Turn with me once again to the book of 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, and we'll begin with verse one. It's found on page 1,318. 1,318 of the Bibles provided there in your rows. Let's listen carefully to the reading and hearing of God's word in 1 Corinthians. The Apostle Paul writes, Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them. And that rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted, and do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, the people sat down. to eat and drink and rose up to play. Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day 23,000 fell. Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted and were destroyed by serpents. nor complain as some of them also complained and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples and they were written for our admonition upon whom the end of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Remember the grass withers and the flower falls, but God's word abides forever. Amen. In this passage here in 1 Corinthians 10, there is a phrase that many people like to use in times of difficulty. The phrase is this, that God will not give you more than you can bear, more than you can handle. You don't have to do a show of hands, but have you ever heard that before? This is really where you don't wanna show a show of hands. You ever said that before? When people say it, they're well-meaning. They're well-intentioned. Basically, it's addressing problems. People are going through all sorts of adversities, whether it's stresses at work, or health issues, or they're facing some financial difficulties, and you're not sure exactly what to say, but you wanna help them, you wanna encourage them, you wanna comfort them, and so you say, well, just remember, God will not give you beyond what you're able to handle. In other words, it's the idea that I know this is hard right now, but you got this. It's gonna be okay. You can do this. You can get through this. You're strong enough. Well, even though people are well-meaning and well-intentioned, they're also well-wrong. And so this morning we're looking at this phrase or this idea in the context of untwisting what really needs to be said. There's a few different problems that we want to identify as it relates to this. The first problem is just simply the problem with the statement itself. In terms of what's said, there's a problem here. So number one, the problem with the statement itself. There's a few pieces to this. The first one is, well, we're not promised ease. The implication by saying God won't give you more than what you can handle means that there's an aspect in which, well, if this isn't going to be beyond your capabilities, you can do this. It's an implication that you can handle this, that things are gonna be okay, and consequently, You're going to make it. But God doesn't promise ease. In fact, Jesus notes in John 16 that you're going to have tribulation in this world. Life is promised to be filled with difficulties or with tribulations. Now, Jesus assures us, hey, I've overcome the world. Don't be discouraged. But notice even the connection that Jesus makes. He doesn't say, hey, I know you're going to have problems or issues in this world, but it's okay, you're going to make it. He says, you're going to have issues, but don't worry, I've overcome. But there's a further problem, and that is this. Life is not guaranteed to be without issues. We all know this. I mean, if we wanted to have sharing time here, we could all come up front and come before the microphone and talk about the various things that are happening, whether it's outward physical discomforts, it's surgeries that we've gone through, it's concern as it pertains to family members and friends, the emotions that we have regarding issues with kids or grandkids, the concerns as to what's happening politically or societally. Troubles with friends, bullying at school, hardships as it pertains to just going through the day. The effects of sin in this world means that our bodies are subject to decay and ultimately death. And the results of that means that there will be disease and poverty and hardships. And so to make this statement at the outset that says God won't give you more than you can handle is going against the recognition, yeah, but in terms of the plate that I have, it's a plate of suffering. It's a plate of hardship. It is a plate of difficulty, and that plate, I don't see the bottom of it, and the things are just pouring over the sides. And so it belittles what's happening in the world. But thirdly, and I don't mean this to offend anyone who has used this statement, it's just not true. It just isn't. Think about the examples that you have in scripture as it pertains to the things that people could or couldn't handle. If God didn't give people more than they could handle, then we'd still be in perfection living in the Garden of Eden. Because apparently, Adam and Eve couldn't handle having the tree of the knowledge of good and evil before them, and they consequently disobeyed. You see, if God was going to give them only what they could handle, then he wouldn't have put that situation before them. They couldn't handle, consequently, handle the situation. Consequently, we are dealing with what we're dealing with now. How easily or well do you think Job could handle his circumstances? Where in the space of a day or two, news comes where he loses everything. Was he the one who could go through that because he could handle it? I don't think so. The saints down through the ages have suffered hardship and persecution and affliction. The Apostle Paul himself tells us in 2 Corinthians 1, verse 8 and 9, that he was troubled in Asia. And he says the trouble that he had, he was burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that he despaired even of life and has the sentence of death on himself. And then elsewhere in that epistle in chapter six, he goes through this