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mornings were going through 1st Corinthians chapter by chapter verse by
verse
and today we're in Chapter six verses
15 through 17 so I'll have you turn there in your bibles
and once you find you way there if you're able I'll ask you to stand you
can follow along with me as I read
if you're unable that's alright follow along as I
began back in verse 13
for the sake of context the Apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit
is writing verse 13 says you say
food for the stomach and the stomach for food
and God will destroy them both the body
however is not meant for ***
in morality but for the Lord and
the Lord for the body by his power verse 14
got a raised Lord from the dead and
he will raise us also now
verse 15 do you not know
that your bodies are members
of Christ Himself shall I
then take the members of Christ
and unite them with a *** never
do you not know verse 16
that he who unities himself with the ***
is one with her
in body for it said the two
will become one flesh but verse seventeen whoever is united
with the Lord is one with him
in spirit lets pray
Lord once again we find ourselves in a
particularly difficult and even intense passage of Scripture
in Your word and it's one
for which we admittedly need for the Holy Spirit to
Minister to us
in and through unless Lord You by the Holy Spirit do that
then the time that we have together in you word
will be a waste of time and I don't think any of us
here in this church today want
that so Lord will you
now seize our attention
and when you do Lord keep
our attention fixed completely
and only upon You and Your word and that which you have for us this morning we
pray
in Jesus name Amen
you can be seated thank you
today's teaching will be part 2 of a new series we began two weeks ago titled
why some Christians remain
carnal the reason I chose this
title is because the Apostle Paul
true to form deems it necessary to once again
hit head on put his finger on
the many reasons for the Corinthians remaining
in their carnality and it seems
that the Holy Spirit is having Paul
write them concerning not only their carnality but
why it is that like them
some Christians just
seem to stay carnal
they've been walking with the Lord for perhaps
a number a few years yet there's really never
been any spiritual growth there's this carnality that is characteristic
of their Christianity and
the Apostle Paul is gonna show us why that is
and what to do about
why that is and here in lies the main lesson
of the passage namely
its that of identifying the source
of carnality first and foremost and then once the source
of carnality is identified then
its time to move on to spiritual maturity
and is for this reason that Paul
by the Holy Spirit ever so beautifully
and brilliantly does exactly that
if you were to ask me
who I thought was
the one to be pitied the most in their Christian walk
it would be the Christian
that is still walking in carnality
still walking according to the flesh what a miserable
existence and
the Apostle Paul is again true to form
its needful he's going to bluntly
even seemingly partially
correct them so as to
redirect them and we saw the first one
in verse 13 one of the biggest reasons
for Christians remaining carnal is
they don't wanna be rejected
by the world culturally
they want to be
as it says amongst those
of whom all men speak well of you
they wanna be friends with the world
ask James about being friends with the world
if you're friends with the world you're at
enmity with God and James like Paul
very blunt I don't know how big a church James or Paul would have
if they were here today they just would tell it like it is
they would call those who are friends with the world in
enmity with God's spiritual adulterers
you're committing spiritual adultery
and he's putting his finger on it
in saying to them this is what you're gonna do about it
this is why it is now this is what it is
that you need to do about it Paul quotes another
of the sayings up their day which in our day just
is nonsensical apparently back in
that day
one of the sayings was food for the stomach the stomach for food
huh
the reason
this was a popular saying was because
the Corinthians in their carnality
could connect the body's appetite for food
with the body's appetite for sex
and they did it under the banner of
well God's given us both drives God's given us both appetites
the food for the stomach and the stomach for food
and you can take it from there the thought was
if God gave us an appetite for food that could be satisfied when hungry then
so too can the appetite for sex be satisfied as well in the same way
they're both god-given drives and
appetites now of course the problem
I think for obvious reasons is that
with justifying their satisfying
both appetites it presupposes this
moral equivalence between the appetite for food and the appetite for sex now
pre-fall pre
adam and Eve pre sin entering into the world
this may have been that way
but when sin entered the world
it perverted and corrupted both drives
but that didn't stop the Corinthians
from using this as an excuse
to feed their carnal *** do whatever they wanted to do
and hide behind this
saying of the day in doing it
and lest you think that
well
that was then this is now I don't think I've ever had anybody ever come up
to me and say food for the stomach stomach for food
so what's your point well the
point is this: not much has changed in the last two thousand years
the sayings have changed
but the why behind the what of those things hasn't changed
example how can something that feels
so good be so wrong easy
in advertising
