Proverbs 20:1 (NKJV)
20 Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
The Bible describes this style of living as wanton living, living in the land of excess.
We are that type of people; enough is never enough.
Gluttony is taking more into the body than what is needed.
There are people that eat to live and those that live to eat.
When was the last time that you fasted, most don’t because they love to eat.
It was spoken this last week that we have lost what the prophets and apostles had, such as healing and miracles, Jesus said that these signs shall follow them the believe.
We have lost the way because our god has become our belly, our want and desire has been the table.
Some of us are so bad that we say things like “what are we having for dinner?,” right after breakfast.
Just like blind spots in an automobile, so are there distractions many of which can be fatal. We just don’t see them coming.
Overindulging in too much food or drink can be no different than the prodigal son, or Belshazzar who was eating and drink to his own death.
All because of strong desires to consume.
To the glutton, eating and drinking are more important than strengthening family relationships, sleeping, working, playing, or serving God.
There is no discipline in the life of a Glutton.
The addition to sugar, alcohol, fat, or any substance that is taken into the body becomes the focus of life.
Our Nation has a problem with it, which in turn is leaking into the church.
Over 7 million people in the U.S. are classified as severely Obese, 13 million are Obese, and 80 million are over-weight. That is over 1/3rd of our population. There are 264 million Americans.
Reports have showed that only 10 percent of those have a related medical problem, such as a bad thyroid.
The other 90 percent are over-weight because they eat too much and obese because they chose to be.
Gluttony is not something that we can hide it is out there for the entire world to see.
Do you realize that the calorie intake on average for all of the countries in the world (excluding the U.S.) is about 436 calories per day!
The average American eats 3,576 calories per day!
Sugar, the average American eats 129 pounds per year, the average teenager eats 400 lbs of sugar per year.
Americans eat 52 teaspoons of fat and 6 to 7 teaspoons of salt per day. You mix those two in a bowl together and you will have a tough time getting the spoon out of the mixture.
I laugh sometimes at us when we sit down to a meal that has a super deluxe nachos, to get us ready to eat the real food coming such as a country fried steak, with gravy, biscuits, a loaded baked potato, finished off with a piece of pie, and we have the audacity to say “Let us pray and ask God to bless it for us.” Then we throw away the leftovers.
Like most of the other fatal mistakes in the 7 deadly sins, this has land mines that will blow up in our face.
Some of us eat or drink to forget a problem, or eat to relieve stress. Some eat because they have nothing else to do, they are just bored.
Well, it is about time that we get a handle on the glutton in our lives.
Remember you cannot hide it, so defeat it.
It doesn’t just have to be the obese person that can be gluttons, it can be thin people too.
Gluttony is turning to food for comfort, recreation, satisfaction, rather than turning to the Lord who supplies all of our needs.
Gluttony is more than just about food, what about those that are the exercise junkies, just can’t get enough of the gym. What about those who suffer from bulimia, or anorexia?
Excessive dieting is the opposite of Gluttony. Compulsive dieters are just as concerned about food as those who are gluttons.
Listen, Gluttony is the sin of being preoccupied with food in whatever state.
The Roman world was filled with gluttons, people would fill there bellies and then go throw up just so they could continue eating more.
They were totally submerged in self-gratification.
Why is Gluttony a sin?
We live in a culture that says, “Try this, you can’t eat just one! Here, eat the whole bag its o.k..
What we see we want, and we get it too.
Paul had wrote to timothy about a man named Demas, saying that Demas had forsaken him “having loved this present world”
(2 Ttimothy 4:10).
The glutton only sees what is before him, not the big picture of eternity.
A glutton spends most of their time thinking about what to eat, what to drink, where to shop, what to buy, what to enjoy, and what is next to experience.
Gluttony is putting the things of this world before the things of God. That is the Sin, God the Father will not be placed second in our lives.
For just a moment of time think if you would about;
1. What could be done for Jesus if we would spend half of our lunch hour eating and the other in pray and reading of the Word.
2. What could we do if we would take the 10 billion dollars a year spent on diet pills, diet drinks and diet bars alone. Use half of the money for the ministry sake.
What does the Bible have to say about Gluttony;
Belshazzar was a King of Babylon that had decided during a party to bring in all of the vessels that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem and to fill them with wine and let the people drink from them.
Basically, He was showing off, to his wives, concubines, and lords.
Showing how big and powerful that he was, but pride is a close cousin to glutton. Remember neither have any care other than them. Wanton, wanton, Belshazzar was in this state was judged by God to be Wanton.
Pride caused a glutton to decide that he could eat and drink whatever he likes, in any manner that he chooses, without any consequences before God.
Pride tells you that this is your body and you can do whatever you want to do with it.
GOD IS CONCERNED WITH US!
1. God made us.
As, a Christian we are not our own we are bought with a price, we are God’s.
God is very concerned with what we do with our bodies, in Genesis 2:7 it says that God made us from the dust of the ground, breathe into our nostrils and man became a living soul.
We are tailor made by God, we are His master piece.
2. God maintains us.
Jesus said in Matt 6:26, “look at the birds of the air, for they neither
Sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more important than them?
Look at how many times Jesus touched someone, healed someone, and blessed someone, remember the time the Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus? Jesus said to her mother get the girl something to eat, Jesus knows what your needs are. And He cares for you.
3. God wore flesh.
Jesus knows about all the aches and pains of your body. So many people say no one knows how I feel right now. Nobody has ever felt this bad before. Know anybody like that?
Jesus knows what it is to live in this world.
Have you ever seen a person that has touch a television star, or an athlete, Oh I shook hands with a star I’ll never wash this hand again.
You have a shirt of a pair of shoes that an Athlete wore. They are dignified because a star had worn them.
Jesus Christ had worn flesh he truly dignified the human body.
4. God lives with-in us.
The moment we receive Jesus into our lives we became a new creation, a different person.
Now, the temple of the Lord is with-in us.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV)
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
The Old Testament had many scriptures that dealt with the spirit of God dwelling in the temple, but in the New Testament He now dwells with-in us.
We need to be very cautious of what we eat, drink, or indulge in.
How can we take the super out of super-size?
1. We must practice in private. That means if you are ever going to overcome it takes time and pray to overcome.
As with anything it takes you envisioning something for it to take place.
Long before the dinners, the parties, or special events, feast or festivals, see yourself saying no to the second helping of food.
Eat only until you are full, eat slowly enough for the message to get from the stomach to the brain that you are full.
2. The problem lies in will power.
You must remember that it is not always the wrong foods that make you a glutton, but the amount that shows you have no self-control.
You see, will power helps you to overcome. But, all of us need to learn to pray more to overcome more.
Spending time with the Lord helps us to develop our will power. It will help us in all areas of our life.
3. Value your victories.
Remember the times that you won a battle, and you can do it again you just need someone to help encourage you to do better.
As you down size in clothing you will up size in your spirit, develop your spiritual inner man to defeat the physical man.
Keep a journal if you have to, but remember you are good at remembering your failures, try to remember the victories.
4. Anticipate the supers’ return.
Don’t forget that once the sin of gluttony is defeated it is not the last time that you will deal with it.
Truth is we never get totally away from the sin of gluttony it is never to far from us, it is just waiting for the right time to reappear.
On the day when you are preoccupied with other things and you are not thinking about it and you unconsciously do it, give me the super size please, “Oh this one won’t hurt you.”
It only takes one sin to make it a sin. The devil will use every way possible in to your life.
Never drop your guard, always anticipate his appearing and yopu won’t be surprised.