list in verses three through 10. And he notes in terms of this, he says, in much tribulation, in needs, in distress, in stripes, in imprisonment, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings, and then with stripes. Oh, we already covered that. It was really bad. But he goes through this whole thing. To note that it created just such a despair and such a circumstance of difficulty in his life. And so the point of this then isn't that God won't give you more than you can handle. He will test the limits. But before we look at where this verse come from, there is something that you need to hear as it pertains to this, as we're talking about difficulties. So how do you handle them? The gospel directs us to be able to handle them. It is the hope that we have through the Lord Jesus Christ, where Jesus notes that through the grace that God has given us by the Son, empowered by the Holy Spirit, that we then are able to handle the abundance of things that God sets before us as we live in this world. The challenge that we have is the encouragement that if anyone is suffering, James says, let him pray. Jesus assures you, I have overcome these things. I come to give you life and to give it to you more abundantly. I come to walk alongside of you, to be your faithful shepherd and the one who cares for you and sustains you and watches over you in all things. I am the one who is an ever-present help in time of need. I will never leave you nor forsake you. The challenge of the consumption of the dross is hard. But God does so to bring forth pure gold on the other side. And so yes, we have an abundance of things because the world in which we live in and we feel the weight and we undergo the hurts, but God assures us that he will strengthen us and empower us through it all. But this really helps us then to even see that if we say that we can handle this, or that God doesn't give us more than what we can handle, think about what it does to the gospel. I mean, what does the gospel tell you? The gospel itself tells you that you've been separated from a holy God because of sin. And the effects of that sin in your life is because of things that you couldn't handle. That as a result of the sinful nature you've inherited from your first parents, you only continue to remain in sin and you dwell in there. And as God has set a perfect standard before you, you are unable to handle that standard And as He shines forth His holiness before you and His righteousness, you only run the other way as it pertains to your sinfulness. And so the consequence of being allowed to be empowered by ourselves, strengthened by ourselves, and living in ourselves, is the conception and the giving birth of sin, so that we then are incapable of any good. And we are apart from God. And yet, what does God say? While you were still without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. that God demonstrated His own love towards us in this, that while we were still sinners, apart from Him carrying our own messes around, Christ died for us. He intervened on our behalf. And consequently, He assures us that through the Son, we are reconciled to God. He gives us something that we can't handle in the declaration of His perfections, and yet He overcomes it. And that Christ has taken the sin and the punishment in our stead. and has lived, died, and risen again. God intervened through the gospel because we couldn't handle and do what he sets out to do, which is to love him with our whole being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. The implication would be that if we simply remained in handling the things ourselves is that we somehow then can achieve or merit or work through life in order to be able to meet up to God and yet we can't do that. And so it's important then that we set a proper context or perspective as to what then is this call. So thirdly, then we need to see the problem of context. The statement that's given to us in God not giving us more than we can bear or can handle is in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13. We read it a few minutes ago and this verse is given to us as it relates to the church that is in Corinth. It was in a multicultural city of the Roman Empire that was just given over to paganism. And as it pertains to this city, they were bound up in all sorts of idolatry, and in their festivals and celebrations to their gods, they were caught up in sexual immorality and drunkenness and gluttony. And yet God intervened in the lives of some of those residents so that they heard then The message of salvation through Jesus Christ and consequently called out to the living God and became members of the church. And yet as they are part of this church, there's still certain struggles and things that they're holding on to. So Paul then says, hey, even as you live in the context in which you do, you need to recognize that you can't keep going back to your former ways. You see, because there were some who felt that because they had freedom in Christ, they could, as a result, not worship the idols, but engage in the various societal practices that surrounded those feasts. And Paul says you can't do that, because the Christian life is a call to self-denial. And he cites in 1 Corinthians 8 and in 1 Corinthians 9 that self-denial means that for the sake of others, we're mindful of how we conduct ourselves. And Paul says, I've even done that myself. After all, I don't take a salary for my missionary work. I could do so if I wanted to, but because I don't want others to think that I'm in it for the money or that the ministry is somehow motivated by money, I refrain from taking any. that the gospel might not be impeded. And in this call, he then comes to 1 Corinthians 10, and he then tells them, there's a lesson for you to learn. He cites the example of Israel in verses one through four. We read the chapter. The short of it is that Israel went through the same things that you brothers and sisters