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you you you you you you you you Go ahead and get situated and find our seats Welcome to pure words baptist church. Let's go ahead and pull out our hymnals and we'll open up to our first song for the evening Be song number 159 blessed be the name That's 159 blessed be the name 159 First all praise to him who reigns above in majesty supreme Supreme Who gave his son for man to die that he might man redeem Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name His name above all name shall stand exalted more and more At God the father's own bride and where angel host Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord Redeemer savior friend of men once ruined by the fall Thou hast denied salvation's plan for thou hast died for all Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord His name shall be the counselor the mighty prince of peace Of all earth's kingdoms conquer Whose reign shall never cease Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be the name blessed be the name blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be the name of the Lord Brother Chris, you want to pray for us this evening? Amen right let's go ahead and flip to song number 23 Song number 23 in your hymnals there is power in the blood Amen song number 23 there is power in the blood Nice and loud The first would you be free from your burden of sin There's power in the blood power in the blood Would you worry full of victory and There's wonderful power in the blood There is power power Wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb There is power power Wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb Would you be free from your passion and pride There's power in the blood power in the blood Come for a cleansing to Calvary's tide There's wonderful power in the blood There is power power Wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb There is power power Wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb Would you be wider much wider than snow There's power in the blood power in the blood Sin stains are lost in its life giving flow There's wonderful power in the blood There is power power Wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb There is power power Wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb Would you do service for Jesus your King There's power in the blood power in the blood Would you lift daily his praises to sing There's wonderful power in the blood There's power power Wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb There is power power Wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb Amen. Great singing this evening. So at this time we'll go ahead and go over the announcements. So go ahead and pull out your bulletins. If you didn't receive one this morning or when you came in, you can raise your hand or look on with your buddies to the left or to the right of you. We do have our Bible memory passage there listed on the front, Psalms chapter 47. We are in verse 7. So we're almost rounding out this chapter, pretty short chapter. But if you can quote the entire chapter, word perfect to a non-family member, you will receive a prize. And children, if you could quote this one verse by next midweek service, there's some ice cream in the freezer for you. So work on that. We do have our service times listed and also our soul winning times. We have our stats listed. We did go out this afternoon and we had four to add to our list. Plus one? Another one? Oh, amen. So five. Did I miss anybody else? Alright, cool. So that was ten from this morning plus five, so fifteen will get added. So definitely a good job soul winning. We do have a guest preacher coming July 7th, Pastor Steven Anderson. I think he's making the rounds to all the churches. He's sitting the steadfast and pure words. So definitely try to be here that Thursday to support him. It will be a blessing having him. And we do have a member of his church, Brother David Keeper, and his wife came out to preach for us today. So definitely thank them for coming out. It's been a blessing having them. But there on the next page, we do have a couple ladies that are expecting in the church. Sister Corinne Darnell is expecting very soon in June, so be in prayer for them. And we also have Sister Christian Rogers. Be in prayer for her as well with a developing little one. Very exciting. And then here right around the corner in August, we do have that Mighty Men's Conference being put on by Steadfast Baptist Church. We do have the dates August 18th through the 20th. That's a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. So request off if you can. Try to make it if you can. As we get more details on where it's going to be, the timelines of everything, we'll definitely push that information to you as soon as possible. But you got the dates. Write that on your calendar. We do have our prayer request list. If you want to be added to the list, don't hesitate to email that into the church. We'll add you on. We all need prayer for everything, no matter what it is. We can definitely help each other out with prayer. So definitely add anything on that you would want on there. Unspoken or if you want a specific thing prayed for, go ahead and list that. And there at the bottom, we do have our church reminders. Just watch over your kids and let's just try to keep this place clean and presentable. But with that, that is the announcements for the evening. Let's go ahead and pull our hymnals back out. We will turn to song 472. 472, This Is My Father's World. 472. This Is My Father's World. First, this is my father's world, and to my listening ears, all nature sings and round me brings the music of the spheres. This is my father's world, I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees, of skies and seas, his hand the wonders wrought. This is my father's world, the birds their carols raise, the morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker's praise. This is my father's world, he shines in all that's fair, in the rustling grass I hear him pass, he speaks to me everywhere. This is my father's world, oh let me ne'er forget, that though the world seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my father's world, the battle is not done, Jesus who died shall be satisfied, and earth and heaven be one. Amen. So at this time, let's go ahead and pull out our Bibles. And go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter number 23. Proverbs chapter number 23. Brother Jeff, come read for us, and we'll go ahead and pass the offering. Okay, Proverbs 23. Proverbs 23 and verse 1, the Bible reads, When thou sitest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee, and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainies, for they are deceitful meat. Labor not to be rich, cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings. They fly away as an eagle towards heaven. Eat not thou the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his daint he meet. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. Eat and drink, sayeth to thee, but his heart is not wifty. The more so which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. Speak not in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. Move not the old landmark, and enter not into the fields of the fatherless. For their redeemer is mighty, he shall plead their cause with thee. Apply thine heart unto instruction in thine ears to the words of knowledge. Withhold not correction from the child, for if thou beatest him with a rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with a rod, and shall deliver his soul from hell. My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yea, my reign shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. Let not thine heart envy sinners, but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long. For surely there is an end, and thine expectation shall not be cut off. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. Be not among winebibbers, among rioters eaters of flesh, for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. Arcan unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. Buy the truth, and sell it not, also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. The father of the righteous shall rejoice greatly, and he that begateth a wise child shall have joy of him. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bear thee shall rejoice. My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways, for a whore is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow pit. She also lighteth in weight, as for a prey, and increaseeth the transgressors among men. Who have woe? Who have sorrow? Who have contentions? Who have babbling? Who have wounds without cause? Who have redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eye shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mass. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick. They have beat me, and I felt it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. Thou bow'r heads forth quick for a prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you would fill Brother David's people with your Holy Spirit, help him to preach a bold sermon, Lord. Help us to appreciate what's about to be preached and to apply it in our day-to-day lives, to be better Christians, husbands, fathers, and children. And just help us, God, to walk in your ways every day. Thank you for this church, and I pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Thank you all for having me again this second time preaching with and for you guys. Thank you, Pastor Shelley, for giving me this opportunity. Let's go ahead and delve right into it. The title of this message this evening is Gluttony. Now, I don't know about you. I know a lot of people just got nervous just now when I told you the title of the message. Oh, no. Preacher's coming down on me. You called out my sin, but you know what? We should take this sin seriously. This is a sin in a nation of people that are prosperous that can slip very easily. If we as a nation and people are in a place where food is abundant, let's not take that for granted and let's realize what is bestowed upon us because we understand that every good gift comes from above, right? From God himself. And literally, God creates food. He's the one that brings the flowers. He brings the fruits. He creates life when it comes to animal, and all products that we eat come from God. And if you've been in church a long time and you've heard sermons on Proverbs chapter 23, you probably thought I was going to talk about drunkenness, which is true because towards the ending of this passage, it talks a lot about drunkenness. But did you know that drunkenness and gluttony are one and the same? It's just the difference between drinking and eating. But you could be a drunkard, not necessarily towards alcohol. You could just be one that drinks a lot. Now, you know that guy that has an addictive personality, right? A friend of yours who, you know, I know with me, if I'm going to confess my faults unto you, it would be Mountain Dew. I used to drink Mountain Dew like crazy. I love Mountain Dew. The blue Mountain Dew. You know, once they had the, they didn't have the blue ones in Hawaii. They only had the green ones. And then I saw a blue Mountain Dew, and I was like, let's try this out. For a long time, I was drinking too many blue Mountain Dew. And that is horrible. You shouldn't drink as much as I was. But at the end of the day, the drunkard and the glut are one and the same. Look down, if you would, at verse 20. Be not among winebibbers, amongst riotous eaters of the flesh, for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. So, the Bible is showing a compare of someone who would eat a lot and someone who would drink a lot. We're not going to go into the drunkard for this sermon, because we're talking specifically about gluttony. But notice, if you would, look at verse one. When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee, and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Back to what I was talking about earlier. We know, and even I myself, could find myself having this problem of having the tendency of having a, you know, addictive personality. And maybe you find something that you like, a candy, a snack, or something that you really like, and you may want to find yourself eating it again, and again, and again. And one chip turns into two chips, into three chips, into a bag of chips, into two bags of chips, into, oh, I forgot dinner. You know, it's like, obviously, in the context of this passage, we are talking about someone who's in front of a king, right? So, it says in the ending of verse one, consider diligently what is before thee. Because in the ancient world, access to food wasn't necessarily as readily available as it is today. You know, I was just talking to my wife about this the other day, and we were thinking back into how people consumed food in the ancient world. And you've got to realize that everyone was farmers. We ate every aspect of an animal. There was nothing that went to waste. And only in today's world, I would imagine, do we section off parts of an animal. I mean, think about, you know, all you kids like, all you children like, you know, chicken nuggets, right? It's not like we're just pulling off just a little chicken nugget for you. We're cooking that whole bird, and we're all eating that bird. We're not just going to have, you know, the drum. We're not just going to have the wing. We're going to cook that whole bird so that everyone can eat. And obviously, I believe that a lot of times in the ancient world, they made soups, the last food longer, and so on and so forth. But basically, in the ancient world, when some king presented food to you, you've got to consider what is in front of you. Because in context, this person is saying, be careful and do not get deceived by this person. It's pretty much saying if this guy is wicked, you know, and he's trying to bribe you with food, put a knife to your throat so that you don't get given over to whatever it is he's trying to bribe you with. And I'm not telling you today to stand there at dinner and put a knife to your throat while you're eating. I'm not saying that at all. But understand that it would behoove us to understand the symbolic meaning to this Watch what we eat. Consider what you are putting in your mouth. You have one body. And on a side note, I didn't realize that brother Nick preached a sermon recently about your body, the temple. And a lot of what I'm going to say is found in parts of your sermon because he was talking