Old Testament in a Year: Exodus 16-28

Now I have the honor and privilege of bringing the word this morning. Pastor Jay is with our Greensboro campus this morning and he says hello and he greets you. Hey, real quick, before we dive into the Word, I want to just let you guys know if I've not had the chance to connect with you personally. Of course. My name is Abe, and I have the honor and privilege of overseeing various ministries here at the Refuge.

But the one that excites me the most, the one that gives him the most life, is outreach. Because I don't know about you guys, I just know to say to you, I was once lost and now I'm found. I was blind and now I see. And if it wasn't for someone being courageous to share the love of Jesus with me. Church, you're not hearing me.

If it wasn't for someone being courageous to tell me that God loved me and God had a plan for me, if it wasn't for the church getting past themselves and mentoring me, if it wasn't for the church showing me Christ's love, I. I would not be where I am today. And I'm not. I'm. I'm. I'm here to say to you that the responsibility of sharing the gospel is not for the pastor.

It's not for Pastor Jay, for Pastor Steph. No. The responsibility to share the gospel is on all of us who know him. How could we not? Come on.

Were you once lost? Are you found now? Were you blind? Can you now see? Come on.

The gospel is for our neighbors. The gospel is for our moms and dads. The gospel is for our son and daughters. It's for everyone. And it's our responsibility to be and to give what God has given to us.

As I'm leading, we're leading this ministry, me and the team, we're leading what outreach looks like. Here at the Refuge, we felt the Lord impress on our hearts. To just really label it under love your neighbor. And loving your neighbor is not a one time event. It's a daily thing that we're called to do.

So what I want to do real quick is I want to just show you as we're pioneering this movement here at the Refuge, number one, I want to challenge you to begin to pray into to it is. How am I supposed to do that on a personal level every day? But as you pray with us and you believe that God is, you know, I believe that God's going to open doors for us to reach Kannapolis, Let me tell you something right now. God wants to reach Kannapolis. God wants to reach Concord.

God wants to reach Harrisburg. Wherever you live, because you live there. God wants to use you to reach that community. What would happen if everyone in Kannapolis fell in love with Jesus and gave them their life to them and we would have a rival in this place? And I'm telling you, it's not something that I'm telling you to inspire you.

God can do it. God can do it. So I want to just share with you guys where we are currently. I want to give you some stats real quick to just encourage you and challenge you and let you know where we are as a church. These stats are based upon what we've done so far in 2024 and 2025.

You ready? Here we go. We've had over 285 volunteers come out and get outside the four walls and reach Kannapolis. We've had over 400 individuals impacted by the community giveaways. That's 175 backpacks that we this past summer, over 200 bags of groceries that we distributed.

We've served over 60 families in our orphan care through our orphan care Christmas festival. These are the stats that we know of right now. But we will not know the eternal impact until we see Jesus face to face. And that's what matters. We're not even.

This is not even really hitting a church. So what we want to do as a church is provide opportunities to reach more people. And I want to just tell you guys real quick two opportunities that are going to happen in upcoming soon about just the way we're going to reach the community on March 28th. Everybody say March 28th. We're going to get out of the four walls.

We're going to pick five intersections here in the city of Kannapolis. We're going to remind Kannapolis that God cares about them. We're going to remind Kannapolis that God truly, truly loves them. That Jesus loves them. We're going to remind Kannapolis that there is hope and hope in Christ.

We're going to do that by holding up signs and as cars stop, we're going to give them an air freshener that says God sees you. We're going to attach that to a touch card that invites people to our Easter service. We're not here. We're not doing that to, in a sense, pack out the house for a sake of a number. No, we're doing that so people can be stirred to come hear the gospel.

Come on, church. That should excite you. And so what we need from you guys is, we're building teams. We're building five teams. There's going to be a youth team, two youth.

Where you at, youth? Come on, get on that team. There's a young adult team. There's a young families team. There's a refuge team.

Come on. We need you guys to sign up to be a part of this outreach. It's not going to be all day, but it's going to be a phenomenal time where we're going to encourage those in the city of Kannapolis. I don't know about you guys, it might be your story. Maybe you were the one that now serves God because someone went out of the way to give you a touch card and invited you to a service.

If God can do it for you, God can do it for those in Kannapolis. So after service, we want to invite you in front of our love your neighbor signs. We're going to have some team leads with some signs with a QR code that says, join my team. We want to get you plugged in. We want to get you excited.

