Sermon – “Our Communion”

12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. 18 Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. 21 But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”

42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

7 ‘You shall have no other gods before Me. 8 ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 9 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10 but showing mercy to thou-sands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

“But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation.

The title my message are communion and it’s our communion in Him we can have communion with Christ going to continue in 1st Corinthians were away to chapter 10 already seem like we’ve just started but Chapter 10 we’re going to read from verses 12 through 22 this morning hear the word of the Lord therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall no temptation has ever taken you except set as is common with common to man but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able but with the tint a temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it therefore my beloved flee from idolatry I speak as to Wise Men judge for yourselves what I say the couple of blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the but the blood of Christ The bled the M A back up the cup a blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the blood of Christ the bread which we break is it not the communion of the Body of Christ for we through many are one bread and one body for we all partake of that one bread observe Israel after the flesh are not those who we of the sacrifices partakers of the altar what am I saying then that an idol is anything or what is offered to an idol is anything rather that the things which the Gentile sacrifice a sacrifice to demons and not to God and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons Let me repeat dead you can not drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons you cannot for take of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy are we stronger than he made God at His blessing to the hearing and reading of His Holy Word let us pray gracious lord we do thank you and praise you for your presence we thank you Father father for the the BLESS of communion that we have with you we thank you for the communion elements that reminds us of Christ reminds us of the the blood that is shed the body that was broken for us and Father help us to truly honor at that and understand it into respected and or God May we truly only partake of the communion that is in Christ Lord I pray that your spirit be upon us today that you would touch our hearts give us understanding and just bless us with peace and wisdom and knowledge and loves to use it father for your glory in Jesus’ name amen. All begins with a warning a warning to those who think they stand to tell them to be aware be aware lest you fall my friends when we go before Christ when we lay that crown at his feet or righteousness is us filthy rags it is HIS righteousness by which we are saved not our own Those who think they stand you know when we look at the if you would look at the passages that perceive this and even those that follow there’s some examples of the times that the nation of Israel felt the nations turned their back on God Paul shares the punishment that they had to endure because of the since there’s an example I had to actually I didn’t have it in my scripture but in 1st Corinthians 10 but I had marked but it will take me about a moment to find it. 1st Corinthians 10 in verses 5 and 6. I will eventually find it. I keep turning too many pages Paul says but with most of them speaking of the children of Israel God was not well pleased for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness now these things became our example to it to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted just one little example that their bodies perished in the wilderness because they turned their back on God and Paul was sharing with the Corinthian church here that these things actually happen that they are an example he says to the New Testament church they are an example for our admonition warning them it is a warning that they would not follow the same pattern that the nation of Israel followed so friends if that is a warning for the Corinthian church it is also valid for us today that we would not follow the same way you know whenever families are with children or younger as they begin to grow oftentimes the younger sibling will see the older sibling making some big mistakes and they see the punishment that they have to endure from mom and dad so that younger when doesn’t go down that same path now oftentimes not always but sometimes also who’ll look of a similar brother Bob did NOT going down that road I’m going to walk the line a little bit better than he did so he says those who think they stand who are they people that think they can stand before God in their own strength in their own efforts instead of relying on Christ instead of relying on his righteousness you know it’s when men or women are at their. Highest level of self-confidence that they’re most likely to fall self-confidence when we rely on our own self-confidence watch out Paul says Be aware that you fall because that’s when you will fall that person that thinks they are strong and high and mighty in your faith who thinks that temptation could never touch them my friends how many how many godly men and women have we seen in the past decade or 2 or 3 fall how many nationally known pastors have we seen fall they have given in to the greed the lust the idolatry or adultery how many I’m not going to name names but we all know that there’s quite a few that have fallen they thought their faith was strong enough that that temptation would not get hold of them but it did verse 13 said that no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man but God is faithful who will not allow you to be 10 to beyond what you are able but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it how can we bear how can we bear the temptation by surrendering to God and not temptation so one is surrendering it’s by prayer it’s by humbleness it’s by obedience it’s by discipline all of these things what is temptation we have our ideas Tim Taishan is the seduction to evil it is the list the solicitation to do wrong temptation is not the same thing as trials so if a trial comes upon you don’t say I’m being tempted by God trials test seeks to discover a man or woman’s moral qualities and character. And yes God will at times allow us to endure various trials but temptation persuades one to do evil Does anybody here think that God will persuade want to do evil Come on please take your heads please now he will not the one means to undeceive in the one means to deceive one aims at a man’s good making him conscious of his true moral self but the other aims at his evil leading one to unconsciously sin more God tries God doesn’t trials but friend who sends the temptation of