Food Supply — Jim Cymbala

Food Supply and the Story of Israel

The name of this message is called Food Supply. The text is taken from a famous story in the Old Testament about the travels of Israel. But to introduce it, I want to tell you, because I'm going to refer to it again, one of the five greatest history books I've ever read, in case some of you like to read history.

And it has a turn at the end, a twist, which I never saw coming and made me cry. The book put me into a fetal position at times. It put me into weeping at times. It put me into suppressing anger at times, wincing.

It's called Unbroken, and it's the true story of a man from California who was in trouble as a kid, became a long distance runner. And lo and behold, in the 1936 Olympics, he was one of the youngest members of the Olympic team that went to Berlin at the height of Hitler's power.

And he ran, did not win, but he was just the youngest, I think, on the entire United States Olympic team. He went from there to starring at the University of Southern California as a long distance runner.

But everything changed, as it did for the whole country, on December 7th, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked. America was drawn into the war, and he ended up enlisting in the army, but he ended up, oddly, as a bombardier on airplanes.

And it tells the true story of what he went through until his plane, a plane that he was on, went down in the Pacific, not shot down, but it was amazing how many airplanes in the beginning of the war were not ready, really, to be flown properly.

And this one went into the drink, went into the Pacific Ocean. He ended up on a raft with two other guys, no one else survived the crash. But he wasn't there for a day until the sharks were circling this beat down raft, which wasn't inflated properly, it wasn't equipped properly.

All during the night, the sharks were getting bolder and would run underneath and scrape the raft that he was laying in. No food, no water. And he drifted for more than 1 ,000 miles and ended up on an island where he was captured by the Japanese, and the story goes to tell what he went through and how it ended, which I won't tell you because you might wanna read it, but without a doubt, and I gave it to a bunch of friends of mine, they've all called me and said, you gotta be kidding.

And the ending of it will make you, listen, when it ends, if you should read it, remember, think of me when you're reacting to the ending of that book. One of the things that happened to this fellow named Lou was they were given no rations.

He survived the raft drifting over 1 ,100 miles, I think it is, if you can believe that. He lost weight down to, I think he felt 110 or 105 from his usual weight of 150 or 160. But then when he was captured, one of the main reasons that everybody died in this POW camps was they were starved to death because the amount of food given them was not sufficient to maintain the human body.

If they didn't die literally of starvation, the weakened condition of their body made them susceptible to every kind of disease. They couldn't march, they couldn't move, they couldn't try to escape because they couldn't run, they couldn't walk, they couldn't do anything.

Because they were in that condition, the torture that they went through is just incredible. Similar things have gone on down through history. And no food, you know the old book that says you are what you, yeah, but if you don't eat anything, you no longer are.

You stop being because man has to eat food. Israel, early on in their history as a nation, went through a similar thing like this. They were in Egypt as slaves, but at least they had food there. They were worked hard, but at least they could live.

God sent Moses, he sent 10 plagues after Pharaoh refused to let the people go. And then they were delivered on Passover night, the death of the firstborn. They were saved because they had the blood on the door, which is still celebrated today by the Jewish religion.

Then they came to the Red Sea, they saw God lead them through there miraculously. And the Bible tells us that all the time that they were moving, they were led and directed as to every movement by God through a cloud.

During the day, it was a pillar of a cloud, and at night, it was a pillar of what? Everyone remember? A pillar of fire, so they could see it in the dark. Remember, for thousands of years of human history, the only light people knew was fire.

What we're used to hear now is a very, very, very, very modern convenience. For thousands of years, all people knew was fire. No fire, no light. No moon shining, no sun. You're in pitch black. They were led to a place where there was no water.

God produced water as they were in the wilderness. And then they were led to a place called Elam, which had palm trees and was a nice place. And then, oddly enough, following the cloud, they were led to a place called the Desert of Sin, having nothing to do with the word sin.

Israel’s Hunger in the Desert of Sin

It was at this place that they realized we're gonna die because the food we took out of Egypt is gone, and there's no food in the desert, and there could have been one and a quarter million to two million Israelites moving.

