Learning about the Scriptures and the teaching of the word. That's Exodus, Chapter 17, verses one through five. And all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of sin, according to the command of the Lord and camped at refugium, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore, the people quarreled with Moses and said, To give us water that we may drink. And Moses said to them, Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord? But the people thirsted there for water and they grumbled against Moses and said, Why now have you bought us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst? So Moses cried out to the Lord saying, What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me. Then the Lord said to Moses, pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile and go. This is the word of God. There's I told you wrong. We need to finish the story. I'm not going to leave you on that cliffhanger. I know it's printed in your bulletin one through five, but we're going to finish that. Look with me again in verse 5. And the Lord said to Moses, pass before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in 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 the water shall come out of it. and the people will drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Masa and Meribah because of the quarreling of the people of Israel. Because they tested the Lord by saying, is the Lord among us or not? The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of Almighty God endures forever. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God made man. God in the flesh. Emmanuel, God with us. We thank You, Christ, for Your obedience, for Your light for us, for Your death, for Your resurrection which brings us salvation, and for the gift of the Spirit which is here to conform us to the image of Your Son, Father. I pray that that today would occur in all of us in greater measure, that we would be conformed to the image of Christ. Lord, if there would be anyone under the sound of my voice this morning who does not know You as Savior and Lord, do what only You can do. Raise the dead. There are those among us who are in rebellion, yet they do know You. Correct them. Chastise them that they might be brought back to obedience, to faithfulness to Your Word. O God, we thank You that this promise that's been given to us, which is more precious than silver or gold, You have promised to perfect in us until the day of Christ. And so, Lord, we entrust ourselves to You now and ask that You'd be among us by Your Spirit as we know that You are. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen. I'm still a young man. But if there's anything that I'm learning in life, it's this. The things I desire most often turn out to be what I don't really need. And the things that I dread the most and would avoid if I could at all costs, turn out to be what profits me the most. I think that's a good summation of the Christian life, don't you? That the things that we would seek to avoid are the things that profit us the most, and the things that we think are so important, turn out to be not that important at all. If you're older, If you are in the latter part of your years, you know that to be true. That the things that you grasped after in your teens and in your twenties and your thirties, maybe even up into your forties, you realize aren't that important. And those trials and those circumstances that you would have sought to avoid at all costs, you realize have brought you the most benefit. The great Reformed Baptist preacher of the 19th century, Charles Spurgeon, once said, I am certain that I never did grow in grace one half so much as when I was upon the bed of pain. How true. And oh, how we try to avoid it. I am certain that I never did grow in grace one half so much as when I was upon the bed of pain. Our trials are not by accident. They are by divine design. I believe that everything in life is by divine design. God is, by the mystery of His will, directing all things. And when I say all things, I mean the things that we enjoy and the trials that we would avoid if we could. God is directing them. And we are here at His divine discretion. This morning, you are here at Christ Presbyterian Church by God's divine discretion. The next breath you take in your body is the breath that God gives you. The very breath that the atheist uses to deny the existence of his Creator is the breath that's been given to him by divine discretion. And nothing is by accident. Paul tells us in Romans that all things must work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. All things. Good things and seemingly bad things. Happy things and sad things. Good gifts from God and fiery darts from the enemy. God takes it all and He uses it for His glory and for our good. We are here by divine discretion, by divine appointment, in the words of the prophet Jeremiah. Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth? If there is anything the Bible makes clear, it is this. Our trials are not by accident. But our trials come only at God's discretion. Our text this morning is a perfect example of this. Look again with me at v. 1. Moses writes that all the congregation of the people of Israel moved from the wilderness of sin by stages according to the commandment of the Lord in Kempth and Raphadim. Did you catch it? Did you catch what Moses says about God's sovereignty? That they traveled to the wilderness of sin according to the commandment of the Lord. Why had the people moved from the wilderness of sin by stages to Raphidim? It is because God had commanded it. And that's my first point this morning. My first point is this, that tests and trials come from the hand of God. The Israelites were not in the wilderness by accident. Moses and the elders did not make a wrong turn. Their GPS systems did not fail them. They were there by divine design. Nothing just happens by chance. The Scripture tells us that the lot is cast into the lap. But it's every decision is from the Lord. The flip of the coin is under the sovereign hand of Almighty God. God knew what He was going to do. And He knew what He was doing. And He had the Israelites right where He wanted them. Now, I know that life often feels like it's out of control, doesn't it? Doesn't it? I'm the only one. I'm the only one that's ever experienced that emotion. Does life ever feel like it's out of control to you? Sorry, I know you're Presbyterian, but you can talk back to me. It feels like life is out of control at times. There are times that we are stuck in the wilderness of our experiences. Death of a loved one. Illness in our bodies. Loss of employment or being underemployed. Depression and melancholy. And it feels like that we've taken a left turn somewhere in our mid to late twenties, and we've ended up in Rafahdin by accident. But friends, you are not where you are this morning by accident. It is God's sovereign will that you are right where you're at. It is His plan. It is His divine design. And at times in my life, and I believe if you've lived life at all, halfway conscious, you can say this, that there are moments in life that that is the only thing that brings you peace, is to know that God is in control and that you are His child. It is not by accident, but it is by God's sovereignty. And isn't it good to know that His sovereignty is never separated from His love? His sovereignty is never separated from His goodness? God does not enjoy watching His children go through pain. He doesn't even enjoy watching the wicked, watching the unregenerate, watching those who reject Him go through pain. He causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. God is good. He's even good to His enemies in giving them time to repent. The Israelites were where God wanted them to be. And so are you and so am I. We're exactly where God wants us to be, even if it's uncomfortable. His sovereign hand is directing the events of our lives. And God takes us to places that we would never choose to go in order to test us. I'm going to say that again. God chooses to take us to places where we would never choose to go in order to test us, but not just to test us. in order to show us His power. You see, you can't know God on the mountaintop like you can know Him in the valley. There's things that you only learn about God when you're in the desert. And this is my second point, that God will test us My first point was that God tests us and He brings trials to us, that they come from the hand of God. And my second point is that God will test us. James 1 tells us to rejoice in trials. Paul tells us in Romans to count it all joy, knowing that the testing of our faith will produce patience and patience. will bring forth hope. The Israelites are once again in a hard place. They've been there before. They're in a trial. God is testing them to see if they will trust Him. And how do they respond? Do they respond with faith? No, I'm afraid not. They get angry with Moses, the same leader who led them out of bondage to Pharaoh. They're ready to stone him. And as bad as their betrayal of Moses was, that's not the worst of their sin. The worst sin is this, that they put God to the test. You see, they were grumbling with Moses, but underneath of it, they were really angry with God. It's true what David says, isn't it? That against you, you only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight. He had killed Uriah and sinned with Bathsheba, but he knew who the sin was ultimately against. It was against God. And so when we grumble and complain about other people that we don't like or can't get along with, underneath of it all is really a dissatisfaction with God. A dissatisfaction with His way, with His will. Their worst sin was not that they grumbled against Moses or even that they wanted to kill Moses, but they wanted to put God to the test. They tried to turn the tables on God. They said to God, if you will, test me. Okay, God, let's see what You can do. Prove Yourself to be God. Now, does that sound familiar? Where have we read that in the New Testament? Jesus is led into the wilderness, another desert, to be tempted for 40 days and 40 nights. And Satan comes and tests Him by telling Him, by asking Him, prove Yourself to be the Son of God. The Pharisees did the same thing to Jesus. Prove Yourself. Show us that You have the authority that You say You have. You see, we are actually behaving like the devil when we try to test God. Now, how is it that Israel put God to the test? This is how. After they had seen God do all the mighty acts that He had done in Egypt to bring their deliverance, they still did not believe that God had their best interest in mind. They had watched God bring judgment on Egypt. They had witnessed Him bring Pharaoh, an arrogant, ruthless ruler, to His knees. They had seen with their own