WEBVTT 00:00:01.260 --> 00:00:03.740 May the Lord be pleased to answer our prayer 00:00:03.740 --> 00:00:08.880 this morning. Let's open together, please, to 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:12.179 Exodus, the 16th chapter, as we think about the 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:17.839 manna in the wilderness. God has committed himself 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:23.219 to provide what his children need so as to care 00:00:23.219 --> 00:00:28.539 for them in the center of his will. Is it not 00:00:28.539 --> 00:00:33.509 interesting? that oftentimes God's provision 00:00:33.509 --> 00:00:42.850 itself becomes a test to us. I think of the dear 00:00:42.850 --> 00:00:46.530 lady, elderly, who was unable to care for herself 00:00:46.530 --> 00:00:53.409 and who was placed into a nursing home, a retirement 00:00:53.409 --> 00:00:56.469 center, whatever the proper name is these days. 00:00:57.010 --> 00:01:00.810 for such a place where she could be cared for. 00:01:02.030 --> 00:01:04.390 There, her laundry was done for her, her meals 00:01:04.390 --> 00:01:09.010 were done for her, brought to her room, and she 00:01:09.010 --> 00:01:13.170 was tenderly, lovingly cared for. But there was 00:01:13.170 --> 00:01:15.250 a price. She had to give up some of her things. 00:01:16.469 --> 00:01:21.269 Not everything would fit in that room. She had 00:01:21.269 --> 00:01:24.739 to give up some of her independence. The neighborhood 00:01:24.739 --> 00:01:27.040 that she had known for so many years was no longer 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:35.079 hers Her privacy Her own cooking She no longer 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:37.920 could taste that and it tasted a lot better than 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:42.500 that institutional food But you see God provided 00:01:42.500 --> 00:01:48.359 for her but that provision became a test And 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:50.879 almost every time that I visited her before she 00:01:50.879 --> 00:01:59.739 died she complained God's provision became a 00:01:59.739 --> 00:02:06.760 test for her. So often that's true. I talked 00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:08.740 recently with some dear friends of mine with 00:02:08.740 --> 00:02:11.560 whom it was my privilege to work on a staff several 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:15.580 years ago. They left our staff and went to work 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:20.900 with the National Youth Ministry and were missionaries. 00:02:22.250 --> 00:02:25.330 And as is typical of some missionaries at least, 00:02:25.330 --> 00:02:27.610 they had a difficult time raising their support 00:02:27.610 --> 00:02:31.830 and keeping that support level up. Often they 00:02:31.830 --> 00:02:35.550 sent out letters expressing the dire circumstances 00:02:35.550 --> 00:02:38.469 they were in. Their car with 200 ,000 miles on 00:02:38.469 --> 00:02:40.849 it had given out and now they were going to have 00:02:40.849 --> 00:02:42.490 to do something in a hurry. You've had those 00:02:42.490 --> 00:02:47.669 kind of letters too. Well during the last 10 00:02:47.669 --> 00:02:50.689 years, she has been working on a series of children's 00:02:50.689 --> 00:02:53.449 books. in her spare time. She had a concept that 00:02:53.449 --> 00:02:57.449 she began working with which she called Christopher 00:02:57.449 --> 00:03:03.110 Churchmouse. She put together some stories, tapes, 00:03:04.689 --> 00:03:08.610 and began to send that out to publishers and 00:03:08.610 --> 00:03:12.509 was rejected 17 times. That got so bad her husband 00:03:12.509 --> 00:03:14.750 began to hide the rejection slips under the seat 00:03:14.750 --> 00:03:17.310 of the car until he felt that she could take 00:03:17.310 --> 00:03:21.669 another one. And then she got some counsel from 00:03:21.669 --> 00:03:24.949 someone who has published a good deal and she 00:03:24.949 --> 00:03:30.270 followed it and sent it in. And she is now in 00:03:30.270 --> 00:03:35.310 contract for 12 books. The first two were published 00:03:35.310 --> 00:03:37.669 this summer and they went through over 100 ,000 00:03:37.669 --> 00:03:42.370 copies of it in two and a half weeks. God has 00:03:42.370 --> 00:03:44.710 provided for their needs financially all of a 00:03:44.710 --> 00:03:47.750 sudden because of the royalties that she receives 00:03:47.750 --> 00:03:50.500 from the books. I doubt that I'll get any more 00:03:50.500 --> 00:03:54.219 letters saying we need a new car, because they 00:03:54.219 --> 00:03:56.879 really are cared for pretty well. And she has 00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:59.639 about 14 more books that the publisher hasn't 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:02.979 even contracted yet. So she's cared for, he's 00:04:02.979 --> 00:04:05.020 cared for, until their retirement, I'm fairly 00:04:05.020 --> 00:04:09.719 sure. But I would predict that their newfound 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:16.060 prosperity will be a test to them, of a different 00:04:16.060 --> 00:04:22.060 sort. God's provision often is a test to us, 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:27.100 and so it was with ancient Israel. They had camped 00:04:27.100 --> 00:04:29.980 at Elam for a period of time, and from there 00:04:29.980 --> 00:04:33.379 they set out. All the congregation of the sons 00:04:33.379 --> 00:04:36.740 of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:39.920 is between Elam and Sinai on the fifteenth day 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:42.939 of the second month after their departure from 00:04:42.939 --> 00:04:45.800 the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation 00:04:45.800 --> 00:04:49.060 of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses 00:04:49.060 --> 00:04:52.819 and Aaron in the wilderness. And the sons of 00:04:52.819 --> 00:04:56.160 Israel said to them, Would that we had died by 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:59.620 the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, when we 00:04:59.620 --> 00:05:03.120 sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:06.259 the full. For you have brought us out into this 00:05:06.259 --> 00:05:09.079 wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. 