When he shall come with trumpets
down, O may I then in him be found, Dressed in his righteousness
alone, All blessed to stand before the throne. Okay, you can be
turning to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 10, 1 Corinthians 10,
our Text is. In Exodus. Seventeen, but I want to read
some verses here first while you're turning, I want to quote
to you from. My pastor's introduction to. This well, not this one, but
the story on the manna which we studied Wednesday night. In
his book, Pictures of Christ, his opening comments on the story
of the manna are these. Would we be faithful ministers
of the gospel of Christ? Would we be faithful teachers
and preachers in our generation? Would we be faithful students
and rightly divide the word of truth? Then we shall search the
Old Testament scriptures and preach Christ. from the types,
the patterns, and the prophecies, as did our Lord and his disciples. That's what they preached. This
is what they preached, all of them. It's the only scriptures
they had. You remember the Lord preaching
to the disciples of old on the road to Emmaus and beginning
in the books of Moses. That means Exodus. I bet you,
I'm just willing to bet that he preached on the smitten rock.
And they, their hearts burnt within them as they heard that.
And may ours do the same. I Corinthians 10, I remind you
now, verse 11 says, All these things happened unto the children
of Israel, for example. They all happened to them, for
example. They're written, the story of the children of Israel
and what happened to them is written for Our admonition. Admonition means warning. Admonition
means reminder to not forget. Counsel, strong urging to don't
forget. A history teacher one time said
this. He said, if you don't study history,
you'll repeat it. So admonition means don't forget,
learn. Upon whom, this is written for
us, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Ends of the world. So, and look
at verse 1. He says, all our fathers. Brethren,
I would not that you should be ignorant how that all our fathers,
all the children of Israel, were under the cloud, all passed through
the sea, they were all baptized, immersed under Moses in the cloud. Everybody in here has just been
saturated with the gospel. Verse three, and did all eat
the same spiritual meat? Oh, we've eaten a lot of this
book and this roll. They did all drink, verse four,
the same spiritual drink. They drank of that spiritual
rock, capital R, that followed them. That rock was Christ. But Here's the admonition, with
many of them, God was not well pleased. They were overthrown
in the wilderness, they were overcome, they were taken up
with, they were, they didn't make it. Now, these things, verse
six, these things were our examples, pictures, types to show us to
the intent that we should not, that we should not lust or desire
after evil things. You know, things aren't evil
in themselves, but they are when we begin to want them more than
God. Verse seven, neither be ye idolaters. That is, in Paul one time, weeping
said their God, their God, is their belly. What a God to serve. People sat down to eat and drank,
rose up to play. That's all they were concerned
about, like the Gentiles. What shall we eat? Where? Don't let us do that. Verse 8,
neither let us commit fornication. The world was consumed with it,
as some of them committed and fell in one day. Twenty-three
thousand. Neither let us tempt, or that
is, try God, as some of them also tempted and were destroyed
of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as thus some
of them murmured. And we're destroyed of the short
destroyer now all these things happen under them for our example. All right now go back to exodus
with. See the apostle. All of them at Stephen's message. When Stephen stood up to preach
what he preached. What happened to the children of Israel. He
just rehearsed all that story and he reminded them He said,
You're just like your fathers. Remember that? And they stoned
him for saying that. And on and on we could go. But let's look at this and maybe
learn from this. Verse 1 says, All the congregation
of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after
their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord.
And they pitched and repped them. And there was no water for the
people to drink. All the congregation. Congregation
means gathering. Who gathered them? The Lord did. He brought them together. All
of them. They were all put there in a congregation on purpose. Children of Israel, sons of Jacob,
took their journeys. They were going on a journey.
They weren't staying where they came from. They were going on
a journey. Where are they going? They're going where God sent
them. They were going on a journey. And it says they went through
the wilderness of sin. The wilderness of sin. That's
where they're going. They're passing through it. And
there's no water in that wilderness. There's nothing that's going
to satisfy their thirst. They're thirsty. But there's
no water there. Verse two and three, well, the
people, they chided with Moses. Chide means they used angry words.
