King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Thursday, December 02, 2021
Chapters: I Corinthians 9-11
Message: Living The Gospel
Hello My Friend,
It is now going into the forth week since I lost my job, I have been on so many interviews, taken just as many assessments, had some offers that I decided not to take, and a lot of rejections. When I talk to God about it, I get the same answer, “Trust me, I will send you to the right job at the right time.” The rejections are what scare me the most, and not because it really was not the job for me, it is because they get me wondering that maybe I am doing something that God is angry about. I asked God to show me whatever it is that I could be doing that is wrong, He gave me the answer, [Matthew 14:31b O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?] Jesus reminded me that I have not been doing anything wrong, but what I am guilty of is having a lot of doubt in my abilities lately, and that has affected my ministry. Then Jesus reminded me of something else.
[Luke 12:28-33 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? 29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. 32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.]
No, God is not telling me to sell everything I have, although I did tell Him that if I lost everything I would be okay with that because I rather have Him. Honestly, I am not concerned about losing anything that I possess because I know that those are replaceable, I am concerned for my mom and people who depend on me, including all of you whom I come to know through my ministry. My biggest fear is letting everyone down and not being able to provide them with what they need. Now, as we continue in the reading of I Corinthians, Paul continues addresses his apostleship, and those who may have questioned his authority and ministry.
[1 Corinthians 9:1-4,12-14 Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? 2 If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. 3 Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, 4 Have we not power to eat and to drink? 12 If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? 14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.]
[they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.] None of us are perfect, we are not always going to agree on everything, but should all be in agreement with the Gospel. While some do see fit to live a certain way contrary to what others do, it is not for us to judge, God will deal with each of us as He sees fit. When we truly believe in the Gospel, then we will live our lives through it, and the only one that we need to be concerned about is God. Believe it or not, we are led by the Spirit to be a witness for Christ, and that can take us to several places. Paul illustrates this by telling them how he was sent to both Jews and Gentiles.
[1 Corinthians 9:19-24,26-27 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; 21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. 22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. 24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.]
[I am made all things to all men,] Since I started my ministry, I have been a merchandiser, web designer, personal chef, pastry chef, virtual assistant, product demonstrator, and customer service representative, all in the past fourteen years, and between my church and personal ministry. For years I wondered why I went from job to job, but this all makes perfect sense, God will place us where we need to be so that we can reach people with the Gospel. I will tell you what, my last job may have abrupted quickly, but I did not leave without having an impact on the people I worked with. Whether it is days, months, or years, we are made all things to all for the sake of reaching the Gospel, [Acts 8:29,36-37,39 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.]
[but one receiveth the prize?] Paul compares himself to racers in the Isthmian games, it was a festival, similar to the Olympics of today, consisting of athletic and musical competitions in honor of the sea god, Poseidon. It was held in the spring of the second and fourth years of each Olympiad at his sanctuary on the Isthmus of Corinth. The prize was originally a crown of dry wild celery, then was changed to a pine wreath in Roman times, the pine being sacred to Poseidon. The celebration of the festival died out when Christianity became dominant in the 4th century AD. As saved, born again Christians, we know that there is only one prize at the end of our live here, and that is a crown that no one can take from us, [2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.]
Let me tell you, until God brings us home, we are going to face of judgment, the world judges us in an attempt to discredit our testimony in Christ. Christians judge us in an attempt to either hide their own sin, or find something that will discredit our testimony, and most of the time it has to do with their own conscience. Since God created man His main objective in creating us in His image was so that we could fellowship with Him. While He could have used anyone to tell the world who He is, He chose the Jews, and they were not perfect at all, in fact, most of them rejected Him as well. Nevertheless, they were God’s examples of the blessings that come when they are faithful to Him as well as the curses when they are rebellious. Paul goes on to stress that fact.
[1 Corinthians 10:1-5,11-12 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.]
[Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.] There is not one of us strong enough to stand up to the evils of this world on our own. There is not one of us of strong enough to stand up to the devil on our own. There is not one of us strong enough to stand up to our own sinful flesh on our own, but we can stand up to all of them in the power of Christ, [1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.]
The point of Paul addressing this was to remind them that the Israelites were under the same judgment as everyone else, even back then. They may not have known that the angel that was there with them was Christ, but the believers knew that the LORD was with them. And just because He chose them to be His people that did not mean all of them were His, and proved that His judgment of them several times in their forty years of being in the wilderness. God is faithful when we are faithful to Him, He does not need to bless us, but by His grace and mercy He does, even when we do not deserve it. We do not have to be perfect for God to bless us because His Son is in us, but we must not forget to acknowledge His blessings, even the ones that are not joyful. We may not like everything He blesses us with, but it is through those tough love blessings that He helps us bare the burdens that come with them and bring us closer to Him, [James 4:8-10 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.]
Since everything we do reflects Christ, that means if we are living our lives only to please our flesh then, we are not only making Him look bad, but other Christians as well. Think about it, if we are saved that means we are all one body of Christ, and that means that we cannot blend in with the world, if we do it brings consequences. Paul reminds us that we are all joined together by His body and blood, and need to take that very seriously, and he has a warning for those whom do not.
[1 Corinthians 11:26-32 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.]
[that we should not be condemned with the world.] The Lord’s Supper is an observance that many churches participate in today, the purpose is to remind those who are saved that it was Christ’s body that was broken and blood that was shed for our salvation. The Corinthians distorted this observance by first, including it in with a normal feast, and second, denying the poor to partake of the observance. When Jesus was here in the flesh His main objective apart from fulfilling the Gospel was preaching the Gospel. The Christian life is not something that is forced upon us, it is a choice, but if we are going to choose Christ, then we need live a life that is pleasing to God. This does not mean that we are not going to trip and fall sometimes, but it does mean that we Christ to get us back up, [1 Corinthians 10:30-33 For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks? 31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.]
Let Us Pray: God, I want to thank You for Your goodness in supplying all my needs. Certainly You have blessed me with physical blessings such as food, clothing, shelter, jobs, but You also shower me with spiritual blessings as You allow me to serve You. Lord, I want my testimony to be an example of Your life changing, all sufficient, and all sustaining mercy, grace, and love to all who need to know Your Son as well as those You lead me to teach. Lead me and guide me, conform me to who You need me to be, let me accept and acknowledge all Your blessings, and let me forever praise You for You are always good even when You take things away. I love You Lord, and pray in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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