00:05:10.360 --> 00:05:16.439 Oh, brother. Then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, 00:05:16.500 --> 00:05:19.920 I will rain bread from heaven for you, and the 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:22.560 people shall go out and gather a day's portion 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:28.060 every day, that I may test them whether or not 00:05:28.060 --> 00:05:33.259 they will walk in my instruction." Oftentimes, 00:05:33.699 --> 00:05:38.420 God's provision is a test. Tests are a part of 00:05:38.420 --> 00:05:41.250 life, aren't they? You remember those tests you 00:05:41.250 --> 00:05:43.250 had in school? Some of you are still there. I 00:05:43.250 --> 00:05:46.569 feel sorry for you. I remember the stress and 00:05:46.569 --> 00:05:50.329 the pain of those tests very well. But that's 00:05:50.329 --> 00:05:54.250 part of schooling. Did you ever audition for 00:05:54.250 --> 00:05:58.709 a choir? Or for a part in a play? That's a test. 00:06:00.430 --> 00:06:03.370 Or you think about the tryouts for athletic teams. 00:06:04.310 --> 00:06:08.149 Or the test that you have to take for some employment 00:06:08.149 --> 00:06:14.480 opportunities. Obtaining a driver's license requires 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:19.279 a test. But the most important tests in life 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:23.699 are the spiritual ones that come from God. Too 00:06:23.699 --> 00:06:26.420 often, if you're like me, you don't realize you're 00:06:26.420 --> 00:06:27.980 in the middle of a test until you're through 00:06:27.980 --> 00:06:32.759 it. And then in retrospect, you look back and 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:36.000 you say, boy, I wish I had seen that at the time. 00:06:36.519 --> 00:06:39.870 I wish I had responded this way or that. were 00:06:39.870 --> 00:06:44.389 all the same way. The manna which God provided 00:06:44.389 --> 00:06:46.470 for the children of Israel was His provision 00:06:46.470 --> 00:06:50.430 for them. In recalling this incident, I pray 00:06:50.430 --> 00:06:53.709 that God will open our hearts to the lessons 00:06:53.709 --> 00:06:57.290 which He would teach us about His provision for 00:06:57.290 --> 00:07:01.470 our need too. The first lesson that I see in 00:07:01.470 --> 00:07:05.290 our scripture today is this, that the manna was 00:07:05.290 --> 00:07:10.600 provided by grace. The manna that God gave them 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:15.920 was in response not to their faith, not to their 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:20.100 being good and righteous, but it was in response 00:07:20.100 --> 00:07:23.720 to actually to their unbelief and their grumbling. 00:07:25.699 --> 00:07:29.779 The manna was provided by the grace of God. God 00:07:29.779 --> 00:07:33.639 provided not only manna, but he provided meat. 00:07:34.699 --> 00:07:37.240 And the fact is that they deserved neither of 00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:42.759 these. because of themselves. God is here showing 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:45.399 to us that when he provides for our needs, it 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:48.759 is an act of grace on his part. Because you see, 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:52.740 God must always deal with mankind according to 00:07:52.740 --> 00:07:59.120 grace or judge us. For we are an undeserving 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:03.990 race of sinners. Sometimes I hear people say, 00:08:04.170 --> 00:08:06.589 well, I wish God would be fair. Friend, I'm glad 00:08:06.589 --> 00:08:10.870 God isn't fair. For if God were fair, we would 00:08:10.870 --> 00:08:15.129 get what we deserved. I'm glad that God is gracious 00:08:15.129 --> 00:08:18.170 and that he gives us what we do not deserve. 00:08:20.110 --> 00:08:23.329 Here, against the dark background of rebellion 00:08:23.329 --> 00:08:28.430 and complaint, God's grace is all the more vivid 00:08:28.430 --> 00:08:32.500 and striking. As the book of Romans says, where 00:08:32.500 --> 00:08:38.720 sin abounded, grace did what? Much more abound. 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:44.860 God's grace is sufficient for any sinner. And 00:08:44.860 --> 00:08:48.220 as a matter of fact, God's grace is his only 00:08:48.220 --> 00:08:55.500 hope. The manna that we see here is actually 00:08:55.500 --> 00:08:59.899 a picture Or, to use another more technical term, 00:09:00.059 --> 00:09:05.080 it is a type of God's provision in His Son, Jesus 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:08.840 Christ. Occasionally in the Old Testament, there 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:13.519 are such striking and clear pictures of Jesus 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:17.460 Christ that it's referred to in the New Testament 00:09:17.460 --> 00:09:22.980 in terms of Him and His ministry. Bible commentators 00:09:22.980 --> 00:09:28.059 call those types of Christ. pictures of Christ. 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:31.399 We know this is a type of Christ because of what 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:34.120 Jesus Himself said, and I'd like you to turn 00:09:34.120 --> 00:09:36.980 with me there to the Gospel of John in the sixth 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:44.039 chapter. Jesus has just performed one of His 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:52.159 most amazing signs. It is the feeding of a great 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:57.840 multitude of people. And following that occasion, 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:01.940 there comes some teaching from our Lord, not 00:10:01.940 --> 00:10:05.220 on that same day, but the next day, as the multitudes 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:12.620 came to Him. Jesus says in verse 26, in a confrontational 00:10:12.620 --> 00:10:16.179 manner, truly, truly I say to you, you seek me 00:10:16.179 --> 00:10:20.259 not because you saw signs, rather, but because 00:10:20.259 --> 00:10:24.509 you ate the loaves and were filled. You seek 00:10:24.509 --> 00:10:27.129 me not because you saw signs, but because you 00:10:27.129 --> 00:10:30.450 ate the loaves and were filled. You do not work 00:10:30.450 --> 00:10:33.990 for the food which perishes, but for the food 00:10:33.990 --> 00:10:38.049 which endures to eternal life. Which the Son 00:10:38.049 --> 00:10:42.450 of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father, 00:10:42.549 --> 00:10:46.909 even God, has set His seal." In other words, 00:10:46.950 --> 00:10:51.850 God had authenticated. God had established the 00:10:51.850 --> 00:10:56.340 authority of His Son. They said to Him, what 00:10:56.340 --> 00:10:59.500 shall we do that we may work the works of God? 00:10:59.899 --> 00:11:04.960 Notice Jesus had said to them, do the work. They 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:08.820 said, what are the works? Jesus says in verse 00:11:08.820 --> 00:11:11.860 29, this is the work of God, that you believe 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:16.039 in Him whom He has sent. So you see, work is 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:19.539 not something that they would do in the sense 00:11:19.539 --> 00:11:22.120 of some effort or merit on their part. It was 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:25.889 a matter of faith. That is the work of God. And 00:11:25.889 --> 00:11:29.870 they said to him, what then do you do for a sign 00:11:29.870 --> 00:11:34.529 that we may see and believe you? What work do 00:11:34.529 --> 00:11:38.490 you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the 00:11:38.490 --> 00:11:41.330 wilderness. As it is written, he gave them bread 00:11:41.330 --> 00:11:44.970 out of heaven to eat. Jesus therefore said to 00:11:44.970 --> 00:11:48.809 them, truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses 00:11:48.809 --> 00:11:51.500 who has given you the bread out of heaven. But 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:54.240 it is my Father who gives you the true bread 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:57.360 out of heaven. That is bread that will truly 00:11:57.360 --> 00:12:01.559 meet your need, truly satisfy. For the bread 00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:04.679 of God is that which comes down out of heaven 00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:08.580 and gives life to the world. They said to him, 00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:13.019 Lord evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:17.850 to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes 00:12:17.850 --> 00:12:20.669 to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in 00:12:20.669 --> 00:12:23.669 me shall never thirst. But I said to you that 00:12:23.669 --> 00:12:26.309 you have seen me, and yet you do not believe. 00:12:27.429 --> 00:12:30.129 All that the Father gives me shall come to me. 00:12:30.509 --> 00:12:32.769 And the one who comes to me I will certainly 00:12:32.769 --> 00:12:36.110 not cast out, for I have come down from heaven 00:12:36.110 --> 00:12:39.370 not to do my own will, but the will of him who 00:12:39.370 --> 00:12:43.250 sent me. And this is the will of him who sent 00:12:43.250 --> 00:12:46.360 me, that all that he has given me of all that 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:49.620 he has given me, I lose nothing but raise it 00:12:49.620 --> 00:12:52.480 up on the last day." Our Lord is saying here 00:12:52.480 --> 00:12:55.139 that God's will is not only that he save those 00:12:55.139 --> 00:12:58.620 who believe in him, but that he preserve them 00:12:58.620 --> 00:13:01.460 and that one day they be raised from the dead 00:13:01.460 --> 00:13:05.039 by his power. For this is the will of my Father 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:08.759 that everyone who beholds the Son and believes 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:13.620 in him may have eternal life and I myself will 00:13:13.620 --> 00:13:18.590 raise him up on that on the last day. And so 00:13:18.590 --> 00:13:22.370 our Lord Jesus Himself says, I am the manna. 00:13:22.909 --> 00:13:25.929 I am the bread from heaven given by the Father. 00:13:27.490 --> 00:13:30.710 And He says, He who beholds me and believes on 00:13:30.710 --> 00:13:35.750 me, to Him I give eternal life and preservation 00:13:35.750 --> 00:13:40.809 and resurrection. Well, if you'll skip on down 00:13:40.809 --> 00:13:43.649 to verse 48, He says again, I am the bread of 00:13:43.649 --> 00:13:47.159 life. Your fathers ate the man in the wilderness 00:13:47.159 --> 00:13:50.879 and they died. It was temporal bread you see. 00:13:52.279 --> 00:13:54.659 This is the bread which comes down out of heaven 00:13:54.659 --> 00:13:58.980 so the one may eat of it and not die. I am the 00:13:58.980 --> 00:14:02.500 living bread that came down out of heaven. If 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:05.320 anyone eats of this bread he shall live forever 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:08.539 and the bread also which I shall give for the 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:13.009 life of the world is my flesh. The Jews therefore 00:14:13.009 --> 00:14:15.789 began to argue with one another, saying, how 00:14:15.789 --> 00:14:19.009 can this man give us his flesh to eat? You see, 00:14:19.009 --> 00:14:21.970 they did not understand the spiritual implication 00:14:21.970 --> 00:14:25.169 of what Jesus was saying. They thought only in 00:14:25.169 --> 00:14:29.529 physical, material terms. Jesus therefore said 00:14:29.529 --> 00:14:31.710 to them, truly, truly, I say to you, unless you 00:14:31.710 --> 00:14:35.070 eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his 00:14:35.070 --> 00:14:38.970 blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who 00:14:38.970 --> 00:14:42.409 eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal 00:14:42.409 --> 00:14:48.250 life and I will raise him up on the last day." 00:14:48.250 --> 00:14:50.629 Now you can imagine how the Jews might have responded. 00:14:50.690 --> 00:14:54.850 In fact, they did respond to this. They did not 00:14:54.850 --> 00:14:57.350 understand what he was saying. After all, they 00:14:57.350 --> 00:14:59.309 had a law in Leviticus that said you shall not 00:14:59.309 --> 00:15:02.210 eat blood and here's a man claiming to be the 00:15:02.210 --> 00:15:05.549 bread from heaven who says you must eat my flesh 00:15:05.549 --> 00:15:08.990 and drink my blood. They could not put all that 00:15:08.990 --> 00:15:12.509 together. And still there are people today who 00:15:12.509 --> 00:15:15.230 can't put all of this together. And they say 00:15:15.230 --> 00:15:18.210 that Jesus is here saying that in communion, 00:15:19.250 --> 00:15:22.490 what they call the mass, you must eat his body 00:15:22.490 --> 00:15:25.230 and drink his blood if you would have eternal 00:15:25.230 --> 00:15:28.830 life. Is that what Jesus is saying? Not at all. 00:15:29.850 --> 00:15:33.730 Not at all. What Jesus is saying here is that 00:15:33.730 --> 00:15:38.730 just as we eat and drink food, to appropriate 00:15:38.730 --> 00:15:42.690 it for our physical needs, So, we must partake 00:15:42.690 --> 00:15:46.289 of Him in a spiritual sense to meet our spiritual 00:15:46.289 --> 00:15:51.350 needs. We have to appropriate Him by faith. You 00:15:51.350 --> 00:15:54.389 say, well, where does faith enter in here? Well, 00:15:54.389 --> 00:15:56.950 notice back in verse 47. He said, truly, truly, 00:15:57.230 --> 00:16:01.409 I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 00:16:02.649 --> 00:16:06.350 Jesus equates believing to eating his flesh and 00:16:06.350 --> 00:16:10.179 drinking his blood in verse 54. So he is not 00:16:10.179 --> 00:16:13.740 talking about some physical act, but he is saying 00:16:13.740 --> 00:16:19.840 that to believe on him in a saving sense is spiritually 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:22.259 what eating and drinking is to us physically. 