WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:21.900 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.380 --> 00:00:25.500 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:25.800 --> 00:00:29.980 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:32.080 the latest message. Thanks for listening. 00:00:44.040 --> 00:00:48.140 Man, it's a good day to be here. If you got your Bibles, go ahead and open up to 1 Corinthians. 00:00:48.480 --> 00:00:55.840 We are going to be in chapter 9 and 10. I don't know if you're aware of this, but I checked this 00:00:55.840 --> 00:01:03.340 morning. Today is the last Sunday of winter, all right? And it did a good job, right? Really 00:01:03.340 --> 00:01:08.680 feeling like winter out there. So that made it a little tough this morning. But how many of you 00:01:08.680 --> 00:01:13.620 kind of felt that loss of hour this morning when you got up and got out of bed? Yeah, I did. I'll 00:01:13.620 --> 00:01:19.480 be honest. I got up. My alarm clock went off this morning. Erin looked at me, and she said, I'm cold. 00:01:19.580 --> 00:01:23.060 Can you lay here and let's cuddle for a minute? I was like, absolutely, because I don't want to get up 00:01:23.060 --> 00:01:32.200 and get going either. But then we got here today, and we see three families that stand before you 00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:38.100 and say, this isn't a lip service, but this is what we've committed to, that we've committed to 00:01:38.100 --> 00:01:46.720 discipling our kids. And then we got a family that comes forward, daughter baptizing them, small group 00:01:46.720 --> 00:01:53.560 leaders, baptizing them, coming forward. I know every day is a good day. I know every day that we 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:59.500 have the privilege and opportunity to gather together for worship is a good day, but today just 00:01:59.500 --> 00:02:04.960 feels like an extra good day. And so we are just blessed, blessed to be here. I want to follow up, 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:10.440 just add to a little bit of our announcements. First marriage conference, please, please, please, 00:02:10.440 --> 00:02:16.300 March 25th and 26th. It's going to be a wonderful Friday night and Saturday morning gathering together 00:02:16.300 --> 00:02:24.340 as married couples. I don't care if you've been married a minute, right, or a million years, all 00:02:24.340 --> 00:02:30.380 right? You need to be here. You need to be a part of this to see what God's going to do to walk through 00:02:30.380 --> 00:02:35.880 this. Erin and I have been studying this already in these talks that we're going to listen to, 00:02:35.940 --> 00:02:39.860 these messages that we're going to listen to, and just already gleaning from and taking from them 00:02:39.860 --> 00:02:45.280 what the Lord has for us, and just can't wait to see what it is going to do in the life of so many 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:50.260 of our families. And so we'll be selling tickets back here to my left. We'd like to encourage you 00:02:50.260 --> 00:02:57.140 to be there, to be a part of that weekend with us. Also, last week, I mentioned and began to talk 00:02:57.140 --> 00:03:02.860 about in the message, Circle of Welcome. It's a new ministry that we're going to be having here 00:03:02.860 --> 00:03:09.560 at Willow Ridge Church as we're going to be partnered with a refugee family that is going 00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:15.400 to be moving in from some location in the world. We don't know where they're coming from. We know 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:20.880 they're going through all the pieces and checkboxes that they need to from our government to be here 00:03:20.880 --> 00:03:26.160 and to be here legally. And so we're going to be coming alongside one of these families and welcoming 00:03:26.160 --> 00:03:32.860 them and ministering to them and caring for them as they acclimate, moving from wherever in the world 00:03:32.860 --> 00:03:37.560 they are to where God is bringing them here today. And we shared that and had a wonderful response 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:42.620 from people last week that are interested in it, but we have a lot of questions that are out there. 