2012 Believers Displeasing God Two 0226: full transcript and answers

▶ 0:00 Verse 9: “Nor let us tempt God,” test Christ, “as some of them also tempted and were destroyed by serpents.” See, he again uses Christ. You notice, recognizing that Rock that was there giving them that water. “Tempt” means to test. And what they did is they said, “Well, God gave us this water and He gave us manna, but can He give us meat? Can He spread a table of meat in the wilderness?” Well, they had sheep and oxen, they had all kinds of animals around there, but the thing is, can God do this? If God is really that big. And so what do you do? That’s a testing God. Of course He can. God can do what? Anything. But does He want to do it? Not always. Does He always say yes to your prayers? No. When your prayers are dumb, He’s going to say no.

▶ 0:59 I don’t care what these faith people preach. God is a good parent. He knows when to say no, not even because your prayer is dumb, but the timing is not right. Do you give your kid a bicycle till it’s the right time for them to have the ability to ride it? No. Even though they want one, two years old: “I want a bike, 24-inch bike, man, I want.” They can’t do anything with it now. The kid isn’t doing anything wrong, but he’s asking for something that he can’t utilize. There’s a time for everything. Amen. Now, “and were destroyed by serpents.” Verse 10: “Nor complain.” Here’s the American church, man. We’re good at this. We complain when it’s cold, we complain it’s hot, we complain when there’s no traffic on the freeway, “Where’s everybody at?” We complain when everybody’s on the freeway, “My God, look at this traffic!” I mean, we just, we get up in the morning complaining.

▶ 2:06 “And were destroyed by the destroyer.” Who’s the destroyer? Satan. See, he was created by God to do God’s dirty work. You can call him a fallen angel if you want to, but God created him to be who he was. There was no plan B. And he’s out to destroy you. And when God needs to correct, see, God cannot do evil, so He’s got this guy to do His correction. He loves it, he feasts off of it. “Now all these things happened to them as examples,” as a model, “and they were written for” what? “Our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” Are we in the end of the ages? Yes. We don’t know how close we are to the end, but we know we’re in the end because the Bible tells us that the end of the days started when Christ rose from the grave. That’s when the end time started, and it’s been over 2,000 years so far, and honestly we don’t know how much further it’s going on. Everybody’s missed it so far, and they’ll keep missing it.

▶ 3:26 But the Bible, Paul says, God put this in the Bible so you would learn, so you would be warned, so you could be encouraged, so you would know. And then he says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he” what? Fall. He said, you Corinthians, you think your condition and how you believe is okay, you better take heed and learn from Israel and correct your problems, because if not, you’re going to fall. And here he’s talking about falling back into sin and even losing your salvation, but you can fall also into the correction. Now, how many of you know God’s going to correct before He allows these things of losing your salvation to happen? Yeah, He’s going to correct you, He’s going to come after you. He’s a great Father.

▶ 4:29 But then this great verse in verse 13. This is the verse I use all the time when I’m witnessing, uh, to establish people that say, “I can’t live for God.” This is a verse I use, 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as common to man.” Now, the word “temptation” means an experiment to prove, a test to prove. And you know, when they sell you a tire for your car, you can buy a tire that will last 10,000 miles and, you know, no road hazard protection, that’s all the tire is good for. Then they got a tire that’s 20,000 miles. Then they got a tire that’s 30,000 miles and road hazard: this tire is really built tough, it’s hard for anything to get through it, we will fix it if a road hazard happens. Then they got them 40,000 and 60,000 miles. Why?

