Operation Desert School (Exodus 16)

All right, Exodus 16, The whole Israelite community set out from

Elim and came to the deserts of sin, which is between Elim and

Sinai, on the 15th day of the second month after they had come

out of Egypt. In the deserts, the whole

community grumbled against Moses and Iran.

The Israelites said to them, If only we are died by the Lord's

hand in Egypt. There we sat round pots of meat

and ate all the food we wanted. But you have brought us out into

this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.

Then the Lord said to Moses, I will rain down bread from heaven

for you. The people are to go out each

day and gather enough for that day.

In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my

instructions. On the 6th day they are to

prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as

they gather on the other days. So Moses and Aaron said to all

the Israelites, in the evening you'll know that it was the Lord

who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you'll see

the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling

against him. Who are we that you should

grumble against us? Moses also said, You'll know

that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the

evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he

has heard your grumbling against him.

Who are we? You're not grumbling against us,

but against the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, say to

the entire Israelites community, come before the Lord, he has

heard your grumbling. While Aaron was speaking to the

whole Israelite community, they looked towards the desert and

there was A and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in

the cloud. The Lord said to Moses, I've

heard your grumbling, Sorry, I've heard the grumbling of the

Israelites. Tell them at twilight you'll eat

meat, and in the morning you'll be filled with bread.

Then you'll know that I'm the Lord your God.

That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the

morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.

When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground

appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they

said to each other, What is it for?

They did not know what it was Moses said to them.

It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.

This is what the Lord has commanded.

Everyone is together as much as they need.

Take an Omar for each person you have in your tent.

The Israelites did as they were told.

Some gathered much, some little, and when they measured it by the

Oma, the one who had gathered much did not have too much, and

the one who gathered little did not have too little.

Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

Then Moses said to them, No one is to keep any of it until

morning. However, some of them paid no

attention to Moses. They kept part of it until the

morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell, so

Moses was angry with them. Each morning everyone gathered

as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted

away. On the 6th day they gathered as

much, twice as much, 2 omers for each person.

And the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.

He said to them, this is what the Lord commanded.

Tomorrow is to be a day of Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to

the Lord. So bake what you want to bake,

and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep

it until morning. So they saved us until morning,

as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it.

Eat it today, Moses said, because today is a day of

Sabbath to the Lord. You'll not find any of it on the

ground today. Six days you are to gather it,

but on the 7th day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.

Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the 7th day to

gather it, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, How

long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?

Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath.

That is why on the 6th day He gives you bread.

For two days everyone is to stay where they are.

On the 7th day no one is to go out.

So the people rested. On the 7th day the people of

Israel called the Bread Manor. It was white like coriander seed

and tasted like wafers made with honey.

Moses said this is what the Lord has commanded, Take an Omer of

manna and keep it for the generations to come, so that

they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness

when I brought you out of Egypt. So Moses said to Iran, Take a

jar and put an Omer of manna in it, then place it before the

Lord to be kept for the generations to come, as the Lord

commanded Moses. A1 put the mana with the tablets

of the covenant law, that it might be preserved.

The Israelites ET mana for 40 years until they came to a land

that they that that was settled the ET mana until they reached

the border of Canaan. And Omar is 1/10 of an ephah.

Good morning. It is really good to be with you

and opening up Exodus with you. So do turn back to that passage

if you've closed it, that'd be really helpful to just trace

along if you want a sort of handout to follow along with.

There are some sort of at the front.

I think there were some as you went.

Do take them afterwards if that's helpful for you just to

track along and a few questions to begin to sort of process.

If you want to take a yeah, just take a second to dish those out,

that'll be great. We're talking about tests today

and I was thinking as I was driving here, really one of the

first tests I did was a chemistry test where my problem

was that I, I read all the first page and then didn't realise

that there was any questions on the back.

Some of you will have done that, completed the test and not

realised there were more questions to do.

So be aware with this. Handout that there is stuff on

the back to have a look at as well.

You know, I don't think this is going to be a short sermon.

No, there's a back as well. This is going to be a long, long

sermon. But yeah, if it's helpful for

you afterwards to take one of those away, then then please do

so. So we're looking at Exodus 16.

As I mentioned, I did Bible college over in the.

States and one of my. Professors was a guy called Jim

Caulfield. And Jim had an adopted.

Son called Skylar, who had significant additional needs.

This is what Jim wrote. Just a little while back about

Skylar. He said parenting.

Skylar has required more capacity than my DNA held.

