Introduction:
Matthew 6:24 – No one can serve two masters... You cannot serve God and money.
Ephesians 5:5 - For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Philippians 3:19 – their god is their belly...
1 Samuel 15:23 - For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
3 Reasons to Run from Idolatry: (1 Corinthians 10:14-22)
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Because of WHO YOU ARE. (1 Cor 10:16-18)
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Because It's DEMONIC. (1 Cor 10:19-21)
Deuteronomy 32:17 – They sacrificed to demons that were not God...
Psalm 106:37 – They served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons...
Ephesians 6:12 - For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
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Because God is JEALOUS For You. (1 Cor 10:22)
Exodus 34:14 – for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God…
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:36
Open up those Bibles to 1 Corinthians 10 and take a moment to please just pray for me to communicate God's Word clearly as I should, and I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach us today. All right? So let's just take a moment and pray. Father, we trust Your Word and Your Spirit to do a work in our hearts.
01:08
As only you can, Father. That's why we're here. Father, open our hearts and minds up to receive what it is that you've told us in your word. We sing, I exalt thee, but Father, I pray that we would live that, a lifestyle that exalts you. We pray in Jesus' name.
01:37
Amen. 1 Corinthians 10.
01:42
Many years ago at a church picnic, we did the pie the pastor thing.
01:48
Now I know we've done it more recently. We did it like with VBS.
01:51
This is years ago when we had a lot less kids.
01:54
And I couldn't remember what it was, but Mandy Maul was our children's director at the time.
01:58
And she reminded me, it was like those big five-gallon jugs.
02:04
was if the kids could fill it with change, they went to some mission or ministry, but if the kids could fill it with change, some of the kids would be able to pie me at the church picnic.
02:18
So when I say pie, not like an apple pie, you know, the old whipped cream, the whipped cream pies, right?
02:26
So it started with, can some of the kids pie you at the picnic?
02:32
I was like, okay.
02:34
Well, that turned into, can all the kids pie you? And I said, multiple times, each as hard as they can. You would be surprised how hard some of these little guys can hit you in the nose with a whipped cream pie. I had to go into like concussion protocol. So they're like, can all the kids hit you in the pie, hit you in the face with a pie as hard as they can? I was like, okay. Then somebody, not one of the kids, somebody had this brilliant idea.
03:32
How about we pie Pastor Jeff, but instead of whipped cream, they brought a squeeze bottle of mayonnaise. A squeeze bottle of mayonnaise. And they're like, let's pie him with a mayonnaise pie. Mayonnaise pie, excuse me. And I said, too far. That was too far. Absolutely under no circumstances.
04:02
But you see, they just took it too far. They just took it too far. It was all fun and games until they brought out the Hellmanns. Too far. You went too far. And it's that idea of going too far that takes us to this next section. Because you see, the Corinthians that Paul was writing to lived in a pagan culture.
04:32
Right? Paganism was everywhere. And some of the people in the church obviously came to Christ out of the pagan culture, and they realized, hey, I am free in Christ. And an idol? An idol is nothing. And Paul's like, you're right, an idol is nothing. Well, meat that was sacrificed to idols? I can eat that. I'm free to eat that. And Paul's like, yes, you are free to Eat that meat. Yes. But not if it offends a weaker Christian. Then you lay down your freedom. Say like, well, I'm free also to go to the pagan festivals. Go to these pagan parties. I'm free to do that. And Paul said, too far. You've taken it too far. Yes, we are free in Christ, but going to the pagan festivals, That's too far. Look at verse 14. He says, Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
05:43
That word beloved, that is such a term of just deep affection.
05:50
Paul's like, look, I love you, church. I love you.
05:56
And it's because I love you, church, that I have to tell you something that's really important.
06:02
A lot of you are still getting involved in the paganism around you. You've got to run from that. You've got to flee. Get away from that whole scene. Idolatry. So let me ask you, are you in danger of idolatry? You. Are you in danger of idolatry?