▶ 5:32 And what they do is they take them in the factory and they bend and flex it and beat them and drop them from an airplane and everything else, and get them on the raceway, and they drive them high speed, low speed, stop and starts and all that, to know and see, they proved that this tire will go 50,000 miles. Now, in our baby stage we’re good for 10,000 miles. That’s about one inch, say. And God comes to test us, what? To show where we’re at, so we learn from it and go to the next level. And boy, we think, “Man, hallelujah, man, I got it.” And then here comes another test. Now, is He trying to destroy you, trying to beat you up, trying to discourage you? No, He’s trying to prove to you where you’re at and change you so you go up to the next level. That’s what he’s talking about. And these people say, “Well, you know, nothing bad happens to Christians.” I don’t know what Bible you’ve been reading. “Oh, if you got faith, nothing will happen.” I don’t know what Bible you’ve been reading. Paul had a lot more faith than anybody I know of, and he got stoned, he got shipwrecked, he got rejected by the brethren, he got beaten and imprisoned. I don’t know what Bible you’re reading, faith people.

▶ 6:59 Joseph got rejected by his brothers, put in prison. I can go on and on. Come on, get the blinders off of your eyes and see the truth. Could that be an amen? But he’s trying to tell us when these things come, look what he says. God is what? Faithful. He’s reliable, you can count on God, “who will not allow you to be tested beyond what you are able,” or what you have the power to handle. So see, the test is to show you where you’re lacking, so that you can what? Improve the lack and bump up to the next level. Now you’re not a 10,000 Christian anymore, you’re a 20,000 Christian. That’s two inches. We’re headed for 12 inches, we want to be the full foot. “But with the testing make a way of” what?

▶ 7:58 “Escape,” a way out, “that you might be able to” what? Bear it. Endure it. Not an escape where you don’t go through the test, but you can handle the test, improve your life through the test, and bump up your life and get ready for the next test. Now, Paul’s good, church. I’m telling you, he knows what he’s talking about. This really helped my life as a young Christian, because I was getting teaching that was totally opposite of Paul’s teaching. Everybody back there was faith and grace people, and my goodness, you know, just because you’re a Christian you’re supposed to be fed manna from heaven, you know, hamburgers from heaven, I call it. You don’t have to work or do anything, just pray and live for God, and God will supply your need. You know, people bring food and put it on your doorstep and everything, you know. Hallelujah, you’re the golden spoon child.

▶ 8:51 That’s the way it was in my day, and it wasn’t working, and I had to go find out, because the God I met was a real God, and what these people were teaching me wasn’t working, and so I went to the real teachers, and I learned these things by the Holy Spirit revealing them to me, and I became a very strong young Christian. See, we can endure it. Now listen, remember when Paul taught on sexual immorality? Okay, he said to avoid sexual immorality: premarital sex, homosexuality, prostitution, adultery, all those, incest, all those sexual vices. He said to avoid them, use self-control. See, God gives us tools to use. He says not only that, but he says God will give you a gift, a supernatural ability to handle yourself, ain’t that right? Remember that? Remember what we taught? These are important things. And then he not only says that, but there’s a third tool he gives: you power over your desires, a strong mind over your desires, a strong emotion over your desires.

▶ 10:07 He gives you three tremendous tools to avoid sexual immorality, and then he says the antidote of it all, so you don’t live your life burning with sexual passion, is get married and have all the sex you want. So see, we have the ability to go through life until we get married. See, that is what Paul is backing up. Are you with me? Idolatry, you know, you want to worship something, you want to worship yourself or some other god or whatever. He gives us Jesus is it. We can worship Him. Amen. Uh, bad companions. Young believers have a hard time staying away from bad companions, and the Bible says bad companions corrupt good behavior, good manners. You can’t run around with bad people and not get influenced by them if you’re going to be intimate with them. So he says you got to use self-control, you got to use these things. Yeah, you can be around them for a mission field, but not to run with them, partake, or you’re going to wind up partaking of their sins.

▶ 11:21 And what’s the antidote for evil companions? Good companions. Find some good people to run around with. See, Paul gives us answers for these things. Church, hallelujah, I love this guy, and I could go on and on about anything there. In closing, I’m going to destroy the faith camp right now.

