The Lord Will Provide

Opening Prayer

Abundant God, you have poured out freely your grace upon all who seek it. Grant, we ask, that the prosperity we enjoy may not lead us to forget the worship we owe, but rather may always inspire us to give you more sincere thanks; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God in glory everlasting. Amen.

Song: “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”

General Prayer of the Day

God of history, we have heard from those who have gone before of your mighty works. You are also the God of this day, and we gather here to sing our praises for your continuing goodness extended to us.

Many have witnessed the glorious deeds by which you have saved your people, yet we have forgotten them. You provide for us the goods of the earth just as you did long ago for the wanders in the wilderness, but we do not give you thanks. We continue to live a life unworthy of the gospel. Instead of rejoicing in your free gift of grace poured out on all who ask, we grumbled when other seem to prosper. Forgive us for losing sight of the miracle that you have already rewarded us with in the gift of salvation.

Inspire us by the gift of your Holy Spirit that we may be willing and energetic workers in the vineyards to which we are called. Aid us to see the opportunities for serving you and bless the work of our hands which we offer for the spreading of your great good news.

There are many who this day are starving for relief from suffering. Some of our brothers and sisters are thirsting for comfort in the desert of pain and sorrow. Let the streams of your healing water and substance of your grace fill their needs that they may raise up and give you thanks.

Give ear to our pleadings this day, O God of compassion, for we offer them in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Song: “Come to the Water”

Scripture Reading

Exodus 16:2–15 NRSV

2 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. 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, “In the 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 complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.” 9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’ ” 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 12 “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” 13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

Introduction

Today, we enter into our third sermon in our series - “Wandering through the Wilderness.” After seeing the plagues in Egypt and crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites have now gotten into the wilderness and do not have any food to eat. They have come upon another problem. They blame Moses and God from their plight.

This is no different from many of us right now. We can look at our current circumstances and blame a long list of people. But where does that lead us?

This morning, I believe that the story of manna in the wilderness gives us insight on how we handle the blame-game that creeps into our minds about a host of things beyond just our current times. How do we move beyond the blaming and playing the victim to being victorious in our living everyday?

1. When we complain, we miss seeing God’s blessings. (vs. 2-3)

Exodus 16:2–3 NRSV

2 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

John 6:43 NRSV

43 Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves.

The Israelites love to complain about everything. This is a continuous pattern throughout their time in the wilderness. Over and over again, they are faced with a problem and they want to get rid of Moses and just go back to Egypt. The “back to Egypt” crowd and mentality always crop up when there are times of distress. Like we said last week, it is easy to look on the past with nostalgia even when in reality it was not great. Distress can also make us extremely dramatic. “Oh if we would have only died in Egypt.” Really?

The problem is that when we get caught up in blaming and nostalgia, we lose sight of the blessings God has placed us in right now. The Israelites had witness the greatness of God’s power before their own eyes. They had been set free from 400 hundred years of bondage in Egypt. But instead of continuously celebrating that fact, they miss the blessing.

How many times have we missed the blessings in our lives right in front of our eyes because we were too busy playing the victim and bellyaching? When we do that, we miss out on what God is doing for us right now. Yes, these times are hard. Yes, parents are having to play double and triple duty right now because of all the craziness. But in the middle of all that, where is God blessing you? How much time have you gotten to really spend with your family in past few years? How much time have you been able to have real conversations because you haven’t had to go from practice to practice or meeting to meeting?

2. The Lord provides sustenance. (vs. 4-8)

Exodus 16:4–8 NRSV

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. 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, “In the 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 complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.”

Luke 11:3 NRSV

3 Give us each day our daily bread.

So after the Israelites complained against God and Moses for not having food, God provides them sustenance during their time in the wilderness. According to Joshua 5:12, after the Israelites celebrated the Passover in the promised land for the first time, the manna ceased and they ate the produce of the land. Even after all the time the Israelites complained, God heard them and provided for them. Would he have done it had they not complained? Of course. God was not going to let his people starve after he had saved them. God always provides for us when we are in need. During the entire forty year period, God gave quail and manna to the people to eat and give them what they needed.

Jesus reminds of this in the Lord’s prayer when we pray that God would give us our daily bread. God is will always provide for us. When Jesus says this in the Lord’s prayer, he is saying to us that God will always give us what we need. We need not worry all the time about tomorrow or yesterday. We need to know that everyday God will give us precisely what we need. We lose sight of that fact and think we have to always hoard things. It is important to be prepared for anything that comes our way and for the unexpected things in life. That is not what Jesus is saying. We do not need to do so much because we worry too much. Why do people need to buy twelve packs of twelve rolls of toilet paper? Why do people need to by 10 packs of chicken? These are things that cause mass hysteria and others lose out. But such is the world in which we live. Perhaps if we calmed down a little more and noticed the blessing we have, prepare in modest and sane ways, we can all get through this better. Instead it’s an attitude of every man for himself.

We must rely on the God who always provides for us in order to get through the difficult times in life. The wilderness in not meant to be something that we go through alone. We are all on the same journey and trying to reach the same destination. If we do it together relying upon God along the way, we will much more successful and less stressed and anxiety ridden.

3. The Lord is always near us. (vs. 9-15)

Exodus 16:9–15 NRSV

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’ ” 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 The Lord spoke to Moses and said, 12 “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” 13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

James 4:8 NRSV

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

God is always near to us. Aaron says to the Israelites that they are to draw near to God. We are reminded in James 4:8 that when we draw near to God, he will draw near to us. Jesus tells us that he will never leave us or forsake us. And yet, we live as if God is a million miles away never to return. As Christians, we believe in the transcendence of God. That is, we believe that God is the Holy Other, and he above and beyond his creation. Yet, we also believe in God’s immanence - that God is with us always. This is best understood through the incarnation of Jesus.

When we are going through the wilderness it is God who leads us along the way. He is not going to leave us alone. Jesus tells his disciples that when he leaves that God is not going to leave them orphaned. The Holy Spirit will come to them. God has not left us orphaned in this time. It may seem like it some days. When we watch the news or read our Facebook or Twitter feeds, the world looks like it is falling apart. And in many ways it is. But that does not mean God has left us orphaned. In fact, it is in these times that must draw closer to God not farther away.

Conclusion

In John 6, Jesus is teaching after the feeding of the 5,000. The people want him to continue to give them bread to eat. He uses the story of the manna from heaven to teach them about who he is what gives true life.

John 6:48–51 NRSV

48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors 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. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

John 6:53–58 NRSV

53 So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

In the end, it is Jesus who provides all we need. The bread that he gives will give us eternal life. Jesus is the one who blesses us, sustains us, and is close to us. He lives in us and strengthens us in this journey through the wilderness. We live because of him.

Closing Song: “Hungry (Falling on My Knees)”