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Feasting at The Table of The One True King - 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Apr 10, 2022    Andrey Bulanov

Main idea:
We must flee idolatry because life under the blessing and fellowship of King Jesus automatically puts us into opposition to powers and priorities that surround us in our broken world.

Outline:
1. To be a christian is to automatically share in the fellowship of King Jesus and his covenant community.
2. Satan and his demons are working hard to gain your fellowship at the tables of idolatry.
3. Flee idolatry because you love and fear the King who's table you feast at everyday.

Scripture References:
• 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
• Psalm 1:1-2
• Ephesians 2:1-3
• 1 Peter 5:6-9

Application:
• Are we conscious of our fellowship with the Lord and his people? Do we live in that fellowship?
• Do you flee from idolatry or do you dance on the line? Does your life share in fellowship with the Lord and with his enemies?
• Are we conscious of our fellowship/war with the evil world system around us? Do you understand that your daily battles with sin are part of a bigger process of evil spiritual opposition to God and to God's covenant community?
• Do you come to the Lord in humility, leaning on his power? Do you see his power at work in your life?

Key ideas:
• satan and demons
• idolatry
• spiritual warefare
• christian fellowship
• communion

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Today's worship service is extra special for a couple of reasons.

First of all, we are going to be baptizing not 4 but 5 young disciples of Jesus into a deeper life of commitment, membership and participation in the christian life.

Second of all, in the church calendar, this is the day of the triumphal entry. This is the day, one week before his death, that Jesus entered triumphantly into Jerusalem as the rightful King who has returned to lead his people.

Third of all, it is our church anniversary. Today marks 7 years since Living Word Bible church first gathered to worship together.

This is a day of rich participation, not just for the folks getting baptized but for all of us together.

It is very important for us to understand the significance and power of the things we do and the places we go. If you are here today as a passive observer, I want to let you know that simply by showing up you have entered into a unique and powerful experience today by gathering with God's people.

If you have been with us you will know that the Corinthian church had a problem of seeing the significance of the things they did and the places they went. They were naive about the spiritual threats and dangers that surrounded them.

They thought they could attend and participate in feasts hosted at pagan temples because they believed in the one true God and that idols themselves are not real gods.

Last week Paul warned us about the danger of idolatry because it is a powerful way that our sinful desires can grow in our hearts and begin to take over our lives.

Its not just about believing in wood or stone idols. Its about the fact that your presence in the world exposes you to various sources of temptation to follow evil desire.

Last week we noted that temptation in a fallen world can have three possible sources: the world, the flesh and the devil. And we mostly focused on the first two sources of temptation - the world and the flesh. We took some time to unpack how idolatry works in our lives.

Today Paul gets to the final core of his argument and he gets to the third source of spiritual danger - the devil himself. Not only are we in danger from our fallen sinful nature or the world around us - we are also in danger from the world of spiritual evil that surrounds us.

READ TEXT.

As he is unpacking his point here, there is one main idea that Paul seeks to share:

We must flee idolatry because life under the blessing and fellowship of King Jesus automatically puts us into opposition to powers and priorities that surround us in our broken world.

1. To be a christian is to automatically share in the fellowship of King Jesus and his covenant community.

"14 So then, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
15 I am speaking as to sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I am saying.
16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ?
The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, since all of us share the one bread.
18 Consider the people of Israel. Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?"

After coming at them hard, Paul all of a sudden takes a caring and sympathetic tone. To come along side and call them to just think about their lives a little more carefully.

"I am speaking as to sensible people. Judge for yourselves what I am saying."

So often we get so worked up into a frenzy by our world, our lives, our struggles - we loose touch with truly seeing life as it is. Seeing ourselves. Seeing our calling in Jesus. Seeing the beauty of life in him.

Notice the word "sharing" which is repeated here four times. Greek - Koinonia.

Its a special word that speaks of deep participation together with someone.

Paul is trying to get us to see something VERY IMPORTANT about our christian identity, that we may easily forget.

He takes the image of communion that we part take in as Christians and he seeks to point to a deeper fact, a deeper reality of what it means to follow Jesus.

We do not take communion as a church lightheartedly. We do not participate in the ordinances that God has called, absentmindedly.

There is deep significance here. We are participates, in Jesus AND his people.

Notice there is a vertical and horizontal dimension here.

Vertical - The bread is the body of Christ. It symbolizes that he is your King, he has given himself that you may have new life, and he is the one who sustains you.

Horizontal - You participate as a member of the covenant community of God's people. The life and death and resurrection of Jesus is the seal that binds you to a new kind of humanity, a new community.

This bond is not based on the level of YOUR commitment, but in the power of HIS body and blood given for you.

what kind of sharing is this?

"the cup of blessing" - the New Covenant is the way that God has made for sinners to be completely set free from sin, death and guilt - and given new life. It is a life at the table of the Lord. It is a life under the umbrella of his blessing.

Not on the basis of your emotions or your level of commitment, but on the power of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Notice that this is AUTOMATIC. it doesn't mean that the quality of your fellowship is good - but whether you realize it or not, you are bound with the King and his people.
This is the significance of this event today! This is a covenant community ceremony. We celebrate the new life we share in Jesus as he gives us forgiveness and new life and brings us into the community his people.

When we consider the concept of fellowship or community or belonging - we often thing of a feeling or experience that we want to get to.

This means we also spend our energy trying to get to something that we already have. We act like we are on the outside when Christ has already brought us in.

do you consider the reality of your participation in Christ? Do you consider yourself as one who is marked out and belonging to God?
This is also important because it highlights the fact that we are ALWAYS in fellowship with someone or something.

Our modern notion of the totally independent individual is completely naive to how the world truly works.

