3^rd Sunday in Lent – March 7, 2010

They say that history repeats itself. They say that not learning from the generations who have preceded us, or to ignore what former ages have to teach us is foolishness. They say that not learning from past history is conceit. THEY ARE RIGHT!

One could easily apply those principles to history in general. Today, however, we apply them specifically to God’s history. To not learn what former ages of God’s people have to teach us about the wages of sin is foolishness. To not learn from the past history of God’s people is conceit. That is the reason we study the words before us under the theme: Learn the Lessons from God’s History Book. Lesson #1: Be fearful, not overconfident. Lesson #2: Be confident, not afraid.

Now, listen carefully to God’s History Lesson.

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 - 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.

Do you fear God? Are you absolutely scared of hell? Well, we better be! And if it surprises you to hear me say that, don’t be, because Jesus said it first: “I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him” (Luke 12:5). At least 48 times, according to my count, the Holy Spirit inspired one of the writers to speak similar words. Just listen: “Serve the Lord with fear” (Psalm 2:11). “Fear the Lord, you his saints” (Psalm 34:9). “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). “He said in a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come’” (Revelation 14:7).

What concerned the Apostle Paul about the Corinthians was that it appeared they had replaced that proper fear of the Lord with overconfidence – and he had reason to be concerned. In his two letters addressed to the Corinthians we read of Paul specifically addressing problems like adultery, incest, drunkenness, lawsuits, selfishness, arrogance, and an unwillingness to speak up against sin. They were making a mockery of God’s grace by treating it lightly. So Paul says, “You need to learn some lessons from God’s History book,” and he takes them back to Israel at the time of Moses.

The children of Israel at Moses’ time had impeccable spiritual credentials. They saw and were part of things that no people before or since have seen or been a part of. They had all the advantages – every blessing. They enjoyed the supernatural guidance and protection of the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. They passed through the Red Sea and experienced a miraculous deliverance from those who sought to take their lives. They ate manna from heaven and drank water God provided.

But, Paul says, all these blessings didn’t keep them from falling. The presence of these supernatural privileges did not produce automatic success. On the contrary! In spite of their special advantages, most of them – in fact all but Joshua and Caleb – experienced God’s discipline and died in the desert, missing out on the Promised Land. How sad! They took God’s grace lightly! They found security in their own history, not in the God who stood behind that history. They displayed an unfaithfulness toward God which took for granted all he had done for them and said to them. Their hearts were not right. They did not fear God.

This is the very thing that Paul was warning the Corinthians about. They were guilty of the same sins that the Jews committed. They were abusing God’s grace. They thought nothing of arousing the anger of their holy God. Their hearts were not right. So now, before it was too late, they needed to learn from Israel’s past. And so do we!

You see, just like Israel was delivered from Egypt by the power of God, you and I have been redeemed from the power of sin. Just as Israel’s “baptism” in the Red Sea indentified the people with Moses, our baptisms identify us with Christ. The Jews ate manna; we nourish our souls as we feed on the Word. Israel drank water supernaturally provided; you and I drink the living water of salvation. But if we think then that this somehow gives us a license to sin; if we think then that we don’t have to struggle with God’s help to grow and mature in faith; if we think then that we are free to do whatever we want, because well, we’re forgiven and we’re going to heaven no matter what we do, then the history of Israel should serve as a warning. If we flirt with faithlessness, our own disobedience can result in a fall from faith and the loss of the blessings of forgiveness and salvation. It is possible for one to partake of the full abundance of divine grace and yet be lost. So there is no place for overconfidence! There is no place for indifference! Yet, I know there are times that I am! There is no place for making light of God’s grace! But still, there are times I know I do. And wouldn’t you have to say the same is true of you too? Friends, we must learn from Israel’s past before it is too late!

God did not allow the people of Israel to mock and abuse and trample on his grace. When they worshiped another god, nearly 3,000 were put to the death and the Lord sent a plague. When they engaged in sexual immorality, 24,000 of them died. When they tested him with their constant whining and complaining, venomous snakes were sent to torment them and the earth even opened up and swallowed some. And God is not going to let us mock and abuse and trample on his grace either.

