Into the Wilderness: Trusting God’s Daily Provision

• Divine Guidance and Provision [00:27:40 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor establishes the core thesis that God's guidance is inextricably linked to His provision, urging trust in His leading.
• The Wilderness as a Classroom [00:26:55 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor reframes the wilderness journey not as a punishment, but as a 'classroom' where God teaches His people to walk with Him.
• The Danger of Nostalgia for Sin [00:30:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that craving Egypt represents a craving for the 'old life' and security apart from God, often driven by exhaustion rather than rebellion.
• Daily Dependence on God [00:35:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using the manna, the pastor teaches that believers cannot stockpile God's grace and must rely on daily provision, illustrating that 'man does not live on bread alone'.
• Christ as the True Bread [00:37:09 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor connects the manna to Jesus, identifying Him as the 'bread of life' who gives eternal life, contrasting the temporary manna with the eternal sustenance of Christ.
• Christological Foreshadowing [00:37:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies Moses and the manna as foreshadowings of Jesus, the true Bread of Life, correcting the crowd's desire for physical sustenance with spiritual reality.
• Daily Dependence vs. Hoarding [00:39:18 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the Israelites' hoarding of manna with the believer's need to trust God for daily provision, warning against grumbling and returning to 'Egypt' (the world) when plans fail.
• Testing and Trust [00:42:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains the significance of Massah and Meribah, noting that God allowed the lack of water to test the people's faith and teach them to trust Him.
• Spiritual Warfare and Intercession [00:49:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the battle with the Amalekites to illustrate that victory is tied to Moses' intercessory prayer (holding up the rod) rather than Joshua's swordsmanship, emphasizing that prayer does not guarantee immediate ease but is essential for victory.
• Divine Victory [00:50:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asserts that God, not the warriors, brought the victory, establishing that the Christian life is a fight where God is the source of triumph.
• Divine Sovereignty in Victory [00:50:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that victory in spiritual battles is tied to God's intercession (Moses raising the rod) rather than human effort (Joshua's sword), establishing that God is the source of victory.
• The Nature of Prayer [00:52:16 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor defines prayer not as a warm-up but as the battle itself, emphasizing that it is the hardest work because it involves dependence and acknowledging God's role in the fight.
• Leadership and Delegation [00:54:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using the story of Jethro advising Moses, the pastor illustrates the necessity of delegation and shared leadership to prevent burnout, showing that God provides structure and help.
• The Wilderness Experience [00:56:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that the Christian life is not easy, using the wilderness as a metaphor for a necessary period of testing, correction, and maturation that God uses to prepare believers.
• Divine Provision [00:55:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asserts that God provides for His people through various means, including manna, water, victory, and human assistance, demonstrating His sufficiency.
• The Wilderness as a Necessary Journey [00:56:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that the Christian life is not easy and that the wilderness is a necessary period for testing, correction, and maturation, rejecting the idea of a 'quick path' to spiritual growth.
• Delegation and Shared Leadership [00:54:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using the story of Jethro advising Moses, the pastor illustrates the necessity of delegation and shared leadership to prevent burnout, showing that God provides structure and help.
• Divine Provision and Sufficiency [00:55:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor asserts that God provides for His people through various means, including manna, water, victory, and human assistance, demonstrating His sufficiency.
• Christ as the Fulfillment of Types [00:58:41 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor identifies Christ as the true manna, the smitten rock, the intercessor, and the banner, connecting Old Testament events to the person and work of Jesus.
• Biblical Warnings and Examples [00:59:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor cites 1 Corinthians 10:11 to explain that the wilderness experiences of Israel serve as warnings and lessons for believers in the last days.

• Sermon Illustration [00:29:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the biblical narrative of the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16) to illustrate how God provides manna daily, teaching dependence and trust, and contrasts this with the crowd's demand for 'free lunch' in John 6.
• Sermon Illustration [00:25:02 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a personal anecdote about being on vacation and watching the service online to illustrate the joy of returning to the 'home' of the church community.
• Sermon Illustration [00:46:41 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts a personal anecdote about his wife's fast walking pace versus his slower 'mosey' pace, using it to illustrate how the Amalekites targeted the slowest and weakest members of the group.
