Hey everybody. Welcome back to another edition of the daily Bible podcast. It's actually Sunday's edition. It's December 1st. So welcome to a brand new month as well. It is the month of Christmas. So we are excited here at compass Bible church. Uh, to be observing Christmas this year. Surprise. Hey, we're going to celebrate Christmas this year. Um, no, w we are going to do a three-part series. Uh, first two parts, December 15th and 22nd on Sunday. And then we will wrap up our Christmas series on, on, uh, not new year's, but. Christmas Eve. On, uh, December 24th, as we all gathered together at 4:00 PM at the church for just one Christmas Eve service this year, but it's going to be a great time. So hopefully you're excited about the Christmas season, but right now we are still in the season of a Bible reading and that's an evergreen season. We're never done reading our Bible. We are always going to be studying God's word. We're going to be doing this plan again next year, the chronological plan. And so if you've had this, you've been tracking with us then. Uh, we're going to keep going. And if you're wondering, well, is this just going to be repeats of the podcast episodes? The answer to that one is no. Uh, we're going to record brand new episodes, just like we have been all year long. We're going to do that again next year. Should the Lord allow Lord willing at least? And you will have fresh. Commentary on, uh, these passages as we go through it again in the new year. So can't wait for that. But today we are. Uh, December 1st, first Corinthians nine through 11 first Corinthians nine picks up, uh, Paul's argument as he has been talking about food sacrificed to idols and chapter eight and using our freedoms. He's going to talk about his own freedoms, his own rights here. And. Uh, he is going to point to the fact that the faith of the Corinthians is the seal of his apostleship in the Lord. Notice that he says that in verse two, in other words, Uh, their faith was the evidence of the fact that he had been commissioned by God with the message to bring the gospel to them in the fact that they responded in repentance and faith was. Uh, the evidence of his apostolic authority. But then he goes on to talk about his defense before them, as though he needed to defend the fact that he wasn't doing what he was doing for. Um, Uh, for sort of gain as it's put in first, Peter five and some older translations, he wasn't doing this. Uh, he wasn't in it for the money in other words. And he makes the argument, he says, look, Uh, I have the right, he says, there to be supported by the churches as a, as an apostle. And he reached back and quotes a passage from the old Testament here. Uh, which comes from Deuteronomy 25 4, which is a law that says you shall not muzzle the ox. When it treads out the grain, this is the first nine. And he applies that to those in ministry. He says, look, if, if they're laboring in ministry, they have a right to be supported by those that they labor on behalf of in verse 11, he says, if we've sown spiritual things among you, is it too much to reap material things from you? Now, Paul's going to go on to say that he didn't do this, that he was a tent maker by trade, literally. And we refer sometimes today to those in ministry who are. Tent makers. As those who, uh, they are. Um, in vocational ministry and a lot of times full-time pastors, but also supporting themselves. Uh, outside of that with another job and. Uh, most often it's that the church's is smaller and not fully able to support a pastor in his family or multiple pastors on staff. So at least one of the pastors is supported a little bit by the church, but then mostly by a job that he has on the side, we're blessed at our church and the generosity of our people and also our sending church to have. Uh, both pastor, rod and myself, uh, full-time on staff here at Marcus is part-time with us. And we look forward to continuing to be able to see our, our body grow and, and, uh, bring on more people. But we. We do believe that that it's right. That vocational ministry in the sense of you're being supported by the church as pastors is a biblical concept. And first Corinthians nine is laying that out for us. But it's also a good concept because. It's good for the church body to have pastors who can devote their full attention and their full time to shepherding the flock. And that's one of the main arguments in favor of full-time pastors. Full-time vocational pastors, pastors that are not tent makers on the side. I get that. There's a time for that. A place for that. Uh, but, but it's a good thing to have. Full-time pastors. They are able to give themselves fully to the shepherding, the flock. Now that said for us as pastors, we're going to be held accountable to that. It's it's uh, when, when you get to work at. Um, a fortune 500 company in, in, in your, uh, in, uh, the business world, your paycheck. Yes, it is. God's money in the sense that God owns everything. He owns the cattle on a five on a thousand Hills, but it's really the money that's coming down from that company. Um, W four for pastors. We have an obligation when we work to work as though we are truly working unto the Lord, because the, the, the money that we get to support our families is truly God's money. It's God's money from God's people. And we just want you to know that we take that seriously, that, that, that is something that weighs heavily upon us. Uh, that, that has a lot to do with how we work and how hard we work in our integrity and our accountability, all of those things factor into that. So, Um, all that to say first Corinthians nine, he's talking about these things. He's talking about. He, as an apostle, had the right to earn a living from the churches that he was planting and supporting, but he said, look, I'm not doing that because I want you to know, especially early on in the church here, that I'm not doing this for ill motives, I'm not doing this for the wrong reasons, but I'm doing this for the sake of the gospel. And then he ends in chapter nine by talking a lot about the sake of the gospel, a passage it's probably familiar to you as he goes through. And he says, look, I. Do everything that I do in order that I might win more people to Christ. And that's kind of the gist of verses 19 through 23. And this is where he goes through. And he says to those under the law, I became as one under the law to win them to those, not under the law. I became as one, not under the law, except for the law of Christ in order that I might, what, when