Healthful Living thru the Eyes of Grace pt. 2

Guest (Male): Think of it. When that person comes into your office, you've gained access to their heart. A confidence bond is built up. You have met a physical need, and people will be open spiritually. And when you help them spiritually, my point is that it will transform their lives physically.
Guest (Male): This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message: Healthful Living Through the Eyes of Grace, Part Two. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: Now notice we're studying the relationship between the sanctuary and the body temple and how what that has to do with God's last-day message. We are looking at the idea that God gave to the Seventh-day Adventist Church a health message because, in that health message, we are drawn to a deeper relationship with Him so that His glory can fill our body temples and that glory of His presence can be manifested to the world. Revelation chapter 14, we look there at verse six and seven, the last message to the world. "Then I saw another angel flying in the middle of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people." So here's God's last-day message that goes to the ends of the earth. Verse seven says with a loud voice, "Fear God and do what? Give glory to Him. Why? Because the hour of His judgment is come." Where does the judgment take place? It takes place in heaven, in the sanctuary. So while God's judgment is going on in heaven in the sanctuary, we on earth, in the sanctuary of our body temple, draw close to Him and commit ourselves to Him physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, so His glory can shine out of us. This is the uniqueness of the Seventh-day Adventist health message. The popular health reformers of the world know nothing about what we're talking about now: an end-time message in which the sanctuary of the heart is filled with the presence of God to reveal the glory of God to a waiting world and a watching universe. Now compare this to Revelation 18, verse one. After these things, I saw—see, this is in the crisis of this earth's history, church and state united. There are natural disasters, the economic bottom falls out. But what happens? These things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was filled with His what? Glory. What is the glory of God that fills the earth? It is the character of Christ revealed in the people of God who follow the principles of Jesus physically, mentally, spiritually at end time, and reveal before a waiting world and a watching universe that God's way is right. So Seventh-day Adventists have a uniqueness in their health message. So what's the purpose of the health message? First, the purpose of the health message is to be healthy, to live an abundant life now in happiness. Second, the purpose of the health message is to draw us closer to the living Christ, to this Jesus, and give us a deeper relationship with Him so that our minds are clear. Thirdly, God's gift of health biblically is part of His last-day message to prepare a people for the soon return of Jesus. You find that in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 23. The message of health is not simply to give us a deeper experience spiritually today, but it is to prepare us for an end-time crisis. It is to prepare us for the coming of Jesus. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Jesus is coming soon. And Adventists believe that Christ is coming not to redeem an ethereal soul, but to redeem the entire person. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 23: "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Jesus is coming to redeem all of us. And because heaven saw that early Adventist health was breaking down, heaven saw that bodies were not prepared for the great event of the coming of Jesus, heaven saw clearly that the health of these early Adventists was being destroyed, God revealed a precious gift of grace in the Adventist health message. Fourthly, God's gift of health is part of His witness to the world. God gave an ancient prophet, Ezekiel, a vision of the health message going to the world. Do you remember that vision? Ezekiel 47. There is a river, and the river flows from the throne of God in the sanctuary. Now, water in the Bible is a symbol of life and healing. Jesus says, "I'll give you the water of life." The river of the water of life. It's a symbol generally of life and healing. In Ezekiel 47, there is an absolutely incredible vision. Ezekiel looks up, and he sees coming from the sanctuary a river. And he sees a man, and the man is walking, and the river comes up to his ankles. Well, we better look at it. You want to look at it? Okay, here we go. Ezekiel chapter 47. There's a man. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. Still there, right before Daniel. Ezekiel 47, verse one: "Then he brought me back to the door of the temple." What temple is this? Temple analogies are sanctuary language. "Brought me back to the door of the temple. There was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east. And the water was flowing from the right side of the temple, south of the altar." Then the water was running to the right side; this water is going all over the place. Verse three: "Then when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured 1,000 cubits, and he brought me to the water, the water came up to my ankles." Uh oh, he's in trouble now. The water came up where? Verse four, last part: the water came to his waist. And the water is coming, it flows from his waist, and the man is wondering what's going on here. Verse eight: "Then he said to me, 'The water flows toward the eastern region, goes down to the valley and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed.'" Verse 12: "Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food. Their leaves will not wither, their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month because their water flows from the sanctuary." The water comes from the sanctuary. "Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for medicine." The water represents the life that enables the tree to produce the leaves for medicine. What is the water that flows from the sanctuary specifically of healing? Medical Ministry 317: "We shall see the medical missionary work broadening and deepening at every point of its progress because of the inflowing of hundreds of thousands of streams until the whole earth is covered with waters that cover the sea." Ellen White is quoting from Ezekiel 47. And she says that God will have a great medical missionary movement: men and women who unselfishly