Now, we come to the story of food supply. Let's look. We see here the whole Israelite community set out from Elam and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elam and Sinai. On the 15th day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt, and in the desert, the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

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.

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.

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 because of the Sabbath the next day. 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, 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? Moses also said, you will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening, that was the quail that was sent in just once, and all the bread you want in the morning, all the bread you want in the morning because he has heard your grumbling against him.

Who are we? You're not grumbling against us, but against the Lord. That evening, quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning, there was a layer of dew around the camp, and when the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.

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. This is what the Lord has commanded, each one is to gather as much as he needs.

Take an omer, which is a weight, a measure of weight, for each person you have in your tent. The Israelites did as they were told, some gathered much, some little, and when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.

Each one gathered as much as he needed. Then Moses said to them, no one is to keep any of it until morning. 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.

And finally, the people of Israel called the bread manna. Manna sounds like a Hebrew word possibly for what is it. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey, sweet in other words.

Moses said, this is what the Lord has commanded. Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come so that they can see the bread that I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.

God’s Guidance Through Difficult Places

Well, we're gonna talk about food supply, and why God would take up the whole 16th chapter of Exodus to speak to us about this matter and see how we could apply it to our lives. But first, let's just go over the physical part of what happened.

But before I do that, did you notice a couple things there that I think are noteworthy for us, good lessons for us? Number one, isn't it amazing that they were led into a place that brought trouble? They didn't wander to the desert.

God led them to the desert. They were following the cloud. And sometimes the cloud leads you to Elam where there's palm trees and waters, and sometimes the cloud leads you to the desert of sin, having nothing to do with sin.

A lot of us are not mature enough to understand that. We think when things are great, God is in control. But when things get difficult, God has either made a mistake or forgotten us, or the devil's attacking us.

But here, the Bible clearly says that Almighty God, who loved them, delivered them out of Egypt with a strong, mighty arm, He now leads them to a place where their natural provisions run out. That's what happens in life many times to us.

How else are we gonna grow in faith? How else will we see what God can do if we're always on easy street? So many times in our lives, God will lead us to a place where it's difficult and there's no bread, there's no food.

We can't make it, in other words, i .e., we can't make it. And it's not the devil's doing, it's God's doing because He wants to make you and I stronger. And if you're here today and you've been following the Lord and you love Him but you're in a difficult spot, don't throw up your hands and think God doesn't care about you.

You're the apple of His eye. His eye is always on you. But He permitted you to come to this place because He's cooking up something really good for you and you're gonna see His hand and you'll be able to glorify Him and your faith will be strengthened so you can help other people.

Israel’s Forgetfulness and Grumbling

Number two, is it not amazing what babies we can all be? Here, God had delivered them out of Egypt. They had seen 10 plagues. They saw the Red Sea open. They saw water come from the rock already. But the moment their bellies are crying for food and they don't see it, they are grumbling against God as if God, after having done all of that, is now gonna let them die in the desert.

And we're all like that, aren't we? No matter what we've seen God do, we forget it so quick. How many of you have seen God take you through thick and thin? Lift up your hand, right? Do you think after He's done all of that, He's gonna now let you fall in a black hole?

How could that be? That makes a mockery of the Bible and of the faithfulness of God. But there they were, like we do, and I've done it, like God doesn't exist, like God's never helped me, like God's abandoned me, like the world is gonna end.

That's what they're doing. Haven't you ever done that? How many of you ever been like big babies? Come on, all the little babies, hold up your rattle and rattle it a little bit. Haven't we done that? As if they forgot everything God had ever done.

Oh, we're so amazing at that, this just struck me. Like, wow. And we have seen God's faithfulness, but think what they saw. 10 plagues, the Red Sea opened, a pillar of cloud, a pillar of fire moving and directing them around, and now they're believing God is gonna let them die in the desert.

God’s Mercy Toward a Grumbling People

One last thing before we get to the physical part of this story, is it not amazing how God reacted to their grumbling? God is so different than us. In the natural, what I would have done is, what, you're gonna talk like that?

