This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "Remembering Christ, The Solution To Temption", 7/20/2014

REMEMBERING CHRIST, THE SOLUTION TO TEMPTATION

 

1 Corinthians 10:12-22

 

 

V:12. " So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"

 A. No believer can stand against the world on his own.

     1. God has not given us the power to exist without Him.

     2. God made us to be dependant on Him and to be guided by His commandments.

     3. The world around us walk without God and follow the gods of their imagination.

     4. The world walks in darkness, but we have been blessed to walk in the Light.

 B. If we attempt to stand on our own, we will fall into sin, because the world will

      persuade us in their ways.

     1. We are in the flesh, but we must walk in the spirit.

     2. The flesh and  the spirit oppose each other.

         a. Their is a war going on within our members.  Romans 7:23

         b. It is only with the Spirit of God that we can win this war daily.

    3. We must put on the full armor of God to stand against the wise of the devil.

         Eph 6:11-18

 

 V:13. " No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

 A. God has equipped believers to withstand the temptations of the world.

     1. God has not isolated us from the temptations of the world because we are the

         light of the world.

     2. It is God's design that we bear the temptations of the world.

     3. It is through the resisting of the temptations that our faith grows in the Lord.

     4. Temptations are a test of our faith.

          a. Without a test, there would be no testimony.

          b. It is my belief, that some temptations are designed to grow our faith

              in the Lord.

      5. If mature Christians are to be a guide to the weaker Christians, we must

          experience certain trials and tribulations.

      6. Jesus being God, was born in the flesh to bear the sins of the entire world.

          1 Peter 3:18. 1 Tim 3:18

 B.   God the Father is so intimately involved with us, that He knows our strengths

        and weaknesses.

      1. God the Father will not allow us to be tempted more than we can bear.

      2. God knows what temptations you will face before they arrive into your

          life.

 C. Just as Jesus was tempted by the devil at the start of His ministry on earth,

      we will be tempted by the devil throughout our lives.

     1. God has equipped us with the Holy Spirit to know the schemes of the devil

         and the power of His Word  to escape all temptations.

     2. Armed with the Spirit of righteousness, we can easily identify the evils of

         the world and make  decisions to follow the Lord.

 

 V:14. " Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry."

   A. Fee means to run away, or seek safety.

       1. Idolatry is a sin of the flesh.

           a. Anything that  takes your focus off God can become your idol.

           b. Today we are obsessed with this idea of being successful through

               eves of the world.

           c. Reality TV shows push us to compete with one another to see who has

               the best talents.

           d. While competition is not bad in itself, it does take our focus off the

               true and lasting success that can only be found in Christ Jesus.

       2. To be safe, you have to run away from anything that is not Godly.

       3. Our safety is in the Word of God.

       4. Jesus said that if you abide in Me and My Word abide in you, you can ask

           what you will and it will be done for you. John 15:7

          a. Since the righteous should always pray, our road to safety begins in

              prayer.

   B. Because we have knowledge of the Word, we have knowledge of idolatry.

       1. The knowledge we have of God's Word must always be applied to our

           current situations.

       2. It is God's Word that convicts us of our sins and forces us to repent

           and turn back to God.

 

 V:15. " I speak to sensible people;   judge for yourselves what I say."

   A. This message is to the Church of Jesus Christ.

       1. Since we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are informed

           and rational people.

       2. We know that following our fleshly desires can only lead to our

            own destruction.

       3. Anything that does not include the Lord Jesus is idolatry.

   B. We know the difference between what edifies God and what edifies

        ourselves.

       1. We know that God hates the proud and loves those who humble

            themselves before Him.

       2. The greatest in the kingdom of God is one who is a servant of all.

       3. To serve God, we must forsake all earthly desires that does not

            include God.

 

 V:16. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the  

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

  Christ?"

  A. All believers participate in the ordinance of communion in remembrance of the

       death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

     1. We all were baptized into His death and resurrected into a new life with Him.

     2. Any man in Christ is a new creation.

  B. We are all new in Christ Jesus and one with Him.

       1. Therefore we should began to think like Jesus, walk like Jesus and  act

           according to His Word.

       2. We are to be imitators of Christ.

 

 V:17. " Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf."

 A. Jesus is the vine. The Church are the branches.

      1. There are many branches attached to the vine of Jesus Christ.

      2. There are many Churches that belong to Jesus Christ.

 B. Jesus is the body. And there is but one body.

      1. We are many and we all are part of the body of Christ Jesus.

      2. We were grafted into the body of Christ by our faith in His death and

           resurrection.

      3. Therefore, all believers are one with Christ.

      4. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

            

 V:18 "Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in

          the altar?"

 A. We become apart of what we crave.

    1. Those who worship idols become one with the idols.

    2. Since idols are nothing, you become one with nothing.

 B. The Israelites repeatedly worshiped idols, rejecting the living God.

    1. They suffered throughout their time before and after entering the

        promise land.

    2. The Lord gave us the history of worlds disobedience as an example

         for us to resist idolatry. Jude 7

 

    V:19. " Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol

            is  anything?"

      A. Sacrifices offered to idols is more than nothing.

          1. The "nothing" is the evil of the world.

          2. Being involved with those who worship idols has a way of affecting the way

              you feel about your own spirituality.

          3. Taking for granted your affections for the things of this world can result in

              a loss of focus on spiritual things.

      B. God made everything for our enjoyment, but not for our worship.

         1. Idols are nothing as long as we remember that God is everything.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 V:20. " No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not

   want you to be participants with demons."

   A. We need to be selective to whom we have associations.

      1. Those that are not for the God we serve may be against God.

      2. Those who worship idols of any kind, worship demons.

   B. We have a responsibility to all we come in contact with to be a witness for Jesus

        Christ.

      1. We have a responsibility to Christ Jesus to stay away from pagan worship

          services.

      2. If it is our desire, God will give us the opportunity to witness to those who worship

          idols.

 

Amen

 

Rev. M. Mitchell  Asst Pastor of GMBC

 

 

 V:21. " You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot

   have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons.

    A.  Our witness to those who worship idols must be outside of their worship services.

       1. To win them over, we cannot take part in their worship services.

       2. We can't worship in pagan worship services and worship God.

    B. The God we serve is a jealous God and will not share us with any other god.

        1. Idols are nothing, but worship of idols is sin against God.

        2. We cannot give the appearance that we worship anything other than the

            true and living God.

 

 V:22.  "Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?"

        A. The God we serve is watchful over His flock.

             1. God is aware of our involvement in things that are against His commands

             2. Disobedience arouses the anger of God towards us.            

        B. Our hearts must be fixed on the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings.

             1. Idolatry is spiritual adultery.

             2. It is best not to fellowship with those who worship pagan gods.

             3. If they are passionate about their god, they will try to win you over.

        C. You cannot play with fire and expect not to get burnt.

            1. The devil is clever enough to draw you into that which you associate with.

            2. The God we serve is jealous enough to punish us for our involvement in things     that do not please Him.