eyes God open the Red Sea for them. They passed through the Red Sea on dry ground. Then they watched God close the waters on their enemies and on His enemies and destroy the Egyptian army. They had witnessed God provide for them with bread from heaven. They had seen His mighty axe. And yet, in spite of all of this, when times got hard, they complained and they grumbled. And they asked, they dared ask, is God with us or not? The trial revealed what Israel really believed. And that is my third point. Trials reveal what is really in us. My first point was that tests and trials come from the hand of God. My second point was that God will test us. And my third point is this, that trials reveal what is really in us. You see, their complaining and their grumbling was only a symptom. It was an indicator of a much greater problem. Their grumbling and complaining was not their spiritual sickness. It was only the symptom, a sign of something far worse that was wrong with them. Israel's real problem was unbelief. They did not believe that God would keep His promises. They did not believe that God was their present help in a time of trouble. They doubted Him and they doubted His power. Can you imagine? Can you imagine the audacity of the Israelites of doubting God's presence? Think with me for just a moment. You remember the story. God was present with them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God was standing in their midst in the pillar of cloud The whole time they're asking the question, is God with us or not? God's visible presence was with them the entire time. And if you ask the Israelites, why are you testing your Maker and your Deliverer, your King, your God? I'm sure they would have had a clever answer. I'm not testing God. It's simply that I like to deal with the facts. I'm a pragmatist, you see. I deal with what's practical, what's logical. I believe in what I can see. If I can't see it, I don't believe it. If I can't see the water, I don't believe there will be water. If I can't taste it, there is no provision. And if I can't see it, it must not be real. And so, you see, I'm completely within my rights to ask, is God with us or not? Does He have anything good for us or not? Or is He simply going to leave us here to languish in the wilderness? You know what amazes me about Christians? About us Christians? That even though we have such evidence and so many examples of how not to be and how not to act, We find a way to get ourselves stuck in the same ditch of unbelief as did the Israelites. When times get hard, we enter into a wilderness experience, we complain about life. When challenges arise at work, we complain about our jobs, we complain about our co-workers, we complain about our boss. We become discontent about what we have. We complain about our homes, our cars, our clothes, all the good provisions that God has given us. We complain about them. When conflict arises at home, we complain about our families. We complain about our marriages when they don't meet our expectations. And at the heart of all our complaining is the same sickness that infected the Israelites in the wilderness. It's unbelief. Is God with us or not? Will He give us good things or not? They had the evidence of the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. We have the evidence of all the many blessings that God has given us. First and foremost, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our sins being forgiven. But not only that. God has blessed us abundantly in material things. And yet, we ask the question, is God with us? Or has He abandoned us? At the heart of our complaining is the same sickness. It's unbelief. More specifically, it is unbelief in God's good character. That He actually wants what is best for us. That He does what He does to bring about our faith as pure gold. This event is referred to over and over in the Scriptures. This event at Raphadim. Paul tells the Corinthian church to remember what happened in the wilderness and not to be like their forefathers. The Apostle Paul says that that as clearly as he can, do not test God, do not grumble against Him. You know what that tells me? The fact that Scripture mentions it throughout the Old Testament, in the Psalms, throughout the New Testaments. The fact that it speaks of this event tells me that grumbling and complaining is a universal problem. It's not just a problem the Israelites had. It's not just a problem that the early church faced. It is a universal problem of all the ages. We've all been guilty of it. So what do we do when we're stuck in the wilderness experience? What do we do when our heart is full of unbelief towards God's goodness? We all know what that is like. We know what that feels like. We've all been there. What do we do when we find ourselves behaving like unbelieving Israel? This is what we do. First, we remind ourselves of what God has done in the past. This is one of the most effective tools in the Christian life that we underutilize all the time. Our memory. We must remind ourselves of God's goodness and His faithfulness to us in the past. We must deal with the temptation of thinking this way. Yes, I know He came through in the past, but will He do it again? Or has He just brought me here to leave me? No. God never brings us to a point in life just to drop us and leave us. He is always there with all of His provision to provide, to lead, and to guide. And we must keep