Chico Alliance Church
Pastor David Welch
“A Disciplined Life”
Review
Question to ask about my lifestyle.
“Will it actually benefit me or others?” 6:12a
“Will it control me or become additive?” 6:12b
“Will it violate God’s design?” 6:13-20
“Will it distract me from full devotion to God?” 7
I. Reproof for fleshly behavior 1-6
A. A divided church 1-4
B. A defiled church 5
C. A defeated church 6
“Will it actually benefit me or others?” 6:12a
“Will it control me or become additive?” 6:12b
“Will it violate God’s design?” 6:13-20
II. Responses to specific inquiries
A. Concerning marriage 7
“Will it distract me from full devotion to God?”
B. Concerning the limitation of Christian liberty 8-11:1
1. To avoid ruining a weaker brother 8:1-13
“Will it adversely affect those around me?” 8
2. To advance the gospel 9:1-23
“Will it be a stumbling block to the gospel?”
“Will it be a stepping stone to the gospel?”
3. To avoid losing heavenly reward 9:24-27
“Will it jeopardize my heavenly reward?”
? Run with purpose
What drives our life?
• Power driven life
• People driven life
• Possession driven life
• Pleasure driven life
• Pain driven life
• Past driven life
• Run to cultivate dynamic relationship with Him.
• Run to pursue meaningful connection with His people.
• Run to resist evil and restore good.
• Run to declared the excellencies of Christ through life and lip
? Train to finish the race well – discipline the body and soul
? Loose the encumbrances – deal with the sin and distractions
? Run with faith and endurance by focusing on Christ
? Run to finish well and win the prize
Introduction
Discipline involves two aspects. We must train by stretching our capacities and building endurance. We must deal with things that distract and weigh us down. Paul did both. Paul lived his whole life to please God.
4. To avoid displeasing God 10:1-13
“Will it displease God?”
Eph 5:6-12
By Israel’s example we will learn just what does not please God and moves him to anger.
a) Israel’s Experience 1-5
For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, 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 were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. 1 Cor. 10:1-4
Paul tied this section with the previous with the connector “for”. The previous topic was a disciplined life so as to avoid jeopardizing heavenly reward. In this chapter, Paul appeals to the story of the Israelites in the wilderness as an example of those who lost their earthly reward because they lived a self-indulgent life. Paul did not want them to miss the lessons from the wilderness experience. The Old Testament remains a goldmine of lessons and insight into our walk and relationship with God. Don’t miss it!
(1) Israel enjoyed God’s spiritual blessing.1-4
Paul called them “our fathers”. Paul then detailed the blessing and advantage that every one of them enjoyed in the desert.
? All enjoyed God’s specific direction through Moses and the ever-present “Cloud”.
? All enjoyed God’s supernatural deliverance through the Red Sea.
? All enjoyed God’s supernatural provisions of abundant food and water.
? All enjoyed Christ’s continual presence and protection.
They were on their way to the Promised Land; a land filled with milk and honey. They were free from the harsh treatment of the Egyptians who tried to strangle their babies. They had all witnessed ten phenomenal catastrophes against the gods of their enemies. They all acquired the treasures of their Egyptian neighbors as they left Egypt. What a glorious deliverance and exciting journey ahead of them. With bondage and grief behind them and a new life ahead of them they sang God’s praises. God even spared them immediate warfare by directing them another way. This should have been enough to endear them to the one true God FOREVER. This should have bolstered them to unshakable faith.
“Nevertheless”
(2) God didn’t enjoy Israel’s sinful behavior 5
Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.
Ouch!! What a horrible indictment.
“most of them” = much, many, largely, plenteous
Not just a few of them, but most of them. The majority of them God did not please God. Including Moses and Aaron! God disqualified most of them. They forfeited blessing because of their unbelief.
“Not well-pleased” = to think well, to be well pleased, take pleasure
To put it bluntly, God did not enjoy the experience. It brought pain more than pleasure. It was like dragging five toddlers on a cross country trip. By the time we arrive, with most of them we are not well pleased. We did not enjoy the trip.
How many displeased God? Actually all of them except Joshua and Caleb and those under twenty. God was disturbed enough with them to “lay them low” in the desert.
