and invite you to take your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 10 this morning. 1 Corinthians 10, so appreciate the service thus far. I believe the Spirit of God is with us, don't you? I think he is here, and I think he is speaking to us. If he spoke to you during this time of preaching, if the Spirit of God spoke to your spirit, would you obey? Will you say to the Lord in your heart right now, God, whatever you say to me, I'll obey, I'll follow you. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 is where we're looking this morning. How do you walk on ice? Very carefully. How many of you came close in the last couple of weeks to having a fall? All right, I'm not gonna ask how many did, but I know some of you may have. I was taking a group of teenagers to Camp Kobiak and we had made it through a blizzard. My wife was with me and we were bringing a van with a trailer behind us, well stocked with teens, excited for camp, but I was exhausted. Camp Kobiak years ago had a very steep hill that came before the camp, and they've now since graded it down, but it was very steep. This particular day, they had had a lot of snow. Over a day or two, it had melted, and then frozen. And then on top of that, two, three layers of inches, inch layers of ice, there was a fresh, powdery snowfall. But we made it, right? We made it through the squalls. We made it through Highway 75. We took exit 227. Made our way all the way to Camp Colbeck. The sun had set, it was getting dark. We're making our way through the woods. They've even trimmed the trees. It used to be much denser, so it felt like you were going to Siberia. And as we were coming up, the big hill was coming, and I thought I'm gonna give it some gas. We're gonna make sure we get up that hill with this trailer, this van full of teens. They were clueless, but I was, you know, white knuckled, teeth gritting, making my way. And we go up the hill, and right at the very top, there's a bus stopped. And so I'm going to have to stop on top of this powdery snow, two, three inch layer of ice. And there we stopped. Slid back just a smidge, but we were there. Now, we weren't in the camp. We had to unload the kids. We had to get them to their cabins, and we had to get, but we were there, and it wasn't quite the entrance of the camp, and then one of the staff came over to my window. As I recall, I couldn't open the window. I had to pry open the door. And they said, yeah, if you could just get everybody out, we're gonna come around, we're gonna bring a four-wheeler, hook up our trailer to it, take it down and park it down below. But I don't know, we've gotta do something with this bus. Its wheels are spinning, it's not going anywhere. And so, okay, teens, we're all getting out. And first teen steps out, woo! Second teen, woo! Three, and my wife also. And all of a sudden, this reality, this is really slippery. I like gadgets, do you like gadgets, men? Especially men. I found this gadget and I was waiting to use it. It was called Yak Trax. You can buy them a lot of places still, things like this, but it was this rubber stringy thing you wrapped around your shoe, and in the bottom it had springs, and they gave you a grip on ice, and I was so excited to pull up my backpack, pull up the gloves, the scarf, and all this stuff. There they were. I had a tool. put them on, helped my wife and the other teens, the ones who couldn't walk on the ice, make their way safely. They took the trailer and eventually we made it through. But that was an awakening of how slippery ice can be. You know it, you've experienced it. We had some ice in our parking lot. When Paul was writing 1 Corinthians, these first century Christians needed help navigating slippery ground. And Paul was gonna share his own example. In fact, he did it in chapters eight and nine. He talked about his own personal sacrifice. He had given up the right to receive payment as a preacher of the gospel. He had given up his right to be married. He gives an example in chapter nine about how he made sacrifice and service of others his priority, and so he was willing to contract or expand his preferences for the sake of the gospel, and all of this was to teach the church at Corinth how that they were to live. how they were able to stand in this slippery world. Paul gives positive examples of himself. Okay, these are things he did. He personally made these decisions so that the gospel could go forward. And now, in chapter 10, he's going to give a negative example of a people who are also blessed, like the church of Corinth. He's gonna talk about the children of Israel. He's gonna give an Old Testament example, albeit negative, a negative example about a people who weren't as sure-footed as they thought they were. Because it resembled, in some ways, it resembled the church at Corinth and probably, probably represents us today. Sometimes we think we're sure-footed than we are. The presence of God's blessing doesn't guarantee that there will not be disastrous endings. Both Corinth, Corinth was a gifted church. They had received the gospel. They were genuine believers in the church. Now they had struggled. There had been some challenges after salvation. You remember they had gotten carnal and had divided themselves up into factions in the church. But there were also some other problems. There was some sexual sin that needed to be addressed in the church. And Paul has dealt with a lot of those areas. But there was another problem. They had grown overconfident. They thought because they were blessed. We're gonna find in chapter 12 that they were, they