Manna Season

Exodus 16:4–6 ESV

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt,

Introduction

Good moring

I want to talk to you something this morning that God has been ministering to me personally for the last couple of weeks..

something he has been speaking to my own heart..

I want to talk about seasons.

or more particularly a season I believe we have moved into both as a church and possible as individuals.

It may even be a season our country is begining to move into as we navigate the future of our economy and the unrest that is prevalent right now..

Prophetic

And Im going to tell you up front..

this is a little different than our normal type of message..

Its more prophetic in nature..

but I believe its what the lord is speaking for today..

and I hope you will receive it..

I hope it will edify you, and encourage you..

because in every season we face, both plentiful and lacking, God is god of the seasons and God of our lives..

and I believe he prepares us and then walks through these things with us..

Seasons

This is my favorite time of year.

specifically I love the fall.

and over the next few weeks we are going to see a shift from the summer into the fall…

It happens every year..

infact this last week its felt like it already has happened..

And as the season shifts so will our actions in adjustment..

things will get cooler and so well change closes and build fires

some of us will start dirinking pumpkin..

and others never stopped..

but with the natural shift in seasons comes change..

THIS IS NORMAL LIFE..

King solomon in the book of Ecclesiasties tells us that there are many different season in our lives..

Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 ESV

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

Through out our life we encounter many different seasons

Good

Some of those season are fruitful and prosperous

Some are joyful and exciting

EX.

getting married

graduating school

having a baby..

getting the job of your dreams..

even when you first get saved..

These seasons are pleasent seasons

they are season we never want to end..

and we may even wish they would just repeat over and over again..

Not so good

but not every season is an enjoyable season..

Look at what the solomon says..

there are times to weep

to mourn..

EX.

When we have lost somone we love..

when we have lost something we love..

When we are walking as david said through treatours places..

when things dont seem so clear anymore..

these season are a little more difficult..

and not as enjoyable as the others..

Purpose

But What we need to understand if every season has great purpose..

be in pleasant or sorrowful..

each one fulfills purpose in our lives

Season

How many of you are summer people?

How many of you are fall people?

How many of you are winter people?

Now how many summer people dont like the winter people?

Each season has a purpose..

We may prefer one or the other

but each one needs the other..

in the spring we plant..

and in the summer food grows..

in the fall we harvest..

and in the winter the ground rests and is revitalized..

did you know that the harvest is dependant on the snow?

The more snow the more nitrogen in the ground..

the better the harvest..

but the less snow..

the worse the harvest..

You see wether we enjoy them or not..

each season has a great purpose and honestly makes the others possible.

Jesus

Additionally, and more important..

in ever season God is present with us..

He is walking with us..

through the good and the bad..

Jesus told us in matthew 28:20

Matthew 28:20 (ESV)

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

SO seasons are not bad..

They are important..

and God is directing them..

Today

today I want us to look at a specific season that I sincerely feel our church ahs already entered..

a season I believe I, and many others, are already in..

And a season I believe we are beginging to enter as a country..

Israel

Its a season that the children of israel walked through for 40 years on their journy from the red sea to the promised land..

And its not the wilderness that I want to talk about even though it coinsideds with the wilderness..

Rather what happened everyday throughout the wilderness that I want to focus on more..

Where god gave manna daily to the poeple.

Today I want to talk about the manna Season.

The Manna Season

What is the manna season?

The manna season represents the time in israels life when they were wondering in the wilderness and God prvoided manna each and every day for the people to eat..

Wilderness

Understand many refer to this as the wilderness season for israel..

and it certainly way..

But as we talk about this I want us to come away with Who god is going to be in this season..

what we will not lack..

verses the journey that it may be..

Israel

for israel.

This was a 40 year jounrey..

and that may seen like a long time..

but if we look at the entire story of israel we know this is only a short season..

Pillar

during this time God lead the people but a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night..

this was one of the first time the entire people would see the manifestation of god..

God spoke to and organized the poeple through moses

god Gave the law..

God made the tents, clothes, and provisions last signifigantly longers..

and each and everyday.. God gave them the provision they needed through manna.

