Broadcaster Paul Harvey told a version of this
following story on his radio program many years
ago. There was no man who was a great admirer
of democracy and public education. So close to
his heart did he hold both institutions that
he tried to bring them together into one grand
experiment. A public college where students would
practice self -governance. There would be no
regulations. The goodwill and judgment of the
students would suffice. After years of planning,
the school was finally opened. The old man was
overjoyed. But as the months went by, students
proved time and time again that they were not
the models of discipline and discernment the
old man had envisioned. They skipped classes.
They drank to excess and wasted hours in frivolous
pursuits. One night, 14 students disguised by
masks and animated with wine went on a rampage
that ended in a brawl. One struck a professor
with a brick. Another used a cane on his victim.
In response, the college's trustees convened
a special meeting. The old man, now 82 years
old and very frail, was asked to address the
student body. In his remarks he recalled the
lofty principles upon which the college had been
founded. He said he had expected more, much more,
from the students. He even confessed that this
was the most painful event of his life. Suddenly
he stopped speaking. Tears welled up in his failing
eyes. He was so overcome with grief that he sat
down, unable to go on. His audience was so touched
that at the conclusion of the meeting, the 14
offenders stepped forward to admit their guilt,
but they could not undo the damage that had already
been done. A strict code of conduct and numerous
onerous regulations were instituted at the college.
The old man's experiment had failed. Why? Because
he took for granted the one essential ingredient
necessary for success. Virtue. Only a virtuous
people can secure and maintain their freedom.
A short time later on the 4th of July the old
man passed away. Engraved on his tombstone, are
the simple words that reflected the success and
failure of his most important experiments. Thomas
Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence
and father of the University of Virginia. And
now as Mr. Harvey says, you know the rest of
the story. What we see in that story is that
freedom has its privileges, but without self
-discipline it leads to disaster. Freedom has
its privileges, but without self -discipline
it leads to disaster. That is not only true on
a university campus, it is true in the spiritual
realm as well. I invite you to open your Bible
with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. After warning
us that we can abuse our spiritual freedoms and
conduct ourselves so as to suffer disqualification
in our usefulness to God, the Apostle Paul now
goes on to point out in the history of Israel
an illustration. of this very tragedy. For the
Israelites also enjoyed spiritual privilege,
but they ultimately wasted their privileges.
And he says the same thing can happen to us if
we live self -indulgently. I begin reading in
1 Corinthians 10 and verse 1. I do not want you
to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were
all under the cloud and all passed through the
sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the
cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual
food and all drank the same spiritual drink,
for they were drinking from a spiritual rock
which followed them, and the rock was Christ.
Nevertheless, With most of them God was not well
pleased For they were laid low in the wilderness
Now these things happened as examples for us
that we should not crave evil things as they
also craved and Do not be idolaters as some of
them were as it is written the people sat down
to eat and drink and stood up to play. Nor let
us act immorally as some of them did, and twenty
-three thousand fell in one day. Nor let us try
the Lord as some of them did, and were destroyed
by the destroyer. Nor grumble. I skipped a verse
there, didn't I? Let's go back to verse 9. Nor
let us try the Lord as some of them did, and
were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble.
as some of them did and were destroyed by the
destroyer. Now these things happened to them
as an example and they were written for our instruction
upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore,
let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he
fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such
as is common to man and God is faithful. who
will not allow you to be tempted beyond what
you are able, but with the temptation will provide
the way of escape also that you may be able to
endure it." I believe what Paul is telling us
in these verses that we've read is the spiritual
privilege brings responsibility to use it for
the good of others. Israel also enjoyed wonderful
privileges. Paul outlines them for us in verses
one through four. To sum them up, it is this
that Israel was chosen by God out of the nations
of the world to bless the other nations. Israel
enjoyed freedom from bondage in Egypt, that she
might go on to inherit the promised land. All
of them were led by the cloud out of the bondage.
That reminds us of the fact that we too have
been led by God out of sin to himself. He has
delivered us from bondage to freedom. And as
in their case, so in ours, it begins with the
application of the blood of the Passover lamb.
