If you've ever had a toddler, you know there's a point where they reach, where they try to
figure it out.
When you say, come here, and instead of toddling over going, like, okay, they look at you and
they think, they take one step forward and they look at you, like, is that enough?
And then they take one more step and then they look at you and they think, is that enough?
And they take one more step and they look at you and they say, is that enough?
Is that enough?
For some of you, you have teenagers.
And if you've ever tried to get a teenager to do the chores, clean up their room, get
out on a Saturday morning to help in the backyard, you know that what they're going to say is,
do I have to?
So, maybe that's unfair to those of you who are teenagers.
I'm sure some of you are far better than that.
I was like that as a teenager.
So, when I was working with college students, I remember the conversation we had with dating
and what are the limits of physical interaction on a dating relationship.
And often it'd be like, well, how far can I go?
Well, you know, how much can I get away with?
And, you know, I think that that's what often we can fall into in our own lives.
I think it's also what we can fall into with our spiritual lives.
Oh, it's never a conscious thought.
We don't set out to say, how can I do the least for God possible and still be okay?
Okay.
Very few of us have the bravery to say that that's what we're actually thinking.
It might be that we don't know any better, that we've grown up in a church culture where
going to church on Sunday was what it meant to be a Christian, to know God.
It might be that you have at one time lived zealously for the Lord and then faced your own failure
and thought, I don't know if I can continue with that kind of zeal.
So, we lower our standards.
Sometimes we've served and we've served and we've served and we've served and we've served
and we've become exhausted trying to perform and trying to keep up and trying to be the good
Christian servant.
Sometimes we face great trial and we think, I have no more.
I'm beat down.
I'm spent.
All of these things are things that we may have experienced in our Christian lives,
trying as we seek to serve and to know God.
And I want to acknowledge this morning that it's hard.
The Bible describes the Christian life not as a walk in the park or a sitting by the pool,
but as a race, as a marathon, as a battle, as a journey.
And it is hard.
But how often do we get to that point in our spiritual lives where we think,
how little can I do and still be okay?
Is one step enough?
Do I really need to come all the way?
How do we know if we've fallen into this?
Well, I often think that it's how we respond when someone puts before us a challenge to do more.
Well, nobody's perfect.
You can't expect me to really follow God in every part of my life, can you?
Everyone sins, right?
Isn't that what the gospel says?
We're all sinners, so get off my back.
Sometimes we say, I'm not strong enough.
I'm not mature enough.
I don't know enough.
And I know in my own heart and in my own life,
one of the things that I've seen that is most indicative of what's going on in my own heart
is when I see someone else who seems to be just living in that sweet spot of zealous pursuit of living for God in everything they do.
And in my own mind, I diminish that.
I dismiss it.
Or I attack them in my own heart.
I think,
well, don't tell me how I ought to live.
You're young.
You'll understand more later.
It's not always going to be like that.
Who do you think you are anyway?
Spiritually superior to me?
Or, well, that's them.
They're sort of special saints, but that's not for me.
That can't be for my life.
However it is, when we see someone else living a life fully to the Lord,
we often can feel threatened.
And feel insecure.
And out of our heart flows these things to seek to justify ourselves.
Justify the place that we are at with God.
Justify this unacknowledged, but often deeply held conviction of,
isn't this enough?
How little can I do and still be okay?
Or, on the other side,
how far can I go away from God and still be okay?
I think we often fall into this,
what I call spiritual minimalism.
How little can I do and still get by?
I think as we look to our passage this morning,
as we look to what the gospel speaks to us,
we will find both a challenge and an encouragement
in light of this question.
So, if you want to turn with me,
we are going to continue our series in 1 Corinthians.
We're in chapter 10.
We're looking at, starting in verse 23,
it's on page 958 in your pew Bibles.
We're going to be reading this passage together.
Page 958, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 23.
All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful.
All things are lawful, but not all things build up.
Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
Eat whatever is sold in the meat market
without raising any question on the ground of conscience.
For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.
If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner
and you are disposed to go,
eat whatever is set before you
without raising any questions on the ground of conscience.
But if someone says to you,
this has been offered in sacrifice,
then do not eat it.
For the sake of the one who informed you
and for the sake of conscience.
I do not mean your conscience, but his.
For why should my liberty be determined
by someone else's conscience?