in Corinth have been through, and you guys also. And that is this, that Israel was as much connected to the Lord Jesus Christ as we are. Even having gone through similar ceremonies, Paul uses the language of washing and eating. And he says that through this washing and through this eating, they ultimately had a connection to the Lord Jesus Christ. As Christ was held out to them. And yet because of their lack of self-denial, because of the expression of their actions not showing that spiritual connection inwardly to the Lord Jesus, God then judged them. Look at verse 5 and 6. But with most of them God was not well pleased for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples to the intent that we should not lust or desire after evil things as they also lusted. And so Paul then begins to make the case that, look, as you need the Lord Jesus Christ and as you connect to Him, learn from your brothers and sisters that have gone before you who had similar experiences, even amazing spiritual experiences, and yet were judged by God. Why? Because they had neglected the call of self-denial as a child of God. I mean, think about this for a moment. How many of you would have loved to walk through the Red Sea on dry ground, seeing walls of water high up on either side? One of you would probably be like that cartoon of the guy who had his fishing pole and was hitting the fish as he's walking down the side of the water. an amazing experience. They're delivered, they're rescued, they're saved. Only three to four days later, they begin to complain. We don't have any water. Who's going to take care of us? What are we going to eat? And God shows up and provides. And yet, Through that, only a few months later, they're there on Mount Sinai. God shows up in the clouds, in the thunder, in the lightning. And He causes such fear and panic to be set over them that they say, Moses, we can't stand before God, for if we would, we would die. And so Moses then goes up alone to receive the law. And yet all the while God is with Moses giving the law, Israel's over on the side saying, well, Moses is taking too long. And so you know what, Aaron, make us a God that we can worship. And so they gather their jewelry, they melt it down, they build a calf. And Aaron says, this is your God who brought you out of Egypt. And so then they worship. Not the pillar of cloud or the pillar of fire, not the representation that God had given, but the one that was to their own imagination or their own liking. And so what are we seeing? These individuals aren't denying self and reflecting on the work that God has done. They have all sorts of experiences, but they're not truly inwardly connected. And so God judges. And Paul says there's a lesson for us in this. To learn from them. And what ought we to learn? That we shouldn't give into the desires as they also did. What are those desires? Verses 7-11. Shortly put, it's idolatry, sexual immorality, putting God to the test, and ultimately grumbling. If you want to note Israel from Egypt until the promised land, in four statements, it's that. Idolatry, we covered the golden calf. Immorality, in Numbers 25, they hook up with the daughters of Moab in order to engage. and improper behavior to the worship of the God of Baal. They tested the Lord time and time and time again. They had God providing them, God with them, and yet they would actually say, it was better to be a slave in the house of Egypt. Remember the misery that they had at the time where Pharaoh said, I'm gonna make it harder for them, and so it's gonna be harder for them to make bricks, and it's going to be harder for them to work, and they were crying out in suffering and in misery, and what did they say? We'd rather eat leeks and garlics by the Nile than have to be out here in the wilderness with God himself. Not satisfied with God's provision, And through the whole time, grumble, grumble, grumble, grumble, complain, complain, complain, complain. The whole time, disinterested, rather be elsewhere, forgetting what God had provided for them. Through it all. And so what does Paul then tell them? Or tell us? Guys, we gotta watch it. Take heed. Lest as you think, you stand. Because it's at that moment that you won't. Israel in its strength. Israel in the midst of deliverance. Israel having God Himself before them. Israel eating spiritual bread every single day. Israel receiving water from a rock who ultimately directed them to the living water. Israel identified from all the other nations and all the other peoples that all the others were saying, what other nation is like this that has a God fighting on their behalf? And yet they neglected it and they forsook it. only to see they'd rather go back to the place of slavery in hardship. And it's in the context of all of that that we have this verse. No temptation has overtaken you except such as common to man. But God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. The problem is that this verse isn't talking about handling stuff of life. This verse isn't talking about causing us to know that we'll be able to manage things. It's all in the context of wrestling with sin, and it's given to us not as a means of causing us to go, I know nothing more is going to come before me, but instead to go that God is faithful to help, that God is faithful to provide, that God is an ever-present help in time of need. Three things to see in terms of this. Number one, that the temptations that you deal with aren't beyond what anyone else has faced. Another way to put it is, you're not unique. in your temptations. From Adam to you, even all the way to the last person who lives on this world, y'all will all deal with the same basic issues. The call to love God with your whole being and the call to love your neighbor as yourself. It may manifest itself in terms of your own unique desires or perspectives, but in the end, the substance is love for God and love for neighbor. In terms of the situations that