didn't have just spiritual gifts, but like everybody had a lot of gifts. They were a very gifted church. But though they had God's blessing, they had received salvation, though they were gifted in their service, they had become proud, and that pride, could be disastrous for them, just as it can be for us. So we need to watch our step, and we're gonna look at chapter 10 with that in mind, how you and I can watch our step. Or should I say, watch your slip? Verse one, it says, moreover, brethren, I would, not that you should be ignorant, how that our fathers, that's the Jews, were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. It's talking about the children of Israel and their exodus from Egypt, He says, I want you to know about this. These people experienced God's blessing. What kind of blessings did they receive? God delivered them. He says, they were under the cloud. That was God's presence. It was a cloud, but it was a reminder of God's presence with them. He says in verse two, and were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. And the picture here is when they crossed through the Red Sea, as the water made walls on the side and gave them dry ground in which to cross. Above them was this cloud that hovered over them. And he's saying, in a sense, they were baptized, okay? They were baptized to be disciples of Moses, to follow Moses. Verse three, he says, and all did eat the same spiritual meat. God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness. And what did he give them to eat? He gave them manna, he gave them food. And he says in verse four, and did all drink the same spiritual drink. God had provided water for them from a rock. He says, for they drank of that spiritual rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ. And so we have a revelation, right? The New Testament is explaining something in the Old. Sometimes you might say the word, well the Lord provided for them. Well it was actually the Lord Jesus Christ was there with them, providing for them. Not in visible, physical form, but it was God. God was there. Jesus Christ was there. There's a rabbinical tradition that there was actually a very large rock that followed behind them, and that that rock was their constant source of water, like a 15 foot high drinking fountain kind of idea. That's just a tradition. But what we do know is God's provision did follow them, it went with them, and that's what he's talking about here. Perhaps he's maybe alluding to that since he grew up a Pharisee. God has provided for them. They had received God's blessing. But look at verse five. But with many of them, God was not well pleased, for there were overthrown in the wilderness. So God had been faithful. They were a blessed people. But also, they were failures. They blew it. They messed up. God had provided the cloud and the sea and the manna And he provided the rock that provided water for them. But we find their failures in verse five, gives us a reference to Numbers chapter 11, verse 13. You don't need to turn there. But when they were dissatisfied with what God had provided for them, they weren't happy with the manna, they wanted meat. Give me meat. And they complained and cried out to God, and the Bible tells us that they received God's judgment. We find in verse seven, the Lord plagued the people because they made a calf. He's speaking of idolatry. In verse nine, it says the people, verse nine, he says, neither let us tempt Christ as some did of them and tempted and were destroyed of serpents. Verse eight, neither let us commit fornication. And he speaks of their independence. He speaks of their idolatry. He speaks of their immorality. And he speaks of their discontentment. In verse 10, is the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against the Lord? That's what it tells us in number 16. They developed a critical spirit. So Paul is addressing the sins of the people of Israel, and he's making an application to the church at Corinth. And you would say, well, maybe you think what the church at Corinth might think. Well, that was a long time ago, and that was a different dispensation. We're now under grace. We've received the gospel. Christ has already died and buried and risen again. Now we have Christian liberty, woo-hoo! And the Apostle Paul is actually turning their minds and their hearts back to Israel as an example, and he says, just as God at times dealt severely with the Israelites, so the same can be true today of you, church. So let's read through, verses five through nine. But with many of them, God was not well pleased. for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these were our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted, verse seven, neither be idolaters, when the idol-worshiping feasts were common in Corinth, no doubt they received invitations and some of them would attend a feast with the intent of worshiping idols. He says, as it is written, the people sat down to eat and to drink, and they rose up to play. And it's kind of a picture of after these idolatrous feasts, they would have a time of kicking back, relaxing, and enjoying themselves. And he says, that's what you did. Verse eight, neither let us commit fornication. That's sex outside of the bounds of marriage, as some of them committed. This was common in the city of Corinth. Remember, to Corinthianize was to be immoral. That was what the term meant in their day and age. So it was to be immoral. The temple of Aphrodite had some 1,000 temple prostitutes who were there. It was common in this day. And he gives warning from Israel's example. Don't