Paul's Examples

Lord thank you for your love and kindness and generosity to us. Thank you that you are faithful when we are faithless. Thank you that as we open your word. You are true to Invicta Hearts to move in us to encourage us. New Eevee receptive to what the Holy Spirit was to speak to our hearts and lives this morning would give this time to you in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Hey when I was 14, my parents had planned this just absolutely epic trip to go to Whistler Canada. They say it was a summertime trip said bring your snowboard. We're going to go hit the slopes. We're going to ride bikes. We're going to go catch a baseball game on our way back down and they planned this epic trip. That should have been the most amazing thing that I could have participated in except for one problem. I was 14 and when your 14 and it's summer and you have a new girlfriend the last thing you want to do especially before cell phones to my nephew that may be in here or not. The last thing you want to do is to go on a trip to Canada and leave everybody away. Refer to two and a half weeks. You'll miss the social scene. You'll miss everything going on. I couldn't believe that my parents could do this horrible thing to me and taking me to Canada to ski and do all the rest and the one thing I remember most about that trip. I grumbled and complained the entire trick. I'm sure my parents being a father of four now look back on that and what you have got to be kidding me. We're doing this thing and it's to be epic and exciting an excellent and he is just ruining it through his attitude of grumbling and complaining and if we look at 1st Corinthians here today Paul is going to have some things to say specifically about this if you're here last week, we saw that paulist Calling the church at Corinth you have passed through the see the very presence of God is with you. He's depicting into this New Testament Church. They're very state that they have crossed over because of the blood of Jesus enough followers of Jesus. And this is how you should live your life, but he didn't give two warnings to the church there any watch out because these could be devastating and cause problems for you. And so what does he say where to pick up an verse 6 of chapter 10. Now these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolatrous as some of them were as it is written the people sit down to eat and drink and Rose up to play. We must not indulge in sexual immorality at some of them did a 23000 fell in a single day to the test at 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 happen to them as an example, but they were written down for your instruction find it incredibly intriguing. Because here you have the Israelites and they have this moment that Paul is referring to they have found themselves on the other side of the grips of pharaoh and passed through the see the place where they once were in slavery and oppression and they were being beat down and having their babies murdered. They left all of that behind yet. They come to this place in the wilderness and they're presented with almost a Garden of Eden type of situation. Once again, it's one of the incredible things when you're reading through the scriptures you continue to see this pop up where people are with the presence of God and then their innocence presented with this. Situation of am I going to worship you are we going to decide for ourselves? What is right or what is wrong and it is a very place that the Israelites are finding themselves in they made it through there with God there past the Sea and the Wilderness proved to be a trial of its own and what we can begin to gather from. This is that you can eat like the Israelites in Egypt and in slavery end in bondage and you can be delivered and under the cloud and with the presence of God, but there is a problem within their heart that still remains in which God desires to root out of them. He's up to something big and their heart and lies. And I wonder how many of us feel like this and this some bit of a cyclical walk with god what I mean by that is I wish the story went from in our lives bad to good always. That oh my goodness. I realized they said I'm in I'm far from the love of God. I have not desired God and I hear of the Gospel in the good news of Jesus and I begin to believe that in walking that end in life just goes along perfect way patch everything begins to work out for me. But what tends to happen in life is that we continue to go through Cycles in cycles and Cycles we have this idea and there's truth in this belief that we have been delivered, but we're still in one sense in the wilderness and why didn't everything just suddenly come to an opt. Think about the Israelites. That's what Paul is doing for us this morning there. He raises up and deliver. His name is Moses Moses says I'm going to deliver you and things get worse before they get better because the slavery than is Harsh and you'll make bricks without straw then once they are getting close to their freedom. They come with their backs up against the Sea and the army of pharaoh barreling down at them God. What are you doing? And now they are in the wilderness. I know they have this freedom from pharaoh and they thought life would look a certain way. It's not going how they thought. I feel like sometimes that is the Christian walk and the Christian life, isn't it? You hear the good news you respond to the gospel with in life isn't quite going just how you wanted. Just how you desired since that's where we are in the story of God. And that's what Paul is describing to this church in Corinth. You've been saved you've been changed and God is with you but we still rests with a host of issues, but the Bible describes as in these acts of rebellion against God that cause harm to one another as well as distension than in our life and we can feel this war that is Raging within each and everyone of us and we say, oh where the things I want to do. I don't do any things. I don't want to do I do help me God and how am I going to be delivered in this moment? What tends to come out when life doesn't go our way is murmuring grumbling and complaining with something that we love when something that we have a huge amount of Desire within us for his attacked our response ends up being in this murmur murmur murmur and complaint in frustration and anger now some of that might be justified when there's in justices, but sometimes you're a fourteen-year-old to just want your voice heard who wants to make life miserable for everyone around you. Emma God is bringing the Wilderness for the Israelites what Paul is pressing on the church in Corinth where I would challenge us today is what are your subtle everyday desires and James 4 1 through 4. It says our desires scuse me. What's turn there? That's what I'm going to read to you chapter 4. verses 1 through 4

