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[Music] good morning this sunday our service is in the name of father son and of the holy spirit amen oh come let us worship and bow down let's kneel before the lord our maker for he is our god and we are the people of his pasture and ship of his hands if we say we have no sins we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us but if we confess our sins god who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness let us as people of god spend some time to reflect and of self-examination before we confess our sins together as a church let us have a one minute of silent reflection [Music] congratulations let us confess our sins together most merciful god we confess that when bondage to sins and cannot free ourselves we are sin against you in thought word and deed by what we have done and by what we have left undone we are not love you with our whole heart we are not love our neighbors as ourselves for the sake of our son jesus christ have mercy on us forgive us renew us and lead us that we may deny in your will and walk your ways to the glory of your holy name amen congregation let's receive the absolution from god and faith this morning in the mercy of almighty god jesus christ was given to die for us and for a sake god forgive us of all our sins to those who believe in jesus christ it gives the power to become the children of god and based on them the holy spirit amen let's share the peace of the lord and let us come together to worship the [Music] lord [Music] last [Music] sing [Music] oh my soul [Music] let me be singing [Music] oh oh my soul i worship your [Music] your name is great and your heart [Music] [Applause] ten is reasons for my heart [Music] before [Music] and on that day when my strength is failing the end shows near and my time has come [Music] and forever [Music] [Music] [Music] oh my soul i worship [Music] [Music] oh my soul i worship oh [Music] in christ alone my hope is fun he is my light my sweat my soul [Music] here in the love of christ i said [Music] in christ [Music] of love and righteousness [Music] [Applause] is [Music] i live [Music] is [Music] he rose again [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is yeah blessed morning run sisters welcome to sunday service this morning we'll talk about food food is essential part of our life it nourishes our body and is also good for fellowship and the bible itself speaks about specific teachings concerning partaking of food and food itself one of the struggles often faced by new believers since the early church began is concerning can christians eat food offered to idols or sacrifice idols that's one of the biggest question and in fact for us christians here in asia particularly chinese coming out with the new child the chinese new year coming up soon we struggle particularly if our parents our families are yet to accept the lord so this is a struggle when they have offered offerings to well our ancestors and the gods or idols of the us and then they bring it on the table for us to eat we struggle that if we don't eat what happens and when we do what will happen for christians living in the majority of the world eating food dedicated to idols is a real problem it's a spiritual struggle in fact particularly asian christians in many countries worry about participating in festival or communal meals with food which has been blessed by gods or by ancestors socially it'd be very difficult not to attend this kind of celebrations but by attending it it is not just simply awkward but not partaking the meal in itself is considered rude and disrespectful in many many asian countries and asian traditions and often christians suffer to some level of persecution from their friends and family when they choose not to participate in meals with this kind of food i'm sure by now you have some imagination ahead and maybe some even some memories of such happenings now poor also added some teachings about food when conflicts concerning these arises within christian church and christian teaching today in our text on food offered to idols to eat or not to eat comes from the bowl of first corinthians chapter 8 verse 1 to 13 first corinthians chapter 8 1-13 if you have your bible please turn with me to first corinthians chapter 8 verse 1 to 13. process i said no i'm reading from the nib version the new international motion i'm reading through from verse 1 to verse 13. so i'm going to start reading from verse 1. now about food sacrifice idols you know that we all possess knowledge but knowledge pops up while love builds up those who think they know do not yet know as they ought to know but whoever love god is known by god so then about eating food sacrificed to idols we know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and there is no god but one for even if the so-called gods whether in heaven on earth as indeed there are many gods and many lords yet for us that is but one god the father from whom all things came and for whom we live and there is but one lord jesus christ through whom all things came and through whom we live but not everyone possesses this knowledge some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as being sacrificed to a god and since their conscience is weak is defiled but food does not bring us near to god we are no worse if we do not eat and know better if we do for somebody we are weak conscious sees you with all your knowledge eating in an idol's temple wouldn't that person be embroidered to eat what is sacrificed either so this weak brother or sister for whom christ died is