follow that example. That's what it says in Numbers chapter 25. The people began to commit whoredom, and he likens it, he says, and the people under the sacrifices of their gods, even in the Old Testament, there was a link between immorality and idolatry. And that was what was taking place in Corinth. And then verse nine, neither let us tempt Christ. Some of them also tempted and were destroyed of the serpents. And you say, wait a minute, Christ? Well, that's Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Messiah. We don't have him physically present in the Old Testament, but make no mistake, when they sinned against God, they were sinning against the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul is bringing the Old Testament, he's pulling it out of the pages of the ancient dust, and he's bringing it into the light of the Corinthian church. He's saying, just like they were, so are you. You're walking on slippery ground. You need to be sure-footed. Look what it says in verse 10. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. This is alluding to Numbers chapter 16, verse 41. When the people were critical of Moses and Aaron, it says the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. And Paul is essentially saying, in these instances, Israel answered to God. He judged them. And just as God had judged Israel, hello church, hello Church of Corinth, hello Blue Book Bible Church, we are just as accountable to the Lord. We know that God lovingly chastises his children, but God does deal with sin. And what we find by the example of Israel is that God takes sin seriously. Do we? Did the church at Corinth? Obviously, they had some issues. Some things they were willing to look over. There were some sins maybe they were concerned about, other ones not so bad. But God takes sin seriously. Seriously. So, verse 11, we find that we have something to learn, as the Church of Corinth did. Now, all these things happen unto them for examples, or examples. And they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. So God has included in all of your Bible, his inspired truth. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it's profitable. It's helpful. And Paul says, as I'm pulling out these Old Testament examples, before you write them off and you say, well, that was then, that's not us today. He says, no, no, no. They are included in your scriptures, because scripture is sufficient. And it will deal with life, and it will deal with sin. Scripture is sufficient. And he says, these examples I've given to you are to admonish you, to teach you, to educate you, to learn from. So guess what, church? There's something for us to learn from God's Word today, from all of God's Word. They're not portions of God's Word we can say, well, that was for such a time back then. There are many people who like to either dismiss the Bible or reinterpret the Bible. They look at the world and culture today, and you say, well, here is our truth today. We're going to try to twist the meaning and try to reinterpret scripture to match. No, no, no. God's word is final. It is the authority, and we are accountable to it. It's sufficient. So we have something to learn. Just like the Church of Corinth, we can profess Christ, we can perform the ordinances, and he gave the examples of Israel's baptism. Now, it was just an illustration, but in a sense, he says in the same way, these people have believed on Jesus Christ. In a sense, they have followed him in obedience to baptism, that's one of the ordinances. The other ordinance that we celebrate as a local church, we just had a few moments ago, it's called the Lord's Table. Those are our two ordinances. And you can be a professing believer, you can participate in the ordinances, like, have you been baptized after you were saved? And you receive the Lord's table with your congregation. You can profess Christ, can perform these ordinances, yet the question Paul is gonna be asking the Church of Corinth is, does your life give proof to your faith? Is there evidence by your life of your faith? There's a temptation, isn't there? because I'm in Jesus Christ, because I'm a recipient of his grace, to live as I please. Hey, I'm free, I'm saved. I've got nothing to worry about. I've purchased my ticket to heaven. The fact is, you didn't purchase it at all. It came by God's grace. And rather than see your liberty as your opportunity, understand it's a responsibility. Your liberty in Jesus Christ is a responsibility. Are you living recklessly? Are you living rebelliously? Are you the kind of person that likes to go as close to the line as you can without going over? Oh, oh, I did, oh, I stepped over, nobody saw that. Are you that kind of person? I mean, it probably started in the third grade, right? You were thinking, hmm, teacher turned their back, I'm gonna do a cartwheel, hop back in my chair. Are you that person, you know, junior high? Everybody in a straight line for PE, and you're like, I'm gonna stand backwards, you know. Is that you? You've always had this itch to rebel? It's kind of funny in life. It's kind of sobering when you talk about the church. Because the one you're rebelling against is the Lord Jesus Christ. God takes sin seriously. And you might joke and laugh and take in the sinful culture and you say, ah, it's not so bad. God takes it seriously. And he gives us examples of Israel who flirted with the world, who enjoyed the pleasures of the world, and they paid the price severely. And Paul is trying to capture the attention of the Corinthian church and he's saying, guess what, church, the same