Many times we do not make it clear how they are to glorify God in their bodies, because we assume they know some things they do not know.
Illus: This reminds us of the story of the Air Traffic Controller who was directing some pilots in to land.
• One of the pilots called this air traffic controller and asked, “What time is it?”
• The Air traffic controller answered, “What airline is this?
• The pilot then asked, “What difference does that make?
• The answer came from the control tower, “It makes a big difference. If this is TWA, it is 1800 hours. If you are a red neck, the big hand is on 12 and the little hand is on 6.”
God’s Word makes it CLEAR that not only are we to GLORIFY GOD, but His Word also shows us IN WHAT WAY WE ARE TO GLORIFY GOD.
We are to glorify God -
I. IN OUR BODY
Look at 1 Cor. 6:20, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
These bodies will one day return to the dust from which they came. But once we accept the Lord Jesus, they become the vessel in which GOD ALMIGHTY LIVES!
Think about that:
• This old body that deteriorates with age
• This old body that hurts sometimes
• This old body that gets wrinkled up with age
• This old body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
Every day, we should rejoice that HE LIVES within. But many times we take pride in the BODY instead of the Lord within us!
Illus: There is a story of a young man who proposed marriage to a young woman. He gave her an expensive, beautiful diamond ring enclosed in an attractive blue velvet box.
The day after their engagement, the young woman said, “How can I ever thank you enough for the beautiful blue velvet box? I love it and will always cherish it!”
How do you think that young man felt?
A crazy story? Yes! Except it describes the care and attention that we give in this life to our body and physical well being, which is like the blue velvet box. We spend about 99% of our resources and time on something that will return to dust, and we neglect the gift of the diamond, Christ who lives within us.
Listen, it is not the BOX, it is the precious DIAMOND in the box that makes these bodies of ours so important.
God has chosen to live within these bodies for a very special reason. These bodies are made to bring glory to God.
Illus: But these bodies are like cars. Cars are made for a specific purpose, to aid us in getting from one place to another.
But look how people misuse them.
• Some have used them to run people down and kill people
• Some have used them to rob banks and make a fast getaway
Cars are made for a very special purpose. But people can misuse them.
Our bodies are made to glorify God, but People can misuse them. Sometimes, when it comes to cars, you wonder if some people have enough sense to own one.
Illus: That reminds me of two rednecks that lived up in snow country, named Bubba and Isabella.
They got up one morning and did their customary thing, they turned the radio on to get the local weather report and drink a cup of coffee.
The weather man said, "There will be 3 to 5 inches of snow today and a snow emergency has been declared. You must park your cars on the odd numbered side, so the snow plows can clear the other side."
Bubba said, “Isabella, I am going to put my car on the odd number side of the road.”
The next day, they turned the radio on and got the coffee going and the weather man said, "There will be 2 to 4 inches of snow today and a snow emergency has been declared. You must park your cars on the even numbered side of the streets so the snow plows can clear the other side."
Bubba got up from his coffee and told Isabella he was going to put his car on the even number side of the road.
Three days later, again they both are sitting down with their cups of coffee and the weather man says, "There will be 6 to 8 inches of snow today and a snow emergency has been declared. You must park your cars on the..." and then the power went out and Bubba didn't get the rest of the instructions.
He said to Isabella, “What am I going to do now, Isabella?” Isabella said, “Bubba, why don’t you just leave the car in the garage today!”
• Some people have cars, but it seems as if they do not have enough sense to have one.
• Everyone has a body, but sometimes it makes you wonder why God gave them one, because they do not seem to have enough sense to know how to use it.
God gave us these bodies to glorify him. Paul made it crystal clear that we are, “…bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Illus: The story is told of the little boy who made a little sail boat. One day as he was playing with it, the current pulled it away and he lost it. Later he went by a second-hand store and saw his boat in the window. He went in and found he had to pay for it. Well, he bought it, and was heard to say as he walked out of the store, “You are mine twice. I made you and now I bought you.”
The Lord has created us and paid for us on Calvary and the Lord wants us to take these bodies that He created, and use them to GLORIFY HIM!
Listen, if Peter, James, John had not used their bodies the way God intended for them to be used, God could have never used them.
It is clear that WE ARE TO GLORIFY GOD...IN OUR BODIES! From the scriptures we know we are to do this, but the scriptures also tell us HOW WE CAN DO THIS!
We are to glorify God IN OUR BODY and -
II. IN HIS BODY
After our conversion OUR BODY BECOMES HIS BODY.
That is:
• Before conversion, they belonged to the devil and he got maximum use out of these bodies.
• Once we come to know the Lord, they belong to Him and He wants to use them for HIS GLORY!
These human bodies are not worth that much scientifically!