▶ 11:51 All right, the extreme faith camp, the [unclear], the [unclear], the [unclear] Roberts, all these people that tell you that you can name it and claim it, that because you’re believing it you’re going to get it, nothing bad happens to Christians. Paul’s going to expose all this, you know, the Bible exposes all this, and we need to know this stuff. Could that be an amen? Now, Hebrews chapter 11 is talking about faith, very beginning of the chapter he’s talking about faith. Then he comes down here and he says, “who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.” Wow. And this is where the faith camp stops. Yeah, the widow woman got her son right back from the dead. Oh, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego come out of the fiery furnace. Yeah, Daniel came out of the lions’ den. Hallelujah, man, that’s us.

▶ 13:12 But it doesn’t stop there. It says “and others.” And what others? Some of these, David won great battles, but he had to hide in caves and run in the desert for 13 years before he got results. He had the hiding in caves and run in the desert for his life for 13 years.

▶ 13:47 Joseph, before he ever became the deliverer of Egypt, was rejected by his brothers, thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, and then falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison before he ever became the one that fulfilled God and received the promise. And you need to know this, young Christians, you need to know this, old Christians, that just because you’re going through things does not mean God is not going to fulfill His purpose in you. He is just testing you right now and developing you. That’s what Paul’s saying. Are you there? He’s shaping you for the end result, building you up. He says, “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Others had trial of cruel mocking, scourgings, and imprisonment.” No results in these people. “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, tempted, slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy.” Now, that sound like losers?

▶ 15:09 People, the Scripture says the world wasn’t worthy of these people. They went without clothing, they went without food, they couldn’t own a home because they weren’t allowed to, they had to live in the desert, live in a tent, live in a cave, they were beaten, they were stoned, they were imprisoned, they were mistreated, and he says the world wasn’t worthy of them. Wow. And when you’re going through these trials and these testings and you’re hanging in there, you need to know this: the world is not worthy that’s mistreating. You buck up, you’re doing something good. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. He says “they wandered in the desert, the mountains, and the dens and caves of the earth.” Good prophets did. Elijah had to flee for his life, folks.

▶ 16:08 Jesus was persecuted. Where are these people getting off of this nonsense from? All the apostles were persecuted, weren’t they? All of them died a horrible death except John, and we think we’re some kind of golden spoon people in America because we believe in God? Oh, we got to go through the testing, just like Israel did. We got to hang in there and pass the test, amen. God isn’t pleased with our lifestyle, He isn’t pleased with the way we talk, even though God’s presence is in our midst and somebody might get physically healed and souls are getting saved. That does not mean God approves of our lifestyle. Look at this last statement.

▶ 17:00 Last statement, Hebrews chapter 11, last verse: “these all,” how many? Oh, the people that got results and the people that seemingly didn’t get results, they were mistreated, they all what? Had a good report. “Obtained a good report.” That person, that David, when he was living in caves and out on the desert, God says he’s got a good report, he’s doing My will, he’s getting the testing, bent and flexed and pressed, dropped from a plane. I’m making something, I’m making a 60,000-mile Christian out of him. Joseph, when he was rejected by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused in court, put in prison for a false accusation, God’s just testing him, working him over so he comes out a 60,000-mile Christian that can handle road hazards without getting a flat, that can last through the wilderness and last through anything.

▶ 18:11 Man, he’s got tread that lasts to the end. Amen. And then he got elevated to second in the kingdom. And any church that wants to be something in God, we got to get through the testings and trials and buck up and change our lifestyle. Amen. But while we’re getting there, do we have a good report? Yes. Why? Because we believe God is making something beautiful, something great out of our life. We’re believing that God will finish the good work that He what? Began in us. Now, we showed you Israel came out of Egypt for the promised land, but we are led by Jesus to living waters, Himself, His presence, His Word. His Word is life, He is life.

▶ 19:11 Hallelujah. And when we come in looking for a preacher to do something for us, or, you know, we come in to socialize because we want to find a girlfriend or boyfriend or whatever, we’re missing the whole purpose of the church. He’s bringing us into living waters, and He’s shaping us into Christians that can handle the road, can last a lifetime with no road hazards. We can go over the nails and it doesn’t bother us, we don’t get a flat, and if something drastic does happen to us, Jesus comes and fixes it at no cost. It’s got a road hazard guarantee.