Well, it's a joy to be with you this morning as we open God's Word together.
Would you open up to 1 Corinthians chapter 10.
! We're going to be looking at verses 1 through 14.
I experienced heavy fatigue, a strong fever, a long-lasting running nose.
But the worst of all my symptoms was that I experienced a complete loss of both my taste and my smell.
So eventually, most of my symptoms had subsided after about a week.
But my smell and my taste lagged behind.
So today, if I wake up and I'm having a good day, there may be about 70% of my function of smell and taste working.
And that's a really good day.
But on the bad days, it's only about 20%.
It is a very alarming thing to lose trust in these senses.
Countless decisions that I rarely thought about depend on these abilities.
But the new reality for me is that I can no longer trust my own evaluation of food or smell.
You see, I can't tell if cookies in the oven are burnt.
And I can't tell if a diaper needs to be changed.
Well, thankfully, we have passed that season as parents as of just a little while ago.
But one thing is very important for us to think about.
So in the light of me losing this sense, I've had to retrain my own mind to not trust what I perceive to be natural to me.
So when I wake up in the morning, there's no meter that says,
Ernie, you're going to feel this amount of taste or this amount of smell.
Rather, I am completely unaware until I start tasting food.
So this morning, we are going to be reminded of something that is similar,
but has a greater impact on how we perceive what is natural to us.
See, there's a malfunctioning part of our being according to God's word,
and the consequences are much more significant than what food do I allow myself to digest.
The Bible is clear that what has gone astray is actually that which comes from within.
You see, it's our own hearts that have been impacted by the allure and the embrace of sin.
The Bible is filled with all sorts of warnings about the nature of a drifting heart.
Jesus said what defiles a person is what comes forth from out of the heart.
And this is what our daily experiences teach us as well.
We respond to our circumstances based on the things that we value inside of our hearts.
We plan for the future based on the treasures that we store up in our hearts.
And we even choose our entertainment based on the things that we find beautiful and delightful to our hearts.
And when the heart goes astray from the Lord,
it knows no other direction but to set its course towards the ever-active pursuits and the desires of the flesh.
Listen to a few warnings before we get to our passage.
Jeremiah 17 verse 9 says,
The heart is deceitful above all things, and it's beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
Matthew 15 verse 19,
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander.
And finally, in 1 Peter 2, we read this,
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh,
which wage war against your soul.
So, this morning, as we open God's word,
we are called to sober reflection, brothers and sisters.
We are called to consider our own hearts
and their potential for drifting to the lesser pleasures
rather than the all-satisfying worth of God that we experience through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Okay, let's go ahead and read our passage in 1 Corinthians 10 this morning.
God's word says this,
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,
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 drank from the spiritual rock that followed them,
and the rock was Christ.
Nevertheless, with most of them, God was not pleased,
for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
Now, these things took place as examples for us.
That we might not desire evil as they did.
Do not be idolaters as some of them were.
As it is written,
the people sat down to eat and to drink,
and they rose up to play.
We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did,
and 23,000 fell in a single day.
We must not put Christ to the test,
as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents.
Nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer.
Now, these things happened to them as an example,
but they were written down for our instruction,
on whom the end of the ages has come.
Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands
take heed lest he fall.
No temptation has overtaken you
that is not common to man.
God is faithful.
And he will not allow,
he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability,
but with the temptation,
he will also provide the way of escape
that you may be able to endure it.
Therefore, my beloved,
flee from idolatry.
Let's pray.
Oh, Father, we love you this morning.
We express our dependence by humbly listening to your word.
Lord, we need direction so that you would satisfy our hearts.
Lord, our hearts know no greater treasure
and no greater value than what we see
when we experience the love that you've shown to us in Christ.
And so this morning,
would you bring fresh clarity to our minds?
Would you help us to guard against the deceitful way of the heart?
And we pray that, God,
you would revive our hearts
and give us new courage
for walking in obedience.
In Jesus' name, amen.
So as you may be aware,
Paul, in the book of 1 Corinthians,
is addressing the church from the early 50s,
from the city of Ephesus that he's writing from.
This happened during his third missionary journey,
and for around 18 months,
the gospel was proclaimed to this city by Paul,
along with Aquila and Priscilla
and the good news of Jesus Christ,
crucified, risen, and resurrected,
was received by this New Testament church.
But much like our context in America,
the surrounding culture of Corinth was corrupt
with materialism, positioning for prominence,
and pagan practices of sexuality.
The Corinthians, greatly influenced
by their surrounding culture,
invited significant compromise into the body.
In fact, some of the strongest words of the New Testament
are directed towards these Corinthians,
who were also divided by quests
for worldly prominence and gain,
and compromised by their pursuit of the flesh.
You see, they had lost their ability
for resisting the flesh,
so much that Paul says at the beginning
of chapter 3 of this book.
He says,
But I, brothers, could not address you
as spiritual people,
but as people of the flesh,
as infants in Christ.
Their infancy was defined
by their fleshly association.
And while these types of strong words
are all throughout 1 Corinthians,
we are reminded that even
in the dangerous state of drift,
Paul expresses great confidence
in the grace of God
that served as the anchor of hope
for this church.
See, though they are weak in their practice,
the grace of God is abundantly sufficient
to lead them in paths of righteousness
for His name's sake.
In chapter 1, Paul writes this,
I give thanks to my God always for you
because of the grace of God
that was given you in Christ Jesus.
that in every way you are enriched in Him
in all speech and in all knowledge.
So, we pick up in chapter 10
as Paul provides words of warning then
for this church.
And they follow three basic points
that we will consider this morning
in our gathering.
Here are the three points
if you're taking notes.
Number one,
our shared history
of misdirected hearts.
Number two,
drifting hearts in action.
And number three,
how God's faithfulness
overcomes the tempted heart.
In consideration of our first point,
our shared history
of misguided hearts,
Paul directs us
towards a brief history
of God's people
in the post-Egypt
exilic wandering
in the wilderness.
Why does Paul want the Corinthians
to remember the exile experience?
Well, it's more than just
a historical knowledge
that Paul is after.
He begins to answer this question
in verse 1 of our text.
He says this,
For I do not want you
to be unaware, brothers,
that your fathers
were all under the cloud.
Paul appeals to the Corinthians
by calling them
to a state of alertness.
They have struggled
resisting sinful patterns
because they have been careless,
they have been groggy,
they have been unconcerned
and far from alert.
The phrase which Paul uses
in verse 1,
I do not want you
to be unaware,
is captured in some translations
a little differently.
And he says in these translations,
I want you to be aware.
But I think the former
is actually more helpful
because the same root word
which we derive
the word agnostic from
is the one that Paul uses.
And to be an agnostic,
as we know,
means to be without knowledge.
So Paul does not mean
just an intellectual knowledge,
like I said already.
Rather, the knowledge
that he speaks of
is the type that recognizes
warnings from the past.
See, the danger of the past
is meant to awaken
the Corinthians,
and it's also intended
to waken us up,
and particularly
any of us
who are prone
to slumbering.
We also see that
in order to move
from knowledge
towards application,
the Corinthian church
is called to identify
the fathers
with themselves.
This is really important
for us to recognize
because by way of
our identification
as God's people,
we are called
to do
the same.
These are
our fathers,
and these
are our brothers,
and also
our sisters
who were called
to wander
in the wilderness
because of unbelief.
It's helpful
to remember
that the Corinthian church
was not Jewish
by lineage,
just like we are.
Paul is saying
that there is
a union
that we share
with God's people
which transcends
bloodlines.
So,
their training
is our training,
their failures,
are our failures,
and the same ones
that our hearts
will be inclined
towards.
It's like
when we go
to the doctor
and for your
annual checkup,
the doctor
provides a long
list of questions
about the history
of health
in your family.
So,
if he discovers
that there
is a genetic line
that traces cancer
back a few generations,
then he is going
to provide
some very firm
warning and directions
about how to guard
against that danger.