applies to you. He's given himself as a positive example of somebody who limited himself or expanded himself for the gospel's sake. And now he's gonna appeal to the church, make sure you're living a life that honors the Lord for holiness' sake, for the glory of God's sake. So we have things to learn. What happens when you live recklessly and you live rebelliously? You fall. We don't have time to list the names of those in our generation who were once faithful, godly Christians, preaching, proclaiming, teaching, and instructing the church of Jesus Christ who had serious faults. There are books in my shelf. I've kept them because they're good books. But my heart breaks when I see the names. Those who once were faithful followers, you say, well, that was them. It must have been pride that got to them. It must have been those secret sins all along. Hey, the Bible tells us in verse 12, wherefore, okay, this is everybody, let him that thinketh, he standeth, take heed, lest he fall. Who's that? That's us. We think we're gonna be okay. So Paul makes this application to the church. Three things, we can be overconfident, We can think, well, it'll never happen to me. My marriage would never break apart. I would never indulge in that sin. I would never steal money from my business. I would never lie on my taxes. I would never let he that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. I would never abuse someone else. Let he that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. We can become overconfident. We can also be unprepared. And we can become self-indulgent. And that's the case of the children of Israel. That was the case in the Church of Corinth. And that can be the case of Biblical Bible Church. We can become overconfident, we can be underprepared, and we can become self-indulgent. And what happens when that's true? You fall. Let me give you an example, okay? How many times did you go out to eat this week? How many times do you attend a church service this week? Have you filled your mind with the media but you've starved yourself of the scriptures? But he that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. In each of our lives, somebody has likened it to two dogs. Think of two pit bull, rottweiler, mastiff mixes, okay? One's name's flesh and one's name's spirit. And after 30 days, they're gonna have a little fight. Who's gonna win? The one you feed. If you feed the flesh, guess who's stronger? If you starve the spirit, guess who's weaker? You say, I keep falling, pastor, I can't help it. I just keep falling into sin over and over and over again. I just don't know what to do. Here's the answer. Stop feeding the flesh and start feeding the spirit. and your spirit will grow strong. And the problem and the challenge for the church there and the church here is that many times we spend our lives feeding our flesh and we're spiritual weaklings. So how do you walk on ice? The world is slippery. We don't wanna fall, do we? So two thoughts. Number one, learn it. I mean, learn about ice. You live in a world, you don't have to become an expert in the world to understand worldliness, but understand the world is a slippery place. It's not easy to stand for Christ in this world. So you're gonna have to learn it. That means seeing the danger. That's what he's getting at in verses 11 and 12. He's given us these examples. Examples positive, examples negative in scripture. When you see somebody else who makes decisions that are disastrous, that's not the moment for you to get on your high horse and become judgmental. That's the moment for you to fall on your knees and ask God to protect you. Oh God, keep me from falling. We need stability. When you walk on ice, it's best to walk flat-footed. Not on your tiptoes, not on your heels, but to be flat-footed. allowing the biggest surface of your foot to be applied to the ground. It's just a matter of science. They encourage short steps when walking on ice. And as a Christian, it's true too. Be careful. The word of God is sufficient. It gives us what we need. It gives us truth and it gives us traction. I mentioned a couple Sunday nights ago about crampons. These were the tools that advanced mountain climbing tremendously. In the mid to late 1800s, people began mountain climbing. Now, they had climbed before, but they had not been very successful at mountain climbing until the invention of these things. Much like my yak tracks, crampons are those spiky things the mountain climbers put on the bottom of their feet, they buckle them on, and that, with a pickaxe in hand, allows them to conquer mountains. And anybody who has topped a 14-footer or Mount Everest, every one of them is wearing these things on their feet, crampons. They look like bear claws, you know, they're there to give grip. Christian, you need grip when walking in slippery places. This world is slippery. We need God's grip, which comes from God's word. We need to live in obedience to his Holy Spirit. So we learn, we learn about the ice. But we also learn about the provisions God has given to us. You think about what God gave Israel. He had given them an escape. He had given them His presence, that cloud. He had given them food to eat and He had provided water for them. With all of these blessings, is it possible for them to fall? Well, obviously, they did. Think of how many blessings you and I have today. As citizens of the United States of America, we have freedom of religion. Most of us have one, two, three, four, maybe even five Bibles, each of us, per person. You have access to the word of God. You get to come to church