Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] And one more time, put your hands together and thank God. God, thank you.
[00:00:04] Amen. God bless. Go ahead. Thank you, Megan. Thank you, team. Go ahead and have a seat, if you would.
[00:00:09] Good morning.
[00:00:10] It's good to be back with you this morning. This last week, Ron and I had a chance to get away for a little vacation, and we did some hiking while we were on that trip. Just a minute.
[00:00:23] I intentionally wrote in my notes, take a drink of water at this point, because it's reminding me that there are times when we get this great. This deep thirst, and we just can't wait to get to a bottle of water and to guzzle it, and then when that bottle's done is to keep guzzling some more.
[00:00:42] While we were away on vacation, Ron and I had opportunity to do several days of hiking. And this one occasion, a little bit of a mountainous area out in Idaho and Coeur d'. Alene.
[00:00:54] I took a good drink of my bottled water before we left our car, and we got out onto this hike. And I don't know what it was about the day or the hike, but about.
[00:01:04] I don't know, not even halfway through it, I started getting really a dry throat, and I began to get really thirsty. And I'm just. I didn't want to say anything to Rhonda like, hey, I'm kind of weak here. Can we turn back?
[00:01:17] But we got it in about. About a mile. And we said, let's go ahead and turn around. And I couldn't wait to turn around and get back to my.
[00:01:24] Into my bottled water to guzzle some water.
[00:01:27] I don't know if you've ever had those moments where you just had this dry mouth, this dry throat, and you just couldn't. It's like you couldn't drink enough water.
[00:01:36] That's not really me today.
[00:01:38] But our story we're gonna look at in Exodus, chapter 17 is an opportunity where the people of God, the Israelites, had a need for water, for thirst, and. And so we're going to look at that in a moment. But the thing we're going to look at as we look at their story is the question that they're wrestling with and they're still wrestling with. After 400 years of captivity and the last bit of it. Under oppression in Egypt, the Israelites are now walking out.
[00:02:07] They're six weeks removed from Egypt in their deliverance. They had its miraculous, you know, it miraculous deliverance with the plagues and then Pharaoh letting them go. Then they had this spectacular crossing at the Red Sea, right Then they went on to be led all through this by a cloud, a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire.
[00:02:29] And then even last week, we learned about the miraculous providing of food, bread and meat that Pastor Diane walked us through last week.
[00:02:41] And after all of this, we had six weeks into a new relationship, a new understanding of God. They're asking, and they're still asking this question, is the Lord with us or not?
[00:02:55] Can't believe it's been. They've been seeing some amazing things, the firsthand account of God doing miraculous things. And they're still asking, is God with us or not?
[00:03:09] Many Christians, even today, wonder if God is with them, especially during difficult times. We have this idea that when we become a Christian, that everything is going to go smoother for us. And in a lot of ways, maybe it does. But we got to get some things right in our own life and our priorities, and we walk in with God, but we think it's all going to be smooth sailing and. And then it's not.
[00:03:34] And so the troubled times come along, and they seem to sow some doubt and some fear in our lives. And in those times, it feels that God is distant and things seem unclear to us.
[00:03:48] But the funny thing is, for the Israelites, in these last 42 days, they've experienced difficult times and a season of transition.
[00:03:57] They have experienced firsthand, as I said, the active experience, hand of God in their lives.
[00:04:04] You and I, many of us in this room, if not all of us, have experienced God's work in our lives firsthand, some amazing, miraculous things that have done in our own journey.
[00:04:15] And yet sometimes, as Christ's falling people, we can still wonder, is the Lord really still with us?
[00:04:26] I want to pray. And we're going to get into Exodus, chapter 17, and we're going to look at a story again, as told by Moses, of an encounter where once again their doubt, their complaining, shows up. And yet God still is faithful to them. Let me pray, Father God, I take a moment and I say, as we look to your word, I pray that you would cause it to leap off the pages of our Bible, off the screens in front of us, God, that they would come alive, your word would come alive in us.