00:03:42.940 --> 00:03:48.760 And so what we're going to be doing is on March the 20th at 630, we're going to be hosting a meeting 00:03:48.760 --> 00:03:54.660 in building two in room 200, where I get to kind of walk a little bit more in depth of what it means 00:03:54.660 --> 00:03:59.820 to be a part of Circle of Welcome, but even more importantly, to give you guys an opportunity to 00:03:59.820 --> 00:04:05.100 ask questions about what does this look like? What are you going to ask of me? What are you going to 00:04:05.100 --> 00:04:10.920 require from me? And an opportunity to do that, okay? And so if you're interested in just being a part of 00:04:10.920 --> 00:04:16.000 the meeting, if you're interested and can't make the meeting, there's a sign-up sheet on the black table 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:20.860 in our lobby out front. And if you just put your name and number down, we'll be in touch with you, 00:04:20.900 --> 00:04:26.360 and hopefully we can all be at the meeting and hear and see what God is going to do. 00:04:27.140 --> 00:04:32.860 Well, you know, as we think about Scripture, I don't know about you, but it's always neat when I'm 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:37.960 reading through the Bible, and there's the Bible verse that jumps out to me, and I'm going to put 00:04:37.960 --> 00:04:44.080 this in quotes for the first time. Maybe I forgot that it was there. Maybe I've just glanced over it 00:04:44.080 --> 00:04:50.980 in my reading through before, but the Bible verse that's there, and I'm like, you know, I forgot that 00:04:50.980 --> 00:04:56.580 it was there. I don't remember seeing that before, and the newness and the freshness of it. Because I 00:04:56.580 --> 00:05:02.020 find in a lot of ways that there are those Bible verses that for, especially those of us who are 00:05:02.020 --> 00:05:09.440 brought up in church, right, that just become these popular common Bible verses that we say a lot, that 00:05:09.440 --> 00:05:15.380 we use a lot, and that's good. We've set those things, those truths of the Lord in our heart, and God 00:05:15.380 --> 00:05:21.900 brings them to our memory right when we need them in the situations that we face. But sometimes I find 00:05:21.900 --> 00:05:27.140 that there's Bible verses that we can just kind of draw from quickly, and do we even understand the 00:05:27.140 --> 00:05:33.340 great impact of what God's doing? Now, if you were a child, I believe I saw this the most in like the 00:05:33.340 --> 00:05:39.060 70s and the 80s, you know, you couldn't see a major league baseball game without somebody holding up a 00:05:39.060 --> 00:05:45.360 John 3 16 sign, right? And you'd see that. You don't see that as much today as you used to, but at that 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:51.040 time, probably whether you were in church or out of church, you at least had this John 3 16 reference, 00:05:51.140 --> 00:05:56.380 right? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believe in him 00:05:56.380 --> 00:06:01.460 should not perish, but have everlasting life, right? So there's those popular verses, but then there's 00:06:01.460 --> 00:06:08.120 other ones that we hear, that we speak, that we reference, that we maybe even paraphrase in our own 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:14.480 words from time to time. Bible verses like Philippians 4 13, right? I can do all things through Christ who 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:21.400 strengthens me. Or maybe the Bible verse 1 Peter 5 7, it's been one for me. Cast all your anxiety 00:06:21.400 --> 00:06:28.280 on him because he cares for you. These have been Bible verses that we know, that we say, but do we 00:06:28.280 --> 00:06:34.400 understand at the depth and in the context of what the writer is talking about and what the Spirit of 00:06:34.400 --> 00:06:40.280 the Lord is leading them in? Well, this morning's message in 1 Corinthians 9 and 10, there's one of 00:06:40.280 --> 00:06:45.280 these verses. And it's going to kind of be the verse that we build on and we go off of. Now, what we're 00:06:45.280 --> 00:06:49.740 going to do is we're going to start at the end and kind of work our way back and work through this a 00:06:49.740 --> 00:06:54.560 little bit. And we're going to be really aggressive in our time approach to this this morning as we try 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:59.920 to look over two chapters. But there's the verse at the end of 1 Corinthians 10, not at the very end, 00:06:59.940 --> 00:07:04.720 but right there in the last. That's a common one of so many. And it says, so whether you eat 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:13.860 or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. I don't know about you, but that's a verse 00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:20.680 that I know that I've quoted a lot. Even if I don't give the reference, 1 Corinthians 10 31, so whether 00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:26.880 you eat or drink or whatever you do, you do it all for the glory of God. And on the surface, right, 00:07:26.880 --> 00:07:35.580 this is a very straightforward verse, very little to explain in all things that you do, not in some, 00:07:36.460 --> 00:07:48.460 but in all. So go through your day. When you wake up, you go to bed. In every aspect that's there, 00:07:49.400 --> 00:08:02.060 it's not do some, it's not do most, it's do all. Not just when we're at church, not when we're just 00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:08.440 a small group, not when we're just at mission trip or when we're having our quiet time, but do all 00:08:08.440 --> 00:08:19.200 things to the glory of God. Now, here's where I think we need a little explanation. Because