does what causes Coral is what causes fights among you is it not this that your passions are at War within you you desire and do not have so you murder you have it in Canada pain? So you fight and you Coral you do not have because you do not ask you ask and do not receive because you are asked wrongly to spend it on your own passions. You adulterous people. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God therefore whoever makes whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. What is this describing is when our passions and our desires go unchecked and get out of control. They turn from maybe even good and right desires to demands that we place on either others or God and when those demands are not met we throw hissy-fits like 14 year olds. When his demands are not met I need love. I need Seth I need and you can fill in the blank there this morning cuz you better get it to me. You better provided for me or if you stand in the way of me achieving it. I'm going to do whatever it takes to trample over you just to get what I think I personally need. My sense of need to set up my expectations expectations with unfulfilled leads to disappointment disappointment often leads to some kind of punishment that you dish out cuz you want something you can't get it there for James says you fight and you quarrel. Our little demands are grumbling towards one another. redeemers be exposed within our hearts

I love the analogy and I can share it in premarital. One of the fights are probably have in the first year of marriage is the dishes fight. You know where they're stacked get a lot of friends over and the next morning. You're both kind of looking at each other like dude who's going to do this. The reality is it's not about the dishes piled up in the sink. It's about a desire to be served and have your way rather than to serve the person next to you. It's me, trusting my expectations upon somebody and saying you fulfill this you do this. Otherwise, I'm going to punish you in some way and our little the man that begin to build up within each and everyone of us and it first or not glaring problems. But it become to be the things that we Grumble and complain about we see the 50 is realize Now call First says here do not be sexually immoral. You can look at numbers 25 1 through 5 for the story that he's talking about. We've already dealt with that in a long context in the past and 1st Corinthians. So we're not going to address that here today, but then he turned our attention to Exodus 16 these Israelites who Grumble and complain after having been delivered by God and verses 2 through 3 says and the whole Congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to me Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt when we sat by meet pots and a bread to the fall for your brought us into the Wilderness to kill this whole assembly with Hunger at sounds like a 14 year old. Oh you freed us delivered us. You've given us everything. We've been trying out for a nasty find your own people were free to make our decision, but it was so much better when we sat around the meat pot and our children were being killed and we were being whipped and we were being put to work we were slaves and the mind is quickly forgotten God has delivered and God has done in them and inverts for it goes on then the Lord said to Moses behold. I'm about to rain bread from heaven for you. And the people should go out and gather a day's portion every day that I may test them. Will they will walk in my law or not despite their faithlessness and their ingratitude. God says I am going to meet you with blessing. My presence promises I have for you. I'm going to be with you in the midst of it and he reigns down man, and I'm going to share this long narrative in verse 5 says on the sixth day when they prepare what they bring in it'll be twice as much as they gather daily. So Moses and Aaron said the all the people of Israel at evening, you show me know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord for what are we that you Grumble against us and Moses said when the Lord gives you in the evening me to eat in the morning bread to fall because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you Grumble against him. What are we your grumbling is not against you but against the Lord then Moses said to Aaron say to the whole Congregation of the people of Israel come near before the Lord for he has heard your grumbling and as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole Conger Nation of the people of Israel. They looked toward the Wilderness and behold the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud and the Lord appeared in the cloud and the Lord said to Moses. I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel at Twilight. You should eat meat and in the morning should be filled with bread. Then you should know that I am the Lord your God what word comes up again and again and again, I'm not there to the people from both the complains. They murmured against Moses but really and this is one of the most sobering concept that comes from this passage is their grumbling and they're complaining was not against Moses and Aaron was against God himself.

