#4 - Fear The Lord & Live - Pr. Oswell Dzvairo | Bible Study

We praise the Lord for this privilege that we may come together and hear his word and share the joy of worshiping God through music and through lessons and through teachings of the Bible. May God bless us as we wind up uh our camp meeting for the few days that are left. We believe the Lord is still has a lot to share with us. Before we get into our lesson for today, may I request you that we pause for a moment of prayer, eternal savior who is in heaven, we want to thank you this morning for waking us up alive. A lot has happened in the previous night. Many lost their lives and be known to them they were not aware that today will not be theirs. As for us it is our joy to celebrate the gift of life as you have given it to us. We don't know how much of our life is still awaiting us but Lord today you have given it to us. Help us dear Jesus to celebrate this day in worship and also in anticipation of your soon coming. This is our prayer in Jesus name our Lord. Amen. K meeting 2026 obey and live. This is our theme for our camp meeting during this year 2026. It is in the spirit and in the interest of this theme that we are unpacking our Bible studies for each day. Today we are looking at Proverbs chapter 3. Proverbs chapter 3. That is why we are looking at um this has been our chapter or our text for the week since we began our series or our lessons for each morning. For today we are looking at Proverbs 3 7 and 8. In the interest of our theme, obey and live. We have this to learn. Verse 7 and verse 8. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones. So the title of our lesson this morning is fear the Lord and enjoy life. In the interest of our theme, obey and live, which is a conditional promise or a conditional statement. So is our lesson this morning. Fear the Lord and then you can enjoy life. Proverbs 3 verse 7 and 8 is structured in the same way. Verse one and verse two are structured. Verse three and four are structured. Verse five and six are structured. And then now today we are verse seven sets the condition. And then verse eight it is the outcome. You see when you are studying the Bible, the Bible is has order. Whatever it presents to us is structured in such a way that it must produce a lesson for us. So in Proverbs chapter 3, there is order of parallels. In other words, we sometimes call it parallelism. Parallelism presents two statements that should complement each other in one way or the other. In parallelism, when we are studying parallelism, there are three types of parallels. Number one, they are synonymous parallels. The first statement lies a presents an idea which the second uh which is similar or synonymous or yes share the same idea. The second thought or the second statement present the same idea in a different way. So they are synonymous. We call it synonymous parallelism. And then there is synthetic parallelism. The first idea is presented which is amplified or clarified by the second statement. Okay. So we call it synthetic parallelism. In this case this these are our parallels. Verse one and verse two, verse three and verse four, verse 5 and verse 6, verse 7 and verse 8. These are synthetic parallels. Verse one sets a condition. Verse two defines the first statement or gives the rationale of the previous statement such as what happens in verse three and verse four, verse 5 and verse 6, verse 7 and verse 8, the synthetic parallels. And then the third set or the third type of parallels is parallelism. Andtic parallelism. The second statement contrast the first statement such as what you find in Proverbs chapter 10. The first idea is presented as a contrast to the one that is coming. Today we are in chapter three. We are dealing with synthetic paral which is our subject that we have been dealing with throughout the week. synthetic paradigms. The first idea present is presented as a condition if statement and then the second idea is presented as a rational or a reason or a justification or an outcome of the if statement which is the if or the conditional promise. Okay, good. So today we are looking at this um um uh idea fear the lord and enjoy life. That is the idea given in verse u 7 and verse 8. The idea of the issue of health is a universal concern for every people group that are careful about life as far as the life of their own people is concerned. All serious organizations, serious families, careful people are concerned about the welfare and the wellbeing of their people group. For that reason, every government sets a substantial budget to address health concerns of its people. Apart from setting military budget and other things and other education and many other things, there must be be a substantial budget for health issues of its people or citizens. So they set in in order some health care policies, some medical aid policies. For example, you look at the USA budget for health. It is standing at 5.3 trillion US dollars. Such is not a small amount. This is serious. China for example have just picked these powerful nations. It its budget is sitting at 1.25 to 5 trillion US dollars. That tells you a serious story here. Likewise, all other countries that you may talk of, Kenya for example, Zimbabwe, you name all the countries in one way or the other, they set apart a budget for health of its citizens. Now in view of that the Bible also presents a health policy for for it a people or for the people of God who adheres to it. According to