Being A Fair Weather Christian

Lord, grateful for today. Thank you for the day that you've made. We rejoice and we're glad in it.

We're grateful for what you've done for us. Lord, we have much to be thankful for. Help us not to grumble and complain about what we don't have.

Help us not to to look at the glass is half empty. But to rejoice and everything, give thanks in Jesus name, Amen. You know, what I find is that we as believers, we go very much by what we see and by what we hear, by our senses.

And the Lord wants us to walk by faith. I was reading something about how God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. He brought them out of a place of bondage.

He took them through the Red Sea. He delivered them from the Pharaoh and destroyed their armies. He led them through the wilderness to test their faith.

Because they had cried out a long time to God for a deliverer, they wanted deliverance from their bondage. You know, some of us, we have been caught up in sins that we're ashamed of. And we've cried out for a long time for deliverance from these things.

Doesn't matter what they are from our past. And then the Lord answers us and delivers us from our bondage. And now we come into a place where we have this kind of freedom.

But we're kind of in between, we're in a wilderness. And what are we going to do there? And the Lord allowed them to go through the wilderness. He could have brought them three days journey straight into the promised land.

But he knew they couldn't handle it because of the giants that were there, the enemies that were there, they would lose heart. And so there was a transition period. And it was intended to be around a year or a little less than a year where he would try them and test them and prove the things that were in their hearts.

He never intended them to be there for 40 years. They stayed there for 40 years, all of them, until the first generation passed away because of their unbelief. Faith never led them to a place of rest.

He gave them protection there. He provided for them there. He showed his power to them there.

He did miracles for them there in the wilderness. But he wasn't pleased with them because they always went astray in their hearts. And this is how we as mankind often are.

We get a bad report and we start to grumble and complain. We get a bad report and we turn so soon away from him who called us to other things. We get a bad report like Demas got some kind of report and then he went off with his old buddies.

He went back having loved this present world. He left Paul. And here's a picture of the people.

They get a bad report. You know, Moses had gone up on the mountain. God called him to go on to the mountain because God wanted to have a meeting with him.

He wanted to speak to him to give guidance and direction to the people in the wilderness so they would have laws and regulations to live by. Look at Exodus in chapter 32. And Moses was up on the mountain.

How many know how many days? 40 days. 40 nights. Exodus 32 verse one.

Now, when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain. The people gathered together to Aaron and said to him, come make us gods that we shall go before us that shall go before us. For as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.

This is how fragile the people are. This is how weak and how flimsy they are. This is how dubbing they're ready to raise up Egypt in the wilderness as a comfort unto them.

And this is what happens. God has placed us in fellowship under guardians and tutors for a reason. Moses was a guardian and a tutor unto the children of God for a purpose and for a time.

Until faith be formed in them, until faith become mature in them, where they can stand on their own two feet and hear it manifest that Moses is up spending time with God and he's not with them for over a month and they're like, you know what, what are we going to do while we got Aaron here? Make us gods broke off their earrings. They took their gold and they started. You know what happened to the disciples when Jesus was taken from them? They all forsook him and fled.

And then even after the resurrection, when he reassured him that he was risen, he was risen indeed. Brother Peter becomes disillusioned because he's not with them every day. They can't see him.

They can't touch his hands in his side. They can't hug him. He's with them in spirit.

And Peter becomes disillusioned. And he says, I go fish. I mean, we all have to work for a living.

Let's go back to making money to our former gods. Let's make a name for ourselves in the natural the way that we used to do it, to get our joy out of our successes, to get our joy from our hobbies, to get our joy from our old fellowship and our old brothers, to see if we can work up the camaraderie again. And it's no different in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament, where it is written when Jesus was taken from them and they did not see him every day.

These people folded like a cheap tent. And we fold like a cheap tent. The brother so-and-so isn't preaching.

Well, you know, we're disillusioned. If sister so-and-so isn't among us and encouraging us and leading the charge with the with the showing us how to live and how to walk. Well, we're just not interested anymore.

We'll go back to our old gossip on social media. We are so weak, willed, loaded down with less ever learning, never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. And with this, God was not well pleased with them.