today without threat of your life being taken when you step back out in that parking lot. Nobody's gonna haul you into the police station, as they're doing today in parts of the Middle East, and they're saying, if you dare, if you ever, if you share your faith, We will imprison you, we will send your wife and children back to their country, your daughters will be married off, your sons will be abused, and your wife will be raped. For what? Preaching the gospel. It's happening, it's happening today. In the Middle East, it's happening. But none of you came with that fear this morning. You're not worried about that. We have freedom. We have freedom to live for God, to serve God. But the danger is that we take those freedoms for granted. The privileges you've been given of gathering together with people who believe on Jesus Christ, who've received Christ, the privilege of prayer, that you can actually break through the veil of eternity. Prayer spans time. It transcends space. and it breaks through into an eternal realm, and you and I have this privilege of communicating with the Creator God, through His Savior Son, by the indwelling Holy Spirit. You have that privilege. And with all these privileges, we can become, well, satisfied. We can become callous. We can become Dangerously self-certain. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed, lest he fall. Number one, lean in. Number two, or number one, learn it. Number two, lean in. It's also important when you walk on ice, don't put your hands in your pocket, keep them free, and lean forward. In the Christian life, we're privileged to lean in and put our dependence on somebody other than ourselves. Look with me at verse 13. There's 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 of escape, that ye may be able to bear it. In the middle of that verse, don't miss this passage, it says, God is faithful. God can be trusted. And he says, whatever temptation you may experience in this life, you can be certain other people have experienced that as well. In fact, our Lord Jesus Christ himself was tempted like we are, yet without sin. He understood temptation. He understood testing. There's different types of temptation. There's temptations to disobey God, to sin, to please yourself. There's also going to be seasons of testing where you may, like Israel did, tempt Christ or doubt God. But what do we find in the midst of every testing, in the midst of every temptation, there is always Christian, a faithful God, and you can trust Him. Lean into Him. There's one commentator wrote, he said he was on a mountain road, and he was riding in a cart, being pulled by a horse. And that road that went up that mountain had scarcely an inch on each side of the wheels. And the man in the cart said, would you care to get out and walk behind? And the commentator made the comment, he says, other people have traveled this road, I might as well stay here. In the same way, you and I are gonna experience temptations other people have had. And with God's grace, with his faithfulness, they passed. They kept going. They didn't fall. And you and I have the privilege, right, of saying, well, I can make it, I can overcome sin on my own. No, you can't. The same grace of Jesus Christ that saves us is the same grace of God that keeps. And you're going to need to depend upon him, to trust in him, to rest in him. You can have great faith on thin ice and fall through the lake every time, but you can have a paltry faith on thick ice and have nothing to worry about. See, I have such little faith, but there's thick ice. You're not going through. And when we put our confidence and faith in the world, you can have great faith in the world, and guess what? You're gonna fall through every time. When you have great confidence in yourself, you're gonna fall through every time. But when you have even just a little bit of faith in the faithfulness of God, my friend, you're gonna stand. And so you must trust him. The self-reliant and the self-indulgent are sure to slip. And that's the picture we have here. The Corinthians were tempted to live for themselves, to satisfy themselves, to please themselves. And what has God offered to them? Help. He has a hand reaching out. I will help you. You can stand with me. But God is faithful who will not suffer. has to be tempted, above that ye are able, but will with the temptation make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it. And the idea of the combination of escape and bear it is this, it's to bear under it, to carry it, to continue on. And sometimes God gives you an out and you can get away from that temptation. Sometimes, if it's a time of testing, you're gonna keep on going through it. But he's gonna supply you with the strength and with the grace, with his mercy, to keep trudging along in his faithfulness. Two weeks ago, Pastor Mayer and I and our wives were at a conference in Ankeny, Iowa, and they received a good ice storm while we were there. It was Thursday morning, and I went to go out and start our car. It looked like maybe some ice had formed on the windshield, and I stepped out of the Airbnb we were staying at, just around the corner from the college there, and I saw the steps, the porch were very slippery. I was just very careful, but then I stepped in the top of the driveway, which sloped down to the road. And I slid down to the road. Like this. And I just slid all the way down, 15, 20 feet. People were driving by just watching me. There I slide. Carefully made my way to the car, had a couple of those moments. Not in the stomach for the rest of the day, you