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family. Let's all stand together again. Let's put our hands together and praise the Lord on this first Wednesday night of 2026. He's worthy to be praised. Amen.
We thank you, Lord, for your grace and your mercy and your kindness tonight. God, would you have your way? Would you do your work, Lord? Would you pour out your spirit, Lord God, upon your people as we worship you? In Jesus name we pray. We all say, "Amen."
Let's see the Lord. Come all you weary. Come all you thirsty. Come to the well that never dry. Drink of the water. Come and thirst no more. Come all you s come find his mercy. He will sisfy his goodness. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
God. Praise God. Praise God from whom all blessings go. Praise him. Praise him for the wonders of his love. Praise God. Praise God. is he's amazing for God so love the world that he gave us is one and only son to save for God so love the world that he gave us one and only son to save us forever. Heat. Heat.
All your failures bring your addictions. Come lay them down at the foot of the cross. Jesus is waiting. God so loved the world. So wonderful. We can come to the Lord tonight. Amen.
My heart belongs to a country and a king of a land I've always known. But I never seen some calls for the land of the living. Well, I call it home and I'm home safe for heaven with Moses. Heat. Heat. Heat.
I want to see my children and worship the my father's house. Heat. Heat. Jesus name. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Where's my heat? Heat. Heat.
to see who come before death is a memory and seems no more to hear the angels praise. Can you imagine? Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. I'm home safe for heaven. Amen.
I want to walk with Moses on streets of gold and dance with David before your throne to thank you face to face for the grace you've given. I want to see my children run to your arms and worship the Savior who wears my scars. There's an ache in my heart. I'm homesick for heaven. There's nothing.
>> There's nothing worth more that will ever come close. Nothing can compare. your living home. Your presence, Lord, I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of love. Where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone. Your presence Lord Holy Spirit you are welcome here. Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for. To be overcome by your presence, Lord. Your presence.
There's nothing worth more that will ever come close. No thinking compare. You're all living. Your presence I tasted and see of the sweetest of my heart becomes free and my shame is undone. your presence. Holy Spirit, you are well. Come and fill the earth. Your glory, God is what our hearts to be. Heat. Heat.
Let us become more aware of your presence. Let us experience the glory of your goodness. Let us become more aware of your presence. Let's experience the glory of your goodness. Let's become more aware of your presence. Let us experience the glory of your goodness. has become aware of your presence. Glory. Sing it out. Holy Spirit spirit. You are welcome.
>> Sing it. >> Come this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory God is what our hearts long for. To be overcome by your presence, >> Holy Spirit, you are welcome. Come flood this place and fill the mercy. Your glory, God is what our hearts long to be overcome by your presence. Oh, your presence are your presence, Lord. Your presence, Lord.
There's nothing worth more. See a church we could ever come close. Nothing can compare. You're our living hope. It's true. God, your presence is love. We need you. Holy Spirit. We need you. I've tasted and seen of the feelings of love. Where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone in your presence. Lord.
So Holy Spirit, you are welcome. this place for our heart to be holy by your presence holy spirit you are well come here come flying this place and fill the endless. Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for. To be overcome by your presence, Lord. Your presence, Lord. It's your presence, Lord. Your presence, Lord.
We thank you, Lord, that you are faithful and you are true. We know that we are sojourers, travelers, pilgrims through this life, looking forward to going home to heaven to you. And yet, while we are here, Lord, we want to be about our father's business this year, Lord. We want to be filled with your spirit, empowered for your glory, for those works of service you have for us to do. Lord, would you empower us? Would you cleanse us of unrighteousness tonight, Lord? Forgive us of our sin, Lord Jesus. use us for your glory in this time, Lord.
So, thank you that we can gather on this first Wednesday of the year. Thank you that we can lift up your name, that we can sing praises to the King. Have your way tonight, Lord. Do your work across this campus, wherever any of your people are gathered tonight, Lord, and around the world, Lord. do a work that only you can do, Lord, for your glory. In Jesus name we pray. We all said, "Amen." Let's give the Lord the glory tonight. Amen. Amen.
