Well, pleased to have a seat and a very good morning to everyone.
Just so good. I just found it so refreshing to sing songs about the glorious gospel,
about God's provision, about his goodness and his kindness.
And as we'll see, I'm so fitting for what we're about to look at.
But let's just still ourselves for just a moment and let's pray.
Father God, we thank you so much for the truths we've been singing.
And Father, we ask that you would come and that you would abide with us.
Thank you for our time together this morning.
Help us now as we turn to your words to fix our hearts upon you
and to fix our eyes upon your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Amen. Well, I wonder just by show of hands, who here has done a marathon?
Wow. Okay, there's about five.
Robert, what marathon have you done?
Edinburgh.
Paris.
Yeah.
There's a hand over here.
Did I imagine that?
Fiona.
A little bit of a marathon.
Excellent.
So did anyone watch the London marathon last week?
Bits of it.
It was on during church, so I hope you got the highlights.
But I noticed this guy called Rob Young.
Did anybody hear about him in the news this week?
So Rob Young, last week at the London marathon, broke a world record.
Now, does anybody know why or how?
So since last year's London marathon, he decided that for every single day
until this year's London marathon, he would run a marathon.
365 marathons he ran.
Just imagine the blisters on that.
365 marathons.
I hate the thought of doing a marathon.
Do you know why I hate the thought of doing a marathon?
Because I was a short sprinter at school.
I reckon you give me 100 meters, I could do that all day long.
But a marathon, that's going to massively expose just how unfit I really am.
I wonder if you feel like that with the thought of a marathon.
That's what we're going to see about Israel this morning.
They are tried.
They are tested.
They are put through their paces.
And they are found to be massively unfit.
Now, left our series in Exodus a few weeks ago.
If you were here with the people of Israel at the other side of the Red Sea.
So God had rescued them out of Egypt.
And he delivered them in the most dramatic way possible
as he leads them through the Red Sea.
Halfway through chapter 15, Miriam and the girls, they get the tambourines out.
Not enough tambourines in church these days.
I think you'll agree.
And we get this glorious song of Moses in the first part of chapter 15
where people were singing praises to God.
So here they are, a rescued people at the other side of the Red Sea.
So, what happens next?
Because I imagine if you're like all of us,
the bit before is probably the bit that we know, isn't it?
We know the story up until this point.
And we're probably unfamiliar with what happens next.
We see God hasn't rescued them and then waved cheerio to them.
He hasn't rescued them and left them to fend for themselves.
He knows where he is taking them.
Big picture plan as they head for Canaan.
But also step by step along the journey.
This middle section of this book of Exodus will end with them at Mount Sinai.
You see it in the screen.
And today we'll see that journey from the other side of the Red Sea
to just short of Mount Sinai.
Now who remembers Sesame Street?
Okay, today this sermon is brought to you by the word test.
Okay?
Test.
God is putting Israel to the test.
He's training them.
He's teaching them.
He's molding them.
And he's going to teach Israel truths about themselves.
And he's going to teach Israel truths about himself.
Because this is the thing.
If God is going to give this land to this people, his people,
then he needs to teach them what it means to be his people as they live in the land.
So the big idea this morning is that testing time is training time.
Testing time is training time.
And there's three stages to this testing that Israel are about to go on.
And at each state of the testing,
something about Israel, their unfitness, is going to be exposed.
And something about God is going to be revealed.
And each step of the journey, each stage,
the question we've got to be asking as the audience looking in on this,
as the readers,
is when Israel are tested, how will they react?
Are they going to learn to trust God?
At each stage, are they growing in their faith and their love for God?
Are they developing a true picture of who he really is?
So here at verses 15, 22 to 15, 27,
we see stage one, test one, Marah.
So Moses leads the people into the wilderness
only for them to find no water.
Problem.
They are thirsty.
So how are Israel going to react?
Well, verse 21 of chapter 5, if you've got it there, like we said,
this is what they say.
They sing,
Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously.
They've seen God at work.
And then three days and three verses later, grumbling.
What is exposed about Israel?
Israel are forgetful.
