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In Every Dimension
"Body—Reclaimed"

By David H. McKinley

(Opening Prayer)

Message Notes pdf version (2 pages)

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
—1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

“Christianity is not just a high-sounding ritual which we perform on Sundays. Christianity is abiding by biblical standards of personal holiness and in turn seeking to bring holiness to the society in which we live.” —Charles Colson

B-O-D-Y

BATTLES

We know the challenge of “body wars” in our lives. The body is a place of much conflict and confrontation. We often struggle to maintain and control the body with its many needs, desires and appetites.

"Body Wars" include:

Injury—It is easy to get hurt, trip, slip, etc.

Illness—We are susceptible and vulnerable to diseases.

Immorality—If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. —Matthew 5:29-30

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
—1 Corinthians 6:18

Indulgence—In a race, everyone runs but only one person gets first prize. So run your race to win. To win the contest you must deny yourselves many things that would keep you from doing your best. An athlete goes to all this trouble just to win a blue ribbon or a silver cup, but we do it for a heavenly reward that never disappears. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I fight to win. I’m not just shadow-boxing or playing around. Like an athlete I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it to do what it should, not what it wants to. Otherwise I fear that after enlisting others for the race, I myself might be declared unfit and ordered to stand aside.
—1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (Living Bible)

OWNERSHIP

…do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own… —1 Corinthians 6:19

“Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have.” —Oswald Chambers

Your body belongs to God through His work and purchase of redemption in Christ.

DEMANDS

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. —Romans 6:1-4

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. —Romans 6:12-14

YOU

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. —Romans 12:1-2

I call this text the "Panama Canal" of the Christian faith; it is where belief and practice meet and new life in Christ is experienced.

“God wants you to give Him your body. That sounds very ordinary, but it’s one of the most spiritual things you can do! If God is going to use you, He must have your body. When Jesus Christ came to earth to redeem us, He had to have a body. In order to get His message of salvation to the world, Jesus Christ must have a Body—the church. God can use my fingers to write letters, He can use my feet to make visits. He can use my lips to speak the message of truth. That’s why you should take good care of your body—it’s the only tool you’ve got….God wants your body as a holy sacrifice, as a complete sacrifice to Him. Just as Jesus gave His body on the cross for you, God wants you to give your body on the altar for Him.” —Warren Wiersbe

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This message was preached from the pulpit of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, on Sunday, August 10, 2008.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® unless otherwise indicated, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Living Bible: Scripture taken from the Living Bible. Copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.