[00:04:57] It would help us to remember, remember who you are, God, and what you've done, not just in the past with Israel, but in our own personal past, God, how you have been there, you've shown up.
[00:05:15] And I pray as we remember those things, as we look at your word, God, that this all fuels our faith.
[00:05:21] When we have those times of difficulty or transitions Come.
[00:05:25] And I pray, God, as we would turn to you, as we would trust in you, God, that you would allow those who are looking in, observing our lives, and they see how we deal, how we walk with you in these difficult times, that God, you would use that to draw them to yourself as well.
[00:05:47] We give this hour to you, this time of worship, in Jesus name, Amen.
[00:05:52] Amen.
[00:05:53] We're going to look at Exodus chapter 17 as the story of the people exiting Egypt continues. And this is going to be a story that focuses on the scarcity of water.
[00:06:06] And as we look at it, we're going to see how the people of God respond. You see, they're going to respond like, like people do, right? They're gonna complain, they're gonna doubt.
[00:06:17] The beautiful thing is God doesn't respond like people respond. God responds like God responds. And God is gonna be gracious, he's gonna be merciful. When he's dealing with the people who try his patience. He's gonna reach out to a people who are newly freed slaves.
[00:06:35] There's still a newness to how to live in this new life, how to live in a trusting, wholehearted devotion to Yahweh.
[00:06:46] And as they struggle to learn how to do that, because they don't know how to really trust yet, this is part of their learning.
[00:06:54] Yet God, Yahweh, always responds with mercy and provision. And hopefully we're gonna see that today. So Exodus 17:1 begins like this. At the Lord's command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness. Maybe your Bible says desert, the wilderness of sin. Now, this is not sin in the sense of the New Testament. And we missed the mark. We're disobeying God. This is sin as in Sinai, the wilderness of the desert of Sinai. Sin, wilderness of sin. And they moved from place to place.
[00:07:27] Eventually, they camped at Rephidim.
[00:07:30] Now let's review where the Israelites have come since leaving Egypt just six weeks ago. Can you believe it's only been six weeks for them?
[00:07:40] I just think six weeks back from us, we were exiting the weekend of our district assembly six weeks ago, right in the middle of May. Six weeks ago. But for them, six weeks ago, what they were doing, they were slaughtering a lamb and brushing its blood on their door frames on that first Passover.
[00:08:01] But I have a couple maps I want to show you to kind of look at the journey that they've been on. The first one is, you might remember up there, the top yellow dot is Rabbis. The area they left in Goshen, they traveled down over to that little corner there, 2 and 3 Pihiroth, as well as the crossover to Baal Zephon. That was the Red Sea crossing right down there at the bottom. And I put the little yellow bracket because is going to be kind of that section we're going to see in this next map. Again, our perspective has changed. We're like looking. We're up from the promised land. Actually looking back down towards the Red Sea.
[00:08:39] You can see their exodus route and then the Red Sea crossing as they got across. That's the wilderness of the desert of Shur.
[00:08:47] As they travel through there, they pass through Marah. That's in Exodus chapter 15. There they were struggled for water too, because the water there was bitter.
[00:08:58] But God had Moses take a piece of wood, throw it in the water, and the water became not bitter, but now sweet, so they could drink again, God providing for their need. There they traveled on in the wilderness, over to the wilderness of sin they meandered up. Last week you looked at the story of God's provision of the manna in the quail. It took place roughly there. And now we're just talking about. They're wandering now for about four more days till they get to the story. That's in chapter 17, near the area of Rephiedim.
[00:09:32] So we go back to verse one says, at the Lord's command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sid and moved from place to place.
[00:09:40] Another four days they moved. Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. Understandably. Right. If you're traveling in a desert region, you shouldn't be surprised. That water's gonna be hard to come by. You're not gonna have streams flowing everywhere.
[00:10:00] They're in a desert region, so no surprise.
[00:10:04] So verse 2 says, so once more, with no water to drink, once more, the people did what?
[00:10:11] They complained.