the Bible, it's a health policy is simple. Obey and live. Simple. Simple budget. Simple. Simple. Health policy. Obey and live. You want good health, you obey. Simple. Obey. That's what the Bible presents. I don't know. I don't know others. But as for me, this seem to be more a much more simpler and cheaper health policy than all other health policies. Not to say other health policies are not good. They are very good. But this one is cheaper and more simpler. It's affordable even for the poor people in any country. There are other health policies that are not achievable by every other ordinary citizen. They are only for the affluent and for the elite only health policies are defined or determined by one's economic strength. This one it's affordable even for the poor. Obey and live. Okay. Just make sure you are not too wise in your own eyes. You are not wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and this will give you health to your flesh and your bones. Symbol achieve this one is achievable. No one can say I can I could not afford that's why no one everyone if you so desire it's a choice. Okay. Now let's get into the text. Do not be wise in your own eyes. That's verse seven. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. That's a prescription for life. And what will be the outcome? It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones. Simple prescription of life, of good health here. Simple prescription. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. If you so desire to live a healthful life, a joyful life, depart from evil. Fear the Lord. Do not be too wise or do not be wise in your own eyes. In other words, trust the Lord. Depend on God. Entrust your health care or your health into the hands of God. And this it will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones. That's Proverbs chapter 3 verse 7 and verse 8. That structure which we have read here. There's a condition and then there's an outcome. Now in this condition here are two sides of it. On the side of the condition, three things are structured are presented. Three things. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Number two, fear the Lord. By the way, in the Bible, fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Okay. So, second point on the condition list is a um is um is um is given as um as a solution to the first one or a better option to the first one. In terms of wisdom, do not rely or depend on your own wisdom. Instead, rely on the wisdom that God provides. What is the fear? What? What is the wisdom of God? Fear God. If you fear God, what do you do? You depart from evil. And as a result, what do you benefit? That will bring health to your flesh and to your bones. Now, the Bible presents a holistic perspective of health. In other words, health in as far as the Bible is concerned, it is not just the absence of illness in one's body. Health, it is not just the absence of sickness in your body or in my body. As far as the Bible is concerned, health implies physical or involves physical well-being of a person, spiritual discernment, emotional stability. It also involves mental well-being or mental wellness and also it includes sound social relationships. How do you relate with people? mental makeup, social wellbeing, spiritual wellbeing, physical wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, the pack the total packages it way such is what is health or what constitutes health or total health. This is what is presented and given by the Bible. If you want a package, a total package of all these things put together in you, what is the secret? Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. Symbol simple remedy and all these things will be yours. Condition for joyful life. Fear God, shun evil, be humble. Obedience to the word of God. If you read Proverbs 4 verse 20 and to 21 again the same thing is given as a condition that if you my son if you need to live longer and if you desire to have health, obey my commands, keep my laws and this will give you more life, a healthful life or joyful life symbol. And so verse 22 will tell you it will give you now uh the result just like verse 8 the outcome would be health to your flesh the health to your bones. Okay. So such is the condition of health far as the Bible is concerned. We are given here also a similar structure in Exodus 15 verse 28 uh verse 26A. It sets a condition. And then verse 26b, it provides us with outcome. The Bible is consistent. It doesn't contradict itself in matters of principles of life. The Bible is consistent. what you experience and what you see in wisdom literature, you also see even in Torah or the Pentatuk, the first five books of the Bible that lays the foundation of whatever you see in the entirety of scripture. So within the context of the Torah or within the context of the Pentatuk, the first five books of the Bible, he has a prescription of good health. Exodus chapter 5 chapter 15 verse 26A. What is the condition? If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God. If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, not on your side. You remember what wisdom writer said in in in vers 7:7 Proverbs. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Instead, if you diligently hear the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, it is what is approved in the eyes of God, not what is ideal in your eyes or in my eyes that makes a difference. Give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes. This is a condition. What is the outcome? God says, I will put none of the diseases on on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you. God is all to all wise and and all knowing omnisense we call it omniscence all knowing he is the greatest physician of all time all other physicians they practice whatever they do no matter how seasoned experienced whatever they do they are practicing they are not perfect they don't heal Only God heals. What physicians do? They treat. God heals. Consistent. He's consistent. He heals. And this signature is important. I am the Lord who heals you. In those days, days when God is sub making a a a prescription of health to Israelites, what were the commands or health laws which is subscribe to them? There were about three categories or four you may name them. Okay. Number one, strict public health and sanitation protocols. What about them? Number one came sanitation. How do you live within a community? Deuteronomy chapter 23 12-4 subscribes on how you how you dispose your waste. Cannot just go out and um dispose your waste and leave it like that uncovered. You need to dig a hole and we you whatever you put it there, you must cover it. That's the sanitary laws. There were quarantine laws from Leviticus 13 to 15. God presents to them quarantine laws. If you see such kind of a disease or some skin disease of this nature which is contagious in its character, make sure you quarantine the victim for a specified time. No one would if you listen and keep these commands, you will live longer. You can't be af you cannot afford to be careless. You see this issue or idea of quarantining victims. We understood it during the time of COVID 19. If you would try to resist it, your relatives and people who knew how to quarantine. If you resist to be quarantined, they would quarantine themselves from you. Such was life. We understood this because you wanted life and no one would say no, you can't quarantine a person of my caliber. I am in authority here. I am a principal here. I am a respected figure. Yeah. Even if you were a respected figure in a community during the time of COVID 19, you still would quarantine you. People would quarantine me. I experienced something that was very awkward. They would say, "Pastor, they would phone you, phone you, pastor, pray for us, but don't come here. Just pray for us wherever you are. Don't come here." Parenting you. Okay. Yes. And what were the some of the uh other health laws washing protocols? There was a way in which you need to to clean yourself after contamination or after getting in contact with some with some affected uh objects. There was a way of washing yourself not just hands but even the whole body. Sometimes it would require you to wash the whole body so that you can come back to the community of the saints. These were the commands. If you obey them and listen to me and diligently obey these commands, you will live for I the Lord your God am the one who heals you. Some of the laws were dietary restrictions laws in in Jewish thought or in Jewish or in Hebrew language in Hebrew thinking these were the kosher laws. How about them? You cannot afford to just eat everything that is edible. Be selective in the type of meat that you may need to eat. Be selective. You can't eat everything and anything as long as you put salt. Ah, you need to be selective. Those that need joyful life, that need good health are selective. You cannot afford to just eat anything because you you respect your test. It doesn't happen that way. If you need God to heal you, you need to respect his laws more than you respect your testim. So chapter 11, Leviticus prescribes the type of animals that were clean to be eaten and also it tells and spells out the type of animals that were not good for human consumption. These laws were supposed to be observed under dietary restrictions. There were also bland and fat restrictions. You cannot just eat meat. Though it may be permissible to eat a selected type of animal, but there was also laws. There were also laws that governed how you eat that prescribed animal. Make sure you remove all the blood. Make sure you remove all the fat because these will affect your health as it were. So Leviticus 7 23 27 to 26 spells out all these. Okay. Also another type of command forced the rest and mental well-being. Number one, under the first rest, the Sabbath was given to them not just for the sake of worshiping God, but also for the sake of restoration of their well-being, physical well-being, social well-being. It is on the Sabbath you are resting, you're worshiping God. You are coming together to fellowship as you worship God. And they were also prescribed annual festivals in which people were supposed to seize from their daily engagements for the sake of honoring God, observing what God has said and also giving rest to themselves. Force the rest. Okay. Today we summarize some of those laws under the the technical name which is given as new start which is an acronym of several issues that are highlighted there which are helpful to ensure that our health becomes in order. For me, my first encounter with this term, my first encounter with this term, it was many years ago by the name of or from a man that was coming from here, Kenya, uh Dr. Paul Wangai. Some of you who have lived in this state for some time, you may know the man. Dr. Paul Wangai, a smart man, intelligent man, physician, par excellent. He was smart when he was health director of East Africa division