Feed Your Love for the Lord

INTRODUCTION

Opening Illustration

A few weeks back, Jonah’s parents came up to visit from Florida.

They were coming for his ordination service.

It was their first time in Canada.

Jonah and I have been friends for over 4 years, but our parents had never met.

So he invited us and my parents to his house for dinner.

If you know Jonah, you know he likes to BBQ.

We get into arguments all the time about what BBQ is…

He says its the food, while I say it’s what you cook on.

Jonah said he was going to smoke brisket, which was going to take about 12 hours.

I don’t even know what brisket is,

but anything Jonah cooks is good, so I was in!

The day of, I awoke to 3 texts from Jonah:

You up?

My smoker isn’t working… Gotta get food on the smoke!!!

And then a little over an hour later…

Crisis averted. I think.

The way a smoker works is:

The auger feeds wood pellets from a hopper into a fire-pot.

The pellets are then ignited to produce heat and smoke.

The thermostat then controls the auger’s speed to maintain a consistent temperature for cooking.

Jonah found the problem… the auger had jammed up,

and could no longer feed pellets into the pot,

so the fire went out.

No fire and smoke = No brisket…

which = a SAD JOE!

Thankfully he was able to take it apart, fix the clogged auger,

and the smoker was back up and running.

We all ate and enjoyed some incredible BBQ!

Transition to sermon

Sadly, many times in our spiritual lives

we allow the fire to go out.

We get the fire going,

by spending time in God’s Word/prayer/fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ,

and we enjoy wonderful times of blessing with the Lord.

But then we stop feeding the fire, we don’t spend time in the Word/prayer…

and before you know it… the flame goes out.

Then other things begin to crowd out our love for the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, this is the sin of idolatry!

Richard Sibbes has said…

Anything above God is idolatry.

Richard Sibbes

God deserves first place in our hearts and lives!

Anything that we place above God in our lives, is idolatry!

Oliver Cromwell stated it this way:

Idolatry is anything which cooleth thy desires after Christ.

Oliver Cromwell (Lord Protector)

When we allow the things of this world, and our flesh,

to come before the Lord in our lives,

those things cool our heart to the Lord.

When that happens,

we desire those idols in our lives more than the Lord.

Transition to Title

Today we are going to see that we must:

Feed Your Love for the Lord: How to Put God First in Your Life

God deserves the highest place in our hearts and lives.

We must not allow the things of this world,

or ever our own desires to come before His glory and His will.

In order to put God first, in His rightful place,

you need to feed your love for Him!

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

God…

SCRIPTURE ANNOUCEMENT

1 Corinthians 10:14—22.

SCRIPTURE INTRODUCTION

We have been going through Paul’s letter to the Corinthians,

what we call First Corinthians.

He was writing to a church that he had started on a missionary journey to the city of Colossae.

This city was full of all kinds of gross sin,

and was home to many false gods and idol worship.

The church was struggling in the midst of all the sin,

so Paul wrote them a letter:

To remind them

In chapter 1: that they were saints through Christ…

In chapters 1—3: that they needed to be unified… and

In chapter 4: how to be true servants.

Paul also wrote:

In chapters 5—6: how to deal with sin/issues within the church…

In chapter 7: what godliness looks like in marriage, divorce, singleness and for widows.

Now, over the last 3 chapters: 8, 9, and through the rest of 10…

Paul has been addressing Christian freedom.

Paul says you are free:

but your freedom should be limited by love for your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ…

You are free: but your freedom should be limited by concern for the spread of the gospel…

And as Pastor Jake talked about last week:

You are free: but your freedom should be limited by your concern for yourself.

God did discipline the Israelites because of their sinful use of their freedom,

so we should learn from their mistakes, and live wholeheartedly for the Lord.

The reason we should live wholeheartedly for the Lord is found in the promise of:

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

There are going to be difficult things that God will allow into your life,

but He will always be with you,

strengthening you to overcome through faith and trust in Him,

giving you the way of escape so that you don’t have to give in,

and helping you endure the temptation!

With that, we turn to our text for this morning.

RE-ANNOUNCE AND READ SCRIPTURE

1 Corinthians 10:14–22 ESV

14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Intro to Main Points

As Paul begins this section, he says…

1 Corinthians 10:14 ESV

14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

He has just said that God will be faithful.

He is not going to let you endure anything that is not common to man,

and He is going to provide the path through the temptation,

so that you can endure it.

In light of that Paul says…

“flee from idolatry.”

Since God promises to be faithful to you,

FLEE anything that you will be tempted to put before Him!