What a joy to praise the Lord family with you tonight. You can have a seat if you're here in the house with us. Welcome to everybody to Calvary Chapel Chino Valley. Happy New Year to everyone once again online family, wherever you're watching from. God bless you. Maybe you're outside on the patio. God bless you. Let's check out tonight's announcement video. Let's see what's coming up.
>> Welcome to Calvary Chabuchccino Valley. Whether you're visiting for the first time or have made this church your home, we're thankful to have you here with us. Let's take a look at a few of our upcoming events. Ladies, join us for the next session of our small group Bible studies. We'll be working through the book Seeking Him by Nancy Deas Wam. Small groups will run Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings from January 13th and 15th through May 12th and 14th. We will also have a group for moms with children, infants through age 6, called cross trainers, which meets on Tuesday mornings at 9:00 a.m. The cost is $16 for materials, and this is the last week to register.
>> If you're engaged and plan to get married by one of our ministers from our church, or if you're looking for a way to refresh and strengthen your marriage, we encourage you to apply for our next marriage 101 class. This 6E course is designed to set your foundation in Christ and will cover topics like communication, finances, intimacy, conflict resolution, and raising children. Classes will take place from 2 to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday starting January 18th, and the cost is $30 per couple. If you currently serve in our kids ministry, you're invited to attend the Equipped and Encouraged Servant Saturday on January 24th from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This is a special time to gather with fellow servants for worship, fellowship, and practical workshops. There will be a continental breakfast before the event begins, and lunch will be available for $12. Come ready to grow, connect, and strengthen your gifts as you serve our kids and families. Men, join us on Saturday, February 7th at 8:30 a.m. for our annual men's Super Bowl breakfast. Wear your favorite team's jersey and get ready to be equipped in God's word, fellowship with other men, and enjoy a steak breakfast. This is a great opportunity to invite your sons, nephews, grandsons, or younger man in your life who could use this event to be encouraged and equipped. Breakfast will be available for $16 until Wednesday, February 4th. If you need prayer for yourself, a friend, or a loved one, we want you to know that your church family is here for you. After every service, our men's and women's leaders are available at the front of the stage to pray with you. You can also call our church office during the week to pray with one of our ministers. And if a need arises after hours, don't hesitate to call our emergency prayer line. We have leaders ready to pray with you anytime, day or night.
>> These announcements are just a few of the many activities happening here at the church. You can sign up for any of the classes and events through our website at calvarycc.org or through the events tab on our church app. The app is also a great place to find current teachings, Pastor David study notes, and so much more. If you haven't already, download it today in the app store by searching for Calvary Chapel Chino Valley.
>> To prepare our hearts and minds for today's Bible study, we ask that you please take a moment to place your smartwatch and cell phone on silent. You can also help us limit distractions by staying seated until service is over. Thank you for joining us and have a blessed week.
Thank you, Andy and Hannah. We appreciate them. Uh family, our our ministry uh missions team that went down to Yucatan, Mexico, came back safely this past Friday evening. And uh we wanted to do a ministry spotlight uh so that the one of the leaders, Josh, can come out uh and share and and also one of the attendees with him to share. So, I'm going to bring them out in just a moment. But if you're unfamiliar with our church plant down there, it's in the state of Yucatan in uh near the larger city of Merida and in a small little town called Tishbakab. And I made sure to write it so I can say it right. Tishbakab. And so it's one of our church plants. The the brother who pastors the church came out of our church a few years back and went home to his home homeland there and to to do a work for the Lord. We're grateful we can send teams down there. So, would you welcome with us Josh and uh Bella, where are you guys at? They're going to come on up and share a little bit about how the team and the trip went. Thank you guys.
>> Good evening. How's everyone doing?
