1 Cor 10:1-13 | July 5, 2026 | Will Rutt

Sermon audio from July 5, 2026.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

It really is good to be with you this morning. The last line of the proclamation from the Second Continental Congress is this. And it is recommended to Christians of all denominations to assemble for public worship and abstain from labor on the said day. So, for all those who are here, way to go, and all those who are watching online because you had a late night, consider yourself judged by our founding fathers. Now I'm I'm glad that you're here. We finished Missions Month last month, and it was it was a great time. One of the things that I'm really grateful for is after the service, how many times people who were visiting for Missions Month because they were either speaking in some way or visiting in some way came up to me at some point during the service and said, Hey, I just want to say we loved our time here because of how warmly we were welcomed. And so to the extent that you've been part of in this church, um, being a church where people actually get seen and greeted, uh I just want to thank you for that. It really matters. When we come, when people come to a church, they want to know, do people see me? And that matters because at the end at the end of the day, we all kind of have this question, does God see me? And if the people of God don't see people, then it's hard to believe that God himself sees me. So I just want to say thank you, church, for being that um to the people who have visiting, who have who visited, and by great by God's grace, we will excel still more. All right. This morning I want to make, I just kind of let you know, I'm making two assumptions about this morning as we continue in 1 Corinthians, now in chapter 10. Uh, assumption number one that I'm making is that you want to make a real lasting impact on this world. I'm making that assumption that you want to live for something bigger than yourself. That you want to live a life that has a ripple effect that extends beyond just your days on earth. I'm making the assumption that all of us have that deep down in us, and while that can get um, we can kind of get maybe a little bit desensitized to that because of the busyness, the busyness of life and just the flurry of activity, I am making the assumption that there is something about you that goes, I want my life to matter. I want it to be significant. I'm making that assumption this morning. I'm also making a second assumption, and that is this. Not only do you want your life to matter, but that you've discovered that there is a barrier to the impact that you want to have in life. And you I'm making the assumption that you have discovered that the biggest barrier for you is you. You are your biggest barrier. And I'm making both of those assumptions this morning that you want your life to matter and the biggest barrier to the life that matters, the life that deep down you want to live, the biggest barrier to that is yourself. And those two, if if those two assumptions resonate with you at all, then this text, 1 Corinthians 10, is especially for you. If you go, I actually do, I I want, I want to live for something bigger than myself. And frequently, every time I try to do that, I hit a barrier. And that barrier has a name, and for me, that barrier is called Will Rut. If you make, if you resonate with that, 1 Corinthians 10 really is for you. What's the first word of chapter 10? Okay, four. Yeah. The first word of chapter 10 is 4. 4 always, it either means because or it means let me explain. Either way, we can't just pick up in chapter 10 without seeing where we've been throughout uh how he got to chapter 10. Alright? And in this case, chapter 10, it doesn't mean the four means let me explain. So, how did we get to where we're at in chapter 10? We know Paul is writing to the church in Corinth, it's sin city, and chapters 1 through 6, he's writing these rebukes. In chapters 7 through 16, he's answering questions. Chapters 1 through 6, he addresses these different problems. And as he addresses the problems, he gives solutions to the problems, but he doesn't just give solutions. This is so important, we're gonna see it again this morning. He doesn't just give solutions to the problems. Watch what he does. He goes, not just to not just putting our eyes on a solution, but lifting our eyes to Jesus. So if you're new here and you're wondering, like, why is the pedestal under the cross? Is that like the misplaced to be forget? No, I want to keep that there, I don't know how long, but a long time. To help my eyes go back to the the gospel thread that he reaves, that he weaves through these chapters to remind them, yes, there are solutions to their problems. You need to flee sexual immorality, for example. Uh but you have been bought with a price by the blood of Jesus. Therefore, glorify God with your body. Chapter 6. So he weaves this, weaves this gospel thread through it all. Then he begins answering questions. In chapter 7, he has he answers questions about marriage. And then in chapters 8 through 10, he answers