If we look in this passage further. Aaron said, break off the gold earrings which are in your ears, the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters, and bring them to me. Here, this man, Aaron, who's a co-leader, jumped ship with the word of God.

And it's very clear that God did not call Aaron to lead the people of Israel, because this is the kind of man that Aaron was. He was a follower. He wanted to please the people.

You know, whatever Moses said he did, he was a man pleaser. And when the people rose up, he became intimidated because of the fear of man. And the guy said, well, yeah, I got to do something here.

You know, Moses is not here. And so what he did is he went to please the people and he sinned greatly in the wilderness. So all the people broke off their earrings.

They brought them to Aaron and he received the gold from their hand and he fashioned it. How long do you think it took him to make this cow, to make this golden calf? The guy had to spend some time, doesn't that guy's conscience bug him? Like what in the world? I sure hope Moses comes back down before I'm done this thing. I don't know what the end of this thing is going to be.

Like you must have been thinking about what the end of this matter is going to be. What are the what's going to be the ramifications, the consequences of this? Aaron has seen God do some powerful things to his enemies. Yet the fear of man was so strong, it led him to do these things.

So he took an engraving tool and he he molded this calf and then they said, this is this is your God. This is what they said. This is your God, oh Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Can you imagine having seen the power of God, never seen God, but seeing the power of God, seeing his miracles, seeing how he dealt with the Egyptians, how he delivered them with a powerful and mighty hand, seeing the 10 plagues, having led them through the wilderness, going through hard things, and yet seeing him deliver them after going through hard things time and time again, where he gave them water to drink, where he made the pool that was bittersweet, where he gave them bread from heaven to eat. He rained manna down from heaven, how he provided for them time and time again, their sandals were not wearing out, nothing was wearing out, all the provisions that they needed, God was providing them through faith. Yet they had to see something.

You know, we want to see some action. I remember a time in my life, our church was packed. We had a packed church.

And then there was a division that came between me and one of my brothers. And he took all the church to his house. And I came home from having to work out of town, and I came and there was one cousin left.

I had one cousin left. I came home and I thought, where did all the people go? I had been away, and the people followed this man. Well, in a short process of time, that all fell apart because the man did not have a character to deal with the people.

And he chased them out of his house. Because he didn't love the people. He loved to have the people around him.

He loved the people to listen to him. But he didn't have a heart for the people. He didn't have a shepherd's heart.

And I remember the day that I cried because I was alone with one cousin who was just newly born again. And you know what I said, Lord, though none go with me, still I will follow. But you know what, sometimes we go by what we see.

Well, everyone left. You know, growing up and now we have nine children and five of them are no longer in our house and four are left. And it's becoming very empty and sometimes can be lonely.

But you know what, do we abandon the Lord just because circumstances have changed? Just because people who used to walk with us, who used to eat bread at our table have risen their heel against us, and have said things and done things and excluded us and don't even call us anymore. Even family and friends. Do we say, give us gods of gold and silver, let's go back and serve them.

Let's go get our joy out of the things that are in this world. Let's become like Demas, having loved this present world. Let's go see what we can suck out of life while there is still time.

This is an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. We cannot be fair weather Christians. We cannot go by what we see.

This man Moses, we don't know what's become of him. Give us gods of gold like we had in Egypt. Give us something we can touch.

We can lay our hands on that. We can say, yeah, this is real. No, your faith being much more precious than gods of gold or silver or precious stones.

Is your faith more precious than gold and silver and precious stones? Are you waiting for another buck an hour? Is that where your hope lies? Is you're waiting for another long weekend? So we can go and find some rest and then get back into the game. We had this dog. That dog loved its tail.

It chased its tail until it would exhaust itself. I've had many dogs over the years. We had this one dog.

He just did this. I would watch this dog and there was a parable in it. I'd say, Lord, what a crazy dog.

He's just chasing his tail until he exhausts himself and he just pass out. He's panting there and then I think, okay, he's had enough of this nonsense. No, he gets up again and does it again.