Probably because they didn't have something they thought you better give this to us. Now. There's a few interesting things in here. First of all in first before you get these Nana Gathering rules and it talks about this law that God sets up for them and they can bring up a whole lot of ideas in your head when you hear the word law. And we think I owe man Moses Getting The Ten Commandments and what is that all look like however in this section of scripture it says why God did this what you showed what was actually in the heart of the people he wanted to bring to surface what was inside of them by giving them this external rule to go look you need to get this in check because your desired back in Egypt when things were bad with crying out for me, but are you now what I'm with you in the spot in a place where you are giving your heart your life your love your Legions to who I am and he saying this will show this reveal so it's not for God's sake. It's for their sake to know that they are to be underneath who he is Douglas Stewart of Bill commentator said it was not just a test to see if they could follow instructions, but a test to see if their hearts were inclined to be his Covenant people. Will you follow me? Will you walk with me on Exodus 1620 the corded? 15 pack of opposites and it turns to worms in the morning and it wasn't good and there's this clue in there that their faith was not this faith-filled for the love of God. They didn't want to obey and walk in him. They just wanted what he could provide. Brass is very similar in a sense. We have desires. We have good desires. We have bad desires. I'm sure if you were to go and take a survey of Israelites and they're like, hey, you know Moses kind of brought us out to this desert. There's no food. And there's no water. What the heck are you doing? Dude? What what is going on? We need to eat. We need to provide. We need to have security and safety Moses. What is happening yet? What we see in this is it wasn't simply asking of our requesting of God. It was a demanding. Give us give us this. It was so much better back. Then the way that it was they did not ask in such a way where they were Drawing Near to God, but they were saying do this or else it was placing demands on God. You see it's a deeper than just bread of the external the Israelites obviously had a natural desire for food, but they wanted food on their term and God is using their bellies to expose their internal appetite of their hearts. And for their demands to be laid out before God is saying you better do this. And then they couldn't even follow the rules that God had given them and provision but they're filled with this lust for more. I grew up in southern Oregon in southern Oregon. There is a lot of poison oak if you get anybody poison oak. Beautiful little poison oak. Once you start scratching that guess what happens it is just everywhere.

Stitched that you scratch, but guess what? It is never satisfied and it just spreads two more in Ephesians. 4:19 says this is you a sinful desire a bottomless and insatiable desire with what's going on. Is he saying there's a continual Lust For more in Ephesians 4:19? People want and are never satisfied they want and they're never felt they want and they're never full and this is where so many people are at because they aren't satisfied. They aren't fall they crumble and they can play now fixating on desires. It must be mad is not necessarily A Bad Thing. Everyone of you have desires needs that need to be met. But when we have the attitude that are demanding or entitled at worst cousin in blame-shifting that you're getting in the way of what I want, it can corrupt our desires for example, tween a husband and a wife sex is a great good desire to have going to becomes the demand of my marriage that the man of my life but it becomes a thing that controls guide and governs me now. We've got an unchecked desire out of control. We can then begin to feed that or there's not good desires lying gossiping slandering deceiving selfishness. And for whatever reason we participate in those two people to lift ourselves up that need to be dealt with the question is is do you love Jesus and a follower of Jesus? What's wrong with me? Because I can easily be put into the same shoes as the Israelites. I'm not Moses redeemers. I'm not the hero of the story Moses wasn't even the hero of the story kind of failed God is the hero of the story. But what is wrong with us when we are all these desire to become the thing that we want most in our lives. What can we do to combat this and there's some ways to go about desires but I think are appropriate and good. Like the Israelites wanting freedom from their current situation with broken hearts. They cried out to God Like Jesus there in the Garden of Gethsemane. Nevertheless not my will but your will be done. There is a good desires of saying Lord, give us our daily bread and good desires of Lord help my kids to walk with Jesus praying for provision and protection. What if he's right desires become ruling desires. We know we have a problem. It's not that they had desired. It's how they went about their desires. Church, what do you want most? What matters most to you today?

