Your Body is a Temple

[0:00] The temple of God. 1 Corinthians 6 verse 19. The temple of God. Now there's talk of the third temple being rebuilt in Jerusalem. They're planning a temple rebuilt. But I want to tell you this morning God's temple is already here and sitting in your chair.

[0:23] You know the Bible says what know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you. A communion message today talking about three things. Possessed, purchased and purposed. Possessed, purchased and purposed.

[0:45] Who you are today as a saved person is a container for God. Think of that. You're a living, breathing, walking temple. Where you go, God goes. The Holy Ghost lives and breathes and resides within you.

[1:01] It says of this temple of the Holy Ghost. It says of the Holy Ghost which you have of God and ye are not your own. We think of our possessions. What are our possessions? Our possessions are what we claim ownership of, aren't they? What we own.

[1:18] And the Bible tells us right here, ye are not your own. We do not own ourselves. So firstly, you are possessed.

[1:31] Right, now some would say, can a Christian be possessed? Yes, you can be possessed by God. You can be possessed by God. Not demon possessed. But you can be God possessed. Amen?

[1:43] Because you're God's possession. Amen? You are God's possession. In other words, he owns you. God owns you. He is the master and you belong to him.

[1:53] You are in his possession. Think of that. He's holding you with his hands. I like to think how underneath are the everlasting arms. You're in the son's hand, the father's hand.

[2:05] I wonder whether the son's hand is underneath and the father's is over the top. So he's just holding us in his clasp. You're owned by God. You're held by God. You are his. And you are a temple that the Lord has taken up residence within.

[2:19] Think of that. He lives within you. You are possessed. What's more, you are a temple for the Holy Spirit. Not just any spirit, but the Holy Spirit.

[2:32] You are possessed. Think of that. You are God's very possession. His treasured possession. His precious possession. And a temple for his spirit. The Holy Spirit.

[2:44] You are God's property. Think of that. I like to think how you see it in front of a shop sometimes. Under new ownership. When there's a new owner. And that's true for you, isn't it?

[2:56] As God's people. That you're under new ownership. You're under God's ownership. You're God's property. And we read in 2 Timothy 2 verse 21.

[3:08] It tells us, If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour. Again, that idea of a vessel, a container. That you're a vessel.

[3:18] This receptacle. A vessel unto honour. You're sanctified. You're meat. You're fit, in other words. Prepared for the master's use. And prepared unto every good work.

[3:31] So, the master has a purpose for you. Each one of you. I know I was talking with the youngsters on Friday night at our youth group. And it was about Jeremiah that we talked about.

[3:43] I knew you even while I was forming you in the womb. I knew you and I called you to be a prophet. Jeremiah had a purpose even before he was born.

[3:54] God knew Jeremiah before he was born. And it's the same for you and me. God's got a purpose and a plan. We want to find that and realise that and fulfil that, don't we? God's purpose for our life.

[4:06] And you can know his purpose for you. For you to fulfil. You can be used of God. In whatever capacity he has chosen for you. God has good works for you to do.

[4:17] Every one of you that believe. God knows your heart and he knows what he's preparing you for. So, number one, you are possessed. In a good way. Alright? We want to have that thought, don't we?

[4:28] Not possessed by ourselves or another, an evil spirit. But possessed by God's Holy Spirit. Possessed and belonging to God. You are possessed. Secondly, you've been purchased.

[4:39] You've been purchased. It tells us in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 20. For ye are bought with a price. Ye are bought with a price.

[4:51] A great price. Think of the price. We think of that as we stop for a moment and think about the price. The price. He has bid for you the highest offer that could be made.

[5:06] If it was an auction, he's outbid everybody else, doesn't he? Think of an auction kind of scenario. He's bid the very highest price. Higher than anyone could ever come close to.

[5:18] More than we can ever imagine. More than we could afford. The highest offer has been made. The highest price has been paid. Hasn't it? The highest price.

[5:30] That could be paid. It has been paid. Paid in full. Paid in full. It's the sense of, it is finished, isn't it? Paid in full. Done.

[5:41] Done. All done. Like the auctioneer would say. Done. Done. All done. Solved. You've been purchased. He's laid down his very life for his friends, it says.

[5:53] And he says, greater love is no man than such love. Paid. Paid in full. Finished. Ratified. We belong to God, not to the world.

[6:04] There's a change of ownership. Yes, I'm born again. I'm no longer the old man where I used to be, who I used to be. I'm his now. I'm purchased. And we have his seal stamped.

[6:16] His stamp of ownership. We are his. He has paid an awesome, awful price when we think of it, hasn't he? Truly. A great price. A rich price has been paid.

