Audio of Sermon: 

1 Corinthians 10:1-14 (KJV) Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; [2] And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; [3] And did all eat the same spiritual meat; [4] And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. [5] But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. [6] Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. [7] Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. [8] Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. [9] Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. [10] Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. [11] Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. [12] Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. [13] There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. [14] Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

Our God is faithful.

Tonight we’re going to look at what the Bible says about “trials” or “temptations”. We are told in Job:

Job 5:6-7 (KJV) Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; [7] Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

We live in a trying and a tried world. Affliction and pain is not something we inherit from the dust. When God made Adam in the Garden, He did not build into Adam affliction and trials. Adam was in a trial free Eden. But then Adam listened to the serpent rather than the Word of God. He heeded the hiss of the snake rather than the firm Word of the Savior. That was when evil came into the world.

Every Human Is Afflicted And Tried

vs 13 …There hath no temptation taken you but such as is COMMON to MAN

When we are tried, when bad things happen, when the storm comes into our lives we are tempted to think we are the only ones who have ever experienced such a thing. This is not true.

To believe that your trial is somehow special, that God is singling you out above all others, is a dangerous and destructive thing. No matter what you are going through your suffering is common to man. I don’t mean to diminish your pain, but this is what the Scripture teaches. Every temptation, every trial, every bad thing that comes your way is something that someone else has been through or is going through right now. The Prophet Moses said:

Psalms 90:10 (KJV) The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

We are born crying in this life for a reason. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote:

Ecclesiastes 5:15-17 (CSB) As he came from his mother’s womb, so he will go again, naked as he came; he will take nothing for his efforts that he can carry in his hands. 16 This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he comes, so he will go. What does the one gain who struggles for the wind? 17 What is more, he eats in darkness all his days, with much frustration, sickness, and anger.

We all suffer because we live in a fallen world. Every person has felt the pain we feel.

Have you gone through a bitter divorce, being betrayed by the one you loved?
So have others.

Have you lost a spouse, the love of your life to death?
So have others.

Have you battled alcohol or drug addiction, being afflicted yourself,
or suffered with a loved one?
Yes, others have gone through this too.

Have you been in a terrible accident, tearing your body apart?
Yes, others have suffered so.

Have you been betrayed by a trusted friend?
Did not Jesus have Judas?
Did not every one of His disciples deny Him?

Have you or a loved one been afflicted by disease, wasting away?
Yes, many have experienced the same thing.

I was at the hospital the other day ministering to a family going through a valley when a visitor came in. As we talked she mentioned she lost her son this year, a young man of only 25 years old. She was still grieving and missing him. I told her I still grieve and miss my young son who died at 17 years old. If you look around, you will find someone going through trials and temptations just as you are. Jesus told us His disciples:

John 16:33 (NIV) I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

In the world we live in you always have trouble, trials, tribulations. These things will come. Right after Jesus’ baptism the Bible tells us that:

Matthew 4:1 (CSB) Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

God the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness – a dry and parched land – to be tested by the Devil. Why did God do this? To show us that in this world the devil will test, but that Jesus is greater than any trial or temptation. Jesus was hungry when tested. He had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. He was famished. His stomach was eating His backbone. And here comes the devil:

If You’re really the Son of God command these stones be made bread.
Go ahead, Jesus. I’m waiting.

What did Jesus do? He could have commanded the stones be made bread, fresh warm bread, and could have turned the grass into butter and honey. But Jesus didn’t listen to the whispers of the devil but instead heeded the Word of God. He looked upward rather than around. He didn’t use His abilities, but rested on God’s faithful word.

Man must not live on bread alone, but on every Word that comes from God’s Mouth!

Jesus trusted the faithfulness of God. He did not allow the darkness to control Him, but instead allowed the light of God to shine forth in truth.

God Is Faithful!

Vs 13 … God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

No matter what the trial or temptation is you are going through, God is faithful. God is with His Children. God has proven that over and over again. Our chapter started with:

1 Corinthians 10:1 (KJV) Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

The “fathers” of our faith – the founders – all suffered terribly. God’s Israel suffered over 400 years in a pagan land called Egypt. Their children were killed. They suffered under the whip of the taskmasters, and were themselves slaves. But God is faithful. At the right time God moved, and caused Egypt to release Israel.

Our Fathers Were Under The Cloud …

When Israel came out of their trials, God led them out by a Pillar of Cloud by day and a Pillar of Fire by night (Exodus 13:21).

They out of their trials following God and His Word.
They listened to God and His Word.
They focused on God and His Word.

When Israel got the Red Sea and were unable to cross they cried out, not to God but against Moses.

Exodus 14:11-12 (CSB) Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.

They did not look up, but looked out and found fault with Moses, blaming God’s man. When trials come blaming someone for that trial does not help. Cursing Moses will not get Israel through the Red Sea. Being angry at others doesn’t fix the problem, dear One. No. But God is faithful! Moses looked upward, and told his people:

Exodus 14:13-14 (CSB) … Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet. …

Look up. Look up in the midst of the trial. God is faithful.

1 Corinthians 10:1-2 (KJV) …. all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; [2] And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

When Israel looked up, God parted the waters. When Israel trusted God, they ALL went through the sea. They ALL were BAPTIZED unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. What does that mean? It means they all went under the trial, they all looked up, and God took then through the trial. Not one Israelite was lost in the water. Not one little baby was left in the mud. The unbelievers were crushed, destroyed by the water, but God’s people were saved by the water. God is faithful. He is always faithful.

