Is The Lord Among us or Not - Dan Weaver

Greetings in the precious name of Jesus this morning. It's

privileged to be here again, been blessed by what's been

shared this morning. Open your bibles to Exodus seventeen for

a text this morning. So the scene here, I don't know,

it's not this hasn't been coordinated, but it seems like

we're a little stuck in Exodus last few weeks here.

But but going on. They're out of the Israel, have

been led out of Egypt, preserved from hunger and thirst

in Mariba no excuse me, this is Mariba Mara, and

we're coming on this. They've been given to Manna. It

seems like they should be at a spot where they

should be happy. I think we actually heard about that

last week. But we're going to continue on in the story.

I'm going to read these first seven verses of Exodus seventeen.

And all the congregation of the children of isl journey

from the wilderness of sin after their journeys according to

the commandment of the Lord and pitch in refdim and

there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore

the people did chide with Moses and said, give us

water that we may drink, and Moses said, unto them,

why chid you with me? Wherefore do you tempt the

Lord or provoke the Lord? And the people thirsted there

for water. And the people murmured against Moses and said,

wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out

of Egypt to kill us and our children and our

cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto them unto the Lord, saying,

what shall I do unto this people? They be almost

ready to stone me. And the Lord said to Moses,

go on before the people and take with thee of

the elders of Israel and the rod, wherewith thou smotest

the river, take in the hand, and go and behold.

I will stand before thee there upon the rock in horeb,

and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come

water out of it it that the people may drink.

And Moses did so in the sight of the elders

of Israel. And he called the name of the place

Masa and Mariba because of the chiding of the children

of Israel, because they tempted the Lord, saying, is the

Lord among us or not? Is the Lord among us

or not? I'm not sure what to give my message

for a title this morning, but that could be the message,

the title for the message, and it'll be interesting to

see what those in charge of the recording come up with.

In the end, is the Lord among us are not?

And if we think about that question by itself, maybe

that's actually a good question.

To ask.

From time to time. But this is actually not a

very positive question in this context. It says that they

tempted the Lord, they provoked the Lord, saying as the

Lord among us are not. And I would contend that

sometimes we asked that question in the wrong context as well.

And you'd think that these hard headed, stiff neck children

of Israel, they've just come through miracle after miracle after miracle,

and God fed them and gave them water, and here

they're thirsty again, and why don't they cry to the

Lord and at least ask God instead of just complaining

and murmuring. And God told Moses he said you go up,

you go up to horrep, which we don't have time

to go into that, but what I believe is Jabel

Musa in Saudi Arabia, he said go to the rock

of horror. He was telling Moses to go to a

spot Moses had run sheep around that spot. He knew

where the rock of horror was. He said, you take

some men with you, and this is out of Raphidim,

out of the camp, up mostly uphill, and you strike

that rock and water will flow down to the people.

But I miss the point. I miss a really important

important point when I just told that. It says, behold,

I will stand before thee there upon the rock of horror.

And as God stood there and provided that water. And

once again God was the provider. God was the provider

of their of their water. They're living water, running water,

and it was like a river. And if the explorers

that have gone up to Jabil Musa, we're a huge

split rock up there, and it's like a torrent from

the mountain, like a torrent of water ran down and

created a river to give water to the people. Moses

called this place Masa and mariba, or proof and contention.

We have places or times in our life that we

should label and proof in contention. Proof and contention, I suppose,

if we're honest, we go back in our lives, there's

different spots where we can we can see a touch

of proof and contention. And one thing I just want

us to remember this morning, God is the proof and

we're of contention, Okay, And so this morning we're going

to look at several passages and we're going to see

some discouragement and some of God's answers for that. I

plan to move fairly quickly through some of these, but

hopefully we can we can take some lessons from them

for ourselves, and it can be an encouragement to it.

But first of all, let's think about what causes discouragement.