Brother, sister, we've done spent enough of our past lifetime chasing these dumb idols. Living for foolishness. We have to have the order right to love the Lord our God with all of our heart.

With all of our soul, all of our mind, all of our strength to love our neighbor as ourself. If we have this kind of a heart, we can live and move and have our being in Jesus Christ. But we don't live for these things.

Having loved this present world, he has forsaken me. Is this the way of the cross? Is this the way that we should follow Jesus? If we don't see him, if he's not doing for us what we expect, well, then we're out of here. With most of them, God was not well pleased.

May God help us that we don't become like that. Well, this man Moses, we don't know what's become of him. Following men, looking unto men rather than looking unto Jesus.

It's Resurrection Sunday. But we live like it's still Friday. We still living like Jesus is dead.

We still living like, you know, there's not really much hope. You know, our faith is in the church. Our faith is in AA.

Our faith is in our bank account. Our faith is in our friends. Our faith is in our fellowship.

Our faith must be in Christ. Let God be true in every man alive. Oh, well, you know, I don't have the fervor that I once had.

I went back to some of my my old habits. Not really that bad. I just passed the time that way.

You know, I went upstairs, we had gone to bed and I went to back to the kitchen for something in there. I find my son playing his video games on this thing. I'm like, and he's ashamed.

He sees me. He knows in his conscience. He shouldn't be wasting his time doing this thing.

And he's running away from me. He's hiding. Running out.

I just, all I see is a reflection of him running. I stop. What are you doing? Son? What are you doing? Playing video games.

Why are you hiding from me? You know anyone else who was hiding from their father? Adam and Eve were hiding from their father. Why? Because they became disillusioned. They had they hadn't seen the father all day.

So they got distracted and you know who they saw the snake. They were fascinated with the snake and what the snake had to say Eve was and she listened to what the snake had to say. And the snake robbed her.

And then the snake used the woman to rob him. Sin will rob from you. The thief the liar comes to rob to kill to steal and to destroy.

But Jesus came that we might have life. And though he has resurrected seated at the right hand of power. Right whom we don't see anymore the way that he was.

Yet we love him. This is genuine saving faith. To love the Lord with all your heart.

Not fair weather. Give us gods of gold so that we can touch them and and lick it and feel like we really have attained to something. Put our trust in it.

You know, let me see my stocks. We open that thing up. Let me see myself.

Let's see what the wealth is. Well that wealth is there on the paper. But you know what tomorrow it can be gone.

But I'm going to tell you who's not gone. Jesus is not gone. Oh, he's not in the tomb.

He's risen. He's risen indeed seated at the right hand of the power and he's living in our hearts through faith to the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of the Father and the Son.

We ought to live as new men in Christ. We have great hope. He's given us so many blessings.

So much richly to enjoy. It were so easily moved from the hope that we have in Jesus. Hope that is seen is not hope my friend.

If you put your hope in your children, your hope will disappoint. If you put your hope in yourself, you'll be disappointed. I remember I said, okay, I'm going to discipline myself.

I'm going to do this. I'm going to go work out and we're going to you know, make some improvements to my health. And then all of a sudden the weekend comes and then the the nice food and the people come over and then all of a sudden I'll start tomorrow and then I look back on the calendar and I see three weeks have gone by.

And there's no improvement at all. And I'm so disappointed in myself. I should not put my hope in myself.

I should look unto him. That's where salvation comes. Moses, I can just see him up on the mountain spending time with the Lord.

Aaron, I see him sweating it out. Hoping the guy comes down before he's done that calf. But it didn't happen that way.

Oh Israel. Here is the God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Can you even imagine coming to a place in a month to say something like that? Here is your God, this gold image.

So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. Aaron made a proclamation and said tomorrow is the feast to the Lord. Can you see how deception can creep in in one month? Within under 40 days.

Such deception and lies. Here is your God. Let's make a feast to this thing.

Verse 6. Then they rose early in the next day. They burnt offerings to this calf. They brought peace offerings.

The people sat down to eat. They had a maybe a nice barbecue. Some nice food.

Everybody had brought something. They brought drinks. Everyone, I don't know how they got them.