[6:28] Freely paid. Willingly paid. Willfully paid. The Bible tells us about this purchase in 2 Peter 2 verse 1. It tells of some denying the Lord that bought them.

[6:39] And the word here in 2 Peter 2 verse 1, the Lord is despotis. I'm not sure if you say it that way, but of course we get the English word despot, which means a Lord, an absolute Lord, an absolute ruler, a master.

[6:52] That's the kind of ownership that he has. It's a fulsome and absolute. It's the highest lordship. Is God our master is the question, isn't it?

[7:03] Is he the despot? Is he the master? The absolute awesome top ruler? Do we acknowledge his lordship over our lives today? It's a good time to stop and meditate on just that thought, isn't it?

[7:16] To examine ourselves. Is he Lord? We want him to be, don't we? Don't we? And there's some changes we need to make to let him be more Lord, more so Lord, don't we?

[7:30] We remember that great price today. Every one of us, we remember that great price. No greater price could be paid. The great purchase price. And the great cost that was paid.

[7:44] Therefore, it goes on, for you are bought with a price. Therefore, it goes on, glorify God. Glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

[7:56] We've got a good reason to glorify him. We've seen that you are possessed by God. His possession. You are purchased at the great price, the price of Calvary's cross, of his precious blood shared.

[8:12] And thirdly, you are purposed. You've got a purpose. And what is that purpose? To glorify God. To glorify God.

[8:22] That's the purpose. That's the whole reason for being. That's the life purpose. That's why he's made us. God has purposed that you glorify him, doesn't he? He wants you to glorify him.

[8:34] And in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. So he's given you a purpose, a purpose to fulfill. He's given his plan for you to serve him.

[8:45] It's what he wants for you. Give him the glory. Give him the glory with your life. Give him all the glory. We have reason to thank him, to bless him for the cup, to have joy unspeakable and full of glory, to bless.

[9:01] 1 Peter 2 verse 7. It says, unto you therefore which believe, he, the Lord Jesus, is precious.

[9:12] And it's interesting, this word precious is the same word price that we read back here. Bought with a price.

[9:22] Same word here. Unto you therefore which believe, he is precious. Speaking of a price. Speaking of a value. You are valued.

[9:34] You are valued more than you could imagine. And that's why one soul matters more than the whole world. As our Lord says, you know, in comparison with the whole world, one soul outweighs the whole world in value.

[9:48] That's why we want to witness. That's why we want to tell others of the Saviour. One soul is of immense value. One single soul. And it tells us here of a price.

[10:00] Of value. Of money paid. Of cost. Think of the cost of Calvary today. As we spend just a moment contemplating the cost of Calvary.

[10:13] Salvation is free, but it's costly, isn't it? It's costly. The most costliest thing. The most precious treasure. The greatest price is the price of his precious blood.

[10:25] The price that he paid for us was the precious blood. Of course, in Matthew 27 verse 9, the word price is used again. Matthew 27 verse 9. And that was the price they put on his head.

[10:40] The price they put. What they valued Christ at. 30 pieces of silver. That's the price. That's what they valued Christ at.

[10:51] Which was the price of a slave. It demeaned him, really. They put that price there. Matthew 27 verse 9. Same concept.

[11:01] And so the price that he paid for us was the precious blood. He is the precious lamb of God. And believers here this morning, it tells you this.

[11:12] For as much as you know that you're not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold. Silver and gold is going to waste away. It will corrupt.

[11:26] But with the precious, precious blood of Christ. As of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Glory. Glory. Glory to God.

[11:37] And he wants you to give him glory, doesn't he? He does want you to give him glory. And the essential glorifying of God is let him have you.

[11:51] Give your life to him. Trust him for your life. Trust him as your saviour. Glorify God by yielding and being born again.

[12:02] And then walking on in that newness of life. That's just the starting line, isn't it? Then walk on. Run. That race. Go forward. Further.

[12:12] In the newness of life. It's yet more. More and more each day. As you walk with the saviour. So the temple of God. Take two. We're going to 1 Corinthians 3 now.

[12:26] It says, Paul writes this. 1 Corinthians 3 verse 16. He says, Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

[12:39] Verse 17. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

[12:49] So what is a temple? We've heard already a little of that. A temple is a dwelling place of God, isn't it? Of God's Spirit. It's a holy place.

[13:00] It's a place of holiness. It's a place of worship. A place of reverence. A place of prayer. And of course, it's God's Spirit that's there. I know just yesterday, I was talking with a lady.

[13:12] We were witnessing. And on her front doorpost, she had a picture of kind of a temple. And there was all these snakes.

[13:24] And there was an idol there. And I talked with her, and she said that she believes in the God of snakes. The snake God. The snake God.

[13:36] It's funny, but it's sad, isn't it? Isn't it sad? That she would be in such a state that her temple is filled with the idols of the snake God.