We want you to come out as we just love on the city of Kannapolis. Amen. Then here's the big one. On April 18, everybody say April 18. My goal and my heart's desire is to give away 300 bags of groceries because I believe that as we meet a practical need, Jesus will meet a spiritual need.

Amen. Here's how you can partner with us. On the other side of the love your neighbor sign are some people there. We have a specific grocery list that we need. If you will be so kind as to take a packet.

We're only accepting the specific groceries on that lease. When you go to the grocery store, will you just invite, invest in another family? You can pick that up, sign up for it. You get a packet. If you feel like, hey, I don't have time or space in my schedule to go personally shopping for these groceries.

You can sign up to donate a $35 gift card. I'm telling you, I, I, I know for myself growing up from a need, from having a practical need. When I look back at the times that God met our family with food, it was the church who stood up. Stood up and did it. Come on.

Can we be the hands and feet of Jesus in doing? Can you partner with us? Those things are going to be available in the concourse immediately following the service. Amen. You guys excited?

Are you excited to reach people? I'm telling you, God will do it. We're in this series as we're Going through the old testament in 2026 and the new testament in 2027. And I don't know about you guys, but I am loving kind of just what we're doing as we are diving into the word of God, as we're being intentional with it. And if you're not participating in our scripture, our daily scripture reading, I want to encourage you to hop on board and dive with us.

I'm gonna be really honest with you guys. When we started doing kind of our Bible reading plan for the refuge, I was like. I was like, man, I don't know how I feel about this. And if I'm honest, sometimes it's because I become super, super Christian, become super religious. I'm like, oh, I gotta knock out, like, 10 chapters a day.

Because if I read 10 chapters a day, God will love me, you know? Right. Like, I'm the only one that does that. Okay, I'll see you at the. I'm just kidding.

Like, we do that sometimes, right? We. We base our merit on how much we can do for God. And the reality is, Sometimes I'll read 10 chapters and I won't really remember what I read. So what I love about our reading plan is that it's two to three chapters a day.

This helps us slow down and really pay attention to what God is saying. And I'm telling you, like, like now than never before. The word of God is just. I feel like the. The words are popping out in front of me every morning when I'm intentionally paying attention to what God's saying.

It's transforming my. Transforming my life again. So I want to encourage you guys to really hop on our Bible reading plan. It gives you kind of a preview to what we will be speaking about on Sunday. Come on, church.

If you want to. You want to know the God you're serving? Read the Word. You want to hear his voice? Come on.

Read the Word. Come on. We gotta know in the days kind of where there's a mixture between culture and the church, we need to know what the word of God says. Amen. So right now we're in the book of Exodus.

I will be kind of focusing in specifically on Exodus, chapter 16 through 28. Now, I'm gonna be honest with you. First of all, you gotta pray for my wife, because I've probably driven her crazy this. This past week because I feel like the word of God is so good. I'm like, how do I.

How do I bring a message on those many chapters? I feel like I could do a whole sermon series on Exodus chapter 16, I could do a whole sermon series on the man and quail. I mean, it's so good. So I've had to really be intentional. I've had to ask.

So God help me to really drive out the main point. So as we kind of jump into the word of God, I'm giving you kind of a zoomed out picture of Exodus. Is that okay? Say amen and smile at me in Jesus name. All right.

Praise the Lord. The themes that. The recur occurring theme that I see in Exodus 16:28 is that God provides. Okay? But in order for us to look at the book of Exodus, we have to have a good lens.

So I'm going to give you that lens. You ready? All right, here it is. The lens that we're putting on is this. Is that scripture is.

Isn't centered on humanity. It's centered on God. He is the hero, he's the author, and he's the main character. As Pastor Clay taught us a couple weeks ago, throughout the Bible, God is the only one that can have main character energy. Okay?

Because it's all about him. Everybody with me. Specifically, in the book of Exodus, the story is not primarily about Moses or Israel. It's about God who reveals his glory, his holiness, and his heart and desire to dwell with his people, Israel. The filter that we're all supposed to have is that this book, the book of Exodus, reveals God as a promise maker and a promise keeper.

A promise made to Abraham is now being fulfilled through the book of Exodus. Okay, you with me? The wilderness. Here's the next thing on the lens. Wilderness was not punishment.

It was preparation. God was teaching his people, Israel, how to trust in him completely. That's the lens that we're going to look at scripture through. Okay? If I could encompass the book of Exodus into one scripture, it would be this.

