1 00:00:02,580 --> 00:00:10,380 - You know, I'm standing back there thinking about 2 00:00:10,380 --> 00:00:14,380 this age of grace that we have been granted. 3 00:00:14,380 --> 00:00:17,660 I learned about finances and tithing. 4 00:00:17,660 --> 00:00:21,520 When I was a kid with my mom and dad going, 5 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:23,600 "Tithe, it's what God told you to do." 6 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:24,760 (audience laughing) 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:26,900 And that was our teaching method. 8 00:00:26,900 --> 00:00:28,500 You know, this is what God said, 9 00:00:28,500 --> 00:00:30,460 "So you probably ought to do it." 10 00:00:30,460 --> 00:00:32,860 It wasn't a suggestion, and I love though, 11 00:00:32,860 --> 00:00:35,740 not just in the area of finances, 12 00:00:35,740 --> 00:00:40,200 how much grace God extends to us. 13 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,280 Across the board, it's like he teaches us 14 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,080 over and over and over again. 15 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:50,080 And we miss it over and over and over again, 16 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:53,320 and yet he comes right back in with that grace 17 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:54,560 and continues to teach. 18 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:58,400 I am so grateful we have a God like that, aren't you? 19 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,000 I would have like, might not have made it like 20 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:05,200 past my first two days if he wasn't a grace-filled God, 21 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:10,200 because just because we give our lives to him 22 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,200 doesn't mean we give our lives to him. 23 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,280 Just because we accept him as Savior doesn't mean 24 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:19,580 we are instantly gonna start getting everything right. 25 00:01:19,580 --> 00:01:23,720 And I'm so grateful for a God who walked the earth 26 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:28,480 and was tempted and faced all of the things that we face 27 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:32,600 so that when he ascended and when he went back to his Father, 28 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,000 the Word tells us that he is touched 29 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,960 by the very feelings of our infirmities. 30 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:42,440 He is touched by even the things that you feel, 31 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:44,240 and not just your circumstances, 32 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,780 but how you feel about your circumstances. 33 00:01:47,780 --> 00:01:49,340 And I believe that's kind of where the Lord 34 00:01:49,340 --> 00:01:51,880 is gonna have us go today for a little bit. 35 00:01:52,820 --> 00:01:56,220 Today we're gonna be talking about water from the rock. 36 00:01:56,220 --> 00:02:00,460 And you know, not the rock, but you know, the rock. 37 00:02:00,460 --> 00:02:05,460 And actually when Kevin gave me this particular passage, 38 00:02:05,460 --> 00:02:08,460 a little behind the scenes here, 39 00:02:08,460 --> 00:02:10,900 at the beginning of the year, Pastor Kevin will send out 40 00:02:10,900 --> 00:02:13,500 a message to the pastors and he'll go, 41 00:02:13,500 --> 00:02:15,400 has the Lord put anything on your heart? 42 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:16,500 Are there any stories? 43 00:02:16,500 --> 00:02:18,700 Are there any particular scriptures 44 00:02:18,700 --> 00:02:19,980 that you want to teach on, 45 00:02:19,980 --> 00:02:23,240 or that you feel like the Lord has given you something 46 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,120 to share on, and we'll send in those passages. 47 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,220 This is where the Lord's been ministering to me. 48 00:02:29,220 --> 00:02:31,520 I did not send this passage in. 49 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:33,280 (congregation laughing) 50 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,060 I think he got me confused, Alan, 51 00:02:35,060 --> 00:02:36,860 this one was supposed to be for you. 52 00:02:36,860 --> 00:02:41,160 But I got excited as I got into it, 53 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:43,100 and I was thinking, okay, let's see. 54 00:02:43,100 --> 00:02:46,200 Kevin does demonstrations, and I'm like, 55 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,700 I could get a stick and a rock, 56 00:02:48,700 --> 00:02:51,700 and then there's water involved, 57 00:02:51,700 --> 00:02:53,040 but there'll be a lot of cleanup 58 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:54,700 if you turn me loose with that. 59 00:02:54,700 --> 00:02:58,980 And then I was like, no, Kevin has used a staff. 60 00:02:58,980 --> 00:03:01,140 Kevin has used rocks. 61 00:03:01,140 --> 00:03:03,020 Kevin has used water. 62 00:03:03,020 --> 00:03:04,160 He's used signs. 63 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:06,460 I even said, what about those blow up things 64 00:03:06,460 --> 00:03:10,400 that stand out in front of, Kevin has used those. 65 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:16,960 So I guess what I'm left with is the word. 66 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,840 (congregation laughing) 67 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,640 And while we may be able to argue with Kevin, 68 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:25,580 not the minion, our Kevin, 69 00:03:25,580 --> 00:03:29,400 can't argue with the word, can you? 70 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:31,880 You can't argue with what the Lord has to say. 71 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:34,440 And so I'm excited to take you on this little journey 72 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:36,920 he took me on, 'cause if I have to go, so do you. 73 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:38,880 Anyway, if you would stand, 74 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:40,460 let's read this passage of scripture 75 00:03:40,460 --> 00:03:43,520 and see what the Lord has to say to us today. 76 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:45,100 All right, let's go. 77 00:03:45,100 --> 00:03:47,500 The whole Israelite community 78 00:03:47,500 --> 00:03:50,200 set out from the desert of sin, 79 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,640 traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. 80 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:55,200 Can you say that one more time? 81 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:59,900 Traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. 82 00:03:59,900 --> 00:04:02,040 They camped at Rephidim, 83 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,240 but there was no water for the people to drink. 84 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:07,620 So they quarreled with Moses. 85 00:04:07,620 --> 00:04:10,380 (congregation speaking faintly) 86 00:04:10,380 --> 00:04:14,360 Moses replied, why do you quarrel with me? 87 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,160 Why do you put the Lord to the test? 88 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,100 But the people were thirsty for water there, 89 00:04:20,100 --> 00:04:23,360 and they grumbled against Moses. 