remembering that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We must throw off our spiritual amnesia. It's harder to doubt God's goodness when you're constantly reminding yourself of what He's done in the past and what He's promised to do in the future. So first, remind yourself what God has done in the past. Secondly, remember who God is. He is Immanuel. He is God with us. God has not abandoned us in the trials of life. Rather, He invites us to look for Him in unexpected places and in unexpected ways. He has promised to be our present help in the day of trouble. When we pass through the waters, He will go with us. The fire will not burn us. He has promised to be with us and to never forsake us. And thirdly, Look to the rock. Remind yourself of what God has done in the past. Remember who God is. He is Immanuel, God with us. And finally, look to the rock of your salvation. You see, brothers and sisters, God was present with the Israelites in a far greater and a far more intimate way than they could have ever realized. Christ Himself was present with them. Listen to this amazing passage of Scripture from 1 Corinthians 10. For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food and drank from the same spiritual drink For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them. And the rock was Christ. The rock was Christ. The rock that followed them, their anchor, their salvation was none other than Jesus Christ. Jesus is our rock in a weary land. He is a shelter in the time of storm. The Gospel is presented so beautifully in Exodus 17. For God tells Moses to go ahead, and with the staff that He used to lead the people of Israel out, with the staff of judgment, the staff you could say in this sense represented the law, But that same staff, God told him, I will stand before you on the rock, Moses, and you are to strike the rock with your staff. And when Moses lifted the staff, he struck the rock. And living water flowed from the rock. What a picture of the Gospel. That on Calvary's tree, the living rock hung And the Father, because of His great love for us, lifted His mighty hand and struck His Son. And from His Son, from the rock of ages, flowed living water. And everything we need in this life and in the life to come, we find supplied in ample supply for us in Jesus Christ, the rock of ages. He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things? He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him. And by His stripes, we are healed. There is nothing that you need this morning that God cannot provide. Do you believe that? Do you believe that? If you believe it, I know you're a Presbyterian, but if you believe it, say, Amen. Amen. Jesus is the rock. He is the rock of ages. He is a rock in a weary land. He will provide what we need. He is our shelter in the time of storm. In the problem of pain, C.S. Lewis writes, When we want to be something other than the thing that God wants us to be, we must be wanting what, in fact, will not make us happy. Whether we like it or not, God intends to give us what we need, not what we think we want. Man, that has really made me angry in the past. I'll just be honest with you. I have wanted to get God on my agenda for a long time. And He just loves me too much to line up with my will. He's determined to bring me in line with His will. And because He's all powerful and He's all good, He's going to do just that. I'm so glad this morning that despite all of our complaining, that despite of all of our grumbling, despite of all our dysfunction, Jesus remains the rock in the weary land. And He's present with us this morning by His Spirit and in a tangible, visible way. As we come to the table this morning, we're reminded of the rock of ages. That He was broken on the cross that we may take His body and eat. His blood was spilled out that we might take the cup of the New Covenant and drink and receive life. And as you come to this table this morning, or as the elements are passed, you remember, you be encouraged, child of God, that He is the all-sufficient Savior. Everything you need, He has provided. It may not come in the way you expect it, but it will come for He's promised it. If you believe that, Let all God's people say one more time. Let all God's people say, Amen. And the reality is that many of us today are going through trials. Many of us are going through testing, and oftentimes we ask ourselves those very same questions. Is God with us, Emmanuel? And as we come before the table this morning, this table really represents the three points our brother had told us about. And that is that reminds us this table reminds us of what God has done for us already. and that he has already killed his own son for us. He has demonstrated his love for us already. This table should remind you of that. This table should remind you of who God is. God is a loving God. God is a graceful God. God is a merciful God who extended his love and his mercy to everyone who should believe in him and trust that what he did on the cross was sufficient for your salvation. And indeed, this table is for everyone who has already done that. If you have not done that, let me urge you and encourage you to place your trust in Jesus. But if you haven't, I ask that as the elements are passed by the pews to let it pass by. I pray that this would be the last time you would do that, but rather next time that you would receive Christ through his elements.