Sermon Tone Analysis

Start off with thanking everyone who made the 4th of July celebration such a huge success!

You know, as far back as I can remember, (which some days only seems to be a week or so), but all the way back to my early childhood, I have always had a strong love and affinity for a certain food.

Now no doubt, there are many “foods” that we could all sit here and discuss and talk about that rank as our favorites, but there is one that I think that could quite easily sit at the top of most of our lists.

This morning, I want to talk to you about..............BREAD!

How many BREAD lovers are in the house this morning?

Now some of you may be thinking that you don’t really like BREAD, and with that the thought of the plain-Jane, white bread comes to mind.

However, I am talking about BREAD in general and the many, many, many variations of it that there are!

There are easily, over a hundred types of bread that are recognized from all over the world!

USE iPad AND READ OFF SOME OF THE TYPES OF BREAD FROM WIKIPEDIA.

ASK THE AUDIENCE FOR A FEW OF THEIR FAVORITE TYPES OF BREAD AND HOW THEY LIKE TO EAT IT.

(Now share a few of my own favorites: Fresh Parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper bread dipped in EVO, fresh biscuits and butter with honey, cornbread with butter, or cornbread put into cold buttermilk, etc.)

My point, large and in part, is that, BREAD, to many of us and our individual preferences of it, can be considered a comfort food, right!

So, BREAD is favorite food and it is a staple for countless millions of people all around the world, right?

Well, this morning I want to talk with you about the subject of BREAD, or in the Greek, what is called, artos.

Artos, means, BREAD, or loaf of bread, or it can refer to just food, that is, any kind of nourishment in general.

(MORE ON THAT IN A LITTLE WHILE!)

Now, for those who were here last week, or listened in on the message last week, I spoke about the Old Testament usage of the Holy oil of God and the anointing of God.

In doing so, I reiterated the fact that everything that God put into place with the people’s worship of Him and way in which He interacted with the children of Israel throughout their Exodus period and they way that they interacted with Him, it was all a HUGE ARROW pointing to something and someone who was to come and fulfill everything that God had promised in a future time period.

And in mentioning people awaiting something in a future time period, let me say this, anytime anyone might question you and say something to you today like, “Why do you believe in that stuff?

It’s been like, 2,000 years since this Jesus was here and nothing has happened!

Don’t you feel like you’re wasting your time?”

Look, from the time of the Abrahamic Covenant that God made with man, until it’s ultimate fulfillment (that is, the covenant agreement that all of the world would be blessed through Abraham’s lineage), that time frame was right around 2,000 years.

So, there was that waiting period of around 400 years to see the blessing of God begin to come to fruition with His choosing and calling out of the mighty nation of Israel and the descendants of Abraham, from the time that He first promised it.

That is around the same time period of silence that the peoples waited for God to reveal or say or do something to the nation of Israel, between the closing of the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The same time period of waiting!

Now, from the time of the Abrahamic Covenant that God made with man, until it’s ultimate fulfillment (that is, the covenant agreement that all of the world would be blessed through Abraham’s lineage), that time frame was right around 2,000 years.

The world waited some 2,000 years for God to fulfill His covenant with Abraham and bless every man and woman and child, through the birth, the life and death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ!

They waited some 2,000 years for that miracle to happen!

Seems like a long time, right?

Well, since the fulfillment of the coming of the Christ and His victory at Calvary on the cross, and then His ascension back to the Father in Heaven, it has been another 2,000 years!

If you follow time periods and seasons in the Bible, you will see recurring patterns within them.

So, the waiting period for the initial coming of the Messiah happened within that first 2,000 year period that I just mentioned and here we are, 2018 and within just several years of being exactly another 2,000 years !

Are you following me?!

The waiting is rapidly coming to a close!

Remember what we are told in the epistle of , “Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.

They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again?

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think.

No, he is being patient for your sake.

He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief.”

We are so very close now, AMEN?!

So, let’s back to the point everything from the Old Testament pointing to Jesus and His coming, shall we!

