mentally
3) Spiritually
What does the Word of God say about what we eat?
First let’s look at the physical things we take into our bodies.
Where does food come from anyway?
[a word about scriptures----though there are a number of scriptures today, for the most part we will be in Psalms and Proverbs so your fingers won’t have to do much walking]
We will begin though in the book of Genesis: Turn to Genesis 48 and verse 15. This is the blessing of the two sons of Joseph---Ephraim and Manasseh by Jacob.
And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day.
Now let us go to the book of Psalms....Psalm 23 and verse 5.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies, thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.
Psalm 103:5-----------a psalm about God’s Love
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Notice the commentary...
Whatever may be true in regard to the supposed fact pertaining to the eagle, about its renewing its strength and vigor in old age, the meaning here is simply that the strength of the psalmist in old age became like the strength of the eagle. Sustained by the bounty of God in his old age he became, as it were, young again. ~Barnes Notes
Another commentary...
I
believe the meaning of the psalmist is much more simple: he refers to the
moulting of birds, which, in most, takes place annually, in which they cast
their old feathers and get a new plumage. To express this, he might as well have
chosen any bird, as this is common to all the feathered race; but he chose the
king of the birds, because of his bulk, his strength, and vivacity. ~Adam
Clarke
Psalm 104:14-----a psalm about God the Creator
He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth. And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.
This is a forever kind of thing---what we eat is with us forever......affects us forever.
Psalm 111:5---------------a psalm praising God
He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his
covenant.
Psalm 136:25------------a psalm about God’s mercy
In fact, each verse in this chapter ends in:
“for his mercy endureth for ever.”
verse 25
Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 145:15------------David’s psalm of praise
The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
All of this food is CLEAN and GOOD for mankind.
We know about God’s admonition about clean and unclean meats. He wants us in good health.
Turn over to 1 Corinthians 6 and verses 19-20
19 What! know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in
you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in
your spirit, which are God’s.
This verse, of course is talking about sexual sin. Sex is another physical thing that we “take into” our bodies.
[ See what medical science has found out about what happens in sex ]
Now this discussion has been about the physical. Let us see what the Bible has to say about the mental food that we take in.
Our whole life is about learning and experience. We take in all kinds of information and we experience all manner of situations that affect our Mental and Emotional states.
We are free moral agents within the confines of Godly Calling and the Salvation Process. We can take in what we want and avoid that which is harmful to us.
The Bible shows clearly though that what we take into our bodies effects us.....forever.....just like eating the apple.
We can choose to be angry, full of greed and gossip. We can choose to be negative and full of hate.
OR
We can choose to at peace, to be cheerful and have joy.
We can choose to give, to love and to be content.
Notice what each does to the body....
Anger:
Turn to Proverbs 15:18
A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
Look at the contrast---strife---violent contention, stress or the appeasing of it. Look at what it does to the mind and body.
What effect does our anger have on others?
In the book “Why Things Bite Back” by Edward Tenner, he states that studies have conclusively found that repeated anger and insults toward others results in long term health problems for both the one showing hatred and the one receiving it.
Turn to Proverbs 22 and verse 24
Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go.
See............avoid these kinds of people...for the sake of your health.
Proverbs 30 and verse 33
Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.
How about gossip............what effect does it have?
Staying in Proverbs go to chapter 18 and verse 8
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost part of the belly.
Yuk!!
Proverbs 26 and verse 20
Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
Now what does greed do to us?
Look at Proverbs 15 and verse 27----the first part.
He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house.
Enough of this negative mental food, let us look at the Good food we can take into our bodies.
Contentment and Cheerfulness
Two verses from Ecclesiastes which is just past Proverbs...
Ecclesiastes 2:24
There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
Good food from God.
Now Ecclesiastes 9:7
Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works....(while you live).
Let us talk about Peace
Proverbs 15 and verse 17
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled (FAT) ox and hatred therewith.
Notice how God uses physical food to get the point across about mental food.
Look over a page to Proverbs 17 and verse 1
Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than a house full of sacrifices with strife.
Kindness.............................Proverbs 12:25
Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop (fall flat or prostrate before God): but a good word maketh it glad.
Proverbs 16 and verse 24
Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
We “eat” the words we speak to ourselves and to others. Good words make for Good health.
While we are here in chapter 17...look at verse 22
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Now jump over to Isaiah 12 and verse 2
Isaiah 12 only has 6 verses....
Verse 2 says...
Behold, God is my salvation: I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
What a picture that paints.
Now I want to tell you a true story about a man that shows both the power of the mind and a man who did not have this joy from trusting in God.
His name was Ivan Kamenski
Railroad worker in the Soviet Union.
His job was to clean out freight cars as they came through the yard.
Many of the cars were refrigerated.
It was a warm summer day when he stepped into one of the refrigerated boxcars.
Door slid shut.
He was not worried.
Doors open automatically.
When he tried to leave he noticed that the door lock was broken and he could not get out.
He yelled and banged on the walls but no one heard him.
The train pulled away for a long trip thru Siberia.
He knew he was going to die.
He knew he was going to freeze to death.
He decided to keep a diary on the wall of the boxcar and document step-by-step the dying process of freezing to death.
He would write the time and the sensations he was feeling.
After several hours he died.
At the next stop the car was opened and his body was found.
Scientist studied his notes and reported that it gave a very accurate record of the freezing process.
An Autopsy confirmed that he died of hypothermia.
One Baffling fact Remained:
The refrigeration in the car was broken and he was frozen by the power of his own mind.
Its Proverbs 23:7 that says “For as he thinketh in his heart so is he.
We must all be careful what we “eat” mentally. Choose good fruit..............like George did as he talked to the children about the apple.
What we eat mentally stays with us forever.
Now let us talk about Spiritual Food:
Again we have a choice...
We can choose to be afraid or exercise the Faith of God.
We can choose to keep God’s law or we can sin.
AND
We can choose to be in the Body of Christ or cleave unto this World and Satan.
Take a look at the fearful, unfaithful man...
Proverbs 25 and verse 19
Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.
Again showing the breakdown of the body.
Proverbs 13:20
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
Proverbs 8:36 speaking of Sin.
But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
Proverbs 14:12----speaking of worldiness
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Now look at a man that took Satan into his body...
John 13:2
And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son to betray him;
and verse 27
And after the sop Satan entered into him.
The ultimate in abomination to the body.
Now look at the good Spiritual food that we can choose to eat...
Choose Faith over fear.
Psalm 34 and verse 8
O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Choose the Law over sin.
Psalm 19 and verse 8----------------Speaking of God’s Law
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Again reference to the body. Notice that spiritual food is “pure”.
At the beginning of this sermon, we read that God gave us bread to strengthen our hearts.
But what is the ultimate bread that we can take into our bodies. What is that bread that binds us all together?
Turn to 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 16
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?
The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
Now turn back a few pages to John 6 and verse 30
Read John 30-33, 47-51, 54
30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see,
and believe thee? what dost thou work?
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Christ is the ultimate food. If we take him into our bodies it is FOREVER......just like George said about the apple.
Notice how all these kinds of foods work together to make us what we are...............FOREVER?
We need good physical food.
We need good mental food.....................AND
We need good Spiritual food.
God made this apple...............it is good food
And if I eat it, it will be a part of me....FOREVER!