8/2/26 “Storm Warning”
"Storm Warning"
1 Corinthians 10:1-12
As many of you know, this past Monday, a large EF-3 Tornado ripped through parts of the Fox Valley...
The towns of Menasha and Appleton were hit extremely hard...
Here's some pictures of the storm damage taken by volunteers with Samaritan's Purse....devastating.
(Show Tornado Pics)
Winds from this tornado were estimated at between 135-165 MPH
According to the National Weather Service,165 MPH winds will easily debark trees, throw heavy vehicles around....they can even tip trains over!
There's definitely a reason why public warnings are issued when tornadic activity is in the area....
Sirens go off...your phone goes crazy...
...Meteorologists who can't pronounce Muscoda come on the screen in the middle of your favorite TV show....
All of these methods of communication are designed to provide people with the needed time to find shelter....to seek out a place of safety....
Warnings that – based upon what tornados have done in the past – allow for those who are in the path of danger to alter their plans accordingly...
...To - if needed – rearrange their schedules in order to maximize their own well-being.
...all with the goal of saving lives.
Well...our passage of scripture for today begins with a similar warning...
But – rather than warning people about a physical storm....
Paul issues a "Spiritual" storm warning.
He reminds the believers in Corinth about the spiritual storm of God's anger directed toward the Israelites of the Exodus...
those people who had experienced God's mighty power displayed in miracle upon miracle...
Yet the vast majority of these individuals – some 2 million people who were delivered out of Egypt –
....almost immediately turned to idols for comfort after being led to safety..
...resorting to sinful, self-indulgent behaviors for personal satisfaction....
Rather than reacting in gratitude, thankfulness, and obedience to God for His continual provision....
....and His faithful fulfillment of their needs...
If these people had only taken seriously the words of their Father Abraham...
Who – after experiencing God's boundless mercy in the sparing of his son Isaac – named that place:
"Jehovah Jireh"
Which – in Hebrew means - "The Lord will Provide"
The Lord – in His mercy - had provided a ram for sacrifice in Isaac's place....
Just as He provides a sacrifice for each and every one of us today in the perfect, unblemished lamb of Jesus Christ...
We must remember to live in such a way as to consistently display our gratitude for what Jesus he has done for us....
Far too often, we – just like the ancient Israelites – run to the things of this world for satisfaction and pleasure....
.....rather than finding contentment in thankful obedience to our Savior.
This is the tone in which Paul begins writing to the Corinthians here in chapter 10.
Chapters 8,9 & 10 of 1st Corinthians all have the general theme of Christian liberty in view....
....and how we ought best use - or for the sake of our weaker brothers & sisters in the faith – Limit certain freedoms that we have as believers...
And here in Chapter 10, Paul begins by teaching from OT history how it can be easy to fall victim to becoming overconfident in the use of our Christian liberty
...How - by spending an excessive amount of time around sinful people and places – our thoughts and behavior will begin to conform to the pattern of the world.
It's no wonder that we are repeatedly reminded in scripture to NOT conform to the pattern of this world....
Consistently flying too close to the flames of sin will always singe your wings....grounding your testimony....
....leaving you flightless and ineffective for service to the Savior.
I remember a time on the farm when we housed pigs for a few years....
Those of you who have ever dealt with pigs know that once you expose clothing to pig manure....those clothes will never be the same again...
They will always smell like pig manure, right?
You can wash them over and over again, but it's virtually impossible to completely eradicate that stench of "Pig Exhaust" from the fibers and threads.
...essentially, making the clothing unwearable in public.
The same holds true for sin.
If we continually - and overconfidently - expose ourselves to the stench of sin, eventually, our lives will resemble the culture around us...
...and - spiritually - leaving us smelling like ....pig-manure!
... We will no longer be salt and light in a world of darkness and decay.
...Our testimony will be tarnished.
...Our Witness will be wounded.
...Our Impact for God's Kingdom will be neutralized.
This is the lesson from the generation of Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years...
Their heads - and their hearts – were filled with sinful idolatry, immorality, and rebelliousness....
....something the Christians in Corinth were struggling with as well.
The first five verses of today's passage speak to the blessings that the Israelites experienced...
...and yet their hearts still gravitated toward sin.
Verse 1 (1 Corinthians 10:1) describes the cloud that is described back in Exodus chapter 13....