To do otherwise
would be disastrous.
So,
what Paul is helping us
to see here
is that without knowledge,
either by a lack
of familiarity
with the biblical past,
or
to be those
who have knowledge
but do not apply
the warnings
of that knowledge
to our heart
situation,
well,
that would be
to embrace
biblical foolishness
and infancy.
Let's continue on
in verses 2 and 3.
It says this,
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.
See,
God's people
had experiences
that would have
seemed
to prevent
them
from falling
away
from faith
in the living
God.
They had
a unified
experience,
didn't they?
The young
and the old,
the strong
and the weak,
none of the people
of Israel
escaped
the powerful
demonstration
of God's
mighty deeds
amongst them.
In fact,
during this period,
God's people
still bore
scars
from slavery
that they were
delivered from.
Their own
eyes had
witnessed
the cries
and the
devastation
from Egyptian
parents
who grieved
when their
firstborns
were struck
down.
They knew
what it was
like to feel
dry grains
of sand
upon their
sandals
in the middle
of the Red
Sea
and to see
the cloud
of the Lord
leave day
after day.
And yet,
these people,
these fathers
of ours,
though unified
died in
experiences
and witnessing
the great
acts of the
Lord wrongfully
trusted in
their experiences
while their
hearts were
absent of
faith.
So,
Hebrews 4,
1,
a familiar
passage,
says,
therefore,
while the
promise of
entering
his rest
still stands,
let us
fear,
lest any
of you
should seem
to have
failed to
reach it.
For good
news came
to us
just as
to them,
but the
message that
they heard
did not
benefit them,
because they
were not
united by
faith with
those who
listened.
And furthermore,
lest we
mistakenly assume
that the
Israelites
failed to
walk by
faith because
they didn't
experience the
same hope in
Christ that
we do,
there's some
clarity that
Paul helps
us to
arrive at
in verse
4.
It says
this,
for they
drank from
the spiritual
rock that
followed them,
and the
rock was
Christ.
See, there
are differences
of opinion
regarding what
Paul here
means regarding
the rock of
Christ.
There was a
rabbinic
tradition that
taught there
was at some
point a
literal rock,
maybe that
bookended the
beginning and
the end of
the exile
experience,
that provided
a literal
fountain of
water.
But I tend
to agree
with some
others who
assert that
this is a
reference to
a type of
the Lord's
supper meal
that is
spiritually
symbolized
during their
time in the
wilderness.
See, this
idea fits well
with Paul's
discussion of
the Lord's
supper later
in the
chapter.
And on
either account,
what is being
communicated here
is one
important thing.
A communal
experience,
even of the
ministry of
Christ, does
not prevent
hearts that
can drift
towards
unbelief if
our hearts
are not
engaged with
the Lord.
It was for
this reason
that Paul says
in verse 6,
nevertheless,
with most of
them God was
not pleased,
for they were
overthrown in
the wilderness.
So let's
take a quick
minute here
to reflect
on the
nature of
our own
hearts.
You little
ones who
are listening,
your experience
growing up
with parents
that love
the Lord,
God's word
says that
experience
is not
enough.
Coming to
church and
being surrounded
by other
believing friends
and adults
will not
save your
soul.
There is a
danger to
our souls
to think
otherwise.
And adults
finding a
church that
has expository
reform teaching
that we
enjoy,
that's a
wonderful gift.
But it is a
terrible
parachute to
rely on.
And it
too can have
disastrous
consequences
if it
exists to
serve your
comforts
rather than
to drive
you to
the hope
of your
salvation,
namely
Christ
himself.
See,
we have
all sat
through
great
sermons
and been
led by
great
Christ-exalting
worship
and yet
have had
hearts
that were
hardened
by the
deceitfulness
of sin.
I certainly
have.
this is a
warning,
brothers and
sisters,
and let
this warning
have its
effect by
awakening us
from a
deep
slumbering
fog and
confidence in
our own
circumstances.
Point number
two,
drifting hearts
in action.