90 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:27,040 They said, why did you bring us up out of Egypt 91 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:31,040 to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst? 92 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:32,580 Can we stop here for a minute? 93 00:04:32,580 --> 00:04:35,140 I want you to whine that one, okay? 94 00:04:35,140 --> 00:04:37,520 We're gonna be like, do it like your toddler 95 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,140 when you're not giving them a cookie or something. 96 00:04:40,140 --> 00:04:41,640 Okay, we're gonna read that verse again. 97 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:46,260 They said, why did you bring us up out of Egypt 98 00:04:46,260 --> 00:04:51,160 to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst? 99 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:52,100 I love that. 100 00:04:52,100 --> 00:04:55,660 Anyway, then Moses cried out to the Lord, 101 00:04:55,660 --> 00:04:58,460 what am I to do with these people? 102 00:04:58,460 --> 00:05:01,360 They are almost ready to stone me. 103 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,680 The Lord answered Moses, go out in front of the people, 104 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,740 take with you some of the elders of Israel 105 00:05:08,740 --> 00:05:11,780 and take in your hand the staff with which 106 00:05:11,780 --> 00:05:14,080 you struck the Nile and go. 107 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,860 I will stand there before you at the rock of Horeb. 108 00:05:17,860 --> 00:05:22,520 And finally, strike the rock and water will come out of it 109 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:24,300 for the people to drink. 110 00:05:24,300 --> 00:05:28,300 So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 111 00:05:28,300 --> 00:05:32,200 And he called the place Massah and Meribah 112 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,540 because the Israelites quarreled 113 00:05:34,540 --> 00:05:37,400 and because they tested the Lord saying, 114 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,240 is the Lord among us or not? 115 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,980 Father, I'm so grateful that you are among us. 116 00:05:43,980 --> 00:05:47,380 I am so grateful that you have brought us here today, 117 00:05:47,380 --> 00:05:49,940 just as you brought them to that place then. 118 00:05:49,940 --> 00:05:53,420 And Father, just as you met with them at that point, 119 00:05:53,420 --> 00:05:56,660 I am trusting God that you are gonna meet with us today. 120 00:05:56,660 --> 00:06:00,060 I pray, Father, your word do the work that no man can do. 121 00:06:00,060 --> 00:06:02,820 I pray, Lord, that your word reach into those places 122 00:06:02,820 --> 00:06:05,420 in our lives and call us up. 123 00:06:05,420 --> 00:06:07,260 I thank you for your faithfulness. 124 00:06:07,260 --> 00:06:11,340 Let my stuff fall in your stand in Jesus' name, amen. 125 00:06:11,340 --> 00:06:14,800 Oh, I love that little voice. 126 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:16,480 That was perfect, babe. 127 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:18,400 That was perfect. 128 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,700 I think most of us know or are aware 129 00:06:21,700 --> 00:06:25,180 that there is a second instance that follows this in Numbers 130 00:06:25,180 --> 00:06:29,280 where Moses is, where the people come once again. 131 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:30,380 I like the whiny part. 132 00:06:30,380 --> 00:06:31,460 You all did really good at that. 133 00:06:31,460 --> 00:06:33,020 It's almost like you practiced. 134 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:40,120 Moses, there's a second point at which Moses is confronted 135 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:44,640 by the people and they ask him again to bring them water. 136 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,460 And there's a whole lot in that that I get tickled at. 137 00:06:47,460 --> 00:06:50,440 And now listen, I understand that there are a lot 138 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:53,740 of teachings about this particular passage, 139 00:06:53,740 --> 00:06:58,040 some of which that refer to in 1 Corinthians when it says, 140 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,420 "He was the stone, that Jesus was the stone." 141 00:07:00,420 --> 00:07:03,440 And by striking the stone twice as we get 142 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:05,220 into the next passage of Scripture, 143 00:07:05,220 --> 00:07:06,860 you know, it's a type and shadow. 144 00:07:06,860 --> 00:07:09,760 And I understand that there are a lot of ideas 145 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:11,420 about how that is gonna go. 146 00:07:11,420 --> 00:07:15,500 And I am not the one to take you down that path. 147 00:07:15,500 --> 00:07:18,600 I believe the Holy Spirit can take us down that path 148 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:21,340 because it can get a little divisive. 149 00:07:21,340 --> 00:07:24,900 But I think the Lord would have me take you down the path 150 00:07:24,900 --> 00:07:27,380 that he took me down with this passage of Scripture 151 00:07:27,380 --> 00:07:29,100 because that's the only way I can share it with you. 152 00:07:29,100 --> 00:07:33,320 If it's not personal and doesn't minister in my life, 153 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:35,820 why would I expect it to come out and do the same thing 154 00:07:35,820 --> 00:07:36,660 in yours? 155 00:07:36,660 --> 00:07:39,560 So we are gonna jump into where I believe the Lord 156 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,020 allowed me to jump in. 157 00:07:42,020 --> 00:07:45,260 And somebody has messed up my nut so. 158 00:07:45,260 --> 00:07:47,160 No, it's okay. 159 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:48,700 It's all good. 160 00:07:48,700 --> 00:07:52,200 You know, when I was thinking about this particular passage 161 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,760 of Scripture, the very first thing that the Lord took me to 162 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:57,780 was the book of Ruth, which is unusual because we are 163 00:07:57,780 --> 00:07:58,740 in Exodus, right? 164 00:07:58,740 --> 00:08:00,440 And so it's a little bit jumping forward. 165 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:02,980 Pastor Justin shared Thursday night, 166 00:08:02,980 --> 00:08:05,780 which if you haven't been here, it's a really good series. 167 00:08:05,780 --> 00:08:07,520 And you should come and join us in that. 168 00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:12,520 But in the book of Ruth, the very first passage, it says, 169 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:17,820 "In the days when judges ruled, 170 00:08:17,820 --> 00:08:20,720 "there was a famine in the land." 171 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,360 Now, how does this relate to what we're talking about here? 172 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:26,300 Well, number one, the thing that strikes me is 173 00:08:26,300 --> 00:08:28,600 when it says there was a famine in the land, 174 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:33,680 the land it's talking about is the land of promise. 