God guided the Israelites through a pillar of cloud by day, and pillar of fire by night....
This cloud is sometimes referred to as "Shekinah" cloud...
The Hebrew word 'Shekinah' actually isn't found in the Bible....
But it became a popular Rabbinic term to mean "the glorious presence of God that inhabits a particular place"
Another usage of Shekina refers to God coming down to rest above the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle...and later...inside the Temple in Jerusalem.
In verse 2 (1 Corinthians 10:2) Paul tells us that all of the Israelites were baptized into Moses....
What is Paul referring to here when he uses the phrase 'Baptized into Moses'?
Well...let's remember that baptism – at its core – is a method of identifying with Christ....
...and this identification involves physically going under water....a place where we would die if held under too long....
....but then being brought up out of the water to new life...
I believe what Paul is saying here is that – like a foreshadow (or, type) of Christ figure....
....Moses led the people through the watery depths of the Red Sea....to then experience God's supernatural deliverance to the other side....
God brought life from a situation that would have normally brought death.
What a beautiful picture of the Messiah – who would come roughly 1,500 years later.
This was yet another blessing that the people of Israel seemed to forget....or ignore.
Verse 3 (1 Corinthians 10-3) refers to the bread-like food called Manna that would appear on the ground for 6 days out of every week...
Another example of God's provision for His people....
Verse 4 (1 Corinthians 10:4) speaks of drinking the same spiritual drink....flowing from a spiritual rock.....
...and - interestingly – Paul describes this rock as having the name Christ...
Again....Paul is intertwining the physical with the spiritual here to reveal how God not only had provided for his people physically through a miraculous, water-producing rock....
....but how He also delivers people spiritually as well...through the living water of Jesus Christ.
All of these blessings were showered upon the Israelites, yet verse 5 (1 Corinthians 10:5) reads, "Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert."
The people of the Exodus generation had resorted to sinfully serving themselves...
....rather than faithfully serving the God who had so graciously delivered them from the Egyptians....and from the many dangers of the wilderness...
...And out of this entire generation of people - it would only be Joshua and Caleb who would ever have the opportunity to step foot upon the promised land.
As we will see in the upcoming verses...there will always be consequences for sinful choices...
On several occasions...God even allows for lives to be lost on account of stubborn and arrogant disobedience...
Paul tells us in verse 6 (1 Corinthians 10:6) that we can learn many lessons from the historical account of the Israelites wandering through the desert for 40 years....
...and the way in which God dealt with them.
Like a tornado siren blaring forth from the pages of this chapter...
...We are to take warning from what happened to these people, so as not to also let our hearts become fixated on things of the world...
....distractions that will result in our downfall.
Lately, I've been researching some of the hikes in Zion National Park, as Lisa & I plan to – Lord willing - experience a few of the trails there this Fall.
...The most famous trail in all of Zion National Park....actually, one of the most famous in the entire country....
Is a trail called 'Angel's Landing"....has anyone heard of it?
It's so popular that you have to actually enter your name in a lottery system in order to have the opportunity to hike the trail all the way to the end where the lookout is – from what I hear – pretty incredible...
But Angel's landing is also one of the most dangerous hikes in the country...
Since the year 2000, 18 people have died while hiking to the top...
...And - in a majority of cases – people who fell to their deaths had gotten distracted....and taken their eyes off of the trail...
You see, as one nears the top of Angel's Landing you come upon a segment of the trail known as the Spine....
It's a narrow 3-foot wide path with sheer 1,000 foot drop-offs on both sides...
And if one gets careless – and gazes too long at the scenery around them...their feet can drift...resulting in death.
In a spiritual sense, this is what happened to many of the Israelites...
...and to many of the Corinthian believers as well.
They were immersing themselves in the pleasurable vistas of idolatry, alcoholic indulgence, and sexual immorality....
They were taking their eyes off of the trail of righteousness...and thankfulness
...And many of them were falling into a pit of spiritual uselessness
Even if they were still saved....because of their close association with worldly enticements...their testimony and integrity were rendered ineffective....
Useless for advancing the Kingdom of God.
One of the specific sins that Paul mentions in verse 10 (1 Corinthians 10:10) is one we rarely talk about....
...but one – I think – needs to be fleshed out a bit this morning.
Verse 10 reads, "And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel."
