EXAMPLES AND WARNINGS
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
INTRODUCTION
ILLUSTRATION Different Asian countries celebrate New Year in different dates and ways.
In Vietnam, the New Year is called Tet Nguyen Dan, or Tet for short. It begins between January 21 and February 19, the exact date changing from year to year. The Vietnamese believe there is a god in every home who travels to heaven (traditionally on a carp) to report how good or bad each family member has been in the past year. Live carp are often purchased and set free in a river.
In Shinto families in Japan, a rope of straw is often placed across the front of houses to keep out evil spirits and bring happiness during the coming year.
The Chinese New Year is celebrated sometime between January 17 and February 19, at the time of the new moon, and is call Yuan Tan. It is a time of parades and street processions involving large costumes and thousands of lanterns which light the way for the New Year. Firecrackers are used to frighten the spirits away.
However, each custom is focus on removing the evil spirits out and welcoming happiness in. As we celebrate New Year’s Day, what can we do to have a chance of experiencing good things this coming year 2008? Let us turn to 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 and check what we can learn from this passage that applies to welcoming 2008 with prosperity.
This passage says that Paul taught the Corinthians by reviewing Israel’s pasts. What can we learn from this passage that would give us a chance of experiencing prosperity and happiness in the coming year?
EXPOSITION
1. Learn from the past experiences. (vv. 1-11)
Paul enumerated some of the facts of life experienced by the Israelites. The purpose is for the Corinthians to learn from those experiences. First, he talked about:
a. God’s provision (vv. 1-6)
• Spiritual protection (vv. 1-2) - The cloud is a representation of God’s guidance; the sea, of God’s redemption and leadership.
• Spiritual food (v. 3)
• Spiritual drink (v. 4)
• God’s reaction (v. 5) - God was not pleased with most of them because of unbelief. God established his covenant with the Israelites that if they will trust him He will provide for their needs.
APPLICATION: How many times have we doubted the faithfulness of God in providing for our needs? God is not pleased when His people express their unbelief. God who called us to salvation and ministry has plans and would not abandon us in the middle of the road unattended.
God knows our needs and He will deliver the goods at the right time. We don’t need those symbols and rituals to acquire God’s favor. He loves his people and would take care of our needs – jobs, housing, clothing, food, education, and utilities.
Our faith in God would cause us to obey His instructions for life. Our faith will keep us from worrying and lead us to trusting Him. I am sure that you have a personal story to tell. Believe that God provides. Secondly, Paul talked about:
b. Man’s rebellion (vv. 7-11)
• Idolatry (v. 7) – worshiped golden calf and offer sacrifices to it while dancing.
• Immorality (v. 8) – engaged with sexual immorality with the temple prostitutes.
• Testing the Lord (v. 9) – they challenged and see what He will do.
• Grumbling (v. 10) – always complaining and wishing that they did not leave Egypt.
• Man’s Lessons (vv. 6, 11) - Some of them died by the thousands. Paul said that those happened as an examples and warnings for the current people of God. (vv. 6, 11)
APPLICATION: In what ways we have rebelled against God this past year? Some suffered the consequences of their rebellion and may it be a lesson for us to learn. May our or others past experiences serve as examples and warnings in life.
There is nothing we can do with our past – you cannot change the events but you can retrieve the lessons and utilize them as warnings. That’s the rational for studying history in school, it provides some examples to follow and avoid.
As a church, what can we learn from the past 14 years of experiences? We can avoid committing the same mistakes if we learn the lessons. We learn the lessons if we spend time in reflection and evaluation of the past events.
As a family, what can we learn from our parents and early years of our family life? We can stop the cycle of failures and frustrations if we stop and sip the lessons from the past. Don’t let the past keep you from enjoying the present and the future.
Therefore let me encourage your both individually and corporately to begin reviewing 2007 and extract the examples and warnings that will serve as lessons of life. Decide to do something about it this coming year 2008.
