June 29, 2025 • 25 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Creative Connection with Ed Young. We're glad
you've joined us today to hear ED connect faith to
everyday life. Before we get to today's message, we want
to invite you to head online and sign up for
Ed's daily email devotionals covering relevant topics like forgiveness, anxiety,
and purposeful living. These life giving emails will provide you
(00:22):
with a spark of encouragement write in your inbox every
single day. Each one contains a piece of scripture as
well as encouragement from Ed to help you think about
and apply biblical truths to your life. There's also a
guided prayer at the end of each email. Just visit
edyong dot com slash emails to sign up now, and
(00:42):
while you're there, you can also browse previous devotionals as
well as watch and listen to messages from Ed. So
sign up to start receiving your daily devotionals today. The
website again is Edyong dot com slash Devotionals. Book forward
to connecting with you there. Now, let's get into today's
message with Pastor Ed Young.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
I was talking to our son and his fiance and
quickly the conversation moved into marriage and relationships and things
of that nature.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
And I don't know.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I just started talking about some of the things that
I think are paramount when it comes to communication in relationships,
and I shared with EJ and Jess TLC. I have
this thing called TLC. You might be thinking tender loving care. No,
(01:42):
you might be thinking the nineties ban No, you might
be thinking the learning channel, good guess TLC, A touch,
a look, and.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
A comment.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
I want you to think for second, if you will,
about your most significant relationships if you're married, obviously, your spouse, family,
your closest friends, and in your mind, just think about
several columns, maybe a column underneath.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
The T letter, the touch, the touches. Think about the
touches for a second.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
You got that column in your mind, or you could
write this out of you like then you have the
L column looks eye contact. Just think think about that.
Think about that for a second.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
The looks.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Now, think about the conversation where you could say the
comment section three significant areas. And I would argue from
God's point of view that these three areas are three
of the most significant areas in communication in this process.
(03:01):
As I began to talk to my son and his
fiance about this process. I just told them some things
that God had shown me over the years, and I
began to sort of unpack some areas that I knew
nothing about until I walked down the wedding runner, until
(03:23):
I look back in the rearview mirror and think about
all these relationships and friendships.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
So think about those people that you're close.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
To, Maybe your classmates, Maybe it could be someone that
you work with. Think about maybe it's your fraternity brother.
Or think about that person you know really well that
you play golf with. Think about your smouse, think about
your kids. Think about touch. How many touches meaningful guy's
non sexual touches.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yes, I'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Appropriate touching, biblically driven touching. It's got to be right,
and it's got to be It's got to be practiced
in the exact context where God wants it, which should
be with our closest relationships, in our marriage, in our friendships,
(04:17):
with our family. Speaking of touch, let me just talk
about that tea column for example.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Speaking of touch, you know that the human animal, the
human being.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Research tells us needs eight to ten meaningful touches a
day just for survival. Have you ever thought about that.
Are you getting your touches in again? Think about that column?
Are you are you touching those people that you're closest
(04:49):
to the touch the touch? I've been spinning lately. Does
anyone like to go to spin classes? I love spin classes.
I mean they're brutal, they're demonic, but I love them.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
You know.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
And I have a couple of instructors I got go
to these classes, and I usually take these instructors.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Once a guy, the other is a girl.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
And I mean, these people are absolute animals.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
They're they're they're they're they're in ridiculous shape.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
So it's interesting because they do such a great job
of training and teaching, instructing you about how to do
the various movements in the spin class. And they're very
patient with everyone, especially with me. And I've learned a
ton about riding bikes, about spinning. But the other day
I was thinking, you know what, I'm getting all this
(05:35):
great instruction and I'm going nowhere, I mean nowhere, you know,
And and it's good. It's a good cardio because you know,
I had open heart surgery a couple of years ago.
