Sermon Tone Analysis

The Greatest Wealth

What is the greatest wealth that a man can have?

Family?

Time?

I believe Health is the number one.

I may have family and time, but without Health I won’t be able to enjoy neither.

In fact, if I lose health completely, I will lose my life, and nothing else will matter.

These are my children.

Catarina (4) and Antoine (1).

I love them deeply, even more than my own existence.

And when I am thinking of their wellbeing, I ask myself the following question: What kind of wealth do I want to leave to my children?

What can I do today to positively impact their future and give them best chance for happiness and fulfilment?

My goal is for them to know tthat hey are loved, and to live their purpose, by making good use of what they have, and grow even more.

I want the very best for them!

You may not have children and perhaps I don’t make sense to you, but God is your maker and even if no nobody else cared, He cares.

It is God’s plan that you prosper in Health and today we will go through some evidence of how God has equipped us to prosper in Health.

Here is a letter from the beloved disciple John:

But what is Health?

As defined by the World Health Organization, health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

While this definition of health is quite thorough and relatively inclusive of the various dimensions of health, it fails to fully reflect the Biblical concept of health.

Essentially God’s concept of health for you is not only that, and even science now is catching up with God’s message and slowly bringing this subject to surface.

I. Biblical Concept of Health

A. Health vs. Shalom

If you run a Bible search on the word "health", you will collect very few results.

In fact, the Revised Standard Version uses it only 6 times.

But if Health is such an important asset, and God wants the best for our prosperity and wellbeing, then why God’s Word for us don’t mention much of health?

Well…This is not due to the fact the Biblical authors didn't think it wasn't important, it is because the ancient view of health is quite different from our modern understanding, which led to the use of different words.

In general, our contemporary society thinks of health and its care as the domain of science, concentrated in the physical, described and treated as a function of nature.

Even when mental health is included, it is often thought of in terms of biochemical processes and solutions that are primarily physical in nature.

The Biblical approach, on the other hand, not only acknowledges the divine involvement beyond nature, but makes that involvement central.

Let me illustrate it for you.

For example, did you know that biblical Hebrew has names for more than 80 body parts, but it does not have a clear term for body?

This is because the Hebrew mind did not think of the human being as a purely physical object, nor could health be characterized primarily as a physical condition.

Because the Bible treats life as a matter of the whole person, undivided by categories such as physical vs. mental vs. spiritual, the Biblical word in Hebrew that communicates the idea of well-being is the term Shalom, which appears more than 350 times in the Bible.

While most people today translate that word to simply mean "peace", its use in the Bible is much broader.

Only 38 times it is used in the Bible for peace as contrasted to war.

The concept of Shalom includes the ideas of completeness, soundness, good welfare, prosperity, well-being, harmony between or among parties and harmony within oneself.

Through Shalom, the biblical idea of health, while including the physical state, extends through every aspect of human experience, including the physical, mental, spiritual, and social, whether individually, collectively, or nationally.

Let’s look at a few examples.

In Genesis 29, there's the first occurrence of the word shalom in the Bible, and the context is Jacob, the son of Isaac, inquiring about the well-being of his relative.

Genesis 29:5–6 (NASB95)

He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?”

And they said, “We know him.”

And he said to them, “Is it well [shalom] with him?”

And they said, “It is well [shalom], and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.”

Another example of this can be found in the following passage, about Jesus' development as a kid.

While in our culture it would suffice to say, "And he grew up as a healthy boy", this is how the bible described it:

Luke 2:52 (NASB95)

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom [mental] and stature [physical], and in favour with God [spiritual] and men [social].

In Leviticus 26:6, we see another example of Shalom, this time being used in the sense of mental health, to express an untroubled state of mind that originates from acceptance with God, as we can read together in the screen:

Leviticus 26:6 (NASB95)

‘I shall also grant peace [shalom] in the land, so that you may lie down with no one making you tremble.

I shall also eliminate harmful beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land.

Not surprisingly , the ultimate shalom that represents a complete state of satisfaction and wellbeing can only be given by God.

To those who serve Him, He offers a covenant of shalom:

Numbers 25:12 (NASB95)

“Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give him My covenant of peace [shalom];

In the New Testament, shalom is expressed through the concept of Eirene, which often gets translated as peace, and it can be seen in multiple passages.

For example, in John 14:27 we read:

John 14:27 (NASB95)

“Peace [eirene / the gr.

equiv.

to shalom] I leave with you; My peace [shalom] I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.

Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

and Romans 5:1

Romans 5:1 (NASB95)

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace [shalom] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

In addition to the Shalom, the New Testament often speaks about healing in terms of "wholeness" through the word "Sozo", which is the same word that is translated as Salvation.

So, when Jesus healed a woman that was sick with a bleeding disorder for 12 years, he said:

Mark 5:34 (NASB95)

“Daughter, your faith has made you well [Sozo]; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

That tells us that her faith in Jesus saved her in a spiritual sense, with her physical healing being a symbol of that.

Now that we covered the basic definition of health in the Bible, there are three things that are important to be considered in our approach to seeking shalom

First, the Bible calls us to be diligent.

This is because this shalom that God offers freely is not achieved easily, because our world will offer too many distractions to prevent us from having it and also because our human heart has a natural bent towards evil, so our flesh will fight against it.

This idea can be seen in 2 Peter 3:14:

2 Peter 3:14 (NASB95)

Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,

Second, the Bible calls us to be noble.

(Being the best you can be and do right by others.

For instance, the complete shalom that is offered by God cannot be had by the wicked, or the person that is at odds with God, as the prophet Isaiah wrote:

Third, that our attitude towards health springs from a sense of gratitude.

And that is because while the shalom that God has to offer includes physical well-being, it is primarily experienced by a right relationship with God.

Believing that we're naturally entitled to good physical health is a deception that have distanced way too many souls from their Creator.

Jesus makes it clear that We live in a world of sin, and often that sin will take away from the shalom of certain areas, including our physical health.

Let's read it in John 16:33

John 16:33 (NASB95)

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have shalom.

In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

So, while obedience to God will tend to produce health and well-being, there are still factors outside of our control that are consequence of a sinful world and that may still lead into disease and sickness.

Which leads me to my fourth observation:

Fourth, we are called to be hopeful

The ultimate shalom of healing and peace will come as a cosmic fulfillment, the complete restoration of all things, at the second coming of Jesus.

II.

The Necessity of Taking Care of One's Temple

Now that we're all on the same page regarding the Biblical concept of health, or wholeness, we move on to our next question.

Why is it necessary for the disciple of Jesus to be diligent in taking care of his own health?

A. Because our Bodies are Sacred

The first reason is that our bodies are sacred, and they belong to God.

And because they belong to God, we ought to be faithful trustees of His property.