• Sermon Illustration [00:43:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a humorous story about his tech team's creative production for a previous speaker, contrasting it with his own rejected idea to use sprinklers to simulate water from the rock, highlighting the lack of imagination in his proposal.
• Sermon Illustration [00:40:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses a hypothetical scenario where he imagines being Moses and wanting to 'knock' a grumbling person in the head, contrasting this with Moses' actual response of crying out to God.
• Sermon Illustration [00:50:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the biblical account of Moses building an altar named 'Jehovah Nisi' (The Lord is my banner) after the battle with Amalek, explaining that the name itself explains the theology of the battle.
• Sermon Illustration [00:50:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of Joshua fighting in the valley with a sword, contrasting it with Moses raising the rod of God, to illustrate that victory is tied to God's intercession rather than human skill.
• Sermon Illustration [00:53:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the biblical story of Jethro advising Moses to delegate judicial duties to other men to prevent burnout, illustrating the need for shared leadership and support.
• Sermon Illustration [00:52:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the metaphor of 'lifting up arms' to describe the need for community support in leadership and prayer, referencing Aaron and Hur holding up Moses's arms.
• Sermon Illustration [00:53:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the biblical narrative of Jethro advising Moses to delegate judicial duties to other men to prevent burnout, illustrating the need for shared leadership and support.

• Pastoral Charge [00:39:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explicitly commands the congregation to engage in daily spiritual disciplines: gathering grace, opening the Bible, and praying.
• Pastoral Charge [00:51:23 ▶️ 📄]
  > Turn to God and pray to Him for victory in spiritual battles.
• Pastoral Charge [00:52:53 ▶️ 📄]
  > Actively support and lift up the arms of other believers who are weary.
• Pastoral Charge [00:57:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > Do not revert to past sinful lifestyles or worldly comforts when facing current difficulties.
• Pastoral Charge [01:01:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > Trust in God's daily provision, gather what is needed today, and encourage others to hold up their arms.

[00:09:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:09:18] Thank you for loving us, for giving your life. We could be set free. Thank you for the blood poured on the cross of Calvary. We worship you, Lord.

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:10:10] Thank you Jesus for the price that you paid. You paid our debts in full. We thank you for

[00:21:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:21:38] the strength for today and the hope for tomorrow. We love you so much and it's in your name we pray.

[00:21:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:21:44] Amen. You may be seated. Welcome to Venture Church. I'm Jason and we're glad to have you with us today. Whether you're joining us in person or joining online, if it's your first time, let us
[00:22:02] know by filling out a connect card. It tells us a little bit about you and how we could help you take that next step here. Tap on the circle on the seat in front of you with your phone and fill one
[00:22:12] out online or stop by the welcome desk after the service. If you're curious about your faith and you got questions on what it means to be a Christian, Alpha is for you. It's a few weeks of
[00:22:22] honest conversation over a meal while connecting with others on the same journey as you. Registration is open through today, so if you've been thinking about it, today's the day. And next Sunday, we're celebrating baptisms. If you put your faith in Jesus and you're ready to make that public, there
[00:22:37] is still time to sign up. We'd love to celebrate that with you. If you want to go deeper in God's word this fall, we got two classes starting today. World religions, Christianity, and the gospel will
[00:22:47] help you understand what your neighbors actually believe. From new age spirituality to Roman Catholicism to Greek Orthodoxy and how to have real conversations with them about Jesus. And in the book of James, you'll study one of the most practical
[00:23:01] books in the Bible together, digging into wisdom, real relationships, and what it means to honor God in everyday life. And families, our family beach day is this Saturday at Loudermilk Beach. Grab your chairs and your sunscreen and come spend
[00:23:13] the morning with our Adventure Kids team and other families. All details are on our website. This past Wednesday, there was a ton of ministry happening on campus. The kiddos were learning God's Word at Awana, our students were having a
[00:23:27] great time of worship at youth group, and meanwhile we had around 25 adults learning about the ministry of the Holy Spirit at our school leadership class.
[00:23:35] Multiple generations, all here on the same night, all growing in God's Word.
[00:23:40] That's because of generous people like you. When you give, you're investing in every generation of this church. You can give online and through the offering boxes around our campus. Thank you for giving today. We're continuing our series
[00:23:54] into the wilderness this morning.
[00:23:56] Last week, we watched God make a way through the Red Sea.
