Whose Profit Are You Seeking
Bro David Rogers
Pastor Bethlehem Baptist Church
Winona MS
1 Corinthians 10:1-33
Prayer
Introduction
Today we are all rushing about working for that next pay raise. But what is that pay raise really going to profit us? We often can’t see the big picture for striving for something greater. Maybe we should have the attitude of this father. The young man was feeling very proud of himself. As a brand-new college graduate he had taken the C.P.A. Exams & passed with flying colors. Now he was a full-fledged Certified Public Accountant.
His father had been an immigrant to the U.S., & now owned his own little business. Filled with self-importance, the young man began to criticize his father’s way of keeping books. He said, “Dad, you don’t even know how much profit you’ve made. Over here in this drawer is your accounts receivable. Over there are your receipts, & you keep all your money in the cash register. You don’t have any idea how much you’ve made.”
The father answered, “Son, when I came to this country the only thing I owned was a pair of pants. Now, your brother is a doctor, your sister is an art teacher, & you are a C.P.A. Your mother & I own our home. We have a car, & we own this little business. Now add that up, subtract the pants, & all the rest is profit.”
What a great lesson when you take everything away that this world has to offer what is left is all the profit. When spend to much time looking at the short view of things and we need to begin to have a long view. Our Lord and master has such a view and it stretches out into eternity. While the world offers only what Satan considers profit. Satan promises the best, but pays with the worst;
He promises honor and pays with disgrace;
He promises pleasure and pays with pain;
He promises profit and pays with loss;
He promises life and pays with death.
I.what as Christians are we to do?
1.We are to avoid the mistakes of the Israel?
1.We must remember that we drink from the same spiritual cup as Israel which flowed from the Rock which was Jesus Christ.
1.We are not to displease God by:
1.craving evil things
2.having or to worship idols
3.acting immorally
4.trying the Lord by rebelling or not serving or worshiping Him
5.grumbling
2.We are to know better because Israel is an example for us.
1.The events that Israel went through has been written down for our instruction.
1.It is a blue print that we are to follow as we build our spiritual foundation and shows us the pitfalls and traps we are to avoid.
3.The time is short and we are to jealously protect our service and worship of the Lord. We are not to allow the world to interfere with our relationship with our Father in any way.
4.By doing so we too become that loyal and faithful servant. The one who wants to do their masters bidding, his will. We want to tell people about the one who loves them so much that He was willing to die for them on the cross. To pay a debt that they owe but could never pay.
5.We are not to be prideful in our service because then we fail just as a prideful Israel fell. They to said we are God’s special people see us to bad you can’t have what we have.
1.We must remember that it is not us who overcomes temptation but it is God Working within us who overcomes the temptation.
1.We must also remember that we have nothing to be prideful over because God has done it all.
1.He has given us salvation, our homes, jobs, things, money, children everything we have He has lent to us to use for His glory and honor.
2.Therefor we have nothing in which to take pride in because God has done it all He is allowing us to be a part of it.
II.Why are to to do this?
1.Because we are a part of the body of Christ.
1.We have shared in His death, burial, and resurrection.
2.We have partaken of His salvation
3.He has purchased us by His blood on the cross.
4.Verse 21 says we can not drink from Christ’s cup and from the cup of demons nor can we eat at the Lord’s table and the demon’s table to.
1.God says we must chose. He is a jealous god and he does not share.
2.When we become caught up in the problems of the world to the point where we forget God or place Him 2nd or third or less in our lives we are provoking Him. He has said He is to be number 1 in our lives. Israel provoked Him and had to face the consequences of a jealous God. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to face a jealous God.
III.How are we to Serve God?
1.Maybe like these two brothers who took the others welfare and place it before their own. Two brothers worked together on the family farm. One was married and had a large family. The other was single. At the day’s end, the brothers shared everything equally, produce and profit.
Then one day the single brother said to himself, ’’It’s not right that we should share equally the produce and the profit. I’m alone and my needs are simple." So each night he took a sack of grain from his bin and crept across the field between their houses, dumping it into his brother’s bin.
Meanwhile, the married brother said to himself, "It’s not right that we should share the produce and the profit equally. After all, I’m married and I have my wife and children to look after me in years to come. My brother has no one, and no one to take care of his future." So each night he took a sack of grain and dumped it into his single brother’s bin.
Both men were puzzled for years because their supply of grain never dwindled. Then one dark night the two brothers bumped into each other. Slowly it dawned on them what was happening. They dropped their sacks and embraced one another.
2.We are to in all things edify God.
1.If it does not bring honor and Glory to God we are not to do it. We are to flee from it. To run as fast and as far away as we can.
2.We are not to seek good or glory for ourselves but we are to seek good for our neighbors.
3.We are not to do anything that might cause a stumbling block for anyone else. We are to follow God’s words in our lives and not just read them. Imagine, if you will, that you work for a company whose president found it necessary to travel out of the country and spend an extended period of time abroad. So he says to you and the other trusted employees, “Look, I’m going to leave. And while I’m gone, I want you to pay close attention to the business. You manage things while I’m away. I will write you regularly. When I do, I will instruct you in what you should do from now until I return from this trip.”
Everyone agrees. He leaves and stays gone for a couple of years. During that time he writes often, communicating his desires and concerns. Finally he returns. He walks up to the front door of the company and immediately discovers everything is in a mess--weeds flourishing in the flower beds, windows broken across the front of the building, the gal at the front desk dozing, loud music roaring from several offices, two or three people engaged in horseplay in the back room. Instead of making a profit, the business has suffered a great loss.
Without hesitation he calls everyone together and with a frown asks, “What happened? Didn’t you get my letters?” You say, “Oh, yeah, sure. We got all your letters. We’ve even bound them in a book. And some of us have memorized them. In fact, we have ‘letter study’ every Sunday. You know, those were really great letters.”
I think the president would then ask, “But what did you do about my instructions?” And, no doubt the employees would respond, “Do? Well, nothing. But we read every one!”
4.We are not to offend anyone but strive to please all.
5.We are not to be seeking to profit ourselves but the profit of many. We are to be seeking others to tell them the Great news which is that Jesus Saves.
IV.Conclusion
1.are you striving to profit others
2.are you seeking others to tell them about Jesus
3.or are you lost and in need of salvation yourself.
