Eternal Gift 1 Cor. 10v1-11v1

to read to verse 22 and then pick it up again in verse 31.

So let's hear God's word to us. This is God's voice.

1 Corinthians chapter 10, which is on page 1151.

1 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

Starting at verse 1.

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters,

that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea.

They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink,

for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them.

And that rock was Christ.

Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them.

Their bodies were scattered over the desert.

Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.

Do not be idolaters as some of them were.

As it is written,

the people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.

We should not commit sexual immorality as some of them did.

And in one day, 23,000 of them died.

We should not test the Lord as some of them did and were killed by snakes.

And do not grumble as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel.

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us,

on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

So, if you think you are standing firm,

be careful that you don't fall.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.

And God is faithful.

He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.

But when you are tempted,

He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Therefore, my dear friends,

flee from idolatry.

I speak to sensible people.

Judge for yourselves what I say.

Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ?

And is not the bread we break a participation in the blood of Christ?

Because there is one loaf,

we, who are many,

are one body,

for we all partake of the one loaf.

Consider the people of Israel.

Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?

Do I mean that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything,

or that an idol is anything?

No.

But the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons,

not to God.

And I do not want you to be participants with demons.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord

and the cup of demons too.

You cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons.

Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy?

Are we stronger than he?

Verse 31.

So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do,

do it all for the glory of God.

do not cause anyone to stumble,

whether Jews, Greeks, or the Church of God,

even as I try to please everybody in every way.

For I am not seeking my own good,

but the good of many,

so that they may be saved.

Follow my example

as I follow the example of Christ.

Well, let's pray together.

Our Father God, we thank you for your word,

which is your voice to us,

speaking to us clearly

about your Son

and about us.

And so we pray that as we hear your word,

we would be people who

take it in,

people who listen carefully,

people who

see Jesus

and follow him

as we ought.

Father, by your Spirit,

take your word

and plant it deep within

so that we may grow and mature

as your holy people.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, this week,

we are all going to be sharing

in the giving and receiving

of gifts.

And like everybody else,

I look forward to it

and I'm going to enjoy it.

Contrary to what everybody thinks

about me being a bah humbug,

I love Christmas.

But we need to keep our perspectives,

don't we?

Each gift we give

or receive

will be temporal,

not eternal.

Each gift

will either wear out

or it'll break

or it'll get eaten

or it'll die

or it'll fall apart

or become obsolete.

None of our gifts

are going to last.

they are all temporal.

They are not

eternal.

So, this morning,

we're going to be looking

at three gifts.

The first two gifts

are gifts that we receive.

And if we take these gifts

and use these gifts,

they will lead us

towards

the eternal kingdom of God.

So, the gifts we receive

have an eternal value.

The third gift

we're going to look at

is a gift

that we give

so that others

can share

in the eternal kingdom of God.

So, three gifts this morning.

The first two we receive,

the third gift

we give.

So, here's the first gift

and it might come

as a bit of surprise

or a bit of a shock to you.

This gift is a warning.

Be careful

that you don't fall.

Look at verse 12.

So, if you think

you are standing firm,

be careful

that you don't fall.

In London,

some of you will know this,

that on the underground

rail work,

there's a station

that has this

automatic warning.

As the train

approaches the station

and the doors open,

there's this great

big

warning.

Mind the gap!

Because between

the train

and the platform,

there's a gap.

And if you're not careful,

you could step

into the gap

and you'll fall.

So, if you want

to make sure

that you get

to your destination,

listen to the warning.

Mind the gap.

And that's what we have

in verse 12.

It's a warning,

but this warning

is a gift

to us

so that we

will not fall

and that we

will get to

our eternal

destination.

And to help us

understand this

warning,

we're to go back

and remember

Israel's salvation

from Egypt

and their journey

towards their

destination,

the promised land.

Go back to

verse 1.

He says,

I do not want

you to be

ignorant of the fact,

brothers and sisters,

that our forefathers

were all under

the cloud

and that they all

passed through

the sea.

It's taking us

back in time

to remember

how God

saved Israel.

Do you remember

the story

and what happened?

They followed

the cloud.

The cloud

was the very

presence of God

or representing

the presence of God.

And as they

followed the cloud,

they were led

out of captivity

and they were

brought to

the Red Sea.

And as they

faced the Red Sea,

they were like,

what are we going

to do?

How are we going

to get out?

As Pharaoh

and his armies

were chasing

behind them.

And then God

in a miraculous

act parted

the sea

so that they

could escape

Pharaoh

and his armies.

It was God's

mighty intervening

act of saving

his people,

rescuing them

from one ruler

and bringing

them to himself

so they could

live under

his saving

rule.

Now their

experience of

salvation

is actually

a picture

of our

salvation

today.