06:38
We would agree that idolatry is an issue for a lot of people in the world. Right? We would agree with that. As many of you know, we are the stateside support. We have 23 churches in northern Thailand. Mountain, jungle, tribal, places that don't see white people.
07:03
We support 23 churches, 4 children's homes, a Bible institute. We have a thriving ministry there. And I've been to Thailand several times. And when you go to Thailand and you land in the airport, there is a sign at the airport that says there is a severe penalty.
07:32
for stealing the head of a Buddha statue. And I thought, well, that's random that you land. It's like, welcome to our country. By the way, we will arrest you if you steal the head of a statue. So I asked our missionary Barnabas, like, what is up with that? What's up with that sign? He said, well, people realize they can't steal the whole statue.
08:00
So people come and they just try to steal the head. And to them, that is so sacrilegious. That is a horrible thing. And he said they come down hard on people that do that. So we look at that and we're like, yes, idolatry. Or we go up into the mountain jungles of Thailand. When you get away from the city where there's a lot of Buddhism, But when you get to some of these tribal areas, it's not Buddhism as much as it's spiritism and animism. And they have these spirit altars in their homes where they burn things to appease the evil spirits. And when they become Christians, when they receive Christ, one of the first things they do is rip that spirit altar out and take it outside their village and burn it as their way of saying, I am done with this.
08:58
And we hear those stories and we see the ashes and we say, yeah, they have a problem with idolatry. But we don't think idolatry is an issue for us. But here's the thing, church. We don't have less idols. We have infinitely more.
09:30
I've never bowed down to a rock. I understand the Bible's definition of idolatry is much greater than just that. For example, the Bible says money can be an idol. Money and stuff. Jesus said, Matthew 6.24, you cannot serve God and money. Money and stuff can be an idol. How about covetousness? The Bible says covetousness is an idol. Ephesians 5.5, it says, that is an idolater has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
10:04
Covetousness.
10:05
That's when instead of being thankful for what God has given to you, you wish that you had what God gave to someone else.
10:14
That's coveting.
10:17
And God says when you covet, you're an idolater.
10:22
The Bible says your belly can be an idol, Philippians 3.19.
10:27
In that passage, Paul talks about people who are ruled by their appetites. That's what drives them. Whatever they are hungry for, that's their idol. Or how about this one? Rebellion. 1 Samuel 15 talks about that. Rebellion is as the sin of divination and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
10:56
You see, when God tells you to do something, and you're like, I'm not going to do that, and you're rebelling against God, God says, in my mind, that has become an idol to you, your rebellion. Ezekiel 14 talks about taking idols into your heart. You know, I was thinking about that a lot this week. Idols are kind of a funny thing. In that, You realize literally anything, literally anything on this earth can become an idol. Do you ever think about that? Anything. I mean, an object, whether it's a rock or your car or something, an object can become an idol. Another person can become an idol. Your spouse, your kids, your Whatever. Celebrity. A person can become an idol. Some activity. Some hobby. Even a good thing. Consumes you. It becomes the thing that you worship. An activity can become an idol. Or a position. Right? I've got to get this job. I'm not going to be content until I reach this level. And that becomes an idol. You realize an idea can become an idol.
12:26
An idea can become an idol. Like, I didn't think my life was going to turn out like this. And we sort of have this idea of, this is how I thought my life was going to be at this point. This is how I thought my kids were going to be. I thought I'd be in a much different place at this point in my life. And we sort of have this idealized utopia of how we think our lives should be. And that becomes an idol for us.
12:55
Literally anything can become an idol. But here's something else that's funny about idolatry. Idolatry is completely individualized. And it's completely subjective. Here's what I mean. Like, when I've been to Thailand, one of the times I went, I said to Barnabas, I said, hey, can I see one of these Buddhist temples? Because there was one right down the street from his house. And I said, would they object to like somebody like me just going in there. He goes, oh no, they're fine with that. He says, you want to see it? I'll show you. He took me down. There was nobody in there. We just walked right in. He goes, oh, they don't care. But I got to tell you, did nothing for me. It was interesting, but it did nothing for me like religiously. But you know, there are a lot of other people that go in there and that is where they worship and that is everything. You see how it's subjective.