And this is going to be one of the big tests for Israel in the wilderness.
Will they remember rightly?
Will they learn to trust God
and to trust that he will provide for them in the day-to-day
and in the tough times
on the basis of what they've already seen him do in their lives?
Put it another way,
will they live by faith
or will they live by sight?
And I guess there's not an awful lot wrong with the request.
It seems pretty reasonable.
If you're thirsty, you want a drink.
But it's the manner and it's the tone in which they ask it that's the issue.
They moan, they complain, they murmur.
The point is, it's not just the water that's bitter.
Their attitudes and their hearts are bitter as well.
How quickly Israel forgets.
And how quickly we forget.
Don't we?
Now I wonder how we're doing at remembering rightly.
How are we doing at remembering rightly?
How are we doing at cultivating a heart attitude
that remembers and gives thanks to God for his goodness
and his grace to us?
And this is what we do, don't we,
when we pray together,
whether it's in small groups
or whether it's the prayer meeting.
We've got plenty of prayer requests.
But how often, friends,
do we not stop to thank God
for the ways that he's been at work
in our lives?
Because the fact of the matter is
that Israel don't remember rightly
and because they don't remember rightly,
it causes them to grumble.
And grumbling is a heart thing.
Paul Tripp,
he calls the heart the steering wheel
of every single human being.
You know, Alex and I,
we went down to Bath a few weekends ago.
We took the tram.
Love the tram, by the way.
But do you remember that whole hoo-ha
with the tram when it was here?
Yeah?
And if nothing else,
did that not expose
that as a people
and as a city
and as a nation,
we love to grumble,
don't we?
We love a moan.
We love a rant.
I was watching with Chloe
up the other night.
I was watching,
have I got news for you?
Slating the politicians
that are standing for election
in a few days' time.
Slating them.
We live in a nation
that loves to grumble.
Friends, can I suggest
that this is one of the key ways
in which we as the people of God
can stand out
and be distinct from this country
and this people that we live in?
That we don't grumble.
That we don't moan.
That we don't complain
just like everyone else.
Would that not be
an amazing testimony
to the transforming power
of the gospel
and of God in our lives?
Would that not be
an amazing testimony
to a transformed heart?
That we don't grumble.
And instead of grumbling,
let's pray.
When you catch yourself grumbling,
whether it's in the church,
whether it's in here about stuff,
whether it's in the world,
check your heart.
what's going on deep down?
Israel forgets.
What is God revealing
about himself?
He is a God who leads.
You see, this plays itself
out in a few ways.
God leads Moses
towards the piece of wood,
throws it in the water,
water becomes fit to drink.
God leads the people
by his words.
Do you see that?
That God desires obedience
from his people.
And you'll notice
that that word test comes up.
This is what God is doing
to his people.
What will they do
with his words?
Will they obey it?
Will they listen to it?
Or will they reject it?
And this is what God says.
This isn't something
that Israel have to figure out
for themselves,
what he wants them to do.
Look at the words
that he uses.
Listen carefully.
Do what is right.
Pay attention.
Keep it.
And so the tension
at this section is,
will they do it?
See how that plays out
in a second.
God leads them
by his word.
God leads Moses
to the staff in the water.
Sorry, rock in the water.
And he leads them to Elam.
A place of refreshment.
A place of joy.
Do you see what Moses
is trying to tell us there?
God knows his people.
God knows what they need.
God knows where he is taking them.
What amazing grace God shows
to this grumbling people.
That's the lesson of Marah.
That Israel is faithless,
but God is faithful.
Like what we were singing earlier.
Israel forgets.
God leads.
Testing times are training times.
And so they travel
from Elam,
chapter 16.
We find them
in the desert of sin.
I'll be honest,
it sounds like a place
none of us should really
want to go to.
Desert of sin.
The question is,
are they learning?
Are they growing
in their faith in God?
Are they learning
to trust Him?
Well, the way they behave,
absolutely they are not.
You notice there's a downward
trajectory to these stories.
Now, would you notice as well
that the grumbling
has now spread
to this whole community?
That's what grumbling does.
It's infectious.
A little warning for us there.
