Every year around the New Year, we all seem to direct our attention a little more towards our health. We think about what we are eating and how we’d like to eat, or how much we’d like the scale to drop, or maybe what pant size we’d like to get back to. Maybe this year more than any other, COVID has caused you to focus even more on your health. But you might wonder what does physical health have to do with your spiritual life? In this week’s message, Pastor Ken shows from the Bible that as followers of Jesus, we have the responsibility to own the aspects of our health that we can and work to not allow our love of food, love of the gym, or love of our body image take precedent over our devotion and reliance on God.

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MESSAGE NOTES

The idea behind this series is you have the remote control over every area of your life, even if circumstances change, you have the power to change the channel. It’s ultimately your choice to take ownership.

 

You might be thinking… “What does my physical health have to do with my relationship with God?’ The Bible would say EVERYTHING.

 

Part of growing closer to Jesus means growing healthier in every area of your life including physically.

 

Biblically there is no separation between your spirituality and any other part of your life: physical life, emotional life, financial life, social life, sexual life, work life or family life…

 

Daniel 1:1- 8
“During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects
from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god. The king ordered
Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives.  4  “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.”  5  The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names:
Daniel was called Belteshazzar.
Hananiah was called Shadrach.
Mishael was called Meshach.
Azariah was called Abednego.

But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king.

 

3 Lessons We Can Learn From Daniel

1. Not allowing your circumstances cause you to slip into unhealthy habits.

Our unhealthy habits reveal that self, pleasure, comfort or other’s opinion of us is more important than God… they replace God in that situation.

 

2. Not letting people cause you to slip into unhealthy habits.

Daniel 1:9-11
Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel.  10  But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.” 11  Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

3. Not doing it alone.

Daniel 1:12-13
12  “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said.  13  “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.”

Daniel 1:18-20

18  When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar.  19  The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service.  20  Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.

Daniel understood that physical obedience is a prerequisite for spiritual blessing!!!!

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Application Questions

1. What stood out to you from this message and why?

2. What is one thing God is telling you to START doing because of this message?

3. What is one thing God is telling you to STOP doing because of this message?

4. How will this message change how you act at home, work and in the your relationships?