They repaired a little valve, you know, they split me
from stem to stern and cracked open the chest and
stopped the heart and all that. So you know, I've
always been in good cardiovascular shape and maybe that's why
(05:58):
I was able to come through this search. So healthy
is so good, and I feel better on this side
of surgery than I did, especially the years leading up
to the surgery, So I'm happy about that. So I'm
thinking about cardio a lot, and I'm thinking about instruction,
and then I started thinking about we get instruction in
all these different areas, don't we. Oh, we get financial instruction,
(06:18):
we get instruction legally, we get instruction about this company,
or instruction about how to put on makeup ladies and
whatever it is.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
And that's good.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
I love, you know, instructional videos people who instruct us.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
But rarely, and I told Eja and his fiance this,
rarely do we ever really lean into the instructions given
to us by God about how to communicate.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
I mean, seriously, when was the last time you go, I.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Am going to be instructed by the God of the
universe regarding how to communicate. I think he knows a
lot about communication, because after all, he's got he made
up us and to give you a theology of let's
say the tea column touched. Just a brief a brief
word about bodyology, theology of the body. If you think
(07:15):
about Genesis for example, okay, the Book of Genesis. And
as many of you know this, maybe some of you
don't know. God spoke everything into existence.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
He spoke it.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Boom, it happened, spoke it, boom, there it was.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
It spoke its spoke it.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
But when it came to human beings, when it came
to man, God literally rolled up his sleeves.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
I mean I say literally, he got involved personally.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
And the Bible says that he used some of the
earth and then he breathed the breath of life into man.
So we have a little bit of heaven and a
little bit of earth, a little bit of earth and
a little bit of heaven. God touched man when he
(08:00):
made man. He got really involved in that process. So
I'm made to touch. I've been touched by God. That's
something we need to understand. Moreover, what did Jesus to
Jesus the Bible says, or flesh he became, He became man,
(08:21):
He wore a body, He had the senses that you have,
and that I have read the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John go through there, encircle the words touch, hands, fingers,
(08:42):
most of those and there's over two hundred of those references.
Most of those have to do with the person of Jesus.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Isn't that interesting? We're made to touch.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
God's a God who's touched us literally and figurative and
spiritually and physically when we have this skin on And
in fact, skin is the largest organ in our body.
Did you know that? A little fun fact? The average
adult has twenty one square feet of skin.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
On their bodies. Twenty one square feet of skin.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
But some of us love plastic surgery so much we've
hacked the twenty one to about nineteen.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Most of us have about nineteen here.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Eleven miles of blood vessels, blood vessels, and our skin
holds that in Have you ever thought about, speaking of touch,
we're making God's image. God has touched us literally, figuratively, spiritually,
physically all those things.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
And we're we're touching right now. Yeah. I understand.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
You might be sitting next to someone, you're rubbing elbows
with them, or maybe you're dating someone, playing foot seat
with them.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Okay, holding hands.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Sometimes people are locked up like blow constricters here when
I speak, But I'm just talking about.
Speaker 4 (10:13):
We we feel, we feel the touch just being in
the presence of other people, in the presence of God physically,
so our skin is made by God to feel the
(10:35):
world around us.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
You're listening to the Creative Connection with Ed Young, stay
with us to hear more encouragement from men before we
get back to today's message. Most of us spend our lives
avoiding pain at every turn, so when we inevitably experience pain,
it sends us into a tailspin and we can wonder
if God even cares. We want to help you just
(11:00):
diver how your faith can deepen even in the most
tragic circumstances by sending you Ed and Lisa's powerful book
A Path through Pain. This resource is no our thanks
for your gift to help connect faith to everyday life
for more people around the world through the Creative Connection.
So head over to Edyong dot com to give and
(11:20):
request your copy again, that's Edyong dot com slash give.
Now let's get back to today's message.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yeah, sometimes think in the church, we're like, oh, I
don't want to talk about the body too much because
of you know, touching, I mean very quickly. It can
take us to dark places. And yes, you're exactly right.