175 00:08:33,680 --> 00:08:36,700 There was a famine in the promised land. 176 00:08:36,700 --> 00:08:39,820 How does that happen? 177 00:08:39,820 --> 00:08:42,340 This is the land of milk and honey 178 00:08:42,340 --> 00:08:44,840 that they traveled 40 years to get to. 179 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:47,220 It was the land of milk and honey. 180 00:08:47,220 --> 00:08:50,380 And then now it's saying that there is a famine in the land. 181 00:08:50,380 --> 00:08:52,700 So you know what that tells me? 182 00:08:52,700 --> 00:08:56,200 That tells me that sometimes the promise 183 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:58,440 doesn't look like the promise. 184 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,600 It tells me that sometimes along this journey, 185 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,720 it doesn't feel like or look like what we anticipated 186 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:07,480 it would look like in the beginning. 187 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:12,760 I need to know, okay, maybe, let's just say, 188 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:13,840 maybe Kevin missed it. 189 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:15,760 This isn't the passage of scripture 190 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:17,440 that we're supposed to be jumping onto. 191 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,540 So let me ask you this. 192 00:09:19,540 --> 00:09:22,560 Have any of you ever received a promise from the Lord? 193 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:25,840 I want hands. 194 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:28,320 Has the Lord ever told you something? 195 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:29,800 Yeah? 196 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:33,360 Have you ever had to wait on the fulfillment of that? 197 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:34,400 Yeah. 198 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:35,480 Now wait a minute. 199 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:37,480 There's more hands going up for waiting 200 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,000 than there was for receiving the promise. 201 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:41,340 So what's that about? 202 00:09:41,340 --> 00:09:45,520 Than receiving the promise. 203 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,260 Well then this must be the right passage of scripture. 204 00:09:48,260 --> 00:09:50,120 As Justin was sharing Thursday night, 205 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,760 I told him, I said, "These should link up together." 206 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:55,440 I've always wondered, you know, 207 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:57,440 this journey from when the Lord said 208 00:09:57,440 --> 00:09:58,960 he was gonna take them into the promised land, 209 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:01,220 all of the signs, all of the wonders, 210 00:10:01,220 --> 00:10:04,060 yet they wound up in a journey of 40 years. 211 00:10:04,060 --> 00:10:05,040 How did that happen? 212 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:06,920 And why 40 years? 213 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:08,220 Most people who turn 40, 214 00:10:08,220 --> 00:10:10,600 there is significance to that age, you know, 215 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:11,600 kind of changes things. 216 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:16,260 But I was like, do you know why they wondered for 40 years? 217 00:10:16,260 --> 00:10:18,700 Don't tell anybody. 218 00:10:18,700 --> 00:10:23,860 I really need a more uneducated congregation. 219 00:10:26,100 --> 00:10:28,400 Well, as Justin was sharing this week, 220 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:31,720 the Lord, right before this situation 221 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:32,660 that we just read about, 222 00:10:32,660 --> 00:10:34,440 about the water coming from the rock, 223 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:37,020 there was a period of time when they got, 224 00:10:37,020 --> 00:10:39,880 the children of Israel came close to the land 225 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,980 and the Lord, Moses said, he took 12 leaders, 226 00:10:43,980 --> 00:10:45,560 sent them into the land, 227 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:47,320 and they were to spy out the land, 228 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,360 and they spied out the lands for 40 days. 229 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:53,340 And when they come back, the 12 go to give a report, 230 00:10:53,340 --> 00:10:57,100 and 10 of them go, yes, it is everything 231 00:10:57,100 --> 00:10:58,120 that you said it would be. 232 00:10:58,120 --> 00:10:59,800 It is everything the Lord promised. 233 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:01,880 It is a land of milk and honey. 234 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,760 There are grapes the size of a man's hand. 235 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:09,760 You know, all of this report, yes, it is exactly that. 236 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:11,340 But we can't take it. 237 00:11:11,340 --> 00:11:13,360 We can't go get it. 238 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:14,880 They are big. 239 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:15,880 We are small. 240 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:16,720 They are giants. 241 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:18,860 We are grasshoppers, you know? 242 00:11:18,860 --> 00:11:22,680 It's like, yes, yes, everything God said was true. 243 00:11:22,680 --> 00:11:24,380 Oh, but we can't do that. 244 00:11:24,380 --> 00:11:28,240 And so Joshua and Caleb, of course, say, 245 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:30,660 yeah, we can absolutely take the land. 246 00:11:30,660 --> 00:11:33,360 Man, we need more Joshua's and Caleb's, don't we? 247 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:36,060 We need more that will go, oh, we absolutely can, 248 00:11:36,060 --> 00:11:37,860 because see what they understood 249 00:11:37,860 --> 00:11:40,160 was they weren't gonna take the land. 250 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:42,520 God was gonna take the land. 251 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:45,140 God was gonna fulfill his promises. 252 00:11:45,140 --> 00:11:48,580 And so often we get stuck trying to figure out 253 00:11:48,580 --> 00:11:51,780 how we are gonna fulfill God's promises. 254 00:11:51,780 --> 00:11:55,220 When what God is doing is going, will you trust me? 255 00:11:55,220 --> 00:11:56,640 Will you trust me? 256 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,620 And so their punishment for that 257 00:11:59,620 --> 00:12:03,460 was for every day that you walked the promise. 258 00:12:03,460 --> 00:12:06,460 I'm gonna become the Amplified Bible here for a minute, okay? 259 00:12:06,460 --> 00:12:09,820 It may look a little different than your Amplified Bible, 260 00:12:09,820 --> 00:12:12,420 but just go with me here for a second. 