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:28.039 It is an appropriation of a provision that is 00:16:28.039 --> 00:16:33.580 made for our need. Jesus Christ is the living 00:16:33.580 --> 00:16:38.080 bread. the true bread that meets the real needs 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:42.960 in the hearts and souls of men and women. That 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:45.860 belief that Jesus is talking about here is not 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:50.759 mere intellectual understanding of Him. It is 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:54.279 not an awareness of the facts about Him. But 00:16:54.279 --> 00:16:59.139 it is an appropriation of Him. That's why earlier 00:16:59.139 --> 00:17:02.059 in the Gospel of John, belief is equated with 00:17:02.059 --> 00:17:06.500 receiving. the Son of Man. It means to embrace, 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:10.859 to take to oneself this truth and to go beyond 00:17:10.859 --> 00:17:14.740 the point of saying that He is the Savior, to 00:17:14.740 --> 00:17:19.380 be able to say He is my Savior, I take Him as 00:17:19.380 --> 00:17:24.400 my own. He is the provision for our spiritual 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:30.059 needs. Just as God provided manna for the children 00:17:30.059 --> 00:17:35.140 of Israel by grace. So, God has by grace provided 00:17:35.140 --> 00:17:40.180 for us that true bread from heaven. There are 00:17:40.180 --> 00:17:42.559 several parallels that we can point out between 00:17:42.559 --> 00:17:46.940 the manna and Jesus. In the first place, it is 00:17:46.940 --> 00:17:51.480 a gift from God. The Father sent the Son to be 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:53.759 the Savior of the world, for God so loved the 00:17:53.759 --> 00:18:01.910 world that He gave His only begotten Son. The 00:18:01.910 --> 00:18:07.049 bread from heaven is a gift to us. And then it 00:18:07.049 --> 00:18:09.529 is heavenly in its origin. It comes from heaven. 00:18:11.309 --> 00:18:14.269 The manna in the wilderness was not a concoction 00:18:14.269 --> 00:18:18.950 of the Jewish chefs. It was not imported from 00:18:18.950 --> 00:18:22.269 Egypt through the wilderness, but it came down 00:18:22.269 --> 00:18:24.650 from heaven. And so it points to the heavenly 00:18:24.650 --> 00:18:28.230 origin of Jesus Christ. He is not a mere man. 00:18:29.230 --> 00:18:35.049 But He is the Son of God come from heaven. The 00:18:35.049 --> 00:18:38.109 man who was miraculous in His coming, it simply 00:18:38.109 --> 00:18:43.069 appeared there. And so our Savior was miraculous 00:18:43.069 --> 00:18:46.630 in His coming, being conceived of the Holy Spirit 00:18:46.630 --> 00:18:51.529 within the womb of Mary. His birth, unlike any 00:18:51.529 --> 00:18:54.650 other birth in the history of the world, and 00:18:54.650 --> 00:18:58.430 necessarily so, to preserve Him. from the inherited 00:18:58.430 --> 00:19:03.170 sin of Adam. And he was preserved from the sin 00:19:03.170 --> 00:19:10.150 of Mary by the Holy Spirit within her womb. Miraculous 00:19:10.150 --> 00:19:13.829 in coming. The manna was mysterious in nature. 00:19:14.750 --> 00:19:17.089 They awoke in the morning when the dew had lifted. 00:19:18.029 --> 00:19:22.529 Left behind was this substance. They said, what 00:19:22.529 --> 00:19:28.430 is it? Which is our English word, mana, essentially. 00:19:29.170 --> 00:19:33.109 What is it? And it's described to us as being 00:19:33.109 --> 00:19:40.849 white or grayish in color. As being soft and 00:19:40.849 --> 00:19:46.329 round and small. And it's described as having 00:19:46.329 --> 00:19:52.220 the taste of honey on wafers. Not bad. Or cakes 00:19:52.220 --> 00:19:54.640 baked with oil. Good pancakes. You don't get 00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:57.940 much better than that. That's what it was like. 00:19:58.759 --> 00:20:00.960 And they were able to touch it and together it. 00:20:01.019 --> 00:20:04.279 Now there have been various natural explanations 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:08.960 for this. None of them fit. None of them do. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:13.039 In his book, The Bible is History, Keller says 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:19.519 that it is the result of the tamarisk tree over 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:22.529 in that part of the world. And it is true that 00:20:22.529 --> 00:20:24.950 there is a substance that comes from the tamarisk 00:20:24.950 --> 00:20:29.130 tree during the summer months of July and August 00:20:29.130 --> 00:20:32.869 basically each year. But it's described differently 00:20:32.869 --> 00:20:35.990 in the Bible than what the tamarisk tree produces. 00:20:37.289 --> 00:20:39.130 And furthermore, it was not just two months a 00:20:39.130 --> 00:20:41.349 year that it was available to them. It was for 00:20:41.349 --> 00:20:45.529 40 years, every morning. I mean, that's some 00:20:45.529 --> 00:20:50.950 bakery. And so God provided this mysterious substance 00:20:50.950 --> 00:20:53.470 for them. And I would say to you that our Savior 00:20:53.470 --> 00:20:57.190 likewise is mysterious in His nature. Can you 00:20:57.190 --> 00:21:05.250 understand how God, the infinite God, could unite 00:21:05.250 --> 00:21:11.430 Himself to sinless humanity without compromising 00:21:11.430 --> 00:21:17.000 either His deity or His humanity? Fully God and 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:20.180 fully man at the same time. That is a mystery. 00:21:20.740 --> 00:21:24.359 The Apostle says great is the mystery of godliness. 00:21:24.539 --> 00:21:28.200 God was manifest in the flesh. That is a mystery. 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:32.640 And then the manna came in the darkness. As the 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:37.359 people slept, it appeared. And so our Savior 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:41.660 came into a world of moral darkness that He might 00:21:41.660 --> 00:21:46.240 be there, here. to meet the needs of sinful man. 00:21:47.220 --> 00:21:50.400 The manna was a provision of the grace of God. 00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:55.519 And my friend Jesus Christ is fully a provision 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:59.079 of the grace of God for every sinner who will 00:21:59.079 --> 00:22:03.480 believe on Him. And then I notice a second lesson. 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:06.099 It is this, that the manna was easily available. 00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:10.519 Going back now again to the book of Exodus, in 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:14.740 the 16th chapter, Let us skip on down to the 00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:19.980 13th verse. So it came about at evening that 00:22:19.980 --> 00:22:22.420 the quails came up and covered the camp. Now 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:24.500 we're not talking about the quails this morning. 