[13:47] The Hindu God. One of numbers of them. And so we're not talking about that kind of temple today. Do you know that God has a temple?

[13:58] In fact, lots of them. Where do you think is God's temple? It's you and me. Yep. It's you and me. We're going to talk about the temple of God. In fact, the temples, plural, of God.

[14:11] There are many of them. And you, if you are a believer in Christ, if you are a Christian this day, you are one of them. One of those temples.

[14:21] Think of that. You are the temple of God. In other words, you are a beautiful place dedicated to God. He wants to live inside you. God dwells in you.

[14:31] By faith, the Bible talks about that we have Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith. God lives in you. You belong to God. And you are his and for his use. So I want to further unpack a little more of this same theme in this time, this message now.

[14:48] Number one, it's possible to defile a temple. To defile a temple. Imagine if someone walked into a beautiful church building and they started spraying horrible words on the walls.

[15:02] Smashing windows and breaking up the furniture and tearing up the song books. And that does happen, doesn't it? When a church gets vandalised and trashed. In fact, we've had a thief on the church property.

[15:16] The vandals have come and trashed the garden and stolen them and uprooted them. They've defiled the house of God, really, haven't they? People in goodwill have planted lovely plants and someone's come and defiled the place by trashing it and taking them and vandalising.

[15:35] Imagine a defiled temple. We see that when a temple is torn down, isn't it? And defiled and spoiled and soiled.

[15:49] So, what would you think of a temple that's defiled? It's a sad story, isn't it? It's an awful thing. Yet some Christians mistreat their bodies and defile them. It is possible for we, as the temple, which is our body, to defile it.

[16:06] And so we're going to unpack a little of that thought today. Because Paul says, If any man defile the temple of God, whom shall God destroy it? It's not a good thing.

[16:17] Some Christians mistreat their bodies. They mistreat them and they defile them. The temple of God is holy, it says, which temple ye are. God's design and desire is that we be a holy and godly people, the dwelling places for his spirit, for his glory.

[16:36] And as we read earlier on, Paul says, 1 Corinthians 6, 19, What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, and which ye have of God?

[16:51] And ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

[17:01] Of course, we said much along that theme earlier, a price has been paid for you, an exceptional price, a costly price. There's no higher price that has been paid for you, the precious blood, the priceless blood of Christ has been shed for you.

[17:16] And ye are not your own. Now there's one preacher, he was a young man at the time, a young man, he was still in college, like, I guess like TAFE, we would compare it.

[17:28] And a girl came to the church, and a girl came to the church, and a girl came to this young man, as he was there, and asked him to go to a dance. And his reply is a classic.

[17:41] He said, I'd love to go to the dance with you, but I can't. And when asked why, he said, I have no feet. The girl was looking down, saying, did he really not have no feet?

[17:55] And she saw, he could, he has feet, he could dance, and she told him so. And then he simply told her, when he got saved, he lost control of those feet. He lost control of those feet, and they weren't for dancing anymore.

[18:09] His feet were God's feet now. And his feet were the feet, let's take the good news. Rather, that he wanted to use his feet for God's glory, not for such worldly things anymore.

[18:20] And so, it's a picture there, isn't it? That when we think, we are not our own, we're his. And if there's something questionable, well, we don't do that, because we belong to God now. And a temple, on the other side, can be defiled.

[18:34] It speaks of uncleanness. Of course, we know Matthew 15, verse 11 through 19, the Lord talks about, the things that defile are not so much the things we put inside, but the things that come out from within, from the inside.

[18:47] Speaking of our heart, the inside of us, the things that defile, he describes them there, in Matthew 15, 11 through 19, paraphrasing, could be evil thoughts, immorality, profanity coming out.

[19:03] That's a defiling, isn't it? The curse words, the blasphemies, the profanities, lies, things that come out of our body, are what defile us.

[19:14] So, it's timely, I put to you, to search our hearts, and consider, are there things that are, an impurity, of thought, of life, search out, what it is that, before God, you know, you ought to cleanse yourself from.