you and I, 00:08:19.200 --> 00:08:25.600 I think when we read this, we understand, even if we struggle with the practical application of this, 00:08:26.260 --> 00:08:33.140 you and I know that we aren't allowed to subdivide our life into different segments and say, well, 00:08:33.220 --> 00:08:36.940 this one's mine, this one's God's, this one's mine, this one's God's. Now, practically, our life 00:08:36.940 --> 00:08:43.600 oftentimes plays out that way, but we know that's not God's desire for it. But what does it mean 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:50.460 when we say that we're to do all things for the glory of God? A phrase that we maybe use all the 00:08:50.460 --> 00:08:59.260 time, that we are living for God's glory. And I think this is the piece that we see so much of 00:08:59.260 --> 00:09:05.500 what Paul is pressing into, and honestly, not even just to the church at Corinth, but to every letter 00:09:05.660 --> 00:09:13.320 that he's going to write to every book of the Bible, to every verse of living for God's glory. 00:09:14.300 --> 00:09:19.340 Well, what is that? What is God's glory? I think it's a wonderful question. 00:09:20.220 --> 00:09:29.880 And I think the application, how do I live for that, is fair. What is God's glory, and how do I live for it? 00:09:30.460 --> 00:09:38.120 Well, very simply, the glory of God is the beauty of his spirit. I read it this week, and I love that 00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:46.740 simple definition. This beauty is not a material beauty, it's beyond that. But the beauty that emanates 00:09:46.740 --> 00:09:55.860 from his character, it's who he is. It's that we are to live for the beauty of God. We're to live for 00:09:55.860 --> 00:10:01.820 the character of God. We're to live for the glory of God, that this is why we live. In fact, the Bible 00:10:01.820 --> 00:10:06.820 even tells us, and I apologize that this verse isn't going to be on the screen, but that the Bible says 00:10:06.820 --> 00:10:13.660 that we were created for this purpose, that we are created for his glory. Isaiah 43, 7 says, 00:10:14.260 --> 00:10:29.240 So whatever reason you think you're here, for whatever purpose that you think that you're here, 00:10:30.160 --> 00:10:38.260 for whatever wakes you up in the morning and drives you, you were created for a purpose that's not unique 00:10:38.260 --> 00:10:47.380 to the rest of us, that we were created for God's glory. And now his glory and his beauty 00:10:47.380 --> 00:10:56.000 are seen amongst many things. Many things. You go out and you look at the beautiful sunrise, 00:10:56.280 --> 00:11:04.100 and you see the glory of the beauty of the creator. You hear a newborn baby cry, and you're reminded 00:11:04.100 --> 00:11:11.780 of the glory of the glory of the creator of life in that moment. You see a marriage that's broken, 00:11:11.780 --> 00:11:18.420 that's reconciled, and the couple draws back together and draws back to the Lord, and you see 00:11:18.420 --> 00:11:28.000 the glory of the beauty of the redeeming God that we serve. Right? We see people who were lost and 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:33.940 separated from the Lord come to faith in him, and we see the glory of the beauty of the Savior. 00:11:34.780 --> 00:11:42.860 This is what we see. But we are called also to live our life in a way as those that have been 00:11:42.860 --> 00:11:48.140 redeemed, those that have been justified, those that are being sanctified, those that have been saved, 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:55.300 to live our life in a way that reflects and shows the world the beauty of God. 00:11:56.920 --> 00:12:02.500 And we're good at doing that in places like here. We're good at gathering together amongst brothers 00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:10.540 and sisters in Christ, and emulating and radiating and reflecting the beauty of God. We just did that 00:12:10.540 --> 00:12:20.020 just a moment ago in worship as we sang and declared who he was. We do this as we open his word and talk 00:12:20.020 --> 00:12:25.680 about how he is. We do that as we stand out front and greet and welcome one another. We do that as we 00:12:25.680 --> 00:12:31.260 check our kids in and drop them off in kids ministry. We do that as our students gathered in a room and 00:12:31.260 --> 00:12:35.620 talked through God's word together. We did that as adults where two of our small groups meet this 00:12:35.620 --> 00:12:41.160 morning and dove into and talked about life and how God's leading them and drawing them and breaking 00:12:41.160 --> 00:12:47.500 down God's word. We do a really good job of doing this together, but the gospel doesn't just say 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:55.060 come and gather. The gospel says come and gather so that you can go. And we spend way more time going 00:12:55.060 --> 00:13:02.680 than we do in gathering. We spend way more time there than we do in here. 