1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:04,680 Well, good morning everyone. For those of you who don't know 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:06,600 me, my name is Reverend Alan Mills. 3 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:10,840 By day, a military chaplain, by Sunday, part of this church 4 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:15,400 community and happy to be here with you today to open up God's 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:21,080 word with you. As we do so, let us pray to the 6 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:22,800 Lord. Please join me in prayer, 7 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:30,760 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 1 God, we bless you this day and 8 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:33,600 pray that we may be a blessing to you. 9 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:39,200 May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be 10 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:44,120 pleasing to you and acceptable in your sight, our rock and our 11 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:45,920 Redeemer. Amen. 12 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,880 Some decades ago, a Romanian woman was strolling through by 13 00:00:55,880 --> 00:01:01,120 the banks of the Boozawa River in southeastern Romania when her 14 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:05,920 eye fell upon a reddish Black Rock. 15 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:13,360 How interesting, she thought, how attractive. 16 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:19,200 She picked it up. It was heavy, about 8 lbs, about 17 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:24,120 the size of a large coconut, she said to herself. 18 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:25,960 I know just what I will do with this. 19 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:30,880 She brought it home and she placed it right by her back 20 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,840 door. Whenever a a pleasant breeze 21 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,480 would blow and she wanted some fresh air, she would use the 22 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:45,000 rock to prop open her back door. From time to time she noticed 23 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:51,960 that when the setting sun bathed the rock, it seemed to glow with 24 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:58,800 reddish orange hue. It was beautiful, she would 25 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:02,800 admire it once in a while, but for the most part it just sat by 26 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:07,320 her back door, only put to use when the need arose. 27 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,960 When the woman died in 1991, a relative inherited the house. 28 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,480 He noticed this rock by the back door, and he suspected that the 29 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,760 door stop might be more than what meets the eye. 30 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:25,600 He knew about the local gemstone mines dating back to the 1920s. 31 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,040 The man took the rock to a government expert for appraisal, 32 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:35,840 and to his surprise and delight, he was offered over $1,000,000 33 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,640 by the Romanian state for what turned out to be one of the 34 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:46,840 largest Nuggets of ruminite ever found, a fossilized form of tree 35 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:50,720 resin. Now this gemstone has a 36 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:55,000 permanent home in the Provincial Museum of Buzow and is 37 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,200 considered a national treasure of Romania. 38 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:05,000 I want you to keep this chunk of amber ruminate before you and in 39 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:10,000 your mind as we proceed today. I tell the story of it because I 40 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,400 think it sheds light, pun intended, on particular 41 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:22,680 realities of our life in Christ. The body of Christ, you and I 42 00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:29,000 together are like this gemstone, created by God with inherent 43 00:03:29,200 --> 00:03:35,120 beauty and uniqueness and now indwelt by the Spirit of Jesus 44 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,480 Christ. His glorious light is meant to 45 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:45,680 shine through us, to illumine a Dark World, and when we are 46 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:52,760 walking and worshipping in union with Him and each other, the 47 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:57,880 world is illumined by His beautiful colours as they shine 48 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,400 through us. When this light is compromised 49 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,600 or concealed, the world is deprived of the light of His 50 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:12,280 presence through you and me. Well, my brothers and sisters, 51 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:16,160 if that's all that you remember from today's sermon, that would 52 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:21,519 be enough. But Paul has more for us as we 53 00:04:21,519 --> 00:04:26,240 look at this passage in court to the church in Corinth. 54 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,960 As we continue this series through the summer, I I will 55 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:34,840 invite you to consider with me two ideas that Paul illuminates 56 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:38,440 for us now. The cultural setting is very 57 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:41,800 different from ours today, but the principles are just as 58 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,960 relevant to us today as followers of Christ. 59 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:52,520 Paul has a word here for us about communion with Christ and 60 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:56,320 a word about loyalty to Jesus Christ. 61 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,480 So first, a word about communion with Christ and his body. 62 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:08,600 Paul illustrates his larger point first by making reference 63 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:12,600 to the central act of Christian worship, Holy Communion. 