Before the Lord called
me to be a pastor, I was a pipe welder. As a pipe welder I had to put
sections of pipe together in such a way that the finished product looked
exactly like what the designer wanted. To do this, I would work off
of an isometric drawing. After years of doing this, I got good enough
were I was able to look at a drawing, and picture what it would look
like in my mind, and put it together without having to keep looking
at the drawing. Well, I tried to use that same skill when I tried to
put together this pulpit. I looked at the picture on the box, and I
figured there was nothing to it. An hour later, when nothing I did made
it fit, I went looking for a pipe fitter’s favorite tool: a bigger
hammer. But before I was about to beat it into shape, I asked the Holy
Spirit to give me the gift of craftsmanship. After all, I was building
something that was going to be used in the Lord’s house, so I figured
he would give me the gift, since the Spirit gave this gift to a man
Moses enlisted to help build the Tabernacle. Well the Spirit gave me
a gift, but it wasn’t the gift of craftsmanship. Instead it was
the gift called a word of wisdom. The word of wisdom the Spirit gave
me was to look at the instruction sheet.
Now since most men are too macho to use the instruction sheet, I prayed,
“Lord, if there be any other way, show me.” Again the Spirit
impressed upon me to get the instruction sheet. So I sheepishly went
and dug it out of the trash, uncrumpled it, and there on the top of
the sheet was written the words, “Please read carefully these instructions
before you begin.” So I spent a few minutes looking it over, got
all the right tools I needed, and I put it together, just like it looked
on the box, in 15 minutes. And instead of experiencing frustration,
I experienced joy.
And that’s what Paul wants us to see in this chapter. He wants
us to see that if we run the race according to God’s instructions,
we will experience all of God’s blessings--v. 1. I want you to
underline the coordinating conjunction “for.” This word is
used as a way to help us see that what he is about to address is linked
to what he has just got through talking about. This is one of those
places in our English Bible where the divisions of chapters can hinder
us from fully understanding what the Lord wants to say to us. In this
incidence it is critical to keep this in mind because what Paul is about
to address is one of the most important truths in all the Bible.
As we learned last week, Paul warned us not to run in such a way that
might cause us to become disqualified. What Paul now does, is something
he does several times in this letter. That is he puts himself in his
audience’s shoes and tries to anticipate some of their responses.
He is pretty sure that some of the Corinthians thought he was pulling
their leg, that he was using some kind of scare tactic, by saying we
could do something that would cause us to fall out of favor with God.
Some of the people believed that God didn’t care how we lived as
we were following Jesus. They thought they could make up their own rules
as they ran the race. They weren’t concerned how they were representing
Jesus by the way they were living. They thought that since we are no
longer under the law, but under grace, then we can presume upon God’s
grace and live however we choose. I once talked to a young lady, who
was engaged to man who kept trying to get her to have premarital sex.
She kept telling him that it is wrong for Christians to indulge in that
kind of immorality. She told me that he said, “But you know that
as Christians we can be forgiven afterwards of anything!”
Now that’s subtly twisting God’s truth to justify sinful living.
And when start to give into perverted theology, we will soon find ourselves
practicing activities that lead to disqualification. In response to
this kind of thinking, Paul uses a very powerful literary technique
of using a negative term to emphasize that which we lessen. In verse
1, when Paul says he does not want us to be ignorant, what he really
is saying is we are ignorant if we really think we can live like we
want and still expect God to reward us for bad behavior. Paul wants
us to know that the Lord is not going to reward unfaithfulness.
And to prove this point, he uses some examples from the history of Israel.
The historical period the Apostle Paul is referring to here is the time
when the Jewish people wandered for nearly 40 years in the Sinai desert
under the leadership of Moses. In using the examples of the Jewish people,
Paul wants us to see that these things really happened to real people,
at a real point in time. And if it happened to them, don’t kid
yourself by thinking it can’t happen to you.
Why do you suppose we study history? We don’t study history to
learn a bunch of boring facts and dates. We study history to see what
happened, in order that we won’t keep repeating the same right
mistakes over and over again. And Paul wants us to study the history
of the Israelites in hopes that we won’t repeat the mistakes they
made.
It’s important that as we look at what Paul teaches here that we
don’t think that he is talking about losing our salvation. He is
not suggesting that we can do something that would cause God to disown
us as one of his children. I don’t believe that the Bible teaches
that anywhere.