[00:10:12] Man. What a complaining people. They're not like any of us, right?
[00:10:16] When was the last time you complained?
[00:10:19] Probably this morning. Right?
[00:10:22] About something, maybe.
[00:10:24] But they complained against Moses. Give us water to drink, they demanded.
[00:10:30] See Israel at this moment.
[00:10:33] They're doing the best that they know. And in terms of following God, Moses has their leader. But they're following God. They're in the will of God. They're following the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. They're doing as best they can.
[00:10:49] But again, they have a need that comes up, a lack of water to drink in their wilderness journey. Listen, they were in the will of God. They were following God. And the reality is we can be in the will of God and still experience difficult times.
[00:11:10] Just because we're Christ followers doesn't mean everything is going to be cotton candy, right? And lollipops. Things are sometimes going to be difficult. It's possible to be completely in the will of God, yet also in a season of great problems.
[00:11:28] Anybody know what I'm talking about?
[00:11:31] Right. I know there's been a season where I felt I was in the will of God. And yet calamity, disaster, career wise and otherwise, family wise, we had a hard time. And I questioned, I wondered, am I in the will of God?
[00:11:48] I think I am God, what are you doing? Where are you? I asked God, are you still with me? Where have you gone? Don't you see what's happening here?
[00:11:57] The question for us is, what do we do in these times?
[00:12:02] Do we forget God?
[00:12:06] Do we forget what God has done in the past with the Israelites? The things we're studying in this series? Do we forget the things that God has done in the past? Or do we forget even the things he's done in our recent past, in our own story and our journey with him, failing to remember how he has shown up again and again?
[00:12:31] And when we do forget, we doubt and we complain.
[00:12:37] Verse 2 goes on. Moses replies to their complaints. He says, quiet, why are you complaining against me?
[00:12:46] Why are you testing the Lord?
[00:12:49] But tormented by thirst, literally, dry mouth, I can't believe this. Today, tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. Why did you bring us out of Egypt?
[00:13:04] Are you trying to kill us, our children and our livestock as well, of thirst? You see, the people clearly had a real problem. This wasn't an imaginary problem. There was really no water for the people to drink.
[00:13:19] So they had a right to have a concern.
[00:13:23] Right? We could look at situations that happen in our lives and have legitimate concern. But what do we do with those concerns?
[00:13:31] Do we doubt? Do we complain?
[00:13:34] Or should we give it exactly to the Lord?
[00:13:38] See, for them, they pointed their fingers at Moses and they blamed him, when maybe they should have responded in a more spiritual, more godly way with their actions and in their thinking.
[00:13:53] And yet, even though the people were focusing on the problem and complaining against Moses, the beautiful thing is Moses understood something.
[00:14:04] Moses understood that their issue wasn't with him really.
[00:14:10] Their issue was with Yahweh. That was their problem.
[00:14:15] Friends, we can complain and we can point fingers at things that are hard.
[00:14:23] But when they do, I suggest that maybe when we are complaining and pointing fingers, what that really is revealing Is perhaps a lack of trust, a real foundation of a relationship with God that is based on trust? A lack of trust when it results in hard things, we complain, we doubt, we finger point.
[00:14:45] A lack of trust in God.
[00:14:49] As I said, it's possible to be in the will of God and still experience a season of great problems.
[00:14:58] And you know, in your own experience, it's easier to actually blame others, someone for what's happening in our lives, rather than to think intentionally, carefully, and to think even spiritually about a situation. You see the Israelites in that day, they could have said something like that when they realized where they were at. And again, they had to eat for water. There was no water available. They could have said something like, we're in a desert. It's not surprising that this is happening and there's no water. It's hard to find water.
[00:15:31] Maybe we should look to God to meet this need.
[00:15:38] But they didn't.
[00:15:41] But in all fairness to Israel, learning to respond like that doesn't come naturally.
[00:15:49] Learning to respond maturely and spiritually like that needs to be learned.
[00:15:55] It needs to be practiced. It needs to be learned. It needs to be practiced.