Don’t be fooled! Just because you don’t see him opening the earth to swallow you whole doesn’t mean he doesn’t see the 20^th century golden calf’s that you have in your love for the things of the world. Don’t be deceived, just because he hasn’t sent venomous snakes into your house doesn’t mean he doesn’t know about that divorce you’ve pondered, or the pornography you’ve indulged in, or the pre-marital sex you’ve engaged in. Just because he hasn’t sent a bolt of lightning to strike you down doesn’t mean he approves of your half-hearted worship, or your uncommitted and casual repentance, or your self-righteous idea that because you’re such a good person, in fact better than most, that all should be well between you and him.

It’s time to stop taking God for granted and living like there are no consequences for sin, and to start realizing that if we want to live our own way, God will give us our own way – hell. It’s time to stop living as if Jesus were never going to show up again and call us to account, and time to take to heart our Savior’s words, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:5). It’s time to stop tempting God by acting like he is a toy that you can play with, then set aside, and just come back to when it’s convenient for you; and it’s time to start living with the respect, honor, awe and fear that the Lord demands, because within each of us lies the power to self-destruct.

So, are you afraid now? Has the law of God made you feel about (show tiny space between fingers) this small? That’s good, that’s what it is supposed to do. It’s supposed to make you feel the very fires of hell. It’s supposed to make you give up any self-delusions that on your own you can do anything. Because then you’re ready to hear the good news! Then you are ready to hear God say to you, “Don’t be afraid, be confident!” And why: “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.”

Did you hear that – God is faithful! In the midst of our unfaithfulness, God remains faithful! In the midst of our idolatry and complaining and testing of him, God remains faithful! Just think, in the Old Testament, Israel sinned and deserved to be blotted out of God’s book, but because of his faithfulness to a promise, time and time again God forgave. It’s been that way since the beginning. When Adam and Eve ruined God’s perfect creation, he was faithful and promised to send a Savior. When Abraham tried to take matters into his own hands and slept with Hagar, God remained faithful and gave him Isaac. When Jacob deceived and David murdered, when the temple was destroyed and the captivity underway – God was faithful. Even when Christ was born and the people rejected him, God was faithful – faithful to his promise to provide the substitute who would take our place and suffer our punishment.

Time and time again in the history of our lives we have sinned and deserved to be blotted out of God’s book. But because of his faithfulness, he took out his anger and his wrath over our sins on our innocent Savior. He punished his Son in our place. The record of Jesus life, his death, and his resurrection show us again and again the faithfulness of God. Through Christ, God dresses us in the purity of his own Son and through him gives us the one and only way to escape the sins we commit. In Christ Jesus, we know that God has defeated sin for us, so we can be confident that through faith in Jesus, we have been snatched from the burning dungeon and hell, and do not need to be afraid.

Our faithful God is patient and wants all men to be saved, so he invites us again and again to the soul-refreshing water of forgiveness found in Jesus in the Word. However, God’s patience is not unlimited. The time will finally come when the opportunity for repentance will end. Therefore, return to your faithful God today, for every time we fail to overcome temptations and stumble into sin, God remains faithful. He stands ready to pick us up with the forgiveness won for us by Jesus. Return to your faithful God today, for in his forgiveness we find the strength to stand again and resist the next temptation.

We need His strength! You see, there isn’t a temptation known to man that we can handle on our own. Even the weakest, smallest one would overpower us if not for the power God gives us. But with these words he promises to supply us with that power. We are pointed toward the One on whom we can rely, the source of our security. And that power is found in the Word of God. “Put on the full armor of God…Stand firm…with the belt of truth around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace…Take up the shield of faith…Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:13-17).

God help us, dear brothers and sisters, to do this very thing so that we are not doomed to repeat history, but instead can be diligent and vigilant in our service to the Lord in fear, not overconfident in ourselves, but confident in our Savior’s forgiving power which enables us to be unafraid. Amen.