The Rock of Life - Exodus 17:1- 7

Well good morning everyone and welcome to Faith Bible Church. It's good to see folks here and those that aren't here that are tuning in because of their health reasons and other out of town.

We just pray that we could be a blessing to you and you'd be edified through the song and through hearing of the word and pastor does an amazing job of of conveying that to us and we thank the

Lord for him and for his faithfulness to studying. It takes time. It takes you know it just doesn't come to your mind and you read a passage and you're done.

It's concerted effort. It's concerted studying. It's sitting. It's praying. It's doing it over and over again and so we thank the

Lord for that effort. It's a labor of love truly I'm sure and and we we're grateful recipients of that.

For announcements just a couple here prayer meeting this evening at six.

If you haven't been before prayer meeting you know we just kind of sit around a table and we we we hear a little devotional and then we then we pray as the

Lord leads us and and it's not a you can just come and listen and pray in your own heart.

You and to pray to the Lord lift our desires and our needs and wants up to the

Lord and and he hears our prayers. Next week men we've got the

Saturday morning breakfast again. We're going to do that again. This is a second doing this of having the study at nine o 'clock in the morning and there'll be a

I was going to say secret speaker doing the devotional.

I don't know what what are the ladies what are the ladies call it? You'll just have to come and find out who it is. I was talking to my son -in -law yesterday and they've been their church has been going through John the book of John toward the latter part in chapter 16 specifically and I think they may be speaking he may be preaching from that today but it's it's really encouraging in the times that we live.

It's reassuring. It seems like that's a common theme of what we talk about is being encouraged. You know we need to be encouraged just like we need to be encouraged and so John I would like to read a couple of verses here from 16 verses 32 through 33.

It says indeed the hour is coming yes has now come. Now this is Christ speaking to the disciples just right before he's taken to the cross.

So it's pretty relevant it's good you know it's getting the hour is near. You will you will that you will be scattered each to his own and will leave me alone and yet I am not alone because the father was with me.

These things I have spoken to you that in me you have may have peace in the you in the world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer

I have overcome the world. Here's Christ he's ready he's about prepared to die and he's saying be of good cheer.

We look around and we can get discouraged at the things that are going on in the world and the wars and it's all very serious in our own personal lives but we need to be of good cheer.

We have hope we can have peace and peace by definition in the

Hebrew it says is it says means completeness means soundness or welfare and in the

Greek it means quietness or at rest or at peace. We can have that as believers we have that so let's hold on to that let's seize that and live our lives by that so we can kind of live victoriously as we go out and face the world and face up all the difficulties that we come across.

God is there with us he is near and be of good cheer so let's pray together.

Lord God we thank you that you have brought us together today father to to lift our voices to be to hear your word spoken.

God we are a feeble people but lord you are strong and we can hold to you we can rest in you we can find peace in you father.

God we pray for the needs of many here today those that are listening and father that most are not spoken father but it's in their own hearts lord but there you reside there you give give that rest and peace and encouragement and we thank you that you are near and God we pray that we would honor you today that your holy spirit would be with us that would help illumine our minds and our hearts father to understand your majesty your beauty because you are wonderful lord and worthy of our praise.

So lord we commit our time to you now and just be with us father that we might honor you and give you glory in all things we pray in Jesus name amen.

I'm going to be reading from 1

Corinthians chapter 10 verses 1 through 5. That's 1

Corinthians chapter 10 verses 1 through 5. For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact brothers and sisters that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea.

They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink for they drank from a spiritual rock that accompanied them and that rock was

Christ. Nevertheless God was not pleased with most of them their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

May the lord add his blessing to the reading of these words. Bless the lord oh my soul my god thou are very great thou are clothed with honor and majesty and tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.

Let's stand. Please turn with me to Exodus chapter 17 verses 1 through 7.

Exodus chapter 17 verses 1 through 7.

Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the wilderness of sin according to the commandment of the lord and they camped in Rephidim but there was no water for the people to drink.

Therefore the people contended with Moses and said give us water that we may drink. So Moses said to them why do you contend with me?

Why do you tempt the lord? And the people thirsted there for water and the people complained against Moses and said why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?

So Moses cried out to the lord saying what shall I do with this people?

They're almost ready to stone me. And the lord said to Moses go on before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river and go.

Behold I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb and you shall strike the rock and water will come out of it that the people may drink.

And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So he called the name of the place

Massa and Meribah because of the contention of the children of Israel and because they tempted the lord saying is the lord among us or not?

This is the word of the lord. Let us pray. Father we are thankful that you are always present with us.

Thank you that you are a god who never abandons us. Father we pray that as we meditate on this text that we would really saturate on the fact that you are a god who dwells with us.

You're a god who always provides in your presence. Father we pray that you would change our mind renew our minds to know that you are a god who never abandons in Jesus name.

Amen. The historical event which we just read today is a significant warning against god's people when they start to doubt god's life -giving presence.

Although this is a short narrative only seven verses long the old testament saints looked back to this event specifically as a firm warning to his people do not tempt the lord as they did in Massa.

Deuteronomy 6 16. And this is an important text today because we often have a tendency of doubting god's presence or having a low view of god's presence when life goes unexpected as we planned.

When life suddenly gets harder and that's what the israelites faced in the text.

They went out of water and where they encamped had no water and they started doubting god's presence.

And this may have happened to you when an unexpected sickness arose, arose unexpected passing away of the loved ones, an unexpected tragedy in the world.

All of these things can often trigger us to think where is the lord in this?

Where is god in all of this? And this text teaches us although god's people may doubt of his presence god's presence sustains them.

Although god's people doubt his presence god's people god's presence sustains them.

God's people are sustained by god's very presence. First unfaithful people protest protest against god when they can't trust his guidance.

Unfaithful people protest against god when they can't trust his guidance.

After two life sustaining miracles in the wilderness verse one sets the background for another test.

Then all the congregation of the children of israel set out on their journey from the wilderness of sin according to the commandment of the lord and camped in Rephidim but there was no water for the people to drink.

The israelites are still in the wilderness and the wilderness they it's called is the wilderness of sin.

This is the hebrew word sin so it's not sin as in transgression but that's what the location was called.

They directly gave us the pronunciation of the word so this has that's this wilderness this the name of the wilderness doesn't have anything to do with sin although they did sin there but that's not why it was named sin that's uh it's close to uh the mount sinai that's why it's called the wilderness of sin sinai.

Now the israelites are still in the wilderness which means they're still depending on the lord for daily supply of food as the previous chapter tells us that god started feeding them with the heavenly bread every day.

And it is hard to pinpoint where exactly they are in the wilderness of sin but it is clear that they're approaching mount sinai.

So far the lord has only been gracious in supplying them with drinkable water and nutritious food and there's there has been no sign of abandonment from the lord.

There's no evidence to suggest that the lord is not with his people and we need to keep in mind two important factors here.

First god's people are still led by god.

The lord is guiding them through the wilderness according to his commandment it says according to his word.

God is revealing to them where they ought to go and where they ought to camp. Second they camp in Rephidim in which there was no water.

These two factors set the context for the whole passage. God purposefully led israel to Rephidim where there was no water.

God who has been providing for every need intentionally camped israel in Rephidim where there was no water.

And here we'll see that god is testing israel's trust in him.

Now we have to recall israel was more than willing to trust god amidst great triumphs such as in exodus 1431 right right after israel saw the whole army of egypt swept by the red sea swallowed by the sea they trusted the lord they trusted moses they sang all together.

The test here today is to see whether god's people will trust him when life gets tough.