We are a spirit being, clothed upon by our physical body.  That physical body has been entrusted to us by God to take care of for as long as we live, and it is the only one we will ever have in this life.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could trade it in for a better one?
   You can go for a ride in the country and sometimes see abandoned cars sitting in people’s yards.  And while those cars represented at one time a very substantial investment by the owner, now they are sitting there rusting away, with no more purpose.  Is that what you plan to do if you neglect or abuse and destroy your body?  You can’t go and trade it in for a new one like you would trade in a worn out car, so what do you do?
There are some scriptures I’d like to share with you today that you should consider:
1Co 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1Co 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
So, what happens if we don’t take care of that body?  Are there consequences?  Yes, the devil will find a way to destroy it, and that’s not what you want.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
1Co 3:18  Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
1Co 3:19  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
 
    Considering that God declares our body and spirit His property, and that we are the stewards thereof, we need to pay special attention to His instructions of how to take care of them.  Now, firstly, many people feed their body two or three hot meals a day, and we see many people who have a fat outer man, yet a starving inner man.  Shouldn’t their spirit also be fed a diet of good hot spiritual meals?  But many neglect their spirit man’s NEEDS, while focusing only on the WANTS of their outward man.  There are many programs being promoted today how to cater to the physical man, and I use the words “cater to” emphatically and accurately.
   You see, most people are led by the wants of their body, when instead they should be led by the Spirit of God.  Think about it; there are so many conveniences being offered in stores to make our lives easier.  We NEED water and food, but we WANT a car to drive to work because we don’t want to walk.  Why? because our flesh wants to ride to work.  So often, our wants and needs are confused.  That’s why so many people are deep in debt today.  We need a place to live, but do we need cable TV, video games, computers and many of the consumer goods we go in debt to buy?  Yes, I know men, you NEED that new bass boat, and you ladies NEED the latest fashions, right?  But now the question remains, how do you pay for them?
    How do you make the flesh happy without having to make it work harder to pay for the things it wants?  It can’t be done, can it? Then worry sets in, and sooner or later, it starts affecting the physical health of your body.  People lose jobs, economies crash, and then they wonder why God let it happen to them.  That’s where this teaching comes in. You see, God never intended our lives here be hell on earth, but rather, days of heaven on earth.  But those days of heaven on earth often escape us because we are busy listening to our flesh instead of paying heed to God’s Word.
   For example, sometimes we venture into bad business deals because we didn’t ask God “What is Your will concerning this?”  That can include anything from a job change to applying for credit.  Then when it goes bad, we get in fear about how to fix the mess we’ve made.  Don’t you think God could have told you whether to make that business deal or not?  It’s clear from what most Christians are going through these days that we are not listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit as we should.
When it comes to physical health, I’ve often pointed to Psalm 103:2-5:
Psa 103:2  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psa 103:3  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Psa 103:4  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Psa 103:5  Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
   With physical health being one of the “benefits” we have available from God by virtue of salvation, why aren’t we more zealously taking advantage of it?  More pointedly, having been warned of God that He will destroy those who defile the temple of God given them, why haven’t we guarded our temple more carefully?  The Lord Jesus told us in John 10:10,  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.   Clearly, the devil is a thief and a destroyer who uses the desires of our flesh to deceive us into defiling our temple; that is GOD’S temple.  Sometimes we destroy our temple through plain old ignorance, but many times it is our willful actions. When we ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom in how to correct our problems, He will respond with our answer.  The next step is ours, in that we must obey.  Now, if we don’t obey His instructions, He won’t give us the next step.  He gives us just enough information at a time to illuminate one step, and waits for our obedience.  Once we have taken that step in faith, He will give us the next step, and so on. 