>> Good. Awesome. Well, first of all, I just want to say thank you for all your guys' prayers and supports um with this trip and especially all of you who purchased some tamali's um that helped offset the cost for the students to be a part of this trip. And there was about 500 dozen tumalies that we sold, which came out to be about 6,400 tamales. So, you guys love tamales. Um, but missions trips have a special place in my heart because of how God has used them to impact my life and change me. And now I get the privilege of leading teams with high school students and watch God do the same thing in their lives. God using them, breaking them, and really their hearts break for the same things that God's heart breaks for as well. And even God using them in ways that they never even thought of. It's a true it's a a blessing truly. I was even blessed by the unity among our students, their devotions on the trip, the taking initiative, and just being the hands and feet of Jesus. There was even one uh young man, his name's Aan. he uh took the initiative and bought a bunch of little Jesus's that say I love you and he handed those out in the community and these little girls just lit up with joy and they just loved it. And so uh during our time there we had about four nights throughout the week where we ministered to the youth and the kids. The youth are anywhere from 13 to 16 years old. And we played volleyball with them, made bracelets, balloon animals. But the most important thing we did outside of loving them was sharing the gospel. And the way in which we did that is we did it through this skit called the the sin chair. And there was this chair that said picado or sin in Spanish. and someone came and expected it and touched it but then couldn't get free and tried relationships, tried uh alcohol and drugs and tried all these things and everyone gets attached to this chair but what truly sets them free was believing in Jesus Christ and so we got to do that skit share the gospel and as we were doing that the the kids were captivated but the parents were also there listening to it as it was taking place so it was awesome um and then even throughout the week we got to paint a mural of Noah's ark for the church building, deep clean the church, and even went throughout the town picking up trash. We even allowed the kids to have a free day uh the students and we had some fun hiking this pyramid uh called the Ecalam and then we even swam in a cenote down there. And so really blessed time and thank you guys for your prayers. But now I'm going to hand it off to Bella so she can share her personal experience.
>> Hello So, my name's Bella. Um, this was my first ever missions trip and I wasn't really exactly sure what to expect. Um, all I knew was that the Lord was going to use this trip for his glory and he did exactly that. Um the Lord taught me a few things while on this trip. The first being gratitude. Um Tishbakab is a small town with not a lot of money, but the kids were filled with so much joy. And I met this little girl that was around 7 years old and she was filled with so much energy and so much joy and so much life. Um and then I saw the place that she lived in and it looked like she barely even had a roof. Um, it really moved my heart because if you met her, you wouldn't even have known that she was living like that. It reminded me that the Lord has blessed me with all I need and more. The second thing that the Lord taught me was the love that he has for his children. During the trip, God reminded me of 1 John 4 7-8, which says, "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. And we are called by God to love one another as Christ loves us. And the love that I felt for these kids was not my own, but it was the Lord's. The Lord's love is so real and deep, and his heart yearns for his children. God reminded me that non-believers don't know true love, but we can show them how he loves by loving like him. Thank you.
I love what she just shared, too, because some of the students down there uh kept in contact with us on Instagram. And one young man who I really didn't have a connection with the whole time as we were down there, he messaged me. He goes, "Hey, we miss you guys." And then he kind of said something on the lines of, "Why were we so attached to you?" And I said, "Why do you think it was?" And he says, "Because you played games with us." And I said, 'Th that could be part of the reason, but the main reason was because you saw Jesus in us and we had the love of Christ for you. And I sent him some scripture, too, to respond. But this team truly had an impact on the kids down there and they felt this connection from the Lord. And so, thank you guys for um praying for us and thank you, pastor, for sending us. And so, just keep the youth in prayer and we'll see what the Lord's going to do next. God bless you. Amen.