If I partake with thankfulness,
why am I denounced because of that
for which I give thanks?
So, whatever you eat or drink
or whatever you do,
do all to the glory of God.
Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks
or to the church of God,
just as I try to please
everyone in everything I do,
not seeking my own advantage,
but that of many,
that they may be saved.
Be imitators of me
as I am of Christ.
Will you pray with me?
Lord, we ask this morning
that you will help us, Lord,
help us to understand this passage.
Lord, I pray this morning,
Lord, for you know
my own weakness
and my own frailty.
Lord, you know my sinful heart.
Lord, will you work through me this morning
and may my words be useful
to build up.
Lord, may we,
those of us who sit here
under your word this morning,
be ready to hear
what you have to say to us.
Help us, Lord, we pray.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
What does the gospel say to us?
How does the gospel address
our spiritual minimalism?
We're ending a large chunk
of 1 Corinthians.
We've been in a three-chapter
conversation about the issue
of food offered to idols,
which in the first century
was a very common reality,
particularly in a place like Corinth.
In lots of the world today,
it's still a common reality,
but it's not so much here in America,
at least in the same kind of a form.
And so,
but Paul has been answering a question
that the church has asked,
the Corinthian church
has written to them saying,
hey, what are we supposed
to do with this?
And as we've noted a number of times,
Paul takes not five verses
to say, well,
this is how you should do it
with three simple instructions,
and then he's done.
He spends three chapters
because he wants to engage
not simply what's the right answer
to the question,
but also how do we think Christianly?
How is it that the gospel
shapes how we think
about a question like this?
And as Paul is summarizing
at the end of this,
end of chapter 10,
he's going to bring together
some threads,
and that's what we're going
to do this morning.
We're going to spend less time
talking about meat offered to idols
and more talking about
a broader perspective
on how we think about these things.
But first, let's make sure
we think through
what has been the argument so far.
Chapter 8, Paul has encouraged
the Corinthians,
you may be thinking rightly
about this,
but don't use your knowledge
to destroy your brothers
who may not have
the same knowledge you do.
And then chapter 9,
he talks about his freedom
and his rights,
and he says,
you are to use,
you are to,
though you have rights,
you are to defer them
so that the gospel will flourish
in the lives of others.
And then at the end of chapter 9,
he says,
and you have freedom
to do all things,
but use your freedom
to serve others
so that they might know
Jesus better.
And then at the beginning
of chapter 10,
what is,
it's mostly a warning
to say,
be careful.
Be careful that in your freedom
you do not compromise your soul
and imperil your spiritual life
and worship.
And so that's been the flow.
He's given these broad principles
so far,
and then as we come to our passage,
you see he returns
to some of the things
that Corinthians have been saying.
All things are lawful.
Don't I have the freedom?
And Paul says,
yes, but.
Yes, but.
And he gives two little,
he gives two more case studies,
and in these two case studies,
he gives answers two and three.
Nick helpfully outlined this
a couple weeks ago.
The summary of what Paul's answer is.
What do I do with food
offered to idols?
You don't go to the temple
and eat it there.
It's participation
in worship of idols.
You can't do it.
And then he gives
two more answers here.
He says,
but if you're in the marketplace
where most of the meat
would have been provided
probably through
the sacrificial system
in the pagan temples,
and certainly the best foods
would have been offered
in the temples,
sacrificed there,
and then taken to the market
and sold,
he says,
if you're going into the market,
eat, enjoy.
It's all from God.
It's just meat.
It's good.
There's nothing magical about it.
So you can enjoy the meat
in the marketplace.
And then he takes
one more example,
and he says,
and if someone invites you,
and he specifies
an unbeliever,
someone who probably
is involved
in this pagan worship,
if they invite you
to their home
and they put meat
before you,
you don't have to make
a big deal of it.
You don't have to make...
He actually says,
don't ask.
This is the best application
of don't ask,
don't tell.
Lots of bad ones
in the world,
but this is one
where Paul says,
no, use it.
Don't ask about the meat.
Just enjoy it,
and enjoy the gift
of this unbeliever's hospitality
in your life.
But,
and then he puts
a little qualifier in.
But,
if he says,
hey,
this is part of idol worship,
maybe that's a comment
made to you
out of concern for you.
Like,
hey,
I don't want you to eat this
if this is wrong.