[00:23:59] And today, Pastor Tim picks up the story with what happens next.
[00:24:02] Let's hear from God's word.

[00:24:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:24:03] Good morning, Venture Church.
[00:24:57] Good to see all of you here today.
[00:24:59] Good to be back with you.
[00:25:00] Last week, I was on vacation.
[00:25:02] And so I was able to join the service online and watch it.
[00:25:05] It was great.
[00:25:06] And so, but it's always, you know, it's good to go.
[00:25:09] And it's great to come home, right?
[00:25:10] It's always nice to be back at your own house.
[00:25:13] And so I'm glad to be with each one of you here.
[00:25:15] this morning. Last week we looked at the story of God's deliverance and Jason did a great job talking about how Moses led the children of Israel through the Red Sea and then the waters came crashing down and the enemies of Israel were defeated. The Egyptian and the Pharaoh
[00:25:35] you know destroyed and then the song of Moses is sung as they celebrate God's amazing deliverance.
[00:25:42] what a mountaintop experience that must have been for the children of Israel and now the music has faded and they've started their journey moving on from there heading towards the promised land so two million people begin the march and the dust begins to rise and as you
[00:25:59] recall God didn't give them the express path he didn't show them the the quick way to the promised land instead he put them on a kind of a you know a slow path if you recall in Exodus 13 verse 17
[00:26:14] it says when Pharaoh let the people go God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country though that was shorter for God said if they face war they might change their minds and
[00:26:25] return to Egypt so God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea why did he do that because he knew they weren't ready and so sometimes God takes us the long way because he's
[00:26:40] working in us he's he's preparing us he has things he has to teach us and so we have to go the long way around in this story that we're going to see here today it's not just a journey into the
[00:26:55] wilderness this is a classroom this is where God is teaching his people this is where a an entire group of people are learning to walk with God and you know that's something we all need to learn
[00:27:08] isn't it we are all on a journey every one of us has a next step in our faith each one of us is on on journey with God and we should all be learning and growing and maturing
[00:27:20] and we're going to see today that empty bellies and dry riverbeds and even enemies that lurk from the mountaintops they're all a part of the lesson God is teaching us and here's the lesson I want you to get today this may sound a little cliche because you've heard it I'm sure many times
[00:27:40] in life but I want you to really understand this that where God guides God provides if God guides you there he'll provide for you there we need to we need to trust him we need to believe him and
[00:27:52] hopefully by the time the message is done today you will understand that even better now some tests are easy to pass and some tough tests are not and sometimes you learn sometimes you grow sometimes you fail but along the way you're maturing in your faith just like the children
[00:28:12] of Israel were and it's something that you and I face every day so we're going to continue on this journey with the children of Israel right after we pray so let's pray together heavenly father we just commit these next few moments unto you and God I pray that you would
[00:28:27] speak through the word of God. May the Holy Spirit of God use our passages today to, God, just bring encouragement to someone who may be discouraged, bring clarity to someone who may be confused, bring hope to someone who's ready to throw in the towel. God, I pray that your Holy
[00:28:44] Spirit would just use our time together today in a powerful way. So Lord, we dedicate this time to you in Jesus name amen so just one month after they come out of the the the the red sea they're
[00:28:58] in the you know this beautiful the palms of elam and they start to walk into the desert of sin between elam and sinai we are in exodus chapter 16 if you have your bibles we'll begin reading
[00:29:11] in verse 2 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
[00:29:24] and ate all the food we wanted but you have brought us out here into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death isn't it amazing how quickly people forget the blessings of God right I mean it's just amazing to me that in a matter of weeks they're grumbling and complaining
[00:29:45] I am so glad that we don't do that anymore. What were they saying? They were saying that I would rather be in slavery than have an empty belly, than go hungry. And that just doesn't make any
[00:30:06] sense, does it? But here's what we need to understand. That Egypt isn't just a place on a map. It's a picture. It's a type. And it's a picture of the old life. It's a picture of the
[00:30:18] world. It's a picture of the world system and all that the world has to offer. It's security apart from God. So when they were craving Egypt, what they were really craving was not the geography.
