Today we continue our series, “Progress On Purpose.” I told you that God wants us to walk in “NEW LEVELS IN 2021!” But if we are going to do so, we must be intentional about our progress. With that in mind, as we lay the foundation for the year, I told you that I would discuss “Leveling Up” in five areas:
1. Spiritually
2. Financially
3. Physically
4. Internally
5. Externally
We have covered the first two thus far. Today we start the third: leveling up physically. In this section, I will cover the following:
1. Is health and wealth good or bad
2. Healing is the will of the Father
3. God wants you to live long and strong
4. Some things you can do to live long and strong
I have covered three of these four thus far. Today we will address the last one. You must take care of the body gave God gave you.
So what does this mean for you today? Here are a few things you can do in order to live long and strong.
1. Diet and exercise matter.
(1 Tim 4:8 NIV)
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
Paul told us that physical training is of “some value”. Another translation reads, “limited value”. But bottom line, if it has ANY value, we should do it. We should take care of the body God gave us because we won’t get another one until we receive our glorified bodies. We only get one chance at life and during our limited time on this planet, we only get one body.
Sadly, some Christians neglect the body God gave them, and when they fall sick or injured, they first blame God, and then they come running to God for help and healing. I believe in healing. We have covered that in this series. But I also believe we should take preventative measures to ensure we are not susceptible to things we can avoid.
(Read Leviticus 11)
If you take the time to read this entire chapter, you will see guidance from God on what to eat and what not to eat. Here are a few highlights:
DO NOT EAT LIST:
Meat: camels, rock badgers, rabbits, or pigs.
Fish: anything that does not have fins and scales. God says, “eating such a creature should make you sick.
Birds: eagles, vultures, buzzards, kites, falcons, blackbirds, ostriches, nighthawks, seagulls, hawks, owls, pelicans, vultures, storks, and bats.
Insects: do not eat insects that have wings and crawl or insects that have legs with joints above their feet so that they can jump.
In that chapter, there is also clarity around what you can/should eat.
Now, you may be thinking, “Wait a minute, Rick! That is in the Old Testament. I thought you told me that it does not apply to me.” In one sense you are right. You are under the New Covenant. There is no curse associated with eating this stuff. However, here my point:
— The New Covenant was ratified by Jesus
— The New Covenant is a spiritual covenant
— The guidance provided in Leviticus 11 is practical divine guidance on having a good diet
— The body people had in the Old Testament is the SAME BODY we have in the New Testament
— If something was NOT GOOD for someone’s physical body under the Old Testament, that food is still NOT GOOD for you today, under the New Testament
— Don’t get so spiritual and heavenly minded, that you fail to acknowledge earthy counsel
— God told His people what to eat and what not to eat, so they could remain healthy and accomplish their divine assignments, during the short time they were given on this planet
— That counsel still stands today
To close out this point:
— You only get one body
— God sent you to this planet to accomplish His plans and purposes
— Many believers have cut their lives short by failing to honor the body God gave them
— Diet and exercise matter
— If you are going to LEVEL UP in 2021, you should seriously consider LEVELING UP in this area as well!
2. Resisting sickness in-faith matters.
(Romans 10:17 KJV) So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
You build up your faith for healing and everything else when you fill your heart with the Word of God.
The world can give you FACTS. But the Word of God gives you the TRUTH.
— Doctors or medical professionals give you FACTS concerning your health, test results and/or a diagnosis
— The FACTS may be clear and say YOU ARE SICK!
— But you don’t have to accept FACTS and the final word… you can STAND on the TRUTH!
— The WORD OF GOD is the TRUTH and the TRUTH says, “YOU ARE HEALED!”
— The believers WHO STAND on the word of God ARE NOT moved by the FACTS
— They understand the FACTS and they respect medical professionals, but they also honor God enough to hear what He has to say about it!
*** Whenever there is a conflict between what the doctor says and what God is saying, you must choose God EVERY TIME!
*** When you get a report from the doctor, and you get a conflicting report from God, the Holy Spirit will ask you, “Whose report are you going to believe?”
Some Christians allow their FAITH TO FADE with each word spoken by the Doctor. I want to encourage you today.
— YOU CAN STAND on the WORD OF GOD
— You can receive HEALING by faith
— You can resist sickness and disease
— You don’t have to accept it, you can fight it… by faith!
Whose report are you going to believe, God or Man?
— God has not brought you this far, to turn his back on you.
— Don’t give up now!
— Don’t sit around IN doubt and fear, believing that your miracle is not possible
— Do not even listen to friends and family members who speak anything contrary to the word of God. You may have to tune them out or separate yourself from people who are not in-faith.
— If you are sick and you are in a faith-fight, you have to surround yourself with people of like-precious-faith.
— The bottom line is that you DO NOT have to accept everything this world tells you. You can resist sickness. You can resist disease. And it is YOUR responsibility to do it. It is YOUR body and God requires YOUR faith!
*** Believe what God says about your situation and refuse to allow what you see (from the doctors) to cause you to change what you believe or say!
YOU CAN LIVE LONG AND STRONG!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for sending me to this planet on purpose. I have an assignment from You and I am determined to complete it before I die. I am a spirit, I possess a soul, and my spirit and soul live in the ONE BODY You gave me. I honor this body. I shield and protect it. I eat the right things. I control my appetite. I exercise regularly. I make an investment in the body You gave me, so I can live long and strong. If sickness and disease touch my body, I stand in faith. I resist it. I refuse to accept it. I believe what You believe about me. I speak the Word only over my body. Living this way, I will arrive at Your overall expected end for my life. I LEVEL UP this year in every area. I walk in divine healing and health! GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith, in Jesus’s name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