13:55
The same thing means everything to one person but meant nothing to me. Or I could take one of these Thai people here to America and maybe I've turned my kids into an idol and to the Thai person, my kids mean nothing to them. So you see how idolatry is so individualized and it's so specific and subjective to us, to each of us, that there is something in your life that you are tempted to turn into an idol. Unless it has already become an idol. You're like, well, what is it? What is it for me? It's that thing in your life that's more important than Jesus. That's an idol. It's the thing that keeps you from obeying Jesus as you should. That's an idol. If I said to you, what is the thing in your life that you know if this thing wasn't in the way, you would have a closer walk. You would feel like you are nearer to God. What is that thing? That thing would be your idol. The thing that's more important than coming to worship. The thing that's more important than your personal time with the Lord. That's an idol. The thing you devote your time and money and attention over Jesus.
15:25
That's an idol. So I'll ask you again, are you in danger of idolatry? Because when we consider the biblical definition of idolatry, I think the answer is yes, we all are. Every single one of us are in danger of idolatry. So verse 15, he says, I speak as to sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I say. Do we have any sensible people here this morning? No? This is going to be the longest sermon you've ever heard if you're not sensible. But that's what Paul's saying.
16:26
in your head, listen to what I'm saying. Listen, this is something you need to think about. Something you really need to stop. And what's he saying? I got to think about that. All right? So here's what Paul's saying in this passage we're going to look at. Paul says, run from idolatry.
16:55
Okay, why, Paul? Paul says, because of the Lord's Supper. You're like, what? What do you mean? You've got to be sensible, sensible people. Let's talk about the Lord's Supper. Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22. Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples before Jesus' death. And Jesus, in this celebration, changed the meaning of the Passover meal from remembering the Exodus to remembering Him. It became a regular observance in the church. And here's what Paul's saying in this passage. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, if you are a sincere, born-again believer in Jesus Christ, if you are someone, who comes and takes the Lord's Supper, then you don't want anything to do with idolatry. So let's explain what he means by that, sensible people. On your outline, three reasons to run from idolatry. Number one, because of who you are. Why should I run from idolatry? Because of who I am. You should run because of who you are.
18:27
Look at verse 16.
18:29
Because we've got to talk about this one for a couple of minutes.
18:34
Paul says, sensible people flee from idolatry. Why, Paul?
18:38
Look at verse 16. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?
18:49
The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
18:56
The cup of blessing. What's the cup of blessing? That's the third cup in the Passover meal. That's probably when Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper. Jesus blessed it. And Paul says, when we get together and take the Lord's Supper, we bless it. What does that mean? It means that we are regarding this as a sacred thing. Right? When we have the Lord's Supper together, it's a sacred thing.
19:24
And we're not having the Lord's Supper today. In hindsight, we probably should have. We're going to have it in a couple weeks because he talks more about the Lord's Supper. But understand, church, when we take the Lord's Supper together, it is more than just a religious ritual. The cup and the bread are way more than just symbols.
19:54
What are they? He says it four times in this passage we're looking at today. The word that you've got to understand this to understand his whole point. The word is participation. Participation. He says the cup is participation in the blood of Christ. The bread is participation in the body of Christ. What does that mean?
20:24
And I really like the analogy, so I'm going to use it. But he compared it to if you've ever had somebody that you love very much who passed away, but you have a photograph of them. When you look at that photograph, that awakens something in you, doesn't it? A photograph isn't just a piece of paper with an image on it to you.
20:54
that picture of that one who you love who had passed away, when you see that person is sort of actualized in your mind, the person sort of becomes alive in your mind. You know that feeling. You see that old picture and you just feel something in your spirit. You feel your emotions. That something really stirs in you when you look at that picture.