You see,

their salvation

was not just

a physical

leaving a land

to go to

another place,

it was a

spiritual salvation.

Have a look

at these verses,

verse 3.

You see,

as they made

their way

towards the

promised land,

look what God

did, verse 3.

They all

ate the same

spiritual food.

that was the

manna that

God sent.

And they drank

the same

spiritual drink,

for they drank

from the

spiritual rock

that accompanied

them.

You remember

that on one

occasion they

had nothing

to drink,

and Moses

with his

staff struck

the rock,

and water

flowed from

it.

That rock,

verse 4,

was Christ.

Christ.

So when

they ate

this food,

when they

drank this

water,

they were

in effect

looking to

God in

faith and

trusting God

to save

them.

And that

salvation,

we're told,

ultimately came

through,

verse 4,

through Christ.

It was a

picture of

Christ.

So just as

Christ saved

Israel and

brought salvation

to them,

so Christ is

the one who

has saved us

and rescued

us from

slavery to

sin and

brought us

out from

under slavery

and brought

us into

freedom towards

our ultimate

promised land,

the eternal

kingdom of

God.

This is our

salvation story.

This is what

God has done

for us.

But that

salvation

experience

is not

enough.

Have a look

at verse 5.

Nevertheless,

God was

not pleased

with most

of them.

Their bodies

were scattered

over the

desert.

You see,

the people

of Israel

thought that

because God

had saved

them in such

a miraculous

and mighty

way,

bringing them

through the

waters,

bringing them

into the

promised land

and providing

food and

drink and

heading towards

their promised

land,

they thought,

well,

God has

saved us,

we can do

as we want

now.

Not so.

All of the

adults that

left Egypt,

with the

exception of

two people,

Caleb and

Joshua,

all the

adults died

in the

desert before

they reached

their final

destination,

the promised

land.

God was

not pleased

with their

behaviour,

so he

judged them.

And the

reason for

writing this

is to say

to the

church in

Corinth,

listen guys,

you are

behaving just

like Israel

did in the

past.

So there's a

warning for

you.

Verse 8,

we should

not commit

sexual immorality

as some of

them did

when they were

in the desert.

and in

one day

God judged

them and

23,000 of

them died.

We should

not test

the Lord

as some

of them

did and

they were

killed by

snakes.

And do

not grumble

as some

of them

did and

they were

killed by

the

destroying

angel.

But it's

not just

the church

in Corinth.

Are we

any different

in our

behaviours?

You see

the story

of Israel

is also

a warning

for us.

Verse 11,

these things

happened to

them as

examples and

were written

down as

warnings

for us

on whom

the fulfilment

of the ages

has come.

So if

you think

you are

standing

firm,

be careful

that you

do not

fall.

Don't rely

on some

past

Christian

experience.

Yes,

you might

have a

story to

tell of

how God

saved you.

Yes,

you might

have been

baptised.

Yes,

you might

share in

communion.

Yes,

you may

have your

testimony to

tell.

But if

we are

not

walking

with

Christ

today

in

repentance

and

faith,

it

counts

for

nothing.

Be

careful

that we

do not

fall.

You see

this warning

is actually

a gracious

gift.

It's

reminding

all of us

to stop

and think

about our

walk with

Christ.

Christ.

Don't

mess with

sin,

he says.

Don't

think that

it doesn't

matter.

It does

matter.

How we

live our

lives today

is a

serious

thing.

So make

sure we

look to

Christ,

our

rock,

our

saviour,

so that

we do

not fall

and that

we will

reach our

eternal

destination.

salvation.

So that

is our

first gift,

a warning,

be careful

that we

do not

fall.

Here's the

second gift

that we

are to

receive,

hope,

participation

in Christ.

So look

at verse

14.

Therefore

my dear

friends,

or my

dearly

beloved,

flee

from

idolatry.

You see

Israel as

a people

had turned

away from

God,

who had

saved them

and brought

them miraculously

out of slavery

into the

promised land.

They had

turned away

from God

and they

had now

turned to

their own

gods who

could not

save them.

And the

warning or

the message

for us is

that we

can do

exactly the

same thing

as they

did.

Of course

we might

not fashion

a golden

calf as

they did,

but we

must remember

that an

idol is

anyone or

anything that

replaces God.

Someone or

something that

is more

important to

you than

Christ is

an idol.

So if work

is more

important to

you than

Christ,

then work

is your

idol.

If your

children's

career is

more important

than our

trust in

Christ,

then the

children have

become an

idol.

If our

relationship

to our

spouse is

more important

than our

relationship to

Christ,

then that

relationship has

become an

idol.

If Christmas

is more

important to

you than

Christ,

then it's

become an

idol.

So,

verse 14,

flee from

idolatry.

Don't fall

as Israel

did.