And by the way, notice what God said. When you grumble against the leadership, this is another common thing when we get frustrated and when we get upset. We're really grumbling against God, but we find some person to take it out on, a boss, a sister, a brother, a minister, the president, the Congress, the Republicans, the Democrats, and we're raging against the government.

We're really raging against God. And Moses said to them, what are you yelling at me and Aaron for, we only work here. God's in charge. So remember that, when we grumbling, we're really, you know what we're really saying?

It's God, you don't know what you're doing in my life. God, would you please let me take control of this thing because the way you're leading this thing is all bent out of shape. Imagine how God feels when he sees us, puny little ants who don't know much.

We're telling him what the best way to run our life. Just think of that. Oh God, give us more faith. God, help us to grow. Help us to be strong. So instead of reacting in anger and punishing them, to a grumbling people, he provides the bread they need.

Is not God amazing? How many of you are here really today like me, not because you've been good little boys and good little girls, but how many are here in church worshiping God today because God is awesome and full of mercy and grace?

Oh my goodness. Can we give God a hand just for bringing us to this place? So now let's see how this worked physically. So Moses said, okay, it's coming in and it's gonna come in in the morning and it's gonna come with the dew.

That's an interesting little combination, isn't it? Because the dew is a symbol of the Holy Spirit in some places in the Bible. Water, and in Hosea, God said, I'll be like the dew to Israel, watering us in a gentle way on a daily basis.

So God said this food coming from heaven will come down to you so you won't starve. You're not gonna die, you're gonna live. It's gonna come on the ground and here's what you do. Every morning you get to get out of your tent and you gotta go and you gotta bend down and you gotta pick it up and take as much as you want.

No, no, you don't have to take a half a pound. You don't have to take four ounces. Take as much as you want. Everything you need, you get it. I know, but I'll take care of the supply. There's as much as you need.

Notice, no limitations, no rationing. As much as you want, as much as you need. If you only go back with a little manna, it's because it's on you, you don't want it. But I'm supplying it. So they better bend over and then take it.

Now they took it and they ate it, it tasted sweet. Sometimes they ground it up, they made it into all kinds of things. The Bible tells us God did that every morning except on the Sabbath, he did that for 40 years.

That's all they ever did. Now God also said to them, at night, do not save any of the manna, like how do I know that it'll be out there tomorrow? No, no, no, don't save it. If you save it, it'll rot, maggots will get into it, and it'll stink.

I want you to go to bed every night with nothing. I want you to go to bed with nothing so in the morning when you wake up, you only have one person who can supply what you need. It's going to be me. I will be there for you every morning, but don't you save so that you can say, I saved up for a rainy day, just in case God doesn't come through.

Mama didn't raise no fool, I got some manna over here. No, God said it'll stink, you won't be able to eat it, and maggots will be in it. I'll only supply one day at a time. That's all I'll ever give you, is what you need for one day.

I'll supply it, you pick it up. And that's how they were fed. And it meant so much to God that he wanted the people to remember it that we hear that in the sacred ark, and now we hear it referenced in Exodus, manna was kept in a jar as a memorial to God's faithfulness so that if anyone would ask, what's in that jar?

Oh no, that's a sample of the manna. Oh, listen, it happened before you were born, but God kept us going for 40 years every single day. In other words, he doesn't fail. Your friends fail, I fail, your family will fail you, but God, impossible.

So God is full of faithfulness to his people. So that's the story in the Bible. That's how Israel was fed. All through their journey in the wilderness, which in some ways is a picture of life here, hardships, difficulties, but God leading us.

God said, I'll give you bread from heaven. Just like Lou in Unbroken got down to less than 100 pounds. If you read it, you'll find out all that he went through. He came close to dying, and he saw his friends perish for a lack of food.

Because the amounts, when the war was getting to the end and the Japanese saw that they weren't gonna be victorious, things got really ugly. Same thing in the concentration camps over in Eastern Europe.