261 00:12:12,420 --> 00:12:17,220 He says, okay, you literally walked in the promise 262 00:12:17,220 --> 00:12:20,880 for 40 days, and you saw confirmation 263 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:24,100 after confirmation after confirmation 264 00:12:24,100 --> 00:12:27,140 that everything I said about it was true. 265 00:12:27,140 --> 00:12:30,580 And so for every day you walked that land, 266 00:12:30,580 --> 00:12:33,720 saw the promise, and then came back and gave that report, 267 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:36,140 but the lack of, I'm gonna give you a year 268 00:12:36,140 --> 00:12:37,540 to wander in the wilderness. 269 00:12:37,540 --> 00:12:43,040 One year for every day that you saw 270 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,960 and knew the promises of God and refused to do it, 271 00:12:47,980 --> 00:12:50,980 or were fearful and didn't go there. 272 00:12:50,980 --> 00:12:54,060 Aren't you glad? 273 00:12:54,060 --> 00:12:57,580 Aren't you so grateful that we don't get a year 274 00:12:57,580 --> 00:13:00,620 in the wilderness for every time we fail to believe? 275 00:13:00,620 --> 00:13:04,800 Aren't you so grateful that in His grace and in His mercy, 276 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:06,900 He says, okay, one more time. 277 00:13:06,900 --> 00:13:08,840 Okay, come on, we're gonna cover this one more time. 278 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,520 And then He encourages us and He teaches us 279 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,200 and gives us next opportunity to go there. 280 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:19,200 40 years, 40 years they wandered the wilderness. 281 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:24,300 The thing that is interesting to me is that you know 282 00:13:24,300 --> 00:13:27,560 they had to be so excited about the destination, 283 00:13:27,560 --> 00:13:28,600 but I wonder how much thought 284 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:30,440 they actually gave to the journey. 285 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:34,240 And see, that's where we are a lot of times. 286 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:36,280 We receive a promise from the Lord, 287 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:38,160 or we feel like the Lord has shown us something 288 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:41,900 or told us something, and all we see is that, which is good, 289 00:13:41,900 --> 00:13:44,900 but there's a journey between here and there. 290 00:13:44,900 --> 00:13:47,860 And there's an accountability in that journey 291 00:13:47,860 --> 00:13:49,260 from here to there. 292 00:13:49,260 --> 00:13:51,700 And we watch the children of Israel begin 293 00:13:51,700 --> 00:13:56,380 to move a little differently as things become uncomfortable. 294 00:13:56,380 --> 00:14:03,100 How do we act when things begin to get uncomfortable? 295 00:14:03,100 --> 00:14:06,360 How do, my mom used to always say, 296 00:14:06,360 --> 00:14:10,600 well, it had to do with my stepfather 297 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:13,000 who really never got out of his recliner. 298 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,380 And she would go, you just gotta wait 299 00:14:15,380 --> 00:14:17,140 for him to get uncomfortable. 300 00:14:17,140 --> 00:14:18,640 And she'd go, you know, nobody moves 301 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:20,800 until they're uncomfortable. 302 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:25,000 And then sometimes spiritually guys, that's the truth. 303 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,960 We don't move until things get very uncomfortable 304 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:30,720 where we are, we love comfort, it's a good thing. 305 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:34,580 And now I'm gonna be honest enough to say 306 00:14:34,580 --> 00:14:37,640 that if I were wandering through the desert 307 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,340 for any period of time, like 20 minutes, 308 00:14:40,340 --> 00:14:44,160 I would probably grumble and I would complain. 309 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,200 I am not the outdoor, Hal, don't say it. 310 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,520 I'm not the outdoorsy type. 311 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:52,280 I'm more the turn up the air conditioner type. 312 00:14:52,280 --> 00:15:01,420 I'm not gonna do it, no, no. 313 00:15:01,420 --> 00:15:05,440 But the people begin to grumble and they begin to complain. 314 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:07,840 I know none of you have ever done that. 315 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:10,700 I know none of us have ever grumbled or complained, 316 00:15:10,700 --> 00:15:13,380 but the people begin to grumble and complain. 317 00:15:13,380 --> 00:15:17,500 At one point, the scripture says, God actually says, 318 00:15:17,500 --> 00:15:21,160 you know, these people have tested me 10 times. 319 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:23,780 That was my first week. 320 00:15:23,780 --> 00:15:30,300 But I was like, he says they've tested me 10 times. 321 00:15:30,300 --> 00:15:32,800 And I mean, I could like standing right here go, 322 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,580 okay, wait a minute, why did you bring us out here 323 00:15:35,580 --> 00:15:36,960 in the desert to kill us? 324 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,600 Were there no graves back in Egypt? 325 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:42,040 They were a little dramatic anyway. 326 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,160 And they're like, oh, we're so thirsty. 327 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:46,800 Why did you bring us out here that our children 328 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:49,920 and ourselves and these cattle are going to die? 329 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:51,440 And then there was the whole, you know, 330 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:53,700 I don't like manna anymore. 331 00:15:53,700 --> 00:15:55,340 Can you give us something else? 332 00:15:55,340 --> 00:15:57,760 And then there's, oh no, we're grasshoppers. 333 00:15:57,760 --> 00:15:59,920 We're not, they're big guys, we're little. 334 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:01,160 They whined a little bit. 335 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:06,440 And in that, in that, 336 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:09,520 they were testing the Lord. 337 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:14,160 You know, sometimes we don't think about it that way. 338 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,760 When things aren't going the way we want them to, 339 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,820 and we start to grumble or we whine or we complain. 340 00:16:19,820 --> 00:16:24,480 And the Lord's goodness is all around us. 341 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:26,400 All around us. 342 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:28,580 Hey, that sounded almost like Dolby stereo 343 00:16:28,580 --> 00:16:29,600 when you go to the movies. 344 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:31,260 All around. 345 00:16:31,260 --> 00:16:35,080 Oh, I need more coffee. 