Let's not be the one
who spreads the grumbling.
What is exposed here
about Israel?
They are a denying people.
And you see in this episode,
they deny two things.
Firstly,
they deny the past.
Verse 3,
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.
Now, is that really
what Egypt was like?
Now, we looked at it,
didn't we,
a few weeks ago?
Remember the words
that were coming up?
The images,
slave masters,
harsh labor,
death.
And not to mention
that small matter
of a genocide attempt
on all the baby boys.
Remember that?
And what are these guys
interpreting it as?
Oh, we had all the meat
that we wanted.
We had food aplenty
back there.
We were in,
we were in paradise.
So they're rewriting
the past.
They're harking on
about the good old days.
The good old days
that weren't good old days.
So why are they calling
them good old days?
Why are they exaggerating
the past?
Well, they exaggerate
the past because
they are discontent
with where God
has them in the present.
They doubt God's purposes
and his goodness
here and now.
Is this not
the grass is always
greener syndrome?
I wonder if you see that
in your own life.
We do it all the time,
do we not?
That we compare,
that we doubt God's goodness.
What is at the heart
of that when you find
yourself doing it?
It's a heart that denies
the goodness
and the purposes of God
for your life
in the present.
Israel deny
the past
and Israel also deny
the sufficiency
of God.
You see how God supplies
them with an abundant
supply of manna.
The way it was
described here,
wasn't it?
That it's language
at verse 18,
you see it,
that they had their fill,
they had enough,
no one was short,
no one was hungry.
This was an abundant
supply of manna.
Two tests of obedience
here for Israel.
Both the same thing,
really.
Will they trust
and will they obey
God's words?
Firstly,
God says to the people
through Moses,
don't keep the bread
until morning.
Eat it all,
don't keep it
for the next day.
Now what's that all about?
Would it not teach them
that they wake up
every day
with nothing?
And so their first thought
is not,
what am I going to have
for breakfast?
And they look to the corner
of wherever they're sleeping
and there's the bread,
that's what I'm going to have
for breakfast.
They wake up with nothing.
It's not going to teach them
to wake up
and instead of looking
over here,
they look up to God
for their daily provision.
Lord,
I am wholly dependent
on you today
to provide
what I need.
That's what he's teaching them.
He is to be there
everything.
And isn't that a great lesson
for God's people to learn?
It's the first line
of the Lord's prayer,
isn't it?
Give us today
our daily bread.
You know,
Tim Keller would say
that the gospel
isn't the ABC
of the Christian life,
it's the A to Z
of the Christian life.
We need God
every moment
of every day.
There's a reason
Johnny picked that song
to sing,
Abide With Me.
Lord,
I need you every hour.
Our dependency on God,
this is how it works out
in our own lives,
is not to be a mere
afterthought
with your elevens
in the busyness of life,
okay?
It's to be an every moment
of every day thing.
It is absolutely central.
You know,
it was said of
William Wilberforce
that he used to walk around
with a small stone
in his shoe
and every time
he felt that small stone
it would remind him
to pray.
It would remind him
that he is a dependent being.
Love that illustration.
Don't know if I'll
go for that one
but it's a good point,
isn't it?
He is a dependent being.
So will the Israelites
obey God's words?
Well,
kind of.
Some of them do.
Some of them don't.
Verse 20.
See,
it's not just the bread
that stinks,
the obedience does as well.
Second test.
God tells them
to gather bread
for five days.
Why?
Because on the sixth day
they'll gather twice as much
because on the seventh day
they'll be resting.
It's a Sabbath rest.
Again,
are the people going to trust God?
Are they going to obey
his words?
Well,
some of them do
and some of them don't.
Verse 27.
See what's going on here.
Israel disobey
because they deny
God's goodness.
Israel
don't trust
because they deny
God's
sufficiency.
Now,
I wonder if that's a lesson
for us here this morning.
Is there some area
of our lives
where we're not obeying
what God has said?
And behind it
is because we don't
trust him.
We don't know
his goodness.
Well,
into this situation,
what is God revealing
about himself?
He is a God
who sustains.
He gives them
manna.