Maybe it's simply them saying,
hey,
this is a part of who we are
that we worship God,
or we worship these idols
and this meat came from the temple.
It says,
for their conscience sake,
so that they will understand
the gospel clearly.
Don't eat.
Don't eat it,
not because it has,
it impinges on your own convictions
or your own freedom,
but don't eat for their sake,
so that they will understand
that the gospel claim
is that there is only one true God,
and he demands
unswerving loyalty.
And that's basically
the argument that he gives.
Leading up to,
in verse 31,
what for any of you
who have grown up in church
or have been around for a while,
this,
one of those famous verses.
Look with me again,
verse 31.
I gotta find it
so I can read it.
So whatever you eat
or drink
or whatever you do,
do all
to the glory of God.
Friends,
this is the answer
that Paul is giving
to how,
what do we do
with meat
offered to idols?
It's also the answer
that he gives to us
as we wrestle
with the question
of spiritual minimalism.
How far,
how far can I go?
How little do I have to do?
He says,
do all things
to the glory of God.
Now,
brief,
brief side note
or excursus
or a definition
because the glory of God
is something
that we talk about
all the time.
But what is it?
I mean,
really,
it's a word we use
all the time,
but what does it mean?
Right?
Think about it this way.
the glory of something
is when
the attributes,
the character,
the nature
of that something
is somehow
displayed
or exhibited
or recognized
and reflected
in such a way
that all the admirable
qualities
of that thing
are seen
and recognized
and honored.
And in God's glory,
what He's saying to us
is to do all things
to the glory of God
is to say
everything in our life,
every moment of our day,
every thought,
every action,
every aspect,
all of that
is given to us
to live in such a way
that the nature
and the character
and the work of God
is seen in the world.
This is what it means
to glorify God.
in all that we do.
And in fact,
what we've seen
in this discussion
about meat offered
to idols
is two core principles
of what does it look like
for us to live a life
that glorifies God.
Two principles are this.
We glorify God
by a pure,
single-minded devotion
without rival,
without compromise,
a pure devotion
to God.
And then secondly,
we see that we glorify God
with a sacrificial love
for others.
So that's what I want
to explore this morning.
And we'll see it
in the passage
and we'll think about it
a little bit more broadly
for our own lives
as we go.
So first,
glorify God
with a pure devotion
to God.
Jonathan Edwards,
a great American theologian,
as he lived his life,
he wrote out a list
of resolutions.
You may know them.
If you're not familiar
with Jonathan Edwards'
resolutions,
you should go read them.
They will challenge you.
He compiled it
over a period of time,
but his first one
was this.
Resolved,
that I will do
whatsoever I think
to be most
to God's glory
and for my own good,
profit,
and pleasure
in the whole
of my duration,
that is,
for my whole life,
without any consideration
of the time,
whether now
or never,
so many myriad
of ages hence.
Resolved to do
whatever I think
to be my duty
and most
for the good
and advantage
of mankind
in general.
Resolved to do this
whatever difficulties
I meet with,
how many
and how great
so ever.
A little
18th century language
in there.
But he said,
what I want to do
most of all
is to make
everything that I do
be clearly
for the glory
of God.
And so,
how did Paul
play this out?
In this particular case
of food
offered to idols,
what does it look like
to have this
pure devotion
to God,
this pure,
this clarity
of devotion to God
in the issue
of meat
offered to idols?
And in some ways
it's very simple.
This is actually
what Pastor Greg
preached on
a bit last week.
It goes back
a little bit
in chapter 10.
He basically says
when you go
to the temple courts,
when you go
to those places,
and the interesting
thing is the temples
ran places
that were kind of
like the restaurants
of the day.
And they were
significant social places.
There were places
where you would go
to do business.
There were places
where you would go
to see and be seen
in society.
There were places
where you would
hodnob with
the power brokers
and the significant
people in the city.
And the food
that would be served
there would be
a part of temple
worship and temple
ritual.
And Paul says
don't muddy
your devotion
with Christ
by being sucked
in to eating
at those meals,
eating that meat
that has been
offered to idols.
It was a costly choice
for the believers
to not do that.
They gave up
opportunities
to do that.
They gave up
the opportunity
to be welcomed
and to be brought
in and accepted
by the society
in a particular way.
