Sermon Tone Analysis

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.