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:26.759 I don't like quails as well as I like pancakes. 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:29.460 So I decided to talk about the manna instead. 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:34.440 And in the morning there was a layer of dew around 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:37.000 the camp. And when the layer of dew evaporated, 00:22:37.180 --> 00:22:39.779 behold on the surface of the wilderness, there 00:22:39.779 --> 00:22:43.619 was a fine flake -like thing, fine as the frost 00:22:43.619 --> 00:22:46.660 on the ground. And when the sons of Israel sought, 00:22:46.839 --> 00:22:49.180 they said to one another, what is it? For they 00:22:49.180 --> 00:22:51.180 did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:56.259 it is the bread which Yahweh has given you to 00:22:56.259 --> 00:22:59.759 eat. This is what the Lord has commanded, gather 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:04.380 of it every man as much as he should eat. You 00:23:04.380 --> 00:23:07.660 shall take an omer, a piece, according to the 00:23:07.660 --> 00:23:10.019 number of persons each of you has in his tent." 00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:14.019 An omer of being about two quarts. And the sons 00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:16.599 of Israel did so, and some gathered much and 00:23:16.599 --> 00:23:20.819 some little. And when they measured it with an 00:23:20.819 --> 00:23:24.299 omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:26.940 and he who had gathered little had no lack. Every 00:23:26.940 --> 00:23:30.470 man gathered as much as he should eat. And Moses 00:23:30.470 --> 00:23:32.990 said to them, Let no man leave any of it until 00:23:32.990 --> 00:23:37.029 morning. But they did not listen to Moses. And 00:23:37.029 --> 00:23:39.289 some left part of it until morning, and it bred 00:23:39.289 --> 00:23:43.349 worms and became foul. And Moses was angry with 00:23:43.349 --> 00:23:47.250 them, understandably so. And they gathered it 00:23:47.250 --> 00:23:49.670 morning by morning, every man as much as he should 00:23:49.670 --> 00:23:51.849 eat, but when the sun grew hot it would melt. 00:23:52.890 --> 00:23:54.970 Now it came about on the sixth day that they 00:23:54.970 --> 00:23:57.509 gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each 00:23:57.509 --> 00:23:59.950 one. When all the leaders of the congregation 00:23:59.950 --> 00:24:02.130 came and told Moses, then he said to them, this 00:24:02.130 --> 00:24:04.950 is what the Lord meant. Tomorrow is a Sabbath 00:24:04.950 --> 00:24:08.130 observance, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake 00:24:08.130 --> 00:24:10.309 what you will bake and boil what you will boil 00:24:10.309 --> 00:24:12.809 and all that is left over put aside to be kept 00:24:12.809 --> 00:24:15.849 until morning. Here we understand that this was 00:24:15.849 --> 00:24:20.230 a substance that could be baked or boiled or 00:24:20.230 --> 00:24:23.789 used in a variety of ways. It became to them 00:24:23.789 --> 00:24:28.579 a basic staple. for their diet. They did have 00:24:28.579 --> 00:24:31.259 other things to eat by the way. They had large 00:24:31.259 --> 00:24:35.539 herds of animals and undoubtedly they were able 00:24:35.539 --> 00:24:37.759 to procure and the fact the Bible says they did 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:40.299 procure food along the way from some of the nations 00:24:40.299 --> 00:24:43.259 that they came to contact with. But this became 00:24:43.259 --> 00:24:47.660 the potatoes or this became the wheat or whatever 00:24:47.660 --> 00:24:50.140 you want to say of their diet. This was the basic 00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:53.490 staple the man of the God provided. And so they 00:24:53.490 --> 00:24:55.890 put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, 00:24:55.930 --> 00:24:59.109 and it did not become foul, nor was there any 00:24:59.109 --> 00:25:02.130 worm in it. And Moses said, Eat it today, for 00:25:02.130 --> 00:25:05.069 today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you will 00:25:05.069 --> 00:25:08.109 not find it in the field. Six days you shall 00:25:08.109 --> 00:25:10.069 gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, 00:25:10.250 --> 00:25:13.910 there will be none. And it came about on the 00:25:13.910 --> 00:25:15.490 seventh day that some of the people went out 00:25:15.490 --> 00:25:17.809 together, but they found none. God closed the 00:25:17.809 --> 00:25:20.690 cafeteria that morning. This is a record of the 00:25:20.690 --> 00:25:25.140 first blue laws. in the Bible. They closed everything 00:25:25.140 --> 00:25:28.740 down on the Sabbath. And then the Lord said to 00:25:28.740 --> 00:25:32.119 Moses, how long do you refuse to keep my commandments 00:25:32.119 --> 00:25:35.259 and my instructions? See the Lord has given you 00:25:35.259 --> 00:25:37.339 the Sabbath, therefore he gives you bread for 00:25:37.339 --> 00:25:40.099 two days on the sixth day. Remember, or rather, 00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:43.859 remain every man in his place. Let no man go 00:25:43.859 --> 00:25:46.599 out of his place on the seventh day. So the people 00:25:46.599 --> 00:25:49.859 rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel 00:25:49.859 --> 00:25:53.559 named it Manah. and it was like coriander seed, 00:25:53.859 --> 00:25:57.480 small and round, white, and its taste was like 00:25:57.480 --> 00:26:01.599 wafers with honey. The manna was easily available 00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:03.500 to the people. They did not have to take a long 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:08.519 journey to get it. It was not placed on a mountaintop 00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:10.859 somewhere where they had to climb up and bring 00:26:10.859 --> 00:26:15.200 it back. They did not have to send for it, but 00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:19.650 God served it right at their tents. So all that 00:26:19.650 --> 00:26:21.369 they had to do was to get up in the morning, 00:26:21.650 --> 00:26:23.609 go outside of their tent, and begin to pick up 00:26:23.609 --> 00:26:29.190 the manna. It was readily available. From this 00:26:29.190 --> 00:26:31.750 I would point out that Jesus Christ likewise 00:26:31.750 --> 00:26:34.890 is available to all and to any who will call 00:26:34.890 --> 00:26:39.470 upon Him. Our Savior has not separated Himself 00:26:39.470 --> 00:26:45.809 from man by rituals, by saints or popes or churches. 