All of them passed through the Red Sea, which
speaks to us of our death with Jesus Christ and
then our resurrection in Him as well, by which
we were delivered from self and Satan and given
new life in Him. All of them were identified
with Moses as it were through baptism. The water
was above them in the clouds the water was around
them in the sea picturing going through baptism
Which besides being a physical act Figured to
look figuratively points toward identification
They were identified with Moses as their God
appointed leader We have been baptized into Jesus
Christ, as Paul will say in chapter 12, and therefore
we have been identified with Him, with the Son,
as our spiritual leader. The Israelites ate of
manna in the wilderness. There's pictures of
our partaking of Christ spiritually through His
Word. We find in him the supernatural sustenance
for our spiritual lives and the Israelites drank
water from the rock Which it says followed them
through the wilderness now Paul may have based
that statement upon a rabbinical tradition in
that day Now when Moses struck the rock the first
time and then traveled on the rock followed them
it rolled after them in the wilderness There
is no record of that actually being true. But
what Paul is saying here is that there was in
fact a rock, a spiritual rock that followed them
and that rock was Jesus Christ. You and I draw
upon the water of the Holy Spirit for our life
and enablement. The rock was struck and gave
its water. Jesus Christ was struck as the rock
and poured forth the Holy Spirit for us. God
cared for all of the physical blessings of Israel.
Typically speaking, God cares for all of the
spiritual needs that we have by our spiritual
blessings. And notice that all of them enjoyed
it. In fact, five times he uses the word all
to emphasize the point. It doesn't mean that
all of the Israelites were saved. As a nation
they were delivered, but it wasn't the same as
personal salvation. They had to be saved the
same as we by personal faith. But nonetheless,
they all enjoyed the same spiritual blessings
that God gave to them. And so it is with believers
in this age. We all have the same spiritual blessings.
For example, in chapter 12 he says, for by one
spirit we were all baptized into one body. We
were all made to drink of one Spirit. And so
Paul's point here is this. Israel had wonderful
blessings. Israel had spiritual privilege. And
so do you as a Christian. Indeed, he says, he
implies at least, that the spiritual privilege
that you and I know is far exceeds anything.
any Jew in Israel ever knew. But then we come
not only to see the privileges that Israel had,
but the problems that Israel encountered also,
beginning in verse 5. Notice in verse 5, it begins
with nevertheless, or but. It is a very strong
adversity. Paul is here saying in the strongest
of terms, all of these blessings were theirs.
But something happened. He says with most of
them, not with all of them, but with most of
them, the majority, God was not well pleased.
He says they were laid low in the wilderness.
They were strewn about. They were spread over
the wilderness. When we saw the pictures from
the storm the other day, we were able to see
trees and homes sadly strewn by the wind. The
storm had blown them down. Some very dramatic
pictures of that. And that's what Paul is painting
here. He says they were strewn in the wilderness.
And if you had followed Israel through those
40 years, you would have encountered funeral
after funeral as the most of them who displeased
the Lord died in the wilderness and never got
to the promised land that God had for them. God
was not well pleased with them. That is the verb
form of the word disqualified in verse 27, which
is an adjective. With most of them they were
disqualified, is what Paul says. And he says
they were laid low, blown away in the wilderness.
But what happened? Well, he says that we should
not crave evil things as they also crave. That
is Israel lusted after what God did not see fit
to provide. God provided wonderful manna from
heaven for them to eat, but they wanted meat.
Or they wanted the leeks and the garlics and
the onions of Egypt. They wanted what God had
not seen fit in His goodness and providence to
provide for them. Therefore those things, although
not evil in themselves, became evil. They desired
what God had not provided and he says don't do
that. Let's not do that Verse 7 he says and do
not be idolaters as some of them were I remind
you again of Corinth a city of idols Idolatry
was a part of the way of life. It was part of
the culture of Corinth and apparently some of
the Corinthians Were returning to idol worship
even though they were professing Christians.
And so Paul says, and do not be idolaters as
some of them were, perhaps having in mind that
golden calf that was made in the wilderness.
You remember when Moses did not come down in
a timely fashion as the people measured it, that
they convinced Aaron to make a golden calf. Like
the golden calf that was down in Egypt now. They
didn't name it after the same God as in Egypt
They said this golden calf will stand for Jehovah
But yet God was very displeased with that and
yet we hear people today say well We don't worship
the idol we worship what it represents God is
not pleased with that God does not want the worship
of an idol Says the people sat down to eat and
drink in their feasting and then rose up to play
Which is a euphemism for sexual orgy that was
a part of idol worship and so often it is That
is the immorality is connected with idol worship
as it was in Corinth as we've talked about in
the past And then these same people who had the
spiritual privileges it says acted immorally
He says, let us not act immorally as some of
them did. And 23 ,000 fell in one day. Immorality
was a part of Corinth as well. Remember we talked
about the fact that to live an immoral life was
to Corinthianize in that day. The very word Corinthian
had been changed to a verb to describe what it
meant to be an immoral person and to act that
way. And some of them were going back to the
immoral activities often associated with the
idol worship. And he says, let us not act immorally.