Skylar is forever 7. He's capable of giving and

receiving love, and he is deeply loved.

But the challenges are mighty and affect every decision that

we make. My wife Mona and I.

Adopted him at his birth. He struggles with being able to

read. He requires someone to help him

function. He can be by himself for an hour

or so but would not be able to navigate the unexpected.

He has the soul of a 34 year old man, but cognitively he's 7.

He's often. Aware of the gap?

And he will grieve the disparity for.

Example Skylar wants to drive when we remind him.

Skylar, you. Can't drive until you can read.

We assume he understands the dilemma.

But whenever? A Smart car pulls up next to us.

He'll say, oh, that's just a little car, maybe I could drive

that car. As a soul of a man who wants to

be independent and take care of himself, he hates, Jim wrote,

that he has to depend on us. Yet he knows at some deep level

that he can't do it without us. He gets angry when he has to ask

for help, but he knows he needs it.

This morning we are stepping into the desert with the

Israelites in Exodus 16 and so. Far in the story of.

Exodus, the Lord has got his people Israel out of Egypt, he

looked. With compassion on their misery.

While they were slaves. And he sent.

A deliverer Moses for them, but really it was the Lord who

delivered. Them.

The Lord hit the Egyptians with 10 different plagues to reveal

just how great the Lord was, to show His superiority over all of

life and over all the fake Egyptian gods, to declare His

name the Lord to both Israelites and to Egyptians.

He brought His people through Passover.

And he brought them. Through the Red Sea.

You can read that whole. Story Exodus chapter one through

15. So the Lord has got them out of

Egypt, but the story doesn't. End there.

There is a lot more of the. Book still to come.

The Lord has got them out of Egypt, but now the even.

Harder work begins for them. As somebody has put.

It the work of getting Egypt out of the people that's the much

more difficult work Egypt out of the people.

So we're out in the desert, we're out in the.

Wilderness with them. This is a place where the Lord

will test them. See, God does bring us into.

Desert places into difficult places into testing

circumstances. Because that's where some of

his. Best work happens.

God does some of his best work in the wilderness.

And in chapter. 16 We're going to see what sort of work he

does, but let me just say this before we get into the chapter,

We're not going to see the full. Inside track.

On what God is up to in every different and challenging

circumstance. But we.

Are going to see that we can trust.

Him and we can. Depend on him, even in testing

circumstances. You see, above all, that's what

He wants us to know. Not so much exactly what He is

doing in your life at this particular moment, but learning

that we can trust Him. So often we will.

Prefer to be independent. We don't want to trust that the

Lord knows best. We want to be able to to drive

the car even. When it is too much for us.

But testing circumstances, testing places are those moments

where the. Lord draws us to deeper

dependency and to greater trust in Him.

So let's walk through the passage together.

First thing I want us to see is this.

God uses testing times to expose our fears.

He using testing times to expose our fears.

First one tells us. That they move on from Helium

and they arrive in the Desert of Sin.

Now that doesn't sound like a great place, does it?

The Desert of Sin and it doesn't look like a great place.

Either because there's no food. Around.

But when the going gets. Tough the people of God get

grumbling. Notice verse 2.

The grumbling happens and it is the whole community and

grumbling. Is not only against Moses, it is

also against Aaron verse 2. And they begin verse. 3 To hark

back to Egypt. They say this if only.

We had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt.

There we sat round with pots of meat and ate all the food we

wanted. But you have brought us out into

this. Desert to starve us.

To starve this entire assembly to death.

Now let's just dissect. For a moment, what they say

there in verse. 3 is that. Really what Egypt was like.

Was it really that great? Well, it was fertile.

It was the bread basket of the world at that time.

But did the Israelites really eat to their hearts content?

What about oppression? What about having to build

Pharaoh's pyramids? What about their babies being

killed and thrown into the Nile? Was it really so good now?

Of course not. There, there's a there's a

selective amnesia here. And did Moses really bring them

out to starve? Was that the plan?

No, He brought them out to belong to God.

That's why they were they were brought out because they've been

liberated. And surely the God who had been

their protector and their deliverer could also be their

provider. Now notice there's a date.

Given for this moment verse. One, it's the 15th day of the

second month, which means it's exactly 1 month.

After they left Egypt, just one month and they have forgotten

quite how bad it all was. One preacher.

Said they are just delusional here.

They're making Egypt out to be like some inclusive 5 star hotel

with an all you can eat buffet laid on.