00:26:46.759 --> 00:26:50.519 but rather he stands at the door of the heart 00:26:50.519 --> 00:26:57.500 and he knocks, asking to gain entrance. He is 00:26:57.500 --> 00:27:00.819 available to any who will call upon him, for 00:27:00.819 --> 00:27:03.279 whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:08.119 shall be saved. My friend today, if you have 00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:11.000 not yet received him, he is here and he is available 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:16.750 for you. But the fact is that there are some 00:27:16.750 --> 00:27:21.710 to whom he is not available. He is not available 00:27:21.710 --> 00:27:24.289 to every person in the world because there are 00:27:24.289 --> 00:27:30.450 many who have not yet even heard his name. They 00:27:30.450 --> 00:27:34.329 cannot call upon him of whom they have not heard. 00:27:36.529 --> 00:27:41.069 And they cannot hear unless someone tells them, 00:27:41.089 --> 00:27:44.809 unless a preacher be sent to them. That is the 00:27:44.809 --> 00:27:48.450 reason that we seek to make him known. That's 00:27:48.450 --> 00:27:51.690 the reason some 60 of you were present yesterday 00:27:51.690 --> 00:27:55.109 for the seminar in evangelistic Bible studies. 00:27:55.650 --> 00:27:58.250 Because you want to be equipped that those in 00:27:58.250 --> 00:28:00.670 your neighborhood might surely have the opportunity 00:28:00.670 --> 00:28:04.630 to hear, that they might believe, that Jesus 00:28:04.630 --> 00:28:09.049 might be available to them. That's the reason 00:28:09.049 --> 00:28:11.410 others of you are active in your witness, that 00:28:11.410 --> 00:28:15.140 Jesus might be available. presented to them. 00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:17.480 That's the reason we're having a missions festival 00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:21.299 in a couple of weeks, so that we can understand 00:28:21.299 --> 00:28:24.460 again and remind ourselves the importance of 00:28:24.460 --> 00:28:27.680 getting the message of Jesus Christ to the uttermost 00:28:27.680 --> 00:28:31.500 parts of the earth, especially to those places 00:28:31.500 --> 00:28:37.680 where He is not available today. Understand that 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:41.859 they are lost and without hope of salvation. 00:28:42.670 --> 00:28:45.829 Until the message of Christ be brought to them 00:28:45.829 --> 00:28:50.789 and then they have available that living manna 00:28:50.789 --> 00:28:56.730 And then thirdly I notice in our study that the 00:28:56.730 --> 00:29:01.750 manna had to be gathered This was really the 00:29:01.750 --> 00:29:06.309 test of God's provision God said every day in 00:29:06.309 --> 00:29:11.339 the morning Every day in the morning If they 00:29:11.339 --> 00:29:13.539 waited until afternoon, the manna had melted 00:29:13.539 --> 00:29:18.619 and they went hungry. And it had to be done every 00:29:18.619 --> 00:29:20.640 day. Some of them didn't believe that. Moses 00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:24.599 got angry at them. They didn't believe it. They 00:29:24.599 --> 00:29:26.799 tried to store it for the next day and it became 00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:31.920 foul and wormy. There were no artificial preservatives 00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:36.640 in the manna. So every day, early in the day, 00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:40.410 they had to go out and gather it. That was God's 00:29:40.410 --> 00:29:43.670 test. God wanted to know, as He provided this 00:29:43.670 --> 00:29:47.069 for them, would they obey Him? And as we have 00:29:47.069 --> 00:29:52.549 seen, some did not learn that lesson early. You 00:29:52.549 --> 00:29:55.769 know, part of the process of God in maturing 00:29:55.769 --> 00:30:03.470 us is the test that He puts us through. God graciously 00:30:03.470 --> 00:30:08.150 provides for our needs. But then he puts us through 00:30:08.150 --> 00:30:12.609 tests and trials. Will we do what he tells us 00:30:12.609 --> 00:30:18.809 to do? Will we obey him? Many of us, indeed all 00:30:18.809 --> 00:30:21.630 of us from time to time, are like those people 00:30:21.630 --> 00:30:23.970 who try to hold over the man until the next day. 00:30:25.150 --> 00:30:29.950 We have to learn the lesson the hard way. If 00:30:29.950 --> 00:30:32.170 we do not do what God tells us to do, there are 00:30:32.170 --> 00:30:35.519 consequences. In this case, It was the fact that 00:30:35.519 --> 00:30:41.779 the manna was unedible. It was not usable. There 00:30:41.779 --> 00:30:47.160 are consequences to disobedience. Parents try 00:30:47.160 --> 00:30:50.319 to instill that into the lives of their children. 00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:55.559 Boy, it's tough. It's tough to get them to understand 00:30:55.559 --> 00:30:58.539 it. It's tough to be consistent at it. The children 00:30:58.539 --> 00:31:01.920 need to learn that when they don't obey, there 00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:05.299 are consequences. And often those consequences 00:31:05.299 --> 00:31:07.579 are the natural ones of their disobedience. That's 00:31:07.579 --> 00:31:10.519 the best kind of consequence, because it teaches 00:31:10.519 --> 00:31:14.960 obedience. We are the children of God, and when 00:31:14.960 --> 00:31:17.140 you and I do not obey what He tells us to do, 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:19.359 then He allows us to suffer the consequences 00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:26.259 until we learn to obey. The manna here was on 00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:29.339 the ground, but it was no good on the ground. 00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:32.079 It had to be gathered, and it had to be eaten. 00:31:32.720 --> 00:31:35.380 The point is that it had to be appropriated by 00:31:35.380 --> 00:31:38.559 each person for his own good, his own response. 