Let us not commit fornication as they did. Verse
9, he says, let us not try the Lord. That was
another problem Israel had. They put the Lord
to the test. They pushed God to the limit. And
it says, some were destroyed by the serpents.
probably referring to the events of Numbers chapter
21. And then he says in verse 10, nor grumble
as some of them did, and they were destroyed
by the destroyer. They murmured, probably has
in mind what happened in Numbers 16, when there
was murmuring against Moses and against Aaron
as God's appointed leaders. But the people of
God murmured and grumbled, and God destroyed
them. by the destroyer and Paul makes very clear
these things happen to them as an example and
were written for our instruction upon whom the
messianic age has come that is this age of redemption
in its fullness through Jesus Christ again pointing
to the spiritual privileges that we have that
Israel could only dream of So Paul is again saying
to us, look you have spiritual privilege. You
have all shared in it, but be careful that you
don't become disqualified in the course of your
life by wasting your spiritual privileges. Don't
lust after what God has not provided. Do not
worship idols. Do not act immorally. Do not...
Push the Lord to the limit. Do not murmur and
grumble. And then that brings us to the words
of verses 12 and 13 where we have the real point
that he's getting to. He says, let him who thinks
he stands take heed lest he fall. There's that
verse in Proverbs that says, pride goes before
destruction. and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Apparently some of the Corinthians said, look,
I'm free in Jesus Christ to do what I want to
do. And if I want to go out and be sexually immoral,
God's grace will cover that. And if I go back
to the temple and in some way participate in
that stuff, that doesn't really make any difference.
I'm free. I have spiritual privilege in Christ.
Look who I am. And Paul rebukes that attitude
of pride and he says, let the one who thinks
he is standing take heed lest he fall. And then
he says, no temptation has overtaken you but
such as is common to men. Here's a warning. Don't
be presumptuous. Don't be presumptuous about
your privileges. Anyone can be disqualified.
But he says, be encouraged by this. There's no
temptation that's overtaken you, but such as
is common to man. By the way, the word temptation
here is a word that can mean a temptation to
sin or it can mean being put to the test with
a view to approval, with no inference of evil
about it. Which way does Paul mean it? Well,
I think in the primary sense Paul is talking
here about the test Not about temptation to sin
But about being put to the test He says there
is no test that has overtaken you but such as
is human It's part of being human But he says
God is faithful and that is really the part of
the verse that he emphasizes God is faithful
Faithful is God he will not fail you and then
he tells us what God does in his faithfulness
He should encourage all of us in the first place
He limits the intensity of our trials He will
not allow you to be tested Beyond what you are
able. Beyond what you are able. A hundred years
ago or so in the British Parliament there was
a law passed which required ships to be marked
with what was called the Plimsoll mark or the
Plimsoll line. It was named after the British
legislator by the name of Samuel Plimsoll. who
saw that there were some greedy merchants who
would overload ships and thus when the ships
would get into a storm they would be easily swamped
and they would sink and so he encouraged parliament
to pass this law in which they would put a line
on the ship and when the ship was loaded it could
be loaded down to that line but no further. because
that was the line of safety whereby the ship
could still make it through the storm. What I'm
saying is here that God knows where the Pimsel
line in your life and mine is located. And though
we all come into various kinds of trials, God
will not overload us with trials to the point
that will sink us. He limits the intensity. And
his faithfulness, God also provides for our victory.
Notice that he says God gives the way of escape.
Now when you read it in the English, you seem
to think that God is going to give you a shortcut
in the trial. That if you just look hard enough,
you'll find the way to get out of it easily.
That is not what he's saying. I'm sorry to say.
He's not saying that God is going to provide
you an easy, quick way out of the trial. What
he's saying is that God has provided the end
to it. That God has provided for the completion
of it, and that end to it is not through a shortcut.
It's by enduring right through the trial. to
God's purpose. God provides for our victory,
for this way of escape. And then he says that
God in His faithfulness, thirdly, fashions our
trials deliberately. That's the whole idea of
a test. The idea of a test is that it is intentionally
put upon the person or the object in order to
find out what is within, to discover the good
that is expected or, if necessary, to expose
the evil that is within. God in His faithfulness
fashions our trials deliberately. Now in the
midst of the trials of life, whether it be a
health problem, It be the loss of a job and the
search for another one, or it be some financial
difficulty we come into, whatever trial that
we may encounter, remember that God measures
the intensity of it and limits it. He already
has provided a way out at the end of it, so you
don't have to worry. He's faithful to do that.
Remember that he has a good purpose in it. It's
a test for you. In the midst of that trial, you
will encounter temptations. Your flesh or the
devil will see to it that you have opportunity
to do evil, to react in the wrong way, to do
the evil thing. to sin. That's what Israel did.
You see, it wasn't the trials that got Israel
into trouble. It was the sin that Israel turned
to in the midst of her trials. And for you and
me, it's not the trials that get us into trouble.
It's the sin that we are tempted to turn to.