Feeding the Inner Person

What's the application for our lives? Well, just like my body needs food, so does my spirit. And just like my body needs food, and if you don't give it to me, I will get weak, I will be susceptible to disease, I will not be able to resist anybody because I won't have the strength to push them away.

The same thing is with our spirits. You know, when you go to the airport now, they make you put your hands up, and you pass through that, and they take a picture to see if there's any device on you that could be dangerous.

Wouldn't it be something if we had a device now, here, up, where we could just let everybody come up and not take a picture of your body, but take a picture of the condition of your inner man, your inner person?

Some are strong and robust, probably, like the Bible says, be strong in the Lord. What is Paul talking about in Ephesians 6? Be strong in the Lord. Is he talking about biceps and triceps? Talking about quads, or is he talking about the inner person?

Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. That means not all Christians are equally healthy. Not all Christians have the same spiritual strength. Well, of course not. It all depends on their diet, because you are what you eat.

Well, that's, of course, obviously true. So, we study and know more about healthy foods now. There's more books, and I think America, certainly, is more intelligent now about what's in food. It has to be listed now.

50 years ago, 100 years ago, nobody listed what's on food. But now, the side, everything is listed. It's against the law to just sell something and not say what's inside. Why? Because people are looking, and they're watching, and they're saying, I gotta know what I'm eating.

Hey, what do you think? I wanna know what's in there. How many carbs are in that thing? Right? I wanna know. Why? Because everyone knows your emotions, your energy level, is all affected by your diet.

Even more so than exercise, because if you go in the hospital and just go on the good food, well, that's an odd word to use with a hospital, but some hospitals, let's say they give you healthy food, and they give you just three meals a day, and no salt, and all of that.

You don't have to work out at all. You'll lose weight. You'll come out. People won't even recognize you. You haven't worked out, haven't pumped iron. You just ate different. You look totally different.

So with all the thought that we give to what we eat, so that our bodies can be strong, breakfast is the most important meal. And we have all learned all those things. Not one in 100 believers, or a very small percentage, are saying, what's the condition of my spirit?

What's the strength? What's the health? What's the vitality of my inner man? And that would go to, first of all, well, what are you feeding it? Because just like there's food for the body, there's food for the soul.

Christ as the Bread of Life

Jesus said, I am the manna. I'm the food that was sent down from heaven. If you partake of me, you'll never die, but you'll live forever. So there's a spiritual eating. There's a spiritual drinking. If anybody thirsts, let them come to me, and rivers of living water will be inside that person.

So when your spirit is underfed and undernourished, then faith is very difficult. And then resisting temptation becomes very difficult. And then you can be crabby and be in a nasty mood because the joy and the peace that God wants you to have, it's not there, because you're on IV.

You're comatose. Are you alive? Are you a Christian? Well, yes. But you go to the hospital, and all kinds of people are alive, but they can't even walk 10 steps down the hallway. Why? Because they're in a physical condition that's very weak, and that can happen to our spirits.

Why would the Bible say be strong? You think Satan is going about looking for strong Christians or weak Christians? Weak, of course. He'll take anyone, but he especially, he's a predator. Predators always looking for weakness.

Some of us here are so careful about salt or sugar intake and are so careful about food for our bodies, but are your bodies gonna die? The body's gonna perish. They're gonna bury you like everyone else if the Lord tarries.

But what's in here, that will never pass away. No, that's your real person. That's the inner person, the inner man, the inner woman. So the application of this is the importance of being strong in the inner person has to do with how we feed that inner person.

And we know that the word is likened unto the bread and also to milk. I gave you milk, desire the pure milk of the word. Some of us are starving and weak. You haven't had a good drink of milk in like in a year.

And your spirit is affected by it, why not? Starve your body and see if your body won't be affected. Well, it's no different with the inner person. This is also bread. Thy words were found, Jeremiah said, and I did eat them.

How do you eat the word? Did you know the word meditate in the Bible actually means chew on in the Hebrew? Means when you read the word, every day as we read the word with an open heart, trusting God to teach us, with a willingness, I don't wanna read it, I wanna obey it.