00:31:39.299 --> 00:31:41.720 And so I return again to that emphasis, the fact 00:31:41.720 --> 00:31:45.400 that each person must make his own provision 00:31:45.400 --> 00:31:49.759 of Christ. He must trust in the Savior that God 00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:53.019 has given on his behalf. It is not good enough 00:31:53.019 --> 00:31:56.819 if the husband or wife has done it. The other 00:31:56.819 --> 00:31:59.420 spouse likewise must do it. It is not good if 00:31:59.420 --> 00:32:01.180 the parents have done it for the children. The 00:32:01.180 --> 00:32:04.339 children themselves must believe. Each person 00:32:04.339 --> 00:32:07.400 must make provision. The manna had to be gathered 00:32:07.400 --> 00:32:11.339 and so the living bread, Jesus Christ, must be 00:32:11.339 --> 00:32:17.140 appropriated by personal faith. And then the 00:32:17.140 --> 00:32:21.000 manna, I notice, provided for their needs throughout 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:24.150 the pilgrimage according to verse 35. The sons 00:32:24.150 --> 00:32:26.710 of Israel ate the manna forty years until they 00:32:26.710 --> 00:32:30.890 came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna 00:32:30.890 --> 00:32:33.670 until they came to the border of the land of 00:32:33.670 --> 00:32:37.450 Canaan. What an abundant supply this was from 00:32:37.450 --> 00:32:40.789 God. I don't know who was back there with a scale 00:32:40.789 --> 00:32:44.509 in those days, but someone has calculated that 00:32:44.509 --> 00:32:52.700 this was about 4500 tons of manna a day. Remember, 00:32:52.740 --> 00:32:55.619 God is feeding in excess of 2 million people 00:32:55.619 --> 00:32:59.779 every day with this stuff. Or to put it a different 00:32:59.779 --> 00:33:01.720 way, and again I'm not sure who measured this, 00:33:01.799 --> 00:33:06.359 but I guess someone smart enough did, it was 00:33:06.359 --> 00:33:10.339 over a million tons each year. And if you put 00:33:10.339 --> 00:33:13.039 it into railroad cars, it would have been a train 00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:18.019 of 240 cars arriving at the camp of Israel every 00:33:18.019 --> 00:33:25.200 day for 40 years. That was God's provision. And 00:33:25.200 --> 00:33:27.059 it was all that they needed throughout their 00:33:27.059 --> 00:33:31.180 pilgrimage. So I want to say to you that the 00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:34.339 living bread, Jesus Christ, is all that you and 00:33:34.339 --> 00:33:36.460 I are going to need throughout all of our pilgrimage. 00:33:37.559 --> 00:33:40.180 All of our need is met in Him. He is the all 00:33:40.180 --> 00:33:44.339 -sufficient Savior. We find what we need in Him 00:33:44.339 --> 00:33:48.839 not only for our sin, but also for our disappointments, 00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:52.940 our questions, our fears in life. He is all that 00:33:52.940 --> 00:33:58.160 we need. As we spiritually feed upon Him, we 00:33:58.160 --> 00:34:02.900 find sustenance for life's journey. How is it 00:34:02.900 --> 00:34:06.519 that we spiritually feed on this living bread? 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:09.880 Well, of course we do that at the moment of salvation 00:34:09.880 --> 00:34:13.219 when we partake of Him. But then throughout our 00:34:13.219 --> 00:34:15.780 lives we are called upon to feed upon Him and 00:34:15.780 --> 00:34:18.539 to find our sufficiency in Jesus Christ. How 00:34:18.539 --> 00:34:22.760 do we do that? Well, we do that by going to this 00:34:22.760 --> 00:34:26.139 book, which is the fullness of the revelation 00:34:26.139 --> 00:34:31.420 of Him. As He is the living Word, so this is 00:34:31.420 --> 00:34:35.800 the written Word. This book, the Word of God, 00:34:36.099 --> 00:34:39.659 is the bread for our souls as we find Jesus Christ 00:34:39.659 --> 00:34:44.139 revealed in its pages. Our practice needs to 00:34:44.139 --> 00:34:48.179 be daily, coming to the book. and partaking of 00:34:48.179 --> 00:34:51.559 it so that we may spiritually partake of Jesus 00:34:51.559 --> 00:34:58.039 Christ. There are sweets in this book that can 00:34:58.039 --> 00:35:03.940 be found only by regular and persistent eating 00:35:03.940 --> 00:35:08.460 of it. As Isaac Watts said, the hill of Zion 00:35:08.460 --> 00:35:12.719 yields a thousand sacred sweets before we reach 00:35:12.719 --> 00:35:16.400 the heavenly fields. or walk the golden streets. 00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:20.900 The heavenly sweets that God provides for us 00:35:20.900 --> 00:35:25.000 are found here in these pages. But very frankly, 00:35:25.099 --> 00:35:26.820 there are a couple of dangers that you and I 00:35:26.820 --> 00:35:31.500 face as we think about this. The first is that 00:35:31.500 --> 00:35:34.840 we allow our fellowship with Christ the true 00:35:34.840 --> 00:35:40.559 bread to become a careless fellowship. For when 00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:44.230 we do that, our spiritual experience becomes 00:35:44.230 --> 00:35:51.289 sour and unappetizing. Spiritual knowledge that 00:35:51.289 --> 00:35:54.349 is not applied to life, that is not partaken 00:35:54.349 --> 00:36:01.070 of, eventually breeds worms and it spoils the 00:36:01.070 --> 00:36:06.630 life. How tragic to meet a Christian who knows 00:36:06.630 --> 00:36:11.469 all of the answers. who can win the Bible trivia 00:36:11.469 --> 00:36:18.210 game, but whose life is sour and bitter and not 00:36:18.210 --> 00:36:23.929 tasty and poisoned. And not only does he poison 00:36:23.929 --> 00:36:28.250 himself, but he poisons those around him. When 00:36:28.250 --> 00:36:31.269 our fellowship with Jesus Christ becomes careless, 00:36:32.369 --> 00:36:36.070 then our spiritual experience becomes sour and 00:36:36.070 --> 00:36:40.619 unappetizing. That is a danger that all of us 00:36:40.619 --> 00:36:46.699 face. Most of us here today know more than we're 00:36:46.699 --> 00:36:50.179 practicing. Now in one sense, that's normal. 00:36:51.019 --> 00:36:53.199 Because we have to know it before we can practice 00:36:53.199 --> 00:36:56.480 it. But the danger is that we allow just the 00:36:56.480 --> 00:37:00.579 head knowledge of spiritual facts to substitute 00:37:00.579 --> 00:37:04.079 for experiencing fellowship with Jesus Christ. 00:37:06.059 --> 00:37:09.519 The Bible was not given to us merely as a book 00:37:09.519 --> 00:37:14.440 of facts to know. It was given that we might 00:37:14.440 --> 00:37:19.880 know the person that it reveals. Do you know 00:37:19.880 --> 00:37:24.599 Him? Because of your regular daily being in the 00:37:24.599 --> 00:37:28.280 Word? And as you know Him, are you seeking that 00:37:28.280 --> 00:37:30.980 the Spirit of God would enable you to be like 00:37:30.980 --> 00:37:34.719 Him? Are you putting to practice in your life 00:37:34.719 --> 00:37:39.840 what you're learning in the Word? And the second 00:37:39.840 --> 00:37:42.619 danger that I can think of is growing dissatisfied 00:37:42.619 --> 00:37:46.239 with what God has given us in Christ. You say, 00:37:46.280 --> 00:37:50.920 oh, how could that ever be? It can happen to 00:37:50.920 --> 00:37:53.440 us just as it happened with the children of Israel. 00:37:55.480 --> 00:37:57.920 Excited they were in Exodus 16, but you come 00:37:57.920 --> 00:38:00.119 over to Numbers chapter 11 and you find that 00:38:00.119 --> 00:38:02.719 they were absolutely up to here with the manna. 