about just general nutrition, general diet, general care. And maybe God wants all of us to know the importance of this subject. Because don't you know that amongst independent fundamental Baptists across the U.S., there are all these big, overweight, you know, old people that are just, you know, don't be a don't be a drunkard, you know, don't smoke cigarettes, come to church, free to thrive, you know, and they're calling out all these sins. But the one sin they forgot to call out was gluttony. Because you got to realize this isn't severe. This is important. There are people across the planet today that would would do so much to get a meal. What a blessing it is for us here in America to just be able to eat three meals a day. I mean, for crying out loud, I don't believe three meals a day is a biblical model of food consumption. But, you know, it's a blessing if you have that opportunity to eat three meals a day. And you got to realize that I used to tell my younger sister this and it's kind of messed up, but, you know, there's she was the youngest of the six of us. And she was spoiled in the sense of she got anything she wanted. She was my stepdad's little princess. And basically, if my mother made us all a meal and let's just say, I don't know, it was like chicken and rice or something. And she's like, I don't want that. I want something different. I want pizza. They would make her a pizza, especially for her on the side. And we would all be upset. All of us other kids like, what the hell? Like, here we get this chicken and rice and she gets this nice pizza. Like, what's that all about? And I used to tell her, I'd be like, hey, her name was Serena. And I was like, hey, you know, there's a child in Africa right now who probably is trying to murder his brother for the last cockroach. You better be thankful that you have chicken in front of you. She'd go off crying. I was messed up. I shouldn't have said that because she's just a little kid. She didn't know anything. She wanted pizza. But the exception proves the rule. Let's remember earlier kids, right? We're going to be good siblings and we're going to be subject unto our parents. We don't want to be given an appetite. And it's easy to do, even for us adults. Now look down, if you would, at verse three. Be not desirous of his dainties, for they are deceitful meats. Labor not to be rich, cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings. They fly away as an eagle toward heaven. I'm going to pause there really quickly. Now it's saying riches, but if we use this in the context of what we're talking about, right? You know, we looked at animals in the ancient world as our money or we looked at our produce as our money. So basically it's saying here that when you're in front of a king and he's presenting to you these dainty meats. Be cautious what he's up to because he's probably trying to bribe you to do something. And, you know, they used to measure things by what they had. But look, let's keep reading. It says in verse six. Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye? Neither desire thou his dainty meats. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. Eat and drink, saith he, to thee, but his heart is not with thee. So remember that at the end of the day, if you're hanging out with friends and somebody's trying to get something out of you. They may use food to try to get you. Like, hey, I want to do something bad or sinful. And it's like, let's go eat at the restaurant near the bar. And it's like, don't even don't even do it. Just stay as far away from that place as you can. Why would you say that? Later on it says, look down if you would at verse 29. Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contention? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long in the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. And I'm not going to go into that subject, but the exception proves the rule like I was saying. Now, I'm going to go into some statistics. Get ready. Here we go. Since I'm over here in Texas, I figured out I'd look up, you know, Texas obesity statistics. Everything's bigger in Texas, right? So let's see what they say. According to Texas Oral Health Correlation, most Americans do not eat a healthy diet and are and are not physically active. Americans health rankings report that as of 2019, right, we're in 2022. The obesity rate among adults in Texas is thirty four point eight percent compared to the national average rate of thirty point nine. Texas currently ranks number 10 in obesity among all United States. So the 50 states here, right? Texas is the 10th most obese state. That's nothing to be proud of, you guys. That is a horrible statistic to be lumped in with. And notice it's saying that obesity is on the rise. But let me read for you really quickly the definition of what it means to be obese. HOA, right? Who? Everyone looks at them as authoritative, right? The HOA says, I'm sorry, the WHO says in light of what obesity is, Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulations that present a risk to health. A body mass index or what's known as a BMI over 25 is considered overweight and over 30 is obese. OK, we get it. You have a BMI of 25 percent or you are considered overweight. That is unhealthy. If it imposes a health risk to you, you need to realize the importance of, you know, taking care of your body. As Brother Nick said, taking care of the temple that God has provided to us. But there is a difference between clinically obese and what is known as clinically morbidly obese. What's the difference? Morbid obesity, which is also termed clinical severe obesity, is typically defined as being more than 100 pounds overweight or having a BMI of 40 percent or higher. That was a lot of information that meant nothing to me. So basically, if you as a normal person have an excess of 100 pounds on you, you are called morbidly obese. If your BMI percentage is above 25, I'm sorry, above 30, you are considered obese. So I'm going to go into I'm not going to just talk to you about what it means to be obese or how do you get obese. I think we all figured out how to get to that point. We're going to help to prevent this from happening. But I'm going to go on to some more stats because, yes, we're here in Texas. And I did want to point out that, you know, you guys need to bring your numbers down. You know, let's try to bring our numbers up. You're almost if I took 10 Texans and I line them up, basically saying four of them are obese. You know what I'm saying? Not overweight, obese. And I'm going to show you the difference of that in a moment. In Arizona, where I'm from, it says a new report was released by the Trust for American's Health that shows 29.5 percent of Arizona adults are obese, ranking our state 34th in the 50 states of the United States. So Arizona ain't looking too bad. But, you know, once again, 29 percent. If I took 10 Arizonians, three of them are obese. Well, I'm going to go from my original place, place of where I'm from. I'm going to go into Hawaii. Hawaii says the study by Consumer Product found Hawaii to be the 49th most obese state in America with 23.8 of its adults populated, struggling with obesity. So the 50 states Hawaii is number 49. That's new. Hawaii for the longest time used to be, I think, ranked number three up until, I