Introduction
What things does God provide for us today?
Houses, clothes, a family, food, water.
God is our provider and He provides for our everyday needs. And that’s because nothing is impossible for God.
“When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” Luke 18:23-27
How many of you have ever played the game Rock, Paper, Scissors?
People all over the world play that game. Not just children either, even adults play the game. Did you know that there is an international tournament each year and players from all over the world come together to compete in Rock, Paper, Scissors? Yes, Rock, Paper, Scissors is a very popular game.
As you probably know, each player holds one fist in front of him and hits it with his other fist three times. Then, on the fourth time, the player’s top hand forms either a rock, paper, or scissors. (Demonstrate each as you say the words.)
This is how you know who wins: a rock smashes scissors, paper covers a rock, and scissors cut paper. Let’s play! You can all play against me and you can keep track of how many times you win. Ready? One, two, three, go.
Okay, I made a rock. If you made paper, you win. If you made scissors, I win. If you made a rock, we tied. The great thing about Rock, Paper, Scissors is that any one of them can be a winner.
I have a real rock, paper, and scissors with me this morning. If you are going to write a letter, a rock or scissors wouldn’t be much help, but a piece of paper would, wouldn’t it?
If you wanted to cut a piece of paper, a rock or paper wouldn’t help, but a pair of scissors would. If you were really thirsty and needed a drink of water, a piece of paper or a pair of scissors wouldn’t be much help, but a rock might be exactly what you need.
What? Some of you are looking at me like you think I’m crazy! Don’t you think a rock would help you if you needed a drink of water?
Well, in our Bible story today, that is exactly what happened. Our Bible story today is called, “Water from a Rock.”
“The Lord answered Moses, “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.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.” Exodus 17:5-6
Moses was the leader of the people of Israel. He was leading them from Egypt to a land that God would give to them. They were wandering through the desert and people were thirsty.
They began to grumble and complain to Moses.
“We are dying,” they said, “our children are dying, our cattle are dying. Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die out here in the desert?”
And loved ones this is something we need to be careful about. Grumbling. When Jesus was describing the Kingdom of heaven, He shared a parable about workers in a vineyard.
“The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.” Matthew 20:9-12
And my point is that God takes care of us both physically and spiritually and when things don’t work out the way we think they should work out, we shouldn’t start grumbling against God.
God had just rescued these people from the Egyptians and they started to grumble. Oh, I don’t like the food, I’m thirsty, can’t we just go back to Egypt?
And people still grumble today don’t, they? Kids will say I don’t like tuna can I have something else? I don’t like water can I have juice instead? Oh, I’m bored with KBC can’t we sing another song at the start? Do we have to sit threw worship, especially the sermon part?
And adults grumble a lot too, they say things like, do we have to use that songbook? Do we have to use that translation of the Bible? Do we have to have the Lord’s Supper at the end?
I mean as Christians we grumble all the time but and this is very important when you grumble you’re actually grumbling against God. These people thought they were grumbling against Moses but God took it very personally and told Moses that they are actually moaning against God.
So these people are grumbling and so Moses went to his tent and fell on his knees before God and said, “God, what should I do?” Moses prayed, “There is no water in the desert. The people are thirsty and they are ready to kill me.”
God answered Moses and said to him, “Take your shepherd’s staff and walk ahead of the people. I will meet you by the rock at Mount Sinai. When you come to the rock, strike it with your staff and water will flow from the rock. The people will have plenty of water to drink.”
These people didn’t think that God could meet their needs, they didn’t trust God but Moses did. And Moses did exactly what God told him to do and guess what happened? He got water from a rock!
So, what should you and I do when we face an impossible situation? We should ask God for his help and then trust in him.
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
Now if you come to me for money and I give you some out of my savings, that’s great but if you keep coming back to me for money pretty soon I’m going to be all out of money.
But Jesus doesn’t meet our needs that way; Paul says that he meets our needs according to his riches not out of his riches. In other words, whatever your needs may be, He will never run out of resources for blessing you and meeting your needs.
And that’s because God is our provider and He knows how to meet our needs. God can do things which we can’t, because not does God provide for our physical needs and spiritual needs, but He is the only one that can take care of our eternal needs by getting us into heaven.
Do you remember the film called the Incredibles?
Mr Incredible has had a busy day. He saves a man from suicide and averts a catastrophic train accident. And because of such heroic acts, you would think he would be rewarded, wouldn’t you? But no. Shortly after his acts of heroism, Mr Incredible appears in the newspapers but they have an interesting take on his deeds. The man he saved from committing suicide is not only complaining, he is filing a lawsuit.
Mr Incredible protests, “I saved your life!” The man replies, “You didn’t save my life, you ruined my death!” An argument starts, until Mr Incredible’s attorney steps in and says, “No further comment at this time.” The problems keep coming. After a bomb blows away part of a bridge, Mr Incredible used his tremendous strength to stop the train before it went over the edge, saving all of the passengers from certain death. But now they all have attorneys and are suing for damages.
You see guys when it comes to superheroes, Jesus was the ultimate superhero. He did what no one else could. He bore the sins of the world upon His shoulders, dying to set the world free from judgment and death. He provided everyone with a gift and a proper pattern of behaviour so that we could live at peace with each other and with God.
And you would think that such a selfless act would be received and rewarded, but we know it is not so. The apostles wanted to spread the good news of Christ’s forgiveness and to teach people the right way to live according to the law of Love.
They were thrown in prison and commanded to cease speaking about Jesus. It all comes down to pride. People do not want to believe they need saving, and they resent being told that they have problems they are incapable of solving on their own.
Some would rather live in the grip of sin than have to deal with the claims of Christ. They would prefer a kind of “Christian relocation program” where Christians could be told to be quiet and get with the program; where they would promise never again to resume Christ’s work.
Jesus was crucified; many of the disciples were killed. But God will empower His people to endure the onslaught of the world as long as we remain faithful to His calling and not shrink back.
And what we all need to remember is just exactly what God has done for us all. Jesus gives us salvation and some Christians throw it straight back in His face. Jesus saves people and all they do is complain to God about saving them.
Do we have to go to church? Do we have to sing that song? Do I need to be baptised? And when we share with people the truth about what the Bible teaches on any subject, they grumble and say things like, ‘oh I’m sure it doesn’t really matter what the Bible says after all it’s what I think is important.’
Moses did exactly what God asked him to do and the reward was water to help with their thirst. Sometimes we may not understand the way God is leading us or why He asks us to do different things, but we just have to trust him.
Sometimes we don’t know how God is going to help us in certain situations, but we need to trust that He will.
After all, who would have thought you could get water from a rock?