know how that goes. Got the car started, was gonna thaw the ice, and I thought, Holly's gotta get out here. Went back in to get my Bible and my wife, and I said, now when we go out, You have to step on the icy porch, but just be careful. You can step off the porch and take a big step down. There's a patch where there's like a flower garden when it's not winter. And step on the dirt. And I said, if you go along the front of the garage, there's a spot where there's not any ice. And then there's a couple of big toter trash cans. We have to go around the trash cans. And then you're on grass. and you can walk down the grass safely. And then you're gonna come to a sidewalk, and that sidewalk is there right before our car. You're gonna have to leap it. I said, or I can lift you. She says, I'll leap it. And she did. You say, whoa, what a great husband you are. You should have just picked her up and carried her. She wouldn't have trusted me to do that. But the same is true for those of you who have experienced testing and temptation in your life. Not to your credit, but to the grace of God, you've made it over some icy patches. It's your privilege then to do as the Apostle Paul did and say, I want you to follow my lead. I want you to learn from me. And that's exactly what he did with the church at Corinth. He said, I want you to learn. First of all, by his positive example, but also by Israel's negative example. If you're not careful, you're gonna fall. And it's not just going to affect you and your life, it's gonna affect your family and your church, and it's gonna affect the lost community around. Because you remember, he's talking about the gospel, and he's gonna come back to that before the chapter ends. He's very concerned with the watching world. He's concerned about the lost souls and how they see the church. And if they see the church slipping and sliding and diving and crashing, They're gonna say, what hope is there in Christ? Look at you people, living recklessly, living rebelliously. Why would I trust your Christ? And the Apostle Paul so carefully gives counsel and advice. Let me give you three principles to take with you this morning. Number one, it's slippery everywhere, every day. Stand firm. Number two, while Christian liberty may include variation, godliness is not open to interpretation. Number three, love regulates liberty. The freedoms you have as a Christian, according to Paul, should be regulated by your love for Christ and for others. And then number four, liberty, notice this, this is the most important one this morning from this passage, liberty requires purity. Are you overconfident? Are you self-sufficient? Are you self-indulgent? Are you underprepared? plan to fall. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall. Paul made some radical choices, right? He went without payment, he went without marriage, and he went without food sometimes. He paid the price. Those were radical choices. What he is asking the church of Corinth to do were actually reasonable choices. These weren't crazy. These were like say no to your flesh and say yes to Jesus. This is just how Christians are supposed to live. The Lord Jesus Christ enables us to stand steady because of his faithfulness. His cross, he died, was buried, not just for eternal salvation, but for daily victory. God wants you to learn, and he wants you to lean, trusting in Jesus Christ. Sin has devastating consequences, doesn't it? It destroys lives, destroys homes, destroys churches. For Israel, Disaster. Church at Corinth, it could have been very dangerous. For the American church, for us, we have to watch out. Paul's concern is in the end of chapter nine, verse 27. Remember, he was using a sporting analogy, an athletic analogy, talking about running. And he says, 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. Paul says, I don't want to be disqualified from the race. And now in chapter 10, he's saying to the Church of Corinth, I don't want you to be disqualified. I don't want you to be cast away. I don't want you to fall down on your face, on your faith. What happens when you live a careless Christianity, a sloppy spirituality? You got your Bible in one hand and your beer in another. You've got your praise on Sunday and your porn on Monday. You've got Sunday school attendance, but you doubt God's goodness. You're calling on God in prayer, but you're criticizing saints with a sneer. Paul's appeal is simply this, repent, you've fallen. God will help you up. Christ will help you to stay up. You say, well, that's not me. Take heed. Father, thank you for your word, and I thank you for Paul's clear speaking. We don't want to be proud and self-sufficient. We don't want to put ourselves in danger. We need to realize we are on slippery ground. We're gonna need something more than we have to stand. I pray, Father, that we would be awakened to our own carelessness, our own pride, our own self-sufficiency this morning. Father, I pray that you would protect me I pray that you would protect this church. There are souls at stake, and there's the glory of God. We don't want to live for ourselves anymore. Father, there may be one here today who has personally never trusted Christ. They sin, and because of their sin, they're going to suffer eternally unless they're saved. I thank you that Jesus Christ loved them, died for them. Like he did for me, he'll save them if they'll come by faith and receive him. Speak now to us, help us to keep our commitment to obey you. Where you have spoken to us by your Holy Spirit, with our spirit, help us to do business. In Jesus' name, amen.