But, the Bible does give us some very strong warnings against assuming
that we have an internal relationship with Jesus Christ when there are
no external motions that match. While it is true that we are not saved
by good works, but for good works, it is also true that our good works
are evidence that we are saved. Therefore, some of the warning passages
in the New Testament, are there as a means to get us to reflect on whether
or not we really are saved. In his next letter to the Corinthians, Paul
wrote, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith!”(2
Corinthians 13:5)
That kind of warning verse was written to keep us from assuming that
we can play around with sin and still call ourselves a Christian. It
the kind of assumption we can get when we start thinking that we are
a Christian just because we go to worship service every Sunday, or we
read our Bibles, or we pray before meals and bedtime, yet the rest of
the time we live just like a non-Christian does. Some of you teenagers
may believe you are a Christian just because your parents are Christians.
Salvation is not a heritage that is automatically passed from one generation
to the next.
Being a Christian means you have invited Jesus Christ to live inside
of you as lord, and the proof of that relationship should be clearly
seen by the way you are living your external lives. Jesus said, “Not
everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom
of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many
will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform
many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never
knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”(Matthew
7:21-23) The proof of salvation, from what Jesus said, is not found
in the ability to do great, miraculous things, but in the ability to
live a godly life that glorifies our heavenly Father.
While Paul is not talking about losing our salvation, he is talking
about living the kind of Christian life that will cause us to lose the
right to experience all the blessings of God. So Paul starts off by
reminding us of the blessings our spiritual forefathers, the Jews, had
experienced. As I read to you the first 4 verses, I want you to underline
the word “all” every time it is used--vv. 1-4.
The word “all” is repeated for a reason. Paul is trying to
drive home the point that no one was left out. God in his grace included
the entire community of Israel in these privileges. The first all mentioned
reminds us of the fact that during Israel’s wilderness wanderings,
all enjoyed God’s supernatural guidance--v. 1(b).
The passage that Paul is referring to is Exodus 13. In that chapter
we are told that God provided a cloud during the day, and a pillar of
fire during the night. Both were used by God to guide the people from
one place to the next. The point that Paul is making is that the cloud
didn’t rest just over the Levites and leave the lay people out.
Nor did it cover only the spiritual people and leave the immature ones
out. All of them were under the cloud.
I wish God would reveal his will to me is such clear ways. It is hard
to discern what God’s will is for our lives in every situation.
But not in those days. You followed the cloud & pillar of fire wherever
they went. And when they stopped, you stopped.
Second, all enjoyed God’s supernatural deliverance--v. 1(c). When
the Israelites finally escaped from Egypt after the Ten Plagues, they
faced an insurmountable obstacle when they arrived at the Red Sea. Freedom
from Pharaoh looked impossible. But not with God.
With Pharaoh and his army closing in on them, God told Moses to, “‘Tell
the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand
over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through
the sea on dry ground.’ Then Moses stretched out his hand over
the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong
east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and
the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water
on their right and on their left.”(Exodus
14:15-16, 21-22)
Two miracles took place that day. First, God divided the waters, and
secondly, God dried up the river bed. In doing so God provided a way
for all the Israelites to escape through the sea. Not a one of them
was left on the western shore. Not a one of them was caught in the torrent
when the walls of water collapsed, trapping Pharaoh’s army. This
was an amazing manifestation of God’s power. Truly it helped the
people to see that their God was more powerful than any of the Egyptian
gods.
Third, they all enjoyed a supernatural leadership--v. 2. The meaning
of the term “baptism” is “identification.” The Greek
word comes from the practice of having a garment dyed a different color.
If you wanted your white tunic to become red, you took it to the local
laundry and asked the clerk to baptize it in red dye. He would immerse
the tunic to change its identity. No longer was it white, but it was
now red.
Clearly that is what is Paul is referring to here. The people became
identified with Moses when they voluntarily placed themselves under
the leadership of Moses as a way of saying that they no longer wanted
to known as slaves to Pharaoh. The Bible tells us that: “When Israel
saw the great work which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the
people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and His servant
Moses.”(Exodus
14:31)
Those people knew that God was doing something powerful through Moses,
so they gladly followed his leadership. The people put themselves under
the leadership of Moses because they believed God had placed his hand
upon him to be their deliverer. Because of this, the people were willing
follow Moses wherever he led them, because they believed that God was
with him.
In the same way, when you are baptized today, it is your way of saying
that you are voluntarily placing yourself under the lordship of Jesus
Christ, and that they no longer wanted to known as a slave to sin. It
is your way of acknowledging that you believe that God had his hands
upon Jesus to be the only one who could die to take away your sins.