64 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:21,880 Now, at any point in our Christian journey, each of us is 65 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:25,600 going to be growing in our comprehension and understanding 66 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,920 and experience of what is actually taking place in Holy 67 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:32,120 Communion. There's always going to be more 68 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:38,920 to grasp and a deeper revelation and experience to receive as we 69 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:44,120 participate in Holy Communion. But human language and human 70 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:49,480 understanding limit us until we will see him face to face. 71 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:54,520 Then we will know the fullness of that joy and union that is 72 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:57,560 we're introduced into in Holy Communion. 73 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:03,000 But Paul does want us to lay a hold at least of a couple of 74 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:08,520 core truths, and he says he speaks of them in verses 16 and 75 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,880 17. He says the cup of blessing that 76 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:16,160 we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of 77 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:20,720 Christ, The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the 78 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:24,640 body of Christ? Because there is one bread? 79 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:32,120 We who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one 80 00:06:32,280 --> 00:06:38,640 bread. Paul stresses 2 things about 81 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:43,880 Holy Communion. First, it is the God-given means 82 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:49,280 by which our union with Jesus Christ is pictured, enacted, 83 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:52,040 facilitated, nurtured and deepened. 84 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:58,400 And secondly, simultaneously, it is the God appointed means by 85 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:04,560 which our connection with His human family, the Church, is 86 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,680 portrayed, enacted, facilitated and deepened. 87 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:19,920 The Greek word Koinonia that is used in verses 16 and 17 has the 88 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:27,240 sense of intimate participation or union with, and that's where 89 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:33,960 we get our word in English communion, Union with in the 90 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:38,080 Eucharist as instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, bread and 91 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:45,480 wine received in faith become the incarnational means by which 92 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:49,920 we are. We receive the glorified risen 93 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:55,920 Lord Jesus Christ Himself, intimately participate in his 94 00:07:55,920 --> 00:08:01,840 life, are united to Him, and are incorporated into His body, 95 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:07,320 embodied as the community, centered on and in his living 96 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:12,280 presence. 1 old Anglican theologian in the 1600s put it 97 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:16,120 this way, that participation in Holy Communion is like the 98 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,040 invisible ligaments of the body of Christ. 99 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:25,560 It's what binds us together to one another and makes US1 body 100 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:33,159 in the Spirit and by the Spirit. Now we often confess, as you 101 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:37,880 confess the the the Apostles Creed, the words of the Apostles 102 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:41,440 Creed, and perhaps of you as you have recited the Apostles Creed, 103 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,320 you've wondered about that little phrase, the communion of 104 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:46,520 Saints, and what that might mean. 105 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:52,000 Well, the Apostles Creed is drawing upon the language here 106 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:59,360 in First Corinthians chapter 10. The word Saints has a dual 107 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:03,960 meaning. It can mean holy ones, as in 108 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:09,040 believers set apart for God and dwelt by the Spirit, And it can 109 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:14,640 also mean holy things, that is, the elements of consecrated 110 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:19,000 bread and wine that become for us the body and blood of Jesus 111 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,960 Christ. Thus, by means of these holy 112 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:29,680 things, we holy ones commune with the Holy 1 and in Him 113 00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:36,000 commune with one another. The Christian Church from its 114 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,560 earliest times has affirmed this baptismal creed. 115 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,920 In this baptismal creed, what Paul affirms here in verse 17, 116 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:50,200 that the many who partake of the one bread of life, Jesus Christ, 117 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,720 are made one with him and one body in Him. 118 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:59,640 Now we celebrate this holy mystery every Sunday. 119 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:04,160 Why? Well, Jesus commanded us to do 120 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:09,040 so when we gather together. And it's also more something 121 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:14,920 that is made real by doing it. It is something that is enacted 122 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:22,800 by the enacting of it, the doing it, and our participation and 123 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:28,760 our comprehension week after week as we do so in remembrance 124 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:35,080 of Christ as He taught us. So much more could be said about 125 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:39,120 the Eucharist, but perhaps, and Paul will speak more about it in 126 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:44,360 the next chapter, Chapter 11. But hopefully these brief 127 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:47,560 reflections will be, at least for us, food for thought in our 128 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:52,080 spirit and mind the next time you say the Apostles Creed and 129 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,920 also when we come to the Lord's Table today and every Sunday. 130 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:03,360 So first, Paul has a word for us about communion. 131 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:10,160 But that leads to a second realization, because commitment 132 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:14,280 with, sorry, communion with Christ and his body calls forth 133 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,920 a response from us and a response of commitment. 134 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:22,280 And this is the main thrust of Paul in this portion of 135 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:26,760 Scripture that we've read loyalty to Jesus Christ. 136 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:32,640 Now return with me for a moment to our our ruminate nugget. 137 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:37,840 And I want to affirm in our midst here today a vital truth, 138 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:42,760 a truth that maybe some of us need to hear today and afresh. 139 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:47,440 And it's this you, my dear brother. 140 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:53,880 You, my dear sister, are not intended to merely be a doorstop 141 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:58,200 in the royal palace of our King Jesus. 142 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:05,040 You are a living and vital member of the Body of Christ, 143 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:14,200 and you belong to Him. He considers you attractive, 144 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:21,480 interesting, beautiful. He redeemed you by His blood. 145 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:26,360 He has reconciled you to His Father, if you will. 146 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:30,800 He found you on the riverbed of life and picked you up and took 147 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:35,800 you to Himself, and is in the process of polishing you up as 148 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:40,480 His precious treasure so that His Christ colour might shine 149 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:45,880 through you to the world. You are His treasure. 150 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:54,760 And if this is true, which it is, and it's also the case that 151 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:59,800 we owe him our loyalty in all things, every part of our life, 152 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:06,000 individually and as a community of of believers in our beliefs, 153 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:09,000 in our worship, and in our conduct. 154 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:15,640 And for that reason, Paul here enjoins us to carefully and 155 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:23,760 thoughtfully identify, renounce, and avoid anything which would 156 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:28,040 compromise our loyalty to Jesus Christ and impede His light from 157 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:30,600 refracting through you and me to the world. 158 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,000 This brief section of 1st Corinthians 10 is actually the 159 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:42,160 the third part of three lessons that Paul is giving them to 160 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:46,520 equip these Jewish and Gentile believers on how to sort through 161 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:51,400 their past and how to live out their new faith in the 162 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:56,880 surrounding Pagan culture. In the previous two parts, Paul 163 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:01,120 first advocates in Chapter 9 for Christians to identify 164 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:08,320 creatively and fully with the fallen world around us as fallen 165 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:13,480 creatures and seek to be all things as much as we can to all 166 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,000 people in order to we might win some. 167 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,720 And then in this in the secondly, in the first half of 168 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:27,240 chapter 10, right before this passage, Paul instructs them 169 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,840 about their that they can partially identify with their 170 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:36,640 Jewish past, with the covenant heritage, the exodus, the feasts 171 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:42,760 and the sacrifices provided they don't fall into Israel's sins. 172 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:47,840 And that they understand and celebrate Jesus the Messiah as 173 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:51,000 the fulfillment of all the covenant promises. 174 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:56,400 Now in this third section, Paul is going to show them when it 175 00:14:56,720 --> 00:15:00,040 that when it comes to their Pagan past and worship 176 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:04,440 practices, there is no identification possible, no 177 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:10,120 ground for commonality. He counsels a full break out of 178 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,560 loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ. 179 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:19,680 Verse 14 says he speaks to these dearly beloved brothers and 180 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:24,840 sisters with a warning saying flee from idolatry. 181 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:28,440 I speak to you as sensible people. 182 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:33,240 Judge for yourselves. He's telling them, use your 183 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:37,000 godly reason. And if you stop and think about 184 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,400 it, you will realize that you can't mix good with evil and 185 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:46,200 still be on the side of good. Truth doesn't just doesn't work 186 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,760 that way. And evil never cooperates like 187 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:54,000 that. Instead, your loyalty to Christ 188 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:58,880 must outvote and take priority over all other allegiances. 189 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:05,560 So how are we to understand the context that Paul is speaking 190 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:09,800 into? Well, in ancient Pagan societies 191 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:16,960 like Corinth, social order was built around sacrifice to the 192 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:23,280 Pagan gods, and adherence to this social order was thought to 193 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:28,640 literally hold the world and society together and prevent it 194 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:32,080 from falling into chaos and plagues. 195 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:37,760 And the particular way that this social salvation was ensured was 196 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:41,800 through the ritualized sacrifice of animals to the gods, which 197 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:48,000 was believed to secure the gods health, wealth, and their 198 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:52,320 fertility for the gods provision of those those things. 199 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:56,920 Now, eating the flesh of those sacrifices signifies 1's 200 00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:01,120 submission to and participation in that whole world. 201 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:07,640 Order to dedicate food to an idol was to dedicate yourself. 202 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:11,920 The meat from these sacrificial animals was then sold in the 203 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,680 marketplace, entrenching the entire system insidiously 204 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:17,680 throughout the economy and the culture. 205 00:17:20,200 --> 00:17:26,119 No wonder, Paul says don't have anything to do with that system. 206 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:31,960 Flee from idols. For evidently there were some in 207 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:35,760 the Corinthian church who had not completely broken their 208 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:39,600 social patterns of participating in the Pagan sacrifices. 209 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:45,760 They were still trying to live in both worlds to get along by 210 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:49,840 going along. But Paul warns them that for the 211 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:58,360 Christian, this will not do. The risen Lord Jesus Christ is 212 00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:04,440 Lord of all creation. He is the one who commands our 213 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:09,840 full allegiance and loyalty in every area of life. 214 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:15,360 And even as Paul assures these Corinthians that idols have no 215 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:19,040 real power of existence, still there is a twist. 216 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:24,200 And this is the key. There is a demonic power behind 217 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:29,760 that idolatry, which is real. Verses 19 and 20 make the point 218 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:32,400 with clarity. What do I imply then? 219 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:37,400 That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is 220 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:41,160 anything? No, I imply that what pagans 221 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:45,960 sacrifice, they offer to demons and not to God. 222 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,960 I do not want you to be participants with demons. 223 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:56,080 This is the central thrust of Paul's passion for these 224 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:01,640 Corinthians is that they not entangle themselves with evil 225 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:06,400 and the demonic. To Paul, this is about loyalty 226 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:10,120 to Jesus. You cannot drink the cup of the 227 00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:14,280 Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table 228 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,560 of the Lord and the table of demons. 229 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:22,960 So, friends, if we have been rescued by Jesus Christ and we 230 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:30,960 have from darkness the dominion of sin and death, our loyalty to 231 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:36,160 Him must be the primary of primary importance, like 232 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:38,840 exclusive fidelity in a marriage. 233 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:44,360 And I think the reason why Paul speaks of the jealousy of the 234 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:48,440 Lord right at the end of this passage in verse 22 is because 235 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:51,520 of this. We are the bride of Christ, his 236 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:55,720 beloved, for whom he gave Himself, that he might redeem us 237 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:59,800 and present us to the Father, a spotless bride, and to himself a 238 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:04,640 spotless bride. And love and loyalty is the 239 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:12,040 response that he jealously looks for in us, his bride and lover. 240 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:19,360 Well, this contesting of loyalty of course is not unique to these 241 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:24,320 1st century Christians. We too live in a time in a place 242 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,760 where our loyalty to Jesus Christ is contested every day. 243 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:34,160 And Jesus himself in our gospel reading said that he that there 244 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:38,320 are times when the gospel that he brings creates division and 245 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:44,640 not peace. We too are not immune from the 246 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:49,400 lure and temptations to split our allegiance between our Lord 247 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:52,880 Jesus Christ and this world's allures. 248 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,560 Now we may not sacrifice to idols today in the West, but 249 00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,080 that doesn't mean that we don't have idols in our hearts and our 250 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:04,880 affections to which we are tempted to offer ourselves or 251 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:09,640 parts of ourselves in sacrifice. And it doesn't mean that there 252 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:14,000 aren't demonic powers at work manipulating and deceiving 253 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:18,560 people into compromising their souls and ultimately their 254 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:22,280 loyalty to the only true Lord Jesus Christ. 255 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:32,240 So Paul's admonition to us Flee from anything that would 256 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:37,600 publicly dishonor Jesus Christ or draw your heart away from 257 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:43,960 Him. Paul exhorts us not to traffic 258 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:48,160 with this world system of entrapment in idolatry, secrecy, 259 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:53,280 and ethical compromise. Because of our frailty and 260 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:59,360 fallen nature, as we offered up in our colleague prayer today, 261 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:04,320 we are often tempted to seek our status and approval outside of 262 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:10,440 our true identity. As a beloved child of God, we 263 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,920 face decisions. I face decisions every day that 264 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:18,600 contest my loyalty to Jesus. What? 265 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:20,480 What am I going to watch on television? 266 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,360 What am I going to keep watching on television? 267 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:28,240 What purchases am I going to make? 268 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:33,720 How am I going to use my money? And for all of us, driving in DC 269 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:37,440 traffic will contest your loyalty to Jesus in our 270 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:40,240 responses to others around us on the road. 271 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:47,160 But friends, maybe you are feeling caught up or compromised 272 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:52,680 by this world's system and the false idols that it worships. 273 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:58,840 Maybe Jesus is speaking to you about where your allegiance lies 274 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:02,160 and is calling you to change to effect change. 275 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:08,120 Sometimes we do get off track and we need a course correction. 276 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:14,680 But take courage my friends. Jesus is faithful. 277 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:22,880 His corrections may come in any area of our lives, in your 278 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:29,880 family, relationships, in the realm of finances, sexuality, 279 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:39,040 career, in private activities, attitudes, appetites or 280 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:43,360 ambitions. He will lovingly and 281 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:48,160 persistently convict you of something that needs attention. 282 00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:54,560 Are there any issues in your life that you hesitate to pray 283 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:58,520 about or to talk about openly with others? 284 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:04,560 Are there any? That sense of secrecy or of 285 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:09,320 shame might be an indication that the Lord is convicting you 286 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:16,280 that changes are needed. Sometimes our conscience can be 287 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:20,280 repeatedly bothered about something that just doesn't seem 288 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:25,120 to resolve. He may be trying to get your 289 00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:32,440 attention. Be still in His presence, listen 290 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:36,680 for His voice, let Him speak to you. 291 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,120 If you're struggling with something and you just don't 292 00:24:41,120 --> 00:24:46,000 know how to begin to address it, I encourage you to seek out the 293 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:50,400 help of a trusted Christian friend or talk to those some of 294 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:55,080 those in your RES group or contact one of the pastoral 295 00:24:55,080 --> 00:25:00,760 staff to help you gain discernment and perspective. 296 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:02,920 Pray together. Bring it to the Lord. 297 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:09,200 He will speak to you. He will show you the way 298 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:14,560 forward. He will lead you to properly 299 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:18,880 repent if there's something you need to repent of, and He will 300 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:24,120 heal you of the wounds and scars that resulted from that 301 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:27,280 situation. And then he will lead you to 302 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:35,760 renew your allegiance to him. Well, friends, we've seen that 303 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:41,040 Paul's burden in this passage is that loyalty to Jesus and 304 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:46,880 communion with him and his with each other are inseparable 305 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:54,360 realities. My fidelity to Jesus impacts and 306 00:25:54,360 --> 00:26:01,120 influences you, and your fidelity to Jesus effects me, 307 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:07,800 and together our fidelity incarnates the presence of 308 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:15,440 Christ into this world. You and I are not unimportant 309 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:23,640 door stops in the King's palace. We are His precious treasure, 310 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:28,960 made to shine for Him, living members of Christ and His body, 311 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:33,000 and He wants to shine through us with all of His glory and 312 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:36,960 brilliance radiating up and out of your soul and of our 313 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:40,520 communal, communal life, shedding the beautiful hues of 314 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:46,360 His presence into the darkness of this world today. 315 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:55,440 Think on these things when you come to the table of the Lord to 316 00:26:55,440 --> 00:27:03,240 share in the communion of Saints, holy ones sharing in the 317 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:07,440 holy things, the body and blood of Jesus. 318 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:14,880 Come to the altar to receive Jesus with joy, to give yourself 319 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:22,000 to him as your Lord, to renew your allegiance to Him, and to 320 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:26,160 affirm that you are not alone, but are part of the Body, His 321 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,920 body, in this world, in this church family. 322 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:37,280 And may we so yield ourselves to Him and to one another that we 323 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:43,320 will shine increasingly and ever more colorfully with the light 324 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:48,920 of Jesus Christ for one another and for the sake of the world, 325 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:53,960 in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 326 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:55,360 Amen.