destroyed by your knowledge when you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience you sin against christ therefore if what i eat causes my brother or my sister to fall into sin i will never eat meat again so that i do not cause them to fall may the lord bless the reading of his word it's i think it's more we would in asia as chinese we will understand this uh principle a bit more uh this issue a bit more in paul's day sacrifice of god was an essential part of life for them each town or city had plenty of shrines or local gods and goddesses and what the people did at those shrines where they come with animals for sacrifice when the anime was killed it would be cooked and the family would have a meal with that sacrificial meat however there usually more meat than the worshipers could eat and so people come to the temple and share the food which has been offered to whatever god they offered to but at times even they failed to use up all the sacrificial meat is quite a lot so the temple officials will take whatever is left and they'll send it to the market and it will so in a normal way you will sell meat in the market in fact most of the meat available for sale in cities like corinth would have been offered and sacrificed one or the other so for that reason some jews in the ancient world in places where they wouldn't couldn't or didn't have a butcher of their own refused to eat meat at all they didn't want to be involved in a worship of idols or well men made gods and goddesses they knew after all there is only but one god yahweh the lord the creator of god and he says he's a jealous god and he says that we only worship him and only him so therefore they do not partake of the food being sold now food is a very powerful element that can unite or divide us the community in korean to whom paul is writing this letter in today's passage was dealing with exactly this problem to eat or not to eat so in the roman culture a lot of the marketplace made came from tempest and may be sacrificed to one god or the other some thought that eating such meat was like worshipping other gods and it really disturbed their conscience while others say that well meat is just meat therefore it's all right to eat it no big deal now the question for the corinthians christians was rather could they eat ordinary meat or should have special christian meat or kosher meat like what we have today should they or should they not whether or not it's forbidden in our time is very important that we know what the bible says about food sacrifice to the idol why is it forbidden and why do we abstain from partaking it in our time now we need to look at that now there are two very strong points that paul had placed and have shared with the corinthian church and today we share with you the same thing all right point one the apostles paul said that eat the meat is not a problem even for him in fact he makes a strong point that an idol has no real existence let's look at first corinthians chapter eight was one to eight let's read again now about food sacrifice idols this is what paul wrote huh and we know that we all possess knowledge but knowledge pops up while love builds up what knowledge was paul talking about he's talking about knowledge that god tells us there's only one god and in believing one god there's no other gods so as far as is concerned idols are not gods that just man-made gods so those who think they do know yet do not know as they ought to know but whoever loved god is known by god so then about eating food sacrificed idols we know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and there is no god but one for even if there is so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth indeed there are many gods and many lords yet for us there is only but one god the father from who all things came for whom relief and there is but one lord jesus christ to whom all things came to whom we live but not everyone possesses this knowledge some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed for god and since their conscience is weak they feel defiled but food does not bring us nearer to god we are no worse if we do not eat and know better if we do now this is what paul wrote in the first half of this passage this morning the situation was like this for some korean christians it was all right to partake of the meat from the market and didn't care whether it came from a temple or not and they didn't care about anyone else what they think about whether they eat that meat or not they will know what's off if you do not eat and know better off if they eat so they didn't care besides a christian pray before eating meals to thank god and thank the lord and ask the lord to sanctify the food so as in said what has been said in 1st timothy chapter 4 4 and 5 is this for every creature of god is good and nothing to be refused if it is to be received with thanksgiving for is sanctified by the word of god and prayer so therefore we partake of it hence there is no fear of partaking any kind of food for god's name has already been invoked to bless and sanctify the meal that we are about to partake we need not have fear also if we accidentally consume food which we do not know has been offered to either for instance when you go to a visit a friend's house and they just have been have offered pork and and chicken to idols and they bring forth up to the dining table and as we partake it as a you know a friend joining in and meal and by accident we consume food offered to others do not be afraid all right do not have to be worried if even we do party as long as