00:38:04.019 --> 00:38:09.480 They said, we are tired of this stuff. And so 00:38:09.480 --> 00:38:14.000 it can be for the Christian. We become dissatisfied 00:38:14.000 --> 00:38:19.119 with what God has given us in Christ. And like 00:38:19.119 --> 00:38:21.280 the children of Israel who look back to Egypt 00:38:21.280 --> 00:38:23.860 and they said, oh, that we had some of that fish. 00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:27.920 And that we had some of those leeks and onions 00:38:27.920 --> 00:38:31.780 and the garlic. They longed for that diet of 00:38:31.780 --> 00:38:36.260 the world again. For the moment, they didn't 00:38:36.260 --> 00:38:40.079 care about their liberty. The important thing 00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:46.340 was the fun and the taste that they had in bondage. 00:38:48.920 --> 00:38:50.760 And so it can be with us, folks. We can look 00:38:50.760 --> 00:38:52.800 back to the world from when we were enslaved 00:38:52.800 --> 00:38:56.679 to sin. When we were in bondage to it, and we 00:38:56.679 --> 00:38:58.760 say, oh, I wish I could go back and have some 00:38:58.760 --> 00:39:04.639 of that fun again. And we become dissatisfied 00:39:04.639 --> 00:39:07.380 with what God has provided us in Jesus Christ. 00:39:11.059 --> 00:39:16.300 That turns us into grumbling Christians, just 00:39:16.300 --> 00:39:19.320 as it turned the Israelites into grumbling, complaining 00:39:19.320 --> 00:39:23.860 people. And they face the displeasure of God 00:39:23.860 --> 00:39:28.719 as surely as we shall. Are you finding in your 00:39:28.719 --> 00:39:32.639 Christian experience the sweetness and the freshness 00:39:32.639 --> 00:39:38.000 of Christ? Or has your Christian life and experience 00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:44.039 somehow turned on you so that today, quite honestly, 00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:50.559 it's sour. It's breeding worms. It's poisoned. 00:39:52.510 --> 00:40:00.949 It's fouled. It's boring. That can happen to 00:40:00.949 --> 00:40:05.829 any one of us, any one of us. And when we recognize 00:40:05.829 --> 00:40:09.170 that it has, our need is to immediately acknowledge 00:40:09.170 --> 00:40:13.710 it, confess it, and to throw out that manna that 00:40:13.710 --> 00:40:18.269 has soured and to come to the Lord afresh, that 00:40:18.269 --> 00:40:24.719 we might have that new provision. fresh manna. 00:40:28.340 --> 00:40:30.340 Some of you have had the experience of losing 00:40:30.340 --> 00:40:35.260 loved ones and when that happens you begin to 00:40:35.260 --> 00:40:40.539 go back and look for things that happened or 00:40:40.539 --> 00:40:44.460 letters that were written or things that were 00:40:44.460 --> 00:40:47.159 noticed by that loved one shortly before he or 00:40:47.159 --> 00:40:53.530 she died. When my mother died a year ago, I was 00:40:53.530 --> 00:40:57.590 looking around the kitchen where she died. And 00:40:57.590 --> 00:41:01.590 over on the refrigerator, there was a poem that 00:41:01.590 --> 00:41:03.989 she had put up with one of those magnetic things. 00:41:06.250 --> 00:41:11.929 And here's what it said. I got up early one morning 00:41:11.929 --> 00:41:16.449 and hustled right into the day. I had so much 00:41:16.449 --> 00:41:20.369 to accomplish that I didn't have time to pray. 00:41:21.960 --> 00:41:24.860 Problems just rumbled about me, and heavier came 00:41:24.860 --> 00:41:28.900 each task. Why doesn't God help me? I wondered. 00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:35.760 He answered, You didn't ask. I tried to come 00:41:35.760 --> 00:41:39.300 into God's presence. I used all my keys at the 00:41:39.300 --> 00:41:44.559 lock. God gently and lovingly chided, My child, 00:41:44.780 --> 00:41:49.260 you didn't knock. I wanted to see joy and beauty. 00:41:49.579 --> 00:41:54.079 But the day toiled on gray and bleak. I wondered 00:41:54.079 --> 00:41:59.619 why God didn't show me. He said, you didn't seek. 00:42:02.219 --> 00:42:05.960 I woke up early this morning and paused before 00:42:05.960 --> 00:42:09.780 entering the day. I had so much to accomplish 00:42:09.780 --> 00:42:16.900 that I had to take time to pray. Is that the 00:42:16.900 --> 00:42:20.949 way you begin your day? Coming to the Lord for 00:42:20.949 --> 00:42:26.010 fresh manna. Saying, bread of heaven, feed me 00:42:26.010 --> 00:42:30.449 today. Not for yesterday, not for tomorrow, for 00:42:30.449 --> 00:42:34.969 today. I need fresh manna. And Lord, I bow my 00:42:34.969 --> 00:42:40.969 knees and I open the book. Speak to me. Feed 00:42:40.969 --> 00:42:52.489 my soul. Let's bow together. Did you begin this 00:42:52.489 --> 00:42:57.190 morning on your knees, taking time to pray to 00:42:57.190 --> 00:43:06.809 seek the Lord? Has the manner of your life grown 00:43:06.809 --> 00:43:13.289 foul because you've been careless in your Christian 00:43:13.289 --> 00:43:19.349 experience? Or has your Christian life become 00:43:19.349 --> 00:43:23.480 distasteful to you You're dissatisfied because 00:43:23.480 --> 00:43:26.099 you're looking back at the world and you think 00:43:26.099 --> 00:43:33.500 you think That the fun in the world is better 00:43:33.500 --> 00:43:41.019 than the joy of knowing the Savior Dear friend, 00:43:41.039 --> 00:43:43.500 these are heinous sins in the sight of God these 00:43:43.500 --> 00:43:49.099 things be so and None of us is beyond them To 00:43:49.099 --> 00:43:52.599 whatever extent We need to apply this to our 00:43:52.599 --> 00:43:56.599 lives and come to the Lord in confession and 00:43:56.599 --> 00:44:04.739 repentance. May we do that now. O Bread of Heaven, 00:44:05.519 --> 00:44:11.659 Bread of Heaven, feed us. Feed us till we want 00:44:11.659 --> 00:44:18.440 no more and we want nothing else beside you, 00:44:18.440 --> 00:44:27.760 the true. Before I close the service, I wonder 00:44:27.760 --> 00:44:29.900 if there's someone here who needs to trust the 00:44:29.900 --> 00:44:34.480 Savior. Spiritually, you're hungry, indeed you're 00:44:34.480 --> 00:44:40.719 starving. Jesus is God's gracious provision for 00:44:40.719 --> 00:44:44.980 you, for your sins. He died for you and rose 00:44:44.980 --> 00:44:51.650 again from the dead. If you will today partake 00:44:51.650 --> 00:44:55.010 of Him, that is, if you will believe on Him in 00:44:55.010 --> 00:44:58.309 a saving way, if you will receive Him and take 00:44:58.309 --> 00:45:02.670 Him as your own, He will become all that you 00:45:02.670 --> 00:45:06.329 need for your pilgrimage in this life and will 00:45:06.329 --> 00:45:10.130 take you safely to heaven. Will you trust Him 00:45:10.130 --> 00:45:16.630 today? Father, thank you for providing for us 00:45:16.630 --> 00:45:20.679 what we could not provide for ourselves. Thank 00:45:20.679 --> 00:45:23.179 you for applying this word to our lives and may 00:45:23.179 --> 00:45:27.019 we go from here determined That we shall seek 00:45:27.019 --> 00:45:31.679 you daily and early That we might have fresh 00:45:31.679 --> 00:45:35.699 manna for each day with all of its cares and 00:45:35.699 --> 00:45:43.000 busyness Keep our priorities right and our affections 00:45:43.000 --> 00:45:49.440 heavenly In Jesus name we pray Amen