“Laid low” = “strew, throw down, spread out”
God was so disturbed by most of them that He spread their bodies out in the desert. They lost their reward. They never entered the Promised Land. They died without tasting the milk and honey. They were still His chosen people but they forfeited the joy of entering the Promised Land. One commentator calculates they held up to ninety (yes 90) funerals a day for 38 years. So what disturbed God so intensely to spread their carcasses across the desert? What strained their relationship in the desert? Remember, He was keeping a promise made to Abraham hundreds of years previous. He must have delighted to finally bring about this part of His promised blessing as he now supernaturally led them to a new way of life. They weren’t being punished but promoted. They were no longer being bound in slaver but blessed with salvation.
Paul wasted no time making application. Let’s not be ignorant. Let’s not miss it!
b) Their bad Example for our good 6-12
Now these things happened as examples for us,
“example” = a mark, an impression, a stamp, imprint, pattern, image, type, a picture.
Paul urged them to take note of what displeased God and avoid making the same mistake. The “us” in this context was the Corinthian believers. Paul chose five examples especially relevant to the Corinthian’s struggles. He could have cited many more defects in the desert but five would reach their intended mark. (Num 14:22-23)
(1) Don’t be cravers of evil things. vs 6
so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.
“crave” = set your heart on, covet, long for, lust after, desire”
The root of the word is the word used for passionate anger. Don’t be cravers of evil things.
This word is basically neutral. The desire or passion could be either good or bad depending on the object and motivation of the desire. It usually then attached to an object; in this case, don’t passionately desire “evil things”.
“evil things” = worthless, injurious, depraved, bad, evil, harmful, wicked
Our desire for something can be good or evil sometimes depending on the purpose. A desire for medication to temporarily pain relief can be a good thing. A craving for medication to get a chemical buzz becomes and evil desire. What evil things did the Israelites set their heart on? The details can be found in Numbers 11.
They quickly forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but craved intensely in the wilderness,
And tempted God in the desert. So He gave them their request, but sent a wasting disease among them.
Psalm 106:13-15
Meat is not a bad thing. The attitude toward God and dissatisfaction with His provision turned a natural desire into an evil thing.
? Sin? They doubted and despised God’s provision. (Tired of manna. We want meat!)
? Action? They set their heart on the things of the flesh rather than the spirit resulting in unbridled desire.
? Punishment? Severe plague.
The Corinthian believers were no strangers to unbridled fleshly desires. This would have easily found immediate application to some.
(2) Don’t become idolaters vs 7
Do not become idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, "THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY."
Exodus 32.
? Sin? They doubted and rejected God’s authority (it’s taking too long).
? Action? Idolatry leading to purposeless revelry.
? Punishment? Destruction
Neither were the Corinthians strangers to idolatry. Many of them had been saved out of idolatry. Some cited freedom in Christ to indulge in more than meat sacrificed to idols. Much of Paul’s letter urges distance from anything related to such demonic influence.
(3) Don’t act immorally vs 8
Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.
While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor,(spiritual connection to demons) and the LORD was angry against Israel. The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel." So Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor."
Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation and took a spear in his hand, and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. Those who died by the plague were 24,000.
Numbers 25:1-9
? Sin? They doubted and ignored God’s rules for life. (Let’s check out the Moabite women)
? Action? They engaged in immorality and self indulgence. (Partied at the Baal Temple)
? Punishment? Death by plague
Idolatry nearly always connects to immorality and sexual perversion sometime.
The Corinthians would have winced at this example as well.
(4) Don’t try the Lord vs 9
Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.
Numbers 21:4-9
? Sin? They doubted and resisted God’s direction. (We’re tired of this journey)
? Action? They rebelled, and demanded self determination, testing God to act.
? Punishment? Death by snake bite
(5) Don’t grumble vs 10
Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
“Grumble” = to be dissatisfied because of disappointment, mutter, murmur, speak in a low voice, complain.
Numbers 14:26-32 Israel excelled in the art of grumbling. It was a full time occupation all through the wilderness walk.
? Sin? They doubted and discarded God’s promise
? Action? They desired ease and comfort resulting in grumbling
? Punishment? Massive death in the wilderness and 40 years of aimless wandering.
Paul instructed believers to do ALL things without grumbling and disputing. All of these examples demonstrate the devastation of doubt. All of these actions arose due to their failure to take God at His word and really trust Him.
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
Trust His person! Trust His promise! Most all of our sin stems from doubt. We accept a lie of Satan and reject the truth of God. The Israelites failed to enter God’s rest because of their unbelief. Each incident cited here could have been avoided had they affirmed their trust in God.
For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. Hebrews 3:16-19
Too quick we jump ship and determine to make our own way since God is too slow or too mysterious or too insensitive or too hard.