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:10.840 And so what I want us to look at this morning in a quick kind of overview of 9 and 10 is we're going 00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:15.140 to look at this and Paul's going to say I'm going to walk you through as he's going to culminate in 00:13:15.140 --> 00:13:22.800 1031 and say do it all for the glory of God and draw from this several ways of what it means to live 00:13:22.800 --> 00:13:29.080 your life for the glory of God. Now please hear me. This is a not all-encompassing list of everything 00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:34.680 that we do, but as we've seen, as we've walked through, as we see what the church at Corinth is 00:13:34.680 --> 00:13:40.520 battling and noticing that we're battling some of those within ourselves as well, what we can do to 00:13:40.520 --> 00:13:47.620 live our life for the glory of God. And so number one, and this has been kind of a on repeat theme 00:13:47.620 --> 00:13:53.120 almost every single week, right? It's laying down our rights. Laying down our rights. 00:13:54.400 --> 00:14:04.260 That we understand that Jesus demands from us, that Jesus calls us to stop living for you and 00:14:04.260 --> 00:14:12.720 you alone. That I am not the center. I cannot be the center of my universe and be in the center of 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:20.480 God's will. I can't do that. Stop living for myself and start living for the Lord, right? 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:25.280 And loving others. Look at how Paul describes this 1 Corinthians 9, 19. 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:34.480 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:43.120 To the Jews, I became as a Jew in order to win Jews. To those under the law, I became as one under the 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:50.960 law, though not being myself under the law, that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law, 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:56.600 I became as one outside the law, not being outside the law of God, but under the law of Christ, 00:14:57.020 --> 00:15:04.020 that I might win those outside the law. To the weak, I became weak, that I might win the weak. 00:15:05.040 --> 00:15:10.080 And I've become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 00:15:11.020 --> 00:15:15.440 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I might share with them in its blessing. 00:15:16.660 --> 00:15:22.200 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:24.740 So run that you may obtain it. 00:15:24.740 --> 00:15:35.060 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things, and they do it to receive a perishable wreath. 00:15:35.880 --> 00:15:48.680 And so I do not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body and keep it under control, 00:15:48.940 --> 00:15:53.780 lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:59.240 And so Paul looks at him and says, here's what this means in my life. 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:07.520 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, who's just previously in chapter 9 talked about what it means to be an apostle. 00:16:07.520 --> 00:16:14.620 He says, to the Jews, which Paul understood, Paul is ethnically Jewish, 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:20.660 and before Christ saved him, was religiously Jewish as well, a Jewish leader. 00:16:21.380 --> 00:16:26.620 He said, to the Jews, I surrender my rights and freedoms in Christ, and I live as one under the law. 00:16:26.980 --> 00:16:32.580 Dietary restrictions, customs, festivals, all that that's there, I take that on, 00:16:32.680 --> 00:16:40.020 and I know that that doesn't save me, but if it opens the doorway for me to be able to share the gospel with them, 00:16:40.760 --> 00:16:42.400 then absolutely I'll lay it down. 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:52.420 He says, to the Gentiles, Paul embraces their difference, their cultures, their customs, their practices, 00:16:52.660 --> 00:16:56.580 without pursuing the things that are sinful that their culture accepts. 00:16:56.760 --> 00:16:58.980 He's already talked through that with us of what we read. 00:16:59.080 --> 00:17:01.440 He's like, no, we abstain from that. 00:17:01.620 --> 00:17:05.260 We don't pursue those things, but here's what I'm willing to take on. 00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:09.020 Here's what I'm willing to do, because for the Jew, for the Greek, for the Gentile, 00:17:09.240 --> 00:17:10.620 it's willing for the glory of God. 00:17:10.740 --> 00:17:15.880 He says, for those of you who are weak in the church and your faith isn't as mature, 00:17:16.120 --> 00:17:20.360 then I abstain from the freedoms that I have of what I can do, 00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:22.820 because there's a greater purpose, Paul says. 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:26.940 There's a greater thing than dietary restrictions. 