They did tempt. Verse two, they said, give us
water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, why
chide you with me? Wherefore, why are you tempting
the Lord? It's not me you're saying this
against and murmuring against. It's the Lord. Testing the Lord,
you know, that's a good description of this whole generation of people
that are just taunting God, just taunting God. The word tempt
means to just test Him. How far can I go without God
doing something? You know, all this talk about
extreme, defying God. That's what people are doing,
defying God, tempting God. How far can I go? It's only as
far as God has ordained. And that's it. Oh, my. God doesn't pay all these bills
in September. But he does. He's got it written
down. Verse three, people thirsted
there for water. People murmured, you're going
through the wilderness, you will thirst for water. We believe
you're thirsty for the water of this world. Our Lord said
that. And people murmured against Moses. And they said this, they
kept saying this, that we're going to die here. If you brought
us out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with
thirst, we're just going to die of thirst. We're going to die. Had not God proved himself to
them countless times. That his purpose was not to kill
them. In spite of God's many wonderful
dealings with them. Listen to them, I mean, rehearse
them again. In spite of God choosing them. They were no different
than the Egyptians. But God chose them. In spite
of God calling them. revealing the truth. In spite
of God redeeming them, God gave them a lamb, put the blood over
their doors. Not did you. God sent great judgments
that they clearly saw as the hand of God. Even killing the
firstborn in Egypt. In spite of his amazing sovereign
mercy, and that's what it was, is all mercy, wasn't it? Everything
he did was mercy, sovereign mercy, sparing them. They were as sinful
as Egyptians, in spite of miracle after miracle, after miracle,
after wonder, after wonder, after sign, after provision, after
provision, after provision. Bringing them out, compelling
the Egyptians even to load them down with money when he brought
them out. They didn't lose one of their cattle. They were, when
they left the place, they were rich and increased with goods.
God sent a cloud to protect them. sent fire by night, the light
in the way, the darkness, the Red Sea was parted. The manna
fell from heaven, just sweet bread, fell from heaven to feed
them. In spite of these manifold blessings,
proofs of God's Word, how true God was to His Word, they murmured,
and murmured, and murmured, and murmured, Well, what did God
do? Then what did God do after they
murmured? Look at verse 4. It says, Moses cried unto the
Lord, saying, What will I do unto this people? They be ready
to stone me. Moses, later on, he lost his
patience, totally lost his patience, and he was ready to kill them
all. I'm glad Moses isn't God. What
did God do? Look at verse 5. The Lord said, And the Lord said, there was
no anger, no reproof, but he just said, Behold, go on before the people and you
take with you of the elders of Israel and thy rod, that thou smote the river. Take
it in your hand. Behold, I'm going to stand before you upon
the rock and horeb, and you're going to smite the rock, and
there shall come water out of it. I'm going to give him one. I don't think you're entering
into this way. I don't think you heard what I just read in
spite of all that. God should have killed him. You
would have. But he didn't even rebuke him.
He just said mercifully and graciously, kindly and lovingly to Moses.
They murmured, they've been doing this since they left. There are
only 45 days out of Egypt. And God just lovingly said, I'm
going to give them water. I'm going to smite the rock. He said, Behold, I will stand
upon the rock in Horeb, Horeb. You remember that place? That's
where Moses first heard from God. That's up in those mountains
where he saw the bush burning that was not consumed. That's
where God started. Revealing himself. And he brings
him back there, brings them all back there, the horror of where
they saw the burning bush, that's where the rock was. Smite the
rock, I'm going to stand upon the rock, I am smite the rock,
he told Moses, there shall. There shall come water. Out that
rock that the people may drink. And it says Moses did so and
the side of all the witnesses, there were many witnesses. That's
why I took them there. Witnesses of God's mercy, God's grace,
God's proof of God's word. Many witnesses to see that God
is true to his word. God is kind. God is gracious.