(6) Watch out vs 11-12
Paul warns us to not be like the Israelites who not only doubted God but forfeited their reward.
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.
Don’t think it couldn’t happen to you!
? How many times have we doubted and despised God’s provision?
Not enough. It’s boring or not exciting enough to stimulate our over stimulated fleshly senses. It doesn’t satisfy like other things. We then cry and whine and demand something that, in the end, rots our soul.
? How many times have we doubted and rejected God’s authority?
He’s too slow. We’re not going anywhere. There is no clear direction. I’m tired of camping out here. I want to go back.
Serving God is too mysterious and hard. Then we find ourselves putting our trust in something else that is not God. We look for something that will take us where we want to go. A person, an activity, a direction, a power, a plan, an achievement, an amusement.
Such greed amounts to idolatry. Idolatry is seeking life apart from life in God.
Paul’s ultimate goal was to know the resurrected life of Christ both here and hereafter.
? How many times have we doubted and ignored God’s rules?
What’s wrong with it? Why can’t I do that? Why should I not enjoy the things of this world? If it feels good do it. Feels so good it can’t be wrong. The lie that there are no absolute rules in life leads to immorality and fleshly indulgence which captivates and destroys the soul and disqualifies us from rest and reward.
? How many times have we doubted and resisted God’s direction.
Please don’t send me to Africa. Why do I have to do that? Why can’t I do this? Why should I discipline myself? I’m tired of this journey! We can be anything we want to be. I have I right to self-determination. No one can tell me what to do or where to go. Such doubt of God’s direction leads to grumbling and complaining and ungratefulness and broken relationship with the one who alone can give us the proper direction.
? How many times have we doubted and discarded the promise of God?
That’s impossible. That’s too hard. It is taking too long. He never answers my prayers. I can’t believe that. Give me the easy way. That takes me out of my comfort zone. My goals are to get as comfortable as possible and avoid pain and discomfort at all costs.
Such doubt leads to disobedience and we miss the blessing and rest God has promised.
Hebrews 3:7-19; 6:11-12
How can we avoid such doubt in the midst of trials? How can I escape? What are my resources? How do we keep on trusting instead of doubting? Paul reminded the Corinthians of some vital truths about God to bank on.
c) God’s way of escape vs 13
(1) Truth ONE
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man;
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to mankind, humanity. No struggle ever comes our way that has not touched other humans who have trusted.
“temptation” = discipline, adversity, experience, trial
“Overtake” = seize, take, catch, get a hold
(2) Truth TWO
God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able,
God is faithful to not permit us to be tempted beyond his enablement. He oversees our development. Why do I feel like I am in over my head then? You have allowed more than God has allowed. You have lengthened the “lion’s” chain by your belief system. Or you have failed to take his way of escape.
(3) Truth THREE
but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
When God permits a trial He provides a way to escape doubting and endure the ordeal. Our responsibility is to take HIS way of escape. We must act for His pleasure not our escape. Only those who act in faith will please God. Only those who entrust their souls to a faithful creator will escape.
For since Christ Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. Hebrews 2:18
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16
Those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls (like Jesus did) to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. 1 Peter 4:19
Conclusion
We do not want to be among those who displease God.
Even though all things are lawful in Christ, not all things please God.
Even though all things are lawful in Christ, not all things bring earthly and heavenly reward.
Pursue self-discipline rather than self-indulgence.
Make it your ambition in life to please God not self?
Only genuine trust pleases God.
Let God search your heart this morning.
Let God do a cleansing and shine the light of His truth in the corners.
Because of failure to really trust God, many wander around in a wilderness.
Yes you have water, you have provision, you have food and even have God’s presence.
The one thing you don’t have is genuine rest.
You are living below God’s design for you.
You have forfeited your heavenly reward.
You are not putting a smile on God’s face.
? The greedy doubt and despise God’s provision
? Believers expect God to provide. What he doesn’t provide I don’t need.
? Idolaters doubt and rejected God’s authority over us.
? Believers endure the dry spells and delays realizing life is not what it seems.
? Lawbreakers doubt and ignore God’s rules.
? Believers seek his righteousness no matter what is accepted by others.
? Rebels doubt and resist God’s direction.
? Believers listen for God’s direction and obeys His commands.
? Complainers doubt and discard God’s promise.
? Believers act on God’s promise
Take some time this week to read Psalm 78.
It is a powerful summary of God’s dealings and Israel doubts in the wilderness.