When I read it and understand it, I'm gonna obey it. That is like the best prime rib meal you could ever imagine for your soul. Or times of waiting on God and worshiping God and drinking in of his spirit.

Daily Scripture, Worship, and Spiritual Health

Why do you think people feel better when they leave church? You ever analyze that? What do you think, it's the building? No, it's because your soul was fed something. You heard a song, you heard a message, you heard the Bible read, your mind was put on the things of God.

You began to praise him and thank him and you walk out feeling so good, but it won't last you if you try to keep it overnight, it'll stink. Maggots will be in it. Because the old idea that a lot of Christians have, I go to church once a week and that'll hold me for the week.

It won't even hold you for 24 hours. And then a lot of folks turn around and say, I don't know why I don't feel the joy of the Lord, I don't know why I don't feel peace. Pastor, would you pray for me, anoint me with oil.

We could baptize you in oil, it wouldn't change anything. If you're starving, you're starving. If you're underfed, you're underfed. If you're malnutritioned, you're malnutritioned. Jesus can't change that.

Until you start eating the food he gave you. Why do you think the Holy Spirit gave us this word? So that we could eat it every day. Right now there's so much biblical illiteracy that 40 of all the people in America who go to church and call themselves born again believers, 48 believe that Jesus sinned like everyone else while he was on earth.

What are the pastors saying? What are they preaching about? What Bible are they reading? They're not reading the Bible. 1 ,200 people stop reading the Bible every day in America. And who do you think's behind that?

Satan, this is my food, this is your food. But if you don't eat it, what good is it? So notice these few things. The Lord says, I'll supply supernatural food for you, all of you. I got something from heaven for all of you, every day.

How much, Lord, can I have? As much as you want and as much as you need. Here's the important thing, brothers and sisters. If we're gonna be strong in the Lord, we're gonna live a life pleasing to him.

Living One Day at a Time

You gotta start living one day at a time. Monday does not exist. All I have is today. I don't know if Monday will come for me. And God's not giving me anything today for Monday. He's giving me for today.

Jesus said, don't worry about tomorrow. Every day has its own trouble. How many say amen to that? A lot of us are worried about the future and we get punched in the stomach that day because we're worrying about next week.

God's not helping me for next week until next week comes. This is the day that the Lord has made. You don't have any other day. Today is the day of salvation. If anyone's here and you're not a born-again Christian, you only want one day to be saved.

You can't get saved Saturday, it's gone. And you dare not say tomorrow because you don't know if you're alive tomorrow. You and I have to start living. I can only be strong in the Lord. I can only please him.

I can only be what he wants me to be one day at a time. If you try to hold over something God did for you, maggots will get in it and it'll stink. My wife and I will tell you about people that we've known in our lives who try to live on what God did 10 years ago, two weeks ago, 20, 30 years ago.

And you meet people like that. Oh, listen, oh, I'm not doing good now, but oh, but you don't know, brother. Jamaica, 15 years ago, we were in a meeting in Kingston. That's great for 15 years ago, but today is a new day.

You can't live on what God did for you in Jamaica 15 years. Come on! Can you live off of what you ate 15 years ago? Do you ever meet someone who says, no, I'm not hungry, I ate 15 years ago. I'm not going out to lunch.

No, every day we need the food. Some people, your flesh is already rising up against this because you see, some of us, the reason why this food is not sweet to us, time with God, fellowship in his word, drinking in of his spirit, you know why?

You're addicted to junk food. We're addicted to junk food. American Idol satisfies us, not the word of God. Now, all these things have their place, sports, politics, whatever. I'm not trying to be irrational here, but first things have to come first.

And if you live on junk food, the real food, you can't stand. People who are addicted to sugar and to junk food, if you offer them an apple, they're gonna say, no thanks. I got my Frito chips back here.

I'm gonna dig into them, my Oreos, my ice cream. That can happen, can't it? That's why Christians can actually get a distaste for God's word. You say, no, that can't be. Yes, it can. Trust me, it can happen.