We've allowed the enemy to come in because of our fallenness,
and we have all sorts of issues in our world
today with inappropriate touch.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
I'm not talking.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
About that because as you read the biblical record, all
of the people mentioned in some of the passages I'm
going to share where it has to do with touch
had a very high view of the body. They knew
the body was a body by God and was holy.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Well, Scripture says these touching words.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
I just want to give you theology on touch before
we get very very practical.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
We know that God has made us, He's touched us.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
We know that skin matters because we have skin, we're
made in the image of God. Well, the Bible says,
and so on one forty five sixteen. You open your
hand at being God and satisfied the desire of every
living thing.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
That has to do with touch.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Now, let's look at some of the some of the
writings in the Gospels. I'm going to run through these
very very quickly, and think about touch. Jesus put his
hand and touched him, so he touched her hand. He
went in and took her by the hand. Then he
touched their eyes. Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand. Jesus
(13:05):
came and touched them. Then little children were brought to
him that he might put his hands on them and pray.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
How many touches I'm.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Talking about, meaningful touches are you giving out a day?
Speaker 3 (13:21):
Research shows that just a.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Pat on the bat from a teacher will increase participation
in class. Research also reveals the older we get, the
more we need touch. And some other studies I read
reveal that when doctors just put their hand on someone's
arm and looked them in the eyes and say something
(13:46):
positive and encouraging.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
It prolongs people's lives.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
So science is just discovering now what God has been
saying for a long long time, the power of touch.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Do you touch much? Because there's much in the touch.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Sometimes when i'm you know, speaking, or even in different
places speaking.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
People will come up to me. They'll go, give me
a hug. What do you do? What do you do?
Speaker 2 (14:19):
So I'm not talking about hugging strangers, no, no, no, no,
I mean appropriate touch with people who have the proper context.
I will say, though, you have to understand how to
hug people. You know, you you want to hug, and
there are different types of hugs. You know, there's different
(14:40):
types of body contact. As we know, we have the
fist bump and you know, the high five, and we
got the chest bump, we got the bro hug, we
got the side hug made popular by some Christians. You're
on the side hug. It's a little bit awkward. You
go to hug someone, you have to pivot, you know,
and then put your hip like that. And that's I understand.
(15:05):
I understand that. You know, I'll side hug. But you
also can hug someone appropriately without pressing your body against theirs.
That's where it goes cuckoo for cocoa puffs. So when
you when you hug people, make sure you do it appropriately,
lovingly and and biblically. So if you're a side hugger, great,
(15:29):
If you're not a hugger, don't you know, feel like
you have to you don't know the.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Person well or whatever.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
It's just I'm just feel a little bit, not a
little bit, I feel weird, okay, but hug and you
think you think I'm funny?
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Do you hug your spouse?
Speaker 2 (15:48):
You need to hug your spouse, a prolonged hug and
again all of the things I've read as I prepared
for touch, all of these stress hormones relax, we feel
so confident, we feel peace. And I could even make
a biblical case for hugging is even a physical act
(16:08):
of reconciliation.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
I've studied a lot of.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Couples in my life, those who are dating, those from married,
and it's interesting you can tell a lot just by
the way they touch.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Or not.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
You can tell a lot about that. Are you touching
your spouse? Are you touching your kids? It's so important fathers,
for example, to touch appropriately your kids. You hug, for example,
your daughters, then as they get older, they're not going
to jump into the arms of the first guy that
winks at them.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
You know, and.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
And we know too that if infants aren't hugged or cuddled,
then it can lead to violence and all sorts of Mayhem.
God has reached out and touched us, to the person
of Jesus, we should, as believers reach out and touch others.
(17:09):
Are you touching those people that God has brought into
your life in appropriate ways? Eight to ten touches? Think
about that. Now, let's go to the l column. How
about a look you might be going well, is that
really that important?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (17:27):
The Bible says the eyes of the Book of Proverbs
are the windows of our souls.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
And this is just me.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
But over the years, in interviewing so many couples for
so many books, and interviewing so many people on the stage,
and talking to so many people like the little huggers
I talked about earlier, I'll tell you something about marriage,
about dating, a relationship that you can see just by seeing.
(17:57):
I can look at a dating relationship or a marriage,
and when the woman talks, I watch how the man
looks at her when she's talking, and when the man
is talking. Sometimes I just glance and look at the
(18:17):
lady and see how she's looking at him. Our eyes
speak volumes. In other words, when you look, even though
you've heard this story seventeen times, the same story about
the touchdown pass he caught in JV football, look at
(18:38):
him lovingly, longingly, like you're my man, You're my knight
and shining armor, you're my hallmark. Stud Ladies, we need that.
