Where do You Eat?
I am again, giving you a message that many, if not all, will find very strong. Brethren, I continue to bring you strong messages from the Lord because there exists a great complacency in the people of God. There are a large number of people in the body of Christ that ignore, or do not know that professing to be a Christian is not something that can be taken lightly. Last week while we were having lunch, I discussed this same issue with fellow Christians. We came to the conclusion that to be a real Christian is not an easy thing. When a person professes to be a Christian, it means that their life has completely changed and that he or she is now submitted to the will of God at all times. I tell you that this is not something easily accomplished. I am sure that many of you, if not all, have already noticed this fact. It's not easy because it means that we would have to deny ourselves, in other words, we have to ignore the desires of the flesh and concentrate only on God. Let me illustrate what I mean with the following scripture.
1 Corinthians 10:21-23 - Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. 22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? 23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
Look carefully at this powerful warning that Paul is giving us. These verses tell us clearly that a person that professes to be a Christian cannot be the way he or she used to be. There has to be a complete and absolute change in the life of any person that professes to be a Christian. If there isn't a complete change in our lives, then we can't call ourselves Christians. Brethren I know that these are strong words, I know that these are words that can be misinterpreted. I know that these are words that not many pastors are willing to speak to their congregation about. However, it is time that we stop caressing sin, it is time to refer to things as what they really are. Furthermore, I want you to know that it is not my intent to offend or insult anyone, nor is it my purpose to make any one feel bad. My purpose and duty as the head of this congregation is to exhort the people of God, that the Lord has placed here to help us recognize the error of our ways.
What I am telling you is that we can't say that we are saved if there hasn't been a change in our lives. We can't say that we are children of God, because in all reality we are nothing. If now that we profess that we are Christians, we find ourselves doing the same things that we did while we lived in the world, then we are lying to ourselves. I tell you this because if this is the case, then we are not partakers of the Lord's table, thus the title of this week's sermon: "Where do We Eat." This is why Paul is giving us such a strong warning. It is for this same reason that we receive such a strong message. This is why we must examine our lives to see exactly where we are. If while we were living in the world we were adulterous, arrogant, envious, filled with jealousy, or any thing that we know are displeasing to God, now that we live in Christ, or better said, we say that we live in Christ, we cannot continue living in the same manner. If we continue being just the same way that we have always been, then we have done nothing and cannot be considered a Christian!
If we do not change our old ways, we are not partaking of the Lord's table, but rather consorting with the devil. Again I say to you, I know that it is very hard to be a Christian, I know that it is very hard because we wrestle against the flesh on a daily basis, but I also know that we do not wrestle against something that we can't defeat, as described in the following scripture:
1 Corinthians 10:13- There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
We serve a just God, we serve a God that does not want us to distance ourselves from Him. But on numerous occasions we fall into sin because of our lack of knowledge of the Word of God. I say this because if we all had a better understanding of the Word, if we all sought more of Him, then we would not have to suffer the many things that we suffer. We would be much happier people because we would know without a doubt that there is nothing that can defeat us, that there is nothing that can take away the blessings that He has given us. But what happens most often, is that we reject the blessings. Because of the desires of the flesh, we fail to see that He has given us the solution to all the problems. We simply can't see it because worldly desires such as greed, jealousy and the pleasures of the flesh continue to blind us.
What I have seen on numerous occasions in a lot of churches and other congregations is that man usually doesn't do anything unless there is something to gain. An example of this is when we feel a genuine desire to do something for the labor of God, we feel a strong desire like a calling from God. It is at that time that we begin to do God's will. Then we begin to receive the temptations, we begin feeling the attacks of the enemy. Not openly, not in a way that they will be very noticeable and easily spotted, but rather in surreptitious form. The devil can be accused of many things, but the one thing we can't accuse him of is working openly. The devil works in a very subtle manner. Like I said, we begin doing that which God has placed in out hearts, but temptation follows closely behind. It can be start within our own home, it could start with a friend or a family member. Remember, the devil will use all of the people and any circumstance to try and separate us from the grace of God.
Let me illustrate a temptation that is very common, one that I am sure that we have all experienced at one time or another. Let us imagine that we are sitting down paying our bills. When a person is truly faithful to God, and has made a complete and unconditional commitment to God, the first thing this person should do is set aside the tithes for the church, right? But, what happens on many occasions? In that same instance, the devil arrives in a very subtle way, he arrives through a spouse, other family member, or through a friend. Then we begin to hear things like: "Are you are going to give all that money to the church?" "Are you crazy? they must have brainwashed you, don't you know that all pastors are just a bunch of lazy men that take advantage of people's fears." Or maybe something like: "don't you know all of the things that we could do with that money?" In fact, many different things can be said, but if we are not strong in the Lord, if we don't know His Word, if a change has not taken place in our lives, then we succumb to the temptation.
We succumb to temptation because we can't see the blessing that God is providing us. I tell you that He is providing us with a blessing because being able to congregate in a temple to glorify and sanctify His holy name is a great blessing. Being able to attend a temple without the fear of persecution to freely listen to His word is a great blessing. I tell you that it is a great blessing because there are thousands of people all around that world that want to, but can't.
Brethren, when we give Him the place that He deserves, and place Him ahead of all other things, He pours His blessings over us. But in many instances, we allow the pleasures of the flesh, the things of the world to steal away our blessings. We allow and we give permission to Satan and his demons to enter once again in our lives. Just like this example that I used here, there are a great number of examples that we can use, but to do so would be a sermon without an end. But, why does this or other similar things happen? The answer is in the following scripture:
2 Corinthians 4:4 - In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Who is Paul talking about here? Simple, the god of this world is Satan. Satan and his armies of demons do not rest in their attempts to separate us from the grace of God. He does not want us to know the truth, he does not want us to be faithful to God. He wants to blind us with his lies and deceptions so that the light of the gospel and the glory of God will not shine through. Think about the example that I gave you, think about this: Can a temple sustain itself without the help of it's members? can a church grow without faithful Christians? These are difficult questions to ask, these are questions that makes us reflect. But as I said in the beginning, the time for calling things the way they are has arrived. The time to call the people of God to a genuine commitment with Christ has arrived.
Brethren, if we have not made a genuine commitment to Christ, if we have not taken the time to know Him more closely, then we are simply not partaking in the Lord's table. We are partaking in the table of the demons because we have allowed the enemy to lie to us, we have allowed the enemy to blind us with the things of this world, the things that will not last. We have given Satan and his armies of demons the opportunity to return and dwell in our lives. As faithful Christians we can't allow the most minimal intrusion by Satan into our lives. We can't allow ourselves to be deceived into sitting in the table of that is not of God. The demon has no authority over any of us, he can't tempt us in such a way that we can't resist. Christ died on the cross of Calvary to give us victory over all things evil. All of us should take this warning very seriously. If we have not made a complete commitment to God, then we cannot refer to ourselves as Christians.
Preached November 12, 2000
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