go out to serve others, men and women who have a compassion for others, men and women who have a desire to see others healed physically, mentally, and spiritually. There will be a great witness to the world because here is a prediction in Ezekiel 47 that is confirmed by the modern-day prophet. From the throne of the sanctuary of God, the rivers of the water of life of medical missionary healing will flow and as the waters cover the sea, it will produce healing, and the witness of God's people will go to the ends of the entire earth. This is the uniqueness of the Adventist health message. Now, don't misunderstand me. It is not true that Seventh-day Adventists originated natural remedies. You can go back and read Dr. Jackson, you can read Dr. Thrall. I was looking the other day at Dr. Jackson, not a Seventh-day Adventist. He talked about fresh air, he talked about walking, he talked about a whole-grain diet before Ellen White. Seventh-day Adventists have never claimed to be originators of the health message. In fact, let me read a quote or two. E.J. Waggoner. See, we think today that it's a new argument that Ellen White supposedly copied some of these health things. So I always ask the people who tell me that she copied from Dr. Jackson and Dr. Thrall: how did she know what to copy and what not to copy from some of these people? But anyway, here's what E.J. Waggoner said. That argument was back in her day, and Waggoner made a point, and it's the point I want to make now. Waggoner says this: "When placed on a level with the great truths of the three angels' messages by the sanction and authority of God's Spirit, and so declared to be the means whereby a weak people can be made strong to overcome, and our diseased bodies can be cleansed and fitted for translation, then it, the health message, comes to us as an essential part of present truth to be received with the blessing of God or rejected at our peril." This is the uniqueness of the Adventist health message. The uniqueness of the Adventist health message is not that you go out and take a walk and go exercise; secular postmodern people can do that and they can be lost. It's not that you're a vegetarian; there are plenty of Hindus that are vegetarians. So it is not that you go out and get sunshine or fresh air; that's not the uniqueness, and it was not the uniqueness in her day. What Ellen White did is took the truths that God showed to her in vision, she looked at other writers in her day, pulled those things together—the truths—left off the errors, but set them in the context of spirituality and preparing a people for the coming of Jesus. Where the Seventh-day Adventist health message is unique, and it is unique, not in the fact of the individual parts, but in the fact of it is a message given by God to prepare a people for the soon return of Jesus Christ. It enables them to live a better quality of life here, to enable them to draw closer to Him in a spiritual experience, and to enable them to be a powerful witness to the world.
Guest (Male): We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. We thank you for listening and hope you're enjoying today's message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers and effectively share with confidence His life-changing truths with others. You can support this ministry and help us reach even more by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: Here are the unique aspects of the Adventist health message. There are three. One: the message of health is part of God's last-day message to prepare a people for the coming of Jesus. No other church has that; that's unique. Two: a healthy body contributes to a healthy spiritual life. Most postmodern secular people have no clue of that. Three: a positive religious experience in your life adds for you better health. What an opportunity Seventh-day Adventist physicians and dentists and medical personnel have to be an incredible blessing to the world. What a message that we have been entrusted with to be able to use spirituality as a modality on that third point. The world is just catching up with where Adventists were. Do you know that fifteen years ago, there were only three medical schools in the United States that had a distinct course on spirituality and healing? Today, half of them have it. There is a sense today where the world is catching up and maybe going beyond where some Seventh-day Adventists are, where some Adventist medical personnel may be hesitant to champion our uniqueness in the area of spirituality, just as Seventh-day Adventists were pioneers in the area of the five-day plan to stop smoking. I believe that Seventh-day Adventist physicians have a chance to be on the cutting edge of scientific research in the area of spirituality and health. I have no question about it in my own mind. You are cooperating with God every time you go into that office, every time you see a patient. You are not simply dealing with the body. I have been amazed as I have been looking recently at a series of studies showing how spirituality makes a difference in physical life. This to me is a unique contribution. Let me just rattle off about five or six studies. International Journal of Psychiatry and Medicine, Journal 28. Here's a study of blood pressure. The relationship between religious activities and blood pressure was examined in a six-year prospective study of 4,000 older adults. Now, I recognize that many of these studies in religion and health, the sample is too small. I understand all that stuff. I'm a preacher, but I still can research. I know how to read. I look for studies where the statistical analysis is larger. So here's a study of 4,000 older adults. Among subjects who attended religious services once a week or more and prayed or studied the Bible once a day or more, the likelihood of diastolic hypertension was 40% lower. 