   God’s will is that we be healthy, blessed, and have the peace of the Holy Spirit at work in our life.  Worry will become a thing of the past once we put our entire trust in God.  Fear will have to leave, too, for it is written in 2 Timothy 1:7;  For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  Yet, the thing I most often have to deal with as a minister of the Gospel, is fear and worry.  Many ask, “If God really loves me, then where is He?  Why have I been suffering with this so long?”  The foremost thing is obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Sometimes we fail to see His reason in wanting us to do a particular thing, so we never get around to obeying Him in that area, thus the problem endures.  He will lead you into His peace if you will obey Him.  I’m not talking about peace as the world knows it.  Actually, there is no peace in the world, for at any given moment there are wars, rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and every manner of evil thing going on in the news.
   Though God’s children are IN the world, we are not to be OF the world.  We operate in heaven’s economy, or we SHOULD be, and yes, it is available for us to do so.  If we are being affected by the news of the world, it is clear indication we are still operating by the world’s system, and as long as we do so, we will be limited by the world, and will NEVER reach our true potential as a child of God.  Here is a strong warning from the LORD, taken from Revelation 21:7-8.  Now mind you, these are not my words, but those of the Lord Jesus Christ himself:
Rev 21:7  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

    We must continually stand guard to defend our temple from every intruder, both from within and without, for the price we will pay is far too high to ignore God’s words.  What is our temple?  Is it only our body?  No, it is your entire being, spirit, soul, and body.  When the thief, that is, the devil attacks you with symptoms of sickness, what does it affect?  only your body?  No, he also affects your mind and spirit.  Do you resist him with the Word of God at the onset of the attack, and run him off, or do you start questioning the integrity of God’s Word and begin to think God’s Word really doesn’t work after all?  Do you run to God’s Word, or to the doctor or the medicine cabinet?  Well, suppose you said you resist his attacks with the Word of God, but the devil won’t leave?  Then I would have to say God is a liar and the Word of God has no power at all to help you.  But if I did so, then I would be a liar, for God cannot lie. God’s Word will work if you will use it.  A Bible sitting on the table unread serves only to collect dust and make a nice appearance to those who would come into your home.
    If we are to be called overcomers, then it is obvious we will have to overcome some things in our walk through this life.  Can we overcome?  Yes we can, for God has enabled us by the power of the Holy Spirit to do so.  Will we overcome?  God left that entirely up to our free will.  What will WE do?  God has supplied us with everything we need to keep the devil defeated in our lives.  Will we ever face trouble?  Sure, that’s the only method by which we can become overcomers.  We have no excuse whatsoever for allowing the devil to overcome us.  Know this, if you guard the front door of your temple, the devil will go around to the back door.  If you go to the back door, he will try to come in through a window.
   The devil is a thief, and as long as you live he will be there trying to steal something from you.  If it isn’t your money, it will be your health, or your possessions, or your home or job, or your relationships with people.  You’ll never stop him from trying to rob you, but you can make sure your temple is theft proof and secure by totally submitting yourself unto God.  By doing so, you are allowing God himself to be responsible for guarding your temple.  Now, don’t get lazy on me here.  Just because God is watching over you carefully, doesn’t mean your responsibility has ended.  Our responsibility is to continually be yielded to the Holy Spirit.  If He says “DUCK!”, then you don’t look around and say “I don’t see a duck…”, you duck!  If He says “GO” then you go, if He says “DO THIS”, then you do it.
   The Holy Spirit is given unto you to be your HELPER, but He can’t help you if you won’t pay attention.  Don’t expect God to do everything for you, for you have a part in this too, you know.  God has given you ears to hear, eyes to see, and a mouth to speak with.  Pay attention to what you allow your eyes to see, and what you listen to and what you speak.  Remember, the Holy Spirit is in that temple WITH you.  You are not your own, but bought with the price of the blood of the Lord Jesus.  Would you look at what you’re looking at if Jesus was standing there beside you?  Or would you be ashamed if He knew what you look at?  Would you listen to the stuff you listen to if Jesus was listening with you?  Would you say the things you say if Jesus was the one you were saying it to?  Stand guard over your temple, and defend it vigorously with the Word of God, for the Holy Spirit also lives there.