You know, there's things like acute physical needs, physical pain,

loss of loved ones, strain relationship, financial setbacks, and I'd

say sometimes we look at these kind of things as

an excuse of discouragement. But what I've observed actually, and

looking at nature and people and God's people, is that

often when people are going through these really difficult things,

they find their strength in God. They find this God

that's behind the rock giving them strength, and they come

out strong. Like Horatio Spafford when he wrote, when peace

like a river out of a very hard time, and

bless many times many of us since then. But many times,

many times, our loneliness and discouragement are simply results of

our own selfishness, focusing on ourselves circumstances and what we're facing,

and they're not an excuse for discouragement and for questioning

the nature of God. And as I reflect on my

own life and the lowest times of especially the lowest

times of my spiritual life and discouraging, it's been simply

when at in my walk, I've taken a different path

than the narrow way when I feared off, and maybe

keep veering off until it my back is actually toward God,

not not away from Him, not my face toward God.

And that's because my biggest discouragement. Now let's go to

Second Kings, another story, and again I think I'm going

to I'm going to read these verse fifteen verses. One

of my faults, I think is thinking all these familiar,

these stories are familiar, and when I read them, I

find out they're not as familiar to me as I

think they are. And there's probably that goes with the

rest of us, and it's probably good for us just

to go through these details as it's written here. Second

Kings two, Second Kings two, verse one, and this is

the story of Elijah going up, and it was and

it came to pass when the Lord would take up

Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind. That Elijah went with

Elisha from Gelgal, and Elijah said, unto Elisha, terry, here,

I pray THEE, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.

And Elijah Elishah saith to him, as the Lord liveth,

and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.

So they went down to Bethel, and the sons of

the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha

and said, unto him, knowest thou that the Lord will

take away thy master from the head today, or He's

going to take Elijah from being your leader today. And

he said, yeah, I know it. Hold your peace. And

Elijah saith unto him, Elisha, terry, here, I pray THEE,

for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. And he said,

as the Lord liveth and as I soul liveth, I

will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho, and

the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came

to Elisha and said, unto him, knowest thou that the

Lord will take away the Master from the head today,

And he answered, yeah, I know it. Hold your peace.

And Elijah said, unto him, terry, I pray THEE here,

for the Lord will take me to Jordan. And he said,

as the Lord liveth, and as the Soul liveth, I

will not leave THEE. And they too went on, and

fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and

stood to view Afar off, and they stood by Jordan.

So they watched them go, and Elijah took his mantle

and wrapped it together, took off his coat, wrapped it together,

and smote the waters. And they were divided hither and thither.

So they too went over on dry ground. And it

came to pass when they were gone over that Elijah said,

unto Elisha, ask what I will do for THEE before

I be taken away from THEE. And Elijah said, I

pray THEE. Let a double portion of thy spirit be

upon me. And he said, thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless,

if thou see when I am taken from THEE, it

shall be so unto THEE. But if not, it shall

not be so. And it came to pass, as they

still went on and talked that behold there appeared a chariot,

a fire, and horses of fire and parted them both asunder,

and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And

Elijah saw it and cried, my father, my father, the

chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw

him no more. And he took hold of his own

clothes and rent them in two pieces, or tore them

in two pieces. And he took up also the mantle

of Elijah that fell from him, and went back and

stood by the bank of Jordan. And he took the

mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters,

and said, where is the God of Elijah? And when

he had smitten the waters, and hither and thither, and

Elisha went over. It's interesting to me that this was

not too long after the passage that we had on

Wednesday evening at prayer meeting, where God came and spoke

to Elijah in a still small voice again on Mount Horeb.

We're back in Mount Horrb. And he was very discouraged

because because he was the only one left. And God said, no,

there's seven thousand, I haven't found their knee. And he

went back and he found himself in Elisha, and he

found enough people that were in tune enough with God

and his message. That and the prophets at Bethel and

the prophets at Jericho, the sons of the prophets calls them,

knew that today was the day. Today was the day.

And you think about Elisha here, and so it was

the day. I mean, the sons of the prophets were saying, hey, Elisha,

do you know you're you're going to be the leader today?

He said, I'd be quiet, hold your peace. And he's

clinging to Elijah. That was the security he had the moment.

He was the one he walked with. He was the

one that taught him so far. And as Elijah was

taken up in the whirlwind of a wonder why I

did why Elijah took him over across the Jordan River

into Jordan, into the wilderness, no less to be taken up.