But they got somehow they got wine and an alcoholic beverages there. And they rose up to play. It got out of hand.

Their party got out of hand. And the Lord saw it. You think sometimes we do stuff the Lord doesn't see.

He sees everything. The Lord saw it and he speaks to Moses. You've been here long enough.

As much as I've had a wonderful fellowship with you here. Get down there man, because the people are not seeing you. And it's going sideways.

Go get down there. Your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. And God kind of lays it on him.

They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf. And they're worship money.

The love of money is idol worship. Do you worship image? Your image? This is idol worship. Some of us worship the woman.

We worship the man. Worship the creation. The natives, they make a pole and they put these idols.

They worship the creation. There's a lot of things that people worship, but they don't worship the creator. They look at the created things and they worship those things.

They're infatuated with them in one level or another. But they we forget the creator. Because we don't see his image.

We're so much about image. The Lord said to Moses verse 9. I have seen this people. They are a stiff-necked people.

They are a stubborn people. Now, therefore, let me alone that my wrath may burn against them. My hot displeasure.

That I may consume them and I will make you Moses a great nation. I'm going to start fresh. And Moses pleaded with the Lord and said, Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people? Whom you have brought up out of Egypt.

Not me, you. You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand. And why should the Egyptian speak saying, he brought them out to harm them and to kill them in the mountains.

And to consume them from the face of the earth. Turn from your fierce wrath and relent from this harm to your people. Remember your covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, with whom you swore by your own self and said, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven.

And all this land that I have spoken of to give to your descendants that they may inherit it forever. So the Lord relented from the harm which he would do to his own people. We have to remember God keeps his word back commitment.

We are fair weather. We don't honor our covenants. We get married many of us.

And when things are going great other on cloud nine, but then when fights come. Things go sideways between husband and wife. And even we have thoughts that come in our head, you know, maybe I made a mistake.

God was voicing it here. He said, you know what? I'm going to wipe these people out. But Moses reminded him of his covenant.

He reminded him of his promise. He reminded him of his word and God listened to what Moses said because Moses spoke of what God spoke. We have to remind ourselves when things are tough when we're going through hard things and the devil's lying to us and he's trying to bring confusion on the family.

He's trying to destroy the fellowship. We have to remind the devil that he's a defeated enemy that he was defeated at the cross and that he was made a public spectacle and that the Lord triumphed over him in it. And not only did he bear the consequences of our sin and paid the penalty for our sin, but the grave could not hold him and the spirit raised Jesus from the dead and that spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us through faith.

And that he is also going to raise us up with Christ. So that what we're going through is temporary, but who we're looking at and looking unto is eternal and that we want to have a steadfast spirit. We don't want to have a wavering spirit.

We don't want to have an unclean spirit. We want him to renew a steadfast spirit within me so that after he raises us up with Christ, we will also be in a position. We can teach transgressors his ways and sinners can be converted to the Lord.

You know, normally most families have it in their heart to reproduce after their own kind. They want children. They want to have a family.

They want to see their children and their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren. It brings me joy when everybody comes together and the whole house is packed and I see the little kids and everybody is getting along and we sing a few songs. Maybe even at Christmas or one or two times a year and we have a maybe some prayer or we share what we're thankful about.

It gives me no greater joy than to see my children walking in the truth. This is my inheritance. The legacy that I want to leave behind and not only my own natural family.

But to sow into people to pour into them so that their line become blessed so that they can see their children's children. This is the blessing of Abraham. In Abraham, all your seed shall be blessed.

In Isaac. Ultimately by faith in Jesus Christ. Isaac was born of faith.

But if we become of Ishmael, Isaac and Ishmael, two children born by the same father. But of different spirits. Same father, but different mothers.

May the Lord help us to be of that mother of the spirit. Sarah. Born from above.

Let's look in 1 Corinthians. Chapter 10. Here is the account written.

In the New Testament by Paul. Not many weeks ago, brother shared from 1 Corinthians 9, but disciplining himself. Yielding himself to the word of God.