They're saying life was better in Egypt, and why would they say

that? Well, because in the desert.

They can't see where their food is coming from, there's no lid

or Tesco for miles. But instead of turning to the

Lord. They turn against.

Him, and against those who represented him.

You see, they're afraid. They're afraid.

Like they are hungry naturally, but they don't trust God.

You only need to go back just into the end of the.

Last chapter to see that they've already.

Had an issue with without water and God has come.

Through for them, but they. They still don't trust God.

They don't want to live by faith.

They want to live by sight. And you see, guys, when we're

afraid, when we see the empty cupboards in our own lives, when

we don't feel we have what we need, When we feel the groan of

empty stomachs or we feel internally empty.

When we see no way out. When we feel really vulnerable,

then it often shows us where our hearts actually lie.

I mean, we can say and we can sing.

On a Sunday morning that we that we trust the Lord, that that's

where our confidence is, But functionally, we often actually

trust in something else for our happiness and our security.

It's often Jesus plus something else for us to feel OK.

And they're. Delusional here about Egypt,

just as we are delusional when we think that the approval of a

particular person or having a particular thing can be enough

for us. We are delusional and fearful

whenever we say with the Israelites.

If only, if only, if only this thing could change in my life,

then I will be happy. If only my line manager.

Would move on, then my life would be better.

If only I could stop that bad stuff that is happening to the

person I really love. Then then I'd feel OK.

If only we could just move house and get away from those

neighbors, I would be fine. If only everything in church

would just stay the same. The Lord will sometimes.

Bring us into a place where we feel empty and uncomfortable, to

reveal our fears and expose our hearts and show us our idols.

So what is your If only today, what goes there?

What, what would you say if only this would happen or this were

true? Then life will be OK.

I'd feel all right. What is it for you?

Like be honest with yourself. What is your if only then I'd be

OK. Testing situations are used by

God to expose our fear. But secondly, God uses.

Testing times as well to train our hearts.

Not just to. Expose our fears, but also to

train our hearts. First notice that the Lord had

heard their grumbling 4 times. The text says that verse 7,

verse 8, verse 9, verse 12. The Lord had heard them.

Now, sometimes we talk. About the Lord.

Hearing the groans. Of his people as already.

Positive thing, but here they are grumbling about the Lords

and in verse 9 Moses. Highlights the grumbling.

Is not just about him, not just about Aaron, but.

Really, it's with the Lord. Himself and the grumbling is not

a reasonable grumbling. It's not that the Lord sort of

holds his hand up and says. Oh yes, you're right guys.

I I I really appreciate this helpful feedback.

Apologies, I've just had. So much on this past week or so.

I forgot you needed some food. I will get that sorted out

straight away now before He provides for them.

Did you notice in the reading verse 10 the Lord displayed His

glory? Just remind them who it is

they're grumbling about to remind them.

That to grumble is to disrespect God's.

Glory and to diminish his. Goodness and to grumble is a

fearful. Response, not a faith response.

So you guys, when we when we grumble.

About life as Christians. When we moan about something.

That is going on. We are saying that the Lord has

got something wrong in our lives.

You see, there's all the difference between lamenting and

complaining, between lamenting and grumbling.

Lamenting is a godly response. To the.

Hard things in our lives. In lamenting, we express to the

Lord how weighed down we are, how much we feel pressed in, how

confused we are. And how we're struggling.

To make sense of things. Because we know.

Him to be a good God. We're still clinging to him, but

we're confused and we're wrestling it because we know him

to be good. But grumbling is our is our

ungodly response to the same things grumbling says to the

Lord. Lord, you are getting it wrong.

Lord, you're doing the wrong thing at this point.

You should. Be doing something different,

God. And we say.

Either directly or indirectly, Lord, you are not good.

Lamenting struggles because we know.

God to be good and we can't make sense of it.

Grumbling is to doubt. That he is good.

So can I? Ask you like, do you grumble?

Is grumbling part of your sort of.

DNAI mean. It might be about what?

God is doing in your. Place of work or in your class

at the moment. It might be about what's

happening on your. Street or with your kids?

At the new school they've not long been to or.

In a particular friend's life. Who's just had that serious?

Accident or what he's been doing with your ageing.

Parents recently what is? Happening at church in your

small. Group with somebody that's

really difficult. Are you grumbling?

Not just about the thing itself. But can you see you're really

grumbling with God? It's the Lord that you're not

happy with. You don't like what he's done in

your life. You keep.