[19:35] Now, there's, many words, the world routinely uses, and we can hear it so often, that sometimes, even inadvertently, we can utter the same words, and they're crass words, crass words, crude words, vulgar words, words not fitting, when we really, honestly think about it, would you use the word, in church, would you expect the preacher, to use such a word, words that are, questionable, better not say them, zip the lip, good, practice to have, isn't it, we're told it says, to glorify God, in our body, and in our spirit, so your body, has one main purpose, and that purpose is, to glorify God, it's the one main purpose, for your life, for living, so when making choices, can we ask ourselves, does what we do, have God's glory in mind, or not, so number one, it's possible, for your body, to be defiled, we'll unpack that, a little further, later, it's possible, for your body, to be defiled, for the temple, to be defiled, it's possible, for a temple, to become a den of thieves, for the temple, to become a den of thieves, we see that, in Mark 11, the story, of the Lord Jesus, cleansing the temple, it tells here, in Mark 11, verse 15, of our Lord, it says, they come to Jerusalem, and Jesus went into the temple, and he began to, cast out them, that sold, and bought, in the temple, and over through, the tables, of the money changers, and the seats, of them, that sold doves, and would not suffer, that any man, should carry, any vessel, through the temple, and he, the Lord, taught, saying, unto them, is it not written, my house, shall be called, of all nations, the house, of prayer, but ye have made it, a den of thieves, the purpose of a temple, is a place of worship, isn't it, a place of prayer, the Lord Jesus, says that, his temple, is to be called, the house of prayer, it's meant to be, a house of prayer, yet some people, in this occasion, they were making it, into a busy marketplace, it was all a hustle, and bustle, it was like, another market, it was like, a garage sale, or you know, something of that nature, it was a place of commerce, of merchandising, people running around, busily, buying and selling, think of your body, as a temple, and what about your life, does worship matter to us, does prayer, do we care about prayer, this temple, should be a house of prayer, your body, do we live with such busyness, and activity, that we forget, to give the Lord, his rightful place, how we become, like a den of thieves, just busy, busy, full of activity, but missing out, on the worship, missing out on prayer, prayerfulness, what are the thieves, in our lives, we could think, thieves that come, into our lives, thieves that take our time, who can identify, with that, time, there's time robbers, aren't there, time robbers, used to be TV, well it still is, but more so, it's screens of all manner, now isn't it, of computers, of things that just, absorb time, and before we know it, it's bedtime, the day's gone, we've done nothing, spiritually, things of our time, of our love, of our devotion, it could be, general busyness, and activity, the rush, and commotion, of life, sport, you name it, other interests, anything but, worship, and prayer, it can crowd God out, can't it, it's like they're thieves, robbing God, of his rightful place,

[23:36] for our life, he wants to have, the first place, but we crowd him out, don't we, like that temple, full of all these, merchandisers, it's a bit like, some churches, these days, it's all the merchandising, that goes on, but the spiritual side, is poor, and we think of these robbers, these thieves, that hinder our spiritual life, our prayer life, so easy isn't it, time just gets taken, before we know it, these thieves, hinder us from a life, that's devoted to him, to his worship, a life surrendered, and giving him glory, a life devoted to the Lord, they rob God of his glory, Paul repeated, the Corinthians, because they were like, still worshippers of idols, they are described here, in 2 Corinthians 6, Paul tells them, be ye not unequally yoked together, with unbelievers, for what fellowship, hath righteousness, with unrighteousness, and what communion, hath light, with darkness, what concord, or what agreement, what fellowship, hath Christ with Belial, in other words, the devil, or what part hath he, that believeth, with an infidel, an unbeliever, what agreement, hath the temple of God, with idols, for ye are the temple of God, the temple of the living God, as God hath said,

[24:53] I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people, so there's a sense where, there's idols, there's a sense of these things, that are taking God's place, what about in our lives though, we've got idols, haven't we, sometimes, there's idols, things that, just, got a, a piece of us, a part of us, that we, put our energy, and our effort into, they can become like idols, can't they, and it goes on, wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not, the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty, so a temple, is meant to be set apart, you're meant to be separate, separated, set apart, sanctified, unto him, and from, idols and such, not filled with different kinds of idols, so this busy temple, was filled with these thieves really, these merchandisers, and it was, taking it away from that, setting apart unto God, the presence of God, was lost, by all this other stuff, that was filling the place, and what about you and me, as these living temples that we are, temples of the living God, the Lord Jesus comes, and he lives within our hearts by faith, do we live like we are a temple, think of that, for yourself, do we live, when you think, you know, sometimes I suppose, it's nice, even just to go into, one of these old fashioned buildings, these old fashioned church buildings, sometimes if I've got a moment, if I'm in the city, just to go into that quiet place, isn't it, and it's been a place, that's been set apart unto God, and it's just got an atmosphere, hasn't it, it's peaceful, it's prayerful, it's pure, there's a stillness there, where you can just have a reverence, and be still, and know that he is God, what about in our spiritual lives, in our daily lives, we don't necessarily have to go into, some stained glass building, but we can have that moment, with God can't we, in our quiet place, in our home place, in our personal space, and so we hear, of this defilement, this dirt, this muck, this unclean thing, that can affect the temple, and spoil it, it talks about the unclean thing, there doesn't it, touch not, the unclean thing, there's things that can affect, our temple, as it were, and spoil it, and soil it, the Bible tells of the things, that defile, we see for example,