So that he be a doer of the word and not a here only deceiving himself. And then we see the people of 1 Corinthians 10. Not being disciplined.

Not subjecting themselves to suffering. In the flesh and the ceasing from sin. Not letting the Lord teach this.

If we look in 1 Corinthians 9, briefly in 24. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize. How many were delivered out of Egypt? Weren't they all delivered out of Egypt? The whole nation was delivered out of Egypt.

How many received the prize? How many were able to enter into that promised land? The finish line. The place where they were going to be given a land to possess. Flowing with milk and honey.

Houses they hadn't built. Vineyards they never planted. That's a lot of work doing these things.

We're just coming out of the season of it. Years and years of doing that. The Lord promised it to his people.

They didn't have to sweat for it. He was going to give it to them. He was going to gift it to them.

He said one receives the prize. Jesus is the one who was crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He received the prize.

So we have to follow our forerunner as in Hebrews in chapter 12. Fixing our eyes on Jesus. Who for the joy set before him endured the cross.

Disciplined himself. Suffered in the flesh. Overcame temptation.

Walked a blameless life. And is raised up with Christ, with the Father. And we also in the same way are to run in such a way.

That we may obtain the prize. We need to walk just as Jesus walked from 1st John chapter 2 verse 6. Everyone who has this hope. Walks just as Jesus walked.

We're to run the race with perseverance. 25. Everyone who competes for the prize is self-controlled in all things.

Disciplined. If you want to accomplish something in this life. Whether it be naturally or whether it be in a spiritual sense.

It takes discipline, loyalty and commitment. Nothing good comes from just doing nothing. If you look at the lazy servant, his field was all overgrown with weeds.

Thistles, the stone hedge was broke down. The wild beasts were coming in and picking away at the fruit. Not too many years ago.

We put a lot of work into our blueberries and so on. But the fence in the back was in ill repair. And just when the berries were almost ripe.

The deer would come and they would clean off the bushes. And we got very, very, very little. But the deer were very much enjoying.

The beasts of the forest were enjoying the fruit from our labor. And I considered it and I thought about it. I said, we need to repair this fence.

And so the brothers came, my sons came and we worked at it. And we put up a tall fence. Johnny's dad was supplied some nice six foot tall fence.

And we put that fence up across the back line. Since that time, no deer have plundered the fruit. It speaks in the old covenant of the wild boar coming in and picking away at the fruit.

And destroying the vines. Parts, so that we would have some fruit to share. The Lord says he's glorified when we bear much fruit.

And our fruit remains the wild boars and picking it off. Run in such a way as to obtain it. If you want to compete in a prize, even natural prize or a natural race.

Or any kind of sport or some kind of activity. You need to be self-controlled and disciplined. Now these people do it to obtain a perishable crown.

A natural reward that fades away. But we as believers, as followers of Christ. We have to discipline ourselves.

Because we will receive an imperishable, an eternal crown. An eternal weight of glory. Paul says in 26, therefore run this way.

If you want to go home and highlight it when you get home. Run this way, not with uncertainty. Don't become disillusioned with what the people around you are telling you.

Oh, my stocks are going to the moon. Oh, I'm missing out. Oh, there was a great party and you should have been there.

Oh, I'm missing out. No, look to the Lord. Tune out all the distractions.

You know, if you want to compete and train for a race. Or you want to get a degree or you want to finish your course. There's a lot of things going on.

You have to stay focused. Or you will fail. It's sometimes hard.

Because the flesh doesn't want to be doing these things. But we made a commitment. And so we want to see it through.

We don't want to quit. Therefore run thus, not with uncertainty. Paul says, I fight not as one who beats the air.

But I discipline my body and I bring it into subjection. Because my flesh is hostile against the things of the spirit. It does not want to do the hard things that are necessary.

It doesn't want to pray. Doesn't want to get up in the morning. Doesn't want to read the word.

Doesn't want to do the right thing. It seems that gravity is always pulling us down. The flesh is always pulling us down.

Don't listen to the flesh. Overcome it. Put it to death, those thoughts.