346 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,800 Anyway. (audience laughing) 347 00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:39,640 (laughing) 348 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:44,640 Anyway, more than 10 times they test him. 349 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:46,320 More than 10 times. 350 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:51,480 But like I mentioned, there's a second time 351 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:53,120 that Moses is called to go to the rock. 352 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:55,180 And this actually, this one actually tickles me 353 00:16:55,180 --> 00:16:57,920 a little bit, even though it turns out really, really bad. 354 00:16:57,920 --> 00:16:58,760 I feel bad for him. 355 00:16:58,760 --> 00:16:59,580 Anyway. 356 00:16:59,580 --> 00:17:03,800 But this time, the thing that predicates 357 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:05,880 the water from the rock is, 358 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:09,680 it says that Moses and Aaron had a meeting with the people. 359 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,200 And the people were upset. 360 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:12,980 And so at the end of the meeting, 361 00:17:12,980 --> 00:17:15,120 Moses and Aaron had to go face down 362 00:17:15,120 --> 00:17:16,640 before the 10th meeting. 363 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:21,240 Have you ever left an encounter with some human beings 364 00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:23,560 and had to go find a place with Jesus? 365 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:28,400 Some of you said that louder than others. 366 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:31,160 And I'm just wondering if you're a friend of mine 367 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:32,240 and if that could have been me, 368 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:34,740 but I'm a little bit sensitive about those things. 369 00:17:34,740 --> 00:17:36,520 But they go and they go face down 370 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:38,060 before the 10th of meeting. 371 00:17:38,060 --> 00:17:40,780 And this time, the Lord tells them to go 372 00:17:40,780 --> 00:17:42,640 and he tells Moses to take his staff. 373 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,400 But he tells them, this time, 374 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:49,240 I want you to speak to the rock. 375 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:50,680 I want you to speak to it. 376 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:52,680 He doesn't say hit it or anything else. 377 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,940 And if you are familiar with this story at all, 378 00:17:55,940 --> 00:17:58,480 you know that this does not go well. 379 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,000 He goes before the people, he takes the staff and say, 380 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,380 I think the Lord allows us sometimes 381 00:18:03,380 --> 00:18:05,500 to take comfortable things with us. 382 00:18:05,500 --> 00:18:07,040 Not so much that he was gonna use it, 383 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:08,600 but there might have been an element of Moses 384 00:18:08,600 --> 00:18:09,800 that went, this worked last time. 385 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:11,720 So if this whole speaking thing doesn't work, 386 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:13,960 I will have this magic staff here. 387 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:15,960 That is not scriptural. 388 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:17,560 I'm just saying, you never know 389 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:19,000 how a person's mind is gonna work. 390 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,580 But sometimes the Lord lets you take something familiar, 391 00:18:21,580 --> 00:18:24,480 but what he really wants you to take is his presence. 392 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:26,640 What we really need to take into any situation 393 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:28,000 is his presence. 394 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:31,440 And I'm gonna jump a little forward in that. 395 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,520 But he gets up in front of the people and he still, 396 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:38,040 you know, he tells the people, you are rebellious. 397 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:39,480 You are rebellious. 398 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:41,540 And then what's interesting to me is he says, 399 00:18:41,540 --> 00:18:43,240 you are rebellious. 400 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:45,220 And then he strikes the rock. 401 00:18:45,220 --> 00:18:49,160 That is leadership 101. 402 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,880 You rebellious people. 403 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:58,500 It's funny when it's not you. 404 00:18:59,300 --> 00:19:01,660 It's funny when you can look at other people's lives 405 00:19:01,660 --> 00:19:05,360 and see that one act, that one thing, 406 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:10,360 that one thing changed his path to the promise. 407 00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:13,220 That one thing. 408 00:19:13,220 --> 00:19:15,900 And I'll be honest enough with you to go, 409 00:19:15,900 --> 00:19:18,100 God, how's that even fair? 410 00:19:18,100 --> 00:19:21,220 How's that even fair that this would happen 411 00:19:21,220 --> 00:19:25,040 and then that promise and all that he had poured into that 412 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:28,280 and one act changes everything. 413 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:31,520 But I don't know, guys. 414 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:34,680 This is just me. 415 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:39,080 But I don't know that striking the rock 416 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:40,500 was actually the issue. 417 00:19:40,500 --> 00:19:45,140 Now we're gonna get. 418 00:19:45,140 --> 00:19:49,400 But the thing that has struck me about this, 419 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,480 the thing that I have been carrying in my spirit for this 420 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:55,880 was all of you, almost every single one of you said 421 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:59,960 God had promised you something, that he had given you 422 00:19:59,960 --> 00:20:03,860 something and that it hasn't happened yet, right? 423 00:20:03,860 --> 00:20:05,180 It's not been fulfilled yet. 424 00:20:05,180 --> 00:20:06,680 I've got those in my life. 425 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,040 I've got places where the Lord promised 426 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:11,000 and meant that he fulfill it. 427 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:16,000 Man has he met me every single time except for this. 428 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,200 Or except for this. 429 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:22,020 And my question and the question that I felt like 430 00:20:22,020 --> 00:20:24,980 the Holy Spirit posed in my own spirit was, 431 00:20:25,980 --> 00:20:28,140 what are you like when the promise 432 00:20:28,140 --> 00:20:29,820 does not look like the promise? 