Looking back over your. Shoulder to those good old days

when you felt like you just had everything you wanted.

I mean, how many of us? Look back to some time wanting

those particular years again, when it was all going well, when

it all seemed good. And now you find yourself

wrestling with significant loneliness, or with infertility,

or with kids who don't want to believe anymore, or the spouse

who you seem really distant from, or a whole series of

physical challenges that you never used to have.

When life isn't as we want it, are we going to approach him in

lament? Or are we going to turn away in

grumbling and turn away from him?

How are we going to go to him? And notice as well the way that

the Lord was going to test them through daily provision.

The Lord says what He's going to do, verse 4.

There is going to be provision. They're going to get some food,

they're going to get lots of food.

The Lord knows they need something to eat, but he will

train them and he will test them as he gives them food.

So there's an immediate provision of meat.

There is this quail. That is sent in verse. 13 if

you're not sure what. Quail is.

Think kind of small. Chicken.

That's the kind of that's what we're talking about.

South in the evening quail came and dropped from the sky and

there is loads to eat so that night.

It is quail burgers and. Quail Curry and quail Caesar

salad and Kentucky Fried. Quail and yeah, like you.

Name it, there was all the quail they needed for the evening, but

quail was just a one off A1 off to show them that the Lord could

feed them however he wanted to. But it is the bread that will be

their staple. So verse four, I will rain down

bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each

day and gather enough for that. Day in this way notice.

I will test. Them and see if they're followed

by instructions. Now we'll get into the details

of that just in a moment. But as the law provides, did you

notice he tests? Them he trains them.

At Christmas. As a as a kid I remember getting

hold of the Argos catalog and I would work through the toys

section. Page by.

Page and I would circle something on every page that I

would really like for Christmas. Now I am glad.

To say that my parents didn't buy me everything that I

circled, that wouldn't have been very good for me at all.

And the Lord is not. Like an indulgent parent.

Who just keeps? Giving the child whatever they

put on their Christmas list, whatever the Argos catalog says,

it's not a parent who. Responds to.

Every request for the yes, no matter how spoilt we're getting,

God wants to mature and grow His children.

God does His best work with us in the wilderness because that's

where we learn to trust them. And so his provision.

For them. Requires them to be dependent on

him. They are to go out.

When each day and gather enough for that day.

What's the pattern there? The pattern is daily dependence,

daily needing the Lord to show up every day.

I mean couldn't the Lord have given them enough manner for for

a week all at one go or enough for a month or even for a year?

I mean this is like heavenly bread.

This kind of bread can be anything at all.

Of course he could could have provided manner that never went

off like some long lasting milk. That lasts for.

Weeks and weeks could have done anything he liked.

But he gave them daily breads, so they learnt daily dependency.

Now we really don't want that daily dependency, do we?

We'd we'd much rather store up for ourselves.

We'd much rather sort of halt. Feels like it's much easier to

trust God if we know we've got something else to fall back on.

But manna from heaven is daily and continual and little by

little. And the the test will be this.

Will you trust me day-to-day? Will you trust me day-to-day?

I mean, how many of us in the room spend?

Loads of time worrying about tomorrow, trying to insure

ourselves against tomorrow. Like we hoard our stuff, we

hoard our money, we we fret. I I'm not saying it's not wise

to save. I'm not saying it's not wise to

look ahead. But we easily become dependent

on our plans and what we save rather than dependent on him.

We just do not want to be daily dependent.

We don't want to be God dependent.

Can I ask you this morning, I mean, where are you self

reliant? Where do you think?

Well, I feel out of my depth here, but I feel like I've got

at least that part of life all buttoned up.

That's OK. I can manage without.

God in that little part of life, friends, we are always reliant

on Him. There is nothing we have.

That he could not take away in a moment if he chose to do that we

have got. Nothing without him.

And this daily reliance? Showed that I mean how good it

is. That the Lord has made it,

created us, so we need to eat and drink regularly, I mean.

Imagine if he made us so we could just kind of drink.

Once a year and. And and then it was.

Fine, or eat once in our lifetime and that would sort us

out. The most very fundamental.

Things to keep life going need to happen frequently, and God

must be the one to provide them. Are you cultivating a daily

dependency on it Are. You glad for that?

Daily dependency? Well, let's see what the

Israelites did with that test of daily dependency.

So God uses. Testing times to to firstly

expose our fears. And then to train our.

Hearts and then God uses testing times as well to display His

patients, to display his patients.

The Lord had said He provides. For them, but they needed.

