A Thanksgiving Psalm

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:04.839 The Cross and was. We consider that great and steadfast love which was demonstrated 2 00:00:04.960 --> 00:00:12.429 for us there, and not merely demonstrated but effectively brought about our justification, 3 00:00:13.589 --> 00:00:19.910 the forgiveness of our sins, the imputation of Christ's righteousness, our access to 4 00:00:19.989 --> 00:00:24.460 the very throne of grace, that we might stand before you and worship you 5 00:00:24.780 --> 00:00:29.500 and the splendor of Your Holiness. All these things and war have been given 6 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:33.939 to us through him, through this great act of love by which we have 7 00:00:34.100 --> 00:00:37.890 been saved. Lord, we ask that you would help us to give you 8 00:00:37.929 --> 00:00:42.409 thanks for all of these things, that our mouths might be filled with your 9 00:00:42.490 --> 00:00:46.329 praise, that we might sing songs to your glory, that even the food 10 00:00:46.450 --> 00:00:51.479 that we eat would be given, when it would be eaten, according to 11 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:56.560 your word, to Your glory. We ask now that, as you give 12 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:00.240 to us your word, the very bread of life, for the sustaining in 13 00:01:00.439 --> 00:01:04.709 the nourishment of our souls, that you would give us keen ears to listen, 14 00:01:06.590 --> 00:01:08.909 you would open up our minds and our hearts that we might receive that 15 00:01:10.069 --> 00:01:14.549 which you have given and receive it gladly, that we might live by it. 16 00:01:15.430 --> 00:01:17.790 We asked that you would bless your word to us and that we might 17 00:01:17.870 --> 00:01:23.379 hear and know Jesus in it. Pray this in his name. Then you 18 00:01:23.459 --> 00:01:40.849 may be seated. So I'm going to read two passages this morning as we 19 00:01:42.049 --> 00:01:47.640 begin this week to turn our thoughts to Thanksgiving feasts. Want to read the 20 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:53.840 two passages that think about food and God. First from First Corinthians chapter ten, 21 00:01:55.879 --> 00:02:00.519 and then from Psalm one hundred and thirty six. So if you would 22 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:02.349 please turn your attention with me to first Corinthians. This is in the New 23 00:02:02.430 --> 00:02:14.949 Testament, one of Paul's letters for First Corinthians chapter ten. We're going to 24 00:02:15.030 --> 00:02:32.449 begin reading at Verse Twenty Three. So let's hear God's word. First Corinthians 25 00:02:32.490 --> 00:02:38.009 ten, verse twenty three. I'll read to the end of the chapter. 26 00:02:38.810 --> 00:02:44.840 All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are 27 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:50.479 lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own 28 00:02:50.599 --> 00:02:53.439 good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the 29 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:59.030 meat market without raising a question on the ground of conscience, for the Earth 30 00:02:59.189 --> 00:03:04.310 is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. If one of the unbelievers invites you 31 00:03:04.430 --> 00:03:07.710 to dinner and you are disposed to go eat whatever, whatever is set before 32 00:03:07.789 --> 00:03:13.060 you, without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone 33 00:03:13.139 --> 00:03:16.620 says to you this has been offered in sacrifice, then do not eat it, 34 00:03:17.259 --> 00:03:21.020 for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake 35 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:25.539 of conscience, I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why 36 00:03:25.580 --> 00:03:30.650 should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, 37 00:03:30.689 --> 00:03:36.090 why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? So, 38 00:03:36.250 --> 00:03:40.250 whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the 39 00:03:40.370 --> 00:03:46.120 glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the 40 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:50.080 Church of God, just as I try to please everyone and everything. I 41 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:54.599 do not seeking my own advantage but that of many, that they may be 42 00:03:54.830 --> 00:04:00.909 saved. All right, and now let's turn to Psalm one hundred and thirty 43 00:04:00.949 --> 00:04:06.710 six and consider the Lord, the God who gives us all of this food. 44 00:04:09.229 --> 00:04:24.889 Psalm one hundred and thirty six, here we of a description, among 45 00:04:24.970 --> 00:04:28.649 other things, a description of the Lord and his divine nature. I mean 46 00:04:28.689 --> 00:04:32.490 his supremacy in his divine nature and also in his works, by which he 47 00:04:32.649 --> 00:04:40.360 saves US and loves us. Psalm one hundred and thirty six, give thanks 48 00:04:40.439 --> 00:04:44.519 to the Lord for he is good for his steadfast love and doers forever. 