433 00:20:29,820 --> 00:20:34,260 How do you respond when you thought 434 00:20:34,260 --> 00:20:35,420 it was gonna go this way? 435 00:20:35,420 --> 00:20:37,260 You thought you would be healed. 436 00:20:37,260 --> 00:20:39,900 You thought your children would be saved by now. 437 00:20:39,900 --> 00:20:42,640 You thought this miracle, you thought this marriage 438 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:43,860 would be restored. 439 00:20:43,860 --> 00:20:45,580 You thought this would happen 440 00:20:45,580 --> 00:20:49,240 and it didn't turn out that way. 441 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:50,740 Or you're still in that way. 442 00:20:50,740 --> 00:20:54,520 How do you act? 443 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:59,220 What do you represent when you are in those waiting years? 444 00:20:59,220 --> 00:21:02,840 And I say years purposely, could be decades 445 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:06,540 while you're waiting on that promise to be fulfilled. 446 00:21:06,540 --> 00:21:09,680 How do you act? 447 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:12,960 See, here's what I think. 448 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:15,900 It's just a thought, but it's based on scripture. 449 00:21:15,900 --> 00:21:18,140 There's a point. 450 00:21:23,580 --> 00:21:27,400 Even though Moses misses it and he strikes the rock twice, 451 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:31,160 what does the Lord do? 452 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:33,980 He still sends water to the people. 453 00:21:33,980 --> 00:21:36,260 He still supplies the people. 454 00:21:36,260 --> 00:21:38,960 The water still pours out. 455 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:42,840 You need to understand that God will still bless his people 456 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:44,620 and then deal with the leaders. 457 00:21:44,620 --> 00:21:50,800 Don't think for a minute that he will not deal with us 458 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,680 as leaders if we mislead. 459 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:57,180 But what scripture tells me, 460 00:21:57,180 --> 00:22:01,680 God doesn't say, "Since you struck that rock." 461 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:07,860 What God says to Moses is, "Because you did not honor me." 462 00:22:07,860 --> 00:22:12,820 No, "Because you did not believe in me 463 00:22:12,820 --> 00:22:17,820 "and trust me enough to honor me as holy before the people, 464 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:25,220 "because you did not believe me, trust in me enough 465 00:22:25,220 --> 00:22:30,220 "to honor me before the people, you're not taking 'em in." 466 00:22:30,220 --> 00:22:35,760 That's about a whole lot more than striking a rock. 467 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:40,320 That is about do you believe what he said to you? 468 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,440 And do you believe it enough 469 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:44,160 that when it doesn't look like it 470 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:46,600 and when everybody else is saying, "Oh no, no, no," 471 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,720 or when you are mad at God or you are upset, 472 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:51,860 do you believe him enough? 473 00:22:51,860 --> 00:22:55,280 Do you believe that he is who he says he is 474 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:58,260 to the point that you will stand before the people 475 00:22:58,260 --> 00:23:03,120 and honor him as holy in the middle of your situation? 476 00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:05,560 Because that is what we are called to do 477 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:08,920 day after day after day after day after day 478 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:11,040 on this journey toward the promise 479 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:12,860 that he has set before us. 480 00:23:12,860 --> 00:23:17,700 And I can honestly say I fail at that. 481 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:22,560 I fail at that so often when I know his goodness 482 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,460 is all around me and to go, 483 00:23:25,460 --> 00:23:30,300 but God, I feel like you said this, it was about honor. 484 00:23:30,300 --> 00:23:33,600 And if it's about honor, 485 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:37,860 and if it is about honoring him as holy 486 00:23:37,860 --> 00:23:42,000 in everything that he is and all that he's called us to, 487 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:47,000 if it's about honor, we might be in a little bit of trouble 488 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,440 because we live in a society 489 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:54,320 that doesn't really lean toward honor. 490 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:57,000 They don't really lean toward respect. 491 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:02,000 We don't really lean into that whole God sovereign over us. 492 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,220 It is you and only you, God. 493 00:24:04,220 --> 00:24:06,920 We don't lean like that. 494 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:10,040 We have a tendency to invite God into our world 495 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,560 and ask him to accommodate our needs 496 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,840 and to fit into the structure that we have for him. 497 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,480 But can we honor him as holy? 498 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:21,520 I wanna read this to you 499 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:23,380 because when the Lord gave it to me, 500 00:24:23,380 --> 00:24:27,020 I felt like it was important. 501 00:24:27,020 --> 00:24:32,320 And I had just written in the risk of alienating some, 502 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:36,120 we live in a society that seems to have little understanding 503 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:39,120 of respect and honor for authority. 504 00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:41,000 And I believe that lack of respect, 505 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:42,820 the lack of honor has found its way 506 00:24:42,820 --> 00:24:44,740 into the pews and the pulpits 507 00:24:44,740 --> 00:24:47,740 because in making Jesus our homeboy, 508 00:24:47,740 --> 00:24:50,840 in making God our friend, 509 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:54,520 we begin to see him as such and he is, don't get me wrong, 510 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:58,760 but there is this casual spiritual arrogance 511 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:01,880 that enters into our life that causes us to think 512 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,020 we are on equal footing with him and we are not. 513 00:25:05,020 --> 00:25:12,640 We have made him. 514 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:17,500 So we have done our best to make him so user-friendly 515 00:25:17,500 --> 00:25:19,960 so that people who wanna straddle the fence 516 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:23,520 between carnality and Christianity feel comfortable. 