then situated in Zimbabwe before ECD was established. The health director that we had then was Dr. Paul Wangai from Kenya. Smart man, intelligent man. He would come to our camp meeting such as this one and he was given time to present and he presented this thing he knew that what is this and he unpacked it as it were as it is whether it's one he's the one who authored it I don't know but that man was respected even who world health organization also engaged him and consulted with him he was a smart man I don't know whether he's still around but eventually he's located back to I don't know whether he's still around but the man was smart. He's around. He's a retailer. If he is here in Nairobi, I would be very glad glad to meet him. That is powerful. Smart man, intelligent, one of the refined minds that Kenya has produced. He gave us this acronym new start. N standing for nutrition. Be careful on what you eat and how you eat. You can't just eat everything. health laws that are presented to us and given to us for our education to promote our physical well-being, our mental well-being, our social well-being, our emotional well-being, our our spiritual well-being. These laws are essential for those that are careful about their total well-being and about their lives. And this is affordable even for the poor. NO ONE WOULD SAY AH these ones I cannot afford them. Nutrition be careful because you you need to eat every day. Be careful on how you eat and be selective in eating habits. Eat standing for exercise. You can't just live life as if life is found in in anything in in passiveness. God created us to become physical or to have physical wellbeing. You need to work and to do things that ensure that your physical well-being is intact. W stands for water. Drinking water is essential and there are ways you can drink it. First thing you wake up in the morning and those that have in this thing they help you to understand how do you drink water? Water is essential. It is not It is testless. Yes, it's testless. It's not sweet. But sometimes people respect their test. They need something that is a color, something that is test because they respect their test. In this case, we are talking about health laws in respect of what God prescribes. Not what you prescribe because not what your test and my test dictates or prescribe. Water has no color. It is no taste. But that is good for for your wellbeing, for my wellbeing. S is standing for represent sunshine. T stands for temperance. A stands for air. R stands for rest. And T stands for time. Respect time. Can't afford to just continue working and doing. Be punctual when you do things. Be punctual. So all these guidelines are essential to ensure our total wellbeing, holistic health, total well-being, emotional well-being, physical well-being, social, emotional well-being, mental soundness, spirituality. You you become wholesome. That is what we call health. Not just the absence of sickness in one's body and this one is affordable. Of all the budgets that can be set aside by governments or by institutions or by organizations, this one I think is the cheapest health policy that can be given or be subscribed to. Very cheap. Yes, it may require you to do something. It's not It doesn't come at zero budget. Uhhuh. Doesn't come at zero budget. Careful people. It doesn't come with zero budget. But though the budget can be attached to it, but it's affordable to everyone and to all that are caring for each of these aspects or requirements anywhere everywhere in the world, you can access them. For exercise, you can you can exercise even within the confines of your own yard. You can still find some exercise time. Fresh air, you find it there. Water, you need to get it there. Sunshine is available for everyone for free of charge. For free of charge. Temperance is within your capacity. You regulate how you eat things, when to eat things, what to eat, the quantities, it's up to you. It's cheap. It's everywhere. Rest is still within your cup. It comes free of charge. Time, it's up to you to govern how you do things and when you do things. temperance. Likewise, the natural foods that are being prescribed to us to eat and and to to consume very cheap and the budget that you can put on these ones uh is affordable for everyone that cares for for all that cares. The budget for this prescription. Okay. The choice is yours to obey and live or to disobey and perish. That is our theme. So in view or in the spirit or in the interest of this theme, we have health laws that the Bible prescribes to or presents which if we obey and abide by them, life is affordable as we anticipate eternal or eternity to come. Life here on earth is affordable. If we subscribe to what says the Lord in his word, life on this world is affordable. It's possible that sometimes God permits sicknesses in our bodies as a way of communicating judgment or punishment or caution to us. I I was moved when pastor Opanda presented this a little while ago. He mentioned that sometimes God permits sickness as a way of communicating something to us but that is not his ultimate desire or perfect will. Maybe his permissible will just communicate something to us that he become conscious of how we should relate with our health laws and then he permit it. That's his permissible will. But that is not his perfect will. His perfect will is that we may have health and have it in abundance. His perfect will is that we may have life and have it in abundance. Satan is the