49 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:48.920 Give thanks to the god of Gods for his steadfast love and doers forever. 50 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:56.629 Give thanks to the Lord of Lords for his steadfast love endures forever to him 51 00:04:56.629 --> 00:05:00.589 who alone does great wonders for his steadfast love and doers forever. To Him 52 00:05:00.629 --> 00:05:05.149 who, by understanding, made the heavens for his steadfast love and doers forever, 53 00:05:06.069 --> 00:05:11.459 to him who spread out the earth above the waters for his spet steadfast 54 00:05:11.579 --> 00:05:15.540 love and doers forever. To Him who made the great lights for his steadfast 55 00:05:15.620 --> 00:05:20.649 love and doers forever, the son to rule over the day for his steadfast 56 00:05:20.769 --> 00:05:26.209 love and doers forever, the moon and stars to rule over the night for 57 00:05:26.370 --> 00:05:30.129 his steadfast love endures forever. To Him who struck down the first born of 58 00:05:30.209 --> 00:05:35.360 Egypt for his steadfast love and doers forever and brought Israel out from among them 59 00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:41.600 for his steadfast love and doers forever, with a strong hand and an outstretched 60 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:46.360 arm for his steadfast love and doers forever. To Him who divided the Red 61 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:50.870 Sea into for his steadfast love and doers forever for and made Israel Pass through 62 00:05:50.910 --> 00:05:56.430 the midst of it, for the steadfast love and doers forever, but overthrow 63 00:05:56.509 --> 00:06:00.110 Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, for his steadfast love endures forever. 64 00:06:00.870 --> 00:06:04.860 To Him who led his people through the Wilderness, for his steadfast love 65 00:06:05.060 --> 00:06:10.980 endures forever, to him who struck down the great kings for his steadfast love 66 00:06:11.100 --> 00:06:15.420 and doers forever, and killed the mighty kings for his steadfast love and doers 67 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:20.290 forever. Sihon, the King of the Amorites, for his steadfast love and 68 00:06:20.410 --> 00:06:26.329 doers forever, and Oga King of Bashan, for his steadfast love and doers 69 00:06:26.410 --> 00:06:30.810 forever, and gave their land as a heritage, for his steadfast love endures 70 00:06:30.889 --> 00:06:35.959 forever, a heritage to Israel, his servant, for his steadfast love endures 71 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:42.600 forever. It is he who remembered us in our low estate for his steadfast 72 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:46.470 love and doures forever, and rescued us from all our foes, for his 73 00:06:46.509 --> 00:06:53.230 steadfast love endures forever. He who gives food to all flesh, for his 74 00:06:53.310 --> 00:06:59.389 steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of Heaven for his steadfast 75 00:06:59.509 --> 00:07:10.939 love indures forever. Amen. So as we hear of our God and his 76 00:07:11.180 --> 00:07:15.810 great power, his mighty works and doing things that we cannot even begin to 77 00:07:15.930 --> 00:07:23.250 really imagine how they might be accomplished, how they might be done. We 78 00:07:23.329 --> 00:07:30.319 consider this God who gives us our food, this same one who reigns above 79 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:33.600 all gods, this one who does great wonders, who can do things like 80 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:42.240 parting a sea or creating the sea, or stretching out his hand and making 81 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:46.509 the world of creating things like the Sun and the moon and the stars, 82 00:07:46.550 --> 00:07:54.750 all the way down to the very bread on our table, the Cup to 83 00:07:54.870 --> 00:08:01.459 our lips. God steadfast love and does endure forever, because he is God, 84 00:08:03.540 --> 00:08:09.300 because he is steadfast, because he is love. And so we have 85 00:08:09.699 --> 00:08:16.410 both God's great supremacy in these acts that are so hard to even begin to 86 00:08:16.569 --> 00:08:22.649 capture in our imaginations, to very specific and concrete things, the very things 87 00:08:22.769 --> 00:08:28.480 on our table, and also these situations we find ourselves in with certain people 88 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:33.399 and in certain places, decisions we have to make about who we eat, 89 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:37.399 with, how we eat, what we eat. All of these things we 90 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:43.750 ought to think about in light of God, who is the source of all 91 00:08:43.950 --> 00:08:48.669 things