To do what he said. So what did they have to do?

Well verse 16 tells us they needed to gather in each day

what was needed and verse 19 says they were not to keep.

Any of it until morning. So the best before date on

manna? Was just one day.

That's all it had. But on the Sabbath day, on that

day, there would be no manner whatsoever.

So Friday manner came with a different best before day of two

days. The Friday manner could be saved

for the following day as well, and it will be absolutely fine.

And that's what they would eat. So we've got that for five days,

gathering up for every day. But it won't.

Keep. So don't keep it.

One day gathering up for two days and it will keep.

So you should keep. It for the following day and

then Sabbath day. No man is coming.

Don't go and look for it. Don't try and gather it.

Use what you had from the day before.

Now this is a miraculous provision.

The desert you see, was no problem for God.

He gave them food right there guys, He can take care of you.

Whatever wilderness you're in at the moment, wherever you're

wandering through in this month ahead, He can meet you there.

But it's really weird stuff this manner because it keeps only one

day unless today happens. To be called Friday and then it

keeps the tea days, which makes no sense whatsoever except

that's what God says happens. So how do they?

Do how do they get? On.

How do they? Get on keeping God's

instructions. I suspect you've got an like an

idea where this is going. Verse 19 Moses says to them.

Don't keep any till morning. Verse 20.

Some of them paid no attention to Moses.

They kept part of it. And it was full of maggots.

So the instructions are really clear, clear, crystal clear.

But some of them paid no attention.

And the result? Mouldy bread and maggots

crawling all around the tent. I mean I don't know, I don't

like camping at the best of times, but but maggots crawling

all around your tent? Sounds awful.

Verse 26. Moses again.

Six days you're together. But on the 7th day, the Sabbath,

there will not be any. Verse 27 nevertheless.

Some of the people went out on the 7th day to gather.

It they try and keep it when they shouldn't, and they try and

gather it when they shouldn't. So how did they do in the tests?

Well, they failed them. And why?

Because they don't trust gods, they don't trust what the Lord

has said. They're afraid there isn't going

to be any more bread the following day, so they try and

store it up. Well, they're afraid it's going

to go bad on the Sabbath, so let's go out and get some more.

They're still fearful. And verse 20 tells us that Moses

is angry with them. And in verse 28, the Lord asks

how long? Will he refuse to keep my

commands? What did the tests reveal?

That there was still a long, long way to go with them.

That the Lord had got. Them out of Egypt, but they

still he still needed to get Egypt out of the people.

They needed to learn to not trust themselves, but to trust

him. There was a long way to go.

And there's a long. Way to go with each of us.

I mean, I barely know any of you in the room, but I'm pretty sure

there is a long way to go with each of us.

We just don't get it very quickly.

We seem to take an age to change and to learn.

But here's the. Encouraging part of the story.

The law wasn't done with them. The law wasn't done with them.

I mean, I don't know about you, but at verse 28, if I am the

Lord, I am throwing my hands up at this point and saying that

when on earth are you going to start listening?

Maybe we should just call it quit snail.

Maybe we should just abandoned this project altogether.

I've already showed you in the desert.

I can provide water for you. I've been showing you I can

provide food for you and you're not trusting.

But that is not what he does. He reminds them again of the

instructions verse 29 to 30. He's so patient with them.

That is so patient with them. You see this test of the people

is not like a qualifying test. It is a training test.

Not a qualifying test, but a training test.

Let me explain that a little bit.

I, I heard this particular example, a pilot goes in for

their final Test before they qualify to fly a plane.

Now you want that pilot to pass the test, don't you?

And if they don't, you don't want any grace shown to them

whatsoever. If they crash the simulator, you

don't want the instructor to say to them, oh, never mind, I'm

sure it'll be OK. When it comes to a real plane,

sure, you're going to be fine. Off you go.

We don't want grace shown on the pilot testing program.

None of us do. We want justice.

Only they must, must, must pass the test.

But in God's Nurturing His Children program, there is loads

of room for grace and for growth.

It is gradual, it is progress. Deuteronomy 8, two to five.

He led them all the way in the wilderness these 40 years to

humble them and test them. Know then in your heart that as

a man disciplines or trains his Son, so the Lord your God

disciplines you. The Lord trains us and he

disciplines us. But it is a training of a

lifetime, not of a moment. So that means the Lord is really

persistent and he's deeply patient.

He keeps. Sending the manner verse 35 they

had it for. 40 years day after day of faithful provision.