Verse 31.
You see how Moses
describes this?
This is wafers
with honey.
So this isn't
kind of
Tesco's
saver's beans
that he's given them here.
This is the good stuff
he's given them.
This was nice to eat.
That's what Moses
wants us to know.
Again,
do you see God's
goodness?
And this wasn't
a one-off provision.
Verse 35.
God provided
manna every day
until they are
in the land,
until they're in Canaan
and they're living
off the produce there.
You know,
there's that lovely
little snippet
in the book of Joshua.
Joshua 5,
verse 12.
He tells us
that the manna
stopped falling
the day after
the day they ate
from the produce
of the land.
God's sustaining
provision.
God's everyday
provision.
Do you see
his protection
here for his people?
Do you see
his love
and his care
and his concern
for their well-being?
God didn't leave
them to fend
for themselves.
He provided
every step
along the way.
everything
that they
needed.
Alex and I
went for a meal
on Wednesday
night,
I think.
First night,
we'd been out
without Chloe.
Weird.
Looking at your
watch every five
minutes,
wondering,
should we go
back?
Anyway,
we had baked
camembert.
Oh,
amazing.
Cooked cheese.
I think it might
be my new thing.
Incredible.
The tastes
were amazing.
But two hours
later,
my stomach,
completely
forgotten about it.
Where's the cereal?
I need some cereal.
This is what's
happening here.
Israel,
they eat this manna
day on day.
They go hungry
again.
And Jesus,
picking up on
this imagery
in John 6,
he says,
I am the bread
from heaven.
I am the bread
of life.
Whoever comes
to me will
never go hungry.
And whoever
believes in me
will never be
thirsty.
Now,
we live in a
Mick Jagger
world,
don't we?
I can't get no
satisfaction.
A world where
we chase all
sorts of things
looking for
lasting joy.
But what do
we find?
We find
bubbles,
don't we?
They fly so high
they reach the sky
and like my dreams,
they fade and die.
Jesus truly
satisfies
the cravings
of our hearts.
This is what
he's saying.
Jesus gives us
life and he
gives us life
to the full.
Do you know
the bread of life?
Do you know
what it means
to have Jesus
satisfy
that inner
craving?
Do you know
what it means
for your
restless heart
to find purpose
and to find
contentment
and to find
identity
in him?
You know,
Moses also
tells us here
that they put
some of it
in the
tabernacle.
Tabernacle
that would
journey with
them,
God's presence
with them
to the
promised land.
Now,
what's that
about?
they put it
in the
tabernacle
so that
future
generations
would know
that God
provided for
them.
God provides
because this
message needs
to be passed
on.
And I wonder
how we're doing
it passing
on the message
of God's
goodness and
his provision
in our lives.
You know,
are we,
as a people,
are we sharing
stories?
Are we in
each other's
lives so that
we know
that God
is at work?
Are we telling
each other
testimonies
about how
God has been
at work?
You know,
I love hearing
stories.
We heard the
Camerons were
up here a couple
of months ago
telling us about
how God was
at work in
their lives,
in their day-to-day
lives.
How is God
at work?
Are we passing
this message
on?
God gives.
God is
gracious.
That's the
lesson of the
manner.
Israel denies,
but God
gives.
Because testing
time is
training time.
Now from the
desert of sin,
they eventually
come to
Rephidim.
And there we
see the third
and the final
test.
And I think
it's probably
the climax
of this
section.
And I
wonder if
you watched
the BBC
interview with
Lance Armstrong
a few months
ago.
I only watched
about ten minutes
of it.
I think there
was a massive
thing.
It was Dan
Rowan,
BBC
correspondent,
and he
put this
question to
Lance Armstrong,
really simple,
a question that
the world wanted
to know.
Lance,
if you had
your chance
again,
would you do
it differently?
He said this.
He said,
if I was
racing in
2015,
no,
I wouldn't do
it again because
I don't think
you need to do
it again.
But if you
take me back
to 1995,
when doping
was completely
pervasive,
I think I
would probably
do it again.
There's a
man who
hasn't learned
from his
previous failure.