think, 2015. And I don't know about you, but raise your hands if you know any Samoan, Hawaiian or Tongan people that look a little bit overweight. That's why when I was looking at this stat, I was questioning it myself. I see my wife nodding her head and she's like, no way that's true. No way. But I promise, at least that's what the Internet says. The Internet doesn't lie, right? So, you know, I could believe that because I remember when I was younger that Hawaii was struggling with, like, obesity problems. And they were pointing it out in the radio station in the schools and they were pointing out all these things. And they like started a program to keep people more active. And Hawaii, you kind of have two extremes. You either have like peace loving vegan hippies or like big sole Hawaiian type. So it's kind of like a mixture of the two. And long story short, they've got to realize the population is a lot smaller. So they're drawing from a smaller pool of people. But I thought that was good information. Like, hey, Hawaii, you're doing better, you know. But guess what state of all the 50 states is considered the most obese up to this day? Say that again. West Virginia. There you go, Mississippi. Someone did their homework. It says updated from September 2021, according to the most recent behavior risk factor surveillance system. They have so many acronyms for these things. S, B, R, F, S, S data. Adult obesity rates now exceed 35 percent in 16 states. Mississippi has the highest adult obesity rate at thirty nine point seven. And Colorado has the lowest at twenty four point two between 2019 and 2020. The adult obesity rate increased in Alabama, California and Iowa since 2015. The adult obesity rate has increased significantly in 26 states. You want to talk about an existential threat to a nation? Obesity is a true legitimate threat to a people. Now, just like we saw the Bible said, right? If someone is trying to use food to bribe you, you've got to realize really quickly that they're not up to any good. And you've got to realize that our nation provides food, free food for people who are not willing to work, which shows that that is a bribery to get you docile, to be obedient unto a government that is not out for your best interests. They're trying to get you obese. And remember, it comes with all these health risks, heart disease. You know, I'm not going to go into a list of all the problems, but talk to somebody who is morbidly obese or is truly obese. They're going to tell you that they they struggle to get the weight off and they struggle to, you know, have everyday function. I mean, for crying out loud, it's easier. A lot of what the Bible is, is preventative maintenance. It's not a lot of like, you know, once you've made a mistake, here's what you do. It's like don't even make the mistake to begin with. And our food consumption should be that same way. We should realize that rather than getting big and then losing the weight. Let's just practice, you know, eating healthy and right throughout our whole lives. What is a major way that you can become obese is through being lazy or what the Bible calls is slothful. Turn to your Bibles, if you would, to Ecclesiastes chapter 10. Not too far on the right of your Bible. We're in the poetic books, right? Ecclesiastes chapter 10. Notice what it says in verse 16. Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child and thy princes eat in the morning. Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles and thy princes eat in due season for strength and not for drunkenness. By much slothfulness, the building decayeth and through idleness of the hands the house professed through. A feast is made for laughter and wine maketh merry, but money answereth all things. So you notice the Bible keeps showing this compare and contrast between eating a lot or being slothful and drinking and drunkenness. It shows these two together a lot. And there's a reason for that. But notice what it said right in verse 17. Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles and thy princes eat in due season for what? For strength and not for drunkenness. This is important. Before I got saved or right when I got saved, about a year after I got saved, I was studying to join the police academy in the island of Kauai and I was looking into physical fitness training and stuff like that. So obviously in the realm of fitness and diet, you learn a lot about what foods to eat and how to exercise and all these things. And I realize at that time in my life that food is designed for us to be strong, even for ladies as well. And I know you ladies aren't necessarily out to go fight battles and lift heavy weight and do hard manual labor. But an attribute to, you know, the Proverbs 31 woman, it talks about that she girds her loins with strength, her arms are strong. And there are functions that you ladies can do in everyday life, whether it's holding your child and doing work or doing something, even protecting your child. You would have to have some level of strength. And I'm not telling you to look to be stronger than your husband. I'm just saying this applies to all of us. Now, let me go into a couple of what I would call guidelines or rules for us to not fall under the trap of gluttony. Because you and I are not the same. You and that guy are not the same. All of us are not the same. We all have different metabolisms. We all have different backgrounds. We all have different genetics and we all have different things that apply to us. Right. And you can ask my wife, unfortunately, I'm that person that you could feed and I have a bottomless pit that I would never fill up and I will never gain an ounce. Because that's the curse that God gave me is that I can eat and eat and eat and eat and it's never enough for me. Right. Oh, no. I know a lot of people are just thinking like, oh, no. It sucks to be you now, doesn't it? But you know what? More than you know, that actually is a real legitimate struggle for someone like me. And you all know that person. That's a bottomless pit. My brother used to make a joke. Like, man, you got a hollow leg. All the food is falling into your leg. It ain't going nowhere, you know. But this has to do with understanding the concepts of body type. Now, I'm going to go into the clinical definitions of different body type. Number one, raise your hand if you've ever heard of ectomorphous body type. Ectomorphous is also known as a hard gainer. The ectomorphous body type is the leanest of the three body types. Other traits include fast metabolism, difficulty gaining weight, lean muscle mass, very low body fat index, very thin, often lanky. A very small frame and delicate bone structure and high any height usually, but is often seen in tall men. The greatest challenge for ectomorphous types is having to gain weight since the term hard gainer, regardless of the reason, most have a fast metabolism that burns calories quicker than normal, making weight and muscle gain difficult. As a result, high caloric intake. Listen to that statement. High caloric intake and customized workouts that focus on large muscle groups are needed in order for the heart gainer to increase and maintain weight and muscle mass. Success is possible, but the process is often slow. Finding a suitable workout and diet is key. For more details on