[00:30:32] They were craving what they had left behind. What did they leave behind? They left behind pots of meat. There were some things that were good. And so they look back on those things, forgetting all the many blessings that God has bestowed upon them. And they're just saying,
[00:30:48] you know well hey at least we had better meat when we were back in Egypt and we see the same thing today even in the church people that longingly begin to think well you know what
[00:31:02] my life was a little easier before I got saved my life was easier before I joined the church my life was easier before I surrendered to God I mean when I was living like the world when I was
[00:31:12] living with my friends and do whatever I wanted you know we had fun and we did this and we enjoyed that now it's usually not rebellion that causes us to want to go back to the world
[00:31:25] it's usually exhaustion we get tired and fatigued and it's hard doing what God calls us to do and and we just start thinking you know what it was a lot easier wasn't as exhausting and tiring
[00:31:41] or somebody in the church says something does something that makes you mad that hurts your feelings that disappoints you and so you start thinking well I'll just go back to the world they loved me there they were kind to me there they were nice to me there and that's what we see here
[00:31:59] that all within just a matter of no time the Egyptians are looking back and they're saying you know Egypt wasn't all that bad I mean it wasn't completely terrible you know and sometimes the idea of going back to your old life may seem appealing but can I tell you it's not I'm glad
[00:32:24] god is gracious towards us and he is patient with us just like he was with the israelites let's look at exodus 16 4 then the lord said to moses i will rain down bread from heaven for you the people are
[00:32:38] to go out each day and gather enough for that day and in this way i will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions on the sixth day they are to prepare what we uh what they bring in
[00:32:47] and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other day again where god guides god provides and here he does something truly a miracle you know he's not just you know filling their stomachs
[00:32:59] he's training their hearts he's teaching them and so we see that in the evening quail come in and they're able to eat quail and then in the morning as the dew lifts these thin flakes like frost
[00:33:14] lie on the desert floor anyone know what it's called no frosted flakes I just I just told you what it was you know verse 15 when the Israelites saw it they said to each other what is it for they
[00:33:30] did not know what it was and Moses said to them it is the bread the Lord has given you to eat the Hebrew word is manhu and it's translated what is it in English they just transliterate
[00:33:44] instead of manhu they call it manna but it still means what is it they didn't know exactly what this was. And it's a daily bread from a father who already knows that you have nothing else to eat,
[00:33:56] that there's nothing in the pantry. And so God gave them some specific instructions here in the manna. He said, gather all that you need for the day. And he said, an omer per person. An omer is
[00:34:08] two quarts, between two to three pounds. Could you imagine going out and scooping up two quarts or frosted flakes you know two two quarts of this two to three pounds of this manna there was plenty
[00:34:21] of food for them to eat verse 18 and when they had measured it by the omer the one who had gathered much did not have too much and the one who gathered little did not have too little
[00:34:30] everyone gathered just as much as they needed now the apostle paul actually quotes this later when he teaches the church about generosity and he says this he says the one who gathered much did not have too much and the one who gathered little did not have too little he's saying here that
[00:34:47] listen god is gracious god is not stingy god is precise he matches matches the portion to the need but he gave a warning he said no one is to keep any of it until morning you can have all you want
[00:35:05] go out and collect two omers worth it's going to be more than you could possibly eat but you go out you collect it you can bring but here's the deal don't save it for the next day guess what some
[00:35:16] people did they saved it for the next day that's right and guess what by the next morning it was filled with maggots and it smelled terrible but he did say on the sixth day you can you can collect
[00:35:30] a double portion and that will last all the way through the sabbath and so what he's doing here he's teaching them and you know remember God is teaching people how to walk with him and so what
[00:35:42] lesson is he teaching here he's teaching here first of all that you can't stockpile God's grace you know you don't stockpile it you can't live on yesterday's manna but he's also teaching that keeping the sabbath is not optional now years later Moses is going to interpret this
[00:36:03] entire thing in in the book of deuteronomy chapter 8 verse 2 moses says remember how the lord your god led you all the way in the wilderness these 40 years to humble and test you in order to know
[00:36:15] what was in your heart whether or not you would keep his commands he humbled you causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna which neither you nor your ancestors had known to teach
[00:36:27] you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord here he is he Moses makes it very clear that the whole purpose of this is the fact that God was
[00:36:40] teaching the people to trust in him Jesus quoted these same words when the devil confronted him in the wilderness and you see the whole point of this was not about the manna it was about trust
[00:36:56] It was about trusting God.