We're very insecure. On the other hand, guys and women
(18:59):
talk more.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
To we do. And when she is.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Yes, awesome, even though you're thinking about bass fishing, even
though you're thinking about Tom Brady throwing a touchdown, pass engaging,
I'm kidding, engage her, look at her, but look at
her with looks of love and affirmation. We many times
(19:32):
miss this. It sounds so simple, but it's so simple
we miss it. So we have to have eye contact.
How often do you look into the eyes of those
you're closest to look and what kind of looks are
you giving them? I mean you can look at your
(19:52):
daughter's and go whoa, and and your daughters feel the love.
So a touch, a look, and then a comment. What
do you What do you say about those you love?
Speaker 3 (20:06):
What do you say?
Speaker 2 (20:07):
I can talk about that? What do you what do
you say about them? Do you encourage them?
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Well?
Speaker 2 (20:13):
The Bible says encourage when you can when you think
about it, So when I think about an encouraging word.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
I should say it.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
People say this to me all the time. I promise you, Oh, Ed,
I know you hear this all the time. I go, no,
I don't, I'm serious.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
I had you know.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
I've been at Fellowship Church for five years now, I
know you hear this all the time. I go no,
I don't. I don't hear it enough. I can live
off a great compliment for several months. And I'm going
to tell you something. Of all the speaking I've done,
all the leading I've done, not that I've done that much,
but but the one person other than God that puts
(21:02):
more wind in my sail when they touch, look and
compliment me is my wife. So husband's wives, those who
are dating talk to one another, affirm one another. It's
(21:25):
so easy to be critical. Think about that column eight
to ten touches. Think about those touches.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
How about those looks?
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Are you really looking into her eyes or his eyes?
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Think about those looks?
Speaker 2 (21:42):
And then think about those comments. Well, now, think about Jesus.
I mean, did Jesus touch us? Has he touched us? Yes,
He's touched my life. He's touched my heart. And because
he's touched my heart, I have the desire to touch
the hearts of others.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Elle, I mean, does he look at me? Are you
kidding me? He's omniscient, omni present.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
See how we're just mirroring the majesty of our maker
in communication?
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Do you see that?
Speaker 2 (22:14):
How about his comments? What is this book right here?
This book? This book a bunch of love letters. That's
what it is telling you and me how much we matter?
Are you doing that to those in your life?
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Oh? They know, they hear that all the time. No
they don't.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
I mentioned earlier I at heart surgery split me open,
open the chest, stop the heart, and through a strange
set of circumstances, the gentleman that performed the surgery was
one of the best valve surgeons in the world, in
the world, and several months after I had the operation,
(22:58):
I talked to him and I said, doctor Laurie, tell
me a little bit about the surgery. You begin to
tell me and I'm like, WHOA, that's more than I
want to know. But he said something that that revolutionized
my life. He said, you know, right before we closed
you up ed, I grasped your heart. I massaged it
(23:19):
for five minutes to get the air out, because if
you don't, you would have stroked out and died. Then
we close you up, and here I am this great physician,
doctor Gerald Laurie, literally touched my heart. But there's another
(23:40):
great physician, the great physician who's touched my heart. And
because he's touched my heart, I want to live a life.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Of t l CE. A touch, a book.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
In a comment comes from God. He's reached out to
you and me. Won't you reach out to others as well?
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Thanks for joining us today on the Creative Connection with
Ed Young. We hope you've been encouraged as Ed's shown
you how you can connect your faith to everyday life.