Amazing. So, keep uh Pastor Hellbirth Are Areno, he's the pastor down there. His wife's name is Lupe. Keep them in their congregation and the families down there in prayer as the Lord continues to use them. What a blessing. Couple other notes here, family. Tonight, our new Sure Foundation class is starting back up again. This is a class for new believers or those who want to be more equipped in your Bible from an evangel evangelical view. Classes start this Sunday, January 11th, in the mini chapel at 10:45 a.m. For those of you who would like to take this opportunity for this 6e class. It's every Sunday for 6 weeks. And there's no cost for the class. Just go online to our website or mobile app to sign up for the class. Bring your Bible and a notepad and a and a pen for those who would like to take notes. If you have any other questions, our Sure Foundation leaders who are right next to me right here, Chris and Diane, they'll be at the gazebo tonight to answer any questions. Uh if you want to be part of that class, thank God that it's starting up.
Also, our ministry morning with Pastor David is going to be this coming Saturday morning. So, just three mornings from now. This Saturday morning, January 10th, we're going to meet in our banquet hall, which is right behind this wall right here. We're going to meet at 9:00 a.m. So, if you serve in any capacity in this fellowship, plan to be there if you can. It's good time with Pastor David to be encouraged in the word. He does a Q&A session where if you have any ministry questions, you can ask them and and the Lord always gives wisdom to our pastor. It's just a good time to be together. We'll worship the Lord uh together as well and have some fellowship. So, it'll be starting at 9:00 a.m. We usually finish about 11:15. So, just plan to be there if you can. If you're one of the servants here, we'll see you this Saturday at 9:00. Um let's see. I think that's it.
We're going to now sing one more song of praise and worship. But as we always do, we take the time not only to worship the Lord with a song, we take time to worship the Lord with our giving. And so if you wanted to give to the Lord tonight, now is your opportunity. In the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 9 verses 6-7, the Paul the Apostle Paul writes this. He says, "But this I say, he who sws sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who and he who sws bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity. For God loves a cheerful giver." I love the way he starts the verse encouraging, saying, "If you give a little, you will reap a little. If you sow bountifully, you'll you'll reap bountifully." He's throwing that encouragement out there, almost an agricultural term. And it makes sense to us. Okay, let me think on that. But then he makes sure to remind us that he wants the Lord wants each one of us to give what it is that we personally purpose in our heart. He doesn't want it to feel like it's a chore. He doesn't want it to feel like it's something we have to do or that guy up there's telling me I have to do. He wants us to actually choose to take some of the the resource that God's given us and say, "Lord, I want this to go to you and I want you to use it however you want. I want to I want to invest in the kingdom of God." And so, if you want to give tonight with a cheerful heart, the Lord honors that.
There's different ways to give. The buckets are going to come by right now with by our ushers. You can drop it in that way. Each of the hallways here have boxes on the walls that you can drop your gift in that way. Online tonight, if you're watching on uh most of the platforms, especially YouTube or Facebook, there's a link in the chat you can follow to give at our website, calvarycc.org, there's always a a giving link there at our website as well. Uh you can always walk in during the week and visit our front our front office in the main sanctuary. If you go out these doors here and made a left, you pass that beautiful big gazebo in the middle. You'll hit those glass doors of the sanctuary. You could always go in there Monday through Friday, 9 to5. There's boxes on the walls you can give that way. Otherwise, you could always mail your gift into the church as well. The address here is Calvary Chapel, Chino Valley, 12205 Pipeline Avenue in the warmhearted and welcoming city of Chino, California, 91710. Amen.
Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you've given us the opportunity tonight to worship you, God. We love worshiping you with our songs. Lord, we love singing these songs in faith, blessing you with the the cries of our hearts, Lord, as we sing in faith these truths of who you are, who we are in Christ, Lord. We also love to worship you, Lord, through giving unto you, Lord. What a way of showing faith that we actually take what you've given us and give some of it away to your to your work for your glory. And so Lord, whatever you want us to give that we purpose in our hearts to give to you cheerfully tonight, we give in faith and we pray that you would you would bless it and that you would multiply it for your kingdom. Do whatever you want with it. Lord, we do we do know how well you provide for us, Lord. You know all of the needs we have and you are so faithful and we thank you. So would you receive our our offerings, Lord, as we give in faith tonight for your glory. Receive our worship as we sing to you as well. one more song and would you just lead us as our pastor brings your word tonight? Would you lead us by your holy spirit in Jesus name? We all said amen. Let's worship the Lord church.