21:28
The Lord's Supper is sort of like that, but it's more than that. When we take the Lord's Supper, it's not just a reminder. Like, why am I here again? Oh, yeah. Yeah, Jesus. Now, what did he do? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
21:54
Yeah, he died. Right, right, right. No, no, no, no. It's much more than that. When we take the Lord's Supper, we are engulfed in who he is and what he has done. This is what Paul's saying here specifically. Sensible people, sensible. Look, you promised me you were sensible. So let's keep going here, all right? The cup is a participation in the blood of Christ.
22:24
What does that mean? The blood of Christ is not about the red fluid that pumped through his veins. Blood of Christ is a figure of speech regarding his death. Right? So here's the thing. When we take the Lord's Supper, we are participating in Christ's death. When we take that cup, we're identifying ourselves in the benefits of his death.
22:54
Jesus' death means something. And when I receive the cup, I'm participating in that. That this isn't just about a man who died for me. This is about God in the flesh who bought my salvation with his death. And I'm participating in that. This means something to me right now. That's what happens when we take communion. The bread, that's the body.
23:23
Paul tells us here, but it's more than just the suffering of Christ. It's that, but it's more than that. It's everything that the incarnation means. See, when we take that bread, we're reminded of the body of Christ. We're reminded the invisible God made himself visible. He became a man. God was here. God was here as Jesus, and he showed me what God is like. And ultimately, yes, He came to die as only a man can die. So when we take that bread, we're participating in Christ's life. We're identifying ourselves with His righteousness, with His example. We're saying, this is the manifestation of God. This is who He is conforming me to be like. That's what we are saying together, church, when we are taking the Lord's Supper. We are participating.
24:22
So the cup and the bread, they're more than symbols. All that Christ is, all that Christ means is life, his grace, his humility, his love, his death. We are participators in all of that. So the Lord's Supper isn't just about reminding ourselves of an event that happened long ago. But the Lord's Supper is, hey, this is our life right now.
24:52
Because of what he did, this is who I am today. But it goes deeper than that, believe it or not. Look at verse 17. He says, because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. You see, in the Lord's Supper, we are joined with Christ and we're joined with each other. See, that bread all came from the same loaf.
25:22
and we're all eating a piece of bread from the same loaf. We're saying that the Lord's Supper unites us in a profound way. When we take the Lord's Supper, it unites us in a profound way. Look, whatever else we may agree on. Best sports team, favorite brand of ketchup, what political, what side of the political aisle you're on, whatever else, we may disagree on. When we take the Lord's Supper as a church, do you know what we're doing together? We're uniting. We're saying, this. This is our God. This is what unites us. We have been saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We all identify this is our God. We are together on this. This is what we share.
26:22
Look at verse 18. Paul's making the same point. Flashback to Israel. He says, Consider the people of Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifices? Participants in the altar? Same point. And Israel's worship, when somebody offered a sacrifice, like, well, who got that? Everybody. God, the priest, and the worshiper were all participators in the sacrifice.
26:56
Isn't that terribly fascinating? You're like, yes, but what's the point? I thought we were talking about idolatry. What is the point of all this? Here's the point. You ready? Sensible people, are you ready? Here's the point. When you are in a religious service, You are participating with what you are worshiping and the other worshipers.
27:34
So Paul's point here is this.
27:36
How can you come here and participate with Christ and Christ people and then turn around and go to a different religious service where we are participating with idols and idolaters. When we take the Lord's Supper, we're saying, church, we're saying, this is who I am. I'm in Christ. I identify with these people here who are also taking from this loaf. Now, I can't just turn around after participating here with these people. I can't just turn around and participate with another group entirely.