What does the Apostle say here? He says, beware.
Beware of the sin that tempts you, lest you be
disqualified as Israel was in the midst of her
trials. This is a serious warning to all of us.
Yes, we have spiritual privileges in Jesus Christ.
They are wonderful. They are eternal. But we
can abuse those spiritual privileges. And in
the midst of the very trials of life that God
sends to us and in his faithfulness measures
and purposes and makes a way out of, we can turn
aside. And the Apostle Paul says in doing so,
we're disqualified in our race and we face the
discipline of God as did Israel. And so that's
why he goes to the Old Testament book of illustrations,
and he says, now look at Israel. Look at what
happened to Israel. And take heed. For though
they all had the spiritual privilege with most
of them, well, God was not well pleased. They
were disqualified. And so he comes back to the
same point that he's been making now for into
the third chapter. We have wonderful spiritual
freedom in Jesus Christ. We have been delivered
from the Egypt of our sin and the bondage of
self. But we have not been delivered to live
for ourselves. We have been delivered that we
might enjoy our freedom and bring it to the Lord
and subject ourselves to His Lordship and live
in love for the good of others. I don't know
what trial you may be in today, but I would venture
to say that close to 99 % of us are in some sort
of trial. If you're in that 1%, just get ready
for tomorrow. It's coming. In the midst of the
trials of your life, believe that God is faithful.
That He has provided the way. that He has limited
the intensity of it so that you will not be overwhelmed,
that He has fashioned it for a good purpose,
and trust His faithfulness. And through that
you will grow and God will be glorified. And
your spiritual privileges that you have will
be strengthened and you will be able to use them
in a more powerful way because of what God is
taking you through. As we come to the Lord's
table today, as the Corinthians did, it is important
for us to examine our lives and to make sure
that we haven't in some respect turned aside.
Some of them had gone back to worshipping idols.
Paul says, you cannot fellowship at the table
of idols and the table of the Lord. You cannot
do that. Oh, idols in themselves are nothing,
he says, but behind idols are demons. And if
you worship idols, then you are worshiping demons.
If you partake of the table of idols, you are
partaking of the table of demons. And you cannot
do that and come to the table of the Lord. You
see, he ties communion right into this whole
thing. And as we come to the Lord's table today,
it is important for us to look at our own lives
and to our responses to the trials of our lives.
and ask God's forgiveness where we have failed,
and to yield ourselves afresh to Him and say,
Lord, in Your faithfulness, work out Your purpose
in the trials of my life today. And as we partake
of the bread and partake of the cup, these become,
in a sense, a means of grace as we fellowship
with the Lord, and He encourages and strengthens
our hearts in their renewal. Let's pray together.
Father, as we come to the table today, may the
Holy Spirit examine our hearts and wherein He
finds that we have responded to temptation to
sin. We have sought the wrong way out of our
trials. Help us to acknowledge that and to claim
your forgiveness. Lord, we do not want to be
disqualified in our race. Lord, we want to run
the race and to hear you're well done at the
end. So as we partake of these elements today,
get us back on course if that's the need. and
strengthen us for our race and help us to believe
that you are faithful and to take your promises
and the privileges that we have in Christ and
to employ them in our lives. For this bread we
offer our thanks to you, recognizing that it
represents the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen. And our Lord, for the cup we offer thanks
as well, recognizing that it represents your
blood, by which we were redeemed from our bondage.
And we worship you, our Passover lamb. Amen.
Jesus said, this cup is the new covenant in my
blood. Drink it as often as you do in remembrance
of me. And again, today we receive an elders
fund offering through the offering box at the
back door. If you care to participate in that
offering, which is a fund that we use to help
those in need, please do so. And thank you for
it. God is faithful. Let's remember that in the
midst of the trials of our lives. I'd like for
us to stand together and just sing and closing
the chorus. Great is thy faithfulness. We'll
sing it a cappella. Would you join me please
as we stand and sing? Great is thy faithfulness.
Great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning
new mercies I see. All I have needed thy hand
hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord
unto me. God is faithful. I'm glad to see Raoul
and Marge Berg here with us this morning, missionaries
that we have been privileged to partner with
for many years. Raoul, would you come please
and dismiss us in prayer? We welcome you both
this morning. God bless you, brother. Good to
see you. Shall we bow? Our Father and our God,
as we look to you this morning, our hearts are
strangely moved. has realized the significance
not only of this weekend, the independence of
our nation as we celebrate it, but the fact that
we have independence in Jesus Christ. As we yield
our lives to the working of your spirit in our
hearts, we can be more than conquerors through
him who loved us. Thank you for this time together.
We ask now that I spare a go with each one as
we leave this place. May we keep in mind the
words that have been shared with us this hour.
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.