>> I am an instrument of exultation and I was born to lift your name above all names. You hear the melody of all creation, but there's a song of praise that only I can bring. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one. Only you, Jesus. You are the infinite God of the aes. Yeah. You chose to make my heart your dwelling place. You healed my brokenness. Showed me your glory. So I have songs to sing not even angels sing. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you, Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one only Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is none. Holy Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no only Jesus. Lamb of Goded one who was and is and is to come. seated on the throne above. Holy, holy, rightous one who shed his blood. You prove to us the father's love Jesus Christ bely lamb of God one who was and is and is to come. See it all the holy holy righteous shus. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.
I just want to share his blood to us. Jesus Christ is worthy. Oh, heat, heat. Jesus who else is worthy. Sing it church. Who else is worthy? There is no one only Jesus. Who else is worthy? Who else is worthy? There is no one, only you, Jesus. There is no one, only you, Jesus. There is no one, only Jesus.
And father, as we've gathered here, we thank you so much for the opportunity just to be here. We thank you for giving to us your word and how it's been preserved for us that we might study it so we might know your ways and we might be blessed by you. So I ask that you would just work within us. Now our ears are open to hear what the spirit says. Teach us what it means to pursue you. And Lord, we lift all these things to you now in Jesus name. Amen.
Turn to your neighbor and say, "God bless you." I'm glad you're here. Let's open our Bibles together to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. We're going to be looking tonight at verses 14- 22. I'd remind you fellas that we do have a a Super Bowl um Saturday. And so we invite you guys to be part of it. It's not mandatory to buy any breakfast or anything like that. Just come. But if you want a breakfast, it's going to cost you $500. And so so love to have you with us again. That's uh this next month.
Um, you know, uh, as I was listening just now to the update, um, I, you know, Josh, I'm very, very blessed by Josh. I'm sure those of us who know him are blessed by him. He's a he's a a solid young man and uh, he's very special in my heart in many ways. I I performed the marriage for his mom and dad and I dedicated him to the Lord. And so it's just great to see what God has done in his life. And that little little girl who came up, that was my granddaughter. And so that's my Bella. And so I am blessed to see her up here sharing her faith and what God has done in her life. And so I'm a very happy old man right now just just because I'm blessed. I'm blessed to see that how the Lord works and uh how he has been working. And so with that, we're going to be looking at verses 14- 22 here in 1 Corinthians chap 10. And I'll read verses 14 and 15. And is as a way my way of teaching, I'll remind you of a couple of things that lead up to verse 14. And we're going to go through uh verse 14 as mentioned to verse 22 and conclude at verse 22. But let me begin reading here at verse 14. reading verses 14- 15 going into a review and then moving into the study. Paul writes, "Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men, judge for yourselves what I say."
Now, as we've been approaching this particular portion of scripture, remember with me that the Apostle Paul has just been warning the Corinthian church against four specific sins. We saw this last time we were together. He had warned them against the sin of idolatry, the sin of sexual immorality, of tempting Christ, and the sin of murmuring. And he pointed out that all of these sins resulted in judgment. Judgment that came upon the nation of Israel. Now, why would it be that Paul would refer to these sins and the resultant judgment? What's the lesson that the the church needs to learn? Well, he had said in verse 11, "All these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, our warning, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. These has hap these things happened as examples and warnings for us." And that's why he went into verse 12 and said, "Therefore, let him who thinks he stand heed lest he should fall."