Satan exactly in the Australian bush country there is a little plant that grows there called the sun do plant it has a slender stem and tiny little roundly fringe with hairs that glistened with bright drops of liquid as delicate as fine do but woad to that insect that dares to dance and land on Emilie’s because it has very attractive clusters of red white and pink blossoms they are harmless but the leaves however are deadly the shiny moisture on each sleep is sticky and it will imprison any bug that touches it so as an insect lands on that leap as it tries to free itself the Leaf will vibrate in close up in trapping feeding upon its victim friends how is temptation like that is temptation not like that sun do plant exactly like it because temptation is usually like those nice bright red pink and white clusters very attractive to the are right it’s shiny who looked as shiny thing someone said at the other day a couple weeks ago. It attracts temptation is usually very pretty very pleasing to the OV But what happens when we walk away from God in the land in that temptation just like that leap is going to close up on you it is going to feed on its victim that’s what temptation does it feeds on its victim So what are we to do pray run and run 1st run from it run from it so we should embrace trials but we should resist we should run from the temptations James says resisted devil and he will flee from you in James 47 So how do we do this how do we resist the devil Well in a book called Precious remedies against Satan’s devices Thomas Brooks offers 10 ways that Christians can resist Satan’s temptations number one be ruled by the word Amen good advice be ruled by the Word of God May the Word of God rule and be the authority in your life it will keep you walking straight and guard you from all manner of temptation when men throw off the Word of God which I want to point it put in here Satan loves it when you put the word of God aside and don’t pay any attention to it he loves it. And then Satan takes them by the hand and lead them into the snares of his pleasure number 2 be aware of grieving the Holy Spirit it is the Holy Spirit to give the Christian the ability to discern Satan’s temptations and to see his hand in the his hand in and behind life’s circumstances if you grieve the spear you will drive off the one whose ministry involves guarding you against Satan’s attacks number 3 the labor for wisdom there is a great death difference between knowledge and wisdom between accumulating facts and applying scripture to those facts so that we become wise it is not the Christian with the most knowledge but the Christian with the most wisdom who is equipped to battle Satan’s temptations number 4 Reavis reason cannot talk this morning resists the 1st stirrings of temptation the 1st stirrings friends don’t wait until your sucked in is soon as it comes resisted it is safe to resist temptation but dangerous to dabble in it he that will play with Satan’s bait will quickly be taken with Satan’s hook God promises that we can resist temptation not that we can resist sin once we have began to dabble in that temptation number 5 Labor to be filled with the whole with the Spirit the Spirit is a spirit of Light and Power the spirits light shines bright against the darkness of sin and His power is sufficient to overcome all evil and temptation when it comes to fighting Satan’s temptation it is better to have a heart filled with a spear than a head filled with facts Number 6 keep humble. A humble heart would rather live in the US then rise to prominence by sinful means it would prefer to lose everything then to sin and be left with a guilty conscious the humble person is neither drawn in by what Satan offers nor terrified by his threats Number 7 be constantly on guard a secure soul is a soul in a position to be led astray and ensnared the Soul that will not watch against him Taishan will certainly fall before the power of the temptations Satan strengthen strengthens his assaults when the soul grows weary and drowsy so be constantly on guard watchfulness is nothing else but the soul running up and down to and fro busy everywhere it is a heart busied employed with diligent observance of all observance of what comes from within and what comes from within without us and into us Number 8 continue communing with God It is as you join in communion with God that He gives you strength to resist Satan’s attacks of so high in communion with God may be tempted but will not easily be conquered number 9 do not engage Satan in your own strength How important do not engage Satan in your own strength we must rely on Christ number 10 pray constantly prayers as shelter to the soul as sacrifice to God and His courage to the devil so pray and pray constantly I think to the most important person was stay in the word and pray Satan loves it when we don’t stay in a word he loves it when we don’t pray I think that is are 2 greatest things to battling with stay in the word and pray in the midst of Paul’s warning about fleeing idolatry. And not thinking of yourself above temptation he speaks of communion he speaks of the communion of the blood of Christ in the communion of the Body of Christ and you might wonder well how this communion fit into this passage about idolatry in a warning to flee from and communion the Greek word is can coin Anea coin in a a is the end jealous and delicate station of a Greek word that means communion by intimate participation it is fellowship and identifies and realize it is the state of fellowship it’s a state of community that should exist within a Christian church with one another and with God The word is used frequently in the New Testament to describe the relationship within the early Christian church. As well as the act of breaking bread in a manner which Christ prescribed during the Passover meal in Luke 2214 through $22.00 and when the hour had come he sat down and the 12 Apostles with him then he said to them with fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer for I say to you I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God Then he took the cup and gave thanks and said Take this and divide it among yourselves for us say to you I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes and he took the bread gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying this is my body which is given for you do this in remembrance of made likewise he also took the cup after supper saying This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you but behold the hand of my betrayer is with me on the table and truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined but woad to that man by whom he has betrayed friends Judas thought that he could have communion with Satan and with the Lord the same time he found out that you can not you know it’s interesting at times to study the different words and the different meanings you know in the passage in Luke did you hear communion mention no it didn’t say the word communion but everyone as a Christian knows that in this passage Christ has