information, check out this article. Don't worry about it. I'm not blowing them up. This is for real. Think about a basketball player, right? A basketball player tends to sit, you know, about six feet and higher. They have longer wrists. They have longer limbs. They just burn calories like crazy. And that's someone like me and maybe some of you kids in here today are like that. You eat a lot and you can run a lot and play a lot and talk a lot and do a lot and you just are an energizer bunny. Once you crank that thing, it doesn't end. And you could see someone like that eating a lot of food and being like, well, that guy's gluttonous. Look at him eating. He doesn't stop eating. But I will not sit here and say that if you fall under this category, that if you eat a lot, that you would be called gluttonous. David, you just said a moment ago that eating a lot is defining what it means to be gluttonous. It's eating a lot if you don't need the food. Now, that's the terminology difference, the difference between needing and wanting. Now, there's a lot of times where I want to eat that I don't need to eat. And remember what I said earlier, the American three meal diet is unique to us. Outside of the U.S., not everyone is eating three meals a day. I'm not saying don't eat three meals a day. I'm just telling you that that is a sign of a prosperous nation, a three meal plan for somebody. While I was studying to do the police academy on the island of Hawaii, I was actually eating six to eight meals a day. And I'm talking like full length. Ask my wife. You know, she'll tell you all the stories of that. It's unfortunate. We have to spend so much money on so much food to just get me out of state to where I could tackle a 300 pound Hawaiian guy. Because if you think of me right now trying to stop somebody running away, it's like, yeah, good luck with that, dude. Imagine Dwayne The Rock Johnson breaking the law and it's like, go get him. Oh, shoot. Here we go, you know. But I truly, I was working out really hard, eating really hard. I failed the first test coming around. And I said, OK, that's fine. I failed the first time. I'll take it in two more weeks. And then I go and I take it in two more weeks and I failed again. And then I realized, I guess police work is not cut out for me because people think of police work as like, you know, shootings and detective work and car chases. And really it's 70 percent of it's paperwork. You know, you're dealing with incident reports and things like that. So I realized really early on, I guess police work is not for me. The second, the second I stopped my eating regimen, guess how long it took for me to swoop right back into this body type? Less than two weeks. Two weeks. I gained a solid like 40 pounds of muscle mass. I got to 185 and I was really strong and still this high. But, you know, basically within the course of two weeks, I just shriveled right on up because that's what God made me like. God made me this way and he made you your way. And we need to realize that we're all in different, you know, genetic makeups and God made you the way you are for a reason. Let me go on to the next body type. Raise your hand if you've ever heard of mesomorphous. Mesomorphous is the most common male body type. Mesomorphous traits include, and understand this applies to ladies too. It's not like only for men. This also applies for ladies, but it's just slightly different. Mesomorphous body types include athletic build, well-defined muscles, big bone and with a sturdy frame. Rectangular shaped body, typically of average height, gains muscle easily. Normal metabolism gains fat fairly easy. Mesomorphous is with their heavy bone and muscle structure have an easy time gaining weight. Remember that an easy time gaining weight, muscle and maintaining an athletic physique with a healthy metabolism that burns calories at a normal pace. So not that freak basketball player or someone like me or just you just can't eat enough. He's normal. Mesomorphous can gain and lose weight very easily. He can go on both ends of the scale. Still, attention should be given to his caloric intake, what he puts into his body, especially as he ages. Since fat is no stranger to his body type, bodybuilding routines are typical and required. No special consideration like the ectomorphous does does cardio should always be a part of his workout program in order to maintain weight. So once again, this is most men. Most men have a normal metabolism. What's normal? Probably you because normal means normal. You know, you eat eight, ten meals a day and you still are you still hungry and that's not you. So obviously, if you can eat three meals a day and you're satiated every time, then probably you. And notice what it says that he has an easier time to gain weight and lose weight. So it's both if he wants to like, you know, some guys maybe want to bulk up for beach season or they want to lean out or whatever. It's that person. It's easy, but it's important for them to study what they actually put into their mouth. And the last body type I'll go into is the obvious endomorphous is the opposite end of the ectomorphous. Body traits include stocky, solid build, typically shorter than average height, but not all the times. Thick arms and legs gains muscle easily, slow metabolism gains muscle and fat very easily. Difficulty losing weight. Eptomorphous have the potential to gain muscle quickly, but the appropriate bodybuilding workout cardio is always recommended for weight control, which is often a challenge when the metabolism is slow. This body type also needs to maintain a balanced caloric intake to avoid excess weight gain. So with all that being said, this is what I want you guys to understand in reference to the slugger to the slothful man or something like that. All people should not be lazy. If you're an ectomorphous, you shouldn't be lazy. If you're a metamorphous, you shouldn't be lazy. If you're an endomorphous, laziness is just a sin, period. That's what the Bible is teaching. But if you struggle with weight gain and you need to consume more to perform in your work, to perform in your day to day life, then that is not, I would call, considered gluttonous. If you are average, then you should approach food that way, realizing that you need to eat for strength. Remember what the Bible said earlier. But if you are someone who is an endomorphous body type and you know that you struggle with weight loss, meaning that when you consume food and when I consume food, it dissolves in our bodies differently. It comes in and it goes out of me and it decides to stay in you. Don't take it up with me. Take it up with God. How can the thing created say to him that created him? Why did thou make me thus? Look, in ways you are blessed more than the person who has to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to eat enough food to keep himself maintained throughout a week. But look down at your Bible if you would actually turn to Proverbs 26. It says in Proverbs 12, 24. The hand of the diligent shall bear rule, but the slothful shall be under tribute. Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop, but a good word maketh it glad. The righteous is more excellent than his neighbor, but the way of the wicked seduceth them. The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting, but the substance of a diligent man is precious. In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death. So it says in Proverbs 24 verse 27, a slothful man roasted not that which he took in. So a lot of what it means for us as men to work for our food is how and why you are able to afford the food that you eat. In the ancient world it wasn't ready for you in a chilled freezer for you to just go and buy. You had to go kill the cow. You had to go farm the fruits. You had to go physically go do a lot. This is why we are struggling as a nation with obesity because we are not physically as active as we once were. Now our grandparents will laugh at this because our grandparents went through the Great Depression. They went through World War II. They went through lots of hardship. And don't get me wrong with what just happened in the last two years. You know there's financial hardship that is here and coming our way. So that means we should watch ourselves and how we eat and save money where and how we can so that we can realize the importance of being active and consuming as much as necessary. But look down if you would at Proverbs 26 verse 12. See, is thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him. The slothful man said, There is a lion in the way. A lion is in the street. As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed. The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom. It grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth. This guy is so lazy. He's not even willing to take his hand and put it to his mouth. He's just, he can't even do this anymore for crying out loud. Now I'm not saying if you see a lion on the road, take it upon yourself to go take it out. I'm not saying that at all. And you can move around it. You can figure things out. You know what I'm saying? Like God wants you to figure it out. This guy is like, Oh, we got to go out into the field and work. Oh, there's a lion? I'm just going to stand. I can't even get this potato chip in my mouth. It's so hard. That's what God's trying to help us to avoid is that type of person. Do not be slothful. Do not be a sluggard. The Bible says that this sin is how you will fall into obesity and potentially become gluttonous and a drunkard. They both come together. Turn if you would to Matthew 14. So what am I trying to get at? Everything in moderation is important. Everything in moderation. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter three, it shows a lot of like there is a time for this and there is a time for that. Right? Time of peace. A time of war. Time to gather stones. Time to, you know, throw stones. And there are times and seasons for everything in which we are to do. The Lord Jesus Christ shows us an example of us having food in moderation. Notice if you would at Matthew chapter 14 verse 13. It reads, this is the story of him feeding the five thousand. When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart. And when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the city. Pause really quickly. Notice these people are walking. They are walking everywhere they go. They are not on horseback. They are not necessarily riding donkeys. Maybe some of them are. Maybe some of them aren't. But for sure it says right here in the word of God that they were on foot. They were walking this huge crowd of people and the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And it says, And Jesus went forth and saw what a great multitude and was moved with compassion toward them. And he healed their sick. And when it was evening, his disciples came to him saying, This is a desert place and the time is now past. Send the multitude away that they may go into the villages and buy themselves victuals. Which is just another way of saying, you know, food and things like that. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart. Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass and took the five loaves and two fishes and looking up to heaven. He blessed and break and gave the loaves to his disciples and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat and were filled and they took up of the fragments that remain twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men beside women and children. So the Bible is showing us right here that Jesus Christ performs this miracle. He takes five loaves and two fish and feeds five thousand people at a minimum. That's just the men, according to what the Bible said. There was also women and children. If you just duplicated that of however many men there was and women and children, that's at least ten thousand people. It could have been less. It could have been more. But five thousand men. Remember what we were saying, a hardworking man eats a lot of food, doesn't he? Right? So we know for sure that with the five loaves and two fishes, some five to ten thousand people ate food. This was a miracle. But there's a symbolic truth in this and I want you kids to understand. We promote and are big on big family here at this church. The Bible teaches that, you know, children are a blessing of God. And we do not prevent ourselves from not having as many children as the Lord provides for us. Doesn't your pocket look harder and harder every time you have another kid? It starts to get smaller and smaller. Your job is not going to give you enough to keep feeding the mouths that, you know, you keep producing. But you know what the Bible says, I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. And if you are willing to stand on the things of God, the Bible says, seek ye first the kingdom of God. And his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Remember when the twelve were with the Lord Jesus Christ and he said at the ending of his ministry, did you lack anything, you lacked nothing. And for you kids to be here today, you've got to realize the sacrifices that your parents make to put a meal on your plate every single day. And realize that if you have but five loaves and two fishes in your household and there's 20 of you, hey, let's make do with what is in front of us. It's important because like I had mentioned earlier, I'm one of six children and I grew up in Hawaii, which is already expensive enough as it is. But yet we were able to eat food every single day. And I know some people, my pastor at Faithful Word Baptist Church has 11 children. Brother Chris Agora that comes here, I think he has eight children. And some of you here have a lot of children and, you know, children are a blessing. But you kids got to remember what we said earlier, right? You got to be respectful, you got to be willing to help and all these things. And we need to realize that whatever is bestowed us will utilize that to the max of its ability. Let's keep going on to read because it's not just the 5,000 he fed, but he also in chapter 15 verse 29 feeds another 4,000 people. Chapter 15 verse 29 it reads, And they glorified the God of Israel. Then Jesus called his disciples unto him and said, I have compassion on the multitude because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. And his disciples say unto him, whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven and a few little fishes. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground and he took the seven loaves and the fishes and gave thanks and break them and gave to his disciples and the disciples to the multitude and they did all eat and were filled. And they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. And they that did eat were four thousand men beside women and children and he sent the multitude away and he sent away the multitude and took the ship and came into the coast of Magdala. So again, he did the same miracle utilizing a little to feed a lot. And in my household, you know, we stretch a lot of food. We're able to take a full chicken and we create a meal out of it. The classic traditional roasted chicken with salt, herbs, carrot, celery, potatoes. Right. And then we section it off and we eat it down. It could take my wife and me three days to eat the whole thing. Then my wife takes the carcass of that chicken and makes bone broth out of it. And then she takes all the shredded meat off that chicken and makes chicken dumpling soup out of it. So like we took one bird and made enough food for a week and a half. So we could utilize the little that we have to stretch enough food to last at least my wife and me. Remember, I eat a lot, at least a week. So that means and I know kids, you guys are bottomless pits and you can't feed them enough. But just realize that that will go into my next point that not everything needs to be fun when it comes to food. Not everything needs to be a sugary drink. Not everything needs to be a candy or potato chips or things like that. The best way to avoid the sin of gluttony, in my opinion, the best way to maintain your health and wealth and livelihood and physique and talking about your fat gain and loss and all that stuff has to do with what we consume, our caloric intake, what we eat. And realize this, that if you follow the rule, because look, I'm not going to go into any specific diet plan. Oh, veganism. Oh, paleo diet. Oh, this diet. I'm not going to promote any one of those diets. The diet I'm going to promote is what I call naturalism. Eating food as close to nature as possible with less additives, less sugars, less whatever it is. For instance, if your son or daughter is hungry in between meals from lunch to dinner, I'm hungry. I want some meat. Can I have chips? Give them an apple. Eat this apple. Oh, I don't want the apple. It's so gross. Are you hungry? Yeah, I'm hungry, but I want the chips. Okay, I'll get you the chips. Just eat the apple first. Fine. I'll eat the apple, right? I'm still hungry. Oh, one more. Eat these trail mix first. You know what I mean? It's like, but I don't want the trail mix. I want the chips. Eat these trail mix. I'll get you some chips. And then they eat the trail mix, right? Are you still hungry? Yeah, I'm a little hungry. Here's a handful of chips. They ate a full apple and a handful of nuts before they had any chips, right? Potatoes are healthy, but not what we see in the store. You know what I'm saying? Outside of Lay's potato chips, most of the chips out there are not the healthiest type of potato, right? And eating food to the closest state of its natural state is the best way to consume food and how not to fall under the sin of gluttony. And take a salad, for crying out loud, right? I eat a salad virtually five days a week every time I go to work. I take a salad with me to work. I eat a big breakfast. Not anymore do I eat a breakfast, but sometimes I do. I mean, I've had breakfast since I've been here, but most times I skip breakfast and I have a salad. But do you think I drown that salad in ranch dressing, blue cheese, crumpets, bacon, whatever other goodness you put on a salad? I don't know. I just have the salad in the most raw state it can be. If I do want to add anything to moisten it up, I just put olive oil on it and salt. And that's another thing. I'm going to side note. I remember my whole life being a kid growing up and I used to eat a lot of salt in my food. I would eat a lot of salt. And at that time in the 90s, they were like, sodium is bad for you. Do not eat too much salt. Salt is wrong. And I knew nothing about the Bible. I just like salt. I like salty food, right? And then I get saved and I see so much of what the Bible says about salt. And it's like, oh, salt is a good food. Oh, lo and behold, would you know this? Salt is actually healthy for you. It's like, I knew it. I knew salt was healthy for you. I don't care what any nutritionist said or any teacher or parent. Salt's good for you. I knew it. Only instinctually, but kids, if your parents say, slow down, no salt, slow down. And eating food at the most core natural state is going to help us in having an accurate caloric intake. God wanted us to consume the food the way he made it. Think about an apple, what it is. Fruit, what it is. It's a sugar. It's literally God's candy. We were just talking about this in the beginning of the service. There are so many type of fruits from all across the world that have so many delicious flavors that God has provided for us. Now, I will say this. That's where you've got to be careful with food consumption is through fruit. You know, the major diet of a gorilla is fruit, bananas and apples and all these things. So fruit is a treat. It is a sweet. But everything in moderation, right? The Bible says in Proverbs 25 verse 16, Hast thou found honey? Eat so much as sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith and vomited. Haven't you had sweets so much to where it didn't no longer taste sweet to you? It actually tastes gross to you. You know, everyone, we always use this analogy, the frosting on the cake. You kids just, you just reach for that frosting before anything. You love that frosting. I love cake frosting as much as the next guy. But, you know, you want your cake to be like three quarters of sponge cake and then, you know, a little tiny little bit of frosting on top. The kids just want to eat a bowl of frosting and no cake at all, no sustenance. But the Bible said right there, hast thou found honey? Hey, this is a good thing. Eat as, eat so much as sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith and vomited. It says in Proverbs 15 17, Better is a dinner of herbs with where love is than in stall of ox and hatred therewith. And that just goes to show that there is a time in the season for everything. And I'm not saying, and this is where I'm going to leave this sermon on, I am not saying do not enjoy food. I am not saying do not eat treats. I am not saying don't eat honey. The Bible talks about when God was leading the children out of Egypt into the land of Canaan, what did he constantly keep telling them? This is a land flowing with milk and honey. Honey is not going to sustain you and keep you alive. Milk will keep children alive and babies need milk, but us as full grown adults, we do not need dairy product to stay alive. We like dairy product. Raise your hand if you like dairy product. That's what I'm talking about. We're in Texas, right? I mean, for crying out loud, you guys were talking about having ribeye growing off of a tree, hopefully in the millennial reign of Christ. I mean, hopefully, right? But, you know, dairy products are truly that they are they are excess. Only Americans really consume cow. Outside of the U.S., a lot of people don't consume cow. Like goat is the number one protein sort outside of the U.S. But that's what I'm trying to get at is that