Read Part 7

(8/16) We’re continuing in our series Following God Into The Unknown and this journey with Moses has been quite a process. As we consider where he began, the stuff he went through, God calling him out of the wilderness, starting the process of negotiations with Pharaoh, the 10 plagues, bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, crossing the Red Sea and now to find himself wandering once again in the wilderness. It’s kind of strange because he’s in a completely different place but it doesn’t really seem much different from where he started and it’s a little frustrating.

In fact, some of you may be in that place where you recognize that what you had hoped for or dreamed about when you started was just so much different from where you are today. You know, maybe you were starting to diet, you were committed to losing those unwanted pounds, and yet after a week or two its discouraging because things haven’t really changed that much and it can be frustrating. Or maybe you started lifting or doing some cardio, and you were expecting to see results, a change, something new, but things really aren’t that much different except for the soreness the next day. You see, there’s something about the process, something about starting that is difficult, because you’re looking forward or expecting what might be, what you hope for, but you can’t see anything yet.

Well, as we’ve been Following God Into The Unknown with Moses and the Israelites, we’ve been learning about the nature of faith, because there’s so much that Moses and the Israelites have experienced that is incredibly difficult, so much that they wouldn’t have signed up for, and yet there was so much that they’d heard about, that was promised, but they haven’t seen it. And the realm of faith is just like that, it starts in the secret place, that hidden place that no one sees, and so when the Word of God is spoken into your life, you may not immediately see a change in your situation, but it always starts producing change within you, because the Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 11, verse one that,

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV).

And so, faith starts in the hidden place, but it doesn’t stay there. You see, we need faith in our hearts, we need faith to be saved, we need faith to trust in Jesus, but we also need faith right now. In fact, I won’t even need faith in heaven, because my faith will be my sight, Jesus will be right there, but I need faith in the meantime, before I get to heaven. I need faith right now, because faith is about getting through the day, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we don’t see.

Some of you today are believing for things in your heart that you don’t see in your situation yet, there’s nothing happening in the surface, but you’re believing that there is something happening beneath the surface, in that hidden place, because that’s where faith starts. And that’s where we find the Israelites, they’d heard something, they’d been given a promise, and they’re trying to believe something that they didn’t yet see but they’re hungry. And so, they’re murmuring, they’re grumbling and complaining, and God heard them. He said to Moses in Exodus chapter 16, verse 12,

"Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God" (Exodus 16:12).

And so, God fed them quail in the evening and manna in the morning, but now as we come to chapter 17, they find themselves in a dry season.

I wonder if any of you have ever found yourself in a dry season? I don’t mean like a drought or a situation like that, because I know we haven’t had much rain, but what I’m talking about is a dryness or emptiness that you feel on the inside. It’s the drought of the human soul where people can look at you, and your situation on the outside is entirely different from what you’re feeling on the inside. And I know that at this point some of you will start squirming, looking at your watch, because it’s getting personal, but maybe you’re not desperate enough, maybe you’re not thirsty enough.

You see, if you get yourself in a situation where you really need God to speak to you, you’ll be leaning in because you know you need every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God, you know you can’t live on bread alone, and so you’ll be praying like Samuel did in first Samuel chapter 3:

"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:9).

And so, as we turn to the Israelites in Exodus chapter 17, there hadn’t been any rain, they were in a dry season, but God hadn’t stopped loving them, he hadn’t stopped providing for them, it’s just that now he’s trying to get their attention. You see, their understanding of God had been polluted by their association with the Egyptians and they started seeking sources other than God, but God wasn’t about to allow them to turn to a source that couldn’t sustain their lives. And so, he had to cut them off for little while so that they would come back to what they needed all along. And the Bible tells us in chapter 17, verse one,

"The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 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?" (Exodus 17:1-2).