We don't ever grumble, do we?.....NO!
Or if we do, it's justified grumbling, right?
You know, when you grumble under your breath because that lady ahead of you in line at Farm & Fleet is taking what seems like 10 minutes to write out a check....
Definitely a grumble-worthy moment, right?
...Or how about when you get that property tax bill at the end of the year and it's gone up more than you think it should have gone up...
...I'm sure God gives us a pass when it comes to what we consider to be 'oppressive taxation' grumbling....
What about that waitress who forgot to hold the mayo on your sandwich...?
Or the neighbor who never mows his lawn....
Or the chronic health condition that you've claimed as your own personal 'thorn in the flesh'
Or the family member who recently offended you in some way...
Or your spouse who – Oh my gosh – continues to put the toilet paper roll on the WRONG WAY!.... everyone knows the roll goes over, not under!
Folks....we human beings naturally LOVE to Grumble & complain.
...and it's something we see happen a LOT more in developed countries than in 3rd world nations...
People in poor countries aren't hindered by lofty expectations, like we are.
...We are so used to getting what we want...when we want it....
If something doesn't measure up to our expectations of efficiency, we grumble....we complain....
I've even overheard people on a cruise ship complain about there being too much food on the buffet.....TOO MUCH FOOD!
Have you ever thought about how spoiled we are here in this country?
How about just being thankful that you have enough money to buy that item at Farm & Fleet....?
How about being thankful that you have been blessed with the privilege of owning property that is subject to taxation...?
How about being thankful that you have the financial ability to visit a restaurant from time to time....?
How about being thankful that your No-Mow-May neighbor seems to be a stable, law-abiding citizen....?
How about being thankful that that chronic health condition isn't serious enough to keep you home from worship service...?
How about being thankful that you actually have family to spend time with...?
...and how about being extremely thankful that God has given you a spouse who loves you enough to overlook your annoying habits and less-than-perfect behavior...?
You get the point here, right?
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
Brothers & Sisters in Christ...we are the last people on earth who ought to be grumbling and complaining...
Why?....because we have been blessed with knowing and experiencing the risen Christ in our lives!
We have been entrusted with proclaiming the most hopeful message this world will ever hear....
How can we even think of complaining when God's Word tells us that we have been adopted as children into His eternal family....?
How can we complain when we have been made new....when we have become a new creation in Christ?
Folks....the next time you find yourself complaining....
And – by the way - it doesn't have to be out loud...
I would say that 95% of my own complaining stays inside my head....but it's still complaining!
The next time you find yourself complaining about some trivial, 1st world problem....
Take another look at some of those tornado-ravaged houses in Menasha that no longer have a roof, or walls....and be thankful for your home.
Take a look at some of the pictures of St. Jude patients that most likely won't make it to adulthood....and be thankful for the years of disease-free life that God has given you.
Take a look at the living conditions of the 95% of the world who are financially worse off than you....and be thankful to have a bank account.
Like us, the children of Israel were blessed....extremely blessed.
...And yet they treated these blessings like rubbish.
...They were never satisfied....always wanting more & more
This – understandably – made God upset.
In the case of the Israelites, their grumbling reached such a fevered pitch under the rebellion of a man named Korah....
....that God literally ended the life of thousands of people through subsequent natural disasters, diseases, and plagues...
In short....God hates grumbling.
The solution?....don't grumble.
Always look for God's blessings in life....and be thankful for them.
(Remember the song "Keep on the Sunny Side"....?)
The 2nd verse is very appropriate for this week in Wisconsin:
"The storm and its fury broke today, crushing hopes that we cherished so dear, Clouds and storms will in time pass away, the sun again will shine bright and clear.....keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side, keep on the sunny side of life, It will help us every day, it will brighten all the way, if we keep on the sunny side of life."
Not only will that sunny mindset be pleasing to God....
...But it will also inspire others to be people of gratitude...
And...you will be a much happier person yourself as you realize the extent to which Jehovah Jirah has faithfully provided for you....and how He will continue to do so.
Let's let the poor choices of the Israelites...and the Corinthians...be a warning to us...
Read these verses like a spiritual storm warning...
And – instead of choosing sinful disobedience - take cover under the sheltering wing of the savior....
For it is there one finds contentment....safety...and satisfaction of the soul.
Let's Pray.