you face, you also have the promise. that there is no temptation that is common to you that also hasn't then been faced by the Lord Jesus Christ. He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. And so you have a Savior who understands the temptations that you have faced and yet has overcome it all. And consequently, He tells you, you may be able to bear it. Secondly, you can bear it because God is faithful. God is faithful to you so that you then are not powerless. You're not helpless. You're not hopeless. You can't sit there and say, well, there's nothing that I can do in order to address this. The moment you embrace that perspective means that you are saying, God isn't there. God isn't capable of keeping his word. God isn't who he says he is. And therefore, God cannot be depended nor he can be trusted. And therefore, it's okay for me to give in to this temptation. Paul tells us that in the positions of temptation, God is there and he's steadfast and he remains and he is able to uphold and to sustain you even in the midst of that challenging sin that comes to you and faces you time and time and time again. Remember God's faithful even when we are not. That God keeps His promises unto the very end. And God does not allow a temptation that is too intense or too strong if you look and trust in Him. But then in terms of being able to bear it or to maintain it or to deal with it, notice with the temptation God provides a way of escape. There's a way out. You're not in a hopeless situation. You're not powerless in what's before you. You're not trapped in terms of that thing that is present in your life. You can fight by the power of God. You can resist. You can say no. You can run from it and you can defeat it by the power of the Spirit of God that is present in you. How? Run to Christ. God is faithful so that you may be able to bear any and all temptations because of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was tempted as you are, yet without sin. He was tempted and yet showed the faithfulness of God that sustained him, encouraged him and strengthened him as he walked through this veil of tears. And furthermore, he was also able to overcome. And He sets before you the power and the living way that encourages you, strengthens you, and enables you to be set free from the curse and condemnation of sin. Look at what Christ has accomplished. Even as we look to Him, we can hear these things and think the times in which we've fallen, the times in which we have failed, the times in which we have not lived up or not met the standard, the times in which we've utilized the excuse of this being unique or God not being faithful or not availing ourselves of the way out, and yet we look to Christ even in that. There are times where we have failed and done so miserably, and yet God is still faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, to assure us that even this mess that is before us, that we're attempting to handle, we can give to Him, and He addresses through the Lord Jesus. We have this reminder that God doesn't give us beyond what we are able, and yet, I think we see that through it all, people are well-meaninged, but it's not helpful. What is helpful? To recognize the power and the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ. in our midst of temptation. God enables us to bear so that we then not rest in our own strength, our own power, but rest in His to be able to walk then the life that He calls us upon. For those of you who have yet to look to the Lord Jesus Christ and are still full-fledged frontal assault of sin, You can't handle it. You know you can't handle it. You know that it's overtaken you, you see the mess that it's made in your life, you see the destruction, you see the devastation that it's made, you see the hurt that it's caused to others, you see the lack of hope that you have, you see the uncertainty that exists, and you are just overwhelmed because you've been attempting to handle things on your own. And I think we've been pretty clear, you can't. God provides the proper means of addressing life through his son, Jesus Christ. Believe on him, confess your sins, and trust in him. Those of you who do look to the Lord Jesus Christ, you see that there have been times in which you've attempted to deal with your life on your own, apart from God. God is pretty clear that in accordance with His faithfulness, that's not the call that He sets before you. He calls you instead to pursue the path of humility, recognizing that you have no strength in and of yourself, and you're dependent upon God who has promised, and upon God who is at work, and upon God who strengthens. And as you rest on Him, He assures you of the strength that He provides, especially in the context of sin. And yet, even as we fail, because God is faithful, He assures us through the Son that we are forgiven, that we are cleansed, that we are clean, and we can be made right. Remember what the Lord has given you, and rest on Him accordingly. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, We pray that you would teach us to see our weaknesses and consequently to rest and to delight in you. As we deal with the issue of sin in our life and we know that it is prevalent, we know that there are so many times that We give in, where so many times we excuse it, we belittle it, we set it aside, yet you tell us not to do so. You tell us to address it, warning us even with the example of Israel. And so may we heed that warning. And consequently, may we humbly walk before you, so that we then would not depend upon ourselves, but look to the Lord Jesus. May we trust in him for the cleansing that he provides. May we trust in him for the strength that he grants. And may we look in hope to the day in which we will be joined to him. And we pray all this in his name, praying even as he taught us. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debt, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.