Why? You get so addicted and get so hyper and you get going on the junk. By the way, so sad about Whitney Houston. I'm so sad about that. She grew up in church. She grew up in church, singing for the Lord.

None of us can judge anything, but it just reminds me, stay close to Jesus. And you can only stay close to Jesus, listen, one day at a time. Please, please listen to me. No one told me that when I was little.

No one helped me with that. You only can live one day at a time. The manna came one day. God said, I'm not giving you anything for March. I'm not giving you for the rest of February. I'm giving you for 12 de Febrero.

That's today, Domingo, today. It's the only day you have. If you wake up tomorrow, guess what? It's out there. Here's another thing, notice. The food was out there. God always did his part, but you could have died without it, you know why?

Human Response to God’s Provision

You could have just sat on your back end in the tent. To eat the food, you had to get out of the tent and you had to go outside where it was on the grass. You had to just wait and you had to bend over and pick it up.

You could complain and feel bad for yourself in the tent till doomsday. You'll die 50 feet from the food. Like the Lord says, I've set a table for you in the presence of your enemies, right? But what if you don't sit at the table?

What if you don't sit down and eat the food he prepared? You'll die. You'll be weak, you'll be undernourished in the inner man. God says, everything you need, everything you want, it's all for you. Would you just get up and pick it up?

A lot of people think some mystical nonsense, some baba that they have in their mind, like God is gonna feed me and I don't even have to pick up the Bible. I'm just gonna make it somehow. You will not make it somehow.

You will make it God's way, which is study to show yourself approved. Get out of the tent and go pick up the food. Notice, God provides, but man's action is needed. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Somebody just sent me some pears. One of my secretaries stole one of them. When I opened, instead of having 10, there were nine. But we'll deal with that later. That's a rebellious spirit. But anyway, I was happy she took it.

But I looked at that pear and I saw the fancy box it was in, didn't do me one bit of good until I took the thing up and bit the thing. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. But some of you, how do you know what God can do for you?

Listen to me, gentlemen. Listen to me, women. How do you know what God can do for you every day if you don't give Him a chance? If you don't eat the food, if you don't spend time with Him, preferably in the morning, but life has so much pressure, you're gonna have to go back for snacks all day long.

Pick up the Word of God, carry a New Testament, get alone in a train if you have to, and turn your eyes, I've done that 1 ,000 times. Turn my eyes to the window on the end of the car of the train and just open my heart and pray to Jesus and worship Jesus, let Him flood your soul.

That's why people leave the meetings feeling better because their soul's got a little food. But for some of you that are here and across the street, if your soul could speak to you today, it would say, how about me?

Feed me. I'm dying in here. You take care of your body. You buy clothes for your body, but how about me? I determine more how you feel than anything you're putting in your stomach. Sorry to get excited about that, but it's true.

It is absolutely true. I know it from my own life. My worst days have been when I've been so busy, I'm too busy to eat. You ever hear a businessman say that? I've had it here. I work, I get tied up counseling this, that, the other thing, next thing I know, I haven't had lunch and it's quarter to five.

My assistants have to remind me, did you eat something? You want us to get you some soup or something? You get going. But then you feel it if you don't eat. How do you think your spirit feels today? Maybe that's the cause of no joy, no peace, and then Satan comes.

You can't help anyone. You're barely existing yourself. The guys in the concentration camps, they couldn't help anyone. Why? They had been starved half to death. How can you help anyone if you have no strength?

Spiritual Warfare and the Need for Strength

Ah, but those that know their God and who feed on him every day, they will do exploits. It's only good one day at a time and it's so sweet. Sometimes you gotta just get the junk food out of your system.

They're doing surveys now that certain businessmen and people can't exist without their cell phones. No. If they lose their cell phones, there's trauma. There's a crisis. If they're not texting, tweeting, if they're not doing something, it's like that.

Just think, if we took half the time that we text, how many texts or tweet during the day? Lift up your hand. You text or tweet someone. Is that all? You all are sanctified. I didn't know that. Just think, if people took the time to text somebody about nonsense and just said, God, I need you today.