We'd love to help you even more in your spiritual
journey by sending you Ati Lisa Jung's book A Path
through Pain. This resource will help you see God's presence,
(24:34):
love and care in the middle of your suffering. And
it's our thanks for your gift to help connect faith
to everyday life from more people around the world. Just
head over to Eddyong dot com slash give to request
your copy. Again, that's Edyong dot com slash gift. Thank
you for your support. We'll see you next time on
(24:54):
the Creative Connection
Welcome to the Creative Connection with Ed Young. We're glad
you've joined us today to hear ED connect faith to
everyday life. Before we get to today's message, we want
to invite you to head online and sign up for
Ed's daily email devotionals covering relevant topics like forgiveness, anxiety,
and purposeful living. These life giving emails will provide you
(00:22):
with a spark of encouragement write in your inbox every
single day. Each one contains a piece of scripture as
well as encouragement from Ed to help you think about
and apply biblical truths to your life. There's also a
guided prayer at the end of each email. Just visit
edyong dot com slash emails to sign up now, and
(00:42):
while you're there, you can also browse previous devotionals as
well as watch and listen to messages from Ed. So
sign up to start receiving your daily devotionals today. The
website again is Edyong dot com slash Devotionals. Book forward
to connecting with you there. Now, let's get into today's
message with Pastor Ed Young.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
I was talking to our son and his fiance and
quickly the conversation moved into marriage and relationships and things
of that nature.
Speaker 3 (01:19):
And I don't know.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I just started talking about some of the things that
I think are paramount when it comes to communication in relationships,
and I shared with EJ and Jess TLC. I have
this thing called TLC. You might be thinking tender loving care. No,
(01:42):
you might be thinking the nineties ban No, you might
be thinking the learning channel, good guess TLC, A touch,
a look, and.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
A comment.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
I want you to think for second, if you will,
about your most significant relationships if you're married, obviously, your spouse, family,
your closest friends, and in your mind, just think about
several columns, maybe a column underneath.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
The T letter, the touch, the touches. Think about the
touches for a second.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
You got that column in your mind, or you could
write this out of you like then you have the
L column looks eye contact. Just think think about that.
Think about that for a second.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
The looks.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Now, think about the conversation where you could say the
comment section three significant areas. And I would argue from
God's point of view that these three areas are three
of the most significant areas in communication in this process.
(03:01):
As I began to talk to my son and his
fiance about this process. I just told them some things
that God had shown me over the years, and I
began to sort of unpack some areas that I knew
nothing about until I walked down the wedding runner, until
(03:23):
I look back in the rearview mirror and think about
all these relationships and friendships.
Speaker 3 (03:28):
So think about those people that you're close.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
To, Maybe your classmates, Maybe it could be someone that
you work with. Think about maybe it's your fraternity brother.
Or think about that person you know really well that
you play golf with. Think about your smouse, think about
your kids. Think about touch. How many touches meaningful guy's
non sexual touches.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yes, I'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Appropriate touching, biblically driven touching. It's got to be right,
and it's got to be It's got to be practiced
in the exact context where God wants it, which should
be with our closest relationships, in our marriage, in our friendships,
(04:17):
with our family. Speaking of touch, let me just talk
about that tea column for example.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Speaking of touch, you know that the human animal, the
human being.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Research tells us needs eight to ten meaningful touches a
day just for survival. Have you ever thought about that.
Are you getting your touches in again? Think about that column?
Are you are you touching those people that you're closest
(04:49):
to the touch the touch? I've been spinning lately. Does
anyone like to go to spin classes? I love spin classes.
I mean they're brutal, they're demonic, but I love them.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
You know.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
And I have a couple of instructors I got go
to these classes, and I usually take these instructors.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Once a guy, the other is a girl.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
And I mean, these people are absolute animals.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
They're they're they're they're they're in ridiculous shape.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
So it's interesting because they do such a great job
of training and teaching, instructing you about how to do
the various movements in the spin class. And they're very
patient with everyone, especially with me. And I've learned a
ton about riding bikes, about spinning. But the other day
I was thinking, you know what, I'm getting all this
(05:35):
great instruction and I'm going nowhere, I mean nowhere, you know,
And and it's good. It's a good cardio because you know,
I had open heart surgery a couple of years ago.