Now. These things are written for
our admonition. Upon whom the end of the world These things are written, these
warnings, these reproofs, these reminders. These things, all
that we just read, do testify of mercy, infinite mercy and
goodness and love and grace and longsuffering and kindness and
endurance of the Lord our God, Jehovah, God our Savior. They
do testify. of him. They do testify of the
Lord Jesus Christ, how that God took out his wrath that was meant
for us rebellious sons of Jacob on his spotless son who didn't
deserve any of it. You see, it's the goodness of
God that leads us to repent. And this whole story is about
a rock being And God spoke kindly to the people,
graciously, mercifully, spoke a word of His goodness to them,
but He took it out on a rock. And that rock is Jesus Christ. Oh, I'd like to preach this.
All the congregation, it says in verse 1, all the congregation,
all have sinned and come short. of the glory of God. Here we
are, a congregation. You are here. The lot is cast
in the lap. I decided to go to church this
morning. But the whole disposing thereof
is of the Lord. We are congregated. We are brought
together on purpose. We are here on purpose. We are
all here gathered by God. We are here by design, gathered
by God. What for? Why did he gather us here? To
tell us one more time of his infinite goodness to us. To remind
us. To tell us again, one more time,
maybe just one more time, of what all he's done for us through
the Lord Jesus Christ. To break our rebellious hearts.
and to set our feet right and to save us from this godless
untoward generation. One more time, today is the day
of salvation. This right now is when God Almighty
is preaching the gospel to you, you son of Jacob. One more time,
we're congregated, congregated. Children, all the children of
Israel. Remember that in our Bible study,
we're called children. No matter how old we get. Right,
Brother Henry, we still at times act like children. Like we hadn't
learned a thing. That's what they did, didn't
they? Haven't you learned anything, you sons of Jacob? Not much.
Children of Israel. No matter the age, we need instruction. We need protection. We need provision. God's From the day to the day
we die, God's going to have to bear us up. He's going to have
to carry us. God's going to have to restrain us. He's going to
have to constrain us. He's going to have to provide for us. He's
going to have to teach us. He's going to have to rebuke us. He's going to have to chasten
us. He's going to have to correct us. He's going to have to keep us from destroying
ourselves. Until the day we die, we're children. We're children. Journeying through the wilderness.
We're not here for very long. We're not here very long. I was
talking to Brother Greg Yonkers the other day, and he turned
50 years old. He said, you know, I'd heard
before that old saying that when you turn 50, all your whole life
passes before your eyes. He said, I used to laugh at that.
He said, you know, but it did. He said, I stopped and thought,
I can't believe this. Well, what about 60? What about
70? It's gone. It's over. We're journeying. What is your life? It's a vapor.
Young people can't enter into this. Can't do it. Can't enter
into it. I've got my whole life ahead
of me. How many years? 20? 30? That's a vapor. It's gone. Here for a little while, it's
gone. Journeying. What do you do when you journey
somewhere? It means you're going somewhere. It means you're going
somewhere. That means you've got a destination.
Everyone that's appointed unto man wants to die. And after that,
what? Job, the whole book of Job, says,
talks about man going to his long home from which he shall
not return. Oh, that they were wise, Moses
said, and would consider their latter end. Oh, that they would
bear the yoke in their youth, realizing they're on a journey,
that they're not staying here. They don't have a continuing
state. But boy, you've got a long one there. Where am I going?
Where am I going? Where am I headed? On a journey. And we're journeying through
a wilderness of sin. A wilderness of sin. Many temptations. In the world
you shall have much tribulation. In a world that's not a friend
to God's people, but it's an enemy. A world which is full
of nets and pits and ditches to which we can easily fall. We're journeying. Read on. And
we're doing it. Oh, I love this. I love this. Verse 1. We're journeying according
to the commandment of the Lord. Like the children of Israel.
We're going where God sends us. We're doing what God has ordained,
what God has purposed. Don't you like that? We were
talking the other day about a woman who got upset Got mad at God,
she's mad at God. And she told, rebuked one of
our ladies saying, all these people talk about God doing this
and doing that and what it was she lost a loved one. And she
was mad at God. She said, I don't believe that
for a minute. I don't believe God had anything to do with that.