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:32.140 There's a greater thing than being able to eat meat that's been sacrificed to idols. 00:17:32.340 --> 00:17:36.960 There's a greater thing than even abstaining from meat that's been sacrificed to idols. 00:17:37.560 --> 00:17:38.900 Look back at verse 23. 00:17:40.120 --> 00:17:47.440 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing. 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:50.060 Paul says, why do I do this? 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:52.900 For the Jew, so that they may be saved. 00:17:53.900 --> 00:17:55.620 Why do I do this for the Gentile? 00:17:56.120 --> 00:17:57.360 So they might be saved. 00:17:58.060 --> 00:18:00.780 Why do I do this for the weak brother and sister in Christ? 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:03.980 Because if they're not saved, then they might be saved. 00:18:05.320 --> 00:18:10.160 And this is how Paul looks at and approaches his life. 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:11.920 Understand this. 00:18:13.620 --> 00:18:19.340 When we lay down our rights, when we think of others first, 00:18:20.660 --> 00:18:24.140 when we decide that it's not, this life isn't not about me, 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:30.900 we're not doing this in an essence so that we can force ourselves into martyrdom 00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:36.000 and earn our salvation or get a bragging right about how pious we are. 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:43.020 But we lay down our rights so that others can come to know Jesus. 00:18:43.620 --> 00:18:47.800 Because we understand that that's what eternity is all about. 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:56.060 Paul paints a picture of a marathon runner and a boxer. 00:18:57.340 --> 00:19:00.760 Now, I don't know if you've ever been in a marathon. 00:19:02.040 --> 00:19:03.100 Shocker, I haven't. 00:19:05.480 --> 00:19:08.180 I don't know if you've ever been a boxing match. 00:19:09.040 --> 00:19:10.820 Shocker number two, not me again, right? 00:19:11.120 --> 00:19:13.720 Not my things on either one of those. 00:19:14.780 --> 00:19:17.040 But they're grueling. 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:23.720 At the end of a marathon, oftentimes the men and women who compete in those 00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:28.680 will face injuries because of the grueling race that they had to go through. 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:32.640 We've all seen at least one Rocky movie, right? 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:34.940 So we know what that looks like at the end of them. 00:19:35.700 --> 00:19:36.820 We know what it goes through. 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:44.080 And Paul says that we do these things for a wreath that will perish. 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:48.700 You see, they give them a wreath that was made and have the leaves on it, right? 00:19:48.860 --> 00:19:53.060 And anybody who's ever given anyone flowers knows what happens after a certain point in time, right? 00:19:53.180 --> 00:19:56.000 They wither and they fade and they die. 00:19:57.420 --> 00:20:00.360 And Paul says that we as believers, we don't lay down our rights. 00:20:00.540 --> 00:20:02.160 Like this is what we're living our life for. 00:20:02.300 --> 00:20:07.440 When we're living our life for the things of this world, we're living our life for the things that will fade and will die and will go away. 00:20:08.600 --> 00:20:11.240 But we're called to live for the reward that doesn't. 00:20:12.600 --> 00:20:14.540 We're called to live for the reward that's eternal. 00:20:15.320 --> 00:20:21.260 To see men and women and children surrender their lives to the Lord. 00:20:22.680 --> 00:20:28.620 The second thing that we're going to see here, not only are we to lay down our rights, but we're to pursue holiness. 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:30.300 Pursue holiness. 00:20:31.820 --> 00:20:33.980 Look down at chapter 10, verse 6. 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:42.440 Now these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did. 00:20:43.780 --> 00:20:47.520 Do not be idolaters as some of them were as it is written. 00:20:48.260 --> 00:20:51.320 The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. 00:20:52.080 --> 00:20:57.720 We must not indulge in sexual morality as some of them did and 23,000 fell in a single day. 00:20:58.360 --> 00:21:03.420 We must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents. 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:07.560 Nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer. 00:21:08.080 --> 00:21:10.400 Now these things happened to them as an example. 00:21:10.940 --> 00:21:15.180 But they were written down for our instruction on whom the end of ages has come. 00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:20.720 Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 00:21:21.540 --> 00:21:25.600 No temptation has overcome you that is not common to man. 