ILLUSTRATION No matter what a man’s past may have been, his future is spotless. —John R. Rice
God is giving us clean sheets of paper; rewrite the story of your life. And don’t just say, that will never happen to me. Possibly if we follow the next instruction by Paul:
2. Depend on God for future challenges (vv. 12-13)
Sometimes others would tell us their stories and share their lessons but we hesitate to listen. We thought that they were imposing their failures on us. We should listen and draw the lessons that we can follow.
Some are too confident to say: I am different; that would never happen to me. Don’t be overconfident. Be humble and depend on God. What can we do relative to our own future?
a. Stand firm and be careful. (v. 12)
We can avoid committing the same mistakes if we learn the lessons from past, stand firm on your ground and be careful. The devil is crafty and witty; he knows our weak points and soft spots. And if we are not careful, our pride can deceive us and the devil exploit us.
We thought that we can handle our personal struggles without the help of God and the people he placed in our lives. SEE ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12. Aside from God Himself, He placed parents, friends, relatives, church mates and others to provide the support that we need to face our challenges.
b. Temptations are common to man. (v. 13a)
We may be a different person but we have the same struggles and temptations around us. That is why we cannot ignore the experiences and lessons learned by others. In fact, it is to our own advantage if we consider the experiences of those who have gone before us. They can be our examples and inspirations.
Sometimes I pity Adam and Eve because they don’t have examples to examine and learn. All they have to do is trust the word of God. But us, we have various examples in the past – from parents, siblings, community, nations, and churches. Let us learn from them. Our challenges are the same, they are simply repackaged.
Thus I believe we have greater accountability. SEE LUKE 12:48. Sometimes as parents and a pastor, I tried to justify our differences from the present generations of family and churches. I would say “Everything has change and therefore what I know is no longer relevant.” But when you scrutinize the situations, the issues are the same but simply repackaged.
ILLUSTRATION A. W. Tozer, long-time editor of the Alliance Witness, once penned this greeting for the cover of the January 1, 1938, edition of his magazine, and it was reprinted on the cover for the New Year’s edition in 1979. It read in part:
“While all the promises of God are true and precious, yet it is good to take them one by one and especially commit ourselves to them. If you ask God to give you a special message for the opening year, one that will be made seasonable and real in every exigency of the unknown future, you will be surprised how faithfully He will fulfill His Word, and how fittingly the Holy Spirit will speak to you of things to come, and anticipate the real needs and exigencies of your life.”
God’s word is timeless and always relevant to any time in history. And we have greater accountability because we have much knowledge nowadays to address the temptations and trials of life. Our challenge is to keep ourselves from committing the same mistakes. We don’t have an excuse.
c. God is faithful. (v. 13b)
Here is the good news, the God we ignore in the past year and as a result we fail, is still here. He is faithful. Once again, He would not allow us to be tested beyond our capacity. He loves us and will remain faithful to you and me. He simply wants us to learn and become mature followers.
d. God will provide a way out. (v. 13c)
God’s faithfulness would be demonstrated by always providing a way out for those who depend on him in times of temptations and trials. God has the solutions to all our problems and concerns. Seek him and you will find Him. SEE ISAIAH 55:6-11.
APPLICATION: The current challenges are great but our God is greater than them and faithful in helping us succeed from those challenges. Let us depend on Him as we face the challenges of 2008. Past experiences serve as examples and warnings for future challenges.
CONCLUSION
ILLUSTRATION The famous Bible commentator Matthew Henry wrote this resolution in his journal on January 1, 1705:
Not renouncing, but repeating and ratifying all my former Covenants with God, and lamenting it, that I have not lived up more closely to them; I do in the beginning of this New Year solemnly make a fresh surrender of myself, my whole self, body, soul, and spirit, to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, my Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, covenanting and promising, not in any strength of my own, for I am very weak, but in the strength of the grace of Jesus Christ, that I will endeavor this year to stand complete in all the Will of God.
I know this is the Will of God, even my sanctification; Lord grant that this year I may be more holy, and walk more closely than ever in all holy conversation; I earnestly desire to be filled with thy holy thoughts, to be carried out in holy affections, determined by holy aims and intentions, and governed in all my words and actions by holy principles. O that a golden thread of holiness may run through the whole web of this year.
May this be our prayer as we start another year of our lives.