And Elijah's first response wasn't oh, I got a double

portion of his spirit? I think it took him a

little bit to think about that. That wasn't the versus

first thought. The first thought wasn't oh, I have his

coat here his mantle said. He cried out, my father,

my father, the charity of Israel and the horseman thereof

and he saw him no more. He rented close and

there he is on the other side of Jordan. Alone.

Probably in we read this story and failed to think

about how alone Elishah felt right there, but armed with

a double portion of the spirit of God that maybe

he hardly recognized he had, and Elijah's mantle. He walks

back to the Jordan river, smote the river and said,

where is the God of Elijah? And maybe that was

his question, is God among us or not? And and

maybe that could be another title to this message, where's

the God of Elijah? Where's the God of Elijah? And

as I mentioned, sometimes our discouragement and our doubts, and

most of the time and our unbelief, our unbelief comes

from our own turning away from God. But I also

believe that sometimes we come in the face of life

and when hard times come, and and it's it's okay,

even though it's us that moves and not God. It's

okay to say, God, where are you? This was Elijah's

this God among us or not? Where is the God

of Elijah? But you know one thing about it, Elijah, Elijah,

when he went across the river and found the sons

of the Prophets. He was not there doubting what happened,

and no doubt he went back. He probably, no doubt

told the explain this to the sons of the prophets.

That goes on. Let's just read the next couple of verses. Oh,

they verse fifteen. And when the sons of the Prophets,

which were to view at Jericho, saw him, they said,

the spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. So they

recognize that that the spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.

And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to

the ground before him, and they said, unto him, Behold,

now there be with thy servants fifty strong men. Now

let us go, we pray thee and seek thy master.

Let's peradventure. The spirit of the Lord hath taken him

up and cast him upon the some mountain or into

some valley, and he said he shall not send. And

when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said sin.

And they sent there for fifty men, and they sought

for three days that found him not. It's interesting, hell, Elisha, Elisha,

that was real enough. He knew what happened. He knew

where Elijah was taken. He had that as he reflected,

these fifty men, strong men, they weren't satisfied. They still

had enough doubt that they didn't even believe their own

prophecy until they had checked under every bush, and finally

they'd believe it for themselves. And I guess that's something

as God speaks to us, can we believe it? How

much do we have to verify? How many bushes do

we have to look under? Now for the next passage,

I'd like to introduce it with a song three hundred

and sixty nine year church hymnals, And I'd like some

help from oh youth on down. I guess does anyone

know what where in the Bible? What passage in the

Bible or incident was this written about? And the clues

if you read verse I'll read verses two, three, and four,

and then maybe you will know. Though like a wanderer,

daylight all gone, darkness be over me, my rest a stone,

Yet in my dreams I'd be near my God to thee.

Do we need to read further? Does anyone know after

the second verse? You know, just go ahead and speak up?

What incident is it? Okay? We need the next firs.

Yet there let the way up here steps up to heaven,

all that thou sendest me in mercy, given angels to

beckon me nearer my God to thee. Okay, we don't

have to go further. Someone when Jacob slept on a stone.

And now for my third title in the fourth verse,

then with my waking thoughts, bright with thy praise out

of my stony grief, Bethel, I'll raise so by my

woes to be nearer my God to thee. And I

think we're just going to take the time to sing

that song, and we're going to sing all the verses,

near my God to thee. No me.

Never go to me, he.

No wrongs me sad my song shown.

My mo sho.

Me my go to be.

Ya b speaking of.

Stops my friend side.

My to.

Me, my cow to he to the.

Steps side to.

Oh, I'm saying I speak.

Seen tost.

My all.

My go to.

When Iran becomes frown hires to my soul degrees.

Lobry, so.

I will home to me my my come to be deep.

Oh joyful we.

Clean star come to me.

I swiy have.

Sin my song shall.

My to.

Thank you. Now let's turn to Genesis and read that story.

And I would like us to think about Jacob in

this situation, running, running, running from Esau, running for his life.