And so, the people of Israel are moving toward Mount Sinai, they’re still being led by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, and yet the Lord directed them into this difficult and trying situation so that he could demonstrate his love, his mercy, and his faithfulness. But the problem was that every time God took them to school, every time he tried to teach them something, every difficult situation they experienced only seemed to bring out the worst in them. But God remained faithful and he loved them as Proverbs chapter 3, verse 12 says,

"The Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in" (Proverbs 3:12).

Moses however, isn’t quite so gracious, he’s not so patient, because he’s an old man now. He was 80 years old when he went back to Egypt and so now he’s dealing with these stubborn, stiff-necked Israelites, who are acting like little children. And those of you who are older know that it’s one thing to deal with children when you’re twentysomething, but when you get over 50 your patience doesn’t last as long as it used to. And so, now Moses is an old man and the Bible says in verse three,

"The people were thirsty for water there and they grumbled against Moses. They said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?" Then Moses cried out to the Lord, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me" (Exodus 17:3-4).

And so, Moses is exasperated, because he’s trying to lead them out of a bad situation into something good, and you would think they would like him, but every time the going gets tough they turn on him. And so, he cries out to God and the Lord told him in verse five,

"Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink" (Exodus 17:5-6).

Don’t you just love how creative God is as he is leading, teaching, and supplying for Israel? He brings them to an impossible situation where they start grumbling about what he can and can’t do, grumbling about how God’s not blessing them, he’s not meeting their needs, there’s no way we’re going to get out of this. And yet time and time again God proves his presence in an impossible situation, calling them to another level of faith, and he’s about to do something new. He’s about to give them an illustration, an object lesson of a deep spiritual truth, and verse six says,

"Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel" (Exodus 17:6).

He obeyed the voice of the Lord, he struck the rock and water came out of it for the people to drink, and it was a good start, but would he have the ability to persevere and stick it out?

You see, Israel had quarreled and tested the Lord because they hadn’t understood that God tests his people; that he takes them to school in the everyday experiences of life, and so they didn’t even recognize that they’d been in school. And yet, this is so important because there are some things that only life can teach you and so you’re going to have to take the class whether you want to or not because life will teach you some stuff. Moses is trying to get these people through the wilderness and into the promised land. He’s had some poor starts, some false starts, some slow starts and certainly is share of problems and frustrations. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started working on my sermon for the week, I’m surrounded by notes, scribbling on the back of an envelope, all of these thoughts and ideas that you will never hear, but I recognize it’s just a start. And it’s the ability to stay with it and stick it out when it doesn’t make sense, when it’s not that good that helps me to see it through to the end.

Now I want to fast-forward, jumping ahead 40 years to show you something important. Moses has been through a lot, he’s experienced snakebites, famines, and pestilence; he’s seen a whole generation of Israel die in the wilderness because of their hardhearted, stiff-necked unbelief. And now in Numbers chapter 20, verse two, the Bible tells us that once again,

"There was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! Why did you bring the Lord's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink" (Numbers 20:2-5).

And so, they’ve heard the promise of a land flowing with milk and honey, but they haven’t seen it yet, and this new generation is just as nasty as their parents were. They’re just as unbelieving as their parents were, because now there murmuring and complaining again, but this is the chosen generation, these are those that will cross over into the promised land. And so, Moses says, "God, they’re doing that thing again, you know that thing their parents did, they’re murmuring and complaining." And the Bible says that Moses and Aaron,

"…fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. The Lord said to Moses, "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink" (Numbers 20:6-8).

In other words, God says, "We’re going to do what we did before, but this time instead of striking the rock, this time I want you to speak to the rock." And the Bible says that,

"Moses took the staff from the Lord's presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out and the community and their livestock drank" (Numbers 20:9-11).

Now at first glance everything seems cool because God had just performed another great miracle, but God wasn’t pleased with Moses. You see, Moses hadn’t followed his simple directions, he had melted down, he was frustrated with the people, they had gotten on his last nerve and he just lets them have it. And so, whatever it was that he said to them, it must’ve been good, we only got the summarized version, but the fact that he spoke to the people instead of speaking to the rock resulted in God telling him,

"Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them" (Numbers 20:12).