It's found in Exodus 29, 45, 46. And it says this, then I will live among the people of Israel and be their God. And they will know that I am the Lord their God. I am the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the Lord their God.

I'm going to pray. Father, I thank you so much for who you are. And I ask in the name of Jesus, in these next couple of moments, God, you would instruct us. God, God. You know, God.

Every heart here, every heart watching online. And I pray right now, God, that your voice would be heard so clearly. God, correct us, rebuke us, encourage us, challenge us, Lord, God, that we may know you more in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus. And if you agree, say Amen. Where we pick up in the book of Exodus, in chapter 16, just previous to that, in chapters one through 15, real quick, I'm going to recap it.

We see the Lord powerfully come and deliver his people from Egypt. And he does this through plagues and many miracles. And the Israelites are very aware of seeing God's power move like never before. In chapter 16, where we pick up in these chapters, I want to just point out three ways that I specifically see God provider come through. Okay?

So the first one is this. Number one. He provides every physical need. Okay, that's the first thing we see. Exodus 16.

We're picking up. They're now in the desert. Here's. Here we go. Sixteen, verse three.

Here's the Israelites. If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt. Uh oh, it's not starting good. If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt. They moaned where we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted.

But now we have been brought. You have brought us into the wilderness to starve us to death. Now check this out, right? In chapters one through 15, they're seeing God miraculously move like never before. These are the same people, right, who literally crossed through dry land out of Egypt.

And they're the same people that now saw all those miracles, but are now coming with a complaint. I don't know about you guys, but with my kids lately, they're in. They're in what I call whiny mode. And Pastor Abe has yet to pray for me. He has a really hard time with whining mode.

And there are various times where my son's asking me for something, but it's not about the request. It's how he's requesting it. Come on, Church. You've been there with your kids. And we find that the Israelites kind of are in that place.

They've been delivered from the land of Egypt. They're in the wilderness now. And now they're hangry. And. And they're now complaining, going, oh, God, you, Moses, you brought us out of here.

When I read it, that's the tone. In my mind. Extra whiny. We're gonna die. And what do they begin to do?

They begin now to go. I wish we were back in Egypt. Cause at least in Egypt, we had plenty to eat. Can I say this to you, Church? Can we learn this real quick from them?

Don't let circumstance glamorize Bondage that you've been set free from. A lot of times we tend to do that when we're in the wilderness seasons, when we're in circumstance. Sometimes we tend to glamorize and beautify the very thing that God set us free from. I remember, you know, sometimes I think we give the Israelites a bad rep. You know, I. Sometimes in my early years as a believer, I would read this and I'm like, oh, these Israelites, man, they were like knuckleheads, you know, like, ah, can you just get.

And then I realized I act the same way. We act the same way. God does miraculous things for us. God delivers us, God sets us free. And the moment it doesn't go our way, the moment it gets tough, we start moaning and complaining and we start glamorizing our past.

I remember specifically one time when I was 18, I moved to Birmingham, Alabama to go to ministry school. And the Lord had called me to go to this place. I had phenomenal leaders who were calling me higher were pouring into my life. The Lord delivered me honestly from just growing up in California in the hood. And these leaders were calling me higher.

They were giving me biblical principles. And what happened one day that really set me back about four months is that this leader said to me something that challenged me. And if I'm honest, it just kind of hurt my feelings. I got in my feelings. So what did I do?

I did the godly thing. I went into my room, closed the door and I just was like, ugh, I hate. I hate being here. You ever had that moment before in your life? And this is what.

This is the thought. I partnered with Ready, Man, I just wish I was back in California with all my hood friends. Cause like, they smoke pot and they drink, but they'd love me and talk to me better. And that was the lie that I partnered with expecting for the blind to lead somebody that God had set free. Listen to me.

We do that all the time. And if we're not careful, we'll start to glamorize. Look at me. What God is pulling us out of. Listen to me.

That set me back four months. And what God could have done in those four months if I had not. What I had to do was lay down that mindset. God. No, you know what?

They're speaking life into me, God, because you've called them to God. You've called me to challenge me. God, God, this doesn't feel good. But what they're calling me to is going to produce freedom in my life. And once I Did that, man, I'm telling you, the Lord moved like never before.

But we have to be careful, Church. You have to be careful of the narratives you rehearse in your head. They may not put you physically in chains, but they'll wrap your heart with chains real fast. Church, are you hearing me? The Israelites missed it a little bit that they glamorized, man.

The miracles that they experienced, they forgot about all that. And they kind of were glamorizing the very thing God set them free from. So what does God do in this chapter? He miraculously rains down manna, a wafer like bread from heaven, each morning. And he sent quail down in the evening.

And he gave the Israelites specific instructions about the manna and the quail he provided. In the wilderness, they were told to gather only what they need each for each day. And if they kept anything, the food would spoil. Except for on the Sabbath, you see, on the sixth day, they were to gather extra so they could rest on the Sabbath day. God.

God provided in miraculous ways. And here's what happened we're picking up in Exodus 16, 18, 20 says this. But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those who were gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed.

Then Moses told them, do not keep any of it until morning. But some of them didn't listen and kept them kept some of it until morning. But when they. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. And Moses was angry with them.

How many guys know that provision is not a one time event, but provision needs to be a daily trust between us and God. And that's what God was trying to teach them. I love how that when the people took right, if people took just only a little bit, the Bible says they had enough. Those that took too much right, and couldn't trust God, the Bible says those people had enough. The provision that God gives us is not about us bragging about how much we do have or don't have the praises.

He is faithful to give us exactly what we need. And it's a daily thing. All right, let's pick up chapter 17. Okay? Remember, okay, God just provided man and quail.

Okay? Exodus 17, 2, 3 says this. So once more the people complained about Moses against Moses. Give us water to drink, they demanded. Quiet.

Moses replied, why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord? But tormented by thirst, they continue to argue with Moses. Why did you bring us out of Egypt, Are you trying to kill us, our children, our livestock, with thirst going down? Exodus 17, 5, 6.

The Lord said to Moses, walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile and caused some of the elders of Israel to join you. I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock and the water will. And water will come gushing out of it.

Then the people will be able to drink. So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on. God provides not only male, male manna and quail, but he provides water. He meets practical and physical needs. Here's the thing that I see kind of in this, in these chapters that I kind of want to point out.

The Israelites didn't approach these circumstances with faith filled requests as much as they voiced distrust through complaints. You see, there's a difference between asking and complaining. You see, asking and complaining reveal the posture of your heart. Church when we look at the Israelites, when we look at the story of how God delivered them from Egypt, we can see that Pharaoh's heart was hardened towards the Lord. But I would say to you and submit to you that so were the hearts of the Israelites.

See, the brutality of slavery had settled deep into their souls. That their mindset, in their mindset, they could not see God correctly. Here's what I mean by that, right? Like God provided and they saw the provision, but they were not able to see that God wanted to be the provider in everything. There's a difference, I think, and I submit to you, in looking for the provision and not really knowing who the provider is in our lives.

Miracle after miracle, provision after provision, they couldn't see the God who would take care of them with every need, though he sustained him. They didn't want to know the sustainer, though he provided, they didn't recognize the provider. Come on. Is that your story? Come on.

Are we, are we kind of like the Israelites, that we're good with the provision, but sometimes, if we're honest, our hearts want nothing to do with the provider. The manna filled their stomachs, the water quenched their thirst, but God was the only one that could fill their hearts. See, we have to come to the realization that sometimes I think we can become so satisfied with the provision but not know the provider? You don't believe me? Here's a test I want to submit to you.

Do you remember the last time you were struggling? How was your prayer life? Some of us, when we're struggling and we're really in desert season. So we're in it, man. We're praying, we're crying out, we're going after God wholeheartedly.

But then when all of a sudden, provision comes, something in us changes. Come on, church. I'm not the only one. I think sometimes what God desires for us to really learn is that it's more about what he can give to you. He is the prize.

He is the source. He is everything. Because here's the thing. It's not when it's. It's not if.

It's when the storms of life will come. If you don't know him completely, wholeheartedly as the provider man, you'll miss it. Because here's the thing. Provision can meet a need without changing a heart. I must say that again, provision can meet a need, but it doesn't necessarily.

It'll. It mean it'll change your heart. So we see in the book of Exodus Number one, he provides every physical need. Number two, he provides protection from the enemy and from ourselves. In Exodus 17, Israel is attacked by the Malachites while they're in the wilderness.