And if you read the previous verses and just go

into this, it almost seems like, well, he's running for

a wife and and the because that's what isa. I

could send him up for a wife, but Dad blessed

him and sent him on his way. And he's running

for his life. And he's there, and he probably spent many,

many many a night as a shepherd outside. This wasn't

it couldn't have been unusual for him to be outside

looking at the stars. But he is running north this ridge.

He stops for the night. Let's read Genesis twenty eight,

verse ten. I'm going to read verses ten through the

rest of the chapter. And Jacob went out from Beersheba

and went toward Heron. So he's going north. And he

lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night

because the sun was set. And he took the stones

of that place and put them for his pillows, and

lay down that place to sleep, and he dreamed and

behold a ladder. So this songwriter says, out of this

stony grief, and that's what it doesn't talk about his

stony grief. Here, I wondered, where did a songwriter get that.

I will keep going, We'll get there a little bit,

but I want us to think about that he's laying

down here in his stony grief. Okay, the stone for

his pillows. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set

up on earth, and top reached to heaven. And behold

the Angel of God ascending and descending on it. And

behold the Lord stood above it, and said, I am

the Lord, God of Abraham, thy Father, and the God

of Isaac. The land were in thy lives. To THEE

will I give it, and to thy sea. And thy

seed shall be as the dust of the earth. And

thou shallt spread abroad to the west and to the east,

to the north and to the south, and in THEE,

and in thy seed shall all the families of the

earth be blessed. And behold, I am with THEE, and

I will keep THEE in all places, whether thou goest,

and I will bring THEE again into this land. For

I will not leave THEE until I have done that

which I have spoken to THEE of And Jacob awaked

out of the sleep, and he said, surely the Lord

is in this place, and I knew it not, And

he was afraid, and said, how dreadful is this place.

This is none other but the House of God. And

this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up

early in the morning and took the stone that he

had put for his pillows, and set it up for

a pillar, and poured oil upon on top of it.

And he called the name of that place Bethel, But

the name of the city was called LUs at first,

and Bethel means the house of God. He called this

place house of God. He went from one night from

his loneliness to the House of God. And Jacob out

of our saying, if God will be with me and

will keep me in this way that I go, and

will give me bread to eat and raimond to put on,

so that I may come again to my father's house

in peace. Then shall the Lord be my God. And

this stone which I have set for a pillar, shall

be God's house. And of all that thou shalt give me,

I will surely give the tenth unto thee. And I

think we'll just go on. Then let's go on to

Genesis thirty five. And this is after we heard about

this morning when when Jacob's name was changed or brother

Jayden mentioned it from surplanter or trickster to Israel, one

who struggles with God. And so just thirty five, I'm

going to read the first seven verses. And God said

to Jacob. This is after he came back. And God

said to Jacob, arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there,

and make there an altar unto God that appeared unto

thee when thou fledest from the face of he saw

that brother. Then Jacob said to his household and all

that were with him, put away the strange gods that

are among you, and be clean and change your garments,

and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and

I will make thee there an altar unto God, who

answered me in the day of my distress, and was

with me in the way which I went. And they

gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in

their hand, and all their ear rings which were in

their ears. And Jacob hid them under the oaks which

was by Shechem. And they journeyed, and the terror of

the God was upon the cities that were round about them,

and they did not pursue After the sons of Jacob,

I want to read through seven. And Jacob came to LUs,

which is in the land of Canaan, that is Bethel,

and all the people that were with him, and he

built there an altar called the place El Bethel, because

there God appeared unto him when he fled from the

face of his brother. God says, go back to Bethel.

I believe that's where the term back to Bethel. And

this is a beautiful picture of what God does. And

we know the journey of Jacob as he went and

he comes, and he comes, and he's now a cripple

one who struggles with God. And God says, now I

need you back at Bethel. But Jacob had enough spiritual

acuity to know that there's some things he couldn't take

with him back to Bethel because they didn't fit. They

didn't fit with the worship of that God. And they

put away those things and they went and he took them,

and no doubt he went and he made He probably

saw this, this pile of stones that he poured oil

on his many years before, at least at least twenty

probably if you think of the wives, I think it

was six years after the fourteen that he It says

how many years he labored for labor in the scripture,

but I don't have it off the top of my head,

went and found this stone, and he set up an

altar as God told him, And it's a god of

the house of God. And I think sometimes when we

recover from our discouragement in our low times, and we

can almost make a monument out of that. But that

isn't God, That isn't God. God didn't tell him to

go back and worship at that altar you made. He said,

go back and make me an altar. And we need

to come to worshiping the God that healed us, the

God that made me a cripple in fact in this case,

and maybe brought many hard things. And he comes back

with his family a broken man, more prepared to worship God.

