A. Maybe you have heard it from a parent or said it. “If I have told you once, I have told you a thousand times…” We know that means. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard those words. So why do we do the same bad things over and over and over again?
B. Most cars have a little yellow or orange light that tells them they are getting close to running out of gas. I’ve had that light pop on. I look at my fuel gauge, I determine how far I can go, and then I drive on. If I decide that I can drive as far as I want, and simply ignore the light on my dash, I am in for a surprise. The light is there to warn me before it is too late. The same is true for signs on the road. “Bridge Out Ahead” or “Sharp Corner.” Warning signs have been placed there by someone who desires to help you not make a mistake or get into trouble. Yet, time after time, we find ourselves ignoring the signs or the warnings by others and do our own thing.
C. Paul is giving us a warning this morning. God’s word is focusing our thoughts on what happens when people don’t follow God’s teachings, but instead decided to do things their own way.
I. The Problem
A. Look back at 1 Cor. 9:24-27. Paul makes it clear that we are in a race and that we can be disqualified from that race. In fact, he states that he himself, a preacher and apostle of Jesus Christ, must practice self-control let he be disqualified. Brethren, that is a warning. Look at your spiritual dash board and see if there is a warning light telling you about the dangers you face.
B. When you describe first century Corinth, a person normally describes it like a large metropolitan city today. It is the place people go to rub elbows with the who’s who, you have all the best shopping places, the flow of goods from one country to another pass through there, and immorality abounds.
C. Christians in Corinth have grown up in this culture. They have yet to see sin as filthy and black. They don’t seem to grasp how evil it is in the eyes of God. You see the idea seems to be, “I’ve been baptized and take communion so I am okay.” Sound familiar?
II. The Comparison
A. Look again at our text. Verses 1-4. I find it interesting that Paul uses the great exodus from Egypt as an example to Christians in Corinth. My understanding of this congregation is that it is a mixed congregation of Jews and Gentiles, but probably more Gentile. What it shows us is how important the OT is as a teacher.
B. The great exodus from Egypt was central to the Jews. It was God at work, identifying these people as His children. It was done in a supernatural way. The Red Sea parted and they walked through on dry ground with walls of water. They passed through the cloud that protected them from their enemies. They ate supernatural food and water came from where it could not. In fact the rock, from which the living water came, Paul says, was Jesus.
C. We too have a similar journey. Egypt is typical of the bondage we face with sin. Yet God calls us out of that bondage in a mighty way. We are baptized in Christ, not just dunked in water, but transformed by the Holy Spirit. As they ate and drank spiritual food, so do we as Christians as we gather around the Lord’s Table and partake of communion with him each week.
D. Now read verse 5. Brethren, spiritual pedigree does not equal salvation. Some people came to Christ thinking, “If I just get baptized then all my struggles will go away.” Some Christians think, “I have been baptized, I take communion every week, so I cannot be contaminated by the sins of the world around me.”
E. I would love to tell you that the moment you give your life to Jesus, repent of your sins, confess his name and are baptized into his body you will never be tempted again. I would love to say that if you come to worship every Sunday, partake of communion, the world will not be able to touch you, but that simply is not true.
F. Verse 6, 11 – “These things happened as examples.”
III. Us Today
A. Paul rattles off a list of a list of sin. As it was said, “They sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” Think about the answer to this question: “What was the cost for their sins?” Verses 5, 8, and 10 tell us that God killed them. Death is a consequence to sin, no matter what time line you want to consider in the Bible. It is still a consequence of sin. Read verses 11-12.
B. You and I are “the ones on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.” Jesus has already come and paid the price for sin. But we need to take hold of the warning and watch where we place our trust. Being secure in yourself is a quick path to destruction. When you think of yourself as one who as beaten the battles of sin and no longer faces the temptations of Satan, beware that you don’t fall. What happens when you are tempted? Is it crash and burn?
C. For the Christian we have a power source that others don’t. I love verse 13, even thought it is sometimes taken out of context. Listen to the words of this verse of strength.
D. I have heard people says, “I God won’t give me more than I can handle, but I wish he didn’t think I could handle so much.” When God allows you and me to be tested and tried, he doesn’t whip up an extra, super-duper, high-powered test laughing to himself, “Now I’ve got them! Now I’m going to stick it to them! And they’re finally going to fall. This will surely do it to them.” No, instead he says, “What you go through is what other are going through, too.”
E. Not only are you not alone in facing the trials, but God is faithful – he has always proven himself faithful. Because of that fact, you need to understand that God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. I know that can sound trite, but if you are a Christian, then you need to realize that God has given you the Holy Spirit as your seal and power. The difference between you the sinner and you the Christian is the indwelling of the HS. John puts it this way, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
F. But there is more. When you are tempted, God will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. This somewhat two-fold. There are times when God provides a door of escape. It can be in many ways, but there are also times when God provides the strength for you to endure the trial. Sometimes you don’t get out trials, but even then, you are not alone.
Conclusion:
A. The point. Learn from Israel that only when you focus on God and not on your own self and your religious heritage that you can claim the prize that God has for all who run the race faithfully.
B. Are you running? Are you learning from the past? Are you claiming the power of God at work in you?