So Moses sends Joshua to lead the battle, while Moses stands on a hill with his hands raised and his Moses stands on the hills with his hands raised to God. If Moses hands are lifted, Israel wins. If his hands drop, the enemy advances. So Aaron and Hur help Moses hold his hands up and they win the battle. Man, this story is beautiful.

And I wish that I had two more weeks to just talk about this story, because it's a great miracle that even in the wilderness, God came through for his people. But can I be honest with you? That doesn't surprise me. Why? Because he came forth through them against the enemy in Egypt.

So be encouraged this morning. If he came through for you against the enemy in the past, he'll do it again.

Victory comes by remaining under his covering. Amen. So he gives them. He provides a strategy against the enemy, protection against the enemy. But what I also see is he also provides protection from ourselves.

What do you mean that? Pastor Rape, I'm so glad you asked. I'm about to answer that in Jesus name. In Exodus 18:14 to 18, it says this. When Moses, father in law, saw all Moses was doing for the people, he asked, what are you really accomplishing here?

Don't you just love it when people just come and bring these questions that you know the answer to, but you don't want to answer them? In Jesus name, what are you really accomplishing here? Why are you Trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around from morning till evening. Moses replied, because the people come to me to get a ruling from God. When a dispute arises, they come to me.

And I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God's decrees and give them his instruction. This is not good. Moses, father in law, exclaimed, you're gonna wear yourself out and all the people too. This job is too heavy of a burden for you to handle by yourself.

How many of you guys know that what Jethro was saying was wisdom from God, man? I remember kind of just realizing that kind of in my own life. As you guys know, I used to lead rds, our school of ministry here at the refuge. And I came to the conclusion, guys, that if I'm honest, I am a better pastor than parole officer.

When I become, I know someone's like, amen. I hope that wasn't an alumni.

I think sometimes if we don't do things in health, we'll miss our calling. We won't fulfill the calling that God has on our lives. I think sometimes God has wisdom for our lives. So what does God do through Jethro? He says, man, why don't you gather people, the people of Israel, people that are trusted, people that are not swayed by bribes, people that are righteous?

And why don't you put them in groups and let the people go to them? And all the big situations, they can come to you. And all of a sudden, like, there was great wisdom in that, guys. It's just practically speaking, it's what we practice now, kind of. And even the way government is structured here in our country.

Come on. What great wisdom. So this is what he says. Exodus 18:23. If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures and all the people will go home in peace.

Church Jethro's counsel wasn't about reducing Moses calling. It was about sustaining it. Sometimes God has a calling and an assignment on your life. And if you don't heed to wisdom, you're gonna burn out. Listen to me, if you don't heed wisdom, you're gonna burn out.

And God in his mercy and God in his grace, he provides a way to save you from yourself. Whatever God calls us to must have a strategy for long term consistency. And wisdom, guys, is not weakness. You see, what God essentially was doing through Jethro was he was kind of telling Moses, like, you got to have boundaries, man. Because if you don't have boundaries.

You're going to burn out. And all of a sudden, I mean, not that he was a pastor, but you're going to be a, you're not going to be a good pastor, you're going to be a parole officer and you're going to want to kill everybody. Come on, church. Some of us parents in here, that's why we drop our kids off at our grandparents. Grandparents.

Because if you don't, you know, I'm saying you're gonna lay hands, but not open handed.

Sometimes there's wisdom in that, right? Like there's wisdom in boundaries. Listen, boundaries don't push people away. They protect your heart from the destruction that resentment brings. You've been there before.

Listen to me, some of you guys right now that God opened the door for you to have a business, God provided the door wide open. But you're doing everything in your own strength and you're not developing people to help you. You're gonna burn out. We gotta sustain what God gives us because listen to me, when we do it by ourselves, man, it opens the door for resentment to come. Come on, church.

Am I the only one? It's one of the. I think sometimes it's easier, and this is just my opinion, I think it's easier sometimes to lay down an external habit like drugs, alcohol. I mean, I say that with grace and mercy. It's not as easy as I'm saying it.

Easier said than done, right? But matters of the heart sometimes are very difficult. Like bitterness, unforgiveness. Everybody hear me?

So in parenting, at the workplace, at school, in the marketplace, whatever the Lord has called you to do, he has a strategy. He provides a strategy for health and longevity. Because see, whether in the wilderness or in the promised land, our environment does not define our calling. And God gives us a strategy to steward it well in every season that we're in. So what does he do again in the book of Exodus?