One of our ladies was saying, that's my hope. That God did
that, that God does all things, that God's in control of all
things. She said, that's my hope, that's my peace, or I couldn't
make it in this world. The other lady said, I don't
believe that for a minute. Then what hope do you have? You don't
need a God. You don't have a God. If your
God's not ordering all things, purposing all things, directing
all things, if everything's not under his divine control, you
don't have a God. You don't have a God. You got chance, you got
chaos, you got You better hope you're lucky. You better hope
you're lucky. But if your hope's in God, who's infinitely wiser
than you are, who's infinitely more kind than you are, who cannot
do bad, wrong, but everything's working according to His all-wise
purpose for your good. Is there any comfort in that?
That all thing? Where else can you find any comfort?
It's all according to the commandment of God. This journey that pits us, we're
talking about dangers everywhere, but God is sending these children
right where he put them. He put them in trouble on purpose.
Hedged them up. Remember that? Hemmed them up
right next to the Red Sea and their enemies were right on them.
We're going to die. I put you there to show you one
more time that I didn't bring you out here to kill you. I brought
you here to save you. This is not going to kill you.
It's going to save you. Quit your murmuring. If God was
going to kill us, He wouldn't have showed us all these things.
He wouldn't have told us all these things. He wouldn't have
done it. He wouldn't have smitten the rock. That's what I was talking
about. In spite of all their rebellion
and all that, God just wonderfully, mercifully, graciously said,
Go, I'm going to stand on a rock. You hit it. They're thirsty.
I'm going to give them water. That's not, that's what the psalmist
one time said. Is this the way of man? David
said that. David stopped and considered
the goodness of God to him. He considered himself. He wouldn't
have done, he wouldn't have put up with himself like God did.
He said, is this the way of man? This is not the way of man. And
this is what Isaiah is writing when Isaiah said, God's thoughts
are higher above the earth and the heavens are the earth. His
ways, not like our ways. Why? Because he's merciful. This should be our greatest cause
for worship and rejoicing, God's mercy. My, my. Well, the children
of Israel, verse 2, and there was no water for them to drink,
and us, You know, I really have been
a lot like Solomon. I've had about all there is,
anything there is to have here. And most of you here have done
the same. Been about anywhere I wish to
be. But what real satisfaction is
any of this stuff given? Huh? Nothing. journey and there's no water.
There's no water there. I tell you where there's water.
It's out of a rock. It's not in this wilderness of
sin. It comes from a slippery rock. Verse two, the people that
chided with Moses said, give us water. He said, you're tempting
the Lord. Chiding with me, but you're tempting
the Lord. The people thirsted there for water. The people murmured
against Moses and said, Why have you brought us here to kill us,
us and our children, our cattle? We're not here to kill you. And I'm not being silly here,
but I, you know, I remember I was a young person thinking that
this was difficult to endure. This thing is sitting in church. Why don't we have more fun? Why
don't we have more programs? Why don't we have more outings
and things for our children. I'm not here didn't bring here
to kill you. Some of you may have may not
have heard this story. But a little boy sitting in the
sitting in the service with his mother and on the wall where
plaques all around the wall with names on them. And the little
boy was looking around back and punched his mama and said, Mom,
what are those? What are those up there? His
mama said, That's the name of all the boys that were killed
that died in the service. And he said, Was it in the morning
or evening service? We're not here to kill you. Lord
didn't bring you here. You think of the mercy of God
and putting our children in this place, huh? They could be out
in those places that are full of fun and games, going to a
three ring circus. That's not interested in anything
but them having fun. Your children, your grandchildren
under the word of God at every opportunity. Every time I stand
up and we gather together, I try to teach them the Word of God
which is able to make them wise unto salvation. The time is too
short to use any of this time for foolishness. You think of
the mercy of God in putting your children here. They can go to
the Y and get all the fun they want six days a week. Buddy, when they come here, they've
got to hear this. It's life and death. And it won't kill you. I know. I've sat through more of it than
anybody. It didn't kill me. It didn't bring us here to kill
us, but to hear the word of life.