Bring thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. Paul says, after I preach to others. It's not about how you happens behind the scenes.

Would God cease? He said, I myself should become disqualified from the race. Brother shared about this at the creek not long ago. A lady ran a marathon and she found another way to take a train or a tram and she cut in front of the line.

She finished first. My story is we in Canada. Remember Ben Johnson the gold medal runner.

I was so excited. He beat Carl Lewis the fastest man in the race and then they did a drug test on him and they found out that he had cheated by taking substances to make him stronger faster to give him the ability to win a little edge. Just a little edge.

He cut some corners and I thought I remember as a kid in the basement with my family watching how they said that he would now lose the gold medal and my thinking was all now he's going to get silver. No, he didn't get silver. He got zero.

He was disqualified from the race brother and sister. If we don't compete according to the rules. May the Lord give you understanding in what I say.

We don't do things his way. We deceive ourselves. We might think we're coming first.

But in God's eyes, we are coming last the Pharisees thought that they were coming first. But Jesus knew that they were going to be last. He said unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees, you will in no way enter the kingdom of heaven.

It's not in the outward show. God looks at the heart. Now brothers, we don't want you to be unaware that all of our fathers were under the cloud when they passed in the wilderness.

They were they passed through the Red Sea. The cloud was there to lead them and guide them. The Holy Spirit has been leading and guiding us on the journey.

All were baptized. They received the baptism into Moses when they went through the Red Sea. It was a type of baptism from them from the old life of Egypt into the new life going through the wilderness into the Promised Land.

It was a water baptism and the cloud so to speak was a spirit baptism that led them as many as are led by the Spirit of God. These are the sons of God. They ate the same spiritual food.

The manna in the wilderness, but not only the manna in the wilderness the word of God that led them day by day. Through the teaching of Moses and the guidance and the direction of the elders. They drank that spiritual drink.

He brought water from the rock for them. When there was no water. He brought water forth from the rock for them and it says they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them.

That rock was Christ. Christ was there with them in the wilderness, even in the old covenant. They were refreshed.

Because of Christ. They were sustained by the word because of Christ, even though they didn't see him. He was with them.

But with most of them God was not well-pleased for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Most of them died in the wilderness. Only two he brought Joshua and Caleb.

They didn't perish with that first generation the second generation. He delivered into the Promised Land. Now these things are written for a reason.

These are written for our example to the intent that we should not lust after evil things. We should not covet evil things. We should not long desperately for the things that we don't have.

We should long for the Lord. He gives us all things richly to enjoy. But having crucified the flesh with its passions, that's lust and it's desires intense cravings.

That's lust. You know, he wanted them to be content with the manna. He wanted them to be satisfied with the water from the rock, but they wanted meat to eat and they had intense craving for meat.

And while meat was in some of their mouths, it says fire came from heaven and consume them intense craving will take you down. Some of us. We've yielded ourselves to intense craving and it's led us on a course that is in destruction.

And that's why we're hiding from God. God knows where we are, but he's waiting for us to humble ourselves to repent in return. If we repent in return, he'll receive us.

But we have to forsake longing to eat what the pigs are eating in the pig fodder. We have to say why am I longing for what the hogs are eating here? Why am I longing for what my bodies are still doing to participate in this kind of uncleanness? Let's return unto the Lord. He's wounded us.

He's hidden his face from us for a time, but he will bandage us. He's torn us, but he will heal us. And he will come to us like rain times refreshing will come again from the Lord.

Repent and return. Repentance means turning. Repentance isn't I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That's what my son does when he gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

He doesn't want to be disciplined for his acts, his sins. And we don't want to be disciplined for our sins. So we're very very sorry.

We don't want the consequences of our actions. But we're not ready to change. There's still rebellion there.

Repentance means remorse, brokenness, a desire to turn away from and return to the Lord. When we have our eyes on the Lord, we're moving toward him. When we have eyes on all the other things, we're moving toward them.

You know, when we're driving down the road and if our eyes are on our phone, we're distracted. Even the world knows that when you're driving, your eyes should be looking forward. But we can become distracted drivers and the result of that may not be the first time or the 10th time, but there's a high chance that there is going to be an accident.