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:30.140 God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. 00:21:30.140 --> 00:21:36.460 But with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. 00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:40.060 Therefore, my beloved, free from idolatry. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:48.520 And so Paul begins by talking about those that have come before and their failings of where they've not pursued the things of the Lord 00:21:48.520 --> 00:21:53.960 and the sins and the warning against them to learn from the examples that they've seen. 00:21:54.180 --> 00:21:59.660 Because Paul's already been pointing out the sinful characteristics and the sinful actions of those in the Corinthian church. 00:21:59.740 --> 00:22:01.660 We've been walking through over the last several weeks. 00:22:01.860 --> 00:22:03.680 We've seen they've got divisions in the church. 00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:06.140 We've seen that they've been trusting the wisdom of the world. 00:22:06.380 --> 00:22:10.600 We've seen them unwillingness to deal with sin amongst the body. 00:22:10.840 --> 00:22:14.160 We've seen that they're suing one another within the congregation. 00:22:14.440 --> 00:22:19.500 We've seen the sexual immorality that has run rampant in many areas within the church. 00:22:19.780 --> 00:22:22.560 We've seen the brokenness in the thoughts of marriage that are there. 00:22:22.800 --> 00:22:26.720 We've seen the willingness to cause others to stumble for the sake of their own rights. 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:33.020 And it all culminates too in the society in which they find themselves in, the idolatry that's there. 00:22:33.340 --> 00:22:39.780 And time and time again throughout 1 Corinthians, Paul says what you need to do is run away from it. 00:22:40.840 --> 00:22:41.900 Run away from it. 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:43.840 You need to flee from it. 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:44.500 Why don't you think about this? 00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:49.480 When you're running from something, you're running to something. 00:22:51.020 --> 00:22:54.100 There's always some direction that you're headed. 00:22:55.740 --> 00:23:03.520 And so many times, we want to think, we see the sin that's there, and we run from that sin to that sin to that sin to that sin. 00:23:03.620 --> 00:23:09.360 But what Paul is painting for us here is to run away and to run to the Lord. 00:23:09.400 --> 00:23:10.560 Look back at verse 13. 00:23:11.660 --> 00:23:20.260 When we're tempted, when sin, and these things that Paul's been leading them to, they're sin that's enticing them. 00:23:21.120 --> 00:23:23.820 They're not going to address this in 1 Corinthians and then go away. 00:23:24.680 --> 00:23:26.720 It's going to continue to be there. 00:23:27.140 --> 00:23:29.220 And he says, no temptation has overtaken you. 00:23:29.320 --> 00:23:30.460 That is not common to man. 00:23:30.800 --> 00:23:32.160 God is faithful. 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:33.580 He's faithful. 00:23:34.280 --> 00:23:36.880 And he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:44.980 But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. 00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:45.760 Right? 00:23:46.840 --> 00:23:48.800 You know, Jesus was tempted. 00:23:49.600 --> 00:23:50.340 Matthew chapter 4. 00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:53.040 Jesus was brought into the desert. 00:23:53.780 --> 00:23:56.240 When he was in the desert, he was tempted by Satan. 00:23:57.040 --> 00:23:58.980 And we don't have the time to go through that. 00:23:59.100 --> 00:24:07.640 But in every single instance, when Jesus was tempted, and I think we can all agree that our example of faith, we can look at our grandma. 00:24:08.320 --> 00:24:10.100 We can look at Paul. 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:12.980 The greatest example of faith is Jesus and his holiness. 00:24:14.120 --> 00:24:16.560 And in every single one, where did he turn to? 00:24:17.520 --> 00:24:18.640 He turned to the Father. 00:24:18.740 --> 00:24:19.480 He turned to the Word. 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:20.400 Right? 00:24:21.220 --> 00:24:25.100 With temptation, we need to stop playing defense. 00:24:26.420 --> 00:24:34.180 And we need to understand that we have the ability, with the Spirit of God in us, to play offense. 00:24:35.960 --> 00:24:43.280 And to flee from temptation and the pursuit of God and his holiness. 00:24:45.180 --> 00:24:51.560 If sexual morality is there, then I flee and I pursue the Lord and what he has for me. 00:24:52.040 --> 00:24:59.140 If division is there, then I flee and I run toward the unity that God calls me to and shows me. 00:24:59.940 --> 00:25:05.420 If causing others to stumble is there, then I flee from that and I run to a surrender of my rights. 