Rather than feeding your love for idols/the things of the world and allowing them to creep in to your heart,

“Feed Your Love for the Lord!”

Pursue Him first and foremost!

He then says in…

1 Corinthians 10:15 ESV

15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.

Paul calls on the Corinthians to use their common sense.

He is about to further explain the reasons

WHY they should be fully devoted to the Lord.

WHY they should feed their love for the Lord.

First…

1. Feed Your Love for the Lord Because of Your Union Through Christ

EXPLAIN

The first reason you should flee idols,

and feed your love for the Lord,

is because of all that Christ has won for you!

Paul first shows us that…

a. You are one with Christ

1 Corinthians 10:16 ESV

16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?

Paul is talking about the Lord’s Supper (Communion) here.

He is showing us that this is so much more than a ritualistic tradition.

When we drink the cup, we are participants in the blood of Christ.

We are taking part in His blood,

poured out to pay for our sins.

When we eat the bread, we are participants in the body of Christ.

We are taking part in His body,

which was broken for us.

Last week we had the wonderful privilege of sharing in the Lord’s Supper as a church.

It is a reminder for us of the love Christ had for us,

being willing to die as the sacrifice for us.

But it’s more than a reminder,

it is a participation/sharing in His sacrifice.

Through His sacrifice…

YOU ARE ONE WITH CHRIST!

Paul also says…

b. You are one in Christ

1 Corinthians 10:17 ESV

17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

When we participate in the Lord’s Supper,

it is a reminder that we are one body.

Christ died for the sins of the whole world,

which is why we need to be passionate about the spread of the gospel everywhere.

Jesus’s sacrifice is the only way to be made right before God.

And when we put faith in Christ,

and participate in His body and blood,

it doesn’t matter what background you’re from…

it doesn’t matter what language you speak…

or what colour your skin is…

YOU ARE ONE IN CHRIST!

John MacArthur

“Christ’s body also symbolizes our unity in Jesus Christ. . . . Because we are one with Christ, we are one with each other. As we come into fellowship with Christ through Communion, we come into fellowship with each other in a unique and deep way (cf. 1 Cor. 6:17). All believers stand on the same ground at the foot of the cross as forgiven sinners who possess the eternal life principle within them.” — John MacArthur

Summary

Through Christ’s sacrifice, you are:

One WITH Christ… and

One IN Christ…

Because of these rich blessings graciously given to you by God,

you should feed your love for Him!

ILLUSTRATE

During Jesus’ ministry, he tells the parable of the “Prodigal Son”.

The story is of a man who had two sons.

The younger son asks for his inheritance,

and then he goes and wastes it all.

When he realizes his sin,

he comes back seeking repentance,

and his father graciously forgives and welcomes him back with a feast.

The older son returns home to find the feast but refuses to come in.

His father goes out to invite him in, but the older son responds…

Luke 15:29–32 (ESV)

29 ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’

31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

Summary

The older brother had all the blessings and benefits of being a son.

Through his union with his father,

he had access to all the blessings through his father.

But he had become

self-righteous…

hard-hearted… and

entitled.

Rather than being humble and grateful for the blessings he had access to,

he became bitter toward his brother who was experiencing true joy because of the grace he had experienced.

APPLY

Have you lost the wonder of the cross of Jesus Christ?

Have you forgotten that you were a guilty sinner,

deserving of death,

before Christ saved you?

Through His body and His blood,

You are one with Christ…

You have all the blessings, and promises of being a child of God!

You are one in Christ…

You have the blessing of having a loving family of fellow believers!

The Battle and the Blessing — CityAlight

Verse 1 We did not bear the wounds that freed us Or walk the road to Calvary We did not share Your cup of suffering And yet we share Your victory

Verse 2 We did not wear that heavy burden Nor face the shame and agony A crown of thorns was placed upon You Now we are crowned with love and peace

Chorus Praise the Lord, my God, now I am free At the cross Your grace took hold of me There You paid my debt, there You fought my fight Yes, the battle was Yours and the blessing is mine

What should your response to such incredible love?

Flee idolatry!

Flee anything that would draw you away from Christ!

Instead…

Feed Your Love for Christ, who united you to Himself, and His church!

Summary

When we stop feeding our love for the Lord,

that’s where our love can grow cold.

Transition

That leads us to our next point…

You should…

2. Feed Your Love for the Lord to Avoid Idolatry

EXPLAIN

When we stop feeding our love for the Lord,

that’s when we are at risk of idolatry.

Remember that idolatry is anything that we put before God.

We must feed our love for the Lord

to avoid giving our love, devotion, and worship to anything besides God.