He provides every physical need. He provides protection against the enemy and ourselves. And then lastly, here's the one I want to point out. Number three. He provides a way to dwell with his people.

If there's anything that you can take away from this message or if there's any takeaway from reading the book of Exodus, it's simply this. It is God's desire to dwell with his people. Come on, Church. It is God's desire that not only back then in Israel, but right now, that you dwell with him, that you know him in a personal way, right? It's what God says.

He says, Emmanuel, God with Us. It's one of his names. Come on, let's make that personal. In a second, we're gonna say Emmanuel, and then you're gonna fill in the blank with your name. You ready?

It's Emmanuel. God with us, right? Emmanuel, God with.

Let's try that one more time. Ready? Emmanuel, God with. It's his heart. His heart is to dwell with his people.

It was his heart's desire to dwell with Israel to fulfill the promise he made to Abraham. In the Book of Exodus, chapters 19 to 28, God brings them to Mount Israel, to Mount Sinai, and sets them apart as his holy people. He gives them the Ten Commandments, additional laws, and teaches them how to live free and as a holy nation. So the people enter into a covenant with Him. And God gives them detailed instructions for building the Tabernacle so that his presence can dwell among them.

He also establishes the priesthood, those that will represent people before Him. And in these chapters, God is not just rescuing Israel, he's shaping them into the nation that reflects his holiness and where his presence lives. Here's what the Lord says to the people in Exodus 19:4 through 6. He says this. You have seen what I did to the Egyptians.

You know how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among people, among all the peoples on the earth, for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation. This is the message you must give to the people of Israel. I'm going to skip down to Exodus 25:8.

He says this. Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. I mean, what God does is so profound. It's so beautiful. He's teaching them how to be his people.

He's teaching them how to live according to his ways with the Ten Commandments through all these different laws, right? That people would know, would see them and know who Yahweh God is. But here's the thing. He provided the way, but it was up to the people to say yes or no. I'm gonna bring it down to us real quick, right?

Like, God has provided a way for us to. To know him intimately, for us to know and hear his voice, know his heart. But listen to me. It's up to you whether you're going to say yes or no. The people are so excited, and.

And they say yes to Him. And in these chapters, he gives them specific instructions on how to build the tabernacles the materials to use, the measurements, he gives them every detail the Lord had required. The Lord had requirements for the Israelites regarding the tabernacle. And listen to me hear this. Grace was not an excuse to neglect what was required of them.

I'm going to say that one more time. The Lord had requirements for the people of Israel on how to build a tabernacle. And for lack of better terms, I'm maybe not going to say it nicely. What God wanted is what God. What God was desiring is what He.

He was going to get. And grace was not used to. As an excuse to not meet that requirement. Listen to me. I think sometimes God makes a way for us.

He did it through his Son, Jesus, right? His life laid down. And I think sometimes we can kind of understand that, receive that in our own way, and use it as an excuse to keep on living kind of in our own flesh and in our own way. And that doesn't work with God. God invites us to dwell with him, but it's up to us to say yes.

Not just say yes at one time at an altar, but daily at times. He has requirements of us and he expects us to obey. So I think sometimes in our culture, we treat obedience like the buffet system. And what that means is this, is that we walk up to the buffet and it's like, I like the French fries. You know what I'm saying?

But I don't like that.

I like the pizza. I don't know about the broccoli. Come on. Okay. And I feel like we treat obedience that way.

It's like, oh, you love me. You have provision, you have blessing. Oh, yes. Give me that. What?

You're asking me to lay this down? I don't know about that. And then we just kind of go back and forth and we treat being obedient to God like it's a choice. No, no, no. He requires obedience.

And his obedience is not. Is not calling us to obedience to oppress us. It's the way to life. Can I say that one more time? The obedience he's calling you is not to oppress you.

It's not because he wants to be mean. It's that he knows we have this thing called the flesh. And if the flesh not submitted to him, man, we'll. We'll continue to live blindly again. We'll continue to bound our hearts up again in sin.

He wants us to be a free people. Church. I want to say this to you. I want to challenge you with this. We must stop weaponizing God's love against the Lord as an excuse to lower the standard he set for us.

You know, the Bible. I want to just challenge you because I feel like for some of you in here this morning, God's asking some things of you. In the Gospels, we read about Jesus telling a lot of people that in those days, they'll say, lord, Lord, you know, but I did this for you. He'll say, I never knew you. And I don't think he's saying that because he wants to be mean.