517 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:27,440 But he's holy. 518 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:30,620 He is sovereign. 519 00:25:30,620 --> 00:25:32,620 He is holy, guys. 520 00:25:32,620 --> 00:25:38,000 You know, you hear the phrase dumb it down. 521 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:39,460 You can't dumb this down 522 00:25:40,460 --> 00:25:42,740 'cause either he's holy or he isn't. 523 00:25:42,740 --> 00:25:44,980 Either he's sovereign or he isn't. 524 00:25:44,980 --> 00:25:49,260 Either he is who he says he is or what are you doing here? 525 00:25:49,260 --> 00:25:57,480 That's the God I know. 526 00:25:57,480 --> 00:25:59,360 That's the God I know. 527 00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:04,480 And see, I love, I love, love, love 528 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:06,680 that God ministered to his people 529 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:08,720 even when the leaders were blowing it. 530 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:13,720 Many, many, many years ago, I used to travel some 531 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:16,720 and I would go and I would play and I would sing 532 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,960 and I would do those kinds of services. 533 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,180 And I was in a season of my life 534 00:26:23,180 --> 00:26:27,040 where I had no business being on a platform 535 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:29,760 or trying to lead anybody in worship. 536 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,680 But I was also the type that was such a people pleaser 537 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:36,080 that I couldn't back out and leave a church without that. 538 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:40,760 And so I went to this church and I sat down at the piano 539 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:44,120 the whole time convicted by the Holy Spirit going, 540 00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:46,000 what are you doing here? 541 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:47,700 What are you doing here? 542 00:26:47,700 --> 00:26:52,700 And I just remember, guys, the presence of the Holy Spirit 543 00:26:52,700 --> 00:26:54,200 hit that room. 544 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:58,640 I have never before or since experienced anything like that. 545 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:01,640 There was literal wind in that room. 546 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:03,680 There were people laying in the floor. 547 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:08,240 And I mean, it was just the most amazing thing. 548 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:11,320 And all I could hear when I was sitting at that piano 549 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:16,600 was God going, I will bless my people. 550 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:18,480 I will bless my people. 551 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,480 And what I understood was that it has nothing 552 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:23,240 to do with you. 553 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:25,080 It has nothing to do with you. 554 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:30,080 It was the most humbling and formative moment 555 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:32,200 I think in my life. 556 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,980 It was one of those moments because always before 557 00:27:34,980 --> 00:27:38,440 when I had gone to do that, it's like I had prepared. 558 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:39,840 I wrote the songs. 559 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:41,280 I played the piano. 560 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:46,280 I did this and then God showed up in spite of my mess. 561 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:48,580 And he went, I'm gonna bless my people 562 00:27:48,580 --> 00:27:50,400 and I will deal with you later. 563 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,740 And he did. 564 00:27:53,740 --> 00:27:56,540 And he did. 565 00:27:56,540 --> 00:27:58,360 And I had to repent. 566 00:27:58,360 --> 00:28:00,680 (sniffling) 567 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:08,140 God will bless his people. 568 00:28:08,140 --> 00:28:11,440 It was a very humbling lesson. 569 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:15,000 Jesus, help me. 570 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:23,540 In the very first instance when Moses goes 571 00:28:23,540 --> 00:28:27,520 to strike the rock, scripture clearly states, he says, 572 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:31,120 God says, my presence will go before you. 573 00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:33,680 And I will stand before you at the rock of Horeb. 574 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:37,440 And when you strike the rock, the water will flow. 575 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:43,760 And it was the presence of God, that presence of God. 576 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:47,260 Guys, do you understand that when you are in the middle 577 00:28:47,260 --> 00:28:49,640 of that journey and it's feeling long 578 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:52,080 and it's feeling like God's never gonna meet you 579 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:55,280 and it's feeling like you are thirsty and you are lost 580 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:56,800 and you're starting to lose that faith, 581 00:28:56,800 --> 00:28:59,880 you know you need to get in his presence. 582 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:02,040 Do you understand that you need to find a piece 583 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:05,880 of carpet somewhere and do exactly what Moses and Aaron did 584 00:29:05,880 --> 00:29:10,160 and just go face down before him and cry out to him 585 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:13,520 and stay there, stay there. 586 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:15,400 Not one of these little five minute prayers, 587 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:20,040 even though something's got a change in our heart 588 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,560 in that moment so that when we stand up from that time, 589 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:26,740 we're still not, we are not carrying the grumbling 590 00:29:26,740 --> 00:29:29,680 and complaining anymore, but we are carrying the, 591 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:33,580 I believe in you enough to stand and honor you 592 00:29:33,580 --> 00:29:36,380 as holy before the people. 593 00:29:36,380 --> 00:29:38,840 Don't stand up till you get that. 594 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:40,760 Don't stand up until you get that. 595 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:43,320 Here's the thing. 