Though it's going to be a close call. The world knows these things. If we don't get our eyes off of the distractions.

And we get our eyes back focused on Jesus. There's going to be some close calls or a major accident. And some of those accidents result in death.

With most of them, God was not well-pleased and their bodies were scattered to the wilderness. Now, these things are written for our example that we should not lust after evil things as they also lust it. Do not become idol worshipers as some of them were for it is written the people sat down to eat and to drink and they rose up to play.

That is sexual play. Uncleanness happened there. Let us not commit sexual immorality as some of them dead and in 23 one day 23,000 of them died.

Let us not tempt Christ as some of them tempted and were destroyed by serpents. Snakes came out and bit them grumbling complaining not being thankful to us. And they were written here for us that we should observe these things to be remembering these things upon whom the end of the ages have already come the end of the ages have already come on us.

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. These things are written so that we won't have a fall, you know as parents, you know, something like sometimes my kids say, you know, you're too controlling. You're too involved in our lives.

You know, you micromanage too much. You know, what good parent wants their child to fall? What good parent wants their child to end up with a broken arm or a broken leg or a concussion? Or worse dead or drown or or perish in a fire or some other thing no good parent. And so why do we give careful instruction because we want to micromanage because we're controlling or because we love it's from love that we share these things because we can foresee what's going to happen at the bend.

But most of us as kids we can't see I seen my son riding his bike at Mach speeds without a helmet on I thought oh man, I got to slow him down because I know what can happen and I've seen what happened when he was on his scooter. I first rodeo. I'm anticipating something bad happening because he can't foresee what could happen.

Hey, we need to take heed to some things here. These things are written for us for that exact reason because we the father has foreseen what can happen when people get their eyes off the Lord and they get their eyes on pleasures. On having fun.

Bad things can happen. He gives us everything richly to enjoy but we want to keep it in context in loving the Lord first and foremost with all our heart and out of all of this. He's going to add everything we need and even some things that we want because he's a good father way better than I'll ever be.

But he doesn't write these things to cramp my style or to be controlling or to ruin my fun. He's writing these things because he knows that the end of those things is destruction. And he gives us these warnings.

So that we will not analyze them or let them pass from one ear and out the other. But that will take them to heart. While it is today.

If you've heard his word his voice has come to you in some. Form through the preaching of the word today. Let it make an impact in your life and redirect your course.

So you'll get get back on track spiritually speaking. You know, I've done this sometimes. I'm I've been distracted.

And I missed my turn when I'm listening to the navigation and the navigation is never yelling at me and calling me stupid is just redirecting my course trying to get me back on course. It's always takes longer. There's always some other delays that are involved.

But you know what? He's always trying to the lady or whoever it is. You're listening to on there. He's always trying to bring you back on course.

The word of God is trying to bring us back on course because we have a destination and it's not in this lifetime. It's eternal. There's a blessing in following the Lord and if we take the more earnest heed we can accomplish much for the Lord in this lifetime with his help.

But if we just do our own thing, man, we may never get there. May the Lord help us to finish our race. You ran.

Well who hindered you from obeying the truth? It says this doesn't come from him who called you. Right? It says to the Galatians a little 11 Levin's the lump. Right? Paul says I'm afraid for you list.

I labored for you in vain. You become religious observing Easter doing religious activity, but Jesus isn't Lord in your life. Don't let the holidays dictate the fact that you have a seat in the pew or you attend Church or you read your your daily reading and you become only religious affect your relationship and your walk with Jesus.

Make him Lord. You cannot separate him Sean shared on Thursday as Savior from Lord. It's not biblical.

He is our Savior. He is our Redeemer. He is our friend.

He is our God and he is our Lord. You can't separate one from the other. Let's pray Lord Jesus grateful for today.

Grateful for your word. Help me to live by it to be an example to my people and to my children. That I might show your Glory through the love that you poured into our hearts through faith that we would extend that love to others even the unlovables and our enemies.

Give us patience. And endurance we might inherit your promises in Jesus name. Amen.