This is because...

a. You are a participant of what you are involved in

1 Corinthians 10:18 ESV

18 Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?

In the OT God had instituted the sacrificial system.

Through sacrifices, the Israelites could be cleansed

and God could dwell in their presence.

Some of the sacrifices were eaten by the people,

showing that they were participating in the benefits of the sacrifice.

We also see this negatively in the life of Israel.

Last week Pastor Jake talked about how

the Israelites made a golden calf to worship.

and then offered burnt offerings to it,

thus becoming participants in idolatry!

You are a participant of what you are involved in!

Transition

The problem with participating in idolatry is that…

b. You are a participant of more than what you can see

1 Corinthians 10:19–20 ESV

19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.

Paul reiterates the point he made back in chapter 8,

that an idol is not real,

therefore it doesn’t matter if they ate food offered to idols.

But it is a totally different thing to participate in the sacrifices and worship of idols.

Those who offer sacrifices to idols believe that it is a real god,

but an idol is not real.

There is only one God, the true God of the Bible.

But there are demonic forces behind idolatry.

They work supernaturally to make people believe the idol is real.

When you participate in idolatry,

you are a participant in more than you can see.

Since they are sacrificing therefore to demons,

Paul does not want them to participate!

Summary

Paul encouragement is to avoid idolatry,

since it is a participation in demons.

Instead, you should…

“Feed Your Love for the Lord”

ILLUSTRATE

Before I began serving as a pastor here at LEMC,

I worked in construction.

The company I worked for had startup meetings at the beginning of the year,

where we would go away for a couple days for safety training.

As many of you know,

meetings and training can be quite… boring.

So they would bring in some entertainment for the evenings to keep things fun.

One year they brought in a comedian.

If you know anything about construction workers,

they can be a little rough around the edges.

I should have known ahead of time the comedian would not have been a clean, godly comedian,

but I attended anyway.

At one point during his routine,

my boss looked over at me.

He knew that I was a Christian,

and he got a kick out of the fact that I was there.

Summary

I realized right then and there that I should not have gone!

I had become a participant in something that was sinful,

and I ruined my witness as a follower of Christ.

APPLY

Brothers and sisters,

we have become participants of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Through His sacrifice we have been cleansed of all our sin and united with Him and His church.

We are His holy possession,

His pure and spotless bride!

We must not become participants in sinful, and evil things!

What we need to understand is that our enemy, Satan,

is using all the things of this world to draw people away from God!

He is using the things of the world,

to lure us into his trap of idolatry.

When you willingly involve yourself in sin,

you participate in it,

and the sin begins to take over,

and cool your heart toward the Lord.

Negative Examples

Is there music or movies that cool your heart to the Lord?

Is there people in your life that cool your heart to the Lord?

Are you pursuing money, and it is cooling your heart to the Lord?

We must recognize that Satan is using these things to draw our hearts away from God!

This is why you must:

“Feed Your Love for the Lord”!

Positive Examples

Feed your love for the Lord and seeking His glory and will, by:

Spending time daily in His Word…

Seeking His will in prayer…

Memorizing His Word…

Pursue the kind of music and movies that feed your love for the Lord!

Pursue the relationships that feed your love for the Lord!

Pursue heavenly treasures which feed your love for the Lord!

Summary

Don’t allow Satan to manipulate you to be a participant in sin and idolatry.

Instead… feed your love for the Lord…

in honour of His sacrifice, blessings, and promises for you!

Next…

3. Feed Your Love for the Lord and Devote Yourself to Him

EXPLAIN

The whole point that Paul is making in this section,

is that you should be devoted fully to the Lord!

In light of all that He has done for us in Christ…

In light of His promise to lead us, guide us, and give us victory…

We should flee any sort of half-hearted devotion,

and we should commit ourselves to Him alone!

This is because…

a. You cannot serve two masters

1 Corinthians 10:21 ESV

21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

Paul said back in chapter 8,

that there is only one God…

but if we participate in the worship of idols,

we are offering worship

not to the true God...

but to demons!

If you believe there is only one God,

then you cannot worship anything else.

Jesus tells us why in…

Matthew 6:24 ESV

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

As soon as you notice sin creeping into your life that cools your heart toward God,

you must get rid of it,

because it is competing with God for you devotion!

Transition

The reason this is so important is because…

b. You cannot avoid God’s discipline

1 Corinthians 10:22 ESV

22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Paul had just reminded the Corinthians,

that God had disciplined the Israelites for their idolatry.

He went on to say that those things happened as an example,

and were written down to instruct us.

Since we know that God did not spare His people Israel, but disciplined them,

we should not try think that we can get away with half-hearted devotion to God.

