PHYSICAL ALIGNMENT: APPETITE – THE DEMANDS OF THE BODY
Mark 4:28 – “For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.”
Matthew 5:13-16 – 13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Genesis 3:1 – Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not EAT of every tree of the garden?’”
Luke 4:1-4 – 1Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, HE WAS HUNGRY. 3And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
8 ESSENTIAL TRUTHS ABOUT APPETITE
1. The Body Has Only Four Appetites – Everything else is biological and autonomic.
Definition: Appetite is the God-designed, automatic response of the body that signals a legitimate need requiring timely and righteous satisfaction in order for the body, soul, and spirit to function in alignment with purpose.
Matthew 6:31-32 – 31“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”
• Hunger
• Thirst
• Rest
• Sexual intimacy
2. Appetites Are Rhythmic – Appetite follows God-designed cycles.
Matthew 6:11 – Give us this day our daily bread.
3. Appetites Are Time-Bound.
• Appetite has an expiration; it must be satisfied within a timeframe, or it becomes distorted.
Proverbs 27:7 – A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
Genesis 25:29-32 – 29Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore, his name was called Edom. 31But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” 32And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?”
4. Appetite Is Purposeful.
• Appetite is intended to serve a purpose, not pleasure.
Deuteronomy 8:1-3 – 1“Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. 2And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.”
5. Appetite Is the Body’s Language.
• Your appetite speaks because your body cannot.
Matthew 26:41 – willing, but the flesh is weak.” “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is
6. Appetite Cannot Be Eliminated, Only Governed.
• You cannot pray appetite away; you must bring it into alignment.
1 Corinthians 9:27 – But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
7. Appetite Is Honorable When Satisfied God’s Way.
• The way you feed an appetite determines whether it becomes your servant or your master.
1 Corinthians 7:1-2 – 1Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
8. Appetite Is Essential to Potential.
1 Kings 19:7-8 – 7And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
• Your potential depends on how you steward your appetites.