In other words, "You can’t go into the promised land because you didn’t obey me." And I know it seems like such a little thing, but I want you to understand that God was using Moses life as an example of what he would do later with Christ. You see, this is what the Bible tells us in first Corinthians chapter 10,

"Our forefathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).

But Moses didn’t see it, he didn’t realize that the rock was a type of Jesus Christ, and that the first time he struck the rock in Exodus chapter 17, it was a picture of Christ being crucified. And so, that was a shadow in the Old Testament, that was a shadow of Christ being crucified, and when Moses struck the rock again the second time in Numbers chapter 20 he destroyed the symbolism, he messed up the object lesson, and God judged him for that because he said something about Christ that wasn’t true. In his anger and frustration, Moses struck the rock a second time when he should have spoken to it, because the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 9,

"Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people…" (Hebrews 9:28).

And so, one time was enough, but Moses struck the rock twice and therefore he broke the illustration, he destroyed the symbolism and God got upset.

Now, you know this had to be a serious offense for God to keep him from getting into the promised land, because Moses had done all kinds of stuff. He had murdered a man, he argued with God, he got right in his face, but this was too much, this was the last straw, he said something about his Son that wasn’t true. And so, by his actions he said that the cross wasn’t enough, that Jesus could be crucified twice, once wasn’t enough, and it destroyed the gospel message to this chosen generation. It was this generation that would enter the promised land, they were stepping into something which the Bible says, they did not labor, cities they did not build, and yet they would dwell in them, they would eat of the vineyards and the olive groves which they didn’t plant (Joshua 24:13).

And so, the promise was fulfilled in the word, Moses was to speak to the rock, because the word is all you need to get the water. The rock only needed to be struck once, no more stripes, no more wounds, no more bruising. You don’t have to work for it, you don’t have to sweat for it, because all that you need is in the word. And that’s why God told Moses,

"Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink" (Numbers 20:8).

God said speak to the Rock, because the water is in the Rock, the word would release the water, and so he said speak to the Rock and the water will flow. And it was that water which was a symbol of the Holy Spirit who was coming, and who has now come because of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. But Moses was so frustrated he couldn’t obey a simple command, they were murmuring and complaining again, he’s been through this before and he’s frustrated. God says speak to the Rock, but Moses was mad and instead of speaking to the Rock he spoke to the people because frustration tends to express itself.

I wonder if there are any of you who’ve been speaking to people instead of speaking to the Rock? You know, you’re carrying your frustration to the people you love, your venting your anger on those you love, when you should be speaking to the Rock? You see, if Moses had got that part right, he would have gone into the Promised Land. And it’s really simple, you speak to the Rock and you let him take care of the people. But you’ve got to carry your burdens to Jesus, you’ve got to give your frustrations to Jesus, because you can’t change your past, but Christ can change your future, and so you’ve got to go to the Rock.

Some of you have gone through incredible pain, the memories are painful beyond words, but you can’t change what happened to you. You were younger, you did something you shouldn’t of done, you made a decision that you regret, but you can’t change the past. Others of you said something you shouldn’t have said, you did something you shouldn’t have done, you can’t change it, but you can move forward by the power of Christ. And so, what we want to do is remember that we can’t change what happened, but we serve a God with whom all things are possible, and he’s working in all things, even the bad things, to bring about good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

I love the way Paul said this in Philippians chapter 3, he said,

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14).

In other words, he is calling us to press on and forget the past, forgetting what is behind, and what that phrase means in the Greek is to willfully neglect, to leave behind intentionally, to banish from one’s thoughts, to disregard on purpose, or to cease remembering. And that’s so important because your spiritual enemy may be haunting you with your past, maybe you have a label that you can’t get rid of, or other people’s opinions of you, but you are not who others say you are. There is no sin you’ve committed to great for God’s grace and you can’t change the past but the power of the Rock our Lord Jesus Christ can and he will change your future.

Read Part 8

Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott