The Testing of the Lord
Moses The Evangelist • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 8 viewsGod provides manna from heaven to the Israelites in the wilderness as they grumble, demonstrating His faithfulness and provision. Jesus tells the crowds that He is the Bread of Life, offering eternal sustenance to all who believe in Him.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
The Story of Howard Shultz
Born in 1963 in Brooklyn, New York
The family struggled to make ends-meet.
He worked hard and was the first person to graduate college in his family with a bachelor’s in communication.
In 1982 He started working for a little one store company called Startbucks selling high quality beans and equipment.
He took a trip to Italy in 1985 and was overtaken by the coffee culture there, but Starbucks didn’t want anything to do with it.
He started his own coffeehouse and and by 1987 bought Starbucks and turned it into the worldwide brand it is today.
There are so many people that feel stuck and defeated. If you’re one of those people this morning your not alone.
But it’s in these moments that your character is revealed.
There are two kinds of People in this world, “Those that do and those that stew.”
When the doer hits a wall that he can’t seem to get over he asks two questions:
What can we do?
What do we have?
When the stewer hits a wall make statement:
I can’t do anything?
I don’t have anything?
For a child of God these statements are never true!
You can do all things through Christ who strengths you.
You have the provision of your Heaven Father who will supply all your need to accomplish his will.
So how do we move for Stewing to Doing to accomplish the will of God.
As we get to the end of Exodus 15 the children of Israel are up against a wall. God has led them to a desert place and they don’t see the provision they need to survive. As many of us do, they get worried and fearful. What is the character of people will come out? How will they handle these trails as new believers in God.
Exposition
Stop Grumbling and Start Humbling.
Stop Grumbling and Start Humbling.
The Grumbling of the People.
The Grumbling of the People.
22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. 24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
Three days with no water is a death sentence.
Characteristics of grumbling:
Characteristics of grumbling:
A symptom of a heart that is dissatisfied with God's plans and provision.
Expressing discontent, ingratitude, and thanklessness, often in response to unmet wants or unanswered prayers.
Aligning oneself with hopelessness and faithlessness rather than trusting in God's promises and provision.
Complaining about circumstances in a way that ultimately directs criticism towards God, even when not explicitly stated.
The Leaders always take the brunt of the grumble.
The Leaders always take the brunt of the grumble.
Grumbling is contagious.
Grumbling is contagious.
2 And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, 3 and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
Grumbling is rebellion against the Lord.
Grumbling is rebellion against the Lord.
Exodus 16:7–8 (ESV)
7 … because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.”
Instead of grumbling pray and trust
Instead of grumbling pray and trust
Exodus 15:25 (ESV)
25 And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.
Stop Rebelling and Start Obeying.
Stop Rebelling and Start Obeying.
The Statute of the Lord
The Statute of the Lord
The Lord puts the new believer to the test to see if he will trust and obey.
Exodus 15:25–26 (ESV)
25 … There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, 26 saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
Trusting the Lord involves three things:
Trusting the Lord involves three things:
Diligently listening to the voice of the Lord your God.
Diligently listening to the voice of the Lord your God.
Doing what is right in His eyes.
Doing what is right in His eyes.
Following His commands and keeping His statutes.
Following His commands and keeping His statutes.
Protection and blessing are the rewards
Protection and blessing are the rewards
27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.
Trusting the Provision of the Lord
Trusting the Provision of the Lord
God provides according to his Character not yours.
God provides according to his Character not yours.
4 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. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 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, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?”
God provides despite your lack of faith.
God provides despite your lack of faith.
11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”
The Lord provides for his commands and statutes.
The Lord provides for his commands and statutes.
23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’ ” 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”
We fail when we take matters into our own hands.
We fail when we take matters into our own hands.
When you rest in the Lord you have what you need.
When you rest in the Lord you have what you need.
In 1946 a business owner named Truett Cathy decided to trust the Lord by closing his stores on Sunday giving his employees the opportunity to rest and worship on Sunday. Chick-Fil-A is one of the most profitable fast-food chains in American.
Stop Refusing and Start Receiving.
Stop Refusing and Start Receiving.
The Rebellion of the People
The Rebellion of the People
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.
The Refusal of the People
The Refusal of the People
28 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
The Bread of Life
The Bread of Life
30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Jesus is the true bread from heaven.
Jesus is the true bread from heaven.
The grumbling of the Jews.
The grumbling of the Jews.
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.
Jesus is the bread of life.
Jesus is the bread of life.
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
Call to Action
A prayer to trust and obey the Lord while we take communion together.
RGroup Questions
How can you identify areas in your life where grumbling and complaining have taken root, and how can you replace them with prayers of trust and thankfulness towards God?
In what ways can diligently listening to God's voice, doing what is right in His eyes, and following His commands impact your spiritual journey and relationship with God?
How can you recognize moments of rebellion and refusal in your life, and what steps can you take to shift towards receiving and accepting the provisions and blessings that God offers?