40% lower! And these people are studying the Bible and praying. Study number two. Here's a study on depression that's published by George Peterson and Koenig down at Duke, 1998, American Journal of Psychiatry, Journal 155. He found that depressed patients who had a strong intrinsic religious faith recovered 70% faster from depression. See, this is where Adventists are so unique. I mean, we can help people with spiritual modalities. Here is a study done in Marin County, 1,931 older residents of Marin County, California. Study done by D. Oman and D. Reed, 1998, American Journal of Public Health. In a five-year prospective cohort study of 1,931 older residents of Marin County, California, persons who attended religious services were 36% less likely to die during the follow-up period. Here is a study that is done that deals with Interleukin 6 and it deals with largely the immune system. The question is: what findings are there that suggest that religion helps to build a stronger immune system to deal with disease? This is Journal of Psychiatry and Medicine, Journal 27. Findings suggest that persons who attend church frequently have stronger immune systems than less frequent attendees. And he talks about how these studies in 1986, 1989, 1992 predicted that there would be lower plasma Interleukin. It's an amazing study that deals with the building of the immune system. Here's a study on lifestyle done by Strawbridge in 1997. He studied mortality over 28 years and he said frequent church attendees were more likely to stop smoking, increase exercising, increase social contacts, and stay married. Even after all variables were controlled for, the mortality difference persisted. If you have not seen the MSNBC September 19, 2006 new study that was just published on faith and healing, it is certainly worth looking at. It is the study that points out that 72% of all Americans say that they welcome a conversation with their physician. But it then goes on to say something that I felt was quite fascinating. The woman who did this particular study looked at 150 studies on religion and health. She was not greatly impressed. And I could tell from reading the study that she was not impressed with the statistical difference of spirituality as it played to health. But she comes to the last paragraph. And she says, "One nugget, however, blew my socks off." Now, here's one that I think is looking at it skeptically, and she says, "This blows my socks off: people who regularly attend church have a 25% reduction in mortality. That is, they live longer than people who are not churchgoers. This is true even after controlling for variables intrinsically linked to Sundays or Saturdays in the pew like social support and a healthy lifestyle." She says the strange thing is all this data is culled primarily from Christians. So here she's saying that Christians who are committed to God in church will tend to live significantly longer. Can I, as a Seventh-day Adventist physician, health practicer, with all the information on health before me and with all the evidence before me that clearly indicates in the studies that the more I lead my patients to Christ, the better their health is going to be—can I turn my back on that? Can I deprive my patients of that knowledge, of that Bible text, of that prayer that's going to radically change them inside to improve the quality of life and health they had? What a gift God gave the Seventh-day Adventist Church. What a gift God gave Seventh-day Adventist physicians and dentists. What a gift. A gift to improve the quality of our lives. A gift to enable us to live the most abundant lives possible here. What a gift. A gift to draw us closer to Jesus spiritually, so our bodies could be the soul temple. What a gift. A gift that prepares a people for the coming of Jesus. What a gift. A gift that is a witness to the world. What a gift as we integrate physical, mental, spiritual dimensions—it makes a difference. Echoing and re-echoing down the corridors of time, speaking to your heart and mind this morning, there is an appeal. We've studied the need of the gift. We've studied the origin of the gift. We've studied the purpose of the gift. What about receiving the gift? What does God want to do in your life and mine right now? Please take your Bible and turn to Romans the 12th chapter. Paul is urgent. His message spoke then, and it speaks now. His message touched lives then, and it touches them now. His message moved men and women then, and it moves men and women now. Romans 12, verse one: "I beseech you therefore, brethren." What language: "I beseech, I urge you, I appeal to you." This is no half-hearted call. This is the apostle pouring his soul into something that for him is vital. This is no elective course in Christianity 101. This is no pre-primer. This is not something on the back burner. He says, "I beseech you. I'm concerned about this. I'm appealing to you with all my heart and all my soul. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God." He's saying God has given you this health message in mercy. He's given you this health message through His grace, and I'm beseeching you to do something about it. "That you present your bodies a living sacrifice." Again, what language is "living sacrifice"? Sanctuary. Mark this point, and mark it well. The sacrifice was brought to the sanctuary alive, but it did not remain alive. If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself. The sacrifice is brought alive. I bring my body to Jesus Christ alive, but I die to this mortal fleshly body with its passions. Is there any physical practice in your life now that's not in harmony with God's will? Is there any physical practice that you as a health practitioner that God is calling you to die to? Notice: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice." They're brought alive, but they don't stay alive. "Holy." The lamb that was brought was holy, without blemish. "Acceptable to God." You see where it says "which is your reasonable service"? Now, in the New International Version of the Bible, it says, "This is your spiritual act of worship." When, because you have felt as a physician anxiety and you reach for maybe a cup of coffee, or when there's some lifestyle practice in your life, Jesus says, "I appeal to you as a spiritual act of worship. Give me your body, and let me have full control of it." God is calling health professionals to be healthy. God is calling health professionals to give Him their bodies as a spiritual act of worship. What is He calling you to deeper surrender in that spiritual act of worship? And as we make that commitment, that surrender, His glory fills our life, and we become powerful witnesses to Him in ways we can never imagine. It is the lack of surrender that inhibits the infilling of the body temple with His Spirit so that we can see Revelation 18:1 fulfilled and the glory of God manifest to the world. Have you come to the point where you have surrendered everything you are and everything that's going on in your body to Him? It may be a physical habit, and maybe you've been battling against it. Maybe you have said, "Lord, I follow the principles of health for much of my life, but why did I get sick? Why do I have this pain in my body? Why am I going through this?" I invite you today not only to surrender the habits to Him, but surrender anything going on in your body to Him.