and to whom he calls us, to whom we can put our faith 92 00:08:48.710 --> 00:08:52.429 in. He calls us to put our faith in him and as we do 93 00:08:52.549 --> 00:08:54.940 so, he gives us the opportunity to give thanks to him, to remember 94 00:08:54.980 --> 00:09:01.659 the freedom that we have in him and to love others as well. These 95 00:09:01.779 --> 00:09:05.940 things that I just mentioned, the thinking about God is the source of things, 96 00:09:05.019 --> 00:09:11.409 thinking about our freedom and our food and our responsibilities all in light of 97 00:09:11.450 --> 00:09:16.889 him, is a framework that we have in scripture, principles that we have 98 00:09:16.090 --> 00:09:20.730 in scripture that teach us how we ought to live. When Paul speaks to 99 00:09:20.769 --> 00:09:24.799 the church in Corinth Corinth, he speaks to them in a very particular and 100 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:30.879 difficult set of circumstances. As we've been going through First Corinthians, we've seen 101 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:37.200 on Paul dealing with these situations, ethically complicated situations or there isn't always a 102 00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:39.350 black and white. We have to kind of think through things, where you 103 00:09:39.429 --> 00:09:46.549 have to process the situation and the circumstances through the principles of scripture, and 104 00:09:46.629 --> 00:09:52.629 he does that again here, an issue he's brought up before about food sacrificed 105 00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:58.580 to idols. What are we to think about? How are we to make 106 00:09:58.659 --> 00:10:03.620 these kinds of decisions? Paul tells us how and he gives us an opportunity 107 00:10:03.659 --> 00:10:09.649 to think about how this applies to other things as well. Before we get 108 00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:13.169 to some of the specifics of that, though, I do want us to 109 00:10:13.250 --> 00:10:18.009 think more about God, about who he is and what he has done. 110 00:10:18.049 --> 00:10:22.600 I want to begin thinking about that with you by asking you a question. 111 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:28.600 I want to ask you to think about some decision you made this week. 112 00:10:28.360 --> 00:10:31.559 I mean, maybe it was a very big one or maybe it was a 113 00:10:31.960 --> 00:10:35.070 little one. Maybe it was how much gas do I put in the car? 114 00:10:35.950 --> 00:10:39.870 How much time do I spend on this assignment? Should I visit this 115 00:10:41.110 --> 00:10:46.990 friend or not? In all these decisions, whatever is you're trying to decide, 116 00:10:46.149 --> 00:10:50.460 you have to make them according to some set of principles. Ultimately, 117 00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:54.620 you do make them according to some set of principles, ideas that you have 118 00:10:54.539 --> 00:10:58.620 the world, about how the world works, about God, about life, 119 00:10:58.700 --> 00:11:05.289 about your life. Maybe you thought about the price of gas or maybe you 120 00:11:05.409 --> 00:11:11.490 thought about the importance of the assignment or the nature of the friendship, and 121 00:11:11.610 --> 00:11:15.649 then, in observing these things, and severe early other things as well you 122 00:11:16.009 --> 00:11:20.120 made, you drew some sort of conclusion. Well, in observing this decisionmaking 123 00:11:20.240 --> 00:11:24.519 process, I just want to point out that we all have rules that we 124 00:11:24.759 --> 00:11:28.519 follow, laws that need to be obeyed, frameworks of principles that we look 125 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:37.269 at that help us to make our decisions. But God is different. Unlike 126 00:11:37.509 --> 00:11:43.870 us, God has no rules that he follows, no principles that he keeps 127 00:11:43.909 --> 00:11:48.460 an eye on. Now, that doesn't mean that God isn't good or that 128 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:54.779 he doesn't do wise things or good things. It just means there's no ten 129 00:11:54.980 --> 00:12:01.169 commandments or constitution behind God by which he's making his decisions by. There's no 130 00:12:01.409 --> 00:12:05.529 law or set of principles that God looks to and says, okay, I've 131 00:12:05.529 --> 00:12:09.409 got to make sure I keep myself and the things that I do aligned with 132 00:12:09.570 --> 00:12:16.919 that. God is different than us in this way. There's no rule, 133 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:22.279 no constitution, no commandment, no principle outside of God that he looks at 134 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:30.429 and he depends on. There's nothing behind God, no first thing before him. 135 00:12:31.870 --> 00:12:37.070 There's nothing deciding for God, nothing generating God or his plans or his 136 00:12:37.230 --> 00:12:46.179 actions. But for us he is our first principle. Because he