Untitled Sermon

1 Corinthians 10 NASB95

For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play.” Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. 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. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we? All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake; for the earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains. If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience’ sake. But if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake; I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks? Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved.

Sermon - Boldly Moving Forward

How many of you have ever been on a roller coaster?

Ever feel like your relationship with God feels a bit like a roller coaster?

If you are familiar with Israel’s history, you know that their interactions with God follow a bit of a roller coaster. There are multiple times in those valleys that biblical people look back and retell the story of God. In that process, they end up calling the people of God back to follow him. We see that even though they 

The writer wants the next generations to remember who God is and keep His commands. He highlights the consequences of those sins as a warning to the next generations.

Ezekiel is reminding Israel of all the things they have done to bring judgement on themselves.

Stephen tells the entire OT story. Tries to get his Jewish listeners to understand they should turn from their ways and follow God.

I want to focus in on one of those instances in

Turn to if you brought your Bible

Background: Paul is writing to a group of believers who are struggling with some sin issues, most notably idolatry. And he looks back at Israel’s history to call the Corinthians back into proper relationship with God. 

10:1-2

(NIV)

21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.

(NIV)

22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

Animated Jesus stories I grew up with - walls of water

10:3

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4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.

10:4

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6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

(NIV)

11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

10:5

The generation that grumbled against God was not allowed to enter the promised land.

10:6 

Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.

God zoomed in on the story of Israel so we could see the consequences of sin, but also the blessing of walking within the will of God. 

They were surrounded by God and His miracles, yet they still slipped back into sin. 

Even if you are surrounding yourself with Christian friends, plugged into church, serving, etc… Sin can still creep into your life!

attitudes, immorality, deceit, bitterness

Paul goes on to call out some of the specific sins they dealt with. 

10:7

Idolatry - This is a direct quote from the golden calf story

Many killed by Levites for their idol worship

10:8

Israelites engaged in sexual immorality with the foreign women of Moab. This led to them worshiping foreign gods. Many of the were killed by a plague in response.

10:9

(NIV)

5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” - - - snakes sent to judge/kill and the bronze serpent presented to save them.

10:10

Refers to Korah’s rebellion and the Israelites’ grumbling against Moses and Aaron (see ). Grumbling against God, despite His continued provision and protection, was typical of the Israelites in the wilderness1

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People were killed by a plague from God on account of their actions

What do all these stories have in common? Death as a consequence.

God takes these sins seriously because they separate us from his presence. If his people are to be an example to the world, we should not become complacent when we notice an attitude slip into our life!

Share story about my attitude with dad, the meeting, etc…

bitterness sneaking in.

10:11

These things happened as an example for our instruction

Just like the Israelites, we have to continually reevaluate our spiritual life. 

God wants us fully committed to him.

But God doesn’t want us to just sit in a position of trying not to sin. 

God wants us to boldly move forward in our walk with Him. 

describes it as a conflict between the flesh and the spirit. 

(NIV)

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

God’s desire is for us to be so in lock with the Holy Spirit that we would experience life as He intended it.

This battle would not overtake us, but would push us forward in our pursuit of God that we would experience life and peace. 

Peace does not always mean you are comfortable.

Peace means you are so in step with God that you experience an inner peace that surpasses any comfort this world can offer!

The danger, is we reach a point where we feel pretty good about not sinning, but then we forget that God wants us to continue boldly moving forward in relationship with Him. 

Create Space for God to show up!

Jesus proclaims that it is not going to be easy in

(NIV)

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Forgotten God

One of the things that is nice about books is that the author can say the hard things so I don’t have to. Sometimes reading something is easier than saying it to a person face to face. I was challenged as I was reading this. 

Francis Chan - Forgotten God pg 124-25

“Taking up my cross” has become a euphemism for getting through life’s typical burdens with a semi-good attitude. Yet life typical burdens - busy schedules, bills, illness, hard decisions, paying for college tuition, losing jobs, houses not selling, and the family dog dying - are felt by everyone, whether or not they follow the Way of Jesus. When Jesus calls us to take up our cross, He is doing much more than calling us to endure the daily, circumstantial troubles or life… It is a call to radical faith”

When was the last time you relied on God because you were stepping out in faith beyond your control?

When was the last time that you were inconvenienced because of the gospel?

Francis continues -

“You don’t need the Holy Spirit if you are merely seeking to live a semi-moral life and attend church regularly. You can find people of all sorts in many different religions doing that quite nicely without Him. You only need the Holy Spirit’s guidance and help if you truly want to follow the Way of Jesus Christ. You only need Him if you desire to “obey everything” He commanded and teach others to do the same ()… You only need the Holy Spirit if you understand that you are called to share in Christ’s suffering and death, as well as His resurrection.”  Pg. 122-23 Forgotten God

We should expect

We should be expecting to be inconvenienced because of the Holy Spirit working in our life. 

We should expect that God is going to push us outside of our comfort zone.

We should expect that God isn’t going to allow us to sit in a state of not sinning…

God is going to challenge us to continually be moving forward in pursuit of making His kingdom known throughout the earth. 

What does boldly moving forward look like?

Reevaluate your walk with Christ

Brandt Jean

brother of Botham Jean who was shot and killed by a police officer in Dallas Texas.

She went into the wrong apartment and shot him thinking he was an intruder.

Hug and forgiveness - That kind of love and response is only possible through the Holy Spirit. 

For our teens, it means boldly following God in the midst of temptation at school. 

Dealing with a grudge you have been holding onto for years

Maybe it means you need to start serving in the church

One major way of being uncomfortable: Investing in other people. Especially the next generation. How are you investing? 

The Israelites continued to fall away from God because they failed to pass on their spiritual knowledge and wisdom to the next generation. 

Slowing down in the halls to interact with a younger family

Intentionally reaching out to a neighborhood friend or family

Doing things they want to do...not you

Listening and earning a right to be heard instead of just telling them how it is done.

It takes time to build relationships

Lee Shaw checking in on Moises - Noticed he hadn’t been around and wanted to make sure he was doing ok.

I don’t know what it is for you, but I know God will show up when we create space for Him to show up.

(NIV)

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

Be reminded that this includes hardships, persecution, difficulties. 

Bicycle Picture

They know the direction they are supposed to go. But they don’t know exactly what that looks like. Things aren’t clear. Things may not be easy. We don’t know what to expect next… but it is in this blurry area that God wants to show up and remind us of his power and presence!

Evaluate where you are at…

Is there any sort of sin, attitude, or issue that is taking root in your life preventing you from being all in for God?

Let us boldly move forward and create space for the Holy Spirit to show up in our lives!