Manna

Manna was food that god gave the poeple each day in the wilderness..

when they woke up each morning it was on the ground with the dew..

ready to be gathered..

and it had to be gathered before the sund melted it away..

the bible describes it like a fine flakelike substance like the frost on the ground..

It was like a coriander sead in size

and it was white..

the people would take it and eat it raw and it was said to taste like waffers and honey..

or pound it into cakes and eat it that way..

daily

god instructed the people to gather it daily..

and only enough for the day..

for if they gathered to much and kept it a second day..

worms would appear and it would stink and rot..

but miraculously on the day of the sabath preperation

they would gather for two days..

and the manna would last throguh sabath..

MANNA WAS GODS DAILY AND REGULAR PROVISION FOR THE PEOPLE and they journey from the place they were delivered from, to the place they were going too..

This was a hallway season..

between two doors..

and God lead them through it..

HE TOOK CARE OF THEM IN IT

The manna was so important to this season of israels life that when they built the arc of the covanant they took a jar of it and placed it inside to as a reminder of God provision through the wilderness.

What is the purpose of the manna season?

I believe the manna season is a season we are entering as a church and even a country.

Its a wilderness season..

a jounrey if you will

Its a season where God is bringing us from where we were.. to where he is taking us..

like the hallway between two doors..

WE HAVE SEEN GOD DO AMAZING THINGS..

BUT THE BEST AND THE PROMISE IS STILL YET TO COME..

But undersntad that the hallway is not just a place holder in our lives..

its not simply a waiting period..

GOD DID NOT WASTE THE MANNA SEASON..

It was not simple to to sit on thier hands and do nothing..

like I told you.. God has purpose in every season..

and in our manna season he has purpose for us..

for all who feel like they are standing in a hallway waiting for what God will do next..

Stop waiting and look for his purpose..

Purposes of the manna season

1. Season of training

One of the things God did in the manna season was train the poeple..

During the manna season God revealed himself to the poeple in a way they had never known..

Revealed

It was during this season they saw the pillar of clouds and fire

it was during this season they saw the red sea open and the rocks bring forth water

It was during this season that God gave the law

It was during this season the sacrificial system was given and instituted

forshadowing how salvation would later come through Jesus..

THIS WAS A SEASON OF TRAINING FOR THE PEOPLE..

A SEASON OF PREPARATION FOR WHAT WAS TO COME..

GOD USED THE MANNA SEASON TO ESTABLISH A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PEOPLE, NOT JUST A PERSON..

AND TO PREPARE THEM FOR WHEN THEY WOULD BE IN THE PROMISED LAND.

Us

God uses the manna season to train us..

They are season of preperation for where God is leading us..

where he teaches us who he is..

if you have walked with god long enough you have probably been through seasons like this..

where you might not have felt like you were specifically making progress toward a promise..

but your depth of relationship was growing in the lord..

little by little he was triaining you..

These seasons come to grow us closer to god in ways he cannot do in other seasons

and in preparation for coming seasons..

The manna season is a season of training..

Do

in this season we should press closer to god..

spend greater time seeking him, his word, and in prayer.

because its in this season he wills to draw closer to us..

to teach us.. train us.. and prepare us for the next season..

2. Season of moving forward

the manna season is a season of moving forward..

Torwards the promise..

It is a shifting season

where God is taking you from where you are to where you are going..

israel

it was during this season in israels life that they moved from the red sea to the edge of the promised land..

God would lead the people by the pillar of cloud and fire..

When God moved, they moved, when he stayed, they stayed..

but it was also the season where God prepared the poeple to enter the promised land..

They moved from the stories of abraham to the practice of the tabernacle

A whole generation changed during this season..

A generation had to die..

A generation had to be raised..

things had to happen to bring them closer to the day they would enter..

US

God uses manna season for us to move us closer to the destination he is taking us..

maybe there is a promise God has given you..

a calling for you to work in..

a season for you to reap..

a work to be done in your life..

God uses the manna season to prepare us to enter the next season..

could not

remember israel could not enter the promised land until the generation whoo did not believe died off..

even moses has to go....

God uses this season to prepare us..

God may prune you in this season..

He may grow you in this season..

He may add to you in this season..

but whatever he does in this season he is doing to bring you toward he ultimate goal for your life..

final

if were going to look at the big picture..