What was he saying? while he was warning against fleshly overconfidence because overconfidence is the enemy of humility. You see, overconfidence in your own strength, your own abilities, overconfidence can be subtle. And sometimes it's so subtle, it's not even noticeable. And that was part of how the Apostle Peter ended up denying the Lord. Remember in his case in Matthew 26:31, remember how that Jesus had said, "All of you will turn against me this very night because it's written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered." Remember after Jesus said that though that the Apostle Peter responded, it's found in Matthew 26:33. Peter said to him, "Even though all may fall away because of you, I will never fall away." And he went on in Matthew 26:35 and he said, "Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you." And he went on to say, uh, Matthew went on to record all the disciples said the same thing, too. Jesus said, said, "Strike the shepherd, the sheep will be scattered." Peter said, "Though everybody scatters, you forget who I am. I am the mighty apostle Peter. I would never fall away. These guys, these other ones, of course they will. They're not me. Remember my name is Rocky. You gave me that name. Upon this rock, I will build my church." So, yeah, I I I agree with you. I suspect these others, they're weaklings, but as for myself, no. Well, Jesus said, "No, that's not going to happen." And that's why Jesus uh made it very clear that even though he said, "Even I have to die with you. I'll not deny you." No, that's not true. And he ultimately, we all know the story. I don't have to go over the conclusion of it. He indeed did stumble. He did deny and the rest is just part of biblical history.
So Paul is warning against spiritual pride because spiritual pride produces overconfidence. Somebody once said, "There is no greater weakness than an unguarded strength." And there's truth to that. You see, if we place our our trust in our own ability to resist, we become vulnerable. And in Proverbs 28:26, it says, "He who trusts in his own heart is fool. Whoever walks wisely will be delivered." And so Paul is making a very strong case here. He's saying, "We don't stand in our own strength. We are empowered by the spirit of God." That's why Ephesians 6:10 says, "My brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might, not in the power of your own might." And that's why he could say in Philippians 4:13, "I I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." So, it isn't personal strength. It's not our personal abilities. It It's God's power working in us. That's why Zechariah 4:6 says, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, sayeth the Lord of hosts." In Jeremiah 9:23 and 24 it reads, "Thus sayaeth the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him who glories glory in this that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, saith the Lord."
So alone we're powerless against the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Jesus said it like this in Matthew 26:41. He said, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh, it's weak." So, we're in spiritual warfare. We need to be armed with the spiritual mindset. So, be careful not to think that you are impervious to temptation because that's when you're the weakest, then that's when you can fall. You see, victory is available. And he went on to make that clear in verse 13. There is no temptation taking you but such as is common to man. And so you are going to be going through a temptation. There's no temptation taking you but such as is common. We all are tempted. But he goes on to say but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able but will with the temptation also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. He will make a way of escape. One commentator pointed out that in using that phrase, make a way of escape, he's pointing to the fact it's like your back is against a wall. We'll say it's a cliff. Your enemy is surrounding you. And God opens up a passageway for you to escape in. He will make a way of escape even when surrounded by temptation. If you're seeking him first and foremost, let no man think he is is standing without the help of God. And that's the point he's been making.