questions about meat. Chapter, well, and we'll come back to that because that's where we are. Chapter 11, it's head coverings and communion. Chapter 12 to 14, it's it's spiritual gifts, sandwiched by love. Chapter 15, it's about the resurrection, and chapter 16, it's about giving and a few other things. But that's kind of the book as a whole. Let's let's zoom into chapters eight to ten because that's where we are. On the surface, the question is about meat sacrificed to idols. But then you dig a little bit deeper, it's not about meat as much as it is about conscience, my internal court, to eat or not to eat. Dig a little bit deeper, and he goes, Okay, as long as we're talking about conscience, then here's what we need to know: that we give up our freedoms, our rights, and we love our rights out of love for the brother. I give it up what I have a right to do, because I love you. And he and he gives examples of rights that he had that he gives up out of love for the brothers. And then he goes, Okay, but actually, it's not just about loving the brothers, it's actually also about winning the lost. And all of, well, the second half of chapter 9, what we did in four weeks of missions month, is him going, I've become all thanks to all people, so that by all means I might save some. Yeah, so it's about love for the brothers and it's about winning the lost. That brings us to the end of chapter 9 so that we can get to the four of chapter 10. Okay, let's let's let's read the end of nine so we can make sure that we understand Paul's flow, because I think it's really important if we're gonna really get chapter 10. He uses athletic imagery to describe the the self-control and discipline he needs to be able to win the lost. Verse 24 says of chapter 9 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run? But only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we in imperishable. Therefore, I run in such a way as not without aim. I box in such a way as not beating the air, but I discipline my body. There's the word discipline. I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be. What word do you have? Disqualified. Disqualified from what? I'm doing all these things to try to win the lost with discipline so that I won't be disqualified. Disqualified from what? Okay, yeah. What it is not, is he's not saying, I'm doing all these things so that I won't be disqualified from salvation. He's not saying that. He's written a lot in the Bible about how you cannot disqualify yourself from salvation because you did not qualify yourself from salvation. It was all by grace through faith in Jesus. So I do all these things though, so that I won't be disqualified. Disqualified from what? Disqualified from, I think somebody said service, disqualified from um from the potential of impacting people. He's going, I'm disciplining my body so that I don't render myself missionally useless. A guy who's on the soccer field, if you're watching the World Cup, but doing nothing on the field except just kind of scrolling on his phone. Like that, bro, what are you doing? Get off the field. Or maybe don't get off the field, play the game, is what you'd want to say. He's going, I discipline my body so I'm not looking like this on the field. That's what he's saying. All right, so he doesn't want to be disqualified. He doesn't want to be rendered missionally useless in terms of loving people, in terms of winning the lost, and that's leads us to chapter 10, verse 14. Let me explain, is what he's saying. How can somebody be disqualified? How can somebody render themselves missionally useless in the purpose of us of God, in loving people and winning the lost? How can that happen? That's what he's about to tell us. Randy, stop answering out loud, man. You're staying on my answers, alright? How can that happen? Randy, be quiet. Um here's here's how that happens. Chapter 10. 4. Let me explain. How can you render yourself missionally useless? For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea. So he's going, he's giving us a history lesson. We're going back to Israel right after they came out of Egypt. Verse 2. And all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ. Pause there. So, uh, how does how do you render yourself missionally useless? Well, he starts by going to Israel's past, and he looks at all the spiritual blessings that they have. And he he really highlights three, if you could put them in categories. The spiritual blessing of deliverance, the spiritual blessing of guidance, and the spiritual blessing of provision. Is what he high. He's going back in time. Let's look at their story. And they had all experienced these divine spiritual blessings. But then, first word of verse five. Nevertheless, nevertheless, with most of them, God was not well pleased, for they were laid low in the wilderness. By laid low, he means they died. So they had tasted these spiritual blessings, they received these spiritual blessings, and all but two of them are laid low in the wilderness. They die in the wilderness. Who are the two that aren't that don't die? Joshua and Caleb. Why does that happen? Here's what he says. How can people who have received the spiritual blessings then they rendered themselves spiritually, missionally useless? How does that happen? Verse 6. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were, as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play. Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Pause there. So we see that they received God's blessing, and then we just read four different examples of them rebelling from God's authority. And attached to that to that, not just rebelling from his authority, but reaping the bitter consequences of their own foolishness. That's what we just saw in verses one through ten. They receive God's blessing, they rebel from his authority, and they reap the bitter consequences of their own foolishness. They rebel from his authority four ways that the text highlighted. First, idolatry. Idolatry. He references the golden calf. They set up this idol, and they rose up to eat and drink and sat down and to play idolatry. And he also references rebelling from God's authority and sexual immorality. He references testing the Lord. That's in verse 9, nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. And then he mentions grumbling or complaining. So four things sexual or idolatry, sexual immorality, testing the Lord, and complaining. These are four four ways that Israel, when they were out of Egypt, but not yet in the promised land, had rebelled from God's authority. And then he highlights each time how they who had received God's blessing and rebelled from his authority, then reaped their the the bitter consequences of their rebellion. This is the story of Israel in the wandering. And Paul, I think, is setting, is giving us a history lesson of what's happened in the past to help give us a framework for how to understand our present. See, when God brought Israel out of Egypt to take them into the promised land, he, in giving them the law, also gave them a purpose. The purpose, as stated in Exodus 19, is to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. This nation that was going to be set apart so that to visit Israel and to see what the people were like there would give you a sense of what God is like, a holy nation. And God had given them this purpose, and yet, and along with the purpose, he had received these blessings, and then they rebel from his authority, and they reap the bitter consequences of their own foolishness, and therefore they die, many of them physically, but what also dies? The purpose for which they had been called. Just dies. And they're disciplined for it. And this is this is the story of so many Christians and how we render ourselves missionally useless. Many of us would go, I I believe that there's a time in my life when I received the gospel. I believed in Jesus. And I believe that God imparted the righteousness of Christ to my account, received his blessing. But then many of us have rebelled from his authority in the ways mentioned in the text and in many other ways, reaped the consequences, and have rendered ourselves missionally useless. Too entangled in sin and the lies around hiding my sin. To give a rip about gospel advancement. Too buried under the flurry of activity, too busy to give a rip about gospel advancement, about being used by God to win the lost. This is the story of many Christians. And we have a purpose as Christians because summarize it this way to love and obey God, by his power, for his glory, and help others do the same. And we render ourselves missionally useless. And one in one word, Randy gave it to us. In our own sin, we become our biggest barriers. So I don't think anything I've said so far is like, wow, I've never really thought about that. Like, this was just Paul's way of saying what we said at the beginning. I have a desire to be used for a purpose that's bigger than me, to love people, win the lost, and I'm my own biggest barrier. I get it. So what's the lesson here? The lesson he is two part, and he tells us exactly what it is. Go to verse 6. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. These things happened as examples for us so that we would not crave evil things as they craved. Look, this is really helpful to me. He goes through this the history of Israel, highlighting the idolatry, the sexual immorality, the testing of God, and the and the complaining. He goes, here's why that was written for us. To give us an example, to take the craving that we have for sin and do what to it? Kill it. Kill it. Father's Day, two weeks, two weeks ago? Father's Day, whenever it was. Didn't quite look like this, but in my head, this is what, you know, kind of we made our own sushi. Okay, I love steak, I love buffalo wings, and I love sushi. So this was Father's Day. And uh so we made sushi is great. My wife did not eat much of the sushi. And it's because she used to like sushi, and then something happened. You know what it was? Two words food, poisoning. It took away her appetite for what she used to love. Paul's going, hey, don't render yourself missionally useless. Remember Israel. Remember that how they rebelled from