Now waiting to notice one nice detail about the manner.

Verse 31 tells us that it tasted like wafers made with honey.

For years I've kind of had it in my head that manner was really,

really bland. Like a bit like Ryvita.

I mean, apologies if you really like Ryvita, but a bit like.

Ryvita like no. Calories but no taste

whatsoever. Like I thought eating the Manor

day after day after day would be just so boring.

But. The text says it was.

Sweet like in this? Day they they don't have any

sugar. Honey was the 1 sweet taste they

had. It was good to eat.

The Lord gave them something really desirable.

And it was a nod. As well toward the promised

lands. You remember how the Promised

Land was? Described, It was described to

Moses back in chapter 3 as a land flowing with what?

Milk and honey? So this was a little sample of

the sweetness of what lay before them when they made it out of

the wilderness. Guys, when we feel like we're in

a desert place, when life feels really difficult, there are two

things the Lord always gives us. He gives us daily grace and He

gives us sweet grace, daily grace and sweet grace, constant

daily kindness. I mean, just think of some of

the things you have had from Him this week.

Not everything you want it, but how many good things has He sent

you? I mean, even today, but sweet

grace as well. Moments when that grace is just

so precious. When he nudges us with.

Something that is unexpectedly good to just say to us.

I'm still here. I'm still working, still with

you. My professor Jim, who I

mentioned at the start, would describe those as a wink from

God. A little wink that says I care

for you. Oh, in this weekend, I want you

to be looking out for the winks of God in your life.

Those little moments of sweet, almost unnecessary grace that he

gives you to just keep reminding you that you belong to him and

that he's your father. But above all, of course, we

need him, don't we? Not other stuff, but Him.

You see? Ultimately they weren't to trust

in the manner, but in the Lord who gave them the manner.

And it's not physical bread we need most of all, but living

breads. I mean, we need, don't we, The

Lord Jesus himself, the bread who came down from heaven.

Jesus said I am the bread of life and whoever comes to me

will never go hungry. What is Jesus saying there?

Is he saying that as soon as you become a Christian, everything

is straightforward? No, but he's saying this.

Look, I am the one you need. You may want really good health.

You may want the cancer to be done and the headaches to stop.

You may really want to switch to a new team or to find a job that

doesn't feel so dead end. You may want your daughter's

situation to dramatically change.

You might want the fears and anxieties about your memory

beginning to fail taken away from you.

You might want a change of friendship group.

You might want to keep looking back over your shoulder at the

good old days and think, why isn't it like it used to be?

You might want to fix stuff yourself.

But Jesus says I am the one you need.

I'm the one you need. You can't do life without me.

I'm the one who gives you life. I'm the one who will keep you in

the wilderness. I'm the one with you there.

I'm the one you need to trust. And deep down, if you're a

Christian. Like we know that's true.

Deep down, we're really glad. It's true.

We just struggle to trust that it's true.

Like we know. We can't do anything without

him. We don't want to do life without

him, even though we spend so much time fighting against it.

And if you're here, this. Morning.

And you're not yet a Christian, you would say.

I feel like I can. Do life on my own like really or

really is that how you want to do life?

Or do you want the friendship of the one who can walk through

with you as the bread of life and who has everything in his

hands? So this week, this year ahead,

with lots of changes coming as a church, will you trust him?

I mean, maybe you need to trust him with something you've been

managing yourself and grumbling about.

Maybe you need to begin to recognize that sweet and daily

grace that comes even while you're in the desert.

But guys, you can trust him like He can always, always be

trusted. Whatever is going on, whatever

your situation, whatever your day, He's the one who is there

for us. Let's take a moment to pray

before we close our time with our son together.

Father, thank you so much. You're a Father who knows and

understands exactly what we need.

Sometimes you seem to take us into places that feel empty and

vulnerable and difficult, but in those places you prove your

fatherly care to us. We thank you for the provision

of daily grace and sweet grace. And we ask, Lord, that as we, as

we struggle at times to trust You, as we look at our

circumstances more than we look at you, you would turn our eyes

again toward the Lord Jesus, the One who is the bread from heaven

that we need, Father, where we need to confess our sin this

morning and our self-reliance, help us to do that.

Where we need to have our hearts refreshed and made conscious

again of your provision. Would you help us do that?

Lord, we thank you that all your promises are yes in your Son the

Lord Jesus. So we pray, Father, grow our

faith and our trust, even as you are the eminently trustable 1

and we are set in Jesus name, Amen.