Aug
25 - Sacrament of living chpt 10 -=
1
cor 10:23-31 23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but
not everything is beneficial.(AH) “I have the right to do anything”—but
not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek
their own good, but the good of others.(AI) 25
Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,(AJ) 26
for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”[f](AK) 27
If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put
before you(AL) without raising
questions of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you,
“This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of
the one who told you and for the sake of conscience.(AM) 29
I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my
freedom(AN) being judged by another’s conscience?
30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I
denounced because of something I thank God for?(AO) 31 So whether
you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.(AP)
The
tozer series finishes today
I’d
say that what we have today, isnt so much an invitation to pursue god,
but
to understand that what you already have and are, can be given to him.
Paul is addressing a problem in the
Corinthian church
Meat
offered to idols
Do
good Christians eat it?
The satanic cult sacrificed a cow. The meat is for sale in the price shopper. Can u eat it? U know where it is from.
The
guy from Lexington who won 100,000 can the church accept the 10,000? Its been
the devils money Long enough
Ahh the crushing world of guilt.
Who
are the good ones. Who are the bad ones
I
sometimes wonder if we just like to take sided…..
Star belly sneeches
There is far too much judgment in this
world
Growing
up in a pastors home………not easy. I refer to my children
What
will others think of me?..........Can I be myself?
Can
any of us be ourselves?
Do
you think that God would prefer us to be ourselves?
To
live a congruent life?
Why
do we spend all of this crazy time worrying about if we are accepted.
If
we are doing the wrong thing?
Little
neurotic humans that we are
This is not saying that we can do
anything that we want
The word for that theory of life is
antinomianism.
Do
anything that you want. You are free in christ
You
are free, save one thing
We
live by the law of love.
We
don’t hurt others, not because there is a rule, but because we love
Nor is it saying that every act is of
the same value
“Paul’s
sewing of tents was not equal to his writing of an Epistle but both were
accepted of God and both were true acts of worship. It is more important to
lead a soul to Christ than to plant a garden, but the planting of the garden
can be a holy an act as the winning of a soul.....the service of a the less
gifted brother is as pure as that of the more gifted and God accepts both with
equal pleasure.........and the layman need never think of his humbler task as
being inferior to that of his minister.”
Paul’s
“do all to the glory of God” opens before us the possibility of making every
act of our lives contribute to the glory of God.
But We have divided our life into the
sacred and the secular.
Living
a divided life instead of a united life
1)
Sacred
acts..performed with a feeling of satisfaction and a firm assurance that they
are pleasing to God......prayer, Bible study/reading, church and such acts that
spring directly from faith.
2)
Secular
acts including all the ordinary activities of life....some that we often do
reluctantly and with misgivings, often apologizing to God for what we consider
a waste of time and strength....
What if There are no sacred or secular
places.
God
is everywhere
The
holy land is no more sacred than lees summit.
Lent
no more holy than 2nd week of august
Easter
no more holy than sept 9
In a world where every one is running
around arguing over who the good ones and the bad ones are,
Paul
declared all meats clean, everyday holy, all places sacred and every act
acceptable to God.
Whatever
you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God
Isn’t
that amazing…..
Jesus isn’t worried about all the
things that he might be doing wrong
He
is living a happy life that pleases the father
In John 8 Jesus says- “I do always the
things that please him”
What common things did Jesus do?
What common things did Jesus do?
·
Went
for a walk
·
Drank
wine
·
Taught
a class
·
Went
on a mission trip
·
Stopped
to hug a baby
·
Talked
to a prostitute
·
He
ate with sinners
And
god was pleased
Who taught us to constantly feel
bad about what we are doing?
Ahh The disease of the neurotic mind
Dis-ease
Ahh The disease of the neurotic mind
Dis-ease
The poor woman at the well……neurotic
mind
Five
husbands, six men. Not currently married
Not
to mention her profession
Still
trying to prove that she is right and everyone else is wrong
Jesus
doesn’t mention any of it.
Odd,
since its all about who is good and who is bad
John
4:21, 23-24
21 “Woman,”
Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 23 Yet a time is
coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the
Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father
seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the
Spirit and in truth.”
He talks to her about things of the
soul
Living
water
places
of worship
Not
on this mountain or that one, but worship in spirit and in truth.
·
All
the mountains are sacred
·
All
of life is sacred
The story of the special priest, the
special prayer, the special place
A great
Rabbi loved his people. Whenever he sensed a time of trouble, he would go to a
secret place in the woods, light a special fire, and say a special prayer.
Then, without fail, the village would be saved. He died and one of his
followers, came to lead the people. Whenever he sensed a troublesome time, he
would go to the secret place in the woods. "Dear God," he would say,
"I don't know how to light the special fire, but I know the special
prayer. Please let that be good enough." It was, and the village would be
saved. When this leader passed on, he was succeeded by another rabbi- whenever
he sensed troublesome times, he would go to the secret place in the woods. "Dear
God," he would say, "I don't know how to make the special fire, I
don't know how to say the special prayer, but I know this is the secret place
in the woods. Please let that be good enough." It was, and the village
would be saved. When he passed, he was succeeded by yet another, and whenever
somebody told him that difficult times were upon the village, he didn't even
get out of his armchair. He could only bow his head and shrug his shoulders.
"Dear God," he would pray, "I don't know how to make the special
fire. I don't know how to say the special prayer. I don't even know the secret
place in the woods. But ask that you would save the village. May
this common prayer be enough." It was, and his people would be saved.
Ever
felt that your prayer wasn’t good enough?
You
weren’t doing it quite right?
It
is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular,.
it
is why he does it....the motive is everything...
God isn’t worried about all of the
silly things that we worry about
God
is concerned with our hearts
When
our hearts are turned to him there are no common acts, only sacred moments
And
the village is blessed
So the question is are we Living a life
filled with worry and dis ease
Feeling bad about common things
Paul
invites us today to understand that
it
is all good
It
is well with my soul
If u don't want to eat the meat then don't
But if u do do it, relax- God is with you
If u don't want to eat the meat then don't
But if u do do it, relax- God is with you
31 so whether you eat or drink or whatever
you do, do it all for the glory of God.
conclusion
someone said, you have brought every
act down to a low level,
tozer
says no, we must lift up every act to the kingdom level and the whole of life
to a sacrament
when
we get this, a sense of wondrous meaning will begin to take hold of us And all
of life can become special, holy and spiritual
We just have to decide how we will
see. What we will see
Is
eating at la fuente a mundane or a holy thing
If
a member of my family is on the other side of the table, it’s a holy thing
Is
breathing a normal thing or a sacred thing
Ask
someone who has a lung condition
Is
walking a normal thing or a sacred thing
Ask
someone who cannot walk
Is
driving a mundane thing or a sacred thing
Ask
someone who has just had their license retired
Is
working a normal thing or a sacred thing
Ask
someone who is looking for a job
Praying
is good. Study is good. Acts of mission are good but.......
let
us believe that God is in all our simple deeds as well and learn to find Him
there
Its
a beautiful day in gods world be sure to see the good
Prayer:
Oh God
of Peace, help us on our journey. remind us that we belong only to you.
We give you our life….every moment of it. You chose us and we in
turn choose you. You are a faithful God and we confidently believe in you
and live in you. thanks for the joy that this brings. - Amen
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