The Faithfulness Of Christ Is Our Escape

vs 13 …. God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it

I have heard people say:

God will not put more on you than you can bear.

That is a half truth. That’s really not what the Bible says. The Bible says “God will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, BUT WILL WITH THE TEMPTATION ALSO MAKE A WAY TO ESCAPE”. That’s the full promise. God watches you in trials and tribulations and ALWAYS provides an escape. What is that escape?

It is JESUS.
It is HIS PRESENCE.

Let’s look at the Fathers again. We read:

1 Corinthians 10:3-4 (KJV) {the fathers} … did all eat the same spiritual meat; [4] And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Christ was with His people as they went through the wilderness. It was Christ Who provided spiritual meat and spiritual drink to Israel. As long as Israel looked upward our Lord blessed them. He gave them Manna to eat when there was no bread. He gave them Meat to eat when there was no meat. Christ was the Rock that brought forth water, satisfying the thirsty soul. When Israel came to a place where the water was too bitter to drink they grumbled, saying “What are we going to drink?”

Exodus 15:23-25 (CSB) They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water at Marah because it was bitter – that is why it was named Marah. The people grumbled to Moses, “What are we going to drink?” So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he threw it into the water, the water became drinkable. The Lord made a statute and ordinance for them at Marah, and he tested them there.

Moses tossed a Tree into the bitter waters of Marah, and the waters became sweet. What is our blessing in trials? It is Christ. It is that our Jesus loved us so much that He came to this earth. Born of a Virgin, He grew to manhood. He walked and talked amongst us. Then in the greatest show of love ever, Christ went to Calvary. The Bible declares:

1 Peter 2:21-25 (KJV) For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: [22] Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: [23] Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: [24] Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. [25] For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Jesus Christ allowed Himself to be nailed to the Tree. He died to pay for your sins and mine. The reason that we suffer death, disease, and the devil is because of sin in this terribly fallen world.

I was listening to the chorus of liberal newscasters once more talking about “the greatest mass shooting in American history”. Last Sunday night (October 1, 2017) a gunman killed 59 people and injured 527 people from a 32 floor window of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Immediately the talking heads began their tired cries for gun control. Sadly, gun control isn’t the problem. People murdered one another long before there were guns. The first murder in the Bible – brother killing brother – did not have the smell of gun smoke to it.

The world has a heart problem.
It needs Jesus.
In the midst of every trial our escape is Jesus.

Colossians 2:13-14 (KJV) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; [14] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

What keeps my heart going in the trial and the temptation is that Jesus loves me and gave Himself for me. He blotted out my sins, and gives me a right relationship with God. I stand clean before my Lord, and He promises never to leave nor to forsake me.

Galatians 3:13-14 (KJV) Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: [14] That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Jesus Christ became a curse so that I might be blessed. In this world I will have trials, but my God in Christ has defeated this world. He watches over me, and you too. Oh how He loves us! When trials come we need to know that Jesus, like a Great Shepherd, watches over us. He said:

John 10:7-11 (KJV) Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. [8] All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. [9] I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. [10] The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. [11] I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Jesus is where our gaze should go in the trial. What caused an overwhelming trial in Israel? Israel fell under overwhelming trials! What caused that trial was a loss of focus on Christ. We read:

1 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV) But with many of them God was not well pleased: for THEY WERE OVERTHROWN IN THE WILDERNESS. 

Can a trial come your way that is MORE THAN YOU CAN BEAR? Absolutely. If you take your eyes off of Jesus you can become overwhelmed, not because God is unfaithful, but because YOU are. When we take our eyes off of Jesus the trial becomes unbearable because of US. What are the things that people have done instead of looking upward?

1 Corinthians 10:6-11 (KJV) … we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. [7] Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. [8] Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. [9] Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. [10] Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. [11] Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and THEY ARE WRITTEN FOR OUR ADMONITION ….

The fathers who fell under temptation lusted after evil things. They did not “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33), but chased after things God told them not to chase.

The fathers who fell under temptation were idolators. They did not remember His Word that said “do not turn unto idols, nor make unto yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:4). When faith is placed in the wrong god, God will not bless it.

The fathers who fell under temptation committed fornication, sexual sin. There are many who profess Christ today who dishonor their bodies sleeping around rather than trusting God. They go from bed to bed, bringing trials into their own lives. Your body is not your own – you are bought with a price. Glorify God in your body, and your spirit, which are God’s (1 Corinthians 6:20).

The fathers who fell under temptation tempted Christ. Jesus told the devil “You shall not tempt the Lord your God (Matthew 4:7). To tempt God is to do what He has forbidden, or to not do what He has commanded.

The fathers who fell under temptation murmured and complained. Murmuring is a sign of unbelief. God calls us to be gracious in our speech, loving Him, loving one another.

Christ is our Hope. He is our Lord, our Shepherd, our Redeemer, and our Friend. Let us look to Him and His Word in the trials of life, trusting God no matter what might come.

For God is faithful!

1 Corinthians 1:9 (KJV) God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

God is faithful!

May someone draw closer to Christ, the Light of God, in the midst of your trial.