is this 137 00:12:46.379 --> 00:12:52.139 way, because there is nothing behind him, there's no constitution driving him, 138 00:12:52.220 --> 00:12:56.620 no commandment that he's trying to follow, nothing outside of himself. It means 139 00:12:56.700 --> 00:13:01.210 that we can and must look to him as the first of all things, 140 00:13:03.250 --> 00:13:09.570 because he is the beginning of all things, the eternal and steadfast beginning of 141 00:13:09.690 --> 00:13:16.399 all things. How do we understand what love is? How do we understand 142 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:20.279 what wisdom is? How do we understand what law is? What principle is? 143 00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:28.230 It all begins with him who has no beginning. He is our first 144 00:13:28.269 --> 00:13:33.909 principle, he is our ten commandments, our Constitution, our covenant, as 145 00:13:33.950 --> 00:13:39.269 the Scriptures say, by him and to him and through him are all things. 146 00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:46.299 There are many principles and laws in this world, but God is the 147 00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:52.580 first principle, the first law, the starting place for all things. Now 148 00:13:52.659 --> 00:13:56.330 he's not just a law, he's not just a principle. He is our 149 00:13:56.490 --> 00:14:01.929 trying God and three persons, Father, son and Holy Spirit who relates to 150 00:14:01.090 --> 00:14:07.289 us. He is not just a command he is the commander. He is 151 00:14:07.409 --> 00:14:11.799 not just love, he is a lover. He loves US, he commands 152 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:18.840 US, he charges us, but he is our starting place. And because 153 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:24.549 he is the true God and not an idol, not a demon, not 154 00:14:24.750 --> 00:14:30.710 the vain imagination of men, but because he is God, the True God, 155 00:14:31.350 --> 00:14:37.980 according to his eternal divine nature, he is our king and everything depends 156 00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:45.460 on him. Everything depends on him, and that's why Paul can conclude as 157 00:14:45.580 --> 00:14:50.220 he does in First Corinthians ten. He says whatever we do, we do 158 00:14:50.340 --> 00:14:54.690 according to his will, and we do it all for the glory of God, 159 00:14:54.929 --> 00:15:00.169 whether we eat or drink, even these mundane things, these average things, 160 00:15:00.250 --> 00:15:05.730 these everyday things, even those things, we do all for the glory 161 00:15:05.370 --> 00:15:11.320 of God. Ultimately, it's all to redound to him. Ultimately, it's 162 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:18.000 all for him. Psalm one hundred and thirty six speaks of it. That's 163 00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:20.909 in this way as well. He's the one who created all of these things, 164 00:15:22.389 --> 00:15:28.230 who spread out the earth, who made the great lights, who made 165 00:15:28.230 --> 00:15:31.470 the sun, made the moon, made the stars? WHO GIVES US OUR 166 00:15:31.629 --> 00:15:35.230 BREAD? He at the end of the Psalm, remember, it is he 167 00:15:35.389 --> 00:15:39.940 who remembered us in our lowest state, who gives food to all flesh. 168 00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:46.860 That's why the Psalm ends give thanks to the God of Heaven for his steadfast 169 00:15:46.980 --> 00:15:54.009 love endures forever. But here's the problem, though, we owe him all 170 00:15:54.129 --> 00:16:00.250 things, though we owe him more than we can ever imagine. Without God 171 00:16:00.690 --> 00:16:06.559 first setting us free from our bondage to sin, from the dominion that the 172 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:11.720 devil has over us in our sin, we are not able to give God 173 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:15.799 the glory that we're at that we ought, we're not able to follow him 174 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:19.470 as we ought. God may be true, God may be our compass, 175 00:16:19.549 --> 00:16:26.429 but before the saving work of Jesus in our lives, we're unable to read 176 00:16:26.470 --> 00:16:30.789 the compass and we don't care to read the compass. We don't want to 177 00:16:30.990 --> 00:16:34.659 follow God. We don't give him honor. That doesn't mean that he stops 178 00:16:34.779 --> 00:16:41.019 being that. He still is that, we just don't follow it. Instead 179 00:16:42.700 --> 00:16:47.019 of going to his throne of grace, instead of living in the splendor of 180 00:16:47.100 --> 00:16:51.490 holiness, instead of enjoying the good gifts that are on our tables, instead 181 00:16:51.490 --> 00:16:56.169 of loving our father and praying to him, we wander around on his earth, 182 00:16:56.970 --> 00:17:03.279 getting ourselves into trouble, worshiping idols, serving demons, as Paul spoke 183 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:07.759 