God's authority and reaped the bitter consequences. I'm telling you this so that you would no longer crave the evil things. So that these things, idolatry, self uh sexual immorality, testing the Lord, grumbling, that they would be to you what sushi is to my wife. I hate like I hate that. Ugh. Wants to kill the craving. It's really, really helpful to just go through these. And and and as if if you're doing a Bible reading plan, maybe you're doing McShane Bible reading plan, as you read through the Old Testament, what he gives us instruction on how to read the Old Testament to see examples to not follow. Anti-examples that you would that we would read and go, Lord, I see that. Would you use this to help kill my craving for sin? Because if we're honest, if we're honest, I think we would all say, I crave evil things. And that's a that it just hits different. If I asked, how many of you sinned today? Uh we'd probably probably all kind of chuckle, oh, you know, had a fight with my wife on the way here, you know, that happens. Um, but then if I said, How many of you craved evil things this morning? Be like, ooh, that sounds like deep. That sounds like heart level. Yeah. We crave evil things. And Paul. Paul gives us these this example to take that craving and to ruin our appetite for the sin that will render us missionally useless. It wants to kill our appetite, to kill the craving. And I just want to think about these, each one, the the four that you mentions, idolatry. And I want to connect it to being disqualified or rendered missionally useless. In other words, how do these sins uniquely render me missionally useless? And loving people, winning the lost. Idolatry. Let's think about that. How does idolatry in craving idolatry render us missionally useless? Well, let's think about idolatry. What is idolatry? Idolatry is loving anything more than God. And that's hard to discern in my heart. Like, I don't know if I'd love this more than God. And so an expression then of idolatry is to take is to pursue a God-given desire in an unholy way. That's an expression of idolatry. Let's just take one, the idol of self. Brought this up a lot because Paul brought it up a lot in chapters one through four, that they become arrogant. How does idolatry, the love of self, and the pedestaling of self render a person who's been given, a saint who's been given purpose by God, render us missionally useless? You don't have to answer out loud. Just think, how does my pride, my arrogance, my desire for an inflated, highly regarded self render me missionally useless? There's a lot of ways. Let me give one thought. When I have an inflated ego, then I need to protect the image that I want you to have of me. You know what I can never do then? Fail. And you know what I can never do then? Live by faith. Because live by faith necessitates me stepping out into that which is uncomfortable and being used by God in ways that could only be attributed to Him. Idolatry. The pedestaling of self makes me not step out. The pedestaling of self makes me do things in the name of God and then um, but really for my own applause. That's called taking God's name in vain. Stamping God's name on something that's actually done for me. Idolatry renders us missionally useless. What about sexual immorality? Does that render us missionally useless? Uh yeah, for a couple reasons. Sexual immorality, um, there's a lot of shame that gets attached to that, and so when we feel shame about something, we tend to hide it, bury it, conceal it, because the worst thing that could happen is anybody find out about it, which then kind of comes back to this because I want to maintain a certain image. But it's very hard to be missionally active and winning the lost when I'm really just trying to conceal, delete my phone history, um, and just hide and lie. Hard to be engaged and winning the lost and disciplining my body so that it become all things, all people, so by all means I might save some with that in our lives. What about uh testing God? That's the third example of sin that he gives in the passage. How does that render us missionally useless? Well, um, how do we normally test God? Here's the language we usually use that I think really tests God. Well, I'll just do it and God will forgive me anyway. That's the language we use for testing the Lord. Paul in Romans 2, Romans 3 has words for that. He says, for those who slanderously say that we believe that, oh, just just sin and you know, God will forgive us anyway. He says this their condemnation is just. How does complaining render me missionally useless? Uh-huh. This is actually the one that I thought, man, this is kind of that feels a little bit like a stretch to me. But the one I got the most traction on. Um when I complain, my complaining is a way of saying, uh, I know better than God. When I think I know better than God, that is a way of me saying, God, I don't trust you. And when I don't trust God, again, I will not live by faith. Grumbling and complaining is an expression of, I don't trust you, I trust me, and I love me only. Grumbling and complaining. That's why it started