[27:25] Titus 1, Paul tells Titus, unto the pure, all things are pure, but unto them that are defiled, and unbelieving, is nothing pure, even their mind, and conscience is defiled, so our mind, and conscience, can get defiled, you know, spend enough time, absorbing all the, clutter, the noise, isn't it, the noise, of the world, the barraging, of the world, and its messaging, garbage in, garbage out, isn't it, if we get enough of that, it's going to start to, go inside of us, isn't it, the defilement, so that's why, listening to, worldly rap music, is not a good thing, full of cursing, and swearing, isn't it, of, deriding our God, and King, it's unfit, it's unfit for you, believer, to listen to that, it's trash, isn't it, it's defiling, defiling, of your mind, of your conscience, dirty jokes, and such smutty, comedians, so called, of this world, you don't want to tune into that, wavelength, it's defiled, it's smut, it's gutter language, isn't it, you're above that, you're a believer, so put that aside, it goes on, of another occasion, where it talks about, a defiling, it tells of the tongue,

[28:46] James 3, the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, so is the tongue, among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire, the cross of nature, and it is set, on fire of hell, so again, talking about our tongue, what we say, some would gossip, or backstab, or murmur, or complain, or dispute, or blaspheme, or, you know, be inclined to whinge, and be filled with negative, and lack of faith, and discouraging others, our words are powerful, so we don't want them to be, such words, and then we read, Matthew 15, not that which goeth into the mouth, defileth the man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this, defileth the man, so let's be guarded, about how we speak, we can defile, and dishonor, our body, just like a temple, can be defiled, and dishonored, defiling words, may come out, of your mouth, it ought not so to be, brother, sister, we've all got to guard,

[29:51] I've got to guard myself, words that come out, you think, no, I shouldn't say that word, they might be mild things, they might be, substitute swear words, but we ought to be, guarded, to the nth degree, to set a standard, high for yourself, sometimes idols, can come in, can't they, this temple, that is our lives, we ought to be clean, and holy, set apart, worshipful, but our temple, can be like a den of thieves, where things rob, our Lord of his glory, of his due honour, another thing about temples, is that temples, don't blow the trumpet, but they stand out, there's a sense where, this temple that you are, it should show, there should be something showing, as a believer, that your faith would show, that you'd be, set apart, there's something, set apart about you, in how you live, and how you act, it tells of the believers, in Philippians 2, it reads, do all things without murmurings, and disputings, that you may be, blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without repuging, in the midst of a crooked, and perverse nation, among whom you shine, as lights in the world,

[31:04] God's will is that we shine, like lights in this darkened world, now some Christians, make a lot of, big claims, they use a lot of, religious talk, there's, there's blabber mouth Christians, and then the talk, doesn't always measure up, with their walk, does it, but when it boils down, to what's crucial, they don't show, that they're Christians, there's something missing, there's a mismatch, and we ought to be, shining as lights, in this darkened world, this world, that's so dark, needs you, to shine the light, it's interesting, that the temple in Jerusalem, was covered over, with gold, everything was covered over, with gold, and it's estimated, that the gold alone, used in Solomon's temple, and I looked up, the value of gold today, just to make sure, my ingots are, are accruing in value, and, and one ounce of gold, is worth, $2,600, so you're going to wish, you put some under your mattress, but, too late, it's too, too expensive now, $2,600 an ounce, so some have reckoned, that the gold, that covered Solomon's temple, would be worth, $310 billion, well that was some temple, wasn't it, but the thing about the temple, was it was shining, and glowing, it was resplendent, with glory, the wonder of it, the shining, surface of that temple, would have been seen, so far away, wouldn't it, and it sat on the highest hill, in the city, facing the east, so every morning, when the sun broke, over the horizon, and cast its light, onto this great structure, it literally blazed, in the glory of the sun, think of that, the picture of Solomon's temple, and how we should shine, you should shine, brother, sister, you should shine, as lights in this world, with the glory of God, that's what he wants for us, isn't it, not for you to get the glory, but for his glory to shine, through you, so every Christian, needs to understand that, their body, is not for them, to do as they wish, some would think,