What you talk about most? the Facebook about most will you argue about most? Hey, what is a quick Sprint to what you desire? It'll reveal what you want in your life or what? Do you Grumble and complain about the ask yourself? Why and go running down that road and you'll begin to see the exposure of what's inside of your heart.

Paul Tripp love him. He speaks about grumbling like this grumbling is the background drone of a discontent heart David powlison biblical counselor said rumbling is dispatched to satisfaction with what is we are usually so blind to are grumbling because it's so justifiable in our own efforts and our own lives.

If you don't see it, if you don't recognize it, one of the best things you can do is turn to the person you came with today. And your spouse you might be at home turn to your children turn to a good friend that's not here and ask them what you hear me murmuring grumbling and complaining about most dangerous question. Is it revealed what we love inside? It shows what we truly crave. I'm going to finish with one story from the gospels in the marina close out with communion and worship and praise but in John chapter 6 is famous story of Jesus and his disciples and he feeds them bread and he multiplies bread to the 5,000 and that was an epic moment. I think that was probably a highlight for all of the disciples. And for all those were sitting in the crowd like free lunch good day is awesome. Jesus goes to the other side of the Sea and the crowds begin to follow him and they get into this conversation and they're like, this is crazy. You're like Moses Jesus you gave us bread is it Moses had the bread rain down from heaven you broke it, but we want to make you because you're giving us something monetary for giving us something physical you're giving us something that can feed our bodies. So they chase him around the seat not for what he has said. Not for what he is proclaiming because he's provided a service for them and it begins to have this conversation with the people there and it turns sour real fast spring John 6. Jesus says hey if you don't need of my body and drink of my blood you have no part with me and the crowds leave and the disciples are confused and they're like cute is what we trying to just get a lot of numbers and Crown you now.

Cheap bread from Heaven they want the physical thing that I can ride, but they don't want me they want nothing to do with me and they are the crowds dispersed any looked at his disciples. Will you leave to go? What else do we have? Its finest moments syeni moments before the tree of Good and Evil moments. These disciples have this decision to make is Jesus who he says he is. Are we going to walk with him? Even when it gets tough? Are we going to serve him and follow after him or we going to Grumble and complain? And that's what Paul is warning to this church. Don't be like them because it revealed within your hearts but don't just say I'm not going to grow but I'm not going to Grumble. I'm not going to Grumble that doesn't work as you've been discussing week after week. It's actually not simply looking at what's wrong with me, but looking at with right with him. But he's provided for us the new life. He has given us that in propels and allows for me to no matter the circumstance or situation for my attitude in check and to change because of what he had done. I'm going to leave you with some questions. Hopefully you can write these down or we listen to him but not to answer now, maybe some of them are for there to think through this week. What have you been demanding lately?

I might send this to you before I'm at the end. What does your demand say of God? Whatever you do trials. Do you face the really basic? the kids exploding toothpaste The dishes piled high, how do they expose your desires?

Who are what are you grumbling against? What is your grumbling say about God? When was the last time you confessed your grumbling hearts? What would it look like throughout the god in a manner that cries out for help rather than Lord help. She commands versus a cry.

Only encourage you come to God In Prayer on this.

God is exposing Hearts mine included. What does it look like to have Philippians 2:14 to do all things without grumbling and complaining don't be like listen to Paul's warning fix your eyes on Jesus and that's why we're going to continue to do now. Let's pray for God's thank you for your everlasting love.

Thank you for going for through 1st Corinthians. You know what our hearts need as we just open up the text.

And receive from you being encouraged by you. Got if you're working on our hearts in this place new we be receptive to it and not Harden them. It would be emboldened by you encouraged by you. I know your love in a deeper capacity. We worship you we praise you in Jesus name. Amen.