[00:37:00] And so as we've seen throughout this series, so much of the story of Moses is really a foreshadow of Christ and him coming to redeem mankind.
[00:37:09] About 1400 years after they crossed the Red Sea, Jesus, who is the bread of life, walks into the scene performing all kinds of miracles.
[00:37:19] And he feeds the hungry and he calms the storm and he feeds the people.
[00:37:24] and guess what they do right after he feeds them the crowd says hey give us another free lunch right hey we want some more of that and then the crowd reminds Jesus that hey our ancestors
[00:37:38] ate manna in the wilderness and so Jesus sets the record straight John 6 20 uh 32 Jesus said very truly I tell you it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven but it is my father who
[00:37:54] gives you the true bread from heaven for the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world and the people said well then give us more of this bread and Jesus
[00:38:03] declared in verse 35 I am the bread of life whoever comes to me will never go hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty and then in verse 49 he says your ancestors ate the
[00:38:13] manna in the wilderness yet they died but here is the bread that comes down from heaven which anyone may eat and not die I am the living bread that comes down from heaven whoever eats this bread
[00:38:24] will live forever the bread is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world Jesus said did you miss the picture here do you not see what God is teaching them that when you go out and
[00:38:41] gather that manna in the morning it's a story that there's a greater bread coming there's a greater bread coming in the future and his name will be Jesus but they don't know that but it's a
[00:38:53] foreshadow the reality is we're not much different than the Jews in Moses's day who heard Jesus speak in the mountainside right sometimes we try to live in the blessings of the past instead of recognizing God's daily provision we hoard God's blessings today to control tomorrow because we're
[00:39:18] not sure we'll be able to trust him tomorrow so I'm gonna I'm gonna hold some back and when things don't work out the way we'd planned we grumble we complain and we do consider going back to Egypt
[00:39:33] you know it was a lot easier way back then maybe you're here today and the reality is you've been drifting a little bit back to the world maybe you're a little upset maybe a church hurt you
[00:39:46] or maybe life got hard or maybe following Jesus just isn't as easy as you thought it was going to be. And the invitation here in Exodus 16 is simple. Get up, go out, gather today's portion
[00:39:59] of grace. Open the word of God every day. Pray every day. Enjoy God's blessings for today because remember this, God will provide new manna tomorrow. Aren't you glad God's going to provide new manna tomorrow. So the Israelites, they keep moving on and they come to the camp at Rephidim
[00:40:23] and guess what? There's no water. Exodus 17, 2. So they quarreled with Moses and said, give us water to drink. Moses replied, why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?
[00:40:39] But the people were thirsty for water there and they grumbled against Moses. They said, why did you bring us out of Egypt to make us and our children our livestock die of thirst now if I
[00:40:50] was Moses I'd have probably looked at my fancy magic rod I'd have probably said you know what if you say you're thirsty one more time I am gonna knock you right in the side of the head
[00:41:03] you know that's probably what I'd have done if I was Moses I would have a good precedent in doing that do you remember David when he faced Goliath he prayed but then he picked up a rock and he
[00:41:14] flung it at him. Sometimes you just need to fling a rock at somebody's head. Sometimes you need to preach it. That's right. Sometimes that's what needs to happen. That is not what Moses did.