I think he's saying that because I think in culture we see it. We use God's love as an excuse not to really repent. We use God's love sometimes as an excuse not to address the things that he wants to set us free from. Guys, he made a way to dwell with us, but we have to make room for Him. Will you make room for him in the Book of Exodus?

In these chapters again, we see God's provision, every practical need met. We see his provision through just against the enemy and against ourselves. We see his provision as he provides a way for God to dwell with man. And. And so here are some thoughts that I just want to submit to you as I've read all of this, that I want to just challenge you with as it pertains to the Israelites in the desert.

Did you guys know this? Did you know that the older generation never made it into the Promised Land, but it was the younger generation that did? Why? Because those who were born in the wilderness grew up depending on God daily. Trust wasn't a theory for them.

It was second nature. Is it for you?

And they were the ones ready for the promise. See, the younger generation, they grew up on manna. They had grown up on the miracles. Trusting and knowing the Provider was the norm. And they were the ones ready for the Promised Land.

How about you? See, the wilderness was not punishment. It was a way of preparation. Because I'll say it this way, if he isn't your all in the wilderness, he's not going to be your everything in the Promised Land.

If you don't know how to fully rely on him, how to make him your everything, I'm not talking about what he gives you him. If he is not everything, you need your. Your sustainer, the one that has your gaze. If he's not that in the wilderness, what makes you think he's going to be that in the Promised Land? If anything, when you get to the Promised Land, you'll think you did it yourself.

He uses the wilderness as preparation. He uses the wilderness to draw Hearts back to himself, teaching us to fully depend on him for everything. Because, see, in the wilderness, he shows up. His provision shows up. But more than his provision, the provider shows up.

And that's the point. I want to say this to all of you, that as we read the book of Exodus and we see how the Israelites, sometimes they failed, you see, but even in their lack, I want to make the statement, Israel was and still is his chosen people. He never threw away the Israelites when they failed. He never threw the Israelites away when they complained. No, no.

He showed them. He wooed their hearts. And if he could do that for them, he'll do that for you in your season of the wilderness. I love what Pastor Jay said last week, and I want to build off of it. He said this.

The trials of life do not make your character. They simply revere your character and give you an opportunity to see what is engraved in your heart. I want to build off of it and change it and challenge you with this church as we close. The wilderness. Season of life doesn't make your character.

It simply reveals your character, gives you an opportunity to expose what it's there. I was talking to a friend of mine who's a business owner, and we were having just this real conversation. And I said, man, how's business? And they were like, honestly, it's not doing good. And I'm really nervous and I'm really scared, and, you know, it's really been stressful.

And they said something so profound to me. They said, you know what? I really, really realized that I tend to trust in money more than I trust in the Lord. And I'm not proud of that. And I just.

I was so blown away by that confession. Because if we're honest, sometimes we need to confess the very things we're trying to hide. Because, see, like, conviction is not just about conviction for the sake of conviction. It's an invitation for God to journey with you with the very thing that kind of will prevent you from knowing him. They were like, man, I'm so convinced.

I don't like that about myself. I don't like the fact that I trust money more than I trust the Lord. And in my spirit, I was like, you know what? Don't get caught up in the conviction. It's an invitation for God to journey with you.

Listen, we're not at condemnation yet, guys. Condemnation is when it's too late. No, some of you, right now, you're at a place of conviction because you're trusting in things more than you're Trusting in God. And God's going, I'm not mad. Here I am.

Here I am.

If you're in this room, if you're watching online and you find yourself in a season that's called the wilderness, you know what that means? A season where maybe like, you're not growing and it feels hard and all that. Let me tell you something. I want you to know that there's victory. God will provide victory for you.

But first you have to come to this conclusion. Recognize that the wilderness is not punishment. Church, did you hear me? Those of you that are struggling in wilderness seasons, it's not punishment, but God uses it for preparation. He wants to prepare you in your own strength and in your own flesh.

You'll miss it. But through Christ's example, you will learn how to completely depend on Him. How? Here's how. I'm going to give you a teaser of 2027 in the New Testament, because in Matthew 4, chapter 1.

Excuse me, Matthew, chapter 4, verse 1:11, we see the temptation of Jesus. There's such a beautiful. I just wish we had more time for us to really get. Get into it, right? Like, we see the temptation of Jesus in.

In his own wilderness, right? He was there 40 days and 40 nights. Israel was in the desert, in the wilderness 40 years. And through Jesus, right? Like he.

He was able to redeem what the Israelites missed in the wilderness. How? Because he tr. He truly modeled what it meant to fully rely on the Father. Here's how.

You ready? He understood the assignment. He says, man shall not live on bread alone. Provision is not the source. God is.

Do not test the Lord your God. Right? Trust does not demand proof. Trust in the Father is always the strategy to victory. Right?

He said, worship the Lord your God and serve him only. Obedience protects covenant and keeps the channel open for God to dwell with his people.

It's beautiful. In our own strength. Will miss it. But if you lean into Christ like never before, he'll show you how to live those things out. Before I came to the refuge 11 years ago, I was in what I was called the hardest wilderness season of my life.

I was in a season where God had called me to move to a certain city to take a pastoral job. And. And I had a word and. And I felt like it's. It's what God ordained for me to do, right?

And everything just fell apart. It was. It was the most difficult season of my life. Nothing was working correctly. I got let go of the church.

I mean, I couldn't find a job. I mean, it was Awful. And I just would be frustrated. I would be. I would be questioning God, what are you doing?

I don't understand. I don't understand what the intention is. And I just, you know, I ever. I just was really frustrated. You ever been there before?

Don't worry, it's not, it's not a matter of if, it's when. And I don't. I'm not saying that as like, it's life. Life, be life. And sometimes, can we just be real?

I was so frustrated, but in that, in those season, I saw God's provision like never before. A quick testimony of that. I remember just coming into my little apartment and I just. I was like, I don't even know how I'm gonna have money for toilet paper. I'm like, oh, like God, you know, I'm like, what are you doing?

And I remember my. My little neighbor who was on disability just came out her door and said, man, I've been praying for you. I don't know why. I just feel like the Lord told me to give you these 20 bucks. I mean, I saw miracle after miracle after miracle.

But can I be honest with you? I missed it because I just. God would sustain me, you know what I mean? For he would provide in a phenomenal way. And then the next couple of days something would come up and I'd be in my feelings again.

I think sometimes we give the Israelites a hard time for behaving that way, but I think if we were to really look at ourselves, sometimes we behave in that manner too. God's not mad. He just wants to again invite. Invite us.

There was an evening that I just. In that season, I didn't understand what God was doing. And I was laying in my bed and about two, two o', clock, three o' clock in the morning, I just felt like in my mind I just. There was this warfare. There was just this frustration.

And I just think I just got. I just got fed up. So I started singing at the top of my lungs. My poor neighbor probably didn't know what was going on. And don't worry, I'm not going to sing for you.

It's not going to blow. Bless you. Okay. It's not meant for you, it's meant for the Lord. But Pastor Bill, I started singing Great Is Thy Faithfulness at the top of my lungs.

I mean, screaming it.

Because I was telling my flesh to shut up. Telling my mind, shut up, mind.

Because I don't want to depend on stuff. I want to depend on God and God alone.

Some of us are depending on the stuff. And we think that if the stuff comes, then God loves us. That's incorrect. God loves you. God loves you whether you're in the wilderness or in the promised land.

That's not the point. Don't depend on stuff, because stuff will burn away, but the Son of Man will last forever. You hearing me, Church? And something shifted in me that night. Something.

Just the realization that, no God, you're everything. And if you're the God that called me here, you're the God that's gonna sustain me here. And I feel like that season was preparation for God bringing me here to the refuge. So you're welcome. I'm scared.

Just kidding. You hear me, Church? We can't fix our eyes on the provision. We fix our eyes on him. He wants to dwell with us.

He wants to dwell with us when everything's hard and everything and you're in the wilderness. Listen to me. If you're there, I want to say to you, rejoice. Rejoice. Rejoice.

Because then when he pulls you out of the wilderness and the season changes and you're in the promised land, Sarah, then all you do is just rejoice a little more. The point is, rejoicing never ceases. Because God is not determined by the wilderness or the promised land. Are you there with me, Church? I want everybody to bow their head and close.

Right. I'm going to invite our prayer team to come because I believe that God wants to minister to some of you this morning. I believe the Lord wants to meet you specifically Right. Where some of you are.

Some of you are in this place that if you're honest, you need practical physical provision.

Some of you are struggling because you physically see that there's a need. And you're asking the Lord, Lord, how are you going to meet this need? And I'm here to say to you, I promise you he will come through.