28:19
Does that make sense? Because if you're so a little fuzzy on it, think about it this way. It's Stanley Cup playoffs, right? Did you watch that game last night? I did, but I think it was like this the whole time. But just imagine, A person goes down to PPG Paints Arena, Pens versus Flyers. They go down and they're wearing their Sidney Crosby number 87 jersey and they're down there like, Sid! Go Sid! Greatest player in the world! Go Sid! Let's go Pens! Let's go Pens! Let's go Pens! Right? And then that same person goes, hey, when?
29:18
Like, when's the next game? And they're like, oh, the next game's in Philly. So that person gets in their car and drives to Philadelphia and wears a Flyers jersey. And during the game, Sid, you stink! Sid's the worst! And they're like cheering for the Flyers the whole time. What would you think of someone who did that?
29:47
you be like how can you thank you Justin like how can you how can you be participating with the penguins and now you're participating with the flyers how can you do that that's Paul's point right here how can you participate with the living God and then participate with an idol because when you go to church When you go to church, it's about participation. Listen, this is why many Christians miss this concept, because you look at church as an event. For some people, that's all church is, it's an event. What's on my calendar this week? Well, I got this appointment of work, I got a Oh yeah, Sunday morning, 11 o'clock, church. Yeah, it's an event on the calendar. Just one more thing on the schedule. You just see church as an event. And listen, when you see church as an event, then skipping church because I'm sleepy, that's okay. It's just an event. Or church hopping, that's okay. It's all the same.
31:14
This church, that church, whatever. We just hop from church to church. It's okay. Or not getting involved. You warm a seat, usually, but I'm not going to get involved. That's okay. Listen, beloved, none of those things are okay. Because church is not an event. Church is participation with Jesus and people who identify with Jesus.
31:46
And when you finally get to the place where you are settled in your heart and mind and say, I participate with Jesus, I participate with the people of Jesus, when you fully grasp and understand and embrace what it means to participate with Jesus, then you will be able to face the things that can become idols for you and say, no, that's not who I am.
32:15
You see? Maybe money and stuff has been your idol. Maybe that's the thing that's tempted you. When you realize who you are in Christ, you're a participator in Christ. You're like, oh, that's just stuff. That's not important to me. No. Jesus is who I participate with. Or maybe it's addiction. Maybe you've been battling the idol of addiction.
32:43
And you realize, no, my identity is with Jesus. I'm done with that addiction because I'm not participating with Jesus and with the addiction at the same time. It just doesn't work that way. And for some, it's the idol of lust and all of the ways that that idol is worshipped. That you have to get to the place in your life, like, that's not who I am. That's just not me. I'm a participator in Jesus.
33:13
Christ. I belong to him. Not that. I'm done with that. That's what Paul's saying here. You've got to get the participation thing. You're not attending a church event. You are a participator in the life of Christ. All right? It's a matter of identity. Run from idolatry because of who you are. Number two, write this down. Three reasons to run from idolatry. Number two, because it's demonic.
33:49
Look at verse 19.
33:50
Paul says, what do I imply then?
33:53
That food offered to idols is anything?
33:57
Or that an idol is anything?
34:00
Paul's like, so what am I saying?
34:02
Am I saying that an idol itself is anything?
34:04
Am I saying that?
34:06
No, he's not saying that.
34:07
He just said that in chapter 8, verse 4.
34:11
Like, we just answered that question.
34:13
Look at verse 20. He goes, 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. Listen to what Paul's saying. Listen very close. He says, I'm not saying that there is a real God in the idol, but there is a real participation still taking place. Participation with who? He says right here. With demons. Church, demons are at work in idolatry. And if a person buys into an idol, any kind of idol, here, Thailand, wherever. When a person buys into an idol, demons will be at work to keep the person hooked into worshiping that idol. That's just the way it is. The first time we were talking about Thailand earlier, the first time I went to Thailand, I was 20 years old. I was a brand new Christian. Boy, that was an eye opener.