there's one particular campaign that always
catches my attention I think I learned this back when I was
in sales its how can
50,000 people be wrong answer
wide is the gate leads to destruction
and many 50,000 will go there in
whereas conversely narrow is the gate
how about the Proverbs that says there is a way that seems right
unto a man but it is the way that leadeth unto death how can something that
feel so right be so wrong that's why
and there's another saying thats roommate
with this saying and goes something like this:
everybody's doing it everybody's doing it
if you prefer just do it just do it
this brings us to verse 14 where we
found our second reason as to why some Christians
just remain in their carnality
simply put it's because they're not focused
eternally they're living for this world
the things of this world and eternity
is at the distance from afar
dimmed and blurred and really not even
on the radar as it were now
here Paul sort of reminds them that
one day God by his power is going to
raise us from the dead just as he raised
Jesus from the dead and the reason he says that is because
my body your body with
all up its appetites one day is gonna go away
it's either gonna die
and or be resurrected and as such
my focus should not be on
it in the temporal rather my focus
should be on the eternal I suppose a
better way of saying it would be that they weren't living
for eternity
their mind was not stayed on Him
their thoughts were not
about Him and His kingdom rather it was
on them in the here and now
its more tangible isn't it I mean the
the here and now is something that I can get my hands on and my
mind around
but the reality is the truth of the matter is the fact of the matter is
heaven is more real than the Pew that you're sitting on today
what heaven is more real
and certainly more lasting
then the Pew that you're sitting on today
the pew you're sitting on today you know the one that
is gets really about 45 minutes into my sermon
about midway through the prophecy update that
it gets really hard I know not what that's like cuz I'm standing
but for you it gets really hard you start
feeling that that hard pew good news its all gonna burn
many years ago when
I was really young in the Lord a Christian Brother's
car good friend of mine burned
it burned to the ground and
I just you know of course took the opportunity to
you know make it a teachable moment and said you know that's what's going to
happen all your possessions that you seemingly
enjoy and possess you and
he wasn't a friend after that
this is all passing away
why is it that we focus
our attention on that which soon and very soon
will be no more at the expense of focusing our attention on that which
soon and very soon
will be our eternal destiny
I think it was Mark Twain who
said that a Christian can be so heavenly minded
thereof nor earthly good and I couldn't disagree more
I understand the spirit of
what he was saying
but I couldn't disagree more I believe and I've experienced that a Christian
who
is heavenly minded becomes all the more
earthly good as a result because this
well enter
today's text in verses 15 through 17
where we see our third reason as to why it is that Christians
stay in that place of carnality its that of
not discerning spiritually its really interesting this last week I
don't know if you caught this article I never heard of this
musician but apparently this so-called Christian
rock I hate to use the word star thats
very carnal isn't it it's almost a
oxymoron a paradox but this
a famous Christian rock
artists can we we'll use artist I forget his name I don't know the
but apparently he came out
not not that way thankfully not another one of those
oh my goodness we've had worship leaders do that lately
I don't even go there but he came out
and admitted that he's an atheist and then he said this
and I take it floored me you know how I am when it comes to
the influence of music in the life of a believer
that's how I came to Christ when I was 19 years old
when I realised that
it's not a gimmick these musicians
in fact do sell their souls for rock and roll
and saying give them all the sex and drugs and money and fame that they could
ever dream of in exchange for their soul and that's why
they become I hate to use the word evangelists for lack of a better term
for Satan
they become agents of
the devil and the music is
evidence enough but
when he said this it it stunned me
and I think that when you reach a certain age you're
it takes more to stun you right can we talk
right when you get older it takes more to stun you
but as God as my witness I just
I was stunned he said only one out of 10
of that bands Christian bands that he toured with
only one in 10 was really a true Christian band
I'm thinking boys bring your iPhone's what kind of music you got on here on your
on your playlist are you kidding me
are you kidding me I think it was last week we
I know I'm totally digressing but just hang in there with me we'll
come back to this sermon already in progress here in just a moment but
I think it was last week we were talking about yes Lord
bono oh man every time I talk about bono
I get excoriated from our you tube subscribers and Facebook friends who are
obviously fans of this musician
who by his own
admission said that their whole purpose was to deceive christians
and oh but he does
so many good things humanitarian efforts and
you know and he's really a good person
really well
did you know that he did a song a remake
of the Rolling Stones song the title
sympathy for the devil
and as he's performing it he's got an upside down cross
and he's dressed in a
very demonic outfit
you know the song pleased to meet you