Verse 4, Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What will I do
unto this people? They'd be almost ready to stone me. What am I
going to do to them? Oh, my. And the Lord said, and he's telling us one more time, you go on before the people,
set before the people, take with you all these elders of Israel
and thy rod. You remember what the rod is,
don't you? It's right here. Word of God. Rod, take the word
before the people, before their eyes, with all these witnesses,
recompensed about with so great a cloud of witnesses that have
run this race, and none of them who stayed in the course died.
None of them. Running this race, a great cloud
of witnesses. You've got this Rod. You've smoked
the river. You've seen his wonders, haven't
you? Now the Lord is not here to kill us. He should have long
ago. He could have. When I was a young
rebellious teenager, he could have. Should have. He should
have. I would have. I would have. But no, in Exodus 33 and 34, Moses said, Lord, show me your
glory. You know that story. After all they went through,
John. And then Moses said, show me
your glory. We've seen so much, but show
me your glory. What did the Lord say? What did
He say? I will proclaim my name. I will
make all my goodness pass before you. The Lord. He said, I will
proclaim my name before the Lord God. Mercy. This is His glory. This is His infinite glory, merciful
to a bunch of rebels. Gracious, the Lord God, gracious,
the Lord God, long-suffering. We need to keep in account and
keep worshiping Him for this account, that the long-suffering
of the Lord is salvation. That the reason we're going to
be saved is because God's going to put up with us. How long? More years,
more. Long-suffering, abundant in goodness. He's not going to be done with
us. He's going to keep on keeping on. We won't. We'll keep on murmuring. The Lord God keeping mercy for
thousands. Just wiping it clean. The Lord
God slow to anger and of great mercy. and great kindness. And what he said, that great
kindness, all has to do with this rock. My, my. He said, behold,
here's the glory of God. Here's the glory of God ascending
in the face, or the smitten rock, which is Christ. Behold, think
about that. Behold, whenever God says behold,
you just stop and think. Stop. Think. Consider. Behold.
Just ponder. Consider. Get a hold of yourself. Behold. God's going to stand on a rock.
I mean, the heavens can't contain him. He's going to be on that
rock. He's going to be up on a mountain.
God, who sits on the circle of the earth, is going to be on
a rock. In a mountain. It's not up to. The condescension of the
Lord the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ God behold. God was manifest. God who sits on the circle of
the earth. Stood on this earth. In this earth. God whom the heavens
can't contain. What was the baby? Behold, I'm going to stand on... Now, I quoted that wrong. I said,
a rock. He said, behold, I will stand
on the rock. As if there's just one up there.
That's the only one God's going to be on. The rock in Horeb,
the same place you went to see the burning bush is where you're
going to see the rock. That's where God's going to preach.
Moses, later on, is going to come to Mount Sinai, the same
place. God's the same yesterday, today, and forever. He's taken
many different forms, but it hasn't changed him. It hasn't
changed him. These are one. And you'll stand,
I'll stand upon the rock in Horeb, and, he says to Moses, Now, who's
Moses? Moses is the lawgiver. Moses
is the one whom God used to bring the law. What does the law say? Well, Melanie, it's all negative. You get what I mean by that?
God made foolish the wisdom of this world. There's one positive. Remember
the Sabbath. The rest of it is thou shalt
not. Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not. Why is he wow-native? Because
we're lawbreakers. We're born that way. And the
first thing we've got to learn is no. No. Thou shalt not. Because what we're prone to do,
prone to wander. Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave.
prone to sin, prone to rebellion, prone to it all. That's what
we're born, we're dead in trespasses and sin. He said, I'll stand
upon the rock. And Moses, who represents the
law of God, which says, Thou shalt not. Moses is the one who's
going to take the rod of God, the rod of God, representing
the Word of God. He's going to stand on a rock. The only one where God is. Moses, stand on that rod. God,
stand on the rod. Moses, take that rod and smite
the rock. Don't tap it. Don't nudge it. Take that rod and smite
it. And he said, and God said, God
promised, water is going to come out of
that well. It's going to save their lives.
They're going to drink it. They're not going to die. And Moses did. And God did it. Cleft a rock. Cleft the rock. Rock and water
came gushing out. And went running down that hill.
