Water from the Rock

Transcript

This transcript was generated automatically from the audio and may contain small errors.

Alright guys, thank you so much. As Drew is off in Vancouver, we get the privilege to hear from AJ Hulcy. I said that correct. Nice. A guy from Tennessee pronouncing stuff correct is always, always a miracle. From NorthPointe, correct? He's visited from NorthPointe? Yes. I've only known him for a few minutes, but man, I can tell he's a pretty genuine guy. He just loves the Lord, so I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you Drew. So as Drew said, my name is AJ Hulcy. This is my wife Kelsey. Been married 11 years and NorthPointe is our home church. I've been a member there for 39 years. And just to give you a little background, three years ago, God rocked my world. And long story short, he put me on the path to just proclaim his word and shepherd his flock. So I will be entering into a residency program with NorthPointe and be pursuing to be a pastor and

just see what God does, wants to use me for. So with that being said, this is my first Sunday morning to preach, to just proclaim his word. I've done the Wednesday night thing. I've done Sunday evening stuff, Bible study things, but this, you know, it's different when you do it on a Sunday morning. So bear with me. With that being said, let's get into it. So early in our marriage, after we bought a house, finances became very scarce for us. And I began to hold on to them to the point where I stopped tithing. And before y'all run out of here, I'm not here to preach about tithing. It just was a good example. But thankfully for my wife, she would not let it go and convinced me that this is the one area where you test the Lord, as it says in Malachi 3. And eventually I did, I did tithe, and God was faithful in his provisions. And as you can see, I was not trusting in God's word. I didn't trust in his character. I didn't

trust in his ability to provide. I thought I could do it better myself. And much like in our text this morning, we'll be in Exodus chapter 17, verses one through seven. We'll be looking at a time when the Israelites failed to trust in God's motives and his power to deliver them from the difficult circumstances. So just to give us some background as to where the Israelites have been on their journey, about six to eight weeks ago, the Israelites were freed from 400 plus years of slavery to Egypt. They witnessed the 10 plagues and God's mighty power over nature itself. They were given the pillars of cloud and fire to lead them through the wilderness. They saw the Red Sea split and walked across dry ground. Next, they go to a place where the water is bitter and God makes it sweet for them to drink. Now that they have some water, they're hungry. So God provides

quail and magic sky bread, also known as manna to eat, and God provides his food throughout their journey into the Promised Land. So the Israelites, they've seen some of the biggest miracles ever recorded, and God was constantly revealing himself to them that he will take care of them, that he was with them. And for the people of Israel, and let's be honest for us as well, there's never enough. And their view of their difficult circumstances was big, and their view of God was small. Their focus was on their immediate needs. If they were not met, well, God just must not care, or he doesn't know, or he can't care for us. But miracle after miracle, event after event, God is leading and providing. And this is where our text begins. So if you're able, let's stand, and we'll read God's word together. This is Exodus chapter 17, verses 1 through 7.

And the Lord said to Moses, This is God's word. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I just thank you for who you are. I thank you for being a God that is with us through the wilderness. I thank you for just this opportunity to proclaim your word before South Burleson. And Father, I just ask that you open our hearts, that you focus our minds, to hear what you have to say to us this morning. Father, use me as you see fit, and I pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen. You can be seated.

So the big takeaway I want us to get this morning is this. When you are experiencing difficult times remember the past blessings of God and trust in the rock of your salvation. When you are experiencing difficult times, remember the past blessings of God and trust in Jesus, the rock of your salvation. So we're going to jump right into the book of Exodus. And I want us to remember all they have been through leading up to this campsite at Rephidim. The Israelites have seen some powerful miracles, and even that was not enough to distract them from their difficulties. So verses one and two. All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of scene by stages according to the commandment of the Lord and camped at Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, give us water to drink. And Moses said to them, why do you quarrel with me? Why do you

test the Lord? So the first point, we are going to experience difficult times. The Israelites are in a desperate situation. They need water. And it's important to notice that God is the one that has led them to this place. God has been purposely moving them from place to place on their way to Mount Sinai. And he's not taking them straight there, although he could. He could take them there with no trials, no troubles, and without all these various stops where something bad seemingly happens. But each stage, God is revealing Himself to them. I will protect you. I will provide for you. I will guide you. In our Amazon Prime Society today, we want what we want now, and we want what we need before now. And we are no different than the Israelites here. If I gave my kids everything they wanted right when they wanted it, they would be rotten to the core, completely unpleasant to be around. And God often takes the long way

to the destination so that we are better equipped to trust in Him, better equipped to give Him thanks and to give Him the glory. God's timing is not our timing. So God has led the Israelites to this campsite with no water. Not only has He taken the long way, but He leads them to a place where they are without the most essential item you need to survive, water. So let that sit for a minute. This is where God wants them, a campsite with no water. You don't know where you're going, you're in the middle of nowhere with no way out, and you are not there by accident. This is good news. And as we continue, I hope you will be able to feel and see this is good news. So verse 2, the people demand for water. Give us water. Their view of God is too small. They're focused on what they don't have instead of God's sufficiency to provide for them. They don't seem to be this God who is rich in grace and mercy and all-powerful. They're viewing God as

this Egyptian God that they have to bargain with and make demands to get what they want. Their view of God is too small. So now they grumble against Moses, who God just appointed to lead them out of slavery. And Moses points out they are testing the Lord. Romans 13, 1, For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. When we grumble or complain about the leaders or authority over us, we are saying to God, we know better. And I can do better than you, Lord. Let me show you how to do it. And sometimes we do need to stand up against authority, but we need to acknowledge that God is the one that has put them in that place. And our grumbling isn't directed to the person, but it's directed to God. Israelites focus is on themselves. It's on the great me. I don't have this, and I need this, and it's your fault, Moses.