Turn from

trusting in

your own

idols that

cannot save

you and

turn to

Christ who

is our

true and

ultimate

gift and

provides us

with all

that we

ever need.

Verse 16,

is not the

cup of

thanksgiving

for which

we give

thanks a

participation in

the blood

of Christ?

and is

not the

bread we

break a

participation

in the

body of

Christ?

He's

talking here

about the

Lord's

Supper,

communion,

which is a

gift to

us and

we think

of it as

a remembrance

meal.

With the

bread and

the wine

we remember

the death

of Jesus

Christ on

our behalf.

But this

is much

more than

just a

meal that

we

remember.

It's much

deeper than

that.

It's a

participation

in Christ.

So as

we eat

the bread

and as

we drink

the wine,

we are

by faith

joining or

uniting

ourselves to

Christ.

Again,

look at

verse 16.

He says

it's a

participation

in the

blood of

Christ.

It's a

participation

in the

body of

Christ.

So through

our eating

and through

our drinking

together,

we are

saying that

what Christ

went through

on the

cross,

he went

through for

me.

His death

was my

death.

His

condemnation

for sin

was my

condemnation.

His

experience

of wrath

and being

shut out

from the

Father

is my

deserved

wrath.

So he's

reminding us

and saying

look at

the

saviour

who truly

saves.

what gift

could we

have that

is better

and greater

than the

gift of

Christ?

So why

turn to

these idols

and these

God

substitutes

who can

never save

you,

never satisfy

you,

or never

fill you?

In fact,

if we

participate

with Christ,

we can't

be joined

to anyone

else or

anything

else.

Have a

look at

verse 21.

He

says,

you cannot

drink the

cup of

the Lord

and the

cup of

demons

too.

You

cannot

have a

part in

both the

Lord's

table and

the table

of demons.

You see,

Israel,

going back to

their example,

they were

trying to

live with a

foot in

both camps.

They were

trying to

have it

both ways.

Oh yes,

God is our

salvation.

He saved

us from

Egypt.

Egypt.

But we

like to

turn to

our own

idols and

live as we

please and

do what we

like.

The

Christians in

Corinth were

no different.

Oh,

Christ is

our

saviour.

He's

rescued us

from the

empty way

of life.

But we

like to

join in

in the

pagan

festivals and

enjoy our

sexual

immorality.

And they're

the sorts of

things we

like to

do.

I think

the point

is simple,

isn't it?

We cannot

share in

the Lord's

supper on

a Sunday

morning and

then live as

we please

Sunday night.

We can't

eat the

bread and

in our

hearts be

turning to

other gods

for our

pleasure.

We can't

drink the

wine and

in our

hearts turn

to other

gods for

satisfaction.

We can't

live with a

foot in

both camps.

Verse 21,

you cannot

drink the

cup of the

Lord and

the cup of

demons too.

Because

what he

sounds

strong

language

to say

the cup

of demons,

he's saying

but anything

else that

you give

your life

to,

idolatry,

a God

substitute,

it's like

a demon,

it's other

than God.

And we

cannot

participate

in it.

You see,

if we

participate in

Christ,

we are

joined to

Christ.

In Christ

we have

received the

greatest gift

of all,

he is

our hope.

So when

we feed

on the

bread of

Christ,

we are

truly

satisfied.

When we

drink of

the blood

of Christ,

we will

never thirst

again.

It's like

the rock

in the

desert that

continued to

flow.

Christ is

our ultimate

source for

all that we

ever need

and all that

we would

ever long

for.

He is

our salvation.

He is

the only

one who

truly fills

us.

We have

the greatest

gift of

all in

Christ.

He is

our eternal

hope.

So that

is the

second gift

we are to

receive.

We

participate

in him

today so

that we

will reach

our eternal

destination.

The third

gift.

is not

so much

a gift

that we

receive,

but it's

a gift

we give

because of

what we

have

received.

Life

so that

they may

be saved.

Look at

verse 33

of chapter

10.

Comes at

the end

of verse

33.

For I

am not

seeking

my own

good,

but the

good of

many,

that they

may be

saved.

You see,

in Christ

we have

received the

greatest

gift

possible.

Spiritual

life,

life with

God,

life to

come in

his eternal

kingdom.

And in

response to

this amazing

gift that

we have

received,

we are to

give our

lives to

others so

that they

may be

saved.

So that

they may

share in

the eternal

glory that

is to

come.

in fact,

we are to

use our

lives for

God's

glory.

Two things

we need to

do.

First,

I need to

ask,

how does

my life

today affect

a not-yet

Christian?

How does

my life

today affect

a not-yet

Christian?

Well,

look at

verse 31.

So he

says,

whatever

you do

in life,

whatever you

eat or

drink,

whatever you

do,

do it

all for

the glory

of God.

