Not on Food Alone...

Back to Sermons WOR

There are two kinds of people in the world. The life of the one kind is restricted to that which comes from food. The life of the other kind derives its physical sustenance from food, but its guidance and strength come from the words that proceed continually from the mouth of God. The first kind are intelligent animals. The second kind are the sons and daughters of the Kingdom.

(12/26/2010). Animals live on food alone. Their guidance and strength are supported by food. They eat, sleep, play, work, and reproduce. This is their life.

Such is and always has been true of the majority of the people of the world. Their guidance and strength are supported by food. They eat, sleep, play, work, and reproduce. They are more intelligent than the other animals, but, like them, they are dead spiritually. The life of God is not in them.

The flesh makes a fine show for a season. Then it grows old, withers, and perishes. It is beautiful and handsome one day. The next day it is wrinkled, weak of body and mind. This is true of the strongest of people.

The Lord Jesus has entered this charnel house, bringing the Life that He Himself is. Whoever lives by continually interacting with Him will perish physically one day, but will keep on living in the spirit world. By this I mean, he or she will keep on serving Christ in the spirit world. Then, in the Day of Resurrection, these faithful servants will be clothed with a body that is spiritually alive. Such is the end product of the Christian redemption.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25,26)

Did you notice the expression, "whoever lives by believing in me will never die"? It is not a case, as so often is presented, of making an initial acceptance of Christ. Rather, it is a case of living by believing in Him. I believe today's preaching has altered John 3:16 to mean that by making the correct religious profession concerning Christ we have a pass out of Hell and a ticket to Heaven.

John 3:16 actually means that those who want to escape the life of living only on food, and thus perishing, now have the means of gaining eternal life. Instead of perishing they, through the Lord Jesus Christ, can continue to live and serve Christ after they die; and when He returns can receive an imperishable body that will clothe their resurrected flesh and bones.

We have made going to Heaven to live in a mansion the centerpiece of the Christian redemption. It assuredly is not. The centerpiece of the Christian redemption is the attainment to life in the Presence of God in our inward nature, and immortality in our body. We then are not confined to the spirit world.

Paul placed attaining to the resurrection of his body as his goal. He counseled us to do the same. We have not done as Paul commanded. We have placed going to Heaven to live in a mansion as our goal. For this reason numerous believers are pitifully weak in spiritual strength.

I often have wondered why Christian people do not influence their nations more than they do. America and Europe, with their rich Christian tradition, are given over to the flesh. This has been true historically, and more so today.

I believe it is because the Christian salvation has been presented as a ticket to Heaven rather than a life that lives by eating the flesh and blood of Christ at all times; by receiving continually the guidance and strength that come from living in the Presence of Jesus Christ.

It was in Lutheran Germany that the Holocaust took place. It is from Christian America that moral filth fills the airwaves. It is in Ireland that the Catholics and Protestants kill and maim each other. All because of the "ticket" doctrine, the reliance on the beliefs and practices of religion instead of an emphasis on abiding in Christ at all times.

The potential for a new world of righteousness always has been present in the Gospel of the Kingdom, but it has not been realized as yet. It shall be realized some day, for God cannot be frustrated or defeated.

How do we attain to the inner resurrection that must precede the immortality of the body? We do so by interacting with the Lord Jesus throughout each day, and the part of the night that we are awake. This is what the Apostle Paul meant by praying without ceasing. We keep up a dialogue with the Lord Jesus at all times.

To abide in Christ in this manner we always must be presenting our body as a living sacrifice. Our sinful nature constantly is pressing us to confine our life to food alone. The idea of denying our desires, accepting our imprisonments, and following Christ instead of our own reasoning, is not acceptable to our animal personality.

It seems that just about every day there is a pressure from our sinful nature, our culture, our friends, the electronic media, to live according to our own understanding and desires. It is easy to just follow along with everyone else, meanwhile struggling to survive and perhaps excel in our culture.

For most of us there are frequent perplexities, frustrations, sorrows, pains, fears, and other afflictions that threaten our peace of mind. Anyone who does not realize this world is the valley of the shadow of death has not lived here for very long.

And you know, God did not put us in this world to be happy. He placed us here that we might learn about Himself, and also that He would have a population from which to choose rulers of the coming world of righteousness. Jesus told us that in the world we would have tribulation, and we do.

But it is these various pressures that are the key to our learning to live on every word that comes from God, instead of just on food. If we choose to take the way the Spirit is pointing out to us, not blaming people or cursing the darkness, we will find opportunities each day to call on Christ for guidance and strength. Thus the words coming from God's mouth, that are directed to us as an individual, result in our gaining eternal life from the pains and problems of our daily battles.

So life and death are set before us, as they always have been for God's people. We can choose to live by following Christ each day and partaking of His resurrection Life; or we can endeavor to always live a pleasant life, which means that the people around us, instead of being strengthened by our faith, will be hindered in their own walk. We can be a giver or a taker.

How wonderful it is that God has given us this opportunity to be shaped in His image and thus attain to eternal life. It is not easy. It is not always pleasant. There are a few occasions when we are brought to the end of our ability to cope. But Jesus always is walking with us in the fire. If we will look constantly to Him, asking His help in all circumstances, great and small. we finally shall hear His "Well done." And that, my brother and sister, is worth everything!

Jesus answered, "It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.'" (Luke 4:4)

You can hear the morning sermon at morning. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

You can hear the evening sermon at evening. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

Back to Sermons WOR