He was broken, but he wasn't shattered. I think there's

a difference. And I think God wants us broken but

not shattered. You can use those pieces to make to

make something out of it. He who struggles with God

and I that was Isaac. That's is wrong. He is

now the man who struggles with God, and that was

going to probably be who he was for the rest

of his life. Clock's going faster than I am this morning.

Let's turn to Daniel. This is the story of shad raight, Misha,

I can a beend ago, And I'm just going to

read a few of these verses. I think I'm going

to read from nineteen to twenty five. And this is

after we know we I am here, I got go again.

We know the story. They were called and they were not.

They said in verse sixteen, we are not careful to

answer the in this matter, if it be our God

whom we serve as able to deliver us. And this

is when the king is angry and he's casting them

into the fire verse nineteen. Then with then was nebuk

Canazar full of fury, and the form of his visage

was changed against shade Rack, Mishak and Abeddi go. Therefore,

he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace

one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

And he commanded the most mighty men that were in

his army to bind shade Rack, Mishak and Abeddi go

and go cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then

these men were bound in their coats and their hose,

and their hats and their garments, that were cast into

the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the

king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the

flame of the fire slew those men that took up

shadrack mishak and abedding go. And these three men shadrap

meshak and a bend and go, fell down bound into

the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then neby Canejeta,

the king was a stonied and rose up in haste

and spake and said, unto his counselors, did not we

cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?

They answered, and said unto the king, true o king.

And he answered, lo, I see four men loose, walking

into the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt.

And the form of the fourth is like the son

of God. The king thought he had all control. He'd

it seven times hotter throw them into the fire. And

what did he see? He saw four men loose. And

this is my fourth title. We could call these my

fourth point. I still the recorders are going to have

to figure out what to do with this. But that's

the fire freedom. The fire freed them. I don't know

how much they felt of the heat of that fire.

We know the smell of smoke wasn't on them, but

it burned their ropes. And I believe that that is why.

And God said that he took the children of Israel

through the wilderness to try them. And I believe that

that's why God brings us difficult things. Is not to

bind us, is to free us. The fire freedom and

the king. Something else he observed is that there's four men.

Didn't we cast three? And there's four there, and the

forest looks like the son of God. And I believe

that when the fire freeze men of God, other people

looking on recognize the fourth man more than we do

ourselves at the moment. Often maybe we don't sense that

presence quite so much in the heat. That says they

yielded their bodies that they might only serve God. That's

what that was the testimony of the of King Nebuknezer

in verse twenty eight, that these men yielded their bodies,

and so no man was supposed to serve any God

but the True God. And closing, let's go to Romans.

I just like to read a few verses from Romans

eight yet as encouraging words. Likewise the spirit of Romans eight,

verse twenty six. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities,

for we know not what we should pray for as

we ought. But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us

with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches

the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,

because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the

will of God. And we know that all things work

together for good to them that love God, to them

who are the called according to His purpose. And this

is probably one of the most misquoted, no not misquoted,

inappropriately quoted versus in the King James version or in

the Bible. And we know that all things work together

for good to them that love God. Who's good is it?

And there's something we need to remember when we're when

we're facing difficult times, when we have our infirmities, when

we're is that it's for God's good and our personal

good and God's good doesn't always align. It just doesn't

always align. But this should verse is a comfort to us,

and that there is a master plan, and that is

I'm guaranteed to be fitting into the master plan somehow.

That doesn't mean it feels good, but it's to them

who are the called according to his purpose. We're fulfilling

his purpose. And finally, verse thirty eight and nine, for

I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels,

nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

nor height nor depths, or any other creature, shall be

able to separate us from the Love of God, which

is in Christ. Jesus, our Lord, Lord, bless you. Let's

have a song mhm