35:42
Like I said, I went to places that pockets of civilization that have never seen a different race of people at all. Well, this one village that we visited, there was a man there. I've never seen a human that looked like him. His whole head looked like, it was like a flesh-colored cue ball. There was no hair, and it It was perfectly round and smooth. And there were just like tiny little like slits where they're like for the nose. There was no nose. It's just these little slits. And the same with the eyes peering behind these really tiny little slits. And he had he had a trach. And it was very strange. Like I've never seen a human that looked like this. And I asked our missionary Barnabas.
36:42
I said, Barnabas, that man that we saw, I said, does he have a disease or was there some genetic thing? Like, what's the matter with this man? Barnabas said, oh, he goes, this fellow, he used to look just like everybody else, all the other Thai people. He said he looked just like everybody else.
37:12
gave his life to Christ. He received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. And he said, soon after he received Christ, an evil spirit in the form of a bear ripped his face off. And you might say, I don't believe that. Okay, well then you tell me what happened to this man. Because the guy on this earth that is my hero that I look up to in the faith more than anybody, That's the story that he told me. You tell me then. That this man was so into idolatry that the evil... That was a demon's way of saying, you're not leaving us. You're not aligning yourself with Christ. And he was physically attacked. There are demons behind idolatry. Deuteronomy 32.17 says they sacrificed the demons.
38:12
that were not God. Psalm 106, verse 37, they served their idols, which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the... You see that? It's all through the Old Testament. Demons are behind idolatry. Verse 21, he says, you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord.
38:42
of demons. It's the same point. You can't do both. You can't. You can't participate with Christ and participate with demons. And understand, in idolatry, there's a lot more going on than bad theology. It's demonic. And Paul says, I don't want you to participate with demons. Like, why would you mess with that? And if you're like, oh, you know, So, Pastor Jeff, I believe that if you're truly born again, if you truly have God's Spirit, you can't be possessed by a demon. You just can't. A demon can't possess a true believer. And I agree with you. I believe that. I believe that 100% that a demon cannot possess a true believer. But why would you mess with that anyways? Really? You know, demons are powerful. And demons are evil.
39:43
Why would you mess with that? It's like keeping a pet cobra. Like, why would you do that? Earlier we talked about the idol of addiction. We did a whole sermon series on this one time. Addiction is a worship disorder. Addiction, ultimately, at its very foundation, is idolatry. I want you to think about addiction. What is it that keeps someone so hooked on the thing they're addicted to?
40:12
You think it's just physical? Really? Just physical? You mean a guy is willing to lose his wife because it's just a physical addiction? You think a guy's willing to lose his family? A guy losing everything he spent his life building up. He's willing to watch it be destroyed. You think it's only physical? It's demonic. That's why Paul reminds us, Ephesians 6.12, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over the present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Paul says run from idolatry. Why? Well, it's a matter of spiritual affliction. Run from idolatry because it's demonic. One more sensible people. Number three, because God is jealous for you.
41:14
Why do I run from idolatry? Because God is jealous for you. Last one. Look at verse 22. He says, shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? Look, if you are in Christ, if you have believed in Jesus, his death, his resurrection, if you are in Christ, you belong to God. And if you belong to God, understand he is jealous.
41:42
for you.
41:47
Exodus 34.14 says, For you shall worship no other god, for the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous god.
41:58
I thought jealousy was bad. Isn't jealousy bad?
42:02
Isn't jealousy a bad thing?
42:07
Not in this context.
42:10
Not when jealousy is about right to ownership. Not when jealousy is about you belong to me and something is threatening that. That is appropriate jealousy. God himself says he's jealous. Like 28 times in the Old Testament I think it was. Years ago to former ministry I had this young couple come in for marriage counseling.
42:40
You can kind of get a feel for where it's going when they come in and they're not sitting beside each other. They're sitting on opposite ends of the table. Like, oh, I see where this is going. And the wife came in. She looked like she was ready for a fight. And the husband just sat down, had his arms folded and his head down the whole time. And I'm like, so, what seems to be the problem? And she goes, he's jealous.
