Learn From History - 10:1-13
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Introduction
Introduction
Have Joseph and Everett hold up the time line.
Go through some of what we can learn from the chart.
Who all would have known Adam, Abraham, Moses, etc.
How long China has existed.
We can learn a lot from history, if we are willing to.
There are two requirements to learn from history.
First, we must be students of history.
You can’t learn from something you are ignorant of.
Second, we must understand what history teaches.
Knowing that events took place is different than knowing why those events took place.
It is the “why” that Paul is interested in here.
As Paul deals with the topic of Christian liberty, or freedom in Christ, he understands that exercising our freedom brings with it a temptation to abuse that freedom.
To help deal with that temptation Paul is going to teach some lessons from the history of Israel.
Principle:
Temptation can be endured.
Guidance:
To endure temptation we must learn three lessons.
Outcome:
Enduring temptation frees us to live in bold obedience.
Bold obedience creates gospel opportunities.
3 lessons from the history of Israel.
Lesson #1…
1. Spiritual Experience Doesn’t Make You Spiritual vv. 1-5
1. Spiritual Experience Doesn’t Make You Spiritual vv. 1-5
I once spoke with someone who built their hope of heaven on an experience they had.
That person is not alone.
Far too many people are trusting in an experience.
They are not trusting in Jesus.
If someone is trusting in a vision of Jesus to save them, and not in His death, burial, and resurrection, they are not saved.
Experience can be very beneficial, but it can also be dangerous.
And so, we must learn that spiritual experience doesn’t make you spiritual.
Why not?
Two reasons.
Reason #1…
a. Experiences fade vv. 1-4
a. Experiences fade vv. 1-4
1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea,
2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
3 all ate the same spiritual food,
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
There are four experiences that we find here.
First is the experience of…
Physical deliverance
The experience Paul references is when the nation of Israel was delivered from Egypt.
Let’s look at two passages in Exodus.
Exodus 13:21
21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.
God led the Israelites with a cloud during the day.
Now look at Exodus 14:22.
Exodus 14:22
22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
A couple verses later we are told how God used the pillar of cloud to trouble the Egyptians.
All the Israelites were under the cloud and passed through the sea.
What an experience!
What incredible protection from God!
We too may experience the physical deliverance of God.
The problem with physical deliverance is that it is temporary.
Eventually, we will need to be delivered again.
This experience did not make the Israelites spiritual.
Physical deliverance doesn’t make us spiritual.
Let’s look at the next experience.
A spiritual high
The Israelite nation got to be led by the one to whom God revealed His Law!
Baptism implies a change and a commitment.
This baptism was through the cloud as they followed it and through the sea as they walked on dry land.
They became different people.
What an incredible Spiritual experience!
The problem with a spiritual high is this.
You always come crashing back down.
That’s exactly what Israel did.
When we trust in experience over Scripture our spiritual journey becomes a roller coaster.
The third experience was
Miraculous provision
vv. 3-4a
Paul seems to be referencing the manna and the water from the rock.
Exodus 16:14-15
14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.
God gave them water from a rock twice.
First at the beginning of their journey.
Exodus 17:5-6
5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go.
6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
God also gave them water from a rock at the end.
Numbers 20:7-8
7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.”
God miraculously provided for the nation of Israel as they journeyed through the wilderness.
Yet, this experience did not make them spiritual.
They ate a food no one else has ever enjoyed!
They watched water come out of a rock!
After they ate and drank, they forgot.
God’s provision for us can be easily forgotten we find ourselves in need again.
The final experience is
The presence of Christ
Here Paul gives us a new perspective.
The rock from which the water flowed was Christ!
He is the source of all provision!
This is the ultimate picture of God’s final provision for all mankind.
Our greatest need is fulfilled only in Christ.
And yet, even the presence of Christ can be turned away from.
Experiences fade.
Physical deliverance must be repeated.
Food and water must be sought again.
The presence of Christ may be felt strongly one day and not the next.
Experience is not the source of our confidence!
Experience is a supplement to what Scripture reveals.
Experience can reinforce Scripture.
However, experience must never be allowed to replace Scripture.
A spiritual experience does not make you spiritual for two reasons.
Reason #1. experiences fade.
