[0:00] we've talked but um let me i can't i'm i don't think i'm going to be able to say everything about this but we can unfold it in the q a more or maybe in my second session a bit um but god is good people matter our bodies speak to us it's hugely ironic that um on her own website oprah has a very good and powerful article by her kind of in-house doctor medical doctor and the article is called how to start listening to your body and in that article he rightly points out how tragic it's been for him to have to treat patients who are obsessed with body image and being perfect physically and how he's encountered many people with eating disorders and other similar conditions as a result and the advice he gives is trust your body every cell is on your side in other words your body has a story to tell is on your side you should listen it's a good thing now we'd say amen that's a biblical idea it's there in uh genesis uh the goodness of the body god values our bodies i'm not gonna have time to expound all of that but it's very clear just from genesis 2 for example verse 7 where it says the lord god formed a man from the dust of the ground he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being that's good all right hello just keep going okay so four o'clock you'll have your next session okay fine okay thank you peter that's that's kind of you um or uh the uh the this is but this is before sin has entered the world obviously genesis 2 so the stuff that adam is made of the dust of the ground is good it's very good and physical life is good so verse 8 the lord god planted a garden in the east in eden he put the man he had formed he's enjoying the world with his body his senses that's good his digestion is good as well as his senses verse 9 um he has trees that are pleasing to the eye and good for food so his his bodily systems that's all good using your body to work and to care for the world is good verse 15 the lord god took the man and put him in the garden of eden to work it and take care of it that's all good men's bodies are good and women's bodies are good too so in verse 21 the man is put to sleep and the woman is made and her body is is good so good that the man's like whoa this is amazing this is fantastic and he bursts into song or starts composing poetry this is good this is now verse 23 bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man see the language bones and flesh it's not just kind of feelings it's bodies that's good that's the stuff that brings romance and poetry and life and energy and feeling and delight bodies okay god values your body our bodies declare the glory of god even the the naked sexual union of bodies that's good too verse 24 25 that's why a man leaves his father and mother is united to his wife they become one flesh the sexual act adam and his wife were both naked they felt no shame so we're all all of that we're saying yes amen to oprah on that to oprah's doctor every cell of your body is on your side god is not embarrassed about any of this it's his idea and even if we read on into genesis 3 and discover the great damage that sin did to our bodies and how we feel about them so as soon as they sinned the first thing that happens to adam and eve is something to do with their body they realize
[4:02] they're naked verse 7 of chapter 3 that's a problem obviously but there's damage got to be really clear about this that's damage written onto the created goodness of our bodies it's not damage written into our bodies from the beginning right it's not part of the original creation it's kind of slapped on top of something good one day to be removed forever so our bodies forever are good and we know this most of all because god himself gave himself a body hebrews 10 sacrifice and offering you did not desire but a body you prepared for me not just a mind not just feelings not just kind of some spirit out there god took on a body himself in the incarnation and will have that body resurrected and glorified forever he will be a human being with a human body and mind and soul forever and ever and ever god gave his body back to him after he died didn't say oh phew that's the body part over with now we can progress to the good stuff no after he died he gave him back the body even better your body is good god values that and he will do that for you with your body too if your trust is in christ so whatever anyone else says about your body however anyone else might judge it whatever social media might think about your body and however you feel about it the living god made it and it's good as it is size shape gender not the one you wish you had the one he gave you it's a gift and it speaks of his goodness to you and so that is what makes the world story so inconsistent because we're saying yes our mentor oprah and her doctor saying every cell of your body is on your side listen to your body because apparently that's true only when that doesn't involve your sex cells when those cells tell you what gender you are and what the path is to fruitful sexuality the x x cells or x y chromosomes in your cells should be ignored should be disrespected should be even hated as not really worth listening to as not really speaking the truth to you can you see the the massive inconsistency in that listen to your body on everything your health and what you eat and you know how you see your your weight and all of that good good good oh but on this issue of gender and sexuality ignore your body that can't be right can it we have a better story to tell we we we we believe that god the god of the bible values this this this body that he has given to you in the middle of a society which appears to value it we're so obsessed with the appearance of our bodies makeovers for to hair products to dieting to weight training to photoshop models all of that seems to say we value our bodies but the tragic irony is that that actually all says we don't value our bodies as they are not as a gift we have to change them somehow in order for us to be satisfied with them and even then we're not really fully satisfied that's what all that stuff is doing our bodies in that story aren't valuable in and of themselves it's only once we've modified them and so the craze of body obsession is in fact a cult of body dissatisfaction and the bible has a much more affirming and kind and wholesome story to tell than that it's the it's the other end of the the scale it's the opposite to what what leads you to anorexia and to other forms of self