[00:41:26] He didn't do that. Verse four says, then Moses cried out to the Lord, what am I to do with these people? They're almost ready to stone me. If you've ever served as a church leader or business
[00:41:39] leader or worst of all served as an HOA member you know how Moses must have been feeling but God gave Moses some specific instructions he said take the staff the same staff that you struck the Nile
[00:41:57] with and the same one that you stretched out over the Red Sea and I want you to take some of the elders and I want you to go out in front of the people and I want you to say this he said I will
[00:42:05] stand there before you by the rock at Horeb strike the rock and water will come out of it for the people to drink and so Moses does just what God says goes out with the elders he takes the rod
[00:42:17] of God he hits the rock and a nation drinks and the place where it happens let's see verse 7 and he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested
[00:42:33] the Lord saying is the Lord among us or not now the word Massah means testing the word Meribah means quarreling. So God says, we're going to call this place quarreling and we're going to call this place testing. So you don't ever forget what was done here. I want to pause here for just
[00:42:57] a moment because last week our tech and our creative team did something really incredible for Jason, their favorite speaker. When he talked about the Red Sea, dramatics happened. I mean, the sea parted and I like wow I was I was I was watching that on a phone I didn't even know it
[00:43:17] was going to happen I'm watching I'm like wow that was so cool so I came back this week and I said hey guys I have an idea I mean you did that for Jason last week and I've got an idea like like
[00:43:29] when I'm telling the story about striking the rock and water coming out what if I take the rod of God and I hit the concrete stage and when I do you turn on the sprinklers like would that
[00:43:42] not be impactful and cool and I got voted down Sammy our CFO said no clearly no imagination no creativity well the story of Moses really and him striking the rock it's it's more than getting a
[00:44:03] drink of water for a nation of people it's a foreshadow of Jesus Christ it really is incredible in first corinthians 10 3 says they all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual
[00:44:18] drink for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them and that rock was christ again it's a picture it's a picture a foreshadow of jesus christ the rock who is struck john 7 37 let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink whoever believes in me as scripture
[00:44:41] said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. God led them to a place where there was no water on purpose. There was a plan. He was proving them. He was teaching them. He was causing them to
[00:44:57] trust in him. And you know what? He does the same thing for us today. And you may be at Rephidim today. You may be a place where your well is dry. Maybe the job has dried up. The money has dried
[00:45:10] up maybe the diagnosis come back maybe the marriage feels barren maybe you have the temptation to say the same thing the Israelites said is the Lord among us or not right so just remember that the
[00:45:26] God who can bring water out of a rock is with you and for you every day and every step of the way so now God has provided food from heaven and manna he's provided water from a rock he's taking care
[00:45:44] of their needs and they no more than begin to leave Rephidim and the next catastrophe happens we find it in verse 8 the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim I don't have time to go into it in detail but in Deuteronomy it gives us more details about what the Amalekites
[00:46:09] did the Amalekites came and and they attacked the Israelites from the rear they attacked them from it so remember this is a two million person march and they're marching through uh the wilderness well who do you think is at the back it's the old people and the slow people right
[00:46:29] I mean, everybody else is moving along, and the older people and the slower people are in the back, and that's who the Amalekites attack, those who are an easy target.
[00:46:39] I probably would have been at the back, you know.
[00:46:41] My wife would have probably been at the front.
[00:46:43] When we go for a walk, she always wants to go 900 miles an hour, you know, and I'm more of a mosey-er, right?
[00:46:47] I like to saunter, you know.
[00:46:49] I probably would have been at the back.
[00:46:51] She'd have probably been at the front.
[00:46:54] And that's what they did.
[00:46:56] They attacked them, and how does Moses respond?
[00:47:00] Verse 9, Moses said to Joshua, and this is the first time we hear of Joshua, by the way, choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the
[00:47:10] hill with the staff of God in my hands. So see this, Joshua fights in the valley. Moses climbs the hill with Aaron and her. Verse 11, as long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning.
[00:47:25] But whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses's hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it Aaron and her held up his hands one on the
[00:47:35] one side one on the other so that his hands remained steady till sunset so Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword Joshua's down in the valley Moses is up on the mountain and he took the rod of God and he held it out over the valley and as long as he was holding
[00:47:59] the rod of God over the valley the children of Israel were winning but you know after a few minutes what happens your arms start to get tired and you're like I can't do this and it was probably
[00:48:10] a time where he kind of did kind of did one of these numbers and guess what happened then the Amalekites started to win he's looking here and he's seeing the Amalekites win and the children
[00:48:19] of Israel getting beaten so he once again he does this and he puts it out here then all of a sudden and the battle turns, and the children of Israel are winning, and he's tired, and that's when Aaron
[00:48:30] and Hur come alongside of him, one on one side and one on the other side, and they hold up his arms so that he can keep the rod of God over the people during the battle. This is not a footnote
[00:48:52] in the story. This is the whole point of the story. This is not just a little sidebar. This is what the whole thing is about. I want you to notice here that while Moses prayed,
[00:49:11] Joshua was fighting. Sometimes we assume that, listen, once we've prayed, then it should be easy, right? I've prayed about it. Why is it so hard? I've prayed about this. Why come it's still difficult. Even though they were praying, they were still fighting, right? Just because you've
[00:49:30] prayed doesn't mean it's going to immediately get easy. Sometimes the battle gets harder.