[00:16:00] The problem is, are we, Am I, are you, Are we learning? Are we practicing that when the difficulties come, what is our first inclination in our humanist? The reality is we, we look for a cause. We wanna blame something or somebody for what's happening.
[00:16:20] And maybe there are some things that need to be corrected there in asking those questions. But when we turn to doubting, when we turn to complaining, it reveals a cheek in our spiritual armor, a lack of trust in God.
[00:16:36] We forget what God has done.
[00:16:40] And so even for some of us this morning who are facing difficult things, can I encourage you?
[00:16:47] Look to God. Remember his word, remember his track record, not only in the past, but even in your recent past. And then learn to walk in faith and trust. That's what Moses did. Let's look at verse 4, chapter 17, verse 4.
[00:17:08] Then Moses cried out to the Lord, lord, what should I do with these people?
[00:17:16] They're ready to stone me now. Can we first all agree that the lack of water isn't Moses fault?
[00:17:24] Some would say yeah, but they're just following Moses out in the middle of the desert. It's kind of his fault. No, they're really following a pillar of cloud, pillar of fire. They're following God. Moses is the human leader, the point of reference, the face of the nation.
[00:17:43] But Moses is not the one to blame.
[00:17:46] But though they blamed him, and though a lot of pressure was coming on Moses as a leader, he still had a responsibility to not get upset with them, but to still lead them.
[00:18:01] And so what does he do? It says, he cries out to Yahweh, that was the right way to lead. Even when the difficulty was there, all the fingers being pointed at him, he's being blamed for it. He does the right thing. He calls out to God in prayer.
[00:18:18] FYI, every Saturday morning at 8 o' clock in this room, we gather for prayer. A handful of us gathering for prayer, praying for the things that we as a group are aware of, praying for these Sunday morning services, praying for the seat you're actually sitting at, her.
[00:18:34] On occasion, we have somebody who drops in and we pray for them because they have something unique that's going on in their lives. So I say that to say, you are welcome every Saturday morning. But certainly on any Saturday morning when you're going through a difficult time and you don't want to be a doubter, you don't want to be a complainer against God, you don't want to show a lack of faith, you could come and gather certainly with us. There's other times, but gather with us on Saturday morning, 8 o'. Clock. We would be glad to pray with you about the situation you're going through. Amen.
[00:19:06] But one of the most praiseworthy attributes or traits for Moses is that he learned to take his difficulties to Yahweh consistently.
[00:19:20] He learned to do that because it takes learning and it takes practice.
[00:19:24] And Moses is to be commended for that because he sets a great example for us as the people and certainly as leaders.
[00:19:30] Verse 5. He goes on and says, the Lord said back to Moses. Lord said to Moses, moses, walk out in front of the people, take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you.
[00:19:50] I think as I look at this one verse, I'd see maybe three things that God directs Moses to do.
[00:19:57] He first tells Moses, in Moses response to the need to the finger pointing, he takes it to God. He cries out to God, God responds and he says, moses, do this first. Walk out in front of the people.
[00:20:12] Don't be afraid. Stand in the confidence, the confidence in the relationship that you and I have.
[00:20:19] The confidence, God, that Moses, that I am with you, that I am still in charge.
[00:20:25] So walk out in confidence and in faith, in front of the people. Then he says, secondly, take the staff you used before, the thing that God used to do, the miracles.
[00:20:39] You see, the staff, really the staff is nothing, right? It's just a stick. It's a walking stick.
[00:20:46] But God can use anything in order to accomplish his purpose. And for Moses, because God used that through Moses, Moses couldn't look at that staff, he couldn't pick up that rod without remembering the power of God that flowed through it. Amen.
[00:21:07] That's what that represents. So God says to him, moses, take the staff that you used before.
[00:21:15] So my question is for you.
[00:21:17] What is your staff? When you face a difficult time, what is it that you turn to? How has God shown up? How has God worked in your life? Through what?