Verse seven
says this,
do not be
idolaters as
some of
them were,
as it is
written.
The people
sat down
to eat
and to
drink and
they rose
up to
play.
The
circumstances
that Paul
is describing
here point
us back to
the covenant
relationship
between Yahweh
and Israel
established in
the Old
Testament,
particularly
Exodus 24
through 32.
Now this
is a
sobering
scene which
Paul is
referencing.
The people
of God
have agreed
to keep
the covenant
of the
Lord,
and the
covenant
is confirmed
by the
shedding
of covenant
blood.
Just listen
to chapter
24 in
verse 6.
Moses took
half of the
blood and
he put it
in the
basins,
and half
of the
blood he
threw
against the
altar.
Then he
took the
book of
the covenant
and he
read it
in the
hearing of
the people
and they
said,
all that
the Lord
has said,
all that
the Lord
has spoken
we will
do,
and we
will be
obedient.
You can
almost hear
or imagine
the confidence
by which
the people
of God
spoke these
words.
And Moses
took the
blood and
he threw
it on the
people and
he said,
behold the
blood of
the covenant
of the
Lord that
he has
made with
you in
accordance
with all
these words.
So what
happens next
in this
account is
not a
surprise to
most of
you.
Moses
delayed
from
returning
from Mount
Sinai where
he had
encountered
the glory
of the
Lord.
God
and
as he
does
so,
the people
demand
to
Aaron
that
Aaron
would
fashion
for
themselves
idols
out of
the spoil
that God
had previously
given into
their hands.
So in
doing so,
their hearts
are swept
away towards
the desires
of the
flesh.
See,
they have
abandoned
worship of
the one
true God
and they
have
turned
towards
satisfaction
in
food
and in
playful
entertainment.
Paul
continues on
to elaborate
on some
other examples
of the
misguided
heart
amongst
the people
of Israel.
In
verse 8,
he says,
we must
not indulge
in sexual
immorality
as some
of them
did,
and 23,000
fell
in a
single
day.
Now,
how did
23,000
people
fall
in one
day?
Well,
it was
not because
the people
of Israel
were not
properly
trained
for battle.
It was
not because
they didn't
have enough
evidence
that God
was powerful
enough
to destroy
any enemies
in opposition.
No,
rather,
they saw
the attractive
of the
daughters
of Moab,
and they
measured
on the
scale
of human
desire
whether
God's
glory
among
the
nations
or the
fleeting
pleasures
of a
one-night
encounter
was of
more
worth
and value.
See,
that scale
should not
be a
difficult
one
for us
to balance
and measure.
But how
dark
are the
recesses
of the
wayward
heart.
The
warning
here is
a warning
not because
it is
some
far-off
danger
that
happened
to
them,
but rather
a grave
warning
for us
because our
own hearts
can
and at
times do
drift
towards
the lesser
pleasures
of the
world.
Paul
provides
one
additional
example
in our
text
in verses
9 and
10.
He says,
we must
not put
Christ
to the
test
as
some
of them
did
and were
destroyed
by
serpents
nor
grumble
as some
of them
did
and were
destroyed
by the
destroyer.
So we
can remember
many
different
examples
in this
period
in which
the
people
of
Israel
grumbled
and complained.
At the
waters
of Marah,
the people
of Israel
responded
to thirst
with great
grumbling
and it
was just
three days
after walking
through
the middle
of the
Red Sea.
In Exodus
16,
in the
wilderness
of sin,
only 45
days removed
from the
Red Sea.
the
people
again
expressed
disdain
to
Moses
and to
the
Lord
and
what
they
said
was
they
were
terribly
desiring
the
Egyptian
meat
pots
that
used
to
fill
them
and
their
request
to
Moses
or
their
complaint
to
Moses
was that
they
didn't
even
have
a
chance
to
die
in
the
brutal
land
of
captivity.
So
do we
see the
point
that
Paul
here
is
making?
Our
complaints
and our
groaning
over our
temporary
circumstance
!
imply
that
Christ
is not
enough.