about last time. Paul and Glaciers for eight describes this kind of life. 184 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:11.920 He says formally, when you did not know God, you were enslave to 185 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:18.309 those that, by nature, are not God's. What a slavery, what 186 00:17:18.430 --> 00:17:22.109 an awful thing to be under all the time. For those of us who 187 00:17:22.109 --> 00:17:25.910 have been rescued for that, from that, this is a great joy, 188 00:17:26.710 --> 00:17:30.539 a reason to give things, a reason to look at our food and praise 189 00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:34.099 the God who made it, the God who gave it to us. It 190 00:17:34.299 --> 00:17:40.180 also, brothers and sisters, gives us great reason to pity and to mourn 191 00:17:40.339 --> 00:17:45.289 for those who do not yet know God, who are still in their sin, 192 00:17:45.450 --> 00:17:49.369 who still are enslave to those that, by nature, are not God's 193 00:17:51.529 --> 00:17:56.210 who fear death, who every day are walking in its shadow and fear it 194 00:17:57.009 --> 00:18:06.160 and struggle and give their praise not to God but to created things, who 195 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:08.960 put their hope and their fear and the things of this world who put there, 196 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:15.829 who are entrapped by this present evil age. We ought to pity them 197 00:18:15.829 --> 00:18:21.269 and mourn for them and tell them of the hope that God gives to us 198 00:18:21.390 --> 00:18:26.470 in Jesus Christ. If the problem is is that, in our sin were 199 00:18:26.589 --> 00:18:30.420 broken and that we can't give him the glory that he deserves, we can't 200 00:18:30.500 --> 00:18:36.099 live in the freedom that he gives us, the good news and the solution 201 00:18:36.259 --> 00:18:40.420 that God gives to us in the Gospel is that he does set us free 202 00:18:40.579 --> 00:18:47.009 in Jesus through Jesus Christ, he enters into the world and he takes on 203 00:18:47.490 --> 00:18:53.250 human nature. Right before the verse I just read in Galatians for the Paul 204 00:18:53.369 --> 00:18:59.400 says this. He says when the fullness of time had come, God sent 205 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:04.799 forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to 206 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:10.509 redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as 207 00:19:10.670 --> 00:19:14.589 sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his 208 00:19:14.710 --> 00:19:21.349 son into our hearts, crying Abba father, so that you are no longer 209 00:19:21.470 --> 00:19:26.980 a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir through 210 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:33.740 Christ. Formerly you were enslave to those who are not God's, but now 211 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:38.490 you call the one true God father through Jesus, who died for you, 212 00:19:40.410 --> 00:19:44.450 who redeemed you, who brought you out from under the curse of the law. 213 00:19:47.089 --> 00:19:48.569 So one of the things that Paul is speaking about, one of the 214 00:19:48.650 --> 00:19:53.720 Paul Things Paul is thinking through, is he addresses this question about meet sacrifice 215 00:19:53.799 --> 00:19:59.319 to idols. Can we eat this food that might be presented to us? 216 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:03.920 Is He is first of all remembering the God who made it. The Earth 217 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:07.269 is the Lord's and the fullness are of it's all God's. It's not ultimately 218 00:20:07.430 --> 00:20:12.990 some idol or a demon behind an idol. It's God's more than that. 219 00:20:14.269 --> 00:20:18.910 Or, in addition to that, he's also remembering that this God that has 220 00:20:18.109 --> 00:20:23.740 freed us from idolatry. He's freed us from enslavement so that we can eat 221 00:20:23.819 --> 00:20:30.579 these things, not no longer under fear. We have a freedom to enjoy 222 00:20:30.859 --> 00:20:37.250 God's good gifts and to give thanks to God for them. These are the 223 00:20:37.289 --> 00:20:42.289 kinds of things that have been purchased for us through Christ. When Paul says 224 00:20:42.329 --> 00:20:47.490 we have been redeemed out of this slavery, it's good to take a moment, 225 00:20:47.609 --> 00:20:52.480 beloved, and just think about what this freedom means. In our confession 226 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:56.400 of Faith, in Chapter Twenty, there's a whole section called on Christian liberty 227 00:20:56.440 --> 00:21:02.640 or of Christian Liberty, and it lists these various freedoms that are purchased for 228 00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:07.829 us by Christ, the things he redeems us out and it's a slavery he 229 00:21:07.910 --> 00:21:11.309 redeems