[33:04] I can do what I like, with my body, uh uh, it's not yours anymore, those feet, aren't yours anymore, those hands, that mouth, this body, it's not yours anymore, it's his, he's got the ownership, you're stamped, with his, ownership seal, so this may be a surprise, to hear this, but you do not belong, to yourself, getting that picture, changes everything, doesn't it, so a temple, number one, can be defiled, and number two, it can be a den of things, thirdly, a temple, can be destroyed, destroyed, we hear again, reading this again, that the temple, can be misused, and abused, by our mistreating it, so again, know you 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, now it's interesting, the word defile, and destroy, are the same word, in the Greek, not that we, exaggerate the, the talking of the Greek, but, it's the same word, translated destroy, is the same word, translated defile, it's the same word, it talks about, spoiling, of ruin, of corrupting, the Pharisees, called the Lord Jesus, one who would destroy, the temple, he was accused, you're the one, who's going to destroy, the temple, they said to Christ, a temple can be destroyed, it was, in AD 70, everything changed, no more sacrifices, the Jerusalem temple, was destroyed, in AD 70, so a temple, can be destroyed, the Bible says, your body, belongs to God, your body, as a born again believer, has the Holy Spirit, dwelling in it,

[34:48] Christ is living in you, 2 Corinthians 5, tells how, this body, is a house, it's like a tent, that one day, is going to be folded up, and laid aside, in Job 4, 19 through 20, it describes death, as pulling up the tent cords, and folding up, the old tent, one day, our body, is going to be destroyed, it will die, so think of that, we should be mindful of that, one day, our body, is going to be, dead, it's going to be, in the ground, one way or another, so we know, it's not right, for someone to trash, the house of God, a church, we know, God does not dwell, in a church building, as such, but he does dwell, in you and me, we saw how, the Lord Jesus, cleansed the temple, he cleared it out, of that which was, displeasing to God, how much more zeal, should we have, about our body, there's a sense, where your body matters, it's important, to look after it, alright, how much, importance, it is, to keep, anything, or anyone, from destroying,

[35:54] God's temple, your body, and some think, what I do with my body, has no impact, on my spiritual walk, but these verses, tell us the opposite, think of a temple, it's dedicated unto God, set apart, unto him, so if what we're doing, does not bring God glory, that's a problem, now I'm going to get, a little, personal here, please, bear with me, because, I don't have this problem, I've never had this problem, but it's just one example, alright, please know that, God's working on all of us, and if you've got, a problem with smoking, then, God will help you with that, and I know there's people, working hard on that, alright, and I'm not picking on, all the smokers, because really, it's the smokers, and the non-smokers, that need to hear this, alright, it's possible for us, to damage the temple, it's possible, we can damage it, let me be frank with you, we could consider, cigarette smoking, as one example, now of course, in 1 Corinthians, they weren't talking, about smoking at all, it's not in there, because it wasn't, a problem back then,

[37:02] I can tell you, thus saith the Lord, Paul's not talking, about cigarette smoking, here, of course, the Bible doesn't, tell us anything, about smoking, because it wasn't, a problem back then, but it's one example, in the modern times, isn't it, let's be honest, it's one thing, that, oh, it's hard, it's hard to break it, it's hard to stop it, it's one example, it's hurting my body, it's doing me harm, they're telling us, every packet we smoke, every packet we smoke, it's killing you, stop doing it, don't do it, but we do, commit your body, to the Lord, is the question really, isn't it, commit your body to him, he's going to help you, deal with it, whatever it is, that's a problem for you, and the Bible says, present your body, as a living sacrifice, I know there's some, that have smoked for 40 years, my brother-in-law here, he's smoked for 40 years, it had a hold of him, it was strangling him to death, and God delivered him, but it was a, it was a big effort, wasn't it, Peter, you know, it was, it's not easy, and I can,

[38:06] I can assure you, God can help you, but it might be a long, long road, for you to break that habit, but treat your body with care, the Bible tells us, we should look after the health of our body, we want to, don't we, we want to bring him honour, we want this mortal body, to go the distance, as long as it can, to not cut its life short, any more than it has to, what does smoking do, it destroys your lungs, it causes all kinds of cancer, it decreases your life span, it shortens the time, that you can serve God, on this earth, but this is just one example, now all you non-smokers, I'm talking to you now, there's things you can do, to damage your body, you're not looking after it, like you should, I'm talking to me now, it can damage your body, it can damage your testimony, in all kinds of ways, that which defiles, is from within, it's even more so, that it's interesting, how the Lord says, it's not that which, that which you put into your body, which we could think of smoking, that's not really so much, the important issue, it's what comes out of your body, it says Matthew 14, and it talks in the word, about the works of the flesh, in Galatians doesn't it, about the things to guard against, fornication, in other words, immorality, it's all around us isn't it, this world is just, there's no filter anymore, there's no filter, there's no stopping it, it's garbage upon garbage, of immorality, impurity, sensuality, it's constantly barraging us, isn't it, constant, idolatry, this world is filled with idols, hatred, strife, pride, jealousy, it all comes from within, anger, that pridefulness, that disputing, factions, envying, drunkenness, gluttony, for the Corinthians, their problem, was in the area of the heart, we get the heart right, and other things will start to, drop off, the Corinthians were, rebuked for their carnality, and pride, they were fleshly, they were careless, we can damage our temple, in lots and lots of ways people, we can damage our temple, don't think this, this is all about smoking, no, that's kind of just a, eensy weensy bit, it's all the other stuff, we can damage our temple, and we can tear it apart, we can misuse our time, we can throw away God's money, the one who's in control of our bodies, we ought to glorify him, as the utmost and ultimate thing, drugs, alcohol, they can damage and destroy, what matters is that the Lord has control, that he is number one, he's the first consideration, that he's working in us, and he is from the inside out, give him full charge of the inside, get that right, the inside of the temple, and so, then we can be more of a godly example, to others, to young people, to children, they're looking up to you, now we could think, even as a child, looking up to a father, a mother, they're doing something, telling you don't do it, but, they see what you're doing, more than what you're saying, and so you want to make sure, there's not a problem, with what you're saying, what you're telling them to stop doing, if you're doing it, they're going to follow you, it's been said, what you allow in moderation, they will do in excess, so you know, some say that about social drinking, for example, oh I'll just have a little tipple here, a little tipple there, and the children are watching you do it, they're going to think that's okay, and they're going to do it more, oh glug glug glug, glug glug glug, you know, it's just an example, you might have different convictions to me, but, allow a little bit, and boom, wide open,

[42:08] it's a, allow a little gap, and boom, the door's wide open, keep, keep close, standards to the Lord, keep, keep close fellowship with him, and, let it be that, you want to aim for the highest standard, the highest standard, give him full charge of the inside, because you're an example, you're an example, every one of you, especially to the younger generation, they're watching everything you do, and we want to stare away from anything, that's questionable, anything, that would hinder our walk, our witness, we are a temple, you are a temple, every one of you, you're a spiritual house, you're a dwelling place of God, think of that, his holy presence dwells within you, the most holy one, that should impact our lives in every way, in practical ways, so we want to avoid being a stumbling block too, you might say, I've got liberty, I've got liberty to do whatever I want, technically yes, but you don't want to be a stumbling block, don't be a stumbling block, don't let your liberty, be a stumbling block, it talks about, here, what you can jump over, they're going to trip over, and they're going to fall, so beware unless this liberty, become a stumbling block, to those that are weak, there's weaker ones watching you, so aspire for the highest standard, don't be a stumbling block,

[43:29] Romans 14, 13, don't put a stumbling block, in your brother's way, so we can think of many things, we could allow, we could excuse, we can say, ah, I'm alright, I can do what I want, but what you allow, can have an influence on others, that could be damaging, Paul talks about, the things that are lawful for me, they're not expedient, they're not helpful, what I'm allowed to do, and do do, it's allowed, it's allowed, it's lawful, but it's not helpful, it's not going to benefit others, it's not going to build up others, and so he talks about, the body, it's not for fornication, it's not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, the body is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body, so I know this is getting a bit, in touchy areas today, I pray you take it in the spirit, that I'm giving it, that we all need to examine ourselves, and come to our own mind, our own conscience on these things, your body is for the Lord, it says, it's not for you, your body belongs to God, it's the dwelling place of God, you want to bring him glory, you've been designed to be a temple of God, so you can destroy the temple, by ungodly living, you can damage that temple, and your temple's, going to be lasting, well not five years off your temple, because of this or that, or you've got 10 less years, you've got 15 less years, because of what you've done to your body, that's a shame isn't it, you don't want that, don't you want to go the full distance, don't you want to run your race, and finish well, that you're not, you know,

[45:04] I've seen people dying of cancer, I've seen a man, a lifelong chain smoker, on his deathbed, he couldn't even talk at the end, he couldn't hear a word that he was saying, because he couldn't even talk, his body was so damaged, so damaged, and he was an unbeliever, and I was able to witness to him, and say, you know, squeeze my hand if you want to trust Christ, and he did, thank God, I don't know where he is now, but I believe that he did trust Christ, even on his deathbed, but don't leave it so late, to trust Christ, and get rid of the things, that are going to kill you, they're going to waste your life, your body belongs to the Lord, it's not yours, it's not yours, get that packet and stomp on it, until it's gone, throw it away, get rid of it, not another cigarette, whatever it is that's stopping you, your body belongs to the Lord, and look, I'm talking cigarettes, but I'm saying every other thing, all you non-smokers, you don't sort of, haha, yeah, no, no, no, you don't point the finger at the smokers, because you've got things to stomp on too, what's stopping you, what's stopping you bringing in glory, you've been designed to be a temple of God, and you can destroy your temple by ungodly living, you can damage your testimony, you can hinder your spiritual life, you can bring shame and disgrace to your Lord, to your life, your loved ones are going to be damaged, because of your testimony, because they're watching you, they're learning from you, so brother, sister,