Maybe
he appears
to be
enough
to you
when things
are going
well.
But as
soon as
the hunger
pains
begin
or when
the thirst
of hard
circumstances
arrives at
our door,
then the
worth of
Christ
is placed
back
on the
scale
for
testing.
Which
desire
has
greater
supremacy
in our
hearts?
Our
idols
or the
God
who
called
us
out
of the
great
darkness
and into
his
marvelous
light.
So the
heart is
capable
of this
you might
ask.
Yes,
it is.
The
testing of
the Lord's
worth is
not so
far from
us as
we would
hope.
In
these
examples
we're
reminded
to be
aware
of where
our hearts
can go
in all
types of
circumstances.
In
some
circumstances
our hearts
respond to
trials
by turning
to idols
of comfort.
In
others
we respond
to
abundance
with the
idol
of
self
dependence.
And in
other
circumstances
we respond
to God's
great
demonstration
of his
power
with
self
confidence
and pride.
God's
heart
So the
case has
been made
from God's
word this
morning that
the human
heart is
an unreliable
and unstable
foundation
to depend
on.
And it is.
We must
not move
forward so
quickly that
we do not
give weighty
consideration
to the
condition
of our
own hearts.
verse 12
says
therefore
in other
words here
comes the
response that
Paul provides
in light of
all of these
grave warnings.
He says
let anyone
who thinks
that he
stand
take heed
lest he
fall.
So be
vigilant
brothers and
sisters.
Be not
slumbering
and be
not
overconfident
in your
own heart.
Let me
ask you
this.
Where does
your heart
go when
God has
brought
abundance?
Is it
to self
satisfaction?
Does the
guard on
your heart
drop as
if you
have landed
in the
land of
safety
just after
a week
of good
family
devotions?
Do you
at times
excuse
yourself
from
transparency
with the
brothers and
sisters,
the saints
who are
called to
help you
guard against
the deceitfulness
of sin
according to
Hebrews 3?
Or where
do you go
when the
Lord has
removed his
earthly
comforts?
So
brothers and
sisters,
do we have
anywhere to
go for
hope?
Not from
our own
hearts,
but praise
be to
God in
our third
point,
he has
not left
us without
abundant
hope.
How God's
faithfulness
overcomes
the tempted
heart.
Notice
verse 13,
it says
no temptation,
no temptation
has overtaken
you which
is not
common to
man.
God is
faithful,
and he
will not
allow you
to be
tempted
beyond
your
ability,
but with
the
temptation,
he will
also
provide
the way
of escape
so that
you may
be able
to endure
it.
See,
Paul uses
two negating
words in
verse 13
that
essentially
cancel each
other out.
He could have
said a little
differently,
the temptations
which have
come upon
you are
common to
man.
He knows
how many
times the
evil one
has distracted
your heart
from seeing
God glorified
through obedience.
He knows
that this
week it
may have
felt like
500 times
you were
tempted to
drift towards
this temptation
that you
faced.
And it
is very
clear in
this verse
that he
wants us
to know
that he
knows.
You see,
it is because
he knows
that we
can and
we should
have hope.
His
knowledge of
our sin
has compelled
and has
moved his
heart in
such a way
to show
us
compassionate
and gracious
loving
shepherding
care.
Remember
that as
we failed
over and
over in
our
temptations
so much
so that
the Bible
says we
were dead
in the
trespasses
of our
sin.
It was
at that
time that
God sent
forth his
own son.
We know
from this
text a
couple very
important
things.
So let's
take one
more look
at this
phrase
which says
this,
God is
faithful.
See,
Paul has a
very specific
point in
drawing us
to the
faithfulness
of the
Father.
Faithfulness
is a
mark of
consistency.
That's how
we normally
think of
faithfulness.
but it's
also a
picture of
one who
has a
record of
fulfilling
the promises
that have
been made.
So Paul
is not
saying that
you in
this verse
have great
abilities to
overcome
temptation,
but rather
that the
one who
has always
kept his
promises will
keep them
again and
he has
promised to
bring help
in your
temptation.
as you
fix your
eyes on
the promise
keeper
himself,
the faithful
one,
God will
lead you
towards the
way of
escape.