A great number of people have spent a great deal of human and financial resources calculating the composition of, prior to the decomposition of, and the worth, or worthlessness of, the human body.
When we total the monetary value of all the elements in our bodies, and the value of the average person's skin, we arrive at a net worth of $4.50! This value is, however, subject to change, due to stock market fluctuations.
Illus: The U. S. Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, invested many a hard-earned tax dollar in calculating the chemical and mineral composition of the human body, which breaks down as follows:
• 65% Water
• 18% Carbon
• 10% Hydrogen
• 3% Nitrogen
• 1.5% Calcium
• 1% Phosphorous
• 0.35% Potassium
• 0.25% Sulfur
• 0.15% Sodium
• 0.15% Chlorine
• 0.05% Magnesium
• 0.0004% Iron
• 0.00004% Iodine
Additionally, it was discovered that our bodies contain trace quantities of fluorine, silicon, manganese, zinc, copper, aluminum, and arsenic. Together, the value of all of the above amounts to less than one dollar!
Our most valuable asset is our skin, which the Japanese invested their time and money in measuring. The method the Imperial State Institute for Nutrition at Tokyo developed for measuring the amount of a person's skin is to take a naked person, and to apply a strong, thin paper to every surface of his body. After the paper dries, they carefully remove it, cut it into small pieces, and painstakingly total the person's measurements. Cut and dried, the average person is the proud owner of fourteen to eighteen square feet of skin, with the variables in this figure being height, and weight.
Basing the skin's value on the selling price of cowhide, which is approximately $.25 per square foot, the value of an average person's skin is about $3.50.
Totally, this body is worth around $4.50.
Humor: Looking at the size of some of you, some of you might be worth ten dollars.
But this body is only the CONTAINER for the HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD TO DWELL IN.
Our worth is not our bodies, BUT HE WHO LIVES WITHIN THESE BODIES!
Illus: A man traveling in Paris purchased a rather inexpensive amber necklace in a trinket shop.
Upon returning to the states, he was curious as to the value of the necklace, so he took it to be appraised.
After looking at the necklace under a magnifying glass, the jeweler said, “I’ll give you $25,000 for it.”
So surprised was the man, he decided to have another expert examine it.
When he did, he was offered $10,000 more! “What do you see that is so valuable?” asked the astonished man. “Look through the glass,” replied the jeweler. There before his eyes was an inscription: “To Josephine from Napoleon.”
The value of the necklace came from it’s identification with a famous person. And the value of these bodies come from our identification with the Lord Jesus, who lives within these bodies.
Look at 1 Cor. 6:15a. We read, “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?” We are members of the “body of Christ.”
We must NEVER FORGET that once we accept the LORD, THESE BODIES ARE NOT OURS!
Illus: We men who are married wear wedding rings for three reasons:
• Our wife will kill us if we do not wear it
• To show others we belong to someone
• To remind ourselves that we belong to someone
That is, we husbands know that when we married our wives our bodies belong to them.
Perhaps we should wear some kind of ring for the same purpose when it comes to the fact of remembering that our bodies belong to Christ once we are converted.
When we accepted Christ, OUR BODIES became HIS BODY! Our bodies become the TEMPLE OF GOD!
Look at 1 Cor. 3:16-17, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
HOW SHOULD WE TREAT THE TEMPLE OF GOD?
The Temple of God is a place where God is to be glorified. We should not allow it to be used for anything that would not bring glory to the Lord Jesus!
The Jews treated the TEMPLE OF GOD with the greatest amount of respect. It was their responsibility to make sure that it was treated with respect.
Illus: Before the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies, he had to offer a sin sacrifice for himself. He knew if he went into the Holy of Holies unclean, he would be struck dead on the spot. This is why when he was in there, he had little bells on the end of his garment. As long as they could hear the bells ringing they knew he was all right. But if they did not hear the bells ringing, they had a rope tied to his leg and they pulled him out because they knew God had killed him.
The Jews knew that what made the temple great was because it contained the presence of God. They treated the building with great respect.
And as Christians, we need to treat these bodies as the TEMPLE OF GOD and use them to GLORIFY GOD!
WE NEED TO GET OVER THE MINDSET WHICH VIEW’S ONE’S BODY AS A PERSONAL POSSESSION. THEY (our bodies) ARE A TRUST FROM GOD.
This is how we got into this abortion mess, isn’t it? Women started saying – “This is my body and I should be able to do with it as I please.”
These bodies are something God has created and entrusted to us to bring glory unto Him.
Conclusion:
Listen, every Child of God can glorify God in their bodies when they are willing to ALLOW HIM TO LIVE WITHIN THEM!
God would have us GLORIFY HIM...
I. IN OUR BODIES
II. IN HIS BODY
