I AM…Your Daily Bread
Notes
Transcript
Announcements:
Happy Pentecost Sunday!
Anyone interested in water baptism, please see me after service.
3. We are close to getting some dates nailed down for some outreaches. So stay tuned. we are working on reserving pavilions.
4. We were able to hand out a couple of cards on May 11th at the community yard sale so please continue to pray for seeds to be sown and God to being who He wants to come to The Gap!
Worship:
Take You At Your Word
2. No Longer Slaves
3. I Have Decided To Follow Jesus
Introduction:
As we continue with our series through the Book of Exodus, we will pick up right after the Israelites are allowed to leave Egypt after the 10 plagues have occurred.
After grumbling and complaining to Moses at the Red Sea, they crossed the Red Sea. Then they journeyed for three days without finding water and finally came to a place called Marah. But the water at Marah was bitter so they couldn’t drink it (Ex. 15:22-26). They again started to grumble and complain about not being able to drink the water and the Lord told Moses to throw a piece of wood into the water and it made it drinkable.
I believe God was revealing to the people what was still in their hearts as they were carrying a spirit of complaining and grumbling.
Also, notice God didn’t have Moses use the staff he was walking with to cure the water, but a totally different piece of wood. This probably was to remind the people, including Moses, that God can use anything for His purposes.
Then the people come to a resort called Elim. There were 12 springs and 70 date palms, and they camped there by the water (15:27).
I wonder how many of the people were content and wanted to stay there! But they didn’t stay long as they left there and came to the Wilderness of Sin (ZIN) one month after they left Egypt.
Remember at Marah, God promised that if Israel would listen, believe, and obey His commands He would bless them. How long did Israel listen, believe, and obey God’s command to trust Him? Only about a month.
Let’s pick up at our passage this morning in Exodus 16:1-12
1 The entire Israelite community departed from Elim and came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt.
2 The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.
5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
7 and in the morning you will see the Lord’s glory because he has heard your complaints about him. For who are we that you complain about us?”
8 Moses continued, “The Lord will give you meat to eat this evening and all the bread you want in the morning, for he has heard the complaints that you are raising against him. Who are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your complaints.’ ”
10 As Aaron was speaking to the entire Israelite community, they turned toward the wilderness, and there in a cloud the Lord’s glory appeared.
11 The Lord spoke to Moses,
12 “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”
Transition: There are a few observations I would like to make this morning from our passage. I hope we are not so quick to judge the people of Israel as we can probably see ourselves acting just like they did. We can probably see ourselves acting in similar ways even today!
Body:
The word “grumbling” here in the Hebrew describes an open rebellion (against) and not only that but it was a rebellion/mutiny against God; not Moses.
Illustration: In the historical tale of the construction of the Great Wall of China, legend has it that the emperor became annoyed by the constant complaints of the workers. To inspire them, he had the wall decorated with intricate carvings, depicting stories of perseverance and dedication. The complaints soon turned into songs of determination and unity.
I. Grumbling and complaining often distort reality (16:2-3)
2 The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!”
A. People often grumble and complain when faced with uncertainty or difficulty
B. People also grumble and complain when they forget about the faithfulness of God
C. This wasn’t the first or last time the people of Israel complained
Next chapter
3 But the people thirsted there for water and grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you ever bring us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
Before entering Canaan the first time - grasshoppers vs giants
2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!
3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
D. Their complaining distorted the reality of their present
1. brought us out here to die?
2. die of hunger? (Our kids tell us “I’m starving” I’m going to die of hunger”)
3. their present reality was anything but that:
a. Ex 17:3 it tells us they needed water for their livestock, so they still had the flocks and herds they had brought out of Egypt
b. They could drink milk and make cheese and even eat meat if necessary
c. they were not starving
Illustration: In the biblical story of Paul and Silas imprisoned in Philippi, despite their dire situation, they chose to sing hymns of praise to God. Their attitude of gratitude in the face of adversity not only uplifted their own spirits but also led to miraculous results, impacting those around them.
This reminds us that grumbling and complaining is a choice.
E. Their complaining distorted the reality of their past (v3)
1. sat by pots of meat
2. ate all the bread we wanted
3. Longing for comfort and what you don’t have can lead to discontentment
4. How often have we longed for what was familiar even if it wasn’t beneficial?
a. a previous job – it stressed you out, didn’t pay much, you didn’t get along with the boss
b. a previous relationship – only thinking about the few good times and not the overwhelming bad times
c. guys at MC do it all the time, things get hard and they want to go back to where they came from because they can handle it now and it wasn’t that bad
d. any time something doesn’t go our way we seem to want to go back to the good ol’ days when those days were anything but good!
Transition: So, hopefully up to this point we understand the power choosing to grumble and complain has on our perspective of the past and present. I am so thankful I serve a God who, in spite of my grumbling and complaining, still loves me and is there for me! This leads us to our second observation:
II. God provided for the Israelites in spite of their grumbling and complaining (vv. 4-30)
Four times the passage says God heard their grumbling (vv. 7, 8, 9, 12)
A. God provided exactly what they needed when they needed it.
1. The same word for being full the Israelites used in verse 3 is the same word God used in verse 12!
B. He could have easily left them to starve
C. God’s provision of Manna lasted for 40 years until they entered the Promised Land
12 And the day after they ate from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. Since there was no more manna for the Israelites, they ate from the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
D. Just as God provided Manna for the Israelites back then, He also has given us the true bead from heaven!
31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
32 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, Moses didn’t give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 Then they said, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again.
Transition: While we know God has given us His Son, Jesus Christ, to give us everything we need, we also know God requires something of us as well:
III. God requires obedience in the midst of uncertainty and difficulty (vv. 4, 20, 28)
A. Do we trust God for what we need or are we going to do things our way?
B. Obedience reflects our trust in God’s wisdom and provision
Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus’ teaching on worry and trust in God’s provision
25 “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?
26 Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?
27 Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying?
28 And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread.
29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these.
30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith?
31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’
32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Conclusion:
Just like the Israelites had to learn to trust in God’s wisdom and provision by being obedient to God’s instructions, we are to do the same today.
When we choose to complain and grumble, we are letting God know we don’t approve of what He is doing and that we can do things better.
Our complaining and grumbling are never caused by our outward circumstances. They reveal the inward condition of our hearts.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Our joy in the Lord should not be circumstantial but fundamental!
Psalm 23:1–2a (CSB)
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need.
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures…
To lay down in green pastures
When we read about green pastures we think of something like this:
First Pic
or this
Second Pic
and maybe even picture ourself in the pasture like this
Third Pic
But the green pastures David is talking about is what they were used to herding their sheep in and they looked more like this:
Fourth Pic
and this:
Fifth Pic
When David is talking about green pastures, he is talking about places where God leads us and gives us exactly what we need when we need it. No more and no less. Just enough to get us to the next time we need provision.
Give us this day our daily bread. What we need for today!
11 Give us today our daily bread.
3 He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then he gave you manna to eat, which you and your ancestors had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Our greatest need is God and when we have Him, we have everything we need!