Essentially Paul is asking,

“Do you really want to pick a fight with God?”

“I don’t think so!”

Summary

Since the Lord is God, and has saved us through Christ,

you must not test His patience and goodness

by allowing other things to take His rightful place as Lord of your life.

You must “Feed Your Love for the Lord”

and be fully devoted to Him!

ILLUSTRATE

The Israelites were known for their half-hearted devotion to the Lord.

Though God was with them, giving them victory, and blessing them with land,

they continually turned to idols, following the practices of the nations around them.

This led to God’s judgement and discipline.

Nebuchadnezzar came, and besieged Jerusalem.

But what we learn during this exile,

is that though many are not fully committed to the Lord,

there are some who are!

Daniel was a man fully committed to the Lord,

and God blessed him for it.

God caused Daniel to rise in power,

until he was Nebuchadnezzar’s right hand man.

In command over his whole kingdom.

The other high officials were jealous,

so they convinced Nebuchadnezzar to make a law,

that no one could pray to anyone except the king, for 30 days,

or else be thrown in the lion’s den.

Daniel had a choice to make…

who was he going to serve?

God? Or…

Nebuchadnezzar?

Daniel 6:10 ESV

10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

Summary

Daniel had been blessed by God,

but he knew earthly treasures meant nothing in comparison to eternal treasures!

He chose to “Feed his love for the Lord” and be fully devoted to Him!

And God chose to bless his faithfulness by delivering him from the lions.

APPLY

Are you that devoted to the Lord?

That you would be willing to give up all earthly treasures…

even your life… for His honour?

Do you have that deep of a love for the Lord?

That you would be committed to “Feeding your love for Him”,

rather than enjoy wealth, power, and comfort in this life?

Brothers and sisters,

Satan wants to use the sinful desires of your heart,

stimulated by the pleasures of this world,

to cool your desires for Jesus!

Satan wants to use the things of the world to cool your desire for God.

He wants you to find them more satisfying than God.

What in your life,

is Satan using to cool your desires for Christ?

It may be that God has blessed you with many good things in your life right now,

but do you understand that God is better than all those things?

But you need to know that you cannot serve two masters!

Because those masters will be in competition for your devotion,

and you will be tempted to hate one and love the other.

Which is why you need to…

“Feed your desire for the Lord!”

Summary

Make it a priority to pursue the Lord,

and feed your love for Him,

and He will satisfy you with His goodness!

CONCLUSION

Evangelist Robert L. Sumner in his book The Wonder of the Word of God,

relates the challenging story of a man in Kansas City,

who was badly injured in an explosion.

After losing his eyesight and the use of both hands,

the man was very discouraged,

because he would never be able to read the Bible again.

His discouragement turned into joy after hearing of a woman in England who read Braille with her lips.

He searched and found a copy of the Bible in Braille.

Sadly, he was discouraged again when he realized the nerve endings in his lips

were too damaged to recognize the characters on the pages.

One day, as he lifted the raised lettering up to his lips,

his tongue touched a few of the letters.

He thought to himself, “I could read the Bible with my tongue.”

When Robert Sumner shared this story of this man,

he reported that the man had read through the entire Bible four times…

with his tongue.

I hope this man will not be standing next to you (or me) when we are called before the throne of Christ.

His desire to feed his love for the Lord, is a convicting reminder that

there will be no excuse for laziness in regard to reading or memorizing God’s Word.

LAND THE PLANE!

Christian…

Do you desire to feed your love for the Lord that much?

Have you allowed the things of this world,

fuelled by your fleshly desires,

to cool your affection for Jesus?

Make time with Your Lord a priority!

Remember all that Christ has won for you.

That He has forgiven you and given you the hope of eternal life…

That He has united you to Himself through His sacrifice…

and united you to your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ!

For all that Christ has done for you…

Feed Your Love for Him!

Don’t let the flame go out,

but find ways to spend time with Him in…

Bible reading…

prayer...

singing…

scripture memorization…

going for a quiet walk praising His creation…

Prove your devotion to Him through the way you live your life!

Non-Christian

Maybe you haven’t given your life to the Lord…

Maybe you haven’t really considered what Jesus has done for you…

You know that you’re not perfect, and have sinned.

Friend…

you need to know that your sin makes you guilty before holy God…

and you will not be escape His judgement.

But the good news is that Jesus died for you!

His blood was spilled, His body was broken,

so that you could be forgiven, and united to Him and His church.

Give your life to the Lord,

and experience the joy and blessings of a relationship with Him,

that are far greater than anything this world has to offer!