we as ask the lord to bless the food and sanctify the food it is good food however paul is also quick to point out that all christians do not possess this knowledge paul pointed out this very important point here not every christians have this knowledge some have been once been heavily involved in either worshipping associated that eating of that meaning offered to idols as a re-entry into their own veganism lifestyle and they were worried and they're worried by doing so they gone against god's teaching the teaching of christ so my sisters who is actually right here actually i believe eating or not eating is not the point at all don't you think so now the whole point of this message is not about being right it's about doing what is right now let's continue with the second point here with the second half of the passage you read this morning now this text is not about either or adultery as such it's about knowledge and love about love shown to one another and about love for god and about honor given to christ jesus our lord this is a very decisive and tricky issue and paul himself teaches what matter most contrary to what many have thought and whatever been thinking about what matter most is love not that knowledge whether you can or cannot eat that meat now let's look again back to first corinthians chapter 8 verse 9 to 13 all right reading from verse 9. it be careful however that the exercise of your right does not become a stumbling block to the weak for if someone with a weak conscience sees you with all your knowledge eating in an idol's temple wouldn't that person be embroidered to eat what is sacrificed or others so this weak brother or sister for whom christ died is destroyed by your knowledge when you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience you sin against christ therefore if what you eat causes your brothers sisters to fall into sin i will never admit again so that i will do i will not cause them to fall this is the second part of the writing from the passage here chapter eight first corinthians now paul what point saying this is this simple this is what he's saying he says take care that this liberty of yours this knowledge of yours by eating this meat being offered idols is not an issue to you if you prayed over it you know and god is sanctified but this liberty of yours eating of this meat does not somehow becomes a stumbling block to other younger christians or weaker christians so to say for if others see you who possess that knowledge to eat or not to eat eating a temple of idol might cause them to fall since their conscience is weak so this is what paul says in doing so you just sin against the members of your family and wound their conscience when it's weak you sin against christ by doing so therefore if food is the cause of the falling that's what paul says it says then it's preferably you do not eat at all so that you do not cause any of them to fall now this is what the passage writes so the teaching of paul here tells us very simply is that when we face with these tricky issues of this type particularly so in asia context the overriding principle for us is to live out is love consider love consider love for god and love others the overriding principle here that paul is trying to teach us this morning is of love love one another paul wants them to able to think through the issues for themselves and that means thinking hard about just who god is and what it means to love and serve him that's the question faith cannot be separated from our behavior we cannot believe something different in our heart than we show in our actions faith and works always go hand in hand we must leave to the glory of god and not give cause for somebody continue to sinful behavior simply because we have some sort of knowledge we cannot perform sinful actions with righteous knowledge we must love the faith and the conscience of others so we will not cause others to sin we must do all things in love while holding forth the truth and holding unto the truth that is one true god only and it's by him we live and move and have our being as in him who we will too have to give an account of our life so so we live in such a way that reflects our love and our belief while giving true conscience to the weaker brothers and sisters and becoming and not becoming a stumbling block to them and harming their faith and moving them to act against theirs conscience brown sisters eating food sacrifice to idols is not totally wrong as paul said it it does not and will not do anything to harm us when we partake of it however we will see that paul does not encourage to do it since if we do not glorify god in doing so and in doing so causes somebody else to sin so these are four principles here which we bring to a conclusion this morning of our sermon there are four simple principles that we remember from this passage teaching first principles having the right thing to do does not mean we're totally free to do anything in all circumstances regardless of its effect to others consider even those things that you do is right think about others too your right may be wrong for others two our liberty in christ should be voluntarily limited for the benefit of others not causing our sins because we choose to use our liberty we have to remember that liberty should be limited to live all right three continuously living in unity uh would sometimes lead for sacrifice of our own personal rights and liberty in order that our brand sisters do not sin the fourth point we have to avoid doing things that will make our brothers for weaker in faith to think less