You are the Temple of God

(Prov 20:1 NLT) Wine produces mockers; alcohol leads to brawls. Those led astray by drink cannot be wise.

This morning we continue in the book of Power of Proverbs. Solomon does not cut any corners when he states that alcohol will turn you into mocker (which does not represent God well) and it will altar your judgment so bad that you will be prone to embarrassing physical altercations (which should never happen for the child of God).

In fact this entire book (Proverbs) is about learning, applying, and walking in the wisdom of God. With that in mind Solomon plainly states that those who consume alcohol, only to be led astray by it - doing things they only regret later - CANNOT BE WISE!

In this series, we are doing a verse-by-verse study of the book of Proverbs. As a woman of God I can't skip over scriptures because what they say is unpopular. Now, while you will be hard pressed to find scriptures that flatly outlaw believers from drinking even a sip of alcohol, there are many scriptures that articulate the dangers, and foolishness, associated with getting drunk. And I have had many conversations with believers who say, "But, Jesus drank wine and so do I. At the end of the day, in my mind it comes down to the fact that we must all be led of the Spirit (Gal 5:16) and refrain from those things that He convicts us NOT to do.

if a Born-Again believer can drink alcohol, and somehow NOT be negatively affected by it at all, and somehow NOT become a stumbling block to others, and NOT get convicted by the Holy Spirit, then that is between them and God.

In the Old Testament priests were held to a different standard. In Leviticus 10 God said: "Then the LORD said to Aaron, "You and your descendants must never drink wine or any other alcoholic drink before going into the Tabernacle. If you do, you will die. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation."

Now, you may be thinking, what does this have to do with me? Well, while only one of the 12 Old Testament tribes were considered priests, EVERY New Testament Born-Again believer is a priest before God. Peter said, "But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you-from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted" (1st Peter 2:9,10). This applies to all of us.

Furthermore, the "Tabernacle" referred to in Leviticus 10 is the place where the Holy Spirit dwelled. Only the High Priest, once a year, could go into the 'Most Holy Place' for direct interaction with the Holy Spirit. But guess what? Paul taught us that our bodies are now the New Testament equivalent of the Tabernacle; our bodies actually house the Holy Spirit Himself. Paul said, "You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you?" and "Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body" (1st Cor 3:16 & 1st Cor 6:19,20).

So what does this mean to you ? It means that you must take your position in Christ and your role as "temple of God" seriously. If the Holy Spirit Himself lives in your body, then shouldn't you seriously consider everything that goes in it? And if He is looking to work with you to make a daily impact in the lives of others, then shouldn't you want a clear mind in order to clearly hear what He wants to say and do through you?

Father, I thank You for this revelation. From this day forward I will take my role as temple of God very seriously. I know Your Spirit lives in me and He wants to commune with me daily. Therefore, I will be sober minded so I can hear, obey, and work with the Holy Spirit to bring about Godly change in the earth. I refrain from anything that will bring dishonor and discredit to Your name; and I refrain from anything that will impair my judgment. I want to please You and to be used of You daily. In Jesus' name. Amen!