I'm trying to think
I don't know
if there's a good example
because I don't know
the power brokers
of New Haven enough
but somewhere
between Union League
and Goodfellas
and somewhere else
there's a restaurant
that's like this
where if you want
to go,
if you want to see
where the power brokers
of the city go
that's where you go.
I don't know
where it is
but I believe
it's out there
somewhere.
Right?
But if you knew
that you couldn't
go there
because of your
religious convictions,
because it was
attached to
and associated
with
worshiping
a different God
that you know
that you could not do
and maintain
your purity,
this would be
the cost.
You'll never get in
on some of those
conversations.
You'll never be able
to broker
some of those deals.
It was a high cost
for them
to do it.
And friends,
the evangelical movement
in the West
at least
set out
50 years ago
to re-engage
with our culture
after fundamentalism
had sought to
disengage
from our society.
And it has been
a great blessing
in many ways.
But this is perhaps
where we most need
to be careful
in that evangelical
impulse
to re-engage
our society,
to believe that
as we live out
our lives
following Christ
among
our neighbors
and within our society,
to do good
to our city
and to our neighbors,
we need to maintain
the purity
of our devotion
to Christ.
And sometimes,
out of a desire
to not look weird
or to not be accused
of being unloving
by our neighbors
or because we live
in a very tolerant society
and to draw hard
and fast lines
based on your
religious conviction
is pretty out there.
we cannot do it.
We can hide behind
I don't want to offend
and fail
to have a pure devotion
to the Lord.
We need to care more
about what God thinks
than what others
think of us.
So purity of devotion
may be saying no
and setting boundaries
to this,
but I also want you
to see that
the pure devotion
to God
also gives us
this beautiful freedom.
Look with me
verses 24 through 27.
Right?
Verse 25
in particular
he says
hey,
if you go to the market
eat whatever's there
enjoy it.
And then he quotes
this psalm
that we read earlier
Psalm 24
where the psalmist
says the earth
is the Lord
and the fullness
thereof
and then he goes on
in the context
of pure worship
rejecting the idols
and he who can
approach God
on this holy hand
of pure hands
and a clean heart
and this single-minded
devotion to God
the psalmist
says
everything we get
from God
is good
and in fact
the Jewish tradition
took this verse
as the basis
for what is now
both Jewish
and Christian tradition
to thank God
for our food.
This is actually
where in the
Old Testament
and in the Jewish
community
this is where
the thought of
why should we pray
before we eat
because the earth
is the Lord's
and the fullness
thereof
everything God
has given us
he has given it
to us
to enjoy
and to eat
and as long
as it doesn't
have these
overbearing
associations
with worshiping
an idol
we can enjoy
it freely
and interestingly
then he says
when you go
to your friend's
house
and they offer
you food
don't fall
into the trap
of getting
all tied up
in knots
about oh
I don't know
maybe this was
offered to an idol
do I have to eat it
maybe I shouldn't
what do I do
do I have to ask
he gives them
immense amount
of freedom
there's this
great joy
to say
hey this food
is yummy
that's all
you have to say
to your friend
unless he
attaches it
and associates
it with idol
worship
and then you
have to say
oh brother
thank you so much
you are so kind
but I couldn't
eat that
because I can
only worship
my God
and this
I need to
separate from
the worship
of idols
which is
incredibly offensive
we talked about
this a couple
weeks ago
it's incredibly
the food
you didn't eat
meat that often
when you were
offered meat
it was a real
gift
and there's a huge
social cost
to doing that
but in general
the principle
is once we
have this clarity
of devotion
in our heart
then we live
freely
and we get to
enjoy this world
we get to enjoy
the things in it
we get to enjoy
our neighbors
and our friends
because we know
and we have
this clear
and unbending
devotion
to the Lord
it's not always
easy
you can think
about the book
of Daniel
as some
interesting case
studies
Daniel 1
he and his
friends have
been taken
forcibly
from their
home
brought into
the highest
levels
into sort
of a training
program
to be
in the highest
levels
of government
in the
Babylonian
empire
which is
an idolatrous
nation
that worshipped
a false
god
and Daniel
has to think
how do I
respond to
this situation
right
in Daniel 1
there's this
meat from
the king's
table
and it says
Daniel determined
not to defile
himself
it doesn't seem
that it was
a violation
of Jewish
law
to eat
that food
but he
had determined
not to
defile
himself
so I
had to
think
what do I
do
if I
say I
won't eat
that
they might
just kill
me
I'm
basically
a slave
they might
throw me
out in the
salt mines
you know
rather than
having this
place
of influence
I'm risking
my opportunity
to influence
by taking
a stand
and in
this case
Daniel is
creative
he goes
and he
asks for
leniency
and he
asks for