[8:04] harm and um when we end up with people rejecting their bodily sexuality and their gender as graciously given to you in favor of and this was raised in one of the discussions i think by tommy and in favor of how you feel yourself to be that's the kind of be all and end all the lgbt agenda if you read the books and the literature and the articles and the websites that agenda openly denies any value to the body it's like yes we know our bodies say this and we reject it out and out we hate our bodies i am not my body that's the kind of clarion call and it's precisely here then we have a far better story to tell god values you and that includes your body so that's the story okay and i want you to you know that's a start at least god is good people matter our bodies speak to us it's good news what story are you going to live by i'm telling you there is this true story and it's it's the best story you can live in it sometimes we need to clear our heads and get back to the bible and fight against the subtle music of the world and see the bible story for what it is some of you may be familiar with the the the narnia books by c.s lewis my one of my favorites is or certainly one of my favorite scenes is a scene in the silver chair which is the penultimate book in the series and there are some characters called eustace and jill and puddle glum who's a marsh wiggle if you don't know what that is on i'll explain later okay but they've gone deep underground and they finally found what they're looking for which is a lost prince whose name is prince rillion and they freed him from this eponymous silver chair that the queen of underland has kept him prisoner by but then she kind of comes in and she starts to put a spell on them by playing gentle music and by burning magical incense on a fire and they can't think clearly anymore and it's kind of making their heads all fuzzy and she tells him that their world the world up there above the ground isn't real it's her dark underground world which is the only world there is and she's going strum strum strum on the on the instrument and the smoke is filling the room and they're starting to think oh yes of course you're right there's no aslan there's no sky there's no sun and they start to try and resist but then they they cave in they the magic spell is upon them and then puddle glum is one of my favorite bits in all the books puddle glum this this marsh wiggle who's a really kind of depressed character most of the time he does this really brave thing and in one last heroic attempt to remember what's real he he stamps his foot on the fire where the incense is burning and it really hurts him to do so but then it makes him suddenly have his head clear and the queen is enraged by this and she screams threats at him and threatens to kill him for doing that but he replies one word mom one word suppose we have only dreamed or made up all those things trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and aslan himself suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only real world well it strikes me as a pretty poor one we are just babies making up a game if you're right but four babies playing a game can make a play world which licks your real world hollow that's why i'm on aslan's side even if you put an end to our lives that's a small loss if the world's as dull a place as you say the world is a dull place without the living god and what he says about it isn't it we have the better story and praise god this is not a made-up world at all he's actually realizing that world is the real world and this world is a fading world and a world that's coming to an end and it will not last but you if you are a christian are in the true world and you can tell that story and be proud of it
[12:08] it licks this world's story hollow and the best thing is it's true and you can live in it shall we pray together great eternal god loving father thank you so much you've revealed yourself told us what's true sent your son saved us by his blood and his resurrection given us your holy spirit to see the truth for what it really is help us in this often confusing world where things can be so misrepresented help us to have clear minds and warm hearts to live for christ and to understand your story is the best thing ever written and a story in which we are living even now and offer that to others and show graciously not arrogantly not unwisely but graciously and respectfully and lovingly how it is so much better than anything the world could have to offer and maybe we see that bearing fruit through our lives as other people see and want to turn themselves to the living god through jesus christ help us help these dear young people in the middle of the battle lord help them to fight bravely and and lovingly and wisely and to be good servants of the lord jesus christ for his sake we pray amen amen
[13:41] Thank you.