43:14
He's jealous because I'm always going to Ghost Riders with this guy friend of mine dancing all night and my husband's jealous oh you know what Ghost Riders is it's up in Butler I don't know if it's still there it's on like Route 8 North there's a honky tonk where they do line dancing you know the line dance where they're like You know what I'm talking about? Ghost riders. Okay, thank you, Jillian. That's not still a thing, Sharon. Did it close down? Okay. What was the thing back then? It was a big thing. Well, anyways, she goes, he's jealous that I go with my guy friend to dance.
44:09
She goes, he's jealous. And I said, he should be. She went through the roof. Like, what are you talking about? He should be. I said, he is your husband. You belong to him. And when something is threatening the marriage covenant like that, jealousy is appropriate. She's like, jealousy is wrong. I'm like, jealousy is not wrong. She goes, Jealousy is always wrong. I said, but you know the Bible says that God is jealous. She goes, the Bible does not say that. I'm like, here we go. And I walked her through all these verses where God says He is jealous. I'm like, see, we belong to God. He doesn't want us messing with something else. And it's the same principle in marriage. She goes, jealousy is wrong. I'm like, you're wrong.
45:11
Well, the counseling session did not end well, as you probably surmised. But then, like, for months after that, I would get phone calls from her. Like, I'd be in my office, and be like, Pastor Jeff, so-and-so on line one. I'm like, yeah, jealousy is always wrong. I'm like, oh, please lose my number.
45:37
But that's Paul's point here is, look, if you're in Christ, you belong to God, and God takes it seriously when you flirt with something else. When that ownership is threatened, God takes that very seriously. You belong to Him. Oh, by the way, we were talking about demons earlier. Demons, evil, powerful demons. Do you know the only thing worse than messing with a demon?
46:10
provoking God. Way worse. Infinitely worse. Provoking God. Why would you do something that you know provokes God? Why would you do that? Like, well, what will he do? Well, the Bible is full of God's reaction to idolatry. Read Deuteronomy. Read the Psalms. Read the prophets.
46:38
They're like, yeah, that is so Old Testament. Yeah, it is Old Testament. But this here that we're studying today is so New Testament. The Bible says it's still a bad idea to provoke God to jealousy. Are you stronger than he? No, we should just do what he says, right? So it's a matter of the fear of the Lord. Run from idolatry.
47:13
I just like you to bow your heads for a moment I want to ask you the question that I asked you earlier are you in danger of idolatry considering that idolatry is a heart issue considering that we can turn anything into an idol The answer is yes, we are all in danger of idolatry. And I just want to ask you today, what idol do you need to flee from? What is it today that if you were going to be completely honest, I would draw near to God if this thing wasn't in the way. What is that thing that's keeping you from drawing closer to God? What is that? The Bible says that's an idol. If you belong to Jesus, you don't need to crack a door open for a demon. You certainly don't need to provoke God.
48:39
Father in Heaven, we bow ourselves before You as Your church. God, we realize that idolatry is just as much a temptation for us today as it was to the people that Paul wrote to. As it was in Old Testament times. Father, You are greatly glorified when idols are torn down. We see that throughout.
49:07
Your Word when a king who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, that was usually accompanied by him tearing down idols. And I just pray that for this church today, Father, that You would, by Your Spirit, by Your Word, You would give us the wisdom to identify the idols, and You would give us the faith to cast them down. Whatever that needs to be, however that needs to look, Father, let today be the day that idols are destroyed.
49:37
in our lives. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
In light of 1 Cor 10:16-17: How would you explain the Lord's Supper (the “participation” concept) to a new believer?
How can believers be guilty of idolatry today, in our culture?
How does idolatry make a believer participate with demons (1 Cor 10:20)?
What does it mean that God is jealous (1 Cor 10:22)? How exactly do you think He will respond when He's provoked to jealousy?
Breakout
Pray for one another.