them to the weak, I became weak, that I might win the weak. I become all things he says in verse 22. To all people that by all means I might save some. Now Paul's not saying that he's going to save. We understand that God saves, but what Paul is saying is here. Is I'm going to, I'm going to do everything that I possibly can to see as many people as I possibly can come to faith in Jesus. That was his heart's desire. And that's really what we're seeing in chapter nine. He's. That's why that the ESV heading is Palsa renders his rights. He sing. I'm after everything about my life is about seeing more people come to faith in Jesus. And that's the goal. And that's why he says in verses 24 through 27, he says, look, that's, that's my prize. I'm running after. So I'm going to run that. I might obtain it. And by the way, you should do the same thing. He says, he says, we need to be those. That, that exercise self-control pursuing that the imperishable wreath, which is the. Uh, the word of Jesus on that final day. Well done. Good and faithful servant. So that's Paul in first Corinthians chapter nine. Chapter 10, he gets into warning. About idolatry, because remember this is a largely Gentile. Uh, body here most likely. And they're coming out of idol worship, and they're being reminded here that you need to be wary of these things. In verse six, he says in the old Testament, They, they need, they drifted, they had everything. They, they saw water come from the rock, right. They were led by the rock they drank from the spiritual rock. He says in verse four, that's referring to the Exodus and wilderness wanderings. And he said, yeah, they drifted. And he said, these are examples to us that we might not fall in the same way, desire, the same evil that they desire do the same things that they did. Verse 11. He says it again. He says these things happened to them as an example, but we're written down for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come. And so what's the conclusion. Verse 12, let anyone who thinks he stands take heed. Lest he fall, he's talking to the people that think they're doing okay right now they're listening to everything. He's been re he's been writing to this point, reading it all, and they're thinking to themselves I'm okay. And yet he says, you know what? Be careful be aware because remember the old Testament, remember that the, the Exodus generations, everything that they saw, and yet they still drifted, they still fell. They still rebelled. So take heat. And then he says in verse 13, no temptation has overtaken you. That is not common demand. That that's such a good verse for us to hold on to church. It's so easy to think. Well, my situation is unique. My struggle with this sin is unique because I am prone to it or I'm given to this or, or nobody knows the battle. This is. First Corinthians 12. Uh, 10 rather 13, so that there's not a temptation that has that you've encountered in your life that is not common to other people. And then he goes on and he says this on top of that. He says for Christians, God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape. That you may be able to endure it in other words, that you won't fall by it. And so that's, that's a huge thing for us to get into the practice of, of looking for is when you feel tempted, no Christian, that God is going to provide a way of escape. Look for the wave escape and take it. That's the hard part. That's the self-control part. That's the discipline part. You may be able to see the way of escape. You may be able to identify the way of escape, but are you going to take it? You need to take it. That's why he says in verse 14, flee from idolatry flee from. Flee from it. Uh, from here, he goes on. Two. Provide some, some final commentary about idols and idolatry, then the food sacrificed to idols comes back in and verse 20 there he's saying, look, no, I am not implying that, that. The idols, the false gods are real, but, but there are demons there. And so he says to the Christians there be careful of engaging with the, the demons. Be careful participating with demons. You don't want to do that. Uh, you can't partake of the Lord's table and the table of demons. And so he's warning against them. Again, coming back to the concept of freedom there. Um, he's warning against them saying, well, my freedom says that demons aren't or false gods aren't real. So I'm going to go to the pagan temple and, and participate in this ceremony because it's not real, Paul's saying no. Be on guard. There, there is the demonic realm out there. We've talked about that before on the podcast that we, as Christians have to be careful and on guard. Against, uh, exposing ourselves to the demonic out there. And that's true. You gotta be careful about things like that. Weegee board, seances, psychics, mediums, all those things. We even talked about it recently on the podcast that. The, the people that will come in and bless your house for you and things like that would. Eh, we, we, we don't need those things church and, and we gotta be on guard against giving any of them, even a crack door to get into our lives. Our families lives. Instead, as he goes on here, he S. He repeats the theme that he said before back in first Corinthians six, 12, he says it again here in first Corinthians 10 23. All things are lawful, but not everything is helpful. Again, talking about the concept of freedom. We are verse 24, not to seek our own good, but the good of our neighbor. That's kind of the abiding guide there. And that's the abiding guide that Jesus gave us. We're going to talk about that a little bit in. At church this morning, that because of the way that we have been loved by Jesus, we're going to love others even better. We're going to be better friends because Jesus is our friend is the point that we're going to make in, in church this morning. But. Um, yeah, let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor, let that be the guiding principle. You're not going to have to worry about whether the food was sacrificed to idols and out or anything like that, because you're just going to be on default, focused on loving your neighbor. Notice verse 31, whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God, that's in the context. Of talking about food offered to idols. He's saying, look, if you're going to eat the food that was purchased in the marketplace, it probably was sacrificed to idols. Okay, fine. If that's where you're at and you have the freedom to do that without causing someone else to stumble fine, do it. If