a chance
for him
to try
something
a third
way
a different
way
not simply
saying yes
or no
but can I
try something
different here
and maybe
it will actually
serve what you
most want to
see happen
and in God's
grace he opens
that up and the
chief steward
gives them this
opportunity
and by God's
grace he sustains
them through the
food that they
eat which is
not from the
king's table
such that it
actually exalts
them and they
have this
great wonderful
opportunity
then to
witness to
Christ because
of his creative
engagement in the
third way
but then you go
to Daniel 6
Daniel is now
in he's the
secretary of
state or
whatever he's up
in the cabinet
right he's
risen to the
highest levels
of leadership
again what a
great opportunity
how can I use
this for influence
for the kingdom
of God how can I
witness to the
God that I
serve and yet
the leaders
his peers who
are jealous of
him and his
popularity go to
the king and
work out a deal
where they raise
up a huge statue
and then they say
king don't you
think everyone
should bow to
this you're such
a great king why
don't you do
this and and so
the king passes a
law everyone must
bow to my statue
Daniel says I
can't do that I
can only bow to
my one God he
doesn't make a
big fuss he
doesn't make a
big stink but
what he does do is
he simply goes
about his faithful
life of prayer I
will pray only to
my God I will not
bow down and pray
to this God as I've
been told to do and
I will not limit my
prayer the the command
was actually you may
not pray to any
other God you must
pray to this one
Daniel said I
can't do that he
got thrown in a
lion's den sometimes
that may be happen
that may happen to
us too and then God
may deliver us the
way he did or he
may not read the end
of Hebrews 11 not
everyone who is
faithful to God is
delivered from those
consequences of being
in conflict with the
world because of
their pure devotion to
God some will suffer
some will die some
will lose lots of
things you may lose
your standing in your
company you may lose
your job you may lose
the respect of your
peers you may lose a
career track that you
hope for but through
the lens of meat
offered to idols Paul
wants us to think
about how is it that
we live a life of pure
devotion to God how does
it how is it that my
money my sex life my job
as a parent my studies my
career track the movies
that I watch on Friday
night the nightlife I
engage in the food that
I eat the exercise that I
do or don't do social
media that I engage in how
can I do all of these
things with a pure
devotion to God here's
some questions that you
might want to ask
yourself first of all
there's a bounded
question which is is it
sinful does scripture
say don't do this
because then you don't
have to think about it
anymore then scripture
has told you what you
need to do and then
you just need to decide
to obey but for many
many things and as you
see here with food with
the meat it was a
complicated question right
there are lots of
discernment questions we
want to ask so here's
some questions we want to
ask does it help me love
God more to do these
things do I represent God
well to others when I do
these things that might
both be in inherently what
I'm doing but also in the
character I've seen some
seminary students who
don't know how to
represent God on the
intramural basketball floor
it's an ugly sight sometimes
they ought not to do that
until they can do it for
the glory of God that in
registration lines those
are the two places where
you see the true character
of seminary students do I
represent God well when I'm
doing this is this activity
encouraging or corrosive to
my spiritual life does it
lead me to worship something
other than God himself if we
ran the totality of our life
through the filter of those
questions then we're beginning
to see what it would look like
to live for the glory of God
with pure devotion to God but it's
not just that Paul goes on he
says it's not just pure
devotion to God then I could go
be a monk and live on the top
of a pillar in the desert and
not be distracted by the world
but in fact God has actually put
me in the world and Paul says
that living for the glory of God
also has to do with loving with
loving our neighbor you see this
so clearly in this passage verse
24 here's the principle let no one
seek his own good but the good of
his neighbor look down again in
verse 32 and 33 give no offense
give no offense to the Jews we're
going to be sensitive to what
kinds of food you eat and your
ritual purity and you know I live
in a Jewish neighborhood where
there are a lot of Orthodox Jews
I've learned you don't shake hands
with them it's crossing boundaries
they don't want you to cross
boundaries and so it's at least
that's a maybe I misunderstood it
I haven't developed great
relationships yet but even in the
few interactions I've had I've
learned like I need to be
restrained in my sort of
gregarious Americaness and just
go oh I shouldn't do this right
don't give offense to the Jews or
to the Gentile or to the Greeks
which really means to the Gentiles
