Lessons From History
INTRODUCTION
History - many students= hated subject: the dry, boring dates; the ancient people who seem so far removed from our reality; the numerous books; the various schools of interpretation.
Long accepted wisdom: ignorance of the past sets us up to repeat our ancestors errors.
Now what does this have to do with the spiritual life? Is there anything in history that benefits us spiritually?
(1 Cor 10:1-13 NIV) For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. {2}They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. {3}They all ate the same spiritual food {4}and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. {5}Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. {6}Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. {7}Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." {8}We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. {9}We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes. {10}And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel. {11}These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. {12}So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! {13}No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
So Paul says: biblical history was not just written for the sake of recording facts. Designed to provide much spiritual benefit. We have a stake in learning that history, and in discovering its salient lessons. If you want victory - learn from history! The big lesson: Do not get cocky or over-confident and so thrust away God's provision for your survival.
I. LESSON #1: THERE IS A DESTRUCTIVE SPIRITUAL REALITY AT WORK IN THE WORLD TODAY
Modern mentality wants us to think the only reality is what is visible to us.
Spiritually instructed know: there are forces at work, designed to destroy us and pervert every good spiritual impulse,
Many temptations - to bring out the worst in you, to trip you up, cause you to sin, give up the struggle, and walk away from God.
A. Temptation comes in so many shapes, sizes and colors, one=s got to have your name on it.
The temptations all look good and inviting, and promise much good and gain. They do not come with red flags warning you to stay away.
B. Temptation knocks things out of perspective: little things, even things we make, seem to take on real power over us.
We keep bowing to them and giving them major time or attention, even knowing they cannot sustain us. We get captured by the appeal to the eyes, the sense of beauty - and find ourselves giving too much admiration to the creature. We put the things on display, and worship it. [Cf. The man who just bought a fabulous car]
Temptation appeals to our sense of values - What will we really consider important? What will we treat as precious or sacred?
The OT word for this is idolatry - v7 - Golden Calf Ex. 32:6
Exodus 32:5-6
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD." {6} So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
NB. v5 - the feast and calf were intended as worship to Jehovah - but he had already said no to images.
If God declares the thing forbidden, you cannot devote it in worship to Him.
If God says we cannot do something, we cannot do it and dedicate it to His honor.
ILLUSTRATION: THE WRONG GOD
A missionary in Africa had been witnessing faithfully to a certain individual. Following their conversation one day, the unconverted man placed a small statue and a silver coin on the table before him. Then he took two slips of paper and wrote something on each. Putting one beside the image and the other with the money, he turned to the Christian worker and said, "Please read this." On the note by the idol were written the words, "Heathen god." The sheet next to the coin bore the inscription, "Christian god." From what that needy soul had observed in the lives of the merchants from so-called "Christian" nations, he concluded that money was the object of their adoration and the source of their confidence.
Are there elements in popular culture that we have raised to the level of ultimacy - so that they determine our behavior and choices and have become "god" to us? Are there things that we cherish more than we cherish God? - Money? Sex, Social Positions. If so, we need a radical change of perspective: It is only God who deserves worship, because only He can ultimately determine who you are or become.
C. Temptation tries to get us to misuse God=s good gifts
Sex - one of God=s good and precious gifts. Made by the world to look cheap and vulgar, demeaning and disgusting.
God declares every time: sex is not ugly, but the misuse of it is.
God is so appalled at the misuse of sex that, in response to Israel=s sexual immorality - v8 - 23,000 killed ((Num. 25:1-9 24,000)
Today's context throws sexual temptations at us, even despite the scare about STDs. Bed hopping is presented as the norm. Virtuous women are presented as those who restrain from having sex until at least the second date. Women talk about the need to try out the man before committing to marriage. Deal makers do not hesitate to use sex as tool. Increasingly, we hear of sexual exploitation of children. All of these are misuses of God=s good gift. They carry their own penalties built into them.
Illustration: FLEE TEMPTATION!
In his book Three Steps Forward Two Steps Back, Charles Swindoll wrote, "Do not try to co-exist peacefully with temptation . . . If you are weakened by certain kinds of music, you are playing into the hands of Satan himself to listen to it. If you're weakened by certain . . . pictures that bring before your eyes things that build desires within you that you can't handle, then you're not counteracting sin and temptation. You're tolerating it. You're fertilizing it. You're prompting it. If the newsstand is something you can't handle, stay away from it! Quit clucking your tongue and shaking your head as you linger over the pages. If you're weakened by relationships with certain people, abstain from them . . . There's a name for folks who linger and try to reason with lust: victim."
We must recapture God=s perspective, and use His good gifts as He intended.
C. Temptation leads some people to see how far they can get into sin without being punished by God.
The mentality is stupid! The God of the universe! Tested by a puny mortal, who wants to take Him on, to see if He really has the stuff! What a ridiculous, one-sided contest!
Testing the Lord - v9 - killed by snakes - Num. 21:4-6
Exodus 17:2
So they quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses replied, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?"
Psalms 78:18
They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.
Psalms 95:6-11
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; {7} for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, {8} do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, {9} where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did. {10} For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways." {11} So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest."
Psalms 106:14
In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test.