Do not

cause

anyone to

stumble,

whether

Jews or

Greeks.

No matter

their

background,

whoever they

are,

do not

cause them

to stumble

or fall.

You see,

as a

Christian,

I am

free to

do as I

please,

so long as

I do not

disobey

God's

word.

But,

I am not

free to do

what I

please if

it causes

an unbeliever

to stumble

and fall.

If my

life and

my actions

and my

behaviour

becomes a

barrier to

someone coming

to faith,

I must

change how

I live.

Second,

not only

must I

ask how

does it

affect a

not yet

Christian,

I need

to ask

how does

my life

affect

other

Christians.

Verse

32,

do not

cause

anyone to

stumble,

whether

Jews or

Greeks or

the Church

of God

or fellow

believers,

even as

I try to

please

everybody

in every

way.

So,

in the

choices and

decisions I

make in

life about

where I

go and

what I

do,

if that

causes another

Christian to

fall away

from Christ,

that means I

must change

how I

live.

You see,

how I

live today,

my life

today is

not a

private

individual

experience

that I'm

huddled away

and I do

things on

my own.

It has a

profound

effect on

the lives

of others.

A church

means a

gathering of

God's

people,

so what

I do

has an

effect on

the rest

of the

church

family.

So,

I will

seek to

do all

things for

the glory

of God.

And here's

the main

reason,

and it

comes at

the end

of verse

33.

For I

am not

seeking my

own good,

but the

good of

many,

that they

may be

saved.

You see,

how we

live

matters.

How

Israel

lived

mattered.

How the

people in

Corinth live

mattered,

and how I

live today

matters,

because it

has an

eternal

impact on

the lives

of other

people.

What I

do with

my life

has eternal

consequences.

But because

I have been

saved,

because I

now have

Christ,

because of

the hope

and the

participation

in Christ,

I will

want to

live in

such a

way that

it leads

other

people

towards

Christ.

And isn't

that our

longing and

our hope

over the

Christmas

season,

that our

friends and

our family

will not

fall because

of us,

but because

of the way

we live,

we lead

them towards

being saved.

Not to

be saved

is to

face the

emptiness and

the loneliness

of an

eternity

without

God,

which is

hell itself.

You see,

the greatest

gift that we

could possibly

give anyone

over this

Christmas season

is the

giving of

our own

lives in

service to

other people.

Look at

chapter 11

verse 1.

Follow

my example

as I

follow the

example of

Christ.

That's what

the Apostle

Paul did.

he followed

the example

of Christ.

And that

example is

really the

story of

Christmas,

isn't it?

It's all

about Jesus

Christ who

came down

to us,

the God

man,

the one who

gave up his

rights,

the King of

Kings,

the creator

of the

universe,

who was

born as

a child,

in the

back ends

of beyond

nowhere,

in a

manger,

fleeing for

his life as

a refugee

with no

one and

nothing,

becoming like

one of us

to serve

the world

in which he

came to.

But not only

did he live

his life in

service of

others,

he gave his

life in

sacrifice

so that

we could

be rescued

from our

slavery to

sin,

brought into

the freedom

of the

ultimate

promised

land,

the eternal

kingdom of

God.

That is what

he's done

for us.

That is the

example we

follow as we

give our

lives.

So just as

the apostle

Paul followed

that example,

so should

we give

our life.

give your

life so

that,

and you

fill in the

name,

so that

may be

saved.

So can

we begin

to see the

importance of

these gifts?

The gifts

that we give

and receive

on Christmas

morning are

all temporal.

They'll all

disappear,

they'll either

break or

they'll be

eaten or

they'll be

destroyed.

or they

will become

obsolete.

They will

not last.

These three

gifts

have an

eternal

value.

Receive

the gift,

hear the

warning,

so that you

do not

fall.

Participate

in the hope

of Christ

and the

blessings that

we have in

him.

And having

received those

gifts,

give the

wonderful gift

of your

own life

that will

lead and

point others

to Christ.

What

greater gift

could we

possibly give?

Let's pray

together.

our Father God,

we pray that

you would

enable us,

give us the

humility

opportunity,

that we would

accept and

receive the

gifts that you

have offered to

us today,

that we would

hear the

warning so

that we do

not fall,

that we may

reach out

and participate

in the hope

of Christ,

who fills

us and

satisfies us

like no

one else

or nothing

else.

And

Father,

would you

please give

us opportunity

that we may

give the

gift of our

own life

to others

so that

they may

know Christ

and be

saved.

Father,

would you

please give

us opportunity

to serve

you well

and to do

all things

for your

glory this

coming week.

We pray it

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

We're going

to sing

together our

final song.

It's chosen

particularly with

the theme

that we've

looked at in

mind.