Manna - act to activate.

Carry Water

It is fashionable to carry one of these water containers.

Evidence that it is good for the body and the brain. Though there is some debate about how much you need.

When I walk I use one of these - A bladder

It allow you to take a drink whenever you want, without stopping, it allows me to drink regularly to keep hydrated

When you are walking especially on warm, windy days it is really important to keep hydrated.

Dehydration is a funny thing, it is something that is easy to avoid but has a cost if you dont. By the time you are feeling the effects of dehydration, it is too late. At that point there was no such thing as guzzling down a water bottle and bouncing right back. I’ve learnt this the hard way as a migraine sufferer, I know my migraines are triggered by dehydration. I know if I get dehydrated, even if I have lots to drink later, I run the risk of a having a little man using a jack hammer inside my skull.

The only way for me to avoid that is taking in a steady regular amount of water or coffee. There’s something to say about the health benefits of steady regular dietary habits. Starving ourselves and then binging is not healthy.

The Context

The Israelites had escaped Egypt, they had had crossed the red sea, they had seen Pharaoh’s army destroyed, they had sang their victory songs and danced. And now they had bee in the desert for about 44 days. - Their provisions had run out, they were hungry and grumbling. I know how my house is when one of us is Hangry. Can you imagine what a happy place that would be with thousands of hangry Israelites.

The people grumbled to each other and to Moses.

If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

I tell you it would take more than a few Snickers bars to solve that.

God provides

Exodus 16:4 NIV

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.

Before they could even take their worries anywhere God had a plan.

Exodus 16:1–36 NIV

1 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling 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 grumbling.’ ” 10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud. 11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” 13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’ ” 17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed. 19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” 20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. 21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’ ” 24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.” 27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. 31 The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’ ” 33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan. 36 (An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)

We often feel that we are trying to battle things alone but God always has a plan.

God loves each of us and because of that has a plan to sustain us. Naturally we are going to be concerned about our situation. Sometime you need to act to activate Gods plan, but we are instructed not to be anxious as the plan is good.

The New International Version Chapter 16

If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

Matthew 6:26–27 NIV

26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Matthew 6:

That is what we see in the passages in the book of Exodus: God has a plan, the people need to act in accordance with that plan - this is the testing piece in the first verses we read. The plan is good, God meets their needs.

Meeting your needs

Exodus 16:14–16 NIV

14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’ ”

Ex

Mana - may mean what is is.

Mana - may mean to allot

Mana is that bread from heaven that meets the needs of the people.

In the same way that Jesus is the bread from heaven, the ultimate provision for our needs.

John 6:35 NIV

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

God instructs us in a similar way when it comes to experiencing his presence and his power. - Come and take what you need.

God instructs us in a similar way when it comes to experiencing his presence and his power. - Come and take what you need.

He doesn’t say I am going to ration my presence to Sunday Mornings, or you can only have half an hour of My time. Or the quality of My presence is is going to be less today because I am in a Grumpy mood.

No, He is an infinite God with boundless reserves.

It is up to us how much we desire.

God provides to your requirement and your hunger

Exodus 16:17–18 NIV

17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

Exodus 16:

Are we satisfied with too little of God?

Do we limit God’s provision by having too low and expectation of whatHe can deliver?

We always need to have a thankful attitude when God shows up or when God provides but I do get the feeling that as a church, especially as an English Church, we need to be more expectant in what we want to see God do, more audacious in our prayers, more greedy in our desire for his presence and power.

We worship a God the fed a nation out of thin air does our expectation of Him measure up to this.

The Father’s heart is to be with us and to provide for us daily. He wants that interaction with us.

Fresh Everyday

Fresh Everyday

Exodus 16:19–20 NIV

19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” 20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

Of all the lessons in this passage I think this is the most important.

The manna did not last. it had to be collected everyday. if it was kept it went bad.

Ex16 19-20

I know for me this is true. If i don’t engage with God daily, my relationship with him [and those around me] starts to degrade. I need to come into his presence and his provision often.

I can’t stock up on his presence, I can’t keep it for the rest of the week.

Spending time with God is a lot like Sleep. If you don’t get enough you don’t feel great and you don’t perform well.

And just like sleep you can’t store it up. I can’t sleep for ten hours on a Sunday (I wish) and expect not to have to sleep on a Monday with no ill effect.

Similarly, just like sleep, if you don’t get enough the best thing you can do is get a great night sleep, if you are suffering from a God deficit the best thing you can do is immerse yourself in His presence for a time.

God is a realist

God is a realist,

He demands our worship but he knows that we have ups and downs in our lives - after all he created us.

Don’t read just paraphrase

Exodus 16:22–30 NIV

22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’ ” 24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.” 27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

Ex:16:22-

It’s not about the activity it’s about the attitude activity.

I have deliberately not said that you need to read your bible everyday, or pray everyday, or spend time with other christians everyday, or volunteer everyday, or listen to UCB or Watch the God Channel or Go to church.

How you engage with God is up-to-you,

It’s not about the activity it’s about the attitude

what I want to encourage you is to engage daily. Spend time in his presence. To spend time seeking him.

For those of us with spiritual gifts spend time using them.

whether that is a gift of hospitality or speaking in tongues or prophesying.

The moment we act we activate his plan for us.

Joshua tells us what happens if we stop eating.

You have to keep eating

Joshua 5:10–12 NIV

10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.

Jos. 5:

I know from personal experience that when we stop engaging even for a few days, we tend to spend less and less time with God. We have to make that concerted effort to spend time with him, even if it is a few moments.

When we do He will meet with us, God is only ever an attempt away from us.

God meets our need as we change.

,

Exodus 17:1–2 NIV

1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

ex 17:

But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them,

,

Nehemiah 9:17 NIV

17 They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them,

Nehemiah 9:19–20 NIV

19 “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. 20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst.

Thy Kingdom Come. - is a great time to re-engage. A great time to start eating the bread of life afresh -

Some religions demand that you do something every day.

or complete a number of tasks.

We are saved by Grace, not by works. But the cost of that Grace is high. Let’s honour the giver of that gift by spending time in his presence and by serving Him, not because we have to but because we want to show our love for Him and reflect his love for us to others.

The eternal promise

Revelation 2:17 NIV

17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

Revelation 2:17