February 28 sermon
Faith Lutheran Church – Markesan, WI 53946
Pastor Mike Schierenbeck – 920-398-2778
(Please note: This sermon is from 2004. Same text as 2/28/16, but different theme and parts. The 2016 sermon did not get saved on my computer – MS)
Text: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
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. {5} But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. {6} Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. {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. {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. {12} Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. {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.
Those Who Fail to Learn From History are Doomed to Repeat It
In the name of Jesus, the Suffering Servant, dear fellow redeemed:
Why study history, the student asks. After all, these people and civilizations are long gone, how does this apply to us? The answer is found in the saying (which I may not have exact, but it is close): Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. This is true on both a national and personal level.
When we see that the cause of the fall of the Roman Empire was not military powers from outside of it, but rather because of moral decay from within, this should be of great interest to us. When we see that communism has never been successful, but rather leads to oppression, this should stop us in our tracks when we see our constitution being whittled away by activist judges. If we do not study history, then we will most certainly repeat the mistakes, and even now we find our country doing that very thing.
Today’s history lesson for our spiritual instruction comes from the Sinai desert, and ancient Corinth. It is a lesson about not falling prey to self-security or selfish desires, but rather relying on our faithful God. May the Holy Spirit open our hearts to receive His message this morning.
1. Learn not to find security in yourself
When the Children of Israel left Egypt after the last plague (the death of the firstborn) they had 600,000 men. Naturally we could figure that there were approximately 600,000 women as well. Yet of the 1.2 million adults above the age of twenty, only two entered the promised land of Canaan. This was not because of disease or hardship, but rather because of disobedience. They were given a sentence of wandering in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation – with the exception of Joshua and Caleb – had died off. The people refused to believe that God could lead them to victory in Canaan, and refused to accept the leadership that He had placed over them.
Two out of 1.2 million. That is a terrible percentage. The question arises what went wrong? First of all we can eliminate God from blame. Note the inclusive nature of God’s mercy upon that people in our text: “…all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink.” Not one person was left out from the benefits that God was giving the people. It’s amazing to think of this large group of people – upwards of 2 million if you include the children, nobody perished in coming out of Egypt with perhaps the best army in the world at that time hot on their trail. Even when they were pinned between the Red Sea and Pharoah’s army not one was lost. God took them into some of the most uninhabitable areas of the world, and sustained this mass of people with bread from heaven, and miraculously produced water for the entire nation and yet, “with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.” Only two out of 1.2 million were not buried in the desert.
The underlying reason is that despite all of the miracles that they witnessed and were beneficiaries of, they found security and confidence in themselves rather than God. The Lord nourished them physically and spiritually, but they became indifferent toward Him. Eventually that indifference turned to distrust and hatred. God gave them every opportunity, and provided for them, and yet their confidence was placed in themselves rather than Him.
There is a direct correlation between the children of Israel and ourselves. You and I were in the bondage of sin just as the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Just as the children of Israel had to go through the hardships of the wilderness, so also you and I go through trials in this life. Finally both groups are heading toward a Promised Land.
Yet the comparisons do not end there. Just as the Israelites were led by a cloud, so also the Lord leads us with His Word. God also provides for us spiritually as well through the means of grace – the Gospel in Word and in the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Unfortunately, we do not learn from history, and have similar results. Despite all the gifts that God lavishes on us, many end up relying on themselves, and reject the Lord. Looking through confirmation pictures of any congregation one has mixed emotions because of the joyful memories, and yet the small percentage that have remained involved in God’s Word.
We might ask as well, “What goes wrong?” God is free from blame. He gives us every opportunity to learn of Him, and bountifully provides for us. Gradually, imperceptibly, we go toward our tendency of self-reliance. A little bit at a time we begin to think that we don’t need God as much, soon it is less and less until we feel like we don’t need God at all. Little by little we’re able to deal with guilt by pushing it away, and blaming others instead of ourselves. We find less and less of which we feel guilty, and thus find less and less of a need for Christ. The history of Israel needs to be learned because it was repeated in Corinth to whom this message was originally addressed, and it is repeated in our day and age as well. Do not find security in yourself. That will lead to destruction.
2. Learn not to fall prey to selfish desires
“Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.” We find more examples found in the Israelites: idolatry, sexual immorality, tempting God, and grumbling and complaining.
It was not long after they left Egypt that they built the Golden Calf and began to worship it. They routinely complained about the ways in which God provided food for them, and His choice of leaders. When the Moabites found that they could not defeat the Children of Israel with their military, they resorted to inviting them to their worship practices which involved fornication.
Time after time God disciplined the Israelites in an effort to call them back from their destructive ways. Even after they entered the land of Canaan, He continued to care for them. Yet their selfish desires so took a hold of them that after several generations the idolatry of the Israelites was even worse than their predecessors in Canaan. It is simply tragic to read of the self-destructiveness that ruined them throughout their journeys.
This stands as a warning to us. The attention span of our faith is not any better than these any other groups of people. In fact, it may even be shorter. We too easily fall prey to the sins of idolatry, tempting Christ, sexual immorality, and grumbling and complaining against God.
There truly is nothing new under the sun, and so we must learn from history. Recognize that although we do not have a golden calf, we have plenty of gods – materialism being one of the top ones. We are influenced by the wickedness around us. We grumble and complain against God as though He makes bad decisions. We allow all sorts of immorality to come into our home through television or DVD’s or videos or music. Our inclination instead of learning from history is to be desensitized to the evil around us, just as Lot and his family were. Learn from history.
3. Learn that God is reliable because of His faithfulness
The bottom line: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” If you think you are beyond the Israelites or Corinthians in your strength or resolve – think again. Every single one of us has weaknesses and spiritual pitfalls that Satan exposes time and time again. When we are prideful and self-confident in the spiritual sense we make ourselves easy pickings. Then most certainly history will repeat itself.
But learn from the history of God’s faithfulness. We are told in the final verse of our text: “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.”
We acknowledge that we are those “on whom the ends of the ages have come,” and yet these temptations and trials that we face are not beyond what we can handle. The problems and temptations that confront us are common to man. Nothing new. We do not need to have self-pity as the generation that underwent the greatest spiritual problems.
Also God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able. When the devil wished to tempt Job, the Lord allowed him a certain latitude but no further. So He does with each of you. The devil may wish to unleash something devastating that you could not spiritually withstand, but God would not allow it. He gives you a way of escape. He gives you the strength to walk away and resist the flaming darts of the evil one.
Viewing this history makes the love of God even more amazing. How frustrating it would seem to be for God to see generation after generation repeating mistakes, even when He has recorded this for us in the Bible, even when He specifically warns us not to repeat history. Just think of the patience and the faithfulness and the love that God has to put up with us. Just think of the accumulated weight of sin that He laid upon Jesus on the cross. And yet He did that very thing.
One thing I have heard about this Passion movie is that there is a heavy emphasis on the physical suffering, and it was a very intense physical pain. And yet the apostle Paul was scourged. Peter and other apostles were crucified. Jesus was different because of the spiritual anguish He endured. He took upon Himself the punishment for the times that we succumbed to temptation. He went through the suffering of hell upon the cross in our place.
God was faithful in fulfilling that promise of redemption. He remains faithful in not putting a load on us that we cannot bear. Learn from history. Learn from temptations that are common to man, and how to avoid repeating history. Learn from the faithfulness of God which caused Him to intervene in history and change your future. Amen.