you're not. Okay, fine. Don't abstain either way. Your goal first Corinthians 10 31, whether you eat or drink. Implication or don't, whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense, but do everything for the glory of God. And so that is first Corinthians chapter 10. Then we get into chapter 11. He opens up with a statement that is, is pretty sh. Uh, staggering and one that we should all strive for ourselves. And that is. Be imitators me as I am of Christ. Ah, man, I live such a life that you could tell someone imitate me because I am imitating Christ. What an awesome, awesome concept. That would be a win, an awesome target. That would be. It goes on here now in verses two and following, and he talks about some things that, uh, have caused a lot of confusion in the church. A lot of consternation in the church. He says in verse three, I want you to understand the head of every man is Christ. And the head of a wife is her husband and the head of Christ is God. And so he's establishing the fact that there is a, an order and there are roles and there's authority, and those things are. Uh, are important for us to observe and to note here. And so along those lines, he goes in to talk about what that looks like within the worship in the church itself. Uh, that, that the roles in the authority of a husband and a wife and a man and a woman. Those things need to be preserved within the worship service. Now some of this is cultural. Okay. Not all of it is cultural. The order there is established by God. It is trans. Uh, temporal it is, is trains cultural. It, it, it trains since time. Um, he says in verse eight, man was not made from woman, but woman from man, neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. Now this is not inferiority. This is difference in roles. And so those roles are going to look different during Paul's day. There were instructions about who was supposed to pray, how they were to pray what they were to do when they prayed. Those were more cultural than they are a binding across time. And so the order principles are binding across time, but the expression of that order may look different in different generations. If a woman comes in and she has shorter hair, we're not going to sit there and say, I'm sorry, you can't be in here. And you can't pray. Um, there are some cultural norms that still linger, generally speaking, I would say, I think there are still some principles that we could pull from here and say, yeah, I get that. Uh, typically nature would say a woman has longer hair and a man has shorter hair. That's not going to be always the case necessarily, but typically that's the case. And so he's appealing to things that culturally we're there to establish what the order and authority was in the church. That's what's going on there in the first part of first Corinthians chapter 11. After this verses 17. And following he asked you, get back into correction mode. Because as they were observing communion, the Lord's supper together. Uh, they were doing it in ways that were not good. In fact, as they were gathering, he said there were factions, there were divisions. Uh, amongst them, they were being self-centered because they were not waiting on everybody to show up, but they were just diving in and eating and they were making it about themselves and eating. Uh, one ate the food and then another shows up at verse 21 and they're hungry. And then another person here is getting trunk. Even he says, what do you not have houses to do all of these things in? Why would you do this here in the presence of the Lord? And so then he goes on and gives the instructions for the Lord's table. These are familiar. You hear me read them every time we do communion like today we're doing community today. You're going to hear me read first Corinthians 11 today in church. And it's in this context where Paul is saying, this is what we're supposed to do here. This is about a Memorial. This is about remembering. This is not about you filling your bellies. And you're like, well, I have a tiny little way for an, a tiny little cup of juice. Okay. The principle that we apply here that we need to draw out from this is we need to be careful to be intentional and thoughtful about how we observe the Lord's table. Here. This was more of a meal. We don't do a meal to observe a Lord's table. They did during this time, if we ever did. Okay. We would look at this and, and apply some broader principles there. We don't observe the meal. We, we do the cups. And so we need to be careful still though, to make sure that we are not taking the elements in it on the worthy manner. That's why you always hear me say that you need to be aware of three things. The lack of conversion. Uh, lack of confession and a lack of concentration, uh, because if, if you're not saved, you're not welcome at the table. And, and it's not a, Hey, you're inferior to us. It's it's this is meant for Christians. This is meant for believers. That's what it's for. And then the lack of confession. And if you're coming in and you're not examining your heart before you observe the Lord's table, before you take the elements, you're not confessing sin. You're harboring sin. And that's a dangerous place to be, and it's welcoming the discipline of God into your life. And then finally, if you're not concentrating. If you're just going through the motions. Uh, then we are not, uh, observing this the way that you were supposed to observe it. And in, in this era in Paul's day, meant some even died. Because of the way that they were observing the Lord's table. And so that's a warning to us. That's something that reminds us. Hey, we've got to be careful about this. And so first Corinthians chapter 11, addresses the Lord's table there at the end. All right. Y'all well, let me pray. And then we'll be done with this episode of the daily Bible podcast. God, we thank you for another day in your word. And we are grateful for the way God's us and instructs us and teaches us. And we can even look at things and say, okay, that may have been the cultural norm at that time, but, but we can draw the principal out and say, okay, this is might be what it looks like today. So help us to do that and do that with skill and know, uh, when to, uh, to apply things and, and when to, to adapt and what that would look like. And so keep us from any error towards that end as well. I pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. All right. I'll keep her in your Bibles and tune in again tomorrow for another episode of the daily Bible podcast by.