Reason #2…
b. Experiences lie v. 5
b. Experiences lie v. 5
5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
An outside observer would have looked at everything Israel experienced and conclude that God was pleased with them.
After all, look at all the experiences they had!
Experience doesn’t please God.
It may have looked to others like they were pleasing God.
After all, He was blessing them.
But these verse tells us that God was not pleased with all of them.
In fact, most of them did not please God.
Why not?
Experience is not what pleases God.
Obedience is what He requires.
These verses teach us a very important lesson.
There are consequences for actions.
If we are not walking with the Lord, if we are not living by His standards, we are not pleasing Him.
No matter what experience we might have.
Spiritual experience does not make you spiritual because experiences fade and they lie.
3 lessons from the history of Israel.
Lesson #1. Spiritual experience doesn’t make you spiritual.
Lesson #2…
2. Personal Obedience Is What God Desires vv. 6-11
2. Personal Obedience Is What God Desires vv. 6-11
The nation of Israel has a unique and special relationship with the Lord.
In that relationship, many incredible experiences were enjoyed by the nation of Israel.
However, as we will see, those experiences did not achieve a lasting change in the people.
God has saved us by His grace so that He can have a relationship with us.
Relationships are not built off of extraordinary experiences.
Relationships are built through daily investment of time and attention.
Our relationship with the Lord is no different.
As our Father, God has our best interests at heart.
He has a plan and purpose for our lives.
His plan and purpose requires our obedience.
How do we achieve personal obedience?
We must understand 3 concepts.
Concept #1…
a. Obedience is learned v. 6
a. Obedience is learned v. 6
6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
People sometimes ask what the purpose of the Old Testament is, here we are given one of the answers to that question.
Everything endured by the nation of Israel was to serve as examples to us.
We are expected to learn from history.
The nation of Israel had incredible experiences!
Yet they did not please God and some of them died as a result.
What was it that lead to their demise?
Desire.
They allowed their desires to be taken off of Christ and onto evil things.
We learn from the experience of Israel to guard our desires.
Why is this necessary?
Because of Jeremiah 17:9.
Jeremiah 17:9
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
This is why we cannot trust our experiences!
They may have been fabricated by our own sinful heart!
Don’t fall prey to the desires of the heart.
Learn obedience by examining history.
Obedience is what God desires and it must be learned.
If we are going to achieve personal obedience we must understand 3 concepts.
Concept #1. Obedience is learned.
Concept #2…
b. Obedience is required vv. 7-10
b. Obedience is required vv. 7-10
7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”
8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell;
9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;
10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
Every single thing mentioned here has the consequence listed with it.
How do we know that obedience is required?
Because there are consequences for disobedience.
Let’s break these down.
Idolatry
Lost focus - False worship leads to a lost focus.
When we see the phrase “as it is written” we are looking at a reminder of history.
The actions of the Israelites are written down for all of us to learn from.
They eat and drink and play instead of serve the Lord.
This is a specific reference to the worship of the golden calf made by Aaron in Exodus 32.
They forgot God.
They willingly ignored all He had done, instead the focused on their own desires.
All idolatry is rooted in a worship of self.
When we place our own wants and desires ahead of Christ, we are guilty of idolatry.
Immorality
They committed sexual immorality.
This is the same root word Paul has been using since Ch. 5.
Sexual purity is a big deal!
It is a tool used by Satan to make us ineffective in the Christian life!
In a culture that is obsessed with sex and sexuality, our Christ-honoring morality will stand out.
Lost purity - This lead to death. Directly.
Fell = euphemism for death.
Death was the direct result of their behavior.
23,000 died! Numbers 25.
Sexual sin leads to spiritual bondage and death.
Every time. No exceptions.
You will not be the one person who it doesn’t destroy.
If you are caught in sexual bondage, come talk to me. There is hope.
Discontent
Several times in Exodus Moses accuses the people of tempting the Lord.
The particular instance Paul is referencing here is found in Numbers 21:5-6.
Numbers 21:5-6
5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.”
6 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
They tempted the Lord, they put Him to the test by doubting His ability to care for them!
The way they were spared from this was to look at a bronze serpent made by Moses (vv. 8-9) which we are told in John’s gospel was a type of Christ.
We look to Christ for salvation.
What happened here?
Lost reverence.
To tempt Christ is to treat Him as something other than the Lord of the universe.
When we doubt His ability to do what He has promised, we tempt Christ.
Our lack of faith leads to destruction.
Complaining
Complain – γογγύζω (gongyzō) grumble; murmur. to grumble v. — to make complaining remarks or noises under one’s breath. Finite verb, present, active, imperative, second person, plural.
Complain – γογγύζω (gongyzō)
Lost care - They no longer cared for anyone but themselves.
This started shortly after they left Egypt under miraculous circumstances.
They leave in Exodus Ch. 12, the Red Sea crossing is in Exodus 14 and they have already started to question God.
God leads them through the sea, they sing songs of praise in Ch. 15, then we have this is Ch. 16.
Exodus 16:2
2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
We are guilty of this aren’t we?
We complain.
Scripture is very clear on this.
Philippians 2:14
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,
It is never appropriate to complain.
So why do we do it? Why do we complain?
We forget God's past faithfulness
-Israel forgot what God had just done!
We ignore God's present provision
-They had Moses leading them!
We doubt God's future power
-They couldn’t see past the present difficulty.
What’s the solution?
Remember God’s past faithfulness = praise book.
Observe God’s present provision = stop and look.
Anticipate God’s future power = faithful in the past and never changing
Christ didn’t die for me so I could complain.
He died to conform me to the image of Christ.
Obedience is required.
Failure to obey always leads to consequences.
God loves us too much to let us get away with disobedience.
Idolatry, Immorality, Discontent, Complaining.
These will not be tolerated.
Brothers and sisters, we must be ruthless in cutting these behaviors out of our lives.
If we are going to achieve personal obedience we must understand 3 concepts.
Concept #1. Obedience is learned.
Concept #2. Obedience is required.
Concept #3…
c. Obedience is informed v. 11
c. Obedience is informed v. 11
11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
Paul returns here to his statement from v. 6.
The things that Israel endured were recorded so that we might learn from them.
We need to be admonished, instructed, by these things.
What instruction do we gain?
Having spiritual experiences does not make someone spiritual, we must obey the Lord.
This demands something of us.
Know the consequences of disobedience.
This isn’t a threat.
There are consequences for everything.
When we disobey traffic laws, we get a ticket.
When we ignore the law of gravity, we get hurt.
When we play with fire, we get burned.
When we disobey, there are consequences.
The things Israel endured hold lessons for us.
We are to be corrected and instructed by their experience.
Paul ends this verse by reminding us that we live in a unique time.
Everything that was prophesied to take place before the second coming of Christ has been fulfilled.
We are not waiting for any more prophecy to be fulfilled before Christ returns.
What does this mean?
Christ could return at any moment.
We live in the end of the ages.
We need to learn from history.
We must live in obedience to Christ so that when He returns He finds us faithfully serving Him.
If we are going to achieve personal obedience we must understand 3 concepts.
Concept #1. Obedience is learned.
Concept #2. Obedience is required.
Concept #3. Obedience is informed.
3 lessons from the history of Israel.
Lesson #1. Spiritual experience doesn’t make you spiritual.
Lesson #2. Personal obedience is what God desires.
Lesson #3…
3. Dependence On Christ Makes Obedience Possible vv. 12-13
3. Dependence On Christ Makes Obedience Possible vv. 12-13
We have seen very clearly that obedience is what God requires.
Yet each of us knows that our obedience is imperfect.
So what do we do?
This is where Paul takes the discussion in our final verses this morning.
These two verses are the key to understanding this section.
Remember, Paul is talking about freedom in Christ.
What does the history of Israel have to do with freedom in Christ?
This is where we make that connection.
We must obey.
We must depend on Christ to obey.
How does dependence on Christ make obedience possible?
Dependence has 2 requirements.
Requirement #1…
a. Dependence requires attention v. 12
a. Dependence requires attention v. 12
12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
Therefore - what’s it therefore.
In light of everything Paul has just discussed.
In light of the reality that we all have spiritual experiences.
In light of the fact that we all are called to walk in obedience.
In light of the fact that Christ could return at any moment!
In light of all that, how should we live?
We have to pay attention to ourselves.
That’s what Paul means here.
We need to know the sin that so easily besets us.
We need to know our own areas of vulnerability.
Take heed.
Take heed – βλέπω (blepō) see. to watch carefully v. — to be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful. Finite verb, present, active, imperative, third person, singular.
Take heed – βλέπω (blepō)
Pay attention to yourself or you will fall.
Want to use your freedom in Christ?
Know your own weakness.
This is where our enemy is going to attack us.
He is going to attack our areas of weakness.
To adequately defend them, we must know what they are.
If you want to stand firm in the faith, be on guard against falling.
Dependence on Christ requires us to pay attention to those areas in which we need the most help.
The picture is like leading someone who is blind.
We need to pay attention to the path so that we know how to lead them.
We need to know when to take their arm and when to have them lean on us.
Pay attention to your path so that you know when to lean on Christ!
In our greatest need, we depend on Christ.
He is always going to come through.
He will never let us down.
Obedience is only possible as we depend on Christ.
Dependence has 2 requirements.
Requirement #1. Dependence requires attention.
Requirement #2…
b. Dependence requires acceptance v. 13
b. Dependence requires acceptance v. 13
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
If we are going to depend on the Lord, we must accept that we are in a trial, in a time of testing.
Accepting the truth about our trial helps us to depend on the Lord.
5 ideas we must accept.
First idea.
Accept that your temptation is common.
Others have been here before you.
This means we have no excuse for not seeking help.
This also means victory is possible because others have been victorious.
The body of Christ is essential for victory over sin.
Every human has faced the same struggles.
Our trials are not unique.
Second idea.
Accept that God is faithful.
He is at work in this situation!
He is faithful!
When we depend on Him, He is not going to let us fall!
Personalize that with me: When I depend on Him, God will never let me fall.
God is faithful!
Even if I don’t feel it.
Even when things don’t go how I want.
Even when there is turmoil and uncertainty.
Even when I fail.
God is faithful.
Third idea.
Accept that God limits temptation.
He will not allow temptation to exceed your ability to resist with His help.
God does not tempt - entice to fall.
God does test - reveal our strength and weakness.
Temptation and testing are under the sovereign hand of God.
He will not allow testing to go beyond our ability to resist.
Therefore, if we are tempted beyond our ability, we are not depending on the Lord.
Fourth idea.
Accept that God has an escape route.
There is an end to the trial.
With temptation there is a way to escape.
There is a way out.
This test was not intended to last forever.
Though it may seem endless, though it is difficult to bear, the trial has an end.
Fifth idea.
Accept that trials must be endured.
The end of this verse is very important.
“That you may be able to bear it.”
We bear trials, we do not run from them.
The escape God offers is not a get out of temptation free card!
The escape is the ability to endure.
There is an end and when we depend on the Lord we are able to endure.
God is faithful. He has already provided a way of escape.
It is there, we can endure. If we depend on the Lord.
Accept the reality of the trial and endure.
Exercising our freedom in Christ will bring times of testing.
That testing is common, God is faithful, He limits testing, there is an escape, we can endure.
Depend on the Lord.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Exercising our freedom in Christ will bring times of testing.
It will bring temptation.
It is important that we face those temptations having learned the lessons of history.
Today we examined three lessons.
#1 - Spiritual experience doesn’t make you spiritual.
Experiences are great, but they cannot be trusted exclusively.
All experience must be subjected to the truth of Scripture.
If an experience contradicts clear Scripture, reject it.
#2 - Personal obedience is what God desires.
We must learn from the mistakes of others.
Scripture is full of lessons we can learn from the consequences others have faced.
When Christ returns, will He find us faithfully serving?
#3 - Dependence on Christ makes obedience possible.
I cannot obey in my own strength because my sin nature is always at war with my new nature.
What I must do is depend on the Holy Spirit and His power to enable me to walk in obedience.
As we guard our hearts and depend on the Lord we can endure any trial.
What commitment would God have you make today?
COMMITMENT:
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
Build your faith on the Word of God, not experience.
Obey, especially when it is hard.
Through dependence on Christ, endure every test.
Learn from history the lesson of bold obedience.
As we do, they will ask the reason for the hope that lies within us.
That is your gospel opportunity.
At every opportunity proclaim Christ.