[00:21:26] Now, me, I don't have a staff, you know, I don't have a walking stick that I turn to.
[00:21:33] I think if I say anything, it's the word of God I turn to. Because in the most difficult time of my life, Psalms and proverbs became the thing that I went to every month for four or five months.
[00:21:49] In this season, I would read one proverb a day and five chapters of psalms a day.
[00:21:57] Month after month after month, God began to use that to, to soften the anger, the frustration, the disappointment that I had in myself.
[00:22:11] And then what was happening around me, even my disappointment in God, like he wasn't there.
[00:22:18] God used His Word to soften me during that time.
[00:22:23] What God also used in that time was prayer. Not just my own personal prayer.
[00:22:28] When we had left and transitioned to a new community, in that new community, we came upon a church that at the time was having 24 hour a day prayer for 21 days, 24 hours every day for 21 days. And during that time, Ron and I used various opportunities. Sometimes in the middle of the day, sometimes in the middle of the night.
[00:22:57] We went, the doors were open, music was playing. Sometimes it was a band, sometimes it was a single instrumentalist, sometimes a soloist singing praises of God. And we would sit in that chapel, we would listen to the praises of God, we would open our word, we would read God's word, just soak in that moment. God used that.
[00:23:20] So when I face difficulties, I want to go to prayer. I want to be in prayer with other people, because that was a staff for me that God used. Obviously, I would say, my wife has been a key part of that.
[00:23:34] My wife not only is a beautiful lady, she is a deeply committed follower of Jesus.
[00:23:40] And I couldn't get through the difficulties. So some of them we go through together because we're a couple. But I couldn't do it without her, Couldn't do it without her and many other Christ following friends that I lead to during those Times of difficulty inviting other people in to the journey. And I've had to learn to do that as well.
[00:23:59] But what is it your staff? When you go through a difficulty, what do you turn to?
[00:24:03] Do you turn to complaining and doubting, or do you find a way to turn to God?
[00:24:10] And what does God use to remind you, to remind you of how he's worked in the past? Amen.
[00:24:18] The third thing he says, God says, first, walk out in front of the people. Take the staff you used before and then bring other leaders with you. Bring the elders of Israel with you. Bring other leaders.
[00:24:30] Not quite sure what this exactly means, but I think one it likely is to be a leadership training exercise for these other leaders that are within the community of 2 million people. There were some other known recognized leaders.
[00:24:47] God tells Moses, invite them along. Perhaps this is going to be a leadership training exercise.
[00:24:53] But certainly as they're invited into this moment in this history of Israel, to invite him into it, likely to be joining him in prayer, but to then to observe what God is going to do. They then would become witnesses of God's work among the people and would help embed this collective memory of what God does among his people through these leaders. So I would add to you, man, when you're going through a difficult time, don't, yeah, take it to God.
[00:25:25] But you don't have to just do it on your own. Invite others trusted people in your life, invite them into your journey of faith.
[00:25:35] These others can participate in your journey in some way, perhaps if not anything but prayer. But they also get to observe the work of God in your life as well. Invite others in to your story so that together with you, you can watch and see the lord work.
[00:25:56] Chapter 17, verse 6 continues.
[00:26:02] God, still speaking, says to Moses, I will stand before you on the rock of Mount Sinai. Maybe your translation might say Mount Horeb.
[00:26:14] Those two words get interchanged. Designation.
[00:26:17] I will stand before you. Yahweh is promising again his presence with Moses.
[00:26:25] See one of the great themes of the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, the promised land.
[00:26:33] One of the central themes, the great themes is that God hear this. God was with them.
[00:26:41] He was always with them.
[00:26:44] And I would suggest that God is even with you today as you walk through whatever you're walking through.
[00:26:51] I will stand before you on the rock of Mount Sinai. Then God says, strike the rock with the tool in your hand.
[00:26:59] Strike the rock and water will come gushing out.
[00:27:04] Strike the rock and see what happens.
[00:27:10] Water will come out. Then the people will be able to Drink.
[00:27:16] So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.