The way
of escape
is not
some trap
door that
we are
just to
look really
hard for
in temptation.
No,
the way
of escape
is seeing
God as
the greatest
treasure
that he
is.
It comes
by remembering
that God's
faithfulness
is most
clearly seen
in the work
of Jesus
Christ,
his one
and only
son.
Listen to
these words
of Charles
Spurgeon
describing the
faithfulness of
Christ's own
love for
his people.
He says
this,
there are
no ups
and no downs
in the love
of Christ
towards his
people.
On their
highest table
wars,
he loves
them,
but equally
as well
in their
Gethsemanes.
When they
wander like
lost sheep,
his great
love goes
after them,
and when
they come
back with
broken hearts,
his great
love restores
them.
By day
and by night
in sickness
and in sorrow,
in poverty,
in famine,
in prison,
in the hour
of death,
the silver
stream of
love ripples
at their
side,
never stayed
and never
diminished.
Forever is
the sea of
divine grace
as its
flood.
The sun
never sets
and the
fountain
never
pauses.
See,
as we
behold the
glory of
God in
the face
of Christ,
God's
own son,
our hearts
can taste
what the
superior joy
actually is.
Temptation
towards anger,
temptations
towards lust
and of
jealousy
and of
sexual
perversion,
they lose
all their
appeal
before the
one that
our hearts
were fashioned
to enjoy.
Let me
ask you
this,
have you
assumed
defeat
in the
face
of
temptation?
God
is
faithful.
Have you
neglected
the power
of the
gospel
to lead
you
towards
victory?
God
is
faithful.
Or is
God
calling you
again
to renew
your fight
against
temptation,
remembering
that his
faithfulness
is
enough?
if you
have not
put your
trust in
Jesus,
this hope
may sound
like an
amazing
reality
to be
able to
overcome
the wayward
heart.
See,
the God
of the
universe
understands
the heart
of his
children
and their
inclinations
towards sin,
and yet
he has
not
abandoned
us.
Well,
let me
lovingly
remind you,
if you
have not
put your
faith in
this God
that we
are describing,
then there
is another
picture of
God that
you must
come to
realize.
God is
amazingly
abounding
in loving
care for
his children,
but he is
also just
and he
hates
sin.
See,
he hates
sin so
much that
God has
decreed it
must be
punished.
And the
Bible says
that you
are called
to turn to
your sin
this morning,
acknowledging
your own
guilt before
God,
and to
place all
of your
trust in
the life,
the death,
and the
resurrection
of Christ
to be
able to
be his
son or
his daughter.
This hope
can be
yours this
morning.
But for
the rest
of us,
God is
calling us
to once
again consider
the nature
of our
own hearts.
We can
drift into
slumbering
quite easily,
but we
are to not
forget that
there have
been many
greater
people than
us that
have drifted
away
from the
Lord by
confidence
in their
own hearts.
A closing
word from
Psalm 40
as we
give one
more thought
to this
God that
we can
rejoice in
who helps
us in
our time
of need.
Psalm 40
says this,
verse 1.
I waited
patiently for
the Lord.
He inclined
to me and
he heard
my cry.
He drew
me up from
the pit of
destruction,
out of the
miry bog,
and he set
my feet
upon a
rock,
making my
steps secure.
prayer.
He put a
new song
in my
mouth,
a song
of praise
to our
God.
Many
will see
and fear,
and they
will put
their trust
in the
Lord.
Blessed is
the man
who makes
the Lord
his trust,
and who
does not
turn to
the proud.
Skipping
down to
verse 16.
But may
all who
seek you
rejoice,
and be
glad in
you.
May those
who love
your salvation
continually
say,
great is
the Lord.
As for
me,
I am
poor and
needy,
but the
Lord takes
thought for
me.
You are
my help
and my
deliverer.
Do not
delay my
God.
Let's
pray.