us out of and into these kinds of freedoms. I want to list 230 00:21:11.430 --> 00:21:17.750 some of them for you. Here's some of the freedoms we enjoy as citizens 231 00:21:18.309 --> 00:21:22.660 the Kingdom of Heaven. Through Christ. We enjoy the freedom to obey God 232 00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:30.619 with childlike love and a willing mind. We have the freedom from guilt of 233 00:21:30.779 --> 00:21:36.569 sin, freedom from the condemning wrath of God, freedom from this present evil 234 00:21:36.650 --> 00:21:41.849 world, freedom from the bondage to Satan, freedom from dominion of Sin, 235 00:21:42.049 --> 00:21:48.319 freedom from the evil of afflictions, freedom from the sting of death, freedom 236 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:52.119 for the grave, from the grave and everlasting damnation, freedom from the yoke 237 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:56.960 of the ceremonial law and greater freedom to the throne of grace in the new 238 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:03.549 covenant than in the old. So many things, and we could list others. 239 00:22:04.509 --> 00:22:08.630 When we are walking in this world, when we are eating and drinking, 240 00:22:08.950 --> 00:22:14.069 we are people that are no longer enslaved. We are people who are 241 00:22:14.509 --> 00:22:18.900 free and can eat our bread and drink our wine and eat our Turkey and 242 00:22:19.099 --> 00:22:26.980 all the rest, enjoy it in freedom. This is what Jesus obtained for 243 00:22:26.099 --> 00:22:33.369 us through his blood, by shedding his own blood, he got for US 244 00:22:33.170 --> 00:22:38.890 freedom, and it's this freedom that we celebrate when we worship on the Lord's 245 00:22:38.890 --> 00:22:45.920 Day, knowing that in his resurrection the victory is confirmed and our freedom is 246 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:52.160 assured. Sundays are like the Christian fourth of July. Every Sunday Independence Day, 247 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:56.839 and we get to sit down and rejoice and celebrate at this wonderful thing 248 00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:02.990 that we have. We get to banquet with other people and say, look 249 00:23:02.990 --> 00:23:07.750 at what God has done for us. Brothers and sisters in Christ and even 250 00:23:08.150 --> 00:23:12.339 not on Sundays, even when we're just eating and drinking and living our lives 251 00:23:12.420 --> 00:23:17.420 in this world, we still enjoy that freedom. It's not just like a 252 00:23:17.539 --> 00:23:21.940 one day thing, it's all of our lives. Sure, we are still 253 00:23:22.339 --> 00:23:26.369 in this world, but we're no longer of it, we no longer belong, 254 00:23:26.609 --> 00:23:30.529 we're no longer bound to it and we can live our lives and let 255 00:23:30.650 --> 00:23:37.009 go a little bit, celebrate and Give Glory to God. It's a freedom 256 00:23:37.210 --> 00:23:45.240 that changes everything. Being freed from sin, being freed from lawlessness, being 257 00:23:45.400 --> 00:23:53.480 freed from idolatry, being free from demons, Satan, being free to be 258 00:23:55.200 --> 00:24:02.910 childlike worshipers of God and followers of her son. We have great joy. 259 00:24:04.230 --> 00:24:08.950 He is our king, our number one priority, the focus of all things. 260 00:24:10.059 --> 00:24:15.460 He is and becomes through Christ, or I should say we. He's 261 00:24:15.579 --> 00:24:19.299 always our true north, he's always our compass, but through Christ now we 262 00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:26.329 start to follow him. That way, God is steadfast in his love always 263 00:24:26.410 --> 00:24:30.809 and at all times, but in Christ now we begin to appreciate it and 264 00:24:30.049 --> 00:24:36.529 follow him and love him as we are. He becomes our first principle. 265 00:24:36.769 --> 00:24:41.279 Our Commandments are covenant by him and True Him. And through him are all 266 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:45.599 things. Through Christ, whatever we do, we do according to his will 267 00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:51.559 and according to his honor and for his glory, and with all kinds of 268 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:56.309 thankfulness. We give thanks as salt, the Psalm ends, to God of 269 00:24:56.430 --> 00:25:03.309 Heaven for his steadfast love endures forever, a love that we know through Jesus 270 00:25:03.349 --> 00:25:08.940 Christ, his son. With those principles laid down, we now begin and 271 00:25:10.059 --> 00:25:15.740 are able to think through the challenging situations we find in our lives, and 272 00:25:15.940 --> 00:25:21.849 even the not challenging ones. Whatever we do, hard times and easy times 273 00:25:21.970 --> 00:25:26.849 and complicated times, we can do it all to the glory of God. 274 00:25:26.049 --> 00:25:30.890 And so when we think about our eating, as Paul thinks with the Corinthians 