00:25:05.580 --> 00:25:14.160 If idolatry is there, then I flee from it and then I run to him and bury myself in him and in who he is. 00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:21.100 And then lastly, and we've kind of talked about this before, but we'll close with this. 00:25:22.120 --> 00:25:22.960 Think eternally. 00:25:24.120 --> 00:25:24.880 Think eternally. 00:25:27.560 --> 00:25:29.140 At baby steps last night. 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:37.400 It's the reminder for me, the older I get, how quick time passes. 00:25:39.400 --> 00:25:44.620 I don't know about you, but right now I'm feeling really old, right? 00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:47.980 My kids make me feel old. 00:25:48.380 --> 00:25:48.800 They do. 00:25:49.780 --> 00:25:58.140 The pictures on Facebook that come up from like six years ago when they're like this, and that now I look at them and they're like this, right? 00:25:58.500 --> 00:26:00.480 Makes me feel old. 00:26:01.420 --> 00:26:03.800 Friday night, I haven't confessed this to anyone. 00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:05.620 I'll share this now. 00:26:06.540 --> 00:26:10.280 Friday night, we had a group of the students up here, and we played dodgeball. 00:26:12.220 --> 00:26:16.280 And I threw a couple of dodgeballs in my right shoulder. 00:26:18.120 --> 00:26:20.300 If I could cut it off right now, I would. 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:22.000 I'm just being honest with you, right? 00:26:23.140 --> 00:26:29.000 And I remember the day I'm watching the kids out there, and they're dodging, and they're laughing, and they're having a good time. 00:26:29.080 --> 00:26:30.400 And I remember what that was. 00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:34.560 I was telling our families at baby steps last night as they're talking about teaching. 00:26:35.320 --> 00:26:36.480 And I began to look back. 00:26:36.520 --> 00:26:38.720 I always reminisce on baby steps, right? 00:26:38.820 --> 00:26:46.000 And I remember it wasn't too long ago I was teaching my kids how to ride their bike, and now I'm teaching them how to drive my truck, you know? 00:26:46.360 --> 00:26:47.500 It just happens like that. 00:26:48.540 --> 00:27:01.020 But we get stuck in thinking about time and the way that we understand it and what we need to do and what we need to accomplish because our life will end. 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:05.660 And so what are all the check boxes that we want to make sure that are done? 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:11.060 And so we set some great goals, goals that we have, goals that you have. 00:27:11.120 --> 00:27:12.340 I don't belittle these goals. 00:27:12.420 --> 00:27:13.640 These are wonderful goals. 00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:16.280 Debt-free, retirement. 00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:22.820 Get the kids taken care of, raise them up, educate them, bring them up in the Lord. 00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:24.400 Great things, great things. 00:27:24.520 --> 00:27:26.100 Especially to bring them up in the Lord, great things. 00:27:28.260 --> 00:27:30.880 But are we thinking eternally? 00:27:32.520 --> 00:27:42.660 Are we thinking in the ripples of the effects of time that will continue on and on and on? 00:27:43.860 --> 00:27:46.060 Paul says, verse 31. 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:47.580 Read it again. 00:27:47.640 --> 00:27:52.020 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 00:27:53.420 --> 00:27:58.100 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God. 00:27:59.820 --> 00:28:13.780 Just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many that they might be saved. 00:28:16.180 --> 00:28:21.520 And that's thinking with eternity in mind. 00:28:22.860 --> 00:28:32.060 Paul says when we're living for the glory of God, when we're displaying his beauty and his kindness and his grace, 00:28:32.540 --> 00:28:46.540 it's for a reason so that men, women, and children have an opportunity to see, to hear, and to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:28:47.700 --> 00:28:53.060 And that, my friends, and that matters in eternity. 00:28:54.520 --> 00:28:55.520 Would you pray with me? 00:29:07.640 --> 00:29:09.220 Lord, we come to you this morning. 00:29:11.140 --> 00:29:12.840 And Lord, you are so beautiful. 00:29:16.200 --> 00:29:21.880 Lord, in your kindness and in your compassion, in your grace, 00:29:22.980 --> 00:29:26.540 in your creation, 00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:29.920 in your saving, 00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:32.940 in your word. 00:29:36.900 --> 00:29:38.460 Lord, you're so beautiful. 00:29:40.900 --> 00:29:42.880 Lord, as we go from here, 00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:49.040 Lord, may we take what we've experienced. 00:29:50.660 --> 00:29:52.500 May we take what we know 00:29:52.500 --> 00:29:56.740 and reflect it, Lord, in such a way 00:29:56.740 --> 00:30:00.380 that shows people who you are. 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:05.180 May we pursue holiness 00:30:05.180 --> 00:30:11.700 not out of a mindset of a self-righteous, pious person, Lord, 00:30:12.520 --> 00:30:17.200 but out of the heart 00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:20.620 of a person that's been saved, 00:30:21.540 --> 00:30:22.860 that's been redeemed, 00:30:23.700 --> 00:30:24.900 that's been saved. 00:30:26.560 --> 00:30:33.100 Lord, could we think eternally, 00:30:34.040 --> 00:30:36.740 Lord, and understand 00:30:36.740 --> 00:30:40.020 what the beautiful privilege that we have 00:30:40.020 --> 00:30:44.000 to be a part of the mission of God, 00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:47.040 to share with others, 00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:49.360 to minister to others, 00:30:49.420 --> 00:30:50.820 to care for others. 00:30:52.420 --> 00:30:54.120 Lord, can we do that within the body 00:30:54.120 --> 00:30:56.660 to each other, 00:30:57.200 --> 00:30:59.640 but can we also do it outside of the body 00:30:59.640 --> 00:31:04.120 in a way that gives us an opportunity 00:31:04.120 --> 00:31:07.180 to not just to love with our actions, 00:31:07.660 --> 00:31:09.440 but to love with our words 00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:11.520 and share the hope of Jesus 00:31:11.520 --> 00:31:13.320 and to tell our story 00:31:13.320 --> 00:31:15.760 and see that others might be saved. 00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:27.180 Jesus, I thank you for that wonderful privilege 00:31:27.180 --> 00:31:29.360 and opportunity that we have. 00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:34.200 Lord, if there's anyone here this morning 00:31:34.200 --> 00:31:35.620 who's not saved, 00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:39.100 Lord, I pray through the words 00:31:39.100 --> 00:31:40.240 that they've heard this morning. 00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:44.020 Lord, I pray through the testimony of baptism. 00:31:45.300 --> 00:31:47.860 Lord, that your spirit would draw them to you, 00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:50.880 that they would respond to the call 00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:52.800 that you're leading them to, 00:31:53.640 --> 00:31:56.460 and that today may be the day of their salvation. 00:31:58.160 --> 00:31:59.680 Lord, I pray for the individuals 00:31:59.680 --> 00:32:01.000 and families that are here, 00:32:02.560 --> 00:32:04.040 as what they witnessed earlier 00:32:04.040 --> 00:32:06.620 was a dedication of discipleship. 00:32:08.700 --> 00:32:09.900 And Lord, that they, 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:12.340 regardless if they have kids or not, 00:32:14.420 --> 00:32:18.300 regardless if their kids are one or 41, 00:32:20.200 --> 00:32:22.420 would decide today to be a man, a woman, 00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:24.420 a family of discipleship, 00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:26.320 growing each other 00:32:26.320 --> 00:32:29.040 and growing themselves in you 00:32:29.040 --> 00:32:31.880 for your name, 00:32:32.360 --> 00:32:33.300 for your glory. 00:32:35.600 --> 00:32:37.180 And so, Lord, as we respond in song, 00:32:38.580 --> 00:32:39.680 may it be done for you 00:32:39.680 --> 00:32:41.420 and you alone. 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:44.080 And it's in Jesus' name we pray. 00:32:44.840 --> 00:32:45.100 Amen. 00:32:46.380 --> 00:32:47.820 We got prayer encouragers 00:32:47.820 --> 00:32:49.420 on either side of our auditorium. 00:32:50.340 --> 00:32:52.420 If you've come here this morning with a burden 00:32:53.420 --> 00:32:55.300 and you need someone to pray for you, 00:32:56.040 --> 00:32:57.100 they'd be happy to. 00:32:57.640 --> 00:32:58.560 They would love to. 00:32:58.600 --> 00:32:59.420 They would welcome it. 00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:01.120 If you need to talk to someone 00:33:01.120 --> 00:33:02.780 about a relationship with Jesus Christ, 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:05.360 they'd be more than happy to do that as well. 00:33:06.220 --> 00:33:07.800 All we ask is that you respond 00:33:07.800 --> 00:33:09.260 on how the Spirit of God 00:33:09.260 --> 00:33:10.140 is leading you this morning. 00:33:10.740 --> 00:33:11.860 Would you stand as we worship Him? 00:33:11.860 --> 00:33:28.320 Thanks again for listening 00:33:28.320 --> 00:33:30.440 to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:33:30.760 --> 00:33:32.080 We hope that you enjoyed listening 00:33:32.080 --> 00:33:33.060 to this week's message. 00:33:33.540 --> 00:33:35.460 If you'd like to learn more about who we are 00:33:35.460 --> 00:33:37.080 or explore additional resources, 00:33:37.660 --> 00:33:42.120 visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:33:42.120 --> 00:33:44.340 or by searching for Willow Ridge Church 00:33:44.340 --> 00:33:45.680 on Facebook and Instagram.