Here we
are,
Israel,
again,
they're in a
place with
no water.
Seen this
before?
Just happened,
didn't it,
a few verses
ago?
Is the test
not?
Have they
learned from
their previous
failure?
earlier?
Previously,
they grumbled
and they
doubted,
so what are
they going
to do
this time?
Well,
they do
exactly the
same and
worse.
I wonder,
just pausing
there for a
minute,
I wonder if
that's true
sometimes in
our Christian
lives as
well.
Do you
find that
the same
stuff,
the same
lessons are
coming up
again and
again?
And I
wonder if
we're learning
the lessons
that God is
trying to
teach us.
What is
exposed here
about Israel?
They are a
hardened people.
They
quarreled.
Now,
that's not
some kind of
friendly fight
amongst
brothers.
Okay?
It's got
aggressive
undertones to
it.
They are
disputing
with one
another.
And what
they're doing
is they're
bringing a
charge
against God.
They're putting
God in the
dock.
You see,
it's quite
accusatory,
isn't it,
what they
say?
Quite
demanding.
They say,
give us
water to
drink.
And what's
behind it is
a hard
heart and
callous
hearts that
have turned
away from
God.
They are
bitter.
And behind
the demand
lies doubts.
Do you see
how that
finishes at
17.7 with
the question,
is God
really among
us or not?
Is God
really with
us?
Does he
really care?
That's what's
behind the
demand.
How do we
know that
God is for
us and God
is not
against us?
That's the
question.
I'm reading
this great
book just
now on
public
speeches.
It's by a
guy called
Phil Collins.
Not calling
in the air
tonight,
Phil Collins.
The guy who
used to be
Tony Blair's
speechwriter.
And what
he's doing
is he's
analysing
famous
speeches
from history.
And I
read this
the other
night.
He talks
about the
Martin
Luther King
moment.
We all
know what
the Martin
Luther King
moment is,
don't we?
In four
words.
I have
a dream.
That's all
he needed
to say.
The Martin
Luther King
moment.
Now if
you're
American,
especially,
that is
a moment
that defines
something of
your nation's
history,
isn't it?
A legendary
moment in
the life
of a
nation.
Well
Israel,
as a
nation,
they have
a moment
to look
back on.
It's not
a Martin
Luther King
moment.
It's a
Massa and
Meribah
moment.
And this
episode right
here becomes
synonymous not
so much with
liberty,
but with
loathing.
Because the
people,
there is a
deep distrust
of God in
them.
Moses picks
up on this
in Deuteronomy.
The
psalmist picks
up on this
in Psalm
95.
The writer to
the Hebrews
picks up on
this at
Hebrews chapter
3.
All with the
same warning
to their
respective
generations,
learn the
lesson.
Hebrews 3.
If you can
see that
on the
screen,
then if
you can't,
let me just
read it
out.
This is
what the
writer to
the Hebrews
says to
his generation.
So as
the Holy
Spirit says,
quoting
Psalm 95,
today,
today, if
you hear
his voice,
do not
harden your
hearts as
you did in
the rebellion
during the
time of
testing in
the wilderness
where your
ancestors
tested and
tried me,
though for
40 years
they saw
what I
did.
That is
why I
was angry
with that
generation.
I said,
their hearts
are always
going astray
and they
have not
known my
way.
So I
declared on
oath in
my anger,
they shall
never enter
my rest.
Then the
writer to
the Hebrews,
to his
generation,
he goes
on and
he says,
see to it
brothers and
sisters,
that none
of you
has a
sinful,
unbelieving
heart that
turns away
from the
living God,
but encourage
one another
daily as
long as it
is called
today,
so that
none of
you may
be hardened
by sin's
deceitfulness.
Do you see
what he's
saying?
He's telling
his generation
of God's
people,
don't make
the same
mistakes that
the Israelites
made in
the desert.
Learn the
lesson.
Don't have
for yourself
a Massa
and Meribah
moment.
Don't have
hearts that
are hard
and callous,
that fail to
believe in the
purposes and
the goodness
and the
plans and
the promises
of God.
Wash your
heart.