If you bear the name of Jesus and parttake in his table - you have a seat at the table of the King.

Are you mindful of all the other tables that you sit at? Here you are on Sunday morning, but where do you go on Friday or Saturday nights?

Are you aware of the different kinds of fellowship that surround you in the world? Do you have a distinct awareness of how your identity as a follower of King Jesus drives your relationship to other circles of fellowship?

Psalm 1:1-2
"How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night."

2. Satan and his demons are working hard to gain your fellowship at the tables of idolatry.

"19 What am I saying then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but I do say that what they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons! 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot share in the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?"

For a moment, it may seem like Paul is going backwards on the point he made in chapter 8 - that idols in and of themselves have no power. Here he pushes to a deeper point.

Sure, idols are nothing. But idolatry itself is not nothing. It is the domain of demons. It is the work of a very real and powerful and dangerous invisible force that surrounds us in the world.

Like the Corinthians, Christians today have a tendencies to live with a very naive and shallow understanding of the spiritual threats that surround them.

Paul says, "you are going to these feasts, do you have ANY IDEA what you are doing? Do you have any idea who's table you sit at? No its not just the sinful ppl - you live in a world of darkness and it is powered by the prince of darkness."

Think about it, "i am talking to you as sensible people!!"

C. S. Lewis:
"Our mistake in relationship to the devils is one of two extremes: to obsess over the devil or to disbelieve in him completely."

A common middle mistake, noted by Jonathan Pokluda is - we admit that Satan and his demons are real, but we live as though they are not - or as though they have absolutely no relevance in our lives.

Paul says you must flee from idolatry because idolatry is the domain of demons.

Do you understand that there is a spiritual war going on for your soul every day? A war that involves angels and demons - forces and creatures powerful and mysterious?

Are you aware that your daily battles and temptations are part of a bigger battle going on in the world around you?

You are a member of team Jesus, you sit and feast at his table every day. You are part of a church community. You parttake in communion. You read his word and pray. You are feasting at his table spiritually. You life is the result of his victory and his riches.

Your life is a problem to enemies that you can't see. They hate you. They hate God. They hate Jesus. They love to destroy, deceive and watch us all in pain.

A couple of important clarifications:
• the devil is not everywhere - he is a limited creature to one place at a time
• the devil can't read your thoughts - but he is an expert in understanding human emotion and manipulating and tricking us
• the devil's primary power is his ability to capture and ruin lives through false beliefs and destructive desires
Ephesians 2:1-3
"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also."

If you are a follower of Jesus, if you come and take communion, if you open and read your Bible and pray everyday - you are a child of the King. You sit at his table.

What other tables do you sit at?

implications:
• other religions are not neutral and fake
◦ some are, but some have real power.
• nothing in the world is neutral.
◦ christians getting involved in eastern spirituality - yoga, meditation, etc.
• just because someone bears of the name of Jesus does NOT mean they are of Jesus
◦ you will know them by their fruits
• culture is idolatrous
◦ music, movies, shows, books
◦ we must not be obsessive about seeing illuminati demon worship in everything. But we must also not be naive.
◦ some forms of horror genre, music - deep dark stuff
• satan would much rather have you worship the idol of money instead of being part of a cult because the idol of money is easier to hide.
◦ he is not running around in red pajamas with a pitchfork
◦ he is after your heart and desires

Your heart is formed by the places you go and the things you do.
• are we conscious of our fellowship with the Lord and his people? do we live in that fellowship?
• are we conscious of our fellowship/war with the evil world system around us?
• are you the same person sunday through saturday? or do you live in parrallel universes of darkness and light?

3. Flee idolatry because you love and fear the King who's table you feast at everyday.
"flee from idolatry...21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot share in the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?"

We have a danger of missing the point here - satan and demons! Oh no!

Paul's point is a little different.

The real danger is not just the spiritual world. Its the judgement you bring on yourself from the KING when you sit at his table and at other tables.

We flee idolatry because we love and we fear the King who has given us a seat at his table.

Lets take our example from the story of Saul in 1 Samuel 29

A king who worshipped at the idol of people and their opinions. How did this idol snake its way through his life? At the start, he was afraid and anxious - hiding when he was named king. Later it lead to anger and insecurity when he saw the success of others. Later still it created terrible conflicts and lead to really foolish decisions. Later again it lead him to clearly disobey God's Word in bringing sacrifices himself instead of waiting for the prophet Samuel to come.

Finally, at the end, it lead him to go to a witch - a woman who had connections to the satanic spiritual world - so that he could get some answers.

Do you remember what happened? The ghost of the prophet Samuel appeared - and it freaked out the witch herself who was afraid of God and his powers.

Samuel says to Saul - "what do you think you are doing? Look where your sin and idolatry has brought you. Dabbling in the demonic. You have brought death and judgement upon yourself and your sons."

Some weeks there is a deep dark pressure to compromise. Its powerful to realize it. to understand that there is a bigger battle raging around you for your soul and the soul of your family.

1 Peter 5:6-9
"6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. 8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 9 Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world."

Today as we are baptizing five new members in God's family, we are also proclaiming the victory of Jesus, we are sharing together, as the church, in his grace and his strength. We are part of a bigger process of God working redemption and renewal in a broken world.

Application:
• Are we conscious of our fellowship with the Lord and his people? Do we live in that fellowship?
• Do you flee from idolatry or do you dance on the line? Does your life share in fellowship with the Lord and with his enemies?
• Are we conscious of our fellowship/war with the evil world system around us? Do you understand that your daily battles with sin are part of a bigger process of evil spiritual opposition to God and to God's covenant community?
• Do you come to the Lord in humility, leaning on his power? Do you see his power at work in your life?