And so he continues now because he's teaching us some things. He's teaching us that that temptation is something that can be overcome. This enticement to sin that uh that can arise from within and be prompted by by outward circumstances that we can overcome in Christ. And we need to stay in the word and we need to be spiritually alert and we need to be in prayer. We need to keep our eyes on the Lord. Like it says in Isaiah 26:3, you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts you. And so, how are we going to overcome? Keep your eyes on the Lord. Stay in the word of God. Stay in prayer. Walk with him by his spirit. And so, as he's speaking about this, he moves into verse 14 and says, "Therefore, therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." So he's picking up again on his admonition against idolatry. Let me give you a little bit of the context and develop it a bit with you. Some were stumbled by meat that had been offered to to idols. But others in the church were not stumbled by that. So that led some to not only eat certain foods, but also in the exercising of their perceived liberty, as they were eating of the food offered to idols, they took it a step further and began to once again engage in idolatry. Now, they were free to be around non-believers, of course, because if if they weren't around non-believers, and who's going to preach the gospel to those who don't know Jesus? They were free to be around them, but they were not free to worship idols. and the subtle temptation that they began to to be seduced by of being part of the ceremonies and all and to now partake in the food offered to the idols like idoltors. Well, that they were in danger. Remember in 1 Corinthians chapter 6:9 and 10, he had already told them idoltors will not inherit the kingdom of God. He had said, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Don't be deceived. Neither fornicators, idoltors, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites will inherit the kingdom of heaven. Don't be deceived." And so, he has already addressed this subject of idolatry to some degree. He is now returning to the same subject.
Now to give a little context, the nations surrounding Israel were all given over to idolatry. They all had rejected the knowledge of God and the nations had embraced idolatry. When we go through the book of Romans in chapter 1 of Romans:es 22 and 23, Paul had said, "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal human beings and birds and animals and reptiles." He went on in verse 25 of Romans 1 and said, "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, worshiped and served created things rather than the creator who is forever to be praised." Amen. So the propensity of the Gentiles and the world at large prior to God's work with Israel is simple idolatry. So when God created this nation of Israel, he commanded them to have no other god before him. He gave them a command. Do not fashion gods for yourselves. You know this. Exodus 20:es 4 and 5. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them, nor are you to worship them. In Leviticus in 19 verse uh chapter 19:4, do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods. I am the Lord your God. Now, Israel had become a nation that was known for not practicing idolatry. But when you read the Old Testament at various times, idolatry began to surface, was practiced, became a plague. But overall the nation was known for rejecting idol worship. They were known as the one the the nation that worshiped the invisible god. All the nations surrounded them had gods representing their lust desires or whatever it was that they were worshiping. But Israel was known to have been forbidden to make such images. And they were known this way. They were known for being a rejector of idol worship. And the psalmist when speaking about idolatry and the fruit of idolatry, the foolishness of idolatry made ma uh made made it very clear how foolish it really is when he said in Psalm 115:es 2-8. Why do the nations say, "Where is their god?" He went on to say, "Our God is in heaven. He does whatever pleases him. Their idols are silver and gold made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but they cannot speak. They have eyes but they cannot see. They have ears but they cannot hear. Noses but they cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel. Feet but they cannot walk. Nor can they utter a sound with their throats. And then he went on to say those who make them will be like them and so will all who trust in them. You become what you worship. You are like what you worship. That's idolatry.
So what is it that Paul is saying? I want you to be free from the sin of compromise. You cannot serve God and the world simultaneously. You cannot come to church on Sunday and worship God and for six days during the week serve whatever you want. It doesn't work that way in the kingdom of God. In Luke 16:13, Jesus said it like this. No servant can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon and earthly wealth. So he's saying, I'm writing these things that you may know. Flee from idolatry. Verse 15, I speak as to wise men. Judge for yourselves. What I say, judge for yourselves. You have the wisdom necessary to understand. He had already told them not to participate in idolatry. And so to develop this further, he's going to speak concerning communion. He's going to develop it by relating some of these things that he's teaching to what we call the sacrament of communion. He says in verse 16, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ, the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many are one bread in one body, we all partake of that one bread. Observe Israel after the flesh. Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?" What am I saying then? That an idol is anything or what is offered to idols is anything? rather that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. And I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
So that's his argument here. He tells them they have the wisdom necessary to understand what I'm saying. Earlier he had said do not participate in idolatry. Now he speaks concerning this what we call a sacrament. The word sacrament just so you know the word sacrament comes from the Latin word sacramentum. It speaks of an oath. It speaks concerning an ordinance that Jesus himself established. And so he's speaking about the the communion