[00:49:34] Sometimes it gets hotter. Sometimes it becomes more difficult. But that doesn't mean you're out of the will of God just because you've prayed, just because you're still in the battle.
[00:49:47] We are still at war. We still have enemies today. We wrestle not against flesh and blood today, but against powers principalities the gods of this earth we are still at war we're not in heaven yet
[00:50:00] we have not reached the promised land this is not it for us yet and so we're still at war even if you've prayed there's still a battle to be fought every single day so don't get weary don't give up
[00:50:13] they did win the battle verse 15 moses built an altar and called it the lord is my banner Jehovah Nisi, the Lord is my banner.
[00:50:29] And just the name itself explains the theology of this battle.
[00:50:33] Joshua fought in the valley with the sword, but winning or losing wasn't tied to how good Joshua was with the sword.
[00:50:42] Winning or losing was tied to Moses raising the rod of God over the people, right?
[00:50:47] It was him holding up the banner.
[00:50:49] It was him holding up the standard.
[00:50:51] It was him.
[00:50:53] It was God who beat the Amalekites.
[00:50:56] it was God who brought the victory, not those who were in the valley. I think it's important that we never forget the fact that the Christian life is a fight and that it's not always going to be easy
[00:51:13] and it's not always going to be easy in your life and you're going to go through some battles but God is the one who will give you victory. You have to turn to him, you have to pray to him.
[00:51:23] Jesus said in John 16 33, in this world you will have trouble but take heart I have overcome the world we still have folks like the Amalekites who attack those who are weak those are the back
[00:51:40] of the pack those who are tired those are fatigued those who are injured those who are slow he still attacks brings discouragement and temptation and accusation still happens victory is tied to intercession more than to the sword. Joshua's swordmanship was important, but Moses's hands
[00:52:08] being raided was more important. Prayer is not warm up for the battle. Prayer is the battle.
[00:52:16] Say, how do you know that, preacher? Well, let me ask you this. Is it easy to pray?
[00:52:20] Prayer is some of the hardest work there is, isn't it? You say, why is prayer so hard? Because it's where the battle is. It's where the discipline occurs. It's our dependence. It's us acknowledging that the battle is his and we need we need him and we need people who come alongside of us and
[00:52:38] hold up our arms right every pastor every parent every leader in the room needs someone who will come alongside of you and lift up your arms and refuse to let your arms just fall down we all
[00:52:53] need somebody who'll come and do that for us and we all need to be someone who will do that for others so chapter 17 wraps up after you know they've they've they've thirsted and they've
[00:53:05] hungered and they they've fought war and now that kind of comes to a little bit of a respite a little period of of peace and Moses's father-in-law Jethro shows up with uh Zipporah who was Moses's wife and their two kids uh Gershon and Eleazar and you know he hears what has happened
[00:53:27] and he confesses that Jethro the father-in-law confesses the Lord is greater than all the gods and he watches Moses in the way that he's dealing with the people of Israel by day and by night
[00:53:39] and verse 14 it says when his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people he said what is this that you're doing for the people why do you alone sit as judge while all these people
[00:53:51] stand around you from morning till evening Moses said well you know they come to me because they're seeking God's will and I decide between them. I inform them of God's decrees and his instructions and then the sentence that every exhausted leader needs to hear. Moses' father-in-law replied,
[00:54:14] verse 17, what you're doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone. He says, select some men,
[00:54:30] good men trustworthy men people who aren't in it for the dishonest gain he says have them serve as judges for the people at all times but have them bring every difficult case to you the simple
[00:54:44] cases they can decide for themselves that's going to make your load lighter because they will share it with you and Moses listens and the load lifts and the people are better served now when I do
[00:55:01] leadership lessons and things like this, I can spend an entire sermon just on that. But I'm not going to do that here this morning because I want to draw a different point. And the different point
[00:55:12] is just simply this. Where God guides, God provides. He provided manna. God provided water.