instituted what we know as communion the breaking of bread and the why actually when you look in the can cordons to Strong’s concordance in the King James Version the word communion is only mentioned 4 times twice in 1st Corinthians and twice and 2nd Corinthians. Communion is according you know the cornea means fellowship it means intimate participation intimate fellowship in Acts $242.00 says in a continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayers you know there are different levels of communion different levels of fellowship Because let’s think of communion as fellowship there’s different levels no 11 level you might enjoy a gathering and you know Coke a gathering of coworkers you know we’re going to break bread together and you might have conversation you know you might talk about your families you might talk about sports you might talk about things there’s So that’s one level of communion you’re breaking bread together you’re having fellowship but then there’s the communion of family so I want to think about communities we set down to partake of a meal together as a family I know this doesn’t happen as much as it may be used to or should but a family when they set down together to enjoy a meal together that is a time of communion that is fellowship is a time for mom and dad to share with their children maybe some tidbits of knowledge or wisdom and understanding it’s a time for children to share with Mom and Dad how they are school week has been going might share how well they did on the test they might share as they grow a little bit their hopes and aspirations of what they desire to do when they grow when they are become an adult you know what their dreams and hopes are it can this can and should be an intimate time of fellowship when you have a family sitting down having communion fellowship so friends. Kids know as you know Paul didn’t have to share this but today we do 2019 know what electronics at the communion table seriously no electronics at the dinner table because this is a time of intimate fellowship with family please no distractions whoever’s listening when you said down to a meal I don’t care if you’re just with your kids or with your wife or whoever please no distractions let’s commune together let’s have fellowship intimate fellowship OK maybe the family unit today would be much stronger if we did have that intimate family communion together like we should you know those who are married and those who maybe have been married maybe widowers What did you do when your 1st date somebody tell me on your 1st day what did you do what date had no you didn’t you want from it or cycle ride somebody else. You want the most a time most of the time when you go out on your 1st day you’re right you’re going to go to dinner do we go we attack so you go to eat right you’re going to go to a nice restaurant or going to somewhere going to sit down you’re going to have a dinner together you’re going to communion going to break bread together right so when that 1st date you know your conversation might not be extremely intimate you’re getting to know one on one another a little bit but the 2nd date probably a little bit more intimate right you’re getting the know Melinda bit more a little bit better 3rd date 4th date no on and on you begin to have these dates and you become more intimate you become closer over these meals breaking bread together fellowship in together right in most people in most cases you know that as you continue to date you can continue to fellowship and become more intimate. Maybe it’s 6 months maybe it’s year I don’t know but you reach that place in that communion fellowship where it has gotten serious there may be an engagement but when that happens there’s this agreement or thought or that it should be that OK we have become intimate we become close in our communion that you are not going to go and have that same fellowship meal with someone else because she’s going to get jealous she doesn’t like that right I mean isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be you have become extremely intimate and close in if someone would say well you know we need every Friday night son in a better Saturday night I’m going out have a fellowship meal with someone else another attractive woman so what does that what she going to call me. A cheater right a cheater or a liar right I hope you can see where I’m going with this when we have communion with God there is that expected faithfulness just as we are not supposed to how about intimate dinner with our loved one we’re engaged with and go have another intimate dinner with another female on Saturday night God does not want us to be have an intimate fellowship with Satan with the demon Deuteronomy $57.00 through 10 says You shall have no other God before me you shall not make for yourselves a carved image any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth you shall not bow down to them nor serve them for either the Lord your God am a jealous God God is jealous. Just like that girlfriend would be jealous but it’s even worse God is jealous visiting the NIC with these of the fathers upon the children to the 3rd and 4th generations of those who hate me but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments so the same principle from Deuteronomy is what Paul was sharing here currently ends he said you cannot drink the cup of the Lord in the cup of demons you cannot protect the Lord’s table and of the table of daemons you can’t do it when we partake of communion with God We are professing to be in friendship with him we are professing to be an intimate communion with him it’s him it fellowship with Him in His body was broken in his blood was shed Jesus said in Luke $624.00 No one can serve 2 masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and Mammon Exodus $3414.00 for you shall worship know whether God for the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God So now we can see how communion fits in this passage be talking about idolatry because friends Communion is the theological principle in this passage it is communion it is faithfulness and current communion is being true to God and serving Him in only him no other we can have no other God before we cannot break bread with the mince and break bread with God because God is a jealous God God wants our relationship with him to be intimate with him and him alone that is the highest level of communion. You know as I spoke of families it becomes you know you’re not going to sit down and have the same conversation with your body of work as you’re going to have with your wife and your children in the communion fellowship with your wife is even going to be more intimate then with the whole family with the children too but that with God is the highest the greatest communion fellowship that we can possibly have because he knows our thoughts he knows are minds he knows he knows us better than we know ourselves and in amazing that he still loves us. A head shake and there it is how awesome is his love how amazing this is Grace a man a man.