[00:27:26] Moses did what he was told to do, right?
[00:27:31] He struck the rock and water came out. We don't know exactly how that happened.
[00:27:37] When he struck the rock, maybe God in his miraculous wisdom caused a spring to come forth out of the ground.
[00:27:45] Something happened, right?
[00:27:47] Regardless of what happened, it's another example of a unique, unexplainable answer to prayer.
[00:27:57] God providing for his people as he has done and will continue to do, miraculously providing food and drink throughout the wilderness journey. Amen.
[00:28:11] Now, in the New Testament, I'm not going to have this on the screen. I'm going to read some scripture to you or make reference. In the New Testament, Paul reminds the Corinthian followers about the ancestors, their ancestors and the journey in the wilderness long ago, which we're reading about today. He reminds the Corinthians that they were guided their ancestors by a pillar of cloud and fire and that they even walked through the sea on dry ground. Paul's reminding these Corinthian believers. Then he says in verse four of chapter 10, referring to the incident we're actually studying today.
[00:28:55] And he said that the followers, as he called them, the followers of Moses, ate the same spiritual food and all of them drank the same spiritual water as Paul is saying that we now have now in the New Testament through Jesus.
[00:29:13] What is happening in Israel, we today, I would say even for us today, as Paul said to the Corinthians, we are drinking of the same fountain. We were being provided the same spiritual food that really provided for the Israelites back then.
[00:29:35] We do it by faith, trusting that God is with us now as well. Jesus also said In John, chapter 6, in verses 32 and following, listen to what Jesus said as it's recorded. Jesus said, I tell you the truth. Moses didn't give you bread from heaven. My Father did.
[00:29:57] And now he offers you the true bread from heaven.
[00:30:01] The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. And the people respond, well, give us this bread.
[00:30:10] And Jesus replied, I am what? I am the bread of life.
[00:30:16] I'm the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.
[00:30:21] Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
[00:30:24] Now, literally, there's a spiritual meaning here. I mean, we're not the longing of our. Of our. Of our lives as human beings. This hunger for something, the hunger for meaning, the hunger for purpose, the thirst for something more, a thirst after this broken, this emptiness in our Heart, this thirst for God.
[00:30:41] If you give your heart and faith to Jesus, you'll never be hungry or thirsty again in those ways.
[00:30:49] But even in the ways that we're learning that God was providing for the Israelites, God's still providing for his people today.
[00:30:57] God is not going to say, well, at least you have spiritual food. Too bad you're starving to death. You're going to die.
[00:31:04] God can still respond and, and provide for our needs.
[00:31:08] Still today, Yahweh continues to promise his presence and his provision for those who believe in him through faith in Jesus.
[00:31:22] Maybe in some better ways than even the Israelites knew then.
[00:31:27] But Curiously, as verse 6 ends, it has these words. You can see them there as the elders looked on.
[00:31:37] How beautiful is that.
[00:31:41] Moses invites the leadership of the community to be participants and to observe what God is about to do.
[00:31:50] What a great example. To be able to see God's work firsthand and then to be the one who would provide testimony not only in the moment, but for years to come, to help remind the people of how God works among his people.
[00:32:07] As the elders look on, God did this. What a beautiful teaching moment.
[00:32:12] Let's just not forget that when we have opportunity to walk through difficulties, that we find a way to maybe invite 1, 2, 3 other people along for the ride, to participate in our journey, so that together their faith and our faith is encouraged as we see the hand of God work. Amen.
[00:32:33] So what does Moses do next?
[00:32:36] Verse 7 says. He says, remember where you've come from.
[00:32:41] Remember what I have brought you through.
[00:32:45] Verse 7 says this. Moses named the place Massah, which means test, and Meribah, which means. Which means arguing. Because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, is the Lord here with us or not?
[00:33:05] Now, I don't know if people or how many people actually use those words, is the Lord with us or not? But by their actions, by their complaining, by their doubt, they were in fact saying this. And even for us today, maybe someone sitting in this room, I know for one, I have said those words. God, where are you? Are you here? Are you still with me?