[00:55:22] God provided victory. And now he provides structure. He provides a father-in-law who comes alongside with a word of wisdom he provides a team who will come alongside and hold your arms let me let me land the plane here this morning as we look at this leg of moses's journey some
[00:55:47] things that i just want us to see that we can apply to our life is this the christian life is not easy and if anybody ever told you that the christian life was going to be easy
[00:55:57] they've sold you a different gospel because jesus never promised that it was going to be easy he promised an abundant life but he didn't promise an easy life and everybody that god has used has
[00:56:10] been through the wilderness jesus himself started off his ministry in the wilderness i did an entire series called the wilderness experience and how god takes each one of us through seasons that we call the wilderness of pain and difficulty and want of hardship
[00:56:31] because we're all on a journey we're all growing we're all learning and God uses these times in the wilderness to test us to prove us to correct us to educate us to mature us and there's no
[00:56:46] shortcut there's no quick path the wilderness is a part of your journey so don't long for Egypt just because you're in the wilderness.
[00:57:01] Don't give up on Christ just because things are difficult and say, I'm going back to the world.
[00:57:07] I'm going back where everybody knows my name.
[00:57:10] I'm heading back to the bars.
[00:57:12] I'm heading back to my old life because everything was better back then.
[00:57:16] No.
[00:57:17] It was different, but it wasn't better.
[00:57:24] Secondly, the wilderness is part of your journey.
[00:57:29] After Mara came Elam.
[00:57:31] After hunger came manna.
[00:57:32] After thirst came water from a rock.
[00:57:34] after a battle came an altar and a banner and a season of rest we all need that season of rest if you've ever led anything whether it's a team or a ministry or a classroom you're going to get
[00:57:53] tired you're going to be misunderstood you're going to do something that's going to cause people to grumble and complain that's just the fact of life the reality is you're going to need people in your life like aaron and her who will come alongside of you and lift up your arms when the
[00:58:15] when it gets weary, when you don't think you can hold it up anymore. You're going to need them to come alongside you. And in all of it, you're going to have to recognize the fact that God
[00:58:27] is sufficient. God is all you need. You can trust him. He is the bread from heaven. He is the water from a rock. He is the victory from raised hands. He is the wisdom from an old priest.
[00:58:41] and behind every one of these incredible gifts is Christ himself who is the true manna who is the smitten rock who is the intercessor whose arms never tire he was the king who is the banner of
[00:58:54] over all of us and Paul told the church that these wisdom that these stories from the wilderness were not just museum pieces not just interesting stories look what he said in first Corinthians 10 10 11 these things happened to them children of israel as examples and were written down as
[00:59:21] warnings for us on whom the culmination of the ages has come he said what god did back then to the children of israel are warnings and lessons for us here in the last days that's why this is so
[00:59:39] incredible. So don't make the same mistake that they did. Don't crave Egypt. Don't let hard times and disappointing times or really discouraging people cause you to think, you know what, the old way was better than the new way. And don't test Christ and don't grumble in the desert. Don't
[01:00:07] forget the amazing things God has done for you so far. He didn't split the sea and bring you through that miraculously to let you die of starvation on the other side. The God who guides also provides.
[01:00:27] And the provision may not look like the stocked meat pots of Egypt. It may just look like daily bread. It may look like living water. It may look like help that you didn't expect from somebody
[01:00:42] who comes alongside and holds up your arms. It may look like a savior who was struck so that you could drink. So stop hoarding tomorrow's manna. Stop asking the question, is the Lord even among
[01:01:01] us? Instead, lift up your eyes to the rock who has already been struck, to the bread who has come down, to the banner who is flying, who tells you to gather what you need today and encourages you
[01:01:17] to hold up others' arms and let others hold up yours and to never forget the simple truth that where God guides God will provide and don't forget it amen let's pray heavenly father we thank you for your daily provision we thank you God that you don't forsake us you never leave us
[01:01:44] that you walk every step of this journey with us God may we learn the lessons that the children of Israel experience so that we don't make the same mistakes God help us to recognize that
[01:02:00] that we can rely on you for our daily needs, for our daily bread.
[01:02:10] God, we thank you this morning that you're a good and gracious, loving and kind God, that you walk with us in the journey of life.
[01:02:19] And one day we too will get to the promised land.
[01:02:22] But until then, God, may we be faithful and we recognize your daily provision and your goodness.
[01:02:30] Father, we love you and we praise you.
[01:02:31] In Jesus' name and all God's people said, amen.
[01:02:34] Let's stand as we sing our final song.