to like connect with me in Philippians 2 when Paul says, Do all things without grumbling or complaining, so that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God, above reproach, in a crooked and depraved generation, among whom you will shine like a star in the universe. All that is tied to what? Grumbling and complaining. What's the heart behind that? Heart is, God, I think I know better than you. You should be doing things differently. What I am the dots that I want to connect is to go, man, there are cravings that I have in my heart. And I see where those cravings lead to bitter consequences and to the destruction of my purpose for which I've been called. Loving people, winning the lost. I'm trying to connect to those dots. And if if looking at Israel's history as examples for us that would ruin our appetite for these things isn't enough, then maybe some more recent stories will help you in a way that maybe uh sort of the the stories in the wandering didn't maybe don't affect you as much. But these have helped kill my appetite for sinful cravings. If you aren't familiar with those people, those are either pastors or ministry leaders who have um had sinful cravings that they acted on, and then it led to their ruin and the ruin of the ministry that God had put them in. And it just I made this for my phone background a long time ago uh to just be a reminder to me. The sin that rules me will ruin me, and not and it will ruin me, it will ruin my family, it will ruin the purpose for which I've been called. Loving people, winning the lost. And there's a variety of different things represented in there in terms of sinful cravings. Some of it is alcoholism, some of it is just being a bully, some of it is sexual immorality, some of it's greed. Listen, I'm not putting the pictures up there for us to go, mm-mm-mm, them, those guys. I'm not. I am putting those pictures up there as a warning to me. Those guys, all of them, incredibly gifted by God. And seeing those pictures makes me go, I don't want to let that craving snowball. And probably one of the most helpful things to me in this whole study process for me is to be able to, but before, instead of just trying to kind of address the sin and the behavior, the decision, to go before that, there's there's an initial craving. And to remember that, to remember Israel wandering in the wilderness and go, Lord, would you ruin my appetite for that? Kill that craving that I would not be rendered missionally useless, that I would not be disqualified. This is literally what he says the example is for. These things happen as examples for us so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. It was to kill our craving. That's lesson one. Uh lesson two from the wilderness is in verse 11. Now these things happened to them as an example. Okay, so lesson one was an example to kill our craving for sin, verse 11. Now these things happen to them as an example, and they are written for our instruction. So example so reason one to kill our craving. Lesson number two is to give us instruction. Here's what the instruction is. We're gonna read through verse 13. They were given for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation is overtaken you, but such as is common to man, and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you'll be able to endure it. He gives us this sort of history, background in wandering the wilderness to give us two examples, to kill our craving for sin and to give us instruction. Instruction in a couple ways. First, uh to instruct us, we are not invulnerable to any of this. We're not invulnerable to any of this. Verse 12. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. I am not invulnerable to any of this, and neither are you. And actually, that's why I keep uh on this little thing, I keep that bottom white box. You know who that bottom white box is for? It's reserved for me if I don't kill the cravings of my flesh. Saying, that could be me. That's what I'm trying to say. I am not an invulnerable, and this removes the sense of complacency that often leads to compromise. So um the path towards ruin happens gradually and then suddenly. And I want to implore us as a church. I believe that we all want our life to matter. I believe that we already know we are our greatest barrier. And so we go, I am not invulnerable. I already know that. I want to remove a sense of complacency that leads to compromise and just take common sense steps to not let myself be up there. Um maybe there's rules that you would need to have about alcohol that you develop with your spouse that says when you're going to drink or when you're not going to drink or what that's going to be like, how many? You're not invulnerable. My phone, we've talked about the brick that's on the phone that keeps your phone um kind of locked down from whatever you want it to be locked down on. Uh for the last probably, yeah, since um equipping class last year, I got the brick and has been bricked, I would say like 98% of the time. Uh why? Let him who thinks he stands take heed, be careful lest he fall. I'm not invulnerable, neither