author of sickness. He is the author of diseases. He is also the author of death. If you read John chapter 10 verse 10, the enemy comes to destroy. The enemy comes to to steal, but I come that you may have life and have it in abundance. Such is the desire or the perfect will of God, that we may have life and have it in abundance. Not only in the life thereafter, but even in the life here and now. God desires that we have life in our years and we have many years in our life. Such is the desire of God for each one of us that comes into existence in this world. But it's a choice you choose. There are conditions and those conditions determine the outcome. What you if you choose life, God will give you life. How? You choose to obey health laws that are presented and prescribed in the word of God. And then you gain life in its abundance. It's possible. It's possible. My prayer for you is found in the book of 3 John verse 2. There is a prayer that is given there which I also want to present to you and to prescribe to you and to share with you and and to commit to you. It says, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things." In all things, all things include all your initiatives, all your projects, in your business life, in your education life, in your social life, in your physical life. You may prosper, prosper, prosper, and be in health just as your soul prospers. is supposed to be just as your soul prospers. As you prosper in all things, also prosper in health and also prosper in matters of spirituality. That's the soul prosperity there. Be wholesome. Be who your physical well-being in your social relationships in your mental soundness. Be wome. Be acute, smart in your spirituality. Be established in the matters of faith, in your emotional wellbeing be intact. General populace of our time whether worshippers of God who fear God and people who read the Bible many times they suffer from the same diseases but those who doesn't read the Bible also suffer you see the health conditions or the health prescription that are prescribed under the term new are practiced even by people who don't read the Bible if you check among The blue zones in the world. Blue zones are regions where there are highest concentration of centinarians, people that live 100 years and above. Such kind of zones. We have about five of them in the world. I know some of them by head. the region around California where we find Lomalinda and also there is another region Hikaria in Italy and also another region in Okinawa Japan in actually in Japan there are two or three of them Japan where we find highest concentration of centinarians people that live 100 years and beyond some people in those regions They don't even know and read the Bible but they subscribe up to the prescription that are summarized in the package of new start. They are careful in what they eat. They are careful on resting. They are careful in exercise. They are careful in how they do their things and how they relate. They are careful. And as a result they re live up to more than 100 years though they don't know God in the way we know him as it were according to our doctrinal teachings they benefit from what we subscribe to. Yes according to the Bible they benefit and yet we who are the custodians of biblical truth to a large extent we ignore what is prescribed here as as a result we suffer the consequences. My prayer for you is that you pro you prosper in everything you do in all things and be in good health and above all that you be established in your spirituality. May God bless us as we contemplate on this lesson. We want to have a time and a season of prayer. I'm going to pray for you now. After I pray for you, take a minute or so to pray for yourself that God will align your appetite and align your daily tendencies after the order of biblical health guidelines and so he himself will give you good health. Shall we pray? Our kind and loving father in heaven, we are grateful for the gift of life and we are happy and we are so thankful that you care about our well-being. Not just physical well-being, but even our social relationships, our spirituality, our emotional well-being, and even the soundness of our minds. You desire that we be in good health. Not just the absence of diseases in our bodies, but that we may even have good relationships. As you have le taught us this morning that you desire that we prosper in all things that we do. Lord, unto you we surrender ourselves for guidance and for wisdom. Do not help us. May you help us not to rely on our own wisdom but teach us to fear you for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. May you help us to shun evil and to run away from wickedness so we may find health not only in our bones and in our flesh but even in our hearts and in our minds. Protect us from evil influence things that threaten our well-being. May you protect us from such that we may save you and save humanity in soundness of the mind, in soundness of our bodies, and in the total health of our well-being. Our desire is to see you when you come to take us home. This is our prayer in Jesus name our Lord. Let the whole church say amen. May God bless us as we contemplate on this word. I request you that you have a minute to pray for yourself. You know where you have offended yourself and your body and even offended God who is your maker. Pray that you have a restitution and a reconciliation with God as far as your health issues are concerned. May God bless you.