This morning we are going to look at a couple of passages in the Bible and hopefully as we do so, you will begin to see and understand the necessity of their meanings for each and every one of us and our individual lives as followers of Yeshua!

And like last week, you will again see the representation of Jesus from the Old Testament account looking forward.

In the book of Exodus, the 16 chapter, we read of the account of the children of Israel, just one month after they were led out of bondage and slavery to Egypt, we find them being led through the wilderness to the promised land of blessings and abundance within this account.

The chapter starts off with the whole community of Israel complaining against Moses and Aaron, as we find in verse 3, “If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned.

“There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted.

But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

Now think about this and put this into perspective.

As a Hebrew at that time, you have been under HARSH slavery to the cruel nation of Egypt for hundreds of years and you are now free and on your way to a land of lush provisions while under the loving hand and care of the one true God, who has already demonstrated that He has more than enough muscle to get the job done, right!

And what are the people doing?

They are complaining about their food!

Basically they are saying, we would rather be under the tortures and bondage of slavery and have lots of meat and bread, than be free and not have instant comforts!

Now trust me, this theme, this complaint, has not changed from that time and through the time of Jesus coming to this earth and setting the slaves free from the bondage and slavery to sin, until now and our awaiting His return.

(This is our time going through the wilderness under the Lord’s care and awaiting our entrance into the “promised land”.

And the people are still doing the same thing to God; complaining about why they don’t have certain comforts or amenities like others, or why they have endure hardships and trials!

So, lets continue reading in this passage with verses 4-8.

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Look at verse 11 also, “Then the LORD said to Moses, “I have heard the Israelites’ complaints.

Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want.

Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.”

So, here we see the patience and love of the Father, because if it were me or you listening to over 2 million people complain, EVERY DAY, about the way and the manner in which we had just SET THEM FREE as slaves and our inadequacies in caring for them...........I mean, the flood would have seemed like Disneyland compared to what I probably would have done to them!

Verses 13-15 give us a description of what God sent for food, “That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp.

And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew.

When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground.

The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it.

“What is it?”

they asked each other.

They had no idea what it was.

Quickly go over the instructions that God gave to the people of Israel for gathering and eating the manna, which lasted the entire 40 years they wandered.

Each household gathered just what each person needed (2 quarts for each person in the tent)

Some gathered a lot, some only a little.

But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough.

Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.

Each family had just what it needed.

Some gathered a lot, some only a little.

18 But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough.

Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.

Each family had just what it needed.

17 So the people of Israel did as they were told.

Some gathered a lot, some only a little.

18 But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough.

Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.

Each family had just what it needed.

Even though they were instructed by Moses not to try and keep any extra manna until the next morning, some people did and what they found surprised them.

The next morning, the left over manna had turned rancid and had maggots all in it!

Look, when God says to trust in His provisions and don’t try to make it happen yourself, HE MEANS EXACTLY THAT! ,

This is how we know that the whole account of the manna was a miracle.

(Many people say that this was a natural growing seed or plant that they harvested to eat).

Yet, the Bible records that they didn’t recognize the manna; they had never seen it before, until the very morning that God said that it would come.

Even after being out in the wilderness for an entire month!

Also, they were not allowed to keep extra, but only what was needed for that day.

Any extra would have maggots and spoil by the very next morning.

EXCEPT, on the 6th day and then they were allowed to gather enough for that day and the next, due to a sabbath day of rest.

The manna never spoiled for these days, even though the extra went through the night and the next day into the next night.

God was controlling the whole thing!

Finally, God told Moses to gather 2 quarts and and keep it as a testimony for all the future generations, (it ended up in the Ark of the Covenant), to show the people how the Lord provided and took care of the people in the wilderness!

NOTE: The manna was collected and placed within the Ark to serve as a witness to all future generations of God’s love and provision for His people.

This testimony would serve as a reminder that God is faithful and true to His word and this would keep fear and doubt away from future generation’s hearts!

This is why it is so important that we come together and share with each other and especially the younger generations, what God has done for us and of how He has miraculously provided for us and protected us.