275 00:25:30.930 --> 00:25:37.119 and gives them wisdom and guidance on how they ought to think through this question 276 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:41.759 about eat, eating, food, sacrifice to idols, he says one of 277 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:47.200 them. The things he says, is eat whatever you want. You don't 278 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:49.230 need to be bothered even to raise this question. You don't need to think 279 00:25:49.269 --> 00:25:52.750 about this as a question of conscience. Why? Because the earth is the 280 00:25:52.869 --> 00:26:00.109 Lord's and the fullness of thereof, it belongs to him, not an idol. 281 00:26:00.349 --> 00:26:03.470 You are his son. Enjoy it. Gladly, you can eat of 282 00:26:03.549 --> 00:26:11.099 it from him and to him and if someone offers so, if someone offers 283 00:26:11.140 --> 00:26:12.900 you food, you don't need to check first and see if it was offered 284 00:26:12.940 --> 00:26:17.500 to an idol or not. Just enjoy it and enjoy it to the Lord. 285 00:26:18.299 --> 00:26:21.569 It's not the ignorance of whether it was offered to an idol or not 286 00:26:21.690 --> 00:26:25.609 that protects you. It's the knowledge that God is the true God and the 287 00:26:25.769 --> 00:26:30.890 only true God, and that all these things belong to him. But the 288 00:26:30.970 --> 00:26:33.599 other thing he tells us is that we don't look only to our own needs. 289 00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:37.079 He says, let no one seek his own good, but the good 290 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:41.000 of his neighbor. This is a second principle that must be applied. A 291 00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:45.519 second principle that God wants us to attend to is we make our decisions. 292 00:26:48.190 --> 00:26:52.190 If our freedom causes another person to stumble, we let go of our rights, 293 00:26:53.069 --> 00:26:57.190 not because we don't have due appreciation to God or thanks to God for 294 00:26:57.309 --> 00:27:02.500 our freedom, but out of that appreciation, out of our love for him, 295 00:27:02.779 --> 00:27:08.339 we sacrifice ourselves for others if our eating causes others to stumble and pay 296 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:14.059 homage to false gods, or perhaps in in other ways. We do not 297 00:27:14.380 --> 00:27:18.170 partake and that seems pretty simple, and sometimes, honestly, it is, 298 00:27:19.210 --> 00:27:23.329 but sometimes the pressures can be great and it's right to have these things very 299 00:27:23.369 --> 00:27:27.369 firm in our minds, very clear in our minds, so that we can 300 00:27:27.369 --> 00:27:34.920 navigate the complicated situations and the pressure situations when they come. In Corinth, 301 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:41.559 this was the case. Idolatry and food and neighbors. These weren't just questioned, 302 00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:48.390 the esoteric questions about religion. These dinners, these parties, these opportunities 303 00:27:48.430 --> 00:27:52.309 that they had to eat with one another, were the means by which they 304 00:27:52.309 --> 00:27:56.910 advanced themselves in society, at least those who had the opportunity to. These 305 00:27:56.990 --> 00:28:00.579 were the networking events, these were the deal making times, this is when 306 00:28:00.859 --> 00:28:07.740 the positioning would happen. Hierarchies and ranks and authority and these kind of things 307 00:28:07.779 --> 00:28:12.450 were so important in Rome. The common good, the joining together, the 308 00:28:12.569 --> 00:28:19.210 working together for the benefit of peace and and civil society, while contwall increasing 309 00:28:19.289 --> 00:28:26.529 your ranks, this was what really really mattered. So to give up on 310 00:28:26.650 --> 00:28:30.079 these things, to walk back on these things, to say to your host 311 00:28:30.200 --> 00:28:36.359 no, thank you when everyone around you is eating, when all this event 312 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:41.000 is about something that will possibly benefit you and your career and your place and 313 00:28:41.119 --> 00:28:45.309 all of this, especially when you're doing it for a weaker person, a 314 00:28:45.509 --> 00:28:52.549 weaker brother, perhaps that could be a very hard thing and a very challenging 315 00:28:52.670 --> 00:28:57.339 thing. And what Paul is asking them in that moment with Paul is requiring 316 00:28:57.539 --> 00:29:02.259 of them and of us in those moments, is to go back to the 317 00:29:02.619 --> 00:29:08.779 beginning and to remember our principles, to remember God and what he has done 318 00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:14.769 for us in Christ, to remember that, first and foremost, above anything 319 00:29:14.809 --> 00:29:18.690 in this world, our identity is in him, our freedom is in him, 320 00:29:18.730 --> 00:29:22.569 