people don't know God people or to
the church of God Paul's vision of
loving those around us is
encompassing both people in the
church and the people outside the
church and saying our love should be
comprehensive in how we do this
the hard part about this is that it
means that in every situation to
love our neighbors is going to be a
matter of context isn't it this is
why you can't give a hard and fast
rule about many things and oh how
we love rules don't we we just want
someone to tell us if you can just
tell me if it's right or wrong then I
can wield that rightness or wrongness
like a bat and barrel my way through
life and it doesn't matter what you
think but that's Paul is saying
explicitly through these chapters
that's not what the Christian life
looks like the Christian life looks
like the gospel transforming our lives
changing our hearts and then sending
us out to glorify God displaying who he
is through our worship of him and now
our love for our neighbors and so
loving our neighbors doesn't have a set
of rules
right so when your unbelieving friend
invites you enjoy it eat it be thankful
for it unless he associates it with idol and
then you have to give offense for his
sake so that he understands the gospel
better not just so you can be a prudish
Christian or you can go back and say I
did it right look at me I did it right
but for his sake so that he understands the
gospel better it's tricky it's tricky to not
do something stupid that will wreck of
another person's understanding of the
gospel it's tricky to neither accommodate
sin nor allow legalism to be imposed in a
particular situation it's hard to know how to
surprise your friends with love and with
grace how to explore the world and their
lives to see the fingerprints of God in
their lives so they might see a little bit of
God's glory in it and yet not accepting or
condoning the things in their lives that
are not of God and don't reflect his
kingdom it's tricky there's no doubt about
it and yet this is what it means to glorify
God it means to think about them and not us
here's an analogy for you you know when you
first start dating not the first couple of
dates those are awkward and you're like I
don't know what is going on here but right
when you get over that right you sort of like
get into this sweet spot of like man I love
this person and you know what you go through
your day and you're thinking about them all
your time and everything in your disposal
sort of like how does this relate to this
person this is the interesting thing is
that God wants us to live our life like
that all the time to be thinking about this
is the neighbor that I rub shoulders with
when I'm pulling in my trash in the morning
this is the neighbors I rub shoulders with
hopefully not literally as I'm driving
through New Haven this is this is the
neighbor that I'm called to love this is the
brother that I'm called to love in my
workplace and so on and so forth every the
gospel pictures us being freed from a
selfish impulse of how little can I get
away with and it frees us to then look
outward and to see how much can I love
God and how much can I love other people so
that they will know Jesus more now I want
to be honest it's costly it's going to cost
you your comfort and your preferences it
will cost you things that you think are
your right personal space time comfort being in
the right circle of friends it will cost you
emotional and spiritual energy because when
you love people it's hard it demands things of
us our attention our thoughts our prayers it may
cost you success if you choose to help others
rather than simply advance yourself may cost you
prestige as you associate with people who
aren't in the right crowd loving people
sacrificially is costly but friends it is so
worth it because it is the way we display God's
glory in the world because the God who is love
has set us here so that we might love others for his
glory and so in the same way that we think about the our
devotion to God let me think about how do you love others with
your money with your sex life with your parenting with your career
pursuits with your movies with your nightlife decisions with your food with
your exercise with your use of social media how can I do these how can I take all of
these things that are parts of my life and array them so that I might be
encouraging to my brothers and sisters in their devotion to Christ how might I use
these things to help clarify what the gospel is for my friends who don't know Jesus yet
conversely we need to ask the question how might these things feed my own selfish agenda my own
comfort my own ease of life
and friends Paul at the end of this passage
beginning of chapter 11
says imitate me follow me because this is how I have done it
not seeking my own advantage but the advantage of others
but the only way I have known how to do this is that I followed in the
footsteps of the one who went before for me I've imitated Christ
because this friends is what Christ came to do to glorify God with pure devotion