about our faith and would make an unbeliever to feel more at ease in his sin and continue to sin this is these are the four points this what this passage has taught us as question so in doing so be cautious and careful in how you react and how your life is your actions are so today's passage challenges us to make a faithful and deliberate choice to be a church and to be a people that builds up god's kingdom here on earth to be people of faith who are not well not only wanting our own comfort but comfort of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness also so that we can bring about justice and peace for all people in closing let me share with you this short passage from first corinthians chapter 10 verse 31 to 33 first corinthians chapter 10 verse 31-33 therefore paul wrote whether you eat or drink or whatever you do do all to the glory of god give no offense either to the jews or to the greeks or to the church of god just as i also please open all things not seeking my own benefit but the profit of many that they may be safe this is our sermon this morning so in the course of it as we are approaching our chinese new year celebration soon you know i think about what about two weeks or more smallest in doing so as christians as we celebrate always remember who we are and that our actions may lead to someone sinning because why we may know the knowledge of god's teaching on eating those food offered you know to others even some sometimes you might be indulged in too much of drinking and all this stuff those things may lead others to sin because they see us as christians doing that and they feel is wrong because they were the past life they left behind to follow christ so be very casual are careful in celebrating uh chinese new year and of course this year's celebration council may be a very uh well very low down kind of um a celebration due to the the pending pandemic is still raging in our country uh in the meantime my prayers are with you andy connie and i have been keeping y'all in prayers and you have been texting your individually calling your individually so if there's anything at all that you need us to help please by all means give us a call well we'll respond to you as soon as we can so in the meantime stay safe be healthy and enjoy the fellowship of the company of your family and may god bless you richly see you next week dear blessed brother and sisters irregardless of the time and the situation that we're in we always would want to give thanks and praise to god one of the ways that we can do so is by offering of our ties our love offerings our mission pledges to the church and as you understand and know that through this that's how god built up his kingdom and i pray that lord god bless you given this time now the difficulties that we are facing because of the pandemic that god will continue bless you and keep you so i'd like to encourage you the information for those online or you know transfers are down there on the screen at the bottom there which you can utilize to transfer your love offerings your tax and your your mission pledges and so forth to the church now for those of you that are not able to do so for whatever reason i don't understand don't worry about it you can keep it aside and bring it to the church when we open soon all right so in saying so my prayers are with you that god will keep you safe god will maintain your health and your family all right keep them safe during this difficult time so thank you for your love offering your gift of love to god and may our lord richly bless you amen praise god from whom all blessings flow receive all creatures here below praise him above ye heavenly host praise father son [Music] we thank god for his word this morning to us let's spend some time to reflect and think about the word god has given to us as we confess our faith as a church of god let's confess together god has made us people drop baptism into christ living together in trust and hope we confess our faith i believe in god the father almighty creator of heaven and earth i believe in jesus christ his only son our lord he was conceived by the power of the holy spirit born of the virgin mary he suffered unto pontius pilate was crucified die and was buried descended into hell and the third day he rose again he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father he will come again to judge the living and the dead i believe in the holy spirit the holy christian church the communion of saints and forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting amen let's pray together the prayer our lord taught of us our father in heaven hallowed be your name your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us save us our time a trial and deliver us from evil for the kingdom the power and the glory are yours now and forevermore amen congregation let us god in the name of the lord because god is so gracious to us we will serve him let's proclaim the good news in our words and our deeds let's go out to share the life god gave us let's receive the benediction from god in faith this morning the lord bless you and keep you the lord made his face shine on you and be gracious to you and your family the lord upon you with his favor and grant you his peace in the name of father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen go in peace and serve the lord the seriousness has now ended god bless you all and there's something bout the way your love shines on my face oh no i can never get enough of you this feeling [Music] take me away on this beautiful day it's a beautiful day a beautiful day