A simple shift in their focus on God's past blessings from their lacking water changes the tone of this event. I often wonder what this event would have looked like if they were to sing that song they sang as they crossed the Red Sea and the Egyptian army was crushed by the water. How different this scene would have looked if they would have praised God instead of went grumbling to Him. We must focus on God's sufficiency and not our scarcity. Point number two, in difficult times, remember the Lord. He is good and cry out to Him. Verses three and four. But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, why did you bring us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst? So Moses cried to the Lord, what shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me. We can see the angst of the people. They are thirsty and there's no water.

And they come to Moses, you led us out here to kill us and not just us, our kids, and not just our kids, but our animals too. Like what are you doing, Moses? My kids have been fortunate enough to have three meals a day. As a matter of fact, they eat more like hobbits. They have first and second breakfast, first and second lunch, first and second dinner, and all the snacks in between. But if we go on a car ride longer than 30 minutes and there is no snacks, there is gnashing of teeth, there's grumbling, there is what are you doing, mom and dad? We're hungry. You'd think they hadn't eaten for days. And that's how the Israelites are viewing God right now. The exact same way. They do not trust God's providence is good. They don't trust He can take care of them. They're even accusing God of harmful purposes. They're questioning God's goodness. It's okay to have those thoughts. And I think you should feel safe to pray those raw,

unfiltered thoughts to God. I've been there. God, why won't you heal me? Why do you allow us to suffer like this? What's the point of this conflict? Can't you reconcile it already? God, do you even care? Numbers 14 verses 22 through 23 says this. None of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness are yet and yet have put me to the test these 10 times and have not obeyed my voice shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers and none of those who despise me shall see it. So you can test the Lord. But for those who do not trust and despise Him, patience runs out. It's okay to go to God with a raw, unfiltered, emotional prayer, but that can't be where your prayer ends. We know how this story ends for the Israelites. And as for us, we can continue to test the Lord or we can trust Him. And you can you can inspect an airplane all day, kick the tires, check the flight logs, check the maintenance logs,

see the successful flights. But until you board that plane and buckle in for takeoff, your trust is not put into the plane. And I'm not asking you to be buckled into Jesus, but put your weight into Jesus. And there was a big chunk of my life where I would react just like the Israelites in our text. I didn't see it for a long time until God led me to a waterless campsite and I was thirsty. And I lashed out at God. It was roughly three years ago. My family was sick for well over a year. We had about six weeks where within that year where nobody was sick.

And we had stomach bug after stomach bug after stomach bug. We lost a good rug that year. And my wife was pregnant with child number four and she wasn't feeling well. I eventually got sick and stayed sick for several months. And the only one that wasn't sick was a dog, which in hindsight was a huge blessing. But I was completely helpless. I was sick. My pregnant wife was having to care for all of us because she was the least sick of the family. And on top of that, we were low on food because our money was spent on all the doctor's visits. So we had financial strain on top of everything else going on. And my prayers to God turned into a, what are you doing, God? Do you even care? Do you hear me? My prayers felt like a rubber ball against the brick wall. I throw them out there and they'd bounce right back to me. And eventually I said, I'm letting the darkness in since you're nowhere to be found, God. And my prayer turned in, God,

heal me or kill me. I do not care anymore. Heal me or kill me. I'm done. You're not there. Just let's end this. Let's get it over with. And I was focused on my less than ideal circumstances and not trusting in God's goodness or remembering the blessings of the past. God ended up revealing himself to us with an anonymous grocery donation and just showed up on our doorstep. And that little spark opened my eyes to briefly see God's goodness in that dark time, which led me to reach out for help. I was too busy grumbling and complaining to see it. But once my trust shifted to his will and I put my weight into Jesus, and what I mean by that is my wife and I, we leaned into the body of Christ, our local church family. And with the help of the staff and various members, the darkness subsided. Everything was not magically better. We had to grind through some very difficult situations. But we started to recall past blessings.