They repaired a little valve, you know, they split me
from stem to stern and cracked open the chest and
stopped the heart and all that. So you know, I've
always been in good cardiovascular shape and maybe that's why
(05:58):
I was able to come through this search. So healthy
is so good, and I feel better on this side
of surgery than I did, especially the years leading up
to the surgery, So I'm happy about that. So I'm
thinking about cardio a lot, and I'm thinking about instruction,
and then I started thinking about we get instruction in
all these different areas, don't we. Oh, we get financial instruction,
(06:18):
we get instruction legally, we get instruction about this company,
or instruction about how to put on makeup ladies and
whatever it is.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
And that's good.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
I love, you know, instructional videos people who instruct us.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
That's great.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
But rarely, and I told Eja and his fiance this,
rarely do we ever really lean into the instructions given
to us by God about how to communicate.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
I mean, seriously, when was the last time you go, I.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Am going to be instructed by the God of the
universe regarding how to communicate. I think he knows a
lot about communication, because after all, he's got he made
up us and to give you a theology of let's
say the tea column touched. Just a brief a brief
word about bodyology, theology of the body. If you think
(07:15):
about Genesis for example, okay, the Book of Genesis. And
as many of you know this, maybe some of you
don't know. God spoke everything into existence.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
He spoke it.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Boom, it happened, spoke it, boom, there it was.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
It spoke its spoke it.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
But when it came to human beings, when it came
to man, God literally rolled up his sleeves.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
I mean I say literally, he got involved personally.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
And the Bible says that he used some of the
earth and then he breathed the breath of life into man.
So we have a little bit of heaven and a
little bit of earth, a little bit of earth and
a little bit of heaven. God touched man when he
(08:00):
made man. He got really involved in that process. So
I'm made to touch. I've been touched by God. That's
something we need to understand. Moreover, what did Jesus to
Jesus the Bible says, or flesh he became, He became man,
(08:21):
He wore a body, He had the senses that you have,
and that I have read the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John go through there, encircle the words touch, hands, fingers,
(08:42):
most of those and there's over two hundred of those references.
Most of those have to do with the person of Jesus.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Isn't that interesting? We're made to touch.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
God's a God who's touched us literally and figurative and
spiritually and physically when we have this skin on And
in fact, skin is the largest organ in our body.
Did you know that? A little fun fact? The average
adult has twenty one square feet of skin.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
On their bodies. Twenty one square feet of skin.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
But some of us love plastic surgery so much we've
hacked the twenty one to about nineteen.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Most of us have about nineteen here.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Eleven miles of blood vessels, blood vessels, and our skin
holds that in Have you ever thought about, speaking of touch,
we're making God's image. God has touched us literally, figuratively, spiritually,
physically all those things.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
And we're we're touching right now. Yeah. I understand.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
You might be sitting next to someone, you're rubbing elbows
with them, or maybe you're dating someone, playing foot seat
with them.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Okay, holding hands.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Sometimes people are locked up like blow constricters here when
I speak, But I'm just talking about.
Speaker 4 (10:13):
We we feel, we feel the touch just being in
the presence of other people, in the presence of God physically,
so our skin is made by God to feel the
(10:35):
world around us.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
You're listening to the Creative Connection with Ed Young, stay
with us to hear more encouragement from men before we
get back to today's message. Most of us spend our lives
avoiding pain at every turn, so when we inevitably experience pain,
it sends us into a tailspin and we can wonder
if God even cares. We want to help you just
(11:00):
diver how your faith can deepen even in the most
tragic circumstances by sending you Ed and Lisa's powerful book
A Path through Pain. This resource is no our thanks
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for more people around the world through the Creative Connection.
So head over to Edyong dot com to give and
(11:20):
request your copy again, that's Edyong dot com slash give.
Now let's get back to today's message.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Yeah, sometimes think in the church, we're like, oh, I
don't want to talk about the body too much because
of you know, touching, I mean very quickly. It can
take us to dark places. And yes, you're exactly right.
We've allowed the enemy to come in because of our fallenness,
and we have all sorts of issues in our world
today with inappropriate touch.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
I'm not talking.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
About that because as you read the biblical record, all
of the people mentioned in some of the passages I'm
going to share where it has to do with touch
had a very high view of the body. They knew
the body was a body by God and was holy.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Well, Scripture says these touching words.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
I just want to give you theology on touch before
we get very very practical.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
We know that God has made us, He's touched us.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
We know that skin matters because we have skin, we're
made in the image of God. Well, the Bible says,
and so on one forty five sixteen. You open your
hand at being God and satisfied the desire of every
living thing.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
That has to do with touch.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Now, let's look at some of the some of the
writings in the Gospels. I'm going to run through these
very very quickly, and think about touch. Jesus put his
hand and touched him, so he touched her hand. He
went in and took her by the hand. Then he
touched their eyes. Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand. Jesus
(13:05):
came and touched them. Then little children were brought to
him that he might put his hands on them and pray.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
How many touches I'm.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
Talking about, meaningful touches are you giving out a day?
Speaker 3 (13:21):
Research shows that just a.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Pat on the bat from a teacher will increase participation
in class. Research also reveals the older we get, the
more we need touch. And some other studies I read
reveal that when doctors just put their hand on someone's
arm and looked them in the eyes and say something
(13:46):
positive and encouraging.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
It prolongs people's lives.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
So science is just discovering now what God has been
saying for a long long time, the power of touch.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
Do you touch much? Because there's much in the touch.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Sometimes when i'm you know, speaking, or even in different
places speaking.
Speaker 3 (14:10):
People will come up to me. They'll go, give me
a hug. What do you do? What do you do?
Speaker 2 (14:19):
So I'm not talking about hugging strangers, no, no, no, no,
I mean appropriate touch with people who have the proper context.
I will say, though, you have to understand how to
hug people. You know, you you want to hug, and
there are different types of hugs. You know, there's different
(14:40):
types of body contact. As we know, we have the
fist bump and you know, the high five, and we
got the chest bump, we got the bro hug, we
got the side hug made popular by some Christians. You're
on the side hug. It's a little bit awkward. You
go to hug someone, you have to pivot, you know,
and then put your hip like that. And that's I understand.
(15:05):
I understand that. You know, I'll side hug. But you
also can hug someone appropriately without pressing your body against theirs.
That's where it goes cuckoo for cocoa puffs. So when
you when you hug people, make sure you do it appropriately,
lovingly and and biblically. So if you're a side hugger, great,
(15:29):
If you're not a hugger, don't you know, feel like
you have to you don't know the.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Person well or whatever.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
It's just I'm just feel a little bit, not a
little bit, I feel weird, okay, but hug and you
think you think I'm funny?
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Do you hug your spouse?
Speaker 2 (15:48):
You need to hug your spouse, a prolonged hug and
again all of the things I've read as I prepared
for touch, all of these stress hormones relax, we feel
so confident, we feel peace. And I could even make
a biblical case for hugging is even a physical act
(16:08):
of reconciliation.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
I've studied a lot of.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Couples in my life, those who are dating, those from married,
and it's interesting you can tell a lot just by
the way they touch.
Speaker 3 (16:24):
Or not.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
You can tell a lot about that. Are you touching
your spouse? Are you touching your kids? It's so important fathers,
for example, to touch appropriately your kids. You hug, for example,
your daughters, then as they get older, they're not going
to jump into the arms of the first guy that
winks at them.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
You know, and.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
And we know too that if infants aren't hugged or cuddled,
then it can lead to violence and all sorts of Mayhem.
God has reached out and touched us, to the person
of Jesus, we should, as believers reach out and touch others.
(17:09):
Are you touching those people that God has brought into
your life in appropriate ways? Eight to ten touches? Think
about that. Now, let's go to the l column. How
about a look you might be going well, is that
really that important?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (17:27):
The Bible says the eyes of the Book of Proverbs
are the windows of our souls.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
And this is just me.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
But over the years, in interviewing so many couples for
so many books, and interviewing so many people on the stage,
and talking to so many people like the little huggers
I talked about earlier, I'll tell you something about marriage,
about dating, a relationship that you can see just by seeing.
(17:57):
I can look at a dating relationship or a marriage,
and when the woman talks, I watch how the man
looks at her when she's talking, and when the man
is talking. Sometimes I just glance and look at the
(18:17):
lady and see how she's looking at him. Our eyes
speak volumes. In other words, when you look, even though
you've heard this story seventeen times, the same story about
the touchdown pass he caught in JV football, look at
(18:38):
him lovingly, longingly, like you're my man, You're my knight
and shining armor, you're my hallmark. Stud Ladies, we need that.