Not a little trickle, but a river. River of water. Did you read
it there in Psalm 78? Rivers. One rock. Seemingly little rock. A river of gushing, flowing,
raging, not, well, river of living water. And there was a bunch
of rebels down there. That rock is Christ. Stay with me. I've lost you. God, who's angry with the wicked
every day. God is going to destroy this
godless planet someday. And that right early. God who
chose us and called us by his grace to reveal the rock to us. God whom we've sinned against,
our son. Sin that gives such mercy and grace and goodness.
God who says thou shalt not. God unto whom we have done all
he said not to. God sent his son in this world. the
only human being worth living. God, who sent his only begotten
well-beloved Son, of whom he is well pleased, never said that
about anybody. God made his Son to be sin for
a bunch of sons of Jacob. He who knew no sin. God put his
Son in the midst of this cesspool of iniquity. in the midst of
a bunch of people came to his own and they didn't want him.
He said, go back where you came from. God, who sent his son into
this hell hole, laid on him all the charges against all these
people. And God Almighty took the law
which says the soul that sent it shall surely die. Every one
of them. The soul that sent it must surely
die. God Almighty took this law, his word, all been broken, and
put his son on a tree. God nailed him to the tree. It
pleased the Lord to bruise him. Put his son on that tree. And
God took his log and busted him between the eyes with it. He was smitten of God. Killed him. Ripped his body open. Disemboweled him. and every ounce
of his blood flowed out. He paid a debt that he didn't
owe for a people who owed a debt
that they couldn't pay. He paid the penalty that he didn't
deserve for a people who got what they didn't deserve. Think
about it. This is not fair. This is not
right. No, but this is a glory of God's mercy and grace. This is why we meet together.
That rock is only one. It's only one where God is. The
only one where God is found. The rock. The rock means solid,
doesn't it? A rock means a sure foundation,
a chief cornerstone, a foundation laid for our hope, for our faith. No other can be laid but this
one which God laid, which is Jesus Christ, the Rock of Ages. Now, God says, cast yourselves
on that rock, that smitten rock. Drink, this water is for you.
Rebel, drink it up. I smoke this rock for you. This
blood that's pouring out that my son shouldn't have, shouldn't
have, but it is. It's for the remission of your
sins. It's for the redemption of your soul. Drink it up now.
Don't cast it underfoot. It's a common thing. You glory
in it, you thank me for it. You didn't have to do that. You
didn't have to do that. Thank God to high heaven for
this smitten rock. And he did so. That's what God
did. people drank. And you know what? Amazing thing. That rock. Now this is the first mention
of that rock. Amazingly. And I don't know how
it did this, but it did it. They went on their journey. They
left this place. And you know, the next morning,
Brad came down. And you know what? That rock
just followed him. It just kept following that rock. It just kept following him. I
don't know how it did it, but it did. That's a true story.
And our Lord, that rock, which is Christ, He said, I'll never
leave you. Now, did they quit murmuring? Oh, no. They sure didn't. Much to their shame. But you
know, their shame is His glory. Isn't it? Their shame. This is
the sin of Israel. As bad as it was, yet it redounded
to the glory of God, didn't it? How could He be so kind to such
people? That's the way God is. To the
praise of the glory of His grace. And our Lord said, I'll never
leave you, nor forsake you. And you're going to keep murmuring,
not to quit it. But God is long-suffering. Just
drink, drink as a reminder. Don't forget the rock. Don't
forget the rock. The mercy of God. You'll not
be smitten again. You know, that's the rest of
the story, don't you? The rock's not going to be smitten again.
If you get thirsty, all you've got to do is speak to it. You understand that, don't you,
Jeanette? You are. You're smiling. The world doesn't
know that, Jeanette. There's people right now smiting
the rock. God, they're not going to go
in. God's angry. Speak to it. It's always there.
Just get thirsty. It's not in the wilderness water.
You speak to the rock. You get all the water. Okay. Let's sing in closing. What else
could we sing but Rock of Ages? Cleft from me. What number? 326. 126. All right. Let's stand
and sing a couple of verses. First and last. Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let
me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from
thy womb inside which flow, be of sin the double cure. Save from breath and make me
few, While I draw this bleeding...