are you. This removes the sense of complacency that would often lead to compromise. So you need to take some common sense steps, do it. You would not be rendered missionally useless. It's a lesson for us. I am not invulnerable. What else? It's a lesson for us that my temptation is not unique. Look at it in verse 13. No temptation is overtaking you, but such as is common to man. Okay, your temptation is not unique. It feels uh unique. It feels like nobody struggles, nobody feels the way I do. But Paul's like, now no temptation is overtaking you, but such as is common to man. I was just thinking, you could probably make uh maybe a better list than I was able to, but I was just thinking, okay, what are what sins do we see just in the first 11 chapters of Genesis? We see we see sinful cravings, we see blame shifting, we see jealousy, we see the first act of violence and murder, we see drunkenness, we see unified arrogance, we see incest, favoritism, theft, dysfunctional family. That's all in just the first 11 chapters that helps you go, okay. What my temptation is not some new thing that's unique to me. It's been going on for a long time. Why does that matter? Because this removes the isolation and self-pity that often leads to compromise. We just kind of give ourselves a pass and we go, oh man, you know, I no nobody feels what I feel. Um and the temptation that you have, it's common to man. It's been happening for ages. And so, yeah, lesson, I'm not invulnerable, and lesson, my temptation is not unique. Third lesson from these verses is that my God is always faithful. Look at verse 13. No temptation is overtaking you, but such as is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you'll be able to endure it, so that you won't fall like they did in the wilderness, so that you won't render yourself missionally useless. Do you see what Paul just did there? Do you see? He just talked about all this sin. He just talked about you're um you're not invulnerable, and that uh your your temptation is common, and you see, and God is faithful. He yet again turns us back to God. He is faithful. Faithful to do what's the low way of escape? Thank you. It's in the it's in the verse. To provide a way of escape. Sorry, did somebody say it back there?

unknown 38:39

I'm scared to say.

SPEAKER_00 38:40

Okay, yeah. He's faithful to provide the way of escape. Now, the way of escape, it could be a path, like truly a way out. Click the X button, do the double thing or swipe out. It could be that. But I I do think that God in his faithfulness has provided a deeper, better, more heart-level way of escape, and it comes from Hebrews 4. Uh, you don't need to turn there? Uh I'll just read it for you. Hebrews 4 says this. Just connects so much of what Paul is saying about temptation, and now Jesus. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 14 says, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. So he experienced the same temptations that have been happening since the beginning, and yet he was without sin. There is what it says. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace. Yep, the pedestal crossed, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Let us draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and grace to help. When? In time of need. Which means when he says God is faithful, who with the temptation will provide a way of escape, it means that escape isn't just a path, that escape is a person. Jesus. Who really is the way of escape. I know you you feel like the the biggest barrier to you loving and obeying God, helping others do the same, is you, and you're probably right. And there's a way of escape, and his name is Jesus. So here's what that can sound like for us. The next time that temptation, whether it's idolatry or sexual immorality, complaining, attesting the Lord, to say, Lord, I don't even want to say yes to you because all I want is the sin. I'm craving it. Would you give me grace to help in time of need? Would you give me help right now? And don't stop praying for it. Give me help in time of need right now. See, I the the concern, maybe not the concern, yeah, another concern that I have for us, me included, is that we are more familiar with uh the bitterness, the bitter consequences of sin, than we are the faithfulness of God as our escape. And would love, and have heard many stories of people going. In fact, one story I heard um not too long ago, a guy was on his way to sin. He's on his way, like geographically, locationally, was on his way. And he and he felt that maybe he felt it before, going, I want it. And I don't, but I want it, but I don't. And in that moment, praying for something that he didn't even really want because the sin was screaming, this will be fun, this will be pleasurable, stopped in his tracks and literally turned around. God was faithful to not just provide the way of escape, but to be the way of escape. And I tell just to share that simple story to help maybe give some confidence that he can and desires to be your way of escape. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able with the temptation will provide a way of escape. Would you pray to God, Lord, come before your throne and seeking grace to help in time of need. Give it to me. Help in time of need, help in time of need. We would not be rendered missionally useless, disqualified. So here's uh what I want to do in closing. Um I want to just as a church re-fan that flame on us that says, hey, uh, missions month is over, but mission is not over. Been called by God for a purpose. To love him, to obey him by his power, for his glory, to help others do the same, and to not give in to the cravings that we would be able to call sin what it is, death. Before I went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, met with Greg Stuckey, who uh is one of our supportive missionaries, and it was just as I said, hey, coach me up on leading a team. And he said this He said, Your team needs to know that because food and water is different there, they need to not drink the things that look really tasty, just kind of in the market. He said, They're gonna see a snow cone. And it's going to look awesome, but they need to know it is death in a cup. That's what he said. It is death in a cup. And that's how I want to see my sinful craving. This is the label it. It is death in a cup. And what he rightfully said in that meeting, where he said it's it's death in a cup to their physical health, and then will be death in a cup to the purpose for which he went on the trip. Because everybody's just gonna be sick. It is death in a cup to the purpose for which I've been called. Sin that way. Paul wants us to see that sin that way. And not just to see sin in a way that makes us go, oh, bad sin. But he would go, boom, God is faithful. See, sin is death. God is faithful and be able to call on him to find grace to help in time of need in the moment of temptation and be able to have a personalized theology of the faithfulness of God. That's what I want. Call death. Call sin death. See, God is faithful. And third, to be able to apply the faithfulness of God for um escaping the temptation and escaping the condemnation that comes from sin. He is He is faithful to provide the way of escape, but the Bible also says this that He is faithful and just to do what? To forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. See, a lot of us, you go, man, if if you if people could see the things I've been hiding, just go ahead and put me on that list. And here's what I want to remind you. Here's what I want to remind you. That the gospel thread that runs through 1 Corinthians to the church in Corinth is the same gospel thread that runs through their stories. Again, I am not putting those faces so we can sit in judgment of them. Not at all. Truly not at all. I am for them. I hope we would be for them. I am those faces are the stories that go. I don't want to give into the crave, the sinful cravings, and I want to be able to rejoice and the gospel thread that goes through their stories just like mine. God is faithful. He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we're able to. He is the way of escape, and he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So, yes, thank you, Lord. For 1 Corinthians 10. Taking us back. To some people who rendered themselves missionally useless and saying sin, death, and then turning our eyes to the faithfulness of God. So will you stand with me? And want to just declare the faithfulness of God first to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Would you take a moment silently before the Lord? Confess your sin to the one who's faithful and just to forgive and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Would you confess it to the Lord right now? Silently in your own heart. Father, we confess the ways in which we've tried to put the eye on the pedestal for applause, for recognition, for a certain image that we want to project out. We confess that for the sexual immorality that has been hidden, concealed, lied about. Confess that. Believe that you are faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from that unrighteousness. Cheapened the gospel. Confess that to you. We believe that you are faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from that sin. The grumbling, where we think that we could do the whole God thing better than you, we think that you owe us anything. The grumbling and complaining that just kind of spoils our witness. We're just whiners. We believe that you're faithful and just forgive us and cleanse us from that sin. And Lord, we want to proclaim your faithfulness for what 1 Corinthians 10 says. To provide the way of escape and be the way of escape. And let's just pray silently in our heart to say, Lord, would you give me grace to help in time of need? Lord, we want your faithfulness to be more than a verse to read, more than a song to sing. We want it to be a personalized theology. And that by your doing, by your faithfulness, we wouldn't give in to the cravings of our sinful desires. That you would use us. Love for the people here to win the lost. In your name we pray. Amen. In song, let's do this to the faithfulness of God. Let's do it.