God wants to bless us with food. A nation prospering with a lot of food is a good thing, but we don't want to abuse that good thing. We don't want to eat cake and ice cream all day and candy and sodas all day. We want to eat, you know, the real food that God has provided for us. Turn, if you would, to Psalms 104. Psalms 104. This will be the last place I have you turn. Psalms 104 is a prime example of God blessing a nation. And let's see all the attributes to God blessing a nation. Psalms 104 verse 10. The Bible reads, He sendeth the springs into the valleys which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field. The wild asses quench their thirst. By them shall the fowl of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches. He watereth the hills from his chambers. The earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth, and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart. The trees of the Lord are full of sap, the cedars of Lebanon which he hath planted, where the birds make their nests. As for the stork, the fir trees are her house. The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies. He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knoweth his going down. Thou makest darkness, and it is nigh, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lion roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth. They gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labor until the evening. O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom thou hast made them all. The earth is full of thy riches. Look at all these abundant riches that God has put on our earth. Waters from the springs, fruits from the trees, grass for the cattle, cattle for us men, goats of the field, conies over here. He's pointing out all these blessings that are designed for you. God didn't make the world for animals. God didn't make the grass so that the cow could eat, and that's the end of it. He gave us dominion over the animals. God, we are more special than the animals. And for those vegans out there, and like I said, there was a time where I had a vegan diet, or I would do a vegan week a month, just to kind of help maintain some health, right? But for those who are hardcore vegan heads that are just diehard, like only eat grass, it's the only third grass, eat vegetables, it's the only thing worth eating. You know, I would tell them, you're eating my food's food. You horrible person. What's wrong with you? You know what I mean? But actually, one more thing I want you to look at. Turn, if you would, to 1 Timothy. I forgot to point this out. 1 Timothy chapter 4, it says in reference to that, Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter time some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. So for someone to come up to you and say, hey man, you're being gluttonous, you should eat less steak, hey man, you should eat less fish, hey man, you should eat less chicken, hey man, don't tell me what to do, okay? Because the Bible said God made all these things for us, for us to consume. And if you want to eat salads till you're blue in the face, you go right ahead. I'm not even going to tell you that you're in sin. But don't tell me I'm in sin if I decide to eat animal products. And the Bible says, for instance, in Matthew 11 16, you don't need to turn there, But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets and calling unto their fellows, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced, we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners, but wisdom is justified of her children. Jesus Christ was on this earth and ate food. And they're saying, What a glutton. Why? There are times in his ministry where they had to force him to eat. You want to talk about a man who put a knife to his throat to not, you know, be given to appetite. Jesus Christ was one who constantly needed to be reminded to eat because he said, I must be about my father's business. I have a work to do. And that is what I'm trying to get at. Food is a blessing, you guys. And let's eat food. Let's party. Let's, you know, in Hawaii, we have luau's, right? We have big old, you know, pigs that we kill and we rotate them and we have all sorts of big food. That's great. Sometimes. All the time. Every meal. No, let's not be gluttonous. Let's not be given to appetite. It says in Isaiah 119, in reference to God blessing a nation, if ye be willing and of pain and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. It says in Ecclesiastes 9 7, Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy and drink the wine with a merry heart. For God now accepted thy word. The conclusion of this matter simply comes down to if you find yourself consuming too much food, stop consuming so much food. Go out and work out. Go on a hike. Go on a swim. Go on a run. And if you see someone who's a hard gainer eating like crazy, don't call him a glutton because he's just trying to maintain not shriveling up and turning into a bag of bones. And if you're a normal person, act normally. Eat your three meals a day. Eat it. You know, eat good, healthy, wholesome food. And in doing so. With the statistics that we saw earlier, unsafe people should look to us as Christians for the answers to the problems of life. And if we see a nation falling under the problem of obesity, they should look to us and be like, what are you guys doing? How do you guys handle this problem? If the nation is struggling with fornication, struggling with, you know, adultery, let's not contribute to that problem as Christian. I mean, the divorce rate amongst Christians and the world are virtually identical. Let's not follow the same pattern and contribute to the problem of obesity or being gluttonous. The title of this message this evening is Gluttonous. Fire our heads and have a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this evening allowing us to gather together. Thank you so much for food. Thank you so much for providing us with the blessing and the bounty of food that we have every day. Help us to realize the importance of not overeating, but, you know, taking it upon ourselves to work hard, not be slothful, and, you know, eat our food and be pleasing unto you. In Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen. All right, let's go ahead and sing our last song for the evening. It'll be 121, Like a River Glorious. One hundred and twenty-one, Like a River Glorious. Now first, Like a River Glorious, Is God's perfect peace, Over all victorious, In its bright increase. Perfect yet it floweth, Fuller every day. Perfect yet it groweth, Deeper all the way. State of born Jehovah, Hearts are fully blest, Finding as He promised, Perfect peace and rest, Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand. Never look and follow, Never dream or stand, Not a surge of worry, Not a shade of care, Not a blast of glory, Touch the Spirit there. State of born Jehovah, Hearts are fully blest, Finding as He promised, Perfect peace and rest, Every joy or triumph, Boileth from above, Traced upon our diode, By the Son of God. We may trust Him fully, All for us to do. They who trust Him wholly, Find Him only true. State of born Jehovah, Hearts are fully blest, Finding as He promised, Perfect peace and rest. Amen. Great singing. And with that, you are dismissed. You have a blessed evening.