And doing so, we started seeing his goodness and love during that difficult time. And so we may not understand all the reasons God chooses to bring us into a waterless encampment, but story after story in the Bible, including this one, is God's word. Trust me. Trust me. Remember when I chose you to be my people? Remember when I freed you from slavery? Remember when I gave you my son for your punishment? When we find ourselves in the wilderness, remember the blessings of past. Remember that time when you were begging for death, AJ, and I brought you through it. Remember that time when you felt God's comforting presence during a cloud of depression? Remember that time you were healed of that illness? Remember when the love of Jesus became real for you and death lost its sting? Remember God's promise of blessings and to finish his good work in you. Cry out to God. Let him know how you feel. But remember, he's the one that brought you out of

slavery. He saved you from eternal death. He sacrificed his son on your behalf. Verse 4, we see the people are filled with rage and ready to kill Moses. Verse 5, the very instrument God used to lead them out of Egypt, how scarcity can cause us to turn on one another. It reminds me of the great toilet paper shortage in COVID. I mean, people turn on each other for toilet paper. Can you imagine a shortage on water?

But look how Moses responds. He goes to God. What shall I do? He doesn't go to God and blame God for making him lead these ungrateful people or complain about their circumstance. He says to God, what will you have me do? We are in a waterless campsite and thousands of people want to kill me. What shall I do? Moses looks to God for direction. He doesn't rely on his own understanding. He goes to God for direction and how often I try to do things on my own. And then once I mess everything up, then I go to God. When the storm hits, we must hold on to the fact that God is with us and he will see us through the storm. It's easy to say, but it takes real courage to live that out. So third and final point, trust in the rock. So we see God's response to Moses in verses 5 and 6. And the Lord said to Moses, pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of

Israel and taking your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb and you shall strike the rock and water shall come out of it. The people will drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So God tells Moses to walk in front of all these people who are ready to throw rocks at you until you die. He goes, and then not only that, take a group of elders with you so they can share this event with the people in the future. And he says, take your staff. The same staff you turned into a snake, the same staff you used to split the Red Sea, the same staff that caused numerous plagues. The staff was God was using this or giving Moses a chance to remember. I can only imagine the confidence that staff gave Moses as a reminded him of God's great power. Makes you think how much confidence we might have if we had something to remind us of God's power. And we do. The B-I-B-L-E,

yes, that's the book for me. A Bible does no good on the shelf. A staff does no good leaning against the wall. We have to take it out and use it. So God tells Moses, grab your staff. And I love how verse five ends, and go. No sulking, no recovering from the death threats, no promise of protection from flying rocks. Just go. Then verse six, God says, he will stand on the rock and you will strike it. God could have sent a lightning bolt to strike the rock and make water come out. He could have made it rain. He could have had Moses speak and water could have came out. But he says, I'll stand on the rock before the guilty people and you will strike me. So why would God do this for a faithless people? Because what the people need, what we need more than water, is the presence of God. I'll say that one more time. What we need more than water, more than food, more than security, more than comfort, is the presence of God. Psalm 63:3,

because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. The steadfast love of the Lord is better than drinking water and staying alive. It's better than being healed of depression. It's better than being healed of cancer. Jesus is better than life itself. On that rock stood Jesus, the presence of God, and he took the strike from Moses. From that strike flowed living water. And this is one of the clearest pictures we get of Jesus in the Old Testament. And Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 10, 1 through 4. For I do not know, for I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses, in the cloud and in the sea. And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them.

And the rock was Christ. The good news, when you find yourself in a wilderness without water, Jesus is with you. His presence is what sustains us, not the wet stuff that flows from faucets or occasionally falls from the sky. Jesus hung on the cross, taking the punishment for our sins, was struck by the spear, and water flowed out. He was raised on the third day, promises eternal life for those who repent and believe, and he says, you will never thirst again in John 6 35. So who are you going to trust when you're led to the waterless campsite? Are you going to lean on your own understanding? Are you going to lean, or are you going to trust in the rock of Christ? Verse 7, and he called the name of the place, Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, is the Lord among us, or not? Moses memorialized this place as the location where Israel quarreled and tested the

Lord. There's no happy ever after. There's no trusting in God. We're not even told that they drank the water, although I'm sure they did, because the story continues. But Moses ends the event with a failure to trust. So why would God bring his people to a waterless place? Exodus 19 4 gives us this answer. You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle's wings, and brought you to myself. He brought the Israelites to himself. Brothers and sisters, when difficult times and storms of life hit, God is bringing you to himself. He's drawing you near to him. We are not our own, and that is good news. Romans 8 32, he who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things. Trust him. Everything you need has been purchased by the blood of Jesus. He gave himself for you here and now,

out in the wilderness, and for his enjoyment forever. So remember when, not if, but when you are experiencing difficult times, remember the past blessings of God, and trust in Jesus, the rock of your salvation. Amen. Let's close in prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you for being a God of the wilderness, for being a God that cares enough to lead us through the difficult situations. Father, I just want to lift up anybody in here who is struggling, who's in the wilderness and wondering when they're going to get water. And Father, I just pray that your presence around them, that they taste the sweet water that flows from the rock of Christ, that they understand your love for them in that moment, and that you are there with them to provide and to see them through it. Not to pluck them out, but to see them through the storm. Father, we love you. I give you all the praise. Thank you for who you are and what you've

done on the cross. I pray all of this in our Savior's name. Amen.