It is your way of saying that you will follow Jesus wherever he leads
you.
Fourth, they all enjoyed a Supernatural Diet--vv. 3-4. You’ve got
to put yourself in the shoes of the Israelites to fully appreciate what
they experienced when they first saw the manna. The Bible tells us that
“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. 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.’”(Exodus
16:14-15)
Perhaps you can identify with what the Israelites said if your wife
has ever prepared a new concoction for dinner and you had no clue what
it was. You tried not to hurt to her feelings, but after you smelt it,
the first words out of your mouth were, “Honey, what in the world
is this? Is it edible?” To which she replied, “No, it will
kill you the moment you put it in your mouth!” And then she went
off crying into another room, vowing never to try to do anything nice
to surprise you ever again.
Along with the manna, they had water which God provided, which gushed
out of a rock. If you are familiar with the history of Israel, you know
that twice during their wilderness wanderings God provided water from
a rock. The first time was at the beginning of their journey and the
second time was at the end of their journey. Because of the fact that
God produced water from a rock at both the beginning and end of the
journey contributed to the development of a legend, which said that
the rock actually accompanied them throughout their 40 years in the
wilderness. The legend said that whenever they needed water, they would
just go to the rock and turn on a spigot.
Now Paul doesn’t say whether or not he believes in this legend,
but does pick up on it and says that in a spiritual sense that legend
is true. There was a Rock that accompanied them, namely the pre-incarnate
Christ. That rock was a type of the spiritual rock, our Lord Jesus,
who too is always with us.
The physical water the Israelites were able to drink was indicative
of a far deeper spiritual provision that Jesus would provide for the
people of God. The point that we need to see is that everything we need,
God provides for us through the personage of his Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now obviously the Israelites didn’t realize that the rock
was the pre-incarnate Christ, but by telling us that the rock that followed
the Israelites was Jesus, Paul is trying to get us to see that all we
really need to enjoy life is Jesus Christ.
And this is an important truth for far too many Christians believe that
you need Jesus plus other things to be happy. You need Jesus plus success
to be happy. You need Jesus plus wealth to be happy. You need Jesus
plus good health to be happy. You need Jesus plus a spouse, or a boyfriend/girlfriend
to be happy. The truth of the matter is that all you need to enjoy life
is found in having a relationship with Jesus Christ.
And when it comes to the allurement of sin, don’t buy into the
lie that there is nothing wrong with an occasional sin or two. Despite
the momentary pleasures of sin, sin will never bring you true, long-lasting
happiness. Alcohol, drugs, pornography, premarital & extra-marital
sex may have their moments of pleasure, but they always bring with them
a lifetime of heartache. Sadly, they never show you this side of sin
in the movies or on TV, where they glorify such behavior. They never
show the mental hardship that kids have to endure from having parents
who are drunks.
They never show the pain that families experience from a divorce that
is caused by one of the spouses cheating. They never show how hard it
is for a teenage, single mother to raise a child born out of wedlock.
And they never show you how painful it is to die from getting AIDS.
The sad thing that happened to the Israelites is the same thing that
can happen to us. We can become so used to having God supernaturally
intervene in our lives, that we can actually come to the place where
we no longer appreciate God’s provisions. All through their journey
the Israelites complained about having to eat manna instead of the foods
they could eat back in Egypt. Sadly, despite enjoying all these privileges,
the people didn’t become more godly--v. 5(a).
That is one of the greatest understatements in all the New Testament.
The fact is God was not pleased with any of them, except Caleb and Joshua.
God found no pleasure in his heart for any of the hundreds of thousands
to millions of adult Israelites he delivered out of Egypt, except for
2 people. Only Caleb and Joshua were allowed into the Promised Land,
because everyone else refused to trust God, after 12 spies were sent
into the Land to check it out just as they were on the brink of entering
it early in their journey.
The spies, you may recall, came back affirming everything God had said:
It was a land flowing with milk and honey; it was a rich and fertile
place. But 10 of the spies concluded it was too risky because the cities
were fortified, and there were giants in the land who made them seem
like grasshoppers. Only Caleb and Joshua believed that God could give
them the land.
In that account we see that God was so fed up with the rebellion and
unbelief of the people that he determined to wipe them out and start
over. God was about to give Moses a new nation to work with, but because
of Moses’ intercession, God decided not to annihilate the nation,
but he did bring judgment on them. Let’s look at what happened
that day: “Then the LORD said: ‘I have pardoned, according
to your word; but because all these men who have seen My glory and the
signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to
the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly
shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall
any of those who rejected Me see it.’ Say to them, ‘The carcasses
of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness,
all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from
twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb and Joshua, you shall by
no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. But
your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and
they shall know the land which you have despised.
But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.’”(Numbers
14:19-32)
God wants us to come to the place in our lives where we are willing
to keep following him whether or not we know how he is going to work
out his will in the midst of our difficulties. If only the Israelites
could have known the future, then they would have trusted in God to
keep his promises, and then they would have enjoyed all the blessings
of the Promised Land. But because they didn’t trust God, and they
rebelled against him, they spent 37 years wondering around in a hot,
dusty desert, eating nothing but manna, and watching their loved ones
die along the way.
Brothers & sisters, we are called to walk by faith and not by sight.
If we can see how God is going to work out his will, and keep his promises,
then it wouldn’t require any faith on our part. We have to keep
trusting in God’s abilities to care for us without know how he
is going to work out everything for our good.
Listen to me, we, like the Israelites, are going to experience trials
& tribulations. But are you going to keep trusting in Jesus in the
midst of your trials? Are you going to have faith that God will provide
for your every need? Are you going to keep believing that God will deliver
you out of your times of trouble even when it appears you are about
to go under for the last time?
Because of unbelief and continual rebellion, God destroyed somewhere
between 600,000 to 2 million of his chosen people. And what Paul wants
us to see is that if it happened to them, it can happen to us--v. 5(b).
This doesn’t mean that we will find our bodies scattered throughout
the desert. But in a spiritual sense it does mean that we may find ourselves
being disqualified for being usefulin God’s kingdom. What made
God so mad was that despite all the great things he did in their midst,
they didn’t respond to his miracles by loving him unconditionally
in return. One of the most profound ways we can show God we love him
is by keeping his commandments. To live otherwise is to show that we
aren’t grateful for him saving us out of Egpyt, which is a picture
of living a life in bondage to sin.
The picture Paul paints is stunning, for the next 37 years the desert
was strewn with corpses, bloated with supernatural food and supernatural
drink. It is like the carnage that is seen during a war. I was talking
to Trent, Stephanie’s husband, who served our country for over
a year in Iraq, and he told me that as they traveled towards Baghdad,
all along the route was miles and miles of dead Iraqi soldiers. He said
it was a sight you never forget.
Since most of us have never fought in any wars, we have no clue what
war is really like. Steven Spielberg, in his movie “Saving Private
Ryan,” gave us a realistic view of what war is really like. He
used very vivid images of what the soldiers really experienced on D-Day.
It is hard to watch that movie for he shows us the horrors of war. Only
those with extremely strong stomachs didn’t turn their heads as
he showed the countless bloody bodies in the sea and along the beach.
I almost got sick to my stomach as I saw the people getting limbs, even
their heads blown off, despite the fact that I knew that what I was
watching was done by computers. But what he showed in that movie is
what really happens in war.
In war, people really do die. And that’s really what happened to
an entire generation of adults because of their rebellion & unbelief.
All died, except for 2: Caleb and Joshua. Now why does Paul use such
graphic words? He does it to show us that we too can’t count of
being blessed by God if we too are walking in unbelief, and living in
outward rebellion towards God--v. 6(a).
Underling the words, “for us” & “example.” The
word “example” literally means to strike in such a way as
to leave an impression. It is the same word that is used in John’s
gospel for the holes the nails left in Jesus’ hands. It is said
that the only imperfections in heaven will be the holes in Jesus’
hands & feet, and the place where the spear pierced his side. Throughout
all eternity, those impressions will serve to remind us of the great
sacrifice that Jesus made to secure us a place in heaven.
By using this word, coupled with the words “for us,” Paul
says that if any of us, no matter how spiritual we may be, if we ever
start to think we can play around with sin and not get in trouble, just
look back at the history of the Jews. There stamped in the annuals of
history is the truth that God destroyed the entire adult population
of his chosen people, except for 2, Caleb and Joshua, all because of
their disobedience.
Let me finish by saying that God allowed an entire generation of adults
to be wiped out over 37 years to make a lasting impression on us of
the necessity to live holy. He did it to make a lasting impression on
us of the necessity to run the race according to his instructions. So
please, heed these warnings, and follow God’s instructions.
Let’s
pray
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