and that we have a life that is that goes beyond this world, 321 00:29:23.319 --> 00:29:27.359 that goes beyond the things of this world, and that we can give up 322 00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:33.839 things like rank and money and a big house and a lot of followers and 323 00:29:34.039 --> 00:29:40.069 even our own lives for the sake of that kind of freedom that we have 324 00:29:40.230 --> 00:29:44.390 in Christ. The freedom that we have in him, the redemption that we 325 00:29:44.470 --> 00:29:51.029 have through his blood is worth losing everything. And when we have that in 326 00:29:51.109 --> 00:29:53.779 our minds and when we have that clearly in our hearts, when we remember 327 00:29:53.859 --> 00:29:59.019 his steadfast love for us and that he will never let us go and that 328 00:29:59.099 --> 00:30:03.500 he gives us all good things that we need, both for this life and 329 00:30:03.660 --> 00:30:07.289 the life to come. I think things do get a little easier sometimes, 330 00:30:08.609 --> 00:30:11.730 we get a little clearer about the kinds of things that we need to do, 331 00:30:12.809 --> 00:30:18.730 the kind of sacrifices that we need to make, when we remember that 332 00:30:18.849 --> 00:30:23.039 we do these things for the glory of God and through his work for us, 333 00:30:25.599 --> 00:30:30.640 because he gives us a higher end, a higher purpose, a better 334 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:34.000 promise and a better life, and he does it through his very own love. 335 00:30:36.349 --> 00:30:40.829 We don't need sharp elbows to get our ways, our way up into 336 00:30:40.869 --> 00:30:44.910 the Kingdom of Heaven. God descends to us and gives to us the very 337 00:30:44.950 --> 00:30:49.579 blood and life of his own son. So my encouragement to you from the 338 00:30:49.660 --> 00:30:55.539 scriptures is to put your faith in him. Look to God, who gives 339 00:30:55.619 --> 00:30:59.099 the source of all of these things, not only for the source of things 340 00:30:59.180 --> 00:31:03.339 in this life but also the life to come. And as you put your 341 00:31:03.420 --> 00:31:07.849 faith in him, through Jesus Christ, the son of God, give thanks 342 00:31:07.890 --> 00:31:12.569 for the things on your table, make wise and good decisions about whom you 343 00:31:12.769 --> 00:31:17.170 eat with and how you eat with and how you eat and all the rest, 344 00:31:17.849 --> 00:31:21.960 and give glory to God. and whatever you eat or drink or whatever 345 00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:29.279 you do, let's pray our heavenly father, we do give you thanks and 346 00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:34.069 we give you praise. We refuse to give this honor and this glory to 347 00:31:34.789 --> 00:31:42.869 other created beings, and certainly not to those whom seek nothing but our own 348 00:31:42.910 --> 00:31:48.980 destruction, our own death, our trouble and a stealing of your glory. 349 00:31:49.619 --> 00:31:55.140 Lord, let us not turn to false idols and let us not turn to 350 00:31:55.259 --> 00:32:00.460 the things of this world as a way to secure our freedom, to get 351 00:32:00.500 --> 00:32:04.650 food and shelter and honor and all the rest. But, Lord, let 352 00:32:04.650 --> 00:32:07.170 us look to you and to you alone, as the King of Heaven, 353 00:32:07.210 --> 00:32:12.049 as the God above all gods, the one who made all of these things 354 00:32:12.130 --> 00:32:17.440 and does great wonders. In Your Psalm, you talk to us about how 355 00:32:17.559 --> 00:32:22.839 you struck down the first board of Egypt, how you brought Israel out from 356 00:32:22.920 --> 00:32:29.079 slavery and into the Promised Land. You have done this for us, but 357 00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:32.109 even better, in rescuing us out of the dominion of darkness and bringing us 358 00:32:32.150 --> 00:32:37.990 into the Kingdom of your beloved son. Oh Lord, forgive us for not 359 00:32:37.150 --> 00:32:42.470 living as citizens of that kingdom. Forgive us for being too tied to the 360 00:32:42.509 --> 00:32:46.619 things of this world, for not enjoying them as we ought, for despising 361 00:32:46.700 --> 00:32:52.660 them as we ought not, for tying ourselves to them, for fearing them, 362 00:32:52.819 --> 00:32:58.890 for hoping in them, for loving them too much. Lord, we 363 00:32:59.049 --> 00:33:01.329 ask that you would forgive us for these things and instead, let us look 364 00:33:01.369 --> 00:33:06.930 to you through the salvation offered to us in Jesus, and give you thanks 365 00:33:07.650 --> 00:33:12.490 with every bite, with every drink, with every good conversation. Let us 366 00:33:12.809 --> 00:33:16.880 give thanks to you and our hearts and with our mouths, for you are 367 00:33:17.079 --> 00:33:24.400 go so good to us, and indeed your steadfast love indures forever. May 368 00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:30.589 You receive all praise and honor and glory now and forever. Amen.