[00:33:27] Now, whether or not we've said it with those words, many of us have said it with our actions, in our lack of faith, our lack of trust in some circumstances.
[00:33:40] But it's important, I think, to remember.
[00:33:45] To remember where we've come from. Remember what we've been brought through.
[00:33:50] Remember when you doubted God, you doubted that he was with you. You doubted that he cared. You doubted he was aware of what's happening in your life. You doubted.
[00:34:01] And yet he, by his actions, by the way he worked in your life, he showed that he was with you. He's always been with you.
[00:34:11] Remember those times when you doubted and he showed up. Remember the times when you complained about something because you didn't see a way forward? You didn't even see how it could be in his will.
[00:34:21] Why would he allow this happen in our lives?
[00:34:24] The difficulty? You didn't see a way forward in it.
[00:34:28] Remember when you complained about those things and still he showed up in your life to be faithful again to you.
[00:34:38] Remember that.
[00:34:40] Remember those moments.
[00:34:42] Remember where you've come from and what you've come through.
[00:34:48] See Moses remembered by naming the occasions.
[00:34:53] These two words refer to the people who try God's patience through their doubting and their complaining and who argue with him regards to maybe, I think, his timing.
[00:35:11] God, we don't really care for your timing. We're not. Do you even. Are you going to show up at all or why did you take so long?
[00:35:19] We argue and complain about God's timing. And sometimes, and even worse sometimes, we argue and we complain about the provision itself.
[00:35:30] It's not what we expected him to do in the situation. It's not exactly what we thought he would provide.
[00:35:37] It's the old issue, does God provide what we want or what we need?
[00:35:44] Right.
[00:35:45] God provides what we need, and his time is always perfect, even though we may not see it that way.
[00:35:56] You see this story for generations for the Israelite people, even us today, we're going to look back on it.
[00:36:05] And it was a low point of their 40 years of wandering after the Exodus.
[00:36:11] But the point of their response is summarized right there at the end. It's described as this lingering question they're still wrestling with.
[00:36:24] Is the Lord with us or not?
[00:36:28] Is the Lord with us or not? You see, my friends, that attitude was their great sin.
[00:36:36] And it could be ours as well.
[00:36:38] Because when times of difficulty come, we like they, whether directly or indirectly, still doubtless, sometimes in some things, still doubt the loving presence and care of God again and again and again.
[00:36:56] God doesn't want it that way for us, he asked. He hopes that we will get beyond this doubting and complaining.
[00:37:03] And I think we can if we will pay attention to our own responses. In times of difficulty and transition. Have we learned? Are we learning to turn to God? Amen.
[00:37:17] So we wrap up. I asked Megan if the team will come up. We're gonna close with a song called Always on Time.
[00:37:25] But a question I ask, I have for you today is what complaint do you need to turn to trust in God today.
[00:37:35] I'm not saying your whole life is one big, giant complaint, but there might be something, one area maybe as you sit here today, that God brings to remembrance that you're still kind of.
[00:37:46] You're complaining, you're a little doubting what God is doing.
[00:37:50] Well, the encouragement is admit your faith is weak in this area, at least in one area.
[00:38:00] But let God know that you want to trust him. You don't want to complain, you want to turn to him. Yeah, it's a real concern.
[00:38:07] But you don't want to point fingers and blame. You don't want to complain, you want to trust Him. So affirm. Reaffirm your desire to trust him in the situation.
[00:38:16] So I encourage you as we sing this song, you can sit where you're at, you can stand where you're at, you can have a moment with God. You can certainly come and you can kneel and have a personal moment with God. But I'll be down front and Robin Bishop and Mike Downer will also be with me. And we would love to. To be able to pray with you, to agree with you and pray over you that God would in fact show up and that your faith in this area will be turned from complaint to trust in God. Amen.
[00:38:46] Amen. Why don't you go ahead and stand and we're going to get into a little bit of worship.