We're very insecure. On the other hand, guys and women
(18:59):
talk more.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
To we do. And when she is.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
Yes, awesome, even though you're thinking about bass fishing, even
though you're thinking about Tom Brady throwing a touchdown, pass engaging,
I'm kidding, engage her, look at her, but look at
her with looks of love and affirmation. We many times
(19:32):
miss this. It sounds so simple, but it's so simple
we miss it. So we have to have eye contact.
How often do you look into the eyes of those
you're closest to look and what kind of looks are
you giving them? I mean you can look at your
(19:52):
daughter's and go whoa, and and your daughters feel the love.
So a touch, a look, and then a comment. What
do you What do you say about those you love?
Speaker 3 (20:06):
What do you say?
Speaker 2 (20:07):
I can talk about that? What do you what do
you say about them? Do you encourage them?
Speaker 3 (20:13):
Well?
Speaker 2 (20:13):
The Bible says encourage when you can when you think
about it, So when I think about an encouraging word.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
I should say it.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
People say this to me all the time. I promise you, Oh, Ed,
I know you hear this all the time. I go, no,
I don't, I'm serious.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
I had you know.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
I've been at Fellowship Church for five years now, I
know you hear this all the time. I go no,
I don't. I don't hear it enough. I can live
off a great compliment for several months. And I'm going
to tell you something. Of all the speaking I've done,
all the leading I've done, not that I've done that much,
but but the one person other than God that puts
(21:02):
more wind in my sail when they touch, look and
compliment me is my wife. So husband's wives, those who
are dating talk to one another, affirm one another. It's
(21:25):
so easy to be critical. Think about that column eight
to ten touches. Think about those touches.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
How about those looks?
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Are you really looking into her eyes or his eyes?
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Think about those looks?
Speaker 2 (21:42):
And then think about those comments. Well, now, think about Jesus.
I mean, did Jesus touch us? Has he touched us? Yes,
He's touched my life. He's touched my heart. And because
he's touched my heart, I have the desire to touch
the hearts of others.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Elle, I mean, does he look at me? Are you
kidding me? He's omniscient, omni present.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
See how we're just mirroring the majesty of our maker
in communication?
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Do you see that?
Speaker 2 (22:14):
How about his comments? What is this book right here?
This book? This book a bunch of love letters. That's
what it is telling you and me how much we matter?
Are you doing that to those in your life?
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Oh? They know, they hear that all the time. No
they don't.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
I mentioned earlier I at heart surgery split me open,
open the chest, stop the heart, and through a strange
set of circumstances, the gentleman that performed the surgery was
one of the best valve surgeons in the world, in
the world, and several months after I had the operation,
(22:58):
I talked to him and I said, doctor Laurie, tell
me a little bit about the surgery. You begin to
tell me and I'm like, WHOA, that's more than I
want to know. But he said something that that revolutionized
my life. He said, you know, right before we closed
you up ed, I grasped your heart. I massaged it
(23:19):
for five minutes to get the air out, because if
you don't, you would have stroked out and died. Then
we close you up, and here I am this great physician,
doctor Gerald Laurie, literally touched my heart. But there's another
(23:40):
great physician, the great physician who's touched my heart. And
because he's touched my heart, I want to live a life.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Of t l CE. A touch, a book.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
In a comment comes from God. He's reached out to
you and me. Won't you reach out to others as well?
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Thanks for joining us today on the Creative Connection with
Ed Young. We hope you've been encouraged as Ed's shown
you how you can connect your faith to everyday life.
We'd love to help you even more in your spiritual
journey by sending you Ati Lisa Jung's book A Path
through Pain. This resource will help you see God's presence,
(24:34):
love and care in the middle of your suffering. And
it's our thanks for your gift to help connect faith
to everyday life from more people around the world. Just
head over to Eddyong dot com slash give to request
your copy. Again, that's Edyong dot com slash gift. Thank
you for your support. We'll see you next time on
(24:54):
the Creative Connection
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