won't you guess but name woo hoo
I'm sorry that was bad I know that someone of you might be having flashbacks
right about now
you might wanna
Google the lyrics to the song in the lyrics
are the devil who is basically
this song is about says I was there when they crucified Jesus Christ
he was he was there what's my point my point is in the
article I read was I thought really well done
christians lack spiritual discernment
christians lack spiritual discernment
dare I say that the lack
of spiritual discernment comes by way
of carnality carnality is the fuel
in that tank of the lack of spiritual discernment
in verse 15
what in the world is going on here is that me
we do
wasn't that interesting
lets pray about that
Lord apparently
once again we have
aroused the attention and the ire
of the enemy who truly
hates this church
and what we're about especially when your word goes forth
so Lord which you silence him right now
in Jesus name amen in verse 15 Paul
asks the fourth of six don't you know questions that are here in Chapter six
this time he asks don't you know
that your bodies are members of Christ Himself
you know where he's going with this right he takes it further
rhetorically asking shall I
knowing that shall I then take the members of Christ
and unite them in *** immorality
with a *** never never
but you're doing that the Corinthians were doing that
prostitution was the cultural way
of the day everybody was going it
even the Christians in verses 16 and 17
we have our fifth of the six don't you know questions in which
this time paul asks don't you know that he who unites himself with a ***
is one with her in body
as the two will become one flash
united together but
who so ever is united with the Lord is one
with Him in spirit wow
let's sort through this
and in order to do that it's important
that we first know the progressive nature
to the first three reasons as to why some Christians remain carnal stay with me
it starts with this pressure to
acquiesce to the carnal culture
of the day and its
fueled by the fear
of not being culturally relevant
now that's not to say that
being culturally relevant in and of itself is a bad thing
it is to say that conforming to it
and being driven by it will
ultimately trap us into carnality
this is proverbs 29:25
you know it well the fear of man
brings a snare the fear of
man was trap you but he who
trust in the Lord will be exalted
I find a very interesting we want to be exalted in the eyes of man don't we
it's a trap we're gonna be trapped into
by way of this fear of man
this carmal trap this
trap of carnality but he who trusts in the Lord
they're the ones that will be exalted the Apostle Peter
in his first epistle verses 13 through 16 said this
therefore with minds interesting the mind
minds that are alert and fully sober
set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is
revealed that is coming
as obedient children
listen do not conform
to the evil desires you had when you lived in
ignorance but
just as he who called you is holy
so be holy in all you do
for it is written: be holy
because I am holy what does that mean
to be holy the best
explanation I ever heard was this
to be holy is to be whole
complete full
not half not a third to be whole
to be made whole and as such
holy consider what
the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans chapter 12 verses
1 & 2 arguably one of the most profound
life-changing truths and all the Bible I don't know if you remember but back when we
were going through the book Romans chapter by chapter verse by verse
I had to go back and reteach these two verses for those of you who were there
I think you're still scarred for life after that but
amongst the most if not the most powerful
verses ever written in the pages of Holy Writ
and it relates to being
transformed by the Word
instead of being conformed to the world
he writes therefore
I urge you brothers and sisters
in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice
holy and holy and holy
and pleasing to God this
is your true and proper worship
and then verse 2 here it is do not conform
to the pattern of this world this is how you can live holy
and pleasing to God this is how you can have true and proper worship
this is how that was what now here's how
don't conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed
by the renewing up your mind then
this is key you'll be able to test
and prove what God's will is His good
pleasing and perfect will that's how
actually these two verses here in Romans 12 sum up
the first three reasons as to why it is that some Christians just
never grow to spiritual maturity and remain
in carnality what happens is
they conform to the pattern
of the world by way of the pressure
from the world for fear of being rejected
by the world then
when that happens it leads to the second and third reason
which is our un-transformed
if you please and
un-renewed minds
aren't focused on God
eternally neither can they discern
God's perfect will spiritually
what's interesting is now we're gonna see this Lord willing
next week is that Paul talks about our bodies
offering up or our bodies it
echoes what we see here in first Corinthians chapter 6
here's what I'm thinking the world
the flesh and the devil all of which
war against us as Christians
you have to understand that satan's sole goal is to keep us carnal
to keep us down he shifted strategy
before we came to Christ he would do everything to keep us from coming to
Christ
and then we come to Christ in all of heaven celebrates satan calls an
emergency
meeting with the demons of hell we got to
we got to we lost this one we got to shift strategies