God may simply be preparing you to ensure when the times comes you will be able to step foot into eternity with him..

God uses the manna season to bring us closer to th epromise and prepare us..

Do

during this season we have to forsake the comfort zone and be willing to move when God says move..

3. A Season of provison

This is a season of provision.

but specific provision..

God given provision, in Gods given timing..

israel

The giving of manna in the wilderness was a specific thing..

Every morning it was there miraculously..

it was ready for the people..

BUT it was only for the day..

if it were kept past the day

it would rot and get wormy..

the miraculous exception of this was the sabath..

where the day before they would gather for two days..

and it would last two days..

THIS PROVISION IS NOT ABUNDANCT BLESSING..

It is the daily bread type provision Jesus told us to pray for in the lords prayer..

and in this season, god cares for ous needs..

but he does so in a way that forces us to trust him and his provision.. and not our own..

Stuff

not only did god given manna..

but in this season..

God made the things they had last..

the tents,

the cloths.

the pots.

the pans..

God blessed them to last throughout..

so the people had enough..

HE WAS THE PROVIDER

time

there would be a time where israel would step into the land of milk an honey..

into the promise land

where there was abundance and signifigant provision for more..

but during this season gods provision was daily and not more

He was teaching the people to trust him in the small things..

so they could later trust him in the big things.

us

for us.. thsi is a season where provision happens differently..

its given for the short term and ment to get you to the next..

it may not be the entire need at once..

but it will be enough for today..

and in this god teaches us to trust him..

to depend on him as the source..

to depend on him as the giver..

4. A season of learning to trust and follow again..

because of this..

the manna season is a season where israel learned to trust god..

they learned to trust him for direction..

when he moved they moved..

they learned to wait..

when he waited they waited..

they learned he would provide..

through the manna and all things..

they learned he would protect them..

they conquered thier enemies..

they leanred he would bring forth the promise..

us

during this season

god will teach you to trust in a new way and level.

in a deeper way..

in a consistant way..

And we will learn his provision and faithfulness.

Do

in this season we should pruposely trust in the learn ..

wait longer..

pray harder..

sit at peace that he is working..

And he will grow our faith..

5. A Season that wont last forever

the last thing I want to point out about manna seasons is this..

They will not last forever..

For israel it lasted for 40 years..

but when they came into the promised land..

the manna stopped..

and god began to provide in a different way..

This season.. is a season of leanring and growing deeper in god..

where he teaches us the little things..

but there is a day coming where we will step into the promise..

and we will begin to take the promise as the poeple of israel did in canaan.

What do we do in a manna season?

Wait

The people waited for god in all things..

provision.. movement.. battle… worship..

in this season we learn to wait on God and move when he says move

Receive

the people received the law, received the plan for worship, and eventually received the promise..

in this season we dont just wait idly..

but we wait in expectation

and receive what God will do for us and teach us..

Trust

the people learned to trust God..

In this season we must trust him..

and he will not fail us..

and when we walk into the promised land we will see his faithfulness..

It was the manna season that prepared the poeple to take the promise

without it.. they were not ready..

Conclusion (Bring up the band)

We have talked a lot today about provision..

and I know that today, in a few moments, we will celebrate the declaration of many people who have chosen to publically state “ I have decided to follow Jesus.”

So as we conclude, I want to make sure that each and every person in this room is already aware that God has already made life changing provision for you.

He has already given and provided for you and I.

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

The bible tells us that god gave Jesus..

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Isaiah 43:19 ESV

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

God has provided for each and everyone of us richly already..

and the provision he has given is Jesus

Our way of escape

Our streams in the dessert and way in the wilderness..

For what?

You might be asking, what escape has Jesus provided for?

simple.

The bible says in:

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

but it tells us in:

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You see god has provided a way out of eternal death or eternal seperation from god..

and His name is Jesus

He came to offer life to all who would believe in him

and to reconcile us to the father once again

as we were created for in the Garden.

Greatest

the greatest provision god could give you is not food, or money, or shelter.. It eternal life and right standing relationship with him..

The greatest provision is salvation in Jesus Christ..

Altar Call

Salvation..