and love for others he came and he said behold I have come to do your will oh God
and he lived a sinless life a perfect life of devotion everything he did
was with a view to God and that God would be known and God would be worshipped and God would be loved
in the display of his person in his actions in his ministry in his times both doing and in his times of resting
they showed a display of the perfect devotion to God
and then this same Christ who in his devotion to God came
not to
be served but to serve and to give his life
a ransom for many
he came
for us
to rescue us from sin and death
he came for us
friends this is the savior that we serve
he came for us to point where he suffered
on the cross and died
he took upon himself
the penalty
and the pain
and the guilt
of our sin
when he died on that cross
so that he might win us back
so that we might be his
what a beautiful savior we have
that in his redemption
he not only
secured for us
the possibility of salvation
for all who have placed their faith in this Jesus
but he's given us a pattern to follow
so that we
in following in his footsteps
might live
whether we eat
whether we drink
or whatever we do
we might do those things
to the glory
of God
friends I think this is what rescues us
from minimalist
spirituality
it rescues us from simply
trying to get by
with as little as possible
this is what we were created for
and in Christ
this is what we were redeemed for
to display God
in this world
so that the greatness of the God
that we know
and that we serve
and that we worship
would be known
and extended
to the ends of the earth
that they too
would see how great
this God is
and that they
would turn from idols
to serve the true
and the living God
and he calls us
to engage
everything we have
for that
everything we have
needs to be run
through the filter
of how do I
worship God
in this
everything we have
run through the filter
of how do I
love my neighbor
and if we do that
then we have something
worth living for
let's pray
Lord this is a hard word
for we see how often
we fall short
of these things
and Lord we thank you
for your grace
that covers us
Lord that you do not
like a harsh taskmaster
demand perfection
and then cast us off
when we are imperfect
but God in fact
you have given us
the perfect one
to be our redemption
and that in him
you have given us
a new life to live
that we might live it
not for ourselves
but for him
who died for us
God I pray
that you will help us
this morning
Lord if we are
if we have fallen
into spiritual minimalism
if we are
defending
Lord a life
that is not being lived
to your glory
Lord I pray
you would help us
to see that
and repent of it
Lord I pray
that we would see
the greatness
of you
and of your gospel
and of your kingdom
and of most of all
of your Savior
and our Savior Jesus
and that in seeing him
we might be moved
to live a life
to your glory
whatever we do
be with us
we pray
in this
in Jesus name
Amen
Well friends
this is a
beautiful day
for us to
celebrate communion
because
when we think about
where do we see
the glory of God
it is
what we remember here
most fully
when Jesus said
I have come
to do your will
I have come
to bring you glory
it is when we
recognize
and see
God's love
and his mercy
his justice
his righteousness
and his love
in this
in this table
the bread
that represents
Jesus' body
broken for us
the cup
that represents
Jesus' blood
shed for us
and so we come here
to display
God's glory
as we partake
together
of these things
if you are here
this morning
and you are visiting
you have not
placed your faith
in Jesus Christ
as your Lord
and Savior
we would ask
that rather than
taking these elements
that you would
consider
what the significance
of them is
and see the greatness
of who Christ
is
you would
think of
ponder
what it is
to live
a life
to God's glory
this morning
but if you have
placed your faith
in Jesus Christ
if you have
known him
as your Savior
then take
and eat
these things
as a joyful
reaffirmation
of your trust
in Christ
and of your
taking hold
of this great work
for you
can I ask those
who are serving
to come on forward
and as they are
coming up
just so you know
we will pass out
the
wafers
together
you can hold
on to them
and at the end
we will eat together
and then we will
pass out the cup
similarly
hold on to it
we will drink together
and then
we will close
so
John will you pray
for the bread
this morning
Lord may
we see
in this
broken bread
your broken body
and in it
the measure
the horror
of our sin
that put you there
on the cross
as we
consider the cross
and the bread
as we take it
may we be cured
from
slight
regard
for our sin
that would
minimize it
may we also
see in the
broken bread
of your
body
the magnitude
of your mercy
and the greatness
of your grace
the lavish nature
of your love
toward us
and may we
eat
to your glory
by as we
eating
exalting you
as Savior
our Savior
in who
Christ
worth
and
thank you
for having me
to
share
and
let me
describe
God
Waters
and
your
уб Tao
and
side
and
its
vis
and
it
through
and
our
good
Gift
and
everything