First Sermon of 2018
Provisions for the New Year
Exodus 16,17
Architect Frank Lloyd
Wright once told of an incident that
seemed insignificant at the time, but had profound influence on the rest of his
life. The winter he was nine, he went walking across a snow-covered field
with his reserved, no-nonsense uncle. As the two of them reached the far
end of the field, his uncle stopped him. He pointed out his own tracks in
the snow, straight and true as an arrow’s flight, and then young Frank’s tracks
meandering all over the field. “Notice how your tracks wander aimlessly
from the fence to the cattle to the woods and back again,” his uncle said.
“And see how my tracks aim directly to my goal. There is an
important lesson in that.” Years later the world-famous architect liked
to tell how this experience had greatly contributed to his philosophy in life.
“I determined right then,” he’d say with a twinkle in his eye, “not to
miss most things in life, as my uncle had.”
We all have moments in our life (spoken or unspoken) when
we try to determine if the Lord can meet our needs? – sure we know the Heaven
part (or at least we think we do)
Today my assignment from the Lord is cover three vital
places in our lives that He will in 2018 meet our needs – dramatically these
are presented to us in quick fashion in Exodus 16-17.
These are so dramatic that prophets and leaders continues
to point back to What God accomplished
Nehemiah 9:15
You gave them bread from heaven for their
hunger,
And brought them water out of the rock for
their thirst,
And told them to go in to possess the land
Which You had sworn to give them.
I’m Hungry!
Provisions to meet our hunger
(16:4) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.
Ex: manna provided (and here’s a secret the plan was in
place before the people began to complain)
Complaining
people – 16:3 Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land
of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full!
For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly
with hunger.”
(Hangry is now a noun…and you don’t just need a snicker bar.)
AP: Physical
hunger is a symptom of a deeper hunger for spiritually in our lives.
John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of
life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall
never thirst.
The food for our spiritual lives is found in the Word of
God –
Psalm 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the
man who trusts in Him!
Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure;
He is a shield to those
who put their trust in Him.
Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of
God.’
I’m Thirsty!
Exodus 17:3 …the people thirsted there for water, and the
people complained against Moses
17:6 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
(Thirst picture of
dehydration – need for water is real)
The hydration for our lives is found in the Fresh Spirit
of God -
Really a matter of Willingness to SURRENDER and TRUST
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust God from the
bottom of your heart;
don't
try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen
for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's
the one who will keep you on track. (The
Message)
NLT:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do
not depend on your own understanding.
6
Seek his will in all you do,
and
he will show you which path to take.
I’m Scared!
Personal Protection – enemies are out there… (17:8 Now
Amalek came and fought with Israel)
17:9 Moses said to Joshua,
“Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the
top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.
Prepared to Stay
in the Fight
(We need to learn to fight for one another).
Prepared to Stay
in the Fellowship
(We need to learn to pray for one another).
17:12-13 But Moses’ hands
became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And
Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other
side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua
defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
Meet Jehovah Nissi – the Lord is My Banner in 2018
This is no normal religion –
Walnut Fork Baptist Church is not a normal church
–
we are not trying to build a name for ourselves or our church
We are under the
BANNER!
Matthew 11:28-30 The Message -
28-30"Are you tired?
Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life.
I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how
I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or
ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and
lightly."
Whenever there is a separation between values and practice, things
break down. In ancient China, the people desired security from the
barbaric, invading hordes to the north. To get this protection, they
built the Great Wall of China. It’s 30 feet high, 18 feet thick, and more
than 1500 miles long!
The Chinese goal was to build an absolutely impenetrable
defense-too high to climb over, too thick to break down, and too long to go
around. But during the first hundred years of the wall’s existence China
was successfully invaded three times.
It wasn’t the wall’s fault. During all three invasions, the
barbaric hordes never climbed over the wall, broke it down, or went around it;
they simply bribed a gatekeeper and then marched right in through an open door.
The purpose of the wall failed because of a breakdown in values.~ James
Emory White