NB: Some press God's grace to the limit - convinced that nothing will happen to them, because God's grace is adequate to take care of anything they do. This is called presumptuous sinning. To so test God is to sign your own death warrant. Believe what God says, and respond in faith and obedience. Do not put your eternal destiny into jeopardy.
E. Temptation leads some people to express dissatisfaction with the way God handles things.
Grumbling - v10 - Num 16 - Korah, Datham & Abiram
Numbers 16:41
The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. "You have killed the Lord's people," they said.
Do we ever get into a complaining mood against God because He does not seem to be answering our prayers in the manner and time we had prescribed? Ever think that He is putting you through the wringer? Ever displace your anger against God on others?
Every time Israel gave in to temptation, God punished her. Every time we give in to temptation or fail to allow the test to build us up, we lose spiritually. We set ourselves up for spiritual defeat.
What does history tell us about meeting temptations and tests and overcoming them? How will we survive against tests and temptations?
Principles:
1. Negative spiritual forces are determined to destroy you.
2. They send all kinds of temptations at you.
3. If you give in to the temptation:
You damage your relationship to God
You receive just punishment
You hinder your spiritual progress and jeopardize your destiny
II. LESSON #2 GOD HAS AN EXCELLENT RECORD OF COMBATING THE NEGATIVE POWERS
A. He=s consistently responded to each emergency situation:
Adam and Eve in the garden - aprons to cover their nakedness
Noah=s generation - some saved from the flood, in the ark
Deliverance from Egyptian bondage
Red Sea; guidance by cloud and fire, miraculous food supply; water from a rock
Deliverance during the dismal days of the judges
Deliverance from exile
B. He has provided for us from time to time
No matter how rough things get, we can still testify that in the midst of every situation, God is present with delivering power.
The problem for the Israelites, and for us, is that the context of divine provision and deliverance also contains the seed of divine testing or satanic temptation. The one intends our strengthening, and the other our downfall. Our response to both determines whether we remain standing, or fall spiritually.
III> LESSON #3 - GOD CAN KEEP YOU FROM DESTRUCTION BY THE EVIL ONE
There is a specific strategy whereby you can survive, even in the face of temptation and all that the enemy throws at you.
A. Know that temptation is inevitable
1. As long as there is a bad devil trying to:
! destroy the good work of God in human experience
! gain disciples for a massive onslaught vs. the armies of God
2. As long as we continue in a state of imperfection:
! prone to the darts of Satan
! needing to practically work out our commitment to God, in spite of other possibilities or choices.
B. Know that your temptation is not unique
1. You are not the only one facing these
a. The excuses are useless and meaningless:
"Pastor, you wouldn't understand!"
"If you had passed through what I did ..."
"If you had the kind of wife/husband that I have . . .
"If your children were like mine . . ."
Some people feel that the uniqueness of their position or situation justifies them in giving in to sin. "God understands", they say. Does He really?
b. The justification for nastiness rings hollow:
"I don't have to be nice to anybody because nobody else goes through what I am going through."
So these people wear the longest faces imaginable, snap harshly at people, withdraw from activities - because their problems are unique and everyone certainly must understand that!
Hold on just a minute! You have no excuse! You are not different. You hold no franchise on problems. You have no patent on different kinds of temptations. People have faced and are facing temptations similar to yours. Temptations and trials are part of the stock-in-trade of human existence.
C. Do Not Spread a Welcome Mat for Temptation
1 Corinthians 10:12
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!
No matter how impregnable you consider yourself, the enemy is studying means of getting at you. Cf. Cyrus and the Acropolis of Sardis - impossible to penetrate because located on a spur of rock. Hyroeades, observing the fortress, saw a defender climb down the spur to retrieve a fallen helmet. Noted the path carefully, used it later to scale into the fortress. Found it undefended, took the citadel. (Barclay. Letters to the Corinthians, pp. 99-100).
Keep your eyes and spirit open - Satan is the master of dirty tricks. You cannot afford to let him trip you up.
- stay away from the places and pursuits of temptation
- refuse to harbor a desire for the forbidden fruit
- don=t play brinkmanship
D. Keep Your Eyes Peeled for God=s Escape
Let yourself feel the pressure, burden and distaste of being a prisoner, trapped and wanting escape. Don=t fall in love with the prison or the guards. Look for the escape!
ekbasis - a way out of a defile, a mountain pass. Not a means of surrender, but a means of conquering.
When you use God=s escape route, you come out strong, and victorious. Not weak and defeated.
The miracle working God has just the miracle you need - and is eager to work on your behalf.
The last minute Hail Mary pass - will make the bucket
The desperation kick will find the pigeon
You survive on the basis of God's faithfulness
E. When You Escape, Keep on Standing
CONCLUSION
1. The Book is more than just a record of historical facts.
2. The Book contains a specific message of instruction for you.
3. You must pray and discover the lesson.
4. You must accept the grace, and move on.
The way things are shaping up now, there will be several times of testing and temptation during your lifetime. History assures us and we are wise to believe and live by it, that God is faithful, and will not allow us to be tested beyond our limit, but will provide a means of escape. When it comes, use it!
I know it=s in the Book!
I know it=s guaranteed as our experience!
Let=s hold on to it, in faith!
If we=re to survive, we must find the way of escape God has prepared.
Open your eyes, and walk through it!
God means your victory!