okay we got to render this Christian
impotent we gotta figure out whatever it takes to keep this christian
from growing to maturity because if they grow to maturity
and they don't stay in their carnality they pose a formidable threat
to the powers of darkness you know I've always
shared whenever Satan attacks like he is right now still with the (sound)
he is after all the prince of the power the air the
airwaves but when I worry is when he leaves me alone
I know that was a I'll get back to you on that one but
when I worry is when the devil leaves me alone
when I really worry is when he sent me a thank you card
and sends my wife a bouquet of flowers keep up the good work for the powers of
darkness
you are absolutely no threat you are eighty huge help to us thank you so much
when he leaves you alone you're no threat
you're not going to waste his time just by virtue of the fact that the
enemy is attacking you is
evidence that you are a threat and
I wanna be a threat I like to be
I like a look threatening too if I can
my wife says you need to smile more because your face looks mean
I was born that way can't do much about it
the world the flesh and the devil
have this strategy down to a science
so to speak so much so that
the Christian is kept down in their carnality
and they never grow to spiritual maturity
sadly the
afore mentioned progression in the first three or maybe better said
descention
this is how it can and does
happen you can trace it back
it started with this desire to be popular
to have the world like me to be friends with the world
and then what it just it led to you could just write the next chapter
in that carnal book we start off
wanting the world to speak well of us not reject us
and in turn it blurs our focus on eternity and
once we're out of focus eternally we're disabled
we become disabled as it were when it comes to discernment
spiritually and then when that happens it's just a matter of time
it'll end in
one living sinfully it's just a matter of time and
there's this justifying particularly when it comes
to the arena of *** immorality
which I believe in fact
I think was a number years ago when I was speaking at the
the pastors conference here and I
I think was a prophetic word I
made this prediction that *** particularly but *** immorality was
gonna destroy
the Christian and the Christian Church
and some of the statistics that
that I'm reading they're just they're un-thinkable
I can't even it is so
grievous this is how Satan is
destroying marriages and this is how Satan
is destroying families in these last days
Warren Weirsbe who I'm a huge fan of
said it best illustrating it
this way sex outside of marriage is like a man robbing a bank
he gets something but it is not his
and he will one day pay for it sex within marriage
can be like a person putting money into a bank there is safety
security and he will collect dividends
I'm sure you've heard the illustration
of God's design for sex in the marriage it's like that fire in the fireplace
you take that fire outside of the fireplace
and it will destroy and it will burn
and char everything
maybe you've heard the illustration of
sex before marriage and how
its likened unto two pieces of paper that are
glued together becoming one then
when that premarital sinful *** relationship is put asunder
if you please it's like tearing those
two pieces of paper apart only to find
that they'll never be the same again the reason
well now there are holes
in both papers as well as remains
up the other paper on both papers not to mention the glue
that still remains on both as well
so too is this true
went to people become one flesh
sexually yet sinfully
they become impure
un-whole un-holy
parts of them are now with another and vice a versa
and the residual glue of that relationship and then
if the unite again not only are they uniting Christ
with the one whom they unite with in *** immorality
but they bring everything from
the past sinful relationships into
that relationship I want to close
with a true story about Billy Sunday before Billy Graham there was Billy
Sunday
he was the fiery evangelist he was
to me like the Apostle Paul one said he never spared himself nor those he wanted
to help
in the vigor of his attacks on sin
particularly *** sin such as our
text today has presented Billy Sunday
thundered against sin and preached Christ
as the only answer to man's needs until his death in 1935
here's a quote I'm against sin
I'll kick it as long as I've got a foot
I'll fight it as long as I've got a fist
I'll butt as long as I've got a head
I'll bite it as long as I've got a tooth when I'm old
and fistless and footless and toothless
I'll gum it till I go home to glory
and it goes home to perdition that's a little bit of the Apostle Paul in there
isn't it it was also Billy Sunday who
once had a woman after one of his crusades approach him and
and say you know you rub me the wrong way to which he
so aptly responded actually I'm rubbing you the right way
but you're like that cat whose turned around in the wrong direction
you need to repent and turn and then you won't be rubbed the wrong way
that's good
that preaches man that preaches
so next time one of you says to me
you know pastor JD you rub me the wrong way you already have your answer
so there
lets pray Lord
it's good to have the humorous in the midst of the serious but at the same
time we
are keenly aware that we have just studied a very
difficult passage in one for which
the Holy Spirit needs to be given permission to
take to the next level Lord I pray that you'll have
unfettered access to our hearts and those places
in our hearts were carnality is taken abreast in Jesus name
Amen