And that's a
lesson for our
generation as
well today.
I wonder if
some of us
this morning,
deep down,
are asking
that question
in our
hearts.
is God
really among
us or not?
Are we
slipping
into unbelief?
Maybe you're
here and you're
not a Christian
this morning and
actually your
question is,
how do I know
that God
loves me?
How do I
know,
how do I
know that
he's for
me?
We'll see
what God
reveals about
himself.
He is a
God who
provides.
Now see,
if this was
me and
Israel were
moaning again
and again
and again,
if this was
my child,
I think I'd
be tempted to
leave them,
would you
not?
I wouldn't
leave her if
she'd.
But do you
see how God
is so gracious
with his
people?
Do you see
how he's so
patient with
his people?
They ask,
is the Lord
really among
us or not?
It's almost
as if God
says,
to answer
that question,
look to
the rock.
This is what
happens.
Moses goes to
the rock
and he
strikes it
and out
comes life
giving water
to have
people who
are going
to die
if they
don't
drink.
That's how
you know
I'm for you.
It's almost
what God
is saying.
And Paul
picks up on
this in
1 Corinthians
10 and
he says
that the
rock is
Christ.
that rock
was Jesus.
Now how on
earth has he
got to that
conclusion?
It's an
inspired word,
it must be
right.
So how has he
got there?
We see
Moses
strikes the
rock
and out
comes
life-giving
water.
Jesus
struck,
killed,
and John
records for
us in
chapter 1,
I think
it's chapter
19 I've
written one,
that as
Jesus was
struck and
as he was
pierced,
out came
blood and
water.
His point,
John's point,
Paul's point,
that through
the death
of Jesus,
through the
striking of
Jesus,
we have
life.
That is the
wonderful news
of the gospel.
How do I know
that God is
for me?
How do I know
that God cares
for me?
How do I know
that he loves
me?
God would say
to that
generation,
God says
to this
generation,
look to
the rock.
The question
for us is,
have we
drunk from
the rock
and have we
received life
from its
life-giving
water?
Paul writes
in Romans 9,
he who did
not spare
his own son
but gave him
up for us
all,
how will he
not also
give us
all things?
Romans chapter
9.
We mustn't
doubt the
sufficiency
and the
goodness of
God.
How do we
know that
he loves
us?
We look
to the
rock.
You see,
testing time
is training
time.
Just as we
bring a few
of these
things together
as we
close,
to see how
God takes
us,
his people,
through
afflictions,
to help us
see our own
helplessness,
to help us
bring our
own self-confidence
to an end,
and to teach
us to
exclusively
trust in
him alone.
That he
doesn't beam
us up
magically from
the trials
and the
pressures of
life,
but he
uses them
to demonstrate
our complete
inadequacy
and his
complete
dependability.
You know,
I wonder as we've
looked at his
word this
morning,
what has been
exposed about
your life?
What areas
are you
unfit in?
Maybe you've
got a lack
of patience.
Maybe you're
going through
that just
now.
You lack
trust in
God's
perfect and
good timing.
Maybe you've
got misplaced
identity in
a job or
a relationship
that's let
you down.
Maybe you
need to
learn and
understand and
grasp your
identity in
Jesus Christ.
What has
God revealed
to you about
himself?
from his
words,
his unfailing
provision,
his purposes,
his goodness.
What is God
teaching us
this morning?
I hate
marathons.
I hate being
put through my
paces,
but I know
it's good for
me.
Let's pray
together.
And maybe
let's just
have a moment
quiet.
just if there's
some business
that we need
to do with
God,
this opportunity
now to
confess and
get right with
him,
to ask him
that you
truly abide
with us.
God,
let's
hear it.
And so,
Father,
we just
close with
the words
of that
hymn that
we sang
earlier and
declare that
great is
your faithfulness.
Oh,
God,
my Father,
there is
no shadow
of turning
with you.
You
change
not,
your
compassions,
they fail
not.
As you
have been,
you will
forever
will be.
Lord,
help us
by your
spirit to
trust you
more,
to know you
more intimately
this week,
we pray.
In Jesus'
name,
Amen.