596 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:46,920 They started out good. 597 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:50,380 And boy, that initial experience we have with the Lord 598 00:29:50,380 --> 00:29:52,840 when he saves us and we feel cleansed 599 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:55,800 and we feel delivered, that initial experience, 600 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:58,580 man, there's a high and you go out and it's like, yes, 601 00:29:58,580 --> 00:30:00,720 we are gonna take that promised land. 602 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:02,720 And then all of a sudden you get thirsty 603 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:06,480 or the baby's crying and there's nowhere to put them. 604 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:10,000 I had written this. 605 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:13,720 Somewhere in the wilderness, the people decided 606 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,040 that they were not strong enough to take the promise. 607 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:20,900 Somewhere in the wilderness, the people stopped believing 608 00:30:20,900 --> 00:30:23,420 that God would finish what he started. 609 00:30:23,420 --> 00:30:26,440 Somewhere in the wilderness, their hardships began 610 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:28,940 to override their hope. 611 00:30:28,940 --> 00:30:32,280 Somewhere in the wilderness, the leeks and garlic started 612 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:34,280 to sound better than the milk and honey. 613 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:40,760 Somewhere in the wilderness, the people stopped believing 614 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:45,140 that God was who he said he was. 615 00:30:45,140 --> 00:30:49,220 Even with the pillar of fire, even with the miracles, 616 00:30:49,220 --> 00:30:53,600 even with the parting of the Red Sea, they stopped believing 617 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:55,460 that God was gonna take care of them, 618 00:30:55,460 --> 00:30:57,280 that God was gonna provision them 619 00:30:57,280 --> 00:31:02,280 and that God was gonna do what he said he was going to do. 620 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:04,760 And that is what I believe the Lord would have me 621 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:06,920 bring to you this morning. 622 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:10,360 Those of you who raised your hand and when God told me this, 623 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:13,240 God has given me this, God has laid this out 624 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:14,620 and I'm still waiting. 625 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:20,520 Do you believe he is who he said he is? 626 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:24,820 Do you believe he will do what he said he would do? 627 00:31:24,820 --> 00:31:28,840 Do you believe that he is alpha and omega, 628 00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:30,560 the beginning and the end? 629 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:33,140 Do you believe that he is Jehovah Shema, 630 00:31:33,140 --> 00:31:34,920 that he is Jehovah Sid Canoe? 631 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:37,760 Is he the God of your peace? 632 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:40,220 Is he the God of your provision? 633 00:31:40,220 --> 00:31:43,600 Is he the God who loved you and saved you 634 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:45,720 and called you out of your own Egypt? 635 00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:51,320 We are getting ready here to sing a song. 636 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:53,800 This is what I felt in my spirit. 637 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:58,800 Every single one of you, I know y'all hate when I do this, 638 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:00,960 every single one of you that raised your hand, 639 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,880 said God has promised me something and I'm still waiting. 640 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:06,040 I need you here. 641 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:10,960 And I'm gonna come down there with you 642 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:12,400 'cause I'm still waiting too. 643 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:14,980 (gentle music) 644 00:32:14,980 --> 00:32:19,040 And we're gonna make a declaration tonight. 645 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:21,520 Man, I wish the children of Israel had had this song 646 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:23,400 out there in the desert 647 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:26,440 so that they could begin to make a declaration. 648 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:27,940 I'm gonna come down here, guys. 649 00:32:27,940 --> 00:32:38,680 Because I'm still waiting too. 650 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:44,280 I'm still waiting too and I know that we have a God 651 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:47,320 who will complete what he has begun, amen? 652 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:48,200 Amen. 653 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:51,000 So we're gonna make a declaration 654 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:52,640 and when we get to this chorus, 655 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:56,120 I believe you are who you said you were. 656 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:58,960 And when he said, the one line that I love so much 657 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:02,000 is it says, I'm running through parted waves 658 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:03,240 straight to you. 659 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:06,200 I want you to know you have some parted waves 660 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:07,440 in front of you. 661 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:11,320 And God, oh man, just the imagery to go, 662 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:12,160 can you even imagine, 663 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:15,000 could you just close your eyes for just a second, 664 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:18,560 see those waves roll back 665 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:20,880 and see him waiting for you right there. 666 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:25,160 That's the position I want you to take 667 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,680 as we begin to sing, I believe. 668 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:29,960 And I'm believing that the Lord is just gonna minister 669 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:33,760 to you, that he is gonna reconfirm those promises to you 670 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:37,840 and that he's gonna reassure you that he finishes 671 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:38,680 what he starts. 672 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:39,640 Go ahead guys. 673 00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:41,960 Jesus. 674 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:43,960 [music fades out] 675 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:45,960 [music fades out]