[46:32] I exhort you today, you are not your own, you're bought with a price, and you are a temple, a holy temple, so maybe it's time your temple had a clear out, I know, Julie's always got the idea, that something's only to clear out, I've still got boxes and boxes of files, from my previous job, and I've got a whole shed full of stuff, that I'm never going to look at again, stuff that I've built up over a lifetime of working, and there's clutter, isn't there, there's stuff, it's got to go, it's got to go, the clutter, clear it out, what about the secret closets of our own heart, is there things that are not glorifying God, are there idols there, even idols, it talks about, there's one preacher talked about the heart being an idol making factory, we just make idols, don't we, we might throw one idol out, and bring another one in, you know, idols, in other words, they take the place of God's worship, they take the place of devotion, so it may be your body, but first and foremost, it's his body, he has the ownership rights, so look after it, in other words, good health, try to find a healthy way to eat, to live, choose healthy things, in your diet, and I'm talking to me here,

[47:58] I know, I could do, I could use some of this advice, some exercise, we could all use a bit more, couldn't we, I know, I had a friend, and we used to always joke about going for a jog every morning, but we never did, he's gone now, but you know, exercise, we can fail to exercise, can't we, maybe having enough rest, that's important too, so friends today, the good news is, that God's living on the inside of you, and so, don't hurt your body, don't put stuff in, or make things, harder for you, to hurt your body, don't abuse it, by obviously, immorality, sex outside of marriage, your body is the temple, of the Holy Spirit, one day, the Bible says, Philippians 3, 21, that one day, God's going to change our bodies, he's going to give us new ones, until that day, you must live in this one, and no matter what state, it's in right now, that's, that's your lot, that's the, that's the body you've got, is the body you've got, but you can try to make it, such that, you make it go a bit longer, alright, don't put stuff into it, that's going to harm it, and wear it out, or hurt it, don't use your body, to, put to things, that would dishonor him, don't let words, come out of your mouth, that would not glorify God, that would dishonor him, don't corrupt the temple of God, so in other words, dedicate your body, when we see, there's a dedication of the temple, you see Solomon's temple, there was a dedication of the temple, wasn't there, it's like, there's a cutting of the ribbon, there's a dedicating, there's a acknowledgement, that your body is his, you're his, and he's yours, so dedicate your body, as a temple, so yeah,

[49:46] I want my body to be dedicated, I'm going to have a temple dedication service today, for this body of mine, that it be more prayerful, that it be more God glorifying, that it be more peaceful, more worshipful, more unto him, all the glory, you have been designed, for the glory of God, that's your ultimate, that's your design, that's what you're designed for, and God lives in you, so that's what makes you, a holy temple, you are a representative, of the holy one, so I urge you, and friends, really I'm preaching to believers, but you might say, I'm not a temple yet, well, trust Christ, and you become a temple, bang, that's the start, trust Christ, as your Lord and Saviour, he gets rid of the old you, and he makes a brand new you, from that point, a brand new heart, a brand new start, you're born again, and then you become a representative, of the holy one, the Lord Jesus Christ, and as much as we might fail, I know I've failed, I've not looked after my body, as well as I ought to have,

[50:48] I'd like to think, it'll go the distance, as long as it can, that it'll be strong, and so we want to look after it, don't we, look after your body, you've got a temple, you are his, and he is yours, and your body can be defiled, your body, it's going to be destroyed, one day it will die, but your body can be dedicated, your body can be dedicated, unto God, let us pray, Lord we thank you, that you are the great God, our Saviour, Lord you're coming again, we know one day, this body, is going to be, left behind, and a new one, will take its place, Lord for the meantime, help us to live, such that we look after it, we treat it with wisdom, and help us Lord, to make wise choices, how we manage our life, our physical health, and well being Lord, but more so our spiritual, that we'll have, that which is godly, on the inside of us, that will be dedicated, from the inside out, that you will be, filling your temple, that the fire will fall, in the temple, as it were, that your Holy Spirit, would fill and flood, your temple, that is ours, and that you fill us, and overflow from us, from our lives, that we'll be that shining light, that we'll be that, glowing, shining temple, that we'll be a testimony, for your grace,

[52:11] Lord help us, we know there's many struggling, I know there's many, that have told me, that they're struggling, there's many that are working, on their, whatever it be, the habits, the things that hinder, Lord we all have them, we know that, we've all got idols, of one kind or another, we've all got the works, of the flesh, to fight against, help us Lord, that